[0:00] Well, as we have a short time, turning back to the series we've been going through the last seven, eight weeks. Now, finishing off with this final church revelation.
[0:14] Perhaps one of the most well-known of the churches, the Church of Laodicea. And of course, we know it's well-known, not for particularly good reasons. It's well-known because of, with forgiveness, with the harshness, perhaps, of our Saviour's tone towards them.
[0:33] We'll see in a second that that harshness is not for no reason. It is Christ looking after his Church, as he always does. Purifying his Church, keeping his Church holy, and also reminding his Church as to their duties.
[0:47] But that's all for in a second. As we come to Laodicea, we've taken a look. We've started off just north-west of, well, just north, I guess, of the coast.
[0:59] We've gone right way round, up and back round again. And now we're at the bottom, really, of this kind of half-a-horseshoe shape of churches that the letters went around.
[1:10] And you can imagine yourself, as we do every week, imagine yourself now, though. You're the last church that you know. You're almost certain John's about to write a letter. You've heard he's written to other churches.
[1:20] You've heard that some churches have had some good messages from Christ to other churches. Jesus has warned them to watch what they're doing and to reassess where they are.
[1:32] Now imagine yourself now, you're of Laodiceans and you live in Laodicea. Your home in Laodicea, the chances are, is quite a good home. Most of the city of Laodicea was for those, apparently, who are wealthy.
[1:48] From the archaeological work being done, we know that Laodicea seemed to be an incredibly rich city. Of course, we've been poorer homes, too, as every town.
[2:01] But Laodicea seemed to have a good chunk of money existing in it. We know, of course, they were known in the secular world for banking. They were a city where you'd go as a trader.
[2:15] You finish off your trade routes, you sell and you buy and you sell and you buy. And you land up in Laodicea. Before you go back to the sea again, Laodicea is your real final stop in terms of big cities and area.
[2:29] And Laodicea, you find a massive, even for our day, a massive banking network with various companies, various banks, as we would understand them today.
[2:41] It's a rich town, a town full of big money and bankers. A town, of course, known for its health. It had health spas, health pools, healing pools.
[2:55] And as we see in a second, it was also known, specifically secular world, also we see in Scripture, for one special ointment that was made in this town.
[3:06] It was made by various groups, apparently, various companies, we would say. But they all made a similar ointment. It was used with those with eye problems, those with various issues of pain and eyes or dry eyes.
[3:21] And apparently it was well used. They made it for years and years and years. It was known across this area that Laodicea was a place to go to buy or to get this ointment.
[3:33] It wouldn't cure you, but it certainly helped your eyes to be better. And we come to this final church and we see it begins, like all the rest, it begins with the one who is writing to them.
[3:48] How does Jesus address himself to this church? The words of the Amen. The faithful and through witness, the beginning of God's creation. The words of the Amen.
[4:04] That in Him is the full finality of all that's going to be said to them. In Him we find and we find ourselves the full finished Word of God.
[4:18] In Christ alone we see that He is the God of all truth. There is no falseness in Him. And everything He says is true.
[4:28] Now we know that. We believe that. That the church of Laodicea is about to see. It's one thing knowing and believing everything Christ says is true and, of course, is perfect.
[4:40] But what happens when what Christ has to say to you in your situation or to me in my situation, to us in our situation as Christians, if the words He has to say to us are not pleasant words, if they are words of discipline, words of reproof, words of correction, then we're perhaps a bit slower to affirm the truthfulness and the finality of Christ's words.
[5:06] How quickly when we feel ourselves being convicted by Scripture, as Christians, brothers and sisters, as Christians, when we feel ourselves being convicted by Scripture, do we find ourselves looking perhaps for a way out?
[5:21] Surely this doesn't apply to me. Surely my sin, which I keep coming back to, doesn't come under this. As we know in reality, when Christ speaks, His words are final.
[5:32] They are true. He is the faithful and true witness. He is the very eternally living embodiment of truth. Now, as our brother prayed, we live in an age where truth is in short supply.
[5:50] We ourselves think that's perhaps something new to our own generation. Well, of course it's not. As we keep saying, week after week, we have no idea just as to the reality, as to the painful reality of the Christians of this first century onwards that they lived in.
