The Reluctant Missionary

Exodus 3:9-11 KJV

9 Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.10 Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.11 And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?

In the first verse of our passage, we can see God clearly had a plan to deliver his people from slavery in Egypt. However, God tells Moses that he is the man who’s is going to lead the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt into the promised land. When I read Moses’s response to his commission from God, his tone and his words suggest that he was reluctant to carry out the mission God called him to. A large part of chapters 3 and 4 of Exodus includes God encouraging and assuring Moses for the mission. Like Moses, God in Jesus Christ has commanded us to fulfill a mission. In Matthew 28:19-20 KJV, Jesus said:

19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Christ has commanded us to spread the Gospel, and he encouraged us that he would be with us always, even unto the end of the world. Like Moses, we too can sometimes be reluctant to fulfill the Great Commission. As we examine this conversation between God and Moses, Moses provides several reasons why he was reluctant to do what God has commanded him to do.

Thoughts of Insignificance?

The first reason Moses gave is found in Exodus 3:11, saying, “Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?” Moses’s first excuse for not wanting to do what God commanded was his own feeling of insignificance. So, he says, “Who am I to go to Pharaoh?” So, who was Moses? At this point in Moses’s life, he was a fugitive who escaped the land of Egypt and was working as a shepherd for his father-in-law in the land of Midian. He was once wanted for murder in the land of Egypt, but now God is sending him back to the land of Egypt to stand before Pharaoh to demand him to let the children of Israel go. This is the first reason Moses gives to God for his own reluctance; but for every reason Moses gives not to go, God gives him assurance as to why he should go. God simply tells Moses “I will be with thee” which is the same thing Jesus promised us in Matthew 28: 20 saying, “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world, Amen” (Ex. 3:12). When we are overwhelmed by feelings of insignificance, remember God’s words to Moses “I will be with thee.”

When we are reminded of our past failures and sins, remember that God is with us. Furthermore, we should view our deliverance from sins, sicknesses, and bondage as badges of honor that can be a blessing to others if we are willing to share it. In Revelation 12:11, we are comforted by the words of the apostle John who said, “And they overcame him (Satan) by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.” This should give us courage not to fear ridicule, shame, or death. Let us be emboldened to share the Gospel and our testimony of how God has delivered us from darkness. If God is with us, who can be against us? If God is with us, what really is insignificance? It is nothing. If He is with us, we must lean on him in prayer and trust that he is near to us.

The Fear of Rejection

In Exodus 4:1, Moses responds to God’s plan with a different reason for why he thinks he is not the right person for the job, saying, “But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared unto thee.” For many of us, this is the most common excuse we have for not participating in the mission of God, and that is the fear of rejection. In response to Moses’s fear of rejection, God responds by saying:

What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod. [3] And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it. [4] And the Lord said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand: [5] That they may believe that the Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee. [6] And the Lord said furthermore unto him, Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow. [7] And he said, Put thine hand into thy bosom again. And he put his hand into his bosom again; and plucked it out of his bosom, and, behold, it was turned again as his other flesh. [8] And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign. [9] And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs, neither hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land : and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land. (Ex. 4:2-9 KJV)

In response to Moses's fear of rejection, God shows him his power through miracles. This does not suggest that we should only look for miracles when we are afraid of rejection. Rather, God wants us to depend upon his own power when we do his work. He is the one who brings salvation. God does not want us to be concerned about the possibility of rejection. He will show forth his power to touch the hearts of men. He is the one who can supply all of our needs according to his riches and glory. When we fear rejection; when we fear that people will not believe, God wants us to trust that his power is what will cause people to believe his word. We are responsible for responding in obedience to God and in total dependence on God, not ourselves.

Unable or disabled?

Then Moses says, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue” (Ex. 4:10). Some of us have the same issues, in that we stutter and are unable to formulate clear sentences. However, God is not concerned about our inabilities or our disabilities. God responds to Moses with these words in Exodus 4:11-12 saying:

Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD?12 Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say. (KJV)

In other words, God was saying to Moses “I made you. I know what you can do and what you cannot do. You can do this. I will word your mouth so that you will be clear enough, and I will teach you so that you know what you should say when you go on this mission to Egypt.” He is saying the same thing to us. Sometimes the enemy will cause us to focus on our inabilities and our disabilities so that we will be discouraged from doing missional work for God, but God is saying to you today, “I made you. I know what you can do and what you cannot do. You can do all things through Christ who gives you strength.” God says to you, even now, “I will teach you, and I will give you what to say.”

Send Someone Else?

Even though God was giving Moses all these words of comfort and encouragement, Moses still refused. Moses was so reluctant until he told God to send someone else to do the job (Ex. 4: 13). When Moses told God to send someone else, that is when God became angry with Moses (Ex. 4: 14). Even though God became angry with Moses, his grace was still sufficient for Moses, offering him more encouraging words. God’s encouraging word to Moses at this point in the conversation is that he would send him help. God assured Moses that he would send his brother Aaron to Egypt with him. He assured him that Aaron was a good speaker, and he would be glad to go with you on this mission to Egypt as your speaker before Pharaoh.

