Sermon Tone Analysis

Textual Idea – Jesus has a message for the 7 local churches which typify churches today.

Transition w/ key word – Our text presents several common themes of Jesus message to the churches.

(Format modified from Lehman Strauss)

We note the:

The Assembly - The Author - The Approval - The Admonition - The Appeal - The Application -

Introduction - As you may be aware, my family and I lived in New Hampshire for 5 years while we planted and pastored Crossroads Church in Littleton NH.

One of the things we immediately noticed when we arrived up there was how refreshing and cold the tap water was coming right out of the tap.

Having lived in the RGV the first 13 years of our marriage, that was something we hadn’t experienced because of the South Texas heat.

You know brushing your teeth in lukewarm water isn’t very pleasant.

Our first winter there, we learned also related to the water was the wonderful blessing of forced hot water heat.

You see we had a boiler in our home that pumped piping hot water through pipes in the floor registers along the baseboard to heat your home.

It was a highly effective and efficient way to heat your home.

That also allowed for the water out of the tap to be steaming hot.

You literally never had to worry about running out of hot water in the shower and it was hotter than any water I’ve had even in a hot tub!

Your skin would be red coming out of the shower!

Two extremes of water: wicked cold & wicked hot - (New Englanders use the term wicked to describe things: “Wicked good firewood”, “This is my Pastah, he’s a wicked nice guy.”)

But those two extremes of water were a blessing we enjoyed there in NH.

Transition – Well in our study today through Revelation, we’ll see the last of the 7 churches, the Laodiceans, nicknamed the “Lukewarm Church”; the Apostle John was commanded by the Lord Jesus Himself to write some letters of instruction to the 7 churches of Asia that included common themes for the church as He warns them to get their house in order.

(See study guide).

Read 3:14-22.

The last 3 weeks, we’ve looked at 6 churches, Ephesus, Smyrna & Pergamos, then Thyatira, Sardis & last week at Philadelphia, the faithful church.

We’ve said based on 1:19 to “Write the things which you have seen, the things that are, and the things which will take place after this.”

These two chapters where the things “which are” or were during John’s life.

It was the risen Lord’s assessment of the 7 churches of Asia.

Each letter to each church has 1) A primary association - 2) A personal application - 3) A prophetic anticipation - We note the:

1.

The Assembly - Laodicea - 3:14

As we’ve done last week it’s helpful for us to see the churches laid out on a map as the Lord deals with them in order of geographical location.

(Show map & review where John is, & Ephesus over to Philadelphia, and down to Laodicea)

Laodicea was the greatest city of the valley; and though marked by a previous history, it was given new life when Antiochus II (261–246 BC) established the city and named it after his first wife Laodice, whom he eventually divorced in 253.

Previously it had been known as Diospolis and Rhodes.

The city was located at a strategic crossroads where the route from Ephesus to the east crossed the route running from Pergamum and Sardis and on to the southern coast of Asia Minor.

Consequently, Laodicea’s strategic location made it a place of considerable importance.

Laodicea’s position at an intersection of three imperial trade roads helped its development as a commercial and administrative centre.

In Roman times it became the wealthiest city in Phrygia, so that when it suffered all but total destruction by earthquake in AD 60–1 it refused the offer of imperial aid, which other similarly afflicted cities were glad to accept.

Laodicea was so wealthy, they could afford to rebuild on their own!

Laodicea, also lay in the Lycus River Valley with 8,000-foot mountains to the south and on the north a less defined range but one that has a long steep slope at the edge of a plateau, marked by what looks from a distance to be the accumulation of snow because of the white formations of mineral deposits on the rocks.

(Show Map 2) Actually, there were a number of cities in the area, two of which are prominent in the Scriptures.

Ten miles to the south nestled against the 8,000-foot Mount Cadmus (modern Honaz Dagi) was the city of Colosse.

By the close of the first century, Colosse had lost much of its population and importance.

Nevertheless, its prominence for biblical studies is known from Paul’s letter to the church at Colosse or Colossians and his personal letter to Philemon, who was a resident of Colosse.

It has been suggested that Archippus (possibly the son of Philemon) may even have been pastor of the church at Laodicea for a period of time.

To the northwest about five miles away was the city of Hierapolis.

