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I’m going to invite you to the book of Revelation. Chapter two is where we’re at together today. Uh, Revelation chapter two, as we continue on in the story of Revelation, which is, uh, one of the things that we have that’s helpful for us as we get ready to engage this particular section, uh, is really Revelation chapter one, verse 19, sort of set. It set a foundation for us for how to approach the book of Revelation. If you if you look at Revelation 1:19, the apostle John writes, and he says, I’m going to write to you the things that are and the things that are to come. And so when you approach the book of Revelation, it kind of sets the frame for work, for what you’re about to read in this book, because a lot of people, you hear the word revelation, you instantly start thinking of a lot of crazy images that are shared with you in Revelation. In fact, I find with people there is this infatuation for the beautiful imagery of this book, and at the same time, there’s this reluctant, timid concern over some of the content. And some of you might read that if you if you have a your typical state is to start off with some anxiety. You’re the kind of person that reads Revelation. You’re like, oh no, thank you. Right. I just I just want to do the other nicer books. I don’t I don’t know what’s happening here, but.
But I’ve reminded you as a church. Look, the Book of Revelation, more than anything, is a worship book intended to encourage and inspire God’s people in the midst of adversity. Revelation is a beautiful book that encourages the soul of how to discover the richness of God in the midst of the situation you find yourself in. It has been used by the Lord to encourage his church throughout the centuries, and the beauty of who Christ is, and what that means for you in the here and now. In fact, when you think about the book of Revelation, I’ve told you as a church, um, when it comes to the second coming of Christ, Jesus taught on that topic more than anything, and so it’s important for us to understand it. In fact, he encouraged his people to look forward to it with great anticipation because this is our ultimate hope. Christ face to face. This is not something you need to balk at. Be worried about. Run away from. If you belong to Jesus. This is the restoring of all things that are broken, culminating in him. And so this is the great anticipation of our people right now. We get to labor in the midst of darkness that God has called his people to be a light in this world. And we’re going to look at that in a minute. But but in the midst of this light, we also do so knowing that no matter what happens, we’re going to be okay because we are victors in Christ.
At the same time, there’s another group of people that Revelation talks about, and those are individuals who never turn to the Lord. In fact, it describes in the book of Revelation, even on the return of Jesus, when they see Christ coming, rather than bow the knee to who Christ is, they cry out to the rocks to fall on them and to crush them. They would rather be dead than to turn to Jesus, is what it’s saying. But. But the Book of Revelation is a book of of rejoicing and worshipful hope for God’s people. So it’s not something that we approach with, with worry or concern. And as you look at this book, it really categorizes itself in the first three chapters, talking about right now and then the remainder of the book talking about what is to come. And God wants to set the tone for where they are right now in order to encourage them in what is to come. And in chapter one, it set the precedent for understanding what this book was about and the identity of who Christ was, and because the identity of who Christ is. Now chapter two, he’s going to talk about the seven churches. Now we ask the question in chapter two and three as we dive into these churches, why in the world, these particular churches, and why just seven? Why not one? Why not six? Why not ten? Why? Why these seven? I mean, when you look in the New Testament, some of these churches, this is the only place that they’re mentioned.
So why would he not just pick the popular ones we already know about? Why? Why these seven? Well, seven for us, these these churches become a picture really, of all of God’s people throughout history. These seven churches represent the universal church. In fact, seven is a regular number that you read in Revelation. And that number is related to the idea of completeness. When you look at the book of Revelation, the Book of Revelation is tying together really all of God’s story. It’s this grand theme of of God’s redemption for for his people that he has faithfully fulfilled in Revelation is sort of like tying the bow to the end of the Bible to say, look how God has been faithful to you. And so it’s taking these grand themes of all of Scripture and showing the beauty of who God is in this book. In fact, when you read Revelation, it’s described in chapter one and in the first five verses as a prophecy. And when we think of word prophecy, we typically think about predicting the future. But the word prophecy not only is a book of of foretelling, but predominantly it’s foretelling. It’s just the declaring of truth, God’s Word. And when you read John’s Revelation, what you discover is John’s not saying a whole lot of new things, but rather what he’s doing is he’s going back to the Old Testament, the Hebrew pull of images, and he’s helping us see how Jesus has been the fulfillment of all those things, that God has been faithful to what he promised to his people.
