1 00:00:02,560 --> 00:00:05,120 Hopefully we remember that when we began this series in the Book 2 00:00:05,120 --> 00:00:09,880 of Revelation, we took the time to look at it from an aerial 3 00:00:10,440 --> 00:00:13,560 perspective. And from there we descended 4 00:00:13,560 --> 00:00:17,120 together, the chapter one with a magnifying glass in our hands. 5 00:00:17,720 --> 00:00:21,240 And we moved carefully from verse to verse to explore and 6 00:00:21,240 --> 00:00:25,200 examine all the thrilling details that the Holy Spirit has 7 00:00:25,200 --> 00:00:28,440 revealed to us. But now we come to Revelation 8 00:00:28,440 --> 00:00:32,680 chapter 2, and as we approach this section, I believe it will 9 00:00:32,680 --> 00:00:35,880 be helpful to put aside our excavating tools for a moment 10 00:00:36,680 --> 00:00:42,520 and to climb up again and to look down and to examine this 11 00:00:42,520 --> 00:00:45,760 portion of Scripture with a bird's eye view. 12 00:00:46,760 --> 00:00:51,760 Not the whole book, just chapters two and three that 13 00:00:51,760 --> 00:00:56,360 focus on Christ's direct addresses to each of these seven 14 00:00:56,360 --> 00:01:00,480 churches in Asia Minor. Because you see, when you put 15 00:01:00,480 --> 00:01:05,000 these short letters side by side, you will definitely notice 16 00:01:05,000 --> 00:01:09,560 similar patterns and repetitions, as well as unique 17 00:01:09,560 --> 00:01:12,320 details that stand out from each of them. 18 00:01:13,320 --> 00:01:17,360 And I wouldn't want us to miss out on what the Lord would say 19 00:01:17,360 --> 00:01:22,120 even from that angle, by rushing through the first door of the 20 00:01:22,120 --> 00:01:27,000 first church in the section. These characteristics, the 21 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:34,400 common ones and the unique ones, have a message on their own, and 22 00:01:34,400 --> 00:01:38,400 we're going to see what Christ will say to us in them. 23 00:01:38,960 --> 00:01:42,640 So before we come to each congregation in this book 24 00:01:42,640 --> 00:01:46,360 separately, we're going to zoom out and we're going to look for 25 00:01:46,360 --> 00:01:51,800 the bigger picture of what Christ has to say to the church. 26 00:01:52,600 --> 00:01:54,720 If you want to know, that's where I've been this past week 27 00:01:55,400 --> 00:02:00,680 on a imaginary hilltop with binoculars, looking at the wider 28 00:02:00,680 --> 00:02:05,320 landscape of these churches and making notes of what we can 29 00:02:05,320 --> 00:02:10,440 learn about the church in this and what Christ longs for from 30 00:02:10,639 --> 00:02:13,720 his church. And I've gathered five thoughts 31 00:02:13,720 --> 00:02:17,320 for you, and hopefully you will remember these thoughts. 32 00:02:18,560 --> 00:02:19,840 Again, we're looking at the bigger picture. 33 00:02:20,960 --> 00:02:23,680 The first thing that we can learn from these seven churches 34 00:02:23,680 --> 00:02:28,760 as a whole is that the Lord Jesus Christ is passionate about 35 00:02:28,760 --> 00:02:33,240 the purity of his church. The Lord Jesus Christ is 36 00:02:33,240 --> 00:02:36,080 passionate about the purity of his church. 37 00:02:36,680 --> 00:02:39,920 I find it fascinating that before we are introduced to the 38 00:02:39,920 --> 00:02:44,040 chaos that will come to this world leading up to the final 39 00:02:44,040 --> 00:02:47,280 moments of history, before we see the events that will 40 00:02:47,400 --> 00:02:50,520 ultimately bring us to the invasion of Christ's Kingdom 41 00:02:50,520 --> 00:02:57,640 into this planet, Christ expresses His concerns for the 42 00:02:57,640 --> 00:03:00,560 church. And here's what that tells you 43 00:03:00,560 --> 00:03:06,360 and me right away, that Jesus Christ prioritizes the refining 44 00:03:06,360 --> 00:03:11,280 work of His people. He did it then and He's still 45 00:03:11,280 --> 00:03:13,600 doing it now. That is his heart posture. 46 00:03:15,160 --> 00:03:18,040 You know there are a lot of people who dangerously assume 47 00:03:18,040 --> 00:03:22,080 what the Lord is doing or saying to His Church today. 48 00:03:23,080 --> 00:03:25,800 You've probably seen it. The word of the Lord for 2025. 49 00:03:26,240 --> 00:03:30,600 The word of the Lord for 2026. It's no mystery. 50 00:03:31,520 --> 00:03:34,320 And none of us have to rely on any self-proclaimed prophet to 51 00:03:34,320 --> 00:03:37,520 tell us what Christ is doing among his people. 52 00:03:38,480 --> 00:03:41,440 Because according to Revelation two and three, we can conclude 53 00:03:41,440 --> 00:03:45,840 with confidence that Jesus Christ is prioritizing the 54 00:03:45,840 --> 00:03:50,840 conviction of His people, the comfort of His people, even the 55 00:03:50,840 --> 00:03:55,920 chastising of His people in order for them to be more like 56 00:03:55,920 --> 00:03:59,760 what he has called them to be. And that's what these letters 57 00:03:59,760 --> 00:04:03,160 really do. They they reinforce that what 58 00:04:03,160 --> 00:04:07,880 God expects from us as we traverse through this world is 59 00:04:07,880 --> 00:04:10,640 that we would become like what he wants us to be like. 60 00:04:12,240 --> 00:04:15,960 Unfortunately, what you have is people who think otherwise. 61 00:04:16,040 --> 00:04:21,519 God's primary desire is not for you and I to live stress free 62 00:04:21,519 --> 00:04:25,680 life as much as possible. It's not as interest for you and 63 00:04:25,680 --> 00:04:28,920 I to accumulate as much resources as possible so that we 64 00:04:28,920 --> 00:04:31,080 can access greater comfort and luxury. 65 00:04:32,120 --> 00:04:35,040 Nor it is. Nor is it His ambition for you 66 00:04:35,880 --> 00:04:39,280 to know your earthly ambitions apart from His purposes. 67 00:04:39,880 --> 00:04:44,280 What is God after in your life that you and I will look more 68 00:04:44,280 --> 00:04:47,960 like His Son? That is what we are destined to. 69 00:04:47,960 --> 00:04:51,320 That's what we are here for, to look more like Christ. 70 00:04:51,320 --> 00:04:54,280 Yes, with your spouse, with your children, with your kind of 71 00:04:54,280 --> 00:04:58,000 income, with your limitations. The desire of our God is for 72 00:04:58,000 --> 00:05:01,920 each of us to be conformed to the image of His Son. 73 00:05:01,920 --> 00:05:06,040 And unfortunately, many believe that being a Christian simply 74 00:05:06,040 --> 00:05:10,800 means saying yes to his sin, cancelling sacrifice, and then 75 00:05:10,800 --> 00:05:14,800 coasting through life without his interests or influence in 76 00:05:14,800 --> 00:05:17,120 mind. To the degree that some 77 00:05:17,120 --> 00:05:20,520 professing Christians look no different than the world, how 78 00:05:20,520 --> 00:05:24,520 can I be? We have verses like this in 79 00:05:24,520 --> 00:05:26,880 Romans 829. For those whom he foreknew, he 80 00:05:26,880 --> 00:05:33,320 also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in 81 00:05:33,320 --> 00:05:36,040 order that he might be the first born among many brothers. 82 00:05:37,480 --> 00:05:41,200 That's your destination. The moment that you entered into 83 00:05:41,200 --> 00:05:44,480 Christ. Where you're headed is to be 84 00:05:44,480 --> 00:05:47,840 conformed like Christ. So those who are in Christ are 85 00:05:47,840 --> 00:05:50,800 determined to look more and more like Christ. 86 00:05:51,960 --> 00:05:56,240 In other words, God is after us who are a part of the family of 87 00:05:56,240 --> 00:05:58,000 God. To be like Christ's siblings. 88 00:05:58,400 --> 00:06:00,600 In what sense? To share his characteristics, 89 00:06:00,600 --> 00:06:02,800 Yes, with your unique personality and giftings, 90 00:06:03,240 --> 00:06:06,440 nonetheless, for each of us to reflect him. 91 00:06:07,960 --> 00:06:10,120 So that's his program for the church. 92 00:06:10,120 --> 00:06:12,280 That's what he's doing week after week. 93 00:06:12,280 --> 00:06:16,040 That's why you and I are here. We have surrendered when we said 94 00:06:16,040 --> 00:06:18,680 yes to the Gospel, to this lifelong process. 95 00:06:18,880 --> 00:06:24,680 Chisel me, change me, convict me, whatever you want to allow 96 00:06:24,680 --> 00:06:28,520 my life, I receive it in faith because I know that this is what 97 00:06:28,520 --> 00:06:31,600 I'm destined for. And that that's why a lot of the 98 00:06:31,600 --> 00:06:35,000 mysteries that we try to wrestle with in our lives, it's actually 99 00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:37,280 not really a mystery. We may not know why things 100 00:06:37,280 --> 00:06:39,520 happen at the time that they happen or to the degree that 101 00:06:39,520 --> 00:06:41,400 they happen. We can have this absolute 102 00:06:41,400 --> 00:06:45,160 assurance, this is purpose for me to look more like Christ. 