Topic: Excuse Factory [Teens’ Open Heavens Saturday 3rd, March 2018]
Memorise: The sluggard will not plow by the reason of the cold; therefore shall he beg in the harvest, and have nothing. Proverbs 20:4
Read: Luke 14:16-24
16 Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many:
17 And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready.
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.
21 So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. 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 hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.
22 And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room.
23 And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.
24 For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.
Bible In One Year: Numbers 30-31, Mark 9:30-50
MESSAGE:
A sluggard is one who hates work. He or she is idle and attracts pain and disappointment to those who depend on him. If your parents cannot depend on you to carry out your chores, you are a sluggard, if you repeatedly fail to submit your assignments as at when due, you are a sluggard. If you do not know how to manage your time well, you are a sluggard. Time is one of the greatest assets on earth, and you are supposed to use it to equip yourself in needed skills, knowledge and education.
A sluggard will give reasons and excuses to explain why they are not equipping themselves and getting anything done with their time, but in actual fact, they are mismanaging their time and allowing their life to waste away. A sluggard is destined to fail. Reject every excuse for failure no matter how reasonable it sounds. Don’t be an excuse factory.
Action Point: Wherever excuse is present, there must be losses
Hymn 2:
1. When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word,
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will,
He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.
Chorus:
Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.
2. Not a shadow can rise, not a cloud in the skies,
But His smile quickly drives it away;
Not a doubt or a fear, not a sigh or a tear,
Can abide while we trust and obey.
3. Not a burden we bear, not a sorrow we share,
But our toil He doth richly repay;
Not a grief or a loss, not a frown or a cross,
But is blessed if we trust and obey.
4.But we never can prove the delights of His love
Until all on the altar we lay;
For the favor He shows, for the joy He bestows,
Are for them who will trust and obey.
5. Then in fellowship sweet we will sit at His feet,
Or we’ll walk by His side in the way;
What He says we will do, where He sends we will go;
Never fear, only trust and obey.
Daily Devotional for Teen’s guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer’s Ministries.
