The Path to Renewal

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Zoo animals in 2013 - wildlife legislation - Costa Rica began the process of closing most of it’s zoos in favor of wildlife conservation areas.

Releasing captive animals into the wild is tricky business.

Birds develop attachment to humans - some even see themselves as humans.

For most animals, life in the zoo makes them complacent around humans, makes them soft, the food is coming…and that’s detrimental to life in the wild.

So “Re-Wilding” an animal means teaching essential behaviors - how to hunt, avoid being eaten, attract a mate, interact with groups...

They have dedicated rehabilitation centers spending months meticulously preparing animals for release back into the wild.

Contrary to popular use, the biblical word for contentment does not primarily mean to be satisfied. It’s because of this misunderstanding that leads people to confuse contentment with complacency.

Complacency: A self-satisfied state of negligence or carelessness, especially in relation to one’s personal situation.

Contrary to popular use, the biblical word for contentment does not primarily mean to be satisfied. It’s because of this misunderstanding that leads people to confuse contentment with complacency.

Luke 12:13–21 ESV

Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” ’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

Luke 12:13-

Proverbs 1:32 ESV

For the simple are killed by their turning away, and the complacency of fools destroys them;

Complacency: A self-satisfied state of negligence or carelessness, especially in relation to one’s personal situation.

In a letter he wrote to his congregation in 1924, Rev. Ben Cleaver, one pastor in Ronald Reagan’s childhood church said, in an effort to encourage vigilance in their Gospel effort, “Mediocre or passable service for Christ is almost a crime.”

Since complacency of fools destroys them, complacency and mediocrity in the life of the believer is criminal at best, and wholly destructive at worst.

Christians are not called to complacency, we’re called to contentment. And with it a calling to seek growth and renewal in Christ.

Contentment: a state of mind in which one’s desires are confined to his lot whatever it may be.

To be content does not mean that we just sit back and do nothing because we are “satisfied” with the ways things are. Contentment does not mean that if we don’t have a job, we don’t seek a job. Being content does not mean that we refuse to set goals, work hard, or dream big.

Contentment is not tied to inactivity in our lives; it’s tied to trusting God’s activity in our lives.

Hebrews 6:12 ESV

so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

The word used for contentment literally means to be sufficient. Contentment is the attitude or mindset that who I am, what I have, and where God has placed me right now is sufficient to biblically fulfill the roles and responsibilities God has given to me.

Hebrews 6:11–12 ESV

And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

Contentment is not tied to inactivity in our lives; it’s tied to trusting God’s activity in our lives.

The word used for contentment literally means to be sufficient. Contentment is the attitude or mindset that who I am, what I have, and where God has placed me right now is sufficient to biblically fulfill the roles and responsibilities God has given to me.

Proverbs 1:32 ESV

For the simple are killed by their turning away, and the complacency of fools destroys them;

Mediocrity in service to Christ is almost a crime.

Proverbs 2:1–11 ESV

My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints. Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path; for wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul; discretion will watch over you, understanding will guard you,

Proverbs 2:

Proverbs 2:2–11 ESV

making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints. Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path; for wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul; discretion will watch over you, understanding will guard you,

If you want to move from complacency to contentment while growing in Christ, this passage tells us how to move forward.

If you see a sign in front of a church, “Revival here next week,” you can be sure there won’t be revival there next week. We can’t program God, we can’t control or predict God’s movement days or months in advance.

BUT, in this passage, like many, God shows us steps into that newness of life. We want to change. We want to get closer to him than ever before, ever dreamed of.

Get real with God and God will get real with you and you will change.

“If … then...”

Proverbs 2:1–5 ESV

My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.

Proverbs 2:1–4 ESV

My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures,

You may say, wait a second that sounds legalistic. The grace of God is not conditional.

No, it’s not conditional. We cannot deserve it or earn it. But we must reach for it decisively.

Preaching the Word: Proverbs—Wisdom that Works You Can Be Renewed in God

Think of it like this. You and I are standing on the brink of the Grand Canyon in Arizona. It is magnificent. You are loving what your eyes have the privilege of seeing. I am standing there beside you. My eyesight is bad, so I put on my glasses. But the lenses are dirty and smudgy and scratched and filthy. I cannot enter into all that magnificence right in front of me. So you say, “Ray, clean your glasses.” And I say to you, “Now don’t get legalistic on me!” You are not being legalistic. Legalism is thinking I can do something to make God pay attention to me. Legalism is thinking I can do something to deserve the grace of God. Legalism is meritorious thinking. But this passage is simply asking every one of us, are you paying attention?

