WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:11.000 Welcome again. Let me add my welcome to Mike's. Grateful to see you all here and then grateful for you all downstairs and for all of you who are tuning in from home. 00:00:11.560 --> 00:00:19.559 So thank you for attending, participating and being here. May God bless the preaching of his word to us today. 00:00:19.559 --> 00:00:33.100 A few weeks ago, I finally saw the musical production Hamilton. And no, we did not pay a lot of money and go to a theater. We got to watch it from home because my in-laws got Disney Plus. 00:00:33.439 --> 00:00:38.259 So we got hooked up with that and really enjoyed it. It was a great production. 00:00:38.259 --> 00:00:55.899 And one of the lines that reoccurs over and over, if you have seen it, you will recognize it, is that Alexander Hamilton, who the musical is about, keeps vowing to himself and to others that he's not going to waste his shot. 00:00:55.899 --> 00:01:06.539 He knows that he's only got one life to live. And he was an extremely ambitious, hardworking, and very gifted individual. 00:01:07.000 --> 00:01:15.840 And he stamped his legacy on American history. He did not, at least in terms of a worldly perspective, he did not waste his shot. He did not throw away his shot. 00:01:15.840 --> 00:01:25.939 Like Hamilton too, we only have one shot. We don't live forever. 00:01:26.939 --> 00:01:42.960 We have a limited amount of time, energy, skills, opportunities, relationships, roles, responsibilities, and we must use them well before our time is done. 00:01:42.959 --> 00:01:49.199 Some have more, some have less, but all of us have a shot. 00:01:50.859 --> 00:01:54.119 How will we use our shot? 00:01:55.000 --> 00:01:56.359 Will we throw it away? 00:01:57.699 --> 00:01:58.719 Will we make it count? 00:02:00.560 --> 00:02:08.539 Do you want to come to the end of your life and stand before God, your maker and your ruler, and say, 00:02:08.539 --> 00:02:10.400 I threw away my shot? 00:02:12.099 --> 00:02:20.019 I wasted my time, my energy, my talents, my resources, all the opportunities, everything you gave me, and I've got nothing to show for it. 00:02:21.079 --> 00:02:25.959 Or do we want to be like the servant in the parable of the talents that Jesus told in Matthew 25, 00:02:26.239 --> 00:02:29.780 who buried his master's money in the ground and didn't do a thing with it? 00:02:30.639 --> 00:02:30.979 No. 00:02:31.219 --> 00:02:33.219 None of us want to be like that. 00:02:33.659 --> 00:02:35.079 None of us want to waste our shot. 00:02:35.159 --> 00:02:36.199 We don't want to throw it away. 00:02:36.199 --> 00:02:41.560 We know we've got a certain amount of time to live, and we want to use it well. 00:02:42.519 --> 00:02:49.419 But what's going to make the difference between throwing away the shot and making it count? 00:02:50.560 --> 00:02:55.039 And I think from the perspective of the book of Proverbs, it's diligence. 00:02:56.699 --> 00:03:01.780 Now, there's lots of other things that we could say about that, but diligence is key. 00:03:01.780 --> 00:03:08.099 If you've been around Christ the King Church for the past few months, you know we're in a series of the book of Proverbs, 00:03:08.240 --> 00:03:16.159 which is this precious book of the Bible that teaches us how to live life well in God's world. 00:03:16.240 --> 00:03:23.479 It teaches us a skill of wisdom, of making our lives count for something that matters. 00:03:23.479 --> 00:03:34.919 And it's my job this morning to convince you that without diligence, it's impossible to please the God who has entrusted us with so much to make our lives count. 00:03:35.159 --> 00:03:43.719 So, let me take a shot, pun intended, at a working definition of diligence through the lens of the book of Proverbs. 00:03:43.719 --> 00:03:46.960 Here's what Proverbs gets at what diligence is. 00:03:47.740 --> 00:04:02.879 Diligence is the God-oriented use of our resources that honors God and serves others. 00:04:02.879 --> 00:04:11.740 Being a diligent person means that we take full advantage of our energy and our time and our abilities and our responsibilities, 00:04:12.219 --> 00:04:17.779 everything that God has given us to honor Him and to serve those around us through those responsibilities. 00:04:17.779 --> 00:04:26.639 In contrast, Proverbs also spends a significant amount of time painting a picture of the opposite of diligence, 00:04:27.239 --> 00:04:33.819 which is laziness, slothfulness, as the Bible also puts it. 00:04:34.519 --> 00:04:44.339 Slothfulness, laziness, is not a God-oriented use, but a self-oriented use of our resources to please self. 00:04:44.339 --> 00:04:54.679 A slothful person, a sluggard, as Proverbs often calls them, uses their energy and their time and their abilities primarily to please themselves 00:04:54.679 --> 00:04:59.419 without regard to God's authority over their lives or their neighbor's good. 00:05:01.199 --> 00:05:07.079 At the outset of this sermon, I don't want to get too far in before saying something as a bit of a confession. 00:05:07.879 --> 00:05:10.120 I am not preaching this sermon as an expert. 00:05:10.979 --> 00:05:12.879 I am preaching this sermon as a failure. 00:05:12.879 --> 00:05:17.000 I am preaching this sermon as a lazy person. 00:05:17.699 --> 00:05:26.439 There are so many ways that I have repented this week of being slothful in the ways that I have lived my life. 00:05:26.540 --> 00:05:35.920 I can think of countless hours and minutes, even this week, that I have not used to the maximum of glorifying God. 00:05:35.980 --> 00:05:39.339 So I am not preaching this as some guru. 00:05:39.339 --> 00:05:42.899 I am preaching this as a fellow lazy sinner. 00:05:43.799 --> 00:05:57.059 And so as you hear God's word coming from this particular human instrument, know that this is God's good work in me that is still being done. 00:05:57.659 --> 00:05:59.059 So don't hear this on my authority. 00:05:59.199 --> 00:06:00.819 Hear this on the authority of God's word. 00:06:01.519 --> 00:06:02.919 You might be a lot like me. 00:06:02.920 --> 00:06:08.980 You might be very aware of ways in which you have been throwing away your shot. 00:06:10.500 --> 00:06:13.540 And from personal experience, let me just tell you, don't live there. 00:06:13.540 --> 00:06:21.760 Don't live there in ways in which you have been wasting your life, ways in which you have not been faithful. 00:06:22.760 --> 00:06:27.300 Instead, confess your sin before God as you hear God's word this morning. 00:06:28.080 --> 00:06:38.040 And bear in mind that each of us has an opportunity to use today, not worrying about yesterday or tomorrow, but today, for God's honor and praise. 00:06:38.040 --> 00:06:47.080 So with that confession in mind, let's turn our attention to what Proverbs is going to teach us about both laziness and diligence. 00:06:48.140 --> 00:06:49.540 We'll do this in three steps. 00:06:50.300 --> 00:06:56.320 The first is that we're going to unpack what Proverbs teaches about the characteristics of laziness and diligence. 00:06:56.660 --> 00:06:57.980 There's a lot to say about it. 00:06:57.980 --> 00:07:04.920 So first the characteristics and then the consequences of a lazy life versus a diligent life. 00:07:05.200 --> 00:07:10.780 And then lastly, the core of a slothful life versus a diligent life. 00:07:10.840 --> 00:07:15.319 And then we'll come up with a few, we'll end with a few questions of application. 00:07:16.340 --> 00:07:17.800 So first, the characteristics. 00:07:18.180 --> 00:07:21.200 In the spirit of David Letterman, we're going to do a top ten list. 00:07:21.920 --> 00:07:24.879 And you're probably thinking, oh great, a ten point sermon. 00:07:24.980 --> 00:07:26.140 That is not good. 00:07:26.139 --> 00:07:27.740 But I'll be brief. 00:07:28.039 --> 00:07:29.599 There'll be quick snapshots. 00:07:29.899 --> 00:07:34.599 But Proverbs has a wonderfully robust picture of both laziness and diligence. 00:07:34.740 --> 00:07:36.159 So let's look at these. 00:07:36.339 --> 00:07:40.259 And in contrast to David Letterman, these characteristics are not for laughs. 00:07:40.839 --> 00:07:42.399 These characteristics are a mirror. 00:07:43.039 --> 00:07:50.539 I want you, as you listen to these characteristics of laziness and diligence, let God's word be to you a mirror. 00:07:50.540 --> 00:08:08.400 And see in yourself ways in which you need to turn away from a lazy, slothful life, self-oriented use of your resources, and turn toward diligence, which is a God-oriented way of living your life. 00:08:08.399 --> 00:08:10.519 So keep your Bibles handy. 00:08:10.919 --> 00:08:13.419 We'll be hopping around quite a bit in the book of Proverbs. 00:08:13.560 --> 00:08:15.919 If you don't quite get to it, you can just jot down references. 00:08:16.099 --> 00:08:17.459 That's fine as well. 00:08:17.560 --> 00:08:21.060 So top ten characteristics of laziness and diligence. 00:08:21.439 --> 00:08:21.919 Number ten. 00:08:23.279 --> 00:08:24.439 Because that's what David Letterman does. 00:08:24.500 --> 00:08:25.299 He starts with number ten. 00:08:26.299 --> 00:08:28.219 Laziness avoids hard work. 00:08:29.279 --> 00:08:30.399 Diligence is industrious. 00:08:30.399 --> 00:08:33.639 Laziness avoids hard work. 00:08:34.279 --> 00:08:36.360 Diligence is industrious. 00:08:36.919 --> 00:08:39.620 Take a look at Proverbs 21, 25. 00:08:40.539 --> 00:08:42.779 Proverbs 21, 25. 00:08:44.199 --> 00:08:50.179 The desire of the sluggard kills him, for his hands refuse to labor. 00:08:51.299 --> 00:08:58.500 There is slowness in the slothful person to put forth effort on much of anything. 00:08:59.299 --> 00:09:02.960 Proverbs is like riddles lazy people. 00:09:02.960 --> 00:09:09.220 The wise people who wrote the book of Proverbs reserve their most ridiculous language for the sluggard. 00:09:09.340 --> 00:09:16.500 Listen to Proverbs 19, 24 to just describe how slow the sluggard is to do any kind of effort. 00:09:17.340 --> 00:09:18.559 Proverbs 19, 24. 00:09:19.179 --> 00:09:24.799 The sluggard buries his hand in the dish and will not even bring it back to his mouth. 00:09:24.799 --> 00:09:30.359 If there's effort involved, the slothful person is reluctant to do it. 00:09:31.439 --> 00:09:37.199 One way this can show up in our lives is the P word, procrastination. 00:09:37.200 --> 00:09:47.720 It's doing all kinds of other things, maybe seeming very industrious, really, but you're actually avoiding the most difficult task. 00:09:47.720 --> 00:09:57.160 I find a great challenge to do this every week of recognizing, okay, the big thing in front of me is this and it's going to cost me effort. 00:09:57.340 --> 00:10:02.840 I don't really want to do that, so I'm going to pay attention to all these other things that I can pay attention to before the hard thing. 00:10:02.840 --> 00:10:09.879 So, laziness avoids hard work, but on the flip side, the diligent person is industrious, like the ant. 00:10:10.399 --> 00:10:15.759 Proverbs 6 has this great depiction of the diligent person as an ant. 00:10:16.420 --> 00:10:19.320 Go to the ant, you sluggard, Proverbs 6 says. 00:10:19.660 --> 00:10:21.700 Consider her ways and be wise. 00:10:22.340 --> 00:10:28.780 Without having any chief officer or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food and harvest. 00:10:28.779 --> 00:10:33.659 So, the ant eagerly does what needs to be done when it needs to be done. 00:10:34.519 --> 00:10:36.199 The ant knows her responsibility. 00:10:36.559 --> 00:10:38.279 Her responsibility is important to her. 00:10:38.559 --> 00:10:39.980 She hops to it with gusto. 00:10:40.379 --> 00:10:41.819 She doesn't avoid hard work. 00:10:41.939 --> 00:10:43.839 She leans into hard work. 00:10:44.079 --> 00:10:45.839 She does the hardest thing first. 00:10:47.139 --> 00:10:49.240 So, laziness avoids hard work. 00:10:49.419 --> 00:10:51.120 Diligence is industrious. 00:10:51.220 --> 00:10:55.059 Number nine, laziness neglects responsibility. 00:10:56.199 --> 00:10:58.740 Diligence is internally motivated. 00:10:59.480 --> 00:11:01.179 Laziness neglects responsibility. 00:11:01.659 --> 00:11:04.639 Diligence is internally motivated. 00:11:06.199 --> 00:11:07.220 Proverbs 24. 00:11:07.839 --> 00:11:13.879 At the end of Proverbs 24, there's this classic depiction of the lazy life. 00:11:14.799 --> 00:11:17.779 I passed by, starting in verse 30 of Proverbs 24. 00:11:17.779 --> 00:11:22.699 I passed by the field of a sluggard, by the vineyard of a man lacking sense. 00:11:22.779 --> 00:11:25.079 And behold, it was overgrown with thorns. 00:11:25.579 --> 00:11:26.939 The ground was covered with nettles. 00:11:27.139 --> 00:11:28.559 Its stone wall was broken down. 00:11:29.559 --> 00:11:31.679 And then I saw, and I considered it. 00:11:32.159 --> 00:11:33.879 I looked and received instruction. 00:11:34.639 --> 00:11:43.000 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber and want like an armed man. 00:11:43.000 --> 00:11:47.840 An untended field is a parable of a lazy life. 00:11:48.860 --> 00:11:52.059 Uncultivated, unprotected, and unproductive. 00:11:52.059 --> 00:11:56.259 The owner of this field had let his responsibilities go. 00:11:56.259 --> 00:12:03.799 He did not daily weed, cultivate, maintain, nurture what he alone had the responsibility to do. 00:12:04.239 --> 00:12:06.000 He didn't even hire someone else to do it. 00:12:06.039 --> 00:12:06.899 He just let it go. 00:12:06.899 --> 00:12:14.340 But, on the other hand, the aunt from chapter 6, she is internally motivated. 00:12:14.340 --> 00:12:16.939 Did you notice what it said back there in Proverbs chapter 6? 00:12:17.559 --> 00:12:22.519 The aunt doesn't have a chief officer or ruler telling her what to do. 00:12:22.519 --> 00:12:27.579 She is busy doing what she knows needs to be done. 00:12:27.580 --> 00:12:29.520 She is internally motivated. 00:12:29.660 --> 00:12:33.000 She doesn't have someone over her shoulder micromanaging her. 00:12:33.300 --> 00:12:38.280 Rather, she knows what needs to be done, when it needs to be done, and she's internally motivated to get it done. 00:12:38.279 --> 00:12:45.659 And, this doesn't mean that you need to be a productivity guru or an administrative genius. 