Answer The Door! Series

ANSWER THE DOOR

Revelation 3.14-22

S: Commitment

Th: God Speaks to the Church

Pr: TAKE A STAND!

CV: “We will passionately pursue full devotion to Jesus Christ.”

I. THE CORRESPONDENT

II. THE CHURCH

III. THE CONCERN

IV. THE COMMAND

V. THE COUNSEL

PA: How is the change to be observed?

• Deliberately live your faith.

• Take a stand for Jesus.

Version: ESV

RMBC 8 March 09 AM

INTRODUCTION:

ILL Satisfaction

The eight-year old boy had never spoken a word – ever. One afternoon, as he sat eating his lunch he turned to his mother and said, "Soup’s cold."

His astonished mother exclaimed, “Honey, I’ve waited so long to hear you speak. But all these years you never said a thing. Why haven’t you spoken before?”

The boy looked at her and replied, “Up until now, everything’s been okay.”

I guess that is a boy that has been satisfied.

“Up until now, everything’s been okay.”

But let me ask you this?

Are you satisfied where you are in your faith?

Do you consider your Christian life robust?

Is it healthy?

Or is it feeble?

Is it like the 99 pound weakling?

As Christians, we need to understand that we consistently live in the danger of our faith becoming dull and senseless.

We get into a routine, and…

It is easy to become complacent.

This is what happened to the church in Laodicea.

For reasons that will be evident shortly, they have become unknowingly lifeless.

They have no life.

Their faith is limp, scrawny and feeble.

So, here is a question that I want you to run through your mind during our study this morning.

Did they really know Christ or not?

Were they really Christians?

Or was it all fake?

OUR STUDY:

(14) And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: “The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation. (15) I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! (16) So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. (17) For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. (18) I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. (19) Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. (20) Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. (21) The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. (22) He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

As we come to the text, note once again that Jesus is…

I. THE CORRESPONDENT

Jesus is…

…the Amen.

Jesus is…

…the universal certainty;

Amen is the last word one can say when everything else has been said.

It is a word of finality, certainty, and authority.

Amen is used to affirm the truthfulness of statement.

When you say Amen during the message, you are testifying to the truth of what you have heard.

You are saying, “Yes, this is true.”

That describes Jesus well.

He is the final Word.

So, as truth incarnate…

Jesus is…

…the faithful and true witness.

Jesus is…

…the ultimate reality;

Everything He speaks is the truth.

He is completely trustworthy.

He is perfectly accurate.

His testimony is always reliable.

And Jesus is…

…the beginning of God’s creation

Jesus is…

…the only Creator

He is the Source.

He was not some bystander.

He was there in the beginning.

He was the beginning.

He is the Originator of creation.

Let’s now examine the town and…

II. THE CHURCH

Laodicea’s patron deity was Zeus.

There were also temples for Apollo, Asclepius, Hades, Hera, Athena, Serapis, and Dionysus.

It was a busy place spiritually.

We have come to the last church on the journey as Jesus speaks to the churches.

As you can see on the map, Laodicea is almost 100 miles inland from Ephesus.

The city had been founded as a major urban center around 250 B.C. by Antiochus II (Seleucid) and named for his wife, Laodice.

The city at the time of the mid-first century was prosperous as a commercial center, noted for its black wool and carpets.

It also had a medical school and was well known for the eye salve called Phrygian ointment.