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Proverbs: What Does Proverbs Say About Laziness 9.8.19 · HBCWestminster

• 0:00
  Well, our text this morning will be Proverbs chapter 24. I'm going to read verses 30 to 34, and I would ask you to stand if you're able in honor of God's word. We'll read our text this morning and then pray and begin. King Solomon, the author of Proverbs, writing in verse 30, he says, I passed by the field of a sluggard, by the vineyard of a man lacking sense. And behold, it was all overgrown with thorns. The ground was covered with nettles.
• 0:33
  and its stone wall was broken down. Then I saw and considered it. I looked and received instruction. A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man. Would you pray with me? Heavenly Father, you are a peace-loving and peace-giving God. You bless us with your unfailing and unconditional love.
• 1:09
  We come this morning to worship and to praise your name. We come to rejoice in your tender mercies toward us. Lord, you have been so generous to us. You've poured out your blessings and grace upon us in the person of your son. You've offered us free forgiveness in his name. We come this morning to worship and honor you and to rejoice in the wonder of forgiven and forgotten sin. We ask you to speak to us now.
• 1:42
  Through the reading and hearing of your word, Lord, we know that it is only because of the work of Jesus Christ that we can pray. Amen. Amen. You can have a seat. You know, a couple of weeks ago, I walked one of the City Kids neighborhoods, the Fontaine site, the second site there, and I walked around in the neighborhood going door to door, knocking on doors, reminding kids that we were meeting, that the meeting was about to start a couple of Saturdays ago.
• 2:11
  And I walked to the neighborhood with one of the kids. I started at his apartment, picked him up. He's the young man that I mentioned frequently in my sermons. He and I have become friends, and I love him. His name is Edwin. Edwin just celebrated his 10th birthday a few weeks ago. And Edwin and I were walking around the neighborhood, and he knew everybody in the apartment complexes over there. We're knocking around.
• 2:37
  knocking on doors, walking around, all of these different neighbors and whatever, and we're inviting the kids. And even though he's only 10 years old, I told him he had to go first. He had to knock on all the doors. And he asked why. Because I think normally when other staff people, volunteers go with him, normally they take the lead and he has the secondary spot. And I said, well, because I've noticed that in most neighborhoods that I go to, when I knock on doors, most of the time people think I'm the cops.
• 3:08
  That happens a lot. It really does. And I don't know why. I don't know what it is about me or my appearance, whatever. I don't know. I just go knock on people's doors. And I really do. I can hear them. I see the drapes move to the side and they spot me. Then the drapes go back and I hear them say behind the door, it's the cops. Like, I'm not the cops. You know, I'm the pastor. I don't know what it is. You know what, Edwin? I don't know what I expected his response to be. Like, what? Really?
• 3:39
  Well, that's weird. It wasn't that. Instead, he just said, yeah. Every time the assumption is made that I'm the police, and I remember my sophomore year of college, my first day of physical geography class, there were about 100 students in the classroom. Our professor walked straight to the chalkboard. He wrote the word, assume.
• 4:11
  All in big capital block letters across the chalkboard. He began the class by telling us not to be students who assume. Because he said when we assume, and then he stopped, he circled the first three letters, and then he circled the U, and then he circled the M-E at the end. Because when we assume, he said, it makes you and me one of those.
• 4:43
  This morning our study will be the topic of laziness from the Proverbs, and I would encourage us from the start not to assume that this sermon won't apply simply because we're hard workers. Not to assume that God doesn't have something to teach us about our work ethic, about our stewardship of His resources, about complaining, about contentment.
• 5:08
  about the renewal of our minds. And this morning, I'm going to do something that I rarely do, rarely. Once every few years, I will use slides during my sermon.
• 5:21
  My wife recommended it yesterday afternoon as I was going through my sermon with her. And she just said, Danny, this is a big sermon. There's going to be a lot of cross-referencing, a lot of different topics discussed. She said, help us, help us if you would, just by organizing it into slides, basic slides. And so if they are a help to you, use them. And if not, just completely ignore them. I certainly don't want them to be a distraction. But let's look first at verses 30 and 31. What Solomon saw, that's just what I'm going to call it. What Solomon saw.
• 5:50
  Look at verse 30 again. He said, I passed by the field of a sluggard, by the vineyard of a man lacking sense. Notice he says sluggard, lazy people, which is what a sluggard is. Laziness is the same as lacking sense. Laziness is a lack of common sense. He continues in verse 31. And behold, it was all overgrown with thorns. The ground was covered with nettles and its stone wall was...
