The Foolish Church

Living between hot and cold is repulsive to Jesus.

Revelation 3:15-21 "I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! 16 But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth! 17 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.

18 So I advise you to buy gold from Me--gold that has been purified by fire. Then you will be rich. Also buy white garments from Me so you will not be shamed by your nakedness, and ointment for your eyes so you will be able to see. 19 I correct and discipline everyone I love. So be diligent and turn from your indifference.

20 "Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear My voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends. 21 Those who are victorious will sit with Me on My throne, just as I was victorious and sat with My Father on His throne.

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It is easy to be so well blessed that you forget where the blessings come from and you start to depend on the blessings instead of the one who blesses. The church at Laodicea didn't think that they were lacking anything but that is because they were using their physical eyes instead of their spiritual.

"You are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked."

They thought that their gold and their fine garments and the ointment that their city was famous for were signs that God was pleased with them. But Jesus offers us so much more than the riches and pleasures of this world. Just like the Samaritan women at the well who was offered the Living Water, just like the crowd that was offered the Bread of life, Jesus is offering a better gold, better garments and better ointment for their eyes. The things that the world has to offer are never as good as the things that Jesus has for us. (Revelation 3:18)

This church thought that they were doing a good job, they were busy building themselves up, they thought that they were rich but Jesus says that they are poor. This stands in contrast to the church at Smyrna that thought it was poor and Jesus said that they are rich. (Revelation 2:9-10)

This church reminds me of God's children in the Old Testament, most of the time they were proud of the fact that they were not too radical, they thought that they could please God while they embraced the ways of the people around them.

1 Kings 18:21 Then Elijah stood in front of them and said, "How much longer will you waver, hobbling between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him! But if Baal is God, then follow him!" But the people were completely silent.

It seems a lot like the church today in America. We don't like to be offensive but the gospel is offensive. We don't like to be different from the rest of the world but that is exactly the way God's children are called to be. Instead of being offensive we have allowed historic beliefs of the church that have been part of our creeds and part of Biblical teaching to be watered down and contradicted.

So be diligent and turn from your indifference.

Our everyday lives lack passion for the Lord, the message to Laodicea is also to us, get hot for Jesus, be radical instead of ordinary. A zeal for the things of God will cause us to cheerfully work for him and our love for him will help us stand for truth because when we love something strongly then we will hate all that is against it.

Jesus is waiting for us to let him into our church, it sounds a little bit strange, the church has to be willing to have him for him to come in. The thing that made this church so foolish is that they were trying to do church without Jesus. Sounds ridiculous doesn't it? Yet there are plenty of "churches" today that are attempting to do just that.

Jesus has gone to extreme measures to get to the door but he will not open the door and force his way into our congregation. We often use these verses to lead lost people to Christ, but the basic application here is to the church.

The inscription on the cathedral in Lubeck, Germany:

"Ye call Me Master and obey me not,
Ye call Me Light and see Me not,
Ye call Me Way and walk not,
Ye call Me Life and desire Me not,
Ye call Me wise and follow Me not,
Ye call Me fair and love Me not,
Ye call Me rich and ask Me not,
Ye call Me eternal and seek Me not,
Ye call Me gracious and trust Me not,
Ye call Me noble and serve Me not,
Ye call Me mighty and honor Me not,
Ye call Me just and fear Me not,
If I condemn you, blame me not".

We have a tendency to stay in the lukewarm zone, very few people like to be overly hot or cold, it is natural for us to seek a comfortable temperature. As a follower of Jesus we don't get to stay comfortable if we want to please God.

I think there are few churches today that have a zealous desire for Jesus, not very many are wanting to experience the red hot church of the Book of Acts, most of us want just enough Jesus to keep us out of Hell.

It is very difficult for us to see ourselves as God sees us and view our sins as being as offensive as he does. If I agree with God about my condition, if I agree with him that I am a wretched man without him, if I view my sins as being offensive to him then I will not try to live in between hot and cold.

We should learn from the church of Laodicea:

• Seek our riches from God and reject the counterfeit riches of the world. 
• Hold onto sound doctrine despite the views of the world.
• Serve God with passion and reject halfhearted devotion to him. 
• Be sure that Jesus is welcome inside our church so we can fellowship with him.

