1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:03,900 We’re looking today at the theme of work 2 00:00:03,900 –> 00:00:07,040 or more particularly its opposite. 3 00:00:07,040 –> 00:00:12,040 Proverbs introduces to us a rather tragic character 4 00:00:12,240 –> 00:00:15,080 whose life ends in ruin. 5 00:00:15,080 –> 00:00:18,320 His name is the sluggerd. 6 00:00:18,320 –> 00:00:22,799 And the sluggard is referred to 14 times 7 00:00:22,799 –> 00:00:25,440 in the Book of Proverbs and twice 8 00:00:25,440 –> 00:00:29,660 in the verses that have just been read for us. 9 00:00:29,660 –> 00:00:32,820 Now, this rather tragic character 10 00:00:32,820 –> 00:00:37,040 is sometimes presented in comic terms. 11 00:00:37,040 –> 00:00:41,520 For example, chapter 19 and verse 24 that was read, 12 00:00:41,520 –> 00:00:46,220 the sluggerd buries his hand in the dish 13 00:00:46,220 –> 00:00:49,340 and will not even bring it back to his mouth. 14 00:00:49,340 –> 00:00:51,820 So, take in the picture, here’s the sluggard 15 00:00:51,820 –> 00:00:54,380 and he sits down at the table 16 00:00:54,380 –> 00:00:57,180 and food is put in front of him 17 00:00:57,180 –> 00:00:59,360 and he loads the food that’s in the dish, 18 00:00:59,360 –> 00:01:01,099 as it were onto the fork. 19 00:01:01,099 –> 00:01:03,619 But that’s as far as he gets. 20 00:01:03,619 –> 00:01:05,540 Lifting the fork to his mouth, 21 00:01:05,540 –> 00:01:08,379 oh, that’s just too much effort for this man. 22 00:01:09,260 –> 00:01:13,080 Then, we read in chapter 26 and verse 14. 23 00:01:13,080 –> 00:01:16,720 As a door turns on its hinges, 24 00:01:16,720 –> 00:01:21,059 so does a sluggard on his bed. 25 00:01:21,059 –> 00:01:23,239 That is a marvelous picture. 26 00:01:23,239 –> 00:01:24,879 The problem with the sluggard 27 00:01:24,919 –> 00:01:27,300 is not just that he likes to lie in bed, 28 00:01:27,300 –> 00:01:29,059 he’s hinged to the bed. 29 00:01:29,059 –> 00:01:31,519 So he turns one way and then he turns the other way 30 00:01:31,519 –> 00:01:32,519 and never gets up. 31 00:01:32,519 –> 00:01:35,440 And it’s a marvelous comic image, 32 00:01:35,440 –> 00:01:38,639 it’s like a caricature as we would say today. 33 00:01:38,639 –> 00:01:41,760 Or what about this one, chapter 22 and verse 13? 34 00:01:41,760 –> 00:01:44,440 The sluggard is always full of excuses, 35 00:01:44,440 –> 00:01:48,480 always has a reason for what not doing, 36 00:01:48,480 –> 00:01:50,239 what needs to be done. 37 00:01:50,239 –> 00:01:52,040 And how’s this for an excuse? 38 00:01:52,059 –> 00:01:53,160 The sluggard says, 39 00:01:53,160 –> 00:01:54,980 “‘There is a lyin’ outside, 40 00:01:54,980 –> 00:01:56,379 “‘I shall be killed in the street.’” 41 00:01:56,379 –> 00:01:58,419 Oh, I can’t go out to work today. 42 00:01:58,419 –> 00:02:01,360 I mean, if you’re doing a SWOT analysis, 43 00:02:01,360 –> 00:02:03,800 everything that the sluggard sees 44 00:02:03,800 –> 00:02:05,839 is in the threat category. 45 00:02:05,839 –> 00:02:09,039 He is risk-averse, there is always a reason 46 00:02:09,039 –> 00:02:13,919 for not doing what needs to be done. 47 00:02:13,919 –> 00:02:15,919 Now we read Proverbs like these, 48 00:02:15,919 –> 00:02:17,679 they’re meant to make us smile, 49 00:02:17,679 –> 00:02:20,080 they’re meant to make us laugh, 50 00:02:20,080 –> 00:02:22,600 they’re also meant to make us think, 51 00:02:23,520 –> 00:02:27,279 and we recognize in the caricature 52 00:02:28,199 –> 00:02:32,720 the great, great dangers of laziness. 53 00:02:33,759 –> 00:02:38,759 Now, I have no doubt that the vast majority of us 54 00:02:38,759 –> 00:02:41,880 here in this congregation today 55 00:02:41,880 –> 00:02:46,119 work very, very hard indeed. 56 00:02:47,440 –> 00:02:49,080 And if that is true of you, 57 00:02:49,080 –> 00:02:53,440 I am sure that your natural reaction will be 58 00:02:53,440 –> 00:02:57,080 to think, ah, this message is for other people, 59 00:02:57,080 –> 00:03:01,619 I’m safe today, it’s not for me. 60 00:03:01,619 –> 00:03:06,320 Well, not so fast. 61 00:03:06,320 –> 00:03:08,179 There is, I promise, something here 62 00:03:08,179 –> 00:03:10,399 for each and everyone of us 63 00:03:10,399 –> 00:03:14,479 no matter how hardworking today. 64 00:03:14,479 –> 00:03:16,919 I want to begin here with the profile 65 00:03:16,919 –> 00:03:19,899 of an unproductive person. 66 00:03:19,899 –> 00:03:21,899 If you bring together what Proverbs says 67 00:03:21,899 –> 00:03:24,559 across the book about the sluggard, 68 00:03:24,559 –> 00:03:27,539 there are four distinctive marks 69 00:03:27,539 –> 00:03:30,759 that make him an unproductive person. 70 00:03:30,759 –> 00:03:33,979 The first, of course, is that he is slow to start. 71 00:03:33,979 –> 00:03:36,000 Chapter 20 in verse 4, 72 00:03:36,000 –> 00:03:39,279 The sluggard does not plow in the autumn. 73 00:03:39,279 –> 00:03:43,940 He will seek at harvest, and he’ll have nothing. 74 00:03:43,979 –> 00:03:48,820 So Proverbs draws our attention to the long-term effects 75 00:03:48,820 –> 00:03:53,500 of putting off the things that we need to do now. 76 00:03:53,500 –> 00:03:55,860 And there is, of course, a season for plowing, 77 00:03:55,860 –> 00:03:58,020 and then there is a season for sowing, 78 00:03:58,020 –> 00:04:01,000 and then there is a season for reaping. 