First I wanted to focus the sermon on this morning was in verse 6 where the Bible read go to the ant thou sluggard
consider her ways and be
Wise and the title of the sermon this morning is slothful sluggards
Slothful sluggards now when I preached this sermon this morning. I was not thinking of one person
I was not thinking of somebody individually or specific in this building honestly
I was thinking about everyone because you know the work of Proverbs applies to all of us. I was thinking of myself
So whenever I preach this sermon this morning don't think oh pastor Shelley
He's just trying to pick on me because guess what everyone's gonna feel that way you say why?
Well the Bible says in Hebrews chapter 4 verse 12 for the Word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than a two-edged sword
Piercing even the dividing asunder soul and spirit and of the joints and marrow and is a discerner of
The thoughts and intents of the heart so the Bible says the Word of God is going to get inside you and prick you
He's gonna convict you of some things that you do wrong and
unfortunately
Mankind by nature wants to be slothful
We want to be sluggish. We don't want to work hard
And so whenever we look at what the Bible has to say we should take wisdom from the book of Proverbs
And other passages that we're going to look at and say hey
This is a way for me to get kicked into gear aren't we closing the year aren't we about to start a new?
Year, it's a good time to decide. Hey. I maybe should make some changes in my life
And the wise person will consider their ways. What does that mean say? What am I doing?
What are my patterns? What are my habits? What kind of person am I like am I like an ant?
Or am I like the slugger or am I like the slug or the sloth?
What kind of you know person am I and then once you decide that you then say hey?
Maybe I should make a change. Maybe there's some area in my life that I should adapt or
Fix now. I went ahead and just did some research on sloths
Okay, the reason the Bible is so true when it uses the word sloth and all the ways that it describes them
You know somebody or things about them so throughout the sermon. We're going to kind of learn some stuff about sloths, okay?
I'll give you a little bit of information about a sloth
It says sloths their muscles make up only 25 to 30 percent of their total body weight
Most other mammals have a muscle mass that makes up 40 to 45 percent of the total body weight
So sloths by nature have half of the amount of muscle mass than most other mammals because they're so slothful
Because they don't work hard because they're so lazy
It says they have specialized hands and feet and have long curved claws that allow them hang upside down
from branches without effort
So the way they're designed they can literally just hang, but it's not causing them to work, okay?
So now actually it's like a hammock or something
You know you just get in the hammock, and you just can lay, and you just you're not you're not using any muscle mass
You're not using any effort so when even though they're hanging in a tree you say oh looks like they're working hard nope
They can literally hang there without effort
I don't know if I have it in here
But I read it they'll they can hang there with so much without any effort so much that even if they died
They would still hang there, so they'll literally be hanging on a tree
Okay die and still be there. That's how little effort it takes for them to be hanging from a tree
It says because they cannot walk
They can't even walk. They're so sluggish. They're so sloppily can't even walk
They just drag themselves across the ground at a very quick rate
It says sloths move only when necessary and even then very slowly the average speed of a sloth is
13 feet per minute
13 13 feet per minute, but it does say when they're in danger
They can move faster. They can move up to 15 feet per minute
So when they kick it into high gear they get an extra couple feet okay? Oh, man
This is why they usually sit at the top of branches because predators could take advantage of them pretty quickly obviously
They can actually swim a little bit faster
But you know it says that they sometimes remain hanging in the branches after death
Yeah, so I mean sloths. They're they're lazy. They don't do anything they basically
Sleep a lot of their day some sloths sleep on an average of nine point six hours a day
That's that's pretty normal the brown
Throated sloth he sleeps 15 to 18 hours a day some of the sloths sleep up to 20
Hours a day that is slothful and
My first point this morning of the slothful sluggards is that they love to sleep
They're sleepy and look sloths are very sleepy animals look at Proverbs chapter 6 verse 6
Go to the ant thou sluggard
Consider her ways and be wise which having no guide overseer a ruler
Provided their meat in the summer and gather their food in the harvest how long wilt thou sleep?
Oh sluggard when wilt thou rise out of thy sleep
Yet a little sleep a little slumber a little folding of the hands to sleep so shall thy poverty come as one that
Traveleth and I want as an armed man
So according to the Bible we see that the opposite of the ants would be the one that's the sluggard the ants diligently
Working he's providing things in the time when it's not even you know he doesn't need to work right now to provide his food
He's working right now to provide his food in the future. He's planning ahead, and we see the sluggard. He's just taking a nap
He's I don't care. I don't I don't care. What's gonna happen in the fall. I don't care
What's gonna happen in the winter? I don't care. What's gonna happen in the summer?
I'm just gonna sleep right now because I'm so tired. I'm so slothful and the reality is
Inactivity causes you to be tired if you don't do anything you actually become more tired
If you just lay around all day
You'll feel more tired than if you worked all day and in fact many studies have proven that were
Employees to be more productive on the job. They'll encourage them to work out
They'll encourage them to work out at lunch
Or they're kind of go running or lift some weights or something because when you do that work it actually
Boosts your energy and makes you more productive
Common sense or at least in man's wisdom you would think the more you work the more tired
You'd get right like man if I go work out then I'll be really tired and lazy and whatever but actually
When you work it actually makes you more energetic when you don't work
It makes you more tired if you just lay around in bed if I ever sleep too much
I actually feel worse than if I didn't get a very good night's sleep
I mean I feel less energetic if I slept I don't 10 hours. That's a lot. I wish I could do that sometimes
If I slept 10 hours or 12 hours
I would feel worse than a five-hour night's sleep
Why because the more inactivity the more slothful and sluggish that you will get you say man. I feel so tired
Why don't you get up and do something you say I want to fix it go work go do something
Be active that's how you're going to get energy
That's how you're not going to just lay around and be sloth all the time your body will respond to what you're doing
Your body adapts to your behavior
So if you're going out and working your body's going to kick all these endorphins and all this it's you're going to try and use
The energy it's going to burn that fat off on your body, and then you won't look so slothful and sluggish
you
Say how do I fix this well? I think the way to fix it is to be have plans
Okay, because honestly most people are slothful and sluggish because they don't know what to do
I mean ever been on the job, or you've ever had somebody wants you to do some work
You don't know what to do exactly so then you become very slothful and lazy about it
Right when you have a detailed plan you know exactly what needs to take place. You know exactly what's going to happen
You're ready to go. It's a lot easier to be productive
It's a lot easier to work hard when you don't know what you're going to do when you have no plans
When you have nothing to do it'll drive you insane
It'll make you slothful and sluggish it'll cause you to have so much apathy that you won't even do anything
So what's the what's the cure have some plans?
Have some goals. What did the ant do well?
What did he say he provide us or meet in the summer and gather their food in the harvest the ant is thinking?
Hey, you know what it's going to be cold soon, and I'm going to get hungry in the winter
So I better start preparing now so that I can eat then he has a plan he has a goal
He's not just sitting there. Well. It's hot and it's you know. It's a harvest. I don't I just go take a nap
I'm just going to go do something else why because he has no plans
Because he has no ambition because he has no goals you say when are you slothful lazy when you have nothing to do?
