Are We Really Rich? (Revelation 3:14-22)
This is the land of “crazy rich Asians”. When friends from overseas ask me what I think about the movie, which was set in Singapore, I jokingly tell them that everything in it is true. All of us are fabulously wealthy. We all live in mansions and drive fancy cars. I am kidding, of course. Yet, Singapore is one of the wealthiest places in the world. At least on paper, anyway. According to a report released last year, we ranked fourth among cities globally for having the highest number of millionaires. But these numbers do not tell the whole story. Many of us do not feel rich, especially when we are worried about work, financial obligations, and the cost of living.
This says something about how we tend to think about wealth. What does it mean to be rich? For many, it goes beyond just having money and possessions. We can have cash, condos, and cars, and still be stressed about not having enough. For many of us, feeling rich means not having to worry about life. We feel rich when we are confident that our finances and assets can handle whatever life throws at us. So, we want to be rich, not because we are materialistic, but because we want to feel safe and secure. We want what we think riches can give us. Being prudent may sound more respectable than greed. But at the heart of it, are we still trusting in riches for our satisfaction, sufficiency and security?
Repent, and reign with Christ.
Are we really rich? The question about wealth is fundamentally about who or what are we trusting. In the last of the letters to the seven churches, Jesus urges the church in Laodicea to consider where their confidence actually lies. The Lord also calls us to examine ourselves. We may say we believe in Jesus, but have we practically shoved Him aside in our lives? The problem is not that we have openly rebelled against Jesus; we have simply made him irrelevant and redundant. We no longer need Jesus, for we seem to get by fine without Him. Like the church in Laodicea, have we become self-satisfied and self-sufficient? Have we become comfortable with a Christ-less “Christianity”? We need to listen to what the Lord says to the church in Laodicea. Here is the big idea: Repent, and reign with Christ. We will unpack this in two points: (1) Recognise and repent; (2) Receive and reign.
Recognise and repent (Rev 3:14-17, 19)
The Laodicean church has a double problem: Not only has it stopped relying on the Lord, but what is worse is that the church does not even think it needs the Lord. When we make little of Jesus and much of ourselves, we think He is optional or dispensable. We need a bigger view of Jesus. Therefore, Revelation 3:14 enlarges our vision of the Lord. Only by knowing Jesus as He truly is, will we make much of Him. He is the Amen. In Isaiah 65, the God of Amen is true to his promises. He will save his people, and create the new heavens and new earth. Therefore, to say Jesus is the Amen is to say that He is fully God. He is trustworthy. We can trust Him to keep His promises. Be encouraged to rely on Jesus. He will not let us down.
Because Jesus is the Amen, He is also the faithful and true witness. He faithfully represents and reveals God the Father. To know Jesus is to know the Father also. Unlike Jesus, the church in Laodicea is not a faithful and true witness. Like a shattered mirror that reflects a horribly distorted image, the church is misrepresenting God and the gospel. The Laodicean church is the exact opposite of Jesus. Therefore, it must return to following the Lord.
Only Jesus can regenerate and revive us by His Spirit. We need His resurrection power to make us truly alive.
The church in Laodicea is in urgent need of new life, which only Jesus can give. He is the beginning of God’s creation. This does not mean that Jesus was the first to be created. “Beginning” means Jesus is the Ruler or Head of creation. He is the sovereign Creator of all things. He is the source of life. Therefore, we must depend on the Lord, who gives us life and breath. Jesus is also the beginning of God’s new creation by the power of His resurrection. He is the first to be raised in glory from the grave. Back in 1:5, it says that the resurrected Lord is “the firstborn of the dead” (Rev 1:5). He is the One in whom we receive spiritual life. Only Jesus can regenerate and revive us by His Spirit. We need His resurrection power to make us truly alive.
As the faithful and true witness, Jesus speaks truthfully about the state of the Laodicean church. He, who has eyes like flaming fire, sees all things with penetrating insight. Jesus says to the church in Laodicea in Revelation 3:15, “I know your works.” Jesus knows how the church is really doing. He sees past the surface and knows our true spiritual state. Asymptomatic illnesses can be dangerous. Because there are no symptoms, we mistakenly think we are healthy. But if we go on as though nothing is wrong, we may realise too late that we are actually sick. We are grateful for doctors who can rightly diagnose and tell us our true condition, even if we still feel fine.
