Are you a complacent Christian?
Introduction:
complacency has plagued God's people from the beginning. It
is still a threat today. Complacency keeps us from growing in our faith and
forsaking our sins. Our lesson today focuses on the days of Zephaniah. There are many lessons that will help us not
become complacent in our service.
Zephaniah was the great grandson of Hezekiah who prophesied
during the days of king Josiah.(630 – 625 BC).
Recall Josiah became king at age 8; began to seek Jehovah at 16; And
started his reforms at age 20. His reforms did not change the hearts of the
people. They were still corrupt call them practiced injustice call him loved
luxury and extravagance, and worshipped idols. The readers were evil and the
priests worldly.
The Lord through Zephaniah calls for a time of absolute
silence karma Zephaniah 1: seven. The day of the Lord is at hand and God has
prepared a sacrifice- the wicked of Judah! (Verse 8-9). Clone with foreign apparel- they had put on, adopted,
Pagan practices. A condemnation of
heathen superstition-leaping over the threshold. Also, some were using violent
methods to accumulate wealth.
Zephaniah declares a day of crying and wailing due to the
Lord inviting his guests- verse seven. The
Babylonians would slaughter the sacrifice by entering through the fish gate on
the N wall of Jerusalem, verse 10. The sounds of trading- a market district of Jerusalem.
Would be replaced by the sounds of anguish, verse 11.
Body
1.
becoming too comfortable, verse 12
·
the Lord would expose those trying to hide. They
had become like drops of wine, old settled wine- not fit to drink karma
jeremiah 48: 11-12. Many had become comfortable with their lifestyle- wealthy
houses, vineyards. That is what they lived for and focused on. The people had warned
years ago about this danger, deuteronomy 6: 10-12.
·
Physical comfort is not by itself a bad thing
period let us remember that all good Things come from God, James 1: 17. They
are God's gifts to us, eclesiastica 5: 18-19. But physical blessings can
distract us from the spiritual food we so desperately need, Luke 12: 19-21.
·
Money is not evil if used as God desires. We
must not put our trust in physical riches or comfort, first Timothy 6: 17-19. Comfort, like wealth, can be difficult to
give up, matthew 19: 21- 24.
2.
Believing God won't judge, verse 12- 13
·
these people still believed God existed but that
he didn't care if they were good or evil period on the day of judgment many who
believed in God will still be lost, matthew 7: 21-23.
·
The people of zephaniah's day didn't believe the
Lord would bless them. Yet jehovah left a constant witness to his care of all
people, acts 14: 15-17. It is by his
power that we even exist, colossians 1: 16-17.
When we forget the Lord is the one who blesses us, then we will stop
being thankful, Romans 1:20-22.
·
These people also didn't believe God would do
evil. They did not fear him. Almost as if jehovah was just a wooden idol,
jeremiah 10: 3-5. But God has repeatedly
shown throughout history that he will judge evil, 1st Corinthians 10: 6-11. There is coming a day of judgment, hebrews 9:
27; Revelation 20: 11-12.
Conclusion:
These people, complacent with their spiritual lives, would
experience great disappointment, verse 12.
Their plans for the future would be canceled by the coming babylonian
invasion. They were told to seek the Lord before it was too late, versus 2: 1 –
3. These are words we should heed as
well.
Prepared by Bobby Stafford
The church of Christ at Granby, MO
Located at
516 East Pine St.
P.O. Box 664
Granby, Mo. 64844
(417) 472-7109
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