Making Jesus Sick
Sermon 7 in the Series “You’ve Got Mail”
Chuck Sligh
August 21, 2011
For the PowerPoint for the sermon, write me at chucksligh@hotmail.com.
TEXT: Please turn in your Bibles to Revelation 3.
INTRODUCTION
INTRO VIDEO: Illus. – “Worship 1/2 CD” video (2 min., 16 sec.) from Sermonspice.com. There are two of these videos on Sermonspice.com with a fake TV advertisement with someone singing hymns in one of the videos and the other with modern worship songs. Each song has the singer changing the words to reflect the idea of half-hearted worship. (E.g., “I surrender some…”; “Lord I give you a part, a part of my heart…”; “Seek ye second the kingdom of God…”). Both are hilarious and set the mood well for the sermon.
That humorous video kind of shows the absurdity of half-hearted Christianity because biblically, “half-committed Christianity” is an oxymoron. But let me assure you that half-hearted Christianity is certainly no laughing matter.
Illus. – I don’t know about you but I love a good, piping-hot cup of coffee. How many coffee drinkers do we have out there? Okay, how many of you like hot tea? Okay, how many of you like an ice-cold soda, chilled just slightly above freezing temperature on a hot, sunny afternoon?
Now, drink any of those drinks at room temperature, and what do you want to do?—I don’t know about you, but lukewarm a cup of coffee or a cup of tea or a Coke almost makes me want to spit it out!
Guess what: That’s how Jesus feels about churches and Christians that are lukewarm.
This is the last of Jesus’s messages in Revelation 2-3 to the “Seven Churches of Asia.”
The last of these churches is the church of Laodicea, which we find in Revelation 3:14-22.
Now to understand Jesus’s message to this church, we need a little background about this city:
First of all, because there was no natural source of water in the Laodicea valley, all their water came to them via an aboveground system of aqueducts.
There were two sources for this water:
One was from the snow-covered Phrygian mountains, which at the source was ice cold.
The other source of water was from the hot springs of Hierapolis, which was so hot it produced steam in Hierapolis.
Unfortunately, by the time water from either source got to Laodicea, it was lukewarm and notoriously awful tasting.
Second, Laodicea was one of the wealthiest cities in the Roman Empire at the time.
It was at the fortuitous crossroads of a prosperous trade route and Laodicea also had numerous industries.
It was so rich, in fact, that when the city of Laodicea was completely destroyed by an earthquake in 60 AD, historical records show that it was totally rebuilt to its former glory strictly by the wealth of its people, without any outside help whatsoever!
The city prided itself on this self-sufficiency.
Third, Laodicea was known for its unique black wool, dyed by a special process known and highly prized throughout the ancient world for garments and carpets.
Finally, Laodicea was the leading eye-care center in the Roman Empire. – Physicians had concocted a unique eye-salve that was known to help or cure at least four eye-ailments in the first century.
Now keep all that in mind for later when we tie in with what Jesus says to this church.
I’d like you to notice several things from our text: Revelation 3:14-22:
I. FIRST, WE SEE JESUS’S RÉSUMÉ – Verse 14 – “And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God”
Jesus refers to Himself with three titles:
* This is the only place in the Bible where the word “Amen” is used as a title. We use it at the end of our prayers to mean “so be it” or “let it be so” and comes from the Hebrew word meaning “truth” or “certainty.” Thus, Jesus is saying He is TRUTH INCARNATE, just as He said in John 14:6 when He said, “I am the way, the truth and the life.”
* Jesus also identifies Himself as “the faithful and true witness.” This is really a reaffirmation of the first title of “Amen” (truth), but emphasizes more the reliability of His truth statements. He’s saying that everything He says or claims or promises, you can COUNT on it: it is completely true, trustworthy, accurate and reliable.
* The final title is “the beginning of the creation of God.” The Jehovah’s Witnesses have seized on the ambiguity of the KJV to say this shows that Jesus was a created being, and thus not divine. But all Greek scholars point out that there’s no ambiguity in the Greek. In the Greek, this verse is not saying that Christ was the first person God created, but rather that Christ Himself is the SOURCE of all creation.
It may come as a surprise to some of our new believers to learn that when the Bible says in Genesis 1:1 that “In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth,” the one referred to there is not God the Father, but God the Son. We know this from the New Testament:
For instance, in John 1:3 we read, “All things were made by him [speaking of Jesus]; and without him was not any thing made that was made.”
And Hebrews 1:2 says “[God (v. 1)…] 2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds.”
All three of these titles are declarations of Jesus as the source of all truth and even the source of the very creation itself, and thus there can be no doubt about His deity.
