Far too much of what goes on in the name of Christianity today is about us, not Him. Dr. Tony Evans is prioritizing God as the way believers grow closer to Him.
Because you put Him first, there will be a greater level of experience and intimacy. This is the alternative broadcast featuring the timeless biblical teachings from the archives of Dr. Tony Evans. Keeping a fire going means you've got to feed it. And the same is true for our relationship with the Lord. In today's lesson, Dr. Evans draws from the struggles and triumphs of early Christians, encouraging us to remember our first love for God and to seek ways to strengthen our connection with Him.
Here's Tony in the book of Revelation. The subject matter of the book is in the first line of the first chapter. It says, the revelation of Jesus Christ.
That's what the book is about. The word revelation means unveiling or disclosure. So it's disclosing or unveiling Jesus Christ at His second coming. So John is writing in verse four to the seven churches. The seven churches that are in Asia.
Asia Minor, we call it. The seven churches. So this prophetic word is given to the church. So even though it's words about the future, prophecy, it's word to the church about the future.
So he wants us to know now, as the church, what God's prophetic program is. All through the book of Revelation, you'll see the word seven this, seven that, seven this, seven that, seven this, seven that. Because the number seven is the number of completion. So when you see the word seven attached to something, which you will see it attached to many things in the book of Revelation, it is because he wants you to know about the completing of something, the fullness of that thing. So when he talks about, I'm writing to the seven churches, he means he's writing to all churches. Seven representing the fullness, or this applies to any church, every church, all churches that are his church.
He speaks of seven in terms of fullness. And so he says, that's who I'm writing to. And it's from him who is, who was, and is to come.
All right? Who is, who was, and who is to come. So God is all three.
He's yesterday, today, and tomorrow, because he's eternal. And from the seven spirits who are before the throne. Well, if it's seven spirits, it's the complete. So it's the fullness of the spirit. So really you have the Trinity. You got Jesus Christ, you got God who was, and is, and is to come. And then you have the seven or fullness of the Holy Spirit.
So you have a Trinitarian analogy given there, all tied to the throne or the rule of God. And that's why he brings in, in verse five, from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead. Why is he the firstborn from the dead? Because having resurrected from the dead, firstborn from the dead, he is the first of a whole company of people, you and me, who will also rise from the dead as part of our resurrection as his children. So he's the firstborn. He's the lead-off guy when it comes to resurrection. And the ruler of the kings of the earth, bringing in that kingdom thing, he is the ruler of the kings of the earth, which rulership will be made manifest in the book of Revelation at his return.
He is the ruler, not yet made manifest. Do not be afraid. I'm the first and the last. I'm the living one. I was dead. Behold, I am alive forever, and I have the keys of death and Hades. Keys mean access.
I've got the access to death, and I've got the access to hell. Therefore, write the things which you have seen, the things which are, and the things which will take place after these things. What you have in that verse is really the outline of the book of Revelation. The things you've seen, which he's just been discussing, he sees Jesus Christ revealed. He says, then I want you to write not only that, but the things which are. He's going to talk about the seven churches here in a moment.
And then the things which are to come. So these are his expectations of us while we are anticipating the prophetic time. We do not know when Jesus is going to return.
We have no idea. We just know it's imminent, means it can happen at any time. We don't know when it is, but this is how we ought to function, and he uses each church. So each church I'll give a theme to, and I will summarize the point that he makes to that church, and how you and I today fit into this message to the completed church that he uses when he talks to the seven churches. Of course, we've spoken a number of times about the first church, the church at Ephesus. And we will call this the loveless church. He says, the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, the one who walks among the golden lampstand, says this.
Okay, watch this now. So when we have worship, Jesus is in the building. He's in the building spiritually.
He's not in the building physically. The Spirit of Christ is in the house. And when the Spirit of Christ is in the house, he says, I know what's going on. He says in verse 2, I know your deeds. I know what you do.
Your toil, you work hard, your perseverance, you hang in there. You cannot tolerate evil, you know. You have a standard. You put to the test those who call themselves apostles. That is, you test everything by the Bible.
You're orthodox, and they are not, and you found them to be false. You have perseverance and have endured for my name's sake and have not grown weary. He says, you got a lot of good stuff happening there, but I have this against you. Okay, this is the guy.
So right now, he patted him on the back, but now he changes. He says, but I have this against you. You have left your first love. In other words, you've got truth. You've got doctrine, but you don't have a heart. And the key word there is really not love.
The key word is first. In other words, your relationship with me is not your priority. Probably there's not one person in here who has not been guilty of putting things, even good things, because he compliments them, before our relationship with the Lord. I've often put ministry before a love relationship with the Lord.
Ministry is a good thing, but you can do that. You can put a person, a relationship. You can put things before your love for the Lord. And how do you know when something is first love, as opposed to second, third, fourth, or fifth love? Because first love always involves passion. First love always involves passion. So there was no passionate pursuit of a person, even though they were operating a program.
