There was an advertising tycoon Albert Lasker who asked one of his top executives to move from California to the New York office. The man refused. He didn’t want to move. He liked it right where he was. A couple days later, Lasker changed tactics. He brought the executive into his office and announced: “I have just made my will and I have decided that you will succeed me as head of the business. This means that you will have to leave California when the time comes. Would you do that for me?” The executive paused and then said: “Yes.” “You would do this for me?” said Lasker. “Yes.” “You will do this for me when I am dead?” “Yes,” repeated the executive. “Then, why, won’t you do it for me while I’m alive?”
APPLY: That executive didn’t want to go to New York, but when the President of the company changed the terms… he changed his mind. In our text this morning we find that Moses doesn’t want to go where God wants to send him. “Send somebody else!” he says (Exodus 4:13).
For the past hour or so, God’s been dealing with excuse after excuse from Moses. God has answered his objections, given him miraculous signs, and has repeatedly assured Moses... that its going to be OK, I’M going take care of everything. But nothing seems to change Moses mind: “I don’t want to go!!” he says. But eventually Moses does go.
So, why does Moses end up going?
Well, 1st God gets mad. Moses says: “‘Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.’ Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses…” (Exodus 4:13-14) God was ticked off!!!
Just for the record: you don’t want to get God “ticked off.” In II Samuel, we’re told about a man who touched the Ark of the Covenant. “And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah, and God struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the ark of God.” (2 Samuel 6:7) Let me repeat… you don’t want to tick God off.
ILLUS: Have you ever gotten mad at your kids (or your grandkids)? I mean – you’ve told them to do something (pick up their toys or something) - and you’ve told them two or three times. But they don’t do it… because they don’t want to. Has that ever made you mad? Me too!
I’ve noticed that when get angry with my grandson, his attitude changes. Up until I get angry, he may play or joke or ignore me; but not once I get mad - maybe its something in my voice or my face - he knows (when that happens) I’m upset and he KNOWS he’s in trouble… and he changes his mind real quick.
I’m suspecting MOSES knows God is upset, and he realizes if he doesn’t change his mind he’s in trouble real quick.
God is a patient God… but there does come a time when He stops being patient. In 2 Peter 3:9 we’re told “The Lord … is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”
And Psalms 103:8 “The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy”
But Hebrews 3:7-8 warns us not to push that patience too far: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness, where your fathers put me to the test and saw my works for forty years. Therefore I was provoked with that generation, and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart; they have not known my ways.’ As I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall not enter my rest.’"
God is patient. But He won’t be patient forever. And (I think) Moses suddenly realized God’s patience had worn thin and maybe he needed to change his mind… like NOW!!!!
Now, that said I think maybe, there’s one more excuse Moses hadn’t used yet. I think there was a fear inside of Moses that God knew about. And God – knowing that this excuse might hinder Moses’ obedience, God had made plans to deal with Moses’ fear.
So, what was this fear? What was Moses’ last excuse? I think Moses’ last excuse was the very real fear of facing Pharaoh… all by himself. Before Moses gave in to God’s request that he go to Egypt, we read this: “Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Behold, he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth, and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will teach you both what to do. He shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be your mouth, and you shall be as God to him.” Exodus 4:14-16
So, did Aaron become Moses’ helper?
Exodus 4:29-31 Moses and Aaron brought together all the elders of the Israelites, and Aaron told them everything the LORD had said to Moses. He also performed the signs before the people, and they believed. And when they heard that the LORD was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshipped.
Exodus 7:8-10 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron "When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Perform a miracle,’ then say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh,’ and it will become a snake." So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the LORD commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a snake.
And these are just 2 - of the many times - that Aaron did exactly what God said he would do for Moses. Your brother Aaron shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be your mouth.
Now, you have to realize, Aaron was on his way long before God had even begun to talk to Moses at the Burning Bush. But why was Aaron on his way? Was it just a coincidence? I don’t think so. I think God had this planned all along. I think God knew what Moses needed in order to do the job. Moses needed a brother to stand beside him and encourage him.
And, what Moses needed - we do too. God doesn’t expect us to serve Him all by ourselves. Or, as the title of the sermon says “We Don’t Have To Go It Alone.”
