WEBVTT 00:00:00.520 --> 00:00:03.399 Well, please do take a seat. 00:00:04.440 --> 00:00:07.320 Today we're finishing off our series. 00:00:07.860 --> 00:00:10.560 We've got mail, we've been looking at it through the summer. 00:00:10.700 --> 00:00:12.880 This is our eighth sermon of eight. 00:00:13.759 --> 00:00:17.539 Really just almost opening other people's mail 00:00:17.539 --> 00:00:21.740 and reading what the risen Lord Jesus says 00:00:21.740 --> 00:00:27.420 to various churches dotted around Asia Minor, modern day Turkey. 00:00:27.920 --> 00:00:29.960 They've been a real mixed bag. 00:00:30.519 --> 00:00:34.980 There's been some small churches that have been really faithful 00:00:34.980 --> 00:00:37.200 amidst great opposition. 00:00:38.039 --> 00:00:43.600 There's been some big churches that have lost focus and gotten lost. 00:00:44.880 --> 00:00:49.140 And there's been some churches that have been quite a mixed bag themselves 00:00:49.140 --> 00:00:51.439 who have got some faithful people 00:00:51.439 --> 00:00:56.640 but have also got some false teaching and some things going wrong. 00:00:56.640 --> 00:01:00.460 They're real churches but they're also representative churches. 00:01:01.299 --> 00:01:04.519 And though Jesus writes these letters to them, 00:01:04.620 --> 00:01:06.079 they're written for us. 00:01:06.180 --> 00:01:07.960 That every letter finishes, 00:01:08.159 --> 00:01:10.040 those who have ears to hear, 00:01:10.980 --> 00:01:14.460 let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. 00:01:14.459 --> 00:01:14.759 The churches. 00:01:14.939 --> 00:01:18.359 The churches then but the churches now. 00:01:18.439 --> 00:01:22.939 The churches like Brunsfield Evangelical Church. 00:01:24.019 --> 00:01:28.439 And today we come to probably the most famous of the churches. 00:01:28.439 --> 00:01:32.780 The one that we know as Paul was hinting in his leading. 00:01:33.420 --> 00:01:37.920 This word lukewarm will forever be associated with Laodicea 00:01:37.920 --> 00:01:41.379 purely because of this letter. 00:01:41.379 --> 00:01:45.679 It is the most infamous of the churches. 00:01:45.679 --> 00:01:48.280 It's probably the least attractive. 00:01:49.239 --> 00:01:52.599 Although I think Sardis probably runs it very close. 00:01:53.399 --> 00:01:54.299 And so let me read. 00:01:54.679 --> 00:02:00.379 And I'd invite you to turn with me to Revelation chapter 3 and verse 14. 00:02:00.379 --> 00:02:13.379 To the angel of the church in Laodicea write. 00:02:14.359 --> 00:02:16.180 These are the words of the Amen, 00:02:16.599 --> 00:02:18.479 the faithful and true witness, 00:02:18.620 --> 00:02:20.680 the ruler of God's creation. 00:02:22.120 --> 00:02:24.639 I know your deeds. 00:02:25.359 --> 00:02:27.639 That you are neither cold nor hot. 00:02:27.639 --> 00:02:30.459 I wish you were either one or the other. 00:02:31.559 --> 00:02:33.319 So because you are lukewarm, 00:02:33.439 --> 00:02:34.719 neither hot nor cold, 00:02:34.899 --> 00:02:37.539 I am about to vomit you out of my mouth. 00:02:38.799 --> 00:02:39.879 You say, 00:02:40.299 --> 00:02:41.119 I am rich, 00:02:41.179 --> 00:02:42.319 I have acquired wealth, 00:02:42.459 --> 00:02:43.919 and do not need a thing. 00:02:45.079 --> 00:02:47.799 But you do not realize that you are wretched, 00:02:48.060 --> 00:02:48.399 pitiful, 00:02:48.819 --> 00:02:49.159 poor, 00:02:49.599 --> 00:02:50.079 blind, 00:02:50.379 --> 00:02:51.019 and naked. 00:02:52.179 --> 00:02:55.599 I counsel you to buy from me gold, 00:02:55.859 --> 00:02:57.119 refined in the fire, 00:02:57.120 --> 00:02:58.800 so that you can become rich, 00:02:59.140 --> 00:03:00.620 and white clothes to wear, 00:03:00.920 --> 00:03:03.379 so that you can cover your shameful nakedness, 00:03:03.659 --> 00:03:06.080 and salve to put on your eyes, 00:03:06.819 --> 00:03:08.200 so that you can see. 00:03:09.879 --> 00:03:11.700 Those whom I love, 00:03:11.780 --> 00:03:13.219 I rebuke and discipline, 00:03:13.439 --> 00:03:14.659 so be earnest, 00:03:15.300 --> 00:03:16.020 and repent. 00:03:16.640 --> 00:03:18.520 Here I am. 00:03:19.219 --> 00:03:20.960 I stand at the door and knock. 00:03:21.159 --> 00:03:23.580 If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, 00:03:23.580 --> 00:03:24.880 I will come in, 00:03:25.120 --> 00:03:26.740 and eat with that person, 00:03:26.740 --> 00:03:27.700 and they with me. 00:03:28.760 --> 00:03:31.280 To the one who is victorious, 00:03:31.700 --> 00:03:34.939 I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, 00:03:35.180 --> 00:03:36.600 just as I was victorious, 00:03:36.600 --> 00:03:39.440 and sat down with my father on his throne. 00:03:39.840 --> 00:03:41.480 Whoever has ears, 00:03:41.600 --> 00:03:44.640 let them hear what the spirit says to the churches. 