Good morning, everyone. It's good to be with you guys, good to worship with you.
It looks like a lot of our members are traveling for Thanksgiving, but you guys are here.
I hope that doesn't mean you didn't get to have a good Thanksgiving meal and time with friends and family.
And if you have a Bible, please open with me to Revelation chapter 3.
If you don't have a Bible, please raise your hand. We'd love to give you one that you can have and use.
Revelation chapter 3.
We've been going through this series for a couple months now, and we're in chapter 3 today,
the last letter of the seven letters to the churches that Jesus writes.
Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's word.
Father, you are the God, the ancient of days, the God of all truth.
Your word is truth, and your son Jesus is the faithful and true witness.
And so, Lord, today we want to hear from you.
We want to be adjusted by your perspective.
We want to submit to your commands.
So we humble ourselves before you.
Minister to us by your word in your spirit.
Make us a church that is zealous for you, for your glory.
Fill us more and more with your spirit.
We plead with you in the name of Jesus.
Amen.
If you are able, please stand and join us as I read through Revelation 3, verses 14 to 22.
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 have 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 yourselves,
if any shame of your nakedness may not be seen,
and salve 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 into him 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.
This is God's holy and authoritative word.
You may be seated.
If you have been a Christian for a little while,
you have probably been taught at some point that all sinners are equal before the eyes of God.
Or maybe you've heard it said this way,
that the ground is level at the foot of the cross.
This is an important truth,
because the Bible does say that there is no distinction,
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
God makes no distinction between sinners,
because all of us have fallen short of God's standard,
and all of us need to be justified by God's grace as a gift
through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
So imagine comparing two sinners in their level of sinfulness,
like comparing two people's heights.
For example, Connor.
You guys know Connor?
Connor Failure?
Is he here?
He's not here.
He's a little bit taller than me.
He's like six foot four.
I'm like five foot four on a good day.
So like I said, he's just a little bit taller than me.
If you want to be a stickler for details,
he's quite a bit taller than me.
But if you look down on me and Connor from a thousand feet up,
we're basically the same height, right?
I mean, that's the difference,
because you're so much higher up that everybody down here looks diminutive.
That's what it's like for God to look at sinners.
We all fall so woefully short of God's perfect righteousness
that our relative righteousness or our relative sinfulness
really doesn't matter in terms of our standing before God.
Whether you broke one law or whether you broke a thousand laws,
you're still a lawbreaker.
As James 2.10 says,
for whoever keeps the whole law but fails at one point
has become guilty of all of it.
In terms of our legal standing before God,
all sinners are in the same boat.
We are all headed to hell apart from God's gracious intervention.
That does not mean, however,
that there aren't lesser sins and greater sins.
There is a gradient.
For example, the Old Testament refers to idolatry and sexual immorality
in particular as a great sin,
which implies in some way that they are worse offenses than other sins.
1 Corinthians 6.18 singles out sexual immorality
as a sin that is uniquely against one's own body
because it does violence to a Christian's spiritual union with Christ
because their body is a temple of the Spirit.
In John 19.11, Jesus says that the sin of betraying
and handing him over to the authorities
is a greater sin than Pilate's sin of condemning Jesus.
In Matthew 5.19 and in Matthew 23.23,
Jesus clearly teaches that there are least of the commandments
and weightier matters of the law,
which prove that some of God's commands are weightier than others
and constantly be a greater offense to break them.
I say all of that to demonstrate a simple point
that not all sins are equal.
Some sins are worse than others.
Not in terms of our legal standing before God,
but in terms of their relative weightiness.
Some sins are more dangerous than others.
Some sins are more insidious than others.
And the sin that is at the root of all other sin is pride.
It was the first sin.
Before Adam and Eve ate the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil,
they had pride in thinking that they can, quote,
be like God, knowing good and evil.
They thought that they could be themselves the arbiters of good and evil
in the place of God.
They thought that they knew better than God what is actually good for them.
C.S. Lewis famously wrote in his book, Mere Christianity,
that the essential vice, the utmost evil is pride.
Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness, and all that
are mere flea bites in comparison.
It was through pride that the devil became the devil.
Pride leads to every other vice.
It is the complete anti-God state of mind.
End quote.
And if I may take that one step further,
among the various kinds of pride,
there is a particular type of pride that is especially stealthy
and therefore dangerous among Christians,
and that is spiritual pride.
