Be Either Cold or Hot

Good morning, everyone. It's good to be with you guys, good to worship with you.

It looks like a lot of our members are traveling for Thanksgiving, but you guys are here.

I hope that doesn't mean you didn't get to have a good Thanksgiving meal and time with friends and family.

And if you have a Bible, please open with me to Revelation chapter 3.

Revelation 3 · chapter mention

If you don't have a Bible, please raise your hand. We'd love to give you one that you can have and use.

Revelation chapter 3.

Revelation 3 · chapter mention

We've been going through this series for a couple months now, and we're in chapter 3 today,

the last letter of the seven letters to the churches that Jesus writes.

Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's word.

Father, you are the God, the ancient of days, the God of all truth.

Your word is truth, and your son Jesus is the faithful and true witness.

And so, Lord, today we want to hear from you.

We want to be adjusted by your perspective.

We want to submit to your commands.

So we humble ourselves before you.

Minister to us by your word in your spirit.

Make us a church that is zealous for you, for your glory.

Fill us more and more with your spirit.

We plead with you in the name of Jesus.

Amen.

If you are able, please stand and join us as I read through Revelation 3, verses 14 to 22.

Revelation 3:14–22

And to the angel of the church in Laodicea, write,

the words of the amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation.

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.

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 yourselves,

if any 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 into 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.

This is God's holy and authoritative word.

You may be seated.

If you have been a Christian for a little while,

you have probably been taught at some point that all sinners are equal before the eyes of God.

Or maybe you've heard it said this way,

that the ground is level at the foot of the cross.

This is an important truth,

because the Bible does say that there is no distinction,

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

God makes no distinction between sinners,

because all of us have fallen short of God's standard,

and all of us need to be justified by God's grace as a gift

through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

So imagine comparing two sinners in their level of sinfulness,

like comparing two people's heights.

For example, Connor.

You guys know Connor?

Connor Failure?

Is he here?

He's not here.

He's a little bit taller than me.

He's like six foot four.

I'm like five foot four on a good day.

So like I said, he's just a little bit taller than me.

If you want to be a stickler for details,

he's quite a bit taller than me.

But if you look down on me and Connor from a thousand feet up,

we're basically the same height, right?

I mean, that's the difference,

because you're so much higher up that everybody down here looks diminutive.

That's what it's like for God to look at sinners.

We all fall so woefully short of God's perfect righteousness

that our relative righteousness or our relative sinfulness

really doesn't matter in terms of our standing before God.

Whether you broke one law or whether you broke a thousand laws,

you're still a lawbreaker.

As James 2.10 says,

for whoever keeps the whole law but fails at one point

has become guilty of all of it.

In terms of our legal standing before God,

all sinners are in the same boat.

We are all headed to hell apart from God's gracious intervention.

That does not mean, however,

that there aren't lesser sins and greater sins.

There is a gradient.

For example, the Old Testament refers to idolatry and sexual immorality

in particular as a great sin,

which implies in some way that they are worse offenses than other sins.

1 Corinthians 6.18 singles out sexual immorality

as a sin that is uniquely against one's own body

because it does violence to a Christian's spiritual union with Christ

because their body is a temple of the Spirit.

In John 19.11, Jesus says that the sin of betraying

and handing him over to the authorities

is a greater sin than Pilate's sin of condemning Jesus.

In Matthew 5.19 and in Matthew 23.23,

Jesus clearly teaches that there are least of the commandments

and weightier matters of the law,

which prove that some of God's commands are weightier than others

and constantly be a greater offense to break them.

I say all of that to demonstrate a simple point

that not all sins are equal.

Some sins are worse than others.

Not in terms of our legal standing before God,

but in terms of their relative weightiness.

Some sins are more dangerous than others.

Some sins are more insidious than others.

And the sin that is at the root of all other sin is pride.

It was the first sin.

Before Adam and Eve ate the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil,

they had pride in thinking that they can, quote,

be like God, knowing good and evil.

They thought that they could be themselves the arbiters of good and evil

in the place of God.

They thought that they knew better than God what is actually good for them.

C.S. Lewis famously wrote in his book, Mere Christianity,

that the essential vice, the utmost evil is pride.

Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness, and all that

are mere flea bites in comparison.

It was through pride that the devil became the devil.

Pride leads to every other vice.

It is the complete anti-God state of mind.

End quote.

