
The Lukewarm Church (Revelation 3:14-22)
- 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
- hes 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 doesnt 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
-
- were 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 well 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 wouldnt 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 whats 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
- theyre not zealots, but
neither are they antagonistic
- theyre 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, "Whats 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 cant
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 lukewarmneither hot nor coldI 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 didnt have
the same meaning as it does today when applied to passion
- I dont 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, youre all the wrong temperature
- youre passionless and indifferent
- you dont take a stand for
anything
- youre not doing anything
for Christ
- youre a group of half-hearted,
nominal Christians who are self-sufficient and youre disgusting
- youre making me ill
-
- theres a fancy word that
we sometimes use called entropy
- its 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 doesnt become better it becomes a piece of
useless metal
- Ill 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 dont know about you, but
I didnt sign up for that
- ask yourself didnt
your passion used to burn for Christ and for the church?
-
- I grew up believing that the church
was Gods hope for society
- that the Gospel has the power
to do what government cant do, what science cant do
- I believed that Jesus Christ was
mankinds only hope
- and I believed it so much that
I sensed God calling me into full-time vocational ministry
- I thought, "Theres
no better way to spend a life"
- I believed the old saying, "If
Gods called you to be a pastor, dont 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
- thats 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 cant
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,
"Youre really spiritually wretched and pitiful. Youre
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?"
- Lets 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, "Its 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
- its not too late to replace
complacency with zeal
-
- FOURTH, RESPOND TO CHRISTS
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 thats permissible
- but thats not the way that
verse is meant to be understood
- its a picture that Jesus
paints for all of us, a beautiful picture
- by rights, lukewarm Christians
should be standing at Christs 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 Christs
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 its not
- so the disappointed but long-suffering
Jesus patiently knocks on the door of a tepid Christian, saying, "Im
seeking you out"
- "True, I Jesus, am the offended
and the wronged party"
- "But I am extending myself
to you. Im knocking at your door. Im taking the initiative."
- and he says, "Open the door"
-
- thats 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 hearts door this morning
- and hes patiently knocking
- hes patiently offering you
the hope of forgiveness, renewal, and growth
- open the door!
- dont delay, dont put
him off
- dont 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
-
- lets 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; theyre Jesus words
- theyre what Christ thinks
of the church
-
- Im 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 Spirits voice that accompanies the words of Jesus, if
were to realize the victory Jesus promises
-
- so how is it?
- will you hear the Spirits
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?
- Im 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.