103 00:06:46,880 --> 00:06:50,680 He's passionate about the purity of his church and we get a 104 00:06:50,680 --> 00:06:55,120 sample of what he is after because what you find here in 105 00:06:55,120 --> 00:07:00,320 Revelation 27 is a similar call to what we read in every letter 106 00:07:00,320 --> 00:07:02,760 to these churches. There's an interesting phrase 107 00:07:02,760 --> 00:07:07,800 here, Revelation 27. He who has an ear, let him hear 108 00:07:07,800 --> 00:07:11,560 what the Spirit says to the churches, to the one who 109 00:07:11,560 --> 00:07:14,720 conquers. I will grant to eat of the tree 110 00:07:14,720 --> 00:07:20,080 of life, which is in the paradise of God to the one who 111 00:07:20,080 --> 00:07:22,200 conquers. You're going to find that phrase 112 00:07:22,200 --> 00:07:25,200 in every single letter that Christ writes to these churches. 113 00:07:25,840 --> 00:07:28,160 Other transitions would say to the one who overcomes. 114 00:07:28,160 --> 00:07:30,680 Either way, both are essentially saying the same thing. 115 00:07:31,960 --> 00:07:34,160 So that emphasis that repetition. 116 00:07:34,160 --> 00:07:35,640 What is that? What does that say about the 117 00:07:35,640 --> 00:07:37,680 Lord? Here's what it says that he 118 00:07:37,680 --> 00:07:43,040 wants every single one of us to gain victory over any test over 119 00:07:43,040 --> 00:07:47,240 any temptation that would seek to tamper with your conformity 120 00:07:47,240 --> 00:07:51,800 to Christ likeness. He who overcomes, he who 121 00:07:51,800 --> 00:07:56,120 conquers crisis after each of us to be conquerors in our faith, 122 00:07:57,080 --> 00:08:00,440 not necessarily conquerors in our businesses, conquerors in 123 00:08:00,440 --> 00:08:03,400 our bodies, conquerors in our relationship with Him. 124 00:08:05,280 --> 00:08:08,640 And when you look at these letters, you get an idea of some 125 00:08:08,640 --> 00:08:10,560 of the things that He calls us to conquer. 126 00:08:11,800 --> 00:08:14,560 When you read Ephesus, you learn that He wants us to conquer 127 00:08:15,320 --> 00:08:21,760 affectionless mechanical ministry, doing the right things 128 00:08:21,760 --> 00:08:23,920 with the wrong motive. He wants you to conquer that. 129 00:08:23,920 --> 00:08:26,920 He wants me to conquer that. When you look at Smyrna, we 130 00:08:26,920 --> 00:08:31,040 realize that He wants to conquer the severe pressures that come 131 00:08:31,040 --> 00:08:35,159 from outside persecution, to not bend the knee, to not give in, 132 00:08:35,400 --> 00:08:39,080 to stand strong. When you come down to Pergamum, 133 00:08:39,080 --> 00:08:42,240 we realize not just in Pergamum but also in Thyatira, that He 134 00:08:42,240 --> 00:08:46,520 wants us to conquer false teachings that promote and 135 00:08:46,520 --> 00:08:49,200 encourage idolatry and sexual sin. 136 00:08:50,920 --> 00:08:53,160 When you go to Sardis, you learn that he wants us to conquer. 137 00:08:53,160 --> 00:09:01,360 What dull spirituality He wants us to conquer, just going 138 00:09:01,360 --> 00:09:04,160 through it all without any sense of life. 139 00:09:05,840 --> 00:09:08,080 When you go to Philadelphia, what does he want us to conquer? 140 00:09:08,640 --> 00:09:13,040 The slander of Satan's servants that would try to derail you or 141 00:09:13,040 --> 00:09:15,880 discourage you by lying about you. 142 00:09:17,840 --> 00:09:20,560 Leodicea. What does he want us to conquer? 143 00:09:21,200 --> 00:09:26,080 Lukewarmness, being halfway in, halfway out. 144 00:09:26,920 --> 00:09:28,880 And so we see here that this is what the Lord is after. 145 00:09:28,880 --> 00:09:30,760 And here's the most encouraging part about this. 146 00:09:31,320 --> 00:09:34,880 When I read these letters, I realize it's possible. 147 00:09:36,080 --> 00:09:38,080 It's possible to be a conqueror. You know why? 148 00:09:38,360 --> 00:09:43,240 Because out of the seven, there are two churches, Smyrna and 149 00:09:43,240 --> 00:09:47,000 Philadelphia, who received no correction from Christ. 150 00:09:48,720 --> 00:09:55,920 Pure praise, pure encouragement. And when? 151 00:09:55,960 --> 00:09:59,040 When I learned that some time ago, it exhilarated me. 152 00:09:59,040 --> 00:10:01,520 Why? Because it tells me that it's 153 00:10:01,520 --> 00:10:05,040 possible to have pure teaching in a church. 154 00:10:06,480 --> 00:10:09,880 It's possible to overcome any adversity, any obstacles, 155 00:10:09,880 --> 00:10:14,920 internally and externally. It's possible to be consistently 156 00:10:14,920 --> 00:10:17,960 fruitful. Ultimately, listen, It's 157 00:10:17,960 --> 00:10:23,160 possible to be a church that really pleases God. 158 00:10:23,880 --> 00:10:27,160 It's possible or else he would have criticized every church. 159 00:10:27,160 --> 00:10:28,600 He didn't criticize every church. 160 00:10:29,480 --> 00:10:34,280 Two of them, He says keep going. Here's that, what that means for 161 00:10:34,280 --> 00:10:36,160 us. If the Lord were to write a 162 00:10:36,160 --> 00:10:42,680 letter to Maranatha Bible Church in 2025, it would be possible 163 00:10:42,680 --> 00:10:46,520 for him to say something along the lines of I know every single 164 00:10:46,520 --> 00:10:51,400 one of you. I know all that's going on and 165 00:10:51,400 --> 00:10:55,280 I'm pleased. Keep going, Mara, not the Bible 166 00:10:55,280 --> 00:10:58,680 church. Don't give up until you meet 167 00:10:58,680 --> 00:11:04,240 your eternal reward. So what the Lord is after, more 168 00:11:04,240 --> 00:11:07,000 than anything else, is to purify His people, and He has many 169 00:11:07,000 --> 00:11:10,440 means to accomplish it. And we have to understand that's 170 00:11:10,680 --> 00:11:15,360 our purpose too, to be polished more and more by Christ, by his 171 00:11:15,360 --> 00:11:18,320 Spirit, by his word, through his people, so that we would look 172 00:11:18,320 --> 00:11:20,720 more like Him. There's a second thing that we 173 00:11:20,720 --> 00:11:23,240 learn about these churches and it is this. 174 00:11:23,520 --> 00:11:27,120 Christ evaluates churches much differently than man does. 175 00:11:29,160 --> 00:11:31,760 There are a couple of places in these letters where Christ 176 00:11:31,760 --> 00:11:35,880 comments on the apparent condition or self-assessment of 177 00:11:35,880 --> 00:11:38,360 these ministries and then reveals the true state of his 178 00:11:38,360 --> 00:11:40,920 people. So here are two examples. 179 00:11:40,920 --> 00:11:44,680 Come with me to Revelation 29. Look what he says to the church 180 00:11:44,680 --> 00:11:48,320 in Smyrna. He says I know your tribulation 181 00:11:48,840 --> 00:11:51,800 and your poverty, but you are rich. 182 00:11:53,240 --> 00:11:56,280 And the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, 183 00:11:56,280 --> 00:12:00,440 but are synagogue of Satan. So according to Christ's own 184 00:12:00,440 --> 00:12:05,000 words, this particular local assembly was materially lacking. 185 00:12:06,600 --> 00:12:10,680 They were limited on their resources, so they didn't have 186 00:12:10,680 --> 00:12:13,960 the state-of-the-art technology. They didn't have comfortable 187 00:12:13,960 --> 00:12:18,000 pews. Oh, they couldn't even entertain 188 00:12:18,000 --> 00:12:22,560 the idea of starting any kind of fundraiser for any updates in 189 00:12:22,560 --> 00:12:24,200 the church, because there's nobody in the church that would 190 00:12:24,200 --> 00:12:25,800 be able to donate anything significant. 191 00:12:27,480 --> 00:12:29,000 You know, I thought about this when I was looking at it the 192 00:12:29,000 --> 00:12:31,160 other night. How do prosperity preachers 193 00:12:31,400 --> 00:12:35,160 handle a text like this? If wealth is apparently the sign 194 00:12:35,160 --> 00:12:37,840 of God's favor, and you can access it by claiming it and 195 00:12:37,840 --> 00:12:41,040 believing it, why does Christ praise this poor church? 