Letter to Leaders: Sardis (Rev. 3)

"Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches."  (Rev. 2: 29)

This quote is the most significant counsel we can receive as followers of Christ and those of us who lead the Body. Jesus is the Head and we follow Him.

Jesus' economy is different from the world's.  

The world says numbers mean success:  a movie with a huge opening weekend; a man with millions or billions; a company that explodes and garners the market.  In our capitalist system, money equals the dream of having made it; of being admired; of being in control and having access to all the world offers.

But Jesus talks about counting the cost of following Him; losing your life to find it; being meek and inheriting the earth (not buying it); denying self; carrying a cross; having faith like a child and going through the narrow gate, as opposed to taking the wide road.

Totally opposite of what the world would say.  Yet, today, we have megachurches with big everything:  celebrity preachers; powerfully influential worship bands; millions and millions of dollars spent on buildings, programs, jets, houses, and a lifestyle that would be hard to distinguish from Park Avenue residents.

All in Jesus' name.

What?

When you go deeper into Revelation, you will find the city whose values are luxury, conspicuous consumption and adultery:  Babylon.  Yes, adultery.  Literal, to be sure, but when God's people lust, unite and live out the world's values, they are committing spiritual adultery.  Back in the Old Testament, we read:

"Then they said, 'Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves..." (Gen. 11:4)  

Arrogance, self-sufficiency and pride runs through this quote:  It's not about God, it's about us.  Our city is gonna be amazing.  People will come from miles around and marvel at what we have done.  We will get the honor and the glory.  All our admirers will think about, as they walk around, is our greatness. Our values get stuff done, buildings built, and something for everybody.  No commitment, no humility...just a sense that as you walk in, you are part of something BIG.  Yup.  That's gonna be our sign right outside the city gates:  WELCOME TO BIG.

Sound familiar?  I wish this only applied to secular America. 

Our next church is Sardis:  "These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.  Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches." (Rev. 3:1-6)

Wow.  I find the word "reputation" significant here.  That's what people know about us.  So, people know of Sardis' reputation of "being alive."  How so?  What's the evidence?  Amazing services?  Amazing preaching?  Friendly folk?  But the reality doesn't fit the reputation.  All of the externals point to life in this church, but Jesus is looking deep in the heart of the people there, of the leaders there, and sadly, He finds a moribund church.

If we walked into this church today, with a worldly measuring stick of success, we too might find Sardis a happening church. In fact, its very reputation might be the draw; who doesn't want to go to a church where it's all about an experience?  A previous church I attended renamed the Sunday service, "the Sunday experience."  Yup.  That puts Sunday squarely in my lap: if I have a good experience, then it was a good service.  If I don't, then it wasn't and the church needs to know about that.  Nothing about what I bring to God; nothing about serving Him (serving the church, yes) and nothing about a humble offering of adoration and praise.

Solution?  "Wake up!"  Do the work God has called the leaders to do and do it.  No rocket science here.  Focus on the foundation:  what you have heard and received from Jesus and the Word of God.  Jesus is the Word of God and the only foundation that can sustain His Body here on earth. No big productions, stories, video clips, props and anecdotes have the power to bring forth faith.  Just preach the Word: 

"How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?  And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!'  But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, 'Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?'  So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." (Rom. 10:14-17) 

No story, production or awesome worship band will bring someone to a deeper relationship.  It will be an experience, but we stand on Him, not good feelings.

How do you grow a church?  Preach His Word.  Walk in His righteousness alone, for He is enough:

"Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: 'Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.'" (1 Cor. 1: 26-31) 

Jesus' economy is based on Him and our humble acceptance of what He did for us.  

Wake up American churches! 

Letter for Leaders: Thyatira (Rev. 2)

Let's keep moving through the letters to each of the churches with their application to church leaders in view.  We are in Revelation, chapter 2, verses 18-29.

“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 prophet. 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 except to hold on to what you have until I come.’  26 To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations— 27 that one ‘will rule them with an iron scepter and will dash them to pieces like pottery’—just as I have received authority from my Father. 28 I will also give that one the morning star. 29 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches."

Once again, it is Christ Who is addressing His bride.  His eyes are as fire: a strong light, filled with heat to warm or heat to burn.  Fire provides comfort or terror; context is everything.  Jesus stands and addresses His church not as the humble carpenter from Galilee, but the Almighty God, Whose radiance is either reassuring or terrifying, depending on which side of the cross you stand.  

