The Church of Laodicea was so prosperous that, it can be said of today's Church, "They had everything they needed but God."
This caused them to become lukewarm, and made the Lord so sick that He would vomit them out of His mouth. Being lukewarm is the worst condition a Christian can fall into. It reveals an ultimate contempt for the Lord. Indifference is the greatest affront to any relationship. Therefore, to know Almighty God and be lukewarm toward Him is the greatest insult of all.
The Lord called the Church at Laodicea to "therefore be zealous and repent" (see Rev. 3:19).
I believe He is calling the church today to do the same. We must recover and keep our zeal for the Lord if we are going to make it through these times. How do we do that?
The Lord sent fire from His presence to light the fire on the altar in both the Tabernacle of Moses and the Temple that Solomon built. He then commanded the priests to keep the fire going. God has lit every fire in every heart that has ever turned to Him. However, He expects us to keep it going. We do this by prayer, worship, daily reading and studying His written Word to us, fellowship with others who have the fire, and being the witnesses we are called to be.
We lose the fire when we give ourselves to sin and wickedness. This leads to lawlessness as described in Romans 6. The Lord warned that lawlessness would cause the love of most to grow cold. This has been well proven in our times.
However, the word of God tells our broken culture; You don’t have to be ignorant, and live in blindness.
The Lord is not tolerant of ignorance so evident in our culture. People who blindly go about unknowing. He is pretty clear on how he sees us. When you observe blindness, unwillingness to learn, or grow, even in the Church, think on these things:
Eph. 4:18
They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.
Hosea 4:6
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.
Acts 17:30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,
James 1:5
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.
1John 4:1
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.
Proverbs 19:2
Desire without knowledge is not good, and whoever makes haste with his feet misses his way.
Proverbs 8:5
O simple ones, learn prudence; O fools, learn sense.
The Remnant Principle
As we continue deeper into the end-times, the unity of the Church is going to be tested to the maximum. As the “love of many grows cold”, the ability to keep the glue of fellowship within a body of believer’s is going to shrink. But, God has always had a remnant; it will always be so.
The unity of the Church that is coming, I believe will only include about 10% of Christians. I know that sounds unbelievable to many, but there is truth to this. Even in light of knowing we are entering the greatest harvest, a sound and repeated Biblical truth is "the remnant principle."
The remnant principle was at work when the resurrected Lord told five hundred people to go to Jerusalem to wait for the promise of the Holy Spirit. However, just a few weeks later, there were only 120 gathered there. Yet that remnant was in "one accord" or unity. Do you realize that often our Churches or ministries are shrinking so that we can come into a higher unity that can release a greater glory and purpose?
As Abraham demonstrated, true faith grows stronger with the passage of time, not weaker. The passage of time between when the promise is given and the fulfillment of that promise will usually thin out the crowd by removing those who do not have true faith, but are just caught up in the excitement of the moment.
The remnant principle was at work in Elijah’s day also. When God met him in the cave, after he had run from Jezebel, the prophet poured out his complaint to Him:
1Ki 19:9 And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah?
1Ki 19:10 And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.
But, what was God’s answer to him? The remnant principle:
1Ki 19:18 Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.
This does not mean that those with true faith will not waver sometimes, but overall, true faith grows with the passage of time. Is our faith growing stronger, or are we going to slip into the majority that drifts away?
I've made my share of mistakes, and fallen. I don't wait a day, or a week to repent, I admit my wrong as soon as the conviction of the Holy Spirit shows me I've sinned. Anyone who tells me they never fall, because they are the righteousness of God in Christ; well.....that is between you and the Lord, He knows the truth.
People tend to draw their security by how many people are with them. True faith doesn't. True faith is faith in God, not how many people are with us. True faith is demonstrated by patience, which is why we are told that it is through "faith and patience" that we will inherit the promises (see Heb. 6:12).
In this Laodicea culture today, there is a remnant for God. He knows who are His, and His eyes are on them, and they are “hidden in the cleft of the rock”, and that Rock is Jesus Christ.
