Let me start off this morning by asking you a question. Uh, how many alarms do you set in the morning? OK, how many alarms do you set in the morning? Um, here's what I found in relationships, is that there are two kinds of people. There is someone who doesn't need the snooze button, and then there's someone who definitely needs the snooze button, and those people usually end up together. Um, I feel bad because I'm a snooze button person. Uh, I need 3 or 4, right, uh, there to, to get up in the morning. And, and what I heard it said one time is that hitting the snooze button is not oversleeping, it's negotiating your day. Um, and have you ever, it, it's amazing to me the math I'm able to do in the morning by navigating the amount of snoozes I'm allowed to do. Does anyone else do this, right? Like, uh, uh, it's like, well, if I hit the snooze out, it's 8 minutes plus 8 minutes, that's 16 minutes, and then if I go 16 minutes, then I can cut this, and then I start going, OK, snooze, and I'm back, back to sleep. Um, but, um, nothing compares to my roommate freshman year of college. Uh, is, is the worst case of snooze I've, I've experienced. Um, I sadly had an 8 o'clock class, uh, freshman year, which who has an 8 o'clock class freshman year? I guess that's why they made freshmen take it. Um, And so I was on campus at 8 o'clock, 9 o'clock. We had chapel at 10:00. I was going to a Christian college, and then I'd go to lunch and then I came back to my dorm at noon. Well, I was getting ready for my 8 o'clock class, about to leave 7:45, about to walking out the door, and uh my roommate's alarm goes off, hits the news. I was like, hey, no judgment, right? I hit the snooze 23 times that morning as well. All right, man, get some rest. See you this afternoon, right? Go to class, go to class, go to chapel, go to lunch, go back to our dorm room. It's now 12:30, and I walk in, the lights are still completely dark, and I walk in and be like, no, he's not. And then all of a sudden I hear. And I was like, bro. You've snoozed for 4.5 hours. At some point, you gotta get up or just unplug the clock at that point back when clocks needed plugs. And uh like at some point, like you gotta make a change, man. OK, why do I say this? Because, well, it's very common for us to start our days hitting the snooze button, I think many of us have a spiritual snooze button. Right. And where God calls us to do things. And we delay obedience, right? And we just, we hit the snooze button. Now we have reasons for hitting the snooze button, uh, but, oh, OK, God, I'll get to it, right? You're supposed to read your Bible. OK, I'll, I'll get to it. I, I, I want you to obey me, OK, I'll get to it. I, I need to give up that addiction of snooze button, right? Maybe he's calling you to do something or to have a conversation with somebody or to step out in faith or change career paths, and we just keep hitting these spiritual snooze buttons. And I'm gonna close this morning by asking you, what is your spiritual snooze button? What are you putting off that God is calling you to do? And we're gonna address how do we respond to that. Because if you're taking notes, I want you to write this down, that excuses delay what obedience delivers. Excuses delay what obedience delivers. See, what we're gonna find out is that Moses, this great Moses, who's on the Mount Rushmore of prophets and biblical characters, was actually a reluctant leader, that Moses himself, when he got called by God to do something great, repeatedly hit the spiritual snooze button. Now last week, we we shared from Exodus chapter 1 and Exodus chapter 2, that the story of Moses actually begins in silence, in waiting and in suffering. So the people of God were now enslaved by the Egyptians, and Pharaoh gives this order to kill all infant boys. And so Moses' mother actually places him in a basket. And, and actually places him right in front of Pharaoh's daughter. Pharaoh's daughter actually takes mercy on this infant, takes him in, says, no, we need to save this one. It says, well, we need a Hebrew woman to take care of him. And so actually ends up asking Moses's own mom to take care of him for a season. And so then Moses actually gets preserved in a basket, then in a palace, and then ultimately in a desert. And so So he grows up in the palace, spends about 40 years learning all Egyptian cultures and ways, but in his fit of rage and anger, because he hadn't developed his character yet, ultimately kills a guy over an angry fight. And so flees for his life to the desert. And so here is somebody who's got shame, who's got guilt, who who who leaves his people, leaves his calling, and it's in that desert season. That he learns humility, he learns how to be, he gets married, he learns how to be a husband, he learns how to be a father, he becomes a shepherd. And so that's where we pick up our story today. And at the end of chapter two, when Moses is off in Midian, the people of God are suffering, but it ends with this encouraging verse that tells us that God ultimately saw the people, remembered them. Uh, heard their voices and knew what was going on. And so in Exodus 1 and 2, we see that God hears, but in Exodus 3 and 4, we now move to where God speaks. And so Moses is gonna have this direct interaction with God, and he doesn't respond how you think he would respond. At least the Moses I remember from Sunday school, OK? But it's actually much more relatable to you and I today. Let's jump into it. Exodus chapter 3 verse 1. Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro. So he's not even keeping his own sheep at this point. He's helping out the in-laws, and he says that who is uh Jethro was the priest of Midian. And he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. This is fascinating because, you know, another name for Horeb? It's Mount Sinai. So this is the same mountain that ultimately he would get and receive the 10 Commandments. That's first getting the calling of God. Verse 2. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him. Now this is fascinating because many scholars believe that this angel was actually a preincarnate version of Jesus, or it's described as Christophane, or a visible manifestation of God. The reason they say that as a potential is because the angel of the Lord appears before him, but then addresses Moses as God himself. Right? He doesn't say the Lord says, like, like a difference would be the angel in the in the Christmas story, says, you know, good news of great joy, I give you today that the Lord is born. Instead, he says the angel of the Lord appears, it says God is speaking to you, and you'll see this here in just a minute. And so whether it was Jesus, whether it was God the Father, either way, we have the power of God, full divinity on display in connection with Moses. So the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame on fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. Verse 3, and Moses said, I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not being burned. Verse 4, when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called out to him out of the bush, Moses, Moses, he said, and Moses said, Here I am. Then he said, do not come near. Take off your, take your sandals off your feet, for this place on which you are standing is holy ground. Now, a few interesting thoughts before we continue here, is that God meets Moses while he's working. Right? So he is in obscurity, watching sheep. We think of David watching sheep, we think of Jesus, the great shepherd, we think of Psalm 23, the Psalm of the shepherd here for the Lord is a shepherd, right? I shall not want. Moses himself actually was a shepherd. And so here is Moses with sheep on a mountain in obscurity, and God meets him right where he is. I think it's important for you and I to understand that God will meet you where you are. In the busyness of life in these moments. And that it's the presence of God that actually makes that place holy. It wasn't like that was a special bush. But it was the very presence of God that made it holy. Think about the Christmas story, right? What are we singing at Christmas time? Oh, holy night. What makes the stable holy? It's not the stable, it's the presence of God. And then he calls out his name twice, Moses, Moses. One, there's no other people around, unless maybe he had some other servants nearby, but God calls him out directly, calls his name out twice in a personal higher calling. Just take off your sandals, for the place is holy, and it's not the place itself, it's the presence of God. And so there he has this connection point, and he calls him out. And that Hebrew phrase for here I uh I am, is really saying, here I am, fully present, fully listening, fully available, and yielding to your authority. So we have this great picture and set up for the conversation they're about to have. Let's jump back into the story, verse 6. And 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 at God. And then the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and I've heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of the land to a good and broad land, a land flowing of milk and honey to the place of the Canaanites. And the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Pezarites, and the Hivites and the Jebusites. And now behold the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I've also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppressed them, and come, I will send you to Pharaoh, that you may bring my people, the children of Israel out of Egypt. Wow! Imagine being there, sandals off, face on the ground, the bush is burning. Fire represents the holiness and presence of God. All right? We see in here, for example, in Hebrews 12:29, God is a consuming fire. Psalm 97:3, fire consumes his foes on every side. Later, when Moses would lead the people out of Egypt, they would be led by a cloud, they would also be led by a pillar of fire. Uh, also think of an interesting tie that I haven't really thought about much before, is that in the story of Daniel, Shadrack, Meshach, and Amennego are thrown into a fire and they are not consumed. Why? Because the presence of God is there, right? And so that's why the presence of God has this consuming fire, but yet the bush is not consumed. And then in this conversation directly to Moses, where he is, despite his guilt and shame, and his obscurity, 40 years in the palace, now 40 years in the desert. Some of us think it's too late to follow God. So here's Moses, almost 80 years old, and