Revelation chapter three, and
we'd like to spend a little more time tonight on this last of
the seven churches, the church at Laodicea, and we spent quite
a bit of time here, but it's in the book, and it's worth our
investigation. And lest, lest, lest we say, I'm rich and need of nothing. And sometimes I have to be careful
when I'm away from here and I'm talking about the church here
that we have the only church. Now that's my heartfelt belief.
It's the only church I can attend in the Dalles. It's the only
church I can attend in a lot of big area. But I may not know
of another one. It may be there, but I may not
know about it. So I just have to be careful, because it is
very easy sometimes just simply to say, I am rich. I am rich. And hopefully, I'll never get
to the point, but Lord, like that song we sang that Hart put
together. Everything that we do that's
positive is from the Lord. It's not us, it's Him in us.
So, Lord help me never get to the point I get, I'm saying I
have need of nothing, spiritually speaking. So the book of Revelation
chapter 3 verse 14, and unto the angel or the pastor or the
minister 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 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. I want to stop there because
we're not going to get through verse 18 tonight. I'd like to
spend a little time on that verse 17 as the church's comment, the
pastor's comment, And no doubt what he has said has been prevalent
through this city of Laodicea. It's a quote. It's not something
they've thought. It's a quote. He said it, and
it has been said by this church. And God, give us grace to never
get to that point. And if we are, give us grace
to repent. That's what we pray. In this
church, we see that there is much self-glorification. And we mentioned the other day,
someone has said that you are as young as you feel, but we
are never as important as we feel. We just are not. We're not indispensable. And
there is only one that is and that's Christ. He is indispensable
to the Christian. He is a must on our part. He is not just part of our salvation. He is our salvation. He's not part of our hope. He
is our hope. He's not part of the forgiveness
of sin. He is the forgiveness of sin. So we are so dependent upon him
and he is the only indispensable one that has ever walked the
face of this earth. We are not, but he is. We must
have him lest we die. And as it goes on here, it shares
with us a basic tenet of the gospel is how that Christ died
for our sins according to the scriptures. We read that on Sunday
there in 1 Corinthians chapter 15. The Apostle Paul shares with
the church at Corinth and they had some of the issues that we
find here in the church at Laodicea. They felt that they were rich
and they felt that they didn't have much need of anything and
that Paul was poor and he really needed help. And in fact, God
is kind of poor and he probably needs our help. That was their
feeling about things. So when he wrote to that church
and shared with them that this is the gospel, how that Christ
died for our sins according to the scripture, that is a basic
tenet of the gospel. In fact, we sum it up this way,
ruined by the fall. It must be preached and we must
hear that we've been ruined by the fall. That is an indispensable
part of the gospel. You cannot preach salvation by
grace unless you are saved from something. We're just not out
in the median somewhere. We're in the lane going wrong.
That's the way we're going. And the gospel is preaching that. It is preaching that. And it
goes on to say how that Christ died for our sins according to
the scripture, was buried, and rose again the third day according
to the scriptures. And that's a thumbnail sketch
of the gospel. And it is an absolute essential
part. And everyone that God has opened
their heart of will realize without compromise that they are a sinner
and they are a sinner saved by grace. And we can all put sinners
saved by grace after our name. Now this church shares in the
community, shares in the city, shares among the church members
and shares among the preachers and shares among the teachers.
We're rich and we don't have need of anything. We're so well
off. Now, this church, most churches,
most of the other churches have some spots as we notice here
in the book of Revelation, but this church has gangrene. We're
going to have to have some surgery. There's going to have to be some
limbs removed. There's going to have to be some
real surgery in this church or it will kill the body. Now, God will save his people.
He'll not let them go, but they're going to move, they're going
to find someplace else to go, or they're going to die. That's
how he's going to have to clean up this mess, unless they repent. It is horrible to behold a sinner
without a single work of grace in his soul. No sense of sin,
and that's a problem in the church. There is no sense of sin. And if God ever opens our heart
to a sense of sin, we're like the prophets of old, and we're
like the preachers of old, and we're like the preachers in the
New Testament. Woe is me, I've seen the Lord, but woe is me,
I'm undone. Peter said that, Lord. I am undone. I am naked before you. And that's
the attitude of the church before a thrice holy God in comparison. I am wretched. I am poor. I am blind. and it is a sad state
of affairs for a church to ever get to the point that they say
they have need of nothing. Now, it is no doubt that this
was a large church, and I was reading Hawker, and he said,
from what he researched, it was a very rich city. Laodicea was
a very rich city, and no doubt that the church was large and
rich as a result of that. And they counted the offering
plate and the numbers attending as their success. Boy, when you're
raking it in and you have lots of people, it's easy to assume
that we're successful in the eyes of God. And no doubt that's
part of the problem here, that success has been measured not
by the word of God that's going out, not by what the gospel being
preached, but by what is coming in and who is in attendance. To do this, to be rich, to count
the offering plate and the numbers in attending as their success.
To do this, there was compromise that had to be made. Now, they're
having a forum. Turn with me, if you would, to
the book of 2 Timothy, and there's warnings throughout the scriptures.
warnings throughout the scriptures about this very subject. And
we find that if this is a prominent and prevalent problem, no doubt
that there is a multiple people in these bodies that have never
been regenerated, and they're counting their own righteousness
as their ticket to God. And here in the book of 2 Timothy,
Chapter 3, beginning with verse 1, 2 Timothy 3, verse 1, the
scriptures share this about having a form of godliness, but not
knowing the God. Notice with me, 2 Timothy 3,
beginning with verse 1, this know also that in the last days
perilous times shall come. Now John, not much longer after
this writing, says we're in the last days. It wasn't 10 or 15
years later, he was saying. So in the perspective of God's
people, we have been in the last days for 2,000 years. We're not looking for the last
days, we're living in the last days. And every generation from
that time to this time have been living in the last days. And
that adds a lot of perspective to the scriptures. In the last
days, in these days that we live in, it says, It will be perilous
times shall come, and men shall be lovers of their own selves,
covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful,
unholy. And I would be right in saying
that every prophet and every pastor from the time of John
the Apostle to this day has been preaching, we're living in the
last days, based on this. It is a common malady among humanity. These are not things that are
going to come along in time and grow worse. They are a common
malady among humanity, and this is what God saves his people
from. without natural affection, truce
breakers, false accusers, incompetent, fierce, despisers of those that
are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasure more than
lovers of God. Now notice verse 5, having a
form of godliness. Now that could be said about
the church of Laodicea. having a form of godliness that
could be said about any church that gets to the point that says
publicly and from house to house prints it in the newspaper we're
very rich over here we're being so well blessed we don't have
need of anything and what they're saying is not we don't have any
need of any more offering we're saying we don't have any need
of any spiritual needs We're just so blessed in what's going
on here that we don't have any need of anything. Now it goes
on here to say, in verse five of 2 Timothy chapter three, it
says, having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof
from such turn away. So we are encouraged. We're encouraged on the basis
of the word of God, on the basis of his encouragement to us, that
Lord help us when we fall into this position. And when we notice
it, please, Lord, help us to get out. Let us, we don't want
to have a form of godliness and then deny the very power of God. We hear that all around us. That's
that weak-kneed peanut God that's being preached throughout the
world by all sects and by all denominations that have no knowledge
of a God that sits high and lifted up and his train fills the temple.
It is a God that is small and insignificant and can't get the
job done unless we help him. Now this church has grown large,
it's a rich church, and we find if we just look through the scriptures
and compare what it has to say, sin in this church had become
infractions. Well, you know, there's a little
good in everybody. And we know that people have
problems, but they're just little infractions, just little problems
that they have. And it's being preached here
in this church in Laodicea and in churches today that it's not
sin, sin bad enough to condemn you to an everlasting hell, it's
just infractions. And God loves you anyway, and
God loves the sinner but hates the sin and all that stuff that
comes out of this feeling that I have need of nothing. All of
this comes out of an irreverent view of Almighty God. All of
it comes out of an irreverent view of the Word of God. Every
one of these implications that the Lord Jesus Christ shares
with us with regard to the Church of Laodicea comes out. You have
made a mistake. You know not the power of God
nor his word or the other way around. You know not the word
nor the power of God and that's what the Lord Jesus shared during
his ministry. The trouble that that leads to
is We set aside a holy, righteous, sovereign God and substitute
in his place a God that can be manipulated by humanity. Now that's not in the word of
God, but that's what this church no doubt was preaching because
they come to the conclusion that they are so far above everybody
else that they are in need of nothing. That God has become
the man upstairs. And prayer has become public.
