1. Excuses
of Moses

2. But too often, we make excuses like Moses did.
Introduction
In response to God’s call to bring His people out of Egyptian bondage, Moses made excuses.
In in a similar way, we as Christians have been called to bring people out of the bondage of sin through the gospel (2 Tim. 2:24-26).
But too often, we make excuses like Moses did.
In this lesson, we will examine Moses’ excuses and how we can learn from God’s word so that we will have the courage to teach the lost (Romans 15:4).

3. Excuse #1- “Who am I?” (Ex. 3:11)
He had been a man of power and deeds when he was 40 (Acts 7:22-25), but now he’s 80 and a lowly shepherd (Ex. 3:1; 7:7).
Just as God promised to be with Moses (Ex. 3:13), Jesus guarantees that He will be with His obedient disciples (Matt. 28:19-20).
The uneducated and untrained disciples were transformed from fearful failures into fearless men (Mark 14:50,72; 16:10ff; Acts 4:13; 8:4).
If you feel inadequate, God can make you sufficient for serving him (2 Cor. 3:5-6).

4. Excuse #2- “What Shall I Say?” (Ex. 3:13)
God told Moses what to say (Ex. 3:14-17) and the Lord tells us what to preach to every creature in order to be saved (Mark 16:15-16).
We must have the conviction to study the Scriptures, learn from Jesus, and imitate Him. (John 6:44-45; 2 Tim. 2:15; 1 Pet. 3:14-15)
Pray for open doors for the gospel and wisdom to speak with clarity and grace (Col. 4:2-6).
You can invite others to come and learn about Jesus in our gospel meeting next week (John 1:39, 46; 4:29)

5. Excuse #3 “What if they don’t believe me?” (Ex. 4:1)
Moses is afraid people won’t listen and so are we.
God provided many convincing proofs to produce faith in him (Ex. 4:2-9).
The Lord worked with the disciples by confirming the word by signs (Mark 16:20).
We don’t need a miracle to have faith since we have the evidence of eyewitness testimony and fulfilled prophecy written down in His word so that we might believe and teach others (John 20:27-31; Rom. 10:17; Heb. 11:1; Pet. 1:19; Luke 24:25-27)

6. Excuse #4- “I am of slow of speech & slow of tongue (Ex. 4:10)
Moses uses this excuse two more times after the Israelites rejected him and Pharaoh makes the work harder, and even blames God (Ex. 5:21-23; 6:9-12; 6:30)
God reminds Moses that he made his mouth and gives him assurance (Ex. 4:11-12).
How many times have we said that we aren’t eloquent, we are too sinful, we were rejected, we suffered, and maybe even blame God?
God is able to use man’s weakness to His glory. (2 Cor. 10:10; 1 Cor. 1:26ff; 2:1-5; 3:6-8)

7. “Please send someone else” (Ex. 4:10)
The excuses were just a cover up to hide the truth that Moses didn’t really want to go.
God’s anger is kindled against him and He promises to send Aaron with him to be the mouthpiece for God (Ex. 4:11-16; 7:1-2).
If we are honest, we know that we make excuses because we don’t really want to obey the Lord at all times.
Realizing the terror of the Lord in judgment, we must confess Him before men or we will show that we are ashamed of him (2 Cor. 5:10-11; Mark 8:38; Rev. 21:8).

8. Conclusion
God was longsuffering with Moses, he obeyed the call, and with the Lord’s help delivered the people out of bondage.
What about us? Will we heed the call to preach the gospel to save lost souls (Rom. 1:16)?...
…or will we make excuses and suffer the consequences of eternal torment (Rev. 21:8)?
The Lord has promised to be with us (Rom. 8:31), He has taught us what to say (Mark 16:16), He has given His word to cast down all false arguments (2 Cor. 10:3-6), and eternal life if we obey Him (Heb. 5:8-9).