PRAYER: Father, I pray that You’d bring our faith back to life. That the parts of our faith that have kind of become ’flat-lined’, this apathetic sort of indifference, that’s so affected us and it’s affected the people around us. And I pray in the name of Jesus, by the power and blood of Jesus, that You’d bring back to life joy; that You’d restore to us the joy of our salvation. That as sons and daughter’s of God, we would claim and walk in truth and light; we’d be encouragers; we’d encourage and we’d live victorious. And I pray this in Your name, because Your name’s above every name; I pray this in the name of Jesus, amen...
Living Hope Church, how’s everyone? So, I’m excited you’re here; I’m John, I’m one of the Pastors; I’m excited you’re here because we’re ending a series called ’New’, and we’re going to spend some time in the Book of Revelation. We’re going to look at a passage in Scripture that’s going to be uncomfortable. It’s going to disturb you before it makes you feel free. But the goal is freedom; the goal is God wants to take us where things are at; and God wants to move us, because of truth. And if you want to come to Living Hope and hear some sort of watered down, diluted version of the Gospel, you’re at the wrong church. Because this is a church where you’re going to hear truth; its truth that will set you free; it’s truth in your life, when you hear it and you like, respond to it? Then your marriage is better, you’re a better Dad because of it, but you have to hear the truth and you have to start with where you’re really at.
I want to talk to you today about how your faith, because some of you came in to this auditorium, and the truth about you is your faith is flat-lined. The truth about you is, life has thrown you a curve ball because financially things aren’t going well; or relationally you’ve misinterpreted this thing going on in your life, and your faith is flat-lined. I can show you your faith; and I can tell you that the most dangerous verse, I think, in the New Testament is this passage. Because first it’s going to agitate you, it’s going to disturb you, it’s going to make you frustrated like, "Ugh..." But it’s only when your apathy is met with God’s grace, that apathy can change to passion.
So we’re going to talk for a few minutes about this. But you know it’s interesting, the Greek word for ’apathy’ is the word ’pathos’, to which we get also the English word ’passion’. So, it’s the same word. But somehow, someway, what was so alive and so on fire, becomes flat. Some of you used to serve and you used to...you were the one that would go on a mission trip; or you were the one that would be in a woman’s Bible study; and you were so about it. Do you remember those days when you opened the word of God and it was alive, and it was truth, and it was just like, "Oh..." Or as a student you go to a retreat and you’re like, "My gosh! Jesus died for me," and there’s this passion. What happens?
What happens to make us indifferent? What happens to make our faith apathetic? I want to talk about the way in and the way out; and I want to talk a little bit more about the way out, because God did not design you to have a flat-lined faith. He wired you with eternity in mind, and you’re the only person that can do what God has wired you to do; you are the only one that can do the things He’s asked you to do. The Bible says, "We are saved by grace thru faith in Christ," Ephesians 2:8-9, "Not by works that anyone should boast;" and then it says in verse ten, "You are God’s masterpiece,"[v.10] and it’s the Greek word ’poema’, which we get our word ’poem’. You’re God’s poem, you’re God’s letter, you’re God’s ambassador, you’re salt, you’re light, you’re these things that God wants you to be. So I want to talk about, how do we help our faith be on fire for God.
Turn to the Book of Revelation and we’re going to spend some time talking about how we can have an intense emotion that would change our lives. In the Book of Revelation, you see in there, imbedded deeply in the Book of Revelation, seven individual letters that are written to seven different churches. Now, this is really a letter from God, written thru the hand of John the Apostle, written in A.D. 95 and sent as a circular letter. The Pastor would read this letter to the church; and then it would get passed on to the next church.
This letter I want to talk about today is, I think the hardest letter of all of them. It’s the seventh of seven; it’s written to the church at Laodicea; it’s written to a church that’s more affluent; it’s written to a church that had more money; it’s written to a church that, you want to talk about innovation? In their day, they were the most innovative church of them all; they were the happening place. I think a church can look good and miss everything; I think a church can build buildings, and people are still sitting in the pews and sitting in the chairs, and going to spend eternity in hell. I think a church can have everything, and miss people that are poor. I think that we can have it all, and have conflict inside of a church that causes disunity, that makes the bride of Christ look bad.
This church in Laodicea; in all of the letters, there’s something good to say. It’s like whole thing when you go, "Oh Johnny, you do so good at ..." and then the whole "but..." All the letters have a commendation, and then a correction; this one doesn’t have any commendation. Not one good thing in this letter, not one good thing. But really, the best thing is in this letter. Now, for some of us, this is going to be one of those talks; and I pray that it so agitates you that you change; because if you sit under the word of God over, and over, and over, and over, and you never change? Your faith becomes flat-lined, your faith becomes apathetic. I have no problem telling you that some of us are lukewarm.
You can get mad if you want; you can be mad, I don’t care. You know, I’m learning that if you don’t have people that are mad at you? I’m like feeling free in Jesus; because I’ve spent so much of my life trying to make everyone else happy, and I have finally realized something that is going to be the truth that I land on, stand on, hold on to the rest of my life. That it’s only in pleasing God that you only do the right thing; because God is the One you’ll stand in front of someday, and your faith is on the line. So if you’re agitated about it? I mean, if you don’t have any people that have problems with you? You’re probably not, your faith is probably a little apathetic.
"Write this letter to the angel of the church in Laodicea. This is the message from the one who is the Amen, the faithful, the true witness, and the ruler of God’s creation." [Revelation 3:15] So Jesus, before He tells them what’s up with them? He tells them who He is. If we want to have faith that’s not apathetic, you’ve got to know that there’s a God in heaven that loves you; there’s a God in heaven that knows everything about you; there’s a God that created everything, that’s the ruler of all creation; He’s the Amen, the faithful and true witness friends. Having a faith that will change the world -- it’s not about church attendance; it’s not about looking good; it’s about listening to God alone. It’s about responding to God alone.
Jesus says, "I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish you were one or the other." [Revelation 3:15] Now, to us it’s sort of like, "Okay, hot or cold, whatever..." To them? In Laodicea, they had to pipe hot water that was from the springs in Hierapolis; sort of like a first century Kah-nee-ta or something like that. Hot water would get piped and it would run down to Laodicea. What do you think happens to hot water when it gets piped; without a motor, without a pump; and it’s piped by gravity flow ten miles? It gets lukewarm.
Then on the other side of Laodicea they had, in Colossae, cold refreshing water; nice drinking water; and it was piped six or seven miles. What do you think happens to water when it’s piped six or seven miles, that’s really super cold and refreshing, and it gets over here? Lukewarm, bingo! You got it! Their water was lukewarm; they never knew hot or cold their whole lives. Now you can tell me, because people are like, "Well, I like lukewarm water." Really? "I go to Starbucks(c) and I say, "Can you please cool my coffee down to lukewarm temperatures?" No you don’t!
"But since you are like lukewarm water," check this out, don’t miss this! This is like the revealing moment of your whole heart; right here in this one passage for your faith. "Since you are like lukewarm water," because they would have understood it, "I will spit you out of my mouth!" [Revelation 3:16] Now some of us can say, "Well, I know other Pastors on TV that, they would never say that." If we don’t listen to the whole counsel of God’s word, we don’t get to be whole people for God. Some of your faith is lukewarm.
Now, I would argue the point, a couple of points actually. Number one; scholars would say that this is about non-Christians. Now, these letters are written to Christians, to a church. So I don’t think that he’s writing to non-Christians. I do believe that there are some people who are not connected to Christ; I believe that Matthew chapter seven, for some of us, if you died next week you’d stand before God and He’d say, "I don’t know you. I know you, I created you; but you don’t know Me, we don’t have relationship," and you’d spend eternity separated from God in hell. I believe that; and in fact today, I want to give some of us a chance to respond to God.
But let me just tell you, this is like to people that are God followers; and I don’t also believe cold is bad and hot is good. I don’t believe that because He says, "I wish you were one or the other." Meaning, "I wish you were refreshing like cold water is, to the community that you’re in. I wish that you could be like Me." Jesus says, "If you’re thirsty, I am living water. I want you to be like living water." Or over on the other side, hot water; "It’s medicinal in nature, it’s healing, I wish you’d be like that. But you’re neither one of them! You’re like lukewarm water."
When you look at this passage, and you think God’s going to write us a letter; that the God that created you is going to write you a letter; and they’re writing this in coinea Greek, it’s like street language. Then we have to take it and translate it into English; and sometimes our English words don’t really kind of match up with the Greek word, or in the Old Testament, the Hebrew word. So we translate ’spit up’, but we’re just being gentle with it because the word translated means ’gagging’ or ’vomiting’. It’s the only time in the entire Greek New Testament this word is used.
There is only one thing in the entire Bible that makes God sick, and it’s lukewarm faith. You can choose not to like it, that’s your problem with God; or you can choose to respond to it, because you were created for a purpose. You have a destiny; you were created to do good works; before the foundation of the world, God had you in mind. And I look across this auditorium and I see people that ought to be Pastors and leaders; people that should be volunteering and serving; people that should be talking to their neighbors. If you want to understand, "What’s lukewarm?" Let’s run thru the list since you’re asking. "Uncle John, what does lukewarm mean?" Okay, let me ask you a question, let me just try to nail this down. You don’t want to forgive someone -- lukewarm; you don’t want to love someone that hurt you -- lukewarm; you say that you don’t give because you’re a good steward and the economy’s bad, and you’re saving up -- lukewarm; you don’t spend time with your kids like you ought to -- oh, lukewarm; husbands and wives become roommates -- marital lukewarm-ness.
God loves you and God has a plan for your life, and He wants to change your heart and it’s all about devotion; and let me just tell you something, the one thing God is not about you is lukewarm. There’s nothing more God could have given than His son; He gave the very best. My suggestion to us sometimes, is that we give God leftovers. Do you think that that’s true sometimes? And all God wants, and there should be a sense of holy repentance over what we’ve not given to God, and it’s just this part of my heart that gets a little bit flat-lined.
See, this church had everything; but they really had nothing. We have to learn to see eternally; we have to learn to know that this is not all there is, this is just dress rehearsal for eternity. You were put on this earth for a purpose, before the foundation of the earth. God created you, put breath in to your bodies, loves you, and has a plan for you. So this church, I don’t know what they must have felt. The Book of Revelation was written in A.D. 95, so this letter came at about the end of the first century; and somewhere around A.D. maybe, sixty or sixty-five, we don’t know for sure; but you see Laodicea mentioned in the letter to the church of Colossians. So we can probably say safely, that they were about thirty years old.
When people ask me, "What’s the greatest fear of this church?" That we get religious. What’s my greatest fear? It’s not how we’re going to buy a chair or whatever; I trust God, God’s an eleventh-hour God. My greatest fear is that we’ll somehow, someway, stop seeing homeless people as people that matter to God, and we’ll just walk right by them. My greatest fear is, because when you think about it, the American church is filled with people that the divorce rate’s the same as it is in the world. I don’t know, maybe it’s because we’re lukewarm as a church in this country; and maybe, just maybe, God is calling this little, itty bitty church in Van-tucky Washington, that’s just a nobody, to be foolish for God. So the world will see Jesus here, and maybe just maybe, revival in the darkest part of the country, maybe revival will spark out here; "Revive us O Lord,"[Psalm 119:149] and we see something spread across this country.
I know that God doesn’t care about statistics; He just wants to save people. I know God wants your marriage that’s lukewarm, to be on, to be passionate. I know God wants students that are having impure lives, to stop. I know God wants you to share your faith with the people who live next to you. I know God wants you to give financially and trust Him. I know God loves you, but you’ve got to start with what’s truth, right? You don’t start with happy, you start with truth that gets you free. It’s truth that sets you free, right?
So Jesus goes on He’s going to tell them the things that they need to do to change their lives. Now, they were the financial capital of that part of the world. They were rich beyond measure; and they also, and partly because they invented this black wool that was like, you know, sort of like the first century Nordstrom(r) thing that everyone loved; and they also had a leading medical school, and somehow in the school they had developed an eye salve that was an ointment, that was used everywhere. They were like the happening place.
And Jesus says, "I know your deeds, you’re lukewarm. It’s not that you’re not successful, you’re just not significant. It’s not that you don’t have stuff happening, you’re just missing the main thing that needs to happen." He says, "You say that you are rich and you have everything, and that you don’t need a thing. But you are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked." [Revelation 3:17] I mean, it’s like , "Okay God, I get the vomit thing, and okay now, I’m wretched and poor, and I thought You loved me and I was Your son or daughter?" and you are. But your faith that’s lukewarm does not show the world who Jesus Christ is; and when you come to Christ, it’s not about you anymore; it’s about the world seeing Jesus in you. You are the salt of the earth; you are the light to the world; you’re the only one that can do what God’s called you to do.
And He tells them this and then He says, He says, "I advise you," and we’re going to get to the three things that I think matter. He said, "I advise you to buy gold from me -- gold that has been purified by fire. Then you will be rich," and we’ll pause right there. The gold that He’s talking about is your faith. See when I hear... sometimes I get, I just get so frustrated when I hear teachers of the word of God, because the Bible says in James three, "I will be held accountable for what I teach." [James 4:6] So I’m going to, I got to teach truth, and it has to be unbridled. So faith is faith that’s refined by fire friends.
