In the early pages of Revelation, there were very personal letters from Jesus to the churches of the time, and his words were also powerful challenges to the church today. This is leading the way with Dr. Michael Yusef, and today, seven letters to the 21st century Christians. Get ready to be challenged as Dr. Yusef goes to some very real words from Jesus.
Hold on. Dr. Michael Yusef will be quickly looking at words to seven churches and how his words challenge you today. The first message is to the church of Ephesus chapter 2 verses 1 to 7.
Jesus begins his message to the Ephesian Christians by a word of commendation. If I give you the description of those Christians, they were hard working Christians. They've rejected false doctrine. They believe the accurate biblical interpretation. They were biblically sound. They believe the right doctrine, and they've rejected the work of a heretic by the name of Nicholas. The early Christian father, Eranaeus, tells us that Nicholas taught that sexual sins would not affect your salvation, that sexual immorality does not affect your spiritual life. There were others in other churches who fell line, hook, and sinker for that heresy, but not the church of Ephesus. They rejected it. And so he said, what a wonderful church. But what else Jesus expect from them?
How can you get any better than this? Well, and yet there was one rebuke. Listen very carefully, please. This is a relevant message for us. We are people who believe the scripture, accurate interpretation. We have rejected falsehood. We stand tall for the truth.
Every one of us probably would say amen to that. But the problem with the church in Ephesus is that they loved their accurate biblical interpretations more than they love Jesus. They have fallen in love with their good works, and they come out of love for Jesus.
Now you know Christians like that. Outwardly they go through all the motions. Outwardly they do all the right things. But they have a heart problem. They have a heart problem. And I'm not talking about the problem they need a cardiologist for, but it's a heart problem. They do the right things, not out of love for Jesus, but because they are trained to do the right things.
Let me tell you what the great physician concerned about this heart condition. He's saying if you do the right thing and believe the right thing out of duty, not out of love for Jesus, sooner or later you're going through the motions. Bible study, the home groups, the church, and singing. You go through the motions. If your love for Jesus is cold, sooner or later your affection are going to be placed on somebody else or on something else. And there are five possibilities will take place if you walk the Christian life and you're not passionately in love with Jesus.
First is a compromise. You will begin to put one foot in the world and one foot in the kingdom of God. Then there is complacency. Well Jesus forgave my sins, I'm eternally saved, I can sin, I can live a way I want to live.
Then there's coldness. God did not answer my prayer, the one who answered and you develop this cold love toward the Lord. There's complaining and you think that God is not fair.
How come after all you've done for him that you are really going through this valley? Or then you begin to crave the world which is the fifth possibility. You crave success more than you crave Jesus. You crave wealth more than you crave Jesus. You crave power or luxury or whatever it is that your Achilles heals more than you love Jesus, more than you crave for Jesus.
And so the great physician's prescription to the Ephesians, he said retrace your steps. Get back a little bit. Find out where you lost your first love. What is the thing that tricked you? What is the thing that tripped you?
Find out what went wrong and where. Where you have fallen out of love for Jesus. What is the thing that got you to come out of love for Jesus? What made your white hot love for Jesus become amber? Who replaced Jesus as the object of your affection? And he said not only confess it but turn away from it.
Now beloved listen to me very carefully please. If you do not act soon and if you do not act decisively, Jesus said he will remove the lampstand. He's not talking about salvation but he will remove the lampstand. He will snuff out the light of your witness.
The light will no longer shine even if you are going through the motions. Whatever passion you've got left for sharing Christ with others will die down. Let me plead with you, repent now. Repent today for when you do that, Jesus will grant you to eat from the tree of life.
He will reward you and he will reward your faithful love for him in ways you will not be able to comprehend. The second message is to the believers in Smyrna. That's chapter 2 verses 8 to 11.
Jesus gives him only encouragement, no condemnation, not one single negative word. Smyrna was the home of the shrine of Caesar. Smyrna's population stood before the statue of Caesar and they bowed to Caesar. The population worshiped Caesar but the believers in Smyrna refused to bow to Caesar. The Christians in Smyrna said only Jesus we worship.
Only Jesus is Lord. The Christians in Smyrna said only Jesus is to be obeyed above Caesar and the Christians in Smyrna said no, Lord but Jesus because they were in love with Jesus. The word Smyrna is a Greek word which actually means myrrh. You remember when the wise men came to the baby Jesus and they gave him gold, frankincense and myrrh.
There's a reason for that. In ancient times Smyrna was the myrrh capital of the world. They sold it all over the globe. Myrrh is a fragrance that comes from breaking and crushing a thorn tree or a thorn bush for the fragrance of the myrrh to be released.
It has to be broken. It has to be crushed and when the wise men gave Jesus myrrh it is because he was going to be crushed for our sin and that is the only way the fragrance of God's forgiveness is released. Jesus' message to the church that has been crushed by persecution, that has been crushed for his sake. He said I know your reflections.
