ANNOUNCER:
ON THIS DAY OF DISCOVERY, AUTHOR AND CORNERSTONE
UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT,
JOE STOWELL, TRAVELS TO MODERN TURKEY
TO THE VAST EXCAVATIONS OF
AN ANCIENT CITY CALLED LAODICEA. IN THE FIRST CENTURY AD,
LAODICEA WAS ONE OF
SEVEN CHURCHES... SPECIFICALLY ADDRESSED
IN THE OPENING CHAPTERS
OF THE BOOK OF REVELATION, A REVELATION FROM
THE RESURRECTED JESUS, AND RECEIVED IN A VISION
BY THE APOSTLE JOHN. AT THE END OF THE FIRST CENTURY
CHRISTIANITY IS FACING MOUNTING
OPPOSITION IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE. JOHN IS A PRISONER
ON THE ISLAND OF PATMOS
FOR HIS FAITH IN ONE GOD, WHICH GOES AGAINST A ROMAN
EMPIRE THAT EMBRACES MANY GODS, CHIEF AMONG THEM
THE CAESAR OF ROME. IT IS ON PATMOS THAT JESUS
APPEARS TO JOHN TO SEND
A MESSAGE TO THE WORLD, A MESSAGE THAT IS TODAY WHAT WE
KNOW AS THE BOOK OF REVELATION, BUT TO THE FIRST CENTURY CHURCH, LETTERS OF CHALLENGE AND HOPE. ON THIS DAY OF DISCOVERY. "WHAT YOU SEE, WRITE IN A
BOOK AND SEND IT TO THE SEVEN
CHURCHES WHICH ARE IN ASIA: "TO EPHESUS, TO SMYRNA,
TO PERGAMOS, TO THYATIRA, "TO SARDIS, TO PHILADELPHIA,
AND TO LAODICEA." "AND TO THE ANGEL OF THE
CHURCH OF THE LAODICEANS WRITE,
THESE THINGS SAYS THE AMEN, "THE FAITHFUL AND
TRUE WITNESS, THE BEGINNING
OF THE CREATION OF GOD: "I KNOW YOUR WORKS, THAT YOU
ARE NEITHER COLD NOR HOT. "I COULD WISH YOU
WERE COLD OR HOT. "SO THEN,
BECAUSE YOU ARE LUKEWARM,
AND NEITHER COLD NOR HOT, "I WILL VOMIT YOU
OUT OF MY MOUTH. "BECAUSE YOU SAY,
'I AM RICH, HAVE BECOME WEALTHY,
HAVE NEED OF NOTHING,' "AND DO NOT KNOW THAT
YOU ARE WRETCHED, MISERABLE,
POOR, BLIND, AND NAKED, "I COUNSEL YOU TO BUY FROM ME
GOLD REFINED IN THE FIRE,
THAT YOU MAY BE RICH, "AND WHITE GARMENTS,
THAT YOU MAY BE CLOTHED, "AND THE SHAME OF YOUR
NAKEDNESS MAY NOT BE REVEALED. "AND ANOINT YOUR EYES WITH
EYE SALVE, THAT YOU MAY SEE. "AS MANY AS I LOVE,
I REBUKE AND CHASTEN. "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
DINE WITH HIM, AND HE WITH ME. "TO HIM WHO OVERCOMES
I WILL GRANT TO SIT
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." JOE STOWELL: IF YOU
WERE A FIRST-CENTURY CHRISTIAN
AND YOU LIVED IN LAODICEA, YOU WOULD FEEL BLESSED.
THIS TOWN HAD A BOOMING ECONOMY. PLANTED ON THE MAJOR TRADE
ROUTES OF ITS DAY, GOODS CAME
FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD, MADE THE MARKETPLACE
RICH AND LAVISH. IT HAPPENED TO BE THE BANKING
CENTER OF THIS REGION. ITS TEXTILES WERE
BEAUTIFUL AND COVETED
ALL OVER THE KNOWN WORLD. AND IT HAD A CORNER
ON AN EYE SALVE, A MEDICINE TO TREAT EYE PROBLEMS THAT PEOPLE CAME FROM FAR AND WIDE TO PURCHASE HERE. I GUESS IF LAODICEA
WERE A MODERN TOWN, IT WOULD HAVE POSH MALLS AND EXPENSIVE CAR DEALERSHIPS. AND THE NICE THING ABOUT BEING
A CHRISTIAN IN THIS TOWN: YOU PROBABLY HAD ENOUGH MONEY
TO SHOP IN ALL THOSE PLACES
AND BUY WHATEVER YOU NEEDED. THE AFFLUENCE WAS SO DEEP
THAT IN AD 17, WHEN THE EARTHQUAKE
DEVASTATED THIS AREA,
LAODICEA SAID TO ROME, "THANKS, BUT NO THANKS.
WE DON'T NEED YOUR HELP. "WE CAN REBUILD
THIS TOWN OURSELVES." SO AT THE END OF THE DAY, THIS
WAS A REALLY GOOD PLACE TO LIVE. AND WHILE LAODICEA WAS
A REALLY NEAT PLACE TO LIVE, IT HAD ONE BIG PROBLEM:
THERE WAS NO WATER HERE. THE TOWN WAS PLANTED HERE TO
PLACE IT AT THE CROSSROADS
OF THE TRADE ROUTES. THAT WAS AN ADVANTAGE,
BUT THE WATER WAS
A SERIOUS DISADVANTAGE. SO WHAT THEY DID WAS BRING
WATER FROM A SOURCE MILES AWAY. THEY CONSTRUCTED A LONG AVENUE
OF THESE KINDS OF WATER PIPES, AND IT BROUGHT THE WATER
INTO THE TOWN. NOW, THE CHALLENGE
WITH THAT WAS THAT IN
THE HOT SUN OF ASIA MINOR, BY THE TIME THE WATER GOT HERE, IT WAS TEPID... IT WAS LUKEWARM. IT WAS KIND OF LIKE YOUR
TEA NOT BEING ICED OR HOT, JUST ROOM TEMPERATURE.
IT WAS NOT VERY ATTRACTIVE. WORSE YET, THAT PARTICULAR WATER
SOURCE WAS FULL OF MINERALS, THE KIND OF MINERALS
THAT FLAVORED THE WATER
TO MAKE IT TASTE AWFUL. EVEN THE REMAINING
WATER PIPES HERE, YOU CAN SEE THE SEDIMENTATION
OF THESE MINERALS THAT MADE YOU, WHEN YOU DRANK IT,
YOU'D WANT TO JUST SPIT
IT OUT OF YOUR MOUTH. IF YOU BOILED YOUR
VEGETABLES IN THAT WATER,
IT WOULD WRECK YOUR DINNER. IF YOU BOILED WATER
IN YOUR HOUSE, IT'D MAKE YOUR WHOLE HOUSE
SMELL FROM THE STEAM. IN MODERN-DAY TERMS, IF YOU
HAD ICE CUBES FROM THIS WATER,
IT WOULD WRECK YOUR LEMONADE. SO THE WATER WAS
A HORRIBLE PROBLEM HERE, UNLIKE COLOSSAE, THE NEIGHBORING
TOWN, THAT GOT ITS WATER FROM
THE MOUNTAIN SNOW MELT. IT WAS COOL AND REFRESHING
AND TASTED WONDERFUL. IN MODERN TIMES, YOU WOULD HAVE
BEEN ABLE TO BUY, NO DOUBT, BOTTLED WATER, MOUNTAIN
PURE WATER FROM COLOSSAE.