SCRIPTURE ON ZEAL

Psalm 69:9/ John 2:17/ Romans 12:11/ 2 Corinthians 7:11/ Galatians 4:18/ Titus 2:14

RELATED ARTICLES

To Be A Zealous Christian (challies.com)

Extreme Missions

How extreme is your commitment to the great commission? 

Acts 20:18-27  When they arrived he declared, "You know that from the day I set foot in the province of Asia until now  19  I have done the Lord's work humbly and with many tears. I have endured the trials that came to me from the plots of the Jews.  20  I never shrank back from telling you what you needed to hear, either publicly or in your homes.  21  I have had one message for Jews and Greeks alike--the necessity of repenting from sin and turning to God, and of having faith in our Lord Jesus."

22  "And now I am bound by the Spirit to go to Jerusalem. I don't know what awaits me,  23  except that the Holy Spirit tells me in city after city that jail and suffering lie ahead.  24  But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus--the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God."   

25  "And now I know that none of you to whom I have preached the Kingdom will ever see me again.  26  I declare today that I have been faithful. If anyone suffers eternal death, it's not my fault,  27  for I didn't shrink from declaring all that God wants you to know."

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Many times I wonder about the life that we live and wonder if we are supposed to be doing so much more for God. I go to work, I casually mention the fact that I go to church, I go on about my day. This is so different from the extreme approach to missions that we see in the Bible and it is so different from the lifestyle of many missionaries around the world that are living out God's mission in extreme ways while most of us do so little.

One man whose obedience to mission work was extreme was Paul. In the book of Acts and in Paul's letters you see how dangerous his work was. Many times he was chased out of town or beat up. We can also see how very consuming Paul's mission work was as he spent almost all of his time and energy doing it.

Paul said that he did the Lord's work with humility, tears, perseverance and he never avoided saying what needed to be said even when it put him in danger. There are not many missionaries that can say that much less the average Christ follower. How many of us approach our missions work with such zeal?

I have to admit that I have never cried over the people that I was going out to work with on a mission trip. Most of the trips are only a week and don't take up much of my time and energy. I have never spoke up for Jesus in the face of danger, often times I don't speak up when the only reaction that I will probably get may be so very minor. I have to wonder how pleased God is with my weak effort.

Sound the warning!
Ezekiel 33:3-5  When the watchman sees the enemy coming, he sounds the alarm to warn the people.  4  Then if those who hear the alarm refuse to take action, it is their own fault if they die.  5  They heard the alarm but ignored it, so the responsibility is theirs. If they had listened to the warning, they could have saved their lives.

My mission is similar to the job of the watchman up on the city wall back in ancient times, he was responsible for warning the people when danger was coming, this was a very important job that needed to be taken seriously. It is the job of every follower of Jesus!

The danger that is on the way should motivate us to tell everyone. I need to sound the warning. I need to make the message clear so that I will not be to blame if they ignore the warning.

Serving? Don't Be Shy!

God's people are encouraged to serve boldly.

Luke 1:74-75  We have been rescued from our enemies so we can serve God without fear,  75  in holiness and righteousness for as long as we live.

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The story of the birth of John the Baptist is very familiar to most people that have heard the Christmas story but we are probably not so familiar with Zachariah's prophecies that immediately follow, one prophecy about his son John and the other prophecy about the coming Messiah. (Luke 1:67-80)

Zachariah's prophecy predicted that the Messiah is coming to rescue us from our enemies. We may have a lot of enemies but without the work of the Messiah my number one enemy is death, it is Satan's favorite tool, but we know that Jesus came to destroy the power of death in the lives of his children. (Hebrews 2:14-15)

Zachariah's prophecy goes on to say the reason that we were saved from our enemies is so that we can serve God without fear. Unlike the priest that served with fear in the most holy part of the temple while the people were outside anxiously waiting to see if he would come out alive. We can serve God without fear because Satan's power has been defeated and because our relationship with God has been restored so that we are holy and righteous.

We have power from the Holy Spirit.

Acts 4:29-31 And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word. 30 Stretch out your hand with healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 31 After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness.

The early church was being threatened by various groups, the government wasn't friendly to them and the people that were still holding onto Judaism felt that the Christ followers were blasphemers and they felt that they deserved to be stoned.

