Shattering the 7 Myths of Complacency

You have a car beeping in the parking lot. That's okay.

It's been quite a week. I think, I don't know how your week is gone. I don't know what you are going through. I don't know exactly everything that is on your plate.

Most of you should know but if you don't know our friend Gordon Bell passed away this week, we want to remember Roxanne and prayer and all of his friends and family. and us too, as we mourn,

Good news. My mom had surgery and now she forgot she had surgery already cuz she's healing up so quick. So that was good.

My mother-in-law on the other hand, broke her shoulder this week and has been in the hospital since Tuesday, and we found out this morning. She still not going to get surgery quite yet to maybe not for a while. And basically the best news, is we have a complaint line. We can call

Anyway. That's life, right? We all have life can turn on you in just a spoon call, you know, it can just switch like that.

And we have seasons when when it's switches like that. And we have to You know, number one, rule of Crisis management is get done. What you need to get done when you can either get done it, like let life fall apart. It doesn't matter. Get done what you need to get done.

but, it's often the case that We can easily slip into complacency. if we do that for so long too long,

So I want to start with a question that. You don't have to put up your hand but I didn't want to ask you, like, do you have some jiggle in your wiggle in your spiritual life?

There's some Spirit of spiritual. Sloppiness.

You know, all of us go through different seasons. All of us are in different parts of the path, you know. We all have I trust we've all had times when we feel so close to God that we we we are so loved by God. We feel so precious to God and and times when we knew that wish we were created to glorify him and enjoy him forever.

If you haven't had those times, you need to experience those times.

But if you haven't had those times in awhile, you need to experience them again.

And more often.

if it if we don't examine our spiritual life regularly, it's easy for us to fall into complacency

the problem with that is complacency Rob's your soul.

You know, that's true. You've gone through the motions, you felt fatigue. You felt board. You fell in a rut, you felt like you had no purpose, all of us. Have had those seasons.

And if you're going through that season right now, I want to remind you again, there's hope for you today.

Let's prank.

Heavenly Father, we do want to remember the families that are going through personal grief and tragedy. Lord. God, we, we pray for Roxanne and for Olive

All the people affected by this passing. And Lord, we pray. Let the God of Peace with Phyllis with all hope and joy as we trust in you so that we'd overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Pray for those going through impossible situations, whether it's health or whether it is finances or whether it is relationship, or it could be all three. Lord, we pray for peace in those situations.

And Lord today. As we hear your words, I pray that you would speak directly to us. And we would know that we are loved and we are chosen and we are yours. In your precious name, I pray. Amen.

So Merriam-Webster's Dictionary define complacency as self-satisfaction especially when it's accompanied by an awareness of actual dangers or deficiencies complacency is dangerous for us because they're so easy. All you have to do is sit back and go with the flow. To go against the flow requires no work. No conflict it. If you go against the flow there's probably conflict. The good stories, all have Conflict by the way and you want a good story. So don't be afraid of conflict to be complacent is to get along, complacency doesn't require discipline. It doesn't require accountability group doesn't require any action. It's kind of our default mode. When we don't think about what we, what we think about. Or even think about how we think about what we think about. That's important to.

We Can't be complacent with our spiritual life and godliness. We're either growing closer and closer to Christ and maturing, and in his ways, or we're drifting away.

That means we can't be complacent in our spiritual life, herbs, or spiritual life. We have to work with them, work for them. But we work with all the strength that God provides.

It was yours. What's a happens? If if if you don't read your Bible. It's tough to start reading your Bible. But when you start reading your Bible and you make it a discipline and you pushed through the hard part, it becomes easier and easier and easier. And then you start thinking why I've got to be in that. I've got to be in here.

And if you if you don't pray for more than just your meals it it really is hard to pray always and never give up.

But when you start praying and you enter his gates with Thanksgiving and you enter his courts with praise and you learn to take your problems and in exchange for his peace. Yeah, it becomes life. You understand, this is what you were created for a walk with God in the garden in the cool of the day, just to be in his presence and and man, it brings life to your soul.

spiritual things, the more you do, the more you want to do, Bless you. Do the harder. It is to stop.

You've ever fasted from food for any extended period of time after 4 days of not eating you suddenly lose your appetite, it becomes easy, it's it, it's easier to do a 40-day fast and it is fast. but,

This is from my experience, don't break a longer fast with a big cheeseburger. I don't break a fast with a steak that you don't break a fast with with eggs and bacon and pancakes cuz Madden. None of those things do well for you after her fast. And I'm talking from experience here that you break a fast with soup. So here's a thought for all of us today, if we have been away from the Bible, maybe we should try to start with a year-long Bible reading plan. Maybe we should just start the fall in love with his letter. If we haven't stopped, had those long times of interaction with God, those times of prayer and praise. And its, let's just set a time and just

You fool yourself into starting. Really, anytime you want to start a new, have it, you just fool yourself into starting to it. So it's just I'm just going to do five minutes that's fine. It, if you fool yourself in the starting and God shows up, you'll do a whole lot more. But if it, if you requires you to do a do more, like have more discipline, start your discipline in 5 minutes. I'm going to do more than just pray over my food.

Paul told Timothy, in 1st, Timothy 5 verse 16, he says, watch your life and Doctrine closely persevere in them because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers So that's what we're going to be looking at today life that comes from Doctrine.

Why seven myths? Well, to be honest, I wrote that as a title for a book years and years ago and I needed a title fights this week so I'm okay. 7 minutes let's let's see this thing through, that'll be great. But then when I started studying this, these aren't myths were talking about today. They're actually strongholds that we need to tear down.

these are strongholds, they can lead us to and keep us in complacency Not remember a stronghold is a way of thinking that protects thoughts and actions. Remember I've, I've said that before a stronghold can be a very good thing. The name of the Lord is a strong tower the righteous run into it and are safe, right? That we need those strong Towers to protect our thoughts and our actions around God. You know, it's a good way of thinking that protects our thoughts and our actions. When our experiences don't line up with the truth of scripture, we need to be able to go to those spots and say no this is true and quite frankly, here's the trick. We don't convince us ourselves of those spots. We let Holy Spirit reveal that he has been true. We let him reveal those strongholds for us so we can be safe in. like, for example,

Baba, baba, baba. Yeah, we can't wish them into being you have to fortify them in our heart. And when he does you can remember when You knew that you would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. So you can take it to be strong and take heart, and you can wait for the Lord. It doesn't come because you repeated that verse over and over to yourself for me, it came when when that verse that I had memorized, it was repeating myself to myself. After I was recovering from a heart attack and sitting in the hospital bed. And and I just heard that over and over again. You will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. To try to take that from me. You going to be cancer so fat because I've experienced it

when when when

Testimony affirms strongholds. They can affirm bad stronghold or it can good stronghold. So remember to the testimony of Jesus, remember the good things that he's done?

Remember they're there are the times where where you know like if if if I remember that God took that situation and turned it around for good. I can suddenly believe that this situation I'm going through. I don't know if it's I don't know how he's going to do it but I know he's going to turn it around for good.

You hear what I'm saying? Do not do not do not. Just try to convince yourself a spiritual truth but let Holy Spirit. Make them strong in you.

So if you're a brand new baby Christian, you may not have experienced those things but guess what? If you've been alive for more than 20 years for more than two decades, I guarantee you that you have been through the waters and you have not been drown. You have been through the fire and you have not been burned. You have been through great floods and you have not been overwhelmed and even if you have not acknowledge God in that now go to God that show him how he protected you how he's just and you how when you were even not even close to God.

if you been walking this way for some time, Do the same thing. go to God and say, God show me when when You, you showed yourself true to your word?

And he will show you that and that becomes embedded as a as a good strong hold in your soul.

Stronghold can be very, very good.

