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Psalms
95:1-11 Oh come, let
us sing to the LORD! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. Let us
come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with
psalms. For the LORD is the
great God, And the great King above all gods. In His hand are the deep places of the earth; The
heights of the hills are His
also. The sea is His, for He
made it; And His hands formed the dry land.
Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.
For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture, And
the sheep of His hand. Today, if you will hear His voice: "Do not harden
your hearts, as in the rebellion, As in
the day of trial in the wilderness, When your fathers tested Me; They tried Me,
though they saw My work. For forty years I was grieved with that generation, And said, 'It is a people who go astray in their
hearts, And they do not know My ways.' So I swore in My wrath, 'They shall not
enter My rest.'
Father God we thank you for all that you do for us each
day. We give you all the praise and glory. Bless our loved ones and guide them
and us through each day. In Jesus name I pray. Amen!
Revelation 3:14-22 NKJV
This
week’s lesson will be about the church of Laodicea. This church represents the
apostate church of current times that started in the late 1900’s to present,
which tells us the Rapture isn’t far away. During this church period, people
and modern day churches are making and adopting mans doctrine to fit the
lifestyles of current times. They’re not only twisting God’s Word, but
completely disregarding His Word. For instance; same sex marriage;
homosexuality; sexually abusing children, legalizing marijuana; enslaving
people through government (greed & power), euthanasia, removing God from
our society, etc. The list is long and the sad part is denomination churches,
pastors, & priests are endorsing some of these things which are of Satan
and not God. Just within the past 2 weeks, Rob Bell a pastor of a mega church
has endorsed same sex marriage (http://www.freep.com/article/20130322/FEATURES/130322062/Evangelical-author-Rob-Bell-comes-out-support-gay-marriage); in the past 60 years 75% of the
Catholic churches in the Joliet area had priests that sexually abused children
and the church covered it up (http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/iteam&id=9033945). This is apostasy and living for
self and not God. I pray for these people to repent and accept Jesus as their
Saviour so they will not spend eternity in Hell. This is what the church of
Laodicea is all about and we can plainly see it today.
Laodicea
lay on the confines of Phrygia and Lydia, about 40 miles east of Ephesus, on
the banks of Lycus. It was originally called Diospolis and then Rhoas, but latter
Laodicea. Antiochus II., king of Syria, rebuilt the city and named it in honor
of his wife, Laodice.
Though
Laodicea stood on the great highway at the junction of several important
routes, it was a place of little consequence until the Roman province of Asia
was formed in 190 BC. It then suddenly became a great and wealthy center of
industry, famous especially for the fine black wool of its sheep and for the
Phrygian powder for the eyes, which was manufactured there. It was one of the
most important and flourishing cities of Asia Minor. It is now a deserted
place, called by the Turks Eski-hissar or “old castle.”
Christianity
was introduced into Laodicea via Paul’s teachings, not directly by him, but by
a fellow brethren from Colossae. Paul addresses in his writing to Colossae that
the letter was to be presented to Laodicea also. Colossians 4:16 Now when
this epistle is read among you, see that it is read also in the church of the
Laodiceans, and that you likewise read the epistle from Laodicea. At a very early period it became one
of the chief seats of Christianity and its population was mainly of Jews and
Syrians. It was the seat of bishop and a meeting place of councils in early
times.
This
wealth (arising from its commerce of
fine wool) led to a self satisfied "lukewarm" state in
spiritual things, which the Lord condemns as more dangerous than positive icy
coldness. The two churches most comfortable in their materialistic condition,
not spirituality, are those most rebuked, Sardis and Laodicea; while the two
most afflicted and materialistically poor are the most commended, Smyrna and
Philadelphia because of their spiritual richness.
14 "And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write,
'These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of
the creation of God:
The introduction to this
church is a little different than the introduction used to other churches, and
that being the word, “Amen”. The introductions to the other churches Jesus used
words describing Himself that we understood or could relate to, but here He
uses the word amen. We normally relate to using the word amen when closing a
prayer. Amen can be used in several ways, but not common in today’s society. This
word amen, with differences in meanings, is in all the dialects of the Assyrian’s.
As a verb, it signifies to confirm, establish, verify; to trust, give
confidence; as a noun, truth, firmness, trust, confidence; as an adjective,
firm, stable, constant, unwavering.
The proper use of Amen
here is that Jesus is true, certain, and faithful, He is eminently true and
faithful and what He promises or threatens, is certain, and does and will
happen. Whether verb, noun, or adjective; Jesus is all of the words above.
