Please be seated. You know, we were back in June at our General Assembly, and that's when all the pastors from all over the nation gather in one particular city, and we have our annual meeting. And it's a very important time for the church, for the Presbyterian Church in America. And that's when we sort of do all of our church business as it were. And during that time, though, the outgoing moderator, Dominic Aquila, was preaching. That's the custom, the man who has been appointed the moderator of the year before, gives an outgoing message the next year. And so Dominic Aquila was giving the outgoing message as the moderator as our opening worship service for 2007, and isn't it something that 2007 is now almost gone? That was fast. Where did it go? This year is just about over. But what was interesting to me was what Dominic Aquila said during that message. He's preached from Matthew's Gospel in chapter 16, where you have sort of two revelations there. The revelation by Peter of Christ, where Jesus asked a question, who do men say that I am? And Peter says, thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And that's sort of the climax, that's sort of the peak, the apex, if you will, of Matthew's Gospel. This is where Matthew has been going all along, is to get you to hear Peter's confession that Jesus is actually the long awaited deliverer, the anointed Messiah, that has come to set Israel and the people of God free, you see. And this is where Matthew's going. But what a lot of people miss in that passage is that there are actually two confessions there. There is Peter's confession about who Jesus is, and then there is Jesus's confession about the church. And it isn't interesting that no sooner does Peter make the confession about who Jesus is in the very next words out of Jesus's mouth are about the church. Now that tells us something. That tells us how important the church, the institution of the church, is to Jesus. Peter says, thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus says, blessed are you, Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood, have not revealed this to you. But my father, which is in heaven, I say unto you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. You see the two confessions there, one is a confession by Peter, the other is a confession by Christ about the church. And beloved, here's what Dominic Aquila said. He said, there are many people today, all across our land, across denominational lines. Many authors and speakers and pastors and social critics, all are writing about one thing. And that is that they are writing the obituary of the church of Jesus Christ. And here's what he said, he said, don't be too quick to write the obituary of the church because the gates of hell will not, cannot prevail against it. You beloved, don't you dare write the obituary of the church of Jesus Christ because the gates of hell will not and cannot prevail against it. And as long as this body of people right here in Ovidoflorda are part of that church, then the gates of hell cannot and will not prevail against it. Do you hear me? Do you understand this? Let me ask you a question, there's a movement that's been going on for several decades in this country. It's called independency, it's called non-denominationalism or whatever it is. And I understand I was part of that movement. But I associated myself with this denomination, the Presbyterian Church in America. And I went from being independent, from being non-denominational, to being denominational, not because I think there's some, you know, that you can find denominations or even particular denominations in the Bible. But because of this, because I finally came to understand what the word denomination actually means, do you know what it means? Do you know what the word denomination means? Do you? It's not a difficult word, is it? It is a compound. It's a multicellular word, but it's not a difficult word, is it? We know what it means, don't we? You know, I love playing Socrates on Sunday morning. The word denomination means to be a part of the whole. You get it? We are part of the denomination of the Presbyterian Church in America. That is not the sum total of the Church. And thank God, it's not the sum total of the Church. There is much that we do well, there is much that we could do a whole lot better. We are covenant, Presbyterian Church, we are part of that denomination, which is part of the whole of God's Church, that Church that Jesus confessed to Peter in the apostles of which the gates of hell will not prevail, but we are not the whole Church. And thank God, we're not the whole Church. There are some things we do well, but there are some things we can do a whole lot better. But to this extent, to the extent that we are part of the whole, the meaning of the word denomination, to that extent, you understand this, understand that what Jesus said about the whole applies to the part. Namely, don't you dare write the obituary of the Church too soon because to the extent that we are part of the whole, the gates of hell cannot and will not prevail against her. And with that in mind, I want to begin a series this morning about the Church. And I want us to look at the seven churches in the Book of Revelation, a series that will take us through seven weeks. And I want to see what Jesus says about the Church. I've heard and I've read and I have studied for a number of years now what other people say about the Church. I want to know what does Jesus say about the Church? What does Jesus say that the Church does well? And what does Jesus say that the Church needs to do better? And I want us, one and all, every in each of us to submit ourselves to what Jesus says about the Church. Don't write the obituary of the Church too soon. Let's see what Jesus says about the Church. And I think what you will see here is that Jesus' words about the Church are really optimistic, hopeful. He sees a vital, strong future for the Church. And so as we do this, I want to look at the Book of Revelation in general before we look at what he says about the Church in particular. And we're going to begin by looking at chapter one of the Book of Revelation. Then we're going to be looking this morning about the Church Ephesus and make some comments about that. The Book of Revelation