Revelation 2:6-7

Revelation 2:6-7; Return by Repenting

I dialed a number and got the following recording: 'I am not available right now, but thank you for caring enough to call. I am making some changes in my life. Please leave a message after the beep. If I do not return your call, you are one of the changes.'

Well, the message that we are reading here in Revelation is not one that the church of Ephesus needed to neglect listening too. Here was a church that had received the wonderful praise from the Lord about their works and patience, and their stand against false preaching; yet, here was also a church that had not had their heart in the work. They had left Jesus out of the church and were just going through the motions. They had what you might say a head knowledge of Christ, but they didn’t have a heart knowledge. How dangerous, to have what seems a relationship with Christ, and then to hear the words, depart from me I never knew you. Well, these people knew the Lord, they had just turned away from Him and made the church the god of their life. So, this makes this letter to Ephesus a critical challenge, repent or be put out. Now as we draw to the end of this letter to this church, notice what is said in regards of them going forward.

“But this thou hast”

1. Not everything that the church was doing was wrong, this letter wasn’t a message to tear them down and make them think that everything they were doing was wrong.

2. As pastors, it is easy and tempting to preach just on what the church is not doing right. We can become very critical and miss the important things that the church is right in. There is an old minister terminology, that the sheep don’t respond when you constantly beat them, they need the care and positive as well.

3. The message that is being delivered to the Ephesian church, is one that can be looked at and one say, well we can’t do nothing right. And just give up hope. But that is not what the Lord wants from this church. He wants them to understand that he sees it all, and he begins to give them encouragement and the formula to come back to Him.

4. Now let’s apply this statement to our life, you see the Bible is applicable to our life even today, but you may look at your life and say, I am not as talented or gifted as this brother or sister, that compare to others you are lacking, listen Jesus isn’t as concerned with how many gifts or talents you have, as much as he is concerned with the way you are using the one you have.

5. Jesus observes your life, he observes our church, and he wants us to know “But this thou hast”.

“Thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.”

1. Now what did the church of Ephesus do, that the Lord took noticed of? Well they hated the deeds of those who were causing problems among the church.

2. Now notice, they hated the deeds and not the people.

Are we as a church to love people? Absolutely. Are we as a church suppose to go out into the world? Absolutely. Are we as a church to allow the world to run the church? Absolutely not!

God hates sin! And hates the deeds of people who allow sin to rule in their life.

3. Let’s understand it this way, we as a church hate the deeds of an abortionist, but we are to love the doctor. We as a church are to hate the deeds of murderer, but we should love that one sitting on death row. We are to hate the sinful actions of people but love them, nonetheless.

4. We should hate sin! If you are like me, I hate it when I sin. I can’t stand it. Listen, God hates sin as well.

5. Now this church saw the deeds of a group of individuals that the Bible refers as Nicolaitans. The deeds by this groups were causing issues among the brethren, and the church despised their deeds, now who are the Nicolaitans and what were their deeds?

6. Well, the Nicolaitans were not a group of people from what you would say as from a town or state.

The Nicolaitans were a group of people who were trying to bring in a type of rule or government in the church.

Now when you look at the name

Nicolaitans is made up of two words, first nikao which means to conquer and laos, which means the laity or people.

So, in other words, this was a group of individuals who were trying to organize a priesthood over the people.

7. Now, when we look at it in that light, that doesn’t seem so bad, right? Well, the problem with this group was that they wanted to be the middlemen and the authority over the people. That they would have control over the people of the church, much like a king would have over his subjects. The Nicolaitans wanted to use this position of power to influence the church and also allow what they deemed acceptable, rather than what God had said in his Holy Word. For example, this sect taught that Christians ought to remain members of the pagan clubs, to make practical compromise with the society they found themselves living in. So, the Nicolaitans were trying to run the church, to rule through an order of priesthood, to allow themselves to place into position who would serve, and then take the Holiness out of God’s Word.

8. Today, we see roots of this in certain denominations, and branches of the church. God did not want this and in fact, we see in the latter part of this verse that God hates it!

9. Now, this type of group has transformed its image over time. It can take on a variety of different names, whenever a group wants to run the church instead of letting the Lord lead it, then you can just say here are the Nicolaitans.

10. Now don’t misinterpret what the verse is saying, God didn’t hate these people, he hated their deeds. Hopefully, some of these people saw the error of their ways and repented. Now, we have to be careful as well, that we don’t become a modern form of this group.

11.

Anytime, we try to usurp the leadership of God, by putting our own ideas and objectives before the Lord, when we begin to compromise and say it is okay to do these sins, we are guilty of becoming just like them.

12. Praise the Lord, here was a group of people that knew who the Lord was, who knew His word, and rejected the deeds of this rising sect. Jesus saw this in this church and he is commended them in their rejection of compromise.

13. But just because these people made some good choices, didn’t mean that their heart was right. This leads us to the key statement to the church made in verse 7.

“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith”

1. If you are like me, you probably get irritated when you see well known people, documentaries, and books written by secular people trying to make sense of the Bible. It is sad that they don’t understand the words, but it is because they are missing a vital necessity in understanding the scripture, and that is the Spirit of God.

2. In this verse,

The phrase “he that hath an ear”, this is a statement of faith.

For the people of these churches who would read this letter from Jesus to understand it, they would need to have put their faith in Christ. Listen, you cannot fully understand the Bible unless you have a true relationship with Him.

