The hymn reminds us that the Church exists ”Mid toil and tribulation and tumult of her war, she waits the consummation of peace forever more”; the question is how will she endure to that end? Today some 380 million believers across the world face persecution, we may encounter pressures of our own, how will we keep on? In exile, the Apostle John received a glorious vision of, and word from, the triumphant Jesus to encourage the Church of the ages to remain steadfast. Not only will our hopes rise as we encounter the real Jesus, but we’ll discover that he has all we need to overcome, to be victorious.
Sunday 4th May
As we engage with this revelation in our new series we’ll see things as they are, Jesus is ascended, enthroned, ‘the ruler of the kings of the earth.’ His the victory, the final word, and the power to keep the Church he has loved with his own blood. In him we are more than conquerors, in his strength we can overcome.
Sunday 11th May
The Apostle John received Revelation at a time when the Church was facing great pressure from earthly authorities, yet it is a matter of history that many stood fearless and joyful in the face of persecution. In the teeth of opposition, the result was the expansion of the Church. We might ask, what enabled them to remain steadfast? It is simply that they held on to realities that the book of Revelation reveals – that above the powers of this world stands the risen and reigning Saviour, the living one, the victorious King of kings. Today we hear the same word of Jesus: ‘Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.’ As we take that to heart, faith will replace fear, hope will overcome heat, and we too will be empowered to stand fast and serve faithfully.
Sunday 18th May
According to Jesus’ assessment, there was much to commend the church in Ephesus, they were working tirelessly to the good fight against those peddling false ideas about the Christian life. However, they also had a significant problem: they had forsaken their first love. Were they so caught up in contending for the truth of the faith that they lost sight of the object of faith? In his kindness, Jesus delivered a warning and a call to repentance, accompanied by the grace to do it, the need supplied by the characteristic of Jesus that introduces each letter. To Ephesus, the reminder that Jesus ‘is among the lampstands,’ accessible and knowable. Foster and guard that relationship, for it is love for Christ that fuels endurance, that overcomes to receive the promise.