Week 2 | “Courage When You Feel Alone”

Morning to all those joining us here at North Shore. That includes not just those in the room, but as we mentioned last week, we had the opportunity to be the broadcast campus this weekend. So, we say hello to all those online who are joining us, especially our brothers out at Jefferson City Correctional Center. In fact, North Shore, can we give a welcome or what's up to our brothers down at JCCC? What a privilege we have to worship together regardless of where we are. For those of you who may be new today, whether it's online or in the room, my name is Thomas Anderson Jr. I have the privilege of serving as one of the pastors here, and I'm thrilled to be kicking off week two of our series as we are in the book of Revelation. Just as a short recap from week one, if you were with us or if you weren't, so you're up to speed. At the end of chapter one, John, who received this vision, by the way, a vision and a story that Jesus is telling him, and Jesus wants him to write it all down, it actually says at the end of chapter one that he's to write this to the seven churches. And then you get chapter two and three, which we'll be in today, and these are the seven churches that were written to. So we got the opportunity to peek in a little bit of what God was telling these churches at the time, and we get to kind of see what's happening. But I don't want you to walk out of here thinking today it's just a Bible lesson, that it's just a good story. In fact, we will learn from the churches and we will listen in to see what God was saying to them and how it's a blessing for us. And it's not overly complicated of what we're going to get into, but I can guarantee you it's going to be a little challenging. In fact, the best way I could illustrate this is with a story about my Nana. Now, many of you who've been here with us, you know I talk about my family often, my grandmothers especially, and this grandmother, this is my mother's mother,

we called her Nana, praying woman. Well, I was in college, and in fact, this was right around the time I had met my wife, early 2000s, we were in college. And back in college, church, I got to tell you, I was the man. Like, I don't know how else to say it, I didn't just start wearing suits, I always looked good in a suit. So I was the guy that was on campus, I was the student body president, they gave me my own office, they shouldn't have gave me my own office. Listen, you couldn't tell me nothing. I thought I preached the best, I know I smelt the best, and I know I look the best. And so I kind of came off with that, right? When I met my wife, I told her what she had to do to be a good Christian, because I knew I was holier than her. I told her she had to get a good Bible, I told her she had to read that thing, because, you know, we can get it, not read it. And then I told her, you know, small group, all the things that she needed to do. That's how I was, that's who I was. And in one day, I was driving somewhere, I can't even remember where I was going, to be honest with you, but I jumped on the phone with my Nana. Now, my Nana was like my road buddy, anytime I was driving, I'd call her up and we'd chat. So I call her up this particular time, and she, hey, baby, how you doing? Well, grandma, let me tell you how I'm doing. I preached in chapel, I did this, I'm naming all the things I'd done. And she's just listening. Oh, baby, okay, wow. I'm running on my mouth.

And then somewhere in the middle, she goes, baby, have you spent time with Jesus though? Well, yeah, Nana, I just told you all the things I did. Maybe, you know, she's getting older, maybe she can't hear. Let me go back through this. That's how I was, don't judge me. So we start walking back through, and she's, no, no, baby, baby, no, no. Have you spent time with Jesus? See, my grandmother knew me. Not that she saw me, which is important to see people. Not that she remembered me when I was a little boy. No, no, my grandmother knew me. She knew who I was. She understood me. So when I was saying a bunch of things, my grandma was able to go, hey, baby, I think you might be missing something. My Nana was able to show up to see me, care for me, and to provide some encouragement. The reason that's important for today is because there's going to be three things I want you to walk away with. My Nana modeled it, but Jesus is the first one that demonstrated this. There are three things I'm going to want you to walk away with. One, Jesus knows you. And we'll flesh this out, but I don't just mean he knows you because he's read your resume, or he knows you because he looked up your profile online. Jesus knows you inside and out. And then I'm going to tell you, Jesus cares for you, deeply so, so much so, Jesus will hold the tension between love and grace and truth in our lives. And then. Jesus will strengthen you.

