Stop the Procrastination!

It’s dangerous to keep putting things off. Make a plan to get it done. 

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If you would turn with your in your Bibles or get your devices and turn to the gospel of John chapter nine verse four. John chapter nine verse four. Just one scripture today. And that scripture says I must work the works of him that sent me while it is day. The night cometh when no man can work. I'm gonna read that again. It says I must work the works of him that sent me while it is day. The night cometh when no man can work. That's John chapter nine verse four. Our subject for today's noonday service is stop the procrastination. Stop the procrastination. The word procrastinate means to postpone or delay doing something, to put it off. And admittedly, while I am good at making to-do lists and checking things off, getting things done, I'm also bad about skipping over doing some things, even skipping some tasks for days, weeks, months, multiple times. I find myself putting things on the bottom of the list for another day that may never come. So don't think that this word today regarding procrastination is just for you, because I'm preaching to myself as well. The word of God speaks to this issue of putting things off. And I'm not talking about small, insignificant things. I'm talking about life-changing actions and decisions. Jesus said these words, I must work the works of him that sent me while it is day, the night cometh when no man can work. He said there's coming a time when he wouldn't be able to do what he was supposed to do. So he should be diligent now. And that's the word for us. There's a time coming for each of us when we won't be able to do what we can do now. So while it is day, while we have the chance, the time, the opportunity, we need to be about that thing. So why do we procrastinate? Let's explore the three main things that hold us back. The reasons why we are most likely putting things off important things, things that we know we should do. Well the first reason is because we lack the faith to get it done. Maybe we're afraid to do the wrong thing, so we do nothing. Maybe we have prayed and didn't get a clear word from God and so we wait. But often the truth is we're not really waiting on God. He's waiting on us. It's God's will that we prosper and be in good health. That gives a whole lot of room for us to move forward in Him. God gives us choice. He tells us how to make good choices and in some cases what to choose. But then there is a whole area of space where God says, I'm with you. If you choose A, I got you. If you choose B, I'm with you there. Trust God and move forward. He does not tell us every little detail. That's why we need faith. When God spoke to Abraham, he said, I am sending you to a land that I will show you. Abraham had to have faith to leave his father's house, his people and countrymen, and go to a place and not really know where it was, what was going to take place there. He had the promise of God that God was going to bless him. But the Bible says it was accounted to him as righteousness that he believed God and did not procrastinate but went. And so today, maybe you just need to work on increasing your faith in God. How do you do that? You say. Well, talk to God in prayer, of course, and read the word of God and study some of those stories in the Bible when the person or the person's back was against the wall and God came through for them. Remember, they were people just like you and me. I need to read those stories. I need to be encouraged. You know those stories, a whole lot of them. The three Hebrew boys in the fiery furnace, Daniel in the lion's den, the Israelites at the Red Sea, Elijah on Mount Carmel, Paul and Silas in prison, Nehemiah building the wall, Rachel when she was barren, Job when he was sick, and so many, many more. I guarantee you that if you study those texts, you will be encouraged. But if you think about your own life, you will realize too all the ways that God has been there for you. All the times that He brought you out, kept you safe, and even prospered you. So stop procrastinating and trust God. Psalm twenty and seven says, some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. You know that old hymn. I will trust in the Lord until I die. That's what we need to do. The second reason we tend to procrastinate doing things is because we think we have plenty of time. That is the one of the main reasons why young people say that they're not coming to Christ. They often say that they aren't ready because they want to live and have fun first. What? I'm a Christian, saved, believe in God, and I have as much fun as I can handle. The saved life is fun. No, not all the time, but nothing we do is for all the time. Ecclesiastes three reminds us that there's a time and a season for everything. Time is a gift from God, and none of us knows how much time we have. Ephesians five and fifteen says, See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time because the days are evil. What does that mean redeeming the time? It means gaining possession of the time you have, in this case for the glory of God, using it wisely, being aware of the passing of time, and not wasting your time in foolish living. You know, we often quote and we say, To God, a day is like a thousand years, and it is. But guess what? We're not God, and a day for us is a quick twenty-four hours. Our life is like a vapor. Here today, gone tomorrow. Time waits for no man. So let's get busy working and not procrastinating. And then the third reason we put things off, we put we procrastinate is that we have little awareness of the availability of our opportunities. We have this mindset sometimes that things will stay the way they are right now. Who knew that a pandemic would come and virtually change life in every way possible? Just about everything was touched by the pandemic, the way we do church, the way we go places, the places that are now open, how they open, travel was affected, everything. Just about everything we know. Schools were affected, changed. Some of the opportunities we had prior to the beginning of the pandemic in twenty twenty, we will never have again. Things like spending time with some of the people who died from COVID and other related illnesses, just who passed on, who aren't here anymore. Things like going back to school or investing in that project or changing careers or moving to a new place. Those opportunities are gone now for some of us in some cases. So we need to make the most of every opportunity. Now we don't know what tomorrow will bring. But if we have a chance to do something good for ourselves, our family, our community, for the kingdom of God, we need to take that opportunity and move forward. Do you know how many people are living in the knowledge of the missed opportunities that came their way and they kept putting them off until it was too late? So don't procrastinate. Gain more faith to get it done. Take opportunity, the time that we have right now, and stop putting it off. Night is coming when no man can work. God bless you. Let us pray. Of just how short our lives are that we don't have all the time in the world. But the time we do have that you've given us right now, we should use it wisely. Thank you, Lord, for the opportunities you're giving us, for the time you are affording us. And we ask you to increase our faith that we may do those things that you would have us to do. Give us wisdom regarding them so that we know what you want us to do, so that we walk in it, so that we have the courage and the trust that we need. Not being fearful. Because you have not given us a spirit of fear, but of love, power, and a sound mind. We thank you today. We ask that you would touch each person on the line, each family that's represented. Touch me, Lord. Let your Holy Spirit lead and guide us. We thank you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen on today, everybody. The word was short. I'm hoping that it meant something to you, that it blessed you and encouraged you to move forward for God. Thank you for joining us, and I hope that you will tell somebody about the noonday service and come back again next week for another word that will encourage, inspire, and edify you. Now unto him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God, our Savior, be glory, majesty, dominion, and power both now and forevermore. Amen. God bless you. Go and be great for God.