← ArchiveDeep RootsJesus Wants to Use You to Change the WorldDateMay 2, 2021SpeakerDr Josh BurnhamText—Passages in this sermonRevelation 35:10TranscriptMachine transcribed. Click any line to jump there.0:00Thank you. It's good to see everyone today.0:30If you don't know who I am, my name is Josh Burnham, lead pastor here at Bethel, and I have the joy today of bringing the Word of Christ to you. So if you have your Bibles, go ahead and join me in the last book of the Bible, Revelation. If you don't have a Bible, feel free to join us on your electronic device. And we also have Bibles in the pew in your seat if you would like to join us there.0:55Revelation, as we do, I wanted to remind you why we gather as a church. We gather here because of Jesus Christ, because of the gospel. It's a Greek word that means good news. It was good news thousands of years ago, and it's good news today. Simply it's this, the gospel is Jesus in your place. Jesus in your place. That's why we gather.1:24We don't gather to feel better about ourselves. We don't gather so we'll be spiritual people. We gather because Jesus died on the cross to change our lives forever. I don't know about you, but that's good news for people like me. And that is why we do what we do. And the joy of gathering together is I've seen people today that I haven't seen in a year. We've had people that I saw today that have not been back since March.1:51So if you're new, if you are renewed, if you're watching online, can we just thank them for coming again? I had one of our, she won't mind me for saying this, I hope, senior ladies. That's her classification, not mine. She said, this is the longest I've been without going to church in my life. Back for the first time today. You know who you are, and what a joy it is to see friends back gathered again together.2:18We've been answering the question for the last several weeks. After Easter, Jesus rose from the dead. Now what? And we saw earlier that worship is vital for your soul. And Pastor Jared shared a couple weeks ago how community, being in community helps you grow deep roots of faith. And last week we saw that discipleship is needed for our growth.2:44Really, Christianity without discipleship is Christianity without Jesus. And today we're going to see this, that Jesus gives you deep roots to change the world. Jesus gives you deep roots to change the world. So before we jump into the Word, let me share with you what I did this week. I was looking for vacation homes, retirement homes. And I found one in Ashkissar, Turkey.3:13So I want to, my wife doesn't have any clue that I've been looking for vacation homes. So, welcome to my plan, dear. So I found a vacation home in Ashkissar, Turkey. It's in western Turkey. It's just north of the Mediterranean Sea. And it's due south of the Black Sea. Phenomenal location. At one time, this area had a thriving commercial center. So much so that Cicero would go and he would cash his checks, his debt payments in this city.3:43It was known as a commercial financial district. It had a world-famous medical complex. In this area, they were known for creating a salve for the eyes that would cure blindness. In Ashkissar, also, it had a thriving manufacturing center. They were known for producing and weaving black wool. The urban legend was that the sheep would get their dark wool because of the water they drank.4:12I don't know. But it was well known. This church was also, or this location was also known for its church. Many think that the Christians began in Ashkissar, Turkey, from the third missionary journey of Paul himself. And Jesus knew this church personally. How do I know that? Because we're going to read a letter to this church. Now, you might be thinking, well, I don't know any scriptures to Ashkissar, Turkey.4:39Well, the ancient name for this town was Laodicea. So, we're going to read today the letter to Jesus to my future retirement home.5:01Right now, the village has around 2,000 people. And I have 2,004 when I buy my house. Revelation 3, this is the town, the church in Ashkissar. This is the church of Laodicea. Revelation 3, it's the last book of the Bible, verse 14. Write to the angel of the church in Laodicea. Thus says the amen, the faithful and true witness,5:32the originator of God's creation, Jesus. This is Jesus speaking. He says, I know your works. You are neither hot or cold. I wish that you were cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I am going to vomit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich. I have become wealthy and I need nothing.6:00And you don't realize that you are wretched. You're pitiful, poor, blind, and naked. I advise you to buy from me gold refined in the fire so that you may be rich. White clothes that you may be dressed and your shameful nakedness not be exposed. An ointment to spread on your eyes so that you may see.6:29As many as I love, I rebuke and discipline. So be zealous and repent. See, church, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him. I