This Sunday, February 28th, we will land on week 5 of our current sermon series that covers the 7 letters of Revelation 2 and 3. It has been a great journey thus far. I can’t wait to see what Christ does in us, through his word this week.
This week’s letter, found in Rev. 3:1-6, is addressed to a church with a great reputation. It was considered by those that attended and by those that observed it as a really “lively” church. They had all the visible signs of a church where God was on the move. Yet, Jesus has a very succinct word for them, “You are dead.” Compare that to the word he gave to Smyrna (Week 2, Rev. 2:8-11). They had the reputation of being poor, but Jesus proclaimed them as rich. Here’s the pattern that I think we need to see: Jesus doesn’t see the church through our eyes. He has a different perspective. He judges success much differently than we. This Sunday we will do our best to dive into why Jesus would say things that defy appearances, and how we can begin to see the church through his eyes.
In the meantime, I would challenge us all to ask what preconceptions or assumptions have we made about our church that are wrong. Would Jesus look at aspects of things that we have deemed “successful” and proclaim them as colossal failures? Would he look at efforts that seemed to have flopped and say that they were successful?
These are key questions. Because the answers will determine how we are to pursue the future. Let’s be ready to allow Christ to help us see his church through his eyes.
