[Audio of this message may be heard here. The manuscript is below. Note that the sermon was not preached from the manuscript, so there may be slight differences between the two.]
“Just Once Before I Die”
A Challenge
Revelation 3:14-22
14 "And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: 'The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation. 15 "'I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. 17 For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. 19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. 21 The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'"
He was talking to me on the telephone when he said it. “You know, just once before I die, I would like to pastor a New Testament church.”
I doubt he’ll know what that statement meant to me. It was, in so many ways, the right word at the right time. He put into words what I felt but what I was unable to put into words until I heard him say it.
I believe that our calling before God is to become what He has designed us to be. I believe it is not optional. I believe that becoming a New Testament church is absolutely essential, crucial even.
Today marks the end of a twelve-week journey to unpack what that means. We have been using the following definition of a New Testament church to guide our journey: “A New Testament church is an authentic community around the whole gospel for the glory of God.”
"An authentic community": a blood-bought, redeemed, called gathering of the elect who have taken up their cross, bowed heart and knee before the Lordship of Jesus Christ, and who recognize the church as that called-out family in and through which God works His purposes in the world.
"Around the whole gospel." The gospel is the eternal good news that through the person, death, resurrection, and promised return of Jesus Christ, sin, death, and hell have been defeated and all who come to Christ in repentance and faith receive salvation, eternal life, hope, the blessings of God, strength for right living, and a place in the body and ongoing mission of Christ on earth, the church, through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. This gospel is the core, the essence, and the heartbeat of the church.
"For the glory of God": We do not exist for ourselves. Our comfort, our preferences, our advancement, and our well-being are not our priorities. God’s glory is. God’s glory is our greatest desire, our greatest motivation, and our greatest treasure.
“An authentic community around the whole gospel for the glory of God.”
This morning I would like to conclude our journey by issuing five challenges for us to consider, respond to, and carry with us. In order to do that, we will consider one of the seven churches of the book of Revelation, the church of Laodicea. Their story is told in Revelation 3:14-22.
1. I challenge us to be either hot or cold, but nothing in between. (vv.15-16)
The city of Laodicea was a prosperous city, but it did face one major challenge: water. A major source of water did not rest in the city. Instead, the city had to pipe water in from over six miles away from the south. In the north, the city of Hierapolis had famous hot springs that flowed to the south and spilled over a 300 foot cliff just north of the city of Laodicea. This dramatic spillway created a spectacular geological phenomenon which provided a coveted view for the inhabitants of Laodicea. But here was the problem: this water was fantastic to observe, especially as it spilled over the precipice, but it was functionally useless, for as it flowed south out of Hierapolis it cooled just enough to become lukewarm but not enough to become drinkable.
In other words, when you looked at it, it was impressive. When you tried to drink it, it was nauseating. And that, Jesus tells the church, is what their church was like: beautiful on the outside but nauseatingly lukewarm. Listen to verses 14-16:
14 "And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: 'The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation. 15 "'I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.
What Jesus is saying is essentially this: “Either be for me or against me, but don’t be like the lukewarm waters that are so nice to look at but useless for drinking.”
I challenge us to be either hot or cold, but nothing in between. Let us either deny Jesus or commit with reckless abandon to being His people here in Dawson, GA, but let us do nothing in between.
2. I challenge us to judge ourselves on God’s standard, not on our own. (vv.17)
Laodicea was famous for three things: its wealth, its famous black wool, and its production of a powder used for the creation of a well-known eye salve. The city was so wealthy that it rejected the imperial money of Rome after an earthquake flattened the city in the early 60’s A.D. It simply rebuilt itself out of its own coffers! (As we know, it’s no small thing to reject stimulus money from the government, is it?) Its famous fabric was used to create sumptuous carpets and high quality garments. Its medicinal powder was one of the great contributions of Laodicea’s famous medical school.
Listen to those three again: wealth, fabric, and eye salve. Now hear Jesus’ warnings in verse 17:
17 For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.
Did you hear that? Jesus tells them that they are “poor, blind, and naked.”
