I am sure that when Ezekiel got through preaching this sermon, there were not many standing at the back door telling him how much they enjoyed the sermon. This is why many will seek for a church where the Word of God is occasionally MENTIONED, but not PREACHED!
For example, today it is not unusual to have people come into a church, and the first thing they want to know is what kind of PROGRAMS and ACTIVITIES the church has to offer.
ISN’T THERE SOMETHING WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?
Certainly there is! If they are Christians and they are looking for a church to attend, the first thing they should want to know is if this is a church where the Word of God is preached! Then once they find out it is that kind of church, then they may want to know some of the things the church has to offer.
Ezekiel the prophet told it like it was. He mentioned these things about the people he preached to. For example:
(1) Look at Ezekiel 33:30, we read, “…Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh forth from the LORD.”
They would go out and invite people to attend church. Notice he said they would go out and say to family, friends and neighbors, “…Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh forth from the LORD.”
(2) They seemed to enjoy hearing the Word of God preached.
He said in Ezekiel 33:31, “And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words,…”
Up to this point, everything seems great! But there is a problem with this congregation. Look at verse 31, we read, “…BUT THEY WILL NOT DO THEM: for with their mouth they show much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness.”
Notice, their heart, “Goeth after their covetousness.” That is, they desired to do other things than what the Word of God told them they should do.
He compares them to a person hearing a lovely song as they came to hear the Word of God. Look at verse 32, we read, “And, lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument: for they hear thy words, but they do them not. And when this cometh to pass, (lo, it will come,) then shall they know that a prophet hath been among them.”
To them, going to hear the Word of God was like going to hear a spiritual musical concert. They listen to it, they enjoy it, and at the conclusion they say, “that’s nice”, and they go back to doing what they always did.
This passage of Scripture in Ezekiel that applies to this Old Testament congregation, reminds us of a congregation in the New Testament.
Look what the Lord said about this church in Rev. 3:14-18, we read, “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; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. 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: 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.”
Let’s look at the Laodicean church:
• The Laodicean church was the last of the seven churches listed.
• Many believe that these seven churches in Revelation represent seven different periods of time in church history.
• However, it is believed that the Laodicean church represents the LAST DAYS of the church before Christ raptures the church.
One of the reasons that many believe we are living in the last days before Christ returns for His church, is because the Laodicean church, that represents the last church of the church age, fits the description of today’s church age.
Let us look at the church today compared to the Laodicean church. Notice, this about the Laodicean church:
• They were not on fire for the Lord
• Nor were they cold
The Lord described them as being “Lukewarm.” Because of this, the Lord said He would “spue” them out of His mouth. In other words, in the sight of God they were disgusting!
Illus: Some folks may love cold tea and some folks may like hot tea, but we never hear anyone say, “Please bring me a cup of Lukewarm tea.”
Why? Because it is nauseating. And the Lord said the church in Laodicea was “lukewarm,” and He would spue them out of his mouth.
WHAT MADE THIS CHURCH SUCH A BAD CHURCH? Let’s look at three things we need to consider, such as:
I. THEY REJECTED REALITY
The Christian life is REAL! It is not a bunch of rituals and regulations. IT IS REAL! But today, many churches have made it to be an OUTWARD FORM instead of an INWARD REALITY!
Today it has become only LIP SERVICE for many. God never meant for His church to give LIP SERVICE, He always intended for it to be HEART SERVICE!
Isaiah addressed this problem in two ways:
A. THEY HAD A LIP PROBLEM
Look at Isaiah 29:13, we read, “Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me…”
They had what is known as “CATFISH” RELIGION. WHAT IS “CATFISH” RELIGION? Have you ever looked at a catfish? They are ALL MOUTH!
Isaiah saw this as the problem for many Christians, they are ALL MOUTH.
Illus: Dr.Odell Belger tells of a man who was a deacon in his church years ago. He said, “He could pray some of the prettiest prayers you have ever heard prayed in the church!” He did this for years, but later it was discovered that at the same time he was praying these beautiful prayers, he was having affairs with three different women in the church.
We have too many today in this age in which we live, who have reduced Christianity down to a bunch of religious words. They can draw close to the Lord with their mouths, but their hearts are far from the Lord.
But Isaiah saw another problem, they not only had a LIP PROBLEM, …
B. THEY HAD A LEADERSHIP PROBLEM
Look at Isaiah 29:13 again, we read, “…and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:”
From appearance this church looked great! If you were going to judge this church on what was being said, they would be given an “A”.
But they remind us of children that often play church in the yard.
Illus: That is, like a bunch of children, they will fight over who is going to be the preacher, song leader, and usher, but once they get all that worked out they go through the motions of having a church service. But as they play church, it is only words, NOTHING MORE!
If we lived in the times of EZEKIEL, and went to the worship service, we would have been impressed by what we heard.
• They invited others
• They sat and listened to the Word of God
But once they heard the Word of God, they went out and lived the way they always lived, unaffected by what they had heard.
