What If Jesus Sent You an Email?: A Message to the Church

You are listening to a new beginning with Greg Laurie, a podcast made possible by harvest partners, helping people everywhere know God. Visit our website and learn more about harvest partners@harvest.org email gong would you really think you would today on a new beginning after Grigori points out, we have in fact received is recorded in the Bible speaks to the times in which we live there something you want children. This is a personal email, text letter card from the Lord directly baseball you the rear wheels with his family. His wife is Yogi we pass that landmark three times I think were laws your pieces. I know making good time.

Some of us are lost in our understanding of the book of Revelation, but we do know that time is short today on a new beginning for Greg Laurie help clear up the confusion solid understanding of what's coming in times let me start the question. Have you ever wondered about what is going to happen in the future. Have you ever wish you could just appear over time and see what is going to take place.

I have to be honest with you. In some ways I'm glad I don't know the future. Bottom line, God knows the future, and I know him and that's enough. But in fact the book of Revelation does give us a glimpse into the future. Again, the word Revelation about the way some Revelation sometimes we will say I was reading revelations the other day. It's Revelation that singular, not plural, but the word Revelation means the on veiling because as I've said before, this is not God's desire to conceal, but to reveal one thing I learned from studying this great book is God has a plan and everything is right on schedule and I also discovered that the best is yet to come in we win in the end, so why should I studying the book of Revelation or Bible prophecy, and general answer to get a perspective because we learn about the future to motivate us to live right in the present.

It's important how I view the future as an example, if I believe that Jesus could come back at any moment, will it not affect me in the way that I live and remember when you were a kid and maybe you got in trouble in your mom said you you just wait until your father gets all. Did you look forward to the arrival of your father know you did not because you done something wrong when his car pulled into the driveway you heard him walking up to the front door you were afraid, but on the other helmet so you are good kid didn't get in trouble, you can hardly wait till daddy got home. Let's apply that to the Lord's return. If I'm right with God. I'm looking forward to his return. If I done something to this honor him or to disobey him then maybe I'd read it so you can see your belief in the imminent return of Jesus, has an effect on you in the way that you live. So what is Revelation, unveil or reveal what reveals a supernatural world. The world of heaven, and of how the world of God and of angels in the supernatural activity all around us each and every day. Revelation also reveals eternity and we realize that there is an afterlife. There is a supernatural realm coexisting with the natural realm in the book of Revelation there is a timelessness of Ecclesiastes 315 says whatever exist today. Whatever will exist in the future has already existed in the past for God calls each event back in its turn you universe like then you say, here's what it means not living in the eternal realm can see the past with perfect accuracy. He can see the future with total clarity. Sony tells us something is going to happen we can be sure it will happen exactly as he has said that is why the Bible is the one book that dares to predict the future now wants, not twice, but hundreds of times with 100% accuracy.

Not only does Revelation reveal the future. It reveals us and reveals us to us. You know what we think of Revelation. We think of Armageddon and Antichrist in the hundred and 44,000, and the mark of the beast in all those things and and that's all in this book.

Of course, it is more than that in this book and I wasn't going to see it from Revelation chapter 2 to 3.

Jesus has a lot to say to the shirt but before we get into all the prophetic things Jesus has a lot to say to his followers. He is allowed to see the you and he is a lot to say to me zone effect before the Lord addresses our future. He says there's some things I want to say to you, my children right now. That's very important because when you look at the words of Jesus to the seven churches. You can think of this as God's letter to you or you could think of it as God's email to you. Imagine if you got an email from God or if you got a text from Jesus. Would you read it, I think you would think of this as a personal email a personal text, a letter card from the Lord directly to you.

Now, as we look at what Jesus says to the seven churches. There's three things we need to know number one. This speaks to us practically.

In other words, these were actual churches were going to read about the church of Ephesus, the church of Smyrna, the church, a burger Messiah tire Laodicea Philadelphia and so forth.

So they were actual churches and in fact they followed a postal route of that day so Jesus is speaking specifically to these existing churches and their pastors.

We don't miss that. Number two, they speak to us prophetically.

We have sort of a flyover of church history.

