Revelation Sermon - 10

Revelation: Knock, Knock

Revelation 3:14-22

1. Introduction – We’ve come to the last of the seven churches. And this letter is probably the most famous but it is also the harshest.

a. Jesus gives a scathing indictment of the church in Laodicea, because the church, like we’ve seen in previous weeks, had taken on the characteristics of the city around it.

i. And once again in this letter, Jesus draws on images from Laodicea’s everyday life in order to show the church how far they have fallen.

1. So, what’s going on in Laodicea?

2. The City – Of the 7 cities mentioned here in Revelation, Laodicea is the most prestigious. It was located in an area called the Lycus Valley and was part of an area known as the “Tri-City” region.

a. Together with Hierapolis and Colossae – Laodicea formed this well-known triangle of cities.

b. In the ancient world Laodicea was known for three things.

i. First – it was known as a banking centre. It was like the Wall Street of its day. The city had money – lots of money. In fact, the citizens individually had great wealth, and the church had a lot of money.

1. Laodicea prided itself on being self-sufficient. They didn’t need anything from anyone and they definitely didn’t need any help from the outside.

ii. Most famously, in AD 60 Laodicea along with other cities were completely wiped out by an earthquake.

1. But unlike the cities around them, Laodicea didn’t accept any monetary assistance from Rome.

a. Other cities accepted the disaster relief in order to rebuild, but Laodicea rebuilt its city purely on its own wealth and the wealth of its citizens.

iii. They needed nothing, they didn’t have any wants; they were entirely self-sufficient.

1. They were rich – and apparently this attitude made its way into the church.

c. Laodicea was also famous for its textile industry. In particular, for the shiny black wool from its sheep.

i. Think of it this way – Laodicea was the fashion centre of the ancient world. Like Paris or New York.

1. Everyone wanted to the clothes that were made, displayed and worn in Laodicea.

d. Even more than that – Laodicea was also famous in the ancient world for its school of ophthalmology – and in particular for a ‘miracle’ eye salve that was produced there.

i. It was a cure for many types of eye ailments.

1. So, here’s the city – wealthy, well-dressed with a famous medical school…sounds like a happening city. Sounds like the church might be well off.

3. Jesus’ Words – So try to image their shock and dismay when Jesus writes to this church and says to them, “You’re miserable and wretched.

a. I can sense their reaction. “No, no…you’re mistaken. We’re elite and prestigious.” In their own eyes they were, but Jesus has a different verdict.

i. Imagine how this affluent church felt when Jesus said, “You’re poor.”

1. “No, no – look at our bank statement. Look at our bottom line! We’ve got money!”

a. Yes, they were physically wealthy, but Jesus says they are spiritual poor.

i. Laodicea was in the exact opposite situation as Smyrna – the Smyrneans were physically poor but spiritually rich. The Laodiceans on the other hand – were physically rich but spiritually poor. We don’t have to guess which one Jesus prefers.

b. Imagine the shame of this church when Jesus says to them, “You’re naked.” “No, no, Jesus, we’re the fashion centre of the empire. Everyone wants to wear the clothes we make and are wearing.”

i. We’re the best dressed church in Asia.

a. But Jesus informs them that they are not clothed with the right type of clothing.

i. They need to be clothed in righteousness.

c. And you can probably see where I’m going with this – Jesus says to this church. “You’re blind.”

i. “But Jesus,” the church replies, “We have the best and most effective eye salve in the history of the world. We can treat blindness.”

1. It can cure all sorts of eye maladies.

a. But in Jesus’ divine assessment of this church, he informs them that they have spiritual blindness.

i. They are blind to the fact that they’re wretched, miserable, spiritually poor, and dressed in iniquity.

4. Lukewarm - So what was it that caused Jesus to come down so harshly on this church?

a. Well, Jesus tells them that they are lukewarm. And if we want to understand this term ‘lukewarm’ correctly, we have to know what Jesus is referring to.

b. You see, for all its strengths and all the good things the city of Laodicea has going for it – it had one major flaw – it lacked its own water supply.

i. It was built along roads and highways – not natural resources, so water had to be brought into the city via aqueducts.

