Wrecked Wk 1 - Wretched But Loved

  Years ago we had this outreach event for the teens, where we were going to take them to Disneyland. The point of the outreach was to make new contacts with teens that had been adamant that they would never come to the church. We told the teens that they had to pay full price for their ticket if they wanted to go, but if they got a friend to go, then they would only pay half price, and their friend would be free. In the end, one new teen came, the rest just paid full price for their ticket. So, we’ve never done a trip like that since, because it didn’t achieve it’s intended goal of outreach.

But the trip almost got canceled the day we were supposed to leave. Josh and Gabe, two of our teens that had graduated and were at college in Phoenix, were on their way to go with us. They were going to help lead music at the two worship times. They were about 40 miles outside of Quartzsite, when their car tire blew out and their vehicle flipped. When we first heard the news we were going to stop everything and focus on the situation, but Gabe told us they would be fine, and that we should go. So we went. A few years after that, and Josh was sitting in the front seat of the church van as I picked up teens for Wreck Night. We were out on the road to Rainbow Acres, when I took a curve. Josh grabbed the handle and put his hand on the dash, and just started saying “J! J!” To him it felt like I was taking the curve too fast. I realized that he was still dealing with his experience from that accident. 

That car wreck changed Josh and his interaction with driving. Which is should. Anytime we have a wreck, whether that be a vehicle accident or a relationship wreck, we should go away from it changed. And that’s what we’re login to be talking about for the next several weeks. 

Too often in our relationships with God, we don’t realize that we’ve been in a wreck. Jesus’ does’t come into our lives as an add on to them, but rather to tear down the walls and chains of sin. And if any of you have ever done any remodeling, demolish has to occur, before the renovations can happen. 

So for the next five weeks, we’re going to look at five people of Scripture and learn from their encounters with God. From each of these encounters, we’ll walk away with an understanding of what God desires from his people and how his wrecking work works. Because we have a tendency to think that our relationship with God is a give and take. If we give God something like our cussing, he’ll let us go on lying. If we give God our alcohol, he’ll let us go on gossiping. If we give God our adultery, he’ll let us go on swindling. In the modern church, it can even look like, if I give God my heart in salvation, he’ll heap blessings of possessions and fame on me. 

So in the next few weeks, we’ll see the call of God on the the lives on people in Scripture and where that call took them. In doing so, we’ll see the path that God calls us to in our lives. To begin this series, let’s open to one of the most famous calls in all of Scripture, the call of Paul in Acts 9.

As we open up to Acts 9, here’s a brief summary of where we are in the Scriptures up to this point. Jesus has been crucified and raised back to life. He spent time with his disciples and then returned to heaven charging them with the carrying of the Gospel to the ends of the earth. The disciples began this work after receiving the Holy Spirit. And though thousands began to accept Jesus as Savior, they began to encounter hostility. Floggings and imprisonments followed their preaching. Hostilities grew until Stephen was martyred for the faith.

This death, marked the beginning of a persecution that would swell and rescind throughout the next several centuries. The main antagonist of this early persecution was Saul the Benjaminite who flew into this persecution with holy and righteous anger for Jesus being equated to God. But his acts didn’t last long, and his encounter with the Risen Jesus is one that has been talked about throughout Church history. Let’s read together that first encounter.

“1 Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’

“5 ‘Who are you, Lord?' Saul asked.

“‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied. 6 ‘Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.’

“7 The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. 8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 9 For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.”

God used this encounter with Jesus to shape the New Testament and our understanding of who he is. Paul’s life is completely and utterly wrecked. No facet of it remained intact as it was before. 

From Paul’s words throughout his writings we see this complete transformation. From Romans 7 we get this, “21 So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord (21-25)!”

From 1st Timothy 1:15, Paul writes, “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.”

From 1st Corinthians 15:9 we read, “For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.”

And from Ephesians 3:8 Paul writes, “Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ…”

From Paul’s encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus, he recognizes just how far he was from God. Paul recognizes how utterly wretched he was. And he puts this forth in his letters, recognizing that it is only because of Jesus that his wretchedness was fixed. That even in the presence of the saints, who esteem him as a great teacher and evangelist, he is still the least and most undeserving of them all. Why? Because he fully understands how great and glorious God is and how utterly not he is. 

This is something that we can miss in our calling from God. We read and quote John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

And we think that God just loved us. We are so special that God loves us. And don’t get me wrong, God does love us, we are special to him, but this can so easily fall into the category of, “well I’m special, therefore God loves me.” It’s a self building, rather than Christ building, attitude. 

And I see this in worship songs, both old and new. When the “I” of the one singing becomes the subject of the verse instead of the God who is being sung to, we have fallen into the deception of God must love me because I am so great. There’s a song entitled “My Testimony” that doesn’t even get to who God is until the chorus, which comes after two verses of what we have done or what we have experienced. 

This “I” type of focus comes about because we don’t include the verses after John 3:16. John 3:17ff read, “17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.”

