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Amen, all right. We're there in first Samba chapter number 13 and of course tonight. We are in a series called Undisciplined we started a brand new series last Sunday night And we're looking at these different areas where people tend to be a little undisciplined and the last week We looked at laziness and this week We're looking at the subject of we're studying and looking at in the Bible to this idea of a tardiness or being late or the lack of being punctual Over the next several weeks as we continue through the series. We're going to talk about being undisciplined with our words We're going to talk about gluttony. We're going to talk about all sorts of things that have to do with on being undisciplined but tonight I want to speak to you on this subject of tardiness or being late and when we talk about being late There's probably I would say the most well-known story in the entire Bible Where somebody was late was this story first time in chapter 13 where the prophet Samuel? Was late now for some of you who? Tend to be late You're a little relieved because Samuel is actually the good guy in the story and but I want you to notice I just think it's an interesting story is the most famous story in the Bible in regards to someone not showing up at The time that they were supposed to notice there in first time of 13 in verse 5 The Bible says this and the Philistines gathered themselves together to fight with Israel 30,000 chariots and 6,000 horsemen and people as the sand which is on the seashore in multitude and they came up and pitched in Micmash eastward from Beth haven of course we have Saul who His enemies are preparing to go to battle against him and they are gathering 30,000 chariots 6,000 horsemen people as the sand is what the Bible says and Saul's soldiers are fearful at this site notice verse 6 when the men of Israel saw that they were in a straight the word straight means in a narrow or limited passage or space It says for the people were distressed then the people did hide themselves in caves and in thickets and in rocks and in high places and in pits and some of The Hebrews went over to Jordan to the land of Gad and get lead as for Saul He was yet in Gilgal and all the people followed him notice the last part of verse 7 Trembling that is not what you want when you're getting ready to go into battle to have your military men Following you while they're physically trembling This is a bad situation that Saul finds himself in his enemies are preparing against him his soldiers themselves are fearful and Saul felt Like he was wasting his time because not only Were the enemy's gathering not only were his soldiers fearful But his prophet was late notice verse 8 for Samuel 13 and verse 8 and he tarried Seven days and the idea here the word Terry means to take longer Than intended and he tarried seven days according to the set time that Samuel had appointed But Samuel came not to Gilgal and the people were scattered from him The idea is that Samuel prophet was supposed to come and meet Saul and he was supposed to help the people bless the people Pray for the people guide them spiritually and prepare them encourage them to go into battle But Samuel is late to the meeting. In fact, he's seven days late. The Bible says that Paul that Saul tarried Seven days he waited for seven days according to the set time that Samuel had appointed But Samuel came not to Gilgal and the people were scattered So what does Saul do he decides not to wait for Samuel and he did something he should not have done He did something that only Samuel should have done notice verse 9 and Saul said bring hither a burnt offering to me and peace offerings and he offered the burnt offering see Samuel was supposed to show up and Offer this burnt sacrifice in order to bless the people But because Samuel was late Saul decided to do it himself. The problem is that the Bible the Word of God forbade Anybody but the Levites and for the Prophet and for the those that were allowed to do this and Saul Was not allowed to do this. He took it upon himself notice verse 10 and it came to pass I love how the by the Bible is because the Bible it's it's it's so true to human nature isn't this always how it is and it came to pass that as soon as he had made an end of an Offering the burnt offering behold Samuel came isn't that true now how it always is your kid growing up? You know, you're not supposed to do something your parents aren't home and that you know You've been debating it this whole time And as soon as you decide I'm gonna just grab that cookie and it's in your mouth mom walks through the door Right as soon as you make that decision as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering behold Samuel came and Saul went out to meet him and that he might salute him and of course Here we see that Samuel was the one that was late But I do want you to notice that Saul is a very undisciplined man Notice what he does instead of taking responsibility for his actions and taking the consequences for his action He begins to make all sorts of excuses He begins to blame everybody but himself leavers 11 and Samuel said what has thou done and Saul said here's excuse number one because I saw that the people were scattered from me And here's excuse number two and that thou camest not within the days appointed and that verse excuse number three The Philistines gathered themselves together at Micmash Therefore said I the Philistines will come now now upon me to Gilgal and I have not made supplication unto the Lord I I love the words I forced myself Therefore I didn't want to I just I had no other choice, you know, whenever people tell you they don't have another choice There's always like a million other choices. There's all sorts of things you could have done differently He said I forced myself therefore and offered a burnt offering and here Saul makes excuses For his actions. He blames everyone but himself and we see that Samuel was late now Some of you are a little confused you're saying I thought you were preaching about how it's wrong to be late And I am preaching about that tonight I'm preaching on the sin of tardiness and the sin of being late in this story We have the most famous story of somebody being late and it's the Prophet Samuel and Samuel is the good guy I want to begin tonight by just giving you a couple of things just by way of introduction a couple of things