Tepid Isn't Tasty!

I already mentioned this week that I don't like lukewarm coffee. I actually can't think of anything that I really like that's lukewarm. Think about it....do you like to drink lukewarm water? What about lukewarm tea? Lukewarm soup? I don't even like lukewarm bathwater (no, I don't mean to drink!).

Lukewarmness is not appealing. It is not appetizing. We have seen that spiritual lukewarmness does not appeal to God either. So, how can we know if we are growing (or have already become) spiritually lukewarm?

According to Revelation 3:15-19, we can see what the symptoms are in God's eyes.

1. Loss of heat - "...thou art neither cold nor hot..." (vs. 15, 16)
2. Looking to self - "I am...." (vs. 17)
3. Lack of appreciation for what is valuable to God - "rich" in their own eyes, "poor" in God's eyes (vs. 17)
4. Love for things of the world - "...rich and increased with goods..." (vs. 17)
5. Lack of interest (apathy) - "...have need of nothing..." (vs. 17)
6. Lack of spiritual awareness - "....knowest not..." (vs. 17)
7. Lack of peace - "....thou art wretched..." (vs. 17)
8. Lack of joy - "...miserable..." (vs. 17)
9. Lack of spiritual treasure - "...poor..." (vs. 17)
10. Lack of spiritual perception or vision - "....blind..." (vs. 17)
11. Lack of righteousness or purity - "....naked:" (vs. 17)
12. Lack of shame - "knowest not that thou art ....naked:" "...the shame of thy
nakedness..." (vs. 17, 18)
13. Lack of zeal - "....be zealous therefore..." (vs. 19)
14. Little conviction or repentance of sin - "...have need of nothing...", "...be zealous therefore,
and repent..." (vs. 17, 19)

How's your temperature so far? Do you have the symptoms of being hot, cold, or lukewarm? The trouble with lukewarmness is that we often do not see it in ourselves. God told this church "thou knowest not". They didn't see themselves at all as God saw them. We need to take our temperature not by our own gauge, but by the thermometer of the Word of God.

Tomorrow's Topic: Room Temperature