The Forgetful Church

Please open your Bibles to .

Please open your Bibles to .

Read Revelation 2:1-7.

Remember

One of the mysteries of the Bible is how it was written.

says that all Scripture is breathed out by God, it is God breathed.

The words contained in your Bible, come from God Himself.

It’s as if they are His very words.

Yet, there is this mystery in how those God breathed words are communicated.

Because God never picked up a pen, or sat at a computer and wrote the words.

Instead, He spoke through men.

describes it this way, “For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

What this means is that God used men to communicate His truth.

Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, He spoke through people.

And He spoke completely through them.

Every phrase, every description, every detail is there because God was behind the writing of the book.

The mystery is that even while God was speaking through these men in the writing of the Bible, their personality is seen.

Nehemiah writes as a government official.

Luke, writes in a Greek educated fashion.

Paul writes as an educated Pharisee.

There’s always this human element behind their writing.

Still inerrant.

Still infallible.

But you see their human personality.

Then there is , quite different.

We learn from , that it is the Lord’s Day, a Sunday morning.

John has been taken up in the Spirit, and is seeing the Lord Jesus Christ, in all his fiery glory.

And there Jesus speaks to John, and says:

“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write ...”

Verse 8, “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write ...”

Verse 12, “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write ...”

Verse 18, “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write ...”

Chapter 3:1, “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write ...”

3:7, “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write ...”

3:14, “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write ...”

Jesus is speaking directly to His church in these 2 chapters.

No time for personality.

I want you to write.

Jesus is talking to His church.

We love the Gospels because they contain the life of Jesus and His direct quotations.

I suggest we love Revelation for the same reason.

Repent

You’ve probably read Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, today we read Christ’s letter to the Ephesians.

Because it contains the work of Jesus and His direct quotations.

This week we look at Jesus’ letter to Ephesus.

Let’s go ahead and read this now.

Let’s begin by looking at Ephesus: The Historical Church

Don’t read this line. Ephesus: The Historical Church

Ephesus was a major city of the region.

Read Revelation 2:1-7.

It wasn’t a capital city, but it behaved like it was.

Ephesus had a population of 250,000-500,000 people.

This was not the time of major metropolises, so that was a major accomplishment.

Ephesus was home to a major theater.

It could hold as many as 25,000 people, it’s ruins still stand to this day.

It was the gateway into Asia Minor.

If you wanted to go inland, you had to pass through Ephesus.

One Roman called it, Luminae Asiae, the Light of Asia.

It was a treasure of the region..

Ephesus was home to pagan idolatry.

It housed one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world, the Temple of Artemis, some call her Diana.

She was a many breasted goddess.

The town was full of violence and corruption.

Murderers and convicts were offered asylum, freedom within the temple grounds.

It was home to sexual immorality, and cult prostitutes.

One of Ephesus’ famous and very ancient philosophers was nick named, “The weeping philosopher”.

That was because no one could live in Ephesus without weeping at its immorality.

And within the Light of Asia, was the true light, the church of Christ.

Some have said where it is darkest, light shines the brightest.

The end of , describes the birth of this young church.

Paul had left Corinth, and arrived in Ephesus with Priscilla and Aquila.

He left them there, and under their leadership, a church grew and blossomed.

In , Paul returned to Ephesus and spent time preaching.

Through his preaching, the light of Christ began to shine brighter in the town.

The worship of Artemis was becoming affected.

The town was changing.

The idol making business was beginning to slow down.

A riot developed, and Paul and his companions were dragged into that huge theater.

The Ephesian Church was taught well.

Paul served as their pastor for 3 years.

He warned them to hold to truth.

They were in a tough situation, and he knew that tough days were coming.

Timothy served as their pastor.

They were the under dogs, the minority in the community.

Timothy, felt the pressure and tended towards being a wuss.

Paul told him to not be timid.

To preach in season and out of season.

Then, in his old age, John served as their pastor.

John wrote his gospel, the 4th Gospel, while in Ephesus.

That Gospel, emphasized the divinity of Christ.

In his old age, before writing Revelation, he wrote 3 small letters to the Ephesian community.

The Ephesian church had experienced a split.

People had abandoned the faith.

I John was an encouragement to remind them of the faith we have.

II John, was a reminder for doctrinal clarity.

Test people, and don’t welcome those who hold to error.

They lived in a tough situation.

They were told to hold to truth.

I call them, Ephesus: The Conservative Church

Return to the Way it Was

They were a great church.

Within Ephesus, the Light of Asia, was the true light, the church of Christ.

Some have said where it is darkest, light shines the brightest.

The end of , describes the birth of this young church.

Paul had left Corinth, and arrived in Ephesus with Priscilla and Aquila.

He left them there, and under their leadership, a church grew and blossomed.

This is a letter from Jesus to the church of Ephesus.

In , Paul returned to Ephesus and spent time preaching.

Through his preaching, the light of Christ began to shine brighter in the town.

The worship of Artemis was becoming affected.

The town was changing.

The idol making business was beginning to slow down.

A riot developed, and Paul and his companions were dragged into that huge theater.

The Ephesian Church was taught well.

They had all the cool pastors.

A rich heritage of wise men had shepherded the Ephesian church.

Paul served as their pastor for 3 years.

He warned them to hold to truth.

They were in a tough situation, and he knew that tough days were coming.

We begin with Jesus’ commendation to the loveless, the Ephesians.

Timothy served as their pastor.

They were the under dogs, the minority in the community.

Timothy, felt the pressure and tended towards being a wuss.

Paul told him to not be timid.

To preach in season and out of season.

Then, in his old age, John served as their pastor.

John wrote his gospel, the 4th Gospel, while in Ephesus.

That Gospel, emphasized the divinity of Christ.

In his old age, before writing Revelation, he wrote 3 small letters to the Ephesian community.

The Ephesian church had experienced a split.

They were one of those revolutionary churches.

People had abandoned the faith.

I John was an encouragement to remind them of the faith we have.

II John, was a reminder for doctrinal clarity.

Test people, and don’t welcome those who hold to error.

From the outside, Ephesus was a great church.

Jesus commends them in verses 2-4.

Remember, He’s in the midst of the churches.

He is walking through them.

In verse 2 He says, “I know your works ...”

He isn’t saying, “I’ve heard of your works.”

And He didn’t have to learn their works.

He knew them already.

Why?

Because He’s present in the church.

He compliments them and their work.

He says, I know your works, and your toil.

They are a church that works hard for the Lord.

They work to the point of exhaustion.

When a sign up sheet is put out, every one signs up.

No blank spaces on it.

They are eager to serve.

Jesus knows of their endurance.

He compliments them twice on their endurance.

Once in verse 2 and again at the start of verse 3.

This is hupomone.

The word for endurance is a combination of two words.

Hupo - meaning under.

And mone - meaning suffering.

A person with endurance, puts himself difficult situations.

It means to be under suffering, or to be under trials.

They place themselves under it.

It’s almost voluntary.

If you are going to be in Ephesus, you are going to have trials.

If you are going to be a Christian in this region, there will be hard times.

The culture will be against you.

Your family will be against you.

You will be against the world.

They didn’t sign up for the easy life.

And their endurance was long lasting.

They were like the Energizer bunny, they kept going and going.

The end of verse 3 says, “and you have not grown weary.”

And all that teaching that Ephesus had paid off, because they were a discerning church.

They test people.

They divide over truth.

And they will not associate with anyone who claims to be a Christian, but holds to error.

Verse 2 says that they “have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false.”

Verse 6 continues in this compliment, they hate the works of the Nicolaitans.

There’s not much known about them.

They most likely were a blend of Christianity and the sexual paganism around them.

Are you beginning to see what the Ephesian Church looks like?

They work hard.

They put up with a lot.

They were a ground breaking church.

Every now and then a church springs up and is counter cultural, and every one wonders what happened.

Everyone wants to be like that church.

The pastor ends up writing a book, and tries to get everyone to copy them.

When I was in college I was given an assignment to observe a church.

I went to a church in downtown LA.

It was an old hospital, that had become a church.

It was an interesting place.

