“Heaven’s Cure For Laodicea’s Problem”
By Marcus Peters
Midland SDA Church
August 15, 2009
“And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples
came unto him: And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in
spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matt 5:1-3
Ø At first glance nothing moving about the words.
o He didn’t day blessed are those who study the Books of Dan & Rev
o Blessed are those who are vegetarians.
o Blessed are those who attend prayer meeting, have their devotions etc
Ø Paradox: you would expect the rich in spirit or the spiritually rich to be the ones to receive the blessing of Christ.
Consider the following:
“He who feels whole; who thinks that he is reasonably good, and is contented with his condition, does not seek to become a partaker of the grace and righteousness of Christ. Pride feels no need, and so it closes the heart against Christ and the infinite blessings He came to give. There is no room for Jesus in the heart of such a person. Those who are rich and honorable in their own eyes do not ask in faith, and receive the blessing of God. They feel that they are full, therefore they go away empty. Those who know that they cannot possibly save themselves, or of themselves do any righteous action, are the ones who appreciate the help that Christ can bestow. They are the poor in spirit, whom He declares to be blessed.” TB 7
Ø Poor in spirit are the ones who recognize their spiritual poverty. The converse is also true. The rich in spirit do not feel their need of Christ.
Ø As a matter of fact it’s the problem with our Church today.
Laodicea
Rev 3:17
“Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked…”
Ø They say they are rich and increased with goods
Ø They say they don’t need anything
Ø But they don’t realize that they are wretched, miserable, poor, blind & naked!
How does God cure the Church of its identity crisis?
Ø We can find the answer in the Book of Isaiah
Experience of Isaiah – Read 6:1-8
verse 1-4: Isaiah has a vision of the Lord
Summary
Ø This occurred when King Uzziah died.
Ø He saw the Lord high & lifted up
Ø The Lord was in His temple
Ø The angels were glorifying God
Ø Smoke filled the temple
verse 5: “then said I, woe is me”
Ø Response is puzzling. There’s nothing in the vision that should warrant such an exclamation.
o God wasn’t wielding a sword and about to destroy him.
o Incidentally, presenting the image of an angry God never brings about true conversion.
§ Quite the opposite it brings about a weak repentance like Esau or Judas.
§ It’s the goodness of God that leads us to repentance.
Ø After Isaiah sees Jesus high and lifted up the first thing we notice is that he becomes aware of his spiritual condition.
Ø He Confesses. If we say that we have no sin (1 John 1:8).
Ø The irony of confession “woe is me”. See Is 3:9, 11 and Is 5:8, 11, 18, 20, 21, 22.
o He saw the spiritual poverty in everyone else but himself.
o Kind of like us today; we’re able to detect the faults of others but are blinded to our own.
verse 5: “for I am undone”
Ø Some versions render it “woe is me, I am doomed, I am cut off, I am lost.”
Ø The Gospel Prophet lost??? The one who gave so many messianic prophecies
Ø It would be the equivalent of saying Mark Finley, Doug Bachelor or even you were lost.
Ø Warning of Christ in Matthew 7. Very possible to be lost in Church
Ø Christ arranged that we can know & have Isaiah’s experience (today) before probation closes.
verse 5: “I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips”
Ø Isaiah was specific about the sin he was guilty of. He didn’t generalize.
Ø He also was struggling with the same sins that his people struggled with – unclean lips. Mind you, these are the same people that Isaiah was pronouncing woes upon in Ch3 & 5. This is a lesson for us.
verse 5: “for mine eyes have seen the King”
Ø Notice it’s only when his “eyes had seen the King” that he was cognizant of his true spiritual condition.
o Implication: if we look at others we would never get a true picture of how sinful and poor in spirit we are. We need to look to Christ; we need to look at the King.
Ø What is the first step in receiving salvation? Is it forgiveness? Confession?
Ø Where did he see the King?
o We are also privileged to see by faith the work that is going forward in the heavenly sanctuary.
o If we spend more time looking at the sanctuary, there’ll be less murmuring and fault-finding.
Good News
verse 6: “then flew one of the seraphims unto me ”
Ø As soon as Isaiah confessed his sins; as soon as he acknowledged his spiritual poverty, divine help was on its way. Jesus wants to do the same for us.
o Is 65:24… while they’re yet speaking
o Daniel’s prayer in ch 9:20
verse 7: “And he laid it on my mouth, and said…”
Ø The cleansing that God provided was specific to the sin that Isaiah faced.
o The coals were placed on his unclean lips
o Implication: if we pray general prayers we’ll get general blessings. Pray specific prayers, you get specific blessings.
verse 8: “Also, I heard the voice of the Lord saying”
Ø Up to this point in the vision, Isaiah had only seen the Lord.
Ø There’s no record of God speaking prior to this time.
Ø Sometimes, before we could hear God’s voice we need to we need to see God’s glory.
o Why is that? Consider Job’s experience Ch 42:5-6
verse 8: “Whom shall I send, who will go for us?”
Ø God’s frustration was not so much the sins of the people of Judah; it was the lack of willing laborers.
Ø He’s asking the same question today: “Who will go for us?” What will be your response to His invitation?
verse 8: “Then said I, Here am I, send me”
Ø He exclaims “Here am I!” He had the blessed assurance that his sins were forgiven.
Ø It’s only when he was brought to his point of nothingness that he was able to be fully used by God.
Ø Evangelism is not a spiritual gift, it’s a divine imperative (Matt 28:19-20).
o It’s the natural response from the heart of one who has been forgiven.
Consider the following quotation:
“Many suppose that the missionary spirit, the qualification for missionary work, is a special gift or endowment bestowed upon the ministers and a few members of the church and that all others are to be mere spectators. Never was there a greater mistake. Every true Christian will possess a missionary spirit, for to be a Christian is to be Christlike. The very first impulse of the renewed heart is to bring others also to the Saviour. Those who do not possess this desire give evidence that they have lost their first love” 5T 385
Excuses we give: “People are set in their ways they won’t listen.” “I’m scared!” “It’s not my gift!”
Ø We have more theologians in the Church than soul-winners.
Ø Been in the Church for many years and never led one soul to Christ.
What’s heavens cure to Laodicea’s Problem?
Ø To see the King. But how do we see the King?
o Return to where you first met the Lord.
o Contemplate His sacrifice on your behalf
o Consider the work that he’s doing in the sanctuary now
As we do that each day
o We’ll recognize our true condition.
o We’ll be led to a more thorough repentance.
o We’ll have the desire to share the Good News with those we meet.