Sermon

Vision of Discipleship

St. Paul's Anglican Church Chatswood - Sermons

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  1. Well, good morning, everyone.

  2. It's great to gather with you in the building and also online,

  3. if you're connected online to the St Paul's family out there,

  4. to our neighbourhood around Chatswood and community.

  5. Great for you to be connecting in with us.

  6. Well, it's that time of year again, as a number of us are aware,

  7. where heads are buried into books,

  8. the hope of cramming in as much information as possible

  9. in order to regurgitate it onto an exam paper,

  10. whether it be HSC, uni exams,

  11. as some of us here are facing theological exams.

  12. It's that time of year of assessment.

  13. Someone was asked recently what, in fact,

  14. there was their plan of attack for the exam,

  15. and their response was,

  16. I am hoping to try not to cry loud enough

  17. in order to disturb other people.

  18. While there are, this time of year, exams like this,

  19. these assessment periods,

  20. in actual fact, all of life, on one way or another,

  21. is an assessment.

  22. From the time that you're born,

  23. and the doctors or the nurses are measuring you

  24. and poking you and prodding you and weighing you

  25. and making sure that you're hitting all the appropriate milestones,

  26. your head's not too big, it's not too small,

  27. you're walking when you're meant to walk,

  28. you're moving, you're doing all that sort of stuff.

  29. Through the various stages,

  30. to the point where you're getting a car licence,

  31. you've got to do exams,

  32. you've got to pass certain things,

  33. driving tests, written tests.

  34. For me, it went on from that

  35. into commercial driving licence with heavy vehicles,

  36. explosive licence, firearm licence,

  37. motorbike licence,

  38. it's assessments all the way through.

  39. Now that I'm a diabetic,

  40. I'm on a constant cycle of blood tests,

  41. I test my sugar levels,

  42. I don't know how many times a day,

  43. physical examinations, eye examinations.

  44. Now there's a whole heap of assessments

  45. that happen in life,

  46. some of them are really crucial,

  47. some of them, really frankly, it doesn't matter,

  48. you know, who cares what you got

  49. on your second grade piano exam,

  50. no one really matters about that,

  51. unless of course, you know, it's your teacher.

  52. And even every five years,

  53. the church itself gets assessed

  54. with the National Church Life Survey,

  55. which will be coming up for us again next year.

  56. And in one sense,

  57. this is what we're doing in this season of St Paul's,

  58. we are assessing the last 11 years' ministry

  59. of this church.

  60. But the assessment of the church,

  61. the assessment of our lives,

  62. of our lives as disciples of the Lord Jesus,

  63. that really matters,

  64. is in fact not your assessment of the last 11 years,

  65. or my assessment,

  66. or the NCLS's,

  67. or even what our diocesan bishop,

  68. or the whole diocese thinks.

  69. The only assessment that really matters

  70. is the one who we saw last week from Revelation 1,

  71. is the one who rules over all things

  72. from time and eternity,

  73. stands in the midst of his church,

  74. the cosmic king,

  75. the Lord Jesus Christ.

  76. It's his assessment that matters.

  77. The one who chapter 1 calls,

  78. the firstborn from the dead,

  79. the ruler of the kings of the earth,

  80. the king of kings,

  81. in other words,

  82. the one to whom belongs glory and power

  83. forever and ever.

  84. Amen.

  85. Now, Revelation 2 and 3,

  86. which is what we're up to today,

  87. is Jesus' assessment of seven churches.

  88. So, grab your Bibles,

  89. Revelation 2 and 3,

  90. and also the St. Paul's app,

  91. and come with me on that.

  92. If you have not got a Bible,

  93. can I encourage you at this point,

  94. if you've got no access to God's word right now,

  95. I've got two things for you.

  96. Bring one from home,

  97. first of all,

  98. if you've got one at home.

  99. Secondly,

  100. if you don't have one at all,

  101. then we will give you one.

  102. So, please,

  103. speak to me,

  104. speak to one of the staff here,

  105. and we will give you a Bible

  106. by the time you leave today.

  107. I want to have a Bible in your hands.

  108. So, get your Bibles open,

  109. Revelation 2 and 3,

  110. and the St. Paul's app,

  111. four things,

  112. why the assessment matters,

  113. the results of the assessment,

  114. how to receive a positive assessment,

  115. and the hope of a positive assessment.

  116. So,

  117. why is assessment matters?

  118. The book of Revelation

  119. is in the form of a letter

  120. that the Apostle John

  121. is writing to the church

  122. as it struggles

  123. under the weight of hardship

  124. and the affluence

  125. of the Roman Empire.

  126. And it starts with this incredible vision

  127. of the Lord Jesus Christ,

  128. who rules as the cosmic king of all things.

  129. We saw last week

  130. that this Jesus

  131. is the beginning of all things.

  132. He's the end of all things.

  133. History is running in direction of him,

  134. and therefore,

  135. he is the point of all things.

  136. The entire book

  137. is a vision

  138. that the Apostle John receives

  139. while he himself

  140. is suffering

  141. as a servant of the Lord Jesus

  142. on the prison island,

  143. Patmos.

  144. He is suffering

  145. because he's a follower.

  146. He's a disciple of the Lord Jesus.

  147. And John is instructed

  148. in chapter 1, verse 19

  149. to write down,

  150. it says,

  151. what is now

  152. and what will take place later.

  153. So if you like,

  154. the book of Revelation

  155. is God's grand narrative.

