Let us Pray:
Lord Jesus, we thank You for another
chance to learn at Your feet.
Open up our hearts to receive freely from You.
There is no form of resistance to Your word in us. As Your word comes, let it
break us and then let it mould us back. Let it leave us exactly as you’d want
us to be.
These words we receive tonight are alive to us
all. It is powerful and it causes the change you desire in us.
Amen.
Tonight, I will be teaching on something the
Lord has strongly laid upon my heart; not even just for Word Alive, but also
the body of Christ at large and I’d like everyone to pay attention.
Do not let your first reaction be “Oh! I’m not
among”, because you may actually be among. Follow the progression.
Do not also leave this place tonight promising
to address this at another time. There is a sense of urgency to it.
SPIRITUAL
LETHARGY
The Lord has laid this strongly on my heart for
a while now.
A large portion of us are in this place.
Tonight, we will delve in to find out what it
means. Not just its literal meaning, what it means to our walk in Christ and
what the Lord will have us do.
Question: What do we understand by Spiritual Lethargy?
Anointing: Laziness in our walk with God?
Complacency
Samson: No spiritual
motivation/inspiration. You are just there spiritually.
Teemah: Lethargy yes. It is a state of showing
lack of interest or having this “I don’t care” attitude.
Ruth Malachy: Yes...It's a place of not being
concerned about how your walk with God is. No prayer. No word study. Everything
about God seems tiring. Nothing about God seems interesting anymore.
Segun Joseph: It is like an Undulation,
more like a seasonal affective demotivation. It affects everyone, as it is a
natural inclination in humans.
What
is spiritual lethargy?
Spiritual lethargy is a state of indifference to our spiritual
walk.
A certain kind of tiredness/laziness which
sometimes, is not even the absence of spiritual activities.
There are times we are actually engaging in
spiritual activities yet in a state of spiritual lethargy. You are
praying/studying the Bible but it is more of a routine now. There is something
missing and you know it.
In this state, there is less joy in communion
and fellowship with God.
For most people, you know it, you see it but you can’t just seem to help yourself.
The things we used to find joy in doing have now
become mere activities to us.
Spiritual lethargy can also be us settling in
complacency. That self-satisfaction with where we are at, that comes with being
unaware that our current posture is actually dangerous. I think this one is
more common with people that are still getting activities done; because they
are “doing”, it is harder to spot.
It’s a false sense of security that we need to
call out and wake up from!
As we proceed with this teaching, one hill I want
everyone to sit firmly on is this:
Spiritual
Lethargy is a weapon of satan to weaken our faith and damage our relationship
with God. It is distraction and ultimately, destruction lying in wait.
This is the end goal with the devil, always!
And I say that if you are here, please treat
this teaching as serious.
A little sleep, a little slumber, A little
folding of the hands to rest, Proverbs 24:33 NASB2020
This is how it starts!
Disguised as not so serious
It is “just”
And before you know it, your whole essence in
Christ is being attacked.
For those who are wondering how to spot if they
are actually spiritually lethargic, I will be sharing some symptoms to look out
for. It could be for you, one, more or all.
But if you see anything there that applies to
you, I need you to pay attention to this teaching.
Symptoms
of Spiritual Lethargy
Little or no desire to pray or study the word:
1. Little or no desire to pray or study the Word: If you’ve been struggling to study the word or pray and and you know this is not how it used to be. There was once a time that you looked forward to these things but now, your desire for it is dwindling, it is a sign of spiritual lethargy. Something to note here also is that this particular symptom sometimes opens up first with valid struggles. For instance, maybe you got a new job, or something really “valid” is keeping you busy and away from these things. So first, it starts with struggles but see, your enemy is cunning. The devil is not stopping at that. His goal is never for you to struggle, his aim is always destruction. So he will move up higher. From struggling, you just notice that your desire for the word and prayer has reduced drastically. Another thing he uses is life issues and trials. Going through a difficult time and you just need a break? First, just a break and before you know it, desire attacked! forced rhythm in our spiritual walk.