It's not prayer in a closet. It's prayer out loud. And you're
going to ask the most important person in the whole congregation
to bring the prayer. And down it goes. We find that
the offertory was the most important hymn. I've looked at a lot of bulletins.
in churches when I was in religion, the offertory. That's listed
in the bulletin. Offertory. We're going to have
the offertory. That means we want everybody to get ready for
giving the offering. I will say this, not just because it's a
saving of time, but that box on the back is biblical. It's in the word of God. It was
used in the temple. Why not use it here? So that's
what we do. All right. The 15 minutes was
spent turning around and shaking hands with your neighbors. Get
everybody feeling good. That's what this church was based
upon. Everything was done to make people
feel good. The Bible was hardly used. Stories
and dead dog stories took the precedent and Old Testament became
history and the New Testament was good stories. Experiences
took first billing. You ought to have been there
with me. Him struck the foot before the heart. A lot of churches,
there's toe-tapping before there's heart-feeling. It's the tune,
it's not the words. Now, we sing some good songs
that have good tunes. They have good words. We want
to do that. They probably even had a band,
and they had Christian rock, which is a contradiction of terms. I can just see what was going
on in the Church of Laodicea that would bring about the comment
that the Lord Jesus Christ brought up about them. We are rich and
have need of nothing. They say, I say, they say, I'm
rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing. And
here's the kind of service that develops under that view. These things take precedence.
The message, the motives, the music, and the methods were no
longer after the Word of God. Turn with me, if you would, over
to the book of Philippians chapter 3. The Apostle Paul shared this
to the saints there at Philippi. And it is an encouragement to
all God's people today that the Apostle Paul, sharing with us,
he said, he not having my own righteousness. Let's look here,
Philippians chapter three and verse nine, the scripture share,
and being found in him not having mine own righteousness. Now what
righteousness did he want? Whose righteousness did he want?
He wanted the righteousness of Christ. He wanted to be found
in Christ. He knew what it was to try to
promote his own righteousness. And he was one that could have
said in his ministry before he was ever saved, I'm rich and
I don't need anything. He knew the scriptures. He knew
the law. He knew how to promote it, and
he knew how to get rid of the people that were not that way.
Competition. And he says here, not having
mine own righteousness. Verse nine, be found in him not
having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that
which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which
is of God by faith. So the apostle Paul is sharing
with us that the righteousness that we so desperately need and
the righteousness that gives us a right view about ourselves
is a righteousness that we get from God. It's not our righteousness,
it's his righteousness. The view that we get about our
self and self-righteousness is, I have needed nothing. I'm doing
quite well by myself. Thank you very much. I don't
need these other things. And so the church at Laodicea,
the Lord Jesus Christ writes a letter to them, writes a letter
to the pastor and says, here is a major issue. The churches that are around
you, they've got spots, but Because you've got gangrene right here,
and if it's left, I'm going to have to do some major surgery.
Arms are going to have to come off. Legs are going to have to
come off. There's going to be some real serious problems here
in the body when I start pruning it. And that's, he says, he gives
them room to repent. Now, this church, turn with me
to Romans chapter 10, if you would, as we think about the
church at Laodicea, and we, Lord, help me, help me, never to say,
I mentioned the Sunday school teacher that was teaching on
the Pharisee and the publican, and she was talking about the
publican and his words, and I thank thee that I'm not like other
men, and I do this, and I do that, That publican over there,
he's just dirt. And she concluded her comments
by saying, now, children, aren't you glad you're not like that
publican? We have to be careful. Lord, I thank you that we're
not like the church at Laodicea. When it is a picture, when it
is a comment about what happens when human nature takes over
worship. When it is a type of what happens
when humanity dictates what is said. when surveys go out and
people are asked, what do you want in a church? And then we
will tailor make a church for you. Now when that happens, there's
going to be short on the gospel and long on promotion of humanity. and feeling good and doing your
best. Now here in the book of Romans
chapter 10 and verse 3, the Apostle Paul again writing by inspiration
of the Holy Spirit to the church at Rome says, for they being
ignorant of God's righteousness and going about to establish
their own righteousness have not submitted themselves unto
the righteousness of God. Now the church at Laodicea, we
can lay right here. Let's compare, let's see what
it is. And the church at Laodicea says, thou sayest I am rich. Now they're saying this. This
is just not scuttle about them. This is what they are saying
and this is what they're promoting. Can you imagine what their ad
in the Chronicle looked like? We're a church that's got everything
going for us. We're well nigh rich, we don't
have need of anything, come on folks. And what that means is
we don't stand for anything and we'll fall for everything. All
right, Romans 10 three, for they being ignorant of God's righteousness
and going about to establish their own righteousness have
not submitted themselves into the righteousness of God. And
with this church came a new vocabulary. And that vocabulary is still
around. It was there before they just adopted it. It was all through
time and it's here today. The new vocabulary. Make your
decision for Jesus took precedent over faith in Christ. Accepting Jesus took precedent
over being accepted in the beloved. Now this is all made up vocabulary
for worship services. There's nowhere in the scriptures
tells us ever to make our decision for Jesus. And nowhere ever in
scripture does it ever say, accept Jesus as your savior. Now there's
a big difference between us accepting Jesus and having faith in the
Lord Jesus Christ. Because when we say I'm accepting
Jesus, it's us doing it. When we say I'm having faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ, we're saying He gave me the faith.
