LAY DOWN YOUR SHOVEL, QUIT DIGGING YOUR OWN GRAVE?
DO-NOTHING-ISM IS A CANCER ---
By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com
I. BLESSING OR CURSE IS ALL ABOUT CHOICES ---
DAILY MENIAL CHOICES ... WE BECOME THE SUM TOTAL OF OUR DAILY CHOICES...
A. We choose moods, moods become habits, habits become attitudes, attitudes become thinking
patterns, thinking patterns can become DEATH TRAPS or LIFE GIVING JOY. Your choice?
Deuteronomy 30:19 (KJV) I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set
before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed
may live: 20 That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and
that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest
dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to
give them.
B. IS IT POSSIBLE TO CHANGE OUR MOODS? HABITS? ATTITUDES, THINKING PATTERNS?
OR ARE WE FOREVER TRAPPED AND DOOMED TO STAY STUCK IN THIS PLACE?
Deuteronomy 30:19-20 (MSG) I call Heaven and Earth to witness against you today: I place before
you Life and Death, Blessing and Curse. Choose life so that you and your children will live. 20 And love
God, your God, listening obediently to him, firmly embracing him. Oh yes, he is life itself, a long life
settled on the soil that God, your God, promised to give your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
C. WE MUST ACKNOWLEDGE --- I KNOW I AM NOT WHERE I WANT TO BE?
WE MUST COME BEING IN GODLY SORROW, I AM SORRY?
WILL WE COME ADMITTING I AM THE CREATURE I HAVE CREATED?
WE COME KNOWING THERE IS A PLAN, A GOD A PLAN---
WE WILL DIG THIS GRAVE SO DEEP THAT THE TRAP WILL BECOME OUR GRAVE...
Joshua 24:15 (KJV) And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will
serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the
gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
Joshua 24:15 (NIV) But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this
day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of
the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord."
D. You become the SUM TOTAL of your DAILY CHOICES?
1. Seems we can identify EVE'S CHOICES and the consequences that follow?
2. Seems we can see SAMSON's choices lead him down a trail?
3. Seems we can see King Saul's choices?
4. Seems like we can see the NEGATIVE CHOICES of JUDAS bait his own trap.
5. WHY CAN WE NOT SEE THE GRAVE OF OUR OWN CHOICES?
II. LET US COME TO A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING --- TO BLAME OTHERS CAN DIG A DEEP
GRAVE? IF WE HAVE THE ATTITUDE: BLAME OTHERS WE WILL NEVER CORRECT
THE PROBLEM.
A. SAUL comes to the Preacher after a great failure... He refuses to accept his action...
Samuel the Preacher calls the KING'S HAND ---
Saul hears but he refuses to ADMIT---
That SAUL'S LITTLE DAILY CHOICES LEAD HIM INTO COMPLETE REBELLION---
FROM GOD'S PLAN.
1 Samuel 15:17 And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the
head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel?
B. Saul could have REPENTED, BUT HE DID LIKE MANY DO ---
SAUL BLAMED OTHER PEOPLE... By BLAMING OTHERS Saul will never CORRECT his
problem, he digs his own grave.
1 Samuel 28:20 Then Saul fell straightway all along on the earth, and was sore afraid, because of the
words of Samuel: and there was no strength in him; for he had eaten no bread all the day, nor all the night.
21 And the woman came unto Saul, and saw that he was sore troubled, and said unto him, Behold,
thine handmaid hath obeyed thy voice, and I have put my life in my hand, and have hearkened unto
thy words which thou spakest unto me.
C. Sau had passed laws against mediums and witchcraft and then turns around and seeks a witch?
Talk about a DIGGING A DEEP GRAVE.
1 Samuel 28:8 And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and he went, and two men
with him, and they came to the woman by night: and he said, I pray thee, divine unto me by the
familiar spirit, and bring me him up, whom I shall name unto thee.
D. There is no record that SAUL PRAYED FOR DELIVERANCE FROM THIS TRAP.
SAUL ASKED SAMUEL TO PRAY FOR HIM, BUT NO PERSONAL PRAYERS?
Look over there: SAUL AND ALL HIS SONS ARE DEAD IN ONE DAY?
DIG A LITTLE DEEPER?
III. THERE IS A GREAT DANGER THAT I WILL CALL: DO-NOTHING-ISM ---
DO NOTHING AND DIE... ??
HOW INSANE IS THE ATTITUDE THAT I CAN KEEP DOING THE SAME OLD SAME OLD AND
GET A DIFFERNET RESULTS...
A. Come let us walk down this trail of DO-NOTHING-ISM... It will lead to a grave yard...
Doom and gloom walk down the trail, I AM STUCK --- I WILL JUST STAY HERE...
B. THE DO-NOTHING SPIRIT BECOMES A DEATH TRAP AND WE ACCEPT THE CURSE
THAT FOLLOWS AS A WAY OF LIFE...
THE DO-NOTHING SERVANT "KNEW BETTER!"
Matthew 25:24 Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou
art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:
25 And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.
26 His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap
where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:
C. The is a terrible cost "OF STAYING THE SAME."
Matthew 25:30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and
gnashing of teeth.
