WEBVTT 00:00:00.500 --> 00:00:07.900 Well, good morning. It's good to see you all. I hope you all had a good holiday break. 00:00:14.960 --> 00:00:22.280 You know, it's one of the rites of passages as a parent, when your kid looks at you and says, 00:00:22.280 --> 00:00:30.120 I do it myself. It always happens at some point, and though, yes, it's an appropriate developmental 00:00:30.120 --> 00:00:37.700 step for them, and it's not the worst thing in the world, there is a reality that often, no, always, 00:00:37.799 --> 00:00:44.060 the first time they say that, they can't do it themselves, even though they're trying. They say, 00:00:44.159 --> 00:00:50.980 I do it myself, and they try to tie their shoes, and 10 minutes later, the laces are still not tied. 00:00:52.280 --> 00:00:56.780 The fun thing is, when they do it, when they get into their car seat, no, Daddy, I do it myself, 00:00:56.780 --> 00:01:05.060 and you think, no, I can't let you not buckle your seatbelt. That's illegal. So you have to negotiate 00:01:05.060 --> 00:01:13.500 these things. They are unable to do the things, but they want to do them on their own, and this is a 00:01:13.500 --> 00:01:21.540 reality of the human heart and the human soul that we tend towards self-confidence and self-sufficiency 00:01:21.540 --> 00:01:30.260 even to our detriment. Now, we live in New England, which is the place where self-made, independent 00:01:30.260 --> 00:01:41.580 American person was made iconic in its culture, and we live in a world today where dependence is often 00:01:41.579 --> 00:01:50.579 seen as weakness, scorned by others, where self-reliance is valued above all. 00:01:52.939 --> 00:01:59.819 Friends, I wonder this morning how often we allow this attitude to sink into our spiritual lives as well. 00:02:00.539 --> 00:02:05.579 How often do we look at God and say, no, God, I do it myself. 00:02:05.579 --> 00:02:22.120 How often do we feel that dependence is weakness? 00:02:23.579 --> 00:02:27.560 How often do we come into church on Sunday morning feeling like we have to project? 00:02:27.560 --> 00:02:32.280 I've got it all together. It's my strength, and I'm able to do this. 00:02:35.960 --> 00:02:37.000 Even when we don't. 00:02:38.979 --> 00:02:41.300 What would Jesus say to a church? 00:02:43.539 --> 00:02:45.240 A church of, I do it myself. 00:02:46.379 --> 00:02:51.020 Well, that's what we're going to look at this morning. Advent, just so you know, starts next week. 00:02:51.020 --> 00:02:56.760 So this week, we're finishing up on the first part of our series in the book of Revelation. 00:02:57.060 --> 00:03:03.240 We're going to be on Revelation chapter 3. If you're using the Pew Bibles, it's page 967. 00:03:04.200 --> 00:03:08.640 And if you remember, we're looking at the letters to seven churches. 00:03:09.500 --> 00:03:15.480 Letters to seven churches that are part of the vision that Jesus gave to the Apostle John 00:03:15.480 --> 00:03:18.920 to the church at large. 00:03:18.919 --> 00:03:24.979 And these letters introduce themes that we will then see throughout the rest of the book of Revelation. 00:03:25.379 --> 00:03:27.679 The challenges that the churches face. 00:03:27.779 --> 00:03:31.299 The call to endure in the face of hardship and persecution. 00:03:31.619 --> 00:03:40.079 And most importantly, the surpassing excellency and the victory and the glory of Jesus Christ in the end. 00:03:41.479 --> 00:03:47.299 And there are seven letters which suggest not that there are only seven churches that Jesus really cared about, 00:03:47.300 --> 00:03:52.900 but that the seven was a symbol of completeness or comprehensiveness. 00:03:52.900 --> 00:03:59.600 And so the idea is that these letters were given not just to the real churches that maybe they were read to initially, 00:03:59.820 --> 00:04:07.300 but given to the whole church, not only in that time, but in all times for us to listen and to think, 00:04:07.300 --> 00:04:11.280 Jesus, what do you have to say to us through this letter to the church? 00:04:12.860 --> 00:04:17.699 How are we like this church today, the church in Laodicea? 00:04:18.360 --> 00:04:22.759 So let's look at Revelation chapter 3, starting in verse 14. 00:04:23.600 --> 00:04:25.060 Let's look at this together. 00:04:25.360 --> 00:04:26.379 Please read with me. 00:04:26.379 --> 00:04:33.959 And to the angel of the church in Laodicea, write the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, 00:04:34.120 --> 00:04:36.000 the beginning of God's creation. 00:04:36.839 --> 00:04:38.219 I know your works. 