So we come to the seventh of
the letters to the churches written in AD 95, or give or take a year
or so, in Revelation chapters 2 and 3. And we come to the last
few verses, eight verses or so, of Revelation chapter 3. The letter to the church at Laodicea,
the church of the Laodiceans. Now, down the ages, the Church
of God, which is the manifestation of the Kingdom of God, as it
appears in the earth, it's comprised of wheat and tares, of wheat
as in the plant which produces the grain that is fruitful, that
gives us bread that we want, and tares, the weeds, and it's
a picture. It's a picture. The wheat is
the true people of God. The wheat represents the true
people of God. There's going to be a harvest
of the kingdom of God at the end of time. He's going to come
with his angels and reap that harvest and take the wheat into
his barn, i.e. that's a picture of the people
of God being taken into the heaven of God. But in the field of this
world, and especially in the field of the church, always there's
a mixture of the true wheat and the weeds, the tares, the thistles
and the whatever else weed it is that grows up amongst them.
And the disciples said to Jesus, should we root up the tares? Should we root them up? No, said
Jesus. In Matthew 13.30 he said, let both grow together because
there's a danger if you start ripping out the tares you'll
pull good wheat out at the same time. Let them grow together
until the harvest time. Let them grow together until
the end. Acknowledge it as a fact of life. You know, we keep being
told that the thing we need to do about this coronavirus is
not live in fear and learn to live with it. Well, the church
has to live, has had to live, with wheat and tares, with the
true and the false being mingled. The tares are those who profess
to be Christ's people, but it's only an outward profession. It
isn't the truth. And the proportions in different
churches in different locations vary from time to time, from
place to place. Of the seven letters, the churches
at Smyrna and Philadelphia, it would appear Christ has nothing
negative to say to them at all. They're nearly all composed of
pure wheat. They're nearly all true disciples
of God who know the truth, who cleave to Christ, who follow
the way, the truth, and the life. But in Sardis and Laodicea, the
one we come to now, it seems as if they're almost all tares,
they're almost all false professors. And thus it is throughout what
we might call Christendom. You know the white horse goes
forth riding, when you get to chapter five and six of Revelation,
the horses of the apocalypse, the white horse is the truth
of the gospel of grace, and it has a wide effect. It has the
effect of Christendom. that until then, Satan had deluded
the nations. The truth of God is mingled with
Satan's lies in different churches to differing degrees. We see
it all around us today. There's elements of the truth
of God, but not the pure truth of God. It's mingled with the
falsehood and the lies of Satan. How can we know which is which? We're weak poor creatures, aren't
we, at best? How can we know the answer is
simple? It's the Word of God, to the
law and to the testimony. If they speak not according to
this Word, They're not of God, there's no light in them, there's
no truth in them. John said to the churches, try the spirits,
test the preachers, whether they be of God. True preachers preach
this, that the man Jesus of Nazareth is the one who fulfills everything
concerning the Messiah. He is the one who came to save
his people from their sins. God's word is the test. Not the
opinions of man. The Gospel that is preached in
churches all around us today, here, is not the true Gospel
of God's Word. It is not the Gospel of Christ.
The Christ that they worship, the God that they worship, is
not the Christ of the Scriptures. It's Christ who is the Word of
God. But you know, even in a bad situation
like Laodicea, even there we read in verse 20, He says, as many as I love, in
verse 19, I rebuke and chasten. He has some there still that
he loves. And if he loves them, he has
loved them with an everlasting love. And if he has loved them
with an everlasting love, he will keep them into eternity.
There are some true even here in this sorry state of a church
at Laodicea. Laodicea stands as a warning
beacon to us. To us as a church, to those who
join with us, I know we're scattered. I know we're like the woman in
the wilderness, flying there with wings of faith into wilderness
separation from this world. And some are in very lonely positions. Some are in very lonely, single
believer positions. God sets the solitary in families. If you're with us this morning,
He's set you. In this family, if no other. and I know there
are others, and I know that they're worthy, and we need to get all
the teaching that we can. But we need to heed the warning
of Scripture. That's what this is for. It's
for our learning. The Old Testament Scriptures
are there for our learning. These are there for our learning.
