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Fighting Spiritual Complacency

You believe in God. You pray and sometimes go to church, and you try to be a good person. You’re all set. Right? I mean you’re busy enough as is, how much time and effort do you really need to put into your faith? And what’s the harm of just dipping your toe in religion? Let’s talk about it!

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MESSAGE NOTES

What if we feel like we are just stuck… or maybe not even stuck, maybe we have just turned on cruise control. 

We have just decided, well I made the decision to follow Jesus so I am all good. 

Well I go to church every week and read my Bible and that’s what it means to follow Jesus right? 

And before we know it… we are complacent. We aren’t moving forward and we aren’t moving backward. We are just kinda… floating through space. 

Hakuna matata means no growth. 

[Hebrews 5:11-14]

There is much more we would like to say about this, but it is difficult to explain, especially since you are spiritually dull and don’t seem to listen. You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.

 

 

[Ephesians 2:4-7]

But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much,  that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus.

 

The cure for complacency is surrender. 

 

[Galatians 2:20]

 My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

 

[1 Peter 1:5-9]

In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self control with patient endurance (just like we talked about in James), and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins.

 

 

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Application Questions

  1. What stood out to you from this message and why?
  2. What is one thing God is telling you to START doing because of this message?
  3. What is one thing God is telling you to STOP doing because of this message?
  4. How will this message change how you act at home, work and in the your relationships?

You believe in God. You pray and sometimes go to church, and you try to be a good person. You’re all set. Right? I mean you’re busy enough as is, how much time and effort do you really need to put into your faith? And what’s the harm of just dipping your toe in religion? Let’s talk about it!

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