436-The Ignorant Rich Man#
(JP Text Group - shalom organized)
Dear family, peace in the Lord, welcome to your arrival.
Let’s look at Luke 12:13-21, the topic is called: The Ignorant Rich Man.
Luke 12:13-21:
13 Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher! Tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14 Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” 15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” 16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ 18 Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do: I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to my soul, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’ 20 But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ 21 This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”
Let us pray
Heavenly Father, thank you and praise you for starting our new week of life. Thank you for giving us your word, renewing our strength, providing us with truth, strength, and wisdom. Let us understand through the scriptures how to walk in our lives! Grant us wise eyes to see clearly in this generation, learn to rely on you in all things, and see your good will! We commit the following time to the Holy Spirit, renewing each person's thoughts and intentions. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, we pray, Amen.
When it comes to the rich man, many people always think he is very wealthy and prosperous, but in this passage, God says: he is not rich! The world thinks that being wealthy means being rich, but God does not see it that way. Many people have an incorrect understanding of wealth and prosperity, which makes many Christians feel embarrassed to preach the gospel to the rich, thinking that they are already wealthy, superior in every way, and their lives are more abundant than mine, making it hard to share with others.
From God's perspective, what He values is who we belong to, not what people possess. When our lives are abundant, we are rich both materially and spiritually. How do we see if a person is rich or poor? It depends on whether they are willing to give. Some people are indeed very wealthy but are very stingy, feeling that they are lacking; such people are still poor. Others may not be financially well-off but have a generous heart and love to help others because they are children of God. What they do is good in God's eyes, and their lives are abundant.
Some people have money but are filled with greed and selfishness. No matter how much they have, they still feel insecure and are never satisfied! For example, the rich man mentioned today is just like this. Let’s look at what happened at the beginning. There was a man who wanted to divide the inheritance with his brother, but Jesus was unwilling to do such a thing. Does this mean that after we believe in the Lord, these earthly matters become unimportant? Do we not need to pursue comfortable prosperity? Should we not inherit the family estate and want nothing? Of course not. Jesus also hopes that we are prosperous; God wants us to prosper in all things.
3 John 1:2-3:
2 Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well. 3 It gave me great joy to have some brothers come and tell about your faithfulness to the truth, telling how you continue to walk in it.
What is God's intention? He hopes that His children prosper in all things. What does it mean to prosper in all things? It does not mean that we will not encounter setbacks or problems, but that when we rely on God, we can overcome all things. It seems that nothing can hinder you; you are prosperous in all things, and your body is healthy.
Many people hope to be like this. What is this related to? The prosperity of the soul! Simply put, the prosperity of the soul. Our spirit is the Holy Spirit, so the Holy Spirit does not need to prosper anymore; the Holy Spirit is already abundant. When we accept Jesus, the Holy Spirit dwells within us, and what needs to be renewed is our soul, which includes our intellect, emotions, and will. These affect what we do and think on earth, so every day we need to come before God, let the Holy Spirit guide us, renew us, and through God's word, constantly remind us to align with God's word. This way, we will learn to rely on God's word in all things.
Live out the truth in your heart. Everyone will experience prosperity in all things and good health. Some may say: I definitely cannot live like this! It doesn’t matter; having such a heart and being willing to act will lead to better outcomes.
In this article, why did Jesus not want to divide the inheritance for this man? Is it because Jesus does not care about these matters at all? No, Jesus does not want to participate in their disputes, nor does He want this man to lose himself because of greed. The person expressed here is greedy; perhaps he has already received what belongs to him but is still not satisfied. Maybe his brother has gone too far, and he wants Jesus to judge and give him more inheritance.
From verse 15, we can see that this is Jesus' admonition to the crowd: “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
From here, we can see that Jesus uses this man's situation to admonish the crowd: to be on guard against all kinds of greed because life does not consist in an abundance of possessions. Whether poor or rich, the abundance of life is not related to these. Do not think that the life of the rich is necessarily abundant, nor think that some people live well, and their lives are necessarily rich. Do not think that the poor have a shallow understanding of God.
Jesus hopes that we are cautious and self-controlled, lest greed occupies our hearts. Once a person is occupied by greed, all relationships—family, love, friendship—can be exploited. We should not become such people; such people are truly poor, poor to the point of having nothing left, perhaps only money.
