This is the Truth Network. Welcome to Ignite the Light Ministries radio and podcast. It is our mission to help listeners develop a deeper relationship with Jesus by sharing what the Bible says and what it means. We aim to encourage and equip you to serve others, share the gospel, and reflect Christ in every aspect of your life. I'm Pastor Wyatt Cudd.
Thank you for tuning in. Who here likes coffee? Show hands.
Okay, we got some coffee drinkers.
Alright, man, I love me a good coffee. I only drink my coffee black because I am a man, and then I add cream and sugar because I am reasonable. I've never been a big fan of those big fancy coffee drinks. You know, the frackled appa ding-dong or whatever they're called. It's just a little too much.
But when I go to a coffee shop, I do like to throw out just some crazy order just to see, you know, what they do, like the little look of panic in the person's face.
So this is what you do. You go up to the counter. And you say hmm. I think I would like to order a triple filtered double decaffeinated half-calf coffee with a dash and a half of Primo Organic Madagascar Cinnamon. You'll watch their face in this beak of sweat, just like runs down on the side of their face.
Makes me laugh every time. Yeah, like, nah, I'll just take a regular coffee, and this weight just comes off their shoulders. It's uh great. But we like our coffee hot, don't we? We like hot coffee.
Yeah, can I get an amen for hot coffee? Cold is good too. Cold is good, yeah. Uh north they like their coffee cold, nice, uh like a brisk winter morning. I did some ministry in Massachusetts for a while and you know you get used to it.
Um I think it's pretty good, but what we can all agree on is a coffee that has sat there for an hour and is now room temperature. That coffee has outlived its usefulness. Pour that out. I do not want that one. Same thing with ice cream.
Yeah, ice cream is great, but what good is it if it's just a warm puddle? That's not ice cream anymore. It's just a sad milkshake that's given up on its dreams. And our spiritual walk can be kind of the same. When we know what we believe, but we just sit there with it.
and don't put it into action, we don't let it change our lives, move us to good works, we can become stagnant, we can become lukewarm. And over time, we end up failing to be all that God intended us to be. warm and comforting to a weary world. Cool and refreshing. to thirsty hearts.
If we're not careful to put our beliefs into action, we can become lukewarm.
So, today we're going to be looking at the church of Laodicea, the lukewarm church that fell into this very trap.
So, if you have your Bibles, go ahead and turn to Revelation. Chapter 3. Verses 14 to 22. Revelation 3. Verses 14 to 22.
And we're going to begin here at verse 14. We got it on screen? Give it a second. Perfect, thanks.
Okay, Revelation 14 to the angel of the church in Laodicea write. These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other.
So because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say I am rich, I have acquired wealth, and I do not need a thing. But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind. And naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so that you can become rich.
and white clothes to wear so that you can cover your shameful nakedness. and salve to put on your eyes so that you can see. Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline.
So be earnest and repent. Here I am. I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come and eat with that person and they with me. To the one who is victorious, I give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat with my father on his throne.
Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Okay. Laodicea, the lukewarm church, perhaps one of the better-known churches of the seven. It's often been identified with a lot of things that can go wrong with church.
Now, we've talked about in the previous letters, Jesus will often use a compliment sandwich. He will give something positive, he will tell them a hard truth, and then he will finish with something positive. You can learn a lot just like communication just from that. Um but he doesn't use that with this church. He didn't have anything.
Encouraging to say, only rebuke. and correction.
So a little history on this church. Laodicea is the southernmost of the seven churches in Asia Minor. That would be modern-day Turkey today. And it was about 10 miles away from the church of Colossi. Uh the city was founded in 260 BC by Antiochus II, and he named the city after his wife.
Lay a dice. That's what we want, isn't it, ladies? We want a strong man to love you, to rise to power, and name a city after you, right? What a life. But he later divorced divorced he later divorced Leodice to marry another woman Bernette Berenice, is that Berenice that you practice that?
Berenice. He later married another one, Vera Nicey, as part of a political land deal. Goodbye, Leodice. They said, easy come, easy go. You know?
But then Antiochus, he abandoned his new family to be with Laodice again. She accepted. Then she had him poisoned.
So he would not change his mind again. Yeah. Yeah, love Young, spry, full of political, ruthless vengeance. That's what we want, isn't it guys? A lady to die for.
So that's where we get the name Laodicea.
Now Rome took over this city in 129 BC, and then it became this large, prosperous city known for the hot springs that flowed down from Herapolis. And Laodicea was known for, they created this I salve. Is it salve or salve? I never know. SAF, okay.
They created this ISAF and it was in great demand. They had a prosperous wool and textile industry. And this was the place in Asia Minor that the wealthy people, they would go and they would retire to. They developed a significant banking center and the wealth of this city turned the citizens' hearts to be proud and self-sufficient. Unfortunately, this Cultural disposition began bleeding into the church, leading the church to also become.
proud, self-sufficient in their disposition, and materialistic. The church was founded by Epaphorus. Love that name, Epaphorus. This guy also founded the church of Colossi. They're about 10 miles apart, and we see Laodicea mentioned in the letter to Colossians.
That's Colossians 4.13.
