If you have your Bibles, if you'll turn with me in the Old Testament to the book of Proverbs. Proverbs chapter 3. Proverbs chapter 3 and we'll begin reading in verse 1. Hear now the word of our God. My son, forget not my law, but let thine heart keep my commandments. For length of days and long life and peace shall they add to thee. Let not mercy and truth forsake thee. Bind them about thy neck. Write them upon the table of thine heart. So shalt thou find favor and good understanding in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes. Fear the Lord, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and morrow to thy bones. Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase. So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine. My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord, neither be weary of his correction. For whom the Lord loveth, he correcteth, even as a father the son in whom he delighteth. Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding. For the merchandise of it is better than that of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies, and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her. Length of days is in her right hand, and in her left hand riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her and happy is everyone that retaineth her. The Lord by wisdom hath founded the earth. By understanding he hath established the heavens. By his knowledge the depths are broken up and the clouds drop the dew. For the New Testament scripture reading, which is our text this morning in Revelation chapter 3. And we'll be reading from verses 14 to the end of the chapter, verse 22. And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God, 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 increased 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, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him and sup with him and he with me. To Him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame and am set down with my Father in His throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. The grass withers, the flower falls, but God's Word abides forever. Please be seated. And let us take this time to seek the face of our God and ask for the Lord's illumination of this portion of His Holy Word. Father in Heaven, we do come before You and we do acknowledge our need of Thee. Though, Lord, we can read these words and though we may understand them with our minds, yet, Lord, we need the work of Your Spirit to apply these words. We know that at the very beginning of this book is a promise that You've given us. that there is a blessing attached to the reading of this and also a blessing attached to those who do this Word. And so, Lord, we take You at Your promise and pray, O Lord, as we have now read Your Word, that You would also now enable us to apply it. We pray that You would truly search us and try us, even in this time. You are the great physician. Take the scalpel, though we are fearful to say this, but take the scalpel and open our hearts and have your way with us this morning. Remove the cancer. Remove the sin. Remove the rebellion, we pray, and put in its place grace, and love and faith and hope. O Lord, have your way with us, we pray. Speak, Lord, for your servants have gathered to listen. For we ask it in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen. Beloved in the Lord Jesus Christ, we come to the end of seven letters. Seven personal correspondents. We get to read somebody else's mail. But in a sense, it's not just someone else's mail. It's for us as well, is it not? For each letter ends with a call for us to listen as He is speaking to all the churches. So, what have we seen so far in this revelation of Jesus Christ? In chapter 1, we were confronted with the person of Jesus Christ in all his glory. We saw the effect that it had upon the writer, John. We saw his declaration of who he is and what he has done. Glorious things of thee are spoken. And in this passage, glorious things have been revealed of Jesus Christ. And then our Lord, as it were, takes a pen in hand, basically, better yet, he speaks to his secretary, John, and dictates seven letters. And we've considered those seven letters. One author, summarizing these seven letters, said it this way, This is a comprehensive warning. This warning in it is the dangers of losing our first love, Ephesus, the danger of the fear of suffering, Smyrna, doctoral compromise, Pergamum, moral compromise, Thyatira, spiritual deadness, Sardis, failure to hold fast, Philadelphia and now we come to Laodicea, a message concerning lukewarmness. The author goes on to say, all of these warnings are brought home with amazing relevance for the contemporary church or for us today. And so we must beware, that we do not fall into the trap of saying, well, that was then and that was for them. The message that Jesus Christ has for us today, though it was a letter to the church in Laodicea, is a message to us as well. The concern that our Lord Jesus Christ has for us as he did for the church back then, is what I would call spiritual complacency. This is a subtle danger that churches and individuals must face every day in every age. Our Lord Jesus desires of us wholehearted devotion to Him, and He warns that He will reject anything less. Will you hear what the Spirit calls you to do this morning? I think as we consider this message this morning, this writing