A Lukewarm Church

I want you to turn with me in your Bibles this morning.

And again, Fellowship Quartet, thank you.

Let's give them another hand.

Amen.

Man, Denson, you can play that thing.

That's unreal.

Good job.

You told me you could.

And uh that was awesome.

Now listen, I I asked them, did they set up a table with their uh CDs?

Uh by your grace.

Boy, those were two great songs, brother, that y'all wrote.

Excellent.

With the word of God.

You know how I judge music?

Not the flavor.

Everybody has different flavors.

It's kind of like Baskin Robbins, you know?

Now I'm the guy that likes all 31 flavors, okay?

Now I have my favorites, but I can eat any of it.

It doesn't matter to me.

But the word of God is if the word of God's not in a song, then it, if it doesn't exalt Jesus and teach you about Jesus, then I don't think it's a Christian song.

And I take that from Colossians 3.16.

Let the Word of God dwell in you richly, in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in songs, hymns, and spiritual songs.

That's what it is.

So I filter every Christian song through Colossians 3.16.

And uh the flavor's up to you, because all of us have different flavors.

And that's why I like all of it.

And uh I was telling Sylvester, we gotta get another, he's got a group that he listens to.

We gotta get, we gotta get them in here.

And uh I tell you what, I just touch us all.

Can I get an amen?

Amen.

That's what I like.

But well done.

Well, took me back to my growing up days.

I grew up with the grandma and grandpa every Sunday morning, 6 o'clock in the morning.

I'd been out late.

I had to be in by 12, though I couldn't get in.

And you only did that one time.

You hear me?

Okay?

I mean, there were two rules.

You're gonna be in before 12, you're going to church on Sunday morning.

That was not even debatable.

And if you got sick, castor oil, here it comes.

Trust me, you'll get up and go to church if you're dead.

So at 6 o'clock in the morning, my papa would turn on the radio on the Gospel Jubilee.

Jubilee, Jubilee! And that's what I woke up to every Sunday morning.

And so it brought me back to some of those days.

Jubilee.

Amen.

Wish you were here, the kingsman.

Revelations chapter 3, as we end the church age.

Revelation 3 · chapter mention

If you recall, as we started the book of Revelations, in Revelations chapter 1, verse 19, we saw that it gave us the outline to the whole book of Revelation.

Revelation 1:19

In fact, John writes these things which he had seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter.

And right now we are teaching, and we've been teaching through the things that are.

The area of the local church, the church age.

The things that are right now.

That's what we've been doing.

That's what we've been preaching through.

And today we're going to end that church age with the church at Laodicea.

Now, does everyone have, does everyone have an outline?

Do you have a worship guide?

Who does not have a worship guide?

Anyone that does not have a worship guide?

We want you in the back there.

Amen.

Alright, I've got one.

You can have mine if we need another one.

Anybody, if we got a packed house today, let's give God a hand.

Amen.

We've been out of room.

We know that.

And we're working toward that.

We really are.

We got some things we're looking at and hopefully even breaking ground next year on that building.

So it's going to be.

I'm telling you, next year, year and a half, we're working on soccer field right now.

All I'm getting ready.

It's just, it's going to be amazing this next year around here.

I'm telling you, it's going to be exciting.

But let me say something for the fellowship quartet.

I asked them, did they have a table?

So they've got, I know this CD is this, you got one or two CDs, or just this one.

But if you would like to have one of those CDs, and it looks like they're awesome, led by the Master's hand at Calvary, multiplied, but God, I like that.

But God.

That's true.

Under control, what we need or what we needed, I can tell you the time, one more valley, I'm free by your grace.

So if you'd like to purchase a tape, see the guys afterwards, see Denson, and they'll be glad to get you one.

Revelation chapter 3, verses 14 through the end of the chapter.

Revelation 3:14

Now, next week we start in the things that are coming.

In fact, next week, the title of the message is Moving On Up.

We're moving on up.

In fact, it's going to be the rapture.

That's what we're going to be looking at next week.

You don't want to miss that message because chapter 4, verse 1 lays the foundation and the sequence for the rest of the book of Revelation.

So you can't miss next Sunday.

You can't miss it.

Because I'm going to preach on that one verse, but it's every phrase in that one verse lays out the whole rest of the book of Revelation.

And it starts with moving on up.

We're headed to heaven in the rapture.

So it is going to be fantastic.

And so you don't want to miss it.

In fact, what was that old song that Joe Tubbs, Susan, Joe Tubbs, and the Shirley sang?

Midnight Cry.

That's it.

And how many of you, I know the younger guys say, how many of you remember The Midnight Cry?

That was the rapture song.

I mean, it was phenomenal.

I'd like somebody to learn to sing that too.

But that was awesome.

The Midnight Cry.

The bunch of actually the uh it was uh the group from Alabama.

Um Gold City Quartet.

Yep, they're the one that made that famous.

