Hello All,

Beautiful “day in the neighborhood” this Friday.

Here is our bulletin.

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

Are we hearing God? Are you hearing God? And before you answer too quickly, I want you to understand that many don’t hear him but they think they do. Many—thousands upon ten thousands—will sit in churches across our land this morning assuming that they are hearing God, convinced that they are doing the right thing, because someone is standing in the pulpit of their church preaching from the Bible. But the problem is that even though the Bible is used, and a lesson is taught, God is not being honored as God. And the word of God is not being honored as the word of God.

How could this be? Is this even possible? In church, all dressed up and looking good, message from the Bible. How could this not be a good thing?

Let’s look at some precedent, an example of this very thing which is available to us in the biblical record in the OT. As crazy or unlikely or preposterous or outside of your religious box as it may sound, we will see from your Bible and mine, that the preacher, the prophet, picks up God’s word, tells lies and … the people love it.

Is that wild or what? But listen to the prophet Jeremiah:

• (Jeremiah 5:31 NIV84) The prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way. But what will you do in the end?

You may have noticed, probably have noticed, that people love having things their way, whether it is how their burger is prepared or their morality or immorality, as it may be, or their life direction. People love to choose what they believe is right for themselves. Some love to choose what is right for everyone else. People love to have things their way. But Jeremiah asks, what will that person do when the end comes? What will you do when the choice is in God’s hands and no longer yours?

We are in a time of turmoil as a nation, and we will have people, both liberal and conservative, many of them standing in pulpits, telling us what we should do, who we should believe, even who we should vote for. Some will, in the name of God, call us to certain choices. They will quote and misquote Bible verses and demand that we listen to God, telling us that God says this, and God says that. And what you had better do if you are a good person, or a good Christian, or a good whatever their context calls for.

But here’s the thing about speaking for God. If you say that God said it, then you better make sure that he did, or what will you do in the end when God calls you to account? What will you do in the end when God calls you to account for the words and agendas that you pushed in the name of God?

We can collect everyone’s opinion and analyze the data from the news services or from Gallup polls or examine the latest from George Barna, follow Breitbart on the web. Whatever suits your fancy. We can talk to all of our Christian friends and share opinions and read books and attend seminars and listen to all of our favorite preachers.

You’ve heard “last man standing”. Well, how about “last information standing”? Will our information stand up to the judgment of God?

We will not be ready if we are not hearing God!

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

God is talking to us now. Are we listening? What happens in the end is all about being prepared and ready for the end, having the right information, God’s information, before it is too late. The book of Revelation, really the entire Bible, is about preparation, and Revelation is the final chapter in the Book of Divine Preparation, the Bible.

REVELATION MESSAGE 4 –
Revelation-The Final Chapter of Preparation / Revelation 2 / 100916 AM

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

Christ exhorts each of the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3 with those words.

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

Are we hearing God? And before you answer too quickly, I want you to understand that many don’t hear who think they do. They have convinced themselves, but they have also had help in the convincing. Many—thousands upon ten thousands—will sit in churches across our land this morning convinced that they are hearing God because someone is standing in the pulpit of their church preaching from the Bible.

How can this be? Let’s look at the precedent we have available to us in the biblical record, and I believe that I can state without the least bit of hesitation or exaggeration, that we have overwhelming evidence of this very dynamic. As crazy or unlikely or preposterous as it may sound, we will see that the preacher, or the prophet, picks up God’s word, tells lies and … the people love to hear it.

Listen to the prophet Jeremiah:

• (Jeremiah 5:31 NIV84) The prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way. But what will you do in the end?

So what will we do when the end comes?

You can collect everyone’s opinion and analyze data from Gallup polls or examine the latest from George Barna or follow social trends at the Pew Research Center. You can talk to all of your Christian friends and read books and attend seminars and listen to all of your favorite preachers.

But will your information match God’s information?