They had developed some sketchy relationships with people in the town.

We observed an evening of their youth group.

After the youth group we talked with one of their leaders.

She told a story of how one night they were going to have a drama that needed toy guns in the skit.

One of the kids in the youth group said he could get some.

They would have

He showed up the next week with a duffle bag full of real guns.

Those are the kind of people who were coming to the church.

Sometimes they would rescue people from sketchy situations.

They had developed some sketchy relationships with people in the town.

The church grew, and churches around the nation studied this church, wanting to know how they did what they did.

They told of one story where a woman was being rescued from prostitution.

The church showed up with a vehicle, and the woman stepped in it.

They then raced back to the church before

Ephesus is one of these churches that you would want to study.

Ephesus was one of these churches.

They were in a place that couldn’t be more anti-Christian.

And yet somehow the church was thriving.

Church planters and missionaries dream of a church like this.

They know truth.

Imagine going to New York City, and starting a church on Broadway.

In the middle of all the tourists, the lights, shows, and media, imagine a thriving body of Christ, that faithfully preaches the Gospel.

Ephesus was a major city in the region of Asia Minor, which is modern day Turkey.

They weren’t a capital city, but they behaved like they were.

One Roman writer called Ephesus, Luminae Asia, which means the Light of Asia.

Ephesus was the gateway to Asia Minor.

You couldn’t go inland, without first passing through Ephesus.

The result was that it was a major trading point and boasted a huge market place.

The population of the city is estimated to have been between 250,000 and 500,000, which was a major accomplishment for a city, at a time when there weren’t skyscrapers and efficient infrastructure in a town.

The city had it all.

It even had a major theater which could hold as many as 25,000 people.

Though the city is long gone, it’s ruins remain.

In addition to being a metropolis, Ephesus was home to pagan idolatry.

It housed the ancient Temple of Artemis, some called her Diana.

It was one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world.

Artemis was a many breasted sexual goddess, which fed into the sexual immorality of the town.

The town was full of violence and corruption.

Murderers and convicts were granted asylum and freedom within the temple grounds.

The town was so evil, that one very ancient philosopher, who was from Ephesus was nicknamed, The Weeping Philosopher” because no one could live in Ephesus without weeping at its immorality.

Within this dark town was a thriving church.

The Ephesian church was an all-star of churches.

It had a history of strong teachers.

Their preachers read like the hall of fame of New Testament preachers.

If you could have one of the famous names in the Bible

describes how it began.

Paul had left Corinth, and arrived in Ephesus with Priscilla and Aquila.

He left them there for a while, and the church blossomed.

Those two fought for truth.

Paul returns, and he faithfully preached.

God used Paul’s bold preaching to turn the pagan town upside down.

The gospel was changing things in Ephesus.

It was hurting their idol making economy.

You can’t be a Christian and continue to worship idols.

Paul ended up spending 3 years teaching and preaching.

He dedicated himself to preaching the truth.

And anyone after him would need that same dedication.

He knew that if they were in the headquarters of such fierce idolatry, they needed to be grounded in the truth.

Timothy served as preacher to the Ephesians.

Timothy didn’t have an easy job.

He was pastor of a church that was the underdog in the community.

There were more worshipers of Artemis than of Christ.

The economy and politics were built around the hometown idolatry.

He felt pressure to teach truth.

Paul told Timothy to not be timid, and to preach the Gospel, in season and out of season.

Imagine serving in a church that Paul and Timothy as it’s founding pastors..

Who could top them?

In his old age, probably around 80 ad, John, the disciple the author of Revelation and the fourth Gospel, the Gospel of John, John stayed in Ephesus.

It was in about 80 ad, that John wrote his Gospel of John, while living in Ephesus.

They are discerning.

And they do not put up with error.

He had a special relationship with them.

These are all good things.

And Jesus does not rebuke them for them.

Jesus likes this about them.

Ephesus: The Forgetful Church

He also wrote 3 small letters to them, we know them as I, II, and III John.

Ephesus: The Forgotten Church

In those letters, he called for the church to not compromise to the surrounding culture.

He reminded them of the nature of Christ.

