Listen Up
Letters From Heaven • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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INTRO
Last week, we talked about how Revelation isn't just a book preparing us for the future.
It's a book preparing the Church for right now.
John tells us in Revelation 1:3 that those who READ → HEAR → KEEP the words of this prophecy are blessed.
And that sets us up perfectly for this week.
Because it's one thing to read what Jesus says. It's another thing to actually listen to Him.
This morning, we're going to look at what is probably one of the most important sections of the book.
In chapters 2 and 3, we find seven letters written to seven churches.
Now...
Imagine getting a letter from the Apostle Paul.
That's nerve-racking.
Because if you've read Paul's letters, you know he doesn't exactly beat around the bush.
Imagine Paul writes your church a letter, points out everything you're doing wrong, and you spend the next several weeks trying to get everything straightened out.
And then you check the mail the next day...
And there's another letter.
Except this one isn't from Paul.
It's from Jesus.
And suddenly, Paul's letter doesn't seem quite so intimidating anymore.
Because these aren't just the opinions of an apostle.
These are the words of the risen and glorified Jesus Christ.
The same Jesus John just saw standing among the seven golden lampstands.
The One whose eyes are like flames of fire.
The One who holds the keys of Death and Hades.
And while these letters were written to seven real churches facing real situations, they weren't meant to be read by those churches alone.
In fact, Jesus repeatedly says, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
Notice, He doesn't just say to that church. He says to the churches.
So the question this morning isn't simply, What did Jesus say to these seven churches?
The question is, what is Jesus saying to us?
And more importantly...
Are we listening?
Now, normally, you know I read the Scripture before I tell you the title of the message.
But this morning, we're going to do things a little differently.
Before we read what Jesus has to say to these churches, I want you to know what I've titled this message.
Listen Up
Turn with me to Revelation 2:1-7 and lets read the first letter together
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.
2 “ ‘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.
3 I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary.
4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.
5 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.
6 Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
7 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.’
Pray
You know what's a blessing and a curse of having autism?
I can seemingly hear everything all at once.
Like, to you right now, there's background noise.
To me, there is not.
I hear everything at the same volume.
Like right now:
My voice.
The AC.
Breathing.
Foot tapping.
Pens clicking.
The lights.
Yes, lights make noise.
And here's the problem.
Just because I can hear everything doesn't mean I can process everything.
Sometimes somebody can be talking directly to me, and I hear every word they're saying.
But that doesn't necessarily mean I've processed what they've said.
And sometimes I have to ask them to repeat themselves.
Not because I wasn't trying to listen.
But because hearing something and understanding something aren't always the same thing.
Now, that's how my brain sometimes processes information.
TURN
But I think there's something here that applies to all of us.
Because there's a difference between struggling to process what someone is saying and choosing not to pay attention to what they're saying.
And if we're being honest, we've all done the second one.
We've all heard somebody talking and decided we weren't really interested in listening.
And that brings us back to what Jesus says to these seven churches.
"He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."
Jesus isn't talking about our ability to detect sound.
He's talking about our willingness to respond to His words.
Because remember:
READ → HEAR → KEEP.
We can read the words of Jesus.
We can hear the words of Jesus.
But the question is whether we're willing to keep them.
TRANSITION
And apparently Jesus knows we have that problem.
Because seven times in Revelation 2 and 3, Jesus says essentially the same thing:
"He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."
Seven churches.
Seven letters.
Seven times:
Listen up.
Last week, we needed to LOOK AGAIN.
This week, we need to LISTEN UP.
Because once John sees Jesus for who He really is...
Jesus starts talking.
Last week John turned around.
And standing there was Jesus.
But Jesus was not standing alone.
He was walking among seven golden lampstands.
And Revelation 1 tells us:
The seven lampstands are the seven churches.
Jesus does not watch His Church from a distance.
He walks among it.
Then Revelation 2 and 3 take us inside those seven churches.
Ephesus.
Smyrna.
Pergamum.
Thyatira. (THIGH-uh + TIE-ruh)
Sardis.
Philadelphia.
Laodicea.
Seven real churches.
With real Christians.
Facing real problems.
And there is a pattern to these letters.
Jesus identifies Himself.
Jesus tells them what He sees.
Jesus commends what is faithful, when there is something to commend.
Jesus confronts what is not, when there is something to confront.
Jesus calls them to respond.
And then He says:
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
Notice:
“He who has an ear…”
Singular.
Then:
“…what the Spirit says to the churches.”
Plural.
Jesus is speaking to one church.
But He wants every church to listen.
These letters were written to them.
But they were preserved for us.
Which means these seven churches can become seven mirrors.
Not seven categories where we pick the one that sounds most like us.
Seven opportunities to ask:
Do I see any of this in me?
And more importantly:
Does Jesus see any of this in me?
JESUS KNOWS HIS CHURCH
Chapter 1, we found out that the seven lampstands were the seven churches.
And in verse 1 of chapter 2, Jesus reminds us that He holds the seven stars in His right hand.
Now, we learned last week that those seven stars represent the seven angels of the churches.
And I don't have time to unpack all of that this morning.
But I want you to notice something.
Jesus holds the seven stars in His right hand.
But there's something else Jesus says about Himself.
He describes Himself as the One “who walks among the seven golden lampstands.”
And remember, Jesus already told John that the seven lampstands represent the seven churches.
Now, think about that for a second.
Jesus holds the angels of the churches in His hand.
But He doesn't say that the angels walk among the churches.
He says HE walks among the churches.
In other words...
Jesus hasn't delegated the oversight of His Church to somebody else and stepped away.
Whatever role these angels have, Jesus Himself remains present among His people.
Ladies and gentlemen...
Jesus isn't just watching His Church.
He is walking among it.
And that's important.
Because look at what He says in verse 2.
"I know your works..."
He doesn't say, "I've heard about your works."
He doesn't say, "Somebody told me what's happening in Ephesus."
He says, "I KNOW."
Jesus knows what's happening in His Church.
He knows what's happening at Anchor City Church.
And He knows what's happening in our lives.
Let me prove it to you….
2 “ ‘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.
Jesus knows their hard work.
9 “ ‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
Jesus knows their suffering.
13 “ ‘I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.
Jesus knows where they're living and what they're facing.
19 “ ‘I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first.
Jesus knows their love, faith, and service.
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.
Jesus knows the difference between their reputation and their reality.
8 “ ‘I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.
Jesus knows their limited strength and their faithfulness.
15 “ ‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot!
Jesus knows their spiritual condition.
Seven churches.
Seven letters.
Seven times Jesus says, "I know."
Jesus Knows His Church Better Than His Church Knows Itself.
So this morning...
I don't just want us to look at what Jesus saw in these seven churches.
I want us to ask what Jesus sees in us.
I want to encourage you this morning with something.
Because when Jesus says “I know,” He's not just saying, “I know all the bad things you've done.”
Being fully known by Jesus isn't just confronting. It's also comforting.
Lets go back to verses 1-7 for a moment though…
Verses 1-3 He is talking about everything they are doing well…
But here comes verse 4…
4a But I have this against you…
You read the first three verses and find out…
They are doing a lot right.
They work.
They endure.
They refuse to tolerate evil.
They test false apostles.
They have not grown weary.
They even hate the works of the Nicolaitans (nik-uh-LAY-tunz), which Jesus says He also hates.
And I'm gonna be honest with y'all...
Every time I read Nicolaitans (nik-uh-LAY-tunz), I think Nickelodeon.
And I don't know what Nickelodeon did to Jesus...
But if Jesus has a problem with it, SO DO I.
So, we're not watching SpongeBob anymore.
If we stopped reading there:
This sounds like a healthy church.
They know Scripture.
They care about truth.
They have discernment.
They refuse false teaching.
They have endured hardship.
Then Jesus says:
4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.
They got the doctrine right.
But somewhere along the way, they lost the love.
You can know what is true.
You can identify what is false.
You can serve.
You can endure.
You can defend Jesus.
And somewhere along the way:
Devotion can become duty.
You can spend so much time doing things for Jesus that you stop enjoying Jesus.
You can be right about Jesus and still drift from Jesus.
Jesus does not only want my correctness. He wants my heart.
The scary part is this:
I Can Know What Is Right and Lose My Love
Church, don't get so busy doing things FOR Jesus that you forget you're in a relationship WITH Jesus.
Then Jesus says:
“He who has an ear, let him hear…”
LISTEN UP.
Lets look at the next letter
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.
9 “ ‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
10 Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto 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. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.’
notice how Jesus introduces Himself in verse 8.
“The first and the last, who died and came to life.”
Now, remember what we learned last week.
Jesus holds the keys of Death and Hades.
And here He's speaking to a church that's facing death.
And how does He introduce Himself?
As the One who died and came to life.
Church, Jesus isn't promising them they won't die.
He's promising them that death won't win.
And notice what Jesus promises in verse 11:
“The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.”
Now, what's the second death?
Revelation later identifies the second death as the final judgment.
Think about it.
In Genesis 3, sin enters the world, and with it comes death.
But Jesus came, died, and rose again to defeat the very thing sin brought into the world.
The first death may take our lives. But because of Jesus, the second death cannot claim us.
That's the hope Jesus is giving Smyrna.
Then look at verse 9.
“I know your tribulation and your poverty...”
Jesus knows exactly what they are experiencing.
They are suffering.
They are poor.
They are being slandered.
And more suffering is coming….
Let that sink in for a moment…
But notice what is missing from this letter.
There is no:
“But I have this against you.”
Jesus does not rebuke Smyrna.
Instead He says:
“Do not fear what you are about to suffer.”
Then:
“Be faithful unto death…”
Jesus does not promise them that faithfulness will make the suffering disappear.
He tells them:
Stay faithful in the middle of it.
Sometimes we assume that if life is difficult, something must be wrong.
Maybe God is disappointed.
Maybe we missed Him.
Maybe if we had more faith, things would be easier.
Smyrna destroys that idea.
They are suffering.
And Jesus is pleased with their faithfulness.
Suffering is not evidence that Jesus has abandoned you.
I Can Be Hurting and Still Be Faithful
Sometimes faithfulness does not look impressive.
Sometimes faithfulness is simply:
I am still here.
I still trust Him.
I still worship Him.
I still belong to Him.
“He who has an ear, let him hear…”
LISTEN UP.
Lets go to the next letter:
12 “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword.
13 “ ‘I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.
14 But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality.
15 So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.
16 Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth.
17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.’
Jesus says:
“I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is.”
Now, that's quite a statement.
Pergamum was a major center of pagan worship and Roman imperial power.
The city was home to a massive altar dedicated to Zeus, the king of the Greek gods.
It had a famous sanctuary dedicated to Asclepius, the Greek god of healing.
And it was a major center of emperor worship, where Rome's rulers received religious honors.
Pergamum was a city where idolatry wasn't hidden.
It was celebrated.
It was built into the culture.
It was part of public life.
And right in the middle of it all…
There was a church confessing that Jesus is Lord.
They were surrounded by compromise, but Jesus was calling them to faithfulness.
And scholars debate which of these Jesus is referring to when He says “Satan's throne.”
But here's what we do know.
Pergamum was a place where worshiping other gods and honoring Roman power were deeply connected to everyday life.
And following Jesus could come at a serious cost.
In fact, Jesus mentions a man named Antipas who was killed for his faithfulness.
But don't miss how Jesus describes him.
He calls Antipas “my faithful witness.”
Now, does that sound familiar?
Go back to chapter 1.
Remember how John introduced Jesus?
“Jesus Christ the faithful witness.”
And now Jesus uses that same description for Antipas.
Think about that.
The faithful witness calls Antipas His faithful witness.
Antipas followed Jesus even when following Jesus cost him his life.
And Jesus saw it.
Jesus knew his name.
And Jesus called him faithful.
But notice what Jesus says.
“I know where you dwell…”
Jesus knows exactly where these Christians are living.
He knows the pressure they're facing.
He knows what remaining faithful has already cost them.
And here's what I find interesting.
Jesus doesn't rebuke them for living where Satan's throne is.
He actually commends them for holding fast to His name.
But then we get to verse 14.
“But I have a few things against you…”
And suddenly, we discover that although they were standing firm against persecution, some among them were embracing false teaching that encouraged compromise.
Now, Jesus specifically mentions Balaam.
That's a reference to something that happened back in the Old Testament.
In Numbers, Balaam is associated with leading Israel into idolatry and sexual immorality.
