Revelation 3:14-21

I guess I'm on.

Well, good evening, everyone.

Scripture reading tonight is Revelation 3, verses 14 through 22.

Revelation 3:14–22

And you can find that in your pew Bible.

It's on page 1030.

So, tonight we're going to look at the last of Jesus' letters to the seven churches that we find here in the early chapters of Revelation.

It's been Jesus' pattern as he addresses each church.

And these were real churches, by the way, that he was writing to in the first century.

And it was his pattern to establish who he is and to say, this is Jesus.

Here's who I am.

I'm the Alpha and the Omega.

I'm the beginning and the end.

I'm the Savior of the world.

And then he proceeds to tell the churches commendations and encouragements, but also some criticisms.

And tonight, in the seventh church that's addressed, the church in Laodicea, Jesus does not have anything positive to say at all.

In fact, we find one of the sternest warnings in any of the letters.

In fact, I would say one of the sternest warnings anywhere in Scripture.

Along with it, however, we find Jesus himself giving us a key to how to get right with him, how to know him, how to have a meaningful life, how to have peace, how to have energy for God.

And it's all here in our passage tonight, so let's look at it together.

So this is Revelation chapter 3, verses 14 through 22.

Revelation 3:14–22

I'm going to read heterozy.

I'm going to read it.

For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.

