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 were 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 salve 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 in to 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.'" (Revelation 3:14-22) 

Here is the last churches rebuked by the Lord; His warning is rather stern and unlike some of his other reproofs there is no commendation attached to Laodicea’s instruction. Apathy seems to be very serious consideration by the Lord and with democracy high up on people’s agendas; tolerance seems to be the order of the day, which will revolt against the Word of God when compromise is ushered into the equation. They didn’t even realise that they were in trouble. Happy go lucky type of attitudes and a free for all when it came using the grace of God as a licence to live conscience free. The Lord Jesus was at the door knocking; He knocks away at the doors of our hearts. We must respond to His thump if we are to end up as benefactors to God’s lessons; no differently to a child receiving discipline from their father. It will soon become apparent why we serve God when we are disciplined by Him; is it for selfish gain or are we the ones who look to be about His glory and seek out His forgiveness when the Spirit and the Word exposes our iniquity? Or are we always about condoning our behaviour when it is obviously in rebellion against God?

Here is a great cross reference to highlight where those in Laodicea will stand concerning the discipline that the Lord now gives them, it will soon reveal their standings in Christ just as it reveals ours when we too are rebuked by God for erring down the wrong path. We will all make mistakes but when God shows us our slip-ups its how we respond to His counsel that proves where we actually stand in relation to God’s eternal calling; “And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? "My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives." It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.” (Hebrews 12:5-8)

“Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.”

Sins if unchecked often leave us blind to their damage; “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.” This is a very relevant point with regard to those of us living in this cosmopolitan age, with fashion high up on the agenda’s of some. Nice houses and costly clothing a must for many. But in light of eternity is this that important, obviously not in the bigger scheme of things. Why do we then place so much value on those things, if the shoe fits we must accept our loving Saviour's reproof; “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 salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see.” (Revelations 3:17-18) – “There is none as blind as those who do not wish to see”, a quote that speaks volumes when we are taken by the sin of “lukewarmness”. Complacency when it comes to fence sitting will never cut it with our Lord. Neutral is a gear that keeps us stationary but once we know where it is that we need to go, we must engage. First gear is repentance and from there we move through the gears eventually engaging the gear of endurance.

Why is it imperative that we observe the Lord’s counsel to those in the church at Laodicea? Because if we are actioned into repentance the Lord Jesus promises a great victory and the reward will be paramount; “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.” – It took the Lord Jesus all He had to rescue us from our sin, it cost Him His life, and He died so that we could be covered by God’s mercy for our sins, which is full of offense against God. As children of God we must take His counsel seriously if it is to end well for us.      

  

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

The question we need to ask ourselves is the Lord addressing us on this topic or not? If the answer is yes then we must find grace to respond positively.

Signing off

Tyrone