But more often than not, strongholds may have the appearance of Truth. But in fact, they protect the thoughts and actions of the enemy that comes to steal kill and destroy.

And hey, if you can make you complacent, it leads to the same results, right? Complacency Rob's your soul.

CS Lewis wrote in the screwtape. He wrote the screwtape letters during the second world war. And it was first published in 1942, And he wrote, it is a sad Tire to confirm the Christian faith. And basically he what he wrote to screwtape was a senior demon writing to Wormwood who was this under demon and he would tell wormwood how to keep his is charged on the way to hell. You do make sure they Pecos to damnation and in chapter 7 screwtape writes. This It says I have not forgotten my promise to consider whether we should make the patient and extreme Patriot or an extreme pacifist all extremes except extremes that devotions, the enemy are to be encouraged, not always, of course, but at this. Some ages are lukewarm and complacent and that is our business to sue them yet. Faster asleep. Other Ages which the present one is are unbalanced and prone to factions and it's our business to inflame them. Excuse, excuse me.

World War 2. The world was full of factions. In post-kobe 2013. We've got factions and we got apathy We have complacency. The enemy is having a heyday. Doing both in the same life.

The enemy uses strongholds and they're often based in Scripture.

Well, that's how he approached Jesus, right? When he was tempting, Jesus, he used scripture to tempt Jesus. He'll do the same thing for us.

so that's why I want to talk about 7 minutes or strongholds that lead to complacency

First mess is God. Brings about Revival in his sovereignty.

Oh, by the way, strongholds are strengthened or destroyed by truth. That's how you get through stronghold. God will bring about Revival by his wounds, from the sovereignty of the truth is, God is Sovereign, meaning he can do anything, he wants whenever he wants to do it, he's got But that hardly ever means we don't have a role to play. We have to be the ones that confess and repent. We are the ones that need to stir up in ourselves, The Embers that are burning. Their we are the ones that need to do that and I will do that with a power that he enables us to do. But but the fact of the matter is, we got to get off her butt and do it.

If we believe God is going to do it all, we can easily become complacent.

Second death number to, I need to wait for God's perfect timing. Well, isn't that wonderful? The truth is God's. Timing is real. Jesus went in past the gate beautiful many time going into the temple. And yet, it wasn't until he died and rose again that the disciples were passing that way. And saw the man who was there everyday begging, and they saw him and Jesus. And they said, silver and gold. I don't have, but such as I have you, by the eat, in the name of, Jesus Christ. Rise up and walk, and he went walking and leaping and freezing, right?

Jesus passed by there. We know, at least three times.

Anyway.

The truth is God timing is real. But there's also times that we need to receive as a child and just not free. Like the pagans, just ask your daddy in heaven who loves you and he'll give it to you and you sit on his lap and you just receive And there's other times, would we have to go to war? And we ask and keep asking, and she can see, if she, can you knock and keep knocking, and we have to go to work. And, and they only way, I can tell those two apart is, is if you try one and it doesn't work, try the other Pat pat doesn't work, baby. Go back to the first. I don't know.

If we believe we need to wait for God regardless of the season. We will become complacent.

Number 3. Miss I am the way God Made Me.

That's a loaded one. Hey what? Yes yes yes. And that's a good thing. The truth is he knit you together in your mother's wound all your days were ordained before of a life before one of them came to be But the further truth is he came so that you might have be born again. And he gives his holy spirit, will you become more and more, and more like Jesus? We need to change.

If we believe we don't have to change, that's kind of the definition of complacency.

Ears. When they'll stop your cold, the message God's love is unconditional.

Why what?

I looked it up, unconditional love isn't in the book. Eugene Peterson has it one place, but that's a transliteration. We don't do feel as you from transliterations.

The truth is, I believe God chooses to love us with agape. Love, what is a copy of Love agape? Love is love is patient and kind and not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It doesn't demand its own way. It's not your double to keep no records of being wrong. Kind of sounds like unconditional, right? Not really, it's a choice. It's I've got to choose to live that way. And he loves us good at, but I'm saying, the Bible makes it clear. He loves his good all

But he favors others differently.

