7: Lackluster Laodicea

This is our final week in Revelations. You made it an entire summer and we’ve saw different perspectives from the Bible on how to become complete human beings. The conclusion of which can be summed up by what I said last week: as hostility increases and the world becomes more and more secular and casts aside much of the trappings of Christianity that it had formerly practiced, then we must be careful that we do not give up and go along with worldly attitudes and worldly pursuits. We must not allow a desire for status, prestige, fame, a beautiful home and the things the world lusts for, to become central in our thinking. Therefore, let me conclude with a relatively short message that was originally addressed to the church in Laodicea, our last and final stop in this series. Laodicea is the worst of the worst. Imagine everything bad about the church today, everything that makes you say, “I don’t want to go to church with those people” and then you have this church, Laodicea. Laodicea was built like Rome, across seven hills, it was supposed to have three amphitheaters and be a model city. Unfortunately, that was not true. It ended up in a failure of a democracy. You know what I’m talking about. There was a lot of talk but no action. There was a lot of backbiting but not nipping in the buds. So we can say that the socio-political climate is of a lame duck congress. Let’s step outside the framing of traditional media and get back to the purpose by which we have lawmakers—that is to make laws. I see a lot of overpaid and underworked law makers. I usually don’t go into political tangents, and I don’t really care about the politics of today, but let’s get down to it. I don’t care what you do as a lawmaker as long as you make laws and you make the laws fair and equitable. It’s a failure of democracy if they can’t do it. Laodicea is an example of that. Likewise, now, as a frame that socio-political environment with the religious aspect of the church that’s hanging out in Laodicea, we find that the church was in a similar disarray. The society fragile and futile that the people within the church also became of a mindset of fragility and futility. I know you know people, even if you don’t believe you’re one of those yourself that believe that people harp and hone on the most futile things and live in warped fragility. So we’re going to discuss that. Let’s go to Revelations 3:14-17 14 “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. I want to stop for a second and reflect on these words. “The Amen” means the never changing truth. This is a reflection, in my opinion, not that my opinion means anything to scholars, but to Isaiah, when he refers to God as the “God of the Amen” as in the God of truth—the epitome of truth. So understand what is being said: “Church, recognize the words of God who is truth.” Now John does an interesting theological thing here. He refers to his original gospel and calls Jesus the beginning of God’s creation, so he is the Word that was with God, who is God; but moreover Jesus, is the first born of the new creation that God is doing and making within the Christian communities through the act of saving grace in the life death and resurrection of Jesus. This applies to us church, because sometimes we have the tendancy to believe and think that we take the good feeling moralism from Sunday messages like God cares about moralism and cultural norms. He couldn’t care less. He cares about your soul and my soul and the life that there is to be had in the grey areas of that life and soul. What I mean by that is that we need to open our eyes to the words in the Bible and really allow it to affect our hearts and produce within us an effect that changes our actions and not just do church for the sake of moralisms. There is nothing I will say or you will learn in church that will help you in anyway else except to enrich your chances to see God and experience His power. If you’re not experiencing His power in church, we need to find out why and we need to know why God’s word isn’t moving your life and I guarantee you, it’s not because the church has no Holy Spirit, it’s because you don’t. 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. So when I was younger, being a PK, I’ve been to multiple churches and grew up seeing and witnessing the most dysfunctional church environments. But more than that, I saw all the things in church that were not meant to be seen or heard. I remember saying to myself toward the end of high school: I’m not going to church when I get to college. With people like that, why do I need a savior? And I’ve seen it all—husbands cheating on their wives and wives cheating on their husbands, and these were people who were cheating with other people from the church. More than that, I’ve seen people who just go and do contrary to what they instruct us to do and grow and do. I was like, what the heck? You see, it’s one thing if you sin; it’s totally another thing when you sin and you hide yours and magnify another’s. That’s what I thought church was. It was disgusting. When John addresses the cold and hot