In Revelation chapters two and three, the Lord Himself instructs the church. He admonishes the things we are doing right and rebukes the wrong.
It would be wise of us to take all of this instruction seriously. It was written to help keep us on the straight and narrow until Jesus comes.
Do you want Jesus Himself to assess the church and let us know what we’re doing right and what we’re doing wrong? Turn to Revelation chapter two.
Revelation 2:2-7 (NLT) - “I know all the things you do. I have seen your hard work and your patient endurance. I know you don’t tolerate evil people. You have examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but are not. You have discovered they are liars. You have patiently suffered for me without quitting. “But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first! Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches. But this is in your favor: You hate the evil deeds of the Nicolaitans, just as I do. “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. To everyone who is victorious I will give fruit from the tree of life in the paradise of God.
Let’s list the good things Jesus pointed out:
What deeds are we talking about? We get more detail in verse 14.
Revelations 2:14-15 (NLT) - “But I have a few complaints against you. You tolerate some among you whose teaching is like that of Balaam, who showed Balak how to trip up the people of Israel. He taught them to sin by eating food offered to idols and by committing sexual sin. In a similar way, you have some Nicolaitans among you who follow the same teaching. 16Repent of your sin, or I will come to you suddenly and fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
Nicolatians were a section of the church that made room for sin. They didn’t consider it a problem to eat food sacrificed to idols or to engage in sexual sin.
They are compared to Balaam, who was an Old Testament prophet. Israel’s enemies tried to pay Balaam to curse Israel, but every time he tried, the Lord wouldn’t allow it.
Balaam could only declare the true word of the Lord, even though he wanted to curse Israel for financial gain. Let’s take a look at one of his prophetic words.
Numbers 24:3-9 (NLT) - and this is the message he delivered: “This is the message of Balaam son of Beor, the message of the man whose eyes see clearly, the message of one who hears the words of God, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who bows down with eyes wide open: How beautiful are your tents, O Jacob; how lovely are your homes, O Israel! They spread before me like palm groves, like gardens by the riverside. They are like tall trees planted by the Lord, like cedars beside the waters. Water will flow from their buckets; their offspring have all they need. Their king will be greater than Agag; their kingdom will be exalted. God brought them out of Egypt; for them he is as strong as a wild ox. He devours all the nations that oppose him, breaking their bones in pieces, shooting them with arrows. Like a lion, Israel crouches and lies down; like a lioness, who dares to arouse her? Blessed is everyone who blesses you, O Israel, and cursed is everyone who curses you.”
If God be for us, who could be against us? What we just read is a true word from the Lord. This is how God sees His people.
God delights in the prosperity of His servants. When God sees our beautiful homes, they are like beautiful gardens by the riverside, like tall trees planted by the Lord.
He wants our buckets of provision to be so full they are flowing over. He wants our children and grandchildren to have all they need.
He wants to be our strong champion who devours everything that opposes us. He blesses those who bless us and curses those who curse us.
This is how God sees His people! He wants the best for you. He wants you to prosper. He wants you to have an abundant life. And Jesus gave us clear instruction on how to get there:
Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (Matt 6:33)
Let this word shatter every poverty mindset you’ve built over the years. God is not interested in you being poor. He is not interested in you staying small.
God wants you to turn to Him, and focus on His kingdom, and live in His righteousness so that you can access the fullness of His kingdom. Jesus came to give you life and life more abundantly.
God is for us. And since He is for us, all those who rise against us will fall.
We have nothing to fear. There’s no reason to sit back and wait for things to get better. There’s no reason to wait to be fruitful and multiply. The command is now, not later.
You can’t be wishy-washy. You have to decide beforehand that what God says is true. If He said He will add all the things, He will add all the things. But you have to get started first!
God can’t bless what doesn’t exist! One thing I’ve learned about God is that the provision doesn’t come until it’s needed. So, start creating some needs, so He has something to provide for.
That’s why we are pursuing NoLimits Ranch as if we already have the land. We are putting our hands to it so God has something to resource. And He will fund it however He sees fit.
