Slothfulness casteth into a deep
sleep and an idle soul Shall suffer hunger now we know the
True principle of this in earthly things But in this verse the lesson
is how equally true this is in spiritual things Not only slothfulness
of the body and that's clearly a the earthly analogy here. It's something that casteth into a deep sleep. In
other words, it's not something easily shaken off once indulged. And notice the word soul in the
latter part of this verse, an idle soul. It's not just about
the body. But there is idleness of the
soul as well and consequence for that Turn with me to Romans 13 if
you would please I Want to look at a lot of other
scripture That relates to this verse Because there is a lot of other
scripture that relates to this verse and every bit of it sheds
light on our subject and spiritual laziness. Romans 13, 11, and
that knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out
of sleep. For now is our salvation nearer
than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day
is at hand, and let us therefore cast off the works of darkness,
and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk honestly as
in the day, not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering
and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus
Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the
lust thereof. So we see this waking out of
sleep, and we see the reference, of course, to a deep slumber
in our text. Paul said then that it was high
time to awake out of sleep, and so much more now as we see the
day approaching. The time is mentioned as a reason
to wake up. It's time, it's time. And of
course that's true in our day, to be aware, to be vigilant,
to be zealous and fervent in our worship,
in our service, in our whole manner of life.
It mentions putting on armor as a part of this, put on armor.
You don't put on armor to Sit back in your living room and
watch TV. And that's just a picture and that's wrong with watching
TV but You don't put on armor to relax to be idle you put it
on to fight and I don't have to remind you how that Spiritual
living in this world is compared to warfare. He that woreth entangleth
not himself in the affairs of this life but that he may please
him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. So it's a matter of
not entangling, as we see in this passage, not entangling
yourself, not rioting in drunkenness. You see this world, what they're
all about, entertainment, self-promotion, all of the lusts of the flesh,
not in chambering and wantonness, And not in strife and envy. It's
interesting that that's put there with the pursuit of entertainment
and just vanity in this world is also strife and envy. We're
so prone to that, that it's mentioned. Don't waste your life, your effort,
your energy, your time, striving with people. We're to avoid that in the scripture.
We're to avoid it in every way imaginable. It's clearly in the
scripture. Strife and vainglory and arguing,
debate, division is all warned against over and over in the
scripture, in spiritual things especially, to avoid unlearned
questions and arguments over vain things. But notice the remedy
here, put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ. To put the armor on is
to put on Christ himself, to put on his righteousness, to
put on, as we sang, may the mind of Christ our Savior dwell in
us. Paul said we have the mind of
Christ. Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ. Act according to who he is. Think
according to who he is. Speak according to who he is.
Be an imitator of him. Bow your heart and your life
in service unto him. To give your lives as a sacrifice
is your reasonable service unto him. We reckon that if he died
for us, we ought not to henceforth live unto ourselves, but unto
him which died and rose again. All through the scripture we
see that kind of language. The time is mentioned, the armor
is mentioned, putting on Christ is mentioned. We remember the
rebuke to the church at Laodicea. Let me read it to you. Remember
the nature of the rebuke to this church in the book of Revelation
in the letters to the churches. And unto the angel of the church
of the Laodiceans write, these things saith the amen, the faithful
and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God. I know
thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot. Thy works. I would that thou wert cold or
hot. So then because thou art lukewarm,
you're just kind of lackadaisical, you're just kind of going through
the motions. And I know that a lot of times we're on our heels
in this world. Look, we suffer things. We get discouraged. It's so easy in this hour, especially
this day, to be discouraged. But don't stay on your heels.
Don't stay idle. Don't stay just hunkered down. Fight the fight. That's what
he's saying here. Not lukewarm. But here's what'll
make you lukewarm. You say, I'm rich. Everything's
fine. There's no need. There's no cause. No cause to
get excited or to, I'm rich. I don't have to do anything. Show me a man in earthly things
that does nothing because he's rich, and I'll show you a worthless
individual. Probably harmful. He'll probably
use what he has for evil and not good. That's not it. That's not the be all end all.
