Letters to 7 Churches 10 Laodecia-Contented Heart — James Booker

It's been a pleasure to be here with you through the week and to enjoy the warm fellowship. It's been most delightful. We've appreciated also very much the way in which you have entered into our study together and shared at each of the meetings both before and afterward.

The Laodicean Church and Its Lukewarm Condition

Tonight we're looking at the last of the seven churches, the Church of Laodicea. Revelation chapter 3, shall we turn please to Revelation chapter 3 and verse 14, 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.

I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot, I would that thou wert cold or hot. So then, because thou art lukewarm and 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 that thou mayest be rich, white raiment that thou mayest be clothed. And to the shame of thy nakedness do not appear, and anoint thine eyes with eyes that thou mayest see.

As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Be zealous, therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock, and if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

And to him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame and am set down with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

Our gracious Father, we thank and praise thee now for ever giving to us thy precious word, and also giving to us thy Holy Spirit, that we might take of the things of thy word and have them revealed to us.

And the lesson of this particular church, Father, how much we need it today. And as we consider some of these lessons that we might be challenged, we might look beyond the church of that day and look into our own hearts and sense that there be a reflection of that condition in our lives today.

For this we pray in our Savior's name. Amen. Now we've been looking at these seven churches from strictly a practical point of view as they apply to us today in our Christian life, in our local churches, local gatherings, as well as as individuals of God's people.

We've been looking at various heart conditions. May I just refresh your memory as we look at this last heart condition tonight. You remember Church of Ephesus? The cooling heart, cooling off concerning the things of God.

Remember the church of Samarna? Crushed heart. And yet how the Lord ministered to that crushed heart. Then you recall the next church, the church of Pergamos, the compromising heart. Compromising the truths of God.

Compromising their life. The church of Thyatira? The careless heart. Allowing idolatry to come into their midst. And we're considering some of the idols that we're faced with today. The church of Sardis?

The cold heart. Dead. Dying. Deficient. And then the church this morning, we were looking at the church of Philadelphia and considering the committed consecrated heart. As they committed their lives to the Lord, and the Lord opened up the door of service for them.

Now we come to this last church, the church of Laodicea. And the lesson that comes to my heart, I don't know what you have thought about, because I know many of you have been thinking along this line, but the lesson comes out to me as I look particularly at verse 17, which seems to summarize what the Lord is concerned about.

He says, Because thou sayest, I am rich and increased with goods, and have need of nothing, and knoweth not. Thou art wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. And when I read that over, the heart condition I see in this church is a contented heart.

Quite contented. And I suppose to associate with that contented heart a callous heart, because they were so contented they became callous about their exercise toward the Lord. But I think that's one of the tremendous dangers, beloved, in our present day, in our society, of human society, and so on, is to become just contented with our Christian life.

Contented with our local church and the manner in which it's carrying on. Just a sort of a contentment, a settled down, settling down contented attitude. Because that's exactly what had happened to this particular church at Laodicea.

You know, the interesting thing about this, it's a church that the Lord does not commend. That's very unusual, as we have noticed in the seven churches of Asia. Nothing to commend in this church. He's very strong in his accusations toward this church.

And yet the remarkable thing is, he is so strong in his accusations against them, but apparently there's no gross sin in that assembly. We have noticed, for example, in some of the other local churches, they were allowing immorality to come in.

They were allowing the doctrines of the Nicolaitans to come in. They were allowing idolatry to come in, and all sorts of false teaching and false walk and dishonoring things to God. And yet the Lord centers in on this particular church and has nothing to commend, and he's very, very strong in his accusations, and the whole thing is based upon a spirit of pride and self-satisfaction, self-contentment.

The Lord says, I hate it. I would you were cold or hot. This lukewarm condition, I will spew thee out of my mouth. He was deeply concerned because there was no deep love in their heart for the Lord. There was no warmth of fellowship with their Lord.

There was no zeal in witnessing or mission work. There was no burden for the lost. There was no longing to be like their blessed Lord. They went glorying in his presence and rejoicing and seeking to glorify him.

