Sermon Title: Warning Against Loss of Passion for Christ
Dearly Beloved,
Greetings in the Name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!
There is no need to teach passion, it is innate.
Every person is passionate about something; and it includes that which builds us, or destroys us.
To be passionate for Christ is the only way to be Christian; and for the Christian, obedience is key to finding favor in God’s eyes.
Thus, we must be passionate about being obedient to God; absolutely and utterly passionate about the commands of Christ; loving one another, preaching His Gospel of peace – showing the world that we are His disciples, and through our example, inspire them to come to the reality of God, and the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
Not only must we be deeply committed to being passionate for Christ, and to be intentional about nurturing our passion for Him through the three key areas of obedience - bringing to the Lord daily our gold, frankincense and myrrh; it is also imperative to understand Christ’s warnings to us against the loss of passion for Him.
Together, let us look at the dreadful consequence if we allow ourselves to lose passion for Christ. This is a cautionary tale framed by His warning to the church in Laodicea, which remarkably describes the condition of the church in North America and affluent nations around the world; and bodes well for us to resolutely heed.
Revelations 3:14-22 – A Warning to the Church in Laodicea
14 “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:
These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation.
15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot.
I wish you were either one or the other!
16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
17 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.
18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness;
and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.
19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline.
So be earnest and repent.
20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock.
If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
21 To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne.
22 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
The historical and geographical context of Laodicea.
Laodicea – much like the major cities of the world today – was an economically affluent city; and was well-established with the modern conveniences of the age.
Hierapolis, which was situated to the north of Laodicea, had healthy hot springs; and to the south was Colossae's cold springs that were clean and refreshing to drink from. Both springs were known for their health benefits.
Unlike the neighbouring cities, Laodicea had perpetual problems with its water supply; which they piped in from Colossae by aqueduct 10km from the south.
By the time the water reached Laodicea, it had become lukewarm.
It was also smelly, unclean, toxic and undrinkable - the kind of water that makes you so sick that you would spit or vomit out of your mouth – just as Jesus forewarned with the entire Laodicean church.
The Lord Jesus is confronting lukewarmness - a highly contagious, social and spiritual sickness - afflicting the church; and this sickness is transmitted through embracing worldly thoughts and lifestyles of the influential, the wealthy and the elite.
This sickness is due to two strains of spiritual virus:
1. Unholy influence; and
2. Ungodly affluence.
These twin viral strains - unholy influence and ungodly affluence – afflicts the church by paralyzing the impetus and impulse of the church from passionately and personally drawing to the source of water that gives life; choosing instead to be unconsciously influenced by the prevailing narrative of our current societal climate, or to use affluence to pipe the gospel into our lives instead of personally making the tremendous commitment and effort required to know Christ, to be obedient to His commands, to embrace the Christian life of holiness, and to fulfill the Great Commission.
Every day, we are undoubtedly overwhelmed by the volume of news that carries content that is not purely the reporting of facts, but rather, commentaries and opinion pieces – making it increasingly difficult to differentiate between what actually happened, and what someone thinks has happened, and someone’s thoughts on what has happened.
The German theologian, Karl Barth, counsels us,
“Take your Bible and take your newspaper, and read both. But interpret newspapers from your Bible.”
In the face of all news, every Christian must observe the world through the lens of the Gospel, and must persevere in remaining advocates and preachers of solely - the Good News.
The News must be reported and heard, but only the Good News must be preached and received!
Church, be alert to the reality that more and more of these commentaries and opinion pieces are based on principles and worldviews that are “corrupt in God’s sight and full of violence towards God’s Sacred design for Mankind and all of Creation.”
Know that even today, “the Lord sees how great the wickedness of the human race has become on earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.”
Of course, these are not my words, but the words taken from Genesis 6:5-8, 11-12
5 The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.
6 The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. 7 So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.”
11 Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence.
12 God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. “
In spite of the Lord’s regret and His heart was deeply troubled” – which simply reveals that our God has feelings and emotions - there is one whom He has set apart as a saving grace for humanity.
“But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.
Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God.” (Genesis 6:8)
We, the church, must be like Noah was in his time.
