1 THE LUKEWARM CHURCH (part 2) Revelation 3:14-22 July 27, 2014 Dr. Danny Forshee - Today we conclude our study of the seven churches in Revelation chapters 2-3. - Last time we looked at the first of a two-part message of the lukewarm church the church at Laodicea-- and we examined together the three-fold identification that Jesus gave of Himself as seen in vs. 14. Each descriptive phrase was a word of rebuke to the complacent, apathetic believers at Laodicea. This church received a thorough examination and evaluation by our Lord in vs. 15-17. The primary grievance Jesus had with this church was their lukewarmness they were neither hot nor cold but simply lukewarm. It reminds me of the song that says, For I ve been living in Laodicea and the fire that once burned bright, I ve let it grow dim. And the very Word I swore that I would die for all has been forgotten as the world s become my friend. ( Living in Laodicea by Steve Camp) - This church took on the character and nature of its surroundings more than the character and nature of her Lord. The church was wealthy and influential and felt that they were doing just fine. The problem was the world and culture had entered the assembly but Jesus had exited. - Read the text, Revelation 3:14-22. 14 And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: 15 I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. 16 So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. 17 Because you say, I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked 18 I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. 19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. 21 To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. 22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
2 I. EXHORTATION (VS. 18-19) - Jesus gives this church wise words of counsel or advice. As we look at these two verses notice with me what Jesus does and what He expects them to do. - A. JESUS ACTIONS - Notice that He counsels, loves, rebukes, and chastens. - 1. He Counsels. - Jesus told the church first that they were to buy refined gold from Him, in order that they may be rich. Remember this is the church that boasted of their material wealth, but Jesus was not impressed. He is never impressed with a church that focuses more on the temporal than the eternal. Laodicea was a city of great influence and was known for their expertise in finance, banking, and commerce. But what they are in dire need of was not more earthly wealth but true riches, wealth that only a right relationship with Jesus provides. - I see in this first part of vs. 18 Jesus calling these people to the basics of Christianity. The Christian life consists of living for the Lord, being at odds with the things of this world, which in turn produces trials that lead one closer to Christ. True riches are those spiritual realities given by God within the context of trials. This church had so insulated itself from trials that they were not confronting their culture. - I think of the family that we were able to listen to on Wednesday evening here at Great Hills. Rob and Jamie serve the Lord in northern Africa in a very difficult and dark place. There are only 150 Christ followers in the whole country. In 2010 there was a major wave of persecution where most missionaries were expelled. Jamie last year slipped and fell in her kitchen and severely broke her ankle in three places and had to have multiple surgeries and went to Europe to heal for months and she and Rob had to be out of country to help get her back to health. But as I listened to her testimony it was a genuine example of refined gold in the fire and her test truly has become a part of her testimony. She shared how she has been able to witness to European doctors and nurses and how she was able to show a young boy the scars on her foot as he was facing cancer treatments, the same boy that she prayed over in Jesus name and he was healed. It was a powerful example of God allowing one to suffer for the sake of the gospel. - You may be asking, this is real Christian living? Yes it is. It is serving Christ, experiencing the trials that accompany our journey with Him. Why, you ask, do Christians have to go through such trials especially since they love God and desire to do what is right? Why does God allow Iraqi Christians in the northern part of Iraq to be cast out of their homeland of 2,000 years by ISIS
3 jihadists? God allows these things so we can be conformed more to the image of Christ and be a faithful witness to Him. His school of learning involves trials and hardships. - Next, Jesus tells this church that they are to buy white garments. Remember the Laodiceans boasted in their production of black, glossy wool that made excellent clothing. But these expensive and fine garments from such wool were worthless compared to the white garment that Jesus tells them to purchase from Him. - This white garment is the apparel of the saved people of God, and it also represents their good works. See Revelation 19:8. 8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. - For those in the church who were lost and had no real relationship with Jesus I believe He is warning them that they must repent and embrace Him or they will be eternally ashamed. For those who were backslidden, who knew the Lord but were not serving Him or were lukewarm, this was a word of warning to them as well. - Jesus also tells them in vs. 18 to anoint their eyes with eye salve so they could see. Remember this city was known as for its medical advancements in the area of ophthalmology. They had researched and developed an eye salve that evidently provided healing to the eyes. But here Jesus is not speaking of that literal eye salve He is speaking of spiritual sight to a people who were blind to the things of God. - Robert Thomas sees here a reference to the work of the Holy Spirit who bestows true spiritual vision and the anointing that gives illumination after one is saved. Thomas (p. 316) also provided a good summary of vs. 18. Pedagogically, Christ s counsel to this church must have been quite effective. As shown in the discussion of this city at the beginning of the message, its everyday life was marked by its importance as a financial center, a manufacturing center for woolen garments, and a medical school famous for its eye medications. Spiritually speaking, however; the church was seriously lacking in three corresponding areas; genuine faith (i.e. gold), a disposition toward righteousness (i.e. white garments), and a discernment of spiritual matters (i.e. eyesalve). - 2. He Loves. - In vs. 19 Jesus tells them that He loves them. The Greek word is phileo. He still loves them with brotherly, tender love even though they had lost their zeal for Him and compromised with the world (Thomas, p. 319).
