We are starting a band new series called “Revelation” today. There is something about this book of the Bible take fascinates people, scares people, & confuses people.
Now with the state of the world, people are asking questions like are we living in the “Last Days” or the “End Times” is “Dooms Day” approaching?
With all the unrest in the Middle East, ISIS is on the rise & causing unrest in that region & threatening to bring acts of terrorism to America. It seems like every night on the news there is horrific news from all over the world. Ebola has come to the US. It was a major problem in Africa, but now there are confirmed cases in the States. There is political unrest, economic unrest, racial unrest. Crime & violence are on the rise. And all of this can cause us to wonder, “Is The End Near?”
There is an HBO series called “The Leftovers” based on those left behind after the return of Jesus, this weekend “Left Behind” staring Nicholas Cage opened which has the same theme.
This can be scary stuff. But my hope isn’t to scare people, to discourage people, or cause alarm. My goal is to offer HOPE & PEACE in the midst of uncertain times.
“God blesses the one who reads the words of this prophecy to the church, and he blesses all who listen to its message and obey what it says, for the time is near.” Revelation 1:3
Did you catch that?
There is a blessing for those who read, listen, & obey what is said in the book of Revelation. And That’s what I want for you, God’s Blessing & Favor
Connect:
Now for me growing up this was a scary book of the Bible, this was used by preachers like Hell was, to scare people into behaving.
Aniti-Christ is going to show up, you’ll have to take the number of the beast (not the Iron Maiden Album) if you want to be able to buy food. If you don’t BEHAVE Jesus will come back & you’ll be left behind. If you didn’t grow up in & around church as a kid you missed all this fun stuff.
There were these TERRIBLE movies, CHESSY in fact, A Thief In The Night, A Distant Thunder all about the rapture &the great tribulation and they would show these in church and scare people into following Jesus. I was always so scared Jesus was going to return & I’d be left behind.
I can remember coming home one day after hanging out with some friends (doing things I shouldn’t have been doing) and NO ONE was home, I ran through the house, they were supposed to be there… I said crap…I’m screwed… it happened… Jesus came back & I was left behind….
Turns out that my parents & younger brother ran to the grocery store in town & my older brother went to a friends.
But you better believe I was on my best behavior for at least the next week :)
Tension:
Some of you may relate to that. Some of you just find it terribly funny!
But my goal isn’t to try & scare anyone into believing in Jesus or scare you into behaving. FEAR is a terrible motivator because once the fear wears off so does the change.
Here in the first few Chapters of Revelation Jesus is speaking to 7 churches. Congregations, just like us. And He has some good things to say, He has some correction to offer, He has some wisdom to share. And in all of it there are important lessons that apply to us. That can help us, grow us, make us more like Jesus.
I really believe there is some VERY PRACTICAL & LIFE CHANGING PRINCIPLES that we can learn & live out!
So let’s jump right in and look at the first of the seven churches. The Church in Ephesus. All of these seven churches were in what is modern day Turkey. They were all Gentile (Non-Jewish) congregations, so people like us.
Truth:
Ephesus had an impressive history. This church had some amazing pastors on staff. The Apostle Paul was their first pastor; his right hand man Timothy took over after Paul; and later John (the guy in Jesus inner circle) lead the church. They had great leadership.
They did tons of good in the community.
So Jesus says…
“I know all the things you do. I have seen your hard work and your patient endurance. I know you don’t tolerate evil people. You have examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but are not. You have discovered they are liars. You have patiently suffered for me without quitting.” Revelation 2:2-3
They were a SERVING CHURCH- they were busy doing good things
They were a SACRIFICIAL CHURCH-they gave generously
They were a STEADFAST CHURCH-they stayed strong in difficult times
They were a SEPARATED CHURCH-they didn’t tolerate “false teachers”
They were doing ALL THE RIGHT THINGS!
But it is possible to do ALL THE RIGHT THINGS for ALL THE WRONG REASONS.
Our Motive matter to God! Look at what Jesus says next…
“But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.” Revelation 2:4
Jesus says, “I’ve got something against you” There is something hindering our relationship, there is something in the way, something jacking up our relationship. What is it?
He says you Ephesians have “abandoned” better said “sent away” or “dismissed” the love you had for me.
Jesus said, you used to really LOVE ME, now you are in love with all the things you do & have walked away from what lead you to do them in the first place. You have left the REAL & embraced the RELIGIOUS.
You ABANDONED our relationship for religious activity
Jesus said it used to be about YOUR LOVE FOR ME, now you are all about yourselves. And this the problem!
When Jesus is no longer the CENTER of the church, it ceases to be a church & simple becomes a social club.
And clubs are great, but they tend to become exclusive & require membership & before long they go out of business.
Jesus said you are doing ALL THE RIGHT THINGS for ALL THE WRONG REASONS!
Like doing good things to “Keep up appearances” but that leads to “not being real” which equals “wearing a mask” (Hypocrites) which means “FAKING IT!”
OR
PRIDE, there is a wrong motive for you, doing ALL THE RIGHT THINGS for ego sake. “Look at me” -> “Notice Me” -> “Praise Me” Totally the opposite of “Look at Jesus” -> “Notice Jesus” -> “Worship Jesus”
We can do all the right things for all the wrong reasons!
I’m sure you can see in your own life, circle of friends, job, or family where this has been the case. People (even us) doing the right things but for the wrong reasons.
It shouldn’t be this way & there is a better way.
And Jesus tells them how to fix it & get back on track!
“Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first.” Revelation 2:5
He tells them to REMEMBER, where they were, where they started. Then He says to REPENT, to change, shift, align themselves. & Then REPEAT the first things, the early work before they got off track.