We must strive to find favor in the eyes of the Lord; we must resolutely remain righteous through Christ; to be blameless among the people and we must walk faithfully with God.
Our relationship with Christ must be direct, personal, present and immediate - wholly experiential, wholly real.
Brethren, definitively know that God sees the evil, the wickedness and the corruption in the world today.
We must be extremely and radically careful never to unconsciously fall into the evil and corruption of this dark world; we must be very careful never to be self-centred, self-reliant, self-serving.
We must never think that our affluence can purchase God’s salvation, or that our affluence makes it easier to follow Jesus.
Be very clear; there is nothing easy about being a Christian. There is nothing easy about denying yourself, taking up your cross and following Jesus.
To guard against the afflictions of unholy influence – for every minute you spent reading or hearing the news; spend 10 minutes on prayer and Bible-reading.
Completely eradicate hopelessness from your hearts; fill your mind with the immense hope of knowing God and His Kingdom destiny for you through Christ Jesus, our Lord and Saviour.
Guard against the afflictions of ungodly affluence. Trust God alone, and in obedience, bring your tithe, and your life before the Lord in the posture of humility and repentance.
You cannot buy tools to make it easier or more convenient to be His disciple; and you cannot afford to let the world influence your thinking in any way, shape or form in that regard.
Your thinking must be established, shaped and expressed solely based on the Word of God; to paraphrase Barth - interpret the world from our bibles.
We must get real close with Jesus, and get really close to the work of the Gospel.
We cannot simply be enamoured by the testimonies of miracles from pastors and missionaries; we must strive to be directly involved in those miracles; to be directly involved in the work of the gospel!
This sickness of lukewarmness is insidious and deadly; especially hard to detect because the church appears healthy and financially sufficient.
But with respect to the Gospel and the Kingdom of God, she is “wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.”
Lukewarmness is a spiritual pandemic in every regard – brought about by the two strains of virus known as Unholy Influence (based on a worldview that is not fully rooted in the Word and Will of God) and Ungodly Affluence – an affluence that disregards God as sole Provider.
To be spiritually healthy is to be found at the source of life-giving water, consuming only that which God provides, and relying upon God– it is to be pleasing to God and beneficial to His Kingdom mandate; it is to be absolutely passionate for Christ – it is to be a drink that is refreshing to God just as He is the drink that is eternally refreshing; quenching our thirsts forever.
Our Lord Jesus instructs us in John 4:14, “…whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
Conversely.
To be spiritually sick is to be lukewarm, to be indifferent, and apathetic; it is to be unpassionate; it is to believe that you are self-sufficient in any degree – that you do not need Christ to any degree; which makes you completely out of fellowship with Jesus.
The moment you are lukewarm – as opposed to being passionate for Christ alone, you are out of step with Jesus and lost.
The lukewarm Laodicean church was potentially, fatally compromised - because they embraced, albeit consciously, or unconsciously, the belief systems, philosophies, ways, lifestyle, and values of the Roman Empire; buying into the prevailing culture, thought and narrative of society.
Have we committed the same evil?
Have you - as a Christian - embraced the current climate of unquestioned acceptance of certain Canadian values that are clearly against the Biblical notion of life, gender, marriage and family?
Do we attempt to understand the world apart from the supernatural guidance of Holy Spirit and the ageless wisdom of the Bible?
No we should not.
We must not.
We must always seek the wisdom of God through the Holy Spirit and His Word in understanding the world around us. (Ref: John 4:24)
We must have only one world-view; and that world view must be the one that prepares us for the eternal Kingdom under King Jesus, our Lord and Saviour.
God’s design for all things is clear; His Way is singular and narrow, yet divinely life-giving - for apart from Him, no man can come to the Father. (Ref: John 14:6)
Lukewarmness is a constant temptation that the church has always faced, right up to the present day.
The living water that Jesus offers will be completely lost by indulging in worldliness and worldly wealth – by thinking that it can be piped into our lives from a distance; thinking that the gospel can be compromised, or even synchronised with our current world.
