EMBRACE THE NEW

PASTOR RYAN LADEN – DEVOTIONALS

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This is a big deal. In today’s devotional, we are going to hear the heart of God for each of us and for his people, his body, the church. In the message of Revelation chapters 1-3, we hear a message that concerns every believer and every family of faith, regardless of their location or the age in which they live. 

This big message comes from the revelation provided by the resurrected Christ to John, the author of the book of Revelation. In chapter 1, John is shown a vision of the resurrected Christ in his eternal glory. In his hand, the Lord held seven stars, which were shown to be the seven messengers or caretakers of the seven churches addressed in the letter. 

These seven overseers, pastors, or church leaders were placed over the churches to help these seven communities to endure the hardship that was upon them as well as to keep them on point at they lived out their calling to be witnesses for Christ. 

Listen to the description of the glorified Christ as found in the following passage:

12 I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. 15 His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.

(Revelation 1:12-16 NIV11)

Amongst

There is much that we can say about this image of the glorified Jesus Christ, but I want to focus on the fact that the Lord was seen walking amongst the seven lampstands. These are the churches that will be addressed next (Rev. 1:20). The Lord is with his church. He is intimately involved and cares deeply about the people and the actions of the church. 

Held

The Lord was also seen holding the seven stars (which we discover are the seven angelos, angels or messengers). The Lord is seen holding the leaders of his church in his hand. Jesus cares about the pastors and leaders who lead by example in the church. The Lord is making it clear that his chosen messengers in the churches are important to him and worthy of respect and honor. 

This should embolden the pastors of the church to stand firm in their calling to lead well, love like Jesus, and speak the truth for the church. This should also instruct the people of the church to give honor to those to whom honor is due and stop fighting the leadership provided by the Lord. 

Or Else

In the first letter to the first church in Revelation (letter to the Ephesians), the Lord provides the following warning:

4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. 

5 Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. 

If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.

(Revelation 2:4-5 NIV11)

Forsaken

The charge is that the people of the church have forgotten the love they once had for Christ. This is not to say that they no longer love Jesus, but it is a charge against them that claims that they have allowed their love for the Lord to drift, fade, or diminish. 

It is easy to try and love Jesus plus other things. We often think we can love Jesus and our religious traditions. We often assume that we can love Jesus and the customs of our times. 

But when we allow our love for the Lord to fade or diminish, something else will rise up and take its place. As Jesus Christ taught in Matthew 6:24, we cannot love two masters. The church that takes its eyes off of its first and true calling to love the Lord your God is a church that is in trouble.

Consider

We must examine our love for the Lord. We cannot assume that we are serving Christ only when we add so many other elements of life and religion to the mix. Where we find ourselves placing the things of the church, the traditions of the church, or the images and objects of the church as being of equal value to our love of Jesus and his people, we need to confess this sin. 

Repent

Turn away from that which has been competing with your love for Christ. See it, confess it, and let it go. Do not follow your misplaced love, or you will suffer great loss. 

Remove

In Revelation 2:5, the Lord warns that the church will lose its lampstand if it persists in allowing other issues and desires to compete with its love of Christ. It is a sad fact that so many churches all over the world, all throughout time, have suffered the consequences of their misplaced love. 

The Lord will not preserve and bless those parts of the Body of Christ that are in rebellion. If the people allow the light of Christ to be diminished by their bickering, fighting, complaining, and critical nature that stems from their love of tradition and ritual more than their love for Christ, then the Lord will allow that lamp to burn out. 

Application

Look at the lampstand image one more time. 

•   If new oil is not added to the lamp, it will grow dim and eventually become useless. 
•   If a candle is allowed to burn down and a new candle is not lit by the old, then the lamp will burn out and become useless. 

This is happening all over the world inside the Christian Church. 

Too many church communities have failed to carry on in their God-given mission to bring in the new so that they can keep shining the light of Christ to each generation. I see churches all the time that have chosen to prioritize the good old days to their own detriment. They eventually become a lampstand that has no use and needs to be removed. 

Solution

So what are we to do?

•   Embrace the new. 
•   Embrace the new oil and the new candles that are coming into your church. 
•   Do not hold tightly to the past. 
•   Do not assume that your ways are God’s ways and therefore must be protected. 
•   Find younger people and pass the flame God has given you. 
•   Allow the pastor of your church to lead well without being held back by those who love the past more than the mission of Christ.
•   Be the voice in your church that is calling the people of the church to return to their true love. 
•   Love Jesus Christ before and more than you love anything else. 

In Christ, 

Ryan Laden

PASTOR RYAN LADEN

Senior Pastor at PARK HILL BAPTIST CHURCH

Worked at MTN. CHURCH

Former Senior pastor at Warnbro Community Church

Studies at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary

Studied at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary

Studied at Baylor University

Studied at Texas Tech University

Went to Castle Hills First Baptist

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