And because of that, we can worship with great hope. Even in the midst of trial. We go through these momentary places of affliction. But but they they pale in comparison to what you have for eternity, in eternity with God. And so this idea of seven draws its images all the way back from from the book of Genesis. If you remember in creation that God made the world in seven days, and in his design in those seven days, God never intended for the seventh day to come to an end. His desire was to enjoy his presence in the Garden of Eden forever. In fact, his call on humanity was to pierce the darkness of this world and spread Eden all over. That we, we as God’s people, would be his representatives in this world and display radiate the light of God wherever we went. And because of that, no matter what we interacted with in creation, whether people or land or whatever it was, everything would be blessed that we put our hands to. God’s desire in those seven days was to be complete, to experience the richness of our relationship with him, lived out in the way that we bless the world around us.
But man rebelled and life was broken. Sin destroyed. But what you’re seeing in the book of Revelation now is that God’s people become become the light of the world. We see this in Revelation that Jesus describes his his people, and it’s actually in verse one, not verse seven. But we described his, his people as this candle stand, this, this light to bless. So we’re called in this world as darkness to pierce the light that that what was broken can be ultimately restored in Jesus as we live for his glory. And so in Revelation chapter two, what you start to see is the communication of what is, as God writes to these churches. These churches are, are are God’s people, representative of God’s people throughout all of history? Each one of these churches uniquely have a different personality, but collectively represent all of God’s people in and and the struggles we might go through and the victories we might have. And so as you look at these churches, we’re going to see the good and the bad and everything in between. And God is encouraging his people through these seven churches and how we’re to respond in light of who they are. Meaning, as you look at these churches, we’re not called to idolize them, nor are we called to cast stones at them, but to use this as a reflective place to examine ourselves, saying, Lord, as I look at these churches, God, where do you have our church? In fact, Revelation chapter two and three is much like a diary.
You’re reading very a very personal account, as the Lord is describing where these churches are in light of who he is. And, you know, we come to a place like that and realizing, oh, this is this is a very vulnerable statement made about these churches. Sometimes you get a little uncomfortable with that. Is it okay for me to read someone else’s diary? Right. But but what you discover in this passage is this is this is exactly what the Lord wants in chapter two, verse seven, which is the concluding verse of the church of Ephesus, he says this he who has an ear, let him hear what the spirit says to the churches and to the one who conquers. I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is the Paradise of God. So he’s saying, look, I want you as we’re talking about this one church in a very vulnerable way. I want the churches to understand this, not to praise or idolize that church, not to cast stones in judgment against the church, but to use it to ask the question, now, where is your church? What is that God desires to do in your church? I mean, could you imagine if God were to write a letter to ABC today? What would he say about us? Where? Where are we strong.
Where do we need to grow in him? How might the Lord encourage us in the things we’re doing well? And how might the Lord encourage us and the things we’re not doing so well? Or maybe, maybe I could make it more specific. Sometimes we can hide behind the idea of the church. But. But what would the Lord say to you about your life before him? Where is it that you feel like your relationship with the Lord is healthy? And where is it you might feel your relationship with the Lord is struggling. And the Lord writes this to the church of Ephesus. So we understand what it is to live for his glory in the midst of a fallen and broken Babylon. God, how how are we to honor you? What is it, Lord, that you have to to say to me? And so he writes this letter to the churches for the purpose of helping us discover how to live as a healthy faith community. What is it God desires for us to know from the church of Ephesus In order to be a healthy faith community, let me give you point number one in your notes is this to be healthy, you must stay humble. To be healthy, you must stay humble. And you see this in the very opening phrase of what God says to the church, right? He who has an ear to hear, let him hear what the spirit says to the churches.
What it’s acknowledging is that God wants to lead his church. God wants to lead his people. God wants to lead you. But the way God leads you, the language of God, the way God speaks to you, is found in the humbleness of your own heart before him. Not coming to God to get what you want, but to receive what only he can offer. Humility is the language of God. In fact, the Bible says, humble yourself under the mighty hand of God and he will exalt you in due time. You want to draw near to God. That journey begins by emptying, emptying all that you are before his presence. God, have me have your way with me. Lord, what is it that you created me for? What is your desire for my heart? And John, he’s writing this letter to this first church this way, because he knows the tendency of our life is to draw back from God and to harden our hearts and to cling to things for our own purposes. If we are God and fail to recognize that we were created for one who is greater than ourselves. We’re created to belong to him. That God made you for a relationship. But it’s not until there’s humility in your heart that you’re able to discover that a complete surrender, an undoing of who you are before him.
