God’s Answers for Our Excuses
Exodus 3:9 –4:13
Introduction:
Ex. 3:9-10 – Exodus records God’s calling of Moses to lead His people out of bondage in Egypt.
Matt. 28:18-20 – Jesus also calls us to GO and lead his children out of bondage today. Not a physical slavery, but a slavery to sin. Even though we may not see a burning bush, this call is still individual – for every one of us. It’s true that some people are called to work full time in the ministry, but EVERY believer has a responsibility to do their part in witnessing and sharing the Good News of Jesus with those around them. YOU are called to GO into your world and make disciples, followers of Jesus.
Moses answered God with 4 excuses why he couldn’t do what God had called him to do. In return, God gave an answer for each one of Moses’ excuses – leaving him with no excuse not to do what he was called to do.
Sometimes we come up with the same of the same excuses not to do what God has called us to do. Even when we in our minds and hearts, we have said yes, we will fulfill God’s call to witness, often times when the specific opportunities come, we come up with some reasons why we can’t witness to that person.
Jesus also gives us the same answers that God gave to Moses. Jesus explains why with His help, you CAN fulfill God’s call to witness.
Let’s examine the 4 excuses and especially God’s answer to those excuses in detail.
#1 – I am nobody.
Moses’ excuse: (3:11) Moses said that he couldn’t fulfill God’s call for him, because he was a nobody. While he had once been a prince, he was now just an insignificant shepherd living out in the desert. Who was he to go to someone so powerful and prestigious as the pharaoh, the ruler of what was then the world’s greatest and most powerful nation.
God’s answer: First it is important to note that God did not deny Moses’ insignificance. He did not question the fact that compared with the greatness of the Pharaoh, Moses was a nobody. But God answered in (3:12a) that He would go with Moses. It didn’t matter how insignificant Moses was, or more importantly, how powerful the Pharaoh was, because the One who Himself made this earth, the All-Powerful Creator God promised that he would go with Moses. It wasn’t little, nobody Moses challenging the powerful Pharaoh, but it was little, nobody Moses and Big, Somebody God together saying to the Pharaoh, “Let my people Go.”
Our excuse: Sometimes we have the same excuse, when God calls us to witness to somebody. We compare ourselves with that person, and say, but I’m nobody compared with them. They’re the boss, or they’re very educated and smart, or they are powerful, and I’m not. Just like Moses, we sometimes say, I can’t fulfill God’s call for me, because I’m a nobody.
Jesus Answer: Again God does not deny what is sometimes the truth, that we really are nobody. But in the same passage we’ve already read Mt. 28:20, Jesus says, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Jesus says the same thing to us that God said to Moses, you can go because it is not you alone that is going, but it is you and God Himself going. When God calls you to share the Gospel with someone more significant than you, remember it is not just little, nobody you going to them, but it is little, nobody you and the Big, Somebody God going together. The evangelist A.E. Shuttlesworth sums it up well when he says, “When a nobody meets a somebody, he can begin to touch everybody.” You can fulfill God’s call to witness, even to those who are above you, because Jesus promises that He will go with you.
Illustration: Gideon – Judges 6:14-16. The Lord told Gideon to go out and fight against His enemies and win freedom for His people. Gideon’s response was that he was the lowest of the low. He was the least in his family and his tribe was the weakest in Manasseh. God’s response to Gideon, was the same as to Moses and to us. God said, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together.” It didn’t matter that Gideon was insignificant. Why? Once again, it was because God promised to go with him.
Application: God promises that He will go with you to fulfill His command to witness, but He won’t go for you. We have to take the initiative and go. If you haven’t experienced God being true to His word to go with you, maybe it’s because you haven’t gone. It doesn’t matter how insignificant you are, and it doesn’t matter how important the person is that you’re witnessing to. God has promised that you CAN fulfill his call to witness because He will go with you.
#2 – I have no authority.
Moses’ Excuse (3:13): Moses second excuse was that he didn’t have the authority to go. In that time, a name was more significant than it is today. The name included the entire character and authority of the person. So when Moses says that they will ask “What is his name?” his fear is that they will ask in whose authority he is coming. Of all the excuses Moses had, this one seems to be the most legitimate on the surface, because he had already tried to help his people, in his own strength, and their response (2:14) was “Who made you ruler and judge over us?” So Moses was only saying that they would have the same issue they had before.
God’s Answer (3:14-16): Once again, God did not challenge Moses’ thought that in himself, he did not have the authority to lead His people. In fact, that the was problem before, was that Moses’ had done it on his own authority. But instead God tells him that he is going under the authority of God Himself. He says, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.” If they have any question as to who this God is, He goes on to clarify that He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and that He was sending Moses. So Moses did not have to worry about his lack of authority, because he was going in the authority of God of the Universe.
Our excuse: Sometimes we have the same excuse. People will think that we are arrogant to think that we have the only truth. People will say, “Who are you to tell me that I’m going to hell?” or “that I’m wrong?” We think that we cannot witness, because we even think that we don’t have the right to push our religion on other people.
Jesus’ Answer: Jesus, once again, gives the same answer to this excuse that God gave to Moses. Again, he doesn’t deny that we ourselves don’t have the authority to confront people, but in Mark 16:17, in the same context of the Great Commission, Jesus says, “IN my name they will …” Once again, wrapped up in the statement, “In my name.” is “in my authority” and “in my power.” Jesus promises us that when we witness, we go not in our own strength and authority, but in his strength and authority. You can fulfill God’s call to witness, because you don’t have to go in our your own authority, but you can go in the NAME of Jesus.
