Coldness

[0:00] So let's go to the word, to Matthew 24, if you've got your Bibles, Matthew 24.

[0:17] Now this is going to be pretty important information here, Matthew 24, because it's about things to happen, things to come. And honing in really on the one verse here, verse 12, my message tonight is coldness.

[0:37] Doesn't that send a shiver through your spine, the word coldness. How cold is it? I was walking in tonight and thinking, do you need the heaters on or the coolers on?

[0:47] But it's almost like you don't need much on, so we just got the fans on tonight. But it's been said that sometimes it gets so cold, in some places you have to open the fridge to heat the house.

[0:58] You know, there's some places like that, isn't there, in the old UK, the old motherland. In certain places in Europe, Eastern Europe, you know, it gets freezing cold, snow falling.

[1:10] I remember those days as a youngster. Now I should really crank up the air con to freezing cold temperature now, just to give you the full effect of my sermon tonight.

[1:23] But friends, really, I have a weather forecast for you. It's going to get cold. The Lord says before he comes back, it's going to be a cold change.

[1:39] Cold change. And we see that here, and I'm elaborating a little here, just to kind of draw us into this thought. Maybe every time it gets cold, you might think of this sermon in the future.

[1:50] Think about the spiritual temperature. That's the point. Our Lord foretells a coming great spiritual danger here. And really, it's just one verse tonight to kind of capture it into just these few words here.

[2:04] In verse 12 of Matthew 24, it says this, Friends, these are words to take note of.

[2:28] Because these are words that tell us of the future. And the Lord warns us of hearts becoming spiritually cold.

[2:40] I think it's a very telling scripture that this is one of the signs of the end times. Friends, this is telling us about the end. And the problem, it says, it lies in the heart of man.

[2:51] In the heart. The heart can get chilly. Notice some key words here. Why? Why? The coldness. Sin.

[3:04] Because iniquity is going to abound. The sin brings a coldness to a heart. The coldness there in the heart of a man. Sin. A coldness towards God.

[3:16] Sin. And notice who does this coldness affect? The many. Just many. The love of many.

[3:28] Shall wax cold. Notice it says, the love of the many. Our Lord says the majority will reject. The majority will be cold.

[3:39] Freezing cold. Deadly cold. Sinfully cold. God. Exodus 23. 2 says this. Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil.

[3:51] Neither shalt thou speak in a course to decline after many. To rest judgment. Exodus 23. In the nutshell of it. Says don't follow the multitude to go and do evil.

[4:04] Friends. The multitude are going and doing evil. All around us. This world is. It's got that helter skelter ride to hell. And it seems even. Friends. Let's be honest tonight.

[4:15] The larger part of the church is just as bad. Just as cold. The larger part of the church. The bulk of it is cold. Cold. Seems like the majority are mediocre.

[4:30] Coldish. Cold. Freezing cold. Cold. And it's popular. Cold. Let's face it. The majority. The majority are going this way. The majority hankers after sin.

[4:42] And they're cold. Cold. Is a strong warning here in 1 Corinthians 15. 33. The not. The sin. Evil. Communications. Corrupt.

[4:53] Good manners. He's saying there. Really. Who you mix with. Who you hang with. It's going to make you like them. Birds of a feather. Flop together. Hang around with cold.

[5:05] People. And you'll get cold. Friends. Sometimes church can be. Freezing cold. There's a coldness.

[5:17] Shallowness. A superficiality. There's a slackness. Sometimes church is just going through the motions. Okay. Some have the attitude. Show up. Check in. Sit down.

[5:29] Stand up. Sit down. Make an appearance. And that's your spiritual commitment. Done and dusted for the whole week. Oh. I've done my spiritual bit for the week. Now I have my six days in between.

[5:40] Leave it like the devil. Some think church is just kind of checking in. Just make an appearance. Put a show. Put your face on. And then you're back to the world.

