Are You An Ignitor Of Excuses? Series

IGNITOR OF EXCUSES? The Danger of Beginning with Excuses

By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com

I set a candle before us, a box of wooden matches, and a glass of water.

I dip a match in the water, and try to light the candle. I do it again and again, and the results is always the same.

TEXT:

Luke 14:18 And THEY ALL with ONE CONSENT BEGAN TO MAKE EXCUSE.

The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and SEE IT,

I pray thee have me excused.

19. And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I GO TO PROVE them, I pray thee have me excused.

20. And another said, I have married a wife, and THEREFORE I CANNOT COME.

One match can start a fire that may burn hundreds of acres. It all started with one match.

1. DEFINITIONS:

PRIORITY: --- PREFERENTIAL RATING. --- Rating by importance.

BEGIN: --- To start a process in motion. --- To do the first part. --- A STARTING POINT. ---

To bring into being. --- Originate ---

OFFERING: --- The act of giving or contributing to the support. --- To present for acceptance or rejection.

To declare one’s willingness or readiness. --- To propose.

EXCUSE: --- To make an apology. --- To try to remove blame. --- To disregard as trivial. --- To grant exemption.

To justify behavior. --- Expression of regret for failure. --- To be released from responsibility. ---

CONSENT: --- To give approval. --- To be in agreement of opinion. --- Compliance.

HABIT: Manner of conducting oneself. --- REINFORCED AND REPETITIVE BEHAVIOR. ---

A settled tendency --- A behavior pattern. ---

2. HOW SAD GROWS THE HEART OF PEOPLE THAT HAVE NO OR WRONG PRIORITIES? BACK-SEAT GOD?

Matthew 6:33 Seek ye FIRST the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto

you.

Pete Rose broke our hearts, gambling on the game he loved. Money and greed was his priority.

That alcoholic just wants one more drink.

That student cheating on their test?

Sports has become a god today? NASCAR is a god? NBA, NFL, Soccer, you name it --- has put God in the back

seat.

GOD GETS THE LEFT OVERS? The excuses really sound good?

3. WHAT ARE YOU OFFERING GOD? There is a Divine Invitation, will you accept it?

So what? Today it is easy to accept the Divine with indifference and apathy?

The world seeks entertainment and excitement. This call is spilling into the schools and our churches.

Preach us happy? Sing us happy?

4. WHAT DID YOU BEGIN? IN COURT IT IS CALLED PRECEDENCE!

THERE IS AN ESTABLISHED ORDER OR PRIORITY OF IMPORTANCE THAT WE ESTABLISH NOT BY WORDS

ALONE BUT BY OUR ACTIONS.

Judges and lawyers study other cases and often bring notes of other rulings by judges into their case.

This court precedence has the value of written law.

We establish examples of what is acceptable behavior. This example establishes rules or codes of ethics that

will followed or mandated by this first action.

When one of God’s invited people refuse the invitation, it becomes easier for the next person to make the same offering

of excuse.

5. THE POWER OF SEARING?

1 TIMOTHY 4:2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their CONSCIENCE SEARED WITH HOT IRON...

SEAR: To cause to wither or dry up. --- To burn, scorch, or injure with sudden application of heat. --- To dry up.

Once a person does wrong, he sears the spiritual nerves in his heart and loses feeling of remorse and repentance.

After burning your conscience you become less and less sensitive to the feeling of wrong and a spirit of

compromise will excuse your wrong behavior as acceptable.

6. WE DON’T LIKE THE WORDS DUTY? --- MORAL AND LEGAL OBLIGATIONS? RESPONSIBILITY?

There are assignments, homework, that we ought to be doing.

The man, the woman and the children don’t want to hear what they should be doing is in dangerous attitudinal

precedence?

7. THERE IS POWER IN AGREEMENT! THEY ALL WITH ONE CONSENT! THERE IS SAFETY IN NUMBERS?

We know the Bible states where two or three agree --- and this power of agreement is great.

We often hear: EVERYBODY ELSE IS DOING IT?

Once a Mom or Dad learn how to make an offering to God of EXCUSING THEIR BEHAVIOR, their children

learn how to excuse and blame.

I recently heard of a parent taking her child out of 8 different schools, because all

the teachers and kids were bad? Could this be possible? 8 bad schools? The child has grown up quitting

in hard situations? Wonder why?

The enemy loves UNITY in making excuses in his camp. As long as a person makes an offering of excuses