[6:08] We have some opposition, of course, to the church, to God's truth in our country. And we know there's brothers and sisters who live with very real persecution. We touched on that before. But just speaking for ourselves and our context, we have it easy, of course, in so many ways.
[6:24] We have the freedom to proclaim the gospel. And we live in a world and a day, of course, where the secular world is encroaching all the time. And where from cradle to grave almost, it feels as if we're being forced into hearing and being forced to try, at least believe the secular truth of this current day we live in.
[6:45] There is no God. Your truth is the only truth. Whatever makes you happy, that's what's best for you, and so on and so on. We all know the day we live in. But things weren't any different for those with these early Christians in their day and their time.
[7:02] The Christians allowed us to see I lived in an equally, if not far more, sinful generation, far more sinful situation and city that we covered as before with the other cities.
[7:14] There is pagan worship. There is organizational, institutional, sexual morality taking place.
[7:26] They are living in a time, the Laodicean Christians, where the more sexually promiscuous you were, the higher up the social echelons you could go.
[7:36] And we think this is new for us. Nothing is new for us. There is nothing new under the sun. Our generation hasn't yet seen some of the things that these early Christians lived beside and saw.
[7:48] Again, if you have time to read into it, it makes horrifying reading. But true reading, nonetheless. And in all of this reality, Christ reminds these Christians, whatever the world is telling you, whatever your pagan friends and neighbors are telling you, that in him and me alone and Christ alone is the truth.
[8:10] That he is a faithful and true witness. That all our truth, all our reality has to be found in who he is. I think, well, we know that. The Laodiceans knew that.
[8:23] But brothers and sisters, let's never be caught out thinking that we won't drift away. If you speak to, sadly, there's plenty of my friends who have confessed faith and who followed for a good while and some have now drifted away.
[8:41] And I think of some of them, and they were strong Christians. They were, as far as we could see humanly, they were faithful Christians. And for various reasons, various times, and various ways, the world gets in.
[8:54] Satan gets in. And these once faithful, growing Christians are now drifting. And they're drifting far away, some of them. Let's never think that we won't be caught out.
[9:07] One of the biggest dangers we have is thinking this won't happen to us. Very often those who say that, that the very thing does begin to happen. You think, well, Tolstah, a free church, won't face any drift away from God's truth.
[9:22] Don't say that. Don't think that. Don't even think. I say this very carefully. Don't even think. Never stop checking what is preached against God's word. Never think those who preach in Tolstah, a free church, will never drift away from God's truth.
[9:37] We're all priests in God's kingdom, brothers and sisters. We all have equal access to God's word. Always check what I say against the truth of God's word. And whoever comes and preaches before you. Whatever church you go to, do the same thing.
[9:49] And for yourself, always check. Again, this time of year, as we come up to this communion season, it's a perfect chance for us to check in our hearts and say, have I drifted this past six months?
[10:00] Have I drifted this past season? If you find you have drifted in some way away from God's truth, then now is the time, we'll see this later on, now is the time, quite simply, to come back to Christ.
[10:13] He's a faithful one and true one. He's also the beginning of God's creation. Now, here is where we see something very interesting. Where perhaps our translations let us down.
[10:25] The King James has the same translation, the same sense. A lot of translations have the same thing. And actually, this phrase here, the beginning of God's creation, this is one our Mormon friends love to lay hold on at times to say, well, your own Bible says that Christ is a created being.
[10:49] God's word is true and perfect. The translations of God's word sometimes are perhaps lacking, not because God's word is lacking, but because we lack in our language what the Greek has clearly.
[11:02] We see that in Gaelic often, don't you? When you grow up, of course, reading the Gaelic translation of the Bible. And it was a translation, you have to remember that. The Gaelic Bible wasn't translated, most of the Gaelic Bibles, the ones we use commonly.
[11:17] It wasn't translated from the King James. It was translated faithfully from the Greek and Hebrew. They used King James at times to help them. But the reality is, it's his own translation, completely different.
[11:28] Completely different. Like the ESV or NIV or any of our Bibles, it's his own translation. It stands alone in many ways. And we come to verses like this. We have to say what is being said here.
[11:39] That Christ is the beginning of God's creation. You think, well, is this not saying then that Jesus is a created creature? Can that be true? Is he the beginning of God's creation?