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

What will you do when the end comes? What happens in the end is all about being prepared before the end comes, having the right information before it is too late. The book of Revelation, really the entire Bible, is about preparation, and Revelation is the final chapter in the Book of Divine Preparation, the Bible.

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Scripture Reading … Beginning to end, first and last …

• (Revelation 2:7a NKJV) He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
• (Psalm 90:2 NLT) Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and the world, from beginning to end, you are God.
• (Isaiah 41:4 ESV) Who has performed and done this, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he.
• (Isaiah 44:6 ESV) Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.”
• (Isaiah 46:9–10 ESV) Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, “My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.”
• (Revelation 1:17 ESV) When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last.”
• (Revelation 2:8 ESV) And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: “The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life.”
• (Revelation 22:13 ESV) I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.

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Hello All,

Here is this week’s bulletin.

Dave

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The city of Ephesus, the “Light of Asia.”

• Ephesus was a captivating city, called Luminasia in Latin, the “Light of Asia” and was highly regarded for many reasons, one of which was having the greatest harbor in Asia Minor. Four highways connected Ephesus on an established trade route. Ephesus was also a prominent religious center, being the hub for the worship of Artemis.
• The church at Ephesus was regarded by some as “the leading church in the province of Asia.” Because of its size and dedication this church became a relevant threat to the local idol-making industry. The Ephesian church diligently pursued doctrinal purity, testing those who claimed to be authoritative teachers and leaders, and not tolerating those making false claims.

The Church at Ephesus …

• The church at Ephesus was built on a strong, biblical infrastructure, having been founded and instructed by what sounds like a Who’s Who list of famous first century Christian leaders. Some of the best of the best, including the Apostle Paul, Aquila and Priscilla, Apollos, Timothy, Tychicus and eventually the Apostle John.
• What a resume! By any human measurement or observation, right up until the time of this  letter addressed to them in Revelation, this appears to be a good, strong church. In fact, if you were to move to Ephesus around AD 95 and were looking for a new church home, you would be thrilled to find this church.
• Their commitment to faithfulness and duty was reflected in the words of Christ himself. They worked hard and patiently endured. They exposed fake church leaders, endured suffering and hardship for Jesus’ sake and did not grow weary in well-doing.
• This was one excellent church! And these people had it together.
• Except … it wasn’t and they didn’t. The church was flawed and unsound and was, in fact, in danger of Christ removing its gospel witness. Why? How could they appear to be so focused and on target and biblical and together and yet be so far off that Christ himself would threaten to level judgment if they didn’t repent? Why?
• Because in the busyness of doing church, and caught up in the importance of their agendas and programs, and in working hard at fighting the bad guys, they had forgotten what was most important.
• And so this church, which by all appearances was faithful and true, was on the brink of having the light of its testimony removed by Jesus himself.

Message: “First Love—Remember & Repent!”
Message Text: Revelation 2:1-7

What went wrong at Ephesus?

• How could such an impressive church be in danger of losing their true gospel witness? Here’s how. By forgetting what was most important and abandoning their “love God first” priority.
• If loving God is not our highest priority, then at some point in our lives, regardless of what we say or profess or include in a statement of faith, God will no longer be our highest priority.
• It really comes down to this: Do we love God as God commands us to love him?
• A Detailed Command: God doesn’t only command us to love him, but he commands us as to how we are to love him—with all our heart and all our soul and all our mind and all our strength.

The plans of men or the will of God?

• As a church, we need to ask ourselves: Are we hearing Christ’s message to the church at Ephesus? This is not an issue of emotional love or sentimental attachment but one of priorities. So let’s ask, Does God set our priorities? Or have we also forgotten what is most important? Do we need to remember and repent?
• No matter how impressive or biblical a church may seem, and the Ephesus church certainly appeared to be both impressive and biblical, a church is not pleasing to God if it has lost its highest priority.
• Whether the church at Ephesus in AD 95 or the church at Tennessee, IL in AD 2016, the “first love” priority is vital to maintaining our gospel witness.
• This love for God needs to rise above everything in our lives for us to stay on target, to be true to his calling. Loving God in this way demands our full and complete surrender, humility, obedience, loyalty, devotion … our all.