  156. It's his self-revelation

  157. of the way things

  158. actually are

  159. in the universe.

  160. John's vision

  161. takes us beyond

  162. the chaos of history

  163. to see God's work,

  164. him working

  165. behind the scenes

  166. to defeat sin and evil

  167. and to rescue

  168. a people for himself

  169. for their eternal joy.

  170. Now,

  171. most of the book

  172. of Revelation

  173. is a vision

  174. of the heavenly realms.

  175. The cosmic battle

  176. between Satan

  177. and sin

  178. and wickedness

  179. and the final triumph

  180. of the loving rule

  181. of God

  182. for all of eternity.

  183. So Revelation 2 and 3,

  184. what it does for us

  185. in these seven letters

  186. to the churches

  187. is it brings

  188. that cosmic battle

  189. into our daily life.

  190. So it's not just

  191. sort of mythology

  192. kind of stuff

  193. out there

  194. in the internet.

  195. It brings that battle

  196. which is out there

  197. raging

  198. beyond our sight

  199. into our daily lives.

  200. That is the place

  201. where the cosmic battle

  202. of Revelation

  203. gets,

  204. if you like,

  205. rages the most

  206. is in the local church

  207. and the members

  208. of the local church.

  209. This is where

  210. the cosmic battle

  211. becomes real for us.

  212. The cosmic battle

  213. between God

  214. and all that is good

  215. and Satan

  216. and all that is evil,

  217. that battle rages

  218. for every single Christian.

  219. The battle for faithfulness

  220. and fruitfulness,

  221. a battle against the world,

  222. the flesh and the devil.

  223. Can I just add here

  224. just as a side point,

  225. it's one reason

  226. why vocational Christian ministry

  227. is so fundamentally hard.

  228. Not only does the pastor

  229. experience the cosmic battle

  230. personally

  231. like you experience it personally,

  232. but we are leading others

  233. to overcome

  234. at the same time

  235. trying to overcome ourselves.

  236. Revelation 2 and 3

  237. is Jesus' assessment

  238. of seven churches

  239. and how they are progressing.

  240. There's no such thing

  241. as a perfect performance

  242. except for Jesus.

  243. He is the victorious one.

  244. He is the one

  245. who has overcome

  246. and his concern for us

  247. is that we would triumph

  248. with him,

  249. that we too

  250. would be victorious.

  251. that we would enter

  252. into all the joys

  253. of his eternal kingdom

  254. and experience life

  255. in its fullest

  256. as he now

  257. has life

  258. in all its fullest.

  259. That we would

  260. enter into that joy

  261. and that's why

  262. his assessment

  263. of how we're

  264. begrossing matters.

  265. matters.

  266. So these chapters

  267. are specific

  268. individual messages

  269. for real life churches

  270. that existed

  271. in the first century

  272. with the apostle John

  273. that were facing

  274. real life issues.

  275. And yet,

  276. each of these

  277. specific messages

  278. is meant to be read

  279. to all the churches.

  280. all the churches.

  281. Each church

  282. has to know

  283. about all the issues

  284. that they will face.

  285. Every individual church

  286. here is instructed

  287. to hear

  288. what the Spirit

  289. says

  290. to the churches.

  291. churches.

  292. This is for us

  293. too

  294. here at St. Paul's

  295. Chatswood

  296. 2,000 years later.

  297. And this letter

  298. presents to us

  299. a serious picture

  300. of church life

  301. where constant

  302. vigilance

  303. is called for.

  304. We must hear

  305. his assessment

  306. and instructions

  307. if we are

  308. to overcome

  309. and we are

  310. to be victorious

  311. in the end.

  312. So what's the results

  313. of his assessment?

  314. All the letters,

  315. the seven letters

  316. have a similar pattern.

  317. They begin

  318. with an explanation

  319. of who Jesus Christ is

  320. and each of the explanations

  321. at the beginning

  322. of each letter

  323. draws on one aspect

  324. of the vision

  325. that the apostle John

  326. saw of the Lord Jesus

  327. in chapter one.

  328. It then goes on

  329. to describe

  330. Jesus' assessment

  331. of each church.

  332. Then following that

  333. is a word

  334. of encouragement

  335. or a word

  336. of warning

  337. and each finishes

  338. with a glorious promise

  339. to those

  340. who will overcome

  341. and each one

  342. of the glorious promises

  343. is found

  344. in Revelation

  345. 21 and 22

  346. at the end

  347. of what that looks like.

  348. So he's drawing

  349. on the past

  350. who Jesus is,

  351. his character

  352. and what he is

  353. taking us to

  354. into the future

  355. in Revelation

  356. 21 and 22.

  357. These churches

  358. all face

  359. a range of issues.

  360. Persecution,

  361. complacency,

  362. social rejection,

  363. false teaching,

  364. lovelessness,

  365. needing to refocus

  366. on its purpose

  367. and its mission,

  368. all kinds of issues.

  369. And rather than go

  370. through them all,

  371. which you'd be glad

  372. that I'm not going to

  373. because I'm hoping

  374. that you will do that

  375. in your community groups,

  376. I want to focus

  377. on Laodicea

  378. for us.

  379. What we notice

  380. with the first six churches

  381. that Jesus addresses here

  382. is that he affirms them

  383. for some things,

  384. criticizes them

  385. for other things.

  386. There were things

  387. that they were doing well.

