Jesus' Report Card

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Becoming a Church that Pleases Jesus (Jesus’ Report Card of the Church) Revelation 2-3

Introduction Jesus has amazing plans and expectations for His church. The people of God have incredible potential made available by the death and resurrection of Jesus, the truth of God’s Word, and the power of His Spirit. He has designed us to advance His kingdom on the earth and has prophesied that the gates of hell will not be able to stop us! (Matthew 16:18-19) We want to be this kind of church! We want to walk in all that Jesus has made available for us. We want to be a pleasure to our Lord and serve Him effectively.

Introduction In the 2nd and 3rd chapters of Revelation, we are blessed to witness Jesus’ evaluation of the New Testament church. Basically, Jesus gives the church a report card, declaring many things that they are doing well and correcting some things that need to be changed. For the next several weeks, we will be reading Jesus’ words about the church - His Bride that He loves. This will be a great opportunity to encourage ourselves to continue in the things He commended and repent of the things that He corrected. In doing so, we will become a church that pleases Him and serves Him effectively.

Revelation 2:18-29

1. Don’t Tolerate False Teaching •

“Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads my servants…” Revelation 2:20

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“For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from truth and turn aside to myths.” 2 Timothy 4:3-4

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“See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles this world rather than on Christ.” Colossians 2:8

How to Identify False Teaching •

Read the Bible. (Hebrews 4:12) If we consistently ingest the truth of God’s Word, then we will be able to identify teaching that contradicts the Bible.

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Fellowship with the Spirit. (John 16:13) The Holy Spirit always guides us into truth. Learn to know Him and trust His leadings and warnings.

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Test the Teaching. (1 John 4:1) If a teaching does not acknowledge who Jesus is, as Lord and the Son of God, and give Him glory; then it is false teaching.

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Test the Teacher. (Matthew 7:15) What fruit is being produced by the teacher’s life? If his or her life is not characterized by Christ-likeness, it could be false.

1. Don’t Tolerate False Teaching •

Jesus considers it a very big deal when His people are lead away from Him through false teaching. As we see in this passage, there are great consequences for those who knowingly mislead the church and for those who knowingly follow false teaching.

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The elders of The Gathering always welcome anyone to come to them with any potential false teaching that is presented in our church. We are mere men and are vulnerable to failure just like any one else. We want correction when we’re wrong so we can be pure. There will always be grace on disputable matters but the fundamental truths of the gospel cannot be compromised so that His Kingdom may be furthered.

2. Repent from Idolatry • “Thou shalt have no other God’s before me.” Exodus 20:3. God’s people have always been prone to give ourselves to lesser gods that give us pleasure. • However, our God will not be mocked and He will not share His glory with the gods of this world. • A god can be anything than demands more time, attention, and affection than we give to the One true God. • A Biblical understanding of repentance is that we acknowledge sin before God, renew our mind to God’s truth, and let His truth create action that turns us away from sin and back into fellowship with God.

2. Repent from Idolatry • I understand that the message of repentance is not a popular one in our American Christian culture. There are some that teach that there is no longer a need or a place for repentance in view of the grace of God. • However, I believe that the Bible teaches that repentance is a wonderful gift of God’s grace! It is not a condemning word but a word of great mercy. The great gift of repentance allows us to be totally washed of our mistakes and maintain a love relationship with our Heavenly Father through the blood of Jesus our Lord. • Will you simply ask God if there are any idols currently in your life that He would lead you to repent from?

3. Repent from Sexual Immorality • “Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought with a price. Therefore honor God with your body.” 1 Corinthians 6:18-20 • Sexual immorality is important to God because it hurts His children, creates turmoil in their lives, draws them away from Him, leads others to do the same, and deteriorates the witness of His church on the earth. Sexual immorality perverts His wonderful plan for sex and destroys lives, families, and churches.

3. Repent from Sexual Immorality • Sexual sin is fun and pleasurable or no one would do it. But it has great consequences and it is not tolerated by Jesus in the church - His pure and spotless Bride. • The Bible defines sexual immorality to include sex before marriage, adultery, lustful thoughts about people whom we aren’t married to (which includes pornography, sexually charged movies, books, and video games) prostitution, and homosexuality. • God is offering each of us the gift of repentance today. If we are struggling with any of these sins, He welcomes us to leave them behind and return to sweet fellowship with Him through forgiveness by Jesus’ blood.

4. A Great Promise • In verse 24-29, Jesus offers us a great promise of two wonderful gifts if we hold on to the truth of the Gospel and keep ourselves from idolatry and sexual immorality. 1. That we will walk in the authority of Christ to disperse evil and radiate His love and power on the earth as it is in heaven. To walk in the fullness of Christ. 2. That we will have the Morning Star. (Rev 22:16) Jesus promises that we will intimately know and fellowship with Him. There is a burning desire deep inside each of us that cannot not be fulfilled by the pleasures of this world. This desire is to know Christ and fulfill our purpose as His friend and fellow servant on the earth for God’s glory.