As we seek God’s wisdom as to how we honor him, not only on Tuesday, but our entire lives, we need the proverbial “big picture.” And the big picture is that this is not about God and America. This is about God. Everything is about God and his glory. The big deal is not you, not me, not our country, not this coming election, not supreme court justices. The big deal is a holy God and his glory and his sovereign rule over the affairs of men.
And many have lost sight of that.
(Psalm 11:4 ESV) The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD’s throne is in heaven; his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man.
(Micah 1:2 ESV) Hear, you peoples, all of you; pay attention, O earth, and all that is in it, and let the Lord GOD be a witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple.
(Habakkuk 2:20 ESV) But the LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him.
Some things are too plain to see because we refuse to face the reality of this world as presented in the word of God. We don’t see what we need to see because we have turned our eyes to ourselves, the “little picture.” And often we do not hear what we need to hear because we do not see the personal benefit to our lives. In our “little picture” of life God is not above all and over all. Instead of “he who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches,” our attention has been diverted to all manner of media, whether right or left, liberal or conservative, Christian or non-Christian, who either do not know or have forgotten that this whole thing is about God. All about God. From before the creation of this world to long after this world becomes an annal in the history of God’s grand and glorious plan.
So how do we see these things that are sometimes too plain to see. How do we make sense of the seemingly unprecedented events of our country and our world?
The Bible. There is no other choice. If this is all about God, and if we want to make sense of this world, then shouldn’t we reference the Book that gives the only accurate account? The only reference that honors God as God and gives him the glory due his name. This is not about God and America. This is about God, the King of glory.
So let’s look to our Bibles and approach the conflict in a way that honors him.
I know your troubles and your great poverty (even though you are rich in my eyes). I know that you are slandered by those who should be your brothers. I too have felt the brunt of lies and the hate of unjust accusations from those who profess to be the people of God, but who, in reality, serve Satan.
So listen very carefully to the eternal One. You will not be able to understand what I am about to tell you, or understand life at all, not your life, not the life of your church, not anyone’s life, if you do not understand these things in the context of eternity. Your life here, brief as it is, is set in eternity, and is significant within my eternal plan and purpose. This perspective will free you to see the events of your life through the truth of God and his word. I am telling you this to prepare your heart for faithful service to Me.
Message: “Smyrna: The Poor, Rich Church!” Message Text: Revelation 2:8-11
I am learning in this study to pay closer attention to how Jesus Christ identifies himself to each church before he gives them his evaluation. Here is how his communication in Revelation comes to us. Jesus Christ speaks, John writes it down and the Spirit speaks to the seven churches, and eventually to us. We have already seen also, that John was commanded to write down everything he saw, and that too was to be delivered to the seven churches.
So how did Christ identify himself to the church at Ephesus?
(Revelation 2:1 ESV) 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.”
When Jesus Christ identifies himself as the one talking, he describes himself differently to each church, but there is a common denominator: In some way he makes sure that they know that he knows what is going on in the life of that church. He tells them directly—“I know”—and then goes on in his evaluation. With the Ephesian church he develops this even more.
He has intimate knowledge of the life and the people of the church at Ephesus because he walks among the churches, surveying the landscape, taking the pulse, evaluating. Picture that for a moment, Christ visiting western Illinois and walking among the churches here.
We remember from Revelation 1:20 that the lampstands are the seven churches. But what does that mean? The lampstand was not the light, but the light holder. This is important. Two things: 1) The light is not the lampstand. The light, or lamp, is placed on the lampstand. 2) If there is no lampstand, then there is no place to put the light. If Christ removes their lampstand, he effectively removes the light of his presence from them.
Merriam-Webster’s dictionary tells us that a lampstand is a pillar, a tripod, or stand for supporting or holding a lamp. The churches were the light holders, lamp holders, vessels from which God would illumine himself, where he would place his light, his holy illumination, his holy fire. God would set his glory on the lampstand to illuminate the world around, to bring clarity, to pierce the darkness.
That is what light does. It clarifies, pierces the darkness, pushes away the shadows, allows us to see more clearly, removes ambiguity and gives us certainty about the truth of God and his word.
