Missions Paul

Looking back on your life, you will remember the worst of times when you thought you would never get through it. But here you are. Maybe you are in that moment today. Hold on. You will get through again.

To the second church Jesus writes:

“To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword. 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, not even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city – where Satan lives.” Revelation 2:12-13

Look at these words above, ‘… even in the days of …’
What would you put there? That period of time.
When you nearly gave up but you didn’t?

Maybe like Pergamum you know the experience of being a Christian in a place/circumstance/city where Satan just seemed to roam/destroy/live.
But you followed Jesus even though it seemed like you were walking through a hell of a time, when you just didn’t know whether you could get through a day never mind the next chapter of your life.
You held on to the name of Jesus and though you may have given up on many things and perhaps you questioned many times over whether God really was there, you are still here, now, still believing, holding to the faith!!

Not everyone was able to do that. They have walked away or they have got lost within the crowd and Jesus addresses that next. But ‘even in the days of …. Antipas’. Who was he?

He was their Bishop who tradition says died a martyr as he was burnt alive in a brass bull-shaped altar on the orders of Nero.

Jesus message to you is that you came through. Well done! Scarred perhaps, maybe walking differently in life now, wounded and hurt, but you were not overcome and you held onto the name of Jesus.
If you came through it then, even in the days of … then you will come through it again!

It never is as you think it is. There is always a different side to the story.

Moving on to the second church, Smyrna, it teaches us to see things differently to how others might. We see a list of contrasts:

He is the First but He is also the Last.

He died but He came back to life again.

You are struggling and have lost but you are rich.

You have been slandered by so called people of God but they’re not.

They came from a synagogue, a place of worship to God, but it was a place for Satan, the liar.

You will have to go through tough times but you will be crowned with life.

Perhaps only a couple of decades after this was being sent around the churches, the Bishop of Smyrna, Polycarp, the angel/messenger of the church, was put to death. Burnt at the stake simply because of slanderous lies which damaged his reputation. They must have relied heavy on this letter from Jesus to understand what was taking place.

“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. I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 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 life as your victor’s crown. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.” (Revelation 2 v 8-11)

Suffering is coming. It’s here. So hold on, don’t back away under the trial, endure and bear with it a bit longer. Jesus had already said we will have trouble in this world. But to take heart because he has overcome the world.

Jesus told Smyrna it would be a time of testing. That’s the use of the phrase, ‘ten days’ and it is found in Daniel 1:12-14.

Jesus didn’t say ‘don’t worry this suffering won’t hurt you’ nor did he say ‘you won’t die’. But he did say you will come out on top in the end.

It’s a life of contrasts. So today remember you carry the name above all names. And your life is one of contrasts. The Apostle Paul tells us, “We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body”. 2 Corinthians 4:10

So in whatever affliction you are experiencing stay where you are today. There is in the suffering a hidden mystery. It is Jesus Himself. The impatient miss Him. They want to move on and move out. And in doing so they miss the fellowship of Jesus in the sufferings.

Being patient doesn’t mean you do nothing. It is not limbo. You are not wasting any time. And above all you realise that there is a contrasting truth to whatever you are going through.

The key principle for every follower of Christ regardless of whether they are the last generation or not is this: suffering will not last forever, the Son is coming and at the end of this is Jesus because He was there at the beginning. Learn to look on the other side.

Yesterday I talked with a retired Pastor who was commenting on the demise of his church which he pastored for many years. I could hear his pain and feel his sadness. This was not a man criticising but a man despairing and wondering what is going wrong.

When I talked about the past his response was all about people; outreach to people; loving people; people loving God; people passionate for Jesus.

There isn’t a city of Ephesus anymore neither is there a church congregating. Almost all of Turkey is Muslim with 0.2% being Christian.

The warnings for the seven churches are not just for them but for every church at that time and for all time.

“Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. But you have this in your favour: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.” (Revelation 2 v 5-7)

They must have heeded the warning from Jesus because in the first few centuries Ephesus became a major Christian centre with thriving churches. It held the third church council in AD431 where it identified Mary as Mother of God. Maybe that was a turning point.

Whatever happened this prophetic warning of Jesus has come true. Just because one generation repents and starts to love God and others the way they should doesn’t mean the next generations will follow suit.

Within Ephesus there was a magnificent temple of Artemis which had a beautiful garden giving asylum to the criminals who managed to escape into it. This may well be the connection Jesus is referring to when He says there is a garden, the paradise of God, where the tree of life is at the centre. This is not unrepentant criminals but repentant Churches.

Every generation of Church needs to be refreshed in love.

Churches always die because of their relationships with people. It is seen in their lack of mission towards people; lack of releasing the younger generation to serve and lead; lack of welcoming people to Church and a simple lack of courtesy with each other.

Throughout my life whenever I hear Christians respond regarding the love found in Churches it is always in the context that the Church doesn’t display enough of it but with no self-awareness that they themselves may be contributing to the problem.

Today if you are disgruntled with someone within the Church then you are at the starting point of contributing to that downfall if you don’t deal with it. Today if you are not carrying the passion you once had for Jesus then you need to repent for the lampstand can be removed.

What we need right now is the love of Christ. I mean, we need to learn the love of Christ. People are divided over their divisions! Racism and discrimination is in the Church and so are a whole lot of other sins that hurt others. Heartbroken painful stories are being shared of people’s lives. The Church has had wonderful, beautiful seasons where its people have understood the heart of God. It has also had seasons when it has harmed itself and people have left in droves. The answer is always found in the love of Christ.

So here we begin. A letter to the Pastor/leader, the messenger/angel of the church.  From Jesus who is moving through the churches, observing/knowing and then revealing what He sees in the context of revealing an aspect of Him that John saw at the start of this revelation.

In all of the letters Jesus will say, “I know what you do.” In all the letters Jesus will appeal to them at the end to really listen to Him.

 “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. I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first.” (Revelation 2 v 1-4)

Read it again slowly.

Can you list the many great things about your Church? What about your Christian life? You’re doing okay yes? Be careful! GK Chesterton wrote ‘The one spiritual disease is thinking one is quite well’, (The innocence of Father Brown)

The Church at Ephesus became well known for being good people in that they did good works. They were charitable people, helping the poor, foodbanks and other community outreaches. They had gone through a lot of suffering and persecution for their faith. But they persevered and they endured hardships for Christ. They were mature, seasoned, faithful followers of Christ. Yet …!

“But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first” (Revelation 2:4 NLT)

You can point to many things about the success of the church and its message. It can be growing and doing so well but Jesus sees something is wrong underneath, at the heart, and it is love.

How did this church move to this point from where they began 40 years earlier?

“Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.” Ephesians 6 v 24

Now Jesus says have lost their first love for Him.

Stay in love with Jesus!

To stay in love will not come naturally in fact if we do not take action we will definitely grow cold.

We need to keep on choosing Jesus.

We need to keep on putting Jesus first in our decisions.

We need to keep on being blown away by Jesus’ love for us.

But see something else. The discovery of this love is not through a single individualistic pilgrimage. It is with others. To learn the love of Christ is to do that in community and through people. We will only ever know this love by expressing that love. The unconditional, non-judgmental, selfless, sacrificial love within community is where we will know the love of Christ. Does that go wrong? Of course it does. Throughout the day there are countless moments when we face the choice to know the love of Christ in how we respond to people (who are at times not easy to like).

Keep the love as well as the deeds!

John picks up his pen and begins to write what he has already seen (chapter 1) but also about things that Jesus Christ as the Lord of the Church is seeing amongst the seven city churches and the churches that come under their influence (chapter 2-3) and then things that are going to take place (chapters 4-22). 

“Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.”  (Revelation 1 v 19-20)

He writes to the churches but also to the ‘angels’ or ‘messengers’ of these churches. Obviously some will believe that every church has an angel then and perhaps they do. But in this context seeing as what is about to come in the next 2 chapters is some correction to the sinful ‘angels’ and their churches then it is right to assume these are not heavenly messengers but earthly ones. I believe they are the leaders of these churches.

What does the Lord see when He looks at your Pastor/Minister/Spiritual leader? What does He see when He looks at your church, at you? Recently I have seen social media threads of criticism of Pastors and of churches. Sometimes the feeds become quite abusive. Maybe in some cases it is right for there to be outrage. But well done to you if you are still hanging on in Church trying to improve it, doing you best to make it what God created it to be. 

He hasn’t finished with you, your church or your Pastor yet! We are all works under construction. But in order for us to progress into the next season that God has for us we must acknowledge where we are and that may be painful. So stray on your seatbelt as we enter into these tough messages to the seven Pastors and their churches and to all of us in that generation of John and in 2022!

“I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.” (Revelation 1 v 18)

“I’m still here. No matter what you have felt about me during your suffering, I’m still here. In your disappointment you may have thought I had turned my back on you but I’m still here. My hand is upon you. The Living One is here and I will bring you through.”

That’s the message to John who was on Patmos probably thankful that he was still alive as so many had lost their lives through the persecution.

Recently I seem to have heard of quite a few deaths and the sadness is clear to see. But it is set within the context of an assured eternity and it gives much needed hope though those who have lost loved ones know life will never be the same.

What must it be like for the persecuted who survive within the context of everyone around them being killed?

Here’s the message to John: “Tell them John, I’m still here!”

No Cancer, Covid or Caesar truly controls your life or death only the One who has the keys.

No matter how difficult today is. You may face threats of death or you may be remembering your loved one who passed. It all sits in the hands of the One who holds the keys so there is nothing to fear.

Jesus Christ holds the keys. His resurrection proved His authority over death. He is in control of life and death. He is here!

Remember when Jesus said that he existed before Abraham and he said it using a title for God, I AM? Here he is again before old man John in this revelation:

“I am the First and the Last.” (Revelation 1 v 17)

Jesus was the first one and the last one standing. What is there to be afraid of when Jesus gets the last word? All that we must hold on to is the supremacy of the great ‘I AM’.

The greatest threat to us is the dethroning of Jesus Christ in our lives. The threat is not the denial of Jesus but the reduction of Jesus. Don’t let it happen

There isn’t anyone before Jesus and there won’t be anyone after Him either.

Christ is supreme; pre-eminence; the first place; the highest place; above anything and everyone. It’s a good Sunday thought! Amen!

Some days you may think you have strayed too far or neglected too much to ever be restored to whatever your good old days looked like.

I have some good news for you in this next verse.

“When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.” (Revelation 1 v 17)

His best friend touched him.

John had fallen under the weight of this revelation. It was all over. He was as good as dead. God was too much for him. “Go away from me a sinful man” was not far from his lips.

But just a simple touch and a few words and divine peace flooded his heart, soul and mind again.

Yes it is tough John but do not be afraid of now or what lies ahead.

It is still the message for us today. This is the message of Revelation.

There’s no place you can fall that my hand cannot reach you.

There is no island you can be exiled to that my presence cannot find you.

And what about you? Where are you today? It doesn’t matter because every day is the Lord’s Day and if you simply lifted your head and voice in worship and permitted the Holy Spirit to come upon you then it matters not what has happened, He will come.

“I hadn’t seen him for 60 years. The last time was on a hill just outside Jerusalem. I followed him all this time. I resigned myself to only seeing him again in eternity. But I heard this call and …”

“I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.” (Revelation 1: 12-16)

“ … as you can see I am finding it difficult to word what I saw. He was more like what I saw on the Mount of Transfiguration. “Someone like … it was like … were like … were like … was like … was like …” I can’t fully describe what I saw but I saw Him!

