11/08/2021
Many Christians search for a simple way to communicate how we are saved when witnessing to those who are yet to believe. We fret over whether we are capable of delivering the good news. Well there are many wonderful things we can say which thrill the soul, but once we have told them that we are fallen by people, and an abridged version of our salvation is called for, here is one that sums it up for us in one succinct sentence. Have we been reluctant to deliver the message of salvation believing, like Moses, that we are not able to speak as we should?
“But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
Titus 3:4-7 ESV
We are a lot like Moses when it comes to delivering the Gospel message. We question our ability with the same excuses which he used… we begin with saying that we are not the right person for the job and that God has obviously made a mistake by asking us to do this. Do you remember the universal excuse that Moses used, and that we are often guilty of employing?
“But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?””
Exodus 3:11 ESV
And do you recall God’s response? It is the very same thing that He tells us when we use this excuse…
“He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.””
Exodus 3:12 ESV
Then Moses dug a little deeper in his bag of excuses and told God the same thing we often do; he said that he didn’t know enough to do this. Isn’t this one of our favorite excuses when the Lord wants us to speak with someone about Jesus? Listen to him…
“Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?””
Exodus 3:13 ESV
This is the same thing we say to God when we think we have to do this alone, but what God told Moses is what He wants us to know as well. How many times and in how many ways must we hear God say that He is with us?
“God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’””
Exodus 3:14 ESV
Then we fall back on our fear of rejection, and ask what we will do if they don’t believe what we have to say. Does this sound familiar? The fear of someone’s disbelief that leads to a debate and an argument? Here is how Moses used this argument…
“Then Moses answered, “But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you.’””
Exodus 4:1 ESV
God had an answer for Him in that, just as He has an answer for us. God told Moses to throw his staff on the ground and it turned into a serpent. He gave Moses a miracle to perform that would help him convince the people. As for us we are given the Holy Spirit who will miraculously give us the words to say…
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”
John 14:26 ESV
As we banter back and forth with God; giving our excuses and hearing his responses don’t we see Moses in ourselves? Aren’t we doing the same thing that we once thought silly for Moses to do? Then suddenly we hear ourselves making one more excuse, one that didn’t work for Moses… and won’t work for us now… we tell the Lord that we aren’t good at debating or speaking with others. Does this sound familiar?
“But Moses said to the Lord, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.””
Exodus 4:10 ESV
How silly we should be feeling about now! We have heard this excuse before, and we know what God responded to it. We can almost hear the lack of patience in the Lord’s voice…
“Then the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.””
Exodus 4:11-12 ESV
So we are just about ready to witness as we have been directed to do, but we drag our feet one more time; not with an excuse but by pleading. We beg God not to send us like a child begging a parent…
“But he said, “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.””
Exodus 4:13 ESV
If you think back about a time when you took your child to the doctor’s office to be vaccinated, then you must smile at the desperate scene that is unfolding here. It is a last ditch effort to avoid doing what God wants us to do, and is based solely on pleading for pity and mercy. But this is God’s will for us, and the real issue here isn’t represented by any of our excuses, it is simply that we don’t want to do this… we don’t want to obey God’s will.
Do we find ourselves making these same excuses when we are asked to deliver the gospel message to someone? Do we do these things when asked to witness to someone in our lives about our faith in Jesus Christ, and our Heavenly Father? Well, take away the fear by memorizing our opening passage, and then lean back into the comfort that God’s presence there with us provides.
Prayer:
Father, we thank you for sending us out into the world to deliver the good news of your Son Jesus Christ, and the salvation you promise us through Him. We thank you for strengthening us as we speak, for proving us with the remembrance of scripture, and for directing us personally in all we are to say. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who desires that none of us should be lost, and sends your saints to bring them home. Praised be your name for every opportunity to speak about you, and Jesus, to the lost, or those who are yet to hear. Have mercy on them Father, and give us the words that will convey your grace to them fully. Help us to not make excuses when you ask this of us, but to answer “Here am I Lord!” when you ask us to do your will. Wash us in the blood of Christ in preparation for your calling, and our own purification and salvation. Open our ears to the scripture which says that by redeeming a lost soul we are covering many sins, and count our obedience to be a witness as your blessing in this way for us. Jesus, we lift you up before the world, and tell all who will listen about you… the one way that we are to come to our Father.
“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.””
John 14:6-7 ESV
“And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them inthe name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.””
Matthew 28:18-20 ESV
“let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.”
James 5:20 ESV
Rich Forbes