We need to heed the warning and watch for the signs, because
churches thrive for a while and then die. Look around this country
of ours. everywhere. You know the most
common use of an old evangelical chapel these days is to have
it converted into a modern dwelling. That's right, it's just, you
go around the middle of Wales and it's just a graveyard of
what was once gospel preaching churches but no more. How can
we avoid their outcome? Well we need to listen to the
lesson that Christ brings to His church through this letter
to the Laodiceans. Remember, they apply to all of
us in all time, not just for Laodicea there and then, but
all time. The speaker is in verse 14, 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. the angel of the church, the
pastor of the church. To the pastor of the church,
the messenger is what angel means. To the messenger of the church
in Laodicea, right, here's a message from one who calls himself the
Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation
of God. What does he mean when he says
he is the Amen, the Amen? You know, we say Amen at the
end of prayers, and it's a kind of a, so be it, so be it. But you know, in truth, in Scripture,
the Amen is Christ himself. He is the Amen. He is the One
who is the So Be It of God to creation. Christ is the Amen,
the So Be It of God to creation. He is the So Be It of God. to man who is made in the image
of God. Thus says God speaking to man. This is the Amen, Christ who
is the Word of God. In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He made everything. He upholds everything. He is
the one by whom the truth of God is manifested, the unknowable
God. No man has seen God at any time,
but the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father,
He has manifested Him. He has made Him known. How do
we know God? Show us the Father and that will
suffice us, said Philip. Philip said Jesus, have I been
so long with you and you have not known me? He who has seen
me has seen the Father. What a bold claim. An outrageous
claim if it wasn't true, but it is true. He is the manifestation
of the invisible God to his people. And He is also everything that
we've seen in the other titles, in the other six letters. He's
the first and the last. In other words, He's the beginning
of everything and He'll be the ending of everything. He is the
sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, the expression of the
truth of God. He is the one who holds the seven
stars, the angels, the pastors, His messengers to the church.
He holds them in His hand. That's where they are, in His
hand. He is the one who walks among
the golden candlesticks. The golden candlesticks are the
churches in the world. He walks among His people in
this world. He is the one who has piercing
eyes. He says, I know your works. I
see everything. Nothing is hid from Him. Piercing
eyes, and He has feet of brass, shining brass, strong in judgment,
irresistible in judgment. All of this is characterized
by faithfulness and truth, all of it. Witness to eternal truth,
utterly reliable, is the word that comes from this one, who
is the Amen, the faithful and true witness. He is the one who
speaks, and unlike the lies of Satan, he speaks truth. Satan
is the father of lies. He was a liar from the beginning,
said Jesus. He tells lies. This world has
believed a lie. They have believed a lie. A refuge
of lies, says Isaiah. They've hidden in a refuge of
lies, which are the lies of Satan. But our Lord Jesus Christ, who
is God, manifested to us is the one who is characterized by faithfulness
and truthfulness. There is no falsehood in Him. He is the one who, if you would
know heavenly truth, eternal truth, the true meaning of life,
you must come to Christ, because He is the one who came down from
heaven. Imagine, before the United States
had been discovered by European civilization, and people here
wanted to know what was it like. Well, who would you go to? Would
you go to people that make it up and have a good guess? You'd
go to somebody that had been there and had come back. Jesus
says He is the one who has come down from heaven with the truth
of God, from God's throne, speaking eternal truth of righteousness
and justice. He came preaching the kingdom
of God, the kingdom that is marked out by the satisfaction of the
justice of God by redemption from the curse of the law being
accomplished. He is the one and only true source
of life. It says he is the beginning of
the creation of God. The Jehovah's Witnesses say there
you are, proof positive that Jesus was the first created being. That is not what it says. It
doesn't mean that at all. That would be utterly inconsistent
with all the rest of the scriptures. It could not possibly mean that.
That is a lie. Do not believe Satan's lies.
when it says he is the beginning of the creation of God, it doesn't
mean he's the first created being, it means that he's the originator
of the creation of God, the one who has originated and accomplished
it. Look at Colossians chapter 1,
we read Colossians 2 before, but look at verse 15 of chapter
1, speaking of Christ who is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn of every creature. the beginning of it. It says,
what does that mean? Look at verse 16, how can it
possibly mean that he's the first created being? It says, for by
him, Christ, were all things created that are in heaven and
that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones
or dominions or principalities or powers, all things were created
by him and for him. He is the originator of the creation
of God. John 1 verse 3, all things, speaking
of the Word, who was with God in the beginning and was God,
all things were made by Him. I once completely confounded
some Jehovah's Witnesses on the doorstep, because they just could
not respond to this. All things were made by Him,
and without Him, was not anything made that was made. If He is
a made being, how can it be? Because He made everything. Nothing
was made without Him. The Word of God is the source
of all truth. Man shall not live by bread alone,
the things that we eat for our physical survival and growth.
