Christ addresses His churches.

Introduction

Scripture

Father God, we thank You for Who You are. A great Big God who sees each and every one of us here and cares deeply about us. We ask this day, as we are continuing in this time of worship to You, reading Your Word and hearing Your Word, that You refine us with it. Mold us, make us, shape us, rearrange us so that we can more like You, and more made into the image of Christ. Help us be a people who love You and love others so much, that we are moved into action by whatever it is You are going to show us about Yourself today and what that means in our lives. Help us do this, because all to often our selfish and sinless flesh war against our will to follow Yours. As we are doing this, and as we are coming into Your Word today, we ask that You take away any distraction that we may have, and make it go as far away as it possible can, because we want to see and we want to know You better. It’s in these things that I ask and in Jesus Christ’s Holy and precious name that I pray, Amen.

The revelation of Jesus Christ that God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2 who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, whatever he saw. 3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep what is written in it, because the time is near.

4 John: To the seven churches in Asia. Grace and peace to you from the one who is, who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits, before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

To him who loves us and has set us free from our sins by his blood, 6 and made us a kingdom, priests, to his God and Father—to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

7 Look, he is coming with the clouds,

and every eye will see him,

even those who pierced him.

And all the tribes of the earth,

will mourn over him.,,

So it is to be. Amen.

8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “the one who is, who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”

9 I, John, your brother and partner in the affliction, kingdom, and endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10 I was in the Spirit,on the Lord’s day, and I heard a loud voice behind me like a trumpet 11 saying, “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”

12 Then I turned to see whose voice it was that spoke to me. When I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and among the lampstands was one like the Son of Man,, dressed in a robe and with a golden sash wrapped around his chest. 14 The hair of his head was white as wool—white as snow—and his eyes like a fiery flame. 15 His feet were like fine bronze as it is fired in a furnace, and his voice like the sound of cascading waters. 16 He had seven stars in his right hand; a sharp double-edged sword came from his mouth, and his face was shining like the sun at full strength.

17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead man. He laid his right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid. I am the First and the Last, 18 and the Living One. I was dead, but look—I am alive forever and ever, and I hold the keys of death and Hades. 19 Therefore write what you have seen, what is, and what will take place after this. 20 The mystery of the seven stars you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

Context

Today we begin a new 8 week series, looking at the 7 churches in Revelation. Just to give you a quick look at where we are going, and what to read along with. The next 7 weeks, we will take a week to look at each church. So, for next week’s reading, read the section on the church at Ephesus. This series should take us up to the holiday season, and right now the intent is to return to Acts after the Holiday season.

As we are going through this series, I want each and every one of us to take a hard and reflective look at the message that Christ is giving to us and to each church. At the same time, think about which one of these seven churches our church most looks like currently and which one we would like to look like. Because in this text, Christ isn’t addressing just these 7 particular churches, He is also addressing ALL Christian churches. You see, in the bible; the number 7 is often a sign of completeness, of wholeness; and so it is here. So, these messages are for the Whole of the Christian church and it’s individual expressions; ie, the local church just like us here at LaFayette Baptist Church.

Keep in mind, that during this time, the churches had endured unprecedented amounts of persecution up to this point and it would remain this way for nearly 250 more years. Of it’s earliest leaders, the apostles; only one remained (the apostle John) who wrote this revelation that did not die a horrible and cruel death. So, good times or bad, there is no excuse, these texts make it clear that we are responsible for how we perform our mission as a church, to love God, love people, and make disciples. So, let’s begin and see what Christ has to say to us here. Let’s dive in and From the text, I want you to see these points as Christ is addressing His Churches.

Message

The first point as Christ addresses His churches is: Read and keep these words.

The revelation of Jesus Christ that God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2 who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, whatever he saw. 3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep what is written in it, because the time is near.

Just as it sounds, a revelation is something that is revealed. In this case, Jesus is revealing events to come and warnings about them to His churches. Here, Jesus sends an angel to John who in turn shares and testifies to what he saw from Christ. These words and warnings were so important, that a blessing is given to those that read these prophecies aloud and those that hear it and keep them (meaning do and remember) them. This is because the time is imminent, it is near; and the fulfillment of this all could be literally at any time. Not heeding message you when you need to can have bad effects. For example,

Just a few weeks ago, I was driving to Clarksville to get my weekly allergy shot. Now, one thing that I need to get this shot is the card that I am given to swipe at the allergy clinic. As I was driving and going down the pennyrial, I came to realize something. That my wallet (which had all my essentials and that card) was sitting at home. I knew in this moment that I needed to turn around very soon. As I was thinking this, I looked up and saw the sign and entrance for exit 5 (lovers lane)… Well, by the time I had saw the sign, I only had a few seconds to respond (which I didn’t, because I was too distracted at how ridicules of me it was to forget that wallet and how I have missed and waisted time. Welp, because I wasn’t focusing on the right thing at the right time, I had to drive a further 10 miles just to be able to turn around and go back home. This mistake ultimately caused me to miss the cut off for my shots that day and I had to try again 2 days later.