00:12:46.319 --> 00:12:50.839 Some of us, yours truly included, are rather organizationally challenged. 00:12:51.199 --> 00:12:53.299 It takes a lot of work to get myself organized. 00:12:54.039 --> 00:13:00.419 But, it does mean that we must recognize that we have responsibilities given to us by God. 00:13:00.419 --> 00:13:08.879 That we must take them seriously, and we must apply ourselves earnestly to fulfill those responsibilities with excellence. 00:13:09.500 --> 00:13:16.419 So, laziness neglects responsibility, but diligence is internally motivated. 00:13:16.620 --> 00:13:19.959 Number eight, laziness is not dependable. 00:13:20.879 --> 00:13:22.399 Diligence is trustworthy. 00:13:23.539 --> 00:13:25.259 Laziness is not dependable. 00:13:25.679 --> 00:13:27.399 Diligence is trustworthy. 00:13:27.399 --> 00:13:31.220 Go to Proverbs 10, verse 26. 00:13:31.899 --> 00:13:34.240 Proverbs 10, verse 26. 00:13:34.980 --> 00:13:35.819 This one gets me. 00:13:36.959 --> 00:13:44.179 Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to those who send him. 00:13:45.039 --> 00:13:48.100 Those images just make you wince, don't they? 00:13:48.759 --> 00:13:53.159 Vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to those who send him. 00:13:53.159 --> 00:14:00.879 Anybody who's sat around a campfire knows how aggravating and debilitating smoke in the eyes can be. 00:14:02.240 --> 00:14:09.039 And, equally aggravating and debilitating is entrusting a lazy person with a job that needs to be done. 00:14:09.480 --> 00:14:11.740 And, it doesn't get done, or at least it doesn't get done right. 00:14:12.459 --> 00:14:14.360 So, a lazy person is not dependable. 00:14:14.459 --> 00:14:18.179 He is not faithful in what he is being given to do. 00:14:18.179 --> 00:14:20.719 But, a diligent person, on the other hand, is trustworthy. 00:14:21.579 --> 00:14:28.659 They regularly complete things on time and with excellence when they're entrusted with responsibilities. 00:14:29.799 --> 00:14:31.039 Because, they love excellence. 00:14:31.799 --> 00:14:33.159 They love a job well done. 00:14:33.239 --> 00:14:37.579 They go above and beyond what's expected because, like the aunt, they're internally motivated. 00:14:37.580 --> 00:14:42.780 They know what needs to be done, when it needs to be done, and they are internally motivated to get it done. 00:14:43.020 --> 00:14:44.759 It's not just because they don't want to be fired. 00:14:44.900 --> 00:14:46.680 It's not just because they want to please their boss. 00:14:47.000 --> 00:14:52.540 It's because they, from the inside, are seeking to love excellence. 00:14:53.620 --> 00:14:54.180 Number seven. 00:14:55.220 --> 00:14:57.639 Laziness wastes resources. 00:14:58.680 --> 00:15:00.440 Diligence stewards them well. 00:15:01.400 --> 00:15:05.840 Laziness wastes resources, but diligence stewards them well. 00:15:05.840 --> 00:15:10.500 Well, Proverbs 12, 27 says, 00:15:10.700 --> 00:15:17.060 Whoever is slothful will not roast his game, but the diligent man will get precious wealth. 00:15:17.960 --> 00:15:25.960 So, a lazy person will let fresh meat just spoil for a lack of will to use it properly, wasting the resource that they're given. 00:15:25.960 --> 00:15:37.740 This holds true for fresh meat and groceries, even more so for relationships, opportunities, talents, and most of all, time and energy. 00:15:38.519 --> 00:15:42.580 These are precious resources that God has given us. 00:15:43.139 --> 00:15:51.440 And we must not let them simply go to waste because we don't want to do the hard work that is necessary to make something of those resources. 00:15:51.440 --> 00:16:01.480 And on the flip side, rather than wasting resources, a diligent person is a good steward of their energy and their time and their talents, possessions. 00:16:02.740 --> 00:16:10.820 Proverbs 27 has kind of an extended exhortation to the student of wisdom. 00:16:11.380 --> 00:16:14.580 Proverbs 27, verses 23 to 27. 00:16:14.700 --> 00:16:16.120 Listen to this exhortation. 00:16:16.120 --> 00:16:25.440 Know well the condition of your flocks and give attention to your herds, for riches do not last forever. 00:16:26.039 --> 00:16:27.840 And does a crown endure to all generations? 00:16:28.539 --> 00:16:33.399 When the grass is gone and the new growth appears and the new vegetation of the mountains is gathered, 00:16:33.560 --> 00:16:37.220 the lambs will provide your clothing, the goats the price of a field. 00:16:37.779 --> 00:16:42.500 There will be enough goat's milk for your food, for the food of your household, and the maintenance of your servants. 00:16:42.500 --> 00:16:46.600 Every one of us has been entrusted with resources. 00:16:46.759 --> 00:16:53.779 Probably not herds of goats and flocks of sheep, but certainly we have been entrusted with relationships, 00:16:54.320 --> 00:16:59.419 with some money, with time, energy, skills, and opportunities. 00:17:00.399 --> 00:17:06.259 God's word is telling us here to take careful inventory of what we have been entrusted with, 00:17:06.259 --> 00:17:11.619 to give earnest thought for how to use it wisely for the remainder of our lives. 00:17:11.619 --> 00:17:15.679 So laziness wastes resources, diligence stewards them well. 00:17:15.779 --> 00:17:21.000 Number six, laziness talks big, diligence is true to its word. 00:17:21.599 --> 00:17:25.299 Laziness talks big, diligence is true to its word. 00:17:26.739 --> 00:17:32.879 This great short little proverb in Proverbs 14, 23, 14, 23 says this, 00:17:33.559 --> 00:17:39.579 In all toil there is profit, but mere talk tends only to poverty. 00:17:39.579 --> 00:17:45.359 When I was in high school, some friends and I decided that we were going to make a movie. 00:17:46.599 --> 00:17:48.119 We had all kinds of great ideas. 00:17:48.439 --> 00:17:50.740 We had a few very enthusiastic planning meetings. 00:17:51.139 --> 00:17:54.139 We nailed down the plot and the setting and the equipment we would need to borrow. 00:17:55.559 --> 00:18:01.619 But eventually the project petered out because we just lacked the grit to actually make it happen. 00:18:02.259 --> 00:18:06.359 It was going to require way more effort than any of us wanted to put in. 00:18:06.359 --> 00:18:09.959 It's easy to talk about doing something. 00:18:10.519 --> 00:18:12.979 It's another thing to actually put it into action. 00:18:13.479 --> 00:18:17.699 The sluggard is consistently saying, I'm going to get to that one of these days. 00:18:18.579 --> 00:18:22.619 But good intentions and wishful thinking don't actually lead to much. 00:18:23.039 --> 00:18:25.699 But in contrast, the diligent are true to their word. 00:18:25.700 --> 00:18:31.480 There is little difference between what they say they're going to do and what they actually accomplish. 