that we can learn from this story of Samuel in Regards to being late before I get into all the negative aspects about being late Let me just say a couple of things first of all Sometimes you're going to be late It's unavoidable Sometimes and I'm not talking about this should be a habit that you have but even if you're a very punctual person You're a very disciplined person. You tend to be on time or early to everywhere You need to be sometimes it's gonna it's gonna happen that you're gonna be late You're gonna get an accident. You're gonna have a flat tire You're something's gonna happen and and and and you're going to be late And so when I'm preaching about tardiness tonight I don't want you to think that every time that somebody's late to something they're in sin or they're Undisciplined or they're not right with God because the truth of the matter is that sometimes you're just gonna be late Sometimes your flights gonna get canceled your flights gonna get delayed your flights gonna get Rearranged there. There's gonna be unexpected traffic. There's gonna be emergencies and things that happen it every once in a while We're going to be late We need to understand that he punctual people from time to time are going to be late Samuel was a good man Samuel the Bible tells us traveled a lot He Bible tells us that he that he had a circuit in which he would go and meet with people and perform Sacrifices and minister unto the children of Israel the Bible doesn't tell us here why he was late But I'm sure it was a legitimate reason why he was late. Obviously, he's going into a battlefield There may have been a reason why he was not able to get there when he intended to get there and I want to begin By just saying this sometimes sometimes you're gonna be late and that's okay every once in a while something's gonna happen that is out of your control and you're not going to be able to Make it at the appointed time. Sometimes we're gonna be late however Here's where it gets negative You being late should be a sometime very rare event You say are you preaching about tardiness tonight? Are you preaching about any time? Anyone's ever late? No Because like we learned from Samuel sometimes you're gonna be late But let me say this There is a huge difference There is a world of difference between the person who is normally punctual Who's normally Disciplined who's normally responsible who normally is where they're supposed to be at the time They said they would be there at the time. They're expected there is a world of difference between the person who's normally on time and every once in a while There's a a big emergency or something outside of their control that causes them to be late There's a world of difference between that individual and the person that's always late The person who's habitually late the person who's chronically late the person You know, you you you probably work with somebody like this not for very long I'm sure but you know You have someone like this in your family or you are the someone like this in your family the person that you can just count on them being late You know, you know I'm talking about you tell everybody else the event starts at 7, but you tell this person it starts at 5 So that maybe they'll make it at 7 15 You know the person you can just count on you if you if you have to wager you would just wager they won't be there On time they won't make it on time That person is not the same as the person who's always punctual and every once in a while. Sometimes we're late Tonight I'm preaching on the sin of tardiness I'm not preaching about any random time that any of us may be late because that's gonna happen from time to time but I am Speaking to individuals who are habitually Chronically all of the time it can be counted upon that they're always late Maybe we talked about pride this morning. We said it's it's it's not easy to see it in the mirror I think sometimes tardiness is not easy to see in the mirror Which I don't understand because you just have to look at a clock But obviously you're not look good at looking at a clock if you're always late So, let me just help you out and you're if you're wondering I wonder if I'm chronically Tardy if anyone has ever mentioned it to you you are If they've ever had to sit you down at work and say hey listen you got you guys start getting showing up on time you are If any frustrated family member has always said why are you always late then you are the person I'm talking to tonight You're the person that needs this But let me just say this all of us would benefit from a sermon like this because we can all have the tendency to be Lax from time to time and especially young people, you know young children and young teenagers are right now forming the habits that are going to Be the character of their life and you ought to listen tonight as we talk about this idea of being late So one thing we can learn from the story of Samuel is that sometimes you're going to be late Here's another thing that you can learn from the story of Samuel and I want you guys to hear this especially you men One thing we can learn from Samuel is that sometimes you're gonna be late. There's no way to get around it Samuel was a very responsible and successful man. I'm sure his tardiness was out of his control It was a legitimate reason and sometimes it's going to happen Here's another thing that we can learn from the story of Samuel and it is this that When the boss is late that's none of your business You just worry about yourself You don't need to be making, you know, well Samuel was late. Well, Samuel's the guy in charge You say well Saul was the the king. Yeah, but the nation of Israel was a spiritual nation. It was a nation of God Samuel was the one running the show in the spiritual sense and he was the one that was supposed to do the sacrifice Let me just help you out with something you make sure you're on time to work and if your boss is late Don't mention anything don't say something to him. Oh I notice you're you weren't here at night. Hey, he's the boss You you weren't around when he started the business Getting up at 5 in the morning working long hours. You're not around when he's there late at night You're not around when he's there early in the morning. You're not around when he's working on your day off so make sure that your Character is a character of punctuality And make sure that you understand your place when it comes to your