When Jesus Goes To War
Revelation 2:12-17
June 12, 2016

In his first letter to the Corinthians
The apostle Paul exposed the church for an awful account of sin
That had gone unchecked.
He actually spoke of an incident of incest that was literally unheard of even in the world
And the Corinthians had done nothing about it.

1 Corinthians 5:1-2 “It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father’s wife. You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst.”

Paul called the Corinthian’s failure to deal with this sin “arrogant”.

But that wasn’t all that it was.
Failure to deal with this sin was ALSO EXTREMELY NAÏVE.

He went on to say:
1 Corinthians 5:6 “Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough?”

I don’t know what the particular thinking of the Corinthians was
Regarding this man’s sinful decisions, but regardless of their reasoning,
WE DO KNOW THAT IT WAS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS.

Allowing things like this to occur and endure in the church
Can only have a destructive effect on the rest of the body.

It will permeate, it will spread, it will influence, it will corrupt.
It is a threat to the body and Paul commanded the Corinthians
To cast that man out and protect the church.

What we learn from incidents like that is that
NOT EVERY THREAT TO THE CHURCH IS EXTERNAL.

Some attacks of the enemy come from within.

When Paul wrote to the Galatians he said:
Galatians 5:7-9 “You were running well; who hindered you from obeying the truth? This persuasion did not come from Him who calls you. A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough.”

• You will remember that the Galatians were being pushed toward legalism, specifically in the area regarding circumcision.
• But it sure wasn’t the lost and unbelieving world that was pushing the Galatians to be circumcised.
• It was false brethren, those who snuck in to steal the liberty of the Galatian church, who had craftily spread their heresy throughout the church.

The Galatian church was under attack.
It was not an attack with swords and stones,
It was an attack with deception and lies.

Jesus Himself warned the disciples:
Matthew 16:5-12 “And the disciples came to the other side of the sea, but they had forgotten to bring any bread. And Jesus said to them, “Watch out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” They began to discuss this among themselves, saying, “He said that because we did not bring any bread.” But Jesus, aware of this, said, “You men of little faith, why do you discuss among yourselves that you have no bread? “Do you not yet understand or remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets full you picked up? “Or the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many large baskets full you picked up? “How is it that you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread? But beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Then they understood that He did not say to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

To the disciples, physical problems like a lack of bread were a big issue.
To Jesus that was no issue at all.

The big issue in Jesus’ mind was the deceptive influence that
The Pharisees and other hypocrites were having on the church.

It is the Satanic attack from within.

Not every threat to the church is external.
And typically it is not the external threat that concerns Jesus the most.

This is seen clearly in comparing the church we study today with the one we studied last week.

• The church at Smyrna was under direct physical attack from the devil.
• Jesus knew about their tribulation, their poverty, and even that they were being blasphemed by false believers.
• He knew they had more tribulation to endure.
• He knew about the devil’s plan to throw them in prison.
• He knew that some of them might even be killed.

And yet all Jesus did was remind them that He had overcome death
And He asked them to not fear and be faithful.

Pergamum however is under internal attack (they don’t realize it, but they are)
And here Jesus is about to show up
And go to war with the sword in His mouth.

NOW YOU TELL ME WHICH CONCERNS HIM THE MOST.

As you will see, Pergamum is a church that has been invaded by spiritual terrorists.

To explain what I mean, listen to what Jude wrote in his letter.
Jude 3-4 “Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints. For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”

Jude would go on to say:
Jude 12-13 “These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever.”

And
Jude 16 “These are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts; they speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage.”

And
Jude 19 “These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit.”

They are spiritual terrorists.
They worm their way in, they flatter, they lie, they deceive, and they plot just to find the right time and location to let off their bomb and destroy the church from within.

Jude wrote to say – WAKE UP!
Jesus here writes to Pergamum to say the same.

We’ve covered this church now 3 times that I am aware of and every time we have done so, I’ve called Pergamum the compromising church.

I’m going to change that this morning.
I don’t think compromising is the best word.
PERGAMUM was THE NAÏVE CHURCH

They were so distracted by dangers outside
That they grew naïve to the dangers inside.

A Trojan horse had been rolled into Pergamum and no one was aware except for Jesus and He was about to go to war!

So let’s look at this church this morning.
6 things
#1 THE CHURCH
Revelation 2:12a
“And to the angel of the church at Pergamum write:”

Again, it helps us understand the dilemma of the church
When we better understand the city in which it existed.

Pergamum was not a port city like Ephesus or Smyrna,
But it was considered the greatest city in Asia.
You would call Pergamum much classier and well to do than the others.

• I might compare Ephesus or Smyrna to Las Vegas or New Orleans, which are cities that have a reputation for sin and immorality.

But you would compare Pergamum more to a city like Boston.
• It was more cultural, more historical, more refined.
• It is was city which housed a great library of 200,000 volumes which Anthony later gave to Cleopatra as a gift.
• It was believed to be the place where parchment was invented. (Originally called pergamena)

The downfall to Pergamum was that it was also filled with idols.
The false gods Athena, Dionysus, and Zeus were prominently worshiped there
The city housed the temple of Asklepios and also a giant altar to Zeus.

Pergamum was also a Roman loyal city much like Smyrna was.

When you put all this together,
You begin to understand that Pergamum may not have been as rough as a place like Smyrna, but it was just as dangerous, just as depraved, just as lost, and just as difficult to minister to.

In this idolatrous city rested the church at Pergamum
Which you will soon see faced enormous external persecution,
Even to the point of martyrdom.

The Church
#2 THEIR LORD
Revelation 2:12b
“The One who has the sharp two-edged sword says this:”

Again Jesus is drawing from that vision revealed in chapter 1.
• To Ephesus He focused on His location with the church.
• To Smyrna it was His victory over suffering and death.
• But here He focuses on the fact that He wields the sword.

The sword is very unique weapon.
It is not a tool, it is not a decoration, it has one distinct purpose…to kill.

And when Jesus wields the sword, it is NEVER against His church,
It is only promised for the unbelieving.

Revelation 19:15 “From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.”

The sword from the mouth of Jesus
Is always for the destruction of the wicked.
Jesus reveals Himself to Pergamum as the Warrior about to go to battle!
While this is timely and relevant to the situation and Pergamum,
It might surprise you exactly where the battle is going to be fought.

The Church, Their Lord
#3 THEIR SUCCESS
Revelation 2:13

Before we get into any criticisms or corrections to the churches
It is always important to first recognize what these churches do well.

This is important so we don’t easily pass them off
As just uncommitted or unconcerned Christians.

It is important that you understand how real they were
And how committed they were and how devoted they were.
That will help us see how easily these dangers can happen to anyone.

Jesus again starts with those all-important words “I know”.
• It again brings memories of Him as our high priest who can sympathize with our weaknesses and can come to our aid in our suffering.
• It is always comforting to remember that Jesus gets it!

And to Pergamum, “I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is;”

STOP AND LET THAT SINK IN.
This is the church that apparently exists in Satan’s capitol.

Jesus later says that Pergamum is “where Satan dwells.”

Look that is purely seen with spiritual eyes.
There is no way to have known that other than Jesus expressing it.

PERGAMUM WAS SATAN’S HOME TOWN AND CAPITOL CITY.

So, for help in putting it all in perspective,
Imagine being a member of First Baptist Church Khartoum, Sudan.

The church at Pergamum must have felt like
“A Christian booth in the middle of Ramadan.”

And yet Jesus said of them, “and you hold fast My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days of Antipas, My witness, My faithful one, who was killed among you,”

• One can only imagine the pressure to keep quiet about Jesus in Satan’s home town.
• One can only imagine the pressure to be ashamed of the gospel in Satan’s capitol city.
• One can only imagine the pressure to go underground when the most faithful among you are being rewarded with death.
It is safe to say that we know nothing of
The external dangers that Pergamum faced.

“Antipas” was called “My witness, My faithful one”
Most likely because he was so much like Jesus.

Both of those titles are titles reserved for Jesus.
Revelation 1:5 identified Jesus as “the faithful witness”

The point is that the more you were like Jesus
The more dangerous it became for you.

If there was ever a church tempted to put their light under a basket
It would have most certainly been the church at Pergamum.

It was NOT in your best interest
To go around proclaiming the gospel or the name of Jesus.

And yet, the church at Pergamum did!
• They did not grow silent about the name of Jesus.
• They did not become ashamed of the gospel.
• They could not be bullied or intimidated or pressured away from the Jesus they loved.

Matthew 10:32-33 “Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. “But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.”

1 Peter 3:13-17 “Who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. AND DO NOT FEAR THEIR INTIMIDATION, AND DO NOT BE TROUBLED, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame. For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong.”

The church at Pergamum understood that and embraced it.

This is partly why I don’t think “The Compromising Church” is really a fair title to them.
• They were not noted for compromise when it came to the name of Jesus.
• They were not noted for compromise when it came to the gospel.
• They were not noted for compromise when it came to being killed.

This church was bold and faithful and committed and courageous!

Jesus told the church at Smyrna not to fear and to be faithful.
It appears that the church at Pergamum
Was obedient on both of those counts.

They were solid and Jesus commended them for it.
• Jesus loves a church that loves to proclaim His name.
• Jesus loves a church that won’t deny Him before men.
• Jesus loves a church that chooses Him over safety and comfort.

The church at Pergamum was definitely commendable.

SO WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?
Well, while they were courageous to the outside threat,
It appears that they were also naïve to the inward attack.

The Church, Their Lord, Their Success
#4 THEIR CRITIQUE
Revelation 2:14-15

The words of Jesus here are sobering:
“But I have a few things against you…”

It sort gives me a mental picture of Jesus going through a report sheet with the pastor.
• I see here you proclaim My name… good, good
• I see here you keep the faith… excellent
• I see here you’ve suffered persecution … well done

But I’m seeing some things here in this report that we cannot overlook.

Now, at the very least let this remind you of the passion of Jesus.
His goal and objective is to make us perfect, not just acceptable.

Ephesians 5:25-27 “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.”

Did you pick up on those words?
“glory” “no spot” “no wrinkle” “holy” “blameless”

Jesus wants Pergamum to be perfect
And she had an area where she was lacking badly.
“you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality. So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.”

It is the same phrase used twice.
“you have there some”
“you have some”

The church at Pergamum had built a monumental defense
Against the influences and attacks from those outside the church,
But she failed to recognize the attack that was being waged from within.

They weren’t necessarily compromising,
But they had been compromised.
There were traitors in her midst.

They are often described as wolves in sheep’s clothing.

Would you expect anything else from the city where Satan dwells?
He is after all a deceiver and schemer.

While Satan had the church distracted by the attacks from outside,
He had managed to plant terrorists on the inside.

What did they look like?
• Did they have swords?
• Did they have bombs?
• No, they had sinful influence.

Jesus compared them to Balaam.
Balaam was of course that prophet for hire in the Old Testament.
You can read his story in Numbers 22.

When the children of Israel were wondering in the wilderness the Moabite king named Balak feared that the children of Israel might wipe him and his people out.

Numbers 22:4 “Moab said to the elders of Midian, “Now this horde will lick up all that is around us, as the ox licks up the grass of the field.” And Balak the son of Zippor was king of Moab at that time.”

So the plan was for Balak to hire Balaam to come and curse the children of Israel.

Numbers 22:5-6 “So he sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor, at Pethor, which is near the River, in the land of the sons of his people, to call him, saying, “Behold, a people came out of Egypt; behold, they cover the surface of the land, and they are living opposite me. “Now, therefore, please come, curse this people for me since they are too mighty for me; perhaps I may be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land. For I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.”

Now if you remember the story,
• Balaam asked God if he could and God said “No, you cannot.” So Balaam declined.

• However, Balak came back and offered Balaam more money So Balaam asked God again. This time God said, “Sure” but God planned to kill him on the way.

• Where it not for the smartest donkey in the history of the world, Balaam would have been killed by God.