Lorna Couillard
2013
This caused them to become lukewarm, and made the Lord so sick that He would vomit them out of His mouth. Being lukewarm is the worst condition a Christian can fall into. It reveals an ultimate contempt for the Lord. Indifference is the greatest affront to any relationship. Therefore, to know Almighty God and be lukewarm toward Him is the greatest insult of all.
The Lord called the Church at Laodicea to "therefore be zealous and repent" (see Rev. 3:19).
I believe He is calling the church today to do the same. We must recover and keep our zeal for the Lord if we are going to make it through these times. How do we do that?
The Lord sent fire from His presence to light the fire on the altar in both the Tabernacle of Moses and the Temple that Solomon built. He then commanded the priests to keep the fire going. God has lit every fire in every heart that has ever turned to Him. However, He expects us to keep it going. We do this by prayer, worship, daily reading and studying His written Word to us, fellowship with others who have the fire, and being the witnesses we are called to be.
We lose the fire when we give ourselves to sin and wickedness. This leads to lawlessness as described in Romans 6. The Lord warned that lawlessness would cause the love of most to grow cold. This has been well proven in our times.
However, the word of God tells our broken culture; You don’t have to be ignorant, and live in blindness.
The Lord is not tolerant of ignorance so evident in our culture. People who blindly go about unknowing. He is pretty clear on how he sees us. When you observe blindness, unwillingness to learn, or grow, even in the Church, think on these things:
Eph. 4:18
They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.
Hosea 4:6
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.
Acts 17:30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,
James 1:5
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.
1John 4:1
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.
Proverbs 19:2
Desire without knowledge is not good, and whoever makes haste with his feet misses his way.
Proverbs 8:5
O simple ones, learn prudence; O fools, learn sense.
The Remnant Principle
As we continue deeper into the end-times, the unity of the Church is going to be tested to the maximum. As the “love of many grows cold”, the ability to keep the glue of fellowship within a body of believer’s is going to shrink. But, God has always had a remnant; it will always be so.
The unity of the Church that is coming, I believe will only include about 10% of Christians. I know that sounds unbelievable to many, but there is truth to this. Even in light of knowing we are entering the greatest harvest, a sound and repeated Biblical truth is "the remnant principle."
The remnant principle was at work when the resurrected Lord told five hundred people to go to Jerusalem to wait for the promise of the Holy Spirit. However, just a few weeks later, there were only 120 gathered there. Yet that remnant was in "one accord" or unity. Do you realize that often our Churches or ministries are shrinking so that we can come into a higher unity that can release a greater glory and purpose?
As Abraham demonstrated, true faith grows stronger with the passage of time, not weaker. The passage of time between when the promise is given and the fulfillment of that promise will usually thin out the crowd by removing those who do not have true faith, but are just caught up in the excitement of the moment.
The remnant principle was at work in Elijah’s day also. When God met him in the cave, after he had run from Jezebel, the prophet poured out his complaint to Him:
1Ki 19:9 And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah?
1Ki 19:10 And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.
But, what was God’s answer to him? The remnant principle:
1Ki 19:18 Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.
This does not mean that those with true faith will not waver sometimes, but overall, true faith grows with the passage of time. Is our faith growing stronger, or are we going to slip into the majority that drifts away?
I've made my share of mistakes, and fallen. I don't wait a day, or a week to repent, I admit my wrong as soon as the conviction of the Holy Spirit shows me I've sinned. Anyone who tells me they never fall, because they are the righteousness of God in Christ; well.....that is between you and the Lord, He knows the truth.
People tend to draw their security by how many people are with them. True faith doesn't. True faith is faith in God, not how many people are with us. True faith is demonstrated by patience, which is why we are told that it is through "faith and patience" that we will inherit the promises (see Heb. 6:12).
In this Laodicea culture today, there is a remnant for God. He knows who are His, and His eyes are on them, and they are “hidden in the cleft of the rock”, and that Rock is Jesus Christ.
Lorna Couillard
2013