196 00:12:42,880 --> 00:12:45,920 Why doesn't he say, hey, use your faith, use your mouth to 197 00:12:46,240 --> 00:12:49,760 blab it and grab it? He doesn't say that. 198 00:12:50,360 --> 00:12:52,400 It's actually one of the churches that he praises the 199 00:12:52,400 --> 00:12:56,720 most, and they're poor. So figure that out. 200 00:12:58,680 --> 00:13:00,840 You're poor. More importantly, tells them 201 00:13:00,840 --> 00:13:04,160 where they're really rich. He wants to remind them you are 202 00:13:04,160 --> 00:13:09,520 rich in what what truly matters. You have God's favor. 203 00:13:10,720 --> 00:13:14,440 You have true worship, you have spirit filled love. 204 00:13:14,440 --> 00:13:18,160 You have love for Christ, love for the people of God, the lost. 205 00:13:18,360 --> 00:13:21,360 You have joy. There's humility, there's unity, 206 00:13:21,360 --> 00:13:22,960 there's endurance, there's strength. 207 00:13:22,960 --> 00:13:27,280 You're rich. Now compare that to what Christ 208 00:13:27,280 --> 00:13:35,960 says to the church in Laodicea. Go to Revelation 317, the 209 00:13:35,960 --> 00:13:38,160 complete opposite of the Christians in Smyrna. 210 00:13:38,680 --> 00:13:46,920 For you say I'm rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, 211 00:13:47,920 --> 00:13:54,320 not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind 212 00:13:54,560 --> 00:14:00,000 and naked. It's a scathing commentary, and 213 00:14:00,000 --> 00:14:02,960 a Laodicean church in our day might be like pulling up to a 214 00:14:02,960 --> 00:14:06,120 parking lot and seeing all these expensive cars lined up. 215 00:14:07,280 --> 00:14:09,840 You walk to the doors of that church building and their 216 00:14:09,840 --> 00:14:13,320 automatic doors. The moment you walk in, you are 217 00:14:13,320 --> 00:14:17,200 confronted with the sweet smell of coffee because they have 218 00:14:17,200 --> 00:14:20,320 their own coffee station in the lobby that outshines that of any 219 00:14:20,320 --> 00:14:22,520 commercial establishment that you drive by. 220 00:14:23,680 --> 00:14:25,880 And you realize that service is about to start. 221 00:14:25,880 --> 00:14:27,280 So you make your way to the sanctuary. 222 00:14:27,280 --> 00:14:29,800 But you glance over and realize there's still a long line. 223 00:14:30,040 --> 00:14:32,000 The singing is about to begin, but it's just singing. 224 00:14:32,000 --> 00:14:35,520 We need our coffee. So you enter into that room. 225 00:14:35,520 --> 00:14:38,240 You quickly dismiss the thought and here you are entering into 226 00:14:38,240 --> 00:14:41,520 this dark space. It's large, but wow, look at 227 00:14:41,520 --> 00:14:44,800 that equipment. Look at those screens. 228 00:14:45,280 --> 00:14:47,680 Who's the technician behind that sound? 229 00:14:48,440 --> 00:14:52,520 And as you're led to that comfy cushion seat, you stand and you 230 00:14:52,520 --> 00:14:56,160 quickly glance and look over and you can't help but sense that 231 00:14:56,160 --> 00:14:58,760 there is spiritual apathy in the air. 232 00:14:59,880 --> 00:15:03,080 You try to brush it off, but it's only confirmed as you're 233 00:15:03,080 --> 00:15:05,040 seated and the sermon is preached. 234 00:15:05,800 --> 00:15:09,080 And it's not necessarily heretical, but it is void of 235 00:15:09,080 --> 00:15:12,520 Christ. It doesn't have biblical 236 00:15:12,520 --> 00:15:15,240 exhortation. And on top of that, there 237 00:15:15,240 --> 00:15:17,400 doesn't seem to be passion, There doesn't seem to be 238 00:15:17,400 --> 00:15:19,560 gravity. When the Word of God is being 239 00:15:19,560 --> 00:15:22,520 handled. You try not to judge, but you 240 00:15:22,520 --> 00:15:26,400 can't help it. So you go week after week after 241 00:15:26,400 --> 00:15:29,120 week, and you realize something else, that with the limited time 242 00:15:29,120 --> 00:15:32,960 of fellowship that's there, as you get to know the people, the 243 00:15:32,960 --> 00:15:35,480 conversations are void of Christ equally. 244 00:15:36,920 --> 00:15:38,880 And they're nice and they're put together. 245 00:15:38,880 --> 00:15:42,320 And but as you converse and as you get to know people, they 246 00:15:42,320 --> 00:15:46,320 seem to be more passionate about sports and politics and home 247 00:15:46,320 --> 00:15:49,600 renovations. In fact, when you try to bring 248 00:15:49,600 --> 00:15:57,760 up the things of God, it gets awkward, gets weird, and you 249 00:15:57,760 --> 00:16:00,440 learn the people here, they're not serving in any way. 250 00:16:00,920 --> 00:16:03,240 Sure, they're attending, but they're not really doing 251 00:16:03,240 --> 00:16:04,840 anything. There's no hunger for the Word 252 00:16:04,840 --> 00:16:07,480 of God. There's no desire to make Christ 253 00:16:07,480 --> 00:16:10,120 known. There's no love language towards 254 00:16:10,120 --> 00:16:15,080 the Lord Jesus Christ. You get the idea, I'm sure. 255 00:16:15,880 --> 00:16:17,840 Nothing wrong with stately buildings, nothing wrong with 256 00:16:17,840 --> 00:16:19,440 large parking lots. We need one. 257 00:16:23,080 --> 00:16:26,040 But see, this kind of church may seem prosperous, may be filled 258 00:16:26,040 --> 00:16:29,640 with affluent people, but where there is complacency and 259 00:16:29,640 --> 00:16:34,760 indifference towards the things of God, Jesus has a different 260 00:16:34,760 --> 00:16:40,200 opinion about it. And here's where I would like 261 00:16:40,200 --> 00:16:43,840 for us to consider something Being part of a physical, not a 262 00:16:43,840 --> 00:16:49,080 digital, a physical community of Christians is not optional. 263 00:16:49,640 --> 00:16:52,080 And once you and I are convinced of that, then we have to deal 264 00:16:52,080 --> 00:16:57,040 with something here in America, all the options for churches. 265 00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:03,760 And we have to understand here that Jesus has a standard for 266 00:17:03,760 --> 00:17:07,359 the church. And you and I, when we have to 267 00:17:07,359 --> 00:17:10,200 make that decision about which local assembly to be a part of, 268 00:17:12,040 --> 00:17:15,480 am I going for what Christ wants, for my own personal 269 00:17:15,480 --> 00:17:18,920 preferences? You know, you have some people 270 00:17:18,920 --> 00:17:21,119 who are members of a church simply because it's closer to 271 00:17:21,119 --> 00:17:23,440 where they live. And we have to be mindful of 272 00:17:23,440 --> 00:17:24,520 that. We have to be realistic with 273 00:17:24,520 --> 00:17:27,000 distance, sure. But it's a concern when you're 274 00:17:27,079 --> 00:17:30,240 more concerned about the distance and not about how close 275 00:17:30,240 --> 00:17:35,000 that church is to the truth. And you have others who put a 276 00:17:35,000 --> 00:17:41,200 premium on production value and the events, the entertainment 277 00:17:41,200 --> 00:17:45,440 that they they promote and they put so much effort into. 278 00:17:47,560 --> 00:17:49,960 Why do you? Well, he's a dynamic speaker. 279 00:17:50,040 --> 00:17:52,800 So what? What's the substance of what 280 00:17:52,800 --> 00:17:56,400 he's saying? Oh, I can tell you this. 281 00:17:56,400 --> 00:17:59,440 Many, many, many, many are planted somewhere because they 282 00:17:59,440 --> 00:18:01,440 have found a sweet spot for their conscience. 283 00:18:02,600 --> 00:18:05,760 They have found a place where they can satisfy their religious 284 00:18:05,840 --> 00:18:10,600 itch, knowing all the while that they will never be challenged or 285 00:18:10,600 --> 00:18:13,840 held accountable for what it means to be truly a disciple of 286 00:18:13,840 --> 00:18:21,600 Jesus Christ. Which church are you part of and 287 00:18:21,600 --> 00:18:29,240 why is it a place where Jesus says they're in the right 288 00:18:29,240 --> 00:18:30,320 direction? You're never going to find a 289 00:18:30,320 --> 00:18:33,840 perfect church, but you can find a blameless place. 290 00:18:33,840 --> 00:18:35,880 And I know it's becoming increasingly rare, but I also 291 00:18:35,880 --> 00:18:38,400 want to say this. I do not advocate people getting 292 00:18:38,400 --> 00:18:40,840 up and leaving churches whenever they feel dissatisfied. 293 00:18:42,360 --> 00:18:47,360 That is not a way to deal with the church because leaving an 294 00:18:47,360 --> 00:18:52,200 assembly should be a very slow decision, a prayed about thing. 