December 7, 2023 • 14 mins
Have you ever thought about the real implications of being a lukewarm Christian? We're not just talking about missing a few church services or not participating in Bible study. Today, we delve deeply into the concept of spiritual lukewarmness as described in Revelations 3.15-16. We dissect this idea that goes beyond the mere act of disengaging from church activities but spotlights the detachment from Christ's teachings. We discuss how this lukewarmness can subtly infiltrate our lives - be it through neglected prayer or a heavier reliance on self than on God - and the dire consequences it can have, like causing others to stumble in their own faith.
But, we're not stopping there. The struggle with lukewarmness isn't just spiritual - it extends to our physical health too. Many of us wrestle with concerns about our physical well-being and its impact on our mental and emotional health. We encourage you today to break free from lukewarmness in all aspects of life, to treat your body as a temple and live a life inspired by Jesus. Let's face this challenge together as we provide support and guidance to those battling lukewarmness, inspiring them to offer their bodies as living sacrifices to God. Join us today, and let's face the danger of lukewarm faith head on.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Aaron O'Connell (00:06):
Revelation 3.15-16.
I know your deeds you areneither cold nor hot.
How I wish you were one of theother.
So because you are lukewarm,neither hot nor cold, I am about
to vomit you out of my mouth.
(00:28):
Welcome to the WHY to FitnessPodcast.
I'm your host, Aaron O'Connell,and today we're reflecting on
Revelations 3.15-16.
For those with a Christianupbringing or who've been
following Christ for a while,the term lukewarm Christian
(00:50):
might be familiar.
It's a concept derived fromRevelations 3.14-22, where Jesus
communicates through theApostle John, particularly
highlighting, in verses 15 and16, his displeasure with those
who are neither spiritually hotnor cold.
Warning of being spat out, or aterm more intensely translated
(01:14):
as vomited out.
This stern warning is linked tothe condition of laodicean
believers, mirrored by thelukewarm water in their city,
which traveled almost five milesthrough aqueducts, losing its
desirably hot or cold quality.
This lukewarmness symbolizedthe spiritual state of the
(01:35):
laodicean church.
Typically, lukewarm Christianis thought to describe someone
disengaged or indifferent tochurch activities.
However, the scripture doesn'texplicitly state if the
laodiceans were inactive inministry.
It emphasizes their detachmentfrom Christ's teaching.
(01:59):
Revelations 3.17 says you say Iam rich, I have grown wealthy
and I need nothing, but you donot realize that you are
wretched, pitiful, poor, blindand naked.
Revelations 3.17 attributestheir lukewarmness to
self-reliance, painting apicture of spiritual complacency
(02:20):
and a life lived as if it's notneeding Jesus, and this can
manifest in various ways, suchas neglecting prayer, being
self-reliant and finances, ornot engaging with the Bible,
reflecting a lukewarm faith.
Ultimately, involvement inchurch activities, while
beneficial, is not the core ofwhat God seeks.
(02:44):
What matters most is a lifeactively seeking Christ and
prioritizing Him in all aspects.
Failing to do so leads tospiritual lukewarmness, a state
that anyone, even you, can slipinto.
If this resonates, considerthis a call to recommit and
re-engage in ways that alignmore closely with Christ's
(03:05):
teaching, avoiding the risk ofspiritual lukewarmness.
But even as I speak about thislukewarmness, it's so easy to
fall into it and, quite honestly, lukewarmness affects way more
than just your spiritual sideLukewarmness in your physical
(03:28):
life, everywhere, in yourrelationships.
It's gonna destroy.
So let me paint you a picture.
Why does lukewarm get spit out?
Why is lukewarm so bad?
Well, I'll paint you a littlepicture Back when I was at a
concert with my sister and mymother, and there's this guy
(03:50):
there wearing like this satanic,worshiping, like horrible, like
jacket, and it was all aboutjust like loving Satan, all that
stuff.
And my sister said to me she'slike, oh man, that's so sad that
that's like that, and you knowit's bad, it's so bad.
(04:11):
And I told her I was like, yes,it's bad for that person, of
course, but what's so much worseis a Christian that's living a
worldly life, a lukewarmChristian.
Why do I say that?
Because here is the Satanworshipper getting my sister to
(04:34):
feel pity, to feel like, wow, Ifeel bad for this person.
I wish things were better.
If a non-christian saw thisperson and let's say he's
worshiping the devil, doing allthese negative things that
non-christians can be like, Idon't want anything to do with
that and may actually findChrist because of him.