he says, I'm sending you, Moses. And his response is, Nope. And he gives these excuses. Now we know from the end of the story that Moses would ultimately lead the people. But what we see here is that God. Works despite his reluctant leader. And what's encouraging is that the hesitancies that Moses had are all hesitancies that I've personally had. And what I realized is that Moses is like us. And you're gonna see it here. He's gonna, he's gonna give these excuses. He's gonna hit this snooze button here. It's like, and tell God why he shouldn't be chosen. And then God's gonna use them anyway. Let, let's walk through these excuses together. The first excuse Moses gives is actually one of insecurity. And he says, who am I? That you're gonna send me Have you ever felt insecure? Ever feel like you're not good enough. I, I can't step into that promotion. I can't lead that ministry. I, I, I can't be that husband or wife that I need to be. I, I can't be the parent that I need to be. Mose is like, are you sure? Verse 11 and 12, but Moses said to God, who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt? And I 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 the God on this mountain. First, he says, Who am I? God's response? It's not about you, it's about me. I'm gonna be with you. I'm gonna be with you. What do you, what do you mean, who am I? Like we, we live in a culture that tries to affirm everything. And says, no, you got, you got this. You go, girl. I, I don't personally say that, really. Although technically I just did. Anyway. Right? We're like, you, you got, you're smart enough, you're brave, you're awesome, you got this. God doesn't do that Moses goes, who, who am I to do this, God? Almost like this like fearful and genuine like shame, but also like waiting for God like, yeah, you can do it, Moses. But he doesn't do that. God doesn't affirm Moses, God actually affirms God. Say, who am I? He says, I'm gonna be with you. I'm the one sending you. You're serving the meal, but I'm making the meal. Just bring the plate out. Second insecurity. Was, uh, second excuse was, um, first one was insecurity, second one was uncertainty. He has the audacity to go, well, then who are you? First he goes, who am I? And then he goes, Who are you? Verse 13, then Moses said to God, If I come to, oh, go back. Go back here I'll go from here. And 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 him what is his name? What should I say to them? And God said, I am who I am. And he said, say this to the people of Israel, I am has sent you. And God also said to Moses, say this to the people of Israel, the Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and Isaac, the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is my name, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations. Moses goes, Who are you? He goes, I am. The word there is Yahweh. And it's such a cool picture of who God is. That there was such a reverence to this name that people didn't even utter it aloud. Then in writing the English that we see here, we see the letters like Y H Y H or that's where we get our word, like Yahweh. A lot of times people don't utter that word, so instead they would um utter Adonai, which means Lord. But what's so powerful about Yahweh is is it's the only word in the English language that you can say by simply breathing. Try it. OK. Every single breath you take is a subtle nod to the presence of God. And I am is all powerful, all present, always was, always will be. Right. God's LinkedIn profile just has IM. Right here. Think about what industry you work in, right? You go to a convention, it doesn't matter for me to be pastors or ministry, where, you know, healthcare, business, whatever it is. You go to a convention, you meet someone, they got a name tag, or you exchange, you hand them a business card, like, hi, what's your name? What's your name? What's the next question? Always, what do you do? Right. That's what Moses is asking. God, what, what, what am I gonna say? He's here, give him my business card. And his business card just says, I am. And if you tie this to the New Testament, you understand the power behind this is that Jesus had all these I am statements, right? The 7 I am statements, I am the way, the truth and the life. I am the life and the resurrection. I am the good shepherd. I am the door. And then in John 10, he actually says, I am. He takes the very name of God. And as soon as he says that, the Pharisees wanted to stone stone him. Why? Because that is the reverent name of God Almighty. He says, I'm gonna send you. I am your comfort. He doesn't affirm Moses, he affirms God. What's the next excuse of Moses? First was insecurity. He goes, Who am I? Second was uncertainty. He goes, Well, who are you? Who do I say is sending me? Third, is fear. He goes, well, what if they don't believe me? Chapter 4, verse 1. He says, then Moses answered, but behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, the Lord didn't appear to you. And for time's sake, we won't read verses 2 to 9, but God gives him a sign. He says, I'm gonna give you a staff. When you throw it down, it becomes a snake. When you grab it, it becomes a staff again. He says, this cloak, you put your hand in your cloak, you pull it out, it's