3. So, this is a call to all, all who are believers, all who profess faith, the call to us even here tonight, that we need to listen to what the Lord is about to say. This was the point that they didn’t need to miss!

4. Now, what is it they need to listen too? Well, to what the Spirit had to say! Now consider this,

The Spirit of God speaks to us. He speaks to us through His Word, through prayer, through the preaching and teaching of the Scripture, through his creation, through our heart.

God reveals in our hearts what we need to do, but the question comes up, are we listening?

5. There is a good story from years ago about a top executive with a telegraph company who went on a trip. It was extremely cold outside when he arrived at the bus station, so he went into a local telegraph station hoping to get warmed up. When he got inside, however, it was cold. He noticed there was no fire in the fireplace. He said to the young telegraph operator, "Why don't you build a fire in this place and warm it up?" The young man said, "Listen mister, I'm too busy sending telegrams to build fires." The man then told this boy that he was the vice-president of the company and that he wanted him to send a telegram to the home office at once. The message was, "Fire this man immediately." The young telegraph operator got the message. A moment later he brought a load of wood into the office and began to build a fire. The executive asked, "Youngman, have you sent that telegram yet?" The young telegraph operator said, "Listen mister, I'm too busy building fires to send telegrams." The point is that somewhere in life we have to set priorities. We must decide what really matters and make certain that the important things are done.

6. Well, here Jesus wants the church of Ephesus and us to understand that he has an important message that we mustn’t miss. That is repent!!

7. Now ask yourself, what is the Spirit saying to you? Then listen to the Spirit and do it.

“Unto the churches”

1. Here the message now takes on a broader statement, it is no longer just speaking to the church of Ephesus, but now to all who are believers. This is now applicable to us.

2.

It is easy to be a church that seems to do the right things and not be in the will of the Lord.

, that is why it is important to examine ourselves by the Bible and do a self-check, asking ourselves, are our intentions being directed by God? Are we truly in love with Him and more than anything else? Have we tried to replace God with man-made authority?

3. Here, Jesus has said this message is for all believers. And this applies to all believers and to all churches of all times.

“To him that overcometh”

1. In this phrase, we find that the Lord is referring to a type of person, a person who has overcome. This is referring to one who has overcome the flesh and desires of this world and chose Jesus Christ as their savior.

2. Listen,

The only way you can have victory over this world is by having a relationship with Christ.

John knew this, Paul knew this, and we need to know it also. Now ask yourself, are you being overcome with the things of this world? We may feel overwhelmed at times, but listen, the world has not defeated us, Satan has not conquered us, if, we have Jesus Christ in our life.

3. Several years ago, me and Lisa got caught up in the show “American Idol” the singing competition. There was one of the contestants that went on to become a Christian artist, named Mandisa. One of her hit songs was based right off this verse, overcomer.

You're an overcomer Stay in the fight 'til the final round You're not going under 'Cause God is holding you right now You might be down for a moment Feeling like it's hopeless That's when he reminds you That you're an overcomer You're an overcomer

4.

1 John 5:4-5 “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?”

5. Listen, Jesus has a message to those who have put their trust in the Lord, those that have overcome the flesh by the Spirit.

“Will I give to eat of the tree of life”

1. Oh, we go back to the garden. When all the trees were placed, even the tree of life. Listen the Lord has that tree available to man, and one day, we will eat from that tree.

2. Now the world has some tempting fruits, but these temptations and allurements, such as what the Nicolaitans wanted the church to partake of (idol meats) will find the fruit of God bestowed to them.

3. This was the tree that man should have picked from before, making the fatal error of eating from the forbidden tree, God had to drive man away, now that Jesus has restored that relationship with the Father, God freely will offer it to his children.

4.

This is the reward for keeping the faith

here is what it all leads up too. A life of joy, living for God and doing His will.

“Which is in the midst of the paradise of God”

1. Now we are told where the tree is located. Many men have spent countless years searching for the Garden of Eden, never to find it. Well listen, even if they came into the garden, what they were looking for would not be there, the tree of life has been relocated, it now resides in the paradise of God, and that paradise is in Heaven.

2.

Paradise “Παράδεισος [Paradeisos] was originally a Persian word, denoting an enclosed garden

especially a royal park.”37 “Among the Persians a grand enclosure or preserve, hunting ground, park, shady and well watered, in which wild animals, were kept for the hunt; it was enclosed by walls and furnished with towers for the hunters.”38 Although Paradise was initially associated with the Garden of God (Gen. 2:8; 13:10; Isa. 51:3; Eze. 28:13; 31:5), the meaning of the term has changed with time: “We may thus trace παράδεισος [paradeisos] passing through a series of meanings, each one higher than the last; from any garden of delight, which is its first meaning, it comes to be predominantly applied to the Garden of Eden; then to the resting-place of separate souls in joy and felicity; and lastly, to the very heaven itself.”39 “What was originally a garden of delight has taken on the connotation of the new heavens and the new earth.”40

3. Prior to the cross, paradise was a compartment within Hades (Luke 16:22-23). At His crucifixion, Jesus told the repentant thief, “today you will be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43). The location of paradise after the victory of Jesus on the cross moved to heaven, for Paul was “caught up into Paradise” [emphasis added] where he heard inexpressible words (2Cor. 12:4). Essentially, the term describes the abode of righteous men upon death:

4. I want you to know, that there is place called paradise. It is a place that Jesus said he would be and where we as believer can come.

Paradise is only for those who have put their trust in Christ and truly love Him.

Now, how much do you love Jesus? If you say you love Him, then begin to show that love.