← ArchiveHidden RevealedWhat if Jesus really knew (Revelation 1:9-11)DateSeptember 11, 2022SpeakerDr Josh BurnhamTextRevelation 1:9–11Passages in this sermon1 Peter 43:38Revelation 16:33TranscriptClick any line to jump there.0:00Thank you. Thank you.0:30Thank you. So some of you never realized when John was writing the book of Revelation, that was his soundtrack behind as he was sitting on the island of Patmos writing.1:00My name is Josh Burnham, lead pastor here. If you are new, we want to tell you why we gather. We gather because of the gospel, which we say around here is an easy sentence. Adults need this and children need this. The gospel is simply Jesus in our place. And if you are new here, we don't want anything from you.1:27We simply want you to know that we love you. We are praying for you. And we expect God to do great things in your life because Christians don't fight fear. We fight with the Holy Spirit. You're here because the Holy Spirit is already working in your life or around your life that you might know him and experience the love of a God who cares. So this is what we're going to do. If you are new here, we want to clap and thank you. If you are old here, let's clap. And for those watching online, I sometimes call our homebound and those who can't physically attend.1:57And they say, when we hear you clap, it makes a difference. So if you're watching online, welcome to our worship gathering. So again, we're jumping into the book of Revelation. It's our sermon series called Hidden Things Revealed because the word revelation means hidden things revealed. The word apocalypse means hidden things revealed. So if you ever hear a revelation sermon that makes hidden things more difficult, they've missed a point.2:27Because revelation is about unfolding. Actually, revelation is written to a people whose world is unraveling and saying the word of God and the vision of Jesus shapes your life. Church, the Bible is God's key to helping you when your world unravels. That's why revelation is given to us. And some wrongly assume that revelation is all about God's wrath.2:57Some read revelation and say, aha, God is going to finally judge the world in all of its wickedness and apocalyptic glory. This is God's, I told you so. And the church will be raptured and we can say, finally. But is that what is true? Because the Bible never teaches that God's people escape judgment.3:23Actually, 1 Peter says it this way. For the time has come for judgment to begin. 1 Peter 4, 17. And it begins with the house of the Lord. And if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who disobey the gospel of God? So judgment is coming for the people of God and is coming for the world.3:52But it comes for covenant people first. Because you know better. I know better because we have the word of God. We have faith that stills and shapes us to be what God wants us to be. In Revelation chapters 1.8 through chapter 3 is the unfolding of 1 Peter before our eyes. It is Jesus' judgment upon the church.4:21It's letters to seven churches. We shouldn't call them letters. Because really, none of these seven letters have any formal characteristics of first century letter writing. And if you say, well, what does a first century letter look like? Just trust me on this. This is not what it looks like. You can go back. I'll give you my notes. Just trust me on this one. These are judgment oracles. This is God's judgment on the church.4:49And we hear judgment and we think it's a bad thing. But it's not necessarily. Every time you go shop for produce, you are judging. Do I want this banana or that banana? Do I want this apple or that apple? Do I want this pork chop or that pork chop? Judgment in a righteous sense can be good and beneficial and holy. And as we read today, we're going to find seven total oracles. Now, if you're astute, you might say, well, pastor, there's not just seven churches in the known world of this time.5:20What about the church in Jerusalem? What about the church in Antioch? How about the letter to the church at Philippi? Where are those churches? Well, these churches were chosen because John knew these churches personally. But the number seven is symbolic. It's a reminder that this writing is for all of God's churches throughout history.5:45So there are seven specific letters. But this writing and this prophecy is given to all of God's people in general throughout all of time. So we can't read the Bible and we say, good luck, Ephesus. That was harsh. No, we need to say, God, you are doing the same thing in my life that you are doing in the church at Ephesus. So God, prepare me to receive your word.6:13So with that, let's read the seven judgments of God against the church. The sermon title today is, what if Jesus really knew? What if Jesus really knew? Because Revelation says he does know. Revelation 1, 9 through 11. And we're going to, I'm going to preach through three chapters today. We'll see. Revelation is at the last book of the Bible.6:41Verse 9, I, John, your brother and partner in the affliction, kingdom and endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. I was in the spirit on the Lord's day. That's today, by the way, Sunday. And I heard a loud voice behind me like a trumpet saying, write on a scroll what you see and send it to the churches.7:05How many churches? Seven churches. And here are the seven churches. And we're going to look at these churches in this order. Ephesus. Smyrna. Pergamum. Thyatira. Sardis. Philadelphia. And Laodicea. And these seven churches are a reminder that God is still writing to the church at St. Clair County.7:32Because his word endures forever. Let's pray. Father, today remind us that you see our hearts. You see our lives. You know the words of our mouth and the meditations of our hearts. And, Lord, we simply ask for you to forgive us.8:00Lord, if we have looked forward to your judgment against wickedness, and we have forgotten that you will judge us first. Lord, forgive us in our arrogance and our pride. And, Lord, help us look deeply into our hearts with the reminder that you will judge the living and the dead. You judge kings and queens and paupers and peasants. Lord, there is no person in the world that will not stand before your holy throne and give account.8:29So, Lord, may that day be today for us. May our lives be empty vessels that you would fill by your Holy Spirit. Lord, what happens if Jesus knows he does? And, Father, find us faithful. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen and amen. So, chapter 2, verses 1 through 7.8:59I'm not going to read that, but this is the church. This is the letter to the church at Ephesus. At the time of John's writing, Ephesus was the largest city in the region. It was the most important or one of the top five most important in the empire. It had the best entry of port into Asia Minor. And if that wasn't enough, Ephesus built the Temple of Artemis, one of the seven known wonders of the ancient worlds.9:23Ephesus was the city that said, look at us. And it's likely that the Christians in Ephesus passed by this statue, this pagan god, or they worshipped in its statue every time they went to the house of the one true God. So, Ephesus lived in the shadow of ungodliness.9:53And because of this, the church at Ephesus was top-notch at despising evil. They were a church of doctrinal integrity, which is exactly what Jesus says in verse 2 here. I know your works, your endurance, and that you cannot tolerate evil people. The minds of this church were sharp, diligent, and faithful.10:17But look at verse 3. Jesus says, I know that you have persevered. Okay. Good news, right? I know you have endured hardships for the sake of my name. And the chest gets a little more bravado. You have not grown weary. But I have this against you.10:48You have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember then how far you have fallen and repent. You see, the minds of the church were doctrinally sound. But they forgot their heart. Ephesus is a reminder that Jesus knows and can speak into the heart of the unloving Christian.11:11You say, well, is that a thing? Yes, that's Ephesus. They were doctrinally sound, but their heart was not in it. And maybe you've been to a place in your life where your heart's cold. Where you sing songs about the blood of Jesus, but it doesn't stir you like it used to. You've forgotten the things of first. Remember the church at Ephesus. And the Bible says that they began to grow cold because their works were not what they were.11:42You see, all head and no heart is legalism. God wants people who are all head and all heart for Christ. That our minds are shaped by doctrine and our hearts are shaped by the blood of Jesus Christ. That is what the Lord wants in your life. And Jesus promises to the unloving Christian, if you repent and do good once again, you will eat from the tree of life in verse 7.12:07So if you walked in here and you are cold and you are calloused, but you have a seminary degree, Jesus is speaking to you. And Jesus says, if you would repent today, you will eat of the tree of life. Confession is the spiritual remedy for a calloused heart. And confession is twofold.12:37It's the confession that you need Jesus. And that's not a one-time confession, is it? Confession of Jesus is a daily reminder that I am desperately in need of the blood of Christ that washes me every day and every moment. And the church at Ephesus had forgotten that. They could give you the doctrines of grace until you grew weary, but they didn't have the heart that they used to. And if you are cold, confess your sin before God.13:06Confess your need to Him and find that you can eat of the tree of life. But John is not finished. He begins now to write to the broken and the afflicted Christian in verse 8 through 11. It's the church at Smyrna. This church was incredibly proud and it was a beautiful city. It boasted a famous stadium, a library, and it had the most significant public theater in Asia.13:34Additionally, Smyrna was famously loyal to Rome and loved the emperor, which means they hated anyone that was opposed to Caesar, which made Smyrna a very dangerous place for the Christian. It was the home to Polycarp. Polycarp was the first recorded martyr outside of the New Testament for his faith.14:01To live and to worship Jesus at Smyrna meant that you are broken and afflicted. It meant that you experience tribulation. And to this person, the letter to this church at Smyrna is the shortest, but it contains no rebuke. Jesus is speaking into the brokenness. He's speaking into the needs of those who say, God, where are you? When you suffer, listen to Polycarp's words.14:33Polycarp would have been around 20 years old when the church had received this letter in his hometown. It said that when he went and died for his faith, that Polycarp's last words were, It said that so violent were the people of Smyrna to Christianity that the Jews even broke the command to rest on the Sabbath14:49to gather wood for the fire to kill Polycarp. And in his last breath, he says, Father, thank you for judging me worthy of this hour.15:20If you're here today and you are broken and you are tired and you are