Indifference. Apathy. Lack of Zeal. Neglect. The church was known for being indifferent about the issues of the church in lieu of the world. Do the things of God's excite you or does the world? Do you spend more time reading books of the world, movies, social media than reading your Bible and talking to God? Then you are in danger of being like the church of Laodicea. Don't neglect the things of God. Our retirement program is coming.
Why did Jesus say, I am the faithful and true witness? Because the pastor at the church wasn't. How can you say you are a Christian if you don't even read the Bible and know what it says? Read about His life, you have the gospels. Don't let a cult at your door fool you. You will be susceptible to lies if you haven't read the truth of who God is! From Genesis 1 to Revelation 22. It says Jesus is the Creator of all the Universe. He is the starter and originator of God. You have a heart problem. You don't care about anything except your own life. All you care about is yourself. People just don't care. They lost their hot hearts!
As we near the end of an age, we need to reawaken ourselves back to life.
Revelation 3:15 ~" I know your deeds, that you are neither cold not hot. I wish you were either one or the other!"
Jesus exposes the source of their problem. It was heart trouble. They once had hearts that were on fire for God. They had lost what was hot.
Luke 24:32 ~ "They asked each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?"
If we open our Bible and ask Jesus to speak to us from the Bible and think He won't answer it? He will speak. If you open the Bible, Jesus will speak and you will never have to worry about being a Laodicean. A Christian who has grown lazy is a Christian who is no longer living for God.
Acts 18:25 ~ "He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John."
James 5:16 ~ "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."
Pray hot. We pray because God has declared us righteous. So pray like you really mean it. It's doing things in obedience. When we are in a crisis, we pray fervently. Why don't we pray like that all the time. He wants us to grab on and not let go.
1 Peter 4:7-8 ~ "The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins."
Hot, boiling, love for one another. We need to awaken ourselves back to life. That's done by putting faith to action, where physical meets the spiritual.
Hebrews 5:14 ~ "But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil."
You take it and you do it. That is how we grow. We put our faith into action.
James 2:26 ~ "As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead."
Here Jesus dramatically draws their attention to a very well known problem. Your "spiritual activity" as a church is neither hot nor cold. They had a casual approach to Jesus.
Revelation 3:15 ~" I know your deeds, that you are neither cold not hot. I wish you were either one or the other!"
Laodicea was located 11 miles downstream from the city of Colossae and 6 miles downstream from the city of Hierapolis,. Colossae was well known for it's ice cold, mountain spring water, which flowed from Mount Cadmus. Many travelers would make it a point to go to the streams of Colossae to be refreshed in the cold mountain spring water. Hierapolis on the other hand, was situated above a seismic fissure where hot mineral waters flowed up and out into hot therapeutic pools for relaxing and healing. Like Colossae, travelers and vacationers would make it a point to visit these therapeutic for healing and relaxation. Laodicea was like living in two different worlds. To compromise is to live in two different worlds. A church marked by indifference, apathy, lack of zeal and neglect. They took a casual approach to their relationship with Jesus. There was nothing personal about this church. From the pastor, through the flock and out to the community there was no 'reality' to their 'confession.'
When we take a closer look at who we are, are we truly a blessing to Jesus Christ? These letters are to be read by us.
Revelation 3:16 ~ "So, because you are lukewarm - neither hot nor cold - I am about to spit you out of my mouth. "
Jesus' view of the way it is, is the way it is. Not what you say, but what I say. "Not a few of them." The church is completely poisoned. Every church has its number of lukewarmers. Laodicea attracked them. What do they look like? They look like me and you on the outside, but they have a knack for not being seen. They're rarely, if ever, involved in any church activity. They walk like us, stand like us, move like us, but accomplish nothing for God. But their energies are saved for what they want, and what they want, is what they want!
"Lord, Lord." Lukewarm Christians have grown comfortable in their place. They don't feel hot water, they don't feel cold water. Like Goldilocks, everything has to be just right.
When we take a closer look, are we someone that Jesus would want to be around?
Revelation 3:16 ~ "So, because you are lukewarm - neither hot nor cold - I am about to spit you out of my mouth. "
From one end of the moral spectrum to the other, we need Jesus Christ. He desires to spend time with us. That is why the gospel messages is most offensive to legalists, because of who Jesus hung out with. He didn't hang out with pastors and ministers. These were the harshest words spoken by Jesus. Most Bible versions say "vomit," the Old King James Version says, "spew." In our modern culture, the word that best follows the Greek language would be "to chuck, to hurl, to barf, to puke." He was trying to provoke them to a response. It was meant to be offensive and gross.
Lukewarm water, lukewarm milk, lukewarm coffee, lukewarm cocoa, lukewarm tea. The Laodicean Church was lukewarm living, lukewarm caring, lukewarm prayer, lukewarm loving, lukewarm worship. "Live Worship " by the Laodicean Praise Band. What do they taste like? "They are - lukewarm" if Jesus needed a cold drink, they were too warm to be refreshing. If Jesus needed a hot drink, they were too mild to bring relief. So a lukewarm pastor breed lukewarm Christian, who together make up a lukewarm church. This made Jesus sick to His stomach. No one likes anything that is lukewarm!
Are you someone Jesus would want to hang out with or would He vomit you out of His mouth? He is warning us that our lives, our faith, our professions of faith, don't want to make Him sick. We need to be more concerned with Jesus than the world.
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