Jonathan Edwards warns of it in this way.
The first and worst cause of errors that abound in our day and age
is spiritual pride.
This is the main door by which the devil comes into the hearts of those
who are zealous for the advancement of Christ.
It is the chief inlet of smoke from the bottomless pit
to darken the mind and mislead the judgment.
Pride is the main handle by which he has hold of Christian persons
and the chief source of all the mischief that he introduces
to clog and hinder a work of God.
Spiritual pride is the main spring,
or at least the main support of all other errors.
Until this disease is cured,
medicines are applied in vain to heal all other disease.
It is by spiritual pride that the mind defends
and justifies itself in other errors
and defends itself against light by which it might be corrected and reclaimed.
The spiritually proud man thinks he is full of light already
and feels that he does not need instruction,
so he is ready to ignore the offer of it.
Because of the nature of spiritual pride,
it is the most secret of all sins.
There is no other matter in which the heart is more deceitful
and unsearchable,
and there is no other sin in the world
that men are so confident in.
The very nature of it is to work self-confidence
and drive away any suspicion of any evil of that kind.
There is no sin so much like the devil
as this for secrecy and subtlety
and appearing in great many shapes
that are undetected and unsuspected.
If you think that's a bit hyperbolic, it's not.
Jonathan Edwards is not alone.
Many teachers, pastors, theologians throughout church history
have said this very thing.
Spiritual pride is difficult to detect
because it is by its very nature self-concealing.
It's like pancreatic cancer,
which has the highest mortality of all the major cancers.
One of the main reasons for its deadliness
is that pancreatic cancer is nearly impossible to catch early.
The pancreas looks like a comma
that's like fallen on its side.
Some of you guys are doctors.
You guys know what I'm talking about.
And it's like nestled.
It's cupped by the small intestine,
and it's like hidden behind the stomach,
the upper abdomen,
and then it meets its tail.
It ends in the spleen.
So it's like it's hidden, surrounded by,
and hidden behind all these other internal organs
so that pancreatic tumors are impossible to see or feel
during routine medical exams.
And so the only way to find them,
to detect them,
is by imaging tests like ultrasound and CT scans
and MRI scans and PET scans.
But people with pancreatic cancer
usually don't sign up for those imaging tests.
Why?
Because in its early stages,
pancreatic cancer is what some doctors call
the silent disease
because it often has no presenting symptoms
in its early stage.
So it's only when it's advanced beyond cure,
often when it's harder to treat,
that pancreatic cancer becomes detected.
And that's why it's so deadly.
That's what spiritual pride is like.
Spiritual pride is self-concealing,
which is why it is so insidious.
The devil often uses it to beguile,
as Jonathan Edwards said,
those who are zealous for the advancement of Christ.
And what we learn here in Revelation 3, 14 to 22,
is that once spiritual pride has taken root
in the heart of a zealous believer,
it saps the zeal right out of him.
It makes him lukewarm.
And that's what we see in Jesus' letter
to the church in Laodicea.
And that's why we must be vigilant
against the creeping effects of spiritual pride.
And this is the main point of our passage this morning.
We must repent of our lukewarmness
and be zealous for the Lord Jesus
so that we might enjoy our communion with him.
I'm gonna first talk about the author,
the sender of this letter, Christ,
who is faithful and true.
Then secondly, I'm gonna talk about the condition,
according to Jesus' evaluation,
the condition of the church in Laodicea,
that they're neither cold nor hot.
Third, I'll talk about the command,
Jesus' command to be zealous and repent.
And then lastly, I'll talk about the reward
that Jesus promises to those who obeyed,
communion, riches, relationships, and rule
that we get to share in Christ.
So let's first talk about Christ,
the author and sender of this letter
to the angel of the church in Laodicea.
So far, in all of the letters,
Jesus introduced himself in a way
that was particularly suitable for the situation
that the church was in on the ground.
So why does Jesus introduce himself in verse 14
as the amen, the faithful and true witness?
The beginning of God's creation.
The general pattern in Jesus' letters
to these seven churches in Revelation 2-3
is that after saying, I know your works,
Jesus then goes on to list their works that he knows.
Sometimes they're good works,
sometimes they're bad works,
usually a mix of both.
And then after sharing his commendations
and then corrections, Jesus issues his command,
and then he gives them the promise of reward.
