Revelation chapter 3 verses 14
through 22. This is the letter to the church
of the Laodiceans. And it is written to the angel
or the pastor, and he in turn wants to share it with that body
there in Laodicea. Unto the angel of the church
of the Laodiceans write, these things saith the amen. the faithful
and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God. I know
thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot. I would that thou
were cold or hot. So then, because thou art warm,
lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of
my mouth. because thou sayest I am rich
and increased with goods, and have need of nothing, and knowest
not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind,
and naked. I counsel thee to buy of me gold
tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich and white raiment,
that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness
do not appear. and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve
that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and
chasten. Be zealous, therefore, and repent.
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice
and open the door, I will come in to him and will sup with him
and he with me. To him that overcometh will I
grant to sit with me in my throne. even as I also overcame and am
set down with my father in his throne. He that hath an ear,
let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. We'd like to spend a little time
tonight on that verse 19 and verse 20, but we'd like to just
mention this in light of review. two remedies that are mentioned
with regard to lukewarmness. Number one, a remedy. Have a great view of God. Secondly,
have a small view of self. And that's a good remedy against
lukewarmness. And that's no doubt the remedy
that we find that the Lord shared with this group. I'm the amen. I'm the faithful and true witness.
I know about you, and then shared with them the concern that he
had, their problems that they had. So as we look at this passage
of scripture, we find a faithful saying here in verse 19, as many
as I love, I rebuke and chasten, be zealous therefore and repent.
Turn with me if you would back to the book of Job. Job chapter
5, we find a passage of scripture that adds some light to this
verse, or this verse adds some light to it, with regard to God
speaking to his people and guiding and guarding them, directing
them, and using his word to correct his people. That's how he was
going to correct this church at Laodicea. It was through his
word. That's how he corrects his people.
Now there are a few incidences in scripture where the Lord spoke
to his people and then corrected them by touching them in some
way. David was told he's gonna have
trouble with his family. Moses was told you can't enter
the promised land. Job, he went through a lot of
affliction. but we're not gonna blame it
onto some sin that he had, but the Lord spoke to him in that
manner. But most of the time in the scriptures, we find God
speaks to his people and expects correction out of what he has
to say to us. He expects us to listen. He speaks
through his word, and his word at times strikes us with a still,
small voice, and sometimes it's Katrina. He speaks to his people
through his word though. And that's how he shares with
us there. He says, I rebuke and chasten,
be zealous and therefore repent. I rebuke you and I chasten you
through my word. And it's the word of God that
does that. Very seldom in scripture do we
find that he went beyond that point. just a few times. In fact, I wrote some notes.
I was out here this afternoon, and I wrote a note here, and
then on the way home, I got to thinking about it. There are
a few incidences in the scripture where God spoke in a different
manner, and I brought them up. But I had this note to myself,
name one incident in the Bible where the Lord gave a disease
or death of a family member to correct one of his children.
And there are few and far between, if you look into the scripture,
by and large. He speaks to his children, and
he speaks to them through his word. Doesn't just speak out
of the air. He speaks to us through his word,
and that's how he corrects us. That's how he chastens us, and
he does that to those he loves. Now we're gonna read another
verse in the book of Hebrews, but I am gonna get back over
here to the book of Job. Job chapter five, if you'd turn
there, Job chapter five. And we read in verse 17, Job
chapter 5 and verse 17, the scriptures share this. Behold, happy is
the man whom God correcteth. Therefore despise not thou the
chastening of the Almighty. It's happy because God corrects
his children whom he loves. And oh, to know the love of God,
to know that he loves us. And he speaks to us. That verse
of scripture in the book of John that shares with us, my sheep
hear my voice. Now that is a wonderful passage
of scripture with regard to correction and with regard to rebuke and
with regard to chastening is that the Lord speaks to his people
through the word. One of the writers of the Psalms
said he observed how people got rich and full and had all they
wanted and everything and he kind of got envious about it.
But then he says, when I regarded their end, I went to the temple
of the Lord, to the house of God, and heard of their end,
and I quit worrying about it. It wasn't an issue anymore. And
so it was the word of God that struck him. It's not God come
along and slap him alongside the head, taking a two-by-four
to him. Very seldom do we find that God
ever did that. He has power with his word. The
word is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword. He is able to wield the sword
of his word and able to correct his people with it. It's not
through the screaming of the preacher, it is through the Holy
Spirit touching our hearts. So as Job was instructed here,
as it mentions in the book of Job, there in Job 517, happy,
behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth. because there's
an assurance in the correction of God, and there is an assurance
that God's word is to our heart and speaks to us and corrects
us. There's an assurance that God truly has marked us out when
he's speaking to our heart, when he's speaking to us, when the
word is living, alive, and vibrant to us, and it's just not hollow
words that pass over us. It's not algebra. It's not calculus,
it's the living word of God that strikes the hearts of his people.
They have chords, they're strings of love. God plucks, it's a sweet
sound. The other day I heard a man playing
a banjo, he couldn't play. A man that can play a banjo and
play, there's a lot of difference. And whether you can play a banjo,
now I couldn't play a banjo, I'd just go plonk and it'd sound
bad. But a person who can play the banjo or any musical instrument,
and that's the way God's word is to his people. He strikes
the musical chords to our heart through his word. And it strikes
in such a manner that we're drawn to him and we're corrected by
it. It is not God turning us upside down. like we've done
our own children and whipping them, he corrects us most of
the time in the scriptures by speaking to his people through
his word. Now there are those incidences. Turn with me, if
you would, to the book of Hebrews, Hebrews chapter 12. We read this
passage of scripture about God's correction of his people. And
it is out of love that he does this, and he does it out of his
word and through his word. And that's how he was going to
correct that church at Laodicea. He was going to have his speaker,
his angel, his minister bring to the people the things that
were needful to them, and that was the preaching of Christ,
and that was going to draw them out of their complacency, and
that was going to draw them out of their lukewarmness, and that
was going to draw them out of their sleep. It was his word
that would do that. Now, here in the book of Hebrews
chapter 12, we find that the writer was used by the Holy Spirit
to share this as we read in the book of Job and as we read in
the book of Revelation. Hebrews chapter 12, verse 6,
the scriptures share this, for whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth. Oh, to hear the word of God.
Now, when we're without Christ and he's speaking to us, he truly
chastens us through the word. You're not going to see God through
your works. Is that chastening? Is that correcting? Is that bringing us around to
the point of view that he wants us to be? As it says here, for
whom the Lord loveth, he chasteth and scourgeth every son whom
he receiveth. It is through his word that he
speaks to us. By and large, there are a few
incidences in scripture where he spoke and people didn't comply
and he brought. Issues to them that we find as
it's in the scripture Moses speak to the rock he disobeyed now
when we look at the overall picture and see that Moses was just a
representation of the law weren't really glad he didn't go into
the promised land and He got to see the Lord on the
Mount of Transfiguration So it's The Lord blessed him and allowed
him to see that. Now, as we read here, going on
verse seven, if you endure chasing God deal with you as with sons.
God works His work, His word in you, and it brings about the
point that God is King and that He is Lord and you are not, and
that He saves His people from their sins in His way and not
our way, and He brings us to Him in His way and not our way,
and His righteousness and not our righteousness, and His repentance
and not our repentance, and His hope and not our hope, and His
peace and not our peace. He convinces us with his word
and chastens us and causes us to know, you're my child, I've
turned you, I've made you to see me as I am. What a blessing
it is to see God in that perspective, his perspective, as that he is
high and lifted up. Then in verse 7, if you endure
chasing, God deals with you as sons. For what son is he whom
the father chasteneth not? But if you're without chastisement,
my word doesn't do anything for you. God's word doesn't touch
you. If it's just, if it's algebra, if it's just a boring subject,
if it's worthless, hasn't touched you. He says here, if it's without
chastisement, therefore aware of all partakers, then you're
illegitimate, not a child. You're not a son. If this is
the way the word treats you, if God's, if his resounding comment
from his word and his strength in his word has no effect, it's
a sign of illegitimacy. Now, if it touches you, If it's
food for you, if it's drink for you, if it's sustenance, spiritual
sustenance, then it's a sign that God has worked a work of
grace. So we don't want to be illegitimate. Oh, to hear the chasing hand
of God. And then there is a passage.
