revelation series: day 1

Hello everybody, welcome to another episode of Christ with Coffee and Ice. I am your host Ali Oost, it is a joy and honor to be here with you guys today. Happy Friday everybody! I'm going to be honest, sometimes when I say my S's, I don't know if I'm just overthinking it, but I'm like, am I getting a list? Like, sometimes S's are hard for me. I don't think I'm thinking about my S's. My tongue just kind of does anyway. What am I even sharing with you guys right now? Who cares? No, but I think my tongue does weird things sometimes. And my S's don't always sound normal, Christ with Coffee and Ice. I'm your host Ali Oost. There's a lot of S's in there. Okay. Hey guys. Hey. Happy Friday. How's everybody feeling? How are we doing? I am doing okay today. I'm doing good. It took me a long time to get to this studio today. I'm going to be honest. It is 6.30 pm, but that's okay. Thank God it's summer and the sun is down to like eight, so it doesn't feel like it's that late and I do have my coffee here on ice. It's a bit of a suspicious color. Like, it was a cute color maybe an hour ago, but it's gotten a bit watered down. So it just looks diluted. But we do have our Christ with Coffee and Ice glass tumbler here with Jesus on the back. These are our new ones. All of our new merch is live, which I am so excited about. I've told you guys this a few times already, but I'm going to say it again. It is like my most favorite launch. I think I've had. We'll put them on the screen here. They're just the best. I'm really proud of them. I think they're super fun. You're welcome to browse them. Just even look at them. No pressure. Buy anything. You can just look at them. I just think they're so fun. So cool. The perfect opportunity to just evangelize and tell people about the goodness of God and how loved they are by Jesus and all that he's done for us. That's that. Today, okay, from the looks of the title of today's episode, right? This has been, I'm going to be honest. This has been a book that I have avoided at all costs bringing to the podcast. I have read it on my own. I actually don't think I've read Revelation through entirely. I think I've only, have I? If I have, it was a really long time ago. Like I can't even tell you the last time I touched Revelation. And here's the thing. Okay. I think Revelation gets a bad rep and I think a lot of people are afraid to talk about it, acknowledge it or maybe even read it because while I'll speak for myself, I think a big thing that intimidates me about this is how people have used this book to ignite a lot of fear into people. Ingranted, okay, I want to say this with as much wisdom as I possibly can. I'm not, I'm going to, I'm going to approach this entire episode with as much wisdom as I possibly can, but I'm probably not, I'm not a teacher. I'm not a pastor, but I'm a daughter of God and I love Jesus and I love the Bible and Revelation is for all of us. And so we're, we're just going to do our best right now. Okay. I am not a theologian like I, but what I do know is that the book of Revelation can be a bit of a scary book for us Christians because it can seem very intense. It is a little intense and it's about the coming of Jesus, the second coming of Jesus. And I think there's a lot of language of, you know, the end times and it's very apocalyptic and it's the world coming to an end. And that day will come like that is just the reality of the world that we live in because it was created by God and he had a plan for it when he started it and he has a plan for it to end it and then for us to continue into the afterlife with him for infinity and beyond, but like there is it there's a there's a plan and this is a part of the plan. So we can't deny the fact that that the reality and the life that we are living in right now and the world that we're living in will cease to exist one day. And it's not something to be scared of. I actually think it's something to rejoice in because there's a lot of promises that God makes in in this time when he brings everything to an end and there will be no more suffering and he will wipe every tear away from our eyes and there will only be joy and good evil will be banished to hell for all of eternity. And so there's a lot of really exciting things about the book of Revelation and I just think that um yeah I think it can be intimidating because a lot of people have unfortunately used the book of Revelation for their advantage to ignite a lot of fear into people. And so I think a really healthy way to approach the book of Revelation is maybe we don't focus on the book of Revelation primarily being about the end of the world. I mean because it is the end of the world but maybe that's not the primary focus. The primary focus of what we're going to do looking at the book of Revelation today is the revelation of Jesus Christ. I say this book is the perfect book to have a deeper revelation of who Jesus is. Let's just have a deeper revelation of Jesus Christ. Let's learn more. Let's learn more about who Jesus is from the book of Revelation. Not as a savior to be terrified of but someone to have a deeper reverence for and love and appreciation and fear of the Lord. A healthy fear of the Lord. And it's okay it's so funny too. Oh Jesus thank you. I was doing my dishes yesterday and this this prayer came out of nowhere. I like to pray when I do when I'm doing things I don't enjoy like dishes. I thoroughly dislike doing dishes. I guess if I had to pick one of the two dishes or doing laundry I would pick dishes because I do feel like it goes by a little bit quicker than laundry. I just don't that hanging up each piece of clothing. Oh my god. But anyway I don't really like doing dishes and so the best way to feel not only entertained but that it's productive and I'm distracted is just talking to God. So I'll do that in my chores and my routines that feel really boring to me. So I was praying and it started off a certain way. I was just praying about something and then all of a sudden it went in the direction of like I don't know I just felt this like righteous frustration with humanity me included. I was fully included in this but I was like God there needs we need to be trembling over you and that was the first time that I've ever prayed something like that and I wasn't like oh but God be like I want to fear you but I want to love you. It's like no I actually do. I do want to have the kind of fear of God where I am like if I were to be in front of him I would be trembling not because I would be afraid that he would hurt me but because I recognize just how powerful he is and I just think we don't realize how powerful God is. Maybe there's a maybe there's a good chunk of y'all listening right now or a majority of y'all that already do but I'm going to be honest there are a lot of times in my days where I forget the power of God. I think we all could have a much deeper revelation of the power and authority of God and I was just like I was just going in being like God enough of our pride and how blind we are and how we just like we just live life in our mundane and we pray to God casually and it's again it's not a fear of the Lord where it's like I'm afraid he's not going to accept me. I'm afraid he's going to turn his face from me. I'm afraid that he's going to stop loving me unconditionally because those don't exist. So any of those thoughts that go through your mind are straight from the pits of hell it's from the enemy trying to convince you that those things are even possible it's not possible because