seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Revelation 3:14 “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:
These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. 15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.
19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. 20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
21 To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
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Here's the link to the commentary I read. Please go to the page so you can read what I left out. There's also a summary of the seven churches at the end.
You are neither cold nor hot: This picture of lukewarmness would immediately connect with the Christians of Laodicea because the water they drank every day was lukewarm. Jesus said, “Just as the water you drink is disgustingly lukewarm, you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot.” In this spiritual sense, lukewarmness is a picture of indifference and compromise. It tries to play the middle, too hot to be cold and too cold to be hot. In trying to be both things, they end up being nothing — except to hear the words, “I will vomit you out of My mouth.”
I could wish that you were cold or hot: What Jesus wanted to change in them (and us) as much as anything is the deceptive playing of the middle, trying to please both the world and Jesus.
Lukewarm: Such prayers mock God. “O my brethren and sisters, have you ever really thought what an insult it is to God when we come before him with lukewarm prayers? There stands the heavenly mercy-seat; the road to it is sprinkled with the precious blood of Jesus, yet we come to it with hearts that are cold, or we approach it leaving our hearts behind us. We kneel in the attitude of prayer, yet we do not pray. We prattle out certain words, we express thoughts, which are not our real desires, we feign wants that we do not feel. Do we not thus degrade the mercy-seat? We make it, as it were, a common lounging-place, rather than an awful wrestling-place, once besprinkled with blood, and often to be besprinkled with the sweat of our fervent supplication.” (Spurgeon)
The name Laodicea means “rule of the people.” This church well represents a church run by majority rule instead of God. “Its name designates it as the Church of mob rule, the democratic Church, in which everything is swayed and decided by popular opinion, clamour and voting.” (Seiss)
And do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked: It wasn’t that the church at Laodicea wasn’t spiritually poor — they were, they were simply blind to it. Jesus looked at their spiritual condition and said, “wretched.” He looked again and said, “miserable.” A third time Jesus looked and said, “poor.” He looked again and said, “blind.” A final time Jesus looked and He saw that they were spiritually naked.
I counsel you to buy from Me: The change in the Laodiceans had to begin with understanding their spiritual poverty. As long as we believe we can meet the need for wealth, clothing, or sight ourselves, we can never receive them from Jesus. We must seek these things from Jesus instead of relying on them ourselves.
Therefore be zealous and repent: He commanded them to make a decision to repent, and to continue in zeal. “Turn your way,” Jesus said. “Don’t look to your own riches and resources, because they are really bankrupt. Turn around and look to Me.”
Behold, I stand at the door and knock: Jesus gave this lukewarm church The Great Invitation. He knocked at their door, asking entry to come and dine with them, in the sense of sharing warm, intimate time. It only happens as we respond to His knock, but the promise is made to all: If anyone hears my voice.
I will grant to sit with Me on My throne: Those who overcome the battle against indifference, compromise, and self-reliance, receive a special reward. They enjoy a place with the enthroned Jesus (as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne).
“This is the worst of the seven Churches, and yet the most eminent of all the promises are made to it, showing that the worst may repent, finally conquer, and attain even to the highest state of glory.” (Clarke)
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When I think of the seven churches, this is the church that comes to mind first. I can't imagine being spit out.
The commentary says the church at Laodicea had luke warm water. It couldn't get cold [no refrigerators or ice blocks] yet it never got hot for the tap either. The water in Arizona is like that. It takes forever to get cold water from the tap. In the summertime the water from the tap is almost always warm. We can turn off the hot water heater for at least four months out of the year and take nice warm showers... not hot... warm.
The water in Arizona is really nasty to taste too. That's ironic that I should get nasty water... lol.... CRE Water Company would think that's ironic.
Anyway, Jesus compared the "Christian" church in Laodicea to that nasty water. It's good for nothing on its own. It would either have to be cooled or warmed to be potable.
I blame the Seminaries for the churches that turn out like the church at Laodicea. They train these preachers up. They have them ready to spew verses out at random or on call. They know the Gospel inside and out. They read and passed the test on all the prophecy and the back stories. They learned to read Latin and Greek. They can even read and comprehend a little Aramaic. They have hours and hours on how to write and deliver a sermon. They have training in all the current rituals. They are wizards at the rituals of Communion, Dedication, Baptism, Funerals, and of course Weddings. I bet they even talk in tongues... After all, who would translate to call them out?
The Seminaries don't teach them how to deal with the Pew Warmers or the Rich Mongers who run churches and require the new pastor to change the gospel to fit the needs of the town. They don't teach them how to deal with the Elders who want to call a meeting of the membership to decide what the preacher will teach in "their" church.
It's as if the Rich Mongers and the Pew Warmers say, "What good is the true gospel in an empty sanctuary? You've got to preach what the people want to hear or you'll be paying your own salary and the electric bill out of your own savings." Momma said there'd be days like this... there'd be days like this my momma said.... but the new pastor, all gussied up in Biblical Knowledge is left helpless when the rich take the new pastor's zeal away.
So, the blood and the beatings are too gruesome to be taught from the pulpit. That stuff, they say, would be better left out for the sake of the "new" Christians that can only digest milk, rather than the meat of the cruelty Jesus suffered. They would probably go out pastor shopping of the pastor taught that the Pharisees and the Sadducees accused Jesus of being a Bastard since no human man could claim Him as their son. That would not be a suitable topic for the membership. After all, you can't say the word "bastard" in church! So, the pastor is censored as well.
The church at Laodicea is a great example of a "people's church". It was run by committees. The "popular" vote would decide how "their" church would be run.
The church at Laodicea is a great democracy.... that would not run off the tracks because "the people" would run "their" church to their own standards.
I wonder if Jesus would have fallen asleep during the Sermon at the Church of Laodicea!
Jesus said "I am about to spit you out!"
