Seven Words to the Church Today (Week 1) - Feb. 6, 2022 - Andy Turner

Andy Turner starts a new series from the Book of Revelation. In Week 1, we talk about the message to church of Ephesus and how it is relevant to the church today. Andy challenges the church to repent of apathy and living out a comfortable faith on autopilot. How can we live with passion and purpose as we seek to be a light to those around us? We have to get back to the start – remembering where we were when we were most in love with Jesus. “Picture a child who is overwhelmed… who is scared out of their mind… just trying to keep their head above the water. Every good parent would pick up their child and hold them, comfort them, protect them. That’s the picture that we get of Jesus with his church today... because Jesus cares so deeply for his church.” “Not only does Jesus care for the church… but he also walks among the church. He is continuously present among the church. Jesus is no absentee landlord.” “Jesus is walking among his church. He is present among his church. He is up close and personal with his church. He is watching over the church, sustaining the church, protecting the church. He sees what we do… he hears what we say. He knows what we think. Hopefully this is a great source of assurance… and also a great source of accountability.” “Obedience out of duty, as opposed to obedience out of love for Christ, is the difference between ‘I obey, so Jesus accepts me’ or ‘Jesus accepts me, so I gladly obey.’ One of those is the gospel – the other is false.” “If all is not well with our soul, it does not mean that all is lost. All is never lost when it comes to Jesus and his church.” “What do we do when we find ourselves on autopilot? Jesus calls us to repent. He calls us to undergo this change in mind that results in change in action and attitude. He calls us to remember how far we have fallen.” “Labor is not substitute for love. Purity is no substitute for passion. Deeds are no substitute for devotion.” “I believe that’s what the message to the church of Ephesus is… ‘Go back and do the things you did whenever you felt most in love with Jesus.’ “Did you pray more, did you read more, did you study more, did you worship more, did you journal more? What did you do when you were the most on fire, whenever you were most passionate? What did you do in your relationship with Jesus? Go back and do that again.” “They were comfortable to combine elements of the Christian faith with the surrounding practices and culture… if that doesn’t sound familiar today. We live in a world that is so full of evil and we have so confused ourselves to call evil good.” “Whenever the words of Jesus and culture collide, Jesus’ word must prevail. Why? Because he is the one who is victorious. He is the one who, through his victory, has given us victory. And the victory that Jesus provides, this world and this culture will never be able to provide.” “Just because you feel like the world is against you… does not mean you get to be against the world that Jesus died to redeem.” “We have the opportunity to meet difficulty and opposition with truth and love and faithfulness. We can respond to the world with grace, and keep giving more as we feel attacked. And when we feel beat up, we can choose to respond like Jesus – we can both follow the truth and show love for all in this world. We can respond in faith that what he said is true… ‘In this world you will have trouble but take heart, for I have overcome the world.’ We can live – and we can prove – that we truly believe in what we claim to believe."