How Not To Have A Church That Will Make Christ Sick Tape: E-70.E. Rome Time: 8 /30 /03 11a.m. Text: Revelation 3: 14 22 -------------------------------------------------------------------- Introduction: V.14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God. There Is The Amen Of Christ V.14 2 nd phrase- these things saith the Amen- Amen means truth. Christ is truth. Christ is going to tell us the truth to this church. There Is The Ability Of Christ V.14-3 rd phrase- the faithful and true witness, the beginning of creation of God. The word beginning here means origin. Christ is the origin of creation. Colossians 1:16- for by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible. He is talking about the ability of Christ. He is the able one. He speaks of chastening in these verses. He is able to get our attention. There Is The Awareness Of Christ ----V.15a I. Notice The Lack In This Church A. The Lack Of The Lord In This Church 1. Notice The Location Of Deity V.20- Behold, I stand at the door, and knock- Christ was outside, trying to get into the Church. Christ is excluded from their worship service. Now, remember that most of the time you hear this verse read, it is applied to salvation, but if you take it in it s context with dealing with the Church, then He is standing outside trying to get into the church. Imaging, the person to be worshipped on the inside, is on the outside un-welcomed. No one will let Him in. Notice The Location Of Deity 2. Notice The Lack Of Dependence a) Their Independence V.17- Because thy sayest [boasting] I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing. [this included Christ] 1
Question? If Christ is on the outside, how were they worshipping? Answer: They were worshipping on their own initiative and their own power. Who s Power Are We Supposed To Be Depending On In Worshipping & Working for Christ? Answer: the Holy Spirit. Their excuse of not needing the Lord was because they were rich and increased with Goods. ( 17a) In other words they did not need to depend on God any more, they had wealth and they could buy what they needed. They could buy their big steeples, carpeted floors, padded pews, songbooks, and on and on. What They Couldn t Buy- No church can buy the Holy Spirit Of God to run their services. John 15:5- Jesus said, without me you can do nothing. Yes, a church can go through the motion, but that is all they are doing, just going through the motion. All work and worship independent of God is in vain. 2 Timothy 3:5 Having a form of Godliness, but denying the power thereof. Their Independence b) Their Ignorance V.17-2 nd phrase- and knowest not that thou are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. >God said that they were ignorant of some things. They were bragging about their material wealth, but God said that they were poor spiritually. They were noted for their black wool and fine clothes. They bragged about their fine clothes and looking good, but God said that they were naked spiritually. >They bragged about their eye salve, which they made to help their vision, but God said that they were blind; they had no spiritual vision or discernment. >Because of their wealth they thought that this would bring about happiness, but God said they were wretched and miserable. You see, the wrong kind of worship will not make a person happy, but miserable. They had a morbid religion. The Lack Of The Lord In This Church B. The Lack Of Their Labor In This Church 1. The Savior s Discernment 2
V.15-1 st phrase- I know thy works, that thou art neither cold not hot,- V.16-1 st phrase-so then because thou art luke-warm The Lord said that they were luke-warm, that they were not cold or hot. The Lord was talking about their indifference to the work of God. They had half hearted motivation in the work of God. You know some people think that God is up in Heaven a long way off and that He is blind and can t see what is going on this earth and in our churches. He is the omniscient one. Well, we have an omniscient God and an all-seeing God and He knows exactly what kind of motivation we have in serving Him. You see, the Lord wants us to be reminded because we forget that God knows all things, including what kind of motivation that we have in serving Him. 1 Samuel 16:7- For the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart. The Savior s Discernment 2. The Savior s Desire V.15 Last phrase- I would thou were cold or hot- Strange Statement- The Lord said that he wished that they were cold or hot. Luke warm was in the middle. What the Lord meant- If they were cold, they would be stopped. If they were hot, they would be on fire for God. By their being luke-warm they were not stopped or going wide open, so they thought that they were all right, just as long as they were doing. Well, God does not want us to serve and worship Him half-heartily. God doesn t like: Half- hearted Teaching, Half-hearted Singing, Half-hearted Preaching, Half-heated, Pastoring, Half-hearted Deaconing, Half-hearted Church Attendance, Half-hearted Witnessing, or anything else that we attempt to do for the Lord. Christ didn t half way go to Calvary and suffer for us, He went all the way and died for us that we might be saved. Christ doesn t want us to die for Him, but he does expect us to put forth the best effort we can in serving Him. Amen! The Saviors Discernment 3