Big difference. It's Him working His work of
grace. It went from methods to precedence
over Miracles, the miracle of regeneration. We got methods to take care of
this. We're going to get the kids in the very earliest grade
saved. And then we're just going to
have no need of anything. If we can get them work done,
they're the easy ones. Easy to be one. I can just hear
the preacher with his deacon group in the Church of Laodicea
instructing how we're going to get the numbers. Work on the
kids. Work on their emotion. Work on
them. And they don't even know they're
lost, but let's get them saved. Getting right with God took precedent
over regeneration. Oh, we're going to have a revival
and we want you to rededicate yourself. That preacher, Sunday
when they had that special revival meeting, get right with God,
get rededicated. We're going to have rededications.
My goodness. Foreign words not found in the
scripture anywhere. God, we sing a song, and I appreciate
the comments about it, revive us, oh God, revive us again.
That's not rededication. That's God's working in us. God
working in us with his grace, with his spirit, through the
word of God. Give us a fresh view of you. There's a verse over in the Psalms,
I believe, or maybe it's Samuel, that there was a man over the
cellars of new wine. And we're just looking for the
new wine, that's Christ. We're just looking for that vintage. Jesus Christ never wears out. There's man took precedent over
God, God needs help, took precedent over Lord God Almighty, and doctrine
took precedent over Christ, and we're on a downhill slide, and
the outcome is you say you're rich and have need of nothing.
Now, I was surprised. Fifty-one times in the New Testament
from Matthew to Revelation, the term in Christ is used. 51 times. And every one, I didn't put them
all down to read tonight. But when we look at the subject
of being in Christ, we find out that it takes those words out
of our mouth called, I have need of nothing. When we look at the
subject in the scriptures of being in Christ, it takes out
of our mind the thought of, I have need of nothing. Because we are
so dependent, God's people are so dependent, and if we could
get this message across, and it only comes across as the Lord
opens up hearts, that our hope is Jesus Christ. and He is our
riches, and He is our righteousness, and Lord, may I be found in Christ. Because it is only there that
we'll ever be able to say, I have need of Christ. And we'll never
say, I have need of nothing. And oh, to put me in that position,
to keep me in that position. That's the point, that's the
position I want to be in. I have need of Christ. I have
need of Christ. Now turn with me, if you would,
here in the book of Romans, Romans chapter eight. This is the hope
for the church at Laodicea. They may have said this in the
past, but God, oh God, grant them the grace to say, I need
to be in Christ. I don't want to say I have need
of nothing. I lack nothing, I am rich, and
I have need of nothing. That's so contrary to the gospel.
That statement, that philosophy, that doctrine, that teaching
that's so prevalent throughout the religious world today is
so contrary to the gospel. It's contrary to God, it's contrary
to the gospel, and it's contrary to what natural man is able to
do. Natural man is put in the point
of the driver's seat, and then you can put your bumper sticker
on, Jesus is my co-pilot, if you're in the driver's seat.
