Participants: Pr. Kenneth Cox
Series Code: RJC
Program Code: RJC000008
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00:19 Good evening. Very happy to welcome all of you
00:23 back tonight. This is our eighth presentation 00:27 on the seven churches of Asia Minor. 00:30 And tonight we're looking at the last one: 00:34 the church of Laodicea. 00:36 And so we're very happy to welcome you. 00:38 If you're joining us by teleivision 00:41 or if you're tuning in by radio or on the Internet, 00:45 we're very happy that you're here and visiting with us 00:48 this evening or tuning in by the radio or television. 00:52 Uh, we hope that these studies on Revelation 00:56 are beginning to open the book of Revelation up, 00:59 because there's a lot of things that we have looked at 01:02 that we will see as we continue to go through the book 01:05 because this IS a revelation of Jesus Christ. 01:10 That's what it's about is Jesus Christ. 01:13 And so we'll continue to study the book of Revelation 01:17 chapter by chapter. And so I see many of you here 01:22 have your Bibles. 01:23 And those of you that are watching by television 01:26 or listening on the radio, we hope that you 01:29 will get your Bible and as we go through the study follow us. 01:34 And this is a good time to take notes or to outline 01:39 or underline your Bible 01:41 so that you can go back and recap 01:44 what we have had to say about it. 01:47 Uh, tonight we're looking as I mentioned 01:52 at the church of Laodicea 01:54 which is the last of the seven churches... 01:57 a very, very important one because the message 02:02 to Laodicea, folks, is a message to us 02:06 because this is to the church that is living 02:10 just before Jesus comes. 02:13 And therefore what He has to say applies to us 02:17 and we need to look at it very, very carefully 02:20 so that we know what the Lord is saying 02:23 and what we need to look at in our own lives to follow 02:28 and to walk with Him as He would have us to. 02:31 So we hope it will bless you as we continue to study 02:35 the book of Revelation and particularly the seven churches. 02:40 Uh, I hope as we have gone through this during the week 02:45 that you have enjoyed the music, 02:47 particularly of Joe Pearles and Dona Klein. 02:50 We hope that it has touched your heart and all. 02:54 And I'm sure you'll be blessed tonight as Joe is going to 02:57 sing for us. And also before we have the music each evening 03:01 well we have Chuck Allgaier come out and read to us 03:04 the section about what we're studying that evening. 03:08 And tonight he's going to read about the church of Laodicea. 03:12 So, Chuck, come and share that with us. 03:22 Laodicea... the last of the seven churches. 03:26 What is the message from a loving God 03:31 to this church? 03:33 Let's read about it. Revelation chapter 3 03:37 verses 14 through 22. 03:40 Revelation chapter 3... 14 through 22. 05:23 Fallen leaves that lie scattered 05:28 on the ground. 05:31 The birds and flowers that were here 05:36 now can't be found. 05:40 All the friends that he once had 05:44 are not around. 05:48 They are scattered like 05:51 the leaves upon the ground. 05:57 Some folks sleep at night 06:00 and never get the thrill 06:05 that the feeling of a good deed 06:10 brings until 06:13 it's too late... and they are ready 06:18 to lie down 06:22 'neath the leaves 06:25 that lie scattered on the ground. 06:38 Lord, let my eyes see every need 06:43 of every man. 06:47 May I always stop 06:50 and lend a helping hand. 06:56 And then when I lay 06:59 'neath that little grassy mound 07:04 there'll be more friends around 07:07 than leaves upon the ground. 07:13 To your grave there's no use taking 07:17 any gold. 07:21 You cannot use it 07:24 when it's time for hands to fold. 07:30 When you leave this earth 07:32 for a better home someday, 07:38 the only thing you'll take 07:41 is what you gave away. 07:46 The only thing you'll take 07:49 is what you gave away. 08:12 Our Gracious Father, 08:15 we come to You this evening 08:18 realizing, Lord, that we are living 08:24 down in the last days. 08:28 So many things that are happening, Lord, 08:32 tell us that it can't be long... 08:35 that You're coming back. 08:39 And yet according to Your Word 08:42 we're so unprepared. 08:46 So Lord we ask that you will give us insight tonight. 08:50 Open our hearts. 