(04:54):
It's almost like a burner.
If you put your hand on a hotburner, that negative, extreme
hot is going to be like whoa,never going to do that again.
It's the same way as whenyou're extremely cold.
You can turn off people fromthat extremely cold feeling.
If you're a murderer, if you'resomebody that's constantly
(05:14):
hating, constantly justdenouncing God, whatever it may
be, you may actually push peopleto God.
Luke warm, on the other hand,is one of the biggest reasons
non-Christians don't want to beChristians.
You have all these peopleputting Christian face on,
(05:35):
saying I go to church, I'm aChristian, all this stuff, but
they're not reading their Bible.
They have no idea who Jesusreally is, what he's calling
them to do.
They haven't considered thecost before they were starting
to build their house.
So they go on exposing so manythings in their life, like them
(05:59):
following secular music.
Like them cursing all the time.
Like them going to strip clubs.
Like them getting drunk all thetime, whatever it may be.
They're not living a life thathas anything that points to
Jesus.
They're treating people badlybut then they go and say oh yeah
, I'm a Christian.
(06:20):
Well, I just got told a storythe other day where one of my
friends works with somebody thatworks, you know, is always
volunteering in the church andreally is into the church, does
a lot of things, reads the Bible, all these things, but he
treats people at his job poorlyand he got told from all the
(06:46):
other coworkers that that guy,even though he's in church and
all this other stuff, is thereason that they are turned off
to Christianity.
Being lukewarm has reallynegative, negative, extremely
negative, vomiting outconsequences.
(07:07):
Yes, the most important thingis your spiritual walk.
If you're lukewarm, you will bespit out.
You will not be following GodJesus into his final kingdom.
You'll fall into the Matthew731 saying Lord, lord, I did all
this stuff.
And he's going to say departfrom me, I never knew you.
(07:27):
It's he who made him the Lordof all of their lives, all areas
.
And one of the biggest reasonsI'm doing this podcast today is
because I see so many people inthe health and fitness realm
being lukewarm and I'm notsaying lukewarm for Jesus or
anything like that, I'm strictlytalking worldly sense health
(07:49):
and fitness.
They are lukewarm.
They say they want to get thesegoals, they want to be lean,
they want to do, they want toget in shape, they want to be
healthy, but they're not doingthe things that will make it
happen.
They may be going to the gymfive, six, seven days excuse me,
(08:10):
seven days a week, but thenthey're not doing anything with
their diet, they're inconsistent, they're sleeping.
As horrible it's thislukewarmness.
Matthew 720 says yes, just asyou can identify a tree by its
fruit, so you can identifypeople by their actions.
(08:34):
If you find somebody saying, ohyeah, I really want to get
healthy, I need to get healthy,and then all you see them is eat
Twinkies and drink Starbuckssugar laden drinks every morning
with donuts.
They don't want to get healthy,they just say that to fit in,
(08:57):
they really wanted to, theywould go and do it.
I hear it all the time in thegym oh, I really wish I had a
six pack.
Oh, I really wish I could losethe weight I was up.
But my diet, well then, it'sreally not that important to you
.
You're either hot or you'recold.
(09:18):
That lukewarm gets spit out To.
Those that are lukewarm that saythey want these things and only
do parts of it are the onesthat are going to be battling a
lot of mental issues surroundingthat area.
They're going to be goingthrough bouts of depression,
anxiety, ups and downs,emotional eating, because they
(09:39):
say they want something.
They may be doing a little bitto get there, but they're not
going all the way to that hotzone.
They're not going all in.
So they beat themselves up.
They're holding themselves tothe standard of hot, but they're
lukewarm.
That's why they keep vomiting,that's why they keep feeling
(10:02):
sick Sick in the mind, sick inthe body.
Because they've got two peoplewrestling with each other and
the fitness realm loves this.
It's you versus you, likethere's two people battling it
out.
No, you need to die to that oneand leave no other options.
Leave no other options then tobe successful.
(10:25):
When you hit up against a wall,you go and research what they
need to do to get better to getaround this wall.
Go over it, under it, around it, through it, whatever it may be
.
If you've exhausted all theresources that you have can use
on your own power, go hiresomebody.
(10:45):
Have them figure it out for you.
Somebody that's been through it, somebody that can help you,
that sees it.
That's what Y2 Fitness is allabout, because if you're hiring
somebody that isn't a Christianand you're battling a spirit, we
know we're not wrestlingagainst fresh and blood, but the
principalities have ruled thisworld and you're doing all these
(11:07):
things for selfish gain in theChristian realm but you're not
addressing the soul or thespiritual.
You need somebody that will beable to show you and put it back
into alignment.
That's why so many Christiansare hitting against this wall,
because they may be extremelywarm or should I say extremely
hot in their spiritual walk, butthen, when it comes to their
(11:28):
physical, their bodies, thetemple of their body, first
Corinthians says and Paul saysthey're not.
They're not treating it withrespect, they're putting
whatever junk into their bodyand then they're wondering why
they're being attacked from thedevil in their minds, in their
anxiety, their depressions,there, and it can manifest in so
(11:49):
many different ways.
That's why I'm doing thispodcast to challenge you.
Let's stop being lukewarm.
Let's stop just saying, oh, Iwant to be this, I want to be
that, and not be doing it.
Because, like I said, whereMatthew said you can identify a
tree by its fruit.
You can identify people bytheir actions.
(12:09):
If you are not doing the thingsyou need to be doing to get
healthy and fit and lose theweight, then you do not want to
do it.
You actually want somethingmore.
You want to be comfortable, youwant to fit in, you want to
whatever it is.
Those goals usually arefear-based backwards goal, the
(12:30):
number one reason you're notreaching your goals.
If you haven't listened to thatpodcast all the way in almost
the beginning of this podcast,go do it.
It's probably a fear-based goalwhere you really don't want to
be healthy.
You want to just not beunhealthy.
You don't really want to be fit, you just don't want to be
unfit.
You don't really want to beskinny, you just don't want to
be fat.
That's a totally different goal, because then that's why you
(12:51):
are still fat, that's why you'restill unhealthy, that's why
you're still unfit, because yourgoal is to not be what you are,
but that is who you are.
Instead, you need to find a newidentity.
Just like we find a newidentity in Christ and work
towards that.
We see the modeled behavior ofJesus and work towards that and
die to ourselves.
(13:12):
That's the same way we can getout of this lukewarmness in
health and fitness is if we goand find something to be modeled
by and follow that.
Luckily, here at Y2 Fitness, Idon't jeopardize your walk with
Christ.
I build it.
So if you're struggling withthis lukewarmness, if you're
struggling with anxiety,depression, mental issues or
(13:34):
anything that is holding you inyour spot and you're feeling
lukewarm, or even if you'refeeling cold, reach out to me,
aaron, at Y2Fitnesscom.
Y2fitnesscom Y2 Fitnessanywhere Instagram, facebook,
whatever it is reach out and Iwill be able to help you.
I challenge you let's stop thislukewarmness and let's get hot
(14:01):
for Christ and be able tocelebrate him and follow him and
commit our whole, entire beings.
Let's offer our bodies as thatliving sacrifice.
This is our perfect act ofworship, and that's what he
wants our worship.
Revelation 3.15-16.
I know your deeds you areneither cold nor hot.
How I wish you were one of theother.
So because you are lukewarm,neither hot nor cold, I am about
to vomit you out of my mouth.
(00:28):
Welcome to the WHY to FitnessPodcast.
I'm your host, Aaron O'Connell,and today we're reflecting on
Revelations 3.15-16.
For those with a Christianupbringing or who've been
following Christ for a while,the term lukewarm Christian
(00:50):
might be familiar.
It's a concept derived fromRevelations 3.14-22, where Jesus
communicates through theApostle John, particularly
highlighting, in verses 15 and16, his displeasure with those
who are neither spiritually hotnor cold.
Warning of being spat out, or aterm more intensely translated
(01:14):
as vomited out.
This stern warning is linked tothe condition of laodicean
believers, mirrored by thelukewarm water in their city,
which traveled almost five milesthrough aqueducts, losing its
desirably hot or cold quality.
This lukewarmness symbolizedthe spiritual state of the
(01:35):
laodicean church.
Typically, lukewarm Christianis thought to describe someone
disengaged or indifferent tochurch activities.
However, the scripture doesn'texplicitly state if the
laodiceans were inactive inministry.
It emphasizes their detachmentfrom Christ's teaching.
(01:59):
Revelations 3.17 says you say Iam rich, I have grown wealthy
and I need nothing, but you donot realize that you are
wretched, pitiful, poor, blindand naked.
Revelations 3.17 attributestheir lukewarmness to
self-reliance, painting apicture of spiritual complacency
(02:20):
and a life lived as if it's notneeding Jesus, and this can
manifest in various ways, suchas neglecting prayer, being
self-reliant and finances, ornot engaging with the Bible,
reflecting a lukewarm faith.
