I KNOW
Notes
Transcript
Intro:
Give overview of the 7 letters written in Revelations
Written to 7 specific churches
WARNING:
Don’t believe that all churches fit into 1 of these 7 churches
Don’t place ourselves in 1 of the 7 churches
Don’t eliminate ourselves from these 7 churches either!
John is writing the book of Revelations from the Island of Patmos
He is dictating the words of Jesus.
He addresses each church by name
He also identifies Jesus as the one speaking to each of the churches.
Go down each letter and show them .....
Church of Ephesus - (Rev. 2:1 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands.””)
(Reference) Rev. 1:16 “In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.”
Church of Smyrna - (Rev. 2:8 ““And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life.”)
Church of Pergamum - (Rev. 2:12 ““And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword.”)
(Rev. 2:16b) .... from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword
Church of Thyatira - (Rev 2:18 ““And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: ‘The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze.”)
Reference Rev. 1:14-15
Church of Sardis - (Rev. 3:1 ““And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. “ ‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead.”)
Church of Philadelphia - (Rev. 3 7 ““And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.”)
Church of Laodicea - (Rev. 3 14 ““And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation.”)
Reference Rev. 19:11 “Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.”
There are going to be a lot of things that we are going to bring out from these 7 letters.
Rev. 2:1-7 ““To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands. “ ‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’”
The first thing we are going to look at today is something that is found right after every identifying statement at the beginning of the letters revealing Jesus.
You will find it in chapter 2 (2, 9, 13, 19) and Chapter 3 (1b, 8, 15)
“I KNOW”
(Example with our Kids as we were raising them) The Wash Cloth!
2 Greek words that can be used here:
“Ginosko” or “Oida”
Ginosko is from the root word - Gnosis (Knowledge)
(Understand, comprehend)
Come to know through experience - Wife is mad at me: Come to know through experience.
“Oida” is the word that is defined as “Seeing; to perceive with any of the senses.”
I perceive therefore I know.
The Greek word we find here is the word (OIDA).
Jesus see’s therefore he knows.
Jesus See’s everything!
We have come to know (ginosko) this because of our experiences.
Oida is a PERFECT, ACTIVE, INDICATIVE verb in the Greek.
Indicative : FACT
Active : Subject performs the action (Jesus is the one knowing; seeing)
Perfect : a completed action that occurred in the past but has the result in the present.
Jesus knows!
How?
By watching / by knowing
What?
We will go down this list of what Jesus knew about each of the churches but to highlight some of the things Jesus knew:
Their works / Actions of the people
Their trials and tribulations
What their community was like
Who they were listening to
What they loved
He knew their reputation
He knew of their faithfulness
He also knew that some where lukewarm
Does this mean Jesus knows everything about us?
He knows ....
What we think!
What we say behind closed doors!
What we do!
He knows our heartaches!
He knows our tempers!
He knows our concerns!
He knows when we are confused!
He knows when we are hurting!
He knows when we have done things to please Him when no ones else is looking!
He also know when we do things in order to be seen!
He knows when we are mad!
He knows when we are doing things we shouldn’t be doing!
Jesus Knows!
For each church ..... He encouraged them ......
Continue to be patient, endure
Hold Fast
Wake up
Watch out for Jezebel
Keep the faith
Don’t fear
The one that is of the most importance .....
Repent!