79 00:04:01,000 –> 00:04:03,160 But plowing, of course, is very hard work, 80 00:04:03,160 –> 00:04:06,059 and the sluggard doesn’t want to do it. 81 00:04:06,059 –> 00:04:08,419 And the context here is very important 82 00:04:08,419 –> 00:04:10,740 because remember that when God’s people 83 00:04:10,740 –> 00:04:13,380 came into the land of Canaan, 84 00:04:13,380 –> 00:04:18,380 every family was given a plot of land. 85 00:04:18,600 –> 00:04:21,339 God gave them, remember in the book of Deuteronomy, 86 00:04:21,339 –> 00:04:24,640 God gave them homes that they did not build, 87 00:04:24,640 –> 00:04:27,359 wells that they did not dig, vineyards 88 00:04:27,359 –> 00:04:28,839 that they did not plant. 89 00:04:28,839 –> 00:04:33,839 God gave them the means of sustaining themselves. 90 00:04:33,899 –> 00:04:36,540 Everything they needed for life was theirs, 91 00:04:36,540 –> 00:04:38,339 and it was all given to them freely 92 00:04:38,339 –> 00:04:41,500 by the grace and the abundance of Almighty God. 93 00:04:41,500 –> 00:04:44,940 Their part then was to work the fields they were given. 94 00:04:46,279 –> 00:04:50,660 And so working the field that God had freely given 95 00:04:50,660 –> 00:04:52,839 was the work to which God had called 96 00:04:52,839 –> 00:04:55,299 these particular people who are being addressed here 97 00:04:55,299 –> 00:04:56,500 in the book of Proverbs. 98 00:04:56,500 –> 00:05:01,140 But, the sluggard is slow to start 99 00:05:01,140 –> 00:05:03,820 the work that God has given him to do. 100 00:05:04,739 –> 00:05:07,059 He does not plough in autumn. 101 00:05:08,179 –> 00:05:11,059 So when the harvest comes, all of his neighbors 102 00:05:11,179 –> 00:05:16,100 are gathering in the grain or the produce of their land. 103 00:05:16,100 –> 00:05:18,059 They’re gathering in what will sustain them 104 00:05:18,059 –> 00:05:23,059 now for another year, but the sluggard has nothing. 105 00:05:26,019 –> 00:05:28,339 Now, perhaps most famously, 106 00:05:28,339 –> 00:05:33,339 the book of Proverbs challenges the lazy person 107 00:05:34,500 –> 00:05:39,500 by drawing a contrast between the sluggard 108 00:05:40,100 –> 00:05:45,100 and the example that we find in the world of insects. 109 00:05:45,820 –> 00:05:48,339 Chapter six and verse six. 110 00:05:48,339 –> 00:05:52,000 Go to the ant, O sluggard, 111 00:05:52,000 –> 00:05:56,299 consider her ways, and be wise. 112 00:05:56,299 –> 00:05:57,899 So here we’re getting the contrast 113 00:05:57,899 –> 00:06:00,140 between a person, the sluggard, 114 00:06:00,140 –> 00:06:02,339 who does not prepare for the future 115 00:06:02,339 –> 00:06:06,660 and little insects, the ants, who do, 116 00:06:06,700 –> 00:06:10,820 without having any chief officer 117 00:06:10,820 –> 00:06:15,579 or ruler, she, the ant, prepares her bread in summer 118 00:06:15,579 –> 00:06:19,359 and gathers her food in harvest. 119 00:06:19,359 –> 00:06:22,579 in other words, these tiny little insects 120 00:06:22,579 –> 00:06:26,500 are wise enough to know that what you do now 121 00:06:26,500 –> 00:06:30,940 relates to the outcome that will be in the future. 122 00:06:30,940 –> 00:06:35,459 These little insects know that you have to prepare 123 00:06:35,700 –> 00:06:38,380 for the future, and they do it without supervision. 124 00:06:39,899 –> 00:06:41,820 See, the unproductive person needs 125 00:06:41,820 –> 00:06:44,200 to be closely supervised all the time. 126 00:06:45,940 –> 00:06:50,179 But the ants, there’s no supervision over them at all. 127 00:06:50,179 –> 00:06:53,260 They, by instinct, know that there is work 128 00:06:53,260 –> 00:06:55,279 that needs to be done and it needs to be done now 129 00:06:55,279 –> 00:06:59,540 and they get on with it without any chief, 130 00:06:59,540 –> 00:07:03,059 without anyone watching, without any overseer 131 00:07:04,059 –> 00:07:07,940 and without any ruler. 132 00:07:07,940 –> 00:07:10,779 But the sluggard delays. 133 00:07:10,779 –> 00:07:12,820 He pospones. 134 00:07:12,820 –> 00:07:15,059 He procrastinates. 135 00:07:15,899 –> 00:07:17,779 Oh, it’s not very good weather today, 136 00:07:17,779 –> 00:07:19,839 I’ll get round to plowing tomorrow. 137 00:07:21,679 –> 00:07:25,179 And of course he never does. 138 00:07:26,339 –> 00:07:28,619 He’s slow to start. 139 00:07:28,660 –> 00:07:33,660 Second, the unproductive person is easily distracted. 140 00:07:34,320 –> 00:07:37,239 Chapter 28, in verse 19. 141 00:07:37,239 –> 00:07:41,040 Whoever works his land, so notice that theme again, 142 00:07:41,040 –> 00:07:43,500 will have plenty of bread. 143 00:07:44,540 –> 00:07:49,320 But he who follows worthless pursuits 144 00:07:49,320 –> 00:07:52,779 will have plenty of poverty. 145 00:07:52,779 –> 00:07:54,339 Worthless pursuits. 146 00:07:55,140 –> 00:07:58,059 Now you see, what keeps the sluggard 147 00:07:58,119 –> 00:08:01,739 from doing the work that God has called him to do? 148 00:08:01,739 –> 00:08:04,959 Stewarding that which God has trusted to him? 149 00:08:05,859 –> 00:08:07,260 What keeps him from doing that 150 00:08:07,260 –> 00:08:10,440 is that he is easily distracted. 151 00:08:10,440 –> 00:08:12,299 He lacks focus. 152 00:08:13,200 –> 00:08:16,380 He follows worthless pursuits. 153 00:08:17,399 –> 00:08:21,459 And, of course, the person who is fascinated 154 00:08:21,459 –> 00:08:25,279 with everything never accomplishes anything. 