This study was first taught on January 31, 2012

Topic: Entering Into The Kingdom of Heaven (3.7.2)

No audio available for this study.

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Background
Last week, we began to look at the Lord’s message to the church in Laodicea, which was essentially a chastening on one hand, and counsel, on the other hand. We noted that the chastening of the Lord addressed the temperature or fervency of the Laodicean church, and, their barometer or yardstick for measuring their success as Christians. We, however, focused on the former of the two last week.

We saw that there are three possible levels of fervency or earnestness that individuals can show towards the things of God—cold, lukewarm, and hot. We noted that the ‘cold’ individual does not have the Spirit of God in him, and is therefore, dead to God, vain, insensitive to the things of God, darkened in understanding, and given to habitual sinful conducts. And even though he may be involved in religion, it is neither through Christ nor by the Holy Spirit. The ‘lukewarm’ individual, although he has the Holy Spirit in him, yet does not yield to Him. This individual is double-faced, seeking to serve God and Mammon at the same time. His ‘devotion’ to God is marked by indifference, lethargy, hypocrisy, a lack of concern or interest in the things of God, half-heartedness, pretension, and backsliding. We said that although he may talk like a Christian, he does not live like one; he stands for nothing, and is not known to have any position on anything; he is unstable in all his ways, faltering between opinions; and, although he knows what is right from what is evil, he will defend what is evil. Also, the ‘lukewarm’ individual cannot endure sound doctrine, and will rather seek to hear what will make him feel good, not what can make him good. The ‘hot’ individual is fervent, fiery, and, fanatical in his devotion to God. He is filled with the Holy Spirit, and loves God above everything else, including his own life, and cannot be separated from the love of Christ, no matter what!

In commenting on these individuals, the Lord’s preference for either the ‘cold’ or ‘hot’ individual is shocking. While we can understand the Lord’s preference for the ‘hot’ individual, who is a Christian through and through, it is difficult to comprehend His preference for a ‘cold’ individual who is not a Christian at all. However, we noted that the main reason for the Lord’s preference was that both the ‘cold’ and ‘hot’ individuals are sincere and fervent in their respective devotions; whereas the lukewarm individual is insincere in his devotion and confession of faith, and thus provokes the Lord’s outright disregard and contempt for him!

This was the state of the church in Laodicea, which had lost the fervency it probably had when they first began to serve the Lord. Now, they talked the talk, but did not walk the walk! They had one ‘leg’ in God, and the other in idolatry; took no firm stand for God; and were insincere and half-hearted in their devotion to Him. They were repugnant to the Lord, so, He threatened to ‘spew them out of His mouth’. This clearly shows that, entry into heaven is a matter of fervency in one’s service to God, rather than the mere religion of prophesying or preaching, casting out demons, and working miracles, in the Lord’s name. Also, the Lord’s interest is in people who are sincere as well as fervent in their devotion to God or otherwise, because, those who are sincere, even in the wrong way, have a greater hope for full salvation, than the person who is insincere and divided in his loyalty to God—He vomits such people out of His mouth, and cannot stomach them! And if we are to achieve our goal of entering into the kingdom of God at the end of this age, we must of necessity re-energize and demonstrate fervency in our devotion and service (prophesying, casting out demons, performing miracles, etc.) to God.

Scripture Text(s)
Matthew 7:21-22; Revelation 3:14-17, 19
Tonight, we shall conclude on the chastening of the church in Laodicea by the Lord, as we focus on the second issue—the barometer or yardstick for measuring success in our Christian walk with God. Revelation 3:17 seem to suggest that the remarks about their wealth as the yardstick of their success was made as a result of their lukewarmness. We pray that the Holy Spirit will help us to have a sincere yardstick for measuring our success as Christians, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
The measure of one’s success in Christianity seemed, to the church in Laodicea, to be in their wealth and possessions; but the Lord gave a true picture of their state, which was not only a far cry from their own personal assessment, but a very sharp rebuke indeed. There was, however, a reason for such sharp rebuke.
2 Corinthians 10:12; Proverbs 27:2; Deuteronomy 8:18; Hosea 2:8; 12:8; Romans 12:6, 8; 1 Timothy 6:17-19; 3 John 2; Psalm 127:1-2; Isaiah 64:6; 2 Corinthians 3:5; Deuteronomy 7:7-8; Ephesians 2:8-9; Proverbs 29:18; 3:11-12; 15:10, 32; 1 Corinthians 11:32; Hebrews 12:5-11.

Conclusion
A lukewarm individual will easily succumb to boasting about the things that God has given him, as though they are his personal achievement. Such an individual is likely to misuse the gifts (tools) of ministry, for personal aggrandisement and view such gifts as the measure of success or achievement in ministry. Such was the case of the church in Laodicea: in their lukewarm state, they had become boastful and self-sufficient, not realizing that God had given them wealth for ministry and His glory. Unfortunately, their ignorance made them to become arrogant, boastful, and conceited, and they saw themselves as a church that had made giant strides, sitting on the gifts God had given them, rather than distributing same for the glory of God. While such misuse and abuse of spiritual gifts may seem to the individuals or the church misusing and abusing same, that they are approved of God, even to the point of feeling self-sufficient; their true state, is in reality very sad indeed. For they are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked! Indeed, they are to be pitied above all men!

As harsh as it may seem to hear the words of the Lord to the Laodicean church, He nonetheless tells them that His chastisement is for their own good, to give them the opportunity to repent and change their ways, so that they wouldn’t miss out on eternal life! The Lord’s chastisement is a sign that the person being chastised is still considered a son of God, and is being given an opportunity to mend his ways and turn to the path of life. How you respond to the Lord’s chastening is an indicator of whether or not you will enter into the kingdom of heaven after His rebuke.

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