Let kids when they take their Christmas vacation
You know from school what they do they're really slothful and lazy because I don't have anything to do
They've been used to going to school and doing whatever or having plans or having something
But now they just sleep in and just do whatever you know
They they're really slothful and lazy because they have nothing to do, and I'm not saying that it's not okay to take a rest
I'm not saying that it's not okay to relax and enjoy your life, but if your whole life consists of sleeping
You're a slothful sluggard you're not what the Bible is is you know exemplifying here
You know if you want to rest one day a week go for it, but the rest of your life should be working
You should consider what the ant does he's constantly working even when he doesn't have anything that is an immediate need
He's planning for the future
The Bible says in Proverbs 20 verse 13 love not sleep lest thou come to poverty
Open thine eyes and then shalt thou be satisfied with bread go if you would to Proverbs 19 Proverbs chapter 19
According to the Bible you know the people that are poor are often very slothful
They're very sluggish
That's just pretty much the common denominator
Especially in America now some foreign countries where they're just heavily oppressed with communism or socialism or something like that
I mean no matter how hard they work sometimes
They can just be very poor, but in America your your average poor person today does not work hard
You know what they love to do sleep, and how many I mean you just go down the street today
How many derelicts and bums today are just laying somewhere sleeping?
I mean you'd think this guy is an immediate need of some work. He has no money. No job. No house
I mean, that's some immediate attention. I need to start working right. What are they I'm gonna go take a nap
I mean what what in the world's going on, buddy?
You're just gonna go sleep
And they love to sleep and to slumber because they're slopple because they're sluggish why because they have no goal
I mean think of a bum they don't have anywhere to be they don't have anything to do
They don't have a boss to answer to why they're so slopple and sluggish, and you want to be like the bomb don't have any goals
Have no ambition
Have no plans in the future you will become a bum
You will become sleepy and slothful and sluggish and just lose everything that you have
Look, I have a lot of things that are coming up in the future
I have to go to work tomorrow
You know I have to try and provide food for my children for my family
I have to you know hopefully preach a sermon tonight, right?
That's already been taken care of but I have to preach more sermons don't I so any
There's tons of plans and ideas and goals in the future that we need to have and even this church
If we're gonna do anything big for God we have to have goals
Plans and vision or we will not accomplish anything for God you say look at the average church today
That does nothing for God
That's not winning a bunch of people to Christ. That's not doing anything. You know that you know what's the problem no goal
No vision they don't have a goal to reach anybody with the gospel look the goal of Pure Words Baptist Church is to reach
Every single person and Houston with the gospel
That's a goal. That's a plan. That's a vision and then from that we need to make really specific
Practical goals and plans to accomplish that vision to accomplish that goal, but you know the average church today
They don't try to knock a single door with the gospel because why?
They don't have that goal
They don't have that vision I guarantee if I call ever virtually every church in Houston up, and I say what's your goal?
None of them would say to reach every single person who's in the gospel none of them would say that even if I suggested
They'd be like that's impractical. I can't do that. We're just trying to reach this area
You know we're trying to bring as many people in to give us money. You know that's our goal
We just want to see how much money we can get and build a new building and then as soon as we pay that building
We want to get another new building
And then we hope to get another bigger building
And then we hope to get a 50 million dollar building and then eventually we'll be Joel Osteen
And we'll just buy some basketball stadium because the only goal is to have lots and lots of money
That's their goal. That's their vision, and they're only going to work hard towards that they don't care about people
They don't care about preaching the gospel. They don't care about what this Bible says they care about filthy lucre and
Look that's not going to motivate me to work very hard
That's gonna motivate me to work really hard people burning in hell for all of eternity. You know what the fear of the Lord
Please being pleasing unto God so this church is going to have goals and plans and objectives
Let me give you some goals for 2019 for pure words Baptist Church
We're gonna have another small town soul winning event in 2019. It's gonna happen. We're like we did at Hempstead
I don't know if we're gonna go to Hempstead for sure we might go somewhere else or maybe we'll just go back
I mean it was a good event. I liked it, but we're gonna have another small town soul winning event
Why because not only want to reach Houston we want to reach the whole area
We want to find places where they don't have a good Baptist Church and get them saved too and get them to hear the gospel
Too not only that we're gonna participate in the mega marathon on April
You know 20th we're trying to help reach the vision of Pastor Anderson who wants to have a hundred and fifty
Locations where people are meeting and giving the gospel on the same day
You know how it's gonna happen other people helping him realize that vision other people deciding
Hey
we can start trying to figure out how to you know coordinate and
Find places for people to meet together on that day
And we're gonna partner with them to accomplish that vision not only that this church is going to produce a new documentary film
We're gonna try our best to make you know an encouraging film that teaches the Bible to reach people
You know to publicize
We'll make a
Card videos out of it or whatever to hand out why because we want the truth to go out
We're supposed to get on the housetops and preach the truth of God. This is not a cult
I'm not afraid of anything. We believe I want everybody to know it
I want to buy all the billboards in this town and put all of our doctrine on it obviously I can't it's the two
Impracticals too costly, but I'm not afraid of anything. I believe
I'm not afraid of anything that we teach
I want everybody to know it and you know what's gonna get people turned on in the truth hearing it faith cometh by
hearing and
Hearing by the Word of God how many people today are not saved because they just never heard a clear presentation of the gospel
I mean you give them a clear presentation. They get saved right away
The only thing stopping them was what?
Hearing it someone going and preaching them the gospel not only that I want to have our own
English and Spanish gospel presentations that we can have on our website that we can promote that we can incorporate in a lot of things
Not only that I want to have a false Bible burning now. I haven't had the date yet
I have a couple ideas for this. Okay, it could be like July 4th. It could be like our one-year anniversary
It just depends
Okay
But a goal is we want to try and take as many false Bibles as we can and give King James Bibles out and then
We'll burn them
There's I can't think of a better thing to do than burn them and you know what?