Yeah.

Yeah.

The Midnight Cry.

But anyway, that's what it's going to be about.

Next week, we're going to see what happens right after the church age ends.

Bam, we move on up.

So you don't want to miss next week.

But today, we're looking at.

We've been looking at the seven churches of Asia Minor.

And we started with the church at Ephesus, the church that lost its first love.

And then we, you know, we went to Smyrna, the little poor rich church, though.

That was the one church.

There's only two churches out of the seven that God didn't bring a rebuke to.

And uh, but what we see is a progression.

We see the great mother church, the church that birthed all the other churches.

And I mean, it was the great church, it had everything.

In fact, you went, you'd go through the litmus test with that church, and you say, Man, that's the kind of church I want.

But then God right there then says, But I have somewhat against me.

You've lost your first love.

And then it digressed all the way down till we come to the last church in the seven churches in the church age.

And each of the churches, if you remember, there were three things.

One, practically, these letters are real letters to real churches that have real problems.

We saw that.

And then we said prophetically, these letters portray the different churches at different church ages.

And so when we get to the church of Laodicea, it's about the 1900 AD to the rapture.

So this is really the church age that would kind of be portrayed today.

It really is.

And it's not good, folks.

It's not a beautiful picture.

And if you look at our country, you cannot deny that.

Our country's in a mess.

It's the most divisive to hate, the hatred's running rampant.

I mean, everything's just, it's it's horrible.

Why?

Because we're living in the Laodicea church age.

There's no radiant light of the gospel like it should be.

And so when we get to Laodicea, we go from losing the first love to the absolute apostasy of Laodicea.

A church that has totally just, I meant, ruled out God, but yet they think they're everything that God would have them to be.

They're rich, they're powerful, they're prestigious.

I meant they are the most prestigious, most wealthiest, they think best church that's ever been.

Until God tells them what they really are.

So that's the introduction and where we're going.

And the city here was unbelievable.

It was way up on a mountain.

I mean, it was it was known.

The city was known for three things finances.

It was a center of banking and finance known through the Roman Empire for its wealth and financial power.

It would be Wall Street of today in New York.

Secondly, it was known for fashion.

Listen to this.

Laodicea was the center of fashion in its day.

Again, New York City.

And then, thirdly, it was known for.

Deedra, good to have you back.

I was beginning to wonder, had you left us?

That's our missions director.

She's been out saving the world.

Amen.

But hey, it was known for pharmaceuticals.

Oh, yes.

There was a famous medical school here in Laodicea, which produced a little tablet that they would take and break up and then mix that tablet with water and make a pace that they would put on eyes, and this whatever medicine it was cleared a lot of eye diseases.

So that was their famous medicine throughout the whole region in the Roman Empire.

And they would send it all over the region.

So they were known for those three things: finances, fashion, and pharmaceuticals.

So with this background in mind, and as we look at this worldly Laodicean mentality, let's see what.

Hey, let me tell you how bad it had gotten.

Look at verse 16.

Here's how bad it had gotten.

That Jesus, after he says, I know the works, thou art neither cold nor hot.

And we're going to look at these verses individually.

But he says, But because thou art lukewarm, neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth.

Wow.

What a terrible, unbelievable verdict to a church.

I will spew you out of my mouth.

So, and we're going to be looking at that.

But let's begin quickly.

Let's look at it.

First of all, in your outline, the first thing I want you to take notice of, the problems in Laodicea.

The problems in Laodicea.

Jesus comes to this church without a single word of commendation.

Not one.

And he considers their works and their ways, and he has nothing good to say to them at all.

He simply comes to them and lays out, I love this, the problems as he sees them.

And here they are.

Notice the words.

Notice the words in verse 14.

The church of Laodiceans.

That's unbelievable.

Most people don't even pick it up.

There's a major shift in this church than all the other six churches.

If you will take a moment and if you look back at Revelation chapter 2 and 3 and the churches that we've been preaching, you remember it was the church of Ephesus.

Revelation 2 · chapter mention

It was the church of Pergma.

It was the church of Smyrna.

It was the church of, but here, hey, it was the church of the church and then the name of the city.

But here, hey, notice, it's Laodicea.

It was their church.

It was not the Lord's church.

In fact, here we have, here's the problem.

Problem number one: a problem of possession.

It was not God's church, it was the Laodiceans' church.

There's a big difference, folks.

Can I get an amen?

Major difference.

I had never really, I had seen it, but the implication is powerful there.

The other churches were God's church, but not this one.

Not this one at all.

They didn't even mention him.

And so we see the problem of possession.

Note, we must never forget that, hey, the church is not for our platform to make our church known worldwide.

And not only that, it's, hey, it's not a forum for us to advance our own agenda and our own ideas.

The church is for the purpose of exalting Jesus Christ and allowing Christ to rule and reign.

And if he be exalted, he'll draw all men unto himself.