God is love and he is promised us in his word that his love is unconditional that means there's no conditions that means there's nothing that can actually sever you from the love of God. It says in the Bible that there is nothing in heaven on earth or in hell that could separate us from the love of God. Nothing nothing there's no sin there's nothing you could do there's nothing that you've done or will ever do that could ever separate you from the love of God. He's commit he's already attached obsessed adores you it's done. It's written in history it's written in stone that God has unconditional love for you that will never waver. So it's not fear of the Lord of like oh he's not going to love me anymore. It's like fear of the Lord of oh my gosh you are the most powerful thing that has ever existed because it's true he is the source of everything and so if if he's the source of everything that means he is the most powerful thing to ever exist because he's God that's it. It starts with him and stops with him. He is it period. And so that's my prayer for us today is that we tremble more. Just thinking about how powerful God is, we tremble at the idea of being in front of him. Like we should feel like we have like this new realization, this new sight, it's like when Moses stood on the mountain. And God had to God had to actually shield his eyes because God's love, his power, just who he was. I'm thinking of the song, "Show me your face." A lot of people have sung it. It's by Stephanie Gretzinger. There's a version that I really love that Abbey Gambo is saying. But the first few lines of it is Moses stood on a mountain waiting for you to pass by. You put your hand over his face. So in your presence, he wouldn't die. And it's like that's the kind of revelation we need to have about God. Is that it's not God who like it was actually it was in his mercy that he had Moses his face and was like, "Hey, I'm going to reveal myself to you. But if you look at me, like if you fully like are actually confronted with the full presence of who I am, you would die." That's how powerful God is. That's how powerful His presence is. That's how powerful He is. And so, yeah, that's my prayer today as we enter this episode. And I actually would really love to, I'd really love to lead us in prayer right now. If you guys have your Bibles, I think this would be a very important episode to be reading along in. If you're not in a position to read along, I get it. I'm totally okay with reading to you, but I think this would be a great episode for us to read together. This is my book from Hussana Revival. I always have a link in the description below. You guys can use my code Ali Oost. I just have to mention that. And then also, NLT, the new living translation is what I'll be reading. But let's just pray really quick before we start reading. Lord, I thank you for today. God, I thank you for this episode. I thank you for what you have planned for this episode. God, I pray that you soften our hearts today. In any ways that we have felt, our hearts have been hardened or numbed, or even just far away from your presence, Lord, I pray for closeness in the mighty name of Jesus. I pray that your presence comes so near to us, Lord. I thank you that your presence is always with us. But Lord, if you could have mercy on us enough to just let us feel your presence. God, let us feel your nearness. I pray that over my brothers and sisters today in Jesus name. I pray for an encounter with the Holy Spirit. Lord, we need your encounter. We need encounters with the Holy Spirit because that is when true transformation, change, revelation comes is when we are encountered by your Spirit. God, I thank you that that same spirit lives inside of us. We ask for refreshing of your spirit through these scriptures, Jesus. We ask for a deeper revelation of just who you are. God, give us understanding, Holy Spirit, just be our translator. Be the one who helps us just understand what we're reading today. Lord, this book is typically pretty intimidating for a lot of us. And so we're just asking for you to make things crystal clear. And I pray away any kind of pressure, both on myself and even those who are listening and reading along to understand everything. God, I thank you that we have our entire lives to understand or at least try to get to a place of enough understanding. I don't know if we'll ever fully understand who you are. But we do ask for more of that today. We ask for deep revelation that changes our hearts. I pray that it changes the way that we think, the way that we talk, the way that we walk, the way that we show up. In life, God, I pray that today's episode gives us more boldness for the gospel and more boldness for who you are. God, I ask that you also heighten our discernment in the mighty name of Jesus of when we are supposed to open our mouths about the gospel and when we are supposed to stay silent, when we are to speak and when we are to listen. Thank you, Holy Spirit, that you are the very thing that we live off of. God, we need you. We need your spirit. Please flow through us today and continue to flow through us for the rest of our lives, God. We thank you for your presence, God. Thank you for the gift of who you are. Thank you for your faithfulness. Thank you for the ways that you stay with us every single day and you guide us through life, Lord. We love you. We love you and we ask for the opportunity to fall more in love with you today through the revelation of of your son, Jesus Christ. And so we pray all of these things in the mighty name of Jesus. We plead the blood of Jesus over this episode. God. Amen. Thank you, Holy Spirit. Thank you. Okay. Are we ready? We're ready. Okay. We're starting at the top. Let me get a sip of my coffee. I told you guys it's 6.30 at night. This is a decaf. Would not suggest. Decaf is just whatever. It's not the same as real coffee. Okay. Gas groceries eating out. Even on the tightest budget, there's no escaping them. But here's what you can control. Getting cash back every single time you fill up, hit the grocery store or go out to eat with the upside app. The free upside app gets you cash back on gas groceries and dining. The three things I know are draining your wallet because they drain mine. I posted how expensive gases right now, especially in Southern California. And you guys already know about the upside app because I had people DM me being like, "All you have to use the upside app." And I was like, "Wait, you guys, I do." 