00:03:45.560 --> 00:03:46.120 Let's pray, 00:03:46.120 --> 00:03:48.120 and then we'll get stuck into this. 00:03:50.719 --> 00:03:51.400 Father God, 00:03:51.480 --> 00:03:53.480 we thank you for all the truths that we've sung. 00:03:54.599 --> 00:03:55.039 Father, 00:03:55.140 --> 00:03:59.340 thank you that they've provoked in us our real need of you. 00:04:00.180 --> 00:04:00.659 And so, 00:04:00.819 --> 00:04:00.980 Lord, 00:04:01.020 --> 00:04:03.180 would you teach us from your word. 00:04:04.000 --> 00:04:04.500 And Lord, 00:04:04.540 --> 00:04:05.939 would we not leave lukewarm, 00:04:06.439 --> 00:04:08.000 but on fire for your son, 00:04:08.040 --> 00:04:08.680 the Lord Jesus, 00:04:08.819 --> 00:04:10.420 who was victorious for us. 00:04:11.099 --> 00:04:11.680 Bless us, 00:04:11.920 --> 00:04:12.939 and help us, 00:04:12.939 --> 00:04:14.420 in his glorious name. 00:04:15.099 --> 00:04:15.439 Amen. 00:04:16.939 --> 00:04:21.319 We actually have the word Laodicean in the English language. 00:04:22.280 --> 00:04:24.040 We use it as an adjective, 00:04:24.459 --> 00:04:28.379 an adjective to describe someone who is unenthusiastic, 00:04:29.120 --> 00:04:29.959 perfunctory, 00:04:30.560 --> 00:04:31.540 and half-hearted. 00:04:32.060 --> 00:04:33.939 If somebody says you're Laodicean, 00:04:33.980 --> 00:04:35.240 that is not a good thing. 00:04:35.800 --> 00:04:37.639 It means you're a bit tokenistic, 00:04:38.180 --> 00:04:40.959 and you're just keeping up appearances. 00:04:40.959 --> 00:04:43.840 This idea of being tepid, 00:04:44.040 --> 00:04:45.519 of being lukewarm, 00:04:45.519 --> 00:04:47.539 and it comes straight from this passage. 00:04:47.659 --> 00:04:49.339 This passage is so famous, 00:04:49.539 --> 00:04:54.240 that we've imported the word Laodicean into our language. 00:04:55.839 --> 00:04:56.500 And so, 00:04:56.680 --> 00:04:59.039 to this lukewarm Laodicean church, 00:04:59.139 --> 00:05:01.199 the risen Lord Jesus writes this letter. 00:05:01.560 --> 00:05:04.479 And look how he describes himself in verse 14. 00:05:05.359 --> 00:05:07.859 He describes himself as the Amen. 00:05:07.860 --> 00:05:12.580 He describes himself as the strong and final words. 00:05:13.139 --> 00:05:13.699 He says, 00:05:14.080 --> 00:05:15.540 I am the Amen. 00:05:17.280 --> 00:05:17.980 He says, 00:05:18.060 --> 00:05:19.680 I am the faithful and true witness. 00:05:19.680 --> 00:05:21.199 I am telling the truth. 00:05:21.199 --> 00:05:22.879 I'm not making it up. 00:05:22.939 --> 00:05:26.019 This is not a dossier that's been manipulated. 00:05:26.659 --> 00:05:31.300 This letter I'm sending to you is laser-guided pinpoint truth. 00:05:31.300 --> 00:05:34.780 And I am the ruler of God's creation. 00:05:35.639 --> 00:05:40.199 I am the one whom the entire universe revolves around. 00:05:40.720 --> 00:05:43.420 To this church with serious problems, 00:05:43.560 --> 00:05:45.660 Jesus slaps out some serious credentials. 00:05:46.620 --> 00:05:48.600 I am the strong and final word. 00:05:48.800 --> 00:05:50.100 I am the truth teller. 00:05:50.100 --> 00:05:51.960 And I am the ruler of God's creation. 00:05:51.959 --> 00:05:52.879 And therefore, 00:05:53.000 --> 00:05:54.680 what I say to you is truthful, 00:05:54.899 --> 00:05:55.519 authoritative, 00:05:55.779 --> 00:05:56.180 powerful, 00:05:56.319 --> 00:05:58.060 and needs to provoke a response in you. 00:06:00.479 --> 00:06:07.459 And we see from what follows the very dire situation that Laodicea is in. 00:06:08.399 --> 00:06:10.659 And this risen Lord Jesus, 00:06:11.120 --> 00:06:12.759 he says five things. 00:06:13.479 --> 00:06:15.399 The first thing he says is, 00:06:16.139 --> 00:06:17.039 I know. 00:06:17.859 --> 00:06:19.620 Look at it in verse 15. 00:06:19.620 --> 00:06:22.199 I know your deeds. 00:06:23.120 --> 00:06:24.259 He said that before, 00:06:24.379 --> 00:06:26.340 and that's been quite an encouraging thing. 00:06:27.019 --> 00:06:29.660 He says to one church like Thyatira, 00:06:29.740 --> 00:06:30.879 I know your faithfulness, 00:06:30.959 --> 00:06:31.500 your love, 00:06:31.579 --> 00:06:32.120 your service. 00:06:32.120 --> 00:06:35.319 It's a good thing for Jesus to know those things. 00:06:36.939 --> 00:06:38.579 He said to Pergamum, 00:06:38.720 --> 00:06:40.420 I know where you live. 00:06:40.560 --> 00:06:41.379 I understand. 00:06:43.180 --> 00:06:45.019 But here he says, 00:06:45.079 --> 00:06:46.420 I know your deeds. 00:06:46.420 --> 00:06:50.819 And his analysis of their deeds is that they're not good. 00:06:51.300 --> 00:06:53.160 You are neither hot nor cold. 00:06:53.400 --> 00:06:56.240 You're neither on fire or frosted over. 00:06:56.600 --> 00:06:58.420 You are utterly ambivalent. 00:06:58.420 --> 00:07:04.520 I used to work in Plains, 00:07:04.939 --> 00:07:07.120 just next to Airdrie in North Lanarkshire. 00:07:08.259 --> 00:07:10.920 And everyone just used to say that everything was fine. 00:07:11.360 --> 00:07:12.379 It's just fine. 00:07:12.620 --> 00:07:15.920 Which provoked in me this kind of idea that everything was just kind of, 00:07:15.980 --> 00:07:18.200 I'm a bit ambivalent towards absolutely everything. 00:07:18.680 --> 00:07:20.319 Then I discovered that for Glaswegians, 00:07:20.480 --> 00:07:23.540 fine means that was the best thing I've ever heard. 00:07:23.540 --> 00:07:29.060 Jesus though says, 00:07:29.780 --> 00:07:31.800 you're utterly ambivalent. 