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Welcome to the Potter's House Salmon Arm podcast. We are a Bible-Believing Church located

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in beautiful British Columbia, Canada. We are proudly part of the Christian Fellowship

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Ministries with 3,000 churches around the world. We are a church focused on world evangelism,

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discipleship and church planting. Here we will share recent sermons from P.H.S.A. Church

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and other sermons from throughout our fellowship. I am Pastor David Bigford and I will be your

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host for this podcast. I thank you for listening today and we hope these messages are a blessing

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to you and bring you closer to God.

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Hello and welcome to the P.H.S.A. podcast. My name is David Bigford and I am the pastor

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of the Potter's House and Salmon Arm British Columbia. This morning my message is going

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to be on habits and this is something that I ended up turning into a series. This is

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Habits Part 1. We are going to be looking at hitting the snooze button or procrastination

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and sloth. Let's dive in this morning. My morning routine is full of battling with my

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nature. You hit the snooze button and this power of the snooze button can control us.

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It can have a hold over us. We all know this battle fairly well. Unless you are one of

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the types of people that can wake up without an alarm clock and immediately just run into

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your day and just take it over and dominate, then congratulations to you. But I think that

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even someone like myself, which most people would think that that is me, they think, oh

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this guy gets up pretty early. Like right now when I'm recording this, it's about five

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o'clock in the morning. I've been up for about a half hour. But the reality is that every

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time I wake up, I have to really get myself focused on the reason why I'm getting up a

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certain time and the reason why I'm pushing forward through the tiredness or through the

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exhaustion of our day to day lives. So unless again, you're one of those superhero level

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people with discipline, we all fall victim to this snooze button. And this is just one

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example that we can all relate to in our lives, whether it's the snooze button or whether

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it's you've had a rough day at work or you've had a tiring day with the kids. And you just

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think, oh, well, I just want to sit and relax for a little bit. And maybe that's it. Maybe

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just that sitting down and relaxing for like five minutes turns into 15 minutes or 20 minutes.

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Maybe that's something that we all can battle with in our day to day lives. There are countless

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other times though, we'll find any other excuse to procrastinate or to move slowly on purpose.

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Maybe it's because we don't like doing a certain task or chore. Maybe it's we don't want we

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were not looking forward to what comes next in our day. There are countless times where

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this can take place and will procrastinate or allow laziness or idleness to take control

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in our lives. Our text that we're going to be looking at this morning is going to be

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Matthew 25. We're going to look through quite a bit here. It's going to be a whole section

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of scripture in verses one through forty six. And the reason being is because in Matthew

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25, Jesus gives us two examples of sloth and procrastination. It's the parable of the ten

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versions and the version, the ten versions. And that's in verses one through thirteen.

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And then they have the parable of the talents at fourteen through thirty. And then ultimately

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the final judgment in verses thirty one through forty six. And that's there's a that's a reason

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why we're going to look at these things is we're going to look at each of these parables,

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but we also need to look at the reason why we need to fight against this this part of

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our nature, which brings me to my first point, which is the battle against nature. So some

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definitions of procrastination are the act of putting off or delaying or deferring an

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action for a later time. So what are some other words that we can use to describe procrastination?

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Well, delay, hesitation. I like this word. It sounds really cool is deletory deletory

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in us. Or conjunction filibuster filibuster is great because they actually use that word

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still in like U.S. government. You know, for when the Senate is discussing a topic and

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the other side of the aisle doesn't like the topic or doesn't want the the the legislation

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to be passed, what they'll do is they'll filibuster. And back in the old days, what filibuster

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meant with the with the Senate was that the person who was going to filibuster had to

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stand up in front of the Senate and they had to talk without break until, you know, for

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the length of time they wanted to filibuster. So there was some hemming in on what it meant,

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but it's still a pretty interesting word. So if you're going to if you're going to put

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that in our daily context, when you're when you're arguing with someone with the only

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point of that arguing is to put off what task is meant to be done, then you're filibustering

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that person. So it's kind of it's kind of a neat and interesting word. Another word

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would be doddling or vacillation. So vacillation similar to filibuster in the sense that if

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you know what has to happen next, but you're like, well, should I do it this way? Should

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I do it that way? Should I do it this way again? Or maybe to try it a different way

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today? Well, that vacillating could also be used as a as a description of paralysis by

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analysis sometimes will tend to procrastinate by overthinking the issue rather than just

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getting to work and getting done with what needs to be done. So sloth is a similar word,

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but it's it's not it's not exactly the same. So I want to define that a little bit too.