It’s the condemned state that we are in and God’s great love and compassion that seeks to bring us out of that condemned state as to why the Father lovingly sends the Son. Paul states it this ways Romans 5, “6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! 10 For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”

It’s not me at all in the equation. I have done nothing in my own power to receive Jesus, and I do nothing in my own power to live in relationship with him. God has done everything to get me to this point. And this is the wrecking that we must recognize, I am wretched without Jesus and I rely completely on him now. Marika, my wife, made the point that this isn’t a natural response. And that’s the point, it’s God’s supernatural work that achieves all things.

So what are we called to do by Paul who recognizes his wretchedness? First, Romans 10:9-13, for, “9 If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 11 As Scripture says, ‘Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.’ 12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’” We must first enter into the relationship with God, by accepting we are sinners and accepting his free gift of salvation.

Next, Romans 12:1-2 reads, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Romans 6:11-14 states, “11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13 Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. 14 For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.”

And we could go on and on, but the core of Paul’s encounter with Jesus, as relayed to us through his writings, comes from Galatians 2:20, “20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

From our first look at someone who encountered Christ, sets the foundation on what we must understand about our relationship with him. It’s this truth, there was nothing about us that warranted God’s love, it was his goodness and love that saved a wretched sinner like me, and now through the power of the Holy Spirit, we are called to throw off my old self and put on the new person I am in Christ. 

We cannot hold onto the illusion that in some way we was good enough for God, or that now we can barter with God for things. No, we was saved in a wretched state that offered nothing of value to God, yet he was good and loving and saved me out of that wretchedness, calling me his child. And now we walk his path on his terms, submitting to his will and not my own. 

This truth does’t feed into our desire to be recognized for our achievements, and it doesn’t feed into our desire for possessions, but it does recognizes the reality we’re in, and the only way for us to move forward. Without Christ we are nothing and our lives will end in nothingness. Yet with Christ, we are truly found, because we walk in our true creation, which is God’s life bestowed upon us. 

This is a wrecking ball to the illusion of the self-gratification, self-absorption, and self-centeredness that we can so easily fall into. It’s a tearing down of the illusion that we can so easily create, that we am somehow worthy of God’s love. No, God is worthy of honor and glory and power, because he loves the wretched, and calls the weak things his beloved. And when we embrace this truth of Scripture, now we can truly see my worth, because it’s found no where else except in Jesus. And he becomes our everything, with his praise flowing off of my lips for his great work.

My challenge for you this week is to come before God and ask him to seek any selfish desires, any self-righteous mindset, and thing that would say God needs me; confess it recognize and remember the wretched state you were in before Christ, and praise him that he is good and loving because he saves you from it. Then seek after him to move by his Holy Spirit to beat down the old selfishness, to present you as a living sacrifice and instrument of godly work. Not by your own power but in submission to God’s power at work in you.

God desires his people to be his. To be led and directed as he so chooses. Let us then walk as the Spirit leads, upon  the Word of God, into the work of God, for the glory of God. Amen.

Digging Through Roofs - A Philosophy of Ministry

  I want us to do something a little different this week. I want to read the Scripture and then tell you a story and how this section of God’s Word impacts us here today. Our passage comes from Mark chapter 2, verses 1-5. Now this passage has a parallel in Luke 5:17-26, but there’s an element that Mark picks up on that is crucial to how the passage impacts us. So let’s read together Mark 2 starting in verse 1.

“1 A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. 2 They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. 3 Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. 4 Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.’”

The story I’m going to share with you today was a story relayed to me when I first came to Quartzsite by one of the founders of this church. It was the late 1970s. The US was going through a cycle of crisis, with issues that would eventually lead to a confrontation with the Iatola of Iran. The 80s are just on the horizon and the country is hoping for some change. Quartzsite, an old mining town, had become a spot for people to get some gas off the newly linked Interstate 10. The town boasted that they were the destination for rock hounds and the biggest yard sale in the nation. With the advent of retirees, Quartzsite became a cheap place to come, buy some property and spend the winter away from the harsh storms of the north.

At that time there was only one church in town, so if you were a believer that’s where you went. But as it is today, when you have older people wanting to enjoy their retirement years, you’ll need people that are still working to help them experience that. Young families began to migrate to where their grandparents were, and a new dynamic was brought into our desert town. 

But for some, the young families were not as welcomed as the retirees, and one such person was the pastor of the only church in town. As it would be later told, the pastor was almost manic at the thought of having children as a part of the church.

So the families began meeting together in houses, just studying the Bible. Families such as Herb of Herb’s Hardware, and Maude of KBUX Radio. Eventually more and more people gathered with the small group of families, which led the group to deciding it needed more room. Ever the generous man, the newly formed church renovated, and moved into Herb’s house out on the edge of town, on 720 W. Desert Vista St., where we meet this morning. That little building that we now call the Fellowship Hall began seeing weekly worship services, and the church continued to grow. 