Would you turn with me to the first Corinthians chapter 11?
Now, I never read this part during the communion service. We'll
read it tonight. And that's the rest of the account.
During the communion service, we're looking at the broken body
and shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. We're looking at the
gospel as it's presented in the communion service. In 1 Corinthians
chapter 11, beginning with verse 27, The Apostle Paul has some
comments to share with the church at Corinth over the issue of
the Lord's Supper. Now there has never been anybody,
and when someone says they are, they are worthy of the death
of the Lord Jesus, and they are worthy to take the Lord's Supper,
then we're just lying to ourselves. But if we do it in an unworthily
manner, that's what he's talking about here, Nobody is worthy
of taking it, my goodness. We never approach that position.
But it's because of the grace of God he extends to us. Our
sin would prevent it every time if it wasn't for the grace of
God. Our thoughts would prevent it every time if it wasn't for
the grace of God. Our walk, our character, everything
about us would prevent us from taking the communion service
if it wasn't for the grace of God. And it would be the same
declaring the gospel. But there is a manner in which
the Lord's Supper can be taken in an unworthily, now that's
an adverb. unworthily manner, not discerning
it. Now notice here what happened
to several in this body in Corinth over this subject. And I'll be
honest with you, I don't understand all I know about it, but this
is what it says. Wherefore, whosoever shall eat
this bread and drink this cup of the Lord unworthily shall
be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine
himself, And so let him eat of that bread and drink of that
cup. Now, that's why we make a comment several times. We have,
not every time, but we make a comment that this doesn't get anybody
saved, doesn't get anybody holy, doesn't get anybody in a better
light with God. And if you know Christ as your
Savior, this is a display and a declaration of the gospel.
You can participate. That's all we say. Let a man
examine himself. Now there have been countless
millions of people that have taken the Lord's Supper and didn't
even know Christ. I've been there, administered
it, didn't know Christ. But in an unworthy manner, he
says, but let a man examine himself and so let him eat of that bread
and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh
unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning
the Lord's body. For this cause, and that's why
we wanted to read this part, for this cause, many are weak
and sickly among you and many sleep. Now, there's something there.
There was at least at Corinth. I wish I knew more about it. But most of the time, I find
in scripture, when God is correcting his children, he does it through
this. Now how often he uses sickly,
what's it say there? Weak and sickly and some have
died over this. How often he uses that is up
to God. The majority of the times, he
speaks to our heart out of his word, and that's what he uses
to correct us, and that's what he uses to chasten us, and that's
what he uses to bring us back to him. Now, if he should drop
a drawbridge and we can't go across the river and we're stopped
to think about it, that's fine, but it's going to be his word
that's going to bring us back to Christ. It's going to be his
word that causes us to see that the route we're on is not the
right route. It's going to be his word. His
word is a lot more powerful than we ever give credit to. And even
though we think it's very powerful, it's a whole lot more powerful
than that. It is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged
sword when it comes to spiritual. It goes where nothing else can
go. It is used like nothing else
can be used. And God corrects his children
with it, and chastens his children with it, and he bruises us with
his word. This is how God works his work
in us. So how valuable it is to know
that God loves his people and he loves them with an everlasting
love and he demonstrates that by correcting us when we need
to be corrected. And if we're not, if he never
touches us with his word, then the profession that we had is
worthless. But if he touches us, oh, draws us, it means something. It pierces us. That people walk
out, you never even thought, never even thought. I didn't
know that verse would do that. But oh, the Lord spoke to me
today. And you just thought it was just
a verse in passing. We just don't know what God uses. But he can use any verse, any
passage, any chapter, any book in this book to take and whip
his children and cause them to know, I love you with an everlasting
love, and I can't let you do what you're doing. And that's
what he's sharing with the church at Laodicea. I can't continue. I can't abide by you being lukewarm. Now we're gonna go one way or
the other here. And there are some in that group, no doubt,
that he's speaking to here. I am gonna chasten you as a father
chastens his child. I'm gonna speak to you through
my word and I'm gonna bring you out. And he says, repent. Be zealous and repent. So God
granting repentance and God stirring their heart to say the path we're
on must cease. It's a much more serious path
than having some sin out there. It's much more serious to be
away from the Lord Jesus Christ and serving him in another fashion
than ever prescribed in his word. So God's word to his people goes
