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This evening we come to the
last of the seven churches that the

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risen Lord Jesus addressed at
the start of this revelation given

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to John.

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And so far we've seen the
church as she is in the world in,

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in these end times.

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And after each letter to the
church we have the same refrain or

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the same command given.

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And I hope as you've been
listening and paying attention, you'll

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know exactly what I'm about to say.

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In some shape or form, we are
told, he who has an ear, let him

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hear what the Spirit says to
the churches.

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And this just happens to be
the one from verse six of chapter

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three.

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Now, this has been a key
phrase and it's one that is important

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for us to note because these
letters have not been simply about

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individual churches.

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Rather, these letters are to
be read by all the churches, and

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not just the churches then,
but the church now.

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So this means that not only
does the church know what's going

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on, but as we hear the themes
of the letters, the church also knows

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that it may be facing the
similar pressures from the world.

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And that pressure from the
world is to conform to its ways and

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to its practice and to turn
from Christ.

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And that's what we've seen in
some of the churches in particular,

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particularly in Smyrna, where
it's called that it's dead.

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It's not even alive.

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It's.

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It's dead because it has
fallen away.

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It's listened to the world.

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We've read about on two
occasions the Synagogue of Satan,

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where the Jewish pressure on
the church was huge.

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And we also heard of Jezebel,
the one who was bringing people away

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from the church.

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So as we come to the church in
Laodicea, we perhaps hear the hardest

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criticism of them all yet.

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It is a warning to all the
churches to wake up and to pay attention,

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but it's also a warning to
wake up and pay attention to the

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church through all of time.

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The letter is like the one to Sardis.

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And so as you look at this map
of the ancient world, you'll see

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that from the island of
Patmos, as I've been saying, each

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week where the churches are,
they're spreading out.

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And Laodicea is now at its the
furthest away from where John is

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writing.

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And so, like Sardis, this
church receives no commendation,

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but it receives a severe rebuke.

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And astonishingly, this church
thinks that they are doing well.

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They're starting to grade
themselves and they're saying, well,

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we're not so bad.

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Look at all of these things
that we have.

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But Jesus reveals to them
their true state.

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And why does he do it?

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Because the passage tells us
that it is out of love that he rebukes

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and that he disciplines.

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And the state that they're in
calls for them to come to him and

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to be restored.

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The difficult words addressed
to the church are indeed that evidence

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of Christ's love because he's
calling them to repent.

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He doesn't want them to fall away.

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He's calling them to come back
to him because he stands at the door

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of the church and he knocks.

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And they must open the door
and repent for Jesus to come in and

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eat with them.

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Only those who conquer, we're
told, at the end, will rule with

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Jesus.

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This is self satisfied and
self sufficient church.

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And this fits with what the
history of the city of Laodicea was

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like.

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Because Laodicea suffered an
earthquake in AD 60 and it declined

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help from the imperial state
because it thought it was wealthy

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enough to rebuild.

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And the city was renowned for
its medical and textile industries,

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including its treatment of eye
disease, and was also well known

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for its worship of Zeus.

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And so in this climate, the
church was not a faithful witness

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to this city.

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But the message to this church
is that Jesus is is faithful.

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So where they have been
lacking in their faithfulness or

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their unfaithfulness, Jesus
demonstrates that he will remain

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faithful to them.

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And that's what the
introduction to this letter tells

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us.

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In verse 14.

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And to the angel of the church
in Laodicea, write the words of the

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Amen, the faithful and true
witness, the beginning of of God's

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creation.

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We're going to look at
faithful and true witness, but Amen.

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What does Amen mean?

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We say at the end of every prayer.

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It quite literally means, and
let it be.

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It is a form of agreement that
as we conclude a prayer, we say Amen

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because we agree.

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So here is Jesus, who's
already described himself as the

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Alpha and the Omega, the
beginning and the end is now the

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Amen.

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He is the agreement of all
things that the Lord has brought

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about or is bringing about, because.

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Because he is the beginning of
God's creation, this new creation

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that is eagerly awaiting his church.

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And so the one who is writing
to them not only speaks truth, but

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he is truth.

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And so knowing what is to come next.

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This is a church that needs to
know that what is said as a warning

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is said in love, so that they
indeed will repent and come back

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to their first love.

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Now, the church in Laodicea is
probably the best known of the seven

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churches because of what is
said in verses 15 and 16.

