we're going through the book of proverbs together this is the word of the lord and i as we go through this book we also have a wisdom challenge so this month thirty one day is thirty one chapters in the book of proverbs where on seventeen if you haven't started jumping in there's still two weeks to get a lot of the proverbs proverbs if you like buffets proverbs it's a buffet of wisdom and hokum a is is the key word here with wisdom in the hebrew and in that word means far more than just knowledge i doing life well every day decisions and how to live life it's so practical this book is very down to earth a pity statements profound and down to earth our theme is gaining wisdom and it really the author of most of the proverbs is solomon and did you know he had a dream which god said what do you want and he said wisdom in god downloaded so much we could still i'm in the solomons mine it is panned in the holy spirit work through him and now we have that wisdom of god as solomon was the instrument and we were soaking it up were hungry for wisdom and wisdom makes a difference every day in our lives this last weekend our family went up to bremerton to a camp and we were planning to just go around tacoma and go up to bremerton and then we're finished come back but then one of our neighbors said oh wait a second you're going to bremerton well then you've got a check up because the ferry ride from bremerton then it comes in for less than twenty dollars comes into seattle and he's not even getting a commission you know he's just talking about his excitement but you take that ferry ride and you get off there and there's the aquarium then you go up the stairs you've got to take street market the fish are flying to go around the corner you get the mini donuts right there and it's almost like yeah that plan that plan so i'm not wisdom equals many donuts please don't hear that but but what i am saying is that we came back from last weekend with a completely different experience and we added so much to the trip and we said wow it was so much better because he had some insights that we didn't have about the trip and there's so many great places in washington well in a lot of ways solomon comes along side of us and says ok you're on that trail but did you know how much better life can be do you know what else you could experience well here's the wisdom of god and when you live it out that hold that daily wisdom in living it out this is how life is meant to be lived so that's the heartbeat behind the book of proverbs and today we're going to look at one of the contrasts because that's how wisdom is presented in this book contrasts lazy diligent very big contrast and when there's a contrast we see things clearer so solomon's highlighting the contrast and we're going to look at the difference between laziness and diligence and really it's going to change our life experience so let's take a closer look at laziness it's not moving very fast so we can get a good look at it proverbs chapter twenty six as bad jokes already proverbs twenty six and drop down to verse thirteen here's a section on laziness classic a few verses here starting in verse thirteen in proverbs twenty six the sluggard says there is a lion in the road a fierce lion roaming the streets now as a door turns on its hinges so a sluggard turns on his bed the sluggard buries his hand in the dish he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth the sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who answer discreetly ok a couple things about laziness number one it includes half hearted efforts and incomplete projects have already have herds and incomplete projects like there's conviction already spreading around the congregation on that phrase the hand is in the dish where the food is but too lazy to bring it back to the mouth i like chips i like guacamole i just picture of chips glauca moly it is so far back to my don't think i'm going to eat and setting it down what it means is someone is not taking care of themselves physically someone is starving someone is stopping when they should keep going this can happen physically we don't take care of ourselves it can happen spiritually we're not getting nourished open up the bible and then study it look at it read it apply it be fed spiritually during the week there's a lot of pictures for this verse but the sluggard is always stopping half way projects half way done do you struggle with procrastination that's something a classic phrase is you know i've started it but i haven't finished yet the ever use the phrase oh i started this and i started that and i started over here but i haven't finished yet procrastination is something we all wrestle with and it's something we need to pray we need to pray it's a practical prayer god help me to not throw crass than a anymore but strengthen me so how does this work you know this laziness we have some insights in chapter six so turn back to the left and go back twenty one chapters the chapter six and these proverbs there  short but there are so many layers to them and when you chew on them and you keep chewing on them and digesting them you realize they start to permeate no more of our lives than in the light bulb goes on so proverbs chapter six starting in verse ten here it sleep just a little slumber a little folding of the hands it's just a little shortcut it's just a little procrastination it's just a little bit of a compromise it's a little a little a little when you do a little less then you become less motivated to do more and the less you do well the kind of leads to the less you do and pretty soon you end up in a place you don't even realize that what just happened you don't even notice laziness until there's the consequence when you realize well whoa what's going on it's sneaky like that a little a little a little and you end up in a place you didn't see coming so the description back in chapter twenty six the door is technically moving but it's really not going anywhere the