Are you a thermostat or a thermometer?

“Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.”
John 12:3

In the world we live in, there are all kinds of voices that try to tell you what you should think and what you should do. But you weren’t made to be tossed here and there like a tumbleweed blowing in the wind of everyone’s opinions! You were meant to stand upon the truth of God and influence others for the sake of Jesus. You are called to be a thermostat, not a thermometer.

I remember one time I was leading worship with a joyful upbeat celebration song. The only problem was that everyone in the room was soaking! Like, hands open, eyes closed, and waiting on the Lord as if we were in a deep moment of prayer.

I was in - “The joy of the Lord is your strength” and everyone else was in - “Be still and know that I am God”! 

It was awkward.

As the worship leader, I could’ve just acted like a thermometer and stopped the celebration to go and soak OR I could be the thermostat and call them higher! (Not that soaking is bad, just an inappropriate response to how I was leading!)

I totally called them higher and invited everyone to celebrate with me...and it worked!

And it’s those moments we see that we can either be a thermometer or a thermostat. 

Thermometers tell you what the current temperature is while thermostats set the temperature.

I set the temperature to “joy” as I was leading worship.

Maybe you’re not a worship leader, but you do come into environments where it’s discouraged or hopeless, someone needs a healing miracle, or it feels restricted and hindered.

You have the King and the kingdom of God living inside of you - and instead of succumbing to the restrictions and “lowering your temperature” - you can set the temperature with faith and presence of God!

You carry hope.
You carry life.
You carry healing.
You carry freedom.

Here’s 3 characteristics of thermostats - 

1. They carry their own weather system

Their composure is not determined by their circumstances, the pressure of the culture, or other’s composure. 

In Mark 14:3-9, we read a powerful story where a woman poured out an extravagant offering of worship on Jesus and, surprisingly, the disciples stood by criticizing.

But she didn’t stop her offering because of the criticism. She didn’t stop her offering because it wasn’t convenient. She didn’t stop her offering because of the misogynistic culture of that day.

To her (and the same goes for us), God’s worth doesn’t change depending on circumstances or environments.

She had her own weather system that wasn’t dependent on outward circumstances. Her heart had apparently been touched by Jesus so she responded with extravagant worship. 

That’s what thermometers do. 

They have core values that they’ve settled on.
They stand on the truth of God’s word and His standards.
They’ve built intimacy with God in the secret place through prayer, worship, and scripture.
They’ve fed on the testimonies of what God has done in times past.

Through that, it’s pulled their “normal” to the standards of God’s kingdom ways and caused them to settle for nothing less.

In other words, they carry their own weather system.

2. They have a heart that’s tilled

Because they’ve cultivated time with the Lord, it’s caused their heart to be receptive.

We always talk about the power of God’s Presence to change atmospheres and rightly so, but think about this:
Jesus, God manifest in the flesh, came in contact with many people yet not all of them had a positive response. In fact, some even had a negative response (the people of the Gadarenes asked Jesus to leave their town!).

Why?

It’s all about the condition of the heart.

The one thing we hear when the disciples spoke up about this woman’s extravagant offering is that they thought what she did was a waste; that the alabaster jar could’ve been sold and the money given to the poor.

Remember the parable of the sower?
Jesus said that there were seeds that fell on thorny ground and the thorns represented the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of wealth.

Sounds like the disciples had some thorns in their hearts…

What’s the point?
This woman had a heart that had been tilled. 
So much so, that when she came near THE Seed of the Word of God in the flesh, her heart was so receptive that she had to pour out her offering on Him.

If you want to set the temperature for the Lord, you want to have a heart that is tilled.

Receptive. Aware. Devoted to Jesus.

3. They expose and call people higher

This woman’s worship undoubtedly impacted the environment. The fragrance of the oil filled the entire house.

But what didn’t happen was everyone else in the room entering into the amazing moment of worship she just opened up.

Instead, they complained and criticized.

It exposed the condition of their hearts.
They were more concerned with money and ministry than the Man.

Bishop T.D. Jakes said it like this: “She was grateful while everyone else was comfortable.”

Although the disciples didn’t take it, her move as a “thermostat” provided them with an opportunity to worship extravagantly. 

She called them higher.

You may be in environments where people need a healing miracle.
You may be in environments where discouragement has gotten the best of people.
You may be in environments where tensions and restrictions are hindering people’s freedom.

You can call them higher!

You are called to be a thermostat!
Don’t be swayed by the ways of this world.
Don’t let fear or complacency rule your environment.

Invest in the secret place with God.
Settle on core values based on His Word.
Set the temperature in your environments with faith and call people higher!

Question: How have you seen God shift environments through people who walked as a “thermostat”?
Let me know in the comments below!

For the full fiery message I preached at the Fire & Glory Outpouring, click here.