I Know

Introduction

Have you ever had someone say, we need to talk? And of course, as soon as that happens, you’re racking your brain trying to think about what you did to upset them, or what it is that they know that you don’t know that they know. And often these sort of situations are inconsequential and we’re relieved because they just want us to come to dinner in a few nights, or something like that. Those conversations are difficult, though, in our minds before we have them or thinking, what does this person want to talk to me about? I was thinking about that as I was reading through Revelation recently, with the reality as Jesus points out to these churches that he knows everything. He knows it all.

Not a single thing that I’ve said, not a single thing I’ve thought or I’ve done. And this is somewhat unique. I want to talk about this as maybe a new thought I had as I read through Revelation 2 and 3, because I think we realize these letters to the churches are kind of at a high level about congregations. You know, he’s writing to different congregations, and there’s a lot of depth to what’s happening here.

These seven churches are kind of like the completeness of what’s happening here in Jesus’ revelation to these people, but it’s not just meant for these seven churches. Obviously, it’s been preserved for us to read even thousands of years later. And the concept here is something that’s beneficial for us to understand this idea that Jesus has some things for us to think about as congregations. But I want us to also realize in the midst of all of this, he’s also speaking to individuals. He is aware. And he speaks to the angel of these various churches, and there’s a message for the congregations. But there are these repeated phrases that really caught my attention in a little bit different way as I was reading through it this last time.

Not that I didn’t know they were there before, but there is this strong focus on each person. We make up a congregation as individuals. But notice these repeated phrases. I’m going to read a few examples of these in just a few moments from the text. We’re not going to read all seven letters, but I want to read a few of them. And you’ll you’ll hear these. He says, as he’s concluding, he who has an ear, let him hear. That’s in every single one. He who has an ear, let him hear. Often followed by the one who conquers.

And of course, there is a congregational focus, but even in the midst of that, particularly in the conclusions, he gets very personal, and he’s getting to this point where it’s about an individual choice.

Am I going to hear what the Spirit says to the congregations? Again, I think this still applies today. We read through this. Am I going to listen? What Jesus has revealed and the Spirit has revealed to these congregations. Am I going to learn from that? Right? And it talks about the one who conquers. Now, there’s certainly a sense in which all of God’s people will conquer. But in particular, here, Jesus keeps saying, the one who conquers. So that the focus here is about me and about you as individuals and what that means for us. Am I willing to listen? Am I willing to learn? And am I willing to make the decisions to follow along with Jesus Christ? Not just congregationally, although that is a big part of this focus, but individually, as a person, am I going to make that choice?

John is writing the things that he saw. That’s the focus of the book of Revelation. And I want you to take note of some of what he sees here, because I think it’s important to the point I’m making here in this concept. It says in verse 16, this is chapter 1 in verse 16. This is the description of what he’s seeing, and this is Jesus in his right hand.

But he laid his right hand on me, saying, Fear not. I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold, I’m alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death in Hades. Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are, and those that are to take place after this. As for the mystery of the seven stars that 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. I read that last section just because it’s the key to what’s to come in the next couple chapters. But what I really wanted you to see is those first couple sentences. When John sees Jesus, it is not a casual experience.

He falls down as though dead. This is scary. It’s impressive. When he sees this vision of Jesus and who he is, and now he’s about to go into this text about all the things that Jesus knows, that is a frightening thought. That Jesus knows me better than I know myself. He is aware. And yet this is the nature of who he is. He’s got a sharp two-edged sword in his mouth. And as we’re going to see through the letters, he’s ready to judge and to condemn those who will not repent, those who will not follow him. And at the same time, though, he is willing to reward those who are faithful unto death, those who will give themselves to him, those who not are perfect, but they’ll see the things he points out and they will listen.

He who has ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. So as we read through these, think congregationally, that’s fine. Obviously, that’s a main focus, but I want us to not miss the reality that this is also about me, and it’s about you as individuals. That I have a choice to make. You have a choice to make about what we’re going to do with this information that Jesus is revealing, not just to these churches, but also for me to read and to think about and to consider. And to realize that just as Jesus knows these congregations and he knows these people, he knows this congregation. And he knows me. And he knows you. And he is very aware of what’s taking place in our lives over and over again in this text.

We are told how much Jesus knows. Chapter 2 and verse 1. Do the angel of the church in Ephesus write, the words of him who holds the seven stars. The seven stars are the angels. The seven lampstands are the seven churches, right? So this is a key to understanding what’s happening here. He holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands. I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. I know you were enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary, but I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love that you had at first.