boss because Saul should have just waited for Samuel So well Samuel was late. That's between Samuel and God. That's Samuel's business and Don't get this idea because I hope I hope what we develop at Verity Baptist Church is punctual people individuals that are on time and That you can count on them, but don't let that become pride Because sometimes the boss is late, and that's none of your business And you say well well he doesn't he didn't show up to work at the same time I showed up to work yeah, but he was working when you were off He was working when you didn't know it. He was there before you got there left before you got there was there after you got there He's the one that took the risk. He's the one that started the business. He's the one that got it going He's the reason you're employed So you just don't mind it when the boss is late you let him do whatever he wants. He's the boss With that said let me give you some reasons. Why we don't want to be Chronically or habitually late go to Philip Philippians chapter number two We are in Philippians 2 this morning, and I do apologize for this We're going to look at two verses again from Philippians chapter 2 it just worked out this way There were the verses that I needed for the sermon and maybe God's trying to teach us something Philippians chapter 2 Matthew Mark Luke John Acts Romans first second Corinthians Galatians Ephesians Philippians Philippians chapter 2 when do me a favor when you get there put a ribbon or a bookmark there because we're gonna leave it We're gonna come back in that area of the Bible Philippians chapter 2 Why is it wrong to be chronically or habitually late What's wrong with it? Let me give you three reasons tonight. Maybe you can jot these down number one Being late is inconsiderate of other people's time You Say why don't I want to be late? Why what's the big deal with being late? Here's what's wrong with being late It's inconsiderate of other people. It's inconsiderate of other people's time Philippians chapter 2 we talked about it this morning Look at verse 3 let nothing be done through strife or vainglory But in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than themselves You know the Bible teaches that we should esteem other better than ourselves Which means that we should be considerate the word esteem means to ponder to consider to think about other People and what's going on in other people's lives the Bible says that we should esteem We should think about we should consider other people. Well being late is inconsiderate of other people's time See people who are chronically late are not thinking about others They're not concerned with others They're not concerned with the fact that other people got ready and got to the event at the time They were supposed to and now they're having to wait on you because you aren't thinking of them They're not considered of the fact that other people had to move around their schedules other people had to start getting ready and had to Start driving and had to get there They're not considered of the fact that other people have taken the time to be where they said they were gonna be see you say What's wrong with being late? It's rude. That's what's wrong with it Being late is inconsiderate of other people's times and as Christians. We're commanded to Esteem other better than ourselves to be considerate of other people notice verse 4 we saw it this morning Let's look at it again Look, not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others See people who are chronically late are not thinking of others and What this means say well, if they're not thinking of others, what are they thinking about themselves? People who are chronically late are self-absorbed I'm not trying to hurt your feelings. I'm just telling you the truth speaking the truth and love right? I gave you like six weeks worth of warnings about the sermon. So nobody should be upset with me You say I'm chronically late. I'm habitually late. What does that say about me? Here's what it says about you. You're selfish Here's what it says about you. You're self-absorbed Here's what it says about you. You only think about yourself Here's what it says about you. You're dead sure not thinking about anybody else Anybody else's schedule anybody else's time see being late is Inconsiderate it does not esteem others better than ourself. It doesn't esteem others at all other people's time energy Resources their life and their what's going on in their life doesn't even come into your mind into your consideration You say what's wrong? What's wrong with being late being late isn't considered by the people's time I remember when I was growing up. I've told you this story When I when we were growing up My brother and I would get picked up we went to a Christian school and there was Actually the principal of the school lived down the street from our house. This was a private Christian school. We'd go to and We my our fan my parents had arranged it with the principal of the school to give us a ride to To school every morning because he he lived down the street from us and he literally drove by our house every day on his way To school and the way that he would come is he would come down the main street And then he would have to come down our street We lived in a house that was maybe three houses into the street and he would Come down this street and and if he wasn't picking us up He'd normally just go keep going but if he had to pick us up He'd come down this street about two houses down to Meet us and we had this plan that he was going to pick us up at a certain time every day and my brother And I were out there with our backpacks right in front of the house and he would pull down the street come down maybe two or three Houses and we would Load up and then he would back up and turn around and go drive back Maybe two houses down the street and get back on the main street and and go to school We did that. I don't know for how long we did it for a while at some point. My parents got An idea or a way for the fact that this is what was happening and I remember them sitting this down and having a Conversation with us. I remember being a young kid and my parents sitting us down my dad saying This man this man. This is a grown man. This is a successful man, and He is taking time to help you He is esteeming you better than himself He's taking the time. He doesn't have to pick you up He's choosing to be a