Sermon Snippet –Distracted to Distraction – Part II
INTRODUCTION – As I mentioned last week, some time ago I listened to an excellent sermon entitled “Distracted to Death.” Its primary focus was on the things that hinder people from coming to a saving relationship with Jesus Christ, God the Son. A secondary application was the matters that deflect Christians from following our Savior more fully. We considered both from Luke 8:4-15. Today, we will again think about the things that distract us to distraction – that is, the things that sap our time and energy away from what really matters. Our text is Revelation 3:14-22.
1. THE LAODICEANS WERE LUKEWARM IN THEIR FAITH
Verse 16 describes the Laodiceans as “lukewarm.” Individual Christians may have escaped this divine evaluation, but it was the general characterization of this church in first-century Asia Minor. The esteemed preacher G. Campbell Morgan said, “Lukewarmness is the worst form of blasphemy”; certainly we can all agree that it is one of the worst. Would any of us visit a doctor who was lukewarm about diagnosis? Would we want to be defended by soldiers who were lukewarm about taking orders? Would any of us care to coach an athlete who is lukewarm about training? A lukewarm Christian should be a contradiction in terms. The vivid vomiting vignette of verse 16 is our Savior’s response to this tepidness. It grieves me to think that I might be making Jesus sick (I say this with reverence and with the knowledge that I cannot change Him and make Him literally ill).
2. IN PART, THIS LUKEWARMNESS DERIVED FROM DISTRACTION
The city of Laodicea was known for its wealth. It was the banking center of the region. It was also noted for its textiles (especially a type of black wool) and medicine (particularly a famous eyesalve). These riches are the background to Jesus’ insightful indictment of verses 17-18. He offers faith’s “gold” instead of fool’s gold: He promises the blessing of a purified, strengthened faith (verse 19). Instead of fancy and costly garments of the world’s finest black wool, Jesus offers “white raiment” – His righteousness (as symbolized in Luke 9:29b – “His raiment was white and glistering”). Rather than improved eyesight, He offers spiritual clarity, spiritual vision. Have you ever wondered how it is that you can see the truth of Jesus Christ? This vision comes from His application of His “eyesalve”: in other words, we “see” because He makes Himself plain to us. Unfortunately, many of the Laodiceans were distracted by the “riches and pleasures of this life” (Luke 8:14) that we studied last week. What is our fool’s gold? What is our black wool? What is our temporary eyesalve? Our distractions may not be as simple and physical as these, but the principle holds: anything can become a distraction from the things that matter.
3. AS ALWAYS, THE REAL PROBLEM IS THE CONDITION OF THE HEART
There are three categories of spiritual temperatures (verses 15-16). “Cold” is not good (Matthew 24:12 – “Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold”), but a cold heart can be “strangely warmed” (as John Wesley recorded about his conversion to Christianity). “Hot” is obviously great; maintaining that heat is challenging and requires constant fuel. A “lukewarm “heart is deceptive: it “sayest” (verse 17) that all is fine spiritually, but there is no strength of conviction. John Bunyan wrote, “A heart without words is ten thousand times better than words without a heart.” An “honest and good heart” (Luke 8:15, from last week’s message) is a grand gift from our God and should be cherished as such. The wise Christian takes Proverbs 4:23 seriously: “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” Let us make every effort to avoid being distracted from the important matters in life.
CONCLUSION – A comparison/contrast with the church at Smyrna is instructive (Revelation 2:8-9a). Materially, they were noted for their “poverty,” but Jesus calls them spiritually “rich,” strong in doctrine and serious about keeping God’s compassionate commandments. This divine assessment cannot be challenged. Jesus’ words in Mark 8:36-37 speak directly to this issue: “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” Any movement toward the “world” is a distraction that moves us away from our Savior. Christians cannot be distracted to death (spiritual death, or eternal separation form God). However, we can be distracted to distraction. We have choices ahead of us until Jesus returns. May we choose spiritual values, spiritual virtues, spiritual vision.