Please have your Bibles open to the book of Revelation chapter 3 and stand with me for the honoring of God's Word. Revelation 3. We're going to continue our study through the book of Revelation and this is the second part of the Lord's address to the church of Laodicea. The seventh and the final address to the church and the churches of Asia Minor. And in the previous passage we heard the Lord's rebuke of the Laodiceans. And so let's pick up from verse 14 even though we're going to hear the exposition from verses 17 and on. Let's go back and let's read this in context from the very beginning. This is Revelation chapter 3 beginning with verse 14. This is the reading of God's Word. And to the Angelos of the Church of Laodicea write, This is what the Amen, the faithful, the true witness, the beginning of the creation of God says, I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were cold or hot, so because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. Because you say, I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing. And you do not know that you are wretched, and pitiable, and poor, and blind, and naked. I advise you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be manifested. And I salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline. Therefore, be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him and will dine with him and he with me. He who overcomes, I will grant him to sit down with me on my throne, as I also overcame and sat down with my father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. Amen. Please be seated. One key aspect of all religious hypocrites, that is those people who think they are saved, who think that they are well with God, who think that they will inherit eternal life in heaven, but who are not because they do not believe, they do not trust, they may parrot some phrases, some words, but they do not live by faith, they live by sight, they live for themselves, not for God, for His glory, and for the blessing of others. They're entirely selfish, they're entirely proud of themselves and their achievements, they have a high view of themselves and not a realistic view of things that really are, One key aspect of all such religious hypocrites is their own self-evaluation. If we could just listen to how people think about themselves, we could easily diagnose whether they're of the Lord or not of the Lord. We can see that they spend most of their time criticizing other people, or they spend hardly any time recognizing their own depravity, their own sinfulness, their own vileness, their own dirtiness. And we will see, well, these are wretched people. These are wicked people. These are people capable of great harm. They have such a high view of themselves. They pamper themselves. They're very narcissistic in their imaginations. They have a low view of others and certainly rather a very low view of God. That is a critical marker of all hypocrites. The Laodiceans had this major flaw in their character and their non-existent faith because they were proud of themselves. When in fact, as the Lord Jesus properly assessed them, they were spiritually pathetic. But see, people who are wealthy and well-educated and high-attained and are proud of themselves, they don't see themselves as pathetic. But the reality is, they were pathetic. But they were blinded to this reality. In their worldly assessment, they were so proud, and their self-sufficient pride had blinded them from seeing their destitute condition because they had resources, external resources, that had zero power to save their soul, zero power to grant them eternal security, zero power to give them longevity, certainly not eternal life, but longevity of life, zero power to annul them from all their crimes, and yet they relied on them. Talk about blind, pathetic spiritual condition. Listen to one commentator named Moffat says, and he writes, complacency and self-satisfaction are often fostered by material comforts. How does material comforts attack the soul, get the spirit to be dead and insensitive in the spiritual nerves, to make the individual or people complacent and self-satisfy. Well, when we study this passage, we will see that is the core problem of the worldly Laodiceans. They're gathered together as a congregation of religious people in the name of Jesus, but they lack the essential qualities of genuine faith. In today's text, we're going to continue to see the Lord's critique his commitments and his call to finish off the Lord's address to the churches. So first, let's take a look at the Lord's second critique. In his first critique, he basically exposed them as spiritually lukewarm, which is they're hypocritical. They're neither cold nor hot. They're not hostile atheists, but they're not fervent Christians either. They're just religious people who are insensitive to the things of God. They have religion, but no passion for the Lord. They have a verbal profession, but not the possession of genuine life and righteousness. So in this second critique in verse 17, we see the pronouncement of Jesus, and he exposes their self-evaluation. Because you say, I am rich. This is their boastful pride and their earthly riches. This is their self-evaluation. They see themselves as superior, certainly to poor people, and way above the middle class people. I mean, they are rich. As mentioned previously, in AD 60, there was a great earthquake which devastated the whole area. But the wealthy Laodiceans rejected the Roman Caesar's financial aid. Government assistance? No, we don't need that. They were too proud of their wealthy status. And then took out their savings from their banks. Remember, Laodicea was a banking center? And they rebuilt the entire city. That's how rich they were. Could you imagine the good that they could have done with all those riches? But no, they just pamper themselves and continue to enjoy their physical financial wealth. And notice what they say, because I am rich and I have become wealthy. It's basically the same word. The word for rich and the word for wealthy is the same Greek word. But here, this word, become wealthy, this is in the perfect tense. And it has this force. I have made myself rich. I have gotten rich. So it means my wealth is due to my own efforts. Isn't that the proud attitude of so-called self-made millionaires? Right? The wealthy people. This is mine. I worked hard for it. This is my intellect and ingenuity, my wisdom and financial dealings. I have made myself rich. That's the idea. That was the great error of the Israelites who routinely forgot that it was the Lord's benevolence