Latest / INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living / The Church with Everything but the Greatest Thing Msg 412 - Pastor Chuck Swindoll Insight for Living

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The Church with Everything but the Greatest Thing Msg 412 - Pastor Chuck Swindoll Insight for Living · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

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  Speaker 1: If you have a copy of the Scriptures with you,
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  Speaker 1: will you turn to the last book in the Bible,
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  Speaker 1: the Book of the Revelation. And this would be a
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  Speaker 1: good time to take the outline we've prepared for you
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  Speaker 1: and place it here where we'll be reading. We'll return
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  Speaker 1: to it in a moment. Have a penhandy and or
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  Speaker 1: pencil that you can use to record your thoughts. Revelation two,
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  Speaker 1: beginning at verse one, message we've entitled the Church with
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  Speaker 1: everything but the greatest thing to the Angel of the
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  Speaker 1: Church in Ephesus right, the one who holds the seven
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  Speaker 1: stars in his right hand, the one who walks among
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  Speaker 1: the seven golden lamp stands, says this, I know your
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  Speaker 1: deeds and your toil and perseverharance, and that you cannot
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  Speaker 1: tolerate evil men. And you put to the test those
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  Speaker 1: who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you
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  Speaker 1: found them to be false. And you have perseverance and
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  Speaker 1: have endured for my name's sake, and have not grown weary.
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  Speaker 1: But I have this against you, that you have left
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  Speaker 1: your first love. Therefore, remember from where you have fallen,
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  Speaker 1: and repent and do the deeds you did at first,
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  Speaker 1: or else I'm coming to you and will remove your
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  Speaker 1: lamp stand out of its place unless you repent. Yet
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  Speaker 1: this you do have, that you hate the deeds of
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  Speaker 1: the Nicolaeotins, which I also hate. He who has an ear,
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  Speaker 1: let him hear what the spirit says to the churches.
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  Speaker 1: To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of
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  Speaker 1: the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.
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  Speaker 1: We bow before you, our Father, in a world that
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  Speaker 1: is troubled and uneasy, whether in these United States, or
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  Speaker 1: across our borders, or across the seas beyond us, there
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  Speaker 1: is a growing sense of uneasiness. But we want you
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  Speaker 1: to know, our Father, it is well with our souls.
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  Speaker 1: We are surrounded by those who lack a sense of peace,
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  Speaker 1: not knowing what the future holds. It is very difficult
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  Speaker 1: for those without roots to understand how there can be
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  Speaker 1: stability in the midst of what is apparently chaos uncertainty.
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  Speaker 1: But having come to know a relationship with you, our Father,
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  Speaker 1: through your dear son, because of your grace, it has
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  Speaker 1: become for us a comfort to know that you were sovereign,
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  Speaker 1: that nothing is out of control, that nothing touches us
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  Speaker 1: that does not first pass through the permissive hands and
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  Speaker 1: fingers of our God, and so it's well with our souls.
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  Speaker 1: Thank You for those who do good work today in
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  Speaker 1: shadowy places, in obscure places, within the walls of hospitals
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  Speaker 1: and homes of care. For the medical profession and the nurses,
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  Speaker 1: For those who do assisting work in counseling and ministering
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  Speaker 1: and encouraging and yes, confronting. Thank You for their courage
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  Speaker 1: and their insight and their faithfulness. Thank You for using
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  Speaker 1: them to help those who stand alongside children clinging to
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  Speaker 1: life and loved ones sick, afflicted, discouraged. Minister through these
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  Speaker 1: very capable professionals, the servants of yours who minister to
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  Speaker 1: us in our needs. For those who wear the uniform
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  Speaker 1: of these United States, and for those of our allies,
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  Speaker 1: we pray today, may it be well with their souls.
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  Speaker 1: May they be given courage beyond their years, and determination
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  Speaker 1: even beyond their own emotional makeup. May they have a
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  Speaker 1: sense of confidence and assurance that if war does come,
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  Speaker 1: they walk unto it. I'm afraid with you in their
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  Speaker 1: midst watch over them, watch over their parents who anxiously
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  Speaker 1: stand back, and release them to their courageous deeds. Thank
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  Speaker 1: you for our commander in chief, for his wife and family.
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  Speaker 1: Take good care of them, and protect him and them
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  Speaker 1: from harm. Give good guidance and wisdom to those who
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  Speaker 1: whisper in his ear and have his attention when doors
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  Speaker 1: are closed. May good direction be given so that this
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  Speaker 1: man might be strengthened when it seems as though half
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  Speaker 1: the world turns against him. Hold us all close, our Father,
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  Speaker 1: during this tender time. Minister, through this church and any
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  Speaker 1: other like this one that loves your word, that stands
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  Speaker 1: for it. Encourage those who serve you this day in
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  Speaker 1: places unknown to us, far reaching in lonely places and
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  Speaker 1: hard places and persecuted places. May their souls be at peace,
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  Speaker 1: and may be may it be well with them as well. Now,
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  Speaker 1: our Father, we have the pleasure of all things of
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  Speaker 1: giving to you. What a privilege it is to do that.
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  Speaker 1: We do it with assurance that you will superintend these
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  Speaker 1: monies for your purposes and for your will. As that unfolds,
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  Speaker 1: remind us, over and Overlord that you are blessing the
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  Speaker 1: work of our hands. You are using this ministry effectively,
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  Speaker 1: And our Father, we pray our hearts will be prepared
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  Speaker 1: as we prepare ourselves for the sowing of the seed
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  Speaker 1: of the good Word of God. In the name of
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  Speaker 1: the Lord Jesus, who makes it all well with us,
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  Speaker 1: we pray, and everyone said amen. Church analyst George Barna
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  Speaker 1: is pretty grim as he predicts the future of today's church.
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  Speaker 1: He spent twenty five years of his life studying American people,
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  Speaker 1: the American church scene, and our contemporary culture. He predicts
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  Speaker 1: one of two outcomes, either massive spiritual revival or total
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  Speaker 1: moral anarchy. He's praying for the former, He's fearing the latter.
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  Speaker 1: Listen to Barna's words from his book entitled The Second
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  Speaker 1: Coming of the Church. Americans today are more devoted to
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  Speaker 1: seeking spiritual enlightenment than at any previous time during the
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  Speaker 1: twentieth century. Yet at this moment of optimum opportunity, Christianity
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  Speaker 1: is having less impact on people's perspectives and behaviors than ever.