His feet are of burnished bronze--this relates to metal that has been heated to a high temperature.  Christ stood in the furnace with the three young men in the book of Daniel who refused to bow down to a pagan's king's image:  

"And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. 24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, 'Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?'  They answered and said unto the king, "True, O king."  25 He answered and said, 'Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.'  26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, 'Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire.' (Daniel 3:23-26)

Christ stood in the midst of the fire then and here in Revelation, He stands not as an unknown figure seen by a pagan king and comforting three young men, but as the overcoming Son of God.  

If you know the Son of God, the Son of the Most High, then the fire and white-hot bronze is not terrifying.

He commends the church:  "I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first." (verse 19)

Wow!  They are aligned beautifully with the values of their King, and are doing more than what they did when they first started!  I hear cheers in heaven here.  What better way to show the love of Christ than to model it in a community where those values are not present and do even more as the needs of  the people become more and more apparent.

OK.  Score one for the home team.  But, and this is huge: the exhortation against them is very serious.  The Bride is being polluted.  It doesn't matter if her name is literally "Jezebel."  She is doing the very thing that Jezebel did in the Old Testament:  she is compromising the Word by Satanic practices.  Let's quickly review this woman:

"Jezebel was the daughter of the priest-king Ethbaal, ruler of the coastal Phoenician cities (now in Lebanon) of Tyre and Sidon (Arabic: Ṣaydā). When Jezebel married Ahab (ruled c. 874–c. 853 BCE), she persuaded him to introduce the worship of the Tyrian god Baal-Melkart, a nature god. A woman of fierce energy, she tried to destroy those who opposed her; most of the prophets of Yahweh were killed at her command. These cruel and despotic actions provoked the righteous wrath of Elijah; according to 1 Kings 17, he accurately prophesied the onset of a severe drought as divine retribution. Sometime later Elijah had the Baal priests slain, after they lost a contest with him to see which god would heed prayers to ignite a bull offering, Baal or Yahweh. When Jezebel heard of the slaughter, she angrily swore to have Elijah killed, forcing him to flee for his life (1 Kings 18:19–19:3)."

"A few years later Ahab perished in battle with the Syrians. Jezebel lived on for approximately another ten years. Elijah’s successor, Elisha the prophet, equally determined to end Baal worship, had a military commander named Jehu anointed to be king of Israel, an act that provoked civil war, for Jezebel’s son Jehoram (Joram) then ruled. Jehu killed Jehoram at the site of Naboth’s property and then went to Jezebel’s palace. Expecting him, she adorned herself for the occasion. Looking down from her window, she taunted him, and Jehu ordered her eunuchs to throw her out the window. Later, when he commanded that she be properly buried as a king’s daughter, it was discovered that dogs had eaten most of her body." (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jezebel-queen-of-Israel) 

Let's list the problems here:

1.  This historical Jezebel married a king of Israel!  That right there is violating the sanctity of the  God-ordained monarchy of Israel and God's chosen people.  

2.  Introduced a new god to be worshiped by the King and the people.  Again, the king is to honor God and lead the people as a role model of spiritual propriety.  

3.  God's spokesmen, the prophets, are killed at her command.  So, God's voice is largely silenced.  The king is accountable to God; if there are no prophets to come before him and remind him of that, he can delude himself of his right to rule, and go his own way. 

4.  Praise God for Elijah, but drought struck the land, displaying God's utter disgust at his king, for he is tolerating actions of his queen that are utterly against all Israel stands for and is in covenant with God to maintain.  If the king opts out of his obligations, God has every right tot withhold rain.

5.  Civil war comes to Israel; God's succession of kings is circumvented by the conniving Jezebel, who wanted this monstrosity of a monarchy to continue, and the practices that have dominated the land.

6.  Her sentence was to become dog food.  God will not allow His chosen to be endlessly violated, even if they are complicit in the compromise of the covenant and the Law.  

How does this relate to our current church and its leaders?  Jesus says:  "Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling." (verses 20-21)  

This Jezebel has taken on the role of prophet and her words are not of God.  She teaches false doctrine, and the church has been convinced that sexual immorality and food sacrificed to idols are not problematic.  

WHERE ARE THE LEADERS?  HELLO?  Why are they going along with this, given that they serve the community so well?  Jesus has even called her to repentance, and she refuses.  Why aren't the leaders doing something about this?

The Jerusalem Council in Acts 15 makes it clear that sexual immorality and food sacrificed to idols were definitely not permitted as Gentiles entered the church.  The earliest meetings were held in synagogues, and Gentiles behaving this way would have alienated their Jewish brethren.  The Law did not save anyone; it is God's grace that saves, demonstrated by Jesus' sacrifice on the cross and one's belief in it.  But, the law is a schoolmaster (Gal. 3:24) and it showed new Gentile believers how to behave as they followed Jesus.  

Did the leaders not want to offend those who still engaged in such practices?  Did this woman have some good teachings interlaced with ones that violated God's Word?  Did the leaders themselves lose sight of God's standards because, Hey, after all, we are in Gentile territory!  We gotta reach them!  We can't get too hung up on Gentile practices, or we'd have no one showing up!  The people get their meat from the pagan altars, but the gods don't exist; should we then make a big deal of that?  Sex stuff...well, we are working on that.  As long as its monogamous, let's not make too big a deal.  Otherwise, who'd come to church? 

Do we really honor God by diluting or recasting His Word, just to get people into the church, so they can hear the Word?  But if the Word they receive seems to be applied only when it's non-offensive, then the Word will be preached less and less, because it is God-centered.  The flesh, even Jesus-loving flesh, will want to compromise, and end up living a life that doesn't show victory over sin but a compromise with it.  

The power of God will not be demonstrated in the lives of believers, and many will begin to believe the Christian life and its victory over sin is a fiction.  

But, Jesus will reward those who hold fast to the truth.  Jesus wants us to be like Him, drawing us deeper into who He is, and conforming our newly born spirit more and more to His image.  

But how is compromising sin in His churches, ignoring God's Word and allowing those who preach effectively another Gospel (but you have to know the true one to see the counterfeit) going to help believers do that?  

Worse still, when we encourage the culturally correct, well-meaning, and diluted message-givers to lead our churches, other leaders will follow in their steps.  The sheep walk hand in hand with wolves.  

Such churches may gain approval from the world, but from God, His response is clearly stated in this letter.  

Letter for Leaders--Pergamum (Rev. 2)

We are moving forward through the letters to the churches in Revelation, looking at them as guidelines for any leader who wishes to lead his flock as a godly shepherd.  Leaders in the church are to model Jesus; He leads us to the Word and He is the Word.  So we have an excellent way to constantly check how we are leading. 

Let us check out the guidelines in Pergamum:

“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.  Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality. Likewise, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it."

The "sharp, double-edged sword" as you know, is the Word of God: "and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (Eph. 6:17).  The Word/Jesus oversees the church.  His Word and Him being the Word is the only arbiter of how a leader should lead and conduct the affairs of the church. 

This church is being commended for remaining "true to my name."  This is immensely critical given where the church is located:  in a spiritual stronghold where Satan holds sway. Death has already visited the church and the leadership has stood firm, not renouncing the faith. This church is staying true to its calling:  to preach the Word.  

The only basis for leadership direction is the Word.  This requires two things.  We must really know the Word--the Scriptures in their entirety as the whole counsel of God.  We must also really know the Word--Jesus Christ.  Both are critical to remaining true to His name, and not compromising the message.

Bill Johnson of Bethel Church once commented that he could not have a gospel that did not promote healing.  That sounds spiritual, compassionate and reasonable.  But it is not Biblical.  That is key here:  the Word is our only foundation, and even if it makes us uncomfortable or culturally out of sync, we are to remain firm.

Why?  Look what the angel says further on: Some members of the church (or perhaps some leaders) are holding to beliefs that are contrary to the Word.  Food sacrificed to idols and sexual immorality are what the Nicolaitans are promoting and this church does not seem to mind their presence and their teachings.  Their sister church in Ephesus is commended for repudiating these people. 

How do we, as leaders, face our "Nicolaitans"?