John 12, 32.

So many churches have their own agenda, their own purpose.

And that's not, and Laodicea did too.

Our, hey, listen, this church is not your church.

It's not my church.

It's God's church.

And there's a big difference.

His church, Jesus died for the church.

He purchased it with his own blood.

Look at Acts.

I think I have it, Jason.

Do I have Acts 20, 28 there?

I know it's in your outline.

But he said he shed.

Oh, this is one of my favorite verses.

First of all, because it's talking about the pastor being called too.

Listen to what he says.

Therefore, take heed unto yourselves.

When the word says take heed, that means get it.

Hey, give your attention right now.

Listen, don't miss what's about to be said.

He says, and to all the flock, that's all of us.

That's the pastors.

That's the leadership.

That's the flock among which the Holy Spirit has made we pastors, elders, overseers to shepherd the church of God.

Now watch, which he purchased with his own blood.

It cost Jesus Christ his own life, his own shedding of his blood on that cross in order to build his church, to purchase his church.

And that's why he says in Matthew 16, 18, upon this rock, I'll build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.

Can I get an amen?

Wow, that's so powerful, and that's what we see right here.

There's, hey, there's only one God and one mediator between God and man, and that's Jesus Christ.

1 Timothy 2, 5.

So, we see the problem of possession.

Notice the second problem we see.

We see the problem of passion.

Look at verse 15 to 16.

I know thy works.

Thou are neither cold nor hot.

I would that would be cold or hot.

Now, a lot of people don't understand that verse, but when you walk out of here, you're going to understand what he means when he says cold, you're either cold or you're either hot.

And I'm going to explain that to you in a minute.

I know thy works, you're neither cold nor hot.

I would that would be cold or hot.

I mean, they were definitely lukewarm.

And look what he says, because you're lukewarm, I'm going to spew you out of my mouth.

Now, what's interesting about the lukewarm, there's a problem here, the only major problem that Laodicea had.

They were a fashionable city, a rich city.

But they had to pipe in through aqueducts their water.

And they went to Hierophus, which was six miles west, where there were hot springs.

And so the aqueducts would bring that hot water into the city.

Now, they were hoping to bring the hot water into the city for therapeutic reasons.

How many of you have been in a hot tub?

Half of you have not ever been in a hot tub?

Thank you very much.

Oh my goodness.

Well, let me ask it another way.

Have you ever been in hot springs?

Okay.

What were the hot springs back in those days used there in our our I can't even pronounce that city.

It's a weird city, but that that's where they went.

That's where they went for therapeutic reasons.

The warm, the hot water, uh, Palm Springs, if you remember Palm Springs, that's where Roosevelt went, to all the hot springs for his therapeutic, for his polio and all that.

So that was the purpose of bringing in the hot water.

And then 10 miles to the west was Colossae, which had the coal refreshing springs, the ice cold.

You've been there, you've jumped, been out in the woods and find the spring and jump in it, and it takes your breath.

Okay?

So they were piped those in for the purpose of refreshing.

You know, when you're tired and you're worn out and you want to, like Darren does for me, and I get this good cold, cold.

It's real cold this morning.

The other day Darren wasn't here.

I got a bottle of water.

It was hot, it was lukewarm.

And I went, ew.

Well, that's the way Jesus does when you're lukewarm.

He goes, ee.

Hello.

So the purpose, now don't miss this.

The purpose was to bring in refreshing water, therapeutic water, into the city to help the people.

But because of the distance, by the time both water means got there, they were lukewarm.

Now you gotta understand now, I'm explaining this hot and cold to you.

This is if you you will you'll understand it the rest of your life.

So here's what Jesus is saying.

When he says, I'd rather you be hot or cold, what he's literally saying, he wants us to, I'm about to have a running spell.

He's wanting us to be an oasis as a church.

He wants us to be hot, he wants us to be on fire, he wants us to be boiling like the springs so that we can be therapeutic, so that we can be a blessing, and so that we can help people in the church.

Amen.

Or he wants us to be cold, not chosen frozen, but to be refreshing for people that they're hurting and need to be built back up, need to be refreshed, and they come in and they get like I just did, they get a drink of cold, refreshing water through the church and through the people that are loving them and caring for them and helping them.

That's what he's talking about, church.

Can I get an Amy?

That's good.

So now you understand why he uses that analogy.

I would hey, you need to be cold.

You need to be refreshing to people, you need to be hot, you need to be therapeutic, helping and encouraging and blessing them and and and helping them.

Be in the church, be in the brotherly love church that we preached last week, the church of Philadelphia.

That's what he's saying.

Boy, that's good.

Good.

Good.

Passion.

Passion.

I meant instead, they were lukewarm.

The word there is Kile Ross.

Kile Ros.

The word lukewarm, here's what it means.

This means they had lost their passion for the things of the Lord.

They had become indifferent.

