WHEN CHRIST CALLS BACK HIS CHURCH
REVELATION 2:1-7
MAY 05, 2019
WE ARE GOING TO BEGIN A SERIES OF MESSAGES ON THE SEVEN CHURCHES MENTIONED IN REVELATION. THE BOOK OF REVELATION PRIMARILY DEALS WITH THE TIME AFTER THE RAPTURE CULMINATING WITH THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE ETERNAL KINGDOM. THE FIRST THREE CHAPTERS ARE STILL PART OF THE VISION GOD GAVE TO JOHN, BUT THEY SPEAK TO CHURCHES AND ARE SET APART FROM THE POST-RAPTURE PART OF REVELATION, MAKING THEM A BIT EASIER TO UNDERSTAND AND TO APPLY.
TO UNDERSTAND THE CONTEXT FOR OUR PASSAGE WE MUST LOOK AT CHAPTER ONE. VERSE FOUR CONTAINS THE COMMISSION FOR JOHN TO WRITE THESE LETTERS TO THE SEVEN CHURCHES MENTIONED. SOME BELIEVE THEM TO BE CIRCULAR LETTERS, WHICH MEANS THAT ALTHOUGH THEY DEALT WITH MATTERS AT ONE CHURCH, THEY WERE TO BE PASSED ON TO THE OTHERS TO PREPARE THEM FOR DEALING WITH THE VARIOUS ISSUES PRESENTED.
TWO KEY FEATURES MENTIONED IN CHAPTER ONE ARE, GOLDEN LAMPSTANDS AND STARS.
REVELATION 1:12: I TURNED AROUND TO SEE THE VOICE THAT WAS SPEAKING TO ME. AND WHEN I TURNED I SAW SEVEN GOLDEN LAMPSTANDS,
REVELATION 1:16: IN HIS RIGHT HAND HE HELD SEVEN STARS, AND COMING OUT OF HIS MOUTH WAS A SHARP, DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD. HIS FACE WAS LIKE THE SUN SHINING IN ALL ITS BRILLIANCE.
OBVIOUSLY REVELATION IS A BOOK THAT DEALS WITH SYMBOLISM, BUT JOHN GOES ON TO GIVE US THE MEANING OF THE GOLDEN LAMPSTANDS AND STARS IN VERSE 20.
REVELATION 1:20:
THE MYSTERY OF THE SEVEN STARS THAT YOU SAW IN MY RIGHT HAND AND OF THE SEVEN GOLDEN LAMPSTANDS IS THIS: THE SEVEN STARS ARE THE ANGELS OF THE SEVEN CHURCHES, AND THE SEVEN LAMPSTANDS ARE THE SEVEN CHURCHES.
THE ANGELS OF THE CHURCHES ARE THE PASTORS AND LEADERS OF THE CHURCHES.
WHILE THERE HAVE BEEN SEVERAL IDEAS AS TO WHY THESE CHURCHES WERE CHOSEN, AND TO WHOM THE MESSAGES TO THE CHURCHES ARE FOR, I AM CONVINCED THAT THERE IS A MESSAGE FOR OUR CHURCH FROM EACH OF THESE LETTRERS, A MESSAGE THAT IF WE TAKE IT TO HEART CAN HELP OUR CHURCH TO CONTINUE TO BE RELEVENT TO OUR COMMUNITY TODAY.
THE LAST THING TO NOTE ABOUT THE LAMPSTANDS IS IN VERSE 13.
REVELATION 1:13: 13 AND AMONG THE LAMPSTANDS WAS SOMEONE LIKE A SON OF MAN,
THE ONE WHO WAS MOVING TO AND FRO AMONG THE CANDLESTICKS WAS JESUS. WE HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THAT JESUS IS MOVING IN HIS CHURCHES TODAY. HE IS THERE FOR US TO CALL UPON WHEN WE WANT DIRECTION. WE HAVE TO REMEMBER THAT THIS CHURCH IS HIS CHURCH. HE WILL NEVER LEAVE US OR FORSAKE US, BUT WE MUST BE CAREFUL. IF WE WALK AWAY FROM HIM, THEN HE WILL NOT ABIDE WITH US.
