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Title: People Who Make God Puke.
Text: Revelation 3:14-22.
CIT: The Laodicea Church is lukewarm and makes God want to spit them out.
Theme: God gets sick of half committed, lukewarm people.
Purpose: Commitment~/Salvation~/Repentance.
Introduction
When I was in Vietnam, I made a discovery about myself: I can’t stand the site of blood or oozing things when I am inside a room.
Outside, I can take anything.
Inside, I see blood or ooze and I begin to choke, vomit, and often pass out.
In our Scriptures, Jesus is talking to the Church of Laodicea.
He told them they had a lukewarm attitude toward Him and it made Him sick.
So sick, He wants to puke.
How would you like for Jesus to say that about you?
If you are lukewarm, He might be!
To get the greatest meaning from what Jesus says to this church, we need to learn something about Laodicea.
Laodicea was the ancient capital of the province of Phrygia in what we know today as Turkey.
It was located in the Lycus Valley along with two other towns Hierapolis and Colossae and the they made up one large metropolitan area.
It was on a major highway, surrounded by mountains and its location made it a great location for a fort to guard the highway and the metropolitan area.
It was the center of the banking industry of the area.
It was also the center for carpet manufacturing and clothes made from soft black wool.
There was also a medical school there which had developed a salve or ointment for the ears and a powder for the eyes.
Hierapolis was known for its hot springs.
Colossae was known for its ice cold spring water.
Laodicea was a town located right in the middle and its water was lipid and unfit to drink.
But, Laodicea was a great city.
The word /“Laodicea”/ means “voice of the people.”
This is in contrast to the “voice of God.”
It was a church more interested in what people had to say than what God said.
As we read about the Church of Laodicea this morning, I want to invite you search with me the mysteries of God and find out some more precious things about Christ.
Then, I want us to learn what really makes Christ sick.
Look with me first at,
I.
The Characteristic of Christ (v 3:14).
/“And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, ‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God:/
Christ identifies Himself as /“the Amen, the faithful and true witness, and the ruler of God’s creation.”/
Lets look at these characteristics:
a.
He Is The Sure Truth.
The word /“Amen” /is an untranslated Hebrew word which means /“something is sure and positive.”
/ As a title for Christ, it would mean /“I am the truth.”
/ Jesus is Certainty; He is Finality; He is the Ultimate Authority for all things.
Jesus is the Sure Truth.
Second,
b.
He Is The Spoken Truth.
He says, I am the true Witness.
Jesus withholds no truth.
He gives us all we need for the present and what we need to prepare us for eternity.
There are no tricks, no small print with Jesus.
This truth is needed today for both the saved and the unsaved, for the obedient Christian and the backsliding Christian and Jesus is that truth.
Third,
c.
He Is The Supreme Truth.
The word /“Beginning” /or /“Ruler” /, depending on your translation, is the Greek word /“arche.”/
It can either mean first in time/ (beginning)/ or first in rank /(ruler)/.
Here it is better understood as /“ruler.”
/ Jesus is saying that He is the Supreme Creator, Ruler of the universe.
Whether you look at the flowers, the landscape, the grandeur or the majesty of the mountains, or the power of the restless sea, He created it all.
And, because He is the Supreme Creator and Ruler of the Universe, He has every right to critique His churches and His people.
Second, I want us to see:
II.
The Complement to the Church (v.
3:15a).
/“I know your works...”/
Like her sister church at Sardis, Laodicea receives no compliments.
The only thing Jesus says to them was that /“I know your works!” / Can you imagine - - - - this church had nothing in its ministry that honored the Lord or brought Him glory.
Like so many churches today, their indifference made the Lord sick and that is what we will be looking at next.
III.
The Criticism of the Church (vv 3:15-17).
/“I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot.
I could wish you were cold or hot.
So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.
Because you say,‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’ — and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked —/
This church was lukewarm.
The common interpretation has been that /“hot” /means spiritual fervor and /“cold” /means spiritual cold indifference.
If this is true, the Lord prefers outright rejection to someone who is lukewarm spiritually.
Because they were lukewarm, Jesus said He would spew, better vomit, them out of His mouth.
There are two things I want us to learn here.
First, they were
a.
Indifferent to the Lord’s Work.
The Laodiceans had a degree of spiritual seriousness.
They had on the clothes of Christianity but Christ was not Lord to them.
There was something greatly lacking from their spiritual life.
If they were Christians, and there many who doubt that they were, they just didn’t get excited about the Lord’s work.
There is a lot of that going on today.
People may be faithful in attending church and they may even take part, and yet they are not really be hot for the Lord.
Some say they believe but they never surrender their lives to Him.
Does He have our lives?
Does He have our time?
Does He have our pocketbook?
Is He the Lord of our bodies?
Is Jesus just someone who is convenient when we are in trouble?
Are you lukewarm?
Are you indifferent to the Lord’s work?
Second, they were:
b.
Insensitive To Their Spiritual Need.
They were so busy with their lives, they were so self-sufficient in all that they did, they didn’t see their need for a Savior or Lord.
Look at how Jesus described them: /“... you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked.”
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