• 6:19
  broken down. Now, what did Solomon see? It's simple. He saw the second law of thermodynamics in motion. He saw the progression of the natural universe tending toward entropy, its inevitable end in maximum disorder. He saw the breaking down of nature. He saw lost potential. He saw a waste of income. Really, what he saw was a lack of stewardship. The field belonged to somebody.
• 6:50
  He walked by and said, certainly the owner of this vineyard has no sense. The property he knew had once been cared for. Somebody had built a wall, right? Somebody had planted vines, but those things had been neglected and properly tended. He knew that it would have been a field which produced a fortune for its owner. The king didn't have to meet the owner of the field to deduce some things about the owner's character.
• 7:22
  You ever seen a person's yard, the condition of their house, the condition of their car and thought, why don't they do something about that? You ever looked at your own yard, your own house, your own car and thought, I should really do something about that. I want to be very gracious. This is not meant to condemn at all. It's only meant to illustrate.
• 7:51
  Not trying to be the lawn police. The Lord knows I don't want to be the president of anybody's HOA. But our attitude toward the resources God has given us and our treatment of those resources says something about our work ethic. Does our treatment of God's resources declare to the world that our God provides? Does that make sense? So when you consider the resources that God has given you and your care over those resources,
• 8:20
  Does your care of those things communicate that everything I have has come from God? A really funny thing happens. I know that everything comes from God. Every good and perfect thing comes down from the father of lights. That's what James chapter one says. I know that that's true, but for some reason, and when I receive it, honestly, church, I receive it with gladness. I receive it with gladness, but for some reason, as soon as it becomes mine, I suddenly think that it becomes mine.
• 8:53
  Right? And all of a sudden, I don't have to worry. It's mine. I can do with it what I want. I can neglect it if I want. I can throw it away if I want. I can waste it if I want. Now, I know that I got it from God, but now it's mine. Does our treatment of God's resources declare to the world that our God is good? That our God is generous? Our God is generous. These things I have received from the Lord. And does our treatment, and I'll switch it around because this is for...
• 9:27
  I know this is pricking my own heart, but does my treatment of God's resources declare to the world that my God has expectations on my stewardship? He's given these things to me for a reason, for a purpose, and I'm required, I'm expected to take care of those things. That's what Solomon saw. Now let's go to what Solomon learned. Look at verse 32. Then I saw and considered it.
• 9:53
  I looked and received instruction. So as he's looking at this field, this vineyard broken down, he's beginning to consider it, ponder it, and he's learning from it. And here is the proverb that he comes up with after seeing the field. Here it is. A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber and want like an armed man. What Solomon learned.
• 10:19
  Was it even a little laziness? I want you guys to notice that word little. Little slumber. Little folding of the hands. Even a little laziness causes big problems. Indeed, there is no time for laziness. He said something similar in Proverbs 6. How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from sleep? A little sleep. A little slumber. There it is. A little folding of the hands. It's all there. There it is.
• 10:50
  Poverty will come upon you like a robber and want like an armed man. Proverbs 13, 4. The soul of the sluggard desires and has nothing. It's not for lack of desire, right? The soul of the sluggard, he desires, but he has nothing. Proverbs 19, 15. Slothfulness cast into a deep sleep. The idle soul shall suffer hunger. Proverbs 10, 4. He becomes poor who works with a lazy hand. Proverbs 15, 19.
• 11:23
  The way of the sluggard is like a thorn patch, right? It's like a field that hasn't had its weeds pulled. Proverbs 12, 24, the hands of the diligent shall rule, but laziness ends in slave labor. What may seem like a small sin, I think, probably in comparison to murder, adultery, and theft. Laziness, compared to murder, adultery, and theft, probably seems small.
• 11:55
  Right? If you were to go next door at 1045 to your connect group and everybody's breaking into their little groups to pray and you say, I've got some sin to confess. And you say, you know what? I did it again. Committed murder again this week. You know, your little group is going to be like, what? We got to make a call. I'm sorry. You know, we'll pray after I call 911. You know what I mean? Like, yes, we'll pray for you. Murder. You know, I did it again.
