Rev 2:1-7
Notes
Transcript
The Church at Ephesus
The Church at Ephesus
Good morning my friends, I hope and pray you are well today.
I know many of you are walking in some difficulties, your hearts are heavy, wearisome, with all that is happening around you.
I want you to tell you, I believe that Jesus knows, and is watching over you, I believe with all my heart that His Holy Spirit is moving along beside you and each of us daily assisting, leading, comforting and helping.
And as your church family, you are not alone! We are here to help you if we at all can.... We are praying for you.
I appreciate so many of you who participate with our prayer chain, you provide an awesome ministry. Thank you for praying.
Now this morning, as we open chapter 2 here in the Book of Revelation, I want to encourage you to ask the Lord, - Lord, speak to me and teach me in these next moments, so that I may honor you with my life every day.
So we have just finished chapter 1 and we know that John the beloved was in exile on the Isle of Patmos, this was his punishment for being a faithful minister of the gospel. Preaching and teaching Jesus had a cost...
And worshipping that day, the Lord’s day, John is in the Spirit and Jesus brings a revelation for him to record.... a message from God for the church.
So this morning lets open the text and hear the message to the church at Ephesus.
So lets begin with the first thought today...
Jesus said.....
1. I Know Your Works
When we talk about Jesus knowing our lives, we must confess that He is omniscient, - meaning that He is all knowing…
When we were little, at times we felt like our parents had eyes in the back of their heads. It seems like they always knew what was happening…
I want you to know Jesus is completely aware of our lives. Lets look at our text today… Rev chapter 2, the first 3 verses
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.
So the command Jesus gives to John is to record, write down his message and send it to the church of Ephesus, and its pastor.
Ephesus is one of the churches established by Paul, it has been a good strong church, existing in Asia minor and it had some good leaders.
Paul founded it, Timothy had been there leading it and later on John himself will be there leading and assisting the church as the last living Apostle.
So it has been a strong church, lead by great men..
But it has been a rough city, most likely a population of 100K to 250K, in Ephesus and just as corrupt as most of the other leading cities across the region
So look at what Jesus says to them… I know your works… Remember, Jesus is the one who walks walks among the churches, we say this in (chapter 1.) He is omniscient, all knowing.
So without a doubt, Jesus knows their work..
But there are 4 important thoughts here, Jesus says I know your work, your toil, your patience endurance, and you cannot bear those who are evil… having tested those who claimed to be apostles.
The word for work here is one that speaks to it being a strenuous work, it often was wearisome.... but even being weary, they did not give up...
Jesus knew their words and deeds, how they labored to take the gospel of Jesus to their neighbors in that city.
In doing so at times they endured hardships. They suffered, at times were alienated and shunned by those around them but they did not give up. They were patient in all efforts, enduring for Jesus.
When you think about patient endurance, think of the ideal of not shirking their responsibility, they bore the burden well and also abided in Jesus.
In abiding with Jesus they were always connected to him and they were able to produce good fruits. Remember Jesus in the gospel of John, chapter 15, verse 5.
5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
And then listen to this...
They had a desire to be pure and Jesus tells John they cannot bear those who are evil… The word there means they could not tolerate evil.
Tolerate is what the world is asking us “The Church” to do with the evil. They (the devil and those under His influence) are asking the church and others to receive what is evil and treat it as normal, ok...
It’s not hurting anyone, just leave it alone, let them do their own thing…
But the Bible tells us we cannot tolerate evil… Do you remember the Scriptures tell us (2 Cor 6:14) - What fellowship has light with darkness…
The truth is, there is nothing held between the two… it is either one or the other...
The church at Ephesus could not and would not tolerate evil. They stood up for what was good, right and pure and shunned the very presence of evil.
The Bible tells us that we cannot, in anyway tolerate what it is evil. We are to walk in the light in all things.
Sadly there are people who identify as Christian and they speak up saying this is ok and that is ok..
Can I say something here? Can I speak a little truth here....
God hated the children of Israel for offering their children to Moleck in the OT, when the people chased after false gods and he hates it when we worship self and abort our children for the sake of convenience.
God hates sin, no matter what it is and so should the church. We should hate it and refuse to give our approval to it
For the church at Ephesus Jesus told them I know your good works...
Jesus knows yours my friends, you may think no one knows the good you do, you may think no one cares about the good you do.. Friends, Jesus knows your good deeds and He is pleased with them.. Hang in there and keep on, keeping on.
Jesus goes and and tells them he knows how they have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not for you found them to be false.