It’s why Jesus calls us throughout the New Testament to take up your cross. It’s the sacrifice of who you are. It’s what Romans 12 one says, I beg you, brothers, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies as a living sacrifice. You are never going to live for the purpose to which God has created you, until the humility of heart is made known before the presence of God. And you say, Lord, have your way with me. And sometimes as a pastor, when I interact with people, there’s a there’s a few times in my interaction with people that there is this, this concern in my life and almost this, this weeping in my heart when I hear people speak and and not not, not not to make anyone feel bad about saying that. But sometimes I realize that people recognize that there’s something broken, something wrong, and they come to Jesus thinking, well, as if Jesus is this another, another little add on that they need in their life that perhaps could fix all of the eclectic views that they have towards their life. And what I mean is, you know, they recognize something’s off and they want to invite Jesus in some, but not all the way. And really, the prayer of their heart is being honest as Lord. Lord, accomplish my will not. Lord, let your will be done in me.
And so they kind of make Jesus the sort of tack on to the things they’re doing, asking Jesus to join them on their journey rather than ask Christ, how can I join in you in your journey and what you desire? And so there’s this, this, this place in my heart that that walks concern with people in that position. Because I know as a believer there is no true joy there. There is no true joy in a half hearted pursuit of Christ that Jesus made you to give all, all of yourself to him as he has given all of your life to you for all of his life to you, that you would know him and enjoy that, that that journey does not begin until there. There is humility in life. And there’s another, I would say, another person that gives me a little concern too. And that is that is one that that walks passionate very quickly about Jesus. But but the commitment is not completely there. There’s an emotional excitement, which I hope in your relationship with the Lord. There’s there is that excitement in in knowing Christ and desiring to know Christ. But but the quality of the depth is not quite developed. And so there’s this all this energy, and it burns bright, but it burns out so fast. What God is interested in in this morning is the posture of your heart. He who has an ear to hear, let him hear.
That’s that’s the place where God speaks into your life to to direct it with only the full joy of who he is. And so, John, he’s writing to this church when it comes to the idea of being a healthy faith community with that understanding, is this the position of of your heart right now or is it warring with God? Are you holding something back from him, or are you saying, God have your way with me? Point number two in your notes is this a healthy church is a devoted church. A healthy church is a devoted church. Now, when I use this word devotion, I know sometimes based on where you’ve been in your life, there might be a lot of reluctance to that, especially especially if you’ve maybe trusted in something in life that’s turned out to be a lie. We are reluctant as people to devote to anything again. And let me just tell you, as a church, we don’t want to devote yourself to you, to devote yourself to something that you don’t believe in or you don’t yet trust. But but I will also acknowledge that because we’ve been lied to sometimes as people, we think that we have to know everything before we can ever trust in something again. And it takes time to build trust. But what I try to encourage us as God’s people that when it comes to Christianity, there are two foundations that if you can rest on those two foundations, you’ve got a basis to be able to move forward.
You may not know where everything else might lead, but that’s that’s okay. In fact, that’s what this Christian journey is about, is recognizing every day you wake up is another opportunity to continue to grow in your depth of relationship with the Lord, that not anyone on planet Earth has it all figured out. But we know the one who does. And that’s the fantastic reality of the gospel, that one of the beautiful things of the biblical gospel is that it’s simple enough that a child can understand it, and deep enough that you will be plunging it for all of eternity. So. So your Christian journey is about growing in that relationship with the Lord. And so when it comes to devotion, if I just gave you two, two pillars to rest your life up on, it’s whether or not you can trust in God’s Word the truth of what he says and answer the question, Who is Jesus? If you can discover the truthfulness of God’s Word and the truthfulness of who Jesus is, those become the monumental pillars to guide your life. And so when it when it comes to the Christian journey, devoting ourselves becomes essential. In fact, in chapter two, verse one, it says to the angel of the church in Ephesus, write the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who is among the the seven golden lampstands.