00:04:39.079 --> 00:04:41.139 You are neither cold nor hot. 00:04:41.759 --> 00:04:43.939 Would that you were either cold or hot. 00:04:45.300 --> 00:04:48.980 So because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, 00:04:49.740 --> 00:04:51.500 I will spit you out of my mouth. 00:04:52.219 --> 00:04:54.019 For you say, I am rich. 00:04:54.100 --> 00:04:55.980 I have prospered and I need nothing. 00:04:56.379 --> 00:05:02.860 Not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. 00:05:03.519 --> 00:05:10.219 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may be rich. 00:05:10.920 --> 00:05:13.819 And white garments so that you may clothe yourself. 00:05:14.399 --> 00:05:17.120 And the shame of your nakedness may not be seen. 00:05:17.939 --> 00:05:22.000 And salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. 00:05:22.000 --> 00:05:26.399 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline. 00:05:27.360 --> 00:05:29.480 So be zealous and repent. 00:05:29.699 --> 00:05:31.980 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. 00:05:32.379 --> 00:05:37.560 If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him and eat with him and he with me. 00:05:37.560 --> 00:05:44.040 The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne. 00:05:44.040 --> 00:05:49.019 As I also conquered and sat down with my father on his throne. 00:05:49.560 --> 00:05:54.800 He who has an ear, let him hear what the spirit says to the churches. 00:05:54.800 --> 00:05:59.000 Let's pray and ask for God's help as we look at this word together. 00:05:59.620 --> 00:06:01.579 Lord Jesus, we thank you for this word. 00:06:02.800 --> 00:06:09.620 We thank you that you speak, Lord, through these writings that were given in a specific time and place. 00:06:09.720 --> 00:06:18.379 And yet you intended us, Lord, for the rest of history to read and understand and receive your revelation and your words to us. 00:06:18.379 --> 00:06:26.040 Lord, I pray this morning that you would help us, Lord, that our minds would be alert to understand. 00:06:26.519 --> 00:06:31.579 That our hearts would be soft to receive, Lord. 00:06:32.000 --> 00:06:40.420 And that we would be, Lord, willing to follow your counsel. 00:06:40.420 --> 00:06:45.860 And in the midst of that, Lord, to bring glory and honor to you. 00:06:46.439 --> 00:06:50.379 I pray for your help this morning that I might speak as I ought. 00:06:51.640 --> 00:06:53.759 We pray in Jesus' name. 00:06:54.400 --> 00:06:54.620 Amen. 00:06:56.420 --> 00:06:58.540 So as we look at this passage this morning, 00:06:59.100 --> 00:07:07.200 we will see that God calls us to turn from our self-sufficiency into trust in an all-sufficient Christ. 00:07:07.199 --> 00:07:11.539 So we're going to look at this in two parts for those of you who are taking notes. 00:07:11.699 --> 00:07:15.060 The first part is the problem of spiritual lukewarmness. 00:07:15.159 --> 00:07:17.019 This will be verses 14 through 17. 00:07:17.560 --> 00:07:24.159 And then the second is the solution of a sufficient Christ in verses 18 through 21. 00:07:24.800 --> 00:07:26.419 So first, the problem. 00:07:26.759 --> 00:07:28.839 The problem of spiritual lukewarmness. 00:07:29.120 --> 00:07:31.060 Now, it starts with this image, right? 00:07:31.060 --> 00:07:32.980 After the introduction, verse 5, he says, 00:07:33.379 --> 00:07:35.779 You have a problem. 00:07:36.060 --> 00:07:37.139 You are lukewarm. 00:07:37.719 --> 00:07:45.000 And I don't know about you, but I grew up in a Christian culture where what lukewarmness meant was 00:07:45.000 --> 00:07:48.099 these are people who are half in, half out Christians, 00:07:48.500 --> 00:07:52.500 whose spiritual fervor is inconsistent at best. 00:07:53.159 --> 00:07:54.699 And look, here's the reality. 00:07:54.939 --> 00:07:55.980 That is real. 00:07:56.240 --> 00:07:57.519 People can be like that. 00:07:57.519 --> 00:08:01.219 And that's a problem that needs to be addressed in the Christian life. 00:08:01.319 --> 00:08:04.719 But that's not what Jesus is actually talking about here. 00:08:04.720 --> 00:08:08.160 We need to stop calling them lukewarm based on this text. 00:08:08.320 --> 00:08:09.440 Because look at it. 00:08:09.720 --> 00:08:11.100 What does Jesus say? 00:08:11.600 --> 00:08:15.120 He says, I wish you were hot or cold. 00:08:15.620 --> 00:08:20.540 Is Jesus really saying, I wish you were spiritually cold in your fervor for me? 00:08:20.920 --> 00:08:22.580 No, of course not. 00:08:22.880 --> 00:08:25.460 He's saying something else. 00:08:25.459 --> 00:08:29.079 So let's just be clear on that as we move in. 00:08:29.359 --> 00:08:30.259 What is he saying? 