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2 episodes with sluggards
2 episodes with sluggards
4 episodes with sluggards
2 episodes with sluggards
2 episodes with sluggards
2 episodes with sluggards
2 episodes with sluggards
2 episodes with sluggards
2 episodes with sluggards
Text: Proverbs 20:4 (ESV) 4 Sluggards do not plow in season; so at harvest time they look but find nothing. LAZINESS LEADS TO LACK Not all lack are caused by laziness. but, more often than not, is is caused by laziness. He is not physically unable to do what needs to be done. He simply lacks the desire to work. Once again Solomon decries laziness. This follows many similar warnings and commands in the book of Proverbs such as Proverbs 6:9; 12:24; and 18:9). Laziness is placed into to an embarrassing joke or mockery, as Solomon portrays in Proverbs 19:24. A lazy puts himself at greater risk of poverty (Prov 14:23; 20:13). A mark of laziness is the lack of foresight. He has a 'mañana' habit. He fails to work at the proper time, that is, to prepare now for future needs. This relates to the idea of planting so that one can harvest crops later. the lazy who don't plow won't bring in food. He who doesn't work now will find themselves in need before long.Listen and FOLLOW us on our podcast -------------------------Visit and FOLLOW Gospel Light Filipino on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram
Proverbs 6:9Take a close look at yourself as an employee. Do you do your best at work, or are you a sluggard? Pursuing excellence is a rare commodity in the workplace, but as Christians it's what we are called to do.
Step into the rich and vibrant garden of Puritan wisdom with Charles Spurgeon, one of the most beloved preachers and authors in recent Christian history. In Flowers from a Puritan's Garden, Spurgeon prayerfully selects and expands upon the profound insights and analogies gleaned from Thomas Manton's sermons. Each “flower” in this garden is a spiritual truth, lovingly cultivated and presented with Spurgeon's signature warmth, wit, and pastoral care. Whether you are a long-time admirer of Puritan writings or new to their influence, Flowers from a Puritan's Garden offers a refreshing and spiritually nourishing read. Perfect for daily devotions, personal study, or as a gift to those seeking encouragement in their Christian journey, this book will help readers to see the beauty of God's truth as it applies to our lives. Discover the timeless beauty of following Christ through the eyes of one of history's greatest preachers, and allow the truths in these pages to blossom in your heart. About the Author Charles Haddon (C. H.) Spurgeon (1834-1892) was a British Baptist preacher. He started preaching at age 16 and quickly became famous. He is still known as the “Prince of Preachers” and frequently had more than 10,000 people present to hear him preach at the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London. His sermons were printed in newspapers, translated into many languages, and published in many books.
How did we get to the point where we're told, "I can't find any good employees! We need to bring in the Haitians." What? We used to be a country with a strong work ethic. That has been intentionally eroded by the government. Then they can bring in the illegals. It's all going according to plan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
How did we get to the point where we're told, "I can't find any good employees! We need to bring in the Haitians." What? We used to be a country with a strong work ethic. That has been intentionally eroded by the government. Then they can bring in the illegals. It's all going according to plan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
SIMPLER PODCAST WEBSITE - thefour56.org/simpler subscribe, follow & leave reviews pls Hosts: Ryan Dalgliesh, Pierce Love and Micah Mariano check out the Simpler podcast (@simplerpod) on the social platform of your choice if it's fb or insta see what's happening in our personal/disc golf/art lives @piercelove_ @micahmariano @converseandcanvas RYAN'S ART - https://converseandcanvas.com MICAH'S SITE - https://micahmariano.com/ MICAH'S WOODWORKING - https://audaxwoodworks.com/ EAGLE'S WINGS - https://facebook.com/eagleswingsdiscgolf THE FOUR56 CHURCH - https://theFour56.org
A new MP3 sermon from Old Paths Baptist Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: The Sluggards Way Is Hedged In On Every Side Subtitle: Guiding Christian Children Speaker: Jason Cooley Broadcaster: Old Paths Baptist Church Event: Sunday Service Date: 11/21/2023 Length: 64 min.
A new MP3 sermon from Old Paths Baptist Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: The Spiritual Sluggards Field:Lazy Neglect Of The Soul Subtitle: Guiding Christian Children Speaker: Jason Cooley Broadcaster: Old Paths Baptist Church Event: Sunday Service Date: 11/14/2023 Bible: Proverbs 24 Length: 73 min.
Today on the podcast Greg, Brad, and Bryan sit down to discuss Brad's upcoming message on having a hard heart. Taken from Mark 3, they get in to what it means to live with a hard heart, what we miss when we do, and how to find freedom!
A Study Series in Proverbs- Wisdom's Worth- Living Well, Good, Godly - Practical, Ethical, Theological
A Study Series in Proverbs- Wisdom's Worth- Living Well, Good, Godly - Practical, Ethical, Theological
The Book of Proverbs is filled with so much wisdom, it's hard to imagine how so many people miss it. From family to finances, leadership to stewardship, eternal matters to earthly ones, this is one study we would be, dare I say, foolish to miss out on...
This episode is also available as a blog post: https://jnmanokaran.wordpress.com/2022/07/22/sluggish-sluggards-23-july-2022/
Wealth of Wisdom Proverbs
Proverbs 6:9Take a close look at yourself as an employee. Do you do your best at work, or are you a sluggard? Pursuing excellence is a rare commodity in the workplace, but as Christians it's what we are called to do.
A sluggard is habitually lazy. Work is not a result of sin. Instead, God is pleased when we work with a spirit of excellence. Sluggards have excuses, never finish what they start, and are wise in their own eyes. We should be disciplined to plow in season without excuses so that we will not be like a rotating door, busy but not going anywhere. As Christians, we should have the fear of God in us to not be lazy.
It's a new Marvel Reread Club where we read just one issue, June 1963's Tales to Astonish #44, joined by special guest Jeremy Whitley, the only writer to have written a Marvel comic starring any version of the Wasp in her own book! Pillbox hats! Laughter and gaiety! Sluggards confused with dullards!
Today's Verse ➤ Proverbs 10:2626 As vinegar to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to them that send him.
Why does Solomon condemn sluggards? In this devotional, I share three thoughts from Proverbs 26:13-16. 1. Excuses. 2. Laziness. 3. Self delusion. These thoughts come from assigned reading - Proverbs 26-27. If you would like to read through the Bible with me you can do so by joining the Facebook group Through the Bible. Music provided by texasradiofish. All readings are from the ESV unless otherwise noted. Read this devotional's chapters here: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs+26-27&version=ESV Join Through the Bible here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/throughthebibletogether/ Watch more devotionals here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJ2HW1s_Tp3amJY4Jj2QmZfFpvQAOcUOn Thanks for joining me as we read through the text of scripture together. #ThreeThoughts #ShortBibleLesson #DailyDevotional
by Elder Chris McCool, Pastor (preached 8/8/21) The book of Proverbs gives specific instructions on how not to be foolish. One of the clear admonitions from this book is that we should NEVER be sluggards! Slothfulness leads to poverty, and … Read More
by Pastor Chuck Ryan Pay it Forward Text: Ephesians 4:20-28 Thesis: The principle to “pay it forward” has its origins in scripture. Jesus, the disciples, and the Apostle Paul modeled this principle. I. The Apostle Paul promotes healthy ambition. (vs 28a) A. The Apostle Paul described laziness as a form of stealing. 1. Scripture teaches not to be slothful, lazy or a sluggard. • “Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth.” (Proverbs 10:4) • “Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in forced labor.” (Proverbs 12:24) • “Sluggards do not plow in season; so at harvest time they look but find nothing.” (Proverbs 20:4) • “I went past the field of a sluggard, past the vineyard of someone who has no sense; thorns had come up everywhere, the ground was covered with weeds, and the stone wall was in ruins. I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw: A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest—and poverty will come on you like a thief and scarcity like an armed man.” (Proverbs 24:30-34) 2. Paul is acknowledging that if you are capable of working, and do not work, others will have to support you. 3. Paul also warns the Church in Thessalonica against being idle. (See 2 Thessalonians 3:6-10) • “For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.” (vs10) a. In the formation of America this principle was taught. II. The Apostle Paul Instructs the young Christians “to do something useful…, that they may have something to share with those in need.” (vs28b) A. The principle to “pay it forward” has its origins in scripture. Jesus, the disciples, and the Apostle Paul modeled this principle. 1. Jesus taught his disciples to serve others. • “Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20: 26-28) B. Paul in his writings strongly believes in providing for your families. • “Anyone who does not provide for his relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” (1 Timothy 5:8) 1. May the caring for your families be measured, less you make them dependents for life. Do not promote laziness but meet their needs. C. Paul not only encourages them to be ambitious and work, but to earn enough to be able to “share with others in need.” 1. We are called to “Pay it Forward”! “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)
Sluggards vs. Servants, Part 2 C.S. Lewis once said that our desires are not too strong but instead, are too weak. It's not that we desire bad things too much, it's that we don't desire good things enough. This weekend in worship, Pastor Jonathan takes a second look at Proverbs 26, taking a deeper dive into what drives complacency and where our energy can best be redirected.
Sluggards vs. Servants, Part 1 As we enter the dog days of summer, StoneBridge greets the season with a new, five-week, message series titled, Summer Light. This weekend, Pastor Jonathan contemplates Proverbs 26:13-16, how it reflects our worst spiritual selves, and inspires us to only settle for the best!
Sunday Sermon 04.25.21 Rev. Sam McDonald
“Like a coating of silver dross on earthenware are fervent lips with an evil heart.”
1 Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise. 2 A king's wrath strikes terror like the roar of a lion; those who anger him forfeit their lives. 3 It is to one's honor to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel. 4 Sluggards do not plow in season; so at harvest time they look but find nothing. 5 The purposes of a person's heart are deep waters, but one who has insight draws them out. 6 Many claim to have unfailing love, but a faithful person who can find? 7 The righteous lead blameless lives; blessed are their children after them. 8 When a king sits on his throne to judge, he winnows out all evil with his eyes. 9 Who can say, “I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin”? 10 Differing weights and differing measures— the Lord detests them both. 11 Even small children are known by their actions, so is their conduct really pure and upright? 12 Ears that hear and eyes that see— the Lord has made them both. 13 Do not love sleep or you will grow poor; stay awake and you will have food to spare. 14 “It's no good, it's no good!” says the buyer— then goes off and boasts about the purchase. 15 Gold there is, and rubies in abundance, but lips that speak knowledge are a rare jewel. 16 Take the garment of one who puts up security for a stranger; hold it in pledge if it is done for an outsider. 17 Food gained by fraud tastes sweet, but one ends up with a mouth full of gravel. 18 Plans are established by seeking advice; so if you wage war, obtain guidance. 19 A gossip betrays a confidence; so avoid anyone who talks too much. 20 If someone curses their father or mother, their lamp will be snuffed out in pitch darkness. 21 An inheritance claimed too soon will not be blessed at the end. 22 Do not say, “I'll pay you back for this wrong!” Wait for the Lord, and he will avenge you. 23 The Lord detests differing weights, and dishonest scales do not please him. 24 A person's steps are directed by the Lord. How then can anyone understand their own way? 25 It is a trap to dedicate something rashly and only later to consider one's vows. 26 A wise king winnows out the wicked; he drives the threshing wheel over them. 27 The human spirit is the lamp of the Lord that sheds light on one's inmost being. 28 Love and faithfulness keep a king safe; through love his throne is made secure. 29 The glory of young men is their strength, gray hair the splendor of the old. 30 Blows and wounds scrub away evil, and beatings purge the inmost being.