• 12:26
  committed adultery again this week. Okay, that's big. We got some, we got to talk about that. That's not just that we're going to pray for a minute and let's keep on moving. You know what? I did it again. Tax fraud. You know, wouldn't you know it? Theft. I robbed another bank. You know, like, wait, what? Those are big. You walk into your connect group and say, you know, I did it again. I'm struggling with laziness again this week. People will be like, oh, you know, we'll pray for you. It seems small.
• 12:59
  But even though it's small, seemingly it will have major consequences if that laziness is not snuffed out. You say, well, why is laziness such a big deal? Why does the Proverbs deal with laziness so much? The answer is because our attitude toward work reflects our attitude toward the Lord and toward others. Now, I believe the scriptures teach a biblical work ethic, and I believe that ethic to be based upon our love for God and our love for others.
• 13:28
  Now, contrary to popular opinion, work is not a result of the fall. It may feel that way on Monday mornings. Certainly, this is a result of sin. Certainly, if Adam and Eve had not eaten the fruit, I would not be going to work today. But that's not what the Bible teaches. In fact, work was created by God. It was given by God to man to bring glory to him. Now, the Greeks believed that the gods hated them. They believed...
• 13:59
  that their punishment for being mortal was enslavement to work. That's not what the scriptures teach. In fact, God's word says that work comes from God. It even says that God works. Work itself is not sinful because God does it. He worked in creation. He works in judgment. He works in salvation. And we being created in his likeness are also to work. Now, Adam and Eve worked in the garden long before there was sin.
• 14:29
  Their job was to tend the garden. Now, sin changed work, certainly, but work itself is divine. And because work is what we were designed to do, our attitude toward it, perhaps more than any other daily human activity, reflects our attitude toward our design. Let me say that again. Because work is what we were designed to do. We were designed to work. Our attitude toward work
• 14:59
  perhaps more than any other daily human activity, reflects our attitude toward our design. We are rapidly abandoning our nation's traditional work ethic. One of the big reasons, I think, is that we are also abandoning our love for the Lord. That separation of church and state as it's being used and applied today is also becoming a separation of our nation from hard work.
• 15:34
  Because when God doesn't matter, then neither does morality matter. And when morality doesn't matter, then you're well on your way to the disintegration of your society. Scrap your values, scrap your ethics, scrap right and wrong, and your society cannot exist for much longer. If one jettisons their belief in God, they will also jettison their belief in right and wrong. Things like cheating, lying, stealing, adultery, murder, and on and on. None of those things will matter. There won't be right and wrong.
• 16:06
  All of the chief virtues of humanity eventually lose their value, right? And hard work is a virtue. Work is a moral behavior. And as morality crumbles, hard work, especially work as unto the Lord, will go with it. If we scrap our belief in the Lord, then work as unto the Lord will go too.
• 16:37
  When people think they answer only to themselves, they become disillusioned with the notion of work because they begin to grow a sense of expectation. And tell me if this is not what's happening in our culture as we jettison our belief in God, right? People's determination to be hard workers is diminishing, and yet their expectations are increasing, even to the point that many feel that others, including the government, owe them something simply for existing. I breathe.
• 17:07
  Therefore, I am worthy of a salary. When we lose our love for the Lord, we lose our work ethic. And despite your feelings politically, and I will not make any political statements here, God has commanded work. He expects work. And if someone refuses to work, then Scripture says they should be given nothing. 2 Thessalonians 3, verse 10. If anyone is not willing to work,
• 17:44
  What does it say? Let them not eat. If anyone's not willing to work, let them not eat. Why would you expect everybody else to do all the work for you? Do we not employ that in our own homes? You who have kids, grandkids, right? If you're not going to do your job, why would you expect that I would give you things? Contribute. If anyone's not willing to work, let them not eat. And another reason I think our work ethic has dissipated is that we've also lost our love.
• 18:17
  for others. So not only has our love for God diminished and that affects our work, but also our love for others. Charity is another of the human's chief virtues. The Bible says to love God and to love your neighbor. And one of the primary means of loving your neighbor is to sacrifice for them, provide for them, and give to them. And those who refuse to work have nothing to give. Lazy and idle people have lost their love for God and have lost their love for others. And our attitude toward work
• 18:49
  It should not be understood just to be secular or a spiritually neutral matter, like my work has nothing to do with my spiritual life. Our attitude toward work reflects our attitude toward Christ. I think you will never find a man lazy about his work who is diligent about his soul. Now, what must we learn? How do we apply that? And maybe you're thinking, yes, Pastor Danny, I agree that it's important to work hard. I agree that my attitude toward work is a reflection.