00:18:32.600 --> 00:18:37.740 Better to just do something than make big plans and have nothing come of them. 00:18:37.840 --> 00:18:41.840 Or to make empty promises just to make people feel better. 00:18:41.960 --> 00:18:47.500 Saying, yep, I'm first on my to-do list, but it actually gets neglected throughout the week. 00:18:47.500 --> 00:18:52.140 Number five, laziness pursues worthless things. 00:18:52.940 --> 00:18:55.480 Diligence does the next right thing. 00:18:56.180 --> 00:19:02.059 Laziness pursues worthless things, but laziness does the next right thing. 00:19:03.000 --> 00:19:05.779 In Proverbs 12, verse 11, it says, 00:19:06.559 --> 00:19:12.920 Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but whoever follows worthless pursuits lacks sense. 00:19:12.920 --> 00:19:21.720 Imagine with me a man who's got big ideas, and he has about how to use his gifts, how to pursue his dreams. 00:19:22.200 --> 00:19:26.000 You probably have heard someone like this talk before. 00:19:26.180 --> 00:19:27.700 He talks big, he dreams big. 00:19:28.840 --> 00:19:36.180 He gets involved in things, though, that actually ultimately wind up bankrupting his dreams and his gifts. 00:19:36.180 --> 00:19:43.420 He gets involved in online gambling or online video gaming to acquire fast wealth to accomplish those dreams. 00:19:43.660 --> 00:19:47.220 And all the while, he neglects his family that's right in front of him. 00:19:47.620 --> 00:19:51.200 Or he neglects his day job that is right in front of him. 00:19:51.680 --> 00:19:55.580 And pursuing these worthless things leads to him actually losing everything. 00:19:56.860 --> 00:20:00.460 Being slothful doesn't mean you never put forth some kind of effort. 00:20:00.720 --> 00:20:03.340 It could just mean that you're putting forth effort into the wrong things. 00:20:03.339 --> 00:20:11.119 Slothful people fail to prioritize the right things because they seem hard or ordinary or boring. 00:20:11.980 --> 00:20:18.779 Instead, they energetically pursue exciting things that promise a lot, and they seem a little bit easier. 00:20:19.859 --> 00:20:25.079 But the diligent, on the other hand, prioritize the thing that God has given them right in front of them. 00:20:25.599 --> 00:20:28.039 As in the proverb, it's the land. 00:20:28.639 --> 00:20:30.579 Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread. 00:20:30.659 --> 00:20:31.519 The land's not going anywhere. 00:20:31.599 --> 00:20:32.299 It's just right there. 00:20:32.299 --> 00:20:39.079 And they prioritize the land that God has given them to cultivate, and they zealously work it. 00:20:39.139 --> 00:20:41.240 They do the next right thing that's in front of them. 00:20:42.119 --> 00:20:45.899 For us, that land could be putting the phone down and playing with your kids. 00:20:46.720 --> 00:20:49.079 It could mean turning off the TV and writing that letter. 00:20:50.099 --> 00:20:55.879 It could mean closing the distracting browser window and write that report that your boss has asked for. 00:20:55.880 --> 00:20:57.660 Only God. 00:20:57.660 --> 00:21:03.300 God has only given us a certain amount of time and energy and talent and wealth. 00:21:03.940 --> 00:21:06.880 And so we just do the next right thing that's in front of us. 00:21:07.320 --> 00:21:08.440 That's what diligence does. 00:21:09.160 --> 00:21:09.660 Number four. 00:21:10.380 --> 00:21:12.220 Laziness makes excuses. 00:21:13.260 --> 00:21:16.220 Diligence embraces risk and mess. 00:21:17.220 --> 00:21:18.880 Laziness makes excuses. 00:21:18.880 --> 00:21:23.120 Diligence embraces risk and mess. 00:21:23.660 --> 00:21:27.880 There's this hilarious proverb in Proverbs 22, 13. 00:21:27.880 --> 00:21:30.020 The sluggard says, 00:21:30.420 --> 00:21:31.560 There's a lion outside. 00:21:31.620 --> 00:21:33.060 I should be killed in the streets. 00:21:33.059 --> 00:21:38.919 There was about as much a chance for the ancient Israelite to be mauled in the streets of Jerusalem 00:21:38.919 --> 00:21:41.599 as a modern person to be killed in a plane crash. 00:21:42.240 --> 00:21:43.659 On paper, it's a possibility. 00:21:44.359 --> 00:21:47.000 But in reality, it's not something to be concerned about. 00:21:47.980 --> 00:21:54.559 The point of the proverb is to expose the excuses that lazy people make to avoid doing what needs to be done. 00:21:55.299 --> 00:21:58.779 Let me give you a pitiful personal example. 00:21:59.819 --> 00:22:02.480 When I was a teenager, I knew I needed to read my Bible. 00:22:03.059 --> 00:22:04.000 It was good for me. 00:22:04.079 --> 00:22:04.940 I knew it was good for me. 00:22:05.000 --> 00:22:07.460 I knew I needed to do it to grow my relationship with God. 00:22:07.539 --> 00:22:10.220 But I didn't really want to put the effort into doing it. 00:22:10.240 --> 00:22:13.639 And I had this great excuse for not reading my Bible. 00:22:14.740 --> 00:22:18.059 This was when Eugene Peterson was translating the Message Bible. 00:22:18.379 --> 00:22:22.259 And I thought, you know, I'll just wait until Eugene Peterson is all done. 00:22:22.539 --> 00:22:24.059 And then I'll buy the Message Bible. 00:22:24.200 --> 00:22:26.039 And I'll have a Bible that I can read. 00:22:26.119 --> 00:22:27.099 And it'll make sense to me. 00:22:27.599 --> 00:22:29.079 Not like this new King James. 00:22:29.079 --> 00:22:33.659 It's just too much effort for me to actually read it. 00:22:34.339 --> 00:22:38.699 I wish someone had slapped me upside the head and said, Billy, read your new King James. 00:22:38.799 --> 00:22:39.379 It's not that hard. 00:22:39.419 --> 00:22:40.079 It's not going to kill you. 00:22:41.539 --> 00:22:44.839 I love Proverbs 14.4, which kind of counters this. 00:22:44.839 --> 00:22:48.980 Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean. 00:22:49.720 --> 00:22:53.319 But abundant crops come by the strength of the ox. 00:22:54.000 --> 00:22:55.119 It's a little bit cryptic. 00:22:55.259 --> 00:22:56.059 Here's what it's getting at. 00:22:56.259 --> 00:22:59.740 The idea is that it's pretty easy to find excuses to not keep oxen. 00:23:00.039 --> 00:23:00.619 They're dirty. 00:23:00.799 --> 00:23:01.299 They're messy. 00:23:01.639 --> 00:23:02.379 They eat a lot. 00:23:02.480 --> 00:23:03.199 They poop a lot. 00:23:04.159 --> 00:23:06.699 It takes a lot of work to take care of oxen. 00:23:06.700 --> 00:23:11.660 But the fact is, the ancient Israelite farmer just didn't produce much of a crop on his land 00:23:11.660 --> 00:23:13.840 unless he had oxen to pull the plow. 00:23:14.360 --> 00:23:17.640 Him by himself didn't really have the strength to do much of a crop. 00:23:18.759 --> 00:23:25.600 The lazy make excuses, but the diligent embrace the risk and the mess of the oxen. 00:23:26.840 --> 00:23:30.960 Obviously, the diligent are reckless or careless with their risk-taking. 00:23:30.960 --> 00:23:35.940 But the fact is that to use what God has given us well requires some element of risk. 00:23:35.940 --> 00:23:38.160 And some element of mess. 00:23:38.960 --> 00:23:41.080 This is true of getting married and having a family. 