No, man shall not live by bread alone. But what? But by every
word that proceeds from the mouth of God. This is who is speaking. This is the eternal God in Christ
speaking to us. And he speaks to the people,
the church at Laodicea, to the pastor, the angel of the church
there. What's the situation at Laodicea? Look what he says down here.
He says, I know thy works that thou art neither cold nor hot.
I would thou wert cold or hot. So then, because thou art lukewarm
and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth, because
you say I am rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing,
and know not that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind
and naked. Wow! Wow! He didn't mince his words, did
he? He said it exactly as it is. What is the situation here? Well, let's just think first
of all, where is it? It's very close to Colossae. You know the
letter to the Colossians? When you go around that arc,
Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea,
seven churches. And Laodicea is very close, in
western Turkey, an ark in western Turkey. And Laodicea is going,
that's going further east, it's east of Ephesus. And it's getting
towards the middle of what is modern Turkey. It's getting towards
the area of Galatia. You know, Paul wrote the letter
to the Galatians. It's very close. Galatia is an
area rather than just one place. But Colossae and Laodicea, if
you look on your Bible maps, they're pretty close together.
And in Colossians chapter 4 and in verse 3, Colossians chapter 4. No, sorry,
I haven't got that right. Sorry, 13. Chapter 4 and verse
13. Right. I bear him record that
he hath a zeal for you. This is talking about Epaphras.
He has a zeal for the Colossians and them that are in Laodicea
and them in Hierapolis. Luke, the beloved physician,
greets you. Then verse 16, when this epistle is read, when Colossians
is read among you, cause it to be read also in the church of
the Laodiceans, and that ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea.
We don't have that one in our scriptures, but evidently it
seems Paul wrote to the Laodiceans and he wanted that letter read
amongst the Colossians. They were close together. They
were similar churches when Paul wrote to them, maybe in about
A.D. 60 or thereabouts, give or take,
something like that. 35 years earlier than this letter
from Christ in the Revelation. And look at the assessment of
that all-seeing judge. He says they're lukewarm. He
says they're not zealous for him, they are not fervent in
their service as some of the other churches have been. They're
like Sardis in a way, they have a name, they have a reputation,
oh there's a church there, but they have a high opinion of self,
and they're completely wrong. You see they say, They say, we're
rich, we're increased with goods, we're in need of nothing. Oh,
you know, health, wealth and happiness. That's our gospel.
We're increased with riches and with goods, and we have need
of nothing. And he says, you don't know. You don't realize
that you are poor and wretched and miserable and blind and naked. You're lukewarm. You're sickly. There's no enthusiastic service,
but you're still claiming a name as the servants, the Church of
God. You're sitting on the fence. You're trying to be seen to serve
two masters and serving neither, for Jesus said you cannot serve
God and mammon. You cannot sit on the fence.
You must come down on one side or the other. You must be wholeheartedly
for Christ or wholeheartedly against Him. You cannot be half
and half. You think you are rich, but you're
actually spiritually poor. You may be materialistically
comfortable, but that's no sign of spiritual health. In fact,
the very opposite. You are actually poor. Unlike
the ones at Smyrna, the ones commended at Smyrna in verse
9 of chapter 2, he says, I know thy works and tribulation and
poverty. Your materialistic poverty. You're in trouble, you're under
persecution. But he says, but you are rich.
What are they rich in? They're rich in spiritual goods.
They're blessed with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in
Christ, as Paul writes to the Ephesians. These Laodiceans thought
they were rich and comfortable, but they're actually poverty-stricken
in a spiritual sense. Note well, we are all wretched. Don't think for one minute that
we are not. We, in ourselves, in our flesh, are wretched and
miserable and poor and blind and naked in the flesh concerning
the righteousness of God. For in the flesh and in and of
ourselves we have none. Our very best righteousnesses
are filthy rags in the sight of God. They're vile, they're
filthy. As we are in the flesh, we're
sinners, and sin is a vile thing in the judgment of God. That's
what we are all by nature. All have sinned and fall short
of the glory of God. There is none righteous, no,
not one. That's the truth. But the Laodiceans,
claiming to be Christ's people, didn't know it. Christ's true
people know what they are in the flesh, utterly poverty-stricken
of any spiritual good. But they know that in Christ,
because He has taken their sin and made them the righteousness
of God in Him, that they are rich beyond measure. They are
rich beyond measurement. You cannot put a figure on it. We are of all people if we're
in Christ. We have such a glorious hope
that we are of all people. So rich, so blessed. You look
at the poverty of this world, it becomes more evident every
single day. As riches abound, look how they're
evaporating all around us at the moment. Look at the chaos
that this world is in, because this world is coming to an end.