They had become apathetic, self-satisfied, half-hearted, half-committed.

And here's the word neutral.

Oh, you on fire?

Good.

You're not on fire?

Good.

You're passionate about the Lord?

Good.

You're not passionate about the Lord?

Good.

Whatever.

I'm so freaking tired of that.

That word, whatever.

Or here's another one I can't stand.

It is what it is.

No, it's not.

It is not.

It is what it is.

It's what you make it.

It's what you make it.

You can sit there and be neutral if you want to.

Bless God, I'm charging.

Amen.

No.

You say, well, you'll just get killed.

Well, at least I'll be doing something instead of dying neutral.

You will not put on my epitaph neutral.

You'll have Jesus is awesome in your face where you're just a fanatic.

Yes.

I'm not neutral.

What do you think?

Ask me, I'll tell you.

Amen?

And don't ask me if you don't want to know.

And don't ask me thinking I'm going to agree with you.

I'm going to agree with the word.

Amen.

What does the word say?

Man, I had the best debate in the spot the other day in the hot steam room in the wire.

Oh.

And the guy walked in.

God is my witness.

I'm sitting there.

I'm just really praying.

And the guy comes in.

There's about three, and I said, you know, I'm just going to mind my own business today.

Not going.

And the guy comes in and Bob is his name.

And he said, Ho, woo.

And boy, I'd poured a little water.

I'd gotten it hot.

I like to get it hot.

And he walked in and he said, Woo, woo.

Anybody in here?

I said, Yes, sir.

I'm here, Bob.

He said, Oh, and there's three other guys.

He said, the preacher's here.

Ben, he's got it.

You got an illustration today, preacher.

It's hot in here.

I said, You mean hot as hell?

Yes, it is.

And I went to Sharon.

They went, pew, pew, pew, pew.

Everybody left me by myself.

So I went back and relaxed again.

Amen.

He, I mean, he just opened the door.

Yeah, I just followed, but I follow the Lord's lead.

But notice the condition.

This is the condition of the average modern church today.

It's terrible.

It breaks my heart that we need to be on fire.

Psalms 39:3 says, as we muse on the word of God, our hearts get set on fire.

Psalms 39:3

And then we speak.

It's not his word as a burning fire in my heart.

Jeremiah 29.

It sets us on fire.

We're to be that refreshing therapeutic example and place for people to come an oasis for God.

Most churches they come in, they fold their hands like this, and they look up and say, Well, preacher, bless me if you can.

Hey, I'm not here to bless you.

I'm here to worship with you.

And when we worship in spirit and in truth, John 4, 23, 24, we're all blessed.

Amen.

We are all blessed.

And so this is what we see.

What's going on right here?

I love what Psalms 119 97 says.

Oh, how I love the law.

It's my meditation all the day long.

All the day long.

Now notice, here's the question.

Here it is.

How can you know him and never be moved by his relationship?

I'm going to repeat that.

How can you know Jesus and never be moved by his relationship?

How can you know the one that died on that cross and gave his life for you and for me and not be moved?

I don't want to get it.

I just I don't get it.

I don't get it.

There's got to be some kind of signs of life and signs of emotion.

Now I'm not saying you got to be like me.

My soul, we don't need many of me.

We'd all be in trouble.

Hey, but the but I I'm I'm very expressive.

Very.

My wife is, she doesn't shout, she'll raise her hand some, but she cries.

I'm not a crier, I'm a shouter.

She's not a shouter, she's a crier.

But let me tell you, when you come into his presence, when you come into the powerful presence of the Lord Jesus Christ and you experience him personally, something's gonna give.

Something's gonna give.

You gotta express it somehow.

I've watched you at those football games.

You get up there and you express yourself in unbelievable ways.

Well, what's more, hey, unbelievable than Jesus Christ dying on Calvary for you and me?

What's more?

Hey, what's more important?

Oh my soul.

Well, where's our passion for the things of the Lord?

There's some major problems with a church that reaches the point of Laodicea.

You don't have a blank for this, but that's okay.

Just listen.

It's the hardest kind of church to pastor.

People that are neutral, people that are half committed.

You know why?

They don't care what you do.

Oh, that, hey, it can be a good sermon.

Oh, they'll say it's good.

You can have a bad sermon, they'll say that's okay too.

Doesn't matter.

They're here to do their thing, to do what they're supposed to do or what they want to do, and then they leave.

They're just not involved.

Well, you say, well, they come, you can come every Sunday and still not be involved.

The key is, but let me tell you something.

Your heart gets set on fire.

I don't have to worry about you coming.

I don't have to worry about you getting involved.

Because you're not doing it for me, you're not doing it for the church, you're doing it for him.

But the church happens to be his.

Amen.

I don't have to, I don't have to try to guilt you into service.

I don't try to have to guilt you into giving.

I don't have to guilt you in if God gets your heart and you get what I'm trying to give you this morning, and I get it.