And if I may take that one step further,

among the various kinds of pride,

there is a particular type of pride that is especially stealthy

and therefore dangerous among Christians,

and that is spiritual pride.

Jonathan Edwards warns of it in this way.

The first and worst cause of errors that abound in our day and age

is spiritual pride.

This is the main door by which the devil comes into the hearts of those

who are zealous for the advancement of Christ.

It is the chief inlet of smoke from the bottomless pit

to darken the mind and mislead the judgment.

Pride is the main handle by which he has hold of Christian persons

and the chief source of all the mischief that he introduces

to clog and hinder a work of God.

Spiritual pride is the main spring,

or at least the main support of all other errors.

Until this disease is cured,

medicines are applied in vain to heal all other disease.

It is by spiritual pride that the mind defends

and justifies itself in other errors

and defends itself against light by which it might be corrected and reclaimed.

The spiritually proud man thinks he is full of light already

and feels that he does not need instruction,

so he is ready to ignore the offer of it.

Because of the nature of spiritual pride,

it is the most secret of all sins.

There is no other matter in which the heart is more deceitful

and unsearchable,

and there is no other sin in the world

that men are so confident in.

The very nature of it is to work self-confidence

and drive away any suspicion of any evil of that kind.

There is no sin so much like the devil

as this for secrecy and subtlety

and appearing in great many shapes

that are undetected and unsuspected.

If you think that's a bit hyperbolic, it's not.

Jonathan Edwards is not alone.

Many teachers, pastors, theologians throughout church history

have said this very thing.

Spiritual pride is difficult to detect

because it is by its very nature self-concealing.

It's like pancreatic cancer,

which has the highest mortality of all the major cancers.

One of the main reasons for its deadliness

is that pancreatic cancer is nearly impossible to catch early.

The pancreas looks like a comma

that's like fallen on its side.

Some of you guys are doctors.

You guys know what I'm talking about.

And it's like nestled.

It's cupped by the small intestine,

and it's like hidden behind the stomach,

the upper abdomen,

and then it meets its tail.

It ends in the spleen.

So it's like it's hidden, surrounded by,

and hidden behind all these other internal organs

so that pancreatic tumors are impossible to see or feel

during routine medical exams.

And so the only way to find them,

to detect them,

is by imaging tests like ultrasound and CT scans

and MRI scans and PET scans.

But people with pancreatic cancer

usually don't sign up for those imaging tests.

Why?

Because in its early stages,

pancreatic cancer is what some doctors call

the silent disease

because it often has no presenting symptoms

in its early stage.

So it's only when it's advanced beyond cure,

often when it's harder to treat,

that pancreatic cancer becomes detected.

And that's why it's so deadly.

That's what spiritual pride is like.

Spiritual pride is self-concealing,

which is why it is so insidious.

The devil often uses it to beguile,

as Jonathan Edwards said,

those who are zealous for the advancement of Christ.

And what we learn here in Revelation 3, 14 to 22,

is that once spiritual pride has taken root

in the heart of a zealous believer,

it saps the zeal right out of him.

It makes him lukewarm.

And that's what we see in Jesus' letter

to the church in Laodicea.

And that's why we must be vigilant

against the creeping effects of spiritual pride.

And this is the main point of our passage this morning.

We must repent of our lukewarmness

and be zealous for the Lord Jesus

so that we might enjoy our communion with him.

I'm gonna first talk about the author,

the sender of this letter, Christ,

who is faithful and true.

Then secondly, I'm gonna talk about the condition,

according to Jesus' evaluation,

the condition of the church in Laodicea,

that they're neither cold nor hot.

Third, I'll talk about the command,

Jesus' command to be zealous and repent.

And then lastly, I'll talk about the reward

that Jesus promises to those who obeyed,

communion, riches, relationships, and rule

that we get to share in Christ.

So let's first talk about Christ,

the author and sender of this letter

to the angel of the church in Laodicea.

So far, in all of the letters,

Jesus introduced himself in a way

that was particularly suitable for the situation

that the church was in on the ground.

So why does Jesus introduce himself in verse 14

as the amen, the faithful and true witness?

The beginning of God's creation.

The general pattern in Jesus' letters

to these seven churches in Revelation 2-3

is that after saying, I know your works,

Jesus then goes on to list their works that he knows.

Sometimes they're good works,

sometimes they're bad works,

usually a mix of both.