The church demonstrated its unwillingness to tolerate heresy, and the church “tested” these people. The word “tested” means to examine in the Greek.
The church found these to be false, and would not receive them. Praise God! Oh that people would find many who teach and preach the word as false people today, quite putting up with them cause they sound good. Stop watching them cause it looks good.
Examine them, is all that they do and say stand with the word… There are a bunch we would say no...
My friends the church at Ephesus had done well, they labored well, served well and tried to be true to all they had been taught...
There is a lot we could say about them today that is good. There are lessons we can learn from them.
Jesus knows your labors my friends, even when your good works go unnoticed, even when you feel left out and neglected....Jesus knows
Keep on serving, sacrificing, even when you feel like you are so unqualified, God is in control and will use your willingness for His glory..
Keep on...
Now this brings us to a second thought this morning… Jesus says But...
2. I Know Your Failure...
It’s a true statement, if the Lord knows our good works, he knows our bad, selfish, self centered ways as well.
Our Lord knows the good and the bad… this is true without a doubt.
The same was true for the church at Ephesus, lets look at look at verse 4 Rev 2:4
4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.
So while the Lord had just commended the church for their good works, the effort that was good and right in front of God. But here, the Lord now references their fault.
The Lord tells them, I have this against you, you have abandoned the love you had at first...
In a church that seems to do so well, Christ brought news of a serious problem. “You have forgot your first love....”
So what does it mean, “…You forgot your first love?...”
It is a broken relationship, but they were unaware of it..
It seems unbelievable to think that a church so perfect, so steadfast in their work, who had been doing good things..... could be guilty of anything of the sort.
But it can happen… Any person and yes any church can do all the right things but you can do them for all the wrong reasons.
They can serve and work, but do so with an absence of love.
Their motivation was wrong… Not at first, but over time. They must have been going through the motions, doing the right things but not really even caring about what they are doing. Love was not the energy behind their efforts...
How can we consider this to be a right interpretation of what Jesus is saying to John?.
Lets examine this....
When Jesus mentions this first love, this has a biblical precedent in play..
In both the OT and the NT, we find a love for God as central to their life.
In Deuteronomy Chapter 6:5 the command of God was...
5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
And then Jesus in the NT, when asked what was the “greatest commandment”
Jesus answered “...We are to “love’ the Lord our God with all our heart, mind and strength and to love our neighbor as our self.” Matthew chapter 22, verses 36-40.
The people were called to remember that first love. When they encountered God, when they came to know the grace of God and His great love for them, they were not only saved when they received Jesus and walked in his ways..
Remember the first time you knew you were in love with your spouse, wow.. you wanted them and nothing else. It was a love filled with awe, with wonder and grace… it marked and influenced all you said and did. That love changed you..
That is like the love we discover finding Jesus. We want it and nothing else. It is the first place we find ourselves as a new believer.
This love is perfect, free and the blessing of walking with the Lord.
But, if you are not cultivating, allowing that love to grow and develop even more, it begins to wain..
It’s not that we don’t love that person, but what we do seems to come more out of duty, obligation, and it is not motivated and led by love.
And really your actions fail. If someone does something for you out of love, you love them, you are blessed.
But if they are doing it out of obligation, well you would tell them to keep it.. Go on...
Those believers at Ephesus were doing all the right things, but their motivation, their driving force was off… as such their efforts were empty and it would have no success.
God’s call was for them to examine their hearts and turn back to him, rekindle that love.
Friends, the call for us is to examine our heart and make sure our efforts, our motivations are right.
How is your relationship with the Lord? Is everything well in your relationship with him?
Or do you hear the Lord speaking to you and saying return to me, give back to me what is good, right and pure.
We have to have a right relationship with the Lord, if we don’t our efforts will be meaningless and their will be no blessing of the Lord behind it.
You know what the Lord has said to you in these moments. You know I would say this, you do not have to wait to the invitation if there is something you need to make right with the Lord. You can come now..
There will be someone to pray for you....help you and love you..
Now the last thought my friends...
3. I Know You can Return...
The idea of returning is carried uniquely in the word “Repent.”
Repent is to turn 180 degrees, leave the way you are heading and head back in the opposite way.
Lets look at what Jesus says in verse 5
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.
Look at this, the church is called two do 3 things!
A. Remember - Remember where you have fallen from… remember that first love...
B. Repent - Turn back to God, forsake sin, seek forgiveness and return..
C. Do the works you did at first… Be the church you once where…as in the early days of the church.
So think about this.. The only way for the church to repent, is to truly remember! In remembering they would understand their sin and just how far they had fell.
