May we look to the Lord in prayer.
Lord, the prayer of our hearts this evening
is that we may enter into Thy thought,
Thy feeling.
O Lord, Thou knowest it is humanly impossible.
Thou knowest how we are bound by ourselves.
Thou knowest how we are limited by our
thoughts.
And our own feelings.
But Lord, we ask Thee at this moment
to cleanse us with Thy precious blood.
And to deliver us from ourselves.
O that we may join with Thee in
Thy thought and into Thy feeling.
Lord, how we praise and thank Thee Thou
who art the Glorious One, the Holy One,
the Spotless One.
And yet Thou didst come into this world
to be a man.
To enter into our thoughts and into our
feelings.
O how sympathetic Thou art with us.
Now Lord, because of Thy salvation because of
the greatness of Thy redemption we ask Thee
this evening that Thou will bring us into
Thy thought.
O that we may feel as Thou feelest.
O Lord, make us see what Thou dost
see.
Make us feel as Thou dost feel.
O Lord, we look to Thee because we
are helpless.
We cannot do it.
But Lord, we believe the power of Thy
resurrection life can raise us up to that
level.
O Lord, make us see what Thou dost
see.
O and make us so sympathetic with thyself
that we can stand with Thee against ourselves.
O Lord, O we want Thee Lord.
We want Thee in us.
We want Thee in Thy people.
We want Thee in Thy church.
O nothing but Thyself.
Lord, judge us if we need to be
judged.
Reprove us if we need to be reproved.
Chasten us if we need to be chastened.
Bring us to naught if we need to
be brought to that point.
O Lord, reduce us to ashes because this
is the only safe place for us.
O that we may see the glory of
Thy resurrection life manifested in Thy church.
O Lord, we want to see Thy glory.
Deliver us from disappointments.
Deliver us from despair.
Deliver us from destitution, desolation, death.
O Lord, bring us to resurrection life.
To the glory of Thy life.
To the glory of Thyself.
O Lord, this is Thy will for us.
This is Thy will for Thy church.
And Lord, Thy grace can bring us there.
O how we trust Thee, O Lord.
Our confidence is in Thee.
Thou will not let us down.
Thou will not fail us.
We may feel it sometimes that way, Lord.
But we know Thee.
We know Thee, Lord.
O Lord, get what Thou wantest among Thy
people.
Do Thy work until Thou are satisfied.
Do not stop, Lord.
Do not stop.
Go on, Lord, with us.
Go on.
O Lord, have mercy upon us.
Where can we go, Lord?
Thou has the word of life.
We are stuck, Lord.
We praise Thee, we thank Thee.
O Lord, we praise Thee.
O Thou dost desire to deliver us from
ourselves, that we may come over to Thy
side and see things with Thy sight.
O Lord, give us the spirit of wisdom
and revelation.
Open the eyes of our hearts, that we
may know Thee.
And to know Thee is life eternal.
O we worship Thee together, Lord.
O how good, how good Thou art.
How gracious, gracious Thou art.
How longsuffering Thou art.
Lord, if it is not because of Thy
patience and longsuffering, where will we be?
O Lord, we marvel at Thy grace.
Lord, Thou dost take up the worst, the
meanest, the vilest, such as we are.
And Lord, Thou dost make us a new
vessel, fit for the Master's use, that no
man can boast, but all glory be unto
Thee.
O all glory be unto Thee.
O how we praise and we thank Thee.
We know Thou art working.
We know Thou will get what I want.
O Lord, take away our resistance.
Take away our pride.
O Lord, make us soft, make us tender,
make us flexible.
Lord, do whatever Thou wants with us.
We wait before, we trust Thee, Lord.
O Lord, we remember Thy word, that just
shall live by His faith.
Lord, our hope is in Thee.
Our confidence is in Thee.
Thou art the rock of our salvation.
O we glorify Thee, Lord.
It is all Thee, Lord.
It is all Thee.
Amen.
May we read from the book of Revelation.
Revelation chapter 2, verse 1.
To the angel of the church in Ephesus
write, These things says he that holds the
seven stars in his right hand, who walks
in the midst of the seven golden lampstands.