It would be great if we could burn every single false Bible in this country in the world
I would love that that would give me a lot of joy because I love God's Word. I
Love the pure words of God, so that's our goals now. Those are all pretty attainable
We'll probably tie them down with maybe more a little bit, you know more timelines or whatever
But those are some goals now that we have a lot of plans and ideas for a pure words Baptist Church
Here's some other ideas and plans that we have. I want to get a church van
So we can provide print transportation for people when we go on missions trips soul winning trips
Also, if somebody want to give them a ride to church or whatever. We're gonna have
Some attendance record-keeping. We haven't really done that exactly from like a public perspective
I've been keeping attendance records
But what we'll do is we'll have like ice cream stored up and if we break one of our
Attendances for any of the services we'll get to enjoy some ice cream after the service
So right now I'm waiting to basically finish this week
So then we'll have all our totals for 2018 and I'm just throwing out the first weekend
Okay, just because it was a little bit exaggerated with visitors
But our Sunday morning attendance record so far is 48 people
so most we've ever had on Sunday morning service was 48 Sunday evening service was 36 and
Wednesday night was 33. So in 2019
Well, when we break one of these records, we'll get to enjoy some ice cream afterwards. Amen
Maybe some motivation to bring a friend or a family member
There's your sheave with you when you get them saved out soul winning
Not only that I want to have a for some plans and ideas. This is not necessarily definitely going to happen
This is just our goals and ideas of what we could we're going to do
We want to have a foreign missions trip to Mexico probably
You know go to where McAllen is and maybe do like a cross the border type thing
Maybe do some foreign missions in Europe or India now that probably will not happen in 2019 as possible
But you know maybe going some other countries and actually evangelizing other areas with the gospel
Not only that I want to have a gospel
Presentation and every major language in the top 20 languages on our website where you can just say hey, you know
I don't speak this thing. Okay, we got this one because whenever I preach my sermon about the guy
You know preaching in all these language. I can't remember the name of that sermon now
But it was basically speaking in other tongues or something like that
I talked about how you know 70 or 80 percent of the world falls on the top 20 languages
I mean we can reach a
Majority of the world of the gospel by just getting those covered and then we can continue to get even more language and more language
But let's just have a goal. Let's just try and get 20. That's pretty practical
I want to have multiple documentaries. I have other documentaries that I haven't in planning in store
I want to do a Bible series that I'm pretty excited about
There we want to get better audio video equipment. We want to learn more hymns from the hymnal
We want to use more of the piano and the services and the singing maybe more instruments in the future
I want to get some of the RGV, you know, rain over Gomez 2010 Bibles to give out the handout
I've been trying to work on that since day one. It's just it's hard. It's hard to get them
You know, we're trying to work towards that
We want to get
More sermon handouts. So like the one saved always saved we want to get more some different some different options for that
I want to have some Spanish resources even handout. So maybe maybe a Spanish sermon
Maybe just something that we could hand to somebody you get saved in Spanish that you could give them some kind of material
That would be nice to have I would like to have a college station marathon, you know in the future
Possibly even we can try to partner up with some of the other churches that are you know in Texas that would want to go
With us and just have a big marathon in College Station. I want to have a conference
I want to have our own, you know special event that we like to throw on
We're gonna have lots of church fellowship events. We had the chili cook-off
We'll do that every year on October 31st, but we're gonna have other church fellowship events like, you know
A church picnic and other things so there's a lot of plans a lot of ideas. I'm not just sitting here
Just saying well, the only thing that I plan for our church is to preach a sermon this morning
And I didn't even plan that no
I have lots of plans lots of ideas lots of things that I'm gonna do why so I don't just lay around sleeping all day
So I don't just go home and just take a nap
Just do whatever. No, there's people dying going to hell today
So this afternoon instead of taking a nap, which I would love to do
I'm gonna go out and preach the gospel to get people saved. That's what I'm gonna do
You look at Proverbs 19 verse 14
House and riches are the inheritance of fathers and a prudent wife is from the Lord
Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep and an idle soul shall suffer hunger
So a lot of times in Proverbs, it'll just skip from verse to verse and not necessarily directly correlated
But sometimes it even has a correlation and right here. It's saying look a prudent wife
She's from the Lord meaning what's the real life she works hard she's diligent she's always providing things for her husband
She's a good help meet unto her husband. But you know what the opposite of that would be the slothful sluggard wife. That's terrible
That's awful. That's
Frustrating the Bible says it would be better to dwell in the corner of a housetop then with a contentious and angry woman
You know having a bad wife is worse than no wife
Okay
So having a prudent wife though, that's from the Lord so this is a blessing and a cursing of a wife
Go to Proverbs chapter 24
The Bible says in Ephesians chapter number five, I'll read for you
Wherefore he saith awake thou that sleepest and arise from the dead and Christ shall give thee light
You know, I'm trying to do wake you up a little bit
Arise out of your sleep and your slumber has some goals. Why don't you have some vision for your life?
You say I have no idea what I'm gonna do tomorrow. I have no idea what I'm gonna do next year
I have no idea what I'm gonna do five years from now. Sounds like you're gonna take a lot of naps
What I'm thinking, you know what if you actually have some goal and some vision and some ideas
You're gonna accomplish a lot more for God and you can rest when you're in heaven, you know, Jesus Christ our Sabbath
He's our rest, you know got some nice padded chairs this morning
So you can sit there
I mean, I'm not making you stand during the service some people make you stand during the whole reading of the Bible
You know then through the songs you're getting to sit here. Just listening to the Word of God
Look at Proverbs 24 verse 30
I went by the field of the slothful and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding
Lo
It was all grown over with thorns and nettles and covered the face thereof and the stone wall thereof was broken down
Then I saw and considered it. Well, I looked upon it and received instruction
Destruction
Yet a little sleep a little slumber a little folding of the hands to sleep
So should I poverty come as one that travelth and thy want is an armed man. So we see a guy
He walks by the sluggard. He walks by the slothful guy
He sees his vineyard and it's not kept up. His house is a mess. His house is a wreck
Everything in this guy's life is dirty and gross and it's not taken care of
It's been negligent and this guy says I'm gonna learn from that
I'm gonna learn you know when I take my kids to the trailer park area to go soul winning they can learn from the bad
Example of all these people that like to live in their own filth
Some people love to live in filth and you know what you can look at that and you can say I don't want to do that
I don't want to be that person. He received instruction and what he wants to change his ways
He's not even as bad as this person but he's just looking at how
Disgusting it is that this person likes the love in their own filth
He's like I want to make sure I'm taking care of my stuff that people aren't walking by my vineyard and being like oh look
At this guy. Look at this guy's house. Look at this guy's car. Look at this guy's clothes
Look at this guy doesn't take care of anything. He's so negligent and slothful and lazy and a sluggard
And look at this your poverty is gonna come upon you
Like the person that's poor does not work hard
You say ah, there's this is really hard-working people that are just so poor
Okay, don't believe you, you know, the people that work really hard are not living in abject poverty
They're not living in filth now
Obviously not every single person has the same amount of money and you know
The Bible says having food and climate let us be there with content
So poverty according to the Bible in my opinion is not you living in a five-car garage house
Okay, but you have food on the table. You have clothing you're well-to-do. You're not living in filth
You're not struggling to pay your bills
You can make it and the person that works really hard is not going to struggle to make it in America today
Now we also see this this guy had a vineyard
But what does he do with it?
He wastes it
He had this opportunity to produce something with this vineyard
But he wasted it go to Proverbs chapter 18 now and we see the second attribute of a slothful sluggard
Is they're wasteful
They waste the things that they have they're not diligent with the things that have been given unto him having a vineyards great
I mean this guy has a great opportunity
He has great resources, but he wastes them. He does not use them
Proverbs 18 verse 9. He also that is slothful in his work his brother to him. That is a great
Waster saying what the guy that slothful will not use that which he has
He will he will just ruin things you'll give him something and he'll waste it
You know you go give a bum some food today. They'll take a bite out of it and throw it on the ground
It was wasted that I'm so hungry. I'm just so starving
Okay, here's a banana. Huh?
