Perseverance & Procrastination: Lessons from the Life of Jonathan Edwards

Well, once again, in this season of not being able to sing publicly, I will quote from another

song for us, as I've done in the last couple of days. Monday morning feels so bad, everybody

seems to nag me. Coming Tuesday, I feel better, even my old man looks good. Wednesday, just don't

go. Thursday goes too slow. I've got Friday on my mind. Going to have fun in the city, to

be with my girl. She's so pretty. She looks fine. She's out of sight to me. Tonight I spend

my bread. Tonight I lose my head. Tonight I've got to get to bed. On Monday, I've got Friday

on my mind. Now, for those history buffs amongst us, those musical history buffs amongst us,

you will know that that is the most popular song, voted the most popular song in Australia

for all time. Friday on my mind by the Easy Beats. Easy Beats. Easy Beats. Easy Beats. It

catches the song. The reason why they reckon it is so popular in our country or has been

so popular in our country is that it catches something of the Aussie psychic. From the day

I start working on Monday, I'm looking forward to the day I finish working on Friday. I just

want this whole work thing to be over and done with. Many years ago in London, they did a survey

of why the show Home and Away was so popular in England. And to everyone's surprise, it wasn't

the acting. Number one rank was because no one appears to be working. Early retirement is

a goal in our country. And yet, very few of us would say that we are lazy. Very few of us

would say that we are in fact lazy. We're busy. Up early, up late, even those who are retired

often talk about life is just as busy now. The schedule is filled from beginning to end.

And so we would naturally react to any accusations at all of being lazy. We're busy. That is until

it's possible we see that our busyness is an expression of our laziness. And not diligence. That is,

there's a difference between busyness and fruitfulness. We can be simultaneously busy and lazy.

at the same time. That is, it's quite possible to be a hectic slug.

Busyness does not mean I am diligent or faithful or fruitful. And it seems that that passage that

Kel just read out to us from Thessalonians, that there were some there who were genuinely lazy.

2 Corinthians, sorry, 2 Thessalonians 3.11, we hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy.

They are busy bodies. That is, there are some in the church who are sitting back, taking it easy,

simply cruising through. It's not that they can't work. It's just that they refuse to work. And in the

context of 2 Thessalonians, it's not necessarily that they refuse just to work in the sense of getting a

job and earning their keep. That's part of what's happening there. But it's also they refuse

to pay their part in the body of believers and make a contribution to the life of the believers.

And Paul commands the Thessalonians to keep away from such people in verse 6.

That's how serious he sees this matter.

In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers, to keep away from every brother who is

idle and does not live according to the teaching that you receive from us. They are not busy. They

are busy bodies, using their time to poke into other people's business. They are vultures, not just

feeding on their brother's food, but in fact on their lives as well. In the end, Paul's perspective

on laziness is about having a Christian perspective on life. This is not about having a strong Protestant

work ethic. That's not what this passage is about. It's about living daily with a kingdom of God mindset.

This is a spiritual issue. And I think that's why in verse 13, Paul goes on to say,

And as for you, brothers, never tire of doing what is right.

What he's saying there is, it's not just about, you know, get out of bed and get a job.

He's actually saying, get busy with what is right. Get busy in pursuing the kingdom of God.

So it's not just a simply a call to be busy. It's be busy doing the kingdom.

What is right. What he's saying here is, it's quite possible for you to be

the busiest person in the world. You know, you're working seven days a week. You're a workaholic.

And yet to be a lazy procrastinator in the kingdom of God at the same time.

It is a hectic kingdom slug.

Procrastination means I can be busy neglecting the most important work and busy knocking out

to-do list after to-do list, filled with tasks of secondary importance.

So what I want to do this morning is something a little bit different.

I want to get some inspiration for us from the past.

The New Testament letter to the Hebrews is written to a bunch of Christians who are losing sight of what it means to follow Jesus in all of their life.

And the most famous section of the letter is the bit from chapter 11, 1 through to 12, verse 3.

It's the section about the great examples of faith, the great cloud of witnesses that the writer of the Hebrews points these people to,

the recipients of this letter, to look to as people who have run the race of perseverance.

