Everyday With Jesus - A Medley - King’s Heralds God Understands - Del Delker (multiple recording) That Beautiful Land - King’s Heralds Ask Not to Be Excused - Wayne Hooper

Everyday With Jesus - A Medley - King’s Heralds God Understands - Del Delker (multiple recording) That Beautiful Land - King’s Heralds Ask Not to Be Excused - Wayne Hooper

Free sharing permitted under the Creative Commons <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/">BY-NC-ND 3.0 (US)</a> license.

Voice Of Prophecy

H.M.S. Richards

Where is Your Excuse

&ldquo;Lift up the trumpet and loud let it ring:
&nbsp;Jesus is coming again!
Cheer up, ye pilgrims, be joyful and sing:
Jesus is coming again!
&nbsp;
This is the Voice of Prophecy &ndash; a voice crying in the wilderness of these modern days. Prepare ye the way of the Lord.
&nbsp;
&ldquo;Coming again, coming again,
Jesus is coming again!&rdquo;
&nbsp;
From our Voice of Prophecy Studios in Los Angeles, California, we welcome you to this half hour of inspiration and music with the Kings Herald&rsquo;s Del Delker, Brad Braley, and H.M.S. Richards &ndash; The Voice of Prophecy speaker.
&nbsp;
Every day with Jesus Is sweeter than the day before Every day with Jesus I love Him more and more. Jesus saves and keeps me And He's the one I'm waiting for Every day with Jesus Is sweeter than the day before
&nbsp;
Of Jesus that has sought me
When I was lost in sin; Of wondrous grace that brought me &nbsp;Back to His fold again; Of heights and depths of mercy, &nbsp;Far deeper than the sea, And higher than the heavens, My theme shall ever be.
&nbsp;
Sweeter as the years go by, Sweeter as the years go by; Richer, fuller, deeper, Jesus&rsquo; love is sweeter, &nbsp;Sweeter as the years go by
&nbsp;
Ye who the love of a mother have known, There is a love sweeter far than you own, Love all-sufficient for sin to atone; Jesus is dearer than all.
&nbsp;
Dearer than all, yes, dearer than all, He is my King, before Him I fall; No friend like Jesus my soul can enthrall, Jesus is dearer, far dearer than all.
&nbsp;
Our Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for Thy mercies which are new every day to us bless this broadcast to every lesson or especially remember our friends who are ill or have some special spiritual need today, in Christ's name we ask it
&nbsp;
There is a place of quiet rest,
Near to the heart of God, A place where sin cannot molest,
Near to the heart of God.
&nbsp;
O Jesus, blest Redeemer,&nbsp;
Sent from the heart of God, Hold us, who bow before Thee,&nbsp;
Near to the heart of God.
&nbsp;
Amen.
&nbsp;
Who is it that has not known sometime of anguish or sorrow? We can all find sympathy in these comforting words: God Understands.
&nbsp;
God understands your sorrow
He sees the falling tears
And whispers, &ldquo;I am with thee&rdquo;
Then falter not nor fear
&nbsp;
He understands your longings
Your deepest grief He shares 
Let Him bear your burdens
He understands and cares
&nbsp;
God understands your weakness
He knows the tempter&rsquo;s qualm
And He will walk beside you
However, dark the hour
&nbsp;
He understands your longings
Your deepest grief He shares
Then let Him bear your burdens
He understands and cares
&nbsp;
I have heard of a land On a faraway strand, In the Bible the story is told, Where cares never come, Neither darkness nor gloom, And nothing shall ever grow old.
&nbsp;
Refrain
In that beautiful land, On a faraway strand, No storms with their blast ever frown,
The streets I am told Are paved with pure gold, And the sun shall&nbsp; never go down.
&nbsp;
There&rsquo;s a home in that land, At the Father&rsquo;s right hand; There are mansions whose joys are untold; And perennial spring 
where the birds ever sing And nothing shall ever grow old.
&nbsp;
Refrain
&nbsp;
Here now is H.M.S. Richards, the Voice of Prophecy speaker. His subject: where is your excuse?
&nbsp;
&ldquo;Well, young man, where's your excuse? You've been late to school for three successive days. Did you bring excuse signed by your parents? Friend, you may have known the rest of it. The boy had no excuse signed by his parents because he left home early enough to be in school long time; but he had played along the way having a good time and some of his friends. Now as he stood there by the teacher's desk, he was face to face with the judgement. Where is your excuse? A real excuse is always accepted by reasonable people. Any court will accept this excuse: I was not present; I was in another city at the time of the offense. That's called an alibi. A real alibi is a justifiable basis on which to acquit a person from responsibility for a crime performed at such a time and at such a place.
&nbsp;
