Jesus' Letter to Ephesus

Intro:

Revelation 2:1–3 HCSB

1 “Write to the angel of the church in Ephesus: “The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand and who walks among the seven gold lampstands says: 2 I know your works, your labor, and your endurance, and that you cannot tolerate evil. You have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and you have found them to be liars. 3 You also possess endurance and have tolerated many things because of My name and have not grown weary.

Let me start of by addressing the seriousness of vs 1 that I take. You see, Jesus is writing to the angel of the church in Ephesus. Now again, remember that these churches were literal churches historically, but in the context of the 7, and how they represent completeness, they represent the types of churches that exist throughout all time. So what is said to these churches is still very much so relevant to us now.

Ok so back to vs 1, the word angel means “messenger” now while angels in the Bible can and do at times directly mean a literal angel, angels are not leaders over the church. They aren’t a part of church leadership. He is talking to the leadership of the church. I recognize that He is talking to me, or any other pastor, but not just to pastors, church leadership is shared my friends (Acts 20:17). It’s why we have boards, and members on those boards. It is also why it’s important for us to always check the spiritual temperature of our church, and adjust as we see a need. But thankfully it doesn’t stop their for us at first baptist church. Hah! Because our ministers, are every member of FBC! So we all must share in this great responsibility to listen up. At least that is my exegesis of the verse.

What they got right.

Now vs 2-3 show us that the church of Ephesus had some great things going for them. They were able to discern the ones that claimed spiritual leadership in the church, but that were false teachers, they remained faithful and diligent to the Word of God, and the Work of the Lord enduring persecution, and yet continued on, the text says they didn’t grow tired from it.

1. They tolerated the tribulation that came from remaining faithful to the Word of God

2. they didn’t tolerate the evil and wrong they saw in the world.

Now again I don’t mean they became religious bigots, that is not what we need at all. But they didn’t affirm what was wrong, they didn’t allow what was wrong to now become good, and what was good to now become bad.

What they got wrong

Revelation 2:4–5 HCSB

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.

When I first became truly a believer in Jesus Christ I was so excited, I was on fire! many of us remember that new believer feeling. I was excited to get a Bible! we gift Bibles sometimes to others, and heh, I don’t think they are as excited as I was to get my first illustrated Bible, because, well pictures...... But I noticed over the years, in my own life, things became mechanical, or cold, that zeal, that passion had fallen off a bit. Not because of Jesus, but because I became so rigid, so processed that I left out latitude for the Lord to work in me.

We can all get that way at times in our faith, yep, I gotta go to church Sunday, yep I gotta give an offering, yep I gotta show up to this church work party, yep I gotta go to this Bible study. That’s cold friends, that's calculated.

We get to do these things, we get to grow in a loving relationship to Jesus Christ and others. But that sounds all good and well, but if your like me, your wondering well what do we do when we start to feel cold and mechanical in what we do?

Here’s how:

You re-encounter God

you do this through His Word

through your past experiences with God

Let me share one of my experiences

I was asking for 50k. God revealed himself to me because He loves me, Jehova Jireh, The Lord Will Provide. Henry Blackabee

If that don’t light your fire, your wood is wet! (I think Ron said he was quoting what he heard Dobson once say.)

3. You do this through relationships

Programs are well and good, but what we need is relationships

You can’t be a healthy Christian in isolation (Mark Jobe)

you can’t grow alone. ref Hebrews 10:25, Proverbs 27:17, Ephesians 4:11-16

Ephesians 4:16 ESV

16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Relationships are important, they are essential, if you are skipping out on relationships by staying home, your not gonna grow, if your coming to church for a mere check in the box, and don’t give any time to building relationships within this body, you are not gonna grow, and you will lack passion like the Church of Ephesus. You can disagree with me on that statement, and that's ok, but friends I have seen the fruit of it, I have seen it to be true.

Hear what the Spirit is saying

Revelation 2:6–7 HCSB

6 Yet you do have this: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 “Anyone who has an ear should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. I will give the victor the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in God’s paradise.

Nicolatians were a religious sect that the early church father Irenaeus (ear a na us) says came from Nicolas, who was made a deacon in Acts 6 but was later found to be a false believer, and led people astray with his false teaching.

“They abandoned themselves to pleasure like goats, leading a life of self-indulgence.” Their teaching perverted grace and replaced liberty with license.

John F. MacArthur Jr., The MacArthur Bible Commentary (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2005).

The book of Jude talks about people like this, ones that use the grace of God as a license to indulge in sin, not truly repentant for their sin, but instead justifying it by God’s Grace.

ref Romans 6:1,2 .. Jude 1:3

Illustration: I am a sinner, I have like everyone else fallen short of the glory of God, and He says that the wages of sin are death. I have bought and paid for the consequences of sin. I did that. Let me just clear something up real quick, I stand up their in the pulpit, but I am no higher than anyone else in this place, I just got the call to preach. Do not place me on a pedestal, I don’t belong their, I am not perfect, I will not be perfect in this life, and I’d much rather fall from down here than up their. I will and have made mistakes, I will offend some of you, or already have at times, and I deeply am sorry if and when I ever do, but I’m not perfect, I don’t belong on a pedestal, and I refuse to be on one. OK!

God is a perfect Judge. Because that is a true statement, my sins must be punished, it’s what I deserve, and its what I get. No sin goes without judgement, I can reason with God if I want, but God it’s just a small sin, or, but God so and so is way worse than I am, but God doesn’t want to hear it. All sin must be punished, all sin is against Him, and He being a perfect God will judge it. And He did! I love that song, but God, right but God rich in mercy, He punished my sin, and your sin if you believe at the Cross. He humbled himself to the form of man, lived a perfect life, and died on the Cross punishing Himself for my sins! He being a perfect judge did punish my sin, but He punished them upon Himself!

Friends that is just incomprehensible to me, I just can’t even understand it, its so amazing. But that is Grace! So the Grace we received from God is liberty, it is freedom from sin, not a license for sin. Jesus hated the practice of the Nicolatians, what does that mean for us?.

Don’t cheapen Grace

Now let us all hear what the Spirit is saying to the church, what the spirit is saying to me, and to you.

Let us commit ourselves to our first love, to Christ, and let that passion fuel our walk, fuel our talk, a fuel our every work and effort to Glorify Him all of our days.