• When Balaam learned of God’s displeasure he did not curse the children of Israel.

However, Moab succeeded in attacking Israel in a more deceptive way.

In Numbers 25 the Moabites sent out their women.
(presumably with big hair, miniskirts, painted eyelids, etc.)
And those women started inviting the men to come to their feasts.

The men did and thus participated in idolatrous feasts
And that infuriated the LORD.

God was so angry that He sent a plague among the children of Israel
And 24,000 people died.

What we learn later in the book of Numbers is that the Moabites got this idea of using the women to seduce the Israelites from Balaam.

Numbers 31:16 “Behold, these caused the sons of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to trespass against the LORD in the matter of Peor, so the plague was among the congregation of the LORD.”

Balaam was a crafty, deceptive, scheming man
Who did not attack with a sword from the outside,
But who used deceptive influence from the inside.

He didn’t use FEAR as a means of accomplishing his goal,
He used the FLESH as a means of accomplishing his goal.

He infiltrated, he deceived,
And he led God’s people to judgment at the very hand of God.

And Jesus said to the church at Pergamum
“You’ve got some Balaam’s in your midst!”

Undoubtedly they had some people there who were deceiving and scheming and pushing the people of the church into immorality.
They were appealing to the flesh.

While the church was doing a good job of not denying the name of Jesus,
They were actually denying Him by falling into immorality.

Jesus went on to say “you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.”

Again, we aren’t sure who the “Nicolaitans” where, or what they taught.
(Most try and associate them with one of the first deacons named Nicolas in Acts 6, but that is a reach)

What we know is that Jesus hated the deeds of the Nicolaitans.
He taught us that in verse 6 of this very chapter.

(He didn’t hate their doctrine, He hated their deeds)
They also were immoral.

So you have this church that would not deny the name of Jesus,
But that was falling from the inside
Through a deceptive and immoral influence.

There was a dangerous influence emerging
That threatened the entire body

The Church, Their Lord, Their Success, Their Critique
#5 THEIR SOLUTION
Revelation 2:16

Well that was simple:
“Therefore repent”

The entire church needed to repent.
Wait! Don’t you mean that the people who were doing the sinning needed to repent?

NO, I MEAN THE ENTIRE CHURCH NEEDED TO REPENT.
FOR ALLOWING IT!!!
FOR NOT DEALING WITH IT!!!

May I read again what Paul wrote to the Corinthians about their dilemma?
1 Corinthians 5:1-5 “It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father’s wife. You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst. For I, on my part, though absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged him who has so committed this, as though I were present. In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, and I with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus, I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.”

Paul told the Corinthians that they were arrogant and naïve to think that
They could just let sinners keep sinning in the midst of the church
And that it would pose no threat to the church.

That sinning brother had to be dealt with!

And now you are beginning to understand what Jesus means by “repent”
• They had to repent of their arrogance
• They had to repent of their apathy
• They had to repent of their willingness to overlook

AND WHAT A TIMELY WORD TO THE CHURCH TODAY

Oh how the church has begun to misuse words like:
• Tolerance
• Unity
• Love
• Mercy
All of those things are good things
When they are expressed as Jesus expressed them.

Tolerance and mercy is what keeps Jesus from destroying sinners while giving them time to repent,

But He never intended either of them to mean
That sinners didn’t have to repent.

Unity is what Jesus expects from His church,

But it was never intended to be achieved
Around a circle of iniquity or involving false doctrine.
Jesus intended for His church to be sanctified in truth and unified there.

Love is the greatest attribute of Christ we can think of. It is what motivated Him to lay down His life for us.

But that love was never of sin
And it was never expressed by leaving sinners in their sin.

But today so many in the church get this backward.
Things like church discipline are viewed by many to even be unbiblical when it is expressly commanded many times throughout the Scripture.

Do you want to know Jesus very first teaching on the church?
He first mentioned the church in Matthew 16 where He said He would build it.

His first instruction to the church comes in Matthew 18.
Matthew 18:15-18 “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. “But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that BY THE MOUTH OF TWO OR THREE WITNESSES EVERY FACT MAY BE CONFIRMED. “If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. “Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”

Jesus cares about the purity of the church.
And yet many churches today do not.

They only care about being inclusive and non-confrontational
And warm and welcoming, etc.

Look, there shouldn’t be a warmer or more welcoming body on the face of the planet than the church, but that does not mean that Jesus intended the church to overlook sin in order to make people feel welcome.

THAT IS MISSING THE POINT FOR WHY HE DIED TO BEGIN WITH.

Jesus here is commanding the church at Pergamum
To fix this flaw in their system.
• It is time to confront immorality in their body.
• It is time to discipline sinning believers.
• It is time to expose false believers.

And do you want to see how serious Jesus is about this?

He actually gives the church an ultimatum.
“Therefore repent; or else…”

“or else” what?

“or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth.”

When Balaam deceived the children of Israel
Who came and killed the 24,000? God did.

And Jesus said that is precisely what I am about to do.
• He wasn’t going to kill the genuine believers at Pergamum.
• He wasn’t going to remove them from being a church.
• But He was going to come in and kill those who threatened His church from within.

He was not about to stand idly by and watch His church
Be destroyed from the inside out.

The only way the hypocrites in Pergamum could be spared
Is if the faithful ones took care of the issue before Jesus did.

If you really care about the sinners in your church you had better confront them before they face the judgment of the Lord.

Today sinners are left alone because we “love” them
And don’t want to hurt their feelings or make them feel unwelcome.

If you truly loved them you’d confront their sin
And save them from certain judgment!

James 5:19-20 “My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.”

If you want an even more graphic demonstration.

That plague that killed 24,000 in Israel, do you want me to show you how it was finally stopped?
Numbers 25:6-9 “Then behold, one of the sons of Israel came and brought to his relatives a Midianite woman, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of all the congregation of the sons of Israel, while they were weeping at the doorway of the tent of meeting. When Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he arose from the midst of the congregation and took a spear in his hand, and he went after the man of Israel into the tent and pierced both of them through, the man of Israel and the woman, through the body. So the plague on the sons of Israel was checked. Those who died by the plague were 24,000.”

Today some would frown on Phineas for that.
Let me show you what the LORD said.

Numbers 25:10-13 “Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned away My wrath from the sons of Israel in that he was jealous with My jealousy among them, so that I did not destroy the sons of Israel in My jealousy. “Therefore say, ‘ Behold, I give him My covenant of peace; and it shall be for him and his descendants after him, a covenant of a perpetual priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and made atonement for the sons of Israel.'”

Now obviously we are in the New Testament
And not asking for people to start killing people with the spear.

But the point is clear that God expects the church at Pergamum
To deal with this sinful influence
That is threatening the entire congregation.

If they don’t, He will, and it will not be pretty.

The Church, Their Lord, Their Success, Their Critique, Their Solution
#6 THEIR EXAMPLE
Revelation 2:17

Again we come to the application to the church everywhere.
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
“To Him who overcomes…”

“Overcomes” what?

Let’s call it what Paul called it – ARROGANCE
• It is arrogant to think that: Any church can survive while sin is allowed to exist in the congregation.
• It is arrogant to think that: The leaven will not spread.
• It is arrogant to think that: Disobeying the clear command of Jesus regarding discipline won’t have damaging effects.
• It is arrogant to think that: Jesus won’t deal with the church that won’t deal with sin.

How can we think that we would survive when others did not?

We must overcome this arrogant mindset
That thinks we know better than the Lord.

If Jesus said they must be disciplined…
If Paul said they must be disciplined…
Then who are we to say they must be tolerated?

That is arrogance and Jesus here confronts it.

Then Jesus commends those who get it right.
“To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it.”

“manna” was of course God’s supernatural provision in the Old Testament.
• It was God’s way of taking care of His people in a situation when it didn’t seem possible.

Understand that when you obey God, He makes things work,
Even when every scenario you play out in your mind seems like it won’t.

God has provision for the obedient.

The “white stone” was unique to the Roman culture.
• When athletes competed in a competition, the winners were invited to the banquet. Their ticket was the “white stone” with their name engraved.

Jesus is here offering the victors who overcome the situation
The trophy of victory and access into the banquet where they will be rewarded.
The call and command of Jesus is clear.
Be the church that overcomes arrogance
And be the church that is rewarded for it.

 

Jesus’ Message to a Suffering Church
Revelation 2:8-11
June 5, 2016

As you are well aware, we live in a society that has fallen in love with what is called “The Prosperity Gospel”.

(If you aren’t familiar with it, it is that line of thinking that says that
It is God’s will for you to be happy, healthy, and wealthy.)

And I don’t suppose it should surprise us that our world loves it:
2 Timothy 4:3 “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires,”

2 Timothy 3:1-2 “But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,”

1 Timothy 6:3-5 “If anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, he is conceited and understands nothing; but he has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words, out of which arise envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions, and constant friction between men of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain.”

Paul was adamant that these types of preachers were on the way.
• Paul knew there would be people who loved money
• Paul knew there would be preachers who loved money
And so it only stood to reason that it wouldn’t take long
For those people to hire those preachers.

It has become the perfect storm,
An exact fulfillment of Paul’s prophetic warning.

And today this prosperity gospel is everywhere.
People who seem to view God as some sort of a genie in a bottle,
Whose #1 job seems to be nothing short of making sure that
Those who follow Him want for nothing and never lack comfort.

ADDING TO THE PROBLEM has been the POOR COUNTER ATTACK to this gospel waged by those who do see through it.

The proper defense against the prosperity gospel
Is a true understanding of the sovereignty of God.
But many evangelicals have resisted that truth as well.

So instead they have developed this sort of hybrid theology that says
• God would never allow or do those bad things in your life.
• After all, God loves you and it’s never His will to do those bad things.
• That’s all the devil’s fault.
• The devil does that, blame the devil, give the devil the credit.
• God loves you, and He never wants those types of tragedies to occur.
• Just know that when those tragedies do occur that God will be with you every step of the way.”

It sounds like the perfect answer.
We blame the devil everything negative in our life
And assure people that God never intended it,
And even promise them that God will fix it all quickly.

THE FALLOUT?
We are a society that is getting absolutely blindsided by suffering.

We are continually promised that
• God doesn’t want us to suffer
• And that God can fix suffering
• And that God’s plans for us only include blessing and prosperity and health
and healing…

And then life throws us a curve ball and it totally catches us off guard.
• “WHY?” is the common question.
• “How could you?”
• “Why have You not fixed this?”

In short, the spreading of the prosperity gospel
Has produced a generation of people that neither understands
The purpose of suffering or God’s will for them in the middle of it.
Only a people who are confused and angry when they suffer.

BUT HERE IS THE TRUTH.
God is not trying to make your life super comfortable all the time.

That is clearly portrayed in this passage this morning, is it not?
How else could Jesus look at a church who is suffering,
Tell them that He knows they are about to suffer even more,
And then ask them to be faithful even if it kills them?

How could He ask that unless suffering is part of the plan?

• Maybe we just haven’t wanted to see it.
• Maybe we’ve all had itching ears to a degree where those false preachers sounded pretty good.

But when you read the Bible…
Jesus never said anything about putting an end to suffering in this life.
In fact Jesus promised suffering.

Matthew 10:21-25 “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. “You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved. “But whenever they persecute you in one city, flee to the next; for truly I say to you, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel until the Son of Man comes. A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. “It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of his household!”

John 15:18-21 “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. “If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. “Remember the word that I said to you, ‘ A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also. “But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me.”

Matthew 16:24 “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.”

What else could we have thought Jesus meant by a statement like that?
• The cross was the form of capital punishment.
• The cross was cleverly devised to torture and kill.

There is no way to look at a statement
Where Jesus requires us to take up the cross
And expect that suffering isn’t part of the deal.

Beyond those obvious promises of persecution.
We are also familiar with passages
• Like the one we recently studied in Hebrews 12 where we learn that God uses “discipline” in the form of suffering to produce righteousness in us.

SUFFERING IS PART OF THIS THING.
Jesus continually spoke on it.

Never do we find from Jesus this notion
That it is God’s job or even God’s desire
To rescue us from every form of discomfort or difficulty.

The truth is that many times God is using those things for our good.

AND TODAY we learn His counsel to a church in the midst of this suffering that was promised.

I know what those prosperity preachers tell you when you’re suffering.
But aren’t you the least bit curious about what Jesus would tell you in the middle of your suffering?

Welcome then to Jesus’ message to the church at Smyrna.
Of the 7 Smyrna was “The Persecuted Church”

Let’s look at it together.
5 things
#1 THE CHURCH
Revelation 2:8a, 9
“And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write:”

As you’ll see with all these churches, it is important to understand a little about the city and area where these churches existed.

You are already familiar about the setting of the day regarding Rome and emperor worship.
• Domitian had caused the increase of church persecution because of his demand that the emperor should be worshipped. (a thing the church obviously could not participate in)

But even with a command like that,
There would still be places where resistance to that command
Would be a bigger thing than others.
(there would have been regions where it wasn’t so dangerous to refuse)

Smyrna would have been
One of the worst possible places to refuse such a thing.

Located 35 miles north of Ephesus, Smyrna is a city that still exists.
It is modern day Izmir, Turkey.

Smyrna was a city that absolutely loved Rome,
Roman citizenship, and Roman leaders.

John MacArthur records one incident in Smyrna revealing this reality:
“Smyrna was a long a staunch ally of Rome. In fact, its citizens were so infatuated with Rome that in 195 B.C. they built a temple in which Rome was worshiped. A century later the Roman general Sulla’s ill-clad army faced bitter winter weather. When the Roman soldiers’ plight was announced in a general assembly of Smyrna’s citizens, they reportedly took off their own clothes to send to them.” (MacArthur, John: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary; Revelation 1-11, Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois, 1991; pg. 70)

Smyrna loved Rome and the emperor.

John Walvoord writes:
“Smyrna is mentioned only here in Scripture, but from other literature it is evident that this city was noted for its wickedness and opposition to the Christian gospel in the first century.” (Walvoord, John F. [“The Revelation of Jesus Christ” Moody Press, Chicago, Ill, 1966] pg. 59)

If you’ve ever read Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, you may be familiar with the early church father known as Polycarp.

He was an infamous martyr of the early church.
Polycarp was a church leader in Smyrna.

Foxe writes:
“After a respite, the Christians again came under persecution this time from Marcus Aurelius, in A.D. 161. One of those who suffered this time was Polycarp, the venerable bishop of Smyrna. Hearing his captors had arrived one evening. Polycarp left his bed and welcomed them, and then asked for an hour alone to pray. As soon as he had finished his prayers, they put him on [a donkey] and brought him to the city… Brought before the tribunal and the crowd, Polycarp refused to deny Christ, although the proconsul begged him: “Consider yourself and have pity on your great age. Reproach Christ and I will release you.” Polycarp replied, “Eighty-six years I have served Him, and He never once wronged me. How can I blaspheme my King, who saved me?”
(Foxe, John; Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, Barbour Publishing, Urichsville, Ohio, 2001, pg.18)

Polycarp was both burned at the stake and stabbed.

I think you get the idea of what type of city we are talking about
When we talk about Smyrna.

In short, if you are looking for a city where your resistance to emperor worships will be accepted, Smyrna is not that city.

This church was in a very difficult position.

Therefore it’s no wonder the reality we read about in verse 9
“I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich), and the blasphemy by those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.”

That statement from Jesus fits precisely
Into what we would expect from a city such as Smyrna.
This was “The Persecuted Church”

And Jesus is writing to them.

The Church
#2 THEIR LORD
Revelation 2:8b
“The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life, says this:”

Jesus addresses each of these 7 churches a little differently.
For each church a different attribute from that initial revelation is emphasized.

You will remember that to Ephesus He revealed Himself as “the One who holds the seven stars and walks among the seven golden lampstands.”

In short, Jesus revealed Himself to Ephesus as
“He who is with you to guide you”

That proved to be fitting since Ephesus had in fact left Him.

To the church at Smyrna Jesus emphasizes a different reality.
“The first and the last” is of course a reference to His eternal nature.
• He is eternal.
• He was in the beginning with God, and He will always be.

“who was dead, and has come to life” is certainly reminiscent of His victory.
• Jesus didn’t enter this world and remain immune from suffering.
• Jesus embraced suffering.

Hebrews 2:14 “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,”

Hebrews 4:15 “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.”

Hebrews 5:7-8 “In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety. Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered.”

Jesus reminds the church at Smyrna
That He was no stranger to hardship and suffering.

Images flood to our mind about Jesus praying in the garden, “Let this cup pass from Me, yet not as I will, but as You will.”
• We picture the grief and the sorrow He bore.
• We see Him standing falsely accused before Pilate.
• We see Him under the weight of His cross and then crucified upon it.
• We can hear the jabs and remarks of the religious leaders standing around.

Jesus understood pain
Jesus understood suffering
Jesus understood death
He reminds the church at Smyrna that He gets it.

But He also reminds them that He knows the secret to overcoming it.
He is the One “who has come to life.”

Revelation 1:18 “…I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.”

Jesus is the victor.
Obviously this is the perfect way to reveal Himself
To a church that was facing persecution and death.

They did not have a savior who couldn’t identify
And they didn’t have a savior who couldn’t deliver.

Jesus knew death and He knew how to conquer it.
HE IS WHO THE PEOPLE OF SMYRNA NEEDED TO HEAR FROM

The Church, Their Lord
#3 THEIR ENCOURAGMENT
Revelation 2:9
“I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich), and the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.”

Two words listed here are the ultimate form of encouragement.
“I know”

• The church at Smyrna faced “tribulation”
• The church at Smyrna faced “poverty”
• The church at Smyrna faced frustration in the form of fake Jews who pretended to be real, but where actually blasphemers.

And Jesus knew of all of those things all too well.

He knew what “tribulation” was like.
• Do we remember His home town trying to throw Him off a cliff?
• Do we remember the temple priests seeking to arrest Him?
• Do we remember the constant debates with the religious elite, or all the false accusations against Him?
• Do we remember the garden?
• Do we remember the trial?
• Do we remember the cross?

Trust me you can’t endure a single ounce of “tribulation”
That Jesus can’t identify with. He gets it.

This is of course the very thing
That makes Him a sympathetic high priest on our behalf.
Hebrews 2:17-18 “Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.”

That is precisely what He is doing here.
He is coming to the aid of those in Smyrna.

He knows their “poverty”

The reality here is most likely that the church at Smyrna
Wasn’t just made up of poor people, but rather that these people had lost their possessions due to their faith in Christ.

• It could have been that like the early church they used up all their resources to care for one another.
• It could have been that like the Hebrews their property was seized by non-believers.

Either way, they were earthly poor.
They didn’t have the comforts of this world.
They didn’t have the excesses of this world.

BUT JESUS UNDERSTOOD THAT
• Jesus was so poor He reminded His would be followers that “the foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”
• Jesus was so poor He borrowed 5 loaves and 2 fish from a boy that He might feed a multitude.
• Jesus was so poor He had to get money from the mouth of a fish to pay the tax in His own temple.

He understood “poverty”
But He also understood the difference
Between earthly treasure and heavenly treasure.

Do you notice that parenthetical statement Jesus threw in there for the church at Smyrna?
“(but you are rich)”

And we say, “You mean that they were rich in other things like love and joy and peace, etc.”

No, Jesus means they are in fact filthy rich.
How?
Matthew 5:10-12 “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

The church at Smyrna was poor on this earth,
But they couldn’t see their “off-shore” account.

Jesus could see their heavenly bank account
And He assured them that money was no problem for them.
He was looking at their spiritual bank statement
And assured them that they were “rich”

And that’s pretty encouraging too.

Another that comes to mind was the apostle Paul,
• Who according to 2 Corinthians 12, was allowed to see his reward in heaven, but because of it he was given a thorn in the flesh to keep from getting conceited.

But such revelations did allow Paul to say:
Romans 8:18 “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”

Or
2 Corinthians 4:17 “For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison,”

Paul had the privilege of seeing both affliction and eternal riches,
And though he couldn’t speak in detail about it,
He could remind us that there is no comparison!

That is what Jesus told the church at Smyrna here.
You may be poor in this world (a poverty I understand) but I’m here in heaven, and let me tell you, “you are rich”

Jesus also understood “the blasphemy by those who say they are Jews and are note, but are a synagogue of Satan.”

This is a frustration I’m sure many of you have felt in your life.
These were a group of Jews who went to synagogue and claimed to be God’s people, and claimed to love God, but in reality were nothing but blasphemers of God.

What do you mean?
Romans 2:17-24 “But if you bear the name “Jew” and rely upon the Law and boast in God, and know His will and approve the things that are essential, being instructed out of the Law, and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of the immature, having in the Law the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth, you, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that one shall not steal, do you steal? You who say that one should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God? For “THE NAME OF GOD IS BLASPHEMED AMONG THE GENTILES BECAUSE OF YOU,” just as it is written.”

Paul would go on to say:
Romans 2:28-29 “For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.”

Even from every book in the Old Testament,
There has always been this distinction.

• We see outward Jews, and inward Jews.
• We see outward believes, and inward believers.
• We see those who outwardly love Jesus, and those who inwardly love Jesus.
• We see those whose religion is for show, and we see those whose religion is born out of a genuine love for God.

And that in itself is frustrating enough.

But to make matters worse,
When those who are outward persecute those who are real,
It really becomes frustrating.

And this was the frustration Jesus felt every day of His life!
• Read Matthew 23 and listen to Him literally bewail the Pharisees as “hypocrites!” over and over again.
Listen to statements like:
Luke 6:46 “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?”

He understood the frustrations
Of dwelling in the midst of those who were fake.

IN SHORT, Jesus could look into the situation at Smyrna
And He knew exactly what was going on.

• He knew who was real and who was false.
• He knew who was rich and who was poor.
• He knew who deserved reward, and who deserved punishment.

And this is a great form of encouragement!
Jesus knows what is going on.

How great that in the midst of our trouble
We know that our great high priest is sympathetic to our situation.

The Church, Their Lord, Their Encouragement
#4 THEIR RESPONSIBILITY
Revelation 2:10

And this is where (in light of the prosperity gospel)
You might be a little surprised.

The prosperity folks would look at the situation and say:
• Well, you’re suffering when you don’t deserve it.
• Jesus sees and knows all about it.

“You can expect a breakthrough any minute!” “Jesus will soon step in a deliver you from the attacks and accusations!” “We declare it finished”

You’ve heard all the banter…

But that is NOT what Jesus says.

The first thing Jesus says is that they haven’t even seen the worst of it.
Did you catch those words “about to suffer”?

What, you mean it’s not over?
“Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days.”

Jesus even says, “Be faithful unto death;”

You are suffering, but more is on the way.
Prison and even possible death.
It was certainly death for Polycarp.

Now some say, “See, but that wasn’t Jesus, that was the devil who did that.”

Friend, open your eyes.
Either Jesus allowed the devil to do it,
Or the devil just beat Jesus, now which do you think it was?

Did we not read Job and see Satan ask God permission to torment Job? (Permission which God granted)

Or remember this passage:
Luke 22:31-32 “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”

So Jesus knows that more is on the way.
Jesus may have even given permission for it to happen.

WHY?
6 words tell the whole story.

“so that you will be tested”
• We know that there are real believers in Smyrna.
• We also know that there are false believers in Smyrna (aka “synagogue of Satan”)

How do you tell which is which?
You test them.

1 Peter 1:6-7 “In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;”

1 Peter 4:12 “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you;”

James 1:12 “Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.”

You get the idea?

Trials serve all sorts of purposes.
• They can purify us
• They can be used to build compassion in us
• Here we see that they can be used to prove us.

