|
To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, he that walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks: I know thy works, and thy toil and patience, and that thou canst not bear evil men, and didst try them that call themselves apostles, and they are not, and didst find them false; and thou hast patience and didst bear for my name's sake, and hast not grown weary. But I have this against thee, that thou didst leave thy first love. (Revelation 2:1-4)
Several years ago, my Concerts for Christ partner, Pat Yeskie, and I appeared on a televised Christian talk show. We were ostensibly there to discuss concert promotion but wanted to be open to anything the Lord would have us say to the television audience. This passage was on my mind as we sat in that studio with the cameras rolling. They had asked, before going live on the air, if either of us had anything we felt that we were supposed to share with the viewers. I appreciated their willingness to follow God's will, wherever that led. At the proper time, we were able to present this passage and what the Lord had laid on my heart.
I've always been somewhat amazed by this letter of John's to the church in Ephesus. This church sounds like a "happening" church, the place to be. They apparently were full of quality works which they took very seriously. They apparently hated sin and refused to "bear" with evil. They never grew "weary in well-doing" and went the extra mile to prove who were or were not worthy of leadership. They patiently bore with reproach and honored the name of Jesus.
If this were a church in our city, it would be the church that I'd want to be a part of. I would imagine that it would be a church with full pews every Sunday. The Sunday School teachers would be equipped to teach, the Board would be able to govern, and the Pastor would be a wonderfully gifted speaker. The Bible would reign supreme and sin would be dealt with. It would be an active church with programs for every age group. This church would have all it's ducks in a row, so to speak. Every other church would either want to be like it or be jealous of it. Sign me up. How could a church like this, a church seemingly working hard to establish God's kingdom and carry on His work, a church so equipped and beautiful and right, have left it's first love and not even know it? Did they perceive that they were just fine?
Perception is a powerful thing. Maybe that's why Paul instructs us to "abstain from all appearance of evil" (1Thess. 5:22). There was a tennis ad a few years back that ended with the words, "Perception is reality". Sadly, I believe that most people do confuse perception with reality. The perception game is very effective in the political world. Presidents are elected on perception. Politicians aren't as interested in spouting facts as they are in using rhetoric. Webster defines rhetoric as "artificial eloquence, showiness in elaboration of language". Facts bore the average listener or reader. Rhetoric moves them to action. Rhetoric, though, is not required to be founded upon something so boring as facts. Politicians hire people to put the best "spin" on something, whether it be a current event, a speech presentation, a debate, or the latest economic figures. Their job is to create perception, using rhetoric, that causes one to see things in a skewed light, sometimes false. Whether its true or false, though, doesn't matter. Its what the voter believes that counts, not what is true.
In the spirit world, however, its truth that counts, not what we believe. Christians can easily be fooled into believing perception rather than reality. Perception is lazy. It is much easier to judge things by appearance, even ourselves. Judging by appearance is so much more convenient than facing facts. Perception determines truth by the senses, what we can feel, see, hear, taste, and smell. Indeed, the very meaning of the word, perception, is to grasp things, mentally, by means of the senses. How easily can our senses be fooled? How careless is it to reach conclusions based upon something so easily fooled? The church in Ephesus apparently thought they were in God's will and that they loved Him. Was that perception or reality? Are we in God's will? Is He our first love? Is what we believe perception or reality? Do we want to know?
That is a question that every individual must ask of himself and every church must ask of itself. Someday, we'll know, whether we want to or not. Dare we honestly examine ourselves today? Are we carrying out God's mission or our mission? Are we establishing His kingdom or our own little kingdom? How are we doing? Are we in love with God or has He been replaced by something we perceive to be just as good? It is very easy to substitute the things of God for God, Himself. Loving the things of God is not the same as loving God. It's hard to determine, sometimes, whether we in ministry are in love with God or our ministry, they seem so closely related. I often hear people talk about how much they love church, how their lives revolve around church. Has this replaced God? Shouldn't we love God and shouldn't our lives revolve around God? Is there a difference? It's a question I ask constantly of myself and our ministry. Are we really doing God's will or do we just perceive that we're doing it? It can be a tough thing to ascertain. Are we reaching the world with the message of Christ? Are we seeing brokenhearted, wounded people coming to us for help? If so, are they being restored? Are we reaching those that have been blinded by the cults? Are we giving hope to the lost? Do we have answers for those trapped in addictions? Are we delivering captives? Are we about our Father's business or do we just think we are?
God knows. He knows all of this about me and He knows it about you. Fortunately for us, He is not so easily fooled. While we tend to believe what we perceive to be true, God doesn't. He IS the truth. He "seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but Jehovah looketh on the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7). God does not judge by perception. If we are sincerely seeking the truth in this matter, God will surely reveal it to us and, hopefully, before it gets as far as did the Ephesus church. If this ministry is just in love with being a ministry, then let it be shoved in a hole in the ground, covered with fuel, and set on fire. Let it become ashes and blow away in the wind. Can you say the same about your church or ministry? If I am just in love with the things of God but not God, Himself, then I want to know. I have prayed that God would search my heart and the heart of our two ministries. I know all too well how easy it is to leave my first love and replace it with "stuff". I know how intoxicating it can be to receive praise for what others perceive to be true about me. I know how easy it is to become satisfied with reputation over substance. Individuals and churches, alike, can fall into this trap. It is very subtle and we would, likely, never be aware of it. I don't trust my senses. I can be fooled, you can be fooled, Pastors can be fooled, churches can be fooled. Are we willing to seek the truth in this matter or would we rather trust what we perceive to be true? It is so, so easy to settle for perception.
Let the church in Ephesus be our lesson.
|
|
