Ready to Love

Announcements:

Happy Sunday! I’m so glad to be here with you this morning. We haven’t done this in a while,but turn to somebody and give them a high-five. Let them know you’re glad they’re here.

If you’re new here, my name is George and I’m the pastor of The River Church. If you have time after service, I’d love to officially meet. Come grab me. Also, if this is your first time, Connect Cards are a great way to let us know that. If you fill this out and turn it in the white box in the back, we have a pretty sweet gift for you. Additionally, I’ll send you a hand written note simply thanking you for hanging out this morning.

Connect Cards are also a great way to let us know your prayer requests. We’d love to pray for you! You can also let us know if you’d like to take some next steps in your faith journey - whether that’s questions you have about our church or the Bible; or, if would like to help out around here; or, if you’d like to put your faith in Jesus - we want to know about that and walk with you on this new adventure; or, anything in between. Connect Cards are a great way to help us, help you!

My wife Janelle mentioned last week we finally got new invites last week. Grab a couple to hand out. As a church, part of our purpose is to invite people into opportunities where they can meet Jesus. These are an easy way to do that. Also, if you have FB, we finally got our live-stream working. Sharing that onto your page is another great way to show people what God’s doing here at TRC and also spread the good news of Jesus - you can do that now if you’d like!

You should’ve got a bulletin as you walked in. One side is for taking notes, but the other side has important information about who we are and what we value. Additionally, there are gathering opportunities listed - like Men’s Life Group coming up next Saturday. Men, you don’t want to miss those! Great food. Great friendships. And great discussions focused on growing as godly men and supporting one another. If you have any questions about what’s going on here at TRC, feel free to ask anyone who has a green lanyard on.

We don’t take a tithe and offering during service, but your generosity is important for two main reasons: 1) It is an act of worship - and we are all about worshiping God here; 2) It helps support the mission God has called us to here in Glastonbury and beyond. If you’d like to give, you can put your offering in the white box in the back or give online through PayPal.

With that, let’s pray for our tithes and offering, and for today’s message.

Intro:

Does anyone remember being in school and studying really hard for something, only to realize you studied the read the wrong chapter or wrong subject? You got to class the morning of the test and you’re like, “I’m ready. I studied chapter 17 front and back.” Then, your teacher says, “Okay class. Put your books and notes away. Time for your test on chapters 23 & 24!” And you’re like “Oh no!” But what can you do? Even though you had the best intentions, it doesn’t matter that you know chapter 17’s material - that’s not what was required.

Similarly, I was at an evangelism training yesterday and one of the presenters said, “If you want to be a good employee, find out what the boss wants and do that - preferably without being asked. Because you can do amazing things at your job, but if they aren’t what the boss needs done, you’re not going to get your boss’s appreciation!” He was ultimately talking about our responsibility as Christians (followers of Jesus) to make sure we know what Jesus wants us to do, so we’re doing the thing that matters. Because we can do a lot of amazing things in our life, but are they the things Jesus is asking us to do?

As we continue in our series through the book of Revelation titled “Ready,” we are now in chapters 2 & 3 - a section known as the 7 letters to the churches of Asia. And here’s what’s really unique about these chapters: They are letters from Jesus. This book is filled with letters. Some of us have favorites that really read over and over again. A lot of Christians a fans of the apostle Paul’s letters. They should be! They are awesome. We do whole sermon series, whole bible studies, on these letters.

And as I was preparing for this week, the thought crossed my mind of combining all 7 letters into one message, especially since our current series is simply an introduction to Revelation. But then I thought about something: These are letters from Jesus. These are letters relevant to the entire church. Theres are letters that let us know what our boss - our king, Jesus - wants! If we are going to study anything to be ready for our future test, it’s going to be these chapters.

So, I thought, let’s study them. Let’s spend some time going through each of the 7 letters and find out what King Jesus is saying to us. Because it’s important!