Think of it like this. You and I are standing on the brink of the Grand Canyon in Arizona. It is magnificent. You are loving what your eyes have the privilege of seeing. I am standing there beside you. My eyesight is bad, so I put on my glasses. But the lenses are dirty and smudgy and scratched and filthy.

I cannot enter into all that magnificence right in front of me. So you say, “Guy, clean your glasses.” And I say to you, “Now don’t get legalistic on me!”

You are not being legalistic. Legalism is thinking I can do something to make God pay attention to me. Legalism is thinking I can do something to deserve the grace of God. Legalism is merit thinking.

But this passage is simply asking every one of us, are you paying attention?

Get real with God

How does God want us to pay attention to him?

And God will get real with you

And you will change

This passage begins with “MY SON [or daughter].” This is our loving father calling us to take new steps of growth toward him. Steps that are stretching not complacent.

Preaching the Word: Proverbs—Wisdom that Works You Can Be Renewed in God

Look how they escalate in intensity: “If you receive … treasure up … making your ear attentive … inclining your heart … call out … raise your voice … seek … search …”

See the point? Wisdom is not automatic fo rus? It is not our default setting. We’ll never arrive by drifting. You can’t become a significant person in neutral.

Hill climbing on the dirt bike, missing a gear and hitting neutral, blasts the gas, no go.

Sitting in neutral wondering how you’ll reach the pinnacle is complacency.

Yet God offers us a treasure infinitely worth seeking - more of himself, renewing you.

I don’t know your most personal need today, but I do know God is saying to you, “My child, I’m available if you want me more than you want a cozy predictable life.” Your status quo. Your happy place.

Will you today, give yourself completely to God? Will you say to him, “I am hurling myself into your arms.”

Preaching the Word: Proverbs—Wisdom that Works You Can Be Renewed in God

God our Father loved us enough for his only Son to get dragged down at the cross for us. Here is how we respond to his love. We turn from our complacent wonderfulness, and we turn back to God through the urgency of prayer, confession, repentance, and seeking.

Preaching the Word: Proverbs—Wisdom that Works You Can Be Renewed in God

God is not saying, “If you seek me, I will love you more.” He is saying, “If you seek me, you will find me, for all that I am worth.” You can know God, personally, in ways that will help you and guard you. How does this miracle enter into our experience? Verse 6 says: “… from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” The Bible is the mouth of God today—not a voice speaking within our minds but the Bible lying open before our eyes. On my seventeenth birthday my dad and mom gave me a new Bible. This is what dad wrote inside:

Bud, nothing could be greater than to have a son—a son who loves the Lord and walks with him. Your mother and I have found this Book our dearest treasure. We give it to you and doing so can give nothing greater. Be a student of the Bible and your life will be full of blessing. We love you. Dad

Our heavenly Father is promising that to all of us in verses 5–8. We do not have to be geniuses. We only have to be straight with him: “He stores up sound wisdom for the upright” (v. 7). If we will seek God honestly, he will deal with us directly.

What else can we count on from God if we see him as verses 1–4 urge us to? We notice another “Then” at the beginning of verse 9, followed by more assurances:

Then you will understand righteousness and justice

and equity, every good path;

for wisdom will come into your heart,

and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;

discretion will watch over you,

understanding will guard you. (Proverbs 2:9–11)

God is able to give your heart a new taste, a new relish, a new instinct for wisdom. If you want to be a better husband, if you want to get out of credit card debt, if you want to know how much TV to watch (or not watch), you do not need someone to beat you down with guilt and pressure. You do not need five easy steps to this or seven sure-fire principles for that. You need a new heart, new character, an awakening deep within. And God is saying, “If you will seek me, wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.” Wise people do not pout and whine, “Do I have to?” Their hearts are set free: “You mean I get to?” They love the things of God as satisfying to the appetites of their renewed souls. They experience what Jesus said: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Matthew 5:6).

Our Father is saying in Proverbs 2, “If you will seek newness of life in Christ (vv. 1–4), you will go deep with him (vv. 5–8), and you will change within yourself (vv. 9–11). Then you’ll be prepared for life in the real world (vv. 12–22).” That is how grace works.

