LESSONS FOR A LUKEWARM CHURCH

(This sermon was preached at Epworth Chapel, Baltimore on  11/20/2016)

"To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. ¹⁵ I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other!                     (Revelation 3:14-22

These last two weeks have found many people in the midst of heated conversation.  Anywhere you find news on the television, on newsstands, or on the Internet -there seems to be heated conversation about last week’s presidential elections. 

The heated discussions have extended into the church, where it’s clear that even Christians, those of us who profess to be followers of Jesus, are not of the same mind about the implications of the election on the well-being of all God’s people. 

Indeed, many people are passionate in their beliefs about the efficacy, or not, of the election.  And if the truth is told, this has resulted in often heated conversations, even among Christians.

It leads us to wonder, what if the church and society was as passionate about other important things as we are about who the President-elect is, who will be on his cabinet and how he will govern after the Inauguration?  What if we were just as passionate about doing good, doing no harm, and staying in love with God?

What if the whole church and society was just as passionate about feeding the hungry, and clothing the naked, and housing the homeless?  What if we were just as passionate about peace with justice in the world, and peace on the streets of Baltimore and other cities? 

What if we were just as passionate about ensuring that every child got a great education, and that police brutality came to an end, and that more good jobs were available for more people?

The truth of the matter is that when it comes to many of the things that really matter to people – if our temperature was taken this morning, we would be neither hot nor cold.  We would be lukewarm.  Indeed, our witness in the world for the sake of Jesus would be lackluster and lackadaisical and lukewarm.

And we are not the first church to find ourselves in the predicament of being lackluster.  If we took a few minutes to have a conversation with the church at Laodicea, we would find out that they were at a similar place. 

If we talked to Laodicea this morning, they’d tell us that they were at one point a vital, vibrant community of faith.   They would tell us that they at one point were on fire for Jesus – they prayed without ceasing, they worshipped with vigor, they helped the hurting and helpless around them, and they did justice and loved kindness and walked in humility with God.

But then they’d tell us that they at some point came to a place where their Holy Ghost fire left them.  They got tired and stale in their witness.  They were getting by - week after week, Sunday after Sunday - doing just enough not to get ice cold and totally frigid, but neither were they hot.  They were lukewarm.  The thrill for them was gone.

They were in the world and of the world.  It was difficult to tell the church from the world.  And so it came to the point that because the church didn’t seem to stand for much anymore, the people in the world didn’t feel they needed the church or God in their lives.  The church was lukewarm.  

The church in Laodicea had become a thermometer that reflected the temperature of the world, instead of being a thermostat that set the temperature, set the atmosphere.  And because they didn’t stand for much, they began to fall for almost anything.  

Then the church at Laodicea would tell you and me, that God sent John of Patmos by their city to let them know that God was not pleased with the fact that they we doing just enough to get by, and that John told them that God was so concerned with their lukewarm-ness, that God no longer wanted anything to do with them.

The lesson here is that these are times for deep introspection and soul-searching for the church – for you and me.  Everything we’re going through right now, affords you and me an opportunity to first look within ourselves, and then look outside among ourselves to see how we can recapture our desire to know and love and serve God. 

First, we need to look within ourselves, to search our souls, to ask ourselves the questions, “Am I really seeking after God?  Am I loving and serving God with my whole heart.  Am I growing in my ability to love everybody – even those who might not love me back?  

Then secondly, we need to look outside ourselves, and ask the questions, “Are we being the church God calls us to be?  Are we worshipping to glorify God, or is it just a show?  Are we serving to help somebody, or are we more concerned about who will recognize us?” 

Are we so on fire for Jesus that other people stop us and wonder how they can catch the flame that we have, or is our fire so dull that it can barely be felt or seen?

The final lesson for a lukewarm church is that only God almighty can really light your fire.  Only Jesus, the light of the world, can really light your fire. 

Politicians, whoever they are, won’t light it.  Preachers won’t really light it.  The choir won’t light.  Family and friends won’t light it.

So we need to put out faith and belief and hopes and trust in God and God alone. 

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding, but in all your ways acknowledge God, and God will direct your path.”

Trust God to keep you in the midst of this.  Trust God to comfort you.  Trust God to provide for you.  Trust God to make things right for you.

‘Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus… and to take him at his word… Just to rest upon his promise… and to know, thus saith the Lord… Jesus, Jesus – how I trust him… how I proved him over and over … Jesus, Jesus precious Jesus, O for grace to trust him more.