  388. There were things

  389. that they needed

  390. to improve on,

  391. needed to change.

  392. Except for Smyrna

  393. and Philadelphia

  394. where there are

  395. no faults mentioned.

  396. On the other hand,

  397. when we come

  398. to Laodicea,

  399. Jesus doesn't affirm

  400. them for anything.

  401. His assessment

  402. is quite scathing.

  403. And there is something

  404. about Laodicea

  405. and his

  406. call for Laodicea

  407. which impacts

  408. the rest of the churches

  409. and how they continue

  410. to advance.

  411. So that's why I want

  412. to pick on Laodicea.

  413. The issue Jesus

  414. has with his church,

  415. if you've got your Bibles,

  416. Revelation 3

    Revelation 3:15

  417. verses 15 and 16,

  418. I know your deeds

  419. that you are neither

  420. cold nor hot.

  421. I wish you were

  422. either one

  423. or the other.

  424. So because you are

  425. lukewarm,

  426. neither hot nor cold,

  427. I'm about to spit you

  428. out of my mouth.

  429. So what Jesus

  430. is addressing

  431. here in Laodicea

  432. is what you would

  433. call spiritual

  434. lukewarmness.

  435. We can see

  436. what this means

  437. when we see

  438. what it is

  439. contrasted with

  440. in verse 19.

  441. In the second sentence

  442. of verse 19

  443. we read,

  444. The word earnest

  445. there is

  446. translated

  447. from the word

  448. zealous

  449. in the original

  450. language.

  451. It's the origin

  452. of the word

  453. zealous

  454. in the English

  455. language.

  456. A lukewarm

  457. Christian

  458. is a Christian

  459. without zeal

  460. for God.

  461. Now it's

  462. interesting

  463. that if you do

  464. a word study here,

  465. this particular

  466. Greek word

  467. zealous

  468. is mostly

  469. translated

  470. in the New

  471. Testament

  472. as jealous

  473. and not

  474. zealous.

  475. Jealous,

  476. that is jealousy,

  477. is generally

  478. viewed

  479. as quite

  480. a negative

  481. thing.

  482. A negative

  483. thing.

  484. It's envy.

  485. Here in verse

  486. 19 it is in

  487. fact a positive

  488. thing.

  489. See when you

  490. are jealous

  491. in a negative

  492. sense,

  493. you set

  494. your love

  495. and your

  496. attention

  497. and your

  498. affection

  499. intently

  500. on

  501. yourself.

  502. Which is

  503. what jealousy

  504. is.

  505. Jealousy is

  506. just simply

  507. setting your

  508. love,

  509. your attention,

  510. your affection

  511. intently on

  512. something.

  513. But when it's

  514. negative,

  515. you do it

  516. to yourself.

  517. And therefore

  518. you become

  519. jealous

  520. of people.

  521. jealousy

  522. of anyone

  523. who has

  524. more talents

  525. and more

  526. money or

  527. more attention

  528. or more

  529. whatever than

  530. I've got,

  531. that's when

  532. jealousy is

  533. negative.

  534. Your zeal

  535. is for

  536. yourself.

  537. If however

  538. you become

  539. jealous

  540. for others,

  541. not of

  542. others,

  543. but for

  544. others,

  545. then it's

  546. positive.

  547. Jealousy

  548. for their

  549. good,

  550. for their

  551. growth,

  552. for their

  553. joy.

  554. To be

  555. jealous

  556. for someone

  557. is to

  558. set your

  559. love and

  560. your attention

  561. and your

  562. affection

  563. intently

  564. on them

  565. in such

  566. a way

  567. that it

  568. overflows

  569. in service

  570. of them.

  571. So this

  572. helps us

  573. here understand

  574. what is

  575. happening

  576. with Laodicea.

  577. A lukewarm

  578. Christian is

  579. not a

  580. hypocritical

  581. Christian.

  582. This is

  583. not about

  584. hypocrisy.

  585. These are

  586. people who

  587. believe what

  588. they should

  589. believe and

  590. do what

  591. they should

  592. be doing.

  593. However,

  594. the supreme

  595. passion of

  596. their lives,

  597. of their

  598. hearts,

  599. is set on

  600. something else

  601. apart from

  602. Jesus Christ.

  603. There is no

  604. jealousy for

  605. God.

  606. There is no

  607. zeal for

  608. God.

  609. There is no

  610. intimacy and

  611. passion and

  612. joy and

  613. wonder in

  614. their

  615. relationship

  616. with God.

  617. And Jesus

  618. goes on to

  619. express exactly

  620. how he feels

  621. about that.

  622. The first

  623. thing he says

  624. is in fact

  625. quite startling.

  626. Have a look

  627. at verse 15.

  628. I know

  629. your deeds

  630. that you

  631. are neither

  632. cold nor

  633. hot.

  634. I wish

  635. you were

  636. either one

  637. or the

  638. other.

  639. hot.

  640. He would

  641. rather that

  642. they be

  643. cold or

  644. hot, not

  645. warm.

  646. Now

  647. that's a

  648. bit strange.

  649. You see,

  650. you would

  651. expect Jesus

  652. to say,

  653. I wish you

  654. were hot.

  655. hot.

  656. Because that's

  657. zeal.

  658. That's

  659. passion.

  660. That's

  661. earnestness.

  662. That's

  663. keenness in

  664. your

  665. discipleship.