Look what we’re seeing in Revelation chapter two. Verse one is, is this image of who Christ is and all of his authority. In fact, for each of these churches, John goes back and and he pulls from chapter one, he takes a component of the description of who Christ is. And then he starts each letter to the church with the identity of who Jesus is, the authority of Christ in their lives, and how that becomes paramount to everything that they do, that the devotion would be there, and the identity of who Christ is, that you would know not what people say about Jesus. People have all kinds of thoughts of Jesus, but it doesn’t make it true. There are a lot of crazy thoughts about Jesus. It’s not about what others say, who Jesus is. It’s about who Jesus says Jesus is. And if you can trust God’s Word and what it says, then you could read God’s Word to understand who Jesus is as he’s communicated to you. And in fact, in acts chapter two, it tells us that verse 41 and on that, what made the early church so powerful? It tells you at the very end of chapter two that they saw thousands come to know Christ. And what made the church so powerful in acts chapter two, verse 141 and 42 it says, and they were devoted.
They were devoted. And then it tells you exactly what they were devoted to. And the first thing it says is to the teaching of the apostles, which is your New Testament. They were devoted to the teaching of God’s Word, not what other people say about the Lord, but what God says about himself. They were devoted, and that becomes the foundation for everything that they did. And then it goes on and says to the breaking of bread of one another, having all things in common. That their understanding of their relationship with God and the devotion they had towards him led to the impact that they experienced as a community, and the richness of what that fellowship was about. You know, God drives everything we do as his people, and it begins in our own relationship to him and how it impacts our relationships around us. What you discover as you grow in your walk with the Lord is how valuable human beings are, is because no one else was made. Nothing else was made in his image. And so we honor God through the way that we treat those around us. It’s living out as the Garden of Eden in the midst of a fallen, broken world. We get to pierce the darkness as his light. We are that lampstand called into this world, and the effectiveness of his people is discovered in the devotion to His Word. In fact, it’s very common.
I regularly get phone calls asking our church questions that I think compromise who we are. Oftentimes I’ll get people to ask, you know, want to be a part of your body and but will you support something that they want to stand for? Do you align with this? Or sometimes I’ll even I’ll even get calls of, say, other religious groups and they’ll I can appreciate the sentiment behind what they ask. And I care very much about the people that call because everyone matters to the Lord. We’re all image bearers of God, whether you belong to this church or not. Everyone has intrinsic value. And so I want to be honoring to human beings. But the religious groups sometimes will call and ask and say, can we have worship services together? And I think that the point of that is they want some camaraderie. They want to feel closeness. They want to show love and appreciation. But my answer is always the same. And I’ll say, you know, in our community, if there’s ever a need, if there’s ever a disaster, if there’s ever a problem, if there’s ever something ABC can do to be an answer, we want to be there. We want going to be shoulder to shoulder meeting people where they’re at, loving them as Christ loves them to the best of our ability with the resources that we have. We want to do that, but we care about those around us, and because we care about those around us, one of the things we will not do is is join and worship with other groups who might teach a message contrary to biblical Christianity.
And the reason we don’t want to do that is because it compromises the power of the message for which we stand for, and we don’t want to confuse people. We think what we’re about is so important that we want the purity of the message to stand true. It doesn’t mean we don’t like people. It doesn’t mean we have to be hateful to people. In fact, we can say, look, we love you. We do love you. And because we love you, we think one of the most important things we can do is let the purity of the message that we stand for stand, because that becomes the power of everything we live for as a church. You know, there are unhealthy churches in this world that that prioritize loving one another over and above the truthfulness of God’s Word. And look, we don’t want to pit those things against each other, but it’s the truthfulness of God’s Word that should compel us to love people. But if the emphasis of what you’re about is just simply love without truth, it leads to antinomianism. It just falls apart. What makes the church powerful is the purity of what we stand for, because it’s compelling everything that we do behind it.
We certainly want to be a church that does wonderful, good things in this world. And in fact, if ABC didn’t exist, we would want the community to ache over lack of our presence just because of how much our desire is to bless people around us. But the thing that makes who we are is the purity of what we stand for. And this is what you see in the church of Ephesus, this light of the world built on the foundation of who Christ is. And in fact, this church of Ephesus was, I would say, the most blessed church in all of the New Testament. If you study the city of Ephesus. It was one of the top five most powerful cities in the Roman Empire. Some 250,000 to 500,000 people were a part of this. One of the Seven Wonders of the world was built here, dedicated to the goddess Artemis. One of the reasons the early church chose this city in order to plant a church is because they knew that from this church would become influence. They would influence the towns and countryside around them, that if they could reach the city, they would reach the people around them. This is the same reason we started ABC, where we did. We we looked on a map and we discovered the highest concentration of population with the least biblical gospel presence. And we knew if God could create a powerful movement here, it would influence the towns around us.
