Are You Hot, Cold, or Lukewarm? - Frank Brancato

In this little sermon, I've entitled it.

Are you hot cold or lukewarm? You remember last Lord's day?

We talked about measuring spiritual growth and when we're

finished with this lesson, I want you to privately ask

yourself. Am I hot cold or lukewarm?

The passes that we're going to be taking is Revelation chapter

Revelation 3 · chapter mention

3 and beginning in verse 15. 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

a couple of years ago. I gave a series on the seven

churches of Asia and the one that was considered the lukewarm

church was the church at laodicea.

You remember that I was going to take these two verses of

scripture and have a brief sermon on this particular

question. But remember this, when it talks

about the seven churches of Asia, I believe that the seven

churches of Asia were literal churches.

So we're talking about specific things and specific people that

were literal that actually met and worship God, and Jesus

describes them in various ways. But secondly, in addition to

that, they also represent the various conditions that

congregations of the body of Christ.

Can find them self in today, not only congregationally

collectively, but even individually as Jewel

Christians. Okay.

One of the brilliant things about the Lord is so many things

that he wrote were so brilliant because he knew, he always knew

exactly what to say. And if you look at all the seven

churches of Asia, you will find that Jesus uses illustrations

that they could have understood. For example, in laodicea, it was

known for their hot springs. They knew that and sometimes

there would be a hot spring and sometimes there would be a Old

Spring. Now hot is good, and cold is

good, but there were also times when the cold springs in the hot

springs would merge and mingle and it would become lukewarm.

I actually read from one scholar.

That said, this makes it brilliant with the Lord, says,

that people would go and they would dip something down to get

some of these. Some of the water from the

spring thinking, it was either hot or cold, put it to their

mouth, and it would be lukewarm, and they would spit it out of

their mouth. Jesus says, that's what you as a

congregation are Hot springs and Cold Springs.

That's good. You know, I thought about this

morning about coffee, got up really early with my study to

look over this little sermon that I decided to preach today

and I was drinking hot coffee and hot coffees.

Great. And cold coffee is great iced

coffee, but lukewarm coffee is not so great.

We need to do something with it, like heat it up or put some ice

in it, but lukewarm is not. Great.

Let's go back to verse 15, Dan and notice.

What Jesus says he says, I know your works and he says this, you

are neither cold nor hot. Jesus is knowing their condition

and is assessing them by saying you are not hot and you are not

cold. You are lukewarm and what he was

saying from a spiritual perspective.

You're no better than the notoriously lukewarm drinking

water that was in their town. He's taking their spiritual

temperature. Now, why does he say cold nor

hot? Well, hot is.

Obviously we, it's obvious Hot represents this.

Hot represents fervent and on fire.

Now let's not take this further or describe it further than it

really is. Let's make it very basic and

very practical someone that is hot fervent and on fire is just

a faithful child of God. A faithful Christian where God

is number one in their life. God is at the Forefront of their

thinking, they're trying their very best not perfect but trying

their very best to be a Christian and live a Godly life.

That's all that means. Don't think that this means that

they are people that read Some higher level of spirituality.

So what that means, that all our higher level of Holiness is just

talking about a faithful child of God.

And Jesus says, I wish you were either hot or cold.

We understand about hot. But why cold?

First of all, understand this, there's no blessing and there's

no reward in being cold. What is he talking about?

Well, I think that a cold person represents this.

I think a cold person represents an unsaved, sinner a

non-Christian I don't think cold means a Christian.

That quit the church. I don't think it means that at

all. I've heard people interpret this

by saying this, if a person is going to be lukewarm, it's

better to quit the church and be cold.

And the Lord would have more respect for them if they just

quit. I don't believe that's the

context here at all. I think the Lord was saying

this, it's better if you were hot, why?

Because if you're hot the word of God is still working in your

life, you're still aroused by the the words of God.

If you're cold, you're an unsaved sinner.

You're a non-Christian, you know what?

You're not saved in that current condition, but the word of God

still can prick your heart, and you can change and you can obey

the gospel and you can be saved. I think that's what cold means

now. What about lukewarm?

What about lukewarm? What's it mean to be lukewarm?

I think lukewarm is a self-satisfied Christian,

deceiving himself into thinking that he's safe.

I think it pictures. The person that is pretending to

be something he really doesn't intend to be.

I think that's the one and here's the big word, we always a

bad word hypocrite, that's somebody that's going through

the motions. That's somebody that lives, a

sinful life, for six days, does whatever they want, worldly

life, but they're there on Sunday, their ardor Church.