They have endured.

He's hoping to inspire the Hebrews with examples of those who have gone before them to be faithful, focused disciples of the Lord Jesus,

despite the distractions and the persecutions and the difficulties.

And chapter 12, verse 1 in Hebrews is the main application of the section.

In fact, it's one word is the main application of that whole section.

It's a three-letter command in chapter 12, verse 1 that says,

run, run.

Everything else supports it, explains it, give motivation for it.

Run the race set before you.

Now, what a command to a church that was getting old, was settling into the world, losing its wartime mentality,

starting to drift through life without focus, without vigilance, without energy.

Their hands were growing weak, we are told in chapter 12, verse 12.

Their knees were feeble.

It was just easier to meander through the crowd in life rather than run the race of perseverance, of faith in Jesus Christ.

And so against this mentality, the writer to Hebrews calls the church to endure, to persevere, to run, to fight, to be alert, to be strengthened.

Don't drift.

Don't neglect.

Don't be sluggish.

Don't stroll.

Don't meander.

Don't wander aimlessly.

Don't take your eternal security for granted.

Run.

Run.

Run.

Run as in a race with a finish line, with everything hanging on that finish line.

Run.

Fight the fight of faith on the basis of Christ's spectacular death and resurrection.

Run.

Now, we need help here.

We are so easily distracted in our modern world.

And so I want to turn to someone who would have been included in Hebrews 11 list of faithful had the list extended into the 18th century.

That's my task for us today.

I want to look.

I love biography.

I love getting close to mostly dead people.

And to look at their life and how they ran the race of endurance right to the end.

And so I want to take us to Jonathan Edwards.

A life on the run.

Jonathan Edwards was born October 5, 1703.

He died on March 22, 1758.

He was a preacher, theologian, a missionary to Native Americans.

Edwards is considered now by both secular and evangelical historians alike

as the greatest Protestant thinker that America has ever produced.

That's an astounding claim from both secular and evangelical scholars.

He was a small town pastor for 23 years in a church of about 600 people.

He was a missionary to Native Americans for about seven years.

And the president of Princeton University for a few months just before he died.

He reared 11 faithful children.

I'm contributing his wife to part of that as well at least.

He worked without the help of electricity, without word processors, without emails, without iPhones,

and even without sufficient paper to write on.

And he lived only until he was 54.

I'm 51 now, so three more years longer than me.

That's all he had.

And yet this man was used by God to lead one of the greatest spiritual awakenings of modern times.

He wrote theological books that had ministered for more than 200 years across cultures

and did more for the modern missionary movement than any person of his generation.

Now, as a teenager, Edwards, mark that, as a teenager, Edwards wrote down 70 resolutions

that would govern his life and to help cultivate growth in grace.

As a teenager.

You can go online, Google it, Edwards resolutions, and you get a whole 70 of them there in front of you.

And he went on to re-read that list of resolutions at least once a week for the rest of his life

to keep his mind focused and his heart renewed week in and week out.

Now, these resolutions sustained him.

Sustained his vision of God and drove him to persevere and to grow as a disciple of Jesus.

That he would not become spiritually lazy.

Now, there are four of them that I want to...

Or four challenges.

I'll look at a few of the resolutions.

But four challenges from the life of Edwards that are designed to deal with

spiritual laziness and procrastination.

Firstly, Edwards challenges us to a radical, single-mindedness in our occupation with spiritual things.

Two of his resolutions that he made in 1723 when he wasn't yet 20 years old.

Resolution number 44.

Resolved.

That no other end but religion.

Now, when he says religion, what he means by that in his day and age,

what he means by that is Christianity, the Christian faith.

Resolved.

Resolved.

That no other end but religion shall have any influence at all in any of my actions.

And that no action shall be in the least circumstance any otherwise than the religious end will carry it.

Resolution 61.

Resolved.

That I will not give way to that listlessness which I find unbends and relaxes my mind.

In his day, he would call it technology possibly.

TV.

Will not give way to that listlessness which I find unbends and relaxes my mind from being fully and fixedly set on religion,

whatever excuse I may have for it.

I think that's the application of Paul's principle of 2 Timothy 2, 4 to 6 where he says,

no one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs.