Before we get started, I want to point out something that will be helpful for us to understand the next 7 weeks, but also understand these letters when we ready them on our own. Remember, our hope is this “Introduction” will better equip you to read Revelation for yourself.

The General Outline of the Letters can be broken into four parts:

Description of Jesus relevant to the content of the letter.

A section describing what the church did good.

A section on what they’re doing wrong.

Finally, a section on how to properly respond to what Jesus wants.

And this morning, we’re going to start with the letter to the Ephesians. Now, don’t get that mixed up with Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. This is Jesus’ letter to the Ephesians. Same church, different letter, time, and purpose. And we’re going to see this basic outline here in this letter. Jesus is going to describe himself. He will tell them what’s good. He will tell them what’s not. And He will tell them how to respond. So, let’s read it together:

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.’

You guys see the outline. Now, for us this morning, I’m going to add something else that I believe will help us better understand what Jesus is saying...

Exegesis:

4 Perfects: “You Win” - “Perfect!”

In the early 90s, a video game called Street Fighter came out. Man, I loved that game. My favorite character was Ken - he was the blond karate guy. I can still remember how to do all the moves. I invested so much time trying to be good at that game. It never happened - I stunk. But I had fun.

In the game, two opponents would fight and there would be three rounds to a match. Whoever won two out of three, won the match. And when you’d fight, there were these energy bars at the top for your character. When you got hit, your energy went down. Once it was gone, you lost the round.

Now, does anyone know what would happen if you beat your opponent without losing energy? That’s right! You’d get a “perfect” (you got to say it that way!). Let me show you an example...

So, let’s have some fun. When I say, “You Win!” You say, “Perfect!” Let’s try it.

Here in this passage, there are four “perfects” that will help us understand what Jesus is saying. When I say “perfect,” I’m referring to the tense of the work, in the Greek language. When something is written in the perfect tense, it is referring to a completed action, that has an on-going result. And in the letter to the Ephesians, I’d like to point out four “perfects.” Three are found directly in the letter and one references an outside passage.

First Perfect: What Jesus says about Himself.

Did ya’ll know Jesus is perfect? That’s what He says about Himself. When He says He’s the one “who holds the seven stars in his right hand [and] walks among the seven golden lampstands,” He’s saying, “I’m perfectly in control.”

Remember last week we talked about how the stars are either “angels in charge of the church” or even “pastors” (the original word can be used for both), and the golden lampstands are “the churches”? And we also mention how symbolically, the number “7” likely references completion; therefore, when Jesus refers to himself this way, He’s saying, “I’m the One who is in perfect control.”

I hold all the pastors in my hand - even the phrase hold refers to “grabbing in order to maintain control” - and I walk in the middle of all my churches. He’s painting a picture of His presence and perfect control. He knows everything that’s going on in our church’s life. In our personal life. He sees it all and He hasn’t lost control. That’s why He goes onto says, “I know your works.”

“You win!” - “Perfect.”

“I know” is written in the perfect tense; again, telling us He’s in perfect control, sees everything perfectly, and is able to perfectly speak into our lives.

But think about this too. Why is Jesus holding the seven stars and walking among the seven golden lampstands? I believe it’s because He perfectly loves us. He’s not a control freak and He’s not a heavenly helicopter parent. He’s holding us to protect us and guide us. Is walking in the midst of us because He loves us and wants to be with us. Isn’t that awesome?

That’s who He is. He’s in perfect control and He perfectly loves us. He’s perfect.

Second Perfect: What they did good.

And it’s in the next couple of verses that we see the second perfect. Jesus begins to tell the Ephesians what they’re doing good. He basically says, “When it comes to work, toil, patient endurance, calling out evil, and standing up for My name - You’re killin it!”

“You win!” - “Perfect!”

These guys were perfect when it came to theology. They knew the truth and defended it. They knew the truth and worked hard at it. They knew the truth and suffered for it. And look at verse three: “I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and [check this out] ------ You have no grown weary.”