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So sloth is an inclination not to do work or not to engage in activities where like

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you know, like I mentioned, and then paralysis by analysis is you you overthink the issue.

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You really want to get something done, but you you're too much of a perfectionist or

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something. So similarly, like we're putting these videos out is very, very challenging

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for someone like myself, because I tend to overthink, you know, what I'm doing and I

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always the lighting OK is my voice or audio sound perfect. It becomes an issue of analysis

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or paralysis by analysis rather than wanting to delay. Whereas softness is the inclination

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and not want to do work for the sake of not doing work. So that would be laziness or indolence,

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idleness, sluggishness, inactivity, or like I like this one because they actually use

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inertia and meaning that an object that's not in motion tends to not tends to want to

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stay not in motion, whereas an object in motion wants to stay in motion. Right. Another another

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word to be lethargy. And the best of these would be apathy. So why does apathy have something

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to do with with slothfulness? Well, it's simply you literally just don't have enough compunction

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or you don't have enough care to want to accomplish a goal so that therefore you're happy in your

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slothfulness. So what are the differences? Well, Dr. Neil Burton, a psychiatrist, philosopher

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and writer, wrote an article about what the difference is between procrastination and

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laziness. Are you a procrastinator or just the lazy bones? In his article, he touches

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on this with some key points. A person is lazy if their motivation to avoid efforts

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trumps their motivation to do the right, best or expected thing to postpone a task for constructive

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or strategic purposes does not amount to procrastination. Procrastination is defined as poor or ineffective

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planning of a task that results in higher overall costs for the procrastinator. He continues

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with we are being lazy if we're able to carry out some activities we ought to carry out,

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but are disinclined to do so on account of the effort involved. Instead, we remain idle,

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carry out the activity perfunctorily or engage in some other less strenuous or boring activity.

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In short, we are lazy if our motivation to spare ourselves effort trumps our motivation

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to do the right or best thing. All right, so some other synonyms of laziness

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as we touched on is indolence. Indolence derives from the word Latin or indolentia, meaning

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without pain or without taking trouble. To procrastinate comes from the Latin word cras,

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meaning tomorrow, which is to postpone one's task in favor of another or others that are

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perceived as being easier or more pleasurable, but which are typically less important or

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urgent. To postpone a task for constructive or strategic purposes does not amount to procrastination.

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For postponement to amount to procrastination has to represent poor or ineffective planning

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and result in a higher overall cost, as I mentioned. For example, in the form of stress,

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guilt, or lost productivity or lost opportunity. Again, when I was talking about filming videos

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or putting these podcasts together, the issue of making sure everything is perfect to the

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point of actually not hitting the record button would mean that I'm feeling some stress or

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some guilt and I'm losing productivity when I should just get things moving. It's one

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thing to delay a tax return until all the numbers are in, but it's quite another thing

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to delay it so that it upsets holiday plans and ends up getting you a fine when you file

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your taxes. Both the lazy bones and the procrastinator lack motivation, but unlike the lazy bones,

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the procrastinator aspires and intends to complete the task under consideration. Moreover,

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eventually, he does complete it, but completes it at a higher cost.

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Let's dive into the Word of God as we look at the biblical wisdom as against sloth and

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laziness. We're going to pick up our text in Matthew 25, verses 1 through 46. The first

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one is the parable of the ten virgins. In verse 1, at the time the kingdom of heaven

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will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five

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of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not

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take any oil with them. The wise ones, however, took oil and jars with their lamps. The bridegroom

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was long and coming and they became drowsy and fell asleep. At midnight, the cry rang

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out, Here is the bridegroom, come and see or come out to meet him. Then all the virgins

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woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, Give us some of your

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oil. Our lamps are going out. No, they replied. There may not be enough for both of us. Instead,

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go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves. But while they were on their way

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to buy oil, the bridegroom had arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him and

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the went to the wedding banquet and the door was shut. Later, others came. Lord, Lord,

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they said, open the door for us. But he replied, I truly tell you, I do not know you. Therefore,

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keep watch because you don't know the day and the hour. In this first parable from Jesus,

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we see the choice being made. One choice was to was to be prepared and ready and waiting

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for the appointed hour. The five virgins had everything at the ready and this was extremely

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familiar to me as a as an old military adage that we used to use all the time, which is

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hurry up and wait, meaning you hurry up and get everything ready, all your preparations.