people, I don’t think he’s talking about the people who have hard line stances. He’s talking about the wishy washy people. He’s talking about the people who don’t and do. In essence, he is talking about people who can’t make up their minds as to what to do. It’s one thing if your sole purpose is to come to church and chase your future husband or wife and not be interested in Jesus. Although, I am pretty sure if you come to church for that reason, you’ll find sooner or later that the gospel will move you in a way. Verse 16 is talking about the people who know what they want but don’t do anything about it. Let me explain myself before people misconstrue what I’m saying because they can’t read or listen properly because this is a hard thing. So you want the Holy Spirit, you want God to move in your life in a certain way. Let’s say that way is to speak in tongues and healing people who are hurting. I know that’s ambiguous so let’s make it a little more tangible. You want God, because you believe God saved you for His glory and that glory that is God’s is for you to use your gifts of comfort on people who are sick and waiting to die. You know this and you keep saying this, but you don’t ever make the time to go out and do this and you make excuses as to why you don’t and cant. This is wishy washy. A lot of times we say things and don’t mean it or we don’t anything toward it. We set goals but do nothing to achieve those goals and go in that direction. We expect God to go there, but we don’t want to go with Him. To this, God says in verse 16, I will spit you out of my mouth. People use this passage as to encourage spiritual fervor, but I want to say that anything that comes from God’s volition and not your own is spiritual fervor. It is the work of God. Yes, there is speaking in tongues and healing, but just as importantly there are tangible works that may not look like anything spiritual, but they are because they go against the work that you have in your own heart and come at a cost that is supernaturally paid by God. Oh, how I hope we all get there—to a place where we stopped talking about doing things and dreaming things and actually lived them into things. I want to put into focus the parable of the talents if you need something to look at. I want to weave that in with verse 17 because there is a reason why we say things and never do them. It’s because you and I believe that we are at the maxim of our working and doing and faith. Let me tell you that we’re not. We get complacent. We get comfortable. We get to a place where we are satisfied with what’s going on and we say, I’m done. Your faith journey doesn’t end here. Don’t be satisfied with your sanctification because there is more that can be done. Let’s keep reading, verse 18. 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. I want to address this quickly because I think I’ve been beating this point down with a bat and you can refer to a quiet time that was written earlier this past week entitled, “Speak for God” where I challenge you to know God’s will and chase it. Do it for something that’s beyond yourself. There is a vision out there for everybody that goes way beyond what you imagined for yourself. I know this to be true. Its not good enough to be the best—God wants you to radically revolutionize what the best means. He wants you to experience in your calling and vision a new standard that is proven to be beyond your doing. On the flip side of this, I want you to see why your life may not be moving the way you like it to be moving. I want you to see verse 19 in light of progression in sanctification. When I say “sanctification” I’m not talking about being “holy” even though I am talking about being “holy.” Some of us are too holy. What I mean by that is that we think we are what we’re not and we don’t realize that we aren’t. Simply put, there is a self-entitlement that God never gave to us. He wants to work through that with you. You aren’t a martyr for God’s sake, sometimes, God wants you to learn and rely and change your modis operandi. There are so many people who come to me and want to speak to me about their “punishment” from God. I tell you, it’s not because you’re evil, but because you’re too dumb to realize what God is doing and what He wants to do for you and through you. We all need time to grow into the parts and pieces that we need to become to glorify Him through our lives. Before we give up or stop caring, we need to repent (or learn) what it is that God wants us to learn. 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.’” – Revelations 3:20-22 Verse 20 is the great promise that I want you to walk away with in this whole series. This is a verse that we hear in perpetuity and in redundancies. I want it to have meaning and value for you and me: STOP WAITING! God is here now. There is no right age. There is no right experience. Invite God into your life and take risks of faith that you know you will have to take one day when you’re “mature” and consider this a stepping stone toward that maturity. Salvation is here. Jesus is waiting for us. Let’s run after Him. Let’s pray.