I guess I'm on.
Well, good evening, everyone.
Scripture reading tonight is Revelation 3, verses 14 through 22.
And you can find that in your pew Bible.
It's on page 1030.
So, tonight we're going to look at the last of Jesus' letters to the seven churches that we find here in the early chapters of Revelation.
It's been Jesus' pattern as he addresses each church.
And these were real churches, by the way, that he was writing to in the first century.
And it was his pattern to establish who he is and to say, this is Jesus.
Here's who I am.
I'm the Alpha and the Omega.
I'm the beginning and the end.
I'm the Savior of the world.
And then he proceeds to tell the churches commendations and encouragements, but also some criticisms.
And tonight, in the seventh church that's addressed, the church in Laodicea, Jesus does not have anything positive to say at all.
In fact, we find one of the sternest warnings in any of the letters.
In fact, I would say one of the sternest warnings anywhere in Scripture.
Along with it, however, we find Jesus himself giving us a key to how to get right with him, how to know him, how to have a meaningful life, how to have peace, how to have energy for God.
And it's all here in our passage tonight, so let's look at it together.
So this is Revelation chapter 3, verses 14 through 22.
I'm going to read heterozy.
I'm going to read it.
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 yourself
And the 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 in to 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
Okay so tonight I'd like to break our
The teaching into three segments tonight
The condition of this particular church
The condition
The cause of that condition
And the cure for the condition
So let's begin with the condition
So let's look at verse 15 and 16 together
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
Now
I don't know if this is a big problem for northerners
But if you have ever sat on a beach
Down south in Georgia or Florida maybe
And you are sitting there sweltering
Because it is 110 degrees
And there is not a breeze in the air
And it is humid and horrible
And you decide
I am going to get up and go for a swim
And cool off
And it is going to be refreshing
And I just can't wait
And you get up off your towel
And it sticks to your back
And you pull it off
And you go and hit the water
But the problem is
The water is actually the same temperature
As the air
It is just wetter
Not a whole lot wetter either actually
And so you get in the water
And you get out of the water
And there is no use
There was no
It didn't work
And when we see Jesus here
Referring to
Hot and cold
I wish you were hot and cold
Your deeds
The way you live
I wish it was
Hot or cold
Hot things are useful
Cold things are useful
Hot water
You can cook with it
You can clean with it
You can do things with it
Cold water
You can drink it
And be refreshed
Or you can jump in a pool of it
But lukewarm water
Is not useful
And you see what was happening
Is this church was drifting
Away from Jesus
And into a life
With no ultimate purpose
Because we don't want to misunderstand
These were
These
This is a church
These were people going to church services
They were probably very decent people
Probably very
Ordinary
Church going folks
But they had strayed
From Christ
And their lives
Were no longer serving his purpose
And they had lost their passion
And their love
And their energy for God
And they become mediocre
Jesus treats this very seriously
If we look at the tail end
At verse 16
It's just startling
It's just
I don't know how it hits you
When you read this verse
But Jesus says
I wish you were either hot or cold
And because you're not
I'm going to spit you out of my mouth
You're on a trajectory
That leads to us breaking up
You're on a path
That if you don't change course
Then I'm going to have to
Spit you out of my mouth
Now
You may ask
Why is this such a big problem
That Jesus is so
Over the top
With this warning
What is
What is the big issue
And I think
If we look at the cause
Of this lukewarmness
We're going to see that
We're going to see
Why Jesus warns so sternly
You know
All along here
In all the letters
Where Jesus is warning
His people
We have to keep in mind
That he bled and died
For these people
He loves these people
This is not
Jesus is not taking a stick
And saying oh you did that wrong
Whack
You know
It is
Jesus loves this church
As we're going to see
In a little bit
He comes right out
And says it
Okay
Look with me in verse 17
