Letter to the Church: Ephesus

It was the first of the seven. Out of all the church in all the countries Jesus singled out these seven to originally receive the message of the Revelation, but before they were to read the book Jesus had a message for them. You ever wonder why? Why not just jump in with all the weird and wonderful stuff that the Revelation had to offer. There are probably a couple of reasons; first it wouldn't have been polite. This was after all a form letter, so the least that could be done would be to personalize it. Realize that 2000 years ago there was no mail merge, had John wanted to send a personal letter to all seven of the churches telling them about his vision he would have had to hand write it seven times, which would have been time prohibitive and also very expensive. Remember this letter was not written on paper it was probably written on parchment made up of tanned animal skin.

 

But I don't think that it was simply a matter of courtesy or practicality that caused Jesus to include these personal notes to the seven churches in the Revelation. Instead I think it was a spiritual issue. Before these churches could hear from God they had to make sure there were no issues standing in the way.

 

And it's the same way two thousand years later; before we can hear from God collectively or individually we need to make sure there is nothing that's going to get in the way. Sometimes not always but sometimes I hear people say "When I pray it's like God doesn't hear me or like my prayers don't go any further then the ceiling." And I think: what do you expect you are living in disobedience to God's law? You understand don't you that sin puts a barrier between you and God? You can not have it both ways, you can't flaunt God's laws and have a relationship with Him. And so Jesus was saying, "Ok boys and girls let's get things straightened out and then we can talk."

 

And so we begin with the introduction Revelation 2:1 "Write this letter to the angel of the church in Ephesus. Last week we looked at some of the different meanings that could be ascribed to this term angel and decided that for the purposes of these letters that the term meant the overseer or pastor of these particular churches. Continuing on in the same verse This is the message from the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, the one who walks among the seven gold lampstands:

 

From Chapter one we discover that it is Jesus who holds the seven stars which are later identified as the seven angels or seven pastors and the seven gold lampstands are these churches. It is important to note a couple of things about this reference. The first is that the stars or angels or pastors are held in the right hand of Christ. The pastor's primary responsibility is not to please the local church or even the people who make up that church, the primary responsibility of the pastor is to please God, now hopefully when the Pastor makes God happy he will in turn make the people of the church happy, but that isn't always the way it works, sorry.

 

The second thing we need to note is that Jesus is walking among the lampstands or the churches. Jesus doesn't just watch what is happening in our church from a distances but he is to be a part of the daily life of our church. And if Cornerstone Wesleyan Church is to be the church that it's supposed to be then Jesus needs to be not only a symbolic presence in our church but he needs to be a very real presence. And that happens as he is present in the lives of the believers who make up the church.

 

And so this letter is addressed to pastor of the church at Ephesus and from there to the people of the church of Ephesus. If we pull up a map we discover that the city of Ephesus was located in what is now Turkey. It was the most important city in the area, while Pergamum was the actual capital of the Roman Province of Asia Ephesus was its greatest city. It was called The Gateway to Asia because it was the home of the largest harbour in Asia. It's kind of interesting that 2000 years later the ocean is now 10 kms away, and what was once a proud harbour is now beach and marsh where silt from the sea washed in and eventually destroyed the thing that made Ephesus so important. And so once the city's connection to the sea disappeared so did the city.

 

The church in Ephesus was started by Apollos and you can read the account in Acts 18. But it was Paul who really shaped this church. Through Acts chapter 19 and 20 we see the influence that he had on the original group of believers. Plus we have one of the letters that Paul wrote to the church, the book of Ephesians in the New Testament. But that was probably 40 years prior to this letter being written.

 

Now if you are thinking "I should know something about Ephesus that I didn't learn in church" you are right. If you can remember the ancient history course that you took in High School then you might remember that Ephesus was home to one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Any guesses? That's right Ephesus was the home to the Temple of Artemis, or Diana the Greek goddess of the Hunt and nature. Here is an artist's rendition of what the temple would have looked like when the Revelation was written, It was 425 feet long by 220 feet wide, that would be what 2 acres? It was made up of 127 columns that were each 60 foot high. It was truly a spectacular building. Very similar to our expansion plans. Maybe ours won't be quite that big. Here is a picture of what remains of the temple, and while we are at it this is a picture of the amphitheatre in Ephesus, to give you an idea of the size of the city this theatre will sit twenty five thousand people, here is a shot of the wide boulevard that leads up to the theatre. You would have thought they would have thought of that when they put the Metro centre down town.

 

Not only was it a city of commerce and culture it was a corrupted city, funny how those three "C"s so often go together. The temple of Artemis housed hundreds of priestess who were in fact nothing more then sacred prostitutes. And so it was in this the greatest and perhaps most immoral city of Asia Minor that we find the church of Ephesus.

 

That's who the letter was intended for.