[11:51] And we think, well, we know ourselves that can't be true. We go to our bits in Scripture, John 1, 1 and onwards. And we can think so clearly that we know Christ was not created. A second person of the Godhead is not created.
[12:04] He is eternal of God the Father and God the Spirit. And here is where in God's providence and God's love and God's care, he has allowed us to have original languages still.
[12:18] And quite simply, when you see what the Greek says, this translation makes sense. The literal Greek translation is here. The true witness, the originator of God's creation.
[12:32] The beginning of God's creation. The one who begins it. He is the originator of God's creation. The reading then makes sense.
[12:46] This reading actually takes our mind, or should take our mind, of course, to Colossians 1, doesn't it? All things made through him and made for him. That's what this phrase is telling us, reminding us.
[12:58] He is the true one. He is the originator. All things made through him and made for him. And in the end, what this verse actually tells us is quite the opposite as what the enemies of the gospel will tell us it means.
[13:15] They say it proves Christ is created. This phrase actually reminds us that Christ is the creator. All things made through him and made for him.
[13:26] But he is the originator, literally, of all things. All this to say, he is the truth. All things have and find their amen, their conclusion in him.
[13:40] And all things made through him and made for him. This is, we could argue, the most majestic introduction we have of all of the seven churches. And Christ is not doing this for any reason than that.
[13:54] What he is about to say to this church needs to be grounded in who he is. I know your works. We said before every week, that could it be good or it could be bad, depending on what their works are.
[14:06] And we know the church of Laodicea that their works certainly were not good. I know your works. You are neither hot, cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot.
[14:17] And so on. I know your works. Again, imagine the poor Laodicean Christians. But this time we see later on that these Christians seem to think that they had it all sorted.
[14:31] You say, I am rich. I have prospered. I need nothing. They seem to think that they've got everything. So you imagine the shock to the system when this letter was read out to them.
[14:45] Sitting there quite happily, quite comfortably waiting for the praise they're waiting to receive from Jesus. I know your works. You're either cold nor hot.
[14:57] Of course, in summary, we know they were and are accused of being lukewarm Christians by Jesus. Lukewarm followers.
[15:10] Lukewarm servants. Lukewarm士. Just context for us. I'm sure you've heard this before, but just in case you haven't.
[15:21] We say Laodicea was known for its baths, its spas, we might say. Its health spas. It had water pumped in. And Laodicea itself, as far as we know, it had no natural water supply of its own.
[15:38] We're not quite sure why, but it didn't seem to have its own, a few wells perhaps, but no main water supply. So we know for a fact that Laodicea had the hot water pumped in, or flown down I guess, flowed down from the hot springs just above them north in Hierapolis, and they had their cold water given to them, flowing the other way from Colossae.
[16:04] So hot water from the springs up here, cold water from Colossae up there, and these two things would meet in Laodicea. Now, imagine yourselves what kind of water the poor Laodiceans had to drink.
[16:20] Because there are no natural water sources of their own, they're relying on these two sources coming in. Cold on one side, boiling hot hot springs full of minerals and salt on the other side. They spent their life, the Laodiceans, drinking lukewarm water.
[16:36] Christ uses this powerful example for them. They knew what lukewarm was. They spent their whole life drinking and bathing and existing in lukewarm water. It's all they knew.
[16:46] And Christ basically says, you are just like the water you exist in. You are lukewarm. You're not hot. You're not on fire as a word for the gospel.
[16:58] You're not passionate for the gospel. You're not cold. You're not cool, refreshing. You're nothing. You have no care, no concern on one side.
[17:09] You have no refreshing gospel vitality on the other side. It's true, isn't it, that apathy for a Christian, a Christian who is apathetic, it's much more terrifying than them to be hot or to be cold.
[17:29] And Christ here calls them apathetic. He calls them lukewarm. You just don't care. You're not one way or another. You just don't care. You're so comfortable in your happy lives, Laodiceans.
[17:44] So happy in your riches and your comfort. So happy in all you have and all you've been given. You've not done your job. Call it to be salt and light.
[17:56] Call it to be a lamp on a hill. There's no light. There's no salt. There's no hot. There's no cold. There's no cold again. There'sлы's no light.
[18:09] There's no light. There's no such light. There's no light. There's no white. There's no light. Brothers and sisters, the truth is, and we know this ourselves, it is very easy to become lukewarm.