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And every act of change begins with a neighbor. With someone saying we can take care of each other here. In food banks and food pantries, neighbors pack fresh food and dignity into every box, moving from farms to families through feeding America's nationwide network. So when that box reaches a home, it carries more than food. It carries a promise that together we can end hunger. Feeding America led by neighbors. Give now to end hunger at feedingamerica.org. Okay, really quick before we actually get into the book, I just want to set the stage because if you're not familiar with what the book of Revelation is about, I spoke a lot about like how a lot of us have at least some of an understanding of what it's about. But if you don't have any idea, before we begin reading Revelation, I think it's important to know what this book actually is. So for many people, Revelation can feel intimidating. We hear words like N times judgment or apocalypse and immediately feel overwhelmed. But Revelation wasn't given to God's people to scare them. It was given to strengthen them. The book was written by the Apostle John when he was exiled on the island of Patmos. He was writing to Christians who are facing persecution, suffering, and uncertainty. Through vivid imagery, symbols and visions, God pulls back the curtain and shows John a reality that is often hard to see in the middle of hardship. Jesus is still on the throne. While Revelation contains prophecies about the future, at its core, it's not primarily a book about the anti-Christ disasters or trying to decode every world event. It's a book about Jesus Christ, his authority, his victory, his justice, and his ultimate return. As we read, there'll be passages we don't fully understand, and that's okay. We prayed about that, right? People have debated some of these details for literally centuries. Rather than getting lost in every symbol, let's focus on the truths that are crystal clear. God wins. That's the truth of this entire book, okay? Evil does not have the final word. Jesus is coming back. And for those who belong to him, our future is secure. Revelation reminds us that no matter what happens in the world around us, we can live in hope because Jesus reigns now and reigns forever. And so I think the other really amazing part about Revelation is it is such a gift of hope that I think that when And we start to see really scary things happen in the world. We see scary things being invented. Like I know a lot of people are so afraid of AI. And I get that. But I think we just got to remember, again, the book of Revelation, and that there is nothing that has happened here on earth that God didn't know what happened and isn't prepared for. And again, at the end of the day, whether the things of this world get out of control which it might, I mean, honestly, there's no promise that things are going to get better in the world. Things might actually continue to get worse. And so that is why I really believe that the book of Revelation will continue to be a gift to us until the very last day because it is God writing in stone and promising to us that it does not matter what disaster happens in the world. And he still wins. It was promised to us that evil will not prevail. And so there is nothing for us to actually ever be afraid of. Even though things could look really freaky, like wars breaking out and technology will start ruling over people like whatever, okay? That could totally potentially happen. But again, if that happens, it's not something that Jesus didn't already see coming. And it's not something he hasn't already overcome. Because what Revelation says is that evil does not have the final word. It never will. It's already Jesus on the cross conquered everything. He is sitting on the throne now and he will for all of eternity. And for those who believe in Jesus, even our future is secure. So we have nothing to worry about. We truly have nothing to be afraid of. And God says that all the time in the Bible. He says it over and over and over again, that we actually have nothing to fear. But Revelation really just seals it. So as we begin, we're going to start reading in, I don't know how much of Revelation we're going to read today. But as we begin in chapter one, I just want you guys to listen to how often Revelation points our attention back to Jesus. So I think again, we can see the big scary stuff that's being said and be like, oh my gosh. But I think what our focus should always be, we should just be looking for Jesus in the entirety of the Bible because everything points to him. But let's pay attention to that. Let's pay attention to all the times that Revelation actually is pointing our attention to Jesus. Because that's the whole point. The goal isn't simply to learn about future events. Because that's the other thing that people do with the book of Revelation is then, and they've been doing it for decades, is they just try to predict the end times. Like, I think we're missing the point, guys. I think we're missing the mark with that. I don't think that that's why God gave us the book of Revelation. I don't think he gave it to us so that we could try to decode the exact day and time and year and century of when the world will come to an end. And actually it says in Revelation, where does it say it in the Bible, that not even Jesus himself knows the day or time of when he will return, only the Father knows. And so it just, I don't know. It just seems really silly for us to try to be like, it's going to be a great day. It's going to be in the year 2027. It's like, no, actually, I think that anytime we think we figured it out, we didn't because it's promised in the Word of God that nobody knows, which means there is no one person who can outsmart God and like debunk the Bible. We're never going to know. I believe that every human on earth, yeah, thank you, Jesus. This is confirmed. I feel it. Every single human on the face of this planet is going to be surprised when Jesus. Now Christians won't be surprised by Jesus' return. But I do think that his return, we will be surprised the day that it happens because we'll go, oh, it's happening right now. Didn't expect that. Like I expected it, but not today. We're expecting his return. We're ready for it. We're prepared for it. And if we're not, then we need to get prepared. Preparing for Jesus' return is just living for Jesus every day. Okay, so when I say we need to be ready, we don't need to be making bunkers in our homes and buying a bunch of toilet paper. That doesn't make sense because the world's coming to an end. So we don't need to be getting any toilet paper. But what we need to be getting ready for is just, I mean, we need to be in his presence as much as we can. We need to be learning from him as much as we can. We need to be just walking the path of righteousness every day. That's how we prepare for God's return. We tell people about the goodness of Jesus. "Us Christians won't be surprised by the fact that Jesus comes back, but I do believe that the day he returns, all of us will be surprised." So it's silly to try to use the book of Revelation to understand when that day will come, and I don't think that's the point of it. The goal of the book of Revelation is actually to know him more deeply, trust Jesus more fully, and worship him more wholeheartedly. That's our goal in reading the book of Revelation today. And it's actually pretty cool. That's the first line in the book of Revelation. The very first thing it says is, "This is a revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants the events that must soon take place." So it's the revelation of Jesus Christ. That's what this book is about. Okay. Moving on. He sent an angel to present this revelation to his servant, John, who faithfully reported everything he saw. This is his report of the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. God blesses the one who reads the words of this prophecy to the church, and he blesses all who listen to its message and obey what it says for the time is near. This letter is from John to the seven churches in the province of Asia, grace and peace to you from the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come from the sevenfold spirit before his throne, and from Jesus Christ. He is the faithful witness to these things, the first to rise from the dead, and the ruler of all the kings of the world. All glory to him who loves us, and has freed us from our sins by shedding his blood for us. He has made us a kingdom of priests for God his Father, all glory and power