Greg Laurie - Jesus' Message to Last-Days Believers (01/12/2018)
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Pastor Greg Laurie shares Jesus' message to the church in Philadelphia in Revelation 3, painting the last-days church as one recovering from sickness but coming back strong with faithful obedience. Despite little strength, they receive an open door for the gospel, protection from the coming global tribulation, and promises of reward if they hold fast.
Jesus' Message to Last Days Believers
All right. Well, let's grab our Bibles and get our hearts right and go to Revelation chapter 3. The title of the message today is Jesus' Message to Last Days' Believers.
I heard a story about a man who was very ill—in fact, it was an illness that was potentially fatal. So he took his wife with him to see the doctor. The doctor did a thorough checkup on the man and called the wife in. He said, “Ma'am, I want to talk to you about your husband. Chances are he is going to die. He has this illness that is compounded by extreme stress. However, if you follow the directions I am about to give you, I believe your husband could make a recovery.
“Here is what you would need to do for the next six months to a year. You need to create for him a stress-free environment. By that I mean you don't trouble him with anything. For instance, in the morning make him his favorite meal—whatever he loves to have, you make that, if necessary from scratch. Don't talk to him about problems with the kids or unpaid bills. Don't burden him with chores. Stress-free. Same thing for lunch—a gourmet meal preferably. For dinner again, whatever he wants to eat. And here is a really important thing: you just smother him with compliments and affirm him and tell him how wonderful he is. And show lots of affection—lots and lots of affection. If you do this for six months to a year, I believe your husband will make a full recovery.”
She said, “Thank you, doctor.” She left his office and they were driving home together. The husband turned to the wife and said, “What did the doctor say to you?” She said, “You are going to die.”
Now you remember last time we talked about how sometimes we can be sick and sort of be in denial about it. Well, let's think a little bit about the last time you or I were sick and how we felt. You know there are those telltale signs. Maybe your throat gets a little bit sore. You start sniffling. You are clearing your throat a lot. You are feeling a little lethargic and tired. And then, oh no, I am sick. And maybe it got worse. In fact, you became so ill that you were nauseated. You didn't want to eat. Your head was throbbing. You just would lay there. In fact, you didn't want to talk to anybody. You didn't want to hear from anybody. And you lay there for a day. Then it is two days. Then it is three days. And it is so bad you start to wonder, “Am I ever going to get better?”
And then one morning you wake up and your appetite is turning a little bit. And you are feeling a little bit of strength come back. So you jump out of bed. You take a shower and you get dressed. And maybe you go out to exercise or go to work. And oh, after a few minutes your head starts to throb and you realize, I am better but I am not back to full speed yet.
That is a picture of the church as Jesus sees it in the last days. It is not a super church. It is a church that has been sick but is returning back to life. It is the church making a comeback. The church being revived. It is the church of the last days—the church of Philadelphia, referenced here in Revelation 3.
Jesus cannot say enough nice things about her. In contrast to His loving but firm words of correction for the churches of Pergamos, Thyatira, and Sardis, Jesus has unqualified commendation for Philly, the church of Philadelphia.
The Three-Fold Application of the Seven Churches
Now we have been looking at the seven churches of Revelation, which is really the point of entry into this great book. And we have found that there are three primary applications as we study them.
Number one, they speak to us practically. In other words, there were actual churches Jesus was addressing. There was a church of Ephesus—which we happened to visit that area recently and shot a video there, as you may recall. There was a church of Smyrna. There was a church of Philadelphia, Laodicea. So these were actual churches, actual congregations with pastors, and these words spoke directly to them.
Number two, prophetically we in effect see the history of the Christian church unfolding from Pentecost to the Lord's return. Unfortunately, instead of seeing a progression, we see more of a regression—starting with the apostolic church of Ephesus beginning to leave their first love and ending up with the apostate church of Laodicea where Christ is on the outside trying to get in.
But thirdly, they speak to us personally. These are the words of Jesus to the church. And you could take out the word “Philadelphia” and insert your name. These are the words of Jesus to you. And to the point, these are the words of Jesus to the last days' church. And folks, I believe that is us. I believe that we are the generation that can indeed see the return of Jesus Christ. So we should pay careful attention.
In our last message we looked at the church of Sardis that was nearly dead. But now suddenly we see signs of life. The church is springing back. And here is the church of Philadelphia.
Revelation 3:7-13: “To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, ‘These things says He who is holy, He who is true, “He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens”: “I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name. Indeed I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie—indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you. Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown. He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”’”
Let's pray together. Now Lord, we want to have an ear to hear. And we want to have an eye to see. But we don't want to just be a hearer of the Word. We want to be a doer. So help us pay careful attention to what You say to the church of the end times, to the last days church. Help us to do the things You tell us to do. We ask all of this now in Jesus' name. Amen.
An Unprecedented Open Door of Opportunity
So what does Jesus have to say to the church of the last days? Point number one: Jesus has given us an unprecedented open door.
Verse 7: He who opens and no one shuts. Now in the New Testament we find that the phrase “an open door” usually is referring to opportunity. For instance, in 2 Corinthians 2:12 Paul says, “When I came to Troas to preach Christ's gospel, a door was opened unto me of the Lord.” In Acts 14, when Paul and Barnabas gathered the church together, they were declaring all that God had done and how He had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.
So in the same way we should pray that God would open doors for us, so to speak, in our own lives. Back in Colossians 4, Paul says, “Pray for us that God will open a door and give us many opportunities to speak about His mysterious plan concerning Christ.”
Listen, as we look at the unprecedented opportunities before us we need to bring our A-game. And take this all very seriously. We make a big mistake if we rest in past victories and rest on our laurels. That was the problem with Sardis. Remember I pointed out that they were a dead church because they worshiped their past. They lived in the past, not in the present.
So what God has done in the past is fine. But now let's pray about what He wants to do today and then tomorrow. And as we undertake these crusades we should never say, “Oh, it went well last year. We don't have to worry about this year.” No. Every year should be like our first year because indeed it could end up being our last year. Every opportunity should be taken seriously. And so we should do everything we can to go through that open door of opportunity.
Will we do it? A lot of times we as believers are not thinking about others. We are thinking only of ourselves. And we forget the fact that we are blessed to be a blessing. One person said, “Unless a man's faith saves him out of selfishness into service it will certainly never save him out of hell into heaven.” And we should be saved from selfishness to service.
So Jesus says, listen, I have opened the door and I have got the keys. I am glad He has the keys. If I had them they would have been lost by now. I don't know about you but I am always losing keys. I carry a lot of keys around on a little ring to open all the doors. And why is it that it is always the last key on the ring that is the one that works? And no matter how I approach it, it is always the last key.
And I am always holding a lot of things of course. I have a briefcase and a few books and I have got a cup of coffee. And I am balancing it all. So you are doing it one-handed, you know. That key and you flip it over to the next. And it is always the last key.
But then once the door is open you need to walk through it.
The Best and Worst of Times for the Gospel
And so we are living at a critical time in human history. I think the opening words of the book A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens in many ways describes the times in which we now live when it says, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”
In some ways it is the worst of times. I can't think of any time that has been darker morally and spiritually than right now. Things that were being hinted at only ten years ago are being enacted today before our very eyes. Things are very dark and I think we are all very aware of it.
But secondly it is the best of times because we have unprecedented opportunities to bring the gospel to our generation.
