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28th of the 10th month 2020/2021
Shalom to you all, may the mighty Name of the יהוה always be esteemed as we collectively make great His Wondrous Name, as the body of our Saviour and Redeemer, יהושע Messiah, continues to lift up set-apart hands in continual praise for His loving-commitment that endures forever.
There was a mother that was helping her child with spelling and, in the process of teaching, they came across the words, ‘conscious’ and ‘conscience’, and the mother asked if the child knew the difference between the two.
“Yes,” said the child, “conscious’ is when you are aware of something and ‘conscience’ is when you wish you were not!”
Well, today I am very sure that there are many people who are, for the most part, not very conscious of their conscience, which ought to bear witness with or against their actions!
All too often when people’s conscience bears witness that they are not fully walking in humble obedience to the Word of Elohim, they may very quickly, and all to easily, come up with a whole bunch of excuses, thinking that they can easily excuse away that which is not right and, in the process, they try justify their wrong actions, words and thoughts with pretty lame excuses!
As we look into the mirror of the Word, and meditate on the Torah day and night, we are to be reminded that we should never be found trying to excuse away any self-justified compromise when the mirror of the Tirth may reveal that some of the words or actions that we have done does not properly submit to the pure set-apartness that befits the House of יהוה, for set-apartness befits His House forever!
This brief message is called,
EXCUSES, EXCUSES – JUST DROP THEM!
Understanding then, the need for us to constantly be walking in loving obedience, let us be on guard against any form of compromise that can so easily nullify our witness of our master and His Truth that sets us apart as His treasured possession!
Sadly, what we do not see too much of today, is the true Scriptural character of set-apartness, which is often brought about through a proper submission to the much-needed discipline of the Word that refines us through various trials, in order to walk in the integrity of the Word and take responsibility for one’s actions.
What we do see today, is how there are far too many people who are excusing their way through life and by that, I mean that they are never taking a proper responsibility for their actions and will easily make many excuses as to why they cannot or should not do what is clearly required of them.
While this may be a true reflection on the majority of mankind today, who are revelling in the depravity of lawlessness, it is time for the True Remnant Bride of Messiah to get serious about making Herself ready and to do that, she must drop all the empty excuses that are so easily and readily used by most people today.
In this message, I want us to take a look at Yisra’ĕl’s first king, King Sha’ul, and learn from Scripture how we are to quickly drop all or any excuses that we may find ourselves having against walking in total obedience to the very Word of Elohim.
King Sha’ul was given very clear and specific instructions from יהוה, through Shemuʼěl the prophet, which he simply disobeyed and when he was confronted and reprimanded for his disobedience, he used a number of excuses, in trying to justify his lawless actions!
The same kind of excuses that we still see being used today by far too many people and that includes many who claim to be part of the Bride of Messiah!
Perhaps there have been times that you too may have used these very same tactics of excuse, in order to justify your actions.
Let us learn from the Word, as we look at King Sha’ul and be clearly reminded, once again, that we are to drop all form of excuses that seek to nullify the need for living in complete obedience to our Master and His Torah.
In fact, let me remind you that partial obedience is not obedience and delayed obedience is simply disobedience!
Please read: Shemuʼěl Aleph/1Samuel 15
In this passage, we are able to clearly see that excuses did not work for King Sha’ul back then and they will certainly not work for us today, no matter how hard we try to make them to.
יהוה has called us to be set-apart and we are to be a people of integrity, and people who take responsibility for our actions.
As one goes through the Torah portions from Wayyiqra/Leviticus, in regards to the various offerings, we are able to see that with the ‘guilt offering’, which in Hebrew is אָשָׁם asham – Strong’s H817 which means ‘offence, guilt, be guilty, acknowledge guilt’,
that the regulations for the אָשָׁם asham – Strong’s H817 offering that is brought for unintentional sins, required this offering to be considered most set-apart.
What we are able to learn from this is that even if we sin unintentionally, we still incur the guilt and consequence of that sin.
We can, and must, most certainly praise יהושע, in acknowledgement that He has fulfilled our sin requirements and has taken away the penalty or punishment of our sin, once and for all.
Yet, we are still accountable for the sin and guilt and take responsibility for it by repenting, which entails a returning to complete obedience!
יהוה is concerned about our character – the very character that He shapes in us, as we go through trials of many kinds and remember that we are to rejoice in them too!
He is more concerned about shaping His character in us than our seeming ‘comfort’!
The character of Messiah shaped in us, is the moral, ethical and spiritual undergirding that rests upon truth; it reinforces a life in stressful times and resists the temptations to compromise.
Mishlĕ/Proverbs 22:1 tells us that a good name is better than riches.
Our identity, as children of the Most–High El, ought to be clearly seen in our daily lives as being obedient children and having His Name on us is worth more than what any money can buy!
We all need to learn to drop any form of excuses or justifications that try to set aside the need to be living 100% in obedience to our Master and His Word.
As we look at the events of king Sha’ul, in Shemuʼěl Aleph/1Samuel 15, we are able to identify 4 useless excuses of justification, that King Sha’ul used, and in the process, we can recognise how the very same excuses are still being used at large today – excuses that we are to drop!
Let us take a look at these 4 areas or categories that we can see being identified as excuses:
1 – RELATIVE OBEDIENCE
King Sha’ul was clearly told to strike Amalĕq and ‘put under the ban’ all that he had, not sparing any – not any man, woman, child or animal.
These were very clear instructions as we see in verse 3.
What does King Sha’ul go and do?
Well, he gathered the troops, which comprised of 200,000 foot soldiers and 10,000 men of Yehuḏah and he did go out to strike the Amalěqites as instructed.
In other words, he actually started out well – yet, he never completed the task faithfully – as he spared Aḡaḡ the Amalěqite king, and he also spared “the best of the sheep, cattle, lambs and all that was good”!
King Sha’ul was supposed to ‘put under the ban’ everything!
In Hebrew, the term/phrase ‘put under the ban’ comes from the root verb חָרַם ḥaram – Strong’s H2763 which means ‘to ban, utterly destroy’ as well as ‘devote to Elohim, which (once given) must then be destroyed so there will be no human use made of it’, and carries the understanding of that which becomes off limits and is to be utterly destroyed.
He was supposed to, at the clear command of Elohim, exterminate the Amalĕqites!
Did he do that? No!!!
Yes, he did destroy all that was vile and garbage yet he did not destroy what he saw as being the best!
He was disobedient, as he did not surrender completely to the command of יהוה.
Half obedience is not obedience!
This is pretty much what we see happening a lot today!
Sha’ul was obedient … to a point… when it was easy for him to do and whenever there was no sacrifice or cost involved!
Just think about it for a moment – he only kept that which was valuable and he destroyed what he didn’t want or couldn’t use anyway!
How easy it is to get rid of that which you do not want!!!
Today, many people are doing the same, as they try to satisfy the commands of יהוה, with half-measures, being seemingly ready and willing to obey, when they have to give up that which they do not want or cannot use; yet they do not חָרַם ḥaram – Strong’s H2763 (that is: totally destroy and exterminate and have nothing to do with) that which they feel is still too valuable to let go of or destroy.
And so, they will easily practice a ‘relative obedience’, so to speak!
That is: being obedient relative to it fitting in with one’s likes and dislikes.
Many will be ‘relatively obedient’ when it is easy for them to do and it does not take much effort or seem cost them anything!
This kind of half-hearted or rather ‘relative obedience’, is nothing more than disobedience and it often becomes a continual balancing act that requires constant attention and this does not satisfy nor please Elohim.
Relative obedience is simply being obedient in part, yet not fully and seeks only to do that which seems to be ‘relatively enough’.
For many it is often an approach that kind of states:
“I am doing enough to get by, so it is ok if I do something I shouldn’t once in a while”
This kind of ‘relative approach’ to obedience is not absolute in its worship unto יהוה, but is simply relative to one’s own inclination and desires and is unable to fully surrender all, unto the perfect will of יהוה.