That here's some celery
Don't want that here's some carrots look the Bible says the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet
If they were truly hungry look you think that if I take carrots and bananas and apples
To children in Africa that are really starving that they wouldn't eat them. They would love it. They would eat the core
Okay, so these people that are on the these bombs on the street corner guess what they're not hungry
Because they just they just waste it. There's trash everywhere
They don't want to eat it and look it's because they're slothful
Wake up today
The bomb on the corner is not the person the Bible's constantly telling you to help out and feed and love and take care of
No, that's your brother in church. That's hard-working, and he's struggling to get by for whatever reason
That's the version of us to love and care for and take you know appreciation of not this derelict bum that refuses to work
He's a slothful slugger look at Ecclesiastes go to the Ecclesiastes chapter number 10
Ecclesiastes chapter 10, I'll tell you about the sloth again. We're talking about sloths, right?
Let's go back and learn some more about sloths. Well. It says that sloths
Their newborns stay with the mother for about five months
But it says this in some cases young sloths die
from a fall indirectly because the mothers prove
Unwilling to leave the safety of the trees to retrieve the young the
Basically from science we learn that a sloth will produce a baby
And they'll be in the tree and the baby will fall down and the baby doesn't die from the fall
So it's still alive
But the mother is too lazy
To climb down the tree and just get her baby and carry it back up
So the baby just lays there unprotected and a predator come by and kill it
Will take care of it and kill it why because she's too negligent with the things that she's been given
She's just a waster. She's been given a child
Something so precious so valuable, and they just waste it they don't even want to take care of it
Look at Ecclesiastes chapter 10 verse 18
by much slothfulness
The building decayeth and through idleness of the hands the house
Droppeth through now go back to Proverbs chapter number 9
So you say how come our house?
You know is falling through well sounds like you're not taking care of it sounds like you're not maintaining it
You know that's why some people like to rent as they say I don't have to maintain my property right, but if you own a house
You got to fix it you got to work on it. I have these fence posts man one falls over every single day
I mean I might as well just go get a whole bunch of screws and just fix all the fence posts because every day
One is falling over from the wind. It's just ridiculous. I mean I fix one free fall down
I'm like what let's who put this fence together. It's like put together with gum or something. I mean what's happening?
Houses fall apart things break down things don't get better over time they get worse over time
So you got to constantly fix it and prove it and work on it
But not only could this apply to our physical house
The Bible uses the word house for a lot of things doesn't it look at Proverbs 9 verse 1 wisdom hath builded her house
She hath who nor out seven pillars now
What's the famous verse that we love in this church act 16 verse 31 right and they said believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
And thou shalt be saved in thy
house
What is he talking about if you get saved and your physical dwelling gets saved too
No, he's talking about the people in your house
He's talking about a family and you know what there's people that will neglect their family and their
Family will be destroyed their family will ruin their family will decay
They're a great waster of the resources that they've been given if you look at most old
IFB churches today, what will you find a bunch of old people?
You know what they wasted their children none of their children want to come to that church
None of their children are interested in serving God none of their children are King James only Bible believing Christians. Why?
Because they wasted their opportunity with their children the Bible says train up a child the way you should go and he's old
He will not depart from it. You know why children don't go to the church that their parents took them to
Because the parents did not teach him the Bible because the parents were not faithful because the parents wasted the opportunity
Of their children, you know, we just we just showed the church sometimes whenever we feel like it
We don't ever read the Bible ourselves. We don't know anything. We don't go soul winning
We don't participate in anything and then the kids they just want to go to the cool church
The one that gets some copy or they just hate church because they saw the hypocrisy of their parents and they hated it so much
They decide they don't want to go to church
But how about this how about if you just don't take care of your children, what does that sound like well
I mean, I encourage homeschooling, but here's the thing
Most people are what lazy
Most people are slawful by nature. And so when I encourage
Homeschooling some people here. Oh, okay. That just means keep my kids home. No
That means
Teaching and training your kids. It's hard work
And you know a lot of times people get homeschooling a bad name because they don't teach their children
They just keep them away from school
Look, that's not how your kids are gonna grow up to be good people
Your children are going to be you know, well educated and smart because you teach and train them. I want to replace
You teaching them then the government teaching them. I don't want to just take away teaching
I don't want to just take away, you know, the public fool system and replace it with nothing. It's called unschooling
It's where you just don't do anything and look if you don't have plans
If you don't have goals, if you don't have any vision for homeschooling you will fail
You can't wake up in the morning and say I guess we'll just learn something maybe no you need a plan curriculum
You need to have goals. You need to have vision and look anytime a parent does this
It's always gonna be better, but if they're slothful, hey, let's just sleep in
Let's just hang out and do whatever we want watch the TV and we'll just you know
Just go run some errands. Look your kids will be stupid and I don't want to raise a church of stupid people
So hey if you're gonna homeschool teach them train them be diligent about it get a curriculum
Get some ideas get some vision have some goals look the public full system
They say hey at the end of this year
They have to know this and this and this and here's the test that they're supposed to pass and here's all these you know
Standards and curriculum look I'm afford that have some goals have some vision say hey at the end of this year
They better know X Y & Z. They better be able to read they better able to write they better be able to pass this arithmetic
They better do all of these type of things if you don't have that you're basically wasting it aren't you just wasting your children
God's giving you all these children. He's blessing you with this opportunity and you're just saying I don't want it
I'm just gonna let the house decay and wax old because I don't love my children go to Proverbs chapter 13
You know being a parent is a full-time job
You say it's hard. Well, I wouldn't want you to do anything hard. Would I let's just take a nap
Let's just let's just all go home and sleep because isn't that let's not be like the aunt
Let's be like the sloth right where we can just find a comfy position
Where we don't even have to put any, you know effort in and we can just die that way
Right, is that what we want to be? No, I want to be like the aunt I
Want to be thinking about things that are gonna happen in the future look at Proverbs 13 verse 24
He that spareth his rod
Hated his son, but he got love of them chasing at the times if you do not spank your children you hate them
I'm serious. If you're not spanking your children on a regular basis you hate them and
Look my children mess up and guess what?