The Lord Jesus is the Master Physician of souls. We cannot hide from Him, who looks on our hearts. We may think we are fine, but what matters is how Jesus sees us. In Revelation 3:15-16, Jesus diagnoses the condition of the church in Laodicea: “You are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.” This is sometimes understood to mean that it is better to either be on fire for the Lord or to be completely cold towards Him, than to be neither here nor there. But that is not what Jesus is saying. On this point, it is helpful to understand the historical setting of Laodicea. The city had to pipe in water from other places for its water supply. Some water came from hot springs about 8km away, but by the time the water arrived in Laodicea, it was lukewarm. Some water also came from the nearby city of Colossae, which was famous for its refreshingly cold water. But by the time this water arrived in Laodicea, it also became lukewarm. So, Laodicea had neither hot water, which can be used as a tonic when one is cold, nor did it have cold water, which is refreshing and fresh-tasting. Compared to hot or cold water, Laodicea’s lukewarm water was not very useful. Jesus likens the church to the city’s water: The church is not very useful. It is not fulfilling its function as a lampstand, and it makes Jesus want to throw up.
As we heard from chapter 1, the churches are represented by lampstands. Each church is to shine the light of the glory of Christ. He saved us for His glory. The church is to glorify Jesus by proclaiming His gospel and holding forth His truth. We are to faithfully tell of how Jesus came to save sinners through His life, death and resurrection. Jesus lived a life of perfect obedience to God — the life that we should have lived, but failed. Jesus obeyed all the way to the cross, where He died the death that we deserved. Jesus died for guilty sinners. But being sinless, He rose from the dead in victory over sin and death. We are saved from God’s judgement if we repent and believe in Jesus. Our sins are forgiven; we are reconciled to God; we receive the gift of eternal life. The church is also to glorify Jesus by portraying the gospel through our lives as God’s people. We are to keep Jesus’ word, and to hold fast to Him till the end. We are to patiently endure through trials and temptations, growing in faith, hope and love. By proclaiming and portraying the gospel, the church shines the glory of Christ, who saved us out of darkness into His marvelous light.
The church in Laodicea, however, is not a faithful witness. Instead of proclaiming and portraying Jesus, the church has become complacent in its own comfort. It has conformed more to the culture than to Christ. Laodicea was a wealthy and prosperous city, located along major trade routes. Because of its strategic location, it was a centre for banking and the textile trade. Like the city, the church is also rich. This probably means the church has been participating in the idolatrous practices of the trade guilds and imperial cult. It has exchanged gospel faithfulness for economic prosperity. The Laodicean church’s problem is not persecution, its compromise. The church has lost its zeal for the Lord. It is satisfied to simply go through the motions. They may show up for church on Sundays and pay lip service to the Lord, but their hearts are far from Him.
Singapore is like Laodicea. We live in a place that prizes prosperity. Riches are commonly regarded as a means of attaining success, security, significance and self sufficiency. We do not have to be greedy or materialistic to desire riches; we simply want what we think wealth can give us. Riches are tempting, for they are a powerful proxy. They make us feel good about ourselves; they make us look good to others; they make us feel successful and secure. We are tempted to trust in our resources and reserves, rather than Christ. But it is impossible to serve God and money, as Jesus says in Matthew 6:24: “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.” How has pursuing prosperity dulled our devotion to the Lord? Where our treasure is, there will our heart be also. How might we be lukewarm like Laodicea? Jesus frequently warns about the perils of prosperity. He says in Luke 12:15, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” Will we worship Christ or cash?
Prosperity can lull us into a comfortable complacency. It makes us think we are doing well when, in fact, we are not. Like David in Psalm 30, we say in our prosperity, “We shall never be moved.” Not surprisingly, Jesus warns of “the deceitfulness of riches” (Mk 4:19). Wealth deceives us. It over-promises and under-delivers. Jesus wants the church in Laodicea to recognise how it is trusting in a lie. Look at Revelation 3:17: “For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.” Prosperity has misled the Laodiceans to think they are fine without Jesus. They have become self-satisfied and self sufficient. Try this thought experiment: If Jesus were to leave our lives and our church, will that make any difference to us? Or will we carry on as usual, not even missing Him or realizing that He has gone?
