has the final word in your life and mine, and we can completely trust him because everything that he says is the truth.
We need to recognize that Jesus' words and Jesus' teachings are not just his opinions. No, no, no, no. Jesus' words and teachings are the words of the divine Son of God, who is faithful and true at all times.
My words cannot carry the weight because I do not claim to speak infallible truth. But when Jesus speaks, and when we hear the words of Jesus, the church is to listen and to obey because Jesus says only the truth.
Also, Jesus is the beginning of God's creation. Now, this does not mean that Jesus is a created being, but it means that without Jesus, there is no creation because he has created the world. His creative power to create something out of nothing, which is clearly depicted in Genesis chapter 1, is the only hope to a church that is lukewarm and half-hearted.
In this church, it is a very bad condition that Jesus has nothing positive to say to it. Jesus says, "You are neither hot nor cold; you are lukewarm, and because you are lukewarm, I would spit you out; I will vomit you out of my mouth."
Now, usually, people like a soup that is steaming hot or an iced tea that is icy cold. People would not tolerate either lukewarm. So Jesus had the same attitude towards people and towards Christians who profess to be Christian because Jesus dislikes lukewarmness in his message.
Jesus had in mind the hot springs that came from Hierapolis and the cold water that came from Colossae. As you all know, hot water has a healing property, and cold water has a refreshing property.
So the church in Laodicea, they didn't have the spiritual healing like the warm water, nor did they have the refreshing, life-giving ministry like the cold water. They were lukewarm and of no use to anybody.
But what is another way to describe lukewarm water? Well, we can describe it as room temperature water. And what do you need to have room temperature water? Well, nothing. You leave the water as it is, and the water will become room temperature.
Now, if you want to have hot water, you need to do something to make it hot. Likewise, if you want cold water, you need to do something to make it cold. Under normal circumstances, water can never be hot or cold by itself.
So here is the reflection: the people at Laodicea, or the Christians in Laodicea, did not commit an intentional sin. They did not commit immorality; they were not sleeping around; they were not spreading false teachings; they were not welcoming false prophets because they needed to do something in order to do these things.
But a lukewarm Christian is a Christian who is a room temperature Christian, which becomes just like his or her environment. So a lukewarm Christian is an indifferent Christian. He is indifferent to his relationship with Jesus; he is indifferent to reading the Bible; he is indifferent to prayer; he is indifferent to living for God; he is indifferent to serving the Lord.
And the following quote tells us how dangerous the lukewarm situation is: "Half-hearted Christians are worse than infidels, for their deceptive words and non-committal position lead many astray. The infidel shows his colors; the lukewarm Christian deceives both parties. He is neither a good worldling nor a good Christian. Satan uses him to do a work that no one else can do."
Laodicean warm, lukewarm water was undrinkable, so this undrinkable water became a metaphor to explain the shallowness of the church. And Jesus, here, the exalted Christ, the glorified Christ, the risen Christ, is challenging them and is telling them, "Don't you realize that your indifference makes me sick? Don't you realize that your lukewarmness is unattractive and useless? Don't you realize that I hate and despise this spiritual condition?"
But what are the reasons behind this lukewarm spiritual condition? Well, Jesus says, "You say..."
The people, the Christians in the church say, "I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing," and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, naked, and blind.
See, the church was exactly like the city. They thought that their material wealth meant their spiritual wealth. Just like the city, which, during the earthquake, refused the help of Rome to rebuild, so the church in Laodicea refused to get help from God. They counted on themselves: "I am, I have, I have," and their pride and their self-sufficiency really blinded them to the truth.
Their lack of knowledge led them to not recognize the one essential truth: that they do not have any spiritual wealth in themselves—no spiritual wealth whatsoever. Why? Because they counted on themselves. They were self-righteous and felt they could do everything on their own.
