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This morning, we will begin our miracle series, by examining God’s incredible power of sickness. But before we do that, a prayer: O Lord, strengthen us by the truth, your Word is truth. Open our eyes to see what you want us to see, our ears to hear what you want us to hear and our hearts to believe what you would have us believe. Amen.
I. Defining Miracle I think it’s important to start a study on miracles by defining the word “miracle.” So, here it is: A miracle is an occurrence outside the NATURAL laws of the Universe. Because miracle can mean a lot of things to a lot of different people. Over time, I think we’ve “dumbed down” the phrase. For instance, we use it at childbirth. A baby is born and people post on Instagram: “Check out my child! #Miracle” Is childbirth amazing? Yes. Is it a miracle though? Not really. That’s how God set up the universe. We even use it in sports. “I can’t believe my favorite football team made the playoffs. It’s a miracle!” Might it have been impressive? Sure. But is it a miracle? Not so much. But when the New Testament uses the word miracle it actually is talking about events that occur outside the natural order of things. Seawater standing up like drywall? That’s not how water usually works. A heavy rock wall tumbling because of trumpet noise? Not normal. Three men being thrown into a fiery furnace and coming out unsinged? Let’s not test it. A virgin giving birth to a child? Miracle. In the New Testament, the number one miracle doer is Jesus. But did you know that Jesus miracles aren’t often called miracles as much as they are called signs. That’s interesting. Because a sign functions by pointing you in the right direction. We have signs in our hallways that say “Restrooms” with a little arrow putting in a certain direction. The point of the sign? To direct you to the restrooms. Even a traffic light. GREEN means “GO”, red means “STOP, and yellow means, “hurry up it’s about to turn red.” Jesus’ miracles were SIGNS pointing people to his DIVINITY. Think about it: If God’s the one that set the laws of the universe into motion, then he is the only one able to act outside of those laws. It’s like STAYING UP LATE. If the rule of your house is that kids need to be in bed by 9 pm, the kids need to go to bed, but the adult can stay up. (Granted, they might not. They might be in bed on the couch around 7:15 pm, but you get the point.) Your kids can’t. You can. You set up the law; you can act outside of it. Jesus acts outside of the laws of the universe set up by God, in all of his miracles. Why? Because he is God himself. II. The Man with Leprosy But it enough talking about it. Let me show you. When Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed him. Just then, a leper came to him and bowed down to him, saying, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” (Mt. 8:1-2) Notice. There are large crowds of people with Jesus. They had just heard Jesus give the Sermon on the Mount, a very famous sermon. They were all drawn in by Jesus’ speech and his ideas. But someone that hadn’t made it up to the mountain was waiting as they came down. He was a leper which means that he had the disease known as leprosy. It was a flesh-eating disease that slow dried out your cartilage and cause the tips of your fingers, your toes, your nose, and your ears to (brace yourself) fall off. Leprosy was awful. Still is! If you want to know how awful, do a Google image search. (But not if you’re faint of heart.) Besides being awful… Leprosy was INCURABLE. This isn’t true anymore. There is a cure. But at the time, there weren’t any medicines, any acupuncture, any essential oil, any healthy diet, or any operation that anyone knew about in order to cure it. That means that if you were diagnosed with leprosy you had to quickly resign yourself to the fact that you would not be healed. Leprosy was CONTAGIOUS. It was so contagious that if you were diagnosed with leprosy, you were sent into quarantine. Only the quarantine wasn’t a room in your house. You were sent outside the city walls, into the desert to live in what they called “leper colonies”. Leprosy was FATAL. The end result, 100 percent of the time was death. All these truths about leprosy left this man was without hope. He had heard doctor after doctor tell him there was no cure. He was alone, banished outside the city. He knew what had happened to other friends – they died. This meant - He wouldn’t get to see his family again. He wouldn’t get to