The trick was that is just assume you're his favorite and live accordingly. You're his favorite and live accordingly. But I don't know if I was going to do this year.

I do think that there is a growing awareness that

when anyway, I will say that here anyway. If we believe, we don't have to live up to what we've already attained, we can become complacent.

Biff is a being busy is just who I am.

Truth is you were created to walk with God in the garden in the cool of the day and in all that you do your to work is as unto the Lord. And by the way, busyness came after the fall,

We Believe being busy is a good thing. We easily slip into complacency

Number six. I don't hear this too often anymore but growing up, I heard it quite a bit. I know God is creating a new Earth so I don't need to care for this one. Kind of the whole. Me and my wife, my kids all four and no more kind of philosophy. Truth is, God, gave us Dominion to Steward, not to subjugate creation.

And if we believe this world is immaterial, we aren't helping anything to change if we're not helping anything to change. Complacency

Seventh one is I am not enough.

Truth is God, take the lady in you with gladness his love it with his love, he will calm your fears, he rejoices over you with joyful songs. You are who he says you are and he gave his life for you. You're that important.

if we have an ungodly self-image, we wallow in complacency and complacency kills your soul.

How do you get out of complacency? That's a great question. It took me all week to figure this one out. I was wrestling with this. I love it. When I do a sermon, where the song service lines up with what I'm going to say. And if the same week I really have to struggle with. How do we apply this in life? Because I know it's a good one.

I'm using the word rekindle, isn't that a great word rekindle? It literally means. It means to relight as in a fire, or it means to revive something, that was lost. Rekindle. How do we break off? Complacency Rican? Do we remove strongholds? We examine everything. We know God's vision for our lives, we ignite a passion for God. We notice the comparison hurts. We Delight in refreshing others. We learned to be content and we enjoy work without celebrating being busy. Let's take some time to unpack. All of that, okay?

Firstar, as we remove strongholds. 2nd Corinthians. 10 325 says, where do we live in the world? We don't wage war war as the world does the weapons. We fight with are not weapons of this world. On the contrary, they have Divine our to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God. And we take every thought captive to make it a obedience to Christ. Yeah, that's new living. I'm reading and Ivy, but a little bit different. To remove stronghold. It starts with confession and repentance. It's it starts to say, okay, got him a show me, anything you want to change in my life.

You know, it could be that were angry with God. And the, to acknowledge that fact, we are up angry, with God. We, we have to go to him and say, God, I, I agree. I'm angry with you, and I don't want to be The Lord help me not to be angry with you.

Starts with confession and repentance. When God shows you the stronghold.

It is really about not just thinking about what you think about the thinking about how you think about what you think about here, okay? Because we can have a stronghold that is based in Scripture that is keeping us Bound by Satan. And those are the ones we have to rip down.

And I developed a tool. I'm just going to put up here and I can walk through you with it anytime you need to. But it's um The tool remember is pause. So you're going to ponder? No pause. Yeah.

when, when you, Come up on a stronghold. It's, it's like, why? Why did I do that? Why somebody cut you off in traffic and you get so angry. Okay, why am I feeling this, anchor?

It could be that they almost killed you and it's just that reaction. And that's okay, that's it's okay for us to react that way. But if it's Really over the top. Our kids told us something and we just blew up with them. That's not what we want to do. You you take that and you say, Okay God whenever I felt that way before What am I feeling now? Whenever I hope that way before. He'll show you another time when you felt that way.

and, You ask Holy Spirit. How does he like, why am I feeling this way? What why does believing this? Make me feel this.

Maybe he'll take you to another memory, you need to come to mind it. And if not this is a stronghold that God want you to break down that that place where Why does believing this make me feel this?

