We continue as the Lord leads us (2)...

... to speak on being faithful to the Lord in these last days. Many have responded about the subject of being lukewarm. It makes them wonder where they are between being cold and hot. Jesus said, Revelation 3:1416 (NKJV)  "And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, 'These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.”  Last bulletin article we looked at seven things that Francis Chan said are the profile of the lukewarm and today we will look at seven more. Invite Holy Spirit to come as you examine yourself.

8. Lukewarm people say they love Jesus, and He is indeed, a part of their lives.

Matthew 22:3740 (NLT) 

9. Lukewarm love others but do not seek to love others as much as they love themselves.  

Matthew 5:4347 (NIV) 

10. Lukewarm people are thankful for their luxuries and comforts, and rarely consider trying to give as much as possible to the poor.  Isaiah 58:68 (NIV) 

11. Lukewarm people do whatever is necessary to keep themselves from feeling guilty.  

Matthew 13:4446 (NIV) 

12. Lukewarm people do not live by faith; their lives are structured so they never have to.  

Luke 12:1621 (NLT) 

13. Lukewarm people feel secure because they attend church, made a profession of faith when they were young, were baptized, come from a Christian family, vote Republican, or live in America.  

Matthew 7:2123 (NIV)

14. Lukewarm people probably drink and swear less than average, but besides that, they aren’t much different from your typical unbeliever.  Matthew 23:2528 (NIV) 

How did you do on this profile of the lukewarm?  Let me remind you why you cannot cheat on this test.  Revelation 3:15 (NKJV) “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot.”  He knows our works...He knows what we are doing and what we are not doing. This profile is not for condemnation but for us to examine our hearts and get things right. Jesus says to the church that He is standing at the door and knocking...let Him in!!!

We continue as the Lord leads us...

... to speak on being faithful to the Lord in these last days.  Many have responded through the years about the subject of being lukewarm. It makes them wonder where they are between being cold and hot. Jesus said, Revelation 3:1416 (NKJV)  "And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, 'These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.” None of us wants to be vomited out of Jesus mouth because we are not on fire for Him. Francis Chan gives us a profile of the lukewarm and I want us to examine these and see where we stand.

1. Lukewarm people attend church fairly regularly.  Isaiah 29:13 (NIV) 

2. Lukewarm people give money to charity and to the church.  Luke 21:14 (NIV) 

3. Lukewarm people do what is popular over what is right.  Revelation 3:1 (NIV)

4. Lukewarm people do not really want to be saved from their sins...they want to be saved from the penalty of their sins.  John 10:10 (NKJV)  Romans 6:12 (NLT) 

5. Lukewarm people are moved by stories about people who do radical things for Christ, yet their lives do not change.  James 1:22 (NIV) 

6. Lukewarm people rarely share their faith with their co-workers, neighbors, or friends.  

Matthew 10:3239 (NIV)

7. Lukewarm people compare themselves or their goodness to the secular world.

Luke 18:914 (NIV) 

How did you do on this first seven profiles of the lukewarm?  Did you see any areas that need attention in your lives?  Are you on fire for God the way you should be or have you found yourself compromising in several areas?  It is my prayer as Lead Pastor of Life Church that none of us be vomited out of Jesus mouth.  Next week’s bulletin we will continue this profile. Jesus expects our all, Church, let us be faithful to Him!

Paul said in 1 Timothy 2:8 (NIV)...

... “I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing.”  All of us know that we should pray and that we should pray every day...without ceasing.  We all know we should pray fervently and that we should be constantly making intercession to the Lord for a multitude of reasons...prodigals, sickness, our nation, etc. We read books on prayer, hear sermons about prayer, go to seminars about prayer, and we even commit ourselves to pray more (New Year’s). Why is it so hard for us to pray consistently and to worship God continually?

Let’s look at some reasons why it is so hard to pray and to worship.

1. We have trouble praying because prayer and worship seem to be unnatural acts for us.  Stay with me...we were originally created to desire communion with God...Adam and Eve walked with God daily in the garden.  Something separated them from this close communion...what was it? Sin. Sin also puts a wall between God and ourselves.

2. We have trouble praying because prayer and worship seem to be admissions of weakness. Get this...the act of prayer and worship by their nature are admissions of weakness. We are crying out for God’s help! As we pray, our inner man acknowledges our utter dependence upon the One we are praying to. Paul says when we are weak then we are strong.

3. We have trouble praying and worshiping because we do not see the actual results of prayer the way we expect.  Don’t misunderstand me, I believe God absolutely answers prayer.  Most of us have lived long enough to realize that God’s answers do not always come in the way or on the time frame that we would have chosen. Was He even listening?  Key: We must see that prayer and worship are for the business of aligning ourselves with God’s purposes instead of asking Him and expecting Him to align with ours. Amen!