Laodicea

There is a saying that you should never preach what you aren’t living. That is wisdom as it prevents you from being a hypocrite. But the problem with that as a pastor is that I have to reduce the standard of the preaching of God’s word to the level of my own personal sanctification. The result is that I don’t give you all the raw, unfiltered truth, I give you merely the level of truth that I am presently living up to.

I want you to know that this message came first as a rebuke to me. The sword has cut me first. I have wept in private first. I have beat my chest in mourning first. I have asked the Lord to change me first.

But this message is not just for me. It is for us.

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.’ ”

This is a Message to a Community

This letter from Jesus that was prophetically given to Laodicea was not a personal rebuke to an individual, it was a rebuke to a community to address a climate of lukewarmness. Lukewarmness in a community is often a reflection of the leadership.

Notice the address, “to the angel.” The word “angel” means messenger and could be understood as a message to the leaders. This is a public rebuke to the leaders of the church, and to the church itself.

Who is Speaking?

Revelation 3:14 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.

To accurately understand any message, you must know the identity of the one speaking. For instance, when my wife says, “I love you,” she means something very different than when my parents speak to me the very same words.

In order to accurately understand this message from the Lord, we should take into account who He is introducing Himself as.

The Amen

Where Laodicea was neither hot nor cold, Jesus is THE AMEN.

2 Corinthians 1:15–20 ESV

Because I was sure of this, I wanted to come to you first, so that you might have a second experience of grace. I wanted to visit you on my way to Macedonia, and to come back to you from Macedonia and have you send me on my way to Judea. Was I vacillating when I wanted to do this? Do I make my plans according to the flesh, ready to say “Yes, yes” and “No, no” at the same time? As surely as God is faithful, our word to you has not been Yes and No. For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not Yes and No, but in him it is always Yes. For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.

Here Paul is applying the instructions of Jesus on the sermon on the mount to His own integrity in his dealings with the Corinthian church. It meant something to him to fulfill his promises because he serves the one who is the Amen of God.

Remember Søren Kierkegaard’s definition of purity of heart: “To will one thing.”

In the opening of His address to the Laodicean church, He indicts them, not through direct reproof, but through standing as a contrast to their divided loyalties.

The Beginning of God’s Creation

Here again, the introduction of Jesus’ identity testifies as a rebuke to the Laodicean church. They are neither hot, nor cold, and Jesus stands as the beginning or source of all created things.

Colossians 1:15–20 ESV

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

All power belongs to him! Paul would later explain this in his Colossian hymn: he is the Creator: “For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities” (1:16). All things were created by him. Every speck of cosmic dust in the universe is his creation—everything! He is the Sustainer: “He is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (1:17). Scientists spend thousands of hours every year plumbing this mystery. He is the atomic glue of the universe. He is the Goal: “[A]ll things were created by him and for him” (1:16b). He is Creator, Sustainer, Goal, and Savior of the soul!

R. Kent Hughes

God knows instantly and effortlessly all matter and all matters, all mind and every mind, all spirit and all spirits, all being and every being, all creaturehood and all creatures, every plurality and all pluralities, all law and every law, all relations, all causes, all thoughts, all mysteries, all enigmas, all feeling, all desires, every unuttered secret, all thrones and dominions, all personalities, all things visible and invisible in heaven and in earth, motion, space, time, life, death, good, evil, heaven, and hell.19

A. W. Tozer

Use temporal things but desire eternal things. You cannot be satisfied with any temporal goods because you were not created to enjoy them. Even if you possessed all created things you could not be happy and blessed; for in God, Who created all these things, your whole blessedness and happiness consists.

Thomas à Kempis (Ascetical Writer)

Jesus is the divine Logos. He is the mystery of all creation. The purpose of all creation finds it’s end in Him! All treasures of wisdom and knowledge are in Him. To live life without the joy of knowing Him is to waste your life.

We often piddle away our days on worthless pursuits and vain worries. Worry is often the result of false priority. Jesus truly is all that matters.

