The Curse of Complacency

The Crisis of Complacency

It was Dec. 7, 1941 Murata on board a Japanese aircraft carrier who would soon pilot one of the deadly planes that would fly over the harbor was finishing his breakfast eyes glinting in the dim light an impish grin playing on his lips. Wickedly told Fuchida another pilot that Honolulu sleeps. How do you know Fuchida asked, “The Honolulu radio plays soft music. Everything is fine.” Things were going on as they had been. Saturday had been a day of golf, parties and dances, despite the many warnings, and clues given through a 13 part document. It was a tragic awakening as those fighters came roaring and tearing across the sky and letting their deadly bombs drop with devastation and destruction. Pearl Harbors complacency was turned into chaos.

We can see in this chapter that God told Moses, you’ve been doing this long enough you’ve compassed this mountain long enough, it’s time to move on. Or as one version put it, “You’ve been going around in circles in these hills long enough”

They were becoming complacent and it would have ended in disaster. God said turn North let’s get going. Complacency what is it? It has been defined as - 1.) A feeling of contented self-satisfaction, especially when unaware of upcoming trouble 2.) The feeling you have when you are satisfied with yourself; 3.) Pleasure; satisfaction; gratification.

I. Causes -

A. Comfortableness - We are warned in Amos 6:1 Woe to them that are at ease in Zion. It goes on to talk about those that trust in other things.

1. Comfortableness brings a carelessness - Back when it was still okay to do so, our family used to incinerate our garbage. When I got old enough it fell my lot to do it. We would gather it up haul it down into our field and there we had a barrel set up that we would put the trash in and set it on fire. However we were to watch it and make sure it didn’t get out of hand. It was real close to our barn, we had a rather large field and then there was a large wooded area. One day I got careless, and started the trash then went back up to the house and forgot about it. Later someone looked out the kitchen window and the field was on fire. It took us all evening to finally get the fire under control and even then it damaged a trailer my dad had on the property as well as nearly getting him a ticket because the tires caught fire, all because I was comfortable and got careless. It causes complacency. I would have been content to go on to bed not knowing that any moment the whole neighborhood could have gone up in flames.

2. Living/walking by faith does not imply that we just assume we are okay, it is knowing that we are. That we have not done anything contrary to the Bible weather we have feelings or not on the authority of His word we know we are okay. Assuming we are okay leads to a comfortable complacency.

B. Satisfaction - The church of Laodicea was reprimanded because they had need of nothing. They had all they wanted, wasn’t wanting to produce any more or put forth the effort to do excel.

II. Common Symptoms of Complacency - Symptoms are used to diagnose the disease. I hope I can by the help of the Lord show some of the symptoms of Complacency that God might use it to stir up our pure minds by way of remembrance.

A. Forgetfulness of spiritual things-

1. The children of Israel were to build stone pillars to remind them of what God had done for them.

A. We have monuments and pillars and memorials but we are forgetting.

1. Lincoln Memorial has scriptural reference to it. Others do as well.

2. We have our stones that we come to and ask what mean these stones, Are we forgetting what those great men fought and died for to give us what we have today.

B. Sleepiness - Rip Van winkle.

1. If we don’t stir or awaken ourselves we will sleep right through what God want’s to do for us.

2. I have been burdened by that scripture concerning the Children of Israel lately, “THEY KNEW NOT THE DAY OF THEIR VISITATION” a people without a vision perish. God want’s us to catch the vision let’s not be asleep.

C. Self-righteousness- believing in own virtue: sure of the moral superiority of personal beliefs and actions.

1. Now I want to specify here that you are not self-righteous by going BY THE BOOK.

2. We are self-righteous when we make our personal convictions or ideas and opinions “THE BOOK”

3. We get satisfied in just going by what Bro. or Sis. So and so said years ago and that’s the way we’ve always done it. Why change now. IS IT BACKED BY THE BIBLE? DOES GOD”S WORD APPROVE OF IT?

COMPLACENCY self- satisfied.

III. Complacency’s cure - OUR ONLY HOPE IS A REVIVAL FROM GOD. Billy Sunday said, “When is a revival needed? When carelessness and unconcern keep the people asleep.”

If ever we were in a self-righteous, sleepy, forgetful, complacent time it is now. Oh that we would wake up. STIR US LORD. It’s almost as if I can hear the droning of the devils planes carrying their deadly bombs of destruction. It’s almost as if it’s over. It’s almost as if were done, BUT - “If my people which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways’ then will I hear from Heaven and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” 2Ch. 7:14