In Acts, chapter 15, the early church faces a controversy about circumcising Gentile believers.  What is evident here is how the apostles gather together and speak the Word in order to settle the dispute.  Peter does a Spirit-led job in summarizing how God worked among the Gentiles: 

"The apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter.  And after there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith. Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?  But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.” (Acts 15:6-11)

That last verse is the essence of the Gospel and Peter is standing on that.  James then quotes the Word directly:  

“‘After this I will return,
and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen;
I will rebuild its ruins,
and I will restore it,
that the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord,
and all the Gentiles who are called by my name,
says the Lord, who makes these things known from of old.’" (Acts 15:16-17)

Peter acknowledges that the Gentiles at some point would enter in God's Kingdom.  His first sermon earlier in Acts demonstrated this; he repeatedly used the Word to underscore his points.  Here he gives a salient summary.  James then steps up and quotes a passage to give the leaders the answer:  The Gentiles received the same Spirit from God as had the Jews.  Thus, salvation comes only from "the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ." The Law cannot and will not save. 

The Word provided the answer.  

Therefore, in James' judgment, derived from God's Word, the Gentiles should avoid:  "Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood." (Acts 15:19-20)

Isn't that a contradiction?  Aren't these leaders putting some additional "law" on the Gentiles?  Deuteronomy says,

"They stirred him [God] to jealousy with strange gods;
with abominations they provoked him to anger.
They sacrificed to demons that were no gods,
to gods they had never known,
to new gods that had come recently,
whom your fathers had never dreaded.
You were unmindful of the Rock that bore you,
and you forgot the God who gave you birth." (32:16-18) 

Paul further notes: 

"Consider the people of Israel: are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar? What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?" (1 Cor. 10:18-22)

Thus, the early church is opening its arms to the Gentiles based on the Word.  But they are also limiting the Gentiles because the idols and their altars are demonic.  Why would the leaders allow their new brothers and sisters in Christ to engage with demons?  Dark and light are not to cohabitate; allowing Gentiles to still interact with the meat, the altar and the idols would be contrary to God's Word about the true nature of idols.  

Was this inconvenient to the new Gentile believers, who saw nothing wrong with grabbing a hunk of meat after it had been sacrificed to some god?  Yes.

Was it judgmental to limit the sexual behavior of Gentiles in addition to all things idolatrous?  Yes.  

But the Word of God is uncompromising on such matters.  So should the leadership be, regardless of cultural norms.  

Interesting to note that the Spirit will fight the teachings of the Nicolaitans at Pergamum with the sword--the Word of God.  It is not a battle of opinions, majorities or cultural standards.  God's Word is the only foundation for starting, running and sustaining a church.  

The Spirit promises "hidden manna" to those who remain true.  

Jesus identified Himself with manna:

When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”  Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.  For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. (John 6:25-35)

Boom.  Holding fast to the Word means holding fast to Jesus.  Victory means more Jesus--more Manna.  More life, more strength, more joy.

Talk about a church where the people are fed with Christ as the Word by being in the Word... Whoa! and Amen!

In so many churches today, with the focus on the Word being reduced to more of an opinion, or a quick encouragement, would anyone notice if the Spirit walked away? 

  

Letter for Leaders: Smyrna (Rev. 2)

Welcome back! We are exploring how the letters to the seven churches in the Book of Revelation can be used to understand Jesus-centered leadership in the modern church. 

The guidance that Ephesus gives us is do not, in our effort to grow and then sustain a church, fall out of touch with Jesus--He is our first and only love.  Anything that threatens that love--too busy of a schedule, doing lots of church-centered activities, spending every moment trying to rescue the world, less time for devotions and Bible study--will bring God deep grief; so much so He calls such a church to repentance.  That's a strong word; God does not want His love nor relationship to us to be replaced by church.

One last comment here.  God commends the church for their hatred of the "practices of the Nicolaitans," which He equally hates.  Yup: That's the word used: hate.  Look at Vine's definition:

(b) of a right feeling of aversion from what is evil; said of wrongdoing, Rom 7:15; iniquity, Hbr 1:9; "the garment (figurative) spotted by the flesh," Jud 1:23; "the works of the Nicolaitans," Rev 2:6 (and ver. 15, in some mss.; see the AV); 

What these people were doing was detestable and evil; hence, due to the gravity of sin, God minces no words. But do you notice that it is the practices that rouse His ire, not the people themselves. God wants people who do evil to repent: "Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord God: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?" (Ezekiel 18:23) 

Obviously, this church was well-grounded in the Word.  To see, understand and respond to the things that are detestable to God, we must know the Word--not our culture, not our traditions, and not our personal bias.  God's Word is the only standard.  Irrespective of what the world says, God does hate sin and wants those who practice it to turn away from it and turn to Him.  Church leaders that affirm that process are commended by God.