With no external pressure from the pagans or Jewish persecution or internal threat of heretical movement, these people yielded to their comfortable lifestyle, and they didn't even know it. They came to church and were moved with emotion, but in them, there was no zeal for God. In them, there was no desire to live for God. In them, there was no desire to read the Bible. In them, there was no desire for a change.
They were satisfied with a spiritual condition because they were self-sufficient, because they were self-righteous, and they did not depend on God. They thought they were spiritual; they thought they were rich. But in fact, they were poor.
And because of this attitude, Jesus tells them that they are miserable, that they are wretched, that they are pitiful, and they need serious counseling.
Now, Jesus is going to give them counsel because they are poor, naked, and blind. The fact that Jesus is about to vomit the believers in the church of Laodicea means that they still have room to repent.
Jesus here is giving them the solution. He's telling them to buy from him gold that is refined in the fire so that they may be rich. Because they thought they were rich, but Jesus tells them, "No, no, you are not rich; you are poor."
So you buy of me the gold that is refined in the fire that you may be spiritually rich. The New Testament text that will help us to understand what Jesus means by the gold refined in the fire is 1 Peter chapter 1 and verse 7.
This text figuratively speaks about faith that is tested, that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold, which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
The gold purified in the fire is the faith that lasts until the end. Brothers and sisters, we need to realize that maintaining a living and walking journey with Jesus in a secular and technological world is no easy matter.
We live and we are experiencing a spiritual crisis in the church. That's why we need to be intentional, and we need to consciously foster and build a relationship and trust with God. We need to have faith in God, and one of the ways to actually do this is to read the Bible, to study the Bible, to pray, to talk about your faith instead of talking about something else, to share your faith with others.
See, once you share your faith, your faith is strengthened. The pen of inspiration tells us, "Talk faith, and you will have more faith."
So, brothers and sisters, I want you to be conscious that every day you remind yourself that Jesus is offering you gold, is offering you faith, which is a free gift. You can get this faith by reading the Bible, studying the Bible, praying properly, talking about your faith, sharing your faith with others.
When you look at the challenges of life and the trials of life and the difficulties of life, you don't look at them as obstacles, but you look at them as opportunities that will refine your faith and make your faith shine brighter and brighter until Jesus comes again.
But Jesus does not only counsel the people to buy from him gold that is refined in the fire; he also counsels them to buy from him white garments to cover the shame of their nakedness.
Nakedness in the ancient world meant to be under judgment or under severe humiliation. To cover somebody's nakedness means to cover his shame. On the other hand, when you wear fine robes, it means it's a symbol of great honor.
The white robes in the book of Revelation symbolize salvation and the right standing before God. The white robes in the book of Revelation obviously have a present reality and a future promise.
To be clothed with white robes means that we are rescued from the humiliating position of nakedness and the shame of our sin. Jesus obviously is calling us to repent. He is calling us to repent because he wants us to realize the shame of our sin, and he wants us to go to him to get the righteousness of his character, to get the robe of his righteousness, which he alone can offer.
While Jesus counseled them to buy from him gold that is refined in the fire and to buy also white garments, Jesus knows that there's something really, really important that they need: they need the eye salve so they can really see their spiritual condition.
This is what the church in Laodicea needs the most because once their eyes are open, they would be able to see that they are not what they claim to be. The Apostle Paul prayed for the Christians in Ephesus that God would give them a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him.
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you may know what is the hope of his calling, what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints.
So what the Laodiceans need is the enlightening and the discerning and the working influence of the Holy Spirit because only the Holy Spirit can open our eyes and can show us our true condition.
To people who thought that they were rich, Jesus presented himself as the source of true riches. To people who saw they had the remedy for every eye trouble, Jesus presented the gift of the Holy Spirit. And to people who thought that they were making the best garments in the world, Jesus presents the white robe of his righteousness.
Jesus counseled them to buy the gold, to buy the white garments, and to buy the eye salve. But don't we know that God's grace is free? So why is Jesus asking the Laodiceans to buy?
