Jesus, the Revealed Christ: Meet Me at Your House Scripture Reading 1 : Revelation 3:14-22 NIV " 14 To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation. 15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm - neither hot nor cold - I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17 You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. 19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. 20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. 21 To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I 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." Introduction This is our final message in our post-easter series: Jesus, the Revealed Christ. Over these past few weeks, we have seen Jesus reveal Himself to small groups, to folks travelling along the road, to women, to His disciples. These encounters are different from His pre-resurrection ministry. These encounters are preparing His followers for the gift of the Holy Spirit a gift promised by God the Father. These encounters are preparing His followers to continue the work, to continue to spread the Good News of salvation... first in Jerusalem, then in Judea and Samaria and finally unto the entire world. (Acts 1:4) His disciples have been trained, sent out on practice runs, and now it is up to them Christ is handing the torch to them to continue the work He started. We heard the sound of a mighty wind, saw flames of as of fire upon the heads of each of the 120 believers, and heard the gospel message being shared in many languages, as the gift of the Holy Spirit was given to those early believers. We were astounded by the boldness of disciples who, prior to this moment, were impetuous and reactionary; now they were bold and focussed as they stood before the church leaders and declared that in the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people... and everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved (Acts 2:17, 21) Believers met together every day; they broke bread together and ate together with glad and sincere hearts; 1 All Scripture quotations, unless indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version (NIV 1984) Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House (a division of The Zondervan Corporation). All rights reserved.
they continually praised God; and enjoyed the favour of all the people. They devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to prayer. (Acts 2:41-47) They were hungry for the Truth of the Message of Christ. In return, we saw the church grow by thousands daily! A revival was spreading across the Roman Empire, and the flame could not be extinguished. People tried to put out this fire. Last week, we saw Saul encounter Jesus on the road to Damascus. Saul was breathing out murderous threats against the Lord s disciples (Acts 9:1) He believed it was his mission to get rid of these believers, to rid the nation and regions beyond of this threat to his religion. But, when Saul encountered Jesus face to face, we learned that Saul s life was dramatically and forever transformed by the grace and forgiveness of God. Saul, now Paul became a missionary for Christ. Filled with zeal and passion, he travelled across the Roman Empire, planting churches and sharing the Good News. The persecutor of the early church became the persecuted. Paul would eventually die, in prison, in Rome. Fast forward several centuries to the 21at century. At our District Assembly last week, we were given some very grave statistics about the current growth of the Western church. I want to share some numbers with you. Remember the early church grew daily by thousands of people! Africa, which is seeing the fastest increase of believers in the world, grew by 25% last year. Eurasia is the second-fastest growing region, with an 18% increase. South America increased by 8%, Asia-Pacific region ties with the Mesoamerica region, coming in with 3% growth. Dead last is North America Canada/USA we have the largest membership and the least growth 0.08% last year and that is only because the Spanish church in North America... especially Canada... is so active! So, what happened between the daily growth of the early church and the non-existent growth of the Western church today? I want to read from Revelation 3:14-22. This is the seventh letter written to seven of the most prominent churches in the Roman Empire. The letter written to the church in Laodicea is scathing in its condemnation of the religiosity of that congregation. In fact, Laodicea has the grim distinction of being the only Church of which Christ has nothing good to say! (Barclay, 1976, p. 137) Write to Laodicea, to the Angel of the church. God's Yes, the Faithful and Accurate Witness, the First of God's creation, says: "I know you inside and out, and find little to my liking. You're not cold; you're not hot--far better to be either cold or hot! You're stale. You're stagnant. You make me want to vomit. You brag, "I'm rich, I've got it made, I need nothing from anyone, oblivious that in fact you're a pitiful, blind beggar, threadbare and homeless. Here's what I want you to do: Buy your gold from me, gold that's been through the refiner's fire. Then you'll be rich. Buy your clothes from me, clothes designed in Heaven. You've gone around half-naked long enough.
