Letter to the Church in Laodicea: Part I

[Revelations 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.

"'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. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. 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. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. 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. 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. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'"

{Rev. Dwight Yoo}

I will be doing only Part 1 of 2 because this passage is so rich. I have split it into two sermons. I will be doing part 2 during Good Friday.

Background: Laodicea was known as a place for this fine black wool. It was a place for medical schools and they produced this eye salve that was well known throughout Rome. The people here were wealthy. They were so wealthy that when an earthquake leveled the city, they rebuilt without any outside help. They even went and assisted other cities in rebuilding.

"The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation." - Amen means truly, truly. This introduction points to Jesus as truthful. He speaks truth. He says things of the church as what they are, not what other people think. Witnessing is one of the main jobs of the church. Jesus is claiming Himself as the source of witnessing. He was the one who started creation.

"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." - Lots of messages say this is talking faith and feverency of our faith. But why does Jesus talk about cold? That makes no sense. Cold faith? That interpretation doesn't seem to fit. So this is about water. Laodicea had no direct source of water. So they build aqueducts from these hot springs. By the time this go into the city, it was cold. There was another city that got their water directly from a hot spring. This water was known for medicinal purposes. Another city had water from the mountains. It was refreshing. Those in Laodicea knew their water sucked. Jesus was talking about water. Cold water slacks your thirst. Hot water was good for medicine. But lukewarm water was bad. Jesus was saying this lukewarm water is useless.

He is saying the church in Laodicea is USELESS. The church is supposed to display the light of Christ. A church that does not impact the lives of those around it is useless. The church there was big. Doesn't that say something to us? How do we evaluate churches nowadays? A slick website? So then, how does God evaluate a church? He evaluates based on lives changed & people turning to Christ. Consider Willow Creek. A large mega-church. This is not an outside criticism. They surveyed their own members... and it was significant. People were not being changed....

If the church is only growing numerically and that their budget has gotten bigger... is there more? The kingdom hasn't grown... unless lives are changed and people are turning to Christ. Christians go from one church to another church... this is a net zero for the kingdom of God. Purely transfer sheep. A new sheep that has come into the fold for the first time... that is growth in the Church.

How did the church in Laodicea get to this point? That Christ speaks so harshly with his bride... "For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing" Self-sufficiency. The people do not feel a need for God. They think that their wealth is enough. Self-sufficiency kills the church. but what is the true condition? "you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked" We are blind to the fact that all we have is by the grace of God. Our health is determined by something completely out of control. Cancer is just a small number of cells going crazy in your body. We take so many things for granted. By and far, we have families that push us to be educated.

A lack of understanding of grace... make proud & judgmental people. We think people should just try harder. It makes people live a life filled with worry and burden. That act as if everything depends on what they do. We believe we can control things that we do not. We will not ask God for help. We keep trying to figure it out and take care of it. We do not come before God asking...

God must surely be offended by our claims to self-sufficiency. He is the only one who is self-sufficient. He has every right to reject us. But instead, Jesus came to us. Weak. So that we could be with Him.

Christ-dependent people see their need and ask for God's help. Their need is always before them. So they will give us trying to control everything and worry about things we cannot control. They will take time to invest in things of eternity. They no longer hold onto things of this world, but use them for God's kingdom. They don't have just theories about God... they live it out.

Why does the kingdom of God belong to children? They know they need their parents. They need help climbing down the steps, eating breakfast, ... etc. This is what it should be like for Christians, the children of God. When we minister. (We ask for the Spirit) When we get up in the morning. (We ask for strength) When we share the Gospel. (We ask for God to soften their hearts)

Letter to the Church in Philadelphia

[Revelations 3:7-13]

"And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: 'The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.

"'I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet and they will learn that I have loved you. Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth. I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'

{Rev. Dwight Yoo}

Philadelphia was a city that sat at a crossroads. It was a strategic city. This city was located near an volcanos, so it suffered from many earthquakes. The christians there were also under persecution, but they persevered though it.

"The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens." - This is how Jesus introduces himself. Why? The church right now was being persecuted by Jews. All these references would be familiar to a Jew who is familiar with the Old Testament. Jesus is telling the Jews that he is the messiah. The reference to the key means that Jesus has the keys to the kingdom.

