Call to Worship

Friends, let us worship God today, for God is great –

God has blessed us with life, with faith, and with community.
Let us worship God today, for God is good –
God forgives us, and encourages us, and loves us.
Let us worship God today because we are God’s people.
Let us worship God.

Sermon title: Faith and Objections

The Lord’s Prayer

Hymn: Blessed Assurance

(prayer requests) Prayer

Music: Song of Moses Aaron Keyes

Scripture: Exodus 3:4-14; 4:10-17

Beginning with some unsolicited, unneeded humor: this is my favorite Moses meme.

There were many reluctant people in the Bible. Let’s look at one, in the book of Jeremiah,
verses 1:4-6:
4 The word of the Lord came to me, saying,
5 “BeforeI formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I set you apart;
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
6 “Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.”

Even though Jeremiah was young, he had the spiritual maturity to realize that God was
speaking to him. But, when God spoke, Jeremiah did not immediately embrace His message, or
even understand his assignment.

Jeremiah responded with “Alas!” The Hebrew word here, a spontaneous reaction, suggests
pain. Even grief! He clearly was troubled about what he heard. He argued with God, and even
implied he might not cooperate. He felt unqualified and wondered if God had made a mistake.

Why? Because of his youth, and limited experience. And because he did “not know how to
speak.”
On the surface, we might think God would have been disappointed by this response. But, in
fact, Jeremiah was demonstrating characteristics that He wanted in a prophet.

God was not bothered by his reluctance: As became clear through Jeremiah’s ministry, God
wasn’t looking for a man with experience or worldly credentials. He wanted someone willing to
serve Him faithfully. Who would focus on the assignments he was given and deliver the
messages God gave him, regardless of how others reacted. Who was not afraid or intimidated
by rejection, but always trusted in Him. Who was committed to listen and obey Him.

Other reluctant servants in the Bible? There was Gideon, who was called and hid in a hole in the
ground. He asked God to prove Himself, with the fleece test; first make it wet, then make it dry.
He questioned fighting the Midianites with such a small Army, so God had him trim it down by
thousands. He questioned again, and God had him cut it down to 300. And he was victorious in
battle.

There was Queen Esther, who knew if the king, her husband, allowed Haman to get away with
killing all her people, she would die also, so fearing death either way, she went to her husband
and foiled Haman’s plot. As Saul, a persecutor of Christians, Paul at first reluctantly followed
Jesus, before starting many churches and writing much of the New Testament. Jonah was told
to go witness to the worst of people in Nineveh, and went in the opposite direction, ending up
in a whale before journeying to Ninevah.

We could add to the list Joshua, King Saul, Deborah, Nathaniel and others, but today as we look
at Moses’ reluctance and objections, we are reminded that God does not call the qualified, he
qualifies the called.

Most of us likely have doubts about our capabilities in some area. Christians are not exempt
from these feelings of doubt. Christian history is marked by reluctant leaders, struggling
centers, feeble doubters, and weak workers. God has accomplished his work through humans
despite their human limitations and failures.

We would all like to think that if we were asked by God to do something dramatic and difficult,
we would respond like Isaiah and say, “Here I am. Send me” (Isaiah 6: 8). It is interesting to note
that Moses also said, “Here I am!” If we are honest, however, we might be more like Moses in
Exodus 3:4 and respond to God with a laundry list of reasons why we may not be the best
person for the job.

There is, however, a difference between Moses’ and Isaiah's calling. When God spoke to Isaiah
in a vision, calling him to His service, Isaiah fell on his face – he was already aware of God's
perfect holiness. Moses, on the other hand, had to be told that the ground on which he was
standing was holy. In other words, Moses did not yet know God personally and as a result, the
task that God set out for him seemed too big. Today we will look at how God responds to each
of Moses’ excuses. In doing so, we will see that God's character, and not our own, empowers us
for His service. Even Isaiah was overwhelmed with his own sinfulness until God assured the
prophet of his presence and forgiveness. God doesn't use perfect people who can do great
things, but broken people he can display his greatness through.

Most of you know that my grandson, Jacob, his lived with me on and off for much of his life. In
his room, I had many motivational posters. Some people think these posters are cheesy, but the
fact that many people post them tells us something about ourselves. One of the reasons there
are so many motivational posters, quotes, and books is because we often doubt our ability to
succeed in life. Most motivational quotes and books encourage us to look to ourselves for the
strength necessary to succeed in life. When Moses was tasked with leading the Israelites out of
Egypt, he was overcome with self-doubt. God's response to Moses insecurities, however, was
not to challenge Moses to look to himself, but rather to challenge him to trust in God’s
sovereignty and power.

Now Moses started with his excuses. Moses said that he was inadequate in verses 10 and 11.
God promised to be with him. Moses claimed that he didn't know who God was in verses 13
and 14. God proclaimed himself as the great I am. Moses worried that the Israelites wouldn't
believe God had sent him in verses 1 through 9 of chapter 4, which we did not review today.
God showed Moses his miraculous power. Moses claimed he could not speak well in verses 10
through 13. God ask Moses who made your mouth and promised to give him the words to say.
Moses begged God to send someone else and verses 13 through 17. God's anger burned
against Moses, but nonetheless, God mercifully promised to send Aaron to help.

We will look again next week deeper into these excuses and Moses’ interaction with God. We
should thank God for calling week, sinful, broken people like us to himself. Thank him for loving
us even though we don't deserve it. Pray that God would deepen our understanding of who he
is such that you would live confidently for his Kingdom and glory. We should pray that God
would help us to not rely on our own strength, intelligence, or influence, but rather on his
perfect power and ever presents.

Do you want to be used by God? Learn from Jeremiah. Seek first His Kingdom in everything you
do. Be less concerned with the opinions of others but focused on obeying Him and fulfilling His
call. Fill your mind with His Word. Be sensitive to the leading of His Spirit. Be a good steward of
your resources. Trust in Him. Serve Him. Always seek to please Him.

Closing Words Romans 8:38-39; 2 Corinthians 13:14

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to
come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to
separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. May the grace of the Lord Jesus
Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen