Check out the church site too!
http://www.frankfortpresbychurch.com/
PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION: Please pray with me: Holy Spirit, as the Scripture is read, open our hearts and minds to hear the truth; shine your light into our dark places; convict us where our hearts have been hardened; and call us to respond with joy to your Word to us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
SERMON-INTRO
As we near the end of the “Year of the Bible,” you’ve gotten a taste of almost every book of the Bible. So, drawing upon all that vast knowledge you now have, were I to ask you which book in the Bible is the strangest, scariest, and most confusing, what would you say? (Revelation)
That’s what I thought you’d say! Revelation is the most mysterious book of the Bible. No one is quite sure what to make of it: is it symbolic? Literal? Should we try to figure out what it means? Should we just ignore it all together? What do we do with the book of Revelation?
Now, if my family were here, they would affirm what I am about to say to you. I, Allison Bauer, like to do things the hard way. This means I often make things a bit more complicated than they need to be, which usually results in me creating more work for myself than really is necessary.
BUT it ALSO means that everything is an adventure with me. I tend to throw myself into things, heart and soul. So of course, as I began to consider what to preach on this Sunday, I thought immediately about, what else, Revelation because I like to do things the hard way.
So my goal this morning is to take just a little piece of Revelation and make it not so scary. This morning I want to show you that Revelation is really just a book about what God’s EXPECTATIONS for us.
The first three chapters of Revelation are relatively not scary, and that’s where we’re going to start. These chapters represent the 7 letters the apostle John wrote to the 7 major churches of his day, while he was exiled on the Island of Patmos. And in these letters, it kinda seems like God is showing the churches what his EXPECTATIONS of them are and grading the churches on how good—or bad—of a job each church is doing to meet those EXPECTATIONS. So we’re going to look at just one of those letters this morning—because I’m trying to make this not so scary. We can handle one little letter, right? Good.
So, our Scripture reading this morning comes from Revelation 3:14-22:
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. 15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm-- neither hot nor cold-- I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
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. 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.
19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. 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. 21 To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."
The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of the Lord endures forever.
#1
Ouch. The church at Laodicea doesn’t fair very well, does it? On behalf of God, John is delivering this church’s grade on how well they are living up to God’s EXPECTATIONS. And that grade is an F.
But it’s not just an F; it’s an F -, an F - -, if those are possible. It’s probably the worst grade a church can get. God says, “I know your deeds” . . . and “I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”
There are several ways to spit something out of your mouth. There’s the little spit, like spitting out a watermelon seed. There’s the medium spit, like when you’re brushing your teeth in the sink. And there’s the big spit, like when you a mouthful of sour milk or juice.
The kind of spitting that Revelation is talking about is that last kind of spitting—when you’ve got something that tastes totally nasty sitting in your mouth. It’s a big gesture; it gets the attention of all the other people gathered around nearby; it can be more than a little gross too.
So God says to the church at Laodicea, “I know your deeds” . . . and “I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” That’s how bad Laodicea is.
I told you I think Revelation is a book about God’s EXPECTATIONS. And of all the 7 churches that get a letter from John, Laodicea has done the WORST job living up to God’s EXPECTATIONS. In fact, this spitting out God is threatening to do is actually closer in meaning to actually vomiting them out, not just spitting. It is as though God is saying to them, “I know your deeds and your deeds make me sick.” Literally.
So that leaves us with one question: what in the world could Laodicea have done to fall so short of God’s EXPECTATIONS?
#2
Let me read it for you again: “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm-- neither hot nor cold-- I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”
God’s EXPECTATIONS are that the church would be either hot or cold. But Laodicea is neither hot nor cold; their deeds are neither hot nor cold. But what does that mean exactly?
On the one hand, it means they are not on fire for God, living passionate lives of service to God and neighbor. On the other hand, it also means that they are not anti-God, telling friends and neighbors that there IS no God. They’re just somewhere in the middle; they are lukewarm . . . “lukewarm Laodicea.”
It sounds like they could care less about God; they are indifferent to God because Laodicea is one of the most prosperous cities at this time and they are rich and independent. And they have become independent of God. They have decided they can do for themselves and don’t need God’s help.
They are wishy-washy when it comes to God. God is there in the background, but he isn’t really a defining part of their lives. God may not even be something they think about much during their week.
This is God’s EXPECTATION for them: “Be hot or be cold, but don’t be lukewarm.” God says, “I would rather that you not believe in me AT ALL than to be lukewarm.” Imagine that. It would be better to not believe at all then to be lukewarm toward God.
But all is not lost for “lukewarm Laodicea.”
#3
All is not lost for “lukewarm Laodicea” because, as Revelation tells us, “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline.” The church at Laodicea hasn’t been spit out or vomited up yet—there’s still hope. They still have a chance to change their ways and live up to God’s EXPECTATIONS. There’s hope because God wants to rebuke and discipline them. There’s still time to choose whether they want to be hot or cold, rather than to be lukewarm.
God has not given up on the church at Laodicea. Though they are lukewarm, he is not ready to give up on them yet. “Here I am!” he said. “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.”
God invites the church at Laodicea to get off the fence. God invites the church to make a decision: are you gonna be hot or are you gonna be cold? Pick one or the other, but don’t mess around in the middle.
And God makes a promise to “lukewarm Laodicea,” and you can always take God’s promises to the bank. He promises them, “To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne.” To those who repent of being lukewarm, he says, you will sit with me in heaven.
This is what God EXPECTED of the 7 churches in Revelation: be hot or cold, but don’t be lukewarm. God wants them to make up their minds once and for all—be hot or be cold, but don’t be lukewarm.
CONCLUSION
Advent isn’t really a “lukewarm” time of year, is it? People are either hot or cold—they love everything about Christmas or they hate it. Fights abound about whether you can put a nativity scene on public property or not. The debate rages about whether you should say “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays” to people you meet in the street.
There’s something about Advent that makes us run hot or cold. It’s hard to be lukewarm about Advent. And I’m beginning to think that maybe that’s by God’s design—maybe God knew that we all tend to slide into “lukewarmness” like the church at Laodicea. And so part of what Advent and Christmas are all about is a time make a decision about living up to God’s EXPECTATIONS. Maybe part of the reason we celebrate Advent and Christmas is because it is God’s way of saying to us “be hot or be cold—but don’t be lukewarm.”
So, for the next couple of weeks, let’s think about whether we are living up to God’s EXPECTATIONS or not. Are we hot, cold, or lukewarm?
If you love God . . . if you serve God . . . if you live to please God, you are living up to God’s EXPECTATIONS. Even if you struggle with God . . . if you question God . . . if you have your moments of doubt about God, you are still living up to God’s EXPECTATIONS.
Be hot or be cold, but don’t be lukewarm.
May the One and Holy God give us the grace to live up to His great expectations for us, in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment