Scripture: Revelation 3 v 16 - 19: "So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent."
This is the seventh letter that Jesus wrote to the ruling angels over individual churches in chapters 2 and 3 of Revelations. This church in Asia Minor was called Laodicea, famous for its ointments or eye salves.
Jesus says to these Christians, If your faith and commitment is neither hot nor cold but lukewarm, He will spit you out of His mouth. This is a very serious problem in today's Church. We have come full circle to the last letter, and we have not gained much ground.
Today's blog was brought to my mind by the Holy Spirit after I saw a video of a pastor who had a near death experience but was sent back by Jesus to repent of one sin! The sin of Laodicea to be lukewarm in his church and to be complacent about it. He saw Hell looming and he was shut out of Heaven much to his shock. The Holy Spirit says there are thousands like this pastor that need a wake up call.
When we are born again we are seated in Christ in heavenly places and He is in our heart. It is a very close relationship. If we do not have a fervent love and understanding of our part in His life, we could be considered lukewarm and rejected.
If we are cold it means we have never known the warmth of Jesus so our chance to know Him is still ahead. He says He would prefer us to be either hot or cold because if our faith is hot it means the fire of the Holy Spirit has ignited within us. Jesus delights in us because we are loyal, obedient and have His fire for saving souls. If we are still cold we need to come in from the outside.
Many people have found Jesus as Saviour but never become part of a functioning body. They may be stuck in traditional churches where salvation is never preached and the words of Jesus saying, You must be born again (John 3 v 3) are never heard.
They sing beautifully, listen keenly to sermons of moral value, and put their coins in the collection plate. They are satisfied on an emotional level with their devotions but their spirit remains untouched and cold.
They need to throw off the religious chains and meet Jesus face to face, be convicted of sin until they cry out for salvation. Then they will be forgiven and washed in the Blood of Jesus. Far too many of these churches have converted into Bingo halls or other forms of worldly entertainment.
Jesus sees that Laodicea is a materially wealthy church but He calls them wretched, poor, miserable, blind and naked. This is because they have become proud and self righteous. They are unteachable and have recreated God in their own image. Jesus plays on words saying they are blind and in need of eyesalve. It's the blind leading the blind until they both fall in the ditch. Produces had a big industry of making an ointment for eye ailments, an eyesalve.
Sadly out of this last days Church will apostasy spread like a pandemic. They wear spiritual masks being wolves in sheep's clothing. They are spiritually distant from the true power of God, they infect those who touch them with lies and error. There is a short supply of the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Love, joy, peace, patience, self-control, meekness, faith, gentleness and goodness. Jesus said, By their fruits you shall know them.
Paul writes about it in Thessalonians and says that before the Antichrist is revealed there will be a falling away from the truth. Christians will be lured into fatal compromise by the enemy of our souls. These are the ones Jesus will spue out of His mouth. It is already happening, beloved reader, it is not some distant event.
John the Baptist was beheaded for constantly shouting REPENT! He told people in high places what sins they were committing. He was not afraid of them. He was a voice in the Wilderness making straight paths for the Lord. He was baptized in the Holy Ghost when he was in his mother's womb. By Jesus who was still in His mother's womb. It's the Holy Ghost and fire and its keeping us alive! A chorus from days gone by.
This Prophetic Fire blog is like the voice in the wilderness. The fire of the Holy Ghost is upon me and He directs what goes into the blog. How the reader reacts to it is duly noted by Him. Some people have said they are tired of gloom and doom, they want sugar-coated sermons that make them feel good. Some pastors appreciate reading words they have not heard preached for over thirty years. The church has become lukewarm.
On the Day of Judgment there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth when Jesus declares I NEVER KNEW YOU! Depart from Me you workers of iniquity. (Matthew 7). These are people who call Jesus Lord, who do miracles, healings and deliverance from demons in His name. They, however, fuel apostasy through false doctrines, false prophecies and supergrace beliefs that are abounding in churches today. The enemy has sown his tares among the wheat and these weeds are taking over the whole crop.
Many church groups have already begun the downward spiral as pastors are forced to turn their churches into entertainment centres to keep the flock coming to church at all. The messages are more geared to please people than to minister truth and right moral standing. This is where apostasy starts. This is the broad way that leads to destruction.
There is widespread division in churches with large churches splitting into many small groups. This started long ago and is a huge concern.
If we are not in a church where the full gospel is preached and the salvation message is very clear then the true power of the Holy Spirit is not flowing. If He is active He brings truth, love, joy, peace, reconciliation, ministry to the hurting, and true worship. There will be good feeding through Bible Study and prayer. Without this we are in danger of apostasy.
In Revelations 3 the Lord gives promises of great value to those who reject the lukewarm offering and become fervent and faithful followers of the Lamb of God. So repent if you have been lured into the error of false doctrines and worldliness in the church. You must walk in the light as He is in the light, having fellowship with one another as the Blood of Jesus cleanses you from all sin. 1 John 1 v 7.
We need to examine our spiritual standing and the environment we worship in. Check it out with Jesus. Ask, seek, knock, and don't be satisfied with glib patronising answers. No matter how hard it might be, move on and follow Jesus rather than man.
There is a light coming through the darkness as the revival started in Asbury last year continues to spread from nation to nation. Videos of Coptic Priests in Egypt dancing in the Spirit and loudly praising the Lord were such a blessing. To see pictures of 70,000 Christians singing praise and worship songs in Trafalgar Square in England was thrilling. Uganda, Kenya, the Philippines, Holland among others are throwing off the Laodicea spirit of lukewarmness! Pray that it continues till Jesus comes.
Prayer: Heavenly Father we cannot take that which You call an abomination, lightly. We cannot stand confidently before You if we accept strange fire on Your altar. Father teach us to be steadfast and effective Christians who shun compromise and all appearance of evil. We pray that You never be ashamed of us nor spue us out of Your mouth. In Jesus' name. Amen.