00:08:30.379 --> 00:08:31.259 Well, here's the thing. 00:08:31.459 --> 00:08:38.379 To the first century readers who lived in the region of Asia Minor, which is now modern-day 00:08:38.379 --> 00:08:45.039 Turkey, and particularly around the city of Laodicea, it's in a valley called, or a region 00:08:45.039 --> 00:08:45.980 called Phrygia. 00:08:45.980 --> 00:08:49.440 And in this, there were two other cities. 00:08:49.899 --> 00:08:52.580 One was Hierapolis, and one was Colossae. 00:08:53.200 --> 00:08:59.620 And Hierapolis had these wonderful hot springs that were known for their medicinal and healing 00:08:59.620 --> 00:09:00.060 power. 00:09:00.200 --> 00:09:04.779 You'd go and soak in the hot waters, and they were good for your soul and for your body. 00:09:05.600 --> 00:09:12.139 And Colossae had these wonderful springs that produced cool, clear, crisp drinking water. 00:09:12.139 --> 00:09:17.500 And so you'd go to Colossae, and you'd drink the Colossian water, and think, ah, that's 00:09:17.500 --> 00:09:19.080 a good, refreshing cup of water. 00:09:19.860 --> 00:09:20.419 Laodicea? 00:09:21.120 --> 00:09:27.460 Laodicea was a wealthy town, put where it was because it was at the crossroads of trade 00:09:27.460 --> 00:09:31.159 routes, but it was not near a good water source. 00:09:31.539 --> 00:09:35.159 The water was actually piped in from miles away. 00:09:35.799 --> 00:09:41.620 And when it arrived, it was lukewarm and full of minerals. 00:09:42.139 --> 00:09:48.460 Such that they would take the water, and they would put it into jars and let it sit for 00:09:48.460 --> 00:09:54.480 a couple of days to cool and for the minerals to settle at least a little bit. 00:09:55.080 --> 00:10:00.179 Because if you tried to drink it right out of the aqueduct, it would be like drinking salt 00:10:00.179 --> 00:10:00.519 water. 00:10:01.000 --> 00:10:03.960 And you would spit it out. 00:10:03.960 --> 00:10:13.300 Which is exactly what Jesus says he was doing in response to the lukewarmness of the church 00:10:13.300 --> 00:10:14.820 in Laodicea. 00:10:15.759 --> 00:10:17.200 So that's the image. 00:10:17.280 --> 00:10:18.480 Here's my updated version. 00:10:19.360 --> 00:10:25.940 Jesus is saying, I wish you were either a Philly cheesesteak or a Maryland crab cake, but instead 00:10:25.940 --> 00:10:28.200 you're a 7-Eleven hot dog. 00:10:28.200 --> 00:10:30.120 That's useless. 00:10:30.420 --> 00:10:31.340 It's inedible. 00:10:31.620 --> 00:10:33.040 It's not good for you. 00:10:33.200 --> 00:10:34.660 There is nothing there. 00:10:37.180 --> 00:10:38.120 That's a stretch. 00:10:38.259 --> 00:10:38.580 I know. 00:10:38.700 --> 00:10:39.180 I get it. 00:10:39.379 --> 00:10:41.400 It's the best I could do. 00:10:41.720 --> 00:10:43.720 So, but maybe you'll remember it. 00:10:45.520 --> 00:10:50.560 The commentator on Revelation, Grant Osborne, writes this. 00:10:50.559 --> 00:10:53.839 The church should not have matched its water supply. 00:10:54.319 --> 00:10:59.039 The Laodiceans should have known, should have been known for their spiritual healing like 00:10:59.039 --> 00:11:04.339 Hierapolis or their refreshing life-giving ministry like Colossae. 00:11:04.699 --> 00:11:09.399 Instead, as Jesus' next statement reads, they were lukewarm. 00:11:10.419 --> 00:11:12.399 So now we understand what the image is. 00:11:12.659 --> 00:11:13.719 What does it refer to? 00:11:15.099 --> 00:11:18.299 Well, I think that verse 17 explains that. 00:11:18.299 --> 00:11:23.219 Jesus goes on and he says, this is what your lukewarmness looks like. 00:11:23.939 --> 00:11:28.279 You say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing. 00:11:29.419 --> 00:11:38.179 But you don't realize that in reality, you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. 00:11:38.620 --> 00:11:40.939 And you don't even know it. 00:11:40.940 --> 00:11:53.320 If I were going to wrap this up in one word, Jesus looks at him and says, you think you have all that you need to spiritually prosper. 00:11:53.880 --> 00:11:56.900 And your self-sufficiency is going to kill you. 00:11:57.120 --> 00:11:58.620 Because you are not that. 00:11:58.900 --> 00:12:01.400 You are in desperate need. 00:12:01.399 --> 00:12:05.759 Of something outside of yourself. 00:12:08.559 --> 00:12:18.039 So this spiritual pride and self-sufficiency, this is what Jesus is getting at this morning in the church in Laodicea. 