I know your poverty. God knows your suffering for him. God knows your sacrifices that you are making for him and none of them is forgotten. None of them are overlooked and God is the one who will reward you for your joyful endurance of that suffering. Jesus said to them be faithful even to the point of death and I will give you the crown of life. Beloved God has a word for the persecuted church. God has a word for the persecuted believers and let me tell you God's word to the persecuted believer today is this, don't be afraid. You have it tough now.
You have it difficult now but the day of your glorification is coming. The third letter is to the church of Pergamum. Chapter 2 verses 12 to 17. The population of Pergamum was awash with strange religious practices.
I mean they were worshiping serpents in Pergamum. They were worshiping all kind of strange idols and Jesus said to them I know where you live where Satan has his throne. What is Jesus talking about? Pergamum had the great altar dedicated to Zeus and Zeus is the chief deity of the Greek Parthenon and Jesus referring to that altar of Zeus when he was talking about Satan's throne and so Jesus gives him a word of commendation. He said you remain true to my name.
You did not renounce your faith altogether in me. Oh but Jesus immediately goes in with a word of condemnation because they had one big humongous sin that is creeping among them. You have people there in your church who hold to the teaching of Balaam. Balaam was a fortune teller and so before the people of God got into the promised land a pagan king brought him in and he said now Balaam I want you to curse these people and here is a bucket full of cash. I mean he looks at that cash and he couldn't wait to go and curse God's people. There's a problem while he got Satan on his side the Israelites had Yahweh on their side.
Don't ever underestimate Yahweh. Things might look dark but it's not going to be as dark forever and so every time he tries to open his mouth to curse Israel he blesses them and the pagan king was frustrated so he piles more cash and more cash and Balaam sees the cash and says let me try again. He will try again and every time I open his mouth to curse the people of God he blesses them and finally he came up with a devilish idea. He couldn't curse the people of God but he can get the people of God to curse themselves because that's his devilish attack. If he cannot get you straight ahead he will work on your flesh to get you to cause yourself a curse. Balaam was so blind he couldn't see it so much so that his donkey saw the angel but he didn't and the donkey rebuked him.
Be careful when a donkey speaks to you. And so he goes to this pagan king he said you know I can get these people curse themselves. Bring me out all you loose women. Just bring them out and as soon as these Israelites men see your loose women they're going to fall and they did and Satan says mission accomplished. He succeeded just like he is succeeding today when trying to get so many of God's people hooked on pornography on infidelity to their marriage vows homosexuality and sexual perversions of all kinds.
Now brother let me shoot straight with you. We are under obligation to love sinners. We are under obligation in every way to be Christ to these people but never never never never at the expense of biblical truth.
Never under the compulsion of having them join a church without repentance and without salvation. And that is why Jesus said to the church of Pergamum repent to him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone. Remember in John chapter 6 Jesus said I am the true manna that comes from heaven. He gonna have nothing less than Jesus himself.
So what is that white stone? You see in the Roman judicial system they did not have a trial by jury. The judge tries, adjudicates and pronounce judgment all at the same time. So the judge was so powerful. And if the man being tried is guilty he hands him a black stone. But if he is innocent or guiltless he hands him a white stone. And that's exactly what Jesus is saying here when we seek to please him and him alone he will declare us innocent and set us free.
He wants to see a desire at least a desire. The fourth message the believers in Thyatira chapter 2 verses 18 to 29 this is the longest letter of all the seven and probably the most troubling of all. As always Jesus uses something positive something good to say about every church and he was praising them for some sterling qualities they have. Love, faith, service and patient endurance. Something else Jesus said the latter works exceed the first. Now look growing in love and growing in faith and growing in service and patient endurance wonderful.
What else? This is a growing church. This is a mega church. This is a contemporary church. It's a with it church. At that point you expect Jesus said attaboy keep it up doing great.
This is great. But sadly he tells them that there is a cancer of moral compromise that is growing on the inside of them. Beloved this is a sobering word. Today there are many wonderful mega churches Bible believing churches they love Jesus serving Jesus all over the world. I'm not putting everybody in the same bucket here. But those growing churches have moral compromise which is eating them from the inside. What did Jesus say? He said you tolerate that woman Jezebel.
Why does the Lord Jesus hate the spirit of Jezebel? Listen to me. Because moral compromise inevitably going to lead to apostasy all together. It happens and it happened before our eyes. And in the old days it used to take so many generations to go from moral compromise to apostasy. Now with the speed of everything it takes half a generation.
And doesn't matter how long it take. When sexual sins are tolerated and quietly approved it's a matter of time before the church to cease to be the church of Jesus Christ. And that's why Jesus said repent of your false tolerance. Repent of your spineless attitude. Repent of thinking that a large crowd means success in God's eyes. Otherwise you'll suffer Jezebel's fate. But if you repent and remain steadfast I'll give you the morning star. Revelation 22 16 tells us that Jesus is the morning star. Who would rather you have Jesus or the approval of culture and society?
Ask yourself that question. The fifth message is to the church of Sardis. Chapter 3 verses 1 to 6.
He said I know your deeds you have the reputation of being alive but you're dead. One of the greatest tragedies is when a church's reputation exceeds its reality. What does it mean for the church to be alive? The first thing alive church is must live under the authority of the word of God. Must be determined to obey the word of God.