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  Speaker 1: Why is that because a growing majority of people have
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  Speaker 1: dismissed the Christian faith as weak, outdated, and irrelevant. Interestingly,
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  Speaker 1: Barna adds, the stumbling block for the church is not
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  Speaker 1: its theology, but its failure to apply what it believes
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  Speaker 1: in compelling ways. The downfall of the church has not
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  Speaker 1: been the content of its message, but its failure to
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  Speaker 1: practice those truths. Christians have been their own worst enemies
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  Speaker 1: when it comes to showing the world what authentic biblical
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  Speaker 1: Christianity looks like and why it represents a viable opportunity
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  Speaker 1: and alternative to materialism, existentialism, mysticism, and other doctrines of
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  Speaker 1: popular culture. Now, those are the words of a man,
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  Speaker 1: a mere man, a church specialist, an analyst. But a
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  Speaker 1: man fallible could be mistaken, He could be taking the
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  Speaker 1: problem to its extreme. He could be himself misguided, or
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  Speaker 1: he could be more right than wrong. So it's the
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  Speaker 1: opinion of a man. His book is troubling. But what
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  Speaker 1: would it be like if the Lord himself conducted a
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  Speaker 1: performed review of the church? What would that be like?
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  Speaker 1: How good would that be? The unmistakable, perfect, all seeing,
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  Speaker 1: sovereign Son of God, the risen Christ. What if he
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  Speaker 1: examined the church today or a group of churches more
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  Speaker 1: compellingly this church? Wouldn't that be a more reliable piece
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  Speaker 1: of work? It would certainly lack faulty judgments, mistakes, and
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  Speaker 1: incorrect conclusions. Well, the good news is that God's word,
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  Speaker 1: the Bible contains just such a performance review makes no
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  Speaker 1: difference that the churches happen to exist in the first century.
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  Speaker 1: What he says in the second and third chapters of
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  Speaker 1: the Revelation sound as though they had been written in
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  Speaker 1: these recent days. Because these seven performance reviews, if you
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  Speaker 1: will contain relevant, timely penetrating, I would even say piercing
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  Speaker 1: words for any church in existence. If you have your
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  Speaker 1: Bible handy, I invite you to look again at the
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  Speaker 1: nineteenth verse of the first chapter of Revelation. We suggested
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  Speaker 1: that this is a helpful outcome, I should say, outline
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  Speaker 1: given by the Lord himself for the whole book of Revelation.
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  Speaker 1: John is instructed to write first the things which you
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  Speaker 1: have seen. He did that in the first chapter, and
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  Speaker 1: we have examined it. John wrote what he saw, and
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  Speaker 1: we have through his pens seen it with him. And
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  Speaker 1: then the second part of the book is in chapters
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  Speaker 1: two and three, where John is instructed to write the
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  Speaker 1: things which are in the days of John the Apostle.
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  Speaker 1: These churches that we're going to be examining and our
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  Speaker 1: study through Revelation were all in existence. They were thriving,
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  Speaker 1: they were some of them growing. They were at that
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  Speaker 1: time having an impact, whether positive or negative or neutral.
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  Speaker 1: They were there. They were the things that are, and
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  Speaker 1: John recorded them. And then in the days to come
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  Speaker 1: we will look at the last of verse nineteen towards
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  Speaker 1: the things which will take place after these things. That's
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  Speaker 1: chapters four through twenty two of Revelation. Let's begin by
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  Speaker 1: taking a glance at all seven churches. Will you do
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  Speaker 1: that with me in chapters two and three, keep a
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  Speaker 1: panhandy to make notes. As we work our way through
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  Speaker 1: this book, you'll return to them. I learned a little
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  Speaker 1: statement years ago, thoughts disentangle themselves over the lips and
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  Speaker 1: through the fingertips, and I'll call that to mine. I
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  Speaker 1: often take a pen with me and a card, a
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  Speaker 1: four x six card or three by five card, and
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  Speaker 1: have it handy to take notes to remember things I've
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  Speaker 1: observed or things that I could use later on. You
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  Speaker 1: might find that helpful. As we work our way through
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  Speaker 1: this book of Revelation, we have an inspired performance review
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  Speaker 1: of Christ as he specifically addresses seven local churches. Now,
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  Speaker 1: in some cases there are things he says to all
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  Speaker 1: of them that are not only similar, but occasionally identical.
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  Speaker 1: Let me point out four or five of them. You
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  Speaker 1: do that with me. Watch as I read through this
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  Speaker 1: section verse one to the Angel of the Church in Ephesus,
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  Speaker 1: verse eight to the Angel of the Church in Smyrna,
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  Speaker 1: verse twelve, to the Angel of the Church ins in Pergamum,
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  Speaker 1: verse eighteen to the Angel of the Church and ayah Tyra,
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  Speaker 1: later Sardists and then Philadelphia, and finally lay out to sea.
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  Speaker 1: First observation, each evaluation is addressed to the Angel. Each
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  Speaker 1: one of these evaluations or if you will, performance reviews,
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  Speaker 1: is addressed to the Angel. We've learned in earlier days
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  Speaker 1: that angel means messenger. I suggest it refers to the
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  Speaker 1: pastor who was serving that particular local church. So this
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  Speaker 1: is a letter written to the pastor of the church
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  Speaker 1: in Ephesus, or the pastor of the church in Smyrna,
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  Speaker 1: and on and on. Each one of them is addressed
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  Speaker 1: to the messenger. Let me notice a second observation. Each
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  Speaker 1: church is identified by the city in which it was.
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  Speaker 1: The church in Ephesus, the church in Smyrna, the church
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  Speaker 1: in Pergama. These are names that mean little to us
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  Speaker 1: unless you travel in modern day Turkey, and you will
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  Speaker 1: see the remains of some of these, not all you
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  Speaker 1: can't find them all, but you will see some of
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  Speaker 1: the remains. These are actual places. If he were writing
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  Speaker 1: today to our church, he would be writing to the
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  Speaker 1: messenger to the church in Friscom. That's the way it
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  Speaker 1: would be, or if he were writing today. So he
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  Speaker 1: identifies the church not by denomination but by location. In
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  Speaker 1: the first century there were not the preponderance of denominations
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  Speaker 1: as there is today. He doesn't write to the Methodist
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  Speaker 1: Church at Ephesus, or to the Presbyterian Church in Smyrna
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  Speaker 1: or the Baptist Church in Pergamum. He writes to the
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  Speaker 1: church probably the only assembly of believers in that particular
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  Speaker 1: town or city, hence the single the church. There's a
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  Speaker 1: third observation I make In each evaluation, Jesus immediately identifies himself,
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  Speaker 1: but he does it in various ways. In each one
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  Speaker 1: of the seven he immediately identifies himself. Chapter two, verse one,
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  Speaker 1: he identifies himself as the one who holds the seven
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  Speaker 1: stars in his right hand and walks among the golden
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  Speaker 1: lamp stands. One Chapter two, verse eight, he calls himself
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  Speaker 1: the first and the last who was dead and has
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  Speaker 1: come back to life, same person, but described differently. So
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  Speaker 1: in each one of these it is the Lord himself
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  Speaker 1: who gives the performance review, and he identifies himself in
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  Speaker 1: various ways. Fourth, in each letter he makes it known
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  Speaker 1: that he knows them well. I've underlined the words I know,
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  Speaker 1: which appear in each one of the letters. To Ephesus,
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  Speaker 1: I know your deeds Verse two. To Smyrna, I know
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  Speaker 1: your tribulation and your poverty. Verse nine, to the Church
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  Speaker 1: at pergam and verse thirteen, I know where you dwell
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  Speaker 1: where Satan's throne is. What a statement interesting, We'll get
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  Speaker 1: to it. They ministered where Satan's throne was verse nineteen.
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  Speaker 1: I know your deeds, he says to the church at Thiatyra,
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  Speaker 1: and says the same thing to Sardis and to Philadelphia
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  Speaker 1: and to Laolicea. Now, fifth, and finally, the similarities would
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  Speaker 1: be in all seven letters. There's the same pattern that's followed.
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  Speaker 1: He does virtually the same thing in his performance review.
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  Speaker 1: It's almost as if he has a form he's filling out. First,
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  Speaker 1: he gives them their strengths, he commends them for their strength. Second,
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  Speaker 1: he states his concern over their weakness or weaknesses plural. Third,
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  Speaker 1: he offers correction in order to strengthen this area of weakness.
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  Speaker 1: Here's a course of correction to follow. So he does
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  Speaker 1: that in all seven of the letters. Fourth, he concludes
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  Speaker 1: each letter with words of wise counsel. So we have
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  Speaker 1: commendations and then concerns, followed by corrective words and then counsel,
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  Speaker 1: so that the church might become even more effective than
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  Speaker 1: it is. Let me mention a couple of uniquenesses about
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  Speaker 1: these letters. I've read them over and over, and I've
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  Speaker 1: found a few things are altogether unique. One of them
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  Speaker 1: is in Laotisea. There were no strainths mentioned, no strengths,
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  Speaker 1: no commendation to the seventh letter that he wrote to
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  Speaker 1: layoutosea second, except Smyrna and Philadelphia. All of them receive rebukes,
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  Speaker 1: are reproves he's concerned about something in all five of
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  Speaker 1: the churches, but two of them he names nothing that
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  Speaker 1: we would call a weakness. That would be the second
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  Speaker 1: and would be the six churches that are addressed Smyrna
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  Speaker 1: and Philadelphia. By the way, in every one of the letters,
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  Speaker 1: you will be delighted, as I have been, to find
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  Speaker 1: how relevant they are. You would think he's addressing a
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  Speaker 1: church down the street or the church in which we
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  Speaker 1: find ourselves, or maybe the church where we were reared.
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  Speaker 1: It is right on target as it mentions some very
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  Speaker 1: up to date issues that go on to this very moment.
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  Speaker 1: Now let's take a close look at this performance review
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  Speaker 1: of the church at Ephesus. Immediately the address is identified
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  Speaker 1: as the Messenger chapter two, verse one, the one who
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  Speaker 1: ministers to the church. Now here's the way I think
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  Speaker 1: it worked. John wrote the Revelation while he was on
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  Speaker 1: the island of Patmos. The scroll was then taken by
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  Speaker 1: a perhaps a scribe or someone who was trustworthy, taken
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  Speaker 1: to the mainland, and then read or at least given
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  Speaker 1: to the messenger to read. At each of the seven churches,
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  Speaker 1: the messenger would unroll the scroll and would read it
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  Speaker 1: to the congregation, because no one in those days had
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  Speaker 1: Bibles of their own, and this priceless scroll, written under
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  Speaker 1: the inspiration of the Spirit of God, was read word
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  Speaker 1: for word to the churches, and it has found its
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  Speaker 1: way through the years into our Bibles today. This particular
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  Speaker 1: church is located in Ephesus. If you travel to Turkey today,
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  Speaker 1: as Cynthia and I have done, you will be delighted
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  Speaker 1: with what you see When you get to Ephesus. It
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  Speaker 1: has been wonderfully unearthed. You will see literal roads that
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  Speaker 1: were there walked on by the Apostle himself. You will
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  Speaker 1: see the Library of Celsus, built a little after Paul's time,
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  Speaker 1: but nevertheless of that era, two story column structure. That
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  Speaker 1: is the breathtaking. As you sit on the marble steps
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  Speaker 1: or the rocks outside and look at it. There are
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  Speaker 1: roads that tie the town together. You can see places
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  Speaker 1: that would have been communities where people lived. And I
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  Speaker 1: think the most impressive is one of the places mentioned
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  Speaker 1: in the Book of Acts. The theater has been unearthed
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  Speaker 1: and you can literally see the amphitheater and can actually
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  Speaker 1: walk and sit in it. A theater that is able
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  Speaker 1: to see forty or more thousand people. I smiled when
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  Speaker 1: we looked at the road out front. There were deep
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  Speaker 1: ruts that were dug into the road outside of the theater,
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  Speaker 1: right in front of the theater, and Cynthia made the
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  Speaker 1: classic comment. She said that those were speed bumps for
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  Speaker 1: teenage chariot riders. That's a classic comment. I thought that
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  Speaker 1: slowed the chariots down when they went by the theater.
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  Speaker 1: It's at that theater that the Apostle Paul was at
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  Speaker 1: that theater where persecution occurred. And when you stand there
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  Speaker 1: in that theater, that amphitheater, something happens to you. You
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  Speaker 1: are reliving the moment of the middle of the first century.
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  Speaker 1: A remarkable city. It was at that time the most
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  Speaker 1: prominent city in the Roman province of Asia. And by
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  Speaker 1: the way, if you have a map in front of
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  Speaker 1: you of Asia, you will observe that it really is
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  Speaker 1: what we call today modern day Turkey. The reason that
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  Speaker 1: the letters first went to Ephesus, if you look at
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  Speaker 1: the map, is because Ephesus is the closest in proximity
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  Speaker 1: to Patmas. If you took a direct sail west i
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  Speaker 1: should say east from Patmos to the mainland, you would
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  Speaker 1: come first to the harbor at Ephics. It's now silted
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  Speaker 1: in and it's several miles from the water. But in
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  Speaker 1: those days there was a harbor that would lead you
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  Speaker 1: right to Ephesus. It was along the trade route to
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  Speaker 1: the east. Wealthy city, prominent city. And by the way,
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  Speaker 1: speaking of Ephesus, Paul and Aquila and Priscilla, and for
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  Speaker 1: a bit of time Apollus helped found the church. You
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  Speaker 1: could read of this if you take the time to
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  Speaker 1: read Acts. The end of Acts eighteen and all of
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  Speaker 1: chapter nineteen you'll read how the church was founded fascinating story.
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  Speaker 1: And then Paul pastored there. He ministered there for over
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  Speaker 1: three years, followed by Timothy, his son in the faith,
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  Speaker 1: followed by John in his aging years before John was
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  Speaker 1: exiled to pat must so, as John is writing this letter,
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  Speaker 1: something in his heart must have beat a little faster
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  Speaker 1: when he mentioned Ephesus. He has pastored the church, and
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  Speaker 1: tradition tells us that after the exile, John returned and
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  Speaker 1: lived part of his life in the city of Ephesus.