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Jesus here uses very
descriptive language, using descriptive

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words to tell them how their
spiritual health is.

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And this is what he says.

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I know your works.

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You are neither hot or you are
neither cold nor hot.

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Would that you were either
cold or hot.

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So because your lukewarm and
neither hot nor cold, I will spit

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you out of my mouth.

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I know that you would never
mock your minister.

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Well, one of the things I
remember from my very early days

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was the mocking that I got,
particularly at men's night, for

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how slowly I would drink a cup
of tea.

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I was always the last one to
finish my tea and I always needed

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more time to.

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It was rather hot to drink the
tea and ended up washing the cup

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because Shirley had gone home
and the dishes were done.

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I simply couldn't drink it as
quick as everybody else.

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But I can drink hot tea and I
like hot tea, but I have to drink

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it slowly.

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But I can also drink cold tea,
much to my mother's annoyance because

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she often clears the cup away.

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And then I come back looking
for the last mouthful of tea and

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it's already gone.

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I can drink it cold, but I
cannot drink lukewarm tea.

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It just doesn't taste right.

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You don't get the intensity of
the heat of the hot cup of tea nor

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the refreshing taste of a cold one.

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A cup of lukewarm tea is quite
literally lacklustre and not enjoyable

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at all.

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Well, this is the idea that
we're seeing here of what Jesus is

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saying.

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The churches look warm and it's.

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It's not good.

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In fact, it's going to be spat
out because it is not good.

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The church.

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This idea of hot and cold is
being described spiritually, that

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it's not on fire for the Lord,
nor has it rejected him.

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It's sitting somewhere in between.

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And that's not good.

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It is lukewarm because.

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And ready to be spat out
because this is not true faith in

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Christ.

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And you know, it wasn't false teaching.

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It wasn't immorality or
idolatry or their lack of courage

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in the face of persecution
that earned them this rebuke.

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Jesus here is disgusted by the
fact that they seem to have no sense

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of their desperate need for him.

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They saw Jesus simply as a
nice addition to all the things in

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their life that brought them
comfort and security and enjoyment.

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And that's what verse 17 tells us.

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They rested on their own
prosperity and on their own goodness

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rather than on the finished
work of Christ on the cross.

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But Jesus does give them
advice and it is advice that they

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should follow.

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And so in verse 18 he says, I
counsel you to buy from me gold refined

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by fire so that you may be rich.

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And white garments so that you
may clothe yourself and the shame

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of your nakedness may not be seen.

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And salve to anoint your eyes
so that you may see.

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Jesus is offering them
something that only he can give.

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What he offers is different
from what the world can give.

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It is Jesus who gives pure
gold, clean garments and healing

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medicine for their eyes.

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And why does he say sal for
the eyes?

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Because Laodicea was a city
that prided itself on its advancements

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in treating eye disease.

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And so as they were
spiritually poor, they needed to

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buy gold from Jesus to become wealthy.

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They were seeking wealth in
the wrong place.

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They were seeking material
prosperity when they should have

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been finding their wealth in Christ.

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They needed to purchase white
garments for him to cover their nakedness

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which could stand for their
idolatry in loving the riches of

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this world.

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As the prophets Isaiah,
Ezekiel and Nahum mention in their

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prophecies, the beautiful and
expensive garments made in Laodicea

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didn't truly cover them.

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They needed to go to the Lord
for these garments of white.

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And similarly Jesus has salve
for their eyes so that they can truly

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see.

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And so Jesus counsel to them
and to us is to come to him with

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nothing but our need and then
experience his provision.

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And though we've been
dismissive of his gifts and unreceptive

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to his provision, instead of
turning away from us, he offers Himself

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to us.

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He wants to go past our self
sufficient practices and into the

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closed off areas of our lives.

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He wants to share life with us
in intimate ongoing fellowship.

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He wants to move in close to
address what is really our need.

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He wants us to repent of our
lackluster ways of worshiping him

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and receive him for who he
truly is.

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He is our Savior who gave his
life for us and so he is not to be

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ignored.

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Nor is he to be thought of as
a good luck charm or a convenient

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spiritual icon as the church
in Laodicea seemed to treat Him.

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That is why he says in verse
20, behold, I stand at the door and

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knock.

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If anyone hears my voice and
opens the door, I will come in to

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him and eat with him and he
with me.

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Some of you will be old enough
to remember the gospel missions of

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Noel Grant.