How very strange this must have sounded to the Christians of Laodicea, for these were the three areas in which they felt they were excelling. But here is the problem: they were judging themselves on man’s standards, not on God’s. How often do we judge ourselves as a church on the wrong standards?
I once read a comment from a prominent pastor in California speaking about the church’s lavish sanctuary. He said in an interview that they built the sanctuary hoping that the wealthy, upwardly-mobile Californians driving by on the interstate would be impressed enough by their building to want to join.
It’s a dangerous thing to operate on the wrong standard, isn’t it? The church of Laodicea was taking inordinate pride in the wrong things. They were operating on the wrong standard. So is this pastor in California. And we too can fall into this trap if we are not careful.
I challenge us to judge ourselves only on God’s standard.
3. I challenge us to become rich in Christ. (v.18)
John Wesley once spoke movingly of the dangers that wealth presents to the church. Great wealth has the power to cool our passion for Christ if we are not careful. It can weaken our devotion and make us treasure comfort over devotion. In verse 18, Jesus says:
18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see.
Notice that Jesus once again alludes to the three areas of pride that had gripped the Laodiceans: their wealth, their cloth, and their medicinal powder. He redefines each and calls upon the Laodicean church to attain true wealth, true clothing, and true medicine from Him.
In other words, let us become wealthy in Christ. Let us become clothed in Christ. Let us have our eyes opened by the gospel.
I challenge us to become rich in Christ: to grow deep in our knowledge of Christ, to draw from the treasures of the gospel, and to drink deeply from the well of the joy of Christ.
4. I challenge us to be zealous and repent. (v.19)
Jesus next informs the church of what they are to do:
19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.
We have regrettably come to view repentance as a solitary, isolated act. In fact, we see the reality of corporate repentance all throughout the Bible. Time and time again, the people of God are called to repent, to get on their faces before God and call out to Him for mercy. And he connects the word “zealous” with this action.
To “be zealous and repent” is to repent passionately, whole-heartedly, and with no reservations on our faces before God, beseech Him for His compassionate mercy, and determine to be His people like never before. To “be zealous and repent” is to open ourselves to the ministry of the Holy Spirit’s power in ways that we never have before..
Repentance is the essential ingredient to revival. No revival in human history has ever come without it.
Oscar Wilde spoke powerfully of this need in his autobiographical poem, “The Ballad of Reading Gaol.” In that poem he asks, “How else but through a broken heart can Lord Christ enter in?”
Indeed, how else? There is no other way. Christ’s call to repent is a call to open ourselves to His transforming power in our lives.
I challenge us: let us be zealous and repent.
Finally:
5. I challenge us to open the door to Jesus. (vv.20-21)
I grew up in a church culture that viewed verses 20 and 21 of Revelation 3 as a key passage for leading lost people to Jesus.
20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. 21 The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
It does indeed sound evangelistic, but let us not miss a very important (and very obvious!) fact: Jesus is speaking here to the church. He is speaking to His own people.
As amazing as it sounds, Jesus is asking His own people to open the door to Him. He is asking the church to let Him in!
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us let Christ in. Let us determine that we will follow King Jesus wherever, whenever, and regardless of the cost.
I would like to conclude this series with some words that I shared with you over seven years ago in the first sermon I preached here. I have seen it attributed to a number of authors, maybe most commonly to a young pastor in Africa who had determined to give his all for Christ. Regardless, a believer in Christ who had determined to actually follow Christ wrote these words, and I offer them to you for your consideration:
“I am a part of the fellowship of the Unashamed. I have the Holy Spirit power. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure. I am finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tame visions, mundane talking, chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals.
I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by presence, learn by faith, love by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power.
My pace is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my Guide is reliable, my mission is clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back, diluted, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.
I won't give up, back up, let up, or shut up until I've preached up, prayed up, paid up, stored up, and stayed up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I must go until He returns, give until I drop, preach until all know, and work until He comes.
And when He comes to get His own, He will have no problem recognizing me. My colors will be clear for "I am not ashamed of the Gospel.”
I challenge us to have that kind of devotion. I challenge us to be that kind of church.