THAT'S WHAT IT WAS LIKE. AND HIERAPOLIS, THE OTHER
NEIGHBORING TOWN, HAD THESE
MARVELOUS HOT SPRINGS. BUT LAODICEA? IT WAS STUCK
WITH REALLY BAD WATER. SO NOW WE CAN BEGIN TO
UNDERSTAND WHAT JESUS
WAS TALKING ABOUT. HE'S SAYING TO THESE CHRISTIANS, "YOU KNOW,
I WISH YOU WERE LIKE THE HOT,
HEALING SPRINGS OF HIERAPOLIS, "OR I WISH YOU WERE
LIKE THE COLD, REFRESHING
MOUNTAIN WATER IN COLOSSAE. "BUT QUITE FRANKLY, YOU REMIND
ME OF YOUR WATER: TEPID AND
DISGUSTING TO THE TASTE." IN FACT, HE'S KIND OF SAYING,
"YOU KNOW, YOU MAKE ME SICK
LIKE YOUR WATER MAKES YOU SICK." WHAT A STERN REPROOF. IN FACT, GIVEN WHAT THE OTHER
CHURCHES WERE INVOLVED IN, LIKE IDOLATRY AND
SEXUAL IMMORALITY, AND DENYING THE UNIQUENESS OF CHRIST TO BE ABLE TO ACCOMMODATE
THEMSELVES INTO SOCIETY, I FIND THIS THE STRONGEST
REPROOF OF ALL. AND I ASK MYSELF, WHAT COULD IT
BE THAT THIS CHURCH HAS DONE... TO ELICIT THAT KIND OF
RESPONSE FROM JESUS CHRIST? WHAT WOULD WARRANT SUCH
A STINGING REPROOF OF
THESE EARLY CHRISTIANS? WELL, I'VE HEARD A LOT OF
THEORIES, SO LET'S START WITH
WHAT CHRIST DOESN'T MEAN. I THINK THE MOST PREVALENT
THOUGHT HAS BEEN, "I WANT YOU TO BE HOT
AND ON FIRE FOR ME,
BUT YOU'RE APATHETIC. "I'D RATHER THAT YOU ACTUALLY BE
COLD IF YOU HAD TO BE SOMETHING,
THAN BE LUKEWARM AND APATHETIC, "SO GET FIRED UP."
AND WE KIND OF WORK OURSELVES
INTO A REVIVAL FRENZY, AND WE WANT TO BE ON FIRE
FOR JESUS CHRIST, AND I HAVE TO SAY
I'M GOOD WITH ALL OF THAT, BUT THAT'S NOT REALLY
WHAT JESUS CHRIST MEANS. HE'S AFTER SOMETHING
A LOT DEEPER AND A LOT
MORE SUBTLE HERE... IN THE LIVES OF THESE
FOLLOWERS OF HIM. ACTUALLY, JESUS EXPLAINS
EXACTLY WHY HE FEELS LIKE
VOMITING WHEN HE THINKS OF THEM, BECAUSE THE NEXT VERSE
GOES ON TO SAY, "BECAUSE YOU SAY YOU ARE WEALTHY AND YOU HAVE PROSPERED AND
YOU HAVE NEED OF NOTHING." WHICH MEANT THAT, REALLY,
THEY DIDN'T EVEN NEED JESUS. THEY HAD PLENTY OF MONEY
AND THEY'D EXCLUDED HIM
FROM THEIR LIVES. BACK WHEN I WAS A KID IN
CHURCH, WE USED TO HAVE
THIS OLD SONG WE'D SING. "I NEED THEE, O, I NEED THEE. EVERY HOUR I NEED THEE." I'M TELLING YOU, THAT WAS
NOT IN THE LAODICEAN HYMNAL. WHAT THEY REALLY NEEDED WAS
A BETTER CAR AND A NICER HOUSE
AND AN OFFICE ON A HIGHER FLOOR, AND THEY HAD PLENTY
OF MONEY TO BUY THEMSELVES
ALL OF THOSE KINDS OF THINGS, AND THEIR AFFLUENCE HAD
EXCLUDED JESUS FROM THEIR LIVES. I CAN SEE WHY JESUS
FELT THE WAY HE DID. IT REMINDS ME OF WHAT
THE LAODICEANS SAID
TO THE EMPEROR... AFTER THAT HORRIFIC
EARTHQUAKE IN AD 17, WHEN THEY SAID, "NO, THANKS.