Let's go the next letter.

“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."  (Rev. 2:8-11) 

I go to a football game, but that does not mean I am a football player.

I go to university, but that does not make me a student.

I go to church, but that does not make me a Christian.  

Clearly, this church is under heavy fire by those claiming to be Jews but are emphatically not.  They slander this church and in doing so, are joining forces with Satan to demean its message about the saving grace of Jesus.  Satan always joins forces with those who denigrate the Gospel.  Are the afflictions a result of this slander?  Or is the pagan community already hostile and this slander just adds fuel to the fire?  

Persecution is coming and God is warning His leaders and people.  A "victor's crown" is promised; prison and torture will not diminish the power of God in His church in any way.  

Jesus had earlier promised:  “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." (Matt. 16:17-18)   The "rock" was Peter's declaration of who Jesus is, and His Lordship cannot and will not be removed nor diminished, despite all that Hell may throw against it.  

The Smyrna church, and us as well, are included in that promise.

Now, as then, leaders should expect persecution, even from those who use the same theological terminology.  Calling a church "Christian" or people calling themselves that simply does not make it so.  

However:  If someone uses the Word is used to evaluate a church and it falls short, that is legitimate.  If the church is of Jesus, its leaders should be "teachable," one of the qualities Paul cites that characterizes a pastor/leader.  (1 Timothy 3:2) 

If the leader responds by slandering those who are evaluating him with the Word, this moves him precariously close to the "synagogue of Satan" mentioned in this letter.  Satan will do everything in his power to hamstring the leadership in a church.  Expect it.

Leaders should expect temptations that will lead to "prison" if the leader succumbs.  Paul says in 1 Timothy 3:1-7:

"Here is a trustworthy saying: Whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task.  Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife,temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?) He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap."

OK, leader/pastor:  Here we go: 

Satan will tempt you to compromise your walk any way he can, making your behavior questionable.

Satan will tempt you to commit adultery, whether with a person, in your head or on your computer.  The method matters not; imprisoning you in sin and regret is Satan's goal. 

Temperate?  No.  Be free in your use of alcohol.  You are not like other people; you have this under control.  But if you do behave badly, (whether in secret or not) you will reap the whirlwind.

Self-controlled?  Nah.  Tweet with a vengeance those who mock or call you out.  Being self-controlled is weakness; be assertive, aggressive and let people know you will not tolerate any accusations or trash-talk--even from your own people. 

Respectable?  Hey, don't worry if you are conforming to the culture.  The world will see you as hip, progressive, relatable.  In fact, at first glance, the world might not even know you are a pastor.  Good thing, huh? 

Hospitable?  Kinda hard to do that if you have thousands in your church.  Just delegate.  Besides, who has time to give water to the thirsty, food to the hungry, clothe the naked and visit the prisoners, if you have such a megachurch? Let others do that.  Your main concern is the church stage and how your music and message will fill your church.  

Teachable?  Gotta know the Word to do that.  Gotta teach the Word in its fullness to do that.  Gotta live the Word to model it to your sheep. But if you are limited in your knowledge or are trying so hard to be relevant, (is that another word for shallow?) then it is hard to see error in yourself or in your theology.  Satan loves shallow.

Drunkenness?  No, you don't get, well, drunk.  Whether your weaker sheep are stumbling over the leadership drinking, well, that's their problem.

Violent?  Not you!  Not at least in person.  But when you get on Twitter or Facebook, whoa...watch out.  Or, despite all of your sweetness and light in the pulpit, if anyone talks to your wife or children off the record, another portrait of you emerges entirely.

Quarrelsome?  Well, not if people stay off your bad side.  Everyone has a bad side--whether it is under the Lordship of Christ is another matter.  

Lover of money?  C'mon.  God wants to open the coffers of heaven and rain wealth down on you.  Cars, jets, houses, you name it!  If God is blessing you, who has the right to question that?  Jesus? Well, yeah,  He lived a simple and devoted life to serve us, but He wants you as a follower to look nothing like Him in lifestyle.  In fact, you look remarkably like the 1%.

Respectful kids, well-run home?  How can anyone do that in today's culture?  Satan has seen to that, for sure.

Celebrity pastors?  New-born renegades who get an immediate platform?  You can handle it, gentlemen!  You got God!  (His Word doesn't agree with you, but ya gotta know it to see that!)

