A Lukewarm Heart .2

Years ago when I graduated from High School, this church bought me a bible. That bible has attended many camps, many conferences, it has seen more pulpits than any other of my bibles, and its covers are worn by the years. The message still rings true though.

That’s the thing about God’s word. It does not matter how old it gets, it does not matter what era we are in, it is still the source of truth.

The book of Revelation starts off with a series of messages from Jesus to 7 churches in Asia Minor. The letters generally consisted of three segments. A praise, a rebuke, and a call to repentance. Some churches were better than others and they received a praise with a promise of reward. (Wouldn’t you like to be that church?).Some received praise, then scolding, then warnings of repentance.

A few only received reprimand, one of those being Laeodicea which we will talk about today.

Revelation 3:14–22 ESV

“And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation. “ ‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’ ”

Laodicea was part of a triad of cities with Colossae about 10 miles to the east, and Hierapolis 6 miles to the north. Philadelphia was about 40 miles away, and Ephesus 100. So she lay in a region that was rich with history.

Laeodicea was a luxury city known for it’s wealth in banking, textiles, and medicines.

The city was created by Antiochus 2nd, and named after his wife that he divorced not too long after the cities founding. The city lay at the junture of 2 major trade routes. The road that ran east to west from Ephesus and a road that ran north to south from Pergamum to the Mediterranean Sea. Because of this location, the city became a major hub of commerce And wealth.

They generated so much wealth that in 60 AD, when a massive earthquake destroyed half the city, they refused aid from the Roman government stating that they would rebuild the city themselves.

The city was also known for their luxurious black wool that would be turned into clothing and rugs, This wool was highly coveted in Greece and Rome.

The city had a school of Ophthalmology which is the medical specialty that focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders and vision. They had produced an eye salve that had medicinal purposes that was used all throughout the Greco-Roman world.

They were also known for their poor water supply. Laodicea was built on a plateau a couple hundred feet in the air. This made it near impregnable by military force, but it did not have a water supply so it had to pipe water from a few miles away. By the time the water reached the city it was tepid and gross. Imagine having such a lavished city, but having bad water. The city of Heirapolis was known for their hot springs that gave hot relaxing baths, the city of Colossae was known for its crisp, cool waters. Laodicea’s water was detestable, lukewarm. Good for nothing really.

What a way to be remembered.

Now here is the issue that the church of Laodicea faced. Indifference. I cannot describe to you the pain it brings when you work, and scheme, and toil to produce an activity to reach out to students and benefit them then you send out the texts, you spend weeks reminding people, then you ask them face to face “hey, you gonna be there Friday night?” And they look at you, shrug their shoulders and say “eh. Maybe.” Indifference. What a poor way to view God’s church and her activities.

I will add this in again. If you come to church for 4 hours a week, you are giving up .02% of your weekly hours. The Lord gave you 168 hours a week to enjoy life, can we not give Him a fraction of our time back? I am not big on hunting people down and making them feel bad for missing out on church. I may let you know that we miss you, but ones choice to miss out on something has nothing to do with me, and all to with the condition of ones heart.

The church did not face persecution. They were fat and happy, sitting back and reclining. Comfortable. Indifferent. Souls were not being won, sacrifices were not being made, the scriptures were not being lived out, and they were content with that. They called themselves a church, might have even paraded the name as a church, but Jesus knew that they were no church at all.

Jesus said “I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot.”

He would rather you be hot or cold.

Some people say that being hot or cold referred to usefulness. The water in the nearby cities was either hot or cold, but it fit the purpose. The water in Laodicea was neither hot nor cold, and therefore was useless. They say Jesus is saying “Hey, you do not have a purpose. You are useless in the state you are in. Listen to my calling and do something.”

Some say that the hot are spiritually regenerated people who are on fire for the Lord. They are in their Bible, in the word regularly, they have a vibrant prayer life, they are active in their local church, and they uphold God’s word well in their lives. I like the sound of that.

They say that cold is the lost that reject the gospel. The ones who have heard, but they want nothing to do with the Lord. They are the extreme opposite of the hot, but they know it, and they are not hypocrites.

They say that the lukewarm is the person who may attend church, may do some good things, and on the outside appears to be a good person. Yet Jesus knows the true the internal and eternal state of that person. They are whitewashed tombs. Pretty on the outside, dead on the inside. Lukewarm

In my truck, you will find no shortage of water bottles. I usually drink a couple a day especially when I play basketball, or go to the gym. Every couple of days I will gather all my little empty bottles, transfer them into a plastic bag, and discard them in the trash. Sometimes though, prior to my cleaning, when I toss my fresh water bottles into the passenger seat to take off on my activities, my bottles will become mixed amongst half empty bottles from previous excursions. You can imagine with the heat of the summer, the disgust I would face when I reached over to grab the water bottle I was drinking on only to grab one from a few days prior, and take a big drink of warm water. It does not get swallowed, is projected out of my mouth.

The Greek meaning of the word spew used here in the scripture is to vomit.

Some churches make the Lord weep. Some make Him angry. Laodicea made Him sick.

Laodicea came to a point where they felt they had no need for God. They were rich, the world needed them, they were self sufficient having no need for anything, but they were spiritually blind, poor, and wretched.

How did Laodicea come to a place where they were called detestable by Jesus? Pride.

When the earthquake destroyed the city, they were swelled with pride to tell the government “we’ve got this” maybe the church had come to a point they thought they had no real need for Jesus and they were good on their own. They thought they could handle it. They were untouchable. How Prideful

Maybe it was material affluence. Laodicea was full of rich people. It was a bustling city of commerce. In Mark 10:23–25 “And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”” Sometimes material affluence can blind us to our spiritual blindness.

Whatever the reason may have been, the church was VERY far from the Lord

Jesus said…

Buy from me gold (hitting at their wealth) refined by fire that is purified of its corruption.

Buy from me white (pure) garments (hitting at their wool trade) so that you may cloak your shame.

Buy from me salve (hitting at the salve trade) to anoint your eyes so that you may see your corruption and spiritual bankruptcy.

They had become indifferent, apathetic in their faith, and spiritually blind.

2 Corinthians 8:9 “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.”

Pride, indifference, self sufficiency is not the goal of the gospel. Humility, purity, devotion, love of the Father. That is what the Lord wants. That is the goal of the gospel.

Finally, Jesus issues them restoration.

Jesus said in verse 20, an iconic verse of scripture “I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him and he with me.”

Imagine a church with all of its resources, and its people, in a city of beauty and grandeur… but it has pushed Jesus out and shut the door on Him. Imagine Jesus, the HEAD OF THE CHURCH having to stand outside and knock for someone to let Him in.

They abandoned Him. Do you think that is possible in church today? Do you think that is possible in your life? Have you pushed Jesus out? Have you put Him in a back corner to where He has to compete for out love and attention? Have you pushed Jesus out to where He has to knock and see if some part of you will listen? He’s trying to get your attention.

A few things to look at.

1. Jesus is patient, but He wants to be in your life. He deserves to be the center, and if anything is taking His place then you see who your god really is.

2. Jesus is merciful and gracious. He knocks, and ANYONE who will listen He will come in and have fellowship and make all things new.

3. Some may hear, but they will ignore the knocks. Please don’t be one of those people.

I know we don’t have question to fill out today, but I do want you to take inventor of your lives. So here are a couple of questions to write down.

Am I truly saved, or am I just going through the motions comfortably?

2. Is there anything in my life that is taking place as Lord over Jesus Christ

3. Am I hot, am I cold, or am I lukewarm when I comes to following Jesus?