00:23:41.860 --> 00:23:44.200 It's true of meeting new people and making friends. 00:23:44.980 --> 00:23:47.580 Of venturing an idea that might get shot down. 00:23:48.259 --> 00:23:52.140 Of having a difficult conversation with someone that you know you need to have. 00:23:52.680 --> 00:23:54.680 Of confessing sin to someone. 00:23:55.279 --> 00:23:58.140 Or crossing the street to engage your neighbor for Christ. 00:23:59.200 --> 00:24:02.340 Whereas the lazy make excuses for these things. 00:24:02.480 --> 00:24:04.080 The diligent tell themselves, 00:24:04.079 --> 00:24:06.480 If it's the right thing that needs to be done, 00:24:07.059 --> 00:24:07.879 I'm just going to do it. 00:24:08.000 --> 00:24:09.500 I'm going to trust God with the results. 00:24:09.500 --> 00:24:11.859 No matter the risk and no matter the mess. 00:24:13.299 --> 00:24:13.740 Number three. 00:24:14.619 --> 00:24:19.339 Laziness is self-indulgent, but diligence loves excellence. 00:24:19.919 --> 00:24:24.259 Laziness is self-indulgent, but diligence loves excellence. 00:24:24.259 --> 00:24:28.319 Back to Proverbs 6 and the example with the ants. 00:24:29.720 --> 00:24:33.460 The wise person asks the sluggard, 00:24:33.599 --> 00:24:35.819 How long will you lie there, you sluggard? 00:24:36.339 --> 00:24:38.579 When will you arise from your sleep? 00:24:39.099 --> 00:24:42.839 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest. 00:24:43.519 --> 00:24:45.299 And all this bad stuff comes upon you. 00:24:45.519 --> 00:24:46.519 Did you notice all those littles? 00:24:46.519 --> 00:24:51.400 Self-indulgence doesn't have to look like a 48-hour Netflix binge. 00:24:52.139 --> 00:24:58.400 It can be a Facebook break here, a YouTube video here, just one more episode. 00:24:59.400 --> 00:25:03.160 Wherein there is actually a responsibility that needs to be attended to. 00:25:03.160 --> 00:25:10.800 Now obviously this doesn't mean that we can't take breaks or enjoy legitimate pleasures like sleep or a good book or a TV show. 00:25:11.340 --> 00:25:15.300 But there's a difference between enjoying a God-given pleasure in faith 00:25:15.300 --> 00:25:21.480 and avoiding a responsibility by giving into every distraction that presents itself to your mind. 00:25:22.480 --> 00:25:26.300 The opposite of self-indulgence is loving excellence. 00:25:27.220 --> 00:25:31.779 Proverbs 22, 29 commends the man who loves excellence. 00:25:31.779 --> 00:25:33.299 Proverbs 22, 29. 00:25:34.039 --> 00:25:36.099 Do you see a man skillful at his work? 00:25:36.639 --> 00:25:38.279 He will stand before kings. 00:25:38.740 --> 00:25:40.660 He will not stand before obscure men. 00:25:41.579 --> 00:25:47.500 It takes some serious intentionality and effort to hone a skill to the point of excellence. 00:25:47.680 --> 00:25:48.700 It doesn't just happen. 00:25:49.000 --> 00:25:51.759 Well, for some people it does, but they're the rare ones. 00:25:52.399 --> 00:25:57.539 One cannot live self-indulgently and love excellence at the same time. 00:25:57.539 --> 00:26:09.819 Faithfulness and excellence in your walk with Christ, in your home, in your friendships, in your vocation, in your skills, in your talents, in serving this church body. 00:26:09.819 --> 00:26:19.200 It takes committed effort that competes with the time and energy that our self-exalting hearts want to put toward self-indulgence. 00:26:19.779 --> 00:26:29.059 So it takes effort, good effort, to love excellence as opposed to indulging ourselves with that time and energy that God has given us. 00:26:29.059 --> 00:26:33.700 Number two, laziness brings shame. 00:26:34.539 --> 00:26:36.700 Diligence honorably provides. 00:26:38.200 --> 00:26:40.019 Proverbs 10, 5. 00:26:40.019 --> 00:26:48.299 He who gathers in summer is a prudent son, but he who sleeps in the harvest is a son who brings shame. 00:26:49.279 --> 00:26:55.279 If a member of the family is lazy, his or her actions affect the family dynamic. 00:26:55.879 --> 00:26:59.759 You've probably witnessed this in your family, or you've been the one who's brought this about in your family. 00:27:00.619 --> 00:27:04.839 Even in our individualistic American culture, we still feel this. 00:27:05.359 --> 00:27:08.799 If one family member doesn't pull their weight, it affects everyone else. 00:27:08.799 --> 00:27:15.759 If one person is known as an unreliable, unfaithful slacker, it can affect the reputation of the whole family. 00:27:16.259 --> 00:27:17.700 We don't live as islands. 00:27:18.599 --> 00:27:21.579 What we do, how we live our lives, affects others. 00:27:21.960 --> 00:27:23.159 It can bring shame. 00:27:24.319 --> 00:27:26.319 The diligent person understands this well. 00:27:26.680 --> 00:27:34.259 In Proverbs 31, there's this beautiful poem tribute to a kind of woman who models wisdom in every aspect of her life. 00:27:34.259 --> 00:27:41.259 And in Proverbs 31, 27, it honors her diligence to provide for her household. 00:27:42.039 --> 00:27:47.500 It says, she looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. 00:27:47.500 --> 00:27:56.000 So the wise woman who diligently provides for her family does not bring shame upon her family, but she brings honor and blessing on them. 00:27:56.240 --> 00:28:02.220 She does not eat the bread of idleness that brings shame, but she honors God and she honors her family. 00:28:03.339 --> 00:28:08.680 Lastly, number one, we have arrived at the top of the list, or the bottom of the list, however that works. 00:28:08.680 --> 00:28:21.480 Laziness is wise in its own eyes, but diligence pleases the Lord. 00:28:22.320 --> 00:28:25.700 In Proverbs 26, we find the root of the laziness problem. 00:28:25.700 --> 00:28:39.660 After ridiculing the sluggard for three verses, starting in verse 13, the wise man concludes by showing us what really is going on at the heart of a sluggard in verse 16. 00:28:40.600 --> 00:28:45.940 The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who can answer sensibly. 00:28:47.059 --> 00:28:50.940 Ultimately, lazy people are biblical fools. 00:28:50.940 --> 00:28:55.120 A biblical fool is someone who does not fear God. 00:28:55.700 --> 00:28:56.920 They don't take God seriously. 00:28:57.080 --> 00:28:59.340 They leave God out in their calculations. 00:29:00.420 --> 00:29:02.120 And this is not just a minor problem. 00:29:02.960 --> 00:29:04.460 Because God is there. 00:29:05.059 --> 00:29:06.420 We must take him seriously. 00:29:07.160 --> 00:29:12.100 The sluggard only sees himself, only lives for himself, and only cares for himself or herself. 00:29:13.720 --> 00:29:18.120 In contrast, look about what Proverbs says about the diligent person. 00:29:18.119 --> 00:29:25.959 In Proverbs 15, 19, it contrasts the sluggard and the diligent, but it uses a different word. 00:29:26.839 --> 00:29:30.839 The way of a sluggard, 15, 19, is a hedge of thorns. 00:29:31.559 --> 00:29:37.199 But the path of, it doesn't say diligent, it says the path of the upright is a level highway. 00:29:37.319 --> 00:29:39.659 Did you notice who is contrasted with the sluggard? 