“Complacency”    Zephaniah 1:12

“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men/women to do nothing.” 

- Edmund Burke

That statement is a great definition of complacency.  Complacency is a cancer in our Nation.  Complacency is a cancer in the church at large.  It is a slow cancer almost unnoticeable until its almost too late.  It is like a slow ‘drift’ away from God, as a Nation and as a church.  Zephaniah describes complacency in the noted text, “who say in their heart, the LORD will not do good, nor will He do evil.”  Zephaniah further describes complacency as “rebellious and polluted” and that “she has not obeyed His voice…received correction…trusted in the LORD…not drawn near to her God.” (Zeph. 3:1-2)  Jesus described this condition as being “neither cold or hot” in Revelation chapter 3.  Jesus said if you stay in this condition that he would “vomit you out of My (His) mouth” - pretty serious and strong words from Jesus, not very “seeker friendly.”  The  reality is that you are not “seeking” Him and neither are you being what He called you to be by staying in this state of complacency.  I believe those words found in Romans 13:11 are applicable as a Nation and as a church - “…it is high time to awake out of sleep” and those in written in Ephesians 5:11, “..awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light” and those in 1Thessalonians 5: 6, “…let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.”  Isaiah too says, “Awake, awake!” (cf. Isa.52)

The most devastating result of complacency is quoted in Jeremiah 8:20, “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved!”  Complacency and procrastination can go hand-in-hand.  Complacency is a mindset, feel no reason to change or to work harder, whereas procrastination is a behavior to push off a task to later until it is too late!  Becky says she grew up in a home that gave no place to complacency or procrastination, she said she would often be awaken out of sleep in the morning by Sharon, shouting “rise and shine, fight the devil and give God the glory!”  Amen!   We as a Nation, as a church cannot give into complacency, the time is too urgent!  We no longer can just go through the motions and compromise the truth for the sake of being ‘politically correct’ or ‘user friendly!”  God calls us to worship Him, yet people (professing Christians) can’t even make it out of bed to assemble together one day out of the week!  God is worthy our our corporate worship!  We struggle to give time to God’s word and communion with Him in our quite place.  God asks, “Where is My honor?!”  Awaken sleepy head out of your spiritual slumber!  Zephaniah reminds us that God is offended and “the great day of the LORD is at hand!”

God help us as a people, as a Nation to “draw near to God!”

God help us to develop a rekindling of a new fervor for the Kingdom of God!

“To God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever.  Amen” (Jude 25)

Pastor Rodney