Jesus: Absolute Authority

Laodicea was rich, as we just learned. There was an earthquake in 60 AD causing much destruction. “Ceasar, Declare a state of emergency and help us rebuild this city that’s so important to you!” NOPE!!

They sent word that they would just rebuild it themselves. Not just a few civic buildings, the whole city! This is the frame of reference the Christians in Laodicea grew up in.

They had the means to provide the solution to all their problems. They likely had a well funded church and ministry programs. Hear me, there’s nothing intrinsically wrong with having much wealth or a church that has ample means.

The problem is when self-sufficiency dethrones Christ-sufficiency. That was the sin of the Laodiceans.

Luke 5:31–32 ESV

31 And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”

Were the pharisees actually righteous?

Psalm 14:1–3 ESV

1 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good. 2 The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. 3 They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.

We are ALL dependent on God. We ALL need His supply.

When I look back on the past months and years of certain controversy in the Southern Baptist Convention I notice two things.

It’s a very vocal minority whose voices are heard over the rest. Don’t let greater noise define our understanding of a situation.

Those few who do cause the troubles (on both sides of each issue) are much more about self than selfless. They wear a robe of pride instead of the towel of a servant.

The same was the case for the pharisees.

And that same tendency is an ever present danger for us too. Be always on guard.

1 Peter 5:8–9 ESV

8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.

Be on guard for the sin of self-dependence. It leads to…

The Shame of Self-Blindness

The church at Laodicea never saw a problem then couldn’t fix. For clarity - there certainly WERE problems they had that COULDN’T fix, they just couldn’t SEE them.

In their ability turned pride, they became a wretched, impoverished, sickening sight to Jesus. Let me tell you brothers and sisters, that is NOT how you want your only hope for salvation to see you!

This blindness led them to shame.

We don’t have to look too far to see examples if this.

Emperor’s New Clothes.

“That customer” who comes in shouting and making a scene because Little Caesars messed up their $5 pizza.

Their shame cam from seeing their situation primarily from their present perspective, not a heavenly perspective.

This knife cuts both ways.

We can see our “cans” and think we don’t need God’s “wills” that will leave us out of His will, or worse, out of His will!

We can think we have all the gas for the motor. That our calendar is right. Or our map has all the hazards and highlights. We can think that - and we would be wrong.

Because God says He will. I looked it up. Every verse where God is speaking and He says “I will”. 1,026 verses. I would like to read every one of those to you this morning… But I won’t. But is starts with

Genesis 2:18 ESV

18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”

and ends with

Revelation 21:7 ESV

7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.

Whenever we say “I will” outside of a heart of humility, unwilling to listen to or to obey God’s “I will”, we risk being outside of His will.

We all end up there. Recognize, repent, repeat! But someone who is constantly outside the will of God - and un-remorseful - might also be outside of His will. Outside the forgiveness, outside the family of God.

That is our shame. Our sin of sufficiency, if not surrendered to Christ Jesus, becomes our shame of rejection.

Don’t let your pride earn you these words from Jesus:

Revelation 3:17 ESV

17 For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.

This was exactly where the Laodiceans found themselves. And if it’s where you find yourself, take heart. Because Jesus’ mercies are new every morning!

When we find we have committed the sin of self-sufficiency leading to the shame of self-blindness, we can find a path home through…

Confession and Currency Exchange

One of the remarkable things about reading the One Testament is the mind-blowing extreme opportunities and desire God has for His people to confess their sins and return to Him. It’s really unfathomable.

That is the God we serve. He is not the God on second chances only.

Matthew 18:21–22 ESV

21 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.

Jesus was not requiring forgiveness beyond what He offered. In fact, the parable that follows make that exact point.

Jesus ‘seventy times seven’ should be taken to mean a magnitude of fullness, not to ascertain the specific number of forgiveness events until we give them what they deserve.

A magnitude of the fullness of forgiveness is what He asks because it is what He offers. That’s a long way to drive home the point that no matter were you are right now, and not matter how many times it feels like you’ve fallen right back ‘there’, confession is the first step. You have a Lord who is patient, loving, and forgiving.

“I confess” is great, but what does that mean? It means that the value we placed in the things we trusted must be exchanged for the thing of real value.

Everything you might think you can trust in outside of God is of less value that you think. It’s a bag of sand compared to the gold of God’s sufficiency.

Make the exchange. It doesn’t mean taking a vow of poverty and giving away all you own. It does mean taking it off the throne and putting God back.

You can trust Him to guide you to use what you have to His glory. There are few things more fulfilling that seeing what you used to idolize in your life - talents, money, life story - being used by God. It becomes more that about us, and take on eternal significance when it’s placed in God’s hands.

But I’m getting a little ahead of myself…

An Invitation to Repentance

The Laodiceans had confidence in their gold. They had confidence in their fine clothing. They had confidence in their status. They had confidence in their education. But if they didn’t exchange all that confidence (pride) for confidence in Jesus’ completed work for their salvation, they would end up with neither.

Revelation 3:18 ESV

18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see.

Do you see the parallel between what they had confidence in and what Jesus said He would supply? He isn’t talking about the material, but the eternal.

Jesus invites them to ‘buy’ this spiritual gold, and clothing, and ointment. It’s only when they can acknowledge the superiority of the person of Jesus over the commodity of earthly wealth they feel the blessing of the Kingdom of God right now.

Matthew 6:19–20 ESV

19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.

Matthew 6:24 ESV

24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

We’ve talked about money, but let me bring back the larger theme.

We have unlimited opportunity for pride. Why? Because just as there is always someone better or better off than we are, there is always someone less. Our sinful hearts easily dismiss the better and puff up over the lesser. This is at the least unwise:

Proverbs 16:18 ESV

18 Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.

David echoes this in the shortest Psalm:

Psalm 131:1–3 ESV

1 O Lord, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. 2 But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me. 3 O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time forth and forevermore.

We are now left with likely the best known line in these letters to the churches:

Revelation 3:20 ESV

20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

This is often used as an evangelistic call. It works for that, but that’s not what Jesus is doing here. The Laodiceans are already saved, they just have overloaded their hearts and minds with other things they value more than Jesus.

What is terrifying about this is that They have chosen a life as Christ followers that put’s Jesus outside of it.

That danger is there for us too. Wealthy. Proud. Self-capable. Condescending. The list can go on, and is likely different for each of us. But unless we repent of those things that displace Jesus from our everyday lives and value, we too will find Jesus on the outside looking in.

Wont you answer His call to let Him in?

Pray

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