The Consequences of Complacency

What is complacency? Merriam Webster defines it as "a feeling of being satisfied with how things are and not wanting to try to make them better." It's being satisfied with where you're at, It's being comfortable in mediocrity, It's not wanting to get out of our comfort zone. Are there any complacent Christians here this morning? Any Christians here this morning that are stuck in a spiritual rut? Living in a state of Complacency is a very dangerous place to be with God. Consider what Jesus says in the book of revelation concerning complacency. "Revelation 3:1417" And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, these things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the beginning of the creation of God. I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are Luke warm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of my mouth! What causes us to grow complacent? I believe it's rooted in an ungrateful attitude towards God. It's when the things of God are not as important to us as they should be. It's natural for the unbeliever to be ungrateful, but the bible says that the believer is to give thanks in all things! This reminds me of the atheist Professor, he was walking through the woods one day admiring what he considered the accident of evolution, he looked at the trees and the flowers, he observed the rivers and the animals, and he marveled at the magnificence of evolution. All of a sudden, he heard a rustling in the bushes and out pounced a 7 foot grizzly bear. Immediately the bear began chasing him. He ran as fast as he could to save his life, huffing, puffing, and crying, with the bear catching up with him after every step. He tripped and fell. Now the bear hovered over him, ready to Pounce! That's when the atheist cries out, oh my God, help me !!! All of a sudden a light came out of heaven. The Bears Paw was in the air ready to swipe at him, but the bear froze. The river stopped flowing. The wind stopped blowing. Everything was perfectly quiet and perfectly still. That's when the voice spoke. The voice through the light said, sir, do you really believe that after all these years of denying me, after all these years of believing that this universe is merely a cosmic accident, and after all of these years of teaching your students why I do not exist ,that I would help you now?

The man replied, you know, you're right, my track record is bad, and it would be hypocritical of me to call on you now, but maybe we could approach this a different way. Even though you can't do anything for me, perhaps you could turn the bear into a Christian. If you did that, things would still turn out differently for me. The voice from the light says, as you request. All of a sudden the river began to flow, the wind began to blow, and the trees began to rustle. The bear set back, picked up it's two paws and clasp them together and begin to pray, it looked up, and said, oh God, thank you for this food I am about to receive!! What's the point? When things get bad, it's amazing how we will look to God, but as long as things are going good we seem to believe that we are self-sufficient and that we don't need God. As believers we are not to be like the atheist, we are never to forget that God saved us with a specific purpose in mind, that we are to let our light so shine before men that they may see our good works and glorify our Father which is in heaven. We are to be about our fathers business. We are to be about the furtherance of his kingdom. Many of us are complacent about Gods kingdom work, because we are too busy with our kingdom work. We've got our priorities all mixed up, we don't really think about God until something goes wrong. When we are in need we tend to take God more seriously, But when life is good and we are comfortable and prosperous we tend sometimes to forget about God. It's the same attitude that was reminiscent of the nation of Israel, that after God had delivered them out of 400 years of bondage from Egypt, and when they had entered the promised land, the land of milk and honey, that they forgot God. Hosea 13:5-6 I knew you in the wilderness, in the land of great drought. When they had pasture, they were filled, they were filled and their heart was exalted therefore they forgot me. Just like the Israelites many of us have forgotten where God has brought us from, and how he has delivered us, and set us on higher ground. Has God delivered you? I bet you don't talk like you used to. I bet you don't look at people like used to. I bet you don't go to the places you used to go. I bet you have a peace you never had before God delivered you. Hasn't God taken you from a low place and set you on higher ground? Yet we tend to forget the Goodness of God., and how helpless we were.