It may often be that there are times when some people find ourselves trying to “sell the notion” to Elohim that He should be pleased that they have obeyed in some matters and, at times, they expect יהוה to appreciate the fact that they have ‘kind of’ obeyed Him – when it was convenient for them, that is!
One of the biggest obstacles to fully walking in obedience, is one’s need to rationalise why they have to do whatever they are clearly supposed to do!
Sha’ul rationalised in his mind and when you begin to rationalise, all too often the flesh takes precedence and that is where the problems begin, as that is when the ‘relatively obedient one’s, will try to rather satisfy the hunger of the flesh over spirit!
Sha’ul, in looking from a fleshly point of view, rationalised that it would be a tragic waste to destroy all of the best of what the enemy had.
And sadly, we see the very same rationalising and excuses going on today, as most people will make useless and vain concessions, for why it isn’t necessary to be fully obedient.
You have got to understand what happened here – when Sha’ul saw the fat Amalěqite livestock and all their good plunder, he thought of himself and considered just how all of this could enhance his honour and prestige among his people, if he were to bring back the enemy king as prisoner as well as all the best of their land.
Something that he could not resist, in a means of a public display of his leadership and as we see, in verse 12, he even set up a monument for himself!
When there is only ‘relative obedience’, which is not obedience at all, pride has a way of gripping a man’s heart!
Partial obedience is riddled with pride, and as we know, in Mishlĕ/Proverbs 16:18, we are told that before destruction comes pride!
Sha’ul claimed to be obedient, by the fact that he had done ‘most’ of what he was told too, and that is not obedience.
This kind of relative obedience is simply an excuse that is used by so many people today – while there is actually no point in it – you are either obedient or not – no half-hearted efforts need apply!
2 – REHEARSED OBSTRUCTIONS (to the confronting of sin)
What do I mean by this?
Well simply this, when one has not been totally 100% faithful and obedient, they will often have many rehearsed reasons as to ‘why’ they couldn’t do what was required, just in case someone may confront them!
Rehearsed and well-crafted speech and mannerisms, is what many find themselves being armed with and by doing this they will, in effect, end up ‘telling lies, as if they were the truth’!
Think about it – isn’t that just what the Church has done and is still doing?
It has, in a sense, been relatively obedient (which is not obedience), and certainly has well-crafted rehearsed obstructions that are keeping many away from the unadulterated truth of the Word.
King Sha’ul used this very tactic, in telling lies as if they were truth and he felt good about it too – to the point he began to believe his own lies.
יהוה came to Shemuʼěl at night and told him of Sha’ul’s sin, to which Shemuʼěl cried all night unto יהוה for Sha’ul, but יהוה had rejected Sha’ul as king.
Shemuʼěl then went to confront Sha’ul and when Sha’ul saw the prophet coming, what does he do?
He tried to bluff his way out of trouble!
He knew he was wrong and when he saw the prophet coming to tell him he was wrong, he used rehearsed obstructions, in order to deal with the reality of his sin.
He tried to steer the focus away from his error and declared a lie, by saying:
‘I have performed the word of יהוה‘.
That was a big fat lie, as he was only ‘relatively obedient’, which we have seen, and I have repeatedly said, is not obedience.
He was trying to tell the prophet how he was such a faithful servant of Elohim.
He knew he had not been faithful, but hey why not try and proclaim it – it might work, he may have thought.
Our false confession may fool many, but will never fool יהוה!
Shelomoh gives us the following parable:
Mishlĕ/Proverbs 20:6 “Most men proclaim each his own loving-commitment, but who finds a trustworthy man?”
What Shelomoh is making clear here, is that while most will proclaim that they are exercising loving-commitment, the reality is that their assumption of their own standard of loving-commitment may not necessarily measure up with true trustworthiness!
