CPR FOR THE DYING LAODECIAN
The Answer:
“Christ Our Righteousness”
A temcat study
“The central theme of the Bible, the theme about which every other in
the whole book clusters, is the redemption plan, the restoration in human soul
of the image of God. From the first intimation of hope in the sentence
pronounced in Eden to that last glorious promise of the Revelation, "They
shall see His face; and His name shall be in their foreheads" (Revelation
22:4), the burden of every book and every passage of the Bible is the
unfolding of this wondrous theme,—man's uplifting,—the power of God,
"which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 1
Corinthians 15:57." Education pg. 125
So whenever we
read the Bible we need to keep in mind that everything written there has to do
with our redemption in some way. We err when we just view the Bible as a
collection of abstract, unrelated history, stories and prophecies from the past.
As we study the Laodecian message today, we want to see how it applies not only
to all of us today but to each of us on an individual, personal level.
“And
unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write;”
It’s
interesting that in Tyndale’s translation it says ‘Messenger of the
congregation’ This is more accurate to the original meaning.
“These things
saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of
God;”
Jesus was the
source of all creation, He was the one who created. Why is He emphasizing that
He is ‘faithful and true’? Because he is about to tell them something which
they don’t believe and can’t discern themselves and they need to accept His
word for it that it is true. He’s saying “I won’t lie to you!”
“I
know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or
hot. So then because thou art
lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.”
Their ways are
disgusting to Him. It is interesting and shocking to see that the message to the
previous church, Philadelphia, (Revelation 3:7, this was the early Advent movement) had
no rebuke given to it. Jesus had no bad thing to say about them and now only a
few years later here is Laodecia of which He has nothing good that He can say
about it—What a terrible contrast!
Take note also
that lukewarmness is a very sad state of affairs to be in—it’s OK physically,
but spiritually it is horrible. You see being lukewarm to God means being
indifferent to Him. The worse insult you can give to anyone is to ignore him, to
pretend that he just isn’t important to you at all. Even being angry with
someone is not such an insult as ignoring them, this way you say that it’s not
important to you that they even exist, they are meaningless to you. They don’t
care about what God cares about.
“Because
thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and
knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and
naked:”
They
Feel OK—in fact they feel GREAT! But
are really a mess—and can’t see it! Here is self-righteousness in all its
glory. They have everything they need. They don’t need rebuke or correction;
they need no one to tell them anything—they have it all! We can see this
attitude clearly today and most have seen it even in their own hearts. The
tendency to look at the organization and institutions and ‘swell with pride’
over these external things is the same as the disciples in Jesus’ day when
they said, “See what manner of buildings are here!”
They are full of
pride and self satisfaction, they feel they couldn’t be any better and yet
they couldn’t be worse off in the sight of God. What a terrible state of
affairs. Even Jesus, who always compliments where ever He possibly can, can’t
say any compliment about them.
“I
counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and
white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and [that] the shame of thy
nakedness (Tyndale says, ‘filthy nakedness’) do not appear; and anoint thine
eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.”
This shows the
love of Jesus, He is so tender and kind and loving. He is looking at these
people and they are in such a terrible state and what does He say? Does He say;
“Oh, I’m finished, I’m not even going to try to do anything with you
guys!” No, He says, “I counsel thee.”
They need
the remedies from the heavenly merchantman.
Gold tried in the
fire; The Faith and Love of Jesus!
This
is not Faith and Love per se; it is Jesus' own faith and love that was tried and
proven in the fires of affliction when He walked this earth. Satan dogged His
steps and tried in every way to get Him to fail but Satan lost! This Faith and
Love has been
proven and NEVER failed. He offers it to us, as we have none ourselves—this is
the best faith and love—it is proven and we can depend on it. Jesus conquered
every discouragement and temptation that we could ever be faced with and He gives
us His victory.
White raiment;
Jesus’ spotless character!
Eyesalve;
Spiritual discernment and teaching from the Holy Spirit!
Now, notice He
says, “Buy of me.” We have nothing—so how do we buy from Him? We simply
have to surrender self; completely surrender our wretched selves to Him, this is
the only way this heavenly merchandise can be obtained.
Real spiritual
discernment only come to those who have surrendered fully to Christ and truly
been born again. The Holy Spirit works with us as closely as He can and if we
only surrender a little bit—He can only work with us a little bit. To be
totally Spirit filled and Spirit led and taught, we must be totally surrendered.
“As many as I
love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.”
Here He is
saying, “I’m telling you this because I love you!” How can He love
creatures like this? But He does. Here’s something so encouraging in this;
“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 will sup with him, and he with me.”