blessing to our family to pick you up sons so how about instead of you sitting there with your lazy self in your Backpack waiting for him to come down the street. How about you meet him at the main road? How about you walk 30 yards or 30 feet down to the corner? So he doesn't have to pull in pull into the parking lot back up and come back up How about I remember my dad saying he we should be as little of an inconvenience to him as possible he said if he doesn't even have to stop if he can just kind of Slow down a little bit because he had a truck and he can kind of just throw your backpack in the back and jump in Through the window that would be great. You say why would your parents teach you that? Here's why to teach you that you should be considerate of others That other people's time matters to them and for you to sit there and waste their time is rude Say what's wrong with being late. It's inconsiderate of others It's inconsiderate of other people's time Yeah, I consider the fact that time is valuable we're gonna see that here in a minute Yeah, I consider the fact that wasting other people's time is rude Say what's wrong with it? Go back to 2nd Samuel chapter 19 You were there in 1st Samuel if you go back to 2nd Samuel 19 What's wrong with being late? Well number one being late isn't consider other people's time Don't Make him come down the street to you and waste another two minutes You meet him You be ready and don't you know and when our families like and that sure don't ever make him wait. I Don't understand this idea Somebody's gonna pick you up for something and they got to go they're doing you a favor to pick you up and they got a Pull over call you get out of their car knock on your door. I'm here and you're like, oh, I'm still getting ready. That's ridiculous Somebody's doing you a favor to pick you up you be ready You'll be out there waiting for them. Try not to waste their time be considerate of other people Say pastor. Why are you preaching this because I've got to preach to you the things your parents failed to teach you. I Gotta try to help you out Being late is inconsiderate of other people's time number two being late is irritating to productive people Not only is being late and considerate of other people's time but being late is irritating to productive people Who's ever heard of a type a personality raise your hand you ever heard of a type a personality? Okay, who is a type a personality raise your hand? You mean me? You don't want to admit that. I don't know You may not be a type a personality. You say what's a type a personality? It's a type of person It's they're hard to describe they're they're very driven and they like things done a certain way They're usually attention oriented and and they just want things done right and and and there's a lot there's a there's not a lot of grace for for lack of Not of not getting things done the right way Let me say this you may not be a type a personality and I understand that but you need to understand this most of your bosses most of your CEOs most of your supervisors Most of your pastors that you will have through your life will be type a personalities It usually comes with the territory of being a leader It's usually type a personalities that start businesses that start churches that get our results driven type people and You should just understand this because maybe you don't know this you're in your little self-absorbed world. Just kind of going through life Being late is not only inconsiderate of other people's time being late is irritating to productive people Now in second Samuel chapter 19. I want you to know is the story Here's the second most famous story of somebody being late. I showed you the first story in first Samuel 13 about Samuel Here's the second most famous story of a man named a Mesa and it's a story about a Mesa and Joab Now you should be familiar if you read the Bible with a character named Joab He was the captain of the host for David He was the general of the army and whatever you think about Joab or say about job You have to know this he was productive He got things done He didn't always do it the right way and that's also a problem with sometimes type a personalities He didn't always do it the right way, but he got it done David is Replacing Joab with this new general a Mesa second Samuel 19 look verse 13 This is David speaking and say ye to a Mesa Are thou not of my bone and of my flesh? God do so to me and more also if thou be not captain of the host That's what we would call today a general before me continually in the room of Joab here David is replacing Joab with a Mesa Now I want you to notice when I Mesa becomes the captain of the host He gets promoted to this position of leadership, and he's been given a a place of leadership He's given a task by David look at verse 4 Then said the king this is David to a Mesa the new general the captain of the host he gives him a task He says assemble me the men of Judah within three days and be thou here present Is that I want you to he's a new general here. I just I just promoted you to general I want you to assemble the men of Judah within three days and be thou here present He gave him a time frame. He said do this and do it by this time verse 5 So a Mesa went to assemble the men of Judah But he tarried remember the word Terry means he took longer than he should have here He was delayed, but he tarried longer than the set time which he had appointed him What does that mean he was late I? Want you to notice with Joab mr.. Type-a personality mr.. Get-it-done Productive personality how he takes a Mesa's tardiness verse 8 when they were at the great stone which is in Gibeon a Mesa went before them and Joab's garment that he had put on was girded unto him and Upon it a girdle with a sword fastened upon his loins in the sheaf thereof and as he went forth it fell out and Joab said to a Mesa Art thou in health that's quite a question to ask right before you kill somebody art thou in health my brother and Joab took a Mesa by the beard with the right hand to kiss him But a Mesa took no heed to the sword that was in Joab's hand so he smote him Therewith in the fifth rib and shed out his bowels to the ground and struck him not again And he died I want you to notice that Joab killed a Mesa now job did not only kill a Mesa because the Mesa was late part of it had to do with the fact that Mesa had replaced Joab with In the promotion of being a general