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Eugene Prewitt

Lukewarm Symptoms and Cures

Turn with me in your Bibles to Colossians chapter 4.

Salute the brethren which are in Laodicea, and Nymphis, and the church which is in his house.

I see a lot in that verse that's interesting to me.

First of all, I think we need more Nymphises in the world.

Nymphus used his own home as a branch for starting a new church.

Salute the brethren which are in Laodicea.

And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans, and that you likewise read the epistle from Laodicea.

Can I tell you what I gathered from verse 16?

I gathered that Colossae and Laodicea had some similar weaknesses and strengths and problems.

Do you see any indication of that in the passage?

Where what Paul said is that the letter I wrote to the Laodiceans is 1 that ought to be read to you in Colossae.

And the letter I'm writing to you in Colossae is 1 that ought to be read in the church of the Laodiceans.

And that's interesting to me, because I live in the church age of Laodicea.

And I believe when God shows Ephesus and Smyrna and Pergamos and Thyatira and Sardis and Philadelphia and Laodicea, that he didn't just randomly pick those cities.

He picked cities that in their characteristics were really quite similar to various church ages.

So that the Laodicea that literally existed in John's time and in Paul's time was in many respects similar to the church age that we live in today.

Turn with me back to chapter 2 of Colossians.

For I would, that is I wish, that you knew what great conflict I have for you and for them where?

You know, the troubles at Colossae were troubles also at Laodicea, and they were a burden, it was a burden to Paul, those troubles.

And for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh.

I gather from the end of verse 2 that there were some things that were more clear when Paul was speaking in person than they were when Paul was writing letters.

Can any of you see how I gather that from the end of that verse 1?

That the people who had not actually seen Paul in person, they had some troubles.

And those were the kind of troubles you would find in Laodicea, and the kind of troubles you'd find at Colossae.

My burden is that their hearts might be comforted being knit together in love.

So it looks to me like this really is a problem in our church age.

Do you remember what Jesus said to the last church age?

He says that you think that you are rich, But the spiritual riches in the Bible are faith and love.

So in James 2.5, Paul talks about those who, can you keep a finger here and go to another passage at the same time?

Keep a finger in Colossians and go to James 2.

Harken, my beloved brethren, has not God chosen the poor of this world?

So the people that God has chosen are rich in faith.

So the people who are rich in faith are heirs of the kingdom, read on, which he has promised to them, what's it say?

So those that are heirs of the kingdom are those that love him.

But those that are heirs of the kingdom are those that are rich in faith.

Then it must be that those that are rich in faith are those that love him.

Does that make sense to any of you what I just communicated?

And really, you never can divide a rich faith from love because faith works by love.

And if the faith is rich, it has to be a faith that works.

So any wealthy faith, anyone who's rich in faith, has to be someone who's wealthy in love.

But Jesus says to Laodicea that you are poor.

I'm just trying to put some ideas together for you, see if you can follow me, then Laodicea thinks that she has faith and love, a great deal of these, but Jesus says to her that she doesn't have enough of these.

And now turn back where we were in Colossians 2.

That their hearts might be comforted being knit together in love and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding." Do you see in the middle of verse 2 where you get assurance from?

In fact, Isaiah says that wisdom and knowledge are the stability of thy times and the strength of salvation.

Surely there's a knowledge that doesn't do any good for anyone at all.

We talked about that in Sabbath school class this morning.

But stability is very related to knowledge.

In fact, Paul talks about people who, because they are babes in understanding, are easily led astray by the slight of men.

In Romans 16, Paul talks about those whose hearts are, inwardly, servants of their appetites, but he says that by good words and fair speeches, they deceive the hearts of the simple.

Honestly, many sincere people who don't understand much are easily blown around by winds of doctrine, the slight of men and cunning craftiness whereby they lay in wait to deceive." So what is it that adds a great deal of stability?

I'm still trying to connect thoughts for you, so see if you can follow me.

Do you remember in Ephesians 4 that God gives the gifts to the church?

The gifts of apostles and prophets and teachers and the rest.

And among the reasons that are given there in Ephesians 4 is to build up the church.

And then it says, so that the church will be, we better read it because I'm forgetting the words and we're not far, I think you turn back just a page or 2 and yeah turn back about 4 pages.

This is where it talks about the reasons that we need the gifts of the Spirit.

That we henceforth be no more, what's the word?

Children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the slight of man and cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive." The idea in the passage is that the gifts of the Spirit were given to inoculate me, as it were, against the foolish ideas that are blowing around.

The gifts of the Spirit are means of communicating knowledge.

The apostles and prophets and teachers and evangelists.

The gospel truths give a type of stability.

Okay, turn forward again 4 pages to where we were in Colossians 2.

What the Laodiceans in Colossians need, besides to have their hearts knit together in love is to be knit together also in a full assurance of understanding.

There are people who would like to come together in understanding that never have been knit together in love.

I mean, that they can feel like that they're fighting for the truth and in the final analysis find that they've been scattering away from Christ.

So if someone's mean to you that's teaching the truth?

I can think of 2 pieces of advice for you.

I mean, if someone who's trying to show you something from the Bible or from the writings of Ellen White does it with a mean attitude and a cranky character, it would be really foolishness if you would ignore what they teach because of their crankiness.

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