WWJ(U)D Pt1: Apathy

July 8, 2018                          NOTES NOT EDITED
WWJ(U)D? Pt1:  Apathy

Rev. 3:14-22

Sermon-in-a-Sentence: Apathy is an ugly attitude that must be removed from the life of every believer in order to be pleasing to God.

Over the next few weeks we will be exploring the theme, WWJ(U)D? What Would Jesus “Un” Do?  This is a twist on the popular phrase in modern culture:  WWJD?  What Would Jesus Do?”  Nearly everyone has heard this phrase that has been immortalized on rubber bracelets and distributed all over the world.

Most people think the phrase is of modern invention.  The bracelet idea can be traced back to a youth leader at Calvary Reformed Church in Holland, Michigan in the 1990’s (Wikipedia).  The concept of course, dates back to the First Century with the teachings of the Apostles.  Throughout the New Testament, we have numerous exhortations to imitate the Life of Jesus Christ. ¹

As significant as it is to understand what Jesus would “do” in any given situation is to understand what He wants to “Undo” in our lives—like the ugly attitudes of apathy, hypocrisy, hollow worship, and spiritual pride.  Today, we are going to tackle, APATHY.

Apathy has destroyed more marriages than adultery.  Apathy has more businesses to fail than financial difficulties.  Apathy has silenced more church bells than any other sin.  Apathy is a killer, and literally makes God vomit.

Someone has said, “Apathy is the glove into which evil slips its hand.”  Someone else said, “The only thing needed for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing.” 

Apathy allowed Hitler to kill over 15 million innocent people, including 1 million children.  Hitler rose to power while the German Church sat by and said nothing.  One such German Christian was a pastor named, Martin Niemoller.  At first a Nazi supporter, he was later put into a prison camp.  His opposition to Hitler came too late.  In a speech after the war, Niemoller confessed the apathy of the German Church.  That speech included this poem:
First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—

Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—

Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—

Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

Apathy literally means, “without passion.”  In Revelation Jesus describes apathy as being “neither soothingly hot nor refreshingly cold.”  Thus, the Laodiceans were, “lukewarm,” or in a word, “useless.”  The word for hot is the cousin to our word, “zest.” (zestos (ζεστός)  It literally means, “to boil over.”  Jesus wants us to, “a boiling hot devotion.”

 Apathy is a killer.   It kills marriages, institutions, and even churches.  Statistics show that more than 8,000  churches will likely close this year—mostly because the members “just don’t care.”  Apathy goes by many names:  complacency, laziness, indifference, or lukewarmness to name a few.  Like a python,  apathy wraps itself around individuals and churches squeezing the spiritual life out of them.  One such example is the Church at Laodicea.  Let’s read what Jesus, Himself, preaches to this church.  Rev. 3:14-22.

We will examine three considerations in regard to the ugly attitude of apathy that Jesus wants to “Undo” in our lives:  the Causes, the Consequences, and the Cures for apathy.

1.  The CAUSES of Apathy (17)

You say, ‘I’m rich; I have become wealthy and need nothing,’  and you don’t know that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.

There are many causes for apathy, but the two most significant are mentioned here by the Lord:  Prosperity and Spiritual Blindness, which are often, though not always, related to one another.

(1) Prosperity.  I think it is sad that the thing that people pursue most is that which is so poisonous.  Pick any popular T.V. preacher, or Big Church preacher in general and you will hear one or more versions of the same Satanic Lie:  God wants you to be rich and happy.  You would think that the sole measure of spirituality is worldly success.  In fact, God wants us to be “righteous and holy.”  Laodicea was a “rich place”—an important center of commerce in the ancient world (now, Turkey).  It was so rich, in fact, that when an earthquake leveled the cities of the area in 60 A.D., Laodicea refused empirical assistance from the Senate and rebuilt itself with its own funds. Laodicea was a center of fashion for the Roman Empire.  A special breed of sheep produced glossy black wool that was highly prized (and highly priced) by nobles.  This wool continued to be a major export well into the 1900’s.  There was also a prestigious medical school in Laodicea.  They produced a special “eye paste” called Phrygian Powder that had healing properties.  Laodicea was an incredibly wealthy place.  But, as history has shown over and over again, prosperity often comes at a high cost.  One encyclopedia points out:  In prosperity men too commonly decay, and the Christian community of the city had become infected with the spirit of the place . . .  the church had lost all fervor and passion. The city on the great road may have learned the art of compromise in the school of history, and now it was “neither cold nor hot” (Baker Encyclopedia).

