The New Testament Church - Notes

 

Introduction: Read Revelation 1:19-20

 

The Devine Outline of Revelation (found in 1:19)

1. That thou hast seen: 

-All of Chapter 1.

-Jesus, The Resurrected Savior

 

2. Which Are:

- Chapters 2-3

- The Seven messages to the Seven churches.

- The things that are happening now. The Church Age.

 

3. Which shall be:

- Chapters 4-22

- Ch. 4 - the church caught up into Heaven

- Ch 4-5 the church is seen in heaven around the throne.

- Ch. 6-19 the tribulation, when God pours out his wrath on a christ rejecting world.

- But the church is tucked away safely in heaven for 7 years.

- Many will be awakened and saved through the tribulation - It's a tough way to get there.

- Ch 19 - the second coming

- Ch. 20-22 The new Heaven and new earth. And we all live happily ever after. 

 

I am anticipating the third part…Chapter 4. When God opens the door of Heaven and the church is taken up. 

 

I am also anticipating the 1st part, the revealing of what he has seen. Us knowing God. Learning his ways and his nature. 

 

I love the writing what he has seen. I love the things to be revealed. The things which will be. 

It's the middle stuff, The church age. The things which are

That can sometimes get to me.

 

Chapter 1 is me and the Lord. When I see his face and feel His touch. 

Chapter 4 He whisks me away and takes me to be with Him

But it is Ch 2-3 The church age, when I’ve got to be on earth in these times. 

 

One Lady, In her biography, wrote, she dropped out of church at 27.

She said:

“I am tiered of ugly architecture, off key singing, silly sermonizing and hypocritical Christians dozing. 

So she stepped away from the church. She backed off. She turned away from the church, NOT GOD, just the people, the church. She didn’t need it. 

 

It wasn’t God that was the problem, it was the people that bugged her. Kind of got to her. 

 

For the next thirty years she didn’t attend church regularly. It wasn’t until her 50’s that she realized she had gaps, holes in her understanding about the Lord. 

- She spent time with Him personally

- She had a love for Him most Definitely

 

But, she realize that she didn’t have an understanding about her Lord or about His kingdom. 

And she lamented greatly about the missed opportunities over the years to be in church, learning deeper the Lord she held so dear. 

 

I have two Airedales. Dandy and Jager. When I am doing something in the house I will kick them outside. They will play and fight, but eventually I feel sorry for them, being outside. I will let them in.

 

WELL, it isn’t long before I smell it….Poop! Ugh! I clean up the poop and I cast them to utter darkness. I banish them!  I send them out to exile. 

 

But it isn’t long before I realize, I feel sorry for them and invite them back in. 

 

It wasn’t long before I realized, If you like the dog, you gotta take the poop.

 

If you like the Lion of the tribe of Judah, Jesus, you gotta take the fleas. The people sitting next to you. 

 

Why? Jesus, Our Lord is into the Church He has a love for the church, He is committed to the church. He says, where there are two or more gathered together, I will be there. 

 

But there are soo many hypocrites in the church. You’re right! Well come on in, you will be comfortable there! 

 

Jesus is into this thing called CHURCH! How do we know? Look at our text…..

 

 

 

 

1. The Seven Stars - Messengers V.20

 

Right after the Devine Outline the we saw, Jesus goes on to say, (READ V.20)

 

The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches.

ANGEL - ong-gel-aus - simply, messenger. From heaven, and angel as we think of them typically. Or a messenger on earth. A pastor, teacher, leaders there in the congregations locally.

Regardless, if it is an angel assigned to the church, or a pastor, teaching there in the church, The lord says,

“They are in my Hand! I’ve got them, I care about them, 

I am committed to them. They are in my hand.”

 

 

 

 

2. The Seven Candlesticks - Churches V.20

 

Most commentators view this as the candlesticks are in a circle. They are in a circle and Jesus is in the midst of them. V. 12-13

 

What is interesting is that the seven candle sticks are the seven churches and the way they are listed here in Chapters 2-3 are the exact same order as they were linked together in the old Roman postal System.