"I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name." - The church in Philadelphia was a small congregation. It was struggling. But Jesus says he saw what they were doing. He was pleased with them. The Jews believed they were the keepers of the kingdom. They thought they held the keys of the kingdom. They saw christians as apostate. Jews who converted were considered to be outside of the kingdom. The church was being persecuted and they might have been discouraged.

How does this apply to us? We are not really being persecuted. We still have an enemy. Satan was the one who stirred the Jews against the church. Satan is still out there. He is attacking the church even now. So instead of physical persecution, Satan lies to us. He deceives us to make us feel powerless. To make us lose hope.

• In times where we've fallen in sin, Satan questions God's grace & mercy for us.
• When we have hard times and things are all going wrong, Satan questions God's love for us.
• When we don't get what we want, Satan questions whether God is truly for us.
  

There may be times where God shuts doors on us. Marriage. Career. But the door to the kingdom remains open. Those who are in Christ will never have that door closed to them. The door to where God is, remains open. The door has been opened by the death of Christ who bore our sins. God shut the door on Christ when Christ paid for our sins.

How do we live in defeat? There's this invention called DVR. For sports fans, if you miss a show, you can just record it. Let's say the eagles were at the superbowl and you recorded it. You tell your friends not to tell you how the game went. You avoid ESPN.com. And then bam, your Kramer-esque friend sweeps into your place. The EAGLES WON! And you're like, man... why'd you do that? So you sit down to watch the game. You watch McNabb struggle and start to throw footballs at feet. Your team is down in the 3rd quarter. You're thinking... man, I guess that's just how it's going to happen. Always choking. Your Kramer-esque friend says... wait a sec, why are you so down? We WIN! And that is how we live defeated.

"Philadelphia had been built with the deliberate intention that it might becomes a missionary city. Beyond Philadelphia lay the wilds of Phrygia and the Barbarous tribes; and it was intended that the function of Philadelphia should be to spread the Greek language, the Geek way of life.." - Barclay

Our city, Philadelphia is also very missionary. Graduate students come from all around the world. They come to learn new ideas. They spend formative years here. The city is also known as a city of neighborhoods. Many ethnic groups are here. Chinese, Lebanese, Ethopian.. We can reach the world through working locally in our city.

Know that God has opened the door. It is open because the door was slammed shut on Jesus' face. We need never fear that God has shut us out. And not only that it is open for us, but it open for mission. We can reach people for God, regardless of circumstances.

Letter to the Church in Sardis

[Revelation 3:1-6]

"And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: 'The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.

"'I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'

{Rev. Dwight Yoo}

Background: Sardis was a wealthy city. It was were King Midas lived. It was known as a morally loose city, even among those who were largely sexually immoral. Among people who slept with temple prostitutes, Sardis was deemed "loose."

"I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead." - Even though the church in this city had lots of hustle & bustle, lots of action. The church here was dead. Organizations can have marketers to give them good jingles. To give them good reputations, but the church is different. The church's power depends upon the Holy Spirit! If the Spirit is not working, the church is dead.

Our church is known in this area. People have heard of Renewal. We have a reputation. Pastors know of us. But we are not too far off from the road that Sardis is traveling. Sardis thought they were doing well. Everyone around them thought they were doing well. But Jesus said... You're not doing well. When we go to a doctor for a examination, we get everything checked. They look at our eyes with a light, we are tested for reflexes, maybe our doctor runs a blood test. The doctor doesn't just check one thing... Wouldn't it seem absurd, if our doctor only checked our reflexes and said... You're okay!? But often we do this in our spiritual lives. We say... our doctrine is sound. OR I go to community group. OR I attend church.

What kind of spiritual check up is that? You want a real check of our spiritual life? How do you deal with it when we really, really want something.... and God doesn't give it to us? OR How about how to deal with success? OR How do we deal with people who hurt us and treat us bad? Are we spiritually dying?

"Wake up and strengthen what remains..." - However, there is a difference between being completely spiritual dead and being a dead church. A church that can respond to God is not completely dead. A completely spiritually dead person is not a Christian. God tells us to wake up. We are not dead, but we are asleep. It is much like an arm that you've slept on. It's numb and disabled. It is a useless limb until the blood comes back in. Dead churches... churches that are asleep... feel nothing. They are numb. They come into service and stand during worship. They sing and are faced with Christ, but their hearts are numb. They feel nothing. We are not excited about Jesus. He is about as interesting as growing grass. The fruit of these dead churches is just activity. There is no spiritual growth, no life change, no heart transformation.