So, we are called, just as the leaders in Smyrna were, to be faithful.  

To who?  Christ alone and His Word, even if it costs us everything. But no worries!  A victor's crown awaits us!  

 

Letter For Leaders: Ephesus

We are looking at the church in Ephesus, as it receives a letter from the Holy Spirit, commending it for certain things and warning it about other things.

Just what you'd expect the Spirit to do, right? This is the pattern of God's love language: Here are the ways you are offending Me, for it violates our covenant or a specific injunction I already made clear to you; you must do these certain behaviors, mainly repentance and its fruits, to show Me you are willing to turn away from the offense; if you choose to insist and persist in sin, these consequences will arrive at your door.  I exercise My love first, calling your heart to turn from what is a barrier between you and me. I then exercise My judgement if you fall on your knees to your idol, and not on your knees to Me.

So, as we saw earlier, the Spirit commends this church for:

"I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted."

I asked in an earlier blog what God considers "good works." If we follow Jesus, then let's follow Jesus! What does He say about His good works?

He heals the one man who had been an invalid for a long time--thirty-eight years.  He could not get down the Pool of Siloam in time to be healed; he was there along with many other people who were unable to move as well: "the blind, the lame, the paralyzed."  Wow.  What a cruel situation:  The very people who want to be healed had been left there by whoever brought them to the pool's edge.  But the blind couldn't see the water stirring; the lame couldn't move fast enough and the paralyzed couldn't move at all.  Where were the people that brought them?  Did they "park" them at the pool's edge, and hope that someone would show up in time?  Or would they run back to help?  At least, they had some hope that the person who brought them would help them.  

But this man had no one to help him; so, day after day, his hope was high in the morning: Maybe today is the day!  By the day's end, it set with the sun:  Another day.  Oh well.

But Jesus brought hope to this one man.  That is Jesus' way:  to zero in on those who are hopeless, friendless, fatherless.  Jesus helped him; He was there in time.  Not for the stirring of the water but for the moment when Heaven saw this man's loneliness and touched him with a power greater than all the pools of Siloam could muster. 

Of course, the authorities were furious, for their version of the Sabbath had been violated.  What did Jesus say?  "In his defense Jesus said to them, 'My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.'”  (John 5:17) 

He continues:  "Jesus gave them this answer: 'Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.  For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed.'" (John 5:19-20)

Jesus says in John 6:38-40: "For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”

Jesus says in John 12:49-50: "For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken. I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.”

Do you see the operating definition of "good works"? How do we, in a leadership role, persevere as we serve the Lord?  How do we discern false teaching and those who propagate such teachings?  How do we labor and not grow weary? 

Do only what the Holy Spirit directs you to do.  

Did Jesus run around and heal everyone at the Pool of Siloam?

Did Jesus work day in and day out, never resting?  Never leaving the crowds behind?  Never taking time with just the disciples to regroup and refresh?  Feeling guilty when the need was overwhelming but He took time away with His Father?

Why do we serve Him, but try to recast Christian service as going 24/7, not taking breaks and always pursuing the next act of service without rest or respite? 

Why do we burn out, and yet Jesus did not?

He only did what His Father directed Him to do.  

Why do we burn out, and yet Jesus' disciples and Paul did not?

They only did what the Holy Spirit directed them to do.  

In Ephesus, their sin was one of forgetting "their first love." 

Love that is tired, forgets.

Love that is burned out, forgets.

Love that is resentful, forgets.

Love that is always busy, forgets.

We can return to our Jesus, our hearts aglow with first love (even if it's been ages since we received Him) with a commitment to follow His direction and His alone.

Not man's traditions.

Not our own guilt.

Not our own definition of service.

As leaders and followers of Jesus, don't take your eyes (ever!) off the Master.

The Seven Churches in Revelation: Guidance for Leaders

We usually look to the seven churches in Revelation as a way to evaluate our church.  Which one do we most resemble?  Or we see the churches as representing a period in church history, with Laodicea being equal to where the church is now.

I would like to apply the churches to our pastors, to our leaders in the church and to ourselves.  Why?  We are the church.  It is not a building, nor a program, nor a denomination.  We are the Body of Christ, and unless a body moves, grows and responds to its environment, it is dead.

In Revelation 1:1, we find the letter is written to "his servants"--us.  We are all servants of Christ to be sure, but if our calling is more specific and we serve those around us and people look to us for that help and guidance, then these letters can prove an antidote to false teaching and false belief. 