will eat with him and he with me. To the one who conquers, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne. Just as I also conquered and sat down with my father on his throne.6:59Let anyone hears. Listen to what the spirit says to the churches. Let's pray. Father, we thank you that thousands of years ago, you wrote a personal handwritten note to a church of Laodicea. And Lord, you wrote it to them because you love them.7:27And Lord, those you love, you discipline. So right now, Father, would you open our hearts to hear your love. Lord, may we not be okay with standing still. May we understand as the church of Laodicea, Lord, heard. That you have given us deep roots of faith to change the world. Lord, may we hear and do because of your goodwill.7:59Lord, we thank you for loving us as you say you do. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Richard Stearns of World Vision described the letters to the churches of Revelation this way. World Vision is an organization that helps the needy across this globe. And he says this. He said, If the book of Revelation were written today,8:28and there was a letter to the church in America, I think it would decry the fact that our materialism and wealth have deafened our ears and blinded our eyes to the causes of those who are in need. And listen to what Jesus says in verse 22. Let anyone who has ears listen. And this founder of World Vision, it's interesting, before he was the CEO of World Vision,8:56he was the CEO of Lennox, the fine China manufacturer. And he's saying to the church, listen, if a letter was written to us today, this might be the letter because many of us are so concerned about our little world that we have neglected the needs of others in the world. We often, like the church of Laodicea, have felt like in our minds that we are rich and we don't need anything.9:23So as we unpack that, may you see yourself in this letter. Every letter, seven letters to the churches of Revelation have a different title for Jesus Christ. And it's interesting because the title given for Jesus in each letter sets the stage for the content of the letter. So in this moment to the church of Laodicea, what have they received? This is Jesus writing and he says, remember that I am the amen.9:53I am the faithful one. I am the true witness. I am the originator of God's creation. I think it's a reminder in our lives that your legacy, that your impact in the world depends on the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. So your impact in the world. So when I talk about change the world, God wants you to change the world. Don't think that it's you.10:23The way that you change the world is to remind people of the one who is infinitely more faithful than you are, who is infinitely more true than you are. You're not sharing your message. You're sharing the message of Jesus that he gave to you to share. That gives me hope, guys. I don't have any words that will change your life. I have some jokes that might make you happy. I have some things I can say that will make you mad. But I don't have any personal words10:53that will change your eternity. But there is one who is the amen. There is one who is the faithful. There is one who is the originator of God's creation. And if we model that in our lives, others will see that they are loved and cherished. And if they repent, there's a better way. And this letter is a reminder too that Jesus is not only the faithful and true today,11:22he is also the faithful and true judge. That one day every single person will stand before the judge, Jesus Christ, and you will be judged in his faithfulness. That is the God that we serve. He judges the living and the dead. And so let me stop right here and just ask you, is your life a reflection of the one who is faithful? Is your life a reflection of the one who is true?11:52That's a difficult question to ask, isn't it? Because your mirror is the greatest testament in your life. Are you faithful? Have you been reflecting the one who is true, who is faithful? And you say, well, I don't know if I have been doing that. This letter reminds us that Jesus says this to you and to me.12:19Look at verse 15. He says, I know your works. Does that not terrify you like it terrifies me? Jesus says, I know you. I see what you put on social media, but you know what? I know your works. Jesus knows, as Frank shared earlier today,12:47and we did not plan this. Transparency. Jesus is the faithful and true, and he knows your life. And this should not just only cause turmoil in your soul to think, oh no, what have I done? Because everything I have done, Jesus knows. It should also say, Jesus, you know when I'm honoring you. Jesus, when no one else saw this, and I was cursed, but I chose to bless. Jesus, you saw that, didn't you?13:17Jesus, when there was someone in need, and I didn't have much, but I gave what I had, and no one saw. Jesus, you know. You see. He knows your works. And as we think about