Bible Talks - Traditional Church (Sunday 8am)
Series: Letters from Heaven · Talk No. 2
Letters from heaven
Sunday, 30 July 2006
1. Being Assessed
It is amazing how many times in your life you get assessed by other people when you’re growing up.
At the school, Sam and others go to, they have continuous assessment tasks… Each week there seems to be several. And that is on top of exams.
When you learn to drive, you have to sit the driving test, and then, later on, do another hazard-perception test before you can change colours on your P plates.
It seems that every time they turn around you are being assessed for something.
And then there are things like the HSC...
But the thing that you find as you grow older is that those assessments often don’t mean that much in the end.
They may seem important at the time, but a little further down the track they seem insignificant.
Down the line not too many people are going to ask you how you did in your Year 11, Term 2, Week 8 English assessment!
Even things like the HSC…
When I got to Moore College, no one was interested in the mark I got in my HSC (which was a good thing considering how poorly I had done). When I did youth ministry no-one wanted to see my results from Moore.
Tonight, we are looking at the section of Revelation that is clearly about assessment – But the difference, is this one matters.
This is Jesus’ assessment of his churches.
What we have in Revelation 2-3 is a short note to each of the seven congregations that the book Revelation is addressed to.
Remember – remember that the whole book of Revelation is one big letter to the seven churches.
What we have here is a specific note to each of these congregations. Jesus assesses these churches and tells them how they’re doing.
And what is said isn’t just for them alone.
Each note would have been read by the other six churches. As it says at the end of each note:
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
2. Jesus Among the Churches
Now if you have read through chapters 2 & 3 then you would have noticed that it is closely connected to chapter one.
In chapter 1 we were given a vision of Jesus walking among the lampstands – walking among the churches.
He is an imposing and impressive figure.
Now what we see is that Jesus uses elements of that vision in the opening of each of these letters.
Have a look at the opening words of each of the letters
Read Revelation 2:1 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands”
Read Revelation 2:8 “To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again.”
Read Revelation 2:12 “To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword.”
Read Revelation 2:18 “To the angel of the church in Thyatira write: These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze.”
Read Revelation 3:1 “To the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.”
Read Revelation 3:7 “To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David.”
Read Revelation 3:14 “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation.”
Each of these notes is addressed to what the NIV says is the angel of the church. The word can equally mean messenger, and I think it’s a little unclear if it’s an angel or human messenger in view here.
But what is totally clear is that these notes were intended for the individual congregations, and they are notes that come from Jesus.
3. Jesus Knows
But the link goes beyond that.
The title that Jesus uses for himself doesn’t just link back to chapter 1. It also seems to relate directly to that churches situation – to the problems or the struggles they face.
Jesus uses the title that best suits the situation that those churches find themselves in .
Let me give you an example or two.
Look at what Jesus says to the church in Smyrna:
Read from 2:8 “To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. 9 I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10 Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. 11 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death”.
Here is a church that is suffering persecution because of their faith in Jesus.
Here is a church where Jesus says that faithfulness to him may even cost them their lives.
So which title does Jesus use to introduce himself?
· He says that he is the first and the last
· He is the one who stands at the beginning and end of time
· He says that he is the one who died and came to life again.
· He is the one who can offer eternal life because he has died and risen again.
And how does he close the note?
· He promises to give the crown of life to those who are faithful.
· He promises those who overcome wont be hurt by the 2nd death.
Have a look at the letter to Philadelphia.
The threat to the Christians in the church in Philadelphia seems to have been coming from the Jews in the city.
They were no doubt persecuting the Christians for claiming that they have faith in the God of the old testament. The Jews would have no doubt been appalled by the message that Jesus was God’s son and the Messiah.
So how does Jesus introduce himself?
Read from 3:7 “To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David.”
He confirms that those who trust in Jesus are the ones with the true faith.
Jesus is the one who rules over God’s kingdom - the everlasting kingdom that was promised in David is now here in Jesus.
No matter what the Jews may says it is the Christians in Philadelphia are the ones who have got it right.
And in the end Jesus says this: 3:9b “…I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you.”
Which makes clear that Jesus knows what is going on in these churches.
· He knows the struggles they face.
· He knows the suffering they have encountered.
· He knows the endurance they have shown.
· He knows how they have stumbled.
