We'll finish up Chapter 3 this evening, and next week, Lord willing, when we gather together, we'll be in Chapter 4, which takes us to another view, another place. We get a heavenly view as God sees it. So this evening, let's turn together in our Bibles together to Revelation Chapter 3. We'll be reading verses 15 through 22 together this evening. This is the very Word of God. Verse 15, I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot. I would that thou wert cold or hot. So then, because thou art lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich and increasingly with goods and have need of nothing, and knowest not that thou art wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich, and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear, and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Be zealous, therefore. Behold, I stand at the door and knock, and if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh, I will grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame and am to sit down with my Father in His throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. Well, again, brethren, as we are bringing this glorious letter to a close, as the Lord Jesus himself does that, we remember from last week, just by way of a little bit of reminder, that the Lord Jesus here is using some terminology, amen, to bring forth their spiritual condition. And you remember we talked just a little bit about that last week and of course the hot there certainly has to do with those who are truly saved, those who have been regenerated and born from above, those my brethren who are marked out and branded with the image of Christ. This is really such an important portion of scripture for us that We see those who are branded with Christ, those who are true believers, and those, as we're going to look at the coal, those who are not believers and never claim to be believers, amen, this is really the condition that the Lord Jesus is bringing forth to us. But this idea of being branded, I want you to see this again, because as we go forward in the book of Revelation, there are choices that are going to be made, amen, and there's going to be choices that one makes concerning who they're going to follow, amen, who they're not going to follow. And this is all part of it, brother. This is all part of being branded with the Lord Jesus Christ. And this is something that we see in scripture. This is something that Paul himself spoke about. And I want you to see this again. This is just a biblical thing that we've seen throughout Holy Writ. This idea of being branded with the image of Christ. And that's what a true believer is. He's branded with the image of Christ. He is being made more and more into what? The image of Christ. And so we see this again, this marking of the true believer as the Spirit of God does His work upon them. Look with me, if you would, just quickly to Galatians, Galatians chapter 6, and again, a very familiar portion of Scripture to us, but this is the idea that the Lord Jesus is beginning with here. Those who are hot, those who are clearly children of God, look at Galatians chapter 6, and again, We see this idea of being marked out, being marked as a true believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul says this here, look at verse number 17. From henceforth let no man trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus. Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen. Now again, the idea here is that he says I'm marked with the marks of the Lord Jesus. What does that mean? It's literally a slave. Paul was a slave to Christ and he was clearly marked. Amen. He had the marks of this slave. It's an amazing thing. And really what that does, this idea of being marked as a slave of the Lord Jesus Christ, it marks out who you really belong to. And this is what Paul is saying in that text. This is what Jesus is saying to those who are there in the church. at Laodicea, the Laodiceans who are there. They're those who were hot. I wish that you were hot. And he says, or I wish you were cold. And again, the idea, the text there is this, that the cold are those who have never claimed to be Christians, do not claim to be Christians by any stretch of the imagination. And you look back there again, that word lukewarm that he uses again, as we have looked at together, even last week, just a little bit, are those who claim. to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, but there's very little fruit or no fruit. This is literally what he's saying. I wish you were hot. I wish you were marked out for Christ, or I wish you were cold. I wish the people just knew that you were an unbeliever. But no, you, many of you here are lukewarm. You are those who are professing to be Christian, but you live a life of compromise, a life of holiness. This idea of hot and cold also depicts for us, brethren, picture of uselessness when you consider how they would have been reading this and hearing this and understanding this. Hot water many times was used in the healing process. While cold water, as we even can relate today, amen, cold water many times when it's deathly hot out, it refreshes you. But lukewarm water is really useless. It's good for nothing. I mean, from