1 Corinthians 11:19 “For there must also be factions among you, so that those who are approved may become evident among you.”

How else are you going to tell the difference
Between the wheat and the tares?

Jesus isn’t seeking to be cruel, He is exposing what must be exposed.

Can I tell you that trials have the same effect in our own lives?
• Trials may reveal to you that your faith wasn’t real, in which case
having been exposed, it’s time to run to Jesus.

• Trials may reveal to you that your faith was real, in which case you
receive much hope, peace, and security of mind.

But the testing is necessary.

Jesus knew they were suffering, but He was using it.

NOW, NOTICE HIS MESSAGE TO THEM. There are 2.
• “Do not fear what you are about to suffer”
• “Be faithful until death”

“Do not fear” and “Be faithful”
That is way different from the message we hear from the prosperity people.

Jesus wasn’t going to take this trial from them.
He required them to be faithful and unafraid in the middle of it.

YOU NEED TO KNOW that:
Jesus knows what is going on and He can handle it.
After all, He is Him “who was dead, and has come to life”

BUT YOU SHOULD ALSO KNOW that:
Jesus knows what He is doing so you must be faithful regardless of what you face…even death.

That is the message to Smyrna.
I know what you are facing.
I am asking you to face it with courage and endurance.
How you handle it will most certainly reveal what you are.

And notice, there was no rebuke for this church.
He didn’t tell them a single thing they were doing wrong.

In short this wasn’t because He was angry at them.
This trial was NOT punishment.

It was a necessary test for their benefit.
Their responsibility was to embrace the suffering and pass the test.

The Church, Their Lord, Their Encouragement, Their Responsibility.
#5 THEIR EXAMPLE
Revelation 2:11

There it is again.
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

This is for you and me.
“He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.”

What is the second death?
Revelation 20:14 “Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.”

90% of what we do today is to try and avoid the first death.
Seatbelts, medical exams, safety precautions, etc.

Jesus said, it’s the second death that you should be worried about.
Matthew 10:28 “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

And the entire objective of suffering
Is to help you discern whether you are on the path that will escape that second death.
And then to help you escape it through purifying you.

Genuine faith equals escape from the second death.
Hypocritical faith equals punishment in the second death.
Suffering is the way we find out which we have.

That is why Jesus is not in such a hurry to just remove it.
The purpose of this suffering is too important.

His command is for you and me to “overcome”

“Overcome” what?
• FEAR
• FRUSTRATION
• FATIGUE
• Anything that would cause us to turn away from Christ.

That temptation is real, especially in the midst of hardship.
That is when you must exercise faith and continue on.
Go by what you know, not what you feel.

Trust Jesus and endure, even if it ends in death.
This will prove that your faith is genuine,
And that the second death is no concern of yours.
To the church at Ephesus: OVERCOME COMPLACENCY,
And remember that nothing matters more than loving Jesus.

To the church at Smyrna: OVERCOME FEAR,
And stick with Jesus no matter the cost that your faith may be proved genuine and your soul saved from hell.

The Fall of Babylon
Daniel 5:1-31
June 5, 2016

Back in chapter 2 we saw what we called SOVEREIGNTY DECLARED
God gave a dream to Nebuchadnezzar
Declaring His intentions for the nations.
It was a statue which revealed the reign of 5 kingdoms.

The most immediate fulfillment would be that
Babylon would fall to the Medes and the Persians.

Daniel 2:37-39 “You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the strength and the glory; and wherever the sons of men dwell, or the beasts of the field, or the birds of the sky, He has given them into your hand and has caused you to rule over them all. You are the head of gold. “After you there will arise another kingdom inferior to you…”

Of course we remember that Nebuchadnezzar did not like that prophecy and sought to undo it in which we saw SOVEREIGNTY DEFENDED

God answered Nebuchadnezzar’s attempt to stop this prophecy by delivering the three Hebrew boys who refused to bow to his statue.

Last week we saw where God eventually took Nebuchadnezzar in a chapter that could be called SOVEREIGNTY DISCERNED

Nebuchadnezzar had another dream, which he again could not interpret.
This time about a great tree which was cut down
And shackled with a band of iron.

This of course was about Nebuchadnezzar who was this great tree
And whom God robbed of his sanity for 7 years
Until Nebuchadnezzar learned to recognize who was really in charge.

By the end of his life Nebuchadnezzar was a full blown worshiper of God.

So we’ve seen:
• Sovereignty Declared
• Sovereignty Defended
• Sovereignty Discerned

Tonight we look at chapter 5 and we can talk about
SOVEREIGNTY DEMONSTRATED

Tonight we are going to see the first stage of fulfillment
To the prophetic dream God delivered to Nebuchadnezzar.
Tonight we see the fall of Babylon.
And this was promised in more than just Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.

Isaiah 13:17-22 “Behold, I am going to stir up the Medes against them, Who will not value silver or take pleasure in gold. And their bows will mow down the young men, They will not even have compassion on the fruit of the womb, Nor will their eye pity children. And Babylon, the beauty of kingdoms, the glory of the Chaldeans’ pride, Will be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It will never be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation; Nor will the Arab pitch his tent there, Nor will shepherds make their flocks lie down there. But desert creatures will lie down there, And their houses will be full of owls; Ostriches also will live there, and shaggy goats will frolic there. Hyenas will howl in their fortified towers And jackals in their luxurious palaces. Her fateful time also will soon come And her days will not be prolonged.”

Isaiah 47:1-5 “Come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon; Sit on the ground without a throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans! For you shall no longer be called tender and delicate. “Take the millstones and grind meal. Remove your veil, strip off the skirt, Uncover the leg, cross the rivers. “Your nakedness will be uncovered, Your shame also will be exposed; I will take vengeance and will not spare a man.” Our Redeemer, the LORD of hosts is His name, The Holy One of Israel. “Sit silently, and go into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans, For you will no longer be called The queen of kingdoms.”

Jeremiah 51:11 “Sharpen the arrows, fill the quivers! The LORD has aroused the spirit of the kings of the Medes, Because His purpose is against Babylon to destroy it; For it is the vengeance of the LORD, vengeance for His temple.”

This has always been God’s sovereign plan.
(Isaiah prophesied the fall of Babylon before Babylon was even in power.)

God would raise her up in order to punish His people
Then God would tear her down because of her heinous iniquity.

HERE IS THE SCRIPTURAL ACCOUNT OF THAT FALL.
Tonight we see God’s sovereignty again put on full display
With a special reminder that everything living must answer to Him.

Our world and our society fancy themselves as experts on everything.

They are certainly quick to tell the church “Judge not”
But the reality is our society does this more than any other.

• Just this week you probably heard about the boy who fell into the gorilla enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo resulting in the gorilla being shot.
• The social outcry about the lousy parenting of the child’s mother has really been remarkable.
• You probably never knew there were so many parenting experts in America.

Point being our society has placed itself in the judge’s seat.
And this even includes judgment of God.

People love to put God on trial, and voice their opinions
As to whether or not He should have done the things He did.
And this is perhaps the most backward belief of our society.

God will never stand on trial before man.
It really doesn’t matter what man’s estimation is of how God has conducted Himself.

It doesn’t matter if man thinks Him cruel or ignorant or apathetic.
It’s not as though God will ever answer for any of their charges.
He is God.

IT IS MAN WHO WILL MOST CERTAINLY ANSWER TO HIM.

I’ve always loved the sermon Paul preached while in Athens.
Acts 17:24-31 “The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children.’ “Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man. “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”

Paul reminded these Athenians that regardless of their views and beliefs
They would all one day stand before God to be judged.
It would be wise then for them to repent
And to begin to seek the things that are pleasing to this God.

GOD IS SOVEREIGN AND MAN MUST LEARN THIS
Babylon (especially Belshazzar) is about to learn this the hard way.

Three main divisions in our text tonight.
#1 THE ABOMINATION OF BELSHAZZAR
Daniel 5:1-4

Now before dive into this too much, history is well documented about the setting of this story and it is helpful to understand it.

Throughout the text you’ll hear Belshazzar referred to as the son of Nebuchadnezzar.

It is true in a family lineage sense.
• After Nebuchadnezzar’s reign he was followed by his son Evil-Merodach.
• Evil-Merochach was assassinated by his brother-in-law Neriglissar who reigned for 4 years.
• He was succeeded by his son Labashi-Marduk, but he only reigned 2 months before he was assassinated by Evil-Merodach’s brother Nabonidus.
• Nabonidus reigned 17 years, but he spent much of his time away from home so he named his son Belshazzar as co-regent with him.

Belshazzar was Nebuchadnezzar’s grandson, and by the time he came into power Nebuchadnezzar had been gone for around 20 years.

• During this time the Medes and the Persians had attacked and Belshazzar had actually gone out to meet them in battle,
• But had was badly defeated, so he retreated into the city of Babylon.

It was thought that Babylon was absolutely impenetrable.
• The wall around the city was wide enough to drive 2 chariots on top of it.
• There was a 20 year supply of food inside the city.
• The Euphrates river ran right through the city (under the wall) providing plenty of water.

They didn’t think there was anyway Babylon could fall for years.

Which explains the foolish arrogance of Belshazzar.
• It is said that he didn’t even place guards on the wall because there was no way Babylon could be infiltrated.

Belshazzar felt untouchable, and this sort of explains the party he threw.
This was a city under siege.
The way these cities typically fell was to be starved out.

The surrounding army would cut off all supply
And simply wait for the city to come out or surrender.
You would think the rationing of food would be the highest priority.

And yet
(1) “Belshazzar the king held a great feast for a thousand of his nobles, and he was drinking wine in the presence of the thousand.”

• Are you picking up on his arrogance?
No one holds a feast for 1,000 when they are under siege.

This man was mocking the Chaldean attempt to defeat him.

And if that was not enough,
He decided also to mock the God who had decreed
That his kingdom would fall to the Chaldeans.

(2-4) “When Belshazzar tasted the wine, he gave orders to bring the gold and silver vessels which Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines might drink from them. Then they brought the gold vessels that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God which was in Jerusalem; and the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines drank from them. They drank the wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone.”

Now you get it.
It’s not just idolatry, it is blatant disregard and disrespect for God.

He is basically telling God to prove it!
He doesn’t think God can do what He said,
And He’s daring God to show otherwise.

That is the abomination of Belshazzar.
That is also why this next occurrence seems to rattle him more than anyone else.

#2 THE DEMONSTRATION OF GOD
Daniel 5:5-8

If you’ve ever heard the phrase, “He’s seen the handwriting on the wall”.
This is where that comes from.

It means that someone has seen what is about to happen
And there is nothing they can do about it.

Belshazzar gets that original message here.
(5) “Suddenly the fingers of a man’s hand emerged and began writing opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace, and the king saw the back of the hand writing.”

Now look, that in and of itself would be startling enough.
I would imagine everyone in the room was a little taken back by it.
But you’ll notice that Belshazzar was especially terrified.

(6) “Then the king’s face grew pale and his thoughts alarmed him, and his hip joints went slack and his knees began knocking together.”

• He first went “pale”
• Then he thought about what was happening,
• And his strength left his legs.

There is a reason he was so distraught.
It’s because he knew exactly what he was doing.
He was mocking God and he knows that God has shown up to answer.

Furthermore, it will become evident in a moment that Belshazzar was not ignorant of all the things that happened during his grandfather’s reign.

That doesn’t surprise us since by the end of his life Nebuchadnezzar was downright evangelistic about sharing what God had done for him.

And when God showed up in the middle of his feast
Belshazzar is terrified.

And then of course a familiar scene
(7-8) “The king called aloud to bring in the conjurers, the Chaldeans and the diviners. The king spoke and said to the wise men of Babylon, “Any man who can read this inscription and explain its interpretation to me shall be clothed with purple and have a necklace of gold around his neck, and have authority as third ruler in the kingdom.” Then all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the inscription or make known its interpretation to the king.”