I'm gonna use the rod of correction on them because I love them and you know, I see people all the time
Their kids are horrible. They're being super disrespectful and they never get a spanking
Look if you love your kids you use that bathroom and you teach them a lesson you go to the car you take them home
Wherever you need to do it, but you better apply the rod of correction because you love your children
And
Look if my children misbehave it's gonna happen and they're gonna misbehave. Trust me. I've been around them
I'm still working on it. Look go to go to Proverbs 22
If we want to have a church that people actually enjoy you got to discipline your children
I don't want to come to a church nursery for church
I want to come to a place where parents actually rule their children
Where they actually apply the rod of correction where the child can actually sit through the service and
quietly listen
quietly pay attention to the servant
Look at look at Proverbs 22 verse 15
Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child, but the rod of correction shall drive it far from them
You know what when a kid screams, I don't get mad at that kid
When a kid misbehaves, I'm not upset with the kid. You know when a kid does something foolish
I'm not upset with that children ever. I
Virtually never you know, I think about the parent and you know what I get mad at
When the parent doesn't discipline them, I don't even get mad that it happened
Things are gonna happen your kids are gonna mess up
My kids are gonna mess up, but then when you don't deal with the situation, that's what's frustrating
You ever been to Walmart and the kids kicking and screaming on the floor that doesn't upset me
You know what upsets me get off the floor come on one
I'm gonna count to three one
two and a half
Come on. Will you please get off the floor? Come on. I'll give you the candy now. Will you take the kid?
I don't want anymore. I don't want the candy. I'm getting really mad
Not because of the kid because the parent won't punish the child and you see parents
They're holding their kid and they're kicking and screaming and flailing and saying I hate you and hitting the parent Wow
You would get beat hardcore from me and look there's children
They're disrespectful to other parents in the in the church or out in public
They're there, you know doing things that are wrong. You better be punishing them
And look, I'm not against you telling them giving them instruction
We should we should explain why they're getting punished
But you know what a two-year-old a three-year-old a five-year-old many times doesn't understand it
You know what? They understand. Wow. My bottom is lit up like a Christmas tree. I don't want to do that again
Well that hurt and guess what? It should hurt if it doesn't hurt you're not doing it, right?
It's got to hurt. They better cry go to Proverbs 23. Look at verse 13
Withhold not correction from the child
For if thou tellest him kindly
Nope, for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die
Thou shalt beat him with the rod and shall deliver his soul from hell
So obviously we're not talking about physically injuring the child because according this if you're doing it, right? They can't die from it
I mean you're not inflicting, you know any permanent damage on the child, but it better be temporary damage
It better feel it better. They better feel it and look obviously, you know a six-month-old
I'm not gonna apply the rod of correction
Okay
The six-month-old doesn't get anything
All right
But as they get older as they get to a point in which you can instruct them you can apply it physical discipline
You better do it and the Bible says but times meaning early early and often
I want to get that foolishness out as quickly as possible
I don't want to wait until they're a teenager and they hate me because then you know all hell's gonna break loose
Look, I want them to be well disciplined as early as possible
So they can sit through the sermon so they can hear God's Word so that they cannot be turned into hell
The Bible says look if you don't do it, you're literally risking your child's life to hell
The parents that don't spank their children are trying to get their children to go to hell and look these liberal
Libtards that you know hate the government and hate all authority and don't want to respond to any kind of correction
They're very subject to hell
They don't want oh you tell them. Hey, you know, we all deserve hell. I don't deserve hell. I don't deserve anything bad
I'm good
And I'm special and tell me how awesome I am and how unique I am
Even though I'm a disgusting filthy pervert and I want to cram it down your throat. Look I'm not for it go to Matthew 25
You say are you preaching this about me? Well if you have kids, yes
Every single one of them I'm preaching myself. All right, I'm preaching to every single person because the Proverbs applies to everyone
It doesn't apply to one person applies to everybody
But clean up after yourself clean up after your children. Don't be so negligent
Don't be a problem in the church be a solution say hey, I'm not even gonna clean up after my kids
I'm gonna clean up after other kids
Because I just love the church so much because I'm so diligent because I care so much
But when your kids make a big mess and you just say oh that's unfortunate I'm gonna walk away from that
What nobody wants to be around that nobody likes that nobody wants to visit a church where it's run by the children
You know, it should be running the church the men
The men of the house should be running the hat the the house of God and then the women should be taking care of their
children
Look at Matthew 25 verse 26
His Lord answered and said in them thou wicked and slothful servant thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not and gathered where I've
Not strode now in this this is the parable of the talents
He gives one guy five gives another two then he gives another one and another one
He gives him ten five and one it's basically the same story, but the guy that gets the one
He's so ungrateful about the one. He just buries it. He doesn't even try to produce any more from that
He doesn't try to make it fruitful. He doesn't try to reproduce it
He just goes and buries it and when the Lord returns he says
What you didn't even take it to the bank and give me some usury on it
He says that wicked and slothful servant, you know, the reality is
God could say this about two areas of our children
Your physical children not only that your spiritual children, too
If you don't take care of the children
God gave you if you're if you're a great waster of your children
God is looking at you saying you slothful sluggard you wicked and slothful servant. You better take care of that child
I blessed you with that I gave you not only that. How about your spiritual children?
Oh, I don't want to get anybody saved. I mean I'm saved I
Have the gospel. I have the greatest gift known to man the person next to me at the supermarket
The person that lives next door to me is gonna burn and hell for all of eternity, but I'm just gonna bury it. I
Don't want to preach the gospel because I'm so slothful and wicked and look there's so many Christians today
They've never given one person the gospel in their life
They've never gotten one person saved
They've never even tried to get one person saved. They've never been a silent partner one time in their life
He got saying you're a wicked and slothful servant if Christ were to come down and stare you in the face
What would he say?
Is he looking at an ant or is he looking at the slothful sluggard and the reality is this is how God feels right now
You say you're mean pastor Shelley
Got a first John chapter 2 go to 1st John chapter number 2
The Bible says in Romans chapter 12 not slothful and business
Remember that that's the next week's verse. All right, not slothful and business should have been this week Hebrews 6 verse 12
They ye be not slothful
but followers of them who through faith and patience near the promises judges chapter 18 when he's talking about the children of Israel entering in the
Promised Land being faithful Christians walking in the Spirit doing God's commandments
He says that they should not be slothful to go and to enter and possess the field that God has already won for them
Look the Bible says in Mark chapter 16 go ye in all the world and preach the gospel to every creature
You have the greatest gift and you know what you're selfish if you never preach the gospel
Hey, everybody over here is dying and going to hell and there's a free gift
It's super easy
All you have to do is receive it and you'll be saved from the most worst the worst punishment imaginable
But I'm not going to tell you I'm gonna go take it myself and hide it and bury it
I don't I just hate everybody else. I'm so slothful and wicked
Look at 1st John chapter number 2
Verse 26 these things are written unto you concerning them that seduce you
But the anointing which you received him abideth in you need not that any man teach you
But as the same anointing teach you of all things in his truth and is no lie
And even that it taught you ye shall abide in him and now little children Biden him that when he shall appear
we may have
Confidence and not be ashamed before him at his coming if he know that he is righteous
You know that everyone that do with righteousness is born of him. Look right now
If you were to stand before Christ, you would either be greatly ashamed or you would have confidence
But the reality is even though he's not here yet. You're in that status
So here's my question. How confident are you to stand before the Lord Jesus Christ right now?
Do you really want to tally up all your works right now and account everything or do you want to say? Hey, maybe?
