Chase: Amen. Revelation chapter 2 verses 1 to 11. To the angel of the church in Ephesus, write, these are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. I know your deeds, your hard work, and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you. You have forsaken love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen. Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. But you have this in your favor. You hate the practice of the Nicolitans, which I also hate. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. To the angel of the church in Smyrna, write these are the words of him who is the first and the last, who died and came to life again. I know your afflictions and your poverty, yet you are rich. I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer, I tell you. The devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor's crown. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death. This is the word of God. Praise be to God. Okay, so for this summer, we decided why not tackle the hardest, most complicated, most confusing, the most thought-about book in the world, the book of Revelation. And apparently y'all are crazy enough to keep coming back. So here we are, we're in week three, and we have titled this Signs of the Times. How are we able to understand what's going on in our world today and how we as Christ followers are called to navigate whatever it is that we are facing. Now, as we said on week one, week two, now it's week three, we're going to continue to say over and over, the book of Revelation is not a secret code to figure out when Jesus is coming back. So anyone that's trying to tell you via like social media, a newsletter, or an email, I cracked the code. No, they didn't. So don't listen to them, okay? Listen to Jesus and you'll do really well in this life. Okay? They didn't crack the code, they're just lying. Anyways, blunt enough? Cool. Alright. You can tell your aunt that's from me. So It's always someone's aunt on Facebook. I don't know why. What the book of Revelation is for, it is a letter written to real people in real time, in real places, specifically the seven churches of Asia Minor. And we're gonna have a map up in a second so that you know real people, real places, real churches, but it's communicating timeless truths. We are not the primary audience, but like the rest of Scripture, we benefit from absorbing the wisdom and the guidance that Jesus hands us. Down to others, okay? So this is what we're navigating, okay? This is what the book of Revelation starts with. It starts with, honestly, an unexpected visit from Jesus down to John at the island of Patmos. It's not like John was praying, Jesus, you need to show up right now and tell me how the world ends. He was just there waiting, honestly, to die, trying to live faithfully. And Jesus shows up and says, Hey, old friend. I would love for you to write this down. As a father of the church, I would love for you to write these words down and distribute to the seven churches, and then it'll be canonized into scripture so for all time people can benefit from understanding what it is they're called to do during difficult times. So today I would like to remind us of how we endure difficult times. How we, whatever it is that we're facing, okay? Last week we talked about the persecution of the early church, specifically under Nero as the Caesar, who was just creative beyond creative, to use a nice word, on how he could persecute and kill Christians. And the one that he loved the most was to bound them up, put them on top of a pole, and then place them around his garden, around the palace, so that when it was twilight, he would light them on fire and burn them alive, because they would not. Recant that Jesus is Lord. You see, in Rome, Caesar is Lord. But the Christians were considered dangerous, not because they didn't pay taxes, not because they were violent, but because they said, Jesus is Lord, not Caesar. And they went to death on that claim. So this is who's being written to. Okay? And we said, How do we endure hard times? The Apostle Paul writes this. Therefore, we do not lose heart, though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. Let me break down something that you might not have thought of this morning. Do you know that you are one week older today than you were last week? Do you know that your body is one week older than it was last week? Here's a cheery thought. You're one week closer to death than you were last week. I'm so glad I set the alarm clock on my weekend to come here for this young guy to tell me I'm gonna die closer now. Who's here's body doesn't function as well as it did at 22? Outwardly, we are wasting away. Not just physically though. Outwardly, has anyone felt worn down by life? The job isn't fulfilling like it's supposed to. The marriage is good, but no one's making a Disney movie about it. The kids are alright, but we stay up some nights worrying about them. Anybody? Outwardly we carry wounds from this life, from this fallen world. Outwardly we are wasting away. But those who are in Christ are being renewed day by day. It is preparation for the new world to come. That no matter what is wearing you down. You are being renewed. ⁓ that sounds great. How do I understand this? Paul says, for our light and momentary troubles, and you're like, I don't think what I'm going through is very light and momentary. Watch what he's doing. He's not saying cancer is light and momentary, or divorce, or job loss, or any pain you're enduring. He's saying, in comparison to the eternal glory that outweighs them all. In comparison to what you will receive, everything you're enduring doesn't budge the scale one bit. Nothing budges the scale one iota for one fraction of a second. Compared to what you will receive in Christ, no matter the pain, the hardship, nothing will outweigh what we have in Christ. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. Change your focus. Change your eyesight. Instead of obsessing over trying to control the situation or your life or this, that focus on Jesus. Fix your eyes on Jesus. That's how we endure. This is the intro. This is what Jesus wants to communicate, not just to the seven churches, but to us. The framework is: are your eyes fixed on me? Have you been faithful to me? As we get into this, you'll see in a second. Nowhere does Jesus say, so what is your Your ⁓ giving report look like as a church? Nowhere does it say what is your attendance size, your building size? All the things we worry about so much, the metrics that Jesus cares about in a church is faithfulness to him and his word, doing what we're called to do. This is the framework. When we break down these letters, this is how we are to understand what Jesus is looking for. Okay? Now. Just again give you a little context. Here is a map. Of the seven churches that are being written to. Okay? So this is modern day Turkey, what at the time was called Asia Minor, an offset of the Roman Empire. And there's some cities on here that you probably recognize Ephesus, that's where the letter of Ephesians was written to, a church that Paul planted. ⁓ Ephesus, Ephesians makes sense. We don't have one of Laodicea. Laodicea isn't exactly one that made the cut, but Philadelphia did. Go birds, I guess. Like Philadelphia got an NFL team. Unfortunately, Pergamos did not. So there's some that you've probably heard of, most you haven't. But what we're gonna do is go through what Jesus has to say for all seven of these churches and watch the format. It repeats over and over. Jesus introduces a part of who he is. He says, Here's your strengths, here's your weakness. Here's your promise. And then he closes it out the same way over and over and over. Okay? Jesus introduces himself. This is me. This is my authority. This is why I can say these things. Here's your strength as a church. Here's your weakness as a church. Here's the promise if you are faithful to me. Okay? Now, I normally don't like to do this, but. For this occasion, just for today, feel free to kind of write yourself in to this. That if a particular church I'm discussing seems to like kind of mess with your heart particularly, allow that to be a place where you can respond, reread it, examine yourself, and say, okay, geez, where do I need to get back on track with you? Okay? Remember, it's not written to you, but you can benefit from the wisdom. So if something jumps out, let's read. Church in Ephesus, to the angel of the Church of Ephesus, write, these are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. I know your deeds, your hard work, and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardship for my name and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you. You have forsaken. Taken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen. Pause. Scripture is not very free with the exclamation points. If you read the Gospels, it says Jesus healed a leopard, period. Now the next thing. And you're like, what? He healed a leopard? That's wild. That's an exclamation point. When Scripture has an exclamation point, pay attention. Pay attention. Jesus is like, listen to me. Look how far you have fallen. Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place because you're not shining. You're not doing what I told you to do. But you have this in your favor. You hate the practice of the Nicolaitans. Nicolitans? Nicolitans, sorry. Which I also hate. Whoever has ears, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life which is in the paradise of God. Okay. Breakdown. If you're a note taker, please take notes. If you have a smartphone, please take photos, I guess. This is helpful. To understand the seven churches, the strengths, the weaknesses, and the promise. Okay? Ephesus is discerning. They're very thoughtful. They're wise. They have a strong work ethic. This is what a Christ's follower should be marked with. You should be wise. You should have a strong work ethic. You work not only for yourself, you work for God. Weakness. This is a big deal. They have forgotten their first love. They've forgotten their love. And you're like, what well. Why? Why is that a big deal? To lose your love of God sets off a ticking time bomb for the rest to collapse. Because then you're running on your talent, on your skill, on your ability to do what you're supposed to do, but you're only running on your own steam. Rather. The love of God is what transforms you and asks you to continually offer every part of you over to God. Think of it like this: offering your heart to God before anything else is what He asks for. He doesn't need your talent, He