Ultimately, involvement inchurch activities, while
beneficial, is not the core ofwhat God seeks.
(02:44):
What matters most is a lifeactively seeking Christ and
prioritizing Him in all aspects.
Failing to do so leads tospiritual lukewarmness, a state
that anyone, even you, can slipinto.
If this resonates, considerthis a call to recommit and
re-engage in ways that alignmore closely with Christ's
(03:05):
teaching, avoiding the risk ofspiritual lukewarmness.
But even as I speak about thislukewarmness, it's so easy to
fall into it and, quite honestly, lukewarmness affects way more
than just your spiritual sideLukewarmness in your physical
(03:28):
life, everywhere, in yourrelationships.
It's gonna destroy.
So let me paint you a picture.
Why does lukewarm get spit out?
Why is lukewarm so bad?
Well, I'll paint you a littlepicture Back when I was at a
concert with my sister and mymother, and there's this guy
(03:50):
there wearing like this satanic,worshiping, like horrible, like
jacket, and it was all aboutjust like loving Satan, all that
stuff.
And my sister said to me she'slike, oh man, that's so sad that
that's like that, and you knowit's bad, it's so bad.
(04:11):
And I told her I was like, yes,it's bad for that person, of
course, but what's so much worseis a Christian that's living a
worldly life, a lukewarmChristian.
Why do I say that?
Because here is the Satanworshipper getting my sister to
(04:34):
feel pity, to feel like, wow, Ifeel bad for this person.
I wish things were better.
If a non-christian saw thisperson and let's say he's
worshiping the devil, doing allthese negative things that
non-christians can be like, Idon't want anything to do with
that and may actually findChrist because of him.
(04:54):
It's almost like a burner.
If you put your hand on a hotburner, that negative, extreme
hot is going to be like whoa,never going to do that again.
It's the same way as whenyou're extremely cold.
You can turn off people fromthat extremely cold feeling.
If you're a murderer, if you'resomebody that's constantly
(05:14):
hating, constantly justdenouncing God, whatever it may
be, you may actually push peopleto God.
Luke warm, on the other hand,is one of the biggest reasons
non-Christians don't want to beChristians.
You have all these peopleputting Christian face on,
(05:35):
saying I go to church, I'm aChristian, all this stuff, but
they're not reading their Bible.
They have no idea who Jesusreally is, what he's calling
them to do.
They haven't considered thecost before they were starting
to build their house.
So they go on exposing so manythings in their life, like them
(05:59):
following secular music.
Like them cursing all the time.
Like them going to strip clubs.
Like them getting drunk all thetime, whatever it may be.
They're not living a life thathas anything that points to
Jesus.
They're treating people badlybut then they go and say oh yeah
, I'm a Christian.
(06:20):
Well, I just got told a storythe other day where one of my
friends works with somebody thatworks, you know, is always
volunteering in the church andreally is into the church, does
a lot of things, reads the Bible, all these things, but he
treats people at his job poorlyand he got told from all the
(06:46):
other coworkers that that guy,even though he's in church and
all this other stuff, is thereason that they are turned off
to Christianity.
Being lukewarm has reallynegative, negative, extremely
negative, vomiting outconsequences.
(07:07):
Yes, the most important thingis your spiritual walk.
If you're lukewarm, you will bespit out.
You will not be following GodJesus into his final kingdom.
You'll fall into the Matthew731 saying Lord, lord, I did all
this stuff.
And he's going to say departfrom me, I never knew you.
(07:27):
It's he who made him the Lordof all of their lives, all areas
.
And one of the biggest reasonsI'm doing this podcast today is
because I see so many people inthe health and fitness realm
being lukewarm and I'm notsaying lukewarm for Jesus or
anything like that, I'm strictlytalking worldly sense health
(07:49):
and fitness.
They are lukewarm.
They say they want to get thesegoals, they want to be lean,
they want to do, they want toget in shape, they want to be
healthy, but they're not doingthe things that will make it
happen.
They may be going to the gymfive, six, seven days excuse me,
(08:10):
seven days a week, but thenthey're not doing anything with
their diet, they're inconsistent, they're sleeping.
As horrible it's thislukewarmness.
Matthew 720 says yes, just asyou can identify a tree by its
fruit, so you can identifypeople by their actions.
(08:34):
If you find somebody saying, ohyeah, I really want to get
healthy, I need to get healthy,and then all you see them is eat
Twinkies and drink Starbuckssugar laden drinks every morning
with donuts.