D. What is the sin of DO-NOTHING-ISM:
1. Murder?
2. Stealing?
3. How about WASTING GOD'S GIFTS--- wasting what COULD BE? Missed opportunity?
4. DO-NOTHING-ISM CAN BE THE TRAP OF DOOM... Eternal doom?
I WANT NO STONE CRYING OUT GOD'S PRAISE FOR ME...
E. WHAT ABOUT THE SIN OF THE 5 FOOLISH VIRGINS?
All 10 were VIRGINS, pure and clean... THE DO-NOTHING-ISM GRAVE TRAP IS INSANE...
IV. LAY DOWN THE SHOVEL --- GET OUT OF THE GRAVE ---
THE ILLUSTRATION OF DO-NOTHING-ISM AND HOW TO OVER COME IT...
There were hundreds of caterpillars crawling their way from the tree where they had always
live across they valley... They heard an inter-call IT IS TIME TO MOVE ---
So the CATERPILLARS crawled down THE TREE to the mud and started a life-journey, where they
would become A BEAUTIFUL BUTTERFLY.
Along their journey many caterpillars fell into THE RUTS of a dirt road. So they just stayed
in the rut while the others labored hard on their journey. It was nice and cool in the MUD RUT.
The others were hot in the dust. One caterpillar yelled get out of the RUT, THERE IS DANGER
IN STAYING HERE?
One caterpillar screamed back, I CAN GET OUT... I AM STUCK IN THIS RUT, I WILL BE
OK...
Soon a work truck came ROLLING down the mud road and all the CATERPILLARS that were stuck in
the rut were crushed and they all died.
The one caterpillar that said: I AM STUCK HERE AND CAN NOT GET OUT, JUMPED AND JUMPED
AS HE SAW THE TRUCK APPROACHING... AND HE FINALLY JUMPED OUT OF THE RUT
TO CONTINUE THE LIFE JOURNEY... The rut became a grave to the others...
The caterpillar caught up to his friend and his friend said: I thought you were trapped...??
THE CATERPILLAR TOLD HIS FRIEND: IT IS AMAZING HOW HIGH YOU CAN JUMP WHEN
YOU SEE THE DOOM OF STAYING IN THE RUT!
MY FRIEND, YOU CAN JUMP OUT OF THE RUT IF YOU WANT TO...
OR YOU CAN STAY WITH THE CROWD AND DIE?
V. DAVID COMES TO THE TRAP OF SAMENESS --- DAVID EVALUATES THE RUT-GRAVE...
HE HAS A COMPLETE CHANGE --- A TOTAL PARADIGM SHIFT OF ATTITUDE...
WHY SIT HERE UNTIL WE DIE?
A. DAVID --- You are guilty, cursed, condemned ---
THOU ART THE MAN ---
2 Samuel 12:7 And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel,
I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;
B. David may of sinned and been IN THE GRAVE OF THE CURSED.
He may have walked a life of the TRAIL OF TEARS ---
but he never forgot the grave of sameness --- David changed ---
David's son was near death... The marble hallways in the King's palace were so quiet as
the news cames to THE KING --- David was broken and fasting...
The news: YOUR SON IS DEAD...
COME LET US GO TO THE FUNERAL HOME AND PICK OUT THE CASKET...
dig a grave...
C. DAVID HAS A PARDIGM SHIFT --- I CAN NOT CHANGE THE PAST,
I CAN'T BRING HIM BACK --- BUT I CAN CHANGE --- I WILL CHANGE ---
THIS CURSE CAN BECOME A BLESSING...
2 Samuel 12:22 And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can
tell whether GOD will be gracious to me, that the child may live? 23 But now he is dead, wherefore
should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.
D. David was a man that made terrible mistakes and sinned and broke God's heart ---
but David takes a pen in his hand and writes the GREATEST CHAPTER IN THE BIBLE ON
REPENTANCE! I refuse to be buried here...
Psalm 51:2 Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.
E. WHILE DAVID FAILED GOD IN A MISERABLE WAY, HISTORY RECORDS HIM ---
AS A MAN AFTER GOD'S OWN HEART.
Acts 13:22 And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also
he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which
shall fulfil all my will.
CONCLUSION: GET UP NOW, REFUSE TO DIG ANY MORE!
2 Kings 7:3 And there were four leprous men at the entering in of the gate: and they said one to
another, Why sit we here until we die?
It may appear today that you are trapped in a rut and can never ARISE ---
You can acknowledge, confess, repent and change... YOUR PARADIGM SHIFT is here.
You can allow God to ARISE...
Psalm 68:1 Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered: let them also that hate him flee before him.
QUIT DIGGING THE GRAVE OF DO-NOTHING-ISM. Today is a great opportunity to change...
You are still breathing and above the ground, God's spirit is calling you:
Matthew 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take
my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your
souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
GOD HAS A PLAN, LAY YOUR SHOVEL DOWN AND QUIT DIGGING YOUR OWN
GRAVE, GOD HAS FREEDOM DESIGNED FOR YOU. THIS NEGATIVE TRAP IS A
GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR GOD TO SHOW HIMSELF STRONG.
His servant, Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com
