The
Seven Churches
Part
8 – Laodicea
Pastor Bruce A. Shields
House
of Faith Church | www.PS127.org
| www.TruthDigest.org
INTRODUCTION
This
is the revelation of Jesus Christ to John.
John
is told to record what he had seen, is seeing, and will see, which is the key
to the Book of Revelation. John saw Jesus and his description defines and sets
the foundation for the rest of the book. Jesus IS Lord of Lords, and King of
Kings, and the Alpha and Omega.
John
then records the letters to the pastor's of each of the seven churches, or,
what is taking place NOW, and then record what WILL take place in the end.
Each
letter begins with the Lord establishing His authority in the specific area He
addresses each church in, telling us the good and the bad, as well as a warning
and blessing, then closing each letter with a command for us to hear what the
Holy Spirit is saying.
SCRIPTURE
REFERENCE
Revelation 3:14-22
To the Church in Laodicea
These are the words of the
Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. 15 I
know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either
one or the other! 16 So, because you are
lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 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. 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.
19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be
earnest and repent. 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 that person, and they with me.
21 To the one who is victorious, I will give the
right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat
down with my Father on his throne. 22 Whoever has
ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
I. JESUS
ESTABLISHES HIS AUTHORITY
a.
Dispensation
i.
The Apostate
Church Age
ii.
Began?? – Present
day
iii. We don't know when it began, but we know it has begun.
This is the last church addressed by Christ, meaning the Rapture will take
place very shortly.
b.
“To the star (Pastor) of the church,
write...”
i.
"These things says the Amen, the Faithful and
True Witness..."
a.
Jesus
establishing Himself as the one who is authorized to judge on being faithful
and true. Neither of which the church in Laodicea were.
ii.
"...the
ruler of God’s creation."
II. I KNOW
YOUR WORKS
a.
He knows our
works, because He walks among the lampstands.
i. Matthew 18:20 “For where two or three
gather in my name, there am I with them.”
b.
I know
your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot.
i.
This is what we see in so many of our present churches
today.
c.
I wish
you were either one or the other!
i.
half-measures won't do...Jesus does not want
wishy-washy people.
ii.
James 1:6 "...when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the
sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything
from the Lord. 8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do."
d.
So,
because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my
mouth.
i.
If a person is lukewarm towards something, it means he
has not rejected it, but at the same time he has by no means accepted it.
ii.
In the mind of God, a lukewarm response is the same as
a negative response.
iii. Here
we see the apostate church with no prospect of repentance on their part, so
there is Divine rejection of the church
III. The
Problem with the Apostate Church
a.
Because
you say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’
i.
They equated material goods, finances, money, with
spiritual Blessings, which they were not.
ii.
How may mega-churches today boast of money
and riches, equating them with spiritual blessings from God?
a.
There are many
rich people in the world who have nothing to do with God.
iii. The
problem with Laodicea (as well as the Apostate Churches in general) is, they do
not realize what the next verse says, "But
you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked."
iv.
The problem with this church is, while they gloated
over material wealth, the church was unconscious of its spiritual poverty. very
indicative of the modern church.
b.
I counsel you
to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich;
i.
What the church needs to buy, cannot be purchased with
money, but only the precious blood of Christ, the price that has already been
paid; but many modern churches are not interested.
c.
and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your
shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.
i.
This refers to the Righteousness that comes from
Christ.
ii.
Christ's Righteousness is gained only by faith in
Christ. This shows us that the church in Laodicea is extremely self-righteous;
not having the righteousness of Christ, they are "naked" to the
judgment of God.
iii. The
salve needed for their eyes is because they are spiritually blind.
d.
Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So
be earnest and repent. 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 that person, and they with me.
i.
Correction and discipline IS love!
ii.
If you are never corrected or disciplined by God, I
would be very afraid...
iii. This
statement shows us there was still a remnant of followers in this church who
were being corrected, and would be saved.
iv.
The Church desperately needs to repent for its
rebellion against Christ.
e.
Here I am! I stand at the door and knock.
i.
This
presents Christ OUTSIDE THE CHURCH!
ii.
If anyone hears my voice
a.
There is so much religious racket going on in the
modern church, it becomes difficult to "hear His voice"
iii. and
opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they
with me.
a.
Christ is the true door, meaning the church has
erected another door!
b.
Having been
rejected by the modern Apostate church, the Lord now appeals to individuals,
and continues to do so today.
CONCLUSION
To him who overcomes
I will
give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was
victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne.
The overcomer will gain the prize of the Throne, which
can only be done by making Christ the object of his faith.
Whoever has ears, let them
hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
In plain language, the Holy Spirit is saying, "Come back to
Christ!"
Want to learn more about Salvation and Getting
Saved? CLICK
HERE!
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