Never forget that anyone who is a friend of the world is an enemy of God. (Ref: James 4:4); and that’s because worldly wealth and power belong to kingdoms other than the kingdom of God.
The only way to combat this spiritual pandemic is to daily keep up the spiritual disciplines of obedience that revitalises your passion for Jesus!
Remember to daily bring your gold, frankincense, and myrrh before Christ.
Trust Him in everything.
Pray to Him in everything.
And in everything, recognize that you are a sinner, and recognize that Jesus is your Saviour from the wages of sin, which is death. (Ref: Romans 6:23)
HEED THE COUNSEL OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST – never be found ‘lukewarm’!
“I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich;” (Revelation 3:18)
“Seek first the Kingdom of God” (Ref: Matthew 6:33);
Sow your life, time, money and heart into the purposes of inbreaking the Kingdom of God;
“…and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.” (Revelation 3:18)
Seek first His Righteousness (Ref: Matthew 6:33);
Recognise that you are a sinner; recognise that Christ is your Saviour; Repent before God; Return to God.
“Become rich”; “cover your shameful nakedness”; “see”. (Ref: Revelation 3:18)
And all these things shall be added unto you. (Ref: Matthew 6:33);
Daily ask the Holy Spirit to heal your eyes, restore your perspective, your world-view, your mindset and your heart – that your focus and hope is solely on Christ and His Kingdom .
“Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent”. (Ref: Revelation 3:19)
God loves you; so be prepared to be rebuked, and disciplined.
No one likes to be rebuked or disciplined.
So how do we know the rebuke and discipline is from God?
As with all of life’s events and the emotions that follow, that which serves to draw us closer to God, comes from Him.
So if you feel rebuked and find yourself drawing close to God, know that God is guiding you “along the right paths for His name’s sake.” (Psalm 23:3)
Be passionate for Christ; be passionate about repentance before God.
“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock.
If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.” (Revelation 3:20)
Hear His voice, open wide the door to your life – let Christ fully in!
Be radical, be authentic, be passionate! Christ is right here with you; are you?
For “unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink.
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them.
Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me.
This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” ((John 6:53-58)
It requires nothing short of a radical, authentic and passionate heart to receive this revelation as truth.
Eat the flesh of Christ; drink His blood – be raised on the last day and receive eternal life.
Be completely into, and all about Jesus.
Christ is right here with you; are you in?
21 To the one who is victorious*, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne.
22 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
The main attribute of “the one who is victorious” is one who has Radical Passion for Christ.
To those who are victorious in any endeavor; passion must be assumed. A person cannot be victorious in any endeavor without passion; it is akin to the certain impossibility of an Olympic Medal winner who never had passion for the sport.
Be victorious in Christ; hear what the Holy Spirit is saying to you right now – stop your lukewarmness; and be set on fire for the Lord!!
In closing… …
Do not be found lukewarm; reject and rid your life of all unholy influence, and ungodly affluence. Never think that the Gospel can be ‘piped’ into your life; or think that affluence can reduce the burden of being Christ’s disciple to any extent.
Only be found at the source of living water; be found in the presence of Christ Jesus our Lord - consuming only that which God provides, trusting and relying solely upon God.
Be absolutely and radically passionate for Christ; that you would directly receive water from the Lord – water that will become in you “a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (John 4:14)
Shalom.
Let us pray.
Our Father in Heaven,
Hallowed be Your Name.
Your Kingdom come, Your Will be done; on earth, as it is in heaven.
Holy Spirit, I ask that You would set me on fire for Jesus and be utterly obedient to You; for I wholly acknowledge that to be passionate for Christ is the only way to be Christian, and that obedience is key to finding favor in your eyes.
Grant me courage, strength, resolve and wisdom to guard against lukewarmness in any degree; and repel the two strains of virus known to unholy influence - based on a worldview that is not fully rooted in the Word and Will of God, and ungodly affluence - an affluence that disregards God as my sole Provider; an affluence that makes me think that the burden of discipleship can be reduced, and an affluence that leads me to wickedly believe that the Gospel may be ‘piped’ into my life from a distance.
I believe that I am healed in Your Presence, Lord Jesus - for I have returned to You, the source of life.
