To serve the Lord!!!
Amen!
Revelation 3:15-17
“I know your deeds,
that you are neither cold nor hot.
I wish you were either one or the other!
So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
You say,
‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’
But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.”
Revelation 3:22
“Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
Well…
The downfall of our 12-year old Sears Kenmore side-by-side refrigerator/freezer…
Started with the melting ice cream in the freezer…
As with my dryer story…
With its faulty heating element…
The lifespan of my major appliances is limited…
Several years ago the microwave went…
No fast meals for us, ’til we bought a new one!
The washer has been repaired…
We remember lugging dirty clothes to the Laundromat to wash…
And lugging them back home to dry…
But I feel good about the length of time they’ve all lasted…
Nothing’s built forever now-a-days…
And in Florida, if it makes it through a hurricane…
We consider ourselves blessed!!
So, the ice cream was melting…
And I say, to my perfectly intelligent husband…
“The ice cream is melting in our freezer!”
And he says…
“No, it’s just that I bought Breyers Creamier Butter Pecan Ice Cream!”
What?!?!
“It’s Creamier Butter Pecan Ice Cream Soup!!” I say…
As I pour it into his ice cream bowl…
“It’s fine,” he says…
That’s just husband talk for…
“I don’t want to have to call Sears and deal with this!”
Well, I didn’t want to deal with it either…
Since, we just had Sears here to fix our dyer right after Christmas!!!
So, I said, “Okay!”
When I knew perfectly well that the old freezer was biting-the-dust…
Especially when I saw the delicious chocolate fudgesicles melting and dripping…
All over the thawed fish sticks…
But, when I, as the wife, could no longer agree that a lukewarm freezer was ok!!
And, after procrastinating way too long, we finally went to Sears…
Ordered a nice Kenmore Elite in the bisque color that’s apparently hard to find…
After 12 years…
But, of course that’s what we needed to match the other appliances…
Or, we’d have to get all new ones…
Are you crazy?!?!
And Sears rushed right out to deliver our much needed appliance…
Right??? Wrong!
We have to wait two weeks more!!!
So, now with no freezer, we’re either cooking everything we can save…
Or, throwing things out…
Just like after the hurricane!
Then, just like that…
The refrigerator side is not staying cold at all…
And when the milk tasted lukewarm…
I had enough of that ‘frig…
Yuk!!!!!
So we packed up all our salvageable items…
Vacuumed all the dog hair from behind that piece of junk….mopped…
And left that useless piece of lukewarm metal sitting there, lifeless!!
My husband scrubbed the fish-smelling little ‘frig in the garage…
Filled it up…
Since it was COLD!!!
And out came all the coolers we own…
Bags of ice…filling and refilling…we felt like we were camping…
And we’re not really camping people!
Then, 2 days before Sears…
Ahhhhh…
Was going to deliver our long-awaited new ‘frig…
Our highly intelligent, college graduate, teacher/tutor, and getting his Masters, son says…
“Oh, did you guys remember I have that small refrig from my dorm room???”
No, we didn’t…
Do you think we would have chosen to play with ice for two weeks???
This is how we roll in this house…
Everyone’s too busy to think anything all the way through!!
Ha!
So the moral of this story is that…
Lukewarm is not pleasing…
It doesn’t please the Lord!
He’ll spew you out of His mouth!!
My Mom used to call it, “So-So”
“How ya doing, Mom???”
“Oh, so-so!”
She’d reply…
Not good or bad…not hot or cold…lukewarm!!
Cold:
Refreshing, quenching, invigorating, level-headed, crisp…
Intense, keen, sharp, piercing, breath of fresh air…
Hot:
Passionate, alive, compassionate, contagious, blazing, fiery…
On fire, excited, masterful, impassioned, intense, significant…
Compelling, exhilarating, dedicated, fascinated, exuberant…
Glowing, fervent, healing…
Lukewarm:
Tepid; foul; disgusting; lacking enthusiasm, excitement, or conviction…
Indifferent; little ardor, energy, or zeal; half-hearted, unconcerned…
Apathetic, unresponsive, uninterested, useless, self-deceived…
Shallow, bland, mundane, neither hot nor cold, nauseating, wretched…
Miserable, pitiful, poor, blind, naked…
Jesus:
Cleanses, refreshes, cools, washes, renews…
Comes in a cloud….
