While we were on vacation last week, we were able to spend time with family, including all six of our grandchildren. We shared three pounds of fresh cheese curds and Beth gave me some cherry brats for Father’s Day.
We also attended a community festival complete with face painting, food vendors, and artisan crafts. As we walked around, we noticed a booth promoting a church. I went up to the volunteers and was immediately offered free coffee and cherry coffee cake. I declined because I had eaten too many cheese curds.
I wanted to encourage these church members for living on mission in their community but since I didn’t know much about their denomination, I started with a simple question, “What does your church believe?” A man quickly got up and handed me a brochure and answered, “We’re just middle of the road. We’re a bit like Presbyterian, Lutheran, and Methodist…only different.” I waited for more, but it never came. This was the only message he was prepared to give. I was offered free coffee and cherry coffee cake one more time.
As we walked away, I wondered why these church members didn’t have more to say about the gospel or about their doctrinal distinctives. I was surprised we weren’t even invited to their services.
They offered coffee but no communication about conversion. Their message was muddled. When I read their brochure, I discovered they are the oldest congregation in their community, and proud of their picturesque building. This made we wonder if they were more interested in their past than they were in reaching people in the present.
This week, Gallup reported that belief in God in our country has dipped to 81%, the lowest ever recorded. Why is that? Could it be the church in general is not acting like the church? Have we lost our message? Have we grown lukewarm?
During our summer series we’re calling “RE,” we’re defining key biblical terms and concepts which begin with the letters “Re” to keep the gospel message fresh in our lives. Our topic today is “Repent.” This is a word you generally won’t hear at a community festival. Unfortunately, it’s not talked much about in church either.
Repentance gets a bad rap in our culture and in the church, but we must come back to its central importance. All the prophets preached it, in one form or another. John the Baptist proclaimed repentance in Matthew 3:2: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” The first sermon of Jesus recorded in Mark 1:15 contained a command to repent: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
When Jesus sent the apostles on a short-term mission trip in Mark 6:12, we read these words: “So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent.” In Luke’s version of the Great Commission in Luke 24:47, Jesus emphasized “that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.”
In Matthew 3:8, John the Baptist preached repentance must affect behavior: “Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.” In a similar way, the Apostle Paul proclaimed in Acts 26:20: “…they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance.”
I’m reminded of Jack the painter who often watered down his paint to make it go further. When a church decided to have their building painted, Jack gave the lowest bid. Before climbing the scaffolding, he thinned his paint. When the job was almost finished, the skies turned dark and a tremendous downpour gushed from the heavens, washing off the thinned paint and knocking Jack to the ground. He quickly got to his knees and cried out, “Oh, God! Forgive me! What should I do?” In reply, he heard these thunderous words, “REPAINT! REPAINT! AND THIN NO MORE!”
Steven Cole defines repentance as “a change of mind that results in a change of one’s entire life.” Charles Spurgeon said, “Repentance is to leave the sins we loved before…by doing so no more.” One girl in Sunday School put it like this, “Repentance means feeling sorry enough to quit!” Charles Stanley adds, “Regret, grief, and remorse accompany repentance but are not evidence of it, if there is no change in behavior.”
At its core, repentance is a change of mind, which leads to a change of heart, resulting in a change in behavior. Repentance is a decisive change in direction. One pastor captures it this way: “True repentance affects the way I live and if it doesn’t affect the way I live, it’s not true repentance.”
Here’s the main idea: Repentance means turning from sin to the Savior, resulting in a change of attitude, affection, and action.
Since it’s too easy and unfair for me to critique another church in another community while on vacation, let’s look at what Jesus had to say to a church in Revelation 2:1-7. Remember from our series on the Book of Acts, the Apostle Paul spent three years preaching and teaching in Ephesus. The church grew under his leadership and influenced most of Asia.
We’ll discover the requirement of repentance is for every church and for every individual Christian.
