Well, please open up your Bibles to Exodus chapter 4. And we are continuing once again our study in Exodus. And I want to remind you that chapters 3 and 4 of Exodus are what we might call the call and commission of Moses, where God prepares Moses to be, in a sense, the shepherd of the people of Israel, to bring them up out of Egypt. And there are a series of objections that Moses is raising to the Lord as to why he shouldn't be the one to go to the people of Israel. And we've already looked at three of these, just by way of reminder. The first one was, who am I? I'm a nobody. And the Lord said, I will certainly be with you. And the next objection that the Lord brought was, OK, well, then who are you? What is your name? Tell me who you are. And the Lord said, I am who I am. Tell them that I am has sent me to you. And last week we looked at the third objection, which was essentially, well, what if they don't believe me, Lord? What if they don't believe that you've given me this message?" And so God responds to that with these miracles. And He gave them three miracles. The first one was this shepherd's staff or this rod that would turn into a snake. The second one was the leprous hand. And the third was the miracle of turning the water from the river into blood. And a few things I want to remind you of that we saw that the primary purpose of miracles throughout Scripture was to give divine attestation to divine authority and revelation. One more time I'm going to say that because it's very important. Divine attestation to divine authority and revelation, meaning that the purpose of miracles predominantly throughout Scripture was to say, this man is from God and his message is backed up by something only God can do. Now, we also saw that because these miraculous sign gifts were predominantly associated with revelation, and because there is no more revelation, there are no more occurrences of where God directly appears to someone as He did to the apostles. That means that we are not to expect miracles throughout the era of the church. But God chose instead to work. That doesn't mean He doesn't rescue. It doesn't mean that He doesn't heal or give remarkable providences to His people. It simply means that he chooses to work predominantly through ordinary means. And today we come to the final two objections in Exodus 4, verses 10 through 17. So hear the word of the Lord. 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. 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? Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say. But he said, O my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever else you may send. 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. 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. 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. And you shall take this rod in your hand with which you shall do these signs. The grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever. One of the things I enjoy from time to time is to see some of the courtroom scenes on TV or sometimes even live footage, and especially the ones that get a little heated and a little passionate. And one of the privileges of the attorneys is that they can raise objections to something that the other side has presented, and then the judge has the duty to either sustain or overrule those objections. And this is a little different here, though. There aren't two equal sides presenting evidence to the judge to say this, that, or the other. There are two sides, but they are not in any way equal. We have the judge of all the earth, who is God, and Moses is raising objections to the Lord, and in each and every case, God is overruling them. Nothing that Moses brings to the table is something that is sustained by God. There is nothing that he brings to the Lord to where he would say, well, this shouldn't be mine. I shouldn't have to obey you because of this. I shouldn't have to obey you because of this. Nothing at all is sustained. God demands and requires obedience from Moses. But it's striking to me the way that God overrules the objections and the mercy that he shows to Moses. So we're going to do two things this morning. First, we're going to look at the objections that Moses brings and then how God overrules them. And then secondly, we're going to draw out some observations from the text so that will help us to understand how God works among his people. So let's look at the first objection in verse 10. Verse 10 says, Now, there are some people who will say that this is a completely illegitimate objection. And the reason that they say that is because in Acts 7 and verse 22, Stephen describes Moses as someone who was mighty in words and deeds. So the question is, well, how can he have some sort of speech problem and at the same time Stephen say that he was mighty in words and in deeds? And the answer to that is because what Stephen is talking about is not his ability to persuade as much as it is the content of his message. So you can have great content, and what you say, but not be a gifted orator." And the content of what Moses said and did throughout his ministry was directly from the Lord, and he was mighty in words, and he was mighty in deeds, but that did not mean that he was an eloquent man. And apparently, it's obvious from the text that he had some sort of speech impediment, or he couldn't speak quickly enough to speak with clarity, or something like that. We don't know exactly what it is, but we do know that he had some sort of speech impediment because God even caters to this and gives to him Aaron to help him with his speaking problem. Now, I want you to think about this. I want you to think about how reasonable this objection is, okay? Moses, remember God's plan. We talked about this last week. It's a series of three confrontations. The first two have to do with Moses. Moses has to go and confront the elders of the Hebrew people and