changing the world, Jesus knows who you are, and he knows you. It's interesting that this letter to Laodicea is the only letter where the church is fully castigated. Even Sardis, in chapter three, where Jesus calls them dead, there's still an ember there.13:48And so Jesus is about to remind them that if you don't change your ways, you're going to be ineffective and you're going to be useless. And I see the American church in this. If we don't change and fully live a dependent life on Jesus Christ, we will be ineffective for the kingdom. We will be ineffective.14:17So this is what Jesus says. He says, I know your works, guys. You're neither cold, and you're not hot either. Now, let me stop you there. I didn't tell you something about my vacation home. I gave you the benefits, but I didn't tell you the detriments. So there are two major issues with Askasar, Turkey. Over and over again, at least twice in its history, they have had major earthquakes that completely destroyed the city. The second issue with the town is there is no active fresh water source in the city itself.14:47But there's still hope, okay? So near the area, located 11 miles to the southeast of Laodicea, is a town near Mount Cadmus, down of Colossae. You might have heard of it. And in this town, they were known for their fresh, pure snow melt off the mountain. So around 11 miles from Laodicea was a town that had fresh, cold, wonderful water.15:17Several miles, actually four miles across the valley was the town of Hierapolis. And they were known, they had these wonderful salt springs. They were hot, medicinal springs. It was known for its healing qualities. So when you hear this, I've heard it taught in the past, what Jesus is saying, either get on board or be an atheist.15:43To not have faith, to be far from Christ, to be better in Christ. That's not what Jesus is saying. Jesus is saying, I want you to be cold, like the waters from the mountain that offer refreshments, that are useful. Or I want you to be hot, like the waters of Hierapolis, that you can sit in and that you can be refreshed. You can be rejuvenated and healed.16:13Jesus says, be hot or be cold, but do something. But because this church was unwilling to do either, they were a museum and not a house of worship. It was a place where unbelievers in the city had neither spiritual healing nor refreshment from the believers in Laodicea. They weren't cold and refreshing and they weren't healing.16:42They were just doing what they thought was best. And it's a reminder, listen, Christian, the world needs you. Jesus is saying to the church, people need you. Be cold, be refreshing. You have a message that is saving the lives of those that are running to hell. And Jesus is the answer. Refresh them, rejuvenate them. You have the answer in Jesus Christ for those that are broken and weary and need healing.17:13But church, be healing or be refreshing, but don't be lukewarm. Do something, be useful. The world needs you. It's possible to be useless. For the kingdom. And one of my greatest burdens as a pastor. I've been praying for you all week thinking of this.17:42Thinking for myself first and then praying for you. Listen, one of my greatest burdens is that many of you will get to heaven. And maybe I will be this person too. I'll get to heaven one day. And God's going to say, Josh, I wanted to do so much in your life. But you would only let me do this. There is so much talent and spiritual giftedness in this place. That God wants to use. And one of my burdens is that you're not letting the Lord use you.18:10I want God to do great things in you and through you. So that the world would see the refreshment that only God can bring. I believe that we have life group leaders who have tremendous talents sitting here and you're not being used. I believe that we have people that have a heart for children sitting in this room and you're not using it. And you're grumpy.18:40And you should be grumpy. Because you're not using the gift of God's spirit within you. I long for the day where there's not a foster system in the United States. Because Christians are opening their doors. And every child that needs a home has one. I long for the day where there's no more abortion. Because every parent who's thinking about making that decision says, you know what? There's a Christian that wants to adopt my child.19:09And there's another way. There's a better way. Can we give the world the refreshment they need? Can we bring the world the healing they need? Yes. Yes, you can. This is the power of Christ in us. And you might say, well, does it matter? Because I think this pew's pretty comfortable. I kind of like where I am. Listen to the words of Jesus. If you think it's okay to sit idle and do nothing for the kingdom,19:39listen to what Jesus says to the idle museum church. Can I read it in the King James for you? Okay, let me go King James on you for a second. It says this. I think I actually put it on the board for you. Jesus says in the