TITLE : SPIRITUAL NEGLECT AND SLIPPING AWAY
Hebrews 2:1-4
For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it. For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty, how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, those who heard confirmed it to us.
INTRODUCTION:
Common reasons for neglect are, all of these people are having depression, anxiety, obsessive and aggressive attitude, living in a careless life. Those who suffered loss of loved ones, got rejected, failure in profession. They’re constantly looking for something that could satisfy them, comfort and makes them happy, but it seems none of it is enough. So they keep adding and accumulating.
Each passing day they have neglected to live a decent and a normal life.. They have neglected to care of themselves; they have lost the sense of judgement to differentiate right from wrong, what is to keep and to let go, then living in isolation and hopelessness.
TITLE: “SPIRITUAL NEGLECT AND SLIPPING AWAY”
- SERIOUSNESS AND THE CAUSES OF SPIRITUAL NEGLECT.
- RESULT OF SPIRITUAL NEGLECT AND SIGNS OF SLIPPING AWAY
- PATH TO RESTORATION AND RENEWAL
What is NEGLECT?
Neglect is defined as to ignore or fail to care for someone or something or fail to do something.
Omission; leniency to do any thing that can be done or that requires to be done. Neglect may be from carelessness or intention; it is a state of being disregarded. The neglect of business is the cause of many failures, but neglect of economy is more frequent and more injurious..
- CAUSES OF SPIRITUAL NEGLECT
- UNCHECKED LUST
Peter’s warning could not be more explicit: “Abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul” (I Peter 2:11). Impure thoughts and freshly cultivated fantasies will only dull our sense of spiritual things.
Harboring lust defiles our conscience, feeds our sinful flesh, and withers our spiritual vitality.
- PRIDE
Pride kills faith in Jesus. If we are nurturing self-love, seeking praise and appreciation from our friends, our congregation, our professors, our supervisor, or those who read our blogs, we will find out very quickly that “God opposes the proud” (James 4:6). Our souls will shrivel as we fill them with the glory that comes from man. On the other hand, turning from ourselves and our reputations to exalt Christ at all costs will bring about spiritual renewal since, “[God] gives grace to the humble.”
- LOVE OF MONEY AND MATERIAL THINGS
Jesus connects our physical gaze with our spiritual sight in Matthew 6:19-23. Christ instructs us to store up lasting treasures in heaven rather than temporary riches here on earth.
Whether we do this or not will have a significant impact on our affections, for “where our treasure is, there our heart will be also.”
“The eye is the lamp of the body. So if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness” (vv. 22-23).
In other words, if we are fixed upon the glitter of earthly riches, the brightness God’s glory cannot shine into our hearts and we will only suffer spiritual thirst.
- NEGLECT OF RESPONSIBILITIES
When we choose laziness over diligence, this can often lead to spiritual dryness, even depression.We were made to work. Laziness never satisfies. That is one reason why Scripture is full with commands to pursue diligence and faithfulness.
If we find ourselves in a spiritual desert, we should consider whether or not we have been faithful in our responsibilities.
- BUSYNESS
DeYoung writes, “Busyness kills more Christians than bullets.
It produces joyless Christianity. It reduces Jesus down to a person we occasionally talk about but don’t engage personally and intimately. We know about Him while lacking the soul-satisfying experience of knowing Him. And busyness does a number on our souls when it comes to church. We will allow worldly busyness to cause us to easily miss church without regret.
Ex: King Rehoboam – was considered a bad king. God said of this ungodly king, “And he did evil, for he did not set his heart to seek the Lord.”2 Chronicles 12:14
The Lord God states that a heart not set on seeking Him, or spiritually neglecting Him, is evil.
Many of us have a full plate, but not one of us is too busy to seek God. When it comes to this spiritual discipline, it is never a time issue, but a heart and desireissue.
- RESULT OFSPIRITUAL NEGLECT AND SIGNS OF SLIPPING AWAY
Life can become too busy. Or circumstances are disappointing, or we are distracted, and we, even unknowingly, gradually fall into spiritual self-neglect. It’s usually a slow and subtle process.