As human beings,
if we knew somebody who was as horrible, obnoxious and also indifferent to us,
would we want to go visit them? Certainly not! But here is Jesus, tenderly
knocking and even calling out; “I’m here, I want to help you, I want to have
loving fellowship with you. Any one of you—I’ll come in, just open to Me!”
Notice also that this message is the only one addressed specifically to
individuals—there is no hope that the whole congregation will repent, He is
calling out to the individuals, If Any Man! No willing one will be overlooked.
This is a comfort as the faithful feel so alone at times these days. This is
such a beautiful promise, Jesus has to come in, there is no hope if we keep Him
out.
To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as
I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the
churches.”(Congregations)
Understanding
Victory
“I will come in
to him.”
Christ
in us–the hope of glory—that is what the Loud Cry is. God’s Law is His
Character—we must obey it to live, but we can’t because we have No
Righteousness of our own; None at all! No human on the face of this earth can be
saved without a one-on-one relationship with Jesus and the Holy Spirit who will
teach you everything and will teach you how to totally quit sinning, something
no human can do. Christ kept the Law perfectly and when we surrender to
Him, He gives that perfect obedience to us, in exchange for our wretchedness.
Notice, this is
not just a credit to us of something that we don’t really have—He really
gives it to us! He was tempted in all points like as we are but NEVER fell or
sinned, His Victory is given to you if you choose to have it. When temptation
comes, we have to choose, will I go the way my feelings are taking me? OR—Will
I realize that this is Satan’s temptation to take me away from my safety in
Christ and so choose Jesus’ Victory and see that temptation vanish through the
power of the indwelling Christ.
Remember the
story Jesus told of the debtor that owed a tremendous amount to the creditor?
The Bible says he had NOTHING to pay. Now how much is nothing? Could he invest
it and hope gradually to earn interest and so pay the debt? No—He had nothing!
No hope of ever paying at all. This is how we are with the Law. It is our
creditor. We owe it our lives and we have nothing to pay. Even our best deeds
are only filthy rags. Before any real change can occur in anyone’s life, he
must realize this. This is what it means to fall on the Rock and be broken. As
long as we still feel that in some way we can ‘make ourselves good’ or
‘just develop the good that is in us’, we will never know the power of God
to recreate in us Jesus’ life.
Also when
temptation comes, if we begin at all to excuse it, saying, “Oh, it’s not
that important” “Just this once won’t matter,” or “Well if that person
did that to me, they deserve me to do this to them!” As soon as we begin to
excuse sin, we will fall. Remember, they crucified my Lord, and He never
retaliated except with loving forgiveness! That kind of mind, He offers to give
to us. His Loving, victorious heart and mind.
Desire for the
things of this world will go, only as we are ‘willing to be made willing’.
God pleads but never forces and His power comes in only as we want it and choose
to have it. We must really desire to have the Victory, and seek God with all our
heart and He will certainly be found and satisfy our every need. The miracle of
re-creation will be ours as we surrender and choose to have it done for us.
Never forget—this is a life and death matter! It is not a game.
The following are
some thoughts in regards to recovery from the Laodecian disease. These are not
to be regarded as another series of ‘works’ or magic formulas that if you do
this then something will happen, no—Surrender is the only way! There are a
million ‘works’ related plans in the church and the world—‘steps’ to
take, ‘ladders’ to climb, ‘plans’ to follow, ‘programs’ to carry
out. It is all so much man made garbage—only complete, total repentance and
surrender will save you! These
suggestions relate to surrender:
1. Admit it!
God doesn’t lie—so even if you can’t see it, believe it and admit it. Realize that when
God says something, it is TRUE and He means what He says! Also He is ‘no
respecter of persons’; what does that mean? It means that He is just as
willing to do something for you, as He is to do it for anyone else! Yes, just as
willing to save and help you, as He was to help Daniel, Joseph, David or John!
The Power that worked for them is just a willing to work for you.
Admitting the truth of this message, that I am poor, blind, miserable and naked,
admitting it in your heart and before God in your prayer, causes a change of
attitude in the believer. It begins to open up the mind to spiritual reality.