So the church must be careful, our church must be careful, any church must be careful, not to put the program above the person, not to put the activity above the relationship. He says, you have left your first love. And you've left.
Now I'm still where I was. You've walked away from me. You no longer have a fire for me.
You have a heart problem. So he says, remember from where you have fallen. Remember how it used to be when you used to be excited about me. Repent, turn the other way, and do the deeds you did at first. When you didn't have all this Bible knowledge, and you didn't have all this information, and you didn't have all this opportunity, you didn't have all that. All you had was me.
Some of us knows what it is to be happier in an apartment than it was when we got in the house. He says, I want you to go back to the time when it was about me. It wasn't about stuff. It wasn't about this.
It wasn't about that. It was about the relationship. Then when I started blessing you with stuff, we lost the relationship. So he says, I want you to repent. Do your first deeds over again.
Go back to that simple priority. Or else I am coming to you, and we remove your lampstand out of its place unless you repent. Now there's only one thing you repent of in the Bible, and that's sin.
So evidently, losing your first love is a sin. It's not a secondary thing. It's a primary thing because it will cause you to lose your lampstand. Put it in another way, I'll have to put your light out. You'll be having church, and I won't be there. My light won't be there.
My presence won't be there. Because when I walk in the house, and I see it's not about me. When I walk in the house and see it's not about me, I don't want to stay there.
I want to live there. And far too much of what goes under the name of Christianity today is about us, not him. And he says, or else I will put out your lampstand, but I recognize, verse 6, what you've done, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate, evil people. You do understand that you're against this, you're against that, because you know I don't like that.
I love that, but not at the expense of losing me. More from Dr. Evans with Letters to the Churches from the Book of Revelation, when he continues in just a moment. First though, I want to tell you about a special offer that includes our current series on Revelation, as well as Tony's brand new book, Trusting God in Turbulent Times. These resources will help strengthen your commitment to God, as you gain an understanding of how he works during the tough times in your life, and the things he expects from his believers, as Dr. Evans has been discussing today. To receive this new 30-day devotional guidebook from Tony, as well as all 10 full-length messages in the Revelation sermon series, just visit tonyevans.org and look for the link to this special package right on the home page. It's yours with our thanks and appreciation for your contribution toward the alternative broadcast ministry. Again, that's tonyevans.org, or call us anytime of the day or night at 1-800-800-3222, and let one of our resource team members help you.
That's 1-800-800-3222. Well, Dr. Evans, we'll come back with more of today's message from the Book of Revelation right after this. The Bible makes it clear that you know when God has cursed a land, when its fathers are nowhere to be found. Dr. Tony Evans says that what becomes of the next generation of men depends on what happens with this one. Our kids need to see men in their midst who love God and who love them. But what does it take to be that kind of man?
You can find out with the help of the Tony Evans Training Center's free course called Kingdom Man. It'll teach you to see past the phony images of manhood that society surrounds us with and become the loving leader that a wife and family would want to follow. As with all of our courses, there's in-depth study material you can work through at your own pace, lots of exclusive content from Tony, tightly focused Q&A videos, and an online forum where you can collaborate with other students. It's almost like having a seminary on your smartphone.
Check out the free course called Kingdom Man and the growing list of other subjects waiting for you. Visit tonyevans.org today and follow the link to the Tony Evans Training Center. Now, he's writing to the church, but at the end of each one of these letters, he gets personal. He says in verse 7, He who has an ear—so now he's going to the individuals in the church.
It's better the church collective. He says, He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. So he's saying to the churches, but I'm looking for the person who's paying attention to the individual he who overcomes. Now, in order to overcome something, you need something to overcome. Overcome the temptation to put me in second place.
Overcome programs of overruling a person. To he who overcomes that, that gets things back in alignment in order, he says, To him I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the paradise of God. So because you put him first, there will be a greater level of experienced intimacy with him for those who overcome the temptation to put him last instead of first. Because remember, he's seeing Jesus now as the judge in the church and not just the savior of the church, that he's both. He now goes to Smyrna and to the angel of the church in Smyrna. So Smyrna's leader, pastor, is speaking now. He says, The first and the last who was dead and who has come to life says this. So this is the risen Christ talking. I know your tribulation and your poverty, but you are rich and the blasphemy by those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison so that you will be tested and you will have tribulation for ten days.
Be faithful until death and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches, but he who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death. Smyrna is the faithful church undergoing persecution. The undergoing persecution and Satan is all over him, the synagogue of Satan.
These are those who were claimed to be Jews and holding on to the Old Testament and were persecuting Christianity. And he says, You were persecuting. He says, I know it looks like you're poor now.
Some of you are going to be thrown into prison, but I'm telling you, you're rich. And that is because of the blessing I'm going to bring to you because you endured suffering in my name. Pergamum, verse 12. And to the angel of the church at Pergamum, write, the one who has the sharp two-edged sword says this, Jesus speaking the word, I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is, and you hold fast my name and did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas, my witness, my faithful one who was killed among you where Satan dwells. But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed with idol, and to commit acts of immorality.
