I invite you tonight to turn to the last book of the Bible, Revelation chapter 3, beginning at verse 14 to the end of the chapter, verse 22, Revelation chapter 3, as we're working through this book. This is the word of the Lord tonight, beginning at verse 14, Revelation chapter 3. And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write, the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation, I know your works. You are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say I am rich, I've prospered, and I need nothing. Not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and solved to anoint your eyes so that you may see. Those whom I love I reprove and discipline. So be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. if anyone hears my voice and opens the door i will come in and eat with him and he with me the one who conquers i will grant him to sit with me on my throne as i also conquered and sat down with my father on his throne he who has an ear let him hear what the spirit says to the churches may the lord bless tonight the hearing of his word well our study uh in revelation and the seven churches, I'm sure as I just read the whole tone of that, as you felt the severe indictment and approach of our Lord to the church in Laodicea, it is rather shocking for us in the American church, isn't it? The words we're not used to. It's nothing really like we're used to. This is how Jesus thinks of his church. These are Jesus's words to his church. These are his letters to the church. If we had red letter Bibles, these will be in red, won't they? Jesus is the head of his church. Jesus cares a lot about his bride. And I think you couldn't help but read that tonight. Notice how direct, how confrontive, even somewhat combative he is in exposing and giving warning to this particular church, as we've seen throughout the study of the seven churches we're not used to this about jesus or at least as we have created him in our minds in america as nice jesus the american jesus the jesus we're all very comfortable with who never confronts us who never steps on our toes who's only about love and never about wrath it just doesn't work for us does it but really when we look at tonight this particular church And I want to remind us as we're looking at this, we're not looking, and Jesus is not dealing with this on terms of individual salvation. He's approaching a church corporately. He's speaking to them as a church, as the body, as this particular local church in a particular place. And we have to remember why this is so important and why he's saying the things that he is saying, remembering and having us think a little bit about why he even established the church why do we have the church these are crucial questions we've really been challenged to think about our purpose our reason the great commission this has really challenged us to think a lot about why we do what we do who we are whose house this is the value of course of church today has been lost. Our generation has reacted against anything institutional, and people don't appreciate church as they should, like they should. It's a kind of take it or leave it kind of thing, an addendum to our already busy lives. We think that we can get by without it, and our service often is really used that way as what is an addendum to our already busy lives, that the body of Christ, being a member in his church always gets kind of second place, doesn't it? It's second in our projects. There's a reason Haggai is all about the confrontation of them paneling their own houses and forgetting the true spiritual house that needed to be built. Church is always second. This is what we see throughout the scriptures. Jesus is not happy about that. And as we see this unfold, if this happens, do we understand why the Lord would be immensely bothered? He purchased a people, the church with His own blood. A people. But look at what's been exposed. Look at what we've considered with these churches. The very first church. A church who had a strong doctrinal commitment, but had abandoned their first love. They had abandoned the very purpose as a church. A missionary purpose. What good is a church that forgets that? We're called to evangelize the nations with the gospel. You are the problem of the church, remember I said last time, either wanting to reach out so far to the world it fell in, or you have the church retreating so far inward and looking inward that it forgot its outward mission. pergamum and thyatira were wavering and letting all kinds of things go letting bad doctrine come in a bad theology and of course the consequence was bad living no holiness in these churches and that's no little little issue why have a church set up where we preach a gospel of deliverance from sin and tolerate people with no discipline remaining in it it just doesn't work sardis was dead no life whatsoever had the outward form the problem very similar to the jews where they came with their lips but their hearts were far there were encouragements along the way there was smyrna a church that was weak and small and didn't have much but was very faithful and were a persecuted body the church that was the smallest the weakest was the one that had the greatest witness in its persecution. Philadelphia was a great encouragement, wasn't it? A faithful church. There was really no rebuke of that church last time. And the Lord gave them an open door. Go through it. Be bold. I'm bringing people to your feet. I'm bringing the Jews to your feet. I want to begin tonight as we now turn to this last church of Laodicea with a quote that I stumbled on that I think really helps us to think a little bit about this particular church and the problem of this church and what it was facing. And this author said this, indifference to