 

Some teachers in the past fifty years have put forth the theory that these letters not only refer to specific church in a specific time and place but also represent a period in church history. In the case of the Ephesian church they say that period would be the early church, which existed from Pentecost until around 90 ad when this letter was written. Now when John wrote the Revelation and when the believers in these churches read it they probably weren't thinking, "Some day these letters will apply to various stages in Church history." but in retrospect we can make it fit.

 

There are also lessons for us to learn today, this letter applies to who we are and where we are as believers in 2008. The lessons are there for us as a church. And you need to understand that when Jesus was speaking to an individual church he was speaking to the collective average of the church. Dr. Joseph Kanzlemar in his book "The end of the Age and Beyond" said "The reference to any of these seven churches is to the average of it's constituency. And we find that the Lord still deals with the local congregation on this Basis." Under Kanzelmar's theory the local church will not be judged on the basis of a few on fire Christians nor on the basis of the unsaved in a church. But instead the local church will be judged on the spiritual temperature of the majority of the people in the church.

 

Luckily we won't be judged individually on a corporate average, but the church will be.

 

Then Jesus begins by commending the church for several things. Revelation 2:2-3 "I know all the things you do. I have seen your hard work and your patient endurance. I know you don't tolerate evil people. You have examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but are not. You have discovered they are liars. You have patiently suffered for me without quitting.

 

The scary part are the first seven words did you catch them "I know all the things you do." We know that, but we don't think about it do we? We don't actually stop and think: Jesus is going to know that I did this. Sometimes we need to stop and actually realize He knows what I say, what I do, what I read, what I watch and what I listen to.

 

And I don't want you to think that as he sees and hears that he stands there with a big stick ready to whump on us, no he stands there with a broken heart disappointed in us, because he knows that if we really wanted to allow the Holy Spirit to control our lives that our lives could and would be different. And on a corporate level Jesus knows all about Cornerstone Wesleyan Church, what we do and what we say we do.

 

And so here is the message for the Ephesians: Jesus tells them "You know guys it looks like you've got it all together, you work really hard as a church, and you do all the right things. You don't take your faith lightly you work hard at being Christians and you have stickwithinness, doesn't matter what happens you just keep going and going. You are the Energizer Bunny of Churches. And you know the truth; there is no compromise with you. You have all the "i"s dotted and all the "t"s crossed. When false teachers show up you know your Bible inside out and you aren't afraid to show them the door. In a city as corrupt as Ephesus you have held the truth high and not wavered from it."

 

I don't know about you but if I was the church in Ephesus hearing all this stuff I'd be feeling pretty good about myself. Thinking "Yes that's right, we've done good." What a church, they worked hard at being an ideal church, they didn't lack in good deeds and moral integrity, they rejected sin from their midst, tested teachers and knew how to separate the true ones from the false ones. And were perseverant to the end. You gotta love them. What was it the Toyota ads used to ask, "Who could ask for anything more?"

 

Well apparently Jesus could because he says "Whoa, not so fast guys, there's something else. You've worked hard, you've been perseverant and you have not tolerated evil but. . ." And you know that one of the rules of Biblical Exegesis is that after the "But" comes the "Truth". Actually that's just a rule of life. Don't you just love that word but. You know when you hear "That was a great meal, but. . ." or "That's a nice looking suit, but. . ." "I really like the sermon, but. . ."

 

And so here it comes for the Ephesians, Revelation 2:4 "But I have this complaint against you. You don't love me or each other as you did at first! Ouch. That's gotta hurt. You ever hear those words in a personal relationship, you don't love me like you used to? And sometimes they are right, sometimes love fades and disappears. Maybe because of neglect or apathy, maybe because the person isn't as lovable as they once were. But yeah sometimes first love disappears, not necessarily because we want it too and we certainly don't plan it but it does. When I'm counselling couples who are struggling in a relationship I will often challenge them to return to their first love. To remember what it was that attracted them to their partner in the first place, to remember how they felt and the commitments they made. We don't plan on falling out of love, when we get married we don't say "Well this will be good for a few years then I'll fall out of love and move on." No in most cases we take serious "Till death do us part" We believe that our first love will never change. That's why Benjamin Disraeli who was the Prime Minister of England in the 1800s said "The magic of first love is our ignorance that it can never end."

And Jesus is looking at the church and saying, "You don't love me like you used to." And we're not sure how that love had changed. Some would suggest that the love that was lost was their enthusiasm for the Lord. A similar analogy is used in the Old Testament, in Jeremiah 2:2 I remember how eager you were to please me as a young bride long ago, how you loved me and followed me even through the barren wilderness. Often times there is a honeymoon period in a relationship but then the first flush of enthusiasm fades. Perhaps Jesus is insinuating that the joy and enthusiasm of the Ephesian Church had disappeared.

