The Lukewarm Church
Revelation • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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INTRODUCTION
We are studying the seventh and final letter to the churches in the book of Revelation tonight; THE LUKEWARM CHURCH.
QUESTION: What does the number seven mean?
ANSWER: Perfection or “fullness” or “completeness”
This letter is addressed to the church in Philadelphia. And if I could relate our church as whole to any of these churches, I would like to think this letter would fit us most.
As we study these letters, we should make personal application to our own lives. One may love Jesus less than they did when they first come to Christ, or one may be allowing wicked people to infiltrate their lives. But corporately, I think this letter is for us.
Laodicea
Laodicea was a very rich city. This city was so wealthy that when the major earthquake hit in AD 60, it was able to completely rebuild itself without any aid from Rome. They had very fertile soil which provided excellent ground for raising sheep. After careful breeding, they were able to produce a soft silky wool cloth that was in much demand. they were also known for its medical schools. They had famous teachers there and produced compound medicines. Two of the most famous were an ointment from spice for the ears and eye-salve.
Laodicea’s major weakness was its lack of an adequate water source. Water had to be brought in from springs through a system of stone pipes three feet in diameter. Such an aqueduct could easily be cut off, leaving the city helpless, especially in the dry season when the Lycus could dry up.
We have studied each of these letters in depth. I want you take a minute a read over this letter and tell me some kind of truth, some kind of personal application you can make from these 9 verses.
Jesus introduces Himself as Revelation 3:14 ““To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this:”
Notice Jesus is the Amen. The word “Amen” means “verily” or “truly”. That is why people say Amen after something from God’s Word is spoken. It is a way of saying yes that is true!
Jesus says He is the Amen, and also “the faithful and true witness”.
QUESTION: How did the Laodiceans see themselves?
ANSWER: “Rich and wealthy”, “have need of nothing”
The issue at Laodicea was the people that thought that they had it all together. They were rich, they had the medical advances to live possibly longer than others. They were probably smart maybe like a medical college town like Nashville (everyone wants to go to Vandy to learn)
But Jesus said, what they perceived as reality wasn’t true at all. They said they were rich, they said they could see, they said they had the finest garments, but Jesus said, “you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked”.
QUESTION: Why was there such a major difference in the way they saw themselves and the way Jesus saw them?”
ANSWER: Because they based their view of themselves upon the temporal aspects of life (food, clothing, wealth”)
Principle: Honesty is the beginning of blessing. If we want the best for our lives and for our church, we have to learn to be honest with God and let God be honest with us.
We often spend too much of our lives
Revelation 3:15–16 “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.”
Jesus says they are neither cold nor hot but lukewarm.
QUESTION: What does it mean to be a Lukewarm Christian?
Room temperature. Not on fire for Jesus. Not totally abandoned Jesus. Just room temperature for Jesus
How many coffee drinkers do we have in here?
How do you like your coffee? Does anyone in here drink iced coffee?
How many of you make a cup of coffee, let it sit for two hours and then drink it? What do you do with that? Spit it out.
God is not speaking to the atheist, or the blasphemer, or the drunkard, NOR is He speaking to the one who meditates on His Word everyday, and loves righteousness, and spends His life serving God is self sacrificing obedience.
God is speaking the one who believes but has no enthusiasm about them. They could live with or without Him. God does not excite them, the Bible does not excite them, preaching does not do anything for them.
They don’t care about prayer
They don’t share the gospel
They don’t care about discipleship
They care about Bible study
They are room temperature coffee every single day
QUESTION: What measuring stick does Jesus use to diagnose their Luke-warmness?
ANSWER: Their deeds!
Their service to the Lord
Our deeds often show our spiritual barrenness
QUESTION: Why does Jesus say he would rather them be cold or hot than Lukewarm?
ANSWER: It had to do with the cities water supply. It did not mean Jesus would want us to be cold. This was a metaphor for the cities water supply.
Hot water can cleanse and purify; cold water can refresh and enliven. But lukewarm water carries no similar value. The Laodiceans drinking water came over an aqueduct from a spring six miles to the south, and it arrived disgustingly lukewarm. Laodicean water was not hot like the nearby hot springs that people bathed in, nor was it refreshingly cold for drinking. It was lukewarm, good for nothing
Because there is no worse form of dishonor to say we truly believe in Jesus, the Son of God, the sacrificial Lamb, the Savior of the world, the One who gives life to the dead, eternal life to the mortal and then simultaneously say with our lives, “but you don’t excite me, You don’t get my blood pumping, You just aren’t good enough for me to put effort into.
A cold person at least acknowledges that he is not a follower
A hot person professes to be a follower and follows Jesus with burning ambition
But a Lukewarm person professes one thing with their mouth and is another thing in their heart.
QUESTION: What do you think Jesus means by spitting them out of His mouth?
Judgement!
As in the other letter, Jesus would bring judgement to them
Do you think these were real believers?
Jesus frequently equates deeds with a person’s true spiritual state: “By their fruit you will recognize them,” and “Every good tree bears good fruit” (Matthew 7:16–17)
Revelation 3:17–18 “‘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 miserable 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 revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.”
QUESTION: What was the main problem with the church in Laodicea?
They were deceived!
They believed material prosperity also meant spiritual prosperity but were really poor, wretched, and blind
Just like the city who needed no help from Rome after the earthquake, the church thought they needed no help from God
Revelation 3:19–22 “‘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 in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. ‘He who overcomes, I will grant to 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.’ ””
QUESTION: What is the solution?
Repent!
Behold I stand at the door and knock! “If anyone hears My voice.”
QUESTION: What then must we always be doing?
Listening for when God is speaking to us!
Paying attention in Bible study, in preaching, and when what God says lines up with our lives, we make adjustments
QUESTION: What does a knock imply?
Permission to enter. Jesus will never force Himself on anyone!
QUESTION: How does Jesus knock?
By someone hearing His Words.