August Devotional: Woe to the complacent American Church, Time to Stop Lounging

 

Amos 6:1

Woe to the Complacent

Woe to you who are complacent in Zion, and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria, you notable men of the foremost nation,  to whom the people of Israel come!

In one of our Life Group meetings, we had a discussion about the wilderness and being in dry places. 

I shared with the group that being in a dry place where things are so bad that you're forced to call on God because you're motivated to change is not as frightening as being comfortable in the dry place.

You may be in the wilderness but you don't even notice because things are okay.  You're good.  You're comfortable.

You show up to church faithfully, you read the Bible, you may even serve in ministry, and you're comfortable. May have some down days but overall you're "good."

This attitude of "We're Good"  is what the prophet Amos warned the nation of Israel about in the Old Testament.

In the original Hebrew, the word used for complacency is defined as "secure in a bad sense, haughty, at ease, careless, wanton." 

To be at ease is to be free from restraint or formality.

This makes me think of one of my favorite Proverbs

Proverbs 29:18 (NIV)
Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint;
    but blessed is the one who heeds wisdom’s instruction.

When we're unaware, we cast off restraint and We're pleased with ourselves.

What does it mean to be complacent?

 self-satisfaction especially when accompanied by unawareness of actual dangers or deficiencies

To be complacent is to be self-satisfied and to be unaware of what's happening around us. (No revelation, Vision, or insight)

Amos' message to Israel is relevant to the church in the 21st century. Israel was self-satisfied in their location, their status as God's chosen people, and all of their luxurious comforts.

Israel was either unaware or did not care that their people and the nation were going down the tubes right in front of their eyes. They were asleep on their ivory couches as Amos goes on to say later on in the chapter.

Sadly, Israel learned the hard way that God meant what he said and because of their disobedience and idol worship, they soon got a wake-up call from the Babylonians and found their luxury and comfort gone as they were forced into exile.

A warning for the American Church

Friends, I am concerned.

As we see believers begin to depart from the faith or deconstruct their faith as they now call it and as we watch our nation be under constant. assault from the enemy with his attacks of fear, confusion, and chaos, I'm concerned that the church in America has the same attitude as Ancient Israel.

American churches are focused on building bigger buildings, creating Christian celebrities, and maintaining our own comfort at ease.

Many have been talking about revival in this nation but I believe the first wave of revival needs to happen in the church. The church needs to wake up from its complacency.

A Simulation Exercise?

Perhaps that was the purpose of 2020.

In the military, elite soldiers often endure training simulations with realistic warlike conditions.

I've often wondered if 2020 was a training simulation to see how the church would respond in a crisis.  How would we react if we no longer had the comfort and ease we've enjoyed for so long?

What will happen when something even more sinister happens? 

The Lord said as much to the prophet Jeremiah in the Old Testament

Jeremiah 12:5
If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses?
If you stumble[a] in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by[b] the Jordan?

With the large number of people who went astray, church closures, and just overall despair, I think it's safe to say that we have a lot of work to do.

We must be prepared for the days ahead.

Practical Application: Be prepared

In one of his final letters, Paul tells Timothy exactly what actions to take because it is so easy to fall into complacency and tell people what they want to hear.

2 Timothy 4:2-5 

 

In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge:  

Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 

For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.

They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 

 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

Action Step

Don't Give up. 

I firmly believe that the Lord is raising up a remnant of people who have had it with "church as usual." 

In my prayer group,  people said that they don't want checkmarks for Christian activities.  They want the presence of God.

Pastor Josh Hart from All Nations Worship Assembly in Louisville, KY recently posted this on his social media page.  



Friends, I believe we are in an hour where God is removing complacency and replacing it with urgency.  As we enter into even more uncertain times, let us not give up and become comfortable because things are "good".  

I believe a great move of God is on the horizon if we don't give up too soon.

Galatians 6:9
9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Prayer

Lord, we repent for being self-satisfied, smug. and careless.  God we pray that we prepare ourselves for the days ahead by being in your presence.  God, we lift up our churches to you so that you can work in our midst through your Holy Spirit.  Forgive us for trying to do things in our flesh. We pray for those who have walked away and we pray for their return.  We also pray that we do not grow tired of doing what is good and that we will stand firm on your Word and continue to believe for the harvest.  Send revival to your church in America. 
In Jesus' name, Amen