Feb 27, 1999 11 min read old-sermon

The Lukewarm Church (Revelation 3:14-22)

please open your Bibles this morning to Revelation 3:14-22
did you ever see Rocky 3?
in Rocky 3, Rocky Balboa has been the heavyweight champion of the world for several years
the once obscure and impoverished street fighter from Philadelphia is now living in a Hollywood style mansion
he’s enjoying a life of wealth and fame and self-indulgence
the day he plans to announce his retirement, he is challenged by an unknown behemoth
one final fight, and Rocky accepts the challenge
Rocky trains for the fight in a circus-like atmosphere
he signs more autographs than he hits punching bags
meanwhile, the challenger is in a meat locker, punching sides of beef and knocking around dock workers and docks
when the fight time comes, one wonders whether Rocky can reach down and pull out one final victory, even though he is no longer at his peak
the challenger destroys Rocky in just three rounds
humiliated and dejected, Rocky tries to figure out what went wrong
Apollo Creed, his opponent in Rocky 1 and 2, gives him his assessment
do you remember his words? “Eye of the tiger, Rock. Eye of the tiger.”
“You used to have the eye of the tiger. You used to be hungry to win. You used to have the want-to. You used to be willing to pay the price to train. You used to fight with abandonment. You used to.”
“But winning led to fame, and fame led to affluence, and affluence led to indulgence, and self-indulgence led to weakness, and weakness led to defeat.”
Apollo Creed convinced Rocky to work out in a run-down sweatshop
Creed spent months helping Rocky recapture the eye of a tiger
and as you all can imagine, Rocky, fighting with the eye of a tiger, recaptured his world championship and yelled, “Yo Adrian!” one more time
moral of the story: beware of the dangers of a life of comfort and ease
keep a watchful eye out to make sure it doesn’t lead to an embarrassing and costly defeat
do whatever is necessary to keep the eye of the tiger in the various pursuits that are important to you
we’re going to look this morning at the last of seven letters written by Jesus Christ to particular churches in the book of Revelation
the church we’ll look at this morning – Laodicea – is the worst of the seven
outwardly, this church is in great shape
Laodicea was the wealthiest of the seven cities, known for its banking industry, its manufacture of black wool, and a medical school that produced eye ointment
so wealthy was this city that when an earthquake almost entirely destroyed it in 60 AD, its wealthy citizens refused imperial help in rebuilding the city, choosing rather to do it entirely by themselves
the citizens of Laodicea were rich – and they knew it
if you were a real estate agent at that time, it wouldn’t be hard to sell Laodicea
it was a great place to live
the only real negative about the place was its lack of an adequate water supply
the city of Hierapolis was just seven miles north of Laodicea, and was famous for its healing hot springs
Colosse, less than ten miles away, had cool water
but Laodicea, as rich as it was, had a serious water problem
the water for the city came along a six-mile aqueduct, and by the time it arrived, it was lukewarm, insipid, filled with minerals and chemicals
it sometimes even caused vomiting
but what’s a little water problem in such a great city?
perhaps slowly, and perhaps imperceptibly, the culture of the city became the culture of the church
the comfort and affluence of the city caused the church in Laodicea to become comfortable and complacent
you initially get the impression that this church would be a good one to join
there were no false teachings that are mentioned
there was certainly no persecution from Jews or from the imperial cult
the church in Laodicea was not a dynamic church but it was not a dead church either
it was not a thriving church, but it was not a dying church
it was not a risk taking church, but it was not a comatose church
it was well with in the range of evangelical respectability, you might say
it was kind of normal
it was just a safe, comfortable place to attend and have a membership
no high risk plans on the drawing boards there
no dynamic ministry plans being prayed for there
just a warm, caring group of people meeting together to reinforce middle class values and a Christian orientation to life in general
just a benign group of believers content to cocoon together with other believers for an hour a week
they’re not zealots, but neither are they antagonistic
they’re not hot, but neither are they cold
call them tepid, call them lukewarm, and then call them disgusting in the eyes of Christ
shockingly, in verse 16, Jesus says to the church in Laodicea, “You make me sick”
verse 16 literally says, “I am about to vomit”
the Jesus that we think of as being meek and mild says, “What’s going on at your church makes me ill to my stomach”
unlike most of the other churches addressed by Jesus in Revelation 2 and 3, there are no words of commendation to this church
Jesus is nauseated by their condition
my desire this morning is that we would evaluate ourselves against the two things that disturbed Jesus about this church
