Sermon Tone Analysis

When Love Grows Cold

Revelation 2:1–7 (ESV)

1 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands. 2 “ ‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false.

3 I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary.

4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.

5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first.

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

6 Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’

Background

The Roman government exiled the apostle John to the aisle of Patmos, because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.

He was not there alone.

On the Lord’s Day, John was filled with the Holy Spirit.

The glorified Christ revealed himself to John.

In Revelation 1:19, Jesus commands, “Write therefore the things you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this.”

John wrote what we call the Revelation or Apocalypse.

It is predominantly about things to come in the last days.

It begins with the things that are.

Chapters 2 and 3 record a series of letters Jesus sent to seven congregations in the Greco-Roman province of Asia Minor, southwestern Turkey today.

The seven churches were Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.

The first church addressed is Ephesus.

Located on the west coast of Asia Minor, a messenger traveling from Patmos would arrive at Ephesus first.

Moreover, Ephesus was the de facto capital of the province, because of its

economic strength,

diverse population,

cultural wealth, and

religious activities.

To visit Ephesus in the first century would be to visit Los Angeles or New York City today.

In Ephesus, there was a church started by Paul, led by Timothy, taught by Apollos, and served by Aquila and Priscilla.

Tradition claims John ministered in Ephesus before and after his exile.

The church at Ephesus had an unrivaled legacy.

But it did not rest on its laurels.

At the time of this letter, the church at Ephesus continued to have a dynamic ministry.

Yet it was on the verge of swift and severe judgment.

Verse 4 says, “But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.”

This letter was written to the church.

But each member was responsible for his response.

So was every member of the seven churches.

This letter was not written to us, but it was written for us.

We are reading someone else’s mail.

Have you abandoned your first love?

Do you have everything but the main thing?

Here what the Spirit says to us through this love-note the Lord wrote to the church at Ephesus.

The Lord Commends the Loveless Church

Revelation 2:1 (ESV)

1 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands.

Not only was Ephesus

a center of business, religion, and civic life,

as well as the guardian (neokoros) of

The temple of Artemis, the mother goddess.

The massive temple complex, itself one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, featured thousands of priests and priestesses as well as a booming business related to goddess worship.[1]

Emperor worship was also a dominant influence in Ephesus,

which was the leading center of the imperial cult in Asia Minor.

The Christians of Ephesus faced enormous social and financial pressure to participate in the worship of the emperor.

The city was also a center for occult and magical practices, [2]Ephesus was certainly a center of paganism in the first-century world.

This explains why Jesus commends the believers in Ephesus for standing strong for the truth of the faith and resisting the false teachers.

The letter begins with compliments, not criticism.

Christ tells the church what’s right before he tells them what’s wrong.

Christ walks among the seven golden lampstands.

Jesus is walking in the midst of the churches.

There reason is in the word “golden.”

In scripture, golden symbolizes purity.

Jesus walks among the golden lampstands to examine the purity of the church.

According to Revelation 1:20, the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

Jesus is walking in the midst of the churches.

Christ Cares

Christ holds the seven stars in his right hand.

In Revelation 1:16, John describes the glorified Christ: “In his right hand he held the seven stars.

The seven stars are the seven angels or pastors of the seven churches.

In Revelation 2:1,

Jesus “holds the seven stars in his right hand.” “Holds” means to firmly grip, indicating the authority Jesus exercises over the leadership of the church.

The “right hand” is a place of strict accountability, strong protection, and strategic usefulness.

with divine authority.

He is responsible for them, and they, like us, are accountable to Him.

Every church Jesus purchased with His own blood is dear to Him.

Christ Is There

John says, secondly, Christ “walks [present tense] among the seven gold lampstands.”

Our Lord walks about among His people, His church.

He is no absentee landlord or disinterested deity.

He is there, up close and personal, intimately present.

For contemporary believers, this promise remains.

Christ is our sustainer and protector.

He is our vigilant watchman.

He sees what we do, hears what we say, and knows how we think and what is in our heart.

This brings great assurance.

It also brings great accountability.[3]

Church growth experts teach the key to growth is to ask what guests see when they visit your church.

Bu the real key is to ask what the Lord sees as he walks through the church.

What does Christ see in our worship services, Bible studies, prayer meetings?

What does Jesus see inner offices, boardrooms, and parking lots?

What does Jesu see when he follows us home from church?

In verse 2, the Lord declares, “I know.”

Jesus makes this statement to each of the seven churches.

He says it to us today.

You can fool some people all the time.

You can fool all people sometime.

You can never fool Jesus.

Jesus knows us fully, perfectly, and completely.

The church is commended for its perseverance and discernment