Hot or Cold

Revelation 3:14-22

The book of Revelation is an account of things witnessed by John while imprisoned on the island of Patmos. The title in Greek is Apokalypsis Ioannou, “Revelation of John.” It is also commonly called the Apocalypse, which is a transliteration of the word apokalypsis, meaning “unveiling,” “disclosure,” or “revelation.” A better title for the book, however, comes from the first verse: Apokalypsis Iesou Christou, “Revelation of Jesus Christ.”
John was exiled to the island prison because of his testimony for Christ. Patmos was a small, volcanic island in the Aegean Sea where the Romans would banish political prisoners. During this time, Romans were beginning to openly persecute the early church.

v. 14 Jesus wanted each church to know without a doubt who was the true author of Revelation. From the introduction, we can learn a lot about the person of Christ:

Amen—it is so; so be it
Christ bears witness to the glory and power of God and also intercedes on behalf of His disciples
Christ was, is, and always will be in existence. Without Him, nothing without Him, nothing was made that was made. (Jn 1:3)

v. 15&16 Our lives do not go unnoticed. God knows everything we say and do…even before we do it. The Laodicean church was luke warm, therefore Jesus said He would spew them out of His mouth. The Bible states firmly that nothing can separate us from the love of God or His grace, but when we won’t give ourselves over fully to Christ, we will often find ourselves on our own.

v. 17 Because of man’s sinful nature, he does not realize that he is a wretched being. We are tricked by Satan into believing that we do not need a thing—that we can make it on our own. He tells us we are rich when we are poor, happy when we are miserable, and that we can see when we are really blind.

v. 18 Jesus offers us everything that the devil wants us to think we already have. With these gifts, we truly have everything we need.

v. 19 As a gardener prunes his plants, so does the Lord shape and mold His followers. Being a child of God is not a guarantee of an easy life, but all things work for the good of those who love the Lord.

v. 20-22 Christ’s invitation is open to all. We only have to open the door, and Christ will come into our lives.

When we are on fire for the Lord, there is nothing we cannot accomplish. Lukewarm christians not only aren’t effective for Christ, they also drag other christians down with back-biting, division, and uncommitment. Christ said that He’d rather us be on fire for Him or not even associate ourselves with His name at all.