The Heart of the Matter

Today is the last message in the series “Closer: Pressing into Christ.” We need to continue to develop our relationship with God. We are to be continually moving deeper in our relationship with Jesus. The call to discipleship is a call to commitment. We are to be fully committed to doing the will of God.

Next week, we are going to talk more on the subject of prayer. I hope you will make it a point to be with us because many of you had questions about the nature of prayer. After that, on Father’s Day, which is also Trinity Sunday, we will talk about the nature of the triune God we worship and serve. Then, we will start our summer message series on the Names of God. I am really looking forward to the series because, I think, knowing the names and titles of God will help us get to deeply know him and how he works in our lives.

Let’s read our theme verse for the series.

James 4:8 CSB

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

James

The book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ begins with an encounter with our resurrected Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. After the vision of the risen Lord, John records seven messages from Christ to seven churches. Next year, I plan to look at the messages given to these seven churches. These letters were given to seven historical churches scattered throughout Asia Minor. They dealt with actual conditions in actual churches. There were many other churches who could have been addressed. However, Jesus chose these specific churches because they perfectly represent conditions that would characterize many churches throughout history. In the Scriptures, seven is often the number of completion or perfection. Seven messages to seven churches indicate that there are essentially seven types of churches. Each letter closes with the statement, “let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.” Notice the plural. The message is not just for the specific church being addressed. The message is for all churches to hear. This morning, we are going to look at the first church to be addressed, the church at Ephesus.

<show picture of Ephesus’ location>

Ephesus was located near the mouth of the Cays­ter River only three miles from the coast. It became the capitol of Asia Minor, was con­nected by highways with the interior of Asia and all her chief cities, and became a great commercial center. The emperor had made Ephesus a free city and it was given the title “Supreme Metropolis of Asia.” It also contained one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, the temple of Diana.

<show picture of the temple of Diana>

<show picture of the temple of Diana>

Ephesus was a center of mystical cult worship. “The temple was 425 feet long, 220 feet wide, and 60 feet high, with great folding doors and 127 marble pillars, some of them covered with gold. The worship of Diana was ‘religious immorality’ at its worst.”

The church of Ephesus was es­tablished by Paul on his third mission­ary journey. You can read about it in , and it was from this church that Paul called the elders of Ephesus to meet him at Miletus when he was on his way to Jerusalem (). After that, Ephesus became the residence of the apostle John before and after his exile, but no church stands there today.

Open your Bibles to Revelation chapter 2.

Revelation 2:1–7 CSB

1 “Write to the angel of the church in Ephesus: Thus says the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand and who walks among the seven golden lampstands: 2 I know your works, your labor, and your endurance, and that you cannot tolerate evil people. You have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and you have found them to be liars. 3 I know that you have persevered and endured hardships for the sake of my name, and have not grown weary. 4 But I have this against you: You have abandoned the love you had at first. 5 Remember then how far you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. Otherwise, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. 6 Yet you do have this: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 “Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

Revelation 2:1–7 CSB

1 “Write to the angel of the church in Ephesus: Thus says the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand and who walks among the seven golden lampstands: 2 I know your works, your labor, and your endurance, and that you cannot tolerate evil people. You have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and you have found them to be liars. 3 I know that you have persevered and endured hardships for the sake of my name, and have not grown weary. 4 But I have this against you: You have abandoned the love you had at first. 5 Remember then how far you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. Otherwise, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. 6 Yet you do have this: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 “Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

Here is what you need to remember. This is the main concept and the message for the church. God does not simply want us "doing things". He didn't just want sacrifices in the Old Testament. He doesn’t want simply religious activity. God wants our love and obedience. Remember this:

Here is what you need to remember. This is the main concept and the message for the church. God does not simply want us "doing things". He didn't just want sacrifices in the Old Testament. He doesn’t want simply religious activity. God wants our love and obedience. Remember this:

Here is what you need to remember. This is the main concept and the message for the church. God does not simply want us "doing things". He didn't just want sacrifices in the Old Testament. He doesn’t want simply religious activity. God wants our love and obedience. Remember this:

“The One who walks among the seven lampstands.” “Who walks.” In the vision of chapter one, He is evidently standing, but here we see not only Christ’s constant presence in our midst, but His active ministry. In that ministry, He ex­amines us for the quality of our production, He provides for our needs, and He is always avail­able to us seeking to minister and to have fellow­ship. Our need is to be available to Him! This is also a note of warning and comfort.

Remember this:

Ritual without relationship is meaningless. Doctrinal purity is no substitute for passionate obedience.  