You go to the, you understand? It's it's not that it's true, but it feels like it's true. It's not that it's true that you have forsaken me, but it feels like you forsaken, me. I even have a God. My God. Why have you forsaken me?

Not that it's true but it feels like it's true.

Do you sense any hesitancy of the thought of doing the opposite Behavior? Okay, well if I'm mad at this person, can I bless them? Don't want to bless them. Okay. Why can't you do that blessing? I cannot sarcastically I'm talking like really pray for them for the day.

I'm doing this to like, I honestly, I'm driving and there are idiots on these roads and it's like, okay, what? If I can just bless them today? They're obviously in a hurry and they might be I ever tell you about the time I was driving up, 91st Street and this big truck pulls right in front of you at a slam on the brakes. So he's there at my first gut reaction was like, I don't know. You better free from its okay. Bless him in his day where he's going and I don't know, and we cross 51st Avenue and he went in to Serenity Funeral Home. It's like, okay, I understand. It's mind is somewhere else. I I get to see that once in awhile. Other times you just keep on driving and you don't get to see but still bless them.

After you, you do the not. If it is not true, but it feels like it's true. Lord, what do you want me to do about this memory?

Ask him to show you the truth about that memory. You know, maybe maybe you felt abandoned there, but God shows you that you were, he was walking with you, you was holding you in that storm.

You might want to ask like, if are you, if you're angry with this person in this memory, you might need to forgive them. Really, really good chance. You need to forgive them, or maybe there's something else. Someone else I need to forgive

When you go through that, you want to evaluate still, do I still feel that this first problem? This guy cutting me back. If, if I forgiven someone for mistreating me back here, this guy that cut me off in traffic. Do I feel like if I can forgive him? Okay, I can forgive him. Do I feel like I forgiven him If I don't feel like in bless him, I don't think I've forgiven him. Okay. Then I go back and I say, okay. Is there something else that you need to work through? Show me where I felt this way before we go through the whole process again? And now can I did I do, I feel like I forgiven this person that offended me right now. If it's yes, awesome. Awesome. You just broken through a stronghold with truth. The truth about who God says, you are the truth about what God says about. The situation, the truth about what God's plans are for you in his goodness towards you. If you need a little time to print this off but I can print it off for you too. Question you can ask is this just in your quiet time? What what does God want me to confess and repent from?

So we're going to remove stronghold and we're going to examine everything. This one I wish I'm going to make more time to study this one cuz this is amazing. 25 to says it's God's privilege to conceal things in the Kings privilege to discover that. We get to search out, thanks.

The key to not to Breaking complacency in your life is is one of the keys is to see curious.

I did a quick search online and I found all of these articles that links to Scientific journals that, I need to go back and get all those I did. But junior girls to make sure that what they are saying is true. And then, I want to see if I can tie it into scripture cuz this is amazing. Curiosity keeps the brain active and reduces the risk of cognitive decline. Stay curious. Curious, people are happier. I don't know how you managed that, but they curious curious, people boost a cheap mint curiosity boost achievement, a curious, Curiosities can expand or empathy. I've seen this so many times, but I'm talking with somebody who is just unloading and it's it's I got I just I have questions. I want to find out. I want to just question question, question. And you can start drying them out, just because you're asking the right questions that are like, how do you feel about that people that doesn't feel right? And you're just part of the story and it just you, it's awesome. Curiosity expands or empathy curiosity help. Strengthen relationships. Why? Because you're curious about the other person and you have to ask questions and curiosity, improves our ability to a difficult situation such as rejection. This is a study. I want to read, I don't understand this one yet. 7 curiosity, help to relieve boredom. This is what I wish I knew to tell my kids, when my kids were young twice, they said I'm bored. And both times, I said only boring people are bored. You're not a boring person. I wish I could have said boring people are bored. They curious because that would have been way better for them. Now I have a daughter who and son, who, both overwork themselves way too much. Anyways you're never bored.