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  Speaker 1: But I should also tell you that it was not
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  Speaker 1: an easy place to minister. One of the seven wonders
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  Speaker 1: of the world was there was the temple of Artemis
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  Speaker 1: or Diana as she is sometimes called, the multi breasted figure,
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  Speaker 1: and whose lifestyle followed by its worshipers it was totally immoral.
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  Speaker 1: She was the goddess of the continent of Asia in
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  Speaker 1: those days, and there were those who followed her in devotion.
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  Speaker 1: There were little idols made of her that were sold
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  Speaker 1: by craftsmen who carved them. All of that is a
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  Speaker 1: part of the lifestyle of ancient Ephesus. Even though it's
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  Speaker 1: not mentioned here, I wanted you to know that's the
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  Speaker 1: kind of place where this church existed. I'll say more
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: about it when we get to the point of perseverance.
• 25:36
  Speaker 1: Jesus identifies himself as the as the writer or the
• 25:40
  Speaker 1: one who dictates this letter. At the end of verse one,
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: noticed a little bit has changed. He not only has
• 25:46
  Speaker 1: the seven stars, he's holding them in his right hand.
• 25:50
  Speaker 1: He's not only there in the in the midst of
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: the golden lampstands. Verse one tells us he's walking among them.
• 25:58
  Speaker 1: He knows everything about every church. He knows every one
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: of us completely. He knows all about our background. He
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: knows all about our makeup. He knows every trial, every struggle,
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: every success, every failure. He knows all of that. He
• 26:14
  Speaker 1: knows us thoroughly. It surprises us to read that he
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: knows the hairs on our head. For some, it's not
• 26:21
  Speaker 1: a big thing to know that, but for most it's
• 26:23
  Speaker 1: an amazing thought to think that every person's hairs are numbered.
• 26:27
  Speaker 1: Every thought is recorded, every intention, every motive is known
• 26:33
  Speaker 1: by our Lord and Savior. He walks among the candle
• 26:37
  Speaker 1: stands or the lamp stands, and he holds us in
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: his hand. And with that in mind, are not surprised
• 26:46
  Speaker 1: to read I know immediately in verse two, and he
• 26:51
  Speaker 1: names three strengths that were true of the church at Ephesus. First,
• 26:56
  Speaker 1: they were actively energetic, were engaged. I know your deeds
• 27:02
  Speaker 1: and your toil. They were known for their hard work,
• 27:08
  Speaker 1: busy in the service of the king. There was no sloth,
• 27:12
  Speaker 1: there was no indifference there. They were known for their
• 27:16
  Speaker 1: exhausting and impressive toil. There were people who visited the sick.
• 27:22
  Speaker 1: There were those who mended clothes. There were those who
• 27:25
  Speaker 1: cooked the meals. There were those who served the meals
• 27:28
  Speaker 1: to shut ins. There were people who who were part
• 27:31
  Speaker 1: of the leadership. There were committees, hell, there were activities
• 27:34
  Speaker 1: going on there. There were those who worked in the
• 27:37
  Speaker 1: chariot parking lot.
• 27:39
  Speaker 2: I don't know.
• 27:39
  Speaker 1: They All kinds of things were going on in the
• 27:42
  Speaker 1: in the church at Ephesus. And he says, I know
• 27:44
  Speaker 1: all about that. I know all about your deeds, and
• 27:48
  Speaker 1: I know all about your toil. And he's commending. Then
• 27:51
  Speaker 1: there's not a word of criticism. And then he mentions
• 27:55
  Speaker 1: their patient endurance. He calls it perseverance. I prefer the
• 28:01
  Speaker 1: word endurance. I know you were perseverance. In fact, look
• 28:09
  Speaker 1: at verse three. You have perseverance and have endured for
• 28:12
  Speaker 1: my name's sake, and have not grown weary. If you
• 28:20
  Speaker 1: had lived in and ministered among the people who worship
• 28:25
  Speaker 1: Diana of the Ephesians, the mother Goddess, you would be
• 28:29
  Speaker 1: terribly unpopular. You would be a marked individual, snubbed in
• 28:33
  Speaker 1: public and maligned in private. Your business would be boycotted.
• 28:38
  Speaker 1: You'd be marked as one who wasn't a worshiper of
• 28:42
  Speaker 1: the Emperor or of the goddess. It'd be like the
• 28:46
  Speaker 1: Jewish merchant in Berlin in nineteen thirties. Not an easy
• 28:52
  Speaker 1: place to be. He says, I know you are people
• 28:56
  Speaker 1: who hold up under the load. They were active, and
• 29:04
  Speaker 1: they were faithful to stay true to the truth, and
• 29:11
  Speaker 1: they endured. They bore up under the load. Who pulled money?
• 29:16
  Speaker 1: Is the word translated perseverance more than once here once
• 29:20
  Speaker 1: in verse two and verse three. It's remember it's it's
• 29:23
  Speaker 1: the four footed beast that carries your burden. Back in
• 29:28
  Speaker 1: ancient days when you made a trip and piled all
• 29:30
  Speaker 1: of your belongings, and the animal was said to who
• 29:33
  Speaker 1: pull money. To endure under the load, under the load
• 29:38
  Speaker 1: of persecution they endure. There are churches today who do that.
• 29:46
  Speaker 1: You and I may be in touch with some of them,
• 29:49
  Speaker 1: and there is a deep sense of respect we have
• 29:52
  Speaker 1: for the odds they work against, and the role of
• 29:55
  Speaker 1: unpopularity that they fill. Some of them must meet in
• 29:58
  Speaker 1: secret due to the persecution that would ensue. So he
• 30:05
  Speaker 1: commends them for their patient endurance. Third, they were doctrinally discerning.
