The Laodicean Sin -- and Mine

I. Introduction
 A. Final epistle of Jesus – next week we return to 2Corinthians for the next three months
 B. Revelation 3:14–22 “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation. 15 “ ‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. 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. 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. 19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. 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. 21 The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’ ”
 C. Do you ever find yourself in the Bible? I hope so.
  1. When I was a very young Christian, I found myself in the passage we are focusing on today. I can’t remember whether it was high school or college, but I remember feeling like it was written for me and about me. And ever since that time, this passage has had a presence in my life.
  2. We are all sinners. We are all crooked. But this passage describes the particular way I am bent.
  3. I hate this about myself, but this is me. This is the direction my heart naturally goes.
  4. I am so thankful to God for this passage; it has been a tremendous blessing to me! For only when you know how you’re bent can you be alert to that tendency.
  5. I hope that you find yourself in the Bible. I hope that you look for yourself in the Bible.
  6. We are always finding others in the Bible, (that is my child/spouse/parent/friend!) but we need to find ourselves most of all.
  7. If you can’t list the idolatries you regularly struggle with, or if you do not frequently pray about and repent of those idolatries, then you’re living in a dream world.
  8. James describes this kind of person in James 1:22–25. He says that the person who reads the Bible but isn’t convicted and doesn’t change is like a man who looks at himself in a mirror and then walks away and forgets what he looks like.
  9. One of the reasons many people don’t get much from the Bible is because they don’t take it personally. They don’t read it as if it’s written to them. They never ask, What is this saying to me?
  10. It’s pretty clear that the churches which received strong rebukes from Jesus were not thinking they needed to be strongly rebuked. This is nowhere clearer than in the final letter, to Laodicea: “You say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.” (Rev.3:17) Well, we don’t get letters from Jesus which are addressed to us. but that doesn’t mean things aren’t intended for us. If we’re not determined to listen, we won’t be able to hear.
II. Points
 A. It’s wrong to claim or think that Jesus cannot be displeased with believers.
  1. This kind of thinking has become very common in the church.
  2. In our day, it is popular to paint Jesus as a constant affirmer. Some preachers take the commendations which are written about those who are seeking Him first and apply those commendations to all, ignoring the criticisms of those who aren’t doing so well.
  3. But these letters show us that Jesus does not just affirm. Jesus affirms when there’s something to affirm. But Jesus rebukes when there’s something to rebuke. Often He starts with affirmation, but He never affirms just to affirm.
  4. In every generation there are favorite ways to portray Jesus. But what protects us from having a skewed perception of who He really is? Looking back at who He actually is in the NT.
  5. And what do we see here? He is not always pleased, He often has things against His people.
   a. Smyrna and Philadelphia are the only two letters with only commendation.
  6. In Christ’s letter to Laodicea we see how wrong this modern notion is.
  7. Vomiting isn’t something we like to talk about, much less do. It’s one of those ugly realities we all experience, but rarely discuss. Once in a while, we feel so disgusted about something that we say, “That makes me want to puke.”
  8. But this is the language Jesus uses in His letter in Revelation 3:16, “Because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will vomit you out of my mouth.” (That’s what the Greek word means.)
  9. I think one of the reasons folks move in this direction is because they don’t see how Jesus’ displeasure with His people squares with the fact that we are accepted not based on our own righteousness but based on the righteousness of Christ.
   a. Jesus loves and accepts the sinner. But Jesus still hates our sin.
   b. And just because we are off in one area, doesn’t mean He doesn’t notice the good. These letters show us that over and over.
   c. Jesus’ acceptance is acceptance with agenda. He wants to hold sway in our lives.
   d. The true believer is accepted totally on account of Christ’s righteousness. But that doesn’t mean God leaves us as we are. He wants to fill us with His Holy Spirit, & help us to live by His power.
  10. This is all in love. Jesus shows His love by rebuking us &disciplining us: 19 Those whom I love, I reprove/discipline
   a. These epistles of Jesus are a glimpse of His heart. Even when He expresses disgust, it is in love.
  11. Paul says in 1Thessalonians 5:14 “Admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.” There are different ways to love different people. Affirmation is not the only tool in the toolbox. Some people need a rebuke, and you can’t love them without giving it.
  12. In 1997 I preached a sermon of apology entitled, “The Relentless Challenger.” Christianity that is only challenge and correction is dangerous. And positive-only Christianity is just as dangerous.
 B. God hates it when we have a lofty view of ourselves.
  1. Here we dive into the meaning of v.15-16 “I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.”
   a. This has left a lot of people wondering what Jesus means here by this lukewarmness which makes Him nauseous.
   b. At first, it’s easy to think He means hot as ‘on fire for the Lord’ and cold as having no faith at all.
   c. But on deeper reflection, this doesn’t really make sense. “I wish that you were either hot or cold, but since you are lukewarm, I will spit you out of My mouth.” How could Jesus be saying that He wished they had no faith at all?