doesn't need your skill, He's not impressed with your resume, He doesn't need any of that. He wants it eventually, but The proverbial camel will come under the tent by its nose, right? And the rest will follow. Give God your heart, and the rest will follow. Withhold your heart, none will follow. Give God your heart. And if you do, according to this letter in the Ephesians. You will eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. Now, some of you who are like pretty well read, you're like, wait, wait, wait, wait, tree of life. I've read that before. Yes, you have. It's in the first chapter of your book. Remember how I said Revelation references the Old Testament over and over? In the garden, two trees in the center. Tree of life. Tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Adam and Eve fell into sin, not because they took from the tree of life, but because they took from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They chose the wrong tree. But Jesus says, if you are faithful to me and you stay in love with me, and if you give me my if give me your heart, you will eat from the tree of life, which means you will live forever. This is Old Testament speak for if you want to enter into heaven, if you want to enter into the good place and not the bad place, give me your heart. Give your heart. Nothing else will do. If you withhold everything but your heart, I know the rest will come. But if you give everything but your heart, I know it's only temporary before you want it back. Give Jesus your heart. The strength, the weakness, and the promise. Now, These ⁓ Nicolitans, they're gonna come up in another time, but let me talk about them for a hot second. So this was one of those sects that would come around S-E-C-T-S that ⁓ would come around, felt like I had to clarify that. They would come around typically after Paul planted a church. And they would say, hey, isn't Jesus awesome? And they're like, yeah, he's great. And they're like, it's so great. He's so forgiving. And you're like, yeah, he's amazing. And they're like, and he's so filled with grace. Yeah, that's awesome. Isn't it great that because he's so awesome and so full of grace, we can do what we want? And we can throw this book out and just ask for apologies later? So, what they would do is say, because you have grace in Christ, you do what you want. Sleep with who you want. Spend your money how you want. Do with your body what you want. Treat your family how you want. Because there's grace. Just say sorry. And then you're good. Which is essentially like being handed a lottery ticket and then spitting in the face of the person who gave it to you. And Jesus, as you can understand, is like, I hate this teaching too, because it undercuts truth. It undercuts his word. And he's like, do not give in to this. 2,000 years later, Diedrich Bonhoeffer, while resisting the Nazi influence in Germany, called this exact idea cheap grace. Because there were people in Germany justifying their allegiance to the Nazis by saying, I'll ask for forgiveness later if I'm wrong. How dare we? How dare anyone think that we can treat the blood of Jesus so lightly? No. No. He called it cheap grace. You don't understand what you've been given. You're spitting in the face of the one who died for you. Don't do that. Don't do that. If you've truly been bought and paid for and you know what it costs Jesus to love you and save you, you want to submit to him and his ways. That's what Jesus is railing against. And you can see how serious this idea is if it takes root. Okay. Smyrna. Had to spend a little more time on that one so you get the rhythm. Smyrna. To the angel in the church. Of the church Smyrna write, these are the words of him who is the first and the last, who died and came to life again. I know your afflictions and your poverty, yet you are rich. I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful even to the point of death, and I will give You life as your victor's crown. Whoever has ears, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death. Okay. There's a lot here. When Satan gets reference, everyone's kind of like, ooh, this is gonna interesting. We don't have time. To talk about it today, because the rhythm for this series is broad strokes. The general what's being talked about in our podcast, which I think we have a graphic for, I might have jumped the shark on that one, Amy, sorry. But if you could throw that up, this is where we're recording deep dives. What is he talking about? Why seven? Why this? Why that? That's where we can get into the specifics, okay? So you can find it on all the normal places that podcasts are found, but that's what we're doing the deep dive. But for Smyrna, let's put that back up. Of their strengths and weaknesses. Strengths. They are strong in the love of God and true teaching. They don't deal with people who are like, ⁓ actually it means this. And it's completely different than what it actually says. No, they don't deal with that. So their weakness, none. Wouldn't that be nice letter to get from Jesus? You guys are great. Keep doing what you're doing. You're whoo, all right, good letter. Love it. ⁓ man, if you're epistrich, send us some of that. Like The promise, crown of victory, that while you endure hardship. Again, fix your eyes on Jesus, and the