TO HIM WHO OVERCOMES

Revelation 2:1-29
Key Verse: 2:7b

“To him who overcomes I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is
in the paradise of God.”

Last week the Risen Jesus gives his message to Apostle John. This week Apostle John
delivers Jesus’ message to the leaders of the churches. The main message is to overcome.
Let us overcome many things in 2009 as we are getting closer and closer to the paradise of
God.

1. Jesus, a good shepherd (Rev. 2:1-29)

In chapter 2, the Risen Jesus appears to be a good shepherd who speaks to his wandering
sheep in Asia Minor. Jesus wants to lead them to the true green pasture, the paradise of
God. Jesus speaks to their hearts that he knows them intimately. Thank God for Jesus’
broken shepherd heart toward the churches in Asia Minor!

Jesus is also our good shepherd. Jesus says to his disciples in John 10:14, “I am the good
shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep knows me.” Jesus knows us; he knows the
numbers of your hair this afternoon, maybe 100,000 hair follicles. Jesus knows that I want
German shepherd as my pet. Who can understand you and me completely? Only Jesus can.
For this reason, we are happy that we belong to Jesus our good shepherd. Jesus also says
to his disciples in John 10:4, “When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of
them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.” Jesus brought us out from
the fence of sin and death and he went ahead of us, through his life of serving, suffering,
and dying on the cross. After his death, God raised him according to his promise and Jesus
is now sitting at the right hand of God as King of kings and Lord of lords. In this way Jesus
knows the way to the kingdom of God. Therefore, we must listen to Jesus if we are serious
about going to heaven. I learned that there are many different kinds of sheep; for example,
Rambouillet, Columbia, Suffolk, Hamphsire, Southdown, Targhee, Scottish Blackface,
Leicester Long-wool, Navajo-Churro, Karakul, Mouflon, and so on. What kind of sheep are
you? Are you a stubborn one, weak one, or wild one? We all are different from each other.
But we are one flock under one shepherd Jesus. Therefore, let us listen to Jesus and his
voice in this chapter.

2. Jesus’ message (Revelation 2:1-29)

Look at verse 1, “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him
who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden
lampstands:” Jesus is like a shepherd who holds his sheep with his right hand and carries
them. Now he calls them, “Yoo! Hoo! Come here, fluffy!” The sheep hears his voice, “Baa,
baa.” Read verses 2 and 3, “I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I
know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be
apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured
hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.” They were pretty good; actually they
were really good. They had been God’s powerful workmanship, doing good works faithfully.
Yet Jesus pointed out that they had lost their first love. The church did not necessarily rely
on him desperately any more. The wave of trials was on its way and Jesus knew that they
couldn’t survive with their own strength, even with their heroic acts of faith. So, he
counseled them strongly, in verse 4 and 5, “Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken
your first love. Remember the height from which 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.” Jesus urged them to forget what was behind and to press on toward what was ahead
by holding on to him tightly. Jesus wanted them to remain in him just as he had remained
in them. Otherwise, they could not overcome the world.

Jesus is our bridegroom and we are his beautiful brides. We fall in love with him at the
cross. Then we must continue to love him by taking up our cross of mission daily. But our
love grows colder and colder, even to the point of forsaking our first love. Some of us might
think it is okay to forsake our first love. Then, hear Jesus’ warning in verse 5b, “If you do
not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.” We should never
think that it is okay to forsake our first love. If we forsake our first love, despite all the good
works in the past, we will lose everything, especially eternal life. We cannot claim eternal
life based on our good works in the past. For example, Moses lived the most intense life of
shepherding the rebellious Israelites. Humanly speaking, he deserved entering the Promised
Land. Yet he himself could not claim the Promised Land and eternal life based on his great
shepherd life. Rather, he had to depend on God’s grace and finish his life of faith at Mount
Sinai, just looking over the Promised Land. He had to hold on to his first love to Jesus
purely to the end. St. Paul lived a hard-working life for the sake of the gospel. He seemed to
be worthy of eternal life because of his incredible spiritual legacy in doing the work of God.
Yet he himself could not claim the healing of his weak eyes and eternal life based on his
great evangelism among the Gentiles in the past. God said to him, “My grace is sufficient for
you” (2 Cor. 12:9). Let us overcome our entitlement mentality based on our great struggles
and efforts in the past. Let us remain in Jesus and his grace and love to the end. Let us do
the thing we did at first gratefully and faithfully. Let us continue to pray for America to be a
kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Then Jesus promises that we will eat from the tree of
life in the paradise of God.

