NO MORE EXCUSES

Luke 14:16-19
Then He said to him, "A certain man gave a great supper and invited many 17 and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, 'Come, for all things are now ready.' 18 But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him, 'I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused .' 19 And another said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask you to have me excused.

EXCUSES is defined as; seek to remove from blame, exemption or release from obligation, duty. The Greek in the Bible is; par-ahee-teh'-om-ahee meaning; to place a reason above, subordinate request to another interest. We all have made “Excuse.”
First what is the destructive force of excuse and why? As defined, excuses are a removal of blame or guilt (by placing a higher reason above the request). In this case, God healed man on Sabbath (Vs 1-3). God made request for deliverance (Vs 4-6). Then God taught you Subordinate your wants to needs (Vs 7-11) Wedding invitation; don’t sit in the “Party seating” = you not focus & if they invite you to higher OK. Then invitation to Great Super (Vs 15-24). All stories focus on One’s Deliverance is greater than what you lose. Jesus used this occasion to teach one of the most powerful essential lessons to all of us; namely “BREAKING EXCUSES.”
WHY? Because Excuses is a devised plan of the devil: 1) attempts to release one from guilt, 2) rejects personal responsibility, 3) Excuses exults self above salvation. Let me show you the 5 Steps Jesus gave for we to Break Excuses off our lives.

Five STEPS TO BREAKING EXCUSES
Luke 14:20-23 0 Still another said, 'I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.' 21 So that servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.' 22 And the servant said, 'Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.' 23 Then the master said to the servant, 'Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.
1. ANGER – You must get fed up with incompetence, irresponsibility. Anger is the highest emotion = gives you all the fuel you need to take charge. We need high power to overcome selfish chains of superiority. “Let him who thinks he stands, take heed, lest he fall (1 Cor 10:12). Be angry & sin not (Ep 4:26). Excuses are the tools of the weak and incompetent. Used to build monuments of nothingness. Those who excel in it seldom excel in anything else but excuses.
2. GO QUICKLY – Take action NOW. Procrastination is the womb of excuses. Jesus was teaching that if any of us is ever to break the chain of excuses that is stopping us from our God given goal, we must act quickly. Now perform the doing of it (2 Cor 8:11). Most people live and die without their music ever being played. No action, no change. Limited action, limited change. Take action, Change occurs. Until you spread your wings, you’ll never know how far you can fly. Go beyond yourself. Lance Armstrong: “Pain is temporary, quitting lasts forever.
3. BRING THE POOR – See beyond yourself. Excuses elevate self above, To break these chains we must see the big picture. Reach outside of your own world and touch a life, heal the sick, save the lost and you will be FREED from excuses. Luke 14:13-14 invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. 14 And you will be blessed. Jesus knew that if we help those worse than ourselves we could not be irresponsible, we must sacrifice. Look at that little baby and make excuse why you don’t have time; No, you will pay the price. Hungry baby, deceived teen, abused woman = You will reject cheap excuses & do your DUTY. Opportunities are never lost; someone will always take up what others fail to take.
4. COMPEL – get passionate, outrageous insistence, strong arm (G). "to put constraint upon, 'necessity', to constrain, whether by force or persuasion"; Jesus "constrained" the disciples to get into a boat (Matt 14:22). Saul of Tarsus "strove" to make saints blaspheme (Acts 26:11) "compelled"; Peter "compelled" Gentiles to live as Jews (Gal 2:14); Paul was "constrained" to appeal to Caesar (Acts 28:19). Whether you think you can or think you cannot, you’re right.
5. FILLED – Ultimate purpose of life. Jesus knew that if we were going to Break the chains of Excuses off of us, we must have an ultimate purpose above ourselves. When fulfilling your divine duty, obey your heavenly call hits home so hard that the devil puts Excuses in your mouth, look up and see the BIG picture and your excuses will flee. When we can see how God is to get glory through our fulfilling our Duty, all excuses will sound so cheap. Why compare yourself with others? NO one in the entire world can do a better job of being you than YOU.

Failure is often the result of continual excuses that justify un-involvement and selfishness, while success always is a product of personal responsibility. Excuses only reveal our weaknesses and demonstrate our unwillingness to take action. In fact, believing we are incapable of greatness is merely a cover-up for avoiding personal responsibility. Worse, excuses subordinates God’s ability to work in our lives.
NO MORE EXCUSES – 1) Get fed up with irresponsibility, 2) Take action NOW, 3) Reach beyond yourself and help someone worse off, 4) Get passionate about life, 5) Realize that your Big or Little part in life is all about God getting Glory through YOU.
By Dr Tim McClure