This is the cause
The underlying cause
Of why this church
Had become lukewarm
And this is the much more
Serious issue
I think we're going to see
For you say
I am rich
I have prospered
And I need nothing
Not realizing
That you are wretched
Pitiable
Poor
Blind
And naked
So what Jesus is saying
Is you've drifted off
Into this lukewarm
Mediocre
Life
Because you're
Not realizing
You're not knowing
You're not accepting
You're not embracing
You're not believing
That you are spiritually
Bankrupt
Apart from me
When you wander away
From me
You've got nothing
You're bankrupt
And you know
This is a major line
In the sand
This is the difference
Between being a Christian
And not being a Christian
When we
When we wander
Away
From Jesus
And begin
To put our confidence
In our right standing
With God
In something
Other than
Him
I think I would go
So far
As to say
That not realizing
Not properly
Diagnosing
Ourselves
That we are
Wretched
Pitiable
Poor
Blind
And naked
Is
The root cause
Of
Falling away
From Jesus
In many different ways
Now I want to take
One second
Because you may be saying
Are we really
That bad off
Are we really
Wretched
Pitiable
Poor
Blind
And naked
That is strong
Language
And I just want to take
One
Side note here
And I just want to say
That
The Bible's answer
Is yes
And
Here's why
The magnitude
Of the crime
Is determined
By the stature
Of the offended party
Okay
Just hang with me
Just for one second
On this
The magnitude
Of the crime
Is determined
By the stature
Of the offended party
In other words
My children will all be
Smiling at this
Because I say this
Once a month
In my house
If you slap
Your brother
In the face
There's going to be
A consequence
From that
If you
At least
If you have
Parents
Who are paying
Attention
If you slap
Your teacher
In the face
There's a whole
Different level
Of consequence
For that
Same action
If you slap
The president
Of the United States
In the face
If you happen
To break through
And get up to him
Guess what
You're gone
We're never going to
See you again
You're going to go
To wherever people go
Where you know
You don't know
They're just gone
They're in
You did it to the
President jail
And can you see
That
The stature
Of the offended
Party
Determines
The
Value
Of the crime
And
Mankind
Has slapped
The infinite
God of the universe
In the face
By our sinning
And
This means
That there's a debt
That we cannot pay
There is a debt
That only
Jesus
Can pay
Ever
And by ever
I mean
Not that you
Accept that
One time
And then
Once you
Accept it
On those grounds
Then you go out
And become a good
Person
And start
Working it out
For yourself
Jesus
Is
Always
The grounds
For our
Right standing
With God
And not
Realizing
That's why
This verse
Is a little
Tricky
Because it
Says
Oh
These
Laodiceans
They're not
Realizing
That they
Are wretched
Pitiable
Poor
Blind
And naked
No
What I
Want to
Tell you
Is
All of
Us
Apart
From
Christ
Are
That
Is
Not
Just
For
Laodiceans
Now
When we
Get
Confronted
With
This
Truth
I
Think
There's
A firestorm
Of reactions
That go
Off
In our
Hearts
Okay
There's
Disbelief
Well
Guess
What
God
I'm
Just
Going
To
Unfriend
You
Then
Because
That's
A horrible
Thing
To say
About
A person
Okay
That I'm
That bad
Off
There's
Denial
Well
That's
Other
People
But
Not
Me
There's
Distraction
La la la la la
I'm
Just
That's
I can't
Deal
With
That
I'm
Just
Going
To
Play
Video
Games
And
Watch
TV
And
Binge
Watch
And
Not
Worry
About
It
Till
Later
There's
Deflection
Where we
Blame
It's
Not
My
Fault
Someone
Else
Is
Responsible
There's
Dilution
And
There's
Delusion
Where
We
Tell
Ourselves
That
Reality
Is
This
Way
When
Jesus
Is
Saying
It's
That
Way
And
That
Brings
Us
Back
Around
To
The
La
Deceit
That
Laodiceans
Because
We
See
That
They
Were
Telling
Themselves
A
False
Reality
About
Their
Security
You
See
How
They
Say
I
Am
Rich
I
Have
Prospered
I
Need
Nothing
You
Know
Success
Is
A
Threat
To
Our
Rightly
And
Rightly
Understanding
That
Where
We
Stand
With
God
We're
Completely
Dependent
On
Jesus
Because
When
We
Experience
Success
Things
Are
Good
And
We
Feel
Like
Oh
Things
Are
Okay
Maybe
I
Don't
Need
Jesus
So
Much
And
It
Can
Come
In
All
Sorts
Of
Forms
Right
Vocationally
Or
Academically
Or
This
Or
Even
Morally
So
When
People
Become
Believers
Right
God
Starts
Working
On
Their
Heart
And
Then
They
Start
Getting
A
Better
Life
And
God
Starts
Working
On
Them
And
As
Soon
As
Their
Life
Starts
To
Get
Better
All
Of
A
Sudden
They're
Like
Well
Maybe
I'm
Not
So
Pitiable
And
Poor
And
Wretched
Anymore
Right
Or
If
You
Become
A
Ph.D.
