psalm2004.com

If He were to come, what would He be looking for?  What would give Him pleasure?  What would bring sorrow into His heart? Would the buildings or the number of people impress Him? Would He be concerned about how much was in the offering? What would He hope to find? 

Fortunately, the Bible contains the answer to these questions. 

In the last Book of the New Testament there is an account of Jesus visiting seven different local congregations.  He has come to take their spiritual temperatures and to assess their spiritual well-being. 

He addresses His findings to the spiritual leaders.  A church will not rise above its leaders.  At the end of the day the leaders will be accountable to the Lord. 

After His visit He sends a letter to each of the churches.  In essence it was their report card.  In most of the letters there were three things:

·        Commendation – for what was right and good;

·        Condemnation – for what was wrong;

·        Counsel – how to fix the wrong and make it right .

Two of the seven churches received no condemnation.  His heart was gladdened by His visit.  One church received no commendation.  Though it was large, influential and rich, Jesus found nothing of spiritual significance there and His heart was deeply troubled. He summed the contrast up by inferring that the richest church was the poorest and the poorest was the richest.  His measuring stick was vastly different than ours. 

In the first church, in Ephesus, He is described as being, “in the midst of the church” (Revelation 2:1).  He is the centre and focal point.  He is to be the central One when we gather together.  Church is about Him.  Many churches have the people as central.  It’s all about their comforts and desires and we often fail to consider what Jesus wants.  In many churches Jesus has been displaced.  

When we come to the last of the seven churches Jesus is actually on the outside, knocking on the door, seeking to gain entrance into one of His churches.  I wonder if that scenario is not being repeated today. 

Finally, there is a statement made repeatedly throughout this report (Revelation Chapters 2-3).  It is the word, “I know.”  Nothing was hidden and nothing was missed.  He knew everything that was good and He knew everything that was bad. 

We need to recognize that He knows everything about us and about our churches.  Hebrews 4:14 declares, “there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”  That is both comforting and sobering. 

So, if Jesus were to visit your church this Sunday (and He will) what kind of a report card would it receive? 

God willing, in the next few weeks, we will visit these churches and discover what is important to Jesus.