WEBVTT 00:00:00.520 --> 00:00:06.500 So, as I was saying, we're going to hear what Jesus values. He values in biblical churches 00:00:06.500 --> 00:00:12.900 a commitment both to truth and love. As we get into these letters, let me give you two 00:00:12.900 --> 00:00:20.679 different images. The first, imagine a letter from the king in the heat of battle. So, up 00:00:20.679 --> 00:00:26.920 on the screen, you have an image from the Imperial War Museum, and it's of George V, 00:00:26.920 --> 00:00:34.380 who, during the First World War, was very active in visiting troops, made hundreds of visits to 00:00:34.380 --> 00:00:41.980 troops all around. This one was to the Somme. And wherever he went, you would see a number of 00:00:41.980 --> 00:00:47.719 familiar scenes. You would see cheering crowds. You'd see soldiers waving caps. You'd see these 00:00:47.719 --> 00:00:53.040 hardened soldiers like excited schoolboys as they get to shake hands with their king. 00:00:53.039 --> 00:01:00.280 King George understood how important it was in wartime for the king to boost the morale of his 00:01:00.280 --> 00:01:07.000 troops and to encourage them to endurance. You know, imagine if we were there fighting in the 00:01:07.000 --> 00:01:15.780 heat of battle and the king made a visit to us. Now, imagine if you're a first-century believer 00:01:15.780 --> 00:01:22.439 in the Lord Jesus in the Roman Empire. So, you're an absolutely tiny minority. You're hated by some. 00:01:22.439 --> 00:01:28.560 You're treated with suspicion by others. You're saying that Caesar isn't Lord, but Jesus is. 00:01:28.739 --> 00:01:33.859 You're practicing a whole new way of life. And so, you're in a spiritual battle, and you turn up to 00:01:33.859 --> 00:01:41.400 your house church this particular Sunday morning, and you discover King Jesus has written you a letter 00:01:41.400 --> 00:01:49.780 via an angel, via the Apostle John, but it comes to you. These letters that we're going to think about 00:01:49.780 --> 00:01:54.900 for the next three weeks, they're amazing because they do a few things for us. They remind us of 00:01:54.900 --> 00:02:03.219 who Jesus is. They speak about his identity. And they give this call to persevere with wonderful 00:02:03.219 --> 00:02:11.719 promises, future promises given. And we also discover what Jesus values as we will hear him diagnosing both 00:02:11.719 --> 00:02:19.099 strengths and weaknesses within these churches. Now, we're in the book of Revelation. Revelation has 00:02:19.099 --> 00:02:24.599 lots of numbers that are significant. And when we come across the number seven, the number seven 00:02:24.599 --> 00:02:32.460 symbolizes completion. So, these are seven letters. So, they are to individual churches, but they are to 00:02:32.460 --> 00:02:39.319 be given and to be read and to be understood by all churches. So, we had that repeating note, 00:02:39.319 --> 00:02:45.219 whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says, not just to the church, but to the churches. 00:02:45.439 --> 00:02:56.139 So, we're listening in to discover what does King Jesus have to say to us and to me and to you 00:02:56.139 --> 00:03:03.419 individually as well as He speaks to a local church. So, there's one image, a letter from a king in the 00:03:03.419 --> 00:03:08.099 heat of battle. I think another image that might help us this morning is the image of a pendulum. You know, 00:03:08.099 --> 00:03:14.240 a pendulum, simple thing, swings side to side. We're going to meet three churches, and they're all on 00:03:14.240 --> 00:03:20.819 this pendulum. One, Ephesus has swung to the side of truth, and they're forgetting about love. And we 00:03:20.819 --> 00:03:25.879 see two, Thyatira and Pergamum, they're swinging to the side of love, and they're neglecting truth. 