And Jesus is saying something similar is happening here.
There are people in this church holding to teaching that encourages participation in practices that directly contradict what Jesus commands.
They're trying to make room for things Jesus is calling them to repent of.
And isn't that how compromise works?
We don't always wake up one morning and decide we're going to abandon Jesus.
Sometimes we just start making excuses.
“It's just a little porn.”
“It's just one lie.”
“It's not that big of a deal.”
And before long, we're defending things we once knew we needed to repent of.
But here's something interesting I want you to notice.
Go back to verse 13.
Jesus says:
“Yet you hold fast my name…”
Now look at verse 14.
“You have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam…”
Did you catch that?
In verse 13, Jesus commends them for holding fast to His name.
But in verse 14, He confronts them because some are holding to false teaching.
They're holding on to Jesus.
And some among them are also holding on to things that contradict Jesus.
They were resisting pressure from outside the church while tolerating compromise inside the church.
And that's the warning.
I Can Stand Firm and Still Compromise
Listen to me…
Faithfulness in one area of my life doesn't excuse compromise in another.
Just because I'm doing something right doesn't mean I can ignore what Jesus says I'm doing wrong.
And Jesus doesn't tell them to overlook it because of everything they've already endured.
He says in verse 16:
“Therefore repent.”
Not ignore it.
Not justify it.
Repent.
And then Jesus says:
“He who has an ear, let him hear…”
LISTEN UP.
Next Letter….
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.
19 “ ‘I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first.
20 But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols.
21 I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality.
22 Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works,
23 and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works.
24 But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden.
25 Only hold fast what you have until I come.
26 The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations,
27 and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father.
28 And I will give him the morning star.
29 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’
Jesus says:
“I know your works…”
Then He lists them:
Love.
Faith.
Service.
Patient endurance.
And then He says something incredible:
“Your latter works exceed the first.”
They are growing.
They are doing more now than they did before.
There is love.
There is faith.
There is service.
There is endurance.
But then:
“But I have this against you, that you tolerate…”
That word matters.
Tolerate.
Now, Jesus mentions a woman He calls Jezebel.
And I want to address something here.
Because somewhere along the way, Christians started talking about something called a “Jezebel spirit.”
You've probably heard somebody say that before.
Usually, they're talking about somebody who's manipulative, controlling, or trying to exercise authority through sexuality.
But here's the problem.
The Bible never identifies a demon or spirit called Jezebel.
Jezebel was a real person in the Old Testament.
She was a queen who promoted idolatry and led people away from God.
And here in Revelation, Jesus uses that name to describe someone doing something similar.
Look at what He says.
“Who calls herself a prophetess…”
Notice that.
She calls herself a prophetess.
She's claiming spiritual authority.
She's claiming to speak for God.
But Jesus says she's actually leading His servants into sexual immorality and idolatry.
And notice what Jesus doesn't say.
He doesn't tell the church to go find some mysterious spirit and cast it out.
He says:
“But I have this against you, that you tolerate…”
Church, the problem isn't that some mysterious spirit has taken over the church.
The problem is that the church is allowing false teaching to continue.
And here's something we need to understand.
Just because somebody claims spiritual authority doesn't mean Jesus gave it to them.
And just because somebody has influence doesn't mean the Church has to give them a platform.
In fact, when we allow teaching that contradicts Jesus to continue influencing His people, we're giving that teaching room to do damage.
And that's what Jesus is addressing in Thyatira.
They're growing.
They're serving.
They're loving.
But they're also allowing something destructive to continue.
Too often, Christians want to label something a spirit because they don't want to deal with their own sin.
Their own compromise.
Or the sin they've learned to tolerate.
So instead, we give it a name.
“It's a spirit.”
Yeah, you're right...
There's a spiritual battle happening.
But maybe the problem isn't a demon.
Maybe it's your FLESH.
Because sometimes what we're calling spiritual warfare...
Is just our flesh looking for someone else to blame.
We'd rather rebuke a demon than repent of our sin.
Because rebuking a demon doesn't require us to change.
REPENTANCE DOES.
And here's what I find interesting.
Jesus doesn't tell the church in Thyatira to cast out a Jezebel spirit.
He calls them to REPENT.
And you cannot blame an external spirit for the sin Jesus is calling YOU to repent of.
