What is Jesus saying to His church? (8)

Lukewarm...

As we have looked at each of the seven churches from Asia Minor, Jesus spoke these words nearly 2000 years ago. I’m sure that at times in our lives, these churches are relatable with things that we have experienced or might be experiencing even rightt now: Needing to return to our first love, persecution, complacency, corruption, having a reputation for being alive, but are dead, possessing little strength, but remaining true.

As we dive in and look at today’s church, we see a church that thought they had it all. They were affluent, self-sufficient, and thought they knew it all. This sounds a little or maybe a lot like our western churches of the 21st century.

Let’s take a look at what we know about the city of

Laodicea

It was the premier city of the tri cities of of Laodicea, Colossae, and Hierapolis. It was about seventy kilometers southeast of Philadelphia. It was a main route from Rome to the Orient, as well as from Pergamum to the Mediterranean. Because of this, it was very wealthy.

According to commentator, Gordon Fee,

Revelation: A New Covenant Commentary (To the Church in Laodicea (3:14–22))

It had become famous for three reasons in particular: first, for all practical purposes they were the Swiss bankers of antiquity, which meant that it was a city of considerable wealth; second, they were famous for a breed of sheep that produced an extremely fine and desirable black wool; and third, their proximity to a hot springs across the river made them a kind of medical center, famous worldwide for a specially mixed eye salve.

Let’s read what Jesus said to this church,

Revelation 3:14–22 NLT

“Write this letter to the angel of the church in Laodicea. This is the message from the one who is the Amen—the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s new creation: “I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth! You say, ‘I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. So I advise you to buy gold from me—gold that has been purified by fire. Then you will be rich. Also buy white garments from me so you will not be shamed by your nakedness, and ointment for your eyes so you will be able to see. I correct and discipline everyone I love. So be diligent and turn from your indifference. “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends. Those who are victorious will sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat with my Father on his throne. “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches.”

How does Jesus describe Himself?

Revelation 3:14 (NLT)

...This is the message from the one who is the Amen—the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s new creation:

He is the Amen...

Amen

The Ultimate Victory: An Exposition of the Book of Revelation (The Amen (3:14))

is a Hebrew word meaning “truly” and is a great word of response to the promises of God. Its root idea is firmness, certainty, the assurance of faith.

2 Corinthians 1:20–22 NLT

For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, our “Amen” (which means “Yes”) ascends to God for his glory. It is God who enables us, along with you, to stand firm for Christ. He has commissioned us, and he has identified us as his own by placing the Holy Spirit in our hearts as the first installment that guarantees everything he has promised us.

Life Application New Testament Commentary (The Message to the Church in Laodicea / 3:14–22)

The word “amen” signals an acknowledgment of something true and binding.

When we pray in Jesus’ name we are clinching what we have prayed in the fact what Jesus has the power and authority to do it.

He is the

faithful and true witness

Jesus is the One who came to show us the Father. He came to earth to show us what God was really like. He is the way the truth and the live. He lived on earth for 33 years and never once sinned. He was faithful and true when He was on earth and Revelation 19:11 says that He will be the same when He returns.

Revelation 19:11 NLT

Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider was named Faithful and True, for he judges fairly and wages a righteous war.

We can have confidence in what Jesus has done because He is faithful and true.

1 John 3:18–23 NLT

Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything. Dear friends, if we don’t feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence. And we will receive from him whatever we ask because we obey him and do the things that please him. And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us.

He is

The beginning of God’s creation

I like the way that the NIV says it...

The ruler of God’s creation

Jesus is the ruler of all creation. Everything has been placed under His feet. Creation has it’s origin from Him.

The Ultimate Victory: An Exposition of the Book of Revelation (The Amen (3:14))

Christ as God the Son was not created. He always was, is, and will be. But He is the Mediator in God’s creation. “All things were created through Him, and apart from Him nothing was created” (John 1:3, literal).

Humankind can choose to believe that the Universe was caused by a huge explosion 13.5 Billion years ago. This morning, I’m not here to get into a huge debate, but I choose to believe that God is faithful and true, and that Jesus is the One who spoke the worlds into existence and said. “Let there be Light.”

I believe that you are created in God’s image. I believe that He loves you and has set eternity into your heart.

I believe that He has gone into heaven and will come back again. Every person will stand before Him as Lord and Saviour or Judge.

Do you love Him? I know He loves you.

Let’s look at

Jesus’ Rebuke

Revelation 3:15–16 NLT

“I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!

(LANTC)

Laodicea was a city that had poor water so they trenched in their water from 6 miles south of the city. By the time the cold refreshing water came 6 miles up the aqueduct, it was lukewarm.

To the Northwest of the city was Hot mineral springs, but by the time the mineral water made from Hierapolis, it wasn’t hot or refreshingly cold, but lukewarm.

It was no longer medicinal or useful for drinking. (Fee) Yuck!

This was how God saw the people of the church in Laodicea.

We all or at least most of us think that lukewarm water is repugnant, but here’s a couple thoughts about

Hot or Cold

Jesus knew they deeds. He knew the difference between who they thought they were and who He actually saw them as .

Maybe as a child your parents played the game with you where they hid candy around the room and some you just couldn’t find. When you were really close your parents would say, “You are getting hot” or if you weren’t close, “You getting colder!”