And this is what I want us to ZERO IN ON. This is where we are going to get very practical and draw out the lesson that applies to us.
I want you to remember 4 things, if you forget everything else I say today, but can remember these for things they will SERVE YOU VERY WELL
Application:
I’ll give them to you them real quick & the glue that holds them together and then I’ll break them down.
Get The Right Perspective; Get The Right Priorities; Get The Right Patterns and the glue CHOOSE JOY.
You Got that? (Repeat) Perspective, Priorities, Patterns-> Choose JOY
Ok now lets break those down…..
1-REMEMBER - Get The Right Perspective
It’s all about have the right perspective. Once we get neck deep in something we loose perspective. We can’t see the forest for the trees.
Spouses take each other for granted because they are always around each other. We make excuses for destructive habits saying, “that’s just the way it is”
At work we can start to get a chip on our shoulder because we think we deserve more money (which may be the case) but we loose site of fact that we have a job when others are struggling to find work.
Kids complain about what’s for dinner, not realizing that there are a lot of kids they go to school with that are going hungry every day!
We need to take a step back & get some perspective.
A lot of time people come to me to complain about a problem & all I do is ask some questions & that force them to take a step back & get some perspective & once they do that, EVERYTHING changes because they see things differently. PERSPECTIVE IS POWERFUL!
So we need the PROPER PERSPECTIVE.
How do we get it, CHOOSE J.O.Y.
JESUS:
You want the right perspective…
See things as Jesus sees them! See people as Jesus sees them!
That person you HATE or that annoys you, JESUS LOVES THEM! Dang!
OTHERS:
See things through OTHER’s Eyes. Walk a mile in their shoes. We are so quick to judge. But what would happen if we tried to understand people & where they are coming from, rather than just try to make them conform.
-LOVE ASSUMES THE BEST! Put a 10 on people’s heads
YOU:
Remember what we said a couple of weeks ago during ALL IN? “The Greatest people are servants” You can’t be great if you are always trying to put yourself first!
Jesus -> Others -> You
The right perspective comes down to CHOOSING JOY!
The formula for PERSPECTIVE- JESUS->OTHER->YOU
2-REPENT - Get The Right Priorities
Now this word “repent” is not a word a lot of us use on a regular basis. Usually when someone uses the word they will equate it to “saying sorry & modifying behavior”
But this word is much richer & deeper than that. Repent carries with it the idea of coming into ALIGNMENT.
When we do things our own way we are “out of alignment” with God. When we repent, we acknowledge that our way of thinking & acting is out of sync, out of alignment with God and we “ALIGN our thinking & behavior with what pleases.
When it comes to our PRIORITIES we need to get in “alignment” with God’s priorities…How do we do it? CHOOSE JOY
JESUS-we put Jesus first. When we put Jesus first make HIM our #1 priority He helps us get everything else in place.
When we make time for Him at the start of our day, THE DAY GOES SOOOOO MUCH BETTER. I know when I do that I get so much more done, I am way more focused & productive, my attitude is way better.
So we need to put Jesus first! Make Him your #1 Priority!
OTHERS-we put others second. This is counter cultural. Our culture screams put yourself first, it’s all about you, your needs, your wants.
But when we put others second after Jesus, life just works. Put your spouse a head of yourself, put your kids ahead of yourself. Think of them, their needs how you can serve them & care for them.
I know the fear is that you will not be cared for, you will be taken advantage of…but when you model service & caring for others… it comes back to you in ways you can’t imagine!!! And you are teaching the next generation how to do it right!
YOU-Put yourself last, make Jesus #1 & others #2 and worry about yourself last. When we align our priorities this way we are being like JESUS!
When He came and walked this Earth, He put His Father’s will first, Honoring God was #1; caring for, serving & saving us was #2 & He put Himself last, He was willing to sacrifice Himself for our well being.
The result…we talked about this in the Philippians series, God made Him “King of Kings & Lord of Lords”
When we humble ourselves, God honors us! He recognizes us, He elevates & cares for us!
So let’s get the right PRIORITIES! Align ourselves with God’s priorities…How do we do it?
CHOOSE JOY Jesus->Other->You Third & finally…
3-REPEAT - Get The Right Patterns
What’s the right PATTERN?
You Got it! JESUS ->OTHERS->YOU
It’s a daily CHOICE! We need to CHOOSE to repeat this pattern on a daily basis.
Right PERSPECTIVE; Right PRIORITIES; & REPEAT
Keep on choosing, every day, JESUS->OTHERS->YOU
When you have to make a decision
CHOOSE JOY…. JESUS->OTHERS->YOU
How you spend your time
CHOOSE JOY…. JESUS->OTHERS->YOU
How you spend your money
CHOOSE JOY…. JESUS->OTHERS->YOU
How you will treat people
CHOOSE JOY…. JESUS->OTHERS->YOU
Keep REPEATING IT until it become our way of life!
WE need to make this a our daily routine, our daily pattern, our METHOD OF OPERATIONS
Landing:
When we CHOOSE JOY we will always DO THE RIGHT THINGS FOR THE RIGHT REASONS!
And we will never have to worry about Jesus saying “I have something against you”
Abandoning the love for Jesus won’t ever be an option because we will have the RIGHT PERSPECTIVE; RIGHT PRIORITIES; & RIGHT PATTERNS and CHOOSE JOY…. JESUS->OTHERS->YOU is the key!
If we do it, it will change our marriages; families; jobs; our church; our community; & our region!!
This is HOW WE CHANGE THE WORLD!!! CHOOSE JOY!!!