Woo! All you gotta do is hang on.

Because you're going for a ride.

You're going for that abundant life.

People say, I wish I had the abundant life.

Well, you can.

You know why you don't have it?

It's your fault.

You know why I don't have it?

It's my fault.

And then in amazing and same verse, he says, I've come to kill, steal, and destroy, but I've come, Jesus said, but yeah, but I've come to give you life and give it more abundantly.

You got two people right there.

You can go God's, hey, you can go God's way, the abundant life, you can go Satan's way and be frustrated.

And be lukewarm.

It's your choice.

It's my choice.

Don't blame it on your church.

Well, our church is dead.

Well, guess what?

Do you understand what you just said?

Our church is dead.

Do you understand what you just said?

You just said you're dead.

You're the church.

I'm the church.

So if you say your church is dead, you're dead.

So before you start saying, Well, our pastor's dead, look in the mirror.

Look at the foreign.

Look in the mirror.

Secondly, it's the hardest kind of church to move for the Lord.

And these are the same people that are going to sit back and say, look at us.

They're not doing anything, but look at us.

Look at the money we got in the bank.

Look at our beautiful building.

Can I tell you something?

It's not the money in the bank, it's not the building.

It's Jesus.

It's Jesus.

And then the third thing, this kind of church misrepresents the Lord.

That's not who the Lord is.

The Lord's never been neutral, never will be neutral.

Can I get an amen?

And Jesus says, either you're what?

For me or against me.

You can't be neutral with the Lord.

You just can't do it.

And then notice the third problem.

Not only was it a problem of possession, passion, but the problem of perception.

Look at verse 17.

Because I say as I am rich and increased with goods and have needed nothing, and knowest not that thou art wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.

Wow.

They were wealthy, powerful, and they felt they had all they needed.

They looked at their position, their possessions, their power, and they said, We have arrived.

There they sat, indifferent, apathetic, and unmoved, and they thought they were in good shape.

Let me remind you, Mark 8, 36, for what shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?

That's where they were.

That's exactly where they were.

The problem with this attitude is that it is based in blindness.

Totally, hey, Jesus tells them they are totally wrong about, hey, what they have and what they are.

Oh boy, does he put it right in their face?

Look at it.

Look at what he says.

And by the way, let me say this.

You want to write this down.

I wrote this, put a star in my notes.

Here's what I hey.

We need to remember that how we see ourselves and how he sees us may be two different ways.

Let me repeat that.

How we see ourselves and how he sees us may be two different ways.

But let me remind all of us, he sees us the right way.

He knows who we really are.

Amen.

The eyes of the Lord in every place, beholding the evil and the good.

Proverbs 15, 3.

So we see this.

So we see what he says here.

God knows everything.

There's a sense that they have arrived.

I hope this church never comes to that place where we can't come to a place where we feel like we have arrived.

I've had pastors tell, well, we, you know, man, we just got it going.

It's uh we've we've finally gotten to where I want us to be.

And I I'm not ugly.

I wouldn't, and I, but in my soul, I'd say, I hope I'll never get there.

I hope I never get to the point in my my personal walk with God that I've arrived.

Or as a shepherd that I've arrived.

I need him every day, every hour.

Amen.

Every hour.

We need Jesus.

We need what he can do for us, not what we can do for ourselves.

I'd rather have him, his presence, his power, his protection, than any material thing you can name.

We need him.

We seek him.

We must welcome him.

We must worship him.

We must worship him in spirit and truth, for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

John 4, 22, and I'm at 23 and 24.

Wow.

We need him.

We need him.

So not only did he address the problems, notice the second thing.

The prescription for Laodicea.

Now he comes and he said, Okay, let me show you.

Let me show you your cure.

I've got the cure for you.

He said, Here it is.

Verse 14.

Notice what he says: a divine appearance.

In other words, he comes as the confirming one.

Look what he says in verse 14.

He comes as the amen.

Say it with me.

Amen.

Come on.

Amen.

Now, what in the world is Jesus saying he's the amen?

And if you read a lot of the epistles, you'll see he ends them with amen.

Okay?

Because the word amen is amen in the Greek.

It's a Hebrew word that means so be it.

It also means, hey, let it be so.

It means it is so.

Now notice, when we use it to end our prayers, we are saying, let it be so, that we just prayed for.

Now watch this.

When we use it into the resp in the response to a message that you've just heard, we are saying it is so, or it is true.

In other words, when I give you one of these points and it's real in your life, you can't help but say, Amen.

You may not say it outwardly, but inwardly you can't help.

And what you're saying, that's true.

That's right.

I know it.

I've experienced it.

That's why a lot of churches you never hear amens.

Because it's not real, it's not true in their lives.

Especially when the preacher starts talking about giving.

Amen, deacon.

Yeah.

He starts talking about giving to the church financially and tithing.

