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The Time Is Near For Our Church – Sardis

The Revelation of Jesus Christ

John to the seven churches

Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne; And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth.

“Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, … to Sardis…

“Fear not, I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. 19 Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this.

20 As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

Christ, our risen Lord and Savior holds in His right hand the angels of the churches. Christ, our returning Lord and Savior stands in the presence of His golden churches – the believers to be taken-up along with those who have gone before us.

Yet each letter to the churches is specific to a group of believers: praise for faithfulness and call to continued faith. For not all who say, “Lord, lord,” will be taken-up. Not all who say, “Lord, lord,” will stand as a light of witness as a lampstand on His right. For some will be separated to the King’s left and He will say of those who did not glimmer with the light of Jesus, “I never knew you.”

And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. – Matthew 25:46 KJV

Therefore: The warnings for the seven churches are addressed to the saints of every generation until the last.

You with ears to hear, let the scripture of Revelation speak to your eternal soul.

Revelation 3 “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.

Now here is a short letter to our MEGA-CHURCH. It’s only six verses (including the introduction above and the “let him hear…” closing).

We know ALL the things you do to witness your faith, so you don’t have anything to concern yourselves with in this short letter. “But wait,” as the commercial says (NO, not the commercial or billboard for your church, but another one), “there’s more.” Better not turn the page from Seeker-friendly Sardis too soon.

“‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead.

2 Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God.

THOUSANDS attend our church and MILLIONS WATCH our church broadcast EVERY WEEK from their La-Z-Boys at home.

We have done everything we could think of to get more viewers and take our gospel into all of the world. Do you mean to say that our $50 million dollar annual budget is not buying enough viewers for God?

“I know your works.” Millions know your works. “I know your reputation.” Millions see you as Christ! They covet your blessings. As soon as they receive the kind of blessings you have (they think), they will do more for the church.

They know they are dead, but they want your life now; NOT Christ’s life now or ever.

3 Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you.

4 Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy.

Matthew 22: 11 “But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. 12 And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

14 For many are called, but few are chosen.”

You may be an active and faithful member of a large church. Your pastor (though held to a higher standard for his preaching) may also be one of the faithful chosen, rather than the MANY called.

You may sit amongst other chosen ones, even in a congregation of most who will not wake up to remember what we have received and heard. Many are called in every church, but who with ears to hear will truly hear in his heart?

Take heart in Christ’s closing to alert the believers of Sardis:

5 The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.

6 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

NEXT: Philadelphia

October 5, 2013
The Time Is Near For Our Church – Ephesus
The Revelation of Jesus Christ

John to the seven churches

Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne; And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth.

“Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus…

“Fear not, I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. 19 Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this.

20 As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

Christ, our risen Lord and Savior holds in His right hand the angels of the churches. Christ, our returning Lord and Savior stands in the presence of His golden churches – the believers to be taken-up along with those who have gone before us.

Yet each letter to the churches is specific to a group of believers: praise for faithfulness and call to continued faith. For not all who say, “Lord, lord,” will be taken-up. Not all who say, “Lord, lord,” will stand as a light of witness as a lampstand on His right. For some will be separated to the King’s left and He will say of those who did not glimmer with the light of Jesus, “I never knew you.”

And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. – Matthew 25:46 KJV

Therefore: The warnings for the seven churches are addressed to the saints of every generation until the last.

You with ears to hear, let the scripture of Revelation speak to your eternal soul.

EPHESUS

Maps change. Borders change. Buildings rise and fall. Nations rise and fall. Ephesus, like any other place on the map of this temporal world has changed over the years. Do not make the mistake of thinking of these letters to seven churches as being to “places.” These are letters which address some specific issues of faith encountered by the people of the churches.

What does not change is people. We are sinners: no matter where we live; no matter when we live… or die: we are sinners.

Into any part of this world, whether you call it Turkey (21st c.), Greece (BC), or Asia, as written in the Book of Revelation: enter Jesus Christ and every decaying building and dying man has new meaning.

The population of Ephesus at the time of John was about 200,000 people. Over the centuries control of this area of Asia moved between east and west: Rome and Persia (among others).

We know that wars and time will cause Nations and buildings to stand no more. We know that we live in a flesh even more temporary than these. Yet the message of the Gospel from the first century until the 21st and to the Last Day endures.

The people of Ephesus and the people of Pen Argyl (where I live) are essentially the same: we are sinners with the certain hope of resurrection in Christ Jesus. Yet the warnings for Pennsylvanians or Ephesians, for Romans or Americans, for men and women of any city, in any state, in any country and in any time until now is: follow Jesus Christ as your Lord. He IS and will return.

Into our individual cultures and local towns we must BE the CHURCH. We must BE HIS SAINTS, or have our lampstand removed.

We have nowhere to stand without Jesus.

Each Christian in every Church must shine a light for Christ Jesus.

Our choice is Eternal Life and Light OR Death, Darkness and the punishment we deserve for our many sins.

Revelation 2:

To the Church in Ephesus

“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.

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This is all High Praise from our Lord. Take note. These are good things for our church to continue. These are good things for us to continue.
- Patient endurance.
- Do not put up with those who are evil (and we know many who are evil).
Here’s one a 21st c. seeker-friendly church might miss:
- “… tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false.
When was the last time you, a fellow saint of your church, or even a church leader challenged ANY to find them to be FALSE christians?

I’m not talking about those seeking to repent, change, and grow in Christ Jesus. Our Lord challenges the church to identify the wolves in sheep’s clothing. Matthew 7:15; Acts 20:29

Some of us in what WE, ourselves listen to, read or watch as ‘christian teaching’ need discernment to recognize wolves in the shepherd’s clothing of the pulpit.