Rev. Paul Pater, pastor at Shepherd of the Ridge Lutheran Church in North Ridgeville, OH and Hope Lutheran Church in Sheffield Village, OH, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Proverbs 26:1-28. The proverbs of Solomon copied by Hezekiah’s men in this section give very vivid imagery to teach the wisdom of avoiding the way of the fool, the sluggard, and the gossip. Though a fool may not listen to wisdom, the threat of punishment does sometimes move him in the right direction. There is wisdom in knowing when to ignore the folly of the fool and when to respond lest he continue in his folly. The vivid imagery of a dog returning to its vomit is a wakeup call to all sinners to recognize how disgusting sin actually is. The sluggard’s laziness is portrayed with sharp satire; his folly is greater than the fool. The gossip only adds fuel to the fire of quarrels; true wisdom seeks to quench hostility. “Wisdom and Instruction” is a mini-series on Sharper Iron that goes through the book of Proverbs. Although Proverbs is perhaps best known for its short sayings full of practical advice, the one true God has so much more in this book of wisdom. True wisdom begins with the fear of the LORD. Christians walk His way of righteousness rather than the way of wickedness because we trust that all good gifts come to us through His Son Jesus Christ, who is His wisdom made flesh for our salvation.
The latest from Spring Meadow Baptist Church
A short devotional on Proverbs 20:4. Want to talk? Send an email to umpquaconnect@gmail.com
20200524-Sun-SS - Prov 26:13-16 - Bible Baptist Church - www.www.bbcbyesville.com
20200524-Sun-SS - Prov 26:13-16 - Bible Baptist Church - www.bbc-kjv.com
20200524-Sun-SS - Prov 26:13-16 - Bible Baptist Church - www.bbc-kjv.com
20200524-Sun-PM - Prov 26:13-16 - Bible Baptist Church - www.bbc-kjv.com
Insane rioting in the news; No more hue and cry; How do we get to this point?; Illustrative story; Zombies; Recent police brutality and reactions; Bible big picture; Loss of justice; What caused a mindset change?; Mechanisms destroying society; Burning Rome; Fomenting violence; Living at the expense of others; Australian socialism; Erring like Pharisees; International shutdown abuse; Polybius; "New World Order"; God won't hear your cries unless…; Perfect savagery; Christians in Rome; Marcus Aurelius; Revealing Christianity; Signs of degeneration; "The Lucifer Principle"; Gold-star parenting; Symptoms a byproduct of evil; Evil/darkness is absence of good/light; Modern Christians with blind guides; Christ's revolution/regeneration; Modern Church preaching culture of Cain; Reducing human population; Brood care; Power in white coats?; Prov 6:6; Being wise; "Wisdom" = inspired by God; Friends and neighbors; Striking hands; Befriending unrighteous mammon; Oregon's unique situation; Removing blinders; Sluggards; Tribute; Dueling governors; The "way" forward; Rulers vs overseers; Becoming subjects; Beware of comfort; Shutdown fallout; Fake virus -> fake race war; Kingdom difference; "Bobby" example; Electing power lovers; Being Christian!; Prov 6:12; Naughty winking; Mask hysteria; Access via compliance; The finger of tyranny; God hates…; Proud look, lying tongue, hands shedding innocent blood, heart devising wicked imaginations, swift feet for mischief, false witness; Corban; Making the word of God to none effect; Running towards evil; Sowing discord; Living the commandments; Making your "yes", "yes"; Seeking the kingdom of God and His righteousness; Nicolaitans; Study history to know the future; Follow the Holy Spirit; Tithing = freewill offerings; National adultery.
Midweek - The Book of Proverbs - 29 - Scoffers, Sluggards, and Righteous Men - Prov 21
(Matthew 3:2 NKJV) “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” God Time (Romans 13:11-14 MSG) But make sure that you don't get so absorbed and exhausted in taking care of all your day-by-day obligations that you lose track of the time and doze off, oblivious to God. The night is about over, dawn is about to break. Be up and awake to what God is doing! God is putting the finishing touches on the salvation work he began when we first believed. We can't afford to waste a minute, must not squander these precious daylight hours in frivolity and indulgence, in sleeping around and dissipation, in bickering and grabbing everything in sight. Get out of bed and get dressed! Don't loiter and linger, waiting until the very last minute. Dress yourselves in Christ, and be up and about! . It's time to take control of my schedule. (Ecclesiastes 4:6) Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind. (Jeremiah 6:16) This is what the LORD says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.” . It's time to rethink what I allow to enter my mind and body. (1 Corinthians 10:23) “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive. (Psalm 141:4 NLT) Don't let me drift toward evil or take part in acts of wickedness. Don't let me share in the delicacies of those who do wrong. . It's time to organize my finances around Give, Save, Live. (Matthew 6:21) For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Proverbs 3:9 MSG) Honor GOD with everything you own; give him the first and the best. . It's time to live my life intentionally. (Proverbs 20:4) Sluggards do not plow in season; so at harvest time they look but find nothing. (Psalm 90:12 LB) Teach us to number our days and recognize how few they are; help us to spend them as we should. The Key to it All 1. I must know my purpose. (Psalm 139:16) All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. (Jeremiah 29:11) For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” 2. I must have a plan. (Proverbs 17:24 GN) An intelligent person aims at wise action, but a fool starts off in many directions. 3. I must have accountability. (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 NLT) Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Faith is taking a step even when you don't see the whole staircase. ~Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Like A Boss: The IT Factor 1. The hustle factor Genesis 39:2–3 The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. 3 When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, (NIV) Genesis 39:23 The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did. (NIV) Psalm 90:17 May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us— yes, establish the work of our hands. (NIV) Psalm 128:2 You will eat the fruit of your labor; blessings and prosperity will be yours. (NIV) Proverbs 14:23 All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty. (NIV) Proverbs 12:24 Work hard and become a leader; be lazy and become a slave. (NLT) Proverbs 12:24 Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in forced labor. (NIV) Proverbs 20:4 Sluggards do not plow in season; so at harvest time they look but find nothing. (NIV) Proverbs 10:4 Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth. (NIV) 2. The character factor Genesis 39:2 The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master (NIV) Genesis 39:9 No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” (NIV) Genesis 39:20–21 Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined. But while Joseph was there in the prison, 21 the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. (NIV) 3. The knowledge factor Genesis 39:3–4 When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, 4 Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. (NIV) Genesis 39:21 the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. (NIV) Proverbs 4:7 The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. though it cost all you have, get understanding. (NIV) 4. The results factor Genesis 39:3-5 When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, 4 Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. 5 From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. (NIV) Genesis 39:22–23 (NIV) So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. 23 The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did. (NIV) 5. The growth factor Proverbs 22:29 Do you see someone skilled in their work? They will serve before kings; they will not serve before officials of low rank. (NIV) Proverbs 1:5 let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance— (NIV) Proverbs 18:16 A man’s gift makes room for him, And brings him before great men. (NKJV)
Like A Boss: The IT Factor 1. The hustle factor Genesis 39:2–3 The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. 3 When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, (NIV) Genesis 39:23 The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did. (NIV) Psalm 90:17 May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us— yes, establish the work of our hands. (NIV) Psalm 128:2 You will eat the fruit of your labor; blessings and prosperity will be yours. (NIV) Proverbs 14:23 All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty. (NIV) Proverbs 12:24 Work hard and become a leader; be lazy and become a slave. (NLT) Proverbs 12:24 Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in forced labor. (NIV) Proverbs 20:4 Sluggards do not plow in season; so at harvest time they look but find nothing. (NIV) Proverbs 10:4 Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth. (NIV) 2. The character factor Genesis 39:2 The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master (NIV) Genesis 39:9 No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” (NIV) Genesis 39:20–21 Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined. But while Joseph was there in the prison, 21 the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. (NIV) 3. The knowledge factor Genesis 39:3–4 When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, 4 Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. (NIV) Genesis 39:21 the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. (NIV) Proverbs 4:7 The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. though it cost all you have, get understanding. (NIV) 4. The results factor Genesis 39:3-5 When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, 4 Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. 5 From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. (NIV) Genesis 39:22–23 (NIV) So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. 23 The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did. (NIV) 5. The growth factor Proverbs 22:29 Do you see someone skilled in their work? They will serve before kings; they will not serve before officials of low rank. (NIV) Proverbs 1:5 let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance— (NIV) Proverbs 18:16 A man’s gift makes room for him, And brings him before great men. (NKJV)
short, sweet, to the point, but BOY am I feeling this... let's hop into it. Connect w/ me on Instagram: @jabenstarnes --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/jaben-starnes/support
My name is Chance Gonnam and this is how I see the Bible. I’ve been on my faith journey for awhile now and God has worked amazing things into my life! He’s taken me from Small Town Illinois to Living In Miami in a Luxury High Rise on the Ocean. This is my first time reading the Bible. I’ve done all my learning through this journey from audio. You can read this passage below. Listen on Your Favorite Podcast Platform: https://anchor.fm/thetraderslife If you want to learn how to trade Forex from me go Here: http://bit.ly/ForexChangedMyLife Get connected with me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chance.gonnam Connect with me on Instagram: @ChanceGonnam Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise. 2 A king’s wrath strikes terror like the roar of a lion; those who anger him forfeit their lives. 3 It is to one’s honor to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel. 4 Sluggards do not plow in season; so at harvest time they look but find nothing. 5 The purposes of a person’s heart are deep waters, but one who has insight draws them out. 6 Many claim to have unfailing love, but a faithful person who can find? 7 The righteous lead blameless lives; blessed are their children after them. 8 When a king sits on his throne to judge, he winnows out all evil with his eyes. 9 Who can say, “I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin”? 10 Differing weights and differing measures— the Lord detests them both. 11 Even small children are known by their actions, so is their conduct really pure and upright? 12 Ears that hear and eyes that see— the Lord has made them both. 13 Do not love sleep or you will grow poor; stay awake and you will have food to spare. 14 “It’s no good, it’s no good!” says the buyer— then goes off and boasts about the purchase. 15 Gold there is, and rubies in abundance, but lips that speak knowledge are a rare jewel. 16 Take the garment of one who puts up security for a stranger; hold it in pledge if it is done for an outsider. 17 Food gained by fraud tastes sweet, but one ends up with a mouth full of gravel. 18 Plans are established by seeking advice; so if you wage war, obtain guidance. 19 A gossip betrays a confidence; so avoid anyone who talks too much. 20 If someone curses their father or mother, their lamp will be snuffed out in pitch darkness. 21 An inheritance claimed too soon will not be blessed at the end. 22 Do not say, “I’ll pay you back for this wrong!” Wait for the Lord, and he will avenge you. 23 The Lord detests differing weights, and dishonest scales do not please him. 24 A person’s steps are directed by the Lord. How then can anyone understand their own way? 25 It is a trap to de --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/chanceandsamanthagonnam/support
WED Bible Study - Pastor Crossin