  666. But he

  667. also says,

  668. I would

  669. rather that

  670. you would

  671. be cold

  672. rather than

  673. warm.

  674. Didn't expect

  675. him to say

  676. that.

  677. Why would

  678. he say

  679. that?

  680. Because

  681. coldness is

  682. no belief

  683. at all.

  684. Why would

  685. he say

  686. that?

  687. I suppose

  688. it was

  689. partly the

  690. experience of

  691. his own

  692. ministry.

  693. He often

  694. faced the

  695. rejection,

  696. the

  697. expectations,

  698. the blindness

  699. among the

  700. religious

  701. people,

  702. but openness

  703. and reception

  704. from the

  705. sinners and

  706. the outcasts

  707. of society.

  708. Lukewarm

  709. people are

  710. often content,

  711. unteachable,

  712. comfortable,

  713. settled with

  714. where they

  715. are in

  716. their

  717. relationship

  718. with

  719. Jesus

  720. and

  721. Jesus

  722. not being

  723. the

  724. controlling

  725. influence

  726. of their

  727. lives.

  728. Lukewarm

  729. people are

  730. further from

  731. being hot

  732. than cold

  733. people are.

  734. I think

  735. that's the

  736. point he's

  737. making here.

  738. When cold

  739. people truly

  740. get the

  741. gospel,

  742. they go

  743. from cold

  744. to hot

  745. is what

  746. happens.

  747. You don't

  748. move from

  749. coldness

  750. to lukewarmness

  751. and then to

  752. hotness.

  753. That's not

  754. what happens.

  755. You go from

  756. cold to hot.

  757. That's the

  758. step.

  759. Now,

  760. the other

  761. really negative

  762. thing he says

  763. is in verse

  764. 16.

  765. So because

  766. you were

  767. lukewarm,

  768. I'm about to

  769. spit you out

  770. of my

  771. mouth.

  772. He's not

  773. angry here.

  774. He doesn't

  775. say because

  776. you were

  777. lukewarm,

  778. my wrath

  779. is about

  780. to descend

  781. on you.

  782. He's not

  783. saying that.

  784. He's not

  785. angry.

  786. He's

  787. sick.

  788. That's

  789. what it's

  790. saying.

  791. When Jesus

  792. looks at

  793. Christians

  794. without

  795. fervor,

  796. without zeal,

  797. without earnestness,

  798. without joy,

  799. without wonder,

  800. he wants

  801. to be

  802. sick.

  803. He doesn't

  804. say,

  805. I'm angry.

  806. He says,

  807. you turn

  808. my stomach.

  809. You make

  810. me gag.

  811. I want

  812. to vomit.

  813. I'm

  814. nauseous.

  815. In other

  816. words,

  817. it's

  818. personal.

  819. Lukewarmness,

  820. of course,

  821. is a symptom

  822. of something

  823. that's much

  824. deeper.

  825. It's a much

  826. deeper disease.

  827. And verse

  828. 17 reveals

  829. the core

  830. issue.

  831. You say,

  832. I am rich.

  833. I have

  834. acquired wealth

  835. and do not

  836. need a thing,

  837. but you do

  838. not realise

  839. that you are

  840. wretched,

  841. pitiful,

  842. poor,

  843. blind,

  844. and naked.

  845. Now,

  846. Laodicea,

  847. as a city,

  848. was known

  849. for three

  850. things in

  851. particular.

  852. It was

  853. a wealthy

  854. banking centre.

  855. And this

  856. resulted in

  857. a fairly

  858. self-confident

  859. and self-dependent

  860. culture.

  861. In fact,

  862. when the city

  863. of Laodicea

  864. was devastated

  865. by an earthquake

  866. in AD 60,

  867. they refused

  868. the help

  869. of the Roman

  870. Empire to

  871. rebuild it.

  872. Totally

  873. unsinkable

  874. in its time.

  875. Unheard of.

  876. Normally,

  877. what was

  878. required

  879. was the

  880. centre of

  881. Rome

  882. to come

  883. in and

  884. to be

  885. your

  886. rescuer

  887. in a

  888. moment

  889. of tragedy.

  890. But Laodicea

  891. didn't need

  892. it.

  893. They could

  894. save

  895. themselves.

  896. It was

  897. also a

  898. famous

  899. medical centre.

  900. In particular,

  901. it was known

  902. for an eye

  903. ointment that

  904. was manufactured

  905. there that

  906. dealt with eye

  907. issues,

  908. seeing issues.

  909. Thirdly,

  910. it was a

  911. fashion centre,

  912. especially

  913. known for

  914. clothing made

  915. from locally

  916. produced and

  917. quite rare and

  918. fancy black

  919. wool.

  920. And so they

  921. think they're

  922. doing really

  923. well here,

  924. Laodicea,

  925. but with

  926. bitter irony,

  927. Jesus says,

  928. you are in

  929. fact poor,

  930. you're blind,

  931. you're naked.

  932. Spiritual

  933. nakedness is a

  934. metaphor for guilt

  935. and shame in

  936. the Bible.

  937. You're a

  938. sinner.

  939. There is a

  940. record against

  941. you and you're

  942. liable for

  943. punishment.

  944. Spiritual

  945. poverty is

  946. impotence.

  947. You can't

  948. change your

  949. condition.

  950. You can't

  951. deal with

  952. your guilt

  953. and make

  954. yourself the

  955. person that

  956. you ought to

  957. be.

