I am doing a study on spiritual laziness and i wanted to ask if somebody knows some resources on this subject. It can sermon or articles. It doesnt matter.
Thank you for your help
God bless you
I have a few thought to share along these lines; not necessarily 'laziness' but spiritual slumber and sleep.
Paul told the Romans that it was 'high time to awake' out of sleep. (Romans 13:11-13) Here awake is Gk. egerio. This is a natural waking up after sleeping all night. We get tired in this world and need rest, but we must not sleep in. Time is running out. We need to be alert in this crisis hour. The slothful will just 'sleep on'.
Paul told the Corinthian church, Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame. (1 Corinthians 15:34) This word awake (Gk. eknepsate) is a stronger word than simply awaking after a good nights rest. We have the word used in the Septuagint (LXX) here:
And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him. (Genesis 9:24 LXX)
But it came to pass in the morning, when the wine was gone out of Nabal, and his wife had told him these things, that his heart died within him, and he became as a stone. (1 Samuel 25:37 LXX)
When the 'wine had gone out' is that one Greek term for awake. It denoted a return from inebriation; in a spiritual sense it means to return to soberness of mind from the intoxication of sin.
We see then that there are levels of 'sleep' and 'slumber'. Natural sleep is just that, but there is a danger that sin and this world's influence can bring on a deeper sense of slumber, almost like an intoxication that has to be slept off. There has to be a 'detox'.
Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry ye out, and cry: they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink. For the LORD hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered. (Isaiah 29:9, 10)
This is a fearful consequence of desiring evil and rejecting the truth of God. This passage is quoted in part by Paul in Romans 11:8 to describe what has happened to unbelieving Jews and to all that love darkness rather than light. Some may think that dabbling in sin has no price, but our passage proves otherwise. This is what Paul is telling Corinth I believe, we need to put away things from our life that influence us into a spiritual inebriated slumber. Sin has that type of an effect. Worldliness has this effect.
To be cured we have to seek rest in the Lord and consciously choose to abstain from worldliness and sin. Anything that quenches our desire for God ought to be labeled compromise at best and sin at worst. A sober and alert mind is what God is looking for in the Saints in these last days. As Israel of old when they were leaving Egypt, we must be ready to march on into the will of God. We need our loins girded and our staff in our hands. A sober mind is ready to face the adversary. A slothful, sleep-on, devotional life will lead to destruction. We need to be alert and ready for the Master's use. Just some thoughts.
I see strong wine (false doctrine) and greed linked to slumber.
Isa 56:10 His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.
Isa 56:11 Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter.
Lord help us all to wake up so we may escape the impending judgement.
Julius
You might want to look into some of Oswald Chamber's lectures, he had a strong emphasis on developing habits to overcome hindrances in every realm of the Christian's life.
You might want to try The Moral Foundations of Life and Workmen of God.
In Christ,
Ron
We live in this world so its spirit constantly affects us plus multitudes of false spirits when we are on our way to get to know God. All this influence makes us tired and weary so we naturally want to close our spiritual eyes and rest. But we must not fall asleep, we need to decern what is coming our way, and when we are tired we must rest in Him, not in our natural man which is vurnable and unreliable. it is a difficult discipline at the begining and when there are lots of things going on, getting easier with experience and when we do only what He tells us, that is a light burden He gives.
In reading all the prior posts the issue of being desensitized spiritually came to mind. The more we become desensitized the more we fall asleep spiritually. Things that were once horrifying to us become acceptable and not a big deal anymore. We give in and are blinded by the world the flesh and the devil. As a church collectively we have been desensitized in many areas of sin. It is indeed time for us to wake up and take a stand for Christ and His kingdom and its righteousness in this hour. As Robert pointed out it begins by putting off all sin and worldliness in our lives and seeking Him above all else.
Robert,
I am blessed beyond words by your post! It's one of the most timely messages for our world right now. This is exactly what's been on my heart for the last year. I believe that this is the heart of God for His people right now, to awaken them from their slumber and bring them back from the wooing of the world and it's offerings.
It's no coincidence that the earth is enduring extreme trials right now. Countries are in upheaval, the world economy hangs by an invisible thread, violence is rampant, tyrannical governments abound, morality has been twisted and redefined, and, yet, in the middle of it all, we're still a people of pleasures and entertainment.
I believe whole-heartedly that God is in the middle of all of it, using it to warn and awaken His people to repentance and action. All that can be shaken IS being shaken and ONLY what is of God will stand.
All that we are enduring at this time is God's GRACE and MERCY on us!
I believe He is saying, as He once did in Jeremiah 5:20 - "Do you not fear Me?’ says the LORD. Will you not tremble at My presence..."
As Mark says many times, "If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!"
Itcseens the saints are sleeping maiy
The church is awake in places like Iran and China. These two countries are experiencing great revivals. The house church movement has been declared a danger to Islam by the religious and political leaders of Iran. In N Korea evangelist risk their lives to share Christ. The church is wide awake in the restricted nations. It is only in the unrestricted nations like America where she slumbers.
Below is URL to the Sermon RESISTING THE WORLDS PROPAGANDA by A. W. Tozer:
“Slavery of the mind is controlled by; Means of ideas supplied to the mind; And obedience is rendered.. Willingly! And the victims are unaware, that they are rendering obedience…And are quite satisfied!
…and have no desire to be freed from it.”
THE GREATEST WAR OF TODAY, IS THE WAR TO WIN CONTROL OF THE MINDS! (from A.W. Tozer, Resisting the Worlds Propaganda, Eph. 5:15,16).
RESISTING THE WORLDS PROPAGANDA by A. W. Tozer, is a great sermon on why a large percentage of Christians are dead asleep, and they don't know it.
We are born in an age, where mainstream Christian doctrine (in America) is preached by a conglomerate of false (antichrist) preachers.
The media and advertisers have brainwashed us from birth, to the point, that our conscience is seared with a hot iron from television, the world wide spider web, etc. We are as a frog sitting in warm water, in a hot tub religious comfort zone,...that is really boiling now, and don’t know it.
Below is URL to the Sermon:
http://www.cmalliance.org/resources/audio/tozer/sermons/Dangers%20in%20the%20Way%206.mp3
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