08:54 May we receive the Word that You have 09:00 that we might take it into our lives, 09:03 desire to walk and follow You. 09:07 To be humble and teachable as You lead us. 09:12 For this we pray in Christ's name, Amen. 09:22 Well, the last of the seven churches... 09:26 personal letters that Jesus wrote 09:31 to each one of these churches 09:33 in which He told them about their condition, 09:38 told them about their problem, 09:42 talked about the solution to their problem, 09:44 and gave them promises. 09:47 This is all what He said to these seven churches. 09:50 And tonight we're taking a look at the last one... 09:53 the church of Laodicea. 09:56 Now, the simple thing about this last church 10:00 is this, folks: 10:01 is the church here in Philadelphia 10:06 posesses what Laodicea needs. 10:12 And if Laodicea can acquire 10:18 what Philadelphia has, 10:20 Jesus will come back. 10:24 Did you follow me? 10:27 If Laodicea can acquire what Philadelphia has, 10:33 Jesus will come back. 10:35 And so this last church is a church that 10:41 is there, and what we must not do, folks, 10:46 is take for granted that we'll make it. 10:52 Because He gives a very very stern, stern rebuke. 10:58 In fact, the hardest of the seven 11:01 is to the church of Laodicea. 11:04 So as we look at it, we want to see what He has to say to it. 11:13 So to this church He's writing. Laodicea 11:17 comes from two Greek words: lao which means people, 11:23 cea means judging. 11:25 It means judging of the people. 11:30 That's what it stands for. 11:32 So you and I are living in the time 11:36 when the judgment is going on up in heaven. 11:40 And so this is a judging of the people. 11:45 And we're going to look at some things 11:47 concerning Laodicea that you and I need to consider 11:52 very carefully, because if we are facing the judgment 11:57 then I definitely need Christ to represent me. 12:03 I need Him standing in my place. 12:06 I need Him interceding in my behalf. 12:09 Very very vital if I'm going to make it into the kingdom. 12:14 So this is the church. 12:17 Now as we take a look at it you'll find that Laodicea was 12:21 about 40 miles southeast of Philadelphia. 12:27 This opened up the road from Ephesus 12:31 and from Pergamos... came through 12:35 Laodicea and opened up there to take them on into 12:40 Syria and Arabia and on into those parts of the world. 12:45 But the gate for going through that was there at Laodicea. 12:48 They're the ones that were there. 12:50 Laodicea is a very, very wealthy city. 12:57 Actually was named - Laodicea - after Antiachus. 13:03 His wife... named after her. 13:07 But she poisoned him later... I don't know why, 13:10 but she did. Anyhow it was named after her, 13:15 and a very, very well-to-do city. 13:20 The population of the city of Laodicea 13:24 was largely made up of Syrians and Jews, 13:28 and these were people that were brought out of Babylon 13:33 and put there in Laodicea. 13:36 So at the time that John is writing this 13:40 the population of Jews we found out in that city 13:44 was about 7,500 Jews that lived there at that time. 13:48 That's counting just men... not counting women and children. 13:52 And so there was a large population of Jews as well as 13:56 other people in the city of Laodicea. 13:59 Today? Not much left there. 14:03 It sits out on the plains. It was very fertile farming land 14:07 all around it. And all that we have today left there 14:11 is some of a couple theatres and a stadium... 14:17 the ruins of those two. And that's basically all we have 14:20 of the city of Laodicea. It has been taken away. 14:25 Its candlestick has been moved out of its place. 14:28 Not there any more. 14:30 But the city, as I mentioned, was a very, very wealthy city. 14:36 Wealthy enough that in 60 AD 14:39 it was destroyed by an earthquake. 14:42 And the emperor offered to help them rebuild it 14:47 and they refused 14:49 and said they would build it on their own. 14:51 And there is a little connection there, because as we 14:55 look at it you'll find that this church is very, very 15:00 self-sufficient. 15:02 It doesn't need help from anybody... not even the Lord. 15:07 So a very strong connection there between that and all. 15:12 Uh, the city was very modern. 15:16 They had hot water piped to all the homes. 15:20 Here's one of the aquaducts that flowed into the city 15:25 of Laodicea. And they had all kinds of access to 15:30 hot water in their homes and all. 15:33 It was a very, very modern city. 15:36 Very up-to-date. And I don't know if you can see it 15:40 but if you'll look at that carefully 15:45 there's a crustation around the inside of it. 15:48 The mineral springs there 15:52 were very high in mineral content, and they had a 15:56 crustation there. In fact, 15:59 about 7 or 8 miles from Laodicea is Hierapolis. 