persuade them that they need to go and talk to Pharaoh, king of Egypt. And then he's got to confront Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and somehow persuade him that the people of God need to go three days' journey into the wilderness to worship Jehovah instead of being part of Egypt anymore. Now think about that. He's got to go to the most powerful nation in the world, one of the most powerful dignitaries on the planet, And he can't even speak clearly. He's not a good orator. Can you imagine someone that has to deal in international relations, dealing with world powers and dignitaries, but has a speech impediment? Let's say it's a stutter problem. He's got a stutter problem. I mean, what kind of embarrassment that would be to Moses if God says, hey, I want you to go to the most important person in the world and go and talk to him. Think about how reasonable that objection is. I'm not called to this. This isn't something I'm gifted to, Lord. You need to find someone who's good at speaking, someone who's got gifts and calling in this area. But look at how God responds in verse 11. Two things He says. First one is in verse 11. Second thing I want to point out is in verse 12. Verse 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?" Think about what he's saying here. He is reiterating His sovereignty over all things. Now, a lot of times we have a problem with this, don't we? Because we like to think that God's in charge of all the good things, but not the bad things, not the things that we don't like. And I believe that if you were to ask probably many evangelicals in the United States today, well, if this person is blind or this person is mute or this person is deaf, who do you think made that happen? They would probably give credit to the devil. And yet God here says, I'm the one that made you that way, Moses. I'm the one that makes the deaf deaf, the mute mute, and the blind blind. I'm the one who's in charge of everything that happens in the universe. So He reiterates to him, don't you think I know what's going on in your life, Moses? Don't you think I know who you are and the problems that you have? This is the decree of God that He is the one who is called Moses despite Moses' insufficiency. But look at verse 12. Look what else he says. Now, therefore, go and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say. Think about this. As angry as we're about to see that God is with Moses, he still gives him a promise of his presence and his help and his assistance in the task. He says, I'm going to be with you and I'm going to help you. It's not about you, Moses. I've got this. And doesn't this remind us of the very first objection that Moses raised to the Lord when he said, Who am I, Lord? I'm nobody. I'm nothing. And what is God's answer to that? I will certainly be with you. Same thing here. He doesn't say, no, Moses, you're a great guy. No, you've got it all figured out. No, you're a great speaker. He doesn't encourage him in that sense. Doesn't tell him what a great choice he is, what a great catch Moses is. He says, I will be with you. I will be with your mouth. I will show you what you shall say. Now, the second objection is in verse 13. But he said, Oh, my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever else you may send. So at this point, Moses has left the realm of excuses and has entered into outright rebellion. And essentially he tells the Lord, no, this is what Moses is being as polite and as respectful as he knows how to disobey. You know, your children kind of do this, don't they? But, but daddy, you know, and then they come up with some excuse. This is what he's saying here. The way that he words this is in Hebrew, very respectful sense from the lesser to the greater. It's an appeal here. And he says, send someone else. And all God hears is no. I don't want to do what you have for me, Lord. Send somebody else. I don't care. I'm not called in that way. Get somebody else to obey you. Look at God's response in verse 14. Look at what it says in verse 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. God is angry with Moses because of his obstinate heart and his rebellion. Now think about this change we've seen in Moses. I hope you remember that we said that when Moses was 40 years old, when the whole killing of the slave driver, the taskmaster, the Egyptian taskmaster, Moses was 40 years old, eager and willing to lead God's people. eager and willing to be the shepherd, to be the rescuer, to be the hero. And now, here he is at the end of his life, obstinate, unwilling, no influence, nothing good has Moses to bring to the table. And yet this is the time and this is the person that God chooses. And he says, essentially, I don't care what you think about this. This is my plan. And notice how, again, God's decree, God's plan is settled. There is nothing that Moses can do to overturn this. He even tells him, in verse 15 and 16 and 17, you know what? Aaron, He's already on His way out to you. He's already on His way. There's nothing you can do to overturn My plan, Moses. And He's not asking Moses to do something. God is putting a demand upon Moses' life and He says, I am your God and this is what you're going to do for Me. God demands obedience of Moses and of His people. Now, one more thing I want to point out. from the text. He says in verse 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 and you shall take this ride. in your hand with which you shall do the signs." Remember that this rod, this shepherd's staff that Moses has is the symbol really of God's authority. In fact, later on we'll see that this rod is called the rod of God. It's a symbol of the fact that Christ is the shepherd of Israel, the shepherd of His people, but Moses is the one chosen on earth to represent God on the earth. He says, you shall be to Him as God. These are strong words about leadership in the Old Covenant church here. So we have