What If Jesus Sent You an Email?: A Message to the Church

You're listening to A New Beginning with Greg Laurie, a podcast made possible by Harvest Partners, helping people everywhere know God.

Visit our website and learn more about Harvest Partners at harvest.org. Thanks to the times in which we live. He says, there's some things I want to say to you, my children, right now.

Think of this as a personal email, a personal text, a letter, a card from the Lord directly to you. The story is told of famous baseball player Yogi Berra at the wheel with his family in the car. His wife says, Yogi, we passed that landmark three times.

I think we're lost. Yogi says, I know, but we're making good time. Some of us are a bit lost in our understanding of the book of Revelation, but we do know that time is short. Today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie helps clear up the confusion and bring a solid understanding of what's coming in God's end times plan.

Let me start with a question. Have you ever wondered about what is going to happen in the future? Have you ever wished you could just peer over time and see what is going to take place?

I have to be honest with you, in some ways, I'm glad I don't know the future. Bottom line, God knows the future, and I know Him, and that's enough. But in fact, the book of Revelation does give us a glimpse into the future. Again, the word revelation, and by the way, it's not revelations. Sometimes people say, I was reading Revelations the other day. It's revelation.

It's singular, not plural, but the word revelation means the unveiling, because as I've said before, it is not God's desire to conceal, but to reveal. One thing I learned from studying this great book is God has a plan, and everything is right on schedule, and I also discovered that the best is yet to come, and we win in the end. So why should I study the book of Revelation or Bible prophecy in general? Answer, to get a perspective, because we learn about the future to motivate us to live right in the present.

It's important how I view the future. As an example, if I believe that Jesus could come back at any moment, will it not affect me in the way that I live? Hey, remember when you were a kid, and maybe you got in trouble, and your mom said, you just wait until your father gets home. Did you look forward to the arrival of your father? No, you did not, because you'd done something wrong, and when his car pulled into the driveway, and you heard him walking up to the front door, you were afraid.

But on the other hand, let's say you were a good kid, and you didn't get in trouble. You could hardly wait until daddy got home. Let's apply that to the Lord's return. If I'm right with God, I'm looking forward to his return.

If I've done something to dishonor him, or to disobey him, then maybe I dread it. So you can see your belief in the imminent return of Jesus has an effect on you, and in the way that you live. So what does revelation unveil or reveal? Well, it reveals a supernatural world. The world of heaven, and of hell, the world of God, and of angels, and of supernatural activity all around us each and every day. Revelation also reveals eternity, and we realize that there is an afterlife.

There is a supernatural realm coexisting with the natural realm. In the book of Revelation, there's a timelessness. Ecclesiastes 3.15 says, You hear a verse like that, and you say, huh?

Okay, here's what it means. God living in the eternal realm can see the past with perfect accuracy. He can see the future with total clarity. So when he tells us something is going to happen, we can be sure it will happen exactly as he has said. That is why the Bible is the one book that dares to predict the future.

Not once, not twice, but hundreds of times with 100% accuracy. Not only does revelation reveal the future, it reveals us. It reveals us to us. You know, when we think of Revelation, we think of Armageddon, and Antichrist, and the 144,000, and the mark of the beast, and all those things. And that's all in this book, of course, but there's more than that in this book. And as we're going to see from Revelation chapter 2 to 3, Jesus has a lot to say to the church. But before we get into all the prophetic things, Jesus has a lot to say to his followers.

He has a lot to say to you, and he has a lot to say to me. So in effect, before the Lord addresses our future, he says, there's some things I want to say to you, my children, right now. And that's very important because we're going to look at the words of Jesus to the seven churches. You can think of this as God's letter to you. Or you can think of it as God's email to you. Imagine if you got an email from God. Or if you got a text from Jesus. Would you read it?

I think you would. Think of this as a personal email, a personal text, a letter, a card from the Lord directly to you. Now as we look at what Jesus says to these seven churches, there's three things we need to know.

Number one, this speaks to us practically. In other words, these were actual churches we're going to read about. The Church of Ephesus. The Church of Smyrna. The Church of Pergamos, Thyatira, Laodicea, Philadelphia, and so forth. So they were actual churches.

And in fact, they followed a postal route of that day. So Jesus is speaking specifically to these existing churches and their pastors. We don't want to miss that. Number two, they speak to us prophetically. We have sort of a flyover of church history, starting with the Church of Ephesus and concluding with the Church of Laodicea. So we start with an apostolic church and we end up with an apostate church. We start with a church that is in danger of leaving its first love. And we end up with a church that Jesus says, you make me sick to my stomach. Well, you know things are messed up when someone says, you make me sick to my stomach.

Guys, if you ask a girl out on a date and she says, you make me want to throw up, that's not a good sign. And that's exactly what Jesus says to the final church we'll be looking at. So we start with a church that's losing its passion and we end with a church that Jesus is on the outside of trying to get into. And one final thing as we look at the words of Jesus to these churches, they speak to us personally.

Again, I want you to think of this as God's email to you. So let's look together now at Revelation chapter 2. I'm reading verses 1 to 5.

To the angel of the church of Ephesus write, These things saith he that holds the seven stars in his right hand and who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands. I know your works, your labor, your patience. You can't bear those who are evil. And you've tested those who say they are apostles and are not.

You found them liars. You persevered. You've had patience and you've labored for my name's sake and you have not become weary. Nevertheless, I have this against you. You have left your first love. Remember from where you have fallen and repent and do the first works or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place unless you repent. Wow. Powerful words.

We'll stop right there. So let me illustrate what Jesus is saying by talking about people who get married. You know they say marriage is like a three ring circus. It's engagement ring, wedding ring, and suffering.

It doesn't have to be that way of course but sometimes it is. You know when you're first courting a girl you want to impress her as a guy. You do everything for her. You tell her how beautiful she looks. You open the door of the car for her. You pull out the chair in the restaurant for her. You take her to the finest restaurants. French restaurants. And you don't even like French food.

I can't stand French food by the way. But you know you do all those things for her. Then you marry her and some time passes and things have changed. You still open the door of the car for her. You just close it before she's all the way in. You pull the chair out of the restaurant for her but you don't put it back in and when she falls you laugh.

You take her to French restaurants like Le Golden Arches and Jochenzy Box or things like that. Something has gone wrong. The honeymoon is over.

Right? The first year of the marriage the woman listens. The second year of the marriage the man listens.

The third year of the marriage nobody listens. I heard about a woman who was married and she was very hungry. So she made the horrible mistake of committing the crime of shoplifting. She stole a can of peaches. The store owner saw her do it and she was arrested.

And she was standing before the judge. And he said, So you stole a can of peaches? He said, Yes I did. He said, How many peaches were in the can? She said, Eight peaches your honor. He said, Then you will serve eight months in jail.

One month for every peach. Then the husband decided it was time to speak up. He said, Your honor I would like to say something. And the judge said, Yes go ahead. What did you want to say?

He said, She also stole a can of peas. See that's not good. That would say the honeymoon is over. And that can happen in our relationship with Jesus Christ as well. We start slipping.

We start losing that fervency and that passion for Him. Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment. Hey everybody, Greg Laurie here. You know my uncle Fred Jordan had one of the first Christian TV programs out there. It was called Church in the Home.

I remember watching it as a little boy when I was living with my grandparents. Well we have Church in the Home for you every weekend. It's called Harvest at Home and you can find it at Harvest.org. We have worship and a message from God's Word.

So join us this weekend for Harvest at Home at Harvest.org. Well we're joining Pastor Greg for a new series in the book of Revelation. Today's message is from Revelation chapter 2 entitled, What if Jesus sent you an email? I want you to notice how aware Jesus is of what is going on in His church. Look at verse 1. These things saith He that holds the seven stars in His right hand and walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands.

Now when you think of a lampstand think of a menorah holding candles. These are symbols of the church. So effectively Jesus is saying, I am walking in the midst of my church.

Let me put it another way. Jesus is saying, I know what's going on in my church. And He is also saying, I know what's going on in your life as one of my followers. You know it's very popular today to critique the church. But remember Jesus Himself walks in the midst of it. He only started one organization when He walked this earth and it's called the church. And He said, the gates of hell will not prevail against it. Listen the church has many critics but it has no equals.

And a true child of God should want to be a part of the church. So Jesus is saying to these seven churches, I know. I know what's happening. And He would say that to you as an individual right now.

Wherever you are He would say, I know what you are facing. I know how hard it is. I know how challenging it is. I know what your dreams are. I know what your aspirations are.

I am aware of what is happening in your life right now. Remember this church that Jesus was speaking to was a literal church. Both the apostle Paul and possibly the apostle John were pastors of the church of Ephesus. Now think about that for a moment. The apostle Paul as your pastor and then the apostle John.

