WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:11.900 It's good to see everyone here this morning. Thanks, Connor, for leading this morning and 00:00:11.900 --> 00:00:18.100 ! for musicians as well, for helping us to sing and to worship the Lord. One or two things would be 00:00:18.100 --> 00:00:24.080 ! really helpful this morning. Number one, it's your Bible. So if you don't have one, there's some at the 00:00:24.080 --> 00:00:28.920 back if you'd like to get one. That would be great. So we're going to be looking at the book of Proverbs 00:00:28.920 --> 00:00:34.520 shortly. And the second thing, which is a distant second, are there are some notes. So they're 00:00:34.520 --> 00:00:39.540 available as well. I think there's probably some left, Jonathan. Are there notes if there's some? 00:00:39.579 --> 00:00:43.679 Yeah, so if you want notes, it's fine. The only reason I highlight them is if you like long quotes 00:00:43.679 --> 00:00:47.799 from dead people, there's a good long quote at the end that I'm not going to quote, but you can 00:00:47.799 --> 00:00:56.000 read it for your own edification. So let's open up our Bibles. We're going to be looking at Proverbs 24 00:00:56.000 --> 00:01:02.920 this morning. Over the last, I don't know, 10 weeks maybe, we've been going through the book of 00:01:02.920 --> 00:01:09.920 Proverbs. We went right up to chapter 9 last week, so finished out that whole kind of introductory 00:01:09.920 --> 00:01:18.560 section. This morning we're going to be looking at Proverbs 24. So it's page 661. So I got the great 00:01:18.560 --> 00:01:24.180 opportunity to preach the rest of the book of Proverbs. So this is the last in the series. Obviously 00:01:24.180 --> 00:01:29.700 you can't do that. But just pick something from that bigger section at the end where you have all 00:01:29.700 --> 00:01:35.740 these individual sayings, what we often think of as the Proverbs. We're going to be reading from 00:01:35.740 --> 00:01:45.940 Proverbs 24 shortly. Well, it is great to see so many people out this morning and to have people to 00:01:45.940 --> 00:01:51.940 speak to. It's amazing. You got up out of bed this morning. You got ready. You came to church. 00:01:51.939 --> 00:01:59.399 And you've not chosen this morning to go and take the opportunity to weed the garden. You've skipped 00:01:59.399 --> 00:02:04.920 the opportunity to go shopping at Man Point. You didn't stay over your Cocoa Pops scrolling your 00:02:04.920 --> 00:02:13.180 phone as you munched them. That's main character energy. You locked in. You hustled. You got here 00:02:13.180 --> 00:02:19.039 this morning. So I'm very proud of you all. But what got you here this morning? Have you ever thought 00:02:19.039 --> 00:02:25.659 about that? Maybe it was the speaker. You heard I was speaking. And probably not. In fact, I know one 00:02:25.659 --> 00:02:28.879 person this morning. Oh, you're speaking this morning. And they didn't leave. So I took that as an 00:02:28.879 --> 00:02:35.560 encouragement. Habit definitely helps, doesn't it? Coming along with family, knowing people. 00:02:36.780 --> 00:02:41.859 And I was really encouraged this morning by our time of worship. Knowing and feeling that need 00:02:41.859 --> 00:02:48.579 possibly brought you out to worship God with other people. And hopefully that's part of what drew you 00:02:48.580 --> 00:02:56.580 out here this morning. In any case, it took effort and it took planning to get here this morning. 00:02:57.240 --> 00:03:04.860 The book of Proverbs commends you. Because Proverbs is all about living out God's wisdom, 00:03:05.260 --> 00:03:14.640 his wisdom, in his world. So things like diligence in life, taking care of things, getting out to church, 00:03:14.639 --> 00:03:23.599 it's commended to us this morning from the Bible as wisdom, as being wise. And wisdom this morning, 00:03:23.599 --> 00:03:33.219 as we look at Proverbs 24, starts with this. It's great. Don't be a lazy bones. Don't be a lazy bones. 00:03:33.479 --> 00:03:39.859 Sermon done. But we'll look at it and see what the scriptures actually say. So Proverbs 24, 00:03:39.860 --> 00:03:47.860 and we're going to read from verse 30. So this is a section called Further Sayings for the Wise, 00:03:47.940 --> 00:03:55.800 a short section after 30 distinct sayings that the author of Proverbs, who we attribute mainly to 00:03:55.800 --> 00:03:59.460 Solomon, wrote. And any of these further sayings, we're going to read from verse 30. 00:03:59.700 --> 00:04:06.200 I went past the field of a sluggard, past the vineyard of someone who had no sense. 00:04:06.199 --> 00:04:14.099 Thorns had come up everywhere. The ground was covered in weeds, and the stone wall was in 00:04:14.099 --> 00:04:20.300 ruins. I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw. 00:04:21.339 --> 00:04:29.319 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come on you 00:04:29.319 --> 00:04:34.420 like a thief, and scarcity like an armed man. 00:04:35.759 --> 00:04:46.219 Verse 30, two characters. The wise observer, the eye in this little section, and the useless article, 00:04:46.620 --> 00:04:53.319 as they'd say in Cork, the sluggard. And we can think of the eye as King Solomon the Wise. 00:04:53.319 --> 00:04:57.620 As I said, the Proverbs are ultimately all attributable to Solomon in some way. 00:04:58.719 --> 00:05:04.639 I don't know what time of day Solomon would have taken his daily walks. Possibly morning time before 00:05:04.639 --> 00:05:10.240 the sun got too high and it was too hot. And he might have gone out around his kingdom, checking 00:05:10.240 --> 00:05:16.539 things out, see how his subjects were doing, what the land was looking like. Because land was 00:05:16.540 --> 00:05:24.740 really important. It was given by God as a gift and a means to the people of Israel to create wealth. So 00:05:24.740 --> 00:05:33.480 the land was a gift from God to the people to create wealth. So many, many years before, each tribe 00:05:33.480 --> 00:05:40.879 and each family in Israel was given land. The land was divided up and given to the people. And they were 00:05:40.879 --> 00:05:46.060 to take care of it. They were to cultivate it. They were to look after it. And they were to draw 00:05:46.060 --> 00:05:56.100 a living from the land. Your land is your wealth. And that's a very true saying for the people of 00:05:56.100 --> 00:06:01.420 Israel back then. And it's still true for many people today all around the world, in Ireland as 00:06:01.420 --> 00:06:08.300 well. Your land is your wealth. As we walk with Solomon this morning, we're coming across of this, an array 00:06:08.300 --> 00:06:18.420 of well-tended vines and cultivated fields as we go past each family, each house. Oh, but one field 00:06:18.420 --> 00:06:25.780 stands out, doesn't it? It's not like the others. Verse 31, thorns had come up everywhere. The ground 00:06:25.780 --> 00:06:37.220 was covered with weeds and the stone wall was in ruins. Solomon gives a shake of the head, an annoying look. 00:06:37.220 --> 00:06:49.200 This guy, Ralph, the sluggard. Clueless. He's clueless. This is what not to do. And we should have 00:06:49.200 --> 00:06:54.440 known before we got to the field what we'd find. It's all there in verse 30, isn't it? I went past the 00:06:54.440 --> 00:07:06.960 field of a sluggard. It's the field of a sluggard. A wrecked vineyard starts in the heart of a sluggard. 00:07:06.959 --> 00:07:19.939 The broken stone walls come from a lazy bones, not a gust of wind. The field just gives poetic 00:07:19.939 --> 00:07:30.620 justice to his sluggishness, doesn't it? A sluggish heart produces sluggish actions, and it's all 00:07:30.620 --> 00:07:40.240 inevitable then. You're going to get ruined fields. Sluggard is a great word. It's not one we use very 00:07:40.240 --> 00:07:44.860 often, is it? I think it's due a comeback, so I'd like you all to be on social media this week talking 00:07:44.860 --> 00:07:51.879 about the sluggard. So I've actually got a campaign for you for the next five days to post about the 00:07:51.879 --> 00:07:55.879 sluggard. So if you're taking notes or in the notes, you can write these down. And I want to see lots of 00:07:55.879 --> 00:08:02.180 activity this week on Facebook and book face and grammar phones and whatever it is, you TikTokers or 00:08:02.180 --> 00:08:07.860 whatever. So because going through the book of Proverbs, you know, we've met the fool, we've met 00:08:07.860 --> 00:08:15.879 the mocker, we've met the wicked. But the sluggards who we meet today is the most tragically comic 00:08:15.879 --> 00:08:26.240 character. I mean, he's laughably incompetent and lazy. Take the laziest person in your house, maybe 00:08:26.240 --> 00:08:31.120 it's you, by the way. If you can't figure out who it is, it's possibly you. Take the laziest person and 00:08:31.120 --> 00:08:36.179 dial their laziness up, or is it down? I don't know how it works with laziness. Up or down by a factor 00:08:36.179 --> 00:08:43.519 of 10. And now you've got the sluggard in mind. Okay, these are your five points for social media this 00:08:43.519 --> 00:08:51.500 week. Chapter 26. We're going to look at verse 12. So you just flip over a page. 26 has a nice little 00:08:51.500 --> 00:08:59.159 five verses there about the sluggard, starting at verse 12. So just a page over. We're going to go 00:08:59.159 --> 00:09:06.720 through each of these ones. Step-by-step guide to being a sluggard, post one. Verse 12. They are wise. 00:09:06.819 --> 00:09:13.379 Be wise in your own eyes this week. Do you see a person wise in their own eyes? There's more hope for a 00:09:13.379 --> 00:09:19.000 fool than for them. So the fool in Proverbs is better off than the sluggard. So step one, you've got to be 00:09:19.000 --> 00:09:26.519 wise in your own eyes. Sluggard people, do you hear me? Step two, work avoidance. This one's crucial. 00:09:27.039 --> 00:09:35.279 Step two, work avoidance. Verse 13. A sluggard says, there's a lion in the road, a fierce lion roaming the 00:09:35.279 --> 00:09:46.519 streets. Avoid going anywhere to do anything by claiming there are lions roaming about. Genius. I mean, 00:09:46.559 --> 00:09:52.179 who would have thought there are wolves out there? Don't go anywhere. Don't do any work because of the 00:09:52.179 --> 00:10:01.039 lions. Okay, step two, work avoidance. Step three is physical training. Verse 14. This is all you need 00:10:01.039 --> 00:10:09.319 to do to be fit to be a sluggard. As a door turns on its hinges, so the sluggard turns on his bed. 00:10:09.839 --> 00:10:17.419 The main exercise for your day is very simple. Pivot in your bed. This is how you do it. You set your 00:10:17.419 --> 00:10:25.120 alarm. You configure snooze for eight minutes. The alarm goes off. Eight minutes, turn over. Goes off 00:10:25.120 --> 00:10:31.899 again. Oh, eight minutes, turn over. And you flip every eight minutes based on your snooze button. Physical 00:10:31.899 --> 00:10:41.960 training, super important. Verse 15, my favorite. Do the minimum. The absolute minimum. A sluggard buries his 00:10:41.960 --> 00:10:49.620 hand in the dish and he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth. Forget about table manners. Your parents were 00:10:49.620 --> 00:10:54.679 wrong. Elbows on tables. It doesn't matter. Just get the hand in the dish and the minimum distance, 00:10:54.879 --> 00:11:02.659 okay, to get the food into your mouth. It's not that hard. I think most of you can do it. And then the 00:11:02.659 --> 00:11:09.799 final step, step five, verse 16. Congratulations, you've reached it. The goal was in verse 12 and you 00:11:09.799 --> 00:11:18.980 have reached it. A sluggard is wiser in their own eyes than seven people who answer discreetly. You know 00:11:18.980 --> 00:11:24.180 what? You know more than a whole department of seven university professors. You're so wise. 00:11:24.779 --> 00:11:31.480 You're so wise. You've done it. You've reached it. You have that inside line, that inside track, 00:11:31.980 --> 00:11:39.039 the secret to life. The normies just don't get it. But you're the sluggard. You have reached it. 00:11:39.820 --> 00:11:47.060 It's the sluggard summed up. So if we go back a couple of pages and we read of the sluggard, 00:11:47.059 --> 00:11:54.719 chapter 24 and verse 32, the lesson is easy, isn't it? It's not a hard lesson to learn this 00:11:54.719 --> 00:12:01.539 morning with Solomon. It's quite easy. Verse 32. I applied my heart to what I observed 00:12:01.539 --> 00:12:09.579 and learned a lesson from what I saw. A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the 00:12:09.580 --> 00:12:17.300 hands to rest, all classic sluggard stuff. And poverty will come on you like a thief and scarcity 00:12:17.300 --> 00:12:25.660 like an armed man. You see, the bed pivoting, hand scooping sluggard, they've made it in their own 00:12:25.660 --> 00:12:31.200 eyes. They're wise in their own eyes. So when confronted with work, with something to do, 00:12:31.340 --> 00:12:37.860 something to tend to, it's all a little by little. It's a roll over in the bed. It's take a little 00:12:37.860 --> 00:12:47.100 snooze. Rest up a little first. Wait for the lions to pass. Very wise. But you see what it all is? 00:12:47.659 --> 00:12:57.560 It's a sluggish heart of self-wisdom that's going to lead to sluggish inactions for selfish comfort, 00:12:57.559 --> 00:13:09.559 which is going to lead to an impoverished life. You see, all you're doing, all you're doing when 00:13:09.559 --> 00:13:14.139 you're living like this is you're loading the dice. You're loading the dice. It's not going to be a fair 00:13:14.139 --> 00:13:21.079 roll in life. You've loaded the dice. And when you roll the dice, the number that suddenly comes up is 00:13:21.080 --> 00:13:29.400 verse 34. That's the guaranteed dice roll. That's what you're rolling. Poverty will come on you like a thief 00:13:29.400 --> 00:13:36.620 and scarcity like an armed man. You see, it's all those micro decisions. You know, it's the sluggard. 00:13:36.720 --> 00:13:44.320 It's little by little, little by little, little by little. It's always a little. Those micro decisions to scroll 00:13:44.320 --> 00:13:53.180 some more on the phone. Do you know? That adds up. It adds up. Letting Netflix play next episode. 00:13:54.180 --> 00:14:04.120 It adds up. I'll tidy it up later. I'll come back to it. It adds up over time. And what we're doing is 00:14:04.120 --> 00:14:13.160 we're robbing ourselves. We're actually impoverishing ourselves. Poverty and scarcity 00:14:13.159 --> 00:14:20.919 becomes what we have. And so the lesson is this. The lesson from Solomon this morning, when you apply 00:14:20.919 --> 00:14:26.939 your heart to what you see, and the lesson you've got to learn is this. A sluggish heart, sluggish 00:14:26.939 --> 00:14:33.719 actions, the rest is the dice roll. It's loaded. It's an impoverished life. A sluggish heart, sluggish 00:14:33.719 --> 00:14:42.720 actions, an impoverished life. You see, it's a constant battle with self and comfort. It is a constant 00:14:42.720 --> 00:14:50.259 battle. We often tell one another at home something like this. Do the hard thing first. Get that done. 00:14:50.360 --> 00:14:56.460 Get that out of the way. Then go and take it easy. Do the hard thing first. Then take it easy. It's a way 00:14:56.460 --> 00:15:02.879 just to try and help each other to not become our own thieves. To not become our own thieves. To not be 00:15:02.879 --> 00:15:07.879 stealing from ourselves. We don't always model that well as parents. We don't always model that well in the 00:15:07.879 --> 00:15:14.620 family. But that's what we try to encourage or try to do or try to remind ourselves constantly. Because 00:15:14.620 --> 00:15:23.059 it's always easier. It's always easier after dinner to get up and to move away. It's always 00:15:23.059 --> 00:15:27.879 easier to have others get up and tidy away the dishes after dinner. It's always easier to have 00:15:27.879 --> 00:15:32.759 others empty the dishwasher. I don't know if you're good at that. Opening the dishwasher and going, oh, okay. 00:15:32.759 --> 00:15:38.500 Someone else will do that. To go to the recycling bin and stuff things down a little bit more. 00:15:38.759 --> 00:15:43.220 One little bit more and hope that it's the next person that comes by and kind of feels like, oh, 00:15:43.259 --> 00:15:48.600 the recycling bin needs to be emptied. It's always easier to head off to my own room and do my own 00:15:48.600 --> 00:15:54.500 thing. It's always easier after a day's work to collapse in front of the TV as I deserve it. 00:15:54.500 --> 00:16:01.879 I've had a hard day at work. I need my downtime. And the kids and the house and my wife can look after 00:16:01.879 --> 00:16:10.019 themselves. You see, a life of discipline and of work and in service and of service is mostly not our 00:16:10.019 --> 00:16:16.379 natural state. That's not our natural, for most of us, that's not our natural state. To serve others, to be 00:16:16.379 --> 00:16:27.159 disciplined, to work. Our natural state is more like the sluggard. A little sleep, a little slumber, 00:16:28.000 --> 00:16:38.679 a little folding, a little by little by little. The anti-sluggard. There is hope. Verse 27. So let's 00:16:38.679 --> 00:16:45.460 read verse 27. So the way this section is structured, there's two main things going on and are kind of 00:16:45.460 --> 00:16:52.000 paired and it's all kind of poetic. But really it's 27 goes with 30 to 34. Okay, so if you read that 00:16:52.000 --> 00:16:57.379 little section from 23 in your Bibles to the end, there's a kind of a pairing going on and a structure. 00:16:57.840 --> 00:17:09.079 But verse 27 is the antidote. Put your outdoor work in order and get your fields ready. After that, 00:17:09.079 --> 00:17:16.720 build your house. You see, the tragedy of the sluggard is that they've taken their wealth generation. 00:17:17.839 --> 00:17:25.519 He's taken his field and he's taken the vineyard and he's literally run them into the ground. So he's 00:17:25.519 --> 00:17:33.919 taken his wealth generation and destroyed it. Only poverty and scarcity can follow if you do that. 00:17:33.920 --> 00:17:42.400 But here in verse 27, we have the diligent person locked in. The wise person takes care of their 00:17:42.400 --> 00:17:50.620 wealth generation first. They take care of what it calls their outdoor work and then rests in their 00:17:50.620 --> 00:17:57.840 house. Let's read it again. Verse 27. Put your outdoor work in order and get your fields ready. And 00:17:57.839 --> 00:18:06.399 after that, build your house. After that, have the place of comfort and rest. Three stages in life. 00:18:06.759 --> 00:18:12.199 Just briefly think about whether you're growing up and still at school and college, whether you're out 00:18:12.199 --> 00:18:17.279 in that kind of working stage of life, or maybe you've reached the end and you're in retirement. So 00:18:17.279 --> 00:18:24.220 just three ways to think of it depending on your stage of life. Are you still at school or college or 00:18:24.220 --> 00:18:31.539 even living at home and kind of dependent on your parents? Be diligent. Take care of your schoolwork 00:18:31.539 --> 00:18:40.720 and help in the house. Don't put homework off. Do it well. There is plenty of time. Maybe you're sick 00:18:40.720 --> 00:18:45.240 of hearing this maybe from your parents. There is plenty of time. There are evenings. There are weekends. 00:18:45.240 --> 00:18:52.160 There are school holidays galore to rest. So at this time, generate a field of knowledge 00:18:52.160 --> 00:18:59.140 and a vineyard of understanding and learn. And learn to wait for things to come in their time. This is the 00:18:59.140 --> 00:19:06.460 stage you're in your life now. Focus on your fields that you have now as a student or if you're in that 00:19:06.460 --> 00:19:14.660 stage of life. True story. I knew a man once. Great guy. Very tuned in. And he sails through 00:19:14.660 --> 00:19:20.960 secondary school. Good at taking things in during class. Naturally bright. Very good at cramming for 00:19:20.960 --> 00:19:26.819 exams, especially the leave insert. Cracked the code. Knew how to do the leave insert. Coasted. Gets to 00:19:26.819 --> 00:19:33.640 college. Scrapes through first year. Just seat of the bum kind of thing. You know, seat of the pants 00:19:33.640 --> 00:19:39.600 kind of thing. Doesn't learn. Get your fields in order. Got the warning in first year. Second year. 00:19:40.120 --> 00:19:45.340 Proceeds to double down on skipping lectures and winging it. Because that's the way. Got me through 00:19:45.340 --> 00:19:53.840 first year. Promptly fails summer exams again. Fails the repeats. And needs a financial bailout from his 00:19:53.840 --> 00:20:02.640 parents to pay to repeat all of second year. A wannabe sluggard. Thankfully, I mean, he 00:20:02.640 --> 00:20:12.160 turned it around and finished out his degree in five years instead of four. Learn the lesson. Get 00:20:12.160 --> 00:20:20.080 your fields in order. For those that are working or maybe looking for work, it's good to work. It's good 00:20:20.080 --> 00:20:26.840 to do something useful. To get up, to get out, to serve others, to bring in money, to be able to provide 00:20:26.839 --> 00:20:33.019 for yourself and for your family. And we all have different skills. At times, we have different 00:20:33.019 --> 00:20:40.579 opportunities. And we should, during that phase of life, take care of our wealth generation. 00:20:41.579 --> 00:20:48.859 To be wise about the times. To be wise about the needs around us. Making wise choices about whether to 00:20:48.859 --> 00:20:57.819 stay put or to change jobs. To work out if a change of career is right. To learn how to spend. To learn how to 00:20:57.819 --> 00:21:03.639 save. To learn how to give. Those are important things. All three are important to learn at this stage of life. 00:21:04.039 --> 00:21:09.740 And to be wise. There's no one path. There's no one right route. There's not one right decision in these 00:21:09.740 --> 00:21:17.059 things. This is wisdom. Learn the hard way through experience. Through reading God's word about wealth 00:21:17.059 --> 00:21:24.039 and money and care and diligence. And taking all of that into account. And making those decisions based 00:21:24.039 --> 00:21:31.900 on your life situation. Maybe you've reached the end of your working life. Lord willing, your outdoor work 00:21:31.900 --> 00:21:39.500 was in order to some extent. And your fields were ready. And that they can still provide and produce for 00:21:39.500 --> 00:21:48.059 your needs today. Your household today. So continue to steward well as the Lord has given you. Live as the Lord 00:21:48.059 --> 00:22:00.119 sustains. Enjoy his gifts. And share with others as opportunity allows. So at all these stages of life, the key 00:22:00.119 --> 00:22:09.099 is to stop impoverishing and to stop stealing from ourselves. To take care of our fields and have something to 00:22:09.099 --> 00:22:16.500 share with others. The apostle Paul in the New Testament writes to a church making this very same point. It's a 00:22:16.500 --> 00:22:23.059 different type of stealing. But stealing is in there as well. Listen carefully. Anyone who has been stealing, 00:22:23.539 --> 00:22:31.599 maybe that includes stealing from yourself, must steal no longer. But must work. Doing something useful 00:22:31.599 --> 00:22:39.339 with their own hands. Listen to this. That they may have something to share with those in needs. Not a selfish 00:22:39.339 --> 00:22:47.359 working or a selfish gathering. But an honor to the Lord to have something to share with those who are in need. 00:22:48.159 --> 00:22:55.500 And it's the same message that Paul's saying that's in the Proverbs. Don't be a selfish lazy bones. 00:22:55.500 --> 00:23:06.839 Get your fields in order. I want to say in all of this, being in need, of course, is not all the result 00:23:06.839 --> 00:23:16.559 of comfort-seeking laziness. Being in need, experiencing poverty, is not all down to comfort-seeking laziness. 00:23:17.140 --> 00:23:24.339 Solomon knew the sluggard was the immediate cause of his own downfall. We're going past the field of a 00:23:24.339 --> 00:23:31.439 sluggard. Look at the state of those fields. The lesson to learn is there's a direct link. But elsewhere, 00:23:31.919 --> 00:23:38.399 interestingly, it's the wealthy that cause poverty. So just a couple of chapters back, you don't need 00:23:38.399 --> 00:23:45.000 to turn to it. Proverbs 22, there's a verse there that says, it's the wealthy, those who maybe had their 00:23:45.000 --> 00:23:51.619 fields in order, who oppress the poor to increase their wealth. Do you get that? They oppress the poor 00:23:51.619 --> 00:23:59.899 to increase their wealth. So we must always be cautious to not simply blame an individual's failure. 00:24:00.859 --> 00:24:10.639 Systems of injustice, someone being cheated, an illness, a disability, a flood, a brutal jobs market, 00:24:11.199 --> 00:24:18.599 they all contribute to situations of poverty and scarcity as well. It's not always down to an 00:24:18.599 --> 00:24:27.079 individual's choices. As we read through our Bibles, I mean, we're in Proverbs today, but this is a big 00:24:27.079 --> 00:24:34.799 topic and can't say everything on it. But it's one of the things you will grasp if you read through 00:24:34.799 --> 00:24:42.379 your Bibles on the topic of wealth and money is this repeated warning. That material wealth itself 00:24:42.380 --> 00:24:49.360 is the thing that can ruin us. I'll just say that again. The warning, the repeated consistent warning, 00:24:49.460 --> 00:24:56.100 I would say more than any other warning in this area, is that material wealth itself is the thing 00:24:56.100 --> 00:25:04.800 that can ruin us. Look at Proverbs 23 verses 4 to 5. So it is back maybe a page, page 659. 00:25:04.799 --> 00:25:16.980 Proverbs 23, 4 to 5. Listen to what it says. Do not wear yourself out to get rich. Do not trust your own 00:25:16.980 --> 00:25:26.079 cleverness. Cast but a glance at riches and they are gone. For they will surely sprout wings and fly off 00:25:26.079 --> 00:25:40.259 to the sky like an eagle. The pursuit of comfort from wealth can wear you out. Trusting in your own 00:25:40.259 --> 00:25:46.939 cleverness, getting ahead of the game, locking in, hustling, getting into the stage of life of saying, 00:25:46.940 --> 00:25:57.720 look at all that I've done. Only to say at that moment that I've made it. And it all flutters away. It's gone. 00:25:58.920 --> 00:26:06.360 That's how wealth can be. You see, I think there's actually two forms of the sluggard. I think there's 00:26:06.360 --> 00:26:13.640 sluggard 1.0. And it's all about comfort through laziness. Comfort through laziness. Remember the 00:26:13.640 --> 00:26:18.200 five-step plan that you'll be tweeting about this week? Comfort through laziness. Five steps to being 00:26:18.200 --> 00:26:25.860 a sluggard 1.0. And they are ultimately ruined by their laziness. Okay? So comfort through laziness 00:26:25.860 --> 00:26:32.500 and ultimately ruined by laziness. Then there's sluggard 2.0. And it's all about comfort through 00:26:32.500 --> 00:26:38.240 wealth. It's all about comfort through wealth. They feel comfortable and are comfortable because of 00:26:38.240 --> 00:26:47.200 wealth. And they are ultimately ruined by wealth. Jesus repeatedly warned of the trap of wealth, 00:26:47.599 --> 00:26:55.640 where wealth is gained and wealth is used apart from God. And so we'll turn to the New Testament 00:26:55.640 --> 00:27:08.039 and look at what Jesus had to say. Luke chapter 12. It's page 1044. 1044. Luke 00:27:08.039 --> 00:27:12.500 chapter 12. If you could turn in your Bibles, please. And we're looking at verse 13. 00:27:20.960 --> 00:27:25.319 I'm going to read this well-known parable. I think it'd be familiar to many. 00:27:26.759 --> 00:27:33.399 Listen. See how it relates to sluggard 1.0 that we read in Proverbs. How this is sluggard 00:27:33.400 --> 00:27:42.720 2.0. The parable of the rich fool. Verse 13. Luke chapter 12. Someone in the crowd said to him, 00:27:42.860 --> 00:27:48.540 that's Jesus, said to Jesus, teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me. 00:27:49.140 --> 00:27:56.900 Jesus replied, man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you? Then he said to them, 00:27:56.900 --> 00:28:06.360 to the brothers, to the crowd, watch out, be on your guard against all kinds of greed. 00:28:06.360 --> 00:28:15.240 This is brilliant. Life does not consist in an abundance of possessions. And he told them this 00:28:15.240 --> 00:28:23.259 parable. The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. And he thought to himself, 00:28:23.259 --> 00:28:32.960 what shall I do? I have no place to store my crops. Then he said, this is what I'll do. I will tear down 00:28:32.960 --> 00:28:41.339 my barns and build bigger ones. And there I will store my surplus grain. And I'll say to myself, 00:28:41.460 --> 00:28:51.319 you have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy. Eat, drink, and be merry. 00:28:51.319 --> 00:29:01.399 But God said to him, you fool. This very night, your life will be demanded from you. Then you will get 00:29:01.399 --> 00:29:08.439 what you have prepared for yourself. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself? This is how 00:29:08.439 --> 00:29:15.859 it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves, but is not rich towards God. 00:29:15.859 --> 00:29:25.179 Sluggard 1.0, if it's about the answer to Sluggard 1.0, is take care of your feels. I think that's the 00:29:25.179 --> 00:29:32.479 lesson from the Proverbs. Well, then the lesson here around Sluggard 2.0 is asking, those feels 00:29:32.479 --> 00:29:38.619 that you've taken care of, are they just for yourself? Are those feels just for yourself, 00:29:38.619 --> 00:29:46.299 as diligent as you've been? You see, storing for yourself, it means you're the main character. 00:29:46.979 --> 00:29:54.199 It's just your story. This is famously, well, maybe not famously, but it's known as the I parable. 00:29:54.439 --> 00:30:01.399 The I parable. What shall I do? If you read through the main character, what shall I do? I have no place. 00:30:01.400 --> 00:30:06.780 This is what I'll do. I will tear down. I will build. I will store. I will say to myself, 00:30:07.060 --> 00:30:15.960 take life easy, eat, drink, and be merry. This is Sluggard 2.0. Self-comfort, self-I, 00:30:17.300 --> 00:30:23.800 still there, isn't it? It's still in the heart. It's still driving everything. But God says, 00:30:23.799 --> 00:30:37.000 you are a fool. Rich, but just like the Sluggard, you are a fool. You are only wise in your own eyes. 00:30:39.279 --> 00:30:45.119 Step one, this is for a social media campaign, step one to being a Sluggard. Do you see a person 00:30:45.119 --> 00:30:51.119 wise in their own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for them. But that's the goal 00:30:51.119 --> 00:30:58.299 of the Sluggard. 1.0 or 2.0. It's to be themselves, to be wise in their own eyes, to do things their way, 00:30:58.399 --> 00:31:06.899 to be better than everyone else. There's no hope for a barn builder who is wise in their own eyes. 00:31:06.899 --> 00:31:15.359 The great I who did it all. So two warnings. Are you looking out your windows at home, 00:31:15.359 --> 00:31:27.319 at ruined fields, content to just turn over in your bed? Be warned. Are you looking out your windows 00:31:27.319 --> 00:31:37.599 to your fields at bigger barns, saying, look what I've done? Be warned. Or maybe you look out your 00:31:37.599 --> 00:31:48.500 window and it's 50-50. Oh, it's an overgrown garden, but that's a nice car. You see, in the truest sense, 00:31:49.699 --> 00:31:56.839 it's not most important whether you have poverty or riches. That's not what really counts in the 00:31:56.839 --> 00:32:03.599 Lord's eyes, because he sees the heart. And as we move through the gears of life, up and down, 00:32:03.599 --> 00:32:13.919 both wealth and poverty might come. But our constant companion is ourselves. And our constant companion 00:32:13.919 --> 00:32:21.179 is selfishness. And our constant companion through health and wealth and poverty and ups and downs 00:32:21.179 --> 00:32:29.539 is sin. Because we're selfish for comfort. Comfort from doing nothing or comfort from trying to do it all. 00:32:29.539 --> 00:32:40.519 ourselves. A fool by laziness or a fool by action. All of us, whatever angle we take, 00:32:40.599 --> 00:32:47.319 will know the night when our life is demanded and a question will be asked, have you been rich 00:32:47.319 --> 00:32:53.740 towards God? Have you been rich towards God? How would you answer that? 00:32:53.740 --> 00:33:00.759 How would you answer that? Have you been rich towards God? What receipts would you pull out? 00:33:02.079 --> 00:33:09.900 Well, God, ever since I got pocket money, I put aside 10%. And that 2p out of that 20p really hurt at 00:33:09.900 --> 00:33:14.779 the time. But I always tithe it. And I just put it in the offering box. And I continue that throughout 00:33:14.779 --> 00:33:20.339 all my life. God, I've taken that little bit of extra money that was in the bank. I still have enough 00:33:20.339 --> 00:33:26.679 just for a rainy day. But I gave it to Asia Link, Lord. I've been rich towards you and your kingdom. 00:33:28.099 --> 00:33:34.579 And tithing and sacrificial giving and taking care of the needs of others and sharing your possessions 00:33:34.579 --> 00:33:44.079 and your home, they're all good things. But that can't. That cannot be what it ultimately means to be 00:33:44.079 --> 00:33:56.500 rich towards God. It cannot. Are we rich towards God because God needs our money and needs our wealth? 00:33:57.279 --> 00:34:04.519 Well, actually, he doesn't. Maybe this is a surprise for some of you. He doesn't. God doesn't need our 00:34:04.519 --> 00:34:10.980 money or our wealth. Have you ever heard the phrase, and it's often used badly, but have you ever heard 00:34:10.980 --> 00:34:17.559 the phrase that God owns the cattle on a thousand hills? Have you ever heard that phrase? Well, it 00:34:17.559 --> 00:34:22.980 comes from Psalm 50. Listen, I'm just going to quote a few verses from Psalm 50. This is the Lord speaking. 