Let’s stand and read together: “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. I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’”
In Revelation 2-3, Jesus “peers into the pews,” commending and critiquing seven churches in the country we know as Turkey. While these chapters would make for a fascinating seven-part sermon series, for our purposes today, we’ll consider His message to Ephesus, to Edgewood, and to each of us as individuals.
I see five major points in Jesus’ sermon.
1. Consecration. The Book of Revelation paints a picture of the exalted Christ as an encouragement to those going through problems and persecution. Close your eyes and worship as I read from Revelation 1:12-20.
Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, 15 his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. 17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. 19 Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. 20 As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.”
The place to start is to make sure we are consecrated to the risen Christ because He calls us to hear and heed His word. Revelation 2:1: “The words of Him who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands.” The seven stars are symbolic of seven leaders and the lampstands are the seven churches. We see Jesus as powerful since He is holding seven stars and He is personal because He walks among the seven churches. The picture here is of Jesus functioning like a priest in the Holy Place of the temple as He cleans, refills, and relights the lamps.
The resurrected Christ is right here, walking among Edgewood and walking with you individually. That’s both comforting and convicting, isn’t it?
2. Commendation. In verses 2-3, Jesus commended the church in Ephesus. The Savior celebrated their…
• Serving. Jesus said, “I know your works…” He sees how you serve and commends you for it. You may think your ministry doesn’t matter, that no one sees what you’re doing. You can have confidence that Jesus knows. 2 Timothy 2:19 says, “The Lord knows those who are His.” He knows who belongs to Him and He celebrates what we do for Him. If you’re not serving, there are many ways to do so, from serving meals at Celebrate Recovery to serving in our nursery or preschool ministry.
• Sacrificing. Jesus also sees the sacrifices people make for Him. The word “toil” refers to fatigue, weariness, and exhaustion. When I think of sacrifice, I think of how God is using so many of you to continue giving to Grow Time, our initiative to pay off the mortgage for our facility renovation and expansion. The sooner we care for this, the sooner we will free up more resources for expanded kingdom impact.
• Steadfast. The phrase “patient endurance” refers to staying power amid problems. Listen to verse 3: “I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, you have not grown weary.”
• Separated. While the Ephesians were able to bear up under challenges, according to the second half of verse 2, they did not “bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false.” They didn’t put up with false doctrine or with false teachers.
In verse 6, Jesus commended them for “hating the works of the Nicolaitans.” The Nicolaitans had worked out a compromise with pagan beliefs and believed they had liberty to practice idolatry and immorality. Notice the Ephesians hated their practices, not the people themselves. They stayed committed to the Word while combating the world, remaining doctrinally pure without capitulating to the culture.
3. Condemnation. The Ephesians were commended for many things. Like Edgewood, they had a lot of ministries going on, but Jesus had a chilling word of condemnation for them in verse 4: “But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.”
Here’s an unsettling question: Could it be that Jesus has something against Edgewood? There’s a lot of serving, sacrificing, steadfastness, and separation here but maybe we’re missing something. Our doctrine can be precise while our devotion could be without passion. I wonder what He has against each of us individually. Our biggest problem is not what’s happening in our culture but what’s happening in our own hearts. In Revelation 2:14, Jesus pronounced these disturbing words to the church at Pergamum: “But I have a few things against you…”
Notice the article “the” before love. This is not some emotional, syrupy kind of sentimentality but is agape, or unconditional love. They had love at the beginning, but they had drifted and backslidden. They labored but it was not out of love for God or others. If love is not the basis for our serving or sacrificing, 1 Corinthians 13:3 says it is worthless: “If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.”
A church which seemed to have everything was missing the main thing. Listen again to the words of Jesus found in Mark 12:30-31: “‘And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
While they didn’t lose their first love, they had left it. The word “abandoned” refers to “a definite and sad departure; to disregard or dismiss.” Literally it means, “Your first love you have left.” This word was used of divorce, which is no coincidence since the Bible describes our relationship with Jesus like a marriage between a husband and wife. They had left the love they had at “first,” which means, “first in rank and importance.” They loved their church, their activities, and their schedules. They just didn’t love Jesus more than these things.