hold his children again. He wouldn’t get to kiss his wife again. He wouldn’t feel better. He wouldn’t regain strength. He wouldn’t go back to his job. He’d be by himself. Outside the city walls. Slowly dying. Yet… Did you notice something about this man? He approached Jesus with confidence. He didn’t say: “If you are able…” Or, “If you have the strength…” Or, “If you have the right medicine…” He said, “If you are willing…” And… Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean.” And after Jesus says that, there aren’t months of radiation. There aren’t weeks of chemo. There aren’t even 15 minutes to allow the medicine to take effect. Jesus simply speaks and… IMMEDIATELY he was healed of his leprosy. And if you’re thinking, “That’s impossible.” Remember – there’s a crowd of people present. It wasn’t Jesus by himself. There were hundreds of witnesses to this miracle. Many who had undoubtedly seen that man sitting around outside the city gates day after day after day. In fact, Jesus has professionals corroborate the healing. He tells him to “Go, show (himself) to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” (v.4) The priests at this time were similar to doctors. They were able to pronounce people as diseased or not. They were probably the same people who once told the man, “You are diseased, away from us!” Now? They were saying to him, “You’re healed! Celebrate with us.” And remember – while this is 2000 years after the fact, this book is not. These words that we are reading right now were written down at a time when the majority of the people who witnessed this would have still been alive. TRUTH: Jesus is able to CURE the INCURABLE. Here’s where this is important: You might know someone who has been diagnosed with disease. You may have been diagnosed with disease. AIDS. Cancer. Leukemia. And internet articles might not give you a chance. Social media anecdotes might not give you a chance. Doctors might not give you a chance. But… You have Jesus. And Jesus can cure the incurable. Do you want a second instance of this? How about sin!?! It’s CONTAGIOUS – passed down from parents to children. It’s INCURABLE – nothing we can do will ever remove it. It’s FATAL – “The wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23) But Jesus cured the incurable! He lived perfectly when we couldn’t. He died innocently on the cross. He rose triumphantly and cured you of all sin, guilt and shame! By faith in Jesus, you are forgiven. Incurable guilt – CURED! This means that whatever you’re dealing with, as long as you have Jesus, you have hope. Because Jesus provides HOPE in any ILLNESS. He cured the incurable disease of leprosy with his hand. He cured the incurable disease of sin with his death. There is nothing that Jesus can’t do. There is no disease too incurable. There is no disease too contagious. There is no disease too fatal for Jesus. III. The Centurion’s Servant Word of this miracle got around. In fact, it made its way outside the Jewish community to a Roman centurion whose servant was deathly ill. He must have heard stories of Jesus. Yet he had a lot working against him. In fact, I’m sure his advisors gave him a host of reasons not to waste his time: “Jesus is Jewish. You’re Roman. There’s too big a racial divide. He won’t help you.” “You’re a high ranking official. What will it look like for a Roman elite to go looking for help from a homeless carpenter?” “You’re a sinner. From what I’ve heard, this man is a holy man. He won’t give you the time of day.” But… For some reason… He trusted Jesus. And as he looked at his servant growing pale, soaked in sweat, and approaching death. [the] centurion came to [Jesus] and pleaded with him, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed and suffering terribly.” (v.5) And… Despite the racial difference… Despite the social difference... Despite the man’s sin… Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.” (v.6) But the man, thought this was too much. He was a high ranking official and he didn’t make house visits. And Jesus was higher ranking than him. He didn’t need to do a house visit. And so, the high-ranking government official said, “Lord, I am not worthy for you to come under my roof.” I’m a sinful man. You’re holy. I don’t deserve anything from you. But only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I am also a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” (v. 8-9) You have authority too. You tell diseases to leave and they do. You tell health to return and it does. You tell bodies to be healed and they listen, because you have authority over them. When Jesus heard this, he marveled. He said to those who were following him, “Truly, I tell you: I have not found such great faith in anyone in Israel… Go. Let it be done for you as you have believed.” (v.10) Here’s where it gets extra amazing. Because when the man turned to leave, he made note of the position of the sun. Maybe just to the right of the west of the cloud. And when he returned home, he found the servant well. But that’s not the amazing part. After rejoicing. After giving him a hug. After doing the “happy dance.” He asked one of the other servants. When did this happen? “At the time the sun was right to the west of the clouds! I remember. Because I was so excited, I ran outside to tell the others.” Make no mistake. Again. This was a miracle. This was Jesus. TRUTH: Jesus provides HOPE even when he’s not VISIBLY PRESENT. Because you won’t be able to see Jesus. Go ahead. Google search. Look for Dr. Jesus. He doesn’t work at Duke. He doesn’t work at UNC. He doesn’t work at Rex. He doesn’t work at Wake Med. And yet… He grants healing to those within those walls. You can’t see Jesus. But that doesn’t he isn’t with you. And it doesn’t mean he won’t provide healing. He’s all powerful. ‘ His power goes beyond physical, tangible presence. Again – just like sin. You and I weren’t physically there when Jesus died on the cross. And yet Jesus didn’t have to come to 2020 in order to die in our physical presence. His death and resurrection cross physical, temporal boundaries to bring healing and forgiveness. His same healing power gives us hope in the face of illness. IV. When Healing Doesn’t Happen And yet…? People die all the time from disease. Some are even believers. What’s the deal? To answer that question – I want you to remember two significant things that these the two men in today’s accounts said. (1) Lesson from the Centurion Remember what the centurion said to Jesus? “I’m not worthy…” That’s a strange statement, because this centurion was a high ranking, Roman official. He oversaw hundreds of soldiers. (Hence the name “Century-on”) He had a good career. Plenty of people who looked up to him. And yet he didn’t say, “Jesus. I demand this, because I deserve it.” Nope. He knew he was a sinner. He knew he only deserved death. He knew that any healing Jesus could grant was out of his mercy. We need to remember the same thing. I remember that I got sick for one of my birthday’s awhile back. And I thought…. “This isn’t fair! I work hard. I serve God. I serve God’s people. And now I get a day off to celebrate my birthday and I’m sick? God I deserve to be healed.” Is that actually true? Did I deserve healing? Remember – the Bible says, “The wages of sin is death.” It’s easy to think: I deserve healing. I’ve done nice things. I’ve been a good parent. I’m worthy of being healed. Honestly? None of us are. If God heals us physically, it’s not because we deserve it. It’s because of his mercy. But in God’s mercy is real hope. Because unlike human ‘goodness’ which isn’t nearly as good as we think it is. God’s mercy? Is a mercy that caused him to die on a cross for our sins. Mercy that saved us to eternal life – where there won’t be any sickness. And mercy that sometimes heals us from sickness. (2) Lesson from the Leper Remember what the leper said to Jesus? “If you are willing…” It wasn’t a question of whether healing was possible, But whether it was God’s will. In this man’s instance? It was. But sometimes God’s will is that the sickness won’t be cured. Why? Is it because he loved that person less? If you are suffering a sickness and you haven’t been healed yet, is it because God loves you less than the healthy? Nope. He died on the cross for you. He doesn’t love you less. He loves you the same as those who are health. In fact, it’s because of his LOVE combined with his incredible wisdom, that God sometimes allows a disease to run its course. Why? Because… Sickness has a way of driving people towards Jesus. Meaning… Sickness can be God’s way of Bringing you to faith… Or strengthening your faith… Or working through you to be a witness to our friends and family of our faith in Jesus. Or … Simply… Bringing you ultimate healing in heaven. In heaven, there isn’t any leprosy. In heaven, there isn’t any cancer. In heaven, there isn’t any sickness. In heaven, there is only health. Perfect health. Forever. Amen.
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Did you buy any good gifts this year?