00:03:27.299 --> 00:03:32.419 And as we think about that, even as we see the lights swinging, as Christians and churches, 00:03:32.419 --> 00:03:38.500 we can always be swinging from one side to the other. And Jesus wants us to know that what He's 00:03:38.500 --> 00:03:45.500 looking for is biblical churches that are faithful to both love God's Word and to love God's people, 00:03:45.619 --> 00:03:52.560 to love one another. So, let's dive in. Let's think, first of all, about this letter to the church in 00:03:52.560 --> 00:03:59.339 Ephesus. Ephesus was a very important city in the Roman Empire. It was a very wealthy harbor city. 00:03:59.340 --> 00:04:05.340 It housed one of the seven ancient wonders of the world. The great temple of Artemis was right there 00:04:05.340 --> 00:04:12.240 in the middle. There were also three temples set up to various emperors. So, it was a place where there 00:04:12.240 --> 00:04:18.620 was lots of false worship happening. We also know from Paul in Acts chapter 20 that there was going to 00:04:18.620 --> 00:04:24.959 be a time when false teachers were going to come in to seek to destroy, to be like wolves among sheep. 00:04:24.959 --> 00:04:32.339 And we see that this is happening. So, into that context, how does Jesus describe Himself? Look at verse 1. 00:04:33.000 --> 00:04:37.759 These are the words of Him who holds the seven stars and walks among the seven golden lampstands. 00:04:38.079 --> 00:04:44.500 So, Jesus speaks from the beginning about His authority. These stars, we're told in chapter 1, represent 00:04:44.500 --> 00:04:50.159 the angels. Jesus is the one who holds and sends the angels with authority into the world. 00:04:50.160 --> 00:05:00.240 But He also speaks of His presence and His care. The lampstands represent churches, and Jesus walks 00:05:00.240 --> 00:05:07.720 among and is with His church. And as Jesus comes to be with His church, with authority, how does He 00:05:07.720 --> 00:05:13.100 describe the strengths and the weaknesses here in Ephesus? Well, let's think positively first. Verse 2, 00:05:14.020 --> 00:05:19.540 I know your deeds, your hard work, your perseverance. You cannot tolerate wicked people. So, here is a 00:05:19.540 --> 00:05:24.340 group who are working hard for the Lord Jesus. They're persevering in the life of faith, even when 00:05:24.340 --> 00:05:30.100 it means they're being hated for Jesus' sake. They're very alert and active, so when they come across false 00:05:30.100 --> 00:05:36.759 teaching, they are challenging it and rejecting it. In fact, in verse 6, we're told that they hate what 00:05:36.759 --> 00:05:42.640 Jesus hates. There's this group, the Nicolaitans, who seem to be encouraging compromise. You can worship 00:05:42.640 --> 00:05:46.980 Jesus and worship the gods of Rome. You can have this kind of mix-and-match spirituality, and they say, 00:05:46.980 --> 00:05:54.520 no, no, you can't. And so, they're very positive defenders of truth. And this is a wonderful thing. 00:05:55.640 --> 00:06:01.540 We probably recognize we live in a day when many churches don't stand up for God's truth, 00:06:02.960 --> 00:06:11.920 give in to the whims of culture. Here is a great example of treasuring God's truth and defending 00:06:11.920 --> 00:06:17.100 God's truth. Remember what Jesus said, you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. 00:06:17.180 --> 00:06:25.680 They place a high view on truth. But there's a problem. Negatively, they've forgotten their first 00:06:25.680 --> 00:06:36.120 love. The temperature of their love has fallen from earlier days. They've forgotten their first works. 00:06:36.120 --> 00:06:42.879 Repent and do the things you did at first. There is a need for them to have a change of direction. 00:06:43.280 --> 00:06:49.180 They need to recover the love that they used to have in days gone by. So, what love is it that 00:06:49.180 --> 00:06:55.980 they've lost and left behind? Well, it's most likely, and perhaps we recognize this, that in all their 00:06:55.980 --> 00:07:08.360 fighting for truth, most likely it's left them more suspicious of others, more judgmental towards 00:07:08.360 --> 00:07:16.600 others within the church, more likely to create dividing lines, less gracious towards other believers. 