PROCRASTINATION

Do you procrastinate?

Do you tend to put things off until the last minute?

How many of the students in here delay doing your home work on the weekend until late Sunday night?

How many husbands in here have jobs your wife has asked you to do for sometime and you keep putting it off.......??

WHY do we procrastinate?

Luke 14:16-24 teaches us some important things about Procrastination:

"Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many: 17 And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready. 18 And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. 19 And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. 20 And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. 21 So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. 22 And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room.
23 And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.
24 For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper."

A scholar once surveyed the Bible to find out what the most SIGNIFICANT  words in the Scripture.  He wanted to find the saddest word, the happiest word, etc.

When he came to the most DANGEROUS word, he identified it as:

TOMORROW

The word 'tomorrow' he concluded, is a THIEF.....it robs dreamers of their dreams;

It robs the talented of their greatest achievements;

It keep Christians from being all that God wants them to be and keeps them from having all that God wants them to have!

And.....It keeps men and women from coming to Christ!

EXCUSES, DELAY, PROCRASTINATION, PUTTING IT OFF UNTIL LATER......

Notice back in this verse 17 that the Lord BID these people to come to his supper, and they all, one by one, had excuses WHY they could not come right now....

God has called each one of us to do something for Him!

Has God called you to do something for Him and have you put it off....delayed.....procrastinated?

Let's look at this passage of Scripture and see the various types of excuses these men used:

v18 - Business and Career excuses - "I have bought a piece of ground"...

Have you told God that you can't fulfill your duties to Him right now because of your responsibilities at your job or career?  Work too many hours?   Can't commit?   Too tired during weekend?  Only time with family and hobbies is weekend?

v19 - Financial excuses - "I have bought five yoke of oxen and I must go prove them"....

Do you have financial obligations now that keep you from living for the Lord the way you would like?   Perhaps debt or payments have you working long hours or two jobs?  No time to serve the Lord right now at this point in my life?

v20 - Family Responsibilities - "I have married a wife"....

Do family responsibilities keep you from carrying out your pledge of serving the Lord?   Perhaps when babies get older?  In grade school kids have soccer and dance lessons and Little League?  Maybe when they get older things won't be so hectic?   Maybe in High School........

My friend, have you found out that we CAN do just about whatever we put our mind to?  If we REALLY want to do something, we can do it?   A lot of it depends upon our priorities and commitment to those priorities, would you agree?

TOO EASILY A LIFETIME HAS PASSED AWAY AND WE'VE DONE LITTLE OR NOTHING OF ETERNAL VALUE

SOME FACTS ABOUT PROCRASTINATION

I want us to see that Procrastination affects US and it affects OTHERS....

Notice that Procrastination and making excuses to God's calling for us to serve Him is SIN....

PROCRASTINATION IS SIN

Notice in verse 21 that the Master was 'ANGRY' at the procrastination and excuses of the servants!

My friend, if we continue to PROCRASTINATE  and delay in surrendering our lives to God, How can we expect God to continue to bless us?

We wonder why we have no peace and joy?

PROCRASTINATION BRINGS  GUILT AND SHAME

......because we know we are holding back on God!

We are not in the Will of God!

My friend, LISTEN....

SOME OPPORTUNITIES COME ONLY ONE TIME.....

Has the Lord given you the opportunity to do something for Him?

Have you made excuses?  Have you Procrastinated?

Will you get another chance?

PROCRASTINATION ROBS US OF OPPORTUNITIES TO SERVE THE LORD.

Notice in this passage of Scripture, the Lord bid other people to his supper...Those who made excuses are never heard from again in Scripture.  Did they get another chance.  The Bible doesn't say.

PROCRASTINATION ROBS US OF OPPORTUNITIES TO BE SUCCESSFUL

Someone said THERE IS NO SUCCESSFUL PERSON WHO IS A PROCRASTINATOR.  I tend to believe that statement.

Many of us could have been successful for the Lord if we would have just obeyed His call!

PROCRASTINATION  ROBS US OF ACHIEVEMENT!

I wonder how many wonderful things you and I could have achieved in our life already if we had not procrastinated?

Oh, My....Procrastination keeps us from accomplishing so much!

I would suppose the reasons we procrastinate are many.....

Perhaps we're just LAZY.

Perhaps we feel INADEQUATE.

The Procrastinator never lacks for excuses.

PROCRASTINATION HINDERS YOU FROM HELPING OTHERS

Just think of how many people you could help....folks you could invite to church.....folks who respect you and would listen to you....you could help them....if you would just surrender and let the Lord use you!

Oh, my friend, do you see that our procrastination affects OTHERS as well?

PROCRASTINATION CAUSES BURNOUT AND OVERLORD ON OTHER PEOPLE.

Let me explain.  If you are doing what God has called you to do, then someone else in your local church is having to carry THEIR LOAD and YOUR LOAD too.....

Can you see how that can be frustrating to others?

Either someone else is carrying YOUR LOAD or it is just not getting done!

Can you see how PROCRASTINATION hinders God's whole program!