When you come to Christ and people say, "Oh, it’s all good and it’s all, ’Yea god!’" No, actually it’s not all good. God is all good, but you will walk thru stuff; and you’ll have a curve ball, and you’ll have stuff lodged at your heart; and you’ll have things that happen -- and it’s your faith that’s refined by fire. And some of you I think, are on the verge of quitting because you can’t interpret it, and you can’t control it; and Jesus says, "Have faith. Let your faith meet My faithfulness, and watch what I’ll do."
First Peter says, "These trials are only to test your faith, to show that it is strong and pure. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold -- and your faith is far more precious to God that mere gold. So if your faith remains strong after being tried by fiery trials, it will," definite article, will; "It will produce or bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus is revealed to the whole world." [1 Peter 1:7]
So He says, "Have your faith that’s tested, have it be trusted, do the right thing." Friends, this is like the thing; I always tell you in a trial, just do the next right thing, the one right thing you know to do. Do what’s right, let God do what’s left; trust Him. Often times, we don’t make the right decision because we’re too afraid about the ripple effect. Make the right decision for your faith and trust God for the results of that decision.
Okay, then He says, "And then I advise you to buy also white garments so you will not be shamed by your nakedness," [Revelation 3:18-19] and let me just quickly, He’s talking about my faith and then He’s talking about my heart repenting. This is not about works righteousness, this is the very opposite; this is about repent and let God save you. And the white garments, they are all self-sufficient, "We don’t need You God." In A.D. 30, they put in a bid to build a temple. History shows us that they wanted to build a temple in Laodicea for the Roman government, the Roman Empire, and were told no because they didn’t have the financial wherewithal to support it.
Then in A.D. 61, historians tell us that there was a massive earthquake in that part of the world; so Rome sent in their little FEMA guys with their little hard hats in to help fix things and do you know what Laodicea said? "Eh, we’re not interested." Do you find yourself doing that to God when He says, "Hey, I need you to repent of that sin, not just ignore it -- own it." And do you ever find yourself saying, "I don’t need you God, I don’t need...eh..." Repent; metanoia; turn in a new direction. You’re in a church, if you’re in a church and you don’t hear the word ’repent’, or the word ’sin’, or the word ’Jesus’ -- run; because they’re not preaching the whole counsel of God’s word, okay?
Alright, that’s a side note for a whole different message. And then He says, "Buy ointment for your eyes," this is so good, this is so good; don’t miss this; "So you will be able to see." Then Jesus says, "I am the one who corrects and disciplines everyone I love."[Revelation 3:18] Don’t miss that! This is not, "God’s out to punish you" friends. God is not out to get you back, God is out to bring you back. That’s what He does, He wants to bring you back home; and He disciplines, He corrects. How many have ever corrected their kids, can I see a show of hands? Yeah, and would your kids like it? So if He’s our heavenly Daddy and He’s correcting us; He disciplines us because He loves us. There’s no word of punishing here; He’s saying, "Hey, this is true, your faith is lukewarm; and I correct and discipline those I love." You see the perspective change? Versus, "God’s punishing me, God’s out to get me!"
I mean, I talked to a student after the last service, and she was so totally like, trying to avoid anyone else seeing us talk. I said, "What’s going on?" She said, and she started like getting tears in her eyes and she goes, "I can’t please my Dad." I said, "Have you ever told him?" She goes, "No, I don’t know what to do!" And I grabbed a hold of her hand and I said, "Do you know how much God loves you? First of all, you don’t ever have to worry about pleasing anyone on this planet; you are already acceptable completely in the eyes of God. You’re His daughter." and she just started crying. I said, "And then you go and you do the right thing; talk to your Daddy and say, "I don’t feel like I can please you," and have the talk.
See, it’s when my faith is refined; my heart repents, check this out; that I see differently. You know what I think sometimes? I think that sometimes we’re looking for the big giant thing. I think sometimes it’s just a simple thing God wants to do. It’s just the little things. Sometimes when God speaks to your heart? Don’t miss this, this is so critical. It’s just a little thing God wants you to; it’s just calling the Grandpa or Grandma that maybe won’t be here next year; it’s telling your Dad you love him; it’s spending time to sit down with your kids and play a game, which I’m terrible at. It’s, it’s actually just the one thing, right?
Sometimes the story is in the little story. Sometimes at work, it’s the person that’s left out that you go to have lunch with; sometimes it’s the employee that’s over looked because they’re just not that popular, that you write a letter to. Students, sometimes, because you know high school, we can be a little like, sharp sometimes; and sometimes, why don’t you break thru? Because this is what lukewarm is, "Flow with the crowd. Be rude to the same people." Why not go the opposite direction? Jesus wasn’t about that; Jesus was about the one person that would be left out.
Jesus left ninety-nine people, and I have people ask me all the time, "I can’t believe that you’d leave this church and go speak here;" and I’m like, "Well, Jesus was about leaving whatever it meant to reach the one person for Jesus, to reach one." We’ll do, we got to do whatever it takes for Jesus. So when your faith is refined, and your heart is repentant, and you put the new ointment on your eyes? You get to be Jesus to someone.
And you know the best part? I didn’t like, you know, "Toot-to-too Only God". I mean, I didn’t like you know, I didn’t hand her a tract or lead her to Christ, or anything. You know, people are like, "What else happened?" Like, "Nothing!" "Why didn’t you lead her to Christ?" I’m like, "I just was Jesus to her." I mean, you know, you don’t see Jesus running around like, grabbing people around...choke locking them like, "You will come to... Come on and be My follower..." Sometimes it’s just be Jesus; just be Jesus. Just, someone cuts you off, wave at them and use all your hand, "Hey..."
Jesus goes on, and I think because it’s so critical; when you get the passion back in your heart friends? Because your lukewarm, flat-lined, non-existent, apathetic, ’make-God-sick’ faith -- ooh that’s strong. When you get it fixed and you repent, your passion gets restored; do you know what else happens? Your joy is restored. Nehemiah eight says, "The joy of the Lord is your strength." [Nehemiah 8:10] It’s not how cool you are; it’s about how good God is. I mean, He’s your Daddy and all, He’s the only audience you care about; nothing else matters. But I’ve got to get to that place, and so do you; because my big thing is, I want to please everyone. And I’m learning that really, everyone is not who I’ll stand before in heaven, I just want to please God and just do the one thing that’s right.
You’ve got to sort out what it looks like, and so do I. When your passion is restored, do you know what happens? You can hold on to the promises of God. You’re His son or daughter; "You will walk thru deep waters and you won’t drown; you’ll walk thru fiery trials, and you won’t burn up; you’ll go thru times of trial, but God will be with you. For He is the Lord your God;"[Isaiah 43:2] and you’ll be better and you’ll love more; but more than loving more, you’ll feel more loved.
So Jesus said this to this church, after He tells them all these things, this is what He does; Jesus is like, "You’re lukewarm! You make me sick! But I love you enough to discipline you." And then He says, "Look! Now with good eyes you can see! Look! Here I stand at the door and knock. If you hear me calling and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal as friends." [Revelation 3:20] Who can’t love a God like that? He doesn’t say, "If you open up the door," or, "Hey! This is God speaking; and if you don’t open the door, I’m going to bust it down!" But He doesn’t do what we do and leave.
You think faith is risky? You think it’s vulnerable to love someone again? Do you think it embarrasses you to forgive someone? Do you think it’s not vulnerable for God to do that? To love you enough, to care about you enough, to knock; and when you do that friends, you know what God does? He does the best stuff in your hearts when we’re willing to give Him everything about our lives. Because sometimes your little thing, your little arrogant thing that you’re living in; your little like ’aren’t you glad I’m here’ -- God sort of trumps that by showing you like, "Aren’t you glad that you’re alive?" You see, I don’t want to burn our, I want to make it. I want to end well, and I want to walk in to heaven and I want to see Jesus; and I want to see nail-pierced, blood stained hands and know that I know that I know, that I did everything on this earth in this life, that God called me to do.
What about you? You have one life -- one. It’s time for our faith to come alive. Let’s pray...
PRAYER: Father I pray, that as Jesus is knocking on the door of our heart that there’s a sense, a time where we pause from what we’re doing and open the door; and we have to listen sometimes to hear the knock of God on our hearts can be so trumped by personal problems. The knock of God in my life can be so distorted noise, help the noise to go down so the voice of God can come up; and help us to open up that door to You God. And I just repent, just as You’ve put on my heart, I was like the apathetic guy thinking, "I’m going to speak to all these Pastors," and You showed me that it’s that pride and that arrogance, and that lack of forgiveness or whatever, that so distorts Your voice and so destroys my faith. So help us to be a people that will be alive; a people that will wake up to the purpose, to the destiny, and to the dream of Yahweh our God.