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Introduction I'd like to ask that you turn in your Bibles to Ephesians 4, we'll be looking today at verses 22-24, zeroing in on, especially verse 22-24, a radiant garment of holiness held out for you to wear. That's what I have in mind today. As I was looking back on my own childhood growing up like most boys that I know, I had no great interest in clothing, honestly. I remember going to a party, I was about 10 years old, and a friend of mine was a pretty spoiled kid, I remember that, and we were all at this party, and you know the moms buy the gifts generally, and one gift after another was clothing. I don't know how it worked out, but this kid was becoming increasingly frustrated and angry. He would attack these gifts and rip open the paper and rip open the box and you know when a box in a certain size is probably a shirt, pants, hat, something like that, and he was becoming increasingly annoyed. And I started feeling, and I wasn't mature at all to understand what was going on, but just the basic ingratitude that was being displayed there. But I was relieved that I had actually given him a model airplane that my mother had chosen wisely. And I was on the good list. So it wasn't until later years that I started to have some interest in clothing. You may say, "Pastor, I didn't think you had any interest in clothing." Some of you may say that. Now that's unkind, but I do have some interest in clothing. But I remember, especially in 1981, being for a guy anyway, uniquely interested and captivated by the wedding dress of Lady Diana Spencer. I remember feeling just jealous of them anyway, as they went off to a month-long holiday in the Mediterranean for their honeymoon, and I went off to a job that I hated. And I just thought it was so unfair. But the wedding dress was just spectacularly beautiful. And some of you old enough to remember that event, or you can look it up, it was 9000 pounds sterling, that one dress costs, and it had a 25-foot train and it had pearls and lace and all that. It was just a spectacular garment. And I remember thinking about that, that lavish outfit, and how much it cost and the amount of money that went into it and all of that to get her ready for a spectacular wedding day. The Readying of the Bride Well, recently I was reading in Revelation 19:7-8, and there is this beautiful picture of the Bride of Christ in garments of linen. A picture of holiness and purity. Listen to Revelation 19:7-8, it says, "Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him glory, for the wedding of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean was given her to wear." Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints. So in other words, as the saints act righteously, or as we act in holiness, we will be getting ourselves beautiful for the wedding day of the land. We will be covering ourselves with purity and holiness, and getting ourselves ready for Him, for Christ. And Ephesians 4:22-24 describes plainly how that garment of holiness can be spun up thread after thread of righteous acts, acts of self-denial, of purity, of holiness, that by them we will be making ourselves ready for the wedding of the Lamb. In Ephesians 4:22-24 it says, “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires. To be made new in the spirit of your minds and to put on the new self, which is created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” So every time that we, by the power of the Spirit, deny the flesh, put off wickedness and sin, and put on holiness, we are, I think in light of Revelation 19:7-8, acting righteously. We are getting ourselves ready for the wedding of the Lamb, getting ourselves ready as the bride of Christ. And we are adding another thread of purity, of white linen, pure and clean to put on for that day. And that's exactly what the Lord is calling on each one of us to do. Context Justification Precedes Sanctification Now, let's get some context here. We are desiring, in this flow of simple, straightforward, moralistic perhaps commands in Ephesians 4-5 to set it in a theological context. The morality, the virtue of the Christian life is set in a theological context, the context of the Gospel. If you go back to Ephesians 4:1, it says, "As a prisoner for the Lord then I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received." Well, Ephesians 1-3 gives us a sense of that calling. Ephesians 1-3 is that flyover, that beautiful satellite view of the sovereign work of God in saving sinners like you and me. It begins in Ephesians 1 with our election, our having been “chosen in Christ from before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight.” In other words, our yearning for holiness is for the consummation of the very reason why God chose us before the foundation of the world. “In love, He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ.” And we learn in other scriptures that that has to do with conformity to Christ, that being sons and daughters of the living God means to be like Christ and to be like God. We all have been atoned for by the blood of Christ, that by Christ's shed blood, all of our sins are forgiven. “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.” And so, there is an ongoing cleansing work that the Lord does by the blood of Christ, but that justification, that righteousness that we receive by faith comes simply by faith in Christ, not by any works. We've been justified by faith. “It is by grace we have been saved through faith, and this not of yourselves, it's a gift of God, not by works.” We, having heard the Gospel of truth, the Gospel of Christ crucified and resurrected with simple faith, we were justified, and we were marked in Him with a seal, we were sealed with the Spirit. And now we have been set to doing good works. We're not justified by works, we're not forgiven by good works. No works of self-denial or holiness can ever be used to pay for past transgressions and sins, ever. But we have been justified, we have been saved in order that we may do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to walk. And a lot of those good works or works of self-denial and personal holiness, as we're going to talk about today, this is the calling that we have received. And we are to be active also in bringing other people to faith in Christ. People who are currently dead in their transgressions and sins, they're lost, they're on the outside and we are to be reaching out with the Gospel and bringing them in as living stones in this rising temple that's becoming more and more glorious, more and more spectacular, larger and larger all the time with evangelism and missions going on. And so we've got these two journeys that we talk about a lot here in the church, the internal journey of holiness, of growing in Christ-likeness, and the external journey of worldwide evangelization of reaching out with the Gospel. Those two in effect being one and the same journey, the building of the Church of Jesus Christ. And that's the calling we have received, and we're called on to live a life worthy of that calling. And in verses 17-24, he zeros in on the issue of sanctification, the mechanism of sanctification and holiness. Now, last time, we looked deeper at the mind and heart of the non-Christian and we're commanded not to think like that anymore, not to live like that anymore. You remember what we said last time in verses 17-19? "So I tell you this and insist on it the Lord that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do in the futility of their thinking, they're darkened in their understanding, and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality, so as to indulge in every kind of impurity with a continual lust for more." Well, that's who the lost person is. We looked at it last week. We're able to look into the mind and heart of the unbeliever, and to say that all of us began life that way. And that we are commanded now by God through the Apostle Paul not to think like that anymore, and not to live like that anymore. We must no longer live in that way. In verses 20-21, he shows the incredible impact, the powerful impact of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He said, "You however did not come to know Christ that way. Surely you heard Him and were taught in Him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus." Now, it says in verse 21, in some translations, “if so be” or, “if indeed.” But there's no sense of uncertainty there, it's more like, “Given that you did hear the Gospel, given that you did, there's actually a sense of certainty that you heard Christ, you who are Christians, you heard Him and not in that old way of corruption and wickedness. But you heard Him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus.” That's what he's saying. And now he's going to turn to this kind of machinery, or this pattern of sanctification that's going to be with us the rest of our lives. "You were taught," verses 22-24, "You were taught with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires to be made new in the spirit of your minds and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness." So, three steps we're zeroing in on. Put off the old self, be made new in the spirit of your mind, and to put on the new self created to be like God. The result of this, of ongoing pattern of holiness, will be increasing conformity to Christ, we’ll be more and more conformed to Jesus Christ, that is sanctification. Active in Sanctification Now, as you can see from it, this is an active thing we're commanded to do. This is an active life of pursuing holiness, it's not passive. Some in church history have taught of kind of a passive holiness. "Let go, and let God" is the slogan you may have heard. There are some times that that slogan may actually capture some of what God calls us to do. But that's not the way holiness is taught in the New Testament. There was a movement called the Keswick movement, Keswick holiness. And they're saying that basically, if there's any striving, if there's any effort made, you've missed the Christian life, the power of the Christian life. And you need to just kind of let go and let God, and just kind of lay back into Christ, and just be carried along to the holiness. Well, that's not the way the New Testament teaches. Actually, it teaches much more like warfare, like there's a battle that we have to fight here. This is not going to be easy. I picture like whitewater and we're trying to cross a whitewater river, and if you just kind of lay back, you're going to get swept down the stream into corruption and into sin. But instead, we have to strive in sanctification. Our works play no role whatsoever in justification. We are justified by faith in Christ, apart from the works of the law. Absolutely. So all forgiveness of sins and our right standing before God, is always based on Christ's work on the cross, not based on any effort we can give. And in the future, we will be glorified at death. At the moment of death, our soul will leave our body and be instantly transformed, and made perfectly radiant and glorious, free from evil forever. No works required for that either, it will be done to us by the sovereign power of God. But in between this, no works for justification and no works for glorification, the rules of the game are different. Sanctification, we must work. “We must work out our salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in us.” And how do we work? Well, we work by putting off the old self, being made new in our minds and hearts and putting on the new self created to be like God, that's it. So let's look at it one step at a time. Put Off the Old Self (vs. 22) You Were Taught First, verse 22. "You were taught with regard to your former way of life to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires.” Now, verse 22 begins, “You were taught.” And so, we have to start with the role of the Word of God in all of this. We have to start with the role of doctrine. It all starts with careful accurate doctrinal instruction. "You must be taught concerning this, and you have been taught," he says. Now this goes back to verses 21-22, "Surely you heard Him,” Christ, “and were taught in Him in the truth that is in Jesus,” etcetera, to put off your old self. So this is a doctrinal thing, we're being taught in Jesus this new way of living. We've seen again and again the role of Christian instruction here. Back, earlier in Chapter 4, we have these five gifted roles that he gave some to be “apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, some to be pastors and teachers.” Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers all have in common the delivery system of the Word of God, that's what they are. The word of God originates in the mind of God, and He speaks it through the apostles and prophets, and the evangelists take it on the road, they take it the distant places, and to the ends of the earth, and then pastors and teachers settle in and teach it to the saints going forward. And so, it's a delivery system of the word of God, and they prime the pump for the works that build up the Body of Christ. So it all starts with good doctrine. We get the same thing in Verse 14. He talks about how in Verse 14, “we are being moved from immaturity to maturity. You'll no longer be infants tossed back and forth, instead we're going to be conformed to the faith.” In verse 13, unity in the faith in the knowledge of the Son of God. So no longer immature, no longer moved around easily by doctrine, but instead, united in the faith. That's in Christianity and doctrine, united in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God to mature manhood. So we're fully mature in Christ. And so, verse 15 depicts maturity as “speaking the truth,” that is, right doctrine, “in love.” So that's right beliefs coupled with a heart of love. And then Paul, as we saw in verses 17-19, focuses very much on the darkened mind, and the darkened heart of the unbeliever. And so, this is very much a teaching issue. It's an issue of right doctrine, of understanding the Bible properly. So he says, "As you think so you will live," that's a basic principle. As you think so you will live. If you want to live a new life, you must think new thoughts, you must be transformed by the renewing of your mind. There has to be a change in your mind and your thinking. And so, little by little, the non-Christians, they are hardened and increasingly corrupted and have increasingly bad lifestyles. The remedy therefore to bad living is right thinking, pure thinking, and that right thinking is worked by the sovereign grace of God, by the ministry of scripture, by the ministry of the word of God, by the power of the Holy Spirit. That's how it all happens. So it all starts in verse 22, you were taught. And what had he taught them, what had they learned? “Well, you were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires.” Negative Sanctification is Essential So, now we come to the issue of negative sanctification, things that we Christians must not do. There are just certain patterns of lifestyle that must never be part of the Christian life. Negative holiness or negative sanctification. And there's also a positive side that we'll get to as well. There are some things that we should delight in, some things that we should do, etcetera. So both of those things together make up holiness. Both of them make up sanctification, things we must not be and do and think, and things that we must be and do and think, that together makes up this issue of sanctification. Now, when we come to negative sanctification, sometimes people are well, negative about negative sanctification, they might even make fun of it. You know, they make fun of the ones that say, “I don't smoke or drink or chew or go with girls that do,” something like that. And that's holiness and they kind of mock that kind of thing. But honestly, as we look at it, there are some things that are poisonous and corrupting to the Christian life. Martin Luther said “Love God and do as you please.” But I'm telling you what, we have a hard time hearing that rightly. We can hear that and it's like, “Oh.” Then, and off we go. No, no, there's some very clear prohibitions in the New Testament in reference to the Christian life. If you only strive after the positive side of Christianity trying to be loving, and kind, and a nice person, and patient and positive, and happy, but you're not at war with the corrupting sins that the Bible warns us against, you're not putting those sins to death, you will be destroyed by the poison of sin. And that is to some degree the role of some that are called antinomians, those are people that see no role of the law in the Christian life. The law has no role in the Christian life. But that's just not true. There are so many commands like even these in these Epistles that are given to us as Christians that we must obey, and some of them are prohibitions. Some things we must not do. On the other hand, however, if you're only focusing on negative sanctification, only focusing on putting off evil things, and you don't see the beauty and the attractiveness and the holiness, and putting on the alluring attractive aspect of holiness, which I'm going to talk about at the end of the sermon, and it's all about what you don't do, movies you don't see, what places you won't walk into, what language you don't use, you're going to lapse eventually into a kind of works righteousness, you'll be stripped of joy in life. There'll be a kind of an ascetic sternness to your life, and you won't be commending the beauty of our faith to unbelievers, and many have lurched off in that direction as well. So we have to keep a balance here on the negative sanctification, and the positive as well. Focus: The “Old Self” Now, the focus here is on the old self in this verse, some translations give us the old man or the old self or old nature, and it's linked here to your former way of life. Who you were in Adam, who you were before you were a Christian, okay? The person that you were born into as a human being. We were all born in Adam, we were born into original sin, and we had a positional status as sinner before God, having been born in Adam. The moment we came to faith in Christ, that position died forever. That old man that we were in Adam died and we became a new person in Christ. However, there are certain things that we bring with us now into our new life that cause us trouble. I think Romans 6:6 makes this very, very clear. Just listen to what Romans 6:6 says, "We know that our old man” or “our old self was crucified with him, in order that the body of sin might be rendered increasingly powerless," is a good translation there. "Our old man was crucified," dead forever, "in order that the body of sin might be rendered increasingly powerless, so that we might no longer be slaves to sin." So I think the body of sin, or the sin nature, what sometimes verses call the “flesh,” that comes with us into our Christian life, and that's the issue that we have to fight. This body of sin, this old tendency or old natures of the habits that we formed in our old way of thinking, that led to an old way of living, that old mindset and old habits that makes up what Paul is talking about here, the old man, that's what he's meaning here. So, they're habits. Now, what do we mean by habits? Well the mind and the body are trainable. If you do things over and over, you repeat them, you're going to train your mind to think a certain way, and you're going to train your body to react a certain way. We have it in terms of the areas of sin, we use the word addictions, we become addicted to sin to some degree. We know what that means. There's a magnetic pull on our bodies toward a sinful pattern, made very well aware of that with certain addictions like tobacco, for example. You know, let's say a teenage kid, a boy, gets tempted by his friends to smoke, and he's drawn away by them, and he picks it up and starts this habit, he starts to smoke, and there's a mentality that comes with it, you know, "Smoking's cool, all of us are doing it. You can't run with us if you don't do what we do," and all that, and there's this pressure on him and he picks up a cigarette and starts smoking repeatedly over a period of time. Soon, I don't know how long, different for different bodies, but soon there's just an addiction that takes over. And he's going to feel the yearning for the drug, for the nicotine, he's going to want it, he's not going to feel normal until he has a smoke. And so, his mind has been addicted to the pattern of smoking and his body also is addicted to the actual toxins and chemicals that are drawing. Well, the same thing in different ways, but the same thing happens with all sins, all of them. There's a mental side and a physiological side that draws us into all sin patterns. So, liars become addicted to lying in certain situations. It's what they use to get out of accountability for what they've done. Sluggards become addicted to laziness, and to oversleeping, and procrastination and making excuses for things they didn't get done. Complainers become addicted to complaining, they just are used to just saying negative things about their circumstances and they just become addicted to it. Gluttons become addicted to turning to food as an idol, and overeating when they should be turning to God. Drunkards in the same way become addicted to alcohol. So there's a mental and a physiological side to it, it's drawn into this. Vain people become addicted to seeking out compliments and turning every conversation back to themselves. It's just a pattern of sin that we become addicted to and we just do it again and again, that's the old nature. And Paul describes this old nature is “corrupted by its deceitful desires.” So it's getting worse, the old nature becomes more and more corrupted by deceitful desires. So what are deceitful desires? Well, you could rephrase and say, they are lusts that lie. They lie to us, they're lusts that pull us in, but they lie to us, about what they're going to do. Deceitful desires. The lusts don't come and tell us the truth. They don't come and say, "I am here to ruin your world, I'm here to destroy everything you cared about." These lusts are deceitful, they do not tell us the truth. And so it says in Hebrews 3:13, “encourage one another daily, as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness, hardened by sin's deceitfulness.” There's a hardening effect of the deceitfulness of sin over a period of time. So every time lust comes knocking on our door, it doesn't honestly say “I'm here to kill you,” but that's what it's here to do. It's a soul assassin, these deceitful desires. The Command: Put Off the Old Self! Well, Paul's command here is plain, “put off the old self, lay it aside, lay it down, take it off like a garment.” We're to take off that old pattern of life, all of its particulars, put it off away from ourselves. This language is used again and again. I picture here the prodigal son, don't you? He returns back from his journey into sin and excess, and he's squandered his inheritance on riotous living. Recently, he's been feeding pigs, and you can imagine, I picture him still wearing the garments that he wore in his last job. So he's coming back, having just finished feeding the pigs as best he could, longing to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating. Covered with mud, mud and pig dung, and it's in that condition that he's standing in front of his father. And do you remember how his father when the son says, "I've sinned against you and against Heaven, I'm no longer worthy to be called your son. Please take me back as one of your slaves." He says, “Put a new robe on him, and put a ring on his finger, and shoes on his feet.” That's the picture I have of a beautiful garment of holiness being held out for us to put on. Well, I imagine that first, we have to take off that old garment of corruption and wickedness that stinks in the nostrils of God. Take it off, in order that we may put on this beautiful robe that the Father is offering to us. And the beautiful thing is, there's no need for you as a Christian, there's no need for delay. As a matter of fact, that's putting it mildly, you must not delay. You don't have to earn your way up to putting off sin, you don't have to work up to it like you have to take a class in order to put off sin, etcetera. You can just put it off, you can stop sinning. And this is the thing, we have freedom from Christ to never sin again, ever, the rest of our lives. No sin will ever come to you as a Christian with a compelling force, so that you will be able to say to God, after you sinned, there was nothing I could do, I couldn't help it, there was no way I had to give in. He will never allow you to say that. He'll say no, no, you had enough resources, through the Spirit, by the shed blood of Christ to put that temptation to death. And so we don't have to earn our way into putting off the old nature, we can do it immediately. However, I know there's a momentum to sin, we know that Romans 7 says, “the very thing we hate we do.” And we're going to be struggling with sin. So I do not teach perfectionism. Though perfection is possible, and we have no excuse when we do sin, we still know that we are going to sin, we're going to stumble in many ways. So the strategy I continue to give to all of you is this, death by starvation, starve it to death. Starve your sins to death. Put some distance between you and the last time you fell in that area. And the more distance there is between you and the last time you fell in that area, the weaker will the gravitational pull of that temptation be on your soul. Just put some distance between. Get through one hour, get through one day, get through one week, step-by-step, and don't worry about tomorrow, fight today's temptations today. “Tomorrow has enough trouble of its own,” Jesus said, fight for today, fight to be holy today. And so, he's going to give us examples and we'll do it in the rest of the Chapter, not today, but looking at specific examples of falsehood and lies, of stealing, and sinful anger, and sexual immorality, and drunkenness, these patterns of immorality, put some distance between you and your sin. It will get weaker and weaker if you do. Alright, so that's the first part. Put off the old self. Be Renewed in the Spirit of Your Mind (vs. 23) External Moralism Will Not Suffice Secondly, be “renewed in the spirit of your mind.” To be “renewed in the spirit of your minds.” This is the inner working of the mind, the key to the Christian is the mind and the heart, the very heart. And if you want to live differently, you must think differently, and you must love differently. It's a different thinking and different loving. And this is the core of the transformation that we're talking about here. We're not looking for merely an external morality, an external virtuousness. Non-Christians can do this, they can do these things. You look at the list, “falsehood, lying, stealing, drunkenness, immorality, there are non-Christians.” There are atheists that will do many of those things better than Christians. I think about how ascetic Gandhi was in terms of his life and how kind he was, and careful in his speech and all that. You can do that, and not have any love for Christ in your heart, not have any love for God in your heart. So that's not what we're talking about here, some external morality or show of morality. It is possible for us to do that kind of thing and have no transformation at all. My daughter is a student at Liberty University, and I read some time ago, there was a Brown University undergraduate, his name was Kevin Ruse, interesting name, Ruse. Anyway, he went undercover at Liberty, he was not a Christian, not born again, but he was doing basically an expose book on evangelicalism. So he enrolled as a student at Liberty University. The book is called An Unlikely Disciple. To pull it off, Kevin Ruse had to learn the language and external behavior patterns of an evangelical undergrad student at Liberty. And he did very well, he had everyone fooled, as a matter of fact, he was chosen to be a small group leader on his