 

And really how many of us can look back at the hunger with which we devoured the word of God right after our conversion, and the urgency and conviction that we shared the Gospel with our lost family and friends. But then everything got ordinary, we just kind of drifted along until we lost our first love.

 

Our relationship with Christ is much like a marriage and that is it's not self sustaining but it requires effort and work if we are going to keep the fire burning as bright as it was in the courtship days.

 

Our Christian walk is not evidence of perpetual motion. Christ doesn't give us a push at conversion and expect that one touch to keep us moving forever. We have to keep going back to the source of our power and that is Jesus.

 

Not only does Jesus tell the Ephesians that they don't love him like they used to he says they don't love each other the way they used to either. Do you remember the descriptions that were given of the early church in the book of Acts? They had everything in common, and nobody wanted for anything. It would appear that was no longer the case.

 

It may be that in an attempt to achieve the things that Christ had commended them for, in their heresy hunting and quest for perfect orthodoxy that they had killed the brotherly love that they once had shared.

 

We've all seen churches like that , boy they have the rules down pat, they can quote doctrine inside out, they cross each theological "T" just right and nobody can dot those "Is" they way they can. But there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of love or compassion in their fellowship. They were dead right but at the same time they were so wrong. And when the price of orthodoxy is the loss of love then orthodoxy has cost too much because as William Barclay stated "All the orthodoxy in the world will never take the place of love."

 

And Jesus finishes by telling the Christians in the Ephesian church that if they don't change their way that he will and I quote from Revelation 2:5 I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches. That simply means that if we as a church do not maintain our initial love for Christ and each other then we will be marked off that big heavenly list of Christian churches. You understand that a church isn't a church because it's called a church right? A church is a church because of it's relationships with Christ and with Christians.

 

There are too many churches in Canada in 2008 that still have a cross on their roof and Christ in their name but they are no more a Christian church then the Lions Club or Kiwanis they are just one more social club. And that can happen to any church, regardless of the name on the door, when they forget who they are and why they are here.

 

But that's not the way it has to be, this is the advice that Jesus gave to the Church in Ephesus Revelation 2:5 Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first.

Another translation says it this way:

Revelation 2:5 Look how far you have fallen from your first love! Turn back to me again and work as you did at first.

Summed up in three words Jesus said; Remember, Repent, Return. Story is told about an old farm couple who were driving along in their pickup and she says, "We never sit all snuggled up in the truck like we used to." He looks over at her and replies "I haven't moved" When we discover as a church or as individual believers that we aren't as close to God as we once were, understand this he didn't move, we did. And it's up to us to move back. So where are you at this morning? If you have lost your first love you can get it back. All you have to do is remember what it was like, ask for forgiveness for moving and return to where you had been.

Letter to the church Intro

 

One letter, seven churches. Most of us are familiar with the Revelation of John, the last book in the New Testament, or at least we think we are. We've breezed through it pausing on the sensational bits, dragons, beasts with seven heads and ten horns and locust the size of Volkswagens. But for most of us what we know about the Revelation is actually what we know about the Left Behind Series or the Late Great Planet Earth. However the Revelation was originally addressed to a group of believers who didn't have Tim LaHaye or Hal Lindsay to guide them or confuse them, whatever the case may be.

 

Two comments that you might find interesting, one person wrote about the Revelation saying "There are as many riddles in the Revelation as there are words." While another wrote "The study of the Revelation either finds or leaves a man mad."

 

So let's start with a little background to the book of the Revelation. The book itself tells us that the author was someone by the name of John. Now tradition tells us that it was the Apostle John but there is no biblical evidence of that, all we know is that the authors name was John. Those who are in the know tell us that there is a good chance that the book was written by someone whose first language was not Greek. William Barclay the writer of the Daily Study Bible commentaries wrote this about the Greek that was used here "It is vivid, powerful, and pictorial; but from the point of view of grammar it is easily the worst Greek in the New Testament. He makes mistakes which no schoolboy who knew Greek could make." But then again someone reading my writing before it gets proof read would deduce that English wasn't my native tongue.

 

However whoever John was he wrote in a style that is often called Apocalyptic literature. Which comes from the Greek word which means the unveiling. And Apocalyptical writings were very popular especially between the Old and New Testaments. The Jewish people had been living under the rule of occupying armies for five hundred years and they looked ahead to the day that the Messiah would deliver his people. And the Revelation borrows from much of that literature in style but the message of the Revelation is very Christ centred.

 

Scholars place the writing of the Revelation somewhere around 90 – 95 about 60 years after the death and resurrection of Christ. The letter was written from a small Island in the Mediterranean Sea called Patmos; we are told by John that he was there because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus, which traditional has been accepted to mean that he had been exiled to the Island because of his faith. So Patmos was a penal colony situated in the Aegean Sea between Turkey and the Isle of Crete.

 

If I pull up a map here we can see where the Isle of Patmos is actually located and here is a picture of Patmos today. It looks fairly pleasant, a small island ten miles long and five miles wide but listen to the Words of Sir William Ramsay, "John's banishment would be preceded by scourging, marked by perpetual fetters, scanty clothing, insufficient food, sleep on the bare ground, a dark prison and work under the lash of the military overseer." Pretty rugged conditions for a man probably in his nineties, no matter how pretty the view. And even if he wasn't forced into hard labour, it was still exile, far from his home, family and friends.

 

It was the time the Emperor Domitian who was the first emperor to insist on emperor worship. That is he actually believed that he was a god and insisted that he be worshipped as such by all his subjects. Each year you would be required to appear at the temple and offer a pinch of incense and utter the words "Caesar is Lord." Well for the Christians that posed a bit of a problem because they believed that only Jesus is Lord, and so they refused to obey the edict. Domitian responded by having those who refused to call him God executed, imprisoned or exiled. And it would appear that John had been exiled probably from 90 until 96 the death of Domitian

 

And so this rocky, barren island becomes the backdrop for the vision that John records as the Revelation, the influence of the sea can be seen throughout the book with the word sea or ocean being used twenty five times in different analogies. At times as you read through the book you can almost hear the crash of waves in the background.

 

And so John tells us in Revelation 1:10-11 It was the Lord's Day, and I was worshiping in the Spirit. Suddenly, I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet blast. It said, "Write in a book everything you see, and send it to the seven churches in the cities of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea." Couple of points here, no one has really completely established what was meant by worshipping in the Spirit, some would contend that John was in some mystical trance like state but others would say that he was simply enjoying private worship. The term the Lord's Day would imply that it was the first day of the week, that is Sunday. And John was worshipping, perhaps he had been singing a piece by Hillsongs Jerusalem, maybe he had been reading his scriptures or meditating on the goodness of God, we don't know what it was specifically that for John entailed worshipping in the Spirit, but we do know that he was in a position spiritually to be open and receptive to what Jesus would have him hear, it was almost like he had a epiphany.

And part of what he learned from the Lord was that this vision was to be addressed to seven specific churches located in the following cities, Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. The churches are said to be in Asia and when the letter was written that did not mean the continent of Asia instead it was the

Roman province of Asia which is now in what we know as Turkey.

 

Why seven? Why not 3 or 10 or 4? We don't know why these churches were picked there were certainly more churches in the area then these specific ones, and there have been several theories about why the letter was addressed to these individual churches. It has been suggested that John may have had a special relationship to these distinct churches. Maybe he had preached there, or knew the pastors or some of the members and so they would be more receptive to the letter he sent.

 

Others have suggested that seven is the number of completeness and therefore the seven churches represent all churches. Certainly the number seven figures very heavily in the book of Revelation it is mentioned over thirty times. There are seven years, seven seals, seven trumpets, seven angels, seven bowls and seven plagues. So maybe he just thought that seven churches would be appropriate, kind of fit the pattern. These may have been the largest churches in the area and so perhaps the letters were sent there and then distributed to other smaller churches.

 

If we pull up a map of the area where these churches were we discover that they are or were located here: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. Almost a circle, certainly a circular route. In a day and age without email, fax machines or even a postal service it would be unrealistic to think the letter would be sent to every church and so these seven were chosen. Why? You can put that on your God questions for when you get to heaven.

 

It has been suggested that not only do the letters apply to the seven specific individual historical churches but also to a wider range. There are some who would suggest that each of the churches represents a period in church history. Ephesus describes the early church, Smyrna the persecuted Church, Pergamum the Popularized Church, Thyatira the Dark Ages, Sardis the Reformation Period, Philadelphia the Revived Church, and Laodicea the lukewarm church of today.

 

Now if it's not confusing enough with the historical meaning and the church age meaning there is one other way that we can view these churches and that is indicative of various churches today. That is that we can find churches here and now that mirror each of these seven situations, there are churches just like Ephesus or Sardis or Laodicea. Over the next little while we are going to look at each of the seven churches, were they were historically how the letter applied to that particular situation, how that might be an analogy of a particular period in church history and what warnings and advice we can find there for Cornerstone Wesleyan Church in 2008.

 

Louise read from Revelation chapter 1 earlier in the service and this is the last verse that she read, remember these are the words of Christ: Revelation 1:20 This is the meaning of the mystery of the seven stars you saw in my right hand and the seven gold lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches. I had a professor at college who used to say "Well that's clear as mud and covers the ground." I'm glad that Jesus cleared that up for us, but we need to understand these two things before we can move on to the individual churches. The clarification that Jesus gives goes back to Revelation 1:12-13 When I turned to see who was speaking to me, I saw seven gold lampstands. And standing in the middle of the lampstands was someone like the Son of Man. He was wearing a long robe with a gold sash across his chest. And then in Revelation 1:16 He held seven stars in his right hand. . . Now Jesus is explaining to John what it was that he was seeing.