00:07:17.660 --> 00:07:25.520 They've lost love for the church. They're busy doing the good thing of protecting the truth, 00:07:25.519 --> 00:07:30.839 but they're neglecting the other good thing of loving God's people. So, the pendulum is swung 00:07:30.839 --> 00:07:37.500 off-center. So, they're full of truth, but lacking love. Now, what might be some danger signs 00:07:37.500 --> 00:07:44.419 that we as a church or we as individuals have swung too far on that pendulum where we've become big on 00:07:44.419 --> 00:07:54.459 truth but low on love? I think we'd see it in a critical spirit when we're very judgmental of others, 00:07:54.459 --> 00:08:03.299 and we're lacking in mercy. When we find it all too easy to point the finger at other churches out there 00:08:03.299 --> 00:08:10.719 or other Christians in here, where we can function like spiritual bloodhounds. We're always hunting out 00:08:10.719 --> 00:08:17.979 heresy, and we want to make every issue a huge issue, even when it's not fundamental to the gospel. 00:08:17.980 --> 00:08:26.879 When we find ourselves cold and unloving, that's a sign that the pendulum has swung, 00:08:27.939 --> 00:08:32.480 so busy guarding truth that grace and patience are forgotten. 00:08:34.759 --> 00:08:41.860 At its worst, this becomes a Christian or a church that is all talk but with no loving action, 00:08:41.860 --> 00:08:49.539 a head full of truth, but a heart that is empty of feeling towards others. 00:08:51.840 --> 00:08:58.419 Now, what is Jesus' warning and promise to Ephesus and to Christians and churches? 00:08:59.240 --> 00:09:01.080 First, the warning, verse 5, 00:09:02.440 --> 00:09:08.080 consider how far you've fallen, repent, but if you do not repent, I will come to you and remove 00:09:08.080 --> 00:09:15.139 your lampstand from its place. Now, this is hugely serious. If they don't change, Jesus says, 00:09:15.300 --> 00:09:19.540 they will lose their witness in the world, that the light will be snuffed out. 00:09:20.840 --> 00:09:24.480 In fact, they'll not be regarded as one of Christ's people and one of Christ's churches. 00:09:25.480 --> 00:09:32.400 How can that be so? Well, the Bible says that God is love. And Jesus said, 00:09:32.399 --> 00:09:40.799 the world will know you are my disciples if you love one another. Love is to be the heartbeat of the 00:09:40.799 --> 00:09:47.419 church. Now, in case you're wondering what happened with Ephesus, the early church is full of the good 00:09:47.419 --> 00:09:53.159 news that they did change and they did continue to witness. There's also a wonderful promise, 00:09:53.159 --> 00:10:04.559 verse 7, whoever has ears, let them hear. If they are willing to listen and to obey and to put into 00:10:04.559 --> 00:10:14.419 practice, what's the promise? I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise 00:10:14.419 --> 00:10:23.139 of God. Here's a picture of the Garden of Eden. God made everything and it was perfect and they 00:10:23.139 --> 00:10:29.439 there was God and his people and they were together in this perfect place and God holds out this future 00:10:29.439 --> 00:10:39.080 promise. If you return to love, then you will share an eternal life. Eternal life with the God who is 00:10:39.080 --> 00:10:47.379 love, loving God's people. The promise of new creation life to come in God's paradise. 00:10:47.379 --> 00:10:57.960 So as Jesus writes this letter, he wants us to learn to keep a firm grip on truth as Christians and as a 00:10:57.960 --> 00:11:06.659 church. Because remember, Jesus commends them. He says they are doing well to care about what God teaches 00:11:06.659 --> 00:11:15.600 about himself and about what is the good news and how are the people of God to live. 00:11:15.600 --> 00:11:24.080 And so we must contend for truth. Love for God and love for others demands it. 00:11:25.659 --> 00:11:32.100 But we also remember the importance of recovering a grip on love. And if we feel that we have lost that 00:11:32.100 --> 00:11:41.580 grip, the answer is always to remember the gospel. To remember that God has loved us and sent his Son. 00:11:41.580 --> 00:11:48.700 That Jesus has given himself for us. We did not deserve that. We deserve judgment. Instead, 00:11:48.820 --> 00:11:54.480 we're given a home with him. We remember the gracious forgiveness and welcome we receive. 