In the time of the judges (Shophetim) we find it being written twice, that because there was no sovereign in Yisra’ĕl, everyone did what was right in their own eyes.
Everybody exercised a different standard of what they deemed to be their own loving-commitment. Today it is no different, as there are so many people who are claiming that their own standard of loving-commitment is good enough, even though they willingly break the Sabbath and various other clear instructions for righteousness, as they hold fast to false man-made traditions and forsake the commands of Elohim and claim that they are lovingly-committed to the Creator!
The clear question that Shelomoh asks here is whether a trustworthy man can be found!
Many can certainly talk a lot, yet their actions may prove otherwise and despite their claim at being lovingly-committed, their actions reveal that they are simply untrustworthy!
Most people will be very quick to say how good they are and how faithful they have been, even when they have not been, and after a while, they will even begin to believe their own lies and, in the process, they will even revise the very living Word of יהוה, as they will twist the truth to their own self gain, but ultimately, they are doing it to their destruction.
This is precisely what Satan and Ḥawwah did in Ěden!
Many can tell loads of people just how faithful they are and that they are truly faithful followers of Messiah, but the confession alone does not make it so.
As we know the old saying, ‘talk is cheap’ and as the Word says, ‘belief without works is dead’. Our daily lives must match up to our good confession of faith in Messiah.
There are many people today, who are able to craft a story that can often make them sound so much better than what we are, however, crafted lies or twisted truth will never convince יהוה.
We need to make sure that we rid ourselves of empty words and never try to replace the truth with lies, in an attempt to justify our actions that may not line up with the Word!
How about the time when someone calls to see how you are doing?
Do you use rehearsed obstructions to the confronting of possible sin?
Like when a fellow brother or sister in the belief phones, you think that you better be ready with things to say like, ‘יהוה is good, I have been really doing well’, when you have not been, and you try to start the conversation off with a bang, diverting any possible confrontation that may result in the need to deal with any compromise and sin.
How about having prepared answers or words to speak, in case a specific person calls and asks about a specific thing that was to be done or needs to be done?
Drop the rehearsed excuses that try to reason away disobedience!
It is time to drop the rehearsed excuses for rebellious living!
3 – THE BLAME GAME – REFUSING OWNERSHIP
Wow, the famous blame game or ‘pass the buck’ routine!
We certainly see a lot of this being used in Scripture, almost to perfection by those disobedient ones and the same thing still happens today.
This blame-shifting is a common tactic that is used all too often by too many people, and I am sure that we have all had experience with it, in some way!
Now that Sha’ul was found out, he was, in verse 15, basically saying that it was not his fault – as it was the people who brought back the king and all the good stuff!
Do you remember how Aharon also did the same thing, in the golden calf event, where he took the gold and made a calf, yet when he was confronted about it, he quickly shifted the blame to supernatural events – he just threw the gold into the fire and ‘poof’, out popped a golden calf!
I do not think that we may not fully realise just how stupid we sound when we try to shift the blame and not take responsibility as we should.
Stupid as one sounds and knows it – yet why do they still do it, and do it so often?
In verses 21 and 24, we see again this tactic being used by Sha’ul – for he just would not take responsibility, and he simply just made lame excuses every time!
He claimed it was peer pressure! What peer pressure? He was the king!!!
What he was, in effect, saying was:
‘I know that I have sinned but it really was not my fault!’
Have you ever heard that one before or even used that line before?
Aḏam even said to יהוה, ‘It was the woman You gave me!’
Listen: we are to own up and take responsibility when we mess up:
Yoḥanan Aleph/1 John 1:8-10 “If we say that we have no sin, we are misleading ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is trustworthy and righteous to forgive us the sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His Word is not in us.”
Confessing our sins is only ‘confession’ when we have admitted our sin (which is lawlessness) and recognise that our lawlessness violates the set-apartness of יהוה and His Word!
We should never substitute excuses for confession, never let the pride of sin hold us back to being restored, renewed and cleansed from all unrighteousness!
Drop the blame game excuses and take ownership for your walk in Messiah.
