This summer, we are studying the Exodus journey of the children of Israel. We are calling this series “Who would do that?” because that is the question that will be on your mind as you watch these people experience God in miraculous ways, while they doubt, complain, and just fight God every step of the way, often just wanting to go back to slavery, rather than follow God to the Promised Land.  Their journey went from a two-week stroll to a forty-year beatdown because they struggled to trust God and love Him most.  Who would do that? Well, if we are honest, we would. We do.  Their story is our story. 

Last week, Ken took us to where this whole story really gets started, God calling Moses to lead his people out of Egyptian slavery through a Burning Bush.  This moment is so important that we are spending a good bit of time on it, and as you read the story, there are definitely two parts to it: the first is all about who God is and how God works…the second is how Moses responds, which is where we will hang out today, which shows us a lot about who we humans are and how we work, but let’s look back to that first part for a moment.  Ken told you, this is a really important area of scripture.

Exodus 3:7 Then the Lord told him, “I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them out of Egypt into their own fertile and spacious land. It is a land flowing with milk and honey—the land where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites now live. 9 Look! The cry of the people of Israel has reached me, and I have seen how harshly the Egyptians abuse them. 10 Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt.” NLT

This is an important scripture, because it is showing us who God is, just how compassionate, redemptive, and personal God is. It also shows us something we must see, and that is how God works, which his through us people.  It’s amazing to think that God works through us, people.  I mean, think about this.  God gives Moses a clear calling here; he is going to be the one God works through to save his people from their oppressors and move them to the Promised Land.  A huge task, and God chooses Moses, an 80-year-old murderer, hiding from the very people God is sending him back to, who struggles with speaking to do this incredible task, but this is how God works.  And it’s no different today.  God wants to move through us, the imperfect, limited people that we are, and that is pretty amazing because He is God, and can do what He wants, anyway He wants, and to me it seems to me, that there would be much easier ways for Him to get things done than using us, people, because we can say it…We can be a lot to deal with. LOL.  That’s the God part, where we can learn so much about who God is and how He works. 

Now, today, we will look at the second part of the burning bush moment, and that is our part, the human part, as we see how Moses processes and responds to God, which is so relatable to our lives today…no, we may never have God speak to us through a burning bush, but we can definitely relate to how Moses, feels and responds, because if we’re honest, we can feel really unworthy, ill-equipped, unprepared, and inadequate when God calls us to do things in life, or just with life, relationships…well, all of it.  We will focus the study on these next two verses in Exodus 3.

Exodus 3:11 says: “But Moses protested to God, ‘Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?’” NLT 12 And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.” NIV

Many people view this as a Bible Story about courage or leadership, but I don’t see it that way.  I don’t even see this as a Bible Story that is primarily about Moses.  The real lesson is about an important shift in our lives from focusing on ourselves to focusing on God.  There is a tension in this story that is so important because we feel it in our lives, too.  And I’m just going to warn you, I am not going to try to lift that tension off you today, as many positive teachings would do; I think we need to feel it.  God calls Moses to do something, and it’s amazing, and Moses looks at himself and can’t see how someone like him could do it… he isn’t talented enough, strong enough, or gifted enough… and I want you to understand something today.  Moses is right.  He is not enough, but God absolutely is.  We can relate to this, can’t we?  We can feel so inadequate and like we are not enough…with God, in life, all of it, and that is an important tension, that many self-help books and teachings will try to tell you, doesn’t need to be there, if you try harder, or have more belief in yourself, you can do anything… but that tension is important, and the reality is we are not enough, BUT God is.  Now you may hear me say that and say, “wait a minute, Sam, even Scripture says, 'I can do all things…” but I would say, make sure you finish that verse, many don’t… not in your own strength, but through Jesus. That is what our story is helping us with today, and learning this lesson can be so freeing for all of us who genuinely feel inadequate or like we aren’t enough to do what God is calling us to do. If you feel that way, I want to say this: You are halfway to an awesome truth, because you are right, you are not enough… how is that for motivation today, LOL, but that is just half of it, and if that is all you accept or believe you will never step into more in life, the second half of that truth is really important, and it is that God absolutely is enough.  So, I want you to get this on the front end of the talk. This is not a teaching about how to become a great leader.  This is teaching us to trust God's strength instead of our own.  If I had one thing I would want to truly stick in your heart and mind from this talk today, it would be this mindset that asks a very important and personal question: "Am I focused on who I am, or who God is?"

