Turn with me to Revelation 3
REVELATION 3:14-22
This morning we reach the last stop on our tour of the seven churches of Asia Minor. And with this last stop, we come across probably the most familiar. Many of us have probably heard several sermons on this passage in our lifetimes. If not, you’re probably familiar with Jesus’ words in verse 20, “Behold I stand at the door and knock…” You might even have a picture at home that’s based on that verse. You know, the one where Jesus is standing, knocking at the door with no doorknob on the outside? The point is, this is a very familiar passage. And the danger in preaching a familiar passage is in wanting to find something new or novel in it. The popular 19th century commentator Albert Barnes once wrote, “A pastor need not always aim at originality; he renders an essential service to mankind when he reminds them of what they know but are prone to forget.” So, taking all that into consideration, I’m going to avoid the temptation to try to be new and novel this morning. This morning we’re going to look at the lukewarm church of Laodicea to remind us of what we know, but are prone to forget.
As John’s messenger moved about the churches of Asia Minor, Laodicea was his last stop. It was about 40 miles from his last stop in Philadelphia where he sat in the church there as their letter was read to them. I’m sure the service there was one of hope and encouragement as the letter was read. Remember from last week that their letter was only one of two that contained no scolding. It was all for their encouragement. What a different scene it must have been when the messenger sat in the Laodicean church. Because their letter was not one of encouragement. It was not one of commendation. As a matter of fact, it was the only letter of the seven that had absolutely no commendation in it. We like to talk about saving the best for last. Jesus saved the worst for last. The worst? How could they be the worst? We’ve already seen a church that was filled with doctrinal compromise. How could it be worse than that? We’ve already seen another church that was filled with sexual immorality. How could it be worse than that? How could it be worse that a church that was almost totally spiritually dead, like we saw a couple of weeks ago? What gross immorality and sin could be worse than those things? What was possibly going on in Laodicea that was worse than those headline grabbing sins of the other churches? It was their complacency. It was their comfort. It was their self-sufficiency. We can look around ourselves this morning and thank God that we are not torn apart by some of the headline grabbing sins that many churches are dealing with. By God’s grace, we’re not having to deal with immorality in the pulpit and deacon body. We’re not having to deal with financial impropriety. We’re not having to deal with a spiritually dead church. God has blessed us in protecting us from those things. But the question is, are we free from the worst church sin? Are we free from the creeping cancer of comfort and complacency that plagued the church of Laodicea?
By all indications, the church at Laodicea didn’t start off badly. As near as we can tell, the church at Laodicea was a church plant that was started by the church at Colossae. Unlike many of the other churches in the area, Paul didn’t start either the Colossian church or the Laodicean church. As a matter of fact, he had never been to either one of them. Paul’s faithful fellow-servant Epaphras is the one who planted and pastored Colossae. More than likely, he is the one who sent a man named Archippus to plant the church in Laodicea. We don’t know a whole lot about Archippus, the pastor of the Laodicean church. What we do know is that his parents were members of his home church in Colossae. The Colossian church was very close in distance to the Laodicean church and because it was the mother church, it kept close ties. Because of the closeness of the two churches, it only makes sense that when Paul wrote his letter to the Colossian church, he included a message for the Laodicean church and their pastor, Archippus. That brief note in Colossians 4:17 gives us a little insight into a character flaw of Archippus that later bore fruit in his church. In Colossians 4:17 Paul wrote, “And say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfil it.” It seems that Archippus had become complacent in the pastoral ministry God had called him to. Apparently he wasn’t exercising his pastoral duty. Do we know exactly what his problem was? No, but we can get a good idea of it when we look at the church’s focus. Maybe he became more enamored with the church’s financial well-being than their spiritual well-being. Maybe he became more concerned with building programs and facility upgrades than with discipleship. Maybe he became more concerned with numbers and nickels and noses than with the apostle’s pastoral priorities. You remember the apostle’s pastoral priorities. Back in Acts 6:4, because of a concern for the changing direction of the early Jerusalem church they said, “But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.” They kept their right focus. Apparently Archippus didn’t. And because he didn’t, Laodicea didn’t.