[18:24] It's a very quick process to becoming lukewarm. Just as it happens to our own dishwasher, our own dishwater, our own washing, if you leave a hot water for more than a few minutes, in winter time, more than a few seconds, it could become lukewarm.
[18:43] I fast forward. A Christian, the truth is, as we know ourselves, our hearts are the same as Christians. Our service is the same as Christians.
[18:54] If we're not watching how we're serving and what we're doing, if we're not keeping our attention focused on who Christ is, if we're not finding ourselves being fuelled daily by reminding ourselves in His Word and prayer and fellowship, by reminding ourselves by the means of grace, of who Christ is, of His love for us, His care for us, His warnings towards us, of who we are in Christ.
[19:19] That we, as we said already, we are priests in His household. We are priests in His kingdom. That we are those called and loved from before time itself.
[19:29] If we're not being reminded of these basic gospel truths, we become so lukewarm. What are some of the symptoms we could say of becoming lukewarm?
[19:42] Often we become head only and no heart. We keep on growing perhaps in our knowledge.
[19:53] We keep on learning the theology of it all. But we stop applying it. You sit after service after service. We might go through and, for Lord's help, we hope to next study after communion service will begin a study possibly on the confession of faith, elements of the confession of faith.
[20:12] And imagine we start that study and a lukewarm Christian sits through that study and you learn all about justification. You learn all about the sanctification, how it applies to us. You learn all about the nature of Christ.
[20:23] All about His work. How it's accomplished and how it's applied then to our hearts. And you learn it all. And you love it all. But none of it hits your heart. You learn and you grow in your understanding perhaps.
[20:37] But in your day-to-day life, it's not applied. As we keep saying, there's theology. The learning of God. But a lukewarm Christian has no doxology.
[20:51] Has no praising of God. And theology without doxology. As the writer Shilin says, theology without doxology leads to cold, hard, dead theology.
[21:10] You can learn everything you want in the world. But without loving Christ and learning it to serve Him better, to know Him better, to love Him and His people better, it means nothing.
[21:21] Lukewarm Christians are often all head and no heart. But also the opposite. Lukewarm Christians can also be seen in that they're all service. They're all act.
[21:32] They're all getting things done for the church and for Christ. But they have no time and no care to actually get to know Him better. To get to know Him more.
[21:44] We all come to this place with different levels perhaps of formal education. So when I talk about learning theology, don't think for a second that we mean we have to have some level of braininess.
[21:57] Some level of knowledge to be accepted. That's not what Christ calls for. It's how we grow. It's how we learn that matters. It's are we growing? Are we learning? So there's one person here perhaps as we go through Christ's person.
[22:15] His work of redemption. There'll be some here and come into your mind as quotes from all the philogians you've read. There's others here, myself, more with you. And as you hear of that you think of perhaps some Bible verses and some things you've heard before.
[22:29] As long as you're thinking about who Christ is and wanting to grow in your understanding of who He is, you're growing in your knowledge. You're growing in your theology. A Lukewarm Christian.
[22:41] Lots of acting. Lots of action. Lots of movement for Christ's things. But no care to grow and learn in who actually Christ is.
[22:52] So it goes both ways. All head and no heart. Or all heart and no head we could say. A Lukewarm Christian also has a lack of genuine love.
[23:05] They do love Jesus. They are perhaps still those who love Christ and who love the brothers and sisters. But there's no showing of that love.
[23:17] They once perhaps are so active in church. Once so active in their prayer life. And all of that has just gone away. And the danger of being a Lukewarm Christian is that very often it happens so quietly.
[23:32] It also happens more often than not internally. That perhaps even those closest to us can't see of how warm our hearts once were and how cold they've grown or how lukewarm they've grown.
[23:44] It's dangerous because it happens privately. It happens privately. Quietly. Steadily. Lack of prayer. Lack of fellowship.
[23:57] There's a real lack of desire of coming to meet with God's people. That's just some of the signs to look for in our own lives by becoming lukewarm. There's plenty more we could look into.
[24:11] The horrifying words of Christ. The solemn words to the Christians who are lukewarm in Laodicea. So because you're lukewarm, verse 16, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.