Remember, therefore, from where you have fallen, repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. Yet you have this you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers, I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. Chapter three and verse one. And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, the words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars, I know your works. You have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God.

Remember then what you received and heard, keep it and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my father and before his angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. Verse 14, and to the angel of the church in Laodicea write, the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation.

I know your works. You are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich in white garments, so that you may clothe yourself, and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Those whom I love I have approved in discipline. So be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any one hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him and eat with him, and he with me.

1. Jesus Knows What I'm Doing

The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. I read these three because they’re more specific to where we’re going to go this morning. Obviously, there’s a lot of value in the other ones as well, and I would highly encourage reading the other letters as they have great content, and we’ll probably reference some of that. I’ll allude to some of these other letters as we work through this text this morning. But I thought those three in particular have some pertinent things to where I want to go with this. And the first of these is just the reality, maybe the scary reality.

It could also be a comforting reality, depending on where I’m at, that Jesus knows what I’m doing. He is very aware. He knows my strengths. He knows my weaknesses. He knows the areas in which I’ve succeeded, the areas in which I have failed. And he’s pointing these things out to the churches. Jesus is not just trying to be negative. He’s not just trying to point all the areas of weakness and how terrible they are, and they never do anything right. No, there’s actually some praise within this text as well. He’s praising them for the things they’ve done well, and we could look at a number of the letters and see a lot of that. He tells the church in Ephesus, he’s praising them for their toil, their hard work, how they have endured patiently, and they don’t bear with evil people.

That’s what it says in the New American Standard. Mine says you cannot bear with those who are evil. They test those who are false apostles. I mean, they’re doing a lot of great work here. And then later, actually, toward the end of his letter to Ephesus, he reminds them again, you hate the works of the Nicolaitans. I also hate that. Right? So you’re doing great in certain areas. There’s some things you’re doing really well, but then there’s the warnings. There’s some struggles. There’s some things you’re not doing all that well. And Ephesus is actually a really interesting one. He says this is what he has against them. They have abandoned the love they had at first. I don’t know that I can give you great detail on exactly what that is.

I think we can draw some implications. What I do know is what it’s not, and that’s the things he’s praising them for. So he tells them they’re working hard, they’re having patient endurance, you know, they’re testing false apostles, they’re testing false teachers, they’re not growing weary. I mean, so all of that is on the good side of the ledger here. These are the things they’re doing well. So abandoning the love they had at first does not involve any of that. I don’t, again, I can’t tell you I know exactly what this is. I think it has something to do with the affection of Christ, with loving with the love of Christ, which would actually make a lot of sense. I don’t want to go into this morning, but you can go back to the book of Ephesians.

And Paul talks quite a bit about this. There’s a number of texts where he goes into this concept of love and the importance of love in chapter 4 and 5 and 6, speaking the truth and love. And so maybe it is they’re speaking the truth, they haven’t gotten tired. You know, they’re they’re calling out false apostles and false teachers, and so they’re kind of on the negative side of this, and all those things are important to do, but maybe it is they’ve lost the why. You know, why am I doing this? I’m doing this because I love Jesus, and I care about Jesus and his word, which these letters will have quite a bit to say about. Ephesians 5 tells them to walk in love as Christ loved them and gave himself up for them.

So there’s plenty of teaching in the book of Ephesians, speaking the truth in love, and to walk in love. And in fact, actually, I will turn and look at this. The very last phrases in the book of Ephesians are all about this idea. As Paul ends this letter to them. Chapter 6, verses 20, excuse me, chapter 6, and verse 7. I’m in Galatians. I was like, something’s not right here. I thought it was 23 and 24, but then I didn’t see that when I got there.

There we go. Chapter 6, 23. It says, Peace be to the brothers and love with faith. It’s an interesting phrase. You’d think, well, faith would be enough. But here he says, love with faith. From God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Be with God, grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible. This is how he ends the letter. Now, again, I don’t know that John is necessarily playing off of that, or that Jesus is looking at this letter that Paul wrote. I mean, he inspired it, obviously. So I think that should be thought of and considered. But he’s talking about this incorruptible love with faith, and it seems like in some way, in some fashion, they would know better than we would, but in some way they have lost this love.