When the group of believers decided to move in the direction of an establishing a local church, they began to look at different denominations to connect with. Most of the people were from a baptist background, but there was already an established baptist church in town, so they looked at other options. After looking at several, they decided on a small denomination that had at its core the sharing of the Gospel through missionary work. They chose the Christian and Missionary Alliance, and in 1984 became an official church of the denomination. There wasn’t many Alliance churches around them back then, but they did have a sister church up in Lake Havasu, and the young Pastor of the church, Jeff Jones, was invited to come and preach. 

Eventually, the church called their own pastor, a different young man with a family. And under his guidance the church continued to grow. Years later, another pastor was called, and another, and throughout the these roughly fifteen years, the church saw steady growth. But although the church saw growth with the snowbirds and older local residence, at the core of the church was a focus on the young families of the town. And towards the end of the 1990s and the beginning of the 2000s, a recently retired couple by the name of Ellis made sure that the church stayed true to that core purpose. 

After some issues that led to the termination of the current pastor, the search for a replacement began. As fillers, people like John Maltby of Maltby Chiropractic lended their gifts to help the church through this transition. But the church wasn’t the only ones looking for a pastor, the district was looking as well, and a now more seasoned pastor became available. Jeff Jones, who spoke in Quartzsite at the church in its formative years, was invited back to take the reins of the pastorate. 

Within the first years of Jeff’s tenure as Senior Pastor, he navigated the church through several tough issues. First, the Ellis’ greatly encouraged the church to hire a youth pastor, as they were getting older and were concerned that they wouldn’t be able to continue the work for too much longer. A couple of promising candidates were tried out, but never lasted more than a summer. This eventually led to the first full-time Youth Pastor being hired, and for four years the youth group grew. Jeff also navigated the church through a transition from a board model based on a baptist governing style, to an Elder Board model, which was standard in the Alliance. Finally, Jeff and the church called another youth pastor in 2007, which eventually led to another issue that Jeff had to navigate.

Around 2012, a group in the church decided that Jeff’s leadership was lacking, and that the youth ministry was out of hand. They believed that the church began to focus and spend too much on the youth and needed to reign it in. The goal was to terminate the Youth Pastor position altogether, get rid of the van ministry, and if possible, replace the Senior Pastor. But the core of the church had always been reaching out to the young families in town, and the church was able to move forward in continuing this work that God had called them to back in the 70s. 

In 2015, Pastor Jeff was led by God to step down as the Senior Pastor of our church. The Elders asked the Youth Pastor to step into the position. After a three year transition period, Pastor Jeff officially step down from the position he held for roughly 17 years, and became the church’s Community Pastor. It was then I stepped into the position I am in today, and then in 2021, Pastor Jeff passed away, a loss to this ministry and to his family, but a gain for a servant who walked well the path God laid out for him. 

We are now in a new season of ministry here at the Alliance Church of Quartzsite. We see new faces all the time, those that founded the church have either gone on to be with the Lord, such as Maude Burdett, and others are on the cusp, such as Herb and Rylis Kell. Yet the ministry God has called this body of believers to accomplish and what so many of you stand with, is the work to reach out to the young families of our town. In two years we come to the 40 year anniversary of the official Alliance Church being founded in Quartzsite, but we are living in the 40 years of work that started in the 70s. A work that started because there was no room for these young families, so they had to make room for themselves. 

God has spoken and said that this is the work that he established this church to do, and if ever we stop, our lampstand would be taken. 

The Alliance Church of Quartzsite does not have the best facilities. The carpet is getting ragged, things break all the time. The chairs wobble, the paint is chipped, the tile on the roof falls down. We make improvements as we can, but it takes time, because our ministry isn’t to build a nice building, it’s to minister to the people of Quartzsite. We try to be good stewards of what God has given to us, but ministry takes precedence over ascetics. 

“1 A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. 2 They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. 3 Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. 4 Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.’” 

In the passage, the house where Jesus was, was full of people. So much so that a person in need wasn’t able to get in. His friends, undeterred by the crowds, dug through the roof and lowered the paralyzed man down to be healed by Jesus. And it says, “When Jesus saw their faith…” Jesus forgave sin and eventually healed the man, because of the faith the friends showed in their action. 

I’m sure that when the digging began the home owners were not very pleased, but the work of God was more important. This is the philosophy of the ministry of this church. Everything that God gives us, is to be used for his work. The ragged carpet, though an eyesore, has a story of ministry being it. The whole in the wall, the not so nice paint, has stories of God’s work in them. The loud ruckus on a Sunday morning, the booming noise on a Friday, those are sounds of God’s work. The money that is given, to keep the vans gassed up and going, are vehicles of the Gospel at work. 

By all means, with in the purview of what God has given us, we use to accomplish the work that he started in the 70s and continues today. We are just another called group of people, who have joined this work of God, though we didn’t set out to do so. And we are both inheritors of this work and relayers to the next group.