God is bringing it to an end. His kingdom of glory is going
to triumph over the kingdom of Satan. No. They just thought
they were rich in worldly goods, but our Lord says He hates their
condition, self-satisfied and not serving Him. He says He hates
it. He says He would sooner have
them cold than lukewarm. He would sooner have them come
out clearly against Him than to be lukewarm, because lukewarmness
is nauseating. I know somebody that quite likes
drinking warm water, but for me, a lukewarm glass of water,
doesn't it turn your stomach? It's horrible, isn't it? That's
what Christ says. He says you're like lukewarm
water. Tradition has it that there was
a spring of lukewarm water near Laodicea, and that there, there
was this lukewarm water that had this sickly effect. It wasn't cold and it wasn't
hot. It was neither one nor the other.
And he says, it makes me sick. I'm going to spew you out of
my mouth. You're nauseating to me. This
is what the Lord of glory says to these who claim to be his
church. You make me sick. I'm going to spew you out of
my mouth. He's the one who is the only hope of sinners. And
he says to these sinners, I'm going to spew you out of my mouth. Why? because you find your comfort
and assurance in life in the possessions that you have, the
material comfort that you have. As Jesus said in Luke chapter
12 verse 15, he says, a man's life consisteth not in the abundance
of the things which he possesses. They are in eternal peril because
of this. How might they have become like
this? Turn back to Colossians chapter 2, this is why we read
Colossians chapter 2. before. Paul was concerned for
these two churches of Colossae and Laodicea. He says, I've got
great conflict for you and for them at Laodicea. Why is he in
conflict about them? Because he fears that they are
going to drift away from the true gospel of God's grace. He's
concerned that, you see, look, this is his longing for them,
verse 7, that you are rooted and built up in Christ and established
in the faith as you have been taught, abounding therein with
thanksgiving, that they've grown in grace and the knowledge of
God our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. They've been under the
sound of the gospel. This is what he's concerned about,
that they hear the preaching of the gospel, because that is
the manna from heaven, that is the food for the soul, if it
is Christ and Him alone. If the pastor was determined
to know nothing else among them, save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. This is what he was concerned
about, that if they're not careful, they will drift away from that,
because there is so much falsehood. In the world around, there is
so many lies of Satan in things spiritual that they could so
easily be seduced. In Ephesians chapter 4, Paul
writes in verse 11 about the ministry gifts that God has given
to his church. He gave some apostles, and some
prophets, and some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers.
Why? For the perfecting of the saints. for the growth in grace of the
saints, as Peter calls it, for the work of the ministry, for
the edifying, edifying, building up, the edifying of the body
of Christ, till we all come in the unity of the faith and the
knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man unto the measure
of the stature of the fullness of Christ. But it seems that
the church at Laodicea, we don't know about Colossae, but it seems
they hadn't heeded Paul's counsel. Paul counseled them in verse
8 of chapter 2 of Colossae, and remember this is to the Laodiceans
as well as to the Colossians. Beware, lest any man spoil you
through philosophy and vain deceit after the tradition of men, after
the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. Beware. There
are people who will come in with their worldly satanic philosophies,
their lies from Satan about the way things should be, and they
will infiltrate it, they will drip their drips of cyanide poison
into the pure water of the Gospel, and they will make the whole
glass of water poisonous, and you will imbibe it, and you will
be poisoned by it. Beware, he says, beware that
you're not drinking poison. There are those around, plenty
of them. Jesus said the same, beware of false Christs and false
teachers. There are those who will come
and spoil you, spoil you in the sense of take away from you.
Infiltrate with worldly philosophy poison the doctrine of pure grace
of Christ, through philosophy and vain deceit and the tradition
of men, after the rudiments of the world, the kingdom of this
world, and not after Christ and the kingdom of God." It seems
that the Laodiceans hadn't heeded Paul's counsel. Over the previous
35 years, To this, think of 35 years, you know, think back,
what's 35 years? The mid-1980s, isn't it, from
where we are now? Yeah? There's a lot can happen
in that time, isn't there? Look how so many churches that
were once faithful are now nothing at all, and have compromised.