00:12:18.360 --> 00:12:20.079 And maybe in our hearts as well. 00:12:20.600 --> 00:12:21.779 What might this look like? 00:12:21.840 --> 00:12:24.480 I think this could go in a ton of different directions. 00:12:24.480 --> 00:12:27.519 But the text itself points us in a few directions. 00:12:28.080 --> 00:12:31.100 What are some of the ways that we fall into self-sufficiency? 00:12:32.220 --> 00:12:35.700 First is, I think, material prosperity. 00:12:37.440 --> 00:12:44.840 When we have material wealth, we often can fall into spiritual self-sufficiency. 00:12:45.240 --> 00:12:45.840 Why is that? 00:12:45.840 --> 00:12:55.940 Well, because when we don't lack for our necessities, when we have an abundance of things, of food, of clothing, of shelter, of the things that we need, we become spiritually lazy. 00:12:55.940 --> 00:13:00.680 Because we don't trust in God for the things that we need. 00:13:00.840 --> 00:13:04.180 We're not aware of our need for God to be providing. 00:13:04.519 --> 00:13:07.980 And we become complacent in light of that. 00:13:07.980 --> 00:13:18.680 And rather than looking to God daily and saying, oh God, be merciful to me and be my help, provide for me, we think, I've got all I need. 00:13:19.159 --> 00:13:21.620 And God fades into the distance. 00:13:23.720 --> 00:13:28.420 Either that, or we get all this stuff and we think, oh, this stuff is great. 00:13:28.800 --> 00:13:29.720 I want more. 00:13:29.840 --> 00:13:32.320 And we start to take responsibility for it. 00:13:32.320 --> 00:13:39.700 And we start to be consumed by it so that we care more about managing the gifts of God than knowing God himself. 00:13:41.800 --> 00:13:49.300 Reminds me of the parable that Jesus told about the man with the barns of grain. 00:13:49.540 --> 00:13:50.560 He said, take care. 00:13:50.879 --> 00:13:54.680 In Luke 12, he said, take care and be on your guard against all covetousness. 00:13:55.000 --> 00:13:58.460 For one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. 00:13:58.460 --> 00:14:03.960 And he told them a parable saying, the land of a rich man produced plentifully. 00:14:04.120 --> 00:14:07.160 And he said to himself, and he thought to himself, what shall I do? 00:14:07.220 --> 00:14:08.980 For I have nowhere to store my crops. 00:14:09.200 --> 00:14:10.500 And he said, I will do this. 00:14:10.560 --> 00:14:13.379 I will tear down my barns and build larger ones. 00:14:13.379 --> 00:14:16.759 And there I will store all my grains and my goods. 00:14:17.300 --> 00:14:23.940 And I will say to my soul, soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years. 00:14:24.100 --> 00:14:26.019 Relax, eat, and be merry. 00:14:26.019 --> 00:14:31.139 But God said, fool, this night your soul is required of you. 00:14:31.199 --> 00:14:34.460 And the things you have prepared, whose will they be? 00:14:35.579 --> 00:14:41.860 So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich towards God. 00:14:41.860 --> 00:14:55.139 So material wealth can consume us and become the thing that we run after and the thing that we spend our time working for and then enjoying. 00:14:55.700 --> 00:14:59.720 And in the midst of this, God gets pushed to the margins of our life. 00:14:59.720 --> 00:15:09.500 Now our prosperity may be physical, like a good bank account or physical belongings. 00:15:09.840 --> 00:15:12.560 It also may be things like physical comfort. 00:15:12.820 --> 00:15:17.560 It may be non-tangible things like job security or financial success. 00:15:17.559 --> 00:15:26.639 It may even be things like relational security where we think of our family or our extended family as the places of our richness. 00:15:28.959 --> 00:15:33.079 And here's some questions for you, for me. 00:15:33.719 --> 00:15:38.839 Do our belongings consume more of our hearts than depending on God? 00:15:38.840 --> 00:15:44.879 Are we tempted to hoard rather than be generous with what God has given us? 00:15:46.879 --> 00:15:50.259 How do we respond when we lose something of value? 00:15:51.480 --> 00:15:53.980 Do we get angry and bitter towards God? 00:15:55.740 --> 00:16:00.340 Do we pray more or less because of what we have? 00:16:00.340 --> 00:16:12.100 So one of the ways that self-sufficiency can capture our hearts is through riches, physical, material blessings that we have. 00:16:12.100 --> 00:16:19.820 The second thing I think is there can be a self-sufficiency that has to do with our spiritual lives. 00:16:20.180 --> 00:16:28.840 When we think we are called to or able to be good enough to please God on our own, 00:16:30.340 --> 00:16:35.300 this is a very dangerous spiritual self-sufficiency. 00:16:35.920 --> 00:16:39.780 Jesus says we are naked, pitiable, not prospering. 00:16:40.120 --> 00:16:45.120 And this nakedness, what is it talking about? 00:16:45.340 --> 00:16:47.300 It's not literally talking about nakedness. 00:16:47.360 --> 00:16:48.680 This is an image here. 00:16:49.899 --> 00:16:53.040 But you see it in a number of places throughout the Scriptures. 00:16:53.259 --> 00:16:56.840 And here's one from the Old Testament that may help us understand it. 00:16:56.840 --> 00:17:02.899 In Lamentations 1.8, writing about Jerusalem, Jeremiah writes, 00:17:03.000 --> 00:17:06.319 Jerusalem sinned grievously, therefore she became filthy. 00:17:06.819 --> 00:17:12.079 All who honored her despise her, for they have seen her nakedness. 00:17:12.660 --> 00:17:15.519 She herself groans and turns her face away. 00:17:15.660 --> 00:17:19.720 Her uncleanness was in her skirts, and she took no thought of her future. 00:17:19.720 --> 00:17:25.779 Therefore, her fall is terrible, and she has no comforter. 00:17:26.860 --> 00:17:34.400 This is in the context of Jerusalem, the Jewish people turning away from God 00:17:34.400 --> 00:17:42.779 and worshiping other gods through idolatry, trusting in themselves through their own military strategies, 00:17:43.180 --> 00:17:49.559 doing these things, turning away from God and trusting in themselves for their own spiritual flourishing. 00:17:49.720 --> 00:18:01.160 And they would say, I have kept the law in these ways, so now God must, must give me prosperity and blessing. 00:18:02.839 --> 00:18:08.940 And friends, we know this dynamic points to a deeper heart dynamic that we all have. 00:18:09.279 --> 00:18:15.339 We all have this heart from the very beginning when Adam and Eve fell in the garden, 00:18:15.860 --> 00:18:18.400 and God came and said, what are you doing? 00:18:18.400 --> 00:18:22.700 They were naked, and they were ashamed, and what did they do? 00:18:23.180 --> 00:18:28.400 They started making excuses for themselves to say, well, it wasn't my fault, what happened wrong? 00:18:28.920 --> 00:18:41.100 And so began the arc of humanity wanting to find our way back to God through our own religious good works. 00:18:41.500 --> 00:18:42.940 We want to keep the law. 00:18:43.040 --> 00:18:44.320 We want to do what is right. 00:18:44.319 --> 00:18:51.419 We live in a world today where we think, why would God not like a good person like me and accept me? 00:18:54.019 --> 00:18:56.500 But the New Testament tells us something different. 00:18:56.659 --> 00:19:03.460 The New Testament says that when, apart from Christ, we look honestly at ourselves, what do we see? 00:19:03.919 --> 00:19:06.079 We see this nakedness of sin. 00:19:06.819 --> 00:19:09.559 Our hearts are full of rebellion against God. 00:19:09.559 --> 00:19:13.179 We want to do it ourselves, even in the spiritual realm. 00:19:15.819 --> 00:19:24.879 And God calls us to put that off and to put on something else, to put on by faith Jesus Christ. 00:19:25.519 --> 00:19:28.579 That's what Galatians 3.27 says. 00:19:28.579 --> 00:19:34.419 To put on Christ so that we might know God. 00:19:37.220 --> 00:19:49.039 But when we trust in our own good works, when we trust in our own religious activities, when we trust in our mercy, when we trust in our acts of justice, 00:19:49.039 --> 00:19:49.759 when we trust in our lives, when we trust in our acts of justice. 00:19:49.759 --> 00:19:54.420 Whether it's Die Mansion, we think these things are what allow us to have a relationship with God. 00:19:57.299 --> 00:20:08.139 We've fallen into a self-sufficient, self-oriented salvation plan that sidelines Jesus and the cross. 00:20:08.140 --> 00:20:21.280 so material wealth can do it religious activity can can be a a forum for our self-sufficiency 00:20:21.280 --> 00:20:29.759 and finally spiritual blindness it's very clear that jesus means this he says that we are blind 00:20:29.759 --> 00:20:35.780 and naked and as you look ahead in verse 18 he's going to talk about you need some new salve for 00:20:35.779 --> 00:20:42.180 your eyes i had to look that up and listen to it a number of salve solve anyway salve i'll try to get 00:20:42.180 --> 00:20:50.200 it right um what is salve it's it's ointment okay so that's what it is um and what what what we won't 00:20:50.200 --> 00:20:56.099 don't know in the 21st century is that in the first century there was a medical school in the valley in 00:20:56.099 --> 00:21:03.660 the uh in the license valley where laodicea