1) The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches.
John saw Jesus holding seven stars in his hand and Jesus tells him these stars represent the angels of the seven churches. Which may have clarified it for John but doesn't do a whole lot for us. John probably said "Ah" and we say "Huh?"

There are at least four possibilities for who these angels are. In it's simplest sense the word angel in the Greek simply means messenger. But in most cases when the word was used it meant a heavenly messenger, what we would think of as an Angel, white robes big wings, the whole shooting match. But other times it meant messenger and there are some who would suggest that these seven angels were human messengers who had gathered to take John's message to their respective churches. Early Fed-Ex guys. Now linguistically it makes sense, to the seven messengers of the seven churches, but when we get into the letters themselves is it would appear that whoever the angels were they were more then simply messengers.

2) In all the other instances in the Revelation the word angel means angel, a heavenly being, and with that in mind there have been some who have suggested that perhaps these were guardian angels who protected the individual churches. Some early scholars actually believed that these angels would be held accountable if a church went wrong. And if that is true that each church has it's own angel to guide and protect it then some angels need to be slapped. The problem is that even though it is the angel who is mentioned in the opening of each letter it is obviously the members of the church who are being addressed.

3) Both Greeks and Jews believed that every earthly thing had a heavenly counterpart and so it is suggested that the angel being addressed is the Ideal of the church, the way it's supposed to be.

4) It has been suggested that the angels of the church were actually their human overseers or dare I say; Pastors, and that the letters were addressed to their spiritual shepherds. What do you think, how would I look with wings? This particular view is backed up by Malachi 2:7 "The words of a priest's lips should preserve knowledge of God, and people should go to him for instruction, for the priest is the messenger of the Lord of Heaven's Armies. In the Greek Old Testament the word used for messenger is the same word that used here for angels.

Traditionally it has been this last view that most scholars have accepted that the seven angels were the bishops or pastors of these seven churches. Which of course has some serious implications for Pastors. You see each of you is responsible for your individual behaviour and obedience as a believer. However as the overseer of Cornerstone Wesleyan Church as your pastor dare I say as your angel not only am I responsible for my obedience and behaviour but I'm also responsible for your collective obedience and behaviour. And you wonder why I get testy once in awhile.

Because the seven stars were held in the right hand of Jesus that would indicate that the Pastor's primary responsibility is not to the congregation as a whole and not to any one member of the congregation in particular but to God. In 2008 the role of Pastor does not have the respect in the community or even the church that it had a generation ago, but that doesn't mean that it's any less important. My role in this church is to serve and speak for God. Psalm 105:15 "Do not touch my chosen people, and do not hurt my prophets." But enough of that.

 

2. The seven lampstands are the seven churches. How do I know that? Because in Revelation 1:20 it says the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
Let's go back for a minute to Revelation 1:12-13 When I turned to see who was speaking to me, I saw seven gold lampstands. And standing in the middle of the lampstands was someone like the Son of Man. He was wearing a long robe with a gold sash across his chest.

 

Three things we need to take note of: First of all the lampstands were gold they were not iron or brass or even silver, they were gold. And while that may not mean much to us outside of an economic statement today it had a much different connotation 2000 years ago. The context of Gold when this letter was written was not only of worth but also of purity. Do not write off the church. Society has declared the church to be irrelevant and some believers feel that they don't need the church that they can worship alone. But God in his infinite wisdom choose to use this vessel that we sometimes see as imperfect as being his instrument of change for the world. In John's vision he did not see Jesus surrounded by individual believers all worshipping God in their own way, he saw Jesus in the centre of the churches. Remember the scriptures call the church the Bride of Christ and listen to Ephesians 5:27 He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault. And no that is not a description of the church today, as long as the church is made up of people it will have spots and blemishes, but the ultimate plan is for it to be perfect. By the way if you ever find a perfect church, don't go to it would be a shame to ruin it.

Every once in awhile I run into believers who worship at home, don't go to church just do the home thing, and when you ask them they say "I haven't been able to find the right church." Ok, well maybe the problem isn't the church.

The second thing we need to see here is not only was it gold it was a gold lampstand. Do you know what a lampstand is? It's a stand for a lamp. The church is not a lamp, it is a lamp stand. The light does not come from the stand it comes from the lamp. Now there are two ways that we can view this and they are both valid. Jesus said in John 8:12 Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, "I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won't have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life." And so there are those who say, correctly, that the light that shines from the church must be Jesus. That when a church no longer preaches Jesus as the son of God who was born of a virgin, died on a cross and was resurrected on the third day offering forgiveness to those who seek it, then they are no longer the Church, they have no light in themselves.