They’re speaking a lot of truth. But apparently they are missing an element of love here, whatever that may be. Maybe it’s just the reason why they’re doing what they’re doing. It’s not just to be right. It’s not just to have the right answers, not just to remove the people who were doing wrong, but this is for bigger purposes. It’s for the things of Jesus Christ. It’s because their commitment to him, it’s their love for him. Again, I that’s about as far as I can go with detail here. But Jesus says you’ve abandoned the love you had at first, and then he tells them, here’s what you need to do. Remember where you’ve fallen from. Remember how things used to be. And you need to repent and do the first works.

These first works, whatever they are going to relate to this idea of abandoning love that’s going to be connected. He’s trying to help them fix the problem. This is what Jesus does. He’s pointing out the strengths, he’s pointing out the weaknesses, and saying, Here’s what you need to do to get this right. It’s not just random information. I mean, this is this is listed in a way to actually help and benefit these people. We can look at another church. And Thyrotira. They have love, they have faith and service. This is in verse 19. Right? He’s pointing out the good things about them. They have patient endurance as well. Their latter works exceed the first. So, in a lot of ways, Thyatira is just getting better and better and better.

That’s great. Jesus is praising them for how they’ve improved and how they’re working and they’re getting better. Yet they’ve got this obstacle. They’re tolerating this woman. Now, how much of this is metaphorical and literal, again, it’s hard to say, but this Jezebel, probably metaphorical here, who is teaching them and seducing them into idolatry, into sexual immorality. And a lot like 1 Corinthians 5, I think a very similar text, they’re kind of tolerating this or going along with it. They’re not really dealing with this sinful problem. This would have been a particular issue in their culture because paganism was such a problem. And going to, for instance, meals at pagan temples, and of course, there was all sorts of sexually immoral things that happened there. And their culture was very different than ours on all of that.

And Paul deals with that in places like 1 Corinthians 6. But it’s not hard to imagine that you’d have someone saying, Hey, your body doesn’t matter, you can just do whatever. Now, sometimes the teaching was your body doesn’t matter and you need to beat it into submission. Right? You can go from one extreme to another, and Paul talks about both of those in places like Colossians chapter 2. But what’s happening here, despite the good things they’re doing, they’re struggling in this area. They’re tolerating someone who is teaching false things. Someone who is promoting the paganism and the world around them. And then we read from chapter 3, this is an interesting one. He doesn’t really say a whole lot of positive here. There’s a couple churches like this.

He will toward the end of this letter. I think the two second churches we read about, Sardis and Laodicea, have some significant problems. And he says, I know your works, and that does not then go into positive. That does in some of the others. Here it goes immediately into the negative. You have a reputation that you’re alive, but you’re dead. We’ve got some big problems here that need to be dealt with. But even in this, as I said earlier, as we began the sermon this morning, he knows me and he knows you. And so even in the midst of this, there are a few names in Sardis who’ve not soiled their garments. So it’s not just the congregational level he’s seeing here. He’s seeing deeper than that.

He knows our names. He knows whether we’re in the book of life or not, whether we’re with him, whether we’re on her his side, whether we’re doing the things he wants us to do. And there’s sometimes, like the church in Thyatira or Sardis, where there’s some people doing some evil stuff, and he says, Hey, don’t be involved in that. You keep holding fast to the things that you know are right. So, even in these letters to the churches, he’s speaking to different people within those bodies about the things that they need to do, the changes they need to make, or how they need to respond to whatever the context is within their group. And so, really, this first point is just the reality that nothing is hidden.

2. Jesus Knows My Heart

There’s absolutely nothing hidden from his sight. He sees it all. Whatever I say in secret, that is completely open to the ears of Jesus Christ. And he knows all of it. But even deeper, Jesus knows my heart. There’s a text we didn’t read that’s in the middle of the letter to Thyatira. I think it’s actually, I wanted to read this one, but I wanted to get the other ones. But I’ll just read the specific verse in verse 23. As he’s working through this Jezebel who needs to be taken care of, and God says he’s gonna do it. You know, he’s gonna take care of judging this person, and those who follow her, I will strike her children dead. Now, the rest of this verse, which I think is sort of fundamental to the message in general of these letters, is not actually very positive.

I think there can be positive and negative to it, but in the context of what he’s saying here, this is pretty scary statement. And all the congregations will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works. Now, in the context of that statement, that’s not a good thing. Okay, what he’s saying is there’s these people teaching evil stuff and doing evil things and seducing people, and everybody’s gonna know that I know the mind and the heart, and I’m going to reward people according to their deeds. Now, the same phrase has been used various other places like Romans 2, where there’s a positive side of this as well. I’m just pointing out contextually that this is pretty negative.

