In Contention for the Worst

Transcript

GR 1994
02/26/2017
In Contention for the Worst
Revelation 3:17-18
Gil Rugh


We're going to the book of Revelation in your Bibles, Revelation 3, and we are looking at the last of the seven churches of Revelation. These are messages that Christ gives to each individual church mentioned here, seven of them in the area of what is called Asia Minor, basically what we know as modern day Turkey. Churches that had been in existence for some time, and they are in various spiritual conditions. It is interesting to see, each individual church is evaluated by Christ. Some get commendations and condemnations, corrections that have to be made. A couple of them are just commended with no corrections required. And then a couple of them are not commended, but there are things that better be changed. We are looking at the last of the seven churches and probably the most familiar, but for all the wrong reasons. It's the church that is probably the worst, in the worst condition spiritually speaking.

As Revelation 3 opens up we saw the church at Sardis, and that was a church that had no word of commendation. They had a reputation for being spiritually alive but Christ said, you are spiritually dead. And He doesn't commend them for any of their actions. When you come to the church at Laodicea, there are no doctrinal issues rebuked, no doctrinal heresies being taught, there are no moral or conduct issues that He said have to be fixed. But it is in terrible condition. There are no words of commendation given to the church at Laodicea. And because of the strength of what is said, it is usually viewed as the worst of all seven. We talked about it when we talked about the church at Sardis. It's not a good thing to be contending to be the worst. Commentators debate, well maybe Sardis is worst because they have a name to be alive but it is spiritually dead. But even the church at Sardis has a few people in Revelation 3:4, “but you have a few people who have not souled their garments, they will walk with Me in white for they are worthy.”

There is not even a word like that to the church at Laodicea and as we talked about as we have opened this up, Christ speaks very directly. We would say almost in what some would say a vulgar way, and I say that with proper understanding. I mean, how do you say it any stronger when you say how the conduct of someone is so offensive to you when you say, you make me want to throw up, I just want to throw you up. That is pretty revolting, and yet this is a church that claims to belong to Christ, claims to be comprised of believers.

So we have looked at the opening verses, Christ introduced Himself, reminding them that He is the One who is the truth and truth is found in Him. He speaks the truth, He teaches the truth, we find truth in Him, it is settled in Him, “the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the One who begins the creation of God.” I mean, He isn't part of the creation, He is the One who begins creation is the point in verse 2. That is to emphasize how important what he has to say is. He is the Amen, that means it is settled, it is sure, it is unchangeable. His testimony is true, it is faithful and He speaks as the One who is the creator, as the prophecy of Isaiah in Isaiah 40-46 remind us, that the creator has full authority over all He has created. So Christ speaks in a strong way here.

We noted He says, “'I know your deeds, you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were cold or hot. Because you are lukewarm, neither cold nor hot, I will spit you out of My mouth.” And that word spit was translated as a euphemistic way of saying vomit. You have in your margin probably, literally vomit. Strong expression. To be hot is to be as we would say, to be on fire for the Lord, fervent in your love and passion for Him and desire to honor Him. Cold are those unbelievers, indifferent, even hostile to the truth. The church at Laodicea, they would have what people would have thought was a balance. They are in the comfortable middle, they are not hot, they are not cold. Christ said I would prefer, I would rather you either be hot or cold. The end of verse 15, “I wish you were cold or hot.” Because you are lukewarm, I have nothing to do with you. The cold, the hostile to the Gospel, the hostile to truth, they are not in as bad a position as those who are lukewarm to the truth. The lukewarm ones here are simply those who have heard the truth, who know the truth, who profess to believe the truth but have never experienced God's salvation.