John kept looking and behind the seven golden lampstands stood Jesus but like he had never seen Him before. Steeped in his Scriptural culture he uses a title all too familiar in the story of God. “One like the Son of Man”. God called Ezekiel that name but then when Daniel used it there was a shift from it being used for a human being to the One who would come from heaven to earth. An exalted figure, an earthly being but a heavenly one at the same time, human cloaking the divine.

Behind the Church is the reason for our existence. Empowered by a new kingdom, a divine power that enables the passion for the lost and the least, the mystery of the miraculous coming from another world led by Jesus who is not meek and mild, a spiritual leader, a guru, but a man who walked this earth and who carries titles that no one on earth can carry, the Son of Man. The Church needs to keep rediscovering who He is in order to be a true disciple in this world.

Six hundred years before He walked this earth as a man, Babylon is rising as a super power and begins expanding its empire. The city of Jerusalem is taken and that’s how the book of Daniel opens: “In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it.”

This is devastation. This is humiliation. That the people of God should be overtaken and overruled by the people of the world.

In 7:13-14 Daniel (a student of Jeremiah taken into exile) has a vision:

“In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man,coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshipped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”

Daniel saw what Jesus carried in his heart and mind. When Jesus used the title Son of Man he was thinking of Daniel. In Luke 22: 69 as he was going through his trials and facing his death, “But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God” he is quoting this vision Daniel had.

Before all things created, eternal, before all time. He is for all and beyond all. He is forever and ever. When things die He is still alive. There is an end and the last person standing is the Son of Man, standing with the saints of God, with us!

“As I looked, ‘thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened.” Daniel 7:9-10

Daniel so often seen isolated, standing for God in the midst of a wicked society sees an army. Thousands upon thousands ministering to THE Son of Man. Ten thousand times ten thousand standing before The Son of Man.

Old man John is looking and he is seeing what Daniel saw generations ago. He realises again that Patmos is not the end for him. He belongs to another world.

The purpose of our life is not here, our understanding of what has happened to us and others is not gained from this life, we don’t fear this life, we belong to another world and as we rediscover the Son of Man, this other-world seeps through our lives, through our humanity to a world who needs Jesus.

This is the answer to the Church. The answer to our decline. The answer for our discipleship. The answer for the world we live in is the rediscovery of the Son of Man. The world needs to see our humanity so that the divinity can impact their lives.

God hasn’t finished with you yet!

He is calling. Even the toughest situation could well be the place where God has you in order to speak to you and use you.

“On the Lord’s day the Spirit took control of me, and behind me I heard a loud voice that sounded like a trumpet. The voice said, “Write in a book what you see. Then send it to the seven churches in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”” Revelation 1:10-11

Oh that the Holy Spirit will take control of God’s people today.

You may be in an exile place, not exactly where you want to be, but the Spirit can take control of you.

You may be suffering for the gospel but the Spirit can take control of you.

You may be an old person now, time is running out, but the Spirit can take control of you.

Come Holy Spirit and overwhelm the spirit of the world, the spirit of fear and intimidation, the spirit of competition and greed, the spirit of apathy and discouragement. Take control of the followers of Jesus in the pulpits and the pews!

It is only when we are controlled by the Spirit will we hear the trumpet-like voice of Jesus.

The voice of battle: in ancient times the trumpet would sound to rouse the troops.

The voice of a new beginning: the Feast of Trumpets was the commencement of the new civil year (akin to our new year).

The voice of instruction to bow down and prostrate oneself in worshipful surrender.

Can you hear the trumpet call?!

This old man could hear that call. John, under the presence of the Holy Spirit hears this trumpet-like voice. He knows this is a rallying cry, this is a new season and a time to give total surrender to whatever God wants.

He probably thought his writing days were over. What do you think is over for you? Your witness? Here comes the instruction: “John, write ….”

Write again John. You’ve written a gospel and letters but even here in exile I’ve not finished with you. Write again.

Can you see this is for you?

Rise up friends. Rise up together for God will show us new things to see. He is here and He is ready. Are we?!