155 00:08:26,279 –> 00:08:29,399 And we live in a world of constant distraction 156 00:08:30,339 –> 00:08:32,580 from the moment we get up in the morning 157 00:08:32,580 –> 00:08:34,320 to the end of the day. 158 00:08:35,679 –> 00:08:36,840 Now, this is important. 159 00:08:36,840 –> 00:08:41,840 The reason that this sluggard has nothing at harvest 160 00:08:41,840 –> 00:08:44,719 is not that he made some determined decision, 161 00:08:44,719 –> 00:08:47,020 I’m not going to plow. 162 00:08:47,020 –> 00:08:51,039 No, it’s simply that he never got around to it. 163 00:08:51,039 –> 00:08:52,880 Other things got in the way. 164 00:08:52,880 –> 00:08:54,320 He was distracted. 165 00:08:54,500 –> 00:08:56,400 And when you look at the things that distracted him, 166 00:08:56,400 –> 00:08:58,039 none of them amounted to anything 167 00:08:58,039 –> 00:09:00,000 that had any long-term significance. 168 00:09:01,859 –> 00:09:04,679 Look at chapter 6 in verses 9 and 10. 169 00:09:05,520 –> 00:09:09,099 How long will you lie there, oh sluggard? 170 00:09:09,099 –> 00:09:12,299 When will you rise from your sleep? 171 00:09:12,299 –> 00:09:13,760 And notice what comes next, 172 00:09:13,760 –> 00:09:16,640 a little sleep, just a little. 173 00:09:16,640 –> 00:09:21,640 A little slumber, a little folding of hands to rest. 174 00:09:22,640 –> 00:09:25,099 Can you see the point here? 175 00:09:25,099 –> 00:09:26,159 Just a little. 176 00:09:27,539 –> 00:09:30,780 I’ll get round to my plowing, don’t worry. 177 00:09:30,780 –> 00:09:32,460 Don’t lecture me. 178 00:09:32,460 –> 00:09:36,239 Right now I just feel like I need a little sleep. 179 00:09:36,239 –> 00:09:39,679 Actually not even a little sleep, just a little slumber. 180 00:09:39,679 –> 00:09:41,559 Actually, if I don’t doze off, that doesn’t matter. 181 00:09:41,559 –> 00:09:44,140 Just let me sit in my chair and fold my hands 182 00:09:44,140 –> 00:09:46,359 just for a few minutes. 183 00:09:46,500 –> 00:09:51,500 And so he does and then there’s another distraction. 184 00:09:54,219 –> 00:09:57,640 I’ll just do this first and then I’ll get around 185 00:09:57,640 –> 00:10:01,320 to what God has called me to do, my plowing. 186 00:10:03,479 –> 00:10:05,280 Too many concessions. 187 00:10:06,679 –> 00:10:08,580 Too many postponements. 188 00:10:09,780 –> 00:10:14,780 Too many delays and it all happens little by little. 189 00:10:16,679 –> 00:10:17,700 Little. 190 00:10:18,760 –> 00:10:23,760 So understand why the sluggart has no harvest. 191 00:10:24,440 –> 00:10:28,000 It’s not because he made some grand refusal 192 00:10:28,000 –> 00:10:29,739 I’m never going to plow. 193 00:10:31,419 –> 00:10:35,640 It’s because through a thousand small concessions 194 00:10:35,640 –> 00:10:40,640 to his flesh, he never got around to the work 195 00:10:41,039 –> 00:10:43,440 that God was calling him to do. 196 00:10:43,940 –> 00:10:48,640 So he’s slow to start. 197 00:10:48,640 –> 00:10:50,099 The unproductive person. 198 00:10:51,020 –> 00:10:53,159 He’s easily distracted, 199 00:10:53,159 –> 00:10:55,039 and of course, what follows from that 200 00:10:55,039 –> 00:10:56,880 is that he doesn’t finish. 201 00:10:56,880 –> 00:10:59,559 Chapter 12 and verse 27. 202 00:10:59,559 –> 00:11:04,559 Whoever is slothful will not roast his game, 203 00:11:06,559 –> 00:11:10,880 but the diligent man will get precious wealth. 204 00:11:10,979 –> 00:11:13,440 So here is a place where the sluggard 205 00:11:13,440 –> 00:11:14,919 has finally got started. 206 00:11:14,919 –> 00:11:16,900 He does need to eat. 207 00:11:16,900 –> 00:11:20,359 And so he goes and he gets some game. 208 00:11:20,359 –> 00:11:22,280 He finds the food and he brings it home, 209 00:11:22,280 –> 00:11:23,840 but of course, then he gets distracted. 210 00:11:23,840 –> 00:11:25,140 He loses interest. 211 00:11:26,080 –> 00:11:28,140 And so he doesn’t see it through to completion. 212 00:11:28,140 –> 00:11:29,640 He moves on to something else 213 00:11:29,640 –> 00:11:31,460 and he never gets round to cooking the meat 214 00:11:31,460 –> 00:11:32,299 he’s brought home. 215 00:11:32,299 –> 00:11:34,979 He does not roast his game. 216 00:11:36,179 –> 00:11:37,820 Now notice then the pattern here. 217 00:11:37,820 –> 00:11:40,179 There’s something that’s important for us. 218 00:11:40,200 –> 00:11:42,419 The pattern of this person’s life is 219 00:11:42,419 –> 00:11:46,219 he is always moving on to something else. 220 00:11:47,080 –> 00:11:51,080 Something new catches his eye and off he goes, 221 00:11:51,080 –> 00:11:55,320 leaving behind a trail of uncompleted projects 222 00:11:55,320 –> 00:11:57,280 and of unfinished business. 223 00:11:57,280 –> 00:11:59,419 Things that he started, 224 00:11:59,419 –> 00:12:01,359 but he didn’t continue 225 00:12:01,359 –> 00:12:04,140 and as a result never completed. 226 00:12:05,419 –> 00:12:07,700 And that takes us to the fourth mark 227 00:12:07,700 –> 00:12:09,840 of the unproductive person, 228 00:12:09,859 –> 00:12:13,359 which is surprisingly that he never rests. 229 00:12:15,140 –> 00:12:17,719 And I say surprisingly because we saw earlier 230 00:12:17,719 –> 00:12:21,559 that the sluggard is hinged to his bed. 231 00:12:21,559 –> 00:12:23,320 But here’s the irony. 