16:05 And there is where the great source of water came from. 16:10 And it was so heavy in minerals 16:14 that it would form formations even on the falls 16:19 so that you could see it from several miles away. 16:23 Looked like white statues all over... quite spectacular 16:28 as to what it did there. 16:30 Also in the city of Laodicea 16:34 they had a garment industry, 16:37 and there they made a black cloth 16:42 from black sheep that they had there. 16:45 And the texture was very soft and very similar to silk. 16:50 And it was very, very special and expensive and sought for... 16:56 the black garments that they put out of Laodicea. 17:00 And so there was a lot connected with it. 17:04 In the city of Laodicea they had a school of medicine. 17:10 One of the schools for the goddess... 17:14 the god Asclepius who was the Greek god of medicine. 17:20 And they had it there, and they practiced. 17:22 Also they had an eye salve that they sold... 17:27 Phrygian eye salve... that people could buy. 17:30 So these were all the things that took place there 17:32 in Laodicea that has reference that Christ makes 17:38 to the church there and the people that lived in Laodicea 17:42 at that time. OK, let's see as Christ identifies Himself 17:46 what He says to the church here: 17:56 Hmmm. Only place in scripture 18:00 that you find that the name Amen 18:04 is applied to Christ. 18:08 Amen is used many places in scripture... 18:11 don't misunderstand me... 18:12 but this is the only place that it is put there as a name. 18:15 Says: "The Amen. " 18:17 And there's, I believe, reason for that... 18:20 using it as a name for Christ. 18:24 Acutally the word Amen means so be it. 18:27 That's what it implies. 18:30 And I think that as Christ is giving the message 18:34 He's telling them: "This is it, this is the way it is. " 18:37 "So be it. " And we need to look at it that way. 18:41 Also, when we finish praying we say? 18:44 Amen... which means the prayer is finished. 18:48 And Christ is telling them here 18:50 "These messages to the seven churches is finished, over. " 18:54 What He's getting across to them. 18:56 So He's saying that He is the Amen... the First and the Last, 19:00 the Faithful and True Witness. 19:03 That Jesus Christ IS the True Witness 19:06 and that you and I need to listen very carefully 19:10 to what He has to say. 19:12 He is the beginning of the creation of God. 19:15 Now I just want to take just a moment on this because, 19:19 uh, there's some people that misunderstand this text. 19:23 It says here: "He is the beginning of the 19:26 creation of God. " That means He is the Creator. 19:29 That He is the One that creates; He is the beginning. 19:33 He's the One that made things; He's the One that possesses it. 19:36 There are some people that want to take this text 19:38 and apply it and saying this is saying that Jesus 19:42 is not divine... 19:44 that He was the beginning of God's creation. 19:48 No, that's not what that text is saying. 19:50 It's saying that He is the Creator. 19:52 That He's the One that created all things. 19:55 This is one of the texts that you find that Arianism 19:58 comes from and what they teach in regard to Arianism. 20:02 But Jesus Christ is the Creator; 20:06 He is the Son of God. 20:09 OK, let's continue on. 20:12 Church age. This come at a time 20:17 in which it's clear from what the scripture says 20:21 this is the church that will be there or should be there 20:26 when Jesus comes back. 20:28 Uh, as I've told you, do not try to pinpoint a date. 20:33 I put down 1900 AD about when it began. 20:37 And basically the reason I do that 20:40 is because we are living, folks, 20:44 in an age of secularism. 20:47 Uh, I told you when we talked about, uh, 20:51 Philadelphia and them coming out of the period of time 20:56 in which there was scientific evidence 21:00 and they began to question the Bible and all that 21:03 and Atheism rose. 21:05 Uh, this period of time we've moved in 21:08 we've kind of moved out of that and we've moved into 21:11 secularism. And that's all that people seem to be 21:15 concerned today with is what they can have materialistically. 