I know Thy works, and Thy labor, and
Thine endurance, and that Thou canst not bear
evil.
And Thou hast tried them who say that
themselves apostles and are not, and hast found
them liars, and endureth, and hast borne for
My name's sake, and hast not wearied.
But I have against Thee that Thou hast
left Thy first love.
Remember, therefore, whence Thou art fallen, and repent,
and do the first works.
But if not, I am coming to Thee,
and I will remove Thy lampstand out of
its place.
Except Thou shalt 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 says to the churches.
To him that overcomes, I will give to
him to eat of the tree of life,
which is in the paradise of God.
We cannot read the whole chapter 2 and
chapter 3, so we will just read the
beginning of each letter.
Verse 8.
And to the angel of the church in
Smyrna write, These things says the first and
the last, who became dead and lived.
Verse 12.
And to the angel of the church in
Pergamos write, These things says he that hath
the sharp two-edged sword.
Verse 18.
And to the angel of the church in
Tytera write, These things says the Son of
God, he that hath his eyes as a
flame of fire, and his feet are like
fine brass.
Chapter 3.
Verse 1.
And to the angel of the church in
Sardis write, These things says he that hath
the seven spirits of God and the seven
stars.
Verse 7.
And to the angel of the church in
Philadelphia write, These things says the Holy, the
True, he that hath the key of David,
he who opens and no one shall shut,
and shuts and no one shall open.
Verse 14.
And to the angel of the church in
Laodicea write, These things says the Amen, the
faithful and true witness, the beginning of the
creation of God.
Dear brothers and sisters, we believe God is
today intensely interested, and if you allow me
to put it in a stronger way, exclusively
interested, in only one thing.
And one thing alone.
And that is the testimony of Jesus Christ.
What is the testimony of Jesus Christ?
It is the public declaration, the affirmation, of
a truth, a fact, a reality.
That truth, that fact, that reality, is the
Lord Jesus.
The Father bears witness to Him.
He Himself testified before Pontius Pilate.
And the Holy Spirit is here on earth
to glorify Him.
And we are called to be His witnesses.
It is who Jesus is.
It is what He is.
That is the thing.
That is the testimony.
Brothers and sisters, we need to know Him,
who He is, as the Father knows Him.
We need to know Him as He Himself
declares.
We need to know Him as the Holy
Spirit witnesses.
We need to know who He is, what
He is.
For this reason, we need a revelation of
Jesus.
Because He is one who cannot be known
except by the revelation of the Father.
We may know about Him, but we can
never know Him.
We need a revelation of Jesus Christ.
And when Jesus Christ is revealed to us,
brothers and sisters, we have the testimony of
Jesus Christ.
As our brother Watchman Lee once said, he
said, you may say everything about the Lord
Jesus, but when you are saying these things,
and if the Lord Jesus does not speak
with you, it is dead.
There is no testimony.
Just words.
Correct?
But words.
But dear brothers and sisters, when you are
testifying of the Lord Jesus, and as you
are speaking for Him, He speaks with you.
He backs you up.
This is without revelation.
There is no testimony.
But the revelation of Jesus Christ, that God
so graciously given to His church, is the
testimony of Jesus.
We mentioned last night that the testimony of
Jesus is today deposited in a vessel.
And the testimony of God was deposited in
the nation of Israel.
So today, the testimony of Jesus is deposited
in the church.
The body of Christ.
How dare God commit such
a tremendous thing?
The testimony of Jesus.
It is alright for God to keep the
testimony.
It is alright for the Lord Jesus to
bear the testimony.
But if God should commit this testimony to
man, you know what will happen.
When God committed His testimony to the nation
of Israel, His name went down with them.
Often times, God had to vindicate Himself and
said, I have no part in it.
When God commits the testimony of Jesus to
the church, brothers and sisters, it makes me
tremble how much
the testimony of Jesus suffers through the vessel.
And it is for this reason that you'll
find when John was on the island of
Patmos, when he was thinking of the seven
churches in Asia, among whom he labored before
he was exiled.
He loved.
He could not be in person with them.
He was exiled on the island of Patmos.