glory you will receive will far outweigh anything you endure. So you will receive a crown of life. Pretty awesome. Speaks for itself. Pergamum, the third one. To the angel of the church in Pergamum, write, these are the words of him who has the sharp double-edged sword. I know where you live, where Satan has his throne, yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, not even In the days of Antipos, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city where Satan lives. Nevertheless, I have a few things against you. There are some among you who hold to the teachings of Balaam, who taught Balloch to entice the Israelites to sin, so they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality. Likewise, do you also have those who hold to the teachings of the Nicolaitians? We already heard about them, okay? Repent, therefore, otherwise I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit has. What the Spirit says to the church is to the one who is victorious. I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it. Strengths. They are faithful. In a hot bed of sin. They're faithful. Everything around them is sinful and they're righteous. They're holding strong. Their weakness, they put up with bad teaching. They put up with nonsense. And that nonsense at first looks okay until you realize it's leading again to sexual immorality. This is against what it says. So he's like, throw the false teachings out of there. This is why it is so critically important to know what biblical teaching is. Jesus takes it seriously. I don't want to receive a letter like this, do you? Be like, nope, nope, nope. We know what it says, and we're ready to go. False teaching, throw it out. They're not theologically wise, but Jesus comes against those false teachers and the false teachings. And when it talks about the sword of my mouth, the double-edged sword, what he's referring to is not a literal sword coming out of Jesus' mouth like some magician's trick. He's not doing that. It's that the words of Jesus pierce like a sword. The teachings of Jesus are what separates truth and lies. That it's Jesus' words that removes those who are not doing what he told them to do. And then it gets to this part about hidden manna, which you're like, okay, heard of that before. Again, the scriptures of the people receiving this letter, their scriptures were the Old Testament, right? Most famous story in the old testament for first century Jews, the Exodus. When does manna show up? After they're delivered from slavery, they're wandering the desert, and while they're in a place where they can find no refuge, no food, God provides manna for them. So he says, Hey, hey, church, I know you're in a place where you can't find any food. I'll provide for you a way to stay righteous and holy. Are you seeing the connection? For you, you may think, that's like my family. That's like my office. That's like my friend group. I'm the only Christian there. No one around me is living for Christ. And God says, I see you, and I will provide manna for you to endure in that place where you don't find any other providence. And then their great reward for enduring the hot bed of sin is they get a rock. But it's a white rock, so that's kind of cool. To which they're like, can I have like the tree of life? Or like the crown sounded pretty cool. Like, can I have that instead? Again, this was written to specific people who would have known what this meant. Because in ancient times, if you came before a judge, if you crime, like if crimes were pressed against you, you came before the judge, the judge would make his ruling. And you know if you were guilty or innocent based on the stone the judge gave you. A black stone meant guilty, but a white stone meant innocent. So what Jesus is saying is the judge of the universe, the one who determines your fate for eternity, if you remain faithful to him, will give you a white stone. You are innocent. I don't know about you, but I would cling to that stone. You mean I get to live in heaven forever? Yes. I don't have a black stone? No. But about all the things I did, you're innocent in Christ. You accepted Christ into your heart. But all the horrible things, innocent, white as snow. You've been found innocent, not because of your good works or not because of your worst sin, but because of what Christ has done for you. And you said, I throw myself on his mercy. Everything I've ever done, I am covered in the blood of Christ. Only he stands before me and God, and he says he's innocent because I've covered him. The white stone. Next one. To the angel of the church in Thyatira, write, these are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire, whose feet are like burnished bronze. I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and your perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first. ⁓ good for them. Nevertheless, I have this against you. You tolerate that woman, Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching, she misleads my servants into sexual immorality in the Eating of food sacrificed to idols. I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. I will strike her children dead, then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds. Now I say this to the rest of you. To you who do not hold to her teachings and have not learned Satan's so-called deep secrets, I will not impose any other burden on you except to hold on to what you have until I come. To though to the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations. That one will rule them with an iron scepter and will dash them to pieces like pottery. Just as I have received authority from my father, I will also give that one. Of the morning star. Whoever has ears, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. Alright, this is a fun one. Strengths. They're getting better. They're not where they used to be, they're not where they should be, but they're getting better. Yay! Woo-hoo! All of us should be in that place, right? That's a strength. I'm here. I'm growing in my faith. I'm not where I used to be, but I'm not where I should be either. So I'm growing in my faith. And Jesus is like, I see that, I acknowledge that. That's great. That's awesome. Only problem is you're dealing with false teaching that's leading to sexual immorality. Now, Jezebel, let's talk about Jezebel for a second. Not a good baby name if you're got pregnant with a girl. No, don't do that one. That's not good. Jezebel, again, is a callback to the Old Testament, specifically under the time of Elijah. And Jezebel was a woman who was married to the king who led the Israelites astray by worshiping other gods, specifically by breaking the sexual ethic that was handed down. ⁓ you don't need to worry about all that. You don't need to do that. And g and he's like, this woman has no authority. Do not listen to the teachings of someone else other than Jesus. Do not listen to an imposter who has no real authority. Do not tolerate it. It's not like Jesus is saying, hey, there's a woman who attends your church named Jezebel. Yeah, she's in the third row. Get her out of here. No, no, no, not a real thing. He's talking about the ideology, the thinking, because man, that'd be an awkward day in church for Jezebel that you're just like, I didn't even pick my name. I just showed up here one time. What does that mean for us? Because as soon as we hear sexual immorality, everyone gets quiet. And everyone gets quiet because we want Jesus to gang up on someone else's. But I believe it's incredibly aphical right here when Jesus says, first remove the plank in your own eye before you remove the speck in your brother's. And when it comes to this issue, the church is terrible at that. We don't look inward. We look outward. They're more broken than I am. Their version of sexual brokenness is worse than mine. Did you notice that nowhere does Jesus say, hey, Smyrna, here's what's going on with that other church. He writes to that church to deal with their problem, just as he comes to us to address our problem. So before we're quick to throw stones, look inward. Look inward. That's what Jesus is saying. Look inward before you throw that stone. Look inward before you cast someone out from God's grace. Look inward and examine where have I fallen short of the glory of God? Because each of us has. Before we throw those stones, again, remember Jesus, who comforted the woman caught in adultery, and says, Whoever has sin cast the first stone. And no one throws it, but then he also says, Now go and sin no more. He says both. He says both to you. He says both to me. He says both to every person that you think is outside of God's grace, because it's different than yours. Look inward first. That's all I have to say about that. The promise: if you stay strong and don't bow down to false teaching or the immorality of this world that's trying to prop itself up on fake authority, you will be given authority from God to rule over the nations. What a wonderful promise. Those who've entrusted with little will be given much. This is what's happening here. Sardis, let's just keep chugging right along. To the angel of the church of Sardis, write, These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds, and you have a reputation of being alive, but you're dead. Wake up. There's the exclamation point again. Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard. Hold it fast and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come. Come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you. Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me dressed in white, for they are worthy. The one who is victorious will like them be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my father and his angels. Whoever has ears, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. Okay, Sardis, ⁓ not much of a strength. The best thing you got going for you, Sardis, is people think you're alive. Ooh. That's rough. That's rough. Like if Jesus came up to you and you're like, Jesus, what's what am I doing well? ⁓ hmm. You've convinced a lot of people you're doing really good, but you're not. Ooh, that's not a great one. So he says, you have a reputation of being alive, but you're not. You're dead. And he says, if you don't wake up, you won't be ready. Again, over and over and over, Book of Revelation, the gospel says the same thing over and over and over. It's not about figuring out when Jesus comes back so you're ready. It's about being ready today, as if Jesus is coming back today. So be ready. The promise for those who have not given in and become dirty by abdicating Jesus, by walking