Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to the book of Proverbs, chapter 26. Proverbs 26. I'd like to look at three verses,
13, 14, 15. Proverbs 26, verse... 13 says, the slothful man saith,
there is a line in the way. A line is in the streets. As
the door turneth upon his hinges, so doth the slothful upon his
bed. The slothful hideth his hand
in his bosom, It grieveth him to bring it again to his mouth. Now, this book, being the book
of wisdom, God blessed Solomon with wisdom. And this book being a book that
we desperately need to hear is a book in which we find the Spirit
of God moving upon Solomon to give great instruction to this
characteristic of slothfulness or slothfulness, either one is
right. And as I read these verses of
scripture about this slothfulness, Laziness is what it is. If these verses could only be
applied to the unregenerate, boy, what a comfort that would
be for all believers because if that was only the law, only
that spirit of laziness, slothfulness, That would be grounds for us
to all say, boy, I'm thankful I'm not as other men are. I'm
glad I'm not like that. I don't doubt for one second.
I know for a fact. I know that the unregenerate
is lazy, slothful when it comes to possessing any heart of obedience
before God. But this is the reason. He's
dead. He's dead. in trespasses and
sins. And that spirit of laziness. It's an amazing thing that men
justify laziness especially before God. Hold your place there. Turn
to the book of Luke 14. Luke chapter 14. Lord, giving this example, this
illustration, Luke chapter 14 and verses 16 to 20. Luke 14, 16, then said he unto
him, a certain man made a great supper and bade many and sent
his servant at suppertime to say unto them that were bidden,
come, for all things are now ready. And they all with one
consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I bought
a piece of ground. I must needs go and see it. I
pray thee have me excused. Another said, I bought five yoke
of oxen. I go to prove them. I pray thee
have me excused. And another said, I married a
wife, and therefore I cannot come. And so men by nature. has a spirit about him of slothfulness,
laziness. It's just excuses. It's just
excuses. Felix and his wife heard the
apostle Paul preach in the book of Acts, and Paul preached concerning
the faith in Christ. He preached concerning righteousness,
that righteousness is in Christ Himself and not in man's works. He preached of temperance, that
is, that we walk striving, believers do, we strive walking after obedience
to the Lord. And He spoke of judgment to come,
that every man is going to surely stand before God and going to
give an account. The books are going to be opened.
And the scripture says that Felix, hearing these things, trembled. Though dead spiritually, man
still has a conscience. There's a conscience that's in
every man. They know that there is a God. They know that. And he said to
the Apostle Paul, Here's that spirit of slothfulness. Go thy
way for this time. When I have a convenient season,
I'll call for you. Now listen, all of us need to
hear this. Oh, the danger of procrastination. Faithfulness to Christ, and I'm
talking to all of us here, Faithfulness to Christ is by Adam's fall in
the garden, yes, but by our own willful disobedience and sin. Faithfulness to Christ is a hindrance
to the slothful man. It's just a demand that has no
place in the lifestyle of man born in Adam. We're born like
that. We're just born having a heart
that desires separation from the things of God. What did Adam
and Eve do as soon as they ate? As soon as Adam ate, what happened?
They hid themselves. They hid themselves. Man may speak of loving the Lord. Ask anybody, do you love the
Lord? I do, I do. But his path, his walk is always
paved with good intentions and whenever the time is better,
whenever I have a little bit more convenient time, when I'm
in a little bit better position financially. You know if I wasn't just a Strout,
man, I'd just go from can to can't. I've just ran all day. I'm just beat. I'm just... Now listen, we're all like that.
We're all. I mean, that old man is there. That reluctance to faithfulness
and attendance with God's people, to hear the word of truth demands
that we give a reason. I can't just let people think
I'm I'm slowful, I'm lazy, I can't do that. What does he say? Well,
verse 13 of Proverbs 26 says, here's the answer. There's a line in the way. There's
a line in the streets. Never stopping to realize that
the problem with slowfulness, That spirit with which we're
all born. It's never a good reason. It's
never a good reason. What good reason can a man give
for unfaithfulness toward Christ? He who made us, who owns us.
What good reason? There's a line in the street.
Scripture says, as the door turneth upon his hinges, so doth the
slothful upon his bed. Now just stop and realize, just
think about this. Okay, you've got a door, and
you're looking at hinges. And you just open the door, and
you close the door, and you open the door, and you close the door.
That hinge is moving, but it never progresses. He says, that's
the way the slowful man is on his bed. There's always an appearance
of activity, but no progression. Slowfulness. He just stays, this
is man by nature, he stays on his carnal bed of ease, justifying,
I'm moving. I'm alive, but excuses, excuses. Verse 15, the slothful hideth
his hand in his bosom. It grieveth him to bring it again
to his mouth. You know, if we watch somebody
and we witness them put their hand in a plate, they took something
out of a plate. They wouldn't lift their hand
to their mouth to eat it. You say, you know what? That
has got to be the epitome of laziness. I have never seen...