II. IN VERSES 15 AND 16, WE SEE JESUS’S REACTION – “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth.”
This is one of the most graphic pictures in all the Bible of how God feels about half-hearted Christianity, one that the Laodiceans would instantly have related to due to their own wretched lukewarm water system. There’s no hint here that this is talking about the Laodiceans losing their salvation.
Several commentators pointed out that the word for “spew” used here means to vomit. Jesus is saying lukewarm, fence-straddling believers make Him want to throw up! I know that’s pretty strong language to be using in church, but there’s no way I can pretty this up, nor would I want to.
Jesus is trying to be very emphatic. He’s saying that it’s all or nothing as far as He’s concerned. And folks, I’d like to know how in the world ANY CHRISTIAN could be halfway in His commitment to Jesus!
As Christians, we have every reason in the WORLD to be red hot for God! As Jerry Shirley says,
We have in our possession an inexhaustible gold mine of spiritual riches…the Bible…God’s love letter.
I can be forgiven! That thought alone ought to light our fire.
I have the promise of heaven! Until then I have the presence of God, supplying my every need.
On the road to Emmaus, two followers of Christ walked with Him after His resurrection, not recognizing who He was. After they realized it, they said, “Did not our hearts burn within us?” He lives in ide us and goes with us everywhere we go. How can we not be on fire?
We have the Spirit of God. At the moment of salvation I was baptized with the Holy Spirit, sealed, indwelt by the Spirit, and now we can have the privilege of being Spirit-filled. How can we not be on fire?
We can have God’s fellowship, and through His Word He speaks loudand clear to our hearts if we listen, and through the privilege of prayer we can talk back to Him…real communication with my Creator, my Savior, my God!
No wonder Jesus said to this church, “You make me sick” when they were satisfied with a mediocre spiritual existence. (Source: “The Church That Made God Sick,” by Jerry Shirley at http://www.sermoncentral.com/print_friendly.asp?ContributorID=&SermonID=136917.))
III. IN VERSE 17 WE SEE JESUS’ REASON FOR HIS REACTION – “Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.”
There’s no suggestion that there was any doctrinal heresy or moral impurity or mixing Christianity with paganism in Laodicea like there had been in some of the other churches in Asia.
Yet His reaction seems so much stronger with the Loadiceans. What was so bad that the Laodiceans made Jesus so sick He wanted to vomit?
The problem was THEIR SELF-SUFFICIENCY. Remember how I pointed out how well off the city of Laodicea was? Apparently, so was the church. They were orthodox and moral, but they didn’t seem to NEED Jesus too much. With whatever problems they had, they thought that their wealth and goods and the influence that some of their wealthy members had would take care of them.
But Jesus said they were self-deceived. Maybe they had MATERIAL wealth, but spiritually, they were wretched and poor and blind and naked.
IV. SO IN VERSES 18-19, JESUS GIVES HIS RECOMMENDATION TO LAODICEA – “ I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. 19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.”
Scott Bayles says, “There are a lot of ‘insider’ references in this verse.”
* For instance, you’ll recall that I said that Laodicea was world-renowned for its special black-dyed wool, which was one of the main reasons for its wealth. Jesus says they needed true spiritual riches found in obeying God’s Word and they needed white raiment, a symbol of purity and righteousness. Jesus is saying, “Trust ME, not your riches and wealth. Turn your heart to ME instead of focusing in on your own self-sufficiency.”
* Also remember that I told you that Laodicea was a medical center for eye problems. If you’ve ever been around a large university with a medical facility, you know what kind of money that brings in to a community. The point Jesus is making is that they needed to look to HIM, not to their riches.
I know none of us would think of ourselves as rich, but you know, by the world’s standards and by the standards of history, we are fabulously wealthy. Unless you’ve travelled to a third-world country, I doubt that you’ve ever met anyone who had to look to God for their next meal or they would starve to death. In our day, if you LITERALLY prayed to God, “Lord, give us THIS DAY our DAILY bread” you almost certainly don’t live in the West.
Because we’re so blessed, we find it so hard to be passionate for the Lord because we have everything we need I hope it doesn’t a depression to bring America back to God. I hope it doesn’t take losing your job to make you realize how much you need Jesus. I hope you don’t have to lose your health to realize how blessed you are to have a healthy body to serve God with.
Jesus isn’t saying the Laodiceans had to give up their wealth; He said they needed to stop letting it cool their love for the Lord because of its distractions. Seek after TRUE riches, and righteousness, and open your eyes to God and His will for your life. So He says in verse 19, “Be zealous therefore, and repent.” – Get on fire for God and turn from your self-sufficiency and your worldly distractions that come as a result of your wealth and blessedness.