But nobody could forbid him from looking longingly
across the sea towards the seven cities in
Asia and thought of them.
As he was thinking of the seven churches
in Asia, he heard a voice behind him.
What thou hast seen, write to the seven
churches in Asia.
To Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira,
to Sidus, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.
He turned back, and he saw seven golden
lampstands represent the seven churches in Asia.
With the Son of Man in the midst.
Brothers and sisters, we need to be turned
away from what we are seeing.
What we know.
We need to turn away from that.
And to see what is the vessel of
the testimony as God ordains it.
We need a vision of the Lord.
We need a vision of the Church.
We need a vision of the Church as
God ordains it to be.
And you'll find there is a suitability.
Why?
Because these are seven golden lampstands that were
to uplift the light.
To bear the testimony of Jesus in the
various cities in Asia.
That was the calling.
The Lord said, I will build my church
upon this rock.
And the gates of Hades shall not prevail.
I, the Lord.
He said, I will build.
I will build my church upon this rock.
It can be nothing but a golden candlestick
made of pure gold.
What the Lord is building must be perfect.
You can never even imagine.
And I think even imagining is blaspheming.
To think that the Lord will build a
church that is full of rubbish.
It cannot be.
The Lord said, I will build my church
upon this rock.
And because He is building it with pure
gold and into a golden lampstand so exquisite,
so beautiful, with cups, knots, flowers, lamps, brothers
and sisters, the gates of Hades cannot prevail
against it.
Because it is perfect.
Do we see the church that way?
But if you go to 1 Corinthians 3,
Paul said, I am like a foreman.
I have laid a foundation.
And the foundation can be none other but
Jesus Christ.
Thank God for the foundation.
The superstructure may shake, but the foundation stands.
Paul said, I am like a master builder.
I have laid a foundation, and the foundation
can be none other but Jesus Christ.
But Paul said, what are you building?
Brothers and sisters, do you see the two
sides?
On the one side you will find our
Lord Jesus declares, I will build my church.
He is building it.
Oh, thank God He is building it.
You know, often times, when I am down
and down and cannot be downed up, the
one thing that lifts me up is, I
remember the Lord said, I will build my
church upon this rock.
And the gates of Hades shall not prevail
against it.
And you know, I am lifted to the
third heaven.
But the sad part is, we are all
helping Him to build.
In a sense, we are all building.
We are all building the house of God.
But you read 1 Corinthians 13, and you
find that some build with gold, silver, and
precious stones.
But some build with wood, grass, and straw.
If it is the Lord who builds, gold,
silver, precious stones, nothing else, pure.
But when men start to help, you find
sometimes, some people may be building with gold,
silver, and precious stones.
Gold, the nature.
Silver, the redemption of Jesus Christ.
Precious stones, the work of the Holy Spirit.
Some are building it upon that foundation with
gold, silver, and precious stones.
But many more are building with wood, the
nature of man.
Grass, the beauty, the glory of man.
Straw, the work of God in man.
These two houses do not fit.
And yet there are one house.
One day, the fire shall appear.
And the fire will burn up all that
is built on the foundation with wood, grass,
and straw.
Even you are saved, but barely saved.
The death which can stand the fire will
continue.
In other words, this is the wonder of
grace.
This is the wonder of new creation.
In the whole creation, God did it all
by Himself.
When God created the heavens and the earth,
He did it all by Himself.
He did not consult with you, ask your
advice, and your help.
You were not there.
He said it, and it was done.
So simple.
So direct.
So perfect.
That was the way God built the whole
creation.
But somehow God changes His mind.
When He comes to build a new creation,
God says, No.
I change my method.
I am determined not to do it alone.
I am determined to do it with those
whom I have redeemed.
And because of that, He got into great
trouble.
But that's the way He wanted.
To Him, it's trouble.
But to us, it is the highest.
Can you think of anything more honorable than
to cooperate, co-work with God?
If our work is wrong with God, that's
God's work.
If our work is at odd with God,
one day it will be burned.
And dear brothers and sisters, it is much
better if it is burned earlier.
So first of all, dear brothers and sisters,
I do believe God does not want us
to look, look at the present conditions of
the church as we can very easily see.