Can I buy the righteousness of Christ? Can I purchase the gift of the Holy Spirit? Of course not! But Jesus' gifts are free, but they cost everything.
The text indicates that we need to give up something in exchange to get what we need. We need to give up our pride; we need to give up our self-sufficiency; we need to give up our self-righteousness in order to allow Jesus to give us his riches.
Brothers and sisters, only a total surrender of the whole heart would allow us to experience the riches and the free gifts that Jesus has for us. Total surrender of our whole heart.
I'm struck by the personal nature of Christ's appeal. If someone tells me today, "You make me want to vomit," I would hardly expect the same person to tell me, "I love you more than you know."
It is very strange, but when you love someone, you also hate what is destroying the person, and you love him the more.
So here Jesus is saying that he loves you and hates what is destroying you. He hates what is destroying your spiritual health. Jesus is just acting like any parent because parents do this all the time.
It's very interesting that the two churches that said they are loved by Christ are the church in Philadelphia and the church in Laodicea. Jesus loves his faithful people, and Jesus also loves his unfaithful people because Jesus' love is unconditional.
There is nothing that you can do that can alter or change the love of Jesus towards you. That's why Jesus here comes to his lukewarm church, and he has not given up on the church. He wants to make every effort to show the church its real condition: the condition of self-sufficiency, the condition of self-righteousness, the condition of self-satisfaction.
I want you to understand, brothers and sisters, that Christ rebukes us to rebuild us. He corrects us to change us. Jesus does the discipline for a purpose because he wants to transform our character. He wants to destroy what is destroying us, and he wants to live in us.
He wants us to allow the Holy Spirit to be alive in us so we can live an abundant life in Christ through the Holy Spirit. But we live in a world where counseling and psychology teach us to be all gentle with people because of the common suffering that we experience.
Nobody wants to hear rebuke; we don't want to listen to a God that has a harsh word to say to us. We don't want a God that is rebuking us. We don't want a God that wants to correct us. We don't want a God that is disciplining us, and even we are willing to refuse the words that come out of Jesus' mouth.
But Jesus in this text is very clear. He says, "I discipline whom I love; I confront whom I love." And when he does, he confronts the heart.
When the church is encountering the discipline and the rebuke of Jesus, the only remedy and the appropriate response is a genuine repentance.
So Jesus urges its members to turn away from their self-satisfaction and to make a fresh start. To those who overcome and to those who heed the counsel of Jesus and actually are zealous and repent, Jesus is promising them that they will sit with him on the throne just like he overcame and sat on his Father's throne.
Now, there is something about this promise that is so precious that we cannot clearly see it until we review all the promises throughout the seven churches.
In a stair-step progression, every church has more promises, perhaps to encounter the increasing degeneration of the status of the church. The church in Ephesus gets one promise; the church in Smyrna gets two promises; the church in Pergamos gets three promises; the church in Thyatira gets four promises; the church in Sardis gets five promises; the church in Philadelphia gets six promises.
This doesn't mean that the church should lay this year; they will get seven promises. No, the church in Laodicea gets only one promise—the end of all promises.
That promise includes all the other promises in the previous churches because to sit with Jesus on his throne means to have absolutely everything. But there is more to it.
See, the church that is the most hopeless gets the best promise, and the church that has nothing gets the promise of everything. This assures us that when sin abounds, grace abounds much more.
Ellen White urges us to keep in mind that the church, enfeebled and defective though it be, is the only object on earth on which Christ bestows his supreme regard. He is constantly watching it with solitude and is strengthening it by his Holy Spirit.
Brothers and sisters, Jesus said to the church of Laodicea that they are lukewarm, and in order to get over this lukewarm spiritual condition, Jesus is advising them to give up their pride, their self-righteousness, their self-sufficiency, and to come to him to get the gold refined in the fire, to get faith, to get white garments—the robe of Christ's righteousness—and to get the eye salve, which is the Holy Spirit.