The church at Ephesus had a lot of things right. Jesus knew their works. They were doing good things. They were working hard to maintain their doctrinal purity. They weren’t giving up. They had no tolerance for sin. They refused to allow apostasy and immorality to go on in the church. They tested the claims that people made. Some people would claim to have a “word from the Lord”, but they were just fakers. They weren’t really what they claimed to be and the church of Ephesus exposed them for who they really were. They had persevered. They had endured hardships. They had not grown weary. Largely, they were doing the right things and they believed the right things, but something was wrong.

Look at verse 4.

Revelation 2:4 CSB

4 But I have this against you: You have abandoned the love you had at first.

Revelation 2:4

The word “abandoned” is the word

ἀφίημι (aphiēmi) - left, to leave, forsake, or depart

The word stresses an act for which a person is completely responsible. This is not that they “fell out of love” or “lost love”. This is about leaving your love. They had moved away from the original love and devotion they had for Jesus. They decided to put service and doctrinal purity ahead of their love for Jesus. Their labor had become what they were trusting in for salvation, rather than the one they claimed to be serving. Ritual or service without relationship is meaningless. Doctrinal purity is no substitute for passionate obedience. 

Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Greek (New Testament) 918 ἀφίημι

ἀφίημι (aphiēmi)

Warren Wiersbe says: But the Man in the midst of the churches saw what was missing: they had left (not “lost”) their first love (). The local church is espoused to Christ (), but there is always the danger of that love growing cold. Like Martha, we can be so busy working for Christ that we have no time to love Him (). Christ is more concerned about what we do with Him than for Him. Labor is no substitute for love. To the public, the Ephesian church was successful; to Christ, it had fallen.

Do you see the danger for us today? The church at Ephesus, from all outward appearances, was a very spiritual church. It was certainly a church that was very active in the work of God. They worked hard for the Lord, endured much, were doctrinally sound, and took a strong stand against the deeds of the Nicolaitans (vss. 2-3, 6). However, something was wrong. They were guilty of a sin that is hard to detect. But the Lord, who knows our hearts as well as our outward deeds, counseled Ephesus to do three things that were desperately needed to reestablish their closeness and walk with the Savior, or they would lose their witness. There is a very important lesson in this message for God’s people in any period of history, but the message here is particularly important for our performance oriented society. It is the warning that, if we are not careful, we can slip into mere orthodox routine. Someone has rightly said that a routine can become like a rut which can be nothing more than a grave with the ends knocked out.

). The local church is espoused to Christ (

What do we need to do if we are going to grow closer to Jesus?

Revelation 2:

The three things they needed:

Revelation 2:5 CSB

5 Remember then how far you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. Otherwise, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.

), but there is always the danger of that love growing cold. Like Martha, we can be so busy working for Christ that we have no time to love Him (

1. Remember.

1. Remember.

This is a call to reflect, to go back and recall the past. The Savior is saying, “remember the way it used to be in your relation­ship with Me.” Undoubtedly, the process of looking back is also a call to recognize one’s true condition. We can’t confess sin if we don’t clearly see it for what it is. Has our Christian life lost some of its excitement and joy? Are we finding our Christian service boring and dull? Have we lost the joy of the Lord, if so, it is because we have left the position of devotion and occupation with Christ.

“Have fallen” is the perfect tense in the Greek. It looks at a completed act with existing results, a state, and not a process. We are in a fallen condition and working in the energy of the flesh whenever we move away or cease to operate out of a condition of love and devotion that stems from personal fellowship or a walk of faith with the Lord Jesus.

). Christ is more concerned about what we do with Him than for Him. Labor is no substitute for love. To the public, the Ephesian church was successful; to Christ, it had fallen.[2]

2. Repent.

Repent means to change the mind or purpose, to change one’s decision. It means to recognize one’s previous decision, opinion, or condition as wrong, and to accept and move toward a new and right path in its place. The verb, in the Greek, may look at a single, decisive act. Repentance includes con­fession of sin with a view to stopping the bad behavior so it can be replaced with what was right.

3. Repeat.

“Do the deeds you did at first.” This is not a call to more Christian service or to renewed Christian activity. They had plenty of that. Then what does the Lord mean and how does this apply to us?

So, what are the first deeds? John does not say, but in the light of the above mentioned passages they include the basic techniques and dis­ciplines of fellowship and abiding in the Lord. It would include such things as honest confession of sin, prayer, Bible study, reading, meditation, memorization, fellowship with believers, being occupied with Christ and refocusing all of our life on Him.

The warning from Christ is clear. If the church at Ephesus did not remember, repent, and repeat what they did at first, then Jesus would come and remove their lampstand from its place. In other words, they would lose their gospel ministry. Brothers and sisters, may it never be said of this church that we are doing good things for our community, but we have no gospel witness. Doing good for our community is what we should be doing, but it must always be paired with giving the gospel to those in need. There are so many people in our community who have never made a decision to follow Christ. It is our job to tell them about Jesus and what he can do for them. Our first love is for the gospel of Jesus Christ. Light is lost when love is abandoned. The church of Ephesus does not stand today. Its light has been not just dimmed, but completely snuffed out. May that never be said of us. Our first love is for Jesus and the ministry of his gospel.

