So we're going to read Revelation chapter 3 on Wednesdays.
We've been looking at Revelation also and we've been looking at these particular messages from chapters 2 and 3 and we're going to be looking at the last one today.
So let's read God's Word. Chapter 3 starting at verse 14.
To the angel of the church in Laodicea writes,
Amen.
Like the people you call us to be.
We ask for your help because without you we have no good thing.
Amen.
So I wonder how would you describe the spiritual condition of this church?
If you were to set up your spiritual monitor indicator and place it around at various pews or chairs as they are, what would be your findings?
Would the little dial flicker towards weak or strong?
Or would it go from rich or poor?
What's the spiritual condition of the church?
Or let's make it more personal.
What about you?
What about me?
Would you say you're in a healthy condition spiritually?
Or an unhealthy condition?
Where would you be on that monitor?
Well, starting in chapters 2 and all the way through to the end of chapter 3,
we have a series of messages from Jesus to the church.
And the purpose is to identify any weaknesses so that we can take corrective action and strengthen the church.
Because once we know where the cracks appear, we can firm up the foundations and we can be strong together as we live in this world.
You see, we might make our assessment, but the only one qualified to make an assessment is the Lord Jesus.
Look at verse 1.
To the angel of the church in Laodicea write, these are the words of the Amen.
Jesus is the Amen.
Now, Amen isn't just a word that you attach at the end of your prayers.
To indicate you're finished.
It's a declaration of certain undeniable truth.
So when you pray a simple prayer like,
Thank you, Jesus, for your love towards me.
Amen.
You're actually ending by saying,
The truth.
And if you say Amen in response to somebody else's prayer,
you are declaring,
The truth.
Yes, Jesus does love me.
That's right.
It's true.
Now, Jesus is the Amen.
In other words, he's the declaration of God's truth.
Everything he does and everything he says is true.
He is, look at verse 14,
The faithful and true witness.
The ruler of God's creation.
So what he has to say to us today through his word is absolute.
It's certain.
It's unquestioning truth.
In other words, we can't argue with it.
It's not up for debate.
In fact, the only right response is,
Look at the end, verse 22.
Whoever has ears,
Let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Listening to the Spirit is submitting to the word.
It's to accept the assessment of Jesus
So that we can, in response,
Take corrective action
And become the strong people that he calls us to be.
So what does Jesus have to say to us today?
Well, we're going to see three things in particular that he says.
First of all, we're going to see there's a loving rebuke.
Then there's a gracious invitation.
And an eternal reward.
So here we go.
A loving rebuke.
Verse 15.
I know your deeds.
Now in nearly every other church that we read about in these messages,
There follows a commendation.
He goes, I know your deeds.
And then list them out.
I know your hard work.
And how you didn't renounce your faith.
And how you persevered in service.
And how you served wonderful cups of tea.
And had the best biscuits.
And had a great welcome.
And what a wonderful church.
And how you are.
But instead of a list of the church's strengths.
Jesus launches straight into a rebuke.
Verse 15.
I know your deeds.
And here they are.
That you are neither cold nor hot.
Now let's be honest.
None of us find rebuke easy, do we?
We don't like it when somebody points out our faults and our failings.
In fact, we probably get quite defensive and immediately push back and go,
No, no, that's not me.
That's not what I meant.
That's not what I said.
But this isn't about naming and shaming.
This isn't about piling on the guilt and bashing you on the head.
No, look at verse 19.
Those whom I love, I rebuke and discipline.
Jesus' rebuke is evidence of his love.
He loves his church.
He cares deeply for his church.
A parent who doesn't discipline or rebuke their son or daughter doesn't care about their welfare.
But a parent who does correct loves their child.
They want the best for them to grow in maturity.
How much more then does Jesus, who died for us, love us?
His rebuke is evidence that we are deeply treasured by him.
He exposes our weaknesses so that we can take corrective action and strengthen the church.
So what is his loving rebuke?