Now let us think about the local application of the message of Christ to the church of Philadelphia. They were an actual church that existed. They were not a large congregation. They were not a famous church like Sardis was. But though the numbers were small, the potential was great.
And at this particular time historically a number of things had taken place that enabled this church to reach many people. Number one, Pax Romana was in place. Pax Romana was the forced peace of Rome. This enabled the first century Christians to go practically everywhere preaching.
Secondly, the Romans established Greek as the official language and built excellent roads. The Romans were enamored with all things Greek. Once they conquered Greece they adopted their philosophies, their form of government, their gods, and they certainly adopted the beautiful Greek language and descriptive Greek language. And so that became the official language of Rome.
So now you have a language that unified the people. And you have this amazing road system that the Romans put into place. And the apostles were able to bring the gospel on that road system.
Add to this the fact that Philadelphia was sort of the gateway of the east—geographically located in a place that enabled them to reach many cultures and groups and so forth. So everything was in place.
In the same way, as we look at the church of the last days, we through modern technology can do things we could never do before. TV and the Internet have made the world a much smaller place. And in many ways we speak a common cultural language. We can speak now to the world instantaneously—as we are doing right now.
As we are here in this place. It has been to other sites. Watch the live stream video. It goes out on the Internet. And when we do our crusades we have an amazing international audience—sometimes exceeding 700,000 in live views or viewing the archived version.
And that is why we are doing Harvest America. It is our desire to reach as many people as we can at one time. And by the way we now have 860 churches and sites online for Harvest America. Isn't that great? I think we are going to hit a thousand soon.
So we will have, as President Bush once said, a thousand points of light that we will be receiving and sharing the gospel in their own communities.
Personal Open Doors and God's Timing
But then there are those open doors in our own lives. God will open up a door of opportunity. Maybe there was something you always wanted to do but you weren't able to do. And then suddenly a door opens to you from the Lord.
Listen, when that door opens it is very important that you go through it.
Sometimes we have plans for our life. From age basically 2 to 17 my goal in life was to be a professional cartoonist. And I had my own little world of cartoon characters and my own stories. And I was ready to go. I was corresponding with different cartoonists including Charles Schultz who would graciously write me letters and encourage me. And this is what I wanted to do.
Then I became a Christian unexpectedly at the age of 17. So I thought, well now I will just be a Christian cartoonist. And I did that for a while, graphic design. But I soon discovered that God had given me an ability to share the gospel—starting on the streets and then in front of groups of people. I would travel around with these Christian bands. This is the early 70s. Many of you were not even born then.
And so I felt God has called me to be an evangelist. And so I went to see Billy Graham in the early 70s preach at the stadium down there in San Diego. And I had seen Billy on television obviously many times living at my grandparents' home watching it on the old black and white set with rabbit ears. Remember those?
And when I saw Billy in person preaching I thought, this is what I want to be when I grow up. Not that I ever thought I would preach in a stadium. But I thought I want to spend the rest of my life preaching the gospel to people. And that was my desire. And that is what I was trying to do.
But the Lord closed the door on that. And He opened the door in another area that I had not planned on. And that was in this city called Riverside where we are right now to start a Bible study for young people. And soon people were calling me Pastor Greg though I discouraged them from that.
I began to realize God was indeed calling me to be a pastor. So I sort of abandoned my aspirations to be an evangelist and accepted that God had called me to be a pastor. But we have always done evangelism in our own community of course.
But fast forward 20 years and the Lord opened a door to do our Harvest events. And we have been doing them ever since.
So sometimes the door is not open now. But it opens up later. Sometimes a door closes. But remember this: God only closes one door to open another.
So maybe you are bummed out right now because the door closed. “Hey, I wanted to go through that door.” Well just because it is closed now doesn't mean it will be closed forever. It might open up at another time. So just be faithful with what the Lord has set before you right now.
Jesus is the one that opens and closes doors. Verse 7: “These things says He that is holy, He that is true, He that has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts and shuts and no one opens.”
Remember this: When God opens the door no man can shut it.
Remember the story of James being martyred in the book of Acts, chapter 12. And so Peter was arrested and it looked like he was next. So the church prayed. And the Lord dispatched an angel who went into the prison cell. And the shackles fell off of Peter's arms and legs. And they walked past the first guard. And they walked past the second guard. And this massive iron gate keeping them in the prison opened on its own.
I love that. Because it opened on its own. Peter and the angel walked out. They walked down the street together. And the angel disappears.
So the message is, okay I opened the door now. Go walk through it.
See there are some things only God will do. And some things only I can do. God will open a door but He is not going to take you over and force you to say what you don't want to say. He will give you the opportunity. The question is will you go through that open door and do what God has called you to do.
God Gives Us Enough Strength for the Task
Number two: God has given us enough strength to do what He has called us to do.
Verse 8 He says to the church of Philadelphia, “you have a little strength.” By the way that was not a negative comment about its weakness but a commendation of its strength. He says, “Hey guys. You are making a comeback. You are doing pretty well.”
Listen. You have all the power you need to do what God has called you to do.
When Jesus gave the Great Commission He said, “All power has been given unto Me in heaven and on earth. Go ye therefore into all the world and preach the gospel.”
Then in Acts 1:8 it says, “You shall receive power after the Holy Spirit has come upon you to be witnesses unto Me.”
The power is there. And the fact of the matter is that sometimes when you have a little strength you can be stronger than if you had a lot of strength. Does that make sense?
Because maybe a super talented person would say, “God I don't know if You know this but I am super talented. I am really good looking. I am a can-do kind of guy. And I am the man for the job so I ask that You use me now. By the way Lord I am very humble.”
The Lord looks at him and says, “I don't know.”
Then there is someone else that says, “Lord, I don't bring a lot to the table. But I will go where You want me to go. And I will do what You want me to do.”
And the Lord says, “Now I can work with that.”
See? It is a person that sees their weakness. A person that sees their inadequacy. Not that God can't use talented people because He does. But the fact is often the weaker people are more powerfully used by God because they find themselves depending upon Him and not on themselves.
Paul had the unique experience of being caught up to heaven and returning to earth. And the Lord sent a thorn in the flesh so he would not be inflated—so he would not go on the ultimate ego trip.
We don't know what the thorn in the flesh was. Many believe it was some kind of a physical infirmity. Maybe as a result of one of his stonings or beatings or being shipwrecked. But whatever it was, it kept Paul humble.
And here is what he said about it. God spoke to me and said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.”
So Paul says, “So now I am glad to boast about my weakness, that the power of Christ can work through me. That is why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in insults, and in hardships, and in persecutions, and in troubles. When I suffer for Christ, for when I am weak, then I am strong.”
Little Strength – Great God
So here is the church of Philadelphia. They are coming back to life. They are not a super church. And I bring this up because we wonder, Will Christianity ever convert all of the world prior to the return of Christ? Answer: No. Will we make an impact before Jesus comes? Yes.
But Jesus even said, “When the Son of Man returns, will He find faith on the earth?”
So this is a church that is making a comeback. They are getting back to their roots. They are being revived. But they are also a church that is not as strong as they once were. But they are a church that God is using.
You see, maybe the church of Philadelphia did not have the wealth and influence of Laodicea that we will look at in the future. Nor did they have the rich history and heritage like the church of Sardis. But they had Jesus and that was enough.
And if you have Jesus, that is enough.
