Well, once again, in this season of not being able to sing publicly, I will quote from another
song for us, as I've done in the last couple of days. Monday morning feels so bad, everybody
seems to nag me. Coming Tuesday, I feel better, even my old man looks good. Wednesday, just don't
go. Thursday goes too slow. I've got Friday on my mind. Going to have fun in the city, to
be with my girl. She's so pretty. She looks fine. She's out of sight to me. Tonight I spend
my bread. Tonight I lose my head. Tonight I've got to get to bed. On Monday, I've got Friday
on my mind. Now, for those history buffs amongst us, those musical history buffs amongst us,
you will know that that is the most popular song, voted the most popular song in Australia
for all time. Friday on my mind by the Easy Beats. Easy Beats. Easy Beats. Easy Beats. It
catches the song. The reason why they reckon it is so popular in our country or has been
so popular in our country is that it catches something of the Aussie psychic. From the day
I start working on Monday, I'm looking forward to the day I finish working on Friday. I just
want this whole work thing to be over and done with. Many years ago in London, they did a survey
of why the show Home and Away was so popular in England. And to everyone's surprise, it wasn't
the acting. Number one rank was because no one appears to be working. Early retirement is
a goal in our country. And yet, very few of us would say that we are lazy. Very few of us
would say that we are in fact lazy. We're busy. Up early, up late, even those who are retired
often talk about life is just as busy now. The schedule is filled from beginning to end.
And so we would naturally react to any accusations at all of being lazy. We're busy. That is until
it's possible we see that our busyness is an expression of our laziness. And not diligence. That is,
there's a difference between busyness and fruitfulness. We can be simultaneously busy and lazy.
at the same time. That is, it's quite possible to be a hectic slug.
Busyness does not mean I am diligent or faithful or fruitful. And it seems that that passage that
Kel just read out to us from Thessalonians, that there were some there who were genuinely lazy.
2 Corinthians, sorry, 2 Thessalonians 3.11, we hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy.
They are busy bodies. That is, there are some in the church who are sitting back, taking it easy,
simply cruising through. It's not that they can't work. It's just that they refuse to work. And in the
context of 2 Thessalonians, it's not necessarily that they refuse just to work in the sense of getting a
job and earning their keep. That's part of what's happening there. But it's also they refuse
to pay their part in the body of believers and make a contribution to the life of the believers.
And Paul commands the Thessalonians to keep away from such people in verse 6.
That's how serious he sees this matter.
In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers, to keep away from every brother who is
idle and does not live according to the teaching that you receive from us. They are not busy. They
are busy bodies, using their time to poke into other people's business. They are vultures, not just
feeding on their brother's food, but in fact on their lives as well. In the end, Paul's perspective
on laziness is about having a Christian perspective on life. This is not about having a strong Protestant
work ethic. That's not what this passage is about. It's about living daily with a kingdom of God mindset.
This is a spiritual issue. And I think that's why in verse 13, Paul goes on to say,
And as for you, brothers, never tire of doing what is right.
What he's saying there is, it's not just about, you know, get out of bed and get a job.
He's actually saying, get busy with what is right. Get busy in pursuing the kingdom of God.
So it's not just a simply a call to be busy. It's be busy doing the kingdom.
What is right. What he's saying here is, it's quite possible for you to be
the busiest person in the world. You know, you're working seven days a week. You're a workaholic.
And yet to be a lazy procrastinator in the kingdom of God at the same time.
It is a hectic kingdom slug.
Procrastination means I can be busy neglecting the most important work and busy knocking out
to-do list after to-do list, filled with tasks of secondary importance.
So what I want to do this morning is something a little bit different.
I want to get some inspiration for us from the past.
The New Testament letter to the Hebrews is written to a bunch of Christians who are losing sight of what it means to follow Jesus in all of their life.
And the most famous section of the letter is the bit from chapter 11, 1 through to 12, verse 3.
It's the section about the great examples of faith, the great cloud of witnesses that the writer of the Hebrews points these people to,
the recipients of this letter, to look to as people who have run the race of perseverance.
They have endured.
He's hoping to inspire the Hebrews with examples of those who have gone before them to be faithful, focused disciples of the Lord Jesus,
despite the distractions and the persecutions and the difficulties.
And chapter 12, verse 1 in Hebrews is the main application of the section.
In fact, it's one word is the main application of that whole section.
It's a three-letter command in chapter 12, verse 1 that says,
run, run.
Everything else supports it, explains it, give motivation for it.
Run the race set before you.
Now, what a command to a church that was getting old, was settling into the world, losing its wartime mentality,
starting to drift through life without focus, without vigilance, without energy.
Their hands were growing weak, we are told in chapter 12, verse 12.
Their knees were feeble.
It was just easier to meander through the crowd in life rather than run the race of perseverance, of faith in Jesus Christ.
And so against this mentality, the writer to Hebrews calls the church to endure, to persevere, to run, to fight, to be alert, to be strengthened.
Don't drift.
Don't neglect.
Don't be sluggish.
Don't stroll.
Don't meander.
Don't wander aimlessly.
Don't take your eternal security for granted.
Run.
Run as in a race with a finish line, with everything hanging on that finish line.
Run.
Fight the fight of faith on the basis of Christ's spectacular death and resurrection.
Run.
Now, we need help here.
We are so easily distracted in our modern world.
And so I want to turn to someone who would have been included in Hebrews 11 list of faithful had the list extended into the 18th century.
That's my task for us today.
I want to look.
I love biography.
I love getting close to mostly dead people.
And to look at their life and how they ran the race of endurance right to the end.
And so I want to take us to Jonathan Edwards.
A life on the run.
Jonathan Edwards was born October 5, 1703.
He died on March 22, 1758.
He was a preacher, theologian, a missionary to Native Americans.
Edwards is considered now by both secular and evangelical historians alike
as the greatest Protestant thinker that America has ever produced.
That's an astounding claim from both secular and evangelical scholars.
He was a small town pastor for 23 years in a church of about 600 people.
He was a missionary to Native Americans for about seven years.
And the president of Princeton University for a few months just before he died.
He reared 11 faithful children.
I'm contributing his wife to part of that as well at least.
He worked without the help of electricity, without word processors, without emails, without iPhones,
and even without sufficient paper to write on.
And he lived only until he was 54.
I'm 51 now, so three more years longer than me.
That's all he had.
And yet this man was used by God to lead one of the greatest spiritual awakenings of modern times.
He wrote theological books that had ministered for more than 200 years across cultures
and did more for the modern missionary movement than any person of his generation.
Now, as a teenager, Edwards, mark that, as a teenager, Edwards wrote down 70 resolutions
that would govern his life and to help cultivate growth in grace.
As a teenager.
You can go online, Google it, Edwards resolutions, and you get a whole 70 of them there in front of you.
And he went on to re-read that list of resolutions at least once a week for the rest of his life
to keep his mind focused and his heart renewed week in and week out.
Now, these resolutions sustained him.
Sustained his vision of God and drove him to persevere and to grow as a disciple of Jesus.
That he would not become spiritually lazy.
Now, there are four of them that I want to...
Or four challenges.
I'll look at a few of the resolutions.
But four challenges from the life of Edwards that are designed to deal with
spiritual laziness and procrastination.
Firstly, Edwards challenges us to a radical, single-mindedness in our occupation with spiritual things.
Two of his resolutions that he made in 1723 when he wasn't yet 20 years old.
Resolution number 44.
Resolved.
That no other end but religion.
Now, when he says religion, what he means by that in his day and age,
what he means by that is Christianity, the Christian faith.
Resolved.
That no other end but religion shall have any influence at all in any of my actions.
And that no action shall be in the least circumstance any otherwise than the religious end will carry it.
Resolution 61.
Resolved.
That I will not give way to that listlessness which I find unbends and relaxes my mind.
In his day, he would call it technology possibly.
TV.
Will not give way to that listlessness which I find unbends and relaxes my mind from being fully and fixedly set on religion,
whatever excuse I may have for it.
I think that's the application of Paul's principle of 2 Timothy 2, 4 to 6 where he says,
no one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs.
