The Seven Churches of Revelation - Laodicea (Rev. 3:14-22)

LAODICEA: “DON’T MAKE ME SICK!”

 

My mom used to always say when we were travelling through Saskatchewan, “Don’t drink the water. It’ll make you sick.” Must have been from experience. To this day, I’m leery of drinking water in Saskatchewan. 

            I never knew if the water in Saskatchewan was or is as bad as mom said it was. But my own experience of Steinbach water was another story. Back in my college days, the water was really bad. If you drank it straight from the tap at room temperature, it was awful. It tasted metallic. You could smell the iron in it before you put to your mouth. Hot or cold it was okay. It turned blonde hair red. If you saved water in a bottle in the dorm fridge you could see floaties dancing in it. It was so gross, you had to be thirsty, or you would spit it out. 

            Jesus takes this image of unpalatable water and drives home his point about spiritual lukewarmness. You can taste it now, can’t you? The church at Laodicea was in the worst condition of the seven churches, worse than Sardis. Jesus said they were “poor, blind, and naked,” but worse than this was the really grievous reality that they didn’t realize it. They thought they were pretty good Christians, but Jesus said they were lukewarm.

            Someone once did a survey of his church and asked them, on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 meaning cold-hearted towards God and 10 being “on fire for God,” what number you would say you are? He said that most of his people in his church answered mostly in the 4 to 6 range. You know, average. What number would you put yourself at? I might have said 7 or 8. After reading and studying Revelation 3:14-22, I realized Jesus has something to say about anything less than 10: YOU’RE LUKEWARM, he says!! 

            Maybe you’re better than 6; maybe you’re reaching for 7 or 8 with me…BUT DON’T YOU WANT TO BE 10?? Don’t you want to be ON FIRE for Jesus? I’m starting to pray, “Jesus, make me a 10 on the fire scale!”

The Church of Laodicea (3:14)

 

Laodicea was the wealthiest city in the region. It was so wealthy that following a devastating earthquake, they rebuilt the city with their own funds and even helped other cities rebuild. Their wealth came from a vibrant black wool industry that produced clothing and a medical school famous for an eye ointment that cured various eye diseases. 

            It is unknown whether Paul ever visited Laodicea. Some said that his associate, Epaphras, preached the gospel and established a church in the city. Paul does mention Laodicea in his letter to the Colossians (2:1), a letter he encouraged the Laodiceans to read as well. 

"And when this letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you read the letter from Laodicea," 4:16 

He even wrote a letter to Laodicea and wanted that one read in Colossae. 

            Laodicea was situated in the Lycus valley, 6 miles from Hierapolis and 12 miles from Colossae. 

Though firmly established on a well-travelled road, they had no access to water. They had to pipe it in over a Roman-style aqueduct from other cities. They piped in hot water from Hierapolis, which was fine if it stayed hot (otherwise it was full of calcium carbonate), and cold water from Colossae (if it stayed cold). 

            To the church at Laodicea, Jesus identifies himself as “the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation.” Why “the Amen”? What do we mean by “Amen”? Amen is the biblical way of saying, “Yes! I agree! By all means! So be it!” When we hear the Word of God, we should say Amen. When a testimony of God’s faithfulness is shared, we should say Amen. Jesus is the Amen of God – he is the “Yes” of God, the promise of God fulfilled. If God said it, Jesus is the Amen. 

            Jesus also says he is the beginning of God’s creation. Not that he was the first one created – that’s not what it means – but that he is the origin of creation 

"All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made," John 1:3 

            

Why does this matter to the church at Laodicea? 

The Vomit-Inducing Stench of Lukewarm Spirituality (3:15-16)

 

Jesus identifies the problem at Laodicea as moral and religious indifference to the things of God and godliness. His picture is graphic. “You are neither hot nor cold and I am going to vomit you out of my mouth.” Not just spit, vomit! 

            It is often misunderstood that “hot” equals “zealous, lively, passionate, and hardworking,” while “cold” refers to “lifeless, unregenerate pagans devoid of spiritual life.” But there is problem with this: Why would Jesus want people to be coldly unbelieving rather than backslidden in faith?

            More likely, Jesus does not refer to hot and cold as a spiritual temperature or religious mood of the believer or unbeliever. Rather, the word “hot” refers to the well-known medicinal waters of Hierapolis whose springs reach 95 degrees. The word “cold” recalls the refreshing waters of Colossae. So, what Jesus means by hot and cold is not spiritual temperature; he rebukes them for their useless works. The church should be providing healing for the spiritually sick (hot water) or refreshment for the spiritually weary (cold water). But they are lukewarm; their works are useless to anyone. 

            This is why Jesus says, “You make me sick!” What a rebuke! I know it’s harsh but think of what Jesus sees in Laodicea: “When I look upon your zeal, your indifference toward the needs of others, and your blasé response to my beauty, I feel like a man who has drunk room-temperature Steinbach water!” 

            This is a scary place to be now, isn’t it? Are you thinking back to that survey and worrying about your answer (1-10)? Jesus told the church, “I know your works.” Not, “I know your feelings.” Feelings are not bad, but if we “feel” close to God, but that spirituality you feel you have doesn’t produce fruit – good works, evidence of faith – what is that worth? 

            Consider the parable of the talents in Matthew 2514-30: a master gives his three servants various amounts of money. Two servants invest the money in some kind of business ventures and double their investment. The third servant buries his money, doesn’t even put it in the bank to earn interest. He does nothing with it. The master returns and is furious. He wasn’t angry because the slave did something bad, but because he did nothing at all with this trust. The money in the parable could represent “faith.” Faith has been entrusted to us, to believe in God’s Son, and what are we doing with that trust?