Share the first point: A rich life is not about greedy acquisition but generous giving.
How does greed arise? Romans 7:7-8:
7 What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law; for I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” 8 But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting. For apart from the law, sin was dead.
This passage is very interesting. The law is not sin, but it reveals human sin. Just like the earlier situation, dividing the inheritance itself may not be a problem, but the greed within people is revealed because of it! How many people have turned against each other because of inheritance or compensation for demolition! Is this money wrong? It is just that people's hearts reveal sin because of these matters, and greed is manifested.
Sin seizes the opportunity; what opportunity? Through the law, through some issues that arise between people, some people's sins are revealed, and various kinds of greed are manifested within people. Therefore, in the face of some interests, many people's true nature is reflected. When there is no interest relationship between people, everyone is fine; once there is a conflict of interest, some people turn against each other and even reveal their original nature.
Why? Because they feel they have suffered losses and will not easily let others go. In such people, love cannot be seen at all, which only leads to more discouragement! Jesus brings righteousness to people, not sin. Jesus came to solve human sin, not to let people live in sin. This person wants Jesus to divide the inheritance for him, but in reality, he wants to experience his own greed; he just wants to use Jesus, and Jesus has already seen through his heart, so He is unwilling to participate in his matters.
When a person is self-centered, greed arises because they feel they have less and others have more. If everyone is selfish, how terrible would this world be!
People in a company are like this; the company is a cold machine. If people in a family are like this, you will not feel warmth at all. Similarly, if people in the church are all self-centered, you will completely miss God's love! Therefore, we must avoid this greed; this greed is all about taking, seeking to gain more for oneself, wanting to take from others, only wanting to receive, unwilling to give.
When a person understands the grace of Christ and is willing to live centered on Christ, wherever he goes, he will bring warmth, rest, joy, and hope to others. He thinks about how to help others, achieve others, and build others up! Jesus lived like this while He was on earth.
Many people say they do not know how to live as children of God. Just look at how Jesus lived on earth, how He treated others, and follow that; that is enough. Many believers want to succeed but do not know how to do it. In fact, it is just like Jesus, helping more people, and you will succeed! But the rich man has a selfish mindset.
Let’s look at verses 16-19:
16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ 18 Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do: I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to my soul, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’
I ask everyone a question: if your neighbor is a billionaire, is that a good thing? Some might say: Yes, that’s pretty good! But if the billionaire is stingy, it is not good for you at all. What benefit does it bring you? He will not help you; but if your neighbor is generous and kind to others, that is definitely a good thing for you!
However, the rich man mentioned today is entirely for himself. The abundant harvest indicates that he has received a lot, but this rich man does not seem to think that this is a gift from God; he feels it is something he has earned. What is he thinking? My harvest is already too much; there is no place to store it. What should I do? He does not think about sharing with others or supplying others, helping others; what does he think? Tear down the current house and build a bigger one to store all his grain and goods.
Brothers and sisters, this is human greed. Even if what he currently possesses is already enough, he still feels unsatisfied. He wants to change what he has into something bigger. It is this kind of heart that leaves people forever unsatisfied, so the world keeps striving! Some people earn so much money but are still busy, just like what is mentioned in Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. They do not know what they are busy with, do not know to whom what they earn ultimately belongs, and do not understand why they do this. In short, they cannot stop and do not enjoy life, not knowing to use what they have to help others. This is the greatest joy and achievement. They do not realize this and always think about preparing more, so they spend their whole lives calculating others, gaining more, busy but not knowing why.
Verse 19: “And I’ll say to my soul, ‘You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry!’”
This man thinks only of himself, all for his own enjoyment, completely indifferent to others! If the people of the world are like this, wouldn’t it be very cold? Jesus came to this world because the Father loves us. Because He loves us, He sent His only beloved Son into the world to die for our sins and resurrect for us. Everything He did was for our benefit, to gain life. If Jesus were selfish, He would never have come!
He came to this world and helped many people. In the end, some people did not appreciate it and even crucified Him. If Jesus were selfish, He would have already obtained everything in the kingdom of heaven. But what is love? The love that comes from God is sharing and giving; this is the greatest joy within God! When He is willing to give something away and sees us rejoice, He is joyful! The rich man has none of these thoughts; his heart is poor, and he sees only himself, completely disregarding others. The rich man only sees the material of this world but neglects the eternal blessings.
Matthew 6:19-21:
19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Jesus gives us this admonition: Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth. This does not mean that Christians should not earn money, should not support their families, or should not work; that is not the meaning. Here, God means: set your sights on heaven. You must know that everything on earth is temporary. Even if you accumulate a lot of treasures on earth, when you go to heaven, you cannot take these things with you. Moreover, what you accumulate on earth will decay.
No matter how expensive the things people currently possess are, once they are in hand, they begin to depreciate and gradually rust. Even money is the same; on earth, there are moths that destroy, rust, and thieves that break in and steal. This means that all of this is unstable.
So what is truly stable? Store up treasures in heaven! Why store treasures in heaven? In eternity, there are no moths that destroy, no rust, and no thieves that break in and steal. What God has reserved for us is an eternal inheritance, endless abundance. How can we obtain all this? It is actually very simple. While people are on earth, they must set their sights on heaven and realize that they do not belong to this world. You are a prince from above, a child of God, and one day you will return to that homeland. Earth is temporary; there is no need to spend all your energy accumulating treasures in this world. Thinking this way is correct.
Therefore, when you understand this idea, the gains and losses on earth will not matter too much, and your mood will not be depressed because you have gained more or less. Your heart will often rejoice because of Christ. Why? Because your treasure is in heaven!
When you help others on earth, loving others with Christ's love, your treasures are stored in heaven; when you offer your love or material help to others, your treasures are stored in heaven; when you see a certain gospel ministry in need of help and offer your strength, your treasures are stored in heaven! This shows that your heart is always with Jesus. Everything you do is because of Christ, and you have stored many treasures in heaven because God remembers your contributions!
If a person always thinks about storing their treasures on earth, accumulating more, their heart is on this earth; but if your treasures are in heaven, what you store is eternal spiritual wealth, and your heart is with Jesus. You will gain more, not only in this world but also in the blessings of eternal life in the world to come!
Colossians 3:1-4:
1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
This clearly tells us to realize that you are a new creation, you are a child of God, you have died and been raised with Christ. Now the life you live is no longer yours but Christ living in you. Knowing that the life of Christ dwells within you, you should seek the things above. Simply put: live like Jesus, not like this ignorant rich man, living only for earthly matters.
Live like Jesus, who does everything for the glory of the Father. He always thinks about what is happening above. What is happening above now? Christ has already won, has returned to the kingdom of heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God. One day you will also be like this, so you should think about how to contribute to the construction of your future homeland. Do not always put all your energy into this temporary dwelling place.
It is like going on a trip; when you stay in a hotel, would you spend your entire life savings to renovate the temporary hotel? I think the answer is clear; no one would do that. Why not? Because it is a temporary residence. Why spend your life savings on this? You would rather renovate your own home, right?
In the same way, know that our soul's homeland is above, in the place of Jesus. You should think of every way to obtain these spiritual blessings. Everything on earth is temporary. This is what Jesus means: you should set your mind on things above. Always think about the things above. No matter how turbulent and changing the world is, your heart will always be stable because you know that the gains and losses in this world are temporary, and God's provision is certain and abundant. You are a child of God, and this identity cannot be changed by anyone.
But if you focus all your attention on this earth, when you have nothing, you will feel inferior, lose peace, feel that no one cares about you, and look down on you. You will have nothing; but if you always set your sights above, knowing that God loves you, even if the people of this world are cold and only care about themselves, you still believe that there is a God who loves you and will love you to the end!
Your life is different from that of the world. The old self has died; now it is the resurrected life of Christ within you. We are God's people; Christ is our life. One day when Christ returns, we will be revealed with Him in glory. Amen. Therefore, brothers and sisters, you must understand these things. Do not learn from this ignorant rich man, who focuses all his attention on the earth. Greed will grow larger and larger, never satisfied! In the last days, people are self-centered, only caring for themselves. In the church, among those in Christ, we should be a shining light in the world, allowing more people to see love and warmth through us!
Share the second point: Those who are rich before God.
The Bible mentions that a rich person is not only someone who has money but also someone who has a generous heart to give. Such a person can be called a rich person. A rich person is first rich in heart. Do you know that you are also rich before God? You may feel that you have nothing now; how can you say that you are rich? Others call me poor, and many people look down on me... No, you must see yourself from a spiritual perspective. When you correctly understand our God and correctly understand yourself, your situation will change. First, the moment you accept Jesus, you become a child of God. The life of Jesus is within you, and because of Christ, you have become rich, so you can give out the life, love, and peace of Christ.
