September 19th, 2020
Laodicea
A few weeks ago the Lord began speaking the word Laodicea. Laodicea was one of the 7 churches God wrote to in the book of revelation. The main message behind this letter was in Revelation 3:15-16, 15” I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”
The ironic thing about this church being called lukewarm is the fact that the neighboring cities of Hierapolis and Colossae were known for their water sources. Hierapolis was known for its hot springs while Colossae was known for its cool refreshing water that flowed from a spring. Laodicea created aqueducts built to bring hot water to the city from the hot spring nearby, but by the time it reached the city it was neither hot nor cold, it was lukewarm. There were several literal and figurative parallels in the letter written to Laodicea. By using physical examples in Laodicea the message was able to reach a wider range of people and churches. https://turkisharchaeonews.net/site/laodicea-lycus
While I was reading an article on this passage of scripture, the author did not think it made sense that Jesus was asking the people to be hot or cold. He knew that hot meant an increased level of faith so therefore cold would mean a strong stance of disbelief. He thought both options of hot and cold should have had positive connotations and the only negative option would be to remain lukewarm.
As I was pondering this the Lord reminded me of the “Letters From The Birmingham Jail” written by Reverend Dr. Martlin Luther King Jr. He said, “Shallow understanding from people of goodwill is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.” In his fight for civil rights he stated that the greatest stumbling block against justice and freedom was not the KKK but it was the white moderate that was more devoted to “order” than to justice. http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/45a/060.html
Similar to Laodicea when God was saying he would rather have the church be hot or cold, even though being cold might mean rejecting God or a disbelief in God the Lord was saying that at least they made a choice or took a strong stance one way or the other. MLK could relate because although the KKK actively opposed the Civil rights movement the reason the white moderate was such a stumbling block was because they were satisfied with sticking to the status quo as long as it meant not rocking the boat. Racial injustice did not directly affect the white moderate and they did not want to create tension by addressing the issue. For this reason is why change was so difficult to achieve. They may not have gone as far as to be like the KKK but they remained in the middle or in a lukewarm position of doing nothing. They “preferred a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice.” What is God speaking to the church in light of both of these letters?
In my spirit I feel like the Lord is echoing these same words to the American church, “you are poor, blind and naked. The Lord had me turn to John 9:35-41 the title of this passage is “spiritual blindness” and it say’s, “ And Jesus said, “I have come to judge those who think they see and make them blind. And for those who are blind, I have come to make them see.”40 Some of the Pharisees were standing nearby and overheard these words. They interrupted Jesus and said, “You mean to tell us that we are blind?”41 Jesus told them, “If you would acknowledge your blindness, then your sin would be removed. But now that you claim to see, your sin remains with you!”
How can we be the church God is calling us to be? Revelation 3:18 “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.” The Lord is calling for a renewed dependence on him. He wants us to buy his gold that is refined by fire, white clothes representing holiness without blemish, and salve on the eyes to allow us to see the truth. That we would long for the Lord’s justice and the Lord’s sense of righteousness that is not a one size fits all but a deep seeking of the Lords heart on every situation under the sun.
Most importantly God’s heart is for his people to turn towards him he is calling us to repentance and correcting us because he loves us so deeply. “19 “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. 20 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.” Revelation 3:19-20. A lot of the times we can act with good intention thinking we are doing things for God or upholding the law. When in reality we have created a moral code based on religious ideology that is far from the heart of God. Let us not waste another moment walking this path, but let us repent and seek the heart of God. Allow God to show us our blind spot’s and devote ourselves with a new dependence on the one who gives his spirit without measure John 3:34.
John 9:25 He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”
Psalm 51:10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.