Revelation Sermon - 11

Revelation: A Review (Chapters 1-3)

1. Introduction – This morning we aren’t studying a specific passage of Revelation – instead we are going to review what we’ve looked at so far.

a. I’m in no rush to make our way through this book, so periodically we are going to pause from moving forward and reflect on what we’ve studied.

i. The book of Revelation is long – and because of its length it’s easy for us to forget what we’ve previously heard.

1. Or its difficult for us to see how all the different parts of the book fit into one cohesive whole.

a. Ideally, Revelation should be read or heard in one sitting – the whole letter from beginning to end; that’s the best way to get the flow of the whole letter.

ii. But on Sunday mornings we don’t really have that luxury, so we are going to have review Sundays to help us fit the whole book together.

1. We’ve just finished a major section of the book – the introduction and letters to the seven churches – and after we finish the next major section – we’ll once again pause and reflect on what we’ve just studied and we’ll try to piece all of it together.

2. Revelation in General – So this morning I want to remind you that Revelation is all about Jesus Christ.

a. In fact, the book of Revelation gives us the clearest picture of Jesus as he is right now.

i. The very first verse gives the subject matter away. This is the Revelation of Jesus Christ. It is about Jesus Christ given by Jesus Christ.

1. That means that the whole point of the book is…Jesus Christ.

b. At the end of the day, this book has to enlarge our vision and understanding of who Jesus is.

i. If at the end of the day we are preoccupied or obsessed with numbers or events or who the antichrist is – then we’ve read the book wrong.

1. Because when we read, study and interpret this book properly, it will cause us to fall down at the feet of Jesus in awe, reverence and worship.

c. In the first couple weeks of our study we learned how this book of the Bible is written.

i. Verse 1 tells us that this is a revelation – the Greek word that’s used is the word apocalypse.

1. And apocalypse doesn’t mean destruction of the end of the world – it simply means ‘unveiling.’

a. Tsunamis or earthquakes are often said to be of ‘apocalyptic proportion.’ But that’s the wrong word – catastrophic yes, but not apocalyptic.

i. The book of Revelation is a revealing, an unveiling, a pulling back of the curtain by Jesus about Jesus.

1. Who better to reveal things about Jesus than Jesus himself?

d. Revelation is also a prophecy. Verse 3 tells us that we are blessed when we read and hear the words of this prophecy.

i. And prophecy is a word that is almost as misunderstood as apocalypse.

1. We have a misguided understanding that prophecy only talks about events in the distant future.

a. But – what we just finished studying – the messages to the 7 churches, that’s also prophecy.

i. Because while there are futuristic elements to prophecy – it’s primary goal is to call God’s people to repentance and reform in the present.

ii. So, by being a prophetic book – Revelation is showing God’s people how to remain faithful to God amid turbulent times.

1. As prophecy it honestly assesses where God’s people are at, and it shows them the consequences of disobedience and the rewards for faithfulness.

e. And 1:4 tells us that Revelation is also a letter. It’s a pastoral letter – written by an elderly man who cares deeply for the spiritual well-being of these seven churches.

3. Vision of Jesus – And it’s appropriate that the very first vision is a beautifully epic vision of Jesus.

a. And the one thing I want to highlight form this vision and where Jesus is standing.

i. Remember these 3 beautiful and inspiring words…In the middle.

b. Jesus – standing in the middle of the lampstands. The lampstand representing the 7 churches – so the vision is of Jesus standing right smack dab in the middle of these churches.

i. But in Revelation, the number 7 represents wholeness of completeness, so really, the image is one of Jesus standing in the middle of church in general.

ii. What an incredibly comforting and terrifying image. Terrifying in that Jesus knows and sees how we talk behind someone’s back. He sees, hears, and knows all that’s going on here.

1. But it’s comforting to know that our Saviour Jesus, the head of the church – isn’t far off, he’s not disinterested or unobservant.

a. To think that Jesus operates and stands in the middle of his church should radically influence how we see ourselves and how we operate.