00:07:33.920 --> 00:07:36.320 You're neither devoted in your love for me, 00:07:36.540 --> 00:07:38.300 or provoked in your hatred of me. 00:07:38.379 --> 00:07:39.640 You're just middling. 00:07:41.379 --> 00:07:41.740 Tokenistic. 00:07:42.480 --> 00:07:44.360 Going through the motions. 00:07:44.600 --> 00:07:47.660 And look at what the reaction it provokes in the Lord Jesus, 00:07:47.780 --> 00:07:48.320 verse 16. 00:07:48.780 --> 00:07:50.080 Because you are lukewarm, 00:07:50.180 --> 00:07:51.060 neither hot nor cold, 00:07:51.060 --> 00:07:53.319 I'm about to spit you out of my mouth. 00:07:54.519 --> 00:07:58.740 This would be horrendous for the Laodiceans to read. 00:07:59.220 --> 00:08:02.220 The Laodiceans are a very proud city. 00:08:02.759 --> 00:08:06.780 They see themselves as just a cut above the rest of modern day Turkey. 00:08:07.879 --> 00:08:10.879 It is like the Los Angeles of the ancient world, 00:08:10.879 --> 00:08:15.199 where everyone lives in big mansions surrounded by palm trees. 00:08:15.300 --> 00:08:16.480 It is a boom town. 00:08:16.480 --> 00:08:21.439 It overlooks a fertile valley that produces so much crop, 00:08:21.560 --> 00:08:23.000 supports so many cattle, 00:08:23.420 --> 00:08:27.620 that the city really is expanding faster than you can imagine. 00:08:27.960 --> 00:08:32.800 It is like London house prices in Laodicea. 00:08:33.620 --> 00:08:36.100 So affluent were they that in 60 AD, 00:08:36.500 --> 00:08:37.039 an earthquake, 00:08:37.220 --> 00:08:40.340 and haven't we seen this week just how destructive an earthquake can be, 00:08:40.960 --> 00:08:43.220 completely flattens the whole city. 00:08:43.220 --> 00:08:47.139 The emperor sends a chest full of money to help them rebuild, 00:08:47.580 --> 00:08:48.700 and the Laodiceans say, 00:08:48.779 --> 00:08:50.620 no, you can just turn around and go back to Rome. 00:08:50.860 --> 00:08:51.700 We've got it covered. 00:08:53.800 --> 00:08:56.279 Laodicea is incredibly affluent. 00:08:56.420 --> 00:09:00.620 It is the only city in the ancient world that had two massive amphitheaters. 00:09:02.240 --> 00:09:03.360 The only place. 00:09:03.620 --> 00:09:04.960 If you go to Laodicea, 00:09:04.960 --> 00:09:07.740 the place where Laodicea was today, 00:09:07.740 --> 00:09:09.639 the artifacts, 00:09:09.820 --> 00:09:11.139 you don't even need to dig for them. 00:09:11.200 --> 00:09:14.139 They are so plentiful that they just sit on the ground. 00:09:14.279 --> 00:09:14.960 Oil lamps, 00:09:15.100 --> 00:09:16.100 ornamental pottery. 00:09:16.460 --> 00:09:17.379 You can't steal them. 00:09:17.440 --> 00:09:19.100 The customs will get you every time. 00:09:20.080 --> 00:09:23.560 But it is a place of opulent wealth. 00:09:25.840 --> 00:09:29.539 And so for them to hear that you're just lukewarm, 00:09:29.860 --> 00:09:32.519 you're provoking me to vomit you out of my mouth, 00:09:32.519 --> 00:09:35.799 would be a real affront to the pride of the Laodiceans. 00:09:35.799 --> 00:09:41.879 And this idea of being lukewarm is a particular embarrassment 00:09:41.879 --> 00:09:43.879 if you're from Laodicea, 00:09:43.959 --> 00:09:46.740 because Laodicea, despite all its wealth, 00:09:47.359 --> 00:09:49.759 all its prowess, its great reputation, 00:09:49.919 --> 00:09:51.240 has one major problem. 00:09:52.459 --> 00:09:57.620 And its major problem is that it has no water supply in the city. 00:09:58.879 --> 00:10:00.799 All its water gets pumped in, 00:10:01.019 --> 00:10:02.859 and it has two neighboring cities, 00:10:02.860 --> 00:10:06.379 it's Hierapolis in the north and Colossae in the south. 00:10:07.080 --> 00:10:10.399 Hierapolis is famous for its hot springs. 00:10:11.779 --> 00:10:13.779 It's a place where everyone goes to have a bath, 00:10:13.860 --> 00:10:16.340 kind of like Iceland today in their volcanic pools. 00:10:17.279 --> 00:10:20.680 Colossae is famous for its fresh spring water. 00:10:21.720 --> 00:10:25.620 And so Laodicea pipes in water down from Hierapolis 00:10:25.620 --> 00:10:27.940 and up and along from Colossae. 00:10:28.759 --> 00:10:29.840 Now what's the problem? 00:10:30.500 --> 00:10:33.580 If you pump hot water eight kilometers south, 00:10:34.299 --> 00:10:36.240 by the time it gets there, it's lukewarm. 00:10:37.019 --> 00:10:41.580 If you pump freezing cold water eight kilometers up and along, 00:10:41.960 --> 00:10:44.279 by the time it gets there, it's lukewarm. 00:10:45.039 --> 00:10:49.000 There is nothing more revolting than lukewarm water, is there? 00:10:49.000 --> 00:10:52.320 I remember we have a roundabout outside our house growing up, 00:10:52.379 --> 00:10:54.679 and we used to cycle around for hours and hours and hours 00:10:54.679 --> 00:10:57.460 until we were so dehydrated and you'd run in, 00:10:57.779 --> 00:10:59.580 and my mum would be doing the washing up, 00:10:59.700 --> 00:11:01.620 and you'd interrupt her washing up, 00:11:01.679 --> 00:11:03.860 and you'd put the cold tap on, and you'd drink it down, 00:11:03.940 --> 00:11:07.120 and about three gulps later, you'd realize that the tap hadn't run cold. 00:11:07.419 --> 00:11:09.639 It was lukewarm, and it was absolutely disgusting. 