God is not saying, “If you seek me, I will love you more.” He is saying, “If you seek me, you will find me, for all that I am worth.”

You can know God, personally, in ways that will help you and guard you. How does this miracle enter into our experience?

Verse 6 says: “… from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” The Bible is the mouth of God today—not a voice speaking within our minds but the Bible lying open before our eyes.

Bud, nothing could be greater than to have a son—a son who loves the Lord and walks with him. Your mother and I have found this Book our dearest treasure. We give it to you and doing so can give nothing greater. Be a student of the Bible and your life will be full of blessing. We love you. Dad

Our heavenly Father is promising that to all of us in verses 5–8. We do not have to be geniuses. We only have to be straight with him: “He stores up sound wisdom for the upright” (v. 7). If we will seek God honestly, he will deal with us directly.

What else can we count on from God if we see him as verses 1–4 urge us to? We notice another “Then” at the beginning of verse 9, followed by more assurances:

Then you will understand righteousness and justice

and equity, every good path;

for wisdom will come into your heart,

and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;

discretion will watch over you,

understanding will guard you. ()

God is able to give your heart a new taste, a new relish, a new instinct for wisdom. If you want to be a better husband, if you want to get out of credit card debt, if you want to know how much TV to watch (or not watch), you do not need someone to beat you down with guilt and pressure.

You do not need five easy steps to this or seven sure-fire principles for that. You need a new heart, new character, an awakening deep within. And God is saying, “If you will seek me, wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.” Wise people do not pout and whine, “Do I have to?” Their hearts are set free: “You mean I get to?” They love the things of God as satisfying to the appetites of their renewed souls. They experience what Jesus said: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” ().

Our Father is saying in , “If you will seek newness of life in Christ (vv. 1–4), you will go deep with him (vv. 5–8), and you will change within yourself (vv. 9–11). Then you’ll be prepared for life in the real world (vv. 12–22).”

Preaching the Word: Proverbs—Wisdom that Works You Can Be Renewed in God

God is not saying, “If you seek me, I will love you more.” He is saying, “If you seek me, you will find me, for all that I am worth.” You can know God, personally, in ways that will help you and guard you. How does this miracle enter into our experience? Verse 6 says: “… from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” The Bible is the mouth of God today—not a voice speaking within our minds but the Bible lying open before our eyes. On my seventeenth birthday my dad and mom gave me a new Bible. This is what dad wrote inside:

Bud, nothing could be greater than to have a son—a son who loves the Lord and walks with him. Your mother and I have found this Book our dearest treasure. We give it to you and doing so can give nothing greater. Be a student of the Bible and your life will be full of blessing. We love you. Dad

Our heavenly Father is promising that to all of us in verses 5–8. We do not have to be geniuses. We only have to be straight with him: “He stores up sound wisdom for the upright” (v. 7). If we will seek God honestly, he will deal with us directly.

What else can we count on from God if we see him as verses 1–4 urge us to? We notice another “Then” at the beginning of verse 9, followed by more assurances:

Then you will understand righteousness and justice

and equity, every good path;

for wisdom will come into your heart,

and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;

discretion will watch over you,

understanding will guard you. (Proverbs 2:9–11)

God is able to give your heart a new taste, a new relish, a new instinct for wisdom. If you want to be a better husband, if you want to get out of credit card debt, if you want to know how much TV to watch (or not watch), you do not need someone to beat you down with guilt and pressure. You do not need five easy steps to this or seven sure-fire principles for that. You need a new heart, new character, an awakening deep within. And God is saying, “If you will seek me, wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.” Wise people do not pout and whine, “Do I have to?” Their hearts are set free: “You mean I get to?” They love the things of God as satisfying to the appetites of their renewed souls. They experience what Jesus said: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Matthew 5:6).

Our Father is saying in Proverbs 2, “If you will seek newness of life in Christ (vv. 1–4), you will go deep with him (vv. 5–8), and you will change within yourself (vv. 9–11). Then you’ll be prepared for life in the real world (vv. 12–22).” That is how grace works.

Mediocrity in service to Christ is almost a crime. Are you paying attention?

The Path to Renewal

Complacency

Contentment

How We Can Grow

You can be renewed in God