Perhaps you are here this morning and you have never made the decision to follow Jesus. You have never made the decision to give Jesus control of your life and right now, you are just living for whatever makes you happy. You are running from one relationship to the next, one experience to the next, and one empty promise to the next. You can’t find happiness and you can’t find satisfaction because you are trying to find peace and happiness apart from Jesus. Let me tell you. You will never find what you are looking for unless you give your life to Jesus, unless you place your faith in him.

Let me tell you what Jesus has done for you because he loved you so much. You are a sinner. Your sin leads you to do ungodly things and separates you from the God who loves you. We have a sin problem inside of us. Jesus went to the cross, died, and he rose again. He did all of this because he loves you and he wants to save you from your sin. He wants to transform you, so you can experience his goodness, so we could experience his grace. He wants to heal you and bring peace to your life.

To reject Him is to reject life. To delay this decision is to continue on the way that leads to destruction.

John 3:16–18 CSB

16 For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Anyone who believes in him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God.

CSB

16 For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

18 Anyone who believes in him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God.

God, in his love decided to give mankind the opportunity to escape the wrath of his judgment. Jesus came and laid down his life for us. God expressed his love for humanity and paid for the sin of mankind through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

Romans 10:13 CSB

13 For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

The word “call” means “to appeal unto.” Lost sinners who come to Jesus for forgiveness of sins, believing that He is the Christ, the Son of God, will be saved.

The word “call” means “to appeal unto.” Lost sinners who come to Jesus for forgiveness of sins, believing that He is the Christ, the Son of God, will be saved.

CSB

13 For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Romans 10:9–10 CSB

9 If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation.

The word “call” means “to appeal unto.” Lost sinners who come to Jesus for forgiveness of sins, believing that He is the Christ, the Son of God, will be saved.

CSB

The amazing grace of God, no matter how bad you have been, no matter how dark your life is, no matter how many people you’ve let down, when you call on Jesus, he hears your prayer and he will forgive every sin and make you brand new.

9 If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

10 One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation.

<Praise Team begins to play softly>

The amazing grace of God, no matter how bad you have been, no matter how dark your life is, no matter how many people you’ve let down, when you call on Jesus, he hears your prayer and he will forgive every sin and make you brand new.

This morning, if you are here and you know that you need God’s forgiveness for your sins; realize that you are not here by accident. Will you surrender your life to God and experience his forgiveness? Please bow your heads and close your eyes. Will you pray this prayer with me expressing that you are trusting in God’s ability to forgive you and save you?

“Heavenly Father, forgive me for my sins, make me new. I ask Jesus to be my Savior and to be the Lord of my life, first in every way. My life is not my own, I give it to you. Thank you for new life. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

If you prayed that prayer, we are so happy that you have become a part of the family of God. Your life has just been transformed. We would like to ask you to do this one thing for us. We want to walk with you in this new journey. Take out your Connection Card and check the box that says you want more information about becoming a follower of Jesus Christ. One of the leaders here at the church will get in contact with you this week and talk to you more about what it means to follow Jesus. Take that Connection Card and put it in the offering plate when it is passed at the end of worship. We want to celebrate the new life you have in Christ.

Brothers and sisters, I want to talk to you for just a moment as we close. The ending of this passage said, “Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.” Have you left the love your once had for Jesus? How do you know if you have left? Remember. Remember the excitement and joy you used to have for the things of God. Remember the joy you had in telling others about Jesus? Remember when coming to worship was something you looked forward to? Now, coming to worship and Bible study is something you have to do. You come and you judge others by what they are wearing. You don’t like the music selections. You serve, but only because you have to because you think that if you don’t God is going to get you. Remember the joy you once had when you first believed and you felt your burden lifted. If you have never felt that, maybe you need to make the decision to follow Jesus. Have you left the love you once had for Jesus? If so, then you need to repent. Change the way you are going. Realize that you are doing it wrong and go back to the basics of prayer and Bible study. Refocus your life and your love on Jesus, the author and finisher of the faith.

With our heads bowed and eyes closed, would you say, “Yes, I want to draw closer to Jesus.” Would you raise your hand? I want to pray for you.

If you want to talk to me about how you can grow closer to Jesus, on your connection card, check the box that says “other”. This week, I will get in touch with you and we will set a time where we can talk about how you can move from where you are to where God wants you to be.

If you want to talk to me about how you can grow closer to Jesus, on your connection card, check the box that says “other”. This week, I will get in contact with you and we will set a time where we can talk about how you can move from where you are to where God wants you to be.

Close.

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