But here in verse 15,
it kind of doesn't follow that usual pattern
because after saying, I know your works,
there is no commendation whatsoever.
Laodicea and Sardis are the only two churches
that receive no commendation
and receive only corrections from Jesus.
And Laodicea is even worse than Sardis.
It's probably the worst church on this list
because Sardis at least had a few people,
according to Jesus,
a remnant who had not soiled their garments.
A few, there was a faithful few in Sardis,
but there's no mention of such a faithful remnant
in Laodicea.
They're all together, naked,
and in need of being clothed
with the white garments of Christ's righteousness.
Ironically, however,
the church in Laodicea is blind
to their own spiritual poverty and nakedness.
They say in verse 17,
I am rich, I prospered,
and I need nothing.
Not realizing that they are wretched,
pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.
Here's an example of spiritual pride.
The self-confidence and self-satisfaction
of the spiritually proud person
inoculates him against self-suspicion.
He says, I need nothing.
Like an overconfident, complacent driver
who doesn't bother to check the blind spot.
Well, I've seen everything.
And then switches lanes
and then gets into a car wreck.
The spiritually proud person
does not suspect
that he can possibly be blind to something.
The church in Laodicea
does not realize
that they are wretched,
pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.
In fact, these words
are the exact opposite
of how the church in Laodicea
would have viewed themselves.
They didn't think
that they were wretched or pitiable.
They said to themselves,
I prospered, and I need nothing.
They thought they were blessed.
They thought they were enviable.
They didn't view themselves as poor.
They said to themselves,
I'm rich.
And this was, in fact, true,
at least in a material sense.
Laodicea was a prosperous banking center
in its heyday,
located at the junction
of two important roads
that made them a commercial success.
They were so well off
and so self-sufficient
that when a disastrous earthquake
completely leveled the city
in 60 AD,
the Roman Empire, Rome,
offered them disaster relief,
and then they said,
oh, no thank you.
We'll take care of it.
We have enough resources.
That reveals,
that historical fact
reveals both their pride
and their wealth.
They also didn't view themselves
as blind.
Laodicea was a center of medicine
and boasted a prominent medical school
whose most famous graduate
was Demosthenes Philolethes,
an optometrist
who wrote the book
Ophthalmicus,
which dealt with various eye diseases
and is considered
the most influential work
of ophthalmology
in the ancient world.
Laodicea was sought out
for its production
of the Phrygian powder
and eye salve
used to treat
various eye diseases.
So, no,
Laodicean believers
did not see themselves
as blind.
They saw themselves
as the ones
who make other blind people see.
And yet,
they themselves
were spiritually blind.
And finally,
the Laodiceans
did not perceive
of themselves
as being naked.
Laodicea was known
for its textiles,
especially the production
of fine wool.
They believed themselves
to be well clothed
with the finest wool.
They would have never imagined
that they were naked.
Yet,
this is exactly
what Jesus tells them.
You are wretched,
pitiable,
poor,
blind,
and naked
because they were spiritually
all of those things.
Social success,
material wealth,
and physical health
can feed
spiritual pride.
We can falsely assume
that we are doing well
spiritually
when everything else
seems to be going well
in our lives.
Like the Israelites
in Hosea 12, 8,
they say,
ah,
but I am rich.
I found wealth
for myself
in all my labors
they cannot find
in me
iniquity
or sin.
They're connected.
The sinful human heart
has a penchant
for the prosperity gospel
to presume
that health
and wealth
and success
are foolproof signs
of God's pleasure
and favor
while sickness,
poverty,
and failure
are signs
of God's displeasure
and disfavor.
But we see
throughout Scripture
that that is not
necessarily the case.
So in order
to expose
their self-deception
and convince
the church
that thinks
I need nothing,
that in fact
they are very needy,
Jesus introduces
himself to them
as the amen,
the faithful
and true witness,
the all-seeing one,
the only one
who truly
has no blind spot.
The word amen
is typically
an expression
of affirmation
of faith
that something
that God has said
will indeed help
and let it be so.
As far as I know,
this is the only place
where the word amen
is used
as a title
for Jesus.
The word amen
comes from
the Hebrew verb
that means
to believe in
or to trust in
someone
which in turn
comes from
the Hebrew word
for God's faithfulness
or truthfulness.