In a pillar of fire…
He’s the breath of the Holy Spirit…
He’s the Living Waters…
An All-Consuming Fire…
He heals…
Revelation 3:15-17 The Message
“I know you inside and out, and find little to my liking.
You’re not cold, you’re not hot—far better to be either cold or hot!
You’re stale.
You’re stagnant.
You make me want to vomit.
You brag, ‘I’m rich, I’ve got it made, I need nothing from anyone,’
oblivious that in fact you’re a pitiful, blind beggar, threadbare and homeless.”
God wants complete commitment…
Not half-hearted service…
Are we totally in love with Jesus?
Or, are we lukewarm, half-hearted,
or partially committed?
Frances Chan says,
in his book Crazy Love
“There is no such thing as a lukewarm Christian.
Jesus calls for total commitment.”
View online videos at:
Frances Chan says:
We should be willing…
To say to God that He can have whatever He wants.
To believe that wholehearted commitment to Him is more important than any other thing or person in our life.
To know that nothing we do in life will ever matter, unless it is about loving God and loving the people He has made.
True faith means holding nothing back; it bets everything on the hope of eternity.
This whole swimming-upstream, pursuing-Christ, taking-up-your cross, counting-the-cost thing isn’t easy.
The road is narrow and few will actually find it!
We can’t afford to just assume we’re one of the few on the narrow way.
Be totally in love with Christ.
Even Heaven would be a desolate place without Christ.
Don’t just let life happen.
Love and desire Christ, for when we love, we are free!
Let God change us.
We need to let Him in our life.
We need God to help us love God, and if we need His help to love Him, a perfect being, we definitely need His help to love other fault-filled humans.
Don’t hold back, be consumed with Christ.
We need to show a “Love” that is crazy to the world.
True love, a kind found nowhere else, but through Christ.
Don’t be lukewarm, be obsessed with Christ.
People obsessed with Christ…
Love people and are friends to all…
They’re crazy risk takers for Christ…
They’re humble…
They serve…
They give…
They think about eternity…
They’re engrossed and delighted with God’s Word…
They’re passionately in love with God…
They’re unguarded and open with Him…
They meditate, are nourished by, and are rooted in the Word…
They’re dedicated and faithful to Christ.
They know they’re a child and a friend of God.
Let’s evaluate our lives…
Is what we’re doing, what we want to be doing, when Christ returns????
Taken from: Crazy Love by Frances Chan
Lukewarm is completely useless…
Neither like hot water (as in a comfortable bath)…
Nor like cold water (as in a refreshing drink)…
Interpret “hot” and “cold” in light of the historical context of Laodicea…
It had no permanent supply of good water…
Efforts to pipe water to the city from nearby springs were successful…
But, it would arrive lukewarm…
Located close to both natural hot springs by Hierapolis…
Often used for medicinal purposes…
And a cold, pure stream by Colossae…
Both hot and cold water are desirable…
Both are useful for distinct purposes…
All believers can be used of God…
The spiritual state of this church…
More closely resembled the tepid, lukewarm water…
That eventually flowed into Laodicean pipes…
Neither hot nor cold…
It was putrid!
The metaphor condemns Laodicea for not providing…
Spiritual healing (being hot)…
Or, spiritual refreshment (being cold) to those around them…
Revelation 3:15 is a condemnation of their lack of works and lack of witness.
They spread spiritual disease…
What disease?
They believed they were spiritually rich…
When in fact they had gone bankrupt…
They thought they could see…
But they were blind…
They thought they were healthy…
But they were corrupt….
