Half Hearted Service: Gradualism

HALF HEARTED SERVICE: GRADUAL

By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com (YouTube: Wade Hughes)

I lived in Lee County, Virginia and we would travel 68 from our house through Cumberland Gap, Tennessee to Middlesboro, Ky. We traveled through the national park. Linda and I would see a ground hog. The ground hog would stand on his hind legs to watch the traffic go by. We developed a love watching the ground hog. We would often stop and watch the ground hog from a distance. We would even stop and talk to the ground hog. Seemed he paid attention to us. He would come up and stay back maybe 50 feet. Over the weeks of traveling by the ground hog was about 45 feet from the side of the road. Then over time he would be closer and closer to the main road. Finally he would come maybe 10 feet from the road. I warned the ground hog several times. You are getting too close to the road. The last time we saw him alive he was standing on the white line at the very edge of the road. Gradually the ground hog lost his FEAR, RESPECT for the dangers of a busy road. One day he became a smashed ground hog. He should have listened.

TODAY OUR FAMILIES, SCHOOLS, NATION AND THE CHURCH HAS LOST THE PRIORITY SYSTEM OF ETERNITY. Life is full of gradualness. To get fat? Children grow up? Lose your hair? Eye sight? Car rust? Aging? Death can be a slow process?

HARD TO HEAR: SPIRITUAL DANGER

2 Timothy 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

* Gradual: proceed by small steps, move by slight degrees, proceeding in small stages, not steep or abrupt, something that happens slowly, slow and steady over a period of time, subtle – difficult to notice, stagnant

The Roman Empire did not come to an abrupt end. Rome’s decline happened over 4 centuries.

THE SPIRIT OF GRADUALNESS SLIPPED INTO THE SEVEN CHURCHES IN REVELATION.

Revelation 3:14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; 15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. 17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: 18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

• I KNOW YOUR WORKS: God is omnipresent and all knowing... God has an “ALL SEEING EYE WATCHING YOU.” danger: gradualness.

• BECAUSE YOU ARE LUKEWARM: wrong priorities, no zeal, loss of passion, indifferent, not enthusiastic, neutral – neither for or against, not interested, no concern.

• WE DEVELOP A HALF-HEARTED SERVICE: Do I have to? Remember the story in 2 Kings 13:18? Joah visits the old preacher because it was the political thing for the young king to do. The preacher said: Take your bow, take the arrows, put your hand on, open the window, shoot out the window, take the arrows in your hand --- all these things the king did --- HALF HEARTED --- now HIT THE GROUND === IN ANGER THE PREACHER WARNED THE COST OF HALF HEARTED SERVICE === THE KING HIT THE GROUND 3 TIMES === 2 MORE TIMES? 5 WOULD HAVE GOTTEN TOTAL VICTORY OVER SYRIA. To this day Syria is a thorn in Israel’s side.

• NOT COLD

• NOT HOT --- but LUKEWARM. (HALF HEARTED SERVICE)

• NOT FRESH --- NOT FREE --- I HAVE NEED OF NOTHING! FALSE TRUST… I AM RICH? NO YOU ARE MISERABLE. GRADUALLY YOU ENDED UP LUKEWARM.

Hebrews 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

THE GRASS IS GREENER OVER THERE? WHAT HAPPENED LOT? THERE IS NO RECORD OF LOT EVER BUILDING HIS OWN ALTARS… HOW DID LOT’S WIFE TURN TO SALT? HOW DID HE FATHER HIS GRANDKIDS?