Number 8, being curious. Can increase productivity positivity. Actually positivity, not productivity. Number 9, curiosity could improve problem, solving skills, stay curious. Number 10, being curious can increase knowledge in work performance will do your curious, you're going to see these things. I'm going to figure out how curiosity ties into our spiritual being for sure. Number 11, keep being curious, me reduce anxiety. Bi-curious. When we're curious, we Stave off, empathy, empathy Stave off apathy, receive off complacency

How can I sparked my curiosity? Ask, holy spirit, that in Hill. He just makes you interested and interesting. He does that.

Pique and rekindle. Helps us to know God's vision for your life.

And I want, I want to read Amos for you, Amos 9 Amos. I've studied this quite a bit this week has a book about Amos was writing before Jerusalem fell and he was writing to people who are very complacent. They were just they were they were treating each other poorly. They weren't they were just. They were not living the way people of God should live and so he called the motor in them in that. But then in chapter 9 near the end, he says verse 11 in that day I'll restore David's falling 10 tower repair. Its broken places for storage Union. A ruins and build it as a as a place that used to be.

God danced to give us big pictures like that in a. We live in a culture that we teach ourselves to say what is God's plan for my life? Well,

We're talking with a friend yesterday. Went out for coffee and and she was kind of lamenting why it? Why is the church not changing the culture?

And it kind of looks like kind of came to me, was that?

I've never seen in the Bible, the church was supposed to change the culture.

Peter says, if you're a Christian woman, married to an unchristian husband, if he wants to keep you stay in that relationship. He told slaves, if you can buy your freedom, some wego4, but otherwise be the best slave. You can be They weren't out there to uproot culture.

But Christ. Labeled the 12 apostles.

An apostle is a Roman term for the general who comes into romanized in area.

2 Apostles are supposed to change the culture around them.

And I think if we is at the North American church, can grasp the true role of apostleship and let people be Apostles that are called to be apostles. We do what we're called to do. We let them do what they're called to do and things will be functioning a whole lot better. We're all trying to change the culture around us. And we forget what did Mother Teresa say you want to change the world? Go home and love your kids. She got it. She got it. God's vision for your life. Isn't a calling, or a position or skill or a gift. It might those things might add to your calling but that's not his vision for your life. His vision is for you to glorify him and enjoy him forever.

So you can do that and wherever you are, whatever you're doing. But that's what he created you for. To glorify him and enjoy him forever.

You get that right? What is that that that that is seeking first his kingdom. You seek first his kingdom and everything else gets out at all these concerns and all these tears of Life, get at it as you seek his kingdom. What is this Kingdom? His kingdom is where he rules. Does he rule in your life? If my chief goal is to glorify him and enjoy him forever

That's a pretty good life to live. Cuz it goes on forever.

Paul tells us in 1st Corinthians, 10:31, that whatever you do, whatever you do, do it for the glory of God.

The question we can ask ourselves or ask holy spirit is, can I glorify God and enjoy him today? Can I do that today?

Here's the thing, is we all become more and more like Jesus. Will see the culture change around us. but where you can only control here this relationship, You can do your best with these relationships. But this is the only one you have a real say in. Am I going to become more and more like Jesus? Well, I know I will. But will I do it willingly or will he dragged me to it? He'll do it.

oh,

Ein, reignite. Relight re what is the word?

I can sure. Rekindle, that's a good word, rekindle the eye and rekindle. That's why we got that. I say that I do this. So you guys can group it so I can remember. It ignite a passion for God, sticking a name is for this one. Name is 5 or 26.

It says this is what the Lord says to the house of Israel seek me and live. Don't seek Bethel, don't go to Gilgo don't journey to a Shiva for Go-Go will surely go into Exile. Ethel will be reduced to nothing seek the Lord and live or he will sweep through the house of Joseph. Like a fire in The Valor Bethel and have no one to quench it.

Book of Revelations. John records Jesus speaking to the seven churches of Asia Minor and when he gets to Ephesus

John Church. John was a presbyter at Ephesus. And what Jesus told. That church was that. You got it, all right. You have the right Doctrine. You do the right things.