But I think this is really the overall point of what’s happening in these letters. And let me just stop and say for a moment, given our religious context and our culture, I think it’s important for me to say, Jesus cares about our deeds. He says it here over and over again. Our works matter. Now we’re not going to be able to save ourselves by our works. That’s not what he’s saying here. Jesus is the Savior. He’s done the saving work. But he does expect us to live in a certain way, and that’s why he’s telling these people the things they’re struggling with, the things they’re doing well in, and he’s saying, I know, I know your works, I know what you’re doing. And even beyond that, I know your mind and your heart too.

And all of this needs to be shaped and changed and developed to do the right things. You’re not doing that because you’re somehow going to be perfect and then you’re going to earn your salvation. And let me point out again, this is a very modern point. This is not something they’re really worried about back in this time period. The thing that Paul’s worrying about in Romans and Galatians is they think the law of Moses is something that’s important for them to save them. And so it’s not just any law or this idea of earning your salvation. That’s not really a first century Jewish concept. That’s a modern concept. But we live in the modern world, and so I want to make this point. You cannot deny over and over and over again in this text, I know your deeds.

And they matter. And so anyone who tells you your works don’t matter, does not understand the New Testament. And does not understand Jesus Christ and does not understand what he expects and what he wants from us. Because the Bible is abundantly clear that this does in fact matter, and it says something about my commitment to him, what I’m doing in my life. The things I’m thinking about. The inclination of my heart, all of that matters. And what Jesus is wanting these congregations and the individuals within them to do is not to put on some air of perfection, not to pretend like everything’s good when it’s not. And that’s not what he’s asking. But he is asking them to continue to work on shaping themselves after his image.

3. Jesus Is Not Impressed With Reputation

And so we see very clearly, for instance, in chapter three in that first letter, that Jesus is not impressed with reputation. He’s not impressed with image. You know, everybody in the area knows your church. Jesus doesn’t care. Everybody around you thinks you do so many good things and everything is so great. That doesn’t matter to Jesus. Reputation is a poor substitute for integrity.

You have a reputation or an image that things are good. That’s the outside. That’s how things look externally. But what Jesus cares about is what is within. That’s what truly matters to him. And so he tells them don’t just look good on the outside, but you need to keep the things that you’ve received and heard, which apparently means that’s not what they were doing. They might look good externally. Remember, the Pharisees had the same problem, and Jesus condemned them for this. You’re whitewashed tombs, but inside you have dead man’s bones. And the church can look really good on the outside through very unimportant things, like it might be a really pretty building or things like that, which nothing wrong with that. I’m not saying that’s bad.

But we can do some external material things that might look really good. But what actually matters to Jesus is not our reputation, it’s not our image, not that we put off some air of perfection or holiness, but it is actually what is within us as individuals and within our group that truly matters. So he’s not after surface level Christianity, and that is the problem in Sardis.

And more than that, he knows it. If I’m faking it, he’s aware.

But he also knows those who are not pretending. That’s the second part of this letter. You have a few names in Sardis, verse 4. People who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. You have a sincere heart. You’re desperately trying to do the things of God and listen to the voice of Jesus and follow after him. Jesus knows that too. This is not all scary, it’s not all fear. There’s also some comfort in this. I want us to see that.

That’s not his goal. That’s not what he’s after. The whole point of all of this is that he loves all of us and he desperately wants us to follow him and do the right things and to understand the grace and the mercy that comes through Jesus Christ and commit ourselves to him so he can reward us. That’s what he really wants. He doesn’t want us to pretend like things are good, like everything’s right and we’re holy and we don’t have any problems. That’s not what he’s after at all. He’d rather us admit that we have problems and struggles and work on them to improve. That’s how we don’t defile our garments. We defile them by being fake, by acting like everything’s okay when it’s not. That’s where defilement comes from.

4. Jesus Knows Arrogance and Blindness

Because we cannot change when we are insincere. When we’re unwilling to admit reality, when we want to pretend like it’s all well, when it’s not all well, there will be no healing. There’ll be no change of heart, no change of mind. Jesus knows arrogance and blindness. I don’t know if he saves Laodicea for last because it’s the worst. I don’t know. and so this is just a human judgment. It seems like the worst. Maybe it’s not. But there’s not a whole lot of positive going on here. They’re lukewarm. You know, they’re not cold and refreshing. They’re not warm and comforting. They’re just kind of this tipped nothingness. The sort of thing that when you drink it’s old, it’s been sitting around a while. There’s just not much good to it.

That’s how Jesus describes them.

