Wednesday, November
14, 2012, 6:21 a.m. – the Lord Jesus woke me with the song “Seek the Lord” playing in my mind.
Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.
I read Revelation 2-3
(quoting 3:14-22 NIV 1984):
“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. I know your deeds, that you are neither
cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are
lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 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. 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.
Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and
repent. 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 him, and he with me.
To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on
my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who
has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
The
Church
God the Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, is
speaking here to the seven churches in Asia. These were literal church
congregations, yet they are also symbolic of the church, as whole, and they
still speak to our hearts today. Many feel as though the church in Laodicea is
a prefiguring of the church in these last days. I am definitely of the belief
that this represents the church in America, as a whole, in our present day, though
not necessarily describing each individual or each specific church fellowship. Many
people are of the belief that these churches represent the church down through
the ages, ending with the church in Laodicea, which is a picture of the church
prior to the judgments in Revelation. Yet, everyone one of these letters to
these churches has something to say to the church today, I believe.
The
Good
The Lord Jesus had something good to say
about every one of these church congregations, except for the church in
Laodicea. He spoke of their hard work and perseverance, how they endured
hardships for the sake of the name of Christ and had not grown weary, how they
hated compromise with the pagan world and sinful practices that went on in the
name of religious liberty (God’s grace); and the fact that they did not
tolerate wicked men and false teachers, and in fact, they tested teachers of
the word and found some of them to be false. We need to do more in our day to
test teachers of the word instead of buying into everything they tell us. False
teachers abound in our churches here in America today.
Some church congregants were afflicted and
poor, yet they were rich in faith. They endured the slanders of those who
claimed God as their Father, but who were really of the “Synagogue of Satan.” In
other words, they faced slanderous accusations from those who said they were of
God when, in fact, they were followers of Satan, which was obvious by their
lifestyles and the things they taught. Other church fellowships remained true
to the name of Jesus Christ even though they lived where Satan had his throne,
i.e. in an area that was much given over to Satan and to sinful practices.
These followers of Christ did not renounce their faith in Jesus Christ, even
though they faced much opposition from sinful men, persecution and the reality
that they could lose their lives for their testimony for Christ. And, still
others our Lord commended for their love, faith and perseverance.
In a church congregation where God chided
them for their hypocrisy, he spoke well of those who had not “soiled their
clothes.” Amen! When we invite Jesus Christ into our lives to be Lord and
Savior of our lives, we put on Christ Jesus as a holy and righteous garment we
wear, not on top of our old way of living, but in place of our sinful pasts.
So, to soil our clothes would mean to return to sinful practices and to follow
the ways of this world and of our society and to “dance the dirge” with those
who live according to the pattern of this world. So, when Jesus commended these
followers of Christ for not soiling their garments, he was saying that they
remained true to God and to his word and they did not compromise with the world
of sin. He said they would walk with him in white, “for they are worthy!”
Then, the Lord spoke to a church congregation
who had kept his word and had not denied his name and who had kept his commands
to endure patiently. Amen! Even though they had little strength, possibly due
to persecution and hardship, God had honored them by providing an open door of
ministry for them which no man could shut. Amen! I had to learn that through
some tough battles that when God opens a door, no man can shut it, so we should
never fear men or circumstances or even our own trials and tribulations, because
God is absolutely sovereign and is in control, and if he opens a door, it will
remain open until he decides to close it. Hallelujah!
The
Bad
There were only two congregations that our
Lord Jesus had nothing bad to say about. They were the afflicted and poor who had
endured slanderous accusations from those who claimed God as their Father, but who
were not of God, and the ones who had kept God’s word and had not denied his
name, and for whom God had placed an open door that no man could shut.
One congregation had many good and positive
things going for it, but they had forsaken their “first love.” To forsake one’s
first love would be like committing adultery against one’s spouse. I can still
remember when I was dating my husband. He was on my mind much of the day. I
wrote him notes and put them in his mailbox at school, we talked at school, and
we talked on the phone when we were at our separate homes. He is the one I wanted
to share everything with, do everything with, and be with as much as possible. And,
I couldn’t wait until the day we were married and we could be together forever.
If we don’t have that kind of love and desire for our Lord Jesus Christ then
we, too, have forsaken our first love.
Our Lord Jesus scolded another congregation
because they had those among them who held to a false teaching, which taught
people how to lead other people astray – a false teaching which deceived the
minds of naïve and immature Christians into compromise with worldliness and
immorality. They taught a libertine approach to God’s divine grace, i.e. a
grace with no restrictions and no holy requirements, which gave the people the
freedom to practice idolatry and immorality, because they were now under grace
and they felt their eternity was secured. This type of false teaching abounds
in today’s church in America. And, it mostly goes unchecked. So, if you receive
a teaching absent of the need to repent of sin and to walk in obedience to
Christ as required for your salvation, then that teaching is false. Another
congregation was guilty of tolerating such compromise with the world of sin.
Make sure today that you are following the true gospel, and not this false
gospel of men.
Yet another congregation our Lord chided
because they had a reputation of being alive but they were really dead. In
other words, they gave the outward appearance of one thing while inwardly they
were truly something else. Much of what goes on in today’s church in America is
for the show, the appearance, and the performance. Many church congregations
are following Marketing 101 for how to build their churches instead of or
certainly over and above God’s holy word. They have bought into the whole image
thing and the need to attract the world to the “church” with worldly methods,
in order to try to “sell” something. They may have great performances that may
draw in large crowds of people, but are they teaching the truth of the gospel?
And, are they operating in the power of the Holy Spirit of God, or in the will
and strength of men? These are questions we need to ask ourselves.
Lastly, Jesus spoke against the church in
Laodicea. They were neither on fire for Christ nor were they particularly cold
(opposed) to him. To coin a phrase used by author Kyle Idleman, they were
probably “fans” but not “followers.” A fan is like a cheerleader who sits on
the sidelines and cheers on the team, but they don’t really get in the game and
play for keeps. Christianity and contemporary worship services are popular today
in America. And, they are loaded with many fans. That is why we have such big
attendances at these public gatherings, but even very large church
congregations struggle to get workers, though this is not to say that all
church (institutional) workers are followers of Christ and are not merely fans.
We can work for our churches but not be following Jesus Christ at all.
The point is that we can have an association
of some kind with Jesus Christ and with Christianity, and we may have even been
followers of Christ at one time, so we are obviously not antagonistic about
Jesus Christ. We may even believe we are following him, but if our lifestyles
show that our passion and desires are centered more around ourselves and what
we want out of life rather than us having passion and desire to follow Jesus
Christ and to obey him in all things, then we, too, may fit into this “lukewarm”
category. Those are who are lukewarm are generally complacent and worldly and
Jesus is not the focus of their lives. They may even generally ignore him
except on Sundays or at small group meetings. Jesus does not want us part-time
or occasionally. He wants us 24/7 committed to him to listen to his voice, to
obey him, and to follow him wherever he leads us.
The
Call
At the end of each one of these letters there
was a call of some kind - to persevere, endure, be faithful, continue, and/or to
wake up, repent of their sin, and obey Christ. There was certainly a call to
return to Christ to those who had strayed to a false gospel, to hypocrisy
(appearance only faith), or to lukewarmness. And, in each of these letters
there was a call to overcome. And, the Lord Jesus is still calling his church
today to hear him speaking, to listen to what the Spirit is saying to the
churches, to identify where we are at fault, and where we need to change, and
then to repent of our ways and turn to walk in obedience to our Lord Jesus
Christ faithfully to the end of time.
To those who think God will not judge his
church, think again. He said to these churches that if they did not repent
(turn from their sin) he would come and remove them from their place, or he
would come and fight against them with the sword of his mouth, or to those whom
he has given plenty of time to repent but they have refused, the judgment may
already be on its way. To others he said that if they did not wake up, repent
and obey he would come like a thief, and they would not know at what time he
would come. And, to the church in Laodicea (the spiritually lukewarm church of
today) he says he is about to spit us out of his mouth, i.e. judgment is
imminent. Yet, he is still calling us to get it right, to hear what he is
saying, and to follow him in obedience.
To those who overcome, and who do the will of
God to the end, Jesus promises eternal life. In other words, to those of us
who, in the strength and power and working of the Holy Spirit of God within us,
by his grace alone, conquer, defeat and prevail over our flesh, Satan and sin,
and who choose to walk in obedience to Jesus Christ by God’s grace, he will
give the crown of life, and we will rule and reign with him when he comes again
and sets up his kingdom here on this earth. Many, many scriptures in the New
Testament teach us that true faith is enduring faith that is continuous and
that perseveres to the end. So, make sure today that you have turned from your
sin, that you are walking in obedience to Christ, and that you are a follower
of Jesus Christ and not just a fan.
Seek
the Lord / An Original Work / July 20, 2012
Based off
Isaiah 55
“Come
to Me all you who thirst; come to waters.
Listen
to Me, and eat what’s good today,
And
your soul will delight in richest of fare.
Give
ear to Me, and you will live.
I
have made an eternal covenant with you.
Wash
in the blood of the Lamb.”
Seek
the Lord while He may be found; call on Him.
Let
the wicked forsake his way, in truth.
Let
him turn to the Lord, and he will receive mercy.
Freely,
God pardons him.
“For
My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor
are your ways My ways,”
declares
the Lord, our God.
“My
word that goes out of My mouth is truthful.
It
will not return to Me unfulfilled.
My
word will accomplish all that I desire,
And
achieve the goal I intend.
You
will go in joy, and be led forth in peace.
The
mountains will burst into song… before you,
And
all of the trees clap their hands.”
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