[24:30] What a worrying, terrifying, solemn thing for these Christians to hear from the living Lord Jesus. Those who thought their service was so good and their work was so good, Christ says, I am ready to spit you out of my mouth.
[24:48] I am ready to have nothing more to do with you. I am ready, as I were just to cast you away in your service towards me. As I said before, if I keep saying, it's a theme for all the churches, but a few of them.
[25:01] Christ will grow his church. Christ will have his church. And Christ will save his people in North Tolstown, across our island. But dear brother, dear sister, and the ministers too, not one of us, as I were, is beyond expendable.
[25:21] Christ loves his people. Christ keeps his people. Christ cares eternally for his people. All that is true. But if we think that Christ needs us in this place, that Christ couldn't grow his kingdom without us in this place, if we begin to grow lukewarm or grow cold in our love like Ephesians, or give in to sexual immorality, like we saw last week and the week before in Sardis, if we begin to find ourselves not serving Christ well, Christ will bring his kingdom to bear in Tolstair.
[25:55] It need not be through this congregation, through this minister, through us. He will do it regardless. And Christ is clear about that.
[26:06] The warning that he will remove the candlestick from certain cities, the candlestick of his people. He will build his church, but it's not necessary for him to do it through us if we're not serving him well.
[26:19] He will bring in people who will serve him better, who will be better witnesses and more useful. And that's not just fear-mongering. We know that. We know there are congregations which die, whole denominations that are dying, that have died, and it's clear in retrospect, they didn't die because of, sometimes it happens naturally, sometimes it happens for various reasons, but there are some, and it's clear that whole congregations and denominations, they have died because they have long since forgotten who they are in Christ, long since forgotten recalling how they should serve him, love him, worship him, and so on and so on.
[26:59] This is a warning, not just for church lives here, but also for us in Tulsa. Because look what they're accused of. You say, I am rich, in verse 17, I have prospered, I need nothing.
[27:13] Again, a wealthy church, and a wealthy people, and a wealthy town, they're trusting in themselves, it's all about them. You say, I, I, I, Of course Christ reminds them, that reality is quite the opposite.
[27:35] Not realising that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. Whoever we choose to present ourselves as Christians, and even as a church, Christ sees the reality, both good and bad.
[27:54] And he knows what we are as Christians, both good and bad. Again, this is not to somehow scare us into serving him better, but it's a warning for us, individually, but also as a congregation, to watch ourselves.
[28:09] Are we serving him well? Could we be called lukewarm, privately, but also as a congregation? Again, this time of year is a good time for us to ask these hard questions, to ask, spend time together pondering these possibly very painful questions, which must be asked of us.
[28:29] Do we identify with how Laodiceans identified themselves? They look to themselves for all they had, and they've forgotten, long since forgotten, seemingly, of the true source, of their peace, of their joy, the true source of all they had, and all they were, of the Lord, Jesus Christ.
[28:53] We see here, as always, as every single week we see, every single letter, Christ is merciful. These Christians have done not very much, they've done not very much, it seems.
[29:06] They seem to be sailing on happily through life, without serving their Saviour well. And Christ stops them, in their tracks, and he shows them, clearly, and bluntly, and openly, their sin.
[29:22] Again, Christ loves his people, but in a second, he disciplines the ones he loves. And no good king, no good elder brother, no genuine Saviour, sees the ones he loves, suffering in their sin, and says, and does nothing.
[29:41] We wouldn't do that, if we saw a friend, a brother, a sister, if we saw them, doing something, that's going to be a disaster, of our lives. We'd be awful, if we didn't stop, and say something to them.
[29:53] Well, the Lord Jesus Christ, who's perfect, and all he is, and all he does, he is open, he is clear, he is honest. But then, we see yet again, there is love coming, and mercy coming, from Christ.
[30:07] Verse 18, I counsel you to buy from me gold, refined by fire, so you may be rich. Don't trust in the banking system, of your city.
[30:18] Don't trust in your own personal wealth. Don't trust in your own personal comfort. Come to me. Buy from me gold, refined by fire. How do we buy it from Christ?
[30:29] Well, come, everyone, what who first, come, buy. It's free, isn't it? It's free. Come, and buy, from me gold, refined by fire, so that you may be rich.
[30:44] Literally, so that you truly, may be rich. Christ reminds Laodiceans, stop looking to yourself, and turn back to me, the true source, of your eternal wealth.
