Dear friends, last night at our church I preached the last in a series of seven messages based on the letters to the seven churches from Revelation 2-3. My message was on Rev. 3:14-22 and the title I gave it is: What Makes Jesus Spew. It was a sobering message on the destructive nature of pride that nauseates our Lord, that deluded the church in Laodicea to the point they needed nothing when in fact they desperately needed Jesus, and Jesus reveals how they and we can overcome this destructive root sin.

The main point of the passage and message is: Let us repent of nauseating pride by embracing our desperately needed Savior.

This is the last of the letters by Jesus to the seven churches in Rev.2-3, and the previous letters were taught by pastors and elders from our church. Each preacher shared their main point from the letter to the church as well as a key word to remember:

• Ephesus (Greg): Rekindle your first love for Christ! (Rekindle)
• Smyrna (Wescott): God promises the crown of life to those who suffer slander and persecution; though we may die we do not need to fear the second death. (Fear not)
• Pergamum (Roger): Know God’s word and practice it consistently. (Practice God’s word)
• Thyatira (Greg): Cling fast to God’s Word and reject all false teachers! (Cling)
• Sardis (Jeremy): Guard your hearts against dead works without faith. (Wake up!)
• Philadelphia (Wescott): God called the small, faithful church in Philadelphia to hold fast to their faith in Jesus, and promised them their place in God’s house would never be taken away from them. (Hold fast)
• Laodicea (Eric): Let us repent of nauseating pride by embracing our desperately needed Savior. (Repent)

My outline for the message, which can be watched below, is as follows:

1. Address. (14)
2. The problem: Nauseating pride. (15-17)
   • Pride makes Jesus sick to point of vomiting. (15-16)
   • Pride deludes us to our true condition. (17)
3. The solution: Repent and embrace. (18-20)
   • First, Jesus says we conquer pride by valuing what He offers more than what we have (18).
   • Second, to conquer pride we must zealously repent (19).
   • Third, to conquering pride we must embrace Jesus (20).
4. Final exhortation. (21-22) The result of conquering pride is reigning with Christ.

At the end, I quoted from Valley of Vision, pp. 180-181 (Need of Grace), the reading from yesterday, the day that I was preaching on pride. I was amazed at how well it fit with my message. Excerpts of this Puritan prayer are as follows:

“O Lord, Thou knowest my great unfitness for service, my present deadness, my inability to do anything for they glory, my distressing coldness of heart. I am weak, ignorant, unprofitable, and loathe and abhor myself.  …

Return again with showers of converting grace to a poor gospel-abusing sinner. Help my soul to breathe after holiness, after a constant devotedness to thee, after growth in grace more abundantly every day. …

I confide in thee and lean upon thee, and need thee at all times to assist and lead me. O that all my distresses and apprehensions might prove but Christ’s school to make me fit for greater service by teaching me the great lesson of humility.”

If you would like to watch some or all of the message, feel free to click here: