{"id":2163,"date":"2017-05-14T18:12:20","date_gmt":"2017-05-14T08:12:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/?p=2163"},"modified":"2017-05-14T18:12:20","modified_gmt":"2017-05-14T08:12:20","slug":"wonderful-assurances-revelation-2-14-05-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/?p=2163","title":{"rendered":"Wonderful Assurances Revelation 2 14-05-2017"},"content":{"rendered":"
Wonderful Assurances: Revelation 2.<\/strong><\/span>
\nRevelation 1: 1 \u2013 11a;\u00a0 3: 14 – 22<\/strong><\/span>
\nIf we are hardwired for bad news what may we be missing?<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
\nWe like bad news don\u2019t we?\u00a0 We must surely!\u00a0 We give a lot of time to following the news and it is mostly bad news. Graft, crime and tragedy are the stuff of our news. There is some good news buried in the bowels of the news.<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
We have become conditioned to see and expect bad news. I think we read the Bible attuned to bad news. Our aeriels are hardwired for what is sad and bad. So we pick up the anger and judgement and discount and discard the good news.\u00a0 I want to say there is more good news in Revelation than bad news. You could rightly accuse me of being a glass half-full person than a glass half-empty person, but I would rather be one who looks for positivity and hope than one stuck in the rut of bad news. Today I am asking you to tune your antennas to see the wonderful assurances and hopefulness of Revelation.<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
I am reading Revelation differently. Revelation is filled with word pictures. I am reading seeing the pictures. The first word picture is of Christ Jesus standing in the midst of the seven lampstands and holding seven stars in his hand. Christ Jesus tells John that the seven lampstands represent the seven churches and the seven stars represent the seven angels of the seven churches [1:12f]. The Bible uses numeral 7 as a symbol of perfection and completeness.\u00a0 So I am reading seven as meaning all the churches; that is, the Church. Another reason for taking the seven churches to mean the Church is that the message is so comprehensive that it includes the whole church. I also see that what those Christians were doing is not unlike what we are doing.<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
A study of Revelation shows us that the Church existed in an hostile environment. John and others have experienced persecution.\u00a0 The Church is pressured to accommodate itself to the Greco-Roman culture. The Church has had to discern what is the true faith. The Church was small, weak and faced a change in leadership. Most of the first Christians were either very old or dead. Revelation addressed the church some 50 years after the first Easter.\u00a0 What is said to the seven churches is equally true of the Church today. The Church is either facing persecution or rejection, the Western Church is enmeshed in its Western materialistic culture, it needs to discern what is the orthodox faith, it is weak and it faces a crisis in leadership and direction.<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
The message in Revelation to the Church is one of God\u2019s deep concerns.\u00a0 Jesus stands in the midst of the Church and walks amongst the Church [1: 12ff; 2:1].\u00a0 God sends messengers to the Church to warn them to stand firm.\u00a0 Hold fast to the faith. They are commended for their patient endurance [1:9; 2: 2,3,19; 3:10]. God holds the Church accountable. The Church is confronted with its shortcomings. Some Christians have lost their first love for Christ Jesus; some have failed to love their neighbours; some followed false teaching; become lukewarm in their commitment; and, accommodated the culture. The Word of God calls the church to repent. Now repentance is not feeling sorry, but turning around and facing the right way. Repentance is the call to re-orientate ourselves to following Christ Jesus. The result of holding fast to Christ Jesus is the rich reward of the fellowship of God. Or to put it another way: we enjoy God and are filled with joy.<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Of these seven churches mentioned only five are criticised, but all are encouraged to turn to Christ Jesus and enjoy the rich rewards of true Faith. We are presented with an amazing set of word pictures of what God\u2019s companionship entails for those who stand fast, who keep the faith and endure patiently to the end.<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
The Ephesus church, which has lost the enthusiasm of its first love, is told that if they stand firm they will eat the fruit from the tree of life [2:7; cf. Gen 2: 17].<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
The Smyrna church, where some have followed false teaching, is offered the crown of life if they hold fast to Christ Jesus and his teachings [2:10]<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Pergamum and Thyatira are churches, which have allowed the Greco-Roman culture to lead them into sexual immorality, but are offered the hidden manna, special names and share in the authority of Jesus. [2:17, 26 &28]<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
The Sardis church is promised that Christ Jesus will confess their names to God. [3:5]<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Philadelphia is a faithful church and they are promised to become a pillar in the temple of God. [3:12]<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