I’m reminded of what Pastor Tim shared on his last weekend here: “Keep the main thing the main thing: Love God and love others.”
4. Correction. In verse 5, we’re given some specific remedies to recapture the love we have left. By the way, these are commands, not suggestions.
• Remember. We won’t spend much time on this one because we took an entire sermon on the importance of remembering earlier this month. To “remember” means to “put in your mind by recalling.” We’re called to remember so we can recalibrate our lives according to what’s being remembered.
This is a present active imperative, meaning to be “continually mindful” of “where you have fallen.” The idea is we’re to “keep on remembering.” Was there a time you were closer to Christ? Have you allowed some spiritual slippage to take place? Have you compromised your convictions? You won’t want to change unless you have some holy dissatisfaction with where you are now.
• Repent. Let’s come back to our definition: Repentance means turning from sin to the Savior, resulting in a change of attitude, affection, and action. This is an urgent appeal from Jesus because it’s in the first aorist active imperative. Here’s the idea: change instantly before it’s too late! Turn from the direction you’re going and go in another one.
This urgent call to repent is found throughout the Book of Revelation:
Revelation 2:16: “Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth.”
Revelation 2:21: “I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality.”
Revelation 3:3: “Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you.”
Revelation 3:19-20: “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock…”
Revelation 16:9: “They were scorched by the fierce heat, and they cursed the name of God who had power over these plagues. They did not repent and give Him glory.”
Tim Challies suggests a few principles.
1) No sin is too small to confess.
2) No sin is too great to repent from.
3) We need to repent of sin specifically, not just generally.
Let’s look at Peter’s sermon recorded in Acts 3:19-21: “Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things.” To “turn back” means, “to twist, to turn about and around.” To “repent” and “turn back” are commands which convey the sense of “Do it today! Do not delay!”
Repentance leads to three results:
1) Release from sins. The phrase “blotted out” is the idea of sins being wiped away, erased, and expunged from the record of our wrongdoing.
2) Refreshment from the Spirit. The idea behind “refreshing” is “cooling, relief, and rest from difficult, distressful or burdensome circumstances.” One commentator puts it precisely: “No repentance, no refreshing.”
3) Restoration of sinners. After release and refreshment, God longs to restore sinners as we see in verse 21: “…whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things.”
I’ve been pondering a quote by Leonard Ravenhill, which I first saw on Ed Kight’s Facebook page: “The church is waiting for the world to become regenerate, while the world is waiting for the church to become repentant.” It’s much easier for us to complain about our society than it is to be contrite about our own sins.
Let’s remember how 2 Chronicles 7:14 begins: “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” When this was written, it referred to Israel as God’s people, but the principle applies to us today. Repentance must begin with God’s people. We must turn from our wicked ways.
Our number one need is to love Jesus with everything we have by turning from those things which have taken the primary place reserved only for Him. Please close your eyes as I ask a few questions.
What is it you need to repent from right now? Have you left your first love? Is there a sin you’ve been justifying? Are you compromising your convictions? Have you been drinking too much? Using drugs? Committing adultery? Are you involved in a sexual sin? Do you have a judgmental heart? Been gossiping lately? Have you been withholding forgiveness from someone? Have you put off asking someone to forgive you? Has bitterness hardened your heart? Have you allowed a person, a pleasure, or a possession to become an idol in your heart?
If you need some help in any of these areas, I highly recommend Celebrate Recovery, our Christ-centered salvation and sanctification ministry. This year we’re celebrating 20 years of hope and healing for those struggling with hurts, habits, and hang-ups. Celebrate Recovery meets on Fridays at 6 p.m. for dinner, worship, testimony, teaching, and open share group time.