It doesn't get much better than that. Two living apostles opening the Word of God for you. But here's what was going on. When this church was in existence they were in the second generation of faith. In other words the people in this church were born to the parents that came to Jesus right after His earthly ministry. So this church is in the aftermath of the first Jesus movement. But as it often happens sometimes that wonderful truth is not passed on to the next generation. They were losing it.

They were missing it. So Jesus comes to tell them how to get things right. And He starts with a commendation. He starts with a compliment. And He lists a number of things that they're doing right before He critiques them and tells them what they're doing wrong. And that's a great thing to keep in mind. When you have something you want to say to someone that might be a criticism, start with a compliment. Say something nice to them.

Then get to your criticism. Some people are only criticized and they never compliment. That's very important to remember to bring a compliment.

But sometimes in our attempt to compliment a person we'll actually insult them. I call it a complisalt. A complisalt is a backhanded compliment or really an insult that looks like a compliment but actually isn't.

Here's an example of a complisalt. When you say to someone, you look great for your age, what you just said to them was, you're really very old. You have one foot in the grave already. Or when you say, you look good, have you lost weight? You effectively told them they were fat before. Or when you say, wow, I didn't expect you to get that job.

Congratulations. That's a massive insult. So you think you're complimenting them, you're actually insulting them. Well Jesus gives legitimate compliments.

Number one. And if you're taking notes here's my first point. As followers of Jesus we should be busy and be about our Father's business. As followers of Jesus we should be busy and be about our Father's business. Look at Revelation 2 verse 2. Jesus says to the church of Ephesus, I know your works, your labor, and your patience.

They were a very active church. This could be literally translated, you've labored to the point of weariness. They didn't just work. They worked really hard to the point of exhaustion.

It's even implied in the original language they worked even at the cost of pain. Could Jesus say that to you? Man, thank you for working so hard for me. Thank you for all that you do for my glory. I appreciate all that you do behind the scenes.

You know a lot of times you don't get a lot of back pats or attaboys and you get a little bit discouraged. But here's what Jesus is saying. I know what you're doing for me. I am aware of it and I appreciate it. I love what he says in Matthew 6-3. He says, when you give to the needy, don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. So your giving may be in secret.

Then your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. So whatever you've done in the name of the Lord, however you've served faithfully behind the scenes, be aware of this. God is aware of it. God knows about it. And God will bless you for it.

Point number two. As followers of Jesus, we need to hang in there through thick and thin. As followers of Jesus, we need to hang in there through thick and thin. Jesus says, I know your works, your labor, and your patience.

The word that is used here for patience is a word that means to bear up under a load. It wasn't easy to be a Christian in the city of Ephesus. Ephesus was sort of a center of pagan idolatry. They worshipped a goddess there. In their minds a goddess.

A deity. She was known as Diana. And they would chant, great is Diana of the Ephesians. In fact when Paul went there to preach the gospel, a riot broke out because of it. So it was a very pagan place to be. It's not always easy to be a Christian in a godless city. Or a state that isn't as spiritual as you wish it was. Of course I'm a pastor here in Southern California.

And I have been now for almost 50 years. I feel called to preach the gospel in this state. And I feel called to teach the word of God in this state and to be a pastor in this place. I jokingly say when I talk to someone who is leaving California, well someone has to stay here to turn the lights off. The fact is I'm staying here to turn the lights on. You see what I'm praying for is that we'll have another spiritual awakening.

I want you to remember something. The last great American revival happened in the state of California. It was called the Jesus movement. And I'm praying we have another Jesus movement because it's often said as California goes, so goes the rest of the nation. California influences the rest of America.

Well I'll tell you what. I would pray that we would have a spiritual revival. And that would impact our nation as it did some 50 years ago. Our prayer like the psalmist in Psalm 85 verse 6 should be, will you not revive us again that your people may rejoice in you. But it was hard to be a Christian in Ephesus. But they were very discerning.

That's point number three. We need to be more discerning as Christians. Look at verse two.

You cannot bear them which are evil. You see they didn't just believe someone because they said they had a word from the Lord. Or they claimed to speak for God. Or they claimed to be an apostle or a prophet. The Bible actually warns that one of the signs of the last days will be false prophets. Telling us certain things are going to happen and then those things don't happen and they lead people astray. We need more discernment in the church today. Verse number four one he writes, dear friends don't believe everyone who claimed to speak by the Spirit. Test them to see if the Spirit they have comes from God for there's false prophets in the world. We need to be more discerning. And I bring this up because there's a lot of crazy conspiracy theories floating around out there. That sometimes I see Christians believing.

