REVELATION 3:14-17 – “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation. “ ‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.
THEME OF THE DAY. THE LUKEWARM HEART. It was part of my daily readings and it stopped me in my tracks. It was one simple plea from David in the hundred and fortieth Psalm – “I say to the LORD, You are my God; give ear to the voice of my pleas for mercy, O LORD!” (Psalm 140:6). Yes, a simple prayer, but it became a stopping point of soul-searching and meditation. My quiet time centered on the words “my pleas for mercy”. As I pondered God’s mercy to me and my constant need of mercy in so many areas of my life, one point became THE POINT. I prayed, “Lord, I need mercy not to abuse or take for granted Your mercy.” And I think that is a prayer each of us may pray passionately and frequently.
One of the easiest sins to creep into the heart of the Christian is the sin of becoming lukewarm. Notice the attitude of our Lord toward this sin in His people. It is severe. It is serious. Obviously, our Lord takes all sin seriously, but this one particularly receives the strongest of warnings and rebukes. Read again His chilling words – “I will spit you out of my mouth.” We know what it is like to get something in our mouth that is disgusting and foul-tasting. And we know how quickly we remove it. The language of our Lord to His lukewarm people is vivid and should cause us serious reflection. Why? The ease of self-deception. Go further into our Lord’s words, “For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.”
The most serious spiritual condition for a child of God to be in is that of being lukewarm. And it’s serious because of its power of self-deception. Our Lord said of His indifferent people, “You think you are okay, all is well, when actually you are in a horrible spiritual condition.” And when it comes to being spiritually lukewarm, here are five symptoms the condition is upon us; no burden for lost sinners, no passion for personal holiness, no desire for prayer, no hunger for the Word, and no sacrificial involvement with God’s people in the local church. But we can fight against this evil and the prevention isn’t complex. We only need to implement three things in our lives to prevent a lukewarm heart.
First, determine that the most important thing and relationship in our lives is that with Jesus Christ. And we will diligently fight against anything or anyone seeking to distract us from this precious privilege. If we daily strive for this, time in the Word and prayer will be uncompromised disciplines and will prevent a cooled heart.
Next, commit to regularly be with Christians who are zealous for the Lord. Get involved with believers in the Word, prayer, and service. John Bunyan said, “Keep company with the soundest Christians that have most experience of Christ.” Isolated Christians who think they can “go alone” in the Christian life are the ones most self-deceived and quickest to a lukewarm heart. God never intended for us to be “Lone Ranger” Christians. We travel to heaven as a family, not individuals, and family members need family members to instruct, encourage, and correct one another.
A final way to prevent a lukewarm heart is to think every day that today could be our last day on earth. It might be and someday it will be. Think often of seeing Jesus face to face. It will prevent a lukewarm heart.
It is a real and present danger, a lukewarm heart. May God help us to use what He has given us – prayer, His Word, and His people – to keep us from this God-dishonoring condition.
PRAYER: “Father, protect me from the danger of being satisfied where I am spiritually.”
QUOTE: “The sin of complacency is extremely dangerous for it deceives us to think all is well when the opposite is true”