• 30:11
  Speaker 1: I hope you saw that when we read through the
• 30:14
  Speaker 1: verses earlier. He says, you cannot tolerate evil men. He
• 30:21
  Speaker 1: goes further, You put to the test those who call
• 30:25
  Speaker 1: themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them
• 30:30
  Speaker 1: to be pursud ice psuit ice. Interesting word. You put
• 30:35
  Speaker 1: your lips together and say, es psuit ice. We get
• 30:37
  Speaker 1: our word pseudo from it. It means liars. They look
• 30:42
  Speaker 1: like apostles, but they're liars. And you spot that just
• 30:47
  Speaker 1: because they walk around spouting verses from the Old Testament,
• 30:51
  Speaker 1: just because they say they are prophets of God, just
• 30:54
  Speaker 1: because they wear the garb of the evangelist, does not
• 30:57
  Speaker 1: make them true apostles or prophets. We recently brought out
• 31:04
  Speaker 1: into the open a man who calls himself a prophet
• 31:06
  Speaker 1: of God who kidnapped a young girl in Salt Lake
• 31:10
  Speaker 1: City and took her to himself in that strange and
• 31:19
  Speaker 1: wayward way of thinking. You and I discern that cannot
• 31:24
  Speaker 1: be of God. You don't do that as a man
• 31:29
  Speaker 1: or woman of God. And these people spotted that kind
• 31:33
  Speaker 1: of error, and they didn't mince words. They called a
• 31:37
  Speaker 1: spade a spade, they called a liar a liar. In fact,
• 31:42
  Speaker 1: they weren't growing weary in doing that. Verse six tells
• 31:46
  Speaker 1: us specifically, you hate the deeds of the Nicolaetans, which
• 31:52
  Speaker 1: I also hate. We're intrigued by that. I'll go further
• 31:56
  Speaker 1: into it when we get to the church at Pergamum,
• 31:58
  Speaker 1: because it was really a problem there. U nika oh
• 32:02
  Speaker 1: is to conquer and laos is people. It's a conquerer
• 32:06
  Speaker 1: of people. I take it to mean it was the
• 32:10
  Speaker 1: early signs of those who believed in the hierarchy of
• 32:14
  Speaker 1: the clergy, the unaccountable and untouchable role of leadership, and
• 32:19
  Speaker 1: they took advantage of people, and it led ultimately to
• 32:22
  Speaker 1: an immoral lifestyle. And you hate that, and Jesus, please
• 32:26
  Speaker 1: notice says it also, I also hate that. Uh. I
• 32:30
  Speaker 1: read verses like the end of verse six, and I
• 32:34
  Speaker 1: nod knowingly, grateful that it helps clarify who Jesus Christ is.
• 32:42
  Speaker 1: He is not some spineless sort of uh wimp out
• 32:47
  Speaker 1: uh individual who sort of shuffles through life saying love,
• 32:51
  Speaker 1: love love. You know, ever where he goes, there are
• 32:55
  Speaker 1: things that are that are false that he hates. And
• 33:00
  Speaker 1: he commenced the church for hating that kind of error
• 33:04
  Speaker 1: and bore. This church spotted it, and they named it.
• 33:07
  Speaker 1: They were a discerning body of people. You know, when
• 33:10
  Speaker 1: you're around discerning folks. By the way, you know, when
• 33:14
  Speaker 1: I preach in churches that are discerning churches, there are
• 33:17
  Speaker 1: people that have their Bibles open, and when I refer
• 33:20
  Speaker 1: to things, I'll see them go back and check it
• 33:24
  Speaker 1: with that verse and frown and look back at another verse.
• 33:27
  Speaker 1: And then they'll go over here, and then they'll they'll listen,
• 33:29
  Speaker 1: and they're listening. They're not impressed. They shouldn't be impressed.
• 33:34
  Speaker 1: They're there to grow and to learn and to develop
• 33:37
  Speaker 1: their knowledge of the Word and their relationship with Christ.
• 33:41
  Speaker 1: And they're not going to be led astray. They can
• 33:44
  Speaker 1: spot error. They can tell about what you say or
• 33:46
  Speaker 1: what you leave unsaid. Those who are discerning get both sides.
• 33:52
  Speaker 1: That's the ehsions. I mean, this was some kind of place.
• 33:57
  Speaker 1: I like the way Stephen Lawson describes the church eheses.
• 34:01
  Speaker 1: This is one dynamic church, he writes in his book
• 34:04
  Speaker 1: Final Call. But we need more congregations like this, toiling, persevering, strict, sound,
• 34:11
  Speaker 1: steadfast and strong. They had all the right stuff. If
• 34:14
  Speaker 1: you attended one of their church services, you would immediately
• 34:17
  Speaker 1: since you were with God's spiritual marines, the few, the
• 34:21
  Speaker 1: proud Ephesians. They had something for everyone. Ministries were abounding,
• 34:28
  Speaker 1: people were plugged in, programs were busting loose, The place
• 34:32
  Speaker 1: was hopping. What could possibly be wrong with the church
• 34:35
  Speaker 1: like this? Plenty plenty Look at verse four. In the
• 34:44
  Speaker 1: midst of the strengths and all the commendations, you find
• 34:49
  Speaker 1: that little particle. But and it's allah. It's not a
• 34:55
  Speaker 1: simple little particle. It's an emphatic negative to turn the corner.
• 35:00
  Speaker 1: But or however, it's kind of like when your boss
• 35:04
  Speaker 1: calls you in for a performance review and he starts
• 35:08
  Speaker 1: or she starts by naming the things that really appreciate
• 35:12
  Speaker 1: and they go on and on. What are you thinking
• 35:15
  Speaker 1: there's a butt in this somewhere? I know there's gonna
• 35:19
  Speaker 1: be another shoe that's gonna fall when it gets to it,
• 35:22
  Speaker 1: But there is, It's something I need to me. All
• 35:25
  Speaker 1: of a sudden, the people in Ephesus sat on the
• 35:28
  Speaker 1: edge of their seats as the messenger read the letter
• 35:31
  Speaker 1: to them. But what now? Look closely. I know you,
• 35:37
  Speaker 1: who've been in church since you were born, have read
• 35:40
  Speaker 1: verse four so much that you maybe have missed something.
• 35:45
  Speaker 1: But I have this against you, that you have left
• 35:49
  Speaker 1: your first love. It's too important to go over quickly.
• 35:57
  Speaker 1: In fact, it's too important to just leave it in English.
• 36:02
  Speaker 1: We'll go to the language in which it was written,
• 36:05
  Speaker 1: which says your love the first you've abandoned. In the
• 36:14
  Speaker 1: Greek language, there are occasional syntactical constructions in a sentence
• 36:20
  Speaker 1: that shout certain things, if you will. One of those
• 36:26
  Speaker 1: unusual constructions is called a restrictive attributive. Here's a case
• 36:31
  Speaker 1: in point where the adjective is placed with a definite
• 36:35
  Speaker 1: article following the major term for emphasizing the adjective. For example,
• 36:42
  Speaker 1: I am the true vine. My father is the husbandman.
• 36:45
  Speaker 1: That's a restrictive attributive. I am the vine, the true one.
• 36:50
  Speaker 1: Hear it as opposed to all who are false. John
• 36:54
  Speaker 1: fifteen to one says, I am the true vine. In
• 36:57
  Speaker 1: the Greek language, when you want to emphasize the adjective
• 37:00
  Speaker 1: in this case, first you put it after the term
• 37:06
  Speaker 1: that he would normally come before love. You have left
• 37:09
  Speaker 1: your love, the first one you've abandoned. Fact, the word
• 37:17
  Speaker 1: rendered left suggests not a rapid departure, but an erosion.