Message: “First Love—Remember & Repent!”
Message Text: Revelation 2:1-7

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Here is this week’s bulletin.

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• Programming Note: I come to a place in our text where I ask–What is John going to see when he turns? And then I say something like … Not this … I am referring to an 8 1/2 X 11 printout I have of Warner Sallman’s “Head of Christ.” This is the very popular depiction that you have probably seen many times. I compare “that Jesus” … which was conceived in the mind of Warner Sallman in 1924 to our Lord “who is and who was and who is to come.” 🙂

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Two questions to begin: What? And how?

First question … What?

• What is the big idea of the book of Revelation?
• We can pour over historical background and word usage and charts and diagrams and dig into the customs and culture of the times, but what is it that we absolutely, without a doubt, must come away with in our study to understand what God would have us to understand?
• What is it that we must know? Simple. But not really. We must know who Jesus Christ is, and I would be speaking of Jesus Christ as revealed in his holy word, the Bible.
• It can almost seem at times that everyone has his or her idea of who Jesus is or should be, a Jesus that fits our individual expectations, and we build from that concept the product we have imagined, while ignoring the only valid source of revelation, the word of God. And too often we don’t know because we simply don’t want to know, as knowing might get in the way of our plans.
• What is our expression? It is easier to ask forgiveness than to ask permission? But you must understand that the person who constructs their own Jesus has it all wrong. They’re thinking, “Jesus understands. He will forgive. And I will live my life as I think I should and make do and things will be okay in the end. I’ll make a deal when the time comes.”
• But here is the irony of that reasoning. A Book, a Holy Book, has been written that covers the entire subject matter, a Book that takes the guesswork out of the equation, and … this person could actually read about “how things go down in the end.” And if said person chose to do this, then he or she would be much more likely to see Jesus opening one of the seal judgments of God’s great wrath rather than winking at their sinful defiance.
• You see, in the Book, the Holy Book, there is only one Jesus Christ who lasts for the entire story. And … spoiler alert … he is not the Jesus of your imagination. The Jesus in the Holy Book is going to finish his plans and fulfill his Father’s purpose, not our plans and not our purpose.
• This Jesus will judge all those who do not know him. No substitutes allowed. In fact one day, those who believed in the personal Jesus of their imagination, the construct of their mind, will hear these words from the Jesus Christ of Scripture:
• (Matthew 7:23 GW) Then I will tell them publicly, ‘I’ve never known you. Get away from me, you evil people.’

Second question … How?

• How is this going to happen? Three things here. 1) God is going to send us a message. 2) God is going to authenticate the message. 3) God is going to commission the method.

Message: “The Jesus Christ God Wants Us to Know!”
Message Text: Revelation 1:1-20

AUDIO: The Jesus Christ God Wants Us to Know!

The Jesus God wants us to know …

The Bible gives us very clear instruction concerning the Jesus Christ that God wants us to know, who is in fact the Jesus Christ we need to know if we are to be saved and if we are to serve him effectively. This revealing happens over the entirety of Scripture but especially in the book of Revelation where it is the overarching theme of the book and is clearly stated at the very beginning: “The revelation of Jesus Christ.”

However, it seems that even “good Christian folk” are hesitant to embrace the message of Revelation. It seems that many prefer a more tame Jesus. Jesus at his first coming meek and humble and riding on a donkey is much easier for people to accept. They have misconstrued this Jesus also but for those looking for a lesser Jesus who is a much better fit for their life and their religion, then that Jesus is an easier starting point.

But as servants of the Lord Jesus Christ, we need a grander vision of our risen Lord if we are to receive the call to service that he has put before us. The Apostle John, from the prison island Patmos, is given this vision and was told time and again to write it down so he could send it to the seven churches of Asia Minor and ultimately to us.

Message: “The Jesus Christ God Wants You to Know!”
Message Text: Revelation 1:1-20

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