2019 I could do a little bit better. I could have a little bit more confidence toward Christ
Why because if I don't warn you you will stand before Christ one day and you will be greatly ashamed
He'll say hey, what'd you do with that talent? I gave you remember that great gift. I gave you everlasting life
Hey, what'd you do with that? I buried it. I
Did nothing with it. I never preached the gospel to anybody because apparently I just hate people
Apparently I'm so selfish and so lazy and so slothful and look most churches today
They're not telling anybody to preach the gospel to anyone
Why because they don't care about that then I have any vision
The Bible says death and life are in the power of the tongue and they that love it shall eat the fruit
They are you have the power to save somebody this afternoon. That sounds like a good day to take a nap
It's cold
It's rainy
tired I
Don't have any goals. I don't even vision
What was matter look Christ is gonna be greatly ashamed of you
You think he wanted to crawl up on that cross and die for you and go to hell for three days and three nights
No, he was sweating as great drops of blood
He was agonizing the the shame of that and you can't even go out and share the best gift known to man
And you know, we have so much wealth in this country. We have so much blessing you can wear a coat
You can wear a hat. I mean you can get an umbrella
Look, I'm gonna go out and preach the gospel this afternoon. Why because I don't want Christ to be ashamed of me
I don't want Christ to be ashamed of you
Go to Proverbs 22 now
Proverbs chapter number 22
And look most people, you know why they do it because the Masters away
It's kind of hard to do it in his presence. You know, if Christ was literally following you around everywhere you went
You probably changed some of your behaviors wouldn't you? I mean think about it if Christ is sitting here
He's just right here, you know sitting by Eli and he's like hey
Brother track you gonna go soloing with me today
What do you think you'd say the Lord Jesus Christ? I mean, but guess what he is here
He is watching your action. It's just you're not aware of it and look when the Masters away
You should still do that, which is right. She should still be a good servant and
Obviously we have lies we have things that we have to do. I'm not trying to browbeat you this morning
I'm not trying to make you do something you don't want to do
But at the same time I want you to have the right realization of what the Bible teaches
I want you to have the right opinion and viewpoint and perspective of oh, wow. Christ is watching ever see one of my actions
Maybe I should change a few of them
Look at powers 22 verse 13
The slothful man saith there is a lion without I shall be slain in the streets. It's it's raining pastor
It's cold out there. I mean look the slothful guy. He's gonna come up with excuses
He has every excuse in the book not to preach the gospel and this is why my third point of a slothful sluggard is
that they're
Frustrating to work with you do not want to work with this type of person. It's so frustrating. It's so annoying
I don't want to deal with it. Like there's so many people
With so many time virtually we're gonna you show up and you go with us
I'm not gonna sit here and hold someone's hand to go out and preach the gospel. Okay, I'm not gonna pick you up and carry you
Now look I'm gonna try and help people as much as possible
But it's annoying when you have to carry somebody all the way to finish line
It's annoying when you have to take them on your back
It's annoying when you hand them a map or you give them clear instruction. I don't know where to go
I don't know what I'm doing. I'm just so helpless. I'm so slothful and lazy. I can't even follow some simple instructions
I wasn't paying attention when you were speaking to me
How many times I have to tell people something right? I don't want to have to do it
It's frustrating isn't that frustrating when you tell somebody to do something they don't do it
Oh wait, every parent feels this way with their kids, don't they?
It's the same with anything your employer doesn't like it when you have to tell him multiple times
If you give your employers constantly giving you the same instructions over and over. Let me tell you a secret. He's frustrated with you
Sure. He thinks you're slothful and lazy. He wants you to fix it
Why don't you why don't you take the instructions the one time and then do it?
Look up go to Proverbs 26. I have you turn there
Proverbs chapter 26
I'll read for you in Proverbs 19
It says a slothful man hideth his hand in his bosom and will not so much as bring it to his mouth again now
It's interesting because Proverbs 22 and 19 they combine together and then he says the exact same thing in Proverbs 26
So it must be important
Look at Proverbs 26 verse 12 seeest thou a man wise in his own conceit
There's more hope of a fool than him the slothful man sayeth
There is a lion in the way a lion is in the streets as the door turneth upon his hinges
So does the slothful upon his bed the slothful hide of his hand in his bosom it grieve with him to bring it to his
Mouth again, the sluggard is wiser in his own conceit than seven men that can render a reason
This guy is laying in his bed
Just tossing and turning. Oh, just laying here. How does he know there's a lion in the street?
I mean what in the world this guy's coming up with the most ridiculous excuses. Have you ever worked with a guy?
They come to work late. They they blow off work and they try to come up with some excuse. Yeah
I was like driving and then I got you know
My flat tire and then you know aliens abducted my friend and then you know, it's like what are you talking about?
Just just say they were a slothful lazy person, you know, just admit it, you know, they can't admit it though
They have to come up with some stupid excuse. Oh, there was a lion in the street, you know
Oh, I couldn't get my shirt
You know, it's caught in the dryer and then my dog ate it and then you know
I had to go buy another shirt and every store was closed and it's like they're just making stuff up
There's a pathological liar because they've had to try to cover for their slothful actions every single time
He needs to be spoon-fed, you know in the slothful person at work
They won't just do work
You have to tell them everything you say hey go clean that up over there and and they say like this section
or how much of it or what do you want to do with this or
Can you show me how to put it in the trash can and you know, is this obvious trash?
Should I put this in there? Oh, I didn't know you actually meant clean up the floor
I thought you meant just tidy it around
Okay, like you just have to sit there and tell them every single little detail and point. It's so frustrating
It's so difficult
Look, I even try to you know, provide people with things of the gospel
Okay, but at this at the end of the day I'm not gonna be your mouthpiece
I'm not gonna tell you every little word and every little phrase and every little sentence. You got to figure that out yourself
Why don't you don't you know the gospel aren't you saved? What did you hear? Just repeat that back?
Hey didn't Jesus Christ die on the cross your sins. Don't you have a little bit of zeal in your heart?
Aren't you excited? I mean, hey Jesus Christ made all my sins. Let me tell you all about it. You have nothing to say
What did you believe? What did you trust in? What does the Bible say? Learn some verses memorize some of the Bible
Go to Proverbs chapter 10
And look I'm not mad at anybody in this room I'm just telling you these things because other people feel this way
Everybody feels this way
People in this church feel this way your boss feels this way your in-laws feel this way your spouse feels this way your kids feel
This way your parents, I mean everybody feels this way and so it's important to just say it sometimes
So you realize wake up a little bit have and you know, you should be thinking of in this sermon yourself
Not your spouse not your kids not the person on the aisles next to you. Not somebody in the back
Not somebody didn't show up
But the Bible says in Proverbs 10 verse 26 as vinegar to the teeth and a smoke to the eyes
So is the slugger to them that send him it says it's so it's so hurtful
It's so painful to work with this type of person. It's like smoke in your eyes
Now if you have smoke in your eyes, we've ever had that it stings it hurts. You immediately want to get away
You're just like ah, I mean, it's so painful
It's like that if you have this person working with you you it you're like
I don't want to give you any work to do. I'm gonna have to sit here and hold your hand
I might as well just do it myself and that's what most people do
When you have a slothful sluggard person you just decide I'm just gonna do myself
I'll just I'll just try to get it done
It'd be like me trying to motivate every single church in Houston to go out and preach the gospel. I'm just gonna do it myself
I'm not gonna try and get you out there. That's it's impossible
You're so slothful and lazy and sluggish and most of you are unsaved if not ninety nine point nine percent of you
I'm just gonna go out do it myself
You know, it's also
Frustrating about these people is they're always late
You know who's late?