It’s interesting, as Christian’s we know we are to trust and obey God, and I don’t think many of us wake up each day thinking, how can I not trust and obey God today, just like I don’t think we are waking up each day saying how can I sin, worship idols, or just make my life harder than it needs to be…no, we love God, and I think we do want to follow Him but it isn’t all that easy is it?  Especially with all the other stuff we can do, enjoy, and run toward in today's world.  We struggle to trust and follow Him, and a large part of that comes down to something that feels so logical and true… we just feel like we aren’t enough.  God asks something of our lives, gives us an opportunity for something amazing to happen in our lives, clearly calls us, just like Moses, and what do we do? Our thoughts and instincts take us to this question, almost instantly.  Who am I?  How will I get this done?  We immediately think of all the reasons we can’t or won’t be able to do it, and every reason we are going to come up short…and I will say it, most of the time we aren’t wrong.  We don’t have every tool in our toolkit needed to do what God asks, and often we fight God and struggle to move forward. We see this with Moses, as He stands there in this incredible moment, shoes off on holy ground, a moment we all agreed last week would be incredible and something we all want, a moment of true clarity and direction as God speaks, and how does Moses respond? 

Exodus 3:11 says: “But Moses protested to God, ‘Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?’” NLT

God lays out the greatness to come, and how does Moses respond?  Who am I to do this?  And that question has stopped more people from following God than any other.  Think about Moses for a moment. He’s standing in front of a burning bush, knowing he is on holy ground, and God tells Moses that He will lead his people out of slavery, and how He will do it: “I am sending you.”  Now, Moses wanted his people freed from Egyptian slavery, so you would think Moses would be excited. This was the answer to generations of prayers. God was finally moving. But Moses doesn’t respond with excitement. He instantly starts going through a mental checklist of what it would take to be the person God needs for this job, and quickly realizes he isn’t qualified or equipped to be that person for God… who would do that?  Well, we would.  We do.  Their story is our story. 

Today is Father’s Day, and I think a lot of dads can relate to how Moses feels here. I can, too.  Now, we have a lot of young families here, which is awesome, but I need to warn you that I’m on the other end of the life stages that you are at, so I’m not trying to minimize or discourage you, your stage is tough right now, but the problems and challenges when they are little, we will just say, they grow with your child.  LOL, sleepless nights over a crying baby can turn into sleepless nights over figuring out where your children are. The joy they once had to hang out with you, waiting for you to come home from work, turns into eye rolls, and them just not wanting you around them (for a season)  The stressful days of hustling from work to a sports field to wave and say how proud you are of them, when they were little they would laugh and smile, turn into being told how embarrassing you can be in public.  Then there is the heart breaking reality of watching them go out into the world with bright eyes, full of confidence and life…and come home each day, with a little less of that life and joy…break ups, painful moments, fender benders, it’s working and providing, it’s volunteer sports coaching, and if you’re a girl dad, that also means learning female things, we will just say “things” that can be accompanied by emergency trips to aisles of the grocery store you never thought you would walk down…it’s stress, pain, joy, intense love, all while wearing different hats you never trained for, you become a driving instructor, a mechanic, a coach, a college trip advisor, plumber, roofer, a global pandemic navigator, an accountant, an emergency road side crew, a uber driver, college financial aid expert, and a life skill equipper, all while living through so many days when all you want to do is fix it, and you just can’t fix it for them, whatever that “it” may be…late nights trying to figure out where they are…stress and pain over decisions and choices that you see them making but can’t seem to help or guide them with, hurting for them as they walk through things that you had to walk through that you just don’t want them walking through…and then there comes a day when they pack up their cars and leave your home, and your standing in your yard watching them drive away, not even sure if you can breathe let alone speak, wondering if you did enough for them to be ok without you.  Let’s add, emergency late night calls, “Dad, I need help” and all you can do at 2 in the morning is put on your shoes and say you’re on the way…then one day you are told you are going to be a grandpa…and that happens while you are still trying to figure out who the old guys are at your gym, and why the old guys at the gym keep talking to you…While you actually are one of the old guys at your gym!  Ok, I will stop. I’m not trying to discourage any of the young parents in the room today, but my point is this: there are so many moments where, as a person, parent, dad, or grandpa, we think the same as Moses.  “Who am I to do this?”  You do this when you hold your child on the first day of their life in the hospital, and honestly, I don’t think we ever stop asking that question. Who am I to raise these kids?  Who am I to lead, provide, and protect my family? Who am I to navigate all of this? Listen, that’s not just a Father’s Day question. That’s a human question.