This is a terrible position to be in. Yet somewhere, the church began in Acts 2 around 33 A.D. This church was founded later in connection with Paul's missionary travels probably when he visited Ephesus for an extended period of time and then wrote a letter to this church about the same time he wrote a letter to the church at Colosse. And we looked in the letter to the Colossians where Paul makes reference to the church at Laodicea. And he tells the Colossians, and we have the letter to the Colossians in our New Testament, and Colossians is relatively close to Laodicea, I believe about six miles. So he tells the Colossians to share the letter he wrote to them with the church at Laodicea. And then he tells the church at Colosse, I wrote a letter to the church at Laodicea so they can share that letter with you. So this is a church that has had exposure to serious biblical truth and not only had someone come and bring them the Gospel, but then they had been indoctrinated and received. And you can be sure that these churches, as they received, like the church at Colosse, before they would have passed their letter on to Laodicea they would have made a copy of it. And the church at Laodicea would have made a copy to send then, so they could send a letter on from Paul. This is how the letters were preserved.

So this is a church that had great exposure. The letters that we are talking about, like the letter to the Colossians, would have been written during Paul's first Roman imprisonment, recorded at the end of the book of Acts. So that letter would have been written around 62 or 63 A.D. This letter that is being sent to the church in Revelation, around 95 A.D. So around thirty years have gone by. We were told that Epaphras had a passionate love and concern and was involved in praying for the church at Colosse and the church at Laodicea. Paul said in his letter to the Colossians he had never visited Colosse or Laodicea. His presence had been there with his letters.

Something has happened, this is not a church that didn't have the truth. Somewhere along the line it had become a comfortable church, they weren't known for people that were fanatical about their religion, they weren't zealous and fiery, but they weren't opposed to truth, either. They had a good doctrinal statement, they had people who professed faith in Christ, but it hadn't become a reality in their heart and mind. Perhaps in some of the excitement of the times people would come into that church and had been accepted and over time just fit in and were accepted as believers. Perhaps some of those who were raised in the church just fit in and conformed and went along. Somehow this church came to be a church filled with basically unbelievers who professed to believe. Now keep in mind, we sometimes think this is a good thing, lukewarm is better than cold. Would we would rather have people that are opposed to the truth? God says no. Remember what happened to Israel in the Old Testament. The nation was called by God to belong to Him but over time the nation became basically populated with unbelievers. And that was totally unacceptable to God.

Come back to Isaiah 1 and note verse 2. We are just going to pick up a few verses here, you can read the whole context later. “Listen oh heavens, hear oh earth, for the Lord speaks.” Similar with the seriousness like we've had the letter open up to the church at Laodicea. “The Amen, the faithful and true witness, the One who began creation.” Here it is, The Lord speaks, the heavens and the earth must pay attention. “Sons I have reared and brought up, but they have revolted against Me. An ox knows its owner, a donkey its master's manger. But Israel does not know, My people do no understand.” This is a people that God has called to be His own, and they don't have the sense of animals. They are ignorant of the God who has called them. “Israel does not know, My people do not understand.” See this emphasis again in the letter to the church at Laodicea. “Alas sinful nation, people weighed down with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, sons who act corruptly. They have abandoned the Lord, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they have turned away from Him.”

Then he goes on to talk about their terrible condition. Down in verse 10 he says, “Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom; give ear to the instruction of our God, you people of Gomorrah.” Calls them Sodom and Gomorrah. Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed many years earlier. But as I look at your spiritual condition, that's what I see. Now Israel wasn't practicing the same, necessarily moral, offenses that Sodom and Gomorrah did. In fact, Israel was going about its worship just like you would think they should.

Look at verse 11, “What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me, says the Lord. I have enough of burnt offerings of rams, the fat of fed cattle. I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs and goats.” But He had required it, part of the Law. But He says I don't want you coming and offering those sacrifices. “When you come to appear before Me, who requires of you this trampling of My courts?” When they came to the temple they bring their sacrifices, they offer their worship. He says it's like a sacrilege, you are trampling the courts of My temple. “Bring your worthless offerings no longer, incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and Sabbath, the calling of assemblies I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly. I hate your new moon festivals, your appointed feasts. They have become a burden to Me, I am weary of bearing them. So, when you spread out your hands in prayer I will hide my eyes from you.” This is how He sees them spiritually, but they are going through all the motions. It's like we get to the gospels and Jesus has to tell the religious people, you are of your father the devil. No, we have Abraham as our father. They are spiritually lost. And you see God would rather have no worship than this false worship, going through the motions externally with no reality to it.

But He is gracious, and this is where we will go in Laodicea. Look at verse 18, “Come now and let us reason together, says the Lord. Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool.” How gracious, how patient, how longsuffering God is. When you are going through this, you know how it is, even in a light way we can see it's so much lighter. But when somebody you know is not being sincere, but they are pretending, like they are your friend, you would rather they be openly hostile. This idea of pretending that you like me, pretending you are my friend, pretending . . . That becomes more revolting than someone who just is clearly in a position of opposition. This is where it is as God looks at Israel.

Come over to the New Testament, Matthew 11, now we are in the earthly ministry of Christ. In verse 20, “He began to denounce the cities in which most of His miracles were done because they did not repent. Woe to you Chorazin, woe to you Bethsaida. If the miracles had occurred in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented. Capernaum, you will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will descend to Hades. If the miracles had occurred in Sodom which occurred in you, they would have remained. It will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you.” What He is dealing with is Jewish cities, Jewish people prided themselves in still going through all the prescribed religious activities and more. And as God looks at them He sees their spiritual condition as worse than Sodom and Gomorrah. They have a veneer, I mean, if you would say, who do you think would be better, these Jewish people going to extensive lengths to keep the Law or Sodom and Gomorrah? You say, I pick the Jews. Jesus says that is not the way it is going to be. In the judgment day Sodom and Gomorrah will not be judged as severely as Israel.

Come over to Matthew 21:28, here is the man who had two sons, a parable being told. He tells the two sons what to do. The one says, I'm not going to do it, then he changes his mind and does it. The other son says, I'll do it, but he never does. Which one has done the will of his father? Well, verse 31, the Jews answered and said, of course, the one even though he said he wouldn't do it, he did it. In the middle of verse 31, “Jesus said to them, truly I say to you that the tax-gatherers and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of heaven before you.” You see what He does, He takes those who are cold. They have no spiritual interest, but they are responding in faith when they hear the message. These who profess to belong to God, these Jews, they are not believing. John came to you, John the Baptist, you didn't believe him; the tax-collectors and prostitutes did believe him and you weren't even impacted by that.

So you see the contrast here. The hot obviously, those believers that are zealous in their love and service for the Lord. But the religious lukewarm Jews, they looked down on the prostitutes, the tax-gatherers, the . . . Like the Pharisee who prayed, I thank you, Lord, that I am not a sinner like this tax-gatherer, these other sinners. It becomes more repulsive to God. That's why Christ says the tax-gatherer and prostitutes are . . . those who have been cold, indifferent and even hostile to truth are now responding to truth. But you never have responded to truth. That's the point being made. This is the same thing that was said in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7, Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, we did many might works and wonderful things in your name. And He will say, I never knew you, depart from Me. That's the seriousness.

So this is the situation we are dealing with. Come back to Laodicea. It's a similar situation, God has chosen the church for Himself. So even this church that is primarily composed of unbelievers fits under that umbrella, but it is filled with unbelieving people. Just like the nation Israel is the nation God chose. But it was filled with unbelievers. A statistic I will draw to your attention next time. When God said there were 7,000 men who had not bowed the knee to Baal in Israel, someone did the statistic on that, said that is ½ of 1% of what the male population would have been in Israel in those days. That means 99.5% of the men in Israel are declared by God to be unbelieving men. What had happened to the nation?

So here the church has gone through the same pattern because the devil always works the same way. Keep the externals, course. For the Jews, keep the Law and even add additional laws to be sure you keep the laws that are required. But somewhere they have forgotten, God required a transformed heart. That's why He told them in Isaiah 1, don't bring those sacrifices anymore, they are worthless. Going through the external motions and activities is repulsive to Me when you don't come with a heart trusting in Me. This is the condition of the church at Laodicea.

Come back to Revelation 3:17, “Because you say, I am rich, I have become wealthy, have need of nothing and you do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, naked.” Look at the disconnect here. Verse 17, “Because you say,” then the middle of the verse, “you do not know.” What they would say about themselves, their testimony is totally disconnected from reality. Remember this is the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the One who created all things, He is telling you how it is. You don't know how wretched you are. You say I am rich, I have become wealthy, I have need of nothing. Laodicea was a wealthy city, prosperous city. You know, often in those kinds of environments we begin to mix material success and prosperity with spiritual prosperity.

I remember many years ago when we were in China talking to a pastor who had spent many years in prison for his faith. He was sharing, we have a real concern with the problems of the American church being brought here. He saw their church in many ways as stronger, as pure and not as washed out. He wasn't speaking with pride; he would mention some things that bothered him from what he knew of the Western churches like the United States.

Here this church, what happens when you are successful? You want to fit in. We want to have a comfortable Christianity. I use that expression but we don't want to be so zealous that we are always offending people and we sure are not going to stand up and deny the faith. And look God has prospered us, we have a good life, we have a comfortable life, and pretty soon we begin to see that's how we are spiritually, too. We all come, we go through, we do those things, and life is good. I'm not saying we ought to be looking for life to be miserable. God has blessed us and we appreciate that, but over time we develop a church, we are glad people come. And we want people to come. We have to be careful. Perhaps that happened here. At times, there have been years where Bible teaching, we went through a period of time in our country where people all over the country were flocking to Bible teaching and pouring into the churches. And pretty soon if we are not careful we begin to lose the distinction between those who are truly saved and those who are just here because they have been caught up in the excitement. Or their parents came and they end up coming and they were raised, or whatever. How do churches go from being established with people who came to trust Christ to just being a shell where you would say, you wouldn't go there to really learn the Bible. There is a process along the way. Laodicea is not in the position of denying biblical truth, of joining in false worship, of encouraging immoral or other improper conduct. But Christ finds them revolting, they are not truly saved. So going through these motions is like it was with Israel, it is revolting to God. Their view of themselves? You ought to come here. Some of you struggling churches like Smyrna ought to come over here and see what a church does that has learned how to have a proper balance. Well, you wouldn't want to go to Laodicea.

You say I am rich, I am wealthy, I have need of nothing. “You do not know.” Usually what happens, however it happens, they have now ended up in a place of spiritual deadness. They don't know their true spiritual condition. “You don't know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.” I mean, piles up words here and these are strong words. You are wretched, a word that means you are in a condition of extreme misery. You are miserable, you are the object of extreme pity. You are poor, refers to someone who is destitute. You are reduced to being a beggar. You are blind, spiritual darkness. Naked, you are without the garment of salvation. You see the disconnect. Somewhere they have gotten things mixed in with the world in which they are living and they have begun to connect material prosperity and a good life and a comfortable church and what? They even have a good doctrinal statement. You know the Presbyterians didn't really change their doctrinal statement until the 1960s. My dad was raised in a Presbyterian church, his parents didn't go but he went, he got awards every year for not missing a Sunday. He didn't have a clue of what the Gospel was, that church didn't. What happens?

“You are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, naked.” This is their spiritual condition, the one who examines us within. They are good and moral people; they believe the Bible. This is the kind of church it is. What a condition. Blind, spiritually blind. These are all, he's talking, wretched, miserable, poor, this is your true spiritual condition. You are not well off at all. Blind, naked. We've noted there are so many allusions, hundreds of them, to the Old Testament.

Come back to Isaiah 61. Great chapters in Isaiah at the close of his prophecy that bring in the glory of the kingdom that will be established. Isaiah 61 beings with a portion of this prophecy that Christ quoted in His earthly ministry, “The Spirit of the Lord,” Isaiah 61:1, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me because the Lord has anointed Me to bring good news to the afflicted, sent Me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, freedom to prisoners, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.” And then He sat down after reading that in the synagogue. Remember? But do you know what happens? There is a break of at least now about 2000 years between that last statement that starts verse 2, “to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord” and the next statement. Because remember the Old Testament prophecies didn't reveal that period between the first coming and the Second Coming so we go to what is going to be involved in the tribulation.

Then you come down in this chapter to verse 10, for time. “I will rejoice greatly in the Lord. My soul will exult in my God for He has,” now note this, “clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland and as a bride adorns herself with jewels.” He is talking about the salvation God provides. He wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, clothed me with garments of salvation. But the church at Laodicea? They are naked

Come over to Matthew 22, during Christ's earthly ministry and we are moving along in that time. This chapter starts out with the parable of the wedding feast and we are not going to take time to read the whole thing. But the father plans a wedding for his son and the slaves are sent out to invite the guests. But verse 3, “the guests were unwilling to come.” And he invites them further, and I have prepared everything. But verse 5, they don't pay any attention. Then they even turn against the servants he sends. So then the invitation goes out into the highways and byways. Now note here, when we come into the wedding feast, we are told at the end of verse 10, the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests, “but when the king came in to look over the dinner guests he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes. He said to him, friend how did you come in here without wedding clothes?” And evidently the pattern was, some indications that when the king did something like this, he provided the garments so they would be fitting. But this one is in without the garments. “The man was speechless. The king said to the servants, bind him hand and foot. Throw him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” This is a man forbidden to be part of the kingdom cast into hell.

When we get to Revelation 19 we will see the bride coming, the blessing for those invited to the marriage supper. The point of this parable, and every parable has a key point, single point, is you can't be part of the kingdom unless you have received from the Father the garment of salvation, the robe of righteousness. That's the point. But you see from what the Old Testament prophet Isaiah said you must have. Here is a servant who is not clothed. You can't be in the kingdom. The point is, it is clear, you can't be part of the kingdom without the wedding garment. What is the wedding garment? The garment of salvation, the robe of righteousness that God clothes you with.

What do you say to the church at Laodicea? How does a church that professes good things, that isn't denying the doctrines or openly practicing sinful things, not know that they are in such wretched condition? But that's where they come to this. People like this, they become like Israel. They don't want to hear; they don't want to be told their true spiritual condition. They are hard people to reach. It's easier to talk to someone who never goes to church, someone who is hostile. The most difficult people to talk about are those people that have the veneer. Something is wrong here.

I was speaking at a church, don't want to say too much, in one of their Sunday School classes. And they hold a different doctrine than we do on some areas and everybody there is saying amen. I'm trying to make clear things, and I'm going through some Scripture, in fact it was in Galatians, going through and they keep saying amen. Finally, I had to stop and say, folks, I think we're having a disconnect. I'm saying something that I don't think you understand and you are saying amen because you think I'm saying something that you agree with. Let's clarify something. And you try to explain it, it's hard. You talk to someone who says I don't believe that, I can explain to them why if you don't believe it there is no hope for you. This is where this church is.

Come back to Laodicea. “You are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, naked.” No excuse, thirty years earlier Paul had written letters, a letter to them, a letter to the church at Colosse. Read Colossians, this church had read Colossians in their history, they probably had a copy of it. How did they get here? You think Christ to be here now and where you've gone I'm done. But He is gracious, look what He says. “I advise you,” a word that means to give counsel to someone, to give advice. I'm going to give you some advice. When God says I'm giving some advice, comes from the One who is truth, who is always sure and settled and faithful, you better listen. “I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich.” The riches you have are nothing, you don't have genuine riches. “White garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed and eye salve to anoint your eyes that you may see.” See what He offers? I offer you what you can only get from Me. This church has been in existence for quite some time, they've had the truth. But God is gracious. It's sort of like we were in Isaiah 1 where God is saying I don't want your sacrifices, I don't want your worship at My temple. Then He says come, now, and let us reason together, says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they can be white as snow. For Me at this point in Israel's history, I'm done with you. No, come on, there is time. Come, come. They won't and they don't. And here the church, the invitation, “I advise you, come buy from Me gold refined by fire.”

Just back up to 1 Peter 1, these believers being in trial, Peter says these are to refine your faith. And note the analogy he uses, “so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may result in praise and glory and honor.” So, that analogy using gold and comparing that to their faith and how gold can be purified by the fire so your faith can . . . So here Christ says true gold you get from Me, true spiritual riches come with your faith in Me. Then you become rich. White garments to clothe yourself. Now you have to buy these things, sounds like you have to earn them, work.

We have to go back to Isaiah one more time, Isaiah 55. Note how it starts, “Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters. You who have no money, come buy and eat. Come buy wine and milk without money, without cost.” That's the point. All the spiritual riches that you need, come get them from Me and there is no price to be paid by you. Then we get that invitation down in verse 6, “Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, the unrighteous man his thoughts. Let him return to the Lord, He will have compassion on him, and to our God, He wil abundantly pardon. This is amazing. God didn't give up on Israel, He doesn't give up on the church at Laodicea. Much more patient than I am, much more patient than we are. Here, come, buy, no charge. I paid for everything, so come to My store, so to speak, and there you can buy what you need. You don't need to bring money; I give it to you freely when you trust in Me and My provision.

Come back to Laodicea, Revelation 3. So, come, “I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed.” He emphasizes this, you must have the garment of salvation, as Isaiah 6 put it, which is the righteousness that God provides. Somehow we slide over and begin just to think of ourselves as good people so we accept other people, they are good people. But we have to see things as Christ sees them. You are naked, you have nothing spiritually, white garments.

Look in Revelation 6:11, and here we are, we have entered into the seven-year tribulation and you have people being martyred and dying. Verse 11, “And there was given to each of them,” these martyrs, “a white robe.” There we are, we need white garments, here is the white robe. They were told to rest a little while; God finishes the work and then we will have the kingdom. Look in Revelation 7:9, “After these things I looked and behold a great multitude which no one could count from every nation, tribe, peoples, tongues standing before the throne, before the Lamb clothed in white robes.” No one is going to be part of the kingdom and enjoy eternity in the presence of God without His righteousness. And His righteousness bestowed upon us ultimately works out in the righteousness of our conduct. Obviously, if you have to start by receiving the righteousness of Christ, you don't earn this. We become partakers of the divine nature and then the children of God manifest the character of God, as 1 John 2 says. So He clothes us with His righteousness, or another way to put it, we partake of His nature. And now we live differently and righteousness is to characterize us. But people like to start out here and say, I'm trying to live a righteous life, I'm trying to do what God would have me do, I'm trying to keep the Ten Commandments. He never did say you could be acceptable to Him that way.

How did this church get confused? Here these are standing clothed in white. Down in Revelation 7:13, “One of the elders answered saying to me, these who are clothed in the white robes, who are they? Where did they come from?” He is asking John. “I said, my Lord, you know. He said to me, these are the ones who come out of the Great Tribulation,” now note this, “they have washed their robes” by their good works. That's not what it says. “They have washed their robes, made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” That's how the cleansing comes, that's how it will be celebrated in heaven when we move into Revelation 4-5, that Christ is the Lamb that by His death provided redemption, cleansing, His righteousness for sinful people. “They washed their robes, made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” That tells you how you get these white garments, the robe of righteousness. You are cleansed by believing in the work of Christ on the cross to pay the penalty for your sin. And His death is credited to your account as paying your penalty. Now you can be credited with His righteousness. Amazing.

