“My dog ate my homework.”
“There was a wreck on the bridge that held me up.”
“I didn’t see the stop sign.”
“Maybe it’s not God’s will.”
“His ways are not our ways.”
It seems we all have heard a million excuses, and we have all used thousands ourselves. Making excuses or laying blame elsewhere seems to be a natural part of the carnal mind. Adam blamed not only Eve for the fall of disobedience, but he even blamed God for giving him the woman!
But excuses do not end with the carnal man; they seem to also come over to the Christian world as well – and even into the pulpits of our churches. I can almost hear the “Amen” as many of you may be thinking I am relating to “excusing sin” or the watering-down of the gospel. Not this time. That is for another article and another time.
You see it is easy to point fingers of blame towards the congregation if you are the preacher, and easy for the preacher to point fingers toward the congregation over “sin” and “discipline”, and if we have water-downed or compromised our message. I believe we have surely watered down and compromised our message in many ways, excusing what should be for what it actually is. This message is about something a little different however.
When I read my Bible I see a much different God than I see being preached in many churches today. I see a different move of God today than I saw in the recounts of the biblical stories. I see a very different Christian experience, and so do many other people, hence the myriad of excuses that infiltrate our teachings and sermons.
The excuses I feel we must address in this article are the excuses for powerlessness in the church body today. Excuse my bluntness here, but for the most part, the church body has become pathetic in fulfilling our commission and we have become weak in our demonstration of the Kingdom of God. Pathetic.
If that offends you, I can accept that. What I can no longer accept is a church body that claims “God is in the house” because of a few goose bumps or a good shout – while the congregation is dying of cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.
What I can no longer accept is a church body that claims “we believe in divine healing” yet fail to pray, and continue to pray, for the sick until they see what they believe manifest.
What I can no longer accept is a church that says they believe in the gifts of the spirit, yet pick and choose which gifts they choose to accept as normal and acceptable. Why is speaking in tongues acceptable or even honored, yet seeking or giving a word of prophecy not? Why do we believe in the angels of the bible, yet turn a doubtful eyes when a person communicates with one today?
What I can no longer accept is a church body that claims to “follow Jesus” yet has never sought out the depths of The Kingdom of God or the power promised to us in the Lord’s Prayer, which states “on earth as it is in heaven.” Jesus would never tell us to pray for something unless God had full intentions of bringing it to pass.
What I can no longer accept are excuses labeled under the guise of denominational belief, theology, or individual translations. I can no longer accept religion that divides me from my God and what he has provided for us.
What I can no longer accept is the “escape mentality” from a church body that gives praise and power to the devil, while they are just “hanging on” for Jesus to come and whisk them away into Heaven. I am truly sick of that! Why should he come and whisk us away when we have been so pitiful in completing the commission he has called us to do?
We should be on the offensive against the works of the enemy – we should be offensive and go against the darkness with the light and power of God almighty working through us the body. Instead too many people are on the defensive instead of the offense, and way too many are literally hiding behind the church walls simply “waiting on the Lord” to sneak behind enemy lines and rescue us. God forbid.
Now, have I offended you or have I instead stirred up a sense of desire deep inside you? Have I ignited the flame of desire for more God and less excuses? The God of the Bible is still the God of today. His compassion is the same, his love no different, his calling on our life is still to go forth preaching, the Kingdom of God is at hand, heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, and cast our demons!
Have you been obedient? Or have you heard the excuses that we are “waiting on God to bring revival” – have you fallen prey to the excuse “it may not be God’s will” – have you believed the legalistic lie that when you are “good enough” you will move the hand of God?
“An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign” – this verse has been used improperly to not only slander and discredit recent moves of God where he has been giving sign and wonders. Rightly divide the word. The above verse was given to the self-righteous in their attempt to disprove or discredit Jesus.
What about the verses that state the signs will follow them those who believe? What about the disciples’ prayer that God will bring boldness and stretch forth his hand with healing, signs, and wonders? And yes, there are many more verses. I am not here to defend my position on this matter; I am here to cry a wake-up call to the body of Christ. Are you seeing healings, signs, and wonders in your ministry? If so then seek even more so we can bring more and more glory to Christ and more people to the Kingdom. If you are not witnessing the healings, the signs and wonders, then ask yourself if you are still seeking the Kingdom of God as we have been told or are we just claiming the same excuses for our powerlessness?
“The Kingdom of God is not in word but in power.” - 1 Corinthians 4:20
Father, we ask for your forgiveness. We are no longer going to settle for the excuses we have been taught, and we will no longer settle for a gospel that sounds good, but has no power to bring deliverance and healing to a lost and dying world. Forgive us for our error and our attitude of lack, and restore to us the dunamis power your word tells us is not only possible for us, but expected of us. No more excuses my God, now faith is, and now power will come to your body. Work through us so we can be a powerful force in the world today. Your Kingdom come and your will be done. In Jesus’ name we pray believing. Amen.