And so we move forward with with the hope and a dream that God would build a powerful group of people that could make a punch for his gospel in this world. As we stayed humble and devoted to what God called us to in this world. And so you see in the church of Ephesus, it’s being built here. They they picked this place because they knew if the gospel took root, the influence they could have on people, people around them. In fact, a lot of incredible church leaders were a part of the Church of Ephesus, more so than I think any other church in the New Testament. Priscilla and Aquila started this church with Apollos, the Apostle Paul, and spent over three years at one time with this church. He spent more time with this church than any other church he planted. Timothy who Paul writes a couple letters to Timothy. He pastored this church. The apostle John, it’s thought, was at this church before he was exiled to Patmos. Jesus’s mother, Mary, lived in Ephesus. Part of the reason that we we know that historically is that John from the cross, Jesus told John to take care of his mother. John went to Ephesus. And you can even Google today Virgin Mary’s house, and you can see what many claim to be where Mary dwelt. Now. Ephesus was an incredible city with a rich history.
And then when you consider the impact, they had such an impact on the temple of Artemis. There was something during this time period, there was the individuals called metalworkers who would craft images dedicated to to the goddess Artemis. And it was when you went to that town, it was expected of you that you would buy one of those images that you could afford, and you would take it to that temple in honor of of that goddess. And the gospel made such a move in Ephesus that, that these, these metalworkers became angry and created a riot. They not only had that kind of a movement in the city of Ephesus, but in the towns around it. What we’ve discovered with the church of Ephesus is that the other churches mentioned in Revelation were most likely started from the church of Ephesus, that God created a movement from this church that impacted this region of Asia. Now, Asia at this time is much smaller than you think of Asia today, but this region of Asia, it tells you in acts chapter 19, verse ten, that all of Asia heard the gospel because of what God did among this church. And so when you read the book of Revelation, it kind of goes in clock a clock movement, starting with the Church of Ephesus and around to all the other churches. And it was this church that spurred the existence of the other churches as as God moved through them.
And in fact, you see the way this church lived in their devotion. Verse two God says, I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot hear with those who are evil, but have tested those who claim themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. And I know that you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. I mean, here’s this church enduring incredible hardship. We’ve talked about, you know, first few centuries of the church, the persecution, the martyrdom that they faced. And yet beyond it all, the church is enduring that hardship. And they’re even contesting with false teachers that people are coming in and trying to usurp the authorities in the church by claiming to be apostles themselves. And they’re teaching something contrary to God’s Word. And the Lord is saying, look, you’re devoted to the purity of my truth, so much so that you’re committed to it. Even in adversity. You will not let it go, because this is what defines you. I mean, the question for you today is what defines who you are? You know, I think it’s important to decide the kind of person that you’re going to be before adversity comes, because when it comes, you don’t have to question it. I know who I am, and I know what I’m going to live for, and I’m going to let the chips fall where they may.
But my life will be with no regrets from this day forward, because my identity is Christ. And this church was devoted to this foundation. And because of that, in the midst of trials and the contesting of false teachers, they they remain pure. Now, let me just do this quickly. I want to talk about this identity of Apostle for a minute, because this, this, this place of apostle, whether it’s in a formal title or just the concept of how a person carries himself. You’re always going to walk in this world, and people are going to try to usurp position over you, to tell you to believe them because of what they have to say. And that word apostle was something used in the New Testament in order to leverage over other people. And so the question that maybe we could ask is, do they exist today? I can tell you here at ABC we do not have formal apostles. Right. And I will give you some biblical foundation for that. And this is not to be contentious for anyone. And where you come from, I just want you to know what the Bible says about apostles and why we don’t have that title as a church. Um, there are three types of apostles in the New Testament. So if you ask the question of apostles exist today, I would say it depends on what you mean by that, because there is one type of apostle that’s the capital, a apostle.