The universal practice for those who really have no good alibi is to begin to make excuses. They concoct reasons why they should not do their duty as did those people mentioned by Jesus in the 14th chapter of Luke who with one consent began to make excuse. Excuse that they could not come to the supper to which they had been invited. The first had bought a piece of ground, he must go and see it. The second, it bought five yoke of oxen, he needed to prove them. Strange how these men waited until after they had completed their transactions to find out whether the land was worthwhile or the oxen fit to buy. The third said I have married a wife and therefore I cannot come. These were all unacceptable excuses. They were not justifications. The excuses of these people in Christ parable were much like the excuse of an elderly man who was once asked if he was right with God. In sort of a joking way, he answered, he had a reason yet an excuse. &ldquo;Very well,&rdquo; said his friend, &ldquo;go ahead tell me what it is.&rdquo; &ldquo;Years ago,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;I live in Ohio and one day one of my neighbor's children was sick. It was six miles to the doctor so I went to the minister of our little Crossroads Church and asked if he would let me have his horse to go for the doctor. Well sir, what do you think? He refused. And I went to the blacksmith and explained the situation to him. He was a very profane man and you should have heard him swear. He said he had just come in from a long drive but he guessed his horse could stand six miles more. &ldquo;Go ahead and take him,&rdquo; he said. So I took the horse and got the doctor.&rdquo; &nbsp;Now said this man triumphantly, &ldquo;You see how I stand a little experience settle the Christian religion for me forever.&rdquo; &ldquo;All right,&rdquo; remarked the friend who was talking with him. &ldquo;Just answer one question.&rdquo; &ldquo;Well, sir, I'll try to.&rdquo; &ldquo;If this when you come up before the judgment bar of God at some time you must, will you tell that story to God?&rdquo; The man's chin dropped. He looked down at the floor for a moment. He answered, &ldquo;No, I will not, I won't.&rdquo; &ldquo;Then you'd better be prepared for a better argument for that great day.&rdquo; The only one that will avail then is that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses you from all sin &ndash; 1st John 1:7.
&nbsp;
Men often accuse one another as though that would excuse for their own disobedience. A young man I know was writing a letter to a young lady making excuses for certain acts. His grandfather knowing of the situation said to him, &ldquo;Son, before you put down a single sentence in that letter, think how it will sound in court.&rdquo; And we might ask, &ldquo;How will some man's excuses sound in the court of heaven?&rdquo;
&nbsp;
It is said that an Arab went to his neighbor to borrow a piece of rope. &ldquo;I'm sorry,&rdquo; said the neighbor, &ldquo;but I need that rope to tie up my milk.&rdquo; &ldquo;Tie up your milk?&rdquo; &ldquo;What do you mean by that.&rdquo; &ldquo;Oh,&rdquo; said the other, &ldquo;when you don't want to do a thing, one excuse is as good as another.&rdquo;
&nbsp;
Some people when approached on the subject of their duty toward God have no real excuse. They just say, &ldquo;well, I don't want to do it. I can't do it because&hellip;&rdquo; They never give the real reason just because&hellip;
&nbsp;
As Lewis Carroll puts it in his book Looking through the Looking Glass, &ldquo;I sent a letter to the fish, I told them, This is what I wish. The little fishes of the sea, They sent an answer back to me. The little fishes' answer was We cannot do it, sir, because ...&rdquo; That&rsquo;s it, just because. But really because we do not want to. Because our mind is set against it. Because we are filled with hatred to God or because we are just too indifferent to him; to pay any attention to His word.
&nbsp;
Why are you not a believer? Friend. Why are you not a Christian? Where is your excuse? Let me say clearly and simply and flatly: I believe you are without excuse. There are three voices that come to us and if we do not hear these voices and obey them, we are certainly without excuse before God.
&nbsp;
The first is the voice of creation through which God speaks to every soul on earth. Listen to it. We read in Romans 1:19 &ldquo;Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.&rdquo; Well how? The next verse tells us. &ldquo;For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:&rdquo; There you have it. The shining heavens above us, the wonderful earth with all its mysteries and beauty about us, and the mind of man within them. These are the things which are made which we can see hear, touch and know. The creation itself testifies to the existence of the Creator.
&nbsp;
Atheism has been defined as the theoretical formulation of a discouraged life. We try to find excuses for our failures. Let us look up and lift up our heads. Let us look upon the evidence of God all about us. If we ever shut our ears to the voice of nature, the apostle says we are without excuse.
The second voice is the voice of conscience - the voice of the human heart. Even those who have never heard the preaching of the Gospel, never seen an open Bible, never heard the name of Christ, &ldquo;&hellip;these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:&rdquo; &ldquo;Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)&rdquo; - Romans 2:14.
&nbsp;
The voice of conscience is worldwide &ndash; universal. Men try to drown their conscience by a rationalization, by all sorts of dialectical arguments. Some try to drown it by liquor, drugs, hard work, a constant round of pleasure; but conscience keeps knocking at the door inside the mind.
&nbsp;
To those who are Christian workers, let me say: remember you have an ally inside the stronghold of every heart. The conscience is forever attempting to unlock the door of the human soul and open the way for the entrance of conviction.
&nbsp;
