A Message to the Church #7: Has Your Prosperity and Pride Made You Complacent??

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.


Today is the last installment of the series "A Message to the Church." I hope you've enjoyed this study as much as I have. The Lord has convicted my heart with what I need to work on and encouraged me in my commitment to follow Him completely and wholeheartedly.



In case you've missed the other articles in this series, you can find them at the following links:


A Message to the Church #1: Have You Left Your First Love?
A Message to the Church #2: Are You Fearlessly Faithful?
A Message to the Church #3: Have You Compromised?
A Message to the Church #4: Are You Tolerant of Spiritual Adultery?
A Message to the Church #5: Are You Dead?
A Message to the Church #6: Are You Holding Fast to What You Have?

To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this: ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also 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.’” ~Revelation 3:14-22 (NASB)



Symbolism

As in all the other letters, this last letter to the churches begins with an introduction to the Author, who here is described as:


The Amen - the "so be it;" the "yes!" For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us. ~2 Corinthians 1:20 (NASB) 
The faithful and true Witness
The Beginning of the creation of God (John 1:1)

This corresponds well with His description in Revelation 1:17-18, where He declares Himself to be "the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades."



In my study of this passage I found it very interesting that the three main industries in Laodicea (the church addressed in this letter) were banking, textiles and medicine. This lines up perfectly with the attitude of this church, who in their pride thought they lacked nothing. Yet Jesus advises them to buy:


gold refined in fire - choosing to go through fiery trials rather than compromising, with the result of purification and true wealth
white garments - another symbol of purity based on washing their robes in the blood of the Lamb (Revelation 7:14) to cover their shameful nakedness
eye salve - to heal their spiritual blindness

Another interesting point: the Laodiceans, in spite of their prideful self-sufficiency, had a dirty river for a water supply. The water was undrinkable, so they had to pipe their water in from other sources. The hot springs of Hierapolis (to the north of Laodicea) were known for their therapeutic properties while the cold springs of Colosse (to the south of Laodicea) were cool and refreshing. By the time the water reached Laodicea, it was lukewarm.



What They're Doing Right  

Sadly, Christ has no words of commendation for this church.



What He Has Against Them


They were lukewarm and made Christ sick to His stomach. They were neither the therapeutic rivers of living water or the cool and refreshing living water He died for them to be.
They were wealthy and proud, proclaiming that they lacked nothing. All throughout God's Word we are warned about the danger of pride because it is abhorrent to God (Proverbs 16:5). Though prosperity is often the result of God's blessing, it can also lead to pride and the dangerous notion that we somehow earned, or are entitled to, His blessings. This very much reminds me of many churches today.
Actually, in spite of their inflated view of themselves, they were wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.
He is locked outside the church, knocking on the door, waiting for them to let Him in. (What an indictment, that Christ should be locked outside His own church!) (NOTE: This passage is often used as an invitation to nonbelievers, but the original message was intended for the church.)

What They Need To Do


Buy from Him refined gold, white garments, and eye salve
Be zealous (not lukewarm)
Repent
Open the door and let Him in

The Warning

He would spit (literally, spew or vomit) them from His mouth.



The Reward

To those who overcome, He will grant them the right to sit with Him on His throne, just as He overcame and sat down with His Father on His throne.



Application

As with the letter to the church in Sardis (A Message to the Church #5), I view this letter as one of the most applicable to the church in America today. Our prosperity has led to pride, which in turn has led to spiritual complacency. I believe we're just now beginning to see the consequences of being prosperous, proud and complacent. It is time to seek God and His riches of refined gold, white garments, and eye salve, so we are truly wealthy and pure and can see clearly. We need to become zealous for the King and the work of the Kingdom. Most importantly, we need to open the door to the church that rightfully belongs to Him (because of His work of redemption) and let Him in!!!



My favorite part of this letter is the revealing of Christ's motive in His harsh admonition. He doesn't discipline us because He's trying to prove that He's bigger and more powerful than we are (though He certainly is). He disciplines us because He loves us. Just like any parent, He wants what is best for us. But if we're too proud to see that what we need the most is Him, He will have no choice but to vomit us up.



So today's question for the church is:




Has Your Prosperity and Pride Made You Complacent?


Lord God, we come before You as poor, wretched, blind and naked people, recognizing that You are our only hope. Forgive us, Father, for presuming upon Your goodness, for assuming that we have earned and are entitled to prosperity, when it is God alone who givse us the power to accumulate wealth. We acknowledge, Lord, that all we have is because of You. Lord, help us to put aside our material prosperity in favor of spiritual riches--the refining process which removes our impurities, the blood of the Lamb which turns our stained clothing to brilliant and pure white, and the salve of Your salvation and grace so we might truly see. Forgive us for our pride and complacency. Shake us from the death grip of apathy before we make You so sick You spew us out of Your mouth! May we individually and collectively repent of our sin and turn back to You, opening the door of Your church that we've locked with our dreadful sin, so that You might enter in and re-establish that one-on-one intimacy we so sorely need. Thank You for patiently waiting and for Your great love for us. Help us to be the church You have called us to be--united in purpose, in message, and under Your authority. According to all that You are, and in accordance with Your perfect rule and will, we ask these things. Amen.