The Trust Imperative

At the end of every message to the seven churches in Revelation chapters two and three, Jesus Christ tells us of a reward that awaits “He who overcomes.”

• To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life
• He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death
• To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat
• He who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations
• He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments
• He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God
• To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne

If we are to overcome, there’s a matter that is absolutely imperative to ensuring we overcome and endure to the end. Given the horrific events on the horizon, there is absolutely no way we will be able to go it alone.

As we hear of wars and rumors of wars;

As armies begin to compass about Jerusalem;

We’re reminded of the prophecies we’ve learned from our Bibles.

As Central Bank Digital Currencies, CBDCs, make central control over buying and selling a reality, Revelation chapter 13 comes into focus.

I began to wonder how this will all play out at the practical level. We know how it will all end with the return of Christ and the setting up of the Kingdom of God here on Earth.

But in the meantime, there are some horrific events to take place first.

How are we to survive the chaos all around us before Christ gets here?

We don’t need unity just for unity’s sake. Unity, sticking together, has now become a practical matter crucial to our very existence in the interim. As the values we hold dear are pushed farther and farther out of mainstream culture, we who hold these values, will be ostracized, cancelled, even banished from society. And as outcasts, we will have only each other and our faith in God to rely on.

If we are to trust one another under such dire circumstances, we need to know one another on a deep level.

How well do you know your brothers and sisters in Christ? If you had to rely on them in a crisis, could you? Would you?

I’m not speaking of support from the Church organization but of individuals within our congregation here.

Could you rely on them in a crisis?

Which ones would you look to?

Could they rely on you? You may ask, how can I help? I have my hands full as it is.

Paul tells us in his letter to the Romans, that every individual in the body has a role to play no matter how small. All of us have a part and none are to be left out. God has dealt to every man a measure of faith. We all have something we can contribute even if it’s just moral support.

So, how well do we know each other? How open have we been with each other? Do we know each other’s strengths and weaknesses? Do we know each other’s hopes and fears?

Do we know the struggles and issues each one is dealing with? Have we shared our struggles and cares?

Everyoneyou meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always.

Do we know each other well enough to understand the issues of life that they’re dealing with each and every day? Health, finances, children, relationships, job, faith, and on and on it goes.

What if you did know the issues they are dealing with?

Would you go out of your way to be more kind?

Could you maybe help?

Depending on the issue maybe you could.

 

Would you help?

Would you take the time? The expense? The trouble?

Of course, you would! Wouldn’t you?

Could you console them? Encourage them? At least give them a kind word? Pray for them?

How would that make them feel to know someone cares?

How would that make you feel?

-       Glad to be able to help? Of course.

-       Would you pity them? Would you think any less of them?

Of course not.

We have all been in situations, if we’re honest with ourselves, when we could have used a little help.

 

Here’s my question –

How can you help people if you don’t know they need help?

If you already have a relationship, it’s easier. If you are open with each other, you can discuss how you can help each other.

How open are you with your brothers and sisters in Christ? I’m not talking about “True Confessions” exposing all our sordid past.

But what are one or two things that keep you up a night? What’s preying on your mind today?

What if you could open up to others about your issues, your struggles? Wouldn’t it help to get if off your chest? Maybe get another perspective from someone you trust?

What if we all had the kind of relationships where we would feel comfortable discussing our needs, our shortcomings, our concerns, and fears?

Wouldn’t that bring us closer together? Sometimes just knowing others have the same concerns we do, helps.

Why would we want to do a thing like that?

Wouldn’t we be better able to offer support, better able to help bear one another’s burdens? Build a support group we can count on?

However, we can’t help if we don’t share our concerns with each other.

 

Let’s look at some of the reasons why we don’t.

 

Why Are We So Hesitant to Open Up to One Another?

• It’s complicated.
• We don’t see the need to.
• I figure, half the people don’t want to hear it and the other half are glad that it’s you who has the problem and not them.
• We were raised with the admonition, “Don’t air your dirty laundry in public.”
• “It’s nobody’s business.”
• “Nobody wants to hear your whining anyway. Buck up!”
• Fear that they will think less of me.
• Men, in particular, need to appear strong and in control.
• Taught to be self-reliant. Admitting we need help is a sign of weakness.
• Don’t want to be pitied.
• We’re hesitant to accept help. 
• Don’t want charity – we should provide for and take care of our own, and not doing so is a sign of failure in our mind
• Pride – hate to admit that we need help
• It would create a sense of obligation to return the favor 

 

“Pay it forward” takes care of this. We don’t have to repay the person who helped us but instead pay it forward by helping the next person who needs it.

