The year 2026 has just begun. Believe it or not, new challenges are waiting before us in our lives. And new challenges also stand before IBF.
This year, God will also entrust us with new ministries and new good works. Some of these ministries may be things we have never done before. Some of these good works may be things we have never experienced in our lives. These challenges may go far beyond our knowledge and abilities.
In general, we want to stay within what we know well—what we have experienced a lot, what feels familiar and comfortable. Trying something new is never easy, and it becomes even harder as we grow older. Sometimes, I find myself thinking this way: “At my age, is this really for me? Why would I?”
When someone invites me to try a new hobby or a new kind of exercise that I have never done before, I may smile and say, “I’m okay—why don’t you try it?” and quietly step back.
I kind of don’t change my habits easily. I usually stick to the same things. For example, when I go to a coffee shop, I always order an Americano. I almost never try cappuccino or latte. I don’t try new drinks. Also, when I go to a udon restaurant, I always order kake udon. I rarely order zaru udon or curry udon. I always order the same thing. How about you? Are you willing to leave what is familiar and comfortable and choose to step into a new challenge?
Today, I want to introduce one man to you. This is the story of an old man who faced a completely new challenge at the age of 80. We all know the famous KFC grandfather. He started his fried chicken business at the age of 65. That was already very late in life. But the man I want to talk about today faced a challenge even later than that—when he was 80 years old. Crazy.
Even more surprisingly, he did not choose this challenge after careful planning.This was not a path he had prepared for. It was not something he wanted. He was pushed into this challenge. Usually, when we face a new challenge, we plan for a long time. We prepare. We count the cost.
But this old man’s challenge was very different. It was nothing like the challenges we usually imagine. The eighty-year-old man I want to introduce to you today was not prepared at all. He seemed to lack everything. Even he himself felt weak and incapable.
There was a time when he was successful. But after a great failure, he turned his back on the world. In fact, he lived away from the world for forty years.
So, who is this man? Yes, it is Moses. Until the age of forty, Moses lived a life that many people would envy. Although he was an adopted son, he grew up in the palace of Egypt, having power, education, and a bright future.
But when he was forty years old, he saw one of his own people, a Hebrew, being mistreated. He could not control his anger and killed an Egyptian man.
Because of that one event, he left the palace and ran away to the wilderness of Midian.
In one moment, his life fell from the very top to the very bottom.
From a prince, he became a murderer and a man on the run. After that,
Moses lived as a shepherd in the wilderness.When Moses was eighty years old, God appeared to him in the burning bush.
At the age of eighty, people think their life is almost over. They believe they have already lived enough. Moses may have thought the same way in his heart. He may have said to himself, “At this age, what can I still do?”
Many pastors say that Moses was fully prepared to lead Israel when God called him. It could be. It might be true. God chooses people, equips them, and uses them when the time is right. The apostle Paul is a good example of this.
But when we look at Moses, it feels a little different. Was he truly ready to lead an entire nation? To me, it doesn’t seem that way. Moses was so honest and said that he was not ready to be a leader. This was not humility—this was the truth.
He was completely unqualified—unprepared and insufficient in every way—to lead the people of Israel. He simply could not understand why God would want to use someone like him.
Moses tried to shy away from the challenge before him, giving five seemingly reasonable excuses for his own inadequacy. In fact, Moses attempted to run away from God’s calling.
In Exodus 3:9–10, God appeared in the burning bush and said, “Now go, for the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the suffering of the Egyptians who oppress them. So I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”
Moses’ first excuse is written in Exodus 3:11. It says, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”
Moses had already lost all the career experience needed to be a leader. His leadership career had been stopped for a long time. People didn’t really trust him anymore, and he had lost touch with the world around him. He had also lost his political sense. In short, there was nothing in his resume to show that he was ready for that job.
What Moses said was absolutely true. He was far from ready to lead a whole nation. Preparation? What preparation did he really have? As a prince of Egypt, he probably learned politics, administration, law, diplomacy, military strategy, religion, and foreign languages in the palace—at least until he turned forty. But when was that? Forty years ago! Could he still speak Egyptian fluently? Well, after forty years in the wilderness, do you really think that language would come easily from his lips?
Now Moses was eighty years old. How much could he really remember? Even his native Hebrew was probably rough and awkward. The elegant, polished language of the royal palace was gone, and all that remained was the rough, simple language of the wilderness. That was Moses at this moment.
In response to Moses, God said, “I will be with you.” Brothers and sisters, believe this— the same God who was with Moses is with you as well. Do you know why? It is because you are way better than Moses. You are more prepared, more qualified, and more capable than Moses.
Here we see Moses’ second excuse. Let me read 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?’”
If we want to do God’s work on His behalf, we must first know God well. But Moses knew very little about God. What he knew probably came only from the stories passed down by his ancestors. In fact, Moses met God for the first time on Mount Horeb. Normally, we think that to be used by God, one must be full of knowledge about Him.
And yet Moses didn’t even know God’s name. Still, God chose Moses. And when Moses asked, God revealed His name clearly: “I AM WHO I AM.” Brothers and sisters, you are better than Moses. You know what? At least, you already know God’s name.
And the following is Moses’ third excuse. Let me read Exodus 4:1. “Moses answered, ‘What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, “The LORD did not appear to you”?’”
We often think that to be used by God, or to do God’s work, we need personal encounters with God. Sometimes, we even expect miraculous experiences. Many pastors testify that they met God several times before they became church leaders.
But Moses is different. He did not meet God until he was 80 years old. Moses was no better than ordinary pastors. When Moses made his excuses, God showed him signs: his staff turned into a snake, and his hand became leprous and then healed. These miracles proved that God was with Moses.
And the next is Moses’ fourth excuse. Let me read Exodus 4:10. It says, “Moses said to the LORD, ‘Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.’”
Moses was not a good speaker. But one of the most important abilities for a leader is the ability to communicate. If a leader cannot guide people with words or communicate clearly, no one will follow them. In that sense, a person who is not a good speaker might seem unfit to be a leader.
Yet, amazingly, God chose Moses—the very man who was not good at speaking—to be the leader of His people. In response to Moses’ excuse, God said to him, “‘Who gave human beings their mouths? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.’”
God does not call only the capable, like the Apostle Paul. He calls even those who seem weak and unqualified, like Moses. God calls them. He equips them. He uses them. In fact, God works through them for His great purposes.
This year, I pray that God will be with you, just as He was with Moses. I encourage you to seek God’s presence. Seek God’s presence more and more. The key to a successful and prosperous life does not depend on how talented we are, but on whether or not God is with us.
Finally, Moses makes one last excuse. Exodus 4:13 says, “Moses said, ‘O Lord, please send someone else.’”
This is Moses’ honest confession. Can you see it? Moses didn’t want the task.
He wanted to run away from God’s calling. Brothers and sisters, when God calls you to a certain ministry or a good work, this should be your response: “Lord, here I am. Send me!”
Let me finish with this thought: God does not call perfect people. Who on earth is perfect in God’s eyes? The truth is… God calls people according to His will, not because they are perfect or fully prepared. He just calls them and works through them.
Let us pray.
God, we are weak. We are not very prepared.
And yet You have called us. You have called us to be part of the church-planting team.
God, help us not to make excuses like Moses, saying we cannot do it. Help us to be Your faithful servants who obey Your calling.
We pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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