Who am I to do what God is asking me to do?  Who am I to forgive? Who am I to lead? Who am I to serve? Who am I? And that’s exactly where Moses is standing.  Shoes off, on holy ground, feeling completely inadequate to do what is being asked of him.  And I think we can all relate to that…because we can’t, but God can, and our job is to let Him do what we can’t.

So, if you think about it, the first obstacle to the freedom of the children of Israel isn’t Pharaoh. It’s Moses. The first battle isn’t in Egypt; it’s happening right here at the burning bush inside Moses’ heart. God says, “I’m sending you to do this for me.”  And Moses says, “But look at me, God, what if I fail? I’m so inadequate, I just don’t see how I could be enough.”  Sound familiar? Yeah, we do this too.  When God calls us, we can immediately start listing reasons why we aren’t enough, all our weaknesses, and limitations that make logical sense as to why we can’t do what God is asking of us.  But this leads us right to the shift in our focus I want you to see today.  If you think about it, we are looking at ourselves, focused on our abilities and strengths, that is self-focus, that is us focused on us, rather than on God, and our focus must shift from our limitations to God’s ability.  That is important, but it is not easy, because what you are thinking is not wrong…it’s actually right!  It is true that we are not enough, but it is also true that God is, and that is where so many of us struggle; we don’t make the shift, we are so focused on what we are not that we forget or just won’t accept who God is!  So, Moses asks: “Who am I?” And I love God’s answer, He doesn’t talk about Moses, no, He doesn’t bring up who Moses is or isn’t, He answers by talking about God, the first answer is all about His presence.  I love this.

Exodus 3:12 And God said, “I will be with you....” NIV

Think about that. Moses wants reassurance about Moses. He wants clarity and guarantees here, and God says, "What you get is me… and that is enough."  Moses asks: “Who am I?” God answers: “I will be with you.” In other words, Moses is asking the wrong question. The question isn’t: “Who are you?” The question is: “Who is God?” And that changes everything because the Christian life is built on confidence in God… not our own strength… right?  Throughout Scripture, you see this pattern: God works through imperfect, unqualified people. We love that as we study the Bible, but then struggle to see how God would use us because we know we are imperfect and unqualified.  We tell ourselves: we will serve God or do what He asks when we are ready, or stronger. When I know more and have my life together. When I’m more spiritually mature and centered, then I’ll trust and obey. But God doesn’t work that way.  God moves through ordinary, imperfect people, who don’t have it all together, and in that, we clearly see how great God is, rather than how great we humans are. It leaves no doubt who did what, doesn’t it?  Years later, the Apostle Paul learned the same lesson and shared it with us in 2 Corinthians where we see Paul, church planter extraordinaire, and writer of a lot of The New Testament, the great apostle, and oh, if we are talking about his resume and qualifications, by the way he used to hunt down, and murder men, women, and children who believed in Jesus, (murder is bad) who calls himself the chief of all sinners, who is now serving and doing great things for God…this is just one example in Scripture of that pattern I was just telling you about, on God not calling the qualified by qualifying the called.  Paul is struggling with a weakness; he calls it a thorn in his flesh, and he desperately wants God to remove it. Three times he begged God to take it away, but God won’t do that, and this is how God responds to Paul. 

2 Corinthians 12:9 …“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

Think about that. God’s power is made perfect in what?  Our weakness!  Not despite weakness. In weakness. Not after weakness is removed. God says, Paul, you don’t need that painful thorn in your flesh removed; you simply need me, and I’m enough.  Paul learned that lesson and wants us to as well.

2 Corinthians 12:9 …Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. NIV

Think about that!  God has never been looking for impressive people. He’s looking for people who are willing to trust Him before they feel ready, to obey before they have all the answers, to take a step even when they’re afraid…to accept that it isn’t about them, but it is all about God.  Paul learned that when He is weak, He is strong because He is leaning completely on God, not his own strength to get things done, and that is a completely different way to move through life…because you live in a world today that says live by your own strength, push through, get it done, it’s up to you, but in reality it’s all His, right?

