Room Temp Devotion

A Devotion by

Pastor Bobby

I love a good cup of coffee. I remember when I was a junior in college. I was doing an internship at the church I grew up in. The head Pastor one day came up to me and asked me if I liked coffee. I told him not really, but I'd drink it occasionally. He left for a second and then came back with a big mug and put it in front of me. He then told me that if I wanted be a pastor then I would have to become addicted to coffee. Because there will be times that you will be swamped and the only thing you can give up in that moment is sleep. Now he was of course joking. But since then, I had started to drink and like coffee a lot. I like all types of coffee. I like black coffee, coffee with creamer, coffee with milk, coffee with sugar, coffee cake (this might not technically count but I still count it.), and I like cold coffee. But the one thing that I absolutely hate in life is room temperature coffee. And I know I am not the only one that feels this way. I don't know what it is. But for the most part anything that is mentioned to be cold or hot taste horrible at room temperature.

I am sure that Jesus is the same way, in which he hates lukewarm coffee. He wants things to either be hot or cold. He doesn't want things to be room temperature. Why do I say this? Because John tells us as such. Revelation 3:14-17 ESV "[14] “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation. [15] “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! [16] So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. [17]." The church of Laodicea was in the city of Laodicea. A prominent city in Asia Minor near west Turkey. According to Revelations, you can infer the church was most likely very well off. There was a sense that a lot of members in the church believed that a lot of their blessings were not a blessing from God. But a product from man rather than God. This could be what lead to the being so indifferent towards God. John tells us that they were nether hot or cold for God. John then goes on to describe them as "wretched, pitiful, poor, blind," and "naked".

So, what is John trying to warn the church of Laodicea of? Well, like I said before. John is warning them to not be complacent. That they should either be on fire for God, or just not believe in God in the first place. In one way this seems like it is a little harsh. While also somewhat confusing since John is basically saying that if you're not on fire for Christ then it just be better off not knowing Jesus. The reason for this is because "lukewarm Christians" are practicing a halfhearted faith. They believe they are fine in their relationship. However, they are actually spiritually bankrupt. You could probably say these are people who truly don't know God even though they think they do. Jesus talked about these types of people as well. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says there will be a lot of people who will try to get into heaven but will be sent away because Jesus never knew them. Matthew 7:21-23 NIV "[21] “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. [22] Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ [23] Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’" I believe that these verses are saying the same thing. The church of Laodicea was filled with people who truly didn't know God or had an active relationship with God. And they were comfortable and contempt with where they were at. And that is because they were financially set relying more on earthly things like their money then relying on God. This mostly to just go to church services just to mark off a box rather than pursuing an active and real relationship with Jesus. In Revelations, John then tells them what the church of Laodicea fate will be. Alot like what Jesus said in the Sermon of the Mount. Jesus will spit them out. And the reason He will spit them out is because distasteful and unacceptable. There are a couple different theories on what John means. A lot of scholars belive that this doesn't mean that they will lose their salvation, but rather they will be disciplined and will not be used for God's will. While others believe that this is referring to never really knowing Jesus. John is not clear on what being spit out actually means, however what is clear is that we do not want to be lukewarm.

We can apply this to our context in the modern age as well. In our day of age, we would call these people Sunday Christians. Before we continue this is not to bash or judge anyone. But is to cause us to look deep inside ourselves and if needed to surrender and correct ourselves. Anyways Sunday Christians are people who really dont interact with God but they go to church to again mark off a box or to improve their image. I met a man once who wanted to share why he went to church. At that time he recently gave his life to Christ. But before that he was going to church for twenty plus years. He told me that he owned a roofing business. And he would go to church just to improve the image of his business. Now it was great that he openly shared this and that he then truly gave his life to Christ. However, we must all check our hearts. If you are running lukewarm some ways you can warm yourself up is as followed. First, reflect on your heart to see if you are Lukewarm. Second pray about it. Ask God to warm up your relationship with Him. As well as asking Him to fill your heart with love. Third, devote yourself to loving God more and to building your relationship with Him. Finally, focus on doing God's will. Grace is not works based, but our love for Christ should move in such a way that we will want to do God's will.

So, in closing, check your heart and ask yourself, "Am I lukewarm warm or am I truly on fire for the Lord?"