I have wanted to share this for the last year, and God did not allow it until today. Now I see why. We needed to walk through the work of the seven churches to realize that the work God calls us to can be taken away by him if we do not continue in his will. And I thank God for you that you have join in this work. 

We can so easily think that it is us who accomplish what God sets before us, but we are simple workers in God’s vineyard, servants of the King, who mere do as the Master says, and it is he that completes his work. Praise God for that!

And that’s my challenge for you this week. Each of us comes from a different place, yet God has brought us into this work of Quartzsite. Let us praise him that he has done this good work here. That together we are to work in the fields he started cultivating 40 years ago. And may we each take a moment to ask, “Lord, how can I be used in the work of Quartzsite?” I pray that God leads us to do all that he has for today, and prepare the way for all that he has in store for the future. Amen.

Outlook Series - Week 6 - Creations Song

  I’m one of those people that enjoys music, but doesn’t really get past listening to songs. I know basic genres, and even basic history of when those genres came about. What I don’t know, is in-depth information about any of it. If a song sounds good to me, I’ll listen; if it doesn’t sound good, I won’t, simple as that. And I like all types of genres from classical, to big band, to 50s pop, to 80s rock, to 90s punk, to country. What really draws me to a song, is not only the lyrics, but also the uniqueness of a voice or element of the song. There’s a couple of newer country songs that have caught my attention. One is called Buy Dirt, by Jordan Davis, and the other is called Up, by Luke Bryan. And I only know the names because I looked them up. These songs have good stories and some unique parts. And that’s what I like about music, with only a few chords you can make all sorts of styles.

And it’s music that brings us to our final week in our Out-Look series, where we’ll be looking at chapters 4 and 5 in the book of Revelation. So if you have your Bibles, we’ll be opening to Revelation chapter 4, starting in verse 1; and as we open up to Revelation 4:1, let’s recap the last five weeks in our series.

We started this series with a focus on the second aspect of our relationship with God, which is loving people as ourselves. Our relationship within God is two-fold, with loving him with everything on the one hand, and loving others as ourselves on the other (Mark 12:29-31). One cannot be done without the other, and when we are truly doing one, it’s because we are doing the other as well. It was here that we then talked about how the greatest way to love people is to share the Gospel with them. Taking care of physical needs is needed, but those are temporary fixes to a deeper need of knowing Jesus as Savior. And this is what God calls us to; every Christian is a minster of the Gospel, so that the world would have an opportunity to know the God who created them.

This led into the motivation as to why we share the Gospel. When we understand the holiness of God and the state humanity is in because of sin, we who have trusted Jesus as our Savior must then look to the work of God as being essential for every believer to participate in. We should not push aside the Gospel work, thinking it is for someone else to do, when it is our neighbors, friends, and family who are on the wide path to the lake of fire. God’s holiness and humanity’s sin, should motivate each of us to share the Gospel as God leads.

Then Doug Haskins spoke to us about experiencing God’s grace when we endure situations. When we step into the Gospel work, we will have plenty of opportunities to experience the eternal grace of God in new and powerful ways, because Gospel work is repleted with things that must be endured. Ridicule, gossip, discouragement, emotional and physical pain, are just a few things we might experience when it comes to Gospel work. Yet, in those experiences, we will see God’s grace abound in its potentness. 

After this we began looking at the seven churches, walking away with three understandings as to what we must be aware of when engaging in God’s work. First we must be aware that tribulations and trials are a part of the package. Hard times are guaranteed to come when we walk the path that Jesus has laid out, and in that path God’s grace awaits to be experienced. Second, we must not fall into the trap of winking at sin. The flesh desires to be accepted by the world, and so it is really easy to fall into the trap where we allow sin to fester in our own lives, and the life of the church, in order that we may be praised by the world. Yet Jesus calls us away from that, to stand firm against sin, being gracious to each other as we walk through this world. Finally, last week we talked about engaging in God’s work, not in our own strength, where we can become prideful, but rather in our weakness, where God’s power may be seen clearer. The world wants us to work in our own power, because it’s easy for us. We thrive on people seeing what we have done, and receiving the glory for it. Yet glory needs to be given to God, and the best way to make sure that this happens is to fall before God recognizing our weakness and allowing the Holy Spirit to work from there.

With these weeks fresh in our minds, we now turn to what it’s all about. We started this series by getting a glimpse of Jesus in his holiness in chapter 1, and now we return to that imagery as we start in Revelation chapter 4, verse 1. But unlike in previous weeks where we read the whole text we were going to cover, I want us to just be in the moment of each of these chapters. And by no means will we be exploring every aspect of what these chapters mean, but just enough to understand them in the context of Gospel work. Let’s read.

“4:1 After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, ‘Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.’ 2 At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. 3 And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne. 4 Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. 5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God. 6 Also in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal.

“In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. 7 The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. 8 Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,’ who was, and is, and is to come.’

“9 Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say: 11 ‘You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.’”