IF you see no cross of sacrifice; IF Jesus is going to do something for you, IF ‘god’ wants you to have it NOW, beware.

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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.

Some of you have been born again in the Holy Spirit. Do you remember when you were first on fire for the Lord?

Acts 4: 31 And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

Our Lord exhorts the church to continue in our boldness for returning to the love we had for for Jesus and for His Gospel at first.

If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.

UNLESS YOU REPENT!

Heaven OR Hell? That’s really the consequence of repentance or disobedience, isn’t it?

Why would Jesus keep a lampstand for our diminishing flicker after our wick has burnt dry?

Our Lord closes His specific cautions to the church at Ephesus with an encouragement, as so often the Letters of the Apostles encourasge us.

6 Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

Again, recall that the warnings were to a specific church with specific challenges, just like your church or my church. The works of the Nicolaitans are unknown with certainty (perhaps warning enough for false teaching).

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.’

Hear the cautions for our Church. NEXT: Smyrna
October 1, 2013
Pray also for me

I have a prayer list. If you are reading this, you probably do too.

Some of the names on mine: Lissette, Rachel, David, Ashley, Dad, Ed, Ken, Jenny, Tom, Robin, Marianna.

Please pray for these loved ones of my family.

I guess that all Christians pray for our families at times (as we ought). It’s in our own best interests, in addition to theirs. IF God blesses a family member and does not curse them, our prayer is answered (maybe not in our way, but in His).

But the truth is that most people, probably even most christians, do NOT take any time to pray for others (except out of circumstances of desperation).

Why not?

Why don’t we at least take time to pray for our family (let alone our boss or workers or neighbors or friends or our President and Congress or the hungry or homeless or one in prison or any others…)?

I suspect that most of us are too caught-up in our ‘selves.’

So it is with some hesitation that I even ask you to pray also for me.

Let’s talk about prayer briefly from the Bible. (For an in-depth study of prayer would take more time than we are willing.)

In fact: PLEASE take just a moment right NOW to STOP reading, close out the world, close your eyes, bow your head & PRAY.

amen.

What does it mean to pray?

To begin, perhaps you would like to look at a few examples: first, from the Hebrew word for pray:

God speaking to Abimelech in a dream here: Genesis 20:7 Now then, return the man’s wife,for he is a prophet, so that he will pray for you, and you shall live.

Here is a reason to NOT complain about God: Numbers 11: And the people complained in the hearing of the Lord about their misfortunes, and when the Lord heard it, his anger was kindled, and the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed some outlying parts of the camp. 2 Then the people cried out to Moses, and Moses prayed to the Lord, and the fire died down.

The story of 1 Samuel 1 shows the prayer of Hannah, the answer of the Lord and the sacrifice of thanksgiving from Hannah.

Many of the Psalms of David speak not only directly to our hearts, but also provide examples of prayer to God:

Psalm 5

Give ear to my words, O Lord;
consider my groaning.
2 Give attention to the sound of my cry,
my King and my God,
for to you do I pray.
3 O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice;
in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.

Do we do that?

Do we pray to the Lord in the morning? (Did you this morning?)

Do we even offer a small sacrifice of our mortal time?

We also know that the Priests and Prophets prayed to God on behalf of their people. In fact, we probably recall at least one Prophet also praying to God for himself.

Jonah 2: Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, 2 saying,

“I called out to the Lord, out of my distress,
and he answered me;
out of the belly of Sheol I cried,
and you heard my voice.

In ALL prayer we should see something in common:

Prayer implies conversation with God

A faithful man or woman may assume an answer from God our Father.

In the New Testament, Jesus and later the Apostles teach us to pray.

A brief look at the Greek word for pray:

Jesus sums it up perfectly in Matthew 6 (some of which we memorize & other of His instructions about prayer we sometime forget).

5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray… that they may be seen by others…

6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases… for they think that they will be heard for their many words.

8 … for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 Pray then like this:

“Our Father in heaven…

(Though your memorized words are good, Jesus was showing us HOW to ask. Pay attention to the structure of His Prayer and you will learn truly how to pray.)

Peter and the Apostles prayed before decisions [Acts 1:24], prayed before healings [Acts 6:6], prayed and fasted, prayed and sang hymns.

One of our best instructions about prayer from Paul, Silas, and Timothy:

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances;

for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Most encouraging to the churches of the first century – to all of the believers – the Letters from the Apostles and leaders of the Church are filled with references of personal prayers for individuals and prayers of thanksgiving for the church corporately as a body of believers for whom they prayed.

Colossians 1: (from Paul and Timothy)

3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 since we heard ofyour faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints…

9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding…

(I pray that ALL of our church leaders pray for us like that and also encourage us by such public praise in prayer as did Paul and Timothy.)

Do our church leaders call us to pray for each other and pray also for them?

Colossians 4:3 Pray for us, too, that God will give us many opportunities to speak about his mysterious plan concerning Christ. That is why I am here in chains.

1 Thessalonians 5:25 Dear brothers and sisters, pray for us.

2 Thessalonians 3:1 Finally, dear brothers and sisters, we ask you to pray for us.Pray that the Lord’s message will spread rapidly and be honored wherever it goes, just as when it came to you.

Hebrews 13:18 Pray for us, for our conscience is clear and we want to live honorably in everything we do.

Since I do not address you as a church, but individually as my brother or sister in our Lord Christ Jesus, I do ask that you will pray also for me.

I would ask that you pray for our Christian Social Witness and for the sharing of the Gospel through this place for your encouragement.

I will pray for you, as will others with whom you Share your COMMENTS.

Please ASK for prayer in our comments. May we add you to our prayers?

May our Lord, Christ Jesus bless you and keep you for His own until we pray with each other once again. amen.

September 28, 2013