How to Fully Rely on God Instead of Yourself | Revelation 3:17-22

Series: Revelation: The Best is Yet to Come

Title: “How to fully rely on God instead of yourself”

Scripture: Revelation 3:17-22

Main commentary help:

• Exalting Jesus in Revelation by Daniel Akin

• Revelation by Jim Hamilton

• The Seven Churches by Mike Breen

• Breaking the Code by Bruce Metzger

Bottom line: Jesus calls us to fully rely on him instead of ourselves. Our self-reliance makes him want to puke.

Our series is “The best is yet to come” as we walk through the prophetic apocalypse that is the Revelation of the Risen Christ, a circular letter to the early church—and to us today. My prayer is that you’ll be strengthened, comforted and encouraged through this word today.

Need: Due to it’s enormous affluence, the Laodicean church was vulnerable to self-reliance. We, the American church, need to hear Jesus’s words to this church and evaluate ourselves in light of them.

Last week we saw how the Laodicean church thought, “We’ve got this!”

Illustration: Pic of inflatable tanks used in WW II. They look real at a glance but they are not authentic. Many Christians look real on the outside at a glance. But they are not.

5 Steps Towards Fully Relying on Jesus Again

1. Hear the loving rebuke of the Lord. (19a)

   1. Jesus loves you.

   2. That’s why he rebukes and disciplines you.

   3. Cf. Hebrews 12:4-11

2. Earnestly repent and believe the Lord. (19b)

   1. While the “Importance of Being Earnest” is a great movie, it’s not about this.

   2. But it is important to be earnest in your repentance.

   3. Repentance is more than being sorry for your sin. It’s choosing to change your thinking from believing a lie to believing that living by the truth is better for all.

3. Invite the Lord in. (20)

   1. Jesus is outside the church knocking to get back in. They were doing church without Jesus.

   2. Contrast 2 ways the church was approached:

      1. Roman soldiers were told to go to Laodicea and that they were to provide them room and board for free.

      2. Jesus comes and asks to be let in to join them for a sweet time of fellowship and food that he provides.

4. Join the Lord on His throne. (21)

   1. We overcome (are victorious) because we trust in Jesus’ victory over sin, death, shame, guilt and hell itself.

   2. He overcame all of that and his Father gave him the right to rule. He does the same for us.

5. To Hear is to Obey (22)

   1. The Spirit of the Lord (Trinitarian throughout this passage) speaks; are we listening.

   2. To hear is to obey.