Remember the story of Simon Peter walking on the water to Jesus? He started out amazingly well. Making his way to Christ over those white caps. But then he began to sink. And we read in Matthew 14:31, “Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’”
Now a lot of times people are critical of Peter for sinking. But the fact is Jesus told him to come. Peter said, “Lord if it is You tell me to come.” Jesus could have said, “No. Stay. Sit. Stay. Do not do it.” Jesus said, “Alright. Come on. It is Me. Come.”
Peter takes the first step. Puts his full weight in that water. He takes the second step. It is still supporting him. Then he begins to sink. He cries out, “Lord save me!”
Jesus says, “O you of little faith.” And by the way that phrase “little faith” in the Greek is one word—littlefaith. It is almost like Jesus gave him a nickname: “Oh littlefaith. You were doing so well. Why did you sink? Why did you doubt? Come on man.”
That is the church of Philadelphia. Little strength. Little faith. Great God. Good combination. God can do a lot with a little.
Keeping His Word and Not Denying His Name
Number three: to their credit, they were keeping His word and not denying His name.
Verse 8: “You have kept My word and have not denied My name.”
Well that is important, isn't it? Because we are living in a time where so many people don't even know the word of God.
The Bible warns that one of the signs of the end times is there will be false teachers and false prophets and false apostles and even lying wonders. So we need to keep and know the word of God.
C.S. Lewis gave this warning years ago and I quote, “If you do not listen to theology that will not mean that you have no ideas about God. It will mean you have a lot of wrong ones.”
But the awakened believer, which is a part of the last days' church, keeps His word. And by the way the word “keep” could also be translated “guards.” You guard My word.
Listen. It is important to keep the word of God, but we also must spread it.
A lot of people treat the gospel like gun collectors treat their guns. You know gun collectors say, “This is from Civil War days right here hanging on the wall. Check out this new pistol I got.” And they sit around. They clean their guns. They talk about their guns. They read magazines about guns. Nice.
My suggestion is take that gun and go shoot someone. Greg, you are freaking me out. Understand. It is an illustration.
People treat the gospel the same way. They talk about the gospel. They debate the gospel. They get in arguments about the gospel. They defend the gospel. Here is my thought: Use the gospel. Preach the gospel. Get the gospel out.
So Jesus commends the church of Philadelphia for guarding the faith. But then He also tells them, “You guys, go through that open door of opportunity I have set before you. Don't miss that.”
John Stott in his excellent book What Christ Thinks of the Church made this statement, and I quote, “Here is the balance of the Christian life. It is a life of give and take. First we take what He offers. Then we give what He asks. Salvation and service. He bids us to go through the one to receive salvation.”
Well said. Jesus said, “Freely you have received—freely give.”
So God has been faithful to give to us. We must give out.
Facing Opposition from the Enemy
But listen to this. If we are keeping His word, and guarding it, and proclaiming it, as we go through the open doors of opportunity, we are going to be opposed.
Bringing me to point number four: When we keep and proclaim His word, the devil will oppose us.
Look at verse 9: “I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie—indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you.”
Satanic opposition is confirmation that you are on the right track. Spiritual opportunities are always met with opposition and obstacles. Wherever God has His church, Satan has his chapels and synagogues.
Now it is interesting that this phrase “the synagogue of Satan” is referred to twice in the messages to the seven churches. It is referenced in His message to the church of Smyrna, the suffering church. And it is referenced in His message to the church of Philadelphia that we are looking at now.
By the way, those are the only two churches out of seven that Jesus had only complimentary things to say. So it just reminds me that when we are on the right track, and we are doing the work of God, the devil will always oppose.
And it is interesting that the opposition came from religious people. Some of the most ardent critics and harassers of Paul were religious Jews. They weren't true Jews, honoring the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They were blinded by their religion and it caused them to be bigoted and mean and hateful and destructive.
Yes, religion can do that. I don't try to defend religion. Some will say, “Religion is the cause of all the evil in the world.” Well I wouldn't go that far. But I would say it is the cause of a lot.
Religion. But please understand, I don't include myself in those ranks as a follower of Jesus Christ. You see, there is a big difference between the two.
But the fact is, Paul was once Saul of Tarsus who was so blinded by his religious beliefs that he went and hunted down and killed Christians. But when Saul, the religious man, met the risen Jesus Christ, he became Paul, the man who loved, and the man who spread the gospel throughout most of his world.
But know this, whenever we find ourselves opposing the preaching of the gospel, we are on the wrong side of the debate.
There will always be those critics. Those critics that will oppose it. And sometimes they will even come from the so-called church. Now whether or not they are Christians, I don't know.
But here is what I do know. Whenever I am doing the work of God, there will be opposition. And if there is opposition, I wonder, are we doing something wrong? Because if we are really on the right track, I expect the outcry. I expect the criticism. I expect whatever it is that people throw. That is a confirmation. We are doing the work of God.
But here is the problem. Sometimes we are having an in-house debate on technique about how to share the gospel, and we are missing the door of opportunity.
Vance Havner made this statement, and I quote, “If we don't stop using our sickles on one another, we are going to miss the harvest.”
And sometimes we are using our sickles on one another. Jesus said the harvest is plenteous, but the laborers are few. And I would add the critics are many, and the observers are many, but the laborers are few.
The Promise to Keep Us from the Tribulation
Number five: Jesus promises to keep us from the great tribulation period.
Verse 10: “I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.”
Listen, as Christians we are going to have trials and tribulation. Jesus even said, “In this world you will have tribulation.” But there is a difference between that and the great tribulation period.
And here, by the way, is why I believe this is Jesus' message to the last days' church. Because He says two things. Number one, He says, “I am coming quickly.” And number two, He says, “I will keep you from the hour of trial.”
The reason I believe this is that great seven-year span of time called the tribulation is because He says in verse 10 it will come upon the whole world. The tribulation is a global event.
Number two, He says it is the “hour of trial.” This trial will last for a specific period of time—seven years.
What is the great tribulation period? Well, we will get into this more later. A lot more. But it starts with the emergence of the Antichrist and ends with the return of Jesus Christ.
Now, it is my belief that this tribulation period cannot even start until the church is caught up to meet the Lord in the air.
The Restrainer and the Rapture
Why do I believe that? Because 2 Thessalonians 2 says, “You know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. But he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. And then that lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the brightness of His coming.”
So that scripture is saying right now the restraining force in the world is the Holy Spirit working through the church, you see. Because it is Christians that will stand up for what is right. It is Christians that will speak up about what is wrong. It is Christians that are restraining evil.
But once we are caught up to meet the Lord in the air, then the Antichrist can emerge on the scene.
Now the Holy Spirit will never be taken from the world, as some suggest. Because people are going to come to Christ during the tribulation period—millions of them. In fact there will be a great revival.
But the Holy Spirit's work through the church continues on until we are caught up to meet the Lord.
Therefore we should not waste our time looking for Antichrist, but instead be focusing on Jesus Christ as we await His return. Very important thing. He is coming again.
And so He says, “I will keep you from this hour.” And the Greek word translated “keep,” when He says “I will keep you from that hour,” means to keep from or keep out of.
Because genuine believers have kept His word to persevere, Jesus promises to keep them from a time of judgment.
The rapture is the word we often use. Some will say, “Well the word rapture isn't in the Bible.” Well that all depends. If you have a Latin translation that is there, it is rapturus, translated rapture.
But listen, the event is in the Bible. It is the Greek word harpazo. And it is mentioned primarily three times in the Bible: John chapter 14, 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, and also 1 Corinthians 15.