21:20 What they can get. 21:22 The one who has the most toys wins. 21:25 It's strictly secularism, and so, uh, 21:29 picking up that period of time and going from there: 21:33 this is the period of time that represents the time of Laodicea. 21:38 Let's see what He says is the condition: 21:51 He said: "I know your works. 21:54 I've looked at them. I wish you... " And by the way, 21:58 they're not... they're not lacking in works here. 22:02 We'll come to that in a minute. 22:04 The church of Laodicea is not lacking in works, folks. 22:07 There's plenty of works there. 22:09 He said: "I know your works, 22:11 but I wish that you were either cold or hot 22:16 because you are neither cold nor hot. " 22:19 Now when He says - and most translators and most 22:23 Bible scholars and theologians - 22:27 they will take that to say that cold means that you don't 22:31 know the Lord and that you're living out in the world 22:34 and you don't know Christ and you're cold... you're lost, 22:39 you don't have any relationship that way. 22:41 Uh, they take hot and say hot means that you're on fire 22:46 for the Lord and working and all this. 22:49 They apply that word hot that way. 22:52 And maybe it does have a meaning that way, folks. 22:56 But I prefer to look at it a different way. 23:01 I prefer to look at it and say 23:04 it means God saying "I wish you were uncomfortable. " 23:09 "I wish you were either cold - you were uncomfortable - 23:13 that you were cold or you were hot - you were uncomfortable. " 23:18 He's trying to say "Get out of being lukewarm. " 23:23 "Would that you were either hot or cold... 23:26 you weren't comfortable. " 23:27 This is the problem with the church: it's comfortable! 23:33 It's comfortable. 23:36 We were over in Africa holding a meeting in Africa 23:39 and here people came by the thousands. 23:42 And out in the bush... I mean WAY OUT in the bush... 23:45 uh, here we are. There's some 10,000 of them there 23:49 out in the bush. There is one pump 23:54 in the middle of the compound for water. 23:56 There are no facilities out there at all... 24:02 just out in the bush. And they come and they sit on the ground 24:08 and sit there all day. 24:12 And my question to you is: how many of you will do that? 24:19 How many of you would go out where there was... you know, 24:23 no facilities: no electricity, no... no... 24:27 none of the modern things that you have... 24:30 and sit on the ground to hear the Word of God preached. 24:34 You see, we... No, we're comfortable. 24:39 We... we like it. It's... it's nice, you know. 24:44 This is the way we are. 24:46 He's saying: "I wish you were uncomfortable. 24:50 I wish you were either cold or hot. " 24:55 That's what He's wanting us to be. 25:10 See the Lord's saying: "Listen, 25:14 just because you go to church, 25:17 just because you say 'Lord, Lord, ' 25:20 that doesn't make... make you right with God. " 25:35 Said: "We've done all these things. " 25:38 Done many what? "Wonderful works in Your name. " 25:42 And Jesus said: "I know your works. 25:45 I know that... I'm aware of that. " 25:57 Uh, He said: "I don't recognize you. " 26:02 "I don't know who you are. " 26:06 They said: "Well, Lord, we did all these wonderful works 26:09 for You. " And He said: "Sorry, 26:12 I don't know who you are. " 26:15 And something must be there that is more than just works. 26:22 Has to be. 26:24 Churches today... 26:28 comfortable. 26:33 We have entered an age churchwise, folks, 26:38 where people think that they have to be entertained. 26:43 They... they can't seem to come for the purpose of worship; 26:49 they feel they have to be entertained. 26:51 If it's not entertaining, well... 26:55 they're... And thus we have church after church after church 26:59 across this nation where every church service 27:04 is a big show. 27:07 It's a production that they do 27:09 because people come there to be entertained... 27:12 not to study the Word of God. 27:16 This is what it's talking about to the church of Laodicea 27:20 because they're lukewarm... satisfied, something wrong. 27:38 He said: "Since you're... you're neither cold nor hot... " 27:45 "Makes Me sick" is what He's saying. 27:49 "Makes Me sick. " 27:51 "I will vomit you out of My mouth. " 27:56 And so if you and I are just, you know, 28:00 comfortable and not really doing anything, 28:05 we'd better take a good close look, folks, 28:09 because He says: "I'll vomit you out of My mouth. " 28:12 You see in Laodicea the water came out 28:18 from up by Hierapolis and it flowed down to there. 