He wants to please his commanding officer.

Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor's crown unless he competes according to the rules.

The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops.

What happens, I think, for many of us in the busyness and the difficulty of life is we start to give way to amusements and diversions and hobbies.

Just to survive emotionally.

I'm not saying TV is evil.

Don't go through on brick through.

I'm not saying that at all.

Or hobbies are really bad.

I actually think you should have a balance in life.

What I'm saying is they become dominant.

They become escapes for us.

The evenings and the days off are filled with harmless, enjoyable diversions and then they take over and the whole focus changes for us.

The radical urgency of kingdom priorities fade.

The wartime mentality shifts to a peacetime mentality.

The lifestyle starts to get cushy.

The all-consuming singleness of vision starts to evaporate.

I mean, and this is a genuine question here.

How many Christians do you know that are laboring to know God?

I'm not asking how many do you know who are reading the Bible.

I'm asking how many Christians do you know who are actually laboring, striving to know God?

Who are striving earnestly in study and prayer to enlarge their vision of God?

So the first exaltation from Edwards is to be radically single-minded in our occupation of spiritual things.

Edwards' second challenge to labor earnestly to know the Bible itself, to know the scriptures.

That is, don't get your vision of God secondhand.

You know, don't even let Jonathan Edwards be your vision of God.

Don't let J.I. Packer or Tim Keller or even week in and week out preaching here at St. Paul's to be your vision of God.

This was an example that Edwards himself sets.

An early biographer of Edwards said this about him, that when he first came into his pastoral role in Northampton,

he said he had studied theology, not chiefly in systems or commentaries, but in the Bible.

Edwards himself once said in a sermon,

Be assiduous, that is, showing great care and perseverance.

In reading the holy scriptures, this is the fountain whence all knowledge in divinity must be derived.

Therefore, let not this treasure lie by you neglected.

He set an incredible example of this in his own diligence in studying the Bible himself.

What he did was, he took a Bible, he got a Bible, he took it apart, unbound the whole thing,

separated every page and put a separate blank page in between every other page,

and then bound the whole thing back up again.

He then drew a line down the center of each bank page, two columns for notes,

and on every single page he wrote extensive notes, extensive notes.

In fact, he wrote extensive notes this way,

and when he ran out of paper, he then wrote extensive notes the other way,

in a different color.

And I think there's a genuine reason to believe that Edwards really did follow through on his 28th resolution,

resolved to study the scriptures so steadily, constantly, and frequently,

as that I may find and plainly perceive myself to grow in the knowledge of the same.

I find that resolution to be a rebuke.

How many of us actually have a plan to grow in our grasp of the whole terrain of the Bible?

Do we labor over God's word in such a way that we can plainly see today

that we understand something in God's word about God that we did not understand yesterday?

Many of us might, maybe that's an overstatement,

some of us might work at reading books on theology and church life with a view to growing,

but have no plan and no sustained effort to move steadily and constantly forward

in our understanding of God's word because it enlarges our vision of God.

Study the Bible so steadily and constantly and frequently that you can clearly perceive yourself to grow in them.

So here's a bit of a challenge as we're looking forward to New Year's resolutions.

Even by the end of the day, write down something, at least one thing, if not several things,

of things that you'll grapple with in the Christian faith that I want this resolved when I get back here

and I reflected this in 12 months.

I want to move forward on that issue.

Resolution 11 is one of the reasons he made such amazing progress in the understanding of God.

It says, resolved.

When I think of any theorem in divinity to be solved,

immediately to do what I can towards solving it,

if circumstances do not hinder.

That is, Edwards was not a passive reader.

He read with a view of solving problems.

Most of us, I think, are cursed with a bent towards passive reading.

We read the way we watch a TV.

We don't ask questions as we read.

We don't ask, why does this sentence follow that sentence?

How does this paragraph relate to the one, three pages earlier?

We don't, we're passive.

We don't ferret out the order of thought or ponder the meaning of terms.

And if we see a problem, we habitually leave the problems to the experts.

Challenge number three, Edwards challenges to redeem the time

and to do what our hand finds to do with all of our might.

