Good morning.  This morning, we are going to address the issue of making excuses when God or the church asks us to do something.

Why is that we feel that we can offer excuses when it comes to things of the church that would be ridiculous if used anywhere else.  Have you ever wondered what would happen if people were as intense and committed and determined about church as they are about sports or any other number of activities?

Some years ago Moody Monthly ran a piece which included excuses that a person might use for quitting sports.  This is what Chuck Swindoll wrote in that article:

• Every time I went they asked for money.
• The people with whom I had to sit didn’t seem very friendly.
• The seats were too hard and uncomfortable.
• The coach never came to see me.
• The referee made a decision that I could not agree with.
• I was sitting with some hypocrites, they only came to see what others were wearing.
• Some games went into overtime, and I was late getting home or making it out to dinner.
• The band played songs that I had never heard before or didn’t like.
• The games were scheduled when I wanted to do other things.
• My parents took me to too many games when I was growing up.
• I read a book on sports, I feel that I know more than the coaches anyhow.
• I don’t want to take my children, because I want them to choose for themselves what sport they like best.

Now, as we take a look at Moses today, you need to know a little background to what we are going to be reading today.  You need to know that in Exodus chapter 3, God tells Moses that He has heard the cry of Israel for deliverance and that He is now ready to deliver them.  Then the surprise comes in verse 10 when God says, “So now, go!  I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring My people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.”

And it is here that we pick up with today’s passage.  We are going to see today that when God confronts Moses with a call he offers, excuses instead of service.  Have you ever responded in that way?  You give an excuse instead of simply serving in some way.

• You’re asked to teach a class, and the excuses start.
• You’re asked to serve in the nursery, and the excuses start.
• God put in on your heart to share your faith with a friend or neighbor, and immediately, you begin to make excuses.
• You’re made aware of someone with a need that you could provide, and the excuses start.
• In fact, if you’re asked to do just about anything for the Lord, it is easy for the excuses to begin.

The excuses most often used are things like I’m too busy, I’m already doing this, get someone better qualified for the job, and the list goes on of excuses that are used to get out of serving God.

Sometimes our excuses pile up and get in the way of doing something for God.  I read a humorous story about some soldiers on furlough that I think illustrates this point.  The commanding officer was furious when 9 of his men who had been out on passes failed to show up for morning roll call.  Not until 7 p.m. did the first man straggle in.  “I’m sorry, sir,” the soldier explained, “but I had a date and lost track of time, and I missed the bus back.  Being determined to get in on time, I hired a cab.  Halfway here, the cab broke down.  I went to a farmhouse and persuaded the farmer to sell me a horse.  I was riding to camp when the animal fell over dead.  I walked the last 10 miles, and just got here.”

Though skeptical, the commanding officer let the young man off with a reprimand.  However, after him, 7 other stragglers in a row came in with the same story.  Had a date, missed the bus, hired a cab, bought a horse, horse died, walked the last 1 miles to camp.  By the time the 9 man reported in, the commanding officer had grown tired of it.

“Okay,” he growled, “now what happened to you?”  “Sir, I had this date and missed the bus back, so I hired a cab.”  “Wait!” the commanding officer yelled at him.  “Don’t tell me the cab broke down.”  “No, sir,” replied the soldier.  “The cab didn’t break down.  It was just that there were so many dead horses in the road, we had trouble getting through.”

Excuses!  We all have them, and we use them at all different times, for many different reasons.  And sometimes our excuses hold us back from accomplishing anything for God.  And as we take a look at Moses today, we find that Moses had his “reasons” for not following the call of God.  Moses begins a series of 5 “reasons” or excuses to help demonstrate why he couldn’t d what it was that God wanted him to do.  But the neat thing is, that God had given him the call to do something, and he also equipped him to be able to do it.  For each of Moses’ excuses, God gives him are reason why he can do it.  If you have your Bibles with you, go ahead and turn with me to Exodus 3:11, and hold that spot, because we will be working our way through a couple of chapters there.

Now, before we take a look at the excuses that Moses gave to God, allow me to open our time with a word of prayer.  Let’s Pray!