And a lot of these theories have to do with end times events. We have to be very careful and look to the scripture for direction. But Jesus says there's a problem. You guys are doing awesome. You're hard working. You're discerning. You do so much for me and I appreciate it but there is a problem developing. And I have to tell you what this problem is. You no longer love me as you did at the beginning. You have left your first love. Now sometimes people say oh you've lost your first love. No it's not lost.

It's left. When you lose something you may never recover it. I lose things all the time.

That's why I have these little things called the tile. I have one in my wallet. I have a few others and different things and if I lose it I can find them on my phone. I've also found that a great thing there's a feature on an Apple phone and iPhone. It's find my phone or find your iPad. But I also use it as a feature that I call find my wife. Because sometimes Kathy my wife will put her phone on mute and I'll call her and she won't answer. And so I'll click the find my phone feature where you can set up the little alarm and she'll answer it. So it works for finding your wife too. But if you lose something you may not recover it.

But if you leave something you know where it is and you can return to it again. Pastor Greg Laurie pointing out the importance of returning to our first love. A message from his new series in the revealing book of Revelation here on A New Beginning. And if you missed any part of today's insight just go online to harvest.org. Look for the study called What If Jesus Sent You an Email.

That's at harvest.org. You know Pastor Greg we hear so many terms that apply to Bible prophecy. The mark of the beast, the millennium, the great tribulation.

And our understanding might be a little hazy about what those terms mean and in what order they come. Could you maybe give us a little flyover of God's end times plan? Yes I'd be happy to but I need some trumpets and echo and then I'll do it. So are you ready?

I'm ready. A flyover of the book of Revelation. Okay so this is my understanding of how all these events fit together. The next event on the prophetic calendar is the rapture of the church. That's when the Lord comes in a moment in the twinkling of an eye and we're caught up in the air to meet him. It's also when we're reunited with loved ones who have preceded us to glory.

So we're caught up to heaven. On the heels of that this mysterious character called the antichrist is revealed. That inaugurates what is called the great tribulation period that lasts for seven years. Interestingly the antichrist comes initially as a good guy.

I'll put that in quotes. A peacemaker but in reality he's a troublemaker. He rebuilds a temple for the Jewish people but he erects an image of himself and demands that people worship him. This marks a halfway point of the tribulation period and this event is called the abomination of desolation. So the first part of the tribulation is the peaceful reign of antichrist. The second part of the tribulation is where he unleashes his fury against Jewish people, against Christians, and God ultimately brings his judgment upon the antichrist. In the tribulation period we have a group called the 144,000.

These are Jewish people who have put their faith in Jesus as their Messiah and they travel around the world proclaiming the good news. Okay so everything culminates to what the Bible calls the battle of Armageddon. And then Christ returns again in the second coming. This inaugurates the 1,000 year reign of Christ which is called the millennium. Then heaven and earth becomes one. The new Jerusalem comes down from heaven to this planet fulfilling the prayer of Jesus when he said thy kingdom come that will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

So that's a flyover event times event. By the way we've put this all on this really cool bookmark that comes with our brand new book called Revelation a Book of Promises and we want to put this book in your hands because I've written it to help you to understand how this great book of the Bible applies to you. The very title says it all. Revelation means unveiling. And God's desire is not to conceal but to reveal. He wants us to understand these things and so I want to help you with that. So for your gift of any size we'll send you your own copy of this brand new book from Harvest Ministries that I've written simply called Revelation a Book of Promises.

Yeah that's right and we'll be glad to send a copy your way as soon as we hear from you. Your donation is an investment in changed lives. Your investment helps bring the gospel through our evangelistic harvest crusades such as SoCal Harvest coming up October 3rd. So thank you so much for your generosity. You can write us today at A New Beginning Box 4000 Riverside, CA 92514 or call 1-800-821-3300. That's a 24-hour phone number 1-800-821-3300.

Or go online to harvest.org. And again the title of Pastor Greg's new book, Revelation a Book of Promises. What's the best way to avoid backsliding, going backward in your walk with the Lord? Well Pastor Greg says the best way to avoid going backward is to go forward. It's a lesson we'll learn next time as his study in the book of Revelation continues. Join us here on A New Beginning.