Intro story-make up
I wasn’t ready
I usually never turned my phone on silent
Yet that night I did
He called me like 20 times
He never just stops by, yet he did that day
This was the most terrible timing
Caught wearing eyeliner…
You should’ve seen me trying to explain while he just looked at me with this unforgettable look of confusion
Romans 13:11-14 NKJV
11 And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. 12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk [a]properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.
Remember paul is talking to Christians
He is telling them to wake up that salvation is near
The night is far spent and the day is at hand
He is reminding them to cast off the works of darkness
Christians shouldn’t live a life of sin once receiving salvation and accepting the Lord
But the truth is paul wouldn’t have had to give statement if Christians weren’t doing these kind of things
It’s a warning
Paul knows what he is talking about and the writings of the bible are timeless
These things were happening in the church when paul wrote this, and it is still happening today
Christians! It is time to wake from our slumber and do the work of the Lord
We should be filled with spirit and honor God with our lives, not filled with sin and darkness
We have received Christ
We must put off our old works and put on Christ
We must realize the day of the Lord is coming
We should live with a sense of urgency
Nobody knows the day or hour, but we must stay prepared
We live in a society where sin runs rampant in the global church
Christians have begun to compromise when it comes to sin in the church
I have a few statistics that I looked up to give some insight on certain sin in the church
Looking at evangelicals ages 18-22
51% of them that attend church on a weekly basis have engaged in sexual activity
This number significantly increases from 17-31% higher for people this age that attend just once a month
For all adult ages
Sex between unmarried adults in a committed relationship
33% -always ok 24% sometimes 10% rarely and 32% never
Casual sex in a non committed relationship
18% always 32% sometimes 17% rarely 33% never
Remember these are based on Christians that attend church
Now im going to go over statistics for pornography
70% of youth pastors report helping at least 1 teen that is struggling with pornography in the last 12 months
68% of church going men and over 50% of pastors view pornography on a regular basis
Young adults 18-24, 76% actively search pornography
Only 13% of self identifying Christian woman say they never watch pornography
87% have watched pornography
This sin is problem with men, woman, pastors and youth
These are only a few things
There is drunkenness, laziness, deceit, slander, and many others that happen within the walls of the church as well
How does this happen
I will tell you how
Only 37% of all pastors hold a biblical world view
That means 63% do not
And that number increases for youth and childrens pastors to 88%
So these pastors that teach young ages in the church are being taught heresies
That is how the church has gotten to such a place
Instead of hard biblical teachings about repentance from sin
They get a soft watered down message about the gospel that allows for sin to run rampant
These youth and adults being taught they can do whatever they want and there will be no penalty for it because of a prayer they said
WAKE UP!
We are to honor God and Him alone
That means with all of our being
We are to crucify our flesh
Galatians 5:24 NKJV
24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
We must not live in the dark
Put off the old man and wake up
Just because we have grace doesn’t mean God is ok with habitual sin
This hurts my heart to think this is where the church is headed
The church hasn’t been diligent with upholding the full gospel of Christ
And this is where it has led the Church
How did this happen?
Story- javelin
The man became complacent
He wasn’t watching out
Even though it could cause injury or death even he didn’t watch out
Complacency is how the church has got to this point
Revelation 3:1-6 ESV
3 “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.
“‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. 3 Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. 4 Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. 5 The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. 6 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’
Sardis was the church of complacency
Sardis was located about 30 miles southeast of Thyatira
This was a place where they were dyeing wool
This city had a great economy and produced a lot of wealth
They were a hub for trading and gained wealth for jewelry, wool goods, and colored clothing
It was geographically built in a place that was very easy to defend from an attack
Due to all the luxuries this area had it was easy for them to become complacent
They had a reputation for good works, but they were dead inside
On the outside their works were good
But they didn’t hold tight to the gospel of Christ
They became complacent which led to this warning from Jesus himself
He said wake up
They were not living with the expectation of Christs return and placed them in a bad position spiritually
This sounds very similar to a lot of churches
It is very easy to become complacent if we have no expectation for His return
We live in comfort, we really don’t have to worry about much
Our society has turned to one of instant gratification
We have more comforts than most places
Christians have become comfortable with where they are at
Living with no expectation of His return
Living with the mindset that it hasn’t happened yet, it will probably be awhile
We cannot allow this mindset to set in
I am not immune to this either and no pastor or Christian is
Even while writing this I had to evaluate my own life
I don’t want to become like the church of sardis where I look good on the outside, but inside im dead
I want to continue living my life glorifying God
I realized writing this there were areas I still need to change
Ive noticed that through covid and lockdowns it was easy to become comfortable and complacent in some areas
We all need to take time to evaluate our own lives
So what does complacency look like
Complacency-marked by self-satisfaction especially when accompanied by unawareness of actual dangers or deficiencies
Living in a constant routine where nothing ever changes leads to complacency
Now its not wrong to have a routine but if you continue this with in the church and don’t have an expectation to change and grow
You will become complacent
That will lead to you rejecting change in your life
The Christian life is all about change
A life of change and submission to Christ
But complacency will lead to unchanged life and a hardened heart
A heart the says Ive done enough
Im good now
There is nothing more I want to change
I have plenty of time anyway
Im comfortable with where im at in life
Saying things like, Jesus knows my heart
And He does… If you are complacent that is not a good thing
You will be considered just like the church of Sardis
Dead on the inside
The worst part about complacency is eventually it will lead to an unteachable spirit
You begin to never learn from the word or the people around you
I pray that never happens to you or myself
Being in place where you can never be corrected or learn from His word is a terrible place to be
If we are supposed to live a life of sanctification but nothing changes any more then you are literally just going through the motion
If this is you, repent, turn from complacency, begin to honor God again
Remember the sacrifice on the cross
Remember what you have been saved from
Live with an expectation of Christs return
We have to continually guard our heart to not fall into complacency
But how do we do that
Angie song-
I choose 1 song everytime I write a sermon and listen to it on repeat
This time the song I chose really lined up with this message
Hallowed be your name
And it was really fitting
The first verse says it all
“ Teach me to crave what is holy and right, to stike down temptation, set evil to flight. Give me today just enough to require a daily return for your riches and fire.”
We must crave what is holy and to do that we must put on Christ
Romans 13:13-14
13 Let us walk [a]properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.
Paul is drawing a parallel as if we were changing clothes
The darkness is when we were in our old life
Which was full of sin
Putting on Christ is removing the old darkness and putting on our new clothes which is Christ
We must live in present understanding that Christ is our Lord
Our old man is dead and we should no longer live in a way the is in opposition to Him
We must begin to filter everything through Christ and His word
Knowing that the cross is a constant reminder that He bore our sins and brought restoration between God and us
We must live a life of constant change
Continually working on ourselves
Honoring God with our works, thoughts, actions, and intents of our heart
Keeping Christ at the forefront of our minds allows us to make decisions for our lives that will honor Him
We must daily put on Christ
We don’t get to rest or take a break
It is a life long journey with Him
The enemy will try to constantly attack us
So we must stay focused on Christ
We are children of Christ and we must live like it
Do not make any provisions for your flesh
Cast off the works of darkness and put on Christ
Ephesians 6:10-20
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the [b]wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of [c]the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— 19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
In order to make it through is life we must put on Christ
We must seek God and prepare ourselves daily
Read your bible
Spend time in prayer
Worship God daily
When you work, work as unto the Lord
Listen to sermons and allow the Holy Spirit to convict and correct you
If you have areas that you really struggle with, then get an accountability partner
Having someone hold you accountable, that you trust to be honest with you will help you not make provisions for the flesh
Do not allow sin to creep into your life
Don’t become like the church of Sardis
Live with an expectation of Christs return
And put on Christ
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