Now geographically Laodicea had hot water that flowed from the springs in Hierapolis flowing to it and then they had cold water flowing from springs from Colossi.
So you had hot springs, you had cold springs, they flowed to Laodicea and they mixed into a lukewarm water.
So when Jesus is talking about them being neither hot nor cold, he is making a comparison to a real geographical feature that they would all know and understand and grapple with. We're going to talk more about that here in a second. But let's start here verse 14. To the angel of the church of Laodicea, the same thing with every letter. The letter is addressed to the angel.
We do not do this alone. This angel is there to correct and encourage them with the things Jesus says. These are the words of the amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation.
So this is the part where Jesus is declaring the authority by which he speaks to the church. He's the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation. Great, that makes sense. That's on par with who Jesus is. But it starts with.
These are the words of the amen. What does that mean? Are you saying amen? You just began the sentence. Why are we saying amen?
What does that mean? Well, The word amen does not just mean prayer is done, time to eat. Amen is an English word that's a derivative from a Hebrew word that's a derivative, or no. English. A Greek word, derivative of a Hebrew word.
So you got this big chain. Amen. In the Greek it's amen. And then from the Hebrew it's emunah.
Now this word means certainty or truly or I agree. When Jesus says in John 5, truly, truly I say to you, in the Greek it is amen, amen, I say to you.
Now the Hebrew word has this meaning as well, but it carries something even more with it. Amen in the Greek means something along the lines of completeness in faith and in action. Amen in the Greek is faith backed up by action. These are the words of the amen. It means something along the lines of these are the words of Jesus, the utter completeness.
He is the completeness of our faith, whose actions are the utter completeness of that faith. All the promises of God to us, His covenants, are fulfilled, guaranteed, and affirmed in the person and work of Jesus. Amen. These are the words of the amen. That is what that means as far as I can tell.
When you say amen at the end of your prayer, you are affirming both that you believe it is true and you will act and live according to that prayer. When we say amen, That is what we are saying.
So the authority of Jesus speaks to these churches that he is the utter completeness of faith and utter completeness of our faith by his actions on the cross. Amen. He is the faithful true witness, the ruler of God's creation, in control of everything. He speaks to this church on that authority. But why did he pick this authority?
We see in Revelation 1 the vision of Jesus, he has all these different images of his authority. Why did he pick this one? Because Laodicea has the right faith. But is not complete in their action. They are failing, they are falling short to give that authentic amen.
Jesus. Verse 15. It says, I know your deeds. You are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other.
So because you are lukewarm, not hot or cold, I'm about to spit you out of my mouth. How do we understand that?
Well, I've heard this preached something like Jesus wants you to be on fire for Him, but He hates lukewarmness, half-heartedness so much that He'd actually prefer you be totally against Him on the other side of the fence. Either you're for me or against me, but the wishy-washiness in the middle, I can't stand. I don't like that understanding. I think it actually contradicts. what Jesus teaches.
This understanding would paint Jesus as saying, I would rather you, the one I love, run headlong into sin than do something good half-heartedly. What what is like that look? That doesn't make any sense when he spends so much time warning us about the effects of sin and the reality of hell. There's no way it could mean that.
Now Jesus says Matthew 12, 30, whoever is not with me is against me. He doesn't say you're either with me or against me or somewhere in the middle and I don't like the middle. He doesn't say that. No, we're either with him or against him by default.
So, what Jesus is saying here about lukewarmness, this church. is with him. He has not removed the angel over this church, but they are failing to be what they are supposed to be. The hot springs from Herapolis had a lot of great medicinal uses. They used it to make ice salve.
I save yeah, they used it to make ice salve and then the cold springs from Colossi. It was great for drinking, it had its own benefit. Hot and cold, they were both good, they both had their uses. But when the two mixed, and it became lukewarm and stagnant. It lost its usefulness in either direction.
Lukewarm, stagnant water is actually a breeding ground for all kinds of sickness, disease, and pathogens. The Church of Laodicea would not drink the lukewarm water. You don't want to drink it, you spit it out of your mouth.
So Laodicea, like the lukewarm water, has become useless in its function. They have the right to leave. But their actions are falling very short. And what good is belief? without action.
And when we become useless or stagnant, like the lukewarm water, we will become a breeding ground. For set.
So Jesus says, I'd rather you be hot, I'd rather you be cold, I'd rather you be good for something than useless. I think an interesting point here can be made about the diversity in the body of Christ.
Some of us are our best when we're like the cold water.
Some of us are our best when we're like the hot water. Think about it.
Some of us are extroverts.
Some of us are introverts.
Some of us are really good with people.
Some are really good with things.
Some of us are gifted with money.
Some of us have many different types of skills. Even among the body, God gives all of us different spiritual gifts. When you are functioning your best in Christ, it is going to look different than your neighbor. We all have different giftings. We all have different roles to fill.
And we're dependent on each other to fulfill those roles. Maybe the better word is interdependent. We are interdependent on each other. A hand. cannot do what a foot does.
An ear cannot do what an eye can. If it can, you should go see a doctor. But we need each other as a complete body of Christ. God has made you unique, specially crafted with intention and love. There is nobody like you.