2. Forced rhythm in our spiritual walk
3. Joy and excitement for the Lord is missing
4. Indulging in sinful thoughts or actions
5. Decrease in appetite for the Lord Himself
6. Christ has become a cultural artifact
7. Loss of passion and zeal for God: Please do not mistake this with works. Your zeal for work can still be intact yet you are in this state where it is the Lord Himself you’ve lost passion for (you will understand this better as we progress)
8. Lack of life in spiritual activities. I say this one is sufferhead because you are just doing without any form of joy or life
9. Tiredness
10. Weakness and fatigue
11. Constant complaints about work for God/walk in Christ. It almost feels like you are being forced.
12. Blurred lines (you are shifting goalposts). The things you’d say outright NOs to before now you are either silent or giving consideration/excuses.
13. Withdrawal from church activities and friendships
14. Lack of commitment to the things God has placed in your hands
15. Cold formalism and religiosity
16. Sin. Engaging in sin and shaking off the remorse almost immediately. I think this is a height. To get here, a lot has happened. You gossip more now and your spirit doesn’t even shake? Spiritual lethargy has passed a lot of stages at this point.
If you read all of these, noticed a symptom but
somehow underplayed it in your heart or gave a valid excuse for that symptom
you saw come up in your heart, please I beg of you, I need you to pause.
You see, one of the ways the enemy keeps people
bound is to give them a faux sense of assurance.
You’ve spotted the symptoms but now there are
valid excuses that you have accepted. What it now means is that you’ve told
yourself that you do not need help. So you stay bound in a lie that you now
believe to be true.
Again,
pause everyone.
Let me proceed,
One of the things spiritual lethargy does to you
is make you uncommitted.
”Elijah came to all the people and said, “You
must decide what you are going to do. How long will you keep jumping from one
side to the other? If the Lord is the true God, follow him. But if Baal is the
true God, then follow him!” The people said nothing.“ 1 Kings 18:21 ERV
You are wavering in both your beliefs and
commitment.
Another thing I’ve found is that the effects of
spiritual lethargy are both physical, spiritual and mental.
Spiritual lethargy comes with it a loss of the
Joy of our salvation.
It is this Joy that keeps our mind intact
especially in this world where ten things are happening at the same time.
Spiritual lethargy makes us prone to depression. It gives exhaustion to our
innermost being, our soul! So we must identify this as the tool of destruction
that it is.
We must not gloss over it saying
“I’ve
just noticed my appetite for God has reduced a bit.”
“I’ve
just been tired to pray recently”
“I’ve
just had a lot on my plate”
No!
NO!
Nothing
is “just”
The devil seeks to destroy
Open your eyes everyone!
Nothing is Just!
There is only one endgame for Satan and it is
destruction.
Also know this: Satan does not mind playing the
long game.
In fact, he enjoys playing the long game because
what it means is that you can slip slowly without noticing.
If someone loses weight at once, let’s say 30kg
within 3 months, it will be so noticeable. But imagine seeing someone every day
and they are losing this 30kg weight within the space of 30 years, it is almost
unnoticeable. The people who see them every day will not figure it that they’ve
lost a lot.
The devil loves the long game.
We’ve touched on what spiritual lethargy is and
symptoms of it in our lives.
As I began to ponder on these things, I was led
to the root cause of it
Spiritual
Lethargy; THE ROOT!
