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Procrastination Introduction: We all value time and there are many statements about time. "Time is what we want most, but... what we use worse." William Penn "A stitch in time saves nine." Unfortunately most of us live by the philosophy, "don't do today what you can put off until tomorrow." The Bible warns us of the tendency to put off until tomorrow what should be done today. I) James 4.13-17 A) People make plans for tomorrow 1. No consideration of God in the time element, a place of business, the business itself, the goal of the business, etc. 2. God should be the basis for all of our decisions. God in selecting a business, the place, and goal should all be to please Him. B) Time and our checkbook shows our priorities 1. We will do something today, Luke 12.16-21 2. We put off those things that are either not important or unpleasant to us. C) We are presumptuous, Job 7.6-10 1. We assume we will have a tomorrow. Our plans depend on God to bless us with time. 2. Our life is temporary and frail, 1 Peter 1.24-25. a. Time is what we tend to value the most but also waste the most. b. Do not squander time for that is the stuff life is made of. Benjamin Franklin II) The Sins of Procrastination, James 4.17 A) Lost opportunities 1. The ability and time to do good will not always be there. 2. We are commanded to do go, sins of omission are those things we ought to be doing. 3. Goodness is more than the absence of evil and bad, Matthew 25.41-43; Galatians 6.10. a. Example of preaching to those who will hear, 2 Timothy 4.2-4 b. Training our children, visiting the sick, James 1.23-27 B) To continue in sin 1. For those not in Christ, the time to obey is now, Acts 2.37-38 a. Immediate action in required, Acts 16.33 b. We must choose between God and sin, 1 Kings 18.21 2. To the Christian who stumbles the time for repentance is now, Acts 8.22 3. How long can (should) we continue in sin and still be honest, Acts 26.19-20 C) The allowance of sin 1. To not condemn sin is to condone it. 2. Our responsibility is to expose and condemn sin, Ephesians 5.11 3. The proper and timely handling of sin is important, Matthew 5.23-24; 18.15-17 a. Sin can and will become ingrained in a person's life, Hebrews 3.13 b. "I can't stop after all of these years" or "It is too late now to change" 4. How zealous are we when the task is unpleasant? 2 Corinthians 7.11-12 D) The neglect of God, Ephesians 6.6 1. God does not take second place, Ephesians 5.15-16. 2. Are you busy are the Lord's work? 3. Are you providing good stewardship of your time, your soul? Ecc. 9.10 Conclusion: Procrastination says to wait as does the devil, God says now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation. |