to him forever and ever amen. Look, he comes with the clouds of heaven, and everyone will see him, even those who pierce him. All the nations of the world will mourn for him. Yes, amen. "I am the Alpha and Omega." The beginning and end says the Lord God. I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come, the Almighty One. I, John, am your brother and your partner in suffering, and in God's kingdom, and in the patient endurance to which Jesus calls us. I was exiled to the island of Patmos, for preaching the Word of God and for my testimony about Jesus. It was the Lord's day, and I was worshipping in the Spirit. Suddenly, I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet blast. It said, "Right in a book, everything you see, and send it to the seven churches in the cities of Ephesians, Smirna, Pyragmum, Thiatria, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laudicea. When I turned to see who was speaking to me, I saw seven gold lampstands. In standing in the middle of the lampstand was someone like the Son of Man. He was wearing a long robe with a gold sash across his chest. His head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow. And his eyes were like flames of fire. His feet were like polished bronze were fined in a furnace, and his voice thundered like mighty ocean waves. He held seven stars in his right hand, and a sharp two-edged sword came from his mouth. And his face was like the sun in all its brilliance. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as if I were dead. But he laid his right hand on me and said, "Don't be afraid. I am the first and the last. I am the living one. I died, but look, I am alive forever and ever. And I hold the keys of death and the grave. Write down what you have seen, both the things that are now happening and the things that will happen. This is the meaning of the mystery of the seven stars you saw in my right hand and the seven gold lampstands. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches. And the seven lampstands are the seven churches. That was chapter one. And in case you guys don't know that was Jesus. That's Jesus that John is encountering. Can we actually just stop for a second? I would just love to share with you guys my favorite part of that first chapter of Revelation. My favorite part of what we just read, and it might be a lot of y'all's too, is when John turns around and sees Jesus in all his holiness. Now here's the thing. I think that when John is describing to us what Jesus looks like with his hair that was white as wool and the fire that was in his eyes and the double edged sword that was in his mouth and the way that his feet were polished, bronzed, and he was wearing a white robe with a gold sash. I think it's less about us trying to imagine what Jesus looks like. I'm not even sure we could fully imagine. the beauty and the glory that he probably radiates and looks like. I think it's more so John describing that to us for us to have a deeper understanding of just how holy Jesus is. I think the fire in his eyes is the love that he has. It's the passion of Christ. It's his unfailing deep deep love. I think the double-edged sword in his mouth is the truth of which he speaks which cuts through everything. It cuts through my freaking heart every time. His voice, his words, his wisdom, his truth and it also cuts and slashes up and rebukes evil. That's what I think of when I think about Jesus, about how his mouth has a double-edged sword. It's like it's just it's his truth and it's the power that comes from the words that he speaks and it's also like God spoke and everything was created. Like when we go back to Genesis 1, God spoke and then there was life and there was light and there was the beginning of everything. That double-edged sword is like it's just the power of who Jesus is and what happens when he speaks. I think his white hair and the white robe, I think that even too is just like just the purity and holiness of who he is and this version of Jesus that John is encountering is the glorified Jesus meaning this is the Jesus that has overcome evil. This is the Jesus that sits on the throne and this is the Jesus that we're going to live with for all of eternity. The white hair also could represent wisdom and just the eternal nature of Jesus because he will live for all of eternity and even how John described his face glowing or radiating shining like the sun. I think that's just that's just the divine glory of Jesus. It's his glory. It's his light and his voice being like rushing water like roaring rushing water. You think about that and it's like what John is describing is it's it's it's the power and authority of his voice. Okay but let me get back to what my favorite part was but my favorite part was when John did turn around okay and saw Jesus in all of his glory and majesty and craziness craziness and with John falling to his face like falling down as if he's gonna die fell to Jesus's feet as if he was dead. Jesus because John was overwhelmed being confronted by God's holiness. I think that's gonna be all of our reactions. When we meet Jesus for the first time his holiness is gonna be just like unbearable in a beautiful way. Before anything else what Jesus does he's perfect. He's literally perfect. What he does is he actually puts his hand on John which I would be like I could barely handle you just simply standing in front of me now you're gonna touch me. I'm gonna literally disintegrate to dust but he puts his hand on John and he actually says don't be afraid. His first response to John is to comfort him. That's who Jesus is. I'm obsessed with him. He's perfect before judgment before anything. Like before he said anything to John he just said don't be afraid. It's all good. It's me. I already overcame the world all of evil. I am the Omega. I am the Alpha and the Omega. I am the beginning and end. The glorified King of the universe couldn't spoke in judgment first. Instead he spoke comfort. And then one other part that I did really like as well is when Jesus had said that he holds the keys to death. And what Jesus is saying is that death does not have the final say I do because he's already overcome death. He overcame the entire world including death. And so what Jesus is revealing to John is that Jesus is not absent. He is actually actively raining. He is alive and he is returning. Pretty epic. Okay. I pretty intense already. So let's get into chapter 2 the message to the church in Ephesians. Write this letter to the angel of the church in Ephesians. This is the message from the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand. The one who walks among the seven gold lamp stands. I know all the things you do. I have seen your hard work and your patient endurance. I know you don't tolerate evil people. You have examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but are not. You have discovered they are liars. You have patiently suffered for me without quitting. But I have this complaint against you. You don't love me or each other as you did at first. Look how far you have fallen. Turn back to me and do the work you did at first. If you don't repent, I will come and remove your lamp stand from its place among the churches. But this is in your favor. You hate the evil deeds of the Nickeledans just as I do. Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the spirit and understand what he is saying in the churches. To everyone who is victorious, I will give fruit from the tree of life in the paradise of God. Write this letter to the angel of the church in Smyrna. This is the message from the one who is the first and the last who was dead but is now alive. I know about your suffering and your poverty, but you are rich. I know the blasphemy of those opposing you. They say they are Jews, but they are not, because their synagogue belongs to Satan. Don't be afraid of what you are about to suffer. The devil will throw some of you into prison to test you. You will suffer for ten days. But if you remain faithful, even when facing death, I will give you the crown of life. Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. Whoever is victorious will not be harmed by the second death. Write this letter to the angel of the church in Pergamum. This is the message from the one with a sharp to edged sword. I know that you live in a city where Satan has his throne, yet you have remained loyal to me. You refused to deny me even when Anapest, my faithful witness, was martyred among you there in Satan's city. But I have a few complaints against you. You tolerate some among you whose teaching is like that of Belom, who showed the block how to trip up the people of Israel. He taught them to sin by eating food offered to idols and by committing sexual sin. In a similar way, you have some nickeladins among you who follow the same teaching. Repent of your sin, or I will come to you suddenly and fight against them with the sword of my mouth. To everyone who is victorious, I will give some of the manna that has been hand in away in heaven, and I will give to each one a white stone, and on the stone will be engraved a new name that no one understands except the one who receives it. Write this letter to the angel of the church in Thia Terra. This is the message from the Son of God whose eyes are like flames of fire, whose feet are like polished bronze. I have seen your love, your faith, your service, and your patient endurance. And I can see your constant improvement in all these things. You are permitting that woman, that Jezebel who calls herself a prophet, to lead my servants astray. She teaches them to commit sexual sin and to eat food offered to idols. I gave her time to repent, but she does not want to turn away from her immorality. Therefore, I will throw her on a bed of suffering and those who commit adultery with her will suffer greatly unless they repent and turn away from her evil deeds. I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches out the thoughts and intentions of every person, and I will give to each of you whatever you deserve. But I also have a message for the rest of you in Thia Terra who have not followed the false teaching, deeper truths, as they call them, depths of Satan, actually. I will ask nothing more of you except that you hold tightly to what you have until I come. To all who are victorious, who obey me to the very end. To them I will give authority over all the nations. They will rule the nations with an iron rod and smash them like clay pots. They will have the same authority I receive from my father, and I will also give them the morning star. So from what we've just read in chapter two, I think it's clear to see how Jesus is speaking to each of the churches about the things that he is very happy with, and then the things that he's not so happy with. And what's really cool though is this is this is Jesus is heart and this is who he is. Is he still giving everybody a chance to repent? You know, he's not just being like, hey, that's it. I'm done with you. He's warning them and saying, hey, so in these ways that you guys are not living right. You're misleading other people. You're actually honoring Satan and following the ways of him. The way that like disease and infection has come into the church. Jesus is like, "Yeah, I see all of it." And I need you guys to recognize that. I need you to repent, aka, I need you to turn from that. Because if you don't, the results are going to be very detrimental. He's warning them. It's actually his mercy. I know it sounds scary and it kind of makes it sound like he's like a dictator, but he's actually, he's extending his mercy right now. By being like, "Y'all gotta clean this up because, mm-mm, this is not good." But then he's also praising other parts of the church that he's very pleased with. Here at Christ with Coffee and Ice, we obviously talk a lot about purpose here, about finding the path God has set for us. And when it comes to education, that path should lead to a future that matters. That's why when I heard about Grand Canyon University, I was so impressed because they are a private, non-profit Christian university in beautiful Phoenix, Arizona, that believes education shouldn't be a privilege, but an affordable path forward for everyone. GCU is grounded in Christian truth. They are working to empower the next generation to lead with integrity and serve with purpose. And they make it accessible. Did you know GCU has kept tuition at the same rate on its traditional campus for 17 years? Plus in 2025 alone, they awarded over $404 million in institutional scholarships. Whether you're looking for a degree on campus or online, find your purpose at GCU. Private Christian affordable, non-profit. Visit gcu.edu to learn more. And so I think like the biggest contrast of what we're seeing in chapter 1 is, I think chapter 1 is obvious that we were seeing more of who Jesus is. And now chapter 2 is clearly about what Jesus cares about. And so that's what we're learning right now. So chapter 2, he has now sent these messages to four of the churches. And all of those messages sounded a little repetitive in the beginning and the end. And I think that's for a reason. I think the truth is, is like the pattern that we will notice that we probably already did is that Jesus knows what's happening. He's like, "Hey, I see everything." He makes that clear to each church. He's like, "Jesus knows what's happening. Jesus points out what they're doing well." So he does like encourage. And he's like, "Hey, you guys are crushing this. You're doing really great in this. And this has really honored me. And I love that you guys have been doing this." But then he also addresses where they've drifted. And we all need that. Jesus still does that in our hearts to this day. As long as we allow him to, we do have to have open hearts. To, you know, his correction. But he does address the things that some of these churches have drifted in. Instead of Jesus condemning them, he actually is encouraging them to overcome it. Like again, it's in his mercy where he's like, "Hey, you can actually overcome this. You just need to repent and turn away from these things." Because they're not good. And if you refuse to do it, like, like Miss Girl Jezebel, he uses her as an example and is like, "Yeah, she refuses." So unfortunately her fate is going to suck. Don't follow her anymore. Don't follow in her footsteps because her fate is bad. And then what's also really sweet of Jesus is he also promises a reward. But the overarching theme of chapter two of what we've read, in my opinion, is that Jesus is like, "Hey, just don't drift away. Don't drift away from me because the reward is beautiful." And the reward is the things he was promising, but the reward is him. And so yeah, it's actually very encouraging. Chapter two, he's encouraging them. He's calling them higher, you know, which he still does for us right now. And one other thing that I really love, at least I kind of took away from chapter two as well, is that it's not that Jesus is looking for perfect people because it's clear that we're not. The church