A CHALLENGE FOR US TODAY

DELAY

DENY

DEPRIVE

A CHALLENGE FOR US TODAY

JOHN 4:35

INTRODUCTION- As a child I was always told to “never put off for tomorrow what could be done today.”

1. We have all put things off when we could have done them.

2. It is a bad enough habit, but when we put off Gods’ work the Bible has something to say.

3. For this scripture we have all been challenged.

THE HARVEST IS…

I. A CHALLENGE WE CANNOT DELAY.

A. We cannot delay the Gospel.

1.I once heard it said that “Christianity was a train that no one could delay the arrival of, but if one desired, they could delay their arrival to the train.”

2.The Bible gives us an example of some who delayed (Matthew 25:1-13).

3.Scripture tells us about procrastinating (Proverbs 13:4).

B. We cannot delay God’s will.

1.We cannot stall God with our foolishness:

a) The Pharaoh attempted to delay God’s will (Exodus 7-12).

b) When we waste time on foolish tasks (Ecclesiastes 11:4).

2.We cannot stall God with our own will (Luke 9:59-62).

II. A CHALLENGE WE CANNOT DENY.

A. We cannot deny the Gospel.

1.The Bible tells us that the word is God (John 1:1).

2.What does the Bible say about denying the word of God?

3.Therefore, if we deny Christ in His charge for us, we are denying Christ.

4.We should deny ourselves (Luke 9:23).

B. We cannot deny God’s will.

1.As we go through life, most of us struggle with our own thoughts.

2.The thoughts of God are beyond our comprehension (Jeremiah 29:11).

3.All we need to do is look up at night to see God’s will in action (Psalm 19:1-2).

4.Abraham Lincoln once said, “I cannot imagine anyone looking at the sky and denying God.”

III. A CHALLENGE WE CANNOT DEPRIVE.

A. We cannot deprive the Gospel.

1.“Deprived” means to deny (a person or place) the possession or use of something.

2.Jesus gave His disciples, and us, a command to go after the harvest (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15).

3.We have been called to be laborers (Matthew 9:37-38).

B. We cannot deprive God’s will.

1.It was Gods’ plan as disciples were initially sent out (Luke 10:1-12).

2.We should all fulfill our role in sharing the Gospel with others (2 Timothy 2:15).

3.If Gods’ will is limited by us, we lose our influence, but it will still be an empowering force (Romans 1:16).

CONCLUSION-

It was once said to me, “Jesus died for you in public so don’t only live for him in private.”

1. Let us always be ready.

2. Let us always be prepared.

3. Let us always be bold.