Excuse # 1 – The “Who Me” Excuse:

The first excuse that Moses offers is kind of pitiful, but see if it doesn’t sound like something that you may have said to God before.  Verse 11 says, “But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

Now, Moses no doubt remembers his earlier failures in life.  Stephen relates the story in chapter 7 of the Book of Acts.  In Act 7:23-29 it says, “1”

You see, when Moses tried this deliverance thing 40 years earlier, he was neither believed nor listened to.  If they did not believe Moses 40 years ago, why should they believe him now?  It is a terrible thing to believe that when we speak that no one is going to listen to us or believe us.  But the past is redeemable.  We may feel that everything is set in concrete.  But the truth is that things change.  People change.  We change.  But what Moses had failed to realize is that the people of Israel and he himself are at a different spiritual place than they were 40 years earlier.  Moses is terrified of being rejected and feeling like a failure once again.

But watch how God answers Moses in the next verse.  In verse 12, God says, “I will be with you.  And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.”  And so in this we learn that God was going to be with Moses.

So, Moses’ first excuse expressed doubt in himself.  But his second excuse unfortunately, expresses doubt in God.

Excuse # 2 – The “By What Authority” Excuse:

Look at verses 13-15.  In verse 13 it says, “Then Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, “The God of your fathers has sent me to you,” and they ask me, “What is His name?”  Then what shall I tell them?”

You know what, Moses was struggling with something that we all deal with.  He wasn’t sure that he knew enough.  He didn’t know what he would tell people when they asked about God.  But guess what, God didn’t ask Moses to go and explain all that he didn’t know about God.  He just asked him to go and explain what he did know!

God’s response is found in verse 14 and 15.  In those verses, it says, “God said to Moses, “I am who I am.  This is what you are to say to the Israelites: “I Am has sent me to you.”  God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, “The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.”  This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered form generation to generation.”

God says, “I am who I am.”  God told Moses it doesn’t have to do with who you are but with who I am.  In any conflict it is important to know who is sending you into battle.  And when God tells Moses that “I am who I am” He is literally saying that “I am He who was, and is and always shall be!” or “I will continue to be what I have always been.”  So, Moses questions the authority that he will have, and God tells him it is Me that is sending you, so go!

Excuse # 3 – The “What Ifs” Excuse:

As we move on to chapter 4, take a look at verses 1-9 with me.  Here in Exodus 4:1 it says, “Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, “The Lord did not appear to you?”

Moses’ third excuse began with the words, “What if…”  “But what if they ask me a question that I don’t have an answer to?”  Have you ever used that as an excuse for not sharing your faith?  “I would but I am not an expert on the Bible, they might ask me a question that I don’t know the answer to.”  What if this happens, or what if that happens?

What ifs are victory killers.  Moses was so concerned about what MIGHT happen, that he didn’t hear what God said WOULD happen.  And so God gave Moses 3 proofs.

First, his staff turns to a serpent and back again.  In verses 2-5 it says, “2”

It is important to note that God did not ask Moses to use something that he doesn’t have.  God asks Moses, “What is in your hand?”  God uses what we have, and has never demanded from us what we don’t have.  We will never know the full potential of what can be done unless we are willing to offer it to God.  God is not looking for ability, He is looking for availability.

When God calls we are tempted to put our assets and abilities in one column and limitations and liabilities in another to determine if we can indeed do what God has called us to do.  God is not interested in that.  God often allows us to enter a place where we feel confident and when we flounder and fail, and then He puts us into an area where we feel inadequate and we are forced to depend on Him, we discover that He uses us.

God’s command to Moses is simple, “Throw it down.”  Okay that’s simple.  And he throws it down.  Because of his obedience it becomes a serpent.  And now the LORD says, “Pick it up.”  Now that is difficult enough but God says, “Pick it up by the tail.”

Now, everyone knows that that is not the way you pick up a snake.  So that was difficult but Moses obeyed and the snake again became a rod, and his faith is strengthened.  So, the staff becomes a serpent and then back to a staff again.

Secondly, Moses is given the signs of his hand being made leprous then clean again.  Verses 6 and 7 says, “Then the Lord said, “Put your hand inside your cloak.”  So Moses put his hand into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was leprous, like snow.  “Now put it  back into your cloak,” He said.  So Moses put his hand back into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored, like the rest of his flesh.”