their perspective, amen? In fact, one pastor, he said this. Lukewarmness tries to play the middle. And really, this is an important thing, brethren. We must not do this. We must not. Lukewarmness tries to play the middle. It's too hot to be cold and too cold to be hot. And in trying to be both things, they end up being good for nothing. And this is what we really must prepare ourselves against. In fact, some of these who are in this church are so good for nothing. Look what Jesus says in verse 16. It's so useless, I'm going to what? I'm going to spew you out of my mouth. Now, brethren, that is quite a thing. That word, spew, literally means to vomit, to emit. It's a word that we get the word emitic from. You know what an emitic is? Brother Keith probably knows what it is. When someone drinks poison. It is a globulin that they will give to whoever has the poison in their stomach. They will feed it to them, and it causes them to what? What does it cause them to do? It causes them to vomit. This is the idea. This is the word here. This is what Jesus is saying. This lukewarmness, this middle-of-the-road stuff is useless, and because it is, I'm about ready to spew you out of my mouth. They're so disgustingly lukewarm. were the Laodiceans about divine matters, brethren. That even the Lord Jesus Christ, they were even nauseating to Him, which is really stating such a thing. So really what Jesus is saying, the church of the Laodiceans supplied neither healing for the spiritually sick, and that's what a church, isn't that one of the things that a church is called by God to do? One of the things that elders and the church are called to do is to watch over the flock spiritually, to take care of them spiritually, to, when they're spiritually suffering, to take care of them. That church was nowhere near that kind of commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ concerning that. Nor, brethren, were they refreshing at all to those who were spiritually weary. This is what the Lord is saying. This is why he again uses these distinctives. There is no question. The question is, who are you and where are you at? Amen? This is really what causes all of us to ask. When you study something like this and see how the Lord Jesus Christ terms these things, then you have to ask yourself, where am I at? Am I cold? Am I hot? Am I warm? Am I just flippant about the things of God? And so we pray, don't we, brethren, that the Spirit will Certainly keep us there and if you will on the hot side of things if you will look back there now revelation chapter 3 again look at verse Number 17 look what the Lord says there and again very important wording that he uses he's you're neither hot nor cold I will spew the element be out of my mouth verse 17 because thou sayest I am rich and increased with goods and have need of of nothing, it's an amazing thing, brother, and it really is. At need of nothing, he says there, and knowest not that thou art wretched and miserable and poor, blind and naked. With these words, how he begins verse 17 there, because thou sayest we are in need of nothing, the Lord is drawing the Laodiceans' attention to their self, listen, deluded spiritual state. Literally, he's drawing their attention to their self diluted. And that's really important. As we look at this together, their self diluted spiritual state. It's stunning when you think of it, because you look at the description of how they viewed themselves. How did they view themselves? They viewed themselves as the ideal church. Hey, we are in need of what? Nothing. But the Lord Jesus does He not, as He's standing there outside of the church. He's standing there looking in, and Jesus, as the head of the church, then gives unto them His faithful and true evaluation of who they really are through His omniscient lenses. He tells them they are wretched and miserable. Now, this is kind of a double, kind of a negative, if you will. He tells them, you are miserable and wretched. He says that that word literally means very miserable. It means very pitiful. One who is sunk in the deepest of distress. And brethren, this word is only used one other time in the New Testament. This idea of being wretched and miserable. Now I want you to see the Apostle Paul uses the word again. The only other time it's used. We find it over here in Romans chapter 7. Let's turn there and just take a look. Again, a very familiar portion of scripture. But this is a great description, amen, of the Lord's analysis of these people who think they are in need of nothing, and yet they are poor and naked and miserable and blind and all of these things. What a self-delusional thing concerning their spiritual condition. Look there at Romans chapter 7. Look there, if you would, at verse number 18. Romans chapter 7. Look at verse number 18. Paul writes, For I know that in me, that in me, that is in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing. For the will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not, but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that, I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that when I would do good, evil is present with me. for I delight in the law of God after the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin, which