was where and they this medical school produced something 00:21:03.660 --> 00:21:12.500 called phrygian powder that was in that was famous in the whole area for curing eye diseases 00:21:12.500 --> 00:21:20.759 and so there was so this was a great point of pride we have through our research and technology 00:21:20.759 --> 00:21:31.460 and knowledge been able to heal eyes and jesus says you think you can see but in fact you are blind 00:21:31.460 --> 00:21:42.860 blindness here is not a physical thing but a spiritual thing jesus called the pharisees blind guides 00:21:42.860 --> 00:21:50.759 because they were religiously zealous but without faith or true knowledge of god and their spiritual 00:21:50.759 --> 00:21:55.120 pride blinded them to seeing who jesus really was 00:21:55.119 --> 00:22:03.819 paul reminds us in second corinthians 4 when he writes in their case the god of this world has 00:22:03.819 --> 00:22:10.219 blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of 00:22:10.219 --> 00:22:20.139 christ who is the image of god maybe you know this feeling i remember it i remember before i knew christ 00:22:20.140 --> 00:22:28.600 hearing about christ and having no understanding i had eyes but i could not see who jesus really was 00:22:28.600 --> 00:22:38.200 and friends we can do this even after knowing christ we can develop a spiritual blindness where we fail to 00:22:38.200 --> 00:22:47.000 see jesus because of our pride and self-sufficiency so jesus comes to laodicean church and in these ways 00:22:47.000 --> 00:22:53.059 he says you are in danger of being consumed by these patterns of self-sufficiency 00:22:53.059 --> 00:23:04.960 but he doesn't leave them there verses 19 and 20 it reminds us of his heart jesus comes and he says 00:23:04.960 --> 00:23:15.119 i come to you as ones whom i love and i discipline and i reprove you because i care about you because you 00:23:15.119 --> 00:23:22.779 can turn from this and this is what i call you to i call you to turn away turn away from trusting in 00:23:22.779 --> 00:23:34.599 yourself turn from this and turn to the all-sufficient christ so this is my second point this is what 00:23:34.599 --> 00:23:42.179 uh the letter here calls us to and reminds us to that there is an all-sufficient christ you remember 00:23:42.180 --> 00:23:49.840 the words that jin he read uh read earlier from isaiah 55 come everyone who thirsts come to the 00:23:49.840 --> 00:23:56.960 water he who has no money come buy and eat come buy wine and milk without money and without price 00:23:56.960 --> 00:24:03.299 why do you spend your money for that which does for that which is not bread and your labor for that 00:24:03.299 --> 00:24:11.380 which does not satisfy listen diligently to me and eat what is good and delight yourselves in rich food 00:24:11.380 --> 00:24:22.720 incline your ear and come to me hear that your soul may live way back in isaiah god was inviting his 00:24:22.720 --> 00:24:29.800 people our people us to come to him and to receive from him things that we could not have on our own 00:24:29.800 --> 00:24:35.480 we could spend our money in self-sufficient building of our lives or we could turn to god 00:24:35.480 --> 00:24:42.960 and without having any money that would be any worth to him we could come humbly and receive from him 00:24:42.960 --> 00:24:52.200 and this is what jesus says in verse 18 i counsel you to come to me and buy and he uses this economic 00:24:52.200 --> 00:24:59.779 trend transaction language but when you look at it there's no money transaction he means by buying he 00:24:59.779 --> 00:25:08.180 says come to me and receive come to me and get from me that which you do not have in and of yourself 00:25:08.180 --> 00:25:20.579 come and buy not with money but receive by faith all that you long for and look at how he then portrays 00:25:20.579 --> 00:25:27.899 what it is come to me for riches not the riches of this world but the riches that are in christ 00:25:27.900 --> 00:25:35.720 remember the words that peter wrote to the church in rome that according to god's great mercy he has 00:25:35.720 --> 00:25:42.140 caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of jesus christ from the dead to an 00:25:42.140 --> 00:25:49.200 inheritance that is imperishable undefiled and unfading kept in heaven for you who by god's power 00:25:49.200 --> 00:25:56.880 are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time in this you rejoice 00:25:56.880 --> 00:26:03.680 though now for a little while if necessary you've been grieved by various trials