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And they were big around
County Armand.

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As a family we would have
attended them.

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And I do remember one gospel
tract that the late Noel Grant wrote

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wrote.

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And on the front cover was a
Reinterpretation of William Holman

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Hunt's painting entitled the
Light of the World.

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It's famous because, being
Based on Revelation 3, verse 20,

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there is a door that doesn't
have a handle on the outside, suggesting

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that it is only the person on
the inside who can open it to the

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one who knocks.

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Now, I don't think this
allegorical picture gives the full

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story of what Jesus is saying
here in verse 20, because often this

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image is used as an
evangelistic tool, as it was on Noel

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Grant's tract.

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But this is a letter to the
church, it is a letter to us.

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And Jesus is standing,
knocking at the door of the church.

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So how do we understand what's
going on here?

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Well, Christ gives this
helpful illustration of standing

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at the door and knocking.

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It's because that they have
left him outside.

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They've left him outside of
their lives, and they've conducted

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their affairs without Him.

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The believers must hear his voice.

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They must hear his knock.

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And as they hear and as they
respond, that means they must repent.

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Let him in.

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If they do so, he will sit
down and he will feast with them

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and perhaps the meal in view.

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Here is what we'll read later
in Revelation 19, the messianic banquet

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at the end of time.

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It is the church that needs to
respond to the risen Lord Jesus.

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It is the church that has
closed its ears to the truth.

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And haven't we seen that in
our own history, even within our

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own denomination?

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Because there were liberal
churches in the 1960s and 1970s that

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in the 1980s and 1990s were
closed because they had closed their

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ears, they had rejected
biblical truth.

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Many of those congregations
did close because the church had

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nothing to offer, because it
was trying to have a message similar

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to that message of the world.

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But before we judge the church
in history too quickly, do we today

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still close our ears to this truth?

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Because I think we do.

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When we refuse to live as
Christ wants us to live, then we

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close our ears to his voice.

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This might look like believers
not saying hello to each other, never

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mind having a conversation.

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It might look like speaking
ill of or grumbling about the church

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of Jesus Christ so that we can
curry favor with other judgmental

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and righteous people.

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It might look like saying, we
are a Christian, but deep down we

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know we haven't had a quiet
time, read the Bible, or even prayed

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in months because of
circumstances in life.

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And the list could go on
because it turns out we do close

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our ears.

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And that's why our Savior
needs to knock at the door of the

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Church.

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The church is not an institution.

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The church is its people.

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And he is knocking so that we
will hear and we will respond.

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But as we hear him knocking,
we must remember who Jesus is.

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He is the one at the door.

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He is not silent.

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He is making us, even in this
moment, sit up and pay attention

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to his warning and to his
counsel, so that we will be changed

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from being lukewarm to being
hot in the faith for Him.

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That's why he goes on in verse
21 to assure us, the one who conquers,

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I will grant him to sit with
me on my throne, as I also conquered

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and sat down with my Father
and His throne.

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Those who overcome, those who
will be hot in the faith, who will

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not be lukewarm, well, they
will rule with Jesus.

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Just like he has said to the
church in pergamum.

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The reign of Jesus is shared
with all his saints, all those who

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belong to Him.

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Jesus Himself is the model for
believers, for he overcame through

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his faithful witness and was
exalted and sat down at the right

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hand of the Father to rule
with him.

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And so too, the Laodiceans
must be faithful and they must be

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humble, for only the faithful
and humble will be exalted.

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And so the bracing message
here isn't limited to the Laodiceans,

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but captures the message of
the Spirit for all the churches.

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00:16:50,280 --> 00:16:55,320
Every church is liable to the
same errors as the church at Laodicea.

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So I ask you this evening,
will you sit up and will you listen

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to the risen Lord Jesus who is
telling you to wake up from your

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slumber and live seriously for him?

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Stop being lukewarm, seek
after him to be hot in faith?

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Will you live to his standard
and get over the annoyances that

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you might have with others,
knowing that the unity of the body

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of the Church of Christ is blessed?

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Far greater worth than your
self sanctification of doing things

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your way.

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And remember the warning that
we began with.

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The same warning to all the
churches here recorded in verse 29

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of chapter 2.

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

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churches.

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These opening three chapters
present to us what Jesus wants us

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to know about how we really are.

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He also tells us that he knows us.

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We can be good at putting on a
show so that the world outside as

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they watch on will think we're good.