232 00:12:24,919 –> 00:12:27,679 The person who keeps putting off 233 00:12:27,679 –> 00:12:29,760 what he knows has to be done 234 00:12:29,760 –> 00:12:33,419 is a person who ultimately can never rest. 235 00:12:33,419 –> 00:12:34,260 Even when he sleeps, 236 00:12:34,260 –> 00:12:36,400 he doesn’t really rest. 237 00:12:36,400 –> 00:12:38,099 Because always at the back of his mind 238 00:12:38,099 –> 00:12:40,960 is a sense of I have not yet done what I need to do. 239 00:12:42,280 –> 00:12:43,440 God rested when? 240 00:12:43,440 –> 00:12:47,099 On the seventh day, when his work was complete. 241 00:12:48,080 –> 00:12:50,679 And the price of keeping putting off 242 00:12:50,679 –> 00:12:53,059 what you know God has called you do 243 00:12:53,059 –> 00:12:54,799 is that even when you sleep, 244 00:12:54,799 –> 00:12:58,239 you never really rest. 245 00:12:59,140 –> 00:13:01,479 So chapter 13 in verse four, 246 00:13:01,479 –> 00:13:05,280 the soul of the sluggard craves 247 00:13:05,280 –> 00:13:07,559 and gets nothing. 248 00:13:07,599 –> 00:13:10,799 While the soul of the diligent 249 00:13:10,799 –> 00:13:13,419 is richly supplied. 250 00:13:13,419 –> 00:13:16,760 So notice here we have a proverb about the soul, 251 00:13:16,760 –> 00:13:20,239 about your own inner experience. 252 00:13:20,239 –> 00:13:24,159 And you see it’s not just that the barns 253 00:13:24,159 –> 00:13:26,820 of the sluggard are empty. 254 00:13:26,820 –> 00:13:30,940 The soul of the sluggard is empty as well. 255 00:13:30,940 –> 00:13:34,200 Laziness will empty your wallet, 256 00:13:34,799 –> 00:13:37,059 but it will do something worse as well. 257 00:13:37,979 –> 00:13:39,960 It will destroy your soul. 258 00:13:41,320 –> 00:13:45,960 Because constantly avoiding what God is calling you 259 00:13:45,960 –> 00:13:50,320 to do is soul destroying. 260 00:13:51,799 –> 00:13:54,739 And that’s the experience of the sluggard 261 00:13:54,739 –> 00:13:58,760 and that’s why he never really rests. 262 00:13:58,760 –> 00:14:03,440 Instead, the soul of the sluggard craves. 263 00:14:04,460 –> 00:14:06,080 Oh, he wants a harvest. 264 00:14:06,940 –> 00:14:08,979 Oh, he’d like to be like his neighbors 265 00:14:08,979 –> 00:14:11,859 who are seeing the benefit of their diligence 266 00:14:11,859 –> 00:14:13,760 and their focus and their work, 267 00:14:15,619 –> 00:14:16,859 but he doesn’t have one 268 00:14:18,419 –> 00:14:22,099 and he won’t do what it takes to get one. 269 00:14:23,619 –> 00:14:28,460 So he gets nothing, Proverb says. 270 00:14:28,619 –> 00:14:33,619 Now, no one here or anywhere else 271 00:14:35,280 –> 00:14:38,280 wants to be anything like the sluggard, right? 272 00:14:38,280 –> 00:14:40,419 None of us wants to be like this, 273 00:14:41,700 –> 00:14:44,159 but the sluggard’s profile 274 00:14:44,159 –> 00:14:47,640 actually gives us a really helpful grid 275 00:14:49,059 –> 00:14:51,820 to work with in terms of what it takes 276 00:14:51,820 –> 00:14:55,219 to become a more productive person. 277 00:14:55,219 –> 00:14:58,340 Here are the four questions to ask. 278 00:14:58,340 –> 00:15:00,719 What do I need to begin? 279 00:15:02,299 –> 00:15:05,320 Where do I need to stay focused? 280 00:15:06,539 –> 00:15:09,200 What do I need to complete? 281 00:15:10,419 –> 00:15:12,580 And when do I need to rest? 282 00:15:13,859 –> 00:15:16,840 If you can live with and answer these four questions well, 283 00:15:16,840 –> 00:15:19,760 you will be a very productive person. 284 00:15:19,760 –> 00:15:22,659 What do I need to begin? 285 00:15:22,659 –> 00:15:26,460 Where do I need to stay focused? 286 00:15:26,460 –> 00:15:28,679 What do I need to complete? 287 00:15:29,739 –> 00:15:33,080 And when do I need to rest? 288 00:15:35,020 –> 00:15:35,979 Now that’s the first thing, 289 00:15:35,979 –> 00:15:38,400 the profile of an unproductive person. 290 00:15:38,400 –> 00:15:40,020 Here’s the second, 291 00:15:40,020 –> 00:15:44,099 and it’s the motive of a hardworking person. 292 00:15:44,099 –> 00:15:49,099 The motive of a hardworking person. 293 00:15:49,380 –> 00:15:54,380 And here I want to look at Proverbs 24 and verse 30, 294 00:15:55,179 –> 00:15:56,000 where we read, 295 00:15:56,000 –> 00:15:59,280 I passed by the field of a sluggard, 296 00:15:59,280 –> 00:16:02,619 by the vineyard of a man lacking sense, 297 00:16:02,619 –> 00:16:07,619 and behold, it was overgrown with thorns. 298 00:16:07,640 –> 00:16:11,119 The ground was covered with nettles, 299 00:16:11,119 –> 00:16:14,559 and its stone wall was broken down. 300 00:16:15,659 –> 00:16:17,739 Now, picture a wise man, 301 00:16:17,739 –> 00:16:20,299 and he’s out on a beautiful afternoon 302 00:16:20,299 –> 00:16:23,940 taking a walk in the country side. 303 00:16:23,940 –> 00:16:25,700 And the path that he’s walking on 304 00:16:25,700 –> 00:16:29,940 takes him by the edge of little properties, 305 00:16:29,940 –> 00:16:32,659 one little farm after another. 306 00:16:32,659 –> 00:16:36,080 He looks over the land and he sees at the end of the land 307 00:16:36,080 –> 00:16:39,700 a little house where the family that works that land is, 308 00:16:39,700 –> 00:16:41,820 and then he moves on past the next farm. 309 00:16:41,820 –> 00:16:43,619 It’s a beautiful, beautiful walk. 310 00:16:43,619 –> 00:16:46,179 And as he goes along this path, 311 00:16:46,179 –> 00:16:50,039 he sees a field of ripening corn. 312 00:16:50,840 –> 00:16:52,760 And as he looks across the field 313 00:16:52,760 –> 00:16:55,880 to the little house at the end 314 00:16:55,880 –> 00:16:59,760 where the family who are working this field live, 315 00:16:59,760 –> 00:17:01,859 he thinks, oh, there’s gonna be a great harvest 316 00:17:01,859 –> 00:17:02,700 for this family. 