PowerPoint Presentation
Imagine for just one moment that Jesus walked into GEFC this
morning. Let your imagination run wild for a moment and imagine
that He spent a few weeks with us, not as a teacher in our midst,
but as an observer. You walk into your ABF class and see the most
intimating look on Jim Masons face, because Jesus is sitting in the
first row. Carl Brinkmann is looking a bit out of sorts as well.
Jesus walked up to him in the Foyer and said, Im looking forward to
your teaching next week. Its going to be a long week for Carl. Nate
has that deer in the head-lights look during Worship. The Worship
Team is more self-conscious that weve ever seen them. Do I smile
when I sing, or is that too showy? Some folks are adjusting their
clothes. Others are looking down. Its hard to look up and make eye
contact with Jesus. No matter where he looks, you feel like hes
looking at you and through you.Sunday night at the Gilmores house
and everyone is gathered the Sommers, the Alexanders, the Gilmores,
the Gilsons and the rest of the group. Including Jesus. Everybodys
a bit scared to speak. There are fewer opinions expressed. Those
who do share are a bit less self-assured and more grace-filled.
Jesus is warm loving but uncomfortably in the back seat.Tuesday
morning Jesus shows up at Staff Meeting. I offer Him my desk
because I feel incredibly uncomfortable sitting in the seat of
authority with Jesus in the room. But He carried a metal folding
chair in and He is content to sit in that scratched uncushioned
seat, and waits for me to lead the gathering. The professional
talker in the room finds himself without words.At the end of three
very wondrous and wondrously intimidating weeks, we receive a
letter from Jesus. Its an honest letter. It contains words of
praise and comfort. It also contains some hard to hear criticisms.
Perhaps the hardest to read is his word for our future if certain
things dont change, our church will someday in the not so distant
future close its doors.1
Sounds pretty implausible, but that is exactly what happened to
seven churches in the Roman province of Asia Minor, in what we call
the country of Turkey. Jesus observed the ministry of seven
churches. He probed deeply into the very heart and soul of each
church. For two blessed churches, He had nothing bad to say. There
was one church for which He had no word of commendation, just
stinging rebuke. And then there were four churches that are
probably more like where we would find ourselves receiving both
expressions of affirmation and expressions of deep concern. Seven
churches. Two passed the Jesus test with flying colors. One failed
miserably. And 4 got a grade of C Jesus will probably never write a
letter to GEFC. However, he has provided for us all seven of the
letters that he did write. These letters written by the Alpha and
Omega, the risen Son of God, contain practical advice that is
transferable to our 21st century American church context. Over the
course of the next 7 weeks we are going to examine those letters
closely. Our short-term goal will be to learn from every word of
commendation and every hard word of criticism and apply them to our
context. Our longer term goal will be to gain ground in areas of
weakness and become more like those two churches that brought
nothing but joy to Jesus heart.
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First ExhortationDont Miss Jesus in the Book of Revelation
The first point that I would like to share is in the form of an
exhortation, or if you prefer, an encouragement: Dont miss Jesus in
the Book of Revelation.
The seven letters are recorded for us in the book of Revelation.
The apostle John wrote down these revelations around 95 A.D. So
that makes the book of Revelation the last written book in the New
Testament. At this point, to the best of our knowledge, the other
apostles have all died a martyrs death. John was probably one of
the youngest of Jesus band of disciples and Jesus alluded to the
fact that he may well allow John to remain. These letters and the
rest of what is recorded in this book may be an important part of
the why behind that decision. Jesus saw something in John that made
him particularly well-suited to receive these letters and other
revelations. His youth may have also been a factor. These were
revelations that would be received decades after the destruction of
the Temple. This was a message that the Lord wanted delivered as
the church was about to step into the next century.
Let me share some of the background in Revelations chapter 1
that sets up the letters that we will be focusing on. We learn in
chapter 1 that John receives the contents of this book through both
visions and angelic pronouncements.
