An old problem, as old as life itself, plagues our world today. It affects every nation. It distresses every culture. It disturbs rich and poor. It moves educated and uneducated. It upsets those in prominent positions as well as those in low status. It touches men and women. It hinders young and old. This problem, the inability to distinguish between false and true, fake and genuine, troubles all of us. It began with Adam and Eve and confronts each of us every day. We try to gain understanding of our confusing circumstances by saying, let's get real or get real. This problem infested first century Christian congregations too. specifically the one in Laodicea, and Christ sent them a letter to correct it. It occurred between 70 and 96 AD. The known world at that time existed under Roman rule, and those Roman emperors demanded that people worship them as deity, as gods. As a result, believers were persecuted for failure to worship the emperor as God. It included the culture, cultural mandates upon believers, forcing them to submit to the culture. The rejection of believers who did not submit to the culture, the denial of rights for believers, which resulted in imprisonment and martyrdom. As far as redemptive history goes, this took place 40 to 50 years after the death of Christ, His resurrection, and His ascension to glory. It was an era of the growth of the gospel through Paul in Asia, Greece, and Italy. These believers did not have first-hand contact with Christ. And Jesus sent a letter to these believers in Laodicea, ensnared by their inability to see their true condition. He wrote it through the ministry of the Holy Spirit and the Apostle John. He wrote it to the believers in the congregation, the Christian congregation in Laodicea. This congregation most likely was planted by Paul and his associates And we discover that truth in Acts chapter 19, where it says that Paul and his associates went throughout all of Asia, reaching people and bringing them to Christ. The story of these believers is narrated in the letter that Jesus wrote to them, and we find it recorded in Revelation chapter 3, verses 14 to 22. I will read that text and then we will examine the verses and the text together. 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 hot nor cold. I would that you were 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 you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked, I counsel thee to buy of me gold dried in the fire that thou mayest be rich, white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear. And anoint your eyes with eye salve that you may 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 into him and will 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. Well, let's begin looking at this text and we'll start right off with verse number 14. And verses 14 to 15 give to us several attributes of Christ. And in this letter, he begins by revealing himself and his nature. In fact, this whole text includes numerous aspects of Christ's nature. And we'll look at them as we come through with those individual verses. But we find here in verse number 14 and number 15 some very specific aspects of the nature of Christ. He calls himself the Amen. Bible scholars Lau and Nida describe this as the affirmation of what is spoken is true. Strong's agrees and says it means to be firm and steady. So Christ is revealing himself as the firm one. You can believe what I say. And then secondly, he calls himself the faithful and true witness, kind of a confirmation, a reiteration, if you will, of the word amen. And then he says, the beginning of the creation of God. That phrase has brought great confusion among people. They believe and teach that Jesus Christ was the first creation or first creature of God. But that is not what the words mean. According to Lenski, they very clearly point out that Christ is not saying here that he was the first creature created by God. What the words actually mean is that Christ is the source of God's creation, the absolute medium of creation, the one who constitutes the initial cause of creation. And Strong's puts it this way, the beginning as the efficient cause of creation. As clearly stated in John chapter one, verses one to three, which I will read for you out of the amplified version of the Bible. It says, In the beginning, before all time, was the Word, Christ. And the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself. He was present originally with God. All things were made and came into existence through Him. And without Him was not even one thing made that has come into being. We find the same truth stated in Colossians 1, 16 and 17 and Hebrews 1, 10. Christ is the originator, the cause of creation, not the first creature created by God. He is the one who started creation and completed it. Christ is the creator. Then verse number 15, it says, I know your works. Boy, that puts a shudder in your body, doesn't it? Christ knows the works of these people. He knew exactly what they were doing and saying and acting and behaving. He said, I know your works. This reveals to us two very clear aspects of the nature of Christ. He is omniscient, And he is omnipresent. He knew exactly what was going on. In fact, Bible scholars Laonitis say Christ possessed present active knowledge of these believers in Laodicea. He knew exactly what was going on. Those give us a glimpse into the character and nature of Christ, the one who wrote the letter to these believers in Laodicea. Next we come to verse 15. And verse 15 starts a section of verses that deal with the rebuke of Christ upon these believers. In verse number 15, we read it says, neither hot or cold, they're lukewarm. It is the kind of temperature for a liquid that people would take in that day. to cause the body to vomit and to clear out their stomach of something they had eaten that was upsetting their system and their bodies. That's the description that Jesus gave of these believers. You're neither hot or cold, you're lukewarm, and we read the lukewarm part in verse 16, and he follows it up by saying, and I'll spew you out of my mouth, just like we would, just like someone would a lukewarm liquid drink. What he was saying is he was rejecting their lukewarm spiritual condition. They were neither hot nor cold. They neither professed any zealousness towards God, nor did they reject it. They just went, oh, come see, come saw. And then it says that they claimed they were rich, that they were rich and increased in goods. In reality, that may have described their physical condition. Perhaps they were wealthy. but