sluggard is technically still moving a little bit but not really going anywhere so there is these pictures that are so powerful and as we read through these we can relate and i think back to you know being in school where students that had a four point zero mind had a two point two g p a and you could just see all the potential but then the doors that would close because the diligence that wasn't there we had a guy on our soccer team in college that senior year was the first year he really showed up in shape and he always had the skill but now he did the fitness during the summer and we knew it's going to be a different season where he ended up you know ivy league player of the year all american the potential was there the whole time but the difference is the diligence finally kicked in in a lot of marriages things have gotten lazy husband stop pursuing the or wives  cherishing and knowing getting to know their wives in wives or just got a little lazy with honoring and respecting their husbands and you don't even realize it but a little a little a little in your realize what's happened around here what's happened so laziness if i was going to picture an animal it would be an octopus with eight arms in laziness just has these arms where it like reaches into our our health our walk with god our friendships our family our work are in there it goes in it's just sneaky it's trying to creep in so we're reminded in proverbs thirty one that a godly woman it says she wakes up early while it's still dark thirty one fifteen thirty one seventeen she said so about her tasks vigorously diligence and her arms are strong for the tasks she's getting after it and that's the godly woman i just challenge you to try to find a passage where jesus does it with half his heart you know jesus brought in glory to you by finishing the work that you've given me to do god has stuff for us in every season of life until we go to be with him and one way we glorify him is with diligence and to finish what he's given to us and that's the model that's our example through jesus here's a second thing about laziness laziness replaces faithfulness with creative excuses  creative stuff where you have is unfortunately excuses but we get so creative with our excuses so verse thirteen there is a fierce lion roaming the streets have you seen this lion well no no but it but it's out there it's i'm sure there's a line in the streets today i just know it the language of laziness is excuses excuses so there was a study done about being late to work because that is so common  and lying as well as is common but being late to work the top three reasons why people are late to work traffic weather and i haven't been getting enough sleep so those are the three common ones that are dished out but listen to some of these others these were real examples there was a deer herd moving through our neighborhood this morning deer herd if i did some of my excuse in one word it was bambi showed up and i just had to wait someone robbed the gas station i was that in i didn't have enough gas to make it to the next station so there is one reason how about i was waiting for the judge to set that might lead to some bigger questions right there some of that we were all drinking last night and i parked my car next to the waffle house and i couldn't remember this morning which waffle house it was like i said maybe few more questions how about this one this is classic i'm not late because i was thinking about work on my way in before i got here and so those count right  you're number one when you think about you know so often we think ok i'm lazy when it comes to prayer or i'm not using the gives god's given me to really bless others or i'm not sharing my faith or when  think about some areas that are common lazy spots for christians what's your number one excuse if you pulled it all that you'd say here's my excuse sometimes it's good just to write that excuse down in just laugh at that excuse right because some of our so kill us but it's a substitute for face wellness in laziness always runs to excuses and the holy spirit helps us overcome excuses he ever just presented excuse to god and the holy spirit kind of gives perspective patient nudges encourages trains new direction and you look back and you say wait a minute that excuse which held me back for ten twenty years is no longer a factor because the holy spirit is help me overcome as i abide and respond it's a new day so god wants to move us forward here's the third thing laziness creates sluggards who think they are very wise verse sixteen the slug so wise in his own eyes the sluggard is the one who says no i'm actually winning i'm winning i play x box all day you know i have frozen pieces i don't have to work and i am winning i beating this is the moment i have been so good this is why lazy is better this is this is what everyone should be doing this is incredible i'm so wise in my own eyes this is awesome i win again and have you ever listen to somebody that says they're winning they're winning they're winning when you're hearing it thing i don't think this is winning in so there's the sluggard is deceived you know almost like a tree has a disease in it and it doesn't even realize it from a distance it just looks like a healthy tree and you get closer and you say all there's a disease on this tree right here well laziness is sneaky sluggard is sneaky you don't even realize and you think you're winning and you're getting i took a was sacrificed i compromise but i am winning i am winning in so that's the sluggard song so i thought you know probably be good since the word sluggard is used four times in these four verses probably be good to do a word study this week  on sluggard but i never got around to doing it didn't feel it you know i wasn't feeling it sluggard in the hebrew you think banana slug on a four month vacation her head i mean just moving as low as you can go slug what's unique about that word  in the hebrew is that there's