“Threat #7: COMPLACENCY (Revelation 3:14-22)” | 2/21/2021
Revelation 3:14-22 | 2/21/21 | Thad Yessa
This morning we are at the final threat in our series “Church Under Fire”: The seven greatest threats facing the church.”
We have looked at the threats of:
Ignorance
Compromise
Division
Intellectualism
Comfort
Busyness
And this morning, we add to this list Complacency. You might take note that all of these threats mentioned are all dangers from within the church. You can go ahead and start turning into your Bibles to Revelation chapter 3, and we will be in verses 14-22 in a moment. This particular text is the last of seven letters written to churches. These letters were written to them, specifically this letter to the church of Laodicea but written for us today, which means that it still has applications for us.
Stand for the reading of God’s Word.
To the Church in Laodicea
14 “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.
15 “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. 17 For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. 18 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.19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.20 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. 21 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.22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”
LET’S PRAY
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Main Idea: Spiritual Complacency is living your life as though you need nothign from God.
You might be wondering, what in the world is going on with the spitting out and knocking on doors. Jesus is addressing the angelic watcher and protector of the church of Laodicea. The historical context of the city of Laodicea is one of significant wealth, known for banking, manufacturing of clothing, and a famous medical school with ointments for the ears and the eyes. Despite its prosperity, the city did have one major weakness: an absence of an adequate and convenient source for good drinking water. In my research, it was noted that most likely, if you were a visitor to the city and came unprepared and drank the water, it would cause you to vomit.
We are all familiar with vomit, some of you might say yes, that was us earlier this morning. In one of my many part time jobs I have had in my life was at a Chick-fil-a and I remember one manager coming up and asking if I could clean the playground because a child had become sick in it. So i get all my cleaning supplies, and braced myself as I opened the door to a horrific stench. What my manager had failed to tell me is that the child had vomited all the way down the slide. I don’t think i need to belabor the point that this is gross, vomit is gross. It is one thing for a parent to help their sick child, but no one is volunteering to clean up other peoples messes.
To bring it to context when the text says, “The words of Amen, the faithful and true witness” it is referring to Jesus that this letter is from Jesus.This description stands in stark contrast to the actual condition of the Laodicean church he is reliable they are not. he is faithful they are not. He is the true witness but they have no real witness at all. You may not trust the dependability words and witness of the Laodicea to seeing Christians but you can count on and Trust what Jesus says.
The text says that Jesus is the beginning of God's creation that comes from Colossians 1:15 and 18 which confirm He is the chief ruler the originator of both creation and the church, but he is Lord over both material and spiritual realms. This puts Jesus in a uniquely strong position to offer counsel that the church will want to hear. He is coming to address their self-deception that runs deep not only in them but all of us.
1) Christ’s CRITICISM against complacency. (v14-17)
Here lies Christ’s CRITICISM against the Laodiceans He says: “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” (vv. 15–16). Or a more accurate way to say it I will vomit you out. You make me sick!
We don’t need to be Bible scholars to recognize that lukewarmness is a less-than-ideal temperature. The word itself sounds negative to us. How often have you asked for lukewarm coffee? Lukewarm soup? A lukewarm shower? Not often, I hope. Lukewarmness is associated with negativity. It doesn’t taste or feel good.
Jesus, in His letter, goes on to say that He wishes that the church at Laodicea was either cold or hot instead of being lukewarm (v. 15). Many have interpreted this verse to mean that Christ would like His followers to either (1) become “hot,” that is, more fervent in spirit, zealously serving God’s kingdom with their whole hearts; or (2) become “cold,” that is, abandon the faith altogether, showing themselves to be what they really are—unbelievers.
Rather, to understand this verse, we need to remember the context, historical and geographical, to who this is being written to. That this city, the church has all of these great technological advances but can’t get adequate water. That hot, medicinal waters bubbled up at nearby Hierapolis while cold; pure waters flowed from Colossae. Jesus is saying, “You are providing neither healing for the spiritually sick nor refreshment for the spiritually thirsty. Yes, He would like the Laodicean church to be fervent in spirit, zealously serving God’s kingdom with their whole hearts. But by suggesting they either be “hot or cold,” He is not asking them to “just get on with it”—that is, choose between obedience and disobedience. Rather, He is saying that you are worthless to them. I wish that you were good for something! They have what could be described as ineffective faith, that their faith didnt result in any good works.
If they are not hot or cold, of course, He says that He will spit them out of His mouth (v. 16). This is a warning. God will not abide a lukewarm Christianity or a heart that is only partially His. No, God demands our whole lives. Why shouldn’t He? He is the God of the universe, the very Creator of our hearts. But more than that, He gave us His whole life in Jesus Christ. So, yes, lukewarmness is terrible, and Christ wants us to be wholeheartedly dedicated to Him and His kingdom.
But how did this church become lukewarm, or we could call it complacent. Indifference or complacency will eventually lead to ignorance concerning where we are spiritually. We may say one thing when the truth is altogether something different. We may fool others, and we may fool ourselves, but we cannot fool God.