They're pretending to be something they never intended to

be. That is a lukewarm Christian.

And Jesus said that they this congregation they were all

lukewarm but there's another reason to there's another reason

to please get this. Have you ever stopped to

consider that a lukewarm Christian will do more to harm

the church than an unsaved sinner?

You know why? Let's just use me.

Okay, let's just put it all on me.

Let's just say, I'm not living like I should Let's just say

that I am living a life that is worldly or sinful that I'm

participating in sinful practices in the presence of

others that I should not. But I profess to be a member of

the church. I profess to be a Christian and

I tell people that I'm a Christian, what happens is

people that are in the world, compare their life to mine and

they say this, I'm as good as he is, or I'm better than he is.

In fact let me just tell you but all the things that Frank does a

lukewarm Christian will do more harm than an unsaved center.

Now I have to tell you this okay got to say this most people that

don't want to obey the gospel and become a child of God and

change their life. They make the decision first

then they look to somebody else and their example and justify

their choice. I believe that I believe a

person will do exactly what they want to do and then figure out a

way to blame somebody. D or cause somebody to be the

culprit as to why they won't. And that is the clear thing that

we always hear there's Hypocrites in the church or in

the religious world, right? We hear that all that is is

somebody justifying their behavior because they don't want

to do what's, right? It's somebody that's living a

double life. When we do that, we do more harm

than an unsaved Center. Burton Coffman says this though,

he said this church had lost its enthusiasm Zeal and excitement

concerning their, holy religion. Through the Ages, they have come

to stand for the most disgusting thing on earth, they had become

a fat lazy self-righteous into place at church basking in their

own presumed achievements, but completely unacceptable to the

Lord, very strong words, very strong words indeed.

So in Revelation chapter 3 and verse 15 Jesus says, I know your

Revelation 3 · chapter mention

works. I've assessed you, you're not

hot. Or cold.

But I wish you were cold or hot but you're not the next verse.

So then because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot.

I will vomit you out of my mouth.

I have to say something to, that's I really want you to get

this. We don't ever want to have the

words come out of our mouth. Get in or get out.

Or you might as well just quit. Don't ever let those words come

out of your mouth to somebody that's struggling.

Spiritually. You know why they just might

quit? We don't want that.

Do we? I know the father that 20 some

years ago told his daughter that was struggling spiritually you

got to get in or get out and if you're not going to get in you

might as well get out. You know she did she got out.

You know, all these years have gone by, you know, where she is

out. We don't want to say that at

all. What we want to say is, is get

in. Stay and hang on, don't quit,

don't you? Dare quit.

Even if you're hanging on by a thread, don't you dare give up.

You hang on. That's what we want to tell

people because you know why we're going to find that.

If you're lukewarm, you can still get hot.

Hold that thought Burton Kaufman said this.

Do about the idea of being lukewarm.

He said this shows the contrast between the hot and medicinal

Waters of hieropolis and the cold, pure Waters of colossi.

There's the distinction, thus the church was providing neither

refreshment for the spiritually weary nor healing, For the

spiritually sick. You got to, you got to get hot

is what the Lord say. So let me just say this in

conclusion, I told you it's going to be short little sermon

I've done that has been 10 minutes.

Heart is fervent and on fire for the cause of Christ.

What is that? That's a faithful Christian.

If you're trying to live a Christian Life That's you.

If God is first in your life that is you that is you as a

child of God, what's cold? That's the unsaved sinner.

That's never obeyed. The gospel is that you today?

If that's the case, all you have to do is obey the gospel be

baptized for the remission of your sins and guess what.

You can be hot. A faithful Christian lukewarm.

Though is the hypocritical member living, a double life and

is self-satisfied with his current condition.

I read one scholar. One time that said that a

lukewarm Christian. Unfortunately, one of the

dangers, he doesn't even know. There's a problem, just going

right along. Satisfied and content just going

right along. So let me ask you this.

As I said, I would do this at the end of our lesson.

Let me ask you the question. Are you hot?

Are you cold or are you lukewarm now?

If you're cold. Come believing in Jesus.

Repent of your sins confess, his name as the Son of God and be

baptized in water for the remission of sins.

Now, if you're lukewarm, maybe you're looking at this passage

that we noticed and it seems kind of harsh.

Let me tell you what, the Lord said, this is all you have to

do, this is beautiful. The Lord said in verse 19 of

Revelation chapter 3, as many as I love.

Revelation 3 · chapter mention

Get that as many as I love. I rebuke and chasten.

Therefore be zealous and repent. That's all you got to do,

repent. Make those changes in your life.

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