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Hot or Cold. But not Lukewarm · Stornoway Free Church of Scotland - Sermons

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  22 which addresses the church at Laodicea.
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  As I said at the start we're coming to the end of the section where the churches,
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  seven churches were being addressed by the Lord. Now you may be familiar with this section and
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  heard sermons on all the different churches. If you go back to verse 1 of chapter 1 we see the
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  reason for which John was given this revelation. What the Lord showed to him in the purpose followed,
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  the revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave him to show his servants the things that must soon
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  take place. He made it known by sending his angels to his servant John who bore witness to the word
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  of God and so on. So as you go back to the beginning of the book you realize the purpose
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  for which God was giving this word. So much of revelation looks way into the future to the coming
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  of the Lord as you see towards the end but it also instructs us about things that will take place
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  before that time. And the first warning that we see in the book of Revelation is the warning
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  to the churches. And as always as we see in our own world a variety of churches with variety of
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  issues and varieties of works and all kinds of things. We see the variety that the revelation was
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  being given to these seven churches. We see the kind of different things that were going on in the
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  churches. Each church is addressed and it's characterized usually by one particular mark. The church at
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  Ephesus had begun to backslide. The church at Pergamon was compromised. It was holding to other
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  teachings. The church at Thyatira was a church that it was saying it was on its last chance told
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  to repent. The church at Sardis is described as a dead church. The churches we see here there's so many
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  differences between them. But when you look at the last two that we read in Philadelphia had an open
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  door of opportunity there for them. The door was open. But what's interesting then as you read into
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  the church at Laodicea is the door is closed but the Lord Jesus is standing at the door and knocking.
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  And perhaps the church at Laodicea is one we may be often called to mind. When we hear these words that
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  describe the church in verse 15 I know your works you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were
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  either cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold I will spit you out of my mouth.
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  There's a real warning in these words. And yet when you look at the church you think to yourself well
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  there's not really many major problems here. There's no real heresy in their midst. There's no
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  persecution going on. There's no immorality mentioned. None of these things describe the great
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  problem in the church at Laodicea. So what does mark it out? Mediocrity. They become complacent
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  in all that they see around them and all that they have in their lives. They've lost their focus
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  to the extent now that you see Christ on the outside standing at the door and knocking.
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  And there's always a strong warning to ourselves there. There's opportunity for them. As it says here
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  he is standing at the door and knocking. But they need to open this door that the Lord will come in
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  and refresh them. Laodicea is a church that has problems. The other churches have both positives and
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  negatives mentioned. But what is said about the church in Laodicea this lukewarmness is a negative.
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  And so the question is why? What kind of place was Laodicea? What kind of problems did they have? And is it a
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  problem or problems that we are in danger of ourselves? The free church's vision at the moment is a healthy
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  gospel church for every community. So if you think of that in the case here, the purpose of writing to these
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  churches in Ephesus and Smyrna and Pergamon, Thyatira and so on would be to refresh them, to renew them,
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  to reinvigorate them, reinvigorate them, to be a healthy church in their place. And that's the same as
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  what we would long to see in our own country and other nations of the world. Healthy gospel church,
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  being strong witnesses in our communities. But in order for that to be the case, it doesn't matter
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  what we do and how we're going about things. If the Lord is on the outside, it's no use.
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  So the answer to be refreshed and focused is with Jesus as our Lord. In the midst of everything that
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  we do, that he would be with us, with us in our worship, with us in our homes, with us in our outreach,
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  and all that we seek to do for him, that he would be with us in the midst to bless. And so we're going
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  to look at this church at Laodicea and see what it has to say to us. First of all, we're just going
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  to think about the place, this place that is Laodicea. What kind of place was it? Well, it's a tough
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  diagnosis that it's been given. John Stott in his commentary on this passage. He says,
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  we shall need to brace ourselves to hear what Jesus thinks of the Laodicean church.
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  We need to brace ourselves. Can you imagine what it would have been like for them to hear
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  this message? A church that maybe thinks all is well. Everything is going well for them. They're
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  prospering in so many ways. And yet this word comes like an arrow. You are neither hot nor cold.
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  Would that you are either hot or cold, but not lukewarm. Imagine what it would be like for them
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  receiving this word. What would the Lord say to ourselves as a congregation, as a church?
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  What words would he use to describe us? Would he describe us in our good works and all that we
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  were doing? Or would he come with negatives and challenges to us? I'm sure there would be a mixture
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  of all good works, but also areas we need to improve on, things we need to refocus on and maybe do better.
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  Because you see, the danger here is maybe they think that there's nothing wrong. We're okay.
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  But what's the danger there? What's the serious danger there is pride.
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  Pride. Because they think, well, we're doing all right. We're getting on well. And Psalm 75,
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  we sang these words, boast not, I tell the proud. We're not to be proud. That's always the danger that
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  the Lord would humble us. And that's what the Lord is doing to the church at Laodicea. He's humbling them.
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  And we see the authority of the word that comes to them. We see that in verse 14.
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  It comes with all authority. To the angel of the church in Laodicea write the words of the
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  Amen. The faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation. This is a word from the Lord. And as you see,
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  towards the end of this section in verse 21, it says,
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  It is the Lord's church. It is his church, his body, which he has fought and come victorious for.
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  He has conquered and sat down with his father on his throne. Where do we look back? We look back to the
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  cross where Christ was victorious and he ascended to his father to sit at the right hand until he comes
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  again. So this is the word with authority from the Lord himself, the one who is victorious. And when we
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  think of all that the Lord has done for us, there's no way then we should be lukewarm for him. We should be on fire
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  for him. The challenge here is to the church at Laodicea, what are you doing for my church? What are you doing
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  for my people, my bride? The different ways he describes his church throughout scripture. What are you doing for my
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  church? And that's the challenge for ourselves as well today? Who is he writing to? What kind of place
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  is Laodicea? Well, you see, as you go through this, it is a rich place. They have plenty of wealth, plenty
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  of prosperity. And in particular, there was three major factors that made them rich.
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  He describes here in verse 17 that they were rich, but I have prospered and I need nothing.
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  This is their attitude. I have prospered and I need nothing. But there's a warning then in verse 18,
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  I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may be rich. So there's this problem.
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  They thought they were wealthy and rich, but actually the Lord is saying you're poor.
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  So they had all this commerce and banking going on. It was a place, Laodicea, that was the center,
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  the hub of the banking world at the time. Trade came from north, south, east, and west through this
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  great city. And much wealth came with it. It was also a place that was rich because of its textile
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  industry. As we'll see as we go on, he speaks about clothes. He says, you've got all of this cloth,
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  all of this clothes, and yet you're naked. So they had all of these things. They had great wealth.
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  They had the textile industry, and they also had a special ointment that they got in this place,
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  an ointment that was produced there, that was put on people's eyes to cure blindness.
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  And this would have brought great wealth to them as well. There's these three positives in this place.
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  A place of wealth, a place of commerce, a place of everything going well. And they come to the point,
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  they say, I am rich. I have prospered. I need nothing. And it's such a dangerous place to be.
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  When we look around our own town here, we look at the past and present examples of what has brought
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  wealth to this island. You see pictures and images of the herring girls and the industry that was booming
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  for years here. In the past, you see Arnish that brought so much work, and at times still does.
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  You see a new cruise terminal growing up. You see wave and wind energy being harnessed. You see food
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  experts going out. There's so much going on in so many different ways. That's not to say that we're
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  not in need. We know there are great needs around us too. But what happens in these booms and slumps,
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  what we see here, the church becomes lukewarm. The Christian freshness, the Christian witness was
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  dying. And that is always the danger that we have to guard against ourselves. There is a rebuke for them
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  here. Something that we have to always consider for ourselves. And yet when we look at what we have here,
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  our greatest richness, our greatest heritage is our Christian heritage. The Word of God, the Spirit of God
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  that we need to come back to and harness for ourselves. Not to end up being like the church
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  at Laodicea, pushing the Lord outside the door, but making sure that the Lord is in. So the place was a
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  place that was booming. And this led to so many problems. So many problems in this city. But in the
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  midst of all that was going on, their greatest problem is their water supply. For all that this was a booming
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  place of commerce and industry. Their water supply was poor. And that's what the Lord uses to describe how
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  they are as God's people. He says, I know your works. You're neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either
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  cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. But all that they
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  had that was good, the water was lukewarm. Other places nearby were famous for hot springs. Other
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  places were famous for cold springs. And in order to get a water supply to the city, to Laodicea,
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  they would bring water from both these places. But the problem was, if they brought hot water,
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  it would cool down before it reached and be lukewarm. The cool, refreshing water, it would warm up as it
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  was coming to Laodicea and be lukewarm. So this was a great problem. And this is what he's using to
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  describe their spiritual state. We maybe often think of hot as in on fire for the Lord and cold as in
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  being away from the Lord. But that's not the point he's making here at all. He's saying, would that you
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  were either cold or hot? Because the hot water brings refreshing and healing in the same way that
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  cool water quenches a thirst and brings refreshing as well. So it's be one or the other, not lukewarm.
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  And this is what leads to the image of being spat out. I'm sure you've all picked up maybe a cup of tea
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  thinking it's hot and put it to your mouth only to find that it's cooled down and you just
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  spit it out. Or water that's gone warm and it's just not refreshing. You spit it out. And this is the
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  way the Lord is describing the church here. And what's the problem? They've trusted their wealth.
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  They say, I am rich. I have prospered. I need nothing. So what a dangerous place to be.
