Amen.
All right, well, we're there in Revelation chapter number three.
And what we've been doing on Wednesday nights
is we've been going through this series on the seven
churches of Revelation.
And I'm excited because we are finishing up this series
tonight.
This is the last sermon in this series of the seven
churches of Revelation.
And if you remember, earlier in the year,
we began this series on Sunday morning.
And we got through the first four churches,
the Church of Ephesus, and Smyrna, Pergamos, and Thyatira.
And then this coronavirus thing happened,
and everything got kind of messed up.
And we took a break from it.
And then over the last several weeks on Wednesday nights,
we went back to it, and we've been finishing it up.
So we've done the Church of Thyatira and Sardis
in Philadelphia, excuse me, Sardis in Philadelphia
on Wednesday nights.
And then tonight, we're doing the Church of the Laodiceans.
So we're finishing up this series tonight.
So I'm excited about that.
And we've spent a long time breaking down these passages,
learning these churches, and learning about it.
If you remember, through this series,
I've been showing you that Jesus is giving a message
to these churches.
And he basically outlines them all pretty similarly.
He begins with an introduction.
Then he'll have a condemnation, a commendation,
a correction, and a conclusion.
Now, not for all of them.
Some of them, he doesn't have anything good to say.
So there's no condemnation.
Some of them doesn't have anything bad to say.
So there's no condemnation.
Sometimes it's in a little bit of a different order.
But it's basically that outline.
With this church, the Church of the Laodiceans,
he actually has nothing positive to say about them
at all.
This message is outlined as an introduction, a condemnation,
a correction, and a conclusion.
And this church is not a good church.
There's a lot of negative things he has to say about it.
But let's go ahead and jump right into it
and begin with the introduction here.
Revelation chapter 3.
And of course, it's good that it's a Wednesday night Bible
study because we're going to just break this apart
verse by verse, phrase by phrase.
And we're going to flip to a lot of places
and study this out.
He says in verse 14, and unto the angel
of the Church of the Laodiceans write,
these things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness.
Now, I want you to notice this phrase, the beginning
of the creation of God.
The beginning of the creation of God.
Now, keep your place there in Revelation.
That's obviously our text for tonight.
But go with me to the book of Colossians, if you would.
Colossians chapter 1.
In the New Testament, you have Matthew, Mark, Luke, John,
Acts, Romans, 1st, 2nd Corinthians, Galatians,
Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians.
So 1st, 2nd Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians,
Philippians, Colossians.
And you know, this phrase in Revelation 3.14,
and this is obviously about Jesus,
unto the angel of the Church of the Laodiceans write,
these things saith the Amen.
This is Jesus speaking.
He says, the Amen is saying these things to you,
the faithful and true witness, the beginning
of the creation of God.
Now, some people who deny the deity of Christ,
like the Jehovah's Witnesses, and a lot of modern Bible
versions will change this verse
to say that Jesus was the first thing that God created.
So they look at this phrase where Jesus said,
hey, I am the beginning of the creation of God.
And some Bible versions will even
change it to say the first thing that God created.
And a lot of cults will teach it that way.
They'll say, see, Jesus is not a God.
He's not part of the second member of the Godhead.
He's not someone who is eternal.
He's actually created by God.
And they'll say, but he's special
because he's the first thing that God created.
But I want you to understand that that phrase
in our King James Bible, the beginning
of the creation of God, is not a reference
to Jesus being the first thing that God created.
That's not, first of all, that's not what it says.
It doesn't say the first thing that God created.
It says the beginning of the creation of God.
What does that mean?
Well, in Colossians 1, we find a passage
that kind of sheds some light on that.
Colossians chapter one, and look at verse number 14.
Colossians 1, 14, the Bible says this.
In whom we have redemption through his blood.
Now that's, of course, the Lord Jesus Christ.
We have redemption through his blood,
even the forgiveness of sin.
So it's clear from verse 14, Colossians 1, 14,
that Jesus is the subject of this context.
He says, in whom we have redemption through his blood,
even the forgiveness of sins, notice verse 15.
Who is the image of the invisible God?
So Jesus is the image of the invisible God.
He's the only part of the Trinity
that you're gonna see, that anybody ever saw.
Who is the image of the invisible God?
Notice, the firstborn of every creature.
See, Jesus is the second member of the Godhead.
We have God the Father, and then we have God the Son.
And Jesus, like John 3.16 and other passages tell us,
is the only begotten Son of God.
But not only is he the only begotten,
he's also the firstborn.
Because, of course, we know that God has other children.
We are born again into the family of God.
We become the children of God.
But Jesus is the firstborn of every creature.
So before there was any other son that God had,
before there was any other son
that was brought into the family of God,
Jesus was the firstborn.
He was the only begotten Son of God.
Now I want you to notice that,
because that's important in verse 15,
because verse 15 is setting the context for verse 16.
In verse 15 he says, look,
who is the image of the invisible God,
referring to Jesus, the firstborn of every creature.
Notice verse 16.
Notice this word, for.
The word for means because.
And here's what he's saying.
He's saying, how do we know
that Jesus was the firstborn of every creature?
How do we know that Jesus was the first son
that God ever had?
He says this, for by him.
He says because by him.
By who?
Jesus, he says, for by him were all things created
that are in heaven and in the earth,
visible and invisible,
whether they be thrones or dominions
or principalities or powers,
all things were created by him and for him.
He says, look, we know that Jesus
is the firstborn son of God.
He is the beginning of the creation of God.
We know that he was the first son that God ever had,
because for by him were all things created,
because Jesus was actually the member of the Godhead
that God used to create the world.
The Bible says that God spoke this world into existence.
The Bible says that God used his word
to bring this world into existence,
and the Bible tells us that Jesus is the word.
Keep your finger right there in Colossians.
We're gonna come right back to it,
but go to John chapter number one,
Matthew, Mark, Luke, John.
John chapter number one, famous passage about Jesus.
John chapter number one, and look at verse number one.
John chapter number one, and verse number one,
the Bible says this, in the beginning was the word.
Now that sounds a lot like Genesis 1, one, right?
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
Here the Bible says, in the beginning was the word,
notice, and the word was with God,
meaning the word is separate from God,
because the word is with God,
but then it says, and the word was God.
