Revival Conference 2007 - Don Currin - Part 2

That Amos does not issue this warning, War be to those who are at ease in Zion. He does not issue this warning to the drunkards, to the adulterers, to the God-haters of his day. This is issued to those that are spiritually complacent. They're indifferent toward God. Tragically, in our own culture of affluence, we live Christianity on a lounge and we forget that it was born on an old, rugged cross. We have become so consumed with pleasure that we see the life of self-denial a threat to our happiness, and certainly something that is unnecessary for eternal salvation. It was Charles Spurgeon who warned, Doeth that man love his Lord, that would be willing to see Jesus wearing a crown of thorns? While for himself he prays a chapel of laurel? Shall Jesus ascend to his throne by the cross, and do we expect to be carried there on the shoulders of applauding crowds? Be not so vain in your imagination. Count you the cost, and if you're not willing to bear Christ's cross, go away to your farm and to your merchandise and make the most of them. Only let me whisper this in your ear, What should a man profit, be profit if he should gain the whole world and lose his own soul? You recall the hymn writer, George Bernard, who penned the words to that blessed hymn, The Old Rugged Cross. One of those stanzas goes like this, Oh, that old rugged cross, so despised in the world, has a wondrous attraction to me. For the dear Lamb of God left his glory above to bear it on dark Calvary. Milton, my theory is today that the cross of Christ has lost that wondrous attraction to the average professing Christian in the church. Stanley, the cross no longer possesses that attraction. It is looked upon with such contempt within the church in this day and hour that many are ashamed of it. Those who sought to forget the ultimate judgment of God by immersing themselves in the affluence of the mountain of Samaria here in our text are like the vast multitude in the church of North America. Our generation has attempted to remove coming judgment from its thinking and preaching so that lost people are made to feel comfortable in church. Now, please don't misunderstand me. I think we need to minister to lost people. I think we need to go out of our way to accommodate them and help them in the spirit of gentleness. The servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle unto all men. But I tell you, friend, sometimes it seems as if many churches are watering down the influence of the Word and apologizing for the effect that their lives have upon people that are dead in trespasses and sins. Our generation has attempted to remove judgment from its thinking and preaching so that these lost people feel comfortable in church. Tragically, many, not a few, but many are sleeping the sleep of spiritual death because of the unwillingness of preachers to proclaim the reality of impending doom. Listen to me, brethren. The day the tsunami came and swept tens of thousands of people away during Indonesia and the surrounding countries, many people were unconscious of the potential devastation because they were intoxicated on pleasure. That is the picture we have here in Amos chapter number 6. Now, I want to make this very simple this morning. I agree with Spurgeon there is a blessing in brevity, but I want to share with you some things that God is burning on my heart, and I trust that He in turn will burn upon your heart this morning. First of all, I want us to consider what it means to be at ease in Zion. That's our text, verse number 1. Woe to them that are at ease in Zion. What is the definition? What is an applicable definition? But what is, first of all, the biblical definition of being at ease in Zion? It means to be careless or secure. You see, the idea here is these people were resting on their religious laurels, their religious traditions, and their prosperity, and this affluence had bred a deadly complacency. John Gill said Zion was a stronghold, the city of David, the seat of the kings of Judah, where their court was kept and the princesses and chief men resided and thought themselves safe, the place being well fortified with walls, towers, and boards. At ease here is referring to an easy, prosperous, comfortable circumstance of life. That is a picture of our churches in North America. The idea is that they were resting on the laurels of their own tradition. Now, what does it mean more personally to be at ease? Listen carefully. When one is at ease, they neglect God. They neglect God. You know, my problem with coming to conferences like this is that oftentimes all this does is jumpstart some cold, carnal people that have been that way for years. Can I say this to you? If you've been cold and carnal, if you've been dabbling in things that are wicked and abominable in the sight of God, if your life has been the living example of a hypocrite friend, I tell you, perhaps you don't need a touch of God or a Bible. You need to be born again. I agree with J.C. Ryle. Where there is no holy living, there is no holy ghost. And if you're in Christ, I tell you, he will make you holy. Doesn't mean you're perfect, friend. We're not talking about perfection. We're talking about perseverance. We're talking about rising up when we do stumble, when we do sin, when we do grieve the Holy Spirit. But to stay in a constant state of complacency and apathy for month after month after month and year after year is not a good sign that we've ever been born again. Perhaps you're sitting there today and you're a stranger to the grace of God because God's grace will make you holy, make you like his beloved son. What does it mean to be at ease? It means to neglect God. It means to live indifferently toward him. It refers to a people who profess to know Christ but live carelessly. There is a neglect of prayer, holiness, obedience, family worship, and the life of consecration. You see, when one is at ease, biblical truth is not altogether denied but neglected. God's word no longer governs what they do, where they go, what they watch on television, or how they think. Guarding their hearts, their tongue, and their time is often looked upon as legalistic. They desire a Savior that delivers from hell but not one that delivers from self and sin. It's interesting, friend, that one of the purposes of Jesus dying on the cross And by the way, oftentimes we only glean the benefits that man receives in Christ's death on the cross. But there are stores of redemptive purposes in Christ laying down his life on the cross.