Thyatira reminds us that spiritual growth in one area does not give us permission to ignore disobedience somewhere else.
I Can Be Growing and Still Tolerate Sin
And this doesn't just apply to what we allow in the Church.
It applies to what we allow in our own lives.
I can be growing in generosity and still need Jesus to address my pride.
I can be serving more and still need Jesus to address how I'm treating people.
I can know more Scripture and still need Jesus to address what I'm watching.
I can be growing.
And still have something Jesus wants surrendered.
But look at how Jesus introduces Himself in verse 18.
“The Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire…”
Now look at what He says in verse 23.
“I am he who searches mind and heart…”
Church, Jesus sees what we celebrate.
But He also sees what we tolerate.
And remember what we've been saying all morning.
Jesus knows His Church better than His Church knows itself.
And here's what I want you to understand.
Jesus loves us enough to address what we have learned to tolerate.
“He who has an ear, let him hear…”
LISTEN UP.
Four letters down three to go…
Some of you are nervously looking at the clock right now…
Don’t worry I see it.
Ya’ll are nervous because the band hasn’t even come up yet.
Band you can come up now…
We're going to save those other three for next week.
So you'll have to come back for Part 2….
Closing
I want you, for a moment, to remember what we talked about last week.
The takeaway was:
READ → HEAR → KEEP
This morning...
We read.
We heard.
Now...
It's time to KEEP.
The question that every single one of us needs to answer this morning is:
What is it that I need to Keep?
Remember Jesus didn’t rebuke everyone…
Some of us need to KEEP going.
Some of us need to KEEP trusting.
Some of us need to STOP compromising.
Some of us need to START repenting.
Some of us need to DO ALL FOUR.
Jesus KNOWS His church…
That means He KNOWS you…
He KNOWS your short comings.
He KNOWS your failures.
He KNOWS your pain…
He KNOWS you.
and He LOVES you…
Listen to me...
He loves you.
Jesus doesn't love you because He doesn't know everything about you.
He loves you while knowing everything about you…
which is the very reason he’s speaking to his church in the first place….
5 and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood
before He ever rebuked or corrected the churches…
He loved…
Love confronts.
Love corrects.
Turn to your neighbor and say:
READ → HEAR → KEEP
DISCIPLE STEP | LOOK IN THE MIRROR
This week, I want to challenge you to go back and read Revelation chapter 2.
We've spent this morning looking at four churches.
Ephesus.
Smyrna.
Pergamum.
Thyatira.
Four churches.
Four letters.
Four opportunities to see ourselves in what Jesus is saying.
And remember what I told you earlier.
These letters were written to them.
But they were preserved for us.
Which means these letters are like mirrors.
And here's what I want you to do this week for our disciple step.
Read Revelation 2, and I want you to ask yourself:
Where do I see myself?
Maybe it's Ephesus.
I Can Know What Is Right and Lose My Love.
Maybe it's Smyrna.
I Can Be Hurting and Still Be Faithful.
Maybe it's Pergamum.
I Can Stand Firm and Still Compromise.
Or maybe it's Thyatira.
I Can Be Growing and Still Tolerate Sin.
And listen...
You might see yourself in one of these churches.
You might see yourself in two.
You might read all four letters and realize...
I've got some work to do.
But here's what I don't want you to do.
I don't want you to read these letters, recognize yourself, and then close your Bible like nothing happened.
Because remember...
READ → HEAR → KEEP.
It's not enough to recognize yourself in the mirror.
You have to respond to what you see.
So here's the second question I want you to ask:
What is Jesus calling me to do about it?
Maybe He's calling you to repent.
Maybe He's calling you to return to the love you once had.
Maybe He's telling you to stop compromising.
Or maybe you're in a season where everything feels like it's falling apart...
And what you need to hear from Jesus is:
Keep going.
Don't give up.
Remain faithful.
Because sometimes Jesus speaks to correct us.
And sometimes He speaks to encourage us.
But either way...
He's speaking because He loves us.
So this week...
Read Revelation 2.
Identify where you see yourself.
And respond to what Jesus is saying.
Because church...
The question was never whether Jesus is speaking.
The question is whether we're listening.
READ → HEAR → KEEP.
Pray
