Letter 1

This morning we begin our series on the 7 Letters to the 7 Churches

I have never preached through the 7 letters and so here we are

But they are important because as we begin to look at them

I think it is important to pull from each letter

It is as if you can see a bit of yourself in each letter

As we begin this series I would encourage you over the next few weeks be reading through the passages and then read them again and again

It is important to note how each letter is structured

The each give a description of Jesus and then they are praised for somethings they are doing right and then are shown somethings they are doing wrong and that is usually followed by a warning of some sort

That is the form and most letters fit that form, some don’t hit everyone of those points

The Angels are the messagers to the church

They are to receive the message from Jesus and then that message is to go out through the Human Agent which is John

In the Jewish tradition they would have been believed to be guardians of their respective churches

But with all that said we aren’t to get caught up in the angels of each church

So as we move through that understand that

That wont be the focus of the sermon but it is a part

Purpose of each Letter is in the structure of sorts

John wanted to point out somethings they were doing well and then of course somethings they could work on

so as we dive into our first letter we are going to read the entire letter and then break it down

As we do that we understand that yes it is to a physical church in Asia Major so many years ago

But if we remember scripture is good for us and all scripture is good for teaching and learning and wisdom

So this morning as we look at the first letter

Revelation 2:1–7

1 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands, says this: 2 ‘I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; 3 and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary. 4 ‘But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 5 ‘Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent. 6 ‘Yet this you do have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.’

The first letter is to the church at Ephesus

We know a lot about Ephesus

This is the church Paul planted and put Timothy in as the Pastor

Timothy pastored that church for what I could find was about 30

We have Paul who wrote to the church at Ephesus

We have Paul who wrote to Timothy whilst he was Pastor at the church at Ephesus

So it is a pretty important church or at least they thought so

Now as we said earlier when Paul wrote to Ephesus and as we read it now it is not just for the physical church located at Ephesus

We today pull many things we can apply to our church here at Maranatha and as individuals

Churches are made up of individuals

Just like when Paul wrote to Timothy while he was pastoring at Ephesus, we know understand that it is not just for the physical pastor at Ephesus and we also know that it is not just for those who pastor a church but that it is for everyone and we can pull from it and begin to apply to our own personal lives as well as the life of the church

But some things to understand about the church at Ephesus

They were a big city at that time

They would have been bustling city

It would have been a place where there was a lot of money a lot of trade traffic

Paul understood that and that probably lead him to plant a church in such a vital place

See this particular city would have had an impact on the rest of the world

Because it was such a trade post of a city

It would have had people coming in it from all over and Paul understood the evangelical impact on that city

They were called to take the Gospel to the rest of the gentiles

Revelation 2:1

1 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands, says this:

What a beautiful description of Jesus

This is Jesus giving the message

Jesus is the One who holds the seven stars

The seven represent the 7 churches we are going to see about but notice that it is Jesus who holds the church and who spends time among those churches

We understand that Jesus is the Head of the church

News Flash the Pastor is not the Head of the Church, I know we like to think of it like that

But it is Jesus who has the heart of the church and knows the heart of the the church

It is Jesus who is the head of the church and heart of the church

As we have said a lot without Jesus as the head of the church and heart of the church we are just a group of people who try and do some good things

But how refreshing and amazing it is to know that Jesus is the one who holds the church and spends time among the church itself

And church that is just the intro to the first letter

Revelation 2:2–3

2 ‘I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; 3 and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary.

The church has done a good job

They have worked hard and persevered

Jesus knows our deeds

Jesus knows the churches deeds because He is the head and the heart of the church and He spends time among the church

Jesus knows the Church at Ephesus cannot tolerate Evil

In the Letters to Timothy Paul urges Timothy to watch out for the false teachers

In Timothy there is some reason those people would have wanted to be teachers of the law

There was some status that went into being a teacher of the Law

But those men that Paul urges Timothy to be watchful and cautious of because they were spreading the false Gospel

Here John is writing to the church at Ephesus to commend them on doing a good job of not tolerating those false prophets

Which is why we stress so much the importance of reading the scriptures yourself

You are a part of the process to ensure we don’t have false teachers in the pulpit and in the classroom

The other is the church leadership both ministry leaders and elders

Johns letter is telling the church at Ephesus good job

You have preserved and not giving into the world

I believe that commendation is to us as well

And to churches who do a good job of not giving into the world

Who protect what is taught and what comes out of the pulpit

Who do not just tell people what they want to hear but what they need to hear

This is what the church at Ephesus is doing

So well done church

But

Remember how the word but changes everything

It starts out one way and thing goes in the opposite direction

Revelation 2:4 NASB95

‘But I have this against you, that you have left your first love.