we understand that but I want you to notice what the Bible emphasizes What Joab does right after he kills a Mesa verse 10 because remember a Mesa was supposed to go Assemble the men of Judah within three days and because he was Undisciplined for whatever reason maybe a legitimate reason or maybe not. I don't know I just know this when you first get a job and when you first get promoted and when you're first given an opportunity You better get it done. I better not be the first time you mess up and Here a Mesa didn't get it done notice the last part of verse 10 So Joab and Abishai his brother pursued after Sheba the son of Bikrai look down at verse number 14 They're pursuing after she but she was another problem another enemy that David's dealing with at the same time Look at verse 14 and he Joab went through all the tribes of Israel Unto Abel and to Bethmakah and all the be rights and they were gathered together and went Also after him notice Joab kills a Mesa Follows Sheba and does what a Mesa was supposed to do and failed to do. That's a type a personality You say what can we learn from this this is why your parents want to kill you This is why your boss wants to kill you That's why your pastor wants to kill you sometimes now I'm not saying the job should have killed a Mesa and I'm not saying that anybody should kill you for being late But I'm just trying to help you understand that being chronically late is irritating To productive people to people who actually value Production who actually value Discipline who actually value character who actually value the fact that we're gonna get something done that what we're doing is serious here We're not messing around. We're not playing games To those people you strolling in late with your Starbucks to work is irritating To those people you chronically habitually being late is annoying So why don't we want to be chronically late one number one because being late is inconsiderate of other people's time number two because being late is irritating to Productive people. Let me give you a third one go to Ephesians If you would Ephesians chapter 5 if you kept your place in the end Philippians if you go backwards one book one book is the book of Ephesians Ephesians If you kept your place in Philippians right before Philippians you have the book of Ephesians Why don't we want to be late number one being late is inconsiderate of other people's time number two being late is Irritating to productive people number three being late is irresponsible with your personal time Yeah, well, I'm not you know. I'm not bothering anybody. I'm just being like even if you're not it's irresponsible with your personal time You know that God has given you a gift every day. It's called time You know that time has value You know that everything that's limited has value That's why gold is more valuable than rocks Twice silver is more valuable than than dirt Because there's less of it Well time time is a highly valuable thing Ephesians 5 look at verse 15 see then that you walk circumspectly Ephesians 5 15 see then that you walk circumspectly that word Circumspect means cautiously and Purposefully it means that when you take a step you're taking a step on purpose You're heading in a direction for a reason you've thought about it. You're not just kind of whatever just going through life No, you're very purposeful in your walk see then that ye walk circumspectly not as fools notice these words, but as wise Now what is it according to Ephesians 5 that wise people do that is different than what fools do here It is verse 16 Redeeming the time because the days are evil The word redeem has a financial idea the idea is that something's being purchased the idea is that something has value The idea is that you can exchange money for you ever heard people say time is money You know it's true That's why you get paid to go to work someone's paying you for your time Here the Bible tells us don't miss this that wise people value time I Mean look at it see then that you walk circumspectly walk on purpose walk purposefully walk Cautiously not as fools, but as wise what a wise people do redeeming the time because the days are evil You know that wise people value time You know that wise people realize that there's value to time that time is expensive that time is Valuable that we should redeem it and not waste it Go to Colossians chapter 4 if you're there in Ephesians you're gonna go past Philippians into the book of Colossians Colossians chapter 4 notice What the Colossians chapter 4 says the same thing Colossians chapter 4 verse 5 walk in wisdom Toward them that are without notice the words redeeming the time What does it mean it means that you value time it means that you see time as a precious commodity It means that you realize that there's value to time and that we should not waste time Let me explain something to you being late is Irresponsible with your personal time because wise people understand that there is value to time I want you to notice the contrast go back to Ephesians 5 look at verse 15 Ephesians 5 and verse 15 the contrast is this verse 15 See then that you walk circumspectly Not as fools Here's the contrast wise people value time. What do fools do they waste their time? Foolish people waste their time I'm not trying to hurt your feelings, but if you're a grown man, and you're spending hours upon hours playing video games. You're a fool If you're a mom and you've been tasked by Almighty God to raise children for the glory of God And you're wasting your days on Facebook or Instagram or social media doing nothing. You're a fool Foolish people waste time wise people value time Foolish people don't see the value in time Foolish people don't understand that there's value to time Punctuality or the lack of it communicate something about you You know what it says you know when you're when you're constantly habitually late. You know what people think about you Here's what they think you're a fool You're not wise You're wasting your time see Punctuality indicates something about you it indicates a couple things about you first of all it indicates its competence When you are on time it shows that you try to be in control of your life instead of allowing Circumstances to prevent you from doing the things you want to do When you are somebody who's punctual what that communicates to other people is here is a wise and competent Person now obviously when you're punctual