Christ's Threat (Rev. 2:5)

The point: Ask yourself: 'What is your relationship to the person of Jesus Christ right now?'

The relationship with Christ is likened to a tender plant in the garden of God, which can wither even before other plants like church attendance or adherence to doctrine.

than his relationship to the person of Jesus Christ in faith and love and knowledge. Nothing so vital in the life of the child of God than his relationship to the person of Christ. There is no more tender plant in all the garden of God in the heart of a Christian than this plant. Long before the plants of church attendance and adherence to right doctrine and all the rest have shown any signs of withering, this plant of deep, sensitive, vital, warm attachment to the person of Christ may be terribly withered and drooping and appear to be well nigh unto dying. If I had but five minutes to spend w...

0:01 - 1:19 Read in full sermon

The point: Have you taken time to look back to former days and see what you once were in your walk with Christ?

A man who has gained weight and lost hair avoids old photographs because they reveal his physical declension, analogous to a Christian unwilling to remember their past spiritual vitality.

Like the man who bulges at the waistline and recedes at the hairline and doesn't want to face up to it. He never goes back to the photograph album which shows what he was 20 years ago. Because pictures don't lie. And he knows if he looks at that picture, which shows him when he was 32 around the waist instead of 42, and when his hairline came to here instead of back there, he knows he cannot escape.

6:39 - 7:06 Read in full sermon

The point: Repent: Turn from your condition and everything that led you into it, dealing with subtle influences and cold winds that withered your love.

Subtle influences leading to spiritual declension are compared to termites at a foundation or cold winds withering a plant in God's garden.

Then he says, repent. Turn from that condition and everything that's led you into it. All of those subtle influences that have acted like termites at your spiritual foundation. To go back to the analogy of the plant, the garden of God.

9:19 - 9:37 Read in full sermon

Driving home: But in a threat, in a threat, there is an expression of intention to punish by the one who makes that threat. And that's precisely what our Lord does here.

The distinction between a 'warning' (telling of danger without involvement) and a 'threat' (expression of intention to punish by the one making it) is used to define Christ's statement.

The same Christ who commends his people, who complains against them, commands them. Now he issued issues a threat. And I debated whether I should use the word threat, but I got out my Webster's Dictionary and found that to warn simply means to tell of a coming danger. When you warn someone, there's no necessity that you are involved in the danger concerning which you're warning them.

10:45 - 11:15 Read in full sermon

Driving home: But in a threat, in a threat, there is an expression of intention to punish by the one who makes that threat. And that's precisely what our Lord does here.

Christ's threats are contrasted with the idle threats of an unprincipled parent, emphasizing that Christ's words are always genuine and certain.

Every promise is sure. Every promise is sure. Every promise is sure. Every statement of fact is certain and every threat is a valid and a genuine threat. He never indulges in the idle threats of the unprincipled parent who says, you do this or else. And the kid knows, ah, mama's just blowing off steam again. She doesn't mean it. And so the kid goes right ahead and does what he plans to do. The Lord Jesus is never, never involved in idle threats. When he says, remember, remember, repent and do or else I come. That's a terrifying threat because the one who speaks it is truth incarnate. Secondly,...

13:20 - 14:25 Read in full sermon

Driving home: But in a threat, in a threat, there is an expression of intention to punish by the one who makes that threat. And that's precisely what our Lord does here.

The 'futuristic present' tense of 'I come' is compared to Christ's use of 'verily, verily' to underscore the certainty and emphasis of His words.

It's like the Lord Jesus when he says verily, verily. Everything he said was true. But whenever you're reading, the gospels and you find him saying but verily verily i say unto you our lord is adding extra emphasis to the validity of his words everything is true and ought to be taken as absolute truth but when he says verily verily he's underscoring in red for us and the very form in which he makes this threat to the church at ephesus underscores the terrifying nature of it he says to them not just remember repent and do or else i will come but i am coming it is as certain as though i were on ...

14:50 - 16:17 Read in full sermon

The point: Take a month off and visit churches in your area to discern if Christ has removed the lampstand, by observing what is preached about His person and work.

The seven golden lampstands represent the churches, and Christ walking among them signifies His peculiar presence and ministry; removing a lampstand means taking a church out of this sphere.

carry on my redemptive purpose you remember the original vision in chapter one john turned to see the voice that spoke with him and when he turned he saw seven golden lampstands and in the midst of them the son of man in other words all that the lord jesus is in his person he is with reference to and in identity with his church now in introducing this message the lord jesus says these things saith he that holdeth the seven star who walketh in the midst of the lampstands in a peculiar way christ is the life and the presence of his church his gathered people now when he says in this threat i wil...

16:17 - 17:23 Read in full sermon

The point: Take a month off and visit churches in your area to discern if Christ has removed the lampstand, by observing what is preached about His person and work.

The historical fact that Ephesus has no Christian church and is in total ruin is presented as a literal fulfillment of Christ's threat to remove the lampstand.

and also to the world what would it mean to the church itself it will mean that christ would no longer be found walking in their midst his presence would be gone if they would be removed now what does that mean well in the light of the teaching of scripture that christ is the light the life the glory the power of the church when he goes it is a stinking religious carcass that is all now how does he do this sometimes by unusual judgements which destroy both the essence and the visible existence of what would be called the church and that is exactly what happened at ephesus and one commentator w...

20:14 - 21:44 Read in full sermon

The point: Take a month off and visit churches in your area to discern if Christ has removed the lampstand, by observing what is preached about His person and work.

A church from which Christ's presence has departed is described as a 'stinking religious carcass,' devoid of life, light, and power.

of the essence of the church but the very visible existence of the church has been utterly removed from Ephesus but other times and more frequently this threat as far as the church is concerned is carried out by the gradual process process of decay the rotting and eroding of the foundations of truth and then subsequently of vital godliness so that what remains is no longer a lampstand bearing the light and heat of the person and work of Christ by the spirit but simply a religious organization what I called earlier a religious carcass Christ no longer the life the light no longer does he walk i...

21:44 - 23:11 Read in full sermon

The point: Take a month off and visit churches in your area to discern if Christ has removed the lampstand, by observing what is preached about His person and work.

Listeners are challenged to visit churches in Essex County to observe how many have lost the uniqueness and glory of Christ, indicating the removal of the lampstand.

if that doesn't strike fear to your heart and if you don't think that's real take a month off with my blessing and just make your way to many churches right here in Essex County and go in with paper and pencil and put in one column what do I hear of the uniqueness and the glory of Christ's person what do I hear of distinction and the glory of Christ's person and I can only be restored in Christ and your pencil in some situations would be sharp after a whole month what's happened Christ has removed the lampstand and where did it start listen it did not start all of a sudden when someone came ou...

23:11 - 24:38 Read in full sermon

The point: Take a month off and visit churches in your area to discern if Christ has removed the lampstand, by observing what is preached about His person and work.

The church at Ephesus is described as a 'shining diamond against the black velvet of pagan darkness,' illustrating its role as a center of light in a dark world.

well what happens then to the world when Christ fulfills this threat what happens then to the world what happens to that geographical area that city that county that country well think of Ephesus the very center of pagan darkness seat of the worship of the goddess Diana everything was held in the Stygian darkness of paganism until the gospel came and as the gospel came you read the account of it in the book of the Acts there was this great stir until it became a public issue and then there was this burning of the books of the heathen worship and the church was established and for the first tim...

27:27 - 28:56 Read in full sermon

The point: Do not avoid close, personal dealings with God about your sin and declension, but seek Him individually for restoration.

A sick body gets better only when its specific sick organs are restored to health, illustrating that a church's declension can only be remedied by individual members' repentance.

except by the restoration to health of the specific organs of the body that are sick if a man's sickness is in his liver his body gets better when his liver gets better if his sickness is a boil on his hand he gets better when the boil on his hand gets better if poison is going through his system by an infection in his ear the ear's got to get cured if poison is infecting the system through an abscessed tooth you've got to have the tooth pulled and so if this condition in the church at Ephesus which by and large had declined from first love if that condition is to be remedied it will only be r...

33:22 - 34:50 Read in full sermon

The point: If you've lost your first love, take encouragement if you still find your righteous soul vexed by sin and actively hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans (cheap gospels, fleshly indulgence).

The idea of a 'holy positive love' for a wife without any capacity to hate threats to that love is used to illustrate that love and hatred for error are two sides of the same coin.

two are fused, two sides of the coin. There's no such thing as a holy positive love. You show me the man who says he loves his wife with a holy positive love and that's all and I'll show you a man who's got a wife who wished she were someone else's wife. If he has no capacity to hate the approaches of another man, to hate the seduction, of another man, if he has no capacity to love with a jealous love, his love isn't worth a nickel, is it girls? Would you want that kind of love? Someone said my love for you is holy positive.

40:32 - 41:06 Read in full sermon

The point: Seek Christ, believing that He who has wrought and sustained grace in you will tenderly nourish that plant of love until it blooms full and vigorous once more.

A quote from Puritan Stephen Charnock emphasizes that the removal of the gospel is a far greater calamity than any physical or political disaster, as it seldom returns.

deplorable calamity your estates may be recovered new children may be raised fetters of political bondage may be broken off new houses may be reared upon the ashes of the consumed ones the possessions of a country regained but it is seldom the gospel returns when carried away by the judgment of christ that's a frightening statement but it's true not deny this is what the gospel presents to us all the time which is a so he will not have his gospel extinguished in all parts of the world or all parts of this western world but what does this secure us from any does this secure any one of us from a...

45:06 - 46:21 Read in full sermon