There we go again seeking out the world’s wisdom for spiritual problems.
(It’s almost tiresome at this point isn’t it?)

Just go call Daniel and get straight to the point.
Well that’s finally what happens.

The Abomination of Belshazzar, The Demonstration of God
#3 THE EXPLANATION OF DANIEL
Daniel 5:9-31

It starts with the queen telling Belshazzar to call for Daniel.
Many think this was probably Belshazzar’s grandmother (Nebuchadnezzar’s wife)
Since verse Belshazzar’s wives were with him at the feast.

If that is true, she certainly would have known
Who to talk to in such a situation.

She tells him to call for Daniel and Belshazzar does:
(READ 9-16)

• Once again we see that only the wisdom of God matters.
• Once again we see Daniel’s faithfulness to be used of God.

The stage is set now for the third time for God to speak through Daniel
To the most powerful man in the world.

And let’s break down Daniel’s message.
Daniel does not appear to be as soft on Belshazzar as he was his grandfather.

3 points to Daniel’s message
1) THE TESTIMONY YOU IGNORED (17-22)

Daniel does not appear to be amused
By Belshazzar’s promise of earthly compensation.
(17) “Then Daniel answered and said before the king, “Keep your gifts for yourself or give your rewards to someone else; however, I will read the inscription to the king and make the interpretation known to him.”

Certainly Daniel wasn’t in this thing for the money.
• BUT BEYOND EVEN THAT, once the interpretation is made known, I’m sure Daniel knew Belshazzar was in no place to honor it.

What he does want Belshazzar to know is WHY THIS HAS HAPPENED.

He starts with the testimony that Belshazzar
Had most certainly heard from his grandfather and yet had readily ignored.

(18-22) “O king, the Most High God granted sovereignty, grandeur, glory and majesty to Nebuchadnezzar your father. “Because of the grandeur which He bestowed on him, all the peoples, nations and men of every language feared and trembled before him; whomever he wished he killed and whomever he wished he spared alive; and whomever he wished he elevated and whomever he wished he humbled. “But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit became so proud that he behaved arrogantly, he was deposed from his royal throne and his glory was taken away from him. “He was also driven away from mankind, and his heart was made like that of beasts, and his dwelling place was with the wild donkeys. He was given grass to eat like cattle, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven until he recognized that the Most High God is ruler over the realm of mankind and that He sets over it whomever He wishes. “Yet you, his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, even though you knew all this,”

We just studied the story last week so you are certainly familiar with what Daniel is referring to.
• Nebuchadnezzar used to be filled with arrogance and audacity too.
• He also used to thumb his nose at God.
• But God taught Nebuchadnezzar a lesson.
• God took him from his royal throne and struck him with insanity for 7 years “until he recognized that the Most High God is ruler over the realm of mankind and that He sets over it whomever He wishes.”

That was the message for Nebuchadnezzar and he heard it loud and clear.
Chapter 4 was his testimony to that account.

Because Nebuchadnezzar was so transformed by what happened
We have every reason to believe
He would have told that story many times to his grandson.

BUT REGARDLESS OF WHERE HE HEARD IT, WE KNOW HE DID.

For Daniel says, “Yet you, his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, even though you knew all this,”
You can hear Daniel’s frustration can’t you?
HOW COULD YOU MISS THE POINT?

The message is so clear.
GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.

One thing you don’t do to God is walk up to Him in arrogance.
• He does not handle disrespect
• He does not handle blatant disobedience
• He does not handle someone thinking they know better than Him.

Jesus reminded us clearly that the first step in coming to God
Is not arrogance but supreme humility.

Matthew 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

We remember the famous story from Jesus:
Luke 18:9-14 “And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. “The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ‘I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’ “But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ “I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

You get the point.
One thing you don’t want to do is puff yourself up before God.
He delights in crushing people’s pride.

And honestly Belshazzar had really gotten off easy here.
• He never lost his sanity…
• He never ate grass like a cow…
• He never had the hair grow long on his head…
• He never had his nails grow like eagle’s claws…

All he had to do was listen to the testimony of his grandfather.
All he had to do was learn from the misfortune of another.

I don’t mind telling you that it is a foolish thing
To force God to have to reteach you
All the lessons He taught your parents or grandparents.

It is far better that you learn from their trials and learn from their experiences and learn from their testimonies.

Belshazzar refused and Daniel let him know it.

The Testimony You Ignored
2) THE GOD YOU OFFENDED (22-24)

Do you want to know why this happened Belshazzar?
• You made God mad!
• You offended Him!

You ignored His message to your grandfather,
Then you purposely stuck your finger in God’s eye
By collecting His holy utensils and using them in your pagan worship.

Not only that, but you have your entire life
TOTALLY DISREGARDED all that this God has done for you.

“But the God in whose hand are your life-breath and all your ways, you have not glorified.”

IF YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT A TIMELESS SERMON, HERE IT IS!
Daniel could preach this today.
It is the missing element of most gospel messages.

• Most gospel messages I hear today focus solely on how heart-broken God is that you are facing such a horrific fate in hell.

• And preachers assure sinners how much God loves them, and how sorry God feels for them, and how heart-broken God is over them.

• And preachers assure sinners that all God desperately wants is to have you back, and He won’t hold a grudge, He’s already forgiven you, just please come home.

AND THAT IS NOT TRUE
• God is holding a grudge!
• God is offended; terribly offended!

Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

Listen to God’s estimation of humanity.
Romans 3:10-18 “as it is written, “THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD; ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.” “THEIR THROAT IS AN OPEN GRAVE, WITH THEIR TONGUES THEY KEEP DECEIVING,” “THE POISON OF ASPS IS UNDER THEIR LIPS”; “WHOSE MOUTH IS FULL OF CURSING AND BITTERNESS”; “THEIR FEET ARE SWIFT TO SHED BLOOD, DESTRUCTION AND MISERY ARE IN THEIR PATHS, AND THE PATH OF PEACE THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN.” “THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD BEFORE THEIR EYES.”

Does that sound like a God who has just let it all go?
No – He’s angry!

And why wouldn’t He be?
• He creates a world in perfection and then creates man to live upon it.
• He breathes life into his nostrils and meets his every need.
• Only to have man rebel against Him, choose sin, wreck His creation, and ignore His commands from that day on.
• And even when this awesome God sends His Son into the world to purchase forgiveness for sinners, they reject Him too!

God is angry at sinners, they have offended Him.
You and I once offended Him!

Romans 1 says that our lack of gratitude alone is offensive to Him.
Romans 1:21 “For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.”

You get the idea?

God is offended.
• He is waiting for the moment when offensive sinners will return to Him
• To ask for forgiveness of their sins against Him,
• At which time He will charge their crimes to His Son
• And forgive them of their trespasses.

BUT DON’T FORGET THAT REPENTANCE AND FORGIVENESS ARE NEEDED.

Daniel lets Belshazzar have it for his blatant disrespect of God.

The Testimony You Ignored, The God You Offended
3) THE SENTENCE YOU RECEIVED (25-31)

Now Daniel interprets the writing.
(25-28) “Now this is the inscription that was written out: ‘MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.’ “This is the interpretation of the message: ‘MENE’ — God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it. “‘TEKEL’ — you have been weighed on the scales and found deficient. “‘PERES’ — your kingdom has been divided and given over to the Medes and Persians.”

These words were all measurements,
But they paint such a powerful message.

“MENE” was an Aramaic noun referring to 50 shekels,
But taken as a verb it meant “to number”

Daniel said “God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it.”

So the idea is that his days were numbered and his time is up.
And for emphasis sake God wrote that twice.

And that is true for us isn’t it?
God has numbered our days.

Psalms 139:16 “Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.”

The sovereign God who created you already knows the day of your end.

“TEKEL” was a noun referring to a single shekel,
But taken as a verb it meant “to weigh”

Daniel said, “You have been weighed on the scales and found deficient.”

That is, you were too light, you were not enough.
You have fallen short of what God expected from you.

I’m always reminded of the Centurion who wanted Jesus to heal his servant. When Jesus offered to go with him, he said:

Matthew 8:8 “But the centurion said, “Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed.”

Literally he said, “I am not enough”

And isn’t this true of all men?
God demands perfect righteousness and when measured according to His standard, we all come up wanting.

We are all in desperate need of the perfect righteousness
Which can only be granted to us through Jesus Christ.

“PERES” is a noun meaning a half-mina or 25 shekels,
But as a verb it means “to break in two, to divide”

Daniel said, “your kingdom has been divided and given over to the Medes and Persians.”

That is to say, your sentence has been passed.
Your kingdom has been divided between the Medes and the Persians.

Do you hear the message?
• God has numbered your days (as He has done for us all)
• And the time of your judgment has come.
• He has measured you by His perfect righteousness
• And you have been found deficient in what is required,
• Therefore you will be judged.

And the tragedy is that all of this could have been avoided
Had he only listened to the testimony of his grandfather

How foolish it is to ignore the gospel message
And continue to walk arrogantly before God.

SO HOW DID BELSHAZZAR RESPOND TO SUCH A MESSAGE?
Well he should have instantly fell on his face and asked God for mercy,
But that is not what he did.

(29) “Then Belshazzar gave orders, and they clothed Daniel with purple and put a necklace of gold around his neck, and issued a proclamation concerning him that he now had authority as the third ruler in the kingdom.”

What does that reveal?
Some say, well he’s a good guy, he paid Daniel anyway.

NO NO NO NO NO
If he had believed Daniel he would know that any money or jewelry or honor he bestowed on Daniel was pointless because Daniel told him his time was up.

It doesn’t appear to me that Belshazzar believed him.
He just gave Daniel authority as 3rd in power
In a kingdom that Daniel just said was about to be destroyed.

Now, do you really want to see the sovereignty of God in this?

• I told you that Belshazzar had already fought and lost a battle with Persia and
had retreated behind the wall where he thought he was safe.

• I also told you that because they had a 20 year supply of food and the
Euphrates running through their city they weren’t worried about anything.

Unbeknownst to Belshazzar the Medes and the Persians
Had been digging a diversion canal for the Euphrates into a nearby lake.
And on this night it would be finished.

• Because Belshazzar didn’t place troops as lookouts and was busy partying he
did not know that the Persian army was stationed at both ends of the city where the river entered and exited.

• When the channel was finished and the water was diverted, the Euphrates
stopped flowing and the Medes and the Persians conquered Babylon that very night.

(30-31) “That same night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was slain. So Darius the Mede received the kingdom at about the age of sixty-two.”

That means that God had laid all this out months in advance.
Indeed He had promised it years in advance.

AND WHAT A LESSON FOR US TO LEARN
ABOUT THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD.

He is not to be messed with in this regard.

God has numbered the days of man
And His expectation is that during this short span of life on earth
That man would humble themselves before Him
And ask His forgiveness for their offenses against Him.

OTHERWISE the day of their judgement is already set
And they will most assuredly be weighed on the scales and found wanting
And consigned to certain judgment.

Paul told the Athenians
Acts 17:30-31 “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”

It has been the message of the ages.
And Belshazzar learned it the hard way
When God finally chose to put His Sovereignty on Display.

The Testimony of Nebuchadnezzar
Daniel 4:1-37
May 29, 2016

You may remember from our study of Job,
That towards the end a young man named Elihu stood up to speak.
• He was upset that Job’s friends had condemned Job without reason
• He was upset that Job had justified himself before God (ultimately condemning God in the process)

While it was clear throughout the book
That Job had committed no specific sin worthy of such affliction,
It was also clear that the affliction in Job’s life
Caused Job’s sin to rise to the top.

Job’s sin was pride.
He didn’t think he deserved such treatment
And he actually accused God of being unjust for allowing it.