I think that the best way to know what someone wants would be to hack into their Facebook feed. Here’s why – Facebook tracks the things that you do on their platform and (maybe you’ve noticed this) over the holiday season they send advertisements that are specifically tailored to what you. So – in case you hadn’t gotten me anything yet – here’s a list of some gifts that Facebook thinks a pastor may like: A mug (because Facebook knows I like coffee). It says: “May suddenly start talking about theology” Because Facebook must know I’m a pastor. Also, because I’m a pastor: A T-shirt that reads: “Pastor, because devil stomping ninja isn’t a real title.” A Kevin Malone broccoli clock. Which is probably on there because I’m a big fan of the Office. Socks with my face on them. I’m not sure what that says about me. Tonight, I want to talk to you about the BEST gift ever… A gift that just so happens to be for you. Before we begin unwrapping it, a prayer: O Lord, strengthen us by the truth, your Word is truth. Open our eyes to see what you want us to see, our ears to hear what you want us to hear and our hearts to believe what you would have us believe. Amen. I. The Giver First, let’s examine who the giver is. Look in John 3:16, “For GOD so loved the world that he gave…” When you’re younger, isn’t it true that sometimes the excitement you have for a gift is based entirely on whose name is on the giving tag? From Aunt Matilda, who always sends a box of chocolate covered peanut butter Bon-bons? Excited. From Aunt Zelda, who always sends a box of quinoa covered carrot cakes? Less excited. From Uncle Carl, who sends items from his world travels? Very excited. From Uncle Merle, who always sends Werther’s caramel candies? Not so much. From the grandma who always gets you all the Lego toys, and actions figures and video games you ever wanted? Jackpot! From the grandma who always gets you money for your school trust fund? Not so much. Who is this gift from? It’s not an aunt. It’s not an uncle. It’s not any kind of measly, old human. It’s God. Almighty. Invisible. All powerful. Divine. He holds up the planets. He rotates the earth around the sun. He has store house after store house filled with beautiful snowflakes – no two are alike! He knows exactly what you truly, deeply want and need. TRUTH: There is no better giver than GOD. You can put anyone up against him. Rich Uncle Joe. Grandma. Grandpa. Even Santa! Cause from what I hear – he’s a good toy maker. But if you put him up against God? Santa is pretty good at making toy blocks that you can use to build towers. God? He put together the literal mountains out in Ashville. Santa has perfected how to make a model train go by plugging it into electricity. God has perfected how to make the coal that makes the real 18,000-ton trains go across country. Santa, if he works hard enough on it, he can produce a lifelike baby doll. God? He knits together real babies and gives them real life. This gift is from God, so you already know It’s the best gift ever! II. The Recipient Right next to the giver’s name on a gift tag is usually the recipient’s name. It’s no different with God’s BEST EVER gift. For God so loved THE WORLD that he gave… Did you catch that? Do you see the recipient? It’s a quite unique name tag. God is giving his gift to the world. TRUTH: God gave to the ENTIRE WORLD. Did you know that there are currently an estimated 7.7 billion people in the world today? From Raleigh to Durham. From the U.S. to Mexico. From North America to South America. From Ethiopia to Sweden. From Russia to China. From Iraq to Iran. Even to the scientists down in Antarctica! God got a gift for the whole world! Can you imagine doing shopping for that many people? I don’t want to even guess what Amazon would charge for shipping. But at the same time this gift is for the whole world, you need to pay special attention. Because it isn’t just talking about all the people on the other side of the world. It isn’t just talking about all the other people in Raleigh. it isn’t just talking about all the other people in this church right now. This gift is given FOR YOU. Because while God’s big enough to make a gift for the whole world. He’s knows you intimately enough to tailor his gift for you. Especially for you. Specifically, for you. Uniquely for you. Understand: This isn’t like a plate of cookies that is given to your whole family. It’s OK. It’s good. But you don’t get all of it. You must share. You must give some to your sister. And she gets to keep the green sprinkled Christmas tree that you wanted! But not this gift. It’s a gift that is fully and completely for the world. At the same time, it’s a gift that’s fully and completely for you. Only God can do that. And he did. It’s his gift. III. The Why But hold on one more time… We’ll have a better