is in my members. O wretched man!" The only other time it's used in the New Testament is right here. O wretched man! Paul says, we are to be pitied. We are the most miserable state. our sinfulness, and how this stuff just continues to go on and on in our life. He says, O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? What an amazing thing for him to say. You're wretched and miserable. Then Jesus goes on from there, and He continues to describe their spiritual condition even a little bit more. He tells them that they are poor, One who is a beggar, it's an amazing thing. One who is destitute and poverty-stricken spiritually. And again, these are spiritual antidotes. This is a spiritual analyzing that Jesus is giving the church. You're wretched, you're miserable, and not only that, you're poor, you're destitute, you're spiritually bankrupt, is what he's saying. Not only that, He then goes on into a little deeper discussion and says that you're blind. Spiritual things are obscure and really inconspicuous to them. They wouldn't know it if it hit them in the face, literally. This is really, brethren, a sad state. This is a very dangerous state for a church to be in. Finally, he says, you're naked. They're naked, he says. In fact, when you analyze that and look at that, they were far worse off than the poor amongst them who had some clothes to cover themselves. Jesus said, you are completely spiritually naked. I mean, it just gets worse and worse. In fact, I wrote this down. This church did not have one thread to cover themselves spiritually with. This is really his diagnosis. This is him standing outside of the latency in church. He's standing out there looking at them, and he's giving him this spiritual, really, through his lenses, his omniscient lenses. Now think about that for a moment, brethren. How delusional you really have to be to start out by saying, I am in need of nothing. What does that tell us? What does that say about the condition of the church at that time, those who were in it? Again, can I use the word? Self-delusion spiritually. To say I'm in need of nothing and have Christ come and say, no, actually, you're miserable, you're wretched, you're poor, you're blind, you're naked. and you don't even know it. That's the amazing thing, brethren, is that they don't even know it. It's a stunning thing. It's a very bad condition for them to be in. In fact, you remember the church at Smyrna, it's actually the exact opposite of the church at Smyrna. They recognized they were poor, and they were what? Rich. It's the exact opposite. Again, this is the church that does not get one commendation from the Lord Jesus Christ. So then the Lord says this to them, back in Revelation chapter three, he gives them this spiritual, if you will, this spiritual analyzing of the condition that they're in, and then he says this in verse number 18. Look back there at Revelation chapter three, look at verse number 18. He again lays that out there for them, and then he, He gives them this bit of wording here. Look at verse number 18. He says there, I counsel thee to buy of me, that's important, to buy of me, because what Jesus is going to impart to them, or if you will, impute to them, they can get nowhere else, because no one else can save you, amen? That's very, very important wording and terminology that's used there. I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich in white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear, and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see." So the Lord Jesus here in verse 18 gives the Laodiceans a most glorious invitation to come unto Him. That's really what this is. This is an open invitation. that the Lord Jesus is giving those who he has just spiritually diagnosed as being blind and all of these things. And he says, but listen, brethren, what I want you to do is you can come on to me. I want you to buy of me, he says. Literally, there's only one place. There's only one market, if you will, if I can use that terminology, which I'm trying not to downgrade that too much. But really, literally, there's only one place that you can get and receive. that which you need most. There's only one place where you can come to that you can have your sins forgiven, that you can be cleansed, that you can have repentance granted unto you, and that is of me." This is literally what he's saying. Dubai of me is language that speaks, you remember, to these brother and these people who were in this city, which was the wealthiest city ever. There was all kinds of trading and bargaining and buying and selling going on. He says, you buy me. He's literally using again their terminology there, brother. Now we all know. Okay. All right. You works people. We all know that salvation is free. The Lord Jesus Christ here is by no means saying that you can somehow buy your way to salvation. You can somehow contribute to, in some way, to the debt that has been paid, and the cost that's going to cost you to be saved. He is by no means saying that whatsoever. That would ultimately be blasphemy, wouldn't it? Isn't that what it is, when you say that Jesus' sacrifice wasn't enough, but you can put money in a coffer, you can give money to a church, or you can do this or