PASSIONS OF THE CHURCH

 

PASSIONS OF THE CHURCH

Rev. 3:14-16 "Write this letter to the angel of the church in Laodicea. This is the message from the one who is the Amen--the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation. ‘I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, I will spit you out of my mouth!’ " NLT

There are so many professing Christians who need to hear this message over and over again. They are lethargic when it comes to their faith. They drift along in life without much of anything happening in their walk with the Lord. They profess belief in Christ and claim His forgiveness for their sins, yet that is about all that their faith amounts to. They go through life without much fire in their faith. They are not witnessing for Him, or seizing opportunities they are given to grow and serve. They are content to believe so that they won't go to hell when they die, but are not much interested in taking faith any further than that. Maybe you are one of them. They don't read their Bibles much or pray except when they are in need.

Jesus gives us this warning: it doesn't work. God does not accept lukewarm Christianity. It repulses Him when we treat faith as nothing more than fire insurance. He wants our passionate allegiance to Him. He demands it. If you are not set on fire for God, you are treading on dangerous ground. Only he who is passionate about God is able to accomplish anything for God. Passion is what drives us to do what we do.

Passion is what keeps us from living in sin. It is what keeps us seeking God. It is what keeps our flame of love burning brightly for God and others. It is what keeps us wanting to tell others about Him. As far as God is concerned, there is no such thing as a listless Christian.

A passionless Christian is no different than one who is cold towards the things of God. In fact, he is probably better off being cold than lukewarm. At least, someone who is spiritually cold is not pretending to be someone he isn't.

Hear what the Lord says about those who treat faith with such contempt, "I will spit you out of my mouth!" If you are treading water and not going anywhere in your faith, let the Lord fire you up now before it is too late.

It is easy to lose one’s passion for the Lord. We get caught up in the busyness of life and don’t focus on the Lord like we should. We take Him, our salvation, and His blessings for granted.

If you have lost your passion for the Lord, don’t let another moment go by. Turn to Him and ask Him to forgive you and give you a love bath. Commit yourself anew to Him. Vow to not let life rob you of your passion ever again. The Lord is waiting for you to return to your first love for Him. Will you do it? Put it off and you will probably forget about it and nothing changes, you will be rejected by the Lord.