The Lord says, I will spew thee out of my mouth. Some time ago, apparently just outside of Washington, Christian was commuting in a train. Suddenly the train stopped. He slipped outside to see what had happened because it was stopped for some length of time.

He saw the conductor and asked the conductor what had happened. He said, well, there's a car up ahead that's stopping the whole mood of transportation. And when they went up to see what had happened, here was a car from another train that had skipped the track, and it was half on the track and half off.

Now, if it had been off completely, they could have gone on through and continued to move. If it had been on completely, they could have continued to move. But it was just half on and half off, and it stopped everything.

And that's what happens when we're sort of half and half. Sort of Mr. and Mrs. In-between. We're neither hot, we're not cold. We're just in-between somewhere. And it just brings everything down to a standstill in the Christian life.

Whenever I think of this particular church, I'm reminded of that ad that used to be frequently promoted. I think it was Geritol or something, if my memory serves me correctly. And it spoke about being run down with tired blood.

And when I look at this church, I think of a church that's run down with tired blood. They're so listless, so self-satisfied, they're just sitting back and they need a dose of spiritual vitamins from the Lord Himself.

Someone has said, giving the title of this particular church, it was the church that made the Lord sick. The church that made the Lord sick. They had lost sight of the Lord, and I want you to notice, perhaps you've noticed these things before, but I want you to notice a few things that have challenged my heart here.

Christ’s Self-Revelation to the Contented Church

How the Lord presents Himself. Notice, for example, the little word, I, and how He uses it down through this letter. In verse 15, He says, I know thy works. Again, I would that thou art hot or cold. In verse 16, I will spew thee out of my mouth.

In verse 18, I counsel thee to buy of me. In verse 19, I love, and I rebuke, and chasten. In verse 20, He says, I stand at the door and knock. And in verse 21, He says, I overcame. Now, what challenges me, as I read that over, is the Lord is presenting Himself to this dear church, and He's saying, get your eyes back upon Me.

And if you take those expressions and look at them step by step, notice what there is here. The Lord says, I know. He comprehends the whole situation. He sees the situation those dear saints are in. Their complacent attitude.

He said, I comprehend the whole situation. And He said, I'm concerned about it. For He says, I would that thou art cold or hot. He was deeply concerned about it. He longed to control the situation, because He says, and He's willing to and able to, He says, I will spew thee out of my mouth.

But He has a compassion for them. That's a thrilling thing. He still has a longing compassion for those dear saints, and He says, I love. I love. He says, I rebuke. I correct. He said, I stand and I call.

And He said, I challenge you. I overcame. You overcome. You see, He presents Himself to this dear church. There were three basic things, apparently, in the background of this city at Laodicea that had infiltrated this particular church, and which they were influenced by.

Laodicea’s Wealth, Clothing, and Medical Culture

And the three things that historians tell us about this that seems to fit into the picture are basically this. Laodicea was a money center. It was the Wall Street of the eastern country, and cities, apparently.

In fact, Tactus, the Roman historian, in describing this particular city, apparently some few years A .D., they had had a terrific earthquake, and the whole city had collapsed, and the Roman government offered to send money to build up the city.

But they were so self-sufficient, and they had such money with all their wealth, and their banks, and so on, and they were able to save their money, that they were able to just ignore or reject this offer, and with their own resources, they rebuilt their city.

It was a money city. And that had tremendously influenced this particular church. They were materialists, they minded, and I think that's what settled them down. They said, we're rich. We're rich. And then it was a manufacturing center, and apparently, in this particular city, they were able to manufacture a garment from special wool, a sort of a black wool, and it was unique to that particular area of the country.

So there was a tremendous demand for this particular wool, and the garment that was made out of this wool. And hence, the Lord speaks about the gold, about the money. He speaks about the manufacturing of the garments, the garments that He wants to give to them.

In contrast to what they had in the city. And then it was a medical center. And apparently, they had uncovered some means through some ointment that was a great curing device for ear infection, and for eye infection.