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  And may the Lord guard us against ever thinking that ourselves. That we become complacent and say we
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  have nothing that we need of the Lord. Because apart from him, we can do nothing. So what is
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  their condemnation? Well, he says, you think you are rich. You think all this wealth is going to help you
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  and be there for you all the time. But he's actually saying you are poor. He says, you think you have
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  great cure for eye problems, but you're blind. Look at verse 17. When you say, I am rich. I have
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  prospered. I need nothing. Realizing that you're rich, pitiable, poor. You have this eye salve,
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  but you're blind. You have this great textiles, but you're naked. You think you have everything,
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  but you have nothing. So the very things that they had built their lives on and thought that they were
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  secure was actually their downfall. They were, as it were, building their house upon the sand and not
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  upon the rock. So the Lord comes with the warning. And that's when we turn and see the cure that is
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  here. They say they need nothing. They have been accustomed with selling for a great profit, but now
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  Jesus comes to them like a merchant with an offer that could change everything for them. He says in
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  verse 18, I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may be rich. So he's saying here,
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  come and buy this gold, this precious gold I have to offer that you may be rich. Come and have these
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  white garments, the white garments that you see throughout Revelation as those who are washed
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  in the blood of the Lamb. Come, take these white garments so that you may clothe yourselves.
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  And he goes on then to say, the shame of your nakedness may not be seen and salve to anoint your
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  eyes so that you may see. Come and take what I have to offer you because what you have is going to do
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  nothing for you. You need what I have to offer. And he is standing at the door and knocking.
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  He wants to come in to them. There's a call here to repentance. This is where we see the cure. It's
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  about turning to the Lord. But you also see the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ here. There's a note of
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  tenderness in these words as well. He says in verse 19, those whom I love, I reprove and discipline.
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  And isn't it great that we have the Lord as our God in that way. Those who he loves, he reproves.
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  He challenges, he disciplines. So be zealous and repent, he says. Come to me. If anyone hears my voice,
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  I will come in. I will come in to him. We see verse 20, behold, I stand at the door and knock.
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  If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him and he with me.
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  That is the beauty of this fellowship with the Lord Jesus, that he longs to be in the midst
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  of his people. Christ longs to be with his people. Without Christ in our midst, we have nothing.
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  And so it's always to remind ourselves that everything that we are doing for the Lord is with
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  him in view. To keep our eyes on him. With Christ, the one who is welcomed in, we enjoy fellowship and
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  blessing with him and through him. He offers the cure of what we really need. It's in him.
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  The riches that he has to offer. The clean garments that he has to offer. The 2020 vision that he has
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  to offer. He has all of these things. So that we would see him, the one who has conquered and sat down
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  at the Father's throne. And so we are to look to him. That is the hope of the church at Laodicea
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  and ourselves that he will come in and sit with us and we with him. When you look through the scriptures
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  and you see dining so often with the Lord Jesus, it's a time of fellowship and blessing. And so often
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  Jesus was seen with those who others would rebuke, the tax collectors and the sinners and women who had
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  bad reputations, all these kinds of things. Jesus came and sat with them and ate with them and
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  fellowshiped with them. And he is saying to the church here at Laodicea as to ourselves,
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  remember, I stand at the door and knock. Open and I will come in to you and eat with you and fellowship
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  with you. You will enjoy my blessing. A shared meal in ancient times was a symbol of loving fellowship.
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  And it's still the promise that the Lord has to give to his people today, that he will be in the midst
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  to bless. I'll leave you with a story of a pastor in America who went to visit a very wealthy man in
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  Texas. He was invited to dinner in this man's home. The pastor was invited in. And after the meal,
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  this businessman invited him to go outside with him. And he took him outside and he started showing
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  him everything that was his. He pointed to the landscape in front of them where there were oil wells scattered.
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  And he said, all that is mine. 25 years ago, I had nothing, but all that is mine.
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  Looking in the opposite direction, there were fields filled with grain. And he said, all that is mine too.
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  Turning east, he saw this huge herd of cattle. And he said, all that is mine.
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  And then he pointed to the west and a beautiful forest. And he said, all that is mine too.
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  And the businessman paused for a moment, expecting the preacher to say a great word of compliment to him,
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  how well he had done in his life. But the preacher instead put one hand on the man's shoulder and said
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  to him, pointing heavenward. He said, how much do you have in that direction?
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  And the man's head bowed. And he said, I never thought of that.
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  Sometimes we need a rebuke, just like the church at Laodicea. A church who said, we are rich.
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  I need nothing. Just like that businessman who the pastor went to thought he was rich.
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  He needed nothing. And yet he was missing out on everything because he had no thought of Christ.
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  Without Christ, we have nothing. But as it says, he stands at the door and knocks.
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  Let's keep the door open. That the Lord Jesus would be in the midst of us and everything that we do,
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  that he would be in the midst to bless. May God bless his word to us.
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  We're going to conclude by singing.