- 3. He Rebukes. - The rebuke here is a verbal nature, and you see this clearly in vs. 16-17. - 4. He Chastens. - This word refers to action. The Lord will both verbally, physically, emotionally, financially, spiritually deal with His wayward, lukewarm church. Why? He does so because He loves His church and wants the church to conform to His ways and not the ways of the world. - For those here today that are unsaved or blatantly walking in disobedience to God in a lukewarm, uncaring manner, I hope you are listening. You may not see the urgency or importance of what Jesus is saying, but you better, for your own good. - B. THE CHURCH S ACTIONS - Jesus told the Laodiceans what he tells lukewarm church-members today be zealous and repent. - 1. Be zealous. This is a present active imperative. Jesus commands them to keep on being zealous. The word in Greek, zeleue, and is very similar to the word, zestos, translated hot in vs. 15, 16. (Thomas, p. 319) - Jesus commands His people to be zealous for Him, to have enthusiasm for the things of God, not be lukewarm, tepid, uncaring. - We should live for Christ in a zealous manner whatever we do in life. Our Christianity must not be compartmentalized or relegated to a one hour a week ordeal. No! It must interface with and saturate our entire being and lifestyle. - Read Colossians 3:23-24. 23 And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for ] you serve the Lord Christ. - Our wealthy church here in America could certainly learn about zeal from our brothers and sisters in Christ in hard places like North Africa who serve Christ with fervor and zeal. They are like the church at Smyrna and unlike those in Laodicea. They are poor in material ways but rich spiritually. - A few years ago I visited some believers in Chad, Africa but they have sense left to go and serve in the Middle East, and he is a medical doctor and they are some of the finest people I have ever met. I still have an e-mail he sent me describing a powerful God-story. I read in The Insanity of Obedience by Nik Ripken that we in the USA should be open to God saving people in our land the way He is saving Muslims and Hindus overseas through signs and wonders like visions and dreams and through physical healings. Ripken said everything God did in the Bible He is doing today. The following story about my doctor friend and his wife reminds me how followers of Christ love people into salvation and how others seek to coerce or threaten people into salvation. (See story from e-mail from Dr. Ray.) 4
5-2. Repent. This is an aorist active imperative. It points to a singular event. They are commanded by Jesus to turn from their sin and turn to Him. That is genuine repentance when you change your belief and behavior to what God says. There is still time for the church at Laodicea, but they must change from their lethargic, anemic, tepid, lukewarm religion to genuine repentance and a vibrant relationship with Jesus. II. INVITATION (VS. 20) - Jesus tells them behold, idou. They were to pay close attention, listen to what is coming. (This is an aorist middle imperative verb.) - This is a powerful word about compassion. Jesus extends to them a sincere word of invitation. After all they had done, Christ still beckons them to Himself. What had they done? Notice that Jesus is outside His own church here the Author of the Christian faith is not welcome in His own church! The church at Laodicea invited the world to enter and for Jesus to exit. What a sad picture. - How does an individual or a church go from loving and serving Christ to a place of spiritual impotence, lethargy, and complacency? The devil works at pulling us away from Christ by assisting us in taking incremental steps until there is a noticeable distance. - The devil is extremely creative when it comes to leading people away from Christ and the church. Ralph Waldo Emerson was the son of a prominent Boston pastor. He too was destined to the ministry but he had strong feelings of inadequacy. While he was a student at Harvard University preparing for the ministry, he experienced difficulty in seeing and it was due to tuberculosis. In 1826 just when