Revelation 3:15-16 I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.
This Passage of Scripture has always left me wondering what "cold or not" means. Many believe "hot" refers to believers being on fire for God which would indeed make them hot. If that is true, then "cold" would refer to those who are spiritually lost. I have a problem with this as the Word tells us it is not God's Will for anyone to be lost. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9) With that said, how could God say, I could wish you were cold or hot? Therein lies the quandary.
Consider this: The Lord is addressing the Church at Laodicea in this Passage. Laodicea had underground springs that provided clean, fresh water for the people. The Laodiceans were smart people and they built an aqueduct system to transport the water from the springs down to the village.
There were two separate springs that provided their water. One spring provided cold water spring and the other, hot water. The cold water spring was on one side of the village and the hot water spring was on the other. Both were on the top of the hills that surrounded the village of Laodicea which was nestled in the valley below. Since all people are dependent on clean water, the water from both springs was piped downhill into the village for the people.
Due to the distance from the spring, by the time the water reached the people it was neither hot nor cold. It was lukewarm. If they wanted really hot or cold water they had to go to the source; the spring. This was quite a distance to walk and it wasn't easy as it was uphill.
God always speaks to people in a way that is pertinent to their situation and lifestyle. (fishing, farming, building, sheep herding, etc.) In this case, the clean water source for the Laodiceans was extremely important and they had worked hard to build a system to provide clean water to their people. It was quite an accomplishment at that time.
However, it appears that the people had become lazy since they did not have to walk up the hill to get water any longer. They could just sit in the village and let the water run downhill to them. BUT, at the bottom of the hill in the village, the water was neither hot nor cold, but lukewarm.
It is easy to sit at the bottom of the hill in the lukewarm water. To go to the Source of the Water is not so easy. It takes effort and determination but there at the Spring of Living Water, the Water is Pure and either Hot or Cold.
Is this where the Church is today? Has the Body of Christ fallen far from their Source of Living Water which is the Cross of Christ? Unfortunately, I believe it has. In order to be hot or cold for God, we must be willing to walk uphill, fight the elements, suffer with blisters and sore muscles, and get to the Source. Once there, we must remain there or we will slide right back down the hill to where the water is lukewarm. Hence the term: backslide.
The Church as a whole in America is in a backslidden condition, sitting at the bottom of the hill in a pool of lukewarm water. When the Body of Christ in America makes an effort to leave the world behind, climb the hill, return to the Pure Water Source, and stay there, God will respond favorably and heal the Church and our land. Until then we will remain lukewarm. Remember what God said about being lukewarm, I will vomit you out of My mouth.
God is patiently waiting. He wants to........turn the tide
Uphill! Doreen
www.bettsministries.org
