Therefore be zealous and repent

Revelation 3:7-22 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:

He who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens, says this:

⁸ ‘I know your deeds. Behold, I have put before you an open door which no one can shut, because you have a little power, and have kept My word, and have not denied My name. ⁹ Behold, I will cause those of the synagogue of Satan, who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and make them know that I have loved you. ¹⁰ Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. ¹¹ I am coming quickly; hold fast what you have, so that no one will take your crown. ¹² He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name. ¹³ He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

¹⁴ “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:

The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this:

¹⁵ ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. ¹⁶ So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. ¹⁷ Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, ¹⁸ I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. ¹⁹ Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent. ²⁰ Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. ²¹ He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. ²² He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”

Certainly the world and unfortunately many in the church measure things differently than God. We tend to equate success and the blessing of God with numbers. We esteem large builidngs, large membership roles and large budgets. We equate or even worse substitute quantity with quality. In the text it says:    Because you have a little power, and have kept My word, and have not denied My name. Behold, I will cause those of the synagogue of Satan, who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and make them know that I have loved you. Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.  It is better to have a little of the power of God than an excess of natural or human power.  In Matthew 17:20 Jesus says:  “Truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.”  Our power is based not on the size or the quantity of our faith, but rather it is based on and derived from the object of our faith.   In Matthew 16:13-19 it says:  Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” He aid to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”    The keys to the kingdom of heaven are ours in the foundation that Jesus is the Christ. It is believing in Him which gives us power. A little of the power of God is greater than any other power in the universe.  

The text says:  “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this:  ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot.  So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth.  Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; 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 will dine with him, and he with Me. He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down 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.’”    Most people are probably familiar with the analogy of the frog and the pan of water. If you put a frog in extremely hot water it will quickly jump out so that it does not burn. If though, you put the frog in a pan of luke warm water, it will rest comfortably. If the temperature is slowly raised, even when it comes to the point of boiling, the frog will not have recognized the danger and will die, unable to escape the danger because of the comfort. Surely that is an accurate analogy of the world today concerning immorality and sin. What is now being viewed as normal alternate behavior would have been considered grossly deviate a short time ago. Unfortunately this is true not only of the world, but of much of the church as well. What would have previously caused people to jump up and shout is now deeply entrenched in our culture and society and is even being presented to our children as right. Like the frog we have become so immune to the increasing danger that we don’t even notice we are dying.  The Lord says:  Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent.  There is still time for the church and even the world to repent and turn to God, but the temperature is rising. In Deuteronomy 32:22 God said:  A fire is kindled in My anger, And shall burn to the lowest hell; It shall consume the earth with her increase, And set on fire the foundations of the mountains.  God did not tolerate the immorality of past generations, as witnessed in the days of Noah and the judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah.  Surely the fire of His wrath is nearly kindled. 2 Peter 3:7;10 says:  By His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men… But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.  Now the Lord says:  Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; 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 will dine with him, and he with Me. He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down 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.’”   

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit; thank You for Your word which warns and exhorts Your people. Thank You for Your discipline and reproval; a sign of Your great love. I open the door to You that I might dine with You and walk with You; that I might sit at Your throne; the throne of grace where there is help for every need.  Amen.