WE DON'T NEED YOUR HELP.
WE HAVE ALL WE NEED." YOU KNOW, THE DANGER
OF AFFLUENCE CROWDING OUT
JESUS IS AN OLD PROBLEM. BACK IN DEUTERONOMY, GOD
WARNED THE ISRAELITES... THAT WHEN HE BROUGHT THEM
INTO THE CANAAN LAND THAT
WAS RICH WITH VINEYARDS, AND HOUSES THAT THEY DID NOT
BUILD, AND ALL OF THE AFFLUENCE
THAT THEY WOULD FIND THERE, HE SAID, "THEN BEWARE, LEST
THOU FORGET THE LORD THY GOD." IT'S AN IMPORTANT
WARNING, ISN'T IT? ABRAHAM, THE FATHER OF
THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL... GOD MADE HIM A PROMISE
THAT HE WOULD BE THE FATHER
OF A GREAT NATION, AND THAT HE WOULD
HAVE A SON AND THAT WOULD BE
THE BEGINNING OF THE NATION. WELL, THE SON NEVER CAME, AND HE
BECAME OLD AND SARAH BECAME OLD, AND THEN MIRACULOUSLY,
GOD GAVE THEM A SON, ISAAC. WHAT A GIFT FROM GOD,
THE PROMISE. BUT STRANGELY ENOUGH,
GOD ASKED ABRAHAM TO
SACRIFICE ISAAC TO HIM. PERSONALLY, I THINK THAT
WAS KIND OF A CRUEL REQUEST. IT'S KINDA ONE OF
THOSE THINGS, LIKE, "GOD,
DON'T ASK HIM TO DO THAT." BUT THERE WAS DEEP
MEANING THERE. ONE OF THE MEANINGS IS
THAT ABRAHAM WAS TRAVELING
AMONG THE CANAANITES, AND THEIR HIGHEST ALLEGIANCE
TO THEIR GODS WAS... TO SACRIFICE THEIR CHILDREN
ON THE ALTAR TO THEIR GODS. I WONDER IF GOD WAS SAYING,
"ARE YOU WILLING TO LOVE ME... "AS MUCH AS THESE PAGANS LOVE THEIR GODS OF WOOD AND STONE?" WELL, MAYBE. BUT ONCE ABRAHAM TAKES ISAAC
AND PLACES HIM ON THE ALTAR
AND RAISES THE KNIFE, AND GOD SAYS, "STOP! STOP!
I WAS JUST TESTING YOU. "NOW I KNOW THAT
YOU FEAR GOD MORE THAN
ANYTHING I'VE GIVEN YOU." I THINK THE TEST WAS THIS: "ABRAHAM,
DO YOU LOVE GOD THE GIVER
MORE THAN YOU LOVE THE GIFT?" THAT WAS THE TEST
FOR THE LAODICEANS. THEY HAD COME TO LOVE
THE GIFTS OF GOD MORE THAN
THE ONE WHO GAVE IT TO THEM. THEY LOVED THE GIFTS
MORE THAN THE GIVER, AND JESUS OFFERS
A STINGING REPROOF FOR
THAT APPROACH TO LIFE. ABOUT A MONTH AGO, I HAD A VERY
INTERESTING EXPERIENCE. I HAD BEEN ASKED TO SPEAK
AT THE ARIZONA GOVERNOR'S
PRAYER BREAKFAST, AND IT WAS QUITE AN EVENT. SEATED TO MY LEFT WAS
THE GOVERNOR OF ARIZONA, THERE
