How to Actually Start Following Jesus

Hey, we're Todd and Julie Mullins, Senior Pastors here at Christ Fellowship Church, and we're so glad that you're tuning in for service today. Yeah, Christ Fellowship is one church that meets in lots of different locations, including right here with you. Yeah, and our prayer for you today is that you would sense God's love for you. See, I don't personally know all that you're going through today and what you're up against, but God does. And He hears your prayers, and He knows your name, and He's right here for you today as you call out to Him. Yeah, thanks again for joining with us today. We love you, and we're praying for you. He gave it all so that we could experience life and life to the full. God has more in store than you have in mind, and I believe so much more that it's going to blow your mind. Welcome home, church. Come on, you belong here today. And this is your invitation. Let's make our God great. Let's worship Him today. Yes, I will. I have everything I need. Yes, it is. Yes, it is. I have everything I need. Come on, let's sing together. The joy of the Lord. The joy of the Lord is my strength. The joy of the Lord. The joy of the Lord is my strength. Hold my soul.

Bless His Name. All that is within me today. The joy of the Lord. The joy of the Lord. ♪ The Lord is my strength ♪ Yes it is, yes it is. Come on. ♪ So let it rise up like a river ♪ ♪ Overflowing Holy Spirit ♪ Let it pour out. ♪ Let it pour out with no limit ♪ ♪ Overflowing Holy Spirit ♪ Let it rise up. ♪ Let it rise up like a river ♪ ♪ Overflowing Holy Spirit ♪ ♪ Let it pour out with no limit ♪ ♪ Overflowing Holy Spirit ♪ Come on, won't you get your hands together today. Oh, there's nothing like the Spirit of God. Oh, there's nothing like the Spirit of God. Oh, everybody sing. ♪ Oh my soul, bless His name ♪ ♪ All that is within me sing ♪ ♪ Oh my soul, bless His name ♪ ♪ All that is within me sing ♪ ♪ The joy of the Lord, the joy of the Lord is my strength ♪ Oh my soul, all that is within me, bless His name. Hey, welcome home. Hey, everyone here at our Palm Beach Gardens location, would you help me welcome everyone watching online

at CF everywhere, every individual, every family, every small group today. Hey, you are one of us, you are part of the family, so this is your invitation. Join in worship, command your soul today. Even if you're new in this place today, that you can command your soul to look to the heavens, look to your Lord, invite Him into this place and bless His name. He's the source of your strength. He's the source of your joy. He wants to fill us today, amen? Amen, I'm ready to lean into the Word, ready to worship with you, ready to pray with you today. This is this place where we lean into God's Word and where we pray and get encouraged. Come on, let's pray for this service. Father, we thank you. We take heart today because you have overcome the world. We can look to the right or to the left, but Father, we look to you, the source of our joy and our strength. In Jesus' mighty name, amen. Are you guys ready to look to the Father today? Come on. Come on, church. Stephen said our invitation today that we can remind our souls that He is faithful, amen? Come on, we sing His promises. That you will keep your covenant.

I'm calling on the God of Moses, the One who opened up the ocean. I need You now to do the same thing for me. Come on, we fill this room with worship. Say, oh my God. Oh God, my God, I need You. Oh God, my God, I need You now. How I need You now. Oh rock, oh rock of ages, I'm standing on Your faithfulness. On Your faithfulness. I'm standing on You, God. I'm calling on the God of Mary, whose faith will rest upon the Lord. ♪ Oh, He alone, I know with You all things are possible ♪ ♪ I'm calling on the God of David ♪ ♪ Who made us shepherd for courage and strength ♪ ♪ I may not face the light, but I've got my own side ♪ ♪ Oh God, my God, I need You now, how I need You now ♪ ♪ Oh rock, oh rock of ages, I'm standing on Your faithfulness ♪ ♪ On Your faithfulness, oh God, my God, I need You now ♪ ♪ Oh God, my God, I need You now, how I need You now ♪ ♪ You are the rock, oh rock, oh rock of ages, I'm standing on Your faithfulness, on Your faithfulness ♪ ♪ I'm standing on Your faithfulness, on Your faithfulness, on Your faithfulness, on Your faithfulness, on Your faithfulness ♪ ♪ All of the ground is sinking sand, I stand on Your faithfulness ♪ ♪ I stand on Your faithfulness, on Your faithfulness, on Your faithfulness, on Your faithfulness, on Your faithfulness ♪ ♪ You answered prayer's back then, and You will answer now, You are the same God we see, You are the same Lord we see ♪ ♪ You are the same God we see, You are the same Lord we see, You are the same Lord we see, You are the same Lord we see ♪ ♪ You are a healer then, You are a healer now, You are the same God You are the same God You are our Savior then, You are our Savior now You are the same God, You are the same God Oh God, my God, I need You now. I need You now. Oh God, my God, I need You now. Do it yes, do it yes.