2. Repent and ask
for help to see: Plead before God—realize it is a matter of Life or Death! Ask
for the personal teacher, The Holy Spirit to teach you. Repentance is a most
misunderstood part of the salvation process. People seem to think that once they
are baptized then everything that happened in the past is just to be forgotten,
I’m forgiven and that’s the end of it. Take a look at these inspired
counsels:
“At every advance step in Christian experience our repentance will
deepen. It is to those whom the Lord has forgiven, to those whom He
acknowledges as His people, that He says, "Then shall ye remember your
own evil ways, and your doings that were not good, and shall loathe
yourselves in your own sight." Ezekiel 36:31. Again He says, "I will
establish My covenant with thee, and thou shalt know that I am the Lord; that
thou mayest remember, and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more
because of thy shame, when I am pacified toward thee for all that thou hast
done, saith the Lord God." Ezekiel 16:62, 63. Then our lips will not be opened
in self-glorification. We shall know that our sufficiency is in Christ alone. We
shall make the apostle's confession our own. "I know that in me (that is,
in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing." Romans 7:18. "God forbid that I
should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world
is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." Galations 6:14." Christ's Object
Lessons pg. 160
“So will it be with all who behold Christ. The nearer we come to Jesus,
and the more clearly we discern the purity of His character, the more clearly
shall we see the exceeding sinfulness of sin, and the less shall we feel like
exalting ourselves. There will be a continual reaching out of the soul after
God, a continual, earnest, heartbreaking confession of sin and humbling of the
heart before Him. At every advance step in our Christian experience our
repentance will deepen. We shall know that our sufficiency is in Christ alone
and shall make the apostle's confession our own: "I know that in me (that
is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing." "God forbid that I should
glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is
crucified unto me, and I unto the world." Romans 7:18; Galatians 6:14." The Acts of the
Apostles pg. 561
You see, by bringing to our remembrance our
sins of the past, we are taught by the Holy Spirit to become more humble and
realize more fully the mercy of God to save such a one as we are. This spirit of
gratitude and humility is what is of great value with God; this is a
‘contrite’ heart. It is directly opposite to the proud, self-sufficient Laodecian. It is sad that so many
think when thoughts of some past sin come into their minds that this is the
devil and should be rejected. Yes, if the thoughts tell you there is no hope and
you can not be forgiven, then reject them. But many times the Holy Spirit brings
things to us for different reasons—to deepen repentance; to teach more lessons;
to show us things that still need to be made right; to help us understand
present trials; to remind us of the pit whence we were dug; and many other
things. Even in heaven the saints, although they won’t then remember their
sins, will always be humble because they will always remember they needed a Saviour.
3. Immersion
Course: Surround yourself with scripture—read and listen to as much as possible.
It is helpful to obtain at least the KJV New Testament on audiotapes or CDs. The ones
read by Alexander Scourby are the best and can be bought at Amazon.com or Christian Bible stores. Or read it to yourself and record it on
audiocassettes. Play the Gospels and listen to them as much as you can, when you
drive or work. Get a portable player and listen while you ride busses or walk. Keep
praying for the Holy Spirit to enlighten your understanding.
4. Get control of
worldly entertainment: Chuck the games; Ditch the movies; Turn off the TV! YES—Even the news! The news on the media is only what the controlling powers want
you to know—it is often distorted, and slanted to twist and manipulate your
thinking and opinions. The Vatican ultimately controls all media, including that
source of infinite filth and corruption, Hollywood. Don’t believe me? Well why
is it that every religious scene ever shown in movies is always Catholic unless
the story is something negative about religion and then it is always Protestant!
Why is it that you will never see an outdoor scene in a movie where you do not
at some point see some nuns strolling past? They made a deal with Hollywood long
before real Christians even recognized its threat. When you have the Holy Spirit
teaching you and dwelling in you and are in the school of Christ—you will know
the news—the real news!
5. Check diet and
health habits: Are you obeying as much of the health reform as you know?
Remember Daniel 1 is on health reform. Why? Because you can’t learn in the
school of Jesus if you don’t adhere to the light on diet and clean living.
That was a prophetic book, in it Jesus was going to be showing us
prophecies to the end of time—that are being fulfilled right now! You can’t
indulge carnal appetite and still understand spiritual things—It’s
impossible. No Health reform—No Revival.
6. Get into SOP:
Read Great Controversy and Desire of Ages first at least 1 chapter per day. Apply what you
read to yourself today. Think about the parallels between the church back then
and the church today and how they are following the exact same path! Always ask
for Holy Spirit’s guidance and teaching to show you personally what you must
know.
Other important books in SOP are; Thoughts From the
Mount of Blessing; Christ’s Object
Lessons; Early Writings
helps to understand more about the SOP; Steps to Christ
and Sanctified Life. You can also get Spirit of Prophecy books on cassette tape
and listen to them as the Bible above.
Get up early!
Private devotion is your lifeline to God. Get the older Spirit of Prophecy Books
if possible and you will find them containing much insight and power.
“Spiritual Gifts” and the original “Spirit of Prophecy” set
are a wonderful read. You will also
find the Testimonies to the Church to be a goldmine. Always pray for guidance,
take what you read as personal for you and as you learn repent—confess where you
were wrong and pray for Christ to put into practice in your life what you learn.
Pray for Self to be crucified and Jesus to reign in you and place His
righteousness on you and in you.
7. Stop
Compromising: You can’t serve two sides—even ‘small’ compromises can sever
you from the power of God to recreate you. Watch your appearance, attitudes and
conversation. Remember the Holy Beings that you want to be with you are
offended by silliness or impurity.