Well, it comes in three parts.
Here's the first part.
First, he says, you are lukewarm.
Verse 15, I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot.
I wish you were either one or the other.
And one of the things I enjoyed on holiday was the lovely hot weather.
Blistering hot.
And opening up your bottle when you're really thirsty and taking in a drink.
Oh, there's nothing worse than a bottle that's been sitting in the sun.
It's disgusting.
Give me a cold drink or a hot drink.
But don't give me that tepid, lukewarm stuff.
You don't go down to the shop and buy warm tea, do you?
It's either iced tea or hot tea.
Or if you're a bit posh, a frappuccino or a cappuccino.
Well, says Jesus, that's what the church tastes like.
When I put you in my mouth, there.
Verse 16.
Because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I'm about to spit you out of my mouth.
The spiritual condition tastes so bad, it would make you feel sick.
Oh gosh, that's all a bit harsh, isn't it?
It might be true of the church in Laodicea, but I mean, that's not me.
That's not this church, is it?
Well, let's read on.
Not only are we lukewarm, we are self-sufficient.
Whoops.
The reason why the church tastes so bad is because they live as if they're self-sufficient.
Look at verse 17.
You say, I'm rich, I've acquired wealth and do not need a thing.
We see being self-sufficient as something to be pursued and to be prized.
If you can get to the point in life where you are financially stable, that's a sign that you've made it, that you're a success.
My mortgage is paid off.
My pension is doing well.
My savings are safe.
I do not need a thing.
In fact, I'm doing so well, I no longer have to ask God for anything.
Isn't that what we want?
I mean, why be a burden to God and have to ask him for things?
In fact, maybe God has blessed us so much, rather than have any kind of needs, I can meet everybody else's needs.
If someone's in need today, in need of assistance, just ask me.
I know we're living in a cost-of-living crisis, so I'll pay your electricity bill.
I'll fill your car up with petrol.
And if any of our mission partners or anyone in the Court Carry Project, if they need a handout, no problem.
I've got the resources to help.
I'm rich.
I've acquired wealth.
I do not need a thing.
Is that what you pursue and prize?
Well, it seems the church in Laodicea had become so prosperous
that their financial self-sufficiency has become their spiritual self-sufficiency.
They've looked at their bank account and go,
I like what I see there, and they've immediately translated as,
I'm doing spiritually well.
Now, please don't misunderstand me.
Money and wealth is not wrong.
It can be good to make money and use it for the blessing of others
and the building up of his church.
Scripture encourages us to work hard, make a living.
It commands us to give and to care for the poor.
In fact, the people of Carigoline Baptist Church,
you know what, let me say this,
you are extremely generous financially.
Anytime we've come up with a need for people overseas,
people have given more than I've ever expected or imagined.
Our financial health is excellent.
We're doing so well as a church
that we're wanting to appoint an assistant pastor
and be able to afford to do it.
Thank God for generous giving.
Thank God for people like you who give so well.
But the danger is our financial self-sufficiency
can become our spiritual self-sufficiency.
In other words, our financial health
can have a disastrous effect on our spiritual health.
We are not just lukewarm and self-sufficient.
Perhaps we've become spiritually poor.
Look at verse 17.
You say I'm rich, I've acquired wealth and do not need a thing.
But you do not realise that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.
Now I'm sure we've been listening to the same news
and getting the same feeds in our social media
and we're concerned about the cost of living crisis.
We've had the conversations, haven't we?
We've reflected and thought,
how is this going to affect me and my family?
Maybe you have checked your bank balance,
done the sums and taken action,
decided, well, we're going to use the car less,
not take so many trips.
Or maybe, as in our case,
it's not spending 15 minutes in the electric shower.
You do the calculations and you say,
it's all right, I've worked it all out,
we're going to get through this.
Because the pressure to be financially strong and secure
is right in our face.
That's what everybody tells us.