“Devote hours of your day to prayer. Press in on Christ—if I can put it that way—and be persistent. Show up at His door often; don’t let Him rest without hearing from you. I promise you, He will let Himself be found. Oh, what sweet fellowship there is between us! I may be imprisoned, but He is not. He has overwhelmed me with His kindness. He came into my prison and stole away my heart—all my love. And He’s welcome to it! I pray no one else ever owns my heart but Christ. Away with all those old loves that kept us apart for so long! We won’t be separated again. He and I will be heard together before I ever let go of Him. I’m resolved to wrestle with Christ until He blesses me. But oh—my love for Him has set my soul ablaze, and there’s no cure for this burning except to have Him fully and forever. O strong, strong love of Jesus—you’ve pierced my heart with your arrows! Oh, the pain, the sweet pain of loving Christ! Who will help me praise Him as He deserves?” -Samuel Rutherford, letter to Lady Jean Gordon

The Rebuke

Revelation 3:15–17 ESV

“ ‘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.

The water in Laodicea was the butt of many jokes. In Colossea they had cold, refreshing water. In other cities they had hot water for bathing. Laodicea had water flowing through five miles of aquaducts before it reached the city and it was known for being nasty. In spite of the wealth and opulence of the city, the most fundamental element for life was lukewarm and tepid water is a breeding ground for disease.

Jesus is telling the Laodicean church that their works are like their water. Their divided loyalty causes their works to be useless and Jesus said it makes Him sick. The word “spit” here also means “vomit.”

Heart is Revealed by Works

He connects their works to their complacency of heart:

“I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing.”

This is the opposite of the “poor in spirit” attitude that Jesus calls us to in the Sermon on the Mount.

Instead, Jesus calls them our for what they really are.

Many of us think that God only ever thinks good things about us. We mistake Jesus’ love for His constant approval. The current Christian culture is full of positive affirmations of God’s constant approval. “God sees me as perfect.” says the occasional motivational post on Instagram.

“My identity is in Christ and He is perfect.” Could we stand before the faithful and true witness with such a cavalier attitude? Do we truly come to Him to ask Him how He truly sees us? If we believe the picture is always rosy, I would suggest we aren’t really coming to Jesus.

When your God never rebukes you, beware, your God is you. You’re worshipping a mirror!

What did Jesus say to the the Laodiceans who saw themselves as self-sufficient?

You are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, naked.

The Laodicean church was to God an object of pity. He didn’t hate them, He had pity on them. These weren’t terms of contempt, they were terms of pity and compassion.

Jesus consoles the Laodicean church with His love, “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline.”

His discipline is His love!

The Invitation

Revelation 3:18–20 ESV

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.

Buy His Gold, Wear His Clothes, Adopt His Perspective

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible Chapter 3

He graciously stoops to their modes of thought and speech: Thou art a people ready to listen to any counsel as to how to buy to advantage; then, listen to My counsel (for I am “Counsellor,”

Notice the three elements that Jesus is offering:

Pure gold represents real value. Where what you thought was valuable has been revealed as worthless because it was merely the work of your own self-reliance. Jesus counsels us to reject worthlessness and buy from Him that which is truly valuable.

He is offering us white garments of true righteousness to cover the shame of our self-righteousness.

He is offering us salve for our eyes so that we may truly see the state of our hearts and our lives. A cure for our blindness.

John 9:39–41 “Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.”

Those who bring to God their own self-importance are always turned away. Those who dress up in their own self-righteousness will stand before God naked and ashamed. Those who claim to see but are blind are judged as those who can see.

Isaiah 55:1–7 ESV

“Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David. Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples. Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know, and a nation that did not know you shall run to you, because of the Lord your God, and of the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you. “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

Eat With Him

Jesus’ ultimate invitation is that we stop being so busy that we cannot hear that someone is knocking at the door. Can you hear Him? His desire is to come and have fellowship with us but we’re too busy! We are too distracted! We are missing the important things because we have filled our lives with things that lack real value.

It’s time to slow down and open the door for Jesus. Be with Him. Eat with Him. Have fellowship with Him.

Luke 10:38–42 ESV

Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

Martha is running all around, running all around. It says she was anxious, merimnous, with much serving. The word literally means to have her mind divided and distracted and trying to get to too many goals.

Timothy Keller

God is calling us back to a single mind.

If Martha represents anything, she represents a person very much in full-time ministry, because what is she distracted with? She’s not distracted with secular work. She’s distracted with ministry to Jesus. Everything she is doing is for him.

Timothy Keller

We live too fast by half, we do too much and accomplish, therefore, too little. Medicine For The Distracted, Volume 19, Sermon #1116 - Psalm 94:19

Charles Spurgeon

For us to begin this new life of repentance and humility before God, we should humble ourselves at the altar of God.

James 4:8–10 ESV

Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.