Church, I'm convinced without a shadow of a doubt, God is for us and with us, and we only make it because of him. But I could say all that, the important thing is let's walk through the text together just a little bit to demonstrate to us what exactly those words mean and what they look like. Now I told you, Revelation chapter two and three are written to the seven churches. Those church names, by the way, just so that we're on the same page, are the church in Ephesus, the church in Smyrna, the church in Sardis, the church in Pergamum, the church in Philadelphia, and the church in Thyatira. Now, I wish I could preach for an hour and a half, two hours and give you all we got in those seven churches, but I can't. So what I will do is I wanna walk through a little bit of what Jesus says and just paint a picture for you of how we see him showing up. So the first thing I told you was Jesus knows you. Jesus knows you. What's interesting is when you read the letters written to the seven churches, there's some similarities through all of them. And one of the similarities is Jesus will say time and time again, I know you, I know your deeds, I know your faith, I know this. I'm curious, what goes through your mind

when you hear that phrase, Jesus knows you? I'd be curious what you think of when you think of someone knowing you, because maybe you're like me, where depending on how close you are to me depends on how much you know about me. Depending on our relationship determines the depth of what you know. But Jesus, regardless of if you're meeting him for the first time or you've been a faithful follower for a long time, Jesus knows you as creator of all. He's intimately aware with you and what's going on. In fact, if I can show you an example written to the church in Smyrna, Jesus will say in Revelation 2.9, he will say, I know your afflictions and your poverty, yet you are rich. I know about the slander of those who say they're Jews and are not born in the synagogue of Satan. See, when Jesus writes to this church, he calls out exactly where they are, and it's stuff that you may not have seen on the outside. I know your poverty and afflictions, but you're rich. Jesus knows what they're struggling with. Jesus knows what hurts, and yet at the same time reminds them of who they are in him. Or maybe we see the same thing at the church in Philadelphia. This is Revelation 3.8, where he'll say, I know your deeds. See, I've placed before you an open door

that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you've kept my word and not denied my name. You know, the neat thing is when Jesus talks about having strength or having little strength, those aren't usually things you can see on the outside, especially if it was modern day-to-day. You know how we like to fake it till we make it. You know how we like to make it look good, even though we're not good. Jesus bypasses all of that, is able to write to his churches saying, hey, I know you. I know what you've gone through. I know where it hurts. I know you're exhausted, but that's not the end of the story. Jesus just doesn't know who we are and says, well, good luck with that. Jesus doesn't intimately know the pieces about you, but rather, the second thing, as I told you, Jesus cares for you. Jesus cares deeply for you. We see Jesus once again, as I mentioned, holding this tension between grace and gentleness and truth because as my mama once said, if I didn't love you, I wouldn't say anything. See, she used to say that to me when she was like telling me something I needed to do better. You ever, anybody have a mama like that? A couple of hands went up. Lord bless you.

I hope I didn't trigger nobody. But like my mom would always, you need to do this, you need to do, mom, if I didn't love you, I wouldn't say anything. I didn't get it then, but see, Jesus shows us what that means. Like when he writes to the church in Laodicea, he says, those whom I love, I rebuke and discipline, so be earnest and repent. That's Revelation 3, 19. Or also say in the book of Hebrews, he'll say, because the Lord disciplines those he loves. See, we hear discipline, we hear rebuke, and we go back to the trauma of our childhood, some of us. We go back to what we think fathers are like and parents are like. When Jesus talks about rebuke and discipline, he's not ready to play whack-a-mole with you. But he is inviting you to more of him. Jesus caring deeply for you literally means he continues to extend this grace and this mercy. You might be off track just a little bit, but I'm inviting you back. I'm inviting you to be with me. In fact, at the end of every letter he writes to every church, he will say whoever has ears, let him hear what the spirit says to the church. Jesus isn't even excluding people. Well, you know those folks over there, they're not as holy as you.