So the word is separate from God,
meaning that he was with God,
and then the word is God, or was God.
You say, how does that work?
Well, that's the Trinity,
because of the fact that he's separate from the Father,
but he's part of the Trinity, notice verse two.
The same was in the beginning with God.
All things were made by him, by who?
The word, and without him,
was not anything made that was made.
In him was life, and the life was the light
of all men, and the light shined at the darkness,
and the darkness comprehended it not.
You say, who is this referring to?
Who is the word, this word who made all things?
By him were all things made,
and without him was not anything made.
Who is this referring to?
Notice verse 14.
And the word was made flesh and dwelt among us,
and we beheld his glory, the glory,
notice, as of the only begotten of the Father.
The word is the firstborn son,
or the only begotten of the Father,
full of grace and truth.
Who is that?
That's Jesus.
Go back to Colossians chapter one.
So when the Bible says that he's the beginning
of the creation of God,
that doesn't mean that he's the first thing
that God created.
What that means, the answer to the question,
is in Colossians 1.17.
Now we didn't read Colossians 1.17,
because I wanted you to get the context.
In verse 15, we're told that he's the firstborn son.
In verse 16, we're told how we know that.
We know that he's the firstborn son.
We know that he's the only begotten son of God,
because by him, or for by him,
were all things created that are in heaven
and that are in earth, visible and invisible,
whether they be thrones or dominions
or principalities or powers.
It says all things were created by him and for him.
That matches up perfectly with John 1.1.
Notice verse 17, and he is before all things,
and by him all things consist.
You say, what does this phrase mean?
When Jesus says that he is the beginning
of the creation of God, here's what it means,
that he is before all things.
Remember when Jesus said about Abraham,
he said before Abraham was, I am.
In Genesis 1.1, the Bible says,
in the beginning, God created.
The Bible says that in the beginning, God created,
and Jesus says, hey, I am the beginning
of the creation of God, because he is before all things.
See, the Jehovah's Witnesses and the cults today,
they like to take this phrase,
and you can go back to Revelation chapter three,
but they like to take this phrase,
the beginning of the creation of God,
and they use it as an attack on the deity of Christ,
when in reality, that phrase is an affirmation
of the deity of Christ.
The fact that he is before all things,
the fact that the Bible teaches
that in the beginning, God created,
and he says, look, I am the beginning
of the creation of God.
When God began to create, I was there.
I was before all things.
All things were created by him and for him.
He says, nothing was made
that was not made without him.
So we see that that phrase is actually affirming
the deity of Christ that before Abraham
or anything was, he could say, I am.
Go back to Revelation chapter number three.
So the beginning of the creation of God
is not an attack on the deity of Christ.
It's actually an affirmation of the deity of Christ.
Notice verse number 15.
I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot.
I would thou work cold or hot,
so then, because thou art lukewarm,
and neither cold nor hot,
I will spew thee out of my mouth.
And of course, this is probably the most famous verse,
or these are the most famous verses
of the Church of the Laodiceans,
and probably the most famous
of all the seven churches of Revelation.
The Church of Laodicea is well known
for these verses when Jesus says to them,
he begins his condemnation.
We've gone through his introduction,
and he says to this church, he says,
I know thy works.
He said, I know what you're doing.
I know what you're up to.
And he says, here's what I know about you,
that thou art neither cold nor hot.
He says, here's what I know about you,
that you can't choose a side.
He said, there's two sides, cold or hot.
And he says, honestly, I would thou work cold or hot.
He said, I wish you would just pick a side.
Now, sometimes people preach this,
that cold is being a cold Christian,
and a backslidden Christian,
and hot is being on fire for God.
And I don't have a problem with that.
That probably is the application.
But that's not necessarily what the passage is saying.
It might just mean that they can't pick a spot.
And he uses this idea of a drink,
and sometimes you can have a drink
and you just want it to be cold or hot, right?
I mean, think about coffee.
I like to drink hot coffee.
I don't like cold coffee.
But cold coffee is something that lots of people love.
Some people like coffee hot,
some people like coffee cold,
but probably most people don't like it lukewarm.
And Jesus is saying, he's saying,
look, you are like a drink
that can't figure out what you wanna do.
He said, thou art neither cold nor hot.
He said, I would thou work cold or hot.
He said, I wish you would pick a side.
I wish you would decide what you're gonna do.
He said, I would thou work cold or hot.
Notice verse 16.
So then, because thou art lukewarm
and neither cold nor hot,
I will spew thee out of my mouth.
And again, the idea is that you're grabbing a cup
and you're gonna take a cold drink of something
or a hot drink of something,
and you're kind of expecting that
and you're anticipating that refreshment.
And it comes into your mouth
and it's just kind of lukewarm and it's disgusting.
You just kind of, ah, you spew it out.
And you say, that's not satisfying to me.
That's not refreshing to me.
That's not something I enjoy.
That's something that I wanna spit out.
Sometimes you might go to take a drink of like a Sprite
or a soda, one of those clear sodas.
And you think you're gonna take a drink of a Sprite,
but it's actually water.
And when you drink it,
because your mind's anticipating something sweet
and refreshing, instead you get something healthy, right?
So you might spit it out
just because you're not really expecting that.
And Jesus is saying about this church,
he's saying, look, you're not cold, you're not hot.
He said, I wish you were cold or I wish you were hot,
but because thou are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot,
I will spew thee out of my mouth.
Now, what does this mean?
What is this lukewarm?
And this is often referred to as lukewarm Christianity.
What does it mean to be lukewarm
or to be a lukewarm Christian?
Well, number one, and go through the book of 1 Kings,
if you would, in the Old Testament,
you have all the one and two books,
they're all clustered together.
1 Samuel, 1 Kings, 1 Chronicles.
Go to 1 Kings chapter number 18,
and I'm gonna give you three characteristics
of a lukewarm Christian and what that means.
Because I think sometimes people,
they have the wrong idea of what a lukewarm Christian is,
and I wanna kind of break this down
and make sure you understand it.
What is lukewarm Christianity?
Well, number one, we've already talked about it.
Lukewarm Christianity is when someone tries
to be half in and half out.
