Encounters with Jesus - The Exile's Encounter 

Reading (Revelation 3:14-22 NIV) 14

“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. 15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. 19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. 20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. 21 To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” 

Questions to Consider

1. Jesus ‘dictated’ seven letters to seven churches in SW Turkey 2000 years ago. (Rev. 2:1 – 3:22) Are there any lessons or relevance for churches today? Give an example from the letter to each church
2. In Rev 1:9, John writes that he ‘was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.’ What does he mean by that?
3. In Rev 3:15 Jesus describes the deeds of the Laodicean church as ‘lukewarm’. How would you recognise the ‘deeds’ of a church today as being lukewarm? What would you see or not see?
4. Jesus says to the Laodicean church. ‘You do not realise……’ (V17) Is self-deception a real and present danger in the wider church today? Examples? How can this be avoided?
5. ‘Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline…’ says Jesus in V19. Is this a positive or negative statement? Have you experienced this, or can you give an example where/when this has happened?
6. What is your understanding of Jesus saying, ‘Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me’?
7. How would you rate your commitment to Jesus on a scale of 1 to 10? (1=No commitment and 10= Total Commitment)
8. Do you agree, the only cure for lukewarmness is the admission or readmission of the excluded Christ? Are you Lukewarm or ‘Sold Out’? 

PRAYER

Lord God, thank you for your love, thank you for your word and thank you for Jesus. Thank you also that because you love us you rebuke us and discipline us. Please forgive us for those times when we have been lukewarm in our commitment to following Jesus and when we have ignored him knocking on the door of our heart. We ask that you give us ears to hear what the Holy Spirit is saying to us so that we can be a positive influence on our community and on our culture.