INTRODUCTION:
On two occasions I have visited the White House and taken a tour of the downstairs rooms. One thing I remember is that the walls are lined with impressive portraits of all the Presidents. There have been 40 presidents in our 230-year history as a nation. But in the church’s 2,000-year history, there has been only one President. Jesus Christ is, has been, and forever will be the one and only “president” of the church. In every sense, he is the CEO who is in charge of every aspect of His church.
Today, we’re going to focus on the letters Jesus dictated to 4 different churches in Revelation 2. (Next week, we’ll examine letters to 3 other churches.) As we look in chapter 2, we will see that Jesus gives a SELF-PORTRAIT to each of the 4 churches he addresses. The PORTRAITS found in Revelation 2 are all of Jesus Christ, but they do not all look alike. Each portrait is custom designed to fit the needs of a specific church.
Look in Revelation 2:1 for the First Portrait. We’ll call this one THE STAR WALKER.
1. The Star Walker Ephesus Revelation 2:1-7 (BURN OUT)
“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 lamp stands: Revelation 2:1
If you’re wondering what these stars and lamp stands symbolize, Jesus himself explained it in Chapter 1: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lamp stands are the seven churches. Revelation 1:20 You’ve heard the song, “He’s got the whole world in his hands.” Here we see that Jesus has the whole Church in his hands.
The Portrait of STAR WALKER is given to the church in Ephesus. Jesus commends the church for their hard work, but in verse 4, he identifies one PROBLEM this church faced. I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Revelation 2:4
The hard-working church in Ephesus had worked itself into a big case of BURNOUT. In the middle of all that intense effort, they forgot to love the one they were working so hard to please.
That is so easy to do. We want to serve God and work for his Kingdom. But sometimes we get the notion that Jesus needs us to take over and manage everything for Him. That’s when we work ourselves into a lather and wind up fit to quit.
In the midst of all our church work, we must not forget that our number one goal is to love God and enjoy Him forever. And God also intends us to enjoy His church. You see, the church is designed to be a family … a place full of brothers and sisters in Christ. If we forget to enjoy and treasure our spiritual family, all our work turns to drudgery.
Our friends in the church should be precious to us. We should love being among them. … Just as Jesus Himself should be precious to us and we should love being with Him. If we lose our first love, we’ll find ourselves getting frustrated with our brothers and sisters at church.
Which reminds me of the time I’ve spent with my two little grandchildren recently. (Have I told you about them?) My greatest pleasure is not in thinking about what they will become some day, but in just looking at them as they are now and taking pleasure in being with them. They have much to learn, but I’m not getting frustrated that they haven’t learned it yet. I’m enjoying them now, as they are.
We need to have the same patience we have with a beloved child when we deal with each other in the church family.
As we work in the church, we need to remember, we are not just another business, and we are a family. And we do not work for an absentee boss. Jesus Christ, our one and only CEO, is right here, walking among us. If you are dealing with BURNOUT, picture the PORTRAIT of Jesus who walks among the 7 candle stands and holds the 7 stars in his hand.
The next PORTRAIT we have of the church CEO is the portrait of the Death-Defeater. When Jesus wrote to the church at Smyrna, He described himself this way:
2. The Death-Defeater Smyrna Revelation 2:8-11 (SUFFERING)
“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. Revelation 2:8
This church was suffering persecution. And you will notice as you read the text, that Jesus gave the suffering church only words of encouragement. He did not condemn any of their actions. Suffering and persecution seem to be great purifiers.
Are you facing a time in your life when you are SUFFERING? Jesus’ message to you is do not be afraid. Look at the PORTRAIT of Jesus the Death-Defeater. You see, Jesus died a torturous death … and then defeated death in His resurrection. The suffering church can take comfort because Jesus also suffered and overcame. In fact, there is nothing left in this mortal life for us to fear! Any Christian who is going through suffering or persecution needs to get a fresh vision of Jesus who lives eternally as the Death-Defeater.
The next portrait we have of our CEO is that of the Champion Swordsman.
3. The Champion Swordsman Pergamum Revelation 2:12-17 (COMPROMISE WITH THE CULTURE)
“To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword. Revelation 2:12
The first chapter of the Gospel of John describes Jesus as the Word of God. Not only is He the Word of God, he also speaks the word of God. The sharp, double-edged sword represents the power of His words to conquer every enemy of God.
This portrait of Jesus as the Swordsman is given to a church that was compromising with the godless culture around them. Jesus specifically says that some were teaching the doctrines of Baalam and of the Nicolaitans. Let’s refresh our memories about Baalam. In the Old Testament, we read that Baalam was hired by a heathen King named Balak to curse the Israelites. God forbade Balaam to do that … but he did something just as bad. Balaam advised the heathen King to encourage the Moabite girls to marry the Jewish boys. This would compromise God’s people by bringing Idol Worship into the Jewish homes.
The teachings of Baalam are alive and well today. The Church is always in danger of jumping into the moral mud of compromise. The Biblical teachings on Morality always conflict with secular culture. It’s tempting for a church to blur the lines and compromise with current trends in morality (or maybe I should say immorality). The ordaining of a Homosexual bishop by the Episcopal Church is just one of the most recent examples. There is always pressure on the Church to “go along” in order to “get along.”
As CEO of His church, Jesus will not allow the world to define what is and what is not a sin. Only Jesus Christ, the Champion Swordsman, will divide what is true from what is false. Any church that feels compelled to compromise needs to picture the words of Jesus as a sharp, double-edged sword with the power to destroy every lie of Satan.
The last PORTRAIT we’ll look at today is from Jesus’ letter to the church at Thyatira. When you look at this letter to Thyatira, you discover that this church was infested with False Teachers. Any of us are in danger of being confused by false religious teachings. And there are plenty of false teachings to choose from.
I recently taught a class on CULTS for Vision International University. My research on cult activity amazed me.
· I found that in the last 200 years, cults have increased their membership in the U.S. by more than 2,000%.
· It’s even worse in Europe where there are 4 times as many new religious cults per capita as the U.S. Because the Mainline churches have floundered in Europe, false teachers and cult groups have taken over.
· It’s estimated that there are over 5,000 cult groups worldwide and as many as 150 million people belonging to them. In a sense, cults have become the newest world religion.
When Jesus spoke to the church at Thyatira … a church confused by all sorts of False Teachers … He gave them a PORTRAIT of Himself as the Fiery Conqueror.
4. The Fiery Conqueror Thyatira Revelation 2:18-25 (CONFUSION OVER THE TRUTH)
“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.” Revelation 2:13
This is certainly not the gentle Jesus, meek and mild that people often picture when they think of Jesus.
· The image of eyes like blazing fire reminds us that Jesus sees and knows everything. In fact, his vision cuts to the heart. Nothing escapes his attention, and no one is going to fool him.
· The image of feet like burnished bronze is a double symbol of both purity and of permanence. In the Old Testament, the prophet Daniel saw a vision of a statue with feet of clay. That vision represented the imperfect and temporary nature of earthly Kingdoms. In contrast, Jesus, whose feet are like burnished bronze is both perfect and eternal. False teachers all have feet of clay. But Jesus’ teachings will endure for all time.
When we hear the buzz of false teachings all around us, we need to focus on the PORTRAIT of Jesus as the one with eyes like blazing fire and feet like burnished bronze.
CONCLUSION:
Chapter 2 of Revelation gives a glimpse of Jesus … the CEO … at work among the churches. When we picture Jesus Christ as He is today, we need to remember these 4 SELF-PORTRAITS.
· The Star-walker. Jesus is the CEO of the church. But He is no absentee boss. Jesus walks among the 7 candle stands and holds the 7 stars in his hand. He is right here with us this morning. He is holding us in His hands.
· He’s The Death-defeater. When we go through tough times, we don’t need to be afraid. Jesus has faced the worst this world has to offer and he has conquered every evil … even death. There is nothing left for us to fear.
· As the Champion swordsman Jesus wields the Word of Truth with power and precision. Those who love His Word will live by it. And make no mistake, those who resist His Word will be cut to pieces by it.
· Last, we see Jesus as The Fiery Conqueror. Every other power has feet of clay. But Jesus will stand forever. Are you standing with Him today?
(Invitation to stand on the side of Jesus Christ, the Conqueror)
