Ephesus 7 Churches of Revelation

Watch

Listen

Click here to listen to the episode on our website

Read

The Church of Ephesus - First of the Seven Churches of Revelation

Today we are looking at the first of seven letters written to seven different churches that actually existed in Asia Minor in the first century. We're going to be in Revelation 2:1-7.

"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." (Revelation 2:1-7)

Three Ways to View These Letters

What we have before us today is the first of seven letters written to seven different churches that actually existed in Asia Minor in the first century. When I talk or teach within Revelation, I always tell folks that these letters could be considered in three different perspectives:

1. Prophetically

You can look at these through the prophetic lens. These churches represent different stages of the church over the last 2,000 years. The church at Ephesus, church number one, would represent the time period between the day of Pentecost and 100 AD roughly. This was a time of great expansion for the early church. But it was also a time when some began to lose their zeal and their fervent love for Jesus.

2. Practically

These letters were sent to literal real congregations that were actually functioning at the close of the first century. While they were written to real churches existing in that day, they still speak to us. They can still speak to every church in existence on the planet right now.

3. Personally

These letters speak to congregations. But we also need to be mindful of what the Lord has to say to the individual in this. He has something to say to you and me about our relationship with him.

The Lord's Commendation

As Jesus begins to address this particular church, he does so in glowing terms, commending them for their works and their strong attention to the truth of faith. It appears that this was a very busy congregation. He really feels like these people got it going on on one hand. They were active with many ministries occupying the time of the members of the congregation. And that's a good thing.

In verse two, Jesus uses three words to describe the business of this church:

• The word "works" refers to their accomplishments. They were an accomplishing group of folks. This was a church that had been used of the Lord to do great things in the community.
• The word "toil" literally refers to a beating. It speaks of intense work involving toil and pain.
• The word "patience" reminds us that they carried out their works for the Lord in the midst of great persecution. The city around them hated them in the message that they preached.

This was a working, living, standing firm church.

Verses 2 and 3 and verse 6 also tell us that this church was doctrinally pure. So what could be wrong, right? They stood for the truth against evil. They publicly exposed false prophets. They were what we would call an old-fashioned fundamental church. They were not allowing the world to influence their worship or their walk.

Anyone looking in from the outside would have concluded that they were a rock solid congregation. Anyone attending their services would have been in awe of their work and their calendar of activities.

Now, while those around them were looking at them, someone far more important had his eye on them. Who was that? That's the Lord Jesus Christ. He's walking in their midst in verse one, right? And they were unaware of his presence.

While they had much, there were problems in the church of Ephesus. The Lord knew what the people around them did not know. The Lord knew what the church itself did not recognize or was ignoring if they did recognize it.

See, the Lord knew this church was now just going through the motions serving him. He knew that they did not love him like they had once loved him.

If this church had been honest about their condition, their favorite hymn would not have been, "Oh, how I love Jesus." Their favorite hymn would have been, "Oh, how I loved Jesus."

And their focus would get back to the why instead of just going through the motions.

It's like many things in life, you know, without realizing it, stuff can become stale. It does, doesn't it? Without intentionality, it's amazing how quickly things become dry and now before you know it, you've slidden down the hill and now you need to climb back up. I mean this is especially true in marriage. See it all the time. Various other relationships it happens. How you approach your job you know even once loved hobbies can just lose their shine.

But when that happens with your walk with the Lord with your walk with the one who saved you when that slides everything else seems to slide with it. Many times that's what happens. Always remember your walk with Christ is the one thing that can assist all the other things in your life. So when the Lord pokes your heart, it is of paramount importance that we respond.

The Relevance for Today

So I want to consider the Lord's message to this ancient congregation. What he said to them is very relevant to us today if we just take a minute and absorb it. Right?

As it was in the church of Ephesus, many in our day are merely going through the motions. Many simply do not love Jesus like they once did. And it shows. Across the nation of this once great land over the last 20 plus years, we've witnessed love growing cold, a spine turning to jelly, and being liked by the world becoming more important than "well done, my good and faithful servant."

So, let's talk about how we love Jesus. I want you to ask yourself a couple questions while we're talking today:

1. Do you love him with all your heart, your soul, and your mind?
2. Are you serving him because it's what you're used to doing? Or do you serve him because you're consumed with the love of the Lord Jesus in your life?

Now, that question can be sobering for many of us.

Let's focus on verses four and five today. And I want to try to share what the Lord has given us from this passage. And I pray that God will speak to our hearts and help us to a daily rekindling of our love for Jesus.

The Lord's Issue with This Church

After praising them for their works, Jesus condemns them for their lack of love for him. He tells them that there is a real problem in their hearts. Let's notice the nature of this issue. It's kind of two things:

1. A Personal Problem

First, the personal problem, it's in verse four: "I have this against you." Did he stutter? I have this against you. The Ephesians probably thought their biggest problems were the pagans around them and the persecution they face because that can get heavy. Yeah. Jesus tells them that the biggest problem they faced was a personal problem with the Lord himself.

This reminds us that Jesus cares for his people. If he did not have an eye on them, he would not have been aware of what the problem was. In verse one, we are told that he walks among them. In verse two, he says, "I know." He knows us, too, by the way. He knows us far better than we know ourselves. No one in the church of Ephesus would have guessed that there was a problem between them and Jesus, but there was.

Now depending on how we look at ourselves will determine what we think in regards to how solid we are with Jesus. Right? Are we solid with the Lord or not? See now the problem is the way we gauge our own state of righteousness. Many times it's to compare ourselves with others who say they're walking with Jesus. And then you read the Bible and you realize the spirit impresses upon you God's standard of holiness is a bit higher than that. His standard of righteousness is Christ himself.

We think our biggest problems are society or government or whatever. The truth is our biggest problem in the modern church like Ephesus is that the modern church has offended a holy God. He has a problem with us when we are not where he wants us to be spiritually.

2. An Abandonment Problem

Also, it's an abandonment problem. Jesus tells them exactly what they've done to offend him. He tells them they have "abandoned the love you had at first." Jesus tells them that they don't love him like they used to.

While all the words in the phrase scream for our attention, there are