Jesus, in His majesty, instructs John to write a letter to these seven churches, specifically to the "angel" or messenger of that particular church.  A pastor is in effect, a messenger.  He brings the Word of God that he has received as he ponders what the Holy Spirit would have him bring. 

The strength of any church really emanates from its leadership--the people who lead by example the very Word of God.  We all are serving the Lord, but as James 3:1 says, "Not many [of you] should become teachers [serving in an official teaching capacity], my brothers and sisters, for you know that we [who are teachers] will be judged by a higher standard [because we have assumed greater accountability and more condemnation if we teach incorrectly]." (AMP Bible)

Exactly.  Churches are a top-down affair; Jesus as our Head, and those who are called serve to bring the Word forth, by preaching, teaching and living it. 

Yes, church leaders say that Jesus is the Good Shepherd, but then do they truly take from Him how to lead His sheep?  Or do they tailor the message to make the sheep happy?  The primary concern of godly leadership is not to ponder, "Are the sheep happy?"  It is, "Are the sheep growing in the knowledge of the Shepherd and will be well equipped to carry His message wherever they go?"

It must begin with the leaders of any church:  Are these leaders themselves growing in the knowledge of the Shepherd?  Are they equipped to carry His message wherever they go? 

So, let us begin this journey into being a messenger/leader/pastor of His truth, and how we can learn from these seven churches in Revelation on what godly leadership looks like.

Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;
2 I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:
3 And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.
4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.
6 But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate.
7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. (Rev. 2:1-7 KJV)
God walks amongst His people, in His churches.  Each of these churches in Revelation have strengths and weaknesses, and God watches carefully what each church that honors Him is doing.  

Yet, Paul indicates that anyone who preaches "another gospel" is accursed, and says this twice. (Gal. 1:8-9)  This raises an interesting question:  Does God walk among those churches that have erred doctrinally, and who have prioritized human wisdom over the Holy Spirit's?  Are those churches who pursue an agenda that relies more on human effort than on guidance provided by the Holy Spirit still under His care?     

We have all walked into churches and sensed God's presence; we have all equally walked into churches and sense a kind of energy but not a divine one.  Everything looks like church, but the people lack something as they congregate.  

Has God removed His presence?  He sees the evil in us, in the world, and sent His Son to die for that very evil and to redeem us from the curse of sin.  Evil doesn't drive God away; otherwise He have nothing to do with this planet.  He is very well aware of what goes on in churches that claim His name, but does He give His approval?  That is another thing entirely.  

Does He leave once a particular church no longer honors His Word and His Son?  He certainly dwells in those individual sheep who cling to His truth in that church, and in those leaders who stand unflinchingly upon the Word.  But what if the overall leadership has moved away from His truth?  What if the church is increasingly sustained only by the energy of its leaders who "allow" the Holy Spirit's guidance as an add-on to what they have already planned?    

Perhaps the leaders think that every thought they have regarding their church is from God.  If the thought is not obviously antithetical to the Word, they jump right in.  But just because it's a good idea doesn't make it from God.  

Regardless of why, many churches today are lead by well-meaning leaders who are swayed by the world's values, and have been ignoring the Word when "inconvenient." 

God chastens those He loves and that leadership will feel the rod. (Heb. 12:6-11)  Why?  Who is the leadership really following?  It's an essential question, especially in today's church, where seminars touting business-like approaches to church growth, pastors claiming supposedly new revelations, and organizations providing pre-packaged food for the flock are tempting frustrated leaders to get off their knees and head to the Internet.    

Meanwhile, back in Ephesus, we hear how pleased the Father is, for the leaders have done good deeds, have been hard at work and have persevered. "Wicked people" are not tolerated, and those who bring false doctrine are evaluated and then are labelled as such.  Again, their perseverance in times of trouble, standing in the fire for His name and not allowing weariness to take over are commended by God.  

The sheep have consequently benefited from their leaders, and the church receives Heaven's praise.

So, looking a little deeper, let's ask a few questions: 

• What deeds are considered good by God? 
• What kind of "hard work" is honored by Him?
• How does a leader persevere in trials and challenges?
• How does a leader discern false teachers and their claims? 
• How does a leader not become weary and keep pressing on when faced with hardships? 

