Matthew 12:43-45… Here, we see the lukewarmness of leaving one’s heart empty after being cleansed of demons, sins, and bad habits. In this passage, the demons and sins returned when they saw a man doing nothing to fill his heart with good things. The man rejoiced when the demons were emptied out, but Jesus condemned what the other man rejoiced in. Jesus condemned him for staying empty. The man’s life ended up worse than before. If Jesus has cleansed your heart from habits, sin, and devils, then it’s up to you to be filling your life with spiritual things (i.e., the Word of God, church fellowship, and a hunger for more of God). Jesus is glad to deliver people… But saints, fill the gap. Do it at home through prayer and Word study. In the years ahead you will see good people staying home from church because of lifeless Christianity. Discover for yourself the joys of hearing the voice of the Lord speaking to you. Jesus sees your heart. He sees the lukewarmness of an empty heart.
Luke 8:11-15… Here, we see the lukewarm attitude of sowing good seed into bad soil (hearts). Many Christians do nothing with the word given. Four men received a word from the Lord. These were not bad men. They put themselves in a place to hear. They received the Word in their minds, but their hearts were out of sorts. One man couldn’t hold the Word given, so the Word didn’t take root. Another received the Word with joy, but when trials came because others spoke against his acceptance of the Lord and His Word he lost his joy. He paid more attention to the word of others rather than to the Word the Lord gave him. The third man heard the Word, but he let the cares of this world and the making of money take priority over the will of God for his life. Wrong priorities choked out the Word of God. Jesus sees how you receive His directives. It is useless to ask God for a word if you are not going to act righteously upon it. Lukewarmness produces no fruit.
What did Jesus see that we are not seeing? Jesus saw good people falling into a place of lukewarmness. He condemned them because they did nothing. The Bible says in James 4:17, “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin” (KJV). The Gospels tell of Jesus warning others about hell and outer darkness because of what they did not do. In Luke 16, the story of the rich man and Lazarus is a good example. The man did not help the beggar, Lazarus. The rich man died and went to hell because of what he did not do. Matthew 25:31-46 tells of the Son of Man gathering nations; the charge that condemned these nations was that they did nothing. They were not charged for some great immoral sin (and that’s bad enough), but for what they did not do. In Matthew 25:14-30, one man was given a single talent. He hid this talent and accused his master of demanding too much of people. This good man was called a slothful servant (useless and good for nothing) and was sent into outer darkness… for doing nothing.
One of the worst charges brought against these people was that of lukewarmness. Jesus hates it. In Mark 2:23-27, Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for doing nothing on the Sabbath. The purpose of the Sabbath was to rest, to sustain and maintain the souls of people. The Pharisees were lukewarm in their actions. Jesus came and met the needs of people on the Sabbath. Jesus rebuked the uselessness of a Sabbath that wasn’t meeting the needs of people. The Sabbath was made for man, to enrich men’s souls–to be a blessing and not a burden. Like the Pharisees, many today make the Sabbath a burden and not a blessing. It’s time to press home this question… Are you a lukewarm and useless Christian, a do-nothing believer? If so, you can change. This message was heavy on my heart. I really did not want to write it, but the Lord wants to change your life. Many changes are coming in the years ahead. Why not be changed? Come to Him now in prayer and with open heart and ask Him to change you.
Pastor George Belobaba
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