None of those verses speak of judgment, but of the church being taken to heaven.
But the great tribulation, according to verse 10, is coming to test those that dwell on the earth. This is a phrase that is used for unbelievers, not believers.
You cannot find a single instance in Scripture when God was pouring His judgment on non-believers that He also poured it on believers.
In fact, in 2 Peter it is pointed out that God spared Noah and his family, and got them safely in the ark before the judgment came. As the rain came down, the ark went up.
Also in the case of Lot, he was delivered from Sodom and Gomorrah with his family. And it was not until Lot and his family were safely out of the city that God's wrath rained upon it.
And then Peter goes on to say in 2 Peter 2:9, “The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment.”
1 Thessalonians 5:9 says, “God has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation.”
If you are a Christian, you will be caught up to meet the Lord before the tribulation period comes.
Now let me say this. If you are not a Christian, you will be left on this earth to face the great tribulation period. And you don't want to be around for that. Trust me. It is going to be a horrific time as we will discover in future messages from the book of Revelation.
Hold Fast—Your Crown Awaits
Number six: The last days' believer needs to hold their course.
Verse 11: Jesus says, “Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.”
Because of the imminent return of Jesus for His church, believers must hold fast. A true believer will be a faithful believer.
Colossians 1:22-23 says that you have been reconciled to God. So as a result, be holy and blameless so you can stand before Him without a single fault. And continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. And don't drift away from the assurance you have received when you heard the good news.
Hold your course. Don't drift away.
Why is that important? Because the Bible warns that in the end times there will be an apostasy—or a falling away. The Bible says, “The Spirit clearly speaks that in the last days some will fall away from the faith, following deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.”
But if I will hold my course and keep the faith, here is a promise from God to me: No one will take my crown.
Now what does that even mean? Most of us don't walk around wearing crowns. Unless you are a little girl. They love crowns, don't they? What is it with little girls wanting to be princesses? But I tell you, I think it is in their DNA. And you know, they will get all dressed up in their little outfits. And they have got their scepter. And they have got their crown. They want to rule us even when they are young, you see.
And I have had them put the crown on me and, you know, dress me up. Not in the dress. But put things on me, you know. And you just sort of roll with it, you know.
But the crown is speaking of a reward. You know, Paul said, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.”
So that is just one of the many biblical references to a crown. A crown speaks of a reward.
The Judgment Seat of Christ and Rewards
Listen to this. After the rapture, and before the second coming—when we are in heaven, during those seven years—there is going to be a judgment. Not the great white throne judgment we read about later in Revelation 20. That is for non-believers only.
This is a judgment where rewards are given out. We can almost compare it to an awards ceremony in a way.
And 1 Corinthians 3 says, “Our work will be shown for what it is. The day will bring it to light. It will be revealed by fire. And the fire will test the quality of every person's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive a reward. If it is burned up he will suffer loss. But yet he will be saved, even as one escaping through the flames.”
That is interesting. That means that some are going to have little to show for their life. And others are going to have a lot.
Doesn't that make you want to redouble your efforts to glorify God with the time that you have on this earth?
I mean you say, “Well I don't really care about that. All I care about is getting to heaven.” Really? I would like to come and have something to offer. Not to pay Jesus back. I could never do that in a million years. Nor could you.
But to say, “Well Lord You were so good to me. So here are just a few things I did for You. And I hope that You are pleased with them. And I wanted people to know about You. And I wanted to go through those open doors of opportunity You set before me.”
That is what this church is doing. And that is what we need to be doing right now. Are you doing it? If so, a reward awaits you.
But did you know it is possible to have a saved soul and a lost life? Oh yeah your soul is saved. Oh yeah you are in heaven. But you have nothing to show for it.
Hear What the Spirit Says Today
Jesus again closes with these words. Verse 13: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
By the way this verse is in the present tense. So you could translate it: “And here is what the Spirit is saying today.”
These words are more current than tomorrow's newspaper. They are from God to you. Right now He is saying I am talking to you. Are you talking to me? Yes I am. I am talking to you. Are you looking at me? I am looking at you. God is saying. And He is saying I want you to hear this. And I want you to do this.
I want you to be faithful to me. And I want you to keep my word. And I want you to proclaim my word. And I want you to go through those open doors of opportunity. And I want you to hold your course. And I want you to be faithful to me. And I will keep you from the hour of tribulation coming upon the earth.
So here is a question in closing. Let's say Jesus came back today. Would you be caught up to meet the Lord in the air? Or would you be one of those ones who would be left?
Oh yes, there will be those who are left. And they will even be in churches. Some will say, “Oh Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name? And did we not do wonderful works in Your name?” They might even say, “Did we not receive communion in Your name? And were we not baptized in Your name?” And yeah, He will say, “I never knew you, you workers of iniquity.”
See these are people that know about God, but they don't know God. Do you know Him? Listen, if you know Him now, He will know you then. If you stand up for Him now, He will stand up for you then. But if you deny Him now, He will deny you then. And if you don't have time for Him now, He will say, “Depart from Me” then.
It is your choice. You don't want to stand up at that great judgment for nonbelievers. You need to be ready. And if you are not ready, I urge you to make a commitment to Jesus Christ right now as we close in prayer. Let's all bow our heads.
Father, thank You for Your Word to us. We want to hear it. And we want to do it. And I pray for any that are here with us now, listening, watching, who may not yet know You. Lord, would You help them to see their need for Jesus and help them to come to You right now, we would pray.
Now while our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed and we are praying together, how many of you would say today, “Greg, I am going to get right with God. I don't know that I am. I don't know that I would be ready to meet the Lord if He came for His church. I don't know if I would be one of the ones who would be taken. I fear I might be one of the ones who would be left. But I want to change that. I am ready to say yes to Jesus. I want Him to forgive me. I want to know Him in a personal way. Pray for me.”
If that is your desire, if you want Jesus Christ to come into your life and forgive you of your sin, if you want to be ready for His return, if you want to go to heaven when you die, would you lift your hand up right now wherever you are sitting? Let me pray for you. God bless you. Let's lift it up where I can see it. God bless. I can't see all of you of course, but the Lord sees you.
So wherever you are, if you are watching in one of our satellite churches, or you are watching outside in the patio, just raise your hand up. Just say, “Lord, I want Jesus. I need His forgiveness.” Wherever you are, and I will pray for you. God bless all of you. Anybody else? You want to be ready for His return.
Maybe some of you have fallen away from the Lord, and you have been in a backslidden state. You have wandered off. And you want to come right back and get right with Him now. If that's your desire, would you lift your hand? Let me pray for you. Just lift your hand up wherever you are. God bless all of you. God bless all of you.
Father, I thank You now for each one of these, and I pray You'll give them the strength to stand up and follow You. For we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.
Listen, I said earlier that if we'll stand up for Jesus here, He'll stand up for us there in heaven. Jesus said, “If you will acknowledge Me before people, I will acknowledge you before My Father and the angels in heaven. But then He said, If you deny Me before people, I'll deny you before the Father and the angels.”
I'm going to give you an opportunity to put feet to your faith. An opportunity to acknowledge Him before men and women.
In a moment our worship group is going to lead us in a song of invitation. And I'm going to ask if you raised your hand with me during that last moment of prayer—saying that you want to be ready for the Lord's return, saying you want Christ to come into your life, or you want to come back to Him—I'm going to ask that when the song starts you would get up out of your seat and make your way forward.
