3 PURCHASES WE NEED
TO MAKE
Rev. 3:14-20
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
1. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author of the famous Sherlock Holmes stories, once flagged down a cab in Paris. He threw his handbag inside and climbed in after it, but before he could say a word, the driver said, "Whereto, Mr. Conan Doyle?" "How do you know I am Conan Doyle?" asked the author in surprise.
2. "Well," said the driver, "I had read in the newspaper that you were on vacation in the south of France; I noticed you getting off of a train that came from Marseille; I see you have the kind of tan that bespeaks a week or more in the sun; from the inkspot on your right middle finger, I deduce you are a writer; you have the keen look of a medical man, and the cut of clothes of an Englishman. Putting it all together, I felt you must surely be Conan Doyle, the creator of the great detective, Sherlock Holmes."
3. Conan Doyle burst out, "But you are yourself the equal of Sherlock Holmes since you recognized me from all these small observations!"
4. "There is," said the driver, "one additional fact." "And that is?" "Your name is written on your handbag!"
5. Many small traits accumulate to describe who we are. All these details add up.
6. In the passage this morning, the Lord Jesus examines a church for clues to its temperature, and lets them know which temperature He likes best.
B. MALL DESIGN/ SHOPPING FACTS (10)
1. There’re 50,000 shopping malls in the U.S. alone.
2. Women will buy more if they hear their heels clicking on polished hard surfaces, so flooring reflect that fact.
3. Places to sit are hard to find because people aren't shopping when they're sitting.
4. Escalators are placed strategically to force shoppers to pass the maximum number of storefronts.
5. Most malls have bends and turns as shoppers typically won't walk towards something that seems more than one tenth of a mile away.
6. Floor plans are disorienting so shoppers cannot make a quick exit. The average mall shopper stays for 80 minutes and spends $75 each visit.
7. 74% of women admitted that they think about shopping every minute -- about 950 times a day.
8. Shopaholics have fewer wrinkles than those who do not like shopping. The majority of the shopping women feel more confident and almost never feel depressed.
9. Some guys think that shopping is somehow sinful, but I’m here to tell you that shopping is scriptural.
10. As a matter of fact, the Lord commands us to go shopping in Scripture and to buy at least 3 things. We better find out what they are!
B. TEXT
“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 that person, and they with me.” Rev. 3:14-20.
C. THESIS
1. Christ examined the love of the Laodicean church and found it to be lukewarm, He pointed out why this condition is so dangerous, and told us 3 purchases we all need to make.
2. The title of this message is “3 Purchases We Need To Make.”
I. CHRIST’S DIAGNOSIS: LUKEWARMNESS
A. CHRIST THE ONLY COMPETENT JUDGE
1. Jesus begins this passage by calling Himself "the Faithful & True Witness."
2. He’s the only competent Judge of our spirituality. Our opinion of ourselves and Christ's opinion of us may be very different.
B. SUPERNATURAL GAZE
1. He searches our hearts and tests our motives and sees beyond the exterior.
2. He inspected the Laodicean church and He's inspecting this church this morning. It's not only true that we’ll all stand before the judgment seat of Christ, it's also true that we DO all stand before it now!
C. HIS FINDINGS
1. Jesus saw a people who were "NOT SO HOT" for Him. In Mt. 24:12 Jesus said that in the last days, "the LOVE of many shall wax cold."
2. So the reference to temperatures has to do with our love, our devotion, our fervor, our passion and excitement /enthusiasm for Jesus.
3. We all have things we’re passionate about: our jobs, spouses, hobbies -- but Jesus wants us passionate about Him!
4. It's amazing that Jesus says, "I wish you were COLD or hot." We can understand why God would rather have us hot, than lukewarm.
5. But why would He rather have us COLD -- godless -- than lukewarm? YET JESUS DECLARES THAT BEING A LUKEWARM CHRISTIAN IS MORE OFFENSIVE TO HIM THAN BEING COMPLETELY COLD or ATHEISTIC! WHY?
II. DANGERS OF A LUKEWARM FAITH
A. THEY CAN’T SEE THEIR NEED OF GOD
1. The Laodiceans said, "I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing” -- not even Christ.
2. An ungodly man can see his need of God more clearly than a nominally religious man because there’s more contrast.
3. So there's more hope for a completely cold person than for a lukewarm one.
4. Have you ever had a taste of something that you really just wanted to spit out rather than to eat? Jesus can't stomach halfway commitments and halfway love. He wants all of us or none of us.
5. Imagine a man proposing to his sweetheart by saying, "Honey, I love you and I want to marry you. I'll take good care of you. I'll provide. I'll be a good father to our children. ALL I ASK IS THAT YOU ALLOW ME ONE DAY A YEAR FOR THE OTHER WOMAN!"
6. Is there anyone who would accept such an offer? Of course not. Likewise, it's wrong for us to act as though Jesus would accept a part-time commitment.
7. HUMOR. Some of us have "pet sins" we don’t want to kill. Like the man who visited a farmer with a pet pig. The visitor noticed the pig had three artificial legs. Asked the farmer why. The farmer said, "I intended to kill the pig to eat it, but just didn't have the heart. So when I get desperate, I lop off a leg!” It’s just as wrong to let our pet sins linger!