gonna look like you have leprosy. You're gonna look if you put it back in, you're gonna have a healed hand. And you're gonna have also a portion where it's gonna turn water into, into blood. And all these things, you're gonna give signs and wonders to prove the divinity and power of God. That sound familiar to the New Testament? Why did Jesus perform these miracles? To demonstrate his divinity, to prove that he has the power to provide deliverance for his people. Right, same thing. That's why this story is the gospel of the Old Testament. OK First excuse. Insecurity, who am I? Second excuse, uncertainty. God, who are you? Uh, who are they? They're not gonna believe me. The third one is fear. Right? They don't, uh, what, they're not gonna believe what I say. Like, who am I? I've been gone, right? What, they, they're not gonna listen to me. OK, 4 is inadequacy. OK, but even if they do listen to me, I'm not a good speaker. Says this in verse 10. But Moses said to the Lord, oh my Lord, I'm not eloquent. Either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and tongue. And then the Lord said to him, who has made man's mouth? What a comeback. Right? But God, I'm not a good speaker. Who made your mouth? Like, it's the parent version of I brought you into this world, I can take you out. Right? 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. Ever felt like you're not good enough? Smart enough Moral enough. Right. God can't use me, fill in the blank. I'm too old. I'm too young. I made too many mistakes. I got too much shame. I got a past. I got questions. You know See, God doesn't use people based on their ability. He uses people based on their availability. Because the power comes not from your ability, but from his authority. Cause then we have the last one here is avoidance. After all these things, you think Moses would be like, all right, I'm ready. No. His 5th excuse is, OK, find somebody else. He says this here verse 13, he says, oh my Lord. I mean, he's saying that, but you could picture him saying, oh my Lord, like he's sitting there, he's like, please send someone else. Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that I can speak well, behold, he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. For you shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth, and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and we'll teach you both what to do. He said, I got people. I'm gonna send people to come alongside you. Uh, it's gonna come trouble with this later, but we'll save that for a few weeks from now. But see, Moses' excuses are our excuses. What's your excuse? Insecurity, uncertainty, fear. Inadequacy, avoidance. When I felt called to start Mission Grove, just be open with you here, I, I felt all of those. I thought, gosh, I got, who am I to start a church? I'm I. Large child. I sometimes feel like Buddy the elf. You know, just like, I, I like, how am I supposed to, how am I supposed to start a church? I just want to ask you, what's your favorite color, you know what I mean? Like, like I'm just a big kid and you all know that. Then I was uncertain. I was like, gosh, I had a month of savings and a call from God, and it is, oh my goodness, how's God, is anybody gonna come? I was fearful, like, God, what if this doesn't work? And then inadequacy, like, God, I haven't been a lead pastor before. Or avoidance like I, I, I maybe send somebody else. I don't know, like. And I was reminded actually, when I was wrestling through all these things, I was actually reminded of a time years ago when I was a youth pastor. See, back in October of 2012, I was leading the uh youth in a, a youth retreat in October, um, in Florida. And I, and I taught through this story actually, and taught about how God affirmed God, not Moses, and that he wants our obedience, right? He doesn't need to lay out the plan, he just wants our obedience. And, and so I had the students write a letter to themselves. What's your biggest worry right now? And then I had this idea to seal up the letters, put them in my office, and then the first Monday of January, I was gonna send out the letter and see how God answered their prayers, right? Now, I was leading the exercise, so I didn't write down a letter, but I remember at the time feeling like I was getting called out of that location where I was back in 2012, but I had no idea where I was supposed to go next. So that was my question. Well then the next week I go to, in October, so I do the conference, we go back, got the letters in my office. I go back and then I, I get asked to speak at my alma mater. I get to go back to Ohio and speak at the chapel at the college where I got called into the ministry. I said, that's cool. So I go, go back, preach. A buddy of mine who I hadn't seen in 6 years, uh, just got hired at the church in town. I was like, hey, let's go grab lunch. We go grab lunch. His name was Mike Stanish. He's got an uncle whose name was Steve Hayes. I say that because the names did not match, um, here because it was his uncle, um, so from the family side. And that next week, his uncle comes out, has lunch with my friend Mike, he said, hey, we're actually looking for a youth pastor. Here in Arizona, and I was like, oh, that's wild. I just had lunch with my