295 00:18:52,560 --> 00:18:55,040 That's something that we just do because as members of the body 296 00:18:55,040 --> 00:18:58,080 of Christ, it's not easy when a member rips away and go 297 00:18:58,080 --> 00:19:02,480 somewhere else. All I'm saying with this point 298 00:19:02,480 --> 00:19:06,160 is that you and I must align our thinking with what Christ 299 00:19:06,920 --> 00:19:12,000 desires, what Christ has in mind for His people when they come 300 00:19:12,000 --> 00:19:15,960 together. That's a helpful challenge. 301 00:19:16,080 --> 00:19:18,200 But I see encouragement in this. What do I see? 302 00:19:19,120 --> 00:19:22,600 I see here that Jesus reminds us that he is ultimately the 303 00:19:22,600 --> 00:19:27,200 determiner of what a successful Christian looks like and what a 304 00:19:27,200 --> 00:19:30,480 successful church looks like. He determines that. 305 00:19:31,080 --> 00:19:35,720 And people as well as leaders in the church would save themselves 306 00:19:35,720 --> 00:19:39,120 from much unnecessary discouragement if they would 307 00:19:39,120 --> 00:19:43,800 just stop comparing super superficially and simply come to 308 00:19:43,800 --> 00:19:49,760 God's Word and let him define what true success looks like for 309 00:19:49,760 --> 00:19:52,200 individual spirituality and corporate spirituality. 310 00:19:53,520 --> 00:19:55,520 He looks at this church and Smyrna says you're poor, but 311 00:19:55,520 --> 00:19:57,160 you're rich. He looks at this rich church and 312 00:19:57,160 --> 00:20:00,480 he says you're bankrupt in the soul. 313 00:20:02,160 --> 00:20:03,600 Christ thinks differently than us. 314 00:20:03,720 --> 00:20:05,600 You know, when I was putting my thoughts together for this, I 315 00:20:05,600 --> 00:20:07,240 could not help. I was compelled. 316 00:20:08,120 --> 00:20:12,320 To step back and ask myself this, when was the last time you 317 00:20:12,320 --> 00:20:17,520 paused, look to the Lord and said, Lord, are you pleased with 318 00:20:17,520 --> 00:20:21,440 my service? Never mind what so and so said, 319 00:20:22,440 --> 00:20:25,160 What do you think of the ministry that I'm involved in? 320 00:20:27,880 --> 00:20:31,040 And I can tell you this, if you come with an open heart and an 321 00:20:31,040 --> 00:20:34,480 open Bible long enough and inquire of the Lord, you will 322 00:20:34,480 --> 00:20:38,320 find more encouragement there than anywhere else, because 323 00:20:38,320 --> 00:20:44,880 Christ value system differs than man's and he is much more 324 00:20:44,880 --> 00:20:47,440 encouraging than you might imagine. 325 00:20:47,440 --> 00:20:52,960 Let me give you an example. When you think of a holy person, 326 00:20:53,960 --> 00:20:57,480 what comes to mind? A holy person? 327 00:20:58,440 --> 00:21:02,040 Holiness. And I remember being confronted 328 00:21:02,040 --> 00:21:06,840 by this truth in First Thessalonians, teaching me a 329 00:21:06,840 --> 00:21:09,800 component of holiness that I think is often ignored. 330 00:21:10,200 --> 00:21:13,440 Holiness includes many things, but have you ever thought about 331 00:21:13,440 --> 00:21:16,120 Paul's words or what it truly means to be holy before God? 332 00:21:16,520 --> 00:21:30,680 Go to 1st Thessalonians with me in chapter 3 verse 12, 1st 333 00:21:30,680 --> 00:21:33,960 Thessalonians 3, verse 12. And may the Lord make you 334 00:21:33,960 --> 00:21:41,200 increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we 335 00:21:41,200 --> 00:21:43,800 do for you. So that. 336 00:21:44,240 --> 00:21:46,560 So why is Paul praying that we would have bound in love more 337 00:21:46,560 --> 00:21:49,800 and more? Verse 13 So that he may 338 00:21:49,800 --> 00:21:54,840 establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and 339 00:21:54,840 --> 00:21:58,640 Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his Saints. 340 00:21:59,320 --> 00:22:01,640 Do you see it? I'm praying for you, 341 00:22:01,640 --> 00:22:04,200 Thessalonians, that you would have bound more and more love 342 00:22:04,200 --> 00:22:06,360 for one another and for all. Why? 343 00:22:06,360 --> 00:22:09,280 So that when you stand before God, you would be blameless in 344 00:22:09,280 --> 00:22:11,760 holiness. That's what this tells me. 345 00:22:12,280 --> 00:22:15,920 You can't know true holiness unless you know love. 346 00:22:17,880 --> 00:22:21,720 What does it mean to be holy? Loving people, loving the 347 00:22:21,720 --> 00:22:26,040 Saints, Loving the stranger, Being practical, Son about you 348 00:22:26,040 --> 00:22:31,080 being monkish, Son about you being strange, intentionally 349 00:22:31,240 --> 00:22:32,880 weird. That's not what it means to be 350 00:22:32,880 --> 00:22:35,120 holy. It's very hands on. 351 00:22:36,840 --> 00:22:40,960 It's measurable. It acts, I'm praying that you 352 00:22:40,960 --> 00:22:43,000 have more love so that you'd be more holy. 353 00:22:43,560 --> 00:22:46,240 Do you see how we can misinterpret things? 354 00:22:47,880 --> 00:22:51,160 See how it's possible to come to a church and and begin to 355 00:22:51,200 --> 00:22:53,840 evaluate it with with our own understanding and we might even 356 00:22:53,840 --> 00:22:55,480 think that we have references to back it up. 357 00:22:56,080 --> 00:22:58,960 You have to come to God's word and see what he wants and what 358 00:22:58,960 --> 00:23:03,000 he says is true. What he says is beneficial, 359 00:23:03,000 --> 00:23:07,280 fruitful, alive, and what's dead and what's carnal and what's 360 00:23:07,280 --> 00:23:11,760 lifeless. Christ sees things differently 361 00:23:11,760 --> 00:23:17,040 than we do. But we have a Third Point as we 362 00:23:17,040 --> 00:23:22,960 are looking at these churches. Christ is deeply interested in 363 00:23:22,960 --> 00:23:27,160 our works. Christ is deeply interested in 364 00:23:27,160 --> 00:23:28,600 our works. Now hang on, because I know many 365 00:23:28,600 --> 00:23:30,440 Christians who are allergic to the idea of works. 366 00:23:30,440 --> 00:23:35,440 But you're going to have a hard time debating this when you see 367 00:23:35,440 --> 00:23:36,800 what Christ says to these churches. 368 00:23:36,800 --> 00:23:40,840 Out of the seven, He makes the same statement five times. 369 00:23:41,400 --> 00:23:43,760 What is it similar to what we see in Revelation 22? 370 00:23:43,880 --> 00:23:53,720 Let's turn that together. Revelation 22 I know your works. 371 00:23:55,680 --> 00:23:58,640 Let's keep reading your toil and your patient endurance and how 372 00:23:58,640 --> 00:24:00,600 you cannot bear with those who are evil. 373 00:24:00,760 --> 00:24:04,080 But I've tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, 374 00:24:04,320 --> 00:24:07,240 and found them to be false. I know your works. 375 00:24:07,240 --> 00:24:09,880 He says that to five churches. I know your works. 376 00:24:09,880 --> 00:24:11,240 I know your works. I know your works. 377 00:24:11,240 --> 00:24:14,960 I know your works. What's the lesson? 378 00:24:16,000 --> 00:24:18,520 That Jesus is not just interested in what we know and 379 00:24:18,520 --> 00:24:21,240 what we believe, He's interested in what we do. 380 00:24:24,080 --> 00:24:27,400 And he praises a church that is practically active in the right 381 00:24:27,400 --> 00:24:30,000 things and grieves over one that is not. 382 00:24:30,960 --> 00:24:35,560 I know your works now, righteous. 383 00:24:35,560 --> 00:24:40,000 These are not the only thing. It's not necessarily the thing 384 00:24:40,000 --> 00:24:42,720 that we should just focus on, but it's important nonetheless. 385 00:24:43,440 --> 00:24:45,640 And I want to touch on this because again, Christians have 386 00:24:45,640 --> 00:24:50,440 developed this allergy to the concept of duty, of 387 00:24:50,440 --> 00:24:55,040 responsibility, of accountability in action. 388 00:24:56,480 --> 00:24:57,960 Oh, who are you to tell me that I need to work? 389 00:24:57,960 --> 00:25:02,160 I'm saved by grace. Isn't it about faith? 390 00:25:02,720 --> 00:25:05,040 Yes, it is about faith. You're not saved by your works. 391 00:25:05,040 --> 00:25:08,960 But you're going to have great trouble in facing Christ's words 392 00:25:08,960 --> 00:25:12,280 here because his understanding of grace is that it energizes 393 00:25:12,280 --> 00:25:15,440 you to work. It motivates you to serve. 394 00:25:16,280 --> 00:25:19,000 In fact, there is great danger, according to James's words, that 395 00:25:19,000 --> 00:25:23,000 if a person has faith with no works, that faith might be 396 00:25:23,000 --> 00:25:27,160 artificial. So this is very important. 