 

What Causes a Church to Become Lukewarm? (3:17-18)

 

For Laodicea, the issue was a misguided self-awareness. The church itself thought it was in good condition. Why were they so blind to their true condition – lukewarmness? 

            There was a common belief in the OT and in the first century as well that one’s spiritual health was indicated by their economic prosperity. How many times did Jesus turn that misconception on its head? Even in these letters to the seven churches we see the opposite to be true. Smyrna was fiscally poor while being spiritually rich. Laodicea was a prosperous church while being spiritually lukewarm. 

            Jesus puts this contrast in personally stark terms: (see and underline 17). The “poor, blind, and naked” reality of the Laodiceans is then set against the counsel of Jesus – this is what you need to do, he says (see and highlight 18). Despite their wealth, they were beggars! Despite their famous eye cream, they were blind! Despite their nice clothing factories, they were naked! Jesus says to get the real stuff from him: 

Gold refined by fire – gold with the impurities burned away; this is a metaphor for purifying one’s life, for taking faith and making it real and active.

"...so that the tested genuineness of your faith - more precious than gold that perishes though it is texted by fire - may be found to result in praise and glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ," 1 Peter 1:7.

White garments – also a symbol of purity but speaks further to a ministry of service to the Lord. 

Salve to anoint your eyes – what the Laodiceans needed was a renewed sight, spiritual discernment to see what was really important in the kingdom of God.

            What it boiled down to for this church, for any church including us, is that spiritual lukewarmness is being smug, complacent, and satisfied with the spiritual status quo. We can becomes so satisfied with where we are at that we don’t press on in the faith. To be lukewarm is to live as if what you presently know and are experiencing in the Christian life is good enough; it is to be self-deluded into thinking you’ve got Jesus figured out; it is to think there is nothing more to know about God. Are we satisfied? Are we content? Or do you believe there is more to following after Christ that we have not yet begun to experience? 

            Jesus counsels us that true spiritual wealth has nothing to do with our bank accounts or successes. We are impoverished if we think that. He says we need to buy the good stuff, the real gold. There is a paradox here: How do poor people like us buy the costly gold of heaven? You do so with the only currency that counts before God: Need. The cost is desperation. To so desperately desire God and realizing we have nothing to trade for it. 

"Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he has no money, come, buy and eat! Come buy wine and milk without money and without price..." Isaiah 55:1-3

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven..."  Mt. 5:3 

 

Knock, Knock. Who’s There? – Jesus (3:19-20)

 

Jesus stands at the door knocking. Many evangelists have used this verse as an invitation to receive Jesus as Lord and Savior. That’s okay. But look at the context. Jesus is talking to a church. What’s really absurd is that Jesus is outside the church door and knocking to come in – he should be in already.

            In Solomon’s Song in the OT, there is a stanza that caught me this week. It fits this picture of Jesus standing outside knocking.  

"My beloved put his hand to the latch, and my heart was thrilled within me. I arose to open to my beloved, and my hands dripped with myrrh, my fingers with liquid myrrh, on the handles of the bolt. I opened to my beloved, but my beloved had turned and gone. My soul failed me when he spoke. I sought him, but found him not; I called him, but he gave no answer," Song of Solomon 5:4-6 

Imagine a groom on his honeymoon night coming to the room of his bride and finding the door locked. Okay. So, he knocks and coos a few inviting words. No answer. The bride is looking a People magazine and gazing longingly at Alan Ritchson (I don’t know). Suddenly she realizes that her groom is at the door and runs to let him in, but it is too late, he’s gone down to the hotel lobby to reconsider this marriage. That’s the picture Solomon paints; that’s what the self-sufficient church is doing to Jesus. There is no rushing to the door to let him in; there’s no desire for the bridegroom; there’s no searching for him. And if the church isn’t careful, Jesus won’t linger at the door. 

            But Jesus says, if we do open the door, he will come in and eat with us. The Greeks had three meals (as we do). The first, breakfast, was no more than a piece of dried bread dipped in wine. The second was a midday meal that a person took with them to work or the agora; a simple picnic snack eaten wherever convenient. But the evening meal, that was special; the main meal of the day; people lingered over it. The day’s work was done; it was not rushed, but a shared time of relating the day’s events and listening to each other. Jesus wants to come in and linger with us. In some sense, the Lord’s Supper is a meal like this. That’s why we call it communion. It is not to be rushed; it’s about relationship; it’s about sitting with Jesus and enjoying him and he us. 

 

Do we hear what the Spirit is saying? (3:21-22)

 

Every letter to the Seven Churches concludes with these words. He who has an ear…This saying does two things.

            First, it makes the letter personal. It says to each of us “consider this,” and “this means you.” The challenge is not meant to be thought of as, “Do you know who really needs to hear this?” No, it’s for you! These are some harsh words from Jesus, and they hit us right between the eyes. But that’s just it, I’m not saying these tough things, Jesus is, and he’s the Lord of every believer. This is meant for you and for me.

            Second, while it makes it personal, it also universalizes the message. These letters and their challenges were not just for seven churches in Asia Minor, 2000 years ago. Every church that wants to hear what the Spirit is saying needs to listen as if Jesus were speaking these words right now, right here. These letters still speak to us through the Spirit that inspired John to record them in his context. Just as Jesus is the Lord of every believer, he is the Lord of RFC. He has the right to wake us up if we are sleeping; he has the authority to kick our butts if we need it. I don’t know where these words land every Sunday – that’s the Spirit’s work – but I do know that we need to hear what he is saying. 

            If we are listening to the Spirit, what is he saying to each of us and to all of us as a church? Is Jesus standing outside the door and wanting to come in and do something amazing amongst us? Are we willing to say, “Go for it Lord!”? 