dorm floor. So, I mean, imagine later reading about all of this, and thinking, "How could we have missed it?" Anyway, Ruse studied the 46 page code of conduct called “The Liberty Way,” which outlines the rules and regulations of student life. No drinking, no smoking, no R-rated movies, no dancing, no cursing, no hugs lasting longer than three seconds, and so on. Christi said that they've changed that rule, I don't know, is it stricter? Is it two seconds now? I don't know, never mind, tell me later, but down to two seconds, up to four? But at any rate, he took all of this external pattern on like a garment, but no heart behind it. There was no heart of love for Christ or for neighbor in that pattern, and it is possible to learn the pattern of Christianity and not have any of its transforming power. As a matter of fact, many Gospel hypocrites, in the Bible Belt, pulled that off for decades. They were unregenerate church members. And they had no love for the scripture, they had no love for Christ crucified and resurrected, but they knew the patterns of church involvement and church behavior. But that's not what we're talking about here. What Does “Renewed in the Spirit of Your Mind” Mean? We take off the old self, but the second thing it says in our text is to be “made new in the attitude,” or “the spirit of your minds.” Paul adds the word spirit, NIV has “attitude of the mind,” but that seems a little light. I want to go to the “spirit of the mind,” the true abiding spirit or tenor of your mindset. Now, non-Christians can think amazingly well, they can do amazing things with their minds, they can do incredible things in poetry, or music, or art, or literature. They can do incredible things in science. You get a pharmaceutical researcher who'll go into the lab, and just through his brilliance and his skill will be able to come up with drugs that are very effective in curing cancer, or other things like that, and they're thinking amazingly well and brilliantly, but they're not doing anything out of love for God through faith in Christ. And so, there's a hollowness, they are white-washed tombs to some degree, and that can happen morally as well. But God wants us to know Him and to love Him. Jesus said in John 17:3, "This is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." So, fundamentally what we're talking about is not just what you think about, but what you love and what you hate. What you yearn for, what are you ambitious for? What do you choose and what do you reject, as it flows from your inner person, the mind, the heart? And so, in order to live a new life, you must be “made new in the spirit of your mind,” you must think new thoughts, you must think Christianly. The Role of the Holy Spirit and the Word Now what happened, the moment you were genuinely converted, that's something that the Holy Spirit did for you, “He gave you a new heart, the heart of stone removed and the heart of flesh put in.” He gave you a transformed nature. 2 Corinthians 5:17, if anyone is in Christ is a new creation, the old is gone, the new has come. So your new creation soul is eternal, it cannot be killed, it can only grow and flourish, and it will survive Judgment Day and will go on into eternity, this new creation self you are. But that's what you have to put on. You have to learn more and more what it means to “love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.” To learn how to do everything for the glory of God. To learn how to love righteousness and hate wickedness, how to hunger and thirst for righteousness at every moment. It means to have the mind of Christ and to use it more and more. Now, the grammar is literally that “you are to go on”, “go on being made new in the attitude of your mind.” If you're a Christian, you are already made new, you're made a new creation, but now you have to go on being transformed by the renewing of your mind. 1 Peter 2:2 says, "Like newborn babes, you should long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation." You're hungering and thirsting for scripture, you're being “transformed,” Romans 12:2, “by the renewing of your mind” through scripture. Jesus said in John 17:17, “Sanctify them by the truth, your word is truth.” Now, the Holy Spirit has been given to illuminate, to make the scripture clear. The Holy Spirit wrote this book through apostles and prophets and then the indwelling Spirit causes the Scripture to come alive in your heart. And you see the light and the truth, as it says in Psalm 119:105, "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." That's a direct contrast to the darkness of the mind and heart of the unregenerate person. So that's what he's called on us to do. So, the Holy Spirit then will work in you to see every situation in your life, spiritually. So the sexually immoral man, now converted, increasingly sees sexual sin from God's point of view. He repents continually, he fights continually to be pure, because he can see with spiritual eyes, increasingly clearly, the holiness of Christ on His throne. He can see the fact that Christ sees everything he does all the time, “nothing is hidden before the eyes of Him to whom we must give an account.” He sees that clearly by faith, he sees also the coming Judgment Day when he will have to give an account for everything he does with his body. And so, he see sexual sin in light of these invisible, spiritual realities. So also the liar or the slanderer, or the gossip, or the arguer, or complainer. They see each of those verbal sins in new light, in light of Christ, in light of holiness, in light of who Christ is. And they want to use their tongues now to bring grace to the hearer. Not to have the corruption of those sins. So also the husband, who has been dealing harshly or unkindly with his wife, increasingly sees his marriage in light of Christ and His Church. And He wants to love His bride “like Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for it.” He increasingly wants to be a Christian husband and he sees his marriage spiritually, so also the wife sees her role spiritually. Or maybe the mother of small children, maybe she's been complaining about how much work it is to raise small children, and then she starts to see her mothering in light of eternity, in light of God in Christ, and to not complain anymore, but to want to pour herself into her children and bring them to faith in Christ. They start to see everything differently. The employee who's been lazy and cutting corners and procrastinating, when the boss isn't around, suddenly starts to see that his real supervisor is Christ and He's with Him all the time, and he wants to glorify God with his work, and he becomes an excellent employee as a result. Everything changes. The materialistic, selfish person who's been spending money on himself and just loves to go to the mall or buy things, or hobbies, or electronic gadgets to make himself happy, starts to see money as a tool for the advancement of the Gospel and starts to invest it into missions and into the relief of the poor and needy, and to get ready for Judgment Day and to use his money to store up treasure in Heaven where moth and rust can't destroy and thieves can't break in and steal. The Holy Spirit just causes us to think differently about all of these topics and see them spiritually. Put on the New Self (vs. 24) And then finally, in verse 24, to “put on the new self.” We were taught to “put off the old self, corrupted by its deceitful desires, to be made new in the attitude of our minds by the ministry of the Word of God and the Spirit, and to put on now, the new self created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” This now is the positive sanctification, the beauty of Christ's holiness. Put On Like a Royal Robe Now, here's the beautiful aspect of being a Christian. We believe that Jesus came, was born of the virgin Mary, and was truly human, and lived a truly human life. He didn't just seem to be human, He actually was human, and He was tempted in every way, just as we are, yet He never sinned. What that means that He never sinned is that He perfectly fulfilled the law of God at every moment. He loved God with all of His heart, soul, mind, and strength at every moment, and He loved His neighbor as Himself at every moment. Perfect righteousness. Look at it like a perfect robe of holiness that He has crafted, and at the moment you trusted in Jesus, that robe was given to you in justification righteousness to put on, and in that robe, you will stand on Judgment Day. But now what we're called on, is to every moment effectively put it on and live it out ourselves by the power of the Spirit. We're told to imitate Christ at every moment, to put on His holiness and His righteousness. The robe is Christ. And so, it says in Romans 13:13-14, "Let us behave decently as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy, rather put on the Lord Jesus Christ." Do you hear that? Romans 13:14, “put on the Lord Jesus Christ and do not think about how to gratify the cravings of the sinful nature,” the flesh. Put on Christ. Now, you could put a picture like a beautiful robe, that's great, for like a coronation day or a wedding day, that's fine. Or, another way to look at it, because I said it's warfare is that it's an armor of light. Put on Christ like an armor of light. Now later in Ephesians 6, we're going to talk about the armor of God, but Romans 13 actually pictures Christ in this way. It says, in Romans 13:12, "The night is nearly over. The day is almost here, so let us put aside the deeds of darkness, and put on the armor of light." So we're called on to put on the armor of light, which is Christ, and get ready to fight, and we're going to have to fight these temptations. Now, this idea is the image of God is created, it says, this new self created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. We are to imitate God, we are to be holy because He is holy, and we're to be drawn after God, purity in God. Jonathan Edwards, in his personal narrative, described the attractiveness and beauty of holiness. I'm not going to read it, I've read it before, but I'm just going to put it in my own words. Basically to him, holiness was like a beautiful wildflower, humble, low on the ground, in the dust opening up its bosom to the dew and the sunshine from heaven, and putting off a scent, a fragrance of beauty, such beauty as you could scarcely imagine. So imagine you're in a garden filled with all kinds of aromatic spices and flowers and all that, holiness is that beautiful. It's that appealing and attractive. The holy life, the virtuous life, is the most beautiful possible life you could ever live. It is attractive and appealing to love God with all your heart and to love your neighbor as yourself. It's the best way you can live at any moment. Now, Satan is so good at deceiving us, and telling us that these corrupting desires are the best possible kind of life. They're not, they're evil and wicked and so more and more as we see things as they really are, it's like, what I really want today, what I'm attracted to, what I yearn for more than anything else is holiness. I want to be like Jesus, I want to talk like Jesus, and think like Jesus, and act like Him, that's what I want. It's so appealing and so engaging and that's what you want. So if you don't have that view of holiness, ask the Lord to give it to you. You're going to be spending eternity living like that in the New Heaven, and the New Earth, it's going to be the best possible life you could ever live then, you can live it now by the Spirit. So yearn for a positive attraction to holiness. I want to say one final thing, and then I'll be done. This Can Only Happen If You’re First Born Again All of these things that I've been talking about: Putting off the old self, being made new in the spirit of your mind, and putting on the new self created to be like God, and beautiful righteousness and holiness, all of that is only possible if you're born again. It's only possible if you're a Christian. If you have not yet been born again, you can't do any of these things. But what you can do as you listen to me now, you can, in your own mind's eye, you can see the truth about Christ and about yourself. Know who Christ is, that He is the sinless Son of God who died in your place under the wrath and punishment of God, and He came to take away all of your sins, and to give you the gift of a perfect righteousness that I just described a moment ago, that you can just put on by faith, not by works. You'll be seen to be holy in God's sight. If you trust in Christ, all of your sins will be forgiven. And you will live forever. And once you do that, then you can do the things I've been talking about today. Beginning a journey of personal holiness that will grow and grow, but until then there's nothing more for you to do. “This is the work of God, to believe in the one that He has sent.” Believe in Christ. Close with me in prayer. Prayer Father, Ephesians 4:22-24 teaches us how to be holy, it teaches us how to put sin to death. It teaches us oh Lord, how to be “made new in the attitude of our minds.” It teaches us how to yearn after, and hunger and thirst for holiness, as the most beautiful way we can possibly live. Father, I pray that we would believe this Gospel, that we would trust in Christ and by faith and by the power of the Spirit, increasingly be conformed to Christ. Lord, I pray for any that are here as yet unconverted who don't know you yet, who haven't trusted in you yet, that they would be attracted to Christ, and drawn to Christ, and that they would know themselves to be sinners apart from God, but that they would find an openness, and a welcome through the love of the Father to find forgiveness, like the prodigal son who came home. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
The post Lessons from Ants and Sluggards: The Wisdom of Hard Work (Proverbs 6:6-11; 24:30-34) appeared first on Community Bible Chapel, Richardson, Texas.
