Plot Of The Sermon
* TEXT: Revelation 3:1-6
* TITLE: “What’s in a Name” or “” or “”
* AUDIENCE: Cornerstone CC
* OCCASION: Sunday, October 21 – 6th sermon in our primary Fall series.
* SERMON-SERIES CONTEXT: “Letters from Heaven: A Pat on the Back and a Kick in the Pants.” This series revolves around the “messages” (they are written messages, so therefore “letters” are an appropriate label in my opinion) given by the One like a Son of Man to the seven churches in Asia Minor. After an introductory look at the letters as a whole, we will spend 7 weeks on the 7 churches. Each week, we will treat the letter as we do a normal NT letter—exegeting/applying the message to our world today. We will read them through 2 related grids (one corporate and one individual): (1) characteristics of what Christ wants the church to be and (2) characteristics of those who are overcomers. Then, in the last week of the series, we will focus on WWJW2US (what would Jesus write to us?). Following is the chart of these
| CITY | THREAT WE MUST OVERCOME | KEY TO VICTORY (“If we are going to overcome …” |
| Ephesus | We can forget the main thing: our relationship with God. | “… we must work at keeping our relationship with Him first.” |
| Smyrna | Suffering tempts us to turn our backs on Christ. | “… we must keep holding on to Christ.” |
| Pergamum | cultural compromise: false teaching that leads to unholy behavior (false teaching that threatens our conduct, doctrine or worldview) | “… we must remain committed to His truth.” |
| Thyatira | cultural compromise: false teaching that leads to unholy behavior | “ … we must choose to live a holy life.” |
| Sardis | complacency that leads to nominal Christianity | “ … we must pay attention to our spiritual condition.” |
| Philadelphia | The consequences of being faithful can make it difficult to remain faithful. | “ … we must let tomorrow impact today.” |
| Laodicea | “ … we .” |
* DOMINANT THOUGHT: Go.
* OBJECTIVES: (I want the audience to ...)
HEAD: ... go.
HEART: ... go.
HANDS: ... go.
* MAIN AIM: After this sermon is over, I want my audience to RESOLVE IN THEIR HEARTS TO REMAIN FAITHFUL!!!
* FORM OF THE SERMON: Go.
SERMON OUTLINE
INTRODUCTION
THROUGH THE TEXT
THE THREAT WE HAVE TO OVERCOME IF WE ARE GOING TO OVERCOME:
· GO
KEY(S) TO VICTORY
- Shuffle through the pictures of the cranes
o Quite often, we find ourselves in over our heads—thinking we can do things on our own that we really can’t.
- That becomes a problem when it comes to our spiritual lives.
o That’s a key theme as we turn to the 7th of 7 letters in Rev. 2-3.
§ The letter to the church in Laodicea beginning in 3.14.
SERIES OF SERMONS:
- Last week that we’ll be looking at a specific message. Next week, we’ll spend one final week looking at the message we need to hear.
o Let’s dig into this final message …
- Obviously as we read through this text, there are some major issues going on.
o Last week, we looked at a positive/encouraging message from Jesus.
§ This week, back to a rather in-your-face critique from J.
· It’s not difficult to tell that J has some harsh (but loving & true!!!) things to say to the Xns in Laodicea.
- There are two threats we need to wed together from this letter:
o Threat #1 = SELF-SUFFICIENCY (you see it in their claim in v. 17 & the general attitude in Laodicea).
§ The attitude of the church in Laodicea reminds me of a scene from the recent Disney movie CARS (set-up: race, not taking tires & play clip).
· Far too often our motto is the same: “BY MYSELF!!!” We look at ourselves as self-sufficient – a one-person show.
o We value our independence & pride ourselves in it …
§ Things I’ve done by myself proudly (dryer/gutters)
o We even train our children to be independent …
· The problem is when we transfer that attitude over to our spiritual lives (ELAB – Xnty based on we are desperately in need of G’s help)
§ This is the root problem in Laodicea. Their material wealth caused them to see themselves as self-reliant & independent in need of no help …
· Scary to me that this message is one that resonates so well w/ the situation in American churches today:
o A place of great wealth (even the poor here…)
o b/c of that wealth, independence & self-reliance (hard to trust G for our daily bread when pantry/freezer …)
§ We see ourselves as self-sufficient, we can do it “by ourselves” & that is a big problem.
o That self-sufficiency leads to our 2nd threat = INEFFECTIVENESS. This “by myself” mentality makes us unable to be/do what G wants us to be/do.