00:29:40.179 --> 00:29:41.059 It's the upright. 00:29:41.439 --> 00:29:46.939 We're expecting the word diligent, but instead, the Proverbs uses the word upright. 00:29:46.940 --> 00:29:52.720 And upright, throughout Scripture, consistently in the Old Testament, that word describes people who fear God, 00:29:53.000 --> 00:29:56.779 who do what God commands, and who live in a way that pleases God. 00:29:57.840 --> 00:30:05.620 In other words, those who live a diligent life please the Lord because they acknowledge God as the ultimate authority of their lives and not themselves. 00:30:07.220 --> 00:30:13.000 So, these are the characteristics of laziness and diligence according to Proverbs. 00:30:13.000 --> 00:30:16.960 Before we move on, just take a moment and take stock. 00:30:18.599 --> 00:30:22.380 Do you see ways where you are risking throwing away your shot? 00:30:23.359 --> 00:30:27.579 Do you see reflections of laziness in your life? 00:30:28.559 --> 00:30:31.980 Do you see ways in which you need to grow in diligence? 00:30:32.259 --> 00:30:36.440 We'll circle back to that in a moment, but it's good to pay attention to it now. 00:30:36.440 --> 00:30:42.320 Now, much more briefly, what are the consequences of a lazy life and a diligent life? 00:30:42.779 --> 00:30:44.120 And then, what's at the core? 00:30:44.279 --> 00:30:45.320 First, the consequences. 00:30:46.480 --> 00:30:49.420 What is the consequences of a lazy life? 00:30:49.680 --> 00:30:50.360 Three Ds. 00:30:51.600 --> 00:30:55.220 Difficulty, deficiency, and dissatisfaction. 00:30:55.620 --> 00:30:59.000 Difficulty, deficiency, and dissatisfaction. 00:30:59.000 --> 00:31:01.359 I just read Proverbs 15, 19. 00:31:01.819 --> 00:31:04.579 The way of the sluggard is a hedge of thorns. 00:31:05.640 --> 00:31:09.740 Ironically, this is so ironic, the sluggard wants the easy path. 00:31:10.619 --> 00:31:15.160 But, by choosing that easy path, he actually chooses a very difficult one. 00:31:15.500 --> 00:31:16.819 It's hard to be lazy. 00:31:17.539 --> 00:31:19.740 It simply doesn't pay in the long run. 00:31:19.839 --> 00:31:22.000 So, the consequences is difficulty. 00:31:22.759 --> 00:31:24.200 Secondly, is deficiency. 00:31:24.200 --> 00:31:29.100 In Proverbs 10, verse 4, Proverbs is pretty blunt and says, 00:31:29.259 --> 00:31:30.920 A slack hand causes poverty. 00:31:31.860 --> 00:31:36.519 A slack hand, lazy people tend to not have enough. 00:31:37.460 --> 00:31:38.600 This is kind of a no-brainer. 00:31:39.080 --> 00:31:40.640 You don't have what you don't work for. 00:31:40.960 --> 00:31:44.180 There's not a lot that can be gained in life without some effort. 00:31:45.759 --> 00:31:48.000 And lastly, dissatisfaction. 00:31:49.160 --> 00:31:52.240 Proverbs 13, verse 4 says, 00:31:52.240 --> 00:31:55.539 The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing. 00:31:56.920 --> 00:31:58.700 The sluggard can't get no satisfaction. 00:32:00.099 --> 00:32:02.259 He desires a full stomach and a happy life, 00:32:02.799 --> 00:32:06.079 but he is not satisfied because he doesn't put the effort into getting it. 00:32:07.000 --> 00:32:10.859 Until he cares enough to get up and to do something about it, 00:32:11.160 --> 00:32:13.700 he will always be complaining about what he doesn't have, 00:32:14.220 --> 00:32:16.579 even though it may be in his power to attain it. 00:32:17.940 --> 00:32:19.319 Now, what about a diligent life? 00:32:19.319 --> 00:32:22.679 What are the consequences of living diligently? 00:32:23.460 --> 00:32:25.279 Not three D's, but three S's. 00:32:26.299 --> 00:32:27.679 First, success. 00:32:29.399 --> 00:32:31.000 Proverbs 12, 24. 00:32:31.639 --> 00:32:33.619 The hand of the diligent will rule. 00:32:35.659 --> 00:32:41.000 In general, those who are zealous to use their resources for God's honor 00:32:41.000 --> 00:32:43.679 and for the good of others will have a measure of success 00:32:43.679 --> 00:32:45.720 in what they set their hands to do. 00:32:45.720 --> 00:32:48.900 However, remember this is Proverbs. 00:32:49.559 --> 00:32:53.559 Proverbs is general principles to live life by, 00:32:53.799 --> 00:32:59.759 not guaranteed divine promises of X plus Y equals Z. 00:33:00.880 --> 00:33:03.960 There are plenty of examples, even in the Bible, 00:33:04.200 --> 00:33:09.120 of righteous, diligent people who suffer and fail in their endeavors, 00:33:09.500 --> 00:33:11.360 and it's just for no fault of their own. 00:33:11.359 --> 00:33:13.519 That's the kind of world we live in. 00:33:13.639 --> 00:33:18.539 But, in general, those who work hard tend to be successful. 00:33:18.979 --> 00:33:20.740 They tend to accomplish something with their lives. 00:33:20.799 --> 00:33:22.339 They have given respect. 00:33:22.559 --> 00:33:24.779 They are given roles of greater responsibility 00:33:24.779 --> 00:33:29.379 and some kind of reward of wealth or privilege and honor. 00:33:30.219 --> 00:33:31.099 So, success. 00:33:31.299 --> 00:33:32.439 Also, sufficiency. 00:33:33.979 --> 00:33:35.199 Proverbs 10, verse 3. 00:33:35.699 --> 00:33:37.119 This great promise. 00:33:37.119 --> 00:33:40.899 The Lord does not let the righteous go hungry. 00:33:41.699 --> 00:33:45.179 And if the diligent are upright before God and righteous before Him, 00:33:45.219 --> 00:33:46.079 if they fear Him, 00:33:46.539 --> 00:33:50.439 then the living God Himself will attend to their needs. 00:33:51.000 --> 00:33:53.759 They will not find themselves lacking a roof over their head 00:33:53.759 --> 00:33:55.359 or food on their table. 00:33:55.459 --> 00:33:57.419 Now, again, of course, these are general principles, 00:33:57.579 --> 00:33:58.759 but they tend to hold true. 00:34:00.079 --> 00:34:03.679 And lastly, success, sufficiency, satisfaction. 00:34:03.680 --> 00:34:06.960 Proverbs 13, verse 4, we just looked at, 00:34:07.440 --> 00:34:09.619 The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, 00:34:09.940 --> 00:34:13.119 while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied. 00:34:14.079 --> 00:34:18.220 There is something wonderfully satisfying about eating a solid meal 00:34:18.220 --> 00:34:22.840 and laying your tired head down on the pillow after a hard day's labor. 00:34:23.720 --> 00:34:26.460 God satisfies the soul of the diligent 00:34:26.460 --> 00:34:30.480 with simple pleasures of good work, good food, and good rest 00:34:30.480 --> 00:34:32.800 day after day after day. 00:34:32.800 --> 00:34:39.400 It's almost as if that's part of the fabric that He wove into the existence of our lives. 00:34:39.500 --> 00:34:41.620 Listen to Ecclesiastes, chapter 2. 00:34:42.720 --> 00:34:50.620 Even the very cynical and depressed author of Ecclesiastes wrote these words, 00:34:50.619 --> 00:34:54.920 There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink 00:34:54.920 --> 00:34:57.359 and find enjoyment in his toil. 00:34:58.079 --> 00:35:00.159 This also I saw is from the hand of God, 00:35:00.259 --> 00:35:03.359 for apart from Him, who can eat or have enjoyment? 