Starting with the church of Ephesus and concluding with the church of Leon to see so we start with an apostolic church and we end up with an apostate church. We start with the church that is in danger of leaving its first love and we end up with the church and Jesus says you make me sick to my stomach while you know things are messed up when someone says you make me sick to my stomach. God's of you often grow on a date and she says you make me want to throw up. That's not a good song that's exactly what Jesus says to the final church will be looking at. So we start with a church that's losing it's passion and whim of the church of Jesus is on the outside of trying to get in to and one final thing as we look at the words of Jesus to these churches they speak to us personally. Again, I want you to think of this as God's email to you.

So let's look together. Now it Revelation chapter 2. I'm reading verses one to five to the angel of the church of Ephesus write these things saith he that holds the seven stars in this right can and who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands. I know your works, your labor, your patients, you can't bear those who are evil, and you've tested those who say they are apostles and are not you found them liars.

You persevered, you bed patients and you've labored for my namesake and you have not become weary.

Nevertheless I have this against you, you have left your first love. Remember from where you will follow them repent and do the first works routes, I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place unless you repent. While powerful words will stop right there. So let me illustrate what Jesus is saying by talking about people who get married, you know they say marriage is like a three ring circus is engagement ring and wedding ring and suffering doesn't have to be that way. Of course, but sometimes it is you know when your first courting a girl, you want to impress her as a guy you do everything for her. You tell her how beautiful she looked you you open the door of the car for her. You pull out the chair in the restaurant for her you'd take her to the finest restaurants French restaurants in and you don't even like friendship. I can't stand printed by the wake. But you know you do all those things are, then you marry her at some time passes and things of changed you still open the door of the car for her.

You just close it before she's all the way in. You pull the chart of the rest up for what you don't put it back in them which he falls you laugh to get a French restaurants like the golden arches in the box of things like that. Something's gone wrong. The honeymoon is over. Right the first year of the marriage.

The woman lessons the second year of the marriage.

The man listens the third year of the marriage. Nobody listens heard about a woman who was married and that she was very hungry so she made a horrible mistake of committing the crime of shoplifting.

She stole a can of peaches of the storeowners saw her doing that she was arrested and she was standing before the judge and he said so you stole a can of peaches. He said yes I did. He said how many peaches were in the can.

She said eight peaches, Your Honor. He said then you will serve eight months in jail one month for every pizza and then the husband decided it was time to speak up. He said Your Honor I would like to say something and the judge said yes going, what did you want to say. He said she also stole a can of peas that would see the honeymoon is over and I getting up in our relationship with Jesus Christ as well. We start slipping we start losing that Ruben see and that passion is Greg Laurie will have the second half of this message in just a moment, everybody Greg Laurie here. You know my uncle Fred Jordan that one of the first Christian TV programs out there. It was called church in the home. I remember watching it as a little boy when I was living with my grandparents only have church in the home for you every weekend is called harvest that you get invited to harvest.org we have worship in a message of God's word. So join us this weekend for Harvest at Home harvest.joining Pastor Greg for a new series in the book of Revelation.

Today's message is from Revelation chapter 2 entitled what if Jesus sent you an email I want you to notice how aware Jesus is of what is going on in his church to give verse one these things saith he that holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands now when even the lampstand think of a menorah holding candles.

These are symbols of the church so effectively.

Jesus is think I am walking in the midst of my church, let me put it another way, Jesus is think I know what's going on in my church and he's also saying, I know it's going on in your life is one of my followers know it's very popular today to critique the church. But remember, Jesus himself walks in the midst of it. He only started one organization when he walked this earth and it's called the church and he said the gates of hell will not prevail against it. Listen the church as many critics, but it has no equals and a true child of God should want to be a part of the church. So Jesus is saying to the seven churches I know, I know it's happening and he would say that to you as an individual right now. Wherever you are. You think I know what you're facing.

I know hard it is. I know how challenging it is. I know what your dreams are. I know what your respirations are. I am aware of what is happening in your life right now. Remember this church that Jesus was speaking to was a literal church. Both the apostle Paul and possibly the apostle John were pastors of the church of Ephesus help think about that for a moment. The apostle Paul, as your pastor and then the apostle John. It doesn't get much better than that to living apostles opening the word of God for you but here's what was going on when this church was in existence.