And there are those who would say look at John 9:5 Jesus said But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world."And then in Matthew 5:14 Jesus says "You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. And so there are those who say, correctly, that Jesus left believers to be light to the world. And that the light that shines from the church is from individual believers and that it is our responsibility to shine that light. And either way when the light, whether it comes from Christ or Christians is removed then the lampstand is no longer of any use.

The third thing about lampstands is about lampstands. Within the frame work of the scriptures when the word lampstand was used Jews immediately thought of one thing. The Menorah. It's described in Exodus 25:31-32 "Make a lampstand of pure, hammered gold. Make the entire lampstand and its decorations of one piece—the base, center stem, lamp cups, buds, and petals. Make it with six branches going out from the center stem, three on each side. And it would have looked something like this.

The revelation is not talking about the seven lamps that make up the lampstand. Instead it is talking about seven individual lampstands. Each lampstand has a unity, it is connected to itself. Within the church there needs to be a unity, we as a body need to be united. But there is no physical connection between the seven lampstands, the unity for all of them combined comes from Christ who is in the centre. You understand that there needs to be unity within the individual lampstand, that's us Cornerstone Wesleyan Church, and there needs to be unity within the church as a whole, that's us as Cornerstone Wesleyan Church and Hammonds Plains Christian Church, and Sackville Wesleyan, and the Vineyard and Emmanuel Baptist.

And so there must be unity in the lampstand and unity with the lampstands.

Over the next eight weeks we will be looking at these letters and what they are saying to us, the people of Cornerstone today.

What is Your Canadian Idol

Anybody been watching Canadian Idol this season? I have just caught one episode and I really should make a confession here, I only watch it for the train wrecks in the first few weeks. The same with American Idol, I think I have only watched one season all the way through since American Idol debuted on the fox network in 2002.

 

You may think that Canadian Idol had it's roots in the hit American Idol. The truth however is that like many American television shows the concept was first seen in the UK. In this case it was a wildly popular British Program called Pop Idol. American Idol not only borrowed the theme from the Brits it also borrowed acid tongued Simon Cowell who had also been a judge on the original show.

 

The concept has remained the same in all three shows plus the plethora of clones that are being broadcast around the world. First an open audition call is put out and thousands of young people flock to various cities to compete for a spot on the show. In the case of Canadian Idol auditions were held in ten different cities including Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Halifax and St. John's and the auditions attracted over 10,000 hopefuls. This year they also allowed online auditions to add to the pool of hopefuls.

 

Of those more than 10,000 a little only 2% or 200 were selected to move on to Toronto and from those 200 it's now been whittled down to 24.

 

Now if you have watched the show you know as well as I do that not all of those who appeared before the celebrity judges got there because of their talent. Some appeared before the judges for the sole purpose of humiliation, you know that people who were that lacking in talent didn't slip through the cracks.

 

I don't think I'm the only one smart enough to figure that out, as a matter of fact a correspondent for the Toronto Sun wrote these words when Canadian Idol first aired: A few of the on-camera auditions showcased people who had no business getting that far. In Toronto there were two auditions before the celebrity judges even heard the contestants. The truly bad were supposedly weeded out, but some were probably singled out for their awfulness, as a few bumped Toronto-area contestants have suggested. The same is surely true for American Idol. Watching people die on television has become a bigger kick than watching them succeed. It must be underlined somewhere in the American Idol playbook: Make sure you have enough freaks and losers.

 

Now on one hand I feel bad for them, but on the other hand they did get in line and audition.

 

Once the 200 were in Toronto they appeared before the celebrity judges over a three day period and 176 of the hopefuls were eliminated leaving 24 of the original 10,000. Including Lindsay Barr from Halifax and Mitch MacDonald from Port Hood, which for the uninitiated is in Cape Breton.

 

But what is an Idol? The dictionary defines it this way i·dol (īd'l) noun

1.    a. An image used as an object of worship. b. A false god.

2.    One that is adored, often blindly or excessively.

3.    Something visible but without substance.

 

 

I would suspect that it is definition number two that those who took part in the auditions for Canadian Idol were trying achieve especially the excessively part. However if they are like a lot of the idols who come our way they will probably fit number 3 better.

 

Washington Irving said "The idol of today pushes the hero of yesterday out of our recollection; and will, in turn, be supplanted by his successor of tomorrow." Which would probably explain what Matt Dillon meant when [Reflecting on his former status as a teen idol] said "Thirty was so strange for me. I've really had to come to terms with the fact that I am now a walking and talking adult." We don't just cast off our idols do we? Well maybe just a little.

 

Canadian Idol is fun, some people will be disappointed and others will be hurt, which they knew might happened when they entered, but overall it will be enjoyed by many people between now and September when the winner is selected. At the end at least one young Canadian will have the opportunity to begin a professional music career and millions of others will have been entertained on Monday and Tuesday nights through the summer.