The Laodicea church has been lukewarm, but if they turn to Christ they will be given a place on Christ Jesus\u2019 throne [3:21].<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Consider these images, which are not to be taken literally. They convey what God has in store for us if we follow Christ Jesus. I will take just two of these images and expand briefly on them.\u00a0 The notion of being a pillar in the temple is not a literal description. In the first century the Christians understood that the gathering of worshipping Christians formed the temple of God. Jesus taught this. A pillar in a build supports the roof and strengthens the walls. The image of a pillar in a building conveys the notion of support and strength. That is, faithful Christians will be pillars in the church \u2013 pillars of strength.<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
The second wonderful image is that Jesus will give the faithful place on his throne.\u00a0 We are not talking about a big throne, but that the faithful will enjoy not only intimacy with Jesus but also ruling with him. These images all convey the message that God wants the best for us.<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
I hope you can see why God works with us. Indeed I find an equally beautiful picture in the Word of God to the Laodicean church. The Lord says; I reprove and discipline those whom I love. Be earnest, therefore, and repent. Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me.\u00a0 To the one who conquers I will give a place with me on my throne, just as I myself conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. [3: 19-21] Jesus remained faithful to his God-given mission and so must we. God wants the very best for us \u2013 the joy of the Lord.<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
I will end with a story I have told before. It illustrates God\u2019s loving desire to correct us and refine us. God wants each member of the community of God to be refined and working together.<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
There is a story of a group of women who had been studying Malachi. They came across this verse in chapter three which reads,\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/span>
\n“He (God\u2019s anointed) will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.” They were puzzled and wondered what it meant about the character and nature of God.\u00a0 One of the women offered to find out about the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible study. That week the woman called up a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn’t mention anything about the reason for her interest in silver beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver. As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that, in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest so as to burn away all the impurities.<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot – then she thought again about the verse, that He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver. She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver were left even for a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, “How do you know when the silver is fully refined?”\u00a0 He smiled at her and answered, “Oh, that’s the easy part — when I see my image reflected in it.”<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Friends if today the Church is feeling the heat of the refining fire, remember that Christ Jesus is holding us, watching us, and waiting to see the image of God in us. <\/strong><\/span>
\n[AUTHOR UNKNOWN]<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
\n\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>
\n*******<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
\nPeter C Whitaker, Leighmoor UC:\u00a0 07\/05\/2017<\/strong><\/span>
\npgwhitaker@tpg.com.au<\/strong><\/span>
\n\u00a0\/ www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wonderful Assurances: Revelation 2. Revelation 1: 1 \u2013 11a;\u00a0 3: 14 – 22 If we are hardwired for bad news what may we be missing? We like bad news don\u2019t we?\u00a0 We must surely!\u00a0 We give a lot of time to following the news and it is mostly bad news. Graft, crime and tragedy are the stuff of our news. There is some good news buried in the bowels of the news. We have become conditioned to see and expect bad news. I think we read the Bible attuned to bad news. Our aeriels are hardwired for what is sad and bad. So we pick up the anger and judgement and discount and discard the good news.\u00a0 I want to say there is more good news in Revelation than bad news. You could rightly accuse me of being a glass half-full person than a glass half-empty person, but I would rather be one who looks for positivity and hope than one stuck in the rut of bad news. Today I am asking you to tune your antennas to see the wonderful assurances and hopefulness of Revelation. I am reading Revelation differently. Revelation is filled with word pictures. I am reading seeing the pictures. The first word picture is of Christ Jesus standing in the midst of the seven lampstands and holding seven stars in his hand. Christ Jesus tells John that the seven lampstands represent the seven churches and the seven stars represent the seven angels of the seven churches [1:12f]. The Bible uses numeral 7 as a symbol of perfection and completeness.