And this ointment, and this powder that went along with it, was widely known and distributed not only throughout the city, but throughout the then-known world. And it was this medical center here in Laodicea that was able to discover this for the eye.

The Lord said, you do not need these material things. What you need are the spiritual things you need the eye to have, so that you might see and discern spiritual things. Now, you remember the name of the city, Laodicea, means the people's rights.

And I think right there you get the clue as to what was going on in this particular local church. They were taking the thought of the name into their very life. The people's rights. Not the Lord's rights.

The people's rights. It's the same thing as you go back to the book of Judges. Every man doing that which was right in their own eyes. Self-satisfying, crowding the Lord out of all their activities. The people's rights.

Remember the Lord says, you're not your own. You've been bought with a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body and your spirits, which is Christ. Another interesting thing about this letter, and I just pass these things along just for your own interest, as you read it over, it seems that the Lord groups things together in threes all the way down.

Have you noticed that? For example, in verse 14, he mentions three names concerning himself. He's the all-man, he's the faithful and true witness, and he's the beginning of the creation of God. He presents himself in a three-fold way in verse 14.

Then he describes a three-fold condition. He describes, for example, in verse 15, cold, hot and lukewarm. A three-fold condition. You go farther down and you notice that there's a double, three-fold reminder of their condition when he says in verse 17, you know not, number one, you're wretched, you're miserable, you're poor, you're blind and naked.

Six things he says about them, sort of a double three. When he tells them to counsel him, he suggests he has three things to give them. He says, I counsel thee to buy gold, trident of fire, white raiment and the eye salve.

When he presents himself to them in verse 19, he says, I love you, I rebuke you and I chasten you. Three things again. And then when he comes to verse 20, he says, I stand at the door and I knock. If you open the door, I will come in to him and sup with him and he with me.

And as we'll look on that, if we get the opportunity, we'll see a three-fold presentation he gives to the church there. Now let's look at this particular church, shall we? From this point, at least this is as I see it, and I just pass it along to you for what it's worth.

The Great Physician Diagnoses a Sick Church

As I look at this church, I see a sick church. The Lord says you're in sick condition. You're miserable, you're destitute, you're poor, you're blind, you're naked. I'm about to spew you out of my mouth.

It's a sick church. Therefore, he presents himself as the great physician. And I look at verse 14 and I see the physician's skill. How skillful our physician is. In verses 15 and 16, I see the patient's sickness.

In verses 17, we have the prominent symptoms. You know, when you go to the doctor, they describe, seek to find out what your problems are and they look for certain symptoms. Well, we have the prominent symptoms brought before us in this spiritual sickness in verse 17.

And then the Lord prescribes the solution in verses 18 and 19. He gives his prescription, he prescribes the solution for their problem, and then he gives the promised satisfaction in verse 20 and 21, if they take the prescription that he, the great physician, is offering to them.

And, beloved, may I suggest to you that here we are tonight. The Lord is looking into your heart. Perhaps you're not like the church of Laodicea. Perhaps you're not like those dear saints. But let us take a little visit to our great physician, shall we.

Let him look into our hearts and search our lives and look over the symptoms and see if we need this prescription. And if we need it, let's take it and find out the satisfaction of spiritual health with the Lord.

Look at the physician's skill. He has all the qualifications we need to go to. No uncertainty here, no need to sit back and say, well, I wonder if he'll notice exactly what my needs are. He knows them all.

And you'll notice in his skill, he has the skill to recognize the problem. Some doctors you go to, you begin to wonder after a while if they really know what the problem's all about. You say, well, I think I should go to someone else who knows a little bit more.

Well, this physician, he knows exactly the problem. He can recognize it. Because we're told here, these things say of the all-man. The all-man. Now, that word suggests he's the final word. He's the verily, and as you know, verily, verily, and all men are one and the same in the original language, and it's used constantly.

In fact, in the book of Revelation, chapter 1, he begins with a double amen, and in the end of the book, in chapter 22, he ends with a double amen. He is the final word in all things. And he said, I come to you as the final word.

