Welcome to the Kerwin Baptist Church broadcast today. Our desire is for the Word of God to be spread throughout the world so that all may know Christ. Join us now for a portion of one of our services here at Kerwin Baptist Church, located in Kernersville, North Carolina. Our series obviously is Heaven Help Us. And let me just say for this particular one, it's going to have to be heaven.
to help us with this one. You know, kind of preaching about a heart that's cold and apathetic we would use that term. Kind of lost the joy in something. It's probably something we could preach on once a month. at church, to be honest.
Um And all I'm asking today is that maybe you could be honest with yourself and that I could be honest with myself. And be willing to admit that maybe My heart's become cold. There's a lot of reasons why it happens and it can happen and I'm not here to argue with that. It certainly can take place in. If we listen to a conversation, it might make great sense once you give your case why.
But the problem is when our heart is cold. We're missing out. in our relationship. with Jesus Christ. And I did a series on the seven churches not a horrible long time ago, so I dealt with the church of Laodicea, but we want to.
Maybe look at it just slightly different here this morning under this context. And um I want to ask you to. Um Just listen today. And Um Let's just be honest with ourselves. And um I would be the first.
It would be very hypocritical for me to just get up here, and even though. I've studied for this and read it and You know, have a list of things that I feel God wants us to cover with His Heaven Help Us. Uh subject. Um This is one probably I was dreading a little bit. And I have to If I'm a preacher half worth of salt.
To tell you, I think I'm struggling with this too. That I I think um whether it's physical. Um Just being weary. Um If it's mental. Just, you can only take so much for so long and process and try to do and help and different things.
And I don't know, we could all come up with our reasons. But I do want you to know in preaching this today that I am not getting on you. Because it just might be that You're here and your heart is cold. Let me just say this. I commend you.
You're here. You're here. There's a whole lot of people with cold hearts that didn't bother to take the time to come to church this morning. You're here. The last thing that I would want you to ever think is that you're the ones here, I'm going to jump on you.
I'm letting you know I appreciate you. That's even when your heart is cold, I commend you. that you still want to try to do right. You know where you're supposed to be, and probably, let's all be honest, we know how we're supposed to be, and sometimes we wish. I pray to the Lord a lot and I say, Lord, I don't know that I really want to change, but I want to want to.
I want to want to, and my wantter's broke right now. I don't know how else to put it. And God, it just might be that you're just going to have to start in the beginning with me. and fix my winter and You know, plus a lot of other things at my age that need fixed. And Lord, just help me right now.
I wish I could just. Turn on a switch. And be what I need to be. Is there anybody else that feels like this ever? Is it just your pastor?
Maybe you just need to get a different pastor that handles things way better. I'm just being honest with you. If I'm gonna preach to you about it, I might as well be honest with you about it. Let's pray and let's ask God to help us a little bit today. And um this will make What you do for God, very, very different.
Lord, I love you. Thank you for all that you've done. I pray that you would help us today and bless us. My job is just to rightfully divide your word. I am not the example here.
You're the example. And God, I thank you for being that. I don't know if I would have very much to be able to preach. If I was the example. or if any other person was.
God, thank you. for being perfect. Thank you for being holy and pure. And loving like you are, and thank you that you can be what we preach about. That gives us hope.
And Lord, I pray that you would bless our time today. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. You know, the greatest danger to a church, I believe, is not persecution from without. It is coldness from within.
Amen. grows cold long before you see it. It's just the way I feel about it. I think about David in Psalm 51. He says, Restore unto me.
The joy of thy salvation, which means salvation. should come with joy. It's a package deal. But here's what's interesting, when you and I get saved, we don't lose our salvation. But we can lose our joy.
Don't you wish that when we got saved, I mean, as if God hadn't done enough for us, don't you wish He'd added one more thing that when you get saved, you're never gonna lose your salvation and you're never gonna lose your joy. We're going to be robots walking around the earth. And I don't know that robots would have much of an impact on the world.
So we're just real people. Jesus warned the church of Laodicea, and I want you to think with me just for a second. I'm just giving you a bit of intro. Jesus did not reprimand them or jump on them. He commented about but listen this He did not say that they were wicked.
He said they were warm. He uses the word lukewarm. It wasn't that they were wicked, it was that they were warm.
Sometimes you and I think, as long as I'm not wicked. But God sees the issue when it's not even that were wicked, but just We're not cold, we're not hot. We're comfortable. We're warm. Let me put it this way.
Now, this was convicting to me, and only people with doctor's degrees can come up with statements like this.
So I just want you to reflect on what I wrote here. If you're visiting, I apologize. That's very sarcastic. You don't know me well enough yet, but. I wrote this down.
