Classic Sermon Outlines (continued)
SERMON NINE
THE SLUGGARD IN
HARVEST
The sluggard will not plough by reason of the cold; therefore shall he beg in harvest and have nothing.
—PROVERBS 20:4
LIKE all the sayings of this book this is simply a piece of plain, practical common sense. It is intended to inculcate the lesson that men shot diligently seize the opportunity while it is theirs. The sluggard is one of the pet aversions of the Book of Proverbs, which, unlike most other manuals of Eastern wisdom, has a profound reverence for honest work.
I. THE PRINCIPLES CRYSTALIZED IN THIS PICTURESQUE PROVERB.
A. Present Conduct Determines Future Conditions.
1. This principle is true about life in general. The position which a man fills, the tasks which he has to perform, and the whole host of things which make up the externals of his life, depend on far other conditions than any that he brings to them. But yet, on the whole, it is true that what a man does, and is, settles how he fares.
2. This principle is especially true about youth. You can, I was going to say, be anything you make up your minds to, and within reasonable limits, this bold saying is true. "Ask what thou wilt and it shall be given to thee" is