Laodicea: A Church That Was Lukewarm | Revelation 3:14-22 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

Well, church, we've now reached the final installment of Christ's letters to the seven churches in the book of Revelation. And although this letter may be the most frequently preached among the seven, it has been my prayer this week that each of us would receive fresh insight and fresh inspiration as we revisit it together. And so I ask you now to come with me to the book of Revelation chapter three, beginning in verse 14 as we read the entirety of this address down to verse 22. This is what Jesus says to the church in Laodicea. And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write the words of the amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation.

I know your works. You are neither cold nor hot. Would that you are either cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.

I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and self to anoint your eyes so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline. So be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him and eat with him, and he with me.

The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne as I also conquered and sat down with my father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the spirit says to the churches. I'm sure that you would agree that the word lukewarm is a common expression in the Christian vernacular. Brother so and so seems to be lukewarm lately. I visited that church and they came across lukewarm.

To be honest, I myself have been feeling lukewarm lately. It's a familiar biblical expression. But like many scriptural terms, I'm afraid that something so familiar can lose its true definition, and it can even be misapplied. What does it mean to be lukewarm? What is a lukewarm Christian?

Is being lukewarm merely the absence of excitement for God? Is it the diagnosis of a believer who is struggling with a particular sin? Or is it synonymous with spiritual inactivity? Thankfully, we are not left in the dark regarding its meaning. In the very letter that we are told about lukewarmness, we are given the description for it.

So let's look here at verse 16 again. And notice what Jesus says, so because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing. Not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. So the main reason why Jesus said something remarkable, by the way.

The reason why he said, I will spit you out of my mouth is because these Laodicean Christians said out of their mouths, I am rich. I have prospered, and more importantly, need nothing. A lukewarm Christian is someone who has found satisfaction and sufficiency apart from God and settles there. It's the state of the heart that savors material goods and earthly pursuits above spiritual treasures. All the while, listen, justifying, justifying because of self deception that one is actually spiritually healthy when in fact they are not.

That is a very important part. Because a lukewarm Christian is not someone who recognizes that their love for the person of Jesus is weakening and is longing to see change. No. No. No.

No. No. Someone who is lukewarm has grown content with misplaced values and affections. I need nothing. I'm satisfied.

I have all that I need. And I believe the struggles of this particular church are especially relevant to Western Christianity. Because you know very well that we are inundated with opportunities to pursue riches and worldly comforts to such a degree that distraction alone has been the cause of countless cases of spiritual decline. This is very applicable. And there's so much that we can say about lukewarmness, but I thought the most beneficial approach rather is to organize our thoughts under four headings.

So if you're a note taker, this will be helpful for you. Because I want us to look at four things related to this spiritual condition. Number one, we are going to discuss the possibility of lukewarmness. Who is vulnerable to this malady of the soul? The possibility of lukewarmness.

From there, we're gonna consider the danger of lukewarmness. How dangerous is it really to be lukewarm? Thirdly, we're going to peek into the deception of lukewarmness because there is a deceptive element about it. And lastly, and one that I'm looking forward to talking about, the hope in lukewarmness. Let's begin here again at the possibility of lukewarmness.

As with many of Christ's introductions to these churches, we are reminded both of his divinity and his marvelous ability. And here there are three things that he underscores about himself in verse 14. The words of number one, the amen. Number two, the faithful and true witness. And lastly, the beginning of God's creation.

Did you know the amen is a divine title that belongs to God alone? We find it particularly in Isaiah 65 verse 16. I would encourage you to turn there in the Old Testament to see it for yourself. Notice this verse and what's repeated in it because we have every reason to believe that Christ is alluding to this passage. Isaiah 65 verse 16.

So that he who blesses himself in the land shall bless himself by the God of truth, and he who takes an oath in the land shall swear by the God of truth, because the former troubles are forgotten and are hidden from my eyes. How does this connect with Revelation chapter three verse 14? Well, this is where peeking into the original language is helpful. Because you see here, the title God of Truth, which appears twice in this verse, is rendered in Hebrew, Elohi, Amen. In other words, the God of Amen.

