Prophet T.B. Joshua – STOP MAKING EXCUSES

TB Joshua Church Nigeria | tbjfansuk.wordpress.com

STOP MAKING EXCUSES.

Going by what happened in the Garden of Eden, we understand that the cost of disobedience is greater than the cost of obedience. It would not have cost Adam and Eve anything to obey God’s instruction but it cost them everything to disobey Him and the worst part of it was that they made excuses for their wrongdoing. Let us take it one by one. In the beginning, Adam and Eve, being masters over every living creature that moved in the sea, in the air and on the ground, were living joyfully and happily in the Garden of Eden. Not only that, every evening, the Lord God Almighty, the Creator of Heaven and earth, would come and chat with them as they were walking in the garden. Can you imagine the kind of relationship they had with their Creator? Everthing was moving excellently, smoothly, until God gave them a single instruction: He said to them, “Adam, Eve, come over here. You are free to eat from any tree in the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it, you will surely die”.

Now, we all know what happened next: Satan came to them and deceived them to eat from the tree which God had told them not to eat from, and you know what? They died. Yes! Spiritually they died. Because of sin, death with all of its evil companions – hatred, sickness, jealousy and the like, entered the world. When Adam and Eve failed to obey God’s instruction, the first effect of that sin was fear. God called to the man, “Where are you?” The man answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid….” “Afraid?” God said to him. “Why should you be afraid? I met you yesterday, you were not afraid. I met you the day before yesterday, you were not afraid. Why is it that you suddenly became afraid now? This shows that sin brings fear. Because of fear, Adam and Eve started running away from the presence of God. Instead pf running to God and confessing their sin because confession brings freedom, they ran from God and hid their sin. But little did they know that there is no hiding place for sinners, because their sin would always be before them.

Where can we go from His presence? In the North – He is there! In the South – He is there! In the East – He is there! In the West – He is there! In our hearts – He is there! Since Adam and Eve could not hide from the presence of God, they simply had to meet Him and beg for forgiveness. That would have settled the whole matter. But surprisingly enough, Adam shifted the blame to his wife by saying, “Lord, it’s not my fault; it is the woman You gave to me that caused it. She is the cause of everything!” In this case, he blamed God for creating Eve and blamed Eve for giving him the fruit, thereby declaring himself blameless. Learning from the example of her husband, Eve likewise, blamed everything on the snake! Unfortunately, right from the time of Adam and Eve, this is exactly the attitude that many of us are still putting on today. We call it, “The attitude of a conscious sinner”. What is the attitude of a conscious sinner?

1. A conscious sinner is one who knows sin, but does them and makes excuses for his actions, e.g. If you ask a liar why he lies, he will tell you that each time he tells the truth, it does not work out for him.

2. A conscious sinner always shifts the blame to someone else or to circumstances beyond his control, e.g. a conscious sinner will tell you, “It is because I was born into a poor family – that is why I have not succeeded with my life”.

Let me tell you something: The majority today would seek to defend themselves. The majority today would make excuses for their wrongdoings. No wonder the majority constitutes the failure in the society today. As Christians, we are not called to follow the majority but to be one with a difference. Are you one with a difference? Anyone can make excuses for his wrongdoings but not anyone can be free from guilt and condemnation because the Bible says that until you are willing to admit that you are a sinner in need of salvation, you cannot experience freedom from guilt and condemnation. Can you see the reason why you should stop making excuses? Take note – it is not that the children of God will not sin but when they do, the guilt of that sin will not allow them to have peace of mind until they ask for and obtain forgiveness.

You will be stronger if you do not seek to defend yourself. Remember, you are created to make a difference in your world. That difference is what makes you contented. Jesus is the Divine force behind your divine future. If you have realised that you have made mistakes with your life, cheer up – for Jesus Christ never disconnects Himself from those who make mistakes with their lives. Correction makes the future possible. Everyone makes mistakes – I mean, all men fall but great men get back up. Therefore, as Christians, if the curse of imperfectioin hits, it is our responsibility to confess to God and receive His mercy, learn from it and keep on growing. this is what I mean when I say: “Stop making excuses”. May the Word of God abide in you and you in it, in Jesus’ name. Amen………Prophet TB Joshua.