that made them rich. I mean, did they build any houses? They got to live in nice houses that were built. Did they dig any vats? Did they plant any vineyards? Did they plant any trees? No. Did they purchase? Did they labor and pay for the rich land that they inherited? No. Then why did they become so arrogant? It's because they lost touch with the One who provided true wealth. Take a look at Deuteronomy chapter 8 verse 18. And whenever you get a raise, a promotion, a new job, whenever you are celebrating something that's worth celebrating because you have additional income, read this passage and meditate on it. Deuteronomy 8.18, But you shall remember Yahweh your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant which he swore to your fathers as it is this day. It is he who is giving you power to make wealth. If he takes that power away, you will be a pauper, you will be destitute, you would have nothing, you would be bankrupt. See, this is the problem with pride and worldly attainments. It puffs up the individual to think that he is somehow better, and it blinds him from his spiritual destitute condition. Their self-satisfied complacency and their happiness and their circumstances and their high regard for their self-achievements all exhibit the wrong attitudes and wrong interpretation of the things that are real and how they truly are. The facts are facts, but everybody interprets them. And these were very bad interpreters of facts. Even today, this is the sad reality of many wealthy, church-going, professing Christians who assume that it is through their intellect, their hard work, through their wise investments that they are well off. And they don't give glory to God. Not only were the Laodiceans self-satisfied in their possession of money, but also they were proudly self-sufficient. And this is another aspect of people who are religious hypocrites. They're just proud people. There's no humility about them. Take a look at what Jesus says. He repeats their own phrasing. This is what they normally talk about when they get together with their fancy parties. I have need of nothing. I'm so secure, I'm financially secure. I have enough money to spend until I die and then I have millions to give to my bad children and grandchildren. This is what they say, I have need of nothing. But their proud self-sufficiency only reveals their deep ignorance of their spiritual condition. And notice what Jesus said, and you do not know just how deep was their ignorance. Well, they're about to find out with great shock and horror. That you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. Jesus reveals the spiritual impoverishment of the Laodiceans with this first adjective, wretched. That's misery that comes from one's own awareness of their spiritual impoverishment. as we see in Apostle Paul's personal recognition of his own spiritual, impoverished condition. When he realized that his proud, Pharisaic, self-righteousness, religious righteousness was crushed when he understood just one command of the Ten Commandments, the final command, the Tenth Commandment, Thou shalt not covet. It is the only commandment. It is the only sin that he names that he struggled with. The 10th commandment. And what kind of commandment is it? Do not even think it. Don't covet. Don't want another person's wife or property or something else that the other person possesses. Do not covet. That's the 10th commandment. And what did Paul say? Once that commandment came, my confident, law-abiding, law-keeping, self-righteous phariseeness that just died. Because it started in me all manner of covetousness. When you understood what that meant and you realized, well he was a covetous person. I want that life. Why can't I have that marriage? Why can't I have a wonderful wife and wonderful children? Why can't I have ease? Why am I always suffering? Why can't I have comfort? He has it, why can't I? When was the last time you thought like that? Probably many times. Apostle Paul confessed, when he understood that law came, commandment came, when he understood how holy God's law was and how sinful he was, it just killed his self-confident Pharisee pride. That's why he says, wretched man that I am, who will rescue me from the body of this death? When was the last time you struggled that much over some thoughts of covetousness? Most likely not like Paul. Still very proud and self-confident, not struggling much over sin. Yeah. Those are the symptoms of deadness. And when someone says, I don't have any need. I'm just so satisfied. Look at all what I've achieved. They don't realize that they're wretched. They are wretched. Laodiceans demonstrated no such self-awareness of their spiritual condition. And the Lord is telling them, you are wretched. You're not well. Second word Jesus used, you're pitiable. This word was used by Paul to describe a pitiful condition to those who hope for betterment of their lot in this temporal world only. When I talk to people, over 90% of their hopes are about things of this world. I hope for a better relationship, a better job, better relationship with my children. I hope for my children a better house, Better living conditions, better food, better everything. Very few of them have this hope and yearning for the things of the eternal world. And sadly, that's probably because we're living in a very materialistic world where people are consumed with the thoughts of this world. 1 Corinthians 15, 19, Apostle Paul says, If we hoped in Christ and this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied. And that's so true. Why are you withholding all your pleasures that you could have? Why are you limiting yourself from going through the excesses of what you want to do, what you desire to do, what you feel like doing? Why don't you go for it? That's what the world says. Go for it. If it's fun, enjoy. If it's pleasurable, revel in it. If you want to do it, then get it. Do it. you're worth it. That's the message in a materialistic society, a temporal society. But why do we say no to that? Why is there self-discipline? Why do we withhold these things? Well, it's because we believe that there's something else beyond this world. There's not only judgment for sin, but there's also reward for righteousness, for faithfulness. And because we know the difference between what is truly good and what only feels good, we choose that which is truly good even if it feels rotten for the moment. And so if the Christians have no hope in eternal life and eternal hope of the resurrection and eternal glory, man are they pitiful. Man are they missing out. That's