Today we arrive at the final stop of our tour through the 7
churches of Revelation. We have
travelled from Ephesus to Smyrna to Pergamum to Thyatira to Sardis to
Philadelphia. Now we travel from
Philadelphia to Laodicea. Our goal has
been to cruise through these letters to learn how Christ wants Christians to
live. Hopefully you have had ears to
hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Now let us look at Laodicea. This
was a church that Jesus had nothing good to say. This was a materially rich church, but a
complacent church, a church pictured here as actually having put Jesus outside
of its fellowship. Jesus presents
Himself as, “the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Ruler of God’s creation.” Our sermon title is “Laodicea: The Rich Church that was Poor”.
This church had 2 Problems.
First, they were distasteful. They had a very poor taste to the Lord. Verse 15-16 explains, “….”
Illustration. I used to think that I ate very well when I
was single. And not too long ago Annie
went to Indiana with the kids to visit her folks. I had a week where I was 'bachen' it. Now one thing a bachelor does not do well is
cook. But, I thought, I will try one of
my old favorites that I haven’t had since I’ve been married: Tuna Helper.
Admittedly I’ve longed for it since Annie forbade it from our house, (I
think she had it in her wedding vows).
So I went to the store, bought some boxes for the week, cooked some up,
threw on an old John Wayne western and sat down to eat. The first bite into it I spit it out. I thought I must be sick or something,
because I remembered it tasted a lot better.
Then I realized that my tastebuds hadn’t been treated so good as since
I’ve been married. I was used to good
food, and now I realized how gross that stuff was.
That’s how the Laodiceans tasted to the Lord. He is pure and holy, and, they tasted
disgusting to Him. The Greek for “spit
you out of my mouth” doesn’t mean to spit like you’re spitting a seed out of
your mouth. It literally means to vomit
– gut-turning, food poisoning, sick to your stomach vomit. This was a church that made Jesus puke. If this sounds graphic to you and makes you
cringe, it’s meant to. Jesus means for
them to understand that the while they think they are pleasing to Him the way
they taste to Him is actually disgusting.
How do we taste to the Lord?
Notice He describes them as lukewarm. They were not hot,
and, they were not cold. I have grown to
like more and more the interpretation that this means they were
indifferent. Someone can be “on fire”
for the Lord. The disciples walking to
Emmaus said their hearts were burning within them. Paul told Timothy to “fan into flame” the
gift given to him. The OT prophet said
God’s word is like a fire shut up in his bones.
Hot means zeal. But if someone
was not hot, Jesus would rather they are cold.
Someone who doesn’t have zeal, who is sensitive to their backslidden
ways, who realizes they are not okay where they are and need to do something
about it, Jesus would rather deal with someone like that than
Second, they were
deceived. Verse 17 spells it out,
“…” This was a church rich in every
worldly way, but poor in every spiritual way.
They were the opposite of Smyrna, the church that was in utter poverty
but whom Jesus said was rich. This was
the opposite of what Paul prayed for them 30 years earlier in Colossians
2:1-3.
They had wealth and didn’t need anything. They were independent. “With man this is impossible, but, with money
all things are possible” is the way they thought. But Jesus said in John 15:5, “Without
me you can do nothing.”
We see how powerful the deceit of worldly riches can
be. They measured their success by their
worldly wealth and possessions. They
validated themselves by the riches they acquired. They grew comfortable, complacent,
self-sufficient and conceited because of their money. They had committed the sin Jesus mentioned, “You
cannot serve both God and money.”
He said in Luke 12, “A man’s life does not consist in the
abundance of his possessions” – nor does a church’s life. He said in the same chapter that it will not be good for anyone who stores up
things for himself but is not rich towards God. Laodicea was rich towards themselves, but,
poor towards God.
They had great wealth, so, they thought they were
great. They were starting to remind God
of Nebuchadnezzar from ancient Babylon who said, “Is not this great Babylon I have
built …by my mighty power for the glory of my majesty?” A quick way to make God deal sternly with us
is to turn away from trusting Him and put our trust in money. We must never look for rich people to join
our church because we want their money.
When we come to Laodicea see what it looks like to build a
church that doesn’t include Jesus Christ.
We see what Jesus thinks about a church that thinks more about its money
than Him.
They not only thought they were rich, but, they were
unaware of how truly poor they were. Notice
verse 17, “…” Laodicea was rich in the
world but bankrupt in Jesus Christ. They
had become a rich church in their own eyes when actually they were very poor in
the eyes of the Lord. They didn’t realize is that you can be filthy rich in
this world and be a filthy beggar before the Lord. Jesus said something similar when He said, “What
does it profit a man to gain the whole world but forfeit his soul?” Laodicea was trading the heart and soul of
who she was as a church to make earthly gains.
This is remarkable when you realize that the prayer Paul had for this
church 30 years earlier had gone unanswered.
In Colossians 2:1-3 we see Paul’s prayer that this church in Laodicea
would possess true riches in Christ, “….”
Laodicea needed to Wake Up.
They needed to re-align their priorities. They needed to change the way they measured
success. They needed to switch their
trust from their money to the Lord. The
Solution was 3-Fold.
First, they needed to
see Jesus as their Sufficient Source.
Notice verse 18, “…” Laodicea was
a wealthy city. They had a strong
banking and finance industry, they were very successful in clothing being the
manufacturer of a glossy black wool cloth, and for their medicine products
featuring eye salve which helped protect and heal the eyes.
The all-important point is that wealth is found in a
Person, not in possessions. Trust this
Person for your provision, not your possessions. If you have Jesus Christ you have it
all. If you don’t have Him, you can have
the world but you have nothing. And from
His riches He provides us with everything we need.
Second, they needed to
Learn about Christ’s Love for them.
Notice verse 19, “…” His love for
us motivates His disciplining us.
Warren Wiersbe says about this verse, “He still loved these lukewarm saints, even though their love for Him
had grown cold.” Christ loves us too
much to let us stay as we are when we get off track. Sometimes His love is tender, and sometimes
His love is tough.
Third, they needed to Open Up to the Lord. Notice verse 20, “….” The Lord is pictured here as standing outside
of His own church, wanting to come in and fellowship. This is a sad picture. Some people believe this is an evangelism
verse, referring to the lost letting Christ into their hearts. But this is a Church verse, referring to
believers letting Christ come back into their lives. He loves these people (v19) and wants in.
When did He get put out?
This reminds us to not allow the love of the world to grow in our
hearts. We can’t love the world and
Christ. It also reminds us not to allow
our hearts to love money. We can’t serve
(love) God and money. And we must give
regular attention to our love for the Lord.
The Laodiceans I imagine put the Lord out of their fellowship slowly,
over time, as they gradually focused more and more on material and worldly
success.
Conclusion
Live to be a sweet taste to the Lord, and remember that true riches are in
Christ.
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