Sermon Tone Analysis

Intro

The Blessing of this letter remains as in Chapter 1......

He who has an ear.... that is us..... we are opening the letter not a federal crime..... and we are hearing them written to Ephesus for us......

As we hear the words of Jesus..... We hear it as individuals at LCBC and as a church as a whole at LCBC.

If the shoe fits....

It may strike a nerve....

or

A guilty conscience needs no accuser.....

Overview of the letters

Addressed to these 7 churches and FOR Us today as well

Jesus is described in view of chapter 1

Jesus Knows the churches intimately

Jesus Corrects/Exhorts/Challenges the Churches

Call to repent and Endure

Blessing for Overcoming/Enduring in Jesus

Defenders of Truth

History of Ephesus

Paul - Acts 18, he arrives in Ephesus..... they run into Apollos and he is teaching John’s Baptism and then is shown the true Gospel of Jesus and Baptism in the Holy Spirit!

Protect the flock from false teachers and teach the whole counsel of God!

Timothy

possibly John lived there too.... Apollos was converted to faith there and preached the Gospel!

Big Church influencer! - all preached there, lived there, and held up the

Acts - The Gospel spread throughout the region there

Think about this church.....

All star preaching and teaching.... from the Super stars of the Faith… Paul, Timothy, Apollos, possibly John who is writing this letter!

They are hitting home runs of who is preaching each week!

AND They are valuing it and protecting it!

Ephesus gets a glowing review!..... It’s like the kid who gives the report in class and then the teacher applauds the presentation in front of everyone....

So how did it turn out?

Jesus holds the churches in his hands, his eyes peer into the church and sees this....

He knows!

You cannot close the door to Jesus seeing into your life and into your heart.....

You cannot hide what happens behind closed doors of the church from the Lord!

Jesus knows and sees the fruit of the churches obedience to Paul’s Word to guard the church

Ephesus - The cult of the emperor..... temple for artemis.......

It was a city that was following the ways of the world and not the way of Jesus...... Parties, Prostitutes, and People sinning against God......

Jesus knew they had lived up with right practice of holding true to the word of God....

Toil and endurance - revelation 2:2-3 - They were diligent for hard work....

Find, remove themseves, from false teachers!

- Doctrinal protectors

Hate the works of the Nicolaitans......

We don’t know specifics of who they were, but at a minimum they were a false teaching and sinful

Doing the right thing when no one is looking....Integrity....They knew what the right thing was and fought to protect it!

A Church must be built upon the Word of God and the truth of the Gospel against the false prophets and teachers and worldly beliefs.

And when we listen to those who preach another gospel, a holy anger burns within us, for we love the truth as it is in Jesus; and nothing but that will satisfy us.

- Spurgeon

The church in Ephesus was a Defender of the Truth.... Sound Doctrine.... but there’s another word from Jesus here...

Would the Lord see in your life a love and devotion to the truth found in the Bible?

A fierce protection of the truth?

A Christian life on display?

Abandoned Your First Love

- Left, abandoned the first love......

Marriage loses love over time.....

You begin standing face to face saying I do.... but often marriages in the house of day to day life husband and wife are looking away from each other as they pursue careers, or raise the children and neglect their relationship......

This is like a husband walking into the wife and saying....I am going to pay the bills, do the chores around the house, but I will not love you.

DRIFTING APART....

What is the first love?

Their love for Christ - That moment when faith became reality in their life....

Their love for others - outwardly Rev 2:6 - I think the connection here is striking that the love is connected to the works outwardly

Their love for others - inwardly

Their Works didn’t flow out of a love for Christ!

A Church cannot be focussed on doctrine and what is right without it being built upon the love for Jesus that overflows to others!

A Christian cannot be focussed on what the Bible says and neglect loving Jesus of the Bible!

Doctrinally Sound Navel Gazers - Kevin DeYoung

They knew what was right and their works were evident.... but they weren’t doing the works they did at first.... with their first love!

What do you do when you see a nice sports car?

Now imagine its a sports car without the engine.....

A Church without love is no church at all.... It’s a sports car without the engine....

A Chrisitian without love is no christian at all......

Have you abandoned your firstlove?......

Listen to Jesus’ words....

A Church that is doing the right things outwardly with the right knowledge but lacks.... as Matthew Preached a few weeks ago.....

If we do not have love we are a resounding cymbal!

A Gong!

God has no intention to let us live a useless life.

But mark this; when we leave our first works, there is no question about having lost our first love; that is sure.

- Spurgeon

Think of Peter with me for a moment.....

At the door, in the courtyard, and by the fire......

You look like you were with Jesus...... but he denied it… and hear these words from Jesus......

Jesus returns Peter to his first love.... and calls him to do the works....

Peter was asked to return to his first love.... this morning..... hear Jesus’ assessment.... is it of your life?

Does the shoe fit?

There is a hope and promise for us this morning....

Hope and a Promise

Hope

Remember , Repent and Repeat

Keep on Remembering

To let the love of Christ to grow cold is a sin - Matthew 24:10

REPENT - U TURN....Change their minds and their behavior

Going to LCBC and it’s been a while.....

I went the wrong way on 67....but the Lord provided a U turn location, and I was able to return to the scene of the mistake....

How many of us need a U turn in our spiritual life this morning?

You can come back! - Pulling a U turn.....

We have come back to where we have grown cold in our love for Jesus and others..... drifted from our first love!

..

Do the works again.....

The work you did First works..... Love Christ and loved others!

Getting back to The basics.....

Your first love leads to first works!

Your first works lead you to your first love!