The Church at Laodecia
Revelation 3:14-22
April 1, 2012
Today we’re looking at the final letter of the 7 letters Jesus wrote to the churches in the book of Revelation. Of the 7 churches, this was the most scathing and condemning. There were no positive words for the Laodecians. Laodecia was located 90 miles east of Ephesus and 45 miles south of Philadelphia. Laodicea was a very wealthy city. They were so prosperous, that when an earthquake destroyed Laodecia in 60 A.D. the people refused aid from the Roman government. They paid for and completed repairs on their own. That’s not only wealth, that also arrogance.
Outwardly the church in Laodicea appeared to be strong and prosperous. The people who worshiped there considered themselves happy and blessed. They lived in a town others envied. It seems that this church drew some of its members from the wealthy families in Laodicea. Unlike Smyrna, there was no persecution, and unlike Pergamum, no false doctrine. There was no Jezebel like in Thyatira.
Laodicea was a comfortable place to live and a comfortable place to go to church. That can be a lethal combination, which can make us comfy, but leave a terrible taste in Jesus’ mouth.
Jesus wrote, 14 These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation.
We usually say “Amen” when we’re done with our prayers, and it means “Let’s eat.” But amen means more than that, it literally means “it is true!” There are times when Jesus would start out a sentence by saying, “Amen, amen...” Meaning “Truly, truly.” So, when Jesus says these are the words of the Amen, Jesus is saying He is the truth, He is the only Word you need to hold onto.
We can say amen to all God has said, because Jesus is the final amen to all God. And because Jesus is the faithful and true witness, we can completely trust Him.
All Jesus said is true and it is true all of the time. It is not temporarily true, but true for all time. The Son of God is speaking and He is faithful to His people and He is who He says He is.
For the church at Laodicea it means that when Christ issues his scathing denunciation, they can’t escape it by saying, “That’s just his opinion.” No, that’s the word of the Son of God who is faithful and true in all He says. When Jesus speaks, the church must listen because He speaks the truth.
Jesus added, He is the ruler of God’s creation.
This means all creation comes from His hand. He was there in the beginning, and He was there before there was a creation. In fact, He’s always been there. It was through Jesus that the world was even created. He is sovereign over all of creation. Not only is Jesus sovereign, but He is the glue of the universe. If He stopped holding it together, the universe would fly apart.
Now comes the point of condemnation. Jesus exclaims ~
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.
What does it mean when Jesus said, you are neither hot nor cold? Think about it this way —
Isn’t lukewarm water also called — — room temperature water?
What do you need to do to make water room temperature? Nothing.
Leave water alone and it will become room temperature.
Suppose you want hot water. You have to do something to make it hot. You put it in a pot on the stove or put it in the microwave. Water never becomes hot on its own.
What if you want cold water? You have to do something to make it cold. Either you put it in the refrigerator or put ice cubes in the water. Water will never become hot or cold if left to itself.
So here’s the issue. The Laodiceans weren’t guilty of an intentional sin, such as immorality, worshiping other gods, believing in false doctrine, or welcoming false prophets. In order to be guilty of those things, you had to do something.
How do you become lukewarm? Just do nothing, and you become lukewarm. A lukewarm Christian is nothing more than a “room temperature” Christian who has become just like their environment. Rather than changing the world around them, they allow the world to be the change them.
Some churches take the middle road, believing the truth but unwilling to take a stand for it. They’re evangelical in name, but are not evangelistic. Ray Pritchard wrote, “While in India, a local pastor took us through a Muslim town where you could see the green flags flying indicating that Muslim families lived there. Because of ongoing tension, few Christians live in the city. But there was a church with a cross on it. The pastor said, “The Muslims leave the church alone because they never evangelize.” If you never tell anyone about your faith, you’re unlikely to be bothered.
The church at Laodicea had become like that church in the Muslim town. They had conformed to the ways of the world, and felt really good about it.
Why does Christ hate lukewarmness so much? Because it appears nothing really matters to that person. They slowly come to stand for nothing much. They’re comfortable, and don’t want to be bothered by anything that could lead them to be uncomfortable. They’re no different than anyone else, they do what everyone else does, and they blend in with the world.
They’re not too hot; not too cold.
When I drink coffee, I want hot coffee. In fact, often times I’ll warm it up within a minute of pouring the cup of coffee. There’s nothing worse then lukewarm coffee. The same goes for lukewarm pop. What about a nice glass of room temperature water after you’ve been outside in the heat for awhile. That’ll quench your thirst.
The bottom line, the church was no longer effective. They were too comfortable, to focused on their own needs, wants and desires. They had lost their spiritual passion.
You see Jesus was speaking to a very real physical as well as spiritual condition. Laodecia was known for their hot springs, which were healing. That was also the source of their drinking water. They built an intricate system of aqueducts, but by the time the water got to Laodecia, guess what, it was no longer hot. It was lukewarm. Cold water was also piped in from Colossae but it was also lukewarm by the time it arrived.
So, Jesus said the Laodiceans were like that water, lukewarm. There was no enthusiasm, no emotion, no urgency, no compassion. Pastor and theologian John Stott wrote, The Laodicean church was a half-hearted church. And perhaps none of the seven letters is more appropriate to our 21st century than this.
It describes vividly the respectable, sentimental, nominal, skin-deep religiosity which is so wide-spread among us today. Our Christianity is flabby and anemic. We appear to have taken a lukewarm bath of religion.