And actually, I think the further description is even worse than that. I mean, sometimes we think of this, you know, they’re lukewarm, they’re just kind of lazy, they’re not really doing. I actually prefer that to what then comes next. Someone who just doesn’t work hard is a little bit lazy, is better to me than what’s coming in verse 17. For you say, I am rich. I have prospered, I need nothing. Not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. Jesus is dealing with people here who are arrogant. They’re prideful. They don’t think they need help. They think they’ve figured it all out. They’ve arrived. And yet the reality is, he says, you’re wretched. You are blind. You are clothed shamefully. You think your clothes are white, but actually they’re dirty, or you might as well be naked.

That’s your condition. This is what he’s telling these people. And there’s all sorts of cultural and all this sort of stuff going on in all of these letters, and certainly that’s true with this. And I don’t really want to spend the time to get into that. But I just want to get down to the application of what’s happening here. And that is, these people are prideful. They don’t see any need for correction or change. They think they’ve got it all figured out. And the reality is they are completely blind to who they actually are. They think they’re spiritually rich. But Jesus, who knows everything, says, You’re poor, and you’re blind and you’re naked, and you don’t even realize what you actually need. Man.

That is a terrible statement. And yet, one of the congregations here finds themselves in this situation. Maybe the things mentioned here are a reference to materialism. Very possible within this culture. They’re too caught up in the things of the world. They think they’ve got the medical things they need. And certainly some of that existed in their culture. Or they’re very wealthy, and so they feel comfort in their possessions. You know, Jesus deals with those kinds of things as well. We know some of those stories. But also maybe it’s just their empty religious condition.

I want to get to my last point here and talk maybe some more about this because he actually points some of this out within these letters. Some of the religious problems or the spiritual emptiness that exists in some of these cities and the obstacles that the brethren face because of this. But I want to point out a couple things before I get there. In chapter two, I want to emphasize this reality in verse one. Jesus walks among the seven golden lampstands. He walks among his churches, among his people. He is aware. He knows their struggles. He knows their weaknesses. He knows their hearts and their minds. And here at Laodicea, despite how terrible the situation is, he is wanting them to change and to stay with him and not to remove their lampstand.

He says, I’m knocking. I’m at the door and I’m knocking. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him and eat with him and he with me. Chapter 3 and verse 20. The voices of the world will try to shape us, including my own voice, my own self-justification for the things I do or I fake. It’s going to shape me if I don’t allow the voice of Jesus in, if I don’t look to Scripture for proof, if I don’t look to the Bible and hear Jesus speaking to me, then I’m going to speak to myself and tell myself I’m alright. I’m going to allow the world to shape me and tell me everything’s good. I’m going to allow the voices of false religion to give me false comfort and hope.

But it’s the voice of Jesus that is most needed. And when I’m listening to him, I’m allowing him to reprove and discipline me, which is exactly what he tells these brethren in Laodicea. He loves them. Despite their arrogance and their blindness.

5. Jesus Knows Our Tribulation

And of course, the letters deal with some of that. But there’s also influences that are a little bit bigger than that. Or at least the way John talks about them, this revelation of Jesus speaks to that reality. So in verse 9 of chapter 2, I know your tribulation. He knows our tribulations and our conflicts and our difficulties as well. He knows our struggles. Here, this is like the opposite of Laodicea. He says, I know your poverty, but you are rich. To everyone around you look poor. Things do not look good for you, but to me, you are honored. You are wealthy. He says, I know the slander or the blasphemy of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.

That phrase is used twice. So it’s used again in chapter 3 and verse 9. Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say they are Jews and are not, but lie. Behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you. So twice he uses this phrase about the synagogue of Satan. We’ll come back to that. In chapter 2 and verse 24, he’s speaking to the rest of Thyatira who are who are faithful. He tells them to hold fast in verse 25. But then he references they have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan. Satan and his demonic forces are influencing the world. Right? It’s not just worldliness. You know, it’s not just this empty concept of where there’s no spiritual forces at all at work.

Paul doesn’t talk that way. There are spiritual forces in the heavenly places that are working behind the scenes, influencing people, even within these congregations at times, to do evil things and to think wicked thoughts. And John, through Jesus, is recognizing this reality. Chapter 2 and verse 10. Do not fear. This is a church that, in least in letters, had no problems. Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. And so I can break the enemy down into three categories. There may be more.