His sixth resolution for life was very simple and quite powerful.

Resolved to live with all my might while I do live.

That's pretty simple.

Resolution five was similar.

Resolved never to lose one moment of time,

but to improve it in the most profitable way I possibly can.

He was a great believer in doing what you could in the time you have

rather than putting things off to a more convenient time.

I'll get to that job tomorrow, that kind of thing.

He just focused on doing it now.

He was disciplined in mind, in body, and in every aspect.

He's habits and everything in life.

Edwards could spend up to 13 hours a day in his study,

which is why I attribute his wife to the raising of 11 faithful children.

He rose early, even for non-electrical days.

In fact, he was probably entirely serious, probably,

when he wrote in his diary in 1728,

I think Christ has recommended rising early in the morning

by his rising from the grave very early in the morning.

I commend for your consideration whether such care to maximize time and effectiveness

in devotion to the pursuit of God in the word

was what the preacher meant when he says in Ecclesiastes 9, verse 10,

Ecclesiastes 9:10

Work with all of your might.

Fourthly, the theological labor of Edwards challenges us to study for the sake of heartfelt worship

and for practical obedience.

That is, the sweet marriage of reason and affection,

of thought and feeling, of head and heart,

of study and worship that took place in the life of Jonathan Edwards

has been very rare since that day.

The final exhortation is to recover what the Puritans called logic on fire.

That is, the fire of joy and obedience.

Edwards did not pursue a passion of God

because it was icing on the cake of faith.

For him, faith was grounded in a sense of God

which was more than what reason alone could ever deliver.

In other words, there is no avail merely

to believe that God is holy and merciful.

For Edwards, that was not enough.

For that belief to be of any saving value,

we must have a true delight in it for what it is in itself.

Otherwise, he says, as the Bible says,

knowledge of God that does not overflow into worship of God,

that's just what the devil has.

It's no different.

Does that mean all of his studying was in vain?

Not at all.

He said this,

the more you have a rational knowledge of divine things,

the more opportunity will there be

when the spirit shall be breathed into your heart

to see the excellency of these things

and to taste the sweetness of these things.