out and it works its work as God directed. It's so much easier,
I've found, to go through the Bible, chapter by chapter, verse
by verse, book by book, and have people say, he spoke to me today,
than to find out somebody did something and then preach against
it. That doesn't work. But when he takes his word to
us, that works. When he takes his word. It's
just out of the blue, he speaks to us. then that's what changes
us. That's what brings us back to
him. All right, going on to that next verse there. That next verse,
it says, behold, over in the book of Revelation, chapter three,
verse 20, a passage of scripture that says, behold, I stand at
the door and knock. Now I just, I can't imagine the
grace of God, the mercy of God, that at a church like Laodicea,
he'd spend any time standing and knocking at a door. That's grace. But how often has
he done that for us? Showing his grace, showing his
love, when it would be so easy just to kick the dust off of
his feet and walk away, that he would spend his time with
the church at Laodicea and the people in there and say, I stand
at the door. Now there's no way in God's green
earth that anybody is going to be moved any closer to God unless
he works like he did in Lydia, whose heart the Lord opened.
When he moves in their heart through the word, then they're
going to respond to the knock at the door. If he doesn't, then
they're just going to sit there. Now let's go over to the Song
of Solomon. There's almost an identical passage
in the Song of Solomon, chapter 5. Song of Solomon, Chapter 5,
is in this book, the Lord speaks to his church. What a beautiful
statement is found here in the Song of Solomon with regard to
his church. As this Song of Songs, Solomon
was used to write this, and it speaks so often with regard to
the relationship between Christ and his church, and speaks to
us in some of the same language that we find over in the Book
of Revelation. figurative language. Oh, the mistakes that have been
made in interpreting Song of Solomon and Revelation literally. That's a mistake. It's so spiritual,
it's such a picture of pictures. The Song of Solomon and the Book
of Revelation, it's a picture of pictures. And here we have
in the fifth chapter of the Song of Solomon, verse two, I sleep,
but my heart waketh. It is the voice of my beloved
that knocketh. Now I'm amazed as we read here
that even the church in this picture asleep when the master
calls, There is an awakening and a hearing. My sheep hear
my voice. My sheep hear my voice and they
follow me. Here the church is asleep and
almost like the church at Laodicea. Some of the same things that
the church shares with us here is what we read over in Laodicea.
And the Lord is on the outside speaking to the bride in comfort
and grace, and the bride hears him. Now that's a joy to God's
people is to hear the shepherd speak. All right, it says here,
I sleep, but my heart waketh. It is the voice of my beloved
that knocketh in, open to me my sister, my love, my dove,
my undefiled, all of the kindest words that God could ever use
about a people. This is a people that's fit to
meet God. This is the people that's been
cleaned up by the grace of God. This is the people that God has
worked a work of grace in. My undefiled, that goes a long
way to state what kind of people this is. My undefiled. There's a lot of defiled, but
you're my undefiled. This is the bride. The Lord Jesus
is taking care of the defilement. For my head is filled with dew
and my locks with drops of the night. This is the bride response
now. I put off my coat. How shall
I put it on? I've washed my feet. How shall
I defile them? Notice, I'm lukewarm. I'm just lukewarm. The groom
at the door requesting access, knocking gently, speaking kindly,
making such comments about the bride, my dove, my love, my beloved,
my undefiled. And the bride says, I've taken
off my coat. How am I going to put it back
on? And I've taken off my shoes. How am I going to put them? Why
would I want them back on? And then it says here, how shall
I defile him? Verse four, my beloved put his
hand in the hole of the door and my bowels were moved for
him. Now that's the only way that
anybody in the church at Laodicea will ever respond to the knocking
of the door. He put his hand in the hole of
the door. He is the key to the door. Now,
to the unconverted, before we're saved, he presses in. Oh, he presses in. He comes with
power and great glory. He presses in. He presses us
as he comes in salvation. He comes with power. He comes without question. As Scott Richardson said, he
saves us against our will with our full consent. He breaks the
door down. He comes in with power. He overwhelms
us with his word and with his actions towards us. But the converted,
the converted, once converted, he knocks. He knocks. What gracious, gracious
God. Dealing with us in our lukewarmness,
dealing with us away from him, he knocks. And then the only
way that he'll ever move us, as he did Lydia and as he did
any of his saints, whose heart the Lord opened, that is a daily
activity God performs on our heart. He did it in salvation
and he does it on a daily basis. That's the only way we are coming
to him. We've come to him and we'll come
to him as he reveals himself to us and draws us to himself. He may not, but he's going to
put the hand in that special place in the door. Only he can
go in there. Only he fits the hole. Only he,
it's only his hand that we recognize. Only his voice that we recognize.