“You have not grown weary” is written in the perfect tense. They did this perfect. They had this down. They were ready to defend the name of Jesus theologically. This is awesome! I believe Jesus is truly honoring them for their faithfulness. Because false teaching is serious business! And it’s real and something the church needs to be aware of.

And I’m not talking about going on “witch hunts” and being inappropriately critical of everything “you” disagree with. I’m talking about true false doctrine. Real false teachers. The Scriptures call them “wolves.” We got to be aware of them!

Pauls said:

Acts 20:29 ESV

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

Jesus said:

Matthew 7:15 ESV

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

That’s a real problem. Their teachings can create havoc in the church and lead people away from the truth of Jesus. That’s why Paul said:

Galatians 1:8 NLT

Let God’s curse fall on anyone, including us or even an angel from heaven, who preaches a different kind of Good News than the one we preached to you.

And that’s also why at The River Church, we teach the Bible but we also encourage you to study the Bible yourself. Because the way we are going to know if something is false, or if someone is a false teacher, is by knowing what the Bible says ourselves.

And that’s what the Ephesians did perfectly. They knew and defended the truth of the Scriptures.

Third Perfect: What they did wrong.

But then Jesus says, “I have this against you.”

Eek. How many of us what to hear Jesus say that to us? I honestly think that’s scary. I don’t like performance reviews at work. They make me nervous. This is like the most serious performance review from the Most Important Person!

And this is what they were doing wrong: Jesus says, “You have abandoned the love you had at first.” And here’s the third perfect: “Remember therefore from where you have fallen...” The word fallen is also written in the perfect tense.

When Jesus says this, He’s painting a picture of looking up at the cliff you have fallen from and noticing just how far you have come. It’s be like this...

Picture of El Capitan.

“You win!” ---- “Perfect!” Except that this was no winning situation. They were perfect, but they were perfectly fallen from where Jesus wanted them to be. They were doing awesome things, but they weren’t thinking about what the boss wanted. Jesus wants us to LOVE!

That’s why He says the Greatest Commandment is...

Matthew 22:37–39 NLT

Jesus replied, “ ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

Matt. 22:

Jesus takes love very seriously. So seriously that He says, “If you don’t get this right, I’m going to remove your lampstand!” Basically, I’m going to get rid of this church. That may sound harsh, but it really just points out how serious love is to Jesus. Think about it this way:

Biblical love proves we are saved. - When we love we show we are His disciples.

Biblical love invites others to be saved. reminds us people haven’t seen God, but when we love, we show them God through our supernatural love.

Jesus isn’t going to send people to a church where biblical love isn’t happening. He’d rather close it down.

Jesus is serious about love. But before we move on, let me hit verse 6 real quick...

Revelation 2:6 ESV

Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

In the middle of saying how they have loved defending theology more than loving God and people, Jesus also makes it clear that He’s not saying what they are currently doing is wrong. It’s very likely the Ephesians were protecting the church from the false doctrine and teachers of the Nicolaitans. Jesus hated their false teaching. I believe Jesus is reminding us not to polarize. That’s what we do, right? We over-compensate. We will swing from upholding the truth to only caring about love. Jesus isn’t saying that. He’s saying, “I want both! Both are important. But you can’t defend God’s truth without having God’s love.”

Fourth Perfect: How they are supposed to respond to what Jesus wants.

So how do we respond to what Jesus wants? We respond by looking to the cross. Jesus’ final words on the cross were...

John 19:30 ESV

When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

“You win!” ---- “Perfect.”

“It is finished” is written in the perfect tense. Jesus was saying, “It has been perfectly perfected.” At the cross, Jesus completed the work to save us from our sins and now it’s results continue with us today.

So what do we do? We “repent and do the works we did at first.” You know what makes that repentance and forgiveness possible? The cross! He also goes onto say...

Revelation 2:7 ESV

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.’

You know what allows us to hear the Spirit crying out to us? You know what allows us to be His church? You know what allows us to conquer (a term referring to victory won by faith)? You know what allows us to eat of the “tree of life” and be in the “paradise of God?” The cross!

What do we do? We remember and respond to the cross. We remember the gospel. How Jesus died on that cross to save us from our sins. We remember how our hearts felt the moment we placed our faith in Jesus, were born again, and supernatural love filled our hearts! We remember Jesus and turn back towards Him.

Yesterday, God ripped me up at training I was at. I had this passage on my heart and they were talking about evangelism (telling others the good news about Jesus). They reminded us of how new believers are typically the most excited about Jesus. They are the ones who share the most. They are the ones who invite the most. But what typically happens is, the world begins to beat us down and we lose that passion. We stop inviting people to church. We stop talking about Jesus. We stop being blown away by the gospel. We leave the love we had at first.

And I began to remember my own journey. When I first got saved, I invited EVERYBODY to church. I LOVED everybody. You couldn’t do ANYTHING to make me mad. I was on fire for God!

And then when I first moved to Glastonbury, I loved everybody. I wanted to meet everybody. I was so grateful to be called to bring the gospel here.

And when I first started The River Church, I was ready to share and disciple anyone. I was ready to love anyone who came through that door.

But then, like the Ephesians, things (even good things) began to distract me from what was really important. I get busy preparing for sermons. I got to research this and that. I got to handle this legal thing or develop this system. I got to make sure the books are in order and the bills get paid. And you know what, yesterday I realized that I have fallen from the love I have at first.

And so, in your presence, I want to lead the way in remembering where I have fallen and repenting. I confess to you, my church, that I need to be loving God and loving you more. With the love I had at first. I know God cares about sermons, legal stuff, bills, and systems. But not as much as He cares about love. And so I need to repent and get ready to love. Because that’s what the Master cares about.

Response:

And so, as we close, I want to call the worship team up. And I want to challenge you to consider where you are right now. What are the things you care about? What do you do (even for the Kingdom)? And are they the things that Jesus wants you to do?

And if they aren’t, do you need to remember where you have fallen from? Do you need to return to your first love? Do you need to repent and prioritize loving God and love people?

I want to end the service with an opportunity to do both. This morning we are going to take communion. That’s one of the ways Jesus gave us to both remember Him and love Him. To think deeply about the gospel and what Jesus did for us at the cross.

But I’m also going to add something else. In our passage, Jesus refers to the tree of life. And it gave me an idea. As we come to collect the communion elements, there are also little pieces of paper attached to an invite card. What I’d like you to do is write the name of a person you’d like to see come to church and respond to the gospel. Just the first name so we can be tastefully discrete. Then, clip it to the white tree in the back. And then we are going to pray for these people weekly. That God would bring them to church and they would put their faith in Jesus. And I’d like you to also pray about how and when you can give them that invite card. Because again, that’s why we exist. We are not a Christian country club. We don’t gather here to simply hang out with like-minded people. We exist as a place where people can meet the Lord Jesus Christ and experience His life in His radical love.

So come up and collect the communion elements and your paper.

Communion: .

Before we sing our last song, I want to give an opportunity for anyone here who doesn’t know Jesus as their Lord and Savior to respond. Maybe you hear the Spirit speaking to your heart that you need to receive the love and forgiveness of Jesus. If that’s you, don’t let this day pass by. The Bible says, “Today is the day of salvation” and “anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Call on His name. The Scriptures say if you will turn from your sin and trust in Jesus to save you, He will save you. As we talked about earlier, Jesus already did all the work on the cross. All you need to do is receive it. He loves you with a perfect love. He knows everything that has been going on in your life and has perfectly orchestrated events in your life to bring you to this moment. Are you ready to respond? Call out to Him.

Let’s pray.

Let’s pray.

You know what Jesus wants? He wants us to love God and love people. He wants us to share the gospel and show the gospel (through love).

Communion

Tree of Life

Gospel presentatio