 

There are other Canadian Idols though which aren't nearly as harmless. William B. Ullathorne was a Benedictine Monk in the late 1800s and he summed it up when "Whatever a man seeks, honours, or exalts more than God, this is the god of his idolatry."

 

Do you remember the second commandment? Deuteronomy 5:8-9 "You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind, or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods.

 

When I was in High School I was part of the debating team and one winter our coach returned from Hawaii with a souvenir of his trip, it was a small wooded deity, an idol. Mr. Thompson told us his name was Kahunna Achami and that he was the Hawaiian god of wisdom.

Not being believers at the time, my best friend who is now a Wesleyan pastor as well, and I started taking Kahunna to various debating tournaments, we would set up a little shrine, bow down offer some prayers and request wisdom for the debate. Mr. Thompson was a devout Catholic and it drove him nuts, until finally Kahunna disappeared from the class room never to return.

 

Not all idols are carved from wood, and you don't necessarily have to set up a little shrine and offer prayers in order to worship them. George Bernard Shaw made this observation "The savage bows down to idols of wood and stone: the civilized man to idols of flesh and blood. While Ralph Waldo Emerson said "We boast our emancipation from many superstitions; but if we have broken any idols, it is through a transfer of idolatry."

 

So what are some Canadian Idols in 2008? This morning we are going to take a look at four different Canadian Idols and just like the show we are going to have comments from four Judges, and just like the show they will not make the final decision you will. Let's meet our Judges. First of all we have Jesus of Nazareth also known as the Messiah or the Christ. Jesus is the Son of God, who was born of a virgin, died on a cross for our sins, rose from the dead after three days and ascended into heaven forty days later.

 

Our second judge is Saul of Tarsus more commonly known as Paul the Apostle. You might remember that Paul was a Jewish religious leader who sought to destroy the early Christian Church but after an encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus become Christianities greatest missionary.

 

Our third judge is Solomon. Born the son of David and Bathsheba he was king of Israel and was reputed to be the wisest man to ever live. You might recall that much of his wisdom has been recorded in the book of Proverbs in the Old Testament.

 

For our fourth judge we will bring in various celebrities to express their opinion. But remember that ultimately the final decision rests with you. So let's take a look at our first Canadian Idol.

 

1) Idol of Money Probably at the top o the list of things we worship as Canadians is our money. Author Edward Dahlberg
"There is a strange and mighty race of people called the Americans who are rapidly becoming the coldest in the world because of this cruel, man-eating idol, lucre." Although Dahlberg was referring to Americans it's not too far of a stretch to include Canadians in the same category. If you take a look around in 2008 you discover that money is becoming increasing more important to the people of Canada. We have become infatuated with stuff and in order to have stuff we first need to have money. And we do all kinds of things to obtain that money.

 

In 1990 James Patterson and Peter Kim wrote a book based on extensive surveys of the American Public, the book was called; "The Day That America Told The Truth." Questions were asked concerning a wide range of topics from morality to work to family life. The results are really quite surprising. And while it's easy to write off the results as being American I'm sure that many of the results would have been the same on this side of the 49th.

 

One of the questions asked was "What would you be willing to do for Ten Million Dollars?" I know we've looked at this before but it's still fascinating. A follow up survey was done asking about 5, 4, 3 and 2 million dollars and the results remained fairly consistent. It was only under $2 million that they began to see a fall off in what people would do. So it would appear the price for many Americans was $2 million. Out of the ten questions asked 2/3 of the respondents agreed they would be willing to do at least one, and some several of the deeds. What were they? Would abandon their entire family 25%, Would abandon their Church 25%, Would become prostitutes for a week or more 23%, Would give up their American citizenship 16%, Would leave their spouse 16%, Would withhold testimony and let a murderer go free 10%, Would kill a stranger 7%, would change their race 6%, would have a sex change operation 4%, or would put their children up for adoption 3%.

 

You say that you have no interest in a million dollars, come on? At least be as honest as Mark Twain who said "I am opposed to millionaires, but it would be dangerous to offer me the position."

 

If money wasn't an idol in Canada then Atlantic Lottery and it's compatriots would all be money losing operations and the casino would never have opened in Halifax.

 

So what do our Judges have to say? So, Jesus, what do you think of this idol? Matthew 6:24 "No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

 

How about you Paul? 1 Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.

 

And what's your opinion Solomon? Proverbs 11:28 Trust in your money and down you go! But the godly flourish like leaves in spring.

 

And our celebrity Judge is Woody Allen actor, writer and director, Mr. Allen what do you think of Money as the Canadian Idol? "Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons."

 

There you go, but remember ultimately it's your decision.

 

The second Idol is a sibling of the first and that is 2) Idol of Career. When we think of those who worship their career we might be tempted to think that it is tied to money but often there are other underlying factors that come into play.

