Good morning, church. Today we'll be reading from Revelation chapter 3, verse 14 to 22.
! If you're reading from our church Bible, it's on page 967.
To the church in Laodicea, and to the angel of the church in Laodicea, write,
The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation.
I know your works. You are neither cold nor hot. With that, you are either cold or hot.
So because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.
For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched,
pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may be
rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and the shame of your nakedness may not
be seen, and soft to anoint your eyes so that you may see. To 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, so as I also conquered and sat down with my
father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
This is the word of the Lord.
Thank you, Lydia. Good morning, everyone. Hi. If you don't know me, my name is Oscar.
I am one of the... What am I? I am one of the non-staff elders here at Watermark.
Please join me. Let's pray as we look into God's word.
Father God, Lord Jesus, gracious Holy Spirit, as we consider your word and come under your word today,
please open up our hearts to receive what you want to tell us today. Help us to be sensitive to your word
and to be open to what you want to tell us. Help me, God, as I share and speak. May my words be yours.
Help me to have the conviction and the gentleness and humility that you desire. We give this time to you.
May you be praised, glorified, and honored now and always. In Jesus' name, amen.
So if you didn't know, at Watermark, usually we speak through...we preach through one book of the Bible,
one passage at a time. We just finished 18 weeks, 10 chapters in the book of John, and today and next Sunday,
we will have two stand-alone sermons. Maybe you're wondering, why are we preaching on Laodicea today?
Well, here's some background. It's been three or so months since we moved here to Viva, our new venue,
and the resounding feedback from all of you and from the venue team has been positive. Everyone is very excited
about this new venue. It's new. It's nicely renovated. Thank you, Colin Co., wherever you are.
It has great classrooms. Finally, we have an MTR and parking. We have the mall that we can hang out at
Viva. It's a great place. It's a great place. It's a great place. It's a great place.
It really has been such a wonderful gift, this venue here at Viva. Everything that we were hoping
and praying for 18 months ago has come to pass. All praise to Jesus. And so as I was asking God for a
message for today, this passage came to me because we are at this interesting and unique season here at
Watermark. And looking ahead, I can envision two different paths for Watermark, specifically relating
to this venue. The first is that we can use this venue for good, for us to go deeper in the gospel
and to love Jesus more through meeting here, understanding his word, and praying with each
other. Our children can love and trust Jesus and grow in their faith here in this venue. We can invite
our friends who don't know Jesus yet to come, hear the gospel, and believe in Jesus and have life in his
name. But there's also another path. We can think of this venue as convenient and comfortable, and we
can sit back and be consumers. We can take it and enjoy this gift, but forget the creator and the giver of
this gift. It's like when you give your child a toy for their birthday. When you open up that toy and start
playing with it, you open up your arms to expect a big hug, but your child just ignores you because
they're playing with that toy. We can accept gifts, but forget the creator and the giver of the gift.
And so it was with this in my mind and heart that I share from this passage today. Because as I hope you'll see in this passage,
on the outside, this church in Laodicea, they were materially very successful. They were very blessed.
They loved their gifts, but they abandoned the giver, Jesus Christ. So as we dive into this passage,
we'll examine it in two parts. The danger of lukewarmness and the antidote to lukewarmness.
Let's get in there. The danger of lukewarmness. Now in today's passage that lady just read, Jesus,
he offers quite a stern rebuke to this church in Laodicea. In Revelation chapters two and three,
Jesus writes seven letters to churches in Asia Minor. In the first six letters, Jesus offers words
of encouragement alongside some rebukes. But in this last letter to Laodicea, Jesus does nothing good
to say about them at all. In verse 15, Jesus starts off saying, I know your works. You're neither cold
nor hot. Would that you are either cold or hot. Verse 16, so because you're lukewarm and neither cold
nor hot, I will spit you out of my mouth. Can I just say ouch? That is a punch in the gut on a Sunday
morning. But Jesus is saying, because you're lukewarm, I'm going to reject you. Now what did Jesus mean
with all these symbols, cold, hot, lukewarm? Well here, Jesus references the geology of the land.
Laodicea was set between two cities. If you can see the map there, Heropolis was in the north,
Colossae to the east. Heropolis was famous for its hot springs. Colossae's water was cold and pure.
But Laodicea did not have its own water supply. And so they had to pipe water in from many miles
away through these stone pipes. But the problem was that water that started off pure and clean,
by the time it got piped through those stone pipes many miles away, it picked up all these impurities.