Example: David and Goliath – 1 Sam. 17:45 – David was going up against an enemy of far greater strength than himself, but when he came at Goliath he said, “You come against me with the sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty…” Goliath had a lot of physical strength and authority, and if David had tried to come against him with the same, he would have failed. But he had something far more powerful, he had the backing and authority of God, Himself.
Application: God has promised that you can fulfill His call to witness, because you can go in His name, in His strength and authority. Sometimes we try to go in our strength, or our own pride. Sometimes we go trying to build up our own little Kingdom instead of the Kingdom of God. Many people are trying to make a Name for themselves, but when they do they only have their strength to rely on. If you will step out, humbly, and work to build God’s Kingdom, you can fulfill God’s call because He will give you His own authority and power.
#3 – They won’t believe me
Moses’ excuse (4:1): Moses’ next excuse was that even after he told the people that God had sent him, they wouldn’t believe him. He thought maybe they would think he had either made it all up, or that he was crazy. Maybe they would think that he was seeing mirages out in the desert. The story would be, he thought, just a little hard for the people to swallow, and it involved taking a big risk. Note, that this fear was not that the Pharaoh wouldn’t believe him, but that the people themselves who he was trying to free wouldn’t believe him.
God’s answer (4:2-9): God did not deny Moses’ claim that the people wouldn’t believe his story, because God knows that people love to doubt. Instead, He promises that He will convince the people. He lists three miraculous signs that he will perform, turning the rod into a serpent, making the hand leprous, and turning water into blood, to convince the people that Moses was in fact sent by God. The fact that He gives more than one sign shows that He will do whatever it takes to convince the people. He is saying to Moses that it is not his job to convince the people, only to tell them, and then God will do the convincing.
Our excuse: We also often think that people will not believe our message when we witness. Especially today, many people deny our basic beliefs, and many people even think that we are crazy to believe what we do. More and more the world is coming to the place where they question every word of truth that we try to give to them. So sometimes it is easy to give in to the temptation not to witness, because, “They’re not going to believe it anyway.”
Jesus’ Answer: Jesus does not deny that people will not believe us. In fact, he already knew that people would not believe our words, so he made provision for it. In the same passage of Mark 16:17-18, Jesus lists signs that will follow believers. Notice that these miraculous signs are not to convince the enemy, because he was already convinced once-for-all 2000 years ago on the cross. But the purpose of miracles is to convince the people we are trying to free, the lost of this world, of the truth of Gospel. It is not our responsibility to convince people that our message is true – even though we should, to the best of our ability be ready to give an explanation – but when we do our job – to tell the message, God will do what it takes to convince the people of the truth of the message.
Example: Elijah on Mt. Carmel – 1 Kings 18:30-39 – Elijah was faced with a similar situation, because people chose not to believe in God, but instead to believe in Baal. Through a miraculous sign of the fire of God coming down from heaven to consume the sacrifice, when the prophets of Baal could not do it, the people were convinced (v. 39) that Yahweh is God. When Elijah spoke the Word of God to the people faithfully, God was faithful to back up the words with a miraculous sign.
Application – God promises that if you will witness – even to an unbelieving people – he will confirm the word with accompanying signs (Mk. 16:20). You don’t have to worry about people not believing you, because God will convince them. If you will step out in faith and unashamedly tell the Gospel of Jesus, even those who do not believe will become convinced, because God Himself will do the convincing.
#4 – I am incapable
Moses’ excuse (4:10): Moses’ specific excuse here was that he had a speech impediment. Here God was telling him to go and speak to this powerful Pharaoh and he was unable to speak properly, which would make him seem foolish. He felt the need to remind God that he was physically incapable of doing what God had command for him to do.
God’s Answer: God, of course, did not deny Moses’ speech problem, but instead reminded Moses that He was the one who had created Moses’ mouth. This fact relays two truths. First, as the creator, if God could make a mouth, certainly he could fix one – or make provision for one. Second, God was reminding him that as the omnipotent God, he had created Moses’ mouth the way He because He wanted it that way. What Moses saw as a flaw was really a part of God’s perfect design. God does make provision for this incapability of Moses by providing Aaron, his brother, to be his spokesman. God also promises Moses that He will help him to speak and will teach him what to say. So, while the specific answer to the specific need is the provision of Aaron, what God is saying is that He will make provision for incapabilities.
Our excuse: We also sometimes feel like we are incapable. Like Moses, we don’t know what to say, or how to say it. Maybe you missed the Bible studies on evangelism and really don’t have any clue what to say. Or maybe you’re shy and think that you are incapable of speaking to people.
Jesus’ Answer: Jesus also promises us that he will make provision for our incapabilities. Matt. 10:18-20. Jesus told his disciples that in their Kingdom work they would be brought before many important people – kings and rulers – but they were not to worry about what they would say in those times, because His spirit would speak through them. Jesus promised them, and promises us, that when we find ourselves in situation we aren’t capable of handling, we don’t have to worry, because He will make provision for our incapabilities.
Example: Peter – We know that Peter, just before Christ’s death, rejected Him three times. He was incapable of speaking up for Jesus. However, in Acts 2, he became the first preacher and evangelist of the new church. So what was the difference? The Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit overcame Peter’s incapabilities and made them his capabilities.
Application: Through the power of the Holy Spirit, God will also overcome whatever incapabilities you may have and enable you to fulfill God’s call to witness. But he won’t speak for you. You must take the initiative and open your mouth to speak. If you will take the step of faith and open your mouth, the Holy Spirit will give you the words to say.
Conclusion:
c. 1997
