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Examine Your Assumptions — The Church @ Laodicea

1. Connect

   When have you realized your assumptions about yourself or someone else were wrong? I really couldn’t stand him. He lived in my freshman dorm, just down the hall. My roommate and I shared similar tastes in music and senses of humor with him and his two roommates. The five of us spent a lot of time together. We were sort of like the five musketeers. But Will and I did not get along. We often clashed and bickered. One point of contention was my newfound faith in Jesus. I was attending a Bible study and learning about Christianity. Fearful of being questioned or teased, I kept this growing faith to myself. I had two sets of friends and activities: Christian and non-Christian. Little did I know that, despite my efforts to hide my light under a bushel, my friends were sensing a change in me. One night as we were studying, my nemesis Will lectured me: “Don’t you ever talk to me about Christianity! There were kids in my high school who said they were Christians. They were even leaders in a Christian ministry, but all of them got drunk on the weekends. They were hypocrites.” As he talked, Will was literally snarling with anger, and his tone certainly delivered his message loud and clear. Don’t worry, I thought, I will not be talking to you about Jesus. And I never did. Not once. Fast forward to the end of our freshman year. The iciness between me and Will had thawed, and we became friends. In fact, he became like the brother I never had. Our junior year, I noticed he had begun to have lunch occasionally with a campus staff member of the Christian ministry I was involved in. Not long after, Will asked to attend church with me. I was curious, but I never asked him about these developments. After all, I was under his strict instructions never to speak to him about Jesus, and I definitely kept that promise, although deep down I suspected it was no longer necessary. The summer before our senior year, he sent me a package containing some paintings he had done. One of them showed a cross with the words, “Susan led me to Christ” written over it. I was completely stunned. Wasn’t this the boy who had hissed at me never to speak to him of Jesus? And now he was a believer? I couldn’t believe it. My assumptions about Will were wrong. The church at Laodicea was a church that seemingly had it all together. Laodicea was the wealthiest of the seven cities, with a thriving banking, clothing, and medical industry. Prosperous and self-sufficient, the church appeared healthy on the outside. Imagine their surprise when Jesus issued them a stunning rebuke:

   To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:
   
   These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, “I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.” But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.
   
   Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
   
   To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. (Revelation 3:14-22)

2. Personal Reflection

   The Laodiceans assumed things about themselves that Jesus saw completely differently. They were wealthy and proud. Jesus saw them as wretched, poor, blind, and naked. In fact, he has no praise at all for this church that was physically wealthy but spiritually poor. Jesus’ prescription for the lukewarm Laodiceans is to repent earnestly and to buy from him some important remedies for their impoverished condition. He is not telling them to buy their salvation; that is a free gift (see Revelation 22:17).

   1. Name a time when you felt your Christian life was healthy, but God showed you otherwise.
   2. What helped you see yourself more clearly?
   3. How did this new perspective make you feel?
   4. What did you do as a result?
   5. Review the following passages to better understand the true wealth and health that Jesus desires for the church.
      1. BUY gold refined by fire SO THAT you may become rich.
         
         If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames (1 Corinthians 3:12-15).
         • What happens to gold when it is refined by fire?
         • What impurities would you like God to remove from your work?
      2. BUY white clothes SO THAT your nakedness is covered.
         
         After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands (Revelation 7:9).
         • Modern day celebrations and parades often include showering people with confetti. The equivalent in the ancient world was waving palm branches. Christians around the world wave palm branches on Palm Sunday, and we will hold them again as we worship Jesus in heaven with all nations. We will also wear white clothes, symbolizing righteousness. What worship song comes to your mind as you imagine yourself standing before God’s throne?
      3. BUY eye Salve SO THAT you can see.
         
         Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind" (John 9:39).
         • What has Jesus helped you see through these studies that you were blind to before?

3. Watch

4. Discuss

   • What is something you want to remember from the video?
      
   • How does what you have learned encourage you to persevere in your relationship with God?

5. Take Away

   Will’s claim that he was hard-hearted and not interested in Jesus was just a facade. Some gentle questioning would likely have revealed that there was more behind his words than just anger. Had I probed and listened to his viewpoint, I may have learned more about where he was coming from, but I was too fearful of not having answers to his questions, so I stayed silent. The experience taught me a valuable lesson that first impressions are deceiving. Sometimes I wonder what would have happened had I integrated faith and life in college. Often, I behaved exactly like the hypocrites that Will spoke to me about. Just like the Laodiceans, I believed my way of living was fine, but I was lukewarm. I had pushed Jesus out so I could live as I pleased, and he disciplined me for that. When Jesus said, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock” (Revelation 3:20), he was waiting for the Laodiceans to invite him back in for fellowship. Notice that he is knocking patiently, not forcing his way in. In the same way, when we are trusting in our self-sufficiency and not in Jesus, he is gently knocking at our doors as well. I did repent of my choices and invited him back in to take control. The rebuke was nothing compared to sweet restoration of fellowship. Remember, as believers we always have the choice to open the door to His guidance and provision. And the overcomers will have the chance to sit enthroned with Jesus in eternity.

   • What has God confronted you with through these letters to the churches?
      
   • How has God encouraged you through these letters to the churches?

   —Susan Rogers Davis