In our meeting about the Ranch yesterday, 25 people showed up. We went around the room to find out what everyone wanted to do for the Ranch and it was quite astonishing.
Every skill needed to get the Ranch going was represented in the room. God has already provided the workforce, so we can be confident He will provide the land, equipment, and animals.
God is for us! No one who is against us can succeed in their mission to stop us. Nothing can stand in our way unless we allow it. And we are not allowing it. I command every obstacle to bow to the name of Jesus.
So, back to Balaam. That prophet of old spoke the word of the Lord with great accuracy. But behind closed doors, he was showing Israel’s enemies how to trip them up with sexual sin and eating food sacrificed to idols.
This is what we should hate. We should hate the evil deeds of hypocritical Christians who prophesy, cast out demons, and put on a good show at church while making room for sin.
Jesus told us what would happen to these people. They will show up on judgment day and make claim to all the things they did for the church. But what will Jesus say to them?
“I never knew you. Get away from Me, you who practice iniquity.” (Matthew 7:23)
This makes an interesting case. If Jesus never knew these people, that means they were never born again, even though they think they were.
How do you make sure you aren’t one of these people? Check yourself. Do you make room for sin? That is the primary indicator that Jesus is not your Lord.
True believers have a strong disdain for sin. This causes them to run from sin and flee every temptation. But even if they give in, their disgust for sin causes them to turn to Christ who is faithful to forgive.
But it doesn’t just stop at forgiveness. He also cleanses you of all unrighteousness. Jesus Christ broke the power of sin over your life. You are no longer a slave to sin. He forgave you. He freed you. Sure, you’ll still face temptation. But every single time, He will provide a way out.
God is working in you, giving you the power to do what pleases Him. Not only that, but He is transforming your desires so that you want to do what pleases Him.
As you work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, you’ll likely miss the mark from time to time. You don’t have to. If you run to God at every temptation, He will show you the way out.
But even if you do sin, He is faithful and just to forgive you and cleanse you of all unrighteousness.
Don’t forget, you must hate sin. You must hate it so much that when you see the enemy trying to convince your brother or sister in Christ that sin is okay, you put up great resistance and say, “No!”
I refuse to sit idly by and say nothing. I will do my best to rescue you from the flames of judgment. I’ll be compassionate and firm all at the same time.
Jesus Christ hates the evil deeds of the Nicolaitans, and we do too. No hypocrisy around here. We don’t just say we are free from sin, we back it up by actually living free from sin.
Jesus had lots of great things to say about the Ephesians church. We should put all five of these on our to-do list:
Jesus praised all of these things, and we should, too. These are all markers of a great church. But there was one thing that the Ephesians church forgot.
In the midst of all their hard work and pursuit of God’s righteousness, they lost sight of true love.
They weren’t as patient with each other as they used to be. They were getting a bit boastful and proud. They were getting irritated with each other and refusing to let go of the wrongs of the past.
Even Paul knew these when he wrote to the Ephesians church. Let’s take a look.
Ephesians 4:1-3 (NLT) - Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.
It may seem contradictory that Jesus was rebuking the church for not being patient with each other’s faults while celebrating how much they hated sin. Yet, these two things are in perfect harmony.
If you are patient with people while also being patient with sin, you’ll encourage people down a path of destruction.
If you are impatient with people while hating sin, you’ll leave people without hope while puffing yourself up.
If you are patient with people while hating sin, you’ll encourage people towards true freedom in Jesus Christ.
This is what causes you to have the right response when a fellow believer gets caught in sin. Sounds like this, “Listen. That sin is out to destroy you. But let me remind you of something. Jesus broke its power over you and gave you power to overcome. Live in the freedom that Jesus Christ died to give you. Take the way out of temptation. Resist the devil by reminding him of your freedom. Be cleansed of all unrighteousness!”
That is the command and correction from the Lord this day. Be patient with each other's faults and hate sin all the same time. Let’s bring this situation back to a place of wholeness.
Jesus made it clear for us, didn’t He? Aren’t you thankful that He wrote seven letters to the churches in the book of Revelation?
That was only one of them. I wonder what would happen if you turned your attention to all seven? That would be a great thing for you to do this week.
