According to the dictionary, the definition of purpose is the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists. So, what is your purpose? For what reason do you exist? Have you ever thought about it? It’s a deep question. That’s the kind of question that people climb tall mountains to ask the guru. It’s the question that causes women to be depressed and men to have mid-life crises. So, what is your purpose?
Is it wrong for happiness to be your life’s purpose? Is it wrong for comfort to be your life’s purpose? Health? Wealth? So…those things are wrong? Happiness, comfort, health and wealth are wrong? No? Well then, how much of those things can we have and not be wrong? At what point does it become wrong to have health and wealth, happiness and comfort? Those are hard questions, aren’t they?
I believe that happiness, comfort, health and wealth should not be our goal in life but are sometimes the byproduct of serving a generous God. Sometimes God blesses us with that kind of thing and there are wise choices that we should make so that we don’t lose what we have but to wake up every morning striving to get more and more stuff or comfort or money is just a sad way to live and will not ultimately be blessed by God.
I think most people would agree with that. I think most people, not just Christians, would agree that living just to make money or have stuff is not a wise way to live. But the problem is that our lives don’t always reflect that belief. How we live during the week is not always reflected in what we say in church. I know…shocking, right?
So, how do we know what we really believe? How do we know what we really value? How do we know what our purpose in life really is? We show what we really believe by what we do, right? We show our hearts by the deeds we do.
Now, let’s review. How many good deeds do you have to do to be saved and go to Heaven? This is multiple choice. A) None B) 7 C) 144,000 or D) An infinite number. The answer is, of course, A. We are not saved by our good deeds but by God’s grace. He doesn’t give us what we deserve. That’s grace. But good deeds are important. Have you noticed in our study of the seven churches in Revelation that in every letter, Jesus tells each church that He has seen their deeds or what they have done?
What you truly believe will be lived out in your life. It has always been that way and that is why Jesus writes to these churches and says, “I see what you are doing. I see how you are living.” And sometimes that means He is pleased and sometimes He is not. Today we are going to see in the letter to the church in Laodicea that Jesus is passionate in His displeasure because that church wasn’t passionate about much of anything.
Turn to Revelation chapter 3 and we are going to finish up our study of the seven churches. Laodicea is the last church written to by Jesus and the only church that Jesus has nothing good to say about.
It has been noted that every church written to here has a corresponding period of history that it represents. Some of the other churches correspond to the first church or the Dark Ages or whatever but the church in Laodicea is very representative of the time in which we live. As we read this last passage, be mindful of how this church in Laodicea is such a good representative of this world today, and very much representative of the United States, hopefully not representative of our church and only you know if it sounds like you. Let’s read Revelation 3:14-22.
"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. 15I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16So, because you are lukewarm-neither hot nor cold-I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. 19Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. 20Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. 21To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches."
Even if you didn’t know anything about Laodicea, this would be a scary passage. When Jesus says He knows their deeds and He sees what is going on; that He is the faithful witness, you can bet He knows what Laodicea is doing and has done. To make you appreciate a little better what Jesus is saying, let me tell you what I have learned about Laodicea lately because Jesus speaks to it directly and it had to sting.
Whereas most of the other churches that Jesus tells John to write to are fairly small and almost all very poor, Laodicea is very well off. The city is at a huge crossroads that was very popular with travelers and traders and so there was a lot of money being made there. They were also blessed to have some natural resources that helped them make money. They were known for the jet-black sheep they raised that provided very soft and almost water-repellant wool. There were some certain minerals found only in that region that they used to make eye salve.
Because of their wealth, they were big into banking and commerce. They actually rejected the Roman empire’s offer to rebuild the city after an earthquake and said, “Nah. We got this. Thanks.” And they rebuilt it with their own money.
The problem was they had no water in the area and had to build a plumbing system to pipe it in from two different places. Hierapolis had wonderful hot mineral baths but was several miles up the road one way and Colossae was several miles the other way with refreshingly cold water. But when any of the water got to Laodicea…it was neither hot nor cold and everybody knew it. So, now you understand why Jesus said some of what He said.
In verse 15 Jesus said, “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other!” Have you ever noticed how many lines there are around us? There are lines in parking lots that show us where to park. There are lines on a football field that show what is out of bounds. There are lines on a ruler that mark out a distance. Lines are important. We need lines because you are either on one side of the line or the other.
Except for those jerks that park in a parking lot and take up two places. They park right over the line. You can’t do that. That’s a good way to get a new pin stripe down the side with a key. If you do that in the middle of a parking lot, people are going to get mad! And that’s just a car in a lot.
Have you ever known of anybody that was spiritually on both sides of the line? Oh, not you, of course, but maybe that person next to you? What does it look like to be on both sides of the line spiritually? First let me tell you what it doesn’t look like. My mom cut this little clipping from the Star-Telegram last month. It is from the section advertising “Houses of Worship” and it tells when and where certain churches meet.