I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire

So that you may be rich

And white garments so that you may clothe yourself

And the shame of your nakedness may not be seen

And salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see

Those whom I love I reprove and discipline

So 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 eat with him

And he with me

The one who conquers

I will grant him to sit with me on my throne

As I also conquered and sat down with my father on his throne

He who has an ear let him hear

What the spirit says to the churches

Okay so tonight I'd like to break our

The teaching into three segments tonight

The condition of this particular church

The condition

The cause of that condition

And the cure for the condition

So let's begin with the condition

So let's look at verse 15 and 16 together

I know your works

You are neither cold nor hot

Would that you were either cold or hot

So because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold

I will spit you out of my mouth

Now

I don't know if this is a big problem for northerners

But if you have ever sat on a beach

Down south in Georgia or Florida maybe

And you are sitting there sweltering

Because it is 110 degrees

And there is not a breeze in the air

And it is humid and horrible

And you decide

I am going to get up and go for a swim

And cool off

And it is going to be refreshing

And I just can't wait

And you get up off your towel

And it sticks to your back

And you pull it off

And you go and hit the water

But the problem is

The water is actually the same temperature

As the air

It is just wetter

Not a whole lot wetter either actually

And so you get in the water

And you get out of the water

And there is no use

There was no

It didn't work

And when we see Jesus here

Referring to

Hot and cold

I wish you were hot and cold

Your deeds

The way you live

I wish it was

I wish it was

Hot or cold

Hot things are useful

Cold things are useful

Hot water

You can cook with it

You can clean with it

You can do things with it

Cold water

You can drink it

And be refreshed

Or you can jump in a pool of it

But lukewarm water

Is not useful

And you see what was happening

Is this church was drifting

Away from Jesus

And into a life

With no ultimate purpose

Because we don't want to misunderstand

These were

These

This is a church

These were people going to church services

They were probably very decent people

Probably very

Ordinary

Church going folks

But they had strayed

From Christ

And their lives

Were no longer serving his purpose

And they had lost their passion

And their love

And their energy for God

And they become mediocre

Jesus treats this very seriously

If we look at the tail end

At verse 16

It's just startling

It's just

I don't know how it hits you

When you read this verse

But Jesus says

I wish you were either hot or cold

And because you're not

I'm going to spit you out of my mouth

You're on a trajectory

You're on a trajectory

That leads to us breaking up

You're on a path

That if you don't change course

Then I'm going to have to

Spit you out of my mouth

Now

You may ask

Why is this such a big problem

That Jesus is so

Over the top

With this warning

What is

What is the big issue

And I think

If we look at the cause

Of this lukewarmness

We're going to see that

We're going to see

Why Jesus warns so sternly

You know

All along here

In all the letters

Where Jesus is warning

His people

We have to keep in mind

That he bled and died

For these people

He loves these people

This is not

Jesus is not taking a stick

And saying oh you did that wrong

Whack

You know

It is

Jesus loves this church

As we're going to see

In a little bit

He comes right out

And says it

Okay

Look with me in verse 17

This is the cause

The underlying cause

Of why this church

Had become lukewarm

And this is the much more

Serious issue

I think we're going to see

For you say

I am rich

I have prospered

And I need nothing

Not realizing

That you are wretched

Pitiable

Poor

Blind

And naked

So what Jesus is saying

Is you've drifted off

Into this lukewarm

Mediocre

Life

Because you're

Not realizing

You're not knowing

You're not accepting

You're not embracing

You're not believing

That you are spiritually

Bankrupt

Apart from me

When you wander away

From me

You've got nothing

You're bankrupt

And you know

This is a major line

In the sand

This is the difference

Between being a Christian

And not being a Christian

When we

When we wander

Away

From Jesus

And begin

To put our confidence

In our right standing

With God

In something

Other than

Him

I think I would go

So far

As to say

That not realizing

Not properly

Diagnosing

Ourselves

That we are

Wretched

Pitiable

Poor

Blind

And naked

Is

The root cause

Of

Falling away

From Jesus

In many different ways

Now I want to take

One second

Because you may be saying

Are we really

That bad off

Are we really

Wretched

Pitiable

Poor

Blind

And naked

That is strong

Language

And I just want to take

One

One

Side note here

And I just want to say

That

The Bible's answer

Is yes

And

Here's why

The magnitude

Of the crime

Is determined

By the stature

Of the offended party

Okay

Just hang with me

Just for one second

On this

The magnitude

Of the crime

Is determined

By the stature

Of the offended party

In other words

My children will all be

Smiling at this

Because I say this

Once a month

In my house

If you slap

Your brother

In the face

There's going to be

A consequence

From that

If you

At least

If you have

Parents

Who are paying

Attention

If you slap

Your teacher

In the face

There's a whole

Different level

Of consequence

For that

Same action

If you slap

The president

Of the United States

In the face

If you happen

To break through

And get up to him

Guess what

You're gone

We're never going to

See you again

You're going to go

To wherever people go

Where you know

You don't know

They're just gone

They're in

You did it to the

President jail

And can you see

That

The stature

Of the offended

Party

Determines

The

The

Value

Of the crime

And

Mankind

Has slapped

The infinite

God of the universe

In the face

By our sinning

And

This means

That there's a debt

That we cannot pay

There is a debt

That only

Jesus

Can pay

Ever

And by ever

I mean

Not that you

Accept that

One time

And then

Once you

Once you

Accept it

On those grounds

Then you go out

And become a good

Person

And start

Working it out

For yourself

Jesus

Is

Always

The grounds

For our

Right standing

With God

And not

Realizing

That's why

This verse

Is a little

Tricky

Because it

Says

Oh

These

Laodiceans

They're not

Realizing

That they

Are wretched

Pitiable

Poor

Blind

And naked

No

What I

Want to

Tell you

Is

All of

Us

Apart

From

Christ

Are

That

That

Is

Not

Just

For

Laodiceans

Now

When we

Get

Confronted

With

This

Truth

I

Think

There's

A firestorm

Of reactions

That go

Off

In our

Hearts

Okay

There's

Disbelief

Well

Guess

What

God

I'm

Just

Going

To

Unfriend

You

Then

Because

That's

That's

A horrible

Thing

To say

About

A person

Okay

That I'm

That bad

Off

There's

Denial

Well

That's

Other

People

But

Not

Me

There's

Distraction

La la la la la

I'm

Just

That's

I can't

Deal

With

That

I'm

Just

Going

To

Play

Video

Games

And

Watch

TV

And

Binge

Watch

And

Not

Worry

About

It

Till

Later

There's

Deflection

Where we

Blame

It's

Not

My

Fault

Someone

Else

Is

Responsible

There's

Dilution

And

There's

Delusion

Where

We

Tell

Ourselves

That

Reality

Is

This

Way

When

Jesus

Is

Saying

It's

That

Way

And

That

Brings

Us

Back

Around

To

The

La

Deceit

That

Laodiceans

Because

We

See

That

They

Were

Telling

Themselves

A

False

Reality

About

Their

Security

You

See

How

They

Say

I

Am

Rich

I

Have

Prospered

I

Need

Nothing

You

Know

Success

Is

A

Threat

To

Our

Rightly

And

Rightly

Understanding

That

Where

We

Stand

With

God

We're

Completely

Dependent

On

Jesus

Because

When

We

Experience

Success

Things

Are

Good

And

We

Feel

Like

Oh

Things

Are

Okay

Maybe

I

Don't

Need

Jesus

So

Much

And

It

Can

Come

In

All

Sorts

Of

Forms

Right

Vocationally

Or

Academically

Or

This

Or

Even

Morally

So

When

People

Become

Believers

Right

God

Starts

Working

On

Their

Heart

And

Then

They

Start

Getting

A

Better

Life

And

God

Starts

Working

On

Them

And

As

Soon

As

Their

Life

Starts

To

Get

Better

All

Of

A

Sudden

They're

Like

Well

Maybe

I'm

Not

So

Pitiable

And

Poor

And

Wretched

Anymore

Right

Or

If

You

Become

A

Ph.D.