"Work" isn't a four-letter word, but "lazy" is. Discover what God says about "work" in the Bible and learn from Proverbs 6:6-11; Proverbs 26:12-16
Introduction One of Jesus' most remarkable statements - and most courageous, I think, given the context - in John chapter 5, He said, "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working." We serve a God who is constantly energetically working. He's a God of labor. But the Bible also portrays our God is in heaven, and He does whatever pleases Him. So, He's a being that's delighting in the works of His hands. He's delighted to do the things He does, brings Him great joy and pleasure to work. Wouldn't it be sweet if you lived your life like that? It's my desire and my prayer that as a result of this sermon today that we might see work differently than we ever have before. But not only does God work, not only is He constantly at work, laboring to bring about His purposes, He has also entrusted to us work to do as well. And so, as the sun makes its circuit around the earth and shines on 24 different time zones, it shines down on the people busy at work. Start with the land of the rising sun Japan. You start with a stock broker in Tokyo selling stocks - Nikkei stock exchange - or a rice farmer who's bent over double. I used to see them in Japan, putting little rice plants into a saturated rice paddy, or a Siberian logger - big burly guy - cutting up Siberian fur, as the earth continues to turn. And the sun moves on past the Ukrainian wheat farmers or some pharmaceutical workers working in some German pharmaceutical company or shines down on the Rive Gauche of the Seine in Paris where there are some painters working on new techniques with oil and canvas, crosses the Atlantic. Cambridge, Massachusetts, some professors there, scurrying across Harvard yard to their class, maybe they're a little late, but about to give a lecture there, or goes across to Chicago where some sanitation engineers are emptying some dumpsters and working hard at keeping the streets clean. Or to Sacramento where there are some stay-at-home moms that are sitting and discussing parenting with one another while the kids play at the playground, or to the place where some people say is the most dangerous occupation up in the Bering Sea, where there are some Alaskan king crabs being fished by fishermen, risking their lives for a big catch. 24 hours of sunlight shining on a world busy at work. But the question that the Bible asks all of those workers and all of us is why do you do what you do? What is the purpose of the labors of your hands? There's a famous story about a traveler in the middle ages - you've probably heard a version of it before - who visited a city where many stonecutters were cutting. And the first was asked, "What are you doing?" And he replied, "I'm cutting stone, isn't that obvious? I've got to feed my family." He went to the second and he said, "Well, I'm the best stonecutter in the land. I'm perfecting my technique. Look how smooth and polished these edges are." Yeah, so the third, and he said, "I am building a cathedral." Now, those three different responses, I think, are paradigms of different ways that people look at work. The first one really, to some degree, lacked purpose all together. His nose was to the grindstone, so he could feed his belly. As it says in Ecclesiastes, "All of man's efforts are for his stomach" (Ecclesiastes 6:7). So, he's trying to feed himself and his family. The second is working on a career; he's developing his technique, trying to be the best at what he does. The third had a grander vision of building a cathedral, a big purpose in his life. But the fact is, frankly, even cathedrals will not last forever. King Solomon did great projects, and he talked about the outcome of those projects. In Ecclesiastes 2, it says, "I undertook great projects. I built houses for myself, planted vineyards, I made gardens and parks, and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them, I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. My heart took delight in all of my work, and this was the reward for all of my labor, and yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless. A chasing after the wind, nothing was gained under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 2:4-11). So, that's projects done in the Ecclesiastes code phrase under the sun, done just on that horizontal level of human endeavor trying to do something great, and he didn't see much in it. So why should we work? What is the overarching purpose for which we should work? I think Jesus gave it to us better than anyone in His high priestly prayer in John 17. Jesus, the night before He was crucified, said this to His heavenly father, He said, "I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do." John 17:4. That's it, dear friends. If you're a Christian, live for that. “I brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.” Balance in Work and Play: A Timeless Challenge So, our work should be for the glory of God. We should fit into His overarching plan, the building of the kingdom of Christ. That's what we should be laboring for, but does the Bible have any practical wisdom about our lives of work, either about our careers or even about menial day-to-day tasks? Yes, it does, and we go to the book of Proverbs for that, as we have over the last number of weeks. And, today, we're going to look at the topics of... By the way, have you ever had a moment of regret? I had a moment of regret this morning. The title should have been “Labor, Leisure, and Laziness.” It dawned on me this morning I missed a perfect chance at alliteration. There aren't W's that go across, so it's got to be “Labor, Leisure, and Laziness.” Alright, so just to raise that little work thing, but it's about work, but you know, but it's about labor, leisure and laziness, that's what we're talking about. So, I'm done with my pangs of regret now. Workaholics or Sluggards? That's what we're preaching about today, but we're looking at this topic of work, of labor, and we're trying - we're seeking through this sermon, through the work of the Holy Spirit, I think - to achieve a very difficult thing, which is balance in life concerning our work, balance. Now, in America, I want to ask you, as you know, this nation, are we a bunch of workaholics, are we a bunch of pleasure sordid, playaholics. Which one? Well, it's a complex question as you think about it. My first job, I worked, in my opinion, for a workaholic. Now one of the first jobs I had, actually, first technical job, I just graduated from high school, and I was working in Bedford, Massachusetts for a company that made solar-powered water pumps. And one of the three founders of the company, a graduate of MIT, was just a relentless workaholic, worked about 100 hours a week. Chain-smoker, hypertensive kind of guy. I don't know if he's still alive, but I know this: He never stopped working. And there are people like that; I've seen people like that. Whole corporations can be driven by the ambition of a CEO who lives his life like that and never satisfied. They tend to be miserable people. They only think about work all the time where they're working. If they're not working, they're thinking about work. And electronic technology has made it possible to do that more and more. You could be working while talking to someone, if they'll put up with it, with the BlackBerry, the cellphone going on… I mean, the people can be... You can be doing massive things over the wireless through the laptop, even while sitting next to somebody who you're out on a date with, like your wife or something. I've never done that, but you know, people can be working all the time. So, are we workaholics? Well, it seems to me that America actually tends to be more bent the other way, what you might want to call playaholics. Have you ever seen bumper stickers that allude to this? “A bad day of fishing still better than a good day in the office,” something like that. I don't even know what to say about that. I'm not trying to offend those of you that love fish or to fish, something like that; I don't see that. But at any rate, I understand what's behind it. The person would rather be recreating than working. Or this one, “Work fascinates me, I could sit and watch it for hours.” I've seen people like that before. Frankly, I've been with people like that before from time to time. How about this one? “If work is so terrific, how come they have to pay you to do it?” Or this one, “I'm stuck here, but my head is stuck on the weekend.” Well, I really saw that when I was in the workforce. I worked for 10 years out in industry, and Monday morning - or even worse, Tuesday morning after a three-day weekend - it's a tough time to go to work. People are still wishing they were on the weekend. How about this one? “Hard work has a future payoff, but laziness pays off now.” Well, I'm actually preaching against that, and we'll talk about that in this sermon. But it's a philosophy. Or this one, “I owe, I owe so off to work, I go.” Now, that one hits a little close to home, because remember when I was preaching on money, how many people have run up credit card debts to pay for pleasure items that they then have to go to a job they hate and pay off? So, the reason for working then is because of debt. So, Americans have almost endless ways to spend leisure time, addicted to hobbies, sports, computer, video games, vacations, et cetera. And the struggle of the church over the ages has been defined balance. The Church Over the Ages: Struggling with Both Work and Leisure Early on in church history, there were ascetics who pulled away from a lifestyle of leisure and pleasure and went off in the desert and did nothing but fast and pray. Later on, in the development of the monastic movement, they would add working, laboring with the hands. It was a relentless lifestyle driven, I think, by a bad theology of what it took to be saved, to have your sins forgiven, and very difficult for them to find balance. Perhaps some of the most balanced people on this were Puritans, but they are well known for the Puritan work ethic, and they had a dim view of what most people of their age called leisure or play. They were against the book of sports, for example, which just had to do with leisure and recreation, very, very strong Sabbatarians. And for them, their worship was a form of work for the Lord, and they were focused on that. There was a kind of a relentless feel to the life, although not universally with them. Balance has been very, very difficult to find. And so, my desire is that we would have a godly proper balance between labor and leisure and not drift over into the laziness that we can see. The Blessing (and Cursing) of Work Work Is a Blessing from God So, let's go back to the beginning and try to understand briefly a theology of work. And we start with the blessing that work is itself. The Bible opens with God at work. I mean right from the very, very beginning, God creates the heavens and the earth. He's at work, as Jesus said, "To this very day, my father is at work and I too am working” (John 5:17). God is always putting energy to putting will toward this universe to achieve a purpose. So, from the very beginning, God says, "Let there be light,” and there's light. And in verse 31 of Genesis 1, "God saw all that he had made and it was very good, and there was evening and there was morning the sixth day. And thus, the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array." So, there's God at work skillfully weaving a universe, and then God entrusted meaningful work to human beings. Genesis 2:15, it says, "The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and take care of it." So, there is Adam, and he's at work before the fall. Work Cursed by God What the fall did in Genesis 3, it came in and brought a curse on work. It brought a curse on work. So, in Genesis 3:17-19, Adam has to hear this, "For the punishment for what he did and sinning and breaking the law of God. Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow, you will eat your food until you sink back into the dust for dust you are and to dust you will return." That is a curse on work is what it is. Labor would become futile; it would become frustrating. Efforts will be put forth, and nothing would come of it, and that's where I think Solomon picks it up in Ecclesiastes, where he just sees the vanity of it all. The Mysterious Part of Work In the New Covenant, though, in Jesus, work has been redeemed, and we are called mysteriously co-laborers with God. Our work actually has an eternal benefit as Christians as we do the good works. We are God's workmanship (Ephesians 2:10), created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God laid out or ordained in advance that we should walk in them. And so, the implication there in the open teaching in other places that our works actually have eternal consequence. And, that's mysterious because God doesn't need us at all. But He has in some mysterious way committed to us eternal works - works of eternal consequence. So, that's a brief overview of work and where we're at. Proverbs: Celebrating the Glory and Rewards of Labor Introducing the Ant! Let's look at Proverbs, and Proverbs begins celebrating the glory and the rewards of labor - the glory and the rewards of labor. And, in order to do that, the book of Proverbs introduces us to the ant. The ant. We are introduced to the ant, "Go to the ant, you sluggard, consider its ways and be wise” (Proverbs 6:6). The ant is a role model for us. The ant is held out in Proverbs 6, one of the most amazing creatures that God ever made. We're talking in the staff about what would happen if the natural world just weren't restrained anymore toward the human race and just went after us. Who would you dread the most of all of the created beings? And one of our guys said, "I think it's the ants." I mean, what are you going to do with the ants? I thought it was the eagles. I thought, if the eagles came after us, what are you going to do? Swooping from up above; you're in trouble. I think Hitchcock made a film like that about birds, but the ants… Do you realize there are one million ants for every human being on the face of the earth? What would you do against your million if there were war between us and the ants? How would you take on your million ants? Ants are amazing creatures; they can lift over 50 times their body weight, similar to us lifting an automobile. They all live in communities, colonies. The largest ant colony ever found was located in Italy in northern Spain. It stretched 3,600 miles. One colony. Literally, of course, billions of ants. Now, every ant has a specific function. Soldier ants protect the rest of the colony from outside encroachment. Harvester ants store seeds for use as food. Some of the ants chew up the seeds and form a kind of a pasty bread that all the other ants eat. Others take out seeds that have gotten wet and lay them out to dry. Weaver ants use their larvae which produce silk threads to sow together leaves for shelters and other purposes. Carpenter ants hollow out tree stumps for use as nests. Slave-maker ants actually raid other ant colonies and steal away a larvae, which then grow up as slaves for their colony. Now, Solomon urges us to go to the ant to study the ant and look at its ways and to observe the ants specifically for its work ethic. It has no commander or overseer or ruler (Proverbs 6:7 and 8), and yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest. The issue there with the ant is its dedication to the task, self-motivation also, and foresight. So, it's dedicated, it's motivated, and it doesn't have an overseer directly commanding it, doesn't mess around when the boss isn't watching. It just sticks to the task. And foresight - the ability to store up today what's available today, so that they can eat tomorrow. Now, the essence of the sluggard, and we're going to talk more about the sluggard later in the message, but is procrastination. Putting off to tomorrow what ought to be done today. The ant doesn't do that. And so, we have the ants as an example. In effect, God is saying to us, "Why can't you be like the ant?" Somewhat like a scolding parent, and saying, "If only you could be as dedicated to your task as the ant is." The Rewards of Labor Well, what are the rewards of labor? Well, first and foremost, very plainly and clearly, the satisfaction of basic necessities, food, clothing, and shelter. Food, clothing, and shelter. And we have had numerous opportunities to counsel people in the community and others that have come that are having trouble in certain areas, and it takes them to sermon. but one of the basic lessons is if you're able-bodied, it's up to you to provide for your basic needs, and if you're the head of a household for those of your family, that's a basic lesson of Scripture. And so, it says in Proverbs 16:26, “the laborer's appetite works for him.” His hunger drives him on; it forces him to do whatever it takes to care for him. His own needs and the needs of his family drives him on. And so, we've seen photos from The Great Depression of people with signs saying we'll work for food, people who are formerly investment bankers that are selling apples, whatever it took to get a job. But Proverbs goes beyond that. Actually, abundant food and blessing comes from labor as well. Proverbs 10:4 says, "Lazy hands makes a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth." So excess or surplus or wealth comes from diligence, from hard work. Also, skill at labor produces an ever-widening scope of opportunity, advancement in life. Proverbs 22:29 says, "When you see a man skilled in his work, he will serve before kings, he will not serve before obscure men." So, if you want to advance, if you want to have a wider scope, wider horizon of ministry opportunities or of life, then be skilled in your labor. Be good at it. That's what the book of Proverbs is teaching. Also, hard work results in authority and greater responsibility. Proverbs 12:24 says, "Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in slave labor." So again, diligence results in authority and the ability to lead others. It's usually hard workers that get in that position, not always, but frequently. Also, hard work results in the fulfillment of desires. Proverbs 13:4 says, "The sluggard craves and gets nothing. But the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied.” Isn't that a sweet verse? So, basically, it's just the desires of your heart frequently come through the labors of your hands. That's what Proverbs is saying. Obviously, I know Psalm says, "Take delight in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." But this verse is teaching that, so often, it comes through your hard labor as well. And so, in the end, a hard worker will be praised and rewarded. Just go to the end of the book, and you have the virtuous wife in Proverbs 31. Incredibly hard-working lady. Proverbs 31:13 and following, it says, "She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands. She's like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar. She gets up while it's still dark. She provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls." And at the end of all that, in Proverbs 31:31, it says, "Give her the reward she has earned and let her works bring her praise at the city gates." Well, that's true, not just for the virtuous wife, but for a man as well, for anybody - that hard work results in praise and rewards. I think we even get that from the Lord. "Well done, good and faithful servant. You've been faithful with a few things. Now, I'll put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your Master” (Matthew 25:23). He's rewarding labor there. Initiative, energy, sacrifice. That's what's going on there. Practical Words on Work Proverbs also gives us some practical words of wisdom on work. One of them is, work your fields and avoid fantasies. A couple of Proverbs teaches… Proverbs 28:19 says, "He who works his land will have abundant food, but the one who chases fantasies will have his fill of poverty." It's been heartbreaking for me sometimes to see people who leave a good job or a good situation for some whim, some fantasy, really. A get-rich-quick scheme or some other thing, and they get themselves into difficulty, and they don't really recover. Now, I'm not saying it's not possible that the Lord can come and give you a vision for a ministry and cause you to make some sacrifices, like the rich young ruler is called on to sell everything and follow Jesus. But this proverb still speaks a word of wisdom to us to be careful that you're hearing God properly. Secondly, prioritize your tasks wisely. Proverbs 24:27 says, "Finish your outdoor work and get your fields ready, and after that, you may build your house." So, the idea is, you might want to make your house cushy, comfortable, luxurious, just like in the book of Haggai with paneling and all that, but there's something outside the house that needs to be done first. So, look after that. Prioritize your tasks wisely. Thirdly, be honest in business. Proverbs has many things to say about the honest scales or the dishonest scales, and how much God loves an honest set of weights. And that just expands to just talk about honesty in business and honesty in how you earn your living. In Colossians, it says, work hard, and not just when the boss's eye is on you. But even when it's not, do your work as unto the Lord (Colossians 3:23-24). So, honesty in business. And Proverbs urges us to take care of our equipment. Take care of your tools, the things that you use to make your living. Prize your possessions. Proverbs says in 27:23, "Be sure to know the condition of your flocks. Give careful attention to your herds." And then it goes on and says, "Because they're going to give you wool for clothing and food for your family." So, look after your things. Be good stewards of your possession. So, this is just some of the practical wisdom that God gave Solomon for a lifestyle of hard work. It's wise, it's prosperous, it's orderly, and it's satisfying. So, the Lord envisioned a life that's going to be six-sevenths labor. Might as well enjoy it, dear friends, because that's what God's called us to do, to be productive, to work hard, to work for His Glory, and to do things fruitfully for Him. The Blessings and Purpose of Leisure Rest Displayed and Commanded by God But what about rest? Is there a place for leisure in the Christian life? Is there a limit to work? Well, from the very beginning, we learned that there actually is a limit to work, and God set that up by the Sabbath rest that He took in Genesis 2. It says, "By the seventh day, God had rested from the work..." Or, sorry, "Had finished the work he had been doing. So, on the seventh day, He rested from all of His work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy. Because on it, He rested from all the work of creating that he had done." And then God established that as the law for Israel and ten commandments: Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. "Do all your work in six days, and rest on the seventh, for God made heaven and earth in six days and rested on the seventh” (Exodus 20:8-11). So, therefore, God gives us a picture of a limit to work. There's just a limit to it. Now, we know theologically that God has to constantly work or the universe doesn't exist anymore. We know that, but there's a symbolic resting from work that God intends, a picture of our future heavenly rest, but also a rhythm for everyday life for the Jews and for us as well. So also, just the rhythm of day and night tells us that when the sun goes down… And, after Edison, I think we are confused about this. But people in less developed nations, they know when the sun goes down, you go to bed. And you know, they did. I remember in Kenya, you see these little coleman-style lanterns, but those are only for a little while and then they go out and they're in bed. Hour or two after the sun goes down. Not us. Ever see a satellite photo of the Earth at night and just all of the lit areas? Those are all the first world countries that have forgotten what it means to go to bed when the sun goes down. Rest is Sweet to the Wise But God intends for the rest of a laborer to be sweet. “The sleep of a laborer is sweet,” it says in Proverbs 3 and verse 24. After you've done everything that God wanted you to do, you've lived a faithful day, the sun has gone down, you've finished up, it's just time to put your head on the pillow and rest. And that rest is sweet. Interesting word, though, isn't it? Sweet? The book of Proverbs talks about this thing called honey, and it talks about how sweet honey is, and that it's a good thing to enjoy it. It's a good thing to taste the honey. God made it delicious for a reason. There's even a command in the Bible that we ought to eat honey. Proverbs 24:13 says, "Eat honey, my son, for it is good. Honey from the comb is sweet to the taste." And the next proverb talks about some other topics, so that's all that proverb has to say is just, “Eat honey.” It's good. Well, I think that honey is a metaphor. It isn't just that God really wants you to eat honey and that there's... It's got to do with a health thing, and if you just eat it, you're going to be healthy and live long and all that. No, it just tastes good. There's no other reason for it. It just tastes good. So, I think an extreme ascetic life out in the desert grinding away, especially one in which you're trying to pay for your sins thereby, that's not what God had in mind at all. God created fruit. He created beautiful things to see, created experiences and things for us to enjoy, leisure things that are what I call amoral pleasures, not immoral pleasures. But those things that are good, richly to be enjoyed. "Eat them," God says. That's the kind of life He gives us. But you know, there's more to say about honey from Proverbs, isn't there? There is a command not to overeat honey. Proverbs 25:16 says, "If you find honey, eat just enough. Too much of it, and you will vomit." Now, it's not often you hear the word “vomit” from the pulpit, but that's what the Proverbs are saying. You'll vomit. If you take in too much of the good things of life, it will come out of you in a bad way. It will destroy you. So, there's a balance here on leisure. Now you're going to say, "What in the world does honey have to do with leisure?" I just don't think... I think that honey is a metaphor for blessings in life that are not intrinsic or essential to keeping us alive. It's just the good things of life. God created all things richly for us to enjoy, but it says in Proverbs 25:27, "It's not good to eat too much honey, nor is it honorable to seek one's own honor." So there, just going from honey to honor, shows it's a metaphor. It's just a metaphor. And so, the basic