Brothers and sisters, if you look, it brings
you to despair.
But remember, you are no better.
You are in it.
I believe God wants us to look away
from these things.
Be blind for a while.
Let our eyes be open to see only
what God has ordained the church to be.
That perfect vessel for the testimony of Jesus.
To see that it is the Lord who
is building the church.
Oh, brothers and sisters, we really need to
see that.
I pray that the Lord will show us
that.
Otherwise, I tell you, the more you want
the Lord, the more miserable you become.
But if we see, if we see the
golden lampstand standing there with the Son of
Man in the midst, oh, brothers and sisters,
it's glorious.
After we have seen that, then the Lord
said, Write.
Write to the seven churches in Asia.
Was the Lord blind to the situation in
these seven churches?
He knew very well.
As you will see, He knew everything in
these seven churches.
Everything.
And yet, there before Him stood the seven
golden lampstands.
Our present situation cannot, will not, change God's
original design.
It still stands.
No matter how far apart these two may
be, the seven golden lampstands and the seven
churches in Asia, they ought to be one.
But no matter how far apart these two
things are, and the Lord saw both, and
the Lord was bringing the one to the
other.
To His original.
The original design does not change.
It is still there.
As a matter of fact, it is already
there.
But anyway, here you'll find, after God has
shown John a vision of the seven golden
lampstands with one like the Son of Man
in the midst.
Then, John was in a position to turn
back again and look at the seven churches
in Asia with the look of...
You know, brothers and sisters, it doesn't take
any sharp eyes to see all the mess
in the churches today.
Because they are so, so apparent.
So apparent.
But suppose you look at the situation of
God's people today, at the situation of the
churches today, and all that you have seen,
what will happen to you?
It will either drive you to despair, or
it will make you very critical.
That's all.
But brothers and sisters, after you have seen
the Lord, after you have seen the original
design of the Lord, and then you turn
back and look at the seven churches, look
at the situation, again, you know what happens?
You see even clearer.
Because the eyes of the Lord is like
a flame of fire.
Everything is naked before Him.
You think you have seen enough.
You haven't.
If you are seeing things with the eyes
of the Lord, you will see even more.
But thank God, what you have seen will
not push you to despair, nor make you
critical.
But what you have seen will make you
even more sympathetic with the Lord, filled with
compassion and longing that it may be restored
to what God wanted.
It's different.
The seven churches in Asia, the testimony of
Jesus Christ is deposited in the church.
And because we are still in the flesh,
we are restricted by time and space.
Therefore you'll find the church of God today
in the practical sense is to be worked
out in the local assemblies.
That's the reason why you'll find the seven
churches there.
All these seven churches in Asia are a
land stand by itself.
In other words, each local assembly is a
unit of testimony before God.
Each golden land stand is the light lifter
in that locality.
Every local assembly is directly responsible to God
for the testimony of Jesus.
They are not joined physically, governmentally.
They are only joined by the Lord himself.
That is, spiritually.
In fellowship they are one, but in responsibility
each is responsible directly also.
These seven churches are all different.
They're all different.
Each has its peculiar features.
Each has its characteristics.
Because God is not out for uniformity.
God is out for unity.
But unity with variety.
When men try to unite, there is only
one way.
To make everything the same.
That is the only way to unite.
But God has a better way.
God has a unity and yet it is
unity with variety.
And when we first came to this country
we learned English.
And it says, variety is the spice of
life.
It is in variety that you get fullness.
It is all the same is monotonous.
It has only that much and no more.
But if it is variety then when you
add up the variety you will find fullness.
And that is God.
You know, these seven churches are all different.
The Lord does not require the church in
Ephesus to be like the church in Smyrna.
The Lord does not require the church in
Smyrna to be like the church in Pergamos.
The Lord wants Ephesus to be Ephesus, Smyrna
to be Smyrna.
But to be what He originally has given.
Thank God.
To each you will find when the Lord
writes to each church.
He begins with a self-announcement.
In every letter He announces Himself first.
And as you read the seven letters you
find in each self-announcement everyone is different.
We have a general vision of one like
the Son of Man together.