When they began as a church they saw many come to Jesus, these new believers served King Jesus with a love motivated by thankfulness, they were pure in heart and love permeated all that they did...
Once they understood the error of their ways they could repent. Remember what I said a little while ago, repentance is the 180 degree turn from where you are to the opposite direction.
To repent means they seek the forgiveness of God for your past error and in turning to him one would be motivated to embrace the last part of Christ’s command.
They would be able to do the works they once did.. It was here they could seek after to serve, teach, preach and help those God placed in their pathways all in love..
Paul tells us it is the love of Christ that compels us … 2 Cor 5:14, He controls our lives...
My dear friends, the church is called to be the church.. in love we have the means to fight heresies, promote that which is good and right morally and ethically and above all else preach Jesus and him crucified.
We live in a day where the church is struggling, every church is hurting in many ways. I think some of it, not don’t get mad at me for speaking the truth.
We have become to busy and to important to be the church… Everything else is more important.
Christ is our life, everything is to move around Him.
I was saved as an 18 year old boy 41 years ago, and I learned quickly when it was time for church, it was time for church. Sunday morning, night and then Wednesday. It was the place I needed to be...
Here is the thing, it was there we learned the Word of God. It was in those places we prayed for and cared for one another. It was there we were encouraged and it was there we knew Christ was exalted in our lives and worship.
The church at Ephesus was a place where these things took place and they grew, perservered and exalted the Savior even at the treat of harm… They kept on keeping on..
Oh we need to be the church my friends, it is either Jesus or not… What do we need… We need more of Jesus.
Now Jesus issues a word of warning… if you do not repent, I will remove your lampstand. Literally, he would remove them and their witness rather than have it continue in a downward spiral.
So repent!
Now lets finish the last 2 verses …Rev 2:6-7
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.’
Now even after this word of Condemnation the Lord gives them another word of affirmation.
Yet, even in your sin, I delight in your efforts, what you do against the works of the Nicolaitans…which the Lord says I also hate their works also...
Who are the Nicolaitans? There is not a lot of lasting information on them. They are a heretical group, who might have been followers of Nicolas, one of the 7 deacons in Acts 6. According to this, Nicolas became an apostate, which is someone who has rejected their faith and practices for something else. According to church history, they ( some of the early church fathers ) believe this group embraced a from of Gnosticism..
Now others compare this group to Balaam from the OT, and they seduced the people to participate in idolatry and other immoralities.
In either case, they have abandoned what is good and pure, the ways of Christ. Their works are nothing more that leading people astray.
Jesus affirms the churches work against the teaching of that group...
The final word of Jesus to the church at Ephesus is verse 7 Rev 2:7
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.’
Now look at this, there is a promise here. So first Jesus says, listen, pay attention to this message…It is very important.
Pay attention so that you benefit from this message..
And then John records this “… to the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God...”
The word conqueror, means overcomes, to the one who is victories..
This isnt really just overcoming the problem laid out to them in each message to the church.. it is really to the one who keep their testimony and life faithfully, well they conqueror the dragon, and the beast and they will have access to eternal life.
Their ability to overcome reminds us of Rev 2:11
11 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.’
But they overcome the evil by the blood of the lamb, by the word of of their testimony and they did not love life so much as to shrink from death.
Consider this, we conqueror, overcome are victorious by the blood of Jesus Christ, which His work of salvation makes it possible for God to be just and the justifier of our lives..
Paul tells us
24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
But Paul also confirms that in the life of the believer, the word of their testimony is a must… Paul says one must confess with their mouth and believe in their heart that God raised Jesus from the dead… this results in eternal life, salvation.
9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
We can overcome by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony. To this person, man or woman, boy or girl God gives the right to eat from the tree of life in the midst of heaven.
Praise the Lord, for his wonderful promises for all those who walk and live in the salvation of Jesus Christ.
So my friends, it is time for our report cards… School as just ended, the final grades are posted. How would God grade you today?
Are you found to do well, are you found to need improvement...
Well I think we all could stand some improvements, but not being perfect is not an excuse to live as we want thinking it will be ok, that the Lord knows our hearts.
There is the problem, He knows our hearts and knows we are living for self most days and give no thought to God, no thought to his ways for our lives.
So let me ask you…What do you need to do differently… I am going to challenge you to give your all to God this morning, meet me in the altar and lets pray, asking God to take us, make us his and the strength to make it all His....
Let pray...