And increased with goods and have need of nothing and knowest
not that thou art wretched. How can you be poor and not know
it? Because we're talking about spiritual
poverty here. Not earthly, not physical. There's
no virtue in physical earthly poverty. and there's no evil
in physical earthly riches. We're talking about spiritual
things. You're wretched and miserable
and poor and blind and naked. I counsel thee to buy of me gold
tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich, and white raiment
that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness
do not appear, and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve that thou
mayest see, As many as I love, I rebuke. There were some, and
again, he's talking to the whole church at Laodicea, some were
maybe hopelessly lukewarm and never would change, but there
were some that he was saying this to because he loved them.
He said, as many as I love, I rebuke and chase them. What's the bottom line of all
that? Be zealous, therefore. Wake up. Again, we're getting to what
that means spiritually What does that mean spiritually to wake
up and not be lukewarm not be lackadaisical Be zealous therefore and repent
Again, the remedy is zeal zeal to that word means to earnestly
pursue and to strive after and You're doing that for something.
You're striving after something. I guarantee you that. The Lord Jesus tells us, commands
us, rebukes us with regard to the fact that our zeal and the
heat of our soul to be hot, is to be fervent. Needs to regard
spiritual things. It needs to have to do with Him,
putting on Him, representing Him, honoring Him. I'm gonna keep saying it now,
and I'm always saying it to you who are here, I commend you.
Listen, coming to the worship is not just about learning more. That's a big part of it, wouldn't
you say? but it's about the honor of the
Lord Jesus Christ. If you can't even show up in
his worship, that's the beginning of your problems. You see what I'm saying about
being zealous about that? Make it to where it matters to
you to honor him. What are you doing otherwise?
Examine that. Examine it. Is it worth it? Is it more important to do that
than it is to worship the Son of God? You've got one life to
honor Him with. Do you know Him? Do we know Him? When are you gonna start honoring
Him? When am I? When are the things
of this world gonna fade to the extent that we're zealous for
Christ and His glory in this world? We know what our business
is in this world. Look at Romans chapter 12 with
me. Let's look at this together.
We know what our business is. We don't have to wonder about
that. It ain't accumulating riches. You don't have to read that far
in the Scriptures to see that. A man's life consisteth not in
the things that he possesses. Have we forgotten that? Romans
12, 5, So we being many are one body in Christ, and every one
member is one of another. Having then gifts differing according
to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy," listen,
we have gifts. As believers, the Lord has gifted
us with some things in this life, with some abilities, with some
purpose of heart. And every one of them has to
do with the glory of God's Son. Every one of them. Whether prophecy,
let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith, or ministry,
Let us wait on our ministry. In other words, let us attend
to that diligently in whatever way you minister. With your time,
with the skills that the Lord has given you, with a beautiful
voice, with the ability to play an instrument, with just the
heart to clean and give. Everything that supports the
ministry of Christ. You remember how it says that
as the disciples preached and gave themselves to the ministry,
there were many great women who ministered unto them. Can you
imagine the little things? Just little things. Little things. What we call big things. Whatever. Remember those that addicted
themselves to the ministry? That shouldn't be an exceptional
thing. That's the reasonable service
of a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. Or he that exhorteth. You're
just an encouragement to somebody. To stay in the fight, to encourage
yourself in the Lord. He that giveth, let him do it
with simplicity. You see that? It's not complicated. The world makes it some big complicated
thing to give. You know what giving is? It's
somebody that has more than they need handing something to somebody
that has less than maybe they need. That's not that hard. That's
not complicated. There's no skimming off the top
of that, is there? There's no administrative fees
involved with that. He that showeth mercy. Some people's
gift is just to have compassion on other people, to think on
the things of others to the extent where, you know anybody like
that, that it's just like, it's just a characteristic of theirs.