of this letter to the Laodiceans that Jesus Christ takes up, I think it would be helpful for us to remember what Christ has done. The effort. The energy. The work. What Christ accomplished in order to have a church. The church in Laodicea was the result, the fruit of the work of Jesus Christ. He refers to it as a candlestick. And He is walking amongst the candlesticks and here is one. It's His candlestick. designed to shine light to the world. Jesus, in the first place in the letter, just talks about himself. Again, he reveals who he is. Who is this person? And as we have noted throughout the various letters, he refers to himself in different ways. In this particular revelation of Jesus Christ, he refers to himself as the Amen. And you thought Amen was something you say at the end of a prayer. Jesus says, I am the Amen. Think about that the next time you say Amen. He is the truth. When we say Amen, what are you saying? What are you saying when you say Amen? Well, I'm just repeating custom. That's what you're supposed to say. It's kind of like the end of a letter, sincerely, in your name. No. What are you saying? You're saying, may it truly be. What is the Heidelberg Catechism? Why did they spend an actual question on the word Amen? Because it's important. What is the meaning of the word Amen? Amen means, so shall it truly and surely be. For my prayer is much more certainly heard of God than I feel in my heart that I desire the things of Him. God hears it more than I want it. Amen. Because Jesus is the Amen, we can say Amen. He reveals Himself to be, and then He expounds what He means by that. He is the faithful and true witness. The Amen. One who is faithful. One who is true in His martyrdom. The word witness there is the Greek word martyr. Or we get the word martyr. He sealed his witness with his own blood. How do you know what Jesus said was true? Look at the cross. He died for the truth. He was condemned to death because he spoke the truth. He was told that he blasphemed, but in reality, he spoke the truth. He was the faithful and true witness. He was the one that spoke the Word of God in truth, no matter what the cause. He was, or is, the Amen. But not only is he the Word of God, or the truth of God, but he is also the beginning of the creation of God. And that word beginning doesn't mean that He was the first thing created and everything after Him. The word there would be better translated, He is the origin of everything. He created everything. John writes that in his Gospel concerning our Lord Jesus Christ. In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. Jesus Christ is the source of all things. Now this is going to be very important to us as we consider the rest of his letter. As Jesus Christ reveals himself both as the true and faithful witness and as the powerful creator of all things, the originator, he has both the right to interpret and understand, to teach, and also he has the ability to do anything. He has all power. and all knowledge. And He reveals that knowledge and He reveals that power. In other words, He's revealing Himself and what He has and can do. So what is it that He wants to reveal to us today? Verse 15, I know thy works. We've heard that before. Have we heard that before? Has he said that to every single church? How does he know? Well, number one, because he is the Amen. But secondly, because he's involved. He's there. He's present. He's walking amongst the churches. He's there. He's examining the life of each Christian in the church. He sees you when you're sleeping. He knows your thoughts before you think them. He knows your heart better than you know yourself. He examines the thoughts of the hearts and says that they are only evil all the day. I'm sorry, I try to be honest, but I have a hard time honestly saying that the thoughts of the intent of my heart is only evil. I have a little pride in me to say, well, maybe most of them. But to say every single thought that I think is evil in the sight of God is something that my pride won't allow me to say. But God says it in His Word. When He looks upon us, He knows us. He knows when we sit down. He knows when we rise up. He's acquainted with every aspect of our lives. And so when he says to us, I know what you're doing. I know your works. He's not lying. He's a faithful and true witness. He not only knows what we do, but in particular, he evaluates what we do. And in this case, he says to the church of Laodicea, and in many ways I think to us as well, I know what you're doing and I know that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were cold. Or I wish you were hot. But you're neither. You're lukewarm. Now, what is he saying there? What is the application in the city of Laodicea? Now, some commentators, as I read this, said that, well, what he's saying is he wishes that we were really on fire for Jesus Christ or that we totally denied Christ. We either embrace Jesus Christ with everything or we're cold as ice towards Jesus Christ. I don't think that's what Jesus is saying here, that Jesus Christ wants us to be cold as ice towards him. He's speaking to the church, his beloved. I think we have to understand the situation that they were in. Laodicea was a very prosperous city, and I think a little bit of knowledge of the city will be helpful in the surrounding area. Laodicea was a city that was known as a place of banking. In many ways, it would be like the New York City