[5:53] If scarcely a thought. The Bible sits gathering dust. Coldness. It's a problem. Friends. It's a problem. Problem for you and me. I want to urge you, child of God.

[6:06] Maybe we need to. I know they're doing it in airports now, aren't they? One of that monitors. Check the forehead. Check the hand. Sounds a bit.

[6:18] They check your temperature. Maybe we need to check the temperature. How do you check temperature? You've got to stick a thermometer in your mouth or whatever it be.

[6:29] Check your temperature today. We need to check our temperature, friends. I'm putting it lightly here, but it's serious, isn't it? It is serious. Because coldness. Problem.

[6:40] In some churches, the pastor is addressing the frozen chosen. And the fire's gone out in the pulpit too. It's usually the main problem.

[6:52] At times, much of church activity is devoid of the Spirit's power. It's powerless. It's cold. Freezing cold. It's chilly. Why should we care about the problem of coldness, friends?

[7:06] Because coldness is dangerous. It's dangerous for you to get cold. There's health problems from coldness. Think of frostbite. That can be deadly.

[7:19] Deadly. You know, I have touched the hand of a dead man. He was a man that I loved. And I touched his hand.

[7:31] And it was cold. You might have had that same experience too. That's a sad thing to do. But friends, the dead are cold.

[7:42] Cold. Clammy. Cold. Coldness is deadness. We should be the opposite, shouldn't we? Alive. Alive.

[7:54] Vibrantly living. Our Lord forwarns us. And the love of many shall wax cold. Notice it says, if the many, the many have grown cold, then they, if we're not careful, they will affect us.

[8:14] Because coldness can be contagious. It can be contagious. It's hazardous. Hang around spiritually cold people long enough and you'll catch a chill.

[8:28] And if you're not careful, you'll become like them. Watch out who you hang with. Proverbs 13, 20. It says, he that walketh with wise men shall be wise.

[8:39] But he, a companion of fools, shall be destroyed. I know people, look, I'm not saying I'm necessarily wise. Moments want to have moments of wisdom and then not so wise.

[8:53] But friends, the companion of fools shall be destroyed. That's serious, isn't it? Don't be a companion of fools. I know some people, it's almost like they haven't grown up.

[9:05] They're playing video games. That's all, it's all, I mean, not to, not to say because you play video games you're foolish. But, but for some it's like it's this obsession, this, this, this unreality they live in.

[9:19] And that's, that's their life. That's what they do. What they want, that, that's their whole life. It's vain. Companion of fools should be destroyed.

[9:32] Now another thing, coldness is gradual. Who's ever been out camping in the, in the, in the tent and the, and the, and the frost and the, and the condensation in the, inside of the tent and, and, and you just don't have enough covers.

[9:49] Have that experience, you know? There's just not enough blankets and, and, and, and, and, and the coldness is gradual. And the coldness is gradual. Friends, coldness creeps up on us. It can creep up on me.

[10:01] Tendency, if we are cold, is to grow colder. Isn't it? Let's be honest. I'm using these kind of, I know Julie tells me I've got to explain my analogies because I, I kind of think in these pictures, these picturesque words and you might not be following me here.

[10:17] But I'm, I'm trying to paint a picture. I'm an artist here. Talking about people getting cold. And we're going to translate that into spiritual coldness. The coldness gets colder and colder and colder.

[10:31] Check the temperature. In particular, the problem, our Lord says the problem is a love problem. Matthew 24, 12, and because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

[10:47] Is there a coldness of the heart? Coldness of the spiritual life? Are we so selfish that we don't think beyond our own skin?

[11:00] Beyond our own four walls? It can be like that, can't it? The Lord's call through a recent Sunday morning preacher's message was Mark 12, verse 30. I think he used the Matthew version.

[11:11] And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind and with all thy strength.

[11:23] This is the first commandment. Friends, it's easy for your love to God to wax cold. Your love to God.

