Complacent Unbelief

Comfort Seeking & Unbelief

Prayer for God to Disturb us:

Disturb us, Lord, when we are too well pleased with ourselves,

When our dreams have come true

Because we have dreamed too little,

When we arrived safely

Because we sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, Lord, when With the abundance of things we possess

We have lost our thirst For the waters of life;

Having fallen in love with life,

We have ceased to dream of eternity

And in our efforts to build a new earth,

We have allowed our vision Of the new Heaven to dim.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,

To venture on wider seas Where storms will show Your mastery;

Where losing sight of land, We shall find the stars.

We ask You to push back The horizons of our hopes;

And to push (us) into the future

In strength, courage, hope, and love.

(attributed to Sir Francis Drake -1577)

Source: https://www.lords-prayer-words.com/famous_prayers/disturb_us_lord.html

Hebrews Warns Us to Pay Attention

Hebrews 2:1-4 Berean Standard Bible

Salvation Confirmed

1We must pay closer attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. 2For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every transgression and disobedience received its just punishment, 3how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?

This salvation was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, 4and was affirmed by God through signs, wonders, various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to His will.

There is a danger in drifting away into disbelief and complacency. The world and it’s ways can lead us to unbelief when we take our focus off Christ. Consider how a ship adrift can cause tremendous harm: Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore was destroyed by a container ship that was “adrift.” Ships in the age of sail were destroyed and lives lost when storms would blow the ships on rocks and shoals. Rudders would break and the winds would slam the ships onto the rocks tearing them to pieces from the force of water impacting on the hull. Images created by author using NightCafe Studio.

Would you want to be on this ship heading for the rocks? Are the storms of life sending you drifting toward the deadly rocks of unbelief? Definitely going to be a bumpy and wet experience trying to swim ashore.

God’s Word Warns us about Unbelief

What is unbelief? Consider the Israelites at Kadesh Barnea. Previously, God had given Abraham victory over the Amalekites in battle here. The Israelites came here to send out the 12 spies into the Promised Land. Later Moses and Aaron are refused entry into the Promised Land because they dishonored God by striking the rock instead of speaking to it per God’s instructions.

https://www.gotquestions.org/Kadesh-Barnea.html

Recall that God had delivered the Israelites numerous times in Exodus. Consider the many miracles and signs of God’s presence and provision! Yet, when the time comes to enter the Promised Land the people rebel and refuse to believe in God. For this reason, God keeps them in the Wilderness until the entire adult generation (except Joshua and Caleb) dies out. There is a major cost to unbelief.

What are some signs of unbelief? Here are some areas that I’ve noticed.

1.) Loving things more than God (idolatry) 2.) Refusing to repent and believe in Him trusting in self-righteousness instead of His grace. 3). Seeking to be comfortable and neglect the work of God in proclaiming the Gospel. 4). Excluding others to create cliches and dominate the fellowship/church-making church about personal preferences.

Unbelief is a deadly hazard to a person’s soul. Like sharp rocks near the surface, unbelief “shipwrecks” people. The author of Hebrews warns us about this fatal danger.

Hebrews 3:12-19 The Peril of Unbelief

12See to it, brothers, that none of you has a wicked heart of unbelief that turns away from the living God. 13But exhort one another daily, as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. 14We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly to the end the assurance we had at first. 15As it has been said:

“Today, if you hear His voice,

do not harden your hearts,

as you did in the rebellion.”

16For who were the ones who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? 17And with whom was God angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? 18And to whom did He swear that they would never enter His rest? Was it not to those who disobeyed? 19So we see that it was because of their unbelief that they were unable to enter.

A wicked heart is one that doesn’t believe in Christ and turns away from God. Sin is deceitful and deadly. The author of Hebrews quotes from Psalm 95.

Enduring Word Commentary explains the deceitfulness of sin:

Unbelief and sin are deceitful because when we don’t believe God, we don’t stop believing – we simply start believing in a lie.

i. One great danger of sin is its deceitfulness. If it came with full revelation, full exposure of all its consequences, it would be unattractive – but the nature of sin is deceitfulness.

https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/hebrews-3/ accessed 3/26/24

What does verse 14 mean within the context of scripture? Consider the term “overcomer.”