He wants to please his commanding officer.
Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor's crown unless he competes according to the rules.
The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops.
What happens, I think, for many of us in the busyness and the difficulty of life is we start to give way to amusements and diversions and hobbies.
Just to survive emotionally.
I'm not saying TV is evil.
Don't go through on brick through.
I'm not saying that at all.
Or hobbies are really bad.
I actually think you should have a balance in life.
What I'm saying is they become dominant.
They become escapes for us.
The evenings and the days off are filled with harmless, enjoyable diversions and then they take over and the whole focus changes for us.
The radical urgency of kingdom priorities fade.
The wartime mentality shifts to a peacetime mentality.
The lifestyle starts to get cushy.
The all-consuming singleness of vision starts to evaporate.
I mean, and this is a genuine question here.
How many Christians do you know that are laboring to know God?
I'm not asking how many do you know who are reading the Bible.
I'm asking how many Christians do you know who are actually laboring, striving to know God?
Who are striving earnestly in study and prayer to enlarge their vision of God?
So the first exaltation from Edwards is to be radically single-minded in our occupation of spiritual things.
Edwards' second challenge to labor earnestly to know the Bible itself, to know the scriptures.
That is, don't get your vision of God secondhand.
You know, don't even let Jonathan Edwards be your vision of God.
Don't let J.I. Packer or Tim Keller or even week in and week out preaching here at St. Paul's to be your vision of God.
This was an example that Edwards himself sets.
An early biographer of Edwards said this about him, that when he first came into his pastoral role in Northampton,
he said he had studied theology, not chiefly in systems or commentaries, but in the Bible.
Edwards himself once said in a sermon,
Be assiduous, that is, showing great care and perseverance.
In reading the holy scriptures, this is the fountain whence all knowledge in divinity must be derived.
Therefore, let not this treasure lie by you neglected.
He set an incredible example of this in his own diligence in studying the Bible himself.
What he did was, he took a Bible, he got a Bible, he took it apart, unbound the whole thing,
separated every page and put a separate blank page in between every other page,
and then bound the whole thing back up again.
He then drew a line down the center of each bank page, two columns for notes,
and on every single page he wrote extensive notes, extensive notes.
In fact, he wrote extensive notes this way,
and when he ran out of paper, he then wrote extensive notes the other way,
in a different color.
And I think there's a genuine reason to believe that Edwards really did follow through on his 28th resolution,
resolved to study the scriptures so steadily, constantly, and frequently,
as that I may find and plainly perceive myself to grow in the knowledge of the same.
I find that resolution to be a rebuke.
How many of us actually have a plan to grow in our grasp of the whole terrain of the Bible?
Do we labor over God's word in such a way that we can plainly see today
that we understand something in God's word about God that we did not understand yesterday?
Many of us might, maybe that's an overstatement,
some of us might work at reading books on theology and church life with a view to growing,
but have no plan and no sustained effort to move steadily and constantly forward
in our understanding of God's word because it enlarges our vision of God.
Study the Bible so steadily and constantly and frequently that you can clearly perceive yourself to grow in them.
So here's a bit of a challenge as we're looking forward to New Year's resolutions.
Even by the end of the day, write down something, at least one thing, if not several things,
of things that you'll grapple with in the Christian faith that I want this resolved when I get back here
and I reflected this in 12 months.
I want to move forward on that issue.
Resolution 11 is one of the reasons he made such amazing progress in the understanding of God.
It says, resolved.
When I think of any theorem in divinity to be solved,
immediately to do what I can towards solving it,
if circumstances do not hinder.
That is, Edwards was not a passive reader.
He read with a view of solving problems.
Most of us, I think, are cursed with a bent towards passive reading.
We read the way we watch a TV.
We don't ask questions as we read.
We don't ask, why does this sentence follow that sentence?
How does this paragraph relate to the one, three pages earlier?
We don't, we're passive.
We don't ferret out the order of thought or ponder the meaning of terms.
And if we see a problem, we habitually leave the problems to the experts.
Challenge number three, Edwards challenges to redeem the time
and to do what our hand finds to do with all of our might.
