In the beginning of the book of Revelation Jesus speaks to 7 different Churches and most of them are given an indictment against something they are doing or not doing. But 1 church has the privilege of actually being told they were so disgusting to God that He wanted to vomit them out of His mouth. The church at Laodicea.
The church at Laodicea was a wealthy and affluent church in a wealthy and affluent area. They were the center of commerce and well known for their medicinal abilities and fine clothing industry. But they had one weakness – the city had no fresh water. So, they built an underground aquaduct to carry water from another area to their city.
Bc it traveled so far in this aquaduct, by the time the water reached Laodicea it was room temperature and filled with junk from the aquaduct – cement, dirt, stones, probably bugs and other things. In fact, when visitors would come to the city and try to drink the water they would be so disgusted and sickened by it they would literally spew it out of their mouths the moment they drank. You get the picture?
In this passage in Revelation Jesus, in essence, says to the church of Laodicea “you think you are wealthy but you are in fact incredibly poor! You think you can see but you are as blind as a bat! You think you have everything you need but in fact, you have nothing bc you’ve left Me. I am standing at the door of the Church! I’m knocking, asking to be let in! Will you open up the door and once again let Me in?” (3:14-22)
It was this lack of physical fresh water that finally caused the physical destruction and ruin of the city of Laodicea. My guess is their spiritual lack and ruin had already occurred some time before.
Time to get personal.
Could this be you? Could you be so lukewarm towards the things of God, neither hot nor cold, thinking you have everything you need but really you are desperately poor. You think you can see but really you are so blind. You think you are spiritual bc you sit in a seat in a building most Sunday mornings and occasionally even read your Bible and pray before meals but you have removed the Living God from your life.
Through the mercy of God and the power of His Holy Spirit may this never be true of us. May God have mercy on our souls and reveal to us our sins and our desperate need for Him. May He cause us to fall on our knees and cry out “Lord God do not cast me from Your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from me! Anything else but that Lord!” May we become a desperate people.