Complacency creeps in creating an empty endless cavern for the dead to dwell. They slumber safe in the arms of their mistresses of misery aligning themselves with their fear, insecurities, and failures. They dwell together in “unity” and never leave their cavern of safety. Outside a world awaits of broken individuals all striving toward happiness and wholeness trying to drown out their pain in whatever way they can through sex, alcohol, work, drugs, adventure, or entertainment. Unaware of the darkness surrounding them or the spiritual war around them. If the complacent in the cave would only awaken and arise out of their slumber. A broken world awaits outside the cavern crying out for hope and help. A little girl cries herself to sleep as fear comforts her mind with nightmares of her fathers unending abuse. A single mom works 60 hours a week to support her two children. Her alcoholic husband left for another woman, leaving her alone. A young man shoots up on heroine trying to escape the images of war that plague his mind from his term in Afghanistan. A young women sinks deeper into depression from the rejection she has felt. She went to a Christian college to please her family, but no one their would reach out to her. She felt judged and isolated. Her past life constantly running through her mind. Suicide seemed the only solace she would find. How many broken people walk the streets hiding behind suits and ties, but battling with things that remain unseen inside? All the while, the complacent continue to slumber entrapped by their own brokenness. They hide safe in the church doors behind a smile and Hallelujah. However, they refuse to get outside their own four walls or admit that they themselves struggle with brokenness. Their own self-righteousness creates a barrier to healing for themselves and others.

It’s time to wake up from the slumber and complacency to break out of the caverns into the outside world. Let the light penetrate your soul and the fire of the Son consume and purify your hearts. If not healing will come from the outside the very people you judged, rejected, and turned away will be the ones who bring about revival. For they will not hide behind their own self-righteousness, but will admit their imperfections and receive healing from above. A flame will be ignited and they will go into the whole world. The glory of the Lord will be revealed in their weaknesses.

It’s like the story of the Wedding supper in Matthew 22 where the King prepares a banquet for his son. He send out his servants to tell those who had been invited to come, but they refuse. They were to caught up in their own business and complacency stuck in their caverns of comfort. In fact they even killed the messengers and mistreated them. The King was angry and sent out his army to kill the murderers. Then he tells his servants to go out into the streets and invite anyone who will come to the wedding banquet. For the ones who were invited from the beginning were unworthy. Everyone was invited the good and bad. I imagine people from all walks of life drug dealers, war lords, prostitutes, homosexuals, and all those the church would consider unworthy. These excepted the Kings invitation and filled the halls. They were clothed in wedding clothes and accepted into the kingdom. However, someone tried to sneak in without the proper wedding clothes. He is thrown out into the darkness. I think this could represent someone who thought they could get into heaven by their own righteous and good works, but was deceived. They were thrown out into the darkness where there was weeping and gnashing of teeth.  “Thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent” (Revelation 3:17-19). It’s time for the church to arise and repent and be clothed in the wedding clothes of the Lamb of Jesus Christ to repent for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand. We need to awaken and make straight the ways of the Lord. If we do not revival will spring for the most unlikely sources and God’s glory will be poured out at the hands of the very ones the church turned away. Like Dietrich Bonhoeffer says, “silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak it to speak. Not to Act is to Act.” 

 

Matthew 22:1-14

 “Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: ² “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. ³ He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.

⁴ “Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’

⁵ “But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. ⁶ The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. ⁷ The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.

⁸ “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. ⁹ So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’¹⁰ So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.

¹¹ “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. ¹² He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless.

¹³ “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

¹⁴ “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”’