Ears to Hear

Good morning,

     One of the major sickness that attacks the Body of Christ is becoming lukewarm in our love and service to the Lord.  It usually sneaks up on one without too much fanfare.  Once allowed in our lives, we can deceive ourselves into thinking that we are the same.  Therein is the dangerous thought.  Why?  Because we should be constantly growing in our love and service to Him, not staying the same.  How does God feel about our half-hearted love?  "I know your [record of] works and what you are doing; you are neither cold nor hot.  Would that you were cold or hot!  So, because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of My mouth!  For you say, I am rich; I have prospered and grown wealthy, and I am in need of nothing; and you do not realize and understand that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked." (Rev. 3:15-17)  Spit us out of His mouth, that is pretty strong language!  We want to make sure that we are never lukewarm.  Lukewarm means tepid or a soul that fluctuates between a torpor and a fervor of love.  Torpor means sluggish, inactive, or inertia; lethargic, indifferent, apathy; dormant as in hibernating; suspended physical powers and activities.  Fervor is an intense heat of love; great warmth; earnestness of feeling, passionate and excitement of love.  Now which of these define your relationship with the Lord as of today.  Are you sluggish, indifferent, or apathetic, toward the things of God?  Have you placed your work for the Lord on the back burner?  Do you just show up, and then give a little of your power to Him?  We should never go backwards or stand still in our love or our service to Him.  Let's not wander around in the wilderness of our faith, but grow on.  Listen to this: "Concerning this we have much to say which is hard to explain, since you have become dull in your [spiritual] hearing and sluggish [even slothful in achieving spiritual insight].  For even though by this time you ought to be teaching others, you actually need someone to teach you over again the very first principles of God's Word.  You have come to need milk, not solid food.  For everyone who continues to feed on milk is obviously inexperienced and unskilled in the doctrine of righteousness (of conformity to the divine will in purpose, thought, and action), for he is a mere infant [not able to talk yet]!  But solid food is for full-grown men, for those whose senses and mental faculties are trained by practice to discriminate and distinguish between what is morally good and noble and what is evil and contrary either to divine or human law. (Heb. 5:11-14) When we become lukewarm it hinders us from being effective and from ministering unto God and to others.  We lose the ability to distinguish between right or wrong.  How do we end this cycle before we lose the ground that we have covered.  What do your works for the Lord look like?  Works is business; that which one is occupied with; that which one undertakes to do; an act, deed, or thing one busies himself with.  "Rouse yourselves and keep awake, and strengthen and invigorate what remains and is on the point of dying; for I have not found a thing that you have done [any work of yours] meeting the requirements of My God or perfect in His sight." (Rev. 3:2) Rouse means to stir or incite; to bring out of a state of sleep, inactivity, unconsciousness, apathy or depression.  "But you have walked away from your fist love–why?  What's going on with you, anyway?  Do you have any idea how far you've fallen?  A Lucifer fall!  Turn back!  Recover your dear first and early love.  No time to waste…" ( Rev. 2:4-5; The Message Bible) Shake yourself, wake up, and get busy about the Father's business.  Do not follow those who do wrong or have lost their fervor.  Do like Paul said, "follow me as I follow Christ."  Most people tend to follow those who are doing wrong.  Why?  Usually it is easier to float downstream, [doing wrong] than to fight to go upstream [doing God's Word].  If you follow anyone follow those who have intense love for God and are actively doing His work.  You have to stir yourself up too, don't be caught waiting for someone else to come along and ignite you.  Now is the time to stir up our love towards the Lover of our soul!  Get active in the work of the Lord, invigorate your love for Him.  You know how to, just do it.