AND UNTO 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 WOULD YOU WERE COLD OR HOT. SO THEN BECAUSE YOU ARE LUKEWARM, AND NEITHER COLD NOR HOT, I WILL SPUE YOU OUT OF MY MOUTH. BECAUSE YOU SAY I AM RICH, AND INCREASED IN GOODS, AND HAVE NEED OF NOTHING; AND KNOWEST NOT THAT YOU ARE WRETCHED, AND MISERABLE, AND POOR, AND BLIND, AND NAKED. I COUNSEL YOU TO BUY OF ME GOLD TRIED IN THE FIRE, THAT YOU MAY BE RICH; AND WHITE RAIMENT, THAT YOU MAY BE CLOTHED, AND THAT THE SHAME OF YOUR NAKEDNESS DO NOT APPEAR; AND ANNOINT YOUR EYES WITH EYESALVE, THAT YOU MAY SEE. AS MANY AS I LOVE, I REBUKE AND CHASTEN: BE ZEALOUS THEREFORE, AND REPENT. BEHOLD, I STAND AT THE DOOR, AND KNOCK: IF ANY MAN HEAR MY VOICE, AND OPEN THE DOOR, I WILL COME IN TO HIM, AND SUP WITH HIM, AND HE WITH ME. Revelation, Chapter 3, Verses 14-20.
A Churchy Vagabond is a person who once followed the TRUTH but WANDERED away from Christ to follow the wide path of dead works. They became more interested in Worldly Gain than Heavenly Treasures. A Churchy Vagabond will TALK THE TALK but fail to WALK THE WALK. Their focus becomes more on worldly treasures and earthly pleasures than doing the work of God.
Laodicea means “a people judged.” The Laodeceans were probably the most pathetic of all the Churches in Asia Minor. Jesus had nothing good to say about the Church in Laodicea. “Apathetic” would be the word which best described the Laodiceans. Jesus gave the Laodiceans an opportunity to re-examine their lifestyles, repent and recommit their life to Him.
The extent of control or influence which the VAGABOND has on Churchy People will vary from person to person and from church to church. I use the term “Churchy People” because they may be church goers, but they are not “fully committed” to Christ. Many people attend church consistently. They are committed more to the Church than they are Christ. They show little interest in doing anything more than attending “Church.” Their hearts and thoughts are not focused on the plan and purpose God has for their life, or their reasonable service to Him. Many Churchy People flounder around going through the motions of playing church. Many Church bodies have become more of a social club than a Church. They have taken their focus off of Christ and placed it on worldly things. Because of their lack of total commitment to Christ, they bear little or no fruit. BY THEIR FRUITS YOU SHALL KNOW THEM. Because of the lack of total commitment to Jesus, He said they were BLIND, POOR, NAKED, MISERABLE, AND WRETCHED.
The Laodiceans were Churchy People. Churchy People are those who have departed from their FIRST LOVE to follow the path of the VAGABOND. They may not be physically homeless, but they are UNDER THE INFLUENCE of the VAGABOND. Their relationship with Christ has been diminished or forgotten because they became more concerned with doing the WORKS of Christ rather than seeking the PERSON of Christ. A Works Based Religion will always separate man from God. More than anything else Christianity is supposed to be about our relationship with Christ. We cannot know Christ without having a personal relationship with Him. Relationships are rooted and grounded in fellowship. Unless we are fellowshipping with Christ on a daily basis, there can be no relationship with Him.
Churchy People pander more to the plan and purpose of the VAGABOND than they do the plan and purpose of God for their life. They are more interested in doing their own thing rather than what God requires of them. They become panhandlers to the flesh, begging for the lusts and desires of their flesh to be satisfied. They can never be truly satisfied because they are seeking fulfillment in the wrong way and in all the wrong places. Dead works is a heavy burden to bear and will never bring satisfaction to the Christian. Faith and obedience, on the other hand, will always produce godly works. When TRIED IN THE FIRE our godly works will stand the test of time. Works alone will burn up in the fire, but works of FAITH will emerge victorious from the fire.
Churchy People are more concerned with owning material possessions than heavenly blessings. Their earthly goods and riches will be consumed and perish in the fire when tested. FAITH and GRACE are Treasures that remain throughout eternity. Jesus challenged the Laodiceans to buy GOLD which had been tried in the fire. Gold represents the Divine Nature of CHRIST. FOR BY GRACE ARE YOU SAVED THROUGH FAITH, AND THAT NOT OF YOURSELVES: IT IS THE GIFT OF GOD. “NOT OF WORKS,” LEST ANY MAN SHOULD BOAST. Ephesians, Chapter 2, Verses 8-9.
A WORKING FAITH
All religions outside of Christianity are Works Based Religions. A Works Based Religion says that I am saved by what I do, not by what God has ALREADY done for me THROUGH faith in Christ and His SACRIFICE on the Cross. A Sacrifice of Works is an abomination to God if they are not Faith Based Works. It is imperative that we KNOW Christ, not just know about Him. FAITH WITHOUT WORKS IS DEAD WORKS. James, Chapter 2, Verse 20.