With all of this against them trying to stop them you would think that the early church would be praying for safety but instead they are asking God to make them even bolder than they already were. Their boldness was the source of their trouble but instead of hunkering down they kept praying for more boldness.

Use your gifts boldly.

2 Timothy 1:6-8  This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you.  7  For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.  8  So never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord. And don't be ashamed of me, either, even though I'm in prison for Him. With the strength God gives you, be ready to suffer with me for the sake of the Good News.

Our spiritual gifts need to be developed so that you will get better at using it. Paul tells us to take that little spark and "fan into flames" and make it grow into a powerful force so that we can go out boldly and serve God without fear or embarrassment even if it means suffering. Instead of the spirit of fear we have been given a spirit of power, love and self-discipline.

God may want to use my spiritual gifts but he may want to use my weaknesses, the very thing that I feel like I cannot do may be the thing that he wants me to do, I need to be willing to be used by God and boldly allow him to use me in any way that he wants.

We can only serve one master, the choice is ours to make, will you serve yourself and miss the blessings of serving God? (John 12:25-26, 13:13-17)

God doesn't use dirty instruments, are you a clean instrument that he can use? (2 Timothy 2:20-21)

Will you love God and serve him with all your heart and soul or will you hold back? (Deuteronomy 10:12-13)

Praying? Don't Be Shy!

God's people are encouraged to pray boldly.

Nehemiah 1:3-7  They said to me, "Things are not going well for those who returned to the province of Judah. They are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem has been torn down, and the gates have been destroyed by fire."

4  When I heard this, I sat down and wept. In fact, for days I mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of heaven.  5  Then I said, "O LORD, God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps His covenant of unfailing love with those who love Him and obey His commands,  6  listen to my prayer!

Look down and see me praying night and day for Your people Israel. I confess that we have sinned against You. Yes, even my own family and I have sinned!  7  We have sinned terribly by not obeying the commands, decrees, and regulations that You gave us through Your servant Moses.

Psalms 102:1-2  A prayer of one overwhelmed with trouble, pouring out problems before the LORD.

LORD, hear my prayer! Listen to my plea!  2  Don't turn away from me in my time of distress. Bend down to listen, and answer me quickly when I call to You.

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I have been in church all of my life and I have never seen anyone pray the way God's people did in the Bible. In the Bible there is a forceful passion without any messing around these people pray what they feel. It makes me wonder how we can see their prayers and the results that they achieved and yet we don't follow their example?

"Hey God, it's me again, I know you are busy and you have other more important things. I know you already know this but let me just ask this one thing if it's your will. Sorry to bother you."

That's not the kind of prayer that Nehemiah prayed! Nehemiah spoke to God with passion, he wasn't afraid to say "Listen to my prayer!" God wants to hear the emotion, he wants to hear how we really feel, he can handle it! Nehemiah wasn't being disrespectful, he showed that he revered God. He began by saying "O LORD, God of heaven, the great and awesome God."

We don't dare pray with an exclamation mark! It seems too demanding and rude we come to God all shy and timid afraid to make a request. We know that God knows everything and he has a plan and a purpose for everything so we think that maybe we shouldn't bother God with our little problem.

Keep on asking boldly! 

Luke 11:8-9  But I tell you this--though he won't do it for friendship's sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence.  9  And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.

The way that Jesus taught us to pray is nothing like the average Christian today. In Luke 11 Jesus lesson on prayer was about a man that won't give up, this guy is shameless and bold, he has a lot of nerve to wake up the man and his family and make him get out of bed to help him.

In this lesson on prayer the guy is talking back to his neighbor and he isn't taking no for an answer. Jesus gave us three verbs for us to get busy doing: keep on asking, keep on seeking, keep on knocking.

Besides teaching us about prayer Jesus also gave us an incredible example on praying with force and boldness. When he came to earth he knew why he came, he knew the terrible way that he was going to die, nevertheless he still prayed with great passion for God to make another way.

Matthew 26:39  He went on a little farther and bowed with His face to the ground, praying, "My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from Me. Yet I want Your will to be done, not Mine."

Jesus prayed boldly, he didn't want to suffer such cruelty and yet he was willing to accept the Father's will, he didn't think that it was wrong to ask boldly for a different plan. I need to follow Jesus example and quit praying like a wimp.

Lord help me to stop praying so weak! Wake up the passion in me and help me realize the power that is available in prayer.

Additional scripture on bold prayers: Hebrews 4:16, Ephesians 3:12

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• Getting Enough Spiritual Oxygen (diggingtheword.blogspot.com)
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• Virtual Prayer Walk (gracefallsac.tumblr.com)

Don't Stop Spreading The Good News

SCRIPTURE

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Acts 28:16, 23, 30-31  When we arrived in Rome, Paul was permitted to live wherever he wanted to, though guarded by a soldier.

23 So a time was set, and on that day large numbers came to his house. He told them about the Kingdom of God and taught them about Jesus from the Scriptures--from the five books of Moses and the books of prophecy. He began lecturing in the morning and went on into the evening!

30 Paul lived for the next two years in his rented house and welcomed all that visited him, 31 telling them with all boldness about the Kingdom of God and about the Lord Jesus Christ; and no one tried to stop him.

OBSERVATION

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Despite a difficult journey and being shipwrecked, Paul makes it to Rome and is placed under house arrest, which lasted for two years.

What an opportunity! From here Paul writes the books of Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians and Philemon. And he still has time to start a house church, which was allowed to prosper without opposition.

That is something that the early church in Israel wasn’t allowed to do. I am reminded of the house churches in China that are persecuted. The pastors and the congregations come under harsh treatment for their faith but despite the persecution the church continues to grow. I am reminded of what Paul said in his letter to the Philippians:

Phil 1:12-14  And I want you to know this, dear brothers: Everything that has happened to me here has been a great boost in getting out the Good News concerning Christ. 13 For everyone around here, including all the soldiers over at the barracks, knows that I am in chains simply because I am a Christian. 14 And because of my imprisonment, many of the Christians here seem to have lost their fear of chains! Somehow my patience has encouraged them, and they have become more and more bold in telling others about Christ.

Paul suffered so much throughout his ministry for the kingdom but he said it was all for the good of spreading “the Good News concerning Christ.”

APPLICATION

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I will pray for my brothers and sisters in Christ, those that pay the price everyday for their beliefs.

PRAYER

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Make me bold in sharing the gospel in a land that has no opposition to it being shared. I thank you for the opportunity to live in such comfort, forgive me for living too comfortable so that I have not been bold enough about sharing the Good News.

A Changed Mind

Scripture

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Acts 3:1-26

Observation

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Walking to Temple each day everybody saw this crippled guy that someone carried to the outside of the Temple gates to beg for money. I am guessing that a person with a deformity was probably not allowed to go inside the Temple and since he was lame from birth, then he has never been inside the building. Do any of you know, please comment?

We see this guy trying to get his or her physical need for food and clothing met but Peter and John go beyond this to the source of his problem. This man never expected to walk home from the Temple that day, he was always carried home, why would today be any different.

It is cool that Peter saw an opportunity (verse 12) to give a witness and he jumped on it, he made it clear to everyone why this man was walking around inside the temple today when he was always sitting outside begging.

The basic message that Peter gave the people was that you rejected Jesus before (verse 13-15) now change your mind (verse 17-19) and turn to Jesus, realize that he died according to God’s plan to save us from every wrong thing that we have done, said or thought. Just like that crowd we have rejected Jesus and at some point in life hopefully you have changed your mind about Jesus.

Peter said that Jesus fulfilled prophecy in his first coming and in His death. God told his people through the prophets that the Messiah would come and that he would die a dreadful death and rise again and it all happened just as the prophets said. The last thing that Peter told his audience that day in the temple was that Jesus will fulfill another prophecy in the future, He will return for those of us that have changed our minds about him (verse 19-26).

There is no better assurance that future prophecy will be fulfilled than to look at the past prophecy that was fulfilled. We can place our confidence in these words:

John 14:1-3  "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

Application

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I will be bolder in jumping on an opportunity just as Peter did.

Prayer

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I pray Father that just like I blogged yesterday that I will be bold and confident in sharing the good news. I pray that my co-workers hearts will be softened to hear your message. I pray that they will let go of the classic excuse of the hypocrites in the church.