Oh Rock of Ages, I'm standing on Your face. On Your face. Oh God, my God, I need You now. I need You now. You are, You are, You are. Oh Rock, Oh Rock of Ages, I'm standing on Your face. On Your face. Oh God, my God, I need You now. I'm standing on Your promise, Your faithfulness. I put my trust in You Jesus. There is no one as worthy as You God. And all my life You have been faithful. And all my life You have been so, so good. Yes You have. With every breath that I am able. Oh I will sing of the goodness of God. Yes I will. Thank You Jesus. Oh I will sing of Your goodness. Oh remind my soul today. remind your soul today of his goodness of his faithfulness his word remains he is the same why do I tend to forget all of the great things you did why do I throw away faith for the impossible how did I start to believe that you weren't sufficient for me why do I talk myself out of seeing miracles well he believes you serve a miracle working God sing it out Who am I to deny what the Lord can do? Anything is possible Anything is possible Anything is possible Who am I to deny what the Lord can do? Who am I to deny what the Lord can do? Who am I to deny what the Lord can do? Church would you seal it in your heart today that nothing is too hard for our God oh with the faith in this room today who am I to deny what the Lord can do amen hey church I want you to have a seat for a second we want to take time and have a look little family moment. Most of you know we are one church that meets in 14 locations and today we get the honor of leaning into the words so would you help me welcome all of our campuses and one of the greatest gifts that we have Pastor Julie Mullins to the platform. Welcome to church. We're so glad that you're here with us today. I want to welcome all of our campus locations and everyone joining us through Christ Fellowship everywhere online and this is normally the time in the service where we would also welcome all of our men and women in the armed forces but today yeah we want to welcome

them but we also want to take a moment just to pray to pray for those who are protecting our freedom today to pray for all that is happening in the world today and and we believe that we serve a God who is Jehovah Shalom he is the God of peace and we want to pray to him today we want to pray for for for Israel we want to pray for all the countries in the Middle East for the innocent lives in the church in Iran and especially for our our men and women that are serving us and putting their lives on the line for us today and so I've asked coach dad to come up and pray for us and lead us in this time and believing God to do what only he can do. Thank you Julie. You know we have several of our sons and daughters of the house are serving right now at various bases throughout the Middle East and they are under attack as well and at this critical time in in our world's history I am thankful that we can turn to the Lord for our strength and wisdom and comfort. It says in Psalms 46 that the Lord is an ever-present help in times of trouble. Aren't you glad that we can depend upon the Lord today and that we can go to him in prayer. Another part of that chapter Julie it says in verse 10 be still and know that I am God. Isn't that great that we don't have to be anxious in these moments of crisis in the world because we can trust in God. So would you join me we're going to pray for God to be with our men and women who are serving our great nation and deployed in the Middle East and those that will be a part of this activity that's going on right now. We want to pray for the peace of Jerusalem the Word of God instructs us to do that and we also want to pray for the innocent that are caught up in this horrible turmoil in Iran. So many innocent have already lost their lives and we have a very strong underground Christian Church in Iran and we want to pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ. Let's pray. Heavenly Father we are so thankful that we can turn to you the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob the God that brought us his own son Jesus Christ as the Savior of the world and as the psalmist were declaring that you're an ever-present help in times of trouble they were also declaring that one day the Holy Spirit would be within all of us and would reign and we pray God right now that your spirit would go and