Let God’s encouragement to Moses encourage you today. Though you may feel insignificant, the fact that God has called you and is with you, makes you significant. Though you may feel disabled or unable, be encouraged that God is able. God has the power to strengthen your abilities, and he has the power to change the hearts of men. Though you may not have the gifts and abilities as your some of your brothers and sisters, but God has given you the gifts and the resources you need to do what he has called you to do. God has given all of us a testimony that we can share with the people around us. He saved us from death. He saved us from sickness. He saved us from sin and ungodly lust. You can say, “He saved me from alcohol and drug abuse.” He saved you from an abusive relationship. God wants us to tell the world that he is able to save them the same way he saved us. Not only that, but God offers himself as a helper to us, and he will also send others who will be glad to help us do the work he has called us to do.

A Blessing in the Mission

When we submit to the will of God; when we give of ourselves to do the work of the Lord, we receive a blessing from the Lord. We can see this in the life of the prophet Moses. Moses was blessed in many ways, but I want to name a few so that you will also think about the ways God has blessed you.

1. Moses was blessed because he was able to talk with God. Exodus 33: 11 says, “And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend.”

2. Moses was blessed of the Lord, because he was chosen to be the first prophet to reveal to the children of Israel God’s name (Yahweh). Before the time of Moses, the children of Israel did not know the name of God. They only knew him by his title: Eloi which means My God.

3. Moses was blessed of the Lord, because he was used to do deliverer the children of Israel from the bondage of slavery in Egypt.

4. Lastly, Moses was blessed because he was able to see the face of Almighty God in eternity. Exodus 33:18-20 says, “18 And he (Moses) said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory. 19 And he (God) said, “I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy. 20 And he (God) said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.” What does this mean? How is it that the prophet Moses saw the face of God when God said that, “No man can see my face and live.”? You see the truth of the matter is that one day Moses died, and he was not able to see the face of God when he was in the physical form of human mortality. Because no man can see the face of God and live. But one day in eternity, Moses got his wish. He literally saw the face of Almighty God. Matthew 17: 1-3 says that “Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and brought them up into a high mountain apart. And he was transfigured before them: and his face did shine like the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elijah talking with him.” This is the day that Moses saw the face of the Almighty God.

What am I saying? I’m saying that Moses was a blessed man of God. If you be willing and obedient, you shall be a blessed man of God. You shall be a blessed woman of God. If you submit to the lordship of Jesus Christ, you shall be blessed. Just like there is a blessing in doing the will of God; Just like there is a blessing in working in the mission of God, there is a danger in refusing the mission of God. There is a danger when we refuse to tell the world about Jesus. When we refuse tell the world about the salvation of God, we are in danger of having bloody hands and they are in danger of going to Hell. The worst thing in the world is for a soul to die without Jesus. The worst thing in the world is for a soul to go into hell fire for eternity, and worse than that is the idea that their blood could be on our hands. God told Ezekiel in Ezekiel 3, “If you see a man on his way to destruction and you do not warn him, his blood will be on your hands. But if you warn him, his blood will be on his own head.” I don’t want the blood of the world on my hands. I want my hands to be holy. I want to lift holy hands to God in prayer. During Mid-Week Manna Bible study, our Pastor, Pastor Michael Hickmon, was talking about “lifting up holy hands in prayer, without anger or dissention” (1 Tim. 2:8). Psalms 24: 3-4 says, “3 Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place? 4 He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.”

Blessed is the man who has a pure heart. Blessed is the man whose hands are holy and clean. Blessed are the children of God when they spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. I heard the prophet Isaiah say in Isaiah 52:7-8, “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation: that saith unto Zion, Thy God reighneth! Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the LORD shall bring again Zion.” I heard the apostle Paul say in Romans 10: 14-15, “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace and bring glad tidings of good things!”

I want to tell you the story of another missionary who was reluctant to do the mission that God gave to him. This missionary was a man by the name of Jeremiah. Jeremiah was prophet sent by God to preach the word of God, but the people were rebellious. They slandered Jeremiah. They did not believe Jeremiah. One of the priests hit Jeremiah, and they through him in prison. Then, Jeremiah became frustrated with God. Jeremiah told God, “I have preached like you told me to preach. I cried out to the people like you told me to. Now, the people that you sent me to have beaten me and have thrown me in prison. I am in derision. I am confused. How can this be that your preacher is abused in this way?” Then Jeremiah made a promise to God that he would not mention him anymore. He told God that he was not going to preach in his name anymore, but that did not last for long. Because Jeremiah said “…his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary of forbearing, and I could not stay.” Jeremiah had the fire of God’s word in his heart, and he couldn’t hold back anymore. Have you been holding back? Have you been sitting on the sidelines? Have you refused to share the gospel of Jesus Christ? Get in the word of God. Read the word of God. Consume the word of God until it gets in your heart. When the word gets in your heart, it will be like fire shut up in your bones. The fire of God will make you stand up for righteousness. The fire of God will make you go into your community. The fire of God will empower you to preach the word of God. The fire of God will encourage you to tell somebody about Jesus.

Let us pray,

Heavenly Father, we thank you that you will not leave your children in bondage. Thank you that you are the Almighty God, the` deliverer of our souls. Thank you for inviting us to do your work and forgive us for every time we have rejected your invitation. Please, forgive us for our sins and heal us of all sickness and disease so that we can tell of your goodness and your salvation. In Jesus’s name we pray, Amen.