In fact, it can be so strong
that we can lose our focus and end up spiritually poor.
We might breathe a sigh of relief
that we were able to pay our electricity bill,
but at the same time, we've forgotten all about Jesus.
We can pride ourselves that we've survived the crisis,
but at the same time, we've lost our love for Jesus.
Verse 17.
Let's turn it into a question.
The end of verse 17.
Is it possible
or that you do not realise
that perhaps you've become wretched,
pitiful,
poor,
blind,
and naked?
You see, the sign of a healthy church
is one that actually knows their needs.
Rather than celebrating material fullness,
what we see is our spiritual emptiness.
Rather than declare,
I don't need a thing,
we desperately shout out,
I need Jesus.
We need to be so careful
that our material wealth
does not blind us to our spiritual health.
physically,
we can be well housed,
well insured,
well clothed,
prepared for any financial crisis,
but at the same time,
we have become
spiritually poor.
Is that us today as a church?
Is that me?
Have I become spiritually poor?
Well, how are we going to change
these things around?
Well, not only is there a loving rebuke,
there is a gracious invitation.
Look at verse 19.
Those whom I love,
I rebuke and discipline,
so be earnest
and repent.
Repentance always means
turning back to Jesus.
And Jesus shows us
how to do that.
Listen to his
gracious invitation.
There's two
wonderful invitations
for us today.
Here's the first.
Jesus says,
buy from me.
Buy from me.
Verse 18.
I counsel you
to buy from me.
Well, how can we
buy anything?
I mean, we've just seen
that we are
spiritually poor.
But that's exactly
the point.
We buy from the Lord Jesus
with our spiritual poverty.
The currency
that Jesus accepts
is emptiness
and brokenness.
we come with
nothing else
but our
desperate,
needy self.
You see,
this is the
amazing grace
of Jesus
towards us.
He invites us
and he says to us
today,
come to me
as you are.
Right here,
right now.
and I will
satisfy you.
Verse 18.
I counsel you
to buy from me
gold refined
in the fire
so that you
can become rich
and white clothes
to wear
so that you
can cover
your shameful
nakedness
and salve
to put on
your eyes
so that you
can see.
I,
says Jesus,
will give you
spiritual riches
and eternal
home
and eternal
blessings
forevermore.
I will supply
you with
spiritual clothes.
I will cover
up all
your guilt
and all
your sin
with a robe
of my
righteousness.
I will give
to you
spiritual eyes
so that you
will be able
to see the
emptiness
of self-sufficiency.
and see
in Jesus
the beauty
of all
sufficiency.
You see,
this is an
invitation
not to come
and get
things
or an idea
or a philosophy.
This is an
invitation
for us
today
to get
Jesus.
He's what
we need.
In Jesus
we experience
all the
spiritual resources
that we need
for life
and death
and for
all eternity.
buy from
me.
Come with
your spiritual
poverty
and exchange
it
for glorious
riches.
Jesus.
In fact,
Jesus not
only invites
us to
come to
him,
he desires
that he
come to
us.
Not only
does he
say,
buy from
me,
but he
says,
eat
with
me.
Look at
verse 20.
Here I
am.
I
stand at
the door
and
knock.
Now it's
interesting to
note,
isn't it,
who is
pursuing
who here
in this
relationship.
Where's
Jesus?
Jesus
is on the
outside,
knocking on
the door
because he
wants to
meet with
us.
He's
saying to
you and
I today,
let me
in.
Now very
often we
think of
this verse
as speaking
to unbelievers,
but remember
this is
speaking to
believers,
to the
church.
Let me
come
back in.
You see,
this is what
self-sufficiency
does.
It pushes
Jesus out
of our
lives.
He no
longer becomes
our need.
We don't
need him.
We can
live without
Jesus,
so he's
on the
outside.
Now
amazingly,
Jesus
doesn't
walk away
in a
huff,
does he?