00:11:10.740 --> 00:11:13.379 There is nothing more revolting than lukewarm water. 00:11:13.379 --> 00:11:18.240 Even worse than that is this hot water being done brought south. 00:11:18.340 --> 00:11:23.379 As it cooled down, all the minerals and deposits came out of suspension. 00:11:24.220 --> 00:11:28.960 So the water in Laodicea became like this thick brown sludge. 00:11:30.299 --> 00:11:30.960 Horrible. 00:11:32.820 --> 00:11:34.340 And so Jesus says, 00:11:35.159 --> 00:11:40.039 your attitude to me provokes the reaction that your water does to you. 00:11:40.039 --> 00:11:44.079 One sip and you want to spit it out. 00:11:45.559 --> 00:11:47.659 Nothing to quench your thirst. 00:11:48.860 --> 00:11:50.439 This sludge. 00:11:51.759 --> 00:11:52.559 Jesus says, 00:11:52.779 --> 00:11:57.500 your attitude is sickening to me like your water is to you. 00:11:58.259 --> 00:12:00.399 You're utterly lukewarm. 00:12:00.500 --> 00:12:01.679 You're ambivalence. 00:12:02.679 --> 00:12:06.179 You're affluence and prosperity and pride and reputation 00:12:06.179 --> 00:12:10.439 has meant that you've reduced your faith to tokenism, 00:12:11.000 --> 00:12:13.500 perfunction, self-sufficiency. 00:12:14.500 --> 00:12:19.219 It is very much the public school religion that I grew up with at school. 00:12:20.339 --> 00:12:25.919 That religion, Christianity was honoured almost nostalgically, 00:12:26.759 --> 00:12:28.419 as long as you weren't that into it. 00:12:28.419 --> 00:12:35.699 You know, you could go to chapel every day and sing Jerusalem, 00:12:36.740 --> 00:12:41.479 but try and start a Christian union and everyone wanted to talk to you. 00:12:41.799 --> 00:12:42.979 Why do you want to do that? 00:12:43.939 --> 00:12:49.000 That is Laodicea, a perfunctory, functional religion, 00:12:49.439 --> 00:12:50.979 a respect for church, 00:12:51.059 --> 00:12:54.099 but no real heartfelt spirituality going on at all. 00:12:54.100 --> 00:12:57.920 A kind of empty hollowness. 00:12:59.200 --> 00:13:00.960 Respectable, but not foundational. 00:13:02.360 --> 00:13:03.879 They become fat heads. 00:13:05.580 --> 00:13:07.500 Jesus says, I know your deeds. 00:13:07.820 --> 00:13:10.340 I see through your sham respectability. 00:13:11.279 --> 00:13:13.519 I see what's really going on on the inside 00:13:13.519 --> 00:13:15.440 and it provokes me to vomit you out. 00:13:16.120 --> 00:13:16.720 Terrifying. 00:13:20.139 --> 00:13:22.460 You make me sick, Jesus says. 00:13:22.460 --> 00:13:22.580 Yes. 00:13:23.340 --> 00:13:26.879 But he doesn't just leave them describing his nausea. 00:13:26.980 --> 00:13:28.920 He tells them that he wants them to change. 00:13:29.540 --> 00:13:30.840 And he digs a little bit deeper. 00:13:30.940 --> 00:13:32.360 And the second thing he says is, 00:13:32.759 --> 00:13:33.580 I counsel. 00:13:34.560 --> 00:13:37.139 Look at how deluded they are, verse 17. 00:13:37.620 --> 00:13:40.220 You say, I am rich, I have acquired wealth, 00:13:40.280 --> 00:13:41.580 and do not need a thing. 00:13:42.080 --> 00:13:43.940 Isn't that the attitude of our age? 00:13:44.100 --> 00:13:45.460 I don't need a thing. 00:13:46.100 --> 00:13:49.019 Everything I want is everything I can supply. 00:13:49.580 --> 00:13:50.920 I am an island. 00:13:50.919 --> 00:13:53.620 In fact, I am the Ibiza of violence. 00:13:55.339 --> 00:13:57.620 I am completely self-sufficient. 00:13:57.799 --> 00:13:58.620 I don't need a thing. 00:14:01.219 --> 00:14:03.860 That is the Laodicean attitude. 00:14:05.079 --> 00:14:08.539 They're utterly self-deceived because Jesus says, 00:14:08.539 --> 00:14:15.399 you need everything because you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked. 00:14:15.740 --> 00:14:17.980 Those five adjectives are all describing, 00:14:18.459 --> 00:14:21.539 are all used to describe unbelievers in the New Testament. 00:14:21.679 --> 00:14:23.299 You're behaving like unbelievers. 00:14:23.299 --> 00:14:23.519 You're behaving like unbelievers. 00:14:23.519 --> 00:14:33.019 And so he says, how are you going to put this right? 00:14:34.019 --> 00:14:36.819 How are you going to address this self-deception? 00:14:36.960 --> 00:14:38.220 He says, you need to come to me. 00:14:40.720 --> 00:14:45.379 He says, I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire. 00:14:45.379 --> 00:14:52.960 That is very embarrassing for Laodicea because just north of Laodicea is the biggest gold mine of the ancient world, 00:14:53.080 --> 00:14:57.759 where they pull out the finest gold by the truckload. 00:14:57.759 --> 00:15:01.019 And Jesus says, it's utterly worthless. 00:15:02.500 --> 00:15:03.399 That's embarrassing. 00:15:05.759 --> 00:15:10.240 You need to come to me and buy gold so that you can become rich. 00:15:11.500 --> 00:15:17.279 Because in the light of eternity, you're just digging up worthless metal. 00:15:19.519 --> 00:15:23.720 And then he says to them, you need to buy white clothes to wear from me. 00:15:23.720 --> 00:15:28.399 If you're Laodicean, you're famous for black wool. 00:15:29.000 --> 00:15:31.440 There is a Laodicean sheep. 