They're kind of riding the fence.
They can't decide whether they want to be
a sold-out fundamental Baptist Christian
or whether they want to be a worldly Christian.
They kind of want to be worldly,
and they want to be godly at the same time.
They wanna be holy, but they wanna be carnal,
and they can't decide which way they're gonna go.
And instead of just kind of being sold out
to one side or the other,
they just try to stay somewhere in the middle,
and instead of being hot or cold,
they're just kind of lukewarm.
And Jesus says, hey, I don't like that.
He said, that's not refreshing to me.
He said, I'd rather you just choose a side.
First Kings 18, look at verse 21.
First Kings chapter 18, verse 21.
Elijah kind of deals with this on Mount Carmel,
and I want you to notice how he words it.
First Kings 18, verse 21, the Bible says this,
and Elijah came unto all the people and said,
notice what Elijah says.
He's dealing with this lukewarm people
who can't pick a side, and he says this,
how long halt ye between two opinions?
If the Lord be God, follow him,
but if Baal, then follow him,
and the people answered him not a word.
See, a lukewarm Christian is a Christian who can't decide
whether they wanna be hot or cold.
They just kinda are gonna just be somewhere in the middle
because they can't figure out
which side they wanna be on.
They can't decide whether they're for God or for Baal,
and here Elijah says, how long?
He asks this question.
How long halt ye between two opinions?
He said, how long are you going to just ride the fence?
How long are you just gonna be lukewarm?
When are you finally going to make a decision
and get all the way in or get all the way out?
So lukewarm Christianity, what does that mean?
It's when someone is trying to be half in and half out.
But go back to Revelation chapter three.
Let me give you a second characteristic,
and that's the one that most people, I think,
assume or understand about lukewarm Christianity,
but I want you to understand that's just the beginning,
and that's not it, because if you only take that idea
of a lukewarm Christian,
someone who can't decide whether they're hot or cold
so they're kind of somewhere in the middle,
if you leave it there,
you could develop a wrong application,
and the wrong application would be this.
In fact, I can almost imagine some of you
already thinking this in your head.
You're thinking, well, if I'm not gonna be so low,
then why even try at all?
Obviously, that's not the goal.
The goal is not that, hey,
you either need to be hot or just don't even try.
Just quit on God and get out of church.
That's why you need to understand the entire context
of a lukewarm Christian.
Now, the first step to understanding is, yes,
a lukewarm Christian is someone
who's trying to be half in and half out,
but there's a second characteristic to it,
and it's this.
A lukewarm Christian is the person
who is half in and half out,
but they think they are a good Christian.
See, verse 17 is in the context of verse 16.
Notice this word at the beginning of verse 17.
It says because, okay?
That word is connecting verse 17 to verse 16.
So you can't just separate verses 15 and 16 on their own
and say, I know thy works,
that thou art neither cold nor hot.
I would not work cold nor hot,
so then, because thou art lukewarm
and neither cold nor hot,
I will spew thee out of my mouth,
and say, well, then that's it,
because God adds his word, and he says, because.
He says, I'm gonna spew you out of my mouth,
but I want you to understand why.
He says, here's why you make me sick.
Here's why I wanna spew you out of my mouth.
Here's why you're not refreshing to me.
He says, because thou sayest I am rich
and increased with goods and have need of nothing.
He said the problem with lukewarm Christianity
is not necessarily that they're lukewarm.
It's that they're lukewarm,
and they think, they think they're doing better
than they actually are.
He says, I wanna spew you out of my mouth.
You say, why God?
Because thou sayest I am rich and increased with good
and have need of nothing.
And he says, here's the problem,
and knowest not that thou art wretched and miserable
and poor and blind and naked.
He said, you think you're doing better
than you actually are.
He says, you think you're a good Christian.
You think you're all that and a bag of chips.
I mean, you think you got it going on
when it comes to Christianity.
You think because I'm rich and I'm increased with goods
and I have need of nothing.
And God says, when I look at you,
all I see is wretched and blind and naked and miserable.
He says, the problem with you
is that you're half in and half out,
but that's not necessarily the problem.
The problem is this,
that while being half in and half out,
you think you're doing a good job.
See, and I want you to understand this.
Lukewarm Christianity does not apply
to a new or immature Christian making their way
out of the world through the Christian life.
You understand that?
Because obviously when somebody first gets saved
and they're just all the way in the world
and they start the process of discipleship,
you know, they're a newborn babe,
they start coming to church,
they start reading the Bible,
they start praying, they get baptized,
they start doing these things.
Obviously there's going to be a time
whether you want to take the analogy
as going from cold to hot
or from going from hot to cold,
you know, however you wanna look at it,
whether it, you know, the dead door male,
cold Christian becoming a hot fired up Christian
or whether it's, you know, you were in the,
you know, on your way to a fiery hell
and we're trying to get you out of,
you know, however you wanna look at it,
whether you're going from hot to cold
or cold to hot, at some point,
you're gonna be lukewarm somewhere in the middle.
And a new Christian going from where they started
and beginning to get to where God wants them to be,
obviously they're going to be at a point in their life
when they're kind of half in and half out.
In fact, that's a very important time
for a new Christian where they're kind of holding on
to the world and they're holding on to Christianity.
That's a pivotal time in their life
where they've got to make a decision,
am I gonna follow God or not?
Am I gonna follow Jesus or not?
Am I gonna become a disciple of Jesus Christ or not?
It's a very important time in their Christian life
when they finally decide to let go.
When they finally decide, you know,
I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back.
No turning back, when they find,
so look, this doesn't apply to a new Christian
who's coming out of the world
and they find themselves kind of half in, half out.
This also doesn't necessarily apply
to a backslidden Christian
who understands that they're backslidden.
You know, when you think about the parable
of the publican who would not lift up his eyes to heaven
and he said, be merciful to me, a sinner,
and he was pounding his chest and he was grieving
and realizing that he was a sinner
and that he needed the help of God.
You know, God wasn't looking down at that guy.
Jesus didn't look down at that guy in the parable
and say, you make me sick, half in and half out.
Look, that guy was backslidden, was a sinner,
was needing to get things right with the Lord,
but he understood that there was humility there.
