SERMON

1. SERMON ELDER JOSEPH I. ADAMS

2. TEXT EXODUS 3:10-15, 4:1-17

3. TOPIC EXCUSES INSTEAD OF SERVICE TO GOD

4. BACKGROUND This is the story of Moses and the burning bush. He gave five (5) excuses when God was sending him to go to Egypt and free Israelites from bondage. Excuse could be a tactical refusal to carry out a task or an assignment.

5. Why do Christians offer excuses when it comes to things of the church that would be ridiculous if used anywhere else, like in our places of work or businesses? Have you ever wondered what would happen if people were as intense and committed and determined about church as they are about politics, sports or any number of other pastimes.

6. You need to remember that in Exodus 3: 7-8, we have seen God tell Moses that he has heard the cry of Israel for deliverance and that He is now ready to deliver them.

7. Then the surprise came in verse 10 when God said, “Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” We are going to see today that when God confronts Moses with a call he offers, “Excuses Instead of Service.”

8. Have you ever responded that way? * God put in your heart to share your faith with a friend or neighbour – the excuses start.* You’re made aware of someone with a need that you could provide – the excuses start.* In fact if you’re given a position of leadership for the Lord - the excuses start. “I’m too busy, I’m already doing this, get someone else.”

9. APPLICATION Moses had his “reasons” for not following the call of God. Moses begins a series of five Excuses (reasons) to demonstrate sufficient weakness so as not to be responsible for the call which God had given him.

10. "I'm a nobody" (3:11-12). What Moses thought of himself, or what others thought of Moses, really wasn't important. God had spoken and that was all Moses needed for assurance that he was the right man for the job. Had forty years of shepherding so quenched the fire in his soul that he didn't think he could serve the Lord?

11. Why was he looking at himself instead of looking by faith to the Lord? "I will be with you" is all the assurance God's servants need in order to succeed (Josh 1:5). Can a politician say I‘m a no body to a political assignment.

12. "I don't know Your name" (v. 13-22). As the representative of God, Moses had to be able to disclose His character to the Jewish people. Of course, God's name "Jehovah" had been known centuries ago (Gen 4:26) and was familiar to the patriarchs. What Moses asked was, "What does Your name mean?

13. What kind of a God are You?" God explained that the name Jehovah is a dynamic name, based on the Hebrew verb "to be" or "to become." He is the self-existent One who always was, always is, and always will be, the faithful and dependable God who calls Himself "I AM."

14. 14 Centuries later, Jesus took the name "I AM" and complete it: "I am the bread of life" (John 6:35), "I am the light of the world" (8:12), "I am the true vine" (15:1), and so on.

15. "The elders won't believe me" (4:1-9). "They will not believe" really means "I do not believe." Moses was concerned about his credentials before the Jewish elders, so God gave him three signs to convince the elders that he was truly God's chosen servant. "The Jews require a sign" (1 Cor 1:22).From now on, Moses will experience God's power and work miracles.

16. "I'm not a fluent speaker" (4:10-12). Moses completely missed the message of God's name and God's miraculous power. "I AM" is all that we need in every circumstance of life, and it's foolish for us to argue, "I am not." If God can turn rods into serpents and serpents into rods, if He can cause and cure leprosy, and if He can turn water into blood, then He can enable Moses to speak His Word with power.(Vs 15)

17. Moses was making the mistake of looking at himself instead of looking to God (6:12). The God who made us is able to use the gifts and abilities He's given us to accomplish the tasks He assigns to us.

18. Was Moses manifesting an attitude of pride or true humility? Forty years before, he felt perfectly adequate to face the enemy and act on behalf of his people, but now he's backing off and professing himself to be a worthless failure. But humility isn't thinking poorly of ourselves; it's simply not thinking of ourselves at all but making God everything.

19. The humble servant thinks only of God's will and God's glory, not his or her own inadequacy, success, or failure. Moses was clothing his pride and unbelief in a hollow confession of weakness.

20. "Somebody else can do it better" (4:13-17). "O Lord, please send someone else to do it" (v. 13, NIV). Moses calls Him "Lord" and yet refuses to obey His orders (Luke 6:46; Acts 10:14). Most of us understand that attitude because we've made the same mistake. If God isn't Lord of all, He isn't Lord at all. God was angry at this moment and had to ask Aaron to go with Moses.

21. CONCLUSION Now we see the breakthrough. Moses finally responds in Obedience! Exodus 4:20: “So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey and started back to Egypt. And he took the staff of God in his hand.” Moses ultimately did as the Lord asked. Think of the lives that he touched because of his obedience.

22. Over 2 Million Israelites under Moses eventually walked out of the land of slavery. When we walk in obedience, we too will touch the lives of those around us. Let me leave us with this final thought, somebody once said, "It is a great deal easier to do that which God gives us to do, no matter how hard it is, than to face the responsibilities of not doing it." The cost of obedience is nothing when compared with the cost of disobedience.

23. Can’t or Won’t? Christians need to be very careful which one they choose. Although we often choose to say we can’t it really is a case of I won’t. Is your excuse “I can’t” or “I won’t?” Let’s face facts when we refuse to follow the Lord, it is because we won’t…we disobey because we choose to… not because we have to. The sooner we accept the truth the sooner we can make a change.

24. Intricately involved in God’s calling, is God’s Plan. Now listen carefully to what I am about to say or you may not understand. God has a plan but He never expects you to carry out the plan. He is going to carry it out Himself. He simply wants you to make yourself available as His instrument. After all it is His reputation that is at stake, not yours.

25. I pray that 2014 will be a year of faithful service to God for all of us and not a year of Excuses, because the Almighty knows our capability. I wish you a prosperous New Year.