Notice what Jesus does not say about the church. The church is the lampstand, not the lamp. It is not the light. Christ is the light. We hold Him up. The church is supposed to throw light into the darkness. The church does not look the same as those outside the church.

Jesus' prescription for a Dying Church

• RECOGNIZE your true condition. (Are you spiritual dead?)
  If your heart feels nothing...
  If you have no spiritual impact on others...
• REMEMBER the truth of the Gospel
  Change begins with the truth...
  Disbelief in the Gospel is at the root of sin in our lives...
  Christ RESURRECTS dead people. (Is there anything too hard for Him?)
  Satan lies to us... you can't change. Christ can't help you...
• Walk in OBEDIENCE
  (Our obedience does not save. Jesus' obedience saves. But obeying after saving faith is meaningful!)
  ITS EFFECT
  (Disobedience grieves the Holy Spirit. We hear the Spirit less. We become more numb.)
  (Obedience to God's will causes Jesus and the Holy Spirit to become more real & clearer.)
  AS EVIDENCE
  (A consistent pattern of disobedience indicates a person may not know Jesus.)
  Parable of the weeds {Matthew 13:24-30}
  A life in the Spirit wishes to obey God {Romans 8:1-17}
  

Letter to the Church in Thyatira

{Revelation 2:18-29}

"And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: 'The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze.

"'I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first. But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works. But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden. Only hold fast what you have until I come. The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. And I will give him the morning star. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'

[Rev. Dwight Yoo]

Background context. This city is landlocked in a valley unlike the other cities of the seven other churches of revelation. This city was not very important. This is the longest, most complicated letter sent to the more simple city. They were not being overtly persecuted. There were trade guilds and they struggled with compromise.

"who has eyes like a flame of fire" - Jesus sees everything.
"whose feet are like burnished bronze" - bronze workers would recognize this as Jesus' purity

"your latter works exceed the first" - the church in Thyatira loved God and also performed works of love. They were probably gracious and welcoming.

"But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel..." - There was a woman who claimed to be a prophetess. She taught things much like the Nicolatians. She was called Jezebel to indicate how she was evil. Jezebel is an Old Testament reference. She was a symbol of evil and seduced the people of Israel into worshipping other gods. The children are those who follow this woman. Jesus is saying he will make this woman suffer and make her followers die. False teaching is a serious matter.

Tolerance is considered a good thing. But it can go too far. We are called to believe that there is One way, One truth, and One life. So other religions are invalid. But this is viewed as "intolerance" by others. There are certain things to be intolerant of...

"one who conquers and keeps my works... I will give him the morning star." - Those who hold onto Christ will rule with Him. Christ also promises Himself to them.

Application

Main problem: I have this against you, you tolerate... (You cannot tolerate everything.) "Jezebel" should have been confronted.

Solution:

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. - Ephesians 4:11-16

We need to have both love and truth. This is what the church should look like. How does it look?

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. - John 1:14

Jesus personified the balance of grace & truth. Gracious to sinners. Welcome to tax collectors and prostitutes. Defensive of the truth. Willing to confront those who are in the wrong.

When Jesus stays the center of our lives, we will be gracious and loving. When He is not the center, we look for praise of man or justification through works. We will be afraid to confront people. We will fear what they think of us. OR We don't care what other people think. We will always seek to justify ourselves. To stay in the right all the time. We take pride in ourselves.

1. Are there conversations the LORD may be calling you to have?
   Does God want you to confront someone?
   
2. How will you receive it, when confronted?
   Are we humble & thankful that someone points out our sin?
   
3. Prayer for all of your relationships to be characterized by speaking TRUTH with GRACE, IN LOVE especially in the church, this is where transformation happens.
   If there is no depth in your relationships, this cannot happen. This is why so many of us are spiritual stuck. In our Community Groups, if there is only your physical presence there... that is NOT community. We need to be close enough to one another so that loving & gracious confrontation can happen. Don't blame your leaders or your group. Have you open up your life?