Hot, Cold, or Puke City?

How would you like a nice, warm, flat can of pop, or soda to drink?

On this sweltering hot day, under the scorching Georgia sun, I returned to my car drenched in sweat and dying for a cold drink to refresh my parched throat. I had a Dr. Pepper sitting in the drink holder, and it hadn’t been there very long, so I took a huge swig.

Talk about nasty! It had become warm and flat in a matter of minutes, and it was disgusting. I quickly chased it down with some warm water that was sitting in the drink holder next to it, and it was just as sickening.

This moment brought the very familiar letter to Laodicea from Revelation 3 to my mind. When John had been exiled to the Island of Patmos in his final years, Christ revealed Himself to Him and gave Him the book of Revelation. The first three chapters contain letters to the 7 churches, but also represent the message of Christ to the entire church universal in the last days. Yes, that means us too!

The Church at Laodicea, in particular, had a problem with being lackadaisical, or nonchalant about the things of the Lord. It’s kind of like the one who falls asleep in church, or is completely hum-drum in their relationship with the Lord. It’s a “whatever” attitude. Jesus said that they were neither hot nor cold, but they were lukewarm. He told them that their attitude nauseated Him, and He was going to spew them out! I like how it is described in The Message version of the Bible:

I know you inside and out, and find little to my liking. You’re not cold, you’re not hot—far better to be either cold or hot! You’re stale. You’re stagnant. You make me want to vomit.  Revelation 3:15-16 MSG

That gives quite an interesting picture of how Jesus saw the people of this church! They were as stomach-turning to Him as that nasty Dr. Pepper was to me today!

The timing of this is interesting because God has been impressing this very point upon my heart lately. He has opened my eyes to the general attitude in the church in recent years. While there is a wonderful remnant of believers who are truly white hot in their relationship with God, and they are passionate about studying God’s Word and serving, there are many who have become complacent, bored, and have drifted far from the passion they once had for the Lord.

This is evident in the mass exodus of Christians who no longer have the desire to be in the House of God or fellowship with the body of Christ, or they make excuses for their mediocre commitment. Some compromise Biblical principles by allowing the values of the world to get mixed in with their lifestyles. We see this all the time! There seems to be a growing trend of those who will seek watered-down Bible teaching that “tickles their ears” because they cannot stomach sound doctrine.

For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 2 Timothy 4:3-4 NIV

Furthermore, a large percentage of Christians today are so consumed with seeking the “stuff” of God, that they have no interest in seeking God Himself. For example, prosperity preachers have skewed the message of the Gospel so much that it has become unrecognizable. However, since many Christians do not take the time to seek truth from the Word of God for themselves, they are so easily duped into believing this false Gospel. Instead of loving the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, the emphasis becomes “What can God do for me?” “What will He give me?” “What’s in it for me?”

One of the most obvious characteristics of a complacent, lukewarm church is that the focus is all about ME instead of being God-centered.

I don’t mean to come across as judgmental, because what we see on the surface is not necessarily what is in the heart. Only God knows the true temperature of our hearts. I do not presume to know what is going on within someone else by observing their outward behavior. I cannot look at someone and assume that he/she is hot, cold, or lukewarm; however, some outward characteristics do seem to be consistent with a heart that is lukewarm. These are signs that should give us cause to check ourselves and begin seeking God with abandon.

We must ask the Holy Spirit to do a heart check within us. Are we cooling off? Are there areas we are compromising or making excuses? Are we asleep or bored with the things of God? Do we have the attitude of doing the minimum possible to get by since we are saved by grace anyway? Have we become complacent? It is time to wake up!

What we need to do is to fan the flames within and rekindle the passion we once had. Let us burn brightly and with white-hot intensity in our relationship with the Lord. Study His Word. Spend time in prayer. Seek His face. He has promised that when we seek Him with all our hearts, we WILL find Him.

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13 NIV

We can ask God to raise the temperature of our hearts, and He will do it! Whatever we do, however, let us not allow ourselves to settle for being lukewarm and living in “Puke City” any longer.