Look at verse 8, “To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of him
who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again.” During Group Bible study
yesterday, this image of Jesus was our favorite. Jesus is faithful: He is same yesterday,
today and tomorrow. When Jesus saw Christians in Smyrna, his heart was broken; they
were like Emperor Penguins who survive the winter in Antarctica, the terrifying weather.
Look at verses 9-10a, “I know your afflictions and your poverty – yet you are rich! I know
the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do
not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in
prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days.” Yesterday after Group Bible
study, I felt very cold and had to take NyQuil, pray and sleep. I suffered a little bit. But the
church in Smyrna was suffering 1,000 times more than what I suffered yesterday; they
suffered false accusation, imprisonment, and persecution for ten days. I cannot endure my
flu for a day. But they had to endure persecution for quite a long time, maybe for years.
Who could comfort and encourage them? It was Jesus, the One who also endured all the
difficulties, even the pain of crucifixion; he says in 10b, “Be faithful even to the point of
death, and I will give you the crown of life.” Because we feel an edge in our hearts in the
face of difficulties and challenges in 2009, we are happy to hear Jesus’ words of
encouragement. Let us memorize this verse and make it alive in our hearts, “Be faithful
even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.” If we decide to be faithful
to Jesus and overcome this hard-knock world, we will not be hurt at all by the second death.

Look at verse 12, “To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These are the words of
him who has the sharp, double-edged sword.” Here Jesus shows us a spiritual battle going
on in Pergamum between the children of God and the children of Satan. The warriors of
faith in Pergamum had been fighting well there, defending their faith at the heart of the
enemy, Satan. Yet they suffered some loss of the ground when the enemy penetrated the
defense line through the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin
by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality. In fact, they
compromised with the teaching of the Nicolaitans. They had to drive the enemy back
through repentance. Otherwise, the commander-in-chief Jesus would come and would fight
against them with the sword of his words. We too are in a spiritual battle. The only way to
win the battle is to depend on the words of God, the sword of Jesus’ words. In a battle, it is
crucial for soldiers to have effective weapons. Therefore, we should not look around other
ineffective weapons as we engage in our spiritual battle. We must have the words of God.
For this reason, we must go back to the Bible. I am telling you that Bible study is very
important; to tell the truth, Bible study is indeed a matter of life and death. Let us read 17,
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who
overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a
new name written on it, known only to him who receives it.” I pray that we may all enjoy
memorizing the Bible and meditating on the Bible and write sincere Bible testimonies until
we can taste some of the hidden manna and receive a white stone with a new name on it.

Look at verse 18, “To the angel of the church in Thyatira write: These are the words of the
Son of God whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze.”
Jesus is full of grace and truth. Here Jesus appears to be the Spirit of God which looks
through the hearts and minds of fallen men; his eyes can penetrate into anything like
blazing fire and his feet can stand against anything like burnished bronze. The Christians in
Thyatira seemed to have a clean and holy life based on their deeds, love, faith, service,
perseverance, and increased service for the Lord. But their cleanness was only on the
surface and partial. Underneath their outer cleanness, there was hidden corruption; they
followed the teaching of Jezebel and committed sexual immorality and ate food sacrificed to
idols. Jesus looked into their corrupt hearts and minds. He warned Jezebel and her followers
to repent. Some parts in the church were clean because some did not learn Satan’s deep
secrets, while some parts in the church were unclean because they were indulged in
corruption spree with spiritual pride. Jesus wanted those who were unclean to repent. Jesus
encouraged those who kept themselves from false teaching, only to hold on to what they
had until Jesus’ Second Coming.