is not perfect now. The church obviously wasn't perfect then, but he's just looking for faithful people. Like he's just looking for people that will be faithful to him. And he's saying, "Hey, just don't drift away from me. Stay close." And when he corrects his church, it's not because he's trying to push us away. It's because he loves us enough to call us back to himself. And that's what he's doing here. Chapter three, let's keep going everybody. Yeah. It's getting really hot in the studio right now. Like I'm on fire and I'm wearing a sweater. Oh my gosh. Take this letter to the angel of the church in Sardis. This is the message from the one who has the sevenfold spirit of God and the seven stars. And you have a reputation for being alive, but you are dead. Wake up. Strengthen what little remains, for even what is left is almost dead. I find that your actions do not meet the requirements of my God. Go back to what you heard and believed at first. Go to it firmly. Repent and turn to me again. If you don't wake up, I will come to you suddenly as unexpected as a thief. Yet there are some in the church in Sardis that have not soiled their clothes with evil. They will walk with me in white for they are worthy. All who are victorious will be clothed in white. I will never erase their names from the book of life, but I will announce before my father with ears to hear must listen to the spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. Write this letter to the angel of the church in Philadelphia. This is the message from the one who is holy and true, the one who has the key of David. What he opens, no one can close and what he closes, no one can open. I know all that you do and I have opened a door for you that no one can close. You have little strength yet you obeyed my word and did not deny me. Look, I will force those who belong to Satan's synagogue, those liars who say they are Jews, but are not to come and bow down at your feet. They will acknowledge that you are the ones I love. Because you have obeyed my command to persevere, I will protect you from the great time of testing that will come upon the whole world to test those who belong to this world. I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have so that no one will take away your crown. All who are victorious will become pillars in the temple of my God. And they will never have to leave it. And I will write on them the name of my God, and they will be citizens in the city of my God. The new Jerusalem that comes down from heaven from my God, and I will also write on them my new name. Write this letter to the angel of the church in Latosia. This is the message from the one who is the amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's new creation. I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other, but since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. You say I am rich. I have everything I want. I don't need a thing. And you don't realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, so I advise you to buy gold from me. Gold that has been purified by fire. Then you will be rich. Also, buy white garments from me so you will not be shamed by your nakedness, an ointment for your eyes so you will be able to see. I correct and discipline everyone I love, so be diligent and turn from your indifference. Look, I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in. And we will share a meal together as friends. Those who are victorious will sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat with my father on his throne. Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the spirit and understand what he is saying to the church. Okay, I want to talk about that really quick. So I would say, sorry guys, I'm really slumpin'. It's getting late. I'm getting no, it's ayah. Okay. So, Revelation 3, I think the overall maybe take away reflection of this chapter is what Jesus is asking of these churches is your faith genuine alive and dependent on me or are you merely appearing spiritual? So are you genuine or do you just look like you love Jesus but do you actually love me? Is what he's asking? So Jesus is not interested in appearances. Obviously, he wasn't interested in the appearances of the religious leaders and the Pharisees when he was on earth. Okay, so he's still not interested in how we look and he's more interested about what nobody else sees, which is typically our insides. He's more interested in our hearts and our minds and what's inside of us. He does not care about our exterior. And so at the beginning in verses 1 through 6, he's confronting the dead church. You have a reputation of being alive but you are dead. Jesus is like you guys are actually quite literally dead. You are not alive in Christ. You are not alive in me. You look like you're alive. it but you're not. I can't imagine hearing that. I cannot imagine hearing that. Everyone around them thought that they were thriving. Maybe that looked like them having really awesome attendance or maybe they just had a really great reputation, right? But I think what Jesus is revealing to them is that their faith had become outward versus inward, which he also says like that's where you guys started. So I need you guys to get back to that because he said you had a genuine heart and your faith was inward, meaning like your faith was personal with me and it was on the inside and it wasn't so much about the outside and what you looked like on the outside. What your faith looked like to everyone else. He said it wasn't like that from the beginning, but that's what it's turned into. You're not alive anymore, but you can go back. You can get back to that. And so he's warning them. He's like, "Hey, yeah, I don't know if you realize but you're dead. Come back." And I think, yeah, maybe one of the most dangerous places to be spiritually is believing that you're healthy spiritually, but you're actually drifting away. And so it's in the gift of the Holy Spirit. I mean, at the end of all of these messages, all of these letters, it says anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches, but this is the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of Jesus Christ is that we have to have our eyes opened to these things. And even in this book, we just read it. I don't remember where it was, but where God had said he disciplines and corrects the ones who he loves. And so this is actually all in Jesus' love that he's like, "Yeah, y'all are dead. Sorry. I know you think you're healthy, but you're not. You got to get back to what you started this on." So even if we wanted to make this personal as we're reading along, because this is for all of us, okay? God wasn't just writing, God wasn't just writing to the churches. He knew that this was going to be documented for all of history and beyond and beyond and beyond is this for also for us. And so if this is something that you would want to make personal where you could even reflect and ask yourself a question, it would be like, okay, am I more concerned about looking close to God than actually being close to God? Womp, womp. Okay, that's a real one. Is my private life consistent with my public life? Like my spiritual, like my relationship with Jesus, my spiritual life? What the public sees? Is that consistent with my time alone with Jesus? Eee. Okay. Now Philadelphia, Philadelphia is a cute church, okay? Because this is another church that receives no rebuke at all. And God was like, "Hey, in the face of your trials, you were still faithful to me." It wasn't that they were necessarily