00:35:04.420 --> 00:35:06.799 So rather than making us miserable through our work, 00:35:06.980 --> 00:35:09.719 God actually intends to satisfy us in our labor. 00:35:10.380 --> 00:35:13.019 It's the kind of life that anyone would want to live. 00:35:13.019 --> 00:35:18.719 So that's the consequences of a lazy or diligent life. 00:35:19.719 --> 00:35:23.259 What's at the core of laziness and diligence? 00:35:24.219 --> 00:35:25.780 We've already hinted at this. 00:35:26.840 --> 00:35:29.880 At the core of laziness is a worship of self. 00:35:29.880 --> 00:35:36.980 A slothful person does not lift their heart in devotion to anyone or anything higher than self. 00:35:38.059 --> 00:35:39.280 They do not fear God. 00:35:39.840 --> 00:35:41.500 They are wise in their own eyes, 00:35:41.640 --> 00:35:44.059 wiser than seven men who could answer sensibly. 00:35:44.800 --> 00:35:49.860 And they do not see themselves as having responsibility toward anyone except themselves. 00:35:50.400 --> 00:35:54.160 They view their energy and their time and their resources as their own. 00:35:54.159 --> 00:36:01.539 They assume that they have the authority to use their resources and responsibilities and opportunities as they see fit. 00:36:02.500 --> 00:36:07.659 They have overlooked the beginning of wisdom, which is the fear of the Lord. 00:36:08.879 --> 00:36:12.719 And that is what is at the core of the diligent life. 00:36:14.099 --> 00:36:17.000 An earnest desire to please the Lord, 00:36:17.179 --> 00:36:22.779 to use the resources that He has given us well because we know that we are not our own. 00:36:22.780 --> 00:36:27.940 Now before we turn the corner into seeking how to apply this to our lives, 00:36:28.060 --> 00:36:30.780 I want to just fixate on that truth for just a moment 00:36:30.780 --> 00:36:34.420 to help us be motivated and to seek diligence. 00:36:34.800 --> 00:36:38.620 I want to fixate on this core of diligence that we are not our own. 00:36:39.380 --> 00:36:41.519 First, we are not our own because we're creatures. 00:36:42.960 --> 00:36:43.940 God is our creator. 00:36:44.080 --> 00:36:44.680 He made us. 00:36:44.720 --> 00:36:45.440 He owns us. 00:36:46.560 --> 00:36:48.360 That's true from the first sentence of the Bible. 00:36:48.480 --> 00:36:50.840 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 00:36:50.840 --> 00:36:54.019 And do you know what the Bible calls God's creation? 00:36:54.980 --> 00:37:00.180 In Genesis 2, it says that when God had finished His six days worth of creating, 00:37:00.519 --> 00:37:03.160 He rested from His work. 00:37:04.200 --> 00:37:04.840 That's right. 00:37:04.940 --> 00:37:06.539 God Himself works. 00:37:07.940 --> 00:37:09.519 God Himself is diligent. 00:37:10.180 --> 00:37:12.000 In creating us, God worked. 00:37:12.059 --> 00:37:14.500 He had a job to do and He did it exceedingly well. 00:37:14.500 --> 00:37:22.320 And as Christians, we are not only not our own because God made us and worked in making us, 00:37:22.460 --> 00:37:25.519 but because in Christ He worked to redeem us. 00:37:26.619 --> 00:37:32.340 Listen how Paul in Ephesians 1 describes God's masterpiece work of redeeming us. 00:37:32.800 --> 00:37:34.039 Ephesians 1 verse 19. 00:37:34.039 --> 00:37:42.039 And what is the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe according to the working of His great might 00:37:42.039 --> 00:37:48.659 that He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand of the heavenly places. 00:37:49.400 --> 00:37:53.739 Later, Paul describes us as believers as God's workmanship, 00:37:54.619 --> 00:38:00.139 crafted that we might do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do. 00:38:00.139 --> 00:38:03.779 So, at the core of diligence is recognizing that we are not our own 00:38:03.779 --> 00:38:09.319 and that when we diligently make our life count, we are imitating our working God. 00:38:10.159 --> 00:38:17.119 We work because He has worked, not only to create us, but to redeem us in Christ with His great and powerful grace. 00:38:17.859 --> 00:38:23.900 And in laboring in that way, imitating our working God, there is great satisfaction. 00:38:24.639 --> 00:38:30.000 Oh, and according to Philippians 2, that work is not just in the past. 00:38:30.940 --> 00:38:32.940 He's not done working in you. 00:38:33.059 --> 00:38:34.139 Listen to Philippians 2. 00:38:35.159 --> 00:38:40.299 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now not only in my presence, but much more in my absence, 00:38:40.839 --> 00:38:43.559 work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 00:38:44.019 --> 00:38:49.779 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. 00:38:51.199 --> 00:38:52.779 We're not alone in our working. 00:38:52.780 --> 00:39:00.340 At the core of diligence is the assuring promise that our diligence is always accompanied with His power. 00:39:01.040 --> 00:39:02.360 We don't labor on our own. 00:39:02.480 --> 00:39:06.380 We labor in partnership with His Spirit who is at work in us. 00:39:06.380 --> 00:39:12.860 And He enables, by His power, our efforts to faithfully make much of Him with our lives. 00:39:13.900 --> 00:39:18.500 So assuming that you're convinced, assuming that you don't want to throw away your shot, 00:39:19.460 --> 00:39:25.760 let me conclude with three questions for us to ask ourselves so that we can become a more diligent people. 00:39:25.760 --> 00:39:31.720 First, what are the limited resources that I've been entrusted with? 00:39:32.500 --> 00:39:36.020 What are the limited resources I've been entrusted with? 00:39:36.019 --> 00:39:40.480 It's worth taking some time, maybe this afternoon, sometime this week, 00:39:40.539 --> 00:39:43.820 to just make a list of what you have been entrusted with. 00:39:44.759 --> 00:39:50.800 That list, whether it's your time, your health, your energy, your skills, your possessions, 00:39:51.039 --> 00:39:56.880 your relationships, your wealth, your responsibilities, none of it is ours inherently. 00:39:57.239 --> 00:39:59.920 It's all been given, all been entrusted. 00:39:59.920 --> 00:40:06.659 And that list should produce gratitude toward God, and it should also sober us. 00:40:07.619 --> 00:40:11.740 There are so many assets that our Creator and King has entrusted us with, 00:40:12.019 --> 00:40:15.639 and none of them are just for our enjoyment, although it's good to enjoy them. 00:40:16.599 --> 00:40:19.300 Think about our time, just alone, our time. 00:40:20.420 --> 00:40:29.000 None of us knows how long that little hyphen is between our date of birth and our date of death on our tombstone. 00:40:29.000 --> 00:40:31.659 None of us knows how long that will be. 00:40:31.780 --> 00:40:34.119 Listen to Ephesians 5, verse 15. 00:40:35.159 --> 00:40:39.059 Look carefully, then, how you walk, not as unwise, but as wise, 00:40:39.500 --> 00:40:44.219 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 00:40:45.099 --> 00:40:50.159 It is worth just taking stock of the time with which God has entrusted us, 00:40:50.420 --> 00:40:53.760 and asking, how am I using my time well? 00:40:54.000 --> 00:40:56.639 So take stock of what you've been entrusted with. 00:40:56.639 --> 00:41:01.759 They're limited resources, and they need to be used well to please our Master. 