His sixth resolution for life was very simple and quite powerful.
Resolved to live with all my might while I do live.
That's pretty simple.
Resolution five was similar.
Resolved never to lose one moment of time,
but to improve it in the most profitable way I possibly can.
He was a great believer in doing what you could in the time you have
rather than putting things off to a more convenient time.
I'll get to that job tomorrow, that kind of thing.
He just focused on doing it now.
He was disciplined in mind, in body, and in every aspect.
He's habits and everything in life.
Edwards could spend up to 13 hours a day in his study,
which is why I attribute his wife to the raising of 11 faithful children.
He rose early, even for non-electrical days.
In fact, he was probably entirely serious, probably,
when he wrote in his diary in 1728,
I think Christ has recommended rising early in the morning
by his rising from the grave very early in the morning.
I commend for your consideration whether such care to maximize time and effectiveness
in devotion to the pursuit of God in the word
was what the preacher meant when he says in Ecclesiastes 9, verse 10,
Work with all of your might.
Fourthly, the theological labor of Edwards challenges us to study for the sake of heartfelt worship
and for practical obedience.
That is, the sweet marriage of reason and affection,
of thought and feeling, of head and heart,
of study and worship that took place in the life of Jonathan Edwards
has been very rare since that day.
The final exhortation is to recover what the Puritans called logic on fire.
That is, the fire of joy and obedience.
Edwards did not pursue a passion of God
because it was icing on the cake of faith.
For him, faith was grounded in a sense of God
which was more than what reason alone could ever deliver.
In other words, there is no avail merely
to believe that God is holy and merciful.
For Edwards, that was not enough.
For that belief to be of any saving value,
we must have a true delight in it for what it is in itself.
Otherwise, he says, as the Bible says,
knowledge of God that does not overflow into worship of God,
that's just what the devil has.
It's no different.
Does that mean all of his studying was in vain?
Not at all.
He said this,
the more you have a rational knowledge of divine things,
the more opportunity will there be
when the spirit shall be breathed into your heart
to see the excellency of these things
and to taste the sweetness of these things.
that is the goal for Edwards is not just to know God
but to delight in him
to savour him
to relish him
for all of his intellectual might
and he had an incredible might intellectually
Edwards was the furthest thing you could imagine
from a cool, detached, neutral
disinterested academic
he was as intent on cultivating passion for God
as he was cultivating knowledge of God
and the two went together for him
he said
seek not to grow in knowledge chiefly for the sake of applause
and to enable you to dispute with others
but seek it for the benefit of your souls
and in order to practice according to what knowledge you have
this will be the way in fact to know more
he says the moment
the moment you study something
and you do
and you grasp something
a knowledge of God
and you do not put that knowledge of God
into immediate effect in practice
he said that is when you cut yourself off
from discovering anything more from God
the greatest thing I think we can ever learn from Edwards
is that God is glorified
not mostly by being known
nor by being dutifully obeyed
he is glorified most
by being enjoyed
he wrote this
God is glorified
not only by his glory being seen
but by its being rejoiced in
when those who see it
delight in it
God is more glorified
than if they just see it
that is
the worship of God
joy and delight
is the goal of a disciplined life
do you get that in Edwards
up until this point
you could go
well this guy is just nuts
you're taking away all of my joy
and my happiness
and Edwards says
no no no
you labor
you strive for joy
he says laziness
procrastination
meandering
wandering
not running
robs you of delight in life
delight in God
and so as we
come to the end
of another year
and as we look forward
to the year
that is to be
and as
just around the corner
are things like
new year's resolutions
if you are someone
who's not in the habit