They were in the second generation of faith. In other words, the people in this church were born to the parents that came to Jesus right after his earthly ministry. So this church is in the aftermath of the first Jesus movement but as it often happens sometimes that wonderful truth is not passed on to the next generation. There were losing that they were missing it.

So Jesus comes to tell them how to get things right and he starts with a commendation. He starts with a compliment and he lists a number of things that they're doing right before he critiques them and tells them what they're doing wrong. That's a great thing to keep in mind when you have something you want to say that someone that might be a criticism start with a compliment. Say something nice to them and get to your criticism. Some people only criticized and they never complement that's very important. Remember to bring a compliment but sometimes in our attempt to complement a person will actually insult them. I call it accomplice salt accomplice salt is a backhanded compliment or really an insult that looks like a compliment, but actually is it. Here's an example of accomplice salt when you say to someone, you look great for your rates just said to them was you're really very old right your 1 foot in the grave already or when you see you look good.

Have you lost weight. You effectively told them they were fat before when you say wow III didn't expect you to get that job. Congratulations message and so do you think you're complementing them directly insulting or Jesus gives legitimate complement number one. And if you're taking notes. Here's my first point is followers of Jesus, we should be busy and be about our father's business is followers of Jesus, we should be busy and be about our father's business.

A good Revelation to verse two Jesus says to the church of Ephesus. I know your works, your labor and your patience. There were a very active church is to be literally translated, you've labored to the point of weariness. They didn't just work.

They worked really hard to the point of exhaustion. It's even implied in the original language. They worked even at the cost of pain. Could Jesus say that to you, ma'am. Thank you for working so hard for me. Thank you for all that you do for my glory. I appreciate all that you do behind the scenes and a lot of times you don't get a lot of backpacks are out of boys and get a little bit discouraged but here's what Jesus is a I know what you're doing for me. I am aware of it and I appreciate it. I love what he says in Matthew 63. This is when you give to the needy. Don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing so your giving may be in secret.

Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

So whatever you've done in the name of the Lord. However, you've served faithfully behind the scenes. Be aware of this, God is aware of it. God knows about it and God will bless you for it. Point number two as followers of Jesus we need to hang in there thick and thin as followers of Jesus we need to hang in there through thick and thin Jesus as I know your words, your labor and your patient. The word that is used for patients is a word that means to bear up under a low.

It wasn't easy to be a Christian in the city of Ephesus. Ephesus was sort of a center of pagan idolatry. They worshiped a goddess there in their mind the goddess of deity. She was known as Diana and they would shed great is Diana of the Ephesians.

In fact, when Paul went there to preach the gospel. A riot broke out because of its was a very pagan place to be sought always easy to be a Christian in a godless city or estate that is in the spiritual as you wish it was course, I'm pastor here in Southern California and I have been known for almost 50 years. I feel called to preach the gospel in the state and I feel called to teach the word of God in the state and to be a pastor in this place.

I jokingly say what I talked to someone who's leaving California will someone has to stay here to turn the lights off. The fact is I'm saying here to turn the lights on.

You see what I'm praying for is a will of another spiritual awakening want you to remember something.

The last great American revival happen in the state of California. It was called the Jesus movement and I'm praying we have another Jesus movement because it's often said as California goes, so goes the rest of the nation. California influences the rest of America will all tell you what I would pray that we would have a spiritual revival and that would impact our nation as it did some 50 years ago, our prayer like the psalmist in Psalm 85 verse six should be, will you not revive us again that your people may rejoice in you, but it was hard to be a Christian in Ephesus, but they were very discerning. That's point number three.

We need to be more discerning as Christians will give verse two.

You cannot bear them which are evil is evening just believe someone because they said they had a word from the Lord our or they claim to speak for God, of the claim to be an apostle or a prophet. The Bible actually warns that one of the signs of the last days will be false prophets telling that certain things are going to happen and then those things don't happen and they lead people astray. We need more discernment in the church today. Verse number 41 he writes dear friends don't believe everyone who claim to speak by the spirit testing to see if the spirit they have comes from God.