the logic of the resurrection. Pitiful. You see, the Laodiceans and people who think like that are just pitiful people. Pitiful people. And here's the third word, and poor. That's the posture of crouching and cowering. The Greek idea and the Hebrew idea of the poor is not just those who don't have money, but this is really a pathetic human condition when not only do you have no money, but you are absolutely dependent on others to lift you up from your base situation. So you have nothing to offer, you're ashamed of it, and you're cowering. You don't even have enough power or dignity to even stand. You're there, your head is down, your hand is open, hoping for somebody to just put something in there just to make your situation just a little bit better. That's the idea behind what it means to be poor. The Laodiceans were spiritually like that. But did they think that they were like that? No, they did not. They did not. Why? Here's the final couple of words that Jesus uses. They were blind and they were naked. Now, if you're naked and then you're blind, you don't even maybe notice that other people can see your shame. But they were both blind and naked. Blindness is the lack of spiritual perception and discernment. That's why they could not see their spiritually pathetic situation. The legalistic teachers of the law lacked such spiritual perception. In Matthew 23, verse 16, the Lord Jesus said, Woe to you blind guides! You say whoever swears by the sanctuary, that is nothing, but whoever swears by the gold of the sanctuary is obligated. You fools and blind men, for which is more important, the gold or the sanctuary that sanctified the gold? Matthew 23 verse 24, you blind guides who strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. They were truly blind to their own spiritual condition. Why? Because they were proud, religiously proud. Religiously proud. You'll meet such people during the course of your life. They have been thoroughly trained and steeped in religious system. but they have no sense of spiritual discernment, awareness in them. Not only of themselves, but the spiritual condition of others. And yet, because they were thoroughly trained in a religious system, they believe that they are moral, that they can actually are superior enough to teach, and they can go around and counsel other people how to live for God. You'll meet people like that. There's no sense of self-awareness of one's own depravity, one's own sinfulness, the goodness of the grace of God, the righteousness that comes through Him alone, humility of walk by faith. Who, me? Oh, no, I don't think I could. There is no sense of that humble self-awareness, spiritual self-awareness. They're just blind by their pride. They're hot stuff in their own minds. or gifts to religion, to church, to society. Such were the Pharisees. They were also naked. This is their true condition. They were shameful because they were good at hiding their personal deep, dark sins. Well, it's going to be exposed. God knows. But we must not forget that the fact that Lord Jesus rebukes the church, and he says very difficult things for them to hear, but they needed to hear. These were harsh indictments. These were critiques that would not be very comfortable to hear. And yet, it is a demonstration of his great care and love and concern. That's why he wanted them to change. So here is Christ and his counsel. We saw Christ and his critique, now let's listen to Christ and his counsel in verse 18. I advise you to buy from me. The Lord's counsel is a clear indication of his great loving care. He wants the Laodiceans to truly be rich. He counsels the Laodiceans to come to him to purchase three items of true spiritual value. which directly parallels the three self delusions of the Laodiceans in verse 17. I'm rich, I've made myself wealthy and I have need of nothing. They're deluded people. And so the Lord gives them three eternal riches of spiritual value. Now we see that these must be purchased from the Lord So if you want to know where to go to buy this, it's not online, it's not in a nearby supermarket, you've got to go to the source, the seller, the vendor. Selling? It's the Lord. How much is He charging? Praise the Lord. They're free. They come to Him. It's what Isaiah says in the Old Testament. Yahweh says, come to me and buy from me all the riches that cost you nothing. Why? Salvation is so, so expensive that no one can afford it. but our generous God hands it free. But you must go to the source. That's why Jesus said, advise you to buy from me. You see, these proud, self-satisfied religionists must come to the Lord. They haven't. They went to the world and they accumulated for themselves many things, worldly things. They have congratulated themselves and they became proud and self-sufficient and complacent. They become spiritually lukewarm. Only the Lord possesses the spiritual riches of eternal value. Laodiceans need them, we need them, and we need to go to Him first. First thing that Jesus says is, gold refined by fire so that you may become rich. Wealthy financiers have been among the Laodicean congregation. We said that Laodicea was a banking center. You don't think that there were bankers there? People who handle, if you will, millions and millions of dollars, perhaps billions? But the church lacked high quality of faith. How do we know this is high quality? Because this is not just gold, but gold refined by fire. This is refined gold. A quality of gold. is very, very precious. So that's the symbolization of faith, high quality of faith. When one possesses faith that could remain steadfast in midst of trials and difficulties of life and yet continues to produce a right relationship with God and good works, then one has a quality of faith that is refined by fire. It's one thing for someone, a young person, to say, I accepted Jesus when I was young. Okay, let's see if you continue to trust in the Lord when you go through life's most difficult circumstances. See, all of our faith will be tested. When you get married, your love will be tested. You don't think that your life throws you tests? It's not just in schools. We're all tested. This is the fire of difficulty, even persecution. The Laodiceans had forgotten the lesson of the rich fool which Jesus taught, who relied on his accumulated wealth while neglecting his faith relationship with God. Let's go to Luke 12, and I want you to see that. Luke 12, verse 20 to 21. the rich fool who had laid up many things for himself. He says, take your ease, eat, drink, and be merry. He's built more barns, more savings accounts, more avenues