“11 But Moses said to God, ‘Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?’ 12 So He said, ‘I will certainly be with you.’ ” Exodus 3:11-12a
In different religions, different words are important. In some faiths the important words are “strive” or “do” to earn God’s favor. In other religions the key word is “sit,” “wait,” “ponder,” or “think.” They are more of a passive type of religion.
In Christianity a key word is “done.” The only way you get to heaven is by what Jesus Christ has already done for you. There is nothing you can do yourself. Salvation is a free gift. Jesus did it all on the cross. He said, “It is finished!” (John 19:30). He has finished paying our sin debt to God in full. The word “believe” is another key word in Christianity. It is the word that God uses most in evangelism. It is the way we receive heaven as a free gift (John 3:15-16, 36; 11:25-26). We simply believe in Jesus for eternal life. The word “love” is also a key word in Christianity. We know God loved us by sending Jesus to die in our place (John 3:16; I John 4:9-10).
Another key word in Christianity is the word “go.” The word “go” is used well over a thousand times in the Bible. Christianity is a “going” faith. It is a going relationship. If you are a Christian, you are on a journey of growing and going. God loves to use the word “go” in the Bible. He tells Abraham, “I want you to go to a land which I will show you.”He tells Noah, “I want you to go build an ark.” He tells Joshua, “Go possess the land of Canaan.” He tells David, “I want you to go fight a giant.”He tells Nehemiah, “I want you to go and rebuild the wall of Jerusalem.” He tells Jeremiah, “Go teach My word.” Jesus, the God-Man, told His followers to “Go throughout the whole world and preach the gospel to all people.” (Mark 16:15 NLT).
All through the Bible we see God sending people out to accomplish His mission for them. The problem is most people never discover and do their life mission. Even people who are believers. Why is that? The number one reason is fear.
Lord willing, for the next few days we will discover the five major things we fear that keep us from doing God’s will. Each of these fears is demonstrated in the reaction Moses had when God told him to go to Egypt to free the Israelites (Exodus 3-4). The first forty years of Moses’ life he grew up in the palace of the Egyptian king getting the best military and educational training a guy could want (Exodus 2:1-10; Acts 7:20-22).When he turns forty, he learns the truth about his life (Acts 7:23). He is not Egyptian royalty. He is the son of Jewish slaves whose people are being beaten to a pulp building the pyramids. He says “I have got to do something about this. I am not Egyptian. I am Jewish.”
So, Moses goes out and on his own, he tries to set the people free in his own cocky, self-willed way. He ends up killing a slave driver and must flee for his life on account of murder (Exodus 2:11-15; Acts 7:24). So, he runs across the desert and for the next forty years Moses is a nobody (Acts 7:29-30). While he is there, he becomes a shepherd tending goats and sheep. Moses marries a woman and has two sons (Exodus 2:21-22; Acts 7:29). He has made a new life, but in his own eyes, he is a nobody for forty years.
While Moses was in the desert, things had grown worse for his people in Egypt. The king of Egypt had died, and the Israelites’ bondage became unbearable (Exodus 2:23). Their cries were heard by God because He had made a covenant with Abraham to make his descendants a mighty nation and give them a great land (Exodus 2:24-25; cf. Genesis 12:3). Even while they were crying out, God was preparing a deliverer for them.
“Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian… he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God” (Exodus 3:1), “which is another name for Mount Sinai (see Exod 3:12; 19:20; Deut 1:19)—the place where God would soon enter into a covenant with the nation of Israel.” 1 By this time Moses was now eighty years old (Acts 7: 23, 30). He had likely come to accept shepherding sheep for his father-in-law as his lot in life.
To get Moses’ attention, “the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush.” (Exodus 3:2a). Moses’ ordinary day was about to take a dramatic turn in pursuit of God’s plan. Moses decides to take a closer look at this burning bush which was not consumed (Exodus 3:3). When Moses responded to what God was doing, the Lord speaks to him.
“4 So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, ‘Moses, Moses!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ 5 Then He said, ‘Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.’” (Exodus 3:4-5). Moses needed to humble himself in the presence of a holy God, so his sandals had to come off. “He also needed to be reminded of where he came from. Man was made ‘out of the dust from the ground’ (Gen 2:7). By removing his sandals, then, Moses meekly identified with his humble beginnings.” 2
“6 Moreover He said, ‘I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God.” (Exodus 3:4-6). When Moses realizes Who is speaking to him, he took God seriously and “hid his face.”