317 00:17:02,700 –> 00:17:05,540 They’re gonna be richly, wonderfully blessed this year. 318 00:17:06,640 –> 00:17:08,800 And then as he continues on the path, 319 00:17:08,800 –> 00:17:10,699 he walks past a vineyard, 320 00:17:11,520 –> 00:17:14,900 and he sees these great clusters of grapes 321 00:17:14,900 –> 00:17:17,300 hanging from the branches, 322 00:17:17,300 –> 00:17:19,939 looks down at the house at the end of that property, 323 00:17:19,939 –> 00:17:23,079 and he says, oh, there’s gonna be a great harvest 324 00:17:23,079 –> 00:17:26,260 for this family this year. 325 00:17:26,260 –> 00:17:28,800 They’re gonna be so richly blessed. 326 00:17:28,800 –> 00:17:30,780 And he keeps walking along this little path, 327 00:17:30,780 –> 00:17:35,680 and then he sees this land, and it’s an orchard. 328 00:17:35,680 –> 00:17:36,880 I had to get that bit in. 329 00:17:36,880 –> 00:17:37,900 It’s an orchard. 330 00:17:37,900 –> 00:17:41,959 And he thinks, oh, how blessed are the family 331 00:17:41,959 –> 00:17:45,459 that live here and are deeply rooted in this soil. 332 00:17:46,380 –> 00:17:49,540 And then he comes to another property 333 00:17:49,540 –> 00:17:53,239 that looks very, very different. 334 00:17:53,239 –> 00:17:56,880 The field is overgrown with thorns, 335 00:17:56,880 –> 00:18:00,699 the ground is covered with nettles, 336 00:18:00,699 –> 00:18:05,699 and the stone wall around the field is broken down. 337 00:18:07,939 –> 00:18:12,479 God has given to the person who lives here a field, 338 00:18:13,479 –> 00:18:18,479 but this man has not used what he was given. 339 00:18:21,680 –> 00:18:26,380 And the tragedy of the neglected field 340 00:18:26,380 –> 00:18:27,939 is not just that the sluggard 341 00:18:27,939 –> 00:18:30,439 has failed to provide for himself, 342 00:18:31,619 –> 00:18:34,640 it is that this man unlike all his neighbors 343 00:18:34,640 –> 00:18:39,319 is unable to contribute to the needs of others. 344 00:18:40,199 –> 00:18:43,780 Look at chapter 21 in verse 25 that draws this out. 345 00:18:44,739 –> 00:18:48,000 The desire of the sluggard kills him 346 00:18:48,000 –> 00:18:51,140 for his hands refuse to labor. 347 00:18:51,140 –> 00:18:53,760 All day long he craves and craves 348 00:18:53,760 –> 00:18:57,180 but the righteous gives 349 00:18:58,020 –> 00:18:59,959 and does not hold back. 350 00:18:59,959 –> 00:19:02,579 So you see, the contrast that’s being made here 351 00:19:02,579 –> 00:19:07,119 is a contrast between the sluggard and the righteous. 352 00:19:07,119 –> 00:19:08,459 And here’s the difference. 353 00:19:08,479 –> 00:19:10,660 The righteous has a good harvest 354 00:19:11,660 –> 00:19:15,060 and so he has enough for himself and for his family 355 00:19:15,060 –> 00:19:16,880 and he has enough for others as well. 356 00:19:16,880 –> 00:19:19,560 And so he’s able to give and he does not hold back. 357 00:19:20,839 –> 00:19:23,079 But the sluggard who does not plow, 358 00:19:24,520 –> 00:19:27,180 he has nothing to give. 359 00:19:29,119 –> 00:19:31,760 So, think about this. 360 00:19:31,760 –> 00:19:35,959 God gave the sluggard a field. 361 00:19:36,920 –> 00:19:41,239 God gave him something that would produce, 362 00:19:42,420 –> 00:19:44,760 it would produce all that he needed for himself 363 00:19:44,760 –> 00:19:46,560 and a whole lot more beside. 364 00:19:47,619 –> 00:19:50,680 More than he could give to others, but here’s the problem, 365 00:19:50,680 –> 00:19:54,079 the sluggard did not use what God had given to him, 366 00:19:54,079 –> 00:19:57,359 did not use his God-given gift. 367 00:19:58,359 –> 00:20:02,560 And because he did not use that which God gave to him, 368 00:20:03,239 –> 00:20:08,239 the field became overgrown and the wall was broken down. 369 00:20:12,319 –> 00:20:15,660 Now, right here in Proverbs, and particularly 370 00:20:15,660 –> 00:20:18,119 in the contrast between the sluggard and the righteous, 371 00:20:18,119 –> 00:20:22,939 there is the seed of a principle that is drawn out 372 00:20:22,939 –> 00:20:26,560 and made quite clear and explicit in the New Testament 373 00:20:26,560 –> 00:20:31,560 and it’s this, that love is the great motivation 374 00:20:32,199 –> 00:20:34,199 for all of our work. 375 00:20:35,079 –> 00:20:38,939 You see it in Ephesians chapter four in verse 28. 376 00:20:38,939 –> 00:20:43,819 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather, let him labor, 377 00:20:43,819 –> 00:20:48,579 doing honest work with his hands, why? 378 00:20:49,959 –> 00:20:54,500 So that he may have something to share 379 00:20:56,119 –> 00:20:58,119 with anyone in need. 380 00:20:58,599 –> 00:21:03,400 In other words, the motive for using the gifts 381 00:21:03,400 –> 00:21:05,479 that God has given to us is not simply 382 00:21:05,479 –> 00:21:07,339 so that I will have what I need, 383 00:21:08,180 –> 00:21:11,560 it is so that I can contribute to the needs of others. 384 00:21:11,560 –> 00:21:12,800 So that in the exercise 385 00:21:12,800 –> 00:21:15,079 of whatever God has given to each one of us, 386 00:21:15,079 –> 00:21:18,920 we are able to minister to the needs of others. 