If you do not have a PERSONAL relationship with Christ then you do not know Him. Many people make the mistake of knowing about Jesus, but they really do not know Him because they do not spend time with Him. They fail to solidify their relationship with Him through daily fellowship and communion. Knowing Christ and “thinking you know Him” are two totally different things. If we truly KNOW Him we will LOVE Him. If we LOVE Him, we will surely KEEP His Commandments. You do not choose a spouse and talk to her once or twice, or once a week or a year. Therefore if you do not spend time with Christ on a daily basis you do not really know Him. To know Him is to love, cherish and obey Him.
FAITH WORKS (is energized) BY LOVE. Godly Works are energized by Godly Love. Godly Works are the works we do by FAITH. Works of FAITH are works which are inspired by the Holy Spirit. Dead Works can be defined as “works inspired by the fleshly or carnal mind.” Faith is not energized by a compulsion to act, but is energized by the Christ-like compassion we possess through Faith in Him. Because it is self-oriented rather than faith-oriented, a Works Based Religion can only satisfy the flesh.
THERE IS A WAY WICH SEEMS RIGHT UNTO A MAN, BUT THE END THEREOF ARE THE WAYS OF DEATH. Proverbs, Chapter 14, Verse 12.
We need to ask our self if we are on the RIGHT path or are we just walking a path which seems to be right. The right path is the path of Righteousness which leads to the Tree of Life. We walk this path when we seek first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness.
Dead works are works of self-righteousness. If our works do not honor or lift up Christ they are considered dead works. They are called “dead works” because they are not Holy Spirit inspired and will lead a person to death rather than life. They are not energized and motivated by love and compassion, but by a sense of pride and/or delusion and confusion. Dead Works are rooted and grounded in the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
WANDERING from a Faith Based religion to a Works Based Religion is a snare of the VAGABOND. Our place of REST is our FAITH in the FINISHED WORKS OF CHRIST. Faith is not performance based but is based upon our relationship with Christ. We do the WORKS of Christ because we are motivated by His Faith and Love which dwells within our hearts.
The Churchy Laodiceans lacked true spiritual understanding. They could not see they were spiritually naked, poor, blind and destitute because their motives and attitudes were not FAITH BASED. The deceitfulness of riches has drawn many people off the Path of Righteousness to WANDER in a Spiritual Wilderness without any spiritual focus or direction. The Laodiceans were not rooted and grounded in FAITH. The GRACE of God had become of NO EFFECT in their life. Jesus KNEW their works and warned them they had become lukewarm. They had not totally rejected Christ, neither were they totally sold out to Him. Because the Laodiceans had become lukewarm, Jesus said He had no other recourse than to “spew them out of His mouth” unless they repented of their Dead Works.
Jesus loved the Laodiceans even though they had become lukewarm. A strong rebuke, a call to repentance, and a new zeal for Him was the only cure for their rebellion. Jesus stood “knocking at the door” of their heart, desiring to enter in to SUP, or have fellowship with them. Today Jesus stands at the door of our hearts and knocks. He desires to come in and commune with His people. For those who will listen to His plea, His voice can be heard all over the Earth today. Without true heartfelt repentance, Jesus cannot enter into our heart to commune with us. Jesus is calling out in the WILDERNESS to the Laodiceans who have been influenced by or have fallen under the control of the VAGABOND mindset to repent of their sins.
Many people have strayed and WANDERED away from the HOUSE OF GOD because they have lost their heavenly focus and are searching for things which satisfy the flesh rather than the Spirit. We are the Temple of the Holy Spirit. We are His place of REST. Christ is our place of REST. The Bible tells us a WANDERING Spirit has no peace or rest. Choose Christ and you choose Life. Choose to follow Christ and you will find a place of REST AND PEACE in every situation that LIFE brings. REST AND PEACE will always allude everyone who has WANDERED and STRAYED from the TRUTH. The TRUTH can only be found in Christ Jesus because He is the TRUTH. Christ Jesus is our Peace and Rest when we seek Him and walk daily with Him.
God’s love for us is unfailing, and our love for Him must be unfailing if we are to maintain a PERSONAL relationship with Him. Jesus gave His all for us. He expects no less of us than our best. Someone once said “I paid a great price to follow Christ.” However, Christ was the one who paid THE GREAT PRICE. Whatever we do pales in comparison to what Christ has done for us. As a matter of fact, nothing we do can be compared to His GREAT and SELFLESS SACRIFICE. Whatever we do for Christ must be LOVE motivated, not PURPOSE driven. Our works without faith will perish. They will burn up like hay and stubble when tried in the fire. However, what we do in LOVE will remain forever.
Works which are not Faith Based and Holy Spirit Inspired can never satisfy the soul of man or please our Father in Heaven. We rest in Christ by FAIH in HIS finished works at Calvary, not in our own works. Cain made the mistake of bringing a sacrifice of the works of his hands to God. Because he was presumptuous his sacrifice was rejected by God. Cain’s failure to recognize or care what WAS an acceptable sacrifice eventually led him to kill his brother in a jealous rage and he was driven from the PRESENCE OF GOD.
We can do nothing to work our self into Heaven. Jesus is the only door to peace, rest and Life Everlasting. No amount of work can open the door to Heaven.
Jesus is always knocking at the door of our heart seeking to gain entrance in order that He may commune with us. Jesus is a gentleman. He will never enter into a house where He is not invited or welcome, or into a house which does not acknowledge Him as LORD.