appreciation for the gift if we understand the WHY behind the gift. Why did God get us a gift? Check out John 3:16 again: For God so loved the world that he gave… Did you catch that? God gave because he SO LOVED. Notice. This is much different than human reasoning for gifts: “I bought you this new type of coffee, because I know you love coffee.” “I got you this beautiful ornament, because it reminds me how beautiful you are.” “I got you a new toothbrush, because…you need to brush your teeth.” “I got you this five-dollar gift card, because the office Christmas party gift exchange said that I have to.” God gave because he loved. Yet… you might get a gift from someone that says, “Because I love you.” That’s why we need to examine the word even more closely. Because the word for love here is agape. It means, “Unconditional.” And we’ve got to understand that love is UNCONDITIONAL. That’s good news. Because if someone has been a jerk to you throughout the year, how much do you want to get them a present? Quick question – how many of you are getting lovely Christmas gifts for someone that has been awful to you? I’m guessing – not many. Here’s the truth – We’ve been awful to God. All he asked this past year is that we follow him. That we love others. That we stop being selfish. That we stop being jerks. That we worship him. That we pray to him. That we spend time with him. And… Well… How well did you do with that? And yet… God gave. God GAVE because he LOVED UNCONDITIONALLY. Doesn’t matter if you’ve lied. Doesn’t matter if you’ve stolen. Doesn’t matter if you’ve lost friends. Doesn’t matter if your marriage is ruined. Doesn’t matter if you yelled at your kids. Doesn’t matter if you’ve struggled with addiction. Doesn’t matter if you’ve been in prison. God’s gift is for you, because God loved you. And God loves you. So… Are you excited to check out the gift? IV. The GIFT To find out the gift, we need to go backwards… About 2000 years ago… A virgin became pregnant. Miraculously. Mysteriously. Divinely. Then, she travelled. To a town. A small town. A town called Bethlehem. They travelled. Across the desert. Across hundreds of miles. While she as 8 months pregnant… To Bethlehem. Only to find there was no room. Not in the Days Inn. Not in the Holiday Inn. Not even in the Motel Six. Until finally… “I don’t have a room. But I do have a stable.” And into the stable… And they hold their noses from the animal’s smells. And cover their ears from the animal noises. And Mary sets herself up on some hay. And she sweats. And she groans. And… “While they were there the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a Son, she wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger...” (Luke 2:6) And there… Was God’s gift. God’s gift. TRUTH: God’s gift is a baby. And you might think: A baby? That’s God’s gift for me. I’ve had my fill of babies. I’m not fit to be a daddy. How can I take care of a baby, if I’m not even old enough to take care of myself? But look deeper: Because there in the manger. Wrapped up in hay. Wrapped up in swaddling clothes. Wrapped up in flesh. Is something more… For God so loved the world that he gave HIS ONE AND ONLY Son… Notice the phrase there. One and only Son. That’s important. Because, in one sense, we’re all God’s children. He created all of us. He gave each of us life. God doesn’t have just one child. But… The word for Son here. References one who is begotten. Some translations even clarify that… Only BEGOTTEN son. Meaning: Just like humans birth humans. And reindeer birth reindeer. And elves birth elves. God births God. Do you get it? This is God’s Son. And since God begets God. This is God himself! TRUTH: God’s gift is Himself! God knew your sin. God knew your struggles. God knew your failures. God knew your pain. So… God send Jesus to do something about it. And when that baby grew up? He’d live perfectly. He’d die innocently. He’d rise triumphantly for the forgiveness of all your sins. Such that John 3:16 remains true: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that WHOEVER believes in him will not perish but have ETERNAL LIFE. Do you see why this is the greatest gift ever? Because in Jesus, we have eternal life. That’s key. Because there’s nothing that will ruin any gift more than death. Like my grandma Jan. She was one of the best gift givers in my family. She always knew what I wanted. Always got me the toy that I wanted. Stood in line for hours at Toys ‘R Us. Stayed up late making sure to get the best Christmas goodies ready for our visit. But… …There aren’t any packages in the mail from her this year. There won’t be any goodies. There won’t be any visit. Grandma died. But… God gave Grandma the gift of a Savior. Grandma believed God. Grandma now enjoys the gift of eternal life. That same gift is wrapped up in Jesus for you. Amen.