And so when it got to Laodicea, the water was undrinkable. It was disgusting. If you drank it
right from the source pipe, you'd be so sick, you'd vomit. And Jesus compares the impure, repulsive water
with the Laodicean church. You make me want to vomit. You nauseate me. Your lukewarmness towards me
makes me sick. Again, the language Jesus uses is very strong. And so now let's ask the question,
why is Jesus calling this church lukewarm? When we hear the word lukewarm, what's the first thing we
think about? We think about luensoi, lukewarm water, which isn't that bad, actually. It's quite drinkable.
Or maybe we think that it's Christians who are maybe a bit apathetic or indifferent towards Jesus.
Is it that we think that there are Christians or people over here who are hot for Jesus and
passionate for Jesus? And then there are other people over here who don't know him at all and
are cold. And then in the middle, we have these lukewarm Christians who maybe profess faith in Jesus,
but are unaffected or apathetic towards him, which, you know, maybe isn't that bad.
Is that what we think lukewarm means? Well, actually, if we continue on in this passage,
although apathy or indifference may be symptoms of lukewarmness, the root cause or disease is
something much deeper and insidious. Let's consider Laodicea. This city was known for three things.
First, it was famous for its textiles. Native to Laodicea was black wool, which would be made into
rugs and clothing. The city was also known for its medicine, particularly this eye salve or ointment,
which was famous across the region. And third, they were a wealthy banking hub.
Laodicea was so wealthy that in AD 60, when the city was destroyed by an earthquake,
when Rome offered to help rebuild the city, Laodiceans said,
Ah, we don't need your help, Rome. We're good. The Roman historian Taxetus wrote this,
Laodicea arose from the ruins by the strength of her own reserves, with no help from us.
The broader Laodicean people, and by extension, the church, were quite successful in a worldly sense.
Do you see where I'm going with this, right? Do you see any similarities between Laodicea and Hong Kong today?
Perhaps as a city, we're not as textile savvy as we used to be, other than Henry, our resident fashion expert over there.
But Hong Kong is still a solid banking and finance hub. We have fantastic medical institutions
and many fantastic doctors here at Watermark. We also have top universities.
Many Watermarkers have come from abroad to study and to work in our great city.
So how does a church that has so much material wealth and success engage with Jesus?
See, on the surface, the Laodicean church probably said and did all the right things.
They probably went to church service. They probably lived in community.
They probably gave money to the church.
But Jesus looks past the surface and knows the condition of their hearts.
In verse 17, Jesus says this about the Laodicean church.
For you say, I am rich. I have prospered. I need nothing.
I need nothing.
I don't have a prayer request because I already have everything I need.
And Jesus says to them, because of all your wealth and success,
you think you have everything you need.
Money, resources, influence, good looks, comfort.
You're self-sufficient and self-reliant.
You're too comfortable and you don't think you need me.
But then, Jesus looks at all the resources, talents, and money,
and he flips it upside down.
In the second half of verse 17, Jesus says,
You say, I'm rich. I have prospered. I need nothing.
Not realizing that you're wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.
On the outside, you're a wealthy banking hub.
But because you so highly value money,
you're actually spiritually bankrupt.
You may have experts in medicine,
but because you think that your eye ointment is so supreme,
you're actually spiritually blind.
You think you're so well-dressed because you wear these black wool garments.
The reality is you're spiritually naked.
Jesus is saying you lean on all your resources, talents, and money.
You think you're rich.
You're actually spiritually bankrupt.
And this is not just a theme in Revelation.
Throughout the Gospels, Jesus is constantly imploring us to flee from self-sufficiency and run to him.
Recall the story of the rich young ruler.
A wealthy young man, he goes to Jesus and he asks him,
What must I do to inherit eternal life?
And Jesus responds and says,
Well, you know the law.
You know the commandments.
Do not murder.
Do not commit adultery.
Do not steal.
And the man's all excited.
He says,
Great, I have kept all of these.
But the last words of Jesus hit him hard.
Jesus says,
You lack one thing.
Give away all your money to the poor.
And then you'll have treasures in heaven.
