08-05-12 AM - Se7en Series: Sloth

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2 Thessalonians 3:6-10. 6 And now, dear brothers and sisters, we give you this command in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ: Stay away from all believers who live idle lives and don’t follow the tradition they received from us. 7 For you know that you ought to imitate us. We were not idle when we were with you. 8 We never accepted food from anyone without paying for it. We worked hard day and night so we would not be a burden to any of you. 9 We certainly had the right to ask you to feed us, but we wanted to give you an example to follow. 10 Even while we were with you, we gave you this command: “Those unwilling to work will not get to eat.” 11 Yet we hear that some of you are living idle lives, refusing to work and meddling in other people’s business.
12 We command such people and urge them in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and work to earn their own living.

Sloth -it’s the avoidance of physical or spiritual work.

The opposite of love is indifference.

Sloth motto is—never do today what you can put off until tomorrow.

Five Deadly Results that Come from Sloth
1. Despair.

John 10:10 NLT The thief’s purpose is to steel and kill and destroy.  My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.

2. Financial Hardship.

Proverbs 19:15 Lazy people sleep soundly but idleness leaves them hungry.

3. Missed opportunities.

Proverbs 10:5 “A wise youth harvests in the summer but one who sleeps during the harvest is a disgrace.”

4. Broken relationships.

Proverbs 18:9 One who is slack in his work is brother to one who destroys.

5. Boredom.

I can’t be bothered, or I don’t care, or it doesn’t matter rolling off the lips of Jesus.
He had suffering and pain, but He lived life to its fullest, and everyone who was around Him knew He cared.

Four Biblical Essentials to Overcome Sloth
1. Search for areas of sloth in my life.

Psalm 139:23 Search me O God, and know my heart.  Test me and know my thoughts.”                                

So you need the job.
                                           
Then you have interview sloth.
That’s physical sloth.
Marital sloth.
spiritual sloth.

The Kingdom of God is righteousness peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.

Another form of sloth is escapism.

 2. See eternal significance in what I am doing right now.

Be passionate about what you are doing right now.

The Bible says “if you aren’t faithful with the little things, God’s not going to give you a lot”.
               
Philippians 4:8 whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.


3. Set Godly goals in the major areas of my life.                              


4. Stop making excuses and get started.

God’s plan leads to God’s power.
  Proverbs 22:13.  The sluggard says, "There is a lion outside!" or, "I will be murdered in the streets!"

The issue is not about perfect conditions.  It’s about a perfect God.

Philippians 4:9 “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me, put it into practice. And the God of peace will be there.”