The
United States of America’s Southern culture is unique and has its own distinctive
customs, mannerisms and norms. No matter where you go, the challenge as men and
women of God is to be exclusive and supernatural in the midst of the secular spiritual
battle for hearts there. It's difficult to hold on to the values of the
culture of our heavenly homeland. In years gone by, culture was more aligned
with the values of the Word of God and Christian churches taught and reflected
those godly virtues.
The
churches of Asia Minor in the book of Revelation
exemplify the churches and the cultures of today. The church of Ephesus
was loveless. Pergamum was compromising. Thyatira was a corrupt
church. Their values and morals had been corrupted by the secular humanistic
culture. Like today, many of the churches had become irrelevant being more
about human relationships and existential philosophy. Sardis was a spiritually dead
church. The Holy Spirit had left the church and they didn't even
notice. Unlike the other churches Philadelphia was a faithful
church. The last church was the church of Laodicea. The Apostle John
had nothing good to say about this church. According to Revelation 3:14 and following: “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;”
The
"Amen" is “the Truth”. Jesus Christ himself is the truth of the
Word of God. He is the faithful and the true witness. He is the one
who tells what He has seen and heard with honesty, accuracy, and integrity that
impresses the hearers. Heresy in the church alienated the church from the truth
of the living Word. The Lord said: “I
know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or
hot.”
The
church at Laodicea was lukewarm, tepid, and indifferent. They had no
passion. They were living comfortably but had lost their zeal for the
truth and their passion to serve the Lord. Apathy and indifference are
difficult to deal with. The Laodiceans had anesthetized themselves to the
pain and passion of the world. As “casual” Christians they had lost their
motivation to serve the Lord from a heart of love. After "casual" The
next word in the dictionary was "casualty." Casual Christians
become casualties in the spiritual battle. In Revelation 3:16 the message to the church of Laodicea is: “So then because thou art lukewarm, and
neither cold nor hot, I will vomit thee out of my mouth.”
The
church needs to be shaken out of its indifference, comfort and
complacency. God will shake that which can be shaken. Sometimes God will
bring people into your life to reprove rebuke and correct ... to restore
to an upright position The exhortation is to be zealous, to repent and to turn
from complacency to the throne of the living and true God.
The
Laodiceans had become rich and wealthy and they thought they knew the truth but
they really had no clue. They had been deceived in their own hearts. They
thought that because they were prosperous and self-sufficient, they had no need
for God and the things of the Spirit.
Revelation 3:17-19 “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: 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. As many
as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.”
They
were rich and wealthy, but didn't notice that they had forsaken the truth of
the living and true Word of God. There is no one in the dark so deep as he
who thinks he is in the light, but he's really in the dark. Jesus Christ
himself is the light of the world. He came to open the eyes of those born spiritually
blind. Jesus said, behold I stand at
the door and knock. He who opens the door, I will come in and we'll dine
together in fellowship and communion. Our responsibility is to open the
door to our hear when the Holy Spirit convicts us. Our calling is to come
before Him with a heart of humility and meekness.
We
have not been called to criticize, condemn, and complain. All God asks is
complete obedience with no questioning or complaining on my part and no
explanation on His. The challenge is to influence our own hearts and minds
according to the truth of the living and the true Word. As the apostle Paul
said, Rejoice evermore. Quench not
the Spirit...set us on fire Lord. In everything give thanks. Never be lukewarm.
May
God richly bless you!
Your
brother in Christ, Michael
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