            If we took the test today, that survey that I mentioned in the beginning, what number out of ten would you give yourself? Maybe that doesn’t matter. Whatever number it is, we should want ten. Or shoot for 12 out of 10. What we need to pray for is that each of us would be on fire for Jesus. Hot and healing or Cold and refreshing. 

 

                                                            AMEN

The Seven Churches of Revelation - Philadelphia (Rev. 3: 7-13)

PHILADELPHIA: WHEN ONE DOOR CLOSES…

 

Finish this statement, “When one door closes…” (“…another one opens”). For you optimists, this is a mantra to live by. To you realists, this statement is overly optimistic. There is a grain of truth in it as many scientists have discovered in learning from their failures.

            Who said this? When one door closes, another opens? Alexander Graham Bell made it famous and was himself one who learned from his setbacks and failures. But did you know there is more to the quote? He originally said, “When one door closes, another door opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.” 

            We can get rattled so easily by the closed door that our focus becomes glued on that missed or denied opportunity. Will we choose to stare at the closed door and miss the open door as it swings wide open? A closed door may seem like loss or failure. What if, instead, it stands as an opportunity for growth? 

            The city of Philadelphia (not Pennsylvania, but Asia Minor) was the newest of the seven cities. It was established with a special purpose: the intention that it might be a “missionary” of Greek culture and language to Lydia and Phrygia. This worked out so well that by AD 19, the Lydians had forgotten their own language and were very Greek. 

            When Jesus spoke to the church at Philadelphia, he had this potential for influence in mind. He speaks of an open door that was set before them. Three centuries earlier, Philadelphia had been given an open door to spread Greek ideas to a vast region; now a true missionary opportunity stood as an open door before the church, an open door to tell people about the love of Jesus Christ. 

            If Jesus has nothing good to say about Sardis, he has nothing bad to say about Philadelphia. Theirs is an example of enduring suffering by staying close to Jesus.

The Door that is Open to us (3:7-8)

 

When addressing this church, Jesus in his usual way identifies himself to them in a way that is meant to encourage. To this church, Jesus uniquely veers from his usual reference to the description of “the man among the lampstands” to speak of himself in four ways not found in chapter one. Jesus says:

He is the “holy one” – he is set apart, perfect, pure. This pretty much identifies him as God.

He’s “true” – He cannot lie. He keeps his word. We can count on him in every way in every situation.

He possesses the “key of David” – This is new! The person who holds the key has the power to unlock doors. That person has the authority to go in and to invite others in. The key of David is full of Messianic significance. This expression is based on Isaiah 22:22 and it was said to Eliakim, a servant of King Hezekiah. Eliakim was so trustworthy that he was given royal emblems and authority to rule over the house of David, Jerusalem, and Judah. It was like he was given “the key to the city.” Nothing was closed to him. In this way he was a type, a foreshadow of the Messiah. Jesus, the true Christ, by virtue of his faithfulness to God by dying on the cross, has been given this key and rules over God’s house and over God’s people.

            What is this door? Some writers say it is the door of salvation; others that it is the door of service; another that it is the door to the kingdom of God. In one sense, they all mean the same thing. Entering the kingdom of God requires evangelism; we need to accept Jesus Christ as our Savior if we are going to enter into the kingdom and live as God’s people. Jesus has himself opened this door to us. And this is the fourth thing we see about Jesus…

He is the One who opens and shuts the door. He is sovereign overall and powerfully able to open and shut.

            To the church at Philadelphia, Jesus has set before them an open door. It goes back to this theme of influence that the city had on culture and Jesus applies it to the church. He knows this church intimately, just as he knows all the churches that bear his name. Jesus acknowledges, “I know that you have but little power,” which could refer to the lower classes and poor folks who make up the congregation. They are not leaders in the community, they don’t have pull on city council – but they have one thing that is more important that social status or political influence – they have kept the word of Jesus.

            This little church has stood firm. They have suffered for the name of Jesus, but they did not give up and deny Christ. And because of this, Jesus is opening the door of evangelism to them. It doesn’t matter what circumstances they face, what opposition threatens them, Jesus has opened the door for them to make some noise for the kingdom!

 

The Door that Appears Shut (3:9)

 

It’s hard to imagine that the door is open when you face such hostility from the people you want to share Jesus with. Jesus knew this; he saw this. Look at verse 9…

            Jesus calls this church’s great opposition “the synagogue of Satan.” If anybody opposed the Philadelphian church with hateful vengeance, it was the Jews. This is not justification to be anti-Jew, this is just the reality of their situation. The Jews didn’t trust Jesus. Just as Satan opposed Jesus, the Jews opposed the followers of Jesus. That’s it means when Jesus says they are a “synagogue of Satan” – they belong more to the camp of the evil one because they rejected the Messiah. 

            But Jesus says not to worry about this closed door; it’s going to swing wide open for them. In other words, they are going to have the opportunity to share Jesus with these Jewish neighbors. At the very least, the Jews will bow down before them. 

            You know what’s ironic about this? Isaiah the prophet promised the Jewish exiles that one day they would be restored from exile (see Is. 49:23). This verse talks about how Gentile kings and queens will take care of the Jews and they will bow down before them, even licking the dust at their feet. But in Philadelphia, Jesus now turns the tables using the same imagery saying that the Jews will bow before the Gentiles who have received Jesus as Lord. 

            This won’t come without suffering. Christians will suffer at the hands of the Jews in this city. But it is precisely in that suffering that the Jews will recognize Jesus. 

            You may be staring at a door that is shut to you. Your child is refusing to believe in Jesus, rejecting the God that you raised him or her to believe. Jesus says the door is open; they can see you and your faith. And when you suffer and go through painful trials, it is then, as we keep (or hold on to) Jesus’ word, that they will see in our pain that we have not denied Jesus. 

    A wonderful illustration of this suffering that bears fruit is found in the story of Joseph, a warrior of the Masai tribe in Africa. He traveled to Amsterdam for an Itinerant Evangelists Conference. Joseph had hoped to tell Billy Graham his personal story. 

The story began when Joseph, who was walking along one of those hot, dusty African roads, met someone who shared the good news of Jesus Christ with him. Then and there he accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior. The power of the Spirit began transforming his life. He was filled with such excitement and joy that the first thing he wanted to do was return to his own village and share the good news with the members of his local tribe.

Joseph began going door-to-door, telling everyone he met about the cross of Jesus and the salvation it offered, expecting to see their faces light up the way his had. To his amazement the villagers not only didn't care, they became hostile. The men of the village seized him, holding him to the ground, while the women began to beat him with strands of barbed wire. He was dragged from the village and left to die alone in the bush.

Joseph somehow managed to crawl to a water hole, and there, after two days of passing in and out of consciousness, found he had the strength to get up. He still wondered about the hostile reception he had received from the people he had known all his life. He decided he must have left something out or told the story of Jesus wrong.

After rehearsing the message he had first heard, he decided to go back to the village and share his faith once more.

Joseph limped back into the circle of huts and began again to proclaim the good news about Jesus. "He died for you, so that you might find forgiveness and come to know the living God," he pleaded. Once again, he was grabbed by the men of the village and held while the women beat him a second time, opening up wounds that had only just begun to heal. Once more they dragged him, unconscious, from the village and left him to die.

To have survived the first beating was truly remarkable.

To live through the second was a miracle. Again, days later, Joseph awoke in the wilderness, bruised and scarred and yet determined to go back.

For the third time he returned to the small village. This time he found everyone waiting for him. They attacked him before he even had a chance to open his mouth. As they began to flog him for the third and probably last time, he began again to speak to them of Jesus Christ, the Lord, who had the power to forgive sin and give them new life. The last thing he remembered before he passed out was seeing the women who were beating him begin to weep.

This time he awoke in his own bed, not in the wilderness. The very ones who had so severely beaten him were now trying to save his life and nurse him back to health.

The entire village had come to Christ.

            [All Billy Graham could say was, “I’m not fit to untie his shoes, and he wanted to see me?”]

    (From Immanuel: Reflections on the Life of Christ by Michael Card, pages 172-174)

 

Going Through the Door come what may (3:10-11)

 

Jesus said that suffering is part of following after him. It is not a “maybe” but a certainty that being a disciple of Jesus will bring pain. The world does not like the “good news.” 

            In these verses, Jesus promised the church at Philadelphia, “I will keep you from the hour of trial.” The NLT says “I will protect you from” leading us to believe that we will be exempt from the tribulation that is to come upon the world. This is misleading. Some even say that this is proof for the rapture of the church, taking us out of the world before the “brown stuff” hits the fan. Scripture doesn’t support this escapist teaching. Here’s a few reasons why: 

First, the idea that believers are exempt and have special protection from trials, tribulations, and persecution is unbiblical. Jesus said, “In this world you will have tribulation,” (John 16:33); and Paul said, “through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God,” (Acts 14:22). John, the author of Revelation, identified himself as a brother and a partner in the tribulation (1:9). 

Second, the tribulation Jesus mentions in 3:10 is meant for the judgment of unbelievers (or as Jesus calls them “earth-dwellers”). In Revelation, this always refers to unbelievers who persecute the church. They are the ones who will suffer the seals, trumpets, and bowls of Revelation troubles. 

Third, the promise Jesus makes here is “spiritual” protection in the midst of physical tribulation. When Jesus says “keep,” he means he will provide what they need to sustain them in their faith, come what may. The promise is similar to Rev. 7:1-3; 13-14 where the believers are sealed to protect them from spiritual harm. As one writer put it, “they are not preserved from trial by removal from it, but their faith is preserved through trial because they have been sealed by God” (Beale).

Fourth, while some Christians insist that the only way God’s people can be spiritually protected from tribulation is by being physically removed from the earth, Jesus prayed, “I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one,” (Jn 17:15). This verse also sheds light on what is meant by the word “keep” in our passage. 

Finally, is it not precisely when we remain faithful to Jesus right to the death (or through intense suffering) that we express true faith? As it says in Rev. 12:11, believers conquer Satan and the Beast “by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.” 

Suffering is an opportunity for witness. That flies in the face of the prosperity gospel.

 

Through the Door and Beyond (3:12-13)

 

Jesus is coming soon! Don’t give up, Jesus says. I know it has been a long “soon” – the Philadelphians did not see Jesus’ Second Coming. We may not either. But we persistently believe he is coming. 

            It’s like a race. We are all running this race – this course of life. We have seen Olympic meets and high school track and field – what do you cheer when you are on the sidelines? “Take it easy. Don’t wear yourself out. You are so close you can coast to the finish line.” No, you stand and scream, “Go! Go! Go! Give it all you got!” The closer we get to seeing Jesus, the more effort we put into this race, to finish and to win the prize. Even if your limbs burn and your lungs feel like they’re going to burst, keep going. That’s how we want to finish the race. We run with perseverance remembering that Jesus ran this race before we did – he set the pace, he endured, and he finished.

            The one who conquers… the one who overcomes… Jesus says, “I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God.” That sounds fun! What kind of prize is that? Okay, it’s a metaphor. Think of this like an OT Jew: What is the temple? It’s where God lives. You get to be a pillar, a part of the temple – where God is! In other words, you will be in the presence of God forever. 