Let me give an example from the same author. The same John of the Revelation writes in 1 John:
(1 John 5:13 ESV) I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.
That you may know. Clarity. In SS some time back we discussed the perspicuity of God in his word. Perspicuity refers to clearness of style or exposition, freedom from obscurity; something clearly expressed or presented; lucid, acute perception. God doesn’t stutter. He plainly speaks his truth to us in his word so we can know what we need to know.
So then if our purpose as a church is to be a lampstand from which God sheds his light onto the world, and if the purpose of the light is to clarify who he is and his creation of this world and the rebellion of humankind and the need for the forgiveness of sins and his eternal plan of salvation only through Jesus Christ and his divine purpose and everything else from Genesis to Revelation, then I hope that we can see that whether or not the pastors and teachers of a church are teaching or preaching from the Bible, that if they are not pursuing the glory of God, if they are not honoring God as God, if they are not clarifying the truth of God as to who he is, and the salvation he offers, and his eternal plan and purpose for the ages, then the light of God is gone from that church. Christ has removed the lampstand, and they are merely casting their own light.
REVELATION MESSAGE 4 –
Revelation-The Final Chapter of Preparation / Revelation 2 / 100916 AM
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
Jesus Christ has intimate knowledge of the life and the people of the church at Ephesus because he walks among the churches, surveying the landscape, taking the pulse, evaluating. Picture that for a moment, Christ visiting western Illinois and walking among the churches here.
We remember from Revelation 1:20 that the lampstands are the seven churches. But what does that mean? The lampstand was not the light, but the light holder. This is important.
Merriam-Webster’s dictionary tells us that a lampstand is a pillar, tripod, or stand for supporting or holding a lamp. The churches were the light holders, lamp holders, vessels from which God would illumine himself, where he would place his light, his holy illumination, his holy fire. God would set his glory on the lampstand to illuminate the world around, to bring clarity, to pierce the darkness.
That is what light does. It clarifies, pierces the darkness, pushes away the shadows, allows us to see more clearly, removes ambiguity and gives us certainty about the truth of God and his word.
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
Let me give an example from the same author, the same John of the Revelation writes in 1 John:
(1 John 5:13 ESV) I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.
That you may know. Clarity. In SS sometime back we discussed the perspicuity of God in his word. Perspicuity refers to clearness of style or exposition, freedom from obscurity; something clearly expressed or presented; lucid, acute perception.
So then if our purpose as a church is to be a lampstand from which God sheds his light onto the world, and if the purpose of the light is to clarify who he is and his creation of this world and the rebellion of humankind and the need for the forgiveness of sins and his eternal plan of salvation only through Jesus Christ and his divine purpose and everything else from Genesis to Revelation, then I hope that we can see that whether or not the pastors and teachers of a church are teaching or preaching from the Bible, that if they are not pursuing the glory of God, that if they are not clarifying the truth of God as to who he is, and the salvation he offers, and his eternal plan and purpose for the ages, then the light of God is not on their lampstand. He has removed himself from them, and they are merely casting their own light.
They are obscuring the truth of God and receiving glory from one another and not seeking the glory that comes from the only God! However, make no mistake: the spiritual dynamic, false or otherwise, in a church of thousands and ten thousands is powerful and soul stirring. The combined voices of thousands in worship and praise and testimony, the camaraderie of the human soul, the good intentions of good, moral people. Top it off with a polished, eloquent preacher sharing from the Bible. A very powerful witness. God must be here. But, no, this is a brightly shining light, but not the light of the glory of God.
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
What a resume this church had! By any human measurement or observation, right up to the time of John’s writing now in Revelation, this appears to be a good, strong church. In fact, if you were to move to Ephesus around AD 90 and were looking for a new church home, you would be thrilled to find this church.
Their commitment to faithfulness and duty was reflected in the words of Christ himself. They worked hard and patiently endured. They exposed fake church leaders, endured suffering and hardship for Jesus’ sake and did not grow weary in well-doing.
Some kind of town! Some kind of church! Wow!
Except … they weren’t.
They were seriously flawed. So flawed, in fact, that they were in danger of losing their gospel witness. Why? They had forgotten what was most important.