[11:34] Do you love him with all your heart, soul, mind, strength? I know I could improve on that. Brother, sister, love God.

[11:46] Love God. Love can wax cold. And your love for God is what the devil will attack. He doesn't want you to love him. He doesn't want you to know him. He doesn't want you to have a relationship with God. The devil doesn't want you to have that.

[12:00] So go for that. Let's smack the devil. Amen. Let's give it to the devil, as it were. I'm using, again, picturesque language. If the devil's going to attack your love for God, that's the thing you need to work on.

[12:13] Brother, sister, isn't it? Our Lord rebukes coldness. He wants our love to be strong, not cold. The Lord rebuked the Ephesus church for this loss of love.

[12:25] Nevertheless, I have somewhat against it because thou hast left thy first love. Revelation 2 verse 4. The love can leak out and weaken. Think of when you first got saved.

[12:37] Wow! Let's save the world. And then the coldness of the many. Can weaken that love. Can't it? It shouldn't, but it can.

[12:49] The love can leak out. Your love for God should be, whoa, I'm jumping out of my skin to tell somebody what Jesus has done for me. And then the coldness creeps in.

[13:04] The antidote to a coldness of love is a restoking of the flame. In Romans 5 verse 5 it says, Hope maketh not ashamed because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

[13:17] The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts through the Holy Ghost. How do we stop this loss of love? If that love is leaking. Watch out.

[13:30] Where's it leaking from? What's crowding it out? Now sometimes other things just busy us and our spiritual flame gets snuffed out. You know, I've got to work on my love relationship with my wife.

[13:42] I could do better. I really could. And that's a big problem. If the love is lacking, if the love is leaking, friends, nothing more important than you as a husband, as a wife, to get that right.

[14:00] And I know I need to work harder. I really do. Sorry that sometimes I'm too busy. Not a good thing.

[14:13] Watch out. That love leak, as it were. Mark 4.19 says, The cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, the lusts of other things entering in.

[14:23] Choke the word and it becometh unfruitful. The story of the sower of the seed, saying that other things stand to kind of cramp and they crowd out. Other things. Isn't it easy for other things to occupy us?

[14:40] And the coldness comes. Friends, another thing about coldness is coldness will slow you down. Coldness immobilizes.

[14:51] You know, you get that. Try to start the car when it's cold. Just doesn't kick over. Coldness immobilizes. You freeze. And when you freeze, you die.

[15:03] I know there's some people working in a chicken factory. It gets cold. I'd imagine. It gets cold there. And you freeze. If you stay still long enough, you'll start looking like a cold chook.

[15:18] You know, a lot of Christians get cold and they immobilize. They freeze. Stop doing stuff. A lot of Christians have lost traction.

[15:28] Just stuck. Plain stuck. And friends, again, I'm using this picturesque kind of way of expressing it. That we need to keep on track.

[15:40] Keep the wheels turning. Don't stop. Don't let the devil stop you. Because you're going to get cold if you get stopped. Don't get immobilized. Don't let the devil stop you.

[15:50] The answer our Lord gave to the church at Ephesus is the same answer he gives to us. Repent. Change of mind. It's a change of heart. It's a change of direction. It's a change of where you're going.

[16:02] It's a change of who you're honoring, of who you love. Change. Repent. Turn. Turn around. Turn around. So what are the warning signs? You might say, preacher, well, okay, I don't think I'm cold.

[16:15] I think I'm as warm as pretty much everybody else here. What are those warning signs of that creeping coldness that we should look out for? Our hearts can get spiritually cold when we don't care about the Bible.

[16:27] When we scarcely think of it. When we don't give the time for it. When we don't open it. When we don't let it challenge. When we don't start to search it and say, what does this mean?

[16:40] I'm going to look into that. I'm going to study. That daily discipline. Or is it just a hit and miss when you kind of feel like it? It's easy to skip it.