away. By not pretending to have the outside altogether, but the inside is dead. Those who said, I am a mess, and I am broken, and I need help, and I need grace, and I need forgiveness. Anyone like that in here? Nobody? Nobody needs grace? Nobody feels broken? There we go. Every day. I was getting real nervous for a second. For this might be our letter. If you are willing to say I'm broken, my life is broken, I'm not perfect, and I'm not ashamed to say it because I'm more broken than I am trying to cover it up. I'm willing to be undignified in my brokenness if Jesus would come and heal me. That's when Jesus says, That's when you're alive. When you stop pretending that you have it all together. That's when he's like, Finally, I can do something with you. Can't do anything with the person who has it all together because they think they don't need me. It's when we realize how broken we are that he's like, finally we can go. And for those, this is the promise, who have not given in and become dirty by pretending to be Christ's followers, but are not, because you've never really given your heart to Jesus. He says, if you do that, if you give your heart to Jesus, your name will be written in the book of life forevermore. Even with all the sins I've done, yes, yes, that's the goodness of God. It's about what he's done in you and you acknowledging you need him. Philadelphia. Go birds. Except for you Cowboys fans in here. To the angel of the church in Philadelphia, right, these are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens, no one can shut. What he shuts, no one can open. I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. And I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan who claim to be Jews, though they are not, they are liars. I will make them come and fall down at your feet. And acknowledge that I have loved you. Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth. I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. The one who is victorious, I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God. I will also write on them my new name. Whoever has ears, let them hear from the Spirit says to the churches. Philadelphia. Okay. The city of brotherly love. Here we go. Strength. Although they are weak and small, they are strong. So what's their weakness? None. Jesus is not critiquing them for being small. Jesus is not critiquing them for having no money. Jesus is not critiquing them for being weak and not having influence in their city. All the things that we think we should look for in a church to be successful, Jesus like, I'm not looking for that. If that stuff comes, great. But the first metric I'm looking for is: are you faithful whether you're big or small? Are you faithful whether you're strong or weak? Are you faithful whether you have a massive budget or two bucks? Are you faithful? ⁓ then that could be anybody. Yes, it can. All of us can be Philadelphia. All of us can be that church. There's nothing he holds against them. I know you're small and you're doing great. Whew, great letter to get. Now Their reward, their promise is they will be made into a pillar in the temple of God, which again kind of falls in line with the white stone. You're like, cool, I kind of wanted the crown. The tree of life sounded great too. Why am I getting this second rate reward? You know, I don't know about you, but I was like, I'm not really. When I think about heaven, I'm not like, make me a pillar. Like, that sounds great. You know, that's not what I'm shooting for. But again, you have to understand antiquity. In antiquity, when a massive building project was undertaken, they would have to take donations from wealthy citizens. And then when the temple or the building project was complete, they would chisel in the name of these major contributors, their name into the column. We do this today. Someone gives a large amount to a charity, they'll rename part of the building after them. Someone gives to a hospital, they'll name a wing after them. We do the same thing. But Jesus is saying, if you are faithful to me, And you're small and weak by the world's eyes, that's strong in the kingdom of God. It's so strong I can build a temple out of it. I can make it a column out of that kind of faith. And I'll chisel your name on it so that everyone that walks through is like, wow, Philadelphia. We have no idea how 12 people maybe. Those 12 people were so strong, the temple of God was made out of their faith. Wouldn't you want that said about you? I would love that said about us. We were strong. It didn't matter the world's metrics and God's metrics. We were strong because we were faithful. Now, Laodicea, we saved the best for last. All right. Laodicea didn't get an NFL team, but maybe an expansion team at some point we'll get Laodicea. All right. To the angel of the church in Laodicea write, these are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation. I know your deeds, and you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other. So because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. Now, I did have to get talked out of a prop idea. that I was gonna have Chase up here and we had some water but we we nixed it, we nixed it. So I just really want you to stick with that image. So I won't brother. The reason you are neither hot nor cold is you say, I'm rich. I've acquired wealth and do not need a thing. But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked. Ease up, Jesus. But he's being honest. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire so you can become rich. And white clothes to wear so you can cover your shameful nakedness and salve to put on your eyes so you can see those whom I love, I rebuke and discipline. Pause right there. Every letter, except for maybe one or two, is like, ouch, Jesus. Where's my cuddly Jesus who calms the storm and is always with me? Because this is this feels, mmm, this is tough. But that sentence right there should be the filter in which you read all these letters. Those I love, I rebuke, and discipline. Are there any parents in the room? Whose kids do you discipline more? Yours or someone else's? Right. Why? You're responsible. You love them. Right? It'd be kinda weird if you disciplined the neighbors' kids more than your own. Probably would have to move. There'd be a restraining order at some point, I'm sure. But you discipline your children. Because you love them. I've shared this story before, but it's worth repeating. When Austin was small, probably two years old, Melissa and I would tell him, hey, play in the driveway, not the street. Where did he want to play? The street. And when he would make his way towards it, we'd be like, stop, stop, calmly, always calmly first. Always. Don't, don't, and then when he get closer, we'd get louder. What happened when a car came? Were we immobile and we're like, Austin, Austin, the four-wheelers come and like what loving parent sits by as their kid gets crushed by a car? You'd say that is not a parent, and that's not love. The loving parent sprints to their child, yanks them out of the street, and endures all the hitting and kicking on the process of going back to safety. Right? Does the child understand what's going on? No. Because they want what they want. Jesus Christ is here saying, You're my children. That should stir something in you. I see you as mine. I'm responsible for you. You're my son, you're my daughter, and because you're my son, my daughter, I love you so much, not just to save you on the cross and be like, all right, they're set, they're done. I will parent you and rebuke you and discipline you because I love you. Because the things you want as a two-year-old Christian are not good for you. That's why when we read these letters, we're like, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch. It's rebuking us from ourselves. It's not that Jesus is like, never have fun. I'm here to ruin everything. He's like, I'm trying to save you from the car crash. And I love you enough for you to be mad at me until you grow up enough to see, ⁓ that's why I couldn't play in the street. That's why I couldn't just do whatever I wanted. That's why your word says this. Out of love, he rebukes us. So be earnest and repent. Here I am. I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on the throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my father on his throne. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. Laodicea. Strengths. None. Rough letter. Weakness. They're apathetic and prideful. They're self-reliant because they depend on their earthly wealth more than Jesus and his spirit. And they're lukewarm. Those are just symptoms. Being apathetic, prideful, and lukewarm are symptoms of the problem. The problem is they're not on fire for Jesus. That's the problem. Anyone ever had ⁓ lukewarm food? ⁓ you know? It was supposed to be cold, now it's lukewarm. It was supposed to be hot, now it's lukewarm. Yeah, just not as good. Friends, Jesus rebukes lukewarm faith. Why? He's like, I'd rather you be cold, because if you were cold, you know you're not hot. But if you're lukewarm, you can convince yourself, I'm I'm warm enough. I'm hot enough. I go to church enough. I pray enough. Like, lukewarm will not cut it. It will not. Do you know, friends, why you really shouldn't eat lukewarm food that's been sitting out for a while? It's the only food that grows bacteria. The same is true of churches. Same is true. Lukewarm churches grow bacteria because the church was never called to be lukewarm. How did the church start? We talked about this a few weeks ago. Was it lukewarm fire from heaven? Here you go. Go be nice. It was fire that consumed the saints and the apostles to go out into the streets. It wasn't lukewarm, it was white hot. If you're cold, you at least know I'm not white hot. Lukewarm, you can convince yourself. Do not be lukewarm. Friends, I I said this in the first service. I didn't plan on saying it, but I'm gonna say it again. I don't want to live a lukewarm life, do you? I don't want to get to the end of this life, and at my funeral, my kids get up there and say, you know, dad was really lukewarm. It was awesome. He didn't keep he he was there sometimes, but not always. Like it's pretty great. I don't want that said. Do you? I don't want my kids to have to lie at my funeral. he meant to get around to it and he meant to live for Christ, but he did his best. No, I need Austin and Hannah to be like: Dad was up reading the scriptures. Dad was praying with us. He served. He was generous. He didn't have to tell us we saw it. We lived it. That's what it meant to be a