And then come follow me.
but the young man couldn't do it
for he had great possessions
and he loved his stuff above Jesus
well look at Matthew 5
Jesus said
blessed are the poor in spirit
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
to be poor in spirit
is to acknowledge that
without Jesus
we have nothing
if we're liars on in him
if we're not abiding in him
we have nothing
to be poor in spirit
to be dependent
not on ourselves
but fully in him
and so
for us
if we examine our own lives
to what extent
do we also desire
to be self-sufficient
and self-reliant
we Hong Kongers
we're known to study hard
to work hard
to build up our careers
and our bank accounts
so that in the future
if a rainy day happens
we'll be okay
we send our kids
to tough schools
and give them extra classes
to set them up
so that they're in control
of their destiny
but in the process
how many of us
actually don't need
to exercise faith
or trust
in God
we think we're already
in control of everything
maybe that's why
our prayer life
is so stagnant
maybe it's why
we feel God
is so distant
Jesus' charge
against the lay of the sea
in church
was that their lukewarmness
was due to their
self-sufficiency
and yet
they were still part
of a church
maybe they even
served in church
on Monday morning
in the office
when the topic
of religion came up
they probably said
yeah I'm a Christian
and this is
the scary part
for this letter
was not written
to people
who rejected Jesus
or don't know him
at all
Jesus pours out
his heart
in this letter
to people
who profess
that they're Christians
but Jesus says
to them
because of your
lukewarmness
I will reject you
and then down
in verse 20
Jesus says
behold I stand
at the door
and knock
think about this picture
Jesus is saying
you guys are gathering
you're in community
I'm not even
present with you
it's like a picture
of a wedding
where
as the bride
is giving her vows
the groom is
outside the chapel
knocking on the door
trying to come in
the ladies see
in lukewarm
Christians
or actually
not Christians
at all
and this is why
I believe
if we go back
to verse 15
Jesus says this
I know your works
you're neither cold
nor hot
I'd rather that
you were cold
or hot
I'd rather you
be cold
or hot
this is quite
a mysterious sentence
let's think about it
to be hot
seems quite clear
if you take
a quick glance
down to verse 19
in your Bibles
Jesus says
be zealous
and repent
being zealous
means to have
passion
to adore
to have an intense
love for
it's not simply
raw emotion
it means being
wholeheartedly devoted
to Jesus
such that we respond
to him
in worship
and surrender
but then why
would Jesus
rather someone
be cold
towards him
versus being
lukewarm
someone who is
cold towards
Jesus
has explicitly
rejected him
at least if you're
lukewarm
and maybe you come
to church a little
bit
maybe you know
a little bit
about the Bible
but consider this
comparison
between two people
the first is
my friend
who has never
been to church
in his entire
life
according to this
passage
that he will be
cold towards
Jesus
well we met up
one day
and when my friend
asked me to explain
the gospel
I said to him
that all of us
all human beings
have this
secret and darkness
in our hearts
and we're all in need
of a savior
and I saw that
something in him
clicked
and then he shared
that he struggled
with sin
he didn't call it sin
as he doesn't know
what sin is
but he knew
of this darkness
in his heart
that needed fixing
my friend is not
yet a believer
in Jesus
but I really
believe he's close
but then
think about person
two
a lukewarm
Christian
a lukewarm
Christian
has one foot
in church
and one foot
out
we think
we're a lot
better than
we really are
many years ago
when I played
college tennis
we had three
kinds of teammates
the first
kind of teammate
came into school
really talented
and just
was excellent
did really well
the second kind of player
came into the school
first year
was kind of weak
but knew they needed
to improve
listened to good coaching
got better
and added value
to the team
the third
that was kind of like me
actually
the third kind of player
came in weak
but thought they were
Roger Federer
the problem with that
is that when the coach
said hey
your serve needs work
or your forehand's
a bit shaky
the third kind of player
would say no coach
you're wrong
I'm good
put me in
but then
they never took
good coaching
they never improved
they thought they were
better than they really are
and they never added
value to the team
if this is the danger
of being a lukewarm Christian
we think we're a lot better
than we really are
perhaps this
is you
maybe you're a cultural Christian
through your family
maybe you think you're a Christian
because you come to church
on Sunday
but if you're really honest
with yourself
you don't really think
you need Jesus at all
or maybe you used to have
zeal for Jesus
but because of the busyness
and the struggles of life
Jesus is now somewhere
on the back burner
does the gospel bounce off
your heart
like the words of my old
tennis coach
and if this is you
please know this
no one here at Watermark
can nor will
judge you
only God knows
the true condition
of your heart
but if somehow
