The Lukewarm Church

please open your Bibles this morning to Revelation 3:14-22

did you ever see Rocky 3?

in Rocky 3, Rocky Balboa has been the heavyweight champion of the world for several years

the once obscure and impoverished street fighter from Philadelphia is now living in a Hollywood style mansion

he’s enjoying a life of wealth and fame and self-indulgence

the day he plans to announce his retirement, he is challenged by an unknown behemoth

one final fight, and Rocky accepts the challenge

Rocky trains for the fight in a circus-like atmosphere

he signs more autographs than he hits punching bags

meanwhile, the challenger is in a meat locker, punching sides of beef and knocking around dock workers and docks

when the fight time comes, one wonders whether Rocky can reach down and pull out one final victory, even though he is no longer at his peak

the challenger destroys Rocky in just three rounds

humiliated and dejected, Rocky tries to figure out what went wrong

Apollo Creed, his opponent in Rocky 1 and 2, gives him his assessment

do you remember his words? "Eye of the tiger, Rock. Eye of the tiger."

"You used to have the eye of the tiger. You used to be hungry to win. You used to have the want-to. You used to be willing to pay the price to train. You used to fight with abandonment. You used to."

"But winning led to fame, and fame led to affluence, and affluence led to indulgence, and self-indulgence led to weakness, and weakness led to defeat."

Apollo Creed convinced Rocky to work out in a run-down sweatshop

Creed spent months helping Rocky recapture the eye of a tiger

and as you all can imagine, Rocky, fighting with the eye of a tiger, recaptured his world championship and yelled, "Yo Adrian!" one more time

moral of the story: beware of the dangers of a life of comfort and ease

keep a watchful eye out to make sure it doesn’t lead to an embarrassing and costly defeat

do whatever is necessary to keep the eye of the tiger in the various pursuits that are important to you

we’re going to look this morning at the last of seven letters written by Jesus Christ to particular churches in the book of Revelation

the church we’ll look at this morning – Laodicea – is the worst of the seven

outwardly, this church is in great shape

Laodicea was the wealthiest of the seven cities, known for its banking industry, its manufacture of black wool, and a medical school that produced eye ointment

so wealthy was this city that when an earthquake almost entirely destroyed it in 60 AD, its wealthy citizens refused imperial help in rebuilding the city, choosing rather to do it entirely by themselves

the citizens of Laodicea were rich – and they knew it

if you were a real estate agent at that time, it wouldn’t be hard to sell Laodicea

it was a great place to live

the only real negative about the place was its lack of an adequate water supply

the city of Hierapolis was just seven miles north of Laodicea, and was famous for its healing hot springs

Colosse, less than ten miles away, had cool water

but Laodicea, as rich as it was, had a serious water problem

the water for the city came along a six-mile aqueduct, and by the time it arrived, it was lukewarm, insipid, filled with minerals and chemicals

it sometimes even caused vomiting

but what’s a little water problem in such a great city?

perhaps slowly, and perhaps imperceptibly, the culture of the city became the culture of the church

the comfort and affluence of the city caused the church in Laodicea to become comfortable and complacent

you initially get the impression that this church would be a good one to join

there were no false teachings that are mentioned

there was certainly no persecution from Jews or from the imperial cult

the church in Laodicea was not a dynamic church but it was not a dead church either

it was not a thriving church, but it was not a dying church

it was not a risk taking church, but it was not a comatose church

it was well with in the range of evangelical respectability, you might say

it was kind of normal

it was just a safe, comfortable place to attend and have a membership

no high risk plans on the drawing boards there

no dynamic ministry plans being prayed for there

just a warm, caring group of people meeting together to reinforce middle class values and a Christian orientation to life in general

just a benign group of believers content to cocoon together with other believers for an hour a week

they’re not zealots, but neither are they antagonistic

they’re not hot, but neither are they cold

call them tepid, call them lukewarm, and then call them disgusting in the eyes of Christ

shockingly, in verse 16, Jesus says to the church in Laodicea, "You make me sick"

verse 16 literally says, "I am about to vomit"

the Jesus that we think of as being meek and mild says, "What’s going on at your church makes me ill to my stomach"

unlike most of the other churches addressed by Jesus in Revelation 2 and 3, there are no words of commendation to this church

Jesus is nauseated by their condition

my desire this morning is that we would evaluate ourselves against the two things that disturbed Jesus about this church

once we get over the shock of the strong language of Jesus, we learn two factors that make Jesus sick about the church

two things that Jesus can’t stand in any church – then or today

and the first one is found in verses 15 and 16

FIRST, JESUS IS DISGUSTED WITH CHURCHES THAT ARE INDIFFERENT

(Revelation 3:15) I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other!