And then after sharing his commendations

and then corrections, Jesus issues his command,

and then he gives them the promise of reward.

But here in verse 15,

it kind of doesn't follow that usual pattern

because after saying, I know your works,

there is no commendation whatsoever.

Laodicea and Sardis are the only two churches

that receive no commendation

and receive only corrections from Jesus.

And Laodicea is even worse than Sardis.

It's probably the worst church on this list

because Sardis at least had a few people,

according to Jesus,

a remnant who had not soiled their garments.

A few, there was a faithful few in Sardis,

but there's no mention of such a faithful remnant

in Laodicea.

They're all together, naked,

and in need of being clothed

with the white garments of Christ's righteousness.

Ironically, however,

the church in Laodicea is blind

to their own spiritual poverty and nakedness.

They say in verse 17,

I am rich, I prospered,

and I need nothing.

Not realizing that they are wretched,

pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.

Here's an example of spiritual pride.

The self-confidence and self-satisfaction

of the spiritually proud person

inoculates him against self-suspicion.

He says, I need nothing.

Like an overconfident, complacent driver

who doesn't bother to check the blind spot.

Well, I've seen everything.

And then switches lanes

and then gets into a car wreck.

The spiritually proud person

does not suspect

that he can possibly be blind to something.

The church in Laodicea

does not realize

that they are wretched,

pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.

In fact, these words

are the exact opposite

of how the church in Laodicea

would have viewed themselves.

They didn't think

that they were wretched or pitiable.

They said to themselves,

I prospered, and I need nothing.

They thought they were blessed.

They thought they were enviable.

They didn't view themselves as poor.

They said to themselves,

I'm rich.

And this was, in fact, true,

at least in a material sense.

Laodicea was a prosperous banking center

in its heyday,

located at the junction

of two important roads

that made them a commercial success.

They were so well off

and so self-sufficient

that when a disastrous earthquake

completely leveled the city

in 60 AD,

the Roman Empire, Rome,

offered them disaster relief,

and then they said,

oh, no thank you.

We'll take care of it.

We have enough resources.

That reveals,

that historical fact

reveals both their pride

and their wealth.

They also didn't view themselves

as blind.

Laodicea was a center of medicine

and boasted a prominent medical school

whose most famous graduate

was Demosthenes Philolethes,

an optometrist

who wrote the book

Ophthalmicus,

which dealt with various eye diseases

and is considered

the most influential work

of ophthalmology

in the ancient world.

Laodicea was sought out

for its production

of the Phrygian powder

and eye salve

used to treat

various eye diseases.

So, no,

Laodicean believers

did not see themselves

as blind.

They saw themselves

as the ones

who make other blind people see.

And yet,

they themselves

were spiritually blind.

And finally,

the Laodiceans

did not perceive

of themselves

as being naked.

Laodicea was known

for its textiles,

especially the production

of fine wool.

They believed themselves

to be well clothed

with the finest wool.

They would have never imagined

that they were naked.

Yet,

this is exactly

what Jesus tells them.

You are wretched,

pitiable,

poor,

blind,

and naked

because they were spiritually

all of those things.

Social success,

material wealth,

and physical health

can feed

spiritual pride.

We can falsely assume

that we are doing well

spiritually

when everything else

seems to be going well

in our lives.

Like the Israelites

in Hosea 12, 8,

they say,

ah,

but I am rich.

I found wealth

for myself

in all my labors

they cannot find

in me

iniquity

or sin.

They're connected.

The sinful human heart

has a penchant

for the prosperity gospel

to presume

that health

and wealth

and success

are foolproof signs

of God's pleasure

and favor

while sickness,

poverty,

and failure

are signs

of God's displeasure

and disfavor.

But we see

throughout Scripture

that that is not

necessarily the case.

So in order

to expose

their self-deception

and convince

the church

that thinks

I need nothing,

that in fact

they are very needy,

Jesus introduces

himself to them

as the amen,

the faithful

and true witness,

the all-seeing one,

the only one

who truly

has no blind spot.

The word amen

is typically

an expression

of affirmation

of faith

that something

that God has said

will indeed help

and let it be so.

As far as I know,

this is the only place

where the word amen

is used

as a title

for Jesus.

The word amen

comes from

the Hebrew verb

that means

to believe in

or to trust in

someone

which in turn

comes from

the Hebrew word

for God's faithfulness

or truthfulness.

