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Short Clip
Perhaps the most frustrating condition of all was what Jesus found in Laodicea. They werenāt living near Satanās throne, struggling with martyrdom, or being led astray by false teachers. Their condition was completely self-induced.
The Laodiceans were rich, well-fed, well-dressed, and had every advantage. And they knew it. They boasted that they had āneed of nothing.ā But Godās Word had been taken for granted. Forgotten. Swallowed up with all the other information and gadgets and material possessions that all demand attention.
Laodicea had gotten distracted. Yes, they had His Word, but they also had everything else. There was just so much to capture their attention that Godās Word had kind of gotten lost in the shuffle.
When I preach overseas in third world places, Iām always amazed at how little they have. In places like rural Russia, theyāll have a church service that goes from eight in the morning to noon, have a short lunch, and then theyāll ask me to preach again. Even if I donāt have anything else prepared, theyāre willing to hear the same message over again because they have nothing else going on. They have nothing else going in life but God.
But when youāre rich and increased in goods, you become like Laodicea. Laodicea had so much going on, theyād been so overexposed to the distractions of having too much stuff, that they had become spiritually blind. Like those creatures that live for years in caves with no exposure to sunlight, Laodicea had gone for so long without proper exposure to the Light of Godās Word that they had become blind.