Dear Confused
Jeremiah 2:1-5 Rev.2:12-17
We are in week three of our series on the book of Revelation and more specifically, Jesus’ letters to His Bride, the church. And each of the seven letters is different because each of the churches’ circumstances and standing are different. But one thing is consistent in all of these letters and that is Jesus’ promise to return. He’s made it unmistakably clear that He is coming back for His Bride, to join Him in a heavenly banquet or wedding feast and then to reign with Him over all creation for all time. And in each one of these letters, Jesus is pleading for His Bride to be ready or to get ready for His return.
In His first letter to the churches, He writes to the church at Ephesus, and accuses them of forgetting their first love; they have chased after all sorts of other things in the world, other loves, and they have forgotten about the One who loves them more than anyone else, the One who gave His life for them. They have essentially forgotten that Jesus is their First Love; their Savior…. and He warns them that the consequence of trading Him for anything else is quite serious.
In the second letter, Jesus writes to the church at Smyrna commending them on their faithfulness in the midst of persecution. He says, I know that you have more than your share of trouble, but, He says, those troubles are just for a season, that pain and suffering are not permanent and He promises them that if they can remain true to Him, that He will give them the crown of life. So, hang in there.
This morning’s letter is to the church at Pergamum where Jesus says, that on the one hand, they have not publicly denied him name, even in the face of persecution. In other words, they still claim to be Christians BUT, He says, many of them embrace UN-Christ-like teachings and because of that, many are living in such a way that it would be impossible for anyone to know they are Christians or have anything to do with Jesus. And as I read this letter to the church at Pergamum, I see an underlying question that the Christians in Pergamum needed to ask, and it’s a question for the church today: “Will Jesus recognize His bride when He does return?”
Of course, that’s an important consideration. When someone is picking you up at the airport, it’s important for them to recognize you. How else will they know you from the other 10,000 people in the baggage claim? And if you’re going in for surgery on your toe, you certainly don’t want the orderly to confuse you with the person having a heart transplant. It can be pretty important that we know who we are and that others recognize us.
A middle aged woman had a heart attack and was taken to the hospital. While on the operating table she has a near-death experience. During that experience she saw God and asked if this is it. God says no and explains that she has another 30-40 years to live.
Upon her recovery she decides to just stay in the hospital and have a little cosmetic work done. After all, she figures that if she has another 30-4- years, she might as well make the most of it. So, she has a face lift, and a nose job, she has liposuction and breast augmentation, and a tummy tuck. And before she is discharged, she even has someone come in and change her hair color and do a make-over.
Feeling like a brand new woman, she walks out the hospital and is killed by an ambulance speeding up to the hospital.
She arrives in front of God again, quite puzzled and asks, "I thought you said I had another 30-40 years?"
God replies, "Oh Sorry, I didn't recognize you." When Jesus returns for His bride, will He recognize her? Will He recognize us?
No question, life was difficult for the Christians in Pergamum. In fact, in this letter, Jesus says “I understand your situation. You live in a culture and in a world where Satan himself is on the throne.” Does it ever feel that way to you; Like Satan is in control? There is so much hatred in the world, so much prejudice, so much violence and anger and evil that affects our lives every day. Drug deals go down in the local parks, terrorism is a daily event somewhere in the world, child abuse and spouse abuse is rampant and in the wealthiest country in the world, far too many children go to bed hungry each night. Wars never seem to give way to peace. Sexual boundaries have been blurred or completely obliterated, financial and political corruption is everywhere in both government and business, and nearly everything that was once black or white in life has faded to gray. Under the banner of political correctness, the world has become the sole arbiter of what is good and what is right and what is acceptable. We have become our own standard by which to measure all things in life.
So, there was a lot of pressure on the church and on Christians in Pergamum NOT to stand out, but to conform, or to “fit in” in society; to be like everyone else when it came to things like Emperor Worship, which was enforced as rigorously in Pergamum as anywhere in the empire and to refuse to publicly declare Caesar as Lord was a death sentence. There were lots of competing religions and beliefs, and Rome encouraged practicing as many as you like…as long as you recognized Caesar as Lord above all others.
So, Jesus has John write this letter to the Christians at Pergamum telling them to "hang in there" and hold fast to Him alone and some were. But, some of the folks…many of the folks, were trying to find ways to do both -- to call themselves Christians and at the same time, live in such a way that they could blend in with society—to go along to get along. You can imagine what family and friends and co-workers and neighbors might have said: "This emperor stuff is just something you’ve gotta do if you’re going to get anywhere in life. Why can’t you just say Caesar is Lord in public and say Jesus is Lord in private?” “What’s wrong with that?” And, “Why don’t you just accept the new normal and do what everyone else is doing? Are you a bigot or something?"