put a shield of protection around our men and women that are serving our great nation and trying to bring freedom and liberty to the nations of the world and right now in this conflict in Iran. I pray God that you will just protect them and bless them. We also pray for the protection and care of Jerusalem of Israel of our sister nation over there God a nation that you set apart and we pray your protection and blessing over them and father for the innocent in Iran and for the underground church in Iran I pray God that you will be with them and may they rise up in this moment of crisis with your presence and your love and your strength to bring unity to a torn nation and God we know that in the midst of chaos Elohim the God that spoke order into the chaos we pray Elohim you will speak order into the Middle East and that there will be a presence and a calm and a unity that will come up out of this crisis that would establish a new dimension in that region where God you will be exalted Christ you will be exalted among the nations and we pray God for our leaders pray for our president we pray for our military leaders give them wisdom give them discernment and help us in this time and may the church rise up and be the church and take the lead as we pray and intercede for your divine hand and your divine healing and your divine protection during this time we pray in Jesus Christ. In Jesus' name, and all God's people agreed by saying, Amen. Amen, amen, amen, amen. Amen, amen, amen, amen, amen. Well, church, today we are kicking off a new series, and I just think that this series is so timely, because if there was ever a time that the world needed God's people to step up in authority, to exercise the authority that he has given us, that the church has been called to be the hope for the world,

to bring hope into hopeless situations, to bring peace into chaos, that's what we've been charged to do, and if there was ever a time that the world needed the church, God's people to step up, now is the time. This is not the time to be comfortable, or complacent, or to shrink back, it's our time to step up, right? And so that's what we're gonna do in these next few weeks, and this whole series, Close Enough, there are a lot of times in our lives, in our everyday lives, that close enough really is enough. I mean, across all of our campuses today, all of us drive, who have driver's licenses, we drive down I-95, and when the speed limit is 65, raise your hand if you've ever gone 66 miles per hour, right, I mean, 66 miles an hour, it's close enough, right? I mean, you're not gonna get a ticket, you're not putting anybody's life in danger, 66 is close enough, or like if you're baking a cake, and you're running out of sugar, but you get to that last drop, and it calls for one cup, but you actually put 9 tenths of a cup in the cake, close enough, right, it's not gonna change the taste of the cake, a lot of times, close enough is enough, but what about when it isn't? I mean, think about it, like you are so excited because you are throwing your child's birthday party, and you have hired Mickey Mouse to show up, right, and you're so excited about this, but then this is who walks through your door, right?

Close enough? I don't know, or you decide you're gonna get a tattoo to declare to the world how you want to live your life, you wanna live your life with no regerts, right? Not exactly the message, but close enough, okay, it's close enough, all the same letters, or you've told your husband that it has always been your dream to go to the Eiffel Tower, and so it's the big anniversary, he's planned the trip, he's booked the tickets, but when you get there and get off the plane, you find out that you're not in Paris, you're actually in Las Vegas, right, close enough? I don't know, what if close enough is actually farther away than you realize? I mean, this close enough mentality can be a little bit dangerous, think about a pilot who's getting ready to land, he comes over the intercom, he says, passengers, fasten your seatbelts, we are getting ready to land, and we are really close to being lined up to the runway, or the surgeon that you go in for that emergency appendectomy, and you get done with the surgery, and he says, well, I took your kidney, I mean, it was only a few centimeters away, right, close enough, and we laugh at this, but a lot of times, this close enough mentality can bleed over into our spiritual lives, right? We're like, I read my Bible, occasionally, I go to church every once in a while,

I'm not exactly holy, but I'm definitely not as wild as that guy over there, and we think that close enough is enough, and what if close enough, being a close enough Christian, is robbing us from the full life that God came to give us? What if close enough is actually further than we know, and is taking us further away from God's purposes and his plan, and the title of the series is Close Enough, and this tagline underneath, by the way, I was not in the meeting when we decided this tagline, when I heard it, I was like, this is a little bit heavy, I'm not sure if they're gonna come back for this, so it's crucifying convenient, comfortable, complacent Christianity. Welcome to church, I hope you came to be encouraged, and I promise you, if it's your first time here, we're really encouraging around here, but here's the deal, is that I'm not gonna lie, like, these next few weeks, we're gonna step on a few toes, as I've been praying and preparing for this message, I mean, the Holy Spirit's been stepping all over my toes, and it's gonna be challenging, it's gonna get a little bit uncomfortable, but I want you to know that what is gonna be uncomfortable now is. going to help you in the future to be the fully devoted follower that God created you to be. See, Jesus didn't die so we would kind of follow Him or sort of surrender.