Thanksgiving is less than one week away. Maybe you already started on the stuffing about three days ago! Because one of the greatest parts of Thanksgiving is the food.
There’s hot food. Hot turkey, fresh out of the oven. Hot potatoes, mashed with a butter melted down the top of the mound. Even hot green bean casserole with the crispy things at the top acting as some kind of barrier. There’s cold food. Cold cranberries sauce – with just the right kick of tang. Cold desserts each more delicious than the last. A cold drink to wash it all down. But… How many of you are looking forward to a lukewarm Thanksgiving meal? Lukewarm turkey. Lukewarm cranberry sauce. Lukewarm potatoes And a lukewarm drink. Gross. Today’s letter is to a church that was lukewarm. (And to Jesus – it’s just as disgusting as lukewarm mashed potatoes.) Today’s goal is to determine what it means to spiritually lukewarm and to ask the difficult question: “Are we lukewarm?” Before we begin, a prayer: O Lord, strengthen us by the truth, your Word is truth. Open our eyes to see what you want us to see, our ears to hear what you want us to hear and our hearts to believe what you would have us believe. Amen. I. Lukewarm Laodicea This letter starts in Revelation 3:14, “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. Laodicea was located just south of the Lycus river. It was a fertile area lush with green landscapes. It was great for sheep and led to an impressive wool industry in the city. This industry made Laodicea into one of the wealthiest cities. In fact, in 60 AD an earthquake destroyed the city. But Laodicea didn’t need Roman help to rebuild. They paid for the rebuild on their own. Within Laodicea was a church. This church is mentioned four times in the letter to the Colossians. In that letter, Paul even mentions a letter he penned for the Laodicean church that never made it into the Bible. Laodicea was an important center in early Christianity. Similarly to the other letter, Jesus begins by introducing himself. He reminds the church that he is Faithful and true. This prepares the people for what he’s about to tell them: whether they see it or not, whether they believe it or not, whether they want to believe it or not, he speaks the truth. It matters too! Because Jesus is the Ruler of God’s Creation! He’s the one who provides the fertile land for their rich sheep and wool industry. He’s the one who cares for the sheep that are grazing. He’s the one who gave the merchants the abilities to develop this industry. If it wasn’t for him, their wealth wouldn’t exist. And if it wasn’t for his loving kindness, he’d just send another earthquake to destroy Laodicea. This truthful, powerful God is the one speaking to them. He says: “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” (Revelation 3:15) Another well-known feature of Laodicea was the natural springs of water that occurred there. The water bubbled up from within the earth. It was warm. It was clean. It came packed with minerals. The water relaxed the muscles, melted stress away and promoted healing. And the temperature was just right. Not freezing like an ice bath. Not hot that it’d burn their skin. Warm. But imagine for a moment that instead of soaking in the lukewarm bathwater, you decided to drink it. How’s it taste? You’d spit it out? So would Jesus. Only he’s not talking about bathwater in Revelation 3. He’s talking about the spiritual temperature of the Laodiceans. TRUTH: Jesus hates a LUKEWARM spiritual temperature. Because when the Bible speaks about faith, it lauds faith that’s on fire for Jesus. On fire with love for the Savior. On fire for his teachings. On fire for sharing his message. Cold? That’s a reference to unbelief. It’s the cold heart of someone who has never come to faith and never been on fire for the Gospel. Don’t get this wrong – Jesus is not saying that he wishes the Laodiceans were unbelievers. But rather, that a cold heart might know it needs something – a warmth that only the Gospel can provide. But the Laodiceans…they couldn’t care less. They knew the Gospel and…were APATHETIC. They were APATHETIC about their need for a Savior. They were APATHETIC about their Savior. They were APATHETIC about their spiritual state. And Jesus? Was disgusted by it. TRUTH: Jesus hates spiritual APATHY. It’s easy to understand why: Apathy leads