that? You are blaspheming the finished work of Christ. There is by no means, is he saying, that in fact, Salvation is free. Isn't this what scripture says? Isn't it interesting? Even in the other dispensations of time, salvation has always been free. Do you know that? It's always been free. No one's ever paid. No one's ever been able to buy for their way to salvation. Let's look at a couple again. Salvation-free again, because people will use, oh look, we've got to buy our way. No, that's not at all what he's saying. Not even close. Look here at Isaiah, the Old Testament. Look at this dispensation of time. Isaiah, the Old Evangelical. Look at Isaiah, if you will, look at Isaiah 55. Look here again, brethren, even in the Old Testament, the old dispensation of time where they used to, how should we say, they were flaying animals and spilling blood and burning incense and doing all these things, and even there, this theme, this common thread of salvation being free Listen to the wording here in Isaiah chapter 55. Look at verse number 1. Pay very careful attention again, because the same terminology is used. Ho, everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money. This is not about a money transaction. This is a spiritual transaction that God is doing in the heart of those who are there in Laodicea. Look at what it says. How are you going to buy something without money? He says, And he that hath no money, come ye, buy and eat, yea, come buy wine and milk without money and without price. No, brethren, salvation is free. You can't buy it. That's not possible. That's an impossibility. Look at Romans chapter 5. Just a couple of them here. This word free, I like free. I like to know that I can't earn my salvation, therefore I can't lose my salvation. Isn't that wonderful? Isn't that a beautiful thing when you consider those together? I can't earn it, I can't buy it, therefore I can't lose it. It's free. Look at Romans chapter 5. It's free, but there's a price. And that's what Jesus is saying. Salvation is free, but there's a price. Look at Romans chapter 5. Again, a very familiar portion of Scripture. Look at verse number 15 and 16. But not as the offense, so also is the free gift. For through the offense of the one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. Verse 16. And not as it was by the one that sinned, so is the gift. for the judgment was by one to condemnation. But the free gift is of many offenses unto justification." Look at verse 18 there. Therefore, as by the offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation, even so by the righteousness of the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. In fact, this very theme continues. It's in the Old Testament. It's here in, shall we say, the church age, testament time, amen, the dispensation of time there, but it's also found after that. And look here if you would, just one more, look at Revelation, again, just to see this theme, that salvation cannot be bought, it is free, but there is a price, and this again is what the Lord is saying, what is the price? That's the question, that's the question we all have to ask, what is the price? Look at Revelation chapter 22, the very last chapter of our glorious letter here. Look at Revelation chapter 22 again, over and over. There's many places in Holy Writ that speak of this, obviously. But the idea here, again, is to see the consistency of Scripture, that salvation is free, but there is a price. Look at Revelation chapter 22, look at verse number 17. and the spirit and the bride say come and let him that hears say come and let him that is a thirst come and whosoever will let him take the water of life what really freely, freely, freely. Salvation is free. You can't buy it, you can't sell it, you can't earn it. But there is a price, brethren, and it's the price that Paul talked about. And this is what Jesus is saying to these lukewarm, these Christians who are there, these people who are there, who are neither hot nor cold, but they're living a worldly life. They're living a most unholy life, unwilling to pay the price that the Spirit of God demands of them. It's the same thing Paul talked about. The price that they must pay and we must pay as believers is the renunciation. Listen, brethren, is the renunciation and all vain reliance on our righteousness, on our self-centeredness, on our man-centeredness. This is what he's saying. It is a most important thing. It is the price Paul spoke of in Philippians chapter three. Look there if you would. There's a price. Salvation is free, but there's a price to be paid. You remember the Lord Jesus, what he told his disciples. You wanna know the great price that one pays? You know that the blood of Christ is deeper and stronger than the blood of your own family. Anyone who loves his father or his mother or his sister or his brother, what, cannot follow me, that's a price to be paid. That's something that is to be paid. Christ causes division, even in the family. We pay that price if we're faithful to Christ. Look what Paul said. Look at here, if you would, again, Philippians chapter 3. Look at the price here. This is the price we paid. Salvation is free, it can't be earned. But this is what Paul paid, the price he paid. for