2 Corinthians 8:9:
9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.
What does this verse mean? It shows that everyone saved by Jesus is rich; however, many believers do not realize that they are rich. Many believers often judge their wealth based on how much material they currently possess, which is just like that rich man. He has so much in his house that it cannot fit anymore, and he thinks he is a rich person. In reality, he is a poor person who wants to tear down his current yard to build a bigger one to store more. His heart is still unsatisfied; he does not have a heart to give to others.
But look at Jesus. When Jesus came to this world, He did not seem to be wealthy. Jesus' family was not rich. From the perspective of the people at that time, Mary and Joseph were not very wealthy, as evidenced by their offering. On the eighth day after Jesus was born, they went to the temple to offer a sacrifice, which was a small animal, indicating that it was a poor person's offering, not a cow or a sheep, which would have been offered by the wealthy. This shows that Jesus' family background was not considered wealthy by the world, but do you know? Jesus was truly a rich person. Through His ministry, you can see how many people He helped; He had an endless supply within Him. This is richness.
Brothers and sisters, when you have an endless supply of love, life, and help to give to others, you are a rich person. This is what Jesus did on earth. Throughout His life, Jesus continuously helped and supplied others. Many people provided for Jesus and His disciples; many women used what they had to support Jesus and His ministry because He helped so many people.
In this world, no matter what industry you are in or what business you do, you should have this mindset: use what you have to help more people, and you will surely be a rich person! If you have the truth in your heart and use the truth to help others, you are rich; if you have any products that can improve people's lives and help many, you are also a rich person; if you have the gifts of the Holy Spirit and use those gifts to help many, comfort many, and encourage many, you are rich!
Where does this richness come from? Because you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is rich; He gave everything He had to us on the cross. He was rich but became poor for your sake so that you through His poverty might become rich. This simple statement means He gave you everything.
When did Jesus become poor? When He was on the cross, all His disciples left Him, His clothes were taken away, others humiliated Him, insulted Him, and tried to take His life. Even His Father, who had never left Him before, left Him at that moment. So Jesus was alone on the cross, becoming the poorest person.
But why did Jesus do this? Because He wanted to give you everything. Because He was forsaken by the Father, you will never be forsaken by the Father again. You are called a child of God. By His wounds, you have been healed; by His punishment, you have peace. He has given you all His life, grace, and power. This is what every child of God possesses now.
Unfortunately, many believers do not know that they are rich before God and are still begging God: Lord, when will you make me rich? When will you let me prosper? In fact, God has already given it to them. What they need to do is live with the strength of Jesus, using Jesus' life to influence more people, and their lives will change as a result. God has already given them richness; they only need to live like Jesus, and then they will be rich and successful. Amen.
Therefore, you must understand to set your sights above and know what Jesus has done for you. Life should no longer be self-centered, looking at your gains and losses, but should be centered on Jesus, always thinking about how Jesus would view this person, how He would evaluate this person, how He would help this person. Use this mindset to view everyone around you and help them, and you will see great improvements in your material life, interpersonal relationships, and many aspects. Amen.
Believe that you are already a rich person before God. Spiritually, you must first see that Jesus has given you everything. Now the resources of the kingdom of heaven are available for you to use. You must learn to draw from the Father like Jesus and then give it away.
1 Timothy 6:17-19:
17 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19 In this way, they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
1 Timothy is about how to serve. Paul tells Timothy to command those who are rich in this present world. Here, rich refers to those who are very wealthy and sufficient in life. How should we encourage such people? Not to be arrogant or put their hope in uncertain wealth.
Why do some people become arrogant when they have more possessions? Because it is a human illusion. People think that as long as they have enough money, they can do whatever they want, and they will have a lot of security. In reality, through examples around us, we can see that many wealthy people, when their lives are in danger, money cannot save them. Many wealthy people find that their money cannot help them when they are in trouble, and they become very desperate. Therefore, for those who have much in this world, do not be arrogant, because even if you gain the whole world, without life, all of this is in vain. You cannot exchange your possessions for eternal life; it cannot be done.
