Revelation 2:1 Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks.
Have you ever visited a church when you were on your vacation? That can be an absolute adventure because you never know quite what you are going to get. Now, I travel a lot, and my wife and I often say something like, “Hey, that is a good church.” Maybe in your mind you have also thought about “bad” churches. There is a good and there is a bad, and there are good and bad churches, families, people, and organizations. But, sometimes calling something “good” or “bad” is too vague a designation.
Let me give you an example: families. You might say, “My family is not perfect, but that family isn’t even good.” What about a man? Is the man good? Does that mean he is perfect? Think about David. Was David a good man? Did David do bad things? David was a man after God’s own heart, yet David did things that were profoundly wrong. The question today is not, “Am I good or bad?” but, “What needs to change?”
In Revelation chapters 2 and 3 the Lord addresses several churches, and as you read the descriptions of these churches, you might easily think, “I would like to be a member of that church,” or “I would never be a member of that church,” based upon what may be important to you. But what is important is not what is important to you and me but what is important to God.
The question today is not “Am I perfect?” because none of us are. The question today is not as simple as, “Am I good or am I bad?” The question is, “What needs to change?” When I say that, I don’t mean that you should ask, “Do I need to change?” Our need is an assumption. Something does need to change. What needs to change? The Bible says in verse 1, “Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write…” The Lord goes on to talk about many good things that were happening in the church of Ephesus, but then He says, “Nevertheless…but…notwithstanding.” In each of these churches there was something good going on, but there was also something that needed to change.
The Lord knows exactly what needs to change. Verse 2 says, “I know thy works.” In verse 23 He says, “I am he which searcheth the reins and heart.” So, the Lord knows us to our very core and that means we are obliged to have an open heart. “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” Winston Churchill said that a fanatic is someone “who can’t change his mind and won’t change the subject.”
It is good to be willing to change when the truth of God comes into conflict with the practice of man. That is why the Lord says in verse 5, “Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do…” That word “repent,” to change one’s mind, is a word you find each time Jesus addresses one of these churches. I don’t want to be a fanatic. I want to be able to change my mind to reflect whatever is on the Lord’s mind.
The result is found in verse 7, “To him that overcometh will I give…” In verses 11, 17, and 26 you find out more about the overcomer. The question is not “Will you be perfect?” It is not even, “Am I good or am I bad?” That is sometimes an alibi for not being diligent regarding myself. The question is “Am I going to be an overcomer?” Will I listen and what needs to change?