The Effects Of Laodicea - Part 2

Temple Baptist Church - 5-2-2010

Revelation 3:14-22

Introduction:

A. Last week, I preached on the position of Christ in the end time church age. He is outside of the door!

1. Most churches have gotten so far from the things of God that Jesus Christ would not be welcome in them. He was not welcome while He walked this earth because of the words that He spoke.

2. The people of His day loved the miracles and feedings but would not tolerate the authority with which He spoke.

3. The people of our days love to talk about Christmas and Easter but would not have like the Son of God who preached repentance. The people of His day were comfortable in their religion and so are the people of our day.

B. Our day is no different. People of our day will not tolerate the preaching of the “whole counsel” of God.

1. They like to pick and choose what verses that they like. They do not mind you preaching on the love and grace of God but leave their sinfulness alone.

2. They like to pick and choose what preachers they like. Most people like me as long as I keep my mouth shut! (I don’t need any comments at this point though! J) I try to be loving, kind, gentle, and longsuffering with God’s help but when I preach, I will not compromise or water down the Word of God. I do not cull preachers because they are too quiet, too loud, too animated, too still, or just not my style. If they are preaching the Word of God, let them preach and I will “amen” them.

C. Therefore, most fundamental, Bible believing churches are small by the world’s standards.

1. People are looking for churches where they can be both comfortable and have no accountability.

2. Jesus Christ was rejected and crucified by the religious crowd of His day and died virtually alone!

3. John the Baptist, the greatest preacher born of woman, had his head cut off because of what he said and died virtually alone!

4. The apostles were all martyred (with the exception of John the Beloved) because they thought more of God’s Word than they did their own lives!

D. In our text verse, we find the church so compromised and lukewarm that the Lord is on the outside knocking on the door and inviting individuals to come to Him for salvation. What a shame. Our Lord would not be welcome in the average church of our day because He has been programmed out! He would probably upset the church’s ritualistic services if He were there.

E. These verses that I just read describe their condition and the effects of it. It is a vivid description of people in the Bible Belt today. The “Old Paths” have been forsaken and the results scream of Laodicea.

Let Us Look At What The Holy Spirit Said About The Church:

A. God’s Assessment Of The Laodicean Church

1. Their Values Were Destroyed - “rich … increased … need of nothing … knowest not” temporal instead of eternal (God on the back burner!)

a) They thought more of money than they did God! You still cannot serve both God and mammon.

b) They thought more of possessions than they did God! They tried to find their happiness in things and found none.

c) They thought more of family than they did God! You cannot put anything, including family, above Him.

d) They thought more of pleasure than they did God! God’s will and self will cannot co-exist!

2. Their Vision Was Distorted – “knowest not … blind”

a) They did not see themselves as God saw them! They thought they were alright. No conviction apparently.

b) They did not see the world as God saw it! Love not the world neither the things that are in the world. As Lot saw Sodom, they saw their world.

c) They did not see the Lord as the Bible saw Him! In Him is no darkness at all. Fellowship with the world is still enmity with God.

3. Their Victory Had Departed – “wretched … miserable”

a) They were wretched! What a pitiful outfit!

b) They were miserable! They were living for the wrong things and, therefore, living unfulfilled lives.

c) They were sinful! They were walking at a guilty distance from God.

d) They were troubled! As the troubled seas, they had no peace in their hearts.

B. God’s Advice To The Laodicean Church

1. Buy Of Me Gold Tried In The Fire - 1 Peter 1:5-7 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: 7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: (Real gold, not “fools gold.” Purification!)

2. Buy Of Me White Raiment That Thou Mayest Be Clothed - Philippians 3:9-11 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: 10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; 11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. (God’s righteousness, not ours. Salvation!)

3. Buy Of Me Eye Salve - John 9:6-7 When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, 7 And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing. (Distinquishing between the temporal of verse 17a and the eternal of verse 21. Identification!)