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But you had to understand that you you'd likely be waiting for a while or a long time until

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your your entire unit is ready to go. An example for that would have been when we when we deployed

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to Japan or we deployed to Iraq or even in boot camp. There were lots of times where

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you got all your stuff ready because you didn't want to be the one holding people up. But

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then when you did get ready, you were going to be like, oh, OK, go sit over there and

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wait for a few hours for everything else to be completed. So the virgins who chose to

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be idle, though, they lost their opportunity. And since they were not ready, they were unable

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to partake and were left behind. We can often make this mistake and be left behind in our

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jobs or even in our ministry. Going back to that military idea, if you were to be so unprepared

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that you missed a movement like what deployment you could that could land you in the brig.

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So it's very important to to make sure that you are not putting off what needs to be done

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today. So the question is. Were they just procrastinating or were they lazy? I don't

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believe in that in our Christian lives. That there's a distinction that is all that necessary,

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whether it's sloth, which is apathy or procrastination, which is lagging or delaying. The result is

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often the same. You can end up being left behind in Proverbs 12 24. It says diligent

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hands will rule, but the lazy but the laziness ends in forced labor. And Proverbs 26 15,

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a slugger buries his hands in the dish, but he's too lazy to bring it back to his mouth.

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These are pretty scary proverbs or pieces of scripture because the first one Proverbs

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12 24 talking about laziness, ending in forced labor, that really resonates with my idea

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about the military. If you miss a movement, you could end up in the brig. And when the

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brig or the brig is military prison, that usually includes forced labor. So the next

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parable is the parable of the talents. And we pick up again in verse 14. Again, it will

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be like a man going on a journey who called who called his servants and entrusted his

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wealth to them to one. He gave five bags of gold to another one bag. All right. Sorry.

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Five bags of gold to another two and into another one bag. Greek five talents, two talents,

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one talent. Also through this parable, a talent was worth about 20 years of days of a day

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laborer's wage. Okay. So each according to his ability. Then he went on this journey

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and we pick up again in 16. The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and

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put his money to work and gained five bags more. So also the one with two bags of gold

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gained two more. But the man who received one bag went off dug a hole and put hit it

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in the ground. He hid his master's money. After a long time, the master of those servants

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returned to settle accounts with them. The man who received five bags of gold brought

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the other five. The master he said you had trusted me with five bags of gold. See, I

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have gained you five more. His master replied, well done, good and faithful servant. You

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have been faithful with a few things and I will put you in charge of many. Come and share

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your master's happiness. The man with two bags of gold also came master. He said you

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entrusted me with two bags of gold. See, I've gained you two more. His master replied, well

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done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful with a few things. I will put

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you in charge of many. Come and share your master's happiness. Then the man who had received

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one bag of gold, master he said, I knew you were a hard man harvesting where others are

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where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid

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and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See here is what belongs to you. His master

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replied, you wicked lazy servant. You knew that I harvested where I had not sown and

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gathered where I had not scattered seed. Well, then you should have put my money on deposit

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with the bankers so that when I returned, I would have received it back with interest.

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So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has 10 bags for whoever

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has will be given more and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have even what

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they what they have will be taken from them and throw the worthless servant outside into

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the darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. God wants and expects

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us to use every opportunity that he provides us. Even though the third service did not

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steal the money, the sin was missing the mark by being unproductive. There was also a bit

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of pride there. Also, he felt it safer to risk nothing because the master's mean. Even

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though there was a safe option that would have brought forth a little bit of fruit by

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putting it in the bank, he could have received some interest back. It would have still been

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a lazy end, but it would have produced some reward. The other example of this call from

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God can be seen from Paul and Ephesians and Peter and his epistle in Ephesians 5 15. It's

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a 15 through 19. It says, Be careful then how you live, not as an unwise, but as wise,

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making the most of every opportunity because the day is evil. Therefore, do not be foolish,

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but understand what the Lord's will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery.

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Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with Psalms, hymns and songs

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of the Spirit. In 1 Peter 4 7 through 11, the end of all things is near. Therefore, be

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alert, be sober minded so that you may pray above all, love each other deeply because

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love covers a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of

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you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others as faithful stewards of God's

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grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so who speaks the very words

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of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides so that in

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all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ to him be the glory and the power forever.

