How to Be a Passionate Church
Series: Will the Real Church Please Stand Up?
October 22, 2006
This morning I want to give you a little science lesson on thermodynamics! Remember that word from high school science class? In case you don’t, “thermodynamics” is a branch of physics that studies the effects of changes in temperature, pressure, and volume on physical systems. That’s the official definition!
The 2nd law of thermodynamics basically states that “everything is moving toward the same temperature”. In otherwords, if you put several objects that have different temperatures in the same environment, they’ll all affect each other, and eventually level off to the same degree. So if you take a hot pan off the stove and plunge it into a sink of cold water, what happens? The pan cools down and the water heats up. Right? After only a few minutes they’re both at the same temperature. That’s thermodynamics! Then let’s say you put your ice-cold Coke in a pan of warm water. What will happen? The ice-cubes melt and your soda gets warm. Again, thermodynamics at work.
Now, that’s all very well and good, if you don’t care if your food’s cold and your Coke is warm. But if you like your food hot and your Coke cold… you’ve got a problem! Let’s do a little experiment with what we know. In front of you I’ve put 6 cups. 2 of the cups contain coffee. 2 contain soda, and 2 of the cups contain milk. I need two people to taste the coffee; 2 people to taste the soda and 2 people to taste the milk. Do I have some volunteers? Now, what I want the audience to do this morning is by just observing… tell me which drinks are cold and which ones are hot.
As you come, I would point out that there is also on this table an empty bucket. I won’t tell you what to do with it; but just do what comes naturally! (DO TASTE TEST)
Okay, I think I’ve made my point. What just happened here? One of the coffee cups was brewed and put out here at the beginning of the service; because it is in such a large room, it cooled off to room temperature. In a similar way, one of the cups of soda was iced down as we started worship; but, again, because of the size of this space, it warmed up to room temperature and became flat and tasteless. I did the same thing with the milk. The law of thermodynamics tells us that little things quickly take on the temperature of their surroundings.
The rule of “spiritual” thermodynamics works the same way. Christians, submerged in this ‘big problem world’, quickly take on the temperature of this world. To the point that they’re not really hot for God, and they’re not really cold for God…they’re just kind of ‘lukewarm’! And Jesus (the Master ‘taste-tester’) has a problem with that! He tastes our lives and has a natural but violent reaction… a ‘gag reflex’. He wants to spit us out! He says in vs. 16 “… because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth” Actually the original Grk. is a little more crude… He says…”I am about to VOMIT you out!”. There’s another word for ‘lukewarmness’ it’s called ‘apathy’. SEE POSTERS
Apathy can affect all of us, no matter what your age, or regardless of your education and income. Because of apathy, husbands and wives stop caring about their marriages. Kids stop caring about their school work. Apathetic teens don’t care much about anything! Their motto becomes… “Whatever”. When employees become apathetic, the quality of their work and the level of their service suffers. The wealthy are unconcerned about the poor, and the poor are indifferent toward the wealthy. Apathy can affect the cleanliness of your home, the condition of your finances, even your relationship with God.
When ‘apathy’ infects the church it becomes a real problem! In the church today…
· It’s keeping us from really ever getting fired up about our relationship with the Lord. It’s kind of business as usual.
· Lukewarmness keeps us from taking a stand against moral injustice and sin in our world. Instead we just blend in.
· “Lukewarm Living” restricts our giving. As a result, missions go unfunded, churches go unbuilt, or unlaunched… outreach is stalled.
· Luke-warm Christians are saying to a lost world that heaven and hell really don’t matter that much…so don’t be too concerned about it!
And so Jesus comes to His church and says…in vs. 15…“I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other!” As we just found out this morning… hot and cold are ‘good’… depending on what you’re talking about. Cold is great for a coke, but ‘cold gravy’ doesn’t taste too good. Hot coffee is great… but I’m not a big fan of ‘micro waved ice-cream’! It all depends on what you’re talking about. Jesus isn’t saying, “I’d rather have an ice-cold atheist to a lukewarm Christian”. No! He’s saying, “I want you to be a cold refreshing glass of water to the spiritually thirsty, and I want you to be a “hot healing Jacuzzi” for those in pain… but I can’t stand it when you’re LUKEWARM… because then you can’t help anybody! You’re not good for anything, but to be spit out!” Now, the Laodiceans knew exactly what Jesus was talking about because they didn’t have a natural source of water in their city. They had to have water brought in from miles away through a system of aqueducts and stone pipes. By the time it got to them, it was stale and tasteless! (kind of like Brentwood water!)