Look how they've, you see, the same thing happened here. The
pastor had become slothful in studying and preaching. He drifted
away from preaching nothing other than Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
The members had drifted from what 2 Corinthians 11 verse 3
calls the simplicity, the singleness that is in Christ, the truth
of Christ. They had been spoilt Some had
spoiled them with philosophy and vain deceit and worldly traditions,
rather than God's Word. Here's the warning to us all.
Don't claim to be Christ's. Don't claim to be secure for
eternity and going to heaven, and derive your life philosophy
from the world, because you can't do both. The two are utterly
incompatible. They're utterly contradictory,
one to the other. By all means seek to live at
peace with all men, as much as in you is, seek to live at peace
with all men, but do not imbibe their philosophy of life, the
things that make them happy, the things that motivate them
to go on and live. We seek the things of Christ
and of heaven. You will slip, you will stumble,
you will fall. No I won't, I'm okay. Beware,
he that thinks he standeth, take heed, lest he fall. Peter walked
on the waves while he was looking at the Lord Jesus Christ. Lord,
if it be you, bid me come to you. And he walked on the waves,
looking unto Jesus, and didn't sink. And when his eyes were
taken off Christ and he looked at the waves, immediately he
began to sink. And so it is. This is what he
warns. Keep close to Christ. Keep close
to the truth of the gospel of grace. Laodicea now, in AD 95,
35 years after Paul wrote to them and the Colossians, Laodicea
is now showing no signs of true spiritual life. Is there anyone
who can hear there? Is there anyone left? Anyone?
They're miserable and blind and naked and wretched. They think
they're in a good state, but they're in a dreadful state.
They're lost. They're no longer a church. Their candlestick's
about to be taken away. Is there anyone left who can
hear? The Lord gives some counsel,
some advice, some wisdom from God. He gives some advice, verse
18, I counsel thee to buy of me gold, tried in the fire, that
you may be rich, and white raiment that you may be clothed, and
that the shame of your nakedness do not appear, and anoint thine
eyes with eye salve that you may see. There are some, a few,
even in Laodicea, who it seems Why else would he say it? It
seems are among the multitude his elect that the Lord has love
from eternity. He says in verse 19, as many
as I love, as many as I love, as many as I Religion of the
world says God loves everyone. That's not what the scriptures
say. God loves his people. God loves the multitude he put
in Christ before the foundation of the world. The rest, God is
angry with the wicked every day. That's the truth of scripture.
It's not God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.
It's as a sinner, God is angry with the wicked every day. Our
God is a consuming fire and it is a fearful thing to fall into
the hands of the living God. But there are some here, still
it would seem, who have ears to hear the Lord knocking at
the door. Look at verse 20, this well-known
verse, so much used by Arminian evangelists. Behold, I stand
at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and
open the door, I will come into him and will sup with him and
he with me. Let's read it as it should be.
It's in the context of a church. that is failing, and he's not
standing at the door of individual sinner human hearts asking them
to accept him, oh please accept me if only you will, as the Arminians
portrayed, not at all. He is standing at the door of
a church that is perishing from the truth, and he's saying, there
are some there, if any man hear my voice, open the door, open
the door, I'll come in, we'll have fellowship, we'll be restored
to fellowship. There are some to whom his counsel
is directed, those ones with ears to hear. What is it to have
ears to hear? It's to have that gift of the
Holy Spirit, that gift of faith to hear the Word of God and to
believe the Word of God, to see it as it is the truth of God.
And in verse 18 he counsels them to buy gold, tried in the fire
that you may be rich, and white raiment and eye ointment. He says, If I can put it this
way, he says, come to me and do some spiritual shopping. Come
and buy from me. Come to him to buy gold and white
raiment and eye ointment. All these things are not physical,
they're spiritual. This is heavenly treasure. Come
and buy heavenly treasure from Christ. Come and buy riches in
heaven. Look at Matthew 13. Well, you
just listen while I read it. Verse 44. Again, the kingdom
of heaven, said Jesus, is like unto treasure hid in a field,
the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof
goeth and selleth all that he hath. and buyeth that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven
is like unto a merchant man seeking goodly pearls, who when he hath
found one pearl of great price, the gospel, went and sold all
that he had and bought it. He invested in that and that
alone, because it's the only thing worth investing in. What
is it? What is it? What is it to buy
gold from Christ? I counsel you to buy gold from
me. Gold is currency, isn't it? It has value. What's the currency
that we buy from Christ? His precious blood. For His precious
blood has paid the price of the ransom, redemption's price, the
ransom from the law's curse on sin. His precious blood has paid
it. Come and buy gold from Him. But
with what do I pay? With what do I pay? I bet you
can guess which verse I'm going to look up next, can't you? Isaiah
55 and verse 1. Ho! Everyone that thirsts, come to
the waters. And he that has no money, come
ye, buy and eat. Yea, come, buy wine and milk,
without money and without price. Why? Because it's free. It's
free grace. Wherefore do you spend money
for that which is not bread? You spend all your resources
trying to get rich and satisfied. You're trying the broken systems.