(Revelation 3:16) So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

unlike the water of Colosse, whose water was cool and refreshing, and unlike the water of Hierapolis, whose water was hot and healing, the water at Laodicea was lukewarm and hard to swallow

Jesus extends this to the church

back then, cold didn’t have the same meaning as it does today when applied to passion

I don’t believe that Jesus would want anyone to be openly hostile to him – although at least then they have some emotion

but what Jesus is saying here is, you’re all the wrong temperature

you’re passionless and indifferent

you don’t take a stand for anything

you’re not doing anything for Christ

you’re a group of half-hearted, nominal Christians who are self-sufficient – and you’re disgusting

you’re making me ill

there’s a fancy word that we sometimes use called entropy

it’s used to describe the tendency towards decay and deterioration of everything around us

left to itself, everything is in a state of decay

a car left untouched in your driveway for ten years doesn’t become better – it becomes a piece of useless metal

I’ll get technical with you for a second

the second law of thermodynamics states that "a closed system eventually moderates so that no more energy is being produced"

in other words, unless something is added from the outside, the system decays and dies

as one person says, without added fuel, the hot water in the boiler becomes cool

without electricity, the refrigerant in the freezer becomes warm

even a church cannot become a "closed system"

and yet the Laodicean church had become independent, self-satisfied, and secure

and it made Jesus sick

if you could compile a hymnal that would be appropriate to use in the Laodicean church, it would include such songs as "I surrender some," "Take my life and let me be," "Sit up, sit up for Jesus," "My hope is built on nothing much," and "Be Thou My Hobby"

but before we laugh too much, how many of us are familiar with churches that are lukewarm?

how many of us even here this morning are wealthy, and live fairly easy lives, and are confident, satisfied, complacent, and indifferent?

I don’t know about you, but I didn’t sign up for that

ask yourself – didn’t your passion used to burn for Christ and for the church?

I grew up believing that the church was God’s hope for society

that the Gospel has the power to do what government can’t do, what science can’t do

I believed that Jesus Christ was mankind’s only hope

and I believed it so much that I sensed God calling me into full-time vocational ministry

I thought, "There’s no better way to spend a life"

I believed the old saying, "If God’s called you to be a pastor, don’t stoop to be a king"

but then I became a pastor of a church

part of the problem was that the church was full of nice people

our budget was being met

we were seeing some growth

and the slow but subtle trend was for me to forget that the church has a mission

it was almost enough to open the doors for the same people week after week, to enjoy our fellowship, and have almost no passion for the lost, or even a passion for God

that’s the truth

beware the dangers of living a life of comfort and ease

because winning leads to fame, and fame leads to affluence, and affluence leads to indulgence, and self-indulgence leads to weakness, and weakness leads to defeat

the second thing that Jesus can’t stand in the church is found in verse 17

(Revelation 3:17) You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.

SECOND, JESUS IS DISGUSTED WITH CHURCHES THAT ARE SELF-DECEIVED

you see, the deeper problem of the church in Laodicea was not simply their indifference, but it was ignorance of their true condition

they thought of themselves as being rich and sufficient

but Jesus evaluates them and says, "You’re really spiritually wretched and pitiful. You’re poor, blind, and naked"

in an excellent book The Heart of a Great Pastor, H.B. London and Neil Wiseman write:

To acknowledge frailties in the Church and failures in the ministry is giant step toward renewal…I heard a recognized clergy leader tell ministerial students…that the "Church is doing a better job of fulfilling her mission now than at any time in church history." A student asked a friend seated next to him, "I wonder if the speaker really believes that? If everything is right, why are so many giving up on the church?"