  958. Spiritual

  959. blindness is

  960. where you

  961. don't even

  962. know that

  963. you have a

  964. problem with

  965. your spiritual

  966. condition,

  967. which is why

  968. Jesus says,

  969. I'd rather you

  970. be cold and

  971. hot, not

  972. lukewarm,

  973. because you're

  974. blind.

  975. You can't

  976. even see it.

  977. despite the

  978. wealth and

  979. the health of

  980. Laodicea, the

  981. city was

  982. spiritually poor,

  983. sick and

  984. naked.

  985. The church

  986. was.

  987. It seems that

  988. Jesus is making

  989. a direct link

  990. here from the

  991. wealth, the

  992. wealth of the

  993. city, their

  994. self-confidence

  995. and their

  996. lukewarmness.

  997. He seems to

  998. be making a

  999. direct link

  1000. here between

  1001. being wealthy,

  1002. being brilliant,

  1003. being accomplished,

  1004. being a high

  1005. achiever to

  1006. spiritual

  1007. lukewarmness.

  1008. It's because

  1009. the more one

  1010. is a more

  1011. self-dependent

  1012. one is, the

  1013. less one heart

  1014. is gripped by

  1015. the truth that

  1016. they are in

  1017. fact a

  1018. sinner saved

  1019. by grace.

  1020. You see, it's

  1021. something that we

  1022. might know in

  1023. our heads.

  1024. I'm a sinner

  1025. saved by grace,

  1026. but the heart

  1027. has not been

  1028. captured by it.

  1029. The knowledge

  1030. that Jesus

  1031. loves you as

  1032. a sinner is

  1033. not a miracle.

  1034. It doesn't

  1035. move you to

  1036. tears when you

  1037. think about it

  1038. or sing about

  1039. it.

  1040. There is a

  1041. difference between

  1042. saying I'm a

  1043. sinner and

  1044. feeling that

  1045. I'm a sinner.

  1046. When you

  1047. don't feel

  1048. that you're

  1049. a sinner,

  1050. then you

  1051. don't feel

  1052. that you're

  1053. a miracle

  1054. of grace.

  1055. It's something

  1056. that doesn't

  1057. stir the

  1058. affections that

  1059. you're a

  1060. miracle of

  1061. grace.

  1062. There is a

  1063. link between

  1064. being affluent,

  1065. accomplished,

  1066. brilliance,

  1067. and lukewarmness.

  1068. Ask anyone

  1069. in ministry,

  1070. anyone in

  1071. ministry,

  1072. and they

  1073. will tell

  1074. you the

  1075. more affluent

  1076. the area,

  1077. the more

  1078. accomplished

  1079. the area,

  1080. the tougher

  1081. gospel ministry

  1082. is in that

  1083. place.

  1084. Very hard

  1085. to grow

  1086. churches in

  1087. middle class,

  1088. upper middle

  1089. class, higher

  1090. class societies.

  1091. Very hard.

  1092. Now, I'm

  1093. hoping the

  1094. longer I've

  1095. dragged this

  1096. on, that I

  1097. don't actually

  1098. have to draw

  1099. the specific

  1100. conclusions here

  1101. for us.

  1102. We are

  1103. living in

  1104. Laodicea.

  1105. We live in

  1106. Australia, and

  1107. even more than

  1108. that, we live

  1109. in the north

  1110. shore of

  1111. Sydney.

  1112. We need

  1113. at the very

  1114. least, brothers

  1115. and sisters, to

  1116. be open to

  1117. this word, at

  1118. the very

  1119. least.

  1120. A couple

  1121. of years

  1122. ago, we

  1123. preached through

  1124. the book of

  1125. Judges, and

  1126. one of the

  1127. most memorable

  1128. but detestable

  1129. stories, and

  1130. the passages

  1131. that I preached

  1132. on in that

  1133. time, was

  1134. Judges 11 and

  1135. the story of

  1136. Jephna, one

  1137. of the judges

  1138. of Israel.

  1139. He was one

  1140. of the leaders

  1141. of Israel, but

  1142. he sacrificed

  1143. his daughter

  1144. in order to

  1145. make a vow

  1146. to God.

  1147. All the

  1148. cultures around

  1149. Israel at

  1150. that time

  1151. practiced that

  1152. behavior.

  1153. They practiced

  1154. human sacrifices

  1155. in order to

  1156. get the gods

  1157. to do things

  1158. on their

  1159. behalf.

  1160. But Deuteronomy

  1161. tells us that

  1162. God, that the

  1163. God of the

  1164. Bible detests

  1165. human sacrifice.

  1166. And so I

  1167. remember after

  1168. preaching that,

  1169. the struggles

  1170. that so many

  1171. of us had

  1172. with that

  1173. passage.

  1174. How in the

  1175. world could a

  1176. leader of God's

  1177. people, a

  1178. leader in Israel

  1179. be so influenced

  1180. by the culture

  1181. around them that

  1182. they did what

  1183. they did and

  1184. they brought that

  1185. culture into

  1186. their faith?

  1187. How could that

  1188. happen?

  1189. Well then

  1190. hear this.

  1191. When Christians

  1192. come from the

  1193. poor parts of

  1194. the world

  1195. where the

  1196. church is

  1197. growing under

  1198. great hardship

  1199. and in

  1200. scarcity,

  1201. they say the

  1202. same thing

  1203. about the

  1204. churches in

  1205. the West.