28:23 By the time it reached Laodicea it was lukewarm 28:29 and this was the problem there. 28:31 You're looking at the stream right there from it. 28:34 As it flowed it was lukewarm water. 28:37 But dear friend, if you drank it 28:41 it tasted like kerosene spiked with Alka-Seltzer. 28:45 It didn't taste good. 28:48 It just... it was very, very... 28:52 uh, something you wanted to spew out of your mouth. 28:55 Made... made you sick. 28:57 And He said: "This is the way this church is to Me. 29:01 It makes Me sick the way they are 29:08 because they have let the cares of this world 29:15 come into their life. " 29:29 See, the world came into the church 29:35 and it choked out the Word 29:37 and the people... people became unfruitful. 29:44 You see, do you? Do you have any trouble 29:50 speaking to somebody about Jesus Christ? 29:55 Do you? Do you have trouble witnessing? 30:00 You and I should be witnessing to people around us 30:04 talking to them about Jesus Christ 30:06 and what He's done for us. 30:08 Let's see what the Lord says the problem is. 30:23 When I was a kid 30:25 I went to a little old country school... 30:28 we used to sing a song. The song said 30:32 "Fly in the buttermilk, shoo fly, shoo. " 30:36 Don't know if you remember that. 30:37 But in other words, what I'm trying to tell you 30:40 there's something wrong with this church. 30:42 There's definitely a problem of fly in the buttermilk. 30:45 And that is what it's saying here when it says: 30:48 "Because you say 'I am rich, 30:50 have become wealthy, have need of nothing' 30:53 and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, 30:57 poor, blind, and naked. " 31:00 Now the problem here, folks, is they're all this. 31:06 They're wealthy; they have need of nothing. 31:12 I'm rich... have need of nothing. 31:17 That's the way we see ourselves. 31:22 Don't need anything... good shape. 31:26 And the problem is they don't know it. 31:31 They don't know it. 31:35 If they knew it, they might do something about it, 31:39 but they don't even know it. 31:41 And He says: "Do not know that you are wretched 31:45 and miserable, poor, blind, and naked. " 31:50 All those things. And that's describing, folks, 31:54 the spiritual condition of the church. 31:57 That's what it's talking about. 31:59 They're poor. That means they don't have anything 32:05 spiritually... they're bankrupt spiritually. 32:09 They're... they're wretched. 32:11 They spiritually are blind and they are naked. 32:16 And those are things that their condition 32:19 and there's certain things that Christ gives 32:22 that takes care of that. 32:25 But the problem is you can't take care of it 32:30 if you don't know you need it. 32:35 Follow me? 32:38 The answer's here. We'll look at the answer. 32:41 But if you don't know you need it, 32:45 then you're not going to look for it. 32:47 And dear friends, the only thing I can tell you 32:50 is you, myself, and every one of us 32:55 ought to be on our knees praying that God 32:59 will open our eyes and that we will see our need. 33:04 Because He's got the answer. 33:07 He's got what is needed to take care of the problem. 33:11 But you and I, unfortunately, 33:15 go about our activities day by day unaware of our need. 33:21 What does Christ have to do to get our attention? 33:29 You know? What does He have to do to get our attention? 33:32 Uh, maybe it takes 33:40 natural disasters? 33:43 Maybe it takes more than just saying 33:49 "Repent... change your way. " 33:52 Maybe it takes the loss of something. 33:58 But He's having a hard time - a difficult time - 34:04 getting our attention, folks, 34:06 because He says... we're going to come to it... 34:10 He says: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. 34:14 And if anyone hears My voice... " 34:19 He's saying: "Hello, hello! Do you hear Me? " 34:25 And the problem is not only are we blind 34:29 but we're deaf. 34:31 We don't see; we don't hear. 34:36 We don't even know our need. 34:59 From the top of the head to the sole of the foot 35:01 nothing but bruises and sores. 35:06 We're... we're a mess! 35:09 That's literally... we're a mess 35:12 and we don't recognize it. As He says here: 35:22 This is where the church of Laodicea is. 35:27 And dear friend, if there was ever a period in time 35:32 which that depicts it, it's today. 35:49 Took their lamps; went out to meet the bridegroom. 36:00 And it says that they all what? 36:05 "Slumbered and slept. " All ten of them! 36:10 Not just five... all ten of them slumbered and slept. 