So the phrase
the faithful
and true witness
is really an explanation
of the title
the amen.
It says
in Genesis 15, 6
that Abram
believed the Lord
or amened
the Lord
and he counted it
to him
as righteousness.
And what's going on
in that passage?
Despite the fact
that his wife Sarai
was well past
childbearing age,
in fact,
post-menopausal,
Abram nevertheless
believed in God's promise
that he would have
a son through Sarai
and that his descendants
would be as numerous
as the stars in the sky.
And God delivered
on that promise.
That's how faithful
or trustworthy God is.
I've said this to you before,
when you're faced
with two options,
an impossibility
and the promise of God,
you can bank on it
that the promise of God
will happen.
because God's word
and his promise
is more reliable
than natural law,
more reliable
than logic,
more reliable
than common sense.
And Jesus is the embodiment
of that faithfulness
and trustworthiness
of God.
That's why he is describing
in 2 Corinthians 1, 20
this way,
all the promises of God
find their yes
in Christ.
That is why
it is through him
that we utter our amen
to God for his glory.
Because all the promises
of God find their fulfillment
ultimately in Jesus
is through Christ
that we can say amen
to all of God's promises,
trusting that not one
of his promises
will fall to the ground.
That's why Jesus
introduces himself
this way,
the amen,
the faithful
and true witness.
He's telling the church
in Laodicea,
I am the true
and faithful witness.
my assessment of you
is more true
and reliable
than your self-assessment.
You think that you are rich,
but I say that you are poor,
so listen to me
and repent.
What about the following phrase,
the beginning of God's creation
in verse 14?
The phrase does not mean
that Jesus is the first thing
that God created.
That's a heretical belief
held by the Jehovah's witnesses.
They believe that Jesus
is the preeminent creature,
but that they nonetheless
believe that Jesus
is a created being.
That's a grave,
unbiblical error.
In Revelation 5,
the four living creatures
which represent
all the creatures
that God ever created,
they fall down
before the lamb,
which is Jesus,
and they worship Jesus.
Jesus is clearly viewed
in that scene
not as one of the creatures
that God created,
represented by the four
living creatures,
but as the creator,
as God,
who is separate from them.
Moreover,
later on in Revelation 19.10,
John tries to fall down
to feet
and bow down
and worship
a mighty angel,
and then the angel
stops him and says,
you must not do that
because I'm a fellow servant
with you
and your brothers
who hold to the testament
of Jesus,
worship God.
So then Jesus,
the lamb of God,
early in Revelation,
accepts the worship
that even a mighty angel
is unworthy to receive
because Jesus is far greater
than a creature.
The word translated
beginning here
is a Greek word
that can also be translated
as the origin
or the source
or the ruler
as it's translated
in Luke 12.11
and Romans 8.38.
So then the phrase
the beginning
of God's creation
is not saying
that Jesus was the first part
of God's creation,
but it's saying
that Jesus is the origin
of all of God's creation
and the ruler
over all of God's creation.
This is confirmed
by what Paul says,
the parallel in Colossians 1.15
where Jesus is called
the firstborn
of all creation.
Once again,
that does not mean
that Jesus is the first being
that God created.
How do we know that?
Because verses 16 to 17
which follow immediately
explains precisely
why Jesus is called
the firstborn
of all creation.
For by him
all things were created
in heaven and on earth,
visible and invisible,
whether thrones
or dominions
or rulers or authorities,
all things were created
through him
and for him
and he is before all things
and in him
all things hold together.
This confirms
our interpretation
of Revelation 3.14.
In a culture,
in an ancient culture
governed by primogeniture
where the firstborns
rule the household
and inherit
the father's estate,
the expression highlights
Jesus' primacy
and rule
over all of God's creation.
Jesus is not
one of the creatures.
He's the one
by whom all things
were created.
He is the first mover,
the originator.
In the beginning
was the word
and the word
was with God
and the word
was God.
He was in the beginning
with God.
All things were made
through him
and without him
was not anything
that was made.
So why is Jesus
highlighting that reality
to the church
in Laodicea?
Because if you're wretched,
you need the one
who can make you blessed.
If you're pitiable,
you need the one
who can show you mercy.
If you're poor,
you need the one
who can make you rich.
If you're blind,
you need the one
who can make you see.