He was trying to get right.
So look, this lukewarm Christianity, it doesn't apply.
It doesn't apply to someone who's coming out of the world
and trying to live for God
and they find themselves halfway in between
and it doesn't necessarily apply
to someone who's been living for God
and got backslidden and finds himself somewhere in between.
Look, God loves the prodigal son
who maybe needs to come to the end of themselves
and turn around and come back home.
You say, who does this apply to?
It applies to the person who's right there in the middle
holding on to the world, holding on to God
and saying, I'm fine, I'm good.
I don't need to do anything.
I don't need to repent.
I don't need to ask God to forgive me.
I don't need to get right with God.
I'm one of the best Christians I know.
Jesus looks at that person and says,
because thou sayest I am rich and increased with good
and have need of nothing and knowest not
that thou are wretched and miserable and poor
and blind and naked.
He said, because you say that, you make me sick.
He says, I'll spew you out of my mouth.
So what does it mean to be a lukewarm Christian?
Well, it means that you're half in and half out,
but that's not the only characteristic.
It's the person who's half in and half out,
but they think that they're doing good.
They think that they're doing God's service.
And by the way, when I read this,
I can't but think of American Christianity.
I mean, think about the people in this world,
the Christians in this world.
I mean, do you think the Christians in this world,
I'm talking about people who are actually saved,
have called upon Jesus in faith for salvation.
You think that the Christians in this world
that are living in communist China
are the ones that are saying this to God?
You know, I am rich and increased with goods
and have need of nothing.
You think it's the true believers
who have faith in Christ, who've called upon Christ,
living in the Arab nations?
You know, they're just filled with pride saying to God,
I'm good, I'm increased with goods.
You know, when I read these words,
because they'll say is I am rich
and increased with goods and have need of nothing.
You know, I think that's a lot of American Christians
today who are just living this half in, half out life.
And they're thinking, well, I have a nice house,
I have a nice car and things are going fine.
And I'm rich and I'm increased with goods
and I have need of nothing.
And God says, you don't even know that you're miserable
and you're wretched and you're poor and you're blind
and you're naked.
So what is lukewarm Christianity?
It's when you try to be half in and half out.
But it's when you're half in and half out
and you don't think there's anything wrong with it.
You're comfortable there.
You think that's fine, that's not,
it's not you trying to get right with God
and trying to come back to God,
it's just that's where you live.
What is a lukewarm Christian?
Well, a lukewarm Christian is a carnal,
worldly, fleshly Christian.
And that should make sense, right?
Because as someone who's trying to hold on to God
and trying to hold on to the world at the same time,
so what do you get?
You get a Christian who's carnal, who's worldly,
who's fleshly.
Now notice, he gives a list of these descriptions,
these adjectives.
He says, you think that you're rich
and increased with goods and you have need of nothing
and you make me sick.
But he said, here's what you don't know.
Notice verse 17.
And knowest not that thou are wretched and miserable
and poor and blind and naked.
Now here's what's interesting,
he gives us five adjectives for these lukewarm Christians.
And all five of these have to do with being a carnal
or a worldly Christian.
Let's run the verses real quickly,
we'll do it as quickly as we can.
Go to Romans chapter number seven.
In the New Testament you have Matthew, Mark, Luke, John,
Acts, Romans, Romans seven.
He said, thou are wretched and miserable
and poor and blind and naked, right?
Remember those words,
wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked.
And let's look at what the New Testament has to say
about these words in regards
to New Testament Christianity.
Now in Romans chapter seven,
Paul is developing this idea
of the defeated Christian life.
Now in Romans eight,
Paul talks about the victorious Christian life
and walking in the spirit
and living for God through trials and tribulations.
But in Romans seven,
he talks about the defeated Christian life.
And the idea that he's setting is that,
look, you need to decide where you're gonna be.
Are you gonna live in the defeated Christian life?
Are you gonna live the victorious Christian life?
Because God doesn't want you being lukewarm.
Romans chapter seven, look at verse 15.
He says this, he talks about this internal struggle
that we all have between the spirit and the flesh,
between the old man and the new man.
This internal struggle when we live,
when we don't walk in the spirit
and we live a life that fulfills the lust of the flesh.
Romans seven, verse 15.
Notice what he says.
He says, for that which I do, I allow not.
And Paul says, there's some things
that I would not allow people to do.
There's some things that if somebody asked me,
should I do this?
I would say, no, that's not a good idea.
But then I find myself doing that.
For that which I do, I allow not.
I tell other people,
you shouldn't lose your temper with your kids.
And then I lose my temper with my kids.
You know, I tell other people
they shouldn't gossip and then I go and gossip.
He says, for that which I do, I allow not.
For what I would, that do I not.
He says, what I want to do,
what I want to do, I don't end up doing.
And look, some of you listening tonight,
you're sitting, you've been telling yourself
every week since this corona thing happened,
I gotta go soloing at some point,
I gotta get out to one of these parks,
I need to send that email.
And you know, and you're genuinely, authentically,
you don't want to do it, for what I would,
that I do not, you just haven't done it.
You say, what is that?
That's your flesh stopping you.
That's the world stopping you.
That's the carnal mentality.
For what I would, that do I not.
But what I hate, that do I.
If then I do that, which I would not,
I consent unto the law that is good.
Now then, it is no more I that do it,
but sin that dwelleth in me.
He says, look, I'm living in this flesh,
I'm living the defeated Christian life,
Paul is making this illustration,
it's sin dwelling in me, for I know that in me,
that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing,
for, he says, for to will is present with me.
He says, the will to do it, the desire to do it,
I want to read my Bible, I want to pray,
I want to go soloing, I want to give,
the will is present with me,
but how to perform that which is good, I find not.
He said, I want to do it, but I don't end up doing it.
So we're looking at a defeated Christian here.
He wants to go soloing, but he doesn't go soloing.
He wants to read his Bible, but he doesn't read his Bible.
He wants to pray, but he doesn't pray,
because he's under the control of the flesh,
he's not walking in the spirit.
In chapter eight, Paul is gonna teach us
about the victorious Christian life,
about walking in the spirit,
and not fulfilling the laws of the flesh.
