'THE CHURCH IN REVELATION'
By
Rev. Juliet Schimpf
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Broadcast
Notes
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LINK to CFRA broadcast of
Sunday, November 8th, 2015):
http://cdn2-proxy.autopod.ca/podcasts/chum/6/37120/good_news_182_nov08.mp3
http://cdn2-proxy.autopod.ca/podcasts/chum/6/37120/good_news_182_nov08.mp3
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'Lukewarm and Lovin' it:
The Church in Laocidea'
“LUKEWARM
AND LOVIN’ IT: THE CHURCH IN LAOCIDEA”
Revelation
3:14-22
1.
THE DIAGNOSIS
2.
THE DELUSION
3.
THE DISCOVERY
John Stott once wrote,
"The Laodicean church was a half-hearted church. Perhaps none of the seven
letters is more appropriate to the twentieth century church than this. It
describes vividly the respectable, sentimental, nominal, skin-deep religiosity
which is so wide spread among us today. Our Christianity is flabby and anemic,
we appear to have taken a lukewarm bath."
1.
THE
DIAGNOSIS
VERSE
15 ‘I
know your works; you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either cold
or hot. 16So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I
am about to spit you out of my mouth.
·
Located in the fertile Lycus River Valley,
the city had no nearby water source, so tepid, mineral-filled, and nauseating
water was piped in from six miles away.
·
Approximately
12 miles east of Laodicea was the city of Colossae, whose church was
addressed by Paul in the book of Colossians. The city of Colossae was
well-known for its refreshing cold waters, which came down from melted ice and
snow and rain from Mount Cadmus, which towered above it. These waters were
valued for their purity and cooling abilities, and drew in many visitors and
dignitaries for just this reason.
·
About
7 miles north of Laodicea was the city of Hierapolis, a large Roman city with
centers dedicated to the worship of Apollo and, later, Caesar – Domitian, in
particular. Probably its most famous feature was its hot baths, fed by hot
springs (reminiscent of Yellowstone’s hot springs), which were used to cure
ailments of its visitors, many who relocated there specifically for that
purpose.
·
And there, between Colossae
and Heirapolis sat Laodicea, where the streams of cold water from the west and
hot water from the north met. The mixing of the mineral-rich hot water and the
cold water created a lukewarm water which tasted awful and could make the
people of the town sick. It was a constant source of irritation.
·
In
addition to the taste and the health effects, the water, which was brought into
the city via an aqueduct and distributed through clay pipes, had such high
mineral content that it was frequently plugging the pipes it flowed through
with deposits, resulting in frequent need of repair
·
John might have been saying:
o
"If you were hot, like the springs of
Hierapolis, you'd bring healing, restoration, and comfort to people who suffer.
o
If you were cold, like the water in Colosse,
you'd refresh and encourage people who are hurting. Instead, you are lukewarm.
o You don't
do anyone any good and you make me sick, just like your own water.
·
THE MESSAGE:15-17 “I know you
inside and out, and find little to my liking. You’re not cold, you’re not
hot—far better to be either cold or hot! You’re stale. You’re stagnant. You
make me want to vomit.
·
JOHN STOTT:
“To be neutral to Christ is to be an obstacle to Christ.” (John Stott)
2.
THE
DELUSION
THE
DELUSION: “BIG ME, SMALL GOD!”
VERSE
17 “For you say, “I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing.” You do not
realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.
THE
MESSAGE VERSE 17 “You brag, ‘I’m rich, I’ve
got it made, I need nothing from anyone,’ oblivious that in fact you’re a
pitiful, blind beggar, threadbare and homeless.”
·
Laodicea
had 2 theatres, a textile industry, and it was the banking centre for Asia
Minor.
·
In
60 AD, Laodicea was destroyed by an earthquake. When Nero offered them
assistance to rebuild their city, the Laodiceans wrote back to him, telling him
that they were wealthy, they were in need of nothing and that they could
rebuild it themselves.
·
Tacitus,
THE ROMAN HISTORIAN, WROTE: "Laodicea arose from the ruins by the strength
of her own resources and with no help from us."
·
The city was renowned for three main
industries:
o 1. After all, they were a large banking center
WITH A GOLD EXCHANGE-- proud that their bankers were known to exchange pure,
unadulterated gold.