This one right at the top is called The North Texas Church of Freethought. They proclaim themselves to be The Fellowship of Unbelievers although Fellowship is misspelled. I don’t think they mean to say Fellowshop but who knows what freethinkers are thinking, right? I looked them up and it is a church of atheists. Isn’t that fascinating? What do they do there at their church? Do they sing songs and if so…what songs? Maybe they sing “Amazing Fate” or “I Have Decided To Follow Karma” or something like that. I don’t know.
But while we can probably all agree that is ridiculous and offensive to God, do you know what is worse? Do you understand what Jesus is saying in Revelation 3:15? What makes Jesus want to throw up is a so-called Christian who sits in church and has never had a radical life change; a so-called Christian who isn’t thankful; a so-called Christian who thinks worship is optional; a so-called Christian who is content with what they did for God last year; a so-called Christian who can’t forgive those that don’t forgive him or love those who are unlovely; a so-called Christian who never speaks His name outside the walls of the church building.
You might as well start a church of freethinkers. At least then people will know what side you are on. What you believe is proven by what you do and what you do in church better be backed up by what you do out of church or you are straddling the line. You can’t take up two places. That kind of person is going to be spewed out of the mouth of Jesus like you would spit out lukewarm coffee.
Look at verses 17 and 18 again. 17You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.
Jesus is saying that everything you are relying on that is not Him is going to let you down. It is going to fail you at some point. What good is a big, fancy house when the doctor says you have cancer? How much money do you need to have peace when your child is homeless and addicted to meth? Can Amazon deliver joy this Christmas when your family is fighting? Relying on money, stuff or ability is as ridiculous as a football bat.
Jesus says to buy from Him gold refined in the fire. What does that mean? 1 Peter 1:6-7 sheds some light on this for us. You ought to turn there and mark these verses and go back later and meditate on them. I found them this past week. I’m sure I’ve read it before but never in this context. 1 Peter 1:6-7 says, “for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith-of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire-may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”
I tell you to meditate on this because you will see that what God is telling us is that when Jesus says to buy from Him gold refined in the fire, it means it is going to cost you something. It is very valuable but is only obtained by going through trials. His exact words are to “suffer grief in all kinds of trials.” Your faith is proven, not sitting here in church with your hands raised and a smile on your face surrounded by family but your faith is proven when the doc gives bad news and your child acts the fool.
My dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease several years ago. Alzheimer’s isn’t fair. Nobody deserves that. But while it’s frustrating and confusing for him, Pop still has an overwhelming love for people and a love for Jesus that is obvious every day. Mom and dad go to a certain church, not because the music or preaching is so great but because that is where Pop feels he can serve people best. He goes to a nursing home every week to visit and while he may have a hard time quoting any scriptures anymore, he will just go and sit with those people and listen to them or just be there with them. What’s that worth?
I asked him the other day what he was looking forward to and before I could get the question out good, he blurted out, “Heaven! I can’t wait for Jesus to come back.” That is gold refined in the fire of trials and it’s costly but it’s worth it. His life was changed years and years ago when he was just a kid but God continued to change him and mold him and shape him through good times and bad and now, when nothing else makes much sense, Pop still has such peace that it overflows into other people.
Pop wants to be with Jesus and the good news is that Jesus wants to be with Pop and He wants to be with you. Read verse 20 again. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.” When I was seven years old, my dad preached from this verse. I remember because I thought how crazy it sounded to leave Jesus out of my life. I didn’t understand everything but I knew I was a sinner. I knew I had displeased God and I knew if I invited Jesus into my life that He would forgive me and change me and allow me by His grace to go to Heaven to be with Him forever. I knew there was no other way and so I opened up the door to my life to Him.
It is interesting to me to learn that like most of us, the Greeks had three meals a day and had three words for them just like we say breakfast, lunch and dinner. But the first two meals were just brief and fairly sparse. But the last meal of the day was a big deal. People lingered over it. The work was done and it was time to relax and eat and fellowship with friends and family.
The word that Jesus uses in verse 20 is the word that means the last meal of the day. He says He wants to come in and hang out; fellowship; spend time with. He wants every aspect of your life to reflect Him for the rest of your life. It’s a big deal. It’s not just part of your life. It’s not just on Sundays. It should color your whole life so that when people see you at work or at home, you are the same person they see at church on Sunday morning.
But notice that He is politely knocking. He’s not barging in. He doesn’t force you to do anything but when you open the door, He is coming in to stay. You keep Him forever like luggage. You don’t get rid of Him and you don’t get to keep Him out of certain parts of your life. He is your life now and He won’t have it any other way.
But when you allow Him to come in and change you and mold you into what He wants you to be then you find your true purpose in life. You find out why you were created and you start to live a full and abundant life (John 10:10) and your actions will prove what you believe. So, here He is, knocking and waiting. Why are you keeping Him out? Ask Him to come into your life and change you, forgive you and make you more like Him. Do it right now as the music plays.
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