7 Churches - Ephesus
Notes
Transcript
This morning I want us to embark upon a series looking at the 7 churches in Revelation. These churches that point forward to conditions in the world when Jesus returns were also dealing with all the issues mentioned in the churches in those cities in that day.
It is almost a cycle of a world first coming to understand Jesus Christ and the salvation He brought cycling through a world with the witness of Christ, into a world that has rejected that witness before He returns.
As we look at each of these churches there is a warning to we as believers to heed the concern or face having our lampstand (our witness) in the world removed. No church can be a true light of the Gospel if it is not committed to continual surrender to the Lordship of Christ!
We begin this morning with the church at Ephesus. - The Ephesian Church - the one whom the letter to the Ephesians was written by Paul.
Ephesus was a city of commerce and idolatry! Much of the commerce of the day would pass through this city - it was known for its sea trade and it was the banking captiol of the Eastern Roman Empire. It was wealthy and wicked at the same time. The church had many challenges in its midst. Temple Prostitution was alive and well in this city.
1 “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Ephesus. This is the message from the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, the one who walks among the seven gold lampstands:
2 “I know all the things you do. I have seen your hard work and your patient endurance. I know you don’t tolerate evil people. You have examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but are not. You have discovered they are liars.
3 You have patiently suffered for me without quitting.
4 “But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first!
5 Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches.
6 But this is in your favor: You hate the evil deeds of the Nicolaitans, just as I do.
7 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. To everyone who is victorious I will give fruit from the tree of life in the paradise of God.
Let me explain quickly that a pervasive issue in the early church was the acceptance of fornication and sexual ritual in the church by the NIcolaitans.
Although the leader of the group was appointed by Peter as a Deacon in the church at Jerusalem, he came to giving out his wife in fornication to others, and soon they were having “Love feasts” as a practice of worship - supposedly to God.
What this was was adopting the culture of promiscuity from the temple prostitution and trying to Christianize it.
Can I say today, the church has got to stop engaging in sexual immorality and trying to say its ok!!!! Whether that is homosexuality, transgenderism, or heterosexual behavior outside of marriage, or what is a major issue in the church world today - PORNOGRAPHY.
The good thing is that the church at EPHESUS stood STRONG AGAINST THESE PRACTICES and RIGHTFULLY SO!
The problem was that in that battle, they had lost something - they had lost their focus on LOVING GOD and LOVING PEOPLE!
Jesus calls out all the good they have done in holding fast to righteousness, doing good works, and laboring for the Kingdom of God. They spoke out against false prophets and were patient to endure through the issues caused by them.
Then, Jesus draws out His concern...
1. LOVE LOST
1. LOVE LOST
This faithful, enduring, hard working group of Christians had suffered the most important thing a Christian must not lose....
The FIRST LOVE and LOVING FIRST!
That is right, the comment so often interpreted as losing their passion for Jesus, was more inclusive in its content than just failing to put the Love of Jesus first.
It is our love of God that helps us to passionately love and serve people, and if we are no longer standing up for God because we love Him, and ministering to others out of a heart of compassion, than we have missed the FIRST LOVE - the unconditional love of Christ that motivates all we do.
34 So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.
35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
Our experience of the unconditional love of Christ brings us to loving one another - this is our witness as FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST. We experience agape love (unconditional) and we show it.
However, the battle of false doctrines and unrighteous heresy that had crept into the church had divided this body of believers. THey had grown suspicious and judgmental - not because they were trying to be judgy but in a defense of what was right.
It is so hard to hold fast to TRUTH of GO’s Word and helping point the way to righteousness and still keep LOVE as our first focus! We can become so caught in the defense of truth and righteousness that we miss our true motivation.
Likewise, we can be so loving that we hold no one to the truth and rightouesness of God’s Word and in reality have ceased to love people into the hope that Jesus actually gives and permit sin to run rampant pulling people into hell.
We live in a time where a STANDARD OF RIGHTEOUSNESS needs to be raised in the church and TRUTH of God’s WORD is requiring a defense, but if lose our motivation to spread the Gospel and work for the KINGDOM which is LOVE, we have lost the FIRST THING CHRIST CALLS US TO DO AS DISCIPLES.
His NEW COMMANDMENT to LOVE EACH OTHER supersedes the first 10 Commandments - it does not negate them, but it must be a guiding directive in applying them.
One commentator stated: “ They were satisfied to have right doctrine an fulfilll what they considered their duty to the Lord, but their work for HIm no longer showed Christlike compassion. Their lives were very busy but terribly barren.”
