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Breaking the bread of life is a sobering responsibility. Let us pray that we can hear the call this evening to pursue a life of godliness and holiness. Jesus is soon returning for His bride, His church.
The Church is made of people just like me and people just like you. If the Church is going to be holy and without blemish, I need to personally have a passion to protect the purity and the holiness of the church.
What kind of church do you want to be a part of? Honest? Pure? Holy? On fire for the Lord? You’ll need to be faithful personally in each of these different ways. We are the church.
Cancer is no respecter of persons. It comes to the young, to the middle aged, to the old. It comes silently, and often by the time it has been detected the victims fate has been sealed. Cancer eats away at the body slowly and surely till their very life is gone.
It seems like cancer is everywhere. It seems to be running wild.
There is a cancer that is running wild in our churches today. This cancer has been responsible for the deaths of thousands of people and churches across the world. It is lethal to the church where it is found. This cancer of course is complacency.
If ignored the cancer of complacency in a church leads to death in 100% of the case. But if it is taken care of it doesn’t have to spell death for a church.
Matthew 24 – In the last days there will be many who once were walking with the Lord who will grow cold in their spiritual experience and loose their fire for the Lord. It is vitally important that we take inventory of our spiritual life.
What is your temperature? It often gives us a clear indicator of where we are in our spiritual life.
Revelation 3 – Who is talking here? This is Jesus, speaking to the church at Laodicea. Who said something makes a difference. This isn’t just anyone, it is Jesus. The church here was a commercial center, they did banking they manufactured clothes, they made medicines.
It appears that the material riches of the people at Laodicea blinded their eyes to their needs spiritually. We often don’t view ourselves as being as bad off as we really are. The thing that we want to note especially though is their temperature. They were lukewarm, neither cold nor hot.
Temperature is very important when it comes to food in particular. Hot food’s have to be hot and cold food needs to be cold. Being lukewarm in our relationship with Christ is also a dangerous place to be. We make Jesus sick. He says he will spew us out of his mouth.
There is no person who is harder to reach than the person who is self sufficient, complacent and blind to their own need. There is a tendency for all of us to be “ok” with our own lives. Sometimes we assume that our relationship with Christ will just “work itself out.”
It takes effort. It takes desire. It takes daily maintenance. What does it take for a cup of hot coffee to get lukewarm? Nothing… just some time. The same is true with our relationships with Christ.
Satan would love if we would just do nothing. He would like us to be satisfied with where we are at. He wants us to be so busy doing good things that we neglect our relationship with Christ.
Jesus is calling us to come and open up and let Him. He is pleading for us to come to him and experience a personal relationship with him. To those who overcome Jesus promises that they will live with him, they will reign with him.
Jesus is looking for hearts that are sold out to him. Let us examine our hearts and ask where are we? What is our temperature?
- Keep moving – movement, progression in our Christian life is vitally important. Let us constantly press on and live out our faith with Jesus Christ. Paul tells us to forget the things that are behind us and look forward and press forward to those things that are in front of us. Satan loves to bring up the past, we need to remind ourselves and Satan that we were sinners, but we have been saved by the grace of our Father.
- Keep growing – It is vital that we be growing. If we aren’t something is wrong. 1 Peter 2:2, 2 Peter 3:18, John 15 – Your value and usefulness to the Kingdom of God is a great measure of our temperature with Christ.
- Keep watching – if you are week in a certain area watch for it, don’t tempt yourself in an area that you are week in already. Look to God for strength to press on and to grow. Watch and pray. Be vigilant, be alert. 2 Peter 3 – as you read this chapter notice Peters call to “keep looking.”
The Cure for Complacency
When we start slowing down, the cause is always rooted in a loss of zealous desire for God and His Word. When we aren’t up to date and aren’t current with Christ is when we run into problems.
Are you sold out to Christ? Or have you checked out? Are you passionate for the things of God and the people of God?
You will find time in your day to do the things that are the most important to you. What does that say about our desire for the Word of God. We spend time doing so many other things, but we have to place an incredible need to be in the Word and to be desiring God.
Psalm 63:1 – My soul thirsts for you. I long for you. David’s desire for God is very evident in the Psalms. Was David perfect? No… but he did seek after the things of God with his whole heart.
2 Chronicles 15 – We need to be serious with God if we expect his blessings. When God is not on the throne in our lives, we cannot expect peace. When God prompts you, recognize the need and take action.
It is time for us to get serious with the Lord.
When the work of God is alive and well in our lives it draws people and points them to Jesus Christ.
We fight complacency with purposeful action in our lives.
The sincere seeker is always seeking, always pressing on to a deeper and fuller life with Christ.
The cure for complacency is a red hot zeal for God and His Word.
So, what is your temperature today? Are you on fire for the Lord? Or perhaps there are signs of complacency creeping into your life?
We are still in the day of opportunity. Jesus is still knocking, He wants you to open the door and he wants to be a constant part of your life. Jesus won’t pry his way in, but if anyone opens the door he will come in.