Elihu responded to Job like this:
Job 33:14-22 “Indeed God speaks once, Or twice, yet no one notices it. “In a dream, a vision of the night, When sound sleep falls on men, While they slumber in their beds, Then He opens the ears of men, And seals their instruction, That He may turn man aside from his conduct, And keep man from pride; He keeps back his soul from the pit, And his life from passing over into Sheol. “Man is also chastened with pain on his bed, And with unceasing complaint in his bones; So that his life loathes bread, And his soul favorite food. “His flesh wastes away from sight, And his bones which were not seen stick out. “Then his soul draws near to the pit, And his life to those who bring death.”

And then later in the same chapter:
Job 33:29-30 “Behold, God does all these oftentimes with men, To bring back his soul from the pit, That he may be enlightened with the light of life.”

According to Elihu, when dealing with people
Who either don’t have access to God’s word, or who readily ignore it,
It is not beyond God’s prerogative to confront those people
With terrifying dreams and intense pain
In order to lead them to repentance and save their soul from destruction.

We would have a difficult time arguing with his statement
Since that is precisely what God does to Nebuchadnezzar here.

We have said repeatedly that the book of Daniel
Is a book meant to put God’s sovereignty on full display.

That should be readily apparent to you by now.
After revealing how God brought Daniel to Babylon
And placed him in a position of influence

We then began to see God demonstrate His sovereignty to candidate #1
Nebuchadnezzar.
Chapter 2 could be categorized as: SOVEREIGNTY DECLARED
• God issued a dream to Nebuchadnezzar that no one could discern.
• It was a dream that revealed God’s sovereign decree regarding the nations of the world.
• God already knew who would rule, how long they would rule, and who would bring them down.

Chapter 3 could be categorized as: SOVEREIGNTY DEFENDED
• Nebuchadnezzar clearly did not like God’s insinuation that his kingdom would not last forever
• He sat out to find those traitors who might be instrumental in overthrowing him and to eliminate them in a fiery furnace.
• Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego became prime suspects when they refused to bow to Nebuchadnezzar’s golden statue and were thrown into the fiery furnace.
• There God intervened and showed Nebuchadnezzar that nothing and no one can thwart His sovereign plan.

But as we pointed out last week:
Even though it is clear that with each incident Nebuchadnezzar made progress, it was also obvious that he was not yet where he needed to be.

• After the first dream he honored Daniel.
• After the fiery furnace he acknowledge God.

But Nebuchadnezzar had yet to submit himself
To the God of the universe in humility and obedience.
That is what chapter 4 is for.

One might call this chapter: SOVEREIGNTY DISCERNED

In chapter 4 Nebuchadnezzar gets it.
(Actually he got it somewhere between chapters 3 & 4 – chapter 4 is his testimony)

• Everyone loves a good testimony of the day when a person moved from spiritual death to spiritual life.

• Everyone loves a good testimony of the day when a person was transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of heaven.

This is Nebuchadnezzar’s story.

In pointing that out, before we listen to his account,
I do want to make sure you pick up on the important points
That must be in place for a testimony to be legitimate.

Today we hear a lot of testimonies like the two recorded in CH. 2 and 3.
• We hear a lot of people recognize God’s people as God’s people, but going to
church doesn’t make you saved.

• We hear a lot of people acknowledge that God is the Most High God, but that
also doesn’t make you saved.
The difference here is the humility, submission, and worship
Now present in the life of Nebuchadnezzar.

As we work our way through the chapter see if you can spot:
• His arrogance
• His conviction
• His brokenness
• His discernment
• His submission

These are absolutes in the redeemed life,
And they must be in our lives as well.

H.A. Ironside wrote:
“Now I would like to be personal and press some questions home to each reader. Do you have any word of testimony about the signs and wonders that the high God has worked for you? Have you ever been brought into direct contact with Him, so that you can speak confidently of what He has done for your soul? Have you been humbled by seeing yourself as a lost sinner before Him? Have you taken that place – your only rightful place – and acknowledged that you are unclean and in dire need of sovereign mercy? And do you know what it is to have fled for refuge to the very God against whom you have sinned so grievously and to have found in His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, a hidingplace from the judgment your sins deserved?
I implore you, do not attempt to avoid these questions. If you cannot answer yes to each one, stop and ponder them again; ask yourself if there is any valid reason why you should continue to neglect God’s way of salvation and leave your soul in jeopardy. Oh that Nebuchadnezzar’s testimony might speak loudly to your heart and conscience and [reveal] if you are still a stranger to the God he had learned to adore. Something very definite had been done for his soul; he delighted to tell of it and to give an answer to every man as to the reason of the hope that was in him.”
(Ironside, H.A. [Daniel: Ironside Commentaries; Loizeaux Brothers; Neptune, New Jersey, 1996] pg. 540

We find here tonight this very testimony of Nebuchadnezzar
And while it walks through a very dark time in the life of this man,
It is in fact one of the greatest demonstrations of the sovereign mercy of God in all of Scripture.

3 main points to our outline tonight
#1 THE DECLARATION
Daniel 4:1-3

• Having just finished chapter 3 where Nebuchadnezzar was last found with a 90’ statue he was trying to force everyone to worship.

• And having learned at the end that even though he did acknowledge that God was the Most High God…

We are still a little surprised to hear such a declaration as this
Come out of Nebuchadnezzar’s mouth.

But he has a declaration to make:
(2) “It has seemed good to me to declare the signs and wonders which the Most High God has done for me.”
Make no mistake that according to Nebuchadnezzar,
Everything that was done to him in this chapter
Is now seen as a tremendous act of grace on the part of God.

I oftentimes tell people in the middle of their pain that I am a firm believer that one day in heaven (if not sooner) we will look back on these moments of pain and unequivocally say, “God, that was perfect! Thank You so much for what You did there!”

Nebuchadnezzar is just another piece of evidence to that claim.

We have a man here who had absolutely no qualms about
• Attacking God’s country,
• Burning God’s temple,
• Exiling God’s people,
• Forcing them to worship a false god.

And yet here we have an amazing declaration from his lips.
(3) “How great are His signs and how might are His wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom and His dominion is from generation to generation.”

Let that sink in for a moment.
In chapter 3 Nebuchadnezzar’s entire goal was to prove that
His kingdom was the everlasting one,
And here all of a sudden he is singing a drastically different tune.

If you wonder what in the world happened, I don’t think you are alone.

The Declaration
#2 THE EXPLANATION
Daniel 4:4-36

I realize this is a long portion of text as Nebuchadnezzar gives his testimony so let’s break it down a little further.

5 things
1) PEACE REMOVED (4-18)

You must begin this story by giving at least some recognition to
The man Nebuchadnezzar was before all this happened.

A testimony is meant to reveal the change that God brought about in your life.
If we don’t know what you were, then we can’t see the difference in what you are.

But Nebuchadnezzar’s beginning might surprise you.

We often think it should begin with something like:
“I was a drug dealing terrorist who kidnapped prostitutes and murdered puppies with a toy I stole from a small blind child.”
But Nebuchadnezzar doesn’t mention any of that.
• Nothing about his invasion of Israel
• Nothing about his robbing or burning of God’s temple
• Nothing about his brainwashing of Hebrew refugees
• Nothing about his life of idolatry
• Nothing about his brutality (i.e. burning people in a furnace or ordering people torn limb from limb)

Nothing…

In fact, he says, “I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and flourishing in my palace.”

Can I tell you why he was in the worst possible condition that the human heart can be in?
• He was in sin and it didn’t even bother him.
• He was a classic example of the seared conscience.

Paul described this reality:
Ephesians 4:17-19 “So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.”

• These were people who did evil things and didn’t even think it was wrong.
• These were people who legitimately thought right was wrong and wrong was right.

I think about this all the time in a culture like ours
Where we battle on lines like homosexuality.

There are plenty of people in our culture (moral people, friendly people)
Who genuinely in their heart believe that supporting this lifestyle is the right thing to do.

Nebuchadnezzar “was at ease”

Asaph described the wicked like this:
Psalms 73:12 “Behold, these are the wicked; And always at ease, they have increased in wealth.”

If you were waiting for him to feel bad about his life,
You had better be ready to wait a while because it isn’t going to happen.

And this is such a good explanation of what it means to be lost.

When a person is spiritually dead with a seared conscience
There is absolutely no possibility that this person
Will ever feel bad about what they have done.

• They have no capacity for it.
• They are spiritually dead, immune to the things of God.
• They are unbothered.
• They will not feel guilty for what they have done.

This is why we talk about the necessity of God’s grace
To even make known to lost people that they are lost.
If God doesn’t reveal to them their danger, they won’t know it.

Nebuchadnezzar certainly had no clue.
Until God chose to remove his peace.

How did God do that? Through a dream (just like Elihu talked about)

(5) “I saw a dream and it made me fearful; and these fantasies as I lay on my bed and the visions in my mind kept alarming me.”

With one dream God took every ounce of peace and comfort
That Nebuchadnezzar owned.

And we see that it was such a fear that overtook him that
He had to know the meaning of this dream that he had seen.

And once again he turned to the wrong place for the solution.
(6-7) “So I gave orders to bring into my presence all the wise men of Babylon, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream. “Then the magicians, the conjurers, the Chaldeans and the diviners came in and I related the dream to them, but they could not make its interpretation known to me.”

• It is just another indicator that while Nebuchadnezzar had acknowledged God, he still did not have a relationship with Him, nor did he seek His guidance.

But when that wisdom failed (as it always does),
Nebuchadnezzar was once again forced to appeal to the man
Whom God had placed in his path.

(8-9) “But finally Daniel came in before me, whose name is Belteshazzar according to the name of my god, and in whom is a spirit of the holy gods; and I related the dream to him, saying, ‘O Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, since I know that a spirit of the holy gods is in you and no mystery baffles you, tell me the visions of my dream which I have seen, along with its interpretation.”

Some would wonder why Nebuchadnezzar wouldn’t have sought Daniel immediately?

After all, Daniel had already proven himself regarding dreams.
It is clear that Nebuchadnezzar knew of Daniel’s ability.
Why then would he not have sought him first?

I think the answer lies in how Nebuchadnezzar describes Daniel.
“since I know that a spirit of the holy gods is in you”

That is the last type of god that Nebuchadnezzar wanted to hear from.
• He knew what Daniel was about.
• He knew how Daniel lived.
• He knew what Daniel’s God wanted.
HOLINESS

And that is something Nebuchadnezzar was not interested in.
So he wouldn’t seek Daniel until all other options had been exhausted.

So he appealed to Daniel.
And Nebuchadnezzar revealed the dream to him.

(READ 10-18)

If this had simply been a dream about a tree,
One would have to wonder if Nebuchadnezzar would have been upset.

But even in the dream, it was made clear to him
That we are talking about a human.

• Notice the pronouns used beginning in verse 15?
• The tree is even called “a man” in verse 16.

Nebuchadnezzar knew this vision was about a person.

And the purpose of this dream is also clearly explained.
(17) “This sentence is by the decree of the angelic watchers And the decision is a command of the holy ones, In order that the living may know That the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind, And bestows it on whom He wishes And sets over it the lowliest of men.”

Make no mistake,
This incident is all about revealing the sovereignty of God
To a person who have thus far refused to see it.

So God first got his attention by removing his peace.

Peace Removed
2) TRUTH REVEALED (19-26)

You do have to recognize Daniel’s demeanor here.
He is clearly taken back by what he has just heard.

And there are a couple of reasons that should be noticed.
One is that it is clear that he a simple respect and admiration for Nebuchadnezzar.

The other is that Daniel must have known that delivering a negative revelation to the king could be very costly to him personally.

However the king is under such conviction that he simply wants the truth
(It is amazing how God alone can drive people to this point)

And so he encouraged Daniel to interpret the dream.
(READ 20-26)

You hear the meaning of the dream,
And the purpose is made abundantly clear.

(25b) “until you recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realms of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes.”

According to verse 26 he must “recognize that it is Heaven that rules.”

God’s message then to Nebuchadnezzar is clear.
• You have walked in lived in a form of faulty arrogance.
• You’ve been filled with false assurance and pride.
• Despite My attempts you refuse to see that I am the true Sovereign.
• I am about to yank you from your pedestal and humiliate you before men
• Until you finally see that I alone am God and you submit your life to Me.