00:15:32.300 --> 00:15:37.200 And from it you get the finest black texture, which is kind of the Armani of the ancient world. 00:15:38.820 --> 00:15:45.220 All the red carpet dues in Laodicea, everyone's strutting around in Laodicean wool. 00:15:46.240 --> 00:15:48.480 It's like Kashmir times infinity. 00:15:48.700 --> 00:15:49.580 It is expensive. 00:15:49.580 --> 00:15:55.860 And how embarrassing that Jesus says, that won't do in my kingdom. 00:15:57.360 --> 00:15:59.879 You need to buy from me white clothes to wear. 00:16:00.820 --> 00:16:04.240 Because your black Armani doesn't cover your nakedness and shame. 00:16:05.200 --> 00:16:08.940 Nakedness and shame has been a problem in the Bible ever since Genesis chapter 3. 00:16:10.300 --> 00:16:11.460 Their eyes were open. 00:16:11.580 --> 00:16:12.720 They saw they were naked. 00:16:13.020 --> 00:16:14.600 They tried to make clothing themselves. 00:16:14.700 --> 00:16:15.400 It didn't work. 00:16:15.399 --> 00:16:23.600 The only thing that would cover their nakedness and shame was the garments that God himself produced for them. 00:16:23.600 --> 00:16:31.879 Jesus says, the only clothes that will cover your nakedness and shame are the clothes that I'm able to give. 00:16:32.480 --> 00:16:34.940 The righteousness that I'm able to provide. 00:16:36.259 --> 00:16:37.519 If you'll come to me. 00:16:38.639 --> 00:16:44.279 And then lastly, and self to put on your eyes so that you can see. 00:16:44.279 --> 00:16:48.079 Laodicea is the center of medicine. 00:16:49.539 --> 00:16:50.899 So much stuff going on. 00:16:51.059 --> 00:16:53.759 And particularly famous in Laodicea is the eye pavilion. 00:16:54.279 --> 00:16:57.120 Where they have this substance called Phrygian powder. 00:16:57.699 --> 00:17:05.059 Which you mix with water and it produces the most helpful eye cell you can imagine. 00:17:05.200 --> 00:17:09.700 People from all over the world will travel to Laodicea to get their eyes sorted out. 00:17:11.160 --> 00:17:12.379 And what does Jesus say? 00:17:12.420 --> 00:17:12.960 It's useless. 00:17:12.960 --> 00:17:13.240 It's useless. 00:17:15.279 --> 00:17:19.119 You need to come to me to put self on your eyes so that you can see properly. 00:17:21.180 --> 00:17:24.399 Laodicea has so much confidence in its own ability. 00:17:24.879 --> 00:17:25.920 Confidence in its wealth. 00:17:26.059 --> 00:17:27.160 Confidence in its clothing. 00:17:27.319 --> 00:17:29.019 Confidence in its ability to heal. 00:17:29.480 --> 00:17:31.680 And Jesus says it's all utterly worthless. 00:17:33.200 --> 00:17:34.720 You need to come to me for gold. 00:17:34.879 --> 00:17:36.119 Me to cook for clothes. 00:17:36.359 --> 00:17:37.579 And me for healing. 00:17:39.319 --> 00:17:42.879 You're so full of yourself you'd become empty of faith. 00:17:42.880 --> 00:17:48.820 And that I've been, Jesus says, pushed to the outside. 00:17:48.819 --> 00:17:54.919 And yet it's important that we don't just look on Laodicea with condemnation. 00:17:55.119 --> 00:17:57.559 Because we can all be so Laodicean ourselves. 00:17:57.559 --> 00:17:59.819 What can I do? 00:17:59.819 --> 00:18:01.099 What skills do I have? 00:18:01.099 --> 00:18:02.919 How can we make this work? 00:18:03.819 --> 00:18:06.159 That we become prayerless and arrogant. 00:18:07.440 --> 00:18:11.419 That we're so full of our own confidence we become overconfident. 00:18:11.420 --> 00:18:14.620 And we start to think that we can do what only God can do. 00:18:15.180 --> 00:18:17.120 That is where Laodicea is. 00:18:17.480 --> 00:18:20.480 And that is where we can so often find ourselves. 00:18:22.620 --> 00:18:26.140 They've turned their back on Jesus and walked away. 00:18:27.200 --> 00:18:32.240 He says, I counsel you to buy gold and get clothes and find myself. 00:18:32.240 --> 00:18:36.079 But then Jesus says the most remarkable thing. 00:18:36.980 --> 00:18:38.380 Look at it in verse 19. 00:18:39.039 --> 00:18:42.400 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. 00:18:43.420 --> 00:18:45.759 So be earnest and repent. 00:18:46.480 --> 00:18:47.720 Isn't that amazing? 00:18:48.220 --> 00:18:52.099 That this church that has squeezed Jesus out, pushed him to the periphery, 00:18:52.359 --> 00:18:53.920 are so full of themselves. 00:18:55.799 --> 00:18:59.480 Though they've stopped loving Jesus, Jesus has not stopped loving them. 00:18:59.480 --> 00:19:02.960 Those whom I love I pursue. 00:19:03.460 --> 00:19:08.400 Those whom I love I'm prepared to say the hard word to so they might be healed. 00:19:08.819 --> 00:19:13.319 And I'm prepared to discipline them so it might bring about change in their lives. 00:19:14.720 --> 00:19:17.759 Those whom I love I discipline. 00:19:18.059 --> 00:19:20.579 This is where Jesus is not like us at all. 00:19:22.099 --> 00:19:24.120 People turn their back on us. 00:19:24.680 --> 00:19:27.180 Our reaction, we turn our back on them. 00:19:27.180 --> 00:19:30.279 Jesus' reaction, well I will pursue them. 00:19:30.920 --> 00:19:35.200 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. 