to store up his riches. But God said to him, verse 20, you fool, this very night your soul is required of you. And now who will own what you prepared? This is Luke 12, verse 20. Yeah, well, you did all this for yourself. Well, guess what? Tonight you're dead. That's what God is saying. So, verse 21, so is the man, so is the one who stores up treasures for himself and is not rich toward God. See that? See the folly in living and storing up treasure for yourself, but you don't understand the value of spiritual riches, of your rich relationship, of a proven faith and trust in God? See, busy people who are extremely productive in the world, they see a time of prayer, reflection in the word, hearing God's word proclaimed, fellowshipping with other believers, doing good works, volunteering, so on and so forth, they don't see any value in it. They don't see evangelism, they don't see any of the spiritual realities that honor God, see any value in it. It's a waste of their time. That's all you can tell, wealthy people. Value time, because we all have the same amount. So they don't have time for all that. Who's got time for that? It's about themselves. Well, these Laodiceans have forgotten the lesson that the Lord taught. Even though they call themselves Christians, they were living the foolish life of the rich fool that Jesus said, avoid. They didn't avoid. Nor did they take heed of the Word of God regarding thinking and behaving properly as wealthy Christians. In 1 Timothy 6, let's go there. 1 Timothy 6, there were wealthy people, not just in Laodicea, but all over the Roman Empire. The poor, the wealthy, the middle class, they were all there. In 1st Timothy 6 verses 17 to 18, Timothy of course was an apostolic delegate, a pastor who's been placed there by Apostle Paul, and he was the pastor. And so when he received this letter, it wasn't a personal letter just for him. But it was to be read in the whole church that implicated him and the congregation. So here it is, 1 Timothy 6 verse 17. Command those who are rich. What is Timothy's responsibility? Command. Why? Because this is God's Word, not Timothy's opinion. So there is a strong word. Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, not to have a proud view of themselves, nor to set their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. Verse 18, command them to do good. Man, you can do a lot of good when you got a lot of money, right? To be rich in good works. You can be rich. but in the things that are ephemeral, eternal, non-material. But use the materials to be rich in good works, to be generous. How do rich people become rich? How do they stay rich? They just hoard. It's mine, mine. But generosity is, oh, how can I give this to people who have truly need? for the Lord's sake. Generous and ready to share. Storing up for themselves eternal things. Wow! What an amazing lesson for wealthy people. Turn your riches into good works. Cultivate a heart of thankfulness and generosity. Always be ready to share. Let go. Be joyful in letting go. You're not going to keep any of it anyways. You're just a temporary steward. Do as much work as you want. God gives you all the freedom in the world, but devote it to the things that glorify and honor God and bless other people. What a life! What a fantastic instruction! But will everybody listen? Will they obey? Apparently, the Laodiceans have heard this. I mean, they're neighbors in Ephesus. Whatever the Ephesians have received, they've received. Why do they still think this way? As I said before, that's why we conclude that these are religious hypocrites. They gather together in the name of Christ for whatever reasons, but they don't truly believe. We saw that high quality faith, which can be gained through a right relationship with the Lord, And the second item, counsel for purchasing from the Lord. The Lord counsels them to buy from Him not only a high quality of faith that is tested in life through difficulty, but secondly, the white garments so that you may clothe yourself. White garments are results of faith, as well as the continuation of life in faith. When you wear white garments, it is a symbolic testament that what you do and how you appear is truly clean. Genuine faith always produces righteous works. Now let's take a look at Revelation 19, 8. 19, 8. Clothing or putting a clothing on is the idea of one's character and works. And here, Revelation 19, 8, righteousness is not simply a legal and forensic term, a declared righteousness, but once a person is declared righteousness by faith and he's saved, he continues to wear this garment of righteousness and produce works and deeds that are righteous, that are right. Revelation 19.8, and it was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. It's the righteous acts of the saints. So people who only profess, oh yeah, I believe in Jesus, I'm clothed with his righteousness, you got to look at what they do. With the opportunities and privileges that God has entrusted to them, what are they doing? What are they producing? They can claim that all day, but if they're living for themselves, then can we say that they are clothed or that they are shamefully naked? I think you can discern the difference. It's clear that Laodiceans had forgotten the lesson from James. In James 2, verse 20, he said, But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? And then James 2 verse 26 says, So only a right relationship with the Lord and dependence upon Him can believers clothe themselves with God-honoring, other-blessing works of righteousness. Now we see the Hinaw clause here in the Greek, the purpose-result clause. Here it points to result. So when they're clothed with a righteous works of the saints and that the shame of your nakedness will not be manifested. What do clothes do? It covers up nakedness. The end result is that their works will reveal their genuine faith and the quality of their God honoring works and not to reveal their hidden shame. This is what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 4 verse 5. And then each one's praise will come to him from God. Stop judging things that you have no idea about. You only know what's going on in your heart. If you're not blinded, then make a decent self-assessment and renew your faith relationship with the Lord and walk humbly before Him. Because all the things that you are ashamed, that you are private and personal about, things hidden in the darkness, on that day of judgment, God's going to make all that open. It's going to reveal even the motives of hearts. See, men are quick to judge and say, oh, he's such a good