GROWING COLD ON THE EVE OF DESTRUCTION
Rev. 3:14-20
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
1. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author of the Sherlock Holmes intrigues, once flagged down a cab in Paris. He threw his handbag inside and climbed in after it.
2. But before he could say a word, the cabbie said, “Where to Mr. Conan Doyle?” “How do you know that I am Conan Doyle?” he replied.
3. “Well,” said the driver, “I read in the newspaper that you were taking a vacation in the south of France. I noticed you getting off a train from Marseille; I see that you have the kind of tan that bespeaks of a week or more in the sun.”
4. “From the ink spot on your right middle finger, I deduce that you are a writer. You have the keen look of a medical man and the cut of clothes of an Englishman.”
5. Putting it all together, I felt you must surely be Conan Doyle, the creator of the great detective, Sherlock Holmes.”
6. Conan Doyle burst out, “But you are yourself the equal of Sherlock Holmes since you recognized me from all these small observations.”
7. “There is,” said the driver, “one additional fact.” “And that is?” “Your name is lettered on your handbag.”
B. TEXT
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 that person, and they with me.
C. THESIS
1. In this passage, the Lord Jesus examines the Laodicean church – symbolic of the Last Days Church. He checks them for clues to their spiritual temperature and health.
2. The title of this message is “Growing Cold on the Eve of Destruction.”
3. If you study how exposure to cold effects you, you find that as HYPOTHERMIA sets in/ the core body temperature drops. A drop of even 12 degrees is catastrophic.
4. People experience Apathy; shallow breathing; Confusion and memory loss; Drowsiness or exhaustion; impaired speech; Loss of coordination; A slow, weak pulse; and finally, loss of consciousness.
5. These same effects are seen in those who get spiritually cold: -- apathy, confused, drowsy, weak heart, and finally unconscious to spiritual things.
6. The Last Days is a time of cold, darkness, evil, and danger. It’s the worst time to let down your guard, because the enemy is about to attack!
I. CHRIST’S DIAGNOSIS: LUKEWARMNESS
A. CHRIST: THE ONLY COMPETENT JUDGE
1. He’s called the “Faithful & True Witness.”
2. Our opinion of ourselves & Christ’s opinion of us may be very different.
3. He will tell it just like it is. That’s why we need to say, “Lord, what do YOU think about my life?”
B. SUPERNATURAL GAZE
1. He sees beyond the physical; His searching eyes test all things; they examine the motives of our hearts.
2. He inspected the Laodicean church, and He’s inspecting THIS church this morning.
3. It’s not only true that we must all stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ someday, but it’s also true that we do stand before it NOW!
C. HIS FINDINGS
1. He saw a people who were NOT HOT for Him. They were “not so hot.”
2. In Matt. 24:12, Jesus says of the Last Days “And because iniquity shall abound, the LOVE of most shall grow cold” (N.A.S.V.)
3. So the reference to our temperatures has to do with our LOVE, our devotion, our fervor, our passion and excitement/ enthusiasm for Jesus!
4. We all have things we’re passionate about; our jobs, spouses, hobbies – but Jesus wants us to be passionate about Him!
5. He makes an amazing statement: “I wish you were cold or hot.” We can understand why God would rather have us hot than lukewarm. But why would He rather have us cold?
6. “Cold” would mean “godless, completely indifferent to God.” Why would He rather have us godless than lukewarm?
7. Yet Jesus declares that lukewarmness is more offensive to Him than entire coldness/ atheism would be! Why?
II. DANGERS OF A LUKEWARM FAITH
A. LUKEWARMS CAN’T SEE THEIR LACK OF GOD
1. A lukewarm person can’t see that they need God because they can’t see that God is missing from their life.
2. The Laodiceans said, “Oh, I’m rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing” – not even Christ!
3. An ungodly man can see his need of God more easily than a nominally religious person, because there is more CONTRAST between the godless & strong believers.
4. Therefore there is more hope for the cold than for the lukewarm!
5. The Laodiceans weren’t atheists, opposing the Gospel, breaking the Law, disreputable. Nor were they on the side of the HOT – earnest, promoting faith, doing great good deeds, distinguished for spirituality.
6. Have you ever tasted something and wanted to immediately spit it out rather than swallow it?
7. Jesus can’t stomach ½ commitments, ½ loves. He wants all of us or none of us.
8. ILLUSTRATION
a. Imagine a man proposing to his sweetheart by saying, “Honey I love you and want to marry you. I’ll take good care of you. I’ll provide. I’ll be a good father for our children. All I ask is that you allow me one week a year to spend with my other woman.”
b. 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 an offer of part-time discipleship.
B. ROBS THE GOSPELS OF ITS POWER
1. A Gospel which one only partially surrenders to will NOT save or deliver!
2. Only when you die to sins and trespasses, surrender to Christ in faith and obedience, does the full power of Christ’s resurrection take hold.
3. Just like antibiotics, which require 5 to 7 days of strong exposure to finally eradicate the bacteria. If you only take 2 or 3 days of it, the strongest germs will survive and come back stronger than ever.
4. So every sinner needs a complete and thorough exposure by surrendering his/her life to Jesus and experiencing His death & resurrection. Anything less robs the Gospel of its power!
5. That’s why some people walk away and say, “It doesn’t work.” The real problem was that they got a cheap, cut-rate imitation, or limited surrender.
6. If we don’t live out our Christianity with enthusiasm & power, people will see the inconsistency; “It’s all a farce! Just pretense!”
7. Immunization shots give you weakened forms of the disease -- so weak that most people can overcome them. The intent is that you don’t get the full-blown disease.
8. Weak commitment or partial surrender weaken the power of Christ so that it can’t exterminate the fallen nature in the human being. Only a Gospel at full strength can expunge the evil of the sinful nature.
C. IS DANGEROUSLY COMFORTABLE & HARD TO BREAK OUT OF
1. Remember the story, “Goldilocks & the 3 Bears?” Goldilocks declared, “This porridge is too cold, this one is too hot, but this (lukewarm) one is just right!”
2. Cold makes us shiver; great heat causes pain. Lukewarm is comfort itself!
3. Lukewarm temperature suits fallen human nature. The world is always at peace with a lukewarm church.
4. People like an EASY RELIGION, where they…
a. can have the world and Christ too!
b. can enjoy the pleasures of sin and be spiritual too.
c. where they’re not expected to Do much, or GIVE much, or PRAY much.
5. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS EASY RELIGION. DON’T BE DECEIVED: THE ONLY CHRISTIANITY THAT WILL SAVE YOU IS FULL-BLOWN CHRISTIANITY!
D. CHRIST IS NOT IN A LUKEWARM CHURCH!
1. Jesus said it will be “spewed out of His mouth!
2. Later, Christ is seen outside this church, knocking on the door to gain entrance (3:20).
3. You who are comfortable Christians do more harm than good!
III. CHRISTS’S REMEDY TO THIS MALADY
A. PRIZE SPIRITUAL ABOVE ALL ELSE
1. 3:18, “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.”
2. We are to prize genuine faith (as gold), a righteous, holy life (white clothes) and Holy Spirit anointing (salve).
3. The things that Jesus will give us will far surpass what the value of the world’s baubles.
B. IF YOU MEAN BUSINESS, REPENT!
1. My question for you is, “Are you just playing games with God?” It scares me to see people who believe they can live however they please and that God will be satisfied with an occasional nod.
2. It’s time for us to get on our knees and weep before God over the hardness of our hearts.
C. TIME IS RUNNING OUT!
1. The U.S. has “threat levels” relating to terrorism. At the times of highest threat, it’s expected that people be on their highest alert, looking for trouble.
2. The same should be true in the spiritual. As the time of Jesus’ return gets close and evil multiplies in the world, Christians are most in danger, and should be exerting every effort to be on fire, watchful, and holy as we wait for Jesus’ soon appearing!
3. The convergence of great evil & Christ’s soon coming should spur us to immediate action!
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION: PREACHER MISSED THE RAPTURE
1. A pastor had been working long hours (14-17 a day). The pastor finally got to bed one night. He was awakened at 2 a.m. by the phone ringing.
2. It was one of the leading men of his church, “Pastor, I just woke up and discovered my wife is gone. Her car and clothes are still here. I don’t know what’s happened. Please pray!” The pastor put down the phone, prayed, and before he could decide what to do next, the phone rang again.
3. It was a young woman in his congregation. She was hysterical. Her children were missing from their beds. He told her to call the police, he encouraged her with the Scriptures, and prayed with her. He promised to call her back in an hour. The phone rang again.
3. It was the neighbors of his (pastor’s) parents. They had noticed his parents had never turned off their lights, as they always did, so they went over to check, and there was no sign of them. The house was empty but undisturbed. He should come right away to determine what to do. The pastor said, “Oh, I think I know where they are. I’ll call back within the hour.”
4. The pastor checked on his wife and teenagers. They were all sleeping securely in their beds. He hated to admit it to himself, but he was certain that the Lord Jesus had come, the missing ones had been taken, and that he had been left. 5. The Bible said, “Unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time.” He had been too busy, sidetracked with loaded schedules, letting his prayer time and Bible reading times become rituals. He had quit living for Christ’s return. The next day was Sunday.
6. The pastor was surprised at how many people were at church. They all talked about the rapture, and they asked, “Pastor, why are you still here?” He made a public confession of his lukewarmness of heart. They had prayer and dismissed. All seemed normal for a few weeks.
7. The pastor went to the Electric Company office to pay his bill. “There’s a new ordinance. Everyone has to get a stamp & microchip in their right hand to receive power. You have 72 hours to get the chip & stamp.”
8. The Grocer had the same news. “But Pastor, I’ll tell you what I’ll do. After dark tonight, go to rear of the store. Under the back steps you’ll find 2 large boxes of groceries I’m giving to you, this time.”
9. He went to get his truck refilled at the gas station. His old friend said, “I’m sorry Pastor, I can’t sell you gas without the seal. But I’ll do this, I’ll bring two 5 gallon containers of gas by your house tonight.”
10. The pastor went home with a heavy heart. He called his family together. “We’re going to have to leave our lovely home and find some deserted place and try to survive. We just can’t take the mark of the Beast!” As he hugged his wife and sons, he began to weep. “Oh God, please help me now!” he prayed.
11. He felt someone shaking him. It was his wife. “What’s wrong with you?” He was in bed. “Oh, I just had a terrible dream!” He rolled off his bed and prayed for forgiveness. “God, I don’t want to be left behind. Please forgive for being lukewarm. Help me to start looking for you coming every moment of every day!” [“70 Yrs of Miracles,” Richard Harvey, p. 115]
B. THE CALL
1. How long will you waver between God and the world? If God is God, then serve Him. If your social life is God, then serve it!
2. Many are convicted but not converted. A watered-down Christianity won’t save you. If you do, it won’t work.
3. Jesus said, “If any man come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow Me.”
4. How many would say, “I’m ready to lose my life so that Jesus can give me His divine life?”
5. How many would admit that you’ve been lukewarm in your walk with God and you’re ready to let God light you back on fire?
6. Prayer.