Slothful sluggish people now, why were people slothful and sluggish what I say because they have no plans
You know how you show up somewhere on time?
You actually think about it you say hey, I want to be at church at
1015 because service starts at 1030. So then you know how you do this you decide when you want to show up
If you don't want to be late somewhere you say I want to be here at 10 15 10 20 10 10, whatever
10 15. All right, then you say how long does it take for me to get there from my house? Oh
It takes 30 minutes
That means I have to leave at 945 don't I if I actually want to show up on time?
I have to leave at 945 then you have to think well, how long does it take for me to get ready? Oh
It takes 30 minutes. That means I have to start getting ready at 915
And guess what if you want to go show up to church on time you have to wake up before 915
You know how people oh, well, what does the slugger do? I'm just gonna keep sleeping
Just keeping the snooze button and
No plan no idea. No, no thought process. No anything
Just I just want to show up late to everything in my life because I have no plans. No thoughts. No guidance
I'm not like the aunt. I just love sleeping. I love just laying around doing whatever not thinking about it
This is why people are late. And if you're late to everything, I guarantee you didn't plan it
I guarantee you didn't think about it now, obviously some of us have more obstacles than others
I mean if you got a bunch of young children, it's a lot more difficult, but and none of us are perfect
I'm late to sometimes the things but you know what if it's a constant pattern if it's constant habit
You have to realize this is how I'm gonna fix it. I'm actually think about it plan it make an effort
What if everybody showed up to church late?
Would that be great wouldn't it be great if I'm just up here singing by myself all the songs and the announce
Hey, let's time for announcements
Hey, who wants to volunteer? Oh, nobody's here. Nobody's doing anything
You know, what if everybody just goes and uses the bathroom at the same time?
Okay, can you not hold I mean do I ever use the bathroom? Hey, wait a minute y'all just turn somewhere
I'm gonna go run to the bathroom real quick. Look. There's some people they use the bathroom every service
It's like what in the world? Can you not hold it for like five minutes?
I mean what's going on look and I'm not saying you really got to use the bathroom if you really have to use the bathroom
Use the bathroom. I'm not against using bathroom, but I'm just saying look the slopple slugger person
He's just looking for an excuse to do anything else an excuse to do anything
But work you you ever work with this type of person on the job
They just want to talk or do any anything but working they want to do they're interested in
They want to try and do they're late to everything. This is why they're constantly fired because they're constantly late. They're not doing anything
They're not working hard
Go if you would to Proverbs chapter 12, like it's frustrating when you neglect everything. What if everybody
Children were all screaming at the same time and all the parents are doing nothing about it
They're just sitting there just like whatever
Wouldn't that be great?
Wouldn't you just love it if all the kids just started screaming? I would not like that
I would not appreciate that just as much as you wouldn't I wouldn't and so obviously
We should all be diligent what we're doing. The Bible says the way of the slothful man is a hedge of thorns
But the way of the righteous is made plain. You know what the life of a sluggard is hard
That's my fourth point I'm gonna go through these last two pretty quickly, but
Look, if you're a slothful sluggard person your life's gonna suck
I'm you say man, you're so mean and so awful. Look, I'm trying to give you a better life
You know Joel's things trying to give you a better life by trying to get rich
I want you to be have a better life by not being a slothful sluggard by not being late to everything
By not having so many excuses by actually having confidence that what you're doing the Lord's pleased with it
There's people who live their whole lives trying to please God and they don't please them at all
Because all the things that they're doing are wrong. They're not doing it according to the Bible. They go to church every single week
They're involved in the choir program and they're involved. They do all these they clean the church
They did all these things but God's just like why won't you just go out and preach the gospel one time?
Why don't you just open your Bible? Why don't you follow the commandments? Why don't you raise your children to come to church?
You know, there's parents. They'll volunteer in the children's church. I
Think they're volunteering in the children's church for decades and then their kids don't come to church
Talk about neglecting your own vineyard. Talk about neglecting the thing in your in your life. It's ridiculous
And look sloths they have hard lives. I don't want to live the life of the sloth
He's a constant, you know victim to many predators. It says not only this sloths their fur hosts
Symbiotic algae look because they're just laying on the tree for so long and motionless states
Algae from the tree grows on them. They start turning green
Literally you look at the back. That's why it's called moss back sloth
You know, I because literally the algae will grow on their back. You know, it also comes with algae
It's a small ecosystem of its own housing all kinds of things like bugs
Sandflies mosquitoes lice ticks mites blood-sucking flies and look slothful people
Will be taken advantage of by lots of wicked people, you know wicked people prey on the slothful, you know
They're not really interested in the guy that's real diligent. That's paying attention
That's awake that knows about his surroundings. They try to prey on the weak
They try to prey on those that can't even take care of themselves. They're just gonna lay there
You come and rob them blind. They're just laying there. Those are lying in the streets
I'm like, you know, I can't do anything. Look the diligent man is gonna protect that which he has look at Proverbs 12 verse 24
the hand of the diligent shall bear rule, but the slothful shall be under tribute if
You want to be heavily oppressed be lazy, you know why America is so oppressed today because they're so lazy
They don't want to work if everybody in America
Wanted to work and wanted to work hard. Our government would not be so terrible
You know why our government so awful because there's so many lazy slothful people
Just trying to you know, get the government to help them out
You know what? That's like it's like a bunch of blood-sucking flies and lice and ticks and maggots
That's what the government is with all their stupid programs
Like I looked it up
You can't even believe
How many taxes we have in this country? I found a list it has
97 different taxes
that we pay in America and I thought of one immediately that wasn't even on this list because recently I
Went to the Fort Worth to stay in a hotel and on the sheet. It has a tourism tax
I have to pay 2% just for going to this hotel
Tourist tax how great is that? How wonderful I get to be oppressed where the 2% toilet tax
Here's some other ones air
Transportation tax just flying a plane taxed. I mean, you know biodiesel fuel tax buying gas
Taxed capital gains tax. That means you buy a piece of property and the value of it increases and you sell it
Oh, well, we better tax you on that. I mean we wouldn't want you to actually make some money
Fishing license just providing yourself some food. Oh, we better tax you on that one garbage tax
What throwing away my trash I mean the government's just thinking what are things people do well tax that you know pretty soon
Well breathing tax. Yes, you think I'm lying. I mean all this air is real precious. It's you know
The property of the government. So you're taking some of our air we better start taxing on that
Gift taxes the government ruins gifts. You can't even just receive a gift. You have to pay a tax on it
anything over ten thousand dollars cash
Automatically taxed by the government
I mean you go on these people go on these TV shows and win all these prizes
They're you know consolation prize. They get to pay all these taxes to the government. Yeah, you win a car
It's like I want a car
Hey, do you have $10,000 to give the government?