V. IN VERSE 20 WE SEE JESUS’S RESOLUTION – “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”
to tell people that Jesus is standing outside their heart’s door and if they’ll let Him in, He’ll come into their lives. Well, that’s certainly true…but that’s not what’s happening here at all.
Jesus isn’t outside the door of a SINNER’S HEART here; In the context of Revelation 3, He’s outside A CHURCH OF BELIEVERS. Think about that: a Christian church where Jesus is on the outside wanting in! This church was so self-sufficient that it didn’t even feel like it needed Jesus, the very CENTER of what church is supposed to be all about! Oh, they sang about Jesus, and mentioned Him in their prayers, but they weren’t DEPENDENT on Him; they didn’t feel they needed to SPEND TIME WITH Him; they weren’t PASSIONATE about Him; He was passé to them.
We can get to a place where we’re so self-dependent and self-sufficient and self-absorbed, that we feel we don’t need God on a day-by-day basis. But it’s just an illusion, for when we get to the place where we feel like we don’t need Jesus, our heart gets dry and empty because we lose touch with Him; we’re not calling out to Him for help; we’re not seeking His direction; we’re not seeking to do His will.
So Jesus is standing outside the door of this church and He says, “If you’ll open the door, I’ll come into your church again and sup with you and you with me.” To “sup” in the Bible means to have a meal with someone. To share a meal in the Bible is a symbol of intimate fellowship and mutual sharing and joy and comradeship. So what Jesus is saying that the close bonds of fellowship He once shared with these believers could be restored if they’ turn back to Him and seek Him again.
But the word I used for this point is “Resolution” and here’s why: Despite their self-sufficiency, and despite their self-deception and despite their lukewarmness, Jesus is patiently knocking on their door anyway—knocking on a door of people who made Him sick! Isn’t that amazing?
Illus. – I remember a lady in our church in Durham, NC who had trusted Christ and wanted me to tell the Gospel to her son and daughter-in-law. She made the mistake of telling them I was coming and when. I knocked on the door several times, but no one would come to the door. I could hear a TV on in the living room and a radio on in another room. At first I heard talking, but the more I knocked, I noticed it got quieter, and I could hear people whispering…so I knew they knew I was there. So I just kept knocking louder until finally they opened the door. I was able to share the Gospel with them and the daughter-in-law trusted in Christ in her home and he came to Christ as few weeks later at church.
I think that’s the picture you have in this passage—a picture of RESOLUTION. You may feel you don’t need the Lord, but Jesus knows you do, and He seeks communion with you and me, despite our waywardness and sinfulness
And if just that fact alone doesn’t set you on fire for Jesus, I don’t know what will!
VI. FINALLY, WE SEE THE REWARD FOR THE OVERCOMER IN VERSE 21 – “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.”
We’ve seen in each message to these churches, Jesus promises a reward to overcomers. Jesus says that those who overcome half-hearted, lukewarm Christianity and turn back to Him and seek Him and renew that tie of fellowship and hunger for Jesus, He’ll let you sit with Him on His throne. I’m not sure what that means, but it sounds really cool to me!
CONCLUSION
You know, if you think about it, we’ve come full-circle, haven’t we? We began with the Church of Ephesus which had lost its first love. It wasn’t in love with Jesus like it had been in the beginning.
And here we are looking at Laodicea and Jesus is saying they’re lukewarm and self-sufficient. The root problem for both of these churches—perhaps all ones Jesus condemns—is the same: A loss of passion for the Lord due to something substituted in place of God, whether it be immorality or idolatry or self-sufficiency, or just plain drifting away due to the things and the cares of this life.
The answer to every sin for a church or individual believers is the same: Repentance from sin we have allowed in our lives and falling in love with Jesus again.
We repent by confessing our sin to God and turning away from it and taking positive steps to avoid it in the future.
We fall back in love with Jesus the same way we fall back in love with our spouse.
* First, you refocus your priorities. You stop spending so much time with people and activities that take you away from your spouse and you stay at home because he or she takes center stage. You’ve got to do the same thing with Jesus.
Recommit yourself to seeking HIM and serving HIM in your life.
* Second, you work on communication. You start LISTENING to your spouse and what’s important to him or her and you start sharing your own needs. You’ll never have a sustained love affair with Jesus if you’re not listening to His Words and then speaking to Him in prayer.
* Third, you try to please your spouse. You start putting into practice the things shared in your communication time. You stop trying to please yourself and you start trying to please your spouse.
As long as it’s all about your in your relationship with Jesus, you’ll never find God’s best for you.
May God help every believer here today to resolve to refocus your priorities on the Lord, spend time with Him in His Word and prayer, and live so as to please the Lord through your life.