once we get over the shock of the strong language of Jesus, we learn two factors that make Jesus sick about the church
two things that Jesus can’t stand in any church – then or today
and the first one is found in verses 15 and 16
FIRST, JESUS IS DISGUSTED WITH CHURCHES THAT ARE INDIFFERENT
(Revelation 3:15) I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other!
(Revelation 3:16) So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
unlike the water of Colosse, whose water was cool and refreshing, and unlike the water of Hierapolis, whose water was hot and healing, the water at Laodicea was lukewarm and hard to swallow
Jesus extends this to the church
back then, cold didn’t have the same meaning as it does today when applied to passion
I don’t believe that Jesus would want anyone to be openly hostile to him – although at least then they have some emotion
but what Jesus is saying here is, you’re all the wrong temperature
you’re passionless and indifferent
you don’t take a stand for anything
you’re not doing anything for Christ
you’re a group of half-hearted, nominal Christians who are self-sufficient – and you’re disgusting
you’re making me ill
there’s a fancy word that we sometimes use called entropy
it’s used to describe the tendency towards decay and deterioration of everything around us
left to itself, everything is in a state of decay
a car left untouched in your driveway for ten years doesn’t become better – it becomes a piece of useless metal
I’ll get technical with you for a second
the second law of thermodynamics states that “a closed system eventually moderates so that no more energy is being produced”
in other words, unless something is added from the outside, the system decays and dies
as one person says, without added fuel, the hot water in the boiler becomes cool
without electricity, the refrigerant in the freezer becomes warm
even a church cannot become a “closed system”
and yet the Laodicean church had become independent, self-satisfied, and secure
and it made Jesus sick
if you could compile a hymnal that would be appropriate to use in the Laodicean church, it would include such songs as “I surrender some,” “Take my life and let me be,” “Sit up, sit up for Jesus,” “My hope is built on nothing much,” and “Be Thou My Hobby”
but before we laugh too much, how many of us are familiar with churches that are lukewarm?
how many of us even here this morning are wealthy, and live fairly easy lives, and are confident, satisfied, complacent, and indifferent?
I don’t know about you, but I didn’t sign up for that
ask yourself – didn’t your passion used to burn for Christ and for the church?
I grew up believing that the church was God’s hope for society
that the Gospel has the power to do what government can’t do, what science can’t do
I believed that Jesus Christ was mankind’s only hope
and I believed it so much that I sensed God calling me into full-time vocational ministry
I thought, “There’s no better way to spend a life”
I believed the old saying, “If God’s called you to be a pastor, don’t stoop to be a king”
but then I became a pastor of a church
part of the problem was that the church was full of nice people
our budget was being met
we were seeing some growth
and the slow but subtle trend was for me to forget that the church has a mission
it was almost enough to open the doors for the same people week after week, to enjoy our fellowship, and have almost no passion for the lost, or even a passion for God
that’s the truth
beware the dangers of living a life of comfort and ease
because winning leads to fame, and fame leads to affluence, and affluence leads to indulgence, and self-indulgence leads to weakness, and weakness leads to defeat
the second thing that Jesus can’t stand in the church is found in verse 17
(Revelation 3:17) You 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.
SECOND, JESUS IS DISGUSTED WITH CHURCHES THAT ARE SELF-DECEIVED
you see, the deeper problem of the church in Laodicea was not simply their indifference, but it was ignorance of their true condition
they thought of themselves as being rich and sufficient
but Jesus evaluates them and says, “You’re really spiritually wretched and pitiful. You’re poor, blind, and naked”
in an excellent book The Heart of a Great Pastor, H.B. London and Neil Wiseman write:
To acknowledge frailties in the Church and failures in the ministry is giant step toward renewal…I heard a recognized clergy leader tell ministerial students…that the “Church is doing a better job of fulfilling her mission now than at any time in church history.” A student asked a friend seated next to him, “I wonder if the speaker really believes that? If everything is right, why are so many giving up on the church?”
Let’s admit that the Church is not what it should be. It is not what it can be. Deep in our hearts, we all know that the Church needs to be renewed and refocused. There is a growing feeling…that something has to be done about it…
Winston Churchill is quoted as saying that challenges are keys to self-renewal. If he is right, the Church is presented with the potential of an awesome awakening.
to people who realize that not all is well in the church, Jesus offers four words of advice