He didn't get close enough, close to the cross. He didn't almost bleed or nearly die. He went all the way for us. And the only response to a Savior that would go all the way for us is that we would become disciples who would never settle, never settle, or that we would refuse to be close enough Christians. The kind of Christian that is close enough to God to make us feel good, but not close enough to change the way we live. And as I jump into this passage of scripture today, I'm gonna be reading in the book of Revelation. I told you we're gonna dive right into the deep end. Revelation chapter three. And this portion of scripture is Jesus speaking and He had written seven letters to seven churches in the book of Revelation. And these words of Jesus, I mean, He does not pull any punches. He does not hold back. And every one of these letters, He gives a warning and He gives a promise. And I wanna start off with the warning that He gives this church. And this is the church of Laodicea. And He says this. He says this to the church. He says, I know your deeds. Like, you've done some really good stuff, church.

I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other. So because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I'm about to spit you out of my mouth. Now, at first glance, when you read this scripture, it looks like Jesus is saying that if you're not hot and on fire with me, that I would rather you just be cold, right? Because I'd rather you be hot or cold, but the worst thing to be is lukewarm. And when I grew up and I would read this scripture, lukewarm Christians were a word that we used a lot. Like, it was the kid in youth group that only showed up about once a month. We're like, yeah, they're just a little bit lukewarm. Like, lukewarm meant you were half-hearted, that you were kind of Christian in name only. And what I thought when I read this verse, and actually, I think this is one of the most misunderstood verses in scripture, because that's what we think. When we think of a lukewarm Christian, we're like, oh, they're just half-hearted, they're not all in. But this passage actually says something else. I always thought it said that if you're not hot and on fire, God would rather you be cold, and have nothing to do with him. But that is not what the scripture is saying, because that would contradict the rest of scripture. I mean, he wouldn't want anybody

to be cold and distant from him. It's his will that everyone would come to know him, that no one would perish. So to really understand this passage of scripture, you have to look at it in context. You have to look at it first by looking at who this scripture is written to. And the scripture is written to the Laodiceans. And this would be a city in what would now be modern-day Turkey. And I think I have a picture of this city. And Laodicea was one of the wealthiest cities in the Roman Empire. I mean, they were so wealthy that 30 years before this letter was written, there was actually an earthquake that destroyed the entire city. And the Roman Empire Caesar wanted to send them money to help rebuild the city. And they refused the money. They said, we're wealthy enough. We don't need your money. They were so self-sufficient that they could take care of themselves, and they really prided themselves in being wealthy and being self-sufficient. And the Laodicean church, in this church, there was a church in Laodicea, but there were a lot of churches. There was temples to Zeus and a lot of other pagan gods.

So the Laodicean Christian church was just one of many churches. But the city of Laodicea was known for a few things. Their material wealth, they were hugely wealthy. They were known for their textiles and their fabrics. And they were also known because they had a medical university. And this university actually developed a salve that cured certain forms of blindness. And blindness was a huge problem in biblical days. And so their medical advancement, so this was a really cutting-edge city. But with all their wealth and their prosperity, they had one problem. They didn't have their own water source. So they didn't have their own water, so they had to get water piped in from other places. About 10 miles to the north, there was Heropolis. And Heropolis was a city that was known for their hot springs, and they had hot springs, and actually, historians say that Cleopatra actually went to these hot springs, and they were healing, and they were therapeutic, and they were restorative, right? And so this hot water would be piped down to Laodicea. And then six miles to the east there, you can see Colossae. And Colossae was another city, and they had refreshing cold springs. They had cold water, and the cold water was refreshing, it was life-giving, it was thirst-quenching,

and so they would pipe that water in. But the only problem was that on the way, they built these aqueducts, and as the water was being piped in, it would accumulate all these minerals. So by the time it got to Laodicea, it was lukewarm. That was the temperature. But not only was it lukewarm, it was filled with minerals, so it actually tasted terrible, and it made people sick. As a matter of fact, people would say that it's a great city, it's beautiful, if you can stand the water. And so the water actually made people physically sick. And what God was saying, what Jesus was saying in this verse is that, he's saying that this lukewarm water, it didn't fulfill its purpose. See, water is intended to be hot, therapeutic, restorative, healing, or water is intended to be cold, life-giving, and refreshing. So both of those things are good qualities. And what Jesus is saying is like, you're not hot, you're not healing, you're not restorative, you're not cold, you're not refreshing. The lukewarm water, it just doesn't fulfill any purpose. And because it doesn't fulfill any purpose, but he's saying that that word, the word that he uses in the Greek is imeo, which means that he's going to projectile vomit, like it makes him so sick that you're not fulfilling your purpose,