THE FIRST OF THE SEVEN CHURCHES TO RECEIVE A LETTER WAS THE CHURCH AT EPHESUS. EPHESUS WAS A CITY OF COMMERCE AND CULTURE. IT WAS ON THE MAIN TRADE ROUTE AND SO PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD WOULD STOP AT EPHESUS.
EPHESUS WAS ALSO THE HOME OF GREAT CORRUPTION. THE TEMPLE OF ARTEMIS, OR ANOTHER NAME FOR IT, DIANA, WAS THERE. IT WAS ONE OF THE SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD, SO WE KNOW IT WAS VERY BEAUTIFUL. IT WAS ALSO HOWEVER THE HOME TO HUNDREDS OF TEMPLE PROSTITUES.
PAUL ESTABLISHED THE CHURCH IN EPHESUS, AND IT WOULD EVENTUALLY BE IN EPHESUS THAT GROUPS WOULD RISE UP AGAINST PAUL AND FOLLOW HIM WHEREVER HE WENT.
OUR PASSAGE FOLLOWS A PATTERN THAT JOHN USES FOR MOST OF THE LETTERS. HE BEGINS WITH COMMONDATION, THEN COMES CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM, AND FINALLY A STEP IN CONFIDENCE IF THEY ACT ON WHAT THEY HEAR.
POINT ONE: COMMENDATION
REVELATION 2:3-4:
I KNOW YOUR DEEDS, YOUR HARD WORK AND YOUR PERSEVERANCE. I KNOW THAT YOU CANNOT TOLERATE WICKED PEOPLE, THAT YOU HAVE TESTED THOSE WHO CLAIM TO BE APOSTLES BUT ARE NOT, AND HAVE FOUND THEM FALSE. 3 YOU HAVE PERSEVERED AND HAVE ENDURED HARDSHIPS FOR MY NAME, AND HAVE NOT GROWN WEARY.
THE THING TO NOTE IN THESE VERSES IS THAT THE CHURCH IS VERY ACTIVE. EPHESUS WAS A CHURCH THAT WAS TRYING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE TO ITS COMMUNITY, AND TO BE A CHURCH OF GOOD STANDING. THIS CHURCH WAS DOCTRINALLY SOUND. THEY DIDN’T HESITATE TO EXPOSE ERROR, EVEN WHEN THAT EXPOSURE WAS PAINFUL PERSONALLY.
WE WANT FIRST BAPTIST TO HAVE AN ACTIVE PRESENCE IN OUR COMMUNITY AS WELL. THE THINGS MENTIONED ABOUT THE CHURCH IN EPHESUS ARE THINGS THAT WE WANT PEOPLE TO RECOGNIZE IN US. WE WANT TO BE KNOWN AS A CHURCH THAT TOILS AND LABORS FOR THE LORD, AND ONE THAT IS DOCTRINALLY SOUND. WE MUST ALWAYS BE PEOPLE OF THE BOOK AND STAND ON THE WORD OF GOD IN ALL AREAS OF OUR CHURCH LIFE.
JOHN DOES NOT STOP THERE. HE HAS MORE TO SAY TO THIS LABORING CHURCH. THINGS THAT THEY MAY NOT WANT TO HEAR.
REVELATION 2:4: YET I HOLD THIS AGAINST YOU: YOU HAVE FORSAKEN THE LOVE YOU HAD AT FIRST.
JOHN IS ACTUALLY SPEAKING OF THE MOTIVATION FOR DOING THE ACTIONS HE HAS JUST COMMENDED THEM FOR. HERE HE IS TELLING THEM, THAT THOUGH THEY ARE DOING MANY THINGS RIGHT, THEY ARE NOT DOING THEM WITH A LOVING HEART.
WHEN THE RIGHT THINGS ARE DONE WITHOUT A HEART OF COMPASSION THEN THE REASON THEY ARE DONE IS OUT OF PRIDE. THE CHURCH IN EPHESUS WANTED PEOPLE TO SEE HOW GOOD THEY WERE. THEY WANTED PEOPLE TO ADMIRE THEIR MINISTRY, AND WHAT THEY DID FOR THE LORD. IT BECAME ALL ABOUT THEM AND NOT THE LORD THEY WERE FOLLOWING.