397 00:25:28,320 --> 00:25:29,920 And here's what I was thinking to myself. 398 00:25:29,920 --> 00:25:32,680 What kind of efforts is Jesus interested in? 399 00:25:32,920 --> 00:25:35,280 Because I don't want to be doing something that he didn't ask for 400 00:25:35,280 --> 00:25:38,240 me to do. And when I came to these seven 401 00:25:38,240 --> 00:25:41,080 churches, just put them side by side and began to just look at 402 00:25:41,080 --> 00:25:43,920 it as a whole. I realized something that even 403 00:25:43,920 --> 00:25:45,960 within Revelation that we have every right to go to the rest of 404 00:25:45,960 --> 00:25:47,720 the Word of God. Just these letters. 405 00:25:48,080 --> 00:25:51,000 I know what Christ is after in my life. 406 00:25:51,240 --> 00:25:53,640 I know where He wants me to put my efforts. 407 00:25:55,440 --> 00:26:00,040 Here's one thing to consider. Jesus wants you and I to put our 408 00:26:00,040 --> 00:26:05,320 efforts in maintaining a love for the person of Christ. 409 00:26:07,480 --> 00:26:12,040 Go to Revelation 2, verse 4. If there was any church that was 410 00:26:12,040 --> 00:26:14,440 the most impressive out of the seven, it was the Church of 411 00:26:14,440 --> 00:26:17,400 Ephesus. Man, they could spot out false 412 00:26:17,400 --> 00:26:19,960 teachers. They work to the bone. 413 00:26:21,680 --> 00:26:24,480 They were very discerning. But look what he says in verse 414 00:26:24,480 --> 00:26:26,440 4. But I have this against you, 415 00:26:27,280 --> 00:26:29,720 that you have abandoned the love you had at first. 416 00:26:30,720 --> 00:26:34,440 Remember, therefore, from where you have fallen, repent and do 417 00:26:34,440 --> 00:26:39,320 the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and 418 00:26:39,320 --> 00:26:42,920 remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. 419 00:26:42,920 --> 00:26:45,560 I don't want to get ahead of myself, but let me say here, and 420 00:26:45,560 --> 00:26:48,640 it's worth repeating next week when he says I'll remove the 421 00:26:48,640 --> 00:26:50,520 lampstand from your place, you know what that means? 422 00:26:50,680 --> 00:26:54,920 I will shut your church down. What do you mean you'll shut the 423 00:26:54,920 --> 00:26:57,160 church down? This this church has pure 424 00:26:57,160 --> 00:26:59,240 doctrine. They they're they're very 425 00:26:59,240 --> 00:27:02,880 protective of the pulpit and they're working so much. 426 00:27:02,880 --> 00:27:03,920 What do you mean shut? Yeah. 427 00:27:03,920 --> 00:27:08,760 But if a church doesn't have ministry rooted in love for 428 00:27:08,760 --> 00:27:11,640 Christ, I'm not interested in that kind of a church. 429 00:27:15,080 --> 00:27:16,600 Jesus thinks differently than us. 430 00:27:17,640 --> 00:27:21,040 So it's strange, isn't it, that this church that toiled, he 431 00:27:21,040 --> 00:27:22,760 says, do the works you did at first. 432 00:27:22,960 --> 00:27:27,480 Aren't they doing enough? What works is he speaking about 433 00:27:27,480 --> 00:27:30,760 here? The things that you and I did 434 00:27:30,840 --> 00:27:35,720 that nurtured and fostered a love relationship with Jesus 435 00:27:35,720 --> 00:27:39,040 Christ. In other words, what he's saying 436 00:27:39,040 --> 00:27:44,840 is go back, Go back to what you did that helped you fall more in 437 00:27:44,840 --> 00:27:47,120 love with me and kept you in love with me. 438 00:27:50,000 --> 00:27:51,560 You know, I know. I know of somebody who was 439 00:27:51,560 --> 00:27:54,240 struggling with that. They were just kind of 440 00:27:54,680 --> 00:27:58,000 robotically going through things and somebody advised them as 441 00:27:58,000 --> 00:28:01,520 they were struggling with this. Go back to the songs you used to 442 00:28:01,520 --> 00:28:05,760 sing when you first got saved and it helped. 443 00:28:08,840 --> 00:28:11,920 You can get so busy that you abandoned what that time alone 444 00:28:11,920 --> 00:28:16,320 with the Lord where you pray, not necessarily asking him for 445 00:28:16,320 --> 00:28:18,400 things. We're just worshipping him where 446 00:28:18,400 --> 00:28:20,520 you come to the word, not to look for a lesson for Sunday 447 00:28:20,520 --> 00:28:27,600 school, but just to to be fed to taking the thoughts of Christ 448 00:28:27,600 --> 00:28:30,040 and commune with Christ even throughout your day. 449 00:28:30,040 --> 00:28:34,240 Go back to that. So when Jesus says I know your 450 00:28:34,240 --> 00:28:36,280 works, when he says I'm, I'm, I'm looking for the right 451 00:28:36,280 --> 00:28:37,680 things. One thing I can say for certain 452 00:28:37,680 --> 00:28:42,640 is that he wants me to protect my efforts in growing in my 453 00:28:42,640 --> 00:28:49,560 personal adoration of who he is, but not just that he wants my 454 00:28:49,560 --> 00:28:52,880 efforts to be in rejecting the evil works of others. 455 00:28:53,560 --> 00:28:59,560 So Revelation 26 yet this you have you hate the works of the 456 00:28:59,560 --> 00:29:07,680 Nicolaitans, which I also hate. So when when we say Jesus is 457 00:29:07,680 --> 00:29:12,280 deeply interested in our works, he's not only looking for what 458 00:29:12,280 --> 00:29:15,480 we do, he's also looking for what we don't do. 459 00:29:17,840 --> 00:29:19,720 James summarizes this beautifully. 460 00:29:20,680 --> 00:29:23,360 So here's a quotation from chapter 1, verse 27. 461 00:29:23,720 --> 00:29:27,840 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father. 462 00:29:27,840 --> 00:29:31,000 Is this two things? What's pure religion to God? 463 00:29:32,040 --> 00:29:35,120 One, to visit orphans and widows and their affliction. 464 00:29:35,400 --> 00:29:38,600 That's the positive. That's what you do to visit 465 00:29:38,600 --> 00:29:43,320 those who are needy, destitute. And two, to keep oneself 466 00:29:43,400 --> 00:29:48,760 unstained from the world. Those are two main categories. 467 00:29:49,160 --> 00:29:52,640 Acting out in love and keeping yourself from being polluted by 468 00:29:52,640 --> 00:29:54,600 the world. That's what's pure to God. 469 00:29:54,600 --> 00:29:58,560 That's what religion is to God in terms of practical religion. 470 00:29:59,880 --> 00:30:02,400 That's what I see here. He's asking them, the church in 471 00:30:02,400 --> 00:30:07,320 Ephesus, go back to your works that you did in loving me. 472 00:30:07,520 --> 00:30:10,360 But also I want to commend you. You hate the work of the 473 00:30:10,360 --> 00:30:12,920 Nicolaitans. Keep hating them. 474 00:30:13,600 --> 00:30:15,960 Did you know Jesus Christ hates things? 475 00:30:20,160 --> 00:30:24,200 If you really know somebody well, you don't just know what 476 00:30:24,200 --> 00:30:25,960 they enjoy, what their preferences are. 477 00:30:25,960 --> 00:30:30,240 You always, with that, know what they don't like, right? 478 00:30:31,920 --> 00:30:37,760 So with your wife, you know what not to buy and what not to 479 00:30:37,760 --> 00:30:41,440 include in your relationship because as you've studied her 480 00:30:41,960 --> 00:30:44,120 and as you've gotten to know her, you know what she loves and 481 00:30:44,120 --> 00:30:47,400 you know what she hates. Do you know what Christ hates? 482 00:30:49,440 --> 00:30:51,000 God is love. Praise God, He's love. 483 00:30:51,240 --> 00:30:52,920 God also hates. What does he hate? 484 00:30:54,320 --> 00:30:56,600 What can you say? I know Jesus hates this. 485 00:30:57,440 --> 00:31:01,720 I know he despises it. Why is that important to know? 486 00:31:01,720 --> 00:31:03,520 Because I don't want to entertain anything that he 487 00:31:03,520 --> 00:31:05,480 hates. I don't want to engage in 488 00:31:05,480 --> 00:31:07,320 anything that he despises that would grieve him. 489 00:31:07,320 --> 00:31:09,320 So what does he hate? What does he hate? 490 00:31:09,920 --> 00:31:12,480 Can I tell you this when you come to this book alone, in 491 00:31:12,480 --> 00:31:16,640 these two chapters, I discovered that there are at least three or 492 00:31:16,640 --> 00:31:23,200 four things just in these two chapters that he hates #1 He 493 00:31:23,200 --> 00:31:29,440 hates. He hates false teaching, Those 494 00:31:29,440 --> 00:31:33,560 who misrepresent His Word, those who elevate tradition above His 495 00:31:33,560 --> 00:31:39,640 word, those who massage the Bible for carnal gain. 496 00:31:39,720 --> 00:31:42,560 He hates that. Do you know what else he hates? 497 00:31:42,560 --> 00:31:44,480 You're going to discover this as we go through these letters. 