4. The Seven Messages – And it was from this position – standing in the middle – and we’re also told Jesus is walking among the lampstands – it’s from here that Jesus dictates 7 specific messages for 7 historical churches.

a. But even though they are written to seven real churches in 1st century Asia Minor, they are most definitely applicable for our church and even our personal lives today.

i. And don’t worry, I’m not going to recap each message from each church. Instead what I want to focus on for the next little bit are the characteristics of a church that we can glean from these 7 messages.

1. In these letters we heard Jesus rebuke, correct and encourage his people. And if we pay close attention we can see what a church is, what a church looks like and what a church is supposed to do.

a. According to these 7 letters, what are 7 characteristics of a church we can learn about this morning?

b. From the letter to the church in Ephesus, we learn that the church is to be a place of love.

i. A place where we grow in and express our love for God.

1. And a place where we learn to and grow in love for our brothers and sisters in Christ.

a. Sounds a lot like something else Jesus said…Love God with all you’ve got and love your neighbour as yourself.

i. The church is to exemplify love – a passionate pursuit of God and an actively displayed love for other people.

c. From the letter to the church in Smyrna, we learn that the church is to be a place of spiritual richness and faithfulness to God.

i. Smyrna was a church that was under increasing pressure to compromise, but they were standing strong.

1. The pressure of the world was closing tight around them – wanting them to worship Jesus and other gods.

a. To go to the trade guild parties on Saturday night, with all its drunkenness and debauchery, idolatry – and then go to church on Sunday.

i. The world was pressuring this church to become more tolerant.

2. This is an urgent message for us today given the world we live in. But the message to the church in Smyrna reminds us that God rewards faithfulness.

a. It won’t always be easy – faithfulness rarely is.

i. But in the face of persecution and the pressure to conform to this world – we must count the cost and stand up for the uncompromising truth of God.

d. From the letter to the church in Pergamum, we learn that the church is to be different than the world around it.

i. So often our evangelism or even church structures are designed to make us look the same as everything around us.

1. Like we are trying to draw attention to how cool we are in order to draw more people.

a. But the message to Pergamum reminds us that the church IS fundamentally different than secular social organizations.

i. As a church we don’t worship lesser gods – but we worship the God who is the source of all hope, love, joy, comfort and peace.

1. In short, we are different – and that’s a good thing.

e. From the message to the church in Thyatira, we learn that, as a church, we are to be uncompromising – as opposed to being accommodating.

i. The Thyatirans let all kinds of false teaching take place in their church. So we learn that the church is to be a place where the truth is rigorously defended and heresy is rooted out.

f. From the letter to the church in Sardis we learn that the church is to be a place of life and vitality.

i. Sardis was going through the motions of church – they were worshipping, even doing good works – but their works failed to meet the basic requirements of God.

1. So, we must learn that God doesn’t want us to go through the motions of worship – he wants our hearts and minds engaged as we ascribe worth to his name.

a. We have to make sure that we are coming to church for the right reasons – and not simply because we always come to church.

g. From Philadelphia we learn that, as a church, no matter our size, we need to be confident. Not arrogant, but confident in who we are as God’s people.

i. Remember, Jesus stands in the middle of his church. He’s not far off somewhere – standing aloof to our situation.

1. He knows what’s going on and he has opened doors for us for effective gospel ministry that no one can shut.

a. Jesus has opened doors for us as a church family for effective ministry – but he has also opened doors in our individual lives.

i. How are you doing praying for the salvation of your 10 people? Are you still fervently bringing their names before God and praying for God to reach them with his salvation?

1. God has opened doors in your workplace, your home, with your extended family, and with your neighbours – doors for effective gospel ministry.

h. And from the church in Laodicea we learn that as a church we are to be zealous for the ways of God.

i. Not fanatical – but zealous. We are to be passionate, but with a deep understanding of what we’re passionate about.

1. As a church, as Christians, we can never grow complacent; we can never simply go through the motions of church or the Christian life in a thoughtless way.

a. Complacency breeds lukewarmness and lukewarmness makes Jesus sick to his stomach.

i. Seven characteristics of a church, you have them there in front of you…so how are we doing?

i. Are we loving and increasing in love? Are we faithful and uncompromising and different and alive and confident and zealous?