Outside in the patio, here at Harvest Riverside, you come around to the back of the sanctuary and come down to the front. Up in the court building you go to the front where the video screen is. At Harvest Orange Crest in Orange County you go to the front of the room where the video screen is.
Just go right up to where the stage is and make your public stand for Christ. Why do I ask you to come publicly? Because this is your way of saying, I mean business. I'm serious. Even if you didn't raise your hand but you want to make this commitment, a recommitment to Christ, you've come.
So if you want your sin forgiven, if you want to be ready for the Lord's return, if you want to know that when you die you'll go to heaven, or you want to come back to the Lord, as the group sings, get up out of your seat, come on down to the front, stand here and I'll pray for you when you get here. Get up and start coming out. Come on. Up in the balcony, come down the stairs. Outside, come in. Harvest Orange County, come to the front.
↓↓↓ Part 2 ↓↓↓
Pastor Greg Laurie asks what Jesus would think if He walked into our church today, warning that many might not even recognize Him. Drawing from Revelation 3:14-22, he exposes the danger of the lukewarm Laodicean church that made Jesus sick with its half-hearted faith. The call is clear: repent now, open the door to real fellowship with Christ, and live on fire for Him before it's too late.
Would We Recognize Jesus Today?
Alright, let's start with a question. What if Jesus Christ showed up in our church today? I'm talking about the Lord of Glory walking among us, joining our ranks. Can you imagine if you were standing next to Jesus? Now here is the question. Would we even know it was Jesus?
If we went back to the first century when He did walk this earth, I don't think He was as obvious to identify as some people might think. I mean, whenever there is a movie about Christ, He stands out. The character that portrays Him, or the music that swells when He arrives on the scene, always clearly says, "This is Jesus." But in real life, in real time, when Christ walked this earth, the fact of the matter is He was a relatively ordinary man.
The Bible even tells us that in His appearance He was not striking. He was not unusual. And I seriously doubt that He walked around with a ram, a lamb wrapped around His neck, or holding a staff, or doing this all the time. I don't know why it is, but often in paintings and sculptures of Christ He stands like this. It is sort of like a first-century peace sign. Or He looks like a Boy Scout. No, you probably wouldn't even know who He is.
What Would Jesus Think of Our Church?
But what would Jesus think of our church? What would Jesus think about our worship? What would Jesus think about this preacher? What would Jesus think about you sitting out there in the pew? How would He see this?
Now, considering the fact that we are all a part of the church, let me personalize this. Let's say that Jesus showed up at your house after church today. You were just sitting down for dinner. And there was a knock at the door. And you look and there is Jesus.
Let's say you have one of those Dutch doors, the ones where the bottom stays closed and the top stays open. And I don't know why they are called Dutch doors. I don't know if the Dutch don't like people to come in. It is like, leave the wooden shoes there and go away now. But it is one of those Dutch doors. The bottom door is shut. And there is Jesus. So clearly He can see you. And you can see Him.
You are starting to eat. And you are looking. It is like, honey, look. It is Jesus. And He is looking. I mean you are making eye contact. Actually you can hear Him as He says, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone will hear My voice and open the door, I will come in. And we will have dinner together."
Jesus Speaks to the Church of Laodicea
Now the way that phrase is structured, that verse, it sounds very formal. But maybe a more literal paraphrase would be, hello, I am standing at the door. Right? You do see Me, don't you? You are hearing Me, right? Can I come in and join you for dinner? How awkward would it be to completely ignore Him if He was standing at your door?
Well, that verse is going to be found in the verses before us where Jesus makes that statement. Because here we find the Lord saying this to the church, ironically, to the church of Laodicea.
Now before we talk about them, let's do a quick flyover of the churches we have already looked at. Remember Christ had a special word for every one of the churches, seven in total. First it was the church of Ephesus. Jesus commended them for their hard work and their discernment. But a problem was developing that only His eye would note: they were in danger of leaving their first love.
Jesus tells them to remember, to repent, and to repeat, to get back in a right relationship with God. So it was a relatively small problem, but it was going to only get worse.
From Persecution to Compromise
Next we came to the church of Smyrna. To this church the Lord brought words of encouragement because they were suffering. There was no criticism whatsoever for Smyrna because they were facing severe persecution. In fact Christ offers them a crown for their faithfulness. Maybe you are suffering for your faith today. The Lord promises to keep you through it and bless you for it.
Then we came to the church of Pergamos. The devil recognized he could not destroy the church through persecution. And in fact the church only grew stronger through it. So he changed his tactics effectively to the old adage, "If you can't beat them, join them." And Satan infiltrates the church of Pergamos through compromise. They are dropping their guard. They are lowering their standard. It is not overt yet, but it is going from bad to worse.
Bringing us to the church of Thyatira. Now compromises run their full course. Immorality is rampant. What was winked at in Pergamos is tolerated in Thyatira. And by the way, that is always the way sin works. It starts small, but then it begins to metastasize like a cancer.
The Danger of Small Beginnings
And Jesus warns them, if they don't repent, they will go through the tribulation period. You know it is interesting how something can start small, and seem innocent enough, and harmless enough, and then it becomes a problem.
I was in a pet store the other day with my two granddaughters. And they have this new kind of cat they have been breeding. I think it is called the Maine Coon cat. Also known as the giant cat or the jag cat. And this cat looks like a jaguar, not the car, the animal. And it is really big. I mean it is gigantic. This cat will grow up to 28 pounds. And I think it would freak a dog out if the dog saw it.
And I looked at it, and it was so gigantic. And I thought to myself, you know it is big, but it is icky big. It is like, it is inappropriately large. A cat should not be this big. And considering the fact that these cats cost about $5,000 to purchase, what happens the first time your cat just walks away? You know how cats do that? They like leave for four days. You don't know where they have been. $5,000 just walked away. That is not good.
But that is sort of the way sin works. It starts small and then one day it is icky big. Like oh gross. How did it get so large?
The Dead Church and the Last Days
That is what happened in Pergamos. And now we have the church of Sardis, which was really problematic, because the church is effectively dead at this point. What was sick in Thyatira is pretty much dead in Sardis.
Now out of Sardis comes two streams. And these two streams represent the church of the end times, the church of the last days. And that is why I have entitled this message, "Jesus' Message to the Last Days Believer."
And one of those churches was Philadelphia. And we already looked at that last time. And now we come to the compromised, half-hearted church of Laodicea. So it comes down to this. Either you are an awakened believer keeping His Word and going through the doors of opportunity that the Lord sets before you, like the church of Philadelphia, or you are a lukewarm, inactive, pew-warming mugwump.
Don't be insulted by that. What is a mugwump? I told you before, a mugwump is someone who sits on the fence, and their mug is on one side and their wump is on the other. And this is probably the most miserable place that a believer can be.
The Worst of the Seven Churches
And so now we have the words of the Lord to this church. And by the way, she is the last and the worst of the seven churches. There are no compliments. There is no commendation. Because this church was half-hearted. In fact Jesus effectively says, "You make Me sick."
Let's read His words now. Revelation 3:14-22:
"To the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, 'These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.
Because you say, "I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing"—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.
As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.
To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'"
The City of Laodicea: Wealthy but Spiritually Bankrupt
Now before we talk about what this says to us today, let's think about the actual city and church of Laodicea. Laodicea was noted throughout the Roman province of Asia for its great wealth, its commercial life, and its medical practice. Laodicea was the banking center of Asia, and it was the most prosperous of the seven cities that we have been looking at.