Now, he's never going to be co-pilot. He never was co-pilot. He's always
pilot. Jesus, Savior, pilot me. I can't even get up to the steering
wheel. I can't reach the brakes, I can't reach the clutch, I can't
reach the foot feed, I can't open the hood, I can't, I can't,
you can. So, he is. Now, notice here Romans
chapter 8 verse 1. This is such a blessing. And if we ever find ourselves
here, it will be a guard against saying, I'm rich and increased with goods
and have need of nothing. This is how to avoid that. This is what a preacher needs
to read. This is what we need to read
on our own. Therefore, there is therefore
now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. Now that takes out that whole
proudness. I'm in Christ and it is there
and there alone. There is no condemnation. Who
walked not after the flesh but after the spirit. Turn with me
if you would to Romans 839 as we think about this. view that
that church at Laodicea, the problems that had crept up as
a result of not preaching the gospel of God's free grace in
Christ Jesus and not preaching the gospel, holding people accountable,
here preaching and reading the Word of God that says we're ruined
by the fall. It's not a mistake that we spend
time on our fall in Adam. For in Adam all die. Now how are we going to get made
alive? Well, we're going to read that in a moment. In Christ.
We're made alive in Christ. Nowhere else. So that's just
going to take away that view that wants to creep up in our
mind, in our flesh. I really don't have any needs.
Now notice Romans chapter 8 verse 39, the scripture shares this.
It says, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall
be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ
Jesus our Lord. Now how are we going to be kept
from being separated from God? In Christ. It's not our view
of ourself and it's not our view of our religion. It is God's
view of us in Christ Jesus. Turn with me to the book of 1
Corinthians chapter one. 1 Corinthians chapter one and
verse two. How are we gonna have a clean
life? Now we should want one. How are
we going to get there? How are we going to be sanctified?
How are the people in Laodicea going to be sanctified and get
away from this view that they have heard, has been preached,
has been promulgated in all the services? How are they going
to get rid of that view? Well, 1 Corinthians chapter 1
verse 2, under the church of God, which is in Corinth, to
them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus. It's not my sanctification,
it is His. He is the only way that I can
approach God. It is through Christ in Him alone.
And when God gives us this view about ourselves and this view
about God, we're on guard about saying, I have need of nothing.
I'm rich. Oh, now we're rich. We're rich
in Christ. And we have need of nothing else
but him. But the view that the Laodiceans
had was, we're really doing it okay by ourself. Now, 1 Corinthians
chapter 15. 1 Corinthians chapter 15 and
verse 22. If you turn there with me as
we look at this subject of in Christ, and it's just going to
take care of the issue. Every problem, that Paul shares
with us about the church at Corinth. And it, we can say secretly,
it'd be hard to go to church there. They had a lot of things going
on. There was a hard church, a lot
of problems. But everything that was going amuck in Corinth, Paul
counteracted and said, it's your view of Christ that has made
this problem. It's your view of Christ and
his salvation that has made this problem. You've made much ado
out of the Lord's supper. It's wrong view. Christ is our
hope. Now notice here in first Corinthians
chapter 15, verse 22. 1 Corinthians 15, 22, for as in
Adam all die, so what in Christ shall all be made alive. Was
it me making me alive? In Christ I was made alive. I
was infused with life from Him when He grafted me into Himself. When He adopted me into His family. When He regenerated me by His
power and by His Spirit. Then and then alone do I have
life. In Adam I died. And everybody
died in Adam. He represented everybody. And
everybody that the Lord Jesus Christ represented shall be made
alive. And that's our only life. That's
where life comes from, is out of the life giver. Now, turn
with me, if you would, to 2 Corinthians 2, verse 14. As we think of this,
this is how. This doctrine that was going
on in the Laodiceans about how important and how valuable they
were is knocked in the head. When believers hear it, they'll
turn towards it. If there's any believers there
in Laodicea, If that preacher got a hold of in Christ, if that
preacher got a hold of the gospel and started preaching it like
he was supposed to, every believer in that church would have been
turned away from that false view about themselves and their own
salvation in themselves and would have laid down at the feet of
the Lord Jesus, realizing that it is he and he alone is the
reason that they stand where they do in Christ Jesus. Now
here in 2 Corinthians 2, verse 14. 2 Corinthians 2, verse 14. Now thanks be unto God which
always causes us to triumph in Christ. There's no losing in
Christ. There's no loss of victory in
Christ. There's no saying, I don't need anything. He's the one that
causes us to triumph. What's it go on to say there?
