Devotional “Revival: Precursors to Revival” - Revelations 2: 1-5

October 29th, 2017

Devotional

“Revival: Precursors to Revival” - Revelations 2: 1-5

Keep the sermon topic and Biblical text preaching all week by following Pastor Michelle on twitter @tinypastor and reading her sermon blog www.revmichelle.blogspot.com

Monday: “To Ephesus” - Revelations 2:1

Whenever I was leading college-aged Bible studies, at least once every few years a student would ask to study Revelations. When asked why, they always gave the same response - they wanted to learn about the end time. So we would set out to study Revelation, which often took most of the school year, but we did so with one condition, that the students keep an open mind.

Often they would leave the study saying they learned a lot more about themselves and the church then anything else from such a study. As we would start with chapter 1 of Revelation and lead into this chapter we would discuss what a revelation was exactly - a message from God given to a prophet for the sake of a community. 

This weeks message comes to the church in Ephesus. The same Ephesus Paul visited. The same Ephesus addressed in Ephesians. The same Ephesus where Mary the mother of Jesus lived out her last years. Yet, as we will Ephesus is not what it once way. 

Write a letter to our church today. What would you have to say? What would God have to say? 

Prayer: Jesus, we ask this week as we study a piece of Revelations, that you open up our hearts and minds. That we not just look for what is to come, but how you may be speaking to us today. Speak to us, your Church, precious Lord. Amen. 

Tuesday: “I Know Your Works” - Revelations 2:2

In the letter of James we find the statement that faith without works is dead. Sometimes as a church we get all tied up around the concept of works. We preach that you cannot be saved by works, which is true, we can only be saved by Christ. But sometimes we also follow that thought so far as to say that we don’t need works at all, which isn’t scriptural as we see in James. Our works should testify to the Lordship of Christ in our lives.

In the modern Church another fallacy we sometimes slip into is that we should be faithful but we don’t need to be fruitful. Half of that statement is Biblically true, we are called to be faithful, but our works should also bear fruit for the Kingdom of God.

In this verse in Revelations, the author is lifting up the works of the church in Ephesus. They patiently endure. They test false teachers and prophets before believing what they say. They do not tolerate evil. 

If our works proclaim Jesus Christ, then we should be able to be known by our works as well. What do our works say about the vitality of our faith life?

If someone said to you “I know you by….” how would they finish that sentence?

How do your works reflect your love for Jesus Christ?

Prayer: Lord, we thank you that you have invited us to be part of the mission of the Kingdom of God. We thank you that you give us work to do. O Lord, may we be known as people whose work bears fruit for your name! Amen. 

Wednesday: “For the Sake of My Name” - Revelations 2:3

Things were not easy for the Early Church in any location or time prior to the third Century, when the ruler Constantine, made Christianity the religion of the state, which came with its own set of problems. When the author of Revelations states that the church in Ephesus endured and bore up for the sake of Christ’s name, this is a kind way to say that they suffered. Suffered persecution. 

Ephesus was the center of worship for the Greek goddess, Diana. There were temples to her honor located in the city. In Acts 19, we read that such worship was also coupled with commerce, folks came to trade artifacts that bore the goddess’s image. 

Additionally, being a city of trade meant a lot of people came through. They had to face people coming into the church who were trying to teach false things about Jesus. 

Internal and external influences made the church suffer. Yet they bore it. Not for their sake, but to make Jesus’s name known. How would we fare today, facing some of these same factors?

What would it look like/ feel like for you to endure suffering patiently for the sake of Christ’s name?

Prayer: Lord, we confess that sometimes we do not know if we can patiently endure for the sake of your name. We want your name to be known for the sake of our comfort as much as for the sake of your Kingdom. Forgive us Lord, and give us courage to face whatever may lie ahead. Amen. 

Thursday: “Abandoned Love” - Revelations 2:4

However, the author of Revelations also has a charge to lie out against the church in Ephesus, as with most of the churches that are written to. They have abandoned the love and passion that they had for Jesus Christ when they first heard and believed.

This is where works get even tricker. Works without faith is also dead, just as faith without works is dead. If as a church, we continue to do activities, just for the sake of the activities, and forgetting that they are undergirded by the desire to represent Christ to the world, then we’ve missed the mark.

The loss of first love, also speaks to a lack of commitment. The commitment to Jesus to represent him in the world. The commitment to love and serve one another. How can we regain the passion and commitment we had when we first believed?

How would your describe your passion and commitment to Christ?

Do your works represent the faith that you have in Jesus?

Prayer: Lord, we confess that sometimes it is easier to keep doing what we are doing instead of stopping and asking if what we do, truly bears fruit for your Kingdom. Forgive us, Lord, for our lack of faith and our lack of fruit at times. Renew in us a love for you and for the world which yo gave your very life for. Amen.

Friday: “Repent” - Revelation 2:5

It is difficult, if not impossible, to have revival in our own personal spirits without repentance. The author of Revelations reminds the people of Ephesus that things do not need to be this way. They can return to how things once were. They can once again make Christ’s name known among and beyond themselves.

What we do must be an overflow of the love that we have for Jesus Christ. If its not about Jesus then it quickly becomes about us. If it is not about brining people to know Jesus, it becomes about filling our pews and offering plates for the sake of our own survival. It is is not about works of compassion, generosity, and love that are reflections of the Sermon on the Mount, it becomes about the marks of modern society in greed and self-preservation.

Let us not fail to listen to what the church in Ephesus has to teach us today. 

What do we need to repent of as a church?

What do you need to repent of as an individual?

Prayer: Lord, propel us out. Out into the world that we sometimes fear. Out into the chaos and brokenness that our neighbors experience daily. Out to be your hands and feet and to build up your Kingdom for the sake of the Gospel. Use us, we pray. Amen. 

Saturday: Preparing for the Word

You are invited to read and pray this week’s text and topic: “Revival: A Longing for Holiness” -  1 Peter 1: 13-16

Family Activity: This week we talked in worship about how prayer is a precursor to revival. What would you like to pray about as a family? Write it down and keep praying about it. When it gets answered - record how God answered your prayer. Was it in the time and way that you expected?