[16:52] And we can even say, well, I'm a busy person. I can't read my Bible every day. I've got so much going on. I'm so busy at home, at work, and all these other things I've got to cover and do.

[17:06] My obligations. We neglect that daily time. It becomes a pattern. And that pattern gets colder and colder. Worse and worse.

[17:17] It gets colder. We get colder. And when you say, I can't find the time. It's not true. It's not true. Now, let's be honest.

[17:29] You have those days that are busy, but you're still not too busy that you skip a meal. You're not so busy that you don't eat. We make time for what matters.

[17:43] Make time for the word. It'll keep you from getting cold. And as I touched on this morning, Job said, I've treasured your words more than my necessary food.

[17:54] Wow. This is more important than eating. And Jesus, our Lord, says, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word. Don't neglect your Bible, friends.

[18:06] It's going to help you to stay warm. Maybe even start to get to God. Wow. Wouldn't that be good? Another warning sign is in the prayer time. Our prayer life.

[18:17] Prayer is our communication link with God. It's our relationship with him. Now, prayer should be a priority. It's important.

[18:29] A cold heart. It can happen when we drop out of fellowship, when we neglect fellowship, when fellowship's kind of, oh, I'll fit it in when I can, rather than actually other things will fit around my fellowship because it matters.

[18:44] It matters to my soul. A cold heart can happen when we neglect fellowship. It's a joy to get together with our brothers and sisters, not just for you, but for them. They need you.

[18:54] They need you to be there so you can exhort one another. It's two-way. And to hear the words, to get that foretaste of heaven, to praise, to rejoice, to build up your faith.

[19:08] Now, we can prioritize our time around worldly things, can't we? There's always ways we can fit things in. But sometimes the thing we drop out is worship.

[19:19] We drop that. Friends, a cold heart doesn't have to happen. It doesn't have to happen. And we can see these warning signs. We can be, yeah, I'm going to watch that. I'm going to pray.

[19:31] I'm going to get in the word. I'm going to fellowship. We can get the fire back. We can get it back again.

[19:42] How do we get the fire back? How do we warm up? Well, Peter stood around a fire, didn't he? He wasn't a good example.

[19:53] He probably shouldn't be hanging around that fire and saying the things that he said around that fire. But Peter warmed himself at the fire as our Lord was getting judged in the mock trial.

[20:06] And Paul took some sticks and he warmed himself when it was a cold time to, it's obvious, when it's cold, put the fire on. Julie's always on to me.

[20:17] We've got a little wood fire and I'm going to make sure that the logs are there, ready. Stoke, chuck in to the fire. Put the heater on.

[20:29] Rekindle. Fire. Seal. You can. God will help you to be a Christian that's on fire, burning, a burning and shining light.

[20:43] Like John the Baptist was, you know. That seal. And Proverbs 25 talks about when you're cold, you need a covering. It's verse 20. When it's cold weather, you get a covering.

[20:55] God is your covering. And clothe yourself with him, with the Lord Jesus. It talks about how we should put on the new man as if you're putting on a garment. And it says in the word how we should be clothed with humility.

[21:10] It says how we should, the sense of the armour of God, isn't it? And the armour of light and that we're clothed with our Lord in the sense that he covers us.

[21:26] That we have that uniform of Christ. We are Christ to our world. We project him. So what are the signs of this coldness of love?

[21:37] How can I avoid that? I don't want to miss this now. How can I strengthen that love that the devil wants to take away?

[21:49] The Bible commends some loves. The Bible commends the love of the brethren. You've got brothers and sisters. I don't have a physical brother.

[22:01] I've got a couple of sisters in the flesh. But I've got lots and lots of spiritual brothers. Usually they're little brothers. Some older. No, they've got some older brothers here tonight too.

[22:14] Depending how old you are. But in a sense we're brothers and sisters, aren't we? Sisters. We're sisters. We're brothers. And the Bible commends the love of the brethren. It says that 1 Peter 1, 2.

[22:26] Peter 1, verse 22. Seeing you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit. Unto the unfeigned love. Not hypocritical love, but genuine love. Real love.

[22:37] Real love. Of the brethren. See that you love one another with a pure heart. Fervently. That's how we should love. Fervently. It's got a sense of, wow, this is boiling over and jumping out of our skin.

[22:49] This is on fire with love. They're the pure heart of love for one another. Love of the brethren. Tells of how our Lord loved the church and he gave himself for it.

[23:01] Shouldn't we love the church? If Jesus so loved the church, our Lord, that he gave himself for it. Thessons 5, 25. Lord, what are we to love the church?

[23:13] I'm not talking about this pile of bricks and mortar, but the people. Our brothers and sisters, we should love the church. Our Lord commends a love of the book.

[23:24] In Psalm 119, verse 140, it says, Thy word is very pure, therefore thy servant loveth it. Psalm 119, 140. He commends a love of the book.

[23:35] But God's word itself is spoken of as a fire. A burning fire shut up in my bones, says Jeremiah. 20, verse 19.

[23:46] Jeremiah chapter 20, verse 9. It's spoken of as a fire. We need to get some of that kindling from home and start building a fire behind this bullpen.

[24:00] Whoever comes and delivers, they're on fire. As they're burning fire. His word was in my heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones.

[24:16] We should be unafraid to deliver it such that people call us nutcases. Anyone seen some of my Facebook posts? One of my old friends is having a go at me for preaching, open air preaching.

[24:31] That's what crazy people do. That's a nutcase. We shouldn't be afraid. God should be a burning fire in our bones.

[24:42] We can't but deliver it. We've got to tell somebody. We've got to tell somebody. Woe it was if we fail to. Woe to me.

[24:55] Our Lord commands a love for souls. Well, it tells of our Lord. Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister Mary.

[25:06] And Lazarus. Sorry, I'm quoting that wrong. But he loved souls. There's many examples of our Lord loving souls. And our Lord commands a love of the Father. He says, love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.

[25:19] If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. Love of the Father matters. Friends, what about souls? And God helping us as a church, we care about souls.

[25:32] Such that we care about the lost. We've got to compassion. That we've got to care for them. That we'll do our everything. No matter the mockery.

[25:48] So friends, remember. Coldness creeps up on us. You might think, oh, I'm not cold. Are you warmer than you were a year ago? Or are you colder?

[26:01] Let's be honest before God. Coldness, it creeps up on us. It's like a carelessness. It happens without us scarcely realising it. And sometimes it's inch by inch, little by little, just eats away.

[26:13] The coldness creeps in. It's like the little foxes spoil the vines. A little spark creates a bushfire. Think of even little coral. These tiny living creatures that fasten themselves to a ship.

[26:26] I've heard it said that if enough coral gets on the outside, the barnacles, whatever, fastens itself to even a large ship, ultimately it could sink the ship.

[26:39] They don't clean it off. And it's been said that small strokes can fell mighty oaks. It might be just that final axe blow. Just take that one little wood chip off and bang.

[26:52] It burns. Just that one little blow of the axe was all it took to finish it off and to fell a mighty oak that comes crashing down. So in a way, it's those little things.

[27:04] We've got to watch out for the little things. What are those little things that are stopping you? What are those little things that are making you just that little bit colder? Here's what Spurgeon said.

[27:14] I'm going to quote him a bit here. He's saying, suppose our love grows cold. If the heart grows cold, everything will be coldly done. You can go about the motions.

[27:26] You can go about church activities and be cold. Spiritually cold. You can sing in the choir. You can do whatever. And the coldness is there.

[27:38] Friends, you've got to deal with the coldness. It's important. Back to Spurgeon. When love declines, what cold preaching we have. What cold singing we get.

[27:51] Pretty music made by pipes and wind, but oh, how little soul song. How little singing in the Holy Spirit, making melody in the heart unto God. And what poor praying.

