The Laodicean Church — Manley Beasley

Greetings, my friend. It's certainly a joy and a privilege to be able to come to you again this month and share with you the burdens of my heart as well as share with you a message from my heart that I believe is from the heart of God.

Last month, I did a very unusual thing in that I shared with you about my condition physically, and since then I have been able to have some update material on that condition, and so I just right away, I'll give you that and then introduce the message.

The matter of the kidneys, they have, it's definite at this point, that they're only functioning about 19 and there seems to be a progressive deterioration, and at this rate, we do not know how long it will take for these kidneys to go down.

I will then have to go on a machine. I have made the decision that I will go on a machine and and stay on the kidney machine and curtail a lot of my preaching engagements for a while. Now, this may not happen, so I want you to hear all I've got to say and not run off quickly before you hear everything I have to say.

But at this point, it's the the kidney machine next, and then at a point in time, on a set, possibly almost a set time, we can look at a kidney transplant. Now, that is what we look at if we look at the natural.

Now, in spite of that, on top of that, God has given us some promises, and I'm still in the struggle of believing those promises. Now, I realize that when you set off out there, and you have it all in theory, it's easy said.

Just believe. But when it gets down to where it's got to happen, if the faith is really there, it will happen. Now, it's a different story. And I remember working through this a number of years ago, in a very realistic test in my life, when I was supposed to have died, and the Lord raised me up.

And I'm in the midst of that right now. There are some things that I believe the Lord is saying to me that I need to correct, and one is that I need to back up and slow down just a little bit. I don't think that I'm supposed to quit doing what I'm doing, but I'm supposed to slow down and do them at a different pace.

I'd really appreciate you praying specifically about that matter. But the decision is being made, will be made by June, about that matter. As to how long these kidneys will last, the Lord knows, and we've got it in His hand.

And so all I can do till they play out is just go on day by day, just walking with Him. And frankly, that's the way it is. And that's where we're going, and we know this is a new, whole new ballpark for us.

Want a new ballgame? I've never been down this road before, and I just appreciate having friends like you that I can share it with, talk with, and get you to pray for me, and let you see how God takes me through this experience.

I can say thank you Jesus right now, because He is sure being real to me at this time. Now this message this month is a message that when you first hear it, the first five minutes, you will say, oh Brother Manly, I've heard that before.

You have preached that before. But believe me friend, you have not heard this message before. You may have heard some of the beginning of it, like how God initiates things and things like that, that I used at the beginning to introduce it.

But I have never preached this message before in my life. And I have not ever come even close to preaching this message. And the night that I brought this message, God came down in mighty power, and I started preaching about 715, and the service was over at about 1040, with people being saved and getting right with God.

Just a real revival spirit. And I'm sorry we can't get that whole thing in there, and you hear the whole thing, but the message is on the church at Laodicea. For years, I have been wanting to preach about the seven churches in the book of Revelation, and this is the first attempt I've ever tried.

And I realize when you first start hearing the message, you're gonna say, hey, I'm used to some of this material. But just hold on, because there's some that I have never shared with people before, that I believe will really be a blessing to you.

Because it definitely is being a blessing to me now. May God bless you. We thank you so much for just literally responding to all the prayer needs, and we just praise the Lord for your goodness, and His goodness in you.

And we look forward to the Lord doing some great and mighty things among us. If you have your Bibles, turn with me please to the book of Revelation, the third chapter. I would like to begin reading in the 14th verse of the third chapter.

The Laodicean Church and the Meaning of Revival

I have always believed that the answer to revival for the today, the message is found in the message to the seven churches. You know, I've looked upon John, the beloved John, so much as the man that was so beloved of God, just the beloved John, that I never realized he was such a prophetic type person.

Till here recently, I began to look at him in the light of 1st and 2nd John, and in the light of the book of Revelation. And you find him quite in a prophetic type of position. And I'm not no mean foreteller, although there's a lot of going on of that in the book of Revelation, but he is so foretelling.

He's like a prophet on the cutting edge. And you know, when Jesus called John, it's quite interesting in what he was doing. You know, when he called Peter, it's quite interesting what he was doing. When he called Paul, it's quite interesting what he was doing.

Paul was a... Peter was catching fish. And Paul was building tents. And John was mending nets. And when we find John in the heights of his ministry, we find him as the person that's bringing people back.