4 – RELIGIOUS OVERTONES
By this, what I simply mean is that people will often try to sound very religious and spiritual, in their attempt at excusing their blatant disobedience!
Sha’ul tried very hard to ‘spiritualise’ his sin, by basically saying,
“I did wrong but it was for a valid reason!”
Listen there are no valid reasons for doing wrong!!!
All too often, we see that many people try to think that if they attach some kind of spiritual significance to their wrong ways, that they somehow make it acceptable and right!
I mean, think about it: some people will even go so far as to blame יהוה and throw off all their blame as to why they were wrong, on Him!
There are many examples of this today, even this one,
“I have prayed about it and it is the Father’s will that I leave my family!”
Hogwash, no it is not His will!
The only way you are allowed to get out of marriage is through marital unfaithfulness, otherwise stick it out and win over the unbelieving spouse by your life of faith!
Do not give יהוה the blame because you want out of your marriage!
Sha’ul, in verse 15, was using the blame game and was also using religious or spiritual overtones, in defence of his sin, by saying that they did wrong in order to make sacrifices to יהוה – as if spiritual terminology whitewashes our sin!
Whitewashed tombs perhaps – dead on the inside while trying to look all clean and justified through excuses!
I mean, just think about it for a moment, as we look at Sha’ul’s excuses:
How many times have you ever heard the following phrase, or even found yourself using it, once too often, “I know what the Word says, but…”?
Or what about things like:
“I know what the Word says about tithing, but…”
“I know what the Word says about not eating pork and shellfish, but…”
“I know what the Word says about keeping Shabbat but…”
“I know what the Word says about throwing off the things of the flesh but…”
I could go on…
The point that I am making is this: good intentions do not offset sin – sin is sin and sin is… lawlessness (Torahlessness)!
In fact, in verse 23 Shemuʼĕl tells us that rebellion is as the sin of divination!!!
The Hebrew word translated as ‘divination’ in Shemuʼěl Aleph/1 Samuel 15:23 is קֶסֶם qesem – Strong’s H7081 which means, ‘divination, witchcraft’, which is a practice that is strictly forbidden, as we see in:
Deḇarim/Deuteronomy 18:10-11 “Let no one be found among you who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practises divination, or a user of magic, or one who interprets omens or a sorcerer, 11 or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead.”
What יהוה makes very clear in His Word is that ‘rebellion’ is in no way different to one who uses magic, conjures spells or calls up the dead etc.!
Today many do not even consider witchcraft or divination as sin – it has simply become an accepted religion or belief system – yet we know that sin is lawlessness and witchcraft does not submit to the Torah of Elohim.
To be rebellious is like being a Satanist – to put it bluntly!!!
Now, while may sound extremely harsh, let us remember what יהושע Messiah said to the Yehuḏim who were questioning his identity:
Yoḥanan/John 8:44 “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you wish to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has not stood in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks the lie, he speaks of his own, for he is a liar and the father of it.”
These Yehuḏim, who claimed to be sons of Aḇraham, יהושע called sons of the devil!!!
In other words, he was, to put it plainly, calling them Satanists – children who were of their father the devil!
We can only serve one master, we either worship and serve our Master and Elohim, יהושע Messiah – the Truth and Giver of Life, or we serve another and if we rebel against Him and deny Him, we are serving another, which can be classed as serving lies, which is of the devil!
Hoshěa/Hosea 4:6 “My people have perished for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being priest for Me. Since you have forgotten the Torah of your Elohim, I also forget your children.”
So many people have perished, and many are perishing, for lack of knowledge and many risk being rejected and forgotten – all because of rebellion!
Many need to hear the words that Yeḥezqěl was told to speak:
Yeḥezqěl/Ezekiel 44:6 “and shall say to the rebellious, to the house of Yisra’ĕl, ‘Thus said the Master יהוה, “O house of Yisra’ĕl, enough of all these abominations of yours”
Enough of all these abominations! Enough excuses!!!