The so be it. The amen. I'm going to tell you exactly what your condition is, and it's the final word on the matter. Then notice, he has the skill to reveal the problem. Sometimes the doctor knows the problem, but just doesn't want to let us in on it.

But he has the skill just to reveal it in the right way. Because he's the faithful and the true witness. He's not going to deceive us. He's not going to lead us astray or down the garden path. He's the faithful and true witness.

And what he sees in this church, he's going to spell it out very, very clearly. And then he's, and this is the wonderful thing, he not only can recognize the problem and tell us all about the problem, but he can remove the problem.

Because he's the beginning of the creation of God. And that doesn't mean that he was created as though he was the beginning of all God's creative work. This word beginning means the fountainhead, the source of all God's creative work.

All creation is from his blessed hand. He's the originator of it all. He's the fountainhead. All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made. So as the great creator of all things, he can take ahold of a broken life of a child of God and reform it and redevelop it into a life that will bring honor and glory to himself and to our Father.

He's the great physician with all the skill, but we must come to him, and we must put ourselves in his hands. Now notice, will you, the patient sickness. Verses 15 and 16. He gives a description of the patient to begin with.

The prescription is simply, you're lukewarm. What does lukewarm mean? Well, simply in between somewhere, is it not? And apparently, the folk at Laodicea, at least here at Laodicea, would understand what he meant because I understand that this great city of Laodicea lacked one particular thing, and that was a good water supply.

And they had to transport by an aqueduct from Hyapolis, six miles away, all their water. And they had hot springs there, and this water was transported by this aqueduct, and by the time the water got to Laodicea, it had changed from being hot to just simply being lukewarm.

And that's all kind of water they had, apparently, in that city. On the other side of the city, in Colossae, some six miles in the other direction, they had cold water there, but by the time they transported the cold water there back to Laodicea, it was lukewarm.

So no matter what direction, whether it was from the hot springs or from the cold waters, when it got back here to Laodicea, it was lukewarm. And the Lord said, you're just in the same condition as the water you're drinking here at Laodicea.

You're lukewarm. That's one of the tragedies of the present day, isn't it? How disturbing it is when we gather together, perhaps, and suggest, well, let's have some time of prayer. And everyone says, well, that's a nice idea.

That certainly is something we ought to be doing. And then no one shows up. Everyone thinks it's good, but no one wants to get in on it. It's all lukewarm. Things are all right, but let's not push it.

Let's not push it. And I think we're living at a time when we're just sort of in that condition, beloved. We're happy to coast along, as long as we're not moved, as long as we're not put into a position where we have to do things, and we can just drift along in the Christian life, attend meetings, perhaps, read a little bit, and do the odd little thing, but not get on the firing line for the Lord.

Most Christians are happy to be in that situation. They're not hot, they're not on fire for the Lord, and they're not cold, they're not right back into the world. They're just in between somewhere. And that's where so many Christians are today.

The Lord said, I wish that you were either hot or cold, which seems rather a strange statement. We can understand the idea of being hot, but the idea of being cold, why would He want them cold? The word hot, I understand, is a word that simply means boiling.

In fact, it's translated over in the book of Romans, fervent. Fervent. The Lord said, I would long that you were fervent, you were boiling, you were on fire for God. Well, we can all say amen to that.

We say, well, Lord, I can understand that. But He said, if you're not that way, I wish that you were just cold. I don't know what you think about it, but it seems to me, beloved, and I say this from my own little experience in dealing with people about the things of the Lord, the most difficult Christians to get on the move for God are those who are in between being hot and cold.

They're just so self-satisfied that you just can't seem to get them moving. They're just contented to drift along. They sort of feel, well, I'm not doing anything wrong, I'm not doing anything out of the way, I'm not out in the world, I'm not involved in this, not involved in that.

And, oh, granted, I'm not doing all the things I could do, but also, many are doing much worse than I am. And they just stay right there. But when you get a Christian who knows that they've got a way from the Lord and they know they're cold in their heart, at least you can approach them and you can find from them and you get that reaction from them and say, yes, I admit, I admit I'm away from the Lord.