  2. But I think the key is the word “for” in v.17, which connects 15-16 with 17. In other words, Jesus goes on in v.17 to explain what He means by lukewarm in v.15-16.
  3. In v.17 He clearly contrasts their self-assessment and their actual life. They think they’re rich and prosperous and have no need. In reality they were poor, blind, naked and poverty-stricken.
  4. I think this is what Jesus refers to as lukewarm. I think He means that if a person has a hot view of himself when in reality he is cold, then the two mixed together make a lukewarm person.
   a. If a person thinks he's rich when he really is rich, that is a hot person — like the church of Smyrna in Rev.2:9.
   b. When a person who is cold knows that he's cold, that is a cold person — like Peter when he first met Jesus: “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man.”
   c. Either of these Jesus can live with. But when wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked people say they are rich and prosperous, and need nothing, then you have a lukewarm person — and a nauseous Jesus.
   d. This was the problem of the Pharisees, wasn’t it? They thought they were holy and clean and didn’t need a doctor. They were like the older son who thought he had been faithful to his father.
   e. They think they’re doing great but really they’re doing terrible.
  5. We live in a world which encourages this very thing. They want you to believe you’re wonderful even when you’re stuck-up and lazy and selfish. On every side you are taught to believe in yourself, to believe that you can do it, to believe that you have everything you need in yourself.
   a. The world celebrates that which nauseates the Lord. And it’s easy for us to be influenced.
   b. And sadly the church has been heavily influenced.
  6. Jesus wishes we were either hot or cold. In other words, He wishes we were either thinking we’re doing well and actually doing well (in fellowshipping with Jesus and coming to Him to receive His supply) — that would be hot, or that we were doing badly and recognizing the fact that we were doing badly and living in humility and repentance— that would be cold. But since they’re doing badly but think they’re doing well, they are lukewarm which makes Jesus nauseous.
  7. When we act like we are self-sufficient, we make Jesus want to vomit. But He is so ready to reach out to us in grace and give us all kinds of help when we humble ourselves and come to Him.
  8. For me, it’s so easy to forget that I am “wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.”
  9. It’s so easy for me to feel healthy when I’m actually sick, and therefore continue on without going to the Doctor. Jesus Himself told us He was the good physician and that He came not for the healthy but for the sick (Mark 2:17). And it’s clear that He actually means that everybody’s sick and that He came for those who know they’re sick.
  10. But this doesn’t just apply to us as individuals.
  11. In fact, one of the most dangerous churches is the one that doesn’t think it is seriously flawed. It’s the one who thinks that if everyone else was like us, they would be fine.
  12. In my opinion, back in the 80's and 90's this was to be a big problem with some of us here at GPC.
 C. The key to life is coming to Jesus.
  1. Jesus is the One who has what we need. That’s why He calls us to come to Him for gold and clothing and healing for your eyes.
  2. Jesus is the One we need. That’s why He calls us to open the door so He will come in and sup with us.
  3. But it order for this to happen, we need two things:
   a. We need to be persuaded that what we have is totally inadequate. We need to be persuaded that we are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked in ourselves. We need to be persuaded that the gold of this world is fool’s gold.
   b. And secondly, we need to be persuaded that we desperately need Jesus, that in Jesus is found all that we ever need, all that our souls really long for. We need to be persuaded that He gives the true gold (“gold refined by fire”), that He supplies the garments which cover the shame of our nakedness, and that He gives us the ability to see things as they really are.
  4. Both of these are essential.
   a. You see, sometimes Satan whispers in our ear, “You got this. You have what it takes. You are a winner.”  And sometimes he whispers, “You are so worthless, so unworthy of being loved. God can’t help you,” wanting us to think our sinfulness is more powerful than God’s grace.
   b. No! The two keys are: seeing our own need, and seeing God’s readiness to receive us in our need.
  5. “Buy from Me” They were wealthy consumers. Much like a salesman heralding his wares in the market, so Jesus urges those who pass by to “Buy from Me.”
  6. One final point: Being a Christian is more than believing. It is knowing God, having a personal relationship with Jesus.
   a. I know that some emphasize this to the exclusion of other things, and in reaction, some tend to poo-poo this. But here it is in this epistle. Jesus wants to come in to our lives &fellowship with us.
   b. This is relational language.
   c. The letter to Ephesus makes clear that all the orthodoxy and proper decision-making is not enough. We need to have real, personal love for Jesus.
   d. He’s not just out to reform our behavior. He wants our hearts.
   e. Behavior flows from the heart. It is easy for us to focus on our behavior, and miss the real problem of the heart.
  7. Where is Jesus Christ in your life? He’s either vibrantly alive in your heart, enjoying sweet fellowship with you, or He’s outside the door knocking and calling?
  8. You don’t just open the door once. We keep showing Him the door, so we need to keep welcoming Him back in.
III. The Lord’s Supper – Will you be eating alone?