Lukewarm Spirit

[iLOVE]

Part 1

A. The indifferent Believer lacks passion and zeal and becomes misinformed about God.

1. After making progress in the things of God by acquiring knowledge and receiving blessings, some Believers become indifferent and relax in their efforts to continually pursue God with fervor (Revelation 3:17-18, AMP).

a. Indifferent means, “neutral, careless, apathetic and mediocre.”

i. It is a state of being in the middle and not leaning to one extreme or the other.

b. The indifferent Believer behaves half-heartedly and negligently.

i. He or she is slow to move, slow to believe and never wants to be inconvenienced by the things of God.

c. Indifferent Christians can be categorized as lukewarm, and God is not pleased with them (Revelation 3:14-16, AMP).

2. Indifferent Christians perceive God as lukewarm and don’t believe He will reward them for their diligence or punish them for their slackness (Zephaniah 1:12).

a. They rarely see God’s victory and positive results in their lives, so they believe He is unconcerned and uninterested in their lives.

b. God forgives those who repent from apathy and satisfaction (Revelation 3:22).

c. Indifference is one of the final diabolical schemes designed to condemn Believers to hell.

i. Immediately following Jesus’ instruction on overcoming the lukewarm spirit, heaven is discussed in the Scriptures.

B. Indifference causes Christians to experience spiritual deafness.

1. Spiritual deafness applies to people who turn away from the truth of the Word to satisfy themselves with false doctrines that entertain them or stir their emotions to make them feel better.

a. This type of Christian prefers to hear dramatic and gratifying teachings that justify his or her lack of victory, rather than hearing the Word of God (2 Timothy 4:1-5, AMP).

b. Believers who stray from the Word listen to many different teachers and receive much information, but they learn erroneous doctrine and never come into the knowledge of the truth.

i. Many indifferent Christians entertain various televised church broadcasts, not considering that the ministers are often novices who teach in error.

2. By turning a deaf ear to the Word of God, the spiritually deaf expose themselves to myths and fables.

a. Some Christians who neglect the Word believe false teachings like “No cross, no crown,” which advocates a life of suffering when God instructs Believers to be conquerors, and “Poverty makes you a better person, ”which contradicts God’s plan to prosper His people.

3. Understanding the Word of God brings excitement and enjoyment.

a. When a Christian finds a promise in the Word of God and believes it, the joy of the Lord comes and produces excitement and anticipation.

 

[iLOVE]

Part 2

A. Most indifferent Believers still practice sin and are considered part of the congregation of the dead.

1. A Believer who strays away from the wisdom and understanding of God’s Word is categorized among the lost and lives in the congregation of the dead in sin (Proverbs 21:16).

2. A Christian who entertains fables and myths believes lies and walks in the flesh, which is a wrong way of thinking.

a. Believers who dwell in the congregation of the dead still struggle with secret sin issues because they have not gotten enough understanding from the Word of God to overcome their flesh.

i. They often seek teachers who make them feel their sin problem is acceptable.

ii. They are sometimes overly emotional in an attempt to hide the fact that they are in the congregation of the dead.

3. The truth of the Word of God gives a Believer the resisting power necessary to overcome sin and come out from among the spiritually dead.

B. Indifference causes dullness of hearing.

1. Dullness of hearing is when God speaks and a Believer cannot hear or does not understand His Word (John 8:43).

a. God always warns Believers before tragedies occur, but if their hearing is dull, they cannot receive the warning.

b. God instructs Believers in the decisions that they make, but the people who are lukewarm miss the instructions because their hearing is dull and consequently, they live in defeat.

i. God instructs us on how to find promotion, achieve success in relationships and avoid calamity.

ii. God reveals valuable insights through dreams, but the lukewarm Believer will not perceive the wisdom of God in his or her dream.

2. Indifferent Believers spend very little time with God, so they do not recognize His voice since their hearing has become dull (Hebrews 5:11, AMP).

a. God is always talking; but if you don’t spend time reading and studying His Word, you cannot hear and understand what He is saying.

b. Since they spend very little time with God, indifferent Believers do not recognize His voice because they are not familiar with Him.

c. Even Believers who are not indifferent should take steps to increase their time with God because it will sharpen their hearing.

C. Prayerlessness is the end result of indifference.

1. A prayerless Believer is one who has been lukewarm and indifferent for so long that he or she has become insensitive to the things of God and won’t even pray for help when trouble comes.

a. Believers who do not desire the Word are stuck in sinful practices, have dull hearing and eventually stop attempting to communicate with God (James 4:1-2).

b. Some Believers feel condemned because of sin and are ashamed to pray to God (Daniel 9:13).

c. Indifferent Believers often fail to receive the manifestation of God’s promises because they are prayerless and never ask God to help them(Hosea 7:7).