Let’s face it Stott is right. Many of us are afraid of being on fire for Christ. We don’t want to be labeled as politically incorrect. We fear being seen as Christian fanatics or extremists. The sad truth is we have no problem being fanatical in other areas of life. How many of you shouted yourself hoarse as you watched Purdue lose to Kansas, then watched Indiana lose to Kentucky in the NCAA tournament.
Friday night we were at Winter Jam, a night of Christians concerts at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. There were probably about 12,000 people screaming and shouting to the music. And it was loud, really loud, it was great, we sang and danced and had a great time.
Can you imagine if we went to worship on Sunday mornings with the same attitude of expectancy we had for a concert or ball game? Can you imagine what worship would be like? We wouldn’t worry about what songs were song, or the message or the length, or who wore what, we’d be here for the same reason . . . to worship the King of Kings and Lord of lords. And we would rock and shake this building to its foundations.
You know what gets Jesus really mad? Lukewarm — room temperature Christians!
How many of us are more passionate about watching The Bachelor, Dancing with the Stars, American Idol or whatever reality program’s got you hooked?
Jesus says, give that passion to me!!
So in Christ’s way of looking at things, He’s going to spit us out of His mouth. Don’t you love watching other people spit. I think Jesus will get our attention.
This message is for all of us, me included, because I believe we are all prone to being lukewarm. So, what does Jesus say next?
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.Jesus now reveals the deeper issue, the heart of the problem. And until the heart is changed, nothing can change; because all of life flows through our hearts.
Arrogance had blinded them to their true spiritual condition. Money has a way of doing that to all of us. Money does crazy things to people, even to really nice Christian people. It makes us think we’re doing better than we really are. It insulates us against the pain of the world.
But, let’s be clear — money isn’t the problem. It’s not money, it’s the love of money that gets us into trouble.
The very thing that gave them prosperity was killing their souls. They would have been better off to be poor like Smyrna and to know God’s blessing than to be rich and rejected by Jesus.
What made this all worse, is that they were deceiving themselves. They thought they were fine, but they weren’t. What we think equals a successful church may very well not be the same answer that God would give.
Now Jesus gives His answer to the church, and again He speaks to their physical condition to help them see their spiritual condition.
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.
Laodicea was known as a wealthy banking city. They were known for their beautiful woolen garments and for medicine to bring healing toto eyes. Jesus touched upon the very points of their civic pride to reveal their spiritual poverty. One writer said Laodecia was like a Bank of America, Macy’s and Mayo Clinic in one.
Notice what Jesus tells the people,19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. Because I love you, I need to tell you what I see going on in your life, because more than anything I want you to thrive in all of life. But the way you are living is killing you in more ways than one.
Parents do this all the time, don’t they? If we see our kids doing something which is leading them down a wrong path, we try to tell them and warn them. We try to redirect them down a different path. We will tell them about the person they are dating or the friends they are hanging out with, not to hurt them, but because we love them, we want the best for them. Even though, we know what we say will lead our kids to become angry, we still say it, because we love them.
So it is with our Lord. He loves us so much that he won’t let us stay the way we are. The way forward is to wake up and admit your need. Until you do that, you can never get better. And again, this is the 5th church of the 7 called to repent.
Jesus then tells the church, this great statement . . . 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. Jesus is knocking, always knocking. He waits for us to come to the door and open it.
People may ignore the knocking on the door, but each one of us has the opportunity to open the door, even if your spouse doesn’t. Even if your siblings don’t, even if your children don’t. Even if your friends don’t. Others may have no use for Jesus, but that doesn’t have to include you. You can open the door. You may be part of a lukewarm church, but you can still open the door and let Christ in.
He wants to come in and is waiting to come in. But will we let Jesus in. Or will our doors be locked and the welcome mat will say GO AWAY!?!
Not only does Jesus want to come in, He wants to eat with you. We can have Jesus, not as our dinner guest, but as our dinner companion, every day. We never have to dine alone. Jesus wants to share a meal with us. And not just fast food from the drive-through lane. He wants a long meal with a lingering conversation in front of a crackling fire.
Isn’t it amazing that the worst church gets the best invitation? Isn’t that just like Jesus? After exposing their indifference, He offers Himself. What an offer! I’d like a meal like that. How about you?
Have you ever seen the painting by Holman Hunt in which Jesus stands at the door and is knocking? Here it is. Everything seems normal, until you realize that something is missing. Do you see it? Yup, it’s the doorknob. The door must be opened from inside, not by Jesus.
Christ comes to us again and again and knocks and knocks and tells us, “I want to spend time with you.” Then He waits . . . what will we do?
For those who open the door, Christ comes in and makes Himself at home. He’s waiting for you to open the door.
Jesus ends by telling us ~
21 To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne.
Who is the victorious? The one who opens the door and let Jesus in, the one who’s not embarrassed by Jesus. Folks, don’t let your sin and failure keep you from Jesus. Christ came for sinners, and it is sinners who need a Savior.
So for all the foolish, fallen, messed up, mixed up, worn out, discouraged, backslidden, compromised, downtrodden, unlovely church people who wish and dream and secretly hope for a new start, take heart.
Christ has come for you. He stands at the door and knocks. Will you let him in?
To those who answer yes, He comes in and He makes all things new. If we welcome Him, we will be with Him forever, and He will be with us, forever. We get Jesus now and we get Jesus forever.