\u00a0 So I am reading seven as meaning all the churches; that is, the Church. Another reason for taking the seven churches to mean the Church is that the message is so comprehensive that it includes the whole church. I also see that what those Christians were doing is not unlike what we are doing. A study of Revelation shows us that the Church existed in an hostile environment. John and others have experienced persecution.\u00a0 The Church is pressured to accommodate itself to the Greco-Roman culture. The Church has had to discern what is the true faith. The Church was small, weak and faced a change in leadership. Most of the first Christians were either very old or dead. Revelation addressed the church some 50 years after the first Easter.\u00a0 What is said to the seven churches is equally true of the Church today. The Church is either facing persecution or rejection, the Western Church is enmeshed in its Western materialistic culture, it needs to discern what is the orthodox faith, it is weak and it faces a crisis in leadership and direction. The message in Revelation to the Church is one of God\u2019s deep concerns.\u00a0 Jesus stands in the midst of the Church and walks amongst the Church [1: 12ff; 2:1].\u00a0 God sends messengers to the Church to warn them to stand firm.\u00a0 Hold fast to the faith. They are commended for their patient endurance [1:9; 2: 2,3,19; 3:10]. God holds the Church accountable. The Church is confronted with its shortcomings. Some Christians have lost their first love for Christ Jesus; some have failed to love their neighbours; some followed false teaching; become lukewarm in their commitment; and, accommodated the culture. The Word of God calls the church to repent. Now repentance is not feeling sorry, but turning around and facing the right way. Repentance is the call to re-orientate ourselves to following Christ Jesus. The result of holding fast to Christ Jesus is the rich reward of the fellowship of God. Or to put it another way: we enjoy God and are filled with joy. Of these seven churches mentioned only five are criticised, but all are encouraged to turn to Christ Jesus and enjoy the rich rewards of true Faith. We are presented with an amazing set of word pictures of what God\u2019s companionship entails for those who stand fast, who keep the faith and endure patiently to the end. The Ephesus church, which has lost the enthusiasm of its first love, is told that if they stand firm they will eat the fruit from the tree of life [2:7; cf. Gen 2: 17]. The Smyrna church, where some have followed false teaching, is offered the crown of life if they hold fast to Christ Jesus and his teachings [2:10] Pergamum and Thyatira are churches, which have allowed the Greco-Roman culture to lead them into sexual immorality, but are offered the hidden manna, special names and share in the authority of Jesus. [2:17, 26 &28] The Sardis church is promised that Christ Jesus will confess their names to God. [3:5] Philadelphia is a faithful church and they are promised to become a pillar in the temple of God. [3:12] The Laodicea church has been lukewarm, but if they turn to Christ they will be given a place on Christ Jesus\u2019 throne [3:21]. Consider these images, which are not to be taken literally. They convey what God has in store for us if we follow Christ Jesus. I will take just two of these images and expand briefly on them.\u00a0 The notion of being a pillar in the temple is not a literal description. In the first century the Christians understood that the gathering of worshipping Christians formed the temple of God. Jesus taught this. A pillar in a build supports the roof and strengthens the walls. The image of a pillar in a building conveys the notion of support and strength. That is, faithful Christians will be pillars in the church \u2013 pillars of strength. The second wonderful image is that Jesus will give the faithful place on his throne.\u00a0 We are not talking about a big throne, but that the faithful will enjoy not only intimacy with Jesus but also ruling with him. These images all convey the message that God wants the best for us. I hope you can see why God works with us. Indeed I find an equally beautiful picture<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2163","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"rttpg_featured_image_url":null,"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"Leighmoor.Master","author_link":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/author\/leighmoor-master"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"Sermons<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"Wonderful Assurances: Revelation 2. Revelation 1: 1 \u2013 11a;\u00a0 3: 14 – 22 If we are hardwired for bad news what may we be missing? We like bad news don\u2019t we?\u00a0 We must surely!\u00a0 We give a lot of time to following the news and it is mostly bad news. Graft, crime and tragedy are…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2163","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2163"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2163\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2164,"href":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2163\/revisions\/2164"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2163"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}