Write the following to the messenger of the
congregation in Ephesus. For these are the words of the one who holds the seven
stars firmly in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands: I
know all that you’ve done for me—you have worked hard and persevered. I know
that you don’t tolerate evil. You have tested those who claimed to be apostles
and proved they are not, for they were imposters. I also know how you have
bravely endured trials and persecutions because of my name, yet you have not
become discouraged. But I have this against you: you have abandoned the
passionate love you had for me at the beginning. Revelation 2:1-4 TPT
”Write this to Ephesus, to the Angel of the
church. The One with Seven Stars in his right-fist grip, striding through the
golden seven-lights’ circle, speaks: “I see what you’ve done, your hard, hard
work, your refusal to quit. I know you can’t stomach evil, that you weed out
apostolic pretenders. I know your persistence, your courage in my cause, that
you never wear out. “But you walked away from your first love—why? What’s going
on with you, anyway? Do you have any idea how far you’ve fallen? A Lucifer
fall! “Turn back! Recover your dear early love. No time to waste, for I’m well
on my way to removing your light from the golden circle.“ Revelation 2:1-5 MSG
To the angel (divine messenger) of the church in
Ephesus write: These are the words of the One who holds [firmly] the seven
stars [which are the angels or messengers of the seven churches] in His right
hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands (the seven churches):
‘I know your deeds and your toil, and your patient endurance, and that you
cannot tolerate those who are evil, and have tested and critically appraised
those who call themselves apostles (special messengers, personally chosen
representatives, of Christ), and [in fact] are not, and have found them to be
liars and impostors; and [I know that] you [who believe] are enduring patiently
and are bearing up for My name’s sake, and that you have not grown weary [of being
faithful to the truth Revelation
2:1-3 AMP
Write this to the angel of the church in
Ephesus: “Here is a message from the one who holds the seven stars in his right
hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. “I know what you do, how hard
you work and never give up. I know that you don’t accept evil people. You have
tested those who say they are apostles but are not. You found that they are
liars. You never stop trying. You have endured troubles for my name and have
not given up. “But I have this against you: You have left the love you had in
the beginning. Revelation
2:1-4 ERV
GNB Revelation 2:4 “But this is what I have against
you: you do not love me now as you did at first.”
I need us to look carefully at the church in
Ephesus
Endurance and perseverance? ✅
Theologically sound ✅
Morally upright✅
They were actually not even engaging in sin per
day
They labored for God
They did not tolerate evil
They did all for God
They had endured a lotttt
Yet!
Yet! Just one thing:
They
had left their first love
The church Jesus spoke of here was actually
plagued with Spiritual lethargy
It wasn’t like the church in Ephesus now hated
Christ or denounced him. We didn’t even know if they were indulging in sinful
acts but the accusation is this: you have left your first love
And this brings me to the definition I want us
to hold;
Spiritual
lethargy is a state where we are found to have left our first love
You
have left your first love
Just 6 words but the spiritual catastrophe this
is able to invoke!
I know that if we accused many of us of this, we
will say No
We are in Christ
We love the Lord
Jesus is my everything
But you see, when the Lord began to break this
down to me
It rendered my heart completely
I realized even I am guilty
So tonight, I want you to know that I have not
come to teach you that which I myself am not guilty of.
I have come to lay bare the heart of the Lord to
everyone of us.
Look at how the Good News put it: You
do not love me now as you did at first
You know when
you want to argue with the Lord that you love Him and He is saying “No”
Not this
Not this love
This one is not it
I need you to
pause and think back on when you first accepted Christ or your journey with Him
in totality, then think of that one time that Christ was actually your first
love. That period that your heart burned so brightly for Him before the cares
of this world came in.
That holy love
It wasn’t
tainted by anything
The one you
remember and your eyes light up
See this is the
part I need us to be honest and vulnerable with the Lord
Think on this
with all sincerity it is the only way you will receive help.
Is there a
better in love moment with God in previous years than now ?
And if you want
to lie to yourself that it’s just your expression of this love that has
changed, I’m here to help you crumble that lie from its foundation before you
even start building on it.
Is your love
for God still Glowing?
Is this the best
Glow?
Please don’t just read
Pause, reflect
How many of us
have found that there was a time this love was truly purer than this?
More whole,
Had a deeper
longing to it?
How many of us?
👋
You started out
with such a burst of spiritual energy and speed only to allow yourself be sunk
in the mire of spiritual lethargy.
You know it’s you I’m speaking to.
But
when the righteous turns away from his righteousness, and commits iniquity, and
doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man does, shall he
live? All his righteousness that he has done SHALL NOT BE MENTIONED: for in his
trespass that he has trespassed, and in his sin that he has sinned, IN THEM
SHALL HE DIE! Ezekiel
18:24
This is the aim
of the enemy
The end goal;
That you turn away from God
There is this
phrase my mum uses: I get am before
no be property
“I used to be very vibrant” does not stand before the Lord
“I used to love the lord o” is no longer a valid statement. My job tonight
is to first scatter whatever comfort hole you’ve built for yourself in this
state of spiritual lethargy, and then remind every single one of your first
love.
Spiritual Lethargy; THE CURE
1. Admit where you are at: One of the greatest way to receive help from
God is to first admit that we truly have a problem. Like I said earlier, you
can’t keep dismissing or discarding it. You can’t keep pretending that this
lethargy is not eating you up slowly. You know the truth. So first, you must
leave that bubble you have built for yourself. You must come out of that
comfort hole by the truth!
2. Stop Fighting:
On your own,
you cannot fight this exhaustion/tiredness. You will not win even if you tried.
You’d only wind up more tired.
So what do you
do instead?
Stay in God’s
presence until He helps you.
Stay right
there until help arrives
Refuse to leave
until you can see help
3. The Presence
Seek His
presence and stay there
The kind of
staying where you say to yourself that if I’m not helped, I will not leave
here.
One of the
things that has helped me a lot in this walk is vulnerability with God
I don’t know
what I’m doing?
“God, I don’t know what is happening. I don’t
understand what I'm doing. I need help”
And no, not
just a quick fix
I want to see
You!
Gaze
upon him, join your life with his, and joy will come. Your faces will glisten
with glory. You’ll never wear that shame-face again. Psalms 34:5 TPT
Gaze, until
your face glistens with His glory.
Gaze, until Joy
comes
And if you
struggle with keeping your gaze on Him? Ask Him to help you gaze
You see this
one, it is one of the most powerful prayers ever!
With all of
your heart, asking for help?
God jumps at
it. This is what I’ve seen.
Just ask for
help.
And when you
don’t have words?
Sit there
Bow there
Kneel
there
It is okay that
there are no words
God, Your
Father, sees
He will help
He will lift
4. Return to Your first Love
So
remember where you were before you fell. Change your hearts and do what you did
at first. If you don’t change, I will come to you and remove your lampstand
from its place.“ Revelation
2:5 ERV
Think
about how far you have fallen! Repent and do the works of love you did at
first. I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place of influence
if you do not repent. Revelation
2:5 TPT
Resume your
former conduct
Return back to
how you loved me
Do the works of
Love you did at first
The ones
prompted by love and not obligation.
Return here.
5. REST, In God
Simply
join your life with mine. Learn my ways and you’ll discover that I’m gentle,
humble, easy to please. You will find refreshment and rest in me. For all that
I require of you will be pleasant and easy to bear. Matthew 11:29-30 TPT
God is easy to please
This journey
back with God is not as difficult as the enemy is telling you it is. Your
Father is easy to please. All He requires of you will be easy to bear. You will
not fail at it.
Come
to me all of you who are tired from the heavy burden you have been forced to
carry. I will give you rest. Accept my teaching. Learn from me. I am gentle and
humble in spirit. And you will be able to get some rest. Matthew 11:28-29 ERV
“Are
you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and
you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me
and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I
won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll
learn to live freely and lightly. Matthew 11:28-30 MSG
God is looking to start over with you, with me.
Go back to Him
Go, as child!
Go, as child!
To you who has
been thrown into spiritual lethargy,
To you who has
felt tired and exhausted lately,
This is from
Jesus to you. And I hope these words come to you as sweet.
Crawl into your
Father’s arms and fall asleep
Then let Him
wake you up 😄
Let Him help
you walk!
Let us pray
Dear God,
Dear Father,
Your word has
come to us
We have seen
our folly
We have seen
revealed to us tonight the tactics of the enemy and we repent of our part in
it.
Abba, we say
that we love You
We may not have
expressed this so well
We may have
missed a lot of things along the way
But Lord, deep
down, we do truly love You
And maybe we
don’t…
Then, teach us
to love You truly
Help us to love
You
Help us to stay
in love with You.
This is not
just another teaching, Lord
Help us!
Tonight, we
raise a cry of help to Heaven!
Let our gaze be
fixed on You
Open our eyes
to what we must do and what we must stop to do
Then give us
strength
Carry us
We allow
ourselves to be carried by You
Into Your
presence, we ask that you carry us
Help us enjoy
the beauty that Your presence is
Help us to be
satisfied in and with You
Let our hearts
fall in love with You once again
And Lord, Keep
us permanently in love with You, even until the day we appear before You in
Heaven.
In Jesus
Name,
Amen
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