That's the word truth there in the Hebrew, Amen. And the significance of this name is that it presents the Lord as ultimately faithful, totally reliable, and truthful. And Christ now applies this caption to himself, I am the amen. The same one that you find when you read in Isaiah's scrolls, that's me. And he emphasizes his dependability by following it up with the second thing that he says, faithful and true.

I am the faithful and true witness. Now, why is he saying this to the Laodiceans? To prepare them for the blistering verdict about their spiritual condition. This may be hard for you to accept. This may be difficult for you to swallow.

But remember, I am the amen. I am the faithful and true witness, and I only speak what is true. And my analysis of the condition of your soul is not exaggerated. It's not extreme. It's not unfair.

It is undeniably accurate. I am the amen. I am the God of truth. I am the faithful and true witness. And he pulls that from Revelation one five, as you remember.

Now I'm sure none of that is difficult for us to grasp. What may be the most challenging part of this introduction is the final remark, the beginning of God's creation. Now millions today who do not believe that Christ is God will reference this very verse as a supposed proof text. Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons hold to that view that Christ is a significant individual, significant person, but he is a created being. And this is a heresy that goes all the way back to the fourth century called Arianism.

That Christ is the first being that God brought into existence and through him as an agent, he makes everything else. And they would love to quote Revelation three fourteen to confirm that. It seems a little bit difficult. Right? How do you explain this?

The beginning of God's creation. Well, again, this is where it's helpful to understand the meaning of the original language. The Greek word of beginning is the word arche, and like many Greek words prove to be, it has multiple meanings. So the first understanding of the word arche, the beginning, is that of the beginning of something. To come into existence as the first in a sequence.

Moreover, it can also mean the source or the origin of something, the one by whom something or process begins. And lastly, arche can also be understood as the principal ruler. It's where words like archbishop or archangel derive its meaning from. So with those layers of definitions, with this one word, we have to ask ourselves a very simple question. Along with the broader testimony of scripture concerning Christ, what is the Lord Jesus most likely referring to about himself?

Is he saying here that he is the first being that God created through whom all other things were brought about? Or is he saying that he is the source and the origin of all creation, and that he is the supreme ruler over all creation from everlasting to everlasting? Any honest Bible student will say it is the latter. And we can spend the next ten minutes cross referencing to confirm this, but you can just stay in verse 14, because there is no way that the same person who says that he is the amen also says that he is a creature. And so that settles it there.

The question we want to answer instead is, how is that beneficial for this church to know? Why do the Laodiceans need to be reminded that Jesus Christ is the beginning of God's creation? Well, the follow-up question would be, is there anywhere else in the Bible that gives us familiar language pertaining to the person of Christ and this title? And the answer emphatically is yes. It's the book of Colossians.

And I invite you to turn there in chapter one beginning in verse 15. To see this with your own eyes and to see the beautiful symphony of the scriptures. In case you're not aware, the purpose of the book of Colossians is Paul refuting a variety of heresies. And the main way that he does this is by exalting the supremacy of Jesus Christ, and he does so right from the outset of his epistle. Notice what he says in Colossians one verse 15 down to verse 18.

Just reading it is powerful. He says about Jesus, he is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. Highlight that. For by him, all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, where the thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through him and for him, and he is before all things.

And in him, all things hold together, and he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning. The firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. So what do we find here? The magnifying of the majesty of Jesus Christ.

And yes, there are those who are heretics that like to pick this apart and misdefine certain terms, but there is no denying that this is an exclamation point concerning the deity of Jesus. But wait. Why is the Lord referencing Paul's writing, Paul's description, Paul's catalog of the glories of Christ in Revelation? You wanna know the answer? It's in the book of Colossians.

The answer to why Jesus is writing or at least referencing this to the Laodiceans is found at the end of the book of Colossians. Are you there? Go to chapter four. Look at this brief verse in verse 16. Chapter four verse 16.

Paul writes, and when this letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of who? The Laodiceans. And see that you also read the letter from Laodicea. This is so profound. Do you see it?

I hope you do. What the Lord is doing in Revelation three is reminding the Laodiceans that they have lost sight of his preeminence, of his matchless glory, of his all satisfying love as it was once delivered and read aloud in their presence from the apostle Paul. This tells us where lukewarmness begins. How does one become lukewarm? It starts by losing sight of the preciousness of the person of Christ.

It's when your vision of Jesus is blurred, or when your eyes altogether are placed on a lesser thing or things, and he is pushed into the shadows. It's as though Christ, by saying this, is coming to this assembly and saying, remember me? The beginning of God's creation. Now, remember, we're discussing the possibility of lukewarmness. Right?

This is where it starts. And one of the most startling aspects of this is that it also shows that Laodicea had light. Do you know what I mean by that? This church had teaching from the apostle Paul. They had apostolic connections.

They had relationship with these men who seen Jesus and who received the Holy Spirit in a unique way to expound on the glories of who he is. And listen, they still became lukewarm. Please hear me. Please hear me. I know we got the picnic coming up and I know a message on lukewarmness is not the most exciting thing to hear before you go and fellowship with a bunch of people.

I get it. I get it. But there's gonna be a message of hope in this, I assure you this. But let me tell you something very, very important. Going to a Bible believing, Bible preaching church is not enough for you to be safe from the danger of lukewarmness.

This church had light and they still became blame. Each of us have a personal responsibility to nurture the flame on the altar of our hearts, each of us. It may help to go to a place that speaks the truth, that explains the truth, that rejoices in the truth, but it is not sufficient. And all that to say that if we're not vigilant, lukewarmness is possible for any of us. That's the possibility of lukewarmness.

But let's come to the danger of lukewarmness back in Revelation three in verse 15. Notice what Jesus says, I know your works. You are neither cold nor hot. Would that you are either cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.

That's just really feel that. I will spit you out of my mouth. Now, if you're not careful, you may make the mistake like some do and think that Jesus is threatening eternal rejection. Like, this is some creative way of describing everlasting judgment. That is not the case.

Let's break this down slowly. Jesus wishes that they were either hot or cold. Now, I understand Jesus wishing Christians to be hot. You know the original word there is not just microwave hot, it's boiling hot. And you find that charge throughout the New Testament that we would be fervent and zealous in our love for Christ and the advancement of his kingdom.

That makes sense. But how is it that Christ, if they were not to be hot, would desire that they would be cold instead? Well, if being cold is the opposite of being blistering hot, then what Christ is proposing is that he prefers people to be unambiguous and consistent in their spiritual stance rather than being half hearted and hypocritical in their faith. In other words, it's more helpful for you and for others to be honest. I'm clearly in or I'm obviously out.

Instead of remaining in the meaningless middle. And middle, according to Jesus, is going to church regularly while having no true desire for Christ. Remember, he he's not addressing the community center in Laodicea. He's talking to a church. So they were meeting on a regular basis.

And Jesus tells his church, I wish you were either hot or you were cold. Just as lukewarm food or drink is unpleasant, Jesus says, your disinterest in me makes me nauseated. The more literal term there is, makes me sick to my stomach. It's not me. That's Jesus.

That offends you, deal with him. This is what he says. And not only is lukewarmness offensive to Christ, it's useless. You know what came to my mind when meditating on this is the Lord's words about us being the salt of the earth. And what happens if salt loses its flavor?

The only good that it has is to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. It has no purpose. It has no power. It it doesn't have any efficiency. It's it's just to be trampled on.

And in the same way, when when there's lukewarmness, Jesus can't do anything with that. He just spits it out. And that is what I believe Christ is getting at here. I can't do anything with you when you're lukewarm. And to tolerate self sufficiency and to be stale in our spiritual pursuits means that we miss out on pleasing Christ, we disqualify ourselves from being used by him, and we do not experience his delight.

You can't tell me that Jesus saying, I'm spitting you out of my mouth means that you're living under an open heaven. You're forfeiting something. You're actually forfeiting a lot. And this is the impression that the church is supposed to have when reading this threat. And really, understanding that makes verse 19 more understandable.

Look what he says in verse 19. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. Now, the word zealous there is the same word as hot, boiling hot. I'm asking you Christians to be boiling hot. Now, I have to be honest.

I read this when I first got saved. And for many years, whenever I would come across this passage, I would be troubled by something. The problem of this church is that they lacked zeal. Right? They were finding their satisfaction and their sufficiency in things apart from God.

So how is it that Jesus can demand them, be zealous? Can you imagine me coming up here saying, listen, we've lost our passion here. So here's what we need to do, get passionate. Okay? How can you demand that from me?

And it only makes sense when you realize what he said back in verse 15 and verse 16. The danger of the diagnosis. He already diagnosed them and he told them what would happen. And that report should have been enough to kick them into gear to get zealous again, to do whatever it takes to make sure that they knew the spiritual fervor that the Lord demanded of them. Now, hypothetically, imagine that I struggled with maybe, shortness of breath, tightness in the chest, but, you know, maybe it's from working out, maybe it's the change of weather.

And so, I go see the doctor and he examines me. Now, if he downplays those symptoms and he just says, you know, just sleep it off, I'm not going to be as excited to make any changes. But what may not seem to be serious, at least in my experience, in my own personal analysis, if that is challenged by the doctor who is who is true and faithful and he says, listen, your arteries are clogging and you need to start exercising and you need to change your diet. You're gonna die. You're not gonna live very long.

Is it gonna take much for me to get serious about those changes? It shouldn't. I understand the danger, the predicament that I am in, and that propels me forward. And that's why Jesus can say this so plainly. He just finished explaining, listen, I will spit you out of my mouth.

You may not think it's serious, but it is deadly. It's deadly for your experience of me. It's deadly in your witness. It's deadly for your ministry. It's deadly for many things that can follow when you remain in lukewarmness.

It's time to make some changes. It's dangerous to remain lukewarm. Do you see it that way? Perhaps not, which brings me to the third point, the deception of lukewarmness. There's something about lukewarmness that lies to us.

What I find so shocking about this letter is that there is no mention of sexual immorality like other churches. There is no reprimand, there is no confrontation about false teaching being tolerated, there is no faithlessness in the face of persecution. I'm confident that if you visited this church, you'd be met with an environment that was warm, pun intended, friendly, kind, filled with civilized people, respectable, good jobs, nicely clothed. And you would say this is a splendid place. And Christ has no good thing to say about it.

Not one good thing for one main reason. They failed to find their ultimate satisfaction and sufficiency in him. It was in their income. It was in their luxury. It was in their health.

It was in their superficial relationships with other lukewarm Christians. It was in their entertainment. And that is what made them wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. You see, what makes lukewarmness so deceiving is that it doesn't involve blatant wickedness. There's just enough warmth in it for you to feel like you're doing okay.

But lukewarmness, tolerating it and remaining indifferent, is the failure to realize that Christ asked so much more of us than just avoiding certain bad things. Please hear me. If you're persuaded that Christianity is mainly about you not sinning, you missed it completely. That's part of what it means to be a Christian. But what the Lord asks of his people is that they would discover greater and deeper gratification in him.

And in that pleasure, he would be glorified and you would secure the greatest good. Enjoying Jesus Christ is the chief pursuit of the Christian. Not just deflecting and avoiding and not clicking and not lying and not saying. It's beyond that. It's relishing, loving, worshiping, fellowshipping with Christ, and that being your energy to do everything else.

But Luke Warner says, I'm alright. Like, not cheating on my spouse, not wasting my resources gambling, I'm not not a violent person. I'm good. I'm good. I'm good.

And Jesus says, you're actually poor. You're a pauper. You're blind. You don't see it. You don't see what I'm really asking of you.

And so he has come to make some offers to these believers, a series of them. Did you see it? Look at verse 18. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may be rich. Oh, so you get more animated about money than about me, Hey, let me let you know something.

I have some gold. You wanna buy some? You wanna buy some gold? Why don't you spend some of your energy and efforts investing in me? Can I tell you something?

You and I have spiritual treasures at our disposal that if reached after and truly experienced, will make you feel like the richest man or woman in the entire world. I don't envy people who have a lot of stuff. In fact, most of those people are the most miserable people that I know if they don't have Christ. Jesus says, I have I have real gold, the purest of gold. I have golden revelation.

I have golden transformation. I have golden interactions with a broken and bankrupt world that I wanna use you for. Get rich in God. Be wealthy in me. Let's make a deal.

But he doesn't just say that. He goes on to say in verse 18, and white garments said that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen. Okay. So you find more thrill in shopping and dressing the best than knowing and serving me. I have some clothes for you.

Some white garments. And these clothes, if you really wear them, they will make you the most attractive in this life and in the next. What are the white garments that Jesus is speaking of here? I believe the answer is in the book of Revelation. You just have to go to chapter 19.

Look at chapter 19 in verse seven as we get a glimpse of the marriage supper of the lamb. Jesus says that I have white garments and I believe this is what he is speaking about. Revelation 19 verse seven, let us rejoice and exalt and give him glory. Give him the glory. For the marriage of the lamb has come and his bride has made herself ready.

It was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure, for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. We're not talking about here the righteousness of Christ that he clothes us with. We're talking about the clothing, the adornment of our good works. So what is the Lord saying back in Revelation three? I have a tailor made ministry for you.

I have good works prepared for you for you to accomplish in every season of your life. I have opened doors for you to come into contact with people that need me. You can't see it. You're lukewarm. You don't need anything.

You're not desperate to know my will. You're not desperate to serve me. You're rich. You're comfortable. You're satisfied.

But I'm telling you, I have white garments for you to wear. Would you wear them? Would your identity not be in this and this and this and this? Would it be in how you live for me and what you do for me? And lastly, he mentions salve to anoint their eyes.

Let's finish verse 18. And salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. Ah, interesting. So we go from materials to medicine. And it seems like this group of Christians, this community was very much interested in their health as much as their wealth.

And one example that Christ brings up is how the Laodiceans apparently prided themselves in this ointment for the eyes that helped see better and heal certain issues. And Jesus wants to let him know, it's so possible to be invested in the temporal where you lose spiritual vision altogether. Nothing wrong with taking care of your body, but anything can become an idol. How you look and how you feel can be why the reason you live. And so the Lord says, I have something for your eyes.

You come to me and I'll give you accurate perception. I'll give you sharp discernment. I'll give you profound insight to rightly interpret this world and to see me for who I really am. This is moving. And what makes it the most moving is the beginning of verse 18, because this quality of life can only be found in one place, more specifically, one person.

Look again, I counsel you to buy from me. You want real gold? You want white garments? You want to really see? You can only get it from me.

You can only find it in the person of Jesus Christ. So come to me. How much is it? Well, according to Isaiah, it's free. It's free.

The payment has already been made in Christ. At the same time, he calls you to reach out and grab it, to believe, to hunger for it, to long for it. Which brings us to our final point, that's the hope and lukewarmness. You know, if someone told me that the way I think and the way I've been acting lately makes them sick to their stomach, I would think that they would want nothing to do with me afterwards. But that's not what we find here because the letter is not over yet.

What does he say in verse 19? Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline. So Jesus, I'm sure you're convinced, despises lukewarmness. At the same time, he loves the lukewarm. Isn't that amazing?

So here you have a church that is shrinking. Shrinking in their adoration of Christ and their passion for his person, his program, his presence. And Jesus' love never wavered for them. It's still strong and active. He's still very close.

And he's more specific by saying, those whom I love, I reprove and discipline. So, he wants to clarify that his motive behind these words is not hatred, it's not self righteousness necessarily, it's not again legalism, it's love. It's love. This is hard to imagine that my love for him can be limp, pathetic really, and he still not just feels love for me, he tells me he loves me. Those whom I love.

And if that assurance weren't enough, then Christ confirms it by telling us to behold verse 20. In other words, if you've been distracted up to this point, look at this part. Behold, verse 20, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him and eat with him and he with me. Now, you've probably heard this verse quoted more than anything else in an evangelistic way.

Jesus Christ is knocking on the door of your heart, unbeliever, and he's waiting for you to swing it open and invite him in so that he can make his home in your heart. It's a wonderful picture, but it doesn't honor the context. Jesus is not knocking on the door of an unbeliever. He's knocking on the door of a church. And here's what went through my mind.

Hold on for a second. Jesus is outside the church? This church at least? How many meetings have you been having without Christ? He hasn't been in attendance and that hasn't bothered you.

Mark my words, a church that is not hungry, prayerful, mindful, longing for the presence and power of Christ in their gatherings is a lukewarm church. That's a lukewarm church. Not filled with a bunch of vile people, just, you know, like a respectable sin. Just, I'm rich, I'm good, everything's fine, nice. Surround was a little better than last week, you know.

Music was not No no craving, no sense of need, no realization that whatever I've known, there's more and I want it. That's a lukewarm church. And yet, though he's outside the church, this is the head of the church, is outside the church. He's waiting outside the church. You would think that he would have left the moment that they turned away from him.

Not so. Jesus says, behold, I stand at the door and knock. And as much as this is an appeal to the church, it is also deeply personal if anyone hears my voice. So this isn't really about the whole church answering, coming to a consensus. Let's have a member's meeting.

Who votes having Jesus come back into the church? How preposterous. How silly. Yes, we're talking about the seven letters to the seven churches here, but this is a reminder that a lukewarm church is lukewarm because of lukewarm people. And if that church is going to be healed of its lukewarmness, it's gonna take every single person to make a conscious choice to commune with Christ again.

So if anyone, don't you love that? Anyone. Not just the elders, not just the deacons, not just those who really serve in it. Any Hey, if anyone is in there, and they hear my voice, implying what? That anyone can know close fellowship with Christ.

I'll come in and I will eat with him and he with me. We'll we'll spend some time together. What is Christ longing for from us? Relationship. Let's sit and talk for a while.

Let me hear your voice. Look me in the eyes. Put the phone down for a little bit. I know you're busy running around, but do you not hear me? Knocking.

The only way a church can be delivered from this is when each make the decision to prioritize solitude with the shepherd of their souls. That is the remedy for personal revival, by the way. That is the cure for complacency. Come to me and buy from me. Now, I was thinking, does this message deserve a step by step of how we can launch ourselves back into the right state of mind and state of heart and leave lukewarmness behind?

Let me just give you one step. If you are lukewarm today, I adjure you. I call you to do one simple thing. Go to Christ in your lukewarmness and tell him about it. Express your heart, Lord, I'll be honest, you already know it.

There are more exciting things to me than you. I have no longing. I I'm not desperate. I'm just, and I'm actually, I'm fine with it. I I have things in my life going on.

It's keeping me busy. I don't feel this shallowness or this hollowness in my heart necessarily, but I'm gonna take you out your word and realize that no matter what kind of satisfaction I am enjoying in this life, I'm actually wretched and I'm actually poor and I'm actually blind and naked. Let me find it in you. Let me know it in you. Did you know that Jesus saying this in verse 20 is yet another allusion to the Old Testament?

In a book that is rarely referenced in meetings and even in our personal reading, the Song of Solomon. Let's go to chapter five of Song of Solomon. The Song of Solomon is a love story and it tells the tale of Solomon and one of his brides, I guess. Some would say that that is all that it is. It's really a love song, a poem, and that we can benefit from the language in it in our own relationship with our spouses.

I am of those who believe that there is spiritual application relating to Jesus Christ and his love for the church. Not in everything, not in every detail. Some people go so extreme, but there are clear and obvious passages that point to Christ and us and us and Christ. And Revelation three twenty is just one example. Chapter five, look at verse two and tell me if it sounds familiar.

The bride, the woman says, I slept, but my heart was awake. A sound, my beloved is what? Knocking. Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my perfect one. For my head is wet with dew, my locks with the drops of the night.

Do you see the urgency of the bridegroom who is outside? Look at the language that he describes her. My sister, my love, my dove, my perfect one. This is a a rich love. This is passion.