1. And by the time the water made it into the city it was lukewarm and putrid.

c. Remember how I said Laodicea was part of a tri-city region with Hierapolis and Colossae? Well, Hierapolis was famous for its hot springs – and these hot springs were thought to have some medicinal qualities to them.

i. And the water flowed out of these hot springs, it made its way past Laodicea and down to Colossae – where it had cooled off, and Colossae was famous its clear, refreshingly cool water.

1. But in the middle was poor Laodicea, not on the path of the river.

a. So, having to pipe water in meant that by the time the water made it to the city – it was useless. It either had to be heated up again or left in the shade to cool down.

i. In other words – the water was lukewarm and useless.

d. This is what Jesus is referencing when he uses the terms ‘hot,’ ‘cold,’ and ‘lukewarm.’ Both hot and cold are good and useful – lukewarm is good only for spitting out.

i. In spiritual terms, a popular interpretation is that Jesus is saying it’s better to be a stone-cold atheist than to be a lukewarm Christian.

1. But that’s not what he’s saying at all, and when we understand the water situation in Laodicea, we get the full impact of Jesus’ statement.

e. It’s not that ‘hot’ represents an on fire and zealous Christian – cold represents those opposed to God and lukewarm are the indifferent ones.

i. In Jesus’ analogy, both hot and cold are good – they are not opposites. Like hot and cold water, both are useful for something, but Jesus compares the church in Laodicea to its well-known water problem and he gives this church a scathing review.

f. “You’re lukewarm. You’re not providing healing like the hot, medicinal water of Hierapolis. You’re not providing refreshment like the cold water of Colossae.

i. You guys are putrid – useless. Like the dirty sediment filled, lukewarm water of your city – your church is useless.

1. In modern English, Jesus’ review of this church is so serious it would sound like this; “You make me want to barf.”

a. And if that’s appalling, offensive or shocking to you – then maybe for the first time you’re realizing how series the situation in Laodicea really was. It’s not a laughing matter, it wasn’t to be taken lightly – they made Jesus sick.

g. They were blind to the fact they were blind. And that’s the thing about lukewarmness, you don’t know that you’re lukewarm until someone else points it out to you.

i. But what happened in Laodicea, the church had taken on characteristics of the city around it.

1. Their church was self-sufficient. “I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing.”

a. That could have been the church’s mission statement and apparently, they lived it – they didn’t need or want any outside help…not even from Jesus.

5. Solution – And what we’ve seen in this journey through the 7 churches is that Jesus assess what’s going in each church, and he always offers encouragement and hope…and Laodicea is no different.

a. How does Jesus counsel this wretched, putrid, sickening church? Well, pay close attention because what we have in this letter is nothing but pure and undeserved grace.

i. You guys make me sick, Jesus says – but what does he do? Abandon them? Nope – he actually moves closer to them.

1. Jesus says to this church that supposedly had everything – buy my goods.

a. Buy from me, not physical gold, but a life that is purified by God’s fire.

ii. Instead of the fancy haute couture clothes you are used to wearing – clothe yourselves in white.

1. And as we’ve seen in the past few weeks, white is the colour that represents righteousness.

a. Clothe yourselves in righteousness.

iii. And Jesus says that they need his eye ointment because it is the only cure for the spiritual blindness they are experiencing.

b. It seems like Jesus isn’t pulling any punches here. He is really taking this church to task for the compromises they have made.

i. But in v.19 we see why Jesus does this. We have to understand the tone of this letter.

1. It was not dictated in anger; he wasn’t trying to ream out a useless church.

a. It wasn’t dictated out of vengeance. “I’m going to give it to them.”

c. No, this letter was dictated with a voice of love. Picture this – as Jesus is dictated this letter to John, I picture his voice quivering, his tone soft and loving.

i. Because the truth is sometimes, rebuke and discipline can be a loving act.

1. As a parent, it’s not a loving thing to never discipline your children. Love is showing them that there’s a right and wrong way to behave and they are consequences for disobedience.

a. And God as our Father, and Jesus as our Saviour – discipline us when we go off the rails. Because as humans, even after we come to Christ, still have a propensity to sin – we still need to repent; that command is given to 6 of the 7 churches.

i. People who are already Christians and who are already going to church – still need to repent – to feel the deep sorrow that comes with sinning against God.