• 37:22
  Speaker 1: It's a slow process. No one suddenly wakes up some
• 37:26
  Speaker 1: morning and says, I don't love Jesus anymore. I'm tired
• 37:30
  Speaker 1: of Jesus and I'm finished with all that stuff that's
• 37:32
  Speaker 1: not going to go on anymore in my life. How
• 37:34
  Speaker 1: naive could I be? It doesn't happen like that. Happens
• 37:37
  Speaker 1: over the years after hardship questions you can't get answered,
• 37:44
  Speaker 1: trials that don't seem to have reason, loss of health,
• 37:49
  Speaker 1: loss of hope, loss of a loved one. Little by little,
• 37:54
  Speaker 1: something happens that you. If you were visited by a
• 37:59
  Speaker 1: Robin and Crusoe in your life who look back on
• 38:02
  Speaker 1: the way it once was and now sees you as
• 38:04
  Speaker 1: you are, that person may say you're not like you
• 38:06
  Speaker 1: once were. Some different their love had cooled off, stay here,
• 38:18
  Speaker 1: stay right here. You don't have the same devotion for
• 38:23
  Speaker 1: me that you once had, Remember when we met together
• 38:28
  Speaker 1: and often just you and me. The tide of warm
• 38:36
  Speaker 1: affection has turned. Oh you work hard, and you toil
• 38:42
  Speaker 1: with vigor, but it's without love. You endure patiently, you
• 38:47
  Speaker 1: hold up under the pressure of those around you who
• 38:51
  Speaker 1: are idle worshipers, but you do it without love. And
• 38:54
  Speaker 1: you find error and you pointed out, and you discipline,
• 38:58
  Speaker 1: but you discipline without love. I like the way Earl
• 39:07
  Speaker 1: Palmer describes it. The first love has been abandoned, and
• 39:11
  Speaker 1: in its place is the starchy, high cholesterol diet of
• 39:15
  Speaker 1: activity and church work that will never nourish the human soul.
• 39:22
  Speaker 1: Oh you got busy. I mean you're a member, aren't you. Hey,
• 39:27
  Speaker 1: here's a job. We need you to be here. You
• 39:30
  Speaker 1: need to work there. We need people in a parking lot.
• 39:33
  Speaker 1: We got more chariots than we've ever had before. I mean,
• 39:36
  Speaker 1: this place is running over with folks. And oh we
• 39:38
  Speaker 1: need we got a lot of sick people. We need
• 39:40
  Speaker 1: you to be in the prayer group. We need you
• 39:42
  Speaker 1: to meet on Thursday. And we've got the committee that
• 39:44
  Speaker 1: you get at it and you do it. My God,
• 39:49
  Speaker 1: you do it, but you don't have your heart in it.
• 39:57
  Speaker 1: It's dried up. Didn't happen fast. As a matter of fact,
• 40:05
  Speaker 1: I thought about this. I thought, how much time has
• 40:08
  Speaker 1: lapsed between the year Paul wrote them and the year
• 40:14
  Speaker 1: John wrote them. Thirty five years from sixty one to
• 40:21
  Speaker 1: ninety six. We got thirty five year gap. Right, Go
• 40:26
  Speaker 1: back to Ephesians. Let me show you something. Let's see
• 40:29
  Speaker 1: if they've always had this problem. First and second Corinthians, Galatians.
• 40:37
  Speaker 1: There it is Ephesians one fifteen. Look at this, Paul
• 40:45
  Speaker 1: writing to them early sixties. For this reason, I too,
• 40:49
  Speaker 1: having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which
• 40:52
  Speaker 1: exists among you, and your love for all the saints.
• 40:55
  Speaker 1: So they were known for their love for one another.
• 40:57
  Speaker 1: Do not cease to give thanks for you while making
• 41:01
  Speaker 1: mention of you in my prayers. Do not cease to
• 41:06
  Speaker 1: give thanks while making mention of you in my prayers.
• 41:10
  Speaker 1: They have a love for one another, and he mentions
• 41:12
  Speaker 1: that in his prayers. Interesting, look at the end of
• 41:18
  Speaker 1: the letter, see how he ends it. Maybe there's yep
• 41:21
  Speaker 1: there it is a little blessing where he says peace
• 41:24
  Speaker 1: to the brethren, love with faith from God, the Father,
• 41:27
  Speaker 1: and the Lord Jesus. Now that's God's love to them.
• 41:30
  Speaker 1: It's a blessing placed upon him. Then he adds, grace
• 41:33
  Speaker 1: be with all those who hm love our Lord Jesus,
• 41:38
  Speaker 1: with our Lord Jesus Christ, with incorruptible love. See the
• 41:43
  Speaker 1: word love in italics. It's not in the original text.
• 41:45
  Speaker 1: It's been added. It's implied by the editors of our Bibles.
• 41:49
  Speaker 1: But it really says with incorruptible, meaning grace be with
• 41:54
  Speaker 1: all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ, incorruptibly incorruptible.
• 41:59
  Speaker 1: Love was pure, it was impressive. It was a kind
• 42:04
  Speaker 1: of love Paul wrote about in First Corinthians thirteen that
• 42:07
  Speaker 1: without it you're like a noisy gong or a clanging symbol.
• 42:11
  Speaker 1: And even though you give your body to be buried,
• 42:13
  Speaker 1: if you don't have love's it rewards you with nothing.
• 42:17
  Speaker 1: And even though you have all knowledge and all faith
• 42:19
  Speaker 1: to remove mountains, says First Corinthians thirteen, if you don't
• 42:23
  Speaker 1: have love, zilch zero. And then he lists fifteen characteristics
• 42:29
  Speaker 1: of love and of all things. At the end of
• 42:31
  Speaker 1: this great treatise on love, he says, now abides faith
• 42:35
  Speaker 1: and hope and love but what the greatest of these
• 42:41
  Speaker 1: is love. This church had everything, but the greatest thing.
• 42:49
  Speaker 1: You say, well, Chuck, I think you. I mean, don't
• 42:51
  Speaker 1: forget what they were putting up. I mean don't. Well,
• 42:54
  Speaker 1: let me ask you, ladies. Let's say you've been married
• 42:58
  Speaker 1: twenty five, twenty six, twenty seven years, and it's a
• 43:01
  Speaker 1: Friday evening, and your husband worked a little later and
• 43:04
  Speaker 1: came in tired, and your kids were gone doing a
• 43:08
  Speaker 1: lot of different things. So it's just the two of you.
• 43:10
  Speaker 1: You sit down to a sandwich, and your husband's sighs
• 43:13
  Speaker 1: and pulls his tie loose and says, now that we're alone,
• 43:17
  Speaker 1: I need to tell you something. I just don't have
• 43:26
  Speaker 1: the love for you that I had when we got married.
• 43:30
  Speaker 1: I just don't have it anymore. Now. I'm not walking out.
• 43:35
  Speaker 1: I'm going to keep being a good dad. I'll continue
• 43:40
  Speaker 1: to eat at this table, and we'll sleep together, and
• 43:43
  Speaker 1: we'll we'll live together, and we'll go places together. We'll
• 43:48
  Speaker 1: even vacation as a family. I'm not going to stop that.
• 43:54
  Speaker 1: I'll I'll make enough of a good living that we
• 43:57
  Speaker 1: can pay our bills and and we'll buy Christmas gifts
• 44:01
  Speaker 1: at Christmas, and we'll celebrate the holidays. We'll go to
• 44:07
  Speaker 1: church and we'll watch TV, and we'll watch the kids
• 44:10
  Speaker 1: grow and graduate and leave.
• 44:12
  Speaker 2: But I got to tell you, I just don't love
• 44:16
  Speaker 2: you anymore. Is that okay?
• 44:23
  Speaker 1: No, nothing's right, is it nothing? It's just a series
• 44:32
  Speaker 1: of activities to deaden the pain of an empty life.
• 44:38
  Speaker 1: If he doesn't love you anymore, this broke the Lord's heart.
• 44:48
  Speaker 1: We don't talk like we used to talk. We are
• 44:52
  Speaker 1: an intimate like we used to be intimate. Well, I
• 44:57
  Speaker 1: know you're busy, and I know you're putting up with
• 45:00
  Speaker 1: a lot, and I also I know that you're dealing
• 45:04
  Speaker 1: with difficult times. But I miss you, the you that
• 45:15
  Speaker 1: I met at the Cross. One of the things I
• 45:24
  Speaker 1: love about God's word is it doesn't leave us in
• 45:28
  Speaker 1: the enormity of our guilt. And by the way, this
• 45:33
  Speaker 1: isn't averse just for first century's sake. I just described
• 45:38
  Speaker 1: you are you.
• 45:43
  Speaker 2: Are you.
• 45:48
  Speaker 1: There have been times in my life when my love
• 45:50
  Speaker 1: for the Lord grew thin. It was awful, dreadful. I preached,
• 46:03
  Speaker 1: I served, I stayed married, But it wasn't like it
• 46:10
  Speaker 1: used to be. So he says in verse five. Therefore,
• 46:19
  Speaker 1: I want you to do something about it. Here's a
• 46:21
  Speaker 1: course correction. Let's stay with this. Get your pen mark, remember, repent,
• 46:31
  Speaker 1: do the deeds. It's right there in the text.
• 46:36
  Speaker 2: Let's fix this, let's turn this corner.
• 46:46
  Speaker 1: He's no longer criticizing. He's saying, let's let let's let's
• 46:49
  Speaker 1: do something about this. This is this like a good
• 46:50
  Speaker 1: counselor who says, okay, we got our finger on the problem.
• 46:53
  Speaker 1: All right, Wait, don't walk out. Here's what's got to
• 46:58
  Speaker 1: be done. First of all, remember from where you have fallen.
• 47:06
  Speaker 1: Memory can often be the first step on your way
• 47:08
  Speaker 1: back to where you were. The prodigal son in the
• 47:13
  Speaker 1: pig sty remembered home it is Daddy, and remembering how
• 47:19
  Speaker 1: it was, he began to turn. And it wound up
• 47:24
  Speaker 1: at his return at the Arrest and Trials of Jesus.
• 47:28
  Speaker 1: With the Lord sitting isolated in the midst of his captors,
• 47:32
  Speaker 1: he turns and looks at Peter, and it says Peter
• 47:35
  Speaker 1: remembered and wept after he had denied him three times.
• 47:42
  Speaker 1: Joseph's brothers when they remembered what they had done to
• 47:45
  Speaker 1: their brother and came to realize they're standing in front
• 47:48
  Speaker 1: of their brother, who is now Prime Minister of Egypt,
• 47:52
  Speaker 1: remembered what they had done, and feared and turned. David,
• 48:01
  Speaker 1: sitting with Nathan alone, smeared with us the dirt of
• 48:08
  Speaker 1: adultery and murder and hypocrisy. Remembered when Nathan said you
• 48:17
  Speaker 1: are the man, and he turned.
• 48:22
  Speaker 2: Just remember where you started.
• 48:25
  Speaker 1: Go there.
• 48:28
  Speaker 2: Repent.
• 48:30
  Speaker 1: What a great word, What a great word. The first
• 48:34
  Speaker 1: term remember is a present tense. Keep on remembering, keep
• 48:38
  Speaker 1: on fueling your mind with reminders of how it once was.
• 48:41
  Speaker 1: But now, in a point of time, repent, change your mind,
• 48:47
  Speaker 1: turn your course, do it now, take responsibility, acknowledge your
• 48:54
  Speaker 1: part in the cooling off. The Lord hasn't moved. We've moved.
• 49:02
  Speaker 1: And then he says, do that, do the deeds you
• 49:06
  Speaker 1: did at first, go back to the beginning and repeat
• 49:13
  Speaker 1: your life, your habits, and he adds, or else, boy,
• 49:21
  Speaker 1: look at that, or else. I'm coming and I'm going
• 49:29
  Speaker 1: to remove your lamp stand out of its place unless
• 49:31
  Speaker 1: you repent. What does that mean? Well, a lamp stand
• 49:35
  Speaker 1: held light added warmth. I'm going to take your light
• 49:40
  Speaker 1: and I'm going to turn it off. You're not going
• 49:43
  Speaker 1: to have an impact. It's not going to be like.
• 49:47
  Speaker 2: It once was.
• 49:48
  Speaker 1: You stay like you are. The light goes out many
• 49:54
  Speaker 1: a church today, with the light out having lost its
• 49:59
  Speaker 1: first love, It's time for me to give you a
• 50:02
  Speaker 1: statement I hope you'll never forget. I want you to
• 50:05
  Speaker 1: write every word of it down. It is never too
• 50:08
  Speaker 1: late to start doing what is right. It is never
• 50:15
  Speaker 1: too late to start doing what is right. That'll save
• 50:25
  Speaker 1: you for more heartaches than you can name. Now's the
• 50:29
  Speaker 1: time to turn, Now's the time to remember. Now's the
• 50:33
  Speaker 1: time to do what you once did. And then strong
• 50:38
  Speaker 1: words of counsel come. At the end. I see two things.
• 50:40
  Speaker 1: He who has ears to hear, let him hear. First
• 50:43
  Speaker 1: statement I would say is, listen to what the Lord
• 50:45
  Speaker 1: is saying, take it personally. Listen to what the Lord
• 50:50
  Speaker 1: is saying, and take it personally. And then he says
• 50:55
  Speaker 1: to him who overcomes, I think is a synonym for repenting,
• 50:58
  Speaker 1: for returning, for doing the deeds I will grant to
• 51:02
  Speaker 1: eat of the tree of life. That's a place of fellowship,
• 51:04
  Speaker 1: which is in the paradise of God. That is all
• 51:07
  Speaker 1: the joy. It's a picturesque scene in the apocalyptic literature
• 51:12
  Speaker 1: of intimacy with the Almighty, of enduring and enduring love.
• 51:16
  Speaker 1: It'll all come back. We got time for some practical advice,
• 51:23
  Speaker 1: I think. So here's one. Jesus knows us completely. No
• 51:30
  Speaker 1: reason to run and hide, hard to hide from omnipotence
• 51:34
  Speaker 1: and omnipresence, omniscience. Jesus knows us completely. You're known. You
• 51:44
  Speaker 1: can kid us, but you can't kid him. He knows
• 51:47
  Speaker 1: us completely. Second, Jesus loves us unconditionally. Isn't that a
• 51:53
  Speaker 1: great thought? Knowing all he does about us, you'd think
• 51:56
  Speaker 1: he'd say, well, that is the end. But he doesn't.