36:14 And it says: "The cry came: 36:16 'Behold, the bridegroom is coming. ' " 36:19 And they got up and shook themselves 36:22 and trimmed their lamps. 36:39 Are you taking time? Are you taking time to make sure 36:46 that your vessel is filled with the oil of the Holy Spirit? 36:55 Are you? Or are you, uh, too busy? 37:01 Or maybe you don't need anything? 37:06 Increased with goods; have need of nothing. 37:11 And when the bridegroom shows up 37:14 you say: "Oh, not enough oil. " 37:33 You see, that's... there's a lot there, folks. 37:36 "Go out and buy for yourselves. " 37:40 When it comes to this part 37:45 there's nothing anybody can do for you. 37:52 You're not going to be saved by your wife. 37:59 You're not going to be saved by your husband. 38:02 You've got to go and you have to buy for yourself. 38:09 And you buy without money... 38:15 without price. 38:17 But you've got to go buy 38:20 and you have to be filled. 38:24 But, dear friend, the problem here with these virgins 38:28 isn't that they didn't go to buy. 38:32 They went to buy. 38:34 The problem is they waited too late. 38:53 You see these... these people were those 38:58 that they had the opportunity. This is not talking about, 39:02 uh, people that don't know the Lord. 39:04 This is not talking about non-church members. 39:06 This is talking about church members. 39:08 And they went out to buy, and while they were out buying 39:12 the bridegroom came and the door was shut. 39:17 The door that was opened in Philadelphia 39:21 is shut in Laodicea. 39:27 And you remember they knocked on the door. 39:29 Said: "Lord, let us in. Let us in. " 39:32 And He said: "Sorry, I don't know you. " 39:36 Why didn't He know them? 39:42 Why... why didn't He know these five? 39:46 Because they were not like Him in character. 39:53 That's the problem. 39:55 They were not like Him in character. Therefore 39:58 He didn't recognize them. He said: "I don't know you... 40:01 don't know who you are. " 40:04 So let's see as we have taken a look at this 40:06 what counsel He gives to take care of it. 40:10 How can it be taken care of? 40:27 OK? 40:40 Now He's taken care of this question of blind, 40:44 and poor, and... 40:48 and not having things 40:51 and, what say? Blind and poor and naked. 40:57 He takes care of all those things... each one. 41:01 So He says: "Buy of Me gold 41:05 that has been refined in the fire. " 41:10 Do you know what gold is? 41:14 Do you know what gold is? 41:16 When... I'm not talking about literal. 41:20 I'm not referring to that, I'm talking about spiritually. 41:22 Do you know what gold is? 41:25 Hmmm? 41:27 Let me tell you what gold is: 41:30 three things as far as God's Word is concerned. 41:33 This is gold. 41:35 God's Word... that's gold. 41:38 And you have to come to the scripture 41:42 and spend time in the scripture. 41:44 That is absolutely necessary 41:47 because the other two things that are gold 41:50 is dependent upon this. 41:52 And if you don't spend time in the Word of God 41:56 then dear friend you're not going to get the other 2 things 41:59 that's absolutely necessary 42:01 if you're going to make it into God's kingdom. 42:04 The other thing that is gold 42:07 that comes only by this is faith. 42:11 Faith is gold. 42:13 "Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the... " 42:17 "Word of God. " So you and I must spend time 42:21 in the Word so that I will begin to possess 42:27 faith and it begins to work in my life. 42:31 And that is absolutely necessary. 42:33 If you don't have faith, you can't make it. 42:36 Faith is absolutely required. 42:39 Without faith you cannot please God. 42:43 Very, very clear. So faith is gold. 42:47 Put it down. If you're wanting to know how can I 42:50 help my poor condition, 42:53 then dear friend you've got to have faith. 42:56 Absolutely necessary. 42:59 The third thing is that's gold is love. 43:03 You see, love and faith work together, 43:09 and you've got to have love if it's going to take place. 43:13 If you don't have love for the Lord, 43:16 if you don't have love for your brethren, 43:18 if you don't have love for people, dear friend, 43:20 you are in jeopardy. 43:23 You are in problems. 43:25 You've got to love one another; that is absolutely required. 43:29 And the way you get those is by spending time in the Word of God 43:34 drawing near to Him. 43:37 Works won't get you there. 43:41 Works won't get you there. 