God is not very subtle at times…and that’s a great thing. 

I’m preparing to teach a class at my church/start a ministry for singles. I’m going to be teaching from the book “Crazy Love” by Francis Chan, and I’m totally excited about it. So I’ve been praying about how God wants me to lead into it, etc. 

Well, I decided tonight to finally watch a Francis Chan DVD that I have had for about a year, called “Lukewarm” (you can watch it online here)…WOW. What a message! His main passage was Revelation 3:14-22. Here’s how The Message puts it: 

 ¹⁴Write to Laodicea, to the Angel of the church. God’s Yes, the Faithful and Accurate Witness, the First of God’s creation, says: ^15-17“I know you inside and out, and find little to my liking. You’re not cold, you’re not hot—far better to be either cold or hot! You’re stale. You’re stagnant. You make me want to vomit. You brag, ‘I’m rich, I’ve got it made, I need nothing from anyone,’ oblivious that in fact you’re a pitiful, blind beggar, threadbare and homeless.

 ¹⁸“Here’s what I want you to do: Buy your gold from me, gold that’s been through the refiner’s fire. Then you’ll be rich. Buy your clothes from me, clothes designed in Heaven. You’ve gone around half-naked long enough. And buy medicine for your eyes from me so you can see, really see.

 ¹⁹“The people I love, I call to account—prod and correct and guide so that they’ll live at their best. Up on your feet, then! About face! Run after God!

 ^20-21“Look at me. I stand at the door. I knock. If you hear me call and open the door, I’ll come right in and sit down to supper with you. Conquerors will sit alongside me at the head table, just as I, having conquered, took the place of honor at the side of my Father. That’s my gift to the conquerors!

 

 ²²“Are your ears awake? Listen. Listen to the Wind Words, the Spirit blowing through the churches.”

The NLT says that “those who are victorious will sit with me on my throne”. Francis pointed out that this is the same throne that the disciple John observed in the next chapter (Revelation 4)–the one with millions of angels surrounding it, bowing down to the King. The treasures in Heaven (and of the Kingdom of God) are SO much greater than anything we could possibly acquire here on earth! Those who “overcome” being lukewarm, and become “hot” will live a life so much more full and abundant than they have ever imagined (not materially, but spiritually)!

God says that the lukewarm nature of the church makes Him want to vomit, and Francis gave us his take on that. He talked about the “rich young ruler” in Luke 18, who “walked away sad” because he couldn’t give up his riches, and compared him to Zacchaeus in Luke 19, who gave up half of all he owned and paid back anyone he had wronged (four times what he had stolen!)  . Francis said it’s like we’re saying “I don’t know if I can give up my stuff, God”–and God is repulsed by that (understandably). Who are we to compare God and His glory to our comparatively little houses and piles of gold?! Why would we choose the things of this world over those things of eternal value? It made so much more sense to me. I’m not explaining it well–you’ll just have to watch the message for yourself. 🙂 

But I realized that THIS is how I have to start the class. We must address the issue of being “lukewarm” before we can talk about living a life passionately for the Lord. All or nothing. 

On top of all this, a friend of mine introduced me to a song yesterday that talks about the very same thing (see post from yesterday with the lyrics to “The Motions”). I think God is being very clear about what He wants me to share with His children. 🙂 And I’m excited–not only to share it with them, but to continue this growth in my own walk. And I’m writing a song (with a friend of mine) about this very topic of “all or nothing”. 

It’s time to be serious, it’s time to truly give Him my ALL.

A couple of weeks ago, our pastor preached on anger…and he said something that I had honestly never considered. He pointed out that most of the time when we get angry it’s because we’re selfish. Think about it: when I get frustrated in traffic, what’s the real cause? My time is being wasted…I am going to be late. When we were kids, we’d get mad at our parents for telling US what to do, when it wasn’t what WE wanted to do. Hmmm…

James 4:1-6 points out that our anger comes from our selfish desires and our pride. I like the way that “The Message” puts it:

^1-2Where do you think all these appalling wars and quarrels come from? Do you think they just happen? Think again. They come about because you want your own way, and fight for it deep inside yourselves. You lust for what you don’t have and are willing to kill to get it. You want what isn’t yours and will risk violence to get your hands on it.

^2-3You wouldn’t think of just asking God for it, would you? And why not? Because you know you’d be asking for what you have no right to. You’re spoiled children, each wanting your own way.

^4-6You’re cheating on God. If all you want is your own way, flirting with the world every chance you get, you end up enemies of God and his way. And do you suppose God doesn’t care? The proverb has it that “he’s a fiercely jealous lover.” And what he gives in love is far better than anything else you’ll find. It’s common knowledge that “God goes against the willful proud; God gives grace to the willing humble.”

The Contemporary English Version says it this way:

¹Why do you fight and argue with each other? Isn’t it because you are full of selfish desires that fight to control your body? ²You want something you don’t have, and you will do anything to get it. You will even kill! But you still cannot get what you want, and you won’t get it by fighting and arguing. You should pray for it. ³Yet even when you do pray, your prayers are not answered, because you pray just for selfish reasons.

⁴You people aren’t faithful to God! Don’t you know that if you love the world, you are God’s enemies? And if you decide to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God. ⁵Do you doubt the Scriptures that say, “God truly cares about the Spirit he has put in us”? ^{[a] 6}In fact, God treats us with even greater kindness, just as the Scriptures say, “God opposes everyone who is proud, but he is kind to everyone who is humble.”

This sermon has been on my mind for the past two weeks, and I’ve really come to realize how selfish I really am. How humbling! I thought that I was pretty good about putting others first, but this has served as a HUGE reminder that I’m not even close to what God desires of us–and that none of us are! This is really making me think about why things frustrate me, and I’m much more aware of how “me-centered” I am.

Praise the Lord for pastors who aren’t afraid to preach about the “tough stuff”–because I bet no one in our congregation has been able to stop thinking about this.

On a somewhat related note, a friend told me about this song today, and the lyrics are powerful. It goes along with my “theme song”, which is “Crazy” by MercyMe. So I thought I’d share:

“The Motions” by Matthew West

This might hurt
It’s not safe
But I know that I’ve gotta make a change
I don’t care
If I break
At least I’ll be feeling something
‘Cause just ok
Is not enough
Help me fight through the nothingness of life

I don’t wanna go through the motions
I don’t wanna go one more day
Without Your all consuming passion inside of me
I don’t wanna spend my whole life asking
What if I had given everything?
Instead of going through the motions

No regrets
Not this time
I’m gonna let my heart defeat my mind
Let Your love
Make me whole
I think I’m finally feeling something

Take me all the way

I want to live my life, all or nothing, for Jesus…it’s as simple as that.