Living in the Last Days (8)

“How to avoid making Jesus Sick”

Revelation 3:14–22 KJV 1900

And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

I. Intro

Remember, the seven churches in Revelation represent the various spiritual conditions of all churches until Jesus returns. They also represent seven types of Christians, one of which is much like you and I. Therefore, you need to find yourself in one or more of the seven churches to see where you are spiritually, and what you need to do to grow spiritually. We will now visit the final of the seven churches, the church at Laodicea. The letter to this church reveals how to avoid making Jesus sick, which requires 4 actions. As with some of the previous churches, the Lord adapted His words to something significant about the city in which the assembly was located. In this case, Laodicea was known for its wealth and its manufacture of a special eye salve, as well as of a glossy black wool cloth. It was also located near Hieropolis where there were famous hot springs, and Colossae, known for its pure, cold water.

II.Concentrate on Jesus’ character and power

Our Lord now writes to the angel, or pastor of the church at Laodicea. Laodicea was about 45 miles southeast of Philadelphia, and about 100 miles east of Ephesus. Laodicea was the wealthiest of the seven cities; therefore, this is the richest of the seven churches. The city was famous for expensive, rare black wool and eye salve that was believed to cure eye problems. Our Lord introduces Himself to this church as the ‘Amen.’ The word translated ‘Amen’ is the Hebrew word for “truth” and refers to that which is fixed, unchangeable, and trustworthy. The phrase “the faithful and true witness” simply explains the title ‘Amen.’ More than 70 times in the gospels Jesus uses the word ‘verily.’ (Amen) One of the most important times is in John 3:3 “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Jesus is also the beginning of the creation of God. This means He is the “Origin” or “Source” of creation. To avoid making Jesus sick, concentrate on Jesus’ character and power because He is the Amen, the faithful and true witness and the Source of all creation.

III. Eliminate self-righteousness

As with the other churches, Jesus says, “I know thy works.” He then usually has words of praise. However, our Lord has nothing good to say about the church at Laodicea. The city of Laodicea always had water problems. It was part of a tri-city community that included Colossae, about ten miles east, and Hierapolis six miles north. The city of Hierapolis, like Hot Springs, was famous for its hot mineral springs. An aqueduct was built to bring the hot mineral water to Laodicea. Since the water had to travel several miles before it reached the city, it wasn’t hot enough to bathe in and had too many minerals to drink. Therefore, they got their drinking water from Colossae, which had good, cold drinking water. However, by the time the water got to Laodicea, it was lukewarm, not cold and refreshing as it was in Colossae. The lukewarm water was useless until something was done to change its condition or temperature. Therefore, Jesus says he wishes they were either cold nor hot. The context of the word ‘lukewarm’ seems to suggest the people in the church have some degree of interest in the things of God-they go to church and even profess to be Christians. No one is more difficult to reach than a lukewarm person who is moral and just religious enough to go to worship services. Prostitutes, murderers, and adulterers will see their need for Christ much easier than the lukewarm, self-righteous, moral person. Therefore, Jesus says He will spue thee out of His mouth. The word translated ‘spue’ (emeo) [em-eh-oh] means “vomit.” Therefore, their self-righteousness makes Him sick. Our Lord gives us a description of their nauseating self-righteousness. ‘Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing.’ The self-righteous Laodiceans thought since they were rich, they didn’t need anything, not even the righteousness found only in Christ. Though they wear impressive, expensive clothing (like the dark wool) to church, they are naked and poor in God’s sight. Even though Laodicea was famous for its healing eye salve, because of their self-righteousness, they are blind to their spiritual poverty. To avoid making Jesus sick, concentrate on Jesus’ character and power, eliminate self-righteousness, and evaluate Jesus’ offer.

IV. Evaluate Jesus’ Offer

The commands of our Lord correspond to the spiritual condition of the Laodiceans. Therefore, He counsels them to buy from Him gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich. The verb ‘buy’ doesn’t mean salvation or spiritual blessings can be purchased or earned. We receive salvation by grace as a gift from God. Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Jesus exhorts then to buy from Him gold tried in the fire. Spiritually, they only have “fools gold,” but His gold is genuine because it has been refined by fire. It represents genuine salvation that has been proven genuine through testing. 1 Peter 1:7 “That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:” Christ tells the Laodiceans that He has salve to put on their eyes so they can see their spiritual condition. In the Bible, blindness often represents being blind to spiritual truth and one’s spiritual condition. The reason lost people can’t understand spiritual truth or see their true spiritual condition is found in 2 Corinthians 4:4 “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” Only Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit, can cause the spiritually blind to see the spiritual truth. Jesus continues, ‘As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore and repent.’ This doesn’t mean the Laodiceans were believers, because they lacked genuine spiritual gold, garments of Christ’s righteousness, and spiritual salve so they could see spiritual truth. Fortunately for them and everyone, Christ’s love extends to the lost. John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

V. Participate in Jesus’ Invitation

The next verse makes it clear Jesus is not inside the church but on the outside. He says, ‘Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.’ This is an invitation to a church. However, salvation is always personal and individual. If anyone, just one person, would open the door of his or her heart, Christ would enter into that heart in the person of the Holy Spirit. Then, because of that one individual, Christ would be in the church. Christ’s being outside indicates there was not a single true believer in the Laodicean church. Romans 8:9 “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” Although the invitation is to an entire church, the decision must be made individually. To anyone who opens the door of his heart, Christ will come in to him and will sup with him. This is a picture of intimate fellowship. To those who open the door, and receive Him as Saviour and Lord, He promises: ‘To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in His throne.’ This doesn’t refer to a literal, huge throne where all believers will sit with Christ. The word ‘throne’ means we will share in Christ’s reign. If we suffer, as all believers do, we shall also reign with Him. 2 Timothy 2:12 “If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:” Many people who attend church every Sunday are like the Laodiceans because they are not true believers. As with the other six churches, Jesus ends by telling everyone who has ears to hear what He says through the Spirit to the seven churches. To avoid making Jesus sick, concentrate on Jesus’ character and power, eliminate self-righteousness, evaluate Jesus’ offer, and participate in Jesus’ invitation.

VI. Conclusion

A young pastor asked an older pastor, “Why is it that new Christians create problems in the church?” The older pastor responded, “They don’t create problems, they reveal them. The problems have always been there, but we’ve gotten used to them. New Christians are like children in the home: they tell the truth about things.”

The church at Laodicea was blind to its own needs and unwilling to face the truth. Yet honesty is the beginning of true blessing, as we admit what we are, confess our sins, and receive from God all that we need. If we want God’s best for our lives and our churches, we must be honest with God and let God be honest with us. The letters to the seven churches are God’s X-Rays, given to us so that we might examine our own lives and ministries. Judgment is going to come to this world, but it first begins at God’s house. 1 Peter 4:17 “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?” In these letters, we find encouragement as well as rebuke. May the Lord help us to hear what the Spirit is saying today to the church, and to the individuals in the churches.