The Corrupt Church

Good morning!

Revelation 1:12-16

Prayer

What kind of church will we be?

That’s the question I’ve asked for 3 weeks now

That’s the question I’m asking again today

What kind of church……

The book of revelation is a revelation to us (reveal, unveil)

God is pulling back the curtain so we can get a glimpse of His redemptive plan throughout all time

It was written to 7 churches in what is now modern-day Turkey

These churches were real, with real people, had real problems, 

and Jesus, when He came to John with this vision, was giving these churches real solutions and real encouragement 

BUT b/c God is God and He’s able to tell us more than what the amount of words here would otherwise have to say

These 7 churches are symbols of the church throughout history

The same problems that these folks faced are the same problems our grandparents faced, the same problems we face, and if the Lord tarries it will be the same problems our grandchildren or great-grandchildren face

We’ll talk about why that is in just a moment 

Ephesus - good doctrine, good theology, no love

Smyrna - faithful, persevering thru persecution

Pergamos - compromising, worldly

Thyatira - another compromising church

One of the reasons I like to preach verse by verse through the Bible

I don’t have to worry about being repetitive

And you don’t have to worry about whether or not I’m picking on you

It’s in the Bible, I’m just reading it, and if its worth repeating then it must be something pretty important 

Anybody ever need reminding?

<meal planning, menu making - I’ve forgotten everything I’ve ever eaten>

Praise God for Him reminding us b/c we often forget

I often forget

D. I make a terrible God

There’s a lie put forth in the world today that if you serve yourself you will be happy

There’s a big problem with that prescription: evidence

Celebrity culture: all the money, all the fame, cars, houses, spouses….lives are absolute wrecks

If stuff could make you happy then it would

But it seems the more stuff we get, the more we want; where does it stop?

We are idol factories

B/c we were made for worship, we were made to be with our creator and nothing is going to fill that God-sized hole in our hearts except God

I cannot serve myself enough to make me happy and so our church should not be about ME

Not about what I can get out of this

Not about the individual, what we want, not about serving ourselves,

it’s about worshipping God

So will we be a church or seeks after worldly comforts, 

or will we be a church who faithfully seeks God’s will for our lives?v.2:18

Jesus knows his church, He walks among the lamp stands,

Holds the stars in His hands

Comfort and encouragement to me throughout the week as I prep

God is not going to leave me up here treading water in the middle of the ocean

He is with His church b/c the church is His bride and He will never leave us or forsake us

Our God is faithful to us

Eyes like a flame of fire: nothing is hidden

Feet like fine brass: refined, pure, crush those who oppose him

Lion of Judah will crush the head of the snake

The last thing he’ll see is his reflection in the heel of Jesus

Nothing is hidden and all wrongs will be made right:

What are you trying to hide from Jesus?

v.19

Growing love, doing good work (last are more than the first)

Does the size of a church matter?

I want this place to grow 

there are a lot of people in Caldwell Co who are not in church and who do not know who God is or why He loves them

I’d love for all of them to be sitting in here with us

That's up to God, not me

What is more important than having full pews

More important that having the right disciple groups

What is more important that having ample finances to go out and get stuff done

Is that you, personally, have a relationship with Jesus

You don’t get in based on membership, what the church does, you get in b/c Jesus

It is Him on the cross and nothing else and when you believe that counted for you

Your sin debt is paid and your shame is covered by the blood of the messiah on the cross then you are saved

Jesus is not the key to a better life 

(better life is not the goal, Jesus is not a means to a better end - 

HE IS THE END……

if life were a pizza/toppings, just the right ratio of Jesus and its perfect - NO)

Jesus is everything and when you seek Him your life gets better (that’s different than using Him to your own ends)

What are you trying to hide from Jesus?

Do you claim to put Jesus first in your life and live like He’s second, third, tenth?

You wouldn’t do that to your wife, your friends, you wouldn’t do that to anyone you cared about

And you expect that Jesus won’t do that to you, but you’ll do it to Him

Does that sound like love?

If your spouse carried you around on his or her arm out in public but behind closed doors they lived a double life that did not honor or respect you does that sound like love?

It sounds like you are being used

Is Jesus an ornament, or is Jesus everything?