B. IT ROBS THE GOSPEL OF ITS POWER
1. A gospel you only partially surrender to will not save and deliver. Only when you die to sins and trespasses does the full power of Christ's resurrection take hold.
2. Otherwise people will walk away saying, "It doesn't work," when they only got a cheap imitation.
3. Also, if we don't live out our Christianity with enthusiastic power, people will see the inconsistency, "It's all a farce! Just pretense!"
4. Just like Immunization Shots -- which give you exposure to a weakened form of the disease so that you don't get the full blown case of it!
5. Similarly, getting a partial/weak form of Christianity will keep people from getting the full-blown, powerful,
life-changing NEW LIFE that God intended.
C. IT’S DANGEROUSLY COMFORTABLE & HARD TO BREAK OUT OF
1. In the Story of “Goldilocks and the 3 Bears, ”Goldilocks was tasting the porridge; "This one is too cold; this one is too hot; this one is just right."
2. Cold makes us shiver; great heat causes pain, lukewarm is comfort itself. Lukewarm temperature suits human nature!
3. The world is always at peace with a Lukewarm Church.
4. People like an easy Faith, where they can
a. have the world and supposedly have Christ too!
b. have the pleasures of sin and the honor of piety.
5. Where you’re not expected to do much, or give much, or pray much.
6. Going to church on Sunday A.M. will not cancel out the diet of worldliness consumed thru-out the week!
D. CHRIST IS NOT IN A LUKEWARM CHURCH
1. They will be spewed out of His mouth.
2. Later, Christ is seen to be outside this church, knocking to gain entrance (vs. 20).
III. CHRIST’S REMEDY: 3 THINGS
1. “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” 3:18.
2. We “buy” these by giving up something of value to us; surrendering our most valued worldly loves.
A. THE 3 SPIRITUAL ACQUISITIONS
1. GOD’S GOLD/ TRUE RICHES.
a. To acknowledge the worthlessness of all the things in this world. They are passing away. We see our need of true spiritual riches.
b. Christ’s Gold speaks of real value (Job 22:25); it symbolizes Godly Character (Job 23:10); it’s a noble building material for your life (2 Tim. 2:20); it requires intense refining (Pr. 17:3), it represents perfected faith (1 Pet. 1:17) & only Christ can sell it to you.
c. But here it means “faith that will save you” for all eternity. You need that precious gift!
2. WHITE ROBES.
a. In Rev. 19:8 the white robes people wear in heaven are said to represent the “righteousness of the saints.” God says OUR best righteousness is as “filthy rags” Isa. 64:6. So where did we get such righteousness?
b. Rev. 7:14 says, “they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” So Christ offers the Laodicean Church & us His righteousness.
c. As God said, “Come now, and let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool” Isa. 1:18.
d. Trust in Christ & let Him wash your sins away!
3. EYE SALVE
a. “Anoint your eyes with eyesalve that you may see.”
To be spiritually blind is to still be in darkness, unregenerate, without knowledge of God. “Where there is no vision, the people perish/ go unrestrained.”
b. Losing one’s eyesight would be one of the greatest losses because the ability to navigate the world is lost. Driving a car is out; even walking down the street is out.
c. Up to 80% of our sensory input is from vision. Spiritual vision is that important too! “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” “Unless you’re born again, you can’t see the kingdom of God.”
d. “Open my spiritual eyes, Lord Jesus!” May I be able to say, “I once was blind but now I see!”
B. IF YOU MEAN BUSINESS - REPENT
1. When I look at us as a church I sometimes wonder if a lot of us are just playing games with God. It scares me to see so many of us believing that we can live however we please and it's okay because we make an occasional nod in God's direction.
2. Jesus doesn't have the place He deserves in our hearts, in our families, in our checkbooks, in our schedules. It's time for some of us to admit that’s the case and do what Jesus said -- repent and be earnest.
3. It's time for us to get on our knees and weep before God over the hardness of our hearts!
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION
1. In the 1988 Summer Olympics, the 100 meter race, Canada's Ben Johnson ran an unbelievable race. He rocketed to the front to beat the greatest runners on the planet.
2. He had broken the Olympic record; the crowd went wild! The players all congratulated him. He was the fastest human alive!
3. He looked good from the outside, but the judges looked on the inside. God will do that too!
4. The judges tested his blood and found steroids. Ben Johnson was called before the judges and forced to give up his gold medal, which went to another.
5. He was disqualified from any medal and sent back to Canada in disgrace! On the Day of Judgment, many will have their motives checked; our works will be judged. Will they stand in the fiery light of that judgment?
B. THE CALL
1. How long will you waver between God and the world? God is calling you to make a choice today!
2. Many are convicted but not converted. Being convicted isn’t enough; God requires us to take action!
3. Jesus said, "If any person will come after Me, they must deny themselves, take up their cross and follow after Me."
3. Peter said there’s no other name under heaven by which we must be saved – Jesus! Are you willing to surrender your old life?
4. How many would be honest and say, "I've been lukewarm?" “If Jesus were to look into my life, He wouldn’t like what He found?”
5. How many would say, "I want Christ to open my spiritual eyes, give me saving faith, and cloth me with His righteousness?”
6. Stand and come forward. Prayer.