00:34:23.539 --> 00:34:33.019 I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens, for every animal in the forest is mine 00:34:33.019 --> 00:34:42.019 and the cattle on a thousand hills. God says, if I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world is mine 00:34:42.019 --> 00:34:53.579 and all that is in it. He owns it all and he needs nothing from us. Who are you to repay or to try and 00:34:53.579 --> 00:35:02.300 enrich God? No, my friend, to be rich towards God is not to give him anything, but to receive everything 00:35:02.300 --> 00:35:12.300 from him. To be rich towards God is to live by faith and to continually draw from him. To be rich towards 00:35:12.300 --> 00:35:18.960 God is to give him all the glory for everything that we have comes from his hand and we shall not 00:35:18.960 --> 00:35:28.460 rob God or make him our debtor. For it is he and it is he alone who changes sluggish hearts to be serving 00:35:28.460 --> 00:35:34.300 hearts. He alone gives us life and breath and everything else so that we can be generous and 00:35:34.300 --> 00:35:43.099 free with our wealth in service to him. He alone enriches us by grace and gift so that we can meet 00:35:43.099 --> 00:35:51.599 the needs of others. To be rich towards God is not to top up his revolute account, but to draw from his 00:35:51.599 --> 00:36:02.000 infinite riches by faith. To be rich towards God is not to worry about tomorrow, what we will eat or what we 00:36:02.000 --> 00:36:11.719 will drink or what we will wear, but to look by faith to his hand to provide. He alone forgives our sins 00:36:11.719 --> 00:36:22.519 and heals our bodies and heals our bodies and provides our daily bread. Confess and turn from the sin of I and embrace Christ. 00:36:23.719 --> 00:36:35.799 Put your trust wholly in him to forgive your sin. He died for all who would believe in him. Live now in him and for him. 00:36:35.800 --> 00:36:45.440 Glorify him now in this life. So on the night that he calls you to give account, he will say to you, 00:36:46.260 --> 00:36:54.080 because he is a generous and rich God towards us, he will say to you, well done, good and faithful servant. 00:36:54.700 --> 00:37:00.740 You have been faithful with few things. I will put you in charge of many things. 00:37:00.739 --> 00:37:06.339 Come, come and share in your master's happiness. 00:37:08.319 --> 00:37:19.959 Rich towards God is simply this, a life dependent on him from beginning to end that shows him to be the 00:37:19.959 --> 00:37:30.439 giver of all things. Our friends, my friends, Jesus was no sluggard. He wasn't a sluggard of any type. 00:37:30.440 --> 00:37:43.780 He wasn't a 1.0 or a 2.0 sluggard. He excelled. And nobody excelled more than Jesus at work and at 00:37:43.780 --> 00:37:49.599 diligence and doing the right thing, putting his fields in order. And yet there were few as lowly 00:37:49.599 --> 00:37:57.320 and as materially poor in this life. Jesus had no house. Jesus said, foxes have dens and the birds 00:37:57.320 --> 00:38:05.720 of nests, but the son of man has no place to lay his head. His outdoor work wasn't measured in literal 00:38:05.720 --> 00:38:14.320 fields and vineyards. His fields, the fields that he got ready were fields of souls to be harvested for 00:38:14.320 --> 00:38:21.900 the kingdom. Jesus had no wife. He had no children. He had no land. He had no descendants to carry his name. 00:38:21.900 --> 00:38:32.139 His wealth was to bring many sons and daughters to glory by doing his father's will. And Jesus, he knew 00:38:32.139 --> 00:38:39.680 poverty and he knew scarcity. And he was dependent on most, in most of his ministry, on the generosity 00:38:39.680 --> 00:38:47.559 of kind women who provided for his needs. And he was buried in a borrowed tomb. His wealth instead was 00:38:47.559 --> 00:38:55.940 to provide an eternal home for you, for his brothers and sisters in a city of gold. He was always rich 00:38:55.940 --> 00:39:02.360 towards God. Jesus was always rich towards God, fulfilling his mission. For the son of man did not 00:39:02.360 --> 00:39:11.840 come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. If you're still in Luke chapter 12, 00:39:11.840 --> 00:39:20.320 going to finish just looking at those final verses in that section, verses 32 to 34. 00:39:22.640 --> 00:39:32.200 Because Jesus lived out these words. Luke chapter 12, page 104.5 and verses 32 to 34. And he says 00:39:32.200 --> 00:39:39.559 these words to you this morning through the scriptures. Do not be afraid, little flock. Do not be afraid, 00:39:39.559 --> 00:39:48.159 little flock. For your father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the 00:39:48.159 --> 00:39:57.340 poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out. A treasure in heaven that will never fail. Where no thief 00:39:57.340 --> 00:40:06.219 comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 00:40:06.219 --> 00:40:17.579 Oh, how wonderful that the father has been pleased to give the kingdom to Jesus and to give Jesus to you. 00:40:18.939 --> 00:40:27.480 Everything. Every field, every vineyard, every barn, every hill, every cattle is ours today in Christ. 00:40:27.480 --> 00:40:41.440 All is Christ's. All is Christ's. And he manages all things in his kingdom for us. Being rich towards God the giver 00:40:41.440 --> 00:40:50.199 is to be rich in faith and trust that his hand will provide now and into eternity. Amen. 00:40:50.199 --> 00:40:52.879 Let's pray. 00:40:52.879 --> 00:40:52.919 Amen. 00:40:52.919 --> 00:40:52.919 00:40:52.919 --> 00:40:52.919 00:40:52.919 --> 00:40:52.919 00:40:52.919 --> 00:40:52.919 00:40:52.919 --> 00:40:52.919 00:40:52.919 --> 00:40:52.919 00:41:20.199 --> 00:41:27.119 Lord, Lord, help us in faith to look to you as the giver, to respond to you, to be generous and kind, 00:41:27.980 --> 00:41:35.159 because you are generous and kind and you have made us to be like you. Lord, help us in faith every day 00:41:35.159 --> 00:41:42.460 to look to you for our daily bread. Lord, to do what is right and good, not for comfort or for self, 00:41:42.460 --> 00:41:55.159 but for the sake of others, for the glory of Christ. Thank you that Jesus, though he was rich, yet