his people away from faith. Apathy leads his people away from their savior. Apathy leads his people away from heaven. And… Apathy leads his people away from sharing their faith. Apathy leads his people away from people who need the Gospel. Apathy leads people, that he wants in heaven, away from heaven. Apathy kills his church. II. Causes of Apathy As we start thinking about whether or not we are apathetic, I think it’s helpful to identify what leads to spiritual apathy. Look at what Jesus says: Revelation 3:17, “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.” The text reveals a few things that lead to spiritual apathy. (1) Being Presently Cared For Laodicea was one of the wealthiest cities in the ancient world. The church was blessed by the economic boom. The people were physically, temporally, and presently cared for. They had enough things and stuff that they began to think – “Do I really need Jesus?” Of course, Jesus said: “You need me.” Laodicea said: “I think I’ve got all I need in this big old bag of money.” Jesus said: “I’ll give you nourishment.” Laodicea said: “No worries. I can pay for a night at the Angus Barn on my own.” Jesus said: “I’ll quench your thirst.” Laodicea said: “I’m not actually that thirsty Jesus. I just got done with my second glass of Merlot. It’s from 17 AD. A good year, no?” Being presently cared for isn’t bad. (That’s why God takes care of us.) But…be careful… As a pastor, I’ve seen it often. Someone comes seeking God’s help in time of trouble. Low on funds. Job was lost. Relationship issues. Sick, in need of prayer. We counsel. We study God’s Word. We seek God because the person feels poor and in need of Jesus. But then, life turns around. Finances are ok. Job is ok. Relationship is ok. Health is ok. And… It isn’t long… Before… I mark absent on their worship attendance record for the 12th week in a row. (2) Past Accolades Past accolades can also lead us into a lukewarm faith. Look at the brag of the Laodiceans. They said: “I have acquired wealth.” That’s past tense. The Laodiceans had worked hard for their money and success – even making their church a success. So now, when they were reminded that God called them to share the Gospel, they responded: “Why? We did that 10 years ago.” Try to tell that to your boss sometime: “Boss, I don’t think I need to come into work today. I worked a Monday in 2016.” That won’t work. It doesn’t work with Jesus. He doesn’t care about past accolades. And your past accolades cannot get you to heaven. (3) Future Needs The final brag in verse 13 says, “You say…You do not need a thing.” There’s a future sense in that implication. The Laodiceans looked at their wealth, at the 70” HD TVs, at their brand new iPhones linked to their Apple Watches, at their kids being in the number 1 academic school in Laodicea and said: “Thanks for getting me here Jesus, but I can’t fathom having any need for you anymore.” It’s almost as if the Laodiceans couldn’t foresee life happening. Worse --- they couldn’t see death happening. The warning is for you too. If you think you’ll never need Jesus. If you think you’ll never get sick… …never lose a job… …never lose a home. …never die. You’re wrong. Your faith will grow lukewarm. This is a big deal because… Jesus isn’t APATHETIC about APATHY I think that’s important to hear. Because usually, the Christian church, even apathetic Christians, can find some sins they aren’t apathetic towards: Since that we are convinced Jesus would love to spit out: Sexual sins. Drug Use. Violence. Terrorism. Racism. And to be fair – these things are sin. God is not apathetic about them. But he isn’t apathetic about apathy either. He violently spits the apathetic out. Because to the Savior who cared so much for you that he came out of heaven, lived in this sin filled world, and suffered a violent death for you... Apathy...? …is disgusting. III. The Solution for Apathy Because Jesus is not apathetic towards apathy so he offers the solution in verse 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. Take a look at the ways that Jesus provides the solution for apathy. (1) Spiritual Gold The Laodiceans were so rich that they had their own mint to mint their own money. To take copper and silver, to melt it, to mold it, and to put little designs on it. It’s cute. It’s nice. It’s historic. But… None of this