There were many large, beautiful homes there, the ruins of which are still visible today. And some of these homes, no doubt, were owned by Christians as well. Laodicea had a flourishing clothing industry. It was a place that people would go to see what the latest designers were coming up with, much like Milan today.
But then it was also an economic center. So you almost could sum it up as saying it was like Bank of America, Nordstrom's, and the Mayo Clinic all wrapped in one. Because it was also renowned for a special eye salve that they developed there, and also an ointment for the ears.
A Radical Rebuke from Jesus
Now I will tell you why that is important as we see what the Lord says to them in a few moments. But Jesus gives a pretty radical rebuke to this church. He says, "I want to vomit you out of My mouth."
You know, some churches make the Lord weep. Other churches make the Lord angry. The Laodicean church made Him sick to His stomach. I mean that is a pretty radical thing to say, isn't it? If someone said, "You break my heart" or "You upset me," but what if they say, "You make me want to throw up"?
Maybe you are taking a girl out on a date, guys, and you are trying to make a great impression on her. And you say, "So how am I doing so far?" And she says, "I just threw up in my mouth." Wow. Okay. Does that mean I am not doing well? That is right. You are not doing well.
Why Lukewarm Makes Jesus Sick
It is pretty insulting, quite frankly. Maybe the most insulting thing you could say. The only thing that would be worse is if they threw up on you. So this is exactly what Jesus is saying.
Now I know if you have a King James Bible, Jesus says, "I will spew you out of My mouth." That sounds very proper, doesn't it? Probably what a British person would say if they were going to throw up. "Excuse me, but I am not feeling well right now. I think I am going to go spew." But in America we would say, "I am sick and I am going to barf." Call it what you like. It is the same thing.
But the verbiage that Christ is using means to vomit or to regurgitate. I know that is kind of gross. But that is what He said. So let's not miss what He is saying. Why does He want to throw them up? Because they are lukewarm.
Now here is another interesting fact about the city of Laodicea. They had no local water supply. They obtained their water through an aqueduct that came from the hot springs of Hierapolis about six miles away. So if you were staying in a hotel in Laodicea and turned on the tap to get a cold drink and tasted the water, you would spit it out. Because traveling that distance the hot water would partially cool down and would end up being nauseating and repulsive.
Hot or Cold, Anything but Lukewarm
So they knew all about lukewarm water in Laodicea. They got the cultural reference that Christ was making. And think about it. We like things hot or we like them cold. Coffee is great hot. In fact I get my coffee extra hot. And then it is good cold. You can have iced coffee. Tea is great hot. Tea is good cold.
The same is true of fish. Fish is great when it is cooked. Fish is great when it is cold, sushi style. How many of you like sushi? I like sushi. But it is good hot. It is good cold. But nothing is good lukewarm. A meal that was hot is cooled down and it is sort of mushy. And that is the idea that Christ is communicating here. Cold or hot are better than lukewarm. And so He says it makes Him want to vomit.
Now I don't know about you—I am sorry to talk so much about this today—but when I am feeling sick to my stomach it is pretty rare. But when I do, I cannot stand throwing up. I hate it. I will fight it. Oh no. No. No. No. No. Or my wife—she just gets it over with. I am sick to my stomach. She is done. Okay. With me it is like I fight it. I lament it. I do it. It is just a big ordeal for me.
What Does It Mean to Be Hot for God?
The point of it all is we do not want to do something that would make Jesus want to throw up. Do we? We do not want to do something that would make Christ sick. Okay. So what makes Him sick to His stomach? What repulses the Lord? He says lukewarmness does.
Well let us try to understand that for a moment. He would rather we be hot or cold. This is interesting. Because logically you would think He would say, "I would rather you be hot or lukewarm but not cold." Why would lukewarmness be worse than coldness?
Because really what does it mean when He says cold? Cold literally translated here means frozen or icy cold. Here is what Jesus is saying: I would rather you boil or freeze rather than simmering down to a tepid tastelessness.
To be cold means to have no spiritual life in you. To be cold means you are effectively a non-believer. In fact the Bible even says one of the signs of the end times is people would have cold hearts. Matthew 24:12 Jesus said sin will be rampant everywhere and the love of many will grow cold. This is a person that has no interest in the things of God.
Better Cold Than Lukewarm
But believe it or not it is better than lukewarmness. Okay, now what does it mean to be hot? Well it could be translated boiling hot. In fact the word that Christ uses here for hot comes from the Greek word zestos from which we get the English word zest. So Jesus is saying I want you to be boiling hot. I want you to be filled with zest in your Christian life.
The same idea is communicated elsewhere in Scripture. Romans 12:11 says we are to be fervent in spirit, or literally hot in spirit. Another translation says we need to maintain that spiritual glow. The preacher Apollos was described as being fervent in spirit or spiritually at a boiling point.
So the thing is you don't stay hot without rekindling the fire. If you have a fire in your fireplace at home, the way you keep it hot—unless you are just turning the lever and firing up the gas—if you have an old-fashioned fire going you have to throw another log on it. You need to keep feeding the flames to keep them strong.
Keeping the Fire Burning
And in the same way if you want to be hot, if you want to be on fire for Christ, you need to keep feeding the fire. That is why we are told in 2 Timothy 1:6 that we should fan into flame the spiritual gift that God has given to us. And so if you find that your heart has begun to cool down you need to have it rekindled again.
Remember the story of those two discouraged disciples on the Emmaus road. They had lost sight of Jesus. He had been crucified. He had not risen yet. They felt that He had somehow failed in His mission. And they were walking away from Jerusalem in that bloody cross. Christ joins them incognito. They don't know it is Jesus. They have a long conversation together. He opens to them the Word of God and reveals all of those verses in Scripture that pointed to the coming of Messiah and how He would suffer and die. And their hearts began to burn again.
And as they came to the end of their journey we read in Luke 24, they said, "Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?" If you want to keep your heart hot for God, if you want to keep your spiritual flame burning, keep reading the Word of God. That is the way you keep it in that place that God wants it to be.
Three Spiritual Temperatures
I wonder if you would describe yourself as being on fire. What is your spiritual temperature? According to the Bible there are only three options. Sort of like when you go see the doctor and say you are not feeling well. They take your temperature, right? So here are the three categories in the Bible of spiritual temperature. You can be freezing cold. You can be boiling hot. Or you can be miserably lukewarm.
We already know what Christ thinks of lukewarmness. So are you cold or hot? I hope that you are hot. Do you think you are? Maybe the better question would be to interview someone that knows you and say, or ask them, "Do you think that this person is an on-fire Christian?" Because that is how we all are to be. That is what the Lord wants.
Now some would say, "No, hold on for a second Greg. Let's be realistic. I don't want to be perceived as a fanatic or overboard. I don't want people to become uncomfortable when they are around me because I am a believer in Jesus. I don't want to come off as too extreme."
You know what Jesus says to that? Honestly? That makes Me sick. Think about it. It makes Me sick that you would feel that way. That makes Me ill. You nauseate Me when you say you want to fly under the radar and you don't want people to know you are a Christian and you are afraid to speak up for Me and you want to sit on the fence and you want to live a compromised life. It churns My stomach. And I hate it.
Why Cold Can Be Better Than Lukewarm
So clearly this is the worst place we could possibly be. Now you might be asking, "But wait Greg. I am still a little fuzzy on why it is better to be cold than lukewarm." Okay. Here is a good response to that from G. Campbell Morgan, one of the great commentators out there.
Quote, "There is more hope for the man outside the church in all of his coldness than for the man within the church who is near enough its warmth to appreciate it, but far enough from its burning heart to be both useless to God and man. There is a greater chance for the non-believer who has not heard the gospel than for the man who has become an evangelized non-believer." End quote.
Get it? So maybe there is someone that is cold right now. Maybe there is someone sitting in a bar having their first drink of the day. They are as cold as you could be spiritually. No interest in the things of God. Their life is a wreck. Their wife is divorcing them. They are estranged from their kids. They have a drinking problem. It could not be worse in many ways.
And here you are sitting in church first service with your Bible open on your lap. Is it possible that person could be in better shape spiritually than you? Well in a way it could be. And let me explain why.
Lukewarm People Are Blind to Their Condition
Because that person in their coldness may come to their senses and say, " My life is a mess. And I need to repent. And I need to get right with God." They may be coming to the end of themselves. And they might be on the verge of a radical commitment. So in a way they are in a better place than the lukewarm person.
The lukewarm person who sits in church and says, "Oh I have heard that. Oh I know that. Oh I have already been there." And they are all filled up with themselves. And they become indifferent and half-hearted. And in reality they are living a compromised life.
At least the cold person, the non-believer, sins in ignorance. But for the person that knows what is right and then continues in sin, it is far worse. That is why coldness is even better than lukewarmness.
And here is another thing to consider. Lukewarm people are usually the last to know. They are usually the last to know. I don't think most lukewarm people think they are lukewarm. In fact I think they would say, "I am doing very well. Thank you very much." Look at verse 17. Because you say, Christ is speaking, "I am rich. I have become wealthy. I have need of nothing." Do you not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked?
The Emperor's New Clothes
You see, to be lukewarm is to be blind to your own spiritual condition. That is why lukewarmness is the most dangerous of all spiritual sicknesses. Because the person doesn't think they are sick. They are self-deceived, having enough religion to inoculate them to the truth.
As I have often said, the greatest inoculation against the gospel is the gospel heard but not heeded. And so that is the church of Laodicea. It is filled with half-hearted fence-sitters. This lukewarm person has no passion. They have no enthusiasm. They have no urgency. They have no compassion. A lukewarm person is someone in a self-satisfied condition who thinks they have it all and they know it all.
And when it says they are blind, it means that they have deliberately closed their eyes. Remember that story by Hans Christian Andersen called "The Emperor's New Clothes"? It is a story about an emperor who was really into fashion. Really cared a lot about his appearance. He was very vain.
So he hired two of the finest tailors he could find and he asked them to make him the most luxurious garment that had ever been seen. Well these guys were slackers and they didn't get it done and the emperor showed up. And so they lied to him. And they said, "Oh emperor, we have brought in this imported fabric that is so special. It is so unique that most people can't even see it. In fact only the people who are fit for their position can see it. And those who are stupid cannot see it."
Jesus' Counsel to the Lukewarm
And they pretended to hold the fabric up. And so the emperor after hearing this said, "Oh I see it. It is beautiful. It is fantastic." And so they began to fit him. And they tailored it. And pinned it. And got it all ready. And made him his robe.
And so the emperor was so excited he wanted everyone in the kingdom to see his new robes, which were not there. The emperor had no clothes on. And his lords that were with him went along with this charade saying, "Oh yes we see it too." And so out they walked in a procession in front of their entire kingdom. The emperor and his lords.
So they are walking along. And everyone is applauding. They are going along with it. "Oh it is wonderful. You look fantastic." Finally some little kid says, "Mom, why is the emperor naked?" And the emperor realized the game is up. And he was exposed for what he was.
That is the church of Laodicea. "Oh we are rich. We are increased with goods. We have it all together." Jesus says actually you are miserable. You are poor. You are deliberately closing your eyes. And to the point you are naked. Yeah. I know that you live in the fashion capital of the world. But you don't have any clothes on. Yes. I know that your city is renowned for making eye salve. But you can't see anything. You are in the worst state possible.
Buy from Me Gold Refined in the Fire
So what now? Well Jesus tells them how to fix it. How to get right. He says in verse 18, they need to make a spiritual investment. He uses business language with them. Verse 18: "I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see."
You see the cultural connection considering where they were. So Jesus is simply using business language. "Hey you guys. You are all about investments. You are all about making a good purchase. Okay. Let Me use your verbiage for a moment. Here is what you need to buy from Me."
Now of course we don't buy salvation, do we? It has been purchased by Christ at the cross with His blood. But He is using this language to effectively say you need to make a spiritual investment. You are so involved in your physical appearance. You are so interested in how you look outwardly. You have completely neglected who you are inwardly. So make this purchase if you will. It is really the same principle as Matthew 6:33 where the Lord says, "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."
God's Discipline Shows His Love
Why does Jesus say this to them? Why does Jesus say corrective things to us? Answer: because He loves us. Verse 19: "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten." A better translation would be, "As many as I dearly, tenderly love."
Listen. When you are disciplined by God it is a reminder you are one of His children. Hebrews 12 says, "The Lord disciplines those He loves and punishes those He accepts as His children. If you endure this divine discipline remember God is treating you as His own children. Whoever heard of a child that was never disciplined? If God doesn't discipline you as He does all of His children it means you are illegitimate and you are really not His children at all."
See, we don't discipline other people's children, do we? Have you ever been maybe in a store and some child is throwing a temper tantrum? It is not your place to discipline that child. You might like to. But you can't. And you shouldn't. That is the responsibility of the parent.
But we do have a responsibility for our own kids to give them parameters, to give them standards, to give them an example. There is reward. And in effect there is punishment. That is because we love our kids. In the same way because God loves you, He punishes you. He disciplines you when you go astray.
Better an Overly Sensitive Conscience
You say, "I don't understand what you are saying." It means that you know people who are non-believers that go out and do wicked things and get away with it. And nothing seems to happen, but just wait. Their day is coming.
And then you go out and slip up a little bit and bam you get busted. Why did that happen? Why did God just bust me? You know I have never done that before. The first time I do it and I get caught. I get nailed. I get busted. Why? Because God loves you. And you are His child. And He is not going to let you get away with it.
See, the person I am concerned about is the person who can sin over and over again without any conscience, without any guilt, without any sense of wrongdoing and yet call themselves a Christian. That is the worst case imaginable.
And the reality is if you feel guilt because you have done something wrong, congratulations, your conscience is working. In our kitchen we have a fire alarm and it is overly sensitive. In fact every time we fire a grill up it goes off. There is no smoke. There is no danger to our home. It is a contained fire and one little grill, fire alarm goes off.
So we have the broom nearby because we got tired of climbing up on chairs and so we just go up and push the little button with the broom. It is just sort of, I am going to cook an egg. There goes the fire alarm. Turn it off. Keep cooking the egg. It is overly sensitive. Better to have an overly sensitive fire alarm than one that doesn't work, right?
Repent at Once and Be Zealous
Maybe your conscience is a little sensitive. Boy that is a lot better than one that doesn't work anymore. Because God loves you He is going to discipline you. That is a reminder of His love.
So if you are being disciplined by the Lord right now, if you are reaping the consequences of something you have done and you think God is mad at you, allow me to shift your view a little and say it is because God loves you. And know that is why it is happening. Because He is trying to keep you in line.