You know how we exclude people. If you don't look like us and do it like us. Jesus says whoever is willing to listen to me, come, either have an ear, let him hear. And so I begin to wonder when we think of being fully known and we think of being cared for deeply, I'm wondering what that brings up in some of us. Because maybe you're like me and the church of Ephesus where Jesus had to write, I hold this against you. You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you've fallen. Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lamp stand from its place. See, Jesus in the midst of this rebuke, this discipline, he doesn't just say you messed up, good luck, we'll figure it out. He invites them back to something. He invites them back to himself. You've forgotten your first love. Repent, course correct, come back. And by the way, repent simply means turn around. Just turn from what you were doing to what you used to do. Or maybe some of you are like the church. And Sardis, I've been like this before. You have a reputation of being alive, Jesus says, but you are dead. Wake up, strengthen what remains and is about to die for I found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. See, rebuke is really just naming

where we have gotten off the path and inviting back to the corrected destination. Jesus with each and every church reminds them of who they are and cares so deeply, he encourages them. One of my favorites, by the way, is what he says to the church in Laodicea. I know your deeds, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish you were either one or the other. So because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you or I'm about to spit you out of my mouth. I don't know if you've heard this verse before, but when I've heard this verse years ago or when I've often thought about being on like fire for God and being excited, we often contrast hot and cold, right? You wanna be on fire for something, you wanna be excited, you rarely wanna be cold about something in our culture, in our language. But that's actually, I think, not what Jesus is getting at. Some scholars suggest that the landscape, the city that they lived in actually had hot and cold springs. Cold springs bringing refreshing water, hot springs bringing cleansing. This is why, if you notice, Jesus doesn't rebuke the hot or the cold, he rebukes the lukewarm. That lukewarm, think of it this way, one foot out, one foot in. You might know some people, don't point to nobody now. I'm kinda there, I'm kinda not there.

I don't know if you find yourself in any of these churches that I just mentioned, being alive, seeming alive, but really being dead, moving from your first love, or being lukewarm, but notice the language that Jesus uses. Although it's a rebuke, it's a reminder of who they are, who they ought to be, and an invitation to come back for that. And then finally, it's not that Jesus just knows you, it's not that Jesus just cares for you, but Jesus will strengthen you. I'm convinced Jesus will not just be with you, but help you. I've got the privilege, the story I think that will help cement this a little bit, I've got the privilege, I work with a counseling center that's out in the Denver area, Denver, Colorado area. They do a men's retreat, and for 66 hours, we get like 30 men, we take them in the car, middle-of-nowhere and we just spend time talking about Jesus and using therapeutic tools. It's a it's an amazing opportunity I've had to be a part of this But one of the interesting things is when we come together The reality is we have to name some hard truths and then we encourage one another we strengthen each other We talk about these things to invite people back to where they ought to be Jesus Models that first because he writes to the Church of Ephesus saying things like to the one who's victorious In fact, he will use that line to the one who is victorious for every church He writes to and every time he says to the one victorious. There's some sort of promise that comes with it Promises like to the one that's victorious. I'll give the right to eat from the tree of life or promises like to the one That's victorious They won't be hurt by a second death or to the one that's victorious

they will sit before my father and his angels Jesus constantly reminds people and Invites people back to him and reminds them for he is their strength So church We got an interesting opportunity as we get to peek in to God speaking to his churches To recognize that it's not just he knows and cares, but he'll strengthen us to recognize that God Continues to invite us back. I would think I would want to think what would a letter in Our modern times look like if Jesus was still writing If he wrote to the church In North Shore I'm curious What would he say? So I thought about it, and I think he'd say something like this Church I know Your faithfulness. I also know the pain of your past I Know what it's cost you to continue to trust and Follow me Endure a little longer trust a little more I Also think he would encourage us to continue to find me to know me today Don't just cling to what used to be But know me today North Shore what would that look like for us? What would that look like for us? To view our relationship with Jesus as one That allows us to be known intimately. Do you know it is a beautiful thing to have someone know every Intricate detail about you and still choose to love you Jesus cares deeply and then not just choose to love you, but choose to strengthen you