1. And because God loves us, yes he will forgive us when we repent, but he also disciplines, but he does it with the loving hand of a Father. God corrects us when we disobey him.

a. Not in a mean, angry, vengeful way – but it is an act of love, in order to bring us into a closer relationship.

6. Knock, Knock – And then something more amazing happens. Jesus moves even closer to them.

a. Jesus is no longer in the marketplace – Jesus is standing at the door… knocking.

i. The imagery is quite poignant. Jesus is standing at the door knocking – meaning he is on the outside of the church.

1. The image being that this church is so self-sufficient that they think they don’t even need Jesus.

b. But this is the ultimate cure for their lukewarmness. Their church is going through the motions – they have all the outward trappings of a church, but they are lifeless, loveless and complacent – they are lukewarm.

i. And they are lukewarm because they have excluded the source of life and hope and love. They’ve excluded the Amen and the beginning.

c. And look at what will happen if they just open the door for him – they will share a meal together.

i. This verse, “Behold I stand at the door and knock,” is often used at evangelistic rallies…and appropriately so.

1. It’s true that Jesus stands at the door of our hearts and he is knocking – he wants to come into the house of life and be our Saviour and Lord.

d. But look at the context – these words, “Behold I stand at the door and knock…” they were originally spoken to a church…to Christians – at least to people who thought they were Christian.

i. They were a self-sufficient church, much like the society in which they operated. They didn’t need help from anyone, including Jesus.

1. But as long as Jesus was standing on the outside knocking, they would continue to be lifeless, and useless – going through the motions of church but being putrid, like their city’s own lukewarm water.

7. Application – So as a church today in 2018, we have to make sure that we aren’t diluted into thinking we are self-sufficient.

a. If we have been lukewarm, there’s time for us to become useful again.

i. We have to make sure that Jesus is at the centre of everything we do and everything we stand for.

1. Jesus has to be the centre of our worship, our ministries and our fellowship.

a. The glory of Jesus’ name has to be at the centre of who we are and what we do as a church.

i. And while this letter is address to a whole church body, it can most definitely be applied at a personal level.

b. Maybe, you’re here this morning and you’re realizing that Jesus is standing at the door of your heart and he is knocking.

i. Maybe you’ve never let him…will you do that this morning? Let him in; open the door and allow him to be Lord of your life.

c. Or maybe you opened the door a long time ago, but the hot has cooled down and the cool has become tepid.

i. The cares and worries of this life pushed Jesus out of the door. There was no more room for Jesus.

1. But know this, Jesus has not given up on you. He has not walked away from you. He’s still there, standing at the door – knocking; he’s waiting patiently for you to open it.

ii. He will not kick the door in. He waits for you to open it up for him and allow him access to your life.

1. If this is you…open the door back up. Allow Jesus back into the house of your life and renew your relationship with him.

d. Or maybe this is you. You’ve let Jesus in the door of your life, but he’s only standing at the front entrance.

i. There are still rooms in the house of your life that Jesus has not entered. Those doors ae still shut.

1. But here’s Jesus, he is standing at those closed doors of your life and he is knocking.

a. Jesus doesn’t want to be Lord of your entry way – Lord of only one part of your life.

i. No, he wants to be Lord of your whole life. So, open those closed doors to him.

e. Will you open that door that says “office” and let him be Lord in your workplace? Open the door labeled ‘family.’ Let him the room called ‘money’ and allow him to be Lord of your finances.

i. Open the rooms called ‘hopes,’ ‘dreams,’ and ‘fears.’ Let him through the doors labeled “anger,’ ‘resentment,’ ‘bitterness,’ ‘depression,’ ‘wounds’ and allow Jesus to apply his healing balm to those areas of your life.

1. Hand over those parts of your life to Jesus. Will you do that this morning?

8. Conclusion – There is only one cure for the hopelessness of life. There is only one cure the nauseating sin of lukewarmness – admit or re-admit the excluded Jesus.

a. He is standing at all the closed doors of your life – knocking. He is patiently waiting for you let him in and for you to allow him to take control of your whole life.

i. Let him in. open the closed doors and covenant Jesus. Have intimate fellowship with him and share in his victory.