If you have been doing that all your life, like I did, started when I was 10 years old with two jars, we called them tea jars, fruit jars that we my grandmother canned stuff in, and one jar said the Lord's and the other said savings, and every dollar that she would give me for working in her pixie shoe store or cutting the grass or whatever, a dime goes to the Lord first, and the dime in savings, and you get 80 cents.

That's a good deal.

I've been doing that all my life.

And God has so blessed that.

And let me tell you, if you're doing it, you can't help but say, Amen.

You know.

You know.

You can't explain it.

I I God has done so much for us.

There you couldn't put it on paper and it worked.

But you just keep giving and watch.

Giving it shall be given unto you.

Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over shall men give back unto you.

Luke 6 38.

You can't explain it.

So he says, I'm the Amen.

Let it be.

There has not failed one.

Here's what he's saying.

This is so good.

Two things he's saying when he says amen.

He is confirming that God's word is final for all humanity.

Hebrews, what is it?

Yeah, Hebrews 1, 2, that Jesus is the heir of all things.

And then the second things he's saying, he's he's hey, he's confirming that God has the final word to all humanity.

And secondly, he is confirming that all God's promises in Jesus are yea, and amen.

2 Corinthians.

Is that not good?

So that's what he's confirming.

But notice the second thing.

Not only is he confirming one, but he's also confronting one.

Look at, he says, I'm the faithful and true witness.

The church has a vision of itself that was flawed.

But Jesus said, Hey, I'm faithful and true.

You think you're something, but I know what you are because I'm faithful and true, and I'm the true witness.

And I'm going to tell you exactly what you are.

You're lukewarm.

You're lukewarm.

And then look at the third thing he says.

He's the confronting one, he's the confirming one, then he's the controlling one.

He also called them the beginning of the creation of God.

Woo-hoo!

You know what he just said when he said that?

In verse 14, Jesus identifies himself as the creator and controller of all things.

All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made.

John 1 3.

He says, I've done it all.

I've created it all.

I'm the ruler of all, and it's for me.

Colossians 1:16.

Colossians 1:16

Wow, that's powerful.

So it would do us well to remember who Jesus is.

Can I get an amen?

But notice the second thing.

Notice the second thing.

A divine appearance.

Then he says, a divine announcement.

Verses 15 and 16.

Look at verse 15.

He says, the Lord desire, here's what he desires for the church.

Hot or cold.

And I've already basically explained it to you.

He wants us to be that refreshing therapeutic oasis for people to come.

And he says, if we're that, then he's pleased with us.

But if we're not, notice the second thing.

The Lord's disgust with the church.

Look at verse 16.

It says, I'm going to spew you out of my mouth.

Now, let me tell you something about that word.

It's oma.

Emayo.

It means the word spew here.

It's a strong word.

It means to vomit, to throw up.

The Greek word is, again, email.

We get our English word.

Okay, I got it.

I got my pharmacist here.

I got my paramedic back there.

In fact, Joseph told me these words, so I was doing a little, you'd have been proud of me, Deedra.

I was doing, man, I would have never made it through pharmaceutical school.

I can't even pronounce the words, much less spell them.

But but we get our English word emetic, E-M-E-T-I-C, from it, and emetic is something that makes you want to throw up.

And then Joseph told me the word.

Say it to me again, Joseph.

Ipecac.

Ipicac, is that right?

I'm close.

Alright.

Well, what is that word?

It's kind of like something they put in a drink that you drink, like if you've taken poison or something, that makes you throw up.

Now, did you some of you just still thinking about the throwing up, I understand.

But don't let that overcome you.

Because I want you to get what the gist of this word is.

It literally is saying that we, the church, the church at Laodicea, those people had become that to Jesus to the point that every time he thought about them, it was like he was drinking that stuff and throwing up.

God help us.

Oh my soul, is that not, is that not like slapping you in the face and getting your attention?

Never in the whole Bible is anything so more profound in in a personal relationship of what Jesus says right here to this church that is lost.

It's a lost church.

And he says, You make me sick.

It's like poison is all in me.

And I gotta throw up.

I gotta get you out.

Ooh, man.

Oh Lord.

Oh God, forgive us.

Oh, forgive us, Lord.

And then notice what he says, the description of the church in verse 17.

Hey, you say you're rich.

Now let me just show.

He says you're proud of your achievements.

A achievements.

And here's what he says.

Hey, Jesus, he says, you're proud because you think you're rich.

He said, I call you wretched, which means troubled and miserable, which means to be pitied, not praised, pitied.

Big difference.

Then he says, You're proud of your wealth.

Jesus tells him they are actually poor.

The Greek word there is potas, which means destitute and reduced to begging.

He says, You think you're rich, but he says, you're nothing more than beggars.

Wow.

Can you, folks, are you getting this?

I I it's unbelievable.

Then he says, You're proud of your vision of yourselves.

And then Jesus tells them, but uh-uh, you're blind.

