The church of Laodicea was well known, but Jeff Kinley says from God’s perspective, it was for all of the wrong reasons.
“They had a thriving medical industry, a thriving wool industry, but they had these two rivers that flowed to the city.”
Jeff says that one river was cold and the other was warm from the hot springs in the area. However, by the time the water got to the city, it was lukewarm and filthy and therefore undesirable. Jeff says that the water wasn’t the only thing that was lukewarm in Laodicea.
“Jesus says, you guys aren’t hot for me, you aren’t cold for me, you aren’t anything for me. You’re just simply there, you’re flat-lining as a church.”
What happened to the church of Laodicea?
“What had happened was the church had simply lost its need for Jesus. In the church in America today, we are so caught up in doing church that we forget the importance of being desperate for God.”
Jeff thinks this is exactly where the church of Laodicea was.
“They just lost their absolute desperation for Jesus Christ. Sometimes I think that’s where we are with God. We think we don’t need him, but we need him more than air. We need to be desperate for him. The church needs to get on its collective knees and say, Lord, unless you come here, unless you work through us, unless you are a part of who we are, we have nothing to offer this world. We are nothing, you are everything to us.”
Jeff says that Scripture tells us that we cannot take God’s presence in our churches for granted; He doesn’t owe us anything.
“A church that is not desperate for God, a believer that is not desperate for God is a believer who has become flat. It’s like a room temperature cup of coffee or a flat soft drink, it’s just useless.”
Jeff Kinley empowers people with vintage truth. He is the author of 20 books and founding Pastor of Vintagenxt, a Christian faith community in the Historic Hillcrest District of Little Rock, AR.
Key Scripture: Revelation 19:6-9
Featured Songs: Come Alive – Lauren Daigle; I Am Healed – River Valley; What a Beautiful Name – Hillsong