And you can begin to deal with them. But in between, it's a sad, difficult situation to be. The danger to the patient is very much to the front here, because he says, So then, because thou art live warm, neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth.

Now I believe that what he's simply saying there is something similar to what he said to the church at Ephesus, only in different words. You remember to the church at Ephesus he said, If you do not repent, give back to your first love, I'll remove the lampstand out of its place.

I'll remove you. He's saying the same thing to this church, only he's using the illustration of the water. And he said, If you continue to carry on this way, I'll spew you out. I'll get rid of you. At the local church, at the local testimony.

And then he begins to notice some of the symptoms. Some of the symptoms of a person who's lukewarm. What's a lukewarm person like? Well, he tells us right here, Because thou sayest, in verse 17. In other words, they do a lot of talking about the things that they do, even when they're not doing very much.

Thou sayest, I am rich. Now you see, they're self-occupied, because I am rich. The Lord's not brought into this situation. They're occupied with self. I am rich. I'm increased with goods. I have need of nothing.

They're self-satisfied. What more do I need? I've got everything. But unfortunately, they're self-deceived, because the Lord said, And thou knowest not that thou art wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked.

The word wretched is only used one other time, I understand, in the New Testament, and that is over in Romans chapter 7, when the Apostle Paul, you remember, as he went through that experience of Romans 7, the good that he would, he did not, and that which he would not, he did.

He went through that struggle, and he became so depressed with the whole situation, he cried out, O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from this body of death? And the word wretched there is the same word as the word here.

Same word. Just wretched. Not that they thought they were wretched. The Lord is looking at them, and He says, That's the thing, that's what I see. You're wretched. They don't have need of nothing. He said, You're in a wretched state, a state of complete unhappiness.

You're miserable, to be pitied. In fact, it's a word from whence the idea of on the dole comes from. You're dependent upon others. You're poor, you're poverty stricken. You're blind. In what way were they blind?

They had lost sight of their Lord. They'd lost sight of His glories. They'd lost sight of the beauties of the Word of God. They were blind. And they were naked. And when I think of that, beloved, I'm reminded of the fact that we've been talking too much about garments through the week.

And their spiritual life was such that the Holy Spirit was not allowed to work in their lives. And instead of producing the garments of Christ's glory, they were stripped naked of a life that was honoring to the Lord.

The Lord’s Prescription: Gold, White Raiment, and Spiritual Sight

Now, he presents the prescription here. He prescribed the solution in verse 18. And notice how he does it. He pleads with them. He said, I counsel thee to buy of me gold trying the fire, that thou mayest be rich.

White raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear. What is the gold, beloved? What is the gold? Is this not the glory of God that should be seen in the lives of every part of God, doing all to His glory?

Whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. Wherever the gold is brought out in the Scriptures, the glory of God is very prominent. Even in Revelation, the streets of gold, the lampstands of gold, and so on.

Now, the Lord says, you've been bought with a price. You're not your own. You're to glorify God in your bodies. Come to me. How do we buy? We buy by faith. We buy without money, without price. It's lay hold of faith from the Lord, what He has to offer.

He wants to give us the true spiritual riches. And there's nothing that delights the child of God as well as pleases our Lord as to have a life, beloved, that produces glory to Him. Come to me with the gold, for the gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich.

You remember, this was the rich, poor church. Did you notice the contrast between this and the church of Samarna? In the church of Samarna, they said they were in poverty, but the Lord said, but thou art rich.

This particular church says, we're rich. The Lord says, but you're poor. So this is the rich, poor church. He said, I want you to come to receive of me the white raiment that thou mayest be clothed, but the shame of my nakedness do not appear.

And when I think of this white raiment, beloved, I think of the challenge to my heart of the fact that the Lord wants me to put on the garments of Christ Himself. Do you remember over in the book of Romans, it tells us, put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Put on the garment, that is. Putting on Christ. Living Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit of God. A white raiment. How can I be like Him? The Lord says, come to me. Kneel to me. Open to me. Allow me to work in your life.

