Jump Start # 3149

Revelation 4:1 “After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in Heaven and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, ‘Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.’”

Jim C. from Texas is one of our regular Jump Start readers. He sent me an email the other day about something I had written. I love hearing from our readers. I wonder some days if anyone out there is reading these. He wishfully said in his email that he hopes when I am no longer here that my son Jordan would take up writing these. I thought, he could call them, “Jump Start Juniors.” But, then, Jim added, “if there is a library in Heaven, I hope God, the master Librarian, will have all the Jump Start series there.” Jump Starts in Heaven—now that’s something I haven’t thought about.

Our verse today begins the grand scene in Heaven for John. The Lord did not tell him, but rather he showed him what these things would be like. Revelation is written like a picture book. The words are so descriptive that the images are clear in our minds. We may not understand what everything is supposed to mean, but we sure can see them. White horses. Red Dragons. Sea of Glass. Bowls of wrath being poured out. Seals on a book being opened. Beasts. Crowns. What powerful, colorful and precise images comes to our minds. What a masterful author God is. All of these things are telling a story. These are words of hope for God’s people. The troubles that they were facing would someday end. Powerful evil forces that no one can conquer will be conquered by the Lord. Victory in Jesus is the answer.

Some thoughts for us:

First, do not be afraid of Revelation. I have known churches that have studied Matthew through Jude and then turned around and went back to Matthew. No one dared touch Revelation. Much of the mystery, hype and fear associated with Revelation is made up. Certainly there are some background tools that will help you understand things, but don’t ever shy away from God’s word. God left this message to be read. He wants you to know it. And, once you do, you’ll be encouraged and your faith will have a greater resolve. You’ll find out that you have been missing out on such an encouraging and hopeful book.

Second, as much as my friend Jim wants Jump Starts to be in Heaven, I don’t think they will be. Not much of this life, other than ourselves will be in Heaven. I shared Jim’s message with my wife. She smiled and said, “that’s so sweet.” I don’t believe we’ll need Jump Starts, commentaries, class books, podcasts, blogs, or even our Bibles in Heaven. All of those things are tools to help us get there. Once we are there, the need for them will be gone. And, more than that, the Lord will be there. Why would I need a book, when the Lord is there.

I have heard so many say in a Bible class, “When I get to Heaven, I’m going to ask the Lord…” and what follows is their question. They want to know. But somehow, I don’t think we’ll even do that. First, I think we will be in such awe of the Lord that our questions won’t matter any more. Bowing, praising and honoring the Lord will be so important to us that our question will have no value. I expect if we say anything to the Lord, it would be, “Thank You.” Thank You for saving me. Thank You for your grace. Thank You for being so patient with me. Thank You for all the blessings in my life. Thank You.

Third, I am touched, honored and thankful that these little writings have meant so much to so many people.  We have never really tried to push the Jump Starts out in any grand promotional way. They just got shared and shared and shared. It is hard for me to believe that anything I have written has made much of a difference, but I know it has. The talent, drive and opportunity God gifted me with has gone far beyond anything I ever expected. As a very young preacher, a long time ago, I remember receiving, learning and being helped so much by the writings of Robert Turner. Then there were others, such as the writings of Paul Earnhart, Dee Bowman, Sewell Hall that helped me in ways they may have never known. I understand what it is like to be on the receiving end of help and encouragement. I hope, if this old world continues on, that someday, someone else will find a way to continue to help others. It’s not about the writings or the authors, but the good that can be done. Getting people to see the Lord and having the hope of life is such a great honor.

John saw a door opened in Heaven. God invited him up to see. Through those words, you and I get a glimpse of Heaven, and, what a view it is. Can’t wait to get there.

Jump Starts in Heaven—if they are there, I sure hope an angle fixes all my typos and mistakes.

Roger

Jump Start # 3148

Revelation 2:15 “Thus you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.”

Our verse today centers around the church at Pergamum. The hood was raised and the Lord was revealing some deep, deep troubles that would change the direction and even the future of that church. Just nine verses before, the church at Ephesus was praised for hating the doctrine of the Nicolaitans. God hated that false teaching. But here, the church at Pergamum was embracing and accepting that very doctrine. They were accepting what God hated.

There are a series of lessons that we ought to see here:

First, each congregation is independent and separate. How well this is illustrated with the Nicolaitan doctrine. One church hated it and another church held to it. There are lots of ideas and theories about what the doctrine of the Nicolaitans was, many lean heavily towards an early form of gnosticism. Whatever it was, the Lord hated it. The Ephesians hated it. But not the folks at the Pergamum church. They loved it.

We see right here that the organizational system of God allows each congregation to determine what they will practice and accept. There is no hierarchy, governing board, disciplinary council, or organization that keeps every congregation on the same page, going the same way. I have a friend who owns a Chick-fil-a store. He cannot fry you a hamburger and sell it to you at his store. Corporate won’t allow that. His store must follow the guidelines of the corporation or else he could lose the store. Congregations are not a franchise of some larger corporate structure. Our only bylaws are the New Testament.

This means each congregation must decide for themselves how closely and how accurately they want to follow the Bible. Some do a great job with this. Others are a bit loose on some things and still others, haven’t been close in decades. A name on a sign doesn’t mean much. What mattes is how close and serious they are about following the N.T. pattern.

Second, why would some hold to the doctrine of the Nicolaitans if the Lord hated it. That’s a great question. We are not told why. But, the same could be asked today of some of us. Why do we hold to some things that are very questionable, if not plainly out of line with the Scriptures? It may be that what is taught is comforting and allows us to keep one foot in the world. It may be that the one teaching it is someone very impressive and such a pied piper that we are under his spell and would not question anything that he says. There is a lot of strange things being said today and much too often we give someone a pass because “he is one of us.” And, that’s the greatest danger. Rather than searching the Scriptures as we ought to, we listen to the charisma of a slick and smooth speaker and before long we’ve taken one or two steps away from the Scriptures. There is a lot of emphasis upon feelings today. Feeling your body tingle as you pray, hearing God speak in your ear, seeing signs that God has shown you, these kind of statements are coming not from the world, but our own brethren, and worse, some are smiling, agreeing and accepting these twisted thoughts. A few verse taken out of context are sprinkled on top to give the appearance that this is what the Bible teaches. Does God answer your prayers by sending a tingling sensation in your body? Could you prove that Biblically?

Why do some hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans? Simply because they have allowed themselves to be swayed by a slick salesman and they haven’t searched the Scriptures as they ought to.

Third, the wisdom of God allows opposite churches to exist. Ephesus hated the Nicolaitan doctrine. Pergamum held to the Nicolaitan doctrine. If there was some super structure over all the congregations and all the congregations had to toe the line with what the official board or headquarters said, then corruption at the top would corrupt all the churches. Not God’s way. If you want to hold to the Nicolaitan doctrine you can, but you won’t be right with God, and you won’t be right with God’s people.

So this tells us that I need to get into the depth of what a church is practicing before I throw my allegiance in with them. Much too often, a family just heads to the closest church building to their home. The people are friendly. Worship seems ok. But are they holding to Nicolaitan doctrine? Serious questions and investigation needs to take place before one makes the final decision. Why does this matter? If I can worship there and the people are nice, isn’t that all that matters? Is it? Does it matter what we teach? What about doctrine? What about Nicolaitan teachings? What about the Holy Spirit? What about grace? What about salvation? What about worship? What about divorce? What about fellowship? What about closeness to God’s word? Does it matter? Is it ok to hold to something that God hates? It ought to matter to us.

Jesus didn’t give Pergamum a pass on the Nicolaitan doctrine. They were told to repent or else I’m coming and making war. Serous words for a serious problem. It does matter. It should matter.

It’s time for shepherds who lead God’s people and the faithful of God to understand that a smiling face, a charismatic presentation, and likable personality, may be nothing more than someone selling poison right before our eyes. Someone was teaching Nicolaitan doctrine to Pergamum. And, he was so good that the church was accepting it and embracing it. A pied piper then and pied pipers today.

Hating the Nicolaitan doctrine or holding to it? Are we willing to draw lines in the sand and declare that we stand with God? It’s time to think about these things. Growing crowds. Sizeable followings. Enthusiastic responses does not make Nicolaitan doctrine right. It doesn’t mean God looks the other way.

The legendary Texas preacher, J.D. Tant, ended many of his articles in the early 1900’s with the line, “we are drifting.” Are we?

Roger