Let me just see what you think about this. Laodicea, they were not cold enough to reject him. But they were not hot enough to reflect him. Oh, they weren't so cold that they rejected. But they also they weren't so hot that people could see Christ in them A lot of times You and I might say, well, I'm just not what I used to be.
And I think the correct statement would be: I'm not as close as I used to be. Will never be. what we should be. Our only hope is to get as close as we can. Amen.
And when the fire goes out, We've got to admit it, and we've got to do our best to figure out how biblically rekindle it.
So, number one, this morning, I want you to notice, if I can, in verse 14 through 16, actually through verse 17. We see the condition. of a cold heart. And this is kind of just, this goes along with the territory. These are things that can show up in your life, and it's a sign.
It's kind of um uh tell all that I'm struggling with this. You know, a cold heart rarely happens overnight. It cools slowly. Almost unnoticed. Devotion gradually gives way to duty.
Worship gradually gives way to work. Church becomes work. Church becomes duty. No real devotion to God, no real worship of God. We're just.
Going through the motions where We're doing the work. And that's exactly what God said about this church. Notice first in verse 15. A cold heart grows complacent in service. Look at verse 15.
God never says you're not doing anything. God doesn't say you're just sitting there. No, listen, He says, I know thy works. You're working. You're doing all the right things.
You're not just sitting back and being lazy because, let's be honest, if you were, even the world could see you're not what you need to be. You're doing enough to hide it. You're doing enough so that nobody asks you a question. You're doing enough so that somebody doesn't come up and say, Lisa, I'm really concerned about you. You're doing enough so the pastor doesn't, hey, can you meet me in the office?
Or in Mills Hall. That's what our staff laughs about. Apparently I didn't realize that every time there was a bad meeting I had with one of my staff I asked him to meet with me in Mills Hall. I didn't realize that so I guess. Um Now I need to change locations.
By the way, Nick, I need to see you in Mills Hall if I can. He says, I know thy works. That wasn't the issue. Here's the issue. That you're neither cold nor hot.
He said, I wish you were one or the other. You see, the Laodiceans were busy, but they were barren. There was activity, but there was no real affection. Do you know you can work for God and still wander from God? Oh yeah, that's what I think.
In fact, in the chapter before, as we did this series, We know at Ephesus and different things, this is what God says: I know thy works. that thou art neither cold nor hot. I would that thou were cold nor hot. Look at Revelation 2, verse 4. Nevertheless, I have somewhat against thee.
Because thou left thy first love. Not that you weren't doing. I don't know what registered years ago, especially in our circles, that as long as we just keep doing, we'll be okay. As long as we just keep getting up and doing it. And I'm here to tell you, you won't be okay.
Yeah. Eventually it's just going to get the best of you. When the heart grows cold. God is not impressed. By our labor.
He is moved by our love. God is not impressed by our labor. You see, what happened here? A cold heart grows complacent in service. It doesn't mean a cold heart stops serving, it just means a cold heart keeps serving, but.
Now there's just no real burden, no real joy, no real love. Number two, I want you to notice this: a cold heart grows content. in self-sufficiency.
Now look what God has to say here about this church. Good. He says, Because thou sayest I am rich. and increased with goods. and have need of nothing.
He said, you've gotten to the point that you think you're okay. Because of what you have. You think you're okay because you feel secure. You think you're okay because you've amassed enough of what the earth and the world has.
so that you can feel comfortable here. In other words, you don't even need me anymore. You can go through the motions. You can do all this at church. You can show up and do these things in your own power and in your own flesh.
And you can still get by with it. Nobody's going to notice. And you can go home, be comfortable, enjoy all the things that you have spent your life, and yet, nowhere in that do you really need me. You see the lukewarm They get self-sufficient. That's right.
You know, John 15, 5 says, without me... Jesus says, ye can do nothing. When you stop feeling your need for him, your heart begins to freeze. Listen to me. Coldness often hides behind comfort.
You get comfortable. Before long, that heart's going to get cold. It just is. Happens in marriage. It happens in relationships.
It happens. Number three, I want you to see this: that a cold heart. Grows clueless in spiritual condition. You don't even see where you are. I don't even see where I am.
I'm clueless. Listen to this in my spiritual condition. Look at verse 16. He says, So then, because thou art lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest I am rich.
And you know all the rest that we just said. Look at what he says here. And knowest not You're not even aware. You say you're rich, you say you have all these earthly goods, you say you have need of nothing. Notice this, and knowest not that really.
Thou art wretched, miserable, poor. poor, blind, and naked. You see the lukewarm, they don't see their temperature dropping. Comfort has numbed them. I think of Judges chapter 16.