that is the goal for Edwards is not just to know God

but to delight in him

to savour him

to relish him

for all of his intellectual might

and he had an incredible might intellectually

Edwards was the furthest thing you could imagine

from a cool, detached, neutral

disinterested academic

he was as intent on cultivating passion for God

as he was cultivating knowledge of God

and the two went together for him

he said

seek not to grow in knowledge chiefly for the sake of applause

and to enable you to dispute with others

but seek it for the benefit of your souls

and in order to practice according to what knowledge you have

this will be the way in fact to know more

he says the moment

the moment you study something

and you do

and you grasp something

a knowledge of God

and you do not put that knowledge of God

into immediate effect in practice

he said that is when you cut yourself off

from discovering anything more from God

the greatest thing I think we can ever learn from Edwards

is that God is glorified

not mostly by being known

nor by being dutifully obeyed

he is glorified most

by being enjoyed

he wrote this

God is glorified

not only by his glory being seen

but by its being rejoiced in

when those who see it

delight in it

God is more glorified

than if they just see it

that is

the worship of God

joy and delight

is the goal of a disciplined life

do you get that in Edwards

up until this point

you could go

well this guy is just nuts

you're taking away all of my joy

and my happiness

and Edwards says

no no no

you labor

you strive for joy

he says laziness

procrastination

meandering

wandering

not running

robs you of delight in life

delight in God

and so as we

come to the end

of another year

and as we look forward

to the year

that is to be

and as

just around the corner

are things like

new year's resolutions

if you are someone

who's not in the habit

of doing new year's resolutions

can I ask you to change it

this year

just for this one thing

step into a new year

with a plan

to run

run

run

run with Jesus

in 2021

develop a plan

to deal with

the procrastination

and grow

in grace

and knowledge

and joy

this year

this next year

friends

news of a terminal

illness

or attending

a funeral

often times

when we start

to focus on life

and what it really

matters

in life

the beginning

of a new year

is in fact

a close third

number three

we must labor

to ensure

that the most

important things

stay

the most important

things

be inspired

get some plans

in place

to grow

in the important

don't coast

don't meander

redeem the time

the big focus

for us as a church

for the next five years

is

for people

the majority

of us as a church

to be able

to self-identify

that we have

grown much

in the faith

in the Lord Jesus

and

personal

relationship

with him

in the Bible

and in prayer

is

the most

significant

first step

you will

not

grow

in knowledge

of God

in delight

in God

in joy

without engagement

with him

in his word

and prayer

and so

I've got a free book

for someone

who wants to

start that journey

free book

from anyone

now if you're

online

you're going

oh man

I've got one

reserved

for someone

online as well

so you just

send me an email

drop a note

into St. Paul's

and I will post it

to you with great

delight

this one here

this one

is

this one

if you follow

it to its fullness

it will take you

through the entire

Bible

in one year

keep doing that

for the next

five years

and you will

start to get

the scope

of God's word

you will start

to see the landscape

you will start

to get deeper

and deeper

and knowledge

of him

yeah

did I say

five years

yes

that's exactly

what I said

five years

who wants it

I mean seriously

it's for free

thank you

Nolene

wonderful

can I just say

one last

but very

significant point

this is

reading

from the

beginning

of

Edward's

resolutions

very important

being sensible

that I am

unable to do

anything

without God's

help

I do

humbly

entreat him

by his

grace

to enable

me to

keep

these

resolutions

so far

as they

are agreeable

to his

will

all

for the

sake

of Christ

Edwards

knew

that

even

with all

his

intellectual

might

he

was

just

as

human

as

we

are

and

that

he

was

just

as

likely

to be

distracted

as

anyone

else

that

is

he

knew

his

effort

alone

would

not

be

enough

to

carry

him

his

personality

alone

would

not

be

enough

to

carry

him

his

giftedness

from

God

alone

would

not

be

enough

to

carry

him

it

is

only

by

God's

enabling

that

he

would

be

able

to stay

focused

on

what

was

the

important

and

so

he

prayed

prayed

prayed

prayed

and

looked

to

God

for

enabling

for

that

giftedness

day in

and day

out

to stay

focused

he

prayed

for

God

to

enable

him

to

stay

the

course

and

not

deviate

his

life

into

trivia

and

irrelevancies

let's

pray

our

gracious

and most

merciful

heavenly

father

you

tell us

in your

word

in

Romans

Romans 15:4

15

verse

4

that

whatever

was

written

in

former

days

was

written

for

our

instruction

that

through

endurance

and

through

the

encouragement

of the

scriptures

we

might

have

hope

you

promised

that

everything

written

in

your

word

was

put

there

by

you

for

the

sake

of

our

endurance

that

we

might

run

no

matter

what

the

sufferings

the

trials

the

afflictions

the

distractions

you

have

given

us

all

that

we

need

in

life

in

order

to

not

lose

hope

but

in

fact

to be

encouraged

to press

on

in

faith

and

experience

delight

and

joy

in

you

and

yet

how

finite

and

limited

and

fickle

we

are

as

humans

what

you've

thrown

in

front

of

us

today

Lord

just

really

briefly

is

a

man

who

took

your

word

seriously

and

laboured

to

know

you

he

overcame

and

through

his

work

and

many

others

have

endured

in

faith

as

we

launch

into

another

year

may

it

be

different

different

as

previous

years

may

we

run

with

endurance

the race

that you

put

before

us

looking

only

to

Jesus

may

the

Lord

Jesus

be

the

deepest

source

of

all

of

our

endurance

may

we

see

and

saviour

him

in

your

word

and

find

in

him

our

strength

to

keep

striving

against

sin

Satan

and

sabotage

so we

ask

you

merciful

father

to

send

your

spirit

as

we

engage

your

word

we

pray

that

you

would

fill

our

hearts

with

knowledge

of

you

our

hearts

with

joy

in

you

give

us

that

deep

sense

of

delight

of

seeing

you

so

may

your

grace

enable

us

to

work

hard

to

know

you

rather

than

being

an

excuse

for

spiritual

laziness

this

coming

year

and

we

ask

that

Christ

might

be

glorified

amen