“Lukewarm living and claiming Christ's name simultaneously is utterly
disgusting to God.” (Francis
Chan)
Revelation
3:14-20, Easy-to-Read Version
14 “Write this to the angel of the church in
Laodicea: “Here is a message from [Jesus], the
faithful and true witness, the ruler of all that God has made. 15 “I
know what you do. You are not hot or cold. I wish that you were hot or cold. 16 But
you are only warm—not hot, not cold. So I am ready to spit you out of my mouth.
17 You
say you are rich. You think you have become wealthy and don’t need anything.
But you don’t know that you are really miserable, pitiful, poor, blind, and
naked. 18 I advise you to buy gold from me—gold made pure
in fire. Then you will be rich. I tell you this: Buy clothes that are white.
Then you will be able to cover your shameful nakedness. I also tell you to buy
medicine to put on your eyes. Then you will be able to see. 19 “I
correct and punish the people I love. So show that nothing is more important to
you than living right. Change your hearts and lives. 20 Here
I am. I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I
will come in and eat with you. And you will eat with me.
What causes you to become lukewarm
spiritually?
1.
Monetary comfort (See Revelation 3:17-18 above)
Yes, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of
a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. (Matthew 19:24, the
Voice)
Wealth breeds
comfort.. Comfort breeds complacency. God wants you to be spiritually rich, but
being physically wealthy may not be His will for you if it will make you not
need Him.
2.
Moral compromise (See Revelation 3:18 above)
Everyone has sinned and fallen short of God’s glorious
standard. (Romans
3:23, New Century Version)
If you don’t keep
your life clean of sin, it can cause spiritual damage. Make a new commitment to
improve your relationship with God
3.
Missional complacency (See Revelation 3:18 above)
Don’t love the world’s ways. Don’t love the world’s goods.
Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that
goes on in the world—wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself,
wanting to appear important—has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates
you from him. The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way
out—but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity. (1 John 2:15-17,
the Message)
Love God by helping
to meet the needs of His creation (human beings). The more you do this, the
easier becomes as you please God with your actions. So how is your spiritual
vision for other’s needs right now?
What are solutions to the above challenges?
1.
Respond appropriately to God’s discipline. (See Revelation
3:19 above)
2.
Repent of your indifference. (See Revelation 3:19 above)
3.
Renew your relationship with God. (See Revelation
3:20 above)
Laodicea had an aqueduct that supplied its
water. That water came from the hot springs of Hierapolis, and the cold water
of Colossae. As those two waters mixed together on its way to Laodicea, the end
result was undesirable lukewarm water for Laodicea. (See Revelation 3:15-16
above)
On a personal note from Robert: I believe it is
easier sometimes to be indifferent when it comes to entering in to someone’s
pain with them. It may re-open up wounds you would prefer to keep healing.
Being an empathetic Christian isn’t easy. That’s what God wants, and needs you
to do for Him. There are people God has placed in your life that only you can
reach for Him. Be there for God in His time of need because He has always been
there for you in your time of need.
Living your life with your spiritual “barking
break” on is dangerous in that it allows you to settle for a mediocre Christian,
which God doesn’t want for you.
Laodicea produced shiny black wool that
helped to make them the fashion capitol of the world at that time. In addition
to this, the city’s wealth was also increased with the production of a special
eye salve that helped people to see clearly. (See Revelation 3:18 above)[i]
[i] Inspired by the sermon
“Influence: What Would Jesus Undo” (installment one) Sunday October 3, 2021,
Pastor Dave Jansen (CPG). In-person services are available at all three
U.S. CenterPoint locations. CenterPoint also has an online Sunday morning
service (10am) that can be viewed at centerpointchurches.online.church or
centerpointchurches.com/live.
Inspired by: “Laodicean Water” by Peter Leithart
 |
| Laodicea (at the red balloon) |
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