It’s easy to see why we would be hesitant to do this with our co-workers, our neighbors, or even some of our own family, but…

The Household of Faith

 

With each other here, it’s different. Why? We are likeminded individuals who all share a strong common faith in God and His plan of salvation.

 

Gal 6:10 KJV  As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, [Yes, love our neighbors as ourselves. But look at what it says next] especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

 

Taking care of our own takes priority.

 

Jesus told us we’re supposed to act differently toward each other.

 

Joh 13:34-35 KJV

(34)  A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

(35)  By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

 

We are to be disciples, discipling others in support of their spiritual well-being, especially.

Jas 5:16 NKJV

(16)  Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

 

We need to learn to trust our brothers and sisters in Christ to help us to see the shortcomings in our faith. Sometimes we can see where a brother is going astray but he is too close to it to be able to recognize it himself.

 

What do I need to know about myself that I don’t yet know? Our brothers and sisters should care for us enough to let us know.

 

Jas 5:19-20 NKJV

(19)  Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back,

(20)  let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.

 

Peter says it this way –

 

1Pe 4:8-11 NKJV

(8)  And above all things have fervent love for one another, for "LOVE WILL COVER A MULTITUDE OF SINS."

(9)  Be hospitable to one another without grumbling.

(10)  As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

(11)  If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

 

Minister one to another with whatever ability God has given us. As good disciples, we do so with care, of course, not to appear critical or judgmental but with humility and kindness.

 

 

 

Gal 6:1-2 KJV

(1)  Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.

(2)  Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.

 

Avoid being hypocritical, examining yourself first. They are a child of God and doing what they believe is the best they can. Show respect. Do so with love, having their best interests at heart.

 

Php 2:1-5 NKJV

(1)  Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy,

(2)  fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.

(3)  Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.

(4)  Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

(5)  Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,

 

We can’t help everyone. But we can make ourselves and our resources available to help those we know and have an intimate understanding of their circumstances. We not only know them but we know their heart.

 

If a brother in Christ were to call you up and ask if he can drop his wife and young daughter off at your house to stay while he goes and deals with a dire circumstance at home, do you hesitate even for a second? Do you question his motives? Or do you know him and his heart well enough to honor his request without question or hesitation? Knowing he would not even have asked if he didn’t sincerely need your help.

 

It’s about the heart. We need to get to know what’s in their heart.

 

 

 

We can’t wait until tragedy strikes to try to build that relationship then. We need to begin now building relationships within the body of Christ so that when times get tough, we know we can rely on each other.

 

Make time and place to have those deep conversations. Schedule coffee together. Lunch. Regular phone calls during the week.

 

We don’t have the luxury of easing into relationships with others when we’re under fire. If we don’t develop our support group now, we will be left out on an island when we need them most. And no one can go it alone.

 

We need to develop a sense of urgency about getting to know each other on a more intimate level. To get to know someone really closely takes time. It’s hard to open up, full transparency, all at once. We expose our true selves only a little at a time as we learn to trust that person.

 

Under Fire

 

We will be brought under fire.

Christ told us times will get worse than ever before in the history of man.

Mat 24:8-9 KJV

(8)  All these are the beginning of sorrows. [wars and rumors of war]

(9)  Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.

Mat 24:21 KJV

(21)  For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

 

We will be hated by all men for His name’s sake.

We shall be hated and we shall be persecuted – whatever form that may take.

We will need some help. We cannot go it alone.

Don’t think anyone is exempt.

2Ti 3:12 KJV  Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

All    shall 

 

We will need encouragement to press on and not lose heart (faith).

We will need help with our physical needs but also, and more importantly, we will need help with our spiritual needs, moral support – comfort, edification, exhortation, and encouragement to endure and press on.

We will need each other to stay true to the faith of God and to live not by lies.

The time is coming when the love of many will wax cold. Men will be so focused on their own desperate needs they won’t care about you or anyone else. They will be totally void of compassion.