One of my favorite things that will conclude those two chapters as he's writing to the churches is what he actually writes to the church In Laodicea where he says here I stand at the door and knock if anyone hears my voice and opens the door I will come in and eat with that person and they with Me, I don't know how you if you ever heard this verse before years ago. I heard this verse I heard it preached several times I'd often hear this verse and people would use it to talk about how God shows up for those Far from him for those who haven't believed yet, but remember he's writing to the church This is for believers Jesus is saying to his people I stand and knock In my apartment, we had some people over this weekend and the way my apartment is laid out If I'm in my bedroom, I can't really hear if you're knocking on the front door So I'm in my bedroom closet doing whatever I was doing Somebody's at the door. I can't hear it yet Now one of my kids I won't tell you which one so you don't judge them Because they both here today But one of my kids is in the living room playing their PlayStation. I Hear my wife Somebody get the door. I peeked my head out. I'm nosy. What's going on? You imagine that Jesus showing up to a place he's called home to a people he knows And ain't opening up You know, you got the invite, you know what time they said to be there He's standing and knocking What would that look like? Yes, we want you to join small groups. Yes, we want you in your world. We recognize and believe that doing those spiritual rhythms help you draw closer to Jesus. But here's the warning. I don't want you to do the rhythm for the rhythm's sake.

I don't want you to check the box. I want you to draw closer to Jesus. See, I see this section as Jesus reminding the church of who they are, who he is, and inviting them. You've gone through some things. Draw close. Ah, you stood faithful for me. Draw close. God continually stands at the door and knocks. And notice what he says. That when you open, he'll come in and he'll eat. I don't know what you perceive that moment looking like, but what I want to encourage you with is to envision the sole purpose, when you open that door for Jesus, is to just be known and loved so you can love like others. So North Shore, this week, I want to encourage you, go back and read this section. We couldn't get every verse. Go and read your Scripture. But don't just read it because I said so, because Pastor Sean been telling us we got to read our Bibles. Go and read it with the mindset saying, I want to know more about this Jesus. I want to know more about my God. He knows me. He loves me. In fact, Jesus made a promise saying that he would be with us always, that he would not forsake us and with us always until the end of the world. One thing we tell those guys I mentioned at that retreat, when they're reliving some of the worst moments of their life or some of the hardest choices they've had to make, often when people are hurting or when we've stepped out of what we think is God's will or what we know to be his will, we often envision ourselves hurting, weeping, kind of alone. Jesus is over there. I'm over here. No, don't get close, God. Let me clean myself up. But what I read in Scripture about a God who knows you, who cares for you, and will strengthen you, and what we tell these guys is, we actually want you to think of it more like when you are in your worst days or you are in those hard moments. It's not Jesus over there. But imagine Jesus with you in that moment, holding you. I don't know how I made it through. Jesus. See, the gospel is the recognition we can't save ourselves. The gospel is the recognition that God loved us so much. He sent his son, Jesus, to die for our sins, but he didn't stay dead.

Because if he stayed dead, then he'd have been like everybody else. But by the power of the Spirit, he's risen on the third day, lives forever, and because we believe in him. Notice, belief is the requirement. He says we'll have life and life forever, abundantly. So how anti-gospel is it for us to think we have to surrender our lives to Jesus, admit we need a Savior, and then work really hard on our own to be saved? Work really hard at this thing. Instead, I want to invite you back to Jesus. I want to invite you back to a God who knows you, knows the mistakes, knows the missteps, knows the pain, knows the tears that people have cried that no one's seen, and he cares deeply for you. And not just care deeply for you, but deep enough that he wants to invite you back to him. He wants to invite you to stay with him, and then he will strengthen you through the process. So church, when you read your scriptures this week, when you join your, jump in your small group this week, I want you to see each of them as an opportunity to get to know God and allow him to keep knowing you, to get to care for others like God has cared for you, and the experience being strengthened by our Savior in ways we couldn't think or imagine. God's letter to the church is an invitation to continue to hold on to his unchanging hand. Let's pray. Dear Heavenly Father, Lord, we thank you so much for your grace and your mercy. We thank you for your deep love that, that not only you moved out of your in heaven to step into our world, but that you continue to invite us to stand with you, to stand for you, to stand in that love. God, I'm so grateful you know me. You know the pros and the cons, the good and the not so good.

And yet you love me and continue to strengthen me to be more like you. So Father, would you help every person under the sound of my voice? Would you help us answer the door when you knock? Would you help us draw closer to you with the intent, with nothing more than just to know you, to experience you, your grace, your love, and your mercy, that we may live like you. So thank you. You are awesome. In Jesus' precious name, we pray, amen.