of the area. You went there to make money or there you went to go to your banks. It was like Wall Street. And they prided themselves on being the rich that they are. As a matter of fact, did you notice? You say that you're rich. Well, Laodicea was known as a very, very, very wealthy city. It was also known as a place where they produced textile, and in particular, they were famous for their black wool. People would purchase this wool from all over the world. It was a highly praised, highly valued commodity. Thirdly, it had a famous medical institute there. And they produced medicines of various kinds, especially they were known for their eye salve. If you had eye problems, you would go and get their eye salve. Now if you just were listening to this reading of this letter, Jesus addresses each of those points. But there's one more thing about the city of Laodicea. It didn't have any water nearby. They had to pipe water in. Now there were two other cities nearby that had water. One was called Colossae, which we get the word, the letter to the Colossians. Now the city of Colossae was built near a cold well, where there was ice cold water. Very refreshing when you're hot. The other city that was nearby, near Laodicea, was Heropolis, and Heropolis was a place of hot springs. A place to go when you're all sore, you go there and you can soak in their baths and be restored. They had healing properties, if you will. But Laodicea didn't have either of these water sources, and so those waters had to be piped to Laodicea. Well, what happens when you pipe hot water? It cools. It becomes lukewarm. And so Laodicea had to receive water from another source, but in the process of receiving it, it became lukewarm. And so I think a better way of understanding what Jesus is saying in this statement, I wish that you were hot or cold, is to say, I wish you were cold like the refreshing water for a weary traveler as he or she would receive that in the city of Colossae. Or, I wish you were hot like the hot water and Hierapolis that is restorative and healing. But you have neither. You are neither hot nor cold, Jesus says. One commentator says, the Laodicean church brings neither a cure for illness or a drink to soothe dry lips and parched throats. The sort of Christianity represented by the Laodicean church is worthless. The church provided, quote, neither refreshment for the spiritual weary nor healing for the spiritual sick. It was totally ineffective and thus distasteful to the Lord. Another writer writes, the church is not being called to task for its spiritual temperature, but for the barrenness of its works. I think it's actually both, to be honest with you. That it is both the temperature and the works. So what is Jesus going to do with the church at Laodicea? What do you do with tepid water that has mineral deposits in it and it's tasteless? You spit it out. The word there in the Greek could be better translated, I'm going to vomit you out of my mouth. Very strong language. Jesus, you're supposed to be nice. That's not a nice word to use. But that's the word he uses. But notice something. He says it is in his mouth. He's taking a sip of the lives of his people. He's exposing himself, if you will. He's tasting, he's testing the water. And he is very disappointed. That's an understatement. As a matter of fact, of this letter, this is probably the harshest rebuke of all the seven letters. He doesn't say anything good about them. Some of the letters, right, we have seen, there's a mixture. Some, there's no rebuke at all. This one, there is no commendation at all in the letter. It is the strongest warning of all. Now, Jesus goes on to say, now, let me explain to you why there's a problem here. What is the problem? Why are you lukewarm? And he says, verse 17, because you say, I'm rich. I have increased in goods. And I have need of nothing. What are they saying? Hey, I don't need you, Jesus. I can handle it all on my own. I'm self-sufficient. As a matter of fact, what's interesting about this particular city is in 60 AD, prior to the writing of this letter, Laodicea experienced a great earthquake and the city was destroyed. Now normally, and what has happened in the past in this area, when the city is destroyed, what do you do? You turn to FEMA. I mean, oh, they didn't have FEMA then. You turn to the civil governor to Rome and say, help, I need money to help rebuild this city, right? That's what the other cities, including some that we looked at before, Pergamon and even Philadelphia asked for help. Laodicea never asked for help from the government. Isn't that amazing? Can you imagine that? Can you imagine any city in the United States that experienced a major disaster because of an earthquake not going to the federal government and saying, give me money? They were sufficient. They didn't need help. They rebuilt the city out of their own resources and they didn't turn to Rome. We are rich. We don't need your help. We can do it all by ourselves. Jesus said, that's why you're lukewarm. Because you say that. You say it. It's not true, but you say it. You say, I can do it. I don't need you. Let me tell you your real state. Here he is, the great physician, right? We're in the second point, by the way, of the outline. Christ is giving a diagnosis and treatment. Let me diagnose the situation. Your real situation is what? He uses five words here. He says, you do not know. You think you know