Their false prophets in the world. We need to be more discerning and I bring this up because there's a lot of crazy conspiracy theories floating around out there that sometimes I think Christians believing a lot of these theories have to do with end times events we have to be very careful and look to the Scripture for direction but Jesus says there's a problem you guys are doing awesome your hard work in your discerning you do so much for me and I appreciate it. But there is a problem developing and I have to tell you what this problem is you no longer love me as you did at the beginning you have left your first love. That sometimes people say oh you lost your first love notes not lost its left when you lose something you may never recover. I lose things all the time. That's why have these little things called the tile at one of my wallet. I have a few others in different things and thereby lose it I can find them on my phone. I've also found that great thing is a feature on Apple phone iPhone. It's fine. My phone, or find your iPad but I also use it as a feature that I call find my wife because sometimes Kathy my wife put her phone on mute not call her and she won't answer and so all click the find my phone feature, you can set up the little alarm and shall answer and so it works refining your wife to. But if you lose something you may not recover but if you leave something you know word is you can return to it again to Greg Laurie pointing out the importance of returning to her first love message from his new series in the revealing book of Revelation. Run a new beginning.

And if you missed any part of today's insight just go online to harvest.org look for the study called what if Jesus sent you an email that's a harvest.org yesterday we hear so many terms that apply to Bible prophecy mark of the beast millennium, the great tribulation, and our understanding might be a little hazy about what those terms mean and in what order they come, yeah, could you maybe give us a little fly over of God's end times plan. Yes, I'd be happy to, but I need some trumpets and echo and then I'll do it. So you're ready.

I'm ready. Why over of the book of Revelation. Okay so this is my understanding of how all these events fit together. The next event on the prophetic calendar is the rapture of the church. That's when the Lord comes in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye were caught up in the air to meet him. It's also what were reunited with loved ones who preceded us to glory. So were caught up to heaven on the heels of that, this mysterious character called the Antichrist is revealed. That inaugurates what is called the great tribulation. The last for seven years.

Interestingly, the Antichrist comes initially as a good guy up with God." A peacemaker, but in reality he's a troublemaker. He rebuilt the temple for the Jewish people, but he erects an image of himself and demands that people worship him. This marks the halfway point of the tribulation.

In this event is called the abomination of desolation.

So the first part of the tribulation is the peaceful reign of Antichrist. The second part of the tribulation is where he unleashes his peering against Jewish people against Christians and God ultimately brings his judgment upon the Antichrist and the tribulation. We have a group called the hundred and 44,000.

These are Jewish people will put their faith in Jesus as their Messiah and they travel around the world proclaiming the good news okay so everything culminates to what the Bible calls the battle of Armageddon and then Christ returns again and the second coming. This inaugurates the 1000 year reign of Christ, which is called the millennium, then heaven and earth becomes one, the new Jerusalem comes down from heaven to this planet fulfilling the prayer of Jesus when he said that kingdom come that will be done on earth as it is in heaven. So that's a flyover event times, events, and by the way, we put this all on this really cool bookmark that comes with our brand-new book called Revelation, a book of promises and we want to put this book in your hands because I've written it to help you to understand how this great book of the Bible applies to you the very title says it all. Revelation means unveiling and God's desire is not to conceal but to reveal he wants us to understand these things and so I want to help you with that. So for your gift of any size will send you your own copy of this brand-new book from harvest ministries that I've written simply called Revelation, a book of promises. Yeah, that's right, and will be glad to send a copy your way. As soon as we hear from you. Your donation is an investment in change lives. Your investment helps bring the gospel through our evangelistic harvest crusades such as SoCal harvest coming up October 3.

So thank you so much for your generosity.

You can write us today at a new beginning. Box 4000, Riverside, CA 92514 or call 1-800-821-3300. That's a 24 hour phone number 1-800-821-3300 or go online to harvest.org and again the title of pastor Grace new book Revelation, a book of promises.

What's the best way to avoid backsliding going backward in your walk with the Lord.

Pastor Greg says the best way to avoid going backward to go forward as a lesson will her next time as you study in the book of Revelation. Join us and everybody thinks or listening to this podcast to learn more about harvest ministries follow the show and consider supporting it.

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