The U.S. standard railroad gauge (distance between rails) is four feet, eight-and-one-half inches. One may ask, why such an odd number? Because that’s the way they built them in England, and American railroads were built by British expatriates. So, why did the English adopt that particular gauge? Because the people who built the pre-railroad tramways used that gauge. They in turn were locked into that gauge because the people who built tramways used the same standards and tools they had used for building wagons, which were set on a gauge of four feet, eight-and-one-half inches. Maybe the question should be why were wagons built to that scale? Because with any other size, the wheels did not match the old wheel ruts on the roads. So who built these old rutted roads? The first long-distance highways in Europe were built by Imperial Rome for the benefit of their legions. The roads have been in use ever since. The ruts were first made by Roman war chariots. Four feet, eight-and-one-half inches was the width a chariot needed to be to accommodate the rear ends of two war horses. Maybe ‘that’s the way it’s always been’ isn’t the great excuse some people believe it to be.
In many ways, change is necessary, even essential. When the doctor tells you you’re going to die unless ____, it behooves you at that moment to change. The churches of Revelation chapters 2-3 were given a letter for all to read. We have, by the grace of God, that letter today in the canon of scripture. It’s a revelation. God is revealing what He wants, what’s happening, and what will happen. It begins with a revelation of Himself to John. Then John is told why— there is a letter to be written to these 7 churches. It’s what Jesus knows about them, and what He expects from them. When God tells you to do something it is a command. It is not to be deliberated or delayed… it is to be carried out! Some of these churches are given a rebuke, to change. When? Now. That’s the missing ingredient today isn’t it? That churches are to hear Jesus’ command and do it, not later, not for the sake of endless debate and personal reflection… but change!
For the next several posts, we will be covering these churches, in reverse, starting with the church of Laodicea. The subject title is: “Change Now”. We are not intending to cover every detail or argue the many points of contention within these texts. The mere thought that Jesus would say you need to change, or to hold what you’ve got going on, should cause us to immediately act. He is directly speaking to these churches, and to His right where you are at today.
Let’s start with a question: Have you ever eaten something that turned your stomach immediately? Meatloaf. That’s the one food I struggle with. Trips into Asia, Africa and South America cannot hold a candle to the effect meatloaf has on my gag reflex. Some people have a problem with texture, others it’s the spice. For Jesus it’s about the temperature. “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.” (Revelation 3.15-16). This is the church of Laodicea. Or, as Jesus called them— “…the church of the Laodiceans…” The complete text is verses: 14-22.
It’s important to look into Laodicea at the time. It was known for its prosperity, commercial life, medical discovery, and flowing wealth. They had special clothes made from a special breed of black sheep. They had an eye salve that was uniquely designed for it’s ability to reduce eye pressure and salve eye injuries. Archeologists have unearthed large homes, built well enough that the ruins still stand today. It was like: Bank of America, Gucci, and Mayo clinic all in one location. A metropolitan city for sure.
Some churches make the Lord weep; others make Him angry. The Laodicean Church made him sick. Pretty harsh, but exactly what He said. This begs the question: What does it mean to be lukewarm? He said you’re neither hot or cold. Merely lukewarm. Very few things are good lukewarm. Fish is good hot or cold (Sushi). but if it’s was left out for a while… not good! Meat can be good cold or hot (jerky and steak). Coffee can be good iced or hot, but lukewarm coffee is just plain nasty. And, just as I typed this, I’m sure you have preferential opinions on these as well. So does Jesus. His preference and only His matters. He is the head and owner of any true church that is actually His.
Jesus is making it clear church member, that you can be boiling hot, icy cold, or miserably lukewarm. Cold: the scripture denotes cold-hearted as nearly spiritually dead. Hot: greek word ‘zestos’ means ‘boiling hot’. It’s where we get our word ‘zeal’. Just as Apollos was when the Bible says he was “fervent in spirit”. The disciples going to Emmaus with Jesus said— “our hearts burned within us…when He opened the word.” But lukewarm or ‘chliaros’ means ‘tepid’. Mediocre in other words. I means ‘only slightly warm and showing little enthusiasm’. Is this how you or your church is? Then God help us. Jesus said that we should be on fire and committed. Would you agree that there appears to be a serious lack of commitment and fire in believers today? G. Campbell Morgan wrote “There is more hope for the man outside the church in all his coldness than for the man within the church who is near enough of its warmth to appreciate it and far enough from its burning heat to be useless to God and man. There is a greater chance for the nonbeliever who has NOT heard the gospel than the man who has become an evangelized nonbeliever.”