            This is reinforced with the three names Jesus will write on you if you overcome this world. If you follow Jesus…hear what the Spirit says to you right now…this is who you are: Here is your current identity and destiny in Christ Jesus is going to write on your heart the name of God, the name of his holy city (the new Jerusalem), and a name Jesus will receive but that no one knows yet. When God’s people have his name on them, they belong to him, and he can call them out of anything. As Isaiah wrote, “…everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made,” (43:7). 

            The name of the city, the new Jerusalem is like the temple image. In Revelation 21:2-8, the people of God are literally identified with the New Jerusalem. We are the new Jerusalem. And where does God plan to live? Right in the midst of this city. We are going to be with God forever. 

            And the new name of Christ. How do you describe this? This new name is another way of saying that what awaits us is a fuller, infinitely expansive, revelation of the glory and beauty of Christ beyond anything we have ever seen or imagined in this life. Whatever we know of Jesus, however amazing, whatever we have experienced, whatever grace we have known in knowing him, all is but a sub-microscopic drop in the vast ocean of a spiritually macroscopic revelation yet to come! 

            This is the Door that is open to us. It is the Door that we invite others to come and share in and experience. I pray that we, like the church at Philadelphia, would keep Christ’s word, claim his name, and invite the world to enter through that door.

 

                                                AMEN

 

The Seven Churches of Revelation - Sardis (Rev. 3:1-6)

SARDIS: THE WAKE-UP CALL

 

I have a gift. A very special gift. I can fall asleep just about anywhere. And I fall asleep sitting up. I just fold my arms, lean back, close my eyes, and drift off to my “happy place.” Whether it’s the car dealership when I’m getting an oil change or recently when Sharon had her eye examined, if I have to wait, I read something, play on my phone, and suddenly my eyes are closed. 

            One time, I was in the waiting room at the doctor’s office and patients were slowly being seen. I did my thing. Out like a light. Not sure if my snoring scared the children. I was so far gone that when my turn came to see the doctor, the nurse called my name three times, and I didn’t answer. She was afraid to touch me for fear that I would wake up swinging. I was dead to the world. Finally, I don’t know how many times she called, the nurse roused me enough to wake me and I could see the doctor. 

            How fair is it to say that the church in Canada has fallen asleep? The church is multifaceted and has many faces and thousands of expressions in our nation alone. To make an accusation of such broad proportions fails to consider the tremendous work of individual churches for the kingdom of God. We can’t paint all the churches with one brush. 

            That’s why, I propose, Jesus speaks to each church individually and gives them his evaluation. Jesus is so intimately involved in each church he is able to accurately and lovingly sound out a wakeup call that is specific to their need. He can see what’s missing and speaks to it. If the church is asleep, will it hear the call? 

            The church at Sardis was a sleeping congregation. What Jesus says about this church is the most severe of the seven churches of Revelation. He does not commend it at all. What’s most frightening is that they don’t even know how close to death they are as a church. They think they’re doing great. But Jesus has nothing good to say about this church.

The Church of Sardis (3:1a)

 

The city of Sardis had an unfortunate history that reflected the 1^st century church. In the 6^th century BC, the city was a prosperous hub of life and wealth. It was here that King Croesus reigned in his impenetrable fortress until the Persians under Cyrus attacked. A few centuries later, it happened again. Both times the city’s walls were breached because the city slept and did not keep watch. They didn’t think they needed to keep watch; no one had ever gotten past the walls.

             Just as the city tried to live in the wake of its former glory, the church in Sardis also thought it could exist on its reputation. Here’s how Jesus addressed this congregation:

“And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits and the seven stars…”(1a).

            This is almost identical to his self-identification to Ephesus. Why does Jesus talk about “the seven spirits” in relation to the Holy Spirit when the Spirit is one person in the Godhead? It may be that Jesus is not referring to his personal oneness, but to his many ways of relating to the church. In Isaiah 11:2 he is described as “…the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.” And in Romans 8, Paul speaks of how the Spirit gives life to the Christian if the Spirit of Jesus is truly in him or her. 

            You are going to see that Sardis is in desperate need of all the Spirit’s gifts to revive it. While the city slept it was invaded; while the church sleeps, Jesus is coming. Wake up!

 

You’re DEAD!!! (3:1b)

 

“I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead.” This is really scary. Of all the churches, Sardis is the one that should concern us. Look, there is no talk of false teaching, no Balaam, no Nicolaitans, and no Jezebel. What’s wrong with this church that Jesus would say, “You’re dead!”? 

            I “googled” how you can tell when a church is dead. The result was overwhelming in terms of the various signs. I could give you a list of 30 or more things that “church leadership experts” claim are missing in today’s church. But the answer is right here in the text. What does Jesus say made this church at Sardis dead?

It's image (3:1) – If a church becomes more concerned with its image or reputation or legacy, it ignores God’s image. If we are worried about building a brand or keeping up with programs, it’s a sign of spiritual illness. Outward appearances are notoriously deceptive. Sardis was distinguished among the other churches, but it was a spiritual graveyard. “Its works were beautiful graveclothes which were but a thin disguise for this ecclesiastical corpse.” 

It's agenda (3:2) – It seems that the church left Christ’s agenda unfinished to pursue their own. Jesus said, “I know your works…I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God.” God’s appointed mission for the church is a continuation of Christ’s earthly ministry. This is why Jesus gave us his Holy Spirit. Sometimes you can enter a church, hear great praise music, a decent sermon, but find that there is no Spirit in the fellowship. We can get distracted by trying to do the right things to attract people, to be culturally relevant, to grow, but miss what the Spirit wants us to do. Our human efforts to “help” the Spirit get in the way of God’s work.