498 00:31:44,640 --> 00:31:48,560 He hates idolatry. He hates when we have any 499 00:31:48,760 --> 00:31:53,400 competition in our love for Him. You know what he brings up more 500 00:31:53,400 --> 00:31:56,560 than once? He hates sexual immorality. 501 00:31:57,760 --> 00:31:59,720 He hates it. He brings it up more than once 502 00:31:59,720 --> 00:32:04,600 in these letters. Lastly, he hates apathy. 503 00:32:06,280 --> 00:32:09,600 He hates apathy. And we're going to see that in 504 00:32:09,600 --> 00:32:11,280 more than one church, unfortunately. 505 00:32:11,560 --> 00:32:13,080 So I'm learning, what do you hate? 506 00:32:13,240 --> 00:32:16,600 And now when he says I know your works, what is he looking for? 507 00:32:16,600 --> 00:32:20,480 I'm sure He's looking for my efforts and expelling and 508 00:32:20,480 --> 00:32:23,600 denying and swatting away that which grieves Him. 509 00:32:25,480 --> 00:32:29,400 Another thing to consider, Christ is interested in my 510 00:32:29,400 --> 00:32:32,840 efforts for the advancement of His Kingdom to increase over 511 00:32:32,840 --> 00:32:36,200 time, not to decrease, but the increase. 512 00:32:36,680 --> 00:32:44,360 Look at chapter 2, verse 19. I know your works, your love and 513 00:32:44,360 --> 00:32:49,800 faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter 514 00:32:49,800 --> 00:32:54,800 works exceed the first. He highlights that, so he tells 515 00:32:54,800 --> 00:32:58,480 these believers here in Thai Tyra, hey, I've been watching 516 00:32:58,480 --> 00:33:01,480 you over the years and as time is going on, you've only become 517 00:33:01,480 --> 00:33:04,920 more zealous, more dedicated, more committed to acts of 518 00:33:04,920 --> 00:33:07,440 service. Now here's what's true. 519 00:33:07,520 --> 00:33:10,360 What we do for others in the name of the Lord will evolve 520 00:33:10,360 --> 00:33:12,200 over time. They will change, they'll be 521 00:33:12,200 --> 00:33:14,200 altered depending on the season of life. 522 00:33:15,520 --> 00:33:17,800 And though that may happen, there may be adaptation. 523 00:33:17,800 --> 00:33:22,360 One thing cannot be true of us that it becomes weaker over 524 00:33:22,360 --> 00:33:28,080 time, no matter what. How we honor the Lord with our 525 00:33:28,080 --> 00:33:33,040 service and our works may look different, but it should always 526 00:33:33,040 --> 00:33:36,040 be there and not just there. We should pray that God would 527 00:33:36,040 --> 00:33:40,480 keep us zealous and dedicated because He's looking for that. 528 00:33:40,760 --> 00:33:43,560 He expects that, that we're always investing, doing 529 00:33:43,560 --> 00:33:48,160 something, some kind of inclusion in his work. 530 00:33:48,760 --> 00:33:52,480 In fact, He wants us to do this for the long term. 531 00:33:52,640 --> 00:33:54,040 How long? The same passage. 532 00:33:54,040 --> 00:33:57,200 Look at verse 26. The one who conquers and who 533 00:33:57,200 --> 00:34:03,920 keeps my works until the end. To Him I will give authority 534 00:34:03,920 --> 00:34:09,120 over the nation's. So Jesus Christ expects me in 535 00:34:09,120 --> 00:34:13,840 one way or another to serve him until I see him. 536 00:34:17,679 --> 00:34:20,480 This Is Us knowing Christ, brothers and sisters, this is 537 00:34:20,480 --> 00:34:22,520 his standard. So I'm quoting scripture. 538 00:34:22,520 --> 00:34:25,080 This is not my idea. This is what He's after. 539 00:34:26,480 --> 00:34:29,360 Christ is deeply interested in our works. 540 00:34:29,360 --> 00:34:32,120 Yes, the people who've been saved by his grace, but a grace 541 00:34:32,120 --> 00:34:37,280 that energizes us to serve #4 Satan. 542 00:34:39,080 --> 00:34:43,239 Satan ferociously opposes the church. 543 00:34:45,199 --> 00:34:47,600 Aerial view hilltop with binoculars. 544 00:34:47,600 --> 00:34:50,239 What do I see? Oh, these seven churches. 545 00:34:50,320 --> 00:34:57,120 Satan is mentioned five times in these two chapters, 4 different 546 00:34:57,120 --> 00:35:02,680 times in four different letters. Here's what that teaches me 547 00:35:02,680 --> 00:35:04,120 right away. A church that does not 548 00:35:04,120 --> 00:35:08,440 acknowledge the evil one or his schemes will not be able to be 549 00:35:08,440 --> 00:35:09,960 the church that Christ called him to be. 550 00:35:10,800 --> 00:35:13,520 I'm not talking about those ministries that obsessively talk 551 00:35:13,520 --> 00:35:17,920 about Satan and demons. I'm talking about a biblical 552 00:35:17,960 --> 00:35:21,360 informed awareness. That's what I'm speaking about. 553 00:35:21,680 --> 00:35:26,760 Satan has brought up more than once four different churches. 554 00:35:26,920 --> 00:35:30,560 Christ includes his name. What do we make of that? 555 00:35:30,560 --> 00:35:33,040 Well, let's find out because these mentions are not random. 556 00:35:33,600 --> 00:35:41,120 They reveal His strategies and He is very much at war with us. 557 00:35:42,160 --> 00:35:44,480 The first time Satan is mentioned in these letters is in 558 00:35:44,480 --> 00:35:46,760 Revelation 2, verse 9. Let's look at it again. 559 00:35:47,760 --> 00:35:50,680 I know your tribulation and your poverty, but you are rich. 560 00:35:51,080 --> 00:35:54,000 And the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, 561 00:35:54,000 --> 00:35:59,280 but are a synagogue of Satan. Something similar comes up in 562 00:35:59,280 --> 00:36:03,440 Revelation 39. Behold, I will make those of the 563 00:36:03,440 --> 00:36:07,400 synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not but 564 00:36:07,400 --> 00:36:08,960 lie. Behold, I will make them come 565 00:36:08,960 --> 00:36:12,280 and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have 566 00:36:12,280 --> 00:36:15,400 loved you. We're going to look into this 567 00:36:15,400 --> 00:36:18,080 more in the coming weeks, but let's just establish this. 568 00:36:19,600 --> 00:36:24,720 Satan uses people outside the community of faith to harass the 569 00:36:24,720 --> 00:36:28,080 people of God. And at this time, it was the 570 00:36:28,080 --> 00:36:31,320 Jewish people with this early Christian movement who were 571 00:36:31,320 --> 00:36:34,440 claiming that Jesus Christ of Nazareth was the Messiah. 572 00:36:34,960 --> 00:36:38,960 This irked them to the degree that they found many ways to 573 00:36:38,960 --> 00:36:46,640 prick them and to harm them, to call the authorities on them. 574 00:36:47,880 --> 00:36:50,520 So right away we see here where at least two mentions of Satan, 575 00:36:50,520 --> 00:36:55,160 that Satan uses agents outside of the church to bother the 576 00:36:55,160 --> 00:36:57,640 church. And we have to be mindful of 577 00:36:57,640 --> 00:36:58,560 that. Here's why. 578 00:36:58,840 --> 00:37:02,200 Because if you and I don't realize the satanic influence, 579 00:37:02,400 --> 00:37:04,720 then you might be waging war against flesh and blood. 580 00:37:06,560 --> 00:37:09,320 When people persecute us, when people call the police on us, 581 00:37:09,320 --> 00:37:12,760 when people do all these things to us, it's not people that we 582 00:37:12,760 --> 00:37:18,400 are at war with, it's Satan. And knowing that and believing 583 00:37:18,400 --> 00:37:21,840 that helps us know what weapons to wield and not to fight in the 584 00:37:21,840 --> 00:37:26,440 flesh. And so here we see Christ not 585 00:37:26,440 --> 00:37:28,960 just highlighting and identifying the people that are 586 00:37:28,960 --> 00:37:31,840 doing it, but who's really behind it. 587 00:37:32,280 --> 00:37:34,920 Satan, we should expect the same. 588 00:37:35,600 --> 00:37:38,640 But Satan doesn't just work outside, he works from within. 589 00:37:39,920 --> 00:37:46,920 Look here at Revelation 224, the church in Thyatira, Jesus says. 590 00:37:46,920 --> 00:37:50,480 But to the rest of you in Thyatira who do not hold this 591 00:37:50,480 --> 00:37:55,480 teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things 592 00:37:55,480 --> 00:38:00,880 of Satan to USA, I do not lay on you any other burden. 593 00:38:03,080 --> 00:38:05,720 There are many ways that the devil can agitate a church from 594 00:38:05,720 --> 00:38:08,920 within, and Christ highlights a prominent one, false teaching. 595 00:38:11,120 --> 00:38:15,080 So if Satan can't pressure a church with persecution, he will 596 00:38:15,080 --> 00:38:17,440 poison a church with bad doctrine. 