Hot means close

This is when our desire is to be close to Jesus. If we sin, we know it right away and we ask for forgiveness and ask that God would help us never to become a repeat offender.

Hot is when you want everybody to know what Jesus has done for you. You are filled with the Spirit and nothing comes close to taking your heart and your attention away from God.

I’ve never heard anyone ask for a lukewarm cup of coffee.

Cold can mean one of two things.

Not a believer

Before somebody comes to believe that Jesus died for their sins, and they hear the message of the cross and how much God loves them.

They know that they aren’t saved and can come to saving faith.

Another way of looking at it is

Pure and refreshing

I like to have a hot bath if a come out of being in the cold all day, but on a hot day, there is nothing quite like a LUKEWARM drink of water. Not! There’s nothing like a cold drink of water. It’s refreshing.

You can probably look at cold either way and get the point, but God was not pleased with the Laodiceans because they were

Lukewarm

Revelation 3:16 NLT

But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!

The Ultimate Victory: An Exposition of the Book of Revelation (Laodicea Neither Cold nor Hot (3:15–17))

Apparently the Laodiceans were acting as if they had forgotten who Jesus is and why He died.

Being lukewarm is a dangerous spot to be. When someone becomes lukewarm in their faith, they are...

The Ultimate Victory: An Exposition of the Book of Revelation (Laodicea Neither Cold nor Hot (3:15–17))

No longer hot enough to respond to the Spirit’s moving, not yet cold enough to realize their need, they were neither accomplishing anything for God nor responding to calls for repentance.

Horton says this about the lukewarmness in Laodicea.

The Ultimate Victory: An Exposition of the Book of Revelation (Laodicea Neither Cold nor Hot (3:15–17))

The Lord is disturbed when He is dealing with a people He can neither use nor bless. They did not oppose Him, neither did they draw near to Him.

2 Peter 1:5–9 NLT

In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins.

Stay away from the edge

The story is told about a stage coach company was hiring teamsters to drive its stage coaches through a mountainous area. The local office manager had advertised for the position and people began to apply for the job. As they were interviewed, the boss asked each applicant, “How close can you drive the team to the edge of the cliff as you round the mountain.” The first fellow replied that he was skilled enough that he could drive the stage coach within three feet of the edge of the cliff. The boss thanked him for his time and called in the next applicant.

In the course of the interview, the boss asked the next man the same question. He replied that he could drive the team and coach within one foot of the edge of the cliff. He likewise was thanked for his time and the next applicant was called in. The boss asked this fellow the same question. He replied, “I would drive the coach as far from the edge of the cliff as I possibly could.” He got the job! (Gabriel Ruhl)

How close can we live like the world and still get to heaven? I think the question needs to be,

How close can we live to God?

If we are lukewarm, God can’t use us. He can only spit us out of His mouth.

What did Jesus see?

Revelation 3:17 NLT

You say, ‘I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.

Hebrews 4:13 NLT

Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.

We can fool some of the people some of the time, but we can’t fool God. He knows our hearts and searches them.

Jeremiah 17:9–10 NLT

“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? But I, the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve.”

These people thought they had it all and yet God saw what they were really like and He showed them what they were really like.

God knows what we are really like and

He has a solution

Revelation 3:18 NLT

So I advise you to buy gold from me—gold that has been purified by fire. Then you will be rich. Also buy white garments from me so you will not be shamed by your nakedness, and ointment for your eyes so you will be able to see.

Physically they had it all, but spiritually, they had nothing. There is nothing wrong with having stuff, but when stuff has us, there is a problem.

Proverbs 19:17 NLT

If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord— and he will repay you!

Proverbs 28:27 NLT

Whoever gives to the poor will lack nothing, but those who close their eyes to poverty will be cursed.

The Laodiceans were known for their riches, yet they were poor. They were known for their expensive wool, and yet they were naked. They were known for their eye salve and yet they were blind.

Psalm 34:10 NIV

The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

God’s part and our part

Revelation 3:19 NLT

I correct and discipline everyone I love. So be diligent and turn from your indifference.

The Laodiceans had drifted away from God’s plan. It may have been a slow drift, but out of love He disciplined.

When we are disciplined by God, He shows us that He loves us. We don’t like it, but if God hated us, He would just let us drift into Hell, but because He loves us, He corrects us.

Be diligent and turn from your indifference

When God reproves us, let’s not procrastinate but let’s be earnest and repent.

Isaiah 55:7 NIV

Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

He’s not hiding

I like verse 20, but let’s pay attention to where Jesus was when He spoke…

Revelation 3:20 NIV

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

Jesus was standing on the outside.

Let’s pursue God! He’s not hiding! He says,

Here I am!

To the one who is victorious

Revelation 3:21 NLT

Those who are victorious will sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat with my Father on his throne.

This is figurative, but it speaks to ruling and reigning with Jesus for eternity. When we get to Heaven, we will be in the presence of Jesus for eternity. We will be with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Never and will we feel alone.

Lord help us never to feel secure in and of ourselves but help us never to forget that our security is in You alone. Lord give us grace to never take our eyes off of you and to be diligent and quick to repent if our hearts ever become lukewarm.

May Your flam e always burn bright in us. Give us ears to hear and hearts to respond to what the Spirit is saying to your church

In Jesus’ Name. Amen