It's message (3:3) – The messages from the pulpit and the classrooms were becoming human-centered rather than truth-centered. Jesus said, “Remember, then, what you have received and heard…” In an age of tolerance, to reach people with the good news, many modern churches have compromised biblical teaching for humanistic teaching that doesn’t offend. Preaching “Christ crucified” offends people because Jesus died for sinners, something many don’t want to think about themselves. We cannot water down the gospel and trivialize hard truths. Sardis was dying because they were not feeding on the living bread. 

It's attitude (3:3-4) – Repentance! They were unwilling to change their ways. When they remembered what they had received and heard, the gospel of Jesus Christ, they are told to “keep it, and repent… Yet you still have a few…people who have not soiled their garments…” So, this death was dirt. Sin had crept into the church, less openly than with Jezebel or the Balaam party, but it was not missed by Jesus. And it seems that repentance came hard for these folks. I think it comes hard for us too. Do you know why? Confession! Confession accompanies repentance. Who wants to start? But if we would confess and repent, we would have revival.

It's condition (3:2) – Spiritual lethargy! Jesus says, “Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die…” The church was playing the pretend game. “Let’s pretend we’re serving Christ and worshiping God.” We can mouth the words of our songs and sing them with skill while our minds wander our hearts are far from God. That lethargy infests the life of the church so that our impact on our community becomes benign. Notice anything missing at Sardis? They’re not being persecuted. They’re not a threat to anyone. 

            These are the signs of a dead or dying church.

 

Wake up! (3:2-3)

            

So, let’s say you’re attending a church like Sardis, what do you do? What would Jesus have you do? Throw in the towel? Give up? Go somewhere else? In the wake of Covid and the moral failures of several Christian leaders, many have given up on the local church. But it is a mistake to assume that it is irredeemable or that the local church cannot be revived. If this were true, then why would Jesus bother to speak to Sardis?

            Jesus urges the church at Sardis, “Wake up, and strengthen what remains…Remember, then, what you received and heard…” We come back to those words to highlight why Jesus identified himself as the one who holds the seven spirits of God. What had they received from Jesus and what were they supposed to hold on to? What was missing from the life of the Sardinian church? The Holy Spirit. 

            All through the Scriptures we are told that God judges, not the things we do but the reason we do them. In the OT, God rejected the sacrifices of the worshipers because even though they did everything right, their hearts weren’t in it. David figured that out in his own crisis with God when he wrote, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise,” (Ps. 51:17). God is looking at our hearts to see if our work is done out of love for him and gratitude for what he has done in Christ. We don’t care what people see or don’t see – God sees. We do these works because we want to please God. That’s what Sardis needed to wake up to, that it’s all for Jesus!

            Mother Theresa in a Time Magazine interview commented on the work she was doing in Calcutta, India, decades ago. She said, “We try to pray through our work by doing it with Jesus, for Jesus, to Jesus. That helps us put our whole heart and soul into doing it. The dying, the crippled, the mentally ill, the unwanted, the unloved – they are Jesus in disguise.” That’s the spirit that Sardis was missing. 

            If the church is dead, Jesus invites you to be the change agent. He asks you to wake up and pray for the church to be renewed and to find its life again in the Spirit of Jesus Christ. 

 

Those worthy few… (3:5)

 

Those few who “get it,” who have not soiled their garments (stained themselves with the world – lit), they receive the promise: “The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels,” (5). 

            Who are the conquerors? They are the believers who overcome the temptation to water down their witness for Jesus. They are the ones who are “all in” or “sold out” for Jesus and don’t care how they look when worshiping or how they sound when talking about the cross of Jesus.

            The question you may be asking of this verse is this: Can my name be blotted out of the book of life? And I would answer that this is probably the wrong way to look at the verse. The emphasis is on those who prove themselves to be genuine followers of Jesus – they receive the promise – and their names are already in the book of life. Jesus is using what is called a negative-positive – it is a positive guarantee expressed negatively “I will NOT erase your name.” It is not a matter of losing your salvation – the context of the book of Revelation never suggests that. What it does suggest is that those who profess the name of Jesus but are not genuine in their faith were never written in the book. 

 

Do we hear what the Spirit is saying? (3:6)

 

“Sleep” is a common biblical euphemism for death. Is the church sleeping? Is the church dead? Is RFC in danger? I think any congregation risks falling asleep and should be drinking some Holy Spirit coffee to stay awake. Be filled with the Spirit, Paul says. 

            No, I don’t think we are sleeping here at RFC. But as I searched “signs of a dying church,” I picked out the signs that concern me. These are my observations:

The role of prayer in the life of the church: I confess that when we first came to RFC that I was filled with holy fear, and I wanted to be a good pastor. So, I prayed with everybody. Lately, I’ve noticed that, after becoming friends with many of you, I have slipped in this aspect of my reliance on Jesus. I want to be your friend who prays for you. I want both. And I desire that we would be praying together as a church more and more. Please help me to do that.

Discipleship: This came out in the church evaluations, and it has been on my mind for a long time. Some of you have asked that there be space made for mentorship in the faith. That’s great. But do you know what you are asking? If you are in the role of discipler or the discipled, it means time. Lots of time. It is so rich and so rewarding, you will never forget it. But can you make the sacrifice for it? 

The reputation of RFC: Do we rest on it, or do we live it? Forget about what we did in the past, what are we doing now? If RFC were to shut down and the building bulldozed and a Tim Horton’s went up on this spot, would anybody remember what we did, who we worshiped, how we impacted the community for Jesus? 