the Lord Jesus Christ paying for his sins. Look at Philippians chapter 3. Look there, if you would, at verse number 7. But what things were gained to me, those I counted, what loss for Christ. There's a price that he paid. He lost something when Christ saved him. But what things were gained to me, I counted loss for Christ. Yea, doubtless, I count all things but loss. For the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but what? Dung, he says, that I may win Christ, and be found in him, not having my own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith. lost some things. He paid a price. We do too. This is what we're saying. It's going to cost you to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. There's a price that we pay. It's a glorious price. It's a good price. We were just talking about that. I was talking with someone the other day about that, about how the Lord Jesus Christ, when you trust in Christ, how He changes your life and He saves you from many things. He saves you from many things, brethren. I mean, it's an amazing thing. You have friends, I have friends, who to this day act like they're still in high school. They're my age, and they look like they're 150 years older than I am. You know why? Because the Lord Jesus Christ saved me from that. It's a price that is glorious. It's a price that is good and glorious. This is what the Lord Jesus is talking about. Now, the Lord Jesus there also says He counsels them. The Bible says that Jesus counseled the Laodiceans. Now, that word counsel means to take counsel together, to reason together. This is the idea. This is what Jesus is saying. Hey, here's your spiritual condition, and here's how I see you. Come, He says. Remember that great invitation in Isaiah? It's the same terminology. Isaiah chapter 1, Come now, let us reason together, saith the Lord. This is the idea. I'm going to counsel you. We are going to reason one with another concerning your spiritual condition. He counsels them. He invites them, literally is what the word means, to buy a certain kind of gold. a refined gold of character. It's the kind that comes, if you will, from the fires of testing. Again, let me remind you, this is not a monetary thing. Money is not even in the equation. This, of course, as I said earlier, is a spiritual transaction. It is something that God does to us. And we see this in Scripture, for sure. In fact, many portions of Scripture, we see this idea of being refined. This idea of being, if you will, perfected more and more into the image. Where do we start tonight? The image of Christ. This is what we're talking about. This drossing process that God gets ahold of us and does to each of His children. In fact, look at Proverbs 24, just a couple of portions of Scripture to help us to understand this. Look at Proverbs chapter 24. this refined gold. This is something that the Lord Himself does to His children. Look at Proverbs 25, verse number 4. I think I said 24. I want you to notice carefully the language that the inspired author uses. Look at verse 4. Take away the dross from the silver, there shall come forth a vessel for the finer." Well, what are we doing here, brethren, this idea of drossing? We've talked about this. This is heating up metal, and when you heat up metal, what happens, brethren? It forces the impurities to the top. Then the drossing process begins. What happens? You take that little scooper there, and you scoop it off, and you keep heating, and you keep refining, and you keep You keep making purer and purer, the idea here, so that you are a vessel for the finer. You know who the finer is here in Proverbs 24? The finer is God. God is the one who will use you as a vessel that He is refining. This is what He's telling them. Buy from me gold that's refined. In fact, Peter himself speaks in this terminology. Again, in the New Testament, I want you to see this, 1 Peter 1. Look at 1 Peter 1, again, an Old Testament portion of Scripture, just staying consistent with God's teaching. God hasn't changed. He still works the same way. He still uses the same tools. He still refines His children. Look at 1 Peter 1. Look at verse number 3 again. Look what the Bible says, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy, hath begotten us again into a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. To an inheritance incorruptible, I mean, we could spend time, there's three things here, and undefiled, and that which fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you. who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in this last time. Verse number six, wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness met through manifold temptations, that the trial of your faith, listen, the trial of your faith, the heating up, being much more precious, being more precious than gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto the praise and honor and glory of the appearing. Look it, he's even speaking of where we're at, where we're headed in the book of Revelation, the appearing of Christ. He says that this faith is refined, much more than gold. It's worth much more than gold, but it's a refined thing. This is the idea here. As the Lord Jesus begins to appear, he causes these things to happen. So