Brothers and sisters, as I close this message, I want you to know that the spiritual condition of the church of Laodicea is the spiritual condition of the church today, which is lukewarm.
But why would Jesus call the church lukewarm? While he gives us a clear indication, he stands at the door and he knocks.
See, Jesus was not the center of their lives; Jesus was on the outside. He's standing outside the door, and he is knocking to enter. But why didn't he go in? Simply because he was not invited to go in.
Jesus would not force his presence upon us because he respects our free will decision. Up to this point, the whole church is admonished, but now the appeal becomes extremely personal, as if Jesus is turning his back on the whole church and focusing on one person.
He is standing, knocking—always knocking. Jesus wants to come in. He waits to come in, and Jesus not only wants to come in, but he wants to come and dine with you. He wants to have fellowship with you; he wants to have a relationship with you.
The text suggests that Jesus is pounding at the door, and this reveals and indicates the urgency and the seriousness of the matter.
Philadelphia's door, as you remember, was the door of salvation—it's the door that Jesus opened and no one can close. But this door here is shut, not by Jesus, but by us.
Jesus offers his white garment; he offers the Holy Spirit; he offers faith to us. These are all free gifts, and they are not mailed to us through the mail. No, they are delivered personally by Jesus Christ himself.
But he will not force them on us. Jesus will not come into our home and place them there while we are sleeping. We need to get up; we need to wake up, and we need to recognize that we have nothing to wear.
We need to go to the door and open the door and get the white garments of Jesus. We need to find them; we need to invite him into our lives.
Brothers and sisters, to open the door is our responsibility and our choice. The text is clear that there is no time to lose.
Elsewhere in the New Testament, when Jesus is standing at the door, it shows the nearness of his coming. Jesus can come anytime. We believe, according to prophecy, that we live at the end of time, and if we don't open the door today, right now, to Jesus, it might be too late later.
I don't know about you, but I don't want to make Jesus sick. I don't want to fall into a state of indifference, a spiritual condition where I don't care about my spiritual health anymore.
I don't want to be a lukewarm Christian—not very bad, not very good, not hostile to Christ, not fully committed to Christ, not stingy but not eagerly generous, not opposing the poor but not helping the poor as I should—not cold, not hot.
We need to realize that many of us have lots of rubbish piled up at the door of our heart that we cannot get the door open. Some of us have things, feelings, and disputes between us and our brethren that we need to remove.
We need to fix some relationships. Some of us have self-greed, and some of us have evil tempers that we need to remove before we can open it. Some of us have just rolled the whole world on the door of our heart, and the world is blocking the door of our heart.
All this rubbish, brothers and sisters, we need to remove. It's only then, when we remove the rubbish that is piled up on the door of our heart, that we can open the door and invite Jesus to come in.
So my appeal to you today, at the end of this year, after all that you have been through: Are you willing to open your heart to Jesus? Are you going to tell Jesus, "Lord Jesus, I invite you into my heart. Jesus, I want you to come in, and I want you to have the crown of my heart.
Lord Jesus, I want you to come into my life, and I want you to recreate me according to your glorious image. Lord Jesus, I want you to come into my life because I desire to have an intimate relationship with you.
Lord Jesus, I want you to come into my heart because I want you to begin the kingdom of grace, the kingdom of God, right here on this earth so I can be ready to receive you when you come again."
Would you allow Jesus to enter your heart today? Would you open the door? He is there, always waiting, always wanting to come in. All we have to do is just to open the door for him and to allow him to come into your life.
The Savior is waiting to enter your heart. Why don't you let him come in? There is nothing in this world to keep you apart. What is your answer to him?
Time after time, he has waited before, and now again he is waiting to see if you are willing to open the door. Oh, how he wants to come in.
Let us pray together.
Lord Jesus...
on Nov 05, 2023