00:41:01.920 --> 00:41:07.420 Second, what priorities must I pursue with these resources? 00:41:08.259 --> 00:41:12.159 What priorities must I pursue with these resources? 00:41:13.159 --> 00:41:18.819 I recently listened to a brief biography of Martin Luther, the great reformer from the 16th century. 00:41:18.820 --> 00:41:22.740 That guy had talent, and that guy had energy. 00:41:23.680 --> 00:41:24.440 But do you know what? 00:41:25.300 --> 00:41:29.519 Even a world changer like Martin Luther couldn't do everything. 00:41:30.600 --> 00:41:37.420 He had a specific place that he lived in, with specific people he knew, with specific tasks to do. 00:41:38.039 --> 00:41:39.059 He couldn't be everywhere. 00:41:39.200 --> 00:41:40.240 He couldn't do everything. 00:41:40.420 --> 00:41:41.740 He couldn't solve all the world's problems. 00:41:41.739 --> 00:41:45.019 He only had so much he could accomplish with his life. 00:41:46.039 --> 00:41:50.959 Ultimately, God has given us just a few priorities to diligently pursue. 00:41:52.179 --> 00:41:56.219 My brother-in-law has famously said, at least within our family, has famously said, 00:41:56.939 --> 00:42:01.939 if I can be a faithful lover of Jesus, a faithful husband, and a faithful father, I'm doing pretty good. 00:42:02.779 --> 00:42:04.479 That's enough to fill my plate. 00:42:05.099 --> 00:42:06.059 I like that perspective. 00:42:06.199 --> 00:42:06.859 It grounds me. 00:42:08.139 --> 00:42:10.459 So what has God told us to diligently pursue? 00:42:10.460 --> 00:42:12.940 Well, Scripture gives us a few priorities. 00:42:13.960 --> 00:42:15.220 Deuteronomy 6.17. 00:42:16.019 --> 00:42:21.920 You shall diligently keep the command of the Lord your God, his testimonies, and his statutes which he has commanded you. 00:42:22.460 --> 00:42:23.300 That comes first. 00:42:24.019 --> 00:42:30.780 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, with all your strength. 00:42:30.880 --> 00:42:32.900 That kind of sounds like diligence, doesn't it? 00:42:34.079 --> 00:42:36.300 How is that priority doing in your life? 00:42:37.519 --> 00:42:39.880 Obviously, that doesn't mean you read your Bible every moment of the day. 00:42:40.460 --> 00:42:46.079 But it does mean that most of us have ground to take in diligently learning what pleases the Lord, 00:42:46.240 --> 00:42:49.159 in enjoying fellowship with him in his word and in prayer. 00:42:50.500 --> 00:42:54.980 2 Peter, if you haven't read that in a while, it's a great little place to start. 00:42:55.800 --> 00:42:56.659 Three little chapters. 00:42:57.400 --> 00:43:00.940 And it's this book that just motivates me to godly diligence. 00:43:00.940 --> 00:43:05.760 Peter urges diligent steps towards growth. 00:43:05.880 --> 00:43:08.159 He doesn't heap condemnation upon us. 00:43:08.500 --> 00:43:10.059 He just says, make every effort. 00:43:10.400 --> 00:43:11.780 He's a coach on the sidelines. 00:43:11.880 --> 00:43:12.200 Come on. 00:43:12.380 --> 00:43:13.119 You can do this. 00:43:13.559 --> 00:43:17.940 Make every effort to know and please the Lord by growing in the grace of Jesus. 00:43:19.260 --> 00:43:20.159 So that's one priority. 00:43:20.500 --> 00:43:24.460 The second I would commend to you from Scripture is to take care of the people around you. 00:43:24.460 --> 00:43:33.579 If you're part of a family, that means diligently attending to the role and responsibility God has given you as a husband or a wife, father or mother. 00:43:34.099 --> 00:43:39.900 If you are a child in the family and still under your parents' roof, it means diligently honoring your parents. 00:43:40.360 --> 00:43:44.880 If you're a parent, it means diligently teaching your children to love and obey God. 00:43:44.880 --> 00:43:58.539 If you're single, like Paul was, you have a certain amount of freedom to prioritize serving the church, caring for friends, investing your time and priorities that folks and families might not have as much time to do. 00:43:59.260 --> 00:44:09.519 So whatever you're a part of, whatever people you got around you, are you diligently attending to your most basic roles and responsibilities in serving the people around you? 00:44:10.119 --> 00:44:11.280 How about your vocation? 00:44:11.280 --> 00:44:18.460 Are you being diligent in your vocation as an employee, as an employer, as a student? 00:44:19.540 --> 00:44:26.980 If you're in school, high school, college, diligence is a skill that is essential to learn at this age. 00:44:28.060 --> 00:44:35.100 Learning diligent now and pursuing your priorities in your school and your job now, young people, is incredibly helpful. 00:44:35.460 --> 00:44:37.880 You don't primarily exist to please yourself. 00:44:37.880 --> 00:44:43.900 You exist to please the Lord by faithfully using your resources well in this time of your life. 00:44:44.900 --> 00:44:46.500 And the third question is very brief. 00:44:47.079 --> 00:44:57.960 Lastly, what is one way, one way that you can lean into your priorities with your resources this week? 00:44:57.960 --> 00:45:11.159 What is one step you can take to lean into the hard work of making every effort to please the Lord with your priorities and your resources this week? 00:45:11.880 --> 00:45:14.659 Is there one change you need to make? 00:45:15.539 --> 00:45:17.159 Is there a habit to start? 00:45:18.039 --> 00:45:19.679 Is there a habit to put to death? 00:45:19.679 --> 00:45:27.579 What can you do this week to be a more diligent follower of Jesus? 00:45:29.199 --> 00:45:30.899 People of God, we've got one shot. 00:45:32.199 --> 00:45:33.579 Don't throw away your shot. 00:45:34.960 --> 00:45:38.639 Use it well for the one who created you and redeemed you. 00:45:39.199 --> 00:45:40.139 You are not your own. 00:45:40.139 --> 00:45:48.139 Let's use our limited resources and responsibilities to make much of the one who has given us all that we have. 00:45:48.699 --> 00:45:49.379 Let's pray. 00:45:53.139 --> 00:45:58.059 Oh God, you know how weak I feel in delivering this truth to your people. 00:45:59.639 --> 00:46:04.480 Thank you, God, that you are a God who forgives the lazy. 00:46:04.480 --> 00:46:09.300 Thank you, God, that you are, as we sang this morning, the friend of sinners. 00:46:11.559 --> 00:46:17.440 Thank you that you are a God who redeems and transforms us by your grace. 00:46:18.440 --> 00:46:23.559 God, help us not to pursue diligence because it will save us. 00:46:24.280 --> 00:46:28.079 Help us to pursue diligence because you have worked for us in Christ. 00:46:29.119 --> 00:46:31.880 And to do so in a way that pleases you, our Heavenly Father. 00:46:31.880 --> 00:46:34.800 Lord, help us not to throw away our shot. 00:46:35.760 --> 00:46:36.820 Help us to make it count. 00:46:37.920 --> 00:46:40.119 For your glory, in Jesus' name, amen.