we see here again, and he counsels them Come reason with me concerning your sinfulness. He invites them to buy this refined gold, this process which takes away those things that they are allowing currently to go on. Jesus also invites the Laodiceans to come to him for spiritual garments. We see in the text there, buy me white raiment. They are naked, he said. You need something to cover up your nakedness. He will call them in robes of His righteousness, He says, so that they will no longer be naked and ashamed in the sight of God and of men. In fact, you remember, brethren, I'll just give you the verse. We don't have time to go there tonight. In Genesis chapter 3, you remember what Adam and Eve did. They sinned against God. What was the first thing they did? They hid from God, and then they sewed themselves some fig leaves together. Remember that? They were trying to hide their nakedness. God came and said, what are you doing? Well, you know, we were just standing here, and we figured out we were naked, so we hid from you first of all, and then we sewed some fig leaves, because we were naked, and we know what God did. God said no. Later on in verse 18 of Genesis chapter 3, what did God do? The Bible says that God sewed them some clothes. The first religious act of men trying to cover their sinfulness. This is the idea here. Jesus is telling them, you're spiritually naked. You're doing what your parents did, Adam and Eve. You're very religious, but you're naked. And you have no spiritual covering for yourselves, literally. It's an amazing thing. As one pastor said, many of the Laodiceans were walking in the steps of Adam and Eve. They were attempting to clothe themselves in a spiritually fatal endeavor. And this is, again, think of this, brethren, for a moment. They thought they were fine. Think of that for a moment. We are in need of nothing. Jesus said, oh yes. Here's my spiritual, here's my spiritual, if you will, my evaluation of who you really are. And it is really an amazing thing as the Spirit of God does that to each and every one of us. He then invites them and counsels them to come to Him that He might cure their spiritual blindness. And there's a reason why He would do that last. You're naked in all of these things. And he invites them to come so that when he heals their spiritual blindness, they will be able to see themselves for who they are. Brothers and sisters, it's not until you realize you're a sinner that you realize who you really are. And until you are illuminated to that fact, you don't have any problem. It's like I always say, men who are dead do not feel the weight of their own sin. They don't. But when Christ illuminates one to that fact, they feel the weight. You feel the weight. I feel the weight of my sin. And He says, I'm going to dross that away from you. I'm going to refine you. I'm going to take that away. I'm going to stamp you more and more into the image of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's a most wonderful thing, brethren. It really, really is. In fact, look at verse 19 of chapter 3 there. Look at what he says. This then is the result. This is a, if you will, a biblical truth that he lays on them. He lays this on them. Look what he says to them, and this is a glorious thing. Revelation chapter 3, look at verse number 19. Look at there what it says. He says, as many as I what, love, I what? I rebuke and chase it. As many as I love, I rebuke and chase it. Now brethren, the Laodiceans have had quite a thrashing, quite a spiritual awakening of their condition, if you will, as we look at that, but they can take comfort because this letter was written was it not, to the Laodiceans, which consisted of a church, a church of Christ, amen? So there evidently were some Christians there yet, just mixed in amongst them, and some of them lukewarm, as he said, but it was written to them, and so they can take comfort in this, brothers, because God loves them. The Lord Jesus Christ says, those whom I love, I chasten and I rebuke. This again is a beautiful, glorious, biblical truth. They were not so far gone yet, brethren, that the Lord Jesus would just silently leave them in their own devices. He rebuked them. What does rebuke mean? What does that mean when Christ rebuked the church? To rebuke someone is more than just telling them they're false. It is rather to convince them of their rebuke is. A rebuke is something where you say, no, you think you're not sinning, but you are sinning. Not only did he rebuke them, but he what? He chastens them. That's a twofold thing. He rebukes them. He convicts them of their wrong view of sin, and then he chastens. And the word chasten literally means to correct or guide. This kind of instruction has to do with the purpose of forming proper biblical habits. This is literally what He's telling them. It's an amazing thing. In fact, in verse 19, we see a word there that directly connects to the word hot up in verses 15 and 16. Look at that. As many as I love, I rebuke and chase and be zealous. That word zealous there literally means to burn hot. I'm glad you're not cold. Lukewarm, but I'm gonna draw you back to zealousness for those spiritual things This is what he's saying. It really is. In fact, not only that not