• 19:22
  Of my spiritual condition. I agree with those things. But what if I hate my job? What if I hate my job? Let's deal with that for just a minute. What if it seems as though there is no redeeming value in my job whatsoever? What should I do? First, don't complain. Philippians chapter 2 and verse 14. Do all things without grumbling or disputing.
• 19:58
  Another translation even uses the word complaining. Do all things without complaining. Do all things without grumbling, no matter what your employment. The income you enjoy is God's provision for you. No matter what you're doing, and you may hate your job. And I'm going to be really, really careful and say, I'm not telling you you can't hate your job. What I'm telling you is, because there are probably legitimately some hateful jobs, okay? I mean, I'm assuming that that's true. No matter what job you have, the income you enjoy is God's provision for you.
• 20:31
  No matter your responsibilities, no matter how seemingly low or insignificant or temporary, they have been entrusted to you by the Lord. Those responsibilities have come from God himself. You've been entrusted with them. And so whatever you do, whether you eat or drink, do everything for the glory of God, right? Ephesians chapter 6 even says, render your service.
• 20:57
  This is in the context of work, of employment. Render your service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord. Render your service as unto God and not unto man. That's first. What if I hate my job? Don't complain. Start there. Second, be content. Be content. Philippians chapter 4, starting in verse 11, the Apostle Paul. Not that I am speaking of being in need.
• 21:27
  For I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low. I know how to abound in any and every circumstance. I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. You know, I have never met a person whose lack of contentment was circumstantial. Think about that for just a minute. I have never met...
• 21:59
  The man or woman whose lack of contentment was circumstantial. So that if their circumstances changed, suddenly they would become content. Typically what happens in my experience is I observe, and even in my own life, if I'm discontent now, I will be discontent later, no matter what circumstances change. Many in this room even are not only employees, but employers.
• 22:32
  You've had the privilege and honor of managing people. It may not feel like a privilege and honor all the time, but nevertheless. Do you ever need a new employee? You need to hire somebody. You get a whole host of resumes and job applications. As you're looking through those, did you ever see one of them? The person who had multiple jobs in a very short amount of time. Did you ever see that?
• 22:57
  You look at their list of jobs, right? And it's like, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. And then you look at the dates, you're like, wait, that was all in three years? It looked impressive on this side, but then you get to the date range, you're like, whoa, something's got to be wrong, right? You ask them about it, six different businesses in six years, and they probably gave you the whole gamut of excuses about why they left each one, none of which was probably their own fault. Let me ask you, as honestly, as a hiring manager, are you likely to hire that person?
• 23:30
  Probably not. Why? Because if they couldn't figure it out in six tries, listen, they weren't all the other guy's fault. Do you see what I'm saying? I'm not saying you're required to love your job. Make sure, I mean, I know there are hard jobs. What I'm saying is that contentment is a heart issue, not an employment issue. I believe that you can endure more than you think, all the while rejoicing in the Lord. First, if you hate your job, don't complain. Be content. And third,
• 24:07
  Catch a vision for why you are there. Catch a vision for why you are there, not just what you're doing. We can become so consumed in what we're doing that we forget why we're there. Catherine Krieger is a missionary, and here is a picture of her. You see her standing there with Hallie and Chase. She visited our church just a couple of months ago. I introduced you guys to Catherine. She sat right over here. She visited one of the Connect groups. You guys probably heard from her. She's a missionary friend of ours.
• 24:35
  who works on the island of Borneo in Indonesia with Ethnos 360, which used to be New Tribes Missions. She's there to translate the scriptures into an unknown language first, to learn the unknown language, and then to translate the scriptures into that unknown language, plant a church, Lord willing, and then hand that church off to capable and qualified leaders as they are trained up. Now, Catherine fishes. She even described it to us.
• 25:07
  A massive river going through, you know, kind of the village. She lives on the river. In fact, to get to her tribe, you have to take like a 12-hour or something little raft ride, canoe ride to get to her tribe. She fishes by spearing fish. She picks roots to eat out of the jungle. She butchers animals. She harvests vegetables and she weaves rugs. Those are all of the things that she does for work.
• 25:37
  But those are certainly not what she enjoys doing. She doesn't do those things because she thinks they are fun. And those things are not the reason why she's there. She didn't move to Borneo for the work opportunities. Do you see what I'm saying? Like, I've heard they're hiring, you know, like, wait, what? That's not why she's there. That's what she has to do.