It almost is their manner of life to always be looking for
a need somewhere and to show mercy on somebody in whatever
way is needed, with cheerfulness. They love to do that. Let love
be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil, cleave
to that which is good, cleave to it. Be kindly affectioned one to
another with brotherly love in honor, preferring one another,
not slothful in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord. You see the language? That's
our text, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord. You see how people serve the
Lord in the scriptures, and he never needed any of it. Not a
bit. He never needed one thing. He
didn't need that alabaster box of ointment. He didn't need that
ointment rubbed on him. He said that'll never be taken
away from her. She had thrown a good work on
me, and it'll never be taken away. Rejoicing in hope, patient in
tribulation, continuing instant in prayer. Distributing to the necessity
of saints, given to hospitality. Oh my, I don't even know how,
that's so clear and simple, I don't even know how to talk about that. Listen to 1 Peter 4, 7, but the
end of all things is at hand. Remember how that other passage
that we read with regarding to being zealous, it talked about
the time. Look what time it is. How much longer? And I always think about, you
know, when I think about that, people say, well, the Lord's
coming soon. I just know it, the Lord's coming. No, you don't,
you don't know that. But I tell you what, he's coming before
too long for you, isn't he? He's gonna come for you pretty
soon. You're gonna spend the rest of your life not worshiping
him, not serving him, not really caring that much about his people. You see what's important to him,
what's important to you, what's important to me. It's not hard to figure this
out, is it? It just takes, sovereign grace
to make it so. Pray for his grace in this. It's
high time. It's high time. I always say
to the people that don't have a pastor around this country
and around the world, I guess, you know, you've been huddling
together, maybe, you know, a few families together for year after
year after year, maybe you're praying for a pastor. You know,
if the Lord hadn't given you one in 10 years, maybe you need
to get one. Maybe you need to find one. Maybe
he has given a pastor and you're just not willing to go there.
Oh, but I've got a great job. I've got to, you know, somebody
did say one time, I have to, you know, I'm taking care of
my old father. I've got to bury him first before
I, you remember what the Lord said about that? There's always a reason in there.
It's time, it's high time. Come on in, bring it in. The end of all things is at hand,
be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer, and above all things
have fervent love among yourselves. Again, that word is hot. zealous,
pursuant love. Love's not just a fuzzy feeling.
It's tenacious. It gives, doesn't it? We've seen
it in chapter 13 of 1 Corinthians. It gives, it forgives, it's kind. For love shall cover the multitude
of sins. Use hospitality one to another without grudging. As every man
hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another
as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Freely you have
received, freely give. If any man speak, let him speak
as the oracles of God. If you've got something to say
for God, let it be from God. If any man minister, let him
do it as of the ability which God giveth. That's clearly in
earthly things, valuable thing. The Lord's given you the ability,
minister. That God in all things may be
glorified. That's what it's about. Not your
life, not your success, not mine. That God in all things may be
glorified through Jesus Christ. Christ's worship, imitating him,
putting on him, looking to him, to whom be praise and dominion
forever and ever, amen. Titus 2, the scripture's just
full of it, isn't it? We're out of time already. Let
me just read these. Titus 2, 11, for the grace of God that
bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that
denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly
righteously and godly in this present world, looking for that
blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and
our Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us, that he
might redeem us from all iniquity and purify unto himself a peculiar
people, zealous of good works. Works that glorify him. Whether it just be honoring him
on his day Serving him in little things Serving him in big things This is a spiritual fight That manifests itself in earthly
things Zealous of good works, these
things speak and exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no man
despise thee. Philippians 127, only let your
conversation or your conduct be as it becometh the gospel
of Christ. That whether I come and see you
or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs that you stand
fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the
faith of the gospel. There's not much else to say
about that. You see these words, striving, endeavoring, fervent,
zealous. Time to wake up. You reckon? Oh, let's honor him with all
we have in what little time there is. May God give us grace to
do so.