God is speaking to you today
prompting you
respond to him
come back to him
come back to Jesus
surrender your life to him
and for the rest of us
do you wrestle with
the tension between
being self-sufficient
on one hand
and being desperate
for Jesus on the other
is it just me
only me here in this room
okay
yeah
four people
over there
on this side
I admit all my life
I've been privileged
ever since I graduated
university
I've been
financially independent
I never admit it publicly
but I've been
dependent on my
work ethic
my education
and my career
for most of my adult life
but I'm learning
that self-sufficiency
is a lie
I'm not in control
I'm in control
of very little
and the more
I rely on my
own abilities
actually the heavier
my burdens
become
and as God
has stripped away
stuff
that I've been
depending on
I've been realizing
that trusting
and relying on Jesus
is so much better
how about you
we at Watermark
I think for the most part
are educated
talented
and fairly well off
I don't think
many people here
are worried
about our next meal
how desperate
are you
for Jesus
and now more recently
we have this new venue
which is wonderful
even my children
are more excited
to come to church
these days
I feel
it's a wonderful gift
but we can also get
complacent
and comfortable
thinking that church
is great
because we have
a wonderful new building
but across the world
there are beautiful
church buildings
with no worshippers
inside
so as I was
preparing this message
this is what my heart
longs for
this is what I've been
praying for
that for myself
that for Celeste
my wife
for our three children
and for all
of Watermark Community Church
may we run away
from self-sufficiency
throw it out the window
drop it
and run to Jesus
and to be dependent
on him
may we not just
hear about Jesus
may we know Jesus
may we not just
experience Christianity
may we
may we experience
Christ
our Savior
himself
that's been my prayer
for Jesus warns us
against lukewarmness
because
he so desires
to shower us
with something
which is infinitely superior
to all this
earthy stuff
that we adore
all this stuff
that makes us
so self-reliant
we'll never
ever feel
the deep ache
and longing
in our hearts
for purpose
and meaning
and acceptance
but Jesus
wants to offer us
the antidote
to lukewarmness
and it's beautiful
so what is
the solution
to this problem
of lukewarmness
maybe you think
Jesus is calling you
to put in a ton
of effort
and to experience
a lot of stress
to throw away
your self-sufficiency
well it's just
the opposite
in fact
he's calling you
to throw away
self-sufficiency
and to collapse
into his arms
to find all your
sufficiency
in him
and look what
Jesus offers
in verses 18 to 21
of our passage
Jesus urges
the lady to see
in church
to repent
and come back
to him
and Jesus offers
to heal
the lukewarmness
in verse 18
Jesus says
I counsel you
to buy from me
gold refined
by fire
that you may be rich
white garments
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
what did Jesus offer
when we repent
and run back
to him
when we go back
to Jesus
in repentance
he may allow us
to go through
some trials
and difficult times
so that our faith
in him
is like gold
refined by fire
we then come
to a place
of such strong
faith
and trust
in Jesus
such that
whatever happens
in life
and life
will go up
and down
but good
bad and ugly
we're still good
the peace
of Christ
is in us
this
is true
spiritual gold
and infinitely
better than
physical gold
money
or bitcoin
he offers us
white garments
this is a symbol
many of us
carry shame
and guilt
from our past
these white garments
are a symbol
to tell us
when we come
to Jesus
he covers us
with his purity
and his righteousness
because that's
who he is
and he removes
all of our shame
ointment for our eyes
Laodicea was blinded
by her own
self-sufficiency
and often times
we're the same
our Lord says
come to me
I'll open up
the eyes of your heart
to see your own sin
and to see my beauty
and Jesus
gives all of these
gifts to us
out of love
verse 19
those whom I love
I'll reprove
and discipline
so be zealous
and repent
despite
this church
this Laodicean church
being so self-sufficient
and actually
repulsive
repulsive to Jesus
Jesus loves
them so much
and the word love
here is
the translation
is not the fatherly
commanding kind of love
it's the brotherly love
I love you so much
as my friend
and brother
that I'm urging you
I'm begging you
to repent
and come back to me
and look at verse 20 now
Jesus offers such a
a close
and personal relationship
with those who come to him
he's saying to the church
I'm outside the doors
of your sanctuary
I'm knocking
will you let me in
will you let me into your life
and if you do
I will dine with you
and you with me
in those days
and in our day
when you eat
and dine with someone
and commune with someone
it's someone that you care about
Jesus desires
intimacy
and relationship with us
and finally
Jesus offers honor
I love this verse
verse 21
to 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
when we throw off
self-sufficiency
and self-reliance
we go from being
wretched
pitiable
poor
blind
and naked
to conquering
alongside Jesus
and how do we conquer?
do we do it ourselves?