WERE SUPREME COURT JUSTICES, AND ALL THE IMPORTANT PEOPLE WERE THERE. IT WAS A LOT OF FUN. BY CONTRAST, THREE DAYS LATER, I SPOKE AT THE BROOKS
CORRECTIONAL FACILITY
IN MUSKEGON, MICHIGAN. NOW, PERSONALLY,
AS I WENT INTO THE JAIL, I THOUGHT, "I KINDA
FELT MORE COMFORTABLE... "WITH THOSE PEOPLE IN
ARIZONA THAN I'M GONNA
FEEL HERE TONIGHT." IT WAS THEIR SUNDAY
EVENING WORSHIP SERVICE. AS I WALKED INTO THE ROOM,
I WAS GREETED WITH FRIENDLY
HANDSHAKES AND WARM SMILES, AND A FEW HUGS BY THE PRISONERS,
AND I THOUGHT, "WOW, WHAT AN INTERESTING ATMOSPHERE." AND THEN WE BEGAN TO WORSHIP. I COULDN'T BELIEVE THE SINGING. IT WAS GRIPPING. IT WAS REAL. IT WAS AUTHENTIC. IT WAS LOUD. IT JUST TOOK MY SPIRIT UP
TO HEAVEN WITH THEM. THEN I OPENED THE WORD OF GOD
TO THEM, AND THEY ALL GRABBED
FOR THEIR BIBLES... AND EAGERLY OPENED THEM
TO THE PASSAGE, AND SEEMS TO ME LIKE THEY WERE,
LIKE, HANGING ON EVERY WORD. AFTERWARDS, MEETING MANY
OF THEM, THEY ENCOURAGED
ME AND SAID THANK YOU, AND WHAT GOD HAD
SPOKEN TO THEM, AND... AND I THOUGHT, "THIS IS
REALLY WHERE I BELONG.
THESE ARE MY BROTHERS." SOME OF THEM, ABOUT 20 OF THEM,
ARE ACTUALLY INVOLVED IN HEAVY
THEOLOGICAL STUDY, GETTING MAJOR DEGREES
WHILE THEY'RE IN PRISON, AND SEVERAL OF THEM
CAME TO ME AND SAID, "WHEN I'M DONE HERE,
I WANNA GO OUT AND MINISTER
FOR JESUS CHRIST." AND I WAS DRIVING HOME
AND I WAS THINKING,
"THIS IS AMAZING." SEVERAL OF THESE GUYS HAD
ACCEPTED CHRIST IN PRISON, AND ALL THEY HAVE IS,
LIKE, A SPARSE CELL AND
KINDA NOT VERY GOOD FOOD, AND A PRISON SENTENCE. AND THEY LOVE JESUS, AND
THEY'RE GOING DEEP WITH HIM. THEY HAVE NOTHING,
BUT THEY HAVE JESUS. IT SEEMS TO ME THAT WAS
ALL THEY REALLY NEEDED, AND THE STRENGTH OF THEIR SPIRITUALITY WAS COMPELLING. WE USED TO PRAY THAT GOD WOULD
RELEASE THE CHINESE FOLLOWERS
OF CHRIST FROM PERSECUTION. WE GOT A COMMUNIQUE FROM
CHURCH LEADERS IN CHINA SAYING,
"PLEASE DO NOT PRAY THAT. "WHAT WE REALLY NEED
IS YOU PRAY THAT WE WILL BE
FAITHFUL IN THE PERSECUTION, "BECAUSE WHEN WE'RE UNDER PERSECUTION, WHEN WE'RE
IMPOVERISHED FOR CHRIST, "WE THRIVE IN JESUS CHRIST.