And emphasized over and over again a need to be discerning.

They need to test for truth.

The Ephesian church was built on the preaching of Paul, Timothy and John.

They were a good church.

You’d want to be like them.

Christ commends them.

Verse 2 begins by saying, “I know your works ...”

Jesus doesn’t say, “I’ve heard of your works.”

He doesn’t say, “Someone taught me your works.”

And He doesn’t say, “I’ve learned of your works.”

But I know your works.

How does He know them?

Because He’s in the midst of the church.

Verse 1 says that He is walking among the 7 golden lampstands.

We learned last week, and we see it at the end of , that these lampstands are the 7 churches that Revelation is being written to.

Look at what Christ commends them for, you see this in verses 2 and 3, as well as verse 6.

Your toil.

Toil is their hard work.

It’s working to the point of exhaustion.

It’s wearing yourself out.

They worked hard.

When a sign up sheet was put out, every one signed up.

There were no blank spaces.

You didn’t have to pass it around again.

He compliments them twice for their endurance.

Once in verse 2, and again in verse 3.

He says that they have patient endurance.

Endurance is a combination of words

Hupo - this means to be under something.

And moné - to remain.

Hupo-moné.

To remain under something.

To voluntarily endure something being oppressed, to have something on top of you.

It’s not being rolled over, or fatalism.

To be under a struggle.

It’s the drive that allows a marathon runner to endure 26.2 miles of grueling sweat, as his body is beaten on the pavement of a run.

That’s endurance.

Remaining under the strain because there’s a purpose for it.

Being a Christian in Ephesus isn’t easy.

You will have trials.

The culture will be against you.

People will be against you.

And you have to endure.

You’re in it for the long haul.

And the third thing that He compliments them on is their love of truth.

Remember all those great preachers they’ve had - Paul, Timothy, John, they’ve been trained to handle God’s Word well.

Paul tells Timothy in , “what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.”

They’ve been taught.

And they know how to teach.

They know what to look for in a teacher.

They test people.

And if someone doesn’t hold to sound doctrine, they get rid of them.

Their love of truth gets worked out even in their life style.

Verse 6 says that they hate the works of the Nicolaitans.

We don’t know much about them.

It looks like the Nicolaitans blended parts of Christianity with the pagan sexual practices around them.

Ephesus was a great church.

They somehow engaged the culture.

They didn’t compromise.

They handled truth well.

They worked hard.

If you went on their website, or read their doctrinal statement, you’d like them.

You’d want to be a part of that church.

Verse 4 … “But ...”.

All those great works.

All that endurance.

All that toil.

All the doctrine.

“But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.”

They had the works.

But they didn’t love Christ.

This is an interesting situation.

Because they do good stuff and they believe good stuff.

But they are missing love.

They love truth, but they love truth more than Who the truth is about.

They love their Bibles, but not Who the Bible is about.

They love their theology, and they love arguing for their theology, but not Who the theology is about.

How does Jesus feel about this?

He commends them for their good works.

But He rebukes them for their lack of love.

Obedience without love is useless, it’s a vanity.

says that if we lack love, our actions are like a clanging cymbal.

That if we lack love whatever we do means nothing.

Israel often got in trouble for this.

They offered the right sacrifices, but did them without love for God.

In and 14, God calls works a vainity, abominations and something that he hated.

Love is the chief attribute of a Christian, but not just towards others, yes we are to love others, but love is specifically for God.

That’s where it all starts.

Remember the great commandment, “You shall love the Lord your God with all our heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”

The first 5 books of the Bible are known as the Law of Moses.

You have probably struggled through some of it in your Bible reading.

Especially, Leviticus and Deuteronomy.

It’s got lots of laws and some might even say obscure rules.

But the heart of the Torah, the heart of the Law is loving God.

teaches what is known as the Schema.

“Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.”

Be careful to follow the law.

And what is your motivation for following the law? He continues. - “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”

Yes, God demanded obedience, but He demanded obedience with love.

Understand that when we talk about obedience and when we talk about love, this isn’t a this or that scenario.

Ephesus was commended for their obedience.

Jesus isn’t calling for them to stop being obedient.