 

In other words, there was a circuit that the postal system ran through that 

letters are delivered

messages were shared

 

It went in this exact order…

Ephesus

Smyrna

Pergamos

Thyatira

Sardis

Philadelphia

Laodicea

It goes like this, The message, that God wants to get out, He is in the midst of the churches, The message he wants to get out is going to be communicated through the churches.

 

Just like the postal system, the message is coming through the churches. 

 

Some are stronger than others, some are healthier than others, but Jesus says, I am in the midst of the whole kit and caboodle.

 

All seven I am into. There will be words of  correction, exhortation and instruction. But the Lord says I AM INTO CHURCH!

 

IT IS WHERE THE MESSAGE WILL BE HEARD.

 

Look ahead to the end of each message to the church. Each message ends with, 

“Let he that hath an ear, Hear what the spirit says to the Churches.”

 

Interesting. No individual people. You will hear my voice, get my instruction, know my mind, have my heart as a corporate congregation. When you are in church. Because Jesus says, that is where I will be, in the midst of the church. 

 

He loves to be here. In this place, it doesn’t matter where we meet, but that we meet. 

 

In fact, in Hebrews 2 we see that Jesus not only speaks to and through the church, but sings in the midst of the church.

 

V. 11 - The one who sanctifies and the ones sanctified are together, He is not afraid to call us Brothers, Sisters. 

 

Jesus sings in the midst of the Church to the Father. Jesus is in this place. 

 

This is the place to be! Church. 

Jesus says, If you want to hear me, He that has an ear, let them hear what my spirit says to the churches. 

 

Take heed therefore how you hear. Jesus said. Take heed how you hear. 

 

Jesus said, 

If your eye offend you, pluck it out.

If your hand offend you, cut it off.

 

But he never said, if your ear offend you cut it off…why?

 

Because you can get by without your eye, you can get by without your hand…

 

But, Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. 

 

The ear, interesting, Our eyes have eyelids that can close. Perhaps yours are getting a little heavy right now. They get heavy and can close over.

 

But did you ever notice, the ear does not have ear lids? No such thing. Why?

 

Because your ears are always listening. Always open. 

 

God desires our ears, spiritually, is always open to hear what HE is saying to he churches. 

 

That is where he speaks. He is in the midst of the candle sticks. The Churches. 

 

 

 

 

We are to be into the church too!

 

Finish with Song of Solomon 4:12 

 

A conversation between the king and a maiden. The one who is to be his bride. 

 

V.16 she answers.

 

5:1. He says, O Friends….wait, back it up, 

 

She might say, I invited you! 

 

When Jesus comes into our garden, he brings friends. 

 

If you like the dog, you gotta take the poop. 

 

 

Peter says in 1 Peter 2:5…we are living stones. 

 

Unlike dead stones, when we are put in place we will rub one another. Sometimes the wrong way. 

 

Why am stuck sitting by him, Why am I stuck in this place by her. 

 

Because God wants you to rub against each other to knock the rough edges off of you!

 

Not just the sweet solitude with my savior, but He is bringing friends. That we together would be shaped into his purpose for us. The person we ought to be. God is knocking the rough edges off of you. 

 

Did you know that when Solomons temple was being built, it says that all of the quarrying of those massive stones, stones that weighed over 640 tons 1mill 280thous. Pounds!

 

Stones so unbelievable in size, fit together so perfectly that you couldn’t even fit a knife blade between them. No mortar was needed. They fit together with absolute precision. Complete perfection!

 

But the Bible says this, that while the work was being done on these massive stones, all of the chiseling and hammering was done in the quarry, so that when the stones were taken to the temple mount, not a hammer was heard. 

 

We are living stones, this is the pit! The world,. 

 

We are getting hammered on. Because when we get to where we are going, there will be no more hammering.