only is it zealous to be fervent but look at he says therefore and repent and And literally, again, he's calling them to repentance. And what does repent mean again? Let me define it for you. Again, it means to perceive afterwards. They change after previously thinking something about something. It is the most interesting thing, to perceive afterwards. In other words, they were thinking wrong, the Lord rebukes them, he chastens them, and he's trying and going to correct them concerning this behavior and view that they have. Proverbs chapter 13. We all know the verses, amen? There's 13, there's 16, there's 20. You just keep going on and on concerning that word, chastening, in the book of Proverbs, amen? The Bible says if you hate your children, if you, what? If you don't chasten them, But you love them if you chasten them. This is literally what it means. This is the idea here that the Lord Jesus is talking about. I'm going to rebuke you and I'm going to chasten you. I'm going to correct your behavior. In fact, Hebrews chapter 12, look at that. Look at Hebrews chapter 12. Again, a very familiar portion of scripture, I'm sure, to all of us. But we see this word, this chasten, we see the word love, and we see the word chasten, and we see these things combined together here in Hebrews chapter 12. Look there, if you would, at verse number five. And ye have forgotten The exhortation which speaketh unto you is unto children. My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him." There's them two together. There's a rebuking and a chastening. There's a correcting that needs to take place. Look here, if you would, at verse number 7, or verse number 6, I guess. For whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as sons. And for what son is he whom the Father chasteneth not? But if he be without chastisement whereof, are all partakers? Then are ye bastards, illegitimate children, and not sons? Furthermore, we have fathers of our flesh, which corrected us, and we gave them reverence. Shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily are a few days chastened us after their own pleasure, but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous nevertheless afterward, and yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them that are exercised thereby. The whole thing, if I could just say this, the whole conclusion, the whole sum of the matter, is the Lord Jesus reveals unto them their spiritual condition, and then he says, this is what I'm going to do to correct your wrong thinking. I'm going to rebuke you, I'm going to chastise you, which is good for us, amen? Because in reality, brethren, the divine purpose of all of God's discipline, amen? The divine purpose. Go look in our statement of faith. We have it written there. The divine purpose of all discipline is not to beat you down, not to beat me down, not to treat me ill, but it is to what? It is to correct you, and it is to bring us into proper fellowship with one another, and with the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus tells them here, repentance is the answer to the lukewarmness that you are experiencing. Repent of that. Turn, think differently, if you will. Now let's see here, my, yeah, let's finish this up. I really wanna finish up chapter three tonight, and we're almost there. Look back at Revelation chapter three. So he lays all of that out there, and then he says this. Verse number 20, look what he says there. Revelation chapter 3, look at verse number 20. He says, Behold, I stand at the door, and knock. If any man hear my voice, and I've got to turn my page, open the door, I will come into him and will sup with him, and he with me. Again, probably one of the most tortured passages of Scripture in all of Scripture, almost. The Lord Jesus here presents Himself as standing outside and knocking on the door. And I like what one pastor said. Listen carefully. Listen to what he said. He said, He at whose door we ought to stand, for He is the door, John 10, 7. Amen? It's amazing. Who has bidden us to knock? Matthew chapter 7 verse 11. Think of that for a moment. Look at the reversal here. Here we have the door standing and knocking at the door. When he's the door and he's told us to knock, it's an amazing reversal of things. It really is. He continues. Who has bidden us to knock is content. Listen. that the whole relation between Him and us should be reversed, and instead of us standing at His door, He condescends Himself to stand at ours. Think of that for a moment, brethren. This is not a picture, as many have tried to paint, of the Lord Jesus as some kind of, you know, He's impotent, He's weak, He has some inability. It's an amazing thing, brethren. It is nothing like that. Actually, what this is is a beautiful picture. It's a wonderful portrait, brethren, of the long suffering of God towards those who are his. He's standing outside. Here's God, who owns the souls. Think of that for a moment, brethren. It has nothing to do with him being weak, any kind of inability. It has to do with his long suffering. Out there, brethren, he was long-suffering for you and he's long-suffering for the brethren here in Laodicea, too. Has nothing to do with... There's no evangelism in this verse. There's no gospel in