This isn't just business. This isn't transactional. This is adoration on the part of the man. And not only that, look at his patience. He's knocking outside while she's inside and notice how long he's been waiting for, my head is wet with dew.

My locks were the drops of the night. So he he's been outside and the elements are having their way with his air, and he's still not moving. He's still hoping that she will answer the door. Now, what would be the appropriate response if you're in love? My beloved is outside.

He's asking for me. He's summoning me. And she would race to that door and open it wide and embrace him. That's what Jesus is asking for from us. But that's not what happens with the bride in the story.

Look at verse three. I had put off my garment. How could I put it on? I had bathed my feet. How could I soil them?

You see what she's saying? She's in bed, she brushed her teeth, she put on her pajamas, and now there's a surprise visit. It's inconvenient. I'm already busy. I'm I'm ready to do my own thing.

And that's the danger for some of us here today after hearing this letter to the Laodiceans. That's actually the temptation every day. Lord, you don't see how busy I am? Do you not see my schedule? You really asked me to wake up a little bit earlier to hear your voice?

Don't you see that I'm helping you here and I'm doing this for you there? That's why I go back to that one if there's one call to action, it's this. If you find yourself dormant, if you find yourself callous, if you find yourself unfazed, go to Jesus. Don't make excuses. Come to him and let him heal you and open your eyes and move in you.

I can't tell you how many times I in my own life have have said that to the Lord. Lord, help me. Help me love you. Help me place you above all other things. Help me feel the most strongly about you.

Let there be no rival in this life with my devotion to you. I'll tell you this. He's faithful to help us. He can heal you today. But if you find yourself like this woman making excuse after excuse after excuse, he won't be able to help you.

You know what's amazing? Jesus is the head of the church. If there's anybody who has a right to kick the door open and walk in, it's Jesus. He doesn't do that. He waits for us to respond.

He does the same thing as Song of Solomon. He doesn't break the door down. That shows me what he really wants from us. Out of our own desire and longing and choice to respond to him. Oh, would we do that today?

He says that in verse 21 of Revelation three, he who overcomes. We read it. He'll sit on my throne. Right? That's the eternal reward there.

But, let me just focus on that first part, he who overcomes. You know what Jesus wants us to overcome? Lukewarmness. And it tells me that it's possible to overcome lukewarmness. And listen, there isn't just reward in this life for those who live ablaze for Christ, there is an eternal reward.

Can you imagine that? Can you imagine Jesus crowning Christians with this commendation? You overcame lukewarmness. Here's a reward. That's how much this means to our Jesus this afternoon.

Now can we come before Him? Can we ask that He would remain in the midst, never outside, and not just in our meetings, but in our own hearts? He will help us. We ask you, Lord, that as we've come to the conclusion of this series within a series, we pray that if our hearts are lukewarm, if we are satisfied and self sufficient apart from you and are settling there, if we are content in our misplaced values and affections, if it doesn't disturb us anymore, Lord, we pray that we would take heed to the danger, that we would be awakened to the deception, but we would also see the hope in our lukewarmness. Renew our delight in you.

Help us really believe that day by day, you desire us to fellowship with you. And so, Lord, from the sincerity of our innermost being, we ask that what we heard would not evaporate leaving this place, but that we would carry it with us going home tonight. And that knocking door would be in our ears as we wake up tomorrow morning. And that, Lord, every day we would believe that the beginning of God's creation actually wants to sit with me and hear me and give to me. We love you, Lord.

May this church never be lukewarm. May this church be known for the presence and the power of Jesus Christ every time we come together. Forgive us. If at even for a moment, we've been so caught up with other things that we've lost sight of the priority. Lord, from the beginning to the end, have preeminence in this place.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. The praise team will come up and we'll sing to him. If you really were touched today and you need to spend time sitting while we sing to talk to the Lord, you're free to do that.

If you wanna express yourself by standing and singing with the rest of us, you're welcome to do that as well. I know we have plans today, but let's give this window of time to really engage with the living Christ, because he does see us and he does hear us in this house. God bless you.