Let’s admit that the Church is not what it should be. It is not what it can be. Deep in our hearts, we all know that the Church needs to be renewed and refocused. There is a growing feeling…that something has to be done about it…

Winston Churchill is quoted as saying that challenges are keys to self-renewal. If he is right, the Church is presented with the potential of an awesome awakening.

to people who realize that not all is well in the church, Jesus offers four words of advice

FIRST, COME TO ME FOR EVERYTHING YOU NEED

(Revelation 3:18) I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.

in a city that had plenty of gold as a source of its wealth, Jesus says, "It’s not enough. You need gold from me"

in a city that was known for its manufacture of black wool, Jesus says, "You need to get clothes from me"

and in a city renowned for its manufacture of eye salve, Jesus says, "Come to me for divine eye salve. You need a renewed spiritual vision so you can see life and eternity for what they are. Your eyes have been blinded by the light of culture, but my eye salve works"

come to me realizing that you have no resources of your own

you need my salvation, and my power to be what you need to be

SECOND, JESUS SAYS, ACCEPT MY DISCIPLINE

(Revelation 3:19) Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline.

Jesus still loves lukewarm saints, even though their love for him has grown cold

Jesus tells us here that he sometimes permits churches to go through times of trial so they can become all that they need to be

THIRD, REPENT AND BE ERNEST

(Revelation 3:19) Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent.

rekindle your love and loyalty for Christ

humble yourselves before the sight of the Lord

it’s not too late to replace complacency with zeal

FOURTH, RESPOND TO CHRIST’S INVITATION TO THE CHURCH

(Revelation 3:20) Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.

now verse 20 is one of the most graphic portrayals of the nature of Christ in Scripture

usually that verse is used for evangelistic purposes, and I suppose that’s permissible

but that’s not the way that verse is meant to be understood

it’s a picture that Jesus paints for all of us, a beautiful picture

by rights, lukewarm Christians should be standing at Christ’s door, begging for forgiveness for their half-heartedness and their apathy

but look at the picture that is painted here

no other love is like Christ’s love!

the nail-scarred hands of Jesus are knocking on the door of a callused Christian, whose heart should be warm with worship night and day

but it’s not

so the disappointed but long-suffering Jesus patiently knocks on the door of a tepid Christian, saying, "I’m seeking you out"

"True, I Jesus, am the offended and the wronged party"

"But I am extending myself to you. I’m knocking at your door. I’m taking the initiative."

and he says, "Open the door"

that’s what you call amazing grace

Jesus, what a friend for sinners

Hallelujah, what a Savior!

what a picture of hope for lukewarm Christians

this is a call for you to leave the ranks of the half-hearted

and become fully devoted

so tepid Christians, you know who you are

this last call is for you

the Christ you claim to love is standing at your heart’s door this morning

and he’s patiently knocking

he’s patiently offering you the hope of forgiveness, renewal, and growth

open the door!

don’t delay, don’t put him off

don’t make him chasten you

before the rod of discipline is employed

welcome him to a position of lordship in your life

resolve to get back into good spiritual shape again by rigorous disciplines

resolve to meet with him every day so you never grow distant from him

increase your spiritual intake

meet regularly with other Christians to sharpen each other

make Sundays priority in your life

recapture the eye of the tiger, spiritually speaking

what about it friends? Christ stands at the door of your heart and knocks

open the door

let’s pray

God has given us these letters to the seven churches, given to us so that we might examine our lives and ministries

over the past six messages on this subject, I believe that many of us have been convicted

many of us have not enjoyed being convicted, but we have heard the Holy Spirit speaking to us on such subjects as losing our first love, on being attacked by the evil one, on allowing compromised teaching and leadership, on coasting, on being lukewarm, and on allowing God to open the doors

these are not my words to the church; they’re Jesus’ words

they’re what Christ thinks of the church

I’m going to close this morning with Jesus’ challenge that he have to each of the seven churches:

(Revelation 2:7) He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

the challenge is that we will hear the Spirit’s voice that accompanies the words of Jesus, if we’re to realize the victory Jesus promises

so how is it?

will you hear the Spirit’s voice this morning, and respond?

will you open the door as you hear Jesus knocking, and allow him to enter, and eat with him, and he with you?

will you cast off indifference and self-deception, and leave the ranks of the half-hearted?

I’m going to ask you to pray silently for a minute, responding to what the Spirit has said to you through these messages in Revelation 2 and 3

[pause]

Lord, make us into the church we need to be, the people we ought to be, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

DashHouse.com

Sermon Index

New! Sermon Audio

Subscribe to DashSermons

The Lukewarm Church (Revelation 3:14-22)