so that the tested 00:26:03.680 --> 00:26:11.780 genuineness of your faith more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire may be found 00:26:11.780 --> 00:26:20.580 to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of jesus christ jesus says do you want gold 00:26:20.579 --> 00:26:31.019 this is the gold you really want a tested faith that comes from me and that i will keep you and that i will 00:26:31.019 --> 00:26:40.579 ensure that you have this inheritance in my kingdom that is imperishable undefiled and unfading and that it will 00:26:40.579 --> 00:26:44.579 come one day with glory and praise and honor to jesus 00:26:44.579 --> 00:26:54.859 and he says come don't look at the riches of the world look at look at these riches that will be eternally 00:26:54.859 --> 00:26:55.619 glorious 00:26:55.619 --> 00:27:05.740 he goes on and he says not only come to me for gold but come to me for white garments 00:27:05.740 --> 00:27:13.299 we'll see some of the implications of these white garments as we go further on in the book of 00:27:13.299 --> 00:27:19.500 revelation in chapter 7 there's a vision of the throne room of god and there are these people from 00:27:19.500 --> 00:27:27.620 every tribe and tribe and tongue gathered around this throne and in verse 13 it says then one of the 00:27:27.620 --> 00:27:33.960 elders addressed me saying who are these clothed in white robes and where have they come from where have 00:27:33.960 --> 00:27:41.000 they come and i said to him sir you know and he said to me these are the ones coming out of the great 00:27:41.000 --> 00:27:47.019 tribulation they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb 00:27:47.019 --> 00:27:54.640 therefore they are before the throne of god and serve him day and night in his temple and he who sits 00:27:54.640 --> 00:28:01.100 on the throne will shelter them with his presence they shall hunger no more neither thirst anymore 00:28:01.099 --> 00:28:07.319 the sun shall not strike them nor any scorching heat for the lamb in their midst of the throne will 00:28:07.319 --> 00:28:14.799 be their shepherd and he will guide them to springs of living water and god will wipe away every tear 00:28:14.799 --> 00:28:16.500 from their eyes 00:28:16.500 --> 00:28:27.959 friends the robes were washed in the blood of jesus and jesus says don't come to me 00:28:27.960 --> 00:28:34.840 and pretend that you could be good enough for me to embrace you on the basis of your filthy rags 00:28:34.840 --> 00:28:43.319 even the best goodness that we can produce falls so far short of the glory of god but we know 00:28:43.319 --> 00:28:52.440 that christ through his life and death and resurrection has achieved for us a salvation and we can receive 00:28:52.440 --> 00:28:59.640 from him these new clothes when we put on christ we put on his righteousness and these righteous clothes 00:28:59.640 --> 00:29:06.559 are white in their purity and in their glory and when we stand before the judgment throne christ 00:29:06.559 --> 00:29:15.680 god the father sees the righteousness of christ and he accepts us and he welcomes us and he allows us to sit 00:29:15.680 --> 00:29:23.660 with him and friends think about how glorious it would be for these believers in the first century 00:29:23.660 --> 00:29:31.759 facing persecution and trial where following christ would be so costly to know that's the end i don't need 00:29:31.759 --> 00:29:39.620 armor to get through this i can even die but if i have these white clothes of christ if i am clothed in his 00:29:39.619 --> 00:29:47.299 righteousness then i have a good shepherd who will watch over me and i have a future with him that will be 00:29:47.299 --> 00:29:48.000 forever 00:29:48.000 --> 00:30:01.239 then finally jesus says come come for a new eye salve come for some new medicine that is going to open your 00:30:01.239 --> 00:30:08.599 eyes so that you can see the glory of god paul goes on in second corinthians 4 having talked about the 00:30:08.599 --> 00:30:15.659 blindness of unbelievers he says in verse 6 god who said let light shine out of darkness has shown 00:30:15.659 --> 00:30:22.539 in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of god in the face of christ 00:30:22.539 --> 00:30:31.480 jesus came to bartimaeus the beggar sitting by the road who was blind and he said bartimaeus do you want 00:30:31.480 --> 00:30:40.539 to see he said yes and bartimaeus his eyes were opened and he saw jesus and he saw him and he knew 00:30:40.539 --> 00:30:47.420 this is the son of david this is the messiah