Desperate men do desperate things. A man under enough pressure will do what he deems necessary at the time.

We know better.

For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it. For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? (Mar 8:35-36 KJV)

 

We will rely most on those with whom we have the deepest relationships.

 

Luk 21:16-19 KJV

(16)  And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death.

(17)  And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake.

(18)  But there shall not an hair of your head perish.

(19)  In your patience possess ye your souls.

 

In your patience possess ye your souls. Love is patient. We will need to be patient with each other, building those relationships.

We will need to be patient waiting for the return of the LORD, our Deliverer. Wearying not in well doing, enduring to the end and helping our brothers and sisters to do well also.

If we are to stick together through thick and thin, good times and bad, we are going to need to get to know each other intimately. And by intimately, I mean the heart. We need to understand each other such that we trust and understand each other’s motives.

I know that we’re told that the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, who can know it. (Jer 17:9) However, we can get to know what is in a person’s heart.

Even God needed to know what was in Abraham’s heart. Once He did, He trusted him to carry out His mission.

Does that mean Abraham never had deceit in his heart again? No. We know that he did.

In like manner, the better we get to know our brother, the more we learn to know what is written in his heart. Does he love God’s word and take it to heart?

 

Building Trust

 

How do we build trust?

Who do you trust most now? When it all falls apart who do you count on?

• Spouse
• Best Friend
• Child
• Mother, Father, brother, sister
• Boss, co-worker
• Pastor

Did that level of trust happen overnight?

 How do we learn to trust? By trusting.

You don’t have to tell them your deepest darkest secret, and we all have them. But open up just a bit more about who you are, the real you.

The risks, of course, are will they think less of you and will they tell someone else? How will you know if you don’t try? If he keeps your confidence, you have gained your brother.

 

Something else –

It is nearly impossible to trust others if we are not trustworthy ourselves.

If we know ourselves to be unworthy of trust, we cannot bring ourselves to trust someone else.

Learn to trust by being trustworthy yourself.

The Golden Rule - Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. (Matt 7:12; Luke 6:31) 

Treat them with the respect with which you want to be treated.

 

Why is it that we feel we can trust family?

They already know us, warts and all! They know us best, sometimes too well. They’ve been privy to our failures, faults, and fears since our childhood.

They’ve seen us at our worst and still love us.

Also, we view family as obligated. They’re obligated to help us. We’re family.

Are we not family? Are we brothers and sisters in Christ, family in the same sense?

When Christ was told his mother and His family was waiting to see Him while he was speaking with his followers, what was His reply?

Mat 12:46-50 KJV

(46)  While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him.

(47)  Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee.

(48)  But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?

(49)  And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!

(50)  For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.

 

When we become privy to the failures, faults, and fears of our brethren and seen them at their worst, will we still love them?

Of course, we will. We must. Christ commanded it!

We need to see ourselves truly as members of one family. We are sojourning brothers together in this journey to the Kingdom. We are comrades in arms, good soldiers of Jesus Christ, bearing His name with honor. We are members of the God Family. We have been translated into the Kingdom of His dear Son. And we trust one another to have our backs.

 

In God We Trust

 

Ultimately our trust is in God.

 

Rom 8:31-39 KJV

(31)  What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?

(32)  He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

(33)  Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.

(34)  Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.

(35)  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

(36)  As it is written, [Psa 44:22] For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

(37)  Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

(38)  For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

(39)  Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

Ultimately, our trust is in God. He will never leave us nor forsake us.

 

God will care for those that are His, those who trust in Him.

 

Nah 1:7 KJV  The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.

 

Remember God commanded the ravens to feed Elijah when he went to confront Ahab to tell him there would be no rain? (1Kings 17:1-6)

 

Remember the widow at Zaraphath that made him a cake with the last of her flour and oil and they ate many days?  (1Kings 17:8-16)

 

And again, remember the angel that fed Elijah when he was fleeing from Jezebel? Twice an angel touched him and provided a cake baked with coals and a jar of water. (1Kings 19:1-8)

 

Remember the story of Gideon’s fleece where God made the dew fall just on the fleece and the second time when he made the dew fall just on the ground but not the fleece? If God can do this, He can drop manna in your backyard and leave those around you empty!

 

Here’s a story you may not be as familiar with –

 

 

 

2Ki 6:24-25 KJV

(24)  And it came to pass after this, that Benhadad king of Syria gathered all his host, and went up, and besieged Samaria.