It doesn't mean we're perfect but we live in obedience to the word of God. And the second thing is the priority of prayer. The priority of prayer. And the third thing is that the Holy Spirit must be free to operate. The Holy Spirit is your best friend.
How can he be afraid of your best friend? You see when the Holy Spirit is free to operate he's going to convict. He's going to convert. Question. Can a dead church become alive again?
Yes. That's what Jesus said. He gives him five steps to go from dead to alive. Wake up and discover the reality of your spiritual death. Strengthen what remains. You say what does that mean? Well let me explain it this way. If the doctors are operating in the operating room and then the patient's heart stops what do they do?
They stop everything and they do everything possible to get the heart moving. That's strengthening what remains. Remember what you have received from God at the very beginning. Remember the time when he gave your life to Jesus Christ and you were thrilled and you were excited. You were so much in love with Jesus. Remember that.
Go back to that. The truth that you knew from the very beginning. Guard it.
Protect it. That's number four. Protect what you originally received and heard and hold on to it. And fifthly he said change your ways.
Change your direction. Hold now to his love and respond to his invitation. Six is the message to the church of Philadelphia. Chapter 3 verses 7 to 13. God is the one in charge of the door.
Nobody else. He's got it right here. These are the words of him who's holy. What he opens no one can shut. And what he shut no one can open. He spells it out here.
Why? He is the one. In the day of judgment he is the one who is going to shut that door and no one will be able to open it. But right now he has that door wide open. Nobody can shut it saying come, come, come, come.
The door is open. Verse 8 Jesus is saying I gave you every opportunity you have for ministry. Everything, every opportunity you have Jesus gave you. Every opportunity he gave me. He says I know you're weak by the world standard but I have given you opportunities for ministry. And if you use these opportunities I'll bless you out of your socks.
Now that's a use of translation but you get the meaning. Let me ask you this. Did God bless you with time? Where are you spending it? Where are you spending it? Has God blessed you with influence? How are you using it? Did God bless you with wealth?
Where are you investing it? On self or on the kingdom of God? Be faithful with what you have is Jesus' message to the church in Philadelphia.
Finally the seventh message is the message, the letter to the church of Laodicea. There's not a single positive word about the church of Laodicea. Condemnation, condemnation, condemnation.
Why? Because if there is one thing that Jesus detests is lukewarmness. He detests lukewarmness. And this is beloved is a picture of an average, normal, respected American evangelical church. And yet it's neither on fire for Christ nor deadly cold. What Jesus is saying to the Laodicean church, he says I deserve better than this insipid response. I deserve more than this half-hearted commitment. I suffered and died for you and all you do for me is you tip your hats for me for an hour on Sunday morning. I gave my life for you and all you give back to me is a shrug of the shoulder, come late and leave early and put a couple of bucks in the plate and either love me with white hot intensity or drop dead.
Let me plead with you. If your love for Jesus is lukewarm, you need to change it and change it today before you get to be spat out of his mouth. Here's what Jesus said, I counsel you to buy from me gold refined and fire so that you can become really rich.
White clothes to wear so you can cover your shameful nakedness. Isn't that amazing how the Lord Jesus takes something that is unique to that town, to that city. See the Laodicea was prosperous economically. It was a very rich city. So much so that in 61 A.D. they had a horrible earthquake, nearly destroyed everything. But they built it back so fast without any federal dollars. They got no money from Rome. They built it themselves.
That's so much money. They were so powerful, they're so rich. Laodicea was renowned for two products. They were exporting all over the world.
Textile and the Pharygian powder that was used as an eye salve. Ironically the Lord uses those two things that they're exporting to the whole world and they brag about locally as the very thing that they spiritually need from Jesus. The real white garment is to cover the nakedness of their sin and it can only come from Jesus. The eye salve that can cure their spiritual blindness can only come from Jesus. Oh but the Laodiceans already knew that.
They already knew it. They are spiritually naked in spite of their textile industry and they were spiritually blind in spite of the medicine that they sell all over the world. Jesus alone is the source of salvation beloved. Jesus alone is the source of righteousness. Jesus alone is the source of spiritual strength. When we walk with him and in verse 20 gives us a beautiful invitation.
He said I stand on the door and knock. Some of you might know this famous painting. It was painted by Warner Salmon who actually went to be with the Lord few years ago and it's a great picture. It's a great painting where it shows Jesus standing knocking on the door and there are thorns and thistles everywhere as a symbol of our sin.
There's something else you notice in that painting. There is no doorknob on the outside. The only doorknob is from the inside. Beloved if you refuse to let Jesus in you must bear the consequences.
You have the doorknob. Invite him in. A powerful example of Jesus seeking relationship. You're listening to Leading the Way with Pastor and International Bible Teacher Dr. Michael Youssef. Teaching from this passage will be part of Dr. Youssef's upcoming book and we'll be telling you more about the exciting details of that in the coming days so stay tuned. This program is furnished by Leading the Way with Dr. Michael Youssef. Passionately proclaiming uncompromising truth around the world. Learn more at ltw.org.