These Christians are deceived Christians; a comparison of their self-estimation with the Lord's evaluation is tragic and sobering. They could not have been more off base and who they thought they were. They said I'm rich, I've become wealthy, and I am in need of nothing. Like their City, they boasted about who they were what they had. They thought every church should be like them. These Christians claimed to have reached this lofty spiritual status on their own. They needed nothing and no one, including the Lord. They arrived where they were without the assistance of anyone.
The Lord Jesus indeed has a completely different perspective on the church. Jesus exposes their deficiencies that they can’t see. It is like when you are eating with someone and they get something on their face; and you try to get their attention to get them to clean it off. He makes it clear that they claim one thing, but the truth is another. Self-deception hovers over them. Jesus is saying, let me set the record straight give us five marks of their actual spiritual status.
Wretched
Pitful
Poor
Blind
Naked.
How did they get here? I mean does one just one day wake up complacent? NO! Complacency is dangerous because it is easy. All you have to do is sit back and go with the flow. To go against the flow requires work and conflict might be involved. Complacency doesn’t require discipline. It doesn’t require accountability. It doesn’t require action. And because of that it is all too often appealing to too many of us. But we can’t be complacent. We are commanded to discipline, action, and accountability. The journey to spiritual complacency is a slow and steady descent. Spiritual complacency is living your life as though you need nothing from God. Another way to think about it is being a practical atheist who goes to church. The Christians were satisfied with church and bored with Jesus. There reliance was on the material things. They had no needs as far as they were concerned. You might think well that’s them and not me. They weren’t heretical or wacko. They were somewhere in the mushy middle. They neither promoted the gospel nor opposed it. They thought the Bible had some good ideas, but they didn’t relish it. They wanted their kids to grow up moral, but not missional. They found some space in their busy weekend schedule for going to church, but they didn’t redesign their whole lives around the cause of the gospel.
But think with me, we have medicine to help us get better, we have insurance incase something happens, and we have retirment accounts. I have all those things, I think those are good things, and God has given us those things; Yet we can get to a posture that says getting through today is dependant on me. We can think of the Lord’s Prayer(Matthew 6), “Give us this day our daily bread. Lead us not into temptation.” When was the last time you prayed either of those things? Do you think when you wake up in the morning that today, “I am not going to face any temptation!” Do I think that there arent’ sins that I am not capable of falling into? Many of us us like these Christians live our lives as though we don’t need something from the Lord. Maybe a bad diagnosis, maybe when we lose a job, maybe when a loved one is suffering, THEN we pray, then we make deals with God about getting our spiritual life started, but apart from that we need nothing. And while that is going on we have all kinds of blessings. We don’t wonder where we are going to get our food. We live our lives as though we need nothing. We live spiritually complacent; that we are self sufficient. We don’t read our Bibles to gain understanding or to be changed, we simply read it to check it off a list, out of habit, or because we know we will be asked about a ceratian passage at Life Group.
We like to feel like we have it all together, that we have a plan, we have money in the bank, we know how we are going to get through this crisis.
1 Timothy 6:17 “As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.”
God says you want safety, security, comfort, good things for your children, you want to be certain about your future? Good. Don’t look for it in money for it is a leaky bucket, look for it in God.
We go to church, meet with friends, get a little Jesus and move on. But overtime there is no passion, no zeal, no desire to fight sin, no desire to serve. Instead a voice in our head says we don’t need anything. The church things become nothing more than a habit.
The problem in Laodicea is that they were lukewarm/complacent bored with Jesus and it made Jesus sick. Are you making Jesus sick?
2) Christ’s CURE for complacency. (v18-19)
Here is the good news, Jesus still loves them. He is not content to leave them how they are. “Those whom I love I reprove and discipline.” If Jesus has hard things for you, it is because He loves you. What is the cure for complacency? Jesus says to,” buy from me gold...white garments...salve for your eyes.” Stop pursuing wealth when what you need is the spiritual wealth that only I can provide.We need spiritual wealth that comes only by abiding faith in Jesus. Day by day we must renew our faith in the Lord Jesus for everything we need.
Be clothed in the righteouness that only I can provide you. Stop walking around blind, when I have made a way for you to see your true self! He is saying to stop working and seeking what I have already provided for you! He is calling them to remember their union with Him. Remember that I died on the cross for you to provide all that you need; perhaps not all that you want, earthly treasures, but what you need a right relationship with God.
Honest evaluation is essential for spiritual restoration. Spritual complacency are “spiritual cataracts: they shut our the light of spritual sight. Regularly, daily, we need to ask the Lord, in prayer and by the Word, “Show me my ture spiritual condition. Reveal to me my spiritual BLIND SPOTS and areas of sin where I no longer see. Help me, Lord, to see myself as you see me!