He
doesn't
do a
stroppy
and go,
that's
it,
you don't
want me,
I'm
out of
here,
I'm
not
talking
to
you
again.
If
you
want
me,
well
then you'll
have to
come
back and
talk to
me.
Isn't
that how
we
react in
our
relationships
with
each
other?
No,
Jesus
hasn't
gone
anywhere.
He's
there
knocking
on the
door.
Listen,
Jesus
is calling
your name.
Can you
hear him?
He's
speaking your
name.
Look at
verse 20.
I stand
at the
door and
knock.
If
anyone
hears
my
voice
and
opens
the
door,
I will
come in
and eat
with that
person
and they
with me.
Meals
have
kind of
lost
their
significance,
haven't
they?
For
us at
least.
Eating
has
become
nothing
more
than
just
a
refueling
exercise.
Stuff
as much
as we
can in
as quick
as
possible
so we
can get
on and
do other
things.
We
even
eat on
the run.
We
don't
have
time
to
sit
down.
But in
the first
century,
and for
Jesus
as he's
speaking,
to sit
down and
spend time
with people
and to
eat with
someone was
a sign of
deep friendship
and acceptance.
It was the
way of
renewing
fellowship
with somebody
where you
had fallen
out.
And that's
what Jesus
is saying
to you
today.
What a
wonderful
picture this
is.
he's
knocking
on the
door.
He's
calling
your name.
Johnny,
I want
to come
in.
I want
to sit
with you.
I want
to eat
with you.
I've
come to
renew
fellowship
with you.
Let
me
in.
In
fact,
I want
you to
experience
spiritual
resources
in all
their
fullness.
I want
you to
enjoy a
meal with
me and
to receive
from me.
Look,
let's not
beat about
the bush.
We can
all get
ourselves in
a desperate
mess,
can't we?
Our sin
pulls us
away from
Jesus.
We listen
to the
messages
about
financial
security.
we've
got to
sort
ourselves
out,
but we
just get
pulled
away.
And we
think,
I've got
to do
something,
I'm going
to change,
I'm going
to make
things
different.
What do
I have
to do
to make
Jesus
give me
what I
need?
What do
I have
to do
so that
Jesus is
going to
accept me
back again?
Well,
the problem
is we
can never
ever do
enough.
In fact,
our sin
just reminds
us that
we need
to start
the whole
process
all over
again.
No,
there's
another
way.
Do you
hear his
gracious
invitation?
Jesus
comes to
us.
Jesus
is the
one
taking
the
initiative.
He
always
does.
Do you
hear his
voice?
Buy
from
me.
Eat
with
me.
Come
with
your
spiritual
emptiness
and
brokenness
and I
will
fill you
with
treasures
forevermore.
Not
only do
we have
a loving
rebuke
and his
gracious
invitation
but a
promise
of an
eternal
reward.
You
see the
big
point
here
is this.
The
call
upon
our
life
today
is to
invest
in
our
life
spiritually
even
if that
means
financial
poverty.
In
other
words,
we are
better off
being
spiritually
rich
and
financially
poor
than
being
spiritually
poor
and
financially
rich.
Do you
believe
that?
It's
true.
Look
back to
the church
in
Smyrna
chapter
2
verse
9.
They
were the
flip side
of
Laodicea.
Jesus
says to
them in
verse 9,
I know
your
afflictions
and your
poverty.
They
didn't
have
anything.
Oh,
they
did.
You
are
rich.
They
were
rich
in
Christ.
So
what
will it
mean
for you
and I
to
invest
in
and
prioritize
our
spiritual
health?
Well,
let me
throw
these out
in very
general
ways.
Maybe
you're a
younger
person
or consider
yourself
younger
today.
You're
still in
school
or you're
about to
embark on
your career
and you
have
ambitions.
decisions.
You're
making
choices and
decisions about
your job and
your future.
Well,
let me say
this.
Make sure
you
prioritize
mating
with God's
people.