As we consider the clear depravity of rebellion, we need to assess our own lives by looking intently into the mirror of the Word and make sure that we do not find ourselves rebelling, in word or deed, but are rather found to be doing all, in the Name of our Master and Elohim, יהושע Messiah!
Have you recognised any of the traits of rebellion being present, even if so subtly, in your own life?
Have you found that you have rebelled against the Word and the authority of those יהושע Messiah has appointed to equip and mature His Bride?
Have you been stubborn and refused to do what you know you should?
Have you ever found yourself despising, rebelling and rejecting the Truth, especially when you are not getting your own way?
Today, if you hear His voice… do not rebel!!!
He who has an ear to hear let Him hear what the Spirit is saying to His House!
We are to obey the Word, no matter what, and we are to never be found to be excusing away sin or lawless deeds with religious overtones, by trying to make them sound as if there was a valid reason to sin and disobey.
Anyone who walks in יהושע Messiah is done with sin!
Too many people make use of far too many religious overtones, trying to over spiritualise their lawless actions!
They will use terminology that sounds like:
“I couldn’t keep Shabbat because I had to take care of… and I am sure the Father understands!”
This is just a form of excuses that are not valid reasons to not obey!
When we make excuses, we are, in a sense, ‘denying’ Messiah!
And Messiah Himself said that if we deny Him before men, or rather, if we are ashamed of Him before men, that He would deny us before the father!!!
We must learn to drop the lame excuses to obedient living, thinking that if we make the excuse sound spiritual it is ok!
Just drop them!!!
Anybody can go through the motions of trying to be spiritual, but what יהושע calls for is obedience.
As we consider this passage and we look at our own lives today, we must ask ourselves if character, integrity and personal responsibility can be found present in our daily walk.
The excuses that Sha’ul used were not acceptable back then and they are certainly not acceptable today, no matter how “over spiritualised” they are.
We are to take responsibility for our sin and lawlessness and confess it before יהושע, so that His Blood washes and cleanses us from all unrighteousness and then be committed to walking in His instruction, without any excuses being found!
How have you been at the excuse abuse?
What excuses have you used, in an attempt to whitewash your sin?
It is time to drop the excuses and live 100% in obedience to His Word.
Our obedience cannot simply be relative, nor can we have rehearsed obstructions to the confronting of sin in our lives, nor are we to play the blame game and refuse any responsibility for our actions and neither can we think that any form of trying to over spiritualise our disobedience will work.
Excuses – Excuses – Just drop them!
Excuses are, in fact, more work than simple obedience!!!
Perhaps, as we have gone through this word, you have realised that there have been too many excuses to serving יהוה with your all.
Well drop them right now and confess to Him, so that He may cleanse you and cause you to walk upright with integrity and have great joy-filled belief in Him.
Don’t have talk without actions, and do not have excuses but rather, confession and do not substitute your will for the will of יהוה, as you let His good pleasing and perfect will be done, as you are transformed by the renewing of your mind.
May this be a day that is remembered as a day when you confidently declared that all excuses are to be dropped, and never picked up again, aměn!
יהוה has given us clear instructions in His Word – in His Torah – may we not be found making vain and useless excuses but rather, let us be found to be diligent in our obedience to walking wholeheartedly in His Torah, leaving no place for empty and worthless excuses that have been dropped in order to properly cling to the truth and not let go!
Sin is as rebellion and understanding then, that sin, which in Hebrew, is the word חַטָּאָה ḥatta’ah – Strong’s H2403 which means ‘to miss the mark or target’, it is so very clear that the Torah (instructions and commands) become very vital to us, if we do not want to miss the purpose and fulfilment of our life or ‘miss the mark’.
Remember, the term ‘Torah’ can give us the understanding of ‘aiming in the right direction and moving in that direction’.
Sha’ul describes this as fixing our eyes on יהושע – the author and perfecter of our faith.
We aim our sights at יהושע, lock them in and run with perseverance that which has been marked out.