Verse 14, and maketh manifest the savor
of his knowledge by us in every place. Chapter three and verse
14, the remedy. Oh God, inoculate us. Give us
grace so that we'll never be in that position where we'll
say, I don't need anything. I don't need anything. That's
a terrible place. We soon start playing games. We soon start getting away from
the gospel. We soon give up. We're out of
focus. Things are going awry. Popularity, compromise. All right, 2 Corinthians
3.14, the scriptures is, but their minds were blinded for
until this day remaineth the same veil untaken away in the
reading of the Old Testament, which veil is done away in Christ. That's when the Old Testament
stopped being history and started being the story of our Savior. This is in Christ. The Old Testament
takes on light. And then in chapter 5 and verse
17, therefore, if any man be in Christ, 2 Corinthians chapter
5 and verse 17, therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a
new creation, a new creature. All things are passed away. Behold,
all things become new. The only place that ever happens
is in Christ. In Christ. Every blessing is
in Christ as it says here in Ephesians a couple more verses. I want to read here Ephesians
chapter 1 Ephesians chapter 1 verse 3 the scriptures share this blessed
be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath blessed
us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ
There's no other blessing. There are no other position for
blessing except being in Christ. And then second, excuse me, Ephesians
chapter two, verse 10, Ephesians two, verse 10, for we are his
workmanship created in Christ Jesus under good works. He's
performed that miraculous work in Christ. Ephesians chapter
two, verse 10, unto good works which God hath before ordained
that we should walk in them. And then verse 13 of that same
chapter, but now in Christ Jesus, ye who are sometimes were far
off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. In Christ, we're made
nigh, we're made drawn close. Now there, and we've read this
before, but I wanna read this one more time. And with this,
we'll close over in the book of Leviticus, the book of Leviticus
chapter 13. Leviticus chapter 13. There is
a phenomenon. It's so interesting. It's brought
out here in the book of Leviticus under the laws about lepers. Laws about lepers. The laws about lepers. There's
a lot of people that heard the word unclean. Leprosy was brought
on their arms, their head, their body, their legs, their feet.
And the priest would look at them, examine them, and said,
unclean. It's just a little spot, just
a little spot. Now notice here, Leviticus chapter
13, verse nine, chapter 13 of the book of Leviticus, verse
nine, it says, when the plague of leprosy is in a man, then
he shall be brought unto the priest, and the priest shall
see him, and behold, if the rising be white in the skin, if it have
turned the hair white, and there be a quick raw flesh in the rising,
it is an old leprosy in the skin of the flesh, and the priest
shall pronounce him unclean. Can you imagine having a leprosy
around one hair? And the priest says, unclean.
It's rising, a little whiteness somewhere. And then he says,
unclean, unclean. And if leprosy break out abroad
in the skin and the leprosy cover all the skin of him that hath
the plague from his head even to his foot, wheresoever the
priest looketh, under the foot, top of the head, back of the
head, under the armpits, everywhere he looks, then the priest shall
consider, and behold, if the leprosy have covered all his
flesh, he shall pronounce him, what? Clean. What a paradox. You got one white hair with leprosy
around it, unclean. He looks at you and sees your
whole body with leprosy, you know what he says? Clean. Now
that's the difference between religion and Christianity. If
we see ourselves as God sees us, we're going to be like Isaiah
said, from the top of my head to the bottom of my foot, there's
only uncleanness. You know what that means? Clean.
Oh, I've just got a little sin. It's not real big and it won't
cause me a problem. By the time I get to the end
of my life, I'll have it taken care of and God will accept me.
You know what the high priest says? Unclean. You're not fit
for heaven. If you've got leprosy from the
bottom of your feet to the top of your head, and you're like
Paul, oh, wretched man that I am. If you're like Isaiah, oh, wretched
man that I am. Job, oh, wretched man that I
am. Peter, oh, wretched man that
I am. God Almighty says, welcome thou
good and faithful servant. And if we don't have much problem
and there's just things, oh, we just, we got a little problem,
not much, then depart from me, ye workers of iniquity, for I
never knew you. Now that people, a group of people,
the pastor at least in Laodicea says, you know, we're rich and
we're increased with goods and we have need of nothing. What
terrible, terrible plight was there in that church. And the
only cure for that plight was the gospel. To hear what we have
in Christ. The wickedness of the heart can
only be cured by the forgiveness that we have in Christ. And the
Lord is gonna go on there and share with them. Now, you're
really wicked. You got some real problems. But
he says there in the next verse, I counsel thee, I counsel thee,
come into my study and hear what the only way you can get out
of this mess is. I counsel thee, buy from me gold,
raiment, and look at that.