King James. And I feel like I have to read it with an Austrian accent. I will spew thee out of my mouth. In my mind, Jesus has a Arnold Schwarzenegger accent there.20:09Think about the impact, though. If you're reading this and you're thinking, wow, Jesus is the amen, the faithful and the true. I know your works. This is awesome. You're neither hot nor cold. You're thinking, eh, it's not good. I wish that you were hot or cold. So because you are lukewarm, you're thinking, not so bad. Neither hot nor cold. I'm going to vomit you out of my mouth. If you think, church, if I think it is okay just being lukewarm for Jesus Christ, listen to what Jesus says.20:38He said, I will spew you out of my mouth. Jesus is not okay with you doing nothing because there are no useless people in the kingdom. There are no useless people. You think, well, I don't have any gifts. That is a lie from Satan. You have at least one the Spirit has given you and one gift from the Holy Spirit is worth a million from the world.21:04Use what God has given you. Jesus takes people who have no benefit and makes them useful eternally. Jesus takes people who are in the trash and says, I'm going to give you purpose. I'm going to change the world with you. Think about that. Be used for the kingdom.21:32And so maybe you just wonder today, well, how do I know if my spiritual temperature is not what it should be? Here's some checks. Here's a spiritual temperature check in your life today. The first is this. When you serve the church, when you serve other people, do you find joy? This is one thing that I've noticed in my life. The more I serve Jesus, the more joy I have when I serve Jesus and the more I want to serve Jesus.21:56Do you find joy when you serve your Savior through the local church and to the community? If you say, well, I have no joy, maybe you're lukewarm. If you say, well, I'm not serving anywhere, I'm not doing anything much for the kingdom, maybe you're lukewarm. And that can change today because Jesus doesn't want you to stay in your lukewarmness.22:26Do people come to you with questions of faith? When people are broken and hurting, do they find refreshment? Do they come to you? Do you say, well, no, they don't. Well, why not? May you be a person that brings refreshment and healing to others. Maybe you're lukewarm today.22:55Does the hurting find refuge in your care? Are you someone when your neighbor, when your family, when your co-workers have a need, that they come to you? And of all the people in the world, they come to you. You say, no, I don't have anyone. Maybe that's because you're lukewarm right now. And Jesus in this moment is asking you to turn and repent and change your life.23:20To change your life for good. If you're lukewarm today, then I have this question for you. Maybe you say, well, I am dry. I am lukewarm. A man named Volvord said this. He said, there is no one further from the truth of Christ than the one who makes an idle profession without real faith.23:43You know what keeps me awake at night as a pastor? Thinking there are people who sit here every week and you have made an idle profession without real faith. If that's you, can I just share, you're not a Christian. I get that you're a member of Bethel, but you're not a Christian. And I'm sorry that you think you're a Christian because you're a member here.24:11Forgive us. I would rather you get mad at me and give your life to Jesus and go to heaven than you sit here happy and go to hell. Because membership at Bethel is not going to get you to the gates of heaven. But would you find refreshments? Would you find true healing? That does not come through any baptism or any membership or anything else that you can find in this world.24:37It only comes through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. And God has not created you to be lukewarm. Church, may we find refreshment. So here's the solution. I'm not going to leave you here today with no solution. Look at verse 17. After Jesus says, I'm going to spit you out of my mouth. I don't use the word vomit in the sermon often. So I get to use that today.25:07After Jesus says, I will vomit you. Why? Because you say I'm rich. I become wealthy and need nothing. Let me tell you about this church. Remember I said my retirement community, they were known as a financial sector. They were. So much so that in AD 60, an earthquake had destroyed Laodicea. They had enough money that they rebuilt on their own without any penny from Rome.25:33So this city said to Rome, we don't need your help. We have enough. And unfortunately, the church said to Jesus Christ, Jesus, we can do it on our own. We have enough. May that not ever be said of us that we do not need Jesus Christ. Church, may it never be said of us that we have enough resources, that we have enough talent,26:01that we have enough processes, that we have enough programs, that we don't need Jesus. If the Holy Spirit's not here, what we're doing is in vain. And I want to leave here every Sunday and we say, Lord, if you weren't here, we didn't do anything. I don't care how many people were here. I don't care what was given.26:30I don't care what lights we had. Lord, if your spirit was not in us and among us, it was useless. I don't want to be lukewarm. And this is what Jesus says. He says to the wealthy who say, you don't need anything. He says, you don't even realize that you're wretched, that you're poor. Remember I said my Laodicea were rich. Remember what I said about the medical complex?27:00They developed eye salve that was world known to cure blindness. Look what Jesus says to the city. He says, you don't realize it, but you are, you're blind. You remember about the manufacturing district I said was known for its dark wool that people would flock to Laodicea and find this wonderful fabric. Jesus says to the church, you don't realize it, but you're naked. Again, another word I don't use often in the sermon.27:30So if you came here thinking, I bet you the pastor, Pastor Bingo is going to use vomit and naked in a sermon today. You win. But Jesus is telling us, he's telling the church, I don't care how much money you have, without me you're poor. I don't care how good your health care is, Birmingham, without Jesus, you're blind. I don't care how much manufacturing, I don't care if the world flocks to you for your wool.28:00If you don't have Jesus Christ, you're naked, you're living in shame. But there is a solution. Look what Jesus says. He says, so I advise you. That's a financial word, isn't it? Hey, financial district, go to the best financial advisor you'll ever know. Jesus says, I advise you, buy from me gold refined in the fire.28:27So how, what's the solution to being lukewarm? And I think there are periods of all of our lives where you go through moments of dryness in your devotion. Listen, that's my life, unless you're not like me. There are moments where I wake up and the birds are singing and I say, Jesus, thank you for sending the bird to wake me up today. And the sun is shining from the east because our windows face east. And I say, Lord, thank you for creation is waking up and they are glorifying you.28:56God, thank you. And then there are moments of dryness in my life where I hear that bird and I say, God, if I could shoot that bird right now, I would shoot him. I don't know what type of bird. I don't know if he's on the protected list, but Lord, he's dead. And there are days where the sun comes up and I think, really, again? And Jesus in those moments said, Josh, I didn't call you to be lukewarm.29:26I know you're dry today, but if you would recognize your need, if you would come back to me, if you would buy gold that I give you, you will find, refresh it. And I'm so thankful that God doesn't leave you in your dryness. He doesn't leave you lukewarm. He didn't say you're naked, you're poor, you're blind, you're pitiful, you're wretched. Good luck. Jesus doesn't do that.29:55Look what he says. He says, I advise you buy from me. Here's what's so interesting. The church located in the financial district was spiritually penniless. The church located in the place where they developed the Phrygian powder to heal blindness was blind. The church that had beautiful, dark wool was naked. And Jesus says, return to me. You know the power of this gold?30:27How much money do you need to buy gold from Jesus Christ? You can't purchase it. You receive it by faith. Jesus is saying to those who are wealthy today, no matter how wealthy you become, you receive gold refined from Jesus the same way the poorest person in the world receives it.30:51By faith. Because it is a gift of God. That gives me such great joy. That gives me such great hope. Lord, that I don't have to keep striving. And so the harder I work, I can buy more gold and I can put that in my treasure chest to one day buy my retirement home in Turkey. Jesus says, Josh, it doesn't work that way.31:24But if you come to me again today by faith, I will give you this gold that is refined. And so if you find yourself dry and lukewarm, would you again recognize your need and return to Jesus? There's not a single day in your life where you don't need grace. There's not a single day in your life where you don't need this gold. It is accepted by faith. And Jesus again says this.31:53It's a cultural metaphor. He says those who are naked, he says, buy from me not dark woolly clothes, but what type of robes? White robes. He's saying, church, you can't buy this, but you can receive it. These white robes is a picture that Jesus takes your place. It's a picture of true sufficiency. You see, the dark wool of Laodicea was purchased by self-sufficiency.32:20The white robes of Jesus are purchased by dependency on the Messiah. And then he says this. I will give you ointment to spread on your eyes that you may see. You see, you don't realize it, church, but you're spiritually blind. But there's a way that you can see. And Jesus Christ will open your eyes.32:46So how do