And buy medicine for your eyes from me so you can see, really see. The people I love, I call to account--prod and correct and guide so that they'll live at their best. Up on your feet, then! About face! Run after God! Look at me. I stand at the door. I knock. If you hear me call and open the door, I'll come right in and sit down to supper with you. Are your ears awake? Listen. Listen to the Wind Words, the Spirit blowing through the churches." (Revelation 3:14-22, The Message). Laodicea was a great banking and financial centre. In AD 61, an earthquake devastated the city, but so rich and independent were its citizens that they refused any help from the Roman government and out of their own resources, rebuilt the city to its former splendor. It was so wealthy that it had need of nothing. Laodicea was a great centre of clothing manufacture. The sheep which grazed around the city were famous for their soft, violet-black, glossy wool. Clothing from this city was sold around the world. Laodicea was a medical centre, famous for its medicinal salve for both eyes and ears. (Barclay, 1976, p. 138) The problem was this: the church in Laodicea had taken on the characteristics of the city. It had lost its power to distinguish or react. It was neither hot nor cold for God. It was neutral -- lukewarm. In a world of half-truths and indistinct standards this church had become part of the world. It boasted not of its heart, but of its wealth, its clothes, and its health. (Barclay, 1976, p. 138) The proclamation against the church in Laodicea is this: you have all the money you could ever need, and then some, but you are desperately, spiritually bankrupt. Your clothing is the finest wool that money could buy, but you are dressed in spiritual rags; your salve heals eyes and ears, but you are spiritually blind and deaf. You make me sick. You are neither hot nor cold. You are spiritually indifferent. Here's what I want you to do: Buy your gold from me, gold that's been through the refiner's fire. Then you'll be rich. Buy your clothes from me, clothes designed in Heaven. You've gone around half-naked long enough. And buy medicine for your eyes from me so you can see, really see. The people I love, I call to account--prod and correct and guide so that they'll live at their best. So be earnest and repent. (Revelation 3:18-19 The MESSAGE) The picture of the church in Laodicea is a picture of a church that is suffering from spiritual apathy and poverty. Jesus Christ, the Head of the Church the Body of Christ, is no longer welcome or required in this church. Jesus has been removed from the premises, and He is on the outside, knocking on the door, and pleading for someone to open the door and let Him in.
Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me (Revelation 3: 20) In Bible Study on Wednesday, we talked about the fact that, in the time of Samuel as a young child, the voice of God was rarely heard in the land. (1 Samuel 3:1) The prophet Jeremiah rebukes Israel for her faithlessness, but declares that Judah is unfaithful to her God. Their worship was empty. Their offerings were meaningless. Their words were hollow. God s voice cries across the centuries of time:... this is what the Lord says: Obey me, and I will be you God and you will be my people. But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They were stiff-necked... this is a nation that has not obeyed the Lord its God or responded to correction. Truth has perished; it has vanished from their lips. (Jeremiah 7:23-24, 26-26) Christ is saying to us today: Here I am, in the 21 st century, standing at the door of the church, knocking, waiting for someone to open the door. Do you hear the knock on the door? Would you be willing to let Me come back inside? Would you be willing to let Me once again be part of the fellowship of believers? Would you allow Me to take My rightful place as the Head of the Church, to be part of your life? Paul warned Timothy that... there will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God----having a form of godliness by denying its power. HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THEM! They are the kind of people who worm their way into lives, gain control and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires. (2 Timothy 3:1-9) What is your spiritual temperature this morning? When God takes your temperature, are you hot with a passion for Christ? Is your zeal for Christ making a difference in your life? Is it making a difference in the life of another? Are you spiritually cold? Have you ever asked Jesus to come into your heart and forgive your sins? Or are you lukewarm? Half-hearted? Indifferent? Going through the motions of your faith? Content with the status quo? Content not to stir the pot or take a stand because that might mean change in attitudes or actions or choices or behaviours? What is your spiritual temperature this morning? The accusation against the church in Laodicea is one that could be made against the North American church today. Self-sufficient.
Wealthy. Well-dressed. The right people. The right connections. Spiritual poverty. Spiritual rags. Spiritual blindness. Spiritual deafness. There does not seem to be much hope for such a church. Except this: I am [still] standing and knocking on the door. We sense the grief of God as He looks down on this church, as He looks down on us, the church, the body of believers today. We see the pleading of Christ. He stands at the door of the human heart and knocks. No other religion has the vision of a seeking God. Here is a picture of Christ searching for sinful humanity, for a wayward people who call themselves believers, for those who do not want Him. (Barclay, 1976, p. 147) What a poignant picture of Christ s love for His rebellious church. And here is the promise if the door is opened: I will come in and eat with him and he with me. To all who overcome, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne. (Revelation 3:20b, 21) He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says. (Revelation 3:22) Are your ears awake? Do you hear Christ knocking on your heart s door? Or is the sound of His knock drowned out by the sound of voices, luring you to try this or do that, tempting and teasing your faith, twisting the Truth of the Good News with false teachings, promising that you can live as you wish with no consequences because God loves you? Period. The choice is yours. To open the door to Christ s redeeming, forgiving salvation, or keep the door closed and locked so He can never enter. Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what [you] have done. I am the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. (Revelation 22:12) Knock, knock. Who s there? It s me Jesus. Jesus who? Jesus Christ, Son of God, your Saviour. Can I come into your life? Can I come in today? AMEN
Bibliography Barclay, W. (1976). The Daily Study Bible: THe Revelation of John; Volume 7, Chapters 1-5. Toronto, Ontario: G. R. Welch Co., Ltd. Biblica. (1973, 1978, 1984). HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (NIV 1984). Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House (The Zondervan Corporation). Peterson, E. (1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002). The MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language. Colorado Springs: NavPress Publishing Group.