Sin is ‘missing the mark’ and ‘running off the mark’, as you take your eyes off of יהושע!!!
The Torah is the way to aim and go, in Him!
Any excuses to not have one’s eyes fixed on our Master and His Torah, will leave one as being labelled as rebellious and stubborn and the rebellious and stubborn have no place in the Kingdom of Elohim!
Excuses to obedience will keep you out… so then just drop all excuses and run in the way of His commands!!!
If you allow excuses to be a part of your assumed walk in the Master, then you are no different to Sha’ul, who had the reign torn away from him and we can be reminded of the words of our Master, to those who claim to know him, yet are riddled with empty and worthless excuses for not obeying:
Mattithyahu/Matthew 7:13-27 “Enter in through the narrow gate! Because the gate is wide – and the way is broad – that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter in through it. 14 Because the gate is narrow and the way is hard pressed which leads to life, and there are few who find it. 15 But beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are savage wolves. 16 “By their fruits you shall know them. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 “So every good tree yields good fruit, but a rotten tree yields wicked fruit. 18 “A good tree is unable to yield wicked fruit, and a rotten tree to yield good fruit. 19 “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 “So then, by their fruits you shall know them – 21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Master, Master,’ shall enter into the reign of the heavens, but he who is doing the desire of My Father in the heavens. 22 “Many shall say to Me in that day, ‘Master, Master, have we not prophesied in Your Name, and cast out demons in Your Name, and done many mighty works in Your Name?’ 23 “And then I shall declare to them, ‘I never knew you, depart from Me, you who work lawlessness!’ 24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine, and does them, shall be like a wise man who built his house on the rock, 25 and the rain came down, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. 26 “And everyone who hears these words of Mine, and does not do them, shall be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand, 27 and the rain came down, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat on that house, and it fell, and great was its fall.”
While I certainly wanted to highlight the words of our Master to those who work lawlessness and are those who excuse away the need to obey, despite their claims being made with religious overtones, I wanted to quote this entire passage, in order to give proper context, as it becomes abundantly clear that those who excuse away the need to walk in and wholeheartedly obey the Torah of Elohim, are fools that are building on sand and they are building in vain, for they are not being built up as living stones, on the Rock of our Deliverance!
Let us learn from the empty and worthless excuses that Sha’ul made, so that we are not found to be in rebellion to our Master’s Word and risk being rejected and not known.
This is time for the true remnant Bride to be as the wise maidens that have oil in their lamps and are guarding the duty of shining the light of our Master, through an obedience that leaves no room for excuses, shining brighter and brighter to the Perfect Day!
Perhaps you have found that your obedience has been somewhat ‘relative’ at times and you have shrugged off the need to give your all or perhaps you have found that you have constructed rehearsed reasons as to why you think you do not need to do exactly what is required, or you have found that you have shifted the blame when being confronted on things that need to change and you have neglected to take responsibility of being set-apart in all matters, or perhaps you have tried to sound very spiritual yet your words and actions have not been in sync… if there are any areas in your life where the reality of looking intently into the mirror of the Word shows that you have actually been carrying a bag full of excuses… then hear the call to stop and drop all forms of excuses, so that you can diligently and fervently serve as a true ambassador or our coming King, with hands that are set-apart unto Him, being lifted high in praise for His Good Word that is our life and lights our path.
Excuses – Excuses – Just drop them!
Don’t let the troubles of this world let you get weighed down, only to find that in doing so you end up using worthless excuses… drop them and take up the easy yoke of our Master and be a trustworthy witness of his coming reign!
May this brief message, on the dangers of excuses, stir you to fervently assess your walk and be committed to being most set-apart unto our Master and Elohim, and let’s all be continually reminded to guard the Torah of the House, always, as we pursue apartness and run in the way of the commands of Elohim – for the rules of the House are on our hearts!!!
יהוה bless you and guard you; יהוה make His face shine upon you and show favour to you; יהוה lift up His face upon you and give you Shalom!