like wildly influential or necessarily a powerful church, but Jesus says to them, "You have little strength, but you have kept my word." And so I think that's his way of being like, "Listen, you may not be a mega church, but that doesn't matter to me. You've been faithful to me every step of the way." So he doesn't, Jesus isn't praising them for necessarily like changing the world and making an impact on millions and millions of people, although yes, God cares about that too, but that's not the only thing he would ever care about. Like he's not praising them for changing the world. He's actually just praising them for remaining faithful to him. Because at the end of the day, that actually is the most important thing to Jesus. Above all else, above impact, above, you know, status, whatever. He cares about our faithfulness. Again, our interior, what's in our hearts? Jesus isn't always asking us for greatness. He's probably just asking us for faithfulness, which then could absolutely lead to greatness. But first, above all else, he's going to ask for faithfulness from us. That's what he cares about. I think a real, this is so good. God often measures success differently than we do. You know, I think a lot of times like that is how we measure success is by how big the impact is, how big these churches are, you know, how widely spread, you know, we can bring the name of Jesus, which of course, like that's of course, that's what we want. Of course, that's what God would want. But I just think that we, we as humans in our nature, I don't know, just naturally, this is what we do unfortunately, is we, we typically measure success by how impressive we are. But the real question that God cares about is just am I faithful with what he's given me, whether that's on a large scale or not. Okay, now this is a church that a lot of us might be familiar with. If not the church, this scripture in general, like this letter in general, okay, this was to the church of loud sia. I don't even know if I'm saying that right. But they're the church of the lukewarm. Okay, and we've heard about the lukewarm. We've talked about lukewarmness here on the podcast a few times. We even had an episode a couple years ago where I said I don't, it was titled like I don't want to be lukewarm anymore. Okay. Bless her. I'm sure it's a great episode is so long ago. But anyway, it's that famous passage where Jesus is like, I know your deeds. You are not hot nor cold. And honestly, I wish you would just pick a side. I like, I hate that you're lukewarm. And I just want, I'm going to spit the lukewarm out of my mouth. I don't want to either pick a side, either be totally cold to me or be hot on fire obsessed. But don't be lukewarm. And I guess, okay, at first glance as well, what I just described, many people think that Jesus could be saying like hot means like you're a very passionate Christian, cold means that you're an unbeliever and you don't follow him at all. And then lukewarm is like you're somewhere in the middle where you're like dancing with the world and then you're dancing with Jesus. I don't think that's inaccurate. But there could be a lot more going on with that statement, something that I learned when I looked this up and looked into just the church of Laudicea in general, okay, is Laudicea actually had a water problem, which this is what's so cool about like really taking the time to dig deep into scripture and like asking questions and wanting to know more about even the time and like the circumstances and what life was like. So this church had a water problem. So the nearby cities had better water sources than Laudicea. Okay, so one city was known for hot mineral water used for healing. Another city was known for cold, refreshing drinking water and by the time water reached Laudicea through aqueducts, it was actually lukewarm. And when you think about drinking lukewarm water, it's not very pleasant and it was no longer healing. So that water was not healing. It was not refreshing. It was just straight up not pleasant. And so I think a perspective or how we would predict why Jesus would even use an analogy like this, right, a perspective like this is or an illustration is because he knew that that's the people would get it, right, because they're in they're living in that. And so he's explaining why lukewarm water would be unpleasant and he's comparing them to that. And so the people hearing this from Jesus would immediately understand Jesus' illustration because like I said, they're living it. And so his point isn't necessarily like I'd rather you hate me than struggle with your faith. His point is you're no longer useful in the way you're supposed to be. You've become spiritually complacent, which I think is a really scary place for any of us to be in. Jesus explains, he says to them, I am rich, you say I am rich. I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing. This church thought they were thriving. They felt self-sufficient, comfortable, they felt secure, they felt independent. But Jesus says you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked. And so I think the issue of what Jesus is saying here is that it's not rebellion, it's not persecution, it's not false teaching, it's self-sufficiency, which I actually do think would be a form of rebellion. I don't know, sue me. It's okay if you disagree. But I'm like self-sufficiency, I think that is a form of rebellion. It's being like, no, I got this, I don't need you God. That sounds rebellious to me. So I guess I don't know. But it's not like the full blown rebellion, like when Jesus was talking about Jezebel, but what he's speaking to is like when parts of the church, and again this applies to us today, even you and I, there are times where I do this, where I'm like, I got this, I'm, I got it God, I don't need you. But this church did not believe that they needed Jesus anymore. This is what makes Luke warmness so dangerous. You can still go to church, you can still read your Bible, you can still listen to worship music, you can even still talk about Jesus. You could still pray, but yet slowly you do actually, again, it's all about our hearts. Did I just make a song? It's all about our hearts. Okay, it's all about our dependency and where we get our dependency from. And if we are dependent on ourselves, we slowly stop depending on Jesus. We can still love Jesus, but if our dependence is not on him and we are solely depending on ourselves and we are self-sufficient and we are independent and we are no longer thinking of as ourselves as a child of God, a dependent of God, that's when we start to get in the red zone. And so what are some ways that Luke warmness could look today? Okay, so now we're going to talk about the year 2026, how would that look today? I think some ways of how that could look is that we are actually loving comfort more than obedience. We want Jesus, but without the surrender, being more excited about worldly success than spiritual growth. That one, I'm going to sit with for a while, okay? Praying only when things go wrong, I used to be like that before I, before I really knew Jesus. I would just pray when things were really wrong. Sometimes I would pray when I, when like something so insane would happen to me, like if I would get a really awesome, okay, it doesn't matter. Anyway, but yeah, when God is just like, you know, the emergency contact, okay? Knowing about God, but not truly pursuing Him, pursuing Him means you're not actively trying to learn more about Him and who He is. And you're not actively trying