00:19:37.019 --> 00:19:38.820 Be earnest. 00:19:39.400 --> 00:19:40.480 Be zealous. 00:19:40.660 --> 00:19:41.820 Be myopic. 00:19:42.019 --> 00:19:44.060 Be singularly focused. 00:19:44.880 --> 00:19:45.480 And repent. 00:19:45.620 --> 00:19:46.039 Come home. 00:19:49.039 --> 00:19:52.180 Those whom I love, Jesus says. 00:19:53.080 --> 00:19:54.960 Jesus loves this church. 00:19:54.960 --> 00:19:57.240 He's not writing just to shame them. 00:19:57.480 --> 00:19:59.360 He's writing to heal them. 00:20:01.920 --> 00:20:05.059 But we find ourselves being Leodicean. 00:20:05.140 --> 00:20:05.779 What's the key? 00:20:07.240 --> 00:20:08.860 To turn back to Jesus. 00:20:10.200 --> 00:20:12.180 Say, I've got nothing. 00:20:13.019 --> 00:20:14.100 And I need you. 00:20:15.299 --> 00:20:18.579 Isn't it weird that as proficiency grows in our lives, 00:20:18.660 --> 00:20:20.200 we start to become independent. 00:20:20.200 --> 00:20:22.539 So think about an apprenticeship. 00:20:22.779 --> 00:20:23.840 You're an apprentice mechanic. 00:20:24.480 --> 00:20:27.860 First day of an apprenticeship, you do everything you're told. 00:20:28.920 --> 00:20:31.819 Month in, you can be left to do a little bit by yourself. 00:20:32.500 --> 00:20:35.460 By the end of your apprenticeship, you're a mechanic par excellence. 00:20:35.840 --> 00:20:38.340 That competence builds independence. 00:20:38.720 --> 00:20:41.279 It's completely the other way around in the Christian faith. 00:20:42.180 --> 00:20:45.559 That as we mature, we don't become independent of Jesus. 00:20:45.559 --> 00:20:49.079 As we discover just how dependent we are upon him. 00:20:49.319 --> 00:20:50.899 How much we need him. 00:20:51.240 --> 00:20:53.299 And that's what Laodicea has forgotten. 00:20:53.700 --> 00:20:55.940 That as they grow, as they develop. 00:20:57.059 --> 00:20:59.359 It's not about moving away from Jesus. 00:20:59.519 --> 00:21:02.259 It's about pushing closer in to Jesus. 00:21:03.859 --> 00:21:06.019 And the beautiful thing is, Jesus says, 00:21:06.419 --> 00:21:08.039 I'll accept you because I love you. 00:21:08.039 --> 00:21:11.139 The beautiful thing about the Christian faith is, 00:21:11.319 --> 00:21:12.859 no one has to remain the same. 00:21:14.259 --> 00:21:16.899 There's always a second chance. 00:21:17.299 --> 00:21:18.579 There's always hope. 00:21:18.799 --> 00:21:20.279 Because there's always Jesus. 00:21:20.819 --> 00:21:22.279 Who never turns his back. 00:21:22.379 --> 00:21:26.279 Who always pursues and is always ready to welcome and restore. 00:21:28.579 --> 00:21:32.200 He elaborates a little bit further in verse 20. 00:21:32.519 --> 00:21:33.259 Here I am. 00:21:33.500 --> 00:21:35.440 I stand at the door and knock. 00:21:35.440 --> 00:21:38.559 What a terrible indictment of the church. 00:21:39.100 --> 00:21:41.460 That Jesus finds himself on the outside. 00:21:41.880 --> 00:21:43.539 The prayer meeting is going on. 00:21:43.620 --> 00:21:45.460 And Jesus is looking in through the window. 00:21:47.160 --> 00:21:49.779 So self-sufficient have they become. 00:21:50.019 --> 00:21:53.700 One commentator describes Laodicea as the self-sufficient, 00:21:53.940 --> 00:21:56.279 Christless church of the affluent society. 00:21:58.900 --> 00:22:02.200 How scary that we could do church. 00:22:03.160 --> 00:22:05.120 And Jesus could be on the outside. 00:22:05.119 --> 00:22:06.819 That's where Laodicea is. 00:22:07.659 --> 00:22:11.099 They've become so smug and arrogant. 00:22:13.259 --> 00:22:15.939 The beautiful thing is though, Jesus says, 00:22:16.179 --> 00:22:18.159 I'm standing here and I'm knocking. 00:22:19.279 --> 00:22:21.139 And if you open the door, I'll come in. 00:22:22.379 --> 00:22:27.199 In the Middle East, the blessing is always to the host. 00:22:27.839 --> 00:22:30.439 So in our culture, if you go to somebody's for dinner, 00:22:30.440 --> 00:22:34.200 you as the goer is the blessed one. 00:22:34.920 --> 00:22:38.000 In the Middle East, it is the host who is blessed. 00:22:39.460 --> 00:22:45.180 And so to have Jesus eat with you in your house is a wonderful blessing. 00:22:45.180 --> 00:22:47.660 And he says, I'll do it. 00:22:48.340 --> 00:22:51.039 If you hear my voice and open the door, 00:22:51.220 --> 00:22:54.680 I'll come in and this most intimate picture of fellowship will be ours. 00:22:54.680 --> 00:22:59.580 I will come in. 00:22:59.580 --> 00:23:03.640 And isn't that exactly what turning to Jesus looks like? 00:23:04.279 --> 00:23:07.700 It's opening the door of the house of our lives and saying, 00:23:07.799 --> 00:23:08.600 Jesus, come in. 00:23:09.539 --> 00:23:11.460 Jesus, come in and be Lord. 00:23:12.100 --> 00:23:15.420 Jesus, come in and I want to have fellowship with you. 00:23:15.420 --> 00:23:18.620 Last week I was on holiday. 00:23:20.240 --> 00:23:22.460 And over the weekend we stayed in a B&B. 00:23:22.960 --> 00:23:25.420 And on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday we stayed in a... 00:23:25.420 --> 00:23:28.320 No, on the weekend we stayed in an Airbnb. 