July 10, 2011
Morning Worship
Text: Revelation 3:14-22
Subject: The Church – Part 1 of the Great Commission Series
Title: Checking Your Heart – Examining Your Deeds
I am beginning this morning a series on the Great Commission. You all know what the Great Commission is right? It’s Jesus command and His plan for making the church the dynamic world force that He intends it to be until He returns.
But did you know that each Gospel contains its own version of the Great Commission. We’ll be going over each one in the next few weeks to see what it says but also to see the focus of the Great Commission in each gospel.
Real quickly let’s look at them.
Matthew 28:18-20, 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Matthew wrote his gospel to the Jews. That is why it was important for him to include the part about obeying Jesus’ commands. Following the commandments is important to the Jewish mindset.
Mark 16:15-18, 15 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”
Mark’s gospel was written to the Romans and is a gospel of action. Jesus call here in these verses also is a call to action. Look at the action words included. “GO”, “PREACH the good news”, “BELIEVES and is BAPTIZED”, “DRIVE OUT demons”, “SPEAK in new tongues”, “PICK UP snakes”, “DRINK poison”, “PLACE THEIR HANDS on sick people”. Mark connects preaching with supernatural events that accompany it.
Luke 24:49, 49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” Now since Luke also wrote the book of Acts you have to include Jesus’ words From Acts 1:8 with Luke, 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Luke’s emphasis here is upon the anointing of the Holy Spirit through the baptism in the Spirit that is a necessity for sharing the gospel.
Finally let’s look at John 20:21-22, 21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit…” Jesus identifies His sending believers out into the world with two things: 1) He recognizes the connection with the Father sending Him to earth with His sending disciples out… 2) By breathing the Holy Spirit into them He is stating that He has the same authority that the Father had when he breathed life into Adam at creation. The Father and the Son both have the authority to breathe new life into mankind. And that is what the sending is about – bring new life to a dying world.
Now, I want to fast forward to the book of Revelation Chapter three. You know, for the better part of four hundred years after the ascension of Christ the church did just what Jesus told it to do. It is said that had the Roman Empire not declared Christianity to be the official state religion of Rome in 380 AD, that in another one hundred years the whole world would have been evangelized. Once the persecution stopped the spread of the gospel slowed. In Revelation three I want to focus on what Jesus said to the church in Laodicea. Some believe this church is representative of the last days church leading up to the Time of Jesus’ return.
I want to look today at what Jesus is saying to this church and allow you to see if the Holy Spirit is wanting to make changes in your life that would continue the work of Christ on earth till He returns.
Revelation 3:14-22
14 “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. 15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.
19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. 20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.
21 To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame 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.”
LORD, let us hear what the Spirit is saying to the church today…
The first thing we want to see is that these are the words of Jesus that are given. They aren’t from John. This isn’t Pastor Mike making up something to try to get you stirred up. These are the words of Christ given for your benefit. These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. John 15:7, If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. God wants His word to abide in you. I want you to understand the heart of the Father. He wants you to haves His mind and His heart. Romans 15:27, And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will. It is the Holy Spirit who connects our hearts to God’s heart and our minds to God’s mind. We have the mind of Christ.
Everybody say, “We have the mind of Christ”.
All right! Let’s move forward.
We’ve established this letter as coming from Jesus. What does He want to say to the church? Listen to me very carefully today. We have often read this passage and we immediately focus on the part that says, …you are neither cold nor hot… Amen? Isn’t that what our eyes immediately gravitate to? Now slow down a little bit; don’t get too far ahead of yourself. Look at the first four words in verse 15. … I know your deeds… It doesn’t say here, “I know your hearts…” or, “I know your thoughts…” it says I know your deeds… Listen to me. I think there is every reason to believe that this was a church full of people who truly loved the LORD. It remained a very active and faithful church well into the late 300’s AD. In 361 a church council was held there to determine which books should be included in the Canon of Scripture. Their problem wasn’t a severe spiritual problem – it was a spiritual problem but not one of open rebellion against God. Jesus didn’t say, “Your hearts are neither cold nor hot”. He didn’t say, “in your spirit you are neither cold nor hot…” He said, “I know your deeds…” It was their deeds that were lukewarm. Let me explain to you about lukewarm. When I worked in construction on those cold winter days one of the things I liked to do when I got home was to take a hot bath to warm me up. And you know what I mean when I say hot. It was so hot that it turned your skin lobster red. Most of the time after a few minutes I would drift off to sleep in the tub. “Disclaimer – Do not try this at home…” Here is the problem. The water didn’t stay hot. If you didn’t continue to add to it, it would become lukewarm. The problem was that I became so comfortable that I didn’t notice. I had fallen asleep. That’s where this church was. They had fallen into a comfort zone and had fallen asleep spiritually so that they thought the things they were doing were good enough to please God.