  1206. They're often

  1207. appalled by

  1208. the lukewarmness.

  1209. They link it

  1210. to how safe

  1211. and affluent

  1212. that we are.

  1213. They notice,

  1214. for instance,

  1215. how little we

  1216. pray.

  1217. They notice how

  1218. much of the

  1219. money that we

  1220. make we spend

  1221. on ourselves.

  1222. They notice how

  1223. afraid we are to

  1224. let even our

  1225. neighbours know

  1226. that we're

  1227. Christians.

  1228. It is hard to

  1229. hear, but the

  1230. church in the

  1231. West, in

  1232. general, is

  1233. accommodating of

  1234. our culture as

  1235. Jephna was to

  1236. his in

  1237. Judges 11.

  1238. We struggle

  1239. with lukewarmness

  1240. too.

  1241. In April

  1242. 1963, Martin

  1243. Luther King

  1244. Jr. was

  1245. in prison in

  1246. Birmingham

  1247. Jail and

  1248. he wrote a

  1249. letter to the

  1250. church leaders

  1251. of the United

  1252. States.

  1253. It was a

  1254. very long

  1255. letter.

  1256. He had time.

  1257. But let me

  1258. just quote just

  1259. a part of it.

  1260. There was a

  1261. time when the

  1262. church was very

  1263. powerful.

  1264. In the time when

  1265. the early

  1266. Christians rejoiced

  1267. at being deemed

  1268. worthy to suffer

  1269. for what they

  1270. believed.

  1271. In those days,

  1272. the church was

  1273. not merely a

  1274. thermometer that

  1275. recorded the

  1276. ideas and the

  1277. principles of

  1278. popular opinion.

  1279. It was a

  1280. thermostat that

  1281. transformed the

  1282. mores of

  1283. society.

  1284. Small in

  1285. number, they

  1286. were big in

  1287. commitment.

  1288. They were

  1289. God

  1290. intoxicated.

  1291. By their

  1292. effort and

  1293. example, they

  1294. brought an

  1295. end to such

  1296. ancient evils

  1297. as infanticide

  1298. and gladiatorial

  1299. contests.

  1300. Things are

  1301. different now.

  1302. So often the

  1303. contemporary church

  1304. is weak.

  1305. If today's

  1306. church does not

  1307. recapture the

  1308. sacrificial spirit

  1309. of the early

  1310. church, it

  1311. will lose its

  1312. authenticity,

  1313. forfeit the

  1314. loyalty of

  1315. millions, and

  1316. be dismissed as

  1317. the irrelevant

  1318. social club with

  1319. no meaning for

  1320. the 20th century.

  1321. That's prophecy

  1322. in 1963.

  1323. There is a

  1324. lukewarmness that

  1325. comes from a

  1326. self-sufficiency

  1327. where the beauty

  1328. of the gospel

  1329. hasn't captured

  1330. the heart and

  1331. the affections.

  1332. So how to

  1333. receive a

  1334. positive

  1335. assessment from

  1336. Jesus?

  1337. The good news

  1338. is that Jesus

  1339. actually does

  1340. have a solution

  1341. for us here.

  1342. This is how we

  1343. can turn around

  1344. and receive a

  1345. positive assessment.

  1346. Verse 18,

  1347. I counsel you

  1348. to buy from me

  1349. gold refined

  1350. in the fire so

  1351. that you can

  1352. become rich and

  1353. white clothes to

  1354. wear so that you

  1355. can cover your

  1356. shameful

  1357. nakedness and

  1358. salve to put on

  1359. your eyes so that

  1360. you can see.

  1361. the first

  1362. solution, and

  1363. notice the three

  1364. things there where

  1365. they thought they

  1366. were strong.

  1367. No, no, you've

  1368. got to come to

  1369. me and you've

  1370. got to receive

  1371. these things from

  1372. me so that you

  1373. can be strong.

  1374. The first solution

  1375. is a call to get

  1376. hold of his

  1377. gracious salvation.

  1378. He offers

  1379. spiritual wealth

  1380. and spiritual

  1381. clothing and

  1382. spiritual sight.

  1383. When he says

  1384. buy from me, he

  1385. means literally

  1386. get from me this

  1387. stuff.

  1388. We get a

  1389. right robe

  1390. from him.

  1391. It's an

  1392. acceptable life,

  1393. a life that's

  1394. been cleansed by

  1395. all sin, by

  1396. Jesus' death on

  1397. the cross.

  1398. It's forgiveness

  1399. and pardon.

  1400. All of us don't

  1401. have to dig too

  1402. deep at all in

  1403. our hearts.

  1404. Just a moment of

  1405. quietness and we

  1406. discover that we

  1407. are not what we

  1408. ought to be or

  1409. even what we

  1410. would hope to

  1411. be.

  1412. All of us are

  1413. trying to accomplish

  1414. things in order to

  1415. cover our

  1416. nakedness.

  1417. Jesus calls us

  1418. to look away

  1419. from those

  1420. things, to

  1421. look to him, to

  1422. his grace, his

  1423. mercy, his

  1424. acceptance.

  1425. It's the only

  1426. garment in life,

  1427. the only garment

  1428. in life that will

  1429. never be taken

  1430. from you.

  1431. If you want to

  1432. get this from

  1433. Jesus, he offers

  1434. it to us.

  1435. If you want to

  1436. get this from

  1437. Jesus, you should

  1438. pray a prayer,

  1439. something like

  1440. this.