(25)  And there was a great famine in Samaria: and, behold, they besieged it, until an ass's head was sold for fourscore pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a cab of dove's dung for five pieces of silver.

 

[Remember in Christ’s day, a slave was only thirty pieces of silver.]

 

2Ki 7:1-2 KJV

(1)  Then Elisha said, Hear ye the word of the LORD; Thus saith the LORD, To morrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria.

(2)  Then a lord on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God, and said, Behold, if the LORD would make windows in heaven, might this thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof.

2Ki 7:3-8 KJV

(3)  And there were four leprous men at the entering in of the gate: and they said one to another, Why sit we here until we die?

(4)  If we say, We will enter into the city, then the famine is in the city, and we shall die there: and if we sit still here, we die also. Now therefore come, and let us fall unto the host of the Syrians: if they save us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but die.

(5)  And they rose up in the twilight, to go unto the camp of the Syrians: and when they were come to the uttermost part of the camp of Syria, behold, there was no man there.

(6)  For the Lord had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great host: and they said one to another, Lo, the king of Israel hath hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us.

(7)  Wherefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents, and their horses, and their asses, even the camp as it was, and fled for their life.

(8)  And when these lepers came to the uttermost part of the camp, they went into one tent, and did eat and drink, and carried thence silver, and gold, and raiment, and went and hid it; and came again, and entered into another tent, and carried thence also, and went and hid it.

 

2Ki 7:9-15 KJV

(9)  Then they said one to another, We do not well: this day is a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace: if we tarry till the morning light, some mischief will come upon us: now therefore come, that we may go and tell the king's household.

(10)  So they came and called unto the porter of the city: and they told them, saying, We came to the camp of the Syrians, and, behold, there was no man there, neither voice of man, but horses tied, and asses tied, and the tents as they were.

(11)  And he called the porters; and they told it to the king's house within.

(12)  And the king arose in the night, and said unto his servants, I will now shew you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we be hungry; therefore are they gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the field, saying, When they come out of the city, we shall catch them alive, and get into the city.

(13)  And one of his servants answered and said, Let some take, I pray thee, five of the horses that remain, which are left in the city, (behold, they are as all the multitude of Israel that are left in it: behold, I say, they are even as all the multitude of the Israelites that are consumed:) and let us send and see.

(14)  They took therefore two chariot horses; and the king sent after the host of the Syrians, saying, Go and see.

(15)  And they went after them unto Jordan: and, lo, all the way was full of garments and vessels, which the Syrians had cast away in their haste. And the messengers returned, and told the king.

 

2Ki 7:16-20 KJV

(16)  And the people went out, and spoiled the tents of the Syrians. So a measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, according to the word of the LORD.

(17)  And the king appointed the lord on whose hand he leaned to have the charge of the gate: and the people trode upon him in the gate, and he died, as the man of God had said, who spake when the king came down to him.

(18)  And it came to pass as the man of God had spoken to the king, saying, Two measures of barley for a shekel, and a measure of fine flour for a shekel, shall be to morrow about this time in the gate of Samaria:

In one day all was changed. God can do all things. We have but to trust in Him.

 

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. (6)  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. (Pro 3:5-6 KJV)

 

 

Read the Psalms to increase your trust in God. [over 70 verses about trust]

 

Our allegiance and loyalty must be to God.

We are to trust God and be trustworthy ourselves.

Do good. Be ready to distribute and willing to communicate of the truth of God, to disciple others and to be good disciples ourselves.

 

1Ti 6:17-19 KJV

(17)  Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;

(18)  That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;

(19)  Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.

 

 

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. (Eph 6:10 KJV) 

 

Our trust, of course, is in God ultimately, but while we wait on the LORD, in the meantime, we will have to hang on and endure what this world brings all the while keeping our faith.

 

We cannot do this alone. We need to rely on each other. If we’re to rely on each other in such dire circumstances, we must learn how to do so now. We cannot wait until such a time and expect to know whom to trust with our very lives, and the lives of our wives and children. The time is short. We must begin immediately with a sense of urgency.

 

We must begin now to grow in faith and knowledge of the hearts of our brothers. And the only way is to get to know each other on an intimate basis now, heart to heart.