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Revelation 11The revelation of Jesus Christ, which Godgave himto
show to his servants the things that must soon take place.He made
it known by sending his angel to his servantJohn,
Look with me at the opening verses of chapter 1:1 The revelation
of Jesus Christ, which Godgave himto show to his servants the
things that must soon take place.He made it known by sending his
angel to his servantJohn,4
Revelation 12who bore witness to the word of God and tothe
testimony of Jesus Christ, evento all that he saw.
2who bore witness to the word of God and tothe testimony of
Jesus Christ, evento all that he saw.5
Revelation 13Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of
this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is
written in it,for the time is near.
3Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy,
and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in
it,for the time is near.
So John proclaims both what he saw, a reference to his visions
of heaven and future events, and what was sent to him by an angelic
messenger. It is so easy to get caught up in the fantastic, awesome
and even terrifying aspects of this book that we could easily miss
the essential first words that this is a revelation of Jesus
Christ. Commentator David Guzik offers this wise counsel:
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If we catch everything else, but miss Jesus in the book, we have
missed the Book of Revelation.
If we catch everything else, but miss Jesus in the book, we have
missed the Book of Revelation.
I think that this observation is an essential lesson for each of
us. If we read the whole Bible cover to cover 10 times and miss
JesusIf we memorize 250 verses and miss JesusIf we pray for an hour
each day and miss JesusIf we spend the better part of our week at
church and Christian events and miss JesusThere are so many good
and godly things that we can do and still we can miss Jesus. This
is the story of five of the seven churches that Jesus wrote to. It
is to some degree the story of every local church. And when we look
at our own walk with God its our individual story as well. Jesus is
a revealer. Behind the Book of Revelation is Jesus the Revealer of
truth and His desire that we would focus on Him and on our Heavenly
Father.
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Revelation 11aThe revelation of Jesus Christ, which Godgave
himto show to his servants the things that must soon take place/ en
tachei
We also need to come to terms with this idea that these are
events that must soon take place. Obviously, we stand on the other
side of two millennia of history. Many of the events in the Book of
Revelation have not yet transpired. Solomons Temple has not been
rebuilt. The Anti-Christ has not yet manifested himself. The
cataclysmic judgments that destroy much of the earth have yet to
happen. So how could it be said that these things must soon take
place.The Greek words en tachei translated quickly come to pass do
not necessarily indicate something that will take place imminently.
Rather, it indicates that once the event begins, it will unfold
rapidly. In essence, we have been on the precipice of the end-times
events for a very long time. However, when these final events start
to take place they will unfold with relentless speed.
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Second ExhortationDont miss the love of Jesus for the lost in
the Book of Revelation.
In keeping with Guziks challenge that we not miss Jesus, lets
look at the next several verses in Revelation chapter 1 where the
apostle John takes great effort to make sure that we not miss who
Jesus was and what he did for us, which is my second
exhortation:
Dont Miss the Love of Jesus for the lost in the Book of
Revelation
Turn with me to Revelation 1:4-8:
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Revelation 14John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace
to you and peace fromhimwho is andwho was and who is to come, and
fromthe seven spirits who are before his throne,
4John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and
peace fromhimwho is andwho was and who is to come, and fromthe
seven spirits who are before his throne,10
Revelation 15and from Jesus Christthe faithful witness,the
firstborn of the dead, andthe ruler of kings on earth. Tohim who
loves us andhas freed us from our sins by his blood
,5and from Jesus Christthe faithful witness,the firstborn of the
dead, andthe ruler of kings on earth.Tohim who loves us andhas
freed us from our sins by his blood11
Revelation 16and made us kingdom,priests tohis God and Father,
to him beglory anddominion forever and ever. Amen.
6and made us kingdom,priests tohis God and Father, to him
beglory anddominion forever and ever. Amen.12
Revelation 17Behold,he is coming with the clouds, andevery eye
will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the
earth will wailon account of him. Even so. Amen.