And then a specific announcement to each of
the seven churches.
And whatever He has revealed to anyone, to
the church, is to be shared with the
other churches.
For dear brothers and sisters, the burden of
my heart tonight is this.
We saw the seven golden lampstands standing before
God with the Son of Man in the
midst.
Oh, what a glorious vision that is.
Then you turn back and you read the
seven letters to the seven churches.
What is the burden of the Lord with
regard to the seven churches?
As the Lord looks into the situations of
the seven churches, dear brothers and sisters, what
is He looking for?
He is searching for one thing.
To each church He mentions different things.
He sees what is good.
Nothing escapes His eyes.
Everything that is good and commendable.
He sees the bad things.
And they are very evident before Him.
But dear brothers and sisters, what is He
that He is looking for?
May I put it this way?
He is searching for Himself in the churches.
He has revealed Himself to the churches.
He has given Himself to the churches.
And now He comes back to search whether
that which He has revealed and has deposited
are there or whether there is only
one measurement for the church.
Brothers and sisters, we mention a golden lampstand
is only for one purpose.
To uplift.
The church is only for one purpose.
And that is for the testimony of Jesus.
And because of that, what the Lord looks
at the church, He is just looking for
one thing.
How about it?
That's the only thing that matters.
Thank God.
If you read Revelation chapter 21, you find
there is a man.
In his hand is a golden reed.
And he uses that golden reed as a
measurement to measure the holy city, the New
Jerusalem.
And you know what?
Everywhere he measures, it measures up.
What is the criteria?
What is the standard?
What is the measurement of the church?
How do you measure a church?
You don't measure with different measurements.
It is an abominable thing in the sight
of God if you use different measurements.
God has only one measure.
And that is the testimony.
What God has revealed of Jesus Christ is
that which He uses to...
Individually, this is true.
Corporately.
Our Lord Jesus walks among the seven lambs
there.
And He is looking for Himself in these
churches.
How much these churches have received!
And how much they have measured up to
the Revelation.
Anything short of the Revelation is under judgment.
It's rejected.
It cannot be accepted.
It requires repentance.
Dear brothers and sisters, not only the world
needs repentance.
To repent, only on one account.
That we do not measure up to the
testimony, to
the angel of the church in Ephesus.
These things say He that has the seven
stars in His right hand, who walks in
the midst of the seven golden lambs.
He declares Himself to the church in Ephesus
as one who has in His right hand
the seven stars.
The seven stars represent the seven angels.
And you know angels in the Scripture is
the same as messengers.
Now, whether these messengers are angelic messengers or
human messengers is a matter of interpretation.
I don't think we want to go into
it.
But anyway, you'll find the seven stars are
the seven messengers.
In other sense, in any assembly, in any
church, there will be those who seem to
have responsibility before God.
For the church.
It is true, every member in the church
is responsible.
But in a sense, there will be the
messenger as it is called.
Like the stars, candlesticks, lampstands, are to be
standing on earth.
Stars are higher.
Stars are for the night.
Lampstands are also for the night.
But one is above and one is below.
I wonder if it means this.
There needs some who live in the heavenly
places.
And only when you dwell in the heavenly
places with Christ, you are like stars.
You draw the heavenly power and light and
supply it to the golden lampstand.
It's almost like what Zechariah saw in chapter
4.
The two olive trees.
I don't know.
I'm just mentioning it.
But anyway, you'll find the Lord said, I
have in my right hand the seven stars.
The right hand is the hand of power.
In other words, there is no reason why
the stars should not shine.
And He is walking among the seven golden
lampstands.
In other words, He is walking.
When the Lord pass by, John said, Behold
the Lamb of God.
And two disciples left John.
Is it not that we should follow the
Lamb with us forever?
The Lord reveals Himself to Ephesus.
And Ephesus is to respond.
You know, brothers and sisters, in the church
in Ephesus, they have many good points.
I know thy works, and thy labor, and
thy endurance, and thou canst not bear evil.
Thou hast tried them who say themselves apostles
not, and hast found them liars, and endureth,
and hast borne for my name's sake, and
hast not wearied.