Some of you may know God wants you to do something, but you think God picked the wrong person. You look at your past, your sins, and all your failures. You look at your fears, your weaknesses and limitations, and you’ve decided that you don’t have what it takes…and just to build you up, again…you aren’t wrong. Moses thought that. Paul thought that. Almost every person God used in Scripture felt that. Because we simply are not enough.  But we must understand our lives are not built on self-confidence but on God-confidence. The issue is not whether you are enough. The issue is whether God is enough, and the answer is yes. EVERY…SINGLE…TIME.

So, let’s read a little more of this conversation between God and Moses because it is pretty funny.  Moses just keeps explaining to God why he isn’t right for the job…

Exodus 3:13 Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.  This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” NIV

This is a really bad job interview, God saying you have the job, and Moses explaining why he can’t do what God says.  Moses was looking for any excuse possible to back out, and God just doesn’t take no for an answer.  Moses says, “What if they ask who sent me?” God again never really answers Moses’ questions but keeps the focus on God, not on Moses.   Tell them “I am” sent you.  Ok God, not super helpful.  “Well, what if they don’t believe me?” God answers, these miracles will help them believe you. That didn’t work, so eventually he talks about how he isn’t a good speaker, and God tells him his brother Aaron is already on the way to handle that part.  Finally, Moses runs out of excuses, and you can just feel the desperate defeat here as he says this…

Exodus 4:13 But Moses said, “…Please send someone else.” NIV

LOL, poor Moses, at least he’s honest.  The issue was never his talents, abilities, leadership, or public speaking. The issue was trust; it’s his focus, it’s all on him, and what he isn’t rather than God and who God is, and with every excuse Moses comes back with, God keeps pointing Moses back to who God is, not what Moses isn't. And that’s as true for us today as it was for Moses.  Fear often disguises itself as wisdom. We call it preparation. Caution. Intelligence or being detail-oriented, but it is fear. God keeps saying: “Trust Me.” And we keep showing Him all the reasons why we can’t…and I wanted you to feel the tension in this today!  We aren’t wrong!  We can’t…but God can, and we need to let Him.    

The miracle of Moses’ story isn’t really the burning bush; it is that God uses Moses at all.  Moses is an 80-year-old murderer who struggles to speak well, hiding in the wilderness from the very people he is now being told to go and confront.  Would this be who you pick for this job?  No way! Yet God chooses him, and in it there can be no question of how awesome God is.

It’s important that we see this.  Moses keeps asking: “Who am I?” Moses is consumed with himself, and God doesn’t point to Moses in His answers; instead, He keeps trying to redirect Moses’ attention from himself to God. Because the answer to Moses’ insecurity isn’t a better self-image, or to work harder, and self-improve.  The answer is to shift his focus and have a bigger view of God.  This is important and the exact opposite of how we humans see things, but the answer isn’t to believe more in yourself. The answer is believing more in God. The answer isn’t finding confidence in your strength and talents, but finding confidence in God and His presence in your life.  Do you see it?  When God calls us, we just like Moses start to try to figure out if we have what it takes to do what God wants, and as we logically work through our strengths and weaknesses, we realize that we don’t have what it takes, and that is the point, we can’t, God can, and we need to let Him.  This is the shift in focus that it takes to do God’s will in our lives, and it’s a difficult shift to make in this challenging world we live in…the focus must shift from you to God, then you begin to experience His presence and grace in your life…and that is enough.  The big takeaway, the thing I wanted you to think about today, this week, and in your life, is a question that can change everything for you.  

"Am I focused on who I am, or who God is?"

So let me ask you a few personal questions as we close.  Where in your own life are you saying, “Who am I?” right now? Maybe your marriage is having some challenges.  Maybe it’s in your parenting or career.  Maybe God is asking you to trust Him with your future or finances, to serve or lead, to step out in faith, or to just let go of something you’ve been holding on to.  Maybe there is a difficult person in your life that God keeps saying you need to invest in, or love, or forgive, and every time you think about it, the same question arises: Who am I? And God’s answer is the same for you as it was for Moses. “I will be with you.” Notice what God doesn’t promise.  He doesn’t promise you’ll never struggle, or that you’ll always understand. He doesn’t promise you’ll always feel confident or never be afraid. He doesn’t even guarantee it will all go well. He simply promises His presence. And that is enough. Because the answer to your life is not found in who you are. The answer is and has always been found in who God is. When we understand this and make that shift in focus, well, that’s when life gets fun.