So the phrase

the faithful

and true witness

is really an explanation

of the title

the amen.

It says

in Genesis 15, 6

that Abram

believed the Lord

or amened

the Lord

and he counted it

to him

as righteousness.

And what's going on

in that passage?

Despite the fact

that his wife Sarai

was well past

childbearing age,

in fact,

post-menopausal,

Abram nevertheless

believed in God's promise

that he would have

a son through Sarai

and that his descendants

would be as numerous

as the stars in the sky.

And God delivered

on that promise.

That's how faithful

or trustworthy God is.

I've said this to you before,

when you're faced

with two options,

an impossibility

and the promise of God,

you can bank on it

that the promise of God

will happen.

because God's word

and his promise

is more reliable

than natural law,

more reliable

than logic,

more reliable

than common sense.

And Jesus is the embodiment

of that faithfulness

and trustworthiness

of God.

That's why he is describing

in 2 Corinthians 1, 20

this way,

all the promises of God

find their yes

in Christ.

That is why

it is through him

that we utter our amen

to God for his glory.

Because all the promises

of God find their fulfillment

ultimately in Jesus

is through Christ

that we can say amen

to all of God's promises,

trusting that not one

of his promises

will fall to the ground.

That's why Jesus

introduces himself

this way,

the amen,

the faithful

and true witness.

He's telling the church

in Laodicea,

I am the true

and faithful witness.

my assessment of you

is more true

and reliable

than your self-assessment.

You think that you are rich,

but I say that you are poor,

so listen to me

and repent.

What about the following phrase,

the beginning of God's creation

in verse 14?

The phrase does not mean

that Jesus is the first thing

that God created.

That's a heretical belief

held by the Jehovah's witnesses.

They believe that Jesus

is the preeminent creature,

but that they nonetheless

believe that Jesus

is a created being.

That's a grave,

unbiblical error.

In Revelation 5,

the four living creatures

which represent

all the creatures

that God ever created,

they fall down

before the lamb,

which is Jesus,

and they worship Jesus.

Jesus is clearly viewed

in that scene

not as one of the creatures

that God created,

represented by the four

living creatures,

but as the creator,

as God,

who is separate from them.

Moreover,

later on in Revelation 19.10,

John tries to fall down

to feet

and bow down

and worship

a mighty angel,

and then the angel

stops him and says,

you must not do that

because I'm a fellow servant

with you

and your brothers

who hold to the testament

of Jesus,

worship God.

So then Jesus,

the lamb of God,

early in Revelation,

accepts the worship

that even a mighty angel

is unworthy to receive

because Jesus is far greater

than a creature.

The word translated

beginning here

is a Greek word

that can also be translated

as the origin

or the source

or the ruler

as it's translated

in Luke 12.11

and Romans 8.38.

So then the phrase

the beginning

of God's creation

is not saying

that Jesus was the first part

of God's creation,

but it's saying

that Jesus is the origin

of all of God's creation

and the ruler

over all of God's creation.

This is confirmed

by what Paul says,

the parallel in Colossians 1.15

where Jesus is called

the firstborn

of all creation.

Once again,

that does not mean

that Jesus is the first being

that God created.

How do we know that?

Because verses 16 to 17

which follow immediately

explains precisely

why Jesus is called

the firstborn

of all creation.

For by him

all things were created

in heaven and on earth,

visible and invisible,

whether thrones

or dominions

or rulers or authorities,

all things were created

through him

and for him

and he is before all things

and in him

all things hold together.

This confirms

our interpretation

of Revelation 3.14.

In a culture,

in an ancient culture

governed by primogeniture

where the firstborns

rule the household

and inherit

the father's estate,

the expression highlights

Jesus' primacy

and rule

over all of God's creation.

Jesus is not

one of the creatures.

He's the one

by whom all things

were created.

He is the first mover,

the originator.

In the beginning

was the word

and the word

was with God

and the word

was God.

He was in the beginning

with God.

All things were made

through him

and without him

was not anything

that was made.

So why is Jesus

highlighting that reality

to the church

in Laodicea?

Because if you're wretched,

you need the one

who can make you blessed.

If you're pitiable,

you need the one

who can show you mercy.

If you're poor,

you need the one

who can make you rich.

If you're blind,

you need the one

who can make you see.