He is calling for obedience to be accompanied with love.

Nor is Jesus saying that you can love and not be obedient.

Which some people have said.

They’ve said that as long as you love Jesus, you can do whatever you want.

That’s not the case.

Jesus likes their actions.

He likes their beliefs.

But He demands love in those actions.

True obedience is done from love.

, “Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. ...”

Next we see Jesus’ advice on love.

The Ephesian church is not lost.

There is hope.

He’s talking to a church, to Christians, to the bride of Christ.

If you are a Christian you are able to love God.

Why?

Because you have the Holy Spirit.

You are unable to love God if you don’t have the Holy Spirit.

Being able to love God is something that God enables you to do by His Spirit.

gives this promise “And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.

That means unless God changes your heart, you will never love Him.

The ability to love God is something unique to the believer, because that love is tied to the presence of the Holy Spirit in your heart.

But now Ephesus has a problem, Jesus says, “You’ve lost that loving feeling, whoah, that loving feeling.”

Verse 4, “But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.”

But unlike the song, it’s not gone, gone, gone, whoah gone.

He gives instructions on how to love.

He says, “This is how to love me.”

This is how to bring back that loving feeling.

So He gives instructions on how to love.

These instructions are 3 commands.

So in essence He commands us to love Him.

That sounds foreign to our hedonistic ears.

Because we talk about love as if it is something that is completely uncontrollable.

People fall in love.

And they fall out of love.

Marriages dissolve, because one of the parties,”Lost love.”

But God never describes love like the wind.

It is something that is commanded.

Husbands you love your wives, like Christ loved the church.

That is the supreme example of love.

There is no greater love than that.

Because Christ loved us … when we were unlovable.

Assuming, you have been converted, He tells us how to love.

The world says you can’t do that.

You’ve abandoned it.

You ever make a cup of coffee, and drink it as you walk through the house.

Then you set it down somewhere.

They say there no love potion.

You abandon it.

And what happens to the coffee.

But look at verse 5, Jesus gives instructions on how to rekindle that love.

There are so many books out there on how to love, and Jesus is able to say it in one verse.

It grows cold.

And finally you want nothing to do with it.

“Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first.”

Jesus calls for us to love Him again.

Remember

Repent

The Conquering Churc

Do the good works you did at first.

How do you love Christ? You remember how you used to love Him.

Jesus says remember where you have fallen from.

You used to love Him, but you aren’t there anymore.

Last year when we went to the Czech Republic, we spent a day in Prague.

We took a long train ride, and then a bus bus to the capital building.

It’s on the top of a hill.

There’s an old Catholic Church, complete with gargoyles all over it, and government buildings there.

After sightseeing on the mount, we then descended into Prague.

We walked miles that day.

At one point we were on the Charles Bridge, this old stone bridge, and we were able to see where we had descended from.

We looked up, and could see this hill in the distance with a castle on top of it.

That’s where we had come from.

My how far we had dropped.

Jesus says look where you have fallen from.

Look at those milestones in your life, and return to them.

When you first became a Christian, Christ was everything.

You’d give up everything Him, because you understood His great love for you.

You loved Him more than everything else.

says, “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.”

And you did that.

You stopped hanging out with people, because you loved Christ.

I know many of you had to change your friends because they hindered your walk with Christ.

You couldn’t join them in what they were doing.

Many of you, not one or two of you, but many of you, have had to break up with friends because you loved Christ more.

I have had the privilege of baptizing many of you.

You were raised in a Catholic church, baptized as an infant, and when I baptized you that was a difficult decision to make.

Because you were saying, you loved Christ more than the parent who baptized you as a kid.

Your pursuit of Christ, your obedience to Christ, your love of Christ was greater than the love you had for your parents.

And Christ says remember these moments.

If you are going to bring back that loving feeling, you need to remember these critical moments.

Last year when we went to the Czech Republic, we spent a day in Prague.

He says remember.

We took a bus to the capital building.

It’s on the top of a hill.

Use your memories.

There’s an old Catholic Church and government buildings there.

After sightseeing on the mount, we then descended into Prague.