When I was reading this, I just want to show you this little part of this verse. Samson eventually gets to the point that He literally makes this statement: He wist not that the Lord was departed from him. By the time he realized God's not on me anymore. By the time he realized, I don't have God's power anymore. He wished he could get him back.
Coldness creeps in quietly, but it kills completely. Let me tell you something, your heart can start getting cold when you get bitter at somebody.
Somebody did something to you, said something to you at church. Leadership did something at church. This person did this at church. And before long, you're mad at everybody all the time. You're just a ticking time bomb.
And yet you want to, you just keep doing all the right things. I'm at church. Bless God, not only am I at church, I judge people at church. I'm the sheriff at church. I'm sitting there, she shouldn't be wearing that.
What was she thinking? Look at him over there. Look how dumb he looks with a beard. Look how dummy looks without a beard. Look how dumb he is.
Oh, we're just we notice everything in everybody else's life. Cold-hearted people. See coldness in everybody. Notice what God says. I want you to notice, number one, he says.
You think you're rich, you think you have you think you don't need anything. He says, but really, number one, I want you to notice this. He says, number one, you're unfruitful. He says, you're wretched.
Now you say, how does that mean? unfruitful. You know what this word wretched means here In the Greek, it literally means under a constant burden. It means working hard. To release a burden or that you can't release.
What it means is this: He's like, You're working and working and working, but the reason there is not real contentment in your life is because there's no fruit. You're doing all the, listen to me, Kerwin. He says, you're doing all the things that should produce fruit. But because you're doing it with a cold heart, It's not producing fruit. That's why we can do the same things we used to do at church, but now we don't see any fruit.
What is going on? It's just the people. Can't please people nowadays. Just can't reach people nowadays. You know, many times it's us.
He says you're unfruitful. You're working hard, but you can't create a product that you just don't have. It's this constant struggle. You're working, but there's just no fruit being produced. Notice, secondly, he says you're unhappy.
He says you're wretched and you're miserable.
Now, you're going to look to everybody like you're happy. Oh, good morning, good to see you at Kerr Win Baptist Church. We're glad you're here. Wasn't it good to have rain this week? We needed rain, didn't we?
And yet God and you know how you really are. For benefit price of the room. He says, you think you have everything. You've got everything this world has to offer. You've amassed your wealth, and Laodicea was a wealthy church.
He says, but. Really, you're unfruitful and you're unhappy. Got to ask you something today. Could you sit in this building? And could we put our pride down long enough this morning for you to sit in your seat?
and maybe admit. You're unhappy. Number three, he says you're unfulfilled. He says you're Poor. Oh, you think you have all these goods, and you think you have all this stuff?
Now remember, what did they just say? They said we're rich. They said we have goods. They said we have need of nothing. But Jesus says you are clueless on your real spiritual condition.
And in your real spiritual condition, you have nothing. You have everything that should fulfill you, and yet when you lay in bed at night, you're unfulfilled. And then you run across somebody who loves God with a passion, doesn't care about what this world has to offer, they love God, they have nothing, and they're fulfilled when they go to bed. And you have everything they don't and you're unfulfilled. Number four, he says you're unaware.
He says you're You're blind. You think you see everything clearly. And can I tell you when you and I get a cold heart, Before long, we'll notice we're unfruitful, we're unhappy. We're unfulfilled. Doesn't matter what a preacher preaches.
It's never good enough. Doesn't matter what somebody does. It doesn't matter how good a song is, you're going to find a problem with it. It doesn't matter, listen, there's always something wrong with who's singing it, what they're singing, always a problem with who's leading it, always a problem with the sermon, who's preaching it, always a problem with this, always a problem with that. And a cold heart produces a person who is unfruitful.
They're unhappy. They're unfulfilled. They're even unaware of their own condition. And notice what he says, they're unproductive. He says, you're naked.
You're naked.
So preacher, what do you mean? He says, you've spent your whole life getting all these things. And in reality You got nothing. You think you have these fine garments and you think you have all these things. And this is probably a church that they wore their best.
And I mean they probably dress to impress. whatever that would mean in Bible days. Look how long that guy's robe is. Wow, you know. Look, he's got studs on his sandals.
Wow. I don't know. Look, he cleaned his toenails. Oh my goodness. I don't know what they did in Bible days.
I just really don't know. Look at that toga. I don't know. I don't know what they did. He says you're unproductive, you're naked, you got nothing.
You have produced nothing. With all your work, and you, I know your works. Remember what he said? You're a church that's busy, you're doing a lot of things, but you haven't even produced. Enough to clothe you.
You're naked.
So number two. I want you to see the council. from a concerned savior. The condition of a cold heart, and boy Jesus didn't miss. Bent's words here, God didn't let him off the hook here.
Look at verse 18. The council from a concerned Savior, verse 18. He says as I counsel. The God says, listen, this is the condition you're in.
Now, you didn't know it, and you can't see it. You think you're okay. And you're not. It's not that you're Wicked. It's not that you have no works.
It's just that you're warm. It's going to produce nothing.
So, I'm going to give you some counsel.
Now, I don't know about you. When God says, I'm going to give you some counsel. We better listen. Yeah, amen. What's interesting here, Jesus does not condemn the lukewarm believer, he calls to them.
He offers a solution. He cares enough. to not leave you where you're at. His words here are both a rebuke and an invitation. Notice first, he advises the church.
I counsel thee, and notice this, to buy of me. God says, this is very interesting. What I recommend is you buy of me gold tried in the fire. Right now at your church, you have gold from this earth. You have all these rich goods.
from the world. Temporary junk. He says, I counsel that you buy of me gold tried in the fire. That thou mayest be rich. Notice number one.
He counsels this: you need to exchange spiritual poverty. for spiritual purity. Yeah, that's easy. You need to exchange spiritual poverty for spiritual purity. Christ invites the church here to abandon your.
Your quest for earthly wealth. And he challenges them to pursue heavenly riches. And you can only get spiritual character when it's been tested by the fire. And they had gotten so comfortable there was no fire. Gold tried in the fire speaks of faith that has been purified through trials.
He's basically saying you want the easy way out. You just want to be comfortable. You want to do enough to make yourself feel good, but you're not doing enough to actually produce anything. He said, What I recommend. is that you buy something from me that you cannot buy with money.
God for us to do. Amen. What do you mean, preacher? He is telling them you need to buy what gold can't buy, and all they had was gold.
So money can't buy this. The Laodiceans prided themselves in material prosperity, yet they were spiritually bankrupt. Jesus is saying, and I keep saying Jesus, God obviously is speaking to the church here, but God is saying, invest in what endures. You want to spend your life trying to get gold that remains. Through the fire, through the testing.
Gold that's been tried in the fire. You see, they were lukewarm because they were investing in the wrong things. They were lukewarm because they had prioritized the unimportant things. And they had not prioritized the important things. They were lukewarm because everything.
That they did in their effort left them ultimately empty inside. Can I read you a couple verses? 1 Peter 1:7. Look at this. that the trial of your faith being much more precious than of gold that perisheth.
Though it be tried with Fire. Might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. What is he saying? You're spending your life for the wrong kind of gold. Right now you'd rather be comfortable than spiritual.
And he said, the gold you're spending your life in is going to be burned away in fire. You need the kind of gold that has been tried with fire, and it remains at the coming of Jesus Christ. Look at Matthew 6:20. Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through and steal. Number two.
He counsels them this. You need to... Exchange spiritual poverty for spiritual purity. Notice second, he says, You need to exchange shame for sanctification. Right now, Honestly, the way you're living your life, you're going to be ashamed.
First, he says, the way you're living a life, you think you have a lot, but you are spiritually. in poverty. You right now have poverty spiritually. You need to have purity spiritually.
Now he says this: you have shame spiritually. What you need is sanctification spiritually. Look at verse 18. I counsel thee. Notice what he says, remember, to buy of me.
And he lists these things that they ought to buy from God. Notice what he says: white raiment. That thou mayest be clothed. Notice, and that the shame of thy wickedness doth not appear. Remember, they were righteous people.
They were working, they were doing, they were busy. But literally, Jesus says, you're naked. And what does the Bible always say about nakedness? It's a shame. Instead of living your life and at the end being nothing but ashamed.
He says, what you need is you need to buy of me white raiment. You've gotten all the stuff that the earth and the world can give you, but you need something from me that you can't get for yourself, and that's the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Quit trying to do this in your effort. Quit trying to do this with your own clothes. Your own clothes, what you think.
They're really, you're just naked. They mean nothing. You need the kind of raiment that only Christ can give you. Laodicea was famous for its black wool. And yet this church was spiritually naked.
It was a shame, literally, they would wound up being ashamed of how they spent their life. Can I tell you something here at Kerr Win Baptist Church? I want to challenge you: when our heart gets cold, if we go the rest of our life with a cold-hearted heart, When we see Jesus face to face, we're going to be ashamed. That's right. We have produced nothing.
Of eternal value. Thank you for listening today. We hope you received a blessing from our broadcast. The Kirwood Baptist Church is located at 4520 Old Hollow Road in Kernersville, North Carolina. You may also contact us by phone at 336-993-5192.
or via the web. at Kerwin Baptist Church.com. Enjoy our services live and all our media on our website and church app. Thank you for listening to the Kerwin Broadcast today. God bless you.
