If you read Revelation 3:14-21 you will discover that Jesus is talking about the lukewarm church of Laodicea. That church was neither cold nor hot, but lukewarm and nauseating. So much so that Jesus said at Revelation 3:16
"So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth."
That word "spue" literally means to vomit. Do you want to be lukewarm and have Jesus feel like vomiting because of you? Of course you don't if you are a true, born again believer in Christ. Have you considered that when you don't pray and do not read the Bible, that is a symptom of being lukewarm. The good Lord wants to have a living, vibrant, love relationship with you. That requires spending time with Him, communicating with Him through prayer, and by putting Him first in your life.
Another symptom of lukewarmness (and maybe even a sign that you are not truly converted) is becoming like the world; being a part of the world and loving its godless entertainment and excessive materialism; its lusts and desires.
Consider 1 John 2:15-17, (15) "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. (16) For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. (17) And the world passeth away, and the lusts thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever."
This world, or realm of sin, is controlled by satan and organized against God and righteousness. We should avoid anything that involves the devil and wickedness. Your very soul is at stake. Do the will of God and have eternal life with Him.
Consider also James 4:4, "Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God."
James makes it clear how God feels when we are friends with the world.....it is enmity with God ! It makes you an enemy of God.
Revelation 2 and 3 deals with the 7 churches in Asia Minor in the apostle John's day and to which Jesus told John to write to each of these as a message from the Lord Himself. The letter to the Laodicean church was the harshest of the seven. That church had nothing to commend it.
The vast majority of scholars agree that these seven churches are typical of the Church age throughout history, and that the time we now live in is also like the Laodicean church. The church today has become lukewarm and worldly. I am speaking generally, for not all of today's churches are like the ancient one in Laodicea. If you find yourself in a lukewarm church, leave and search for one that is truly alive and preaching the gospel and putting Jesus first.
Let us be true sheep and follow the Lord our shepherd wherever He leads. Turn to Him for guidance and instruction, and put your faith in Him and in His promises.
Let us consider Revelation 3:20, which reads,
"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me."
Most people take this to mean that Jesus is knocking on the individual unbeliever's heart. But when you consider the context, the lukewarm church itself is being addressed. Christ, the Lord of the church, is pictured as knocking on the door of the church. "The Laodiceans were in danger of closing Jesus out of their church, just as unbelievers can close Him out of their lives."
Beware of becoming lukewarm!
Following is a 58 minute sermon by Charles Spurgeon with a warning to avoid lukewarmness. It is worth taking the time to listen to. Charles Spurgeon is known as "the prince of preachers."
In the above sermon, Spurgeon said something very noteworthy. "Men are less likely to repent when they are in the middle - neither hot nor cold - than if they were at the worst extreme in sin. There is more hope to convert the cold than it is to convert the lukewarm."
If you are a Christian and you see any signs of lukewarmness in your life and in your attitude, repent and turn to the Lord and ask for forgiveness. Begin to pray more often, as well as to be in God's Holy Word daily.
If you are an unbeliever, do not delay in accepting Jesus and believing in Him as the Savior, whose shed blood at Calvary can wash away your sins and bring forgiveness if you truly repent. To repent is not just feeling sorrow for your sins for the moment; it means completely renouncing sin and not living in sin anymore. If one occasionally and unwittingly commits a sin after being saved, he can sincerely repent and ask for forgiveness and the slate will be wiped clean... he will be forgiven.
Turn to the Lord now in faith and in repentance. Time is fast running out before the Rapture of the Church occurs.
Do not delay!
"Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates." - 2 Corinthians 13:5
"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me." - John 14:6
"He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." - John 3:36
"Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." - John 3:3
Have a Christ centered weekend..... and life !