Through John, we are brought into the throne room of God. This is the place that Isaiah was brought into, where he recognized his sin in front of the holy God (Isaiah 6). This is what Ezekiel spoke of in his vision in the opening of his book (Ezekiel 1). And this is what Paul references in 2 Corinthians 12:2-4, when he speaks of a man being caught up to the third heaven. This is the place where God sits enthroned in glory, waited upon and worshiped, though he needs neither. And we get this imagery to make our imaginations come alive, and that speaks of the greatness of God. 

Jesus spoke to the church of Philadelphia and Laodicea about a door. To the Philadelphian Church, the door was wide open for them; to the Laodiceans the door had been shut. But here the door is open wide for John to enter into. Then Jesus speaks. This is the second time Jesus’ voice sounds like a trumpet. This trumpeted voice has a parallel in Jewish worship, where each blow of the trumpet meant a different part of the service. John was first trumpeted to write to the churches about their work in the Gospel. Now, he is being trumpeted to see the worship of God in heaven. 

God’s splendor is on display. God is seated on a throne, a position of power and judgment. John then describes God as having the appearance of the precious stones jasper and ruby. This speaks to God’s majesty. A rainbow encircles the throne, which speaks to God’s complete fulfillment of his promises and Word. We are also told in verse 5, that flashes of lightning and sounds of thunder come from the throne, harkening back to Israel’s meeting with God at Mt. Sinai. Next, we are told that the seven spirits of God, a term to speak of the perfect work of the Holy Spirit, blaze as seven lamps before the throne. Finally, we are told about a sea of glass that is in front of the throne. Some have interpret this as the pavement of heaven; with others interpreting in Old Testament thoughts of conquered chaos, where the sea is chaotic, yet is still as glass before God.

We’re also told of what John sees surrounding God on his throne. There are twenty-four elders, who sit on their own thrones, dressed in white, with crowns upon their heads. These elders have been interpreted many different ways, with some believing they parallel the twenty-four elders at Sinai, or the twenty-four divisions of the Levitical priesthood, or that they are a representation of the redeemed through Christ. Whatever they represent, it’s their actions that concern us, and which will get to a moment.

Next, we’re told of the angels. Similar, but different from Ezekiel’s vision, we’re told that there are four, one like a lion, one like an ox, one with the face of a man, and one like an eagle. Again these have been interpreted different ways. Maybe they represent the whole of God’s creation, or maybe they represent attributes of God, or services performed to God. Again, whatever they represent, it’s their actions that are important for us today.

With the stage set, we turn our attention to the actions of those that surround the throne. The angels sing a never ending song, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.” This song speaks of the eternalness of God, who has all power, and who is unlike anything there is. 

And on cue with this song, the elders come off their thrones, falling prostrate before God, laying down their crowns in recognition of God’s majesty. They then speak, “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.” The elders recognize their position, as not comparing to God. Their crowns, their thrones, their garments all come from and all return back to God. 

This is the holiness of God, that we have been speaking of through this series. This God who is enthroned in judgment, who is almighty in his works, who is eternal; he is the Creator, to whom all that is given to us, and that we earn, is truly his, and we must fall down in worship before him. This is the God to whom Isaiah confessed his sinfulness; this is the God whom John fell down as if dead before, and this is the God who we worship. Not some feeble daddy figure on a  cloud, but a grand imposing being to whom our only response is to fall down worship.

But that’s not all, there’s more going on in this heavenly worship scene. Let’s move on to chapter 5 of Revelation. 

“5:1 Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. 2 And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, ‘Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?’ 3 But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. 4 I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. 5 Then one of the elders said to me, ‘Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.’

“6 Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 7 He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. 8 And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. 9 And they sang a new song, saying: ‘You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. 10 You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.’

“11 Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. 12 In a loud voice they were saying: ‘Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!”

“13 Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying: ‘To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!’

14 The four living creatures said, ‘Amen,' and the elders fell down and worshiped.

Here the focus changes. With the overwhelming majesty of God, it seems that John didn’t at first see that he held a scroll in his hand. Yet, there it was, and the imagery of Jewish and Roman scrolls is on full view. The Jewish scrolls that contained the Scriptures had seals on them that would be broken before they were read. In Roman society, legal scrolls would contain several sets of seals that could only be broken for the intended person. 

But alas, the mighty angel speaks, calling for a worthy one to break the seals and open the scroll. Yet, we’re told there is no one in all creation that can. John begins to weep; he knows that this scroll is important, but with no one worthy, how can it be read? This is reminiscent of our realization of our own sin. If we cannot pay the cost for our own sin, how then can anyone be saved? 

Yet in both cases there is hope. An elder points John to the answer to both distresses. “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.” The elder points to the mighty warrior of Judah and the heir to the Davidic Kingdom. And it would seem that the next scene is going to be of this Lion, this King, but instead, John turns to see the Lamb. But not just any lamb, this Lamb has seven horns representing complete power, and he has seven eyes, representing complete  omniscience and the complete work of God through the Holy Spirit throughout the world. 