Or
If
Things
Are
Just
Good
In
Your
Life
Then
You
Say
I'm
Not
Pitiable
And
Poor
And
Naked
And
Wretched
I'm
Awesome
And
That
Is
A
Threat
To
Us
Not
Realizing
That
Apart
From
Christ
We're
Wretched
And
Pitiable
And
Poor
And
Blind
And
Naked
You
Know
Jesus
Said
Those
Who
Are
Forgiven
Much
Love
Much
And
That's
Why
This
Concept
Is
Critically
Important
It
Is
A
Bedrock
It
Is
A
Key
To
The
Christian
Life
To
Understand
Our
Position
Before
A
Holy
God
Apart
From
Christ
Jesus
Said
Those
Who
Are
Forgiven
Much
Love
Much
Those
Who
Are
Forgiven
Little
Love
Little
And
What
He
Means
By
That
Is
If
You
Perceive
That
You're
In
Pretty
Good
Shape
And
You're
A
Decent
Person
Especially
Compared
To
This
Guy
And
Yeah
You
Need
Help
You
Need
Some
Forgiveness
But
You're
Not
Wretched
And
Poor
And
Naked
And
Blind
Then
When
Jesus
Comes
With
His
Grace
It's
Grace
With
A
Lower
Case
G
And
It
Cannot
Become
The
Engine
And
Fuel
That
You
Need
To
Live
A
Life
Of
Love
And
Energy
For
God
Because
Grace
Is
Small
Grace
Because
You
Only
Need
Small
Grace
So
You
Know
This
Sounds
It's
A
Hard
Thing
To
Hear
For
Someone
To
Stand
Up
Here
And
Say
You
Know
What
I'm
Sorry
But
All
Of
You
Are
Wretched
And
Poor
And
Pitiable
Okay
But
The
Flip
Side
Of
That
Coin
Is
When
We
Embrace
That
And
Then
Jesus
Comes
With
His
Message
That
He's
About
To
Come
The
Cure
It
Is
So
Beautiful
It
Is
So
Wonderful
It
Remains
With
A
Capital
G
Okay
So
That's
The
Cause
So
Now
I'd
Like
To
Talk
About
The
Cure
Look
With
Me
At
Verse
18
Jesus
Says
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
Those
Whom
I
Love
I
Reprove
And
Discipline
So
Be
Zealous
And
Repent
So
The
First
Step
In
The
Cure
Is
That
We
Confess
To
God
That
We
Are
Spiritually
Bankrupt
You
Know
If
You
If
You
If
You
Hear
This
Passage
And
You're
Like
Me
And
You
Say
Wow
I'm
Lukewarm
Oftentimes
I'm
Lukewarm
I'm
Mediocre
Am I
Living
A
Zealous
Energy
Filled
Life
For
God
Where
I'm
Willing
To
Lay
It
Down
Because
Of
What
He's
Done
For
Me
In
Jesus
Well
You
Know
I
Fail
That
Test
And
Right
Here
We
Have
Jesus
Saying
An
Interesting
Thing
The
First
Part
Of
The
Cure
Is
Not
To
Go
Out
There
And
Do
Better
And
Try
Harder
The
First
Part
Of
The
Cure
Is
Okay
So
You're
Not
Zealous
Like
You
Ought
To
Be
Well
How
About
Be
Zealous
About
This
Be
Zealous
To
Tell
Me
That
You're
Not
Zealous
Be
Zealous
To
Own
That
Be
Zealous
To
Come
To
Me
And
Confess
That
To
Me
Be
Have
Energy
So
You
Don't
Have
Energy
For
All
These
Things
That
You
Should
Well
How
About
Have
You
Need
My
Resources
My
Riches
You
Need
My
White
Perfect
Clothing
You
Need
My
Medicine
You're
Sick
You
Know
There
Was
A
Great
Preacher
That
Said
All
You
Need
Is
Nothing
But
So
Few
People
Have
It
I
Don't
Know
If
You
Ever
Heard
That
Before
All
You
Need
Is
Nothing
To
Come
To
God
Nothing
But
So
Few
People
Have
It
Because
We
Have
In
Our
Hands
The
Things
That
We
Are
Saying
No
I'm
Not
Poor
And
Pitiable
I'm
At
Least
This
You
Want
To
Talk
Poor
And
Pitiable
I'll
Show
You
Some
One
Okay
The
First
Part
Of
The
Cure
Is
That
We
Confess
To
God
That
We
Are
Spiritually
Bankrupt
You
Know
It's
Important
To
Note
Here
That
Jesus
Is
Literally
Telling
Us
Love
Us
Do
You
See
That
Don't
Miss
That
Verse
19
Those
Whom
I
Love
I
Bring
This
Message
To
I
Love
You
I'm
On
Your
Side
I'm
Trying
To
Help
You
Wake
Up
Trust
Trusting
In
Yourself
Is
Totally
Insane
Trusting
In
Yourself
To
Save
Yourself
In
Any
Percentage
Is
Totally
Insane
Before
A
Holy
God
That
Created
The
Entire
Universe
And
Then
Told
Us
Just
How
Bad
The
Problem
Is
By
Sending
His
Own
Son
Who
Had
To
Hang
On
A
Cross
And
Be
Mocked
And
Bleed
To
Death
Can
We
Feel
The
Offense
When
We
Come
And
Add
Something
To
That
And
Detract
From
The
Poor
And
Pitiable
We
Mustn't
Let's
Move
On
To
Verse
20
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
You
Know
I
Just
Love
This
You
Know
What
I
Love
About
This
The
Second
Confession
Is
Done
The
Second
We
Just
Move
Past
The
Verse
That
Said
Confess
Repent
As
Soon
As
We
Turn
And
Say
You
Know
What
You
Are
I
Do
Need
You
I
I'm
Hopeless
Sinner
I
Need
You
What
Does
Jesus
Say
I'm
Right
At
The
Door
Ready
To
Come
In
If
You
Hear
My
Voice
If
You
Turn
And
Repent
I
Will
Come
In
And
I
Will
Eat
With
You
And
You
Will
Eat
With
Me
And
We
Will
Have
Intimacy
Real
Intimacy
Experiential
Relationship
Not
Oh
I
Know
I
Don't
Want
To
Hell
And
I
Okay
I'll
Accept
This
And
Okay
I've
Done
That
And
Now
I
Have
That
What
Jesus
Is
After
And
What
Jesus
Is
Offering
Is
So
Much
More
And
In fact
We
Have
To
Have
It
We
Have
To
Have
All
Of
Him
Or
None
Of
Him
And
I
Think
That's
Part
Of
The
Gist
Of
This
Passage
It's
Either
All
In
With
Him
Or
I'm
Sorry
But
I'm
Going
To
Spew
You
Out
Of
My
Mouth
Because
I
Want
To
Come
In
And
Have
A
Real
Vital
Living
Relationship
With
You
I'm
At
The
Door
All
You
Have
To
Do
Is
Acknowledge
That
You
Need
Me
And
We
Can
Get
This
Ball
Rolling
We
Can
Get
This
Relationship
Going
And
Then
When
He
Comes
In
And
You're
On
Your
Knees
And
Your
Tears
Are
Dripping
And
You're
Saying
You
I
Do
Need
You
I
Am
Wretched
And
Poor
Because
Of
My
Sin
Then
He
Floods
You
With
Affirmation
Forgiveness
Love
Grace
Some
Of
Us
Here
Have
Tasted
That
For
Real
There's
Nothing
Like
It
It's
Pull
The
Car
Over
On
The
Side
Of
The
Road
And
For
Ten
Minutes
Just
Sob
That's
What
It
Is
It
Is
When
You
Have
That
Is
The
Energy
To
Combat
A
Lukewarm
Mediocre
Live
For
Ultimately
Nothing
Life
Because
Now
Jesus
Is
Giving
You
What
You
Don't
Deserve
In
Measures
That
Are
Almost
Unthinkable
And
You're
Just
So
Thankful
It's
Almost
Too
Good
To
Believe
And
Then
He
Says
Here's
What
Here's
My
Job
For
You
I
Want
You
To
Come
Along
Side
And
I
Want
You
To
Pour
This
Grace
Back
Out
On
Other
People
I
Want
You
To
Live
A
Life
Where
You're
Going
Out
And
Loving
People
In
My
Name
And
I'll
Tell
You
That
Is
A
Life
Of
Meaning
And
That's
A
Useful
Life
Lastly
Because
It
Doesn't
Stop
There
If
We
Look
At
Verse
21
Jesus
Says
The
One
Who
Conquers
Or
The
One
Who
Overcomes
I
Will
Grant
Him
To
Sit
With
Me
On
My
Throne
As
I
Also
Conquered
And
Sat
Down
With
My
Father
On
His
Throne
And
We
Don't
Have
Time
To
Dig
Into
That
Other
Than
I
Just
Want
To
Say
That
A
Component
Of
What
Jesus
Would
Bring
Into
Your
Life
Is
A
Hope
For
A
Future
That
Is
Beyond
Well
Let me
Read you
This
Is
First
Corinthians
Chapter
2
Verse
9
No
Eye
No
Mind
Has
Imagined
What
God
Has
Prepared
For
Those
Who
Love
Him
For
Those
Who
Receive
Jesus
And
They
Love
Jesus
And
God
Has
Prepared
An
Unimaginable