is a mysterious book, isn't it? This is a book that a lot of people don't even read, or if they read it, they get confused, because this is hard to understand in one sense. But what I want to do is I want to clarify a couple of things about the nature of this book, the nature of the kind of literature that we are looking at here and that we are reading and that we are studying. And the first thing that I want you to see here is that this is the revelation of Jesus Christ. Look at what the opening words in chapter one are. The revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. Beloved, do you hear what it says there? This is the revelation that what revelation means, the unveiling. It is the disclosing of what? Of Jesus Christ. That is to say that this is not the revelation of the anti-Christ. This is not the revelation of the great tribulation. This is not the revelation of the false prophet or the beast. This is not the revelation of the millennium. This is not the revelation of God and may God or anything else. This is the revelation of Jesus the Christ. This is His unveiling as the King of kings, as the Lord of lords, as the Alpha, the Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last, the one who is the one who was and the one who will come. This book is about Him and it's the unveiling of who He is. He is the one who is like the son of man dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. His head and his hair were white like wool as white as a snow and his eyes like a blazing fire. His feet like bronze, growing in a furnace and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters in his right hand. He held seven stars and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all of its brilliance. This book is about the revelation of Jesus Christ and beloved more than anything else in the world. What we need as the people of God, as the Church of God, is a true biblical picture, portrait of who Jesus is. More than anything else in the world beloved, you and I need Jesus, the Christ, the one who is revealed in this book. This is His unveiling. This is His disclosure. Now not only is this book about the revelation of Jesus Christ, but this is also a book about blessing. It's about blessing. Look at what He says in verse 3. Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it because the time is near. This is a book about blessing and notice what He says. Blessed are the ones who read it. Blessed are the ones who hear it and blessed are the ones who take it to heart. Beloved, if you read this book, if you hear what is read and if you take it to heart, John the Apostle is saying that there is great blessing here. Now here's the irony. The irony is this, that very often when people read this book, they become afraid. They become terrorized. They become scared and frightened about some of the events that this book talks about. And I want to suggest this morning that the purpose of this book isn't to terrorize you this morning. The purpose of this book isn't to make you fearful or afraid. The perfect of this book is to comfort you and to let you know that there is blessing in this book. But what God wants to do with His church, with His people, with His community is to bless them. Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophet and blessed are those who hear it and take it to heart. What is written in it because the time is near beloved. If you listen, if you read, if you take it to heart, God will bless you. And that's His heart. That's His desire. That's what He wants to do with His people in His church, is He wants to bring about blessing for His people. And then thirdly, what I want you to see by way of introduction here is that this is not only about the revelation of Christ, it's not only about blessing for His people, but it's also about the love of Christ for His church. Look at what He says in verse 5, He says to Him who loves us and His freed us from our sins by His blood and His made us to be a kingdom of priests to serve His God and Father to Him, be glory and power forever and ever, amen. Do you see those words? To Him who loved us, to Him who loved us, beloved nobody. Love you like Jesus loves you. No father, no mother, no sister, no brother, no grandmother or grandfather, no husband or wife can love you in the way that Jesus loves you. He loves us with an everlasting, with an infinite, eternal and unchangeable love. As Giharros Voss has said, the reason why Jesus cannot stop loving you is because He never began. Behold, says Jeremiah, I have loved you with an everlasting love. An everlasting love is a love that doesn't stop. An everlasting love is a love that doesn't quit and everlasting love is a love that will never be forsaken. It's the picture. He loves us with an everlasting love. You know, if you've been the church here frequently, you know that one of my favorite authors is G.K. Cheserton. And you know that I've quoted him a number of times and a variety of sermons and a variety of different topics, is one of my favorite books by Cheserton is a book called Orthodoxy. And it's one of the greatest little books I've ever seen or ever read and it's worthy of reading about once a year. The thing that most caught my attention about Cheserton's book is not the title, it's the subtitle. Orthodoxy is the title. The subtitle is a romance of faith. You know if you look at the story that the Bible tells, you will see that it begins in Genesis and very early on in the book of Genesis, you see that God creates Adam and Eve and what is there? There is a marriage, isn't there? And he says that for this reason a man should not, should leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife and the two will become one flesh. Now, it's interesting you go to a book of Ephesians in chapter five and Paul starts talking about marriage. And he starts talking about relationships and he starts talking about that husbands are to love their wives and wives are to submit to their husbands. Husbands are to love their wives, Paul says, as Christ loved the church. And then he quotes, he goes on to quote, the same text that we find from Genesis. For this reason a man should leave his father and mother and cleave on to his wife and the two shall become one flesh. And then Paul says something totally amazing