America’s current cultural climate of moral compromise mirrors that of Laodicea.  The Lord is not pleased with a nation that regulates the protection of eagle’s eggs but rips unborn babies from the womb of mothers.  Prosperity almost always draws a person away from being “hot” for God.  Jesus warns (Mat. 19:24):

“It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”

When I read this and I tremble for anybody that dies with great sums of money in the bank. In spite of the Lord’s warning and Laodicea’s example, men still blindly and passionately pursue wealth only to hoard it in self-centered silos of greed.

(2) Spiritual blindness.  Let these words of the Laodiceans reverberate in your ear for a moment:  “I need nothing!”  That is quite an audacious statement, but it is the attitude of most people in our nation.  Spiritual blindness causes people to focus on the “here and now” instead of the “here after.”  Remember, Laodicea produced a highly prized eye paste that could restore sight, but Jesus said: “You are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked (v17b).”

The cure for sin and source of great joy is right in front of people, but they cannot—no, they WILL NOT—see it.  I remember reading something Hellen Keller (blind, deaf, and mute) wrote.  She said something to the affect, “The only thing worse than blindness is having sight but no vision.”  This describes the Spiritual Blindness of Laodiceans in the ancient world and most Americans, today. 

Prosperity and Spiritual Blindness turned down the heat on the Laodicean Church’s passion for the Lord, and the consequences are both horrible and eternal.

2.  The CONSEQUENCES (16-17)

¹⁶ So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am going to vomit  you out of My mouth. ¹⁷ Because you say, ‘I’m rich; I have become wealthy and need nothing,’  and you don’t know that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.

Jesus often used strong, picturesque language to make His point—a characteristic of the Bible in general.  Translations tend to soften the language to make it more “acceptable,” or politically correct.  Even the KJV avoided the word “vomit,” but is still pretty forceful:  I will spew thee out of my mouth.  Anyone who has ever raised children are quite familiar with “projectile vomiting.”  (You may insert your own story here and save me the time describing projectile vomiting).

The technical term for “vomiting” is emesis.  This comes from the Greek word Jesus uses to describe His disgust for lukewarmness which is, emesai (ἐμέσαι).  Most people are disgusted by the very idea of vomit.  That’s why Jesus choose the word.  Apathy makes God vomit! Displeasing God in such a way is not without significant CONSEQUENCES.  We live in a day when there are very little consequences for our actions.  We live in a day where the gold medal values of the Olympics has been traded for a “Participation Trophy Mentality.”  Politicians lie, cheat, and steal but still spend their entire lives living off the people’s payroll.  For every crooked politician that gets caught, 100 skate by.  Consequences seem few and far between.

In church, the matter of consequences is even more problematic.  A person can do almost anything, or do almost nothing, and still be at the business meeting to vote on what should be done.  Polls and surveys have shown for years that there is practically no difference in the lifestyle of believers compared to non-believers.  For example, in regard to the rate of divorce for church members, it is about the same as for non-church members.  This also applies to most other lifestyle issues such as drinking, smoking, cheating on taxes, or even abortion.  How could this be?  How can so many regular church-goers be so apathetic about the Bible’s call to live a devout and holy life?  The answer is a lack of immediate consequences.  The final accounting does not often come in this life for apathetic church-goers.  But, I assure you it will.  Those that have lived, apathetic lives will be “vomited out of God’s Presence.”  These are not my words, but the very words of Jesus Christ Himself.

100% of all shark attacks occur in water!  In other words, swimming in the ocean has consequences.  Now, most people, thousands, hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, swim in the ocean every year and do not get eaten by a shark.  In fact, most beach goers never even give it a thought.  After all, it will never happen to me, as the saying goes.  The lack of immediate consequences for our actions put us into a state of complacency, or apathy about the dangers all around us.  One mild December day James Robinson was doing what he had done hundreds of times in his life.  He was commercially diving for sea urchins off the coast near Santa Barbara.  Just like hundreds of times before he was treading water on the surface unloading his diving gear and catch of sea urchins onto his small boat.   Without warning , a Great White Shark shot up from the depths and torpedoed Robinson with a force driving him out of the water.  The bite severed his leg.  His two diving companions hauled his mangled body into the boat but could not find a pulse.   Robinson died quickly from the attack.  In one furious second, the familiar became the fatal. 