Harsh? Yes
Beneficial? Absolutely

• It may seem cruel that God would go to such great lengths to prove His
sovereignty to Nebuchadnezzar.
• It may seem cruel that God has gone to such great lengths to reveal Himself to
you.

But one must only ask if it would be better to be left alone
And then to spend eternity in hell?

Beyond that, let’s not act like God isn’t warning him first.

Thank God He is willing to do whatever it takes
To reveal Himself to lost and rebellious sinners.

Peace Removed, Truth Revealed
3) ADVICE RENDERED (27)

Here we certainly applaud Daniel’s boldness and courage.
• If you will recall he was only asked to interpret the dream, not give counsel.
• But Daniel sees the opportunity.
• He recognizes that God has set him apart for the delivery of this message and he feels compelled to offer some advice.
His advice is accurate and bold.
(27) “Therefore, O king, may my advice be pleasing to you: break away now from your sins by doing righteousness and from your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor, in case there may be a prolonging of your prosperity.’

The point couldn’t be clearer.
• It’s time for you to repent!
• It’s time for you to embrace God’s righteousness
• It’s time for you to embrace the things that please God.

• For too long you’ve lived to please yourself.
• For too long you’ve lived in ease and wanted for nothing.

• It’s time now for you to recognize the heart and desires of God.
• It’s time to seek His standards
• It’s time to embrace His ministries (like the poor)

Daniel encourages Nebuchadnezzar to die to self,
Turn from sin, and seek the will of God.

He is calling him to salvation.

But Nebuchadnezzar does nothing with the warning.

Peace Removed, Truth Revealed, Advice Rendered
4) PUNISHMENT RECEIVED (28-33)

What a statement.
“All this happened to Nebuchadnezzar the king.”

One year later
(my how we tend to forget the warnings of God after a little time passes by)
Nebuchadnezzar was overcome with his own arrogance.

“Is this not Babylon the great, which I MYSELF have built as a royal residence by the might of MY power and for the glory of MY majesty?”

That’s wrong on a number of levels and God struck.
All that God revealed happened to Nebuchadnezzar.
He was driven from humanity and absolutely humiliated by God.

His is the ultimate picture of brokenness in Scripture.
The height from which he fell and the depth to which he sunk
Rivals that of Job in his suffering.

God has decided to absolutely crush his pride.
7 years of humiliation were appointed for Nebuchadnezzar.

Which leads to the final leg of the story Nebuchadnezzar is explaining.
5) SOVEREIGNTY RECOGNIZED (34-36)

In short, after such a period of time Nebuchadnezzar says,
“I finally got it!”

• No more blessing Daniel
• No more praising Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego

“I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever; for His dominion is an everlasting dominon, and His kingdom endures from generation to generation.”

In short, He is God, I am not.

You have to love his new found humility.
• The earth is nothing
• He does whatever He wants
• No one can stop Him or question Him

Nebuchadnezzar has finally humbled himself
Before the holy God of the universe.

(36) “At that time my reason returned to me. And my majesty and splendor were restored to me for the glory of my kingdom, and my counselors and my nobles began seeking me out; so I was reestablished in my sovereignty, and surpassing greatness was added to me.”

And after God humbled him, God restored him.
It is the reminder that God is not out to harm us, but to redeem us.

• Nebuchadnezzar needed to be redeemed from pride and arrogance and selfishness. He needed to drop that sin at the door.

• God indeed put him through a difficult process to do that, but it was effective to say the least. This arrogant man was humbled.

So if the declaration Nebuchadnezzar made about God in verses 2&3 seemed strange to you, JUST LET HIM EXPLAIN.

There is a reason that he has decided to declare to the world that
God’s kingdom is in fact the everlasting kingdom
And His dominion lasts from generation to generation.

He is declaring it because God revealed that to him first hand.

So The Declaration, The Explanation
#3 THE EXALTATION
Daniel 4:37

Nebuchadnezzar now stops and
Gives God the absolute praise, glory and honor that He deserves.
And He testifies that there is no one who is beyond God’s reach.

THAT ALONE IS ENCOURAGING.
• We pray for the President
• We pray for the government
• We pray for judges
• We pray for our bosses
• We pray for our family members
• We pray for our co-workers

And after years of praying for such people
We are tempted to give up and lose hope that they will ever get it.

DON’T
God is “able to humble those who walk in pride.”

If God can break Nebuchadnezzar,
He can most certainly break your carnal co-worker.

Listen to Paul’s testimony
1 Timothy 1:12-17 “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.”

Paul just basically said the same thing Nebuchadnezzar was saying.
• I was wayward and beyond salvation, but that didn’t stop God.
• In fact God made an example of me.
• But by saving me, He proved that He can save anyone.

Don’t stop praying for those around you.
Don’t fail to seize your opportunities as they are given,
Even if they might give you fear.

Jesus said:
Luke 18:1-8 “Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart, saying, “In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man. “There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me legal protection from my opponent.’ “For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.'” And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge said; now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? “I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”

That story rings so true.
God is always able, never forget that.

Furthermore you should recognize that
You are not the only one who longs for sinners to repent and glorify God.

God is also at work to this end.
• He has already decreed that He is the Alpha and Omega.
• He has already decreed that ever knee will bow to Him.
• He has already decreed that His Son will reign forever.

The book of the Revelation shows us again and again that
All nations will surround His throne and will worship in every language.

The end of Revelation shows us that even those who reject Him in this life
Will still bow the knee before His great throne of judgment.

GOD IS IN THE PROCESS OF REDEEMING THIS FALLEN WORLD
BACK INTO SUBJECTION TO HIMSELF.
IT WILL HAPPEN.

And stories like this are good reminders to us that
This whole process is about God receiving the glory He deserves.

God’s objective in this world is not to give sinners the comfort they seek.
Nebuchadnezzar already had that and God took it from him.

God’s objective is bring sinners to the place where they will repent and give Him the glory He deserves.

We are so inundated with false doctrines
About how God should just show up and grant you
Every little thing your flesh craves and desires.
People really do believe that He is nothing more than a genie in a bottle who is forced to bless your finances if you will re-post a picture on Facebook.

That is clearly not God’s objective.
He is out to bring sinners to repentance and glory to Himself.
• Remember that as you pray
• Remember that as you witness
• Remember that even as you walk through difficult times

God has just squared off with the first of 4 world rulers alive during the time of Daniel, and God will reveal His greatness to them all.
1 down, 3 to go.

God is Sovereign!

The Intolerable Failure of Ephesus
Revelation 2:1-7
May 29, 2016

Well, in reading that passage you certainly are familiar with it.
We’ve covered it a couple of times on Sundays, at least once on Wednesday nights and I’m pretty sure you’ve probably covered it in Sunday School.
I know for a fact I’ve preached the church at Ephesus at least 3 times.

It is the church at Ephesus.
The church we have routinely referred to as “The Backslidden Church”

So obviously we’re not discussing this church
Because you aren’t familiar with it.
Rather, we are discussing it because it is so relevant!

Philippians 3:1 “Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you.”

2 Peter 1:12-15 “Therefore, I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been established in the truth which is present with you. I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder, knowing that the laying aside of my earthly dwelling is imminent, as also our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. And I will also be diligent that at any time after my departure you will be able to call these things to mind.”

The apostles definitely knew that
It was actually the most familiar truths that got is in the most trouble.
They actually become so routine and second nature
That we actually begin to forget them all together.

This passage falls into that category.

To help us set the stage for the importance of understanding the truth we learn from this church, I want to remind you of a statement Jesus made:

John 15:1-8 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. “My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.”

It is very tempting just to turn over there and
Spend the entire hour this morning looking at that passage.

But if you’re willing to skim the mountain tops of that passage with me this morning you will notice the unmistakable point.
WITHOUT JESUS IT WON’T WORK
The analogy of Him being the vine and us being the branches
Cannot be misunderstood.

Branches that aren’t plugged into the tree do not produce fruit.
• They still look like branches
• They may even have leaves for a while
• They may be useful for other things (sawn into lumber)

But without being connected to the tree
They will never produce fruit again.

Jesus is highlighting a very important spiritual reality in that passage.
Churches can organize around human ingenuity and human resources
And human wisdom and human cooperation
And accomplish very many great things.

(False religion teaches us that)
Islam, Mormonism, Buddhism, etc; have all accomplished great things simply through the power of human ingenuity.

And the church is no different.
People who work together can build great buildings
And fund massive ministries, and produce tremendous results.

BUT APART FROM JESUS YOU CANNOT PRODUCE FRUIT
(that is you cannot accomplish spiritual work)

• You cannot lead sinners to salvation
• You cannot make genuine disciples
• You cannot see true redemption from sin occur

These matters are only accomplished through the power of God.
Failure to be tapped into that power
Produces a spiritually impotent church.

Tonight we study a church that was confused about that.
• We study a church that I could have easily been a member of.
• We study a church that forgot the main point of the whole thing.

And their failure was absolutely intolerable.
So dangerous in fact that
They were about to be removed as a church altogether.

Many of you are familiar, but let’s take a refresher course.

#1 THE CHURCH
Revelation 2:1a
“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:”
This letter was written to “the angel of the church in Ephesus”

“angel” translates ANGELLOS
It means “a messenger”
It can also be “a guardian” or “a representative”

I tell you that so you’ll realize that
This was a message to the church’s pastor,
Not necessarily a celestial being.

And the church was “the church in Ephesus”

EPHESUS was a port city, home to the temple Artemis,
• Which was such a secure place that it became home of a world bank,
• And a prominent hang out for criminals on the run.
• It also had many priestesses who were little more than prostitutes.

So a cross section of Ephesus shows us
It was a port city with a bombardment of sailors
And other atrocities associated with a port city.

• It was a capital of idolatry as people flocked there to worship a false god.
• It was a criminal hang out.
• It was a hot bed of prostitution.
• And it was a center of economic importance.

Where it not for the immorality, adultery, greed, idolatry, and love of sin,
Ephesus might have been a nice town to raise a family in.
But as it was, Ephesus was a rough place.
Think “SIN CITY”

Settled in the heart of this city was the church at Ephesus.
The “church in Ephesus” had a deep pedigree.

• Paul’s friends Aquila and Priscilla founded it.
• Apollos was a pastor
• Onesiphorus was a pastor
• Timothy was a pastor
• The Apostle John was a pastor
• And Paul was a frequent visitor and speaker.

This church had been equipped with the truth of the gospel,
And that set the stage for what looked to be a great show down.
The church armed with the truth verses the city armed with sin.

#2 THEIR LORD
Revelation 2:1b
“The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands, says this:”
You recognize this intro as relating directly to the vision in chapter 1.

Revelation 1:20 “As for the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.”

And since we now know that the angels were the pastors of the churches,
This verse could read like this.

“The One who holds the seven pastors in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven churches, says this:”

Christ here is seen as the One who holds the messengers,
As the One who holds the leaders.
In short, He is the One who is guiding those who guide the church.

The writer of Hebrews said:
Hebrews 13:17a “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account.”

James said:
James 3:1 “Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.”

The Lord holds the leaders of His church to strict standards.
They guide the church so He guides them.

THE IMPLICATION THEN IS THAT JESUS IS YOUR GUIDE

We just studied this recently in our “It’s All About Jesus” study.
Colossians 1:18a “He is also head of the body, the church…”

He is the ultimate authority and the supreme guide.

WE ALSO FIND that He is the “One who walks among the seven golden lampstands”

You remember this as is His presence.
He dwells with His church.

So if you put the two together we find out that Jesus introduces Himself as “The One who is with you to guide you”

He is what a pilot is to an airplane
Without Him here
The church would have no direction, no guidance, no clue.

