Christian Weariness August 20, 2022
As we head to the end of the age, is our love for the Father and Lord Jesus going to grow cold.
Matthew 24:11-13 Many false prophets will appear and deceive many people, (12) and because lawlessness will increase, the love of many people will grow cold. (13) But the person who endures to the end will be saved.
Are we becoming more weariness or complacence in our lives towards the Father and the Lord Jesus and towards life in general, doing good works.
What do we mean by weariness,
extreme
tiredness; fatigue: "he began to feel weariness"
reluctance to see or experience any more of something:
Calm or secure satisfaction with oneself or one's lot: Self-Satisfaction
a usually smug satisfaction with oneself or one's
position or achievements.
Indifference, feeling of being satisfied with how things are and not wanting to try to make them better
This sound like a very dangerous place to be if you are a Christian.
What are some of the synonyms for complacence: pride, pridefulness, self-admiration, self-assumption, self-conceit, self-congratulation, self-esteem, self-glory, self-importance, self-love, self-opinion, self-satisfaction, smugness,
Notice the words “self-something.” We turn inward, not outward.
We look at the History of Israel and Juda and over a period of time, complacency sets in for the people. Same thing day in and day out in sacrifice of animals.
As Christians as a whole, maybe even us, do we live like God doesn’t exist around us or even in our lives except on church day.
Romans 15:4 For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. {Old Testament Scriptures}
Lord Jesus had written for Him in Malachi 1 about the attitude the priests had toward God
Malachi 1:6 "A son honors his father and a servant his master. So if I'm a father, where is my honor? And if I'm a master, where is my respect?" says the LORD of the Heavenly Armies to you priests who are despising my name. "But you ask, 'How have we despised your name?'
Remember, these are the priests in charge of the worship for the people.
Here the Lord Jesus is saying a truth: A father and a master can expect honor from those beneath them, but God was not receiving the honor due Him from the priests.
He addresses the priests because they ought to be leaders to the rest of the people, whereas they are foremost in “despising His name.”
Are we not priests and kings, could this apply to us
1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people to be his very own and to proclaim the wonderful deeds of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
Revelation 1:6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Exodus 20:12 "Honor your father and your mother so that you may live long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.
Luke 6:46 "Why do you keep calling me 'Lord, Lord,' but don't do what I tell you? {does this apply to us today}
1 Peter 1:17 If you call "Father" the one who judges everyone impartially according to what they have done, you must live in reverent fear as long as you are strangers in a strange land.
So we are kings and priests
in the eyes of our Father and
Lord Jesus.
Could this be about us, as Christians in the body.
Malachi 1:7 By presenting defiled food on my altar. And you ask 'How have we defiled you?' By saying 'The Table of the LORD is contemptible.'
We know the priests were cutting deals, accepting blemished animals for sacrifice and for selfish reasons.
Malachi 1:8-9 When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? And when you sacrifice crippled or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Offer that to your governor—would he be pleased with you or receive you favorably?" asks the LORD of the Heavenly Armies. (9) "And now, go ahead and implore God by saying, 'Be gracious to us.' Will he receive you favorably and accept offerings like that from your hand?" asks the LORD of the Heavenly Armies.
Malachi 1:10-11 "Oh, that one of you would shut the Temple doors and not light useless fires on the altar! I'm not pleased with you," says the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, "and I'll accept no offerings from you. (11) Even so, from where the sun rises to where it sets my name will be great among the Gentiles. Incense will be brought to me everywhere, along with pure offerings, because my name will be great among the Gentiles," says the LORD of the Heavenly Armies.
Malachi 1:12 "But you are profaning my name by saying that the Table of the LORD is defiled and that its fruit and its food are contemptible.
Deuteronomy 15:21 If it has a blemish; lameness, blindness, or any kind of defect; you must not sacrifice it to the LORD your God.
Ezekiel 44:7 You kept on bringing in foreigners, those who were uncircumcised in heart and flesh, to profane my sanctuary by being inside my Temple, and by doing so you've emptied my covenant, all the while offering my food; the fat and the blood; in addition to all of the other loathsome things you've done.
The priests were treating the Table of the Lord {that is, the altar: like ordinary things,
What about Christians, but do we truly honor God with our lives, praise, time and treasure, or are offering disrespectful cast-off on our own terms. We should not disrespect Lord Jesus by offering Him second choice and halfhearted service.
Malachi 1:8 When you offer blind animals for sacrifice, is that not
wrong? When you sacrifice lame or diseased
animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor!
Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?" says the LORD
Almighty.
The demands of holy worship of God had been made clear in the Law. Only the best should be presented as an offering to the Lord; no one was to come with an offering that was blemished or unclean
Are we not a living sacrifice in the view of the Father and the Lord Jesus.
Romans 12:1 I therefore urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercies, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices that are holy and pleasing to God, for this is the reasonable way for you to worship.
Romans 2:21-22 as you teach others, do you fail to teach yourself? As you preach against stealing, do you steal? (22) As you forbid adultery, do you commit adultery? As you abhor idols, do you rob temples?
Romans 2:23-24 As you boast about the Law, do you dishonor God by breaking the Law? (24) As it is written, "God's name is being blasphemed among the gentiles because of you."
