Don't Waste Your Life (Part 2)

Watch the video of this sermon on YouTube: Don't Waste Your Life (Part 2) A copy of the outline can be downloaded at the bottom of this page. To listen to or watch the previous sermon in the series, click here: Part 1 To listen to or watch the next sermon in the series, click here: Part 3 3. Acquiring excessive wealth A. "...a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth" (Luk 12:15). B. Heaping up riches is vain (Psa 39:6). C. You can't take it with you (1Ti 6:7). D. Leaving it to others is vain (Psa 49:10-12), because they will likely squander it like fools (Ecc 2:18-19,21). E. God will judge those who lay up treasure for themselves and are not rich toward him (Luk 12:16-21). F. They who make it their goal to be rich will destroy themselves (1Ti 6:9). G. This is why God tells us to not work to be rich (Pro 23:4). H. What's the point of gaining the world and losing your own soul (Mar 8:36)? i. A man is not profited by doing so. ii. If your goal is to be rich, you are wasting your life. 4. Working too much A. I have never seen a person on their deathbed lamenting that they didn't spend enough time at the office. B. It is vain to rise up early and sit up late working all the time (Psa 127:2). C. It is vain to work too much and deprive your soul of good (Ecc 4:8). D. You can work constantly to make yourself rich and yet have nothing of true worth (Pro 13:7). E. We ought to work to live, not live to work. F. We ought to enjoy the fruit of our labor in moderation (Ecc 2:24). G. If you work too much, you are wasting your life. 5. Taking too much leisure time and being lazy A. We should be good stewards of our time and talents (Mat 25:24-30). i. People who waste their talents are unprofitable and condemned by God (Mat 25:30). ii. Profitable - 1. Yielding profit or advantage; beneficial, useful, serviceable, fruitful, valuable. iii. Someone who is unprofitable is wasting their life. B. We must be diligent, not slothful in business (Rom 12:11). i. Do whatever you do with all your might (Ecc 9:10). ii. If you do all that you do as if you were doing it for Christ, you won't waste your life (Col 3:23; Eph 6:7-8). iii. Do whatever you do faithfully and you won't waste your life (3Jo 1:5). C. Every able man should have a job to provide for himself and his family. i. If a man will not work, he should not eat (2Th 3:10; Pro 19:15). ii. The man who provides not for his own is worse than an infidel and has denied the faith (1Ti 5:8). iii. To not work when you can is to walk disorderly (2Th 3:11). iv. If you are not working and you can be, then you need to be (2Th 3:12). v. If you have been out of work for a long time, take any job you can get. a. There is no honest job that is beneath any of us (Pro 14:23). b. If there is something in your life that is prohibiting you from getting a job, then fix it ASAP and get to work. vi. The church must withdraw fellowship from a person who will not work when they can (2Th 3:6,11,14). vii. If you are not working when you could be you are wasting your life. D. Just doing the bare minimum makes one an unprofitable servant (Luk 17:7-10). E. In other words, doing the bare minimum is wasting your life. F. Sleeping too much is wasting your life (Pro 24:30-34; Pro 6:9-11; Pro 20:13; Pro 26:14). G. Idleness will bring you to poverty and is a waste of your life (Pro 19:15). H. We will give an account for every idle word spoken (Mat 12:36). I. If you take too much leisure time, you are wasting your life. J. If you are lazy, you are wasting your life.