afflicted, listen to what the church at Smyrna hears. He says to the one who conquers, you will never be harmed by the second death. It's the reminder that if you are going through difficulty in your life, Jesus does not promise to make things better when you suffer.15:49That's not what Jesus promises this church. But he promises to make you stronger. And he promises that when you are afflicted, when you are broken, and when you are at the end of your rope, Jesus says, you will not suffer alone because the second death will not harm you. This is the hope for the broken and afflicted Christian. You will never suffer alone because of Jesus' love for you.16:17Father, thank you that you have judged us worthy for this hour. There's a third church. Not only are they afflicted, but this is the tempted church. So this is the letter to the tempted Christian. In verse 12, the church at Pergamum, it's a metropolis that plenty the elder called the most distinguished city in Asia.16:39Pergamum boasted a library with 2,000 volumes. This is before Kindles and e-readers. You had to go to the library and get things on paper. Local legend says that parchment was actually invented in Pergamum. Let's not forget that the steepest theater in the Roman world was in the city center.17:09Pergamum was the epitome of Greco-Roman idolatry and affluence. Libraries, theaters, we have it made. But the danger for Pergamum was not extreme persecution like Smyrna experienced. They had a different persecution. It was the temptation to fit in and to live the life of pagan extravagance because, eh, everyone is doing it.17:36Just do what you see is affluence. It's the reminder for the Christian when you are tempted to live like the world, Jesus sees you and he knows. And if you are here today and you are battling temptation, maybe there's pornography that has run rampant over your life.18:03Or maybe there's sexual sin that no one else knows. Or maybe the temptation for substance abuse. And you say, well, I can never break this temptation. First, understand that Jesus knows your temptation. Which means you aren't tempted alone. And it's also the reminder, as 1 Corinthians says, when you are tempted, God is faithful. Because he will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able.18:33But with the temptation, he will provide a way of escape so that you may be able to bear it. To the church of temptation, Jesus is enough. And he has provided the way of escape. So if you are tempted today, God has already provided the fire escape for you. And Jesus is enough. Don't give in to the demands of the world.19:02Don't go with the flow just because everyone is doing it. Jesus sees your life and he wants better for you because he is enough. And he is so much better than what the world has to offer. But there's a fourth letter. This is to the unrepentant Christian. In verse 18 of chapter 2, to the letter of Thyatira, John writes the longest and most difficult of all the letters.19:31A very harsh, brutally honest prophecy and judgment. Quite fascinating, this city doesn't boast a beautiful theater. It doesn't boast a world-known stadium. Actually, one scholar says that the most difficult book is addressed to the least known, the least important, and the least remarkable of all the cities. It's a frontier town. It's the town that you would say, well, no one goes there.20:02It's out of the way. And yet, God sees. Thyatira lay along trade routes. And it had a great communication. And because of this, there was a well-known population for guilds. Because trade was conducted in Thyatira. You had coppersmiths and blacksmiths. You had wool and dye merchants.20:30You had tanners and bakers. This is where all of your technology hub would have been. This would have been the Silicon Valley of the ancient world. But what you need to understand about the ancient world is to apply your trade in a guild, you had to adopt the God of the guilds. So to understand and to hone your skill to make a way and make a life,20:54you had to adopt the God. It was a difficult place for the Christian. Do I choose affluence and lifestyle, or do I choose devotion to Jesus Christ? And in the midst of this, in verse 20, Jesus writes to this church, and he says, you are tolerating Jezebel.21:21Now, that'll get your attention. If I stood up and said, Bethel, Jezebel is here. And you don't even care. You're going to look around and say, what did you do today? Jezebel is the representative of the one who lived in sexual sin. But that wasn't simply enough. The church was tolerating that. And they were letting people live in unrepentant sin.21:51And Jesus speaks very harshly to this. And he says to them, I'm burdened by you in 24. Hold on to what you have. He says, verse 29, to anyone who has ears, let him listen to what the Spirit says to the church. And over and over again, he talks about repenting and coming back. And if not, I will take your lampstand. Jesus says to the church that we must take sin seriously.22:22We must, and you say, well, why? Why do we have to take someone else's sin seriously? Because Jesus takes your sin seriously. And together, we can grow in righteousness much more than we can grow apart. And for any church to ignore any sin in any life is blasphemy against a holy and pure God.22:51But Jesus says to this church and to the unrepentant Christian, if that is you today, if you've walked in here and you said, I am okay to live in sin. I don't know who cares or who sees, but I'm going to keep doing what I do. Jesus will allow you to repent and turn back to him. But he will not wait forever.23:21Today