387 00:21:18,920 –> 00:21:23,180 Love is the great motive for all of our work. 388 00:21:23,180 –> 00:21:27,859 And of course, that begins with our love for God 389 00:21:27,859 –> 00:21:29,160 and for God. 390 00:21:29,160 –> 00:21:32,520 So Colossians chapter three and verse 23. 391 00:21:32,520 –> 00:21:33,920 Whatever you do. 392 00:21:35,459 –> 00:21:39,459 So we’re talking here about whatever your paid work is, 393 00:21:39,459 –> 00:21:42,819 whatever work you have been given to do that is not paid, 394 00:21:42,819 –> 00:21:46,680 whatever you have been called by God to do in your life, 395 00:21:46,680 –> 00:21:49,079 whatever the work that he has given you to do. 396 00:21:50,939 –> 00:21:53,180 Work at it with all your heart. 397 00:21:54,579 –> 00:21:55,420 Why? 398 00:21:55,579 –> 00:22:00,040 As working for the Lord not for men, 399 00:22:00,880 –> 00:22:03,640 you see, that’s why you become a very productive person 400 00:22:05,359 –> 00:22:07,739 even when you’re not being closely supervised 401 00:22:07,739 –> 00:22:10,900 because while the eye of some boss may not be on you, 402 00:22:10,900 –> 00:22:12,040 the eye of the Lord is 403 00:22:12,040 –> 00:22:14,939 and you’re doing it for Him and for His glory. 404 00:22:14,939 –> 00:22:17,060 And that’s why you always offer your best. 405 00:22:19,060 –> 00:22:23,000 These words from Colossians chapter three and verse 23 406 00:22:23,099 –> 00:22:28,079 are above the door of my study at home. 407 00:22:29,640 –> 00:22:34,640 And I normally go in to the study with great joy. 408 00:22:35,640 –> 00:22:36,719 What a privilege. 409 00:22:38,160 –> 00:22:39,939 But like everyone else, 410 00:22:39,939 –> 00:22:42,800 there are always days when one struggles. 411 00:22:43,939 –> 00:22:45,640 And on days when I’m struggling, 412 00:22:45,640 –> 00:22:47,660 I sometimes just touch that text 413 00:22:47,660 –> 00:22:49,060 above the door on my way in 414 00:22:49,880 –> 00:22:53,060 because it’s a reminder to me, 415 00:22:54,520 –> 00:22:56,900 I’m doing it for you, Lord. 416 00:22:56,900 –> 00:22:59,020 I don’t feel like doing this today. 417 00:23:00,380 –> 00:23:04,579 But I want to offer what I’m doing to you as worship. 418 00:23:05,880 –> 00:23:07,000 And you will find that, 419 00:23:07,000 –> 00:23:08,939 whatever your work is, 420 00:23:08,939 –> 00:23:10,300 you will find that principle 421 00:23:10,300 –> 00:23:11,579 immensely helpful, 422 00:23:11,579 –> 00:23:12,920 that the motive for it 423 00:23:12,920 –> 00:23:15,119 is first your own love for the Lord. 424 00:23:15,939 –> 00:23:17,780 Whatever your work is, 425 00:23:17,780 –> 00:23:21,020 offer it to Him as worship. 426 00:23:21,020 –> 00:23:22,459 I’m writing this essay, 427 00:23:22,459 –> 00:23:24,219 Lord, for you. 428 00:23:24,219 –> 00:23:25,660 I’m serving this customer, 429 00:23:25,660 –> 00:23:26,819 Lord, for your glory. 430 00:23:26,819 –> 00:23:27,839 Let me do it in a way, 431 00:23:27,839 –> 00:23:30,359 therefore, that imparts blessing to them. 432 00:23:31,300 –> 00:23:32,479 There may be times when 433 00:23:32,479 –> 00:23:36,140 your work is hard and dull and boring. 434 00:23:36,140 –> 00:23:37,819 There may be times, of course, 435 00:23:37,819 –> 00:23:38,839 when you would rather 436 00:23:38,839 –> 00:23:41,359 be doing something else. 437 00:23:41,359 –> 00:23:42,520 But you will be helped 438 00:23:42,520 –> 00:23:43,619 and you will be lifted 439 00:23:43,619 –> 00:23:46,180 as every day you go to your work, 440 00:23:46,180 –> 00:23:47,739 whatever that may be, 441 00:23:47,739 –> 00:23:49,239 Lord, help me to offer 442 00:23:49,239 –> 00:23:51,619 what I do to you today as worship 443 00:23:51,619 –> 00:23:54,140 and let me bring blessing to others 444 00:23:54,140 –> 00:23:56,060 as I do it. 445 00:23:56,060 –> 00:23:57,260 That’s the principle. 446 00:23:57,260 –> 00:23:59,420 That love, that is love for God 447 00:23:59,420 –> 00:24:00,599 and love for others, 448 00:24:00,599 –> 00:24:04,300 is the great motive for pursuing 449 00:24:04,300 –> 00:24:06,520 all that God has called you to do, 450 00:24:06,520 –> 00:24:08,140 whatever that is. 451 00:24:10,939 –> 00:24:13,260 Now I was helped in preparing this week 452 00:24:13,260 –> 00:24:16,979 by going back to a book I read awhile ago 453 00:24:16,979 –> 00:24:19,420 by Rebecca de Young, 454 00:24:19,420 –> 00:24:22,819 who teaches at Calvin College. 455 00:24:22,819 –> 00:24:27,599 She has written a book on the Seven Deadly Sins 456 00:24:27,599 –> 00:24:29,959 and she describes sloth, 457 00:24:29,959 –> 00:24:31,979 which is what we’re talking about here today, 458 00:24:31,979 –> 00:24:36,979 as resistance to the demands of love. 459 00:24:36,979 –> 00:24:40,540 Hm. 460 00:24:40,540 –> 00:24:42,380 I wonder if you have ever thought about that, 461 00:24:42,380 –> 00:24:47,380 laziness is resistance to the demands of love. 462 00:24:52,400 –> 00:24:56,739 She describes what can easily happen in a marriage. 463 00:24:56,739 –> 00:24:59,619 So a husband and a wife get into some argument 464 00:24:59,619 –> 00:25:04,180 and then they retreat to different parts of the house. 