WHY WERE THEY THIS WAY? Isaiah goes right to the problem. Look at Isa. 29: 13, we read, “…and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men.”
It was obvious that they were taught by men who did not believe what they were preaching. That is why today we see some of the ridiculous things we are seeing on national Christian television.
Illus: For example, a national television preacher who preaches to thousands each week, left his wife and married a younger oriental woman. But get this, this same preacher still preaches to thousands each week in the same church.
WHY WOULD A CHURCH THAT PROFESSES TO BE A BIBLE-BELIEVING CHURCH, ALLOW SUCH A DISGRACEFUL THING TO HAPPEN?
It is obvious that these thousands who sit under the preaching of this man do not care what the Bible teaches. Neither the preacher nor the members have any fear of God whatsoever.
If they cared anything about what this Bible teaches, they would say to him, “If you are not going to live according to the Word of God, you certainly are not going to be allowed to stand up in the pulpit and preach the Word of God in this church!”
These are more concerned with RITUALS than REALITY. They worship God with their lips, but not with their hearts.
But there are those today who want such preachers as role models in the pulpit, because when they do the same thing themselves, they can say, “I have done no more than the man of God has done who stands in the pulpit and preaches each week.” They feel this gives them almost a license to sin.
Illus: When former President Bill Clinton was in office, many could not understand why Americans would put a man in the highest office in the land that lived such an immoral life. Many came to the conclusion he was in office because the morals of this country are so low, that the majority wanted such a president so they could do the same thing he did and say, “I am doing no more than the President of the United States did!”
Isaiah, in the Old Testament, said, “…And their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men.”
And now the church in the New Testament, the Laodicean church that represents what many believe in our age, has:
• Traded Salvation for Religion
• Traded Worship for Entertainment
• Traded Revival for Apathy
• Traded Prayer for Programs
• Traded Service for Playing Church
• Traded Power for Possessions
• Traded Holiness for Sinfulness
• Traded Conviction for Preference
• Traded Souls for Proselytes
• Traded Blessing for Cursing
Salvation is no longer REAL to a lot of folks, it is a RITUAL!
We see that THEY REJECTED REALITY, but also-
II. THEY REJECTED TRUTH
Another reason that many believe that we are living in the Laodicean church age is because many churches today REJECT THE TRUTH.
Paul told Timothy what the church would be like before Christ returns for his church.
Look at 2 Timothy 4:3, we read, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears.”
Notice, Paul said “The time will come” but we can say, “Paul, the time has come.”
Why? Because many churches are filled with people who do not come to church to hear the Word of God. They draw close to God with their lips, but their heart is far from the Lord. The preaching of God’s Word literally angers this crowd.
Again, Isaiah spoke about this problem. Look at Isaiah 30:9-11, he said this about them, “That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the LORD: Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, SPEAK UNTO US SMOOTH THINGS, PROPHESY DECEITS: Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us.”
Look what Ezekiel said about this kind of people. They look spiritual, but they do not want to hear the Word of God. They said “…SPEAK UNTO US SMOOTH THINGS, PROPHESY DECEITS…”
They REJECTED THE TRUTH, but you never would know it by looking at them.
Look again at Eze. 33:31, "And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, BUT THEY WILL NOT DO THEM." THEY WILL NOT FOLLOW GOD’S INSTRUCTIONS!
We see THEY REJECTED REALITY, THEY REJECTED TRUTH, and -
III. THEY REJECTED CORRECTION
They will not be corrected, and they destroy those who try to correct them.
Today we live in a society that when you try to correct someone, you are taking your own life in your hands.
Illus: In June 2001, a young thirteen year old boy was sentenced to twenty-five years to life. Why? Because he and some other students were having a water balloon fight, and a teacher stopped them and sent them home. He went home and came back with a gun and shot the teacher in the head and killed him.
In our country today:
• If employers try to correct some employees for the way they are doing their job, they will walk off the job.
• If parents try to correct some children, they will turn on them and treat them as if they were the worst enemy they had.
• We have students in school that teachers can not correct.
• We have people in our churches that will spread lies and do everything they can to destroy any person who takes the Word of God and tries to correct them.
Conclusion:
What can today’s “Laodicean church” do to correct this problem?
The only thing the church can do is what the Lord told the Laodicean church to do.
He said, “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. 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: 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. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. 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 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. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.”
After the Lord told this lukewarm church that He knew all about them, He tells them what to do in verse 19, He said, “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.”
The Lord said to those who belong to Him, “REPENT!” That simply means that the lukewarm church needs to repent and turn from their sins.
The Lord is addressing Christians in 1 John 1:9, when He said, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
We want to see REVIVAL come to this church, but before revival comes, God’s people are going to have to get their hearts right with the Lord.
I. THEY REJECTED REALITY
II. THEY REJECTED TRUTH
III. THEY REJECTED CORRECTION