is the day of repentance in your life. David Osborne said this about repentance. He said, repentance is simply telling Christ exactly why you need him. If you're living in unrepentant sin, shame on you. That is not God's desire. And we have no assurance that we can call ourselves Christians if we are living contently in unrepentant sin. In church, if we are a people who are letting other people live in unrepentant sin without any consequences,23:49without us speaking into their life, without us opening the Bible and us weeping over sin, how can we call ourselves Christians if we are calloused to sin that is running rampant in who we are? And to us, Jesus says, repent and I will draw you back. But I will not wait forever.24:18May God never take our lampstand because we hold on to sin more closely than we hold on to our Savior. But there's another letter to the letter of Sardis. Chapter 3, I call this the letter to the numb Christian, the numb Christian. Sardis is a tale of two cities. Actually, the Greek word itself is plural, meaning it is a one city with two components or it's multiple cities that are joined together.24:43What you might not know about Sardis is it occupied a narrow summit on the mountain. It was kind of their mountain brook. And in the summit, it was sheer all the way around. This upper part of the city was invincible from every side.25:09It was impenetrable. But twice in its history, it had been conquered. And in the same way both times, at night, the guards fell asleep. And while they were sleeping, the enemy crept in and destroyed it through the back door.25:33The city used to be one of the greatest cities in the known world. But they were now only living in the past. They had gone to sleep and they were relying on what used to happen. Maybe we should call this the letter to the one who lives in the good old days. And look what Jesus says to them.26:04He says in verse 1, I know you have a reputation for being alive, but you are dead. He says in verse 3, if you are not alert, I will come as a thief in the night. He's saying, remember your history. You've been conquered twice because you fell asleep. He says, be alert. Don't dwell in the past. You were once alive, but now you are dead. You see, we lose our love for Jesus when we fail to be used by the Spirit today.26:34It's the danger for all of us that we become numb when we live in the good old days and we forget that God wants to use us right now. This is what happens when we go through the motions. When we know that we're supposed to do something for Christ, but our heart's not in it, so let's just do it and we'll worry about prayer and affection and spiritual vitality later. You know, I confessed Christ 40 years ago.27:04Let's live then. And to you, Jesus says, I'm going to come like a thief in the night. Be alert. Church, the answer to numbness. And if that's you today, if you feel like you are numb, that you're here and you say, well, pastor, I did the best I could just getting into church. Leave me alone. But if you've walked in here numb spiritually, there is still hope for you. Look at verse 4.27:33But you have a few people in Sardis who have not defiled their clothes, and they will walk with me in white because they are worthy. The answer to spiritual numbness is not to live in the past, but to walk with Jesus in the present. And if you are here and you are numb spiritually, Jesus says, Josh, if you would just walk with me today, walk in purity, I will wash you. Your robes will be white. I will restore you.28:02And what was once dead will now be alive. You don't have to stay numb anymore. You don't have to dwell in the past, and you don't have to fall asleep because when you fall asleep, the enemy comes like a thief in the night. And Jesus says, not just the enemy, I will come like a thief in the night. Church, may we be alert and joyful because the Holy Spirit is doing something in us, not yesterday, not in the good old days, but today.28:29Walk with Christ in the present. But we have one more letter. Church to Philadelphia. This is the letter to the faithful Christian. We read a judgment to a group of people who are walking with Jesus Christ. This is not the letter to Pennsylvania, by the way. This is in modern-day Turkey. This church in Philadelphia experienced physical and economic insecurity.28:59It was located on a fault line. So much so that the city experienced devastating earthquakes over and over again. Finally, the people got tired of it living in the city and facing that trauma. So they lived on farms in rural communities. Because they experienced the difficulty of that environment. Verse 8 tells us, he says, I know that you have works and you have little power.29:25This is the church that would say, what can we do for Jesus? We're nothing. We don't have a city. We don't have a theater. We don't have a library. We don't even have a live stream. We don't have a Facebook presence. Like, who are we? To this faithful little Christian church, Jesus says, I see you.29:56I see you. He says in verse 8, I will give you an open door that will never be closed. Church, listen, there is no little faith in the kingdom of Christ. There's no little faith. To the faithful person with little power or prestige. To the person who is wiping and changing a diaper today in the nursery.30:23And no one knows. Jesus is. And there is no little Christian in the kingdom. What glorious hope that we have in this letter. Look what he says here. He says in this letter, he says, verse 12, the one who conquers, I will make you a pillar in the temple of my God.30:44And every