Build a memorial.

Husbands and wives, you have a ring on your finger.

It represents the unending love that you have for your spouse.

No beginning.

No end.

Circular.

Eternal.

It is a reminder of that day when you said your vows, that you would love, honor, cherish, submit to that person.

For better or for worse.

When things get hard you feel that ring on your finger and you remember.

You remember the vow that you made, and you remain.

We walked miles that day.

God loves giving us signs so that we can remember things.

The Israelites had the Passover.

At one point we were on the Charles Bridge, this old stone bridge, and we were able to see where we had descended from.

We have baptism.

We have communion.

These things cause us to remember.

Take some time and remember those fond times where you had a love for Christ that was greater than everything else..

You’re at the bottom of the hill.

On the Charles Bridge in Prague.

You look up to the heights and you say,

“I’ve been there.”

“I want to be there again.”

Some of you have probably fallen from those heights of love.

You’ve grown in doctrine.

You’ve grown in service.

But you’ve lost that loving feeling.

The first thing Jesus says is remember those moments of supreme love for Christ.

Can you do that?

Jesus’ second love tip is repent.

I find this fascinating.

Because when we think of repentance, what do we think of?

We think of stopping sinning.

Who needs to repent?

Drug addicts.

Alcoholics.

People involved in sexual immorality.

People who cuss.

The big sins.

But who is Jesus talking to?

The Ephesians.

They don’t do these things.

The work hard.

They endure.

They believe truth.

They teach truth.

In fact, they stand out in a sea of immorality.

They are like a lighthouse, blazing in the night, over a stormy harbor.

The Ephesian immoral and idolatrous culture buffets them, and they stand strong, shining like a beacon, unfazed by the culture, steadfastly testifying to the truth of Christ.

And Jesus tells them to repent.

There’s a lot of Christians that fit this description.

We live in a conservative part of our state.

You go to church.

You serve at church.

“You don’t smoke, you don’t chew, and don’t go with girls who do!”

And yet, you’ve lost that loving feeling.

And what does Jesus say to those who have lost that loving feeling? “Repent.”

Repentance is not only stopping the big sins.

The heart needs to repent as well.

So what needs to happen.

You need to love Christ.

Remember where you have fallen from.

You turn around and you start climbing back to those heights of love.

You see the castle in the distance and you begin climbing.

You remind yourself of the Gospel.

You take yourself back to the beginning, like Paul you say, “I’m the chief of sinners.”

And you go to the Cross.

You see the Lamb who was slain.

And Jesus’ third bit of love advice is “and do the works you did at first.”

These works are different.

Verses 2 and 3 commend them for their faithfulness and the work they do in the body.

So they are already doing works.

The works mentioned in verse 5, are the relational works between the individual and Christ.

When you first fell in love your wife, or your husband do you remember how you worked for that love.

You’d write notes.

Send flowers.

Send text messages or emails.

Amanda and I had pagers.

We had worked out codes we’d send to each other.

We’d page each other 1 4, and that would mean “hi”.

You had to look at it upside down.

We’d send each other 1 4 3, that meant, “I love you.”

Do the works you did at first.

Do you remember, waking up early, just to read your Bible?

Do you remember, praying, and praying frequently.

Do you remember how you couldn’t stop talking about Christ?

You didn’t write love letters, but you journaled.

You were at every event at church because you couldn’t get enough of the Lord.

These works were because of the love that you had for Christ.

Jesus says do these things:

Remember, repent, and do the works that you had at first.

Maybe this seems too simplistic.

Too formulaic.

Maybe you’re thinking love isn’t this simple.

Remember the source.

Who’s speaking here?

It’s Christ.

And according to the end of chapter 1, He’s in His glory.

He has authority.

The world is under his feet of bronze and He rules.

His eyes blaze as his face shines in shakinah glory.

These are a very powerful Christ’s, instructions to His church.

He knows what He’s talking about.

Trust Jesus.

Trust that He who is called a faithful witness, really is telling the truth.

Jesus is serious here. He is so serious that Jesus gives a threat to the loveless church.

Look at the rest of verse 5, “If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.”