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But it is the living Lord
Jesus who truly knows our hearts.

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We must pay attention to what
is said to all the church so that

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we will be warned and thereby
come to Jesus for what he offers

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so that we will be secure in him.

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And what has he said to the churches?

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What has the Spirit said to
the churches that we must pay attention

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to?

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Well, to the church in
Ephesus, the challenge was to find

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your first love and to truly
love him, as it said in chapter two

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and verse four, to find again
that first love of Jesus and to live

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for him.

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To the church in Smyrna, they
were challenged to keep going in

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tribulation and be faithful
unto death, for the crown of life

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will be theirs and be ours as
we keep going.

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In verse 10 of chapter 2 to
the church in Pergamum, we're told

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to close our ears to false
teaching and to untruths that will

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make us believe that we can
commit sin and get away with it.

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In verse 14 of chapter 2 to
the church in Thyatira, they are

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told, and we are told to stop
going after what you think will satisfy

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you, only to have it pull you
deeper into sin in chapter two and

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verse 23.

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Then in chapter three, to the
church in Sardis, wake up and live

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authentic lives of integrity
for the sake of Christ and the Gospel

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00:19:44,980 --> 00:19:45,940
in verse two.

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And then to the church in Philadelphia.

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Hold fast to faith in the
midst of great trials in verse 11.

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And as we've seen tonight, to
the church of Laodicea.

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Keep hot in the faith by going
to Christ, knowing that you need

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him in verse 18.

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See, these letters are
presented to us because of what is

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revealed next.

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Remember, Revelation is the
great revealing.

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A curtain is pulled back for us.

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And that first curtain was to
show us who God is in chapter one.

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Then a second curtain
revealing what is the state of the

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Church and what it faces from
the world.

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And as we go into chapter four
next week, another curtain will be

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pulled back so that we will
see the King upon his throne, ruling.

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And there is logic to this so
that as we know ourselves, so we

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can approach the one who is on
his throne.

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And so we must be right with him.

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We must be right with the king
through the risen Lord Jesus, so

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that we can know his good for
us and his keeping of us in these

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00:21:00,210 --> 00:21:01,130
last days.

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00:21:02,090 --> 00:21:06,770
It's Jesus himself in John's
gospel, chapter 14 and verse six,

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who tells us, I am the way and.

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And the truth and the life.

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No one comes to the Father
except through me.

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And so the stage is set to be
transported from the earth to the

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00:21:22,140 --> 00:21:26,580
heavenly kingdom so that we
will see the Lord God ruling and

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00:21:26,580 --> 00:21:30,540
reigning on his throne and
everything that will come in the

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next chapters.

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But to understand what it
means for us, we must understand

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ourselves.

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And as we look at the church
of Laodicea tonight, are you hearing

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00:21:44,150 --> 00:21:46,470
the knock of the risen Lord Jesus?

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Are you hearing his knock on
the door, asking you to respond to

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00:21:53,710 --> 00:22:00,790
him, asking you to pay
attention to what the devil is doing,

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00:22:02,080 --> 00:22:09,160
to come, to repent and to
rejoice in the glorious hope that

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we have in him and in him alone.

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Let us pray.

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Our Father God, we thank you
for your word that constantly challenges

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us.

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That, Father, is your word of
truth, as Jesus bears witness of

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00:22:29,240 --> 00:22:33,320
the truth so that we may know
what we're to do.

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00:22:34,760 --> 00:22:38,760
And Father, for some of us we
are commended for our faith and so

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we know and have certainty of
that crown of glory.

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00:22:41,600 --> 00:22:44,600
But for others, we have pulled away.

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We have become lukewarm.

379
00:22:48,040 --> 00:22:53,120
We're neither hot nor cold,
and it's a very dangerous place to

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00:22:53,120 --> 00:22:53,400
be.

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00:22:54,810 --> 00:22:56,250
So, Father, draw us back.

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May we hear your son, Jesus,
call us back so that we can know

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00:23:04,210 --> 00:23:08,170
his forgiveness, we can know
his delight, we can know his joy

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00:23:09,770 --> 00:23:14,250
and that we will live for him
now as we get ready for that day

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00:23:14,490 --> 00:23:16,730
when he will come and take us home.

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00:23:17,690 --> 00:23:22,080
So, Father, may we respond
well to your word and this night,

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00:23:22,400 --> 00:23:25,200
in Jesus name, amen.