WEBVTT - Don't Put It Off

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<v Speaker 1>Good morning. Welcome to Morning Devotions. This is Chris Witz.

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<v Speaker 1>What does the word procrastinate mean? It means to be

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<v Speaker 1>slow or late about doing something that should be done.

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<v Speaker 1>To delay doing something till a later time because you

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<v Speaker 1>don't want to, because you're lazy, it means to defer

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<v Speaker 1>action and to delay until a later time. Charles Dickens,

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<v Speaker 1>he said, my advice is to never do tomorrow what

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<v Speaker 1>you can do today because procrastination is the thief of time.

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<v Speaker 1>So have you got a tendency to put things off,

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<v Speaker 1>you find yourself making excuses to get out of doing

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<v Speaker 1>boring things. Well, we're all guilty of that from time

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<v Speaker 1>to time, but procrastination can cause problems at work or

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<v Speaker 1>at school.

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<v Speaker 1>With your own health, your relationships with people, sometimes what

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<v Speaker 1>it is, we get stuck in a rut, we put

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<v Speaker 1>off what we should do today and we want to

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<v Speaker 1>accomplish something but end up achieving nothing. So it can

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<v Speaker 1>be very frustrating, not only for those, not only for

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<v Speaker 1>ourselves but for people who live with us, because the

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<v Speaker 1>point is this, and I want to say it today,

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<v Speaker 1>opportunities come only once and may not be repeated.

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<v Speaker 1>If you ever saw the old movie now, 1939 legend

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<v Speaker 1>Gone with the Wind, well here we've got Scarlett O'Hara

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<v Speaker 1>and Rhett Butler, the two main characters, and the movie's

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<v Speaker 1>set in the Civil War, the American Civil War, they're

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<v Speaker 1>both strong personalities.

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<v Speaker 1>But one scene, Scarlett says, I can't think about that

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<v Speaker 1>right now. If I do, I'll go crazy, I'll think

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<v Speaker 1>about that tomorrow.

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<v Speaker 1>Now that's a classic response, it's a human response. Many

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<v Speaker 1>of us have repeated that, I can't face up to

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<v Speaker 1>this today. Please, look, I want it to go away,

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<v Speaker 1>I'll think about it tomorrow. Now it's been said that

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<v Speaker 1>tomorrow is the busiest day of our lives, it's because

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<v Speaker 1>we defer until tomorrow what we should do today, and

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<v Speaker 1>so we never really address and perform this. I'll, I'll

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<v Speaker 1>stop procrastinating tomorrow. Now we could smile at that statement,

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<v Speaker 1>but how much of our life is wasted?

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<v Speaker 1>There's going to be time, we think. I, I want

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<v Speaker 1>to suggest this is a rather foolish way to look

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<v Speaker 1>at things because if you read the Bible, you'll notice

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<v Speaker 1>as you read the Bible that the emphasis is on today,

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<v Speaker 1>not tomorrow. Um, Jesus himself said as long as it

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<v Speaker 1>is day, we must do what the one who sent

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<v Speaker 1>me wants me to do. When night comes, no one

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<v Speaker 1>can work, that's John 9:4, and we've got this remarkable

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<v Speaker 1>encounter in Acts chapter 26. The apostle Paul stood before the,

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<v Speaker 1>The king, King Agrippa the 2nd, he was the great-grandson

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<v Speaker 1>of Herod the Great, and if you read this in,

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<v Speaker 1>in Acts 26, an amazing thing there, you'll see that

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<v Speaker 1>Paul had been, Saul, one time persecutor of the Christians,

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<v Speaker 1>he'd been imprisoned.

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<v Speaker 1>But he was very bold, he told the king, King Agrippa,

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<v Speaker 1>that Jesus had met him on the Damascus road and

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<v Speaker 1>he was never the same again. And he said to

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<v Speaker 1>the king that he was blind, he was spiritually in darkness,

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<v Speaker 1>and it actually quite fascinating.

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<v Speaker 1>So here was um Amanda, an astute ruler, politician. This

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<v Speaker 1>is what he said, Do you think that this is

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<v Speaker 1>such a short time that in this time you can

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<v Speaker 1>persuade me to become a Christian? Now the question really

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<v Speaker 1>was this, Paul, my friend, don't you realise how powerful

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<v Speaker 1>and intellectually sophisticated I am? So here was this arrogant man,

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<v Speaker 1>he put it off, and Festus, another man who was

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<v Speaker 1>with the king, thought Paul was crazy.

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<v Speaker 1>And the Bible says they left, the king and his

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<v Speaker 1>entourage left, they walked out, not believing this message from Paul.

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<v Speaker 1>So the king in all his power and glory procrastinated.

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<v Speaker 1>Hebrews 3:15 says, If you hear his voice today, don't

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<v Speaker 1>be stubborn like those who rebelled. Now of course we

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<v Speaker 1>live in the present time. I mean today is all

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<v Speaker 1>we've got. We don't know what's around the corner tomorrow.

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<v Speaker 1>So what are you putting off? And I have a

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<v Speaker 1>guess that many of us have things in our life

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<v Speaker 1>that we know we should be doing. Maybe there's that

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<v Speaker 1>person we need to talk to, or.

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<v Speaker 1>There's some risk we need to take, we don't want to,

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<v Speaker 1>or a conversation we know that's looming that we'd rather

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<v Speaker 1>not have, or a situation we want to put off.

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<v Speaker 1>It was Martin Luther who said that procrastination is still

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<v Speaker 1>the thief of time.

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<v Speaker 1>We think one day I'm going to do this and

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<v Speaker 1>I'm going to do that, well, I'm going to get relation,

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<v Speaker 1>I don't get serious perhaps about my relationship with God,

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<v Speaker 1>but I'll put it off to another day.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, let me say in prayer, Father, I know that

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<v Speaker 1>there will be difficulties coming my way, dear Lord, but

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<v Speaker 1>give me the courage to face them in your strength.

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<v Speaker 1>Help me to deal with the issues as they occur today.

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<v Speaker 1>I really don't want to put them off to another day,

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<v Speaker 1>but I need your help in the name of Jesus. Amen.