So if we can reiterate what Jesus said in John 15:
HE IS IRREPLACEABLE

Colossians 1:17 “He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”
Could you imagine the church without the presence of Jesus?
• He is our Provider
• He is our Protection
• He is our Power
• He is our Peace
• He is our Purpose

They hymn writer seemed to know:
“Without Him, I could do nothing, without Him, I’d surely fail; without Him I would be drifting like a ship without a sail. Without Him, I could be dying, without Him, I’d be enslaved; without Him, life would be hopeless, but with Jesus, thank God, I’m saved.”

If you take Jesus out of the church, we’d absolutely fall apart.
• How could we get along without His peace to unify us?
• How could we please the Father without His righteousness to clothe us?
• How could we reach the lost without His power to help us?
• How could we comfort the hurting without His compassion to drive us?
• How could we face adversity without His hope to strengthen us?
• How could we discern error without His truth to guide us?
• How could we resist temptation without His Spirit to help us?
• How could we grow without His model to direct us?

I mean, the reality is that if you take Jesus out of the church,
The church sinks.

It is a good thing that He is here and promises to never leave,
Because if He did, it would all be over.

The Church, Their Lord
#3 THEIR SUCCESS
Revelation 2:2-3, 6

It is important that you first recognize all that this church did well.
It is important that you see that
We are not talking about a bunch of thugs here at Ephesus.

“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; and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary.”

Jesus talked about their “deeds” and their “toil” and their “perseverance”

These are people who work and work hard and keep working.
They have given themselves to the back breaking labor of the ministry,
And they don’t quit just because it is hard.

These are warriors
They know how to push on.
And we even see in what area.
“you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false”

(6) “Yet this you do have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.”

No one really knows who the Nicolaitans were or what they they did.
All that really matters is that we do know that the Lord hated their deeds.
Whatever they did, God hated it.

And so we find here that
Whether it was false apostles or false doctrine or false deeds,
The Ephesians discerned it, hated it, confronted it, and judged it.

And I don’t have to tell you that
THIS IS NOT SOMETHING THAT CHURCHES DO MUCH OF TODAY.
I can’t think of a time where more false teachers get more television time or Facebook shares than today in America.

And yet if you speak out against any of them,
People instantly rebuke you for being divisive.

Coupled with that there are very few churches
That want to deal with sin anymore.

Did Jesus stutter when He said:
Matthew 18:15-17 “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. “But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that BY THE MOUTH OF TWO OR THREE WITNESSES EVERY FACT MAY BE CONFIRMED. “If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.”

Was Paul joking when he said:
1 Corinthians 5:11-13 “But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler — not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? But those who are outside, God judges. REMOVE THE WICKED MAN FROM AMONG YOURSELVES.”

Or when he said:
2 Thessalonians 3:14 “If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of that person and do not associate with him, so that he will be put to shame.”

It is clear throughout Scripture that the church is to remain pure.
That means both the pulpit and the pew

But try it sometime in our day and I can promise you will meet resistance.
The point is, what Ephesus was doing was amazing!
But it is even more impressive coming from the Ephesian church.

Why? – Because that is not at all who they started out being.

If you’ll remember, Timothy pastored that church for a while.

1 Timothy 1:3-7 “As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines, nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith. But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. For some men, straying from these things, have turned aside to fruitless discussion, wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions.”

1 Timothy 2:12 “But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet.”

1 Timothy 4:1-5 “But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude; for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer.”

1 Timothy 6:3-5 “If anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, he is conceited and understands nothing; but he has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words, out of which arise envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions, and constant friction between men of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain.”

1 Timothy 6:20-21 “O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called “knowledge” — which some have professed and thus gone astray from the faith. Grace be with you.”

2 Timothy 2:14-19 “Remind them of these things, and solemnly charge them in the presence of God not to wrangle about words, which is useless and leads to the ruin of the hearers. Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. But avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, men who have gone astray from the truth saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and they upset the faith of some. Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, ” Everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from wickedness.”

2 Timothy 3:1-5 “But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.”
Can you see the main issue Timothy had to deal with?
Ephesus was a church that tolerated false apostles and false doctrine.

Timothy’s main job (according to Paul) was to
• Confront those false teachers,
• Expose their heresy,
• Remove them,
• And entrust their teaching position to qualified men who teach the truth.

And according to Jesus here in the book of Revelation,
Ephesus had completely made that change.

They went from being a super tolerant church with no grasp of the truth
To a church firmly grounded and willing to confront error.

And as I said this is NOT easy.
• It is hard to stand up for truth.
• It is hard to confront and expose false teachers.

It is a hard thing to do.
In fact two other church of these 7
Were specifically reprimanded by Jesus for their failure to do this.

Pergamum
Revelation 2:14-15 “But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality. ‘So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.”

Thyatira
Revelation 2:20 “But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.”

These two churches had been unwilling to take the stand
That the church in Ephesus had taken.

What Ephesus did was not easy to do.
• They embraced the hard work
• They embraced the dirty work
• They embraced the unpopular work

They were a church that stood up to defend the truth
And uphold the integrity of the gospel.

Paul wrote to Timothy:
1 Timothy 3:14-15 “I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long; but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.”

And Ephesus clearly embraced that purpose.
They became “the pillar and support of the truth.”

And not only did they embrace the battle, but they gladly embraced it.
(3) “and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary.”

They believed the name of Jesus was worth defending,
And they never tired of doing so.

These were warriors in every sense.
• Always ready to go to battle for truth.
• Always clothed in the gospel armor.

And since they were not always like that,
We certainly applaud them for their success in achieving it.

I just want to make sure you understand
How hard this church was working.

But this sermon is not about their success,
It is about their intolerable, inexcusable failure.

The Church, Their Lord, Their Success
#4 THEIR FAILURE
Revelation 2:4
“you have left your first love.”

It is true that when the Ephesian church started
• They had a problem with discernment.
• They struggled with false teachers.

But one they thing they didn’t struggle with at the very beginning
Was in their love for Jesus.

TURN TO: ACTS 19:11-20

These people didn’t understand everything,
But they did understand that Jesus was the most important thing.
And they were leaving everything behind for Him.

In fact, if you keep reading in Acts 19, you’ll find that they were so devoted to Jesus that it virtually killed the artisan business in Ephesus.

• The artisan’s had previously made a living selling crafted statues of Artemis
• Now the Ephesians had fallen so in love with Jesus that their businesses were
collapsing.
• Due to the economic strain one silversmith actually started a revolt to try and
get Paul killed.

The point being, the Ephesians didn’t have it all figured out in the beginning, but they did have one thing right,
And that was their love and devotion for Jesus.

He was their “first love”

But now Jesus says “you have left your first love”

“left” translates APHEIMI
It literally means “to leave alone”

It was the word used of when the disciples followed Jesus.
Mark 1:18 “Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.

It is also the word used of when they deserted Him
Mark 14:50 “And they all left Him and fled.”

In 1 Corinthians 7:11 & 7:12, it is translated “divorce”

In Revelation 2:20 the church in Thyatira is rebuked because they did this.
Revelation 2:20 “But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.”

There it means that they just “left her alone”
And didn’t do anything with her.

So it is to abandon, or ignore, or to put away.

Incidentally Jesus said He would never do this to us.
John 14:18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”

Jesus said He will never ignore us,
Or leave us alone, or send us away.

And yet, that is precisely what the Ephesians had done to Him.
“you have left your first love”
• (you have ignored Him)
• (you have divorced Him)
• (you have abandoned Him)

Sure you are busy defending Him
Sure you are busy proclaiming His truth
Sure you are busy rebuking those who slander Him
BUT YOU ARE NOT SPENDING TIME WITH HIM

You’ve gotten busy, you’ve gotten preoccupied,
And you’ve forgotten the very basics of the relationship.

That is what we are talking about.
This church was busy doing ministry, but they had forgotten Jesus.

They worked and toiled and served and fought and battled and endured,
But they had forgotten their most basic calling,
And that is to love Jesus.

And I want you to know that this was absolutely intolerable.
It was inexcusable.
#5 THEIR RESPONSIBILITY
Revelation 2:5

“remember from where you have fallen”

Don’t focus on the things you are now doing right…
That does not cancel out what you are doing wrong.
You are defending the truth, but you aren’t spending time with Me.

“do the deeds you did at first”

When you first got saved,
• You didn’t know much about the Bible, but you were hungry to read it.
• You didn’t know much about prayer, but you did it a lot.
• You didn’t know all the songs, but you sang the ones you did know.
• You didn’t have a lot of responsibilities at church, but you never wanted to miss

WHAT HAPPENED?
• It’s called complacency
• It’s called backsliddenness
• It’s called taking Jesus for granted

AND THAT IS NOT OK.
Your personal relationship with Jesus is important.
It’s not just about what you do FOR HIM, it’s about what you do WITH HIM.

Get back to those simple first things.
• Pray to Jesus
• Listen to Jesus
• Sing to Jesus
• Abide in Jesus
• Spend time with Jesus

And let me show you why we say failing to do this is inexcusable.

“or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place – unless you repent.”

Jesus actually said that if they didn’t do this right,
They would no longer be a church.
He was going to put them out to pasture, and pull them out of the battle.

He would rather have a weak bride that loved Him
Than a strong soldier that ignored Him.
Their battling was commendable,
But their lack of devotion to Jesus was inexcusable.

HE WAS THEIR LORD, BUT HE WAS NOT THEIR LOVE,
And that was not enough for Jesus.

Remember these stories?
Luke 10:38-42 “Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.” But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”

Can you really overstate what Jesus said,
“but only one things is necessary”?

Of all the things that could be said about our church…
Of all the things that could be said about you…
Could there be anything greater said than
They loved Jesus more than anything else?

It is after all the greatest commandment,

And Jesus never overlooked those who loved Him wholeheartedly.
Remember this lady?
Matthew 26:6-13 “Now when Jesus was in Bethany, at the home of Simon the leper, a woman came to Him with an alabaster vial of very costly perfume, and she poured it on His head as He reclined at the table. But the disciples were indignant when they saw this, and said, “Why this waste? “For this perfume might have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor.” But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you bother the woman? For she has done a good deed to Me. “For you always have the poor with you; but you do not always have Me. “For when she poured this perfume on My body, she did it to prepare Me for burial. “Truly I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her.”

More important than service…
More important than benevolence…
IS OUR LOVE AND DEVOTION FOR JESUS
And if we fail to see that, then according to Jesus He has no use for us.

BECAUSE WITHOUT BEING PLUGGED INTO THE VINE
WE CANNOT PRODUCE FRUIT!!!

I’ve many times likened it to a water hose.
There are all sorts of attachments you can put on a hose.
But if you don’t tie the other end of that hose to the faucet
You’ll get nothing.
And Jesus cannot use a church like that.

It’s all about Jesus!
We can’t miss that.

#6 THEIR EXAMPLE
Revelation 2:7

Obviously there Jesus is saying that
The Holy Spirit is screaming this to the church.

He wants to know if anyone is listening.
“He who has an ear, let him hear”

And the promise to all who overcome this complacency,
“I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.”

What is He offering?
Eternal life in heaven
• This is the tree Adam and Eve were banned from.
• This is the tree in the middle of heaven.

The implication is that people who don’t grasp this vital point
Won’t receive that.

Are you saying that the Ephesians were going to lose their salvation?
No.

What we’re saying is that
Anyone who doesn’t have a love for Jesus is not saved
Regardless of how busy they are in the church.

You can’t miss that point.

NOW DO YOU SEE WHY THIS FAILURE
IS INTOLERABLE AND INEXCUSABLE?

If you get everything right except for your relationship with Jesus,
Then you’ve missed the whole thing.

Nothing matters like He matters.
Loving Him is hands down the most important thing you can do.

And it is your relationship with Him, above all else,
• That secures your life and access to heaven.
• And that makes you effective for the kingdom.

If I can give you one piece of encouragement this morning
It is that above all else we need people
Who are head over heels in love with Jesus.

The church at Ephesus was BUSY, but they were BACKSLIDDEN.
It’s time that they return to Jesus.