If you're naked

in your shame,

you need the one

who can clothe you

and cover you

with his righteousness.

God had promised

to create a new heavens

and a new earth.

In Isaiah 65, 17,

Jesus is the fulfillment

of that promise.

As it says

in 2 Corinthians 5, 17,

therefore,

if anyone is in Christ,

he is a new creation.

The old has gone.

Behold,

the new has come.

So Jesus

clearly doesn't pull

any punches here

in this letter,

but he's also comforting

the church in Laodicea

by reminding them

that in spite of their wretched

and pitiable condition,

he can make them new again

because he is the creator.

He's the one

who the originator

of the creation

and originator

of the new creation,

he can make the blind see

and the poor rich.

Now let's look at

the faithful

and true assessment

of Jesus,

the faithful

and true witness

in verses 15 to 16.

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.

This is their condition.

Neither cold nor hot.

Sometimes people mistakenly think

that being hot here

represents being passionate,

being on fire for Jesus,

and then being cold

represents rejecting Jesus

altogether.

If that were the case,

these verses would be similar

to what God says

to the Israelites

in 1 Kings 18-21.

How long will you go limping

between two different opinions?

If the Lord is God,

follow him.

But if Baal,

then follow him.

But there,

in that context,

God is exposing

the hypocrisy

and two-faced nature

of Israel's worship

and allegiance.

He's telling them

that in fact

it is not possible

to serve both Yahweh

and Baal

and that they must

make a choice.

But that's not

what Jesus is saying

here in Revelation 3.

Here in verses 15 to 16,

being cold

and hot

are both good things.

The choice is not

between one bad option

and one good option,

but between two good options.

Jesus says in verse 15,

would that you were

either cold or hot.

Jesus would prefer,

Jesus would be happy

if the church

were either cold

or hot.

If being cold

represents completely

rejecting Jesus,

I don't think he would

present the two options

this way

as if both were acceptable.

Laodicea was located

near two other

ancient cities,

Hierapolis,

Hierapolis,

and Colossae.

All of them

were in that same region

of Phrygia

in Asia Minor,

modern Turkey.

And why is that significant?

Because Hierapolis

was famous

for its hot springs,

which were great

for relaxing

and healing baths.

And Colossae

near the mountains

had access

to cold,

pure,

refreshing water

that came down

from the mountains.

But Laodicea,

removed from

that cold water

from the mountains,

which by the time

it was transported

to where they are,

would be heated

and be lukewarm.

And Laodicea

also didn't have access

to the hot springs

of Hierapolis.

They had to

pipe that water in,

and by the time

it got there,

it was tepid,

lukewarm.

And having to drink

that lukewarm water

was a sore spot

for this otherwise

wealthy and proud city.

And Jesus is mentioning

that reality

to drive his point home.

You know that

that lukewarm water

that you have to drink

every day

that makes you

want to puke?

that's what you are

like to me

because of your

spiritual lukewarmness.

Hot water

is relaxing,

cold water

is refreshing,

but tepid water

is just

meh, right?

I was just

at a restaurant

recently

that served

our family

lukewarm water.

I don't know,

it was like

literally lukewarm.

I'd never been

served that

in a restaurant before.

And none of my kids

wanted to drink it

because it's gross.

We had to ask

for ice.

Similarly,

when you go to a cafe,

menus have all kinds

of hot coffees

and all kinds

of iced coffees.

When have you

gone to a cafe

and saw on the menu

lukewarm coffee?

I mean,

nobody wants that.

So Jesus is saying

be either cold

or hot.

Be earnest

and be fervent

about something.

The church in Ephesus

that we saw

earlier in chapter 2

had theological discernment

and so they rejected

the false teachers

but they had no love.

The church in Thyatira

had love

but they had no

theological discernment

and they tolerated

false teachers.

These churches

were not perfect

but they were fervent

about something.

They were eager

and earnest

about something.

loving and loving

and being compassionate

toward your neighbors

then do that.

Even better,

do both.

But be earnest

and fervent

about something

because the church

in Laodicea

had no strength

and no commendable

attributes.

They're good

at neither being

hot nor cold.

They're a bland

mediocrity

in every way.

A lukewarm

tepid water

is good for nothing.

So Jesus issues

a severe warning

in verse 16.

Because you are lukewarm

and neither hot

nor cold

I will spit you

out of my mouth.