465 00:25:05,119 –> 00:25:10,119 And it’s easier to stay at a miserable distance, 466 00:25:10,660 –> 00:25:13,939 him watching the television in one room 467 00:25:13,939 –> 00:25:16,719 and her reading the book in the other, 468 00:25:16,719 –> 00:25:19,599 it’s easier to stay at a miserable distance 469 00:25:19,599 –> 00:25:24,599 than to do the hard work of saying sorry, 470 00:25:25,160 –> 00:25:28,760 forgiving, and reconciling. 471 00:25:30,439 –> 00:25:33,280 Rebecca DeYoung says, do they want the relationship? 472 00:25:33,280 –> 00:25:34,280 Yes, they do. 473 00:25:35,800 –> 00:25:37,439 Do they want to do what it takes 474 00:25:37,439 –> 00:25:39,680 to be in the relationship? 475 00:25:39,680 –> 00:25:40,880 Well, maybe tomorrow. 476 00:25:42,119 –> 00:25:46,000 For now at least each spouse wants the night off 477 00:25:46,000 –> 00:25:50,319 to wallow in his or her own selfish loneliness. 478 00:25:53,479 –> 00:25:58,479 Brothers, sisters, it is easy to get lazy in love. 479 00:25:58,500 –> 00:26:02,699 To let a relationship drift 480 00:26:02,699 –> 00:26:07,060 because you’re taking it for granted, 481 00:26:07,060 –> 00:26:11,420 because you can’t be bothered to face what is wrong 482 00:26:11,420 –> 00:26:14,920 or to make the effort to try and put it right. 483 00:26:16,540 –> 00:26:21,540 And it is a great sin to let love die 484 00:26:21,819 –> 00:26:26,719 because you’re too lazy to do the hard work 485 00:26:27,459 –> 00:26:29,020 to put it right. 486 00:26:30,979 –> 00:26:32,020 So, brothers and sisters, 487 00:26:32,020 –> 00:26:34,959 we’re coming around the Lord’s table today. 488 00:26:36,420 –> 00:26:41,420 Let’s look at our lives honestly as we prepare to come. 489 00:26:45,079 –> 00:26:50,060 Ask yourself, am I getting lazy in love? 490 00:26:52,060 –> 00:26:55,599 Am I resisting love’s demands? 491 00:26:56,920 –> 00:27:00,500 Am I neglecting to care 492 00:27:01,880 –> 00:27:06,260 for what God has trusted to me? 493 00:27:08,000 –> 00:27:12,859 Repentance is like plowing, it’s hard work, 494 00:27:13,680 –> 00:27:18,680 but in due time, it will yield a harvest. 495 00:27:21,680 –> 00:27:24,400 Someone may be thinking immediately, 496 00:27:24,400 –> 00:27:27,680 oh, you didn’t know my situation, there’s no point. 497 00:27:27,680 –> 00:27:31,140 Nothing I do will ever make any difference, 498 00:27:32,959 –> 00:27:34,680 and I just want you to hear the word of God 499 00:27:34,680 –> 00:27:36,979 that says this in Galatians 6, 9. 500 00:27:36,979 –> 00:27:40,979 “‘Let us not grow weary of doing good, 501 00:27:41,959 –> 00:27:46,380 “‘for in due season we will reap a harvest 502 00:27:46,380 –> 00:27:48,400 “‘if we do not give up.’” 503 00:27:49,359 –> 00:27:50,319 Don’t give up. 504 00:27:50,319 –> 00:27:55,319 It is a great sin to let love die 505 00:27:56,300 –> 00:27:58,640 because you are too lazy to do the hard work 506 00:27:58,640 –> 00:28:00,699 that it takes to keep it alive, 507 00:28:00,699 –> 00:28:04,680 and it would be a tragic loss 508 00:28:05,560 –> 00:28:07,760 to miss eternal life 509 00:28:09,119 –> 00:28:13,099 because you’re too lazy to do what it takes to find it. 510 00:28:15,239 –> 00:28:17,859 Let me encourage you with these Scriptures, 511 00:28:18,839 –> 00:28:23,420 take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, 512 00:28:24,599 –> 00:28:27,859 strive to enter through the narrow door. 513 00:28:29,660 –> 00:28:32,680 Do not work for the food that perishes 514 00:28:32,680 –> 00:28:35,719 but for the food that endures to eternal life 515 00:28:35,719 –> 00:28:37,520 which the son of man will give you. 516 00:28:39,040 –> 00:28:40,760 Ask and it will be given to you, 517 00:28:40,760 –> 00:28:42,400 seek and you will find, 518 00:28:42,400 –> 00:28:44,760 knock and the door will be opened to you 519 00:28:44,760 –> 00:28:47,599 for everyone who asks receives. 520 00:28:47,619 –> 00:28:50,339 Everyone who seeks finds, 521 00:28:50,339 –> 00:28:53,520 and to him who knocks it will be open. 522 00:28:55,359 –> 00:28:58,359 Don’t be a lazy Christian. 523 00:29:00,699 –> 00:29:03,939 Trusting God isn’t easy, not for any of us. 524 00:29:05,239 –> 00:29:07,599 Praying is hard work. 525 00:29:09,319 –> 00:29:13,520 Persevering can sometimes be exhausting, 526 00:29:14,359 –> 00:29:19,060 but if you will not plow, how will you have a harvest? 527 00:29:20,599 –> 00:29:25,180 So the Profile of an Unproductive Person, 528 00:29:25,180 –> 00:29:28,560 the motive of a hard working person, 529 00:29:28,560 –> 00:29:32,280 it all comes out of loving God enough to do the hard things 530 00:29:33,260 –> 00:29:37,680 and loving others enough to do the hard things, 531 00:29:37,680 –> 00:29:40,859 no matter what, and then lastly, 532 00:29:40,859 –> 00:29:44,599 the joy of a Christlike person. 533 00:29:45,579 –> 00:29:48,000 Did you notice, by the way, 534 00:29:48,000 –> 00:29:51,219 that Jesus is the precise opposite 535 00:29:51,219 –> 00:29:53,339 of everything we said about the sluggard? 536 00:29:55,099 –> 00:29:59,920 He began early, 12 years old in the temple. 537 00:29:59,920 –> 00:30:02,920 Did you not know that I must be about my father’s business. 538 00:30:04,459 –> 00:30:06,239 You want to be like Christ? 539 00:30:07,219 –> 00:30:08,900 Stop procrastinating. 