That’s what Jesus means when he refers to the “teachings of Baalam” in this letter. He says, “some of you are following teachings similar to Baalam’s”. You remember, we read about Baalam just a few weeks ago from the Old Testament book of Numbers. Baalam was someone who tried to play both sides of the fence. He was a prophet of God but at the same time, he was trying to go along with those who were against God’s people. When he was with the enemy, he was cursing God’s people and when he was with God’s people, he was blessing God’s people. He wanted to serve the Lord God, but he also wanted to serve an ungodly king and God said, “You can’t have it both ways”.
Some of the Christians in Pergamum were trying to follow Jesus and follow the world’s ways at the same time; wanting to believe in Jesus but also wanting to blend in with the world. After all, they were under persecution and so the question for the church at Pergamum was, “Will you have compromised so much that you no longer resemble the Bride Jesus is coming for?” Have you become confused about WHO you are and WHO you serve and HOW you are called to live? Will Jesus recognize you when He comes for you?
But that’s not our issue is it? The church today, at least in America, isn’t actively being persecuted; not openly anyway. Oh, to be sure, it IS on the horizon. There is no one here that has ever gone to jail simply for being a Christian. But Government and society are clearly becoming less and less tolerant of Christians and of the church. The pressure for Christians and for the church to conform to the world’s standards and accept the world’s values and world’s ways is growing to be sure. And the day may come when persecution is a very real part of discipleship for us, even as it already is for Christians in much of the world. But that’s not our problem today, is it? We’re not being forced to compromise, are we?
And yet, that question haunts me: Will Jesus recognize the church, will He recognize His Bride when He returns? The video clip we watched earlier about the Life Saving Station raises that question in a startling way. Has the church become confused about WHO we are and WHAT our purpose is? The Life Saving Station in the clip didn’t change because of persecution; it didn’t forfeit its identity because of trials and hardships. It got lazy. It grew self focused. It became all about the members instead of all about the lost. That’s the perfect allegory for many churches in America today. Many started in private homes or in storefronts or in school cafeterias and saving souls, and changing lives and reaching people with the love and grace of God were the top priority. But over time, for some, it became about the members---their comfort, their preferences, their convenience, their prestige, and they added buildings and carpet and stained glass and air conditioning and steeples, and God help the children if they marked on the walls or anyone else if they stained the carpet or moved the piano or invited homeless people or drug addicts or other unsavory characters in.
Many of you have heard me say that I consider one of God’s greatest gifts to you and to me, to this congregation, is this metal building with concrete floors and no stained glass as our sanctuary, because it reminded us that the church isn’t a building. The church is the people of God filled and alive with the Spirit of God. You see, Jesus isn’t coming back to collect buildings and steeples and stained glass. He’s coming back for His people. That gift of a mattress outlet re-ignited the faith for many of you, some of you were literally reborn and our identity as the Bride of Christ was restored. Our purpose as a Church was reclaimed.
In the video clip, the building and the people’s comfort became the main thing. But for the church, the facility doesn’t really matter. What matters is that we are living under the Lordship of Jesus. What matters is, are we doing the things Jesus called us to do? Is there any evidence of Jesus being among us and do people meet Jesus or experience grace and the love of God when they are among us? The individual application of the question, of course is often echoed by preachers when they ask: “If you were on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?”
God has continued to bless and grow this congregation, and with growth, comes change. But it is critical that the change we experience is that we change more and more into the image of Christ…that we look more and more like Him so that Jesus will recognize us when He comes.
Since our birth as a church, our facilities have changed. We’ve added several new buildings, we made changes to the inside of the sanctuary, but all these changes have been to enlarge our mission and to expand the ministry God has called us to. And as we move forward with plans to either expand these facilities or transition to a new, larger facility….it can’t be about the buildings. Remember, Jesus isn’t coming back for His buildings. He’s coming for His people.
All this is to say, whether we are located on this hill or another one a mile or so away; will Jesus recognize us when He comes? Do we love people like Jesus loves people? Do we care about people who are lost…or hurting…or hungry? Do we forgive as easily and as quickly as Jesus forgives us? Do we welcome people regardless of who they are, what they wear, or what they’ve done? Are we generous? Do we realize that all we have, personally or as a church, that it all belongs to the Lord? Are we obedient to God’s Word?
With all the wonderful things God has given to us and done for us, let’s hold fast to our First Love, and let’s do the things Jesus does so that there will be no confusion about Who we are or Whose we are, either by those in the world or when our Bridegroom comes.