But what exactly was their problem? What would the average visitor to the church at Laodicea have seen when he walked in the door on Sunday morning? He would have been absolutely swept off his feet. They would have had the best facilities around. Most of the early churches of that day met in houses. But archaeologists have discovered ruins of actual church buildings in Laodicea. Those facilities would compare to the huge campuses of some of our largest mega-churches. They would have had everything. All the programs. The finest music. The latest trends. They would have had plenty of money, plenty of people, and plenty of excitement. I’m sure that Pastor Archippus could have looked around and thought, “We have got everything we need right here.” And that was the problem. The problem was that they had become comfortable. And comfort usually only has one byproduct—complacency. They didn’t have any difficulty. They didn’t have to worry about the bills. They didn’t have to worry about persecution. They didn’t have to worry about anything. Why? Because they didn’t worry about the lost. They didn’t worry about the lost because they were too busy trying to look just like them.
See, the people of Laodicea were a hearty bunch. They were the kind of people who didn’t let anything get in their way. They were entrepreneurs. They were businessmen. And as businessmen, they knew not to let a little thing like principles get in the way of a comfortable deal. Everything in Laodicea was based on the bottom line. They weren’t cutthroat. They were compromisers. Principles always took a backseat to prosperity and personal comfort. That mindset is what drove the success of their three primary industries. They were known throughout the Roman Empire for their banking and financial management. They were known for their exclusive beautiful shiny black wool. And they were known for their medicine. Specifically a salve that was said to cure all kinds of eye problems. What’s interesting is the church’s involvement in these businesses. You remember in a couple of the churches we’ve talked about, the cities had pagan trade guilds. In order to work and make money in the city, you had to be a member of the trade guild. And part of being a member of the trade guild was that you had to worship the patron god of the guild. You had to worship an idol and participate in the immoral parties they had. The faithful Christians didn’t participate. And when they didn’t, they were persecuted. They lost their jobs, they became poor and destitute. They weren’t allowed to earn money and they weren’t able to spend what little they had. But they didn’t have that problem in Laodicea. They still had the trade guilds. They were as strong as anywhere else. It was just that the church didn’t have a problem with them. They just went right along with what everybody else was doing. And because they did, they had plenty of money. And they put the money back into the church, so it was OK, right? Jesus didn’t think so. In verse 17 He said, even though you say you’re rich, you don’t have any idea how poor you really are. You might have great stuff and the budget might be booming. But you’re really destitute in My eyes. Jesus really brings it out in the way He describes their true condition. He says, “You people take a lot of pride in your economy. “You might have some cash, but you are really spiritually bankrupt.” “You think all that eye medicine you’re famous for is important. “That stuff hasn’t done anything to cure your spiritual blindness, has it? “That shiny black wool you produce that everybody just has to have. “You may supply it to clothe the empire, but your sin has left you completely naked in My eyes.” Where is your confidence this morning? Is your confidence in your stuff? Is it in your job? Is it in your bank account? Is it in your pension? Is it in the Social Security system? Is it in your family or your wife or your husband or your kids or your parents? What are you trusting in? If you’re not trusting fully and completely in Jesus, all those other things will leave you wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. That’s where the church at Laodicea was.
In verse 16, Jesus told them they were lukewarm. That had special meaning to them at that time. See, looking at them from the outside, Laodicea had everything. If you told someone you lived in Laodicea, it would be like saying you live in Hawaii. Immediately, you conjure up images of paradise. You think they had it made. The only thing wrong with Laodicea was their water. There in the middle of this rich Utopia, they couldn’t get any decent water. Just about 10 miles to the east was Colossae. Colossae got its water from cold, fresh, pure streams that came from the snow-capped mountains behind it. But in order for Laodicea to get water, they piped it in from Colossae in an underground aqueduct. By the time it got there it had an odor, it was brown and it was tepid. Laodicea also had another sister city called Hierapolis. Hierapolis was known for its hot springs. Everybody likes to take a hot bath and hot mineral baths are supposed to be good for you. So some of the entrepreneurs of Laodicea built a six-mile long underground aqueduct to carry the hot water down from Hierapolis. Well, you can guess what happened. By the time it got to the baths in Laodicea, it wasn’t hot anymore. It was about in the same condition as the water from Colossae. It stunk, it was dirty, and it was tepid. Visitors loved to travel to Laodicea to see the sights. They loved to come there to buy the wool. They loved to come there to get the eye salve. They loved to do their banking there. But if they drank the water, they would immediately throw up. By the way, that is what the original word that is translated “spew” in verse 16 means. Jesus is telling the church at Laodicea that they nauseate Him to the point of vomiting.