this is the hope of israel this is everything we've been 00:30:47.420 --> 00:30:54.680 waiting for and his eyes were finally opened and friends this is not something we can do 00:30:54.680 --> 00:31:04.360 we cannot see jesus simply by trying harder but if we go and confess our need for him god will come 00:31:04.360 --> 00:31:12.400 and meet with us and he will open our eyes and he will help us see christ in all of his glory 00:31:12.400 --> 00:31:21.640 another commentator on revelation greg beal says this referring to this last to this first section he's 00:31:21.640 --> 00:31:28.140 referring back to chapter one notice how in the initial vision christ was attired with a golden 00:31:28.140 --> 00:31:35.160 girdle his hair was white like wool his eyes were like flaming fire which corresponds strikingly 00:31:35.160 --> 00:31:44.440 to the three products mentioned in verse 19 the gold the white garments and the eye salve all point to one 00:31:44.440 --> 00:31:58.059 thing christ only in christ our true riches clothing and insight and friends this is our great hope 00:31:58.059 --> 00:32:06.840 for our savior and our shepherd king jesus is our greatest treasure in his incarnation we wonder that in 00:32:06.840 --> 00:32:13.580 love he would come to earth to rescue us at the cross we glory for there he laid down his life 00:32:13.579 --> 00:32:22.000 to win our salvation by dying for us in the empty tomb we rejoice for he is one of victory over sin 00:32:22.000 --> 00:32:29.899 and death and all the enemies against god's kingdom and he lives forever and in his ascension we exalt for 00:32:29.899 --> 00:32:37.559 he is one and we will sit with him forever remember the words of philippians 2 00:32:37.559 --> 00:32:52.079 jesus is the one who left all this glory all this greatness all this victory and he humbled himself and he made himself a servant and he took on flesh 00:32:52.079 --> 00:32:59.720 and he went even to the cross being obedient to the father and submitting himself to him 00:32:59.720 --> 00:33:08.860 so that he might be then in his resurrection highly exalted having the name that is above every name 00:33:08.860 --> 00:33:16.059 so that at the name of jesus every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that jesus is lord 00:33:16.059 --> 00:33:23.500 friends if we have this savior why in the world would we spend our time trusting in ourselves 00:33:23.500 --> 00:33:32.640 to try to do anything in our lives why would we spend our time and our money trying to prove ourselves 00:33:32.640 --> 00:33:39.339 when we can go and sit at the feet of jesus and receive from him by faith and live out the callings 00:33:39.339 --> 00:33:44.700 that he's called us to even when it's costly and even when it's going to include suffering and even 00:33:44.700 --> 00:33:49.099 when it may include death as it did for the first century believers 00:33:49.099 --> 00:34:00.779 because we know that in him the all-sufficient christ we have surpassing sufficiency for all 00:34:00.779 --> 00:34:08.819 of our needs and friends with this then the first part of the vision of revelation ends 00:34:08.819 --> 00:34:12.319 but it's a great setup 00:34:12.320 --> 00:34:17.580 because in chapter four he's going to take us to the throne room of god 00:34:17.580 --> 00:34:23.300 and we're going to see the glory of the lamb who is a lion who is the one who is worthy 00:34:23.300 --> 00:34:27.100 and in the meantime we're going to celebrate 00:34:27.100 --> 00:34:32.300 through uh the the season of advent the coming of jesus 00:34:32.300 --> 00:34:36.420 and the wonder and glory that he came for us 00:34:36.420 --> 00:34:39.920 let's pray together 00:34:39.920 --> 00:34:44.480 lord jesus we thank you for this word 00:34:44.480 --> 00:34:46.380 and lord we pray 00:34:46.380 --> 00:34:49.980 we pray we confess how often 00:34:49.980 --> 00:34:53.960 our hearts fall into self-sufficiency and we think 00:34:53.960 --> 00:34:56.320 that we can do it ourselves 00:34:56.320 --> 00:34:59.320 how often we are 00:34:59.320 --> 00:35:02.300 we fall into its complacency 00:35:02.300 --> 00:35:03.700 its pride 00:35:03.700 --> 00:35:09.680 lord help us anew this morning 00:35:09.679 --> 00:35:12.819 to turn from that self-sufficiency 00:35:12.819 --> 00:35:16.819 and independence and in weakness look to you 00:35:16.819 --> 00:35:19.559 the all-sufficient christ 00:35:19.559 --> 00:35:23.359 we pray this in jesus name 00:35:23.359 --> 00:35:24.759 amen 00:35:24.759 --> 00:35:26.819 was a worship 00:35:26.820 --> 00:35:42.440 bent up