Comfortably Numb: A Study of Apathy in Malachi

By Eddie Wren

Apathy or neglect of faith is not a new problem in the church. As conveyed in the Old Testament, God regularly confronted the apathy of His people and used prophets, such as Malachi, to call His people to believe in Him, and honor Him with their words, worship, and all they were.

In Comfortably Numb, Pastor Eddie Wren shares a detailed exploration of the Old Testament book of Malachi that provides a candid glimpse into the current state of the American church and its worshippers as they battle to shake the apathy that is gripping their lives and hearts, and ultimately serve the Lord with passion. While relying on the words of the fiery prophet for inspiration, Dr. Wren delves into the scripture that encourages believers to hear the accusations, respond to the conviction of the Holy Spirit, and walk in obedience to the Lord.

Comfortably Numb explores the book of Malachi and shares wisdom from a seasoned pastor while reminding weary Christians to believe in the promise of God’s love and divine plan.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: May 11, 2023
• ISBN: 9781664299399

Eddie Wren

Eddie Wren earned a Bachelor of Science from Union University, and Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He has pastored churches in Mississippi, Georgia, and Louisiana. He is now the Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church of Zachary, Louisiana. Eddie and his wife, Stacy, have four children, Sam, Meri Hobbs, Eli and Noah.

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Copyright © 2023 Eddie Wren.

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and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of

the information contained in this book and in some cases, names

of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

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Scripture are taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB),

Copyright©1995 by The Lockman Foundation Used by permission.

ISBN: 978-1-6642-9940-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-9941-2 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-9939-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2023908418

WestBow Press rev. date:   05/10/2023

Dedication

To First Baptist Church, Rayville, Louisiana

Your love for the Lord and love for your pastor and family

blessed the Wrens beyond measure

and

To First Baptist Church, Zachary, Louisiana

Looking forward to great days of

service for the Kingdom of God

together.

Acknowledgments

Thank you, Uncle Charles Henry for your

encouragement and support in this project.

Thank you, Beth Livingston and Melissa Wedblad

for typing and making corrections.

Thank you, Clarence Mathis for your help in editing.

Thank you, Stacy, Sam, Meri Hobbs, Eli,

and Noah for your love that pushes

me and encourages me to love the Lord with

all my heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Most of all, thank you God for loving me, saving

me, and continuing to mold me. May you receive

honor and glory from all that I am and have.

Contents

Foreword

Introduction

1   Believe the Promise

2   Give God the Best

3   Integrity Matters

4   Words Matter

5   Faithfulness Matters

6   Is He Worth It?

7   Memorials

8   Moving Forward

Bibliography

Foreword

I have known Eddie Wren for almost thirty years. I know how he lives his life. I know how he leads his family. I know how he loves the Church and I know how he preaches the Bible. This little book that you have in your hand is just a taste of the earnestness and passion Eddie has for the Lord Jesus Christ. That earnestness is, of course, tempered by a pastoral desire to see people get it. This volume is a clear and motivating exposition of Malachi, which of course is not for the faint of heart. If you desire a picture of what lived out Christianity should look like, then you will certainly benefit from this book.

In large part, the Church in America suffers from a malaise of apathy that has crept in so slowly and so strongly that the Church feels almost paralyzed. The fiery prophet, Malachi, calls God’s people to awaken to their former glory of walking in his presence.

It is with a grateful heart for Eddie’s life and ministry that I am glad to commend this book to you in the sincere hope that your heart might be inflamed once again to live your life for the glory of the crucified, resurrected, and ascended Lord Jesus.

Clint Pressley

Senior Pastor, Hickory Grove Baptist Church, Charlotte, North Carolina

Introduction

In 2019, the Pew Research Center released a report entitled In U.S., Decline of Christianity Continues at Rapid Pace. To say the least, the results of the research are alarming. The number of Americans identifying as Christians declined by 12 percent in ten years. The generational gap of those who identify as Christian is shocking. More than 80 percent of those born between 1928 and 1945 describe themselves as Christians (84 percent), as do three-quarters of baby boomers (76 percent). Less than half of millennials (49 percent) describe themselves as Christians. At first glance, there did appear to be some good news in the report: Christians attend church at the same rate as ten years before. However, when the numbers are examined, 54 percent of Christians attend church services once or twice a month at the most. Another 19 percent of that number attend church only a few times a year. Another 13 percent seldom attend church services and 5 percent of professing Christians never attend worship services. The evidence suggests most professing Christians are apathetic toward God and His ways.¹

Apathy or neglect of faith is not a new problem. If a person surveys the Old Testament, he or she will find that God regularly confronted the apathy of His people. Most of the time, God used the prophets to confront His people, as was the case for the people of God in Malachi’s day. Unfortunately, the book of Malachi, usually, does not top anyone’s list when asked, What is your favorite book of the Bible? In fact, my wife told me she had never heard a sermon series through the book of Malachi. The neglect of Malachi is unfortunate because Malachi addressed the apathy of His day, and the words God spoke through Malachi are very much applicable to the Church today.

The Book of Malachi could properly be called the Oracle of Malachi. The oracle is words God spoke through Malachi to his people for a certain situation. The words of Malachi are for post-exilic Judah. What does that mean? When God’s people were rebellious, God used the Persian Empire to discipline His people. The Persians conquered Jerusalem and exiled almost all the inhabitants of the land. There were still some Israelites in Jerusalem, but the city was in disarray physically and spiritually.

The Persian Empire was at its height (538–533 BC) and scattered God’s people throughout the Persian kingdom. Over time, the people of God became comfortable living in the foreign lands and among foreign gods. They began to adopt the practices of heathen people. Even the Jews in Palestine held loosely to the ways of God. They offered animals as sacrifices to God they would not dare serve a Persian official. The Temple was not being used as a place of true worship, but often as a hotel. The Sabbath was just another day. The people of God had become weary of the ways of God.

God addressed the apathy of His people through Malachi in a unique way. He did not address them generally, calling upon them to repent of general apathy. Instead, he