• 52:02
  Speaker 1: I am fed up. He doesn't do that. He still
• 52:07
  Speaker 1: comes back to the epicians and says, come on. So
• 52:10
  Speaker 1: he loves us unconditionally, so there's every reason to return
• 52:16
  Speaker 1: and abide. Third, he rewards us abundantly. He says, you'll
• 52:22
  Speaker 1: give us this kind of fellowship that adam and evening you.
• 52:26
  Speaker 1: You'll eat the tree of life and you'll enjoy the
• 52:28
  Speaker 1: paradise of God. You'll have a fellowship that was once
• 52:31
  Speaker 1: rich and enriching for you as well as rewarding. He
• 52:37
  Speaker 1: rewards us abundantly. You know what else? He calls us tenderly.
• 52:45
  Speaker 1: You hear him, I can almost hear his voice. He
• 52:51
  Speaker 1: calls Us tenderly. Fanny Crosby wrote it back in the
• 52:56
  Speaker 1: mid nineteenth century, Jesus tenderly calling you home, calling today,
• 53:03
  Speaker 1: Calling today, Why from the sunshine of love will your
• 53:07
  Speaker 1: roam farther.
• 53:09
  Speaker 2: And farther away?
• 53:12
  Speaker 1: He's calling. Clarence Edward McCartney, long time pastor of First
• 53:20
  Speaker 1: Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, used to love to tell
• 53:24
  Speaker 1: the story of the Scottish people who lived in the Highlands,
• 53:29
  Speaker 1: and especially of a highland shepherd who lived in the
• 53:31
  Speaker 1: village and reared his little daughter, who meant the world
• 53:36
  Speaker 1: to him. McCartney writes he would take her with him
• 53:41
  Speaker 1: when he went out over the moors to tend and
• 53:43
  Speaker 1: fold the sheep. Most of all, the daughter liked to
• 53:46
  Speaker 1: hear her father call the sheep, with the shepherd's call
• 53:52
  Speaker 1: sounding free and beautiful, down the wind and over the moors,
• 53:58
  Speaker 1: by and bye. The little girl became a beautiful young
• 54:00
  Speaker 1: woman and went off to the great city of Edinburgh
• 54:05
  Speaker 1: to take a job. At first, her letters came regularly
• 54:10
  Speaker 1: every week. Then there were intervals between them that were longer,
• 54:14
  Speaker 1: and finally they ceased altogether. There were rumors too, in
• 54:20
  Speaker 1: the village and among the shepherds that the shepherd's daughter
• 54:24
  Speaker 1: had been seen in rough company and in questionable places.
• 54:29
  Speaker 1: One day, a lad from the village who knew her well,
• 54:33
  Speaker 1: saw her in the city and spoke to her, but
• 54:36
  Speaker 1: she pretended she had never seen him before. When the
• 54:38
  Speaker 1: shepherd heard this, he gathered a few things together, and,
• 54:42
  Speaker 1: clad in his shepherd's smock, with his plaid wrapped around
• 54:49
  Speaker 1: his shoulders and his staff in his hand, he set
• 54:52
  Speaker 1: out for the city to find his lost daughter. Day
• 54:59
  Speaker 1: after day he saw her on the avenues and in
• 55:02
  Speaker 1: the slums, in the closes of the city, all in vain.
• 55:07
  Speaker 1: Then he remembered how his daughter loved to hear him
• 55:10
  Speaker 1: give the shepherd's call. Again, he took to the quest, and,
• 55:17
  Speaker 1: out of sorrow mixed with love, this time he sounded
• 55:20
  Speaker 1: out loud and free, the shepherd's call. Passers by turned
• 55:26
  Speaker 1: with astonishment to look on the old shepherd in his
• 55:29
  Speaker 1: smock and with his staff, as he went up and
• 55:32
  Speaker 1: down the streets, sounding the shepherd's call. At long last,
• 55:38
  Speaker 1: in a house on one of the degraded streets of
• 55:41
  Speaker 1: the city, his daughter, sitting in a room with her
• 55:49
  Speaker 1: loose living companion, suddenly looked up with astonishment. There was
• 55:56
  Speaker 1: no doubt about it. It was her father's voice. It
• 56:04
  Speaker 1: was the shepherd's call. Flinging wide the door. She rushed
• 56:09
  Speaker 1: upon the street, and there was her father who took
• 56:13
  Speaker 1: her in his arms and carried her with him to
• 56:16
  Speaker 1: the Highland.
• 56:17
  Speaker 2: Home and loved her back to decency and to God.
• 56:31
  Speaker 2: Maybe power heads together.
• 56:41
  Speaker 1: What a love letter written in the first century for
• 56:43
  Speaker 1: the twenty first. What a story that tells our story.
• 56:59
  Speaker 1: He calls you home. Wouldn't you like to come to
• 57:05
  Speaker 1: him today, wouldn't Wouldn't that be the greatest thing. Wouldn't
• 57:12
  Speaker 1: you like to come back into the love relationship that's
• 57:16
  Speaker 1: cooled off over the years?
• 57:22
  Speaker 2: Come today?
• 57:27
  Speaker 1: You're surrounded by a flock of people who would love
• 57:30
  Speaker 1: to talk with you. Most importantly, you have a Lord
• 57:36
  Speaker 1: who's missed you and waits for you to come. Our Father.
• 57:50
  Speaker 1: We thank you for speaking to us so directly about
• 57:54
  Speaker 1: the Savior. Thank you for the tenderness in the midst
• 57:59
  Speaker 1: of the reproof so like Christ. Thank you for caring
• 58:08
  Speaker 1: for us even when we've lost our way, and never
• 58:12
  Speaker 1: cooling in your love for us. Thank you for accepting
• 58:19
  Speaker 1: me back when I had cooled. Thank you for putting
• 58:25
  Speaker 1: us on a new course that brings such sense of
• 58:29
  Speaker 1: satisfaction and fulfillment. Minister deeply to our hearts today from
• 58:39
  Speaker 1: this ancient passage about an ancient church, and may the
• 58:45
  Speaker 1: message be vibrant and real.
• 58:48
  Speaker 2: And enriching and life changing.
• 58:54
  Speaker 1: I ask it in the name of Jesus, our magnificent Savior.
• 59:00
  Speaker 2: Everyone said Amen.
• 59:05
  Speaker 3: The preceding message, The Church with Everything but the Greatest Thing,
• 59:10
  Speaker 3: was copyrighted in two thousand and three, two thousand and six,
• 59:13
  Speaker 3: and twenty twenty four, and the sound recording was copyrighted
• 59:17
  Speaker 3: in twenty twenty four by Charles Arswindahl, Inc. All rights
• 59:22
  Speaker 3: are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use
• 59:27
  Speaker 3: is strictly prohibited.