to become more like Him. You're not actively trying to learn from Him and about Him, okay? You're simply just not hungry to know Him or become more like Him. And yeah, it's not necessarily open rebellion. It's spiritual indifference. So after a really stronger view like that from Jesus, I can only imagine, yep, it's happening right now. Thank you, Jesus. His word lives forever. So he's still rebuking us. Okay, but after a really strong review like that, I will say one of the most beautiful things that Jesus then follows all of that with is he says, those whom I love, I rebuke and discipline. Okay? So in other words, this correction is actually coming from love. It's coming from his love. It's not coming from bitterness or anger or anything else. He's actually telling them this because he loves them. I also don't think he's rejecting them. He's just trying to wake them up. And then a really tender part, guys, Jesus is a tender, tender man. He is. And this is our dad. This is what we come from. Are you kidding? Okay, the part where he says, here I am, I stand at the door and knock. Okay, but think about it. So the church, sorry, I'm getting lower because I'm getting more tired. It's okay. We're almost done. This is a good episode. I'm kind of living for this guy. Sorry, you just saw my feet. Okay, but many people use this verse about like I'll speak for myself. Like I understood this verse as salvation. Like that's how I imagine Jesus when I first came to him as he was always knocking on the door outside. And I wouldn't say that's inaccurate. I think that's exactly what Jesus does before we come to him. And our eyes are open to who he is. But I want us to just like think about that in the context of this church, like speaking to a church who already claimed to know him and love him. The church was so self-sufficient that Jesus was outside knocking. That's not right. If you're a church that's apparently standing for Jesus and you say that you believe in him and you love him, how is he standing outside, knocking to come in? He should already be inside, right? So that's what I think is like worth recognizing is that he is speaking to the church. But he's on the outside, knocking. And yet he still wants a relationship. So that's what he's saying. And then he says, "If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with this person and they will be with me." And then he says, "We're going to be friends." I just love this man. I really do. I love this man. He says, "If you hear my voice and open the door, he always gives us the option." That's the thing is he's like letting them know. He's saying, "Hey, y'all, you're living in a lifestyle of way too much like self-sufficiency." And I'm just letting you know that I'm on the outside. But I'm not talking. I still would love to have a relationship with you. I would still love to be close to you. I would still love to be your best friend. But oh my gosh, he goes, "So if you hear my voice, if you choose to listen to me and open the door, I will come in." He's promising this. Are you kidding? He's saying, "Okay, if you open the door, I'll come in and we will share a meal together as friends." He's so merciful. Are you kidding? Our God is merciful. I'm like, "Revelation isn't actually that harsh." No, it's Jesus revealing his heart and who he is. We genuinely don't deserve him. And he gives us all the option. He's never going to force himself. I love him. And so, yeah, it's not that Jesus is saying, "Get your life together and I'll come back." He says, "Open the door and I'll still want you and I'm still going to want to come in." And I would actually really love to share a meal with you and for us to be friends if you open the door. So I think the main lesson of lukewarmness here and what Jesus is telling us is lukewarmness isn't primarily about lacking enthusiasm. It's actually about just lacking dependence. It's lacking dependency on Jesus. And so the opposite of lukewarmness isn't faith that's like emotionally intense. Again, I think that we've always thought of these passages to be like the lukewarm or the people who lack enthusiasm for Jesus or like that emotional intensity. No, I think the opposite of lukewarmness is just a heart that knows Jesus, "I need you." Like, "I need you." I need you. Like every time your heart beats, it beats and in the beat, it says, "I need you." Jesus, I need you. Every day. Not just when life falls apart, not just when I'm scared, but when things are going well, too. I need you. No matter what. That's how you know you're not lukewarm. So if that's your heart posture, you don't need to be afraid. I think that's real in the church. I think a lot of people get scared that they are lukewarm and they don't know it. Honestly, I think that alone night actually show you that you're not. Because I think anyone who's lukewarm doesn't know that they're lukewarm. These people didn't. And that's why Jesus had to call. And you had to be like, "Hey, I gotta wake you up." Or at least give you an opportunity to wake up. Hold on. Wait a minute. This isn't right. So I think our closing thought here on this week's episode, this is a great episode. Thank you. Holy spirit. Holy spirit. Activate. Activate. Activate. Y'all remember that? Oh my gosh. Okay. Our closing thought. Because I do think we need to end this episode, but I am happy to continue this. Guys, comment below if you want. I might actually just go ahead and record, continue recording tomorrow before you answer. I just think this is so fun. This has been so much more rewarding. And this came out of nowhere. You want to know that I thought we were going to be reading in first Corinthians or maybe first John. And then all of a sudden, not in nowhere. I was like, "Revelation? Okay, I'm scared." I'll say one thing that stands out the most in chapter three of Revelation. What we're ending on is that Jesus's strongest words are followed by one of his gentle invitations every time. Every time he gives such shocking rebukes, but then he follows them by really gentle invitations to become closer to him. So none of this actually is ending in rejection. It ends with a knock. And his message isn't like, "Okay, you failed. I'm still here. Just open the door." And that might be one of the most hopeful truths in all of Revelation. One of. There's a lot of hopeful truths in Revelation. But that's so cute. That's so intentional. That's so loving. That's so amazing of God. And he just wants us to open the doors in our hearts. That maybe we haven't opened to him. He's the best. Guys, thanks for tuning in this week. This was a very, very, very good episode. It was so good that I almost ended up laying down at the end of it. Guys, leave comments below on what you think. I really want to hear your guys' thoughts as well about all of this. I do. Because I love reading your comments and hearing your thoughts. And I love when we get to bounce ideas and revelations off of each other. And I love you guys. I'm super proud of you. Thanks for being here with me. Happy Friday. Also, um, can we do something really cool before we go today? Can we show somebody how cool Jesus is? Can we walk more like him? Talk more like him? Be more like Jesus today? And every day, have a beautiful weekend, by the way. Is it the 4th of July weekend? Oh no, that's next weekend. Never mind. The 4th of July really crept up on me. Did it not for you guys? How is already July? All right. I love you guys. Same time same place next week, okay? Be there or be square. I love you guys. I'll see you next time. Bye!