8. Check your
Home and belongings: Pray to see anything that could be a snare to you or an
invitation to Satan to hang around you. Remove all—videos, games, music,
magazines, book or novels, that you know Jesus would not use Himself. You are
wise also to remove 'New Theology' books by Venden, Sequera, Moore, and
also most
recent denominational publications. Remember a bit of poison in food is more
dangerous that a bottle of poison clearly marked. Don’t Use 'Devotionals'—read chapters from SOP and Bible.
First, the Gospels; Second, the Epistles and the rest of
the New Testament; Third, Psalms and Proverbs; Fourth, Old
Testament
prophets. Especially take a look at Isaiah and Jeremiah—you will find the Laodecian message all through! Always use King James Version as it is the most
accurate and also—believe it or not—easiest to understand despite claims to
the contrary. Remember, children of 5 and 6 used it in the 1800s to learn to
read!
9. Install Family
Worship: Include the ‘old hymns’; KJV Bible; and earnest prayer with and for
your family. Family won’t join? Do it yourself and keep sweetly inviting them
to join you. Prayer for boldness and stand like a rock—be loving as Jesus was.
Let them see that Jesus gives you the real Joy of Life!
10.
Share what you learn: Remember that
as you learn, seek to share what you learn with whoever is interested. This will
quicken your interest in learning and only those who ‘give out’ will receive
more—a stream must flow or else it becomes a swamp.
What about
avoiding Deception?
Every wind of
doctrine is blowing out there in these last days of earth’s sordid history.
Advent Believers are being swept in every direction; so how do we avoid
deception? In order to recognize counterfeits, does that mean that I have to go
out there and study everything that comes along? No—It has long been said that
one must study the true and then you will see clearly the deviation when it
comes along. Spend much time reading and listening to the Bible and the Spirit
of Prophecy books, as you read in large amounts, you will get the broad picture
and will easily spot ideas and so called ‘new light’ that is really old
darkness because it just doesn’t ring true and it just doesn't fit. Jesus said, “My sheep hear my
voice and follow me and a stranger they will not follow.” How do you get to
know His voice? By hearing it a lot in the Bible and SOP.
Here is a word of
warning to be heeded, if you find something that seems to ‘have a lot of truth
in it’ but you can see it is off in certain aspects, then discard it ALL!
Light has no fellowship with darkness and a mixture of truth and error is just
what Satan’s deadly cocktails are made of.
We
have promises that guarantee us not to be deceived if we keep ourselves in a
right relationship to God.
"Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he
that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." John 8:12
"If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be
of God, or [whether] I speak of myself." John 7:17
"Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my
word, [then] are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the
truth shall make you free." John 8:31,32
You will notice
in these texts that it is clear that the key is to have an honest and willing
heart—if we are trying to exalt self or in any way play games with God, then we
will not be protected against being deceived. But if we honestly surrender and
seek Him will all our heart—He has pledged Himself to teach us and lead
us right.
Another key to
getting new light is to first double check it, praying for understanding
and then make sure that as you learn new truths from God’s Word, that
you repent and ask for victory on that new thing and by Jesus’ power, put it
into practice right away. Just as a wise teacher will not allow a pupil to go
onto to a new learning task before the old one is mastered, so God only leads
and teaches us new things when we have put into practice the light we already
have. Note that when I say ‘New’ here, I mean new to you, there is nothing
'New’ under the sun really, it’s only new to you.
As one looks at
the lives of Bible characters, martyrs, reformation heroes and other Godly
persons, it becomes apparent that the secret of their power is always the same—much time spent in God’s Word and in prayer and meditation.
Is there hope for Laodecians?
Yes—as
individuals there is certainly hope—look at Jesus' Words:
“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 will sup with him, and he with
me.
To
him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also
overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the
churches.”
"If Thou canst do anything, have compassion on us, and help
us." How many a sin-burdened soul has echoed that prayer. And to all, the
pitying Saviour's answer is, "If thou canst believe, all things are
possible to him that believeth." It is faith that connects us with heaven,
and brings us strength for coping with the powers of darkness. In Christ, God
has provided means for subduing every sinful trait, and resisting every
temptation, however strong. But many feel that they lack faith, and therefore
they remain away from Christ. Let these souls, in their helpless unworthiness,
cast themselves upon the mercy of their compassionate Saviour. Look not to self,
but to Christ. He who healed the sick and cast out demons when He walked among
men is the same mighty Redeemer today. Faith comes by the word of God. Then
grasp His promise, "Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out."
John 6:37. Cast yourself at His feet with the cry, "Lord, I believe; help
Thou mine unbelief." You can
never perish while you do this—never!” ‘The Desire of Ages’ pg.
429
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