At Ease?

At Ease?

by Patricia Dailey
Senior Pastor, Bethel Revival Center
43 Norwood St.
Everett, MA 02149

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Amos 6:1
Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came!

Zion refers to the church world, God's people: Woe to those who are at ease in the church. Woe to God's people who are at ease in these last days.

Woe to God's people? Why? because they are not concerned for lost souls. In fact, they have no concern for anybody but for themselves and their own family — and some are so self-centered that they don't even have a concern for their own family!

If we're not careful, we can become too comfortable in the church. God has been so good to feed our souls with His Word, but if we're not careful, we may tend to become self-centered and selfish. As long as our soul is getting fed, we don't care about going out to reach the multitudes who are in the highways and by-ways of life. There is a danger of getting so comfortable that we ease up in being concerned for others; we have no concern for others. All that matters is that we're getting blessed.

Luke 14:23
And the Lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that My house may be filled.

This is the duty of each one of God's children, without exception.

Acts 1:8
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

This power is given to us that we might be witnesses unto Jesus. But we won't find it working in our lives if we refuse to go out where the lost and dying are and open our mouths to witness to them.

When we have a concern for the lost, the Lord will give us the boldness to speak up. He will give us the words to say . . . but we have to first open our mouth.

Now, the devil will come along to put fear on those who go out to witness. He will cause them to be afraid of the way some people look.

Listen, just because someone looks big and mean doesn't mean they're not a soul whom Jesus loves. Their mean look doesn't make their heart too mean to get saved.

It seems funny that we have so much to say . . . except when it comes to telling someone about Jesus. God gave us a mouth, and He gives us the power and anointing to use it to witness. But do we?

Rise Up!

Mark 16:15b
Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature.

That's all we have to do . . . GO! and open our mouth. The Lord will be with us. He will give us the words to speak.

But some Christians don't want to speak up for the Lord unless it's from behind a pulpit or someplace else where they can get recognition.

Many of you have unsaved loved ones who live far away. They need to be witnessed to, but they're too far away for you to see. Wouldn't you feel terrible to find out that your lost mother had a Christian neighbor who never spoke to her about Jesus? Just to think that someone who possessed eternal life lived so close but had no concern for your mother's soul!

Well, what about your neighbors? Would you want their loved ones to find out that they never heard about salvation all the years they lived next door to you?

Are you afraid to speak up and tell others about Jesus? They might get saved if you spoke to them — and they might end up in hell if you don't speak to them.

Isaiah 32:9
Rise up, ye women that are at ease; hear My voice, ye careless daughters; give ear unto My speech.

Rise up! Some of you are so taken up at home yet have no time for the Lord. You live comfortably, having all you need. You're busy with all sorts of activities — hobbies, clubs, chatting on the phone, having friends over for coffee and idle talk — yet have no time to do anything for the Lord.

Yes, you do have to care for your family, yet you could still find something to do for the Lord, if you wanted to. You could intercede in prayer, pass out tracts, witness over the phone or through letters.

Listen, God expects you to rise up and use your time for eternal things.

Hear My voice, ye careless daughters! Those who are at ease, comfortable in their careless living, are urged to pay heed to what God is saying. Sure, they go to church — but only to get blessed and fed. Then they return to their comfortable homes feeling good, only to dwell at ease until the next service, with no mind for anyone but themselves.

Do you ever pray for anyone other than yourself and your family? Rise up and begin to think about others. Put away your carelessness towards the lost and dying. Put away your carelessness towards the work of the Lord. Get a godly concern stirring in your heart. Rise up and begin to intercede for others. While you're fasting and praying for the sake of others, the Lord just might tell you to go next door and witness to your neighbor!

Women Speaking for the Lord

God is speaking to you women who are saved. He wants you to rise up and let your light shine forth. Some say that a woman isn't supposed to speak up for the Lord. Yet the Bible is filled with accounts of women who were used by God:

The Woman at the Well

John 4:28
The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men . . .

This woman had a message for the men, and they paid heed to what she had to say:

John 4:29
Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?

Yes, God used this woman to reach lost souls. They believed her report and came to see the Christ for themselves.

John 4:39
And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on Him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did.

Some women are afraid to do anything for God because of the opposition it might bring from men. But if the Lord has called you to declare the Gospel, you'd best obey: whether you're a man or a women. You have to give an account to God, not to man. When you disobey the call on your life, you are disobeying Almighty God.

Often, when a woman starts to bring forth a message, men will shut their ears to what she has to say. They don't want to hear a woman being used of God because they might have to admit that God has something to say to them through her.

Isaiah 32:10
Many days and years shall ye be troubled, ye careless women: for the vintage shall fail, the gathering shall not come.

