SATAN’S LIST OF EXCUSES TO MAKE YOU CAVE INTO TEMPTATION

Satan knows how to get to your heart, mind, and soul. If you are honest, you have heard and continue to hear Satan whispering in your ear to “Go ahead. Why not? Go ahead.” Let’s get a clue here. You are Satan’s target and Satan is shooting at you. Satan will use every devious idea, device, and method to make you fall. The following list is a list of excuses Satan whispers into your ear hoping you listen and cave in.

The following list of excuses Satan whispers into your heart is presented to you so in your heart, mind, and soul you will explode these excuses and destroy them. This list is also provided to you so you will stop using any of these whispered excuses in your life when you are faced with temptation.

Satan’s whisper: You are too busy to stop the sinful behavior.

[QUESTION/COMMENT TO YOU: Are you really too busy to stop sinful self-destructive behavior? Hmmm?]

Satan’s whisper: You sin because have too much time on your hands.

[QUESTION/COMMENT TO YOU: If you have so much time on your hands, can’t you use your extra time to engage in a godly activity to bless God’s work on the earth? With your extra time, can’t you spend more time in prayer?]

Satan’s whisper: You don’t have enough time to bother stopping your sinful behavior.

[QUESTION/COMMENT TO YOU: Do you really not have enough time to resist Satan’s power? Do you really not have enough time to do the right thing before God? In your answer, are you really being honest here?]

Satan’s whisper: You are afraid to stop.

[QUESTION/COMMENT TO YOU: Being tough here…if you are afraid now, how afraid are you going to be when you cave in and Satan devastates your life?]

Satan’s whisper: You can’t resist because of your family.

[QUESTION/COMMENT TO YOU: What happens to your family if you cave in and lead a sinful devastated life? Above all else, your family should be one of your biggest reasons to resist Satan’s wiles.]

Satan’s whisper: You can keep on sinning because you have no family.

[QUESTION/COMMENT TO YOU: Isn’t Satan saying you have a right to sin because you have no family? Isn’t Satan saying your loneliness, because of no family, gives you an “out” and you can go ahead and sin away? Surely you don’t honestly really believe this.]

Satan’s whisper: You do not enough pull. You do not have enough power so why try to resist?

[QUESTION/COMMENT TO YOU: Isn’t Satan saying you do not have power in the world and your lack of power in the world gives you permission to sin? If so, you need to understand you have all the power you need with God over you, under you, and within you.]

Satan’s whisper: You do not have enough money to really resist.

[QUESTION/COMMENT TO YOU: Isn’t Satan saying because you do not have an excess amount of money you do not have the power to be righteous? If this is what you are saying or thinking to yourself please get more of a life with God almighty. Please!]

Satan’s whisper: You have too much education to bother with spiritual stuff.

[QUESTION/COMMENT TO YOU: Isn’t Satan saying you should give in to sin because you have more education than you need? If this is true for you, then you need more of a spiritual or godly education…the kind of education leading you to live your life in holiness and godly contrition.]

Satan’s whisper: You have too little education to understand anything about God.

[QUESTION/COMMENT TO YOU: Isn’t Satan saying your level of education has something to do with your ability to resist sinfulness? Let’s not kid ourselves. You don’t really believe education and willingness to sin are connected, do you?]

Satan’s whisper: You can’t resist your sinful desires because of your job.

[QUESTION/COMMENT TO YOU: Some jobs, because of the circumstances of the job, present us with more temptations than do other kinds of jobs. However, we all control how we respond to our circumstances. God is living and alive within us. God can be called into every circumstance. We are not alone. We are not at the mercy of Satan. When Satan pushes against us, we MUST push back.]

Satan’s whisper: You have no job.

[QUESTION/COMMENT TO YOU: Being unemployed can devastate people and families. We do not have to let Satan do whatever Satan wants if we are unemployed. In every circumstance, we must resort to prayer, fasting, and a calling down of God’s power to empower us to be holy, godly, and devout.]

Satan’s whisper: Your health is bad.

[QUESTION/COMMENT TO YOU: Bad health may be an excuse to sin but bad health is a bad excuse. When Satan whispers this kind of trash excuse, you must explain to Satan how you are placing your bad health and your temptation to sin in Christ’s hands. Know and believe Christ wants your best for as long as you live.]

Satan’s whisper: World or national problems are mounting up on you. The end is near. Don’t bother to live right.

[QUESTION/COMMENT TO YOU: The end could be near or it could not be. We will all stand before Christ no matter what. We will all definitely have an end. Resisting Satan helps you by keeping you near to God in the here and now so you can be near Him in the hereafter.]

Satan’s whisper: You are misunderstood.

[QUESTION/COMMENT TO YOU: People can misunderstand us. We can also misunderstand or totally ignore the whispers Satan puts in our heart. Christ understands you like no person on earth can understand. Christ has been with you every moment. Even when people misunderstand you, your ability to be righteous and holy before God is not impaired. Because Christ understands you so much, you must go all out to be His child and not use excuses to sin.]

Satan’s whisper: Conditions aren't right for you.

[QUESTION/COMMENT TO YOU: Isn’t Satan saying because conditions aren’t right, these conditions give you a permission to sin? Let’s get real here. Conditions in your life should never ever have anything to do with your committing sinful acts.]

Satan’s whisper: Other's opinions of you are too harsh.

[QUESTION/COMMENT TO YOU: Pity, pity, you. If you are going to walk Christ’s path you will get all kinds of harshness from the world, from Satan directly, through afflictions, and numerous other sources. Living in harshness is the way it is, get over it and move on. Glib words to say “get over it, move on” but moving past what others think of you, good, bad, or indifferent, is part of the Christian lifestyle. People were so harsh to Christ they crucified Him…for you.]

Satan’s whisper: You are too old, or too young.

[QUESTION/COMMENT TO YOU: Age should have nothing to do with being righteous. Wrong is wrong at age 5 or age 95.]

This message was presented in February 2012 as the Virtual Church message in Shepherd's Care Ministries virtual church site at http://www.shepherdscare.net