that I'm going to spit you out. Not because of the temperature, but because they weren't fulfilling their purpose. You've been created for this purpose, church. You've been created to bring healing and bring restoration to others. And you've been created to be life-giving and quench the thirst of those who are thirsty and looking for more. And when you don't fulfill your purpose, it makes me sick. And this is what God, what Jesus is saying in this verse is that if you're not fulfilled, the reason it makes them sick is because anything that doesn't fulfill their purpose is useless, right? It's absolutely useless. And so he goes on to say, he goes on to say this, in Revelation 3, 17, he says, you say, I am rich, and I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing. And it's so interesting, because what he's saying is how the Laodiceans kind of describe themselves. He tells them, he's talking to the church now, he tells them that this is how you see yourselves. You're proud and you're self-sufficient. You've acquired wealth, so you don't need anything. And what I find interesting is the words that everyone else used to describe the city of Laodicea, Jesus uses to describe the church of Laodicea. In other words, there was no difference.

There was no difference between the city and the church. They called themselves Christians, but they didn't look any different than their neighbors. They actually looked exactly the same. They reflected the values of the culture. And it's kind of like calling, it's kind of like, you know, I'm Christian in name only. Like on the college application, what religion are you? Hindu, Buddhist, hidden, Christian, other, right? And you just kind of check the box. So what he was saying is like, you guys are just Christian in name only. And they weren't rebellious. They weren't anti-Christian. They just become really comfortable and content in the culture that they lived in. And here's the worst part though. It goes on to say that you, but you don't even realize that you're wretched and poor and pitiful and blind and naked. Wow, you don't even realize that you're any of these things. I mean, isn't it terrible when you realize something that you didn't realize before? Like I can remember being at a party one night and I came home and I had this big piece of spinach on my front tooth. And I'm like, why? I didn't even realize it all night long. And I realized I'd had the spinach. Like right when I walked in the door.

So all night long, like why didn't anybody tell me this? Right? I remember one time I was up here speaking at Freedom Encounter and I came back down off the platform and I had a dress on. I realized the zipper of my dress had been down the whole time. And I didn't realize that. I'm like, why didn't anybody tell me this? And this is the deal is that they, the people later to see it, they didn't even have any idea. They didn't even realize. Because lukewarm water looks exactly the same as hot water and cold water. I mean, on the outside, you can't tell the difference. But when you get close enough, you actually taste the difference. When you get close enough and take a closer look, that's when you begin to realize. And if all the churches, like in the book of Revelation, all the seven letters, the church of Laodicea is probably the church that resembles the church of today. Because whether or not we think we're wealthy, we're wealthy. Like if we had three meals and we had a roof over our head, we're among the most wealthy people on the planet. And a lot of times, we may not even realize that we're lukewarm or a close enough Christian.

Because to so many people, inside the church and outside the church, when we define Christian, we think that this is someone who believes in the gospel of the minimum entrance exam requirements, meaning that you're saved because you believe the right thing. And if you believe the right thing, then you're gonna go to heaven someday. But Jesus never said in the Bible, believe the right thing. He never said, believe the right things about me, and you're gonna go to heaven. He never even says, here is how you become a Christian. He offered us so much more. He offered us a life of purpose, and he offered us this invitation to follow him, to become this disciple. And I think sometimes we may not even realize it. And I don't want us to walk around with spinach in our teeth, right? We may not even realize it, right? We may think that we are the guy who thinks he's crushing the Mickey Mouse gig, and he doesn't even know he's scaring the children, right? We may not even realize it, but we may have the name Christian and have the label of Christian without actually following the way of Jesus. And so I just thought, if we could look at this passage and go, how do I know?