Therefore, no matter how many material blessings you have, do not be arrogant or proud. All of this is given to you by God. What is the purpose of these blessings? To help more people with your finances, to store up eternal wealth. Unfortunately, many people, after acquiring wealth, rely on this uncertain wealth. What does this mean? They feel that having money can settle everything, but this is a wrong idea. They focus all their attention on money and rely on it. In reality, when they truly encounter a crisis, when life is threatened, money is truly useless.
So who should we rely on? We should rely on God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. First, we must understand who gives us these possessions. They are given to you by God. Our God is willing to richly provide us with everything for our enjoyment. This is something we must understand. God does not want us to be greedy because once greed arises, even if God gives you more, you will still be unsatisfied and unwilling to share with others. This is a problem. God wants us to rely on Him. Therefore, we must know that having Jesus means having everything. What does this statement truly mean? Through the material abundance that God gives you now, you must see God's blessings and learn to help more people like Jesus.
There is a very wise person in the Bible; this person is Peter. One time, Jesus said a word, and Peter cast his net to fish, resulting in two boats full of fish. He put down the two boats of fish and knelt before Jesus, saying, “Lord, I am a sinner; please leave me!” What was his true thought? I was wrong; I should not have looked down on you! Peter was not happy because of the two boats of fish; he realized that the Jesus who gave him the two boats of fish was the true source of blessing. We must understand this.
Many believers, even to this day, do not have this insight. They only want the blessings of Jesus but do not want Jesus. Therefore, many believers seek Jesus only when they are at a dead end, when they are sick; when they are prosperous and wealthy, they do not care about Christians at all, and they are even unwilling to participate in church activities. This shows that their focus is still on this earth.
If you see that God has already blessed you with so much, you should help others more like Jesus, and God will add more to you! Always remember, we are channels of blessing. A channel means continuously allowing it to flow, and money is also meant to flow, right?
Look at verse 18: “Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.”
Paul said to Timothy: You should encourage those who are wealthy to do good. I also want to say to those brothers and sisters who are materially wealthy: You should do good more often and show the pattern of Christ. Many people only keep receiving in the church, becoming spiritually rich, but do not show it. The world does not know what is good about this Jesus, and they are even worse than some charitable organizations.
So what should we do? After we become wealthy, we should do good more often. For example, if we see someone in need, we should help them and supply them. If we see brothers and sisters in need, we should help them, comfort them, and do good! Jesus did such things; He spent more than three years doing good, going around doing good deeds. Amen.
You can also do this. Therefore, when you are materially rich, you should help others like this, be rich in good deeds. Amen. In all the things that everyone thinks are good, we should do more. Be willing to give; how can a person be willing to give? When he realizes that he is a rich person, rich before God, and knows that everything he possesses is given by God, he can be willing to give.
What benefit does this bring us? Verse 19: “In this way, they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age.”
You must believe that the eternal kingdom of heaven is real, and the rewards in the kingdom of heaven are also real. One day when we return to the kingdom of heaven, we will know that what I am saying today is not in vain. In the future, many people in the kingdom of heaven will receive many crowns. How did they obtain them? While they were on earth, they gave a lot to others, were willing to share, and generously supplied others. Therefore, they stored many rewards in heaven, and that is eternal.
You still have the opportunity to inherit a good foundation on earth, preparing more rewards for the future. That is true life. Everything on earth will one day perish and disappear. Therefore, we must store our eternal blessings and rewards in heaven. How to do this? Use the heart of Jesus, with the intention of glorifying Jesus, to help those around you. Just do your best.
What can you offer because of Jesus? When you see others hurt, can you comfort them? Help them because of Jesus' love; you will have rewards in heaven. If you are not eloquent but see someone in need and help them materially, you will have rewards in heaven. Both are the same blessings. Amen. Do not think that because you gave someone some money, you have contributed a lot. They are the same. Do not think that because I do not have money and only comforted him with words, it is not as much as what others gave. No, in God's eyes, if it is given willingly, it is rich and blessed before God. The ignorant rich man mentioned in this article has a plan to make his barns bigger for his own enjoyment in the latter half of his life, but he has miscalculated. Why?
Let’s look at verse 20: “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’”
This statement is very interesting. It does not mean that God dislikes people having money and must take their souls away tonight. That is not the meaning. From a human perspective, it means that this person is constantly acquiring and storing, like an animal storing food in the summer. Animals are fine; they enjoy it in winter. But this rich man is constantly doing this until when? Until he dies.
