“The Letter to Laodicea: ALL IN” (Revelation 3:14-22)

What Is Your Spiritual Temperature?

In the movie, “War Room,” Miss Clara asks the question her real estate agent, Elizabeth, “How is your prayer life? Is it hot or cold?” Elizabeth answers, “It is not hot or cold, but somewhere in the middle… but I would say I know the Lord. I am a spiritual person just like anybody else.” How about you? What is your spiritual temperature? How is your relationship with the Lord?

I think many of you in this room have seen this famous painting, The Light of the World, painted by William Holman Hunt, based on Jesus’ words in Revelation 3:20, “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me.” In this painting we see the door is overgrown with dead weeds, symbolizing it hasn’t been opened for a long time – perhaps never opened before. The shut door has no latch, no handle, no keyhole – it can only be opened from inside. The door to our hearts has to be opened from within, through repentance and faith. We often hear the story about this painting and this particular Bible verse, Revelation 3:20, at the evangelical meeting. We are then encouraged to invite Jesus into our hearts by praying a sinner’s prayer. That experience itself can be a very meaningful and defining moment of our life. But, being a Christian is much more than saying a sinner’s prayer. We often focus on the first half too much (asking Jesus to come into our heart), and neglect the second half (eating with Jesus – daily fellowship!). Being a Christian is about a friendship – an ongoing fellowship with Jesus Christ, the Word of God. Today we will focus on the second part – what it means to have fellowship with Jesus in three aspects: cognitive, volitional and relational.[1] My prayer is that today’s message may stir a stronger desire to know Christ better and love Christ more.

Cognitive: Hearing the Word

First, to have fellowship with Jesus means to hear His Word. We think we hear his word all the time. But let us be honest. When was the last time you really stopped and listened? When was the last time you really felt Jesus was speaking to you? When was the last time you wept over your sins and cried out to Jesus, “Lord, have mercy on me. I am a sinner”? Just as we eat bread daily, we ought to eat God’s word daily.

This morning we confessed the Apostles Creed together. But if we really believed in God as Creator of heaven and earth, then that means we would become his creation. That means God is the Potter, and we are the clay. That means God is the Lord and we are his servants. If we really believed in Jesus as God’s only Son, Lord and Savior, then that means we are wrenched, lost, blind sinners. If we really believed in the Holy Spirit, then that means we are the hopeless and the powerless who need new heart, new spirit, new wills and affections. Probably Laodicean Christians thought they would believe in God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They thought they would know the Lord. Although their spiritual temperature was not that hot, they would say, “I am a spiritual person just like anybody else. I guess I am doing ok. In fact, overall I am satisfied with where I am now. I need nothing. I don’t want change” (cf. v. 17a). But then, they really heard Jesus say, “Don’t you know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked?” (v. 17b)

We find the same response again and again when people really hear God’s word. Isaiah said, “Woe to me! For I am lost! For I am a man of unclean lips!” (Isa 6:5) Peter felt down at Jesus’ feet and said, “Leave me, Lord! I am a sinful man!” (Lk 5:8) John Wesley said, “I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.” Nowadays I hear God’s word through the voice of Jeremiah. Every morning I hear how great our God is and how sinful I am – God’s greatness and man’s weakness. And I pray, “Lord, have mercy on me! Thank you for your words. They are my joy and my heart’s delight!” How about you? How do you hear God’s word?

Volitional: Doing the Word

Second, to have fellowship with Jesus means to do His Word. The problem of Ladicean church was their lack of wholeheartedness. They intellectually agreed with biblical doctrines and believed in God. Jesus didn’t rebuke their false teaching. The thing is they merely heard the word, but didn’t do the word. They were able to be rich because they compromised. They were able to avoid persecution and live peacefully because they compromised. They might think they were keeping the good balance, but from Jesus’ perspective they were lukewarm. Jesus said, “You are neither hot nor cold. I will spit you out of my mouth” (16).

I think what Jesus said to Ladicean church is still relevant today. In his book All In, Mark Batterson rightly points out, “We want joy without sacrifice. We want character without suffering. We want success without failure. We want gain without pain. We want a testimony without the test. We want it all without going all out for it.”[2] What we can learn from the story of Laodicean church is this: There are no different levels, or classes of disciples. It’s hot or cold. It’s all or nothing. We may say, “I’m all in.” But how do we really know that we’re all in? One of the best and surest ways is to see our calendar and bank statement. They don’t lie. How we spend our time and our money are the two best barometers of our true priorities.

So how do you do God’s word? I love the way Dr. King put it: “If it falls your lot to be a street sweeper, sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures, like Shakespeare wrote poetry, like Beethoven composed music; sweep streets so well that all the host of heaven and earth will have to pause and say, “Here lived a great street sweeper, who swept his job well.”[3] We deepen our relationship with the Lord every time we put him first and choose to do his word. Remember your workplace or school is your mission field. Your family, friends, and neighbors are your congregation. So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God! (1 Cor 10:31)

Relational: Abiding in the Word

Third, to have fellowship with Jesus means to abide in His Word. The word “abide” is relational by nature. We abide in something, somewhere, or somebody. So the first two – hearing the word and doing the word – have more to do with our personal relationship with Jesus. But the third aspect – abiding in the word – is beyond our individual self. Laodicean church seems to fail to practice this. They seem to be more individualistic and inwardly focused. They say, “I have everything I want. I need nothing.” But we know when are inwardly focused, we become self-sufficient, indifferent, complacent, lukewarm. So by his grace God always stretches us beyond our individual self, beyond our comfort zone. If we really pay attention to God’s word, he always nudges us to contact somebody, visit somebody, invite somebody, help somebody, forgive somebody, pray for somebody. As we do this, we see ourselves become vulnerable. But at the same time, we also see ourselves and somebodies we have reached out become God’s body together. Somebody to God’s body.

When my grandfather was in ministry, he had a congregation of 700, and he knew everybody’s name. The secret was his prayer life. Every morning he lifted each of them up to the Lord. So he knew who their children were, who their spouses were, and the trials they went through every day. Nowadays God is nudging me to do the same. I feel stretched, but when I pray for all the saints (Eph 6:18), God pours out his love, teaches me to whom I should contact, what to say, and how to minister to that person. How about you? How is God stretching you today particularly in relational aspect?

All In

Christians are the ones who are defined, shaped, transformed by the word of God. Christians are the ones who hear the word, do the word, and abide in the word. C.S. Lewis describes our Christian journey in this way: Imagine yourself as a living house. You ask Jesus to come into your house. Jesus begins to rebuild the house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on … But then He starts knocking the house in a way that hurts enormously and does not seem to make sense. So you ask, “What on earth is He doing?” The answer is He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of — throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.[4]

We are made to have fellowship with Jesus. We are made to be his temple, his palace. This is the day of salvation. Invite Jesus to come into your heart today. If you already did, let him into the inner court, your hidden room, that he may rebuild the house and eat with you every day.

“I am no longer my own, but thine. 

Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering. 

Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee,
exalted for thee or brought low for thee. 

Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing. 

I freely and heartily yield all things
to thy pleasure and disposal. 

And now, O glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, 

thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth, 

let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.”

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[1] I must give credit to Kevin J. Vanhoozer, who gave me insight on what it means to be a Christian. For more details please read his article, “Core Exercises,” Christianity Today (November 2018), 46-50.

[2] Mark Batterson, All In (Zondervan: Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2013), 77.

[3] Ibid., 96.

[4] Ibid., 166-67.