here. He says, but I speak, not of husbands and wives, not of the institution of marriage, but I'm really speaking about the church. You see the, and then you go to the book of Revelation and you go to the end of the book of Revelation and what's it talking about is talking about the marriage supper of the lamb. Where bride and bridegroom, the church and Christ sit down at the marriage supper and the fullness of time and the consummation of all things. Do you see what's happening here, beloved? It is the story in the Bible is in one sense a romance of faith. It is a story about Christ loving his church, about Christ loving his people. Love the message of the book of Revelation is this, it's that Jesus loves you. He loves you enough to give himself sacrificially and substitutionally to appease, to satisfy the wrath and judgment of God. He did this out of love as Mike prayed this morning. He pursued us as his bride. You are the bride of Christ. You are his beloved ones. You are loved by him, orthodoxy, a romance of faith. And that's kind of interesting because as you now turn to chapter two and you look at the church of Ephesus, what you see here is a very orthodox church. This church is orthodox par excellence and by orthodoxy what we mean is they had their beliefs down to a tea. They dotted all of their eyes and they crossed all of their teas. They understood what they believed and they understood how to practice their beliefs in that respect and look at what he says to the angel, the church and Ephesus, right, these are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. I know your deeds, your hard work, your perseverance, I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not and you have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name and have not grown weary. This is an orthodox church. They majored in orthodoxy. They majored in right belief. Now look, if you think about the Presbyterian Church in America, if you think about Reformed Theology, if you think about all the different kinds of Presbyterian denominations within the conservative side, if you think about Covenant Presbyterian Church, if you think about Reformed Theological Seminary, if you don't know anything else, one thing you'll know if you associate with us for too long is that we know our doctrine, we know our theology, we know our Bibles, and we know them well. We are extremely orthodox in our understanding, but I wonder, you see, this church of Ephesus is a church worthy of the title of Chesterton's book, Orthodoxy. It's worthy of the title of people who know what they believe. They are orthodox. But what this church is missing is that it is unworthy of the subtitle. It's worthy of the title, but it's unworthy of the subtitle. They had lost the romance of faith. Look what he says, yet I hold this against you. You have forsaken your first love. You see, the worthy of the title, Orthodox par excellence, but they're unworthy of the subtitle. They have lost the romance of their faith. You know, beloved, I've been talking to people since I've been back from Kenya, and since Mike has returned from his leave of absence, we, both of us, have had one meeting after another all day long, every day since we both returned. And as we have talked and debriefed, I have noticed something. I have noticed a pattern. In fact, my last conversation this week with one of my friends and colleagues and my first conversation upon walking into this building this morning was about someone who I was talking to, and our souls, in many cases, are cast down. It reminds me of David and someone, but why are you cast down, oh, my soul, and I've talked to so many people the last few weeks and a few months, and their souls are cast down. You know, this whole idea of revelation, the word revelation means to unveil. It means to pull the curtain back. It means to go beneath the surface and look at reality from God's perspective. You know, so much of our time and so much of our energy and so much of our effort is caught up with surface things, isn't it? The details, the deadlines, work, school, recreation, marriage, family, conflict, money, you name it. And there is so much stuff in a daily basis that is all surface stuff, that it's very difficult for us to get below the surface. And what the book of Revelation does is it rips the veil open. It pulls the curtain back and it forces us to see the reality that is there below the surface of things and beloved the way to restore the romance to your faith is to get below the surface, to get behind the veil, to see what God has been doing in the history of redemption from Genesis to Revelation, that it's a story of romance, that it is a love story, that he is pursuing you because you are his bride. And notice this, look at what this says, you have forsaken yet I have this against you. You have forsaken your first love and that word forsaken is a very strong word. It is a word that could have easily been translated divorce. You have divorced me or at least you have served me with papers of divorce and do you see the love of Christ that with patience and kindness and mercy he comes to his bride who is issuing papers of divorce and he's telling her what she has done and yet he does not forsake. I have this against you. You have forsaken your first love. Now the question is now what do we do when surface things, when all of the surface things have left us empty and they've left us dry and they have left us feeling low when they have left us crying with David, oh my soul, why are you cast down? What do we do? How do you restore the romance of your faith and John gives us that right here? He says, remember the height from which you have fallen. You see the first thing to do, the first step back is to remember. I have quoted Albert Camus, at least a hundred times in a hundred different sermons, the French existentialist philosopher, but it's always been the same quote. And Camus has said that the chief faculty of man is forgetting. Miley and Condira, another person that I have quoted, at least a hundred times in a hundred sermons, is always the same quote. He says that this is a collective forgetting. That means that our forgetfulness is moral rather than mental. You know there's a great practice in the Old Testament. If you've read the Old Testament and you see this happening time and time again, you'll see that the people of Israel very often would take time after a great redemptive event, a great time after their salvation, and they would be instructed by God to take stones and pile them up to what another. This happens in the book of Joshua, chapter 4, right after the children of Israel crossed the Jordan, right? And God commands them to go back into the Jordan, take 12 stones and then pile them up in a monument, if you will. And you see this over and over again in the Old Testament, they take stones and pile them up. You know you have to expect that if you were to go over to Israel right now, you would run into a hundred different places when you see nothing but piles of little stones all over the place. What's going on? Why are the piling up of the stones? Do you remember what God told Joshua the reason for piling the stones was? Teach your children so that you, yourselves, your children and the world will not forget the great things that God has done. These are stones of remembrance. Brothers and sisters, I want to tell you right now that if your soul is cast down, start piling up some stones. Some stones of remembrance. I was reading Richard Sibz this past week, a great Puritan writer and his multi-volume set of works and I was reading on Psalm 142 on that Psalm of David, why are you cast down my soul? And he said this. Why is it that when our soul is cast down, that we would rather look at the three things that are going wrong in our life than the 110 things that God has blessed us with? That's what the stones are for, the stones of remembrance, pile them up, put them in your yard, pile up these stones that point to the goodness of God in your lives, beloved. I think I'm going to put some stones in my yard this week and I'm going to invite some of you over. When you come into my house and you're going to see these stones and you're going to say, what in the world are those? That's a strange kind of landscape and you got going on there. Strange indeed, beloved, but it will refresh your soul. So he says, remember, remember the height from which you have fallen and then repent. Repentance is according to our catechism, a work of God's grace. Repentance is about God's saving grace. So often we think of repentance and we think of some kind of dark morose, groveling in our sin. That's not repentance. Repentance is about repentance is a work of God's saving grace, convincing us and convicting us of our sins to be sure teaching us to hate our sins but also teaching us to turn to apprehend the salvation that we have in Christ, the grace that we have in Christ and to endeavor ever there after for full obedience. That's what repentance is and beloved too often we spend so much time in the church trying to teach people how to cope instead of how to change. The Christian life, if your soul is cast down, it's not about coping, it's about changing and repentance is the means of grace whereby God brings about change and it works. And then finally he says, not only repent, not only repent but redo, remember the height from which you were falling, repent and do the things you did at first, redo those things that you did at first. In other words, you got to get back to the basics. When you find yourself falling away from your first love, forsaken your first love and by the way as we confess this morning and Mike Bader's wrote the confession, so many times it happens with us without even knowing. In other words, so many times it happens and we're ignorant of it happening. Maybe it's even stronger than that. Maybe the chief symptom isn't only that we're ignorant of it happening but that we are in denial that it's happening and we've got to go back and we've got to return to the basics. We've got to return to the first principles as it were. The first things, the permanent things, the eternal things, the things that really matter below the surface, behind the veil, behind the curtain. Are you glad it's football season? I'm changing gears on here. I'm a football fan. I'm an unhappy football fan this year because I'm a Notre Dame fan, I'm a Miami fan. After 43 years of being victorious over Navy, we got beat by Navy yesterday. Now we don't mind getting beat by Navy, but if we get beat by Air Force next week, that's it. I love football and I love reading about the history of football and I remember reading about Vince Lombardi and even if you haven't followed football you've probably heard of Vince Lombardi, one of the greatest coaches of all time is one of the greatest leaders of men of all time. Vince Lombardi said after they had lost an important game to the New York Giants and gathered his team together on the next practice day and they all huddled around and they all had their heads down and they were all downcast and they were saddened and they were expecting to get dressed down by their coach. Vince Lombardi stood there for a few minutes pacing back and forth in agitation and then he reached down and he picked up a football and he said gentlemen, this is a football, now that may seem like an odd thing to say at the time, but what he was saying was is we've got to get back to the basics, this is a football and then he began running his practices going over all of the fundamentals of football. Read do your first works, get back to the basics. The basics will take you deep, the basics will take you behind the veil, the basics will take you underneath the surface things, they will restore your soul, Heavenly Father, restore our souls. Lord there are many ways that we forsake our first love, sometimes that forsakenness is deep and profound, and sometimes Lord it's just something that happens here and there throughout the course of our days, our weeks, our months, our years, but Lord every one of us have experienced that, every one of us has attempted to leave the God, we love and the God who loves us. Lord I pray that you would begin to restore your people here at Covenant Presbyterian Church. I pray Father that you would lift our spirits, that you would help us to remember the heights that we have fallen from to repent and turn to you and help us Lord to redo those first things. We give you the praise, we give you the glory, we give you the honor and it's in Jesus' name that we ask these things, Amen.