“You say I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and know not that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked” (Revelation 3:17).

There is a danger for the believer when we become so self-deluded and deceived as a result of self-reflection and comparing ourselves among ourselves and think we are better than what reality would reveal. This was the case with the Church at Laodicea. Under the bright light of Him who is “the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the Creation of God” (Revelation 3:14b), the reality of the delusion was exposed.

The rebuke of the Lord was an act of His love for as He said to them, “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten; be zealous, therefore, and repent” (Revelation 3:19).

The Prophet, Isaiah, went through an awakening of his own in this regard. As a Prophet of God, Isaiah, spoke the word of the Lord to the people, gave wise counsel and was to all appearance a man of God above the common lot. However, his revelation came “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw also the Lord” (Isaiah 6:1a). In the time of seeing the Lord all his self-sufficiency, all his self-confidence, all his self-righteousness came crashing down in utter ruin.

“I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the Temple. Above it stood the Seraphim. . .and one cried to another and said, ‘Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of Hosts; the whole earth is full of His Glory’. . .Then said, I, ‘Woe is me! I am undone! I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts'” (Isaiah 6:1-2a, 3, 5).

Until we have a true revelation of the Lord our self-delusion will continue. One will say to another, “Are you ok? Do you need anything?” And the reply will come back, “No. I’m good.” We think we are good. We think we are ok and in need of nothing and know not that we are wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked in the eyes of the Lord. But if, by the grace of God, we come to experience a revelation of the glory of God, we will come to the end of ourselves and repent in dust and ashes.

It is interesting that even Jesus, Himself, had to resist this delusion of self-sufficiency when “one came and said to Him, ‘Good Master, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life’? And Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call Me good? There is none good, but One, that is, God; but, if you will enter into Life, keep the Commandments'” (Matthew 19:16-17).

The Apostle wrote to the Church at Corinth, “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God” (II Corinthians 3:5).

Jesus counseled the Church of Laodicea, “buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that you may be rich, and white raiment, that you may be clothed, and that the shame of your nakedness does not appear. and anoint your eyes with eye salve that you may see” (Revelation 3:18). What He spoke then, He is speaking to us today. He is inviting us to receive the free gift of Grace through faith and receive the true riches of His righteousness. He is inviting us to being clothed with garments of His salvation (cf. Isaiah 61:10), which He freely gives to all who believe.

There is an encounter waiting for you. It is an encounter with the Divine. It is an encounter many have experienced and of whose stories we can freely read. But the encounter of which we now speak is not just to be read in a book, but a life-changing encounter in which you will meet the Lord in a unique, wonderful, vibrant and personal way suited just for you. Are you ready? Stop what you are doing and listen. Do you hear Him knocking?

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man will hear My voice, and open the door, I will come into him, and will sup with him, and he with Me” (Revelation 3:20).

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