And anoint thine eyes with eyes that thou mayest see. Spiritual perception. To see the beauties of the things of Christ. To have the eyes turn from the things of earth and to get our eyes on the things of God.

To have a vision. A vision of the Lord by the Holy Spirit of God. To see things as He sees them. These dear saints had degenerated into an earthly vision and lost their heavenly vision. And notice the thrilling word in verse 19.

He said, as many as I love. Even though they had carried on this way, He still loved them. His love never ended. I love, He said, I rebuke and I chasten. Be zealous, therefore, and repent. Time forbids looking at the various areas of zealousness that the Lord would challenge us with.

Christ’s Call to Fellowship and Overcoming

But may we just draw to a close by going down to verse 20 and 21. We come to this challenging verse. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come into him and will sup with him and he with me.

Now did you notice, beloved, at this particular point in the letter, he zeroes right in on the individuals in this church. We have noticed up until now that at the end of each particular church, he does speak to the individual and he says, he that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

But he gets into that situation a little sooner this time. And now he stands before them and he says, behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man, he said, I'm speaking to each one of you in this local church.

He said, you're all in this situation together. He said, you're all in this lukewarm condition. You're all in this miserable state. Now he says, what I long for, what I desire is for the hearts of you dear saints to open up to me.

He said, I've longed for fellowship with you, but he said, you haven't had time to fellowship with me. I've longed to share things with you, but you're too busy with the affairs of this life. I long for you to share your problems with me.

I long to be able to sit down with you and to sup with you and sup with me. It wasn't that he was longing necessarily to save them, to come into their life to save them. He was longing for fellowship.

They had crowded him out of their life. Their heart had no room for him. They were too contented, too callous, no time for him, even though they were professed believers. And isn't it wonderful the Lord stands at the door and knocks.

He didn't force his way in. You see, fellowship with the Lord is a matter of a response on our part. The Savior says, I'm always waiting and always willing and always longing for fellowship with you. He said, if there's any hindrance to fellowship, he said, it's on your side, not on mine.

He said, you'll always find me here waiting to have fellowship with you. And he says, behold, I stand the door and knock. And if any man, apparently in the Eastern countries of this particular time, this was the manner in which they used to approach the door.

They would go to the door and they would knock. And after they would knock, they would call out, Hi, this is John Jones. Are you in? And so the Lord knocked and then he called. This is your Savior. Are you in?

The Lord knocked and saw the parts as he went down the Damascus road, you remember. The light shone from heaven and the knock sent him to the ground. And in the voice, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?

He knocked and then he spoke. And so the Savior knocks. So that any man will just open the door. I will come in. He just wants the door open. Doesn't even wait for the invitation, but the invitation is the door open.

I will come in. And he said, we'll sup together. We'll fellowship. When was the last time, beloved, that you decided to take a little time aside and just devote that time in little fellowship, little communion with the Lord.

From all the problems and difficulties, the pressures of life, I'm just going to take a little time aside. I'm just going to spend it alone with the Lord. I want the Lord to speak to my heart. And I want to just talk to him.

To him that overcometh, will I grant to sit with me in my throne? Well, he said, if you open up your heart's door and let me sit with you down here, he said, I'll let you sit with me up there. He said, but I have permanent fellowship up there.

So that's the Lord's challenge to our hearts tonight. Do you have a contented heart? Are you contented with your Christian life? Are you sort of self-satisfying? Let Christ rule and reign in that heart and life of yours, beloved.

What a blessing it will be to you. What a delight to himself. Shall we pray? Gracious Father, we have been considering together some of the heart conditions that we go through. Sometimes, Father, our hearts are cold or they cool off.

Sometimes they're crushed. Sometimes they're careless. Sometimes we compromise. Sometimes we're so self-contented. But we do pray that tonight we might have a heart that's committed, that's consecrated to Thee, a heart wherein Thou art delighted just to dwell and to share Thy things to us as we share our lives with Thee.

For this we pray in our Savior's name. Amen.