#8remove The Weight: Laziness Series

8 of a 12 part series.

#6 REMOVE THE WEIGHTS ... LAZINESS

By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr.

Kyfingers@aol.com

TEXT:

Hebrews 12: 1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, LET US LAY ASIDE EVERY WEIGHT AND SIN WHICH DOTH SO EASILY BESET US, AND LET SO RUN WITH PATIENCE THE RACE THAT IS SET BEFORE US...

Heb.6:12 That you be not lazy and slow, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Laziness is a weight that even hinders achieving God’s promises.

1 Timothy 5:13 And withal they ...LEARN TO BE IDLE, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also BUSYBODIES speaking things which they ought not.

2 Thes. 3:11 For we hear that there are some which walk among you DISORDERLY, WORKING NOT AT ALL, but are busybodies.

Let us ponder Laying aside weight to attain victory.

This is the 6th in series of Weight to remove, text, Heb. 12:1

I. Remove the weight: Introduction

II. REMOVE THE WEIGHT OF SIN.

III. Remove the weight of no evaluation.

IV. Remove the weight: Blame Game.

V. Remove the weight of GREED.

VI. Remove the weight of JEALOUSY.

VII. Remove the weight of Judgmentalism.

VIII. Remove the weight of LAZINESS.

I am wearing a backpack with 40 pounds of rock,

the first rock was labeled SIN. This rock is labeled Laziness.

I have a friend remove the one rock from my backpack,

I have painted the word Laziness on the rock.

I have SIN the biggest rock, it is a little larger than three fist,

the rest are little bigger than soft ball size.

I note my load is getting lighter as I remove the weights.

Today the 8th rock is removed.

I wear the back pack for the whole service, the load sure gets heavy.

VII. Remove the weight of laziness/slothfulness.

Heb.6:12 That you be not lazy and slow,

but followers of them who through faith

and patience inherit the promises.

Laziness is a weight that even hinders achieving God’s promises.

A. DEFINE LAZINESS.

1.Lazy--disinclined to activity,

not willing to apply exertion,

move slow, not strict, lax. love of easy things.

Never able to achieve an aim, goal, purpose.

2. Slothful -- spiritual apathy and inactivity,

slow moving, indisposition to lack effort,

slow to respond, slow growth.

B. LAZINESS IS A LEARNED BEHAVIOR.

Many things in life are instinctive behavior,...

natural, inherent impulses.

Instinct takes no conscious effort, you just do.

Many of our behavior patterns and action processes are learned ...

we watch examples, or we pick up ideas and attitudes

from daily choices and lifestyles.

1 Timothy 5:13 And withal they ...LEARN TO BE IDLE, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also BUSYBODIES speaking things which they ought not.

1. Many fail to see what a terrible spiritual weight LAZINESS can be,

many are weak and become a hindrance to the growth process

because they look for the easy, and expect to put forth no effort.

Easy come, easy go?

2. Laziness breeds many other weights more than just unfinished, unaccomplished ministry ...

long tongues of judgment

and busybodies causing ministry to be ineffective.

A person that butts into other peoples’ business not only meddles,

and stirs up trouble.

C. BUSY PEOPLE HELP, LAZY PEOPLE WATCH AND TALK.

Laziness is a cousin to a wasting spirit,

we waste opportunities and resources.

As pastor, if I ask lazy people to help accomplish ministry at church it goes undone, they offer many excuses.

If I ask workers, it is always accomplished.

Lazy people, like ARMCHAIR QUARTERBACKS,

watch the game and want to make suggestions,

but they sit back in chairs and grow FAT!

D. ALL WORK AT SOMETHING,

SOME WORK TO GET OUT OF WORK.

It is possible to spend more time and effort to avoid work than to do it.

2 Thes. 3:11 For we hear that there are some which walk among you DISORDERLY, WORKING NOT AT ALL, but are busybodies.

Why not be busy for the goal?

E. WEIGHT OF BEING A HEARER ONLY.

James 1 has an interesting lesson, study.

Will you study it?

I will do it later?

James 1:22 But be ye DOERS OF THE WORD, and NOT HEARERS ONLY, deceiving your own self.

23. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a DOER, he is like a man beholding his natural face in a mirror.

There are 3 kinds of Christians....

1.Those that will listen very closely, they take notes, they love the word, but the word gets lost in DO NOTHING and laziness.

2. Those that will DO BUT ARE NOT WILLING TO LISTEN to anyone. these are bullheaded and will not work on a team, they want to be a "star."