something. You don't know anything. Let me tell you that you are wretched, that you are miserable, that you are poor and blind and naked. Oh, wait a second. What do you mean I'm poor, blind, and naked? What is Jesus speaking to? Well, the pride of the Laodiceans is what? That they were the banking community of the area. They were the great wealthy people. Jesus said just the opposite. What? You're not rich, you're poor. Oh, you pride yourself in the clothes that you sell, the great textile. You're known throughout the world as a great provider of clothing. You're naked. like the emperor in his new clothes. You're naked. You pride yourself that you provide medical help, that you have this great eye salve. You're blind. He went after everything that they prided themselves in. He said, you don't have what you think you have. You're poor. You're naked. You're blind. You're miserable. And you don't even know it. You're wretched. This is just the opposite of his message to one of the other churches that were suffering. He said that you feel like you're poor, but you are rich. Laodicea, you think you're rich, but you lack greatly. They lacked a proper self-critique. And so God, in Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ came and gave them a true understanding of their state. He is the Amen. He is the true and faithful witness. He said the hard things. They didn't want to hear it, did they? I don't want to hear you. I'm good. It's all good. And Jesus said, no, it's all bad. Now notice the compassion of our Lord. Two things he says in verses 18 and 19. Instead of him saying, I'll tell you what you're supposed to do, which he should have said, or could have said, but he didn't say that. Notice what the text says. What does he say? I counsel you. I counsel you. I give you counsel. Here is my advice to you. Wait a second, you're the king of kings and the lord of lords. What are you doing counseling me? Just tell me what to do. He says, I counsel you. He becomes compassionate. He speaks to them in a way that they would hear. He says, I love you. And so I rebuke you. I chasten you. I counsel you. Here's my counsel to you. Verse 18, buy of me gold tried in the fire that thou mayest be rich. Now think about that for a minute. Isn't that kind of odd? How do I buy gold? Well, I use gold to buy gold. How can I buy gold? I have to come up with something else of value to buy gold, right? Now, you who think you're rich, buy from me. Don't go to your bank account. Don't go to your bank. Come to me. and buy of me tested gold." Gold tried in a fire. Find the true riches that are eternal, that have been tested and found everlasting, that you may be rich. "'Come to me and buy of me white raiment.' Instead of those black wool that you sell, buy of me white clothing. that you may be clothed and that the shame of your nakedness will not appear. Let me clothe you with white raiment, is what he is saying. Anoint your eyes with eye salve that you may see. Now where did that eye salve come from? Not from Laodicea, but from the Lord Jesus Christ. What is Jesus saying here? I think the best interpreter of what he's saying is the prophet Isaiah, who wrote many, many years prior, recorded in chapter 55. Oh, everyone that thirsts, come ye to the waters. You that have no money, come buy and eat. Yea, come buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do you spend money for that which is not bread, your labor for that which does not satisfy? Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye of that which is good, and your soul shall delight itself in fatness. What is this that Isaiah is doing? He's saying, come and buy without money. Is that robbing? No, it's an invitation. Come by faith. Nothing in my hands I bring simply to Thy cross I cling. Naked, come to Thee for dress. Helpless, look to Thee for grace. Foul, I fly to the fountain Wash me, Savior, or I die." Jesus says, come to Me. Find in Me your sufficiency. Find of Me gold tried in fire. Find in Me that white raiment of My righteousness. Find in Me the healing and the ability to see and understand. Find in Me all that you need. Repent of your self-sufficiency. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Be zealous therefore and repent. Repent and be zealous in doing it because you are lacking the zeal in this area. Notice that statement though. As many as I love, Even though this is a very hard letter, a very hard thing to hear and receive, Jesus is doing it in kindness. I love you. Repent. Verse 20 is probably one of the most famous verses in the Bible. And I would say that verse 20 is probably one of the most misused verses in the Bible. Jesus writes, ìBehold, I stand at the door and knock. 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.