TEXT: Rev.
3:14-22
INTRO: What is the worse
thing that can happen to a Church?
a. lack of
finances?
b. lack of Church
activities?
c. lack of a Pastor?
(Sounds like a possible answer - if you are a
Pastor!)
d. lack of
facilities?
e. lack of committees - on
second thought!
f.
Pandemics?
It is
none of the above! The surprising
thing is this: the greatest problem
a Church can have is to feel that it needs nothing, thus it is
self-sufficient.
The
reason is simple; the Church that has no needs becomes complacent. God thus ends up on the outside of the
Church knocking to get in, the very picture we find in Rev. 3:20!
(This verse is often misquoted by Christians for salvation, it is a
picture of Christ and His Church, with Christ on the outside hoping to be let
back in!)
PROP. SENT: The text will teach us that God
wants us to guard our personal and corporate life as His people from feeling so
self-satisfied that we become spiritually lukewarm! "Lukewarmness" makes God mad
enough to spit!" Remember Jonah's
lukewarm response to go and preach at
I. TEMPERATURE OF
THE CHURCH Rev. 3:14-16
A. "No Good!"
3:14-15
1.
a.
Since we live in the wealthiest country today the parallels are likely to
be strong.
b.
Its wealth was so great that in A.D. 60 when the entire city was
leveled by a huge earthquake it was
entirely rebuilt without any financial help from
2.
The city was known for 3 major
things:
a. It
had a vast and wealthy banking system (
b. It
had a huge textile industry whose specialty was black wool
clothe.
c. It
had a large and famous Medical school which was famous for an eye salve that was
world known called "Cellyrium."
3. All 3 of
the things they were famous for and proud of are used by God to address the
Church's spiritual needs.
4. The
Church itself no doubt was also extremely wealthy, it is stated so by God
Himself!
5. Yet, in
spite of all its advantages this Church is the most condemned of the 7
Churches!
a. It
had a wonderful facility no doubt (Archeological digs have uncovered 3 buildings
of early Christian churches)
b. It
certainly operated in a most business like fashion, and did well
financially! (the text stated that
they needed nothing materially!)
The financial prowess of this Church was such that any Pastor or Board
would envy it!
c.
With all the bankers in town and businessmen it was a Church that no
doubt was top notch run, YET …
d.
God takes great exception to this Church's spiritual
condition!
6. When God
took their spiritual temperature He pronounced them
SICK!
ILLUS: In ancient China the people were sick of the
raids from the barbarians to their north, so they built a great wall! They spent much energy and resources
building what would be one of the great wonders of the world, a wall thousands
of miles long and so wide and tall that it could not be climbed or battered
down! However, during the first 100
years of its existence
a.
The Church in
b.
The fires had dimmed in the light of self-sufficiency and an
over-reliance on material things.
c.
While they weren't yet cold they weren't hot either, they were
lukewarm and thus NO GOOD, they of all people understand how useless
LUKEWARM water was, consider the
following:
ILLUS:
7.
Their spiritual temperature was NOT
GOOD!
B. Nauseating!
3:16
1. The word
translated "Spit" is literally "Vomit."
God used a pretty strong word picture to make His point to this
Church!
2. Jonah
knew this experience quite well!
His lukewarm ended with a giant fish "vomiting" him out
also.
3. It was
their usefulness - or lack of it that God was upset about. They were existing just fine, but they
were not useful!
ILLUS: In
3. The
Church seemed quite impressive; good finances, good business practices, good
name, probably well organized, board members were probably locally successful
business men, or perhaps students from the medical school, and the well
educated. But looks were deceiving,
their self sufficiency and arrogance had cooled their spiritual
temperature!
ILLUS: How deceiving is the child's rhyme and play
we all grew up with: "Ring around the rosies, a pocket full of
posies, a tishoo! a-tishoo! we all fall down!" This rhyme arose around 1665 in the
streets of London to teach the warnings of the deadly black death plague that
struck at that time: "RING AROUND THE
ROSIES" were the red rash like spots on the skin; "A POCKET FULL OF POSIES" had to do with
the belief that evil spirits were associated with bad smells and that if fresh
smelling flowers were put in the pockets of the sufferers these evil spirits
would have to flee! "A-TISHOO,
A-TISHOO" is the familiar sound of those infected when sneezing! "WE ALL FALL DOWN" is the final note of
death! It was not a pleasant fun
childhood rhyme, it was a story of horror and death!
II. TROUBLE OF THE CHURCH
3:17-18
A. Narcissistic!
3:17
1. The
bottom line of their problem stemmed from over-reliance on material things! (not the "things" themselves - their
security from those things however!)
2. Like the
town, this Church had through their 25-30 history acquired great wealth and
great influence. With banks
everywhere, and a huge textile plant, as well as a great medical university this
Church must have been full of business men, bankers, college students and
professors, supervisors, etc.!
3. No doubt
they felt on top of the world - they were the Church all the others could
envy!
a. They couldn't see how
distorted their values had become.
b.
