Have You Taken Your Spiritual Temperature Lately?

Have You Taken Your Spiritual Temperature Lately?

Revelation 3:14-20

The church at Laodicea was one of two churches in the opening chapters of Revelation that were apparently unaware of their spiritual temperature. The other was Ephesus. Laodicea is a picture of a worldly church that has all the trappings of religion but whose heart is clearly filled to the core with the world. They were mediocre Christians slumbering in their materialistic spiritual stupor. You could not tell them apart from anyone else the world outside of their occasional church activities. Ephesus on the other hand was a church that was orthodox in doctrine, tenacious in defending the truth, and devoted to evangelism. Most of us would look at Ephesus and call it a healthy, vibrant church. However it was a church that had lost its fire. They were doing the right things but without realizing that they were just going through the motions and doing those things just because. Both churches were unaware of their spiritual temperature. What about you? Have you taken your spiritual temperature lately? The Amplified Bible renders the first part of 2 Corinthians 13:5 “Examine and test and evaluate your own selves to see whether you are holding to your faith and showing the proper fruits of it.” Let’s take a few minutes to examine ourselves and see what our spiritual temperature is.

I. Examine your Hands

A. Psalm 24:3-4 “Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully.”

B. “What are your hands doing; are they reaching for eternal treasures or are they grabbing for gaudy gadgets?”

C. Psalm 26:6 “I will wash my hands in innocence; So I will go about Your altar, O LORD.”

D. Do you need help today? Lift up your hands to the Lord in supplication and in expectation, and soon you will lift up your hands in jubilation and celebration. Unfortunately, many people fail to keep their hands clean. Their evil hands sometimes do dirty work that hurts you. When that happens, you can trust God to take care of evil hands. Keep your hands clean. Look to God, lift your hands to Him and let His hand work for you. - Warren W. Wiersbe, Biography and Daily Devotional

E. Not only are your hands clean but are they busy doing God’s work, are they being used to be a blessing to others or are they idle?

F. Ecclesiastes 9:10 “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going.”

G. Proverbs 3:27 “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in the power of your hand to do so.”

H. Deuteronomy 15:7-8 “" If there is among you a poor man of your brethren, within any of the gates in your land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother, "but you shall open your hand wide to him and willingly lend him sufficient for his need, whatever he needs.”

II. Examine your Feet

A. Someone has asked, “Where are your feet going; are they headed for heaven’s shores or are they stuck in earth’s swamps?”

B. Proverbs 4:26 “Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established.”

C. You can tell a lot about a person by their shoes.” - Forrest Gump

D. The direction of your feet will determine the direction of your heart. – copied

E. Where are your feet taking you? Before we came to Christ the Bible says we walked “according to the course of this world.” After we come to Christ we are supposed to walk a different path.

F. 1 John 1:6-7 “But if we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.”

G. It is but a short step from walking with the world to living like the world - copied

H. Psalms 119:101 “I have restrained my feet from every evil way, that I may keep Your word.”

I. Proverbs 6:18 “A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil”

J. Psalm 1:1 “Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful.”