 

Perhaps they are driven by how people view them, or even how they view themselves. Their life and their identity become tied to what they do for a living. Who they are has been replaced by what they are. And when that happens no sacrifice is too great or too large to be offered up to the idol. Family time is given up, personal time is given up they become so busy making a living that you forget to make a life.

 

Ethics might be sacrificed; the question would be "What would you be willing to do to keep this job?" Stretch the truth? Tell a lie? And remember if it's 90% true it's still a 100% false. Use a co-worker as a stepping stone?

 

Would you be willing to compromise who you are and what you believe in? When you know you should say or do something but the result might be that you loose your job and so you keep quiet. After all it was British Statesman Edmund Burke who said "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."
Christian men and women have walked away from God because he stood in the way of their career. A few years ago my neighbour had a new SUV and I commented on it, he said "I got it for my wife." And I said "Good trade." But I wonder how many people have traded a vibrant relationship with God for a career? Not a good trade.

 

But let's listen to what our judges have to say, first lets hear from Paul
Colossians 3:23 Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.

 

Thank you Paul and now Jesus Matthew 6:33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

 

And what do you think King Solomon? Ecclesiastes 2:20 So I gave up in despair, questioning the value of all my hard work in this world.

 

Our celebrity judge in this round is author John Dos Passos
"People don't choose their careers; they are engulfed by them."

 

There you go, but remember it's your decision.

 

Even in saying that many people worship work we can't forget the 3) Idol of Pleasure In 2008 many Canadians have adopted the "If it feels good do it" philosophy. Happiness becomes the primary goal and not just long term happiness and satisfaction but immediate gratification. Therefore if I'm not happy in my marriage right now, then I should get out of my marriage. Or if my spouse isn't meeting my needs whether those needs be emotional or physical and I think someone else could meet those need then there's nothing wrong with getting them met elsewhere.

 

The recreational use of drugs and alcohol is often simply a short cut to the pleasure idol; it makes me feel good so it must be good. Elliot Spitzer was the former Governor of New York who was arrested in the prostitution sting back in March. What would possess a someone like that to do something like that? Could it be that he was worshipping at the idol of pleasure? It's interesting that if he had of picked up a girl for a one night stand at a bar it wouldn't have been a newsworthy item.

 

With all the evidence on how to prevent HIV why after 25 years is it still an issue? Maybe because it would involve limiting some peoples perceived pleasure. Homosexuals justify their behaviour, pedophiles justify their behaviour, and people who destroy their marriages and wreck their families will justify their behaviour because it gives them pleasure. You don't have to watch television commercials for very long before you discover they aren't selling shampoo, razors blades or beer they are selling pleasures. So judges what do you think?

 

Solomon Ecclesiastes 2:1-2 I said to myself, "Come on, let's try pleasure. Let's look for the 'good things' in life." But I found that this, too, was meaningless. So I said, "Laughter is silly. What good does it do to seek pleasure?"

 

Jesus Luke 8:14 The seeds that fell among the thorns represent those who hear the message, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life. And so they never grow into maturity.

 

Paul Galatians 5:19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures,

 

Benjamin Franklin is an Author, inventor and one of the founding Fathers of our neighbours to the South what do you think Ben? "Many a man thinks he is buying pleasure, when he is really selling himself to it."

 

There you go, but remember it's your decision.

 

I had actually only planned on presenting three idols but late in the week I decided that we should call one more in for a brief appearance. So here it is Idol number 4, the Idol of Popular Opinion In Teens we call this peer pressure. In adults I'm not sure what we call it but we are so caught up in what other people think about us that it dictates what we do, what we say and what we believe.

 

I wonder how many people actually agree with same sex marriages, and how many smile and nod because they don't want to be thought of as backward or bigoted. I wonder how many of us have done and said things or not done and said things because we are afraid of what people might think of us?

 

They say that silence is golden but sometimes it's just plain yellow.

 

We are afraid that our kids will try any number of vices because of peer pressure; maybe someone should be worrying about us.

 

So let's hear what our judges have to say about this idol?

 

Let's hear from our celebrity judge first, it's English writer W. Somerset Maugham "If forty million people say a foolish thing it does not become a wise one."

 

What about you Paul? 2 Thessalonians 2:3 Don't be fooled by what they say.

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And Solomon? Proverbs 17:4 Wrongdoers listen to wicked talk; liars pay attention to destructive words.

 

And finally Jesus? Mark 8:27-29 Jesus and his disciples left Galilee and went up to the villages near Caesarea Philippi. As they were walking along, he asked them, "Who do people say I am?" "Well," they replied, "some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say you are one of the other prophets." Then he asked them, "But who do you say I am?" Peter replied, "You are the Messiah."

 

Here is the bottom line folks, it doesn't matter what others say Jesus is or isn't what matters is your decision. In Canadian Idol the final decision will rest with the viewers who call in, in your life you will make the decision who you will follow.