money would be a valid payment for forgiveness. None of it could earn heaven. None of it could buy eternal life. But gold from Jesus? It is refined in the fire. It has been purified from all impurifies. It is righteous. That’s important. Because righteousness is the payment required from heaven. God says, “You want to get in? Pay me righteousness.” But righteousness means perfection. So…we are fresh out of righteousness. That’s where Jesus’ comes in. He has righteousness. He has no problem making the payment for us. Meaning: If you’ve been apathetic towards Jesus and need righteousness to pay for that sin… …the very one that you’ve been apathetic towards is the one who will make the un-apathetically make the payment for your apathy. (2) Spiritual Clothing Jesus said, “You think you’re rich…but you’re naked.” You think that the Versaci dress can cover your vanity. It can’t. You think that your Gucci watch can cover your greed. It can’t. You think that your Slim fitting suit can cover your sin. It can’t. God can see your heart. God can see your being. God can see the ugliness of your sin. But the clothing Jesus’ offers? It covers your completely. It covers all of your sin. All of your ugliness. All of your pride. All of your greed. All of your lust. All of your really big sins that you figure everyone knows about! Jesus death and resurrection covers our sins completely. So well… …that when God looks at us – People who are wretched with sin. He says, “My you look nice tonight.” Praise God for covering us! (3) Spiritual Salve Another thing documented about Laodicea is that they would use water from the natural springs to make ointment salves. The natural minerals were helpful in healing all kinds of ailments in the body. The purity of the water went well with medicines to heal people – especially when it came to eyesight. Yet even the finest Laodicean salve could fix the fact that the Laodicean church couldn’t see its own sin. But Jesus? His salve is eternal. His salve is perfect. His salve is healing. His salve is God’s Word that gives us the proper spiritual eyesight – to see our great need for our Savior and the eternally important value of sharing his message. Because of Jesus’ salve… I don’t just see a clerk at Food Lion. I see a soul in need of saving. I don’t just see a snotty nosed kid next door. I see a soul in need of saving. I don’t just see a friend who was mean to me that one time on Facebook. I see a soul in need of saving. IV. What Now? Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. 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 that person, and they with me. (v.19-20) Understand what Jesus means. He loves his people. He wants to be with them. Yet our apathy threw Jesus out of the church. Yet… He knocks. He speaks through these words to the apathetic Laodiceans. He says: “Repent! And I will come in and dwell with you.” And,,, If you’re apathetic… He is knocking. He is speaking. He is saying to you right now… I want to be with you. Repent or your apathy. Turn back to me. Because when we do, he promises to sit down with us. That’s the intimate part of Thanksgiving. Everyone sits down and eats together. Friends. Family. Uncle Bob. Aunt Peggy. Camella Sue. They eat with you because you love them. You love them because they eat with you. Look at what Jesus says to the formerly apathetic, now repentant: “I’ll sit with you.” “Even though I found you so gross that I spat you out, because of my love – I’ll sit by you.” Through the good times. Through the bad times. Through all the times. I’ll sit with you now. And in the future..? To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. “Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Amen. Today’s letter is to a church that needs to wake up! Our goal is to examine what Jesus means by that, consider if our church is sleeping, and learn from God’s Word what to do to wake up. Before we begin, a prayer: O Lord, strengthen us by the truth, your Word is truth. Open our eyes to see what you want us to see, our ears to hear what you want us to hear and our hearts to believe what you would have us believe. Amen.
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January 2020
Pastor Phil Kiecker
and his wife, Julianna love serving the community of North Raleigh.
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