And also knows what the hearts of people are like..
There is a verse in the note to Thyatira that sums it up.
Jesus says that he is going to punish some of the members of that church if they don’t repent.
But look at what he says the result of that will be: 2:23b “…Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.”
He knows not only the outward circumstance for these people. He also knows what goes on in their hearts and minds.
And he holds his people accountable.
4. What Does Jesus Value in a Church?
So what does Jesus see when he looks at these churches?
When Jesus makes his assessment of these churches there is no mistake.
He misses nothing. He knows exactly what they are like he knows what is going on in these churches.
So what is it that Jesus praises about these churches?
And what does he criticize? In what ways are these churches rebuked?
Well, all but one of the churches receive praise.
It is only to the church in Laodicea that Jesus has nothing positive to say.
There are two churches – Smyrna and Philadelphia – where Jesus has no criticism.
But I think you could categorize Jesus’ praise and criticism under three headings:
a. Holding to the Truth
One of the things that a few churches are commended for is that they have held to the truth about Jesus.
Wrong ideas about Jesus and false doctrine are not new things.
They were there in the church right from the beginning.
The Church in Ephesus is praised for its theological correctness.
They been able to discern who the false apostles are.
They have rejected the teaching of the Nicolatians.
Thyatira on the other hand have been sucked in by false teaching.
They have embraced the misleading teaching of the woman who is called Jezebel.
And the big criticism of Pergamum?
They have people who hold to the teaching of Balaam and Balak.
They have people who hold to the teaching of the Nicolatians.
You often find people today who want to say that we shouldn’t waste our time being so picky about Bible Teaching and doctrine.
Plenty of people will want to dismiss that just an intellectual thing – that Christians shouldn’t get caught up in that. We should just love each other.
But that is not what Jesus is saying here – is it?
The thing that Jesus praises about Thyatira is the love that they have for each other.
But his criticism of them is that they have been undiscerning – they have embraced all kinds of false teaching.
Believing and holding onto the truth about Jesus is important.
And it is also serious.
Look at what he says will happen to the church in Pergamum if they don’t turn from this false teaching: 2:14 “Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality. Likewise you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth”
Jesus promises that he will fight against those who hold to that false teaching.
b. Being Godly
There is a close connection between the false teaching and the ungodly behaviour of the people in these churches.
We saw it there with Pergamum: 2:14 again “...You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality.”
What you believe will influence the way you live.
And again it was clearly the case in Thyatira. 2:20 “ Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols.”
Jesus also praises those who have sought to live a godly life.
Jesus commends those in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes – those who have kept themselves pure.
c. Pressing On and Bearing Witness
Perhaps the most obvious thing is that he commends those churches that have endured.
The Church in Ephesus are commended for pressing on: 2:3 “You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.”
Pergamum – commended for remaining true to Jesus’ name and not renouncing their faith in him – even in the face of serious persecution.
He commends the church in Smyrna for having endured suffering.
The Church in Philadelphia are feeling like they have no strength left and yet they have not denied God’s word or the name of Jesus.
But it is not just pressing on.
The issue about endurance is also an issue about bearing witness.
That is clearly one of the big themes in the book of Revelation.
It is not just about believing and continuing to believe when things get hard, it’s about bearing witness to Jesus when things get hard.
That was the thing that would cause trouble for Christians.
There is a phrase that gets repeated a lot in the book of Revelation. That phrase is: the testimony of Jesus.
That is what many of the churches were suffering for.
They were suffering because they kept bearing witness to Jesus.
They were suffering because they kept preaching the gospel.
And it is the same today:
· No-one minds what you believe today – so long as you keep it to yourself.
· No-one minds what you believe – so long as you don’t suggest they believe it was well.
· No-one minds what you believe – so long as you don’t insist that it is the truth that all people need to believe.
Jesus commends those who endure – who press on.
He commends those who continue to bear witness.
5. To Him Who Overcomes…
I think there is a sense in which each of these mini-letters is intended to encourage the churches to press on, to persevere, to endure and to continue to bear witness.
Each of the letters makes a promise to those who overcome.
Each of the letters finishes with a promise to the one who overcomes.
But what does it mean to overcome?
When I was at Moore College, each year we had a one day touch football competition with the other theological colleges around Sydney.
