Dear Half Hearted
Jeremiah 29:10-14 Deut. 4:29 Rev. 3:14-22
Clip--War Room clip of Lukewarm
Who likes lukewarm coffee? I mean, who likes lukewarm anything or half-hearted anything. When Jesus calls these Christians lukewarm, He’s saying that their love, their discipleship, their devotion is half-hearted at best. And I don’t know about you, but I don’t think any of us are excited about half-hearted people. If you were an employer, would you want an employee who is only half-hearted? No. If you go to the dentist, do you want a hygienist who’s half-hearted about washing her hands? Probably not. If you were needing heart surgery, would you want a surgeon who is lukewarm about her profession or half-hearted in their skills? No. If you were a soldier, would you want the soldiers all around you to be fully committed or half-hearted? And if you are thinking about marriage, do you want a partner who is “all in”, ready to risk it all, and is passionate about you and completely committed…or would you want someone who is lukewarm about their feelings towards you and half-hearted in their commitment to you? When you call 911, do you want a lifeguard or fireman who is half hearted about saving lives or someone who is selfless and passionate about saving lives?
To think about it another way, would you want a Savior who is half-hearted about you? Or would you want a Savior who is willing to go to hell and back to rescue you? Someone who would do whatever it takes, even if it meant dying on a cross? Well, in this letter, Jesus is saying that He’s not willing to accept a lukewarm love or a half-hearted commitment from this Bride.
Last week we read the letter to the church in Philadelphia for which Jesus has no criticism, just praise. The opposite is true of the church in Laodicea. It’s the only letter with nothing good to say about the church. In fact, the church receives the harshest criticism of all the churches, not because of anything specific that they’ve done or failed to do. The church is criticized for doing things half-heartedly. They have no passion, no burning love, no vitality, no vision, and no spirit. The heart monitor on this particular body of Christ barely showed a pulse.
Reminds me of the preacher who was preaching one Sunday and a visitor had come that day. Well, the preacher said something that struck a chord with this visitor and he shouted, AMEN! Immediately, every head snapped around to see who was making such an interruption. After the shock wore off, the preacher continued and again said something that touched the man and he gave an enthusiastic PRAISE THE LORD! Again, everything stopped for a moment and people looked around in disbelief. Finally the preacher continued and after a few minutes, said something else that moved the visitor and he shouted out HALLELEUJIA! The head usher could see the people were uneasy and that the preacher was clearly distressed so he asked the visitor what all the shouting was about. The man replied, “I couldn’t help it, I’m filled with the Holy Spirit”. To which the usher responded, “Well you didn’t get it here, so keep quiet.”
I don’t know what denomination the church at Laodicea was but it was an established church, it had been around for a while and it was a comfortable and respected church, but the people had grown complacent in their faith….lackadaisical, not too serious. They had lost the excitement of following Jesus. These Christians were really half-hearted about their faith. In some ways, they suffered the same condition as the Christians at Ephesus; they kind of forgot their first love. Oh, they were Christians, they believed in God…but their hearts sure weren’t in it. One of the most powerful sermons John Wesley ever preached is titled the “Almost Christian”, in which he speaks of people who claim the title Christian and sometimes say Christian sounding stuff and even do good things from time to time but their heart just isn’t in it. And Wesley says that they are “Almost Christians”, but that to be almost saved is to be totally lost; that Christ wants the whole heart and the whole person—He wants us to be passionate about Him as He is passionate about us. Speaking of passion, Wesley also said, “Give me one hundred preachers who fear nothing but sin, and desire nothing but God, and I care not a straw whether they be clergymen or laymen; such alone will shake the gates of hell and set up the kingdom of heaven on Earth”. So, this letter from Jesus to His Bride is a mini-tract on salvation, written to half-hearted and half-converted Christians…and in it He does three things:
1. He confronts the church with their need (vs. 15-17)
2. He offers answers to those in need (vs. 18-19)
3. He issues an invitation to those in need (vs. 20)
First, Jesus confronts the Laodicean Christians with a dose of reality. (Vs. 15-17) He writes, “You say that you’re rich and don’t need a thing, but the truth is, you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.” Wow! What a wakeup call that must have been! The Christians in Laodicea had plenty of “stuff”, they were economically well off, but all that “stuff” had blinded them to their desperate spiritual condition. They somehow got the idea that they didn’t need to be saved from anything…since they pretty much had it all. Somewhere between the flat screen TV’s, 401k’s, nice cars and comfortable houses…oh, wait; wrong time period. Somewhere between having enough to eat and a safe home they forgot that they were sinners in need of a Savior. They forgot that being a Christian was more than a title and that it required more than membership; it meant following Jesus day by day and living for Him by serving the world He came to save.