These are often referred to capital A as the 12 right. The 12 apostles. These were unique apostles above any other mention of the word apostle. They were the 12, and everyone knew him, right? And you have a few references, particularly to the 12. Then you have another type of apostle that may be not even an apostle, which is the heretic apostle. You just read about one of those, right? So? So they claim to be apostle. Maybe we could just give them that and say, okay, you’re an apostle, but you’re a heretic. Apostle, right? So, so there is that kind of apostle. And then there’s this lowercase a apostle, because the word apostle literally means just sent forth. We would generally substitute that word today with the word missionary. We send out missionaries or apostles on behalf of the church to represent the Lord, to preach the gospel in places where it hasn’t been preached. We send people out to do that. And so in little, a apostle is probably better served as calling it a missionary, so it doesn’t lead to confusion. So there’s there’s three types. But when it comes to the capital, a apostle, there’s a few things I want you to know. Um, if God intended for that office to continue, what you would expect to find is somewhere in any, any of the epistles that they’re writing to the churches to, it would be to explain to the churches, this is how you appoint an apostle, but none of the New Testament letters do you have a place where it’s saying, this is how you appoint an apostle? And the reason is because they never intended for the office of apostle to continue.
Rather, they teach the church how to appoint elders and deacons in order to lead the church forward. Another word for elder as a pastor. But when you look at what the apostleship is in the New Testament. Ephesians chapter two, verse 20 says this. He gave apostles to lay the foundation. Which I think is a beautiful imagery, because when God describes the church, he. He refers to us all as living stones, that God is building his presence among. Us as living stones. As if God is constructing a greater building with. With. Us as his people. Not a literal building, but a figurative building. And the apostles were called to lay to lay a foundation. And you and I know anytime you build a house, when you lay a foundation, you move on from that. You don’t keep laying foundation. You lay a foundation to build the rest of the building. And the point of the apostles were to lay that foundation, that the rest of the building could rest upon it, Jesus himself being the cornerstone. The Apostle Paul called him, called himself the last of the apostles, and in order to be qualified as an apostle is impossible today.
And if you look in acts chapter one or in first Corinthians nine, in both those places it says you have to physically see the resurrected Christ before you can even be qualified as an apostle, which is an impossibility for us. And so the qualification of an apostle is an impossibility. But let me give you these last points and be done. If, if, if everything I just said you disagreed with me on. You know, we can. We’ll still be friends. Okay, you’re wrong, but we’ll be friends. Um, but but here’s what I want you to know. Because this is. This is dangerous. We’re talking about someone who wants to come into your life to usurp position so that you listen to what they say, rather than study God’s word for yourself. Right. And we very much want to be a church where people feel comfortable to ask questions, or we understand people are coming from all sorts of different places, and we want you to discover the truth of what God says, not because I tell you what it says, but because you’re seeing it in His Word and it becomes a stronger conviction in your life that way, not simply take your faith and say, oh, just tell me what to think. And so when you look at the apostles in the New Testament, let me just tell you a few things about their life.
First of all, what’s important is to recognize their life style. And they were abused, shipwrecked, beaten. The Apostle Paul refers to them as the least of society. These individuals would go to the furthest parts of the earth, places where the gospel has been preached, and endure incredible hardship. They were not people that lived in ivory tower towers, drove fancy cars and more expensive clothing that was not an apostle in the New Testament. They were the ones who laid it all on the line and led by example to the far ends of the earth, sacrificing themselves for the sake of the gospel to the benefit of others. When it comes to the idea of the apostle, they had this, this, this, this confirmation, and in their lives, and seeing the resurrected Jesus. And not only that, they carried certain signs with them, the marks of an apostle. Second Corinthians 12 and then what was important is to examine what they were teaching. The Apostle Paul said this in Second Corinthians 11 about heretical apostles. If someone comes and proclaims another Jesus, I mean people will talk about a Jesus that isn’t Jesus. People will use the name Jesus and then go on to describe something that’s anything other than Jesus. So he says, they teach another Jesus and we proclaim you. You accept a different gospel from the one you accepted. You put up with it readily enough.