§ 1
Peter 1:7 so that the 1aproof of your faith, being more precious than
gold which 2is perishable, beven though tested by fire,
cmay be found to result in
praise and glory and honor at dthe revelation of Jesus
Christ;
o 2. They were also famous for clothing made from
black wool produced by their sheep….GLOSSY, BLACK WOOL WAS WOVEN INTO GARMENTS
CALLED TRIMATA THAT WERE PRIZED BY THE ROMAN WORLD
My soul will exult in bmy God; For He has cclothed me with
garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with a
garland, And das a bride adorns
herself with her jewels.
o 3. They were famous for their great medical
school, which specialized in using mineral deposits from the area to make an
expensive eye salve CALLED PHYRIGIAN POWDER…. They had no need for Caesar’s
riches (and no desire to be in his debt).
·
God
wanted the church in Laodicea to shift from self-sufficiency to God-dependency!
VERSE
18 “Therefore I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may
be rich; and white robes to clothe you and to keep the shame of your nakedness
from being seen; and salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.”
3.
THE
DISCOVERY
THE
DISCOVERY 1: BIG GOD, SMALL ME!
God
wants the church in Laodicea to shift from worshipping CREATION (“stuff”) to
worshipping THE CREATOR.
VERSE 14 ‘And
to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The words of the Amen, the
faithful and true witness, the origin of God’s creation:
·
“AMEN”
Isaiah 65:16 it says, "The God of amen." That's Hebrew for truth,
or affirmation, or certainty. God was called the God of truth then, the God
of certainty, the God of affirmation. Whatever God says is so, whatever God
says is true, whatever God says is certain, fixed, unchangeable. Therefore He's the God of amen.
·
Now the word "amen" is often used in
Scripture as a word to affirm the veracity of a statement. Sometimes it is used
before a statement and when it is it is usually translated "verily,
verily," or "truly, truly," but in the Greek language, for
example, it is "amen, amen." You often see before some very significant
statement "amen, amen." And there it is to affirm the truthfulness of
what is to be said.
·
But more than that, more specifically even than
that general affirmation, Scripture tells us in 2 Corinthians 1:20 a very
important truth. It says, "For all the promises of God in Him are
amen." All the promises of God in Him are amen. What does that mean? That
means that all God's promises and all God's covenants are guaranteed and
affirmed by the person and work of Jesus Christ.
·
FAITHFUL AND TRUE WITNESS: John 14:6 He said,
"I am the way, the truth and the life." He is, of course, the perfect
true witness.
·
ORIGIN OF GOD’S CREATION:
o Hebrews 1:2
and through whom also he made the universe
o Colossians 1 15 The
Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in
heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers
or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things
hold together.
DISCOVERY 2: A GOD
OF INTIMACY
VERSE 20: VERSE 19I reprove and discipline
those whom I love. Be earnest, therefore, and repent. [PROVERS 3:12 “THE LORD DISCIPLINES THOSE HE LOVES, AS A
FATHER THE SON HE DELIGHTS IN.”]
VERSE 20 Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you
hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and
you with me.
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o The
word for “eat” in Greek is “deipnein”.
The greeks had three meals in the day.
There was “akratisma”, breakfast, which was no more than a piece of
dried bread dipped in wine. There was
“ariston”, the midday meal. A man not go home for it; it was simply a
picnic snack eaten in the city square.
There was “deipnon” this was the
evening meal; it was the main meal of the day.
People lingered and sat long and talked over it, for the day’s work was
done. There was time now for unlimited
andunhurried fellowship together. It was
the deipnon that Christ would share with the man who answered His knock. This was no hurried meal, no visit in the
passing, it was the meal where people lingered…..
o JOHN PIPER: “Christ did not die to
redeem a bride who would keep him on the porch while she watched television in
the den. His will for the church is that we open the door, all the doors of our
life. He wants to join you in the dining room, spread a meal out for you, and
eat with you and talk with you. The
opposite of lukewarmness is the fervor you experience when you enjoy a
candlelit dinner with Jesus Christ in the innermost room of your heart..”
CONCLUSION: VERSE 21
“To the one who conquers I will give a place with me on my throne, just
as I myself conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22Let
anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.’”
Rev. Juliet Schimpf
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To
listen to the above broadcast, click on the following link:
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