Future
of contentment and joy and happiness
for those that will turn to him and love him.
Well, I'd like to close by saying that
this, what's described here
and what Jesus is prescribing here
is not a one-time,
it's not a one-off.
It's an every day off,
if I can say it horribly.
It is a pattern of life.
It is because when Jesus,
when God comes into your life,
the first time God comes into your life,
he says, I'm God.
And you are poor and wretched and need me.
And you need a savior.
And you say yes.
And you do turn and invite him in.
Well, after that, what happens is
God's light continues to shine in your heart.
He continues to show you your need.
You don't, we don't ever in this life
grow beyond our need.
In fact, the need,
the estimation of what it's going to take
to save us in the life of a healthy Christian,
in the heart of a healthy Christian,
it grows.
It grows.
It's the opposite of getting arrogant
or it's the opposite of getting puffed up.
I'm a Christian now and I've been at this five years
and I'm a much better person than I was before.
And so actually I'm doing okay.
It's not that at all.
It's God in your heart saying,
okay, yes,
you know,
good job.
You know,
we got over this,
but look at this,
bam.
And it's like,
oh,
I'm a horrible,
judging,
selfish person.
He's like,
yes,
that's why I had to die.
You know,
and then that gets a little better
and the next thing you know,
God's going to open another door
in your house.
And,
but you know what?
That engine of grace,
it keeps chugging then
because then you go to God and say,
oh,
I need you more than I ever thought I did.
Thank God for Jesus.
Thank you,
Lord.
And grace grows.
That's how grace grows.
This is,
this is not,
I stand at the door and knock.
You let me in on January 21st,
you know,
1994,
and we're done.
This is every day.
And there's a,
there's an engine component to it.
Okay.
One last thought and I'll close here.
Wherever you are tonight,
if not realizing and admitting your spiritual poverty
has been a barrier to a vibrant relationship with God,
I,
I just hope that you will consider going to Jesus
and confessing that to him.
you know,
maybe,
you know,
maybe even tonight,
when you get home,
um,
you know,
he stands at the door,
ready to come in and forgive and love and restore
and flood your heart with grace.
And he can give you a hope worth living for.
And he can give you a hope worth dying for.
So let me pray for us.
Our father in heaven,
we,
we pray that you would be at work in each one of our hearts,
whether we're,
um,
an unbeliever here tonight or wrestling or a backslidden believer,
or a faithful believer.
Father,
I pray for all of us that you would help us to see reality clearly
and help us to not drift away from acknowledging our need for you every day.
And father,
I pray that you would give us the courage to confess and come to you and repent.
And I pray that when we do father,
that you would pour out your blessings on us and make us know that we're your children and give us peace and joy and comfort and make us useful.
Father,
we're so thankful for Jesus and we're thankful for the time that you gave us tonight in Jesus name.
Amen.