Letters of Life, Death, and Love

Text: Revelation 2:1-3:22

Thesis: A healthy church is steadfast in Christ.

Application: We must regularly examine our hearts and deeds and submit ourselves to Jesus.

Reading of the Word

Selected Text: Revelation 2:1-3:22

Intro

Set the Stage - What’s Going On?

Revelation is a letter written to seven real churches.

In chapters 2 and 3, God evaluates the health of each of these churches and gives a diagnosis.

Biblical numerology - we need to read these passages with “parallel thinking” for these seven churches represent the whole of the people of God.

We need to think individually and corporately.

Matthew 7:21-23: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; leave Me, you who practice lawlessness.’”

The Church in Ephesus

Diagnosis: Full of Mind, Lacking Heart

Work hard for the kingdom…

They’ve got their doctrine right…

They are discerning of teaching…

…but they have lost their first love.

The Church in Smyrna

Diagnosis: Under Pressure

Are materially poor but rich in spirit.

Face persecution from Jews and government.

Called to persevere and overcome.

The Church in Pergamum

Diagnosis: Caught Between Worlds

They hold firmly to Christ while living in a culture opposed to Christ..

…but some are giving into the culture’s idolatry and sexual immorality.

The Church in Thyatira

Diagnosis: Enabler of Sin

Pursuing Jesus with great intention…

…but are failing to confront false teaching.

The Church in Sardis

Diagnosis: A Walking Corpse

On the outside they look like a great church…

…but inside they are dead.

The Church in Philadelphia

Diagnosis: A Heart of Perseverance

They are persevering in faith.

They must keep their eyes on Christ, not on their opponents - God will act against their opponents.

[We must operate with discernment to know what we should directly confront - Thyatira/Philadelphia]

[How does the church confront evil and false teaching, without getting bogged down by culture wars?]

The Church in Laodicea

Diagnosis: Blinded by their Wealth

The Laodiceans are materially well off..

…which has blinded them to their need for Christ…

…and has cultivated a shallow faith.

Outro

We Must Examine Our Hearts, Our Minds, and Our Hands.

Let us not assume that we are in the right, but daily humble ourselves before Jesus and live in accordance to the guidance of the Holy Spirit that we may overcome.

Regardless of their current state, each of these churches has the potential to become healthy again, or lose their health and die. Christ calls each one to overcome and run the race with endurance.

We do this not by relying on our own strength, but by relying on the strength of the One who has already overcome.