by Kevin Burton
Half-heartedness in the service of Jesus, makes Jesus sick.
The Bible says so. This is a message from Jesus to the Church at Laodicea:
“I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will vomit you out of My mouth” (Rev. 3:15-16 NASB).
I can relate. I have coached more than one beep baseball player who was indifferent, and I didn’t like it. Matters of faith of course are much more important.
“It is universally confessed that if a man would prosper, he must be diligent in business. It is the same in the matter of faith as it is in other things,” writes Alistair Begg, speaker on the Truth For Life radio ministry. “If you would prosper in your work for Jesus, let it be heart work, and let it be done with all your heart.”
“Put as much force, energy, heartiness, and earnestness into faith as ever you do into business, for it deserves far more. The Holy Spirit helps our weaknesses, but He does not encourage our laziness; He loves active believers.”
“Who are the most useful men in the Christian church? The men who do what they undertake for God with all their hearts. Who are the most successful Sunday school teachers? The most talented? No. The most zealous; those whose hearts are on fire—they are the ones who see their Lord riding forth prosperously in the majesty of His salvation” Begg writes.
“Wholeheartedness shows itself in perseverance; there may be failure at first, but the earnest worker will say, ‘It is the Lord’s work, and it must be done; my Lord has called me to do it, and in His strength I will accomplish it’” Begg writes.
Since I mentioned beep baseball, I might as well admit that the zeal I had for the game was not often matched in the rest of my life.
When I was coaching, general information would go in one ear and come out the other ear as a fundraiser idea. Billy Joel/Elton John concert coming to Wichita? Great! Get a couple of tickets and raffle them off! See how that works?
I just wasn’t going to be denied.
For a few years even after I stopped coaching, people around town recognized me as the beep baseball guy, sometimes because I had been on TV talking about this or that tournament.
There have been times when my zeal to spread the gospel was at that level, but not nearly enough. How many blessings have I squandered by emphasizing the temporal rather than the eternal. How I wish I could say, as the psalmist did that “With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!” Psalm 119:10, NKJV).
Or how about this one from the book of Acts?
Some Jews who did not believe in Jesus dragged Jason and some others of the Apostle Paul’s evangelical teammates to the rulers of the city, saying, “These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also; Whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus” (Acts 7: 6-7 KJV).
Shouldn’t that be what we are doing as Christians, turning the world upside down?
“Living wholeheartedly for the Lord is impossible in our own strength. But if we’ll humble ourselves and ask, He will give us the grace to diligently and persistently live for Him,” reads a passage on the In Touch Ministries website.
“Christian, are you serving your Master with all your heart? Remember the earnestness of Jesus! Think what heart-work was His!” Begg wrote.
“He could say, ‘Zeal for Your house has consumed me.’ When He sweat great drops of blood, it was no light burden He had to carry upon those blessed shoulders; and when He poured out His heart, it was no weak effort He was making for the salvation of His people. Was Jesus in earnest, and we are lukewarm?
Page 7 