00:11:55.800 --> 00:12:04.500 That we would let the power of God's grace shape our heart and lead us into a love for truth and 00:12:04.500 --> 00:12:12.340 love for one another. So that's the letter to the church in Ephesus and they're swinging the pendulum 00:12:12.340 --> 00:12:17.200 so they're big on truth and low on love. Let's think about these two churches on the other side of the 00:12:17.200 --> 00:12:24.759 pendulum where the imbalance is opposite. We're going to move to Pergamum and Thyatira. A couple of things 00:12:24.759 --> 00:12:29.759 to know about these two cities. First of all, we're told something by Jesus actually here in verse 13. 00:12:29.759 --> 00:12:39.799 He says of their city, I know where you live, where Satan has his throne. These are strong words and 00:12:39.799 --> 00:12:44.519 gives us an indication. How difficult must it have been to be a Christian in this place? Why does he 00:12:44.519 --> 00:12:51.120 say Satan has his throne here? Well, we know from history that Pergamum was a real center for the cult 00:12:51.120 --> 00:12:58.580 of the emperor. So the pressure was on to worship Caesar as a god and as lord. We also know that the 00:12:58.580 --> 00:13:04.560 Jewish synagogues in this place were violently opposed to Jesus and to Christianity. And we also 00:13:04.560 --> 00:13:11.400 know that there was a brand of false teaching that was emerging from Pergamum. It's a really hard place 00:13:11.400 --> 00:13:17.379 to be a Christian. Thyatira is a bit different, but one of the things that Thyatira was known for 00:13:17.379 --> 00:13:26.700 is it had lots of trade guilds. And so every kind of business, every kind of shop, they would have their 00:13:26.700 --> 00:13:33.920 own guild, and each guild would have its own set of gods. And the belief in Rome was if you want to get 00:13:33.920 --> 00:13:39.140 ahead, if you want to prosper, you need to make offerings to the gods. And if you don't, you're a 00:13:39.140 --> 00:13:43.740 bad citizen, and it'll be bad for business, it'll be bad for the city. So again, a lot of pressure, 00:13:43.900 --> 00:13:52.720 really hard place to be a Christian. Now, how does Jesus describe himself to these two churches? 00:13:52.720 --> 00:13:59.720 Versus. Verse 12, what he says to Pergamum, these are the words of him who has the sharp double-edged 00:13:59.720 --> 00:14:06.840 sword. Now, this double-edged sword is interesting. It was the symbol of Roman justice. So people had 00:14:06.840 --> 00:14:11.160 this image of the sword and say, well, that shows that Caesar is in charge of everything. 00:14:12.540 --> 00:14:19.940 And what Jesus says, and it's not Caesar, I'm the Lord with authority. My word comes with authority. 00:14:19.940 --> 00:14:26.560 And then a slightly different image, but related, I think, as he describes himself to Thyatira down in 00:14:26.560 --> 00:14:34.200 verse 18, these are the words of the Son of God. Caesar isn't the Son of God. Jesus is, whose eyes 00:14:34.200 --> 00:14:42.220 are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. So the blazing, fiery eyes, the eyes of 00:14:42.220 --> 00:14:49.779 penetrating wisdom, the ability to judge, and the feet of burnished bronze, this is a warrior image. 00:14:50.420 --> 00:14:58.840 This is a king who's in charge, and he's ready to march into action. Now, as he comes to speak to 00:14:58.840 --> 00:15:04.120 Pergamum about their strengths and weaknesses, again, let's begin as Jesus does positively. 00:15:04.120 --> 00:15:11.720 Secondly, verse 13, despite where they live, you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your 00:15:11.720 --> 00:15:18.320 faith in me. So even when people are being martyred or being killed for being followers of Jesus, 00:15:18.539 --> 00:15:28.940 they keep on loving Jesus. So their love for Jesus is clearly in view. It's known publicly. They are 00:15:28.940 --> 00:15:36.400 devoted to him in a context that, honestly, most of us, sitting here in the nice, comfortable West, 00:15:37.240 --> 00:15:44.800 we can hardly begin to imagine. But they stay faithful in their love for Jesus. But 00:15:44.800 --> 00:15:56.020 there's a problem. Verse 14, I have a few things against you. And then he introduces Balaam, 00:15:56.019 --> 00:16:01.199 this Old Testament figure who enticed the Israelites to sin. And verse 15, likewise, 00:16:01.360 --> 00:16:07.460 you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. So they're choosing tolerance over 00:16:07.460 --> 00:16:15.620 true. That's why Balaam gets introduced. So Balaam in the Old Testament eventually led God's people 00:16:15.620 --> 00:16:22.699 astray from true worship, pulled them away to follow idols and into sexual immorality. And what he's 00:16:22.700 --> 00:16:28.740 saying to them is, listen, there are teachers in your church who are doing exactly the same thing 00:16:28.740 --> 00:16:35.500 among you. So they haven't been dealing with the false teaching. They haven't been dealing with the 00:16:35.500 --> 00:16:41.180 false teachers. Over in Ephesus, they did that. They're deciding, well, let's just love everybody 00:16:41.180 --> 00:16:46.759 and let's make no judgments. But what's happening is the church is descending into chaos. The church is 00:16:46.759 --> 00:16:56.259 being corrupted from the inside because they're not holding to the truth. It's a similar story over in 00:16:56.259 --> 00:17:04.200 Thyatira. We find the positive in verse 19. Jesus says, I know your deeds, your love, your faith, 00:17:04.619 --> 00:17:09.920 your service, your perseverance. And notice at the end, you're now doing more than you did at first. 00:17:09.920 --> 00:17:16.440 So remember, Ephesus, their temperature's going down. Not so in Thyatira. They're doing more. 00:17:16.620 --> 00:17:26.380 They're showing more love. But again, the problem is a tolerance problem. Nevertheless, I have this 00:17:26.380 --> 00:17:36.759 against you. You tolerate that woman Jezebel who calls herself a prophet. So again, Jezebel was an Old 00:17:36.759 --> 00:17:45.039 Testament wicked queen, turned the nation to follow idols into all kinds of immorality. And Jezebel, 00:17:45.500 --> 00:17:51.079 I guess nowadays in the English language, becomes something of a label. Here's a truly wicked woman. 00:17:51.519 --> 00:18:01.039 She is a Jezebel. And in this church here in Thyatira, they're tolerating a modern-day Jezebel. 00:18:01.039 --> 00:18:07.299 In fact, they're giving her a platform so she can teach. And as she's teaching this false, 00:18:07.859 --> 00:18:13.299 terrible message, she's turning people away. In verse 21, we're told that she refuses to repent. 00:18:13.500 --> 00:18:19.819 So God's word is coming. God's true messengers are saying, you need to turn from your ways. 00:18:20.379 --> 00:18:25.159 But she doesn't. And in fact, other people are following in her practices. 00:18:25.160 --> 00:18:38.340 Now, what's going on here? Most likely, this teacher, whoever she was, was saying to the 00:18:38.340 --> 00:18:45.920 Christians, listen, it's okay to offer sacrifices to these Roman gods. It's no big deal. 00:18:46.820 --> 00:18:54.200 Just take part. It'll make life easier. You can make progress in your career. Don't stand out and 00:18:54.200 --> 00:19:00.539 make life hard for yourself. And so there's become this compromise on the word of God, on the glory and 00:19:00.539 --> 00:19:07.279 honor of God. And the church isn't rejecting the false teacher and her false teaching. 00:19:08.100 --> 00:19:16.960 Big on love, low on truth. What are the warning signs of swinging on that pendulum towards love at 00:19:16.960 --> 00:19:22.360 the expense of truth? What might that look like for us or for a church today? 