We are each as unique as a finger friend. And he has laid out for each of us good works to be done. That's Ephesians 2.10.
So I think this term has been abused a little bit, but I'll say it. You're like a snowflake. You're like a snowflake. You're like your own color in God's masterpiece that he is painting. And I love that.
We're all unique. We were all specially crafted. But with that, comes a great responsibility too. If I was specifically made, The role I am to play in this story was specifically made for me. If I don't do my part, It does not get done.
There's a responsibility there for each of us to become the best version of ourselves possible. If Wyatt does not play his role in God's story, there will be another pastor, but there will not be another Wyatt. The works of Wyatt that God intended go unfilled.
So we have a responsibility before God to be the best versions of ourselves, whether that be hot, whether that be cold, all to the glory of God.
So verse 17, it says, You say, I am rich. I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing, but you do not realize that you are wretched.
So I think this church has fallen into a human worldly definition of wealth.
Now the difference between a worldly definition of wealth And a kingdom definition of wealth is simply length of time. If we're thinking eternally, Past death that we live in eternity with God for okay doesn't do anything long term having multiple houses isn't going to mean anything long term having a prosperous business empire means nothing in the face of death you cannot take these things with you The only thing that steps into eternity After death is our eternal souls and our relationship with God. Our souls, the souls of others, and God are the only three things that have eternal value. Leytica has forgotten this. Firstly, wealth Spiritual wealth.
The only difference is our timeframe.
So if I want to be a good investor in the longest possible time frame that's going to pay dividends across the entirety of my life, the things I will invest in are my own spiritual walk, helping others come to know Jesus so there's more fellowship at the Lord's table, and I will invest in my relationship with God wherever he leads. Everything else, my health, my wealth, my reputation, status, all of these things are good. But they have to come under submission to Jesus. Health, wealth, reputation, they are tools to be used to further our relationship with God and lead others to God. Makes me think of Ecclesiastes.
Solomon, in Ecclesiastes he talks about, I have searched pleasure, I have searched wealth, I have seen all that my hands can make, I have pursued all of these things, and they are meaningless, vanity of vanities. It's all pointless in the grand scheme. And the thing that Solomon is missing, he's missing the missing piece. of Jesus. That's the center focus of Christianity.
That's the center focus of everything. And when Jesus is our top priority, and all of these things, health, wealth, status, our Everything, when all of these things come under submission to Jesus and where he leads, they actually find their meaning. He revitalizes them. He gives them brand new purpose. And we can do these things to the glory of God.
Amen. They have deep, eternal purpose now. If we are using our resources in a way that is not to the end of our eternal souls, the souls of others, and God, we have lost sight of the bigger picture. We will be like Laodicea. We might get a big old dragon horde.
yet will be spiritually poor. From an eternal perspective we will be poor if we do not invest. in the right things. And then Jesus tells us, what do I invest in? Verse 18, I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so that you will become rich.
White clothes to wear, so that you can cover your shame. Salve to put on your eyes, so that you can see.
So again, Laodicea was known for their banking and their wealth. They were known for their wool and their textile industry. They were known for their medicinal salve that they put on people's eyes. These were their three big wealth items. Jesus says, buy gold from me.
White clothes to wear to cover your shame? Get them from me. Buy salve to put on your eyes so you can see from me. Invest. In me, that's what Jesus is saying.
This, as far as I'm concerned, is both spiritual and financial advice. Invest in the things with the highest rate of return for the longest time frame, and with the eternal time frame, those things are your relationship with God and the eternal souls. of others. I heard this analogy. It's not biblical, it's just an illustration.
But it's a fun little thought experiment. Imagine you pass away. And you are standing there at the gates of heaven. You walk through the pearly gates and you are welcomed by the angels. The Apostle Paul comes up and gives you a big old hug.
You see your family around the Lord's table, it's glorious. And then you meet Jesus. Beautiful, most dazzling, awe-inspiring sight you have ever seen. Yet when you see him, He is as familiar to you as the back of your hand. And Jesus says, come here.
I have someone I want you to meet with. And he introduces you to this person.
Now this person is the version of yourself. that did the life, your life, the way it was supposed to be done. When God led them to opportunities, They took him. When God led them to give, they gave. When God led them to evangelize to their neighbor, they did.
When God called them somewhere new, they went. When God called them to let go of something they did. This version of yourself did all of this. And as Jesus turns this person around, How would you feel? If you didn't even recognize them.
How would you feel if Jesus turned this person around and it was like looking into a mirror? And let's go. Biblical, that's not going to happen. What's actually going to happen is, we're going to be rewarded and crowned for all the good things we do in our life. and the things we fall short on is whitewashed by the blood of Christ.
It's not held against us. Our account is made clean and pure, and we're going to be glorified into that person. Hey there, I hope this sermon has enriched your day. If you like this message, I want to personally invite you to join us for Sunday worship. We have two locations in Virginia, Trinity Methodist Church in Concord and Mount Comfort Methodist Church in Appomattox.
Come join us Sunday morning at 9.45 and we will help you get connected. As always, I'm Pastor Wyatt Cudd. Thank you for tuning in.