You may know people, good, dear people who were once passionate and “on fire” and crazy in love with Jesus. They never missed worship, they prayed with passion and read their Bible faithfully and spoke about their love for Jesus often. But over time, somehow that passion waned, somehow the love cooled and somehow the fire died down and though YOU see it, they can’t. Maybe even you know what that’s like. I do. But Jesus loved them too much to leave them in their blindness and He loves us too much to leave us in the dark too. So He confronts them…and us.
But Jesus does more than just point out their desperate condition, He offers a remedy. (vs. 18-19) Jesus says, “Here’s what I want you to do: Buy your gold from me, gold that’s been through the refiner’s fire. Then you’ll be rich. Buy your clothes from me, clothes designed in Heaven. You’ve gone around half-naked long enough. And buy medicine for your eyes from me so you can see, really see. “The people I love, I call to account—I prod and correct and guide them so that they’ll live at their best. Up on your feet, then! About face! Run after God!
What do you suppose it takes to forgive your sin and to completely wipe away all your guilt? What do you suppose it would cost to get into heaven…if you could buy your way into heaven? What do you think it would take, how much would it cost to have abundant life? In this letter, Jesus is reminding these folks He dearly loves that nothing apart from Him is the answer to all these questions. Only the gold that has been through a refiners fire is precious enough to enter heaven, valuable enough to secure abundant life and strong enough to expunge your record and remove all guilt, and that gold is the righteousness of Jesus. They had forgotten that. And so Jesus confronts them with the seriousness of their spiritual life and He offers Himself as the cure. He advises them to turn to Him for help.
You know, life is complicated and we all need a little help now and then. We all can use a bit of advice, and there are lots of places we can turn to for advice: Oprah, Dr. Phil, Psychic Hotline, Google, your family doctor or a friend. But would you go to your mechanic for medical advice? Would you go to your stock broker for marriage advice? And for life matters and faith matters and eternal matters, Jesus says, take your advice from me. But of course, you first need to know that you need help. And the help we need is specific to our condition of sin or of brokenness or guilt or spiritual indifference or apathy. Jesus says take a look…a real close look at your heart. Does it belong to me? All of it..or just 10%, or 25%, or 50% of it? Do you love me like I love you? Are you passionate about me? And take a look at your life; are you blameless? The Bible says, “There is no other name under heaven by which we can be saved.”
So, because Jesus loves the folks at Laodicea, He confronts them with the truth about the lackluster state of their relationship with Jesus. You may be doing ok economically, He says, but spiritually, you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. Then, He says, listen to my advice; I am the key. I’m the One who loves you passionately. Your stuff doesn’t really care about you and your stuff can do nothing to save you. Only I can meet your deepest need. And finally, Jesus invites them to invite Him in to restore and renew them.
So what is your need today? Not the symptom, but the real need? Not economic need, but spiritual need? How would you describe your relationship with Jesus; passionate? Exciting? Whole hearted? Fervent? Sweet? Intimate? Personal? In all honesty, compared to the rest of the world, we are affluent. But are we fulfilled? The noted psychiatrist Carl Jung once said, “The central neurosis of our time is emptiness”. Does that in any way describe you? It sure described the folks at Laodicea. Maybe you come to church every week but wrestle with an emptiness in your soul. I don’t know. But I do know that Jesus says this; Behold, I’m standing at the door of your heart…knocking. If you will just open the door, I promise, I’ll come in and we’ll dine together. Jesus wants to be the answer to your greatest need and deepest desire.