We may not have fallen into actual sin that we can put our finger on, but we know that our relationship with God isn’t what it once was or should be. We become lawless in that we no longer feel comfortable in the lifestyle that Jesus calls us to live. We begin to reject it by ignoring or avoiding it. 2 Peter 3:17-18 says,
“Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.”
Peter warns us that not only should we be on our guard to not fall away from our secure position(s), but also we should be actively growing.
SIGNS OF SLIPPING AWAY
- Worship music has begun to sound unappealing or stale.
Worship is becoming dull or difficult. (Habakkuk 3:17-18)
- You haven’t had a conversation in ages about what God is
Saying to you or teaching you.
- You’re struggling with believing that God hears and answers your prayers.
- Most of your Christian friends irritate and annoy you because you’ve lost your grace toward them.
- Going to church is a chore.
There is no such thing as a spiritual blowout; there are only slow leaks. When you examine any spiritual failure, you always discover that there has been a slow spiritual decline. It was probably in secret. He kept up the outer appearances. He continued to look the part of a godly man. But in his heart, he was not judging sin. He was not evaluating himself in light of Scripture. Slowly the air was leaking out of his spiritual tires, but we didn’t see it until they were flat.
Even though we may not have a rebellious spirit, falling into Spiritual neglect is a doorway to rebellion.
E.g. King Saul.
- PATH TO RESTORATION AND RENEWAL
The possibility of falling away due to spiritual neglect is a very real and present danger for any of us. But we can come in repentance and faith (Acts 20:21)Repentance means turning to God from sin (1 Thes. 1:9).
Faith trusts what Christ has done to pay for our sins on the cross, rather than trusting our own efforts or good works to save us (Eph. 2:8-10). Just as we cannot turn north without turning our backs on the south, so we cannot turn to a Holy God for salvation without turning our backs on any known sin in our lives. We cannot trust in Christ to save us without rejecting trust in our own efforts to save ourselves. We need to let go and release of those trashes from our hearts in order for the Holy Spirit to do the make over in our lives.
The Christian life begins with repentance and faith, but it also continues with repentance and faith on a daily basis, whenever we sin or when God’s Word opens our eyes to sin that we previously were not aware of.
We need to take note:
- Remembrance of God’s Word.
All repentance begins when we remember the word of the Lord. What does the Lord say about what I have done? That is the issue. Men may minimize my sin, but God’s Word is the final authority. It tells me that I have sinned.
- Conviction of our sin.
The Lord’s look penetrated down to Peter’s conscience after he denied Him 3 times. Jesus didn’t have to say anything. Peter was deeply convicted in his heart. He didn’t try to paper over it or make excuses or rationalize it away. Conviction acknowledges that God is right and I’m wrong.
- Godly sorrow over sin.
This will vary with the seriousness of the sin and the personality of the sinner, but when our consciences realize that we have sinned against a Savior who loved us enough to die for us, we will mourn over our sin. We won’t be flippant or shrug it off.
- Appropriation of Christ’s sacrifice for our sin.
Jesus had already begun to suffer for our sins as He endured abuse at the hands of sinners. That sacrifice would be completed on the cross, where Jesus cried out, “It is finished” (John 19:30). We cannot atone for our sins by our sorrow or penance. Christ fully paid the penalty that we owe. We can only appropriate Christ’s sacrifice to cover our sins.
- Appreciation of God’s abundant grace.
Christ felt the pain of our failures, yet He also communicated His great love and grace. What amazing grace, that Christ chose us, knowing full well how we would fail Him! His grace saved us and it keeps us unto the day when we shall be with Him forever.
Christians believe in and thank God for His grace as the only basis for forgiveness. If you need to be restored, you must repent of your sin and trust again in God’s grace and mercy.
CONCLUSION:
In order to find our souls once again, and be captivated with the joy of our salvation, we must confess these sins and turn from them.
Let’s start taking our eyes away from earthly offers that deviate us away from God.
We need to guard our hearts.
Remember, His grace and mercy will lead and sustain us to start all over again. After the completion of His work on the cross for our redemption and descended to heaven. He has send the Holy Spirit as He had promised, to help us clear the clutters of our soul, to renew and restore us again to glorify God.