Likewise, people become “familiar” with their sinful pleasures and practices.  They sin many, many times seemingly with no negative consequences.  Then, judgement torpedoes their lives and leaves them mangled and dying.  100% of shark attacks happen in water.  The only way to prevent it, is to stay out of the water.  Likewise, if one chooses to linger in the ocean of sin, sooner or later—with great fury the familiar will become the fatal.  The sin of apathy has grave consequences.
But, praise be to God, Jesus can “UNdo” Apathy.  There is

3.  A CURE.  In one word, the cure is:  REPENT (vv18-21)

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.

To “repent” means simply “to turn around and go in the opposite direction.”  Look at the Lord’s counsel closely.  The Lord says, You have tried the world’s riches, and you remain poor.  Try buying gold from me.  You have tried wearing the fashions of worldliness, and you are naked in your shame.  Buy the white robes of a Christian martyr and be clothed in honor.  You have tried the world’s cures for your ills, but yet your sickness and blindness remain.  Try the salve of repentance and see what it available to those who love me.

Just as there are horrible consequences for the sin of apathy, there are also, positive consequences for repenting of the attitude of apathy.  Look at verses 20-21:

²⁰ Listen! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and have dinner with him, and he with Me.  ²¹ The victor: I will give him the right to sit with Me on My throne,  just as I also won the victory and sat down with My Father on His throne.

Paul describes what a person inherits through repentance.  1Cor. 2:9:
⁹ It is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.”

Sweet fellowship with Jesus is just on the other side of the door of your heart.  The Lord is knocking, but, there is no doorknob on the Lord’s side.   I’ve told you the story before of the famous painting depicting Jesus Christ knocking on a door [show pic].  There are many versions and recreations of this painting, originally painted by William Hunt in the mid 1800’s.  Hunt painted three versions.  All versions of “Light of the World” have one common feature—the door has no doorknob on the outside.  The only way that Christ can—or will—enter a person’s life is by invitation.  We open that door through repentance.  Repentance is the cure for apathy—and what a cure it is—the opportunity to spend eternity in the Lord’s House!  Frankly, I don’t know how anyone can claim to be a Christian and not be overwhelmed by emotion by the very thought of fellowship with Jesus Christ!  Sin shoves us down and shuts us out from eternal blessings.  Sin makes us victims.  Repentance and fellowship with Jesus turns us into “victors.”

When a person does open the door to Jesus Christ, the consequences of that action are both blissful and eternal.  The joy of having Christ enter our lives in a mystical, mysterious, meaningful moment is simply indescribable.  Many times, I have been reduced to tears by the unimaginable thought that I am one with Jesus Christ by the grace of God and union through the Holy Spirit. 

Christ makes us “victors” (conquerors, ESV; overcomers NIV) when we unite with Him.  The word has been adapted into modern culture represented by the familiar “Swoosh Logo” of an athletic fashion company.  Nike (from νικῶν, nikōn, v21) was the name of the Goddess of Victory.  Nike assumed the role of the “Divine Charioteer.”  She flew around battlefields rewarding the victors with glory and fame, symbolized by a wreath of laurel leaves (Wikipedia).

While lukewarmness, or apathy, causes the Lord to react with disgust, literally causing Him to vomit, zeal and passion for Him and His Work literally “opens up the door to heaven and all its blessings!”

It is sometime overwhelming to me to see so many churches with so many members making so little difference in our world because church members care so little about “fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ.” 

When you consider the CAUSES of apathy and the terrible CONSEQUENCES, it overwhelms the soul to discover there is such an incomprehensible, indescribable, unfathomable, life-transforming, eternity changing CURE.

Apathy is an ugly attitude that most be removed from the life of every believer in order to be pleasing to God.

Let Jesus “UNdo” any apathy in your life and live for Him with a passionate devotion that is unmistakable and unassailable. 

________

1.  The English idea for “What Would Jesus Do” traces its origins to a classic work in Latin by Thomas a Kempis in the 1400’s.  That book is titled, Imitatio Christi (The Imitation of Christ).  The great Baptist pulpiteer, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, referenced this book by Kempis in a sermon titled, “The Agreement of Salvation by Grace With Walking in Good Works” (June, 1891).  In that sermon, Spurgeon uses the phrase, “What would Jesus do,” several times.  The phrase is also used as the subtitle for a modern classic of devotion, In His Steps, by Charles Sheldon in 1896.  This work has been translated into over 21 languages world-wide.