It is the Lamb who takes the scroll and when he does, the four creatures and twenty-four elders fall down in worship. This time with harps in hand, and bowls representing the prayers of God’s people. And a new song erupts from their worship, “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. 10 You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.”

Why is this Lamb worthy to take the scroll and to open it? Why is he worthy of this praise? It’s because he is the one who laid down his life. He was the perfect Passover Lamb, slaughtered for the sin of humanity. And he is the one, by his sacrifice, that paved the way for every person on this earth to have the opportunity to accept him as Savior and enter into his eternal life. 

But this worship doesn’t end there. John hears the whole of heaven erupt in worship. Angels numbering in the hundreds of millions begin to join the song, singing, “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” But not just them, all of creation joins with their own verse, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!” From the height of heaven, to the lowest point of the physical world, all sing the song of the praise to God on the throne and Lamb who was slain. To which the four creatures call in agreement, “Amen.” And the elders fall down in worship. And we here today must call out, “Amen,” falling down in worship. 

This worship of the Father on his throne in majesty, and the Son who was slain for humanity, encompasses the Gospel work that we are saved to be a part of. The holiness of God results in the sending of the Son to take the punishment of the sinner, so that they may join in the created orders’ worship. 

Every time we sing words of worship, we join in this chorus. Every time God uses us to share this wonderful message, we join in the heavenly choir. Every time we obey God, choosing to follow him rather than our sin’s call, we participate in the worship that creation is giving back to its Creator. 

My brothers and sisters in the Lord, this is our destiny, to be in this chorus of worship back to God, and this is only a glimpse of what that eternal destiny entails. So then, let us resolve ourselves today, to be singers in God’s choir, carry the Gospel message with us as we go about this life. That the holy God created us to be with him; yet our sin, our rebellion against his created order, has caused us to be separated from him and there’s nothing we can do to fix it. But he can, and the Father sent the Son to do just that. Jesus died in our place, taking our punishment for our sin upon himself. God was broken for his creation, yet the story doesn’t end on the cross, it goes to the empty tomb in which Jesus proved his payment was acceptable, because of his resurrection. And the story isn’t done yet; every person who trusts in Jesus as their Savior will be saved and brought into the heavenly chorus of worship back to God. This song happens everyday from the new birth of the believe and lasts into eternity.

Let’s be apart of the song, ministering the Gospel as God leads, so that all the voices that accept Jesus’ invitation to be there, will sing loud and proud. 

My challenge for you this week, is to literally sing these songs of heaven. From the four creatures song, to the elders’ song, to the millions of angels, all the way to the “Amen.” Let us be a chorus of Gospel workers, who are motivated by God’s holiness, to proclaim the slain Lamb, that all who trust in him, shall not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16). Amen.

Outlook Series - Week 5 - My Weakness, His Strength

  I’ve share before that I grew up playing baseball. One of the greatest lessons I learned while playing was during my final year of little league, or what was called majors. To be honest I was the best pitcher on the team, if not the league as a whole. My team on the other hand had two other good players, but they weren’t even in the top ten best players in our town. The lesson I learned was during one game at our home field. The game started off as most did when I pitched, the first two batters struck out and I was feeling pretty good. The third batter step up to the plate and hit a routine fly ball to right field. But for our team, nothing was routine, and the right fielder missed the ball and the runner advanced to second base. I was furious and in my mind I started to think that I could trust this team, so I had to do it myself. I had one of my best outings that day. Except for the fly ball, every other batter for the next five innings struck out. 

Then came the seventh inning, we were up by one, but I was visibly exhausted, with a pitch count closing in on 100. I struck out one batter, then walked the next, then struck out the third. The fourth came and I walked him as well. It was then that my coach called a timeout and came to the mound. I didn’t have many of these visits, so I knew what he wanted to talk about. But he wasn’t the only one, the third baseman, one of my friends, also came over. Both of them told me the same thing. There’s a whole team behind you, let the guy hit the ball and let your team get this final out. 

So I did. I threw a nice low fast ball for the batter, hoping he’d hit a ground ball. Instead he pulled it somehow and got a fly ball. Guess where? Right field and again the the right fielder missed it. The two runs I had walked came in and the batter made it to second. The other team was up by one. It was there that I learned the lesson that stuck with me for the next five years. I had to do it myself. The next batter came up and I struck him out. We went on to lose that game, and it made an impression on me to where I would not trust another team to stand behind me, until my college days. In those years, I grew as a pitcher, but not as a player. I became isolated on the mound. And though I led my high school team with the most strikeouts, it became increasingly difficult to do so, and my arm paid the price.

It was finally playing in college that I no longer had to worry about carrying the team. And instead, was able to grow as an all around player by realizing that when I did try to do it on my own, it made me bitter and unable to play as a team player. In the end I realized that I had missed out on the joy of playing with my teammates, because deep down, I resented them. Because I relied solely in my own strength, I was lesser for it. 

And it’s this idea of not relying on our own strength that brings us back into our Out-Look Series, where we are returning to the book of Revelation chapter 3. This week we will be looking at the last two of the seven churches that were addressed by Jesus. And as we open up to Revelation 3:7, let’s look back at where we’ve been so far in this series. 

We started out this walk through the first three chapters of Revelation by looking at the two aspects of the believer’s relationship with God. These two aspects are to love God with everything and to love others as ourselves. These two aspects are what God calls us to. We cannot have one with the out the other, and when we focus on one at the detriment of the other, both suffer in the end.  Since the majority of the time in the Church we focus on the first aspect of our relationship, the loving God with everything, we turned our attention to the second aspect of loving others as ourselves. There are many ways to do this, such as taking care of physical needs: a glass of water, a sleeping bag, a coat. Yet the greatest way that we are called to love our neighbors is to share the Gospel.

It was here that we began focusing on the why and how we are to go about this Gospel work. First we looked at the why, which is to be motivated by God’s holiness. When we understand the awesomeness of God and how far away from him we are without Jesus, that should then motivate us to share the Gospel with those who are on the path to forever being away from God in the lake of fire. 

Second, we need to realize that one of the most powerful places that we will experience God’s grace as a believer, is by enduring the work that God calls us to. Grace abounds to those that are not only saved, but are experiencing God through the work he has laid our for his people.

Thirdly, as believers, trials and tribulations are guaranteed by Jesus. When we follow him in salvation, we have been and are being separated by God from this world. This means we are already being put in and adverse situation to what the world wants. And when we engage in Gospel work, we are putting ourselves that much more in direct opposition to the world’s desires. 

Finally, as we engage in Gospel work, it is easy to fall into the trap of winking at certain sins so that we may garner the praise of man. It’s easy to not want to stand on certain biblical issues, so that we can be seen as more tolerant or loving, when in actually what we are doing is being less loving, and watering down the Gospel’s power in a person’s life.

All this brings us to our finally two churches in Revelation 3, where we will look at what happens when we’ve been active in God’s work.

“7 To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. 8 I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. 9 I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. 10 Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.

11 I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. 12 The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name. 13 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

14 “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. 15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.

19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. 20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

21 To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

Here we continue looking at how Jesus sees these two churches. There are a lot of similarities with previous churches. And if we take a step back and look at the seven churches together, we can see that these last two churches kind of mirror the first two. With both Sardis and Philadelphia being churches of praise, and Ephesus and Laodicea being churches of correction. Let’s get more into this, starting with Philadelphia. 

The city of Philadelphia was another one of these hub cities where a lot of commerced flowed. It was junction for the northern road to Ephesus and the eastern road to Pergamum. Because of its location and its hub status, it was known as the “gate” or “door” in which everyone needed to venture through if they were going to get to one of these more important cities.

The city was situated, not only on a trade route, but also in an active volcanic area. In fact, in AD 17 the region experienced a violent earthquake which leveled three cities: Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. Philadelphia, along with Sardis was rebuilt by the Romans, who renamed the city Neocaesarea, to honor the imperial family. The city grew in prominence because of the rich volcanic soil that was all around, which led the city to becoming an important agricultural center as well.

Jesus uses this historical reality to speak to the church that is located in the city. It is one of the few cities that Jesus doesn’t have a condemnation, but gets his full encouragement. Jesus uses imagery of keys and doors that no one can shut. This imagery connected to the opening and shutting of gates and doors fits with Philadelphia being the gate and door of Asia Minor. You had to go through the city to get to other more prominent places. Likewise, only through Jesus can a person attain salvation. This is based on Jesus’ words in John 10:9, “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture.” Jesus’ words here assures the church that they have passed through the gate of Jesus into his salvation, and because he holds the key to open and shut such a gate, no one else can close it. 

After this assurance of Jesus’ authority and the church’s access to salvation through him, he turns his attention to encouraging the church. Like Sardis before it, the church at Philadelphia had little. In this case the wealth of the church isn’t in view, as it was in Sardis, but rather their power. The word that the NIV translates as "strength” carries with it two possible connotations. It can either be miraculous power, as in miracles, or in physical power, hence the translation of strength. I don't think they are lacking in miraculous power, because the rest of Jesus’ exhortation wouldn’t make sense. In fact it wouldn’t be encouragement but another correction for their lack of faith. Instead it would make more sense that they have little strength. Jesus compliments them that though they have little strength, they have kept the faith. 

This could be a reference to the church having gone through a taxing persecution by a community of Jews who are denouncing the church as not being of God. And so Jesus not only commends the church for continuing in the faith, though they have little strength remaining to do so, Jesus gives an encouraging word that he himself will show to this Jewish community how much he loves this church. This will be done through Jesus forcefully making these people fall down before the believers in honor.