Instead of their abundance being accredited to God, they were taking the
credit for it and relying on it instead of
God!
ILLUS:
B. Necessities
3:17b-18
1. God
tells them they lack the very necessities of spiritual life in terms they would
well understand!
a. they were "poor!"
b. they were "naked!"
c. they were "blind!"
2. They
lacked the very 3 things they were most secure in, just in a different
sense!
3.
So they are counseled to open up their accounts and BUY
NEW:
a. "Gold refined in
fire" - spiritual wealth that comes only from going through
trials!
b.
White clothes vs. the black clothes they were famous for! (purity) Also, to cover their nakedness
- nakedness was considered the most shameful thing that could happen to a
person. (this says something about Christ's nakedness on the
cross!)
c.
Eye salve was needed to correct their blindness problem, obviously a
spiritual awakening so they could see spiritual things. The Holy Spirit is a healer!
d. If
they saw no need they got lazy - so God offers them what they DON'T
possess!
ILLUS: Years ago a major American company had
trouble keeping employees working at a plant in
5. This is
what God was doing with Laodicea, offering them a different kind of wealth, the
kind they were sorely lacking!
6. These
were the real necessities, not what they already
possessed!
A. Nudged!
3:19
1. God
explains His reason for such a harsh word to them - He loves
them!
a. Love does not sit by while
some one ruins their life!
b. this is why Parents discipline
their children!
c.
God would not sit by and let them sink deeper into sin, their values were
taking them away from God
2. By
loading up on this world's stuff they were setting the stage for their own
demise!
ILLUS: Years ago a great ship struck a reef and
began to sink; on board was a great hoard of gold and other valuables. It soon became clear to the passengers
that they had very little time to get into the lifeboats for safety. One man ran to the hold and began
filling his pockets with as much gold as he could cram into them. He then put on his life jacket and ran
to-the edge of the boat and jumped for safety ... however as you might have
guessed the heavy weight of the gold pulled him under like a lead weight and he
sank right to the bottom and died ... he had his gold, but no longer his
life! When the ship begins to sink
in the world we need to remember what will really keep us afloat!
3.
God's Word to them was 2-fold:
a. be
earnest! 3:19b (not
half-hearted)
b. "repent" 3:
19c (turn around and head the other
direction!)
B. Notice 3:20
1. This
verse has been so misinterpreted through the years, often used as a salvation
appeal for the individual; its context however is quite different from
this!
a.
the context is the Church in
b.
the context is about the Christians in this Church - not
unbelievers.
c.
the picture is of Jesus who is OUTSIDE the Church trying to gain
entrance! - how far this Church had drifted! Their wealth had crated a
self-sufficiency so great that it was as if Jesus was OUTSIDE the Church trying
to gain entrance again!
2. Jesus
will not force Himself upon them, He knocks seeking
entrance.
ILLUS: Holman Hunt's famous painting of Jesus
standing at a door knocking when unveiled caught one critic's attention,
prompting him to ask Holman Hunt this question, "Mr. Hunt, you have painted a masterpiece,
but you have made one very serious mistake. You have painted a door without a
handle." "That is no mistake," replied the artist, "the handle is on the inside!" [The painting hangs in
3. If the
door is opened, Christ promises to enter and share a meal with the Church - or
even an individual.
a.
This is interesting in that the meal spoken of here was the evening
meal, the last and most important meal of the
day.
b. It
was the last call for dinner before the darkness of night set in, a possible
reference here to the end time Tribulation
period.
c.
Notice the promise includes mutual sharing, real fellowship with
God.
d.
Mealtimes are one of the great places of sharing between people, it is
here families share their mutual struggles and praises with each other, the
events of the day and their lives together as family - context being the
Church. Great symbolic meaning here
for the "communion" time.
C. Nobility!
3:21-22
1.
The final promise is that of RULERSHIP &
REST
a. "on my
throne"-- rulership.
b. "sit
..." -- idea of completion or
rest.
c.
The picture is of a Church that will rule with Christ, finally their work
complete!
2. Though
we live as servants now - we shall be rulers with Christ
then!
3. After
all we are King's Kids; our great inheritance awaits our rapture, so store up
your treasures where moth and rust will not corrupt
them.
4. We need
to invest in HEAVEN'S SECURITIES & LOAN BANK - they are FDIC approved! (Forever Deposited
In Christ!)
5. This
Church had settled for earthly security and had fallen into mediocrity, nothing
will rob the Church or the believer more than this. This is evidenced by the fact that this
was one of the most condemned of the
Churches!
a.
A lukewarm Church can make God sick to His
stomach!
b.
There was no "ALL TEMPERATURE 'CHEER"' in God's kingdom - hot or cold,
but not lukewarm!
CONCLUSION:
There is no middle ground between heaven and hell, nor is there between
commitment or no commitment to Christ!
God's call is to be "hot" or "cold"- to be saved or not saved! There is no category of "sort of saved"
or "sort of lost"! God finds
warmness unacceptable - enough to make Him
spit!