The Holy Spirit: Do we want more of him? Some of you by your testimonies and how you live your lives have inspired me that though we have the Holy Spirit in us, there is more of him to discover. Are you ready for the adventure he wants to take you on? I know that I can’t do this Christian thing without him? I’m losing steam and I need the Spirit of Christ. 

            These are some challenging observations. Maybe you are wondering about your own flagging spirit and heart for Jesus. Are you worried that you are not that genuine follower of Jesus who has not soiled their garments? Jesus understands the struggle you face. He knows the emotional and psychological turmoil you are engaged in, and there is grace for that. Do not condemn yourself. Walk towards him and let him help you the rest of the way to sincere discipleship.

            Hey, are you sleeping?!?

            One last bit of encouragement: Even though Christ’s assessment of the church was that it was dead, he still spoke to the congregation. There is hope!

 

                                                            AMEN

The Seven Churches of Revelation - Thyatira (Revelation 2:18-29)

THYATIRA:

THE CHURCH THAT TOLERATED TOO MUCH

 

A lay minister at one of my former churches once said to me, “I love you, but I don’t like you.” How would you respond to that statement? What I believe he meant was, according to Christ’s command, he knew he had to love me as a brother in the Lord, but he otherwise tolerated me as his pastor. 

            As I studied the word “tolerate” this week I came to understand that the word has evolved over time. How we understand the call to be tolerant of others means different things. How I understood this lay minister’s feelings about me was akin to how I tolerate being in a dentist’s chair. I hate the sound of the drill and the feeling when the freezing doesn’t work, but I will tolerate both for the sake of the outcome. 

            Canadians have made tolerance a virtue in all spheres of life. To tolerate another person and their ideas means, ideally, that I disagree with you but still respect you. This can be a good thing. We have to tolerate being under the governance of a political party we didn’t vote for, or we have anarchy. We are persistently reminded at sporting events to be “inclusive” – meaning to tolerate those who have a different lifestyle than we do. Tolerance has a place in life.

            However, tolerance can be pushed too far. The truth is nobody is wholly tolerant. The more you believe in tolerance, the less you can tolerate the intolerant. Consequently, tolerance can be used to justify oneself and condemn others. This is the pressure on the 21^st century Canadian church: We are being counseled by society to be more tolerant of others suggesting that the evangelical church is in fact, intolerant. 

            The church does need to be tolerant of people of all walks of life. But when Christians begin to tolerate in the church of Jesus Christ what God calls “sin,” tolerance has gone too far. This is the message to the church at Thyatira, the church that tolerated too much: Jesus will not tolerate a church that does not address sin in its ranks.

What Jesus saw in Thyatira (Rev. 2:18-19)

 

We don’t know much about the church in Thyatira other than that it is the least significant of the seven cities. It had several guilds, was on a well-travelled highway in the empire, and was loyal to Rome. That’s it. 

            The rest we have to pick out of the text. There is a similarity between Thyatira and Pergamum and a contrast with Ephesus. The Ephesians were big on doctrine but had forgotten the importance of love. Thyatira, on the other hand, was abounding in love but had lost their sensitivity to bad teaching. Or they tolerated those who taught false doctrine.

            What Jesus says about himself in each letter is always illuminating as it says so much concerning the church in question. To Thyatira he identifies himself this way: “The words of the Son of God (the only place where Jesus calls himself “the Son of God”), who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze,” (18:b). 

            As the Son of God, he has “eyes like blazing fire,” or “eyes that can pierce the facades, the disguises, the postures and pretensions of his people and get right to the heart of what they are doing. He has feet like burnished bronze (brass) which can trample sin under foot and severely punish that which is wrong. (“The Church That Embraces Jezebel (Thyatira) - SermonCentral”) Quite a picture of Jesus. Not meek and mild, but rather zealous for the purity of his church. (see 21-23)

            This is the Jesus that says, “I know…” He is not far off on some celestial throne way up in the clouds; he rules right here. He knows what’s happening in his church. “I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first,” (19). They were doing great things in the name of Jesus, to be sure. Their “latter works” set them apart from Ephesus where the church needed to go back to the beginning and learn love again. Not Thyatira, they were growing, they were popular, their seats were filled, they were serving the Lord…

But…

“Why are you tolerating Jezebel?” (2:20-23)

 

I like the word “but’ in scripture; it means something big is coming. It can be terrifying, and it can be really good. In this passage you get both. Here’s the first:

“But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols,” (20). 

            Evidently there was a woman in the church at Thyatira who was a very dominant personality. Jesus calls her Jezebel, but that’s not her real name. Jezebel speaks more to her character. Why Jezebel?

            According to 1 Kings 16, Jezebel was the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians, who married Ahab, king of Israel. She was an influencer; she convinced Ahab and all of Israel to combine the worship of Yahweh with the worship of Baal. Because of this syncretism, it was said of her husband that he did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger more than all the kings of Israel that came before him. 

            Jezebel was a sly and wicked woman. She had her neighbor Naboth killed so that she could confiscate his vineyard for her husband. She sought the death of all the prophets of Israel and almost succeeded in killing Elijah. 

            Although Jezebel had been dead for a thousand years, Jesus saw the “spirit of Jezebel” in this teacher in Thyatira. Some scholars speculate who she was: a host of a house-church, a pastor’s wife, a local fortune teller. We don’t know.

            What we do know is that she was accused of teaching two things: sexual permissiveness (blurring the lines of what the Bible teaches on sex), and eating meat sacrificed to idols. The two are somewhat connected. 

            We have talked about guilds in a previous sermon. These were trade unions for carpentry, tanners, and the like. Belonging to a guild often meant meeting certain expectations. One of them was worshiping the gods of Rome. And part of that worship was having sex with idol prostitutes. Jezebel may have taught that Christians live two separate lives: the private faith life and the public or civic life. What one does in the one does not affect the other. She may have taught that “hey, we are under grace. Sexual sin is not sin anymore. Grace covers that.” 