They cannot see themselves so they really are.

Someone said, There is no one so blind as he who will not see.

Boy, is that not true?

And then they were proud of their fashions and fine clothing.

But Jesus tells them they're naked, that they're totally exposed and revealed for what they really are.

Mm-mm-mm.

Psalms 44, 21 says he knows the secrets of our thoughts.

Psalms 98 says, Thou hast set our sins before the our secret sins in the light of their countenance.

Did you hear that?

Secret sins.

The ones that only you and the Lord know.

We all have those.

We all have those.

And I got one amen.

Can I try that again?

Can we say oh me, maybe?

We all have those secret sins, and only me and the Lord know.

I do not.

Well, you just got one.

You just deceived yourself.

Hello.

You know it.

I know it.

So just admit it.

That's the first step to repentance.

Going to get an amen.

And then the third thing is we have a divine, hey, look at this.

We have a divine appearance, a divine announcement.

Then we have a divine advertisement.

Look at his advertisement.

Or actually his presentation to him.

In verse 17, 18.

Jesus tells the church, come.

He says, come.

He says, I counsel thee.

Verse 18, to buy me.

Oh, gold, tried.

And then let me take that real quick apart.

He says, Come for spiritual value.

He says, if they will come to him, put him first, and live out the word of God, they will know true riches.

In fact, I don't have to tell you, but in Matthew 6, 19 through 21, those are the most powerful verses.

You and I have a choice this morning.

We can lay up treasures here on earth, or we can lay up treasures in eternity.

It's our choice.

And that's what Jesus said in Matthew chapter 6, verses 19 through 21.

Matthew 6:19–21

And then he says, hey, not only do we have right here a spiritual value, then he says, look at your spiritual vesture.

Then he talks about putting on the white raiment.

He says, hey, spiritual garments.

This is an invitation to come to him for salvation and his righteousness.

They are naked and lost in their sins.

And then the third thing, he says, spiritual vision.

Look at, he says, that's where he gets back to the Isav, if you see in that verse.

And he says, and to what?

Put the right in the Christian world, as a, I mean, as a lost person coming to Christ, he's saying, Satan has blinded your eyes.

2 Corinthians 4, 4.

He's blinded the minds of them that believe not.

He's saying that the Holy Spirit comes and what?

Opens your eyes, opens your heart to receive the truth.

Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior.

And now you were blind, but now you can see.

And when you, whoo, you go to Luke.

Oh man, look at this.

When you go to Luke, I'm about to, oh, oh guys, I'm about to, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.

Luke 4, he says, and the Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor.

He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted.

This is this oasis to preach deliverance to the captives and recover in the sight of the blind to set at liberty them that are what?

Bruised and to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

That's what the church is for.

That's who we are.

That's what we're to be.

Amen.

An oasis.

A place to be refreshed.

A place to be built up.

Oasis.

That's what he's saying.

And then he says the fourth thing.

Verse 19.

Spiritual advice.

Notice what he says.

Here's spiritual advice.

Verse 19.

He says, As many as I love, can you see this?

Now let me tell you something.

You want to see the grace of God?

You want to see the mercy of God?

Here it is.

In spite of all the indifference toward him, he still loves them.

Herein is love, not that we love God, but that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins, 1 John 4.10.

I mean, this is an apostate church, but he still loves them.

They even make him want to throw up, but he still loves them.

Now, can I say that's grace?

That's amazing grace?

Is that not, isn't that beautiful?

Jesus doesn't just write the people off when they don't do as he pleases, but now watch.

But he calls them and continues to love them even when they reject him in his love.

Notice the next advice.

I rebuke and chasten.

Jesus tells them, now don't miss this, and us, that just because he loves us like we are, he loves us too much.

Now watch.

To leave us as we are.

Now see, a lot of us love everybody, and we should, but we don't take that next step of lovingly confronting them with the wrong.

Hello?

You okay?

Well, we're just gonna love them.

Well, if you just love them and not tell them the truth, how are they ever gonna get free?

Come on, help me now.

Work with me here.

Follow my thought.

I love them.

I love I love my family.

But when they do wrong, I've got to lovingly confront them with the truth because you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.

And well, you just don't love me, you so hard.

No, I love you more than you'll ever know because I share the truth with you lovingly, not abusively.

And have you ever shared it till you get to the point where I'm just not gonna share it anymore?

They don't listen, they won't pay attention, just let them go on their way.

Have you ever said that?

I have.

But you know what brings me back?

Would that be what Jesus would do for you?

Actually, you know what he brings me back to?

Is that what Jesus did for you?

Because I was a for y'all would not have loved one who had been around me when I was lost.

I was not a I well, I thought I was a good person.

Good for me.

But when Jesus kept knocking on my door, isn't it amazing how loving he is?

Isn't he a gentleman?

He'll knock, but he won't kick the door in.