two meanings to it in one of them is is what we all kind of think of lazy slack in not motivated not following through not reliable you know there's the slogan that's what we think of but there's a second meaning which means shifty not right involved in some scene and bulls go together what's interesting is the lazier someone gets the more they open the door for trouble thanks for watching our program today and i want to let you know about our web site activate life died or you can send us your prayer requests we are honored to pray for you we also have daily devotions and other resources you can sign up for and if you want to support us financially you can do that through the website now we get back to the teaching as we get into god's word together another one that's interesting is hedonism chasing after every pleasure some of these guys that get paid millions of dollars you like how are they bankrupt a couple years later they're chasing after every pleasure every advertisement that comes up you pull your credit card you chasing after every bit of materialism and pleasure and hedonism well that can lead to poverty another one this interesting is stinginess because you think of someone stingy on thing in a more and more and hoard more and more well actually stinginess leads to a lack in the poverty so there's a lot that leads to poverty or a lack but not a peaceful satisfaction i should also note here that being a workaholic does not lead to a peaceful satisfaction please don't hear that if you're a workaholic don't hear that yes pastor says it's great it's great no we want to let the holy spirit lead us what to work on window work and when to rest and how to work  workaholics suffer in their relationship with god they suffer in their friendships or their family relationships their physical health suffers so workaholics need to check motives and say why am i a workaholic in my trying to get myself worth based on my performance job what is the pain i'm trying to numb in cover up through extra work what's the family situation at home that i i haven't gotten together in connected with my wife and talked through unsolved and so i'm avoiding it i'm staying at work ninety hours a week  so workaholics know that's not the message today when when you hear diligence but a peaceful satisfaction and i think of ruben i'm so glad our church is multi generational and you know one of the reasons praise the lord for that ye  and then when the years came when when that season was finished then he stepped into you know what we call retirement in our culture and he and his wife judy and and as they prayed about it they stayed open and teachable well they went to africa and they thought they were going for a short time and they ended up going for years and he you heard him talk about how rich that was and he came back here and he said you know we thought sometimes about being on the move constantly in retirement but then we thought how could we really have depth in our ministry if we're constantly moving and going having all these different locations so we said let's serve our church and as they were serving and serving well ruben does a tremendous job leading our ministry that we are connected together with forty international partners and as i hear reuben story and i'm not going to say is age but you know i'd be guessing a little bit but i hope when i'm that age this that i am you know just fired up with an asian sin in what god's doing that i get to be a part of it and so ruben you know and he's not here doing what you want me to do or see in lies change teachable here's my guess and you can just hear in his heart he doesn't get stuck he just keeps movin where the spirits move and so just yeah grateful for that example but that peaceful satisfaction if you're in a situation now and you don't like your job stay diligent stay diligent you know it's easy to say well not in my dream job i'm not in my you know ultimate job stay diligent so well i'm don't like my coworkers that much you don't know my boss stay diligent when the boss isn't watching stay diligent stay diligent unto the lord in ministry we had a dinner last night and some of the people been serving our prison ministry great ministry if you don't know it's once a month to two different prisons in our third prison is opening up and out one of the guys with you sharing honest where he said he no that day i did not feel like going  it was that sunday said i i was trying to come up with excuses and say and you know well i don't know i am not feeling that great and someone else in the team said well you'll be just fine when you get there and and he said you know  afterwards he said i came back and god did such wonderful things and isn't that the case so often that you know it was us that peaceful satisfaction of you know there was my excuse i almost went down that road i went to the prison god moved and i'm telling you the temptation for laziness is so real it's so real and we don't often is to see all the devil laziness you know we know that is such a temptation in so we overcome that through jesus and then the blessings that come look at fourteen twenty three it says this all hard work all diligence brings a profit but mere talk leads only to poverty be a doer not a talker talking doesn't get you to far be a doer when you're diligent it's a magnet for god's blessings and spend some time this week with the life of joseph in the old testament in what i notice about his life is that he started tending the flocks his brothers through him in the slavery he stayed diligent with the flocks they diligent in slavery got a position in part a first household was diligent promoted falsely thrown in jail for something he didn't do stay diligent some people in jail tried to get some promises and build them up they broke their promise is he stay diligent the warden in god's favor built him up in the jail then he comes out of the jail and he's using his guest for the lord and god elevates him to a