Revelation 3:18-22; True Spiritual-Wellness Encouraged
Revelation 3:18-22 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
The sins associated with prosperity are denying God, forgetting and departing from Him and also ascribing praise of success to self or factors other than God. There is a sense of self-conceit. Such a man is not rich towards God.
Our Lord’s advice is to seek true gold, that is to seek God!
The rich man had not faith to trust God to order his life without relying on his riches and the power that comes with it. He left disappointed. The child of God would trust God for all His provisions and understand what Jesus meant when He said:
Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Matthew 19:22-26 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. 23Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. 24And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. 25When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? 26But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
– and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear;
Seeking God first, and seek His righteousness. This white garment is a description of the imputed righteousness of Christ. They are to buy that Adam and Eve received of the Lord, a pre-figuring of Christ and His sacrifice on the cross for our sins! This is the coat of a true saint. Nakedness is a sign of humiliation. The Laodiceans were asked not so much to go to the market and buy woolen garments, but rather the garment of salvation.
Proverbs 1:25-33 But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD: They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices. For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them. But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil. Amen.