Remember what David said? "Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me." A rod comforts you? What is a rod used for? It is used to whack a sheep. How is that comforting? Well the Shepherd didn't only whack the sheep with a rod. Sometimes He would use it as an extension of His arm and just touch the sheep with it as they would walk along. And it was a way for the animal to have contact with his master. "I am here. I love you. I am watching out."
Do you go astray? Yes. I will discipline you. But at the same time if something comes to harm you I will defend you with the same rod. So you should find comfort in that. The God who disciplines you is the God who protects you. He will use the rod. He will use the staff. Because He loves us.
So what can a lukewarm, half-hearted, mugwump do if they want to get things right? They need to repent. Verse 19: "Be zealous and repent." Or another translation would put it this way: "Let them repent at once and irrevocably. Then Let them continue always to be fired with zeal."
Act Now Before Your Heart Hardens
So these are very specific words. "Let them repent at once and irrevocably. Let them continue always to be fired with zeal." Why this emphasis on doing it at once? Because Jesus is saying, listen to me, lukewarm person. You have gone way too far down this road. And if you keep going down this road, you are never going to come back.
So I am telling you, if you can still hear My voice at this stage in your life, you need to repent now. Not in a month. Not in a week. Not tomorrow. Not in an hour. Not in twenty minutes. Right now you need to repent.
And the Bible does warn us about this as believers. Hebrews 3 says, "But we are brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God, exhort one another daily while it is called today, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end."
So the Lord is saying, act on this now or you are going to get a hard heart.
I Stand at the Door and Knock
And then we must enter into a relationship with Christ. Verse 20: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me."
Now this verse is often quoted to the non-believer. And it certainly does fit. And I have quoted it many times as you know. And it is an appropriate verse to quote to someone who is not yet a Christian, saying that Christ is on the outside trying to get in. Because in effect, when you become a Christian, it is inviting the Lord Himself to come and take residence in your heart.
The Bible says, "For as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God." Just because a person is in church doesn't mean that Christ is in them. So yes, this is addressed to the church. But there are non-believers in church. So Jesus is saying, "All right, let's start a relationship. Not some legalistic thing where you just follow rules and regulations. Or a ritualistic thing where you just go to church on Sunday and do your part. No, let's enter into a relationship."
Dining with Jesus Means Intimacy
So our Lord uses the word "dine." By the way, this word dine is from the Greek word indicating the evening meal, which was the last meal of the day. Now this is lost in our culture today because we have fast food. We are all about getting the food and eating it quickly.
That is not the way it was in the first century. Dinner was the main event. It was the entertainment. It was everything. So you look forward to that evening meal. You could hardly wait. Because it was going to take some time. It would last for hours. You would be reclining on pillows and cushions. And you would talk. And you would have various sauces on the table that you would dip your bread into, sort of like chips and salsa or pita bread and hummus. It was a very interactive kind of a thing.
That is why the traditional depiction of the Last Supper is sort of ridiculous, Leonardo da Vinci's painting where they are all sitting behind a table, Jesus in the middle, like they are posing for a photo. No. It would have been a round table. It would have been low to the ground. They would have been in reclining positions. And they would have been enjoying the meal. It speaks of closeness and intimacy.
I don't know about you but I don't like to have dinner with someone I don't know. And I especially don't like to have dinner with someone who has a sales pitch. Jesus says I don't want to have just coffee. I want to have dinner. I want to spend a lot of time with you. And guess what? Then we are going to have breakfast and lunch and dinner again. And do it again. We are going to hang out. I want to be a part of your life. I want to enter into your life.
Let Christ Settle Down in Your Heart
It was in these settings where the Lord would have meals with His disciples that He revealed many of His great truths. It was in these settings that the apostle John would lean on His chest so as not to miss a single word.
And even to this day food still sort of describes friendship and fellowship. I mean when you invite someone over to your home, if they are a real friend where will they end up? In the kitchen. Everyone ends up in the kitchen. Leaning against the counter. Because that is where the action is at. That is where the food is getting cooked.
And if they are really a good friend they will walk into your kitchen, open up the fridge, and start eating your food without asking. Meals are to be shared with friends and family, to those that you are close with, for those that you want to be with.
Jesus is saying, "I want to have this meal with you. I want to have this time with you. I want to live inside of you."
You know there is a fascinating verse in Ephesians 3:17 where Paul says, "My prayer for you is that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith." Now why would Paul say to a bunch of believers in Ephesus that his prayer was that Christ would dwell in them? Does not Christ dwell in the heart of every Christian?
The answer is yes. But the phrase that Paul uses explains it. It is a compound word, to dwell, which means to live in a house. But when you add a prefix before it, it changes the meaning and he adds the prefix "down." So the idea put together is my prayer is that Christ would not just live in you. My prayer is that Christ would settle down and be at home inside of you.
Give Jesus the Master Key
Is Jesus settled down and at home in your heart right now? When I say the heart I speak of the citadel of the soul, the core of your being. Is Christ ruling and reigning over every aspect of your life? Or are you saying, "Lord You just stay in this room here and that is Your little room. We call it the Jesus room. You can hang out there as much as You like. But don't go over to this room."
Now Jesus is saying, "No I am sorry. I want to go in every room. And the fact of the matter is I may want to clean a few rooms. And I am going to need the master key." "No Lord. Here is the key to Your room." "No, no, no. This is all My place now. I want to settle down. I want to be at home with you. I want intimacy with you. I want to dwell with you. I want to eat with you. I want to hang out with you. I want to be a part of everything that you do in life."
Are you up for that? That is what it means to know God. And a lot of people aren't up for that. They want to compartmentalize God and keep Him here. "Lord this is Your day. We call it Sunday. We give You two hours. So if You have something to say, say it there. The rest of the day is ours." Or "Lord this is our life. This is our business." Wait. It all belongs to the Lord. That is what is being conveyed here. He stands at the door and knocks. He is asking for admission.
The Promise to the Overcomer
Heard a story about a pastor who went to visit a family one day. He knocked on the door. No one answered. But he could hear voices inside. So he kept knocking. Still no answer. So he wrote a little note on the back of his business card: Revelation 3:20. "Behold I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear My voice and open the door, I will come in." And then he signed his name to it. Slipped it under the door.
Four days later he gets a note in the mail from the person that he left this little card for. And they wrote down a verse too. Genesis 3:10. "I heard the sound of You in the garden. I was afraid because I was naked and I hid myself." That is a joke. It is okay to laugh.
So to the person who quickly repents and opens his heart to Christ there is a promise. Verse 21: "To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne."
In the Bible the throne is a symbol of authority and conquest. As Christ has conquered the world and the devil and was exalted at the Father's right hand, so will the conquering Christian be honored as well. As Jesus sits or shares the Father's throne, the Christian will share Christ's throne.
Now what this means exactly we don't know. But we do know that the scripture teaches that we will rule and reign with the Lord in the new earth when heaven comes to earth. And we will find out more about that later in Revelation.
John Stott said, and I quote, "If we will let Christ enter the house of our heart, He will let us enter the house of His Father. Further, if we allow Christ to sit with us at our table, He will allow us to sit with Him on His throne." End quote.
But if you want to remain lukewarm, if you want to remain half-hearted, if you want to continue to be a fence-sitter, this does not apply to you. So it is up to you to open the door and let Him in.