INEXCUSABLE EXCUSES

(Moses’ Excuses, God’s responses)

Exodus 4:10-17

 

by: Sis. Diane Leonardo

 

The previous chapters and verses before our text today mentioned God’s different miracles shown to the life of Moses. E.g. his rod turning into a snake, his hand being placed in the bosom and became leprous yet God turned it back to normal and a lot more. Nevertheless, despite countless miracles, Moses still had a couple of excuses.

 

1.     Moses’s 1^st excuse: Being ineloquent

 

¹⁰ Then Moses said to the Lord, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.”

 

Moses looked at his own strength and abilities. He found himself so incapable of doing God’s work because of his own little excuse. In our lives, we tend to rate our own selves by saying “I cannot mentor someone because I’m not a good people person in the first place”. Yet God has a different view every time He looks at our individual weaknesses. To Him, it is an opportunity to make use of our weaknesses for His glory. We can always qualify to do God’s work through His grace not by our own strength and abilities. Again, as the famous saying that goes “God did not call the qualified, rather, He qualifies the called”.

 God’s response: Encouragement

 

¹¹ So the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord? ¹² Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say.”

 God explained and showed to Moses that He was the Maker, Author and Owner of everything. We should not worry. God is always on the positive side. He is always an encourager and a lifter at times that we want to back out from our walk with Him. God encouraged Moses with a promise that He will be with His mouth, teaching him what to say.

 

¹² Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say.”

 

2.    Moses 2^nd excuse: Unwillingness due to unbelief and inadequacy

 

¹³ But he said, “O my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever else You may send.”

 Moses wasn’t convinced on God’s first encouragement. He had a disbelieving heart, to the point of suggesting God to give the work to someone else. We tend to behave like Moses several times in our lives and pass on to someone the tasks that must be done by us. We try to “appreciate” the suggested person to cover our own weaknesses and inadequacies.

 

“Lord, di ko kayang i-mentor si…., si sister/brother na lang Lord…, magaling naman sya eh.”

 

God’s response: Support in spite of anger

 

¹⁴ So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses, and He said: “Is not Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well. And look, he is also coming out to meet you. When he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. ¹⁵ Now you shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth. And I will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and I will teach you what you shall do. ¹⁶ So he shall be your spokesman to the people. And he himself shall be as a mouth for you, and you shall be to him as God. ¹⁷ And you shall take this rod in your hand, with which you shall do the signs.”

 God is a good example of having good character. Despite Moses’ excuses, He supported him all the way through.

 

2 things are being emphasized here:

 

1.       Continue supporting someone even during the time of anger and after getting angry on the person (huwag iwasan ang tao)

 

2.       Provide someone who could encourage and support the appointed person (huwag pabayaan)

 He said in verse 15:

 

¹⁵…And I will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and I will teach you what you shall do.

 In the world of mentorship, support is one of the key ingredients to successfully disciple someone. It is our responsibility to patiently teach until we find the fruit of our labor. This is called “taking responsibility”. God continues on by giving more encouragement.

 

¹⁶ So he shall be your spokesman to the people. And he himself shall be as a mouth for you, and you shall be to him as God. ¹⁷ And you shall take this rod in your hand, with which you shall do the signs.”

 In present times, the one or more of the following are our excuses:

 

Ten Most Used Excuses:

1. I forgot.
2. No one told me to go ahead. 
3. I didn't think it was that important.
4. Wait until the boss comes back and ask him. 
5. I didn't know you were in a hurry for it. 
6. That's the way we've always done it. 
7. That's not in my department. 
8. How was I to know this was different? 
9. I'm waiting for an O.K. 
10. That's his job--not mine.

 

Bits & Pieces, November, 1989, p. 18.

 

Conclusion:        Our weakness and His strength

 

Let me conclude my message with this beautiful illustration:

 

The folklore surrounding Poland's famous concert pianist and prime minister, Ignace Paderewski, includes this story:

A mother, wishing to encourage her young son's progress at the piano, bought tickets for a Paderewski performance. When the night arrived, they found their seats near the front of the hall and eyed the majestic Steinway piano waiting on the stage.

 

Soon the mother found a friend to talk to, and the boy slipped away. When 8 pm arrived, the spotlights came on, the audience quieted, and only then did they notice the boy up on stage sitting at the bench, innocently picking out, "Twinkle, twinkle little star."

 

His mother gasped, but before she could retrieve her son, the master appeared on the stage and quickly moved to the keyboard. "Don't quit - keep playing," he whispered to the boy.