Now, your pastor is a man that understands this, but a lot of churches do not understand what the word revival really means. Revival is not an evangelistic meeting. A revival is God quickening and making new and fresh.

That which is already alive, that's possibly gotten cold and indifferent and needs some discipline and growth and just the thrust of God in it. And so, John is dealing with the church in the light of revival here in the book of Revelation.

I mean, this is one great message on revival. In fact, a lot of theologians, you know, they just say, well, we don't have the message of revival in the New Testament. That's an Old Testament term and that's an Old Testament message, but it's not.

Here is John right here dealing with the matter of revival. And for years, I have been wanting, I've been working on this message. And I mean, seriously. And so, I've been working on it probably about 35 years.

So, you pray that I can get it in within an hour or two here tonight. And I'm very serious about it. I've never got to preach this and I'm not sure how it's going to come out. But I think I'm not worried about that part.

I am worried about how you're going to come out. And it says, let's start at the 13th verse, even though that's somewhat not directly, it is directly related, by the way, to the church. But we'll start there.

He that hath an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, these things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God.

Christ’s Rebuke of Laodicean Lukewarmness

He said, I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot. I would, thou wert cold or hot. So then, because thou art warm, neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing, thou knowest not that thou art wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.

I counsel thee to buy of me gold, pride in the fire, that thou mayest be rich with white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear, and anoint thy eyes with eye salve, that thou mayest see.

As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Be zealous, therefore, and repent. And then he has this tremendous verse right at the end of the message to all these seven churches. Behold, I stand at the door and knock.

If any man will hear my voice and open the door, I will come unto him and will sup with him, and he with me. Isn't that an invitation for revival? And I realize a lot of preachers use that to tell a lost man Jesus is standing at the door knocking.

And I realize that if God is leading in that, that's, that's, you know, he can use that word like that. But I think you'd have to stretch it to realize that it's in, to say that its primary interpretation is to the lost.

Because the primary interpretation of this verse is to the saved and to the church. The churches. And so it's applicable both lost and saved. But certainly the Lord is standing at the door and knocking tonight, and he wants to come and sup with us, and us with him.

And here's what I want you to see tonight. He's talking to the church at Laodicea. Now, because of all that I want to say, I'm not going to try to lay out a three points in a poem. I'm just going to talk to you right out of the Word of God.

He says that he knows our works. The most difficult person I have ever had to deal with as a father, the most difficult person I have ever had to deal with as a human being, is a person that does not want to be corrected.

When a person gets to the place where they will not listen to be corrected, that person is helpless. I mean, that person is beyond help. You just can't help them. A wise man is a man that always has the attitude that they can be helped.

That's a wise person. It fascinates me as I've met men like J. Edwin Orr, who died this past week, Oswald J. Smith, Bertha Smith, Ms. Cora Tinboon, people like that, James Alexander Stewart. It always fascinated me about them.

They always had the spirit of the learner. Not a one of those great men or women that God has mightily used ever gave me the idea that they could not be corrected, even many times some of them were 80 and 90 years old.

And, you know, the Bible tells us in Timothy that the Word of God has been given to us not only for instruction and inspiration and so on, but it's been given to us for correction. And a person that cannot be corrected is a person that is beyond help until they have the attitude that they can be corrected.

Now, tonight he says, I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot. He said, because of this condition that you're neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth. Now, I want to identify, the best I can tonight, identify this type of condition.

Which is the most dangerous, a clock that is off five minutes or one that's off 30 minutes? The most dangerous is the one that's off five minutes, not 30 minutes. The Lord is saying, he said, you're neither cold nor hot.

He said, you're not off so bad that everybody knows you're full of the devil, but you're off enough that you are. That makes an awfully deceitful person, doesn't it? Right? To me, that's a person that's neither cold nor hot.

God’s Initiative Versus Religious Activity

Now, here he says, I know thy works. Now, you know what makes a person neither cold nor hot? The origin of their activity. And a person has two origins. Now, you might break it down more than that, but basically when you get to the bottom line, there are two origins of activity.

In a person's life, God or the devil. Now, you can break that down and say the flesh and the spirit of the world and the devil. You can do that. But to keep it simple, we can just say there's two origins, God or the devil.

And that is technically right. And yet, you would be technically right to say out of just out of man, you can do something. And that would be right also. But here's what I want you to see. Do you know the difference between Christianity and religion?

