The Builder Returns (a)

Opening · Ephesus · Smyrna · Pergamum The builder who promised to build His church in Matthew 16:18 has returned to inspect His work. What does He find? In Revelation 1, the risen Christ appears to the apostle John walking among seven golden lampstands; seven real churches in the Roman province of Asia. Each letter begins with the same phrase: I know your works. Not I have received reports. I know. He has been walking among them. This episode covers the first three churches. Ephesus had apostolic foundations stretching from Paul to John himself, tested every false teacher, and abandoned its first love doing it. Smyrna was materially poor, slandered by its neighbours, and facing imprisonment yet receives no rebuke whatsoever. Its bishop Polycarp would be burned at the stake at eighty-six years old rather than curse the one he had served. Pergamum held the name of Christ in a city where the imperial cult had its provincial throne, and gave house room to teachers Ephesus had driven out. It is easier to stand against the proconsul's sword than against a persuasive teacher in your own fellowship. Also in this episode: why these letters are a diagnostic toolkit and not a prophetic timeline, and what the pattern of each letter reveals about how Christ speaks to His churches. Part Two of the series I Will Build My Church. Preached at Fountain Gate Chapel, Wa, Ghana. #Revelation #SevenChurches #Ephesus #Smyrna #Pergamum #IWillBuildMyChurch #BiblicalPreaching #Ghana