Battleplan: Ephesus

Introduction

For the next seven weeks we are going to be doing a series called Battle Plan. Each week we will be in a different city evaluating that city and the local church. After we do our evaluating we will be devising a battle plan on how to best commence spiritual warfare in that community. Not only will you be equipped for spiritual warfare in those communities but also be better prepared to recognize the same situations in your own community and be equipped to handle the situations.

City Intel

Geographical Importance

Harbor City

Well positioned along Roman roads to access all other areas of Asia Minor

Port city closest to Patmos / Closest of the seven churches

Largest City in Asia Minor (200,000 +/-)

Temple of Artemis

One of the seven wonders of the ancient world

They would small replicas of Artemis (that have been found all over the Mediterranean basin)

Acts 19:19 ESV

And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver.

Acts 19:23–27 ESV

About that time there arose no little disturbance concerning the Way. For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the craftsmen. These he gathered together, with the workmen in similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that from this business we have our wealth. And you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this Paul has persuaded and turned away a great many people, saying that gods made with hands are not gods. And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be counted as nothing, and that she may even be deposed from her magnificence, she whom all Asia and the world worship.”

Acts 19:34–35 ESV

But when they recognized that he was a Jew, for about two hours they all cried out with one voice, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” And when the town clerk had quieted the crowd, he said, “Men of Ephesus, who is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple keeper of the great Artemis, and of the sacred stone that fell from the sky?

Sebastoi Temple

Dedicated 89/90 A.D.

Emperor Cult worship

Nicolaitans

A sect that was more than likely combining Christianity and local pagan temple practices together

City can be very spiritually hostile (which would encourage compromise)

Acts 20:29 ESV

I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock;

Other Info

site of many temples

Church Intel

Revelation 2:1–7 ESV

“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. “ ‘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. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. 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. Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 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.’

Pros

Patient Endurance

Detest Evil

Test Teachers and can identify bad ones (a discerning church)

Toil- a pushing forward even when energy is low

Cons

Abandoned their first love (agape)

This compromises all the pros.

Deuteronomy 6:5 ESV

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

Hebrews–Revelation Comment

Abandoning one’s first love means, then, that one has strayed from both love of God and love of fellow believers. The two are inseparable. The church at Ephesus was persistent and orthodox, but a hardness, a callousness had arisen in its ranks. They needed a renewed fervency, a renewed tenderness for the Lord and for one another. True orthodoxy is always warm, loving, and generous in spirit.

They were a church that was busy but had forgotten the reason for being busy.

Ephesians

Paul’s letter to the church in 62 (roughly 34 years earlier)

A theme of unity

Strong foundation for spiritual life

Armour of God (Ephesians 6:10-20)

Encouraged to live a lifestyle contrary to the culture of Ephesus temple worship

Battle Plan

Applying the City Intel

This is a very influential city, with easy access to routes leading to much of the known world.

This makes this a very influential city with heavy cultural influence

How can we use this influence to our advantage?

Hostile towards Christianity

Need to prepare for aggressive resistance

The temple worship boils down to the worship of money and politics

How do we put safeguards up against politics and a love of money?

Break offs of the Church of Ephesus were compromising Christianity with Pagan practice

How can we guard against spiritual compromise?

Applying the Church Intel

How does the churches one con impact the four pros we discussed?

The heart of the pros is deteriorating resulting in a slow fade of the church

The church is at danger of a well versed (well educated) teacher sneaking into their ranks with wrong motivations

This could result in a quicker deterioration of the churches heart (at danger of amplifying their problem)

How can we use the churches four pros to improve our one con?

Toil through every aspect of the church body (in sense a church audit)

Ask how each part glorifies God.

Additional Tactics to be Deployed

Do a training course on Ephesians

Strong foundation of spiritual basics

encourages unity

gives pointers on spiritual warfare

Has some pointers on spiritual issues to guard against

Do a course on prayer

A Study of Nehemiah 1

Prayer of repentance needed

Mission Statement

Audit every aspect of the church body, with the base questions being, “How does this glorify God?” and “Why are we doing this?”

Consequences of Failure

Removal of the churches lampstand (Revelation 2:5)

Heavenly status as a church is removed

God’s hand will no longer be on the church