One of the colleges that played in the competition had some shirts made for their team for the competition one year. The shirts had the college’s motto in large letters on the back.
It said this: Born again. Born to win.
It was a little embarrassing when they didn’t even make the semi finals of the competition!
But we need to make sure we are clear about what overcoming means, because some churches have abducted the word and changed it’s meaning:
Overcoming is not about having worldly success.
Overcoming is not about having a comfortable life.
Overcoming is not about avoiding hardship.
Overcoming is not about having a trouble free life.
Overcoming is about being faithful to the end – even if things get hard.
Overcoming is about being faithful to Jesus – even if it costs you your life.
Overcoming is about continuing to bear witness to Jesus.
Overcoming is about knowing that there is something greater that waits us when this life comes to an end:
· A crown of life – Smyrna
· A name that will forever be written in the book of life – Sardis
· The promise of being able to sit with Jesus on his throne – Laodicea.
6. The Most Disturbing Thing
But do you know what I think that by far the most disturbing thing about these letters?
Three of these churches actually think they are doing well.
Three of these churches have a very inflated view of what they are like.
The Church in Ephesus, Sardis and Laodicea seem to be oblivious to how badly things are going.
Jesus saves perhaps his harshest criticism for these 3 churches.
He tells the church in Ephesus that he will take away their lampstand – that they will cease to exist as a church.
He tells the church in Sardis that they are dead.
And he tells the church in Laodicea that he feels like spewing them out of his mouth.
A lot of churches around Australia depend fairly heavily on the results from the National Church Life Survey that are done every four years.
But facts and statistical figures don’t always tell the real story.
I was talking to someone from a church not to far from here where the people in his church obviously have a much higher opinion of themselves than they should. He gave as an example, one of the questions about Bible Study groups, 50% of the people in his church said they were in a small group.
He said that he had done a count and the figure was probably closer to 25%.
It is easy for a church to think that it is going well.
It is easy for a church to be happy about their performance.
Look at Ephesus: They are commended for pressing on.
They are commended for holding to the truth.
But in a most devastating criticism Jesus says they have lost their first love. They have lost their love for Jesus.
They are still doing things. They are still pressing on. But they are not doing it out of a love for Jesus.
Here is a danger that I think every church can face.
We end up doing it for us…
We end up doing it for the Diocesan Mission…
We end up doing it out of theological correctness…
But Jesus says that if you have lost your first love – if you are not driven by a love for Jesus – then you may as well stop doing it at all.
It’s a damning criticism – isn’t it. They have lost their first love.
They are doing it for some other reason than their love for Jesus.
This church – this church that meets here in this building – belongs to Jesus.
We need to make sure that we exist for him.
We need to make sure that we are driven by love for him.
look at Sardis and Laodicea:
Sardis - Here is the church that has the reputation for being alive. They have to get out extra seats each Sunday morning.
They have lots of great programs running.
They are the church that has an activity on every night of the week.
They have a huge kids club on Friday afternoon that is the envy of all the other churches.
Here is the church that has the reputation for being the happening place!
But Jesus says they are dead. For all the activity… For all the business… For all the reputation… they are dead.
And it seems to be a similar problem in Laodicea...
They think they are rich.
But Jesus says they are lukewarm – half hearted in their faith.
Jesus says that he is ready to spew them out unless they are willing to change. What Jesus is saying that he wants nothing more than to have fellowship with this church.
But they are cruising along thinking that things are fine. They can’t even see that they have shut Jesus out.
The situation in Laodicea and Sardis seems to be a similar one.
And it’s one thing that can ruin any church. And that is arrogance and pride.
As soon as you start to think… isn’t our church doing well? We run the risk of becoming like Sardis or Laodicea.
You start to believe the reputation. You’d never say it – but it is as though you start thinking you have no need for Jesus.
One of the big mistakes with the whole National Church Life Survey is that it asks us how we think the church is going. That is not what we need to do. Sure – there may be a place for that, but what we should be doing is looking at it from Jesus’ perspective.
We should be saying to ourselves: How would Jesus think our church was going?
And we ask that question not to give ourselves a pat on the back.
We ask that question because we are accountable to him.
This is his church.
We have seen the things that he values:
A commitment to his word.
A commitment to godliness
A commitment to press on and bear witness to him.