[30:58] But I am the one, who has purchased you, of a price, beyond all the gold, in your bank accounts, beyond all the lavishness, of your houses, that I, and my love for you, and my salvation for you, and what I went through, for you as my people, is worth far more, than all the gold, of your city combined.
[31:19] Buy the gold, that I have for you, the gold, of his gospel, so that you may be rich, truly rich. Also buy, white garments, so you may clothe yourselves, and the shame, of your nakedness, may not be seen.
[31:38] They were once, as it were, so happily clothed, in Christ, and they've almost, removed these robes, to put on again, the worldly robes. And much like, the emperor's new clothes, Christ, reminds them, that as they, clothe themselves, in all the riches, and all the peace, of the world, they're left naked.
[31:58] It means nothing. It doesn't cover them, at all. It reminds them, only coming to him, do we find, coming back to him, do we find, the reality, of being clothed, and the white robes, symbolizing of course, the salvation, the purity, that comes from being his.
[32:17] And finally, buy from me, salve, to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Christ reminding them, that he knows, where they are. Again, they're in own fine will, what Christ is speaking about here.
[32:32] This city, so famous, for this eye ointment. Christ says, all the ointments, in the city, won't touch you. He'll apply it, all if you want, unless you come back to me, and open your eyes, truly, that through me, and through Christ alone, he says, that I will open your eyes.
[32:52] I carry on, behold, I stand at the door, and knock. Let's connect it to verse 19. Those whom I love, I approve, and discipline, and so be zealous, and repent.
[33:04] Now, we come to verse 20. We know that often, this verse is used, for evangelistic reasons, and in some ways, it can apply, but the context, is clear.
[33:18] Christ is here, speaking to his church. He's speaking to the Christians, in Laodicea. Now, we can use it, for evangelistic reasons, and it can be done well, but the truth is, if we take it in context, verse 20, is Christ reminding, and speaking to his people.
[33:32] He is saying, you've forgotten me. You've gone away from me. You've gone back into the world, back into your riches. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock. If there's anyone, still faithful, left among you, if anyone, and speaking of the church, he's speaking to here, if anyone, within the church, Laodicea, hears my voice, and opens the door, I will come in, to him, and eat with him, and he with me.
[33:58] I think we rob this verse, of his beauty, if we make it only about, the non-saved. This verse, this verse, first and foremost, applies to Christians.
[34:11] First and foremost, applies to the church, Laodicea, to those, who have once abandoned Christ. This is a verse, that we give to ourselves, and to our brothers, and sisters, who perhaps have wandered away, from Christ.
[34:21] And Christ says, to those who have wandered away, behold, I stand at the door, and knock. If you are lukewarm, this evening, behold, I stand at the door, and knock.
[34:34] If you find yourself, you've clothed yourself, in the riches of this world, and forgotten, the riches of Christ, behold, I stand at the door, and knock. If you find, that you've grown cold, in your heart, and cold, in your affection, and cold, even in your service, to Christ, to come to his communion service, the reminder, to his people, first and foremost, is, behold, I stand at the door, and knock.
[35:00] Christ comes first, to his people. Again, yes, we can apply that, to a wider world, and we might do that, in the future, but for now, the context constrains us, and God's word, constrains us, this applies, first and foremost, to us, as his people.