I WONDER HOW IT IS WITH YOU TODAY? WHAT IS YOUR MOTIVATION FOR MINISTRY, FOR DOING THE THINGS YOU DO FOR CHRIST? ARE YOU GIVING GOD THE GLORY FOR MINISTRY BREAKTHROUGHS, OR TRYING TO PUFF YOURSELF UP IN THE EYES OF OTHERS.
OUR FIRST LOVE IS THE LOVE WE HAD FOR CHRIST WHEN WE FIRST BECAME CHRISTIANS. WE WANTED TO LEARN MORE ABOUT GOD, WE WANTED OTHERS TO LEARN ABOUT GOD. WE LOVE THE THINGS OF GOD, THE PEOPLE OF GOD, ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE CHURCH WE COULDN’T GET ENOUGH OF.
THEN SOMETHING HAPPENS. WE OVERHEAR A SHARP COMMENT FROM A CONGREGANT. SOMEONE SAYS OR DOES SOMETHING THAT IS BLATENTLY UNBIBLICAL. WE SEE PEOPLE STROKING THEIR OWN EGOS, AND NOT GIVING PRAISE TO GOD. IN OUR HEARTS WERE SCREAMING “THIS IS NOT THE WAY CHURCH SHOULD BE.” ANGER FLARES, DIVISIONS ARE MADE, AND SOON THE CHURCH WE LOVE IS JUST A MESSY SOCIAL CLUB, WITH CERTAIN PEOPLE TRYING TO BE LEADERS. WE DON’T WANT ANY PART OF IT, AND WE WIND UP FEELING EMPTY INSIDE.
THERE ARE TIMES WHEN I FEEL THAT I HAVE LOST MY FIRST LOVE. IT IS AN EMPTY DESPERATE FEELING, AND THE ONLY WAY I CAN SNAP OUT OF IT, IS TO RECOMMIT MYSELF TO GOD’S MINISTRY AND CONSCIOUSLY REMIND MYSELF THAT ANYTHING THAT I DO IS FOR HIS GLORY, AND TO BUILD HIS KINGDOM.
I AM GRATEFUL THAT JOHN DOESN’T LEAVE US IN THIS STATE OF HOPELESSNESS. HE DOES OFFER US A WAY TO REGAIN THAT FIRST LOVE.
REVELATION 2:5: 5 CONSIDER HOW FAR YOU HAVE FALLEN! REPENT AND DO THE THINGS YOU DID AT FIRST. IF YOU DO NOT REPENT, I WILL COME TO YOU AND REMOVE YOUR LAMPSTAND FROM ITS PLACE.
JOHN TELLS US TO REPENT AND DO THE THINGS YOU DID AT FIRST. HE WANTS US TO CONSIDER THE WAYS WE HAVE FALLEN, AND IF WE DO WE WILL SEE THE PRIDE THAT IS IN OUR LIFE. IT IS OUR PRIDE THAT MADE US LOSE OUR FIRST LOVE BECAUSE IT TOOK OUR EYES OF GOD AND PUT THEM ON OURSELVES. WE ARE IN EFFECT SAYING, LOOK AT THE THINGS WE’VE DONE. LOOK AT THE CHURCH WE’VE BUILT.
IT EXPOSES THE REAL DANGER OF LOSING OUR FIRST LOVE WHICH IS WE WOULD NEVER WANT TO ADMIT THAT WE HAVE. THE RIGHT THING TO SAY IS THAT WE DO ALL THINGS FOR THE GLORY OF GOD, BUT IS THAT WHAT OUR HEART IS SAYING?
GOD WANTS US TO START WITH A REAWAKENING OF OUR FIRST LOVE FOR HIM. HE WANTS TO REKINDLE THAT FIRE TO BE WITH HIM, AND TO DO THINGS THAT WOULD PLEASE HIM AT ALL TIMES. HE WANTS US TO BE TRULY SORROWFUL FOR FALLING AWAY, TO REMEMBER THE BLESSINGS OF A CLOSE WALK WITH HIM AND TO CONTINUE WITH THAT WALK. HE WANTS TO RE-IGNITE OUR FIRST LOVE.