These women should have been seeking the Lord. Judgment was coming upon the land. God had warned them to get serious that they might avoid it and that they might reach others before it was too late.

And today, terrible times are coming upon this earth. God has warned of this, time after time in His Word. But those who are at ease in Zion are unprepared.

Matthew 24:37-39
But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

You should be praying. You should be fasting and seeking the Lord. You should be seeing what you can do to reach souls. Maybe you'll never be called to stand behind a pulpit, but you need to seek what the Lord would have you to do in reaching others.

Phebe

Romans 16:1,2
I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea: that ye receive her in the Lord, as becometh saints, and that ye assist her in whatsoever business she hath need of you: for she hath been a succourer of many, and of myself also.

Phebe was a servant in the church, apparently in a position of authority. Paul spoke very highly of her, urging the Roman believers to willingly assist her with whatever she needed help with. She was a succourer of many: she helped others in a time of need and was used of God to encourage many in the church.

Maybe God has called you to be a Phebe. Maybe He wants you to encourage and strengthen others with His Word.

So many run on the Scripture that says for women to be silent in the church (I Timothy 2:12). Yet the Scripture also gives many accounts of women ministering and prophesying in church (see I Corinthians 11:5).

How can a woman prophesy in church if she keeps silent? She has to use her voice to be heard, doesn't she? Yes, a woman can use her voice in ministering in church, but she shouldn't use it to socialize with her neighbor during the service (I Timothy 2:11).

Priscilla

Romans 16:3
Greet Priscilla and Aquila my helpers in Christ Jesus

Acts 18:24-26
And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus. This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John. And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.

Priscilla was Aquila's wife. She was used along with her husband to teach the Word of God. Paul considered her a big help to his ministry, along with her husband, Aquila. Yes, she was a woman who was being used of God.

Daughters and Handmaidens

Acts 2:17,18
And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: and on My servants and on My handmaidens I will pour out in those days of My Spirit; and they shall prophesy

Are you flesh? Then God has promised to pour out of His Spirit upon you even if you are a woman. But you must first rise up and lay aside your ease and carelessness. Begin to earnestly seek the Lord that He might use your life in these last days to His honor and glory.

Make Eternal Things Your Priority

Isaiah 32:11a
Tremble, ye women that are at ease; be troubled, ye careless ones

Those who are at ease aren't trembling; they're comfortable and relaxed; whereas, those who tremble have something that troubles them, causing them to be uncomfortable.

Now, you who are at ease in Zion need to tremble a bit. You need to shake yourselves from lethargy and stir yourselves with the things of God. Begin to look at your life of ease and let it trouble you. Look at where you've let down spiritually. Look at where you've disobeyed the voice of the Lord, and turn to repent of your disobedience.

There's no time to rest and take it easy. We're living in the last days. Every moment is precious and should be redeemed for the things of God.

John 9:4
I must work the works of Him that sent Me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.

Think about those words. What is going to last of all your activity in this life? How many souls have perished while you took such a careless attitude about life?

Did you ever stop to think about that? You need to. When the night comes wherein no man can work, you'll wish you had paid heed, that you'd risen up while it was day. But it will be too late then to do anything about it. All you'll have to place at the Lord's feet will be regrets.

You men realize that you can be guilty of being at ease too. Jonah was such a man. He tried to run from God, getting on board a ship that was going in the opposite direction of where God wanted him to go. He was just thinking about Jonah, not about the souls God had called him to reach out to.

And it wasn't too long before God had stirred up a storm to trouble that ship. While the tempest tossed the boat to and fro, where was Jonah? He was down below, sound asleep.

Many are like this. They might not be out on a boat, but they are sound asleep spiritually: fast asleep, unaware of the storm that's raging about them, unaware of the perishing souls slipping off into hell right before them. They're fast asleep in their comfort and ease, seeing no reason to be concerned for others.

Jonah was comfortable during that storm. He was at ease in the bottom of the ship. He was so comfortable that the mariners had to go down and wake him up.

Make Souls Your Priority

Those who are at ease don't even think about the souls that are falling on their left and on their right.

New people come into the church, and the Christians are too comfortable to go over and make them feel welcome. You might see a new convert for a season, and then they're gone. But those who are at ease aren't even aware that they've left. And when they do discover that they're gone, they don't even care.

If you're asleep, I've come to tell you to rise up! It's time to get busy for the Lord. If you refuse to get up, God will trouble the waters. It may be gentle at first, but soon a tempest will be raging.

Take some time. You have plenty of time for yourself, don't you: time to get settled and comfortable, time to be at ease and let time slip by? Take time to be busy for Jesus. Take some time and effort to make those around you feel wanted and loved. Take some time to encourage those who may be having trials and testings. Take some time to help that new convert get established in the Word. And take time to tell others about salvation.