Jesus taught an key concept here about good deeds: “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven." (Matt. 6:1) [emphasis mine] 

Good deeds are not at issue here; it's the motivation behind the good deed. Otherwise, Jesus' words of "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." (Matt. 5:16) seem contradictory.  My emphasis in Matthew 6:1 is what matters the most to the Father:  Are you doing good deeds to glorify you or Him?  Good deeds are well, good:  you are not openly rebelling against the Word and doing something sinful.  But your heart is not aligned with the servant-heart of Christ.  

Is that why the Spirit in Ephesus is reminding them of their "first love" and "first works"?  (Rev. 2:4-5) The Spirit is calling this loss from the church's "first love" a fall that requires repentance, and a return to what the Spirit celebrated about this church in the first place.  The Spirit calls this church to repentance twice.  This is a serious error on the church's part, on the leaders' part, and will cause the church to be removed from its sphere of influence if the leaders and people do not repent.  

The Spirit is warning them that time is short; with all the events soon to unfold, the church leaders must realign with the Lord, giving Him the glory as they work in His name.  The times to come will not allow church leaders to serve God without a full commitment to Him and to Him alone. 

So, we have the answer to the first question:  Deeds considered good by God are done by those leaders who glorify Him and show by example this attitude to their congregation.  These leaders will repent quickly when they are shown that they have erred by stealing God's glory--any of it--for themselves.    

This is gonna be fun!  Stick with me and I will post more often on this subject.  I am not done with Ephesus yet, and we have six more churches/leadership qualities to go!  Boo-yah!

 

Yesterday: How I Spent My 4th

I will take a slight detour today from looking at the state of the church.  We just passed July 4th.  My husband was so impressed by President Trump's speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial, that I sat down and watched it this morning.  It was very good, and reminded us of how people make the difference in history.  No matter where we serve, if we serve God by serving one another, history marches to a better beat.

I spent my 4th with a dear friend over lunch, and then I went and saw the movie, Yesterday.  It was brilliant and reminded how much The Beatles are part of who I am.

I was a little kid when my older brother ran in a neighbor's house where I was playing and said, "You've got to hear this!" to the neighbor's son.  There were four guys on the album cover, and I could read the title: Meet the Beatles.  The year was 1964.  I was only four years old, but I remember my brother's exuberance.  He was in a state of excitement I remember to this day.  I didn't understand why, but over the course of ten years, I would hear every Beatles' album, playing on my brother's stereo. 

In 1967, another explosion of excitement:  Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band came out.  I was seven.  My mom read the lyrics on the back cover and was very impressed by them.  My brother played that album over and over.  I wondered who Mr. Kite was, what getting "high with a little help from my friends" meant but loved the music all the same.  The orchestra arrangements, the carnival sounds, and the eerie sound effects were compelling and fueled my imagination.

When Yesterday was released, I told my daughter I was going to see it.  She said, "Of course you will, Mom."

It is brilliant, as I said, and a lovely reminder of just how innovative The Beatles were.  In trying to explain to my daughter how they alter popular music forever, she listened patiently, but today's music echoes those innovations, and seems so normal that it is hard to imagine a time when music wasn't  like that.  It struck me as I talked to her: you'd had to be there.

The movie explores the idea that how would the world look now had the Beatles not been around.  This young man wakes up in a alternative universe where certain cultural icons we all know, are not part of Western culture--coke and the Beatles, to name a few.  He then tries to remember all their songs and takes credit initially for writing them.

I won't say anymore, but the defining moment for me was when he was sticking sticky notes to his wall of all their song titles.  The bounty of songs those boys managed to produce was breathtaking.

I have grown weary of my country over the last few years.  I have grown deeply disturbed over the state of the church in America.  But for a few hours yesterday, I could relive and relish a time when popular culture made me excited, and music was powerful, meaningful and impacted the culture for good.

Yes, I know:  the 60's were not perfect, not every song and not everything the Beatles was sublime.

But the exuberance of the music and the joy it brought millions--my brother and I included--was evident in Yesterday.  An odd way to celebrate the country's birthday, but it was a lovely walk down memory lane.  My brother died earlier this year, after a long battle with drugs, alcohol and mental illness.  I was saddened remembering his life, but I was grateful:  his love of the Beatles drove me to love music as well.  His legacy shone out of that movie.

Perhaps this is what growing old is:  remembering the beauty in the ashes, and celebrating those moments when the world was less wearisome.