I think this is just what we would think of as oppression or basic persecution. And he mentions this a few times within these letters. Later on in chapter 3, he talks about this testing that’s going to come on the whole world and how he’s going to save them from that. Saving them doesn’t necessarily mean he’s going to save them physically, but they’re going to be delivered, and they can trust in Jesus. He mentions it here in chapter 2. There’s going to be some kind of testing. The devil is going to throw some of them in the prison. And so maybe this is the one we think the most about.

And certainly Jesus is aware of that, and he mentions it here. Then there is this kind of false religion, the promoting of false ideas. The synagogue of Satan. They claim, this is what’s happening here. They claim to be God’s people, and yet they speak evil of God’s true people. It’s false, empty religion based in human thinking and tradition rather than the voice of Jesus, which I already talked about. When people come up with their own ideas, and they want to do things their own ways, and they’re not actually listening to the voice of Jesus in Scripture, and they speak evil of those who do, that is the synagogue of Satan. The people who claim to be God’s people, who claim to be Jews, but are not, and they lie.

And then there is false teaching, which is just deception. The deep things of Satan, that is the warping of truth. And certainly things like materialism or immorality find their way into this. And it’s often pictured in this way. So, for instance, in chapter 2 and verse 19, it begins talking about their works here in Thyrotira in verse 20. He has this against them. They tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. She’s doing this in Jesus’ name. I could go a hundred directions with that this morning, and I’m not going to do that. I just want to point out that false teaching is often cloaked in the name of Jesus. But what matters is this. What is actually in here? What is this book actually say?

Not what someone says that it says, not someone’s opinion about what it says, but what does it actually say? That’s where we get the voice of Jesus. That’s how we avoid the synagogue of Satan, the deception that comes through false teaching and lies. Even the deep things of Satan, where people are seducing others into immorality, into idolatry, and there are modern forms of that. Idolatry is essentially where I just make myself God, and then I can do the things I want to do, rather than listening to God himself. I think these letters kind of give us some natural applications. I don’t think I have to point all this out to you in great detail. I think it’s just the basic idea that Jesus knows. He’s aware.

Conclusion

He’s aware of me and you. He knows our thoughts. He knows our hearts. He knows our actions. He’s aware of all that. He knows Decor Prairie. He knows various other churches around us. He has a deep, intimate knowledge of all of this. He is not deceived. The question is, do I know the enemies around me? Do I know what is true and what is false?

Is my heart inclined in the right direction? Am I actually seeking truth? Am I really wanting to listen to the voice of God, the voice of Jesus, the voice of Scripture, or am I listening to the various other voices around me, trying to tell me what they think is right? And am I aware enough? Am I observant enough? Do I evaluate? Do I examine myself enough to really know the things I’m doing and whether or not they please God? I’m convinced that’s what Jesus wants to see, us to see here. It’s not just that we go through, you know, Ephesus and Thiotira or Pergamum and say, here’s how they’re good and bad. That’s not what these texts are really about for us. It’s about decor prairie, and it’s about me and what I’m doing and about you and what you’re doing.

And the tempting thing is, the temptation is to apply this to people around me. You know, to look at other people and think, well, they really should be doing better at this. We do this on the congregational level too, don’t we? Point out some church down the street or some other problem going on and see, look how they do things and how wrong that is. What Jesus wants me to really do is to see what’s happening here in this place and make sure it’s right. And maybe even more to look within my own heart.

A much more impactful exercise for me today is to consider Jesus’ omnipresence in my own life and admit to myself that he knows. And I can’t hide a single thing from him. That’s what Revelation 2 and 3 teaches us. Could be that within your heart this morning you realize how desperately you need Jesus. Just like all of these churches, even the ones that nothing negative is said about them, they need Jesus. They need his backing, they need his support, his encouragement. He tells them to hold fast and he will give them a place on his throne. He’ll give them the crown of life. They’re not doing this on their own. Maybe this morning you recognize that. You realize you need Jesus. You desperately need him. You’re not going to accomplish this by yourself.

You realize all the mistakes and the sins in your life, and you need him to take care of those. And if you realize that, don’t wait. It’s time to make that change this morning. Repent. I mean, he gives the warning, he gives the admonition to make the change. And he says, if you won’t, if you’re not going to repent, then I will come in war with you with the sword of my mouth. That is the end. And I’m not trying to be overly threatening here or try to scare you necessarily, but these are just the words of Jesus. That’s what he says. But every single person here, it doesn’t matter what you’ve done, how sinful you’ve been, how unworthy you think you are, if you will give your life to Jesus Christ, you will wash away your sins, you will be clothed in white, and your name will be written in the book of life.

Can we help you do that this morning? Come as we stand and we sing.