Christ follower. He didn't have to even use his words. Preach the gospel always, and necessary, use words. Live your life in such a way that it is white hot and evident that you love Jesus Christ, not in a way that's holier than thou. Watch me on this one. Don't be the weirdo. I don't need a letter from Brooks Compton saying, hey, someone from your church is bugging everyone at graders with a sign. I don't need that. No, we don't need that. We don't need that reputation. That's a letter I don't want. What we need is to understand that we have been saved by grace, and that should change our lives from the inside out. That we parent differently, we treat our spouses differently, we treat our money differently. We treat everything, our friends differently, everything differently. We live in such a way that when the world is freaking out, we have peace beyond understanding. You think they're not gonna pay attention to that? Live in such a way that when everyone is angry trying to destroy each other all the time, we're like, I love my enemies and I pray for them. Why do you give money away in a recession? It's not mine. It's not mine, it's God's. Someone needs it more than I do. That's a transformed heart. That is on fire, white hot faith. Lukewarm will never convince your co-worker to go to coffee with you. Lukewarm is not inspiring. Hey, do you want to be milk toast like me? It's pretty great. No. Again, don't be the weirdo, but be the person in your friend's phone that when they get a cancer diagnosis, their child is leaving the house. Their spouse says, I'm done. That they say, I need my Jesus friend. I need the person who's tethered to something. I need what they've got. That's not obnoxious. That's hope in a dark world. Lukewarm's not gonna cut it. It's just not. White hot. White hot. And if that's us, let's look inward and ask for more of Jesus. I need more. I want to be white hot. Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief. Book of James says anyone who lacks should go to the Father who gives generously. If you want more, ask for more. So the promise, Jesus comes, he's like, stop, stop this. Stop this lukewarm nonsense. Stop this. Take aside. Repent. Become zealous again. Light your heart on fire. Again. Don't be the weirdo. I feel like I really have to say that. But Live white, hot, trusting in him. And if you do that, he says, if you do that, when you go into eternity, when you enter into heaven, Jesus is gonna be there and say, Hey, hey, hey, that's not your seat. Come on, that's not your seat. You're up here with me. You're sitting by the throne. Who wouldn't not only want to get up to heaven, but when you're in heaven, Jesus says, ⁓ we got a spot for you. Right up here. That's an open invitation to all believers. All believers can come forward and receive sitting beside Jesus on the throne. Friends, it is difficult to be a Christian today. It is. It is tempting to go out into the world and try and find a home or identity in something other than Christ. And gonna end this longer sermon, not with scripture, but with like the next step down. The Lord of the Rings. There's a scene in Lord of the Rings ⁓ between Frodo and Gandalf when Frodo really realizes the weight of having the ring and it is the embodiment of all evil and and everything malice, and he's like, I don't want to deal with this. And in the books it happens in the Shire still, but the movies, Peter Jackson moved it to the minds of Moria, but whatever, I didn't film it, so it's okay. Anyways, in the scene, Frodo is really realizing what it means that he's been called to. He's like, I don't want to do this. I don't want to do this. I don't want to go through this hard stuff. And he says, I wish the ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened. And Gandalf says, so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. Let us pray. Jesus, if we're honest, we didn't ask for this. Jesus, if we're honest, we wanted eternal life or peace. Forgiveness. I don't know anyone that signed up to be like, yeah, I'll be the outcast. Yeah, I'll go be lukewarm. That sounds great. Jesus. We are wrestling with this, with what it means to live faithful in this world, what it means to be homeless in this world, because this home, this world is not our home. We don't fit in here. The world has gone dark, and you tell us to shine as light. We stand out. That's hard. That's really hard. Like if we took that seriously, it's impossible. But you tell us you're with us. You're the only God that comes down the mountain to be with the worshipers, rather than the worshipers having to go up to the mountain. You're the God that meets us in our pain and our suffering and our questions. They don't intimidate you. They don't bother you. You see us not as servants, but as friends, and even more as sons and daughters. That this is a good word, even if it's difficult, because you love us and you trust us. We're your plan A to bring hope to this world. But we need you. We need your spirit to move in us, then go out into the world and be light, be hope for those in need. Lord, we love you. We thank you. And all God's people said. Amen. Friends, let us stand, let us sing with as much faith as we have. Start where you are, not as you should be, and lift your voice to Jesus, asking for more. Let us worship.