these two objections from Moses where God is demanding his obedience and both of them are overruled by God. Now, I want to point out a few things, draw a few observations from the text that really show us how God works in our lives. Because everything that we see here tends to be the exact opposite of what we would think. It's all counterintuitive. It all goes against the flesh in the way that we would naturally think things should work. So a couple of observations, the first of which is that God often chooses those that are unfit by the world's standards. Now, this is this is something that is common throughout scripture, throughout redemptive history. Think of all the men that were courageous in the time of the judges and who could have defeated the Midianites. And who does God go to? God goes to a man named Gideon, a coward, who's hiding in a hole in the ground and says that he's a mighty man of valor. He comes to a coward. I mean, he's cowering down, hiding, and that's the guy that God chooses? Well, think about David. Jesse had eight sons, and when the prophet came to find who it was going to be, he said, no, these guys, they look too much like strong warriors. They look too gifted to be kings. And so who does he choose? The handsome and ruddy young guy, the songwriter that's out in the field keeping sheep. That's the one? The run of the litter? That's who you're choosing? That's who God has chosen to be his king, to lead his people? And this isn't just men. Think about in the New Testament. I was thinking about in John chapter 4, the woman at the well. This lady's been married five times and now she's living with someone that's not even her husband. And what does the Lord say? What does the Lord do to her? He forgives her sins and He sends her back home and she's the one that brings the message of the Messiah to her hometown. And here we have Moses. God could have chosen to use him when he was 40, when he was in good shape, when he was eager and willing to be a hero, and instead he uses him when he's 80 years old, got no influence, No connections, no nothing, as we like to say here in the South. He's got nothing to bring to the table, and yet this is the one that God chooses. And can I just say that this is an encouraging thing to those of us who are not exactly smiled upon by our professors in Bible college. This is an encouraging thing to those of us who may be the black sheep in the family, that God uses those who are insufficient for the tasks. Second observation. God will not tolerate excuses for disobedience. Now, again, I've already said this a couple of times as we've been going through these objections that Moses brings. All of these objections are very reasonable, aren't they? Moses was nobody. He wasn't someone that anyone would have chosen to be a good leader. He wasn't the great guy. He wasn't the catch. And yet, God doesn't care. That's not an excuse for Him. At the same time, He's not really gifted in the area to which God has called Him. He doesn't have gifts of speaking, okay? He can't go to the dignitaries and somehow persuade them. But it did matter. It did not matter. The Bible says that the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses. God was angry at him. for making these very, humanly speaking, reasonable objections. But it doesn't matter. And we do the same thing, don't we? You know, we think about something like evangelism or proclaiming the gospel, and we say, well, I'm not really gifted in that aspect. What if I'm not really the apologist? You know, that's for people like Pastor Mike. Well, yes, some people are more gifted in evangelism than others, but that doesn't negate the command to preach the gospel to every creature. Just because some people are more gifted in love or in faith, that doesn't negate the command to love one another and so fulfill the law of Christ. So just because we don't think that we're gifted in some area doesn't negate the command of God. God demands obedience of His people. And you can't make another excuse. You can't say, well, God hasn't called me to be a leader. God doesn't call me to be a pastor. God doesn't call me to be a preacher. And if you think that this is what this is about, you're missing the point. This is about obedience. This is not so that you can find another excuse or another way around the text and say, well, that's for leaders, that's for pastors, that's for you, Ray, that's for Pastor Mike and Mr. Jimmy and the deacon. That's not for me. No, this is for you. God demands obedience of His people and He will not tolerate any excuses whatsoever. There is nothing that you can bring to the table that will overrule God's demands on your life. Third observation. and this is probably one of the most encouraging things in all of Scripture, that God equips us for obedience with His presence and assistance. Turn to 1 Corinthians 10, if you will. I want to read this to you, if you have a copy of God's Word. 1 Corinthians 10. Because we tend to presume upon things, we tend to think that we can make excuses At the church at Corinth, one of the things they were saying is, well, we're not like those Old Testament saints. We've got the Lord's Supper. This is the new covenant. We've got a better covenant. God treats us differently than He does them. And listen to what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10. Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. for they drank of that spiritual rock that followed them, and that rock was Christ." Now, don't miss what he's saying here. Don't miss what he's saying. Don't presume upon God's mercy and upon God's patience with you. Don't think that you can make some kind of, I'm a new covenant believer, excuse. Listen to what he says. They all had the same spiritual food and drink that you did. Verse 5, But with most of them God was not well pleased. for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness." Verse 6. Now, these things became our examples to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. Here's the danger sometimes when we read the Old Testament. We think, oh, here's an example where Moses made an excuse. I draw encouragement from that because sometimes I make excuses too. And that is the exact opposite of what Paul says we should be drawing from the text. He doesn't say you should draw some encouragement from that because you do the same thing. What he's saying is they're examples to us so that we don't fall into those traps, so that we don't make excuses. Look at what he says in verse 7. He gives several, I count four examples of sins here in verses 7 through 10. And do not become idolaters as were some of them, as it is written, the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play. By the way, almost all of these are from the time period of the Exodus and the wanderings in the wilderness. Verse 8, Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did. And in one day twenty-three thousand fell. Nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents. Nor complain, as some of them also complained and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore, let him who thinks he stands take heed, lest he fall." The point that we are to draw from this is not, yay, I do the same thing Moses did, there is grace with me. No. Yes, there is grace with the Lord, but that's not what we're supposed to draw from the text. What we're supposed to draw from that is, don't commit the same sins as Moses. Don't make excuses for disobedience. Don't be obstinate and rebellious when God has called you to something, when he places a demand on your life, when he says, Thou shalt not commit adultery. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Whatever it is, keep it. Don't make excuses for disobedience. And yet he ends with this encouraging note in verse 13. No temptation has taken you except such as is common to man. But God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but will with the temptation make the way of escape that you may be able to bear it. Think about what I said our observation was. God equips you with his divine presence and his divine assistance for obedience. He just said, God's not going to put you in a situation where you're not going to be able to handle it. Not because you're great. Not because you're strong. but because of who God is. And this is exactly what we see in our text in Exodus. Think about all the objections that Moses brought to the Lord. Number one, who am I? What does God say? I will certainly be with you. What was the second objection? Well, who are you? I am who I am. Third objection, what if they don't believe me? I have these miracles that I am able to perform for you. Objection four, but I'm not a good speaker. I will be with your mouth. Lord, send someone else. I will be with Aaron with his mouth and with your mouth. Yes, Moses, you are insufficient. And yes, Reformation Bible Church and all Christians in all times and in all places, yes, we are insufficient. But remember what we said when we were talking about God's name, that part of what it means to be the great I Am is that He is the all-sufficient One. Yes. You are insufficient. No, you can't handle it. No, you can't do it. But... God promises by His Spirit to be with you and to give you the help that you need to obey. No, you're not a good person, but God is. No, you're not a strong person. No, you don't have these gifts, but God does. God has the power. God has the ability. Where you are insufficient, Christ is sufficient. Let me read you one last passage. I bet you could probably all quote it by heart, Philippians 4.13, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, right? Alright, now, I'm going to read the whole passage because you may have thought or heard at certain times that I love Tim Tebow, I love Tim Tebow, but this verse has nothing to do with winning football games. Alright, let me read beginning in verse 11 of Philippians 4. This is about something so much greater than any sport. Paul says, now remember, this is in Philippi, okay, these are suffering Christians. These are people being persecuted for following Christ. And listen to what Paul, who had suffered much persecution, says to them, Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am to be content. I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry. both to abound and to suffer need. And then he says, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. The point of the text is, yes, you have been called to suffer. Yes, you've been called to some difficult things by God. Yes, there are some bad times that you're going to encounter in your life. Yes, God may give you some bodily deficiency like He had given to Moses, and yet called Moses to something where he's got to do something. Lord, I've got to be the one? I got to be the one to go and talk to Pharaoh? Yes, that's my plan. And there's nothing that can go against it. And there's nothing that you can do to go against God's plan for obedience in your life. And whatever commands He's given in Scripture for you, you can't go around it. But He has given you everything you need because He is with you. And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Amen? Amen. Let's pray. Oh God, we are insufficient for these things. We could never, ever walk in Your commands, walk in obedience to You apart from the help of Your Spirit who dwells in us. So God, we ask and continue to ask for the grace that You poured out on Moses, for the mercy that You showed him when he made excuses, Lord, do show us mercy. But Lord, let us not make any excuses. Let us see this as an opportunity for us to turn from our sins and to embrace your will, your commands with our whole heart and our whole lives. And may we do this by the help of your spirit that you have sent to live in us. In Christ's name and for his glory, we pray. Amen.