His eyes are like fire, He knows;

you’re not fooling Him, so who are you trying to fool?

v.20

Old Testament: Saul, David, Solomon, kings of a united Israel

Then the kingdom split (Israel - north, Judah - south)

Israel had a series of kings and things were not going great

If you looked at it on a graph it would be an obvious trend line down, not good

There was a man, Ahab, who became King

1 Kings 16:30 – Now Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord, more than all who were before him. 

Ahab has problems

One of them was his wife, Jezebel

Jezebel was the daughter of a foreign king and when Ahab married her she brought that foreign religion with her

Idol worship, sexual immorality… you name it

1 Kings 21:25 – But there was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do wickedness in the sight of the Lord, because Jezebel his wife stirred him up. 

Culminated with the prophet Elijah having a standoff with the false prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel (great story)

Try to explain this quickly

As these prophets of Baal stand before their altar and are unsuccessful in their attempts to get their god to light their sacrifice on fire (b/c he doesn’t exist) 

Elijah is mocking them

B/c there’s such a thing as truth, His name is Jesus

All religions are not different roads that lead to the same heaven, there’s only one way and His name is Jesus

Every other road goes to Hell

God sends down fire on His altar and the 450 prophets of Baal are slain

It takes time but Ahab repented of his sins

but Jezebel?

Violent death (thrown from a window, trampled, fertilizer…)

D. Hundreds and hundreds of years between them, is this the same person? (No)

Jezebel is a spirit

Ephesians 6:12 – For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

The same idol-worshipping power that made Jezebel the queen lead the nation of Israel away from God 

is the same that makes Jezebel the prophetess lead the church to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols

This is not new

The same problems, not from an earthly source, its older and darker

The reason the Bible is so relevant today (aside from it being the actual word of God)

Is b/c all that changes over the years are faces - the evil is the same

There are different things happening in the world today than our parents……

WE LEAN ON GOD

v.21-22

Ahab had a lot of time

Jezebel had even longer

God is slow to anger

If you’re here today that means there is still time for you but your time will run out

Proverbs 28:13 – He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.

Today is the day to repent, seek forgiveness, and walk with the Lord Jesus

Bring that to the foot of the cross and leave it there, don’t pick it back upv.23

Why are we compromising?

Are we unsure? Do we not trust that God will provide?

(Last week we heard Matthew’s account)

Luke 6:45-49 – A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say? 

If we trust God then there should be no compromise in our following His commands

Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great.”

We can stand on Jesus, He holds up

Trying to build it on anything else is foolish

Not on me, not on deacons, not on your house band

Good things, everybody pulling together and serving but we can’t stand up to the pressure, we’ll crumble

…searches the minds and hearts…. (He knows)

Church should stand out from the world, not blend in

People who are tired of what the world has to offer shouldn’t come to church and get more world

This is built on Jesus, we offer something different

Each one of you according to your works

Those who are in christ are judged by His standard, 

it’s His rightousness that covers us

If not, its you, and you don’t hold up

v.24-25

Hold on to the truth

2 Timothy 3:16-17 – All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Hold fast to the word of God

Don’t omit things, don’t skip over

Sometimes this is gonna hit close to home and that’s not a bad thing and that doesn’t mean it should be avoidedV.26-29

Do you hear what Jesus is saying here?

Psalm 2, of David, King David, God speaking through Him

Psalm 2:7-9 – “I will declare the decree: The Lord has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.  Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession.  You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’ ”

David wrote this (by the power of the Spirit) looking forward the Messiah

Jesus will rule and reign forever over all the nations, He will crush His enemies, 

one day in eternity there will be no more sin, no more pain, no more sorrow, b/c those things cannot stand in the presence of our perfect and holy and just God

And what does Jesus say?

v.26-27

ESV uses the word “conquer” instead of overcome

Jesus conquered the grave, he conquered sin and death

He received authority from the Father

Jesus right now is with the father, they’re ruling together

And one day you will be right there with them

You will have power, you are not a beggar or a servant in the house of the Almighty you are His son or daughter

Adopted, full rights, full privileges, not a second class citizen or a red-headed step-child

that’s the lavish love of the Father

We don’t deserve that! 

WE get to rule in eternity with our savior

All the boneheaded things I did in my life and all the boneheaded things I continue to do

God’s gonna give that to me

Not b/c I earned it, it’s b/c of Jesus

V.28-29

Jesus is the morning star

Jesus is the light, in Him there is no darkness

Right now, today, we get to live in a mission mindset

That God would use us to further His kingdom here on earth

One day God’s gonna make all things new and he wants you to be there

We get to spend eternity in awe that God would share that seat, His seat

Will we overcome? Will you give it all to Jesus?

<invite>

VIII.Prayer

Invitation