Brothers and sisters, very few churches can compare
with Ephesus up to this point.
The Lord said, I know your works.
You have lots of works.
And your labor, your endurance, you cannot bear
the evil.
You have tried them.
Probably these are referred to.
Endure.
Endurance among the brethren.
And so forth.
How we need to bear and forbear.
How we need to endure each other.
And here you find the church in Ephesus,
they are able to endure.
Not endure the world, the persecution of the
world, but endure the brethren.
You know, it is harder to endure the
brethren than to endure the world.
We have no patience with our brothers and
sisters.
We can be very patient with the people
of this world.
They have works.
They have labor.
They have endurance.
They have discernment, knowledge.
And then towards the world, they endure too.
And they have borne for the name of
the Lord Jesus and have not wearied.
Now sometimes, we endure for a while, and
then we got wearied.
But they have not wearied.
They have all these good things there.
Brothers and sisters, if you want to look
for good things, there are plenty in the
church in Ephesus.
Plenty.
But the Lord was not looking for these
things.
These things, as it were, were just coming
along.
If they are there, thank God, if they
are not there, you don't miss them.
And they would be there.
But what the Lord was looking is one
thing in the church in Ephesus.
And He used very strong words.
In spite of all these things that you
have, I am against you.
I am against you.
I cannot stand you.
Why?
Because you have left your first love.
Brothers and sisters, first love is the testimony.
They have lost sight of the Lord.
One brother said, probably they are so busy
with works that they lost sight of the
Lord and their love.
Think of this.
We don't know.
But you know, we can be occupied with
many good things.
Oh, we can be occupied with works, with
virtues, with knowledge, with all kinds of good
things, and right things too.
But if we have lost sight, we will
lose.
And that is what the Lord said.
Everything may go on as usual.
But if the first love is missing, the
Lord said, I am against you.
Either repent, or I will remove the lampstand
out.
What does it mean?
Does it necessarily mean, as some people think,
that God will remove the church out of
the city?
There will be no more church there.
He will remove the lampstand out of its
place.
What is its place?
It may continue as an institution.
But it has been removed as a testimony.
The Lord is looking for Himself there.
The Lord is looking for love.
God is love.
If you see Him, you love Him.
You cannot but love Him.
The reason why you don't love Him is
because you haven't seen Him.
Oh, brothers and sisters, the Lord is looking
for Himself among us.
Can He find first love?
If there is first love, there is a
testimony.
If there is no first love, all these
works, knowledge, and so forth, combined, do not
make up to
the church in Smyrna.
These things says the first and the last
who became dead and lived.
Now, this is the testimony of Jesus.
He is the first and the last.
He is the number one.
He is all.
And He became dead and left.
The church in Smyrna suffered.
They have three problems.
Tribulation, poverty, and slander.
Tribulation through the opposition from the world.
Poverty.
Probably their property were being robbed.
Poverty and slander.
Why did they suffer?
Because they saw the Lord as the first.
If you see the Lord is all, brothers
and sisters, you will suffer.
The world is not that kind.
The world has not changed.
The reason why some people think the world
has become more religious and Christianized.
Therefore, there will be no more tribulation and
poverty and slander.
It is not the world that has changed.
You have no longer seen the Lord as
the first.
Or if you make the Lord your everything,
you know what will happen.
But thank God, He became dead.
And you will live.
There will be the crown.
He is looking for Himself in the church.
So the church in Pergamos, right?
These things says He that has a sharp
two-edged sword.
The church in Pergamos has become very worldly.
The word Pergamos some people say means high
power.
It begins to have an influence, a position
in the world.
A power to be reckoned with.
But here the Lord says, He is one
who has the two-edged sword.
And this two-edged sword is not to
cut the world.
It is to cut the believers from the
world.
Is there a separation?
Brothers and sisters, we often think of separation
in terms of rules and regulations.
After one believes, becomes a Christian, we will
give him certain rules.
And say, now you need to be separated
from the world.
Now what do you mean by separated from
the world?
Oh, you dress in a certain way, you
do certain things and don't do certain things.
Now that's separation.
Well, I do not say that.
These things won't happen.