person. Look at all the good things he has done. Well, God's going to judge the motives. What if the truth is he actually did it for his own glory so that he will receive the praises of men? Well, then he has received his reward in full, as Jesus said. None of it he did it for God's glory and the blessing and benefit of others. He did it for himself. A lot of people do that, you know. A lot of people do a lot of good things so that their name, their reputation, their honor will be made public. Well, when they are clothed with true righteousness of faith and the works that proceed from that faith, they're not going to be ashamed. They're going to be genuine. It's going to honor God, it's going to bless others, and they're going to be recognized for that on the Day of Judgment. Here's another thing that Jesus says, an eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. Eye salve is a patch infused with medicines and is used at the local medical school for treatment of the eyes. Anointing here, this is a New Testament hapaks, only appears here, technical term for anointing the eyes. And what is the purpose? Here's the hinah clause, so that you may see. so that you may see." What does sight correct? It corrects blindness. And that's exactly what Jesus said, that they are poor, pathetic, wretched, and blind. So this is the I-self. Because allowed to see in wealth and pride, they were blinded and lacked a spiritual discernment even to see or perceive their own destitute condition. They did not see their destitution. This is a fundamental problem among the religious hypocrites. They just don't see how bad they really are. They're so busy telling other people, defending other people that they're so good and right with God, that everything is okay, that their faith is genuine. They're just blinded. We saw only Christ can help religious unbelievers to have saving faith. Only Christ can give them a life filled with practical righteousness. Only Christ can open their spiritual perception to really see how things really are with spiritual discernment. Only Christ. This is only possible when they come to Christ to repent, to be fervent and to repent. So we saw his critique and his counsel. His critique in verse 17, his counsel in verse 18. Let's proceed and see Christ and his commitments in verse 19 to 21. You see, Jesus says this because he loves these people. Even religious hypocrites, yes. He loves sinners. He came to save sinners. He wants even the religious hypocrites to give up their religious games and genuinely become a disciple of Jesus Christ. Stop going to church and be an integral member of the church. Stop professing Jesus, but to practically live for his great honor and glory. Stop dating, but commit to marriage. That's what Christ wants. These people that he's describing, they're daters. They have no intention of committing their life and their hard-earned money and all their gifts and talents for God's glory and others' benefit. No way. They're going to live for themselves, their pleasure, their honor, their glory. This is the way they really think. But they're going to hide all that and pretend to be altruistic, pretend to be generous, pretend, pretend, pretend. They're hypocrites. They don't believe, but they pretend to believe. There are many in the church. Jesus is dressing an entire congregation of people filled with people like this. And yet he loves them. That is an undeniable fact. Notice what he says, those whom I love I reprove and discipline. He's saying this to get them, to wake them up and to bring them back because he loves them. Now surprisingly the verb is not agape but phileo verb. with an emphatic I in the forward position in the Greek. The personal, friendly, warm, and tender love is being emphasized, not the sacrificial love of his death. So this makes sense in light of the context of reproof and discipline, which are harsh things, but they come from a very tender spirit of a friendly desire to restore the true welfare of someone who doesn't have anything. He really wants to bless these people, like the discipline of a loving father, as we see in Proverbs chapter 3-2, which is quoted in Hebrews 12-6. Let me give you Hebrews 12-6, which is a quotation of Proverbs 3-12. For those whom the Lord loves, He disciplines, and He flogs every son whom He receives. Wow, it takes love, courage, consistency to do this kind of thing. I reprove and discipline. Look at those two words. First, reprove, that's verbal rebuke. The second word, discipline, Paiduo verb, includes corrective instruction, which is more than verbal. This is action. Both in word and in action, Jesus says, He does this work in them. Therefore, be zealous and repent. The loving call to renewed repentance requires fervency and energy. You can't truly repent when you're blasé about it. Well, that was cool. Okay, well, I changed my mind. Sorry, that's not repentance. Repentance takes energy. It takes a realization, Lord, please forgive me of this wretched soul. You see Apostle Paul saying that? Oh, this wretched man that I am. You see him? That's the fervency. That's the fervency. A loving call to renewed, repentant zeal. Instead of what? The indifferent lukewarmness of the Laodiceans. Another commentator writes, repentance is impossible for those who lack passion. But in order to have passion, there must be a change of purpose. In order to repent, you need energy. When you're weak and blase, you don't have energy. A lot of people say, yeah, I agree, I agree, I'm bad, I agree. But they're blasé about it, lukewarm about it. So how can they become fervent to repent? Well, they need a change of purpose. In light of the Lord's tender love demonstrated in His reproof and discipline, should not the indifferent religionists of the Laodicean congregation change their purpose with great resoluteness? If the Lord Jesus said, because you are lukewarm, I'm about to spit you out of my mouth. Let's say he said, because you're lukewarm, I'm going to spit you out of mouth. I'm done with you. That would be judgment. That would be justice meted out to them. But the Lord doesn't say that. He says, because you are lukewarm, I'm about to. So repent. His great love, those whom I love, I rebuke and discipline. Oh wow. The Lord is bringing His tender rebuke and His tender discipline to us through His Word. He has not just cut us down and taken our life. He has not caused a horrible accident taking our legs. He's not given me a life-threatening disease. He's not allowed all my family members to abandon me. He has not given me an insane mind like he gave to Nebuchadnezzar. He is tenderly calling me to repent. It's his love, isn't it, that brings us to repentance? Romans 2, 4, Listen to the kindness of the Lord. This is his call for the lukewarm, religiously hypocritical, professing Christians at Laodicea to now stop playing religious games and truly come to Him. Repent. This is about life and death, heaven and hell. They're in the sideline. Luke, I'm not going to be so zealous. I'm going to be religious zealous. You don't have to be like that. I'm not going to be an atheist. I'm not going to be like that. What does God say? What does the Lord say? I'd rather you be a hardened atheist, a hostile atheist. At least you won't do any harm to other believers. But you pretend to be a Christian. You're religious fake. You've never had love for me. You want to remain neutral and lukewarm. You're a hypocrite. You're not a believer. Now repent because I love you. See, that's the call. How many so-called religious unbelievers in America do you believe needs to hear this? I would say millions. Millions. When I visited South Korea, there's more churches than 7-Eleven. I mean, there's just so many local congregations. And yet, they're just like the Laodiceans, they're just not repenting. Self-satisfied, they're only concerned about money, about their physical health, I mean, nothing of God's glory. And there's a small remnant of genuine believers who really love the Lord, who desire to live for the Lord. But so much of legalism, licentiousness, liberalism, so much of ecumenism, all kinds of religious labels. They just go to church for one hour on Sunday, that's it. They live like everybody else, like the pagan world. All their value systems, all their goals and desires, it's all the same. No wonder the society is not transforming. So here it is. The Lord is not the Lord who simply rebukes and walks away. He is not the one who condemns and then turns his back. He loves people and he wants them to come to him and receive eternal life and eternal blessings. And so here is the attention-grabbing word. Behold, with the attention-grabbing interjection, imminency is emphasized. This is not something that you, oh, I'm going to think about it. When I get time, I'll take care of it later. No. You need to listen and take action now. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. This imagery has been used with much evangelistic appeal, which is proper. But what is often missing is the context of Revelation. The door and the knocking refers to the sudden return of the Lord at the end of the ages in the rapture of the church. Our generation, maybe that last generation, will hear these words, he's standing at your door and knock. This may be the last opportunity for you to respond to the Lord. If you've been in the church, if you're a religious unbeliever, you've heard this so many times, especially if you've been in a Bible teaching church, an invitation to repent and turn to the Lord. The verb for stand is in the perfect tense, which means that he had been standing there already. And knocking is in the present tense, which means he is still knocking, continuous, and desires to get the attention of the unbelieving professors of Laodicea and all religiously lost churchgoers. In the Lord's parable of the sudden return of the master, in Luke 12, verse 36, it says this, Be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door to him when he comes and knocks. Well, that's the imagery. It's the immediate and sudden appearance of the Lord to receive His people, to take them. But what happens when you're just complacent, self-sufficient? You don't care about the eternal things. You only live for yourself in the temporal world. You're gonna miss out. And there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. There's no one to blame except you. The Lord's loving call has been rejected again and again and again. Respond when the Word of God and the Holy Spirit is tugging at your heart, is convicting you because this is exactly where you are. See, exposure to church, going to church, knowing something about the Bible, that doesn't make you any better with God. It just makes you more accountable to God. You know much. You can't say, oh, I didn't know. Nobody called me to repentance. Nobody told me that I need to do this. Well, you're being told. The loving Lord is calling on you. You lived your life like this, going to church and saying, I'm okay with God. But your life is not okay. If you have any inkling of any awareness of what's really the condition of your soul, you will not do that. especially in light of the fact that the Holy Spirit has brought his powerful hammer down to your toe and let you understand that you're just like the Laodiceans if you think like that. Complacent, lukewarm, blinded, frightful, self-focused. You don't care about Jesus, you don't care about other people, you only care about yourself. You always talk about your feelings, your wants, your ambitions, your goals. Well, what about the Lord's glory as a Christian? What about the blessing of other people that He's called you to serve and to be sanctified from your sinful selfishness, your narcissistic intent? You see, He wants to rescue you from yourself, always has. He's still standing, He has had been. been standing there for a long time throughout your life and he's continually knocking. He's led your steps to the place where you would be confronted with the truth, to hear his tender voice. And here it is, if anyone hears my voice and opens the door. That is an appeal to all. That's an appeal to you today. Be zealously repentant. That's the voice of the Lord. He had been standing and continually knocking throughout your life. Your entire life. For all religiously lost people to hear his voice and to respond by faith in zealous repentance. And notice what He promises, if that's the conditional, if that condition is met, if you do hear the Lord Jesus and His tender voice to call you to repent, to stop playing religious games and turn to Him and trust Him alone, and then allow Him to lead your life. And open the door, open the door. Because He is come, He will come. I will come to Him and dine with Him and He with me. Look at the fellowship. When you're fellowshipping with the Lord, He will dispel all the loneliness, all the pain of the relationships of the past. He's going to heal you. He's going to bless you. This is the Lord's promise of an intimate fellowship with you. This is a personal relationship with you, which He will begin the moment that you receive Him genuinely by faith and repentance. Repentance and faith are two sides