all the time all the time you're on time you strive to be on time You strive to get things done when you're supposed to get done and every once in a while You're late because something happened people look at that and say well. We're all gonna be late from time to time sometimes We just don't have any control over what happens But when you're constantly and habitually Chronically when people can count on you being late everybody else is thinking. There's a fool There's somebody who's not competent There's someone who doesn't your lack of punctuality communicates Incompetency the type a the Joab type people, and I'm not saying it's right that they think this way But they think that person is so incompetent. They can't read a watch They can't look at a clock They can't figure out how to get where they're supposed to be on time punctuality indicates competence Punctuality also indicates dependability in a society Where promises are often broken and commitments frequently ignored people appreciate those who stick to their word dependable people earn respect from friends and family Employers value those who arrive on time for work and meet deadlines Dependable workers may even be rewarded with a higher salary and greater trust You know what luck lack of punctuality communicates. You're not dependable You know what lack of come punctuality indicates it communicates you're incompetent This is not someone we can trust This is not someone we can give responsibility to When I was in the Air Force as you can imagine the military Is big on punctuality when I was in the Air Force we were told that if you're not 15 minutes early you're late They with your appointments at a certain time you get there 15 minutes before that if you're not sitting in the waiting place 15 minutes Before that you're late. You're wrong. I Remember being in the Air Force and being a airman and and having a fellow Airmen that could not figure out how to get to work on time One of the sergeants asked me because I was obviously always on time Asked me to come alongside this young man and try to help him and As I sat down started talking to this individual I became aware of the fact that the reason they could not show up to work on time is because they were staying up playing video games all night long This guy showed up late He showed up late. He showed up late. He got written up. He got written up. He got written up It got to the point where they were going to kick him out Discharge him from the military Now, I don't know if you understand the military works and I'm not I'm not saying the story as a recommendation of the military I don't recommend any young person going to the military. I'm just telling you what I did Just because I did it not make it right But when it comes to the military you if you're going to get discharged to the military what you want is an honorable discharge What you don't want is a dishonorable discharge What you don't want is a general discharge if you have a medical discharge because you were injured that's okay But if you don't have a medical discharge or an honorable discharge for the rest of your life that thing's gonna haunt you I remember being 16 years old working at a subway and a 19 year old walked in who had a dishonorable discharge from the army and he couldn't get hired at Subway I Remember talking to this young guy and say you're gonna get kicked out of the military because you can't show up on time to work And it was just like you know. I just really like playing video games You know you got kicked out You got kicked out that's gonna follow him for the rest of his life He's not gonna be able to apply anywhere if you were prior military Everybody's gonna want to see whether you've had an honorable discharge or not. He won't be able to get a job anywhere I've known grown men that had good jobs supporting their families got fired because they couldn't show up on time Punctuality or lack of it Tells other people you're competent or incompetent You're dependable or it dependable it tells people that you're wise Or you're a fool What's wrong with being late Well being late is inconsiderate of other people's time It shows that you're self-absorbed only thinking about yourself Being late is irritating to productive people Productive people want to get something done. They value time being late is Irresponsible with your personal time wise people value time foolish people waste time Now let me just talk for a minute go me to the book of Proverbs if you would if you open up your Bible just Write in the center you're more than likely on the book of Psalm right after some you have the book of Proverbs Proverbs chapter 27 I Don't know if you notice, but a very Baptist Church. We value organization structure timeliness Somebody said to me recently yeah, you can tell the church run by a problem prior Air Force guy We just we just start on time And we just like to run things you well You say is that a pride thing you know you know the Bible says whether you eat or drink or whatsoever you do do all to the glory of God I The Bible says what so ever thy hand find it to do do it with all what thy might I? Just think if we're gonna do something. Let's do it right If we're gonna be somewhere, let's be there on time We're gonna we're gonna put our energy into something let's put our energy into it Now you say well when it comes to church life, let me just talk to you about church life for a minute Do you realize that it hurts you and it hurts us When you're late to church Say what you realize it hurts you and it hurts us when I say awesome talking about the church as a whole When you're late to church Say what do you mean? Well? It hurts you because you don't get to fellowship with other believers Proverbs 27 verse 17 says iron sharpened with iron Iron sharpened with iron so a man sharpened at the countenance of his friends But you may not realize it But the Bible actually teaches that one of the forms one of the forms of discipleship is fellowship One of the ways every week I pray for our church I pray for our church in general and my wife and I pray through the list of our church Individually and every week I pray that our church that God would allow our church to grow spiritually and as I pray that our church would grow spiritually I pray that the Lord would allow our church to grow spiritually that the Preaching of his word would help you to grow spiritually and that the fellowship with