î One of the things that I didnít mention which is obvious in this letter is irony, right? Here are rich people that are really poor. Here are people that are thinking themselves to be clothed, and yet they're naked. Here are people that say, man, I can help you in your lack of seeing, and they're blind, and so on and so forth. There's irony. But here we find probably one of the most ironic statements of Jesus Christ. The letter is written to the church. This is not written to unbelievers out in the world. This is written to the church. Where is Jesus Christ in relation to the church? He's not in the church building. He's standing outside. He's knocking at the door outside of the church. Isn't that an amazing thought? Behold, I stand at the door and knock. He's writing to the church. If any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him and sup with him and he with me. Jesus Christ is excommunicated from the church. Isn't that amazing? Isn't that ironic? I find that to be one of the most ironic statements in the Bible. Here is Jesus Christ who created the church and He's outside and He's knocking to be let in. But notice also that Jesus is personal. He speaks to every man, every person. I stand at the door and knock. If any one of you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to Him and sup with Him. So there's an element of truth in there that although the scripture is misused, I think, there's an element of personal relationship and restoration that is promised here. Is Jesus Christ standing outside your door? Is He? When He looks at your life, Does this scripture apply to you? Are you one who is resting in, caught up in your own abilities and in the process are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked? Those are pretty strong statements, right? If I said that to you in conversation, you would probably be offended, right? You would take offense if I said that to you. What do you mean I'm poor? I drove here in a car. How many people in the world don't have a car? What do you mean? I have clothes on. I'm not naked. What do you mean? I can see. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are they that hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. Which one are you? Are you rich or are you poor? Are you naked or are you clothed? Are you blind or do you see? How is it that you do those things? The third point in the message is drawing from Christ's promise again. He ends each letter with a promise. Of all the promises that we've seen, in many ways, I put down on this point the overwhelming promise to those who overcome. Now, why do I say that, the overwhelming promise? Do you hear what Jesus Christ promises to us who overcome, who go to Him and find in Him our need, who find in Him that restoration, He says, to him that overcomes will I grant to sit with me in my throne. Amazing thought. Jesus Christ is seated at the right hand of God and he says, I'm going to grant that you're going to sit with me in my throne. My picture is that of a little child, right? Coming in and sitting down on the lap of the king. Sitting with him. while He's enthroned in state with all of His servants around about. And He invites us to come and sit with Him on Daddy's lap in heaven, in glory. Can you think of any better promise? I can't think of one. to the honor. Remember the disciples? Who's going to sit on your right hand and on your left hand, Jesus, when you come into glory? Jesus says, forget sitting on the right hand. How about sitting in my lap? How about sitting with me in a place of the greatest honor? He who is the King of Kings invites us to come and to sit with Jesus. in His throne. What an amazing, amazing promise to Him who overcomes. What has Jesus done for you? He has provided gold that has been tried in the fire. It was the fire of His affliction, His suffering, His death. that gold He offers to you and I. Salvation through the death, through the blood of Jesus Christ. What is the white raiment that He offers but His own righteousness? Being clothed with Jesus' righteousness to stand before God the Father and to be declared not guilty. more than not guilty, due to be declared righteous in his sight." Perfect righteousness. This eye-sab, being able to see, Christ who opened the eyes of the blind, gives us the ability to see reality. I went to a conference this week and one of the speakers was describing the Puritans and their vision and their devotions. And he went through and read a hundred or so devotional books written by the Puritans. And he started to categorize what was the number one item that they spent most of their time meditating on, number two, number three, number four, and so on down. He said, the number one, far and above any other doctrine of the Bible, the number one element of devotion was heaven. was heaven, looking to Jesus, meditating on Christ in heaven. That's what Jesus promises to those who overcome. Is that not what our eyes and our hearts should be? Jesus says, I think, in doing so we will become hot or cold, refreshing to the world, refreshing to the weary traveler, healing to those in need. May we have ears to hear what Jesus says to us this day. Amen. Father in Heaven, we do thank You, O Lord, for Your Word and for it is truly a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. And Lord, we do acknowledge that in many ways we are the Laodiceans. We live in a country that is so fabulously wealthy compared to many of past centuries or even many in the world today. We take for granted so much that we have been blessed with. And we have fallen into that complacency as a nation. And so also the danger is that we have fallen into complacency as a church, as individuals. So Lord, we do pray that you would grant unto us to buy of you gold and clothing and eye salve, to find in you that which we need. Stir us up, O Lord. Equip us that truly our lives would be cold and hot, refreshing and healing to those around us. May truly the glory of the Lord be revealed in our lives. We ask this now for your glory's sake. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.