§ As we established as we looked in the letter—that’s the emphasis of the imagery of being “lukewarm.”
· Lukewarm water was useless, good for nothing. It symbolized the barrenness of the Xnty of the Laodiceans.
§ J’s language for what will happen as a result of this is powerful: J threatens to vomit them out – surely a symbol for G’s judgment.
· It reminds me of imagery J uses in John 15 – where there also J threatens those who have barren works (RD 15.5-6)
o J is serious in regards to His people who claim to belong to Him, but bear no fruit & are ineffective.
§ As I thought about this idea this week, I thought how similar it is to what we often do with items that are no longer doing their job: we get rid of them.
· A broken kitchen appliance … A car that no longer runs well …
· An old pair of socks that has holes in it … ON AND ON
o When things are no longer effective, we see no need to keep them around. It seems as if J sees things the same way.
o J is quite serious: if you are relying on yourself, you’re going to wind up in a heap of trouble. That’s why J offers a solution—a way to overcome this threat.
- In this text, there are a series of calls that Jesus lays out for His people in Laodicea.
o There are 4 such keys to victories I want to identify.
1) If we are going to overcome, we must recognize the gravity of the situation & repent.
- That’s the message of v. 19: “be earnest and repent.”
o It’s a call to take this seriously and respond – URGENCY!!
§ One of the chief goals of this book and these letters—to wake up these churches to the seriousness of the present hour.
· To help them realize the time is short & we best not sleep …
o If you’re going down a path in life that is counter to what G desires for you: be earnest & repent!!
o If you’re thinking you’ll always have time: be earnest & repent!!
o If you’ve allowed yourself to slip into complacency: be earnest & repent!!
§ Don’t be caught off guard—recognize the gravity of the situation & repent.
2) If we are going to overcome, we must respond to His invitation.
- Verse 20 is such a tender picture of Jesus waiting to enter in.
o Made famous in this painting by artist Holman Hunt.
§ Jesus stands and waits for us to hear His voice & open the door.
- What we need to recognize is this: in its proper context, it’s not an invitation to salvation, but to repentance.
o This isn’t addressed to unbelievers, but to those who profess to follow Jesus.
§ J extends the offer to let Him in & experience intimate relationship (what the idea of eating together is all about – ELABORATE!!).
- J won’t force His way in—why in the painting, there’s no way to open it from the outside.
o He will wait and knock: it’s up to us to respond to His invitation for relationship.
3) If we are going to overcome, we must realize our own inadequacy.
- The problem w/ Xns in Laodicea is they had deceived themselves into thinking they were “all that & a bag of chips.”
o Their self-reliance had blinded themselves from their true condition.
§ Sometimes we have such a hard time being honest with ourselves and we cannot stand it when someone else points it out to us (PARROT JOKE).
o We may not like it, but when it comes to our spiritual condition: “we know…” We know what we’re really like …
§ And yet, the beauty of it is, God knows to & He isn’t dismayed by it all.
- The foundation of Xnty is that we are in desperate need for God to intervene. Sin has placed us in a royal mess and we are unable to get ourselves out of it.
o What G is waiting for us to realize how inadequate we are on our own.
- In recovery groups, one of the most important realizations is that there is a problem.
o As Xns, it is the same: “My name is Matt & I am spiritually inadequate …”
§ That is an important step in our relationship w/ God: to realize our own inadequacies
4) If we are going to overcome, we must we rely on Him.
- This is the crux of v. 18. This is how we address the root issue of self-sufficiency.
o “Buy from me” J says – He is the true source of all that we need.
§ We need forgiveness – we can only get it in Him.
§ We need power to live for Him – we can only get it in Him.
§ We need hope – we can only get it in Him.
§ We need strength to overcome temptation – we can only get it in Him.
§ We need Truth to guide us – we can only get it in Him.
§ We need … we need … we need …
· The claim of the Laodiceans was we don’t need anything. The truth is we need … we need … we need.
- The contrast could not be any clearer: What we value in our culture = independence. What God values = dependence on Him
o It goes against the grain of what we think …
§ And yet, God so desperately wants us to come to Him & depend on Him
- JOY Club a few weeks ago – a fan, trying to get it going w/out plugging it in.
o That’s what we’re like when we try to go about life independently! We miss out on what God is willing/ready/able to provide.
- Father/child relationship – God and us; Me and my kids
- Go
- Go