WEDNESDAY July 3
The Divine Remedy
There is hope for Laodicea, just as there is hope for all who are afflicted with spiritual apathy and in-difference. Our Lord has the divine remedy. The fact that the Lord speaks to this church shows that hope for the church exists if His people accept and follow His counsel .
Amen!! The Laodicean message is full of hope. Jesus loves us. He does not treat us as "bastards". "If ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons." He rebukes us, then pleads with us to turn to Him.
Reflect on Jesus’ counsel in Revelation 3:18-19.
3:18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and [that] the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
3:19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
What does Jesus mean when He talks about “gold refined in the fire,” being clothed in “white garments,” and our eyes being anointed with “eye salve”?
See also
1 Pet. 1:7
1:7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
Zech. 3:1-5
3:1 And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.
3:2 And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: [is] not this a brand plucked out of the fire?
3:3 Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel.
3:4 And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment.
3:5 And I said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head. So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the LORD stood by.
Rev. 19:7-9
19:7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
19:8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
19:9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed [are] they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.
Eph. 4:30
4:30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
“Jesus is going from door to door, standing in front of every soul-temple, proclaiming, ‘I stand at the door, and knock.’ As a heavenly merchantman, he opens his treasures, and cries, ‘Buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear.’ The gold he offers is without alloy, more precious than that of Ophir; for it is faith and love.
“The white raiment he invites the soul to wear is his own robes of righteousness, and the oil for anointing is the oil of his grace, which will give spiritual eyesight to the soul in blindness and darkness, that he may distinguish between the workings of the Spirit of God and the spirit of the enemy. Open your doors, says the great Merchantman, the possessor of spiritual riches, and transact your business with me. It is I, your Redeemer, who counsels you to buy of me.”-Ellen G. White, The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, Aug. 7, 1894.
Ellen G. White quotes Revelation 3:20, saying of Jesus, “‘I stand at the door, and knock.’” Jesus knocks; He doesn’t break down the door and force His way in. What this means is that, in the end, regardless of what God is willing to do for us, we must make the choice to let Him in. Ask yourself, “How resistant am I to opening the door to Him?” If you are resistant, ask yourself, “Why?” What is holding you back? What sin, what indulgence, don’t you want to let go of, or what is it that you find so hard to let go of?
Praise God for the truth being made plain, simple, and straight. This is the truth. Why are not all converted? Because true conversion requires two things that most are unwilling to do. To surrender pride and to make a sacrifice. The only solution to this selfishness is Christ. The answer is always the same, we need Jesus. He tells us what to do. Buy of Him faith the works by love, His love. He tells us to buy of Him white raiment, His character. He offers to us, Eyesalve, that we might see. Yes, the blind, through Christ might be healed. It is such a hopeful message to hear of Christ still standing at the door of the blind, the naked, the wretched, pleading for entrance into the hearts of those who are rejecting Him. He loves us despite our woeful condition as a people. Here is His promise to us "Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them." Ezekiel 36:25-27.