The Laodiceans say they still believe in Jesus, but they are living as though they do not need him. The church says, “I am rich.” But this self-assessment could not have been more wrong. Their so-called prosperity is a sham. Material success does not mean spiritual wellbeing. The Laodicean church is really spiritually bankrupt. What is worse is that the church does not even know it. Jesus wants the Laodiceans to recognise their dire spiritual state. They are not rich; they are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. See the stark contrast between Smyrna and Laodicea. Smyrna is poor in the world’s eyes, but Jesus says they are actually rich in him. Laodicea thinks they are rich, but Jesus exposes their utter poverty. The church remains blissfully unaware of its critical condition. Jesus has to disturb our comfort to shake us out of our complacency.
Jesus wants the Laodicean church to recognise its wretched state and to repent. Otherwise, as He warns in Revelation 3:16, He will spit (literally, “vomit”) the church out of His mouth. This is from an Old Testament image of God judging idolatrous Israel, and the promised land vomiting Israel out of it. Similarly, if the church in Laodicea refuses to repent, the Lord will reject them. They will have no part with Him. A true follower of Jesus will live a life of repentance and faith. If we harden our hearts in unrepentance, it shows that we really do not know the Lord. May this not be so for any of us. Hear and heed Jesus’ words. He warns us because He loves us — just as how we discipline our children because we love them. Discipline is not love ended, but love intensified. So, obey Jesus’ words in Revelation 3:19: Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. Be eager and urgent. Do not delay. May Christ’s love compel us to recognise our spiritual poverty, and to repent. Repenting means forsaking our false hopes and idols, turning away from our sins, and turning to the Lord. Recognise that we need the Lord, and trust in Him.
Receive and reign (Rev 3:18, 20-22)
Jesus invites us to receive from Him, that we might reign with Him. Listen to His gracious invitation in Revelation 3:18: I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see.
See here the kindness and compassion of Christ. He does not merely point out the problem; He provides the solution. Even as He strongly rebukes the Laodicean church for its faithlessness, He also offers Himself as the remedy for their dire spiritual state. We think our sins push Jesus away, when in fact He draws near to us in our deepest distress and darkness. Jesus humbles and wounds, that He might heal and lift us up. Jesus exposes our sins, so that we might turn to Him for grace. See also how Jesus counsels, rather than coerces. He woos us back to Himself with gentle words of love and mercy. He confronts our false security and comfortable complacency, so that we find true rest in Him. The Lord says to us, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (Matt 11:29)”
Jesus is and has everything we need. Revelation 3:18 recalls the Lord’s generous offer in Isaiah 55:1-3: “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labour for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live.” Why do we toil and strive for worldly wealth, which will never truly satisfy or give us lasting security? Stop seeking wealth in all the wrong places; instead look to Christ. Come to Jesus, who wants to make us really rich. He says, “Buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich.” Refined gold is a biblical picture of purity. Malachi 3:3 says this of the Lord: “He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver.” If we trust in Him, Jesus atones for our sins through His death on the cross. He removes our corruption and purifies us by His blood. He takes away our guilt and shame, and makes us clean. In Christ, we are washed, forgiven and accepted. In Christ, we have true riches for God Himself is our very great reward. He will be with us as our God; we will be with Him as His people.
Come to Jesus and buy white garments, so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen. Interestingly, Laodicea was famous for producing black wool. But what the church needs is white clothing that signifies righteousness and holiness. Way back when Adam and Eve fell into sin, they saw their own nakedness and were ashamed. Their self-made fig leaf-clothing was a pathetic attempt to shield themselves from God’s holy judgement. Similarly, worldly wealth cannot save us. Our works are as filthy rags. We need Christ to clothe us. He covers us with His own righteousness, making us right with God. Jesus takes away our guilt and shame.
Come to Jesus and buy salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. The church in Laodicea is blind to its own plight. Thinking themselves rich, they fail to see their dire and desperate condition. They need Jesus to give them eyes to see their need of Him. Jesus is the light of the world who can open the eyes of the blind. In John 9, Jesus anointed the eyes of a man born blind, healing his blindness. And more than simply granting him physical sight, Jesus opened the man’s eyes to behold his glory. Do not be like the Pharisees in the story, who remain blind, because they proudly insist that they see. Will we acknowledge our blindness and come to Jesus in order to see?
Jesus supplies whatever we lack.
