Sermon Tone Analysis
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Intro:
Good morning.
If you have your Bible/app, turn to .
We are finally on the seventh and final letter Jesus writes to the churches in Asia Minor.
After this, we will begin to move a little quicker through the book of Revelation.
Out of all seven letters Jesus writes, the contents of this letter are probably the most familiar to public.
This morning, we are going to look at the church of Laodicea.
Now, when most people think about Laodicea, they think of these verses...
Rev.
And when we hear this, some of us remember being taught: This is Jesus talking to a lukewarm church.
They may not even be a real church.
They’re pretending.
And Jesus is saying, “I wish you were either hot (an on-fire Christian) or cold (not even a Christian at all).”
And the application is: Be on-fire for God! Stop being lukewarm!
Otherwise, Jesus is going to spit you out!
That makes sense.
I get it.
I like the application.
I want all of us to be on-fire Christians.
I don’t want us to be lukewarm.
I believe that aligns with what God wants for our lives.
That being said, I’m not so sure that’s what Jesus is intending to say here...
Football season is upon us.
Most of you know I love football.
My son Kade’s football season begins next week.
I’m really excited, especially since I’m helping coach this year.
Most of you also know I’m a New York Giant’s fan (Bryan, Kade and I are going to watch a training camp practice next week - super excited!).
But here in New England, the Giants aren’t the popular team.
New England is home to the Patriots.
Probably the most dominant team in recent history, winning 6 Superbowls under the leadership of Bill Belichick (coach) and Quarterback Tom Brady.
And over the years, the Patriots developed a saying, that summarizes what they believe as a team.
Anyone know what that is? No, not “cheat.”
It’s “Do Your Job.”
The Patriots have a culture of hard work, excellence, responsibility and accountability.
They believe if everyone simply “does their job,” they will win - no matter who’s playing.
Now, it doesn’t hurt when you have a genius coach and the greatest QB of all-time.
That being said, anyone who follows football knows the Patriots are always getting new players.
And very rarely do they have a lot superstars.
Yet, they continue to win Super Bowls.
Why?
They simply have people who know their responsibilities and execute them well.
They just “Do their job!”
And as Jesus writes to Laodicea, I believe this is what Jesus is saying to the church: DO YOUR JOB.
It’s not about being “hot” Christian or “cold” not Christian.
Jesus doesn’t want people to “be” cold.
He wants all to be saved.
,
Patriots - Do you job.
Great Quarterback and genius coach… but it’s their mantra that makes a huge impact.
It’s this message that Jesus gives to the church at Laodicea.
Exegesis:
The city of Laodicea was an extremely wealthy city.
Last week, I mentioned how the city of Philadelphia experienced a large earthquake that destroyed their city.
So much so, Philadelphia had to ask Rome to financially help the rebuilding effort.
Guess what?
That same earthquake also rocked Laodicea.
Only Laodicea didn’t need help.
Their city was destroyed too, but they didn’t need Rome’s stinkin help.
In fact, they boasted about how they rebuilt the entire city with their own money (and had plenty left over).
They were considered the wealthiest city in the area.
However, this wealthy city was missing one important thing: it’s own water supply.
They had to pipe their water in from the neighboring cities of Hierapolis and Colosse.
Hierapolis had hot water springs and Colosse had cold mountain water.
The problem is, by the time the water reached Laodicea, the hot water wasn’t hot and the cold water wasn’t warm - they were both lukewarm.
I’ve heard lukewarm water is actually good for your body.
It’s supposed to be easier for your body to absorb.
But has anyone ever drank lukewarm coffee when you expected it to be hot?
It’s like “Blah!” How about Gatorade?
I love the taste of ice cold Gatorade, especially after exercising.
You know what’s gross?
Lukewarm Gatorade.
It’s like you have this expectation: The coffee is supposed to be hot and the Gatorade is supposed to be cold.
But if both are lukewarm, it’s gross!
Why?
Neither are doing their JOB!
That’s what the Laodiceans knew all too well.
They were expecting hot water.
They had plans for their hot water.
So, it was really frustrating when it came in lukewarm.
They expected cold water from Colosse.
But after a hot day (like yesterday/today), they went to the water fountain, expecting cold refreshing water to hit their mouth, but it was lukewarm and gross - so they spit it out.
That’s the picture Jesus is painting.
Jesus isn’t saying I wish some of you were on-fire Christians and some of you weren’t Christians - I actually think that doesn’t make sense!
Why would JESUS wish people were not Christians?
That’s crazy.
No, what he’s saying is, “Do your job!” Be who you are supposed to be.
Be hot if you’re supposed to be, and be cold if you’re supposed to be!
That was the big problem in Laodicea.
The church wasn’t be the church.
They were blind to themselves.
Say, “We all have blindspots.”
Laodicea’s had a huge blindspots.
Verse 17 says...
They thought they had it goin’ on!
They were like, “We’re the best church!
Look at all the stuff we have.
We got no problems.
We are successful!
We need nothing!”
But, Jesus is like, “When I look at you, you have nothing.
You are completely blind and you don’t realize it.”
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