See, do you know something on the door that he's knocking, there's no handle on the outside?

Hello?

The handle's on the inside.

You gotta open the door.

You gotta open the door.

Not him.

You gotta open it.

He'll knock and he'll lovingly knock and he'll continually knock.

It's in the present tense, the word knock there.

He's continually knocking.

But you gotta open it up.

And that brings me to the last thing.

Then he said the word of counsel.

Then we're gonna hit number three and number three.

He says, be zealous.

Oh, you almost missed it.

I can't.

I know, man.

Oh, there's so much.

There's so much.

Watch.

First, he says he'll rebuke us.

The word means to convict and to correct.

Okay?

He will speak to us in our condition.

Remember the woman at the well?

He lovingly confronted her.

And what did he say?

You've been married five times, and the man that you're now living with is not your husband.

He confronted her in a loving way.

But he says, so you've been drinking of the worldly water.

Now why don't you drink of the water that you'll never thirst again?

John 4.

Oh, was that not beautiful?

But now watch this.

His word and his will convicts us in our hearts through the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

John 16, 8, the Holy Spirit has come to reprove and convict the world of sin and of judgment.

But then watch this.

There's another word, chastening.

Now this is powerful.

If he can't get us through the rebuke, he can go to the next point, chastening.

You know what the word chastening means?

To correct with blows.

Yep, that's it.

He may touch any area of my life to get my attention.

He might even use death.

1 Corinthians 11 30, he used death.

They were asleep, that means they died.

Those who refuse to walk in God's path will encounter trouble in their lives.

Watch this.

Proverbs 13, 15.

Here it is.

The way of transgressors is hard.

Listen to Proverbs 15:10.

Proverbs 15:10

Correction is grievous unto them that forsake the way and that hates correction.

They shall die.

Did you hear that?

Wow.

So we have to make a choice.

God will get our attention.

Here's what he's saying.

You cannot continue to make a mockery of God.

Can't do it, folks.

It's not going to allow that to happen.

And then the council was zesty.

Be zealous and zesty to come to a bowl.

Be hot for God.

And then the last thing that I'm through, the promises to the lay of the sea.

And here they are.

Ready?

Fill them in.

Look at his verse 20.

I stand at the door and knock.

He's continually knocking.

Look at 2 Peter 3:9.

2 Peter 3:9

The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness, but is long-suffering, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

And then B, look at his personal promise.

Second part of verse 20.

If any man hear my voice and open the door, you and I've got to open the door.

You and I've got to open the door.

See, look at the third part of verse 20, a precious promise.

A present promise, a personal promise, then look at his precious promise.

Sup with me, and he with me.

Wow.

Now the word sup there means to eat, to break bread together.

They usually, the the Israel uh the people here, the Greeks usually had a large breakfast, a much smaller lunch, and then a leisurely evening meal, which they call supper.

Now you wonder where we got the word supper.

And at the evening meal, the family would take their time to talk and fellowship.

It was a time of intimacy for the family.

And Jesus says, You come to me, and if you'll just open the door, I will come in and have fellowship with you.

Wow.

I will have fellowship with you.

One of my favorite verses is on the road to Emmaus.

And in Luke 24, verse 32, they said about Jesus, did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us by the way?

Luke 24:32

While he opened us up to us the scriptures.

Now that's Jesus.

Jesus, hey, preach the word about himself.

Did not our hearts burn within us?

Oh, folks.

Folks, listen to me this morning.

Is your heart burning?

And then the last thing he said, verse 21, he that overcometh, he that hath an ear, let him hear and become an overcomer.

Listen to me.

Here it is.

Somebody gave me this the other day.

He said, Preacher, this is for you.

Prescription for revival.

You ready?

If all the sleeping folk will wake up, if all the lukewarm folk will fire up, if all the dishonest folk will confess up, if all the disgruntled folk will cheer up, if all the depressed folk will look up, if all the estranged folk will make up, if all the gossipers will shut up, if all the true soldiers will stand up, if all the non-tithers pay up, if all the dry bones will shake up, and if all the church members will pray up, revival will come.

What a prescription.

I think that's what I just preached.

A prescription for revival.

Let me ask you this morning.

Here's the question.

It's very simple.

This is to all of us.

It's a very simple question to answer.

If you're honest.

Because it's either yes or no.

There's no, I don't know.

That doesn't work.

I will fail you if you say I don't know.

I'm the professor.

It's a simple test question.

Yes or no?

Say, I got it, Pastor.

Ready?

Is your heart on fire for God?

That's it.

Yes or no?

There's no neutral.

There's no middle ground here, folks.

No middle ground.

Is your heart on fire for God?

Wow.

I had to do a lot of seeking in my heart when I asked myself that question.

Oh, outwardly you would think, oh yeah.

But I'm talking about, is he your your hey, listen to me.

I mean, are you on fire for God?

Is that is he your consuming life?