of the same coin. You repent, you let go, and then you cling. Faith. And so, this intimate fellowship begins at that moment, but that will continue and intensify until the consummation of His return. Much like engagement already brings the man and his bride together in fellowship. but it's the wedding and the marriage that will truly consummate their intimacy and union as a couple, and they will experience the depth of love and unity over the years. The Lord wants commitment, not casual Christianity. He wants to have a rich supper with you, an engaging fellowship with you, not a drive-through snack. The dining idea here, I will dine with him and he with me, That's the most leisurely meal of the evening supper. This is the last meal of the day. This is the climax of a day's worth of work and you wait for the Daphnon, the evening supper. And in the first century context, it can last in excess of two hours. Because, you know, there's no electricity in those days. You have maybe, if the sun is going down, you have little lamps to enjoy the rest of your meal. But you're done with your meal and you're just, you know, having a conversation. You're maybe snacking on some fruit, maybe drinking, and then you're having a wonderful conversation of fellowship. You're not just consuming food. That's the idea. Jesus had his last supper, his last daypnon, that's the same word, with his beloved disciples, which meant he affectionately loved them and fully accepted them. Even Judas was there, and he betrayed him, so he let him go, because he wouldn't repent. That means acceptance. I don't know what your background is, But only when you come to Him through genuine repentance and true faith, He will truly accept you as His own into His eternal family. There's an acceptance. When you're accepted by the Lord, you're not concerned about anything else. That's the kind of VIP invitation and relationship that you will have with the fellowship with Christ. This is what He offers. So the Lord desires to include every last disciple even the one who holds out in lukewarm indifference for a long long time and then finally the love of christ just floods down his heart realizes his hardened heart lukewarm soul and he appeals just as the lord did to judas the lord even loved judas and called him again and again to repentance What's being portrayed here by the Lord is the inclusion in the great fellowship of the millennial kingdom and the eternal state. That's the full reward of faith. It's enough to be with the Lord in fellowship. But you're going to have that fellowship in a regal royal banquet in the palace of the king as a VIP. That is the invitation. Sadly, there are too many religious unbelievers amongst the fellowship of the true believers in the true church. Mega churches have thousands of religious unbelievers among them. And large churches may have hundreds of these religious unbelievers. But even in a small congregation, there may be few, still, significant number of religious unbelievers. They tend to hang around with people like them because they're uncomfortable with true believers. genuine believers. Because genuine believers really seek God's glory. And genuineness of faith and their superficiality and their shameful nakedness begins to be slowly exposed and they don't want that. And this can take a life of its own. And yet we hear the words, the sweet words of our beloved Savior who says, those whom I love, I reprove and discipline. That's the Lord. This is how much the Lord Jesus loves you and desires you to repent and respond to him by faith. He wants to have an eternal fellowship with you. But there's much more for those of you who did repent, who did trust in Christ alone for eternal life. That He alone is your life. You live for Him and for His glory. Verse 21, He who overcomes. Now we've seen this phrase now for the seventh time in the book of Revelation. This is a repetitive phrase, isn't it? We said that this word is synonymous with what it means to be a born-again believer, a true Christian, a disciple of Jesus. These are all synonyms. But you can now add one more. You're an overcomer. Or the nika'o verb literally means you're a victor. You're victorious. not a cultural or nominal Christian, but a genuine disciple of Jesus Christ who overcomes the world by faith. 1 John 4, verse 4 says, You are from God, little children, and have overcome them, because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. 1 John 5, verse 4 says, For everything that has been born of God overcomes the world, and this is the overcoming that has overcome the world, our faith. Who is the one who overcomes the world? But he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. Genuine faith, genuine belief, genuine relationship overcomes the world. Listen to this amazing promise of the Lord given to those who believe in Him. Not only the participation in the end time celebration, but also in the millennial government rule. Listen to the political language. of what Jesus says. I will grant to him, what is he granting? To sit down. Who can sit down with me on my throne? Who can sit down with him on his throne? This is the authority language. What is he granting? He's granting an incredibly high position, status, and authority in his government. Because only a king can sit on his throne. He's going to share His royal authority with those who overcome. Isn't this amazing? This is what I'm seeing. This is why I keep mentioning, why would you want to trade this in for a paycheck and for a career? Really? Are you gonna follow the makeup and the pattern of this world and forsake this? This is what is in store for His people. those overcomers. This is it. Have you noticed that when the running candidate gets elected and takes on the highest position, all of his supporters, his closest friends, they get the tastiest positions in the executive branch. Have you noticed that? It's been like that forever. since the government was instituted. It was always like that, and it will always be like that. Look at what Jesus is saying. That's why he has chosen nobodies, nothings like us, because he wants to pour out his blessing, his authority, his power to cause us to be the VIPs in the eternal world that is to come. He wants to share his regal authority. Take a look with me in Matthew 19 verse 28 and I want you to see for yourself. This is for all of you who have a holy ambition to glorify God in a small Talents and opportunities he's given to you now in this side of eternity Matthew 19 verse 28 and Jesus said to them truly I say to you That you who have followed me