IT DRIVES US TO HIM." THEY'RE TELLING US NOW IN CHINA
THAT THE AFFLUENCE IS GROWING... IN MAJOR CITIES LIKE
BEIJING AND SHANGHAI, THAT THE CHURCHES THERE ARE
WEAKENED BECAUSE THE AFFLUENCE
STARTS TO MOVE JESUS OUT.... AND THE NEED FOR
JESUS TO THE EDGES. I GUESS WE'RE LEARNING
SOMETHING FROM THIS LETTER
TO THE LAODICEAN CHURCH, THAT WHAT WE REALLY
NEED IS JESUS, AND AFFLUENCE MIGHT
JUST GET IN THE WAY. THIS THEATER IS A SYMBOL OF THE
GREAT AFFLUENCE IN LAODICEA, NOT BECAUSE OF ITS SIZE,
BUT BECAUSE THERE ARE
TWO THEATERS HERE. THE TOWN HAD
40,000 PEOPLE IN IT. EPHESUS, THE WORLD-CLASS
CITY, HAD 200,000. THEY
ONLY HAD ONE THEATER. BRAGGING RIGHTS
FOR THE RICH TOWN. AND THOSE PRISONERS
REMIND ME OF ANOTHER THING. THEY REMIND ME THAT IF
YOU HAVE JESUS AND HIS WORD, YOU REALLY HAVE ALL
YOU NEED FOR SATISFACTION AND
FULFILLMENT AND MEANING IN LIFE. AND IF AFFLUENCE PUSHES JESUS
OUT TO THE MARGINS, THEN YOU'RE
KIND OF IN A BAD WAY, WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT JESUS
SAID TO THE LAODICEANS. HE SAID, "YOU SAY
THAT YOU HAVE WEALTH AND
THAT YOU HAVE PROSPERED, "AND YOU HAVE NEED OF NOTHING,
BUT FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, "YOU ARE WRETCHED, PITIFUL,
POOR, BLIND, AND NAKED." AND SO TO THESE WEALTHY,
THOUGH FROM CHRIST'S POINT OF
VIEW SPIRITUALLY IMPOVERISHED, CHRISTIANS AT LAODICEA
HE SAYS, "COME BUY FROM ME. "COME TO MY SHOP AND
PURCHASE THINGS YOU CAN'T
GET ANYWHERE ELSE." KINDA LIKE, "YOU GET A RUSH
FROM SHOPPING? LET'S TALK." IN THEIR MINDS, PROBABLY,
THEY WOULD BE THINKING
ABOUT THIS MARKETPLACE, THE FIFTH AVENUE OF
THEIR KNOWN WORLD. AND SO HE SAYS, "COME BUY
FROM ME GOLD REFINED BY FIRE." THEY KNEW ALL ABOUT GOLD.
THIS WAS THE BANKING CENTER. THEY HAD GOLD IN ABUNDANCE HERE,
BUT HE WAS TALKING ABOUT
A DIFFERENT KIND OF GOLD. ALL THROUGH SCRIPTURE, GOLD
REFINED BY FIRE TALKED ABOUT... THE CHARACTER AND
STRENGTH OF PERSON THAT WAS
DEVELOPED UNDER PRESSURE, UNDER PERSECUTION,
UNDER TRIAL, AND UNDER TROUBLE. HE SAID,
"MAYBE YOUR STAND FOR CHRIST
HERE THAT WOULD BE MORE OVERT, "WOULD CAUSE PRESSURES ON YOU. THAT WOULD BE FINE. "I WANT TO BUILD YOU
AS A PERSON. YOU CAN'T BUY
THAT IN THIS MARKETPLACE. "LET ME MAKE SOMETHING
OUT OF YOU." AND HE ALSO OFFERED TO
SELL THEM ROBES OF WHITE, WHICH, THROUGHOUT SCRIPTURE, ALWAYS DENOTES RIGHTEOUSNESS. YOU KNOW, "COME TO ME AND LET ME
CLOTHE YOU IN MY RIGHTEOUSNESS, "SO THAT YOU CAN HAVE
FULL ACCESS TO A HOLY GOD
WHEN YOU ARE HIDDEN IN ME." OR PERHAPS EVEN
THE RIGHTEOUSNESS
OF HOW THEY LIVE, SO THAT THEY CAN LIVE GODLY LIVES WITHOUT GUILT AND REGRET. THEY CAN'T BUY THAT
ANYPLACE ELSE IN LAODICEA. ONLY JESUS CHRIST COULD GIVE
THEM THAT WONDERFUL COMMODITY. AND THEN REFERENCING
THE EYE SALVE THAT THEY
SOLD HERE, HE SAID, "AND COME TO ME AND LET ME ANOINT YOUR EYES WITH THIS
OINTMENT SO THAT YOU CAN SEE." BLINDED BY THEIR
AFFLUENCE, GOD WANTED
TO OPEN THEIR LIVES... TO THINGS THEY HAD
NEVER SEEN BEFORE,
THE TREASURES OF HIS WISDOM, SEEING THE WORLD AND THEIR WEALTH FROM GOD'S POINT OF VIEW. "LET ME TAKE YOUR BLINDNESS.
