PREPARATION FOR THE THIRD SEASON FEASTS: THE CONGREGATION OF LAODICEA (Revelation 3:15-16)

Elul 21 (3 September 2026)

The KING is in the FIELD! AWAKEN the BELIEVERS!

CONGREGATION SEVEN: LAODICEA (Revelation 3:15-16)

The Congregation of Laodicea was like the water of their city, neither cold nor hot but lukewarm. They did the things expected from a Congregation, but their hearts were far from YHVH their God, much like we read in Isaiah 29:13 and later quoted by MESSIAH YESHUA to the Pharisees and Torah (Genesis to Deuteronomy) – teachers in Matthew 15:6b-9 “Thus by your TRADITION (customs, rituals, habits) you make null and void the WORD of GOD (the Father)! You hypocrites (frauds)! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, ‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far away from Me. Their worship of Me is useless, because they teach man-made rules as if they were doctrines (rules and guidelines).’ In the Mark 7:8-9 version we read: “You depart from GOD (the Father’s) COMMANDMENTS and hold on to human tradition. Indeed, He said to them, ‘you have made a fine art of departing from GOD (the Father’s) COMMANDS in order to keep your tradition!

It is therefore clear that they have set their HUMAN TRADITIONS above the WORD of YHVH their GOD. In plain language it means they did NOT OBEY the WORD of YHVH, and therefore we can say they did not LOVE HIM, since GOD’s language of love is OBEIENCE to HIS WORD. We read it in Exodus 20:6, Deuteronomy 7:9, Nehemiah 1:5, Daniel 9:4, John 14:15 & 21 and 1 John 5:3.

MESSIAH YESHUA WARNS THE CONGREGATION OF LAODICEA:

1. He knows what they are DOING – they are neither cold nor hot. How He wishes that they were either one or the other. So because they are LUKEWARM, neither cold nor hot, He will vomit them out of His mouth! 

• When people set themselves above God the Father’s REVEALED WORD, they cannot receive the FULLNESS of WHO HE IS.

• In a sense they are making themselves “God” by judging HIM when they are judging HIS WORD. This happens when we do not recognize our own utter sinfulness and our need for God the Father’s GRACE.

• The Laodicea-type believer:

1). Practice religion, but their hearts do not belong to GOD the Father and MESSIAH YESHUA they have no RELATIONSHIP with Him through the HOLY SPIRIT. They take what they like and reject what they don’t like from the WORD of YHVH and create their own religion that suite their own desires and needs.

2). They draw people into their view points and instead of preaching THE TRUTH of the GOSPEL (the GOOD NEWS) of ABBA FATHER of SALVATION through MESSIAH YESHUA, they tell people what they want to hear, pleasing the flesh (the old sinful nature with its sinful desires), rather than putting the flesh to death as Messiah Yeshua told us to do, in Matthew 16:24-27 saying: “If anyone wants to come after Me, let him say ‘No’ to himself, take up his cross (die to self) , and keep following Me. For whoever wants to save his own life will destroy it, but whoever destroys his (old) life for My sake will find it (new life). What good will it do someone if he gains the whole world but forfeits his life? Or what can a person give in exchange for his life? For the Son of Man will come in His Father’s glory with His angels; and then He will repay everyone according to his conduct (behaviour, deeds). ” Also read Luke 9:23-26.

Paul later explained it to the believers as follows:

• • “We know that our old self was put to death on the cross with Him (Messiah Yeshua) , so that the entire body of our sinful propensities (tendencies, inclinations) might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin” Romans 6:6.

• • “I solemnly tell you that I die every day”. 1 Corinthians 15:31.

• • “When the Messiah was executed on the cross as a criminal, I was too; so that my proud ego (old self) no longer lives. But the Messiah lives in me, and the life I now live in my body, I live by the same TRUSTFUL FAITHFULNESS the Son of God had, who loved me and gave Himself up for me”. Galatians 2:20

3). They do religious things like praying and worshipping, but they do not surrender themselves to MESSIAH YESHUA to be the MASTER of their lives and totally depend on GOD the FATHER and HIS GRACE.

SOUL SEARCHING

1. Am I cold, hot or LUKEWARM in my FAITH and LOVE for YHVH my God?

2. Am I trying to worship YHVH through man-made traditions, rules and doctrines or am I worshipping Him in accordance with the TRUTH in HIS WORD and HIS COMMANDMENDS and GUIDELINES?

3. Am I declaring that I am a follower of Messiah Yeshua (a Christian), but I do not follow GOD the FATHER’s will, rather I do as I please/ my will?

4. Am I JUDGING God’s WORD in terms of what I think is right or wrong or am I accepting what HE TELLS me is RIGHT and WRONG and best for me?

5. Am I focused on feeding and pleasing my flesh (my old sinful self) or am I dying to my flesh (sinful old self) and nurturing my soul (heart and mind) each day on the WORD of GOD my Father and finding my REST and PEACE in Him?

6. Do I LOVE YHVH my God with my whole heart, mind (thoughts) and body and therefore CHOOSE to FOLLOW in MESSIAH YESHUA’s footsteps in OBEYING ABBA FATHER?

REPENTANCE, RESTORATION AND ENCOURAGEMENT

• We are called to be in a RELATIONSHIP with YHVH our GOD and to LOVE HIM with ALL our HEART and with ALL our SOUL (mind and free will) and with ALL our STRENGTH (BODY), teaching His Word to our children when we sit in our homes, when we are traveling on the road and when  we lie down, always keeping it in our thoughts and doing it with our hands as well as making it the foundation of our homes (writing it on the door frames of our homes) as we read in  Deuteronomy 6:5-7 and Matthew 22:37, entailing making HIM PART of every part of our daily lives and OBEYING HIS WORD.

• Paul gives us valuable guidelines in Colossians 3:2-10 saying: “Focus your minds on the things above (where Messiah is sitting at the right hand of God the Father), not on things here on earth. For you (your old self) have died, and your (eternal) life is hidden with the Messiah in God (the Father). When the Messiah, who is our life, appears (at His second coming), then you too will appear with him in glory (referring to the first resurrection of believers)! Therefore, put to death the earthly parts of your nature – sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed (which is a form of idolatry); for it is because of these things that God’s anger is coming on those who DISOBEY Him. True enough, you used to practise these things in the life you once lived; but now, PUT THEM ALL AWAY – anger, exasperation (frustration, irritation), meanness, slander and obscene talk. Never lie to one another; because you have stripped away the old self, with its ways, and have PUT ON THE NEW SELF, which is CONTINUALLY BEING RENEWED in fuller and fuller knowledge, closer and closer to the image of its CREATOR.”

• The SEVEN FEASTS of YHVH our GOD, gives us a ROADMAP of how we enter through MESSIAH YESHUA into a LIVING RELATIONSHIP with ABBA FATHER, through the HOLY SPIRIT. Should you be interested, please review the SEVEN FEASTS of YHVH on the website.