Now there are 3 causes, or reasons for lukewarmness…and they all relate to this 2nd Law of Thermodynamics. The Laodiceans were guilty of all 3, as we’re going to see in their words and actions. The question is… ARE WE? The 1st cause of lukewarmness comes from…
1. Neglect
The 2nd Law of Spiritual Thermodynamics would predict this! When our kids were small, there were very few things that frustrated me more than waking up in the morning, hungry for a nice bowl of “Rice Krispies”… only to discover that someone left the milk out overnight! My nice cold milk was lukewarm! Thankfully, I knew who did it! His name was…“Ida-No”! “Which one of you kids left this milk out? “I Dunno!”
“Ida No” was a problem child! Neglect, causes a lot of problems in our homes. Neglect causes a lot of problems in our spiritual lives! When we ‘neglect’ God… we become lukewarm!
· When we neglect to spend time with Him in prayer
· Or we neglect to expose ourselves to His Word, allowing Him to challenge us… we lose our spiritual fervor.
· When we neglect to spend time with other Christians in church, or in fellowship events… we cool off!
I had a neighbor tell me last week that the reason brake pads go bad so fast is because they overheat and melt. Brake pads are made with asbestos, which is designed to cool off fast. And so if you want to extend the life of your brakes, pump them as you come to a stop, so they have a chance to cool off. Makes sense to me! You say, “Yeh, but what does that have to do with God?” Well, because we’re made out of asbestos…(spiritually speaking). We tend to cool off fast (spiritually speaking). Without HIM… without His people in our lives…we quickly cool off and resume room temperature. That’s good for brakes, but bad for people!
That’s why in Heb.10:22, the bible says to ‘draw near to God” in vs.25… and to ‘draw near to God’s people” …”And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.” If you read the context, God is warning us of the consequences of ‘cooling off’… of falling into sin, of living a life of lukewarmness! In the verse before that, (vs.24) He pleads with us to…”…think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.” In otherwords, we need to think of ways to ‘heat each other up”… to the things of God!
The 2nd cause of ‘lukewarm living’ that the Laodiceans fell prey to, and we’re especially prone to is…
2. Over- exposure
It’s the 2nd Law of Spiritual Thermodynamics at work! The reason coffee gets lukewarm and milk goes sour is because of ‘over-exposure’ to the air around it. Let me ask you a question… Can a person become lukewarm from over-exposure to God? Answer: NO. But it IS possible to take His blessings for granted.
It’s possible for us to be so surrounded by His grace and goodness in our lives, that we forget who caused it in the first place.
How many of you know that ‘over-exposure’ (even to a good thing) can breed complacency… In some cases it breeds disgust and disrespect!
For example, if you give your kids everything their little hearts desire, (toys, junk foods, clothes, extravagant B-day parties, a nice home)… If instead of giving them your time, you try and buy their love…with ‘things’…you might be surprised that instead of being thankful, they just become more demanding and unappreciative.
Why? Over-exposure! It happened to the Israelites in the O.T.! God had been so good to them, (He’d blessed them, given them health, prosperity, success…land, made them the envy of the world)…NOT so they could selfishly gorge themselves, but so they would turn around and share God’s love and grace with the nations. But instead of praising Him… what did they do? They turned their back on Him! They turned into spoiled brats!
It happened to the Laodiceans… In all the other letters to the churches Jesus tells them what he does or has… but when He comes to the Laodiceans in vs. 14 telling them who He IS!!!! “This is the message from the one who is the Amen—the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s new creation.” He says…
1. “I’m the AMEN”. In the Heb. mind, saying ‘amen’ doesn’t mean ‘the end’, like we use it in a prayers…but it’s a way of saying that something is completely trustworthy. In otherwords, Jesus is telling us that He’s THE solid foundation for life! He’s the AMEN! Then He says…
2. “I’m the faithful and true witness”. In otherwords, what I say about God is exactly true, and how I represent God is exactly right. and anyone who says or does anything that contradicts Me…is a liar! 3rdly… He comes to them as…
3. “The beginning of God’s creation”… Jesus is saying that He’s the beginning and the end. He’s the meaning and reason for everything that was created.
So, here we have the “Great I AM”, the Ruler and Creator of all heaven and earth coming to the Laodiceans and they respond… “Ho Hum!” Their over-exposure had bred complacency!
Let me ask you, have you lost our AWE of God? Have we become so ‘used’ to having His blessings that we’ve grown bored with Him? It happened to the Israelites. It happened to the Laodiceans. Has it happened to us? Have we become so exposed to God’s goodness that we’ve come to expect…even demand it? I think it’s happened to us as a nation. We’ve had it so good… but you know what? We’ve forgotten, ‘Who’ and ‘Why’ God gave it to us in the first place! So that we can be a light to the nations! Instead of being thankful, we’ve been spoiled… to the point that we ignore God! Maybe that’s why Jesus tells us in vs.19 “I’m going to have to discipline you”,… because you’re acting like spoiled brats! As a Christian (especially in America) it’s sooooo easy to become lukewarm, not because God’s been so mean, it’s because He’s been so good! Over-exposure can be a cause of lukewarmness.