[28:03] Do you call it praying? What little giving. When the hot is cold, the hand finds nothing in the purse. Is there anything that goes as it ought to go when love grows cold?

[28:14] Spurgeon goes on. I would continually act as if I had just seen him and had put my fingers into the print of the nails.

[28:26] I would live as if I had just been sitting at his feet with Mary. Yes, and we're still sitting there. I would speak for him, work for him, give for him, as if I had freshly lifted my head from John's place upon his bosom.

[28:45] Friends, when you're cold, it's a problem. I pray I'm getting the point home here tonight. We're talking about this cold that creeps.

[28:57] Bear with me. Just a little further quote here. Just quoting a section I picked up from somewhere. Cold affects the whole body. Your ears are affected. There's this build up in the middle ear.

[29:09] When you get cold, your ears get affected. Maybe you stop hearing. What is God saying to you? Your nose is affected. It gets running. There's this reduced blood flow.

[29:20] It can be, again, another symptom that's a problem. Your feet are affected. Cold feet, frostbite.

[29:30] And it can cause severe injury. It could lead to amputation. And the early sign of frostbite, you've got to act on it because it could mean permanent injury.

[29:45] How are your feet today? What does it say about our feet? How beautiful are the feet? In me, it brings good news. Our feet should be going with the gospel. Our feet should, I know, as Brother Peter was talking and relate, Peter Gregory, how to get the gospel shoes on.

[30:03] Feet shod with the preparation of the gospel. Friends, get those shoes. Forget about Adidas and Nike. Get the gospel shoes. Amen? That's what we need. Amen. Your feet can get affected.

[30:15] Get your runners on. Run for God. Amen? Your feet can get affected by the cold. Your hands can get affected by cold. Julie likes to wear gloves sometimes.

[30:26] Her hands can get really cold. Our hands can get cold, can't they? What we do. In other words, our hands talk about what we do, can't they? You know, the blood flows from the heart down the arm all the way to the fingertips.

[30:42] But less blood flow means colder and sometimes painful hands. What are your hands doing? Are you doing something for God? Are you an active Christian? Activated. Your brain gets affected by the cold.

[30:54] And a head cold. Your head gets affected. You get these delusions and mental confusion. It causes pain. You can experience euphoria.

[31:06] It can cause stress and tension when your brain gets affected. And we need to have our mind stayed upon him. Your heart gets affected too.

[31:18] Your heart gets affected when you get cold. And as a result, the heart is forced to work harder. Sometimes it leads to strokes and heart attack. How's your heart?

[31:29] Spiritual heart. Heart right with God. Heart after God's own heart. Your rest gets affected when you get cold. Colder temperatures means you're... Well, mind you, I kind of like it cold at night to sleep.

[31:42] But for some, when you're cold, certainly when you've got cold feet, when you're not covered and warm enough, when you're trying to get to sleep, your rest can get affected. And that makes you then lazy and lethargic.

[31:55] And we need to rest in the Lord, don't we? It's important. Quietening the noisy soul, as it were. Rest. Rest. You're resting in that pillow of his hands.

[32:13] Doesn't it make you just want to go to sleep? But not yet. There's so many things. I mean, it's saying even this little thing that I read, your breath is affected as well, in the sense that you cough, you wheeze, there's a shortness of breath, you know, your lungs, your breathing.

[32:28] It affects the whole body. Basically, a coldness. And friends, just to close these thoughts with you tonight, child of God, your love can be restored.

[32:43] There's good news for you. Coldness can happen because of a lack of motion. No, I should be getting to do some star jumps tonight. If the temperature gets a bit too cold, we'll have some gymnastics.

[32:56] We need to move. Moving helps you to get warmer. You can freeze, literally freeze to death.

[33:12] Now, let me make this point. This lack of motion starts with sluggishness. You start to, oh, can't be bothered tonight.

