Church: Ephesus

Stand with me and let’s read Rev 2:1-7 together

Revelation 2:1–7 LSB

“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: This is what the One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands, says: ‘I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot bear with those who are evil, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, you also have not grown weary. ‘But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. ‘Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first. But if not, I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place, unless you repent. ‘Yet this you do have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. ‘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.’

Prayer

The Church in Ephesus

This is not the first time we have seen the church of Ephesus -Paul in his letter to the church - shared with us the fact that this church loved the lord - and they were his partners in the gospel message

They had always been a generous and hard working church

In his letter Paul talks about how generous they have been to him in his ministry

and how they labored to advance the kingdom agenda

Jesus begins the letter by talking about all their works

he commends them for their endurance

he commends them for their work to keep the message pure

Jesus recognizes that all of this come at a hight cost - yet despite all that it has cost them they did not grow weary

If we were looking for the model church up to this point everything looks great and if Jesus were to stop there all would be

but even thought they look good on the outside - and there are things to praise - the one who walks in the midst of the churches sees all and knows all

he looks at the heart of the matter and he has a bone to pick with them

I Have this Against You

som where in between the letter that Paul had wrote them and the words that Jesus shares - something has changed

you see the church has lost it’s first love

How many of you know that you can be going through all the motions and yet the work is not being impactful

becasue your heart is not in it

Many times when I am counseling a couple that - is the problem - at some point the couple put their marriage on auto pilot and just started going through the motions

maybe becasue they had children and life got busy

or maybe it is becasue their carriers got in the way

what ever it is - the results are the same - they reached down and hit the auto pilot button - and at first everything was going well - but then that spark - that love - it begin to fade - and know at best they are still going through the motions and everything appears great on the outside but on the inside the love has begin to dwindle - and if they continue down that path eventually they forget all about what caused them to fall in love for the first palce - what drove them to serve one another and the results are disastrous

no one meant for it to get there - but becasue of the neglect - it got there

the same is true here in the Ephesus church and in churches all over the world

and the same could be said for our personal walks

a church never intends to fall out of love with Jesus

As believers we never set out to loose that loving feeling but over time - when we do not put in the work - when we do not take the time to cherish that realtionship and - Honoring Jesus for who he was - for who he is and for who he will be - the results are devastating

we loose are first love

that is why you see pastors - you see churches and you see individuals going through the motions but the love and the zeal for the Jesus is gone

We are not suppose to operate that way - Jesus tells the church of Ephesus that if they do not fix the problem he will remove their lampstand - why because they will no longer be shining his light - they have muddied up their reflector and the light is not shining through

maybe that is you

maybe you are saying - I use to be so on fire for the Lord - but now I am just going through the motions - you might even be to the point where you are asking is this all worth it

Churches all over the world are in this boat - they are serving well - doing all the churchy things but the love is not there - and you can tell

If that is you - there is hope there is a fix

or maybe that is not you and you are head over heels for the Lord that’s awesome

but you need to know how to avoid falling out of love with the Lord so this next part is just as relevant

Jesus right them a prescription here in Rev 2:5-6

Revelation 2:5–6 LSB

‘Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first. But if not, I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place, unless you repent. ‘Yet this you do have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

here he tells them…….

Look at how far you have fallen

this would have been obvious to them - i suspect they probably are knew something was wrong - when the love in a realtionship is growing cold you can feel it

they would have been reminded about how strong their passion was whenever they first hear the words from Paul that Jesus was the way - the truth and the life

how they were full of awe

full of wonder

they were on fire

but now - now it was different - they were busy but why

So Jesus much like the ghost of Christmas past we see in the movie Scrooge - takes them back to the time when their love was burning strong

his instructions are to remember that zeal and love

and do what you first did - fall back in love with me - before it is to late

but before you can get there first you have to repent - first you have to mourn the sin of loosing your first love and cry out to God - asking him to re spark that love

then as you do those things - those things you first did that same feeling will return and you will be leading and serving out of the overflow of your heart

Where are you this morning?

maybe you are that young boy who is in the corner - desperately waning a relationship with tha young girl - wanting to ask her out but you have not built up the courage to ask

is that you? you want a realtionship with Jesus - You want to call him Lord and Savior but you have not - please do not wait no more - It is time to declare your love for Jesus and make him the Lord and Savior of your life

Maybe you are saying pastor I am on fire for the Lord - my love is strong

praise the Lord

what do you need to do to ensure that love does not grow cold - are their some safeguards that you need to put in place

are there areas in your life that you just need to make sure you desperately guard - areas in your life that you need to selfishly guard

or maybe you are saying pastor i remember that feeling i use to have when i was first saved.

i was ready to light the world on fire

i would have ran through a brick wall for the lord

but not so much to day

my love is grown cold

maybe it is so cold you are asking yourself what the point of even going thorough the motions are

if that is you - there is hope

Deuteronomy 31:8 CSB

The Lord is the one who will go before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or abandon you. Do not be afraid or discouraged.”

all you have to is draw close to God

James 4:8 CSB

Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

the prescription is the same for us as it was them

remember how far you have fallen

remember that feeling you had when you were first saved

then repent and come back

Church my ask of you this week would be to spend some time asking the Lord examine the lord we have for him as a church

are we fully in love with God

are we leading out of the overflow of our hearts

or do we need to remember the works we first did , repent and fall back in love with the Lord