One way and only One, and yet the ways are two

Revelation 3:15-18

I grew up in a family of five and we were not poor by third world standards but we never had food that was wasted, and on Sundays it was fried chicken, one chicken for five people, with mashed potatoes, gravy and green beans.  It came from the frying pan to the table, and if you were not fast you missed out on the last piece of chicken.  To this day, I eat very fast and I want my food hot, not warm, and I do not like it lukewarm and I contribute that action to my childhood and that chicken. 

But the hot and cold and even the lukewarm in Revelation 3:15 is not addressing food, no it is referring to our hearts, to the church in Laodicea and many have said it mirrors today’s church.  Verses 15,16, “I know your works; you are neither cold nor hot.  Would that you were either cold or hot!  So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot or cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.”  Jesus has no part in the church that is lukewarm, His feeling about that church is similar to how I feel about cold soup, He tells us, “I will spit you out of my mouth.”

The church Jesus is referring to may be on budget, may have many great programs, and the finest of buildings with the most up to date sound system, the best music and a preacher who has the ability to keep the smallest child’s attention; in fact it is so good that it has little need to ask God for anything and Jesus calls it lukewarm. That church is void of power; Jesus says, “I will spit you out of my mouth.”  It has a habit of copying what God is up to in some other church and not seeking the Spirit of God and His desire for that local body of believers, it is void of prayer and it is proud.

Jesus goes on to tell a church like this these words; “For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.”  God has blessed the United States and we do not want His blessing to stop, but many in the Church believe there is no place for God in our government.  Vast majorities of people are now experiencing the effect of government, in our schools, and daily life without the hand of God.   This is the thinking of many in and out of the Church; we want to do what we believe works for us and we do not need anyone, not God, no not anyone to tell us what is right or wrong, we want a life free from absolutes.  And that spirit of the world has filled the Church today, and the Lord Jesus Christ has stated, “I will spit you out of my mouth.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice