Will you please turn to the book of Revelation?
To the angel of the assembly 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.
Remember therefore whence thou art fallen, and repent and do the first works; or else I come to thee, and will move thy candlestick out of its place, except thou repent.
But this thou hast, that thou hatest the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the assemblies. To him that overcometh, to him will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.
And to the angel of the assembly in Laodicea write:
These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God:
I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
So because thou art lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spew thee out of My mouth.
Because thou sayest, I am rich, and have gotten riches, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art the wretched one and miserable and poor and blind and naked:
I counsel thee to buy of Me gold refined by fire, that thou mayest become rich; and white garments, that thou mayest clothe thyself, and that the shame of thy nakedness be not made manifest; and eyesalve to anoint thine eyes, that thou mayest see.
As many as I love, I reprove and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear My voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.
He that overcometh, I will give to him to sit down with Me in My throne, as I also overcame, and sat down with My Father in His throne.
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the assemblies.
Dear Lord, we want to thank Thee once again for gathering us together unto Thyself. We thank Thee for giving us opportunity after opportunity to hear Thee and to be transformed according to Thy image.
We thank Thee for Thy everlasting love toward us. We thank Thee for Thy long patience with us. We thank Thee for Thy Spirit still working on earth among us. Lord, we thank Thee that Thou art so merciful, and full of lovingkindness and tender mercies.
So once again we come to Thee, looking to Thy mercy. In wrath, remember mercy, and revive Thy work in the midst of these days. We ask in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.
Before we go into what we will share together this morning, I feel that we have to spend a little time on something.
On Tuesday afternoon, in our fellowship group, a question was raised. And I feel that question is so basic that, unless we understand it, it seems to be futile to talk about anything further.
So I ask that you will forgive me to go back to the very beginning. The question was this: the theme is, “Revive Thy work.” Now, what does it mean? What does it really mean, “Revive Thy work”? What is Thy work? What is the work of God that needs to be revived?
Now, if we do not know what God’s work is, then our prayer to God that He will revive His work is not intelligent. I think, again and again, we have mentioned that it is not reviving our works. We know what our works are. But do we really know what is God’s work?
I am afraid we are more keen to see the works of our hands being revived. Sometimes we feel how we need a revival. If we are engaged in evangelism, we want to see hundreds and thousands of souls being saved. That is the revival we are looking for.
If we are engaged in helping our brothers and sisters, discipling them into Christ, our prayer will be that many more will follow the Lord. That is revival.
If we are building the church, then our prayer will be that the church will grow in numbers—from tens to hundreds, from hundreds to thousands. That is revival: revive the works of our hands, that we may have something to show.
Or we may ask the Lord to revive us. We feel that sometimes our spirits are drooping. How we need a refreshing, that we will be up instead of down; that we will feel happy, joyful, comfortable. We need that uplifting: “Revive me.”
We know all these things. But the prayer of Habakkuk is so different. His prayer is, “Revive Thy work.” Revive the work of God.
Of course, in the reviving of God’s work, we will be revived, because we are His workmanship. But still, what is God’s work?
You remember, in John 6, our Lord Jesus used five loaves and two fishes to feed five thousand.
So the people said, “This is of a truth the Prophet that cometh into the world.” They wanted to seize the Lord and make Him king, because if the Lord were their king, then the problem of food would be solved.
The Lord knew about it. He sent His disciples away first, because He knew His disciples had the same idea. Then He sent the multitudes away, and He went up into the mountain to pray.
The next day He was already in Capernaum. He walked on the water, you know, and when He got into the boat, the boat arrived. But the next day, seeing that Jesus was not there, the people also crossed the sea and followed Him to Capernaum.
They said, “Rabbi, when camest Thou hither?” Now, the Lord Jesus faced them and said, “Ye seek Me, not because ye saw signs, but because ye ate of the loaves, and were filled.”
Work not for the food which perisheth, but for the food which abideth unto eternal life, which the Son of man shall give unto you.
Then the multitudes said to Him, “What must we do, that we may work the works of God?” What are the works of God? How can we be involved and engaged in the many works of God?
They had the priests serving in the temple, and this they could not do. Now, what could they do that would be considered as working God’s works, doing something for God?
Of course, when you are trying to do something for God, actually it is your work; it is not God’s work. But they did not understand it. So they asked, “How can we be engaged in God’s works in great number?” Because to them God’s works were manifold.
Then listen to what the Lord said to them:
This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent.
Do they understand? Do we understand?
We know what work is. We do something. We exert our strength. We try our best. We undertake something that we consider worthwhile—religious work, gospel work, spiritual work, service. We know that.
But the definition of our Lord Jesus concerning the work of God is not so much working as believing: believing on the One whom God has sent. This is the work of God.
In John 5, our Lord Jesus said, “My Father worketh even until now, and I work.” God has been working ever since the fall of man, and our Lord Jesus on earth continued in that work.
One work—only one work. God does only one work; men do many works. Now, what is the work of God? Believe—believe on the Son whom God has sent. This is the work of God.
Brothers and sisters, God has only one work. Even before the foundation of the world, He purposed a purpose according to His good pleasure. That purpose is that His Son may be the Heir of all things, that He may have the preeminence in all things.
That is the eternal purpose of God. According to that purpose, He laid down His plan, the counsel of God. And after He laid down the plan, He worked according to that plan toward the realization of that purpose which He made before the world was.
God never does anything by chance. He never reacts to anything and tries to figure out some emergency measure. God has a purpose—a single purpose—and that purpose is concerning His beloved Son.
He wants His Son to be everything, the Heir of all things. It is for this reason that He created the heavens and the earth, and all things, all beings in heaven and in earth, that His Son may be the Heir of all things.
God’s work never deviates from that purpose. He will not do anything that is not related to that purpose. Indeed, He did many things. He created. He redeemed. He did many things. But nothing is done that is not connected with that purpose of His.
God’s work is very focused. It is focused upon His Son.
That is the reason why our Lord Jesus said, “Believe on the Son whom God has sent. This is the work of God.”
So what is God’s work—Thy work? The Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, that He may be all things in all; that He may have the first place in all; that all may be summed up in Him, express Him, and glorify Him. That is God’s work: the Son.
And the prayer of Habakkuk is, “Revive Thy work.” Why? Because we have fallen away. We have drifted away. We have wandered away from the Son.
We are occupied with many other things—with things that we consider important, or even things we consider spiritual, as doing God’s work. But it is not the same. It is not for the Son. It is not the Son who is being exalted, incorporated, and fulfilled.
Because of this, we need to pray, “Revive Thy work.” Brothers and sisters, I wonder if we really realize how we need such revival in our time.
God’s people have departed from the Son. We are called by His name, but name only. Can people see His Son in us? Can people find Christ in our gathering? Where is the Son?
“Revive Thy work in the midst of these years.” So, dear brothers and sisters, just a reminder: if you really see what the work of God is, I believe your heart will be set on fire to pray that prayer of Habakkuk, “Revive Thy work.”
First of all, I do look to the Lord that God will really open our understanding to see what God’s work is, why it needs to be revived, and the urgency of such prayer.
That His work may be done; that our Lord Jesus may come back in glory; that God’s purpose concerning Him may be fully fulfilled. So, brothers and sisters, this is why “Revive Thy work” is so important nowadays.
May the Lord really touch our hearts, that we will cry day and night, without ceasing, “Revive Thy work.”
Yesterday morning, we mentioned how John was exiled to the island of Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. There, on the Lord’s Day, he was in the Spirit.
He heard a voice behind him. He turned back, and he saw something.
Brothers and sisters, most likely John, on that day, was looking across the Aegean Sea. He could faintly see the outline of the cities of Asia Minor. He was thinking of the churches in Asia that he had served during his last years, and he was wondering what had happened to them. He could not minister to them any more.
He wondered whether they stood or whether they failed. He was concerned. Then he heard the voice like a trumpet. So he turned back, and he was given the so-called Patmos vision.
Oftentimes, when our eyes are upon that which we can see, we will not be able to see the real situation. We may think that because we know, we see; but really, we do not see.
We have to turn away from looking at our situation—the sea—and turn back to see the unseen. And that is really seeing something. There you see what God sees.
Sometimes we are so involved that we really do not understand. We need to be taken out in order to see what God sees.
There John was given the vision of seven golden lampstands. In the original thought of God, the churches on earth are all golden lampstands.
They are here for the testimony of Jesus. They are not the goal, the purpose, or the end. They are only a vessel, a means to an end.
The very reason for the existence of the church on earth is to uplift Christ, that the world may see Him. The church is not to be seen; it is Christ who should be seen.
The church does not testify of itself. It testifies that Jesus is Lord. It must be gold—nothing of man, all of God, all of Christ.
Christ is the light. The church is just a lampstand to hold up the light, to bear the testimony of Jesus Christ.
There John saw a vision: the vision of One like unto a Son of man, standing in the midst of seven golden lampstands.
John was no longer standing with the seven churches in Asia physically, but there was One who never left them. John may be taken out, but the One like unto a Son of man was still there.
He is the kingly Priest. He is King; He is Priest. And there He ministers to the seven lampstands—to the churches.
We mentioned yesterday that there is no description of the lampstands, only a description of the One like unto a Son of man. Because God wants us to see the Son.
The church is always in the background. Christ alone is in the foreground. Brothers and sisters, we see too much of the church that we lose sight of Christ.
If we see Christ, then when we see the church, our reaction will not be as we react today.
Sometimes we see the church successful and prosperous, and we feel great. But where is Christ?
Sometimes we see the church divided—jealousy, strife, struggling for power—and we are so disappointed that we give up. But where is Christ?
If we see Christ in the midst of the church, then, brothers and sisters, our reaction will be very different from how we react today.
John saw One like unto a Son of man. John knew the Son of man. He had leaned on His bosom. But when he saw One like unto a Son of man, He looked different.
“I know Him, but I do not know Him. He is like the Son of man—yes, He is—but no, He does not look the same.” Why? Because He is in glory. He is not in His days of humiliation.
He is now in glory. He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. He is the great High Priest.
So John saw Him in the capacity of the King-Priest, who ministers in the true tabernacle of God.
There is a tenfold description of that One: all of righteousness, full of love, strong in divine love, full of wisdom, full of discernment. He knows everything. Everything is laid bare before Him. There is nothing you can hide from Him.
His eyes are like flames of fire, full of judgment. Whatever does not meet His eye, He treads upon it; He judges it.
He is full of majesty and might. His voice is like the sound of many waters. Today, if you hear His voice, harden not your heart, because if you do, you pay the consequence of it.
He holds in His right hand seven stars. He is full of responsibility, and He holds us responsible.
Out of His mouth proceeds a two-edged sword. The word of God is like a sharp two-edged sword, penetrating and dividing soul and spirit.
He is full of beauty. His countenance shines like the sun. Dear brothers and sisters, it is a description of the King-Priest in relation to His church. This is what our Lord Jesus is to us today. This is something we have to see.
He is King, so He judges, and His judgment is just and true. He is Priest. He sympathizes. He helps. He succors. He supports. He is able to save us to the uttermost.
This is our Lord Jesus to us today. Brothers and sisters, in a sense, we need to know Him as the King; in another sense, we need to know Him as the Priest.
We treat Him as the humble man of Galilee. We have no fear of Him. It is true: perfect love casteth out fear. But that fear is the fear of punishment, not the fear of love.
If you really love Him, you will fear Him. You are afraid that He may not be pleased with you, because you want to please Him so much. There is a holy fear there.
Brothers and sisters, our Lord to His church today is the King. Do not treat Him as the Nazarene. Bow before Him. Receive His judgment. Submit to Him.
We do not know Him as the Priest. We try to find help everywhere, but not from Him, as if He is nonexistent. He has gone back to heaven, and that is it. He has no more interest in us or in the things on earth.
But He is deeply interested. He is deeply interested in you. He is deeply interested in His church. The love of His heart is toward us, and He is ever ready to come to help and to uplift.
Brothers and sisters, we need a vision of our Lord Jesus. We need to see—not just to hear about it, to read about it—but in our spirit a revelation must be given.
Yes, He is the King over His house. He is the Priest ministering to His church. How dreadful! How comforting!
In the old days, in the tabernacle, the priest would enter into the holy place every evening and every morning. He would go into the holy place to look after the golden lampstand.
You know, in the holy place it was surrounded and covered. Sunlight could not penetrate into it. It was all darkness, but it was lighted by the light on the candlestick.
So it was the responsibility of the priest to go in and tend the candlestick. He would first examine it to see whether the seven lamps on that golden lampstand were still shining brightly.
Maybe some oil had been depleted. Maybe the wick was burned and charred. Because of the lack of oil, and also because the wick was burned, it did not give much light. It smoked. It added to the darkness instead of giving light.
So the priest would use the golden snuffers to snuff off the scorched part of the wick, so that it could still draw the oil and give light. He would pour oil into the vessel so that the light might burn bright.
That was the duty and responsibility of the priest. And how carefully and faithfully he performed his duty.
Brothers and sisters, in the real tabernacle of God, it is our Lord Jesus Himself, as the King-Priest, who is there—not just twice a day, but all the time.
He walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands. He is looking into every one of them to see what is the real condition of the church—whether it is still burning bright, whether the light has dimmed, or whether it is even smoking and ready to go out.
Brothers and sisters, He ever liveth. He is not like the priests of old; they died, but He ever lives. Unceasingly, He is looking after the churches.
He is the King. His eyes are flaming fire. He looks into the real condition of the church, and He gives His judgment. No one can quarrel with His judgment.
Brothers and sisters, do you think that He will not judge us?
Thank God, when we believe in the Lord Jesus, our sins are forgiven. We have passed out of death into life and out of that judgment of eternal death. The judgment of the great white throne is over.
Why? Because on the cross our Lord Jesus was judged in our stead. What a judgment!
My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?
The One who was with the Father from eternity, who held such sweet fellowship—unclouded fellowship—with the Father, never a shade, never a cloud; the One of whom heaven opened and said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased”—there on the cross, He was separated from the Father.
Why? You know why. I know: for me. He tasted death—the second death—for each one of us. Therefore, when we believe in Him, that great white throne judgment is over. Thank God for that.
But do you think He will never judge us afterwards? Do you think He will spoil us like children, be so indulgent, and let us do anything we like? Nothing matters—He is our Father; He is our Lord Jesus anyway; sweet Jesus, gentle Jesus. He will not judge us?
Yes, He will not condemn us. But that does not mean He will not judge us.
One day, brothers and sisters, as the Bible says, judgment begins with the house of God. One day we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ, and we will be judged according to the works that we did and the life we lived after we belonged to Him.
But do not wait for that day. Even today, because He loves us, He judges us. Because He loves us, He chastens us. He disciplines us.
Blessed is the man who loves the discipline of the Lord. If we despise His discipline and will not listen to His judgment to us, individually and corporately, then we are in danger.
Brothers and sisters, even today, by the Holy Spirit, He is judging us. He touches our conscience and lets us know where we have displeased Him.
That is why we need to maintain a good conscience—a conscience without offence before God, a clear conscience before God.
Otherwise, when the day of the judgment seat of Christ is set, there is no place to hide. Anything that is not under the blood of the Lamb will be exposed.
Brothers and sisters, even today our Lord Jesus is walking in the midst of the seven golden lampstands. He is looking into each one of them and pronouncing His judgment.
Oh, I hope that we may hear His judgment. Otherwise, we just deceive ourselves.
The Lord reveals Himself to His church. At the beginning of each letter, you will find that He mentions something of Himself specifically to each of the seven churches.
Why is it so? Why does He give that full vision of Himself to the seven churches first, and then to each particular church point out some specific feature of Himself?
Because He judges His church according to the revelation He gives to her. That is the measure of judgment.
He gave Himself to the church as the light, as the testimony that the church is to bear. And all He looks for in the church is this one thing: What is the condition of the revelation of Himself that He has given to you?
Is that light burning bright? Or is it dimmed and going out?
Brothers and sisters, our Lord is looking to the church only for one thing: He is looking for Himself. He is not looking for your good works. He is not looking for anything else. He is looking for Himself.
Many years ago, I read a booklet. If I remember right—because my memory is fading—I think the title of the book was When Jesus Came to Church. It was written by A. J. Gordon.
A. J. Gordon was a very prominent pastor in Boston. He had a big church, very successful. One day he dreamed a dream.
It was on the Lord’s Day, and the church was in service. He was sitting on the platform, ready to give his sermon. The place was filled.
During those days there were pews that people paid for. You paid a certain amount of money, and that was the pew that belonged to you. Nobody else could sit there. That was yours.
The place was filled, and then a stranger came. There was no seat. Finally, a deacon, I think, led the stranger to his pew, and the stranger sat down. The service began.
Gordon was preaching, but strangely he found that he was attracted to the stranger. All the time he was speaking, he was wondering what the stranger would think.
Would the stranger appreciate this beautiful edifice, a sanctuary to God? Would the stranger be touched by the wonderful choir we have? Would this stranger appreciate that well-planned program we have this morning?
Would this stranger be happy with the sermon that I had so carefully prepared? What would be the reaction of this stranger? He wondered.
So he decided that after the service, as usual, he would stand at the door. He wanted to meet the stranger.
The service was over. He got up and tried to reach the door, but the stranger was gone.
So he asked his deacon, “Now, who is this stranger?” And the deacon said, “Do you not know? He is Jesus.”
A. J. Gordon realized from that day: it is not the building. He gave up the program. It is not the choir. The whole way of worship changed.
Brothers and sisters, if Jesus comes to church today, what will He find of us?
Will He be pleased with our music? Will He be pleased with our prayers? Will He be pleased with our messages? Will He be pleased with the way we handle things?
Can He find Himself in our music? Will He enjoy our music? We enjoy it, but will He enjoy it? Will He be pleased with our prayers? Will He approve our messages, the way we handle things? Can He find Himself in all these things?
I cry to the Lord: Jesus, only Jesus. Nothing else matters.
We put so much emphasis on things other than Christ. We are concerned with this and with that, but we are not concerned with His presence.
Can He find Himself among us today?
That is something that needs to be revived.
These things saith He that holdeth the seven stars in His right hand, He that walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks.
In writing to the church in Ephesus, the Lord reveals Himself, or emphasizes Himself, to that church as the One who holds the seven stars in His right hand and walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands.
We know that the stars represent the angels of the assemblies. Now, the word “angel” in the original simply means messenger. So it can be a celestial messenger or a terrestrial messenger. It can be angels, or it can be men.
We wonder whether the Lord would write a letter to an angel, so we think it must refer to men. But why the star?
Because it is night, and during the night the stars twinkle and give light. So we believe it represents those who are spiritually responsible before the Lord for that church.
In the days of the church, official position and title do not count. The Lord is after reality, not outward appearance.
So when the Lord writes that letter, He writes the letter to those who are spiritually responsible before Him regarding that church. They should be as stars. They should shine in darkness. The darker the night, the brighter the stars. That is what it should be.
He holds them in His right hand. The right hand is the hand of strength. In other words, He holds them responsible, but He is responsible to them. If only they would trust Him, His hand would support them.
And He walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands—not on a tour, but on inspection. He is looking into the very depths of the life of the church in Ephesus.
The church of Ephesus had a glorious beginning. You remember, if you go back to the book of Acts, during the second missionary journey of Paul, he was thinking of going to Asia, because Asia was very populous, full of people, and that was why the gospel should be preached there.
But strangely, the Spirit of God did not allow him to go. So he went straight west, and the Lord led him to Europe. That is how the gospel came to Europe. You know, sometimes we think the gospel began in Europe, but actually it began in Asia, and from there the gospel was preached into Europe.
When Paul was coming back to Antioch, he passed through Ephesus. He left his friends there, Priscilla and Aquila. He went to the synagogue and reasoned with them.
They wanted him to stay longer, but he said, “No, I have to go, because I have to go to Jerusalem for the feast. If God will, I will come back.”
Later, in Acts 19, you find that he did come to Ephesus, and the Lord did a glorious work there. He spent almost three years in Ephesus, the longest period of ministry in one place.
Day and night he served them with tears, in public and from house to house. He set a good example before them, and the word of God spread. All Asia heard the gospel. The Lord did wonderfully. That was the beginning of that church.
You remember, during the end of his third missionary journey, he passed by Ephesus. He dared not go to Ephesus, because if he went, he would be kept there for a time, and he felt such an urge in his spirit.
So he bypassed Ephesus. But still, at Miletus he called the elders of the church in Ephesus to come and have some fellowship. You find that in Acts 20.
For three years, day and night, with tears, he ministered the word of God to them, withholding nothing, but giving them the full counsel of God—something he could not do with the church in Corinth.
When he was put in Roman prison, in the early sixties, he wrote that beautiful letter, that wonderful letter, the letter to the Ephesians, showing them the mystery of God’s will.
He ends with the words:
Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ with a love incorruptible.
Ephesus was the seat of love. They loved the Lord with an undying love.
But in the nineties, things had changed. Everything outwardly was going on as usual. The Lord said, “I know thy works.” He knows.
But that was not the thing for which He was looking. “I know thy works, thy labor, thy endurance. I know.” But where is the work of faith? It is your work, not a work of faith.
Labor—yes, your labor. But where is the labor of love? It is not out of love; it is out of duty, maybe out of name, popularity.
Yes, you have endurance. You bear with one another, but you grit your teeth to endure. Where is the hope, the hope that gives you the endurance?
Outwardly, everything goes on as usual. Really, the spring, the inner spring, is gone. It is nothing but lots of work. It is not hope, but a lot of endurance. It is not love, but much labor. Does it sound familiar?
Yes, you have knowledge. You will not allow evil. You can discern false apostles because you have the knowledge. You can even endure persecutions and misunderstanding from the world, and you are not weary.
But in spite of every good thing you have, the Lord said, “I have this against thee.” In the original, it is a strong word: “I have this against thee.”
Why? Because you have left your first love.
Dear brothers and sisters, we may have all the appearances, but if the inner spring is gone, everything is finished.
The Lord is not looking at these things. The Lord is looking at first love.
When you were first touched by His love, when His love constrained you and consumed you, you gave yourself to Him. He was everything to you. Nothing else mattered.
Your heart was not divided. You were so filled with His love that you could not but love Him. For Him, you were willing to give up anything, everything. There was no cost too costly.
First love—that is what the Lord is looking for in this church. He does not care what else you have.
“Where am I in your heart? Where am I in your mind? What occupies your thinking? Is it Me, or is it something else?”
Not work, not labor, not endurance, not knowledge, but Me. “That is what I am looking for.” And He could not find it in Ephesus. Think of that.
Yes, they hated the works of the Nicolaitans. In church history, we cannot find the Nicolaitans with certainty. There are different suggestions.
But most likely, “Nicolaitan” is to be interpreted according to the word itself: nico, to conquer; laos, common people. Conquering common people.
In other words, in the church there is that division between clergy and laity. They hated it, but they did not hate it on spiritual ground; they hated it on democratic ground.
Dear brothers and sisters, the Lord is looking for Himself. He is love. When you are filled with Christ, when you are filled with God, you are filled with love—divine love Himself.
That is the one thing the Lord is looking for in the church today. Do we need a revival of love?
May the Spirit of God spread abroad in our hearts the love of God. It is His love that fills our hearts, that moves us to love Him more than anything else.
May the Lord find Himself in His church.
Lord, if You should come to our midst today—and we know You are here—Lord, what do You find?
Oh Lord, have mercy. Come. Be all in all to us.
You are our love. There is no one else besides You. Oh Lord, have Your place in Thy church. Revive Thy work.
In the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.