Help my faith, to consume only that which You provide and rely only upon You.
Guide me along the right paths for Your Name’s sake (Ref: Psalm 23:3); that I may never embrace the belief systems, philosophies, ways, lifestyle, and values of this dark world; or buy into the prevailing culture, thought and narrative of society.
In Your Holy Name, I reject any and every notion that I am self-sufficient in any degree; and I reject all unholy influence, and ungodly affluence.
Lord Jesus, forgive my transgressions of being found lukewarm, and out of step with You.
Forgive the moments when I have embraced the climate of unquestioned acceptance of worldly values that are clearly against Your sacred design of life, gender, marriage and family. Forgive me when I attempt to understand the world apart from the supernatural guidance of Holy Spirit and the ageless wisdom of the Bible.
You have found me, Lord, You are knocking – and I hear You!
I open my life completely to You, Lord Jesus.
Thank You for having come into my life and daily “prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows” (Psalm 23:5)
I am profoundly grateful for Your love; and I resolve to live in utter obedience to Your Commands out of gratuitous love for You.
May I be absolutely passionate for You, Lord Jesus – that my life would be refreshing to You, just as You are eternally refreshing to me; quenching my thirst for all eternity,
I heed Your counsel Lord, to come personally and directly to You; to seek first Your Kingdom and Your righteousness.
I commit to sowing my life, time, money, and heart into the inbreaking of Your Kingdom.
I commit to the Christian life of repentance. Holy Spirit, heal my eyes, restore my perspective, world-view, mindset and heart – that my focus and hope is solely on Christ and His Kingdom .
I commit to Your love, rebuke and discipline – draw me close to You, Lord.
Holy Spirit, help me to be radical in my faith, authentic in my relationship with Jesus, and utterly passionate about Christ.
May I be found victorious; in Your Holy Presence, drinking deeply of the water that You are giving me; that I may never thirst, and more than that; for the water You give will become in me “a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
Lord Jesus, I believe in You, and I belong to You – now and forevermore. Thank You for being Emmanuel - "God with us."
I thank You and pray all these in the Name of our King, Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Dearly Beloved,
Greetings in the Name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!
There is no need to teach passion, it is innate.
Every person is passionate about something; and it includes that which builds us, or destroys us.
To be passionate for Christ is the only way to be Christian; and for the Christian, obedience is key to finding favor in God’s eyes.
Thus, we must be passionate about being obedient to God; absolutely and utterly passionate about the commands of Christ; loving one another, preaching His Gospel of peace – showing the world that we are His disciples, and through our example, inspire them to come to the reality of God, and the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
Not only must we be deeply committed to being passionate for Christ, and to be intentional about nurturing our passion for Him through the three key areas of obedience - bringing to the Lord daily our gold, frankincense and myrrh; it is also imperative to understand Christ’s warnings to us against the loss of passion for Him.
Together, let us look at the dreadful consequence if we allow ourselves to lose passion for Christ. This is a cautionary tale framed by His warning to the church in Laodicea, which remarkably describes the condition of the church in North America and affluent nations around the world; and bodes well for us to resolutely heed.
Revelations 3:14-22 – A Warning to the Church in Laodicea
14 “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:
These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation.
15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot.
I wish you were either one or the other!
16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
17 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.
18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness;
and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.
19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline.
So be earnest and repent.
20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock.
If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
21 To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne.
22 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
The historical and geographical context of Laodicea.
Laodicea – much like the major cities of the world today – was an economically affluent city; and was well-established with the modern conveniences of the age.
Hierapolis, which was situated to the north of Laodicea, had healthy hot springs; and to the south was Colossae's cold springs that were clean and refreshing to drink from. Both springs were known for their health benefits.
Unlike the neighbouring cities, Laodicea had perpetual problems with its water supply; which they piped in from Colossae by aqueduct 10km from the south.
By the time the water reached Laodicea, it had become lukewarm.
It was also smelly, unclean, toxic and undrinkable - the kind of water that makes you so sick that you would spit or vomit out of your mouth – just as Jesus forewarned with the entire Laodicean church.