 

Our ability to endure to the end is an imperative matter of trust. Trust in God and trust in each other in the family of God.

 

Endure to the end, #FinishStrong, and overcome. To him that overcomes will be granted to him to sit on the throne of God!

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The Calamity of Complacency

Introduction

I believe that to be true and I think if you check, history and scripture will bear this out.

This speaks of strong men. It’s not talking about physically strong men necessarily, although when life is hard, physical strength can develop as a result. No, this is speaking of men who have developed the mental toughness and moral fiber to forge a nation out of pristine wilderness.

Men who experience hard times develop a strength of character as they fight through those tough times. They develop a toughness and resilience and moral fortitude to create a livable and relatively peaceful society. 

Once they’ve fought through and overcome the difficulties of life to establish a certain standard of living, they are unwavering, and set boundaries of what they will and will not tolerate in themselves and others.

They know what it took to get there. They were personally invested in the struggle. They create good times for their families and society as a whole.

They make one fundamental mistake though. 

Every man wants his children to have things better than he did. He remembers the struggle, what it was like, how hard it was.  And he sets about helping his children get established. 

However, by removing the difficulties of life for his children, he removes the struggle and protects them from the hard times that develop good character. And the children become a bit weaker than he was. Over time each generation becomes a bit softer as they get farther and farther from the strife.

 Eventually, they don’t know any different. The easy life is all they’ve ever known. 

They become complacent. Entitled even. Complacency has to do with self-satisfaction, a sense of contentment regarding the state of things.

They see no reason to do hard things. They see no reason they should have to struggle. They relax. They continually lower their standards as they apply their energies elsewhere. They tolerate a lower standard of morality in favor of doing their own thing and call it freedom.

Their children drift from the moral values originally taught by godly grandparents and great grandparents.

They become complacent. They’ve got the good life. They’ve lived a protected existence. They lose track of the evils that had to be overcome to get there. All things become possible for them but not all things are prudent. Anything goes. Anything goes in their pursuit of hedonistic pleasures. They lose track of even the existence of evil and in their complacency, they forget their God.

Men have forgotten God

Abraham Lincoln – March 30, 1863 – made this speech when he issued a “Day of National Humiliation, Fasting, and Prayer” in the midst of the American Civil War.

 https://www.faithwire.com/2017/05/05/we-have-forgotten-god-abraham-lincolns-154-year-old-proclamation-about-faith-and-divisiveness-strikingly-relevant-today/

“Whereas it is the duty of nations as well as of men to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon, and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord.

We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity; we have grown in numbers, wealth, and power as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own.

Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us. It behooves us, then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.”

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn – 120 years later in London on May 10, 1983, in his acceptance speech of the Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion

https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/12/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn-men-have-forgotten-god-speech/

“More than half a century ago, while I was still a child, I recall hearing a number of older people offer the following explanation for the great disasters that had befallen Russia: “Men have forgotten God; that’s why all this has happened.

And if I were called upon to identify briefly the principal trait of the entire 20th century, here too, I would be unable to find anything more precise and pithy than to repeat once again: “Men have forgotten God.” The failings of human consciousness, deprived of its divine dimension, have been a determining factor in all the major crimes of this century.”

… when thou shalt have eaten and be full; [and become complacent]

Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. (Deut 6:11-12)

What is complacency?

It’s a feeling of being satisfied with how things are. Self-satisfaction.

Trusting in our own abilities – self-sufficiency

Settled into our routine, going about our life as we understand it. We’re comfortable with it. Satisfied for the most part. In some respects, it might be a mess, but it’s our mess. It’s the one we know.

Complacency is revealed when we become too comfortable with our lives and the culture in which we live. If we are too settled, we no longer strive for the Kingdom of God and what it promises.

Complacency, both physical and spiritual, doesn’t happen all at once. It comes a little at a time, in small ways at first.

When we’re spiritually complacent, we become less diligent. 

We study our bibles but maybe not as long as before, or we skip a day.

We pray but maybe it’s become repetitive, saying the same thing over and over. Or maybe we shorten our prayers, or skip occasionally. It’s not gone cold but it’s not exactly what we would call fervent either.

We begin to compromise. Maybe we attend services fairly regularly but sometimes we’re just not feeling it, so we opt to watch online instead or not at all. I just need a day of rest, we tell ourselves.

