“This sermon is going to be hard to hear, I know because it is hard to preach. It is going to step on some toes, I know because mine are badly bruised.”
When that is a preacher’s opening line you know you are getting ready to hear a life altering message from the Lord, not from the preacher. That is the opening line from the sermon that inspired this post – so prepare yourself – pay no mind to me and listen to what God is trying to speak to you.
When I was in high school my friends and I decided to hit the fair one sunny afternoon. Naturally we met at my house and had more than our fair share of scrumptious chocolate chip cookies. Later on the tilt-a-whirl my (then boyfriend) quite literally tossed his cookies. Fortunately he missed tossing them on me, and most of the other passengers were equally fortunate.
Spinning fair rides, curvy country roads, disgusting poopy diapers, horrible stomach aches – no matter the cause – when you puke it is disgusting!
Vomit. Throw-up. Up-chuck. Toss your cookies. Puke. It is ALL pure yuck!!
Think back to all of your experiences with vomit. Remember how it felt? How it smelt? How it looked? Chunky puke, smelly curdled milk puke, in the middle of the night all in your kids hair puke… Do you feel nauseous yet? I hope so! I want you to feel thoroughly disgusted and repulsed by puke. It is gross! Through and through!
Now that you are thoroughly disgusted consider for a moment – is there anything on this earth so vile, so putrid, so disgusting, that it could make God want to puke?
If there is what do you think it would be? Sin? The devil or demons? Adultery? Homosexuality? How about lukewarm Christians?
Check out this verse found in revelations 3:16
“But since you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spit you out of my mouth.”
The word spit in this verse comes from a Greek word that means to spew – or spit - or vomit. The church attending, self proclaiming Christians of the church of Laodicea were so disgusting & so repulsive to God they literally made him want to puke.
What was it about them that disgusted God? They were not cold or hot. They were lukewarm. So what does that mean? Well, if they were hot they would be on fire for God. They would be following and obeying His every command. They would be living out the word & sharing the gospel. If they were cold they would be denying God’s existence. They would have rejected the plan of salvation. These people were neither, they were lukewarm. They claimed to be Christians but they blended in with the world, and they disgusted God.
Is it possible for you and I to disgust God? Can our lives be so putrid and revolting to the point that God literally wants to puke? I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be seen as disgusting. Lukewarm Christians make God sick. So what does it mean to be lukewarm; because, I certainly don’t want to be.
To claim belief in God, but act like He doesn’t exist – is a lukewarm Christian – and that my friends, disgusts God.
In an effort to make sure I, myself am not lukewarm, I thoroughly examined my life and compared it to the following characteristics of a lukewarm Christian. Feel free to join me; however, you are forewarned my toes are sore.
1. Lukewarm Christians crave acceptance from people not God. They are more concerned with doing what is popular rather than what God wants.
2. Lukewarm Christians rarely tell others about their faith in Jesus. They don’t believe it is important to talk about God.
3. Lukewarm Christians do whatever it takes to make excuses to not feel guilty about life choices. They do as little as possible to appear godly and feel good about themselves.
4. Lukewarm Christians think more about life on earth than an eternity in heaven. They panic about earthly things. They always want bigger and better.
5. Lukewarm Christians compare themselves to others to see how good they are. They are satisfied by being better than most, and have the mentality ‘I might sin a little but not as much as that person.’
6. Lukewarm Christians want forgiveness but don’t intend to ever stop sinning. They want enough god to get in heaven but not enough to change them or make them look different.
7. Lukewarm Christians only turn to God when life is hard. They want God to fix problems but ignore God when things are good and easy.
8. Lukewarm Christians give to God when it doesn’t hinder their standard of living. They tithe when there is extra money, not when income is tight.
9. Lukewarm Christians are not much different than lost people. They wear the same clothes. They listen to the same music. They watch the same t.v. programs. They use the same filthy language. They drink. They divorce. They have the same educational and life goals. They blend in.
10. Lukewarm Christians wan the benefits of Christ without having to conform to who He is, or who He wants us to be.
Consider. Are we lukewarm? If so the way we live our lives disgusts God. God would rather you to not say you are a Christian than to claim Him and act lukewarm.
Take for a minute and consider what an oxymoron is. An oxymoron is a combination of contradictory or incongruous words, such as “Jumbo Shrimp.” What are some of your favorite oxymoron’s. Dodge Ram – Invisible Ink – Junk Food – Low Fat – Microsoft Works – Catfish – Diet Icecream – Government Efficiency – Front End - They are all funny aren’t they? How about this one? Lukewarm Christian. Not so funny is it?
These people of Laodecia, were church people. They lived in a rich, wealthy city and observed lots of religious ceremonies. They called themselves Christians. Even so, Revelations 3:20 says
“Listen! I am standing and knocking at your door. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in and we will eat together.”
God is essentially saying, I know you go to church, I know you claim to be a Christian; but, by your actions and by the way you live your life you are lukewarm. You need me to be a part of your life. I am knocking on your door. Let me come in
Look at your life. Are you lukewarm? Do you care? Are you satisfied with your life? Do you have enough of God? Some people pretend to be a Christian – they are lukewarm and don’t even realize it.
Revelation 3:20 “Listen! I am standing and knocking at your door. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in and we will eat together.”
Are you one? Is he knocking? Let Him in…
So yeah, my toes are tender… this preacher wasn’t kidding when he started his sermon. So this is the part where I share what I learned (my public confession) and invite you to jump in, comment, ask questions, add something … whatever.
Out of the ten characteristics of a lukewarm Christian I realize I am dealing with the first. I don’t know about you but there are a lot of people who I want to please. My husband, my children, my Mom & Dad, extended family members, my church family – just to name a few. I also have a lot of responsibility in a lot of different areas of my life filled with tons of people who want me to please them. I am certain that there are plenty of people in your life who you want to please. Is it wrong to? No, not at all – unless pleasing them means you are not pleasing God. In our current culture pleasing God doesn’t always mean you are going to be accepted by your friends and coworkers. Sometimes not even by your family. When we choose to do something different than what is popular – we sometimes upset people, we sometimes dissapoint them. It is hard to do something when it doesn’t please someone you love or deeply respect. It is easy to fall into the trap of constantly trying to please people. Always saying yes, always striving to do what it takes to make everyone around you content, but in the middle of it all, despite the good intentions, we sometimes stop focusing on God and His will, and start pleasing people instead. In the midst of the whirlwind it is easier to conform to what is commonly accepted instead of taking the time to deal with the hassle of taking a stand for what God wants. I have put in A LOT of time and effort considering… am I living my life according to God’s word, or according to what is popular. A lukewarm, people pleasing Christian blends into the world and that disgusts God. Is that me? Is that you? After some prayer filled consideration I have realized that some things in my life seriously need to change. No matter how hard it is or how much it hurts.
Am I going back to school to be a RN because it is what God wants for my life or because the world says it is important to get a formal degree to be considered successful in life? Am I following God or am I pleasing my parents who want what is best for me? Am I following the leading of the Holy Spirit or am I trying to make sure my back is covered in this horrible economy? Am I focusing on God’s principles or am I focusing on giving my kids as much worldly possessions and opportunities that I can?
What I am learning is that forsaking this world and following God is not easy. There is not a lot of support for deciding to simply be a wife and Mom. No one understands choosing to home school. These are just a few ways I need to forsake what is popular and do what God wants.
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