became poor for our sakes, 00:41:55.699 --> 00:42:03.099 so that our sin could be dealt with, that peace could be restored between God and mankind, 00:42:03.099 --> 00:42:14.900 and that we could have life eternal. Oh, how unsearchable are the riches of Christ. Help us to draw from them every day. Amen. 00:42:14.900 --> 00:42:15.019 Amen. 00:42:19.219 --> 00:42:25.900 So we've one song to sing in response and come back to Connor then. Thank you. 00:42:33.099 --> 00:43:03.079 Thank you. 00:43:03.099 --> 00:43:05.099 Thank you. 00:43:33.099 --> 00:43:35.099 Thank you. 00:43:35.099 --> 00:43:35.099 00:43:35.099 --> 00:43:35.099 00:43:35.099 --> 00:43:35.099 00:43:35.099 --> 00:43:35.099 00:43:35.099 --> 00:43:35.099 00:43:35.099 --> 00:43:35.099 00:43:35.099 --> 00:43:35.099 00:43:35.099 --> 00:43:35.099 00:43:35.099 --> 00:43:35.099 00:43:35.099 --> 00:43:35.099 00:43:35.099 --> 00:43:35.099 00:43:35.099 --> 00:43:35.099 00:43:35.099 --> 00:43:35.099 00:43:35.099 --> 00:43:35.099 00:43:35.099 --> 00:43:35.099 00:43:35.099 --> 00:43:35.099 00:43:35.099 --> 00:43:35.099 00:43:35.099 --> 00:43:35.099 00:43:35.099 --> 00:43:35.099 00:43:35.099 --> 00:43:35.099 00:43:35.099 --> 00:43:35.099 00:43:35.099 --> 00:43:35.099 00:43:35.099 --> 00:43:35.099 00:43:35.099 --> 00:43:35.099 00:43:35.099 --> 00:43:35.099 00:43:35.099 --> 00:43:35.099 00:44:03.099 --> 00:44:12.000 And my Savior watching on me, I can see who will as well. 00:44:12.000 --> 00:44:21.299 Oh, the high and death of mercy, oh, the length and breath of love. 00:44:21.839 --> 00:44:30.699 Oh, the fullness of redemption, let your best let life above. 00:44:30.699 --> 00:44:36.439 Take this world, my God's love. 00:44:38.659 --> 00:44:42.739 Take the world, forgive me, Jesus. 00:44:43.319 --> 00:44:47.519 In His cross, my trust shall be. 00:44:48.079 --> 00:44:52.439 Till we see a brighter vision. 00:44:53.000 --> 00:44:57.099 Place to faith, my Lord, I see. 00:44:57.099 --> 00:45:06.259 Oh, the high and death of mercy, oh, the length and breath of love. 00:45:07.059 --> 00:45:15.099 Oh, the fullness of redemption, let your best let life above. 00:45:15.099 --> 00:45:20.440 Take this world, my God's love. 00:45:20.440 --> 00:45:32.400 Oh, the fullness of redemption, let your best let life above. 00:45:32.400 --> 00:45:36.900 Oh, the fullness of redemption, let your best let life above. 00:45:36.900 --> 00:45:41.900 Thanks very much, Ralph. 00:45:45.280 --> 00:45:47.360 Those last couple of verses that Ralph read, 00:45:47.660 --> 00:45:49.720 Do not be afraid, little flock, 00:45:49.720 --> 00:45:53.200 for your father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 00:45:54.260 --> 00:45:56.300 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. 00:45:56.460 --> 00:45:59.720 Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out. 00:46:00.119 --> 00:46:02.220 A treasure in heaven that will never fail, 00:46:02.660 --> 00:46:06.760 where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 00:46:07.880 --> 00:46:11.059 Work hard. Get your feels in order. 00:46:11.940 --> 00:46:12.700 And verse 34, 00:46:12.860 --> 00:46:16.220 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 00:46:16.579 --> 00:46:19.099 We're not looking to the treasure of this world. 00:46:19.320 --> 00:46:22.720 We're looking to the treasure of the word. 00:46:22.980 --> 00:46:27.019 We're looking to the treasure that comes from God alone. 00:46:27.860 --> 00:46:29.720 Let's pray as we finish. 00:46:32.300 --> 00:46:36.280 Father God, thank you for this morning, for ministering to us. 00:46:36.280 --> 00:46:43.019 Thank you for Ralph and for using him and his great gifts to speak to us this morning. 00:46:43.019 --> 00:46:49.360 We pray that we, through the week ahead, are not like the sluggard. 00:46:50.139 --> 00:46:55.420 We pray instead that we would be rich towards God. 00:46:55.940 --> 00:47:00.380 That material possessions would not matter for us. 00:47:00.380 --> 00:47:04.360 That we value knowledge of Jesus. 00:47:04.360 --> 00:47:07.500 That we value your word. 00:47:07.900 --> 00:47:10.960 And that we value saving souls. 00:47:13.840 --> 00:47:16.099 In Jesus' name, amen. 00:47:17.680 --> 00:47:20.559 Well, we will be having tea and coffee as well. 00:47:20.880 --> 00:47:22.599 So please do stick around. 00:47:22.760 --> 00:47:23.539 It would be great to chat. 00:47:23.539 --> 00:47:29.039 And please encourage each other how you can be rich towards God. 00:47:29.039 --> 00:47:29.340 Thank you. 00:47:29.340 --> 00:47:29.340 00:47:29.340 --> 00:47:29.340 00:47:29.340 --> 00:47:29.340 00:47:29.340 --> 00:47:29.340 00:47:29.340 --> 00:47:29.340 00:47:29.340 --> 00:47:29.340 00:47:29.340 --> 00:47:29.340 00:47:29.340 --> 00:47:29.340 00:47:29.340 --> 00:47:29.340 00:47:29.340 --> 00:47:29.340 00:47:29.340 --> 00:47:29.340 00:47:29.340 --> 00:47:29.340 00:47:29.340 --> 00:47:29.340 00:47:29.340 --> 00:47:29.340 00:47:29.340 --> 00:47:29.340 00:47:29.340 --> 00:47:29.340 00:47:29.340 --> 00:47:29.340 00:47:29.340 --> 00:47:29.340 00:47:29.340 --> 00:47:29.340 00:47:29.340 --> 00:47:29.340 00:47:29.340 --> 00:47:29.340 00:47:29.340 --> 00:47:29.340 00:47:29.340 --> 00:47:29.340 00:47:29.340 --> 00:47:29.340 00:47:29.340 --> 00:47:29.340 00:47:29.340 --> 00:47:29.340 00:47:29.340 --> 00:47:29.340 00:47:29.340 --> 00:47:29.340 00:47:29.340 --> 00:47:29.340 00:47:29.340 --> 00:47:29.340 00:47:29.340 --> 00:47:29.340 00:47:29.340 --> 00:47:29.340 00:47:29.340 --> 00:47:29.340 00:47:29.340 --> 00:47:29.340 00:47:29.340 --> 00:47:29.340 00:47:29.340 --> 00:47:29.340 00:47:29.340 --> 00:47:29.340 00:47:29.340 --> 00:47:29.340 00:47:29.340 --> 00:47:29.340 00:47:53.539 --> 00:48:23.519 Thank you. 00:48:23.539 --> 00:48:53.519 Thank you. 00:48:53.539 --> 00:49:23.519 Thank you. 00:49:23.539 --> 00:49:53.519 Thank you.