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)