• 26:04
  But it has nothing to do with why she's there. Certainly those things, you guys, she is one of the most brilliant young ladies I've ever met. She could have done anything. She has an aptitude for language. Can you imagine? This woman can listen to you talk and learn your language. People like the CIA would be interested in her, right? That's the kind of brain she has. She's performing jobs.
• 26:37
  that are well below her station. Shouldn't be spearing fish, eating potatoes she finds in the vegetable garden, in the jungle, there's potatoes that grow wild. That's what I eat. I got to go pick the potatoes. It's not what she should be doing. Maybe somebody like me, but not her. Do you see what I'm saying? Well below her station, but she understands why she's there. There's nothing to do with what she's doing for a living.
• 27:08
  It has everything to do with where the Lord has placed her. Acts chapter 17, and it's one of my favorite verses to quote. I love using this. In Acts chapter 17, verse 26, and he made, God made from one man every nation of mankind to live all on the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods in the boundaries of their dwelling place.
• 27:27
  that they should seek God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. This says that God designed us, made us, and not only that, actually chose us to live in a certain place and at a certain time. God chose you to live here in North Denver, at least for now, unless he calls you somewhere else.
• 27:48
  But for now, this is where he has called you. This is the time period that he has chosen. This is the boundary of your dwelling place he has chosen. He put you where you're at for a reason. He doesn't just call you to an occupation. The occupation is where he places you to advance his kingdom. And finally, just a pastoral charge here. As we consider all of that laziness and our work and our employment and our work ethic and contentment and complaining and all of those things, let me just give...
• 28:23
  a charge this morning. Can I be perfectly frank, honest? I don't think that most of us struggle with laziness toward our work. This was hard for me to preach on, honestly, because I thought, Lord, how are we going to apply this? I don't think that most people in the room probably feel like they need to work more. Most Highlanders that I talk to probably think they need to work less.
• 28:46
  Like, Pastor Danny, I'm burning it at both ends. I mean, we are barely keeping our heads above water. I've got my nostril just barely over the surface of the water so I can breathe. But other than that, I feel like I'm drowning. I don't think most of us sit around with idle hands. I mean, maybe some in here need to get to work. But most of us, I think, are devoting our lives to hard work. But listen, that doesn't mean we are working hard at things that matter. In fact...
• 29:19
  Many believers, I think, spin and spin and toil and agonize over very few things that will matter a hundred years from now. Colossians chapter 3 and verse 2, set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. Maximum effort does not always equate to maximum success. Just because you're trying real hard doesn't mean you're succeeding spiritually.
• 29:50
  You could be the hardest person in this room, and somebody is. Somebody in here is the hardest person in the room. If that's you, you can still be wasting your life because you're giving it to the things that Moz will eat and Rust will destroy. I took my family this last week to Topgolf, that place up I-25 that has the massive fences and all that, right? I took them up there this week. We played golf, kind of, for an hour and a half or so.
• 30:21
  whacking golf balls and playing all of these games and all of this is really, really fun. My son Pearson and I, right? And not that we had an official little competition, but I know because one of the fun things about Topgolf is they radar how fast the ball is going off of your golf club. They radar it, which for baseball players, you're all about the numbers, right? And so, you know, you work and work and work and work and work and work your whole life playing baseball to try to hit a ball 400 feet.
• 30:50
  switch over to golf, I can hit 400 feet with my pitching wedge, right? I mean, it's, man, now I'm trying to hit a ball 900 feet, you know, and it's just fun. And so we're looking at the miles per hour off the face of the golf club and all of these things, you know, and trying to get the highest number. Now, listen, he's bigger than me. He's taller than me. He's stronger than me. He swings harder than me. But guess whose ball goes faster?
• 31:14
  He is not piercing. Listen, he swings harder than me. I mean, you can hear it. It creates wind when he swings. The ball comes faster off of mine. Why? Because it's not necessarily about maximum effort. It's about the effort applied in the right way. Does that make sense? And because I'm older and probably don't care as much, the Lord gifted me with the ability to out hit my son.
• 31:50
  Maximum effort does not always equate to maximum success. You can say, Pastor Danny, I heard your sermon on work ethic and laziness. It doesn't apply to me. I work hard. That doesn't mean you're succeeding. Additionally, just because most of us are working hard doesn't mean that we don't struggle with other forms of laziness. If I asked by show of hands how many in here are lazy, very few probably would have raised their hands because we only define laziness one dimensionally.