597 00:38:18,640 --> 00:38:20,920 And how does he do it? Does he just manifest on a stage 598 00:38:20,920 --> 00:38:23,160 and intimidate people to believe his lies? 599 00:38:23,160 --> 00:38:26,840 No, he doesn't do that. He finds people the same way he 600 00:38:26,840 --> 00:38:30,520 finds people from outside. He finds people from within to 601 00:38:30,520 --> 00:38:33,840 persuade God's people. And in this particular church, 602 00:38:33,840 --> 00:38:39,720 he found a woman who claimed to be a prophetess who was seducing 603 00:38:39,720 --> 00:38:43,840 the people of God to believe a lie and live out in sin as a 604 00:38:43,840 --> 00:38:48,160 result of her teaching. So at this point we're supposed 605 00:38:48,160 --> 00:38:53,840 to step back and be persuaded. The evil 1 is calculated. 606 00:38:55,080 --> 00:38:58,600 He is strategic. Yes, indeed, more than you 607 00:38:58,600 --> 00:39:01,320 think. Why do I say that? 608 00:39:01,320 --> 00:39:04,960 Let me give you a sample. Look at Revelation 2, verse 13. 609 00:39:06,720 --> 00:39:08,920 This is the church in Pergamum. And what does Jesus say? 610 00:39:09,840 --> 00:39:17,000 I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is, that you hold 611 00:39:17,000 --> 00:39:20,400 fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days 612 00:39:20,400 --> 00:39:23,480 of Antipus, my faithful witness who was killed among you, where 613 00:39:23,480 --> 00:39:29,320 Satan dwells. Contrary to cartoon depictions, 614 00:39:29,320 --> 00:39:31,240 Satan's headquarters is not in hell. 615 00:39:33,360 --> 00:39:37,480 His roaming presence is continually on the earth, and at 616 00:39:37,480 --> 00:39:41,080 this particular time in history, he felt very comfortable to set 617 00:39:41,080 --> 00:39:43,120 up his home base in a place called Pergamum. 618 00:39:43,760 --> 00:39:46,240 Why? Well, don't miss any upcoming 619 00:39:46,240 --> 00:39:48,200 Sundays, because we're going to discover that at least some 620 00:39:48,200 --> 00:39:50,880 possible answers. But here's what we can 621 00:39:50,880 --> 00:39:52,520 establish. This is deliberate. 622 00:39:53,600 --> 00:39:56,440 This isn't random. It wasn't for the views. 623 00:39:58,680 --> 00:40:03,720 He is so locked in, he's so filled with pride, he thinks 624 00:40:03,720 --> 00:40:05,720 that he can actually overthrow prophecy. 625 00:40:06,200 --> 00:40:08,920 And he wants to doom as many people as possible. 626 00:40:09,800 --> 00:40:11,600 And so clearly to me, here's what I take out of this. 627 00:40:11,600 --> 00:40:13,160 There was something about Pergamum. 628 00:40:13,480 --> 00:40:19,960 That helped Satan have a greater influence to gain greater 629 00:40:19,960 --> 00:40:24,240 control of the region. There was something about 630 00:40:24,240 --> 00:40:28,080 Pergamum that allowed him to what spread his corruption with 631 00:40:28,080 --> 00:40:32,680 greater effect. So here's what I took from this. 632 00:40:33,000 --> 00:40:35,960 Satan is interested in locations. 633 00:40:38,400 --> 00:40:41,840 He considers that and if he considers that, then surely he 634 00:40:41,840 --> 00:40:50,640 considers using platforms and and hiring people and, and being 635 00:40:50,640 --> 00:40:54,920 very intentional of what he does, where he does it, whom he 636 00:40:54,920 --> 00:40:58,360 does it through. Here's where I'm convicted. 637 00:40:58,680 --> 00:41:03,200 If Satan is so strategic, what about the church? 638 00:41:05,280 --> 00:41:09,000 Where's the planning? Where's the fasting? 639 00:41:10,880 --> 00:41:15,040 Where's the warlike mentality? Where's the awareness, the 640 00:41:15,040 --> 00:41:17,680 continual awareness that we're at war? 641 00:41:20,280 --> 00:41:22,360 Hey, church and Pergamum, you're in the same neighborhood as the 642 00:41:22,360 --> 00:41:26,400 devil. I said this before, forgive me 643 00:41:26,400 --> 00:41:28,720 for saying it again. If there's any encouragement in 644 00:41:28,720 --> 00:41:31,880 this, it's that God was able to raise up a church where Satan 645 00:41:31,880 --> 00:41:37,680 dwells. So no matter how bad Chicago 646 00:41:37,680 --> 00:41:40,360 gets, the church can still be the church. 647 00:41:43,960 --> 00:41:46,840 And so we see here that there's something worth considering 648 00:41:46,840 --> 00:41:48,720 about Satan. But here's what I want to say. 649 00:41:49,600 --> 00:41:54,280 In addition to that, Satan is not mentioned in three out of 650 00:41:54,280 --> 00:41:58,320 the seven. Any explanation? 651 00:42:00,600 --> 00:42:08,760 I can't be dogmatic with any claim from silence, but I do see 652 00:42:08,760 --> 00:42:12,000 something interested with the churches that Satan is not 653 00:42:12,000 --> 00:42:15,440 mentioned in. You may disagree with me. 654 00:42:15,440 --> 00:42:17,440 It's fine. I'm not making again a dogmatic 655 00:42:18,360 --> 00:42:21,080 declaration here. Just an interesting observation. 656 00:42:22,120 --> 00:42:25,000 The three churches where Satan is not mentioned is an Ephesus, 657 00:42:26,120 --> 00:42:32,200 Sardis, Laodicea, unique with their problems, but they share 658 00:42:32,200 --> 00:42:38,400 something quite similar. Ephesus abandoned their first 659 00:42:38,400 --> 00:42:42,640 love. Sardis had a reputation of being 660 00:42:42,640 --> 00:42:47,400 alive but was dead. Laodicea was lukewarm. 661 00:42:48,640 --> 00:42:52,840 Can we say that Satan does not bother with churches that are 662 00:42:52,840 --> 00:42:58,520 cold towards Christ? That's not a stretch, is it? 663 00:43:00,800 --> 00:43:03,200 And when Christians just go through the motions and don't 664 00:43:03,200 --> 00:43:06,880 pose any lasting threat to the Kingdom of darkness because of 665 00:43:06,880 --> 00:43:09,920 that love, Satan pays little to no attention to them. 666 00:43:10,760 --> 00:43:13,200 Why? Because a loveless Christianity 667 00:43:13,200 --> 00:43:16,200 self defeating. Think about it. 668 00:43:16,200 --> 00:43:18,280 Jesus told the church in Ephesus, If you don't change the 669 00:43:18,280 --> 00:43:21,040 way you love me, I'm shutting this church down. 670 00:43:22,640 --> 00:43:24,240 What does Satan have to do with the church like that? 671 00:43:26,400 --> 00:43:29,800 Goes to show just how vital it is to have a heart brimming with 672 00:43:29,800 --> 00:43:35,200 love, just how necessary it is for us to have and to protect 673 00:43:35,360 --> 00:43:38,200 and to fuel affection for Jesus Christ. 674 00:43:38,880 --> 00:43:41,520 Because that's what really stimulates fruitfulness. 675 00:43:41,760 --> 00:43:44,920 That's what really opens up our lives to the potent spiritual 676 00:43:44,920 --> 00:43:48,160 fragrance that impacts environments that we walk into. 677 00:43:51,200 --> 00:43:57,280 So a church that's cold towards Christ, they'll shrivel up and 678 00:43:57,280 --> 00:43:59,240 die in no time. Oh yeah, Let them have their 679 00:43:59,240 --> 00:44:00,920 services and let them do their thing. 680 00:44:01,840 --> 00:44:04,200 I'm going to focus on those that love Jesus. 681 00:44:07,640 --> 00:44:10,640 Satan ferociously opposes the church. 682 00:44:11,640 --> 00:44:14,040 Here's my final point with these observations. 683 00:44:14,920 --> 00:44:21,400 Christ desires for His church to be eternally minded. 684 00:44:24,400 --> 00:44:26,520 There are many more things that we can say, but let's land it 685 00:44:26,520 --> 00:44:29,120 here. Despite the condition or the 686 00:44:29,120 --> 00:44:32,440 circumstances of every church, whether there was more 687 00:44:32,760 --> 00:44:36,200 commendation or more condemnation, Jesus Christ does 688 00:44:36,560 --> 00:44:39,400 one similar thing with every single one of these assemblies. 689 00:44:39,760 --> 00:44:43,680 He gives them a promise of a reward for those who conquer. 690 00:44:45,480 --> 00:44:47,160 He's such a motivating God. He's such. 691 00:44:47,280 --> 00:44:49,600 He is, as Roman says, the God of encouragement. 692 00:44:50,080 --> 00:44:52,400 So with every church he says to the one who conquers, and he 693 00:44:52,400 --> 00:44:57,480 follows it up with a prize. But there is something about 694 00:44:57,680 --> 00:45:02,240 these prizes, though they are unique in each case they have a 695 00:45:02,240 --> 00:45:04,280 common trait. And I want you to see, let's 696 00:45:04,280 --> 00:45:07,280 just look at a few of them. Look at Revelation 27. 