LET ME HELP YOU TO SEE." ONLY HE COULD GIVE THEM THAT. WELL, WE ALWAYS THINK,
DON'T WE, THAT THE BEST
THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE. YOU KNOW, I'M NOT
TOO SURE ABOUT THAT, BUT WHAT I AM SURE ABOUT IS
THAT THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE
ONLY COME FROM JESUS CHRIST. AND SO JESUS WRAPS THIS
LETTER TO THE FOLLOWERS
OF HIM AT LAODICEA... WITH WHAT I THINK IS A VERY COMPELLING PICTURE. HE SAYS, "BEHOLD: I STAND
AT THE DOOR AND KNOCK." THAT'S THE DOOR OF THEIR LIVES,
THE DOOR OF THEIR HEART. HE SAYS, "IF ANYONE HEARS
AND OPENS THE DOOR, "I WILL COME IN AND FELLOWSHIP AND DINE WITH THEM." WE NEED TO GET THIS STRAIGHT
THAT DINING IN THOSE DAYS... WAS DEEP, INTIMATE FELLOWSHIP THAT LASTED FOR HOURS. IT'S NOT LIKE TAKING MY TV
TRAY INTO THE LIVING ROOM
TO WATCH TV WITH MY WIFE. SO HE'S OFFERING THEM DEEP,
INTIMATE FELLOWSHIP WITH HIM. YOU KNOW, I THINK THIS CAN BE
TAKEN IN SOME DIFFERENT WAYS. I REMEMBER WHEN I FELT MY NEED
FOR CHRIST AS A SAVIOR, THAT I WENT TO MY DAD
AND I TOLD HIM THAT. WE SAT DOWN AND
HE OPENED THE BIBLE TO THIS
INVITATION OF JESUS CHRIST. "BEHOLD, I STAND AT THE DOOR
AND KNOCK. IF YOU OPEN YOUR
HEART'S DOOR, I WILL COME IN." AND I DID THAT THAT NIGHT. SOME OF YOU RIGHT NOW
MAY BE HEARING THE KNOCK
AT YOUR HEART'S DOOR. WE SAID EARLIER IN THE CHURCH
AT SARDIS THAT THE IDENTITY... AND THE CLAIMS OF
JESUS CHRIST WERE EXCLUSIVE, BUT YOU NEED TO KNOW
HIS INVITATION IS NOT EXCLUSIVE. HE SAYS, "WHOSOEVER MAY COME.