The effects of complacency can be, and are often devastating. Complacency in the spiritual realm happens when we put God's agenda on the back burner; it's when we lose focus on what's important to God. Complacency happens when we focus more on what's important to us than whats important to God. We began to put more focus on the things that have no eternal value, things of the world, things that make us look good, or things that bring us pleasure, or things that make our life more comfortable. We've lost our focus when we began to worry about making ourselves look good instead of making God look good. A worldly focus will lead us to spiritual complacency. God has called us to be his champions, champions of the faith, God's not looking for mediocre Christians, God gave us his best when he sent his son Jesus and he expects us to give him our best. Not only does God desire our best but he deserves it! He's a great and mighty God. In his book Good to Great Jim Collins wrote that "the greatest enemy to great is good. "The People that make great achievements in life never settle for just being good, or just getting by and we as Christians shouldn't either! Consider a major league baseball player or any professional athlete, Suppose a major-league baseball player hit 20 homeruns this year, what do you think his goal will be next year when he goes into training camp? Do you think his focus is trying to hit 20 home runs the following year, or do you think he wants to hit more than 20? He wants to get more he's always striving to be better. If men and women strive so hard to achieve great success on things that have no eternal significance, no eternal value, how much harder should we try to be great for the things of God, for the things that have eternal value? An athlete who never strives to be better won't be on the team long. Complacency for the Christian has no place on the field, in the office, in our relationships or in the church. The Bible says we are to do all things as unto The Lord. That means the Christian's life should be a life full of zeal not complacency, always striving to do better, to live a life that's pleasing to the Lord. Jesus said, I always do those things which are pleasing to the father . Turn your Bibles to Second Samuel 11:2-14 we're going to See a first-hand account of the devastating effects of complacency. Getting too comfortable. We know from what the bible tells us about King David, that David was a man of great faith and fame, but apparently there was a time when David became complacent towards the things of God, and his complacency led to failure, guilt and shame. If complacency can effect a spiritual giant like King David then it can certainly affect us. If we take the time to study the life of King David we'll soon find out that he came from very humble beginnings, he was just a lowly shepherd boy, the youngest of all of

his brothers. Probably in the eyes of his father and his brothers he was the least likely to succeed, but the Bible says man looks at the outward man but God looks at the heart. David had found favor with God. The Bible says that David was a Man after Gods own heart, Why? Because David was a Man full of faith and courage which led David to be a man of action, If you take time to study the word of God you will find that these are the characteristics that bring honor and glory to God, faith, courage, and action. Faith,-- the Bible says that " without faith it is impossible to please God." True Faith should always lead to action because James says faith without works is dead. Courage, --The Bible is consistent In teaching that men and women of God are to be courageous, why? Because they understand that wherever they go God goes with them . Action, --Jesus teaches us that we are to be men and women of action ,he commands us to Go ! In Matthew 28 commonly known as the great commission He said go ye! We're Gods ambassadors, we represent the kingdom of God here on earth, the church is to be a little piece of heaven a long way from heaven It's like a foreign embassy, representing the values of the homeland in a distant land. Therefore based on these three principles faith, courage and action The Bible is very clear that we are to be about the Lord's business during our stay here on earth. We are not to be complacent. Let's read about what happened to this man David, a man of great faith courage and action, let's see what happened when he became complacent. The nation of Israel was at war and David was there leader, but yet the Bible says that he stayed behind, this wasn't normal for King David in such situations. David was a man who always liked to be on the frontlines. I believe that's why the people loved David so much, he was a man's man, and he would never ask anybody to do something that he wouldn't do. But for some reason David was complacent about what was going on, read 2nd Samuel 11:1-14 We see Uriah has great concern for the men in battle, but David the king seems to be complacent. And David's complacency would cost him dearly. The guilt and shame that manifested itself out of his complacency affected David for the rest of his life. Probably the most heart wrenching confession in all of the Bible is found in Psalm 51 when David begs God to forgive him for the iniquity with Bathsheba. As we read Psalm 51 consider if you would please, the devastating effects of complacency on a man that was in love with God Listen to David as he cries out to the Lord. David says "have mercy upon me, oh God, according to your loving kindness, according to the multitude of your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my

sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me Against You, You only, have I sinned and done this evil in Your sight" David's complacency had caused him to lose his joy because his complacency had led him into sin, this is what the Bible says in verse 12 ,David says "restore to me the joy of your salvation and uphold me by your generous spirit". David had lost his joy! Satan cant steal your salvation but he can steal your joy. If he can steal your joy he can ruin your testimony. When people see Christians walking around like they've lost their best friend they say to themselves if that's what being a Christian looks like, I don't want to be one. Consider the effects of complacent Christians in our nation today. The moral decay of our country is beyond belief, in part because of the men and women of God setting on the side lines and tolerating special interest groups and their antichrist agenda. Our complacent and tolerant attitude has led us to a country where speaking the truth is now considered hate speech. Over 50 percent of all children are born into a single parent household out of wedlock. A place where children are raising children. As a result our prisons are overflowing, suicide amongst teenagers is at an all time high, Anti-Christ laws are being passed where men can marry men, and women, women, smoking pot has been legalized in Colorado, prostitution is legal in parts of Las Vegas, prayer has been taken out of school, Christ has been taken out of Christmas, the Ten Commandments can no longer be displayed in federal buildings, while Christians are setting on the sidelines. 75 percent of Christians didnt vote in the last presidential election. 50 percent of Christians aren't even registered to vote! God help us! Forgive us of our complacency! So how can we overcome Complacency? Perhaps you're here today and you've lost your joy and your enthusiasm for the cause of Christ, You used to be an on-fire Christian, but you're not anymore. If this describes you then it's time for you to get your Christian life back to the basics! It's time to come out of a life of complacency. Id like to give you a few simple tips to help you get back on the right path 1-Re-establish your relationship with God Contrary to what many people might believe it's possible to be a religious person but not have a real relationship with your heavenly father. The Pharisees epitomized just what religion looked like without a relationship with God. They had become judge mental and fault Finders. Re-establishing your relationship with God is paramount. There isn't a more important relationship you can develop than this one. In fact all of your other relationships will be affected by this relationship, the relationship between you and your creator. Everything in your Christian life hinges on this. Start off by taking God at His word and if you have unconfessed sin in your life, confess it. 1st John 1:9 "If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to

cleanse us from all unrighteousness" . Confess your sins and get right with God then you can do as the Bible says. ":Draw near to God and he will draw near to you " James 4:8. Fall in love with God! The most important commandment is this one " love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength". When you fall in love with God you'll fall in love with his people and it will drive us from complacency to compassion when we begin to see people as God sees them. 2-Commit to reading your Bible every day Jesus said "Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. Matthew 4:4 Trying to live your spiritual life without taking in God's word daily is like trying to live your physical life without eating enough food. What happens? You gradually become weaker and weaker until you die. Spiritual complacency is almost always accompanied by a lack of Bible study. Remember if your faith is weakening that the Bible says in Romans 10:17 " that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Strong faith will always lead to action, remember James said faith without works is dead, so as we commit to read the Bible it strengthens our faith and leads us away from complacency 3-Commit to praying every day. Start your day off right thanking God for his many blessings. Bible reading is how God speaks to us. But prayer is how we speak to God. The Bible commands Christians to pray continually in first Thessalonians 5:17. By the way, praying is more than just you talking to God, after you speak to God, listen to what he has to say to you! God is never going to tell you to be complacent. 4-Develop relationships with members of the church Remember Christianity is, God first, others second and yourself last. I want to challenge you to get to know everybody's name in the church. After meet and greet go back to your seat, sit down and write down the person's name that you were talking to so that you don't forget it next week. Don't you like it when people call you by your name? It makes you feel important. Aren't the people in our church important? The Bible says that we are brothers and sisters in Christ. Somethings not right when we come to church week in and week out and still call each other man and Bubba and Bo! Knowing somebody's name should be a minimum, we should desire to know their children's names and what's going on in their lives so we will know how we can pray for them. We need to edify and encourage one another. I want you to become the best encourager that you know. Be quick to speak a kind word. Developing relationships involves work, it involves commitment it is far from living in complacency.

5- Make a conscience effort to use your God-given talents for his glory this year. Decide to get off the sideline and get into the game! Get involved. Strive to be a difference maker, for the glory of God. Ask yourself where could I serve in the church? 6- Remember that God always wants your best. The Bible always speaks of giving your first fruits to God, not your leftovers. Live for the judgment seat of Christ knowing that all of us are going to appear before Him one day. Long to hear the words "well done my good and faithful servant" And I guarantee you that you won't live a complacent life, but a life that is pleasing to the Lord. And Id like to close with this thought. Love requires action, if it didn't God would not have had to send his Son! It's one thing to say we love God it's another thing to prove it. The old adage is true that actions speak louder than words. I want to challenge you to consider again what Jesus said "let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father which is in heaven" don't be complacent, be compassionate and concerned about the things of our Heavenly Father. Don't get caught up in the trap of pleasing people but set your mind and affections on pleasing God, because the cares of this world will lead us into complacency towards the things of God, but the things of God will lead us into things the world can never offer, like peace of mind and joy unspeakable. Nothing this world can offer can compare with walking through this world hand-in-hand with God.