And this is that

It was going with how good things are going and how awesome you are doing

Then it goes in the opposite direction

But God has something against you

That is never a place to be is against God

It is not good

So what is it that God has against the church who was just praised for not allowing false prophets to come in and preach false Gospel or evil

It was they had left their first love

So who or what is their first love

It is Jesus

I heard Tony Evans describe the first love as having passion

If you think of it

This was a church that was planted in the heart of a huge city with lost of influence to the rest of the world

The Evangelism impact this church did and could have had

And they were staying to with their preaching but

It would appear they had lost their passion or their heart for Jesus and I would probably say that meant sharing Jesus with a lost world

J. Vernon McGee “They had lost that intense and enthusiastic devotion to the person of Christ. Their doctrine was on track, but their personal relationship to Jesus Christ was drifting.”

Their passion for Jesus

It is a hunger and thirst for Jesus and almost cannot be explained

And what John is saying is that God has this against you that you have left your first love your passion in Christ

Your desire for Christ

So church let me ask you have you found yourself with little to no passion in Christ

Are you no longer on fire for Christ

Do you find yourself just going through the motions of Church of a relationship with Christ

Do you find yourself just going through the motions of ministry

Do you find yourself just doing life and letting Jesus take a back set to your life?

Church then you have lost your first love

And if that is the case I would encourage you to get it back

And maybe this morning you are here thinking how do I do that

Maybe this morning you have found yourself in the place of the church of Ephesus in that you have lost your first love

Jesus has taken a back seat in your life

John answers that for you directly

Revelation 2:5–6 NASB95

5 ‘Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent. 6 ‘Yet this you do have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

This is exactly what we should be doing if we find ourselves cold in our relationship with Christ

First we are to Remember

Remember what it was like when you first came to Christ

Remember how on fire you were

Remember the last time you were on fire for Jesus and go back to that point

Second Repent

We have heard that before

But something went wrong and the first step in dealing with that wrong, is to repent

Stop and Flee the opposite direction

Remember

Repent

Do what you used to do

Go back to when you were on fire for Jesus and do those things you did when you were on fire for Jesus

Remember when you were on fire for Jesus and walking with Jesus go back and do those things you were doing

Or Else

Or else Jesus is coming for you

So repent

Repent church

Repent individual

John then commends them again for their doctrine

They hated the teachings of the Nicolaitans which is

XX

And then we

Revelation 2:7 NASB95

‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.’

Lastly the message to the church at Ephesus and I believe to us today is

DO YOU HEAR ME

If you hear me then do it

Put in to action

We have said it before but it is no longer enough to hear the Gospel

To hear the Words of God now church we have to put them into action and the action this morning church is to return to your first love

Church get back to a passion for the Gospel and Jesus and a heart for the lost

Individual get back to the passion for Jesus in your personal life

in the words of Nike

Just Do It

This morning hear the Word of God and now church put it into action

CLOSING

As we move to our time of invitation

The invitation is an invitation to do business with Jesus

Maybe you are here and do not know Jesus personally

I would invite you to the front to speak with someone who can show you through scripture how you can begin a personal relationship with Jesus

They will show you have Jesus saved you from eternal seperation from God by dying on the cross in your place

Or maybe this morning like the church at Ephesus you doctrine is spot on but your passion and fire for Jesus and the Gospel have gone out

This morning it is a call to return to your first love

Remember

Repent and the Do those things you did at first

It is an invitation to do just that this morning

Or maybe there is a church decision you need to make this morning

The altar is open