7Behold,he is coming with the clouds, andevery eye will see him,
even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wailon
account of him. Even so. Amen.13
Revelation 18I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God,who
is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.
8I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God,who is and who
was and who is to come, the Almighty.
One thing that we cant easily miss in these verses is the
repeating language that Jesus is the one who was and is and is to
come. The eternality of Jesus is something we dare not miss. Our
salvation rests upon his sinless perfection and his eternal nature.
Because he is spotless, He can be both priest and lamb. And because
He is the eternal Alpha and Omega, he can offer a benefit that no
lamb or ram could, an enduring sacrifice throughout the ages. And
because he is the firstborn from the dead he can offer to us the
gift of eternal life. The uniqueness of Jesus nature explains the
uniqueness of His sacrifice and why it is that only He can bring
salvation to mankind.Another truth that I hope we never miss is the
love of Jesus for all the lost. He shed his blood freely, motivated
by a love for lost humanity. And He is coming again out of a love
for all humanity. His return is motivated by a love for the Jewish
race. Those who ordered His piercing are uniquely in His heart. But
His return is not only for the lost of Israel. He is coming to
redeem all the tribes of the earth. All will have an opportunity to
accept and embrace the love of the pierced Savior and experience
freedom in Him.In this book that contains harsh judgments that
result in the deaths of many we could easily miss the love of
Jesus. That is why John is so careful to front-load this book with
a clear statement of the motivation behind these revelations and
judgments the love of Christ. Jesus will deal with evil. He will
not just manage evil, but He will eradicate it. He will not just
contain the devil He will imprison him forever in the Lake of Fire.
Some today reflect the Rolling Stones song Sympathy for the devil.
They push back on this idea that a just or loving God would condemn
the devil and demons and unrepentant sinners to Hell. In essence,
they want the kingdom of glory without the dominion. There is one
thought that has given me peace about Gods final judgment. When I
read that Jesus sacrificed His blood in order that we might be
freed of sin and have a share in Gods glorious kingdom I see how
far God was willing to do to redeem the redeemable. If the devil
and the demons were redeemable as well, I truly believe that Jesus
would have died for them too. But there is no redemptive plan that
is set in motion when Satan and the demons defect. That tells me
that the all-wise God knew that they were beyond redemption.I dont
fully know why they are beyond redemption. But this much I do know
I have yet to meet a person who is not redeemable and loved by God.
I am not saying that all will be saved. Rather, I am saying that
they are savable that there is a terrible wasted opportunity when a
sinner dies outside of the benefit of Jesus sacrifice. As we read
these letters and warnings to churches let us not miss the heart
and love of Jesus who desires that all would be saved and come to a
knowledge of the truth. 14
Third ExhortationDont miss the love of Jesus for the church in
the Book of Revelation.
Let me share just one more exhortation:
Dont miss the love of Jesus for the church in the Book of
RevelationThe remainder of this chapter contains a powerful vision.
I dont want to water down the impact of this vision with a series
of running comments that break it up. I am also concerned that the
words on the screen may actually work against fully entering into
this text. So, let me read the remainder of this chapter as a
seamless robe. And let me encourage you to close your eyes as I
read and try to imagine what John saw:
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9I, John, your brother andpartner inthe tribulation andthe
kingdom andthe patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the
island called Patmoson account of the word of God and the testimony
of Jesus.10I was in the Spiriton the Lord's day, and I heard behind
me a loud voicelike a trumpet11saying, Write what you see in a book
and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to
Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to
Laodicea. 12Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me,
and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands,13and in the midst of
the lampstandsone likea son of man,clothed with a long robe andwith
a golden sash around his chest. 14The hairs of his head were white,
like white wool, like snow.His eyes were like a flame of fire,15his
feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, andhis voice
was like the roar of many waters.16In his right hand he held seven
stars,from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, andhis face was
like the sun shiningin full strength. 17When I saw him, I fell at
his feet as though dead. Buthe laid his right hand on
me,saying,Fear not,I am the first and the last,18and the living
one.I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, andI have the keys
of Death and Hades.19Write thereforethe things that you have seen,
those that are and those that are to take place after this.20As for
the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand,
andthe seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of
the seven churches, andthe seven lampstands are the seven
churches.