The word translated

spit here

is actually

most commonly

means to vomit.

There's another

Greek word

that means

to spit

and that's not

the one

that's used here.

The Greek translation

of Isaiah 19.14

uses that same

Greek word here

used in Revelation 3.16

to refer to a drunken man

staggering in his vomit.

So Jesus is saying

you are nauseating.

You make me sick.

Make me throw up.

The church in Laodicea

is on the verge

of being rejected.

They're about to

the light

the fire of the spirit

on their lampstand

is about to go out

because of their

lack of zeal.

Why do I think

lukewarmness here

is a vivid picture

of their lack of zeal?

Because of Jesus'

prescription

in verse 19.

Be zealous

and repent.

Jesus commands

the church

in Laodicea

to be zealous

precisely because

they are lukewarm.

Neither cold nor hot.

That brings us

to my third point

the command

be zealous

and repent.

It says in verse 19

those whom I love

I reprove

and discipline

so be zealous

and repent.

It's so gracious

of Jesus here

to say this

before giving them

the command

to say

those whom I love

I reprove

and discipline.

this is a church

that makes

Jesus want to puke.

It's a church

that has nothing

going for it.

It's a church

that has zero thing

to commend

and yet

to that church

Jesus says

I am reproving you

because I love you.

I know these things

are hard to hear

church in Laodicea

but I want you

to know

that I am disciplining you

because I love you.

you've got nothing

lovable about you

and yet

I love you

because you are mine.

The Lord disciplines

those whom he loves

says in Hebrews 12

a father disciplines

the son

the child

that he loves

that's why I think

even though the church

in Laodicea

is on the verge

of ceasing to be

a true church

they are a true church

because

Jesus

reproves them

because he loves them

because as we saw

earlier in Revelation 1

they still have

the golden lampstand

their lampstand

is one of the seven

golden lampstands

before God's throne

and they have

an angelic representative

in heaven

that's why he's writing

to the church

to the angel of the church

in Laodicea

Jesus doesn't want

to spit them out

Jesus doesn't want

to vomit them out

so this warning

serves to preserve them

to bring them to repentance

so that that would not happen

be zealous

and repent

the word zealous

used in verse 19

refers

it's used

throughout the Bible

it refers to the church

in Corinth's

readiness

or their eagerness

to give financially

for the relief

of the poor Christians

in Jerusalem

in 2 Corinthians 9

in 2 Corinthians 7

11

the word zeal

is parallel

to earnestness

and refers to

the believer's

godly grief

and repentance

from sin

in John 2

13-17

Jesus is turning

over tables

and driving out

the money changers

from the temple

because it says

quoting Psalm 69-9

zeal for your house

will consume me

because Jesus

was consumed

by zeal

for the house

of the Lord

which should have been

a house of prayer

and not a house of trade

so to be zealous

is to be eager

and to be earnest

to be intensely serious

to be dedicated

to something

but don't get me wrong

by zeal

I'm not just

referring to

mere emotional fervor

people have different

upper and lower

registers of emotions

and so

a person's

emotional expressiveness

is not necessarily

an accurate indicator

of their zeal

so what then

is an accurate indicator

of their zeal

English pastor

J.C. Ryle

from the 1800s

helpfully describes

Christian zeal

in this way

I think we have the quote

to show

a zealous man

in religion

is preeminently

a man

of one thing

it is not enough

to say he is

earnest

hardy

uncompromising

wholehearted

fervent in spirit

he only sees

one thing

he cares

for one

thing

he lives

for one

thing

he is swallowed

up in

one

thing

and that one

thing is to

please God

whether he lives

whether he dies

whether he has

health

or whether he has

sickness

whether he is rich

or whether he is

poor

whether he pleases

man

or whether he gives

offense

whether he is thought

wise

or whether he's

thought foolish

whether he gets

blame

or whether he gets praise,

whether he gets honor,

whether he gets shame.

For all this, the zealous man cares nothing at all.

He burns for one thing

and that one thing is to please God

and to advance God's glory.

If he is consumed in the very burning,

he cares not for it.

He is content.

He feels that like a lamp he's made to burn

and if consumed in burning,

he has but done the work for which God appointed him.

Are you a man or are you a woman

who is consumed with the one thing?

But one thing I do.

Paul said, forgetting what is behind

but straining toward what is ahead

so that I may press on toward the goal

for the price of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

The one thing.