Overcoming is often equated with enduring. Jesus encouraged those who followed Him to “endure to the end” (Matthew 24:13).

A true disciple of Christ is one who endures through trials by the power of the Holy Spirit.

An overcomer clings to Christ, no matter how high the cost of discipleship. Hebrews 3:14 says, “We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end.”

https://www.gotquestions.org/Bible-overcomer.html

Tragic truth

Consider the people God delivers in the book of Exodus. Why did they perish in the desert except for Joshua and Caleb? They refused to believe and obey God so He had them wander for forty years in the desert. This article explains the details:

https://www.gotquestions.org/wilderness-wandering.html

The same is true today. Just because a person seems religious or spiritual, attends church, or even leads/serves in a church doesn’t mean that he or she is right with God. Hebrews 3:19 explains that it was the people’s unbelief that prevented them from entering God’s rest (the Promised Land).

How does this relate to being complacent and seeking comfort as opposed to seeking Christ? How does Jesus address these dangers?

The Parable of the Sower Matthew 13

The Parable vrs 3-9

3And He told them many things in parables, saying, “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4And as he was sowing, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it.

5Some fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly because the soil was shallow. 6But when the sun rose, the seedlings were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.

7Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the seedlings.

8Still other seed fell on good soil and produced a crop—a hundredfold, sixtyfold, or thirtyfold.

9He who has ears, let him hear.”

Jesus Explains in verses 18-23

The Parable of the Sower Explained
(Mark 4:13–20; Luke 8:11–15)

18Consider, then, the parable of the sower: 19When anyone hears the message of the kingdom but does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path.

20The seed sown on rocky ground is the one who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21But since he has no root, he remains for only a season. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away.

22The seed sown among the thorns is the one who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

23But the seed sown on good soil is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and produces a crop—a hundredfold, sixtyfold, or thirtyfold.”

The soil represents the human heart. The path is the hardened soil–compacted by human foot steps. The rocky soil lacks depth so that the roots can’t get adequate moisture to sustain growth especially when dry spells come. The seed that is sown among thorns is that which becomes unfruitful. The reason for the lack of fruit is “worries of life and deceitfulness of wealth.”

This commentary explains this parable in detail: https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/matthew-13/

The important question for us is what type of soil is our heart?

The man looks up to heaven for his purpose and future. We were created for Someone far bigger than the world around us!

Worry and Deceitful wealth: Worldly Focus

Recall the rich young ruler in Luke 18:

https://biblehub.com/bsb/luke/18.htm

22On hearing this, Jesus told him, “You still lack one thing: Sell everything you own and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”

23But when the ruler heard this, he became very sad, because he was extremely wealthy.

24Seeing the man’s sadness, Jesus said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! 25Indeed, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

Why did Jesus ask this man to give away his wealth?

Jesus challenged the man to love God more than money and material things. The man failed this challenge. Essentially, this man was an idolater: he loved money and material things more than God. . .

Jesus asked the ruler to give up his money because He could see money was an idol. He asked him to give it to the poor because He could see that he didn’t love others the way he should.

https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/luke-18/

The rich young ruler walks away in sorrow. He wasn’t willing to part with his wealth which he treasured more than eternal life.

Before we dismiss this as being a problem of a certain rich man, what about the things, possessions, attitudes, and beliefs in our lives that keep us from Christ? Why are we so determined in seeking comfort, ease, and prosperity more than we seek God? Our worries can literally “choke” out our faith and cause us to be unproductive. Do you ever worry or doubt? Does it impact our witness?

Come to the cross in repentance, trusting God to give you a new heart one that loves and seeks Him first!

John warns us in 1 John 2:15-17

Do Not Love the World

15Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world. 17The world is passing away, along with its desires; but whoever does the will of God remains forever.

May we love Christ more than all the material things that He graciously gives us!