00:23:29.259 --> 00:23:32.019 And on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday we stayed in a B&B. 00:23:32.240 --> 00:23:33.259 And it was very different. 00:23:34.019 --> 00:23:36.920 In the Airbnb down in the south of England, 00:23:37.740 --> 00:23:39.360 we had the whole house. 00:23:39.960 --> 00:23:42.100 Ted met us at the door and said, 00:23:42.099 --> 00:23:43.059 Here's the key. 00:23:43.359 --> 00:23:44.179 Here's the house. 00:23:44.480 --> 00:23:45.399 Do whatever you want. 00:23:45.500 --> 00:23:47.279 Play with my kids' toys, he said. 00:23:49.159 --> 00:23:52.639 The B&B on Aaron was very different. 00:23:52.939 --> 00:23:55.079 The woman, Caroline, met us at the door. 00:23:55.579 --> 00:23:57.099 And she said, this is your room. 00:23:57.539 --> 00:23:58.799 This is where you can go. 00:23:59.079 --> 00:24:00.799 Don't go in any of these doors. 00:24:04.159 --> 00:24:05.439 Restricted access. 00:24:06.119 --> 00:24:07.439 And Jesus is saying, 00:24:07.779 --> 00:24:09.240 I don't want restricted access. 00:24:09.480 --> 00:24:10.639 Throw open the doors. 00:24:11.079 --> 00:24:11.959 Let me in. 00:24:13.099 --> 00:24:15.379 That's what he's saying to each of us this morning. 00:24:15.599 --> 00:24:18.259 I don't just want a bedroom or the utility room. 00:24:18.419 --> 00:24:19.799 I don't just want the wine cellar. 00:24:19.839 --> 00:24:20.919 I want the whole building. 00:24:22.740 --> 00:24:23.699 I want in. 00:24:25.879 --> 00:24:27.219 Stand at the door and knock. 00:24:28.000 --> 00:24:29.319 Fling wide the doors. 00:24:30.599 --> 00:24:31.799 And let Jesus in. 00:24:32.259 --> 00:24:32.719 Why? 00:24:32.859 --> 00:24:34.459 Because he is the only one 00:24:34.459 --> 00:24:36.559 who can make us rich in eternity, 00:24:36.899 --> 00:24:39.159 who can cover our nakedness and shame 00:24:39.159 --> 00:24:40.159 caused by our sin, 00:24:40.160 --> 00:24:42.320 and who can enable us to see 00:24:42.320 --> 00:24:44.620 what is really happening in the world 00:24:44.620 --> 00:24:47.019 and our absolute need of the Lord Jesus. 00:24:47.019 --> 00:24:50.819 Jesus says, I stand. 00:24:51.819 --> 00:24:53.220 Stand at the door and knock. 00:24:53.279 --> 00:24:55.220 If you open it, I'll come in and eat with you. 00:24:55.799 --> 00:24:56.700 And you with me. 00:24:57.839 --> 00:24:59.759 Perhaps that's where some of us are this morning. 00:25:00.759 --> 00:25:02.920 That we're conscious that as we've sung, 00:25:02.980 --> 00:25:04.359 our love has grown cold. 00:25:05.680 --> 00:25:08.180 That we're conscious as we've read about Laodicea. 00:25:08.180 --> 00:25:10.100 Laodicea, you think, oh yeah, Jesus, 00:25:10.560 --> 00:25:12.480 I've kind of pushed you to the periphery. 00:25:13.340 --> 00:25:15.400 Kind of compartmentalized you. 00:25:16.320 --> 00:25:18.560 There's rooms in the house of my life 00:25:18.560 --> 00:25:20.700 that I've put no entry signs private on. 00:25:22.220 --> 00:25:25.220 And so I think this letter 00:25:25.220 --> 00:25:28.340 from the Lord Jesus to Laodicea, 00:25:28.400 --> 00:25:29.620 but also for us, 00:25:30.240 --> 00:25:31.580 is challenging us to say, 00:25:31.680 --> 00:25:33.000 will you fling wide the door 00:25:33.000 --> 00:25:34.660 and let me in 00:25:34.660 --> 00:25:38.120 so that you can be rich and clothed 00:25:38.120 --> 00:25:39.540 and able to see. 00:25:40.519 --> 00:25:42.880 And it all comes beautifully into land 00:25:42.880 --> 00:25:45.779 with the promise of verses 21 and 22. 00:25:47.340 --> 00:25:48.960 To the one who is victorious, 00:25:49.100 --> 00:25:51.660 I will give the right to sit with me on my throne. 00:25:52.279 --> 00:25:54.500 The promise that extends into eternity. 00:25:55.160 --> 00:25:57.560 That the throne that the Lord Jesus has 00:25:57.560 --> 00:25:59.180 as the ruler of God's creation 00:25:59.180 --> 00:26:01.000 will be seen in eternity 00:26:01.000 --> 00:26:03.120 as he is the ruler of God's new creation. 00:26:04.660 --> 00:26:06.500 He says, if you open the door to me, 00:26:06.560 --> 00:26:07.560 if you trust me, 00:26:09.180 --> 00:26:10.400 if you don't push me out, 00:26:10.440 --> 00:26:11.440 but welcome me in, 00:26:11.800 --> 00:26:13.360 you can share eternity with me. 00:26:14.840 --> 00:26:16.279 And the beautiful thing is, 00:26:16.340 --> 00:26:17.960 the reason we can share eternity, 00:26:19.100 --> 00:26:20.540 be victors with Jesus, 00:26:20.700 --> 00:26:22.960 is because he was victorious for us. 00:26:23.960 --> 00:26:25.779 Just as I was victorious. 00:26:26.720 --> 00:26:28.940 Jesus, who went to battle 00:26:28.940 --> 00:26:31.000 against sin and Satan 00:26:31.000 --> 00:26:33.319 and death and suffering 00:26:33.319 --> 00:26:34.420 and shame 00:26:34.420 --> 00:26:36.220 and he absolutely won 00:26:36.220 --> 00:26:38.359 and he was victorious for us 00:26:38.359 --> 00:26:39.859 and if we will trust him, 00:26:39.920 --> 00:26:41.460 we will be victorious with him 00:26:41.460 --> 00:26:42.480 forever. 