Pass out handouts…
Frances Chan, in his book Crazy Love gives a list of eighteen examples of what a lukewarm Christian looks like. Let me just give a few of them to you.
Lukewarm people attend church fairly regularly. It is what is expected of them, what they believe “good Christians do, so they go. (Isaiah 29:13) . 13 The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men.
Lukewarm people don’t really want to be saved from their sin; they want only to be saved from the penalty of their sin. They don’t genuinely hate sin and aren’t truly sorry for it; they’re merely sorry because God is going to punish them. Lukewarm people don’t really believe that this new life Jesus offers is better than the old sinful one (Romans 6:1-2). 1 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?
Lukewarm people are moved by stories about people who do radical things for Christ, yet they do not act. They assume such ation is for “extreme” Christians, not average ones. Lukewarm people call “radical” what Jesus expected of all His followers ( James 4:17). Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.
Lukewarm people rarely share their faith with their neighbors, coworkers, or friends. They do not want to be rejected, nor do they want to make people uncomfortable by talking about private issues like religion (Matthew 10:32-33). 32 “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.
Lukewarm people are continually concerned with playing it safe; they are slaves to the god of control. This focus on safe living keeps them from sacrificing and risking for God (1 Timothy 6:17-18) 17 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.
This is Jesus’ rebuke to the church. …because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
Now remember, all this is in the context of their deeds. Colossians 1:10, And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God…
17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. Do you know that complacency is something that happens over a period of time? It doesn’t just appear on the radar one day and is there. Ronald Meredith, in his book Hurryin’ Big For Little Reasons, describes one quiet night in early spring: Suddenly out of the night came the sound of wild geese flying. I ran to the house and breathlessly announced the excitement I felt. What is to compare with wild geese across the moon? It might have ended there except for the sight of our tame mallards on the pond. They heard the wild call they had once known. The honking out of the night sent little arrows of prompting deep into their wild yesterdays. Their wings fluttered a feeble response. The urge to fly--to take their place in the sky for which God made them-- was sounding in their feathered breasts, but they never raised from the water. The matter had been settled long ago. The corn of the barnyard was too tempting! Now their desire to fly only made them uncomfortable. Temptation is always enjoyed at the price of losing the capacity for flight.
18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.
1. The gold isn’t the focus. It’s the refining process…
2. White clothes are available only to those who have their garments washed in the blood of the Lamb.
3. This salve is the anointing of the Holy Spirit that opens your spiritual eyes.
The church has for too long played its games thinking that everything was good. Jesus is putting out the challenge to take a good look at itself and see what changes need to be made.
19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. 20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.
These final verses indicate Jesus’ love for the church. He will do whatever it takes to move the church to its intended purpose. Verse 20 is not a call to be saved. It is a call to take a look at yorself to see if your deeds match up to what Jesus has called you to. Not just to make Him your Savior, but to make Him Lord also.
21 To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame 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.”
When I was a framing carpenter one of the things that I was recognized for was my attention to detail. I understood that only if the framing was right could the finished product be right. I have to confess the lure to be just a “good enough carpenter” was always there. A faster way… a shortcut… covering up a little mistake here and there… What difference would it make? A much wiser older friend told me once, “If you don’t have the time to do it right the first time, where will you find the time to do it a second time?”
Fortunately, our Heavenly Father will give us a second chance to become the church that HE has set us here to be.
The rest is up to you.
James 2:14-18, 14 What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15 Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.
The Great Commission involves going and doing. Your faith must be an active faith in every aspect of your life – both physically and spiritually.
Is Jesus knocking at the door of your heart today?
Examine your heart – check your deeds.