Let’s head back to Revelation 2. We’ve learned we must remember and repent. There’s a third imperative.
• Repeat. Listen to the middle phrase of verse 5: “…and do the works you did at first.” To “do the works” means, “to produce action.” The word “works” refers to laboring. While it’s easy to become a Christian, it takes labor to live like one. We are not saved by our works, but we are saved to work! Ephesians 2:10: “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
Notice we’re not told to go back and “feel the feelings we used to have” but to do the works we used to do. Go back and practice the spiritual disciplines you used to do so you can grow again. In Revelation 3:2, Jesus speaks to the church in Sardis with urgency: “Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God.” Titus 2:14 challenges us to be “zealous for good works.”
One of the best ways to assess how you’re doing in this regard is by doing a “4 G Inventory.” What next step can you take in each of these areas?
Gathering with God’s people.
Growing in your faith.
Giving what God has given to you.
Going with the gospel.
Don’t do these things because you have to, but because you want to love Him more.
• Remove. Notice how verse 5 ends: “If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.” Jesus is saying something like, “Remember, repent, and repeat or I will come upon you suddenly and remove your witness.” When He comes, it will be swift and sure.
The word “remove” means, “to cause to go, to move from a place.” Their lack of love was so serious it threatened the very existence of their church. Someone said it like this: “A church that loses its love, will undoubtedly lose its light.” The lampstand reminds us of our role as light in a dark world. Luke 8:16: “No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light.”
Some of you are grieving because you’ve been part of a church that closed. I find it sad in any community to see church buildings vacant or turned into museums or shops. A 2021 study from Lifeway Research, based on data from three-dozen denominations, found that 4,500 churches closed in 2019 (compared with 3,700 in 2014), while only 3,000 were started (that’s why we celebrate new church plants in our community like Rock Island Bible Church and Gospel Community Church in Rock Island). In addition, the 2021 Faith Communities Today study found the median worship attendance for churches in the U.S. dropped from 137 people to 65 people over the past two decades.
Sadly, the light went out for the Ephesian church because they left their first love. Tragically, their legacy is now left to archaeologists to discover. In that area of Turkey today, Muslims make up 98% of the population.
While it didn’t seem like the church at the community festival had much of a message, the same thing could happen to Edgewood if we’re not vigilant and diligent.
5. Cultivation. While Jesus urged the Ephesian church to repent, He also personalized the message for individual believers. We must pray for revival in our country and in our church, but we must first be revived ourselves. Listen to verses 6-7: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.” Notice the emphasis is on “he,” “him,” and “the one.”
There was a tree of life in the Garden of Eden. When Adam and Eve sinned, paradise was lost. But there was another tree at Calvary, and it opens the door to paradise. The thief on the cross entered paradise because he repented and received Christ at the last minute.
Ponder these words from J.C. Ryle: “True repentance is no light matter. It is a thorough change of heart about sin, a change showing itself in godly sorrow and humiliation - in heartfelt confession before the throne of grace - in a complete breaking off from sinful habits, and an abiding hatred of all sin. Such repentance is the inseparable companion of saving faith in Christ.”
I met with someone this week and asked him a bold question. I want to ask you the same question: Have you repented and received Christ? If you haven’t, the Bible says you will spend eternity in a hot place called Hell. Jesus was clear about this in Luke 13:3: “unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
Are you ready to repent and receive Christ so you can be released from the record of your sins? Only then will you find the refreshment you are searching for and experience the restoration God alone can bring to your life.
Lord, I admit I am a sinner and deserve Your just judgment. I repent from trying to follow my own way and now turn to You as the only way. I believe Jesus died in my place on the cross and rose again on the third day and now I receive Him into my life. Please save me from my sins and from Your righteous wrath. I want to be born again so I place all my trust in You and You alone. If there’s anything in my life You don’t like, please get rid of it. I pray this in the name of Jesus, the One who is both Lord and Christ. Amen.