So, Moses has all of these what if they don’t believe me’s, and so God causes his hand to change to being leprous, and then back to clean again.

And then the final proof that God gives to Moses is that he has the ability to turn water into blood.  In verses 8 and 9 it says, “Then the Lord said, “If they do not believe you or pay attention to the first miraculous sign, they may believe the second.  But if they do not believe these two signs or listen to you, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground.  The water you take from the river will become blood on the ground.”

So again, God does some miraculous sing through Moses to show that God’s authority has sent him.  So, Moses has all of these what ifs, and God gives him some proof, and says, “Here are some miracles that you can perform.”

Now, God has thus far revealed Himself to Moses, told Moses of His desire to deliver the Israelite  people, has promised him success, and has now given him 3 signs that the people will believe him.  Despite all this revelation, it is not enough for Moses.  He still has a couple more excuses for God as to why he can’t do it.

Excuse # 4 – The “But Lord, I Don’t Speak Well” Excuse:

In verses 10-12 it says, “2”

Moses now says, “I am not a good enough speaker.  I talk funny.”  He may have been slow of tongue but he seems fast enough with the excuses.  That seems odd in the fact that Stephen indicated in Acts chapter 7:22 that Moses in his first 40 years of his life in Egypt was a man “mighty in words and deeds.”

So, the LORD responds to Moses in verses 11-12 when He says, “The LORD said to him, “Who gave man his mouth?  Who makes him deaf or mute?  Who gives him sight or makes him blind?  Is it not I, the Lord?  Now go, I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”

You see, our inadequacies are not problem for God, He made us the way that we are for a purpose.  But if we don’t make ourselves available to His plans, then God’s plan for our lives cannot go forward.  So Moses tried to use the “I don’t speak well” excuse.  And finally,

Excuse # 5 – The “Send Someone Else” Excuse:

In verse 13, Moses says, “O Lord, please send someone else to do it.”

No matter what, signs or promises that God gives to be with him, Moses does not want to go!  This last excuse was not based on even the smallest shred of a reason.  Moses just doesn’t want to do it.  Moses is simply putting his foot down and telling God, “No!”

Then in verse 14 it says, “Then the Lord’s anger burned against Moses …”  Put this down in your notes, get it in your head, sink this truth into your heart.  God becomes angry at our excuses.  His blessings are withdrawn from those who whine.  Its not because the Lord has patience for 4 question but 5 is one too many.  Moses is refusing to trust God’s answer.  When Moses begs God to send someone else, he is in effect telling the Lord, “I don’t trust you.”  And that made God angry.

The Lord’s anger burned against Moses.  The sin of excuses will someday come to judgment.  Standing before our Judge, our excuses will be all gone, and we will be standing in the truth.

In the later part of verse 14 God says to Moses, “ …. What about your brother, Aaron the Levite?  I know he can speak well.  He is already on his way to meet you, and his heart will be glad when he sees you.  You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do.  He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him.  But take this staff in your hand so you can perform miraculous sings with it.”

God accommodated Moses’ lack of faith.  Moses was God’s man for the job but He told Moses that his brother Aaron would be allowed to assist him.  Once the children of Israel left Egypt, Aaron got his brother and the children of Israel into serious trouble.  It was Aaron who led the children of Israel in making an idol while Moses was on Mt. Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments.

So, Moses says send someone else, and God gives him a partner to go along in the journey with him.

Later we see the breakthrough.  Moses finally responds in Obedience!  Exodus 4:20 it says, “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.  Over 2 Million Israelites under Moses’ leading eventually walked out of the land of slavery.  When we walk in obedience, we too will touch the lives of those around us.

So let me leave you with this final thought today.  Dr. B. J. Miller 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.  The idea behind most of our excuses is not really a lack of ability.  Is the real issue is, “I can’t,” or “I 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.  We need to stop making excuses in our lives.  Because the sooner we accept the truth the sooner we can make changes in our lives and truly honor God in all that we say and do.

Let’s Pray!