• 32:19
  We think that if we wake up early, are constantly moving, and then go to bed tired, we aren't lazy. But there's another form that laziness takes that I think plagues the church, and it happens in our minds. Minds that are drifting and unchecked lead to compromise, to confusion, to moral failure, to spiritual numbness, to a life that is mostly nullified. Imagine like the junior high mouth breather.
• 32:50
  staring at the clock, devoid of life in a world of their own, counting down the seconds until that final school bell rings. Wasted. Laziness of the mind. Consider for a moment what Scripture says about the importance of our minds. First, salvation. Salvation itself is a matter of the mind. Salvation itself is a matter of the mind. Ephesians chapter 6 gives the whole list. Gives the whole list.
• 33:22
  of the armor of God. But notice at the end in verse 17, it says to put on the helmet of salvation, the helmet of salvation. Salvation begins with right thinking. Notice also, we must constantly transform our minds by renewing them according to God's word. Romans chapter 12 and verse 2, do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind. You notice that there are only two roads the mind will travel.
• 33:55
  Conformed or transformed. Those are the only two options for your brain. Either you, by renewing your mind, will have the mind of Christ, or by doing nothing, you'll be conformed to the pattern of this world. Think about this. One of those two things is happening in your mind right now. One of those two things. It's either conforming to the world or being transformed by being renewed. You know, there are 168 hours in a week.
• 34:27
  168 hours, and a majority of Christians, even a majority of Highlanders, attend one church service one time per week. One hour. The other 167 hours they spend in the world. Secular work environment, secular classes, secular friendships. Can I ask, honestly, how is God's Word supposed to compete?
• 34:53
  The parable of the soils describes some who come to Christ quickly and with enthusiasm, but then drift away because they become overwhelmed by the cares of the world. And it played out in real life. Here's how it sounds. I'm going to pray a prayer to receive Jesus. I'll start attending church, but I'm not going to change anything else about me. I'm keeping the same friends, the same career, the same classes, the same movies, the same music.
• 35:22
  The same, the same, the same. And if Jesus is real, then he'll sanctify me anyway. I'm sorry to tell you this, but that's not what it means to follow Christ. It's not what Christ meant when he said we would remain in the world, but that we must not be of the world. The fruit bearing disciple of Christ must be constantly renewing their mind. And you say, well, how do we do that? And the answer is simple. Engage God's word. You must engage in God's word. If you're one of those new believers that I'm talking about, we have new believers.
• 35:50
  Here at Highland, we have brand new believers within the last month committing their lives to Christ. You have to engage God's word daily. You have to. We've got to see God's word for what it truly is, and that is the words of eternal life. God's word is our food. We've got to eat and eat and eat in order to maintain our spiritual strength. Distance from the Lord is caused by laziness in our minds. Last, if you struggle with laziness in your mind, you've got to take your thoughts captive. 1 Corinthians 10.
• 36:21
  The weapons of our warfare are not the flesh, but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God and take every thought captive to obey Christ. Our thoughts are unruly and wild things. They must be subjugated and forced into submission. You know, assumptions are dangerous, especially when it comes to God's word. Just because we're working hard doesn't mean we don't struggle against laziness. And laziness kills.
• 36:55
  It's not just a waste of time and money. It's a declaration that we have fallen out of love with God and don't care about his people. It can take many forms, including laziness of mind. And our enemy is crafty. He is constantly working to undermine the truths of God's word in our hearts and minds. And so we must constantly be filling and renewing our minds to combat it. And Lord, I pray that you would help us with this.
• 37:26
  God, if there are some in here who struggle with laziness in their work ethic, then Lord, I pray that you would light a fire under them to work as unto you because of our love for you and to have the ability to be generous toward others. God, that is your desire. If there are some in here who hate their jobs, who see no redeeming value, then God, I pray that they would see their occupation and employment for what it is, not only provision from you, but also an opportunity to advance the kingdom where they're at.
• 37:55
  And God, I pray that if we become lazy in our minds and so run the risk of being choked out by the cares of this world, then God, I pray that we would transform our minds by the renewing, constantly renewing and being in your word. Lord, we're grateful people today. Thank you for worship. Thank you for your word. And it's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.