One thing, David prays,

I have asked of the Lord.

One thing that I will seek after

that I might dwell in the house of the Lord

all the days of my life

to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord

and to inquire in his temple.

It's the one thing David sought.

As Jesus tells Martha in Luke 10, 38 to 42,

you are anxious and troubled about many things

but one thing is necessary.

And what's that one thing to sit at the feet of Jesus?

And here's a telltale sign that

you're losing your zeal.

Look at verse 17.

You say, I'm rich.

I prospered.

And I need nothing.

That's the telltale sign.

Self-sufficiency.

Self-sufficiency.

Spiritual complacency.

That's the telltale sign of lukewarmness.

When was the last time you clung to Jesus

because you realized your desperate wickedness

and your dire need for his mercy?

When was the last time you fell upon your knees in prayer

because you realized that your utter weakness

and complete helplessness

and Jesus is all-sufficiency?

Jesus says in John 15, verse 5,

John 15:5

I am the vine.

You are the branches.

Whoever abides in me and I in him,

he it is that bears much fruit.

For apart from me,

you can do nothing.

A zealous branch that bears much fruit

is one that abides in Jesus

and depends on Jesus,

knowing full well that apart from him,

she can do nothing.

If you catch yourself saying,

I'm rich.

I prospered.

I need nothing.

Remember the height from which you have fallen and repent.

Note that drinks default to becoming lukewarm.

If you want to stay cold,

you need to keep the drink in the fridge

or you need to keep putting new ice in it.

If you want water to stay hot,

you need to keep it on the hot plate.

As soon as you remove it from the source of the chill

or the source of the heat,

it quickly becomes tepid room temperature water.

This is why we must not be slothful in zeal

but be fervent in the Holy Spirit.

As it says in Romans 12, 11,

we need to keep the fire burning

and keep the ice freezing

by abiding in the source,

the origin of God's new creation, Jesus,

who gives us the Holy Spirit.

Listen to Jesus' counsel to us in verse 18.

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.

Note how Jesus is systematically breaking down

everything that the church in Laodicea took pride in.

Their wealth, their wool, clothing,

their eye salve.

Jesus wants them to acknowledge their spiritual poverty

and come buy from him gold refined by fire.

True riches, heavenly riches

that will not be burned away in the final judgment.

Jesus wants them to acknowledge their spiritual nakedness

and instead of their wool garments

to put on the white garments of Christ

to cover their shame.

Jesus wants them to acknowledge their spiritual blindness

and instead of boasting in their eye salve

to get the spiritual eye salve

that only Christ offers

and the only cure to spiritual blindness.

Let me ask you,

what are the things that you take pride in

that you are tempted to depend on,

to lean on for your sense of well-being?

Is it your youth and beauty?

Is it your intelligence?

Is it your emotional awareness and social coolness?

Is it your athleticism, physical prowess?

Is it your wealth or success in the world?

Or is it your academic or family pedigree?

Brothers and sisters,

we're in a dangerous place in the world.

We're in one of the wealthiest cities in the world,

one of the most highly educated cities in the world.

There's so many things that you can point to

that you can take pride in.

But don't, don't, don't derive

an ounce of your assurance,

an ounce of your confidence

from any of those things.

Because to the degree that you rely on those things,

that much you will not be relying on Jesus.

And you'll be farther away from him.

Cling to the one thing.

But note the irony of Jesus' command.

He just told the church in Laodicea,

you're dirt poor.

You got nothing.

And then he tells them,

I counsel you to buy from me.

Gold refined by fire,

so that you might be rich.

How's a dirt poor church

supposed to buy gold refined in the fire?

Remember our call to worship from Isaiah 55.

Come.

Everyone who thirsts come to the waters.

And he who has no money,

come buy and eat.

Come buy wine and milk without money

and without price.

Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread

and your labor for that which does not satisfy?

Listen diligently to me

and eat what is good

and delight yourselves in rich food.

Incline your ear and come to me.

Hear that your soul may live

and I will make with you an everlasting covenant

my steadfast, sure love for David.

We can buy heavenly food

and heavenly riches

and gold refined in the fire

without money

and without price

because Jesus has paid the price.

The penalty for sin

is death

and separation from God

and we were all once slaves to sin

and not a single one of us

could afford that ransom price

to secure our freedom

but God paid that price

in Jesus Christ,

his only son

on the cross

because he died for our sins

and was raised from the dead.