How do I know if I'm a lukewarm Christian, or if I'm a close enough Christian? And I just want you to know before I jump into these things that this is not about judgment. Like, as I was going through every one of these, I mean, I was getting so convicted, but here's the deal is that what we don't know, we don't know what we don't know, what we don't know could be keeping us, keeping us from the very best that God has for us. And so how do I know if I'm a close enough Christian? I'm gonna give you a couple of flags that maybe we look the part, but we lack the power. And I wanna give us a couple of flags that you might be a close enough Christian if, right? You might be a close enough Christian if, and I know we're gonna step on some toes, I know it's gonna get uncomfortable, but I've been uncomfortable all week, so I'm inviting you to join me in this journey of uncomfortable whatever this is. So, okay, so the first one is, and this goes back to the city and the church, that the church didn't look any different than the city that it was in. You might be a close enough Christian if you blend in more than you stand out. You blend in more than you stand out. See, Jesus called the believers lukewarm because they looked exactly like the city that they lived in

and a lot of times we can have enough of Jesus to make us comfortable, but not enough to change like our day-to-day life. And, but you know, like you're blending in, if you've been found, but you still live a lot like the lost people you're hanging out with. You still go to the same places on Friday night. You still watch the same shows that you watched before. You laugh at the same jokes. You gossip a little. You're judgmental and critical of the people that don't think like you do. Like, that's pretty much the marks of our culture, right? Just kind of blend in. Or maybe like you've been at the same job for a long time and nobody really knows you're a Christian. Like you're kind of like that show Undercover Boss. You're like undercover Christian, right? And you've never invited anyone to church because you don't want to offend anyone. But you haven't been called to blend in or to fit in, you've been called to stand out. We're a peculiar people, right? He's called us to more. And so if you blend in, and most of the people that you spend the most time with don't know what you stand for, then you might be just close enough. And close enough might be further than you realize. Another flag would be that you obey,

you obey God's word, right? Like you obey, I love that. Like you love the passage of Scripture, it's like, I'm gonna love God, I'm gonna love my neighbor as myself. But that part about living sexually pure, I mean, is that really even possible in 2026? Like you obey selectively. Like so close, right? It's like, a lot of the commands, I'm all in for. And I love, there's a passage of Scripture in Luke when Jesus is calling his first disciples, right? And he shows up at the seashore one day, and Peter, Simon Peter, is in the boat, and he asks Simon Peter if he can preach from his boat, and so Jesus preaches the message, and at the end of his message, even though Peter had been fishing all night, he says, hey Peter, let's go back out in the water. If you cast your nets on the other side, you're gonna catch some fish. And so Peter is probably thinking, I mean, I would be thinking if I'm Peter, I mean, Peter's a fisherman, and Jesus is a carpenter that just turned preacher. And he's kind of like, and you're telling me how to fish? I mean, I'm kind of the authority on fishing here. But what Peter does in that moment is he says this, when Jesus tells him to go out and cast your nets on the other side,

this is what Peter says. I think I have the passage. He says, master, we've worked hard all night, and we haven't caught anything. So he's telling this really doesn't make sense, but because you say so, I will let down the nets. Because you say so, I will let down the nets. And I love this because first of all, you know that Peter calls him master. He calls him the master even though he was the master fisherman. And Peter does what Jesus asks instead of what his experience and his will tell him to do, right? Even though that Peter doesn't see what Jesus sees, he's willing to do what Jesus says. He trusts him more than he trusts himself. And this was his first step that he took in following Jesus. See, following Jesus meant that he was gonna be the master, and I don't really see what you see, but I'm gonna do what you say just because you said so. Just because you said so, even when it doesn't make sense. Like, when was the last time that you did something, you obeyed Jesus, not because you felt like it, not because you understood it, but just because he said so. Jesus, I don't understand why all of my friends can get drunk, and that's okay, but just because you said so, I'm not gonna do that anymore.

I don't see what you see. He sees a better future for you. He's not trying to withhold, but he's trying to give you more than what you even know to ask for. I don't feel like forgiving, but you see what I can't see, and so I'm gonna do what you say. And sometimes we just have to obey God, not because we understand, not because we feel like it, but just because he says so. See, close enough Christians obey selectively, full-on followers obey completely. They obey completely everything the word of God, and all of us fall short in this, but we don't get to pick and choose, and when we pick and choose, we're actually, we're Christian-ish, but we're not fully following. Okay, the next one, let's get a little heavy around here, is that to know that, a flag to know that you're Christian-ish is that you pray. You pray, you pray occasionally, right, so close. Everybody prays, did you know that? I think they did a poll, and they said that 90% of people in America have prayed in the last year, and that doesn't mean that 90% of people are fully following Jesus, right? I mean, everybody prays, but praying when, just praying when you need something, or praying that God would give you what you need, and not praying at other times, like not building,

see, close enough Christians, they pray occasionally, but full-on followers, they pray consistently, because they know it's not just about. about what God is going to do for us, it's what he wants to do in us. And there's a deeper work that he wants to do in each of us. And when we pray, when we pray, then we're exercising our dependence on him. And this scripture in Revelation, it goes on to say that, they said, you don't realize that even though you have material wealth, you're spiritually poor. And I think that the Laodiceans, they've gotten so self-reliant because they didn't have to pray to God for their next meal. Or, when was the last time we've had to pray for a ride to work, or for a roof over our head? So you got, there was some needs that he'd already supplied, but they didn't realize that this material wealth was actually making them spiritually poor because they became so dependent on themselves. And what he says in the scripture is, he says, I wanna counsel you, this is Jesus talking, I wanna counsel you to buy from me, buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich, and white clothes to wear. And so you can cover your shameful nakedness and salve to put on your eyes so you can see.

Remember he was talking that they were known for their material wealth, for their garments and textiles, and for the salve that they put on the eyes of the blind. What he's saying is here, is that you're finding your source in everything else, and I want you to find it in me. There's nothing wrong with having material wealth, I have blessed you with that. But, but I want you to come to me, how you spend your wealth should look a little bit different than how everybody else is spending their wealth. When you follow me, there's some things I wanna give you that go beyond the material blessings. I mean, how many of you know there's a lot of people that have a lot of material wealth, but they're relationally poor, they're spiritually poor, they're struggling, and God's saying, I have so much more for you than just what the world has to offer. And this is like hard stuff. Like, what I want you to hear is that he's not calling them out, Jesus isn't calling us out to shame us, right? I mean, he's calling us out because of how much he cares about us, how much more he has for us. He wants us to fulfill our purpose, he wants us to be closer to him than we ever dreamed possible. And I love the scripture that goes on to say

in this Revelation 319, it says this, it says that those who I love, I rebuke and discipline, so be earnest and repent. And I think sometimes discipline gets a really bad rap, like we think I'm gonna discipline you, like that, you know, spare the rod, spoil the child. But discipline is, think about it more like an Olympic athlete, we just came to the Olympics, and the most elite athletes have to undergo the most discipline. The most, the star student is the one that's given the highest challenges, right? And what he's saying is, is that you, you are elite, you are a masterpiece, and I love you so much that that's why I'm gonna bring you loving correction. I think about our own kids, we know this, when Jefferson was growing up, I didn't discipline him to be mean, I didn't call him up and correct him, I loved him, I didn't want him to hurt himself, I didn't want him to run out in front of the car, I didn't want him to miss out on the best things that life had to offer, so that took some correction. And so it's not, all of this that he's saying to the Church of Laodicea and that he's saying to us is not to shame us, but it's to correct us. It's a course, and that word repent, I love it, that word repent, it actually, from the Greek word is metano, metano, and it means to turn around, to reorient your life.

What he's saying here is that this is a turning, and it's not just a list of do's and don'ts and what you can and can't do, but it's reorienting your life so that you can live out the purpose that he has for you. And it's crazy, because when I was praying about this message, this was the part that really got me. Because I started thinking, you know, a lot of times we get to the point in our spiritual lives, and we might be the one that actually, we are obeying consistently and not just selectively, and we're praying and all the things, but I started thinking that it's not just about what we don't do. A lot of times, what's keeping us from God's best of fulfilling our purpose isn't about not doing the things that we're not supposed to do, but it's not doing the things that maybe we're supposed to. supposed to do, that aren't listed in the do's and don'ts. And as I was praying about it, the Lord just really convicted me, he's like, Julie, when was the last time you prayed for your enemies? Like, when was the last time you really prayed for that person who hurt you deeply? That you prayed blessing on them? That you, God's word says to bless those who curse you. When was the last time you gave sacrificially, financially, so that someone that you may never meet could have a meal, or could have a roof over their head? When did you give sacrificially?

And I think a lot of times that we might know we're kind of Christian-ish or lukewarm, if you can't remember the last time you were convicted or corrected by the Holy Spirit. I mean, if it's been a long time since you have felt the conviction or the correction of the Holy Spirit, I just have to tell you, it's not because you're that good. It's not, it's not because you have just arrived and you're just that good. I mean, sin isn't just doing the wrong thing, it's becoming the wrong person. And when you look at this, they didn't realize they were poor, and I was thinking, man, how many times am I poor because I'm missing out on the correction that God wants to give me when I just say, God, search my heart. Or I'm blind, you're blind because you're just not seeing things the way I see them. Or you're naked because you think your own goodness is enough, you think your own goodness is enough, and he's saying, I wanna clothe you with my righteousness. And this verse goes on, it says, you know, it says that the reason he's doing all of this, the reason he's saying all of this to us, again, the scripture comes with a warning. Listen, if you're not hot or cold, you're lukewarm, you're not serving your purpose, so I wanna warn you, I wanna warn you about these things, and I wanna tell you that I've got so much more for you. I want you to be hot and I want you to be cold.