But the broken cisterns fail, for they hold no water. It doesn't
satisfy. Hearken diligently unto me, says
God, and eat that which is good, and let your soul delight itself
in fatness. Gold, gold from Christ, the precious
blood of his redemption's price that he has paid. And then you
need a covering for your sinful nakedness before the judgment
of God, before God's justice. And he says in Isaiah 61 and
verse 10, I will greatly rejoice in the Lord. My soul shall be
joyful in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments
of salvation. He hath covered me with a robe
of righteousness, and here He says, Come and buy from Me a
white raiment, a white raiment, a pure clothing, covering, that
you may be clothed, that the shame of your sinful nakedness
do not appear. Come and get it from me, because
it's free. Buy it from me without money
and without price. You need unclouded spiritual
sight. He says walk the road. By faith,
walk the road. If you're in the faith, walk
in the faith. Walk, looking unto Jesus, the
author and finisher of our faith. How are you going to see? You
need unclouded spiritual sight to see the way. And that is the
gift of God's Spirit. And all is freely available in
the grace of God, through His Word, by the Spirit's application. He knocks at the door of the
church. Any there? Any there who can hear? Let him
open the door, and I will come in, and we will sup. We will
have fellowship together. Lord, be merciful to me, the
sinner. Come in now, as you've said. Here it is. Here's what he says
to us. Come, let us reason together, says Isaiah. God in Isaiah says,
come, let us reason together. Though your sins be as scarlet,
yet shall they be as white as snow. And now he's saying, come,
let us reason together. Come and buy from me these things
that your soul, your poverty-stricken soul needs for it to be rich.
And he says, open, and I will come in. Open, let's open, that
He might come in and do these things for us. Lord be merciful
to me, the sinner, come in and graciously give me these spiritual
blessings. Give me your light, give me your
covering, show me the justification in my soul that I might feel
it. that I might feed upon it, that I might rejoice in it, and
individually, each one, hear His knock, His voice, and open
to Him, and He will come in and sup, have fellowship with you
and with me, with Him. Never mind the rest. If those
at Laodicea who have gone the way of the world want to stay
as they are, he will spew them out of his mouth, he said. But
you will sup with him if you open. In following him, you will
overcome. You will overcome what? You will
overcome the fallen philosophy of Satan's kingdom, the lies
of Satan's kingdom. You will raise your banner clearly
for the truth of God, and you will have assurance of your place
in heaven. Is that not what Christ is saying
to his church? We've seen all these seven churches
now, and this one seems the most stark, well, possibly rivaled
by Sardis, which is a name and a reputation, but is dead. But
how do we summarize it all then? These are letters to the seven
churches, seven being the perfection of God. It's representative of
his church in the New Testament age from when Christ went back
to glory till he comes again at the end of time. The church
is the manifestation of God's kingdom on earth in the midst
of Satan's kingdom of Antichrist. It stands for righteousness and
justice, the righteousness and justice of God, revealed in God's
Word. But it is always a mixture of
wheat and tares while it exists in this world, of the true and
the false professors. What are we as a church, and
you who join with us on the internet, what are we each individually,
wheat or tares? You know what, I often quote
it, but I think it's so relevant, what Joshua in Joshua 24 said
to the people, choose you this day whom you will serve. If God
is the Lord, if he is the Lord, like Elijah said, if the Lord
of heaven, if the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is the true
God, then why would you serve anybody else? If Baal is God,
then go and serve him! But look, choose you this day
whom you will serve. If not the true God, then serve
Baal in his modern manifestations, because believe me, none of the
religion around calls themselves Baal-worshippers, do they? But
that's what they are, in truth. It's exactly the same thing in
its 21st century guise. It's the Baal-worship of the
Old Testament in its 21st century guise. That's what it is, because
it's against the gospel of God's grace and justice. Serve him
wholeheartedly, but above all, don't be lukewarm. Don't be lukewarm. Hear what Christ says now to
you, and determine with his grace and strength, as Joshua said,
as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord, with the Lord
strengthening us. Amen.