Excuses, Excuses! What is Your Excuse?

Excuses, Excuses! What is your excuse?

Excuses are the tool of Satan, which keeps Christian’s from doing the will of God!

“The dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan” (Rev. 20:2), has been conquered and is yet conqueror “Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.” (Rev. 12:7-10) During this short time frame before the return of Jesus Christ, the devil will stop at nothing to keep the people of the earth blind on the road to truth; by this Satan keeps us groping, stumbling, and causing others to fall into his pit.

Here we will look at some of the cunning ways of Satan. Excuses!

1. Sadducees - The Sadducees derived their name from the word Zadokites or maybe from the Hebrew word tsaddik, meaning “righteous.” Whereas the Pharisees were strongly connected with the scribes, the Sadducees were related to the high priest. The priests seem to have tended toward the more social, political, and earthly aspects of their position. This pattern of thinking was attractive to many of the more socially-minded Jewish leaders.

Numerically a much smaller party than the Pharisees, the Sadducees belonged mostly to the wealthy influential priestly families who formed the social aristocracy of the Jewish nation. They felt that God’s law and a nation’s politics were totally separate. In other words, they saw no relationship between the need for holiness and the destiny of their nation. Religion was religion; politics was politics. They were therefore very skeptical of the Pharisees and seemingly concluded that the latter were old-fashioned, irrelevant, and fanatical (Acts 4:1-2, 5:17-18, 23:6-8 NKJV).

Yes, even today in Christianity we have Sadducees. Today they are the Christian government leaders who compromise with the world, to hold on to their power over the masses. They have dismissed “the Devil/Satan” as not existing and replacing all reference to a simple, “Man is responsible solely for what happens to man;” while some say they believe in the resurrection, most still don’t. They believe that if they can’t see it, then it does not exist. They feel that God’s law and a nation’s politics are totally separate. In other words, they see no relationship between the need for holiness and the destiny of their nation. Religion is religion; politics is politics; therefore, they want to remove all traces of religion from public sight.

The excuses of the modern day Sadducees are;

God does not answer prayer; therefore I will not come and pray.

I don’t have the time!

I am a busy man!

I work hard, live a good life, and do what I can; that is all you can do.

These are just a few of them.

2. Pharisees - The Pharisees were so named early in the reign of John Hyrcanus. The name means “Separatists. “ They depended heavily upon the scribes and were loyal to the law and religion of Jehovah. Their emphasis upon the strict adherence to the Scriptures led to a strong attachment to the “oral law,” or Mishnah, which sought to apply the written law to everyday life.

During the earthly ministry of Jesus, the “oral law” was so rigid with legalistic expansions that it usually had little to do with the original intent of Scripture. What started out to be a very wholesome and much-needed dependence on the Word of God deteriorated to a formalism and legalism that denied the spirit of the Word (Acts 23:6-8, 22:3, 26:4-5, Luke 18:10-14 NKJV).

Today the Pharisees are still with us. The “oral law” or Mishnah of today is “Church By-Laws”. In these “By-Laws’ it states separation from those that do not believe as they believe. As in Jesus’ day, something that started out to be very wholesome has deteriorated into formalism and legalism that denies the spirit of the word.

Excused of the modern day Pharisees:

I can’t come and pray with you because that church is going to be there, they don’t believe what we do; therefore, we can’t come into agreement.

They believe in sprinkle baptisms; therefore, they are not Christians.

It is always the same from here on “they believe this or that” thus we must be separate from them.

3. Herodians - The Herodians emerged during the Roman Era. This was a political party whose major aim was to further the cause of Herod’s government. They were perhaps motivated by a fear of the Roman government and the possibility of total destruction that could result from an act of rebellion on the part of the Jews. They were strongly inclined toward Hellenism and were opposed to the Pharisees and their constant emphasis on separation (Matthew 22:15-22, Mark 3:6, 12:13 NKJV).

Men can reason, however, only with the knowledge and concepts they have. In the ancient world this meant Hellenic (Greek) philosophy and pagan authors. So Christianity was forced by the needs of the people into the world of pagan thought. Paul warns us to “Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.” (Colossians 2:8 NKJV)

Excuses of modern day Herodians:

We will discuss it in committee and pray about, and get back with you later.