But I want you to notice in chapter seven,
how he describes this Christian who is willing, right?
The flesh is willing, excuse me, the spirit is willing,
but the flesh is weak.
This guy wants to do right, but can't.
How does he describe him?
Romans chapter seven, verse 24.
Oh, wretched man that I am,
who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
So Paul looks at a Christian who wants to do right
and can't, and he says, you're wretched.
He says, when I'm living in the flesh,
and I want to do right and I can't,
and I want to not do wrong,
and I end up doing it, he said, I'm a wretched man.
Oh, wretched man that I am.
And you know what, Jesus,
he looks down at the church of the Laodiceans,
and he says, you think because you're rich
and increased with goods and you have need of nothing,
but what you don't know is that you are wretched.
That you're living a carnal life
when you're living this lukewarm Christianity
in half in and half out.
Go to 1 Corinthians 15.
1 Corinthians 15, you're there in Romans,
just flip one book over to 1 Corinthians 15.
He said, they're wretched.
And Paul said, hey, oh, wretched man that I am
when I live the defeated Christian life.
Then he said, they're miserable.
Notice what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15.
1 Corinthians 15 is that famous passage
about the resurrection, about the resurrection of Jesus,
and about the resurrection of all believers one day.
1 Corinthians 15, verse 19, notice what Paul says.
He says, if in this life only we have hope in Christ,
and just so you understand the context,
he's saying, if the resurrection is not true,
if there is no afterlife,
if there's no resurrection of the dead after this,
he says, if all we have is this life,
he says, if in this life only we have hope in Christ,
then he says this, we are of all men most miserable.
He said, you know what, this is a miserable life.
This life of Christianity,
it's miserable if it's only about this.
Now if it's about eternity, that's a different story.
If there's hope in Christ, if there's a resurrection,
hey, like the song says,
it will be worth it all when we see Jesus.
But Paul's saying, he's saying,
if there is no resurrection, if there is no afterlife,
if there is no seeing Jesus,
he says, if in this life only we have hope in Christ,
he says, we're of all men most miserable.
And here's what he's saying.
He's saying, unsaved people who don't have a hope
outside of this life, they're miserable.
And I would add to that,
Christians who live their lives
as if there's no hope, are miserable.
And Jesus looks at this church in Laodicea,
and he says, you're wretched, and you're miserable.
Then he says this, he says, you're poor.
Go to Galatians chapter four,
you're there in 1 Corinthians,
flip over to 2 Corinthians, Galatians.
Galatians chapter four.
1, 2 Corinthians, Galatians.
He says, you're poor.
He says, now, by this world's standards, you're rich,
because they said, I'm rich and increased with goods
and have need of nothing.
But God says, I look at you and I say, you're poor.
And there's a lot that we can say about that.
The Bible talks about being rich towards God.
The Bible talks about being rich in the things of God.
The Bible talks about using,
that God uses the poor of this world,
but the rich towards God.
Galatians four and verse nine, notice what he says.
But now, after ye have known God,
or rather are known of God, he's talking about being saved.
He said, now that you're saved,
now that you're known of God,
or rather you're known of God, he said,
how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements.
See that word beggarly?
Sounds like this word, right, beggar?
The root word is deplorably meager and poverty stricken.
He says, it means to be poor.
And he says, look, Paul's saying to the Galatians,
but now, after that ye have known God,
or rather are known of God, he says,
now that you know God, you have a relationship with God,
you have access to God, he said,
how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements
where unto ye desire again to be in bond.
He said, you know God, why are you going back
to the world, to the bondage of the world?
Don't you know it's beggarly?
Don't you know it's poor?
And Jesus would look at this church of the Laodiceans
and he would say, you are wretched.
And Paul would say, oh, wretched man that I am.
And he said, you are miserable.
And they would say, well, our hope is only in this world
because we're rich and increased with goods
and have need of nothing.
And Jesus said, you're poor when you're turning
to the weak and beggarly elements of this world.
Then he says, they're blind,
go to 2 Peter chapter one.
You start from the end of the New Testament
and head backwards, you have Revelation, Jude,
3rd, 2nd, and 1st John,
and the book of 2nd Peter.
Revelation, Jude, 3rd, 2nd, and 1st John,
and then you have 2nd Peter.
Now do me a favor, when you get to 2nd Peter,
put a ribbon or a bookmark or something there
because we're going to leave it
and we're going to come back to it.
So I want you to be able to get to it quickly.
2 Peter chapter one, he says they're blind.
2 Peter chapter one.
He says, for if these things be in you
and abound, what things?
We don't have time to look at it,
but if you look at verses five through seven
of 2nd Peter chapter one,
he talks about adding to your faith,
virtue and knowledge and temperance and patience
and godliness and brotherly kindness and charity.
He says that faith is just the beginning of the walk.
He says you need to add some things to your faith
and he says here's the things you need to add.
You need to add virtue and knowledge
and temperance and patience and godliness
and brotherly kindness and charity.
And then in verse eight, he says this,
for if these things be in you,
those things that he already told us to add to our faith,
he said if these things be in you and abound,
they make you that ye shall neither be barren
nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Now notice verse nine.
But he that lacketh these things,
he that lacketh what things?
The things he mentioned in verses five through seven,
virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience,
godliness, brotherly kindness, charity.
He says but he that lacketh these things is blind
and cannot see afar all
and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sin.
You see how all these words are connected
to a Christian who can't see the eternal
and he's forgotten that he's been purged
from his old sins and he's trying to hold back
to that old life.
You see how the weak and beggarly element
is a reference to going back to sin to be in bondage.
How being miserable is someone
who only has hope in this world.
How being wretched has to do with someone
who can't live the victorious Christian life.
All of these words have to do with a carnal Christian.
He says because thou are wretched and miserable
and poor and blind and then he says this and naked.
And naked.
Now keep your place in our second Peter.
But Hebrews 4 through 13 says this.
Neither is there any creature
that is not manifest in his sight
but all things are naked and open unto him
with whom we have to do.
And that phrase him who we have to do
is him who we are going to deal with.
The one that we're going to do with in judgment.
And here's what he's saying.
He's saying look you're naked.
He said you might have the whole world fooled.