in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne This is what Jesus is talking about in Revelation. You also shall sit upon twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel Notice the distinction between Christ's glorious throne versus the 12 thrones for the 12 disciples over Israel. That clearly distinguishes the heavenly throne upon which Christ now sits, the Father's throne, and the future millennial kingdom, the earthly Davidic throne, which the Lord will sit and rule when he descends and establishes his rule in millennial reign on earth. And who will be in his cabinet? Who will be in his executive branch? Those of you who are faithful, you overcome by faith, you trust in the Lord, you believe this. Let me put it to you another way. It is believable to you. No one has to convince you. When you hear this, you go, yeah, I believe that. That's the Lord. That's the Lord incentivizing me. That's the Lord saying, stay faithful, continue to trust in me. Do what I command you. Live for my glory and for your blessing and the blessing of other people. Follow my program for your life, which is his lordship for our discipleship. Don't follow your own and don't follow the world's. It's as simple as that. I've chosen you, not those Harvard-educated legal experts, not those financiers in Wall Street, Not those people who have four stars on their caps and control armies, but you, nobodies. Have you noticed whom He's chosen? He has chosen nobodies, the Galilean fishermen, no one, nobodies, the insignificant. Now, we know all about them because the Lord chose them. Could you imagine what they will be like in the millennial kingdom? Well, you don't have to imagine. They will sit upon 12 thrones. They will be kings. because the Lord says he's going to share that authority. This is what he's saying in Revelation here. I will grant him to sit down with me on my throne. And the Lord gives a comparison so that it will sink in. As I also overcame, how did he overcome? Through his own faithfulness. through Him trusting in the Father's will for His life and obedience, even to the point of death on the cross and His glorious resurrection. He overcame sin, death, and the grave, and sat down with my Father on His throne, the glorious, exalted, heavenly throne. Jesus is now enthroned up there. The Lord's overcoming looks back to fulfilled history, and the Lord's seeding refers to His glorious ascension after His resurrection. And you know what the number one quoted Old Testament verse is in the New Testament? Here it is, Psalm 110 verse 1, Yahweh says to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I put your enemies as a footstool for your feet. That's the enthronement, the right hand of God and the Father's throne. The messianic enthronement prophecy from the Old Testament which is quoted more than any other verse in the New Testament with direct quotations as well as multiple allusions for a total of over 30 references in the New Testament. This is it. And what is Jesus saying? That's going to happen to you. As surely as I sit on the Father's throne, as He has shared His glorious authority with me, even though I was incarnated, I was humbled, even to the point of a cross, I died, He exalted me, and look what He's doing. I'm going to do that and share my authority with you if you stay faithful to me, if you overcome. And what is that that overcomes the world? Our faith. It's what you believe. You are what you believe. You are what you choose to believe. You will become what you really believe. And so, here's the final call. This is the seventh time now. We've heard this six times already, now this is the seventh time. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. I pray that you have an ear to hear, especially if you are those who are spiritually lukewarm or those of you who want to give up on your faith and do something else, try something else. The Lord is promising you if you overcome. Although the warning and the promises were given to the context of one particular church in the Lycus Valley in the first century, the Church of Laodicea, the message is for every church and every generation. That's why it says, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches, the plural. It's not only a direct message to Laodicea, it's for all the churches, all who profess to worship Christ, to submit to His Lordship, and all who gather to worship Him. Most of you have been following these messages And I thank you for consistently coming back again and again to hear the proclamation and exposition of the Word of God. And I believe that you got a sense that some of these features apply to you. Especially of the warnings given to five different churches may apply to you personally. And you may say, wow, some of this stuff is like, this is our church here at Evangel. It's like the Lord's describing our church. You may be sensing things correctly because that's what the Holy Spirit inspired the scriptures is saying to you and to me. And if you're blessed to hear the Lord's commendation to the persecuted Church of Smyrna and persevering Church of Philadelphia, and you can relate to that, And you don't know just how richly blessed you really are. You're among the most blessed people in all the universe, all of human history. Truly we're blessed. The Lord Jesus said through the Apostle John, blessed is he who hears the words of this prophecy and keeps them. We've heard seven messages to seven churches and heard the Spirit's call to seven churches seven times. I hope and pray that you were both challenged and blessed, convicted and humbled, refreshed, relieved, rejoicing. May the Lord grant you His grace to hear the rest of the book of Revelation, that you would truly be blessed, not only to hear, but to do. Let's pray. Father, thank you for giving us a summarization of what the Spirit says to the churches. The perfect number of seven, the number of completion you have spoken. You are still speaking as the Lord Jesus is still standing and still knocking at some hearts. Father, I pray for your great name and glory that you would continue to allow the Word of God to reverberate and the Holy Spirit and His inspired Word to remind again and again that even among the lukewarm that you would save some and that you would make them jewels on the crown of your great glory on the day of your visitation. And so that you, in your amazing grace, and the incredible love of our Lord Jesus Christ and the ever-present, patient, constant urging of the Holy Spirit. Receive glory and honor forever and ever. And we pray this in Jesus' precious name. Amen.