PROCRASTINATION ALSO AFFECTS OUR FUTURE

Notice Luke 14:24....."None of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper."

This implies there will be loss of reward at the BEMA JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST!

But my friend, the most tragic effect of delay and excuse is...

PROCRASTINATION ROBS MANY PEOPLE OF AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE SAVED!

Acts 24:24 is a classic example. 

"And after certain days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, which was a Jewess, he sent for Paul, and heard him concerning the faith in Christ. 25 And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee."
 

I wonder how many people have sit in churches and heard the gospel and walked away, fully determined to trust Christ at a later time....

The road to hell is indeed paved with 'good intentions'....

ONE OF THE DEVIL'S MOST EFFECTIVE TOOLS IS....

PUT IT OFF UNTIL LATER......

Isaiah 55:6 says,

"Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:"

You see, there is a hardening process in our heart that occurs when we walk away from the Lord and say no to His pleading....

That is why the Bible says in Hebrews 3:13,

"But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin."

You see there are two things PROCRASTINATION does not take into a account:

1. Procrastination does not take into account the DANGER OF A HARDENED HEART.

and secondly,

2. Procrastination does not take into account the UNCERTAINTY OF TIME.

We might not have time to follow through on that decision LATER....

Our health could go and we not be ABLE to serve the Lord!

I believe that is why Ecclesiastes 12:1 says,

" Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;"
 

We do not know what tomorrow holds!  We had better serve and follow the Lord NOW while we still have the opportunity!

James 4:13,14 says,

" Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:
14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away."
 

Oh, My friend....'TOMORROW' is dangerous!  It is LAZY.  It is so PRESUMPTUOUS....

What unfinished business do you have left undone, my Friend?

HOW CAN WE DEAL WITH PROCRASTINATION?

REALIZE YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH PROCRASTINATION

ASK GOD TO FORGIVE YOU OF YOUR EXCUSES AND PROCRASTINATION

Especially in areas of service and surrender to Him....

IDENTIFY AREAS YOU HAVE OR ARE PROCRASTINATING IN..

We don't procrastinate in all areas...I imagine there are some things you have no trouble doing...right?

ASK GOD FOR A SECOND CHANCE

DETERMINE TO DO THOSE THINGS WHICH NEED TO BE DONE

There must come a point where you DETERMINE you are going to start doing the things that need to be done!

Ephesians 5:16,

"Redeeming the time, because the days are evil."

My friend, we must....we must...come to the point where we realize we have got to prioritize our time to get things done that need to get done!

MAKE A LIST OF THINGS THAT NEED TO BE DONE....START WITH THE MOST IMPORTANT ITEMS

Work you way down the list...when one is completed, mark it off and move down to the next most important item....

The following illustration is helpful:

There was a management consultant some years ago named Ivy Lee.  Charles Schwab, chairman of Bethlehem Steel, hired him to come in and help him become more productive.  Lee smiled and gave him a plan of underwhelming simplicity.  He said, "Each evening, write down the six most important things you should do on the following day.  List them in order of importance.  The following morning, come into work and do whatever tops the list.  When you've finished with that one, move to the next one down."

Schwab asked Lee how much he was going to charge for such advice.  Lee replied, "Use the plan strictly for several months.  Then you decide on the value of my plan and send me a check."  Eventually Lee received a check for $25,000 from Schwab, for that simple piece of advice----a good bit of money at the beginning of the twentieth century.

We would be wise to follow the same plan.

ON BIG JOBS, DO A LITTLE BIT EACH DAY

This type of planning will help you get HUGE jobs done...instead of waiting for the right time to get it 'all' done....do a little bit each day...the old saying HOW DO YOU EAT AN ELEPHANT?........One bite at a time!

PLAN AHEAD

If you have trouble with getting to church Sunday morning because you stay out to late on Saturday night, plan ahead.  Either take a nap or Saturday afternoon, or try not to stay out so late...

We can make it to work on Monday morning, so we CAN make it to church if we determine to do so.

If homework on Sunday night keeps you from Sunday night services, try to work a little on Homework Friday and a little on Saturday......

A little planning ahead can help with our areas we procrastinate....

WHEN DOUBTS COME AND YOU FEEL INADEQUATE AND OTHER EXCUSES COME....REALIZE GOD CAN HELP YOU DO WHAT GOD HAS CALLED YOU TO DO!

Philippians 4:13 says,

"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."

SUMMARY

MY FRIEND, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

WHAT UNFINISHED BUSINESS DO YOU HAVE WITH THE LORD?

HOW MANY MORE CHANCES WILL YOU GET FROM THE LORD?

ISN'T IT TIME YOU SAID, 'OKAY, LORD'.....

INVITATION

My friend, if you are born-again would you pray for God to help you stop procrastinating!   Ask the Lord to help you do what He has called you to do.

You know you need to.

Your kids are affected by your procrastination!

If you have never trusted Christ, you need to today.  Don't put it off any more.  Realize your lost condition and call upon Christ to save you today!

Trust in His Shed blood to pay for your sins.....

Romans 10:13,

"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."