other believers would help you to grow spiritually Say well, why would fellowship help you? Grow spiritually. Well number one because that's what the Bible says iron sharpened with iron. So a man sharpened at the countenance of his friends But number two, it's not it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that you'll start being like the people you hang out with Birds of a feather flock together and When you you say well I show up to church But I don't show up on time and I don't really talk to people or fellowship with people that's hurting you That doesn't help you that doesn't help you grow in the Lord It hurts you when you are late to church But let me just say this it also hurts us just in case you don't care about yourself Maybe you'd care about the rest of us it hurts us So, how does it hurt us? Well number one we we need to fellowship with you It's not one iron sharpens one iron. It's they sharpen each other Iron sharpness iron so a man sharpen at the countenance of his friends when you don't fellowship with us That doesn't just hurt you that hurts me that hurts the rest of us because we need to fellowship with you Iron sharpens iron, but let me just take it to a more practical sense You know that it hurts the impression that we make on the guests who show up to church when you're late Is that understand let me give you an example? Every week at Verity Baptist Church we have Somebody who counts the attendances for the church It's brother Jose Cruz is the one who generally takes care of that task and every week every church service I he as soon as he starts getting numbers He texts them to me so that I can know what those numbers are and he texts me the initial number and then when people come in after he texts me more and more and more and So we have the final number. This is just an example of the text messages that I get this is from Sunday morning May 30th, just one example at 10 35 a.m. So the service started at 10 30 a.m.. This is five minutes into the service He's already been counting before that at 10 35 a.m.. I get a text message from brother Jose saying we have 200 people in church that morning praise the Lord 1036 he says 203 1037 he says 204 1038 he says 206 1041 he says 211 1042 he says 212 1051 he says 223 1058 he says 229 11 10 he sends me the final updated number 231 now first of all let me just say this praise the Lord that we had 231 people in church on Sunday morning on May 30th. I'm not complaining about that What I want you to notice though is that when the service started we started with 30 less people We started with 200 people 31 people were late to church that day You say well, why does that matter well? Here's the thing? It hurts the impression that we make on guests when guests show up to a half-filled church And I realize those numbers aren't half-filled Don't you walk into a restaurant look around and say we're the only ones here this place will not be that great You don't think people do that about church You say what a guest need they need you to fellowship with them Galatians 2 9 says that we should give the right hand of fellowship. You know that guests need you to help them feel welcomed Acts 242 says and they continue to steadfastly in the Apostles doctrine Acts 242 and they continue to set fastly in the Apostles doctrine. That's my job to preach the doctrine of the Word of God and Fellowship that's your job and in breaking of bread and prayer Say pastor we want the guests to when they show up we want them to like our church and to want to come back Okay Well, here's the thing I'll do my best to preach sermons that are practical and applicable and that connect with their hearts and that help them grow and then You help me make sure they feel welcomed You say well, what's the problem if 31 people showed up late to church? Well, here's the problem Studies say that the average guest decides whether they like a church in the first seven minutes In the first seven minutes of their interaction at that church They decide within those seven minutes whether the place is friendly or not friendly whether it's good or not Whether if it's empty if people are standoffish if people are not nice The average guest decides whether they like the church within the first seven minutes The average guest to church. This is what studies tell us show up five minutes before the service starts That means that the average guest on any given Sunday morning because our service starts at 10 30 a.m. By 10 32 a.m. Has already decided whether they like our church or not The average guest shows up five minutes early Makes their decision within seven minutes not within seven minutes of the service starting but within seven minutes of them getting out of their vehicle Which means that usually the guests would show up at 10 25 a.m If the sermon starts at 10 if the service starts at 10 30 a.m. And by 10 32 a.m They've already made a decision whether they like the church or not you walking in at 10 35 or 10 45 Doesn't help us See you being late to church hurts you and it hurts us So, how about just being punctual How about just not being a fool and not wasting people's time and not wasting your own time How about learning to take some responsibility for your time go to Proverbs 24 Proverbs 24 Let me help you out just by way of conclusion how to be a person who's habitually punctual Now look if you're here tonight, and you're a pastor. He's preaching about me Yeah What what else am I supposed to do get up here and preach about people that aren't here You say I'm the person that's habitually late. Look. I'm not mad at you, and I know and I don't know it I'm not paying attention to when you show up or whatever He doesn't tell me brothers who and so showed up at this time. He just gives me a number But let me just help you out with this idea cuz you say our passengers he's angry. Oh, here's the thing it I care about you I Don't want you get fired from your job. I Don't I don't want you to miss out on the blessings of developing friendships within church I want you to help us make a good if I didn't care about you I'd stab you in the fifth rib with a nut, you know, I just I'd get rid of you or what I don't know we'd make you disappear Let me help you with this idea you say I don't understand how I'm always late. I'm always late. I don't understand How to be on time, let me help you with it how to be a person who is habitually punctual Proverbs 24 verse 20 I want