If you're naked
in your shame,
you need the one
who can clothe you
and cover you
with his righteousness.
God had promised
to create a new heavens
and a new earth.
In Isaiah 65, 17,
Jesus is the fulfillment
of that promise.
As it says
in 2 Corinthians 5, 17,
therefore,
if anyone is in Christ,
he is a new creation.
The old has gone.
Behold,
the new has come.
So Jesus
clearly doesn't pull
any punches here
in this letter,
but he's also comforting
the church in Laodicea
by reminding them
that in spite of their wretched
and pitiable condition,
he can make them new again
because he is the creator.
He's the one
who the originator
of the creation
and originator
of the new creation,
he can make the blind see
and the poor rich.
Now let's look at
the faithful
and true assessment
of Jesus,
the faithful
and true witness
in verses 15 to 16.
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.
This is their condition.
Neither cold nor hot.
Sometimes people mistakenly think
that being hot here
represents being passionate,
being on fire for Jesus,
and then being cold
represents rejecting Jesus
altogether.
If that were the case,
these verses would be similar
to what God says
to the Israelites
in 1 Kings 18-21.
How long will you go limping
between two different opinions?
If the Lord is God,
follow him.
But if Baal,
then follow him.
But there,
in that context,
God is exposing
the hypocrisy
and two-faced nature
of Israel's worship
and allegiance.
He's telling them
that in fact
it is not possible
to serve both Yahweh
and Baal
and that they must
make a choice.
But that's not
what Jesus is saying
here in Revelation 3.
Here in verses 15 to 16,
being cold
and hot
are both good things.
The choice is not
between one bad option
and one good option,
but between two good options.
Jesus says in verse 15,
would that you were
either cold or hot.
Jesus would prefer,
Jesus would be happy
if the church
were either cold
or hot.
If being cold
represents completely
rejecting Jesus,
I don't think he would
present the two options
this way
as if both were acceptable.
Laodicea was located
near two other
ancient cities,
Hierapolis,
and Colossae.
All of them
were in that same region
of Phrygia
in Asia Minor,
modern Turkey.
And why is that significant?
Because Hierapolis
was famous
for its hot springs,
which were great
for relaxing
and healing baths.
And Colossae
near the mountains
had access
to cold,
pure,
refreshing water
that came down
from the mountains.
But Laodicea,
removed from
that cold water
from the mountains,
which by the time
it was transported
to where they are,
would be heated
and be lukewarm.
And Laodicea
also didn't have access
to the hot springs
of Hierapolis.
They had to
pipe that water in,
and by the time
it got there,
it was tepid,
lukewarm.
And having to drink
that lukewarm water
was a sore spot
for this otherwise
wealthy and proud city.
And Jesus is mentioning
that reality
to drive his point home.
You know that
that lukewarm water
that you have to drink
every day
that makes you
want to puke?
that's what you are
like to me
because of your
spiritual lukewarmness.
Hot water
is relaxing,
cold water
is refreshing,
but tepid water
is just
meh, right?
I was just
at a restaurant
recently
that served
our family
lukewarm water.
I don't know,
it was like
literally lukewarm.
I'd never been
served that
in a restaurant before.
And none of my kids
wanted to drink it
because it's gross.
We had to ask
for ice.
Similarly,
when you go to a cafe,
menus have all kinds
of hot coffees
and all kinds
of iced coffees.
When have you
gone to a cafe
and saw on the menu
lukewarm coffee?
I mean,
nobody wants that.
So Jesus is saying
be either cold
or hot.
Be earnest
and be fervent
about something.
The church in Ephesus
that we saw
earlier in chapter 2
had theological discernment
and so they rejected
the false teachers
but they had no love.
The church in Thyatira
had love
but they had no
theological discernment
and they tolerated
false teachers.
These churches
were not perfect
but they were fervent
about something.
They were eager
and earnest
about something.
loving and loving
and being compassionate
toward your neighbors
then do that.
Even better,
do both.
But be earnest
and fervent
about something
because the church
in Laodicea
had no strength
and no commendable
attributes.
They're good
at neither being
hot nor cold.
They're a bland
mediocrity
in every way.
A lukewarm
tepid water
is good for nothing.
So Jesus issues
a severe warning
in verse 16.
Because you are lukewarm
and neither hot
nor cold
I will spit you
out of my mouth.