Our friend, do not destroy your conscience. If you keep on rejecting it, neglecting it, fighting it, eventually it will be silenced. The Scripture speaks of a dole or seared conscience &ndash; 1st Timothy 4:2. The conscience can be trained. It must be taught by the Word of God. &ldquo;Conscience,&rdquo; an unknown writer said, &ldquo;is not the law book in the courtroom but the judge; it does not make the law, it enforces it.&rdquo;
&nbsp;
Think for a moment of the great men who died for a free conscience. William Penn, in the Tower of London, exclaimed, &ldquo;My presence will be my grave before I shall budge a jack for I owe my conscience to no mortal man.&rdquo;
&nbsp;
First, we have the voice of creation, then the voice of conscience speaking to us. So, if we do not obey God we are without excuse. Last of all, we have the voice of Christ recorded in the Holy Writ. To the men who saw heard and yet rejected Jesus, He said, &ldquo;If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin.&rdquo; &nbsp;- John 15:22. The marginal reading says no excuse for their sin. Had they not heard the Savior and had the light and truth which He brought, they would have had an excuse. They still would have been in ignorance.
&nbsp;
God respects the true excuse- a true reason. He does not hold us responsible for failing to perform a duty of which we are ignorant. Did not the apostle say, &ldquo;To him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not, to him it is sin&rdquo; - James 4:17.
&nbsp;
God makes allowance for the age in which we live, the place where we were born. He considers our environment. As we read in the 87th Psalm. When our records are completed and we face the hour of judgment, God will take into account that this man was born here and that man was born there. Before Jesus came and spoke to the man who rejected him, they did have an excuse for their doings - the excuse of ignorance. &ldquo;But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause&rdquo; - John 15:25.
&nbsp;
Every sin that God judges has no real reason. No really justifiable reason. No excuse. Men will hate God without a cause. They have had the voice of creation, the voice of conscience, and the voice of Christ. What more could God do than He has done? What excuse will you give? What excuse will I give? If we fail to walk in the light. If we do not obey the truth which we see clearly and know to be right.
&nbsp;
Jesus says that we are without excuse. What do you say? What is your excuse?
&nbsp;
So again we ask, where is your excuse? There is no excuse for sin. No excuse for unbelief. No excuse for an unrepentant heart for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whosever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16.
&nbsp;
Really, friend, it is a fact, that if any one of us is lost, it will be our own fault not God's. If you see His truth, why do you not obey it? The light is shining upon you. Why not walk in the light? As He is in the light. Then the blood of Jesus Christ will cleanse you from all sin. As it is clearly written in first John 1: 7 to 9.
&nbsp;
Are you troubled and remorseful? Have you come to the place where you think life is not worth living? Then why not try Christ's way? Your way, hasn't been good. Try His way, why not obey Him? He said, &ldquo;Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; &hellip;and ye shall find rest unto your souls.&rdquo; Those wonderful words of Jesus are in Matthew the 11th chapter, 28th and 29th verses. And they are for anyone who will try them. Millions have tried them and found them to be absolutely true. Do not deny them if you have never tried them.
&nbsp;
Where's your excuse?
Ask not to be excused, There's danger in delay; That wondrous love abused, Forever turns away. While Mercy gently pleads And points the way to heav'n, While Jesus intercedes, O come and be forgiv'n! 
&nbsp;
Ask not to be excused,
Stand ready to be used
Where God may station you. His invitation kind To thee has oft been giv'n; Accept, and thou shalt find 'Tis sweet to work for Heav'n
&nbsp;
Chorus:
Come, O come! Ask not to be excused; Come, O come! Stand ready to be used. Ask not to be excused, This answer may be giv'n: Thou hast my love abused,
Thou art excused from heav'n.
&nbsp;
This is Orville Iverson suggesting that you keep your hand in the hand of God so that you can look up and go forward in faith.
&nbsp;
Now with a final message, here is H.M.S. Richards, a Seventh Day Adventist minister.
Radio friends, we do appreciate your letters at the Voice of Prophecy, Box 55, Los Angeles. Remember every Thursday is prayer day at the Voice of Prophecy and in the homes of Voice of Prophecy friends around the world making it our Worldwide prayer day. So let us pray together.
&nbsp;
And now, &nbsp;
Have faith in God His Word will answer you
Have faith in God to find the good and true
Have faith in God whatever you may do
Have faith, dear friend, in God.
&nbsp;
We hope this program of ours today has brought you blessing and spiritual help and that you will be with us again next week for another broadcast brought to you by the Voice of Prophecy.
&nbsp;
And now we say to one and all:
The Lord bless thee and keep thee. The Lord make His face shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee. The Lord lift up His countenance upon thee and give thee peace.
&nbsp;
Amen.

Back to Menu

Where is Your Excuse

Description

Sponsor

Sound Doctrine