ILLUS: They say that years ago older woman who had never been overseas, but she decided she wanted to do that before she died. So, she went to the Passport Office to prepare for her trip. The passport clerk said “Well, you have take the loyalty oath first. (If they ever did this years ago… they don’t do it anymore). Raise your right hand, please” said the clerk, and he asked the 1st question: “Do you swear to defend the Constitution of the United States against all its enemies, domestic or foreign?” The woman grew pale and looked a bit frightened, and in a quavering voice she asked: “All by myself?”
Now, she could be excused for saying: “Send someone else to do that.” But the “Loyalty Oath” wasn’t meaning to say she had to do that all by herself. It was asking her to join her voice WITH OTHERS in defending the United States of America.
In the same way, God doesn’t expect you and I to do our Christianity all by ourselves. We don’t have to go it alone!
Now granted, the Bible tells us we’re never alone. God is always with us and the Holy Spirit dwells inside of us who are Christian. And God repeatedly tells us “I’ll never leave you or forsake you.” (Hebrew 13:5) But even God KNOWS that we need others. That’s why – when God created Adam – He noted “It’s Not Good for the man to be alone” Genesis 2:18
In the same way, it’s not good for Christians to be “ALONE” either. That’s why God created the church. Hebrews 10:24-25 says “let us consider how we may spur one another on towards love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
WE NEED EACH OTHER.
Not only do YOU need others, but OTHERS need you. I saw this clever meme that said: “Now mama, you don’t have to go to church to go to heaven.” (and Mama replies) “Well, you don’t have to wear a parachute to jump out of an airplane either, but it certainly helps.”
When people say they don’t need to go to church, what they’re saying is: “I don’t need those other people in my life. I can be just as good a Christian without THEM.” But that’s not true. You CAN be a Christian without a Church, but you CAN’T be just as good without the church.
This principle here is powerfully illustrated in Ecclesiastes “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no-one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
In the church, God makes it so we can LIFT EACH OTHER UP when we fall. In the church, God makes it so that we KEEP EACH OTHER WARM in a cold world. In the church, God makes it so we DEFEND each other. In the church, God makes it so we won’t be BROKEN.
And this is a constant theme throughout Scripture. When Jesus sent out His disciples, He sent them two by two. When the Holy Spirit sent Paul out on his missionary journeys, did Paul have to do it by self? No. The Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul (later Paul) for the work to which I have called them." And later - Barnabas set out with John Mark for mission work and Paul set off with Silas. They always seem to have gone out in teams of two. Over and over again, when God’s people did God’s work, they had a team to back them up.
And that’s why we need others. We need others TO PICK US UP; we need others TO BACK US UP; WE NEED THE CHURCH! Because it takes all of us, working together, to be the Christians God called us to be.
ILLUS: Last Sunday night we watched a video that asked us to “Grip The Plow” (from the “Mantra” series – a five part video series by Kyle Idleman of the Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, KY). The speaker drove home the fact that too often people come to church… and don’t do anything. If something needs done for God, many church attenders essentially say “Send someone else – I don’t want to do that!”
But God’s people ought NEVER to say “Send someone else.” We ought to say – “Help me find someone who CAN do this work. Someone I can help and encourage to help me get this done.”
But we ought never to look on church as something SOMEONE ELSE should do. “Church” is what WE ALL ought to do… together. There’s an old saying “Many hands make for light work” which means: the more people working together to accomplish a task the quicker and easier it is to complete. We need to grip the plow, and do the work of God together.
ILLUS: In the last community I served in, there was another church in the area, made up mostly of older members. They were a dying congregation and everyone (including the preacher) knew it. But when he asked for volunteers to work in the Nursery when new families with children might come, he ran into resistance. “I’ve already served in this church. It’s time for me to sit back and rest.” Yep. They were going to die.
We need to grip the plow and do the work of God together.
CLOSE: Back in 1957 the First Brethren Church of Sarasota, FL had a groundbreaking service. But instead of having a couple of shovels that special people would use to dig up a little sod, they brought in an old one-horse plow. And recalling the words of Jesus, “Take my yoke upon you,” they borrowed an old yoke and hitched up two of their youngest and strongest members. And these men pulled and tugged and strained… but the two young men were unable to pull the plow. Then the entire Bldg. Committee grabbed hold of the rope, and they pulled and tugged and strained… but even they couldn’t get the plow to move. Next, other church officers grabbed the rope along with the Sunday school teachers. And they all pulled and tugged and strained… but still the plow wouldn’t move. Finally, every member of the congregation that was present took hold of the rope. And with every member pulling together, the plow moved and the ground was broken to build the church.
INVITATION
