The Church that Made God Sick

lukewarm? When they grow comfortable, complacent, lethargic spiritually…and not even know it! Or, not even care!
Lukewarmness is the opposite of what the songwriter said, when he wrote: “I’m pressing on the upward way, new heights…”
That’s the attitude God is looking for.

One thing that all Christians have in common w/ all churches: They never stand still! You’re either going forward, or backward.

Ill.—soldier in civil war, couldn’t decide if he was for the north or the south, so he put on a union coat and confederate pants…when they found him he was dead, face down, and had been shot in the front and stabbed in the back!

Jesus said, I would rather you be cold than lukewarm, or halfway. At least then you would be able to feel it, and recognize you have a problem! But even better, I wish that you were hot, on fire for God, but you’re neither…you’re lukewarm, comfortable, complacent, cozy, and convenient. You’ve replaced zeal w/ indifference / enthusiasm w/ apathy. You’re not really up, not really down / in or out / with it or without it / you’ve got just enough Jesus in you that you can’t enjoy the world, and enough of the world in you, that you can’t enjoy Jesus! Just riding the fence. And it’s Jesus who says, if you won’t get in, get faithful, get busy, and get serious, then just go ahead and get out!

It’s an all or nothing existence that we live as Christians. And I want to know, why be halfway? As Christians we have every reason in the world to be on fire for God, and when we’re not, we ought to be ashamed!

“If I wasn’t a fireball for my God, what would I be? I’d be ashamed!”

We have in our possession an inexhaustible gold mine of spiritual riches…the Bible…God’s love letter to us!

I can be forgiven! That thought alone ought to light our fire.
I have the promise of heaven! Until then I have the presence of God, supplying my every need!
Ill.—On theroad to Emmaus, 2 followers of Christ walked w/ Him after His resurrection, not recognizing who He was…after they realized it, they said, “Did not our hearts burn within us!” He lives inside of us and goes with us everywhere we go, how can we not be on fire?!

We have the Spirit of God…at the moment of salvation I was baptized of the Spirit / sealed / indwelt by…and now we can have the privilege of being Spirit filled…how can we not be on fire?!

We can have God’s fellowship, and thru His Word He speaks loud and clear to our hearts if we will listen…and thru the privilege of prayer we can talk back to Him…real communication w/ my Creator, my Savior, my God!

No wonder Jesus said to this church, you make me sick, when they were satisfied w/ a mediocre spiritual existence.

That’s the condition of this church…they were lukewarm.

2. Their commendation
You can almost always find something good to say about someone, can’t you?
Joke—guy went to preacher and said, “My wife is not responding to me, what do I do?”/ preacher: “compliment her every day”/ “I don’t know what I’d compliment”/ “you can always find something, go think about it!”/he went home, approached his wife, and said, you know, for a fat gal, you don’t smell much!

You can almost always find something to compliment. Mama told me if you can’t find something good to say, don’t say anything at all…which is exactly what Jesus Christ did. He had no compliments, no commendation to this