Jesus is the beginning and the end, faithful and true. Jesus is the “God of
Amen”.
15 "I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I
could wish you were cold or hot.
I know your works;
Here again Jesus states he knows this churches works, because Jesus knows all
of course. This church, remember we are talking of the churches of today not
2,000 years ago, believes in what they as human beings want to believe. As
human beings we pick and choose what we want to believe. If it sounds good to
us and fits our lifestyle then we tend to believe. If we don’t agree with what
was said then we disregard it and believe what we were raised in, pertaining to
our heritage, religion, and culture. For instance, what if your pastor, priest,
or rabbi told you that you needed to eat 10 pounds of chocolate every day to
secure your salvation. (Alright you chocolate lovers quit dreaming, thinking
like that is a sin if indulgence.) You would say Bill that is absolutely
ridiculous, and you’re right it is, but what about this? You are raised, from
birth, in a culture that believes anyone claiming to be a Christian must be
killed, or if you drive a vehicle loaded with explosives into a building
killing others and yourself you will go to heaven. Now who are you believing in
God or man? You see our upbringing plays a huge part in what we believe. For
instance let’s take an example from our Catholic friends, and please bear with
me to the end of this example. Everyone knows about the custom of Lent
practiced by the Catholic religion. It is a period of time before Resurrection
Sunday where a Catholic is to give something up (make a sacrifice), and on Ash
Wednesday and Good Friday eat one full meatless meal and the other meals cannot
equal the full meal, and abstain from meat on the other Fridays of this time
period. This law or custom which ever you prefer to call it is manmade. Nowhere
in the Bible does it state this and if one was to eat meat on a Friday they
would be sinning against man and not God. This is putting faith in a law not
Jesus. Now on the flip side of this if a person whether Protestant or Catholic
were to do the above or some form of sacrifice or fasting out of love and
wanting a closer relationship with Jesus, because of His death and Resurrection
for us, then it takes on a whole different meaning. It is then done out of love
and from the Heart! Don’t practice a manmade custom because a religion requires
it, especially when it is not in the Bible. This is why we must read and
understand the Bible to discern truth or fiction. Salvation is faith in Jesus
not faith in laws.
That you are neither cold nor hot; The church of this time is walking the fence. They
really don’t know what they believe. Spiritually they are dead. They can and
will believe anything that will make them feel good. It is possible at one time
their faith was in the Cross of Christ, but with the passing of time the faith
has faded. Like a marriage, at first the love is an ardent (hot or burning)
love for each other. Struggling in life can get in the way and that burning
love turns into a warm relationship, a so…so…ho…hum relationship. If the
situation is left unchecked, life and the world will turn what once was a hot
love to a cold icy heart.
I could wish you were cold or hot; The state indicated here by Jesus,
would be that in which there was a profession of religion, but no warm-hearted
faithfulness to Him. Among those who made no profession he had reason to expect
nothing but coldness; among those who made a profession he had a right to
expect the glow of a warm affection; but he found nothing but indifference.
16 So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot,
I will vomit you out of My mouth.
Just like water, hot water
is used for many beneficial things in life like cooking, sterilizing, steam for
power, hot coffee, etc.; cold water for quenching a thirst, tempering steel,
rapidly cooling blanched food for storage, ice tea, etc.; but who wants to
drink warm water on a hot summer day, or eat food prepared in warm water, or
have surgery done with utensils swished around in warm water, or drink a warm
glass of tea or cup of coffee? This is what Jesus is saying about this church,
it disgusts Him, it upsets his stomach, and causes Him to vomit! Keep in mind
this represents many people of present day churches.
If a person is lukewarm
towards something that means he hasn’t accepted or rejected it. So what Jesus
is saying here is, because of sitting on the fence, they are not Gods children,
there is no such thing as being half saved, there is no gray area with God, it
is all or nothing, either you acknowledge, confess, ask for forgiveness,
repent, commit to a Christ like lifestyle based on faith in Jesus, or keep on practicing
mans religion for salvation. If you choose the latter you lose!
17 Because you say, 'I am rich, have become wealthy, and have
need of nothing'—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind,
and naked—
This church has placed
itself in a state of self sufficiency based on money and materialistic things.
