Dr. Roger W. Thomas, Preaching Minister
First Christian Church, Vandalia, MO
Memo to the Church: Part 1
Revelation 1-3
Here’s the church . . . here’s the steeple, open up and..
Common thinking: building, institution ---- people
Group of Christian people who meet together on the first day of the week to encourage one another and work together to further their God given mission.
Dangers of independent church … no accountability … how are we doing
What’s the bishop think?
A spiritual audit . . .
Rev 1-3: Intro and seven memos--
Seven real places with principles
History panorama??? Common sense reading
Rev 2-3 is the Supervisors Performance Review; follows the format exactly
The Right/Authority to Make the Review;
Good points;
Problem areas;
Changes needed;
Incentives (negative and positive)
Do churches/congregations need such things? Jesus thought so..apply collectively and individually; remember Rev. is all about the intersection between heaven and earth; in the PR the disconnect between earth’s pereception and heaven’s perception.
I. What Matters Most (Rev. 2:1-7)
(Rev 2:1-7 NIV) "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:
A PR only as important as the view we have of the one giving it;
his authority and our dependence;
to the angel (messenger of supernatural news to church); angel assigned;
authority over angel and thus church;
among the lampstand---why this symbol for a church; Mt 5; Phil 2; light in darkness
no other purpose for the church being there
{2} I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. {3} You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.
four imporant things doing right: deeds, hard work, perservance, and intolerance
good deeds and good doctrine
a. Not saved by good deeds, but saved for good deeds (being good isn’t good enough or the cross wouldn’t have been necessary)
A bird does not become a bird because he sings; he sings because he is a bird
What good deeds: Cf James 1:27--tongue, poor, unpolluted
b. good doctrine-- (doctrine means teaching) why this important
Christianity a revealed religion---not theoretical
There are false teachers and false prophets
(Cf (Acts 20:27-32 NIV) For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God. {28} Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. {29} I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. {30} Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. {31} So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears. {32} "Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.
{4} Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love.
The Problem Area---one thing; not so bad; 4 to 1;
What mean? can cut a couple of directions--unclear which; not matter
Love for God or man: two great commandments
“Satan goal is not to get us to hate God, just to love him less than something else; even something good”
Forsaken:
Collectively---what motivated this church in beginning; forefather; past generation
churches have lifecyles--movement to monument
Eph a second generation church; 30+ years---interesting to note what sparked their beginning (clearer undrstanding of HS; casting off idolatries) Acts 19-20
Individually---what passion when first personal relationship with Christ
love for community, the lost, the hurting
God’s great passion: lost, children, poor
Why love is important: the great motivator; nothing else compares
{5} Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.
the needed action; remember, repent, and redo
If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.
{6} But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. {7} He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.
The incentive: negatively and positively; decisions have consecquences
You don’t have to respond or change; up to you
Neg: remove lampstand-----church die? something much more urgent--light removed; influence on community; ministry opportunity
(Observations from my fragile church consulting: most churches survive long after light gone)
Individually: lost of love often means loss of witness to friends and most obviously loved ones; a passionless faith does not get passed on to 2nd/3rd generations
religion might; church might--but not personal relationship with Jesus
Pos: life; paradise with God; there is hope---even old dogs learn new tricks
II. How to Be Good and Rich (Rev. 2:8-11)
(Rev 2:8-11 NIV) "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. {9} I know your afflictions and your poverty--yet you are rich! I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. {10} 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 the crown of life. {11} He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death.
Note our text: letters....starts with Easter....then the upside down value
We Can Be Rich Despite . . .
tribulation (threshing cart tribulum)
destitution (ptuxos)
slandered (note all religion is not of God)
getting worse
We Can Be Rich Because of . . .
had a savior
faith that wouldn’t give up
hard times wouldn’t embitter
quality of life
Better to Be Rich in the Things Money Can’t Buy
Money can buy medicine, but not health.
Money can buy a house, but not a home.
Money can buy companionship, but not friends.
Money can buy entertainment, but not happiness.
Money can buy food, but not an appetite.
Money can buy a bed, but not sleep.