But you're forsaken, your first love.

Repent.

Do the things you did at first.

Or else I'm going to come in and remove the lamp from among you.

That first love is so important to Jesus. It's so effective. John we we know I think that the Book of John was written after his experience on Patmos. Because the Book of John is so filled up with loving God. Loving God, loving God. Love each other. Love God, love. John is All About Love The Gospel of John. And and we know from history that it affected John so much that his last sermon at Ephesus. He was helped up on the platform and he sat on a chair and he told them this sermon, he said, love one, another Love one, another. Love one, another.

Are we seeking the Lord to live?

Do we sing about seeking the Lord? But it really doesn't make a difference in our life.

If that's you, you're probably feeling like it.

A little bit of common pleas complacency creeping in.

Seek the Lord seek his will seek. Is it? What does it mean to seek his kingdom first? It means in whatever I do.

And this is God is testing me in this. When somebody comes to me and is all angry Am I responding to that anger? Or am I waiting for God to say, God what is your will in this hot? What do you love about them now?

If I do that, I can speak life but I can speak truth and I can speak hope. If I don't, I just react to the temple or Miss Cadence and the how loud it is.

And I could I'm working God's working on me on that. I don't. A lot of times I can get louder than the other person and that's not good.

I want to see Kim and everything. I'm better seek Him in those. Hence moments. Not just in God. What is your vision for My Life vision? Is that you love God and love others and love others or they can love God and love others. It is simply and I'm becoming more and more like Jesus, you can do whatever you want.

Sometimes he has specific things for us to do.

But basically in the day today and everyday, it's us becoming more and more like Jesus.

And that takes polishing out the tough parts and that takes buffing out the things that don't shine.

He's going to finish the good work. He started in you. It's more fun if you let him and work with him.

Seek the Lord and live.

Leanne and rekindled help us help us. To remember to notice that comparison hurts. This is a crazy passage, but let me just read it to you totally out of context.

Weirdest 2nd Corinthians. 10 verse 12, we do not dare classifier, compare ourselves with some who committed themselves to 4 when they when they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves. They are not wise, all stocking with the super Apostles and better coming in, but for us to compare ourselves with our that sells, or compare ourselves with what we see, how to magazine, or compare ourselves. With, with some things in there, in just a couple of years ahead of us, or their job, or their career, or their life relationships, are we judging ourselves when we comparison kills? Comparison leads to complacency. If we look around, we can't, we see, we can't measure up with everyone around and we think we have to measure up with everyone that's around. This is really where we need to come out from her culture cuz our culture will always show you lack.

Our culture will always say you're not enough.

I am. I have my dermatologist on speed dial and she's been working on some stuff on the side of my mouth, but never going to do this whole face peel that they don't do in their their offices, they do it down in their Clinic downstairs, in their Clinic downstairs, you can get all kinds of treatment for all kinds of things. And I sat there, they forgot. I was there. I went in there for about an hour and I didn't even know what the treatment was I was doing or why I was supposed to be there. And so I was just getting in the thing that took me off while I was waiting, there was all these beautiful women coming in To get some treatment done because they were convinced that they weren't enough.

It was all cosmetic stuff. They were coming in for And I did my spirit, I like I just, I literally felt revulsion in there. And I, I didn't stay for the appointment, I left because they forgot me in the change room after in the change room, in the in the actual room later. And I was like, I don't have time for this. I left until the doctor called me up later. We worked it out. But anyway, He knows, I don't care for that side of the business.

Comparison will lead to complacency. You got to cut that spiral.

How do you stop comparing with others?

True gratitude.

When you're when you choose to be grateful. instead of looking at lack everything,

And it's not. Thank you, Lord. That I don't have to compete with those people over there. It's thank you, Lord for what you've given me. Here. It's thank you Lord, for how you taking care of me now. And in the past, it's thank you, God, that you are working yourself in me so I can become more and more like Jesus.