697 00:45:07,840 --> 00:45:09,520 He has an ear. Let him hear what the Spirit 698 00:45:09,520 --> 00:45:13,520 says to the churches, to the one who conquers our grant to eat of 699 00:45:13,520 --> 00:45:17,120 the tree of life which is in the paradise of God. 700 00:45:19,200 --> 00:45:21,800 Look at verse 10. Do not fear what you were about 701 00:45:21,800 --> 00:45:23,280 to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to 702 00:45:23,280 --> 00:45:25,840 throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for 703 00:45:25,840 --> 00:45:27,280 10 days you will have tribulation. 704 00:45:27,400 --> 00:45:30,760 Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. 705 00:45:32,360 --> 00:45:34,320 Skip over to chapter 2, verse 26. 706 00:45:35,000 --> 00:45:37,600 The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end. 707 00:45:37,600 --> 00:45:40,360 To Him I will give authority over the nations. 708 00:45:41,840 --> 00:45:44,200 Chapter 3, Verse 5. The one who conquers will be 709 00:45:44,200 --> 00:45:47,080 clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot His name 710 00:45:47,080 --> 00:45:50,280 out of the book of life. I will confess His name before 711 00:45:50,280 --> 00:45:56,000 my Father and before his angels. Verse 21 of chapter 3. 712 00:45:56,520 --> 00:45:59,640 The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my 713 00:45:59,640 --> 00:46:03,920 throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his 714 00:46:04,600 --> 00:46:05,960 throne. Do you see it? 715 00:46:07,280 --> 00:46:10,160 These rewards are primarily eternal in nature. 716 00:46:11,800 --> 00:46:15,360 They're everlasting and worth, and they will be fully realized 717 00:46:15,360 --> 00:46:19,600 in the life to come. So what does that say to us? 718 00:46:20,400 --> 00:46:25,480 That Christ here uses eternity as an incentive to keep us 719 00:46:25,480 --> 00:46:28,960 motivated and conquers in our faith. 720 00:46:29,680 --> 00:46:33,960 Eternity should not be a rare topic coming from the pulpit. 721 00:46:35,160 --> 00:46:37,880 It shouldn't be absent in our mutual counsel and 722 00:46:37,880 --> 00:46:41,200 encouragement. It's something that we have to 723 00:46:41,200 --> 00:46:42,480 think about. It's something that we need to 724 00:46:42,480 --> 00:46:43,880 use to stir up one another. Why? 725 00:46:43,880 --> 00:46:48,240 Because I see my Jesus using it every single time with every 726 00:46:48,240 --> 00:46:53,440 single church. To the one who conquers, Look 727 00:46:53,440 --> 00:46:55,720 what I'll give you. It's coming and the life to come 728 00:46:55,720 --> 00:46:57,360 and the life to come and the life to come. 729 00:46:58,000 --> 00:47:00,480 Evidently, there's something about knowing what's to come 730 00:47:00,480 --> 00:47:06,520 that keeps me going now. And to refuse to see that as a 731 00:47:06,520 --> 00:47:10,240 detriment to us. Here's my prayer for our church, 732 00:47:10,240 --> 00:47:14,200 that no matter what kind of week you had, no matter the bills or 733 00:47:14,200 --> 00:47:19,480 the surprising payments that came house this or bills with 734 00:47:19,560 --> 00:47:24,280 health, whatever the case may be, education, the stresses of 735 00:47:24,280 --> 00:47:26,720 this life would wash away. Because as you come and as you 736 00:47:26,720 --> 00:47:28,640 leave, you've been reminded of what's to come. 737 00:47:31,240 --> 00:47:33,120 To be eternally minded. This is what the Lord is saying. 738 00:47:33,120 --> 00:47:35,240 Remember what's happening. Remember what we're looking 739 00:47:35,240 --> 00:47:38,240 forward to here. Come on, church, this isn't it. 740 00:47:39,480 --> 00:47:43,560 There's life to come. I wasn't planning on saying 741 00:47:43,560 --> 00:47:45,760 this, but I want to end on an encouraging note from the Old 742 00:47:45,760 --> 00:47:48,160 Testament, and then we'll close together in prayer. 743 00:47:49,920 --> 00:47:53,880 Jesus said that He wants us to be more than conquerors, 744 00:47:55,640 --> 00:47:57,840 conquerors in our faith. And I want to tell you something 745 00:47:57,840 --> 00:47:59,840 about his patience with his church. 746 00:48:00,640 --> 00:48:03,080 When you come to the book of Malachi, you see something quite 747 00:48:03,080 --> 00:48:06,560 amazing about God's heart in that refining process. 748 00:48:09,440 --> 00:48:22,410 In Malachi 3/3 he says he will sit as a refiner and a purifier 749 00:48:22,410 --> 00:48:25,690 of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them 750 00:48:26,050 --> 00:48:28,770 like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings and 751 00:48:28,770 --> 00:48:33,610 righteousness to the Lord. This is what God was doing in 752 00:48:33,610 --> 00:48:34,970 the Old Testament of the Old Covenant. 753 00:48:34,970 --> 00:48:36,130 What was he doing? He was refining them. 754 00:48:36,130 --> 00:48:40,000 Is it any different today? But notice his posture. 755 00:48:40,200 --> 00:48:41,760 What does it say in the beginning of verse three? 756 00:48:41,880 --> 00:48:44,160 He will stand. He will sit. 757 00:48:45,640 --> 00:48:49,360 When you sit to do anything, you're assuming that you're 758 00:48:49,360 --> 00:48:52,280 going to be there for a while, that you're taking your time, 759 00:48:52,280 --> 00:48:55,280 you're giving your focus, that you're not in a rush. 760 00:48:56,520 --> 00:49:00,560 When Jesus purifies you, He's patient. 761 00:49:02,720 --> 00:49:06,120 When He works on me, He is long-suffering. 762 00:49:07,520 --> 00:49:10,000 He doesn't just toss us away when we don't comply 763 00:49:10,240 --> 00:49:13,720 immediately. He works on us and he takes his 764 00:49:13,720 --> 00:49:16,000 time on us. And you see that even in these 765 00:49:16,000 --> 00:49:18,400 letters where this church that was ravaged by this false 766 00:49:18,400 --> 00:49:21,640 prophetess, and he says, what to that church? 767 00:49:21,840 --> 00:49:27,520 I gave her time to repent. I gave her time to repent. 768 00:49:29,240 --> 00:49:32,000 If we were to walk into a church with a woman preaching and 769 00:49:32,000 --> 00:49:34,320 saying it's OK to live in sexual sin, how long? 770 00:49:34,360 --> 00:49:36,480 How much time would you spend there before you leave? 771 00:49:37,480 --> 00:49:39,120 You don't care what kind of coffee is in the lobby. 772 00:49:39,120 --> 00:49:42,920 I'm out of here. Jesus doesn't immediately even 773 00:49:42,920 --> 00:49:47,760 shut down that church. I gave her time to repent. 774 00:49:48,720 --> 00:49:53,880 This is the God you serve. And as we pray, let that be the 775 00:49:53,880 --> 00:49:57,800 object of our desire. Lord, make us a people that you 776 00:49:57,800 --> 00:50:01,360 want us to be. Help us think like you think. 777 00:50:01,840 --> 00:50:04,200 Help us work for what really matters. 778 00:50:04,960 --> 00:50:09,760 Help us realize that Satan hates us and that we have to be on 779 00:50:09,760 --> 00:50:12,560 guard and help us be eternally minded. 780 00:50:13,200 --> 00:50:16,560 Lord, we thank you for your help in this overview. 781 00:50:21,800 --> 00:50:24,520 We pray that these things that we heard would be applied. 782 00:50:26,320 --> 00:50:28,640 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the 783 00:50:28,640 --> 00:50:33,480 churches. So Lord, we do ask that we would 784 00:50:33,480 --> 00:50:40,080 leave here, sensing your voice and empowering us to live out 785 00:50:40,080 --> 00:50:45,480 what You've called us to do. And Lord, as we think about you 786 00:50:45,480 --> 00:50:49,880 sitting while you refine us, we want to now stand in honor of 787 00:50:49,880 --> 00:50:55,880 you and sing Your praises. Keep Maranatha Bible Church in 788 00:50:55,880 --> 00:50:59,640 your will. May you find nothing here that 789 00:50:59,640 --> 00:51:03,000 breaks your heart. Bless every ministry that is 790 00:51:03,000 --> 00:51:04,840 represented here outside of this church. 791 00:51:05,520 --> 00:51:08,600 May you find at this time more churches like Smyrna and 792 00:51:08,600 --> 00:51:15,320 Philadelphia that bring you joy, that OfferUp true sacrifice of 793 00:51:15,320 --> 00:51:18,200 praise. That's what we're striving after 794 00:51:18,200 --> 00:51:20,120 and we know that you'll help us by the Spirit. 795 00:51:20,720 --> 00:51:23,760 We love you Lord. Thank you for loving us first. 796 00:51:24,040 --> 00:51:29,080 In Jesus name we pray, Amen. Let's stand before the one who 797 00:51:29,080 --> 00:51:32,480 sits while he works on us. What a great God.