2. A THREEFOLD REMEDY
2. A THREEFOLD REMEDY
So, the message of Christ to the church was a three fold command...
First, to REMEMBER THE DAYS OF FIRST LOVE — specifically it was to REMEMBER where Christ had brought them from!!!!
When we have served the Lord with FERVOR for many years, it is easy to look at the lost or young Christian with a judgmental heart. We see the world still attached to people and them still struggling in sin and wonder why are things not changing in their lives...
Jesus calls us to remember when HE first called us! Where were our lives, our sinful state, our behavior and wrong choices and how patient was Christ with us drawing us to Himself and changing us bit by bit!
Not only that, but what was it like when we first heard Calvary and the hope of the cross call us into a new way of living? The freedom from sin we felt, the compassion and waves of love that rolled over us when Jesus washed our sins away!?
In those days we were so loving to a God who forgave us and showed us mercy that His love motivated us to follow, praise, serve!!!! IT is this kind of passionate transformation in our lives that lead to witnessing, reaching out to others, and establishing ministry to others in the same place.
If we would come back to that first place Christ found us - our attitudes toward others would be changed and our ministry to others be made effective again!
Second, REPENT of the new attitudes that we may have adopted. Adjust our attitudes to former attitudes of love!
Are we so prideful in our work for the Kingdom, in our labors, and defense of the Gospel that we are unwilling to allow LOVE for others to become our motivation once again?
Jesus was calling the church to repent because they had lost their passion for him and for others!
Kind of like the illustration of Martha who became so busy serving the Lord that she failed to be with the Lord like her sister Mary.
Today, the issue with POLITICAL Christianity is that in the defense of righteous principles and calling out wrong doing the church has lost sight that JESUS LOVES THOSE SINNERS AND WANTS TO SAVE THEM… we must
HATE SIN and LOVE SINNERS....
Third, RETURN - Go back and do what you did at the beginning again! The passionate outpouring of our love for God giving ourself selflessly to minister for Him and reach out to others!
I see Christians who have served the Lord for years get tired, cynical and apathetic --- they feel they have done their time and now it is time to sit back - as long as they are guardians of truth, there are no other expectations.
The problem with that is the needs of the Kingdom and the lost continue on! If we do nothing do we really love?
8 When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.
9 “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love.
10 When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.
11 I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!
12 This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.
13 There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
14 You are my friends if you do what I command.
15 I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me.
17 This is my command: Love each other.
22 You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart.
7 Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God.
11 Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other.
5 I am writing to remind you, dear friends, that we should love one another. This is not a new commandment, but one we have had from the beginning.
6 Love means doing what God has commanded us, and he has commanded us to love one another, just as you heard from the beginning.
3. A CONSEQUENTIAL CHOICE
3. A CONSEQUENTIAL CHOICE
JEsus then states that your decision to apply the threefold remedy or not has a choice with consequences!
TO NOT RETURN TO YOUR FIRST LOVE - to place the love that flows from Christ toward others is to basically be of no use as a church!
Your light has no use!!! I will remove your candlestick!!!!
WOW — This little light of mine - Im going to let it shine, but if it only shines in judgmental division than Jesus is saying it is not the true light of HIs Gospel!!!
The truth and righteousness of Christ must be accompanied by the UNCONDITIONAL LOVE OF CHRIST ---
Do we see why this is so important in our world today? We must be loving toward one another and our love must motivate us to reach the lost!
If we do return to the importance of LOVING GOD AND LOVING PEOPLE - than the CHOICE TO RESPOND to CHrist message is one of promise to receive eternal life, to thrive in heaven for eternity eating from the TREE OF LIFE and to overcome the difficulties of this world!
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION
The decision is ours....
We are acknowledged for holding fast to righteousness and truth and defending the Gospel and true teachings of Christ, but we must balance that with our love for Christ and others.
We cannot excuse the bad behavior of others to keep us from being productive in serving in the Kingdom of God or writing off our responsibility to let God’s love motivate us to reach out to others.
There are so many false doctrines and failures in churches these days in adopting the lies of SATAN in the name of love, but there is a difference between loving people into hell and loving them into heaven.
The thing is as we are showing people the truth if we do not do it in love that flows from our love for Jesus we will be as ineffective as those who love people to excuse them to live in sin...
Let us return to that FIRST LOVE - when we met CHRIST and fell in love with Him, His mercy and grace and allow that to flow to others.