I think they will happen.
But what is separation?
What separates you from the world?
What is the wall that divides you, separates
you from the world?
What is the wall?
The wall is Christ.
The more you know Him, the more you
are separated from the world unto Him.
And the more you love Him, the higher
the wall.
That's separation.
Separation is not a mechanical thing, a technical
thing.
Separation is not an awkward thing.
It will be manifested awkwardly, yes.
But it begins with Him.
He is the one who has the two
-edged sword.
He divides.
He divides the soul and the spirit.
That which is not of God and that
which is of God.
O brothers and sisters, He is looking for
Himself in the church in Pergamon, to the
church in Thyatira.
These things says He, the Son of God,
He that has His eyes as a flame
of fire and His feet are like fine
bread.
His eyes as flame of fire, discernment.
See through.
See through everything.
And His feet like fine brass.
What He has seen is judged, so that
you may walk in the way of righteousness.
And brothers and sisters, here you find the
church in Thyatira.
What a mixture.
They have more works than ever before.
They offer sacrifice untiringly.
Some say that is the meaning of Thyatira.
But no matter how they offer sacrifice, and
untiringly, so mixed, that
you cannot see the truth from falsehood.
But there is the eye as a flame
of fire.
Brothers and sisters, do we see as He
sees?
And if we see as He sees, do
we judge as He judges?
Do we walk as He walks?
He is trying to find His eyes and
His feet in the church in Thyatira.
He is looking for Himself.
The church in Sardis.
These things says He that has the seven
spirits of God and the seven stars.
The spirit of life.
He has the seven spirits of God.
The fullness of the spirit of life.
And yet Sardis has only a name.
And is dead.
And is dying.
There is no life there.
And what little life is there is dwindling.
Brothers and sisters, what the Lord is looking
for?
Himself.
His life in operation.
There is a livingness.
A livingness there.
He is the living one.
I don't know.
I know my English language is very limited.
I may be using the wrong word.
I wonder if there is a difference between
livingness and liveliness.
Is there a difference between these two words?
What the Lord is looking is livingness.
Not liveliness.
They look alike, you know.
Livingness and liveliness, they look alike.
But one is activity.
One is...
And here you find the Lord is looking
for Himself.
And for the church in Philadelphia.
These things says the holy, the true, He
that has the key of David.
He who opens and no one shall shut
and shuts and no one shall open.
In the church in Philadelphia.
There is brotherly love.
Oh, see how they love one another.
They have kept the word of patience.
They have not denied His name.
They have a little power.
Not much power.
Little power.
But this little power is of God.
They, because of their faithfulness to the Lord,
they know the authority.
And that is what the Lord is looking
for.
His authority.
The key of David.
To open the door of the kingdom.
It is not something earthly.
It is something.
And then in Laodicea, you find the Lord
said, These things says the Amen, the faithful
and true witness, the beginning of the creation.
They need a new beginning.
Everything has become old.
They have inherited a lot.
But there is no spiritual reality in it.
No Amen in it.
No reality in it.
And the Lord is looking for His, the
richest.
So brothers and sisters, we may say this.
What the Lord is searching for among God's
people is very simple.
He is looking for His testimony.
And that is the one thing that matters.
And He measures a church with that measurement.
If it does not measure up.
If it is distorted.
If it is covered.
If it is lost.
All the call is to it.
Never, never be deceived into thinking that the
other things may substitute.
Our human mentality is a mentality of making
substitutes.
We think it is just as good as
the original one.
But the Lord said, No, I want the
original.
No substitute.
So it really, it really brings us to
a very narrow, narrow way.
Brothers and sisters, the Lord is looking, looking
today.
He is still walking among the lambs there.
And remember one thing.
He is looking for Himself in the church.
He is looking for what He has already
revealed of Himself.
Because what He has revealed of Himself is
the testimony of Jesus that has been entrusted.
This is.
So may the Lord exercise our hearts, all
knowing the high privilege of being the depository,
the vessel of the testimony of Jesus.
What a precious testimony it is.
May we be faithful.
May we be before the Lord for a
while.
Hence, feel free to pray as the Lord
leads.