[33:24] Oh, nah. Something's on TV or whatever. I'm just going to, I'll just chill out. Yeah, chill, chill, chill out.

[33:35] And we freeze. And we can, a lack of motion means we can freeze to death. Friends, don't be like that. It's a trap. Sluggishness, eventually you'll freeze.

[33:46] It's a lack of motion. Now, let me make this point that we don't want activity for activity's sake. You can be morning, noon and night in church. Midweek after midweek.

[33:57] After meeting after meeting. You can be at everything. I'm not talking about activity for activity's sake. But there is a problem. Inactivity is a problem.

[34:09] Because you can lose that mobility. They say that, don't they, when someone has an operation. Get your knee operated on. Don't just sit there. Go through the pain.

[34:20] Walk. Keep it moving. Keep that motion. And it's the same spiritually too. If you think about these things, I know I'm extrapolating all of these sort of thoughts here tonight. But I'm hoping that you'll get some of this.

[34:32] That, yeah, I need to be, keep moving to God. I need to rekindle that fire. And not quench it. 1 Thessalonians 5.19 talks about quench not the spirit.

[34:42] Don't put the spirit's fire out. Band it into flame. And our God is an all-consuming fire. The point I'm making here tonight is check your temperature.

[34:56] Are you cold? Think of that man I loved. I touched. I touched his cold hand. He was gone. He was dead. Mind you, he was with the Lord. I knew where he was.

[35:08] He wasn't in that body of flesh anymore. But friends, we don't want to get cold. Amen. Don't get cold. Don't get cold. Don't get cold spiritually. How is the temperature of your love for him?

[35:19] Your passion? Your zeal? Your fervor? Yes, Lord. I'm excited. I'm a Christian. And that revival is the desperate need, isn't it?

[35:34] The opposite of coldness is on fire. It doesn't mean you have to be as crazy as me, but there's a sense where we need to get stirred up, don't we, in a good way.

[35:45] And just, even if you just think, when it's cold, in the next few weeks and months ahead, you think, oh, I remember that sermon about being cold.

[35:57] I don't want to get like that. I don't want to get spiritually cold. That's the point. And it's been said, when the church is on fire, it cannot get lukewarm. You've got to keep the fires burning.

[36:08] Friends, tonight, our Lord says, at the end, and because iniquity, they'll abound. This is a sinful world. And the many, the love of many, shall wax cold.

[36:23] The most, the majority, they don't care. And the many Christians too. They're as cold as cold can be. Trust God with your life.

[36:39] Let's pray. Our God and King, we know you sent that fire that sets our hearts ablaze. Lord, we know that we can be set free from sin by the virtue of your saving blood.

[36:55] And Lord, that you do call us a people taken out of this world. And when the love of many shall grow cold, Lord, we don't want to be amongst that.

[37:05] We want to be... on fire, not cold. Pray for everyone here tonight that they might know that the love that matters the most, the love of God in Christ Jesus, the love of God, your love that took you, Lord Jesus, to the cross in our place.

[37:29] And that love is beyond compare. It's beyond measure. It's so measureless. It's so majestic. It's so awesome. And Lord, to know that love, the love of God.

[37:43] Help us, Lord, to love you with all of our heart, our soul, our mind and strength, as humanly impossible as that can be. Yet, Lord, help us to love you more, to love you more dearly, and to be evermore loving, not lessening that love, not leaking that love.

[38:06] Dear Lord, accept our poor feeble efforts, Lord, and be glorified in every life here tonight. Pray especially if there's any yet to trust you.

[38:18] Even now they'll say, yes, Lord, I do believe. I do believe you. I thank you for your precious love sacrifice, that unconditional love that took you to the cross for my sin.

[38:34] I receive that love gift of eternal life right now, by faith. Lord, help us as Christians, Lord, to not lessen that love, but that it grow warmer and warmer, hotter and hotter.

[38:50] Until that perfect day, Jesus' precious name we ask. Amen.