Gratitude is a game-changer and it stops comparison. Question, we can ask yourself, is it like a comparing myself to anyone?

You probably know if you are, but some of us don't notice it until the Holy Spirit points us to us.

The dean rekindle as if you want to get out of complacency. Proverbs 11:25 tells us where in Proverbs, we're almost done. Generous will prosper in those who refreshes others, will they themselves? Be refreshed.

when you want to break out of the tiredness or Landis or complacent when you're in that spot, the quickest way to cheer yourself up is to go help somebody else. and, I think that's something that we really lost through covid early. No way, we could really help people like some of us we would do Zoom calls with people and try to do that but but

In order to move their lawn when they're too busy this week to mow their lawn to do whatever, whatever God puts on your heart. when you start blessing others, when you start,

I know that went when you're trying to get breakthrough in your life, It's the pre for the Breakthrough in someone else's life. You finally went breakthrough in your own life.

You need a job but you start praying for someone else to get a job because they really need a job is something shifts and something changes. And so you get a job and they get a really good job and you're happy for them. Because even that really, really good job.

Can you put others ahead of yourselves perspective changes?

Question, we can ask ourselves is who can I refresh?

Not just saying hi to it's doing something good to. It's Your Blessing them in some tangible way. You're lifting them up. You lift yourself up.

so the Ellen rekindle, we also need to learn to be content of this verse Philippians 4.

Verse 12, All rights. I know what it is to be in. Need, I know what it is to have plenty, I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation whether will fit are hungry. Whether I live in, plenty or in want. I can do all things through him who gives me strength. How many of you knew that that verse had all of that proceeding it? We usually quote that verse to say, yes, I can do the next champion of the world. I can do all things through Christ and I know what it's like to have a lot. I know what it's like to have not much and I know what it's like to be content with a lot. And I know what it's like to be content with not much.

I can do it all through him who gives me strength.

Contentment is kind of the antithesis. Of complacency. You can be content with what you are and who got is making you and who you are right now. But you won't come near complacency if you learn to be content.

Learned it, whatever you do in all you do, you do it with the strength? He provides.

Sometimes we lose our contentment when we refuse to obey something that Holy Spirit leads us to do. What is prompting us to make that phone call or prompting us to knock on that door prompting us to say that thing to that person at work and and we just come up with excuses and then all of a sudden we we we find yourself slipping into complacency LifeCare loses its colors.

Guess what? Go back and Obey him?

On keeping up for the next one, I will tell you huge breakthrough in the next one. Anyway, we slip into the in the complacency.

Question we can ask yourself is am I content in any and every situation? Don't forget to put that question up there, that could have been me.

Finally, in rekindle is we need to enjoy work without celebrating being busy. Colossians 3. 12:22 to 2:24. 2224 whatever you do work at it, with all your heart as working for the Lord, not for men. Since, you know, that you will be receiving a Heritage from the Lord. As a reward, it is the Lord Christ you're serving.

It's really interest me that complacency can either come when we're too busy. Working, when we're not busy enough.

I think the key to understanding that is complacency can come when we're not doing what the Holy Spirit tells us to do, when we're not keeping in step with the spirit. We can be really busy cuz we just go from planned up, Lan up, Lan up, Lan and we're on autopilot to get everything done or it could be that I got this, you know? I'm I got time now though. I don't want to do the disciplines. I'm just going to spend time behind the TV or spend time. Reading that novel or spend time. It's at those are all good. You don't know how bad things but when they take you away from the good things,

basically, when you're not about your father's business, you're not working as unto the Lord and it's easy to slip into complacency

to be about my father's business. You can get a whole lot done and never feel busy. When you're doing it as unto the Lord, you're doing it because you're serving him.

Now, you can feel busy if you say you're doing his own to the Lord. But man, this person needs that and that person needs this and why are more people helping and then that that's not doing it is not to him that you might be doing it for show.