“7 And the Lord said: ‘I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows… 10 Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.’ ” (Exodus 3:7, 10). God is saying to Moses, “I have a mission for you, Moses. I want you to go back to Egypt and set my people free.” So, this is his mission.
How do you know when you have a mission from God, and not just some bad pizza you ate last night? There are three marks of a true mission from God. They are seen in these verses:
1. A true mission from God is passionate (Exodus 3:7). When you want to know God’s mission for your life it is based on God’s love. It is not motivated by more money… fame… or pleasure. A true mission from God is motivated by God’s love for other people. He says, “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.” If God gives you a mission it is going to involve caring about other people. It is passionate.
2. A true mission from God is personal (Exodus 3:10a). God’s mission is specifically to you. God didn’t say “I hope somebody will go set them free.” He didn’t say “I am sending a group.” He said, “I will send you to Pharaoh …” God’s mission is personal.
3. A true mission from God is practical (Exodus 3:10b). He told Moses, “I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” “Moses, you are going to go set them free. You are going to relieve somebody’s suffering.” A true mission from God benefits other people. That is what ourmission trips in the Philippines were all about. They were about being concerned about people not having a relationship with Jesus Christ. Hearing the needs of other people, and then saying, “Let’s do something about it.” It is based on the love of God for others.
Perhaps some of us are reluctant to be involved in the lives of others. Maybe we are afraid. It is okay to be afraid. Moses was afraid about the mission God gave him. He said, “There are five things I am afraid of, Lord.” What are the fears that keep us from doing God’s will and going where God wants us to go? Let’s look at five fears Moses possessed.
1. The fear of inadequacy. This is a big one. Inadequacy expresses itself in various ways: “I don’t think I can measure up to what God wants me to do. I’m insecure. I don’t have what it takes. I don’t know enough. I don’t have the right background. How could God use me?” This is Moses first fear: “But Moses said to God, ‘Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?’ ” (Exodus 3:11). What is interesting is that forty years earlier Moses was full of confidence and tried on his own to set his people free from slavery and failed (Exodus 2:11-15; Acts 7:24). Sometimes after a big failure you lose your confidence.
Figure this out. Moses is forty years old when he discovers he is not Egyptian. It is now forty years later, so he is eighty years old (Acts 7: 23, 30). Would you like to start on the adventure of your life at eighty? Moses is thinking, “I have got social security. I have got my wife, my kids, and grandkids. I have got my flocks. I sit in my lazy boy chair. That is all I want. I am comfortable. I am happy. No thanks, God. You have a mission for me? Thanks, but no thanks.” Moses is saying, “I am feeling very inadequate.”
Do you ever feel that way? Often when God says I have something for you to do, it seems much bigger than you. You don’t feel adequate. Listen closely! It doesn’t matter whether you feel inadequate or not. What matters is God has chosen you. If God has chosen you, it is going to work whether you think you are qualified or not. Our life message is not about us. It is about what God chooses to do in our lives.
What is God’s response to our fear of inadequacy? “So He said, ‘I will certainly be with you.’ ” (Exodus 3:12a). “God did not tell Moses, ‘Cheer up and believe in yourself.’ Instead, he promised him his divine presence. Moses’s greatest need (and ours too) was not self-confidence; he needed God-confidence.” 3
God’s presence is the answer to our inadequacy because one plus God equals a majority. If God is near, we will lose our fear. You and God can do anything He calls you to do! But the fear of inadequacy should not keep you from doing your life mission because God says, “I will certainly be with you.” God’s adequacy is the answer to our inadequacy and God’s presence is the answer to our panic.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, all of us have fears. The question we need to ask is not, “Who am I?” Rather, the question to ask ourselves is, “Who is with me?” Your presence in my life eclipses my sense of inadequacy. Thank You for never leaving me nor forsaking me. People may abandon me or reject me, but You will never give up on me. This is what gives me hope every day of my life. Your grace is truly amazing. In Jesus’ powerful name I pray. Amen.
ENDNOTES:
1. Tony Evans, CSB Bibles by Holman. The Tony Evans Bible Commentary (B & H Publishing Group, Kindle Edition, 2019), pg. 195.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid., pg. 196.