Everyone else might think you're doing great.
In fact other Christians might think you're doing great
but he said before me you're naked.
He said I can see you.
I see what you're about.
I see your motives.
I see your motivations.
I see what you do and why you do it.
And he said as far as I'm concerned you make me sick.
See lukewarm Christianity it is the Christianity.
Keep your place there in second Peter.
Go back to Revelation 3.
It is the Christianity that wants to hold on to the world
and wants to hold on to God.
Wants to just kind of live comfortably
somewhere in the middle.
But they think they're doing good.
They think that everything's fine
but they're actually living a carnal life.
And God says neither is there any creature
that is not manifest in his sight
but all things are naked and open
unto him with whom we have to do.
So we saw the introduction.
We saw the condemnation.
Now I want you to notice in verse 18 the correction.
He says let me show you how to fix it.
Now in verse 18 he says this, I counsel thee.
That means let me give you some advice.
Jesus says let me give you some unsolicited advice.
And usually I'm not for giving unsolicited advice
but this is Jesus right?
The beginning of the creation of God.
The you know God in the flesh.
The God that created all things.
And he says I counsel thee to buy of me
gold tried in the fire that thou mayest be rich
and white raiment that thou mayest be clothed
and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear
and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve that thou mayest see.
Now we're going to break those down here in a minute.
But I want you to notice that he says
I want to give you some advice.
He says I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire
that thou mayest be rich and white raiment
that thou mayest be clothed and the shame of thy nakedness
do not appear and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve
that thou mayest see.
And then notice verse 19, Revelation chapter 3
and verse number 19.
He says this, as many as I love I rebuke and chasten.
And then he says this, be zealous therefore
and repent, OK?
So in verse 18 he says, let me give you some advice.
I'm going to give you some counsel.
But he says the purpose of the counsel
is this, that you would be zealous therefore and repent.
And here's what Jesus is doing.
Because he just got done describing to us
what a lukewarm Christian looks like, right?
He says you're wretched and miserable and poor and blind
and naked.
He said that's what a lukewarm Christian looks like.
But he says, here's what I want for you.
I want you to be a zealous Christian.
I don't want you to be a Christian that's half in, half
out, can't decide whether you want to get sold out
or not.
He said, I want you to be sold out.
I want you to be zealous.
I want you to choose a side and go with it.
He says, look, as many as I love I rebuke and chasten.
He says, be zealous.
He says, be zealous therefore and repent.
So what we're doing is we're getting this contrast
between lukewarm Christianity and zealous Christianity.
So we saw what lukewarm Christianity looks like, right?
Lukewarm Christianity looks like someone
who says, I'm rich and increased with goods
and have eat of nothing.
And God says, you make me sick
because you're wretched and miserable and poor
and blind and naked.
And we developed all that.
Then he says, here's what a zealous Christian looks like.
And he gives us three thoughts in regards to that.
He says, I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried
in the fire.
What does that mean?
Go back to 1 Peter.
If you kept your place in 2 Peter,
just go backwards one book to 1 Peter.
What does it mean to have gold tried in the fire?
Gold tried in the fire.
1 Peter chapter 1 and verse 7, the Bible says this.
Notice what the Bible says, 1 Peter 1, 7.
That the trial of your faith being much more precious
than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire,
might be found unto praise and honor and glory
at the appearing of Jesus Christ.
See, Jesus looked at this church and he said,
look, I don't want you to be lukewarm.
I want you to be zealous.
He said, well, what does that mean?
He says, well, let me give you some advice.
I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire.
He said, you should have gold that's been tried in the fire.
He said, well, what does that mean?
Spiritually, he says, here's what it means, Peter would say.
It means that the trial of your faith being much more precious
than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire.
It's talking about going through times of temptation,
going through times of tests, going through times of trial
where you come out and you actually earn rewards in heaven
as a result.
Job would put it this way.
Remember Job?
He went through times of trial.
He went through hard and difficult times in his life.
He lost all of his finances.
He lost all of his children.
His own wife even told him, why don't you
just curse God and die?
Here's what Job said, Job 23, verse 10.
But he, this is Job speaking about God,
but he knoweth the way that I take.
When he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.
See, you say, what does a zealous Christian look like?
Here's what he looks like.
He never misses the opportunity of a trial.
Say, what?
Well, look, this is highly applicable for us today.
And I try to explain this to people.
And I feel like maybe I just don't do a good job
at communicating it.
I'm trying to get better in my communication skills
and my ability to preach and communicate thoughts.
But please understand this.
In the Christian life, you only
get so many opportunities, especially
as an American Christian, to suffer for God.
You really don't get that many.
There's not that many times in the Christian life
that you suffer for the cause of Christ.
So when those opportunities do come,
and yes, you heard me right, opportunities
come to suffer for the cause of Christ.
Don't waste them, because a zealous Christian would
buy gold tried in the fire.
They would go through the trial of your faith,
being much more precious than of gold that perishes.
See, there's lots of Christians
in the United States of America
who have missed out on a great trial called the coronavirus
when churches have been shut down
and things haven't been going well for Christianity.
And they've had a great opportunity
to go through it like Job with the patience of Job,
not complaining, staying right with God,
staying in courage, and helping people.
But instead, they've spent their whole time complaining
about gold that perishes.
Oh, the economy!
Oh, my job!
Oh, my 401k!
And you're losing an opportunity with God.
Because a zealous Christian says, hey,
you want to throw me in the fire?
Hey, you want to persecute me?
Hey, you want to make things difficult for me?
I'm going to have the patience of Job.
For he knoweth the way that I take.
Nothing catches God by surprise.
God knows what's happening to me.
God knows what's going on in my life.
He knoweth the way that I take.
When he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.
And Jesus looks at this church and he says,
you know what you should do, American Christian,
who says I'm rich and increased with goods
and have need of nothing?
You know what you should do is you should buy me gold,
try it in the fire, but thou mayest be rich.
He said you should embrace difficult times in your life.
You should embrace trials in your life.
Look, there's not that many opportunities.
There really isn't that many opportunities
to suffer for God.
I mean, you know, back in 2016,
our church went through this big major protest
and had all these protesters and people attacking us
and shutting down our bank accounts and all that time.