this verse. None of that is there. This isn't a picture of someone's stony heart that Jesus is impotently trying to knock on and get into. No, this is a glorious picture of his long-suffering towards his people. That's what this is. It's a beautiful, glorious portrait, because all of us need His long-suffering. It is a most stunning and amazing thing. In fact, dining there, brethren, conveys the idea of intimate fellowship. And again, as I said, we find the evangelism. This is not, again, speaking of someone's heart, but listen, the Lord used an example like this of those who are waiting for Him. This again, we see the condition here of these brethren who are here, versus what he says over here in Luke. And I want you to see this. Those who are waiting for him. Again, the idea, it's all tied together. The Lord Jesus ties all of this together. He's outside knocking, waiting, if you will, showing his longsuffering. Look at Luke chapter 12. Look at here, he uses the same exact terminology over here in Luke. Look at here if you would. Luke chapter 12. It's really, really interesting as we bring this to a close. Look at Luke chapter 12. Look at verse number 36. Luke chapter 12, look at verse number 36. Look what the Bible says. The Lord says this. And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their Lord, when he will return from the wedding, that when he cometh in what? Knocketh. There he is. There's the Lord knocking. They may open up to him when? Immediately. Here's those who are waiting for him. They are going to open up immediately. Not the case with the Laodiceans. They are backslidden, lukewarm, and he says, I'm standing here. I'm knocking and I'm waiting while I'm suffering for you. Not here. They open immediately. Look at what he says in verse... There's that fellowship that we're talking about. It's an amazing, stunning thing, brother. It's not complicated. There's no reason to read stuff into the verse. Just like next week, Lord willing, when I start out in chapter 4, my position has changed somewhat. place. It's not in chapter 4. It's none of the things that are spoken of concerning the rapture are in chapter 4. It's not there. But we see here God's gloriousness concerning His long-suffering, His love for those who are His. And He says this, and He closes, as we will tonight. Let's just finish up. Look there at Revelation chapter 3, 21 and 22. The Bible says, To him that overcometh, will I grant to sit with me in my throne. And we will be looking at his throne a little later on. There's throne after throne. Throne is a major theme in the book of Revelation. Even as I also overcame and am set down with my father in his throne. There it is again. Verse 22, he that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. This is the last time here, that the hearer is solemnly, by the Lord Jesus Christ, advised to listen to what the Spirit is saying unto the churches. He's ended each letter like that, hasn't he? Except for one. The order was a little different, but all the other ones were like this. And what is he saying? What is he saying to those at Laodicea? He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit say. What did the Spirit say to their church, to those who were gathered there? The Spirit said, be hot or cold. Do not be lukewarm. Avoid lukewarmness of compromise and unholiness. And if you find yourself there, repent. That's what the Spirit is saying to them. If you're lukewarm, repent and be zealous, be hot. for the things of Christ. This is how he closes the letter. What a glorious thing, brethren. What an amazing thing to behold. All seven of these letters, all relevant, all needful, all relevant to them, all relevant to us today as a church. And again, in each one, commendations, corrections, all of the things that we need today. Amen. As the Bible guides and Fathers, we have come to the close of the last letter to the church, to the Laodiceans. Father, we thank you for your long suffering that we see there. We thank you for your biblical and correct evaluation of them. Father, we pray you would do the same to us. Father, if we're lukewarm, that you would rebuke us and chastise us, that you would correct us. Father, that is a spiritually dangerous thing. Father, we pray that we will be zealous for the things of Christ, that our fellowship will always have Him as the center of our religious affections. that we will preach him and teach him, and we will pray to God the Father, and we will watch the Holy Spirit of God do his work here. And Father, we thank you for that this evening. And now, Lord, again, we pray for Graham, for Micah, and for all the children who are here this evening with us. Pray for them as Tom is soon to, as we sang that song tonight. What an appropriate song for us to sing. What a day that'll be when my Jesus I shall see, when he takes me by the hand and leads me through the promised land. Father, we thank you again for eternal life. We thank you for salvation. Each of us, if you, Terry, And Father, it is at that time where Your salvation, You saving us, that's really where the tire meets the road for all of eternity. Father, we thank You and we love You now and pray all these things in the Lord Jesus Christ's name and all God's people said.