3rdly, the 2nd Law of Spiritual Thermodynamics would say that…
3. Self Sufficiency… creates room temperature Christians!
Drinks that don’t depend on microwaves or refrigerators assume room temperature! The same is true for people. Jesus actually quotes the Laodiceans words back to them…”You say, ‘I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ The Laodiceans wealth and contentedness had lured them to a false sense of self-sufficiency. I say ‘false’ sense of sufficiency, because for all our wealth and belongings, we’re still so fragile! It’s like the wealthy businessman Jesus tells about in Luke 12:13-21. While He’s bragging about his riches and wondering how to store up all his amassed wealth…God comes to him one night and says, “Tonight, you’re gonna die!”. Now what are your riches going to do for you?”
We forget that don’t we? We work so hard to be self-sufficient and secure. To have enough money in the bank that no matter what happens…we won’t have to depend on God or anyone else for that matter. But in reality, we’re all just balancing on a tight rope! And no matter how much we stockpile, no matter how much we fool ourselves into thinking, “I don’t need a thing”…nothing can protect us from tragedy and death. Whether we want to admit it or not, we need God! We need Him for our next breath! And the failure to remember that, causes lukewarmness! So many people are trying to substitute monetary wealth for spiritual wealth today. Jesus says the same thing to them He said to this businessman…”You fool! …Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.” -Luke 12:20 (NLT)
Neglect, overexposure, self-sufficiency work on our souls to cause a cooling off towards God. The sad thing is, it happens so gradually, we don’t even notice it! In our own minds, we’re the same as we always were. We don’t see any difference! We’re like the guy who met a hippy on the street and asked him… “Man, you’re either ignorant or apathetic! Which one is it? He responded, “Dude! I don’t know and I don’t care!” Thankfully, Jesus DOES know, and DOES CARE! He brings us up short in vs. 17b…”You say, ‘I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.” -Rev.3:17 Uh Oh! I guess it’s worse than we thought, huh?!
Remember the story about a King who had a ‘passion for fashion’? He always wanted the latest and greatest for his royal wardrobe. One day, a couple of brave cheaters came to his city bragging about this new material they’d discovered. They said it had magical powers: if anyone was wise, and had fine taste in clothing, the material would shine with unbelievable beauty. But to anyone who was ignorant about fashion, the material would be completely invisible. The king was overjoyed! He could look good and show off his wisdom at the same time, so he put the men to work at making him a new suit. Finally, the day came!
It was time for the king to put on his new suit and parade around in front of the entire city for everyone to see. The whole town had heard about this magic fabric and wanted to see it for themselves, (if they were wise enough, of course). In the king’s chambers, the designers came in, pretending to dress him. They pretended to adjust his collar. They double checked their measurements and straighten out his royal cape… but deep down inside, everyone, (including the king), knew there was really nothing there.
And although the King was entirely un-covered, everyone pretended to admire his outfit. So here’s the king, naked as a blue jay, frolicking around the city center and nobody dared to laugh or say a word. As he paraded naked through main street, everyone pretended to see the beautiful new suit, because no one wanted to admit they were ignorant, or foolish, or lacking in good taste. While all the grownups pretended the suit looked gorgeous (birthday suit, that is!), one little boy turned to his mom said, “Mummy. The King isn’t wearing any clothes,” but everyone hushed him and pretended to believe… because no one wanted to admit they were fashionable.
I always loved that story, but then I realized that we have a tendency to do this all the time. We pretend our ‘nakedness’ isn’t there, and we forbid anyone around us from stating the obvious. To our own destruction, we don’t want to hear the truth about our true condition. But Jesus is a honest friend… and He never beats around the bush… He tells us the truth about ourselves.
· We’re NOT self-sufficient and rich, we’re weak and poor!
· We’re not as smart as we think we are… we’re actually blind and foolish!
· We’re not wise and fashionable…we’re naked and should be embarrassed!
Honestly folks, we have nothing to brag about. In our honest moments, maybe when we’re all alone, we take off our mask and have to agree with Jesus. We’re not as ‘put-together’ as we’d like people to think.
The naked truth is…we’re messed up and we need help! Amazingly, when we finally admit that, we realize that the people we thought we were fooling…knew it all along!
I want you to understand something very important. When Jesus states our true condition, His words are straightforward, but they’re not angry. In fact, if you could read them in their original Grk. you would notice that the words, ‘poor, blind, naked’… all end with the suffix… ‘os’. In the Grk. it’s the sound of compassion. Instead of being repulsed… Jesus does what He always does with honest, hurting people…He moves towards them! He wants to cover our exposed sin and shame with His healing words. So in vs. 18-19, He tenderly gives us His wise advise…“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. (and just in case we’re tempted to think there’s any other way, he adds…) Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent.”