What an indictment. Jesus didn’t accuse them of any great headline grabbing sin. He didn’t point out immorality in their midst. He didn’t accuse them of false doctrine or blasphemy. He didn’t charge them with cheating or lying or stealing. So what was their problem? They had become so involved with their day to day lives that they were of no use to Him. The cares and concerns of everyday living had made them tepid to the things of God. They were comfortable with their station in life. They didn’t want the hassle of living passionately for Christ. They didn’t want the difficulty of being different and of making a difference. What was their problem? They forgot what Jesus had called them to do. They forgot that Jesus told them to take up their cross and follow Him. They forgot that Jesus told them, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man hath not where to lay His head.” They forgot that He told them, “Let the dead bury their dead, but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.” They forgot that He told them, “No man having put his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God.” All they wanted to do was just have church. They wanted to have a nice clean place where they could go and meet and feel in need of nothing. Don’t bother me with the problems outside our door. Don’t bother me with reaching the lost. Don’t bother me with sin and sacrifice and service. I want to be comfortable. I want to come and have MY needs met. I want people to make ME feel good. I want people to pamper ME and comfort ME and coddle ME. Jesus said to the church at Laodicea, “You make me sick.”
And that brings us to a choice this morning. As the church gathered corporately, we have a choice. As the church scattered individually, each of us have a choice. Our choice this morning is either to be spewed from Jesus or to be supped with Jesus. And I can tell you, the choice to be spewed from Jesus is the easy choice. “Wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction and there are many who go in by it.” It’s easy to be spewed from Jesus. What do we have to do? All we have to do is never change. All we have to do is sit still. Carve out our little comfort zone in this world and never leave it. All we have to do is sit in our comfort and complacency as the world goes to hell around us. That’s what the rich young ruler did. You remember him. Jesus told him that in order to follow Him, he was going to have to do something very uncomfortable. He was going to have to be willing to sacrifice. It wasn’t about the money with Jesus. It was about the comfort. It was about what was important to the man. But the young man wasn’t willing to give up what was most important to him. He wasn’t willing to empty himself. He wasn’t willing to give up his self-sufficiency in order to trust in the full-sufficiency of Jesus Christ. He was comfortable. And the Bible said that he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. Was it about his wealth? No. It was about the fact that he wasn’t willing to give it all up for Jesus. He wasn’t willing to give up what he trusted in most. He wasn’t willing to step out of his personal comfort to follow Jesus. He was self-sufficient. If you want Jesus to spew you out of His mouth, hold to your own sufficiency. Cling to your personal comfort. Be satisfied with who you are and what you do and how you live. Don’t step out in service. Don’t sacrifice your time or effort or money. Don’t witness. Insist on your way. Insist on your tastes. Insist on your preferences. That’s how you can make Jesus sick. But that’s not what I want this morning. That’s not what I want for you and that’s not what I want for us as a church. I want us to be part of the picture in verse 20. I want Jesus to come in to you and sup with you and sup with us. So how can we make that happen? We start by making the difficult choice. “Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few that find it.” It’s difficult because it goes against all we find comfortable. It’s difficult because it turns us from our self-sufficiency and makes us wholly dependant on Jesus Christ. It’s difficult, but at the same time, it is so simple a child can do it. How can we be supped with Jesus? He tells us in verse 19. Be zealous and repent. This is the only time that word that’s translated zealous is used in the Bible. It paints the picture of earnestly having your whole heart and life pointed at and focused on Jesus. And the only way that can happen is when you completely turn your back on anything that is in the way. Let me ask you church. Where is your trust this morning? Where do you look for sufficiency? Do you look to the familiarity of this building? Do you look to your comfortable spot on a pew? Do you look to your class or your teacher or me? If you do, those things are in the way. In order to sup with Jesus, our whole sufficiency has to be in Him. And in order for our whole sufficiency to be in Him we must be willing to go where He wants us to go and do what He wants us to do. No matter how uncomfortable. No matter how messy. Are you willing to do that? Are you willing to be who Jesus wants you to be this morning? The beautiful thing is, when you fully turn to Him, most of the time He doesn’t require all those things from you. All Jesus wants from you is your heart. Love the Lord your God with all your soul, your strength and your mind. Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. And all these things shall be added unto you. Will you seek Him this morning? Will you turn away from your comfort and complacency and tell Jesus, “All I have to you I bring.” “I turn my back on my self-sufficiency and zealously turn to You.” Will you say that this morning?
