Rev. 3:14-22, "And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because 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. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches."
I did a phrase search in e-Sword of this particular phrase and discovered that God placed this very phrase in His Word THREE times. How wonderful that God would place that verse for being holy three times! The number three is symbolic of the Trinity! WOW! What a blessing that was for me. It also opened my eyes to the importance of the verse.
Today, the average Christian is not on fire and hot, nor is he/she backslidden and cold. The average Christian is lukewarm. Noah Webster’s definition for the word lukewarm in Rev. 1:15 is: “Not ardent; not zealous; cool; indifferent; as lukewarm obedience; lukewarm patriots. Rev 3.” Today’s average Christian is not zealous for the things of God. Today’s average Christian is indifferent to the things of God. It has dawned on me that today’s Christian is indifferent to sin and its effects on their lives. We have become de-sensitized, if you will. Christians don’t think twice about cursing or hearing curse words. There is tolerance for sin and no longer is there shame for their sin. They can go to the movies and watch TV shows that are shameful and not be embarrassed by it.
We do not fear what God will do. The healthy fear of the Lord is gone.I can see prophecy revealed in these end times by looking at those in our churches. No matter where we go, I see the same thing: the church has a tiny hand full of dedicated Christians. Then there are a few who appear dedicated on the outside and do some things around the church but no interest in leading others to Christ.
A Pastor closed a message with an example and it broke my heart. He said that one day he was in a store looking at something on the shelves. A little Korean girl (3-4 years old) ran up to him and wrapped her arms around his legs and said, "Daddyyyyyy!" He stretched out his arms and shrugged his shoulders as if to say he was bewildered at who she was and didn’t know her! He then said, “I wonder if our Heavenly Father feels that way about today’s indifferent Christian when they come to Him in prayer!”
I am calling you out, church.We need to get real.We are going to account for our idle words:
Matt12:35-37,"A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. 36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. 37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned."
When we approach His throne, we will be asked, "Why should I let you into my Heaven?"And typical of our vain selves, most will start to list off their accomplishments, achievements, souls led to the Lord, etc.God sees it all.Thank God for Jesus, who is the "Holy White-out" in the book of our lives.
So, what does it mean to be HOT?
Matt12:35-37, "A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned."
I have heard it said many times:"God knows my heart".Before you use that as an excuse to live lukewarm, think about what you are saying!God KNOWS your heart!He is intimately involved in your innermost thoughts, doings and actions!Husband - that woman you look at and have those thoughts...HE KNOWS!Wife - that occasional flirt, the kind word spoken to you from that other man - HE KNOWS! It astounds me that people can say God knows my heart - and then continue to live on like nothing is wrong.Time to get on FIRE for God - that means following His Word, not our whim.
So, why be HOT?I have all the toys, all the goodies a man can want.Too often, we want to have a list of things we want – and then expect God to sign off on it.That is exactly the opposite of what God wants!He is seeking those who will sign the blank page, and then let Him fill it in:
Mark10:17-25, “ And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother. And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.
And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
When we make our possessions our master….then we are in slavery to them.It is best to own things – never let things own us!
As Jesus walked in His earthly ministry, His main mission was to show us that we, as humans, can do this.Salvation, healing, all of that was the affect of His ministry – but that could have been provided form His throne – but to be a Savior for all, He had to willingly leave His throne, and become one of us.Then, we would have no excuse.He did; and we don’t.
Burn for Him, church; burn with fire and zeal and be consumed.Return to your first love.I am challenging you all to drop the TV, drop the sports; drop the junk the prince of this world has placed to distract you.Think of the churches if we poured our money into them like we do into the stadiums and arenas.Oh, what could be accomplished?Time, is short – I know many have said this for a long time….but look around.The end time prophecies are being fulfilled at an alarming rate.Soon there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.God is calling.Do you have ears to hear?