1. Purchase God’s Golden FAITH
“buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich.” –vs.18a
“Wait a minute Jesus, I thought you said I was poor! So where am I going to get enough money to invest in gold?” What we don’t realize, is that God doesn’t use the same currency that we do. What can we give to God in exchange for the good gold? Our faith! In II Peter 1:7, our faith is compared to gold that is refined in the fires of testing and trials. “These trials” Peter says, “will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls. –II Peter 1:7-9
I was thinking of some of the trials that many of you are going through this morning as I read that verse. Our faith in God, even in the middle of trials is a very precious thing to Him.
The trials shake us out of our ‘comfortable apathy’, our “spiritual mediocrity and indifference. But it’s our faith and trust in God that stirs us up and motivates us again. “Purchasing God’s Gold” means you begin trusting God again, instead of in your own abilities and finances. It means you begin stepping out beyond your own abilities and limits. The most exciting part of the Christian life is walking by faith, and Peter ought to know… remember, he was the only one that got out of the boat!
If you find yourself, lukewarm and spiritually apathetic this morning, Jesus advises you to look for evidence of His movement in your life, ask Him to open up new opportunities… and then take them! Then you’ll begin to see Him at work in your life again, and in a short period of time, He’ll restore a new motivation into your heart, a new skip in your steps.
The 2nd bit of advise that Jesus gives the apathetic Christian and Church is to…
2. Clothe Yourself (not in our own self-sufficiency) but in RIGHTEOUSNESS.
“…white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness.” –vs. 18b. Laodicea was famous for it’s clothing industry. As a result, they were the best dressed people in this part of the Near East… and they were proud of it. Jesus shocks them by saying they’re naked as a jay-bird! He tells us that the things we’re proud of (our good works, our religion, all the things we’re doing to try and earn our way to heaven)…are nothing more than filthy rags! And if we’re going to be revived, we’re going to have to throw them away & put on His righteous clothing. Only His righteousness will cover our shame!
3rdly, to renew our passion, Jesus advises us to… ‘put salve on your eyes, so you can see.” –vs.18c
3. See Yourself With Eyes of TRUTH
Again, when we’re lukewarm… we can’t see it! We think we’re doing fine. I don’t know about you, but I shudder to think about what I’m not seeing about myself. I’m so good at seeing only what I want to see! That’s because everyone of us has this ‘idealized self’ that we like to promote…and think of. (How nice we are to kids, how loving we are to our spouse, how much we give to charity, our kindness to strangers)… but there’s also the REAL self, (that God sees). It’s the ‘dark side’ of our personalities, that we don’t want anyone to see…including ourselves. It’s the part of us that’s…
· secretly jealous
· the part of us that yells at the kids for no real reason
· the part that holds grudges against our perceived enemies.
Over time, we develop spiritual cataracts. They allow us to excuse our actions and make us blind to our true condition. Eventually these hidden sins… rob us of our passion, because we know deep down that we’re hypocrites. Our hypocrisy keeps us from going all out for God, because we don’t want to be found out. But Jesus can see through our facades. For example, He knew that the Laodiceans also prided themselves on their world famous eye-salve. And like all eye salves of the ancient world, they made your eyes sting, before they actually brought healing. Jesus is encouraging us to buy His eye salve. It’s famous for stripping away the spiritual cataracts! But 1st it’s going to sting a little. Seeing yourself, for who you really are… always does.
The church of Laodicea was cited for violating the Lord by living a mediocre lifestyle. They pretended everything was ‘all good’. They thought they were successful, rich and lacking nothing and I’m sure they perceived their success as God’s blessing. But Jesus had news for them! Although they were successful by all outward appearances, inside they were critically wounded: spiritually disabled as a church, and followers of Him. The same Lord who warns us that if we’re neither cold nor hot, will spit us out, is now inviting us:
Read vs. 20 with me. “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 him, and he with me”. –Rev.3:20
Jesus is making one last plea with us…The tragedy is that He’s on the outside looking in! (Reminds me of my cat!) “Look! Can you see me? Don’t ignore me! Don’t go anywhere else. I’m right here. I’m all you ever need! Why don’t you open the door? Why are you being so stubborn?” See, that’s the real root of lukewarmness… excluding Jesus from any part of your life! Jesus is asking you to allow Him to come into every nook and cranny…
· Into your closet… where all your unforgiven sins and habits are hidden.
· Into your family room…marriage, kids, relatives.
· This is going to sound strange, but let him into your bedroom… deal with your sexuality.
· Let him into the room called ‘money’, ‘past’, ‘dreams’, ‘fears’…
Just know this…He’s a gentleman. He won’t barge in. That’s the reason He’s knocking! And because the handle is on your side, you’re the only one who can open the door! If you’ll do that, He’ll restore your intimacy, your passion!