To the spiritually poor, Jesus gives us the true riches of holiness and an eternal inheritance with God. To the naked, Jesus covers our shame by giving us the white garments of righteousness. To the blind, Jesus gives spiritual sight that we might behold the glory of God in the face of Christ. Jesus supplies whatever we lack. We need the Lord, for we cannot save ourselves.
Not what our hands have done
Can save our guilty souls
Not what our toiling flesh has borne
Can make our spirit whole.
So, repent and receive from Jesus. In our pride and complacency, we have sidelined Jesus. Thinking that we do not need Him, we have lived according to our own ways and kept Jesus out of our lives. But the patient and gracious Lord has not abandoned us to our folly. He is ready to receive us back, if we return to Him. Jesus’ loving invitation in Revelation 3:20 shows His grace and generosity towards us: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.”
To all who return to Him, Jesus promises us a restored relationship and a future feast. How have we drifted away from the Lord? How have we become complacent, self-satisfied and self-sufficient? Like a loving bridegroom who tenderly woos His beloved bride, so Jesus affectionately calls us back to Himself. He takes the initiative to draw near to us, that we might draw near to Him. Eating together is a sign of affection and relationship. So, Jesus invites us to share a meal and have fellowship with Him. What is more, Hhe generously provides the food. We can look forward to a greater future feast at the marriage supper of the Lamb of God. We will eat with Jesus in the new creation, when He returns to bring us home. So, listen to the Lord and open the door to Him. Do not keep Him waiting outside. Let Him in. The Lord Jesus rightfully belongs at the centre of our lives.
Over the past two months, we have heard from the letters to the seven churches. These letters are not just for these churches in the past, but for all churches everywhere, at all times. Revelation 3:22 reminds us: He who has an ear, let Him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. Listen to God’s revelation of Jesus Christ. Listen to the glorious Lord, who speaks to His church. These letters are also for us today, here in this local church. What would Jesus say to Grace Baptist Church?
The Lord will encourage us to keep going, to continue to hold fast to and to hold forth the gospel. He will urge us to patiently endure, to not give up in trials and to not give in to temptation. The Lord will assure us that He knows our names. He knows that we have but little power, and He promises to strengthen us in our weakness. The Lord will call us to remember His faithfulness to us over the past 67 years of our history. He will encourage us to keep trusting in Him for the future. The Lord will call us to be faithful, not fearful, for He will give us the crown of life. He enables us to finish well. He will invite us to lay our worries and anxieties down at His feet, with the confidence that He cares for us. The Lord will encourage us not to lose heart when we face opposition, for He will keep us as we keep His word. Jesus will exhort us to keep growing in love, faith, service and perseverance, so that our latter works exceed the first. He knows our works. He sees many among us making the effort to know, to sacrificially love and to encourage one another in Christ. The Lord will say to us, “Press on in faith and obedience. What you are doing, do so more and more.”
The Lord, who purifies His church, will exhort us to keep speaking the truth in love to one another. He will urge us to keep fighting sin and to pursue holiness together. He will promise to help us, as we continue to foster meaningful church membership and practice biblical church discipline.
The Lord will also warn us against compromising with worldliness or false teaching. He will remind us not to neglect His truth, or to take His gospel for granted. The Lord will urge us to repent of idolatry and immorality, to not take sin lightly. He will exhort us to promote and protect the church’s purity. Jesus will admonish us to not abandon our first love, but to keep loving God and one another. May the Lord not remove our lampstand. Jesus will call us to wake up and be watchful. Beware of becoming proud and self-sufficient. Beware of becoming complacent and relying on a reputation that is no longer reality. Beware of trusting in riches and other things that do not last.
Press on in the Lord Jesus Christ. We conquer by holding fast to Him until the end. Patiently endure. Jesus promises us in Revelation 3:21, “The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.” If we recognise our sins, repent, and receive from the Lord, we shall reign with Him. Just as Jesus was raised and exalted to the Father’s right hand, so we who are in Christ shall also be raised with Him in glory. In Christ, we are really rich. This is the hope of all who listen to the Lord. We will dwell with Him forever in the new Jerusalem of the new creation. We long for that glorious day, when Jesus will wipe away every tear from our eyes, when sorrow and suffering shall be no more, when death will be swallowed up by everlasting joy and life. The Lord is coming soon. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!