They don't want to get healthy,they just say that to fit in,
(08:57):
they really wanted to, theywould go and do it.
I hear it all the time in thegym oh, I really wish I had a
six pack.
Oh, I really wish I could losethe weight I was up.
But my diet, well then, it'sreally not that important to you
.
You're either hot or you'recold.
(09:18):
That lukewarm gets spit out To.
Those that are lukewarm that saythey want these things and only
do parts of it are the onesthat are going to be battling a
lot of mental issues surroundingthat area.
They're going to be goingthrough bouts of depression,
anxiety, ups and downs,emotional eating, because they
(09:39):
say they want something.
They may be doing a little bitto get there, but they're not
going all the way to that hotzone.
They're not going all in.
So they beat themselves up.
They're holding themselves tothe standard of hot, but they're
lukewarm.
That's why they keep vomiting,that's why they keep feeling
(10:02):
sick Sick in the mind, sick inthe body.
Because they've got two peoplewrestling with each other and
the fitness realm loves this.
It's you versus you, likethere's two people battling it
out.
No, you need to die to that oneand leave no other options.
Leave no other options then tobe successful.
(10:25):
When you hit up against a wall,you go and research what they
need to do to get better to getaround this wall.
Go over it, under it, around it, through it, whatever it may be
.
If you've exhausted all theresources that you have can use
on your own power, go hiresomebody.
(10:45):
Have them figure it out for you.
Somebody that's been through it, somebody that can help you,
that sees it.
That's what Y2 Fitness is allabout, because if you're hiring
somebody that isn't a Christianand you're battling a spirit, we
know we're not wrestlingagainst fresh and blood, but the
principalities have ruled thisworld and you're doing all these
(11:07):
things for selfish gain in theChristian realm but you're not
addressing the soul or thespiritual.
You need somebody that will beable to show you and put it back
into alignment.
That's why so many Christiansare hitting against this wall,
because they may be extremelywarm or should I say extremely
hot in their spiritual walk, butthen, when it comes to their
(11:28):
physical, their bodies, thetemple of their body, first
Corinthians says and Paul saysthey're not.
They're not treating it withrespect, they're putting
whatever junk into their bodyand then they're wondering why
they're being attacked from thedevil in their minds, in their
anxiety, their depressions,there, and it can manifest in so
(11:49):
many different ways.
That's why I'm doing thispodcast to challenge you.
Let's stop being lukewarm.
Let's stop just saying, oh, Iwant to be this, I want to be
that, and not be doing it.
Because, like I said, whereMatthew said you can identify a
tree by its fruit.
You can identify people bytheir actions.
(12:09):
If you are not doing the thingsyou need to be doing to get
healthy and fit and lose theweight, then you do not want to
do it.
You actually want somethingmore.
You want to be comfortable, youwant to fit in, you want to
whatever it is.
Those goals usually arefear-based backwards goal, the
(12:30):
number one reason you're notreaching your goals.
If you haven't listened to thatpodcast all the way in almost
the beginning of this podcast,go do it.
It's probably a fear-based goalwhere you really don't want to
be healthy.
You want to just not beunhealthy.
You don't really want to be fit, you just don't want to be
unfit.
You don't really want to beskinny, you just don't want to
be fat.
That's a totally different goal, because then that's why you
(12:51):
are still fat, that's why you'restill unhealthy, that's why
you're still unfit, because yourgoal is to not be what you are,
but that is who you are.
Instead, you need to find a newidentity.
Just like we find a newidentity in Christ and work
towards that.
We see the modeled behavior ofJesus and work towards that and
die to ourselves.
(13:12):
That's the same way we can getout of this lukewarmness in
health and fitness is if we goand find something to be modeled
by and follow that.
Luckily, here at Y2 Fitness, Idon't jeopardize your walk with
Christ.
I build it.
So if you're struggling withthis lukewarmness, if you're
struggling with anxiety,depression, mental issues or
(13:34):
anything that is holding you inyour spot and you're feeling
lukewarm, or even if you'refeeling cold, reach out to me,
aaron, at Y2Fitnesscom.
Y2fitnesscom Y2 Fitnessanywhere Instagram, facebook,
whatever it is reach out and Iwill be able to help you.
I challenge you let's stop thislukewarmness and let's get hot
(14:01):
for Christ and be able tocelebrate him and follow him and
commit our whole, entire beings.
Let's offer our bodies as thatliving sacrifice.
This is our perfect act ofworship, and that's what he
wants our worship.
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