You know, our church went through that
with a good attitude.
I mean, we lost some people.
The people we lost, we needed to lose, you know?
And, but for the majority of our church people,
they kept a good attitude through it
and they loved the Lord and they kept serving God.
And you know, they earned rewards in heaven.
A great time, but imagine,
imagine if I would've just got all discouraged
in that time.
Oh, I need to quit the ministry.
I can't serve for God.
Look what's happened.
I mean, I probably will never get another opportunity
in my entire life to be able to face down
a thousand sodomite reprobates.
You know, I praise the Lord that we went through it
with a good spirit and we bought of Him gold
tried in the fire.
Because the trial of your faith
being much more precious than of gold that perishes,
though it be tried with fire,
might be found unto praise and honor
and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.
See, those times of trials,
those are the times you're gonna get rewarded for.
Look, some of you are wasting the opportunity.
You're taking this coronavirus thing
and getting all backslidden and getting all depressed
and getting all discouraged.
And I'm not mad at you, I'm just telling you,
you're wasting a great opportunity to buy of Him gold.
He says, gold tried in the fire.
He said, here's what a lukewarm Christian looks like.
The economy!
Here's what a zealous Christian looks like.
I'm gonna buy gold tried in the fire.
I'm just gonna walk, if God wants to slay me,
God wants to take my business,
God wants to take my job,
God wants to take my finances,
God wants to take whatever He wants.
Hey, like Job, the Lord giveth,
the Lord taketh away.
Blessed be the name of the Lord.
Look, I promise you that Job is thankful today
that he went through that trial
and he bought gold tried in the fire.
Then he says this.
He says, you need to buy gold tried in the fire,
that thou mayest be rich.
Then he says this, and white raiment,
that thou mayest be clothed.
He said, a zealous Christian buys white raiment.
Now what does that mean, to buy white raiment?
And there's honestly a lot more here than I could,
we could do a whole sermon on this,
and I'm not gonna do that.
Let me just break it down for you as easily as I can.
You're there in Revelation 3,
look up to verse number five.
It's a different church, but look at verse five,
Revelation 3 and verse five.
Revelation 3, five, he that overcometh,
the same shall be clothed in white raiment.
And I will not blot out his name out of the book of life
but I will confess his name before my father
and before his angels.
This is talking about somebody who's saved,
and the Bible says he that overcometh,
the same shall be clothed in white raiment.
Go to Revelation chapter four, look at verse four.
Revelation chapter four and verse four,
and round about the throne were four and 20 seats,
and upon the seats are four and 20 elders sitting,
notice these words, clothed in white raiment.
And they had on their heads crowns of gold.
Go to Revelation chapter six.
Revelation chapter six and verse 11,
we have the fifth seal's been opened,
the abomination of desolation has gone into effect,
and many Christians have been killed as a result,
notice, and now they're in heaven,
these Christians just got to heaven,
notice what they're given when they get there,
Revelation six verse 11,
and white robes were given unto every one of them.
This idea of white raiment or white robe,
it's this, it's what you wear in heaven.
It'll be the clothing in heaven.
The clothing in heaven is white robes and white raiment.
That's what we're gonna wear.
You say, why is Jesus telling the church of the Laotians,
I counsel thee to buy thee gold tried in the fire
that the maize be rich, and white raiment.
Why is he telling them to buy white raiment?
And I believe the idea is this,
he's telling them, why don't you,
because remember, this is a church that's holding on,
to the world and the things of God.
They can't figure out whether they wanna be hot or cold
or just kinda lukewarm and they can't decide.
And here's what Jesus says to them,
he says, why don't you start,
and he's using this analogy, he says,
why don't you start dressing now
the way you're gonna dress in heaven?
And the idea is this, he's saying,
why don't you start living on earth
the way you're gonna live in heaven?
Look, let me break it to you,
there's not gonna be any Christian rap in heaven.
So why don't you just let go of that Christian rap music,
which is half in, half out, and say,
hey, they're not gonna have Christian rap in heaven,
they're not gonna have country music in heaven,
they're not gonna have the world's music in heaven,
why don't you just start living my life?
Why don't you just get clothed
like in the righteousness of Christ?
Why don't I put on white raiment
and I'll just start doing
what I'm going to do in heaven?
He says, why don't you just live your life
like you were already in heaven?
Do the things that you would do in heaven.
You know what we're gonna do in heaven?
We're gonna praise God, we're gonna have preaching,
we're gonna have the General Assembly of the saints,
we're, look, he says, why don't you just decide,
why don't you quit holding on,
and he says, why don't you just get sold out?
In fact, why don't you just go ahead
and put on some white robes,
like if you were already in heaven?
He said, I counsel thee to buy me gold,
try it in the fire, thou mayest be rich,
and white raiment, thou mayest be clothed,
and that the shame of the nakedness do not appear.
Then he says this, anoint thine eyes with eyesalve
that thou mayest see.
You say, what is that referring to?
Well, I believe it's referring to this,
in Psalm 119, verse 18, is a verse
I probably pray every day of my life
when I open up the Bible.
It says this, open thou mine eyes,
that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.
The Bible says that we should ask God to open our eyes
when we open up God's word to read,
that we should ask God to open our eyes
that we may behold wondrous things out of thy law.
And he says to this church,
why don't you anoint your eyes with eyesalve
that thou mayest see?
And here's what he's saying, he's saying,
look, there's lukewarm Christianity,
we've seen what that looks like.
Then he says, there's zealous Christianity.
What does zealous Christianity look like?
Zealous Christianity looks like this.
During times of trial, they take it like a champion.
They stay right with God like Job.
They have patience.
They live their lives like they were already in heaven.
They've completely let go of the things of this world.
We're talking about the sinful things of this world.
They're not holding on being lukewarm.
They've let it all go.
They've already put on their white raiment.
It's like they're in heaven.
And he says they've opened their eyes.
They've put medicine, eyesalve on their eyes
that they should not be blind, that they might see.
The psalmist said, open thou mine eyes
that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.
He says, look, you need to watch.
As we get closer to the end times, he says, watch.
Well, you can't watch if your eyes are closed.