  1441. Lord, my

  1442. beliefs are

  1443. incomplete and

  1444. want just

  1445. full of

  1446. selfishness.

  1447. My affection

  1448. is cold.

  1449. My repentance

  1450. is half-hearted.

  1451. My best efforts

  1452. compared to your

  1453. holy standards

  1454. are just

  1455. unacceptable.

  1456. But Jesus

  1457. Christ died the

  1458. death that I

  1459. owed and he

  1460. lived the life

  1461. that I should

  1462. live.

  1463. Welcome me,

  1464. God, and

  1465. love me,

  1466. God, for

  1467. his sake.

  1468. Receive his

  1469. grace.

  1470. The second

  1471. way to move

  1472. from lukewarmness

  1473. to passion and

  1474. zeal and joy

  1475. is through

  1476. suffering.

  1477. It's the

  1478. gold, the

  1479. wealth refined

  1480. by fire.

  1481. The gold he

  1482. gives us is

  1483. refined by fire.

  1484. And a little

  1485. later, he says

  1486. that he loves

  1487. those he loves,

  1488. he rebukes

  1489. any disciplines.

  1490. To move

  1491. into a

  1492. grace-transformed

  1493. life, we are

  1494. going to have

  1495. to walk with

  1496. Jesus through

  1497. a bunch of

  1498. difficult times.

  1499. It's a simple

  1500. fact that those

  1501. who live

  1502. charmed lives

  1503. are nearly

  1504. always lukewarm.

  1505. the great

  1506. English preacher

  1507. Charles Spurgeon

  1508. once said,

  1509. the greatest

  1510. gift that

  1511. God can give

  1512. any person

  1513. is their

  1514. health.

  1515. Except

  1516. for a good

  1517. dose of

  1518. sickness.

  1519. In other

  1520. words, it

  1521. just breaks

  1522. you a bit.

  1523. Just makes

  1524. you reveal,

  1525. understand your

  1526. dependence upon

  1527. God a bit.

  1528. Breaks the

  1529. self-sufficiency

  1530. and the

  1531. self-confidence

  1532. a bit.

  1533. And that's

  1534. far greater

  1535. than more

  1536. health.

  1537. Thirdly,

  1538. we have to

  1539. be open to

  1540. his love.

  1541. This is one

  1542. of the most

  1543. amazing things

  1544. about this

  1545. passage in

  1546. Laodicea,

  1547. as it is

  1548. with all the

  1549. six churches.

  1550. Lukewarmness

  1551. here might

  1552. make him

  1553. want to

  1554. vomit us

  1555. out, but

  1556. it does not

  1557. change his

  1558. loving purposes

  1559. for us.

  1560. That is,

  1561. Jesus is not

  1562. into cancel

  1563. culture.

  1564. He doesn't

  1565. wipe us

  1566. when we fail

  1567. him.

  1568. That's works

  1569. theology.

  1570. He does not

  1571. wipe us when

  1572. we fail him.

  1573. We might make

  1574. him nauseous,

  1575. but he is

  1576. totally committed

  1577. to us.

  1578. That is

  1579. his grace

  1580. and his

  1581. mercy to

  1582. us.

  1583. So we need

  1584. to be open

  1585. to his love

  1586. again and

  1587. again and

  1588. again.

  1589. And lastly,

  1590. he wants to

  1591. commune with

  1592. us.

  1593. Verse 20,

  1594. here I am.

  1595. I stand at

  1596. the door and

  1597. knock.

  1598. If anyone

  1599. hears my

  1600. voice and

  1601. opens the

  1602. door, I

  1603. will come

  1604. in and

  1605. eat with

  1606. that person

  1607. and they

  1608. with me.

  1609. Throughout

  1610. the decades

  1611. and decades

  1612. and decades,

  1613. this verse

  1614. has been

  1615. used of

  1616. evangelists to

  1617. get people

  1618. to be open

  1619. to the

  1620. salvation that

  1621. Jesus offers.

  1622. That's not

  1623. what it's

  1624. about.

  1625. Use it if

  1626. you want.

  1627. It's not

  1628. like your

  1629. heresy if

  1630. you're doing

  1631. that.

  1632. But the

  1633. point here

  1634. is this

  1635. is about

  1636. Christian

  1637. people being

  1638. open to

  1639. Jesus coming

  1640. and communing

  1641. with them.

  1642. To be

  1643. invited into

  1644. someone's home

  1645. in ancient

  1646. times when

  1647. this was

  1648. written was

  1649. to invite

  1650. them into

  1651. intimate

  1652. fellowship and

  1653. friendship.

  1654. He wants

  1655. to commune

  1656. with you in

  1657. intimate

  1658. fellowship and

  1659. friendship.

  1660. He is

  1661. alive.

  1662. He's not

  1663. just a list

  1664. of ideas

  1665. and concepts.

  1666. He wants

  1667. to commune

  1668. with you.

  1669. For instance,

  1670. when you

  1671. pray, is it

  1672. just a list

  1673. of things

  1674. that you

  1675. want to

  1676. get from

  1677. him?

  1678. Issues

  1679. that you

  1680. want him

  1681. to solve?

  1682. Or do

  1683. you want

  1684. to know

  1685. him?

  1686. He desires

  1687. for us

  1688. to be

  1689. open to

  1690. him and

  1691. to be

  1692. intimate

  1693. fellowship.