 Leaning over, the master reached down with his left hand and began filling in the bass part. Soon his right arm reached around the other side, encircling the child, to add a running obligato. Together, the old master and the young novice held the crowd mesmerized.

 

In our lives, unpolished though they may be, it is the Master who surrounds us and whispers in our ear, time and time again, "Don't quit, keep playing." And as we do, he augments and supplements until a work of amazing beauty is created.                                            http://www.sermonideas.net

PURPOSE OF PAUL’S PRAYER

(How To Pray Like An Apostle)

Ephesians 1:15-23

by: Pastor Edward Vincent J. Barcial

 Dr. D. Stuart Briscoe, an evangelical Christian author, international speaker and the former senior pastor of Elmbrook Church, in Brookfield, Wisconsin  once said, “When our children were small and we were trying to teach them to pray, we had three kinds of prayer: "Please prayers," Thank you prayers," and "Sorry prayers."  (S. Briscoe, Getting into God, p. 55).

 Perhaps most of us grew up with this concept of praying:  Asking, Thanking and Repenting. Most of our prayers revolve around us and our needs. Many Christians come to me for prayers for various needs and requests for jobs, favor, provision, etc.  Somehow prayer for most is a means to acquire material things and to get things done our way. 

Not so with the Apostle Paul.  His prayer for the Ephesian Church has nothing to do with their material needs. Let us examine three things involving his prayer for the saints.

Ephesians 1:15-23 (NKJV)

Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers:

 1)                  Revelation of God

17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him,

 Firstly, Paul prayed that God is revealed in their lives.  Since God is the source of all things, it is quite important that the saints should know Him first.  Wisdom requires that we should know God through revelation.

 Edward McKendree Bounds (August 15, 1835 – August 24, 1913), a clergyman of the Methodist Episcopal Church South and author of eleven books, nine of which focused on the subject of prayer, wrote, “The central significance of prayer is not in the things that happen as results, but in the deepening intimacy and unhurried communion with God at His central throne of control in order to discover a "sense of God's need in order to call on God's help to meet that need"   ( E.M. Bounds, The Weapon Of Prayer).

Prayer is supposed to expose us to God’s heart so we would know His needs and ask for His power to fulfill His will here on earth. It is not the other way around. Prayer should result in a deeper closeness to our Master so we can feel His heartbeat.  Even if we didn’t get our prayers answered, we will walk out of the prayer closet with the knowledge of His love and will.

 2)                  Reward Of God

18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,

 Because we are so blind to the truth of His heavenly kingdom and the rewards that God has reserved for us His children, we tend to crave for the things of this earth in a way that we think that it will make us happy. With our spiritual eyes wide open, upon seeing the glory that awaits us, the things that we first thought that should fulfill us no longer become an obsession, but a deep peace and content will dwell in our hearts, asking for nothing more than His presence. David said, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want” (Psalm 23).

 In his book “The Weight of Glory”, C. S. Lewis notes how believers often underestimate the full riches God has for His children. He said, "...If we consider...the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."

3)                  Rule Of God

¹⁹ and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power ²⁰ which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. 22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

 Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “Your Kingdom come, let Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt 6:10).  Prayer should make us feel His power and authority over our lives.  God is not like a genie that lives in a lamp that you rub in a certain way to get your three wishes.  He is Lord over all!  He is the master and we are the servants.  Our prayers should put all things under His feet, including our hopes, dreams, plans, desires and even the devil himself!

Eli Stanley Jones (1884–1973) ,a 20th century Methodist Christian missionary and theologian, said, “Prayer is surrender--surrender to the will of God and cooperation with that will. If I throw out a boathook from the boat and catch hold of the shore and pull, do I pull the shore to me, or do I pull myself to the shore? Prayer is not pulling God to my will, but the aligning of my will to the will of God. (E. Stanley Jones, Liberating Ministry From The Success Syndrome, K Hughes, Tyndale, 1988, p. 73.)

Conclusion:

James Hudson Taylor (21 May 1832 – 3 June 1905), was a British Protestant Christian missionary to China, and founder of the China Inland Mission (CIM) (now OMF International).  Taylor spent 51 years in China. The society that he began was responsible for bringing over 800 missionaries to the country who began 125 schools and directly resulted in 18,000 Christian conversions, as well as the establishment of more than 300 stations of work with more than 500 local helpers in all eighteen provinces. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hudson_Taylor)

 In an article in Daily Bread (July 19, 1989) Eighteen-year-old Hudson Taylor wandered into his father's library and read a gospel tract. He couldn't shake off its message. Finally, falling to his knees, he accepted Christ as his Savior. Later, his mother, who had been away, returned home. When Hudson told her the good news, she said, "I already know. Ten days ago, the very date on which you tell me you read that tract, I spent the entire afternoon in prayer for you until the Lord assured me that my wayward son had been brought into the fold."