Before
committing to
a career,
be committed
to your
local church
because they're
going to be
watching out
for your
spiritual
health,
responsibility
and
accountability,
you will
need it.
You won't
survive
without it.
But maybe
you're
thinking,
well,
I'm a
little bit
further on
than that
and I'm
thinking,
well,
how can I
better my
financial
situation?
How could
I move
up the
ladder,
maybe take
on a bit
more
responsibility
at work
and increase
the paycheck
at the end
of the
month?
Well,
that can
be good.
I'm not
saying that's
bad.
But sometimes
what we need
is not
more,
but less.
Not more
hours and
more pay,
but less
hours.
Sometimes
we need
to reduce
things so
that we
haven't become
so busy
and flustered
that we
don't have
time for
Jesus.
retirement.
Or maybe
you're kind
of at the
other end
of the
scale and
you're
thinking
retirement.
Or maybe
you already
have retired.
Time to
cash in,
isn't it?
Get that
pension going,
treat yourself,
spend the
kids'
inheritance,
oh,
that would
be nice.
well,
again,
I'm not
saying it's
wrong to
do any
of these
things.
But watch
out.
Watch out
that in your
older age it
doesn't grab
you and
consume you
and you
forget your
spiritual love
for Christ.
You see,
the truth
is none
of us would
ever make
a decision
that would
compromise
our financial
health,
would we?
We're very
careful about
our monies.
But we all
have a habit
of making
choices that
compromise our
spiritual
condition.
We do it
all the time.
Yes,
this investment
and prioritising
our relationships
with Jesus
will be costly.
It may mean
we don't get
the career we
want or the
wage increase
or that
pension plan
and that
can be
hard.
And maybe
you're thinking
well I'm not
sure I want
to go down
that road.
I'm not
sure I'm
ready to
make those
decisions.
Is it
worth it
to throw
my lot
in for
Christ?
Absolutely.
100%.
Don't
believe me?
listen to
what Jesus
says,
verse 21.
To the
one who
is victorious,
I will
give the
right to
sit with
me on
my throne
just as I
was victorious
and sat
down with
my father
on his
throne.
What a
promise.
It's
out of
this world.
world.
If we
make Jesus
our pursuit
and prize,
if we
prioritise
dependency
on Jesus,
you know
what we
will receive?
We're going
to get to
rule the
nations
with Jesus.
We're going
to sit
in the
place of
all rule
and power
and authority
as God's
people.
all that
he is
over,
we will
be over.
All that
is his
will become
ours.
Now,
I don't
know where
you are
on the
calculations,
but I
don't think
you can
get a
bigger
reward
or greater
riches
than that
for all
eternity.
Look,
we can
pour our
life into
financial
security,
we can
strive for
success
and self
sufficiency,
we can
reach the
heights where
we can
say,
I'm rich,
I've
acquired
everything,
I do
not need
a thing.
Be
careful.
Listen to
his invitation.
he's
calling
your name.
Buy
from me.
Eat
from me.
Look
upwards
to your
glorious
reward.
Invest
in your
spiritual
health
and you
will be
eternally
rich.
Let's
pray.
Pause
and
respond.
Lord, we
are so
quickly
distracted
and so
easily
deceived
by other
things,
particularly
financial
resources
and
wealth.
Help us
to prioritise
you,
to make
you our
prize
and our
pursuit
in life.
Knowing that
in you are
all that we
need for
life and
death and
for all
eternity,
that you
are sufficient.
Help us
always to say
that apart
from you,
I have no
good thing.
Thank you
thank you
that we
have
rewards
that are
bigger and
greater than
anything this
world could
ever offer.
Eternity
with you,
ruling
with you,
enjoying
your
blessings
forever
and forever
without end.
thank you
Lord for
your blessings
to us,
for our
financial
resources
individually
and as a
church.
Help us
to use
them for
your glory,
for your
kingdom,
and for
the good
of others.
In
Jesus'
name we
pray.
Amen.