We have just finished the messages to the seven churches in Revelation chapters 2 and 3. And I was all ready to move away from Revelation.
• I was thinking about what to preach. I sat down on Thursday night and received through the email a newsletter from SermonCentral, which I subscribed to.
• And the article for this issue was about the seven churches in Revelation. I read it and was prompted back into Revelation.
• I believe the Lord wants me to end with his note.
So here I am, back into Revelation, and a final look at the seven churches.
• The Lord says, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
• Here in Rev 2-3 we have seven messages, given specifically to seven churches, according to the situation and needs.
• Yet somehow the Lord wants us to know that these aren’t just letters for them alone, and completely irrelevant to us.
• At the end of each letter, He added this emphasis.
o To the church in Ephesus - 2:7.
o To the church in Smyrna – 2:11
o To the church in Pergamum – 2:17
o To the church in Thyatira – 2:29
o To the church in Sardis – 3:6
o To the church in Philadelphia – 3:13
o To the church in Laodicea – 3:22
We are to hear what the Spirit says to the churches. It’s in plural.
• All the messages are relevant to us. They serve as an encouragement and a warning.
• These are real churches in Asia Minor, and real issues. In order words, problems in these seven churches are the problems we can see today in churches.
• Their strengths can be our strengths, and their weaknesses can be our weaknesses.
• Our church life, and in a narrower sense, our Christian life, are mirrored by these churches.
We see another line repeated in all of these seven messages.
• Each of the churches is called to overcome.
o To the church in Ephesus in 2:7
o To the church in Smyrna – 2:11
o To the church in Pergamum – 2:17
o To the church in Thyatira – 2:26
o To the church in Sardis – 3:5
o To the church in Philadelphia – 3:12
o To the church in Laodicea – 3:21
In order words, there will be this overcoming you need to be doing; there will be challenges in the Christian life.
• Like these churches, you may face problems from without – persecutions, false prophets; or from within, you own sinful flesh and weaknesses.
• The same John wrote in 1 John 4:4 “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”
• Jesus says to His disciples in John 16:33 “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
• That’s what Revelation is trying to drive home to us: “You are going to have trouble in this world.”
So we are called to overcome. But how do you do that?
• The answer is found in chapters 4 and 5. [Read Rev 4:1-11, 5:11-14]
• Having led to see what’s going on in the churches ON EARTH, he saw heaven!
• Not just heaven but “a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it.” (Rev 4:2)
• He saw the enthroned God and the Lamb, Jesus Christ.
• You take your eyes off your earthly situation and gaze into heaven, and you will see what true reality looks like.
No matter what is the world’s problem, or for that matter, what is the church’s problem, or what is your problem, the most important and needful thing, is for you to look up, and see God in all of His glory.
• It is no coincidence that the problems of the seven churches in chapters 2 and 3 are followed by a majestic vision of Him who sits on the throne in chapter 4 and the Lamb who was slain in chapter 5.
• The vision of God in chapters 4 and 5 is the answer to the problems posed in chapters 2 and 3.
• You can overcome, because God is on the throne, and the Lord Himself has triumphed (5:5).
The vision does not just tell us we can overcome; I believe it is telling us HOW we can overcome.
• We are to follow the example of those in the throne room, and worship Him. Everyone worship Him!
• In order words, we will find the love, the strength, and the hope we need to overcome the challenges of this world when we WORSHIP God.
• They were doing that continuously, with songs of praise. Everything is centred on the throne in the midst of the room.
When we do that, we get our focus right.
Right focus brings clarity. We see things in the right perspective.
• We see in Him the power to lift us out of our despair, the hope to drive away our misery, and the strength to overcome our problems.
• 4:8 says day and night, the four living creatures never stop saying: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.”
• God has always been there in the past, He’s here in the present, and He’ll be there in the future when we need Him.
HYMN: NOW THANK WE ALL OUR GOD
In 1607, a German named Martin Reinkardht wrote “Now Thank We All Our God”, which has become one of the great hymns of praise. He was in Eilenburg, Saxony, during the Thirty Years’ War. The walled city of Eilenburg saw a steady stream of refugees pour through its gates. The Swedish army surrounded the city, and famine and plague were rampant. 800 homes were destroyed, and over 6000 people in his German village, including his wife and children, died of pestilence. There was a tremendous strain on the pastors who had to conduct dozens of funerals daily. Finally, the pastors, too, succumbed, and Reinkardht was the only one left—doing 50 funerals a day. When the Swedes demanded a huge ransom, Reinkardht left the safety of the walls to plead for mercy. The Swedish commander, impressed by his faith and courage, lowered his demands. Soon afterward, the Thirty Years’ War ended, and Reinkardht wrote this hymn for a grand celebration service. It is a testament to his faith that, after such misery, he was able to write one of the most lasting hymns of praise:
Now thank we all our God with heart and hands and voices
Who wondrous things has done, in whom His world rejoices
Who, from our mother’s arms has blest us on our way
With countless gifts of love, and still is ours today
All praise and thanks to God the Father now be given
The Son, and Him who reign with them in highest heaven
The one eternal God whom earth and heav’n adore
For thus it was, is now, and shall be evermore."
Note the words of that last verse:
All praise and thanks to God the Father now be given;
The Son and Him Who reigns with Them in highest Heaven;
The one eternal God, whom earth and Heaven adore;
For thus it was, is now, and shall be evermore.
In the midst of his sorrow, Reinkardht must have been reading from Rev 4. He quoted directly from its words. Why? Why did he write such a hymn? He understood what Revelation is saying. The Lord is still on His throne. “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
Focus on God’s throne.
• Set your eyes and your heart on HIM who seats on the throne.
• Anne Graham Lotz says, “Fix your eyes on Jesus and tune your heart to worship Jesus and open your mouth to praise Jesus.” (p.136 in The Vision of His Glory)
• He has the power to help you overcome. That’s what worship is all about.
An elementary teacher shared this true account.
Storm clouds and strong gusts of wind had come up suddenly over Columbus, Ohio. The Alpine Elementary School radio blared tornado warnings. It was too dangerous to send the children home. Instead, they were taken to the basement, where the children huddled together in fear. The teachers were worried too.
Hearing the sounds of the wind and storm scared the children. Child after child began to cry. The teachers could not calm them. Then one of the teachers whispered to the child closest to her, “Aren’t you forgetting something, Kathie? There is a power greater than the storm that will protect us. God is with us! Let’s pass the words on to the friend next to you.”
So the whispering game started. As the words were whispered from child to child, a sense of peace settled over the group. They could hear the wind outside, still blowing with the same ferocity, but it didn’t seem to matter now. Inside, fear subsided and tears faded away.
Many years later the teacher still remembered those simple calming words. She said, “In times of stress and trouble, I have again been able to find release from the tension by repeating, ‘God is with us.’”
Stay focused. Tune your heart to worship and praise God.
• You’ll see Him on His throne.
• Both the pictures are real. You just need to have the perspective of chapters 4 and 5, while living in 2 and 3.
We are all worshippers. By now, I believe we know what worship is, and we are doing that every week.
• We just need to STAY FOCUSED.
• Is God with you? Is He in control? Do you have this assurance?
• Even Christians struggle with this when they face times of hardship and difficulty.
• Stay focus on the Lord who is on His throne, and we shall overcome.
