TOPIC:‌"The Tragedy of Living Among the Easy"

                  by Rev. Dr. Reg Dunlap

 

TEXT:‌Luke 12:16-20

 

"Take your ease; Eat, drink, and be merry" (12:19, NKJV)

 

‌The Word of God makes use of the term "ease" some 19 times. Most often it is used as a symbol to describe the softness, comfortableness and complacency by which scores of Christians live their lives. It characterizes a state of living that is sterile, static and sluggish for which God has no use.

 

‌God's attitude for Christian living and Christian commitment is that is should be dynamic and disciplined. The word that should describe it is involvement. Listen to the severe criticism Christ had for the group of Christians at Laodicea whose lives were sickeningly lukewarm: "I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth" (Revelation 3:15, 16). Here the risen Lord exhibits His disgust for moderately warm Christian living. Those who have a smug complacency for the things of God.

 

‌In this message I want us to look at four Bible verses where the word "ease" is used in various situations. In each case they exhibit God's indignation for that way of living. Let's begin our study.

 

I.

 

‌To begin with, let us think of the ease of being DISGRACEFULLY STAGNANT. The word stagnant means not flowing, not active, dull, a foul smell from lack of motion. We must now turn to Jeremiah chapter 48 verse 11 where we read: "Moab has been at ease from his youth." Here the Moabites, descendants of Lot through an incestuous relationship with one of his daughters, lived at ease and alone in their prosperity. From their earliest days as a nation they were prosperous, fortified and wealthy. They filled their coffers with the things of this world as they continued to plot against God's people Israel. At ease in their prosperity, they lived in carnality.

 

‌And they did not change. They remained secured in their sins and complacent toward the things of God that really mattered. So Jeremiah, this prophet of God, proclaimed a message of doom upon a people who were disgracefully stagnant. Listen to his words of Moab's destruction as found in verses 12 and 16: "Therefore behold, the days are coming says the Lord. That I shall send him wine workers Who will tip him over And empty his vessels and break the bottles.” Then in verse 16 we read these words: “The calamity of Moab is near at hand. And his affliction comes quickly." This prophecy was later fulfilled when the Moabites were totally destroyed by Babylon.

 

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