14″To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this:15`I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. 16`So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. 17`Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, 18I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. 19`Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent. 20`Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. 21`He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. 22`He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’ Revelation 3:14-22

We cannot be lukewarm in our faith. We must clearly discern between right and wrong. We cannot live comfortably avoiding conflict when we are challenged to keep our faith to be more accepted by others. We must be vigilant in becoming clean in our faith, repenting our sins and fixing our faults. If we forget for just a moment, we will become so dirty that we will not be able to become clean again. 

Rather than being complacent and taking all our blessings for granted, we should work harder to be clean in all aspects of our lives – in our speech, thoughts, prayers, joys, actions, everything and at every moment. In order to receive the blessings the Lord has planned for us, we must keep clean habits and discard bad habits. We cannot become arrogant and passive as believers.

What then should we do to avoid this? We must continuously review our lives, repent our sins so we can receive God’s blessings. Reduce our wasted time in worthless pursuits. Invest more time in reading the Bible. We must seek from the Lord in our prayers. The Lord appreciates us asking him and wants to answer our prayers. Demons, sin, and the influences of this world are stronger than our human strength – to overcome them we need the power and support of the Lord.  We must pray for the Lord to provide for us constantly. 

Let us commit ourselves right from this moment to becoming righteous before God. Let us focus on these 5 things:

1. Read the Bible. Our understanding of His Word guides us to what is clean and not clean.

2. Pray. Prayer is our connection to God. Pray for everything you need no matter what it is. The Lord appreciates your ceaseless requests. And as we receive his blessings, we are guided in our actions.

3. Evangelize. Try to help others grow in their faith – even helping within your household and being an example by spreading His grace in every interaction we have with others.

4. Repent. Constantly examine your thoughts and actions, correct as soon as you recognize sin, ask for forgiveness, and repent.

5. Diligently work at whatever it is you do.

Focus on each of these 5 things, and the Lord will certainly bless you. No matter how skilled or well-born a human is – they cannot be as capable as God. On our own, we are no match for the demons and the world. However, if we are unrelenting in our prayers, God will answer. Seek the Lord. Do these 5 things. Then you will find that roads open, blessings flow, and difficulties are overcome. Do not get complacent when things seem to be going well. Let’s stand up and commit to really believing the Lord in the right way. We become lights to others as we receive God’s glory and spread His grace to those around us. 

Click for Korean sermon https://soundcloud.com/yhpaik/1986-8-22-short