FIRST, COME TO ME FOR EVERYTHING YOU NEED
(Revelation 3:18) I 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.
in a city that had plenty of gold as a source of its wealth, Jesus says, “It’s not enough. You need gold from me”
in a city that was known for its manufacture of black wool, Jesus says, “You need to get clothes from me”
and in a city renowned for its manufacture of eye salve, Jesus says, “Come to me for divine eye salve. You need a renewed spiritual vision so you can see life and eternity for what they are. Your eyes have been blinded by the light of culture, but my eye salve works”
come to me realizing that you have no resources of your own
you need my salvation, and my power to be what you need to be
SECOND, JESUS SAYS, ACCEPT MY DISCIPLINE
(Revelation 3:19) Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline.
Jesus still loves lukewarm saints, even though their love for him has grown cold
Jesus tells us here that he sometimes permits churches to go through times of trial so they can become all that they need to be
THIRD, REPENT AND BE ERNEST
(Revelation 3:19) Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent.
rekindle your love and loyalty for Christ
humble yourselves before the sight of the Lord
it’s not too late to replace complacency with zeal
FOURTH, RESPOND TO CHRIST’S INVITATION TO THE CHURCH
(Revelation 3:20) 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 him, and he with me.
now verse 20 is one of the most graphic portrayals of the nature of Christ in Scripture
usually that verse is used for evangelistic purposes, and I suppose that’s permissible
but that’s not the way that verse is meant to be understood
it’s a picture that Jesus paints for all of us, a beautiful picture
by rights, lukewarm Christians should be standing at Christ’s door, begging for forgiveness for their half-heartedness and their apathy
but look at the picture that is painted here
no other love is like Christ’s love!
the nail-scarred hands of Jesus are knocking on the door of a callused Christian, whose heart should be warm with worship night and day
but it’s not
so the disappointed but long-suffering Jesus patiently knocks on the door of a tepid Christian, saying, “I’m seeking you out”
“True, I Jesus, am the offended and the wronged party”
“But I am extending myself to you. I’m knocking at your door. I’m taking the initiative.”
and he says, “Open the door”
that’s what you call amazing grace
Jesus, what a friend for sinners
Hallelujah, what a Savior!
what a picture of hope for lukewarm Christians
this is a call for you to leave the ranks of the half-hearted
and become fully devoted
so tepid Christians, you know who you are
this last call is for you
the Christ you claim to love is standing at your heart’s door this morning
and he’s patiently knocking
he’s patiently offering you the hope of forgiveness, renewal, and growth
open the door!
don’t delay, don’t put him off
don’t make him chasten you
before the rod of discipline is employed
welcome him to a position of lordship in your life
resolve to get back into good spiritual shape again by rigorous disciplines
resolve to meet with him every day so you never grow distant from him
increase your spiritual intake
meet regularly with other Christians to sharpen each other
make Sundays priority in your life
recapture the eye of the tiger, spiritually speaking
what about it friends? Christ stands at the door of your heart and knocks
open the door
let’s pray
God has given us these letters to the seven churches, given to us so that we might examine our lives and ministries
over the past six messages on this subject, I believe that many of us have been convicted
many of us have not enjoyed being convicted, but we have heard the Holy Spirit speaking to us on such subjects as losing our first love, on being attacked by the evil one, on allowing compromised teaching and leadership, on coasting, on being lukewarm, and on allowing God to open the doors
these are not my words to the church; they’re Jesus’ words
they’re what Christ thinks of the church
I’m going to close this morning with Jesus’ challenge that he have to each of the seven churches:
(Revelation 2:7) He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
the challenge is that we will hear the Spirit’s voice that accompanies the words of Jesus, if we’re to realize the victory Jesus promises
so how is it?
will you hear the Spirit’s voice this morning, and respond?
will you open the door as you hear Jesus knocking, and allow him to enter, and eat with him, and he with you?
will you cast off indifference and self-deception, and leave the ranks of the half-hearted?
I’m going to ask you to pray silently for a minute, responding to what the Spirit has said to you through these messages in Revelation 2 and 3
[pause]
Lord, make us into the church we need to be, the people we ought to be, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Darryl Dash

I'm a grateful husband, father, oupa, and pastor of Grace Fellowship Church East Toronto. I love learning, writing, and encouraging. I'm on a lifelong quest to become a humble, gracious old man.

Toronto, Canada

Darryl Dash

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