it has no bearing upon their true spiritual condition. They believe that their financial affluence proved an advanced spiritual condition. But instead, in Christ's eyes, it confirmed the contrary. It confirmed that they were poor, wretched, miserable, blind, naked. We find all of those descriptors in verse 17, following what They said they thought they were rich, have need of nothing. And Jesus said, oh, you don't really know your true condition. You have not been able to distinguish between that which is false and that which is true. This congregation faced a real crisis. They emphasized worldly riches. They believed that satisfaction in life came from things of the world. and appreciated them and pursued them more than spiritual joy and satisfaction. It indicates pride, self-confidence instead of reliance upon God, lack of spiritual vitality, absence of holiness and a dearth of zeal towards God. The believers at the church in Laodicea, to whom Jesus wrote this letter through John, gives to us a real-life example of the Book of Ecclesiastes and its conclusion. Riches fail to satisfy the longings of the heart. These believers, unbeknownst to them, were in need of spiritual revival. Verse number 18, we read the beginning of Christ's calling them back, in which he says to them, take my counsel. I am Lord and sovereign. I can be trusted. Believe me. Linsky, the great biblical scholar said, Christ in essence was saying, come to me. You will find in me and coming to me true riches and spiritual growth. And here's what will result if you'll come. If you'll come, you'll find true riches. If you'll come, you'll find white raiment which speaks of holiness and you'll be clothed in holiness. And then we see you'll have no shame for your nakedness. It wasn't talking about bodily nakedness. It's talking about spiritual nakedness. You'll have no shame for it because you'll be clothed in holiness. And I'll give you eye salve for your eyes so that you can see and understand. gives to us a picture and a description of the faithfulness of Christ to the covenant that he made with those who would trust and follow him. And it describes for us the work of the Holy Spirit and what he would provide for believers in their lives. And we find in John chapter three and chapters 14 to 16, a description of the work of the Holy Spirit. in the lives, first of all, in unbelievers, regenerating them into new life. And then in chapters 14 to 16, the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers. He teaches, he regenerates, he reveals truth, he corrects from sin like Jesus was providing for them here in this letter, and he conforms them to his image. Verse number 19, we find here the call to repentance. This wasn't just a minor fixing that these believers needed. They needed a total transformation. And he says, I love you so much that I rebuke you and I chasten you. And I point out to you your error and your sin. And I do so because I love you, as we read in verse number 19. And then he says, be zealous and repent. Turn from your behavior presently and come unto me and find in me those things that you desperately need that the world cannot provide and give to you. It was a proof to them of his love. Then we find in verse 20 and 21, Behold, I stand at the door and knock." Again, this phrase has caused great consternation, some confusion, and some disagreement among Bible scholars and believers. Many of them believe that this is a verse relating to salvation, and they picture Christ standing before an unbeliever and knocking on that person's heart and saying, if you'll just let me in, I will come in and sup with you. But remember the audience for this letter from Christ. He did not send it to unbelievers. He sent it to believers, those who were followers of him, believers in Laodicea and members of this congregation. So it can't be one that talks about salvation. It must talk about something else. And he's indicating here that he desires intimate fellowship with these believers, not just a false one, not just one based on dreams, but on reality of true fellowship with Christ. And he says, I will come in and sup with you if you will respond to me. And furthermore, I will give you reward. You'll sit with me. Not only will you have intimate fellowship with me, but you will sit in glory with me." Again, a Bible scholar that I've grown to appreciate, Lentz, is describing here what it meant to sit on a throne with me. What he's talking about here is they would reign with Christ throughout eternity. Christ was established on the throne next to the Father when Christ ascended from the earth. He set him on his throne at his right hand and gave to him all authority in heaven and earth. And he reigns now. and will reign throughout eternity. And Jesus promised to these believers, if you come to me and repent and turn and zealously seek after me, you will sit on my throne with me. In other words, you will reign with me throughout eternity. They would experience Christ's victory, his eternal glory, and their presence with Christ. Why did Jesus send this letter? to these believers. Well, we've seen a little indication of it already because he loved them. And he needed to rebuke them and chasten them for their un-Christlike behavior. And in the process, he was revealing himself to them and gave indications to them in this letter of his character and his nature and especially of his love for them. It also gives to us an indication of his disregard for a false profession. A friend of mine who now resides in glory with Christ, a man by the name of Don Loney, put it this way, don't lip it if you don't live it. In other words, don't be a hypocrite. Don't say you follow Christ and not follow him. The scriptures give to us and confirm this letter that Christ sent to these believers the demand for self-denial. In Luke chapter 9, verse number 23, we read it in this fashion, Jesus speaking, and he said to them all, if any person wills to come after me, let him deny himself, that is, disown himself, forget, lose sight of himself and his own interests, refuse and give up himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. That is, cleave steadfastly to me, conform wholly to my example in living, and if need be, in dying also. That's the translation from the Amplified Bible. It gives it a little bit more explicit language as to what it means for self-denial. And then there's the promised rewards to those who would follow Christ. He promised abundant life. Jesus said, I am coming to you that you might have life and have it more abundantly. That's in a well-known verse, John chapter 10, 10. And then we read in John chapter 14, a further explanation of Christ wanting intimate fellowship with his followers and those who believed and trusted in him. And we find that in John 14, Verses 21 to 23, and I'll read this again from the Amplified Bible. It says this, the person who has my commandments and keeps them is the one who really loves me. And whoever really loves me will be loved by my father. And I too will love him and will show and reveal myself to him. I will let myself be clearly seen by him and make myself known to him. And a little farther on in the passage it says, and we will come and make our abode with him, come and live within the lives of believers. And then he was reminding them of eternal life with Christ, promise made in his covenant that he would make with those who believed and trusted in him. And we know that, again, from a well-known verse, John chapter three, verse 16. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Believers in Christian congregations fail when they become satisfied with lukewarm spiritual lives. Christ proved his love for these believers in the congregation in Laodicea, when he rebuked their sin and showered them with his promised rewards to those zealous toward him. Now, you probably ask yourself what many would do. What does that have to do with me? That took place thousands of years ago. Does it have any relation to me or correlation to me, whatever? Yes, it has a great deal of correlation to you and me. There's been a great many similarities to professing believers in congregations today. Because all that was true then is true now. There's a crisis in our congregations just like in Laodicea. We rely upon earthly riches. We equate earthly riches with spiritual riches. There is a dearth of spiritual vitality among us. The satisfaction in life from things of the world, pride, self-confidence instead of reliance upon God, an absence of holiness, and a lack of zeal toward God. We simulate these believers thousands of years ago in the congregation in Laodicea. This text and this story has great implications for you and for me. We must examine ourselves to see the implications that this narrative has on you and upon me. If you are a believer and you following Christ and this passage does not describe you, you are one zealous after God, pursuing after him, I would encourage you to continue as Christ encouraged them and zealousness towards God and towards Christ. And enjoy His presence, knowing that there is reserved for you great reward, not only in this present life, but in the eternal life to come. Perhaps as we have examined this story from a thousand years ago, the Church of Laodicea, It bit a little bit on you because it pointed out to you that you were, in fact, just like those believers in Laodicea. Lukewarm in your Christian life, absence of improvement in Christ, delayed obedience, need of revival, doubts, fears. You, like they, need to repent from your sin of unfaithfulness, disobedience, and lack of zeal towards Christ. and renew your obedience and faithfulness to Christ. Perhaps you are an unbeliever, and you would describe yourself as never having any faith in Christ or God. In fact, you're probably disinterested in God and your life regarding Him. You are living an unfaithful life towards God, and I would bring to your attention one of the questions that Reverend Shelton, a pastor in Florida, wrote many years ago. How will you walk in faithfulness to God and Christ when you are satisfied with a life of self-will, self-pleasing, self-confidence, and self-righteousness? I want you to hear today God's word to you, which began in the garden in Eden. In Genesis chapter 1 and 2, we read about the creation of the world and all things in it. We find the creation of the first humans, Adam and Eve in Eden. They were the forerunners of all humanity. All of us come from Adam and Eve. And he appointed them as trustees over creation. He gave them one rule, do not eat of the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden. Because the day that you do, you'll die. The literal translation being, dying, you will die. We read in Genesis chapter three of the disobedience of Adam and Eve. They ate of that forbidden fruit. The devil, Satan, came to them and tempted them in the form of a serpent. And they disobeyed God's command. They ate the forbidden fruit. Just one rule. they could not and did not follow that one rule. As a result of their disobedience, the holiness that they existed prior to their disobedience now became a sinful nature. They are the only people in history who became sinners because they sinned. As head of all humanity, God imputes upon you and me Adam's sin. upon all of Adam's offspring, including you and me. We read that all have sinned in Adam, and therefore you and I sin because of the imputed sin of Adam, and we sin because we are sinners by nature. And we suffer what happened to Adam because of his sin. He was separated from God. He was under God's condemnation. He was at enmity with God. He hid from Him in the garden. He was helpless to resolve the enmity. He had no desire for God. He hid. And when he heard God calling in the garden, he hid further. Adam and Eve displayed the necessity of divine intervention on their behalf. And you and I need exactly the same thing. We need the necessity of divine intervention, and you need it on your behalf. God has made provision for sinners like you and like me in the gift of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. He sent His Son to earth in human form, and He placed upon Christ the sin of people like you and me as a sacrifice. And when He did that, He made some decrees. He decreed and said that the sacrifice of His Son would atone for the sin of sinners like you and me. And God accepted the sacrifice of Christ and decreed that he would accept all who turn from their sinful, self-righteous, and self-satisfying lives to trust Christ and his substitutionary sacrifice on his or her behalf. He forgave their sin and reconciled them back to himself, making them children of God. God further provides the Holy Spirit to unbelievers to regenerate them. giving them new life from above, the desire to turn from their sinful lives, and the faith to trust in Christ as Lord and Savior, and to empower them to obey and follow God. I pray that the Holy Spirit will come to you today and give you this new life from above, enabling you to turn from your sin and to trust Christ as your Lord and Savior. I pray that this new life will become true in your life today.