The word translated
spit here
is actually
most commonly
means to vomit.
There's another
Greek word
that means
to spit
and that's not
the one
that's used here.
The Greek translation
of Isaiah 19.14
uses that same
Greek word here
used in Revelation 3.16
to refer to a drunken man
staggering in his vomit.
So Jesus is saying
you are nauseating.
You make me sick.
Make me throw up.
The church in Laodicea
is on the verge
of being rejected.
They're about to
the light
the fire of the spirit
on their lampstand
is about to go out
because of their
lack of zeal.
Why do I think
lukewarmness here
is a vivid picture
of their lack of zeal?
Because of Jesus'
prescription
in verse 19.
Be zealous
and repent.
Jesus commands
the church
in Laodicea
to be zealous
precisely because
they are lukewarm.
Neither cold nor hot.
That brings us
to my third point
the command
be zealous
and repent.
It says in verse 19
those whom I love
I reprove
and discipline
so be zealous
and repent.
It's so gracious
of Jesus here
to say this
before giving them
the command
to say
those whom I love
I reprove
and discipline.
this is a church
that makes
Jesus want to puke.
It's a church
that has nothing
going for it.
It's a church
that has zero thing
to commend
and yet
to that church
Jesus says
I am reproving you
because I love you.
I know these things
are hard to hear
church in Laodicea
but I want you
to know
that I am disciplining you
because I love you.
you've got nothing
lovable about you
and yet
I love you
because you are mine.
The Lord disciplines
those whom he loves
says in Hebrews 12
a father disciplines
the son
the child
that he loves
that's why I think
even though the church
in Laodicea
is on the verge
of ceasing to be
a true church
they are a true church
because
Jesus
reproves them
because he loves them
because as we saw
earlier in Revelation 1
they still have
the golden lampstand
their lampstand
is one of the seven
golden lampstands
before God's throne
and they have
an angelic representative
in heaven
that's why he's writing
to the church
to the angel of the church
in Laodicea
Jesus doesn't want
to spit them out
Jesus doesn't want
to vomit them out
so this warning
serves to preserve them
to bring them to repentance
so that that would not happen
be zealous
and repent
the word zealous
used in verse 19
refers
it's used
throughout the Bible
it refers to the church
in Corinth's
readiness
or their eagerness
to give financially
for the relief
of the poor Christians
in Jerusalem
in 2 Corinthians 9
in 2 Corinthians 7
11
the word zeal
is parallel
to earnestness
and refers to
the believer's
godly grief
and repentance
from sin
in John 2
13-17
Jesus is turning
over tables
and driving out
the money changers
from the temple
because it says
quoting Psalm 69-9
zeal for your house
will consume me
because Jesus
was consumed
by zeal
for the house
of the Lord
which should have been
a house of prayer
and not a house of trade
so to be zealous
is to be eager
and to be earnest
to be intensely serious
to be dedicated
to something
but don't get me wrong
by zeal
I'm not just
referring to
mere emotional fervor
people have different
upper and lower
registers of emotions
and so
a person's
emotional expressiveness
is not necessarily
an accurate indicator
of their zeal
so what then
is an accurate indicator
of their zeal
English pastor
J.C. Ryle
from the 1800s
helpfully describes
Christian zeal
in this way
I think we have the quote
to show
a zealous man
in religion
is preeminently
a man
of one thing
it is not enough
to say he is
earnest
hardy
uncompromising
wholehearted
fervent in spirit
he only sees
one thing
he cares
for one
thing
he lives
for one
thing
he is swallowed
up in
one
thing
and that one
thing is to
please God
whether he lives
whether he dies
whether he has
health
or whether he has
sickness
whether he is rich
or whether he is
poor
whether he pleases
man
or whether he gives
offense
whether he is thought
wise
or whether he's
thought foolish
whether he gets
blame
or whether he gets praise,
whether he gets honor,
whether he gets shame.
For all this, the zealous man cares nothing at all.
He burns for one thing
and that one thing is to please God
and to advance God's glory.
If he is consumed in the very burning,
he cares not for it.
He is content.
He feels that like a lamp he's made to burn
and if consumed in burning,
he has but done the work for which God appointed him.
Are you a man or are you a woman
who is consumed with the one thing?
But one thing I do.
Paul said, forgetting what is behind
but straining toward what is ahead
so that I may press on toward the goal
for the price of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
The one thing.
