“You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need athing. But you do not realize that youare wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked” Jesus to the Laodicean church
Revelation 3:17
Eight weeks ago, 32 of us pilgrims walked the streets of Laodicea in modern Turkey. Interesting how you get a picture in your mind from reading the bible all these years and then to stand at the actual place and realize how enormous it all is! Situated near the ancient city of Heliopolis and by a major trade route, the city became very wealthy. You can see evidence of that everywhere you go. There are two theatres, one that sat 12,000 and the other 15,000 – almost every other city only has one – it was a place for the arts. Colossal bath houses, aqueducts, an agora shopping mall – we saw some of the murals for this high-end shopping experience of old and a stadium for contests. To end our visit, we walked through a huge above ground burial cemetery – all were interred in carved stone sarcophagi at great cost. What a place this would have been! So wealthy in fact that when an earthquake all but flattened the city in 60 AD under Nero, they declined any Imperial help and rebuilt the city from their own coffers!
Laodicea became a seat of early Christianity – we walked through the ruins of a huge early church. Unlike the church in Smyrna, which was oppressed and very poor, the Laodicean church prospered along with the city. “We’ve been blessed!” they all said as they gathered week to week. Gone was their sense of need for the Holy Spirit’s work. Their programs were great, the services were polished and the members ate and drank well every day – they had it made so they thought – but Jesus saw them differently.
There are two simultaneous realities for the Christian – this world and God’s world. It is possible to be rich in one world and poor in the other. Not every Christian who looks poor is poor and not every Christian who looks rich is rich. Jesus hated the lukewarm Christian – worthy only to be spit out of His mouth! Not hot – to help cook food or to bath in or clean clothes. Not cold for a refreshing drink on a hot day. Only lukewarm – not really good for anything! Rich in this world but poor in God’s world. In modern day Canada, it is easy to be Laodicea. Saved, fat, happy – and no good to the Master!
Jesus said “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent” (vs 19). He didn’t give up on this church – He called them back to freshness. It seems to me that this is the way Jesus works with all of us – He calls us to fidelity when we stray and He expects us to listen, repent and get back on track. I think this happens repeatedly through our Christian experience – we shouldn’t be shocked or offended. His voice to us through the Spirit is a call to an attitude/action correction. He goes on to say in the next verse that He stands at the door and knocks. Let’s cultivate an ‘open door’ policy for the Lord. When He knocks, we let Him have His way afresh. I recently led the memorial service for Bob Birch – one of our great guys in the church. He was saved at a crusade meeting when a teen and said that when the call was given it was like someone physically pushed him to the front. When you hear the knock – answer the door!
“To him who overcomes I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (vs. 21,22).
Pastor Leon Throness
P.S. There has been a flurry of interest in the proposed pilgrimage to Egypt next January. Talk to me or email me at Leon@mycac.ca if you are interested.
