How To Deal With Apathy

What do I do next?

How to deal with Apathy. Colossians 1:15, 16 He is the

image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all

things were created; things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible,

whether thrones or powers are rulers or authorities; all things were created

by him and for him.

Ecclesiastes Chapter 1 verse 2.

Meaningless! Meaningless! Says the teacher "Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless."

What does man gain from all his labour at which he toils under the sun?

Generations come and generations go but the earth remains forever.

You know many of us Have done things and undertaken projects only to find that at the end that it is a bit of a waste. look around and I find quitters. People who have quit on their marriages,

quit on their kids, quit on their businesses, quit on God, and some, quit on

life. God is looking for people who will be faithful and not quit because they

know the call of God in their life, people who want to walk into the promise

land and receive because they know this is their destiny.

Sometimes our lives have a sense of destiny about them -

David was bought up in Israel with a particular destiny as a member of the family of Jesse.

Jonah was bought up on a beach!!!!!!!

The thing about Jonah is in verse 1 and two of chapter one of Jonah we read.

The word of the lord came to Jonah son of Amittai. Go to the great city of Ninevah and preach against it, because it’s wickedness has come up before me.

Then we read right through Jonah until chapter 3 verse 1 halfway through the book of Jonah - Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: "Go to the great city of Ninevah and proclaim to it the message I give you."

We are halfway through the book of Jonah and he still has not made any progress on what God had told him to do - Chapter 4 the heading is Jonah’s anger at the Lord’s compassion - Jonah was a Prophet of God yet he spends most of his time complaining or disobeying God.

He somehpow fails to reach the pinacle of the Prophets like Isaiah or Jeremiah.

He falls on hard times and having been swallowed by a huge fish - I guess a large whale - he is thrown up on the beach - He hadn’t made any progress - and had suffered greatly because he had failed to obey God - to recognise god’s call because it didn’t come.

When we live like that we end up whining like the writer of Ecclesiastes who says:- Meaningless! Meaningless! Says the teacher "Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless."

What does man gain from all his labour at which he toils under the sun?

Generations come and generations go but the earth remains forever.

Whether you are in the trough of this kind of point of view or whether you just want to avoid it in the future then this morning we want to suggest some things that you can pracically do to avoid them

But before we look at that there is something that I would like tyo tell you about your life that God would have you know.

Jeremiah 29 verse 11 has been one of the passages of scripture that has been quoted so much in recent years that we have run the danger of missing the message because of familiarity.

Jeremiah 29 verse 11.

For I know the plans I have for you says the Lord plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. Then you will call upon mew and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you declares the Lord, and will bring you back from captivity.

This prophecy was bought by Jeremiah to the people of Israel - the prophecy does not promise immediate answers - no quick fixes here. The people were in Babylon because of their disobedience and they are going to be there for some time - but this prophecy comes out the fact that God’s heart is towards his people and he talks of his passion for their long term good.

What God would have you know is that he long term plans good for you if you are one of his people if you have nailed your colours to the mast and said - Yes, I am a follower of Jesus then you need to know that God has long term plans for blessing.