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Video: “Things you don’t say to your wife.” Tim Hawkins

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While we all know there are things we should not say to our wives, there is another danger we should avoid at all costs.

It has little to do with what we say…this danger we would avoid is what I want to talk about today. To find out what it is, let’s turn to:

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Revelation 2:1–7 (NLT)

“Write this letter to the angel of the church in Ephesus. This is the message from the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, the one who walks among the seven gold lampstands:

“I know all the things you do. I have seen your hard work and your patient endurance. I know you don’t tolerate evil people. You have examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but are not. You have discovered they are liars. You have patiently suffered for me without quitting.

“But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first! Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches. But this is in your favor: You hate the evil deeds of the Nicolaitans, just as I do.

“Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. To everyone who is victorious I will give fruit from the tree of life in the paradise of God.

As we continue looking at the 7 letters to the 7 churches in Revelation, it is important to know there are

Two things common in all of these letters.

Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying tot he churches.

What is written is for anyone with ears to hear…

Listen to the Spirit and understand what is said to the churches.

To everyone who is victorious

With victory comes also a reward

Unlike the rewards of earthly victory that fade into meaningless, being victorious spiritually brings eternal reward, earring from the tree of life in paradise. The tree of life sustains life eternally. (While each letter note gives a reward for being victorious, that reward is different with each letter.

The first thing Jesus says about the church in Ephesus is what they are doing right.

We need to ask ourselves if Jesus sees these same things in us?

Hard work

patient endurance

don’t tolerate evil people

Examined false apostles and discovered they are liars

Patiently suffered without quitting

The fact that they were honored in their work means they were doing, in part, what they should have been doing. But as we will see, it wasn’t enough.

Even though they did a lot right, Jesus still had a problem with them.

Vs. 4-5

But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first! Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first.

The fact that they were commended for some of the things they were doing but had lost the love they had at the beginning would mean what?

Consider two possibilities…

1. Their lives have become ritual.

They did what was right but out of obligation not a desire for closeness to Jesus.

Their motive has changed!

Are our motives correct, and do we desire a closeness with Jesus or have we become ritual?

2. They were doing good things but maybe not the right things.

When he says “turn back to me and do the works you did at first” implies they were not doing something they should have been doing.

It is important to remember:

What the Ephesians were doing right is not sufficient to excuse what they are doing wrong or at lease what they failed to do.

We need to renew our love daily with Jesus to make sure we haven’t fallen out of love with him. In vs 5 it says look how far you have fallen, the greek word for fallen can mean to fall down, but also has the idea of “becoming inadequate” or “worsening”

In vs 6 we see something else they were commended for, their hate for the practices of the Nicolaitans

Why was this not listed with the others, maybe because Jesus wanted us to consider love in light of hate?

Just because you hate evil practices doesn’t mean you love God.

It is also important to remember: The absence of hate does not mean the inclusion of Love.

Did Jesus predict the Ephesian church’s behavior when he said…

Matt 24:12

12 And because of the increase of lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold.

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This letter is written to show the church it’s need to do the right things for the right reason. For two very important reasons…

First: The church is the light in a dark world…without giving light what are we good for?

The church, no matter how powerless in a given society, is a guardian of its culture. Just as the presence of the righteous in Sodom was the only factor that could have restrained judgment (Gen. 18:20–32), the fate of a culture may depend ultimately on the behavior of the believers in that culture. Given the high degree of assimilation of North American Christians to our culture’s values—more time spent on entertainment than on witness, more money spent on our comfort than on human need—the prognosis for the society as a whole is not good.

Craige S. Keener, NIV Application Commentary “Revelation”

Second: Being victorious is dependent on our Love for Jesus!