A heart that is no longer on fire for God, or perhaps never had the fire, has distinctive characteristics.
- A lukewarm heart is a prayerless heart that has no desire to pray or enter into the presence of God.
- A lukewarm heart is unawakened by God’s Word. It finds parts of the Bible interesting and emotionally moving but does not grasp the power of scripture to transform hearts.
- A lukewarm heart is disobedient to the Word. When the lukewarm heart begins to respond to the Word and the Holy Spirit breaks through and reveals a truth, this heart is like the man spoken of by James: “He is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror…and goes away and at once forgets what he was like” (James 1:23-24, ESV). The lukewarm heart is not a doer of the Word.
- A lukewarm heart has little or no passion for souls and little or no desire to pray for or reach out to the lost.
- A lukewarm heart only attends church when convenient. Even though scripture clearly states that we are not to neglect to gather together, the lukewarm heart doesn’t feel that it is significant (see Hebrews 10:25).
- A lukewarm heart grows emotionally dull; it is unmoved. It will read this message and hear this truth, yet will not care. It becomes emotionally dull to the things of the Spirit, the Word, prayer, and the lost.
Yet, with all these characteristics, there is hope for the lukewarm! “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20). Jesus is calling you out of your tepid state. He is saying, “Yes, I am knocking on the door of your house. I want to come in and share a meal with you and see the fire of God reignited in your heart and life.”