of doing new year's resolutions
can I ask you to change it
this year
just for this one thing
step into a new year
with a plan
to run
run
run with Jesus
in 2021
develop a plan
to deal with
the procrastination
and grow
in grace
and knowledge
and joy
this year
this next year
friends
news of a terminal
illness
or attending
a funeral
often times
when we start
to focus on life
and what it really
matters
in life
the beginning
of a new year
is in fact
a close third
number three
we must labor
to ensure
that the most
important things
stay
the most important
things
be inspired
get some plans
in place
to grow
in the important
don't coast
don't meander
redeem the time
the big focus
for us as a church
for the next five years
is
for people
the majority
of us as a church
to be able
to self-identify
that we have
grown much
in the faith
in the Lord Jesus
and
personal
relationship
with him
in the Bible
and in prayer
is
the most
significant
first step
you will
not
grow
in knowledge
of God
in delight
in God
in joy
without engagement
with him
in his word
and prayer
and so
I've got a free book
for someone
who wants to
start that journey
free book
from anyone
now if you're
online
you're going
oh man
I've got one
reserved
for someone
online as well
so you just
send me an email
drop a note
into St. Paul's
and I will post it
to you with great
delight
this one here
this one
is
this one
if you follow
it to its fullness
it will take you
through the entire
Bible
in one year
keep doing that
for the next
five years
and you will
start to get
the scope
of God's word
you will start
to see the landscape
you will start
to get deeper
and deeper
and knowledge
of him
yeah
did I say
five years
yes
that's exactly
what I said
five years
who wants it
I mean seriously
it's for free
thank you
Nolene
wonderful
can I just say
one last
but very
significant point
this is
reading
from the
beginning
of
Edward's
resolutions
very important
being sensible
that I am
unable to do
anything
without God's
help
I do
humbly
entreat him
by his
grace
to enable
me to
keep
these
resolutions
so far
as they
are agreeable
to his
will
all
for the
sake
of Christ
Edwards
knew
that
even
with all
his
intellectual
might
he
was
just
as
human
as
we
are
and
that
he
was
just
as
likely
to be
distracted
as
anyone
else
that
is
he
knew
his
effort
alone
would
not
be
enough
to
carry
him
his
personality
alone
would
not
be
enough
to
carry
him
his
giftedness
from
God
alone
would
not
be
enough
to
carry
him
it
is
only
by
God's
enabling
that
he
would
be
able
to stay
focused
on
what
was
the
important
and
so
he
prayed
and
looked
to
God
for
enabling
for
that
giftedness
day in
and day
out
to stay
focused
he
prayed
for
God
to
enable
him
to
stay
the
course
and
not
deviate
his
life
into
trivia
and
irrelevancies
let's
pray
our
gracious
and most
merciful
heavenly
father
you
tell us
in your
word
in
Romans
15
verse
4
that
whatever
was
written
in
former
days
was
written
for
our
instruction
that
through
endurance
and
through
the
encouragement
of the
scriptures
we
might
have
hope
you
promised
that
everything
written
in
your
word
was
put
there
by
you
for
the
sake
of
our
endurance
that
we
might
run
no
matter
what
the
sufferings
the
trials
the
afflictions
the
distractions
you
have
given
us
all
that
we
need
in
life
in
order
to
not
lose
hope
but
in
fact
to be
encouraged
to press
on
in
faith
and
experience
delight
and
joy
in
you
and
yet
how
finite
and
limited
and
fickle
we
are
as
humans
what
you've
thrown
in
front
of
us
today
Lord
just
really
briefly
is
a
man
who
took
your
word
seriously
and
laboured
to
know
you
he
overcame
and
through
his
work
and
many
others
have
endured
in
faith
as
we
launch
into
another
year
may
it
be
different
as
previous
years
may
we
run
with
endurance
the race
that you
put
before
us
looking
only
to
Jesus
may
the
Lord
Jesus
be
the
deepest
source
of
all
of
our
endurance
may
we
see
and
saviour
him
in
your
word
and
find
in
him
our
strength
to
keep
striving
against
sin
Satan
and
sabotage
so we
ask
you
merciful
father
to
send
your
spirit
as
we
engage
your
word
we
pray
that
you
would
fill
our
hearts
with
knowledge
of
you
our
hearts
with
joy
in
you
give
us
that
deep
sense
of
delight
of
seeing
you
so
may
your
grace
enable
us
to
work
hard
to
know
you
rather
than
being
an
excuse
for
spiritual
laziness
this
coming
year
and
we
ask
that
Christ
might
be
glorified
amen