Money can buy a crucifix, but not a Savior.
Money can buy the good life, but not eternal life.
Jim Elliot, a missionary who was martyred for his faith, understood this reality when he wrote in his journal, "A person is no fool to give up what he cannot keep in order to gain what he cannot lose."
A hospital visitor saw a nurse tending to the sores of a leprosy patient, and said, "I’d never do that for a million dollars!" The nurse answered, "Neither would I. But I do it for Jesus for nothing."
Finally, The Day/The Fact/The Faith That Makes All The Difference
Polycarp maturyed in Smyrna 168AD 86 yeas have I served Jesus Christ, has been a good master to me all these yeas, and shall I forsake him now.
The Tribulum
In the pictures of the ancient Roman method of threshing grain, one man is always seen stirring up the sheaves while another rides over them in a crude cart equipped with rollers instead of wheels. Sharp stones and rough bits of iron were attached to these cylinders to help separate the husks from the grain. This simple cart was called a tribulum -- from which we get our word "tribulation." When great affliction comes to us, we often think of ourselves as being torn to pieces under the cruel pressures of adverse circumstances. Yet as no thresher ever yoked up his tribulum for the mere purpose of tearing up his sheaves but to disclose the precious grain, so our loving Savior never puts us under the pressure of sorrow and disappointment needlessly.
III. Standing Firm (Rev. 2:12-17)
{12} "To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword. {13} 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, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city--where Satan lives. {14} Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality. {15} Likewise you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. {16} Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. {17} He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it.
A Tough Place to Raise a Family—great religious center; greek and roman temples
Center of persecution
They were doing it! Good place to shine!! He knows!
CT Studd—church and chapel bell; rescue shop within a yard of hell
Again: Teaching of Balaam (sell out for a price/ undermine people of God within)
NIcolaitans—Lord it over/
Either-Or—Repent/fighting Lord
IV. When Tolerance Is Bad (Rev. 2:18-29)
(Rev 2:18-29 NIV) "To the angel of the church in Thyatira write: These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. {19} I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first. {20} Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. {21} I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. {22} 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. {23} 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. {24} Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets (I will not impose any other burden on you): {25} Only hold on to what you have until I come. {26} To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations-- {27} ’He will rule them with an iron scepter; he will dash them to pieces like pottery’ -- just as I have received authority from my Father. {28} I will also give him the morning star. {29} He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Titanic’s Real Problem . . .not iceberg, not ocean; but water in the ship 1912
The Frog in the Kettle . . . Geo. Barna book and parable;
Not just kids: adults, church; McChurch
Problem: Christians no much different from society at large
(Rom 12:1-2 NIV) Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. {2} Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.
The Letter: performance review
Christ the judge; Good things: love faith service perservance--doing more; but!!!
The Jezebel Joins the Church . . .
(1 Kings 18-21)
Ahab’s queen----fornication and idol worship
Pre-gnostic ideas: be religioius and morality doesn’t count;
Areas of problem: TV/Movies, money, ethics, faith
Knowing God is not a big item in the preparation of a lot of preachers over America today because, just between you and me, pulpit committees are not asking, "Does this prospective pastor know God?" They are asking, "Can he raise the budget?" Vance Havner
Gibbon ... said that in Roman society all religions were to the people equally true, to the philosophers equally false, and to the government equally useful. It would be difficult to deny that this is true of some of today’s "developed" societies. ... Tolerance with respect to what is not important is easy.
-- Lesslie Newbigin in Foolishness to the Greeks. Christianity Today, Vol. 30, no. 12.
If you don’t stand for something, you fall for anything!
Promise: rule with Christ; morning star
(John 3:18 NIV) Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
(John 3:36 NIV) Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him."
***Dr. Roger W. Thomas is the preaching minister at First Christian Church, 205 W. Park St., Vandalia, MO 63382 and an adjunct professor of Bible and Preaching at Central Christian College of the Bible, 911 E. Urbandale, Moberly, MO. He is a graduate of Lincoln Christian College (BA) and Lincoln Christian Seminary (MA, MDiv), and Northern Baptist Theological Seminary (DMin).