And the door opens. Now he departs. What does she
want? She wants to be with him. She
wants to be with him. What a beautiful statement here.
Now, the church at Laodicea, he says, behold, I stand at the
doorknob. Now, this is not to salvation. This is God's dealing with a
Christian. What does it say here? If any
man hear my voice. They've already made hearable. They've already been made hearable.
Any man hears my voice. Any man hears my voice, open
the door. How gracious it is that God allows
us to think that we opened the door when he actually did it.
He actually opens the door and he gives us. In that gracious
graciousness. The thought that we move towards
him. When in actuality he moved toward
us so we could move toward him. The church at Laodicea had some
real problems, and he was there to collect his children. He was there to collect his saints. He was there to call out his
saints from among them. Turn with me, if you would, to
the book of the Psalms, Psalm 24. Psalm 24. Psalm 24, beginning with verse
1. The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world
and they that dwell therein. For he hath founded it upon the
seas and established it upon the floods. Who shall ascend
into the hill of the Lord? Or who shall stand in his holy
place? He that hath clean hands, and
a pure heart, who hath not lifted up his soul into vanity, nor
sworn deceitfully, he shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and
righteousness from God of his salvation. This is the generation
of them that seek him. They seek thy face, O Jacob,
Selah. Lift up your heads, O ye gates,
and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors. The King of glory shall
come in." Now, God speaking to the church at Laodicea says,
I'm at a door. But I'm at my door, I control
the door, and when I knock, my children will hear and this door
will open. Now who's entering? Who's entering? Who is this king? It says the
king of glory shall come in. Who is the king of glory? The
Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Who's going
to open the door? The Lord. Who's going to knock
on the door? The Lord. Who's going to come
in the door? The Lord. And what is he like? King of glory. He is the mighty
king. What was the problem that we
could identify with the church at Laodicea? They'd forgotten
that part. He is the king of glory. He is the mighty king. He's the
one that opens the doors. As it goes on here, it says,
who is this king of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the
Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O ye gates,
lift, even lift them up, ye everlasting doors, and the king of glory
shall come in. How gracious he is to come to
us, to our door. and open that door with graciousness,
knock on that door with graciousness, open that door with graciousness
and present himself in graciousness and call us out of where we are. We're not what we might be, and
we're not what we should be, and we're not what we shall be,
and we're not what we wish to be. So he's going to bring us
from those positions to himself. Oh, to be taken from lukewarmness,
to be taken to the warmth of the grace of God in Christ Jesus. Now, turn with me, if you would,
to Acts chapter 16, and this is an activity that the Lord
continues to perform on us every day. How does the word strike
us? How does the word come to us?
What does it mean to us? And here in Luke, excuse me,
Acts chapter 16 and verse 14, we find this is the activity
of God so that we could hear his word, his correction, hear
the word of the Lord in his admonition, hear it in his rebuke and chastening,
hear it so we could be zealous and repent. How is he going to
do that? Acts chapter 16 verse 14. This
is an ongoing activity of God in every heart of every one of
his children. This is what God continues to
do. He continues to open our heart. Acts chapter 16, verse 14, the
scripture says, a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple
of the city of Thyatira, which worshiped God heard us, whose
heart the Lord opened and she attended unto the things which
were spoken of Paul. Every day God is opening the
hearts of his people, every day. There's a callus grows over our
ear and every day he removes it. There's a cataract over our
eyes and every day he removes it. Every day our heart is stopped
and he charges it. He opens it every day. The Lord God Almighty does that
to his children. He speaks to them through his
word and he brings them out of their lethargy and brings them
out of their lukewarmness. He calls them and causes them
to hear him and causes them to repent. Now anybody in that church
at Laodicea, there is an irresistible call to everyone that's a child
of God in that place. Irresistible. It's still irresistible
grace. Isn't it one time irresistible
grace? It's everyday irresistible grace.