I want you to be healing and therapeutic and I want you to be life-giving and refreshing. And the reason he does this, that's the warning, but here's the promise, here's the promise. In Revelation 3.20, it says this. It says that here I am, I stand at the door and I knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person and them with me. And I love this scripture because what he's saying is he's standing at the door and he's knocking. And again, this is one of those verses like that you hear at a salvation call, like for people that have never known Jesus, I'm knocking at the door, I want you to come in. And this is actually not written to the unsaved people, it was written to God's people. And what he was saying was that word knock is the perfect tense, it means I'm knocking, I'm knocking, I'm knocking. And even when, even when you are unfaithful, I am faithful. Even when you don't listen to me, I am still pursuing you. And there's a picture that hangs in St. Paul's Cathedral and it's called The Light of the World and the scripture underneath it is Revelation 3.20. And this, what you can see in this picture is there's vines that have been overgrown, it means the door hasn't been open for a while. There's no knob on the outside because the knob is on the inside. And what he's saying is is that I'm knocking,

I'm knocking and I am here and not only do I want you to serve me, but I actually wanna come in and eat with you, I wanna share a meal with you. I wanna have a relationship with you. I wanna have this intimate relationship that is beyond anything you could ever hope, dream or imagine, that I wanna come closer, close enough, close enough that you would know how much I love you, that my correction is for your good, that I have so much more for you and that I'm calling you up to live out your purpose. This is my promise to you and this is all about relationship. And this is what he's doing, he's calling all of us. He's calling us as a church, but he's calling you to come closer so that you can walk out your purpose, that you would be both hot and that you would be cold, life-giving, refreshing. So here's the challenge for the next few weeks because we're gonna spend the next four weeks just really jumping into what it means, what it means to be a fully devoted follower of Jesus that lacks nothing. And so the first thing I wanna challenge you is to get back here every single week. Like it might be difficult, but just come, make the commitment, get here, there's so much that God has for you. And the second thing is that this week,

every single day, every single day, do something in your spiritual life that makes you uncomfortable. Do something that makes you uncomfortable. Maybe you've been praying occasionally and it's time to do that consistently. Get up 15 minutes earlier. It's a little uncomfortable, right? And we've got this, we've got on our app, you can just tap to get the app on the little disc in front of you. We've got the first 15 minutes. We want to help you do this and to be able to get consistent. It's a little uncomfortable to get up earlier, but you can do it, right? Start praying consistently. It might be that this week at work that you're gonna invite someone to church or share your faith. It might be that instead of blending in, you're gonna stand out, you're gonna turn off the Netflix. Don't have the conversation around the water cooler. Not gonna stop being judgmental. Turn off the Netflix and the nonstop news. Turn on some worship music. It's a little uncomfortable to turn off the noise, but you're gonna do it because it's time to get uncomfortable. And then ask God to search your heart. Like this was what I did this week to get uncomfortable.

God, search me and know me. See if there's anything in me that I think is close enough, but you want me to know that it's way far off from your heart. See, I don't want to be close enough and miss God's heart. Close enough is really farther than we think. And it's time that we don't settle for the close enough life, but we get a little bit uncomfortable. So I wanna challenge all of us every day, do something to make you uncomfortable. So let's pray, church. God, I thank you that you have not called us to comfort or complacency, but you've called us to a life, an abundant, full life, full of your purpose, full of your passion. And God, we just step up today. As a church family, we step up today and we step away from the comfort. God, we know that what will make us uncomfortable will ultimately be for our good. And so we are stepping up, stepping out. God, we wanna be a church that is hot and cold. God, we wanna be a people. I wanna be a person. Each one of us wants to be a person that is living out our purpose of bringing healing and hope to others

and being life-giving and refreshing so that we can live out our call and point people to the living water. And that is you, Jesus. It's in your name we pray, amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.