religion is the first step to apostasy from religion. Indifference. Indifference, carelessness, self-complacency is the most dangerous place for a church to be. That is somewhat tonight getting to the problem of the church in Laodicea. They were indifferent. They were thriving on their own physical resources, their own strength, yet they were doing it without Christ. And of everything that we studied so far, we've got a strong letter tonight from our Lord. He hates one thing the most. And you'll notice how strong it was. The thing that he hates the most is lukewarmness. Lukewarmness. Just a careless, half-hearted commitment to being a part of his body that has no real understanding of why you even need it. We'll come back to this. I want to think about a little bit tonight what brings a church here. We'll define it. We'll look at it. But I want you to walk the path with me a little bit as we see it unfold in this particular passage. You'll have to ask that. What brings a church here? And we'll come back to that in the end and answer as we see how Jesus deals with it. About 40 miles southeast of Philadelphia were three very well-known cities. There was a large river there. And north of the river was Herapolis. To the south of the river was Colossae and Laodicea. Laodicea had the problem of a lacking water supply. This is all documented. You can read about its history, which I've spent some time doing. So what they did was they designed an elaborate pipe system to tap into the hot springs of Herapolis. The problem was twofold. The hot spring itself had cooled over time. So that by the time the water traveled from Laodicea to Laodicea, It was awful. It was emetic. It was tepid. It caused nausea. And drinking it was the worst kind of temperature it came with. It was lukewarm. Anyone who drank the water wanted to vomit. Tasted bad. Its temperature made it repulsive. How many of you have been to Hanford? Next to Lemoore is this town called Hanford where I grew up. There are a lot of dairies there, by the way, and stuff seeps into the ground. You ever drank Hanford water? It was an ongoing joke. Nobody from L'Amour ever wanted to drink Hanford water. Hanford water was awful. It had a sulfur-like taste. It was like a cocktail of sulfur. Nobody ever wanted to drink Hanford water. It was the joke. It was just miserable to drink Hanford water. Well, that's very similar to the problem everyone knew about the water problem in Laodicea. It was nasty. Nobody wanted to touch that water. Jesus is using this phenomenon they know all too well to apply it. And that's what makes this very powerful. He applies it to how he feels about what this church has become. The experience of this church. So, in verse 14, Jesus addresses the church with a powerful introduction, you'll notice here, where he says, to the angel of the church in Laodicea write, the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation. You'll notice here, why does the Lord say this? Right out of the gate, he's emphasizing, he is the true witness. In other words, when you put together the power, when you're putting together the emphasis of witness what he's essentially saying is it's not their opinion of themselves that matters they need to listen to his witness they need to listen to what he thinks he's the one that has all power he's the one whose voice matters it's his opinion that's true he's the only true witness of what's happening i think that's really important today don't you where churches are all doing their own thing and everyone decides what's best i mean if we're not living in the day of everyone ruling by his own authority i don't know when we are jesus is saying you need to listen to very carefully there is a standard there is right and wrong you need to listen to the one who is the true witness about your church the true witness of what's happening whatever the amen says is so see that that's the that's the um the thrust of this so we can't disagree with the assessment we receive the assessment this is his assessment it's his church it's his home it's his house so that's that's that's sort of the the emphasis that comes out right of the beginning here in a sense of listen up listen to what i'm saying to you and he gets right into it in verse 15 you'll notice how direct it is i know your works you are neither cold nor hot would that you were either cold or hot so because you're lukewarm and neither hot nor cold i will and some of the old translations use it which has even a stronger feel i will vomit you out of my mouth vomit you this is jesus this is jesus this is a stern of a letter as i come across in the bible to his church what's going on i kind of want to know don't you i want to know what's going wrong with this church well jesus describes what he sees i don't read of any doctrinal error i i don't read of a persecution i don't read of a lot of evil practices like the other churches jesus says you're neither cold nor hot but rather lukewarm just like the waters they were tasting uh from herapolis he makes a reference to their lukewarmness Something that has left them sluggish. Something has left them indifferent. Something has left them careless. Something has left them mediocre. Half-hearted and stayed as a church. It's not a sincere church. It's not a wholehearted church. And because of this, they were totally ineffective in their witness. Half-hearted commitment leads to the most insincere ministry possible. There's nothing fervent. There's nothing of life there. And nor is there an understanding of the privilege we have to serve the risen Christ in resurrection power, as is all over the New Testament. Now, what a church for us to consider then for a moment. One pastor said, this church describes vividly the respectable, nominal, rather sentimental, skin-deep religiosity which is so widespread among us today in our Christianity, which is flabby and anemic. It's a church a mile wide and an inch deep. Now, if you said, well, help flesh out, what is the real issue here, pastor? I want to understand what is the real issue. What produces lukewarmness? I think everyone has a decent understanding of what lukewarmness is. Jesus gets very specific here. We're going to see really clearly here in a moment what lukewarmness, what led to this. But I want to lead us there, and you'll notice certain things that Jesus is emphasizing. But I want to begin with this thought that I want to suggest it's one thing that leads us on the path to lukewarmness and it's a lack of steadily being challenged in the depths of god's word i was talking with somebody who's recently uh describing the struggle they're having today and i really don't uh delight in listening to people talk about their struggles in churches and other parts of the country and what they're facing but but what gets me is that the concern is almost universally the same as a matter of fact i was asked recently by somebody what is the state of the church do you think in our country what a question huh what a question well what struck me is that over and over i'm hearing the same thing we're just not getting anything. There's no depth. There's no exposition. There's no meat. We're starving. If we're ever anything like what Amos moaned about when he said the famine in the land would come, a famine of the hearing of the Word of the Lord, people are going to run to and fro seeking the Word of the Lord, and they're not going to find it. We're close. We're close. If this is all true. If that is indeed true, then my response is that such an approach to ministry of no depth, no exposition, no challenge, nothing far-reaching, nothing that feeds us, there's nothing of that. That is a pastoral choice. It's accommodating to the wants of the people not to what the pastor has been sent by God to do. And the sad thing about it is you would think that Christians would have enough sense to rise up against that and to say we can't sit there in that. Most Christians are fully accepting of this. It's mindless. It doesn't require anything. It doesn't push you. It doesn't challenge you. You can just remain comfortable. You can remain easy in it. Thinking all along that this is ministry as we're patted on the back, heading out. It's a good worship service today. Is that it? Well, this approach to church has two devastating effects. It kills a hunger for the Word of God in His people, and it ruins a witness to the world. What does it create? Total apathy. Total indifference to the Word. There's no heart in it. There's no heart in it. It becomes about validating us. I think that is always the problem of faulty leadership. Is it wrong to say we need ministries that burn for the Word of God? It was Jeremiah, who in all of his conflict, when the nation had apostatized and abandoned God's Word, and God had sent that man to preach the Word, remember what he said? the Word of the Lord has become for me a reproach and derision all day long. If I say I will not mention Him, if I say I'm done doing this because I can't take the heat, if I say I'm not speaking anymore in His name, there is in my heart a burning fire shut up in my bones. I'm weary of holding it in. I can't. Fire. Well, Jones used to always talk about this in these pastors. I need young ministers with fire. I don't see it. Jesus is even more specific here about where the church was failing. It wasn't just the Word. This is why I read article 29 tonight. You'll see the problem by Jesus addressing the results of this ministry. The results of this particular ministry in the life of the people in other words what fruits does jesus observe then you can kind of move back and say what produces that kind of fruit look at verse 17 because for you say i am rich i have prospered and i need nothing not realizing that you're wretched pitiable poor, blind, and naked. You know, Laodicea was famous for its prosperity. It had amassed a wealth unlike any other city in Asia Minor. And they had a great banking center. They had everything in this city. A state-of-the-art medical school. Their manufacturing was untouched at the time. The city was full of pride. In fact, remember I mentioned a few weeks ago this earthquake that shook the region in about AD 60, all the cities had appealed to Caesar for financial aid, all except Laodicea. They rebuilt that city themselves. They pulled themselves up. They did it, and they were proud about it. Listen to Tacitus, a Roman historian. In the same year, Laodicea, one of the famous Asiatic cities, was laid ruined by an earthquake, but recovered by its own resources without assistance from ourselves. You hear Jesus here a little bit in that? He's applying that to the church. Their pride in that city. The city was utterly self-dependent. They were full of pride. Could a connection be made? What was this church's assessment of itself? They ran around saying we're rich, we're wealthy, what do we need? What is he saying? You think you have everything, but you've left out the thing that's most important. This is like a man building a beautiful baseball field. And he has a wonderful pitching mound. He has great grass. It's green and mowed and kept. Hundreds of bleachers, the best bats, everything imaginable, the greatest of players, and no ball. What good is that? When a church has this kind of confidence in itself, what happens among the ministers, the people? That's what we're getting at, the fruits. This is what Jesus is addressing, the bad fruits. You have to ask the question, who's left out of this ministry? jesus jesus it's what produces this what happens to a people who say they are rich jesus says that you're forgotten you're poor well what what then did the ministry become remember jesus told the parable the feast the king he said he said i'm going to throw a great feast invite my servants to come and remember what happened they all made excuses nobody wanted to come king was mad so that's it go out into the streets and bring in the poor blind and he goes through it's the same kind of thing naked all those who couldn't get there themselves i needed grace to get in you see this is where it all went wrong we really get to the heart of it tonight jesus says you don't realize you're miserable wretched poor blind you think you got it all what had they forgotten what had they left out how desperately needful they were. What they had forgotten was how desperately needful they were for Christ's, this is so important, continued ministry of gospel and righteousness to them. Think about it. The church is being confronted for a lack of gospel ministry. That's how you get here. That's the fruits this produces when it's not in place. Skin deep. Nothing. Self-complacent. Confident in themselves. Prideful. All about their wants. All about how the worship is going to be. It's not about you. You don't know what you need anymore. You've forgotten. You've stopped seeing it. You've forgotten your need of continual humbling yourself before your God and forgiveness. Daily conversion. Getting on your knees and asking for forgiveness before Him. Coming before us. As Reverend Cammie did a beautiful job this morning with the reading of the law. We have that part in worship. It's gone. Your ministry, it's dumped. You've forgotten that your fig leaves can't clothe you. You need to be clothed by me. See all that language there? You need my robes. I counsel you to buy from me. Gold refined in the fire that you may be rich. White garments that you may be clothed. That the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed. That you anoint your eyes with eyesalve that you may see. Jesus was all over the Gospels. Showing people this need. Showing us blind people. People who needed to be covered. The whole Scriptures have taught us this. He's calling the church to return to the heart of the ministry, a gospel-centered ministry. This is His call to a church. We have individual calls. Come to me and I'll give you rest. Come to me, church. Come back. Return to me. you've forgotten the ministry forgotten what it's about and you put your people back under the yoke and you're giving them nothing and the fruit is just awful pride and you know what nobody's going to be assured of anything get them on their deathbeds and you watch what happens i wish you were either cold or hot isn't that a interesting statement i wish as these waters were piped in from herapolis i i don't want you like that i want you to be either cold or hot because you know what you do with that lukewarm water you yourselves vomited out of your mouth why would i want a ministry like this why would i want to keep a ministry like this going what good does this do for anyone you see how he's he cares about his bride so he cares about people you say well this is a harsh letter it's a loving letter it's loving discipline um and that and that's what this is uh this is this is really all about tonight the word of god he wants to press people one way or the other this is why when the word is being exposited and the words doing its job the lord says it'll never return void it's cutting one of two ways in the ministry the lord doesn't want the word not being preached and people just sitting here going nowhere the lord wants the word brought to bear on people's consciences and you're going either in one direction or the other. That's the sharp two-edged sword. The ministry should be taking people in one direction or the other. I pray for everyone that takes you in the hot direction. Meaning to Him. That everyone would be saved. But ministry should be pushing people. It should be challenging people. It should be pressing people. Pressing people to Him. the alternative is to have a ministry that doesn't produce that and everyone just sits here complacent and never confronted, never challenged, never changed, never moved to be missionary-minded as a people. All that kind of fruit, bad fruit, Jesus says, I can't bear in a church. Let me put this positively. What does he want from the church? wholeheartedness we tend to think the church is just about us and our comforts jesus is calling us here to have a gospel ministry that deals with our real problem and then wants to see that problem solved for others and then it will produce the kind of good fruits that the bible is talking about of of fervency remember titus talks about works that are fervent he gave himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works. That word zealous means burning with zeal. That's the fruits you're going to see in a Gospel ministry. Abandoned Gospel ministry, you get what I described. So Jesus is saying, I deserve more than this. I didn't die and go through all of this to let this go on in the church. I deserve better than a bunch of people who claim to be followers but show absolutely no interest in my life, death, and resurrection proclaimed. That is not ministry that doesn't do that. We need Him. You need Him every minute. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom. So how does this conclude? It's a message of tough love, isn't it? He says, As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. I want you to know, this is a loving rebuke and chastening. That's my goal here. And he says in verse 19, I reprove and discipline. So, be zealous and repent, he says to this church. You guys need to have a congregational meeting. You need to get together and you need to start thinking about why you're here is what he's saying to Laodicea. and then comes the great verse doesn't it behold 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 i think you know how that verse typically is played jesus is just begging at your heart to let him in you know do you really think that fits the context here I think it's just evident. That doesn't even come close to the context at all. He's talking to a church. And he's playing off something he said in the ministry when he walked on this earth. It's something he said in Luke. A parable where he talked about a master returning for his marriage supper. Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master when he returns from the wedding that when he comes and knocks they may open that door immediately to him well there it is there it is that's what is on his mind blessed are those servants when his master comes will find them watching what what is he saying he's stirring them up to say listen i'm coming soon why do you think you're on earth i'm coming and that door i'm coming in judgment or in peace and he's stirring them up to fulfill the design of gospel ministry pride and smug and self-satisfaction is going to be torn down shallow piety doesn't save anyone judgment always begins where with the house of God. Lukewarmness to Christ is like sitting with Him and having lukewarm coffee. He won't like it. Neither do I. He spews it out. So, the Laodiceans, as one pastor said, can't avert His arrival by ignoring the knock. Their response to His warning will determine whether His entrance brings them the joy of the banquet it or the exposure of their shame what is it that's the knock what's it going to expose when he knocks which direction are we going i wonder what the church thought when it got this letter how would we feel if this letter said all these letters we could put our name on how would we feel i hope we would say you know the lord knows best and may we be a humble people who realize we can do nothing without him i love the promise that he gives here to him who overcomes i will grant to sit with me on my throne as i also overcame and sat down with my father on his throne i don't think that needs a whole lot of comment you're going to reign i'm going to be seated as a victor you have the hope as was talked about this morning of reverend camminger doesn't that motivate you to this to remember where we're headed the jerusalem the heavenly jerusalem that we're already members of i want to close with this arch years ago archbishop trench went to laodicea and he describes this all has perished now he who removed the candlestick of ephesus has rejected the laodiceans out of his mouth the fragments of aqueducts and theaters spread over a vast extent of the country tell the former magnificence of this city but of this once famous church nothing survives where is it today we've considered a lot about the churches these past weeks we're now ready to move into these visions that are coming but i think hopefully it challenged us to think about who we are as a church where we stand where we're headed and that we are his body purchased as individuals remember what reverend camming has said this morning it's so comforting we may we may do this um things that are are disobedient but we're still his children right remember as the body of christ as his church we're called to be set apart to him with a mission and he calls us his church tonight remember the special privilege you have to be a part of it it's not second place you are members of his body purchased with the precious blood of christ may our ministry then we realize every week as we come up to the house of the lord remember why we're coming we're coming here not just because it's the right thing to do wonderful to do the right thing you're coming here because you need jesus you're coming here because you need his righteousness you're coming here because he desires to help you in your struggle against sin but if you cast all that off and want to be entertained to death you're you're no longer functioning that way may we um remember that these are the churches that have something to offer to the world these are the churches that are faithfully fulfilling gospel ministries that are really making a difference and i believe the escondido united reformed church has that heart i believe i've seen it in you you desire this may we all then be in prayer about it asking that we would fulfill the purpose god placed us in this city remembering we've got a great commission given that the gospel would be preached let us hear it let us receive that with joy let us believe it and you watch the activity that flows out of these doors to reach other people it's beautiful that's the design he who has an ear let him hear what the spirit says to the churches let's pray gracious heavenly father thank you for the word of god thank you for giving us what we need the words of our lord jesus christ are strong but we need that because we often are careless and even in that you have always told us when it comes to individual salvation you'll never lose one all were given to the son and the son fulfilled and saved all who were given to him by the father but yet we think a lot about our purpose as a church body may we be faithful in our uh responsibility here and around the world today as all the churches who bear your name may they remember what this is ultimately about thank you for blessing us tonight to receive your word on this day of rest you've given to us strengthen us in your promise and gospel and hope that already we reign and will finally reign in glory on that day when the Lord Jesus comes. May it be a day of great joy of entering into that banquet feast of the Lamb forever. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.