The Cure for a Lukewarm Spirit

In my last blog I talked about the characteristics of a lukewarm Christian but told you there was hope. Well in this post I want to look at that hope. Today I want to discuss a few simple ways to refresh a lukewarm heart.

1. Surrounding yourself with hot sources.

Often times when we are lukewarm in our lives we can look around and see that we are surrounded by other lukewarm or just plain cold people. You will never warm a cup of coffee by adding ice to it; it just does not work. If you have ever been to a diner where they serve coffee right at the table you may be familiar with the term “freshen up” as in freshen up your coffee. If someone asks to have their coffee freshen’d up it simply means to add some of the hot coffee on top of the coffee that has grown lukewarm. This immediately increases the temperature of the lukewarm coffee; it may not immediately put it back at it’s original temperature but it will start to rise. As a Christian we can choose who we surround ourselves with. When we are lukewarm we have three choices:

a. Surround ourselves with other lukewarm people. In doing this we make ourselves feel normal and even begin to justify our lukewarmness. When we surround ourselves with others who are the same temperature we are not pushed to change and we accept the way things are as the way things have to be. Unfortunately, I have seen entire churches work on this premise. On the outside looking in everything looks great but once you get a closer look you see that complacency has taken hold of the entire group and no one is seeking growth or change. They are happy being lukewarm because it is comfortable there.

b. Surround ourselves with cold people. This behavior is very dangerous because it allows the lukewarm person to not only justify their temperature but they are able to put it on a pedestal that it does not deserve. When we surround ourselves with people who are spiritually colder than ourselves it allows us to play the “I am better than them game”. Spirituality was never meant to be a contest between us. We should only strive to be better versions of ourselves not better than our neighbors. People living in this group will constantly point out the flaws of others as a means to make themselves look better or to take the attention off of their own shortcomings and lukewarm nature.

c. Surround ourselves with people who are hotter than us. This may seem strange to some because when we accept that we have become spiritually lukewarm it is hard for us to feel like we belong with those hotter than us. Those that are on fire for the Lord. Just like the half empty cup of coffee that has grown tepid and has to be refreshed with hot coffee sometimes we have to be refreshed by surrounding ourselves with those hotter than us. When you surround yourself with Christians who are on fire, you cannot help but to have your spiritual temperature start to rise. The trick is to allow this temperature change to move you out of the comfort zone of lukewarmness that you have grown accustomed to. When you first start to notice the change you may think that it is too hot or you just can’t handle it and you want to go back to being lukewarm. Don’t give up, stay strong and stay surrounded by those hot Christians. They do not keep their heat alone, it is only in the group that their temperature remains high. If you take any member out of the group, then their temperature will start to slowly decrease.

2. Going back to the source.

There is one cure for lukewarmness that can overcome any of the lukewarm characteristics. It is what John the Baptist preached; it is what Jesus preached; it is what the disciples preached. REPENTANCE! When you find yourself living a spiritually lukewarm life there is no need to focus on how things got that way or what could have been different you only need to focus on the Father. If you repent and turn back towards the source of fire in your spiritual life then He will restore your faith. This can be difficult as well because once we get comfortable in our lukewarmness it is hard to give up that comfort and turn back to God. We like our comforts and in our lukewarm state we start to justify these comforts and it becomes hard to give those things up and give everything back to God. Revelation 3:19-20 tells us "So be earnest and repent.  Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, "

There is one cure for lukewarmness that can overcome any of the lukewarm characteristics. It is what John the Baptist preached; it is what Jesus preached; it is what the disciples preached. REPENTANCE! When you find yourself living a spiritually lukewarm life there is no need to focus on how things got that way or what could have been different you only need to focus on the Father. If you repent and turn back towards the source of fire in your spiritual life then He will restore your faith. This can be difficult as well because once we get comfortable in our lukewarmness it is hard to give up that comfort and turn back to God. We like our comforts and in our lukewarm state we start to justify these comforts and it becomes hard to give those things up and give everything back to God. Revelation 3:19 and 20 tells us "

A lukewarm Christian will complain when given the opportunity, but the Christian on fire for God will seek Him and Praise Him in difficult times.