43:46 Takes something more than that. 43:50 I've spent my life in evangelism, 43:57 and I don't mean this in a wrong way. 44:00 But the church... 44:05 and when I say the church I'm talking about all of us... 44:09 When you talk about evangelism and preaching God's Word 44:15 almost invariably you know what people want to know? 44:20 How many people were baptized? 44:23 How many people were baptized? 44:25 Now don't misunderstand me. I believe that that's important. 44:30 But dear friend, numbers is not... 44:34 is not the change of heart. 44:38 We... we have to talk about and preach and pray for the 44:43 Holy Spirit... that God's Spirit will come in and work 44:48 in people's lives. 44:49 And still today it's that way. 44:51 Almost invariably when we ask somebody about what kind 44:55 of meeting they had, they want to know how many numbers 44:59 there was. 45:00 And... and that's... that's part of works. 45:04 That's where the works comes into it. 45:06 And as Laodicea, we are work-orientated. 45:13 And we have all these things that we can look at. 45:16 We have these buildings, we have churches, 45:18 we have hospitals, we have publishing houses. 45:20 We have all these all over the world. 45:23 Next-to-the-largest parochial system in the world. 45:26 All that we have... and we say: "Look at this. " 45:32 And God's saying: "You're not understanding. 45:36 You're really poor. 45:38 You don't have anything. " 45:42 That... that's our condition. 45:44 That's where we are. 45:47 So you've got to have... you've got to have faith. 45:52 You have to have love 45:55 if it's going to be what it should be. 46:00 Secondly, He supplies our need 46:05 by giving us the garment of His righteousness. 46:08 And I hear people say: "Well our righteousness 46:12 is as filthy rags. " 46:15 That it is... but that's not what He's saying. 46:18 That's not what He says in this... this here. 46:22 He says: "You're naked. " 46:25 That's what He says... just read it. 46:27 He said: "You don't even have anything on. " 46:29 Said: "You ought to take a good look and you ought to be ashamed 46:33 of walking around naked. " 46:35 That's what He's saying. 46:37 You don't have any righteousness... 46:40 it's not even as good as filthy rags. 46:42 You don't have anything at all. 46:45 You're miserable, you're poor, you're blind, you're naked. 46:48 That's the way you are. And He said: "If you don't come to Me 46:54 and be covered with His righteousness... 47:06 Zealous means what? Get with it! 47:10 Stop playing around... get with it. 47:13 Be zealous, repent, change where you're going. 47:27 Here's the gold, folks... "faith working through love. " 47:43 So be rich; have faith; have love. 47:48 Spend time with the Lord. 48:00 Get it clear. I have people that read this text all the time 48:04 but they never talk about one word that's in this text. 48:08 And it says: "To her was... " What? 48:11 What? Granted. That means you don't have it 48:15 of yourself. It was granted for her to have it. 48:18 Given to her: the righteousness of Jesus Christ 48:21 that covers your life and mine. 48:24 This is the righteousness of Christ. 48:38 If you don't have that, then I'm sorry... you're running around 48:42 unclothed. 48:52 This is the righteousness of Christ that covers our lives. 48:57 Gives to us His righteousness. 49:15 You see, I talk to people - 49:20 and I'm talking about church members - 49:22 and they say to me: 49:24 "Oh, Brother Cox, I don't see that. " 49:28 And naturally they don't see it 49:32 because their eyesight's not very good. 49:36 They're lacking in eyesight... they need eye salve. 49:40 They need to be able to see what God's Word is saying. 49:44 You see, we must understand - 49:48 and you won't understand what God is doing 49:52 until you understand the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. 49:55 That's what opens your eyes is the grace of Christ. 50:05 When you see His grace, you see His love, 50:08 you see what He's done, then your eyes begin to open up. 50:20 OK? This is the way it comes, this is the way it happens 50:25 in your life and mine. 50:27 Grace is the source. That's the eye salve. 50:32 When you understand grace, your eyes get opened up 50:36 and you can see and understand. 50:38 Blood is the means... that's the white raiment. 50:42 Because we wash our robes in the blood of the Lamb 50:47 and the blood of the Lamb makes them what? 50:50 Makes them white. 