4. Essenes - The Essenes were also a product of the Roman Era. They are not mentioned in the New Testament but have received considerable attention since the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

This group of people was religious, not political. They were a type of pseudo spiritual cult which felt that they must withdraw from ordinary human society and practice a monastic kind of life and a mystical kind of Judaism.

With a passion for the spirit of the law and a separation to God, the Essenes lost all consciousness of the evangelistic mission of Israel. They were content to lock out the world, ignore its problems, and let it die without hope.

Today these are the cults like Branch Dravidians, The Jim Jones, and Heavens Gate to name a few of the recent past. They offer no excuses.

5. Zealots - The Zealots (or “Cananaeans,” from the Aramaic kannaˊah, “zealous”—“Canaanites” in the NKJV New Testament) were also a political party but were in direct opposition to the Herodians. They would not conform to Roman rule, and they did not believe in waiting submissively like the Pharisees until Israel’s Messiah would come and overthrow the Romans. In their opinion God only helped those who helped themselves. The Jews must be ready to fight for independence.

To a Pharisee-like fanaticism for the letter of the law, the Zealots added a fiery nationalistic spirit. The teachings of this group stressed a type of man-made, military deliverance rather than divine intervention (Luke 6:15, Acts 1:13).

There are few of the “Zealots” today, but there are some. These are any religious groups that advocate military power to make the Kingdom of God on earth.

Have you seen Jesus lately? If not, maybe it is because you don’t love him enough. “A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. 20 At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. 21 He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.” (John 14:19-21 NKJV)

Notice Jesus did not say obscure Myself to him, but said “manifest Myself to him.”

Manifest = obvious, patent, apparent, evident, clear, visible, marked, noticeable, discernible, plain, and observable.

emphanizō

Thayer Definition:

1) to manifest, exhibit to view

2) to show one’s self, come to view, appear, be manifest

3) to indicate, disclose, declare, make known

Part of Speech: verb

phainō

Thayer Definition:

1) to bring forth into the light, cause to shine, shed light

2) shine

2a) to shine, be bright or resplendent

2b) to become evident, to be brought forth into the light, come to view, appear

2b1) of growing vegetation, to come to light

2b2) to appear, be seen

2b3) exposed to view

2c) to meet the eyes, strike the sight, become clear or manifest

2c1) to be seen, appear

2d) to appear to the mind; seem to one’s judgment or opinion

Part of Speech: verb

Albert Barnes States it this way:

“He that hath ... - This intimate union is further manifested by these facts:

1. That true love to Jesus will produce obedience. See John 14:15.

2. That those who love him will be loved of the Father, showing that there is a union between the Father and the Son.

3. That Jesus also will love them, evincing still the same union. Religion is love. The love of one holy being or object is the love of all. The kingdom of God is one. His people, though called by different names, are one. They are united to each other and to God, and the bond which unites the whole kingdom in one is love.

Will manifest myself to him - To manifest is to show, to make appear, to place before the eyes so that an object may be seen. This means that Jesus would so show himself to his followers that they should see and know that he was their Saviour.”

Vincent’s Word Study

Hath

“Who has in memory and keeps in life” (Augustine).

Will manifest (ἐμφανίσω)

Properly, of manifestation to the sight, as distinguished from δηλόω, to make evident to the mind (1Co_3:13; Col_1:8, etc.). A clear, conspicuous manifestation is indicated. Compare ye see me (Joh_14:19). “It conveys more than the disclosing of an undiscovered presence (ἀποκαλύπτω), or the manifesting of a hidden one (φανερόω)” (Westcott).

I saw Jesus in a dream in June. He was sitting on a rock crying. I ask what the matter was, and He said, “My children will not listen, they will not learn to work together.”

WOW! For a dream, that was really powerful. You be the judge; for I love Jesus with all my heart, with all my soul, and with my entire mind, and I have been seeking His face since May 30th 2004, every day and night. I have found Him, and He has healed me, not just spiritually but physically.

All of the excuses used in this message are real; I have heard each one of them. So as Jesus asks Peter “do you love Me,” what is your answer, and what will be your excuse on Judgment Day, when we stand before our Lord. Will your excuse stand up before the Lord? You know deep down within you, that there are no excuses accepted.