They thought they were fully clothed…
But they were naked…
The difference was in their opinion of themselves…
vs reality…
They thought they were well off…
But they were starving to death…
They were spiritually content and self-satisfied…
Although actually they were wretched and pitiful…
In Revelation 3:17, they had the audacity to say…
“I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing.”
The problem with being lukewarm…
And the case against Laodicea…
Revolves around the idea of self-deception…
They were self-deluded…
The church at Laodicea was made up of Christians…
Who were trusting in themselves and their wealth…
Or, what they thought their wealth could buy them!
Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, says,
Lukewarm…
Useless and self-deceived…
They thought they were of great value…
But were hypocritical…
Promoting themselves, as those who saw the truth…
When in fact they did not…
Actively covering their sins with a cloak of religious observance!
Lord…
Help us to be obsessed with You…
Show us where we’re lukewarm…
Give us the strength to deal with these areas…
Do whatever it takes…
For us to please You…
We need constant infilling of Your Presence…
A constant love relationship…
Constant prayer…
Constant worship…
Constant renewing of our minds…
With the Word of God…
We don’t want to be lukewarm:
A believer who isn’t a threat to satan’s kingdom,
A person who is unable to accomplish anything for the Lord,
Who no longer brings God glory,
Who no longer accomplishes His will,
Who no longer builds His kingdom.
Refresh!
Rekindle!
Our lukewarm hearts…
Restore!
Us to a heart perfect in its commitment to You!
Amen!!
Lukewarm is not enough…
Try Crazy Love!
Ahhh…
My new non-lukewarm refrigerator!!!!
Cold and Colder!!
To match my repaired non-lukewarm dryer…
Hot and Hotter!!
Forget lukewarm!
If a dryer’s not HOT…
Or, a refrigerator’s not COLD…
They’re useless…
And so are we!!
Amen!
Don’t sing these Top Ten Songs Of The Lukewarm Christian!!!
2. Pillow of Ages, Fluffed for Me
3. I Surrender Some
4. I’m Fairly Certain That My Redeemer Lives
5. Sit Up, Sit Up For Jesus
6. What An Acquaintance We Have In Jesus
7. Where He Leads Me, I Will Consider Following
8. He’s Quite a Bit To Me
9. Oh, How I Like Jesus
10. It Is My Secret What God Can Do – See more at: http://diggingtheword.blogspot.com/2010/03/top-ten-songs-of-lukewarm-christian.html#sthash.IJf1kito.h1RhYzKB.dpuf
2. Pillow of Ages, Fluffed for Me
3. I Surrender Some
4. I’m Fairly Certain That My Redeemer Lives
5. Sit Up, Sit Up For Jesus
6. What An Acquaintance We Have In Jesus
7. Where He Leads Me, I Will Consider Following
8. He’s Quite a Bit To Me
9. Oh, How I Like Jesus
10. It Is My Secret What God Can Do – See more at: http://diggingtheword.blogspot.com/2010/03/top-ten-songs-of-lukewarm-christian.html#sthash.IJf1kito.h1RhYzKB.dpuf
1. Blest Be The Tie That Doesn’t Cramp My Style
2. Pillow of Ages, Fluffed for Me
3. I Surrender Some
4. I’m Fairly Certain That My Redeemer Lives
5. Sit Up, Sit Up For Jesus
6. What An Acquaintance We Have In Jesus
7. Where He Leads Me, I Will Consider Following
8. He’s Quite a Bit To Me
9. Oh, How I Like Jesus
10. It Is My Secret What God Can Do
Taken from “Way of the Master”
Resources:
http://so4j.com/what-is-a-lukewarm-christian#hot_cold
http://www.gotquestions.org/Jesus-lukewarm-faith.html
http://scripturenuggets.wordpress.com/2012/02/07/the-dangers-of-being-lukewarm/
http://www.learnthebible.org/lukewarm.html
http://maranathalife.com/teaching/lukewarm.htm
http://diggingtheword.blogspot.com/2010/03/top-ten-songs-of-lukewarm-christian.html
http://treymorgan.net/10-signs-you-might-be-a-lukewarm-christian/
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