Some people assume that they can hide their secret and corrupt life. They are greatly
mistaken. Everything will be exposed by Jesus, the light of the world. Every covering metal
for hidden corruption will be melted by Jesus, God’s blazing fire. Therefore, let us repent of
hidden sins and live a holy life of faith until Jesus comes again. Let us read verse 25, “Only
hold on to what you have until I come.” In this adulterous generation, it is not easy to live a
holy life. It is rather easy to maintain the form of holy life and to engage in unholy activities
secretly. Yesterday Dr. James Rabchuk and I chose this image of Jesus who looks into
hearts and minds. Yesterday and today my soul has been trembling before Jesus who looks
through my corrupt heart and mind. Jesus has been melting the covering metal of my
hidden sins. I thank God for melting away my hidden sins! I pray that Jesus may melt away
your hidden sins.

Let us read verse 26-29, “To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give
authority over the nations – ‘He will rule them with an iron scepter; he will dash them to
pieces like pottery’ – just as I have received authority from my Father. I will also give him
the morning star. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
Here Jesus plants the hope of God for those who overcomes the sinful and adulterous world
and does his will of world salvation to the end. God’s hope is that we will rule the world with
Jesus. With this hope, we must overcome. That is why I chose the title of today’s message,
“To him who overcomes.” Before I wrap up today’s message, I would like to share with you
a story of Apostle John who overcame the world.

According to Eusebius a Christian historian, Apostle John returned to Ephesus from his exile
on the island of Patmos, to govern the churches in Asia Minor. Once, during his journey to
oversee the local churches, he found a good young disciple candidate who was strong,
handsome and passionate. John asked the local bishop to take care of the young man. So
under the bishop’s intensive care, the young man grew into a fine disciple of Jesus. Soon
the bishop relaxed his watchful care for the young man. Then some of his bad friends
corrupted him when he was prematurely freed from restraint. Eventually he became a
criminal and a bold bandit-chief, the most violent, most bloody, most cruel of robbers all.
Time passed. John had learned of how the young man lost his love and faith to Christ. The
local bishop had already given upon him. But John did not give him up because Jesus chose
him as a good shepherd for the young man. Though he was an old man, he rode a horse to
the robbers’ outpost, and was taken prisoner to meet the lose sheep. He, seeing John
approaching, turned in shame to flee. But John, forgetting his age, pursued him with all his
might, crying out, “Why, my son, fear not; you have still hope of life. I will give
account to Christ for you. If need be, I will willingly endure your death as the Lord
suffered death for us. For you will I give up my life. Stand, believe; Christ has sent
me.” He, when he heard, first stopped and looked down; then he threw away his arms, and
then trembled and wept bitterly. And when the old man approached, he embraced him,
baptizing himself a second time with tears, and concealing only his right hand. Apostle John
had restored the lost young disciple to the church, establishing him as a great example of
true repentance and a great proof of rebirth and a trophy of a visible resurrection. In this
way, Apostle John practiced Jesus’ message to the leaders of the seven churches; he
overcame and claimed the crown of life for himself, for the young man, and even for us. Let
us read today’s key verse 7b again, “To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from
the tree of life, which is the paradise of God.” Today we met Jesus our good shepherd who
is the way to the paradise of God. We also learn from Jesus that the only way to the
paradise of God is to overcome. I pray that Jesus may melt our cold icy hearts. I pray that
we may overcome our despaired hearts due to the current spiritual condition of American
young people and continue to share God’s love with them. Let us overcome many things in
2009 as we are marching toward the city of God! Let us pray!