In the days of a lukewarm church, there are still hot Christians - find them!

Did you ever wonder where all the miracles have gone? Where is the power of preaching that converts 3000 at once? Where is the power that raised from the dead? Where is the power that heals the sick and makes the blind to see? Some say that we do not experience those things like the first century church did because God doesn't do those things any more. We have the Word now. We have the Holy Spirit now, so we don't need those divine demonstrations of His activity. But if God is the same today yesterday and forever, (Hebrews 13:8) then it can't be that He has changed. It must be us.

We know that the church's influence wanes as the church age comes to a conclusion. It has but a little power or will to submit. It is self-sufficient. ("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, " Rev 3:17). Imagine our sinful selves saying in our hearts that we need nothing- not even Jesus. It is the church's shame that in the last days, as the last Church, we go out in a blaze of self-indulgence instead of self-denial.

But for all that, there are glorious works done by Him and for His name on earth. Of course, the secret house churches in Indonesia, China, Afghanistan and other places are full of committed Christians ready to lay down their lives for Him. In America, the lukewarm church is chugging along, oblivious to His power and His call for Godly submission, but even here, there are pockets of glory. I'll share two.

In Georgia, a baby was born to a young couple who serve the Lord with zest. On the first day of her life, and all the ensuing days thereafter, the Godly father takes his tiny child - no bigger than a sack of sugar - into the crook of his arm, sits in the recliner, and reads to her from the Gospel of Mark. Her first language experience is of the Holy word of the Spirit wafting through her heart. She hears, she sighs, she sleeps. Picture a Godly family training up their child in the way she should go, lifting up Jesus' name in the household from the first moment of her homecoming. There are such Godly families today, living for Him and dedicating their children to Him.

Churches that preach the word unashamedly and in full acknowledgement of Jesus are increasingly rare in this time of twisted Gospel. If we listen to the world we understand that "God is love," meaning, God is only love.  John 3:16 is cited. Matthew 7:1 is very popular these days too, "Do not judge lest ye be judged" and the godless world twists that to mean never speak up in Truth in correction or rebuke. We understand, if we listen to the sinful world, in Him there is no wrath, or at least, that is what the world wants us to think. It is forgotten that shortly after John 3:16 is John 3:36, "He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." God is love, but He is wrath, too. The Godless are loathe to absorb the concept that their actions have consequences and that they will all be judged in His wrath. It just isn't friendly to say those unpalatable things. Many Christians in name only also preach the 'God is [only] love' fallacy. So most preachers preach it too. Preaching Mark 10:21 or Luke 9:60 might make their church shrink. And after all, in America we count success by numbers.

Well, there are some local preachers demanding that we take into account the radical submission that Jesus demands of us. He gives all, He gave His all, but we must give our all, too. Sometimes that entails changing careers. Sometimes that means losing a home, or moving from all you have ever known. Sometimes it may mean losing friends and family. Sometimes it may mean even losing a life. There are preachers who preach the truth of the call to serve Jesus, and they are unashamed. One such is Brad Wilson at Colbert First Baptist Church in GA. In a series based on David Platt's book "Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream", he is calling his flock to commit, really commit. He wrote:

"Jesus was calling them to abandon their comforts, all that was familiar to them and natural for them. He was calling them to abandon their careers. They were re-orienting their entire life’s work around discipleship to Jesus. Their plans and dreams were now being subsumed in His. Jesus was calling them to abandon their possessions. “Drop your nets and your trades as successful fishermen,” He told them. Jesus was calling them to abandon their family and their friends. As James and John leave their father, we see Jesus’ invitation come to life. Ultimately, Jesus was calling them to abandon themselves. They were leaving certainty for uncertainty, safety for danger, self-preservation for self-denunciation. In a world that prizes promoting oneself, they were following a teacher who told them to crucify themselves. And history tells us the result. Almost all of them would lose their lives because they responded to his invitation."

"So what happens when we follow him like that? What happens when radical obedience to the Jesus of the first century becomes the new normal for us in the twenty-first century? Are you willing to see? That’s what this book is about. And it involves an invitation to join in a Radical Experiment— a one-year journey in authentic discipleship that will transform how you live in a world that desperately needs the Good News Jesus came to bring."

Take heart, lonely committed Christian! There are people who follow Him in all His ways. There are preachers and churches who respond to the call of radical submission, even in Lukewarm America where we are neither hot nor cold. The Laodicean Church is a shameful church, the Days of Noah abound, but the shame has not permeated 100%. If you look, you will find a good church. There are people to connect with and whom you can study with, give and receive encouragement, and grow strong together. There are still churches that preach Jesus unashamedly, whose congregation listens and ponders these things deeply. You can tune in to Twitter Devotionals, (Twivotionals), a body of believers who twitter praises and worship together at set times. Listen to John MacArthur or Chip Ingram or Dr. David Jeremiah or another good and solid preacher who illuminates the full truth of the bible. We are not numerous, but Christians who thirst to walk ever more deeply with Him, who are not content to halt progress when it becomes comfortable, exist.

As this generation closes out the Church Age, (Matthew 24:34) take heart that His power is still as strong as it was on the day of Pentecost. It's us that have changed, but through prayer, submission, and opening to the Holy Spirit, we each can be that strong again. It may take a radical re-orientation of your priorities, it may take a bucking up of bootstraps, it may take a deep breath of courage, but Jesus also said to His Laodicean Church, "Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me." (Rev 3:19-20)
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