ancient pillar, the patrons, they would carve your name into the pillar. It was the ancient version of putting your plaque on the pew that you donated. Right? It is this pillar dedicated to Josh because of a well done life. And by the way, he gave a lot of money for the pillar. And you just thought that was a modern invention.31:16But to this little church, Jesus says, I'm going to give you a pillar in the temple of my God. Listen, heaven will be filled with ordinary Christians. And I would rather be loyal to my God than known by anyone else in the world. So for the little ordinary Christian today, I want you to hear from Philadelphia. Jesus sees you. And your faith is not ordinary.31:45It is extraordinary. And heaven will be filled with people of little faith. Because there is no small faith in Jesus Christ. This is his letter to the faithful Christian. There's one more. The letter to the useless Christian. The useless Christian. It's the letter to the church of Laodicea. The final oracle.32:14The letter to the Laodicea is the only church to be castigated entirely. Even Sardis, whom Jesus calls dead, at least has a small ember that's burning. You know, Sardis says, at least we're not Laodicea. Compared to Jesus, who is always the faithful and the true, the church of Laodicea is indicted as ineffective. This is what you need to know about Laodicea.32:42Eleven miles to the south was Mount Cadmus. It was the town of Colossae. And they had snow melt. The water was pure and cold and refreshing to drink. This was the place where you went for H2O. Several miles in the other direction was Hierapolis. It sat across the valley. It was known for its mineral springs, hot springs that had medicinal qualities.33:08It had a famous center of health and healing. But unfortunately for Laodicea, they were neither cool and refreshing or hot for healing. Jesus says, you're not hot or cold, you're lukewarm. He says, you're useless. And Jesus wants them to do something. And Jesus indicts this church because in essence, he says, unbelievers in Laodicea, they don't see you as healing and they don't see you as refreshing.33:36Unbelievers don't see me in you. Unbelievers don't see me in you. You're useless, church. You're useless. Christian, the world needs to see Jesus in your life. They need to see you as healing for the only deep spiritual need that they have.34:01The greatest longing in all of our hearts is to be right with God forever. And only Jesus can feel that. This is why the church exists, to bring the good news, the balm that can soothe the deepest hurt of the deepest part of your soul. Church, may we never be called useless. But there is still hope.34:32Look at verse 20. He says, see, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him and eat with him and he will eat with me. Church, all hope is not lost. Even to the useless Christian, Jesus promises an opportunity for you to be zealous. He says, repent, open the door and I will come in and eat. And then you will be refreshing.35:01And then you will be healing. Let me ask you this right now. If Jesus wrote you a letter and said, Josh, I know this about you. What would your letter say? Would it say, Josh, I know that you're broken. Come to me and I will heal you. Would it say, Josh, you're useless. Would it say, Josh, you're useless.35:31Repent. The world needs you and they need to see me in you. Would your letter say, Josh, you're here today, but your heart's not in it. You're going through the motions. You're numb. Confess your need for me. Confess your sin and I will restore you. I will give you a heart again. Maybe your letter says, I know you're living in unrepentant sin and you think it doesn't matter.35:58And you think no one knows. But I want you to know that I know your sin. And you will be judged for your sin one day. You're here today so that you might repent. Do not leave this place with having a burden on your heart that only Christ can remove. Maybe you're here and you say, well, none of these apply to me because I'm not part of the church because I don't know Jesus Christ. Rest assured that one day you will stand before God.36:29And he is coming back soon, which means he could come back today. And when you stand before God, what will you say? And everyone will be either judged for their works or you will be judged for the work of Jesus in your place. And there is not a single person who has ever lived where your works measure up to God's demand for you. That's why Jesus died on the cross, isn't it?36:59Because Jesus knew I could never live a life that I should live. And so Jesus lived that life for me so that everyone who believes in him may not perish. But have everlasting life. Church, judgment will come. And it starts here. And it starts today. Is your heart ready? Run to Jesus. If you've never given your life to Christ,37:30and today you realize that if you died you would go to an eternity in hell, not because God doesn't love you, because you have rejected his love. Today would this be the day for the first time that you would say, God, I need you. But I can't have you because of my sin. So I need Jesus who died on the cross for me. Father, forgive me. I believe Jesus is who he says he is.37:58I believe he died on the cross. I believe he rose again to take away my sins. Today I confess you as Lord. And I will live for you for the rest of my life. If God wrote you a letter today, what would it say? Father.← Previous in Hidden RevealedWhat Happens When The World Unravels? (Revelation 1:1-8)Next in Hidden Revealed →The Worthy One (Revelation 5:1-14)More sermons on Revelation →