Does anybody here want... Would y'all please lift my hand
and put this in my mouth? You know, you'd say to yourself,
you'd starve. Starve. You won't even put it.
That's the soulful man when it comes to the things of God. Now,
just stop. I mean, the Spirit of God moved
upon Solomon to tell us something about ourselves. This is us. We have here the Word of God. I'm sitting here preaching it.
And I'm sitting here preaching and proclaiming the inspired
Scriptures. And even while I'm speaking,
I'm realizing in myself, do I grasp hold of truly what I'm saying? Is there not more of a Hungering and thirsting and a
realization, if I grasp hold, here is the power of God unto
salvation. The proclamation of these divine
truths. But I find myself, because of
slothfulness, so easily making an excuse. Oh, now, I can feast upon my
own carnal desires and my own fleshly pleasures, and I'll gobble
down the praises of men. I'll savor my own morality. I'm as good as the next man.
Somebody said, I wouldn't think that. Yes, we do. Yes, we do. We do. At least I'm here. At least I showed up. But man
by nature will not spiritually grasp hold of the broken body
and shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ because man by nature
is slothful. The hearing of the gospel, the
searching of the scriptures and the closet prayer is a drudgery
by nature that I just can't handle. The moment something else comes
up that I can substitute, I'll jump on that. And when I have
a more convenient season, I'll read, I'll hear, I'll pray. I mean, let's just be honest. I mean, if West Virginia's playing,
I have no problem sitting down for two and a half, three hours
to watch a football game. I have no problem whatsoever.
I'm just telling you the way I am. Oh, but when it comes to
the scriptures, when it comes to
something else that feeds my flesh, no problem. Oh, but when
it comes to that blessed time to be able to read, And here,
there's a line in the streets. There's a line in the way. And to show you the truth of
that spirit still being with us, hold your place there again.
Turn back, turn to Song of Solomon. Turn over just a few pages toward
the New Testament there. A couple of pages, three or four
pages. Song of Solomon 5. Listen to this. Now here's Shulamite.
Now I'm telling you that this spirit is still with us, and
Scripture brings it out. Here again, same one that penned
Proverbs, penned Song of Solomon. Song of Solomon, chapter five,
verse two and three. I sleep. What did Shulamite just say?
I'm slothful. I'm lazy, I'm lazy. But my heart
waketh. It is the voice of my beloved
that knocketh, saying, open to me, my sister, my love, my dove,
my undefiled. For my head is filled with you,
dew, and my locks with the drops of a night." Now, I just read
that, and I thought to myself, Listen to what the Lord says
to His bride. And if I be one of His own, that
the Lord would say to me, open to me, Marvin, my love, my dove,
my undefiled, made so by the precious imputation of the righteousness
of Christ Christ, who bore my guilt, made it His very own,
bore it in His own body, put it away, shed His precious blood
on Calvary's tree before God, made Himself answerable for me,
took my debt, that I might be with Him forever, that I might
live with Him in glory, seated with Him in the heavenlies,
open to me, for my head is filled with dew." He'd been there saying
this. I've been all night. I've been
all night here. And my locks with the drops of
the night. And listen to my answer by nature. You say, well, this is Shulamite.
Shulamite's the bride. He's talking to his bride. And
listen, I've put off my coat. How shall I put it on? I've washed
my feet. How shall I defile them? There's a line in the way. There's
a line in the streets. I don't have time. I don't have
time. Oh, I need to read that passage
again over and over because it reveals the truth that but for
the grace of God, I would never admit to this. But for the grace
of God. But it's an answer of honesty.
One that truly knows and loves the Lord. The bride's not asleep totally
to his voice, for her heart's awake to know him, but she knows
his voice in the scripture, she knows his voice when she hears
it preached, she hears the gospel, and she beholds the providential
workings, you know, concerning her, but it's an honest admittance
to the coldness that we experience concerning the divine things,
those things of God. And I tell you what it does,
to admit it, to know it, in your heart. If you didn't admit it,
well, you're either dead or you're a liar. God's people know, they know. I know that in me, that is in
my flesh, there dwelleth no good thing. This is just the way I
am by nature. And there's a battle that's going
on. It's a war and it's reality, but what it does, it drives us
back to Him. Drives us back to the Master.
And I tell you what a believer does. They see that and they
give diligence to make their calling and election sure because
he knows that if the things of God, the fruit of God's Spirit
dwells, They'll never fall. Let me tell you the greatest
evidence. You know, I read that, give diligence
to make your calling and election sure. Let me tell you the greatest
evidence of giving diligence to make your calling and election
sure. John 6, 37. I quote this all
the time. But here's the greatest example. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me. Now listen to this last part.
Here's the evidence. And him that cometh to me. God's people never quit coming
to him. Never. They never. Coming to
Christ is not a point in time in the past. Right now. Today is the day of
salvation. I've told people before, I've
had people ask me, say, well, I feel as though that I was,
you know, I feel as though I said, look, that's water under the
bridge. You're not gonna change that. I cannot, I cannot call
back the breath I took three seconds ago. I can't call that
back. I gotta breathe right now. I gotta have a breath right now.
Him that cometh to me. Is there a desire to cast yourself
upon Him? Him that cometh to me for mercy,
for safety, for comfort, for life. Him that cometh to me. Come unto me, all you that labor.
I'll give you rest. A believer knows that old man
is still there with me. And I find myself lazy. I am lazy. I am. And I hate it. Why am I thus? John Newton, why
this dull and lifeless frame? Surely could they be worse? It's
never heard his name. They can't be any worse than
I am. Struggle. The Apostle Paul says, I keep
my body. Keep under my body, bring it
into subjection, lest by any means after that I've preached
to others that I should be a castaway. Paul was saying this, I don't
think lightly of these slothful, indifferent attitudes that I
see. There's an old man there that
hates that disobedience. It hates that spirit of disobedience. Job, I loathe myself. Paul feared after proclaiming
to others the gospel that he himself should be found unapproved, unfit, and rejected. A believer doesn't take anything
for granted. He does not. Lord saved me. He knows something
about this war. He knows something of him that
he's committed his all to. I know that he's able to keep
that which I've committed unto him against that day. And that attitude is found only
by the grace of God. He knows the Lord's not going
to forsake him. In closing, I want you to turn to Hebrews and listen
to this, Hebrews chapter six. I started off saying this, you
know, if this attitude was just one that's just found in an unbeliever,
you know, we'd say, oh boy, I tell you what, thank goodness I'm
not like that anymore. There's an old man that's always
been the same old man. Hebrews chapter six, now listen
to this, that's what I'm saying. You say, you know, if I could
just say those slothful unbelievers, those lazy unbelievers, well,
we'd need to go back and read what Shulamite had just said,
but listen to this in the New Testament. Hebrews chapter six,
verse 10 to 12. For God is not unrighteous to
forget your work and labor of love, which you have showed toward
His name. in that ye have ministered to
the saints, and do minister. And we desire that every one
of you do show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope
unto the end, that ye be not slothful, but followers of them
who through faith and patience inherit the promises. The Apostle Paul was moved by
the Spirit of God to warn us against slothfulness. And I do say it is a battle. We're born spiritually dead,
making excuses for our spiritual laziness, always ready to foolishly
brag upon ourselves concerning our faithfulness. Satisfied,
but for the grace of God, satisfied to that endless just being a
hinge upon our bed. We're born satisfied to make
a show of faithfulness. We're born with a spirit that
is too lazy to eat because we're really not hungry by nature,
by nature. There's a new man there that
does hunger and thirst, but that old man is still there. Oh, but
if the Lord's pleased to cause a sinner to himself, giving him
life in Christ, life from above. That sinner is found to be one
who now loves Christ. He loves Him. There is a hunger
and a thirst for righteousness, and he longs for that which he
once avoided and despised. And when he comes to hearing
the glorious message of the gospel, he's the one that says, I'm glad
when they said unto me, let's go to the house of the Lord.
So here's two ends of the spectrum. Here's a new man that sinneth
not. And he does hunger and he does
thirst. And there's that old man that
Paul said, I see in me, I see it. It's a body of death. And I hate it. I hate him. I
despise him. I loathe myself. But now he's realizing, I'm here
by the grace of God. I'm here kept by the grace of
God. And as God has revealed me to be, that's the way I am. Believer, you're going to see
that old man. You see him. You know you do.
You see him. But thanks be unto God, he doesn't
reign over you anymore. Sin shall not have dominion.
He's there. He's there. Paul cried, oh, wretched
man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? He will. He will. Very soon,
he'll receive us unto himself. And that old body of death won't
be there anymore. Oh, until then, Lord, keep me.
Lord, keep me, keep me by your grace. Lord, thank you for being
honest with me and teaching me of myself. And let me be patient,
loving unto the Lord, loving to God's people, patient with
them, understanding with them. I'll be looking at them with
that holier-than-thou attitude as if we're not like that, because
we are. I pray that the Lord bless these
words and encourage us to His glory and our good. Amen.