No
So that you know what they do they have to sell the car and then try to just get the half of the money or
Whatever they lost from the gift tax
You don't even get to enjoy the gifts that you get because the government so oppressive in this country owning a gun tax
Hotel tax property tax. I hate property tax man. I have to pay so much money in property taxes
Even if I just own my home, it's like I have to pay like 700 bucks a month just to live in it
It's like what in the world?
Toll booth taxes. Oh, don't get me started on that one school taxes
I'm not even gonna use the public school one time in this area never and I have to pay for it
Talk about oppression tanning taxes
Getting a 10. I think I don't recommend that but I'm just like look at the impression
tire recycling fees tire taxes water rights
I mean just anything the government can put there's their little tentacles in and the little parasites is he's gonna take from you
Why?
It's because we're slothful
It's because we're just hanging on the tree and we don't want to work
So we let all these parasites come on our back and just live on our back
The government just wants to parasite your back because all the lot the slothful lazy people. Here's my last point go to private 21
We're almost done
When you're a slothful
sluggish lazy person
You will be filled with covetousness
It's a dangerous road to go down look at powers 21 verse 25 the desire of the sloth will kill them
For his hands refused to labor
He covetous greedily all the day long, but the righteous giveth and spareth not
You know when you're not wanting to buy stuff when you're working
You know when you have nothing to do we're just laying around you just desire to buy that's why these rich people
They don't have to work. They just constantly wanting to bike stuff
Buy a car buy a boat buy a house and then all of a sudden they have no money all of a sudden
They're completely broke and they're like now I have a bunch of junk in my house
I didn't want because they're just laying around doing nothing when you're lazy when you're slothful all you have to do
Let's just shop I guess
Let's just think about all the things. I don't have let me just desire things that I don't possess
So I'm just going to be so you know covetous because I'm so lazy
Laziness breeds covetousness when you work hard you're content with the things you have
When you work hard all day, and you come home
You're just content to go to bed when you're slothful lazy have nothing to do you just constantly desire
All you all you have time for is just to think about the things you don't have and you know lots of people
They'll claim that they'll work hard if they had something they don't right
They say oh if I had a really nice house, then I clean it no you wouldn't
Hey, if I had if I had that really cool tool, then I'd build something nope
Man, if I had that really nice you know
a
Nail gun with the compressor then I'd fix my fence no
Either what you'd fix it with the hammer nails or you wouldn't fix it look just because you have nice stuff
Doesn't make you a better person in fact having nice stuff usually accentuates your worst attributes
That's why people that win the lottery man is just worse the guy that's kind of a drunk
He wins the lottery now
He's a full-blown alcoholic like it just accentuates all of your lust and greed because you become more covetous
It makes you worse of a person go to 1st Timothy chapter 5 the last places. We'll look at
The Bible says the soul of the slugger desireth and hath nothing but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat
You want to have nice things work hard?
You want to you want to be slothful and lazy and full of covetousness don't do anything
Just lay around all day and dream about your fancy mansion that you're never gonna have
Dream about your Corvette that you're never gonna drive down the road
Think about all the all the things that you don't have the lusts of the flesh that you just desire to have
First Timothy chapter 5 verse 13 and with all they learn to be idle
Wandering about from house to house and not only idle
But Tatler's also in busybodies speaking things which they ought not it's talking about women and it's saying when women have nothing to do
They get into trouble what this is true for everybody
When you're idle you get into sin and you get into wicked sin and that sin gets into more sin
Look you want to avoid sin get busy
Hey, what are you doing this afternoon? I'm gonna go out soul-winning. I'm gonna avoid
temptations of all kinds of sin
Look if I'm busy at work if I'm busy, you know raising a family if my wife's busy
Instructing the children and cooking and cleaning. She'll avoid a lot of sin in her life
If a woman just sits around and does nothing it's gonna be sin after sin
She's gonna neglect the kids the kids won't be disciplined the kids will be awful
She's not gonna teach and train the children. They're not gonna be well-fed
They're gonna have a bad example. They're not gonna want to live the same life as their parents
They're gonna hate grow up and despise their parents, you know children whose parents are lost lazy and slothful
They know they pay attention. They recognize that and they say oh man. I don't like that
I don't want to be around them. They grow up and despise their parents when they're old enough to understand it
You want your children to love you?
Put some energy and effort into them. You know why people love people because they did stuff for them
You you know a man that have friends must show himself friendly, you know
You don't think of somebody as a great friend that never did anything from me man
This is his blood sucking parasite of a friend, but he's just great. I just love him
Yeah, every time I'm around him
He just wants me to buy him lunch and tell him how great he is and just talk about all the things that he likes
That's not a good friend, you know
And if you want to have good children, you got a poor you got a poor time and energy and effort into them
Look at flip over just look at chapter 6 last verse look at verse 9
But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare and into any foolish and hurtful lust
Which drown men in destruction and perdition
For the love of money is the root of all evil
Which while some coveted after they've aired from the faith and pierce themselves through with many sorrows according to the Bible
covetousness is
Basically the worst sin because the love of money is the root of all evil
But you know how you build and fester a lot of covetousness in your life
By being slothful, you know
I can think of many times in my life where being lazy caused me to commit other sin
Caused me to do bad things wicked things just things that I regret because I was so slothful
So lazy if you would just work hard you would reduce a lot of the sin in your life
It would be a better life for you. You say I want to avoid this love of money. We'll start working hard
Get something to do have some plan have some vision, you know, some people would say man
I would you know be really kind to my wife if she was someone else
No, you wouldn't
No, why don't you stop thinking about the things you don't have and start thinking about the things you do have and guess what?
One of the things you have is the gospel
Why don't you start using it? Why don't you start making some plans having some goals having some direction?
Look, I can't make plans for you. I can't make goals for you
Hey, if you're planning, you know events in the church in the future, you'll probably still be in church
Won't you?
You know making plans in the future is going to help you get to the place that you want to be if you have no
Plans if you have no direction, you'll end up with your life a shame before Christ
Let's close in prayer
Thank you father so much for your word. Thank you so much for your Commandments
Thank you for giving us such clear instruction about how well you can be wise
I prayed that everybody in this room would decide not to get offended
By anything that was preached or by your word
But rather they would decide hey, I should consider this and maybe make some changes
Make some goals make some plans
Try to serve you be a good servant
And thank you so much for all the things that you've blessed us with a good receiver of a gift is one who uses it
I pray that we would use the gifts and callings that the Lord has given us
Praise to his name for what he's given us in Jesus name we pray. Amen