THEN JOHN SHARES WITH US AT THE END OF VERSE FIVE A STATEMENT THAT I FIND RATHER UNSETTLING. THIS IS THE LORD SPEAKING AND HE SAYS THAT HE WILL COME TO YOU AND REMOVE YOUR LAMPSTAND FROM ITS PLACE.
THIS IS NOT TALKING ABOUT LOSING YOUR SALVATION, BUT IT IS TALKING ABOUT LOSING YOUR CHURCH. GOD DOES NOT NEED SPECIFIC CHURCHES TO CONTINUE IF THEY REFUSE TO BUILD GOD’S KINGDOM GOD’S WAY.
GOD WILL BUILD HIS CHURCH. IT WILL BE A CHURCH THAT EXPRESSES GOD’S LOVE TO ALL PEOPLE, A CHURCH THAT INVITES PEOPLE TO HAVE AN ETERNAL RELATIONSHIP WITH CHRIST THROUGH SALVATION. GOD’S CHURCH IS A CHURCH WITH STANDARDS THAT ARE ESTABLISHED BY THE BIBLE AND HAVE AND WILL STAND THE TEST OF TIME.
REMEMBER CHAPTER ONE TELLS US THAT GOD WALKS AMONG THE LAMPSTANDS, AND HE WALKS AMONG HIS CHURCHES TODAY, TO HELP THEM BE THE CHURCH THAT HE WANTS US TO BE.
CONCLUSION:
THE CONCLUSION OF THIS PASSAGE IS ONE THAT IS SIMILAR TO ALL OF THE LETTERS TO THE CHURCHES
REVELATION 2:7: WHOEVER HAS EARS, LET THEM HEAR WHAT THE SPIRIT SAYS TO THE CHURCHES. TO THE ONE WHO IS VICTORIOUS, I WILL GIVE THE RIGHT TO EAT FROM THE TREE OF LIFE, WHICH IS IN THE PARADISE OF GOD.
HERE THE INVITATION IS OPEN TO INDIVIDUAL BELIEVERS TO HEAR THE MESSAGE FROM THE HOLY SPIRIT TODAY. NOT EVERYONE WILL HEAR THIS, AND THEY WILL KEEP ACTING IN PRIDE AND GET NOWHERE.
THERE WILL BE SOME THOUGH WHO WILL THE HOLY SPIRIT TALKING TO THEM, AND DESIRE TO FOLLOW A DEEPER RELATIONSHIP WITH CHRIST. PERHAPS THIS IS YOU TODAY. IF SO, THINK ON THE WORDS OF PAUL TO THE PHILIPPIANS:
PHILIPPIANS4:8-9:
FINALLY, BROTHERS AND SISTERS, WHATEVER IS TRUE, WHATEVER IS NOBLE, WHATEVER IS RIGHT, WHATEVER IS PURE, WHATEVER IS LOVELY, WHATEVER IS ADMIRABLE—IF ANYTHING IS EXCELLENT OR PRAISEWORTHY—THINK ABOUT SUCH THINGS. 9 WHATEVER YOU HAVE LEARNED OR RECEIVED OR HEARD FROM ME, OR SEEN IN ME—PUT IT INTO PRACTICE. AND THE GOD OF PEACE WILL BE WITH YOU.
WE LIVE IN A WORLD WHERE PEOPLE WHO PRACTICE THIS IS IN SHORT SUPPLY. WE LIVE IN A WORLD THAT NEEDS THE CHURCH OF GOD, TO SHARE OUR FIRST LOVE AGAIN WITH ALL, AND TO CONCENTRATE OUR THOUGHTS AND ACTIONS ON PLEASING CHRIST FIRST AND ALWAYS.
AS WE COME TO THE COMMUNION TABLE TODAY I PRAY THAT YOU WILL MAKE THIS A TIME OF RENEWAL WITH THE LORD.