And then he says this, and we'll
enter into the conclusion of the message.
Notice verse 19.
He says, as many as I love, I rebuke and chasten.
Be zealous, therefore, and repent.
Hebrews says this, and ye have forgotten the exhortation
which speaketh unto you as unto children.
My son, despise not thou the chasten of the Lord,
neither beware of his correction,
for whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth,
and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
The Bible is clear that when you are a child of God,
God is going to give you spiritual spankings when
you need them.
God desires to correct his children.
If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you
as with sons.
For what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
But if ye be without chastisement,
he says, look, if you don't get spanked by God,
he says, then are ye bastards and not sons.
If you can live your Christian life just in the world
a carnal Christian, and God never gets your attention,
God never corrects you, I mean, the Bible is clear.
It may be that God's not your father.
God desires to correct his children.
And this church had a lot of problems,
but they were actually saved.
And he says, look, I'm not mad at you.
He says, as many as I love, I rebuke and chasten.
Be zealous, therefore, and repent.
Then he says this.
He says, I correct my children.
And then he says, I desire to fellowship with my children.
Notice verse 20.
Behold, I stand at the door and knock.
If any man hear my voice and open the door,
I will come into him and sup with him and he with me.
And here's the truth about low form Christianity,
is that while we might think that we can live halfway
in the world and halfway with God, God says and Jesus
says, when you are with the world,
you are at odds with God.
When friendship of the world, the Bible
says in the book of James, puts you at enmity with God.
He says, you might think that you're doing OK,
half in and half out, but the truth
is Jesus would say, I'm on the outside.
But he says, behold, I stand at the door and knock.
He says, if any man hear my voice and open the door,
I will come into him and will sup with him and he with me.
He says, I want nothing more but to have a relationship
with you.
I want nothing more.
What does it mean to sup with someone?
It means that you sit down and have a meal.
That's one of the greatest ways to fellowship with someone.
Sit down around a dinner table and have a meal together.
And Jesus says, look, I want to have fellowship with you.
I want to live a life.
I didn't just say you should go to heaven.
I want to live a life in communion with you.
But you've got to decide whether you're in or out.
And he's not talking about salvation.
He's talking about walking with the Lord
and having a relationship with the Lord.
And then he says this, not only
do I want to correct my children, God would say,
and not only do I want to have fellowship with my
children, Jesus would say, but he
says, I desire to approve my children.
Notice verse 21.
To him that overcometh, will I
grant to sit with me in my throne,
even as I also overcame and am sat down with my father
and his throne.
Do you remember Paul said, if in this life only,
he says, if our hope is only in this life,
then we are of all men most miserable.
But Jesus would say, well, you're not.
There's a day of judgment coming.
He says, to him that overcometh,
will I grant to sit with me in my throne,
even as I also overcame and sat down with my father
and his throne.
See, there is a day when God will affirm
what we've done on this earth.
There is a day when God will either look at you
and say, well done, thou good and faithful servant.
Or he'll say, you were slothful and you were wicked.
There's a day of judgment, the Bible
says, when God is going to look at us and say,
I will grant you to sit with me in my throne,
when Jesus will say, even as I also overcame and am sat
down with my father and his throne.
He says, I want to affirm you.
In fact, one of the most powerful statements,
I think, in this entire passage is in verse 14.
And I didn't really deal with it
because I wanted to deal with it here at the end.
But at the introduction of this message,
and we'll end with this, Jesus said this.
And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans
write, these things saith, he says, the Amen,
the faithful and true witness, the beginning
of the creation of God.
And we focus on that phrase, the beginning
of the creation of God, because that's
the phrase that people normally attack in this verse.
But I think it's interesting that Jesus said,
he referred to himself as the Amen.
He says, these things saith, the Amen.
What does that mean?
Well, the word Amen, it's actually a Greek word,
amin, it's transliterated into English.
It's not translated into English.
It's just a word that was taken from the Greek
and put into English in basically the same way.
It means verily or truly.
And when someone says, Amen, what they're saying is,
this is true, or it is so, what they're saying is true.
Oftentimes, in a preaching service,
when the preacher is preaching, someone might say, Amen.
And what they're saying is, they're saying, this is true.
It is so.
Truly, what they're saying is true.
And what it means to say Amen to something
is to affirm it, to give your approval,
to say, I approve of what they're saying.
So the preacher gets up and preaches about whatever sin,
and the man in the car, they say, Amen.
And what they're doing is they're letting it be known.
I agree with what he's saying.
I'm affirming what he's saying.
I approve of what he's saying.
Here's what's interesting.
Jesus said, these things saith the Amen.
And at the end of your life, and at the end of my life,
the Bible says that Jesus will be the one
who will meet us at the judgment seat of Christ,
and he will either say, and I hope he will say,
and I think we all want him to look at us
and say, of our lives, Amen.
Amen.
I approve.
I affirm.
I am in agreement with what you did.
Well done, thou good and faithful servant.
And Jesus says, the only way,
the only way to get that approval,
the only way that it will be said to you,
the only way it'll be granted to you
to sit with me in my throne,
even as I also overcame and have sat down
with my father in his throne.
He says, if you finally make a decision,
whether you want to be lukewarm or zealous,
whether you want to be half in, half out,
or completely sold out to God,
and Jesus would look at this church and say,
I stand at the door and knock.
I'm giving you an opportunity,
and I hope you will allow me to one day say, Amen.
Amen.
Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer.
Heavenly Father, thank you, Lord, for this study.
Lord, and it's always exciting and sad
whenever we end a study,
and we spend several weeks, seven weeks,
looking at this passage, studying out these churches,
learning about these seven churches of revelation.
And Lord, I pray that you would help us
to learn from them.
Lord, you corrected these churches,
and you condemned these churches,
and you commended these churches.
And Lord, help us to be right with you.
Help us not to be like the church of Laodicea,
and it's just half in, half out,
thinking we're doing better than we actually are.
I pray, Lord, that you would help us to open our eyes.
I pray, Lord, that we would embrace the times of trial.
I pray, Lord, that you would help us
to begin to live our lives.
The way we're gonna live in heaven,
just put on those white robes now.
In the matchless name of Christ, we pray.
Amen.