They have fancy buildings, homes, grounds, yards, and vehicles to drive. They
are telling themselves they can provide for themselves and believe what they
are preaching, they have no other needs. The people of this church appear good
physically to other people and the world, but are spiritually wretched,
miserable, poor, blind, and naked in God’s eyes. One example of a church of
this nature is one that requires you to provide a copy of your income tax
paper, this way they will know how much you will be required to tithe, when you
become a member. Believe me this happens, and if you are a member of a church
that requires this, their main focus is on money, and not salvation through Jesus
Christ. Also if a church that is constantly asking for money, diligently
scrutinize where the heart of the church is.
18 I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that
you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may
not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.
I counsel you to buy from Me gold
refined in the fire;
What is Jesus talking about here, “buy from me refined gold”? It is His blood
that He shed for you and me. He was tested while here on earth (Matthew 4:1-11) and overcame sin for us so
that we can purchase salvation by faith in the Cross of Christ, but the modern
day church/people refuse.
That you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may
not be revealed; Rich
in righteousness of Jesus Christ, meaning when ones faith is place in Jesus and
what He did on the Cross in place of us, we are covered with the shed blood of
Jesus, and made righteous in God’s eyes. Just like Adam and Eve were clothed in
God’s righteousness, they didn’t know they were naked until they ate the fruit,
then they fell from God’s grace and saw they were naked. They no longer had God’s
clothes of righteousness on.
And anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see; Churches/people of Laodicea need to
put eye drops in their eyes to remove the haze so they can see clearly. They
need to do something like cataract surgery before it is too late.
19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous
and repent.
The word for “love” here is “phileo,” which denotes the love of friendship, and not “agapao,” the higher type of love. This
love would correspond to the love God has for his children, Born Again
children. It is out of love that God rebukes and chastens His children. There
was a remnant in this church that Jesus was calling to attention. They were to
examine their lives, repent, and get back on track with zeal for God. Hebrews 12:6 FOR WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE CHASTENS, AND
SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES."
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 dine with him, and he with
Me.
Jesus is telling us
without any hidden messages here that we have to open the door for Him to come
into our heart. He is always standing on the other side of the door, but can’t
come in because there is no door knob on His side of the door. The only thing
we have to do to acquire salvation is recognize we are sinners due to the
inherited sin nature, realize the life we live is a sinful life and it offends
Jesus, confess we are sinners to Jesus with an open mouth, ask for forgiveness,
and ask Jesus to come into our hearts to rule and reign (open the door). Romans 10:9-10 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord
Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will
be saved. 10
For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth
confession is made unto salvation. No
laws, no religion, no customs, no rituals, no rules, no church doctrine, no
denomination, no heritage, no self works, etc. will secure passage into Heaven,
just what Romans 10:9, 10 state, and don’t let anyone tell you anything
different. Simple child like faith!
21 To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My
throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.
To him who
overcomes I will grant to sit with me on my throne; Anyone that comes to the revelation
that they are sinners and gives their heart to Jesus are overcomer’s, they will
share his honors and his triumphs and sit on the throne with Jesus. Jesus
stated in the message to the church of Thyatira, “he who overcomes will rule
with Him in the Kingdom Age. Revelation
2:26-27 And he
who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over
the nations— 27 'HE SHALL RULE THEM WITH A
ROD OF IRON; THEY SHALL BE DASHED TO PIECES LIKE THE POTTER'S VESSELS'— as I
also have received from My Father; Paul also states anyone that overcomes will
be a joint heir with Christ. Romans 8:17 and if
children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we
suffer with Him, that we may
also be glorified together.
As I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne; Jesus gained victory over the world
by defeating Satan at the Cross and exalted to the throne of the universe. All
things are put under his feet, and in the strictest agreement and with perfect
harmony he is united with the Father in administering the affairs of all
worlds. Philippians 2:5-11 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ
Jesus, 6
who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with
God, 7
but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of
men. 8
And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient
to the point of death, even the
death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given
Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord, to the
glory of God the Father.
22 "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to
the churches."
The message is simple,
open ones ears to what Jesus is saying and come to the Cross for salvation.
There is no other way!
Romans 1:16 For I am
not ashamed of the gospel of Christ,
for it is
the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes…...
Romans
3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans
6:23 For the wages of sin is
death, but the gift of God is
eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
John
3:3
Jesus answered and said to him, Most assuredly, I say
to you,
unless
one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
Bill
Wiesbrock
Last
Week’s Trivia: Who
was Ahisamach?
Answer: Ahisamach was one of the tribe of Dan
at the time of Moses. Ahisamach’s son helped prepare the tabernacle for
worship. Exodus 31:6; 35:34; 38:23.
This
week’s Trivia: Who
was Ahishahar?
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