Now, lets talk about this vision for a few minutes. I suspect
that there were some parts of this reading that evoked a clear
image in your mind. Wouldnt it be amazing if we could have a
powerpoint slide that would show us what John saw when he described
this One who was clothed in a long robe with a golden sash, whose
hair was the whitest white, whose eyes were like flames of fire and
whose skin was like polished bronze? I am sure that there was a
picture in your mind and I am sure that whatever you pictured, it
falls short of what the glorified Jesus really looks like. But Im
going to venture another guess. I bet that when you heard names
like Patmos, Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, and
Laodicea you drew a blank. And when you heard of Philadephia you
may not have drawn a blank, but the image in your head was totally
wrong! Over the course of the next few weeks I want to draw an
accurate picture of these places and the people who lived there. I
want us to have a real picture of these churches. What were their
strengths? What were their weaknesses? What were they up against?
What can we learn from them? Well start drawing that picture next
week as we look at Ephesus. But this week, I want to draw just one
picture for you. Its not a picture of any of the 7 churches, but
rather a picture of the place where John was exiled to, the Island
of Patmos.
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Here is a picture of Patmos today. It is a destination of Greek
luxury cruises. There are beautiful Mediterranean beaches. Patmos
is now a playground of the rich and famous. But in Johns day, it
was a lot more like Alcatraz. 17
Dave Guzik says that:The island was rich in marble, and most of
the prisoners were forced laborers in marble quarries.Patmoswas a
rocky, desolate island about 10 miles long and 6 miles wide.
Lutheran Pastor Joseph Seiss, describes what he saw in the
beginning of the 20th century before any of the modern development
of Patmos:Less than a year ago I passed that island. It is a mere
mass of barren rocks, dark in colour and cheerless in form. It lies
out in the open sea, near the coast of Western Asian Minor. It has
neither trees nor rivers, nor any land for cultivation, except some
little nooks between the ledges of rocks.
Imagine what John must have experienced after years and years of
looking at this barren terrain, when suddenly he saw a vision of
the glories of heaven and the fully glorified Jesus! But notice
that a prominent part of this vision of seven stars and seven
lampstands. We are told that the seven lampstands represent the
seven churches. And Jesus tells John the meaning of the seven stars
they represent the angels of those seven churches. Some Bible
interpreters suggest that these angels or messengers are the
pastors of these seven churches. However, stars are used in the
Bible to depict angels, not pastors. 18
Isaiah 14:12How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the
morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You
who have weakened the nations!
For example, when Lucifer fell, Isaiah describes this event with
these words:"How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the
morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You
who have weakened the nations! (Isaiah 14:12)
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This star imagery and its use in Revelation 1:20 opens up an
interesting question: Were these churches especially blessed to
have a guardian angel or does God extend this angelic protection to
every true church? In other words, is there an angel whose primary
responsibility is to look out for the churches of Geneseo, or even,
in particular, GEFC? I dont believe that we can answer this
question decisively. However, there is a true principle that we can
assert. Jesus deeply loves his church and uses angels, at times, to
safeguard and protect them.I cant help but think of the old
chorus:We are standing on Holy Ground and we know that there are
angels all around.Against the drab backdrop of the Isle of Patmos,
Jesus, the revelator, revealed His glory, His majesty, His power,
His love for the lost, and His love for the church. In fact, he
loved the church too much to let it become less than it was called
to be His precious bride. That is what we are going to explore over
the next 7 weeks Jesus love for His bride, and I will do my best to
help us come to know these churches and not miss Jesus.
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