Accolades vs. Condemnations…or maybe, Good church, bad churches…Good Christians, Bad Christians…or maybe: what's take to please Jesus, and have you got it right? (2 of 9)
Series: Revelation
Gerald Branch
January 17, 2010
Revelation Series, part 2: Chapters 2 and 3
Chapter 2 starts out with a couple of really important things that all of us should get a good grasp upon.
" 1 "To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands, says this: 2 'I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; 3 and you have perseverance and have endured for My name's sake, and have not grown weary. 4 'But I have this against you, that you have left your first love."
In verses 1-4, we see Jesus is the One Who is speaking to John…
and He is 'walking among the seven golden lampstands'…
those are His what? His churches.
The encouraging fact that He is walking among them tells us that Jesus is right there in the midst of His churches.
This is a strong reminder that regardless of whatever is going on,
the Lord is still there.
The Christians down in Haiti right now truly only have that to hang on to. They need a hope, they need encouragement…and no doubt their messengers, their pastors, are encouraging them to know that even in the midst of the earthquake's destruction, Jesus is still there with them.
So even today, Jesus is with us as a church, and as individual believers,
to guide our decisions, our actions, our words, and ministries,
our mission or reaching out,
and to even endure persecution.
Today, rather than going through each church,
I want to make some general observations and as well as specific ones
as to how this applies to our lives today.
At the same time, I will include a few backgrou ...
Series: Revelation
Gerald Branch
January 17, 2010
Revelation Series, part 2: Chapters 2 and 3
Chapter 2 starts out with a couple of really important things that all of us should get a good grasp upon.
" 1 "To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands, says this: 2 'I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; 3 and you have perseverance and have endured for My name's sake, and have not grown weary. 4 'But I have this against you, that you have left your first love."
In verses 1-4, we see Jesus is the One Who is speaking to John…
and He is 'walking among the seven golden lampstands'…
those are His what? His churches.
The encouraging fact that He is walking among them tells us that Jesus is right there in the midst of His churches.
This is a strong reminder that regardless of whatever is going on,
the Lord is still there.
The Christians down in Haiti right now truly only have that to hang on to. They need a hope, they need encouragement…and no doubt their messengers, their pastors, are encouraging them to know that even in the midst of the earthquake's destruction, Jesus is still there with them.
So even today, Jesus is with us as a church, and as individual believers,
to guide our decisions, our actions, our words, and ministries,
our mission or reaching out,
and to even endure persecution.
Today, rather than going through each church,
I want to make some general observations and as well as specific ones
as to how this applies to our lives today.
At the same time, I will include a few backgrou ...
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