Why Is Diligence Required?
I. Because of the diligence required
to walk in victory most believers chose to be lazy and live in crisis-management-mode
rather than engaging diligence and walking in divine victory
A.
It’s going to require diligence in the Word to walk in victory
1.
Diligence-To zealously seek
for something with all your heart, strength, and might. It presents a picture of one who seeks
something so passionately and determinedly that he literally exhausts all his
power in his search. It portrays
such an earnest effort, the idea of being hard-working,
attentive, busy, and persistent in one’s devotion to what he is doing.
2.
Hebrews 11:6-You can’t diligently seek Him
without diligently seeking His Word
a.
Diligence is what places a demand on the
reward
b.
Diligence isn’t required to earn the reward;
it’s required to unlock the reward that Jesus already earned for you
3.
Hebrews 6:12-If the promises are to be
inherited, then diligence is what’s required
4.
Proverbs 28:20, 20:6-Everybody is going to
tell you how faithful they are, but let the overflow of blessings do the
talking
5.
Hebrews 10:36-Diligence is not optional---Need-Necessity
a.
You have to know something to do something
B.
People are crystal clear on what they want,
but most aren’t interested in finding out what it takes to get it (Proverbs
13:4)
1.
Diligence is the key factor in getting from
what you want to having it
2.
Every believer in the Body of Christ could
win every time if they diligently heard and did the Word
3.
Neither laziness nor diligence can be hid;
your results tell on you
II. Why is diligence required?
A.
James 1:6-8-Full-assurance is vital
1.
A doubting, wavering, faith-lacking person
will not receive anything from the Lord
B.
To get fully assured is going to demand diligence-Hebrews 6:11-12
1.
The destination full assurance is reached by
travelling down the path of diligence
a.
I got to get to full assurance because it’s
there that I’ll see my manifestation
2.
John 8:32-Through continuing in the Word, the
Word becomes truth to you
a.
Many believers are not seeing the Word
manifest is because of slothfulness
1)
Slothfulness is a hindrance to full assurance
2)
An unwillingness to stay in this word until
you reach full persuasion
3.
12-If you’re not willing to do what they did,
then you won’t get what they got
C.
Follow them-Abraham operated in faith and
diligence/patience (Romans 4:16-21)
1.
17-He called thing that be not as though they
were
a.
Out of the abundance of your heart your mouth
speaks---That had to be in him for it to come out of him
b.
He wasn’t walking around talking about what
was going to happen, he was calling that which wasn’t done like it was done
c.
1) Call things that be not as though they
are--Diligently
2.
18-He’s expecting this to come to pass with
no reason to think it’s ever going to come to pass, according to that which was
spoken-Continuing in the Word
a.
2) Consider and fix the mind on the
Word-Diligently
3.
19-He wasn’t weak in faith because he spent
time with God’s Word (Gen 22:17)
a.
He considered not the circumstances
b.
He didn’t fix his mind on their bodies, but
his mind was fixed on the Word
c.
3) Don’t fix your mind on the
circumstances-Diligently
4.
20-He was strong in faith because he was
hooked to that word
a.
He gave glory to God
b.
4) Thank God like it’s done-Diligently
5.
21-Through diligence to those things he got
fully persuaded that God was able
III. Hope has been deferred and
the heart of people has become sick because they believed they could walk in
victory without being diligent in the Word of God (Proverbs13:12)
A.
Joshua 1:8-The success came after diligently
hearing and doing the Word
1.
Most people don’t want to hear that victory
is going to require diligence in the Word. They live their lives hoping nothing
bad enough happens that they can’t handle by natural means and then when it
does and they can’t handle it they go into crisis management-mode with a few
moments of tears and prayers hoping that God will do something. Rather than living in the Word and no
matter what arises they “hear and do the Word” their way out of the problem.
2.
Hebrews 5:13-Be skillful in the word of
righteousness
a.
You’re supposed to be able to run to this
word, find out what it says, and do your way out; MAKE YOUR WAY PROSPEROUS
3.
If you’re expecting to see change in your
life while you continue to give little-to-no effort in the Word change isn’t
going to come and when it doesn’t come your hope will be deferred and you heart
will be sick. You’ll be able to
believe very little with a sick heart because it’ll always be reminding you of
what didn’t happen last time.
B.
There’s a reason things aren’t happening in
people’s lives-Proverbs 26:2
1.
It’s real simple if you do what the word says
diligently you’re going to walk in victory, if you don’t you’re constantly
going to be missing out on God’s best
a.
You’re in the condition you’re in right now
because of what you have or haven’t heard and done from the Word
b.
People reject this responsibility and because
of it they walk in no authority
1)
Don’t blame your failure to receive on God’s
sovereignty
2.
You have dominion and authority in your life
through your obedience or disobedience to his word
a.
In the beginning God said, Be fruitful,
multiply, replenish the Earth it and some things just happen so you can’t
subdue it or have dominion over it
b.
You can’t ignore spiritual law and then be
surprised when the results of the law that you put into motion show up in your
life (James 1:20)
1)
EX: But I didn’t know (Hosea 4:6)
3.
Proverbs 13:13-This is a spiritual law; If
you despise and neglect the Word destruction is going to be in your
life-Matthew 15:8
a.
Romans 10:17, 1 John 5:4, 3 John 2, Isaiah
55:1-3