00:26:43.920 --> 00:26:45.859 Whoever has ears, 00:26:46.420 --> 00:26:48.079 let them hear what the Spirit says 00:26:48.079 --> 00:26:48.799 to the churches. 00:26:50.539 --> 00:26:51.720 And so we finish our letter 00:26:51.720 --> 00:26:53.000 to lukewarm Laodicea 00:26:53.819 --> 00:26:55.099 with a real challenge. 00:26:55.099 --> 00:26:58.079 If there was a spiritual thermometer, 00:26:58.259 --> 00:27:00.259 such a thing as a spiritual thermometer 00:27:00.259 --> 00:27:02.659 and we put it under your tongue 00:27:02.659 --> 00:27:03.759 this morning, 00:27:04.059 --> 00:27:06.179 how far would the mercury go up? 00:27:07.379 --> 00:27:09.000 It would be blazing hot, 00:27:11.000 --> 00:27:13.279 moderately warm bath temperature, 00:27:14.659 --> 00:27:15.459 lukewarm, 00:27:16.379 --> 00:27:16.959 tepid, 00:27:17.899 --> 00:27:18.240 chilly, 00:27:18.939 --> 00:27:19.719 freezing. 00:27:19.720 --> 00:27:22.480 The challenge of this is, 00:27:22.600 --> 00:27:23.640 will we let Jesus in? 00:27:23.720 --> 00:27:25.980 Will we let him be the centre of our lives 00:27:25.980 --> 00:27:28.700 in order that mercury will keep on rising 00:27:28.700 --> 00:27:31.160 and we'll pay an eternal dividend 00:27:31.160 --> 00:27:33.160 in the life to come? 00:27:34.519 --> 00:27:36.620 None of the churches that Jesus writes to 00:27:36.620 --> 00:27:38.259 have particularly much going for them. 00:27:38.839 --> 00:27:39.839 Some have got lost, 00:27:40.319 --> 00:27:41.339 some have got compromised, 00:27:42.100 --> 00:27:42.960 some are so small 00:27:42.960 --> 00:27:44.220 and facing such hostility 00:27:44.220 --> 00:27:45.700 that you don't think it'll work. 00:27:46.880 --> 00:27:47.980 And yet there's great hope 00:27:47.980 --> 00:27:50.220 because Jesus loves them 00:27:50.220 --> 00:27:51.420 and is concerned about them. 00:27:52.440 --> 00:27:53.259 And if you thought 00:27:53.259 --> 00:27:55.940 the future of Christianity 00:27:55.940 --> 00:27:57.500 laid on these seven churches, 00:27:57.599 --> 00:27:58.620 you wouldn't give it a hope, 00:27:58.660 --> 00:27:59.720 it wasn't going to make it. 00:28:00.299 --> 00:28:01.860 And yet because of the Lord Jesus, 00:28:02.839 --> 00:28:03.980 from these churches, 00:28:04.440 --> 00:28:06.400 the gospel spread to the entire world. 00:28:07.099 --> 00:28:08.259 It even got to Scotland. 00:28:08.900 --> 00:28:10.440 It even made it into Edinburgh 00:28:10.440 --> 00:28:12.259 and it even made it into our lives. 00:28:12.839 --> 00:28:14.319 And so there's great hope, 00:28:14.480 --> 00:28:15.400 not in our ability, 00:28:16.140 --> 00:28:17.339 but in the Lord Jesus 00:28:17.339 --> 00:28:18.699 who says, 00:28:18.799 --> 00:28:19.399 I love, 00:28:19.720 --> 00:28:21.019 I love church, 00:28:21.799 --> 00:28:23.240 I love individuals, 00:28:24.019 --> 00:28:26.299 and I stand and I knock, 00:28:27.199 --> 00:28:28.019 open the door. 00:28:28.839 --> 00:28:29.720 Let's eat together. 00:28:30.339 --> 00:28:31.019 Let's pray. 00:28:33.259 --> 00:28:33.959 Father God, 00:28:34.019 --> 00:28:35.339 we repent of our arrogance, 00:28:36.079 --> 00:28:38.759 we repent of our self-sufficiency, 00:28:39.619 --> 00:28:41.779 we repent of all the times 00:28:41.779 --> 00:28:43.119 that we try to go it alone. 00:28:43.119 --> 00:28:44.119 Father, 00:28:44.119 --> 00:28:45.039 Father, 00:28:45.119 --> 00:28:45.779 where we think, 00:28:45.839 --> 00:28:47.779 we're respectable in your sight. 00:28:49.579 --> 00:28:50.239 And Lord, 00:28:50.299 --> 00:28:51.219 we come again 00:28:51.219 --> 00:28:54.979 and we invite you 00:28:54.979 --> 00:28:56.279 to take your rightful place 00:28:56.279 --> 00:28:57.039 in our lives. 00:28:57.799 --> 00:28:59.679 That Jesus might be Lord and King, 00:29:00.079 --> 00:29:01.899 he might be the center of our lives, 00:29:01.979 --> 00:29:03.479 he might be the Lord of our lives, 00:29:03.539 --> 00:29:05.879 he might be the King of our lives. 00:29:05.880 --> 00:29:08.240 That everything we are 00:29:08.240 --> 00:29:09.460 might be about him, 00:29:10.160 --> 00:29:11.460 everything we have, 00:29:11.520 --> 00:29:12.740 we might be grateful for 00:29:12.740 --> 00:29:13.760 because of him. 00:29:15.340 --> 00:29:15.860 Lord, 00:29:15.900 --> 00:29:16.660 that we might know 00:29:16.660 --> 00:29:17.880 the intimate fellowship 00:29:17.880 --> 00:29:18.800 that he promises. 00:29:20.960 --> 00:29:21.820 With us, 00:29:21.880 --> 00:29:23.060 having all of our lives 00:29:23.060 --> 00:29:24.080 submitted to him. 00:29:25.340 --> 00:29:25.660 Father, 00:29:25.740 --> 00:29:26.420 where we're cold, 00:29:26.560 --> 00:29:27.340 warm us up. 00:29:28.200 --> 00:29:29.240 Where we're arrogant, 00:29:29.560 --> 00:29:29.800 Father, 00:29:29.940 --> 00:29:30.660 humble us. 00:29:31.340 --> 00:29:32.320 Where we need it, 00:29:32.319 --> 00:29:33.579 would you rebuke and discipline 00:29:33.579 --> 00:29:35.779 in order that the Lord Jesus 00:29:35.779 --> 00:29:36.740 might be glorified 00:29:36.740 --> 00:29:37.299 and enthroned 00:29:37.299 --> 00:29:38.359 in each of our lives. 00:29:39.119 --> 00:29:39.359 Amen.