CGMI ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL MANUAL 16 June 2024 | Topic: CHRIST’S LETTER TO THE SEVEN CHURCHES: THE CHURCH IN LAODICEA
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CGMI ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL MANUAL
CENTRAL THOUGHT:
It is God’s desire that every believer becomes a disciplined and committed follower of Christ
SUNDAY, 16th JUNE 2024.
HYMN: S.S & S 607 “I Am Thine O Lord”
TOPIC: CHRIST’S LETTER TO THE SEVEN CHURCHES: THE CHURCH IN LAODICEA
TEXT: Rev 3:14-22
INTRODUCTION:
Laodicea was an old city in Asia minor which the Syrian King Antiochus II enlarged, beautified and renamed after his wife Laodicea. It grew to become a great commercial center. A Christian church was established here probably from Ephesus. It was wealthy but painfully lukewarm. Christ’s message to the Laodicean church appears to contain the most serious rebuke to any church as they were neither here nor there. It is clear that Christ loved this church all the same hence, He rebukedthem sharply. Believers in Christ must learn to take their stand for God both in good and bad times and serve Him committedly.
LESSON OBJECTIVES:
By the end of this lesson, believers should be able to:
- Explain how Christ introduced Himself to the church
- Compare how Christ rated the church with how they assessed themselves
- Identify some things that can distract believers from being hot christians
- Appreciate Christ’s counsel to the church
BIBLE TRUTH:
QUESTION 1. HOW DID CHRIST INTRODUCE HIMSELF TO THE CHURCH IN (Rev 3:14)
In this text, the Lord called Himself “the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness”.
” Amen” means ” so be it” but when used at the beginning of a sentence, it is translated “very”. Qualifying the ” Amen” the article ” the” presupposes that Christ is the supreme authority whose message to the church is genuine, incontrovertible and not subject to any disputation.
Further to the introduction, He describes Himself as the faithful and true witness and the beginning of the creation of the world. This claim was substantiated by St John’s gospel (1:1-5). The implication of these is that Jesus is the author of creation, the supreme authority and sovereign Lord. Believers should whole heartedly receive every word of God and obey Him. We should not harden our hearts to divine instruction
QUESTION 2. COMPARE HOW CHRIST RATED THE CHURCH WITH HOW THEY ASSESSED THEMSELVES (Rev 3:15-17)
The Lord Jesus saw the Laodicean church as lukewarm. They were neither cold nor hot. This implies that inspite of their claim to being christians, they were indifferent to spiritual matters. There was that lack of serious spiritual fervency. Their knowledge of Christ remained shallow and superficial. There was no clear cut demarcation between them and their unbelieving neighbors. The zeal for God was absent.
Secondly, Christ saw them as poor and wretched in matters of spiritual values (righteousness, prayer, gifts and fruits of the spirit, etc). They were also adjudged to be blind, meaning that they were insensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit. They were said to be miserable because their hope was only on the material things of this world. Above all they were assessed as being naked because they lacked the divine covering of God. Believers should be clothed with the garment of righteousness always.
The Laodicean brethren, however, evaluated themselves differently. They allowed their huge wealth emanating from their flourishing commercial activities to becloud their sense of spiritual judgement. They were materially rich but spiritually wretched. Believers should be careful not to arrogantly think their wealth is as a result of God’s acceptance of their faith even when they are not living right with God.
QUESTION 3. READ THE FOLLOWING SCRIPTURES AND IDENTIFY SOME OF THE THINGS THAT CAN DISTRACT SOMEONE FROM BEING A “HOT” CHRISTIAN (Rev 3:17; 1Tim 6:9-10; 2Tim 4:10; Matt 6:19-21)
While it is the will of God for His people to prosper (3Jn 2), unbridled quest for riches can quench one’s spiritual fervour (2Tim 6:9), thereby making one become irrelevant, unproductive and unconscious spiritually. The Lord Jesus categorically stated that “… ye cannot serve God and mammon”. Some believers have made a shipwreck of their faith by indulging in many sinful means such as bribery, forgery, lying, fraud(419 yahoo yahoo), just because of money and wealth.
Worldliness is another factor that can reduce a believer to a lukewarm status. The quest for wealth, money, game or popularity and power can dampen the zeal of some for God. A scriptural example was Demas who do loved this present world that he forsook apostles Paul 2 Tim 4:20). No wonder God admonished the believers not to love the world and it’s trappings (1Jn 2:15-17). While riches, mercy and fame are not sins in themselves, we must follow God’s divine recipe for attaining them (Matt 6:31-33; Lk 6:38; Gen 26:1-14)
QUESTION 4A. WHAT IS THE DANGER OF BEING NEITHER COLD NOR HOT (Rev 3:16; Matt 7:21-23)
It is dangerous to live an uncommitted Christian life. This is because such a believer is unprofitable to God and is irrelevant to the body of Christ. Christ warned that if such a person remains in that state, He will dropped such a one (In 15:2b). This means outright loss of salvation and the grace of God, what a tragedy ? This is what it meant by “… I will spew thee out of my mouth h”. As human beings, we spit out any substance in our mouth that is not sweet or palatable. This related to outright rejection. Such a person may still remain in church perhaps paying tithes and offerings, doing philanthropic works, etc. but on the judgement day, His hey will receive the rejection by Jesus Christ, the faithful and impartial judge (Matt 7:21-23). May worldly pursuits not take us away from our place in the kingdom of God.
QUESTION 4B. WHAT WAS CHRIST’S COUNSEL TO THE CHURCH (Rev 3:18-20)
Jesus admonition to seek first the kingdom of God and it’s righteousness remains an eternal principle for the believer. The Laodicean church placed premium on earthly riches at the expense of their salvation. They are counseled here to seek for their soul salvation which is certainly more precious than gold. It cost God His only begotten Son to secure our salvation. Having been saved, we are clothed with the garment of righteousness as we now have received the power to maintain a right standard with God. It is only believers that can perceive spiritual realities. The counsel to the church therefore is for them to retrace their steps and come back to Christ in true repentance. The universal call to salvation is still on-going. Anyone that repents will enjoy true fellowship with God.
DAILY LIVING APPLICATION:
The Laodicean church found themselves losing touch with the God of their salvation due to uncontrollable pursuit of material wealth. In God’s estimation, they were in a precarious situation as they could be spewed out of God’s mouth. Any believer who finds himself feeling indefferent to God, His word and church activities, has begun to shot God out of his life. He is at the verge of outright backsliding. The solution is to repent from where ever ha has fallen. He should leave the door of his heart open to Christ and let Him in.
MEMORY VERSE:
Revelation 3:20 “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me”
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