REVELATION 3:15-16

Revelation 3:15 – “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot; I would thou wert cold or hot.”

Revelation 3:16 – “So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.”

GETTING COMFORTABLE

We expect to be comfortable.  Modern conveniences, life style, and technology have given us the means to continuously adjust our environment and establish a “comfort zone”.  It is a part of our way of life.  We are able to:

1.    Set the thermostat and give ourselves a year round temperature in our homes and often in our work areas.  We pick the temperature, set the thermostat, and the rest is automatic.

2.    Set the cruise control in our car so we don’t have to speed up or slow down; we can just let our feet relax and the car will almost drive itself.

3.    We can program our radios, VCRs, microwaves, alarm clocks and underground sprinkler systems.  No more hassles.  We can arrange for automatic payments of our bills.  We have the means to make ourselves very comfortable…very, very comfortable.

It’s just as easy to get spiritually comfortable.  We program ourselves to go to church at set times each week, sit in the same seat, stand, sing, lift our hands, say and do all the right things, and never get uncomfortable.  Not too fast, not too slow, not hot, not cold.  Don’t have to exert myself.  The danger is that after awhile, I may not be sensitive to what the Lord is telling me.  I become lukewarm.

PEOPLE HATE CHANGE, BUT CHANGE COMES ANYWAY

1.    We live in a world that is constantly changing.  Technology makes life easier, but it also changes constantly and quickly.  Just one generation ago, a computer capable of doing what lap tops can do today would have filled entire rooms or even a floor of a building.  Laser technology, fiber optics, and telecommunications satellites have created an information explosion.  We have to change just to keep up.  Consider how the telephone has changed in just a few years.

2.    Our laws are constantly changing with the whims of society.  Morality fluctuates with the need to do something with our leisure time and need to be like everyone else.  We change our laws and legal judgments as we get more and more modern.  To take full advantage of what technology offers us, sin becomes recreation, and we become hardened to it.

3.    But there is a price to be paid.  Because of these constant changes, we are spiritually uncomfortable.  We know things are not right.  Something has to change.  And we immediately try to readjust our thermostats.  We try to tell ourselves we don’t need to take drastic action, but my friends, I’m here to tell you:  “That is exactly what it is going to take…drastic action!”

KICKING AGAINST THE PRICKS

·         The church has reached a point where we have become uncomfortable, but we refuse to exert ourselves.  Things don’t fit; we are stumbling over issues; hot lust; cold love; we can’t get it right; we can’t seem to find balance; things are just not good enough; one day too many, next day not enough.  Many of us have become spiritually uncomfortable – peaceful on the outside, storms raging on the inside.  God is telling us it’s time to grow.  It’s time to move.  David was anointed to be King, but he had to flee from Saul.  Moses could not stay in the desert tending Jethro’s sheep.  He had to go back to Egypt.  Jacob had to wrestle with God or die.  Job confronted his faith.  The pressure is building.

·         When the place you are in becomes unbearable, GOD expects you to move.  The lobster leaves his shell only when the pressure of his growth becomes unbearable.  He knows that when he leaves his shell, he will be vulnerable and without protection until the new shell forms.  But he cannot remain where he is and live either.  Sometimes we are afraid to move from where we are because we know that is when we are also vulnerable.  The lobster changes his shell seven (7) times in his first year, and then only once each year after that.  We were like that when we first came into the Kingdom of God.  We were on fire, constantly changing; later on, we slowed down, but we will not grow if we won’t change.  The pressure is building.

TIME FOR THE CHURCH TO LEAVE ITS COMFORT ZONE

·         The Word of God tells us that He hath made us “quickening spirits”.  It should not be the “climate we work in” that concerns us, but it should be the “work He has called us to do” regardless of climate, that is what is important.  We are going to have to put up with persecution, suffering, hardships, personal turmoil, trials, tribulations, hardships, rejections, and on and on.  Lousy conditions, but consider Paul.  He did a mighty work for God, and there was nothing comfortable about his working or living conditions.

·         There is a comfort zone in the church.  Jesus says:  “I will not leave you comfortless, I will come to you.”  Again, He says:  “I will pray the Father and He will give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever.”  Again He says:  “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, He shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”

·         The Holy Ghost, the Spirit of Jesus Christ in you, the hope of glory is your thermostat, and the Lord will set the desired temperature for you.  His hands are on the controls.  We can only rest in Him, but we cannot rest in this world.  Regardless of your circumstances, if you are truly abiding in Him, you will have peace in your spirit.  If you are not abiding in Him, circumstances may be very comfortable, but you will have no comfort in your spirit.

·         There is power in being uncomfortable.  “But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you.”  When we are uncomfortable, we desire to get comfortable again.  This desire gives us purpose, something to work towards.  This is especially true in the Kingdom of God.  “With prayer, supplication, and thanksgiving, make known your request to God, and He shall give you peace that passeth understanding.”  How can we evangelize the world if we get comfortable?  “Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I shall give you rest.”  Rest for your soul.

MUSICIANS PLEASE COME (ALTAR CALL AND REDEDICATION)

The Lord is talking to someone today.  It’s time to leave your comfort zone and get back into the battle.  THE LOBSTER CHANGES HIS SHELL 7 TIMES IN THE FIRST YEAR, BUT ONLY ONCE A YEAR AFTER THAT.  That’s like us.  When we were first saved, we were willing to change every time we heard a message that moved us, but after awhile, it becomes harder and harder. 

David left his troops in the battlefield and went to Jerusalem to enjoy the blessings of God.  He set his thermostat and got comfortable with Bathsheba.  When it was all over, he had sinned against God, committed adultery, had one of his mighty men killed, lied, conspired, betrayed, and even saw his child die.

Are you lukewarm?  Are you on automatic pilot?  Is the cruise control set?  Time to do something about it.  The pressure is building

ROMANS 12:1-2 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world:  but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.”