Jesus wants them to remember what they were apart from him and what they are now in Him:
Apart from Christ, we are…
Guilty in sin (Rom. 5:16)
Covered in shame (Jer. 17:13)
Deserving of God’s judgement (Rom. 1:18)
Under the sway of the devil (Eph. 2:2)
Enemies of God (James 4:4)
Separated from God (Isa. 59:2)
Enslaved to sin (Jn. 8:34)
Dead in transgressions (Eph. 2:1)
In Christ, we are…
Forgiven of sin (Eph. 1:7)
Cleansed of shame (Heb. 12:2)
Declared righteous (Roma. 4:5)
Victorious over the devil (Rom 16:20)
Adopted into God’s family (Jn. 1:12)
Reconciled to God (2 Cor. 5:18-19)
Free from the slavery of sin (Rom. 6:18)
Risen with eternal life (Rom. 8:11)
Do not forget what I have saved you from, and saved you to!
Jesus then has a command and an invitiation for them.
Command - Be zealous and repent. If you don’t want to be Jesus vomit, be zealous. The worst place a church can go is nowhere. If you aren’t actually moving you are falling back. Hebrews 2:1 urges us “Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.” We need to pay much closer attention to what we know to be true so we can live accordingly and not be in a complacent drift. We are commanded to watch ourselves and our doctrine closely. If we are not moving forward we are moving back. This is personal. You either are growing closer to Christ and maturing in His ways or you are drifting away. This means we can’t be complacent in our devotional life or our spiritual disciplines. We have to work at them and be in the Word and be applying the truth to our lives every single day.
We can come up with excuses that it is a busy season, or the kids have all these activities going. That I will get more serious about being zealous for my faith later. I am not the super spiritual person, its not my personality. I have difficulty reading the Bible and praying. So often its always after the next thing, then I will change.
Complacent Christians are wins for the Devil because they aren’t doing any good. Jesus says the cure is to be ZEALOUS. Make an impact. Get involved.
Jesus then has an Invitation
“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.”
Often evangelistic, and it that is one application (Jesus hoping you open the door)
Future of Jesus coming to pass judgement (Swat team barging in)
But remember this is written to a church, Jesus is saying, “Do you want to dine with me again?” Talk to me again? To have fellowship with me again?
Two theological categories: Union with Christ and Communion with Christ.
Union with Christ is fixed unalterable it can’t be changed.
Then you have communion with Christ which can go up and down eb and flow. Just like a marriage that you are either married or you are not. You don’t get to wake up one day and say that you are half married today. But you know that in a marriage their are ups and downs to the relationship. Your communion can be strong and week.
Christ wants them first to remember their union with Christ, His righteous, truth light, and secondly to have communion with Him.
Jesus has taken a position outside the door of the church and will reamin there knokcing and knocking; graciously and patiently waiting. “If anyone” Just one person, “hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and have dinner with him, and he with Me”
In terms we can understand Jesus is saying, “It has been a long time since you invited me over for dinner. Its been a long time since we have talked, in the Word and prayer.
We can look back at the marriage illustration that we can wake up, get the kids ready, make breakfast, go to work, come home, eat dinner, put the kids to sleep, watch a movie, go to sleep, and start over the next day. But if this goes one for a while where is the real connectin, the real communication?
That’s the invitation, that even though Jesus has just said, “You make me sick, I would love to come over for dinner.”
You see Christian faithfulness has no secrect formula. God sanctifies un through his Word (John 17:17). We avoid the danger of spiritual drift by reading, hearing, meaditating on, and obeying Scripture. As B.B. Warfield said, “When Scripture speaks, God speaks.” We avoid spiritual drift by droping the anchor of our souls in the deep waters of the Word of God.
3) Christ’s COMMITMENT to those who turn from a complacent life. (v20-22)
Each of the seven letters in chapters 2,3 concludes with a promise to the one who overcomes.Jesus promises the one who is the “victor” an overcomer, a conqereror, the will sit with him Him on His throne, just as He has sat down with His Father on His thrown.
Jesus says if you do this, I will give you REAL wealth and REAL authority. You can reign with me. Jesus says I can give you these but you need to get over your complacency, your lack of desire for me, and I will give you the authority you want.
Jesus is promising to use them to do GREAT things. He is saying I love you, and I want to give you authority, but you can’t be complacent. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, in his book on revival, observes a striking pattern in Christian history. A new movement of blessing never begins by a majority vote. It begins when one person, or a small group of people, “begin to feel this burden, and they feel the burden so much that they are led to do something about it. . . . It may be anybody.”
Don’t think you can’t do anything. Don’t wait for someone else. Jesus offers himself to anyone: “If anyone hears my voice and opens the door . . . .”
Revival is both an individual and a church matter. God deals with people one person at a time. He deals with churches one church at a time. Sometimes, like Laodicea, we have everything in our life and our church except the Lord Jesus. God forbid that that would be true of us, of you, or of me!
In his book Don’t Waste Your Life John Piper writes about a plaque hung in his home that reads:
Only one life,
‘Twill soon be past;
Only what’s done
For Christ will last.
Vance Harvner in his commentary on this text puts it all in context: “The big question today is not ‘Is God speaking?’ The really big question is, ‘Are you listening?’”