Lukewarmness Comes From Having Need of Nothing -- Santosh Poonen -- March 14, 2021
http://rlcf.church/media/sermons/lukewarmness-comes-from-having-need-nothing River of Life Christian Fellowship 1306 N Lincoln Avenue Loveland, Colorado - 80537, USA
Summary
The sermon warns against spiritual lukewarmness, drawing heavily from Revelation 3's message to the church in Laodicea. Jesus condemns this state because it signifies that the believers feel rich and have 'need of nothing,' meaning they no longer rely on God's filling or the Holy Spirit. True spiritual life requires acknowledging our need for God, rather than becoming self-sufficient.
Outline
The message in plain words, in the order it unfolds. Select a time to jump the video to that moment.
Is entering the kingdom of heaven easy or hard?Reflecting on the previous week's message about humility, the speaker notes that while people often think humility is easy, Jesus told His disciples that entering the kingdom of God is actually very hard when attempted in human effort.
Why did Jesus rebuke the church in Laodicea?Examining Revelation 3, the speaker highlights that Laodicea was the only church where Jesus had nothing good to say, because they claimed to be rich and wealthy with need of nothing while actually being wretched, poor, blind, and naked.
Jesus standing at the door and knockingJesus stands at the heart's door of believers who have grown self-dependent, offering discipline out of love and inviting them to open the locked rooms of self-reliance to fellowship with Him.
Why are you asking me about what is good?The rich young ruler wanted to know what good thing he could do to earn eternal life, mirroring Adam and Eve's fall in the garden by trying to establish their own goodness.Matthew 19:16
The checklist of commandments as a testJesus listed the commandments as a test and a checklist, which the young ruler claimed to have kept from his youth, yet he still recognized a deep lack in his life.
Depending on ourselves in familiar areasOver time, Christians often slip into self-dependence in areas like ministry, marriage, and parenting, relying on experience rather than leaning daily on the Holy Spirit.
You lack one thing: sell all and follow meJesus loved the rich young ruler and told him to sell his possessions, because true discipleship cannot be obtained without giving up our own life and possessions to follow Him.Mark 10:20–21
It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needleJesus used the extreme imagery of a camel and a needle's eye to show that it is entirely impossible for a self-sufficient person to enter the kingdom of God on their own strength.
Examining our hidden possessionsPossessions go beyond money to include health and reputation; if our devotion to God depends on these earthly comforts, we are still acting like the rich young ruler.
The uncompromising call to follow JesusTrue discipleship requires taking up our cross daily, hating our possessions and reputation, and responding to the Lord's loving discipline by opening every closed room to Him.