no
because we can't
but if you love
and trust Jesus
if we bank
our lives on him
we conquer
because he conquered
for you see
Jesus
on the cross
he defeated
that which we could
never overcome
sin
and death
by ourselves
we can never
rid ourselves
of the deep darkness
inside here
and we can never
prevent death
from coming
to our doorstep
one day
but Jesus
conquered both
and because of his death
and resurrection
he conquered the grave
and deserves
all glory
and honor
and praise
and if we continue
reading on Revelation
we will see
where he is today
he is seated
on the throne
in heaven
with his father
and if we love
and trust him
we will sit with him
one day
on that same throne
we conquer
because
he conquered
so
how can we
respond
to this today
how can we respond
to the call of Jesus
today
well here's three
ways we can respond
take stock
of your own heart
and life
many of us
do health checks
to examine
the inner workings
of our physical bodies
I think some of us here
many many of us here
check our bank accounts
or our stock
and crypto portfolios
to check the
financial health
of ourselves
but how often
do we actually
stop
and reflect
on the health
of our heart
our control center
our inner compass
the source
of all our desires
what am I putting
all my hope
and trust in
is it my work
and career
is it
all my
is it my grit
and my hard work
is it my health
is it my relationships
or my children's education
and when I don't
have them
it causes so much
stress
and fear
which indicates
I'm putting way
too much hope
in them
or if I do have them
and I depend
so much on them
if I think about it
actually I don't need God
and I put God
way over there
into a box
take stock
of your own heart
and life
number two
repent
one of the first
and crucial steps
to throwing out
self-sufficiency
is to confess it
to God
and to own it
see God isn't
asking us
to solve it
but he is asking us
to confess
and repent of it
and if something
today has convicted
you to go back
to God
to repent
take that step
perhaps approach
one of our prayer
team members
afterwards
and ask them
to pray with you
because you can't
repent passively
and you can't
repent by osmosis
maybe you think
repentance is
something shameful
or embarrassing
oh no
just the opposite
it is one of the
most wonderful
experiences
of being a Christian
and I know this
from experience
I'm a serial repenter
I've always been
and will be
all my life
see we can repent
of our self-reliance
we can throw it out
and receive what
Jesus offers
such relief
in knowing that
we don't have to
be perfect
such assurance
in knowing that
he forgives
and loves us
we must repent
and third and final
live out gospel
community
many of us here
are part of
a community group
we spend time
and hang out
with our church
family
that's wonderful
but that may or may
not be gospel
community
who knows
the real you
who knows
what's going on
inside of your heart
living out gospel
community means
we're vulnerable
we are open
with someone
in our church
family
actively
confessing
and repenting
with each other
of the stuff
that makes us
self-reliant
and self-sufficient
and then
reminding each other
of the riches
of Christ
and helping each other
to run back to him
live out gospel
community
now let me close
with this quote
from
Charles Spurgeon
this is one of
Kevin's
favorite quotes
I think
I have a great
need for Christ
and I have a
great Christ
for my need
it is in our
nature
to try to
figure things
out
ourselves
to rely
on our own
abilities
on our own
resources
our own
skills
and talents
but that's
not freedom
that's a life
of heavy burden
but when the
penny drops
when we realize
that self-sufficiency
is a lie
we run back
to Jesus
bank our lives
on him
and become
desperate for him
that is a life
of freedom
unspeakable peace
and joy
in all seasons
and this is what
the apostle John
meant
we studied this
for 18 weeks
this is what
the apostle John
meant when he said
when you believe
in Jesus
you have life
in his name
when we realize
we have a great
need for Christ
and we realize
we have a great
Christ
for our need
so may
Watermark Church
be a church
that lays down
our self-sufficiency
and self-reliance
runs back to Jesus
to receive
the riches of God
let's pray together
Father God
Lord Jesus
Holy Spirit
you are
you are great
and greatly
to be praised
and honored
we are humbled
by your word
God
pray that as we
digest
and
meditate
and contemplate
your word
open up our hearts
to respond to you
right now
Lord
help us God
to see the self-sufficient
aspects of our lives
whatever it is
not just money
but other aspects
or hard work
or work ethic
what I've been putting
too much hope into
Lord
help us to
give it to you
God
lay at your feet
and may we receive
such wonderful
assurance
and goodness
from you
even now
may we experience
you now God
be with us
for the rest of our
service
as we
continue to worship
you
for you are the only
one worthy
to be worshipped
in Jesus name
we pray
Amen