Letters to the American Church – Week 4 | Journey Church DFW | January 25, 2026

``See, I think what he's saying is what you thought has been spiritual prosperity, it's really not, and I'm not pleased with this. So he's calling them out on it. But then what's interesting is he gives an explanation as to why he gives a correction. Look what he says in verse 19. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. So what is he saying? He said, look. I I discipline you because I love you. I love you, and then he exhorts them. He said, you can repent. You can be restored. So you need to understand, he wasn't rebuking them just to be mean. He wasn't rebuking them because he was mad. He wasn't you don't hate them. You're disciplining them because you love them, because you care about them. That's what Jesus is doing here. But then he gives an invitation to show that love. Look what it says in verse 20. [00:26:01] (61 seconds)  #DisciplinedByLove

Now if you go back to Revelation two one, the very beginning of the series, we talked about Jesus said, I'm the one who walks through the lampstands, which is symbolic of the churches. I walk through the churches, but here, he's only at the door. You know what he's saying? He said, you've shut me out, but I'm here anyways. Jesus had been removed from his church. He he here's a church that had so much, yet they were doing church without Jesus. And he's saying, look, I'd love to be invited back in. Invite me back in. And I think the reality is for most of us, we can be so busy with our personal lives and our personal agendas that we kinda move away from him. We move away from our time with him. And what he's saying is, I want you to be I wanna be lord of everything. I wanna be lord of every part of your life. But, again, we're so busy, and we live lives with such little of any margin that he typically could be the first thing shoved down. And even though he gets shoved down and gets forgotten so often, this patience is there, and he says, I'm still here, and I wanna come in with you, and I wanna eat with you, and I wanna do life with you. He wants to be invited in. [00:27:12] (66 seconds)  #InviteJesusIn

He said, you've kept my word. Even in the midst of a difficult time, you've kept my word. You stood strong and you didn't give up. See, think a lot of times in life, we find ourselves in difficult moments, don't we? We find ourselves in difficult places relationally. There are times our marriage is tough. If your if your marriage is never ever tough, you are a unicorn. We have those moments. We just do. Family, finances, job, whatever it is, you're in those tough moments. And what do you do? You do have this church of Philadelphia. You hold on. You hold on tight to what he says. And there are times that that difficulty, the pressure, the weight, the trial can be so heavy, you may find yourself questioning God's faithfulness, questioning God's character. But if what we'll do like what he told the church of Philadelphia to do, hold on. He'll take care of us. [00:11:51] (45 seconds)  #HoldTightInTrials

And this church had become independent, self satisfied, secured, and they were without Jesus. And he's saying, look. You're no good to the kingdom of God. So you're neither refreshing nor can you help people. You're you're nothing. There's nothing that you're bringing to the table now. Now the old interpretation of I wish you were hot and cold and not spiritually lukewarm so I would spit you out of my mouth, There's a little bit to that because Jesus wants us to be hot in our walk. He wants us to be spiritually hot. But can I tell you? He would never tell us that I would rather you be ice cold in your walk. So there's there's a little bit of a problem with that interpretation. He wants us to be hot in our walk. What he's really saying is, I want you to be beneficial, and the reality is you're not. [00:22:33] (39 seconds)  #BeUsefulNotLukewarm

I think there's an interesting thing here because if you look back at Sardis, there was only correction, no commendation. Here in Philadelphia, there's no correction, only commendation. And he makes them a promise. He goes, listen. I'll give you an open door. He says, I'll give you a door no one can shut. Again, that goes in with that missionary culture, that idea of serving because we walk through doors to serve. This is a church that was trying to walk in what God was asking of them. They needed to find a place to love others and serve others. [00:12:36] (29 seconds)  #OpenDoorPromise

I I do not look like one of these guys that tried to pioneer the West back in the eighteen hundreds. I I don't know that I would have to do it. I I don't know how I would do that. I own coffee. I own the equipment. But without the electricity, I can't make the equipment work. See, having the resources is not the same thing as being ready. From the outside, it looks like everything's ready to go. My kitchen is stocked. Cool coffee gear is there, but without power, nothing. You could probably look at my potential and say it's lukewarm at best. [00:04:59] (32 seconds)  #PotentialWithoutPower

See, I think what he's saying is what you thought has been spiritual prosperity, it's really not, and I'm not pleased with this. So he's calling them out on it. But then what's interesting is he gives an explanation as to why he gives a correction. Look what he says in verse 19. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. So what is he saying? He said, look. I I discipline you because I love you. I love you, and then he exhorts them. He said, you can repent. You can be restored. So you need to understand, he wasn't rebuking them just to be mean. He wasn't rebuking them because he was mad. He wasn't you don't hate them. You're disciplining them because you love them, because you care about them. That's what Jesus is doing here. But then he gives an invitation to show that love. Look what it says in verse 20. [00:26:01] (61 seconds)  #RepentAndBeRestored

But the crazy part is, just like in Philadelphia, there was nothing to correct. Here in Laodicea, there's nothing to commend. He's one of two churches. There's nothing to commend. So let's jump in real quick. He says you're you're wretched. You're blind. You're you're poor. You're naked. Again, connected to their culture. They had wealth, the banking, the eye treatments, the wool for the clothes. He said, look. You have a lot of things, but the reality is you're bankrupt. You're bankrupt spiritually. Remember my coffee at the very beginning? What what do we understand? You can own the right equipment, but you're still powerless if it's not connected to the source. And he's saying that you have all these things, but you're not connected to me. [00:24:42] (37 seconds)  #SpirituallyBankrupt