And like before, Jesus puts eternity into perceptive. In this case, Jesus draws on the historical events of Philadelphia to do so. Both the pillar imagery and the new city of Jerusalem coming down both speak to what has happened to the city. An earthquake came and destroyed the city, yet Jesus will make the church unmovable. The Roman government rebuilt the city, giving themselves the glory, yet Jesus will build his own city giving all glory to God.

Let’s turn our attention to Laodicea, the church that gets the most attention from preachers. It is the one church that doesn’t get even a hint of commendation. Everything’s bad with this church, and Jesus is about to impart judgment on it. This is why Jesus calls himself the “Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation.” He says this because his judgment is true and the church at Laodicea better listen, prepare, and repent at Jesus’ judgment.

Again, it’s the works of the church that are in view and Jesus uses the imagery of hot and cold water, with that of lukewarm water. The reason for this imagery is because of the situation in Laodicea. The city, though it was extremely wealthy, which is something we’ll come back to in a bit, was known for bad water. The neighboring city of Heirapolis was well known for hot water springs that were said to have medicinal properties. Another neighboring city, Colossae, was known for pure, cold water that was some of the most refreshing. Laodicea on the other hand, needed to bring their water in via an aqueduct. The water arrived lukewarm and was awful to drink. Jesus uses this imagery to let the church know that they too were not useful either as hot or cold, but were lukewarm. Because of this Jesus would spit them out, because they were disgustingly useless. 

But he does’t stop there. Unlike the other cities of Sardis and Philadelphia who needed Roman help to rebuild their urban centers after the earthquake of AD 17, Laodicea was so wealthy that they refused the governments help to rebuild. This became a point of pride for the city. It seems that the church had their own pride with their wealth. Yet Jesus tells them that they are “wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.” True wealth is Jesus himself; true riches are only found in him. Therefore Jesus calls the church to buy from him, to be clothed by him, to receive ointment for their blindness from him.

And though Jesus is harshest with Laodicea, it is never to the point of final rejection. The purpose of his direct rebuke of the church is for repentance. Jesus states, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.” A lot of the time we as Christians use this verse to give hope to the non-believer, and though I don’t disagree with the thought being used in that way, the reality is, the context has it with the church. Jesus is calling the church to open the door to him. He is calling the church to invite him inside for a meal.

Why does Jesus do this? Because he loves the church and wants them in a right relationship with him. Paul states it this way in Ephesians 5:25-27, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.” This is what Jesus is doing here. Calling the church to repentance, Jesus is washing and renewing her to be without blemish. This is why Jesus says, “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline.”

And after he calls the church to repentance, to a reestablished relationship with him, he puts everything into eternal perspective once again. Victory and a throne of authority is placed before the church to receive as a reward. 

And it is here that we see ourselves. As we move forward in Gospel work, we must realize it is done in the strength of Jesus. God’s Gospel work is for his glory and for his kingdom. It is so easy to give up the work when we fill physically, emotionally, spiritually spent. Yet, in the little strength we have, Jesus is strong. Paul states in 1 Corinthians 1:27, “But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.” Paul even rejoiced in his weakness, when he wrote a second time to the Corinthian church this, “That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong (12:10).”

It’s okay to recognize our weakness, because by trusting Jesus in recognition of our own weakness we can then rely on his strength to work in us. This is the grace that is seen in our endurance of the tasks God has set out for us. 

This recognition of weakness in our lives, keeps us from becoming prideful in what we have. The building, the money, the reputation; the glitz, the glamor, the names on side of buildings means nothing if Jesus is left outside knocking. Ministering from a place of recognized weakness, keeps pride in check and the Gospel centered on who it’s supposed to be on. In the modern church, like in the modern business world, everyone wants to know our strengths, yet in the Church of Jesus, he wants us to realize our weakness. 

The church of Philadelphia was commended because they didn’t rely on their strength, whereas the church of Laodicea was chastised because they did. We need to seek God in our weakness, rather than our strengths, because he is glorified even more when we do so. Our strengths are gifts from God, but when we rely on them we no longer rely on God. This leads to our glory and not his. Yet, when we trust God to work in our weaknesses, there we see the glory of God more fully, and so do the people we are mistering to.

It’s hard and can take more time for fruit to be produced, but it is lasting fruit.

My challenge for you this week to is be weak. Go before God and acknowledge where you fall short in serving him. If you struggle with speaking to people, if you struggle with talking about the Gospel, if you struggle with anger, pride, hate, gossip, lust, drunkenness, the occult, bring those things before God. Don’t whitewash them, don’t push them to the side and cover them with what you do good. Take them before the throne of Jesus and lay them down. Confess weakness before the strength of the Almighty and seek his strength in defeating all that is not of him. And have no fear in his presence, the payment, the wrath that hovered over sin was paid for. So now in your weakness, God’s strength can be seen. 

Let us be a people who recognize our weaknesses, working the the strength of our God, so that we may live in his Almighty power. Amen.