When we allow sin to remain in our lives, we offer God disqualified service, and He will not accept it. Sin keeps us from fully participating in God’s plans.
Malachi 1:13 You also say, 'Oh, what a weariness!' And you sneer at it," Says the LORD of hosts. "And you bring the stolen, the lame, and the sick; Thus you bring an offering! Should I accept this from your hand?" Says the LORD.
The demands of God were neither understood nor appreciated by the priests; they seemed to be mere busywork. Stolen, lame, sick: The gifts of the priests were not presentable; some were stolen goods, and others were animals that were useless. To sacrifice something of no value was not a sacrifice at all.
When we allow sin to remain in our lives, we develop
disdainful attitudes.
Here, the priests referred to their calling as “weariness.” They would “sneer” at the work.
They; the priests; were bored with serving the Lord. Their attitudes were so bad that God wished that they would shut the doors to the temple.
Again, is this similar to us and easy to do, and it’s an easy trap as we slip into spiritual complacency. The Creator of the universe calls us to worship Him, and yet we struggle to attend church or spend time in Bible study and prayer.
We claim to be God’s children, but our hearts are far from Him. We cling to the things of this world, while treating the holy as mundane.
What comes to mind is the Laodicea Church in the Book of Revelation.
Revelation 3:15-16 'I know your actions, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were cold or hot. (16) Since you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I am going to spit you out of my mouth.
Revelation 3:17 You say, "I am rich. I have become wealthy. I don't need anything." Yet you don't realize that you are miserable, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.
Galatians 6:9-10 Let's not get tired of doing what is good, for at the right time we will reap a harvest—if we do not give up. (10) So then, whenever we have the opportunity, let's practice doing good to everyone, especially to the family of faith.
2 Thessalonians 3:13 Brothers, do not get tired of doing what is right.
What are Christians and we as individuals to do.
Take our concern in prayer to the Father and confess our sin, His promise that
He will forgive us and remove our sins with grace.
James 4:6-8 But he gives all the more grace. And so he says, "God opposes the arrogant but gives grace to the humble." (7) Therefore, submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will run away from you. (8) Come close to God, and he will come close to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
What is the bottom line: Christian contentment means that no matter what happens, we are fully satisfied in Jesus. Christian weariness means that no matter what happens, we are fully self-satisfied with your current personal effort in pursuing Christ.
Weariness is Dangerous for Christians Because It Means we Are Not Growing in the knowledge of our Lord and Creator, Growing is a life time effort to endure.
2 Peter 3:18 Instead, continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and
Savior Jesus, the Messiah. Glory belongs to him both now and on that
eternal day! Amen.
2 Peter 1:5-6 For this very reason, you must make every effort to supplement your faith with moral character, your moral character with knowledge, (6) your knowledge with self-control, your self-control with endurance, your endurance with godliness,
2 Peter 1:7-8 your godliness with brotherly kindness, and your brotherly kindness with love. (8) For if you possess these qualities, and if they continue to increase among you, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in attaining a full knowledge of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah.
2 Peter 1:9-10 For the person who lacks these qualities is blind and shortsighted, and has forgotten the cleansing that he has received from his past sins. (10) So then, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election certain, for if you keep on doing this you will never fail.
Why do pastors and members after years of services have
moral failures and some even renouncing their faith. Probably, first had a prayer failure due to their complacency in Christ.
We must seek God always, continually, praying about everything at all times
Luke 21:36 So be alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place and to take your stand in the presence of the Son of Man."
We must seek him new every day if we are to finish the race strong.
2 Timothy 4:7-8 I have fought the good fight. I have completed the race. I have kept the faith. (8) The victor's crown of righteousness is now waiting for me, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on the day that he comes, and not only to me but also to all who eagerly wait for his appearing.
Contentment in Christ is one of the main goals for the Christian.
Philippians 3:13-14 Brothers, I do not consider myself to have embraced it yet. But this one thing I do: Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, (14) I keep pursuing the goal to win the prize of God's heavenly call in the Messiah Jesus.
Laying aside the past, we should strains forward, looking to the future. Eagerly we seeks the goal.
Hebrews 12:1-2 Therefore, having so vast a cloud of witnesses {angels?} surrounding us, and
throwing off everything that hinders us and especially the sin that so easily entangles us,
let us keep running with endurance the race set
before us, (2) fixing our
attention on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of the faith, who,
in view of the joy set before him, endured the cross, disregarding its shame,
and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
1 Corinthians 15:57-58 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus the Messiah! (58) Therefore, my dear brothers, be steadfast, unmovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that the work that you do for the Lord isn't wasted.
Weariness Complacency, however, is truly dangerous for the Christian. Let’s pray the Holy Spirit will protect us from the dangers of living in the past while forgetting God in the present.
2 Corinthians 11:27-28 In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. (28) Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.
Apostle Paul falls into weariness.
The only cure to weariness is a passionate pursuit of Jesus Christ through prayer.
Remember: person who endures to the end will be saved.
So keep pressing
on to the ultimate goal, be change in the future to spirit being! The sacrifices we have made this lifetime will be worth it. Be encouraged!
God’s word is powerful and life changing, and Lord Jesus promises to complete the work he
has started in us.
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