Remove the Lamp

We don’t often think about this, but the church is a dangerous place.

Why’s it so dangerous, because of He who is in the midst of her.

Verse 1 says that these letters are the words of Him who walks among the seven golden lampstands.”

These 7 golden lampstands are the 7 churches in Asia minor.

And Jesus is walking in the midst of the church.

He’s not walking in their midst as a gentle lamb.

But as a conquering lion.

Eyes like fire.

Feet like bronze.

Sword in His Mouth.

And He says that if they don’t repent, He will remove the lampstand from its place.

Politically, we are always worried about losing our religious freedoms, losing our status of a church, and losing our ability to worship.

We worry about the church in China and the oppression they receive under communism.

We worry about the church in China and the oppression they receive under communism.

And it is good to care for them.

It’s good to remember our brothers and sisters throughout the world.

And we pray, “Please Lord, don’t let communism defeat Your church.”

But you know what, as long as there are people who love the Lord and are obedient, the Chinese church will continue.

We worry about the American church being called a hate group and not being allowed to preach.

And we pray, “Please Lord, don’t let political correctness defeat Your church.”

But as long as there are people who love the Lord and are obedient to Him, the church will continue.

As long as there are people who love the Lord and are obedient to Him, the church will continue.

In 1661, John Bunyan was arrested for preaching without a license, praying without the book of common prayer, and meeting in an unsanctioned church.

You think that stopped the Lord’s church?

From the jail in Bedford, England, he’d preach and those outside the jail walls would listen to his sermons.

And when he was released from jail, there was a church in Bedford eager to have him as their pastor.

Government cannot stop the church.

Spiritually, we think of Satan, and how he prowls around looking for someone to devour.

I think of the Sunday School song, we learned as a kid.

“This little light of mine. I’m gonna let it shine. This little light of mine. I’m gonna let it shine. this little light of mine. I’m gonna let it shine. Let it shine. Let it shine. Let it shine.

“I’m not gonna let Satan pffft it out. I’m gonna let it shine. I’m not gonna let Satan pffft it out. I’m gonna let it shine. I’m not gonna let Satan pffft it out. I’m gonna let it shine. Let it shine. Let it shine. Let it shine.”

And we pray, “Please Lord, don’t let Satan defeat Your church.”

But you know what, Satan can’t pffft out the church either.

But do you know who can stop the church?

Do you know who can pffft it out?

Look at the end of verse 5.

“If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place ...”

Jesus Christ

He says, repent or else I will remove the lampstand.

Jesus makes good on these promises, this is no idle threat.

Today, you won’t find a church of Ephesus.

In fact you won’t even find a city of Ephesus.

In the third century it was destroyed.

It was sporadically, inhabited over the years, but completely abandoned in the 1400’s.

It’s sad to say, but this thriving, active, doctrinally sound church didn’t take Christ’s warning.

They never got their love of Christ back, and the lampstand was removed.

Jesus’ concludes His letter to the Ephesians with a Timeless Message.

Each of these letters follows a similar of a pattern.

There’s an introduction to the pastor of the church.

The author is Jesus.

There are compliments and warnings.

Then there is a final message.

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

This message is timeless.

It’s not just for Ephesus.

It’s not just for the 7 churches in Asia Minor.

It’s for Christians for all time.

“He who has an ear, let him hear.”

He’s a addressing a specific church, but I think you’d agree, their situation is descriptive of many churches.

This is a message to all Christians.

This passage isn’t addressing two extremes.

Jesus is calling for obedience.

And He is calling for loving disciples.

It’s not too hard.

He says, “To the one who conquers.”

Who are conquerors? Believers.

, “Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”

We are called overcomers.

, “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”

And to those who conquer, who persevere to the end, Jesus says, “I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.”

This is eternal life.

This is eternal life with God.

This final part is a reward of assurance.

He’s threatened to snuff out a church if they are not active and loving.

You can have assurance.

You can know that you will have eternal life, if you see active obedient faith, and active love of Christ.

Jesus is in our midst.

I want you to have confidence of your own future.

And the test:

Obedience.

Faith.

And love.

Do you have it?