00:19:22.359 --> 00:19:32.679 Well, to use the language of verse 20, it would look like a wrong kind of tolerance. So we hear a lot 00:19:32.679 --> 00:19:39.579 about tolerance, don't we? One of the great virtues of the day, we're told, to never challenge anyone's 00:19:39.579 --> 00:19:48.339 truth, to never challenge another person's ideas, to never claim that there are such things as absolute 00:19:48.339 --> 00:19:56.359 truths. We must be tolerant. But Jesus says tolerance can be a profoundly negative thing, 00:19:57.559 --> 00:20:02.839 especially in a church if we tolerate false teaching. 00:20:05.079 --> 00:20:10.339 If a Christian or a church decides, well, do you know what we need to do in order for people to 00:20:10.339 --> 00:20:18.939 listen? We need to change our message to accommodate to our culture. Or maybe what we should do is we 00:20:18.939 --> 00:20:28.519 should drop, ignore those unacceptable parts of biblical truth. Or we should reject biblical standards 00:20:28.519 --> 00:20:38.599 norms as being outdated. We have a tolerance problem. It can happen, too, if we tolerate immorality. 00:20:39.319 --> 00:20:46.660 If we allow people to turn away from God within the church and we turn a blind eye, too, if we try and 00:20:46.660 --> 00:20:53.359 preserve a kind of unity or a kind of love at the expense of truth, where we don't call out clear sin, 00:20:53.359 --> 00:20:59.579 where we try and have the basis for Christian unity on anything other than Jesus and His truth, 00:20:59.819 --> 00:21:01.500 then we have a tolerance problem. 00:21:04.919 --> 00:21:13.339 Now, we need to hear the warning and the promise that Jesus gives. The warning we find in verse 16 and 00:21:13.339 --> 00:21:22.139 verse 23. It's a very similar warning. Let's hear verse 16, repent, otherwise I will soon come to you and 00:21:22.140 --> 00:21:26.880 will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. So, remember, Jesus gave these pictures of Himself 00:21:26.880 --> 00:21:32.160 as being like a warrior. He says, if you don't recover a love for God's truth within the church, 00:21:33.160 --> 00:21:38.660 then the warrior king will come in judgment. The sword of judgment will fall on false teachers and 00:21:38.660 --> 00:21:47.380 those who hold to their lies. But there's also a wonderful promise. To those who hear the message, 00:21:47.380 --> 00:21:53.000 those who honor God's truth, let's hear the promise in verse 17, to the one who is victorious, 00:21:53.780 --> 00:21:59.860 I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name 00:21:59.860 --> 00:22:04.300 written on it. And you may be thinking, what's so wonderful about that? You know what's going on there? 00:22:04.680 --> 00:22:09.140 The hidden manna, manna in the Old Testament was this gift that God gave, bread from heaven. 00:22:09.140 --> 00:22:17.860 So, here is this promise that God will feed His people. And this white stone, unlike today where 00:22:17.860 --> 00:22:24.880 we have paper tickets or e-tickets, if you wanted to get into a feast, often the ticket was a white stone. 00:22:25.580 --> 00:22:31.360 So, here is this promise that if we hold on to the truth about Jesus, we will have our entry ticket 00:22:31.359 --> 00:22:41.459 into God's feast, into heaven itself. The promise of new creation, feasting with God, sharing life with 00:22:41.459 --> 00:22:48.740 God, incidentally what we're thinking about this evening, on God's guest list, by God's grace. 00:22:49.459 --> 00:22:57.219 And then there's the promise for Thyatira, over there in verse 24, for those who hold on to faith 00:22:57.220 --> 00:23:06.640 and truth. Two things that Jesus says I will give. First in verse 26, I will give authority over the 00:23:06.640 --> 00:23:13.279 nations. And then He quotes from Psalm 2. So, Psalm 2, that we understand is being fulfilled in Jesus. 