So God is giving us a vision in eternity, saying that this person is very ignorant. Tonight, his soul will leave, but the day before, he was still storing, still storing, still storing. He never thought about where his life would go. He never thought about storing treasures for his eternal life, nor did he think that after he died, all that he had prepared would ultimately belong to whom!
Many people say: It will belong to his children! This is not necessarily true. Many wealthy people, after they die, their children quickly squander the money they earned over many years. Do you think he would be angry enough to rise from the grave? This is just a joke. What we must believe is that we must store treasures for eternity because we do not know when our lives will return to the kingdom of heaven. This rich man is ignorant; he never thought that no matter how much he possesses on earth, he ultimately does not know to whom it will belong!
Verse 21: “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”
Does God not want us to have a prosperous life? God hopes you are prosperous. We mentioned this at the beginning, but God hopes even more that you are rich before Him. Amen. We must realize that we are rich before God and then do the things that rich people should do. This way, you will have eternal blessings.
Let’s look at the last passage, Revelation 3:14-18:
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.
In Revelation 3, the Holy Spirit writes to the seven churches. This message is not for ordinary believers but for the pastors of the churches. This is what the Holy Spirit says to the angel of the church in Laodicea.
What is the situation in the Laodicean church? They are materially wealthy, but their deeds are not even as good as ordinary people. Their behavior is neither cold nor hot. What does it mean to be neither cold nor hot? It means they seem to be blind to the suffering of the poor and those in need of help, showing no heart to help. No matter how much others suffer, it seems to them that it does not hurt or itch. This is a lukewarm behavior.
The Holy Spirit hopes they would be either cold or hot. How can you not have any reaction? Others are in so much pain, and you feel nothing; others are so happy, and you seem to be indifferent. Why have they become so cold and unfeeling? Because they feel they are already rich.
Verse 17: “You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’”
What does this mean? Among the Laodicean church, these ministers are very wealthy, but they are indifferent and unconcerned about the believers and the world. They think they are rich, but God says: “You are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.”
So what should they do? At this time, the Holy Spirit tells those wealthy Laodicean ministers to change their shape. How to change? Do not be lukewarm like this anymore. Buy gold refined in the fire, buy white clothes to wear, and buy salve to put on your eyes. What do these mean? They hope they will leave a legacy for future eternal blessings and sincerely help brothers and sisters, rather than accumulating wealth for themselves.
In the last days, many so-called pastors only seek the money of believers but do not help them. Some even become cold and unfeeling, completely unconcerned about the lives of believers. If even the pastors and ministers are like this, the situation for believers will be even worse!
So there is a problem at the top. The Holy Spirit tells the Laodicean church that they must change and realize that they are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked. They have nothing. Although they think they are wealthy, they have nothing before me. Therefore, they should buy gold refined in the fire, which means doing things that God recognizes, things that can withstand the fire of the Holy Spirit, which will make them rich. They should help others, encourage others with love, and willingly give.
They should buy white clothes to wear, which means they must have good deeds to live before the world and before brothers and sisters, so that their shame does not show. If even a pastor is entirely for himself, that is a shame. Many people hear Jesus and say that if even a pastor is like this, only caring for himself and not caring for others, how can others have faith in Jesus?
They should buy eye salve to put on their eyes, which means they must see eternal blessings. Do not focus on this world like this ignorant rich man. Brothers and sisters, we are children of God, living not only for this world but also for the blessings of eternal life! We must set our sights on heaven and live like Jesus, storing treasures in heaven. You are not only rich on earth but also rich in heaven! God bless you all.
Let us pray together
Heavenly Father, thank you and praise you for giving us such words, allowing us to have wisdom. We are rich before God. I am a child of God, and the richness of Jesus is upon me. The Father has given me gifts and abilities to help more people. As we start this new week, I am willing to be a channel of blessing. Please grant me wisdom and supply what I need now. I am willing to be a channel of blessing to help more people know Christ and store eternal spiritual treasures in heaven, allowing the people of this world to see that we are a different group of people! Thank you and praise you, grant me a heart that loves one another, so that I may love those around me with the love of Christ, allowing them to see the glory of Christ! Thank you and praise you; all glory belongs to you. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, we pray, Amen.