Fortunately for me, I had the chance and opportunity to try later. But, in the grand scheme of life we don’t get a second chance. Once you are gone, you are gone. Period. When we are given a sign, when are given words to heed; we need to pay attention and apply it right away, not later. If you don’t than you are going to whined up sorry for it. Christ warns us, that here, that the time is near; it’s going to come quickly and suddenly. So, we need to keep our eye on the prize and not on other things. We need to keep our eye on Christ who is telling us to not only love Him, Not only to love others, but also to go out make disciples that He would receive the honor and glory that He rightly deserves. Not doing so, will have consequences as we will learn later on. So, we, me, you need to read and keep these words that Christ is sharing with His churches.

The next point as Christ is addressing His churches is that: Christ is coming in power.

4 John: To the seven churches in Asia. Grace and peace to you from the one who is, who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits, before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

To him who loves us and has set us free from our sins by his blood, 6 and made us a kingdom, priests, to his God and Father—to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

7 Look, he is coming with the clouds,

and every eye will see him,

even those who pierced him.

And all the tribes of the earth,

will mourn over him.,,

So it is to be. Amen.

8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “the one who is, who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Here, this letter makes itself clear. This is to be delivered to these churches and read out loud to them, so that everyone can hear and know the words in it. John shares this message, which is from Jesus Christ who is the faithful witness of God the Father; the most important and first from the dead and king of kings, ruling over all the kings of the earth. His name, the name of Jesus, sets us free and in turn has made us a people, a kingdom of priests to God. The greeting message goes on, and refers to scripture in Daniel 7:13 and Zechariah 12:10, that Christ will return. But when He returns, He will not come down as He did before; in the weakness and humility of a human baby. Instead, this time he will come down in power and in might, a conqueror. He will come down on clouds, and everyone will see Him, even those that despise Him, and they will mourn over there rejection of Him. Christ continues, saying He is the first and last, He is the eternal and Holy one, who always is, always was, and who is to come. He is coming, but this time in power; and we need to be ready for this.

Christ coming in power, is unlike anything we have ever beheld before. Now granted, Moses got to see a portion of it from the back and had to hide in covering. But remember, the glory of God was so great even then that when it reflected to Him it made his face shine so much that the people were afraid of him for many days. If a mere reflection could cause that kind of fear and terror, then what does that tell us about Christ coming in glory? It tells us that the full thing will be much worse. In fact, the text here says that when Christ returns all those that have done wrong (meaning they have not turned to Christ as savior) will mourn over Him. Why are they morning? Because when Christ returns He will judge everyone. This is when justice will finally be done, and remember what we have said before; God’s love is His justice evenly distributed. That means, when the time has come. If you are in Christ and you have been redeemed, then you will stand before this justice in joy. Those that have not, will wail and mourn because the permanent and eternal consequences of their choices of their actions will happen and nothing will stop it. This is a fearful time for many. For the redeemed, we will still have to give an account for our lives and the things we have done, but the mercy of Christ will be upon us. This is a true statement, Christ is coming in power. So, what are you going to do about it?

Another point as Christ is addressing the churches is that: The churches are on notice.

9 I, John, your brother and partner in the affliction, kingdom, and endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10 I was in the Spirit,on the Lord’s day, and I heard a loud voice behind me like a trumpet 11 saying, “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”

12 Then I turned to see whose voice it was that spoke to me. When I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and among the lampstands was one like the Son of Man,, dressed in a robe and with a golden sash wrapped around his chest. 14 The hair of his head was white as wool—white as snow—and his eyes like a fiery flame. 15 His feet were like fine bronze as it is fired in a furnace, and his voice like the sound of cascading waters. 16 He had seven stars in his right hand; a sharp double-edged sword came from his mouth, and his face was shining like the sun at full strength.

17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead man. He laid his right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid. I am the First and the Last, 18 and the Living One. I was dead, but look—I am alive forever and ever, and I hold the keys of death and Hades. 19 Therefore write what you have seen, what is, and what will take place after this. 20 The mystery of the seven stars you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

One Sunday while he was on exile in Patmos, John received this revelation. He heard a loud voice say to Him, write what you see and send it to the seven churches. John then turns around to see the voice, and He sees Christ in His glory. He was robbed royally and in power. His white hair showed His purity His fiery eyes His zeal and seriousness. He was standing in strength and His voice echoed all around. In His hands, were seven starts and the sword of The Word of God was in His mouth and His face shone like the sun. John in awe, wonder, joy, and perhaps even fear fell down paralyzed. After at least 50 years of no one seeing Jesus, there He was, right in front of the beloved disciple in His full majesty and glory. Christ tells him not to fear, I (Jesus, your Lord and master) am here and I am forever victorious. Write these things that I am about to tell you and the things that you see afterwards. Now listen closely, the seven stars are the angels (the messengers) of the churches and the golden lampstands represent the churches themselves. This message is for them.

*making a knocking sound* Hello? Hello? Are you listening? Church are you listening? Christ is trying to tell you, Christ is trying to tell us something about yourself and ourselves. What happens when you get a message, but you don’t heed it or listen to it? Only bad stuff right……. In the Napoleonic war era, all along the European coastline where these signaling towers. They were roughly the size of a windmill, and moved these arm like structures to communicate things like, “All clear.” Or “The enemy is coming.” Now, a wise enemy would do what first before bringing their troops anywhere within sight? They would send in a small group that could be snuck in to take the signaling tower and as many as possible so that the enemy could bring their troops in and meet as little resistance as possible. The enemy doesn’t want us to know the message and he will do whatever he can to keep us, to keep you from doing so.

Church, these letters are our signal towers, and they are giving us a message. Now, we have to receive it and we have to respond to it. Let’s not be another generation that doesn’t, lets not be another body of believers that sees the signal tower moving in the distance but assumes everything is “all clear.” Let’s not be the soldiers that coast through day to day. Let’s not be a group that keeps the towers unguarded. Instead, lets be those diligent soldiers that every time the see the signal tower move, you look at it, know what it is saying, and then responds in a correct way. Let’s not be the church that loses it’s first love; Christ. Let’s be the ones that endure. Let’s be the ones who do not tolerate false teachers. Let’s be the ones that are wise in the word and as a result grow in love. Let’s not be the one who’s works are dead. Let’s be the one that holds fast to Christ. Let’s not be the weak church that cares not for the kingdom of God. Church! We are all on notice from our master.

Conclusion

Jesus while on Earth, gave us several parables about his coming. One of which included a bridal party. Some of the bride party brought enough oil for the light in their lamps, others did not. After awhile the groom came and it was time to celebrate, but only some could, only those that had done as they needed were able to come into the feast. All the rest heard, “I do not know you, go away.” In much the same way, individuals and church congregations are responsible for how they use their witness, if they don’t value it and don’t treasure it (Christ and His Gospel) then they are disobedient and will have to answer for that if they were believers and many will have to face the harsh realities, they were never in Christ’s flock to begin with…. Over the next seven weeks, we will look at each of these churches, what they have right, what they have wrong, and we will take a sobering step back and reflect on where we fall and where we need to go. As you read along, notice that only 2 of these churches receive only praise from Jesus. The other 5 either have some good or some bad or they have nothing good about them at all. So beloved, Read and keep these words because Christ is coming in power and we and all other churches are on notice.

With all of that being said, I would be remised if I didn’t share the Gospel (or the Good News) of Jesus Christ with you today, for the benefit of both believer and non-believer in the room. This begins all the way back at the beginning, God created everything, and he created all things good. He gave His most treasured creation (us, mankind) the ability of free will, the ability to choose Him or rebellion. Man was deceived by Satan and desired to be like God and sinned (or rebelled against God). This brought the curse of sin and death into the world and it remains with us to this day; which separates us from God. God though, loved His creation (mankind) so much that He worked through history to redeem all mankind that would turn to Him from sin so that we can experience a full and perfect relationship with Him again. This was through the perfect and final sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the pay for sins. Accepting this free gift from God, makes you new and forgiven. All you have to do accept this free gift by repenting and believing in the Lord Jesus and you will get to experience the good side of God’s justice forever. So, now that you know this, you can no longer plead ignorance. I invite and urge you to respond today non-believer and apply this to every part of your life believers in the audience today.

With that, Let’s conclude. Brothers and Sisters, I love you all. During our last song together, if you need prayer, or want to talk more about Jesus, or have something you want to talk about, I’ll be here, don’t be afraid to come on down. Let’s pray. Father God, we thank You for who You are and what You are doing to us here in this place. May whatever it is that You are doing in each of heart here, continue as we leave go out into the world this week. Change us, mold us, make us, re-arrange us, that we can be both better lovers of You and better showers of You. It’s in these things that I ask and in Jesus Christ’s Holy and precious name that I pray, Amen.