 His mother’s prayer made Hudson Taylor an apostle to the Chinese nation.  We can see in his life the things that the Apostle Paul prayed for the saints in his letter to the Ephesians. Below are some of the most famous quotes this Man of God left as a legacy for all of us to follow.

1)                  The Revelation of God

“It is the consciousness of the threefold joy of the Lord, His joy in ransoming us, His joy in dwelling within us as our Saviour and Power for fruitbearing and His joy in possessing us as His Bride and His delight; it is the consciousness of this joy which is our real strength. Our joy in Him may be a fluctuating thing: His joy in us knows no change.”

2)            The Reward Of God

 “ God's work done in God's way will never lack God's supplies.”

 “I NEVER made a sacrifice," said Hudson Taylor in later years, looking back over a life in which to an unusual extent this element predominated. But what he said was true. For as in the case in point, the first great sacrifice he was privileged to make for China, the compensations that followed were so real and lasting that he came to see that giving up is inevitably receiving when one is dealing heart to heart with God.

It was so, very manifestly, this winter. In the hour of trial, a step of faith had been taken and a victory won that made it possible for the Holy Spirit to lead him on. Not outwardly only but inwardly he had accepted the will of God, giving up what seemed his best and highest, the love that had become part of his very life, that he might be unhindered in serving and following Christ.  “The sacrifice was great, but the reward far greater.”

(http://www.worldinvisible.com/library/hudsontaylor/hudsontaylorv1/hudsontaylorv110.htm)

 3)            The Rule Of God

 “Christ is either Lord of all, or He is not Lord at all.”

HOW TO BE HAPPY AT WORK

Ephesians 6:5-9

by: Pastor Audie Castillo

                                                                                                                                                              

Some of us in this room may be thinking, “why do we need to work?” Why do I have to work for others instead of working for myself? Why I have to go abroad to work? Why do I have to leave my loved ones just to go abroad for work? It may sound like a silly question but it’s a valid one.

 

2 Thess. 3:10b   “If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.”

 

So, if we are working, we are obeying the scriptures. Do not be idle. Work and labor pains in women are the results of Adam and Eve’s disobedience and fall from God’s precious presence.                   

 

Genesis 3:17-19  NIV

¹⁷ To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’  “Cursed is the ground because of you;  through painful toil you will eat food from it  all the days of your life. ¹⁸ It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.  ¹⁹ By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”

 

That’s why we are here in the UAE. We went as far as the Middle East to scratch the ground for food. We are called OFWs at ang tawag ng gobyerno sa mga OFW ay “Mga Modern Day Heroes.” But while we are here how can we cope up in the pressures of work? How many of you are happy with what you are doing? Are you happy with your work?

So let me ask you a few questions: "Do you really like your job? How many of you look forward to going to work on Monday mornings because you really miss seeing your boss? How many of you miss your fellow workers so much that you can hardly wait to get back and see how they’re doing?" Now if you answered "Yes" to any of those questions, then you’re in the minority. Surveys reveal that 65% of American workers are unhappy with their jobs. Many of them go to work simply because they have no other choice. "I owe, I owe, so it’s off to work I go."

 

It is very important that we love and enjoy our work.  The Bible gives us 3 principles how to be happy at work.

 

1)      CHRIST IS OUR BOSS (vs. 5-6)

 

⁵ Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. ⁶ Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart.

 

As a Christian, You are not ultimately working for your company or your boss. You are not working for yourself. You are working for Jesus Christ. Mentally, you need to change the name of your boss from the human name to the name, Jesus Christ. That is the first thing we need to do. We need to determine that Jesus Christ is our true boss. What would happen tomorrow if you arrive at work and Jesus is your Boss? Would that make a difference in your attitude? It SHOULD!

 

a)      Excel in our attitudes (v.5) not grumbling and whining

 

A Christian works for more than a day's work for a day's pay. He is the first to arrive and the last to leave. He takes sick leave only when sick. He doesn't cheat on break time, lunch, etc. He works diligently, cheerfully, enthusiastically, without complaining. Did you know employee theft is one of the greatest threats to business today reaching upwards of $50 billion a year?  Time theft – arriving late, leaving early and playing sick – accounts for an additional $150 billion. If Jesus is our boss, you won’t do it, will you?

 

b)      Excel in the quality of our work (v. 6) not with eye service

 

If Jesus is our boss then we will do our jobs with honesty and integrity. Begging the question, what kind of person are you at work when no one is watching?

 

Martin Luther King wrote, “If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, "Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well."      We work for Jesus.

 

In the time of Jesus, the Jews were under the domination of the Roman Empire. A Roman soldier had the legal authority to demand that any Jew carry his equipment for exactly one mile. Jews hated to do this, and they bitterly counted each step. At exactly one mile, they dropped the load and say with disgust, “There! I’ve done what is required!” But Jesus requires a higher standard for His followers. He said, “If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.” (Mt. 5:41) Jesus’ point was that a Roman solider wouldn’t soon forget the person who cheerfully carried his equipment the second mile.

Are you a 1 mile worker or a 2 mile worker? Do you do only the bare minimum or do you go the second mile and leave the mark of excellence on your work? People always remember a second-mile-worker.

 

If we are working for Jesus as our boss we should be the very best of employees that we can.

 

2)      CHRIST IS OUR REWARDER (vs. 7-8)

 

⁷ Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, ⁸ because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free.

 

It is a good idea for every corporation to appreciate their workers through rewards, like employee of the month, perfect attendance, loyalty awards, etc.

 

a)   Work with all our heart not for men but God.

 

We can find in work places where co-workers are hitting each other, may be not physically but emotionally and personally. We have what we called “crab mentality”  “apple polishing” “if I cannot get it, neither can you mentality” and this creates a strong competition among the staff.

 

Are you aiming for a promotion? Work on it without harming anyone. We have to remember, we are creating a smaller space if we are not getting along with our workmates. We are in the same box 8 hours a day, six days a week.

 

Treat your workplace as a mission field; we must realize that we are there to be used by the Lord, not only as an employee, but also as a witness for Christ. We always think that people like pastors and missionaries are the only ones in full-time Christian service.

 

Colossians 4:5 “Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time.”

 

b)                     Work with expectation.

 

Promotion comes from the Lord. The Lord is the rewarder of every good work you do.

 

3)      CHRIST IS OUR MODEL (v. 9)

 

⁹ And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.

 

Stat: In 2000, Gallup took a poll –                                                                                                                                   

*42 percent of workers reported that yelling and verbal abuse took place where they worked.

*One in ten said that physical violence had occurred where they worked.

 *34 percent had lost sleep because of workplace stress, and 23 percent had been driven to tears.

 * Almost two-thirds, 65 percent, identified workplace stress as a problem for them personally. [And the other 35 percent must have been too busy the answer the question]. (Source: http://www.lycos.com/health/flash/stress2.html)

 

a)      Christ is both your master and Lord.

 

b)      Christ is no respecter of person.

 

Galatians 3:28    There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

 

Dispute of the disciples on who is the greatest   

 

Luke 22:24-30 New Living Translation (NLT)

²⁴ Then they began to argue among themselves about who would be the greatest among them. ²⁵ Jesus told them, “In this world the kings and great men lord it over their people, yet they are called ‘friends of the people.’ ²⁶ But among you it will be different. Those who are the greatest among you should take the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant. ²⁷ Who is more important, the one who sits at the table or the one who serves? The one who sits at the table, of course. But not here! For I am among you as one who serves.  ²⁸ “You have stayed with me in my time of trial. ²⁹ And just as my Father has granted me a Kingdom, I now grant you the right ³⁰ to eat and drink at my table in my Kingdom. And you will sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

 

CONCLUSION:

 

On October 12, 1492, Christopher Columbus, whose name means “Christ-bearer,” (Greek - Christoferos) sailed toward the Bahamas. When he landed on the beach, he planted a standard and claimed the territory for Spain and for the glory of God. He recorded his prayer that day in his log. He prayed, “Lord, Almighty, by Your Holy Word You have created the heaven, and earth, and sea; blessed and glorified be Your Name, and praised be Your Majesty, which has designed to use us, Your humble servants, that Your holy Name may be proclaimed in this part of the earth.” Then he named the island San Salvador which means “Holy Savior.”

Each of us ought to be a Columbus at our job and school. We should be a Christ-bearer and we should claim our workplace and school for God. He is calling you to this full-time Christian service at work.