540 00:30:10,479 –> 00:30:12,680 Is there something that God has prompted you to do 541 00:30:12,680 –> 00:30:15,119 and you’ve been putting it off? 542 00:30:15,119 –> 00:30:17,199 Telling yourself there’s plenty of time? 543 00:30:17,199 –> 00:30:20,199 OCS Lewis makes this point wonderfully, 544 00:30:20,199 –> 00:30:24,180 that the Devil has so many ways of ruining souls, 545 00:30:24,180 –> 00:30:26,199 but is most effective is to make people 546 00:30:26,199 –> 00:30:28,939 think that there is plenty of time. 547 00:30:31,119 –> 00:30:34,560 And the scripture goes exactly the opposite direction, 548 00:30:34,640 –> 00:30:39,560 it says, today, today, right now, if you hear his voice, 549 00:30:39,560 –> 00:30:41,040 do not harden your heart. 550 00:30:43,520 –> 00:30:46,079 Now is the time for repentance. 551 00:30:46,079 –> 00:30:49,760 Now is the time to do that which you know must be done. 552 00:30:49,760 –> 00:30:52,119 Now is the time for obedient following 553 00:30:52,119 –> 00:30:55,260 after the call of the Lord Jesus Christ 554 00:30:55,260 –> 00:30:59,219 and his claim upon your life. 555 00:30:59,219 –> 00:31:02,719 Second, Jesus stayed focused, 556 00:31:02,800 –> 00:31:06,920 sluggered, so easily distracted, 557 00:31:06,920 –> 00:31:09,439 but Jesus says we must work the works 558 00:31:09,439 –> 00:31:10,49 of him who sent me. 559 00:31:10,439 –> 00:31:12,739 While it is day, night is coming. 560 00:31:12,739 –> 00:31:14,880 When no one can work, there’s an urgency 561 00:31:14,880 –> 00:31:17,020 about every day of the life of Jesus 562 00:31:19,119 –> 00:31:20,660 and he will never be distracted. 563 00:31:20,660 –> 00:31:24,680 He sets his face like a flint to go to Jerusalem, 564 00:31:24,680 –> 00:31:27,439 the gospel say. 565 00:31:27,439 –> 00:31:30,439 He set his face like a flint to do the hardest thing 566 00:31:30,500 –> 00:31:33,140 that was ever done in the history of the world. 567 00:31:35,079 –> 00:31:37,560 So when you are discouraged, 568 00:31:39,439 –> 00:31:43,239 do not be distracted from doing the will of the father, 569 00:31:44,239 –> 00:31:46,280 no matter how costly it may be. 570 00:31:47,599 –> 00:31:50,839 That’s the joy of a Christ-like person. 571 00:31:50,839 –> 00:31:55,079 Your savior stayed focused 572 00:31:55,079 –> 00:31:58,760 and for that reason he completed his work. 573 00:31:58,839 –> 00:32:03,479 He’s uniquely able to say, John 17 in verse four, 574 00:32:03,479 –> 00:32:06,939 father, I have glorified you on earth 575 00:32:06,939 –> 00:32:10,719 and accomplished the work that you gave me to do. 576 00:32:10,719 –> 00:32:11,599 What was that work? 577 00:32:11,599 –> 00:32:15,900 He came into the world to seek and to save the lost 578 00:32:15,900 –> 00:32:17,359 and he’s done it, 579 00:32:18,479 –> 00:32:20,260 everything that is needed 580 00:32:21,479 –> 00:32:25,020 to bring any one of us here this morning 581 00:32:25,020 –> 00:32:26,660 from where we are right now, 582 00:32:26,699 –> 00:32:29,060 whatever our circumstances and needs, 583 00:32:29,060 –> 00:32:31,160 everything that is needed to bring us 584 00:32:31,160 –> 00:32:32,819 from where we are right now 585 00:32:32,819 –> 00:32:36,319 into the glory of eternal joy 586 00:32:36,319 –> 00:32:37,859 in the presence of the Lord Jesus. 587 00:32:37,859 –> 00:32:39,479 Everything that is needed for that 588 00:32:39,479 –> 00:32:42,359 was accomplished by our Lord Jesus Christ 589 00:32:42,359 –> 00:32:44,500 in his death and in his resurrection 590 00:32:44,500 –> 00:32:46,439 and that is why on the cross, 591 00:32:46,439 –> 00:32:49,540 he cries out in a loud voice in triumph, 592 00:32:49,540 –> 00:32:51,660 it is finished. 593 00:32:53,619 –> 00:32:55,219 And then he enters his rest 594 00:32:56,020 –> 00:32:59,979 and today, he is seated at the right hand of the Father 595 00:32:59,979 –> 00:33:02,260 where he is ready right now 596 00:33:02,260 –> 00:33:06,459 and able to save all who will look to him 597 00:33:06,459 –> 00:33:09,140 in repentance and in faith. 598 00:33:11,819 –> 00:33:15,780 The opposite of everything 599 00:33:15,780 –> 00:33:17,119 that we see in the slugger. 600 00:33:19,060 –> 00:33:20,540 And you want to be like Jesus. 601 00:33:21,439 –> 00:33:25,979 Very soon, God has prepared work 602 00:33:25,979 –> 00:33:29,099 for every one of us here this morning to do, 603 00:33:29,099 –> 00:33:31,380 Ephesians 2.10, he’s prepared works, 604 00:33:31,380 –> 00:33:33,560 good works in advance for all of us to do. 605 00:33:33,560 –> 00:33:35,839 There’s a whole path 606 00:33:35,839 –> 00:33:38,300 of good that you can do this week 607 00:33:38,300 –> 00:33:39,660 that God already knows 608 00:33:39,660 –> 00:33:41,939 and it’s for you to discover it and do it. 609 00:33:44,040 –> 00:33:44,839 Start early, 610 00:33:46,500 –> 00:33:47,739 stay focused, 611 00:33:48,599 –> 00:33:50,819 and persevere to the end 612 00:33:52,780 –> 00:33:55,339 so that you will be able to say with Paul, 613 00:33:55,339 –> 00:33:57,000 I have fought the good fight, 614 00:33:58,060 –> 00:34:00,199 I have finished the race, 615 00:34:00,199 –> 00:34:02,459 and I have kept the faith 616 00:34:03,859 –> 00:34:06,540 and then by God’s grace, 617 00:34:07,760 –> 00:34:12,719 you too will enter into his rest. 618 00:34:14,320 –> 00:34:15,520 Let’s pray together. 619 00:34:16,439 –> 00:34:21,439 Save us dear Father from being like the sluggard 620 00:34:23,179 –> 00:34:28,179 and make us ever more like our glorious savior, Jesus Christ. 621 00:34:29,659 –> 00:34:32,479 In whose wonderful name we pray. 622 00:34:32,479 –> 00:34:33,320 Amen.