            The other issue was barbecue. Seriously. When a man made a sacrifice at a pagan temple, he brought meat. The priest offered a portion of the meat to the idol, kept some himself, and grilled the rest for the worshiper. He did one of two things: One, he called his friends to the temple to have a feast of ribs and steaks, or two, he brought it home to eat it with family and friends. 

            The problem for the Christian was this: Can you eat the meat in the temple or anywhere else when it has been dedicated to idols? Since most meat was butchered at temples, it may mean going meatless. But it’s very clear in Acts 15:29, that if the Gentiles wanted to be part of the Christian church, they had to avoid eating that meat. Jezebel said, “don’t worry about it,” while the pastors quietly disagreed with her. 

            Why was this woman being tolerated in the church? Was she too powerful as a church leader? Were the leaders afraid of a church split? Did they think that by showing grace she might eventually change or go away? Is that grace? 

            They tolerated her for some reason. Thomas Helmbock reflects the current attitude concerning our “truths.” He said, “…every individual’s beliefs, values, lifestyle, and perception of truth claims are equal…There is no hierarchy of truth. "Your beliefs and my beliefs are equal, and all truth is relative.”" (“Proverbs 14:15 - The Simple Man | Faith Ministries Resources”) 

            What we get out that is the spirit of Jezebel: 

“No one has the right to tell me what’s right or wrong.” 

“It’s wrong to impose your beliefs on someone else” 

“I have the right to do whatever I want if I’m not hurting anyone” 

“You can have your opinion - I have mine.” 

        Many people believe this. But it’s not enough for some folks. It is not enough to affirm another person’s rights; to be truly tolerant, you must now give your approval, endorsement, and support to their beliefs and behaviors. The United Nations Declaration on Principles of Tolerance says it “involves the rejection of dogmatism and absolutism.” Which is a self-defeating statement if you think about it. 

            This is the spirit of Jezebel. Why does the church tolerate this spirit in its midst? 

 

Hold on to the Truth of Jesus (2:24-25)

 

The second “but” is a relief, a note of hope. “But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden. Only hold fast what you have until I come.”

            Jezebel promoted an open-mindedness style of ethics. Her morals were arms-wide-open to the point of “anything goes. Jesus doesn’t mind.” But there were some in the church that didn’t buy it. Call them prudes, prigs, or bigots, call them what you want. They were not going to tolerate her teaching. 

            Jesus says, “good.” Hold on to what you have. Hold on to Jesus and the truth. We can tolerate a lot of things in the church – cultural, idiosyncrasies (personal quirks), even liturgical (how we worship) – but truth is not relative. 

            Jesus said something that clashes against the mantra of the inclusivism of our age. It’s very exclusive. It’s not tolerant by any means. It makes you unpopular if you share it with others. What is it? Jesus said this, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me,” (John 14:6). That’s what Jesus meant when he said, “hold fast to what you have.” On the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand. The life of Jesus is the standard by which I am going to be measured. He is the foundation of the local church and the materials we build with here at RFC must match the foundation or Jesus will start over. He will tear us down and begin again. (see vv. 21-23). 

            The truth that we have learned through Jesus teaches us true tolerance. John Stott talked about three kinds of tolerance: 

First, there is legal tolerance: fighting for the equal rights before the law of all ethnic and religious minorities. Christians should lead the way in this. 

Second, there is social tolerance: We need to go out of our way to make friends with people of all faiths, since they are God’s creation who bear his image. 

Third, there is intellectual tolerance: And here is the problem – This tolerance asks us to cultivate a mind so broad and open as to accommodate all views and reject none. This is to forget what GK Chesterton said, “the purpose of opening the mind, as of opening the mouth, is to shut it again on something solid.” "To open the mind so wide as to keep nothing in it or out of it is not a virtue; it is the vice of the feebleminded." (“The Tolerant Society – Oh, really? – Oxford House Research”)

            

Do we hear what the Spirit is saying? (2:26-29)

 

What is the Spirit saying to RFC? We need love AND truth. 

            If we take the doctrine-loving Ephesus and the love-and-faith-and service of Thyatira, we come closer to being the church that Jesus wants us to be.

            We talk a lot about being family here at RFC, about loving each other. That’s good. We want to have open arms for each of you coming into this fellowship. Love characterizes this faith community very well. There is room for growth in this area though. I hear people talking about the warts and blemishes of others at times. Love builds up; it doesn’t tear down. We all have places we fall short and need to grow. The challenge of loving each other better is met when we ask ourselves, “How can I help you grow?” The simple answer is this: Encouraging words.

            Love without truth leads to permissiveness. For the sake of love, we allow sin or a false understanding of God to go unaddressed. We need truth. We are guardians of the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

            Stott said, “Tolerance is not a spiritual gift; it is the distinguishing mark of postmodernism; and sadly, it has permeated the very fibre of Christianity.” 

            We must not tolerate Jezebel. There is a place for intolerance: intolerance of moral and spiritual relativism where we call good evil and evil good; intolerance of misrepresenting God’s character; intolerance of spiritual abuse; intolerance of anything that dehumanizes others or devalues their freedoms and rights. 

            If we hold fast to the truth of Jesus Christ, we will conquer the spirit of this age, the spirit of Jezebel, and Jesus will give us “authority over the nations” and we “will rule them with an iron rod and smash them like clay pots” and we will “have the same authority (Jesus) received from (his) Father.” 

            Only hold on to the way and the truth and the life. Hold on to Jesus. 

 

                                                                        AMEN