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Amen. So this brings us to the final judgment. So as we read the last bit of this chapter,

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we pick up again at verse 31. When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels

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with him will sit on his glorious throne, all the nations will be gathered before him

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and he will separate the people, one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep

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from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. The king

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will say to those on his right, Come, you who are blessed by my Father, take your inheritance,

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the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave

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me something to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger

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and you invited me in. I needed clothes and you clothed me. I was sick and you looked

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after me. I was I was in prison and you came to visit me. Then the righteous will answer

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him, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you or thirsty and give you something

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to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in or needing clothes to clothe

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you? When did we see you sick or in person to go to visit you? The king will reply, Truly

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I tell you whatever you did for the one of the least of these brothers and sisters of

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mine you did for me. Then he will say to those on the left, Depart from me, you who are cursed

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into the eternal fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave

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me nothing to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink. I was a stranger and

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you did not invite me in. I needed clothes and you did not clothe me. I was sick and

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in prison and you did not look after me. They also will answer, Lord, when did we see you

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hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison and did not help

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you? He will reply, Truly I tell you whatever you did not do for the least of these you

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did not do for me. Then they will go away to eternal punishment but the righteous to

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eternal life. In Proverbs 23 it says, So the drunkard of Glendon will come to poverty and

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slumber with clothes or his slumber will clothe them with rags. In Proverbs 13 it says, A

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sluggard's appetite is never filled but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied.

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This brings me to the end of my clothes, which is the godly call. So what do we do? This

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is what we know from the scriptures in Colossians 3, 23, whatever you do, work with all your

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heart as working for the Lord, not for a human master. In Proverbs 10, 4 it says, Lazy hands

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made for poverty but diligent hands bring wealth. So what you do is you start small,

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right? These are pretty simple steps. You continually move forward in your faith of

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God but you start small. You pray, you read your Bible, find a good strong church to lock

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into that preaches the gospel of Jesus Christ. That allows you to build momentum and then

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you can start picking a habit to change. And as you pick those habits to change one at

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a time you stack those wins. There's a tool that I've learned to use which is called the

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power list which is basically you have your goals for every day and no more than five

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days typically. But as you go through your day and you check off those goals that you

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have for your day, you stack those wins so that if you win the day, great, you won that

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day. If you win more days out of the week then you've won that week. If you win more

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weeks out of the month then you've won that month and winning builds momentum. And as

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you continue on in your walk with Christ, as you continue on in faith with the faith,

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you mentor others. You bring others to be involved with what you're doing so that they

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can continually grow themselves. In 1 Corinthians 4, 14-17 we get Paul's appeal in a warning.

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It says, I am writing this not to shame you but to warn you as my dear children even if

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you had 10,000 guardians in Christ you do not have many fathers. For in Christ Jesus

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I became your father through the gospel. Therefore I urge you to imitate me. For this reason

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I have sent to you Timothy my son whom I love who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind

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you of my ways in the life of Christ Jesus which agrees with what I teach everywhere

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in every church. So the reality is that we have to become an example to others as we

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grow in our faith. And as we grow to be less lazy, as we grow to be more caring or less

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apathetic, as we grow to be more successful in accomplishing the goals that we put before

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ourselves we lose that procrastination. We lose that we can pray against that spirit

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of procrastination or slothfulness and we can grow in Christ. And as we grow in Christ

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we become an example to others to see us change from what we were to what we are. And that's

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the whole purpose of Christianity is to leave behind the old man, leave behind who we were

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and to become more in Christ. Salvation is a free gift that can be given today but after

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salvation comes then we can grow to be more like Christ. So if I could have every head

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bowed every eye closed quickly I just want to quickly give an opportunity if you're not

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saved for you to and but this message has spoken to you that you can be saved in an

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instant and it's very simple. It's a simple prayer like this it said Dear Lord Jesus I

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know that I'm a sinner but I know that you sent your son Jesus Christ and he died for

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me on the cross and he rose again. I repent or I turn away from my sin and I accept Jesus

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Christ as my Lord and Savior. I thank you for the gift of salvation in Jesus name. Amen.

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That simple prayer takes you from death into life and now you can move forward in Christ

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and learn to put aside slothfulness laziness and continue to grow. So thank you for the

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time for the listening to this message. I hope it's helped you and I give all praise

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and honor to Glad and I thank you again.