Let Me Back In

Tomnolen Baptist Church Revival

February 9-12, 2025.

Message 1

Revelation 3:14-22.

Opening Comments:

Thank you for inviting me.

Revival is for believers, not unbelievers.

Revelation is written to believers to encourage them amidst persecution.

According to a 2019 survey of 2,500 Protestant church-goers, just over half of (59%) admitted to consistently reading the Bible at least a few times a week (32% read daily; 27% a few times a week). One in eight (12%) “admit they rarely or never read the Bible.” Further into the article reporting on the survey, 69% total agree that they think about biblical truths throughout the day. The numbers are congruent with the reading patterns. Of those who read daily, 51% reported thinking about biblical truths during the day; of those who read a few times weekly, 32% reported thinking about biblical truths during the day; of those who read once weekly or a few times monthly, 20% reported thinking about biblical truths during the day; of those who reported reading once a month or less, 9% reported thinking about biblical truths during the day. [1] The more one reads the Bible, the more one thinks about the Bible. Another article, reporting on a 2016 survey, reported more than half Americans admit to reading little or none of the Bible. [2] According to a third article, most (68%) Americans consider themselves Christians; yet, only about 33% are considered evangelical, and an even smaller amount (13%) have a biblical worldview. [3]

“Fewer in U.S. Now see Bible as Literal Word of God…A record low 20% of Americans now say that the Bible is the literal word of God, down form 24% the last time the question was asked in 2017, and half of what it was at its high points in 1980 and 1984. Meanwhile, a new high of 29% say the Bible is a collection of “fables, legends, history, and moral precepts recorded by man.” (Fewer in U.S. Now See Bible as Literal Word of God (gallup.com)

Robbie Gallaty, “We cannot know God apart from the Bible.” (Growing Up, pg., 85)

The text includes the following:

The diagnosis. [vv. 14-17]

You have been useless.

It is better to interpret the statement against the historical and geographical background of Laodicea. Hot, medicinal waters bubbled up at nearby Hierapolis, while cold, pure waters flowed from Colossae. Our Lord’s point to them is something like this: “You are providing neither healing for the spiritually sick nor refreshment for the spiritually thirsty. You are spiritually lukewarm, and I will not tolerate you. If you do not repent (v. 19), I will spew you out, vomit you out of My mouth. You are sickly and insipid. I will not tolerate your condition any longer. You are flat and unsavory. You badly misrepresent the life-changing power of the gospel and the refreshment and healing it brings.”(Akin, Daniel L. 2016. Exalting Jesus in Revelation. Edited by Daniel L. Akin, David Platt, and Tony Merida. Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary. Nashville, TN: Holman Reference.)

You are deceived. “You say ‘I am…’ and you don’t realize that you are…”

You say you are:

Rich

Wealthy

Need nothing

But you really are:

Exalting Jesus in Revelation Jesus Knows Who We Think We Are (3:17)

wretched—miserable, unfortunate; a word used of ravaged lands, devastated countries, pillaging

• pitiful—pitiable, the object of extreme pity

• poor—extreme poverty, like a beggar or pauper; a slap at a city that bragged of its wealth, commerce, and banking industry

• blind—a dig at a city that prided itself on its ophthalmic school and famous Phrygian eye powder

• naked—ridicule of a city that boasted of its famous glossy black wool (Rogers and Rienecker, Exegetical Key, 622).

The responsibility. [vv. 18-20a]

Notice what Jesus does— you think you are rich, but you are actually poor and needy. I have what you need:

Buy from me gold refined in the fire so you may be rich

The riches of Christ endure forever whereas material wealth fades.

White clothes so you may be dressed and not exposed

We need the righteousness of Christ to clothe us. Before Christ, we are exposed and naked.

Ointment to spread on your eyes so you may see

We need to look to the Gospel (The WORD) to determine our spiritual condition. Jesus is the Healer.

Be zealous— Be eager, earnest

Repent— change your mind about your situation, feel remourse

Let Jesus back in— open the door!

The promise. [vv. 20b-22]

He will feast with you [intimacy]

He will give you victory

Response:

[1] Have you become distasteful and useless to Jesus because you have not read the Bible?

[2] Have you kept Jesus out of your life with the deception of, “I pray”; “I’m a good person”; “I do good things and I avoid bad things”?

[3] Do you realize that often, what we claim as our highest, prized possession, is often what we lack the most of? Jesus is what we need. Not money; not fancy clothes; JESUS.

Consulted Resources (not in parenthetical references):

[1] Aaron Earls, “Few Protestant Churchgoers Read the Bible Daily” on LifeWay Research. July 2, 2019. Accessed December 30, 2023 (Nashville, TN: LifeWay Christian Resources, 2019), https://research.lifeway.com/2019/07/02/few-protestant-churchgoers-read-the-bible-daily/

[2] Bob Smietana. “Americans Are Fond of the Bible, Don’t Actually Read it” from Lifeway Research. Published April 25, 2017. (Nashville: Lifeway Research, 2017), https://research.lifeway.com/2017/04/25/lifeway-research-americans-are-fond-of-the-bible-dont-actually-read-it/

[3] Tracy F. Munsil. “Biblical Worldview Among U.S. Drops 33% Since Start of COVID-19 Pandemic” in Arizona Christian University. Published February 28, 2023.