1. We have to make sure we are aware of these areas and that we are constantly growing and moving forward in these and other areas of church life.

5. Common Themes – And as we made our way through these 7 messages you probably noticed that there were some repeated words and phrases throughout.

a. The first theme that I’ll mention is the theme of repentance. I’ll highlight once again that this word was repeatedly given to churches and to Christians.

i. Yes, when we first come to know Christ as our Lord and Saviour, we need to repent of our sins.

1. But if we understand these letters properly, and if we understand the biblical concept of repentance, we’ll see that repentance isn’t a one-time decision we make upon conversion.

a. Repentance is more of a lifestyle for Christians.

ii. A couple summers ago we spent the whole summer studying the concept of repentance. The series was based out of Joel 2:12-14 – and this is how we defined repentance.

1. The call to repentance shows up over and over again in these 7 letters – so it is something we should most definitely be paying attention to.

b. Also, the theme of righteousness shows up. Jesus calls his churches to put on white robes or to not soil their clothes.

i. He calls us to live pure, holy and righteous lives – honouring God is all we think, do and say.

1. In other words – coming to Christ and attending church doesn’t give us a license to sin because we know God will forgive us.

a. No, we are called to strive towards righteousness and ardently pursuit of God’s ways.

c. Next, we have the twin themes of overcoming coupled together with future promises.

i. Jesus says, “To those who overcome I will give.” If there are promises to overcomers – it means that obviously there are things that can get in our way and distract us from wholeheartedly pursuing Jesus.

1. So, Jesus say to his church – if you overcome the obstacles – if you are faithful to me in this lifetime, I will be faithful to you in the next.

ii. And these promises, while some of them can be experienced in part in the present – they are mainly promises about the future.

1. And if we keep these promises in mind throughout our study, we’ll see them reappear at the end of Revelation, when the new heaven and new earth are brought.

a. Jesus brings with him the rewards he promised to the faithful.

6. Ears to Hear – And the last phrase we’ll look at this morning is one that shows up at the end of each letter.

a. I didn’t spend a lot of time on this phrase when we studied the letters because I knew I had this week to look at the phrase.

i. Those who have ears to hear… I want to point out some things about this phrase.

1. First, notice the plural…churches. Understand that Revelation was a circular letter.

a. It was read at once church, passed along to the next, and made its way around the circuit.

ii. That means that each church’s letter was read at the other 6 churches. It’s not that the reader sifted through the material and looked for the letter specifically addressed to each church and only read that particular part of the message.

1. No, every one of the 7 letters were read at each church.

a. Imagine having your problems and dirty laundry aired at other churches?

i. The result of this – Jesus making public the private issues of each church – this was done so that other churches could recognize the warning signs of these sins in their own church and correct it before it got out of hand.

b. Each letter ends with a couple commands – commands that are relevant and appropriate for us today.

i. We must hear what Jesus is saying to his church.

1. If we have hearing ears, we must listen to what Jesus is saying. He’s showing us how to be a church and how not to be a church.

a. Be loving, faithful, spiritually rich, uncompromising, different, confident and zealous.

i. Don’t be like the world around you – shine a light into the darkness and walk through the doors I have opened for you.

1. We must hear those commands and be on the lookout for where are succeeding and where we are failing.

ii. So, we hear, but we must also understand. And understanding in not only involves mental assent to these truths, but also physical obedience.

1. If we want to overcome, if we want to remain faithful them we must strive toward and work for these things.

c. We’ve heard the messages to the seven churches. To the best of my ability and skill I have taught you about the historical setting of each church.

i. We have bridged the gap from the 1st to the 21st century and we’ve seen how these letters still speak to and apply to us today.

d. You’ve heard and listened…now let’s understand and put into practice what’s been taught.

i. Let’s work on becoming more loving and zealous and faithful and spiritually rich and alive.

1. Let’s be more confident in who we are as a church.

e. After all, why shouldn’t we be confident? We have the Holy Spirit dwelling in our individual lives and Jesus our Saviour stands in the middle of his church – correcting, leading and guiding us.

i. Hear what he says, listen, understand and obey.