50:52 Faith is the method. That's how you and I 50:56 lay hold of it. That is the gold. 51:04 So here's the solution to the problem, folks. 51:08 Christ is offering you the solution to the problem. 51:11 And the problem of it is... is we don't see it. 51:32 Christ standing at the door and knocking. 51:35 This is the problem of the church of Laodicea. 51:40 This is the problem right here 51:43 because Christ is on the outside. 51:48 That's where the problem is. 51:51 He's not inside... He's outside. 51:54 And He's knocking at the door asking for entrance. 51:58 And dear friend, He won't force Himself. 52:03 You've got to invite Him in. 52:07 And He says: "If anyone hears My voice. " 52:10 He's... He's calling out. 52:13 He's asking for you and to me 52:15 open the door... let Him in. 52:19 Come into our lives to change us... 52:23 to make us different. 52:26 To become acquainted with us so that when you're down to the end 52:32 He won't say: "I don't know you. I've never been to your house. 52:37 I've never dwelt with you; I've never supped with you. 52:39 I've never had a meal with you. 52:41 I don't know you. " 52:45 Knocking at the door saying: "Let Me in. " 52:48 Invite Him in, folks; don't wait. 52:53 Then He gives a promise: 53:07 He says: "If you'll just let Me in, 53:10 then I'll come in and sup with you. 53:13 And he that overcomes I'll grant to sit with me 53:18 in My throne. " What marvelous, marvelous opportunity 53:23 to sit with Christ on His throne. 53:29 Thrones in the Orient were room for more than one person 53:35 to sit by them. They had a place for a person to sit on the left 53:39 and on the right. 53:40 Christ is saying: "Open your heart up. 53:44 If you overcome, I'll let you sit with Me on My throne 53:49 as I overcame and sat down with my Father on His throne. " 53:53 And so He has written to the churches of Asia Minor. 53:59 And He said to them: 54:07 Oh I pray tonight 54:09 that the church of Laodicea will hear. 54:13 That it will listen and accept His invitation. 54:18 Let us pray. 54:20 Heavenly Father, 54:24 help us, Lord, that we may be willing 54:28 to accept Your invitation. That we'll open the door, 54:33 invite You in. 54:36 And that we might commune with You 54:39 and that all of us may be in Your kingdom 54:43 because we've opened our hearts and invited You into our lives. 54:49 For these things we thank you 54:51 in Christ's name, Amen. 54:55 Well, we're down to the end of the seven churches. 55:00 Our next session or series 55:04 will be on Visions From The Throne Room In Heaven. 55:09 And we'll be looking at Revelation 4, 5, 6, 7 55:14 and so forth. God bless you. 55:16 Hello, folks. 55:17 One of my favorite things to do in the springtime 55:20 is to take a walk and look at all the new growth. 55:24 The earth seems so fresh, 55:26 and each tree bursts forth with buds and flowers. 55:29 That reminds me of a parable that Jesus told His followers 55:33 in Luke 21. 55:35 You see, He had just described the events which will happen 55:38 immediately before His second coming. 55:55 But in verse 29 Jesus turns their attention 55:58 to the fig tree. 56:00 And ever since then the budding trees have served as a permanent 56:04 reminder that our time here is very short 56:07 and the second coming is very near. 56:25 Folks, many of these signs are already upon us. 56:29 The earth groans from the greed of those who have 56:32 exploited her resources, ravaged her land 56:35 and destroyed plants and animals and atmosphere alike 56:39 in a selfish pursuit of wealth. 56:41 Have you seen the signs? 56:43 Have you seen men's hearts failing with fear? 56:46 If you haven't, then I'm afraid you're not watching 56:49 very closely. However, the Holy Spirit is hard at work 56:53 and so are many Christians who long for an end to sin 56:57 and look forward to their soon-coming Savior. 57:00 And that's why we continue to preach the gospel 57:03 to as many as we can through any means that we can 57:07 as often as we can. 57:09 Our ministry team is supported solely 57:12 by your contributions... and we thank you for your 57:15 faithful prayers and financial support. 57:19 May God richly bless you. 57:21 Please consider what you can do for those who still don't know 57:25 about Jesus. As the Holy Spirit impresses, 57:28 please send your tax-deductible gifts to: 57:42 Thank you for helping us spread the light of God's Word 57:44 through television and radio. 57:46 Your gifts help bring the blessed hope of salvation 57:49 to millions around the world. |
Revised 2014-12-17