verse 27. Excuse me, Proverbs 24 verse 27 Here's a key word prepare Prepare Prepare thy work without and make it fit for thyself in the field and afterwards build thine house This is a proverb about preparation The idea here is about a worker who's gonna go to work and the proverb is telling them Hey before you get to the job site prepare that work without before you get there make sure you have the tools you need make sure you have the things you need make it fit for thyself in the field and Afterward build thine house, don't just show up somewhere. Oh, I need this. I need that. I forgot this. He says you should prepare to be productive Well, the same concept works with punctuality. You should prepare to be punctual You say what does that mean? Here's what it means you figure out when you need to be wherever you need to be You figure out what you need to do in order to get there You figure out how much time it will take for you to get ready and get there You work backwards from when you have to be there to when you have to leave you give yourself 15 minutes because remember if you're not 15 minutes early, you're late and You prepare You just think you just consider you just esteem and You decide I'm going to strive to be someone who's punctual Who's on time you say? I don't know what is happening. I don't know what that looks like. Let me give you an example You know, this is what punctual people by the way This is what I just explained to you I know first first first of all, let me just say this is for those of you that are always on time I realize that this sounds like third grade lesson. You're like, I thought everybody knew that well, obviously not everybody knows it But for those of you that don't let me just help you out with something. This is how the rest of the world thinks Everybody who shows up on time They just figured out when they need to be somewhere what they need to do to get there how much time they need to get There and then they just work backwards You know, I travel a lot I'm doing this all the time. Let me just give you a very practical example. Let's say I'm traveling some are preaching somewhere My flight leaves at 945 a.m Well, I want to be to the airport an hour and 30 minutes early So that means that I need to be at the airport at 815 a.m But it takes 20 minutes to ride the shuttle from the car rental place to the airport So that means that I need to be leaving the car rental place at 755 a.m And it takes 50 minutes to drop off the car and do all the paperwork in order to leave the rental place So that means I need to get to the car rental place at 740 a.m It takes 25 minutes to get from my hotel to the car rental place So I need to be leaving the hotel at 715 a.m. It's gonna take me 25 minutes maybe to eat breakfast So I need to be leaving my hotel room at 650 a.m It's gonna take me 35 minutes to get ready and packed to leave so I need to be getting up at 615 a.m And I want to give myself 15 minutes a 50-minute buffer just in case something happens So that means I need to get up at 6 a.m That's how punctual people think That's how people that are habitually on time to places don't miss their flights. Don't miss appointments. Don't get fired for being late That's how they think. I don't know if you know that but that's how they think that's how you should think You know that church starts at 1030 every Sunday Now I would get it if we were constantly just changing it on you. I started at 1015 this morning. Gotcha It always starts at 1030 Sunday night always starts at 6 p.m Wednesday nights to always start the 7 p.m. You probably start work at 9 a.m. Every morning or whenever you start It's probably the same every time There's probably the same amount of traffic Every day at that time that you're going to work. It's probably that same amount of traffic every day So well, but there was traffic. Yeah, but there's traffic every day So, how about you account for the fact that there's traffic every day and if there's traffic every day Look, it's not rocket science and I'm not trying to talk down to you I'm just trying to help you out if you're habitually chronically late figure out When you need to be where you need to be Figure out what you need to do in order to get there Figure out how much time it'll take for you to get ready and get there go to 1st Corinthians 1440 Matthew Mark Luke John Acts Romans 1st Corinthians 1st Corinthians 1440 figure out how much time it will take for you to get ready and get There work backwards from when you have To be there to when you need to leave or get ready or get dressed or get up or whatever give yourself 15 minutes just in case and be punctual And be on time You say I don't know pastor. I don't know if I agree with this being late is inconsiderate of other people Being late is irritating to productive people being late is irresponsible with my personal time. I don't know Well 1st Corinthians 1440 says this let all things be done decently and in order You know the Bible says that everything our lives our lives should be structured in such a way that they're decent and in order They should be structured in such a way when people where people can count they can count They can depend on us They say there's a very competent young man. There's a very competent young lady. There's a very dependable Person I can depend on them if they're not here when they said they were gonna be here It must be a legitimate reason because they're always on time The testimony of your life and my life aren't we representatives of the Lord Jesus Christ upon this earth? The testimony of my life in your life ought to be this let all things be done decently and in order and part of that requires That we be on time. Let's buy our heads and have a word of prayer. Heavenly Father Lord I pray that you would help us to be punctual people What I realized from time to time we're gonna be late I get it things are gonna happen that are out of our control and We're not gonna be on time. We understand. That's how life is But let it be rare When we're not punctual Let it be rare when we're not on time and Let it be the norm that we're punctual people Help us not to be inconsiderate of other people's time Help us not to be irritating to Productive people around us Help us not to be irresponsible with the time that you've given us time that's valuable Help us to walk circumspectly not as fools, but as wise in the matchless name of Christ we pray amen