The Lord Jesus is confronting lukewarmness - a highly contagious, social and spiritual sickness - afflicting the church; and this sickness is transmitted through embracing worldly thoughts and lifestyles of the influential, the wealthy and the elite.
This sickness is due to two strains of spiritual virus:
1. Unholy influence; and
2. Ungodly affluence.
These twin viral strains - unholy influence and ungodly affluence – afflicts the church by paralyzing the impetus and impulse of the church from passionately and personally drawing to the source of water that gives life; choosing instead to be unconsciously influenced by the prevailing narrative of our current societal climate, or to use affluence to pipe the gospel into our lives instead of personally making the tremendous commitment and effort required to know Christ, to be obedient to His commands, to embrace the Christian life of holiness, and to fulfill the Great Commission.
Every day, we are undoubtedly overwhelmed by the volume of news that carries content that is not purely the reporting of facts, but rather, commentaries and opinion pieces – making it increasingly difficult to differentiate between what actually happened, and what someone thinks has happened, and someone’s thoughts on what has happened.
The German theologian, Karl Barth, counsels us,
“Take your Bible and take your newspaper, and read both. But interpret newspapers from your Bible.”
In the face of all news, every Christian must observe the world through the lens of the Gospel, and must persevere in remaining advocates and preachers of solely - the Good News.
The News must be reported and heard, but only the Good News must be preached and received!
Church, be alert to the reality that more and more of these commentaries and opinion pieces are based on principles and worldviews that are “corrupt in God’s sight and full of violence towards God’s Sacred design for Mankind and all of Creation.”
Know that even today, “the Lord sees how great the wickedness of the human race has become on earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.”
Of course, these are not my words, but the words taken from Genesis 6:5-8, 11-12
5 The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.
6 The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. 7 So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.”
11 Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence.
12 God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. “
In spite of the Lord’s regret and His heart was deeply troubled” – which simply reveals that our God has feelings and emotions - there is one whom He has set apart as a saving grace for humanity.
“But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.
Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God.” (Genesis 6:8)
We, the church, must be like Noah was in his time.
We must strive to find favor in the eyes of the Lord; we must resolutely remain righteous through Christ; to be blameless among the people and we must walk faithfully with God.
Our relationship with Christ must be direct, personal, present and immediate - wholly experiential, wholly real.
Brethren, definitively know that God sees the evil, the wickedness and the corruption in the world today.
We must be extremely and radically careful never to unconsciously fall into the evil and corruption of this dark world; we must be very careful never to be self-centred, self-reliant, self-serving.
We must never think that our affluence can purchase God’s salvation, or that our affluence makes it easier to follow Jesus.
Be very clear; there is nothing easy about being a Christian. There is nothing easy about denying yourself, taking up your cross and following Jesus.
To guard against the afflictions of unholy influence – for every minute you spent reading or hearing the news; spend 10 minutes on prayer and Bible-reading.
Completely eradicate hopelessness from your hearts; fill your mind with the immense hope of knowing God and His Kingdom destiny for you through Christ Jesus, our Lord and Saviour.
Guard against the afflictions of ungodly affluence. Trust God alone, and in obedience, bring your tithe, and your life before the Lord in the posture of humility and repentance.
You cannot buy tools to make it easier or more convenient to be His disciple; and you cannot afford to let the world influence your thinking in any way, shape or form in that regard.
Your thinking must be established, shaped and expressed solely based on the Word of God; to paraphrase Barth - interpret the world from our bibles.
We must get real close with Jesus, and get really close to the work of the Gospel.
We cannot simply be enamoured by the testimonies of miracles from pastors and missionaries; we must strive to be directly involved in those miracles; to be directly involved in the work of the gospel!
This sickness of lukewarmness is insidious and deadly; especially hard to detect because the church appears healthy and financially sufficient.
But with respect to the Gospel and the Kingdom of God, she is “wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.”
Lukewarmness is a spiritual pandemic in every regard – brought about by the two strains of virus known as Unholy Influence (based on a worldview that is not fully rooted in the Word and Will of God) and Ungodly Affluence – an affluence that disregards God as sole Provider.
