WHY to Fitness

The Hidden Dangers of Lukewarmness on Your Health

• Aaron O’Connell • Episode 33

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Have you ever thought about the real implications of being a lukewarm Christian? We're not just talking about missing a few church services or not participating in Bible study. Today, we delve deeply into the concept of spiritual lukewarmness as described in Revelations 3.15-16. We dissect this idea that goes beyond the mere act of disengaging from church activities but spotlights the detachment from Christ's teachings. We discuss how this lukewarmness can subtly infiltrate our lives - be it through neglected prayer or a heavier reliance on self than on God - and the dire consequences it can have, like causing others to stumble in their own faith.

But, we're not stopping there. The struggle with lukewarmness isn't just spiritual - it extends to our physical health too. Many of us wrestle with concerns about our physical well-being and its impact on our mental and emotional health. We encourage you today to break free from lukewarmness in all aspects of life, to treat your body as a temple and live a life inspired by Jesus. Let's face this challenge together as we provide support and guidance to those battling lukewarmness, inspiring them to offer their bodies as living sacrifices to God. Join us today, and let's face the danger of lukewarm faith head on.

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Aaron O'Connell:

Revelation 3.15-16. I know your deeds you are neither cold nor hot. How I wish you were one of the other. So because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I am about to vomit you out of my mouth. Welcome to the WHY to Fitness Podcast. I'm your host, Aaron O'Connell, and today we're reflecting on Revelations 3.15-16.

Aaron O'Connell:

For those with a Christian upbringing or who've been following Christ for a while, the term lukewarm Christian might be familiar. It's a concept derived from Revelations 3.14-22, where Jesus communicates through the Apostle John, particularly highlighting, in verses 15 and 16, his displeasure with those who are neither spiritually hot nor cold. Warning of being spat out, or a term more intensely translated as vomited out. This stern warning is linked to the condition of laodicean believers, mirrored by the lukewarm water in their city, which traveled almost five miles through aqueducts, losing its desirably hot or cold quality. This lukewarmness symbolized the spiritual state of the laodicean church. Typically, lukewarm Christian is thought to describe someone disengaged or indifferent to church activities. However, the scripture doesn't explicitly state if the laodiceans were inactive in ministry. It emphasizes their detachment from Christ's teaching.

Aaron O'Connell:

Revelations 3.17 says you say I am rich, I have grown wealthy and I need nothing, but you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. Revelations 3.17 attributes their lukewarmness to self-reliance, painting a picture of spiritual complacency and a life lived as if it's not needing Jesus, and this can manifest in various ways, such as neglecting prayer, being self-reliant and finances, or not engaging with the Bible, reflecting a lukewarm faith. Ultimately, involvement in church activities, while beneficial, is not the core of what God seeks. What matters most is a life actively seeking Christ and prioritizing Him in all aspects. Failing to do so leads to spiritual lukewarmness, a state that anyone, even you, can slip into. If this resonates, consider this a call to recommit and re-engage in ways that align more closely with Christ's teaching, avoiding the risk of spiritual lukewarmness. But even as I speak about this lukewarmness, it's so easy to fall into it and, quite honestly, lukewarmness affects way more than just your spiritual side Lukewarmness in your physical life, everywhere, in your relationships. It's gonna destroy.

Aaron O'Connell:

So let me paint you a picture. Why does lukewarm get spit out? Why is lukewarm so bad? Well, I'll paint you a little picture Back when I was at a concert with my sister and my mother, and there's this guy there wearing like this satanic, worshiping, like horrible, like jacket, and it was all about just like loving Satan, all that stuff.

Aaron O'Connell:

And my sister said to me she's like, oh man, that's so sad that that's like that, and you know it's bad, it's so bad. And I told her I was like, yes, it's bad for that person, of course, but what's so much worse is a Christian that's living a worldly life, a lukewarm Christian. Why do I say that? Because here is the Satan worshipper getting my sister to feel pity, to feel like, wow, I feel bad for this person. I wish things were better.

Aaron O'Connell:

If a non-christian saw this person and let's say he's worshiping the devil, doing all these negative things that non-christians can be like, I don't want anything to do with that and may actually find Christ because of him. It's almost like a burner. If you put your hand on a hot burner, that negative, extreme hot is going to be like whoa, never going to do that again. It's the same way as when you're extremely cold. You can turn off people from that extremely cold feeling. If you're a murderer, if you're somebody that's constantly hating, constantly just denouncing God, whatever it may be, you may actually push people to God. Luke warm, on the other hand, is one of the biggest reasons non-Christians don't want to be Christians.

Aaron O'Connell:

You have all these people putting Christian face on, saying I go to church, I'm a Christian, all this stuff, but they're not reading their Bible. They have no idea who Jesus really is, what he's calling them to do. They haven't considered the cost before they were starting to build their house. So they go on exposing so many things in their life, like them following secular music. Like them cursing all the time. Like them going to strip clubs. Like them getting drunk all the time, whatever it may be. They're not living a life that has anything that points to Jesus. They're treating people badly but then they go and say oh yeah, I'm a Christian. Well, I just got told a story the other day where one of my friends works with somebody that works, you know, is always volunteering in the church and really is into the church, does a lot of things, reads the Bible, all these things, but he treats people at his job poorly and he got told from all the other coworkers that that guy, even though he's in church and all this other stuff, is the reason that they are turned off to Christianity.

