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One Last Letter
One Last Letter
“Write to the angel of the church in Laodicea: “The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Originator of God’s creation says:
I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were cold or hot.
So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am going to vomit you out of My mouth.
Because you say, ‘I’m rich; I have become wealthy and need nothing,’ and you don’t know that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked,
I advise you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire so that you may be rich, white clothes so that you may be dressed and your shameful nakedness not be exposed, and ointment to spread on your eyes so that you may see.
As many as I love, I rebuke and discipline. So be committed and repent.
Listen! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and have dinner with him, and he with Me.
The victor: I will give him the right to sit with Me on My throne, just as I also won the victory and sat down with My Father on His throne.
“Anyone who has an ear should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.”
Some Background
Some Background
Laodicea was a self made town they were wealthy because of their hard work and dedication, they were known for producing deep black wool yarn, as well as an eye salve, additionally there was no naturally occurring water in the area, instead water to the city was provided by an aqueduct from six miles away, they also had a medical school, when there was a devastating earthquake in the area the people refused help in rebuilding and ended up doing it on their own. If we read the admonitions again we find each of these issues discussed, but what’s it men to us today?
1. Laodicea was a self made town…they were wealthy because of their hard work and dedication, they were known for producing deep black wool yarn, as well as an eye salve, additionally there was no naturally occurring water in the area, instead water to the city was provided by an aqueduct from six miles away, they also had a medical school, when there was a devastating earthquake in the area the people refused help in rebuilding and ended up doing it on their own. If we read the admonitions again we find each of these issues discussed, but what’s it men to us today?
Playing Church
Playing Church
I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were cold or hot.
So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am going to vomit you out of My mouth.
There are so many things that can be pulled out of these two verses, but the thing that has struck me the most during this read through has been the underlying problem. I see a group of people who has gotten great at playing church, so great that they don’t even realize their relationship with God has suffered, in fact their relationship with God has become useless, it’s like a set of clothing that they put on and take off. That’s what being Luke Warm is. When we go to a restaurant we want our food to be hot, and our drinks to be cold. When the food comes out and it’s warm at best I likely won’t be returning to sample any more of their food, if the drinks come out and they aren’t cold I will likely ask for another or ask for ice. Expectations are high when we go to eat. The same thing can be said for other areas of life. The first church we served at upon graduation was in Key West Florida. The place was beautiful and hot in the Summer, They had the church Picnic on the beach ,it was really neat, and so after the Sunday service we walked down to the beach where everyone from the church had set up for our time together. It was really warm, and I couldn’t wait to get in the water, to cool off after our walk to the beach imagine my surprise and disappointment when I slid my toes in the water and it was not cool at all, it was just like a bath, and not a hot bath more like on that had been sitting there for a while, equally frustrating was the length that you had to walk to get beyond your calfs to get wet, it seemed like you could walk and walk and walk without getting your body wet. The ocean while beautiful, was useless to the purpose I had for it. It was playing with me. This same thing happens to people who claim Christianity as their religion, and I stress religion here, when our faith is relegated to Sunday morning, when it’s something we do because we are supposed to, or because we have to in order to please others, we are playing church. We look good, we can even sound good but if our faith doesn’t bleed over into the other parts of our lives, we don’t have much of a faith to begin with. Jesus is calling the church in Laodicea to a place beyond looking like Christians, beyond church attendance, beyond checking off the list of things that a good religious person does. Jesus is calling the people to spend real time with the God they claim to serve… Introduce the bear.
Raw Materials
Raw Materials
I advise you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire so that you may be rich, white clothes so that you may be dressed and your shameful nakedness not be exposed, and ointment to spread on your eyes so that you may see.
Gold, Clothing, and Medicne are the things Jesus tells the people to buy from him. The people thought they were secure because of their earthly wealth, Jesus tells them to get their security from Him. The people thought they were protected because of the clothing that they had, some of the finest in the known world, made from wool produced in Laodicea wool known the world over, Jesus tells them that their protection should come from him, they thought were healthy because they had a medical school and a special medicine that helped people with vision problems, Jesus tells them that in order to be truly healthy spiritually they needed to look at things the way he does, and in order to do so they need the salve that he has for their eyes. God makes all the materials for a living breathing relationship available to us, in fact has made them available to humanity over and over again.
“Keep asking, and it will be given to you. Keep searching, and you will find. Keep knocking, and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks receives, and the one who searches finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
Tough Love
Tough Love
As many as I love, I rebuke and discipline. So be committed and repent.
Reality TV has become a huge thing we all know this, what started with Survivor has become a billion dollar business.
I advise you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire so that you may be rich, white clothes so that you may be dressed and your shameful nakedness not be exposed, and ointment to spread on your eyes so that you may see.
As many as I love, I rebuke and discipline. So be committed and repent.
Some of the most interesting and sad reality shows though are not ones where a person has a chance to win a million dollars. They are the ones that show real life people dealing with real life issues. Two such shows are Hoarders and Intervention. (talk about the shows explain that while it is hard for the people having to confront their loved ones they do it because ultimately their life is more important than feeling good and fuzzy and happy.
This is what Jesus is doing here this is what he does with his people who claim relationship with him regularly.
Our Answer is Everything
Our Answer is Everything
Listen! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and have dinner with him, and he with Me.
The victor: I will give him the right to sit with Me on My throne, just as I also won the victory and sat down with My Father on His throne.
What strikes me through it all is Jesus consistently telling the church, the people that claim to have relationship with him that He loves them, that He wants what is best for them, that he doesn't want them to stay in one place but that he wants them to open the door to their hearts and let him in to every area. Only then will they be able to have what he longs for and what they were designed for.
This Weeks Challenge
This Weeks Challenge
Stage an intervention in your spiritual life.
Beginning tomorrow read each of these letters again. 7 churches 7 days. Mark down which church you most identify with. Ask God to teach show you how to hear what He is saying to you, and how to act on it.