Warning: The lukewarm believer is the last to know. Verse 17 says— “Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:” They were oblivious to their own spiritual condition. He mentions the very things that would have made them special in their city, as we have seen from the secular historical record as well. They trusted in themselves and their ‘blessed’ condition. Verse 17 goes further with— “…and have need of nothing…”. They were in serious trouble because their life was about their money, health, social status, even their clothing and appearance. When He said “have need of nothing”, He apparently means Himself (Jesus) too.
Even with that, Jesus reaffirms that He still loves them in verse 19— “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.” He gives a love that most churches don’t want today— a love that corrects. When your child is about to run out into the street, is is loving to let them run on? No. Real love reaches out and grabs them, even forcibly if necessary. The adult knows this saves the child from the disaster coming next. He is correcting this church, His church. Is He correcting you? Us? Can we take the correction? Can we admit that we’re not where we need to be?
At this point we should ask the question: What do I do? In verse 19 He supplies that very answer— “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.” First: “be zealous” (zēlóō). To bubble over because it is hot (boiling). Literally to be deeply committed to something. Are we completely committed? Are we to the point we’re boiling over? Are you? Secondly: “repent”. It didn’t say, as religion does: to work harder. You will just be working harder at the wrong thing. Instead He says to “repent”…admit you are wrong and stop! Then turn around. Do so zealously, so run hard after Jesus.
Notice where Jesus is. He’s on the outside of the lives of the disciples in His churches. “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: 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” (20). This is not like today with a bulging with a physical door. He is outside the fellowship of that church. He is outside the assembly of covenanted believers. What?! How did this happen? Verse 17 already told us. They “need nothing”. There’s no true brokenness. No show of true dependence on God. They have the wherewithal and will do what they want. Does that sound familiar?
When Jesus said “sup” He isnt talking about the ‘Lord’s Supper’ per se. In that culture, as in most cultures of the world today, this was a fellowship meal. A time with each other, around a meal. He is looking to extend some quality time with you. He is looking to have some long moments with each you. It was a time for opening each other’s heart to each other. That’s it! If we aren’t in deepening, passionate fellowship, we will grow cold. Just as in any real relationship. In marriage, you can’t just maintain. There is the ‘law of diminishing returns’. You have to invest more, in a deeper way. On the other hand, look what we get when we do admit, repent, and boil over in verse 21— “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.” Overcome. We have to overcome. We have to become dependent again. We have to grow in our passion and spend some time with Him. Someone has to open the door and let Jesus back in… now!
Look at the order of the text. You will notice that the repentance has to happen before we can be close in fellowship again. You’ll have to admit your error first; stop the way you’re doing it; then join Him again.
Verse 22 says— “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” That’s you and me, individually. This is a letter to a church, and still is to His churches now. But, you have to listen, you have to open the door and let Him back in. Someone has to move, change, transform, repent. Will it be you? Is the Spirit of God speaking to you now? Remember: The lukewarm person is often the last to know. Let me ask it this way— Are you spiritually boiling over or not?As Jesus said in 18— “I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.” Come back to Him as the only source. Be dependent again.
There is no doubt in my mind at all. My conscience is clear on this. Churches all over the world, affluent or not, seek their own way and own dependence. They have become humanists in practical matters. They havegrown dependent on self and their environment as a safety blanket. The spirit of Laodiceans lives on in so many today. Where is our dependence on Jesus? Open the door and have a seat at the table again. You can do it. You know that don’t you? Jesus said “if any man hear my voice, and open the door” (20). Any man. Any person. You don’t have to wait on anyone else to do this. You can be the change your church desperately needs.
Maybe we should close with this… Do you think Jesus is on the outside of your church? If He is, then you must change… now.