Aaron O'Connell:

Being lukewarm has really negative, negative, extremely negative, vomiting out consequences. Yes, the most important thing is your spiritual walk. If you're lukewarm, you will be spit out. You will not be following God Jesus into his final kingdom. You'll fall into the Matthew 731 saying Lord, lord, I did all this stuff. And he's going to say depart from me, I never knew you. It's he who made him the Lord of all of their lives, all areas.

Aaron O'Connell:

And one of the biggest reasons I'm doing this podcast today is because I see so many people in the health and fitness realm being lukewarm and I'm not saying lukewarm for Jesus or anything like that, I'm strictly talking worldly sense health and fitness. They are lukewarm. They say they want to get these goals, they want to be lean, they want to do, they want to get in shape, they want to be healthy, but they're not doing the things that will make it happen. They may be going to the gym five, six, seven days excuse me, seven days a week, but then they're not doing anything with their diet, they're inconsistent, they're sleeping. As horrible it's this lukewarmness. Matthew 720 says yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions. If you find somebody saying, oh yeah, I really want to get healthy, I need to get healthy, and then all you see them is eat Twinkies and drink Starbucks sugar laden drinks every morning with donuts. They don't want to get healthy, they just say that to fit in, they really wanted to, they would go and do it. I hear it all the time in the gym oh, I really wish I had a six pack. Oh, I really wish I could lose the weight I was up. But my diet, well then, it's really not that important to you. You're either hot or you're cold. That lukewarm gets spit out To.

Aaron O'Connell:

Those that are lukewarm that say they want these things and only do parts of it are the ones that are going to be battling a lot of mental issues surrounding that area. They're going to be going through bouts of depression, anxiety, ups and downs, emotional eating, because they say they want something. They may be doing a little bit to get there, but they're not going all the way to that hot zone. They're not going all in. So they beat themselves up. They're holding themselves to the standard of hot, but they're lukewarm. That's why they keep vomiting, that's why they keep feeling sick Sick in the mind, sick in the body. Because they've got two people wrestling with each other and the fitness realm loves this. It's you versus you, like there's two people battling it out. No, you need to die to that one and leave no other options. Leave no other options then to be successful.

Aaron O'Connell:

When you hit up against a wall, you go and research what they need to do to get better to get around this wall. Go over it, under it, around it, through it, whatever it may be. If you've exhausted all the resources that you have can use on your own power, go hire somebody. Have them figure it out for you. Somebody that's been through it, somebody that can help you, that sees it. That's what Y2 Fitness is all about, because if you're hiring somebody that isn't a Christian and you're battling a spirit, we know we're not wrestling against fresh and blood, but the principalities have ruled this world and you're doing all these things for selfish gain in the Christian realm but you're not addressing the soul or the spiritual. You need somebody that will be able to show you and put it back into alignment.

Aaron O'Connell:

That's why so many Christians are hitting against this wall, because they may be extremely warm or should I say extremely hot in their spiritual walk, but then, when it comes to their physical, their bodies, the temple of their body, first Corinthians says and Paul says they're not. They're not treating it with respect, they're putting whatever junk into their body and then they're wondering why they're being attacked from the devil in their minds, in their anxiety, their depressions, there, and it can manifest in so many different ways. That's why I'm doing this podcast to challenge you. Let's stop being lukewarm. Let's stop just saying, oh, I want to be this, I want to be that, and not be doing it. Because, like I said, where Matthew said you can identify a tree by its fruit. You can identify people by their actions.

Aaron O'Connell:

If you are not doing the things you need to be doing to get healthy and fit and lose the weight, then you do not want to do it. You actually want something more. You want to be comfortable, you want to fit in, you want to whatever it is. Those goals usually are fear-based backwards goal, the number one reason you're not reaching your goals. If you haven't listened to that podcast all the way in almost the beginning of this podcast, go do it.

Aaron O'Connell:

It's probably a fear-based goal where you really don't want to be healthy. You want to just not be unhealthy. You don't really want to be fit, you just don't want to be unfit. You don't really want to be skinny, you just don't want to be fat. That's a totally different goal, because then that's why you are still fat, that's why you're still unhealthy, that's why you're still unfit, because your goal is to not be what you are, but that is who you are.

Aaron O'Connell:

Instead, you need to find a new identity. Just like we find a new identity in Christ and work towards that. We see the modeled behavior of Jesus and work towards that and die to ourselves. That's the same way we can get out of this lukewarmness in health and fitness is if we go and find something to be modeled by and follow that. Luckily, here at Y2 Fitness, I don't jeopardize your walk with Christ. I build it. So if you're struggling with this lukewarmness, if you're struggling with anxiety, depression, mental issues or anything that is holding you in your spot and you're feeling lukewarm, or even if you're feeling cold, reach out to me, aaron, at Y2Fitnesscom. Y2fitnesscom Y2 Fitness anywhere Instagram, facebook, whatever it is reach out and I will be able to help you. I challenge you let's stop this lukewarmness and let's get hot for Christ and be able to celebrate him and follow him and commit our whole, entire beings. Let's offer our bodies as that living sacrifice. This is our perfect act of worship, and that's what he wants our worship.

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Aaron O'Connell

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