buddy who's now in Florida, you should give him a call. And so Steve on the elder board at a church here in the valley, reaches out to another pastor who you guys, some of you might know him, his name's Randy. And so then he, Randy gives me this call, and he says, hey, this is Randy from Su Church here in Arizona, and we got a mutual friend, Steve Hayes, and I'm like, I don't know. Steve Hayes is, because my friend's name was Mike Standish. Like there's no, I, there's no way I'm gonna make it, right? So we finally made the connection, we're going through, oh, we're actually looking for youth pastor. He flies out, sees me, I fly out, see them. It's just a whole other series of God stories affirms that it's, it's 30 minutes from where my wife's family is and other things. So we get to that place and so right after Christmas, they vote. And so that first Sunday in January, they vote, um. They vote me in um as the next youth pastor in this church out in Arizona. And so, and then on Monday morning, I go into my office where I was and my alarm goes off. To send out the letters for answered prayer. I was like, oh my goodness, I forgot that I even did that exercise. And in between October of when I had the kids write the letters to January, he sent me back to Ohio to have lunch with someone who I hadn't seen in 6 years. She's an uncle came out the next week and then sent me back to Florida and made these connections, flew out, came back, got hired, moved on, and, and, and all of that, I was like, oh my goodness, like God, you are real. And the reason I say that was then when I was called to start Mission Grove here in 2018, and I felt all of those things of insecurity, uncertainty, fear, inadequacy, avoidance, all those things. I was reminded God, you were faithful then. You're going to be faithful now. And you're going to be faithful. Moving forward because you are, I am. And so in that, it took a step. That's my journey. Let me ask you, what is your journey? You see, excuses delay what obedience delivers. Moses was reluctant. He had all of those things. But eventually he reached the place where he stopped hitting the spiritual snooze button. He said, OK, God, I will follow. I will follow. So I want to end this morning. With the question we started this morning's message with. In what area in your life are you hitting the spiritual snooze button? Number one, I want you to name the area where you're hesitating to obey. Is it an addiction you need to give up? Do you need to start getting into God's word? Do you need to start praying? Is God changing the direction of your life? Are you entering a new season? Do you need to serve? Do you need to have a hard conversation with somebody in your life? Do you need to challenge at work? Do you need to forgive something that you're holding on to? Do you need to step out in faith and to share with that neighbor or that loved one? I don't know what God's calling you to step into, but I'm telling you, an excuse is just gonna delay what only obedience can deliver. Right. So once you've identified the area where you need to obey, #2, I want you, can you identify which excuse you're using? For me, when, before starting the church, it was all 5. Right? But it should encourage you that Moses himself had those things. Insecurity, uncertainty, fear, inadequacy, and avoidance. But eventually he came to a place of obedience. And God provided the courage, not before obedience, but on the other side of obedience. So that's the challenge. Will you take one concrete step of obedience this week? If the area is reading the Bible, will you read tomorrow and Tuesday and Wednesday? If it's having a conversation, will you reach out to that person? If it's forgiveness, it's not, uh, forgiveness is not just a one-time thing, right? Like, but will you commit to God to daily forgive. Right. What's your area? What is the issue? What is your excuse? We're like Moses and that we will offer those excuses to God. But understand this, that my job as your pastor is not to affirm you, but actually to affirm God. And God works through Moses, a reluctant leader. I'm telling you, God's working through my life as a reluctant leader. I'm still filled with shortcomings today. But doing what I can to follow where he calls me to go, and I'm inviting you to go with me. OK. Where is God calling you? Where is God leading you? Once you've identified that excuse, give that to God. The great I am Yeah. Well Take that step this week. Will you pray with me? Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for the example of Moses. You met him in obscurity. At work, in the field. And what became holy was because of your presence, not the place. And that ultimately God, once you gave him a calling, and he pushed back, you affirmed who you were and your power and your presence. And may we be reminded that if you've called us into something that you will sustain us through it. And then may we be reminded that you don't call the qualified, but rather, God, you qualify the called. And so God, may you just move in a mighty way. We give our excuses over to you. Hope it's to stop hitting that spiritual snooze button. And ultimately, take a step of obedience towards you today. We love you, God. In your Son's name, we pray. Amen.