“Don’t go overboard!” “Don’t get carried away!” “Keep a level head.” “Don’t go to extremes!” “Moderation in all things!” These and many other saying like them describe the modern pre-occupation with the middle of the road. The quest for perfect fairness and tolerance gives us “The undecided voter.” “The moderate politician.” The objective observer” and “The inoffensive Church. There was a church in the first century much like the one in our day. They esteemed tolerance and moderation. They sought not to offend. They wanted to build a bridge to their world and make unbelievers comfortable with Jesus. Better yet, just make them comfortable…..we will tell them about God and maybe Christ later on. We just don’t want to offend anyone, but in the process they offend Christ and God to the point of judgment and rejection.

Churches like believers, have a history of fashioning themselves in the most favorable light. Churches are inclined to accommodate the culture rather than challenge it. They are often defined by their earthly leaders rather than their heavenly head…..Jesus. 2000 years of church have confirmed this reality again and again….but why? With the New Testament full of precise instructions about the church and God’s desire for it, why is it such a mess?

If there is any one place where we can have complete privacy it is inside our own head…right? There you can use your imagination and think what you want about people and things. You can appear to be one way, while harboring in your inner person distrust of God and unrepentant sin. It is when we subconsciously take the next step that we are in most danger! That is….when we begin to imagine that the outward appearance of our lives is the reality of who we are. In other words…..how I appear to be is who I actually am. This fatal error characterized the church in Sardis and it is ongoing in our day. They had believed their own press. They were growing. They had talent and money. They were spoken well of in the community as the place where things were happening. They were meeting the felt needs of people and they had lots of programs and activities. They had a good reputation for being alive, but The Lord of The Church is going to pronounce them “dead” in spite of all the apparent signs of life.

To each Church Christ reveals a morsel of His Glory, A full revelation would kill us. Even a muted one might cause us to just curl up and hide. In our lives, Christ reveals specific things about His character and nature that he wants to conform us to. To Ephesus He shows Himself as the center of all His churches. He is the center of their lives and love. To Smyrna He is the conqueror of death and suffering. He was dead, but is alive. To Pergamum He is the one who wields the power of His Word. Believers can and must trust His words and not the words of false and godless teachers. To Thyatira Jesus displays two of His Divine attributes….His Omniscience and His Holiness. He knows everything about them and He is intent on purifying them.

The Lord of the Church reveals Himself in the first three chapters of Revelation to call the church in every nation and age to make Him the center of their existence, the center of her life, her programs and most of all her heart. The church was created for the Glory of Christ. She is His splendid and radiant bride, but a bride without a groom makes for an awkward wedding. The church is inclined to look at her own splendor and be so dazzled by the gifts showered on her by her groom, that she forgets who she belongs to. The Church is for the Glory of Christ and she reflects His glory in the world.

The seven letters to the seven churches reveal Christ’s heart and mind toward His church that He left on earth to exalt and proclaim Him to the world. God gave this revelation to the church by sending His messenger to John who then passed it on to each church. If the church is going to exalt and proclaim the Glorious Jesus as Lord, then she must see and know Him as Glorious and she must submit to Him eagerly and willingly as Lord. Christ reveals Himself as the Glorious Lord of the Church then commands His Church to exalt Him and proclaim Him as the all sufficient one in all creation.

When Christ wanted to give His final Words to His church, He started by revealing Himself in Glory to them. Nothing has changed from that time. Christ Jesus is the Lord or Master of the Church. He alone has the final word on why the church exists and what your relationship should be to it. He is Lord and He is A Glorious Lord in and of His Church. Our attention should be riveted on The Lord of the Church and not the institution of the church. What Christ has to say needs to penetrate the hearts of believers as we stand in awe of His power and His love for us. He is worthy to be embraced and honored as Lord.