[35:15] Before, it's a word of hope, to the unsaved, it's a word of hope, to the saved, who have gone away, gone astray, grown cold in our love, and Christians, this applies to every one of us, I'm sure, every one of us, who have been on the road for some time, have had seasons, where we've been cold, and lukewarm, seasons, where we've, grown cold in our hearts, seasons, we've begun to wander away, perhaps, whatever your story, might well be, to you, and to me, our saviour says, I stand at the door, and knock, and the glorious image there, is that Christ, he is forgiving, and Christ, he is faithful, where we are not, and look at the beauty, as we come back to him, and we say, I have gone away from you, as we come back to him, and we say, I have been cold in my heart, towards you, look, what result is, as we again, open that door, I will come into him, and eat with him, and he with me, the simplicity, the gentleness, the care, compare that, to the way, he describes himself, at the start, in verse 14, glorious, eternal, in his power, and truth, all things made through him, and made for him, he is God eternal, but he also dines, with his people, he welcomes us in, he welcomes us, back in, again, and again, and again, every time, we make a mess of things, which we often do, and he promises, the faithful in Odysseus, to those who conquer, verse 21, the one who conquers,
[36:53] I will grant him, to sit with me, on my throne, as I also conquered, and sat down, with my father, on his throne, what a promise, the Odysseans, might have been ashamed, of Christ at points, they might have made, an absolute mess, of our faith, at points, but Christ, is faithful, where they were not, Christ is faithful, where we, as Christians, are not, as we strive, to serve him well, we have a sure hope, as his people, on that final day, new heavens, and new earth, that we will have, with him, access, access, to the very throne, of heaven, what a thought, how powerless, we feel, how powerless, I'm sure, how embarrassed, the poor, the deceit, and Christians felt, after hearing this letter, Christ says, the day is coming, poor, suffering Christians, the day is coming, lukewarm, and then hot, and then lukewarm, again Christians, the time is coming, dear friends, brothers and sisters, as Christ speaks to us, the day is coming, and he promises, we will sit with him, on his throne, why, because he, sits on our throne, why, because he has conquered it all, it is finished, in and through, his final, work, because he now reigns, and rules, of the right hand, we have a full confidence, because where he is, we one day will be, for us, awaits a place with him, reigning, and ruling, beside him, we don't deserve it, we don't feel like, we deserve it, and rightfully so, but Christ, gives to those, who don't deserve, he gives us everything, as we find ourselves, in throwing close, to a communion season, this is a reminder, for us, a reminder, for us as Christians, that we'll cover this more,
[38:53] Lord willing, a week tonight, which we'll be in a church, but you'll see that on Sunday, who is, communion with Christ for, who is, communion with Christ for, it's for those, who have gone astray, but repented, it's those, who made a mess of things, but come back, crying out for forgiveness, it's those, who say, I once loved you, but now I've grown, so look warm, would you have me back, please, would you take me back, would you still be my Lord, and Saviour, it's for those, who strive and fail, and keep on striving, it's for those, who know, and who love Jesus, it's for those, who he says, come, and eat, come, and sit with me, and eat, I will eat, and sit with you, come back to me, and I will grant you, to sit with me, on my throne, as I also conquered, and sat down with the father, on his throne, that's our hope, this evening, bow our heads now, a word of prayer,
[39:55] Lord God, we thank you for, again, the privilege of having time, in your word, the privilege of having these, indeed this evening, these words of warning, from the faltering church, of Laodicea, Lord, we know that, as we read this account, we do so with such fear, and such trepidation, as we are so aware, that, although we might find ourselves, at times shaking our heads, as to the waywardness, and indeed wickedness, of some of these congregations, we catch ourselves, as we think, that we ourselves, and our hearts, are equally potential, have equal potential, to sin against you, in the same way, help us, to come to a conclusion, over time of worship, this evening, to leave this place, not just having grown, in a head nod, but also, having grown, in our love, for you, if any here, who have, perhaps grown lukewarm, over the months, even over the years, we ask you to revive them, and, bring them back, to yourself, be that, a river of, of flowing water, through them, that, that brings them, that cool, clear reality, that be that, a reminder to them, that, as they engage, in gospel work, they'll be, once again, on fire, as it were, for you, in their service, towards you, keep us Lord, from being lukewarm, we ask you this evening, keep us relying, on Christ, for all we have, and all we do, ask all these things, asking for forgiveness, of sin, in and through, and for, his precious name's sake,
[41:24] Amen. Well as promised, almost five months ago, now I was saying to the elders, we're going to sing, in Gaelic, we agreed, many many months ago, we'd have at least one, singing in Gaelic, at the prayer meetings, I announced it even, two weeks ago, and forgot last week completely, let's sing the, glorious words of encouragement, from Psalm 103, in Gaelic, Psalm 103, we can sing, verses 1, and verse 2, Psalm 103, verses 1, and 2, O manam, be anachusenish, in Jehovah Moor, Moloch gachni, in tuvs di aeim, and am nubha, maras cor, I seetid, Thank you.
[42:48] Thank you.
[43:18] Thank you.
[43:48] Thank you.
[44:18] Thank you.
[44:48] Thank you.
[45:18] Thank you.
[45:48] Thank you.