Indeed, I consider that I am not in the least inferior to these super apostles. So Paul is saying, look, they think that there are these apostles. And look, they are not, because they’re not even aligned with what God’s teaching us. So don’t give them weight in your community. Don’t let them guide your people. The purity of God’s Word. And there’s many ways to look at the health of a church, right? The precedent of the gospel, the way it’s taught, their appreciation for the sacredness of God’s Word, the sweetness of the fellowship, whether or not they live on mission. The health of the church is seen that way. And here is a church that’s putting up with the adversity they’re experiencing through false messages in this world, and they’re staying true to that message. And they’re enduring even under pressure, even under persecution. The purity of who God is is made known. And let me give you point number three. Let me give this last point so we can close. My number one pursuit must always be to know Christ. It must always be to know Christ. Guys, can I tell you humility is important? Devotion to God’s word is important. But all of that is for one purpose. To understand that God made you for a relationship, that you would come before him completely surrendered. Asking the Lord to teach you through he who who he is to the power of His word, and that you would connect to him in relationship.
That the whole point is not about what we do. The point of this church is about who we know walking with him. In fact, it gives a warning in Revelation two four, but I have this against you, Ephesus, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Some translations say you’ve left your first love. I mean, this is one of the most cutting verses I think exists that exists in the New Testament. You’ve left your first love. I mean, what your life is all about. To know Jesus. I read this verse and out of worry that this could even be us. One day. I just want to say, man, as a church, can we just make this commitment? I mean, this is one this is out of our five values as a church. This is our number one value that we would know Christ, know him relationally. And could we make this commitment that of all the things we might do as God’s people, that we never get lost from the ultimate goal for which we exist, and that is to know Christ and in so doing, make Christ known. I mean, that’s that’s what’s happening here at this church, is they’ve got so busy in the doing, they forgot the whole point. They forgot the whole point that it’s an outflow of your own relationship with Jesus. And if you’re neglecting coming to Christ, you’re neglecting the whole point of everything that you’re doing that the health of the church, I would say, is established here, foremost in anywhere.
As our hearts are humbled and devoted to the Word of God, that we may know the beauty of Christ in our in our lives and therefore live him out in our world. And look what he says in verse five, 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. When you realize what this lampstand represents, the church who’s a light? I mean the Holy Spirit empowering God’s people to do his work in this world. And Jesus is saying, I’m going to take you away because the power of who you are is not there. And I’ve often thought practically, what does this look like? And I think very specifically, this is this church, if it’s known in this world, and I think there’s a lot of churches like this in America today, 80% of churches are plateaued or declining and more churches are closing their doors than churches are opening their doors. Not here, not here. But but that’s happening around the world. And how is that happening? I would maybe argue this, that the church might still meet on Sunday morning, but the presence of God is completely gone. And that’s probably what this looks like.
Jesus comes in and there’s no Holy Spirit there anymore. But the people still gather. But it’s just it’s dead on the inside. And it’s all because they forgot. The whole point of this journey is about a relationship with Jesus. You know, I think about the beauty of the early church. There was this guy named Julian. I’ll use these examples to be done. He’s often referred to as Julian as the apostate. He looked at the early church and he critiqued the early church with frustration. He he was angry about the things they were doing. He said this. He is a pagan, wrote to a pagan priest in the fourth century. He says, when it came about that the poor were neglected and overlooked, I think the impious Christians observed the fact that and devoted themselves to philanthropy. They support not only their poor but ours as well. All men see that our people lack aid from us. So he’s saying, man, look at this church. They’re having such an incredible impact because they love people. They’re just meeting people in the brokenness and and displaying the hands and feet of Christ wherever they are. And it’s impacting hearts. And it makes me so mad. That’s what he’s saying in this story. But but can I tell you the power of that church was not simply about what they were doing, but who was driving what they were doing. And when you look at the early church, um, hospitals began because of the early church.
Educational systems started because of the early church soup kitchens. They warred against infanticide. The early church made an impact in those beginning centuries because of their love for people. That was ultimately driven, because of their love for Christ. In fact, Polycarp, who became a martyr when he was in his 80s, 86 years old, he became a martyr. He was brought before Roman leaders and told to recant of his faith. And he said, absolutely, I will not. And he said this 86 years have I served him and he has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my King and my Saviour? And they immediately took him to a stake. And they they burned him. History says that when they lit the stake on fire that he actually radiated, and the flames wouldn’t touch him. And so out of anger, the soldiers ran towards the stake, and they speared him while he was there. Yeah. Polycarp’s testimony in the midst of verses standing true to Christ, became an example to God’s people. And that passion for Jesus lit a fire under them that compelled them to continue to live for his glory in this world. Guys, can I tell you more than anything what Jesus wants is your heart today. Humility devoted to the word for one pursuit that you may know Christ.