This city must have originated as the religious center of the area, since its name “Hierapolis” means the city of the hieron or temple.

There was a church not only at Colosse but also at Hierapolis, which is mentioned in Col 4:13.

Hierapolis was also a spa famous for its hot mineral baths and medical remedies.

The mineral deposits from the waters have caked the cliffs for several hundred yards in a display probably not duplicated anywhere else in the world.

From the valley floor below, it almost looks as though snow has fallen along the ridge.

In ancient times as well as now, people flocked to Hierapolis and to the therapeutic hot springs available to them there.

Colosse, on the other side, may never have recovered from the earthquake of AD 60 and its loss of status to the rapidly growing Laodicea.

However, a cold spring of water that issued forth from the side of the nearby mountain was boasted to be the finest supply of water in the region.

Until this day visitors may quench their thirst at this spring.

Reminds me of spot on US Route 2 near Jefferson NH with spring well on the side of the road.

We’d stop and get a drink b/w Berlin & Littleton.

Archeological discoveries revealed an extensive pipe system that carried water into the city that factor into this message from the Lord to the church at Laodicea.

It’s also important to note, we find from the historical sources, the study of coins, banknotes, medals, and inscriptions, other helpful information is found.

First, Laodicea boasted citizens such as the Zenonid family and others who were fabulously wealthy.

Not surprisingly, Laodicea then became a banking center, which Cicero cited as the place where he cashed his bills of exchange upon his arrival from Cilicia in 51 BC.

Contributing to the generally optimistic economic picture was the success of the hillside shepherds who had bred a sheep famous for black, glossy, and soft wool.

Additionally, the city had become a medical center, particularly as it related to ophthalmic therapy.

The fertility of the countryside in general and the prosperity of its citizens is depicted in the coinage of the era where cornucopia containing corn and fruit are regularly exhibited.

2. The Author - 3:14

As we’ve said, Jesus described Himself differently to each church.

As in the letter to the church at Philadelphia, Christ did not identify Himself using any of the phrases from the vision recorded in 1:12–17.

Instead, He identified Himself using three divine titles.

A. “The Amen” -

First, the Lord Jesus Christ described Himself as the Amen.

That unique title, used only here in Scripture to describe Christ, is reminiscent of Isaiah 65:16, where God is twice called the “God of truth [Heb.

amen].”

Amen is a transliteration of a Hebrew word meaning “truth,” “affirmation,” or “certainty.”

It refers to that which is firm, fixed, and unchangeable.

To say Amen is to affirm something with “so be it.”

Amen is often used in Scripture to affirm the truthfulness of a statement.

For example:

Neh.

8:6 “And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God.

Then all the people answered, “Amen, Amen!” while lifting up their hands.

And they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.”

Matt.

6:13 - How the Lord Jesus closed the model prayer: “And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one.

For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.

Amen.”

It is also translated in the KJV “Verily, Verily” or NKJV “Assuredly” or NASB “Truly”

John 3:3 “Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly (Amen), I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Whatever God says is true and certain; therefore, He is the God of truth, The Amen of God’s truth!

Christ is certainly the Amen in the sense that He is the God of truth incarnate.

But there is more in this rich title than just an affirmation of His deity.

Paul writes concerning Jesus Christ in 2 Corinthians 1:20 “For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.”

It is through the person and work of Christ that all God’s promises and covenants are fulfilled and guaranteed.

All the Old Testament promises of forgiveness, mercy, lovingkindness, grace, hope, and eternal life are bound up in Jesus Christ’s life, death, and resurrection.

He is the Amen because He is the One who confirmed all of God’s promises.

B. “The Faithful & True Witness” -

Christ also identified Himself as the faithful and true Witness.

That title further clarifies the thought expressed in the first title.

Not only is Jesus the Amen because of His work, but also because everything He speaks is the truth.

He is completely trustworthy, perfectly accurate, and His testimony is always reliable.

Jesus Christ is “the way, and the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).

This was an appropriate way to begin the letter to the Laodiceans because it affirmed to them that Christ had accurately assessed their condition.

It also affirmed that His offer of fellowship and salvation in verse 20 was true, because God’s promises were confirmed through His work.

C. “The Beginning of the creation of God” -

Finally, Christ referred to Himself as the Beginning of the creation of God.