Or

If

Things

Are

Just

Good

In

Your

Life

Then

You

Say

I'm

Not

Pitiable

And

Poor

And

Naked

And

Wretched

I'm

Awesome

And

That

Is

A

Threat

To

Us

Not

Realizing

That

Apart

From

Christ

We're

Wretched

And

Pitiable

And

Poor

And

Blind

And

Naked

You

Know

Jesus

Said

Those

Who

Are

Forgiven

Much

Love

Much

And

That's

Why

This

Concept

Is

Critically

Important

It

Is

A

Bedrock

It

Is

A

Key

To

The

Christian

Life

To

To

To

Understand

Our

Position

Before

A

Holy

God

Apart

From

Christ

Jesus

Said

Those

Who

Are

Forgiven

Much

Love

Much

Those

Who

Are

Forgiven

Little

Love

Little

And

What

He

Means

By

That

Is

If

You

Perceive

That

You're

In

Pretty

Good

Shape

And

You're

A

Decent

Person

Especially

Compared

To

This

Guy

And

Yeah

You

Need

Help

You

Need

Some

Forgiveness

But

You're

Not

Wretched

And

Poor

And

Naked

And

Blind

Then

When

Jesus

Comes

With

His

Grace

Grace

It's

Grace

With

A

Lower

Case

G

And

It

Cannot

Become

The

Engine

And

Fuel

That

You

Need

To

Live

A

Life

Of

Love

And

Energy

For

God

Because

Grace

Is

Small

Grace

Because

You

Only

Need

Small

Grace

So

So

You

Know

This

Sounds

It's

A

Hard

Thing

To

Hear

For

Someone

To

Stand

Up

Here

And

Say

You

Know

What

I'm

Sorry

But

All

Of

You

Are

Wretched

And

Poor

And

Pitiable

Okay

But

The

Flip

Side

Of

That

Coin

Is

When

We

Embrace

That

And

Then

Jesus

Comes

With

His

Message

That

He's

About

To

Come

The

Cure

It

Is

So

Beautiful

It

Is

So

Wonderful

It

Remains

With

A

Capital

G

Okay

So

That's

The

Cause

So

Now

I'd

Like

To

Talk

About

The

Cure

Look

With

Me

At

Verse

18

Jesus

Says

I

Counsel

You

To

Buy

From

Me

Gold

Refined

By

Fire

So

That

You

May

Be

Rich

And

White

Garments

So

That

You

May

Clothe

Yourself

And

The

Shame

Of

Your

Nakedness

May

Not

Be

Seen

And

Salve

To

Anoint

Your

Eyes

So

That

You

May

See

Those

Whom

I

Love

I

Reprove

And

Discipline

So

Be

Zealous

And

Repent

So

The

First

Step

In

The

Cure

Is

That

We

Confess

To

God

That

We

Are

Spiritually

Bankrupt

You

Know

If

You

If

You

If

You

Hear

This

Passage

And

You're

Like

Me

And

You

Say

Wow

I'm

I'm

Lukewarm

Oftentimes

I'm

Lukewarm

I'm

I'm

Mediocre

Am I

Living

A

Zealous

Energy

Filled

Life

For

God

Where

I'm

Willing

To

Lay

It

Down

Because

Of

What

He's

Done

For

Me

In

Jesus

Well

You

Know

I

Fail

That

Test

And

Right

Here

We

Have

Jesus

Saying

An

Interesting

Thing

The

First

Part

Of

The

Cure

Is

Not

To

Go

Out

There

And

Do

Better

And

Try

Harder

The

First

Part

Of

The

Cure

Is

Okay

So

You're

Not

Zealous

Like

You

Ought

To

Be

Well

How

About

Be

Zealous

About

This

Be

Zealous

To

Tell

Me

That

You're

Not

Zealous

Be

Zealous

To

Own

That

Be

Zealous

To

Come

To

Me

And

Confess

That

To

Me

Be

Be

Be

Have

Energy

So

You

Don't

Have

Energy

For

All

These

Things

That

You

Should

Well

How

About

Have

You

Need

My

Resources

My

Riches

You

Need

My

My

White

Perfect

Clothing

You

Need

My

Medicine

You're

Sick

You

Know

There

Was

A

Great

Preacher

That

Said

All

You

Need

Is

Nothing

But

So

Few

People

Have

It

I

Don't

Know

If

You

Ever

Heard

That

Before

All

You

Need

Is

Nothing

To

Come

To

God

Nothing

But

So

Few

People

Have

It

Because

We

Have

In

Our

Hands

The

Things

That

We

Are

Saying

No

I'm

Not

Poor

And

Pitiable

I'm

At

Least

This

You

Want

To

Talk

Poor

And

Pitiable

I'll

Show

You

Some

One

Okay

The

First

Part

Of

The

Cure

Is

That

We

Confess

To

God

That

We

Are

Spiritually

Bankrupt

You

Know

It's

It's

Important

To

Note

Here

That

Jesus

Is

Literally

Telling

Us

Love

Us

Do

You

See

That

Don't

Miss

That

Verse

19

Those

Whom

I

Love

I

Bring

This

Message

To

I

Love

You

I'm

On

Your

Side

I'm

Trying

To

Help

You

Wake

Up

Trust

Trusting

Trusting

In

Yourself

Is

Totally

Insane

Trusting

In

Yourself

To

Save

Yourself

In

Any

Percentage

Is

Totally

Insane

Before

A

Holy

God

That

Created

The

Entire

Universe

And

Then

Told

Us

Just

How

Bad

The

Problem

Is

By

Sending

His

Own

Son

Who

Had

To

Hang

On

A

Cross

And

Be

Mocked

And

Bleed

To

Death

Can

We

Feel

The

Offense

When

We

Come

And

Add

Something

To

That

And

Detract

From

The

Poor

And

Pitiable

We

Mustn't

Let's

Move

On

To

Verse

20

Behold

I

Stand

At

The

Door

And

Knock

If

Anyone

Hears

My

Voice

And

Opens

The

Door

I

Will

Come

Into

Him

And

Eat

With

Him

And

He

With

Me

You

Know

I

Just

Love

This

You

Know

What

I

Love

About

This

The

Second

Confession

Is

Done

The

Second

We

Just

Move

Past

The

Verse

That

Said

Confess

Repent

As

Soon

As

We

Turn

And

Say

You

Know

What

You

You

Are

I

Do

Need

You

I

I'm

Hopeless

Sinner

I

Need

You

What

Does

Jesus

Say

I'm

Right

At

The

Door

Ready

To

Come

In

If

You

Hear

My

Voice

If

You

Turn

And

Repent

I

Will

Come

In

And

I

Will

Eat

With

You

And

You

Will

Eat

With

Me

And

We

Will

Have

Intimacy

Real

Intimacy

Experiential

Relationship

Not

Oh

I

Know

I

Don't

Want

To

To

Hell

And

I

Okay

I'll

Accept

This

And

Okay

I've

Done

That

And

Now

I

Have

That

What

Jesus

Is

After

And

What

Jesus

Is

Offering

Is

So

Much

More

And

In fact

We

Have

To

Have

It

We

Have

To

Have

All

Of

Him

Or

None

Of

Him

And

I

Think

That's

Part

Of

The

Gist

Of

This

Passage

It's

It's

Either

All

In

With

Him

Or

I'm

Sorry

But

I'm

Going

To

Spew

You

Out

Of

My

Mouth

Because

I

Want

To

Come

In

And

Have

A

Real

Vital

Living

Relationship

With

You

I'm

At

The

Door

All

You

Have

To

Do

Is

Acknowledge

That

You

Need

Me

And

We

Can

Get

This

Ball

Rolling

We

Can

Get

This

Relationship

Going

And

Then

When

He

Comes

In

And

You're

On

Your

Knees

And

Your

Tears

Are

Dripping

And

You're

Saying

You

I

Do

Need

You

I

Am

Wretched

And

Poor

Because

Of

My

Sin

Then

He

Floods

You

With

Affirmation

Forgiveness

Love

Grace

Some

Of

Us

Here

Have

Tasted

That

For

Real

There's

Nothing

Like

It

It's

Pull

The

Car

Over

On

The

Side

Of

The

Road

And

For

Ten

Minutes

Just

Sob

That's

What

It

Is

It

Is

When

You

Have

That

That

Is

The

Energy

To

Combat

A

Lukewarm

Mediocre

Live

For

Ultimately

Nothing

Life

Because

Now

Jesus

Is

Giving

You

What

You

Don't

Deserve

In

Measures

That

Are

Almost

Unthinkable

And

You're

Just

So

Thankful

It's

Almost

Too

Good

To

Believe

And

Then

He

Says

Here's

What

Here's

Here's

My

Job

For

You

I

Want

You

To

Come

Along

Side

And

I

Want

You

To

Pour

This

Grace

Back

Out

On

Other

People

I

Want

You

To

Live

A

Life

Where

You're

Going

Out

And

And

Loving

People

In

My

Name

And

I'll

Tell

You

That

Is

A

Life

Of

Meaning

And

That's

A

Useful

Life

Lastly

Because

It

Doesn't

Stop

There

If

We

Look

At

Verse

21

Jesus

Says

The

One

Who

Conquers

Or

The

One

Who

Overcomes

I

Will

Grant

Him

To

Sit

With

Me

On

My

Throne

As

I

Also

Conquered

And

Sat

Down

With

My

Father

On

His

Throne

And

We

Don't

Have

Time

To

Dig

Into

That

Other

Than

I

Just

Want

To

Say

That

A

Component

Of