We were like that.

Imagine like a homeless orphan

just walking along the street

and on Thanksgiving Day

and he looks into a well-lit house

in their dining room

and there's a beautiful family

and they're enjoying a sumptuous feast

and then he's looking longingly

but he cannot afford it.

He has not a penny to his name.

He has no family

and God the Father

took his son

make him take our place

so that we can be brought into his family

adopted as his children

so that we can enjoy

a heavenly feast

without any money,

without any price

because he paid the price.

and look at the amazing promise

that Jesus gives us

in verses 20 to 22,

the communion.

I wish I could spend an hour on this.

I'm just gonna have to wrap up here.

It says,

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.

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.

This is why

spiritual pride,

the lack of zeal,

the complacency,

self-sufficiency

is such,

it's such a grievous sin

because it closes the door

on Jesus.

Instead of abiding in Jesus

and deriving our strength

and life from him,

it closes the door

on Jesus

when we say,

Oh,

I don't need that.

I got everything I need.

This is why Paul

in 2 Corinthians 12

is so eager

to boast in his weakness.

See,

this doesn't make any sense

if you don't understand

this reality.

He asked God,

pleaded with God

to take away

some kind of weakness

that he was wrestling with

and God refused

to take it away from him

and instead God said to him,

My grace is sufficient for you

for my power

is made perfect

in weakness.

Therefore,

Paul says,

I will boast

all the more gladly

of my weaknesses

so that the power of Christ

may rest upon me.

For the sake of Christ

and I am content

with weaknesses,

insults,

hardships,

persecutions,

and calamities

for when I am weak

then I am strong.

strong.

That's why as Christians

we boast

in our weaknesses.

Hear all these things

that I am weak at.

Hear all these things

that I cannot do

that I'm not good at.

Hear all these things

in which I have suffered.

Hear all these ways

in which I am ridiculed

and persecuted.

Hear all my weaknesses.

Let's boast in them

because when I am weak

then I am strong

because then

in all those weaknesses

Christ's all sufficiency

meets us.

In all our weaknesses

Christ's fullness

meets us

so that he becomes

all in all.

Don't you want

that communion with him?

Look at how intimate

this picture is.

Table fellowship

in the ancient world

especially

but even in our day

implies intimate relationship.

You don't get

a random stranger

out on the street

and invite them

to your house

for a dinner.

You invite your friends

to dinner.

Jesus is offering

his friendship

which is remarkable

because he is the king.

I will come eat with you.

You could eat with me.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

This is not

speaking of unbelievers

needing to open

the door of their hearts

to receive Jesus.

He is talking

to a church here.

In what ways

through your own

self-sufficiency

and in your pride

are you shutting

the door

on Jesus

instead of opening up your weaknesses

and letting him come in.

And if we do that, he says,

the one who conquers and endures to the end,

I will grant him to sit with me on my throne

as I also conquered and sat down

with my father on his throne.

This is a promise for the future,

the ultimate fulfillment of this,

but even now those who put their faith in Jesus

get to reign with Jesus.

Ephesians 1.21 teaches that God the Father

raised Jesus from the dead

and seated him at his right hand

in the heavenly places,

far above all rule and authority and power and dominion

and above every name that is named.

And then shortly thereafter in Ephesians 2.6,

it says that God raised us up

and seated us with Jesus

in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

That's our lot.

You get to reign with Jesus

at the right hand of God the Father,

reign with Jesus who has all authority

and dominion and power and rule.

Compared to that,

how poor is

Elon Musk,

Jeff Bezos?

They're dirt poor.

Compared to that,

how weak and powerless is Joe Biden,

Xi Jinping,

and Vladimir Putin?

How weak,

how powerless.

Do you see the kind of power,

kind of wealth,

the kind of privilege

we've been offered in Jesus?

Let's claim that

by being weak and humble,

being zealous,

abiding in Jesus.

Let's pray together.

Let's pray together.

Let's pray together.

Let's pray together.

Let's pray together.

Father,

we repent of our lukewarmness,

but we dare not try to

manufacture or produce

this zeal

with our own willpower,

for we know that it comes from you.

So we pray now,

because we need you.

We need you to make us burn

hot

for your glory.

Make us a church

that is about the one thing

to know and love you,

to serve you.

Oh, make us zealous.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.