Pastor Emmanuel Oladimeji

Date: Sunday, 22nd of August, 2021.

Venue: MFM HQ Youth Church

Text: Rev. 3:15-16

Today we’d be discussing how to address spiritual coldness and dryness. If your spiritual life is dry, I speak restoration to it now in Jesus name (Amen).

We’d be considering 3 scriptures:

1. (Revelation 3:15-16):
   ”I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot, So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.”

Verse 16 makes us realize that living a lukewarm Christianity comes with us having the Lord spew us out of His mouth. May God ignite His fire on our altar today in Jesus’s name (Amen).

2. (Proverbs 26:20):
   ”Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out…”
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   When our lives lack the current of God’s word, such lives cannot flourish.
3. (John 15: 4):
   ”Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.”
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   Symptoms of a dry spiritual life:
   When you begin to notice the following signs, it’s a confirmation that your spiritual life needs attention:
4. Lack of passion for souls: Every child of God is expected to bear fruit by winning souls to God. This is recorded in heaven. Your spiritual life needs attention if you cannot boast of at least a soul won to the kingdom on your account.
5. You begin to serve just because you must be on duty: Your spiritual life needs attention when you begin to serve just to please people. Your service to God should come from the heart. You should do it because its service unto the Lord and not service unto men (Galatians 1:10)
6. You find it difficult to forgive people who have offended you even after they’ve apologized: It doesn’t matter your title, but something is wrong somewhere. We should learn to forgive others as God forgives us.
7. You begin to feel a distance between you and the Holy spirit: You identify this when you notice you don’t get instructions and directions from the Holy spirit as you used to in the past. This is a confirmation that the wood is out of the altar.

I pray the Lord restores the fire on the altar of your heart that the enemy has quenched, in Jesus’ name (Amen).

5. Carnality: Your flesh begins to take over in everything you do. You now desire showmanship. This is a warning sign.
6. Negative Thinking: You begin to think negatively about things.
7. Lack of appetite for spiritual things.
8. Internal Confusion and dissatisfaction. Usually this is an indicator of something being wrong spiritually.
9. You notice you have lost the joy of salvation.
10. You don’t get revelation knowledge from the scriptures.

Beginning from today, your Bible ceases to appear like a novel to you, but the spirit behind the word of God comes upon your life and revelation comes to you in Jesus name. (Amen)

How do you deal with spiritual dullness and dryness?

1. Break the blame circle: Stop making excuses and blaming people or God for your laziness. Take responsibility and be serious.
2. Recognize that your deepest need is God.
3. Turn to God and pray.
4. Talk to yourself rather than listening to yourself.
5. Don’t allow your circumstances make you dull or cold spiritually, regardless of what you are passing through. Your approach to your problems determines the end result. Don’t let your problems make you dull spiritually.
6. Determine to live a life of positive impact: The impact you make on someone would last over generations and that is what you’d be remembered for. You become an epistle people are read.

The bible says to examine ourselves to determine if we are still in the faith.

I leave you with this to ruminate on – Are you cold or hot?

Prayers:
Ask God for mercy and promise the Lord you’d ensure you preach the gospel wherever you find yourself.

Take this Confession: “Lord Jesus, I come before you today, I declare that my passion, love and zeal for you and your kingdom has dropped, but I ask oh Lord today for forgiveness and mercy. I ask that beginning from today, you give me passion for the lost, increase my appetite for your presence, and ignite the fire on my prayer altar. Beginning from today, wherever I go, father, let people see you in my life. I declare that my life will not be a reproach to the name of the Lord. I will not embarrass the name of Jesus. Amen.”

1. Oh Lord my father, kill the power of sin in my life.
2. Oh Lord my father, give me the hunger and appetite for righteousness and holiness.
3. Father, beginning from today, give me passion for your word in Jesus name.