00:23:13.460 --> 00:23:19.920 Jesus is God's King, and He rules over the nations. But here Jesus says, I will share my rule with you. 00:23:20.680 --> 00:23:26.480 As people, we were made to rule over to care for this world. And Jesus says, in the new creation, 00:23:26.480 --> 00:23:33.819 all of those who love Him and hold to His truth, they will rule and reign with Him. And one more 00:23:33.819 --> 00:23:41.339 thing that we're given, I will also give that one the morning star. Which is a lovely image, but maybe 00:23:41.339 --> 00:23:46.759 you're thinking, what does that refer to? Well, Jesus will tell us towards the end of His letter, 00:23:47.180 --> 00:23:54.740 Revelation 22, verse 16, Jesus says about Himself, I am the root and the offspring of David and 00:23:54.740 --> 00:24:04.920 the bright morning star. The best thing that Jesus can give us is Himself. Those who are faithful 00:24:04.920 --> 00:24:11.980 will receive life with Christ, will rule with Christ, will enjoy Christ now and forever. 00:24:11.980 --> 00:24:20.339 Do you know one thing that's amazing to see? As Jesus writes to these churches that are small and 00:24:20.339 --> 00:24:24.960 struggling and facing opposition, is how does He help them to persevere? What does He do for them? 00:24:25.700 --> 00:24:32.640 He takes them again and again back to the future. And so, we're being reminded that if we are to endure, 00:24:33.059 --> 00:24:38.620 we must live in light of eternity. We must be clear of what Jesus has promised to them. 00:24:38.619 --> 00:24:45.099 That's what's going to encourage us to hold on, to encourage faithful believers. 00:24:47.459 --> 00:24:51.699 And He tells us what we need is love for God's people and a love for God's Word. 00:24:51.879 --> 00:24:55.759 Because that's what He says to Pergamum and Thyatira, you need to keep a firm grip on love, 00:24:56.419 --> 00:25:03.799 keep on showing love and loyalty to King Jesus in the way of worship and in loving His church. 00:25:03.799 --> 00:25:10.180 And again, when you think about this for ourselves, as we recognize it can be hard to be a disciple, 00:25:11.539 --> 00:25:16.940 how important it is that we love one another as brothers and sisters, helping one another in the 00:25:16.940 --> 00:25:21.899 journey of faith. But He says, hold on to that love, but recover a grip on the truth. 00:25:23.539 --> 00:25:31.980 As Jesus teaches, if you love me, keep my command. We value His words as it reveals truth about our God, 00:25:31.980 --> 00:25:38.880 God's character, and the gospel as we hear Him say, this is the way, walk in it. 00:25:39.960 --> 00:25:46.039 So King Jesus makes clear that what He wants is biblical churches that love the truth and love 00:25:46.039 --> 00:25:54.620 one another. And these letters come to Christians on the front lines of spiritual battle, Christians like us, 00:25:54.619 --> 00:26:02.899 reminding us, reminding us that Jesus is present with us. Jesus has got power for us. He makes these 00:26:02.899 --> 00:26:11.859 wonderful promises to us in order that we too would keep our morale up, that we too would persevere. 00:26:12.899 --> 00:26:18.000 But He also writes these letters knowing that one of our constant challenges, 00:26:18.000 --> 00:26:27.099 as sinners saved by grace, the challenge to keep centered on Christ, to keep centered on truth and 00:26:27.099 --> 00:26:33.079 love, not swinging from pole to pole, where we're defenders of truth in a loveless way, or we're 00:26:33.079 --> 00:26:42.380 trying to love everyone and we disregard truth. Jesus wants us to practice both. How do we hold firmly 00:26:42.380 --> 00:26:48.080 to truth and love as a Christian or as a local church? We need to have Jesus at the center. 00:26:49.800 --> 00:26:58.840 He calls His followers to do what He commands, to live in His truth, and He calls us to love one another 00:26:58.840 --> 00:27:06.080 as He has first loved us, to live in the truth that He gives, the grace He supplies. 00:27:06.079 --> 00:27:16.240 And as the gospel changes our heart, as we understand how extravagant God's love and mercy is, 00:27:17.240 --> 00:27:20.659 then it begins to create love for others as a necessary result. 00:27:22.439 --> 00:27:28.379 And when love for Jesus has gripped our heart, then we'll be ready to gladly obey His truth, 00:27:28.380 --> 00:27:34.400 to follow His truth, to seek to live in faithfulness to that truth. 00:27:36.400 --> 00:27:41.160 For our King, who loves the truth and wants us to love the truth.