Throughout modern Christian history we have been blessed with many authors and publishers who have helped us to understand all that we believe that Jesus would have us do and be. I think in our most recent years it came to a fevered peak with the WWJD movement or What Would Jesus Do? However, as I’ve gotten to truly see how the church lives and how people who claim to be Christian live I’ve gotten to wonder… What Would Jesus Undo? So we are going to spend the next few weeks looking at the topics of Hollow Worship, Hypocrisy, and Pride. But today I wanted to focus on another of those topics…
You know when I was in college I had been working with this guy as his mentor. He was a great friend. So the next year when I moved away to go to Grad school I thought I would send him a birthday gift. I knew what he liked and so I did some shopping online for the best one and I sent it to him. I couldn’t wait for him to get it because I knew how much he would love it. So after I sent it I waited and waited… and nothing. After all that he never acknowledged his gift.
Imagine Jesus—Steps out heaven—Holy—Endures torture.
You experience forgiveness of sins. Life to the full.
Living word at fingertips—Access to God through prayer.
Charges you with spiritual purpose—Gives you same spirit
Go day in day out—without him crossing your mind.
So WWJ-Undo? Spiritual indifference. This is not new our generation.
In the Book of Revelation, Jesus wrote letters to 7 churches. This can be found in Revelation 2:1-3:22. Each of the cities that were actual ancient cities were exemplifying something that we still see today. The last of these cities was:
Laodicea: wealthy city, 35 years earlier destroyed earthquake: Rebuilt.
It was a metropolis that had gone up seemingly overnight. Imagine how fast Vegas has grown or Dubai. Theaters, Stadium, Lavish public baths, Shopping centers and restaurants. However there was a major problem: Inadequate water supply
Remember I said they were wealthy right? Well the had both cold and hot water piped in.
Pipe in water from Colossae or Hireapolis (Superheroes—Ironman)
Colossae cold (Cold Mountain Water), Hireapolis—(Hot Springs.)
Both had purpose—Cool and refreshing—Hot—Medicinal.
By the time the water got Laodicea—Dirty, Tepid—Lukewarm.
15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. Revelation 3:15-16
So Jesus is saying here, you are: Spiritually Stale, Depressingly Detached. He is saying that it doesn’t just Break my heart—Turn my stomach—Spit you out.
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So there are TWO CAUSES OF SPIRITUAL INDIFFERENCE
1) SELF-SUFFICIENCY.
17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’
But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked…. Rev 3:17
You know how this plays out in our lives? It like saying I’m good: I’ve got my Starbucks, iPhone, Amazon Prime, Snuggy & Netflix.
You have worldly wealth but you are Spiritually bankrupt. Your Lives are full of stuff but you are Empty of meaning.
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2) DISTRACTIONS OF THIS WORLD.
But the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. Mark 4:19
You know how this goes right? We have bills pay, places be, people meet, selfies take! We have dishes—Laundry—Kids to practice—Oil change—PTA. We have causes to fight for… like saving the unborn, saving the whales or providing Bike lanes on Lorain Rd to reduce auto traffic - that last one was oddly specific I know.
I once heard it said that “Feeling numb isn’t the absence of feeling—but the sensation of feeling too much at once.” If that’s true, then it is no wonder why we are all feeling numb. Consider what the world is throwing at us today.
Then because we feel so numb, we think if I just had a, Little bit of Jesus—Just enough make feel better. Not so much… because we end up LIVING WITH LUKEWARM INDIFFERENCE. Here’s how they plays out for us…
1. We’re more concerned w/impressing people than living for God.
Paul warns us when he is writing to Timothy not to be lovers of ourselves. When we do that our focus turns inward and not outward to where God would have us be. Jesus says, “Woe to you when all people speak well of you.” Remember what we said last week… we are called to be different and that means people will not like us when we are living holy for God.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2. We’re obsessed with life on earth rather than eternity. We become focused on what I have over what I’m called to do. We Love the world and not the Father who created us.
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3. We rationalize sin and live without truly fearing God.
We start to say, What I’m doing is not as bad as others, OR I’m not hurting anyone. OR It just this one thing. The problem is that everyone else is not the standard that we are being compared to. We are held up to the standard of Christ.
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4. We believe in Jesus, but we rarely share our faith.
Matthew 10:32-33 “Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven.
We say we believe, but if we really believe what scripture says, who are we planning on sharing our faith with?
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5. We only turn to God when we need him.
Rather than seeking him daily—We seek him when he benefits us. He’s a tool we use when we need—Not a God I fear and worship.
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6. We’re not much different from the world.
We Watch same movies, We enjoy same music, We have the same morals.
Before long—Raise kids same way—We use our money the same way- and we Divorce just as often.
Spiritual Indifference: I am not going to lie. I have had many moments of spiritual indifference in my ministry. I have had seasons of my ministry where I fall into not reading scripture or praying like I should. I can tell you that in those moments Satan has intentionally tried to attack me. It is in those moments and seasons that I have felt farthest from God.
Indifference doesn’t just break Jesus’ heart
Makes him want to vomit.
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REIGNITING THE SPIRITUAL FIRE
So how do you reignite the spiritual fire within? I can give you a list of things to do...
List: Read the Word, Pray, Witness, Fellowship, Give, Worship, Turn from sins
But here’s the thing… if I just provide you that list you probably won’t do any of them because you will be so overwhelmed. What I can tell you that you can focus on is this:
· EVERY DAY, DO SOMETHING THAT REQUIRES FAITH.
The thing is, most of us… we do the same thing day in and day out. If we looked back at a journal of our lives from the last few years we would see that we have been doing the same things over and over again. But imagine if we chose to do one thing each day that required faith…
· Stand up for something even though I know I’m going to be mocked.
· Give when it’s a stretch for me to give—trust God.
· Apologize to someone—Forgive when you don’t feel it.
· Volunteer to pray out loud at next small group. (Go to small group)
· Reach out to someone that God put on my heart even though.
· Expose yourself to something that breaks your heart.
· Pray for something that’s impossible.
· Attempt something you could never do without God’s help.
Can you imagine how exciting your journal would be to read if you did that. You would have something adventurous to write about everyday. Every day you would be able to write about how God showed up when you stepped out on faith. That is an exciting life. That is a life that is not monotonous.
Here’s the thing, Without faith—Impossible to please God. Without faith we are just living on our own and we are not trusting God. Trust him… live an exciting adventurous life!
SO what do you do if you say I’m a believer but I’ve become Indifferent—Lukewarm.
19 I correct and discipline everyone I love. So be diligent and turn from your indifference. Rev 3:19 NLT
Everyday do something that requires faith
· More concerned w/what God is calling you—people think about you.
· Suddenly you are living for what lasts—rather than for what doesn’t.
· Instead of rationalizing sin—Confessing—Holy—Power.
· You are bold in Spirit—People are amazed by your boldness.
· You turn to God when you need him—Daily—Moment by moment.
· You are different—you are a follower of Christ.
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Not changed by his love/grace.
Open the door—Invite him in.
20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
Rev 3:20
Accept the gift
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