Come over to Revelation 16 and there is an invitation and call given here that is very similar to what is being given to the church at Laodicea. Look at verse 15, “Behold, I am coming like a thief,” we'll see this in our next study since we won't be finishing this. “Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes so that he will not walk about naked, men will not see his shame.” And then you pick up again the theme, they are gathered at Armageddon. That call, you can't go into the kingdom spiritually naked. And the warning, He is coming like a thief and any time you have to be ready otherwise you will be excluded like the man at the wedding feast in Matthew 22. You can't be in here without a wedding garment. And it's too late so you are cast into hell. I mean, God is gracious, but don't presume upon His graciousness. Sure, now is a time of opportunity as Paul said, today is the day of salvation. I know, I know, I'm going to take care of it on my time. No, you take care of it on God's time or it will not get taken care of. So that's the point.

Come back to Revelation 3, we looked at Matthew. Also, He advised them to get eye salve at the end of verse 18. You know Laodicea was a medical center, it would be like Mayo Clinic in Rochester. This was a place where people went for medicinal help, medical help. They were famous for that. Not always helpful but they did have an ointment for the eyes that was supposed to be able to help people with eye problems. So when He says eye salve to anoint your eyes, you see what He is drawing here. What you can't find in the flow of life in Laodicea you can only find with Me. I mean, everything could look good. You realize we could go on as a church and fill up and raise kids that never come to trust Christ but conform generally to the truth. They are not overtly doing things the Bible says we shouldn't do, and they don't deny any of the major doctrines that we hold and be lost. That's the church at Laodicea. Thank about it, He says this is a church on its way to hell. That doesn't mean there is not a believer in this church, but they would be so few you could just lump the church all together. I am assuming there are few, at least he mentioned a few at Sardis, he doesn't mention a few here. But maybe there are a few from the old days, I don't know.

All that is needed in salvation can only be found in Christ. This church somehow without openly denying Christ had lost sight of that. And that message had gotten lost somewhere. You know we can begin to teach the Word of God but take the edge off it so it doesn't cut people, that it doesn't offend people, that it's not convicting, which is saying that we present the Word in a way the Spirit of God doesn't use it. And you hear this, you can turn on the television and listen to men quoting the Bible and they are clueless and don't know how far from truth they are. What would happen to us over time? We would never do that. Well, I don't think when the church at Laodicea got their letter from Paul and then were able to read the letter to the Colossians that Paul wrote, and Epaphras talked about how his heart was with them and prayed for them that they would have ever thought that this is where they would end up, either.

So the reminder, we have to ask ourselves, have you trusted Christ? Have you come to Him for the salvation? It doesn't matter if you grew up here, doesn't matter if you have been attending here for many years, doesn't matter if you have done many Bible studies. Righteousness is only found by faith in Christ. We don't want to give people any other idea. We welcome unbelievers to come and hear the Gospel but you understand it is only the Gospel that saves you, not being here. How gracious He is. This is still a day of salvation and here we are, the One who is the Amen, the faithful and true, the One who created everything advises you, advises me buy from Me what you can't get anywhere else. And there is no cost to you, I paid it all. So you get it free, a garment of salvation, a robe of righteousness washed white as snow from the defilement, the guilt, the penalty, the power of sin now to live for Him. That's the salvation that the church is to stand for, to represent, proclaim and to live.

Let's pray together. Thank you, Lord, for this message to the church at Laodicea, a serious message, a discouraging message if there is no response. Yet, Lord, it is encouraging, they are not beyond the power of the Gospel, they are not beyond experiencing the power that can cleanse them, wash them clean, make them white as snow. Lord, we are reminded of that and we thank you for the graciousness of your salvation. Lord, many of us know and are secure in that salvation. We give you praise. Lord, you know our hearts, there may be some who are here who have gone through all the motions, young or old, but have never truly trusted Christ and experienced the change of heart that only you can bring. I pray that that will become a reality for them. Thank you for their Word, thank you that it is alive for us today, thank you for the privilege of considering together. In Christ's name, amen.