To be spiritually healthy is to be found at the source of life-giving water, consuming only that which God provides, and relying upon God– it is to be pleasing to God and beneficial to His Kingdom mandate; it is to be absolutely passionate for Christ – it is to be a drink that is refreshing to God just as He is the drink that is eternally refreshing; quenching our thirsts forever.
Our Lord Jesus instructs us in John 4:14, “…whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
Conversely.
To be spiritually sick is to be lukewarm, to be indifferent, and apathetic; it is to be unpassionate; it is to believe that you are self-sufficient in any degree – that you do not need Christ to any degree; which makes you completely out of fellowship with Jesus.
The moment you are lukewarm – as opposed to being passionate for Christ alone, you are out of step with Jesus and lost.
The lukewarm Laodicean church was potentially, fatally compromised - because they embraced, albeit consciously, or unconsciously, the belief systems, philosophies, ways, lifestyle, and values of the Roman Empire; buying into the prevailing culture, thought and narrative of society.
Have we committed the same evil?
Have you - as a Christian - embraced the current climate of unquestioned acceptance of certain Canadian values that are clearly against the Biblical notion of life, gender, marriage and family?
Do we attempt to understand the world apart from the supernatural guidance of Holy Spirit and the ageless wisdom of the Bible?
No we should not.
We must not.
We must always seek the wisdom of God through the Holy Spirit and His Word in understanding the world around us. (Ref: John 4:24)
We must have only one world-view; and that world view must be the one that prepares us for the eternal Kingdom under King Jesus, our Lord and Saviour.
God’s design for all things is clear; His Way is singular and narrow, yet divinely life-giving - for apart from Him, no man can come to the Father. (Ref: John 14:6)
Lukewarmness is a constant temptation that the church has always faced, right up to the present day.
The living water that Jesus offers will be completely lost by indulging in worldliness and worldly wealth – by thinking that it can be piped into our lives from a distance; thinking that the gospel can be compromised, or even synchronised with our current world.
Never forget that anyone who is a friend of the world is an enemy of God. (Ref: James 4:4); and that’s because worldly wealth and power belong to kingdoms other than the kingdom of God.
The only way to combat this spiritual pandemic is to daily keep up the spiritual disciplines of obedience that revitalises your passion for Jesus!
Remember to daily bring your gold, frankincense, and myrrh before Christ.
Trust Him in everything.
Pray to Him in everything.
And in everything, recognize that you are a sinner, and recognize that Jesus is your Saviour from the wages of sin, which is death. (Ref: Romans 6:23)
HEED THE COUNSEL OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST – never be found ‘lukewarm’!
“I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich;” (Revelation 3:18)
“Seek first the Kingdom of God” (Ref: Matthew 6:33);
Sow your life, time, money and heart into the purposes of inbreaking the Kingdom of God;
“…and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.” (Revelation 3:18)
Seek first His Righteousness (Ref: Matthew 6:33);
Recognise that you are a sinner; recognise that Christ is your Saviour; Repent before God; Return to God.
“Become rich”; “cover your shameful nakedness”; “see”. (Ref: Revelation 3:18)
And all these things shall be added unto you. (Ref: Matthew 6:33);
Daily ask the Holy Spirit to heal your eyes, restore your perspective, your world-view, your mindset and your heart – that your focus and hope is solely on Christ and His Kingdom .
“Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent”. (Ref: Revelation 3:19)
God loves you; so be prepared to be rebuked, and disciplined.
No one likes to be rebuked or disciplined.
So how do we know the rebuke and discipline is from God?
As with all of life’s events and the emotions that follow, that which serves to draw us closer to God, comes from Him.
So if you feel rebuked and find yourself drawing close to God, know that God is guiding you “along the right paths for His name’s sake.” (Psalm 23:3)
Be passionate for Christ; be passionate about repentance before God.
“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock.
If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.” (Revelation 3:20)
Hear His voice, open wide the door to your life – let Christ fully in!
Be radical, be authentic, be passionate! Christ is right here with you; are you?
For “unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink.
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them.
Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me.
This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” ((John 6:53-58)
It requires nothing short of a radical, authentic and passionate heart to receive this revelation as truth.