The Saviors Desire 3. The Savior s Dissatisfaction V.16 So then because thou art luke-warm, and neither cold or hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth. They were not only INDEPENDENT of God, but they were INDIFFERENT to the work of God, and God said that this made Him sick. He said, I will spew thee out of my mouth. Half-hearted Work And Half-hearted Worship makes God sick. So, if you are halfway serving and worshipping God, you may be satisfied, but to the Lord you re half-hearted worship and your half-hearted work is sickening. Notice The Lack In This Church II. Notice The Learning For This Church A. The Council The Council For Spiritual Prosperity V.18a- I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich- Gold has reference to righteousness. Christ the righteous one was tried in the fire. We receive out righteousness from Christ when we turn to Him, by faith and ask Him to save us. We can t buy righteousness or salvation. Christ uses buying language because they thought that they could buy everything. MAIN POINT : If a person is righteous because they trust in Christ for salvation, they may not have a penny in the bank, but they are rich spiritually. V.18-2 nd phrase- and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and the shame of thy nakedness do not appear- White raiment White speaks of purity. They did not have pure raiment, white raiment. The true bride of Christ will have on white raiment. Did you notice the words THE SHAME OF THEIR NAKEDNESS? A person with true spiritual discernment can see through shame religion, which is a disgrace and a shame. They were naked spiritually, and they were to receive the righteous clothes of God by putting their faith in Christ. 4
When we recognize our spiritual nakedness the Lord will clothe us. Isaiah 61:10- I will rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness. The Council For Spiritual Prosperity The Council For Spiritual Perception V.18- Last phrase- and anoint thy eyes with eye salve, that thou mayest see. When a person puts their faith in Christ for SALVATION and becomes clothed with the robe of righteousness, then they will be able to have spiritual discernment. The Council C. The Compassion V.19a- As many as I love and rebuke- The Lord is rebuking them because He loves them. The word rebuke means to chide, scold, admonish or reprimand. You see, the Lord wants to get our attention. The Council The Compassion D. The Correction V.19- As many as I love and rebuke and chasten- The Lord will rebuke or admonish and if that won t do any good, then He will chasten in order to get our attention. Now the Lord will chasten us INDIVUALLY. He does this sometimes through sickness, finical reversals, or whatever it takes. He knows our weak spots. He knows the button to push regardless of how hard or tough that a person may seem to think that they are. The Lord will also chasten COLLECTIVELY. He will chasten the whole congregation if the church as a whole just half way worship or work for Him. Question, how does He CHASTEN a CHURCH? By letting a church be fruitless. If the Holy Spirit cannot work in a service, then no souls will be saved. By withdrawing His blessing. There will be no spiritual satisfaction from worship when the Lord is left out. The Lord is the BLESSER and he can remove his blessings. Then there are other things, but the point is, He will chasten if He is not welcomed in. E. The Confession V.19- Last 2 words- and repent 5
True repentance is acknowledging the truth and calling sin what God calls sin. In this case, one is to acknowledge their INDIFFERENCE and INDEPENDENCE. They are to admit that they are half way serving God and they are not putting there all into it. They are to admit that they do need God and ask God to forgive them. F. The Change V.19- As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. The word zealous means to be enthused, fervent, passionate, or obsessed. If one truly repents, then they will get on fire for God, they will serve God with an enthusiastic spirit, and they will serve God with a passionate spirit. If one truly repents, they will put there all in worshipping God and working for God. Notice The Lack Of The Church Notice The Learning For The Church III. Notice The Longing Of Their Christ A. The Forcing That Christ Shuns 1. His Position Out Side The Door V.20- Behold, I stand at the door and knock- I am not going to reemphasize that Christ is excluded from worship; we have all already done that. 2. His Pleading Out Side The Door a) The Lord That Is Speaking V.20- Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hears my voice. The Lord is calling and pleading to get in. Now, think about this, the person who is supposed to be worshipped is pleading to get in the worship service. Now, the bible does say, where two or three are gathered together, I will be in your midst. Now, this verse is true to those who truly come to worship and let Him in. But here, He was not welcomed. b) The Listening That Is Sought V.22- He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. He is asking the individual Christians and the church to listen to Him. He just wants the church to understand that he loves 6
them and if they will change it will not only benefit them, but Christ. The Forcing That Christ Shuns B. The Fellowship That Christ Seeks- V.20- Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with Him, and he with me. The Lord is talking about fellowship. He is wanting to fellowship with those inside the church. Isn t this a sad picture? The Lord has that longing to be worshiped in His church and to have fellowship with them. You know, most members like to have fellowship with one another. In fact, most churches puts great emphasis on Church fellowship, and there is nothing wrong with that within itself. However, the greatest person to have fellowship with is the Lord. Conclusion: How Not To Have A Church That Will Make Christ Sick 1. Need to be zealous, on fire for God. 2. Need to realize we can t do anything without the Lord. 3. Need to come to church expecting God to bless us because He is the focus of our service. 4. Need to come not only to worship but also to have fellowship with the Lord. 5. POINT: Best Christian in the world can allow the worship service to become mundane and just go through the motion. 6. A church can become too mechanical and program Christ right out of the service. 7. When we do, we need to repent and ask God to forgive us and then get zealous in our worship and service. 7