position in egypt where now he's able  through god's help to discern seven years of plenty seven of famine and he leaves the people through those fourteen years in the saving of many lives in the reconciliation with his family what a story and what i notice about joseph is he stays diligent in all seasons of life he's these diligent with the promotion these days diligent when he's mistreated he stays diligent under the lord in the fraser keeps coming up is the lord is with him the lord is blessing him the lord is with him in god notice is faithfulness in diligence and supports and loves and strengthens i think in our church just to celebrate things that god's doing these might seem minor to you but it's my first time through a year here at grace and you know some of the report i would hear is that well father's day attendance really because on mother's day you know you ask mom what do you want to do today and she says go to church and then everybody goes that search and then father's day comes you say dad what do you want to do today and he says i don't want to go to church and then no nobody goes to church and so that's kind of the pattern in so watching  this year and grace it's like father's day strong turnout strong turnout and then you know talk about will july fourth well it's the beginning of summer it's a holiday weekend no one's going to be here really look to me like a big turnout july fourth and then the message is all summer everybody is slags in the summer spiritually it kind of goes backwards nobody really cares you know it's big did you just wait as what's happened a big dip in the summer you just feel that low and what i've sensed this summer is a hunger for god's word and in a passion to grow and that's not the god so we celebrate when god you say will is diligence those are the small things as we grow yes there's that hunger that passion that comes alive and you can just program it's like you get a taste and you want more and you get a taste and you want more in the growth but being diligent it's what god has was one other example with international partners like an and gate way medical alliance i read that this week and just inspires they've continued to bring medical supplies in and reach out in morocco container number eighty arrived in morocco over five hundred wheelchairs isn't that awesome i mean would have vision how can we get five hundred wheelchairs to morocco to love the people they're in here jesus with the people there diligence it's little things it's big things it's here in our church it's overseas yes we're saved by faith please hear that don't ever think you're saved through religion or rituals were saved by faith in jesus christ and by faith in him but when you know jesus and you put your trust in him in saving faith you're you're in his family forever then let's exercise our faith let's exercise our faith not just collecting dust or on the shelf or one day a week let's exercise our faith so i'm going to close with this verse from proverbs twenty seven twenty three and i want you to just kind of take inventory on your life and in through this verse right here proverbs twenty seven twenty three says be sure you know the condition of your flocks give careful attention to your herds so that was an agricultural setting you might think of sheep in go to different animals there here's the point those sheep ok it's a  god there's a responsibility to take care of those sheep and when you take care of those sheep watch what the sheep are going to do and how they're going to bless your family that's what the passage goes on to say in so here's the take home question today what is god intrusted to your care we think about moving from laziness to diligence what is god intrusted to your care and here's four areas i want you to think about this week area number one what are the possessions could  car number of possessions that is given you what are those possessions finances money what are those possessions that you have under your care the second one what are the roles or position is that you have what are those in your life that is intrusted to you the third one one of the new opportunities in this season he's in thrusting them to use presenting and trusting them to you in the last one but not least important who are the people that god has entrusted to you so think about laziness in diligence and how god wants to move us forward god's wisdom is to step out of laziness in his power in the diligence let's pray father we pray that we would be a people who know when to relax when  take a break when to not take ourselves too seriously when to not be high strong when to not be legal list but in a peer joyful diligence that comes from your grace and it just extends acknowledging that you've given us so so so lord we take responsibility would we ask for your help would we turn none of us wants to be a sluggard none of us wants to be wise in our own eyes but we want to be wise in your eyes we would be a blessing to the people around us we want to walk in your wisdom lord as we think about the sneaky arms of laziness would you please help us to clearly identify kind of reality check to see those arms and then to acknowledge those before you and ask for your help and then see the blessings of diligence and go maybe a church that celebrates what you're doing a church that spurs one another on towards greater things than doesn't shrink back in this time in our nation in the nations doesn't shrink back and we pray also if you're here today you have put returning jesus i want to be in your family for ever put my trust in you to thank you for your grace be a grace motivates a faithful diligence in will give you the praise o jesus name amen thanks for watching today and i want to let you know about our website activate life that org there are so many free resources to help you grow in your faith and if you've been blessed during the teaching please send us an e mail if you want to learn more about jesus we'd love