We may listen to a sermon or follow a study guide or read an article in the Beyond Today magazine but we don’t look up the scriptures. We’re familiar with them we tell ourselves.

When we don’t look up the scriptures, we don’t get the full meaning of it. Sometimes it’s the other half of the scripture that strikes us most. But we don’t afford ourselves of that detour that the Holy Spirit often takes us on leading us to other scriptures. It’s often on these detours where we learn the most.

Complacency can lead to becoming particular about how you want to worship, what you’re willing to do, what you want to hear. We only want to hear the “smooth things” not the hard sayings. (Isa 30:10) We justify in our own mind that what we’re doing is enough. It’s good enough.

“Good is the Enemy of Great.”

~ Jim Collins, in his book Good to Great

The concept is that too many people and too many organizations “settle” and take short cuts accepting that “good” is good enough and that they don't need to do the really hard work to be great.

In other words, Good enough is good enough. But is good enough, good enough?

Are we striving to be Christians who are just “good enough” or are we striving to be Christians who are assured entrance to the Kingdom of God, great examples and ambassadors?

Are we complacent? Convicted but not converted? 

“While you resist not conviction, beware of resting in it.” ~E. Cooper

Amidst all his convictions, man has lost his distaste for the evil of sin.

Maybe we relax our language a little, maybe a little rougher, tolerate curse words in movies, in others, and in ourselves. 

“It’s not that bad.”

“I’m dealing with it.”

“Besides, no one is perfect.”

“God understands.

Isa 6:9-12 KJV

(9)  And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.

(10)  Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.

(11)  Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate,

(12)  And the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.

That’s where our nation is headed today. How about us?

Mat 13:14-17 KJV

(14)  And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:

(15)  For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

Mat 13:11 KJV  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

(16)  But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.

(17)  For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

God has revealed these things to you. 

Cherish that. Relish in it. It is a great privilege. Don’t take it for granted.

Complacent is a dangerous position to be in. When we don’t bother to take action on what we’ve heard or read in scripture, our sin no longer pricks our conscience the way it once did. Our conscience can become seared. Maybe it’s not totally seared yet, but it may be just a little crispy around the edges.

Judgment is promised to the complacent.

Zep 1:12-14 NKJV

(12)  "And it shall come to pass at that time That I will search Jerusalem with lamps, And punish the men Who are settled in complacency, [settled on their lees- KJV] Who say in their heart, 'The LORD will not do good, Nor will He do evil.'

(13)  Therefore their goods shall become booty, And their houses a desolation; They shall build houses, but not inhabit them; They shall plant vineyards, but not drink their wine."

(14)  The great day of the LORD is near; It is near and hastens quickly. The noise of the day of the LORD is bitter; There the mighty men shall cry out.

We often think of the Church of Laodicea as the one who exemplifies being complacent but another church was guilty of the same sin.

Paul founded the Church at Ephesus around 50 AD. About 6 years later, he sent his letter to the Ephesians instructing them in great detail how they ought to live (Eph 4:17-32 – 5:7). Just a few years later, 4 or 5, he wrote to Timothy, who was in Ephesus, to warn against complacency. 

In their complacency, some had begun to give heed to fables and false doctrines. Complacency can lead to apathy and some had even departed from the faith. 

Paul urges young Timothy to remind them of the danger of such things.

1Ti 4:1-2, 6, 13-16 KJV

(1)  Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;

(2)  Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;

(6)  If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.

(13)  Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.

(14)  Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. [the Holy Spirit]

(15)  Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all.

(16)  Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.

2Ti 1:6-7 KJV

(6)  Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.

(7)  For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

Stir up the Holy Spirit. Fan it into flames! 

Give utmost attention to reading, exhortation and good doctrine.

They rooted out those who proclaimed false doctrines and found them to be liars. But along the way they settled in, became complacent. They lost their fervor, that zeal they had when they first came into the truth. 

They were on fire when Paul started the church. But despite his instructions and admonishments, 30 years later by the time John wrote to the Church at Ephesus, they had lost their first love – 

Rev 2:1-7 KJV

(1)  Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;

(2)  I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:

(3)  And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.

(4)  Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.

(5)  Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

(6)  But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

(7)  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

The point being, stay the course no matter how long. 