It's who initiates what you do. Not what you do, but who initiates what you do. A few minutes ago, you just took an offering. You were either Christian or religious in that offering. To be Christian in that offering, you did what the Lord initiated.

To be religious in that offering, you did what? Ever. Just did it for religious reasons. Now, the origin determines whether you're hot or cold. And lukewarmness comes out of man's work for God. Because you see, he's put his best together with religion.

And it may be Christian religion. And he's operating on the basis of his own inventions with the help of Satan. And God is not initiating his involvement. And so what he comes out with, you realize this immediately.

What he comes out with is a form of godliness, but not the power thereof. He's going through all the forms, but there is not the person, and the power, and the dynamic of the spirit of the living God.

He's neither cold nor hot. He's lukewarm. He's got all the religious activity, even fundamentalism. That's right. Legalism. All of his work can be defined by what he does, rather than who he is. He says, I know your work.

The Bible says, talks about the works of God. This is the work of God that you believe on him whom the Father has sent. The work of God. There's a lot of difference, folks, between your work and the work of God, and my work and the work of God.

You see, the work of God is the work that God initiates. Paul said, I labor and I strive. But he said, you know what? It's according to his workings which worketh in me mightily. Colossians 129. He was not initiating his involvement.

He was simply cooperating. That's right. You see, the Christianity is so different than religion. See, we have an empty tomb. The rest of the religions of the world don't, unless they've stolen. And we have an empty tomb.

And we also have a full heart. See, the Lord Jesus didn't only die for sinners, was resurrected, ascended, but when we get saved, he comes and lives in us to carry out his work. Not apart from us, but in cooperation with us.

We become co-laborers. He said, I know thy works, that you are neither cold nor hot. You see, you may be awfully fervent tonight for God, and still be very, very much religious, and yet not be walking with the Lord.

Jesus Christ was strictly Christian, wasn't he? He wasn't only Christian because he was the Christ Lord, but he was Christian because he was the Christ man. And as the Christ man, my dear friend, Jesus said, I do nothing except what I see my Father do.

Yes, sir. Jesus Christ allowed the Father to initiate his involvement. The Lord said here, I know thy works. I know thy works. He said, you're neither cold nor hot, you just look warm. Yes, sir. He said, you're lukewarm.

Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof. That really depicts us in our day, doesn't it? I mean, we are extremely religious. In fact, Christian religion is possibly the most popular thing going today, especially in the last three weeks on television.

It's quite popular. That's right. But what I'm trying to say to you is the masses, I mean the masses, are just, I mean, count going to church. I see things happening today, twenty-five years ago, you never saw any churches.

Just occasionally that would run over a thousand in Sunday school. I can take you to hundreds and hundreds, hundreds of them, a number of them, just dozens and dozens and dozens of them that run over five thousand in Sunday school.

For the continuation of this message, please turn the tape to side two. But you know, we still do not see that mighty, mighty power of the New Testament Church. Do we? See that mighty, mighty, well, he said, I know thy works, which means he knows yours and mine.

And it's either, our works is either a work of God or it's man's works. Now, he says, because thou sayest, I am rich, increased with goods, and have need of nothing, thou knowest not that thou are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.

True Spiritual Wealth and Gold Tried in the Fire

Now, he said, I'm just going to, because of the time, and put three things here that he says. He says, he says you're poor, but you think you're rich, but you're poor. He said, not only that, but he said, you think you're clothed, but you're naked.

And then he said, you are blind. Now, he comes right along and gives the answer, and he says, what you need to do, he said, I buy gold tried in the fire, that you might be really rich, and put on some clothes, the righteousness, that you might, your nakedness might be covered, and have your eyes anointed, anointed with eyes that thou mayest see.

You see, the very three things he said is wrong, he said, I've got three answers for you. Now, I want to look at those three things. I'm not going to talk about the, well I have to mention both sides, but I won't talk about the one side mostly.

He said, you think you are rich, but you are poor. He said, I want you to buy gold tried in the fire. Now, what is he talking about? He is talking about, I want you to realize that your wealth is a wealth that will not stand in the fire.

In other words, you say you're rich, but when the fire comes, your wealth will not stand. You see, I could take five million dollars in this hand, a paper, and take five million dollars in gold in this hand, and put those two in the fire, and one of them would disappear.