He continues to use irresistible grace. He continues to irresistibly
call his children out of their self. So it's a continuous opening
of the heart and a continuous irresistible grace. Now, going
back to the book of the Psalms for one moment here. Psalms 110. I love this passage of scripture
in the sense of it shares again what God does for us in the day
of his power. Make you willing. And that's
today, and that was yesterday, and God help us May it be tomorrow. Make us willing in the day of
your power. We are glazed over. We have the tendency of freezing
up. And he sends his warmth. Now
here in Psalm 110, Psalm 110. It's in every day, just as the
sun comes up and warms this earth. The Lord comforts his people,
his children, warms them by his grace, and takes out that daily
lukewarmness, our old self. Psalm 110, verses 1, 2, and 3,
the Lord said unto my Lord, sit thou on my right hand until I
make thine enemies thy footstool. The Lord shall send the rod.
of thy strength out of Zion. Rule thou in the midst of thine
enemies. Now who's going to be the enemies
that are going to be made his footstool? You and I. Believers. That's who he overcomes. Thank
God we're on a path to destruction and he overcomes us. He makes
his enemies his footstool. We bow before him. The rest,
he left alone. The rest, they go to their just
deserts. But his people, now notice in
verse three, thy people shall be willing in the day of thy
power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning,
thou hast the due of thy youth. Thy people shall be willing in
the day of thy power. And here he is this morning knocking
at the door. And in the day of his power,
his people are willing. It's not just when he saved us
by his grace, regenerated us by his mercy. It is every day
he is demonstrating his power. My people shall be willing in
the day of my power. And that's our hope. Oh God,
every day. Stir me. Every day. Call me. Every day. Correct me. Every day speak to me out of
your word. It's your word that speaks to my heart. It's your
word that brings me out of the world. It's your word that lifts
me up above this place. It's your word that counsels
me. It's your word that rebukes me and chastens me. And it's
your word that can make me zealous and help me repent. It's your
word that is used when you knock at the door. It's your word that
brings me out of the bed. It's your word that puts my coat
back on me. It's your word. And then in those
very serious cases, read a few of them. But we don't read it
about Peter or Paul. You know, Peter denied the Lord
three times and swore about it. You know what he got? Lovest
thou me? Lovest thou me? Lovest thou me? Lord, you know if I do or not. He didn't get cancer over it No James all those disciples
lost their head or were killed as a martyr But boy, they did
some of the worst things you could just think of they all
ran away from the king They all departed every one of them And
the Lord brought him together after his resurrection made him
faithful preachers of his grace, sent him around the world preaching
the glorious gospel of his power and might, and he did it through
his word. He spoke to him. What did he
do to Peter? It was his word that touched
him, and it would do a whole lot better than a black eye.
That's how he speaks. That's how he works. That's how
he ministers is through his word. And that's how he dealt with
the church at Laodicea. What did he say? I, I am the
I am. What did he say? I am the true
and the living God. That's how he spoke to them.
And that's the only way that they were going to be changed
and come out of that. Well, the Lord willing next week,
we'll look at the final two verses in this chapter. Verses 21 and
22, to him that overcometh. Same words, seven times in three
chapters. He that overcometh, he that overcometh,
he that overcometh. Seven times he mentions this.
And overcomers are believers in Christ. And this is what they're
gonna get. Overcomers in Philadelphia and
overcomers in Laodicea are gonna have the same glorious victory
in Christ Jesus. All right, we'll look at that. And I noticed tonight that August
22nd of last year we started this, so we're just about going
to get through three chapters in 14 months.