One thing, David prays,
I have asked of the Lord.
One thing that I will seek after
that I might dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life
to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord
and to inquire in his temple.
It's the one thing David sought.
As Jesus tells Martha in Luke 10, 38 to 42,
you are anxious and troubled about many things
but one thing is necessary.
And what's that one thing to sit at the feet of Jesus?
And here's a telltale sign that
you're losing your zeal.
Look at verse 17.
You say, I'm rich.
I prospered.
And I need nothing.
That's the telltale sign.
Self-sufficiency.
Spiritual complacency.
That's the telltale sign of lukewarmness.
When was the last time you clung to Jesus
because you realized your desperate wickedness
and your dire need for his mercy?
When was the last time you fell upon your knees in prayer
because you realized that your utter weakness
and complete helplessness
and Jesus is all-sufficiency?
Jesus says in John 15, verse 5,
I am the vine.
You are the branches.
Whoever abides in me and I in him,
he it is that bears much fruit.
For apart from me,
you can do nothing.
A zealous branch that bears much fruit
is one that abides in Jesus
and depends on Jesus,
knowing full well that apart from him,
she can do nothing.
If you catch yourself saying,
I'm rich.
I prospered.
I need nothing.
Remember the height from which you have fallen and repent.
Note that drinks default to becoming lukewarm.
If you want to stay cold,
you need to keep the drink in the fridge
or you need to keep putting new ice in it.
If you want water to stay hot,
you need to keep it on the hot plate.
As soon as you remove it from the source of the chill
or the source of the heat,
it quickly becomes tepid room temperature water.
This is why we must not be slothful in zeal
but be fervent in the Holy Spirit.
As it says in Romans 12, 11,
we need to keep the fire burning
and keep the ice freezing
by abiding in the source,
the origin of God's new creation, Jesus,
who gives us the Holy Spirit.
Listen to Jesus' counsel to us in verse 18.
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 salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.
Note how Jesus is systematically breaking down
everything that the church in Laodicea took pride in.
Their wealth, their wool, clothing,
their eye salve.
Jesus wants them to acknowledge their spiritual poverty
and come buy from him gold refined by fire.
True riches, heavenly riches
that will not be burned away in the final judgment.
Jesus wants them to acknowledge their spiritual nakedness
and instead of their wool garments
to put on the white garments of Christ
to cover their shame.
Jesus wants them to acknowledge their spiritual blindness
and instead of boasting in their eye salve
to get the spiritual eye salve
that only Christ offers
and the only cure to spiritual blindness.
Let me ask you,
what are the things that you take pride in
that you are tempted to depend on,
to lean on for your sense of well-being?
Is it your youth and beauty?
Is it your intelligence?
Is it your emotional awareness and social coolness?
Is it your athleticism, physical prowess?
Is it your wealth or success in the world?
Or is it your academic or family pedigree?
Brothers and sisters,
we're in a dangerous place in the world.
We're in one of the wealthiest cities in the world,
one of the most highly educated cities in the world.
There's so many things that you can point to
that you can take pride in.
But don't, don't, don't derive
an ounce of your assurance,
an ounce of your confidence
from any of those things.
Because to the degree that you rely on those things,
that much you will not be relying on Jesus.
And you'll be farther away from him.
Cling to the one thing.
But note the irony of Jesus' command.
He just told the church in Laodicea,
you're dirt poor.
You got nothing.
And then he tells them,
I counsel you to buy from me.
Gold refined by fire,
so that you might be rich.
How's a dirt poor church
supposed to buy gold refined in the fire?
Remember our call to worship from Isaiah 55.
Come.
Everyone who thirsts come to the waters.
And he who has no money,
come buy and eat.
Come buy wine and milk without money
and without price.
Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread
and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to me
and eat what is good
and delight yourselves in rich food.
Incline your ear and come to me.
Hear that your soul may live
and I will make with you an everlasting covenant
my steadfast, sure love for David.
We can buy heavenly food
and heavenly riches
and gold refined in the fire
without money
and without price
because Jesus has paid the price.
The penalty for sin
is death
and separation from God
and we were all once slaves to sin
and not a single one of us
could afford that ransom price
to secure our freedom
but God paid that price
in Jesus Christ,
his only son
on the cross
because he died for our sins
and was raised from the dead.