Eat the flesh of Christ; drink His blood – be raised on the last day and receive eternal life.
Be completely into, and all about Jesus.
Christ is right here with you; are you in?
21 To the one who is victorious*, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne.
22 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
The main attribute of “the one who is victorious” is one who has Radical Passion for Christ.
To those who are victorious in any endeavor; passion must be assumed. A person cannot be victorious in any endeavor without passion; it is akin to the certain impossibility of an Olympic Medal winner who never had passion for the sport.
Be victorious in Christ; hear what the Holy Spirit is saying to you right now – stop your lukewarmness; and be set on fire for the Lord!!
In closing… …
Do not be found lukewarm; reject and rid your life of all unholy influence, and ungodly affluence. Never think that the Gospel can be ‘piped’ into your life; or think that affluence can reduce the burden of being Christ’s disciple to any extent.
Only be found at the source of living water; be found in the presence of Christ Jesus our Lord - consuming only that which God provides, trusting and relying solely upon God.
Be absolutely and radically passionate for Christ; that you would directly receive water from the Lord – water that will become in you “a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (John 4:14)
Shalom.
Let us pray.
Our Father in Heaven,
Hallowed be Your Name.
Your Kingdom come, Your Will be done; on earth, as it is in heaven.
Holy Spirit, I ask that You would set me on fire for Jesus and be utterly obedient to You; for I wholly acknowledge that to be passionate for Christ is the only way to be Christian, and that obedience is key to finding favor in your eyes.
Grant me courage, strength, resolve and wisdom to guard against lukewarmness in any degree; and repel the two strains of virus known to unholy influence - based on a worldview that is not fully rooted in the Word and Will of God, and ungodly affluence - an affluence that disregards God as my sole Provider; an affluence that makes me think that the burden of discipleship can be reduced, and an affluence that leads me to wickedly believe that the Gospel may be ‘piped’ into my life from a distance.
I believe that I am healed in Your Presence, Lord Jesus - for I have returned to You, the source of life.
Help my faith, to consume only that which You provide and rely only upon You.
Guide me along the right paths for Your Name’s sake (Ref: Psalm 23:3); that I may never embrace the belief systems, philosophies, ways, lifestyle, and values of this dark world; or buy into the prevailing culture, thought and narrative of society.
In Your Holy Name, I reject any and every notion that I am self-sufficient in any degree; and I reject all unholy influence, and ungodly affluence.
Lord Jesus, forgive my transgressions of being found lukewarm, and out of step with You.
Forgive the moments when I have embraced the climate of unquestioned acceptance of worldly values that are clearly against Your sacred design of life, gender, marriage and family. Forgive me when I attempt to understand the world apart from the supernatural guidance of Holy Spirit and the ageless wisdom of the Bible.
You have found me, Lord, You are knocking – and I hear You!
I open my life completely to You, Lord Jesus.
Thank You for having come into my life and daily “prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows” (Psalm 23:5)
I am profoundly grateful for Your love; and I resolve to live in utter obedience to Your Commands out of gratuitous love for You.
May I be absolutely passionate for You, Lord Jesus – that my life would be refreshing to You, just as You are eternally refreshing to me; quenching my thirst for all eternity,
I heed Your counsel Lord, to come personally and directly to You; to seek first Your Kingdom and Your righteousness.
I commit to sowing my life, time, money, and heart into the inbreaking of Your Kingdom.
I commit to the Christian life of repentance. Holy Spirit, heal my eyes, restore my perspective, world-view, mindset and heart – that my focus and hope is solely on Christ and His Kingdom .
I commit to Your love, rebuke and discipline – draw me close to You, Lord.
Holy Spirit, help me to be radical in my faith, authentic in my relationship with Jesus, and utterly passionate about Christ.
May I be found victorious; in Your Holy Presence, drinking deeply of the water that You are giving me; that I may never thirst, and more than that; for the water You give will become in me “a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
Lord Jesus, I believe in You, and I belong to You – now and forevermore. Thank You for being Emmanuel - "God with us."
I thank You and pray all these in the Name of our King, Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.