|
WEEKLY
Volume 2 Number 7
15 July 2007
Be Thou Zealous
(Message
delivered by Rev Hien Nguyen at the Sunday Worship Service, 2 pm, July
8, 2007)
Text:
Rev 3:14-22
Jesus’ Words to the Church in
Philadelphia
We usually do not want to keep fellowship with those who are proud, self-sufficient, and indifferent no matter how rich and wealthy they are. We can feel that they are not even interested in our presence or fellowship. It is so discouraging!
To the church in Laodicea, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Source of eternal life and all blessings, had to rebuke them for their lukewarmness, pride, indifference and self-sufficiency and humbled Himself again to stand and wait and knock at the door of their hearts as they think that they were rich and needed nothing, even the Lord, His Word, His grace and blessings!
Jesus’ Words to the Church in Laodicea
Recipient: To the messenger of the church in Laodicea. Laodicea (justice of the people) was a city in Asia Minor on the banks of the Lycus, about 10 miles west of Colossae, about forty miles south-east of Philadelphia and some forty miles east of
Ephesus. It was originally called Diospolis and then Rhoas, but afterwards it was named after his wife, Laodice, by Antiochus II of the Seleucid dynasty, which ruled Syria after the death of Alexander the Great.
Under Roman rule, Laodicea became an extremely prosperous commercial city, a centre of banking and exchange. It was also known for its black wool industry and the black garments were exported to all over the Mediterranean world. It had a medical school, and the names of its physicians appear on coins as early as the principate of Augustus and its famous eye ointment was widely sought for treatment of eye ailments. The site had one disadvantage: it lacked a sufficient and permanent supply of good water, so it received water by aqueduct from hot springs in Hierapolis. By the time it arrived at Laodicea, it was lukewarm and provoked nausea, but the local Laodiceans were used to it.
The church in Laodicea was founded upon the ministry of the apostle Paul at Ephesus for two years (Acts 19:10), and perhaps later through the ministry of Epaphras (Col. 4:12–13). The church maintained close connections with the believers in Colossae and Hierapolis ( Col 4:13). The “epistle from Laodicea” (Col. 4:16) is often thought to have been a copy of Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians which had been circulated and read in Laodicea, as Paul usually charged his
epistle to be read “unto all the holy brethren” (1 Thess 5:27).
When Laodicea was destroyed by an earthquake in AD 60 (along with Colossae and Hierapolis), it alone refused aid from the Roman Emperor Nero for rebuilding, so the city was rebuilt by its own inhabitants. This shows the proud, independent, and self-sufficient attitude of the Laodiceans.
Laodicea was destroyed by the Muslims, and today it is a heap of ruins, called by the Turks Eski-hissar or “old castle."
Author: to the proud, lukewarm, self-sufficient believers in Laodicea, our Lord Jesus Christ manifests Himself as, “the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God” (v 14).
Amen means firm, steady, truthworthy, faithful. “The God of truth” (Isa 65:16) in Hebrew is “the God of Amen.” In the OT, it is used often at the end of a sentence to confirm the preceding words and invokes their fulfillment, “so be it” (Jer 11:5). In the NT, it indicates affirmation, in truth, verily, (Matt. 5:18, 26; 6:2). It also means consent or desire, so be it, and as such it concludes prayers (Matt 6:13; Rom 15:33; 2 Cor 13:14). In the entire NT, only the Lord Jesus uses amen at the beginning of a sentence as a word of affirmation. In the Gospel of John, the Lord uses double amen (John 1:51; 3:3, 5, 11; 5:19, at al), “Verily, verily, I say unto you,” or “Amen, amen, I say unto you,” which could be rendered, “I who am the Amen [Truth itself] tell you as the most certain and infallible truth” (Zodhiates). The Bible says, “For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us” (2 Cor 1:20), and that means all the promises of God are true, trustworthy and sure.
Our Lord says that He is “the Amen” to confirm that there is no doubt, lie, falsehood, or mistake at all with Him and His Word; and as He Himself is Truth and His Word is true, sure, inerrant, infallible, and trustworthy, the believers in Laodicea
had to accept His words without any arguments or excuses. Then do you and I wholeheartedly say amen to the Lord and His Word with our full consent, trust
and submission? Sadly, many still do not!
Our Lord says that He is “the faithful and true witness” to confirm His name “Amen”. A faithful and true witness will only say or tell exactly the truth of what he has seen, heard and known without any subtraction, addition, misrepresentation, or distortion. Then, what our Lord said about the believers in Laodicea was absolutely true, and what He says about God and man and His salvation for man in the Bible is perfectly true and trustworthy. Our Lord says, “To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice” (John 18:37). Then, shall you and I hear our good Shepherd’s voice alone and shut our ears to strange voice of doubt, deceit, and lie from Satan and ungodly men?
Our Lord says that He is “the beginning of the creation of God” to remind the believers in Laodicea that He is the Source of Life, the Creator, the Provider and the Sustainer of all things. Without Him, they did not have anything, even their existence on earth. Truly, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men” (John 1:1, 3, 4; cf. Col 1:16-17), and “upholding all things by the word of his power” (Heb 1:3), and “A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven” (John 3:27). The believers in Laodicea forgot this truth, so they were proud, self-sufficient and independent, thinking that they needed nothing, even the Lord and His grace and His righteousness and blessings! They even forgot that through the great earthquake, all their uncertain wealth and riches came to nothing in seconds! It is always wise for you and me to remember that we ever need the Lord and His Word as the branch needs the support and the life from the Vine.
Jesus Words of Rebuke and Warning
Because of His love, our Lord had to rebuke the believers in Laodicea, “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot” (v 15).
Cold water is for refreshment, “And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward” (Matt 10:42). Paul was encouraged, comforted and refreshed by Philemon, “For we have great joy and consolation in thy love, because the bowels of the saints are refreshed by thee, brother” (Philm 1:7). Spiritually speaking, the believers in Labodicea did not “refresh” the Lord and other believers at all due to their lukewarmness, which made the Lord nauseous, “So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth” (v.16).
“Hot”, used figuratively, refers to fervency, zeal, enthusiasm, “Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord” (Rom 12:11). The Lord was not pleased at all to see the lukewarmness of the believers in Laodicea, neither hot nor cold!
“Lukewarm” means tepid. In the feasts, people in the ancient world customarily drank what was either hot or cold—never lukewarm. The people in Laodicea were used to drinking lukewarm water by aqueduct from hot springs in Hierapolis, so they did not feel nauseous. Spiritually speaking, the believers in Laodicea did not see their indifference to the Lord, His Word and His kingdom. They still worshipped and served the Lord but without zeal, love, fervency and their hearts were far from the Lord, “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Matt 15:8-9). The Lord Jesus could not stand their lukewarmness, saying, “I will spue thee out of my mouth” (v 16) if they did not repent.
Unlike the believers in Smyrna, who were materially poor but spiritually rich in the Lord, the believers in Laodicea were rich materially but poor spiritually. They said, “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.” It is the spiritual condition of
most of the believers nowadays in rich “Christian” countries like the USA, UK, and Australia. They do not deny the Lord and still worship God on Sundays but as a routine without any zeal, love or fervency. Facing no persecutions and having their riches and wealth, high education and knowledge, they are proud, indifferent, self-sufficient and self-complacent. They trust in themselves in all that they do. They do not seek the Lord for His guidance nor wait upon His will and timing. Personal devotion and quiet time with the Lord seem impractical in their busy lives. They are neither interested in studying God’s Word seriously nor concerned for God’s Word when it is attacked. They are compromising and do not want to take a stand for God’s Word and His Truth. They “have need of nothing” even the Lord’s presence and His righteousness and spiritual blessings. They forget that all they have, even their life and breath are from the Lord, the Divine Giver, Provider and Sustainer! And the Lord Jesus has to stand outside and knock at the door of their hearts! Sadly, they do not realise that they are spiritually blind and poor: they lack the Lord’s presence, lack love and zeal for Him, lack faith and hope in Him, lack holiness, godliness, and righteousness from Him, and lack grace, peace and joy from Him. How miserable they are! How about you and me?
Jesus’ Words of Counselling
“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” (v 18). Despite their material riches, well-known black wool garments and physical eye-ointment, the Lord Jesus counselled them to “buy” from Him alone His tried gold, white garment and spiritual eye ointment. They had to come to the Lord Himself and pay a cost to get His true riches. That cost is surely not their money (Acts 8:20) nor their own merits, but it is their humility, repentance and zeal, “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent” (v 19). “Be zealous” here is in the
present tense, literally means, “Keep on being zealous.” Our Lord’s tried gold is the true spiritual riches of Christ, His presence, His Truth, His Word, His promises, His grace and His All, through His death and resurrection, “Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding” (Prov 23:23), and “Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold” (Ps 119:127), and “do count them but dung, that I may win Christ” (Phil 3:8). His white raiment is His perfect righteousness, “he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness” (Isa 61:10; cf. Phil 3:9), and His righteousness must be seen as the fruit in Christian life, “the fine linen is the righteousness of saints” (Rev 19:8), and while we are living in this world of sins, we need to wash it and make it white in Jesus’ blood, “have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Rev 7:14). The “eyesalve” is the spiritual enlightenment from the Holy Spirit, “The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints” (Eph 1:18).
Then to be rich in Christ, you and I have to humble ourselves, repent, and come back to the Lord Himself with zeal and fervency, open the door of our hearts to welcome the Lord
Jesus Christ, His Word and the Holy Spirit with our faith and humble dependence and submission so that we may enjoy a blessed fellowship with Him, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me” (v 20).
Rewards for Those Who Overcome
“To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne” (v 21). Do you and I not find it a great privilege, honour and blessing to sit with our Lord of lords and King of kings in His throne?
Conclusion
My friends, our Lord is still speaking to all the churches and to each one of us today. To be blessed, we must overcome our
pride, self-sufficiency, self-complacency, compromise and indifference. May the love of Christ constrain us and keep us ever zealous in loving Him and His truth. May the Lord help us realise that we always need Him and His Word with our trust, dependence and submission like the branch to the Vine so that we may keep on seeking Him and His Word and His grace daily and serving Him with zeal, fervency, humility and gratitude until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. Amen.
Top
/ Back
|
