AGLOW vs LUKEWARM

By Danna Shirley

I gave this message in 1996 at the Charismatic Service at the Hario Chapel, Japan.

Mt 24:12  “And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.”

Lawlessness (458)--not having, knowing, or acknowledging the LAW...and what is the law?...the Ten Commandments. Simply the “Thou shalt and the Thou shalt not’s”... and the two that cover them all ... Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and love your neighbor as yourself. (Mt 22:37-40) 

And today because of how distorted our “freedom” has become, we can’t even display the Ten Commandments publicly or speak of them, let alone teach them, to our school children. Those same school children who are growing up and turning to all kinds of “lawlessness”... Just pick up a newspaper or listen to the news and you’ll get a good idea of the meaning of “lawlessness.” Is it any wonder that the love of many will grow cold? 

BUT, the Gospel is called the Good News for a reason. We don’t have to live in vs 12, praise God!

(vs 13)... “BUT he who endures to the end shall be saved.”

Endures (5278)--to hold one’s ground in conflict, bear up against adversity, hold out under stress, stand firm, persevere under pressure, wait calmly and courageously.  It is not passive resignation to fate and mere patience, but the active, energetic resistance to defeat that allows calm and brave endurance.

Saved (4982)--all the blessings inclusively of God on men in Christ! salvation, healing, deliverance, preservation

Endure to the end (Jn 17:11)--Jesus prayed for us “Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me...” Are we to believe that God would not answer Jesus’ prayer...NO...so we are kept by the Holy Father and we SHALL endure to the end!!! 

Now we come to another very important scripture. 

Rev. 3:15-16… spoken to the church at Laodicea...“I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.”

Lukewarm (5513)--tepid; (dictionary definition is lacking in passion, force, or zest; an absence of enthusiasm or conviction)

WOW!  Not very flattering, is it? I wouldn’t want to be described as tepid. God is speaking to Christians here, the “church” at Laodicea! 

Rev 3:20  “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me."  This is a scripture often given to unbelievers BUT the truth is that these words were spoken by Jesus to the church...the lukewarm church! 

When God gave me this message, I had to ask this question of MYSELF first: Am I lukewarm, Lord? 

Rev 3:15--Jesus said, “I know your works.” Well, I did have plenty of those! I taught a Bible study every Wednesday, taught Sunday School, organized Joy Fellowship, led praise and worship at church, and sometimes brought the message when a Chaplain wasn’t in port. I wasn’t giving quality time to any of them. I was overWORKed and as I examined all of this, I realized I had no peace about any of these works. To identify with a friend, I had lost my joy.  I only had time for my works and no time for that relationship with Jesus. So, in essence, I was lukewarm because I had no time to draw near to God. God showed me that HE hadn’t called me to all these works. Yes, we are to be zealous for good works (Titus 2:14) BUT only those works that HE calls us to do. 

So after I looked at myself and my works, I moved on to the CHURCH. Is the church lukewarm today? There are God’s brushfires being lit all over the world. We’ve heard about the Toronto Blessing in Canada (Jan 1994) and the revival in Pensacola, Florida (June 1995). People are traveling to these places from all over the country and all over the world…for what? …a blessing, a word, healings, curiosity, a touch, miracles, skepticism

The Word says God shows no partiality (Acts 10:34-35) and whoever fears Him and works righteousness (practices God’s uprightness or standard) is accepted by Him.

We don’t have to travel to Toronto or Pensacola. We can have it right here. There is a price to be paid, however, Jesus paid the price. Do we want it bad enough? Are we satisfied to be lukewarm? Do we want to be vomited out of the Lord’s mouth?

What would it take to see revival here?  Prayer, Fasting, Confession of Sins (1 Jn 1:8-10), Repentance, Forgiveness, Desiring to see a move of God in our midst. What price are we willing to pay?

Then I looked at our NATION? Lukewarm? Well, I see that within our borders we have abortion as law and pornography as a protected form of free speech; we’ve taken prayer out of our schools and allowed the religion of evolution to be taught; we’ve got no-fault divorce that has sent almost two generations of children reeling from the breakdown of their family; and homosexuality, an abomination to God, is being popularized by the entertainment industry. 

Have you heard it said that if God lets America off for her embrace of homosexuality, He’ll have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah? I want to make clear that God does not hate gays and neither should we. God wants to see them called out of darkness and into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9).

I see being lukewarm as a wink and a shrug toward those things God is calling us to be on fire and aglow about. 

Romans 12:11 “not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.” 

Fervent (aglow) (2204)--to boil with heat, be hot.

2 Chronicles 7:14 “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

Are we lukewarm or do we want to be Burning Hot and Aglow in Spirit, serving the Lord? 

“Behold, Jesus stands at the door and knocks...He desires to come in to you.”