we, how do we read this and live it out? Jesus reminds, even though this letter was harsh in verse 19, he says, as many as I love, I rebuke and discipline. It's Jesus' way of saying this to you. He's not okay leaving you as you are today. Everyone has something to prune off.33:13Now, some of you have, some of you are more prickly than others. Right here, case number one. But Jesus is saying, but Josh, I'm not through with you yet. I'm still pruning. I'm still working. I'm still making you cool and refreshing. I'm still making you hot and healing. I want to be zealous for God and repent. That's the solution.33:43The solution is to recognize our need and to run from him, to him daily, daily, and daily. So how do we live this out? I never, church, I never want to get over my salvation. I don't know about you, but when this gets old, I'm done. Send me to Turkey. One-way ticket. I'm going to enjoy it. But I never want to get over the best news that I ever heard in my life.34:10The news that Jesus died for sinners like me. For the self-righteous. For the self-made. And even people like that can find gold that you can't buy, but you can receive by faith. And so if you're lukewarm today, would you, would you repent and run to Jesus? Would he again open your blind eyes?34:42Would you find clothes that would take your shame and your guilt away? Church, I'm not okay being lukewarm. I don't want to hear. Josh, I need to vomit you out of my mouth. I don't want to hear that. And I don't want to, I don't want you to hear that. I want God to do something in us today. And I envision the day in our lives where we have too many life group leaders, where we have too many people serving with our infants, where we have too many people greeting at the doors, where we have too many deacons, where we have too many care team members, where we have too many prayer partners, where there's no need for foster systems.35:08And abortion is no need for foster care. And abortion is no need for foster care. And everything the world struggles with, it is finished. Because the people of God stand up and say, I'm tired of being lukewarm.35:35May we refresh the world. May we heal the world. That is the message of Jesus Christ. If you find yourself sitting idle and you're not doing anything for the kingdom, would that change today? And maybe you say, well, I want to serve. I want to make a difference. I don't know where. If you'd fill out that Green Connect card. If you just say, I don't know. We'll get back to you.36:04And I tell all of our new members, it's my job as a pastor to tell you to serve, but it's not my job to tell you where. That's the Holy Spirit's work. And he's a better guy than I can ever be. But I know there's a place for you. And I know when you serve through the power of the Holy Spirit, things happen. People who are dry find refreshments. People who are cold find warmth and healing. Maybe you need to come to the altar today and maybe you just need to pray and say, God, I'm tired of being sick and tired.36:31As I've been praying today, one thing that God has impressed upon me, I've had this note on my desk. It's a list of people in my life. I've had it on my desk since January. You can't read my handwriting anyway, so I don't care if I hold it up. This is my six-year-old soccer team. This is my nine-year-old soccer team. And this is my D group. Maybe the way you can make a difference is just come to the altar and pray.37:01And say, God, if no one else is praying, it's me. God, marriages are falling apart. If no one else is praying, I'll do it. Would you make a difference? Don't be useless. Because there are no useless people in the kingdom. And if you're here today and you have never given your life to Jesus Christ, would today be the day? Don't forget what Jesus says to the church.37:33For the Christian verse, he says, He says, see, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come to him and eat and he with me. Would you run to Jesus? Would you hear his voice, church? And if you've never given your life to Jesus, would you know that he's calling you today? That he died on the cross for you. To take your place, to forgive you of your sin, to take your shame and your guilt.38:01You say, well, how do I give my life to Christ? Run from yourself and run to him. Jesus calls that repentance. And maybe today for the first time you need to pray a prayer like this and say, Jesus, I've been lukewarm and I don't know you. Would you forgive me? I believe you are who you say you are. I believe you died on the cross for me.38:30I believe you rose again for me. And Jesus, today I believe you have called me. So today I say yes. Would you do that? Because we believe what the Bible says. That whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. And there are no useless people in the kingdom. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for a harsh word.38:58Father, we thank you for a harsh word.← Previous in Deep RootsJesus Gives You Deep Roots