So you also have some who in the same way hold the teachings of the Nicolaitans, therefore repent, or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war with them with the sword of my mouth. He that hath an ear let him hear, the one who overcomes. I will give him hidden manner.
I will give him a white stone and a new name written on his stone, which no one knows but he who receives it. So now he writes to this church that we'll call the compromising church, because they tolerated what Balaam did to Balak, or what Balak got Balaam, or tried to get Balaam to do. He got him to try to curse God's people for money. He tried to compromise him in the book of Numbers.
He tries to get him to compromise him in Numbers 22 to 24, chapters 22 to 24. And God is concerned that his people are trying to have it both ways. They're trying to call on God's name while at the very same time trying to compromise and bring hurt to God's people.
So it was a compromising church. Even though they had some good things going, he starts off by the fact that they have some good things going, but he says, but I got a few things that are not right, and that is you're trying to put a stumbling block before God's people. So you're calling on God's name while at the same time hurting God's people.
And you're promoting things that are outside of God's will and therefore causing other people to stumble. What is he going to do to the one who overcomes? The one who overcomes is a whole bunch of stuff.
That is, who refuses to hurt others through compromise. He says to the one who overcomes, I'm going to give him hidden manna. I will give him a white stone and a new noim written on the stone, which no one knows but he who receives it.
That's deep stuff there. He's going to give you hidden manna. So what was manna? Manna was the corn flakes from above in Deuteronomy 8 that came down. The word manna in Hebrew means, what is it?
It's a question mark. Because when it came down, they were asking, what is it? So it was God's secret supply for Israel because it was the way God fed Israel. Before God rained it down, they didn't know what it was because it was hidden up in heaven. But then when he rained down, hidden manna became visible to them. It was a special meal for God's people. He says to the one who overcomes, not causing others to stumble through compromise, he says, we're going to have a private dinner party. In other words, this manna, this meal in fall Christians is for the overcoming Christians.
That is, in this realm, overcoming in this way. Then I'm going to give you a white stone. Now that doesn't mean much to you, but I can give you a synonym for a white stone. When you and I, if you were living in biblical Roman days and you wanted to go to an event, one of the ways you would be ticketed for the event is a white stone. So you would be given a white stone, a stone from the ticketron or whatever it's called, and that would gain you entrance into the event. You'd have a ticket. The ticket would be the white stone. So he says, for those who overcome, when I have my private dinner parties, you'll get a ticket.
This is a private party. But then there's some other folk who got stones with a name on it. That's called season tickets. Okay, that's season tickets. Your name is written on the stone, so that's not a stone for an event.
That is a stone that you own. You go on certain cruises or you have certain statuses on airlines, and everybody on the plane is on the plane, but not everybody's in first class. Everybody's on the ship is on the ship, but they are not all on the concierge level because they don't all have that status. Now I know what some of y'all are thinking. Some of y'all think, I don't care, just get me on the boat.
I don't care, just as long as I'm on the plane. But what Jesus wants you to know to the seven churches, which includes us, is He wants to know how much you value your redemption, how much you value your salvation, how much you value what He did to you, or do you not value it at all, or do you value it very little? To Him who overcomes, to the one who rises above just being saved, to the one who rises above just going to church, to the one who rises above just being a nominal Christian, to those, I've got some special benefits, because benefits has its privileges. Dr. Evans will return with a closing prayer to wrap up today's broadcast in just a moment. Before he does that, though, I want to encourage you to visit TonyEvans.org to take advantage of our current featured resource package that includes Tony's brand-new devotional book, Trusting God in Turbulent Times, and his ten-part audio series on the Book of Revelation. What we have time to present on the broadcast each day only includes a portion of Dr. Evans' original messages.
You'll be able to hear the full-length lessons when you request them on CD or digital download. Get them as our gift of thanks when you make a contribution to help keep Tony's ministry here on this station and others like it around the world. Visit TonyEvans.org to make your request today, or call us at 1-800-800-3222, where members of our resource team are available around the clock to help you.
That's 1-800-800-3222. Well, coming up Monday, we'll learn more from the Book of Revelation as Dr. Evans continues our look at God's message for the church and provides a glimpse of God's heavenly throne. Right now, though, he's back to finish out our week with this closing prayer. Father, I thank you for the Word of God that goes forth through this ministry and for every ear that hears it. I pray that you will use the Word in the life of each person individually so that they know that they are hearing from you and are transformed by what they hear. I pray that that transformation touches them at their place of need, wherever they're hurting, struggling, wherever they're in pain, or wherever they're celebrating. May you be the center of that, and may they be able to say because of the Word that they've heard and because of the true God that they're interacting with right now that you have showed up and shown off on their behalf doing good by them no matter what their circumstances happen to be. Thank you for how you're going to touch every listener today in your own special way. In Jesus' name, amen.