Hold fast ‘til Christ comes!

When we don’t hear and heed that still small voice of God’s Holy Spirit, we harden our heart, sear our conscience ever so slightly and risk quenching it entirely. We relax a little. We’re not as enthusiastic as we once were. We know what we should do but we don’t. We become lackadaisical. We procrastinate. I’ll get on it later. I’ll get really serious about it later.

We can be hesitant to break the inertia though. There’s an idiomatic expression that goes -

“Well begun is half done.” 

We know what we should do. Get started. Just do it! Be doers of the Word, not hearers only.

Ah, but we say, 

“We have plenty of time to prepare though, right?” 

“I mean – 

We don’t see Jerusalem surrounded by armies yet (Luke 21:20)

We don’t see a new temple built yet, right?

We don’t see the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place yet, right?

We don’t see the two witnesses on the scene yet, right?

So, we have plenty of time to prepare. Right?”

See how it starts?

What we don’t know is how long it will take us to get ready. We don’t realize how very long it takes to prepare spiritually for what lies ahead.

How many have been living God’s way of life for 20, 30, 50 years? Will any of them tell you they’re absolutely ready, without a doubt? 

If Christ had returned this year, would you have been ready?

If not, why not? Identify those things. And get ready. It’s a process and it takes time. Some of us longer than others. 

Anyone feeling like you’re getting close to the finish line of the race? Maybe getting close enough to let off the gas just a little.

Do we find ourselves just holding still for it? Waiting for it to be over? Just hoping it will all be over soon. Doing as little as possible to check the boxes while we wait for Christ to swoop in and save us.

Are we feeling complacent?

Pro 1:31-33 NKJV

(31)  Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way, And be filled to the full with their own fancies.

(32)  For the turning away of the simple will slay them, And the complacency of fools will destroy them;

(33)  But whoever listens to me will dwell safely, And will be secure, without fear of evil."

The turning away, backsliding, waywardness of the simple and the careless ease of over-confident fools will destroy them.

We have not yet attained. Press on! Continue to grow in grace and knowledge.

How do we overcome complacency?

1Co 9:24-27 KJV

(24)  Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.

(25)  And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.

(26)  I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air:

(27)  But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.

We’re going to have responsibilities in the Kingdom.

To whom much is given, much is required. (Luke 12:47-48)

 

Rev 3:18-19 KJV  

(18)  I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

(19)  As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

Do! Take action. Repent! Be zealous!

We have to fight spiritual complacency!

We can’t coast into the Kingdom.

Keep the pressure on! We’re rounding the home stretch, pour it on! Give it all you got! #FinishStrong

Ask 

Do I love God’s truth as much as I did when I first fell in love with it?

Do I love God’s way as I should?

Do I take it for granted?

2Pe 1:3-12 KJV

(3)  According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:

(4)  Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. [lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, the pride of life]

(5)  And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;

(6)  And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;

(7)  And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. [love]

(8)  For if these things be in you, and abound, [are increasing] they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. [spiritually maturing]

(9)  But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. [forgetting what manner of man he was]

(10)  Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:

(11)  For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. [not just squeaking by]

(12)  Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth.

He that lacks these things is blind. Wretched, poor, blind, and naked.

Do we come away from our time in worship enriched? Or is it that we’ve checked the box, now on to the next thing? Do we schedule serious time that cannot be encroached or barely fit it in finding excuses to cut it short or reschedule?

Spiritual blindness is the calamity of complacency. Wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. (Rev 3:17) And deceiving ourselves, we don’t even realize it!

The Day of Atonement is upon us. Let’s take it seriously. It is to properly prepare us to enter the Kingdom with the right attitude. The Feast of Tabernacles is a taste of what the Kingdom will be like. It’s not just vacation. Make the most of this understanding.

The Feast of Tabernacles will show us the reason and give us a sense of purpose. 

What we need in addition to that sense of purpose is a sense of urgency!

Urgency to make our calling and election sure.

We need to be actively learning and growing in grace and knowledge.

We must test the spirits that influence us. (1 John 4:1)

And if they speak not To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to God’s word, it is because there is no light in them. (Isa 8:20)

We overcome complacency through action.

You know what is right. You know what you should be doing. Do it!

Doing what is wrong is sin but so is not doing what is right.