The other one wouldn't. He says, now what you see out here, you call that wealth. But he said the wealth is the wealth that when it's put in the fire, it will not burn and melt away and be gone. Why does he say that?

Because beloved, every child of God is only valuable to the sense, for redemptive purposes to the world, to the degree that they are able to magnify Jesus in the fire. Now, I did not say that you're not valuable to God at any time, at any place you are.

But when it comes to the difference between temptation and trials, when a person is tempted, they get exposed for what's in them. But when they are tried, the world gets to see how they act in that trial.

In temptation, the person himself gets saved. In trials, the world gets saved. Because in that trial, everyone sees what you really are made of. So he says, you buy of me gold that's tried in the fire.

Amen. How do you buy that? Are you sure you're ready for this? You buy it, my dear friends, by submitting to the discipline of God. Not your discipline. You will come up, pray four hours a day, read ten chapters, and so many visits.

And that's wonderful. To do those things, if God has initiated that in you, that's what I'm talking about. That is your discipline. Discipline is you so submit to the Lordship of Jesus that you allow him to say, whatever, Lord, it takes.

And when you start allowing him to have that way, you come up rich. Rich with what? A history of God's doing in your life. The reason there is so much poverty in the church tonight is that we have misinterpreted what is wealth.

That's right. We have counted our bank account and our numbers instead of our character and our history of God's doing. If you want to see how wealthy a person is, look at his Ebeneezer's. You say, what do you mean by that, Brother Manley?

God met me here and so changed my life. We leave this monument for the world to read the rest of our day. Amen. Look at those Ebeneezer's. That's gold fried in the fire. Yes, sir. Now, folks, I realize that's awfully heavy.

I mean, it's not heavy. It's not deep heavy. It's just the fact that it's challenging. Amen. For you and me to be willing to submit ourselves to the discipline of God. But that's how we buy gold, fried in the fire, to where we have a history with God.

If you hit a time of suffering, would you go to some person that's never suffered? Or would you go find you a book by this girl, that Johnny Erickson, somebody like that, that suffered so much? What would you do?

You say, Brother Manley, you know what I'd do. Sure I do. You know why? Because my friend, she has been through the fire. Amen. He said, not only buy you gold fried in the fire, but that thou mayest get white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, that the shame of thy nakedness did not appear.

Practical Righteousness and Being Clothed in Christ

What's he talking about? He definitely is talking about something more than a positional righteousness of Christ. He said, get you a white raiment that your nakedness might be clothed. You see, a lot of times we are improperly dressed and we don't know it.

And he's telling the church at Laodicea, he said, you are improperly dressed and don't know it. He said, boy, you talking about a prophet. He said, listen, you are improperly dressed. He said, you need to buy your robe, a white robe that will cover your nakedness.

He's talking about more than a positional righteousness. He's talking about a righteousness, a holiness, that is acquired by being rightly related in fellowship with the Lord. By having our sins, try me, prove me, and see if there be any wicked way in me.

And if God brings that ungodliness to the top and let us see that wickedness in us, we confess it and put it under the blood and be filled with his spirit. And by that filling, we get clothed in his righteousness.

Amen. And when we walk in, people see Jesus. Right? You know, have you ever noticed a person dressed and you recognize them more than what they've got on? But have you ever noticed some people dressed and you're so caught up with what they have on, you never pay attention?

The Lord wants us so clothed in his righteousness, folks, that there's not an imbalance between who we are and what we've got on, that we do not draw attention to ourselves, but we're clothed in the righteousness of him.

Positionally, in Christ, we have his righteousness tonight. But, folks, there is a practical, everyday righteousness that comes from keeping our sins confessed up to this day. Staying right with each other.

Staying right with God the Father. Right? And he said, I want you to have your robe on. I want you to be clothed properly by that robe. And he said, I want you to do that. You're talking about revival.

When God comes in mighty power, the least little sin in our hearts gets exposed. And that fire is turned on, I mean, it just floats to the top. And I mean things have to get out, get put out. One time in my life, I was in a meeting where God just showed up.

He didn't just show up, but when he showed up, the singer had started something like, holy, holy, holy something. It was so out of order, just out of place. It was just, it just so totally contradicted everything that night.

I turned to the preacher and I said, I wish I had picked out the psalms earlier. I'm sure God let that happen for me to see what was in me. And the moment I said that to the pastor, I realized that there was something coming out of me out of the abundance of the heart of my spirit.

And I realized what was coming out of me was not of God. So I asked the preacher to forgive me, but I got up and preached and the glory was not there. And the Lord said, you have resented that boy all week and now it's come out.

And see, I was standing there naked all week and didn't know it. Yes, sir. I didn't know it. And that week, I mean, God had not shown up. And this was the last night of the meeting. So I, I wanted to learn.

And I, I said, Lord, if you mean to tell me that just an attitude like that in my heart has kept the glory of God away from this church. I said, Lord, teach me something tonight. Because I was not aware of how God scrutinizes the ungodliness in the life of a believer like I was supposed to know.

And so I said, Lord, do something because I'm going to get right whether you do anything or not. Amen. But I tell you, if you, if you do some confirming the truth to me, it helps. And I confessed. I went over and put my arm around that boy and I said, listen, I'm, I'm sorry.

I have had a critical spirit in my heart towards you all week. And it came out tonight and I, I saw it. And I said, I want to be forgiven. And I've asked the Lord to forgive me. And a man they'd been paying, praying for, for 17 years, got up out of his seat, walked down the aisle.

The preacher had his head turned the other direction. Grabbed the preacher's coattail and said, I want to get saved. And 28 people followed him that night. I mean, God moved in. Yes, sir. Seriously. But you see, I've been standing there naked all week with that unrighteousness in my heart.

And you have, he said, he said, you need to get your robe on. You need to get your robe on. Someone asked Charles G. Finney when he was a lost man, a lawyer, lost man, don't you want us to pray for you?

He said, no. I wouldn't care for you to pray for me. They said, well, why? He said, I've been watching you pray for so many months. And he said, I have not seen you get an answer to your prayers yet. I don't think I ought to waste your time.

See, those people were naked and didn't know it. But that shocked them, obviously. That literally opened their eyes some way because it wasn't long before he was saved. Amen. Yes, sir. He said, not only get you a robe and be clothed that your nakedness may be covered, but anoint thine eyes with eyesight that thou mayest see.

Spiritual Sight, Romans 8–9, and Burden for the Lost

And I believe he's saying that we are supposed to have the Lord to anoint our eyes that we may see lost people and we may see people, save people like he sees them. Folks, there's no way that we can care like he wants us to care until we see people like he sees them.

I think sometimes saints may even doubt where they can see people like he sees them. But if you'll follow the life of Paul all the way through Romans 1, right on through Roman 8, as he steps from one step of victory to another, one step of victory to another, from salvation into sanctification, into that walk of glory with God, having all victory, confident that nothing can separate him from the power and the person of the Lord.

The very next chapter, Romans 9, you hear that man saying he would be willing to go to hell for his kinsmen. And that's a human being, folks, simply saved by the grace of God, right with God, willing to die down his life for people to be saved, his kinsmen.

Can you imagine someone in this human body getting so much like Jesus he's willing to change his heavenly home for a fire grave for his kinsmen? The Bible teaches us that we're supposed to have our, we should have our eyes anointed by the Spirit of God that we might see lost people as he sees them.

Recently I made a statement that we need to be willing to pay any price for lost sinners. A more neo, a new teaching type of theology person was there that night, and they said, hey, Jesus has already paid the price.

You never have to do that anymore. He has. But I'll tell you, when you get your eyes anointed with the Spirit of God and see lost sinners as he sees them, we see them as he sees them, we will be willing to pay any price to get them saved by the grace of God.

Pay any price. On top of all of that, you know what he says? He said, behold, I stand at the door and knock. I said, I like that. If any man will hear my voice and open the door, I will come unto him, and I will sup with him, and he with me.

Opening the Door to Christ’s Fellowship

Has God in any way tonight spoken to your heart? Has he in any way? You know, there could have been a little more detail. Name sins keep us away from the righteousness of the Lord. We could, you know, deal in detail how we're so cold and callous and indifferent, even at our best, about lost sinners.

We could talk about our poverty because we're unwilling to be disciplined of God into his fullness. But some way, somehow, I'm trusting tonight that the Lord has dealt with your heart and just showed you that you may be involved in the work of your own doing and rather than being involved in his doing.

And all of this is, the religious work has to go. Now when you, when you're Christian in your religious work, there's no problem. But when your religious work takes the place of being Christian, then there's a real problem.