I KNOCK AT YOUR HEART'S DOOR. OPEN IT. I LOVE YOU. "I WANT INTIMATE
FELLOWSHIP WITH YOU." MAYBE THAT'S WHAT YOUR
HEART IS YEARNING FOR NOW. BUT THERE'S ANOTHER
VIEW OF THIS. ACTUALLY, THIS IS BEING
WRITTEN TO PEOPLE WHO'VE
ALREADY RECEIVED HIM, WHO HAVE PUSHED JESUS
OUT OF THEIR LIVES
BECAUSE OF THEIR WEALTH, BECAUSE THEY REALLY
DON'T NEED HIM. I'M STRUCK BY THE FACT THAT
THESE LETTERS BEGIN WITH THIS
POWERFUL IMAGE OF JESUS CHRIST, THE AWESOME, CONQUERING,
UNINTIMIDABLE JESUS CHRIST, AND AT THE END OF THE LETTERS, HE'S BEEN MARGINALIZED BY THEM, YET HUMBLY, ON THE OUTSIDE,
HE KNOCKS, WANTING TO COME IN. CAN YOU HEAR THAT OVER
THE CLUTTER AND THE NOISE OF
ALL THE STUFF IN YOUR LIFE? AND ARE YOU WILLING TO BELIEVE
THAT IF YOU REALLY HAVE JESUS, YOU HAVE EVERYTHING
THAT YOU NEED? THE MATERIAL STUFF
IS SIMPLY A BONUS,
NOT A DISTRACTION. WOULD YOU BE WILLING
NOW TO HEAR HIM AND TO
OPEN YOUR HEART'S DOOR AGAIN, BRING HIM IN TO THE CENTER? YOU NEED TO KNOW THAT NOTHING
SATISFIES LIKE JESUS, AND HE'S
READY, WILLING, AND WAITING. I GUESS THE ISSUE IS,
WILL YOU OPEN THE DOOR? NOW GRANTED, IT'S... IT'S TOUGH TO GET YOUR
HEAD ALL THE WAY AROUND
THE BOOK OF REVELATION, ACTUALLY, EVEN TO GET YOUR
HEAD ALL THE WAY AROUND
THESE SEVEN LETTERS, BUT THERE IS
A RE-OCCURRING THEME. IT IS
THE FOUNDATION, THE WHOLE. AND THAT IS THAT
JESUS KEEPS PRESENTING HIMSELF
AS THE ULTIMATE CONQUEROR, THE VICTOR,
THAT IN THE END HE WINS. AND WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO CAST
YOUR LOT WITH WHAT SEEMS GOOD
NOW, BUT IN THE END LOSES? I REMEMBER TEACHING THE BOOK OF
REVELATION AND THESE LETTERS TO
A GROUP OVER HERE IN ASIA MINOR, AND I TOLD THEM THAT.
I SAID, "YOU WANNA KNOW
WHAT REVELATION'S ALL ABOUT? "IT'S ABOUT THE FACT
THAT JESUS WINS." WELL, WE WERE ON THE ISLE OF
PATMOS, AND ONE OF THE LADIES
WAS IN A JEWELRY SHOP, AND SHE WAS LOOKING
AT DIFFERENT PENDANTS, AND THERE WAS A PENDANT
WITH A CROSS AND GREEK
LETTERS IN THE QUADRANTS. AND SHE SAID TO THE SHOP OWNER,
SHE SAID, "WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?" THE SHOP OWNER SAID, "OH, IT
MEANS, JESUS CHRIST THE VICTOR." 'IESOUS CHRISTOS NIKA.' SHE SAID,
"YOU MEAN, JESUS WINS?" HE SAID, "YES.
THAT'S WHAT IT MEANS." HE SAID AFTER CHRISTIANITY
HAD TAKEN THE ROMAN EMPIRE, THE CHRISTIANS
WORE THESE PENDANTS. WELL, NEEDLESS TO SAY, EVERYBODY
ELSE ON THE TRIP WAS LOOKING
FOR JEWELRY LIKE THAT, TOO. BUT AT MY NEXT BIRTHDAY,
MY KIDS GAVE ME A RING, THIS
RING THAT I WEAR EVERY DAY, WITH THE CROSS AND THE WORDS,
"JESUS CHRIST THE VICTOR." IT'S A CONSTANT REMINDER TO
ME THAT NO MATTER WHAT THE
CHALLENGES ARE IN MY LIFE, OR WHAT HAPPENS
IN MY CULTURE OR IN MY WORLD,
THAT IN THE END JESUS WINS. IT GIVES ME COURAGE. THAT
THOUGHT GIVES ME CONFIDENCE. AND IT WAS THAT THOUGHT THAT
GAVE CONFIDENCE AND COURAGE
TO THE EARLY CHRISTIANS. "TO HIM WHO OVERCOMES
I WILL GRANT TO SIT
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."