he was beginning his ministry he had to travel to Florida to try and get well. The warm weather and relief from ministerial duties helped greatly. He returned in 1827 and in one year and a half he was engaged to Ellen Tucker, and he began preaching at Boston s Second Church. The same church ordained him on March 11, 1829. David Robinson writes, Emerson s moment of settled happiness would be short. Ellen, also a victim of tuberculosis, died in February 1831. Her death seems to have weakened the foundations of the life he had constructed for himself, contributing to his resignation from the ministry in 1832. Emerson had already entertained serious questions about the claims of Christianity during his ministry, and about whether he could fulfill his intellectual ambitions there. But Ellen s death seems to have forced Emerson to live his own life and think his own thoughts He embarked for Europe on Christmas Day, 1832, full of curiosity,
6 nurturing the beginnings of a new spiritual philosophy, and hatching plans for new forms of intellectual expression. Emerson found a receptive hearing among young, spiritually oriented men and women who were intellectually restless. Not satisfied with the standard answers of their churches, or with the moral tone of their culture, they were seeking an alternative to an increasingly conformist and materialistic society. Emerson s message appealed to the hunger for fulfillment that was not available in most walks of life. (From America s Founding Spiritual Seeker by David Robinson http://www.beliefnet.com/entertainment/books/2003/06/americas-founding- Spiritual-Seeker.aspx#.) - Please listen carefully if you have a wounded spirit, or unsettled questions or issues that are nagging at you, or if you feel the pull of Satan away from what you know is the truth, then I implore you to draw near to Christ. He stands at your heart s door and He gently knocks. Even though you have departed from fellowship with Him, He still loves you and wants to fellowship and enjoy an intimate relationship with you. - Vs. 20 says Jesus invited the church at Laodicea to dine with Him. The word is deipneo. It refers to the evening supper, the most important meal of the day. - Today could be a landmark day for many, a watershed day for you spiritually. I invite you to respond positively to Jesus invitation. III. EXALTATION (VS. 21) - Again, Jesus promises a blessing to those who overcome. This word, Nikon, means to win, to have the victory. You have a choice you can leave Jesus standing at the door and embrace a lifestyle contrary to His; you can deny the Bible and embrace beliefs contrary to Scripture; you can reject the Bible as the Word of God and adhere to fads like Emerson s naturalistic Transcendentalism; or you can repent of your sins and by faith invite Jesus into your life and live for Him. - Jesus will bless you far more than you will ever give up for Him. He will allow you to sit with Him on His throne. The overcomers will reign with Him during His millennial reign here on earth. Jesus Himself overcame and the evidence for His overcoming is His death on the cross and His resurrection. And He sat down at the right hand of the Father when He ascended back to Him. Read Hebrews 10:12-13. 12 But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, 13 from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool.
7 - God will highly exalt and bless those who serve His Son while they journey here on earth. CONCLUSION - Avalon sings these words, If we served the Lord with passion, what would be the reaction? I challenge you today who are lukewarm and tepid in your devotion to Christ, either repent unto salvation, or repent by asking the Lord to forgive you for not serving Him with the zeal and vitality that He deserves. - Listen carefully to what the Spirit says to His churches (vs. 22). There is a definite message for all who will read and heed what Jesus is saying. - Some need to follow the Lord in baptism; others unite with our church family and attend our ch@gh class following today s service. Some need to surrender to the Lord s calling on your life to serve Him in vocational ministry.