We were like that.
Imagine like a homeless orphan
just walking along the street
and on Thanksgiving Day
and he looks into a well-lit house
in their dining room
and there's a beautiful family
and they're enjoying a sumptuous feast
and then he's looking longingly
but he cannot afford it.
He has not a penny to his name.
He has no family
and God the Father
took his son
make him take our place
so that we can be brought into his family
adopted as his children
so that we can enjoy
a heavenly feast
without any money,
without any price
because he paid the price.
and look at the amazing promise
that Jesus gives us
in verses 20 to 22,
the communion.
I wish I could spend an hour on this.
I'm just gonna have to wrap up here.
It says,
Behold,
I stand at the door and knock.
If anyone hears my voice
and opens the door,
I will come into him
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.
This is why
spiritual pride,
the lack of zeal,
the complacency,
self-sufficiency
is such,
it's such a grievous sin
because it closes the door
on Jesus.
Instead of abiding in Jesus
and deriving our strength
and life from him,
it closes the door
on Jesus
when we say,
Oh,
I don't need that.
I got everything I need.
This is why Paul
in 2 Corinthians 12
is so eager
to boast in his weakness.
See,
this doesn't make any sense
if you don't understand
this reality.
He asked God,
pleaded with God
to take away
some kind of weakness
that he was wrestling with
and God refused
to take it away from him
and instead God said to him,
My grace is sufficient for you
for my power
is made perfect
in weakness.
Therefore,
Paul says,
I will boast
all the more gladly
of my weaknesses
so that the power of Christ
may rest upon me.
For the sake of Christ
and I am content
with weaknesses,
insults,
hardships,
persecutions,
and calamities
for when I am weak
then I am strong.
strong.
That's why as Christians
we boast
in our weaknesses.
Hear all these things
that I am weak at.
Hear all these things
that I cannot do
that I'm not good at.
Hear all these things
in which I have suffered.
Hear all these ways
in which I am ridiculed
and persecuted.
Hear all my weaknesses.
Let's boast in them
because when I am weak
then I am strong
because then
in all those weaknesses
Christ's all sufficiency
meets us.
In all our weaknesses
Christ's fullness
meets us
so that he becomes
all in all.
Don't you want
that communion with him?
Look at how intimate
this picture is.
Table fellowship
in the ancient world
especially
but even in our day
implies intimate relationship.
You don't get
a random stranger
out on the street
and invite them
to your house
for a dinner.
You invite your friends
to dinner.
Jesus is offering
his friendship
which is remarkable
because he is the king.
I will come eat with you.
You could eat with me.
Amen.
This is not
speaking of unbelievers
needing to open
the door of their hearts
to receive Jesus.
He is talking
to a church here.
In what ways
through your own
self-sufficiency
and in your pride
are you shutting
the door
on Jesus
instead of opening up your weaknesses
and letting him come in.
And if we do that, he says,
the one who conquers and endures to the end,
I will grant him to sit with me on my throne
as I also conquered and sat down
with my father on his throne.
This is a promise for the future,
the ultimate fulfillment of this,
but even now those who put their faith in Jesus
get to reign with Jesus.
Ephesians 1.21 teaches that God the Father
raised Jesus from the dead
and seated him at his right hand
in the heavenly places,
far above all rule and authority and power and dominion
and above every name that is named.
And then shortly thereafter in Ephesians 2.6,
it says that God raised us up
and seated us with Jesus
in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
That's our lot.
You get to reign with Jesus
at the right hand of God the Father,
reign with Jesus who has all authority
and dominion and power and rule.
Compared to that,
how poor is
Elon Musk,
Jeff Bezos?
They're dirt poor.
Compared to that,
how weak and powerless is Joe Biden,
Xi Jinping,
and Vladimir Putin?
How weak,
how powerless.
Do you see the kind of power,
kind of wealth,
the kind of privilege
we've been offered in Jesus?
Let's claim that
by being weak and humble,
being zealous,
abiding in Jesus.
Let's pray together.
Father,
we repent of our lukewarmness,
but we dare not try to
manufacture or produce
this zeal
with our own willpower,
for we know that it comes from you.
So we pray now,
because we need you.
We need you to make us burn
hot
for your glory.
Make us a church
that is about the one thing
to know and love you,
to serve you.
Oh, make us zealous.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.