  1694. Start your

  1695. prayers with

  1696. Jesus.

  1697. I want

  1698. to know

  1699. you more.

  1700. I want

  1701. to know

  1702. you.

  1703. And in

  1704. knowing you,

  1705. know myself.

  1706. Know who

  1707. it is who's

  1708. knocking at

  1709. the door.

  1710. He's the

  1711. cosmic king

  1712. Jesus.

  1713. And he

  1714. wants to

  1715. know you.

  1716. Dwell

  1717. with you.

  1718. Be intimate

  1719. with you.

  1720. And even

  1721. if the

  1722. whole church,

  1723. if you're

  1724. sitting there

  1725. and you

  1726. might be

  1727. engaging

  1728. with this

  1729. and you're

  1730. at a

  1731. church

  1732. that is

  1733. just full

  1734. of lukewarm

  1735. people,

  1736. even if

  1737. the whole

  1738. church at

  1739. Laodicea

  1740. does not

  1741. respond,

  1742. he's calling

  1743. me and

  1744. you as

  1745. individuals to

  1746. commune with

  1747. him.

  1748. He says,

  1749. if anyone,

  1750. anyone opens

  1751. a door,

  1752. I will come.

  1753. It's a

  1754. personal call,

  1755. not just

  1756. the church

  1757. at Laodicea,

  1758. but a

  1759. personal call

  1760. for you as

  1761. an individual.

  1762. Open the

  1763. door to

  1764. Jesus and

  1765. commune with

  1766. him.

  1767. These

  1768. messages to

  1769. the seven

  1770. churches about

  1771. you and

  1772. me and

  1773. what Jesus

  1774. thinks about

  1775. our spiritual

  1776. health too,

  1777. not just an

  1778. assessment of

  1779. the corporate

  1780. church.

  1781. Lastly,

  1782. the hope of a

  1783. positive assessment.

  1784. All servant

  1785. churches receive a

  1786. promise.

  1787. It's a reward

  1788. for overcoming

  1789. and the one

  1790. here is

  1791. remarkable in

  1792. verse 21.

  1793. To the one

  1794. who is

  1795. victorious,

  1796. I will give

  1797. the right to

  1798. sit with me

  1799. on my throne

  1800. just as I

  1801. was victorious

  1802. and sat down

  1803. with my father

  1804. on his

  1805. throne.

  1806. What a

  1807. promise.

  1808. This is the

  1809. cosmic king

  1810. Jesus ruling

  1811. the universe

  1812. because he

  1813. earned the

  1814. right to

  1815. rule.

  1816. First,

  1817. as the creator

  1818. of the universe,

  1819. secondly,

  1820. is the

  1821. redeemer of

  1822. the universe.

  1823. He has the

  1824. right to

  1825. rule.

  1826. Why would

  1827. he invite

  1828. us to

  1829. rule with

  1830. him?

  1831. Because he

  1832. earned it

  1833. for us

  1834. as well.

  1835. Do you

  1836. know why

  1837. we can get

  1838. that white

  1839. robe?

  1840. because he

  1841. was stripped

  1842. naked and

  1843. laid on a

  1844. cross.

  1845. Do you

  1846. know why

  1847. we could

  1848. have

  1849. spiritual

  1850. wealth and

  1851. inherit the

  1852. earth?

  1853. Because he

  1854. was impoverished,

  1855. came down

  1856. from the

  1857. heights of

  1858. glory and

  1859. entered the

  1860. world as a

  1861. baby and

  1862. died the

  1863. death of a

  1864. criminal on a

  1865. cross.

  1866. He was

  1867. impoverished.

  1868. Do you

  1869. know why

  1870. that we

  1871. can get

  1872. spiritual

  1873. sights and

  1874. no truth?

  1875. Because he

  1876. allowed them

  1877. to put a

  1878. blindfold on

  1879. him and

  1880. strike him

  1881. and mock

  1882. him.

  1883. Prophesy who

  1884. did that to

  1885. you.

  1886. Why?

  1887. Because he

  1888. was jealous

  1889. for you.

  1890. He was

  1891. jealous for

  1892. me.

  1893. He was

  1894. jealous for

  1895. us, his

  1896. church.

  1897. He said

  1898. his love

  1899. intensely on

  1900. us.

  1901. He exploded

  1902. with service

  1903. on our

  1904. behalf.

  1905. His

  1906. passion

  1907. changed the

  1908. world.

  1909. Everything

  1910. he does

  1911. is for

  1912. us.

  1913. Every bit

  1914. of glory

  1915. and honour

  1916. he achieved

  1917. he achieved

  1918. that he

  1919. might share

  1920. it with

  1921. us.

  1922. How can

  1923. we come

  1924. to grips

  1925. with

  1926. someone

  1927. who gives

  1928. themselves

  1929. utterly

  1930. for us

  1931. unless we

  1932. give

  1933. ourselves

  1934. utterly

  1935. to him.

  1936. thank

  1937. humans

  1938. and

  1939. to

  1940. teach

  1941. who

  1942. in

  1943. someone

  1944. who

  1945. will

  1946. issue

  1947. for

  1948. them

  1949. on

  1950. is

  1951. the

  1952. Vai

  1953. yht

  1954. allied

  1955. in

  1956. the

  1957. Either

  1958. Vai

  1959. catch

  1960. someone

  1961. Someone

  1962. can

  1963. pop

  1964. an

  1965. bee

  1966. Going