thing is, please enjoy the good things of life, but don't over-indulge. And one of the dangers of overeating honey is you grow to hate honey. And, once you hate one kind of honey, you're constantly then drifting looking for the next kind of honey. And it's a bad way to live. It really is, I think, a satanic way to live. You're empty, you're restless, you're wandering around looking for something in life. And you haven't noticed that you have become idolatrous is what it is. You're looking horizontally for the blessings of life, and you've forgotten that God is our pleasure. He really is our honey, above all of these earthly blessings. So, it says in Proverbs 27:7, "He who is full loathes honey, but to the hungry, even what is bitter tastes sweet." So, that's the whole problem, I think with America: it's over-indulgence. It's not that God's blessed us. It's a good thing that He's blessed us. It's the over-indulgence. Yes, there's food, but why do we go on to gluttony and to obesity? It's not enough for some to have recreation. We have to play to the level of a frantic addict. It's not enough to have a weekend or a vacation, some pretty place. We become idolaters and live for the weekend and hate work. It changes the heart. It's not enough to watch a ball game or two from time to time. We've got to have 24/7 ESPN, and how many... I don't even know how many versions we are up to. ESPN 360. They just added ESPN Boston. And you're wondering how do I know? Well, we'll talk about that another time. But at any rate, there's just lots of different ways to over-indulge in different things. So, it is damaging, dear friends, bottom line, to love pleasure. Proverbs 21:17 says, "He who loves pleasure will become poor. Whoever loves wine and oil will never be rich." Now, I don't think that means pleasure in an absolute sense. We're a pleasure in God; we're created for pleasure. John Piper satisfied me about that. We ought to be hedonists living for the pleasure of God. That is fine, but that's not what that Proverbs is talking about. It's talking about a horizontal earthly pleasure that you then live for; it becomes an idol. That leads us very easily and naturally to the shame and destructive destructiveness of laziness. The Shame and Destruction of Laziness Introducing the Sluggard! And so, we have introduced a different character now. We had the ant earlier; now we meet the sluggard. The sluggard. And what a fascinating character this individual really is. Have you ever studied the sluggard passages? They're really quite fascinating. This is an interesting guy. First and foremost, he loves to sleep. I mean, he's just addicted to sleep. Proverbs 6:9-11, "How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest and poverty is going to come upon you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man." I remember in school there was a guy in our fraternity; you couldn't wake him up with fire to his feet. I never tried that. Somebody said they did, and it didn't work. I mean, this guy, you couldn't get him up. But this sluggard just loves to sleep. Or this one, Proverbs 26:14, "As the door turns on its hinges, so the sluggard in his bed." That's his labor that day, to find the comfortable way to sleep. How to get the pillows arranged, and what's the best position for sleeping? Now, the sluggard is filled with desire. He's filled with dreams and aspirations, but nothing ever comes of it because he's completely unwilling to work for it. Make any of it happen. Proverbs 13:4, "The sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the desires of the diligence are fully satisfied." And again, Proverbs 21:25, "The sluggard's craving will be the death of him because his hands refused to work." So, it just torments him, all the things he wants, but they don't come his way because he doesn't work for them. The sluggard is constantly making excuses for his laziness, even to the point of ridiculousness. Proverbs 22:13, "The sluggard says, "There's a lion outside or I'll be murdered in the streets." I mean, please. The reason the sluggard says he doesn't want to work, and what might happen if he goes out. Something's going to happen. “I might get eaten by a lion. Somebody might murder me. I just need to stay here where it's safe.” The level of laziness can reach ridiculous, even epic proportions. Proverbs 26:15, "The sluggard buries his hand in the dish. He's too lazy to bring it back to his mouth." So, I pictured this. A man still living at home with his parents at age 40. Sleepy from his afternoon nap, he turns out just in time for dinner for his mommy who has cooked for him yet again, another home-cooked meal, asking her if she would please cut it up for him and feed him. That's about the picture I get from this proverb. How pathetic and disgusting laziness can become! And the sluggard then creates immense frustrations for people around him, immense frustrations for his extended community, his family. Proverbs 10:26, "As vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so is a sluggard to those who send him." Have you ever been camping, and you use sappy or wet wood, green wood? And it's just billowing smoke and whatever, wherever you stand, it seems the wind shifts to get that stinging smoke into your eyes. Well, that's what it's like to send a sluggard to do a hard worker's job. Imagine a scenario, and I saw things like this, not exactly like this, but imagine a scenario where an employer, a manufacturer wants to get some parts made ASAP. They need them that day. The best vendor in the area is willing to set aside some work for this special project if he can get the drawings by 10 in the morning. And so, the boss sends a messenger with the drawings. Little does he know he has sent a sluggard. The guy drives by a Starbucks and realizes he's not going to get his morning coffee break like the rest of the guys. So, he pulls in. An hour later, he rolls out, and he brings the drawings to the vendor. Vendor didn't get them by 10 o'clock, so he figured that the guy didn't need them after all. He puts them in the bottom of the queue. Around 4:30, there's a phone call between the boss who sent this guy and the vendor, and it's frustrating to both parties. And why? Because the sluggard was in the middle. That kind of stuff goes on in the workplace just about every day. And it's a shameful thing. Sluggard misses opportunities and makes excuses about it. Proverbs 20:4, "Sluggard does not plow in season so at harvest time, he looks but finds nothing." There was a window of opportunity for him to get his crops in the ground; he missed it. Growing season is over; he missed it. And even more amazing in the proverb, he looks for the harvest, and he didn't know why it's not there. He's shocked. And so, it is now. The deadline for applying for fall classes comes and goes, and then the registrar gets a phone call from somebody who wants to apply, register for classes. Well, that ended a week ago. And what's amazing is how angry the individual gets toward the person on the phone. How angry they are about it. And so, it says in Proverbs 19:3, "A man's own folly ruins his life, and yet his heart rages against the Lord." God, how could you let this happen to me? And he never traces it back to his own laziness. He's always a day late and a dollar short. He starts projects and doesn't finish them. And basically, dear friends, he is fighting his laziness his whole life. Proverbs 15:19, it says, "The way of the sluggard is blocked with thorns, but the path of the upright is a highway.” Look at how ironic that is. Every moment, what he wants is his own ease and comfort. That's what he's looking for at every moment. And as a result, he leads a very difficult life, very difficult life. He wants to travel, but he can't find his passport, so he has to apply for another one. Very stressful for him. Tries to find a dress shirt that he knows he can't find, he goes and buys another one at a certain amount of expense, finds the original dress shirt a week later. A college friend's father dies. He meant to get a sympathy card or something in the mail, doesn't. The relationship goes down a tick as a result. He doesn't pay the bill on time, and so there's creditors calling. Very, very difficult. His way is blocked in with thorns. Basically, he's a slave to his own sense of comfort. And the result of all of this, in Proverbs 24? You heard Allan read it. I'll read it again. A shameful display, visible to the whole world. "I went past the field of the sluggard, past the vineyard of the man who lacks judgment. Thorns had come up everywhere, the ground was covered with weeds and stonewall was in ruins and I applied my heart to what I observed, and I learned a lesson from what I saw. A little sleep, a little slumber. A little folding of the hands to rest and poverty will come upon you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man." What’s Wrong with a Little Sleep? So, you may say, what's wrong with a little sleep? I think Proverbs is overly harsh on sleep. No, not at all. Actually, it's from Proverbs 3. It says that the sleep is sweet to the laborer. The problem is love of sleep. Proverbs 20:13 says, "Do not love sleep or you'll grow poor. Stay awake and you'll have food to spare." That's the problem. So, guard your heart, dear friends. Watch your tendencies. A little of this, a little motion in direction, next thing you know, years later, you've missed a whole bunch of good works God wanted you to do because you weren't vigilant over your heart. Applications Rest in the Finished Work of Christ! Well, what application can we take from all of these proverbs? Well, first and foremost, let's go to Jesus on this topic of work and say to Him what was already said one time before. What must we do to work the works of God? What do you have to do to work the works of God? Jesus' answer is this: this is the work of God. Believe in the one He has sent. The work of the human race has already been done, dear friends, already been achieved. The central work of the human race was done by one man, Jesus Christ, when He shed His blood on the cross and died for sin, that work is finished. He said so. He said, "It is finished, it's done." And the reason that I can preach so eloquently about the sluggard is I played that role from time to time in my life. I have. I've played the role of the workaholic, too. All of us struggle with balance in every area of our lives. We are sinners, and we are saved by works, dear friends. They're just not our works. Jesus' work on the cross saves us. His righteousness and obedience of the law saves us. Step into that by faith. Step into that, and trust in the Lord Jesus. I said it's likely, there's some here that have never trusted in Jesus. Set aside your own works; they cannot save you. It does not matter how great your career is, or how many of the works of your hands, they cannot pay for your sins. Trust in Jesus. It's the only, only work that will save you, the work of Jesus. Live for the Grand Work of the Kingdom of God Well, secondly, what now then? How do I work the works of God aside from believing in Jesus? How do I do the good works that God's ordained that I should walk in them? Well, I think we should understand the overarching glory of God in the building of the kingdom. Just say, I am doing this work. I am preaching this sermon right now that God's kingdom might be advanced. Even down to “I am peeling these potatoes to the glory of God, that I might pray while I'm doing it, that I might give my labors to God as an act of worship.” That, the Puritans were excellent at that. Live like that. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all of your might to the glory of God. And then learn the practical lessons of Proverbs. Don't despise the menial tasks of the day. A life worth living is made up of garbage taken out and bills paid on time, and lawns mowed and gardens weeded and socks repaired and shirts ironed and thank you notes written on time. Cars washed, groceries bought, meals cooked, children bathed and put to bed. That's life. Do it all to the glory of God. Do it for His honor. And use your spiritual gifts; have a ministry. We're going to talk more about that in a few weeks, but just be sure that you're using your spiritual gifts for the glory of God. Build up the church; build up the brothers and sisters in Christ. And beware of the recreation craze culture that we live in; beware of it. A little of this, a little of that, next thing you know you're addicted. Don't go there. Have the wisdom to show restraint. And teach your children, please, to labor. Their bent is going to be toward recreation, toward play, and so also their schoolmates. Be the mean parent. We talked about the mean parent last week that actually makes your kids learn how to work. Be the mean, tough parent that says, “You actually do have to make your bed every morning and keep your room clean and learn how to serve.” And all the more as they get older. Teenage boys, teenage girls learning how to serve others with their vigorous bodies. Finally, don't procrastinate or be like the sluggard. Do the good works God has ordained for you to do today. For His glory. Close with me in prayer, if you would.
If we are going to prepare ourselves and our children for life in the world, we need to talk about money and how to handle it. Please listen to this podcast based on Proverbs 6:1-19.
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