Jas 4:17 KJV  Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

Do what you know is right and the faith will come. It will grow stronger.

Walk by faith. Do the word. Be doers of the word.

Jas 1:22-25 KJV

(22)  But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

(23)  For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:

(24)  For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. [forgotten that he was purged from his old sins]

(25)  But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

Jesus Christ told the Church at Laodicea to repent and be zealous.

Rev 3:19-22 KJV

(19)  As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

(20)  Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

(21)  To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.

(22)  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

Have we become lukewarm? Have we become rich and in need of nothing, spiritually speaking? Have we become complacent in our relationship with God? 

Behold, He stands at the door and knocks.

Remember when we first came into the Truth? How excited we were? How zealous we were to learn God’s Truth? To finally get to know the One True God?

Have we forgotten our first love? Have we forgotten from whence we have fallen?

Remember how far we’ve come?

When you first began, you were desperate to be where you are right now. But we can become complacent, half-hearted, and weak.

We used to be ready to take heaven by storm. Ready to storm the gates of heaven to learn the truth of God. (Matt 11:12)

We’re most fervent when we’re most desperate.

When we become complacent is when we’ve forgotten that sense of desperation to know God.

Psa 42:1-5 KJV

(1)  To the chief Musician, Maschil, for the sons of Korah. As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.

(2)  My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?

(3)  My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?

(4)  When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday.

(5)  Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.

When was the last time you poured out your soul before your God?

When we lose our zeal is when we forget that hunger, that thirst, that desperation to be close to God. When we forget God in that way, our prayers become perfunctory, they become routine, they become rote, repetitive, and without fervency.

Mat 5:6 KJV  Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

How do we fill that hunger and quench that thirst?

And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. (Joh 6:35) 

Php 2:12 KJV  Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

With diligence and determination. With reverence for God, with passion to do His will.

But if not done with fear and trembling, we can ease off and be tolerant of our disobedient behavior.

We want to be careful not to sear our conscience. Things that would have bothered us when we had our first love, perhaps don’t bother us so much any more.

We may compare ourselves with others, or even with our past failures and we sense success.

Maybe we compare ourselves to others outside the Church and we feel like we’re doing pretty good. At least we’re not like them!

Or even compare ourselves to others in the Church and by comparison, we feel like we’re doing alright.

2Co 10:12 NKJV  For we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. But they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.

Spiritual complacency can lead to neglect in our prayer and study. This can result in a lack of discernment and make us susceptible to every wind of doctrine.

Heb 5:14 KJV  But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

Just like not exercising will cause a muscle to atrophy, not flexing our spiritual muscles will cause them to shrink and lose strength as well.

Not that we don’t believe anything about God, but that we leave ourselves open to believing everything. We’re susceptible to false doctrines such as the doctrine according to Oprah, that all faiths lead to God. 

We know, Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Him. (John 14:6)

Paul tells us this will happen again in the latter times.

1Ti 4:1-2 KJV

(1)  Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;

(2)  Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;

How does that even happen? Maybe life is comfortable and relatively quiet. Or we are just exhausted with the struggles of life. We weary in keeping on and we just want it to be over. Weary not in well doing! (Gal 6:9; 2Th 3:13)

We have to fight dull-heartedness with whole-heartedness! Fight complacency and compromise with fervor and zeal!

Psa 86:11-12 KJV

(11)  Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name.

(12)  I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore.

Jer 29:13 KJV  And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

Satan knows he has but a short time. (Rev 12:12) Well guess what? So do we. Time is short!

When the end comes, it will come suddenly in an instant. (Isa 30:13) 

There will be no time to get right with God then.

We might think we have plenty of time since a few milestones have yet to occur. So, we can slide a little longer. But, what we don’t know is how long it will take each of us to reach a level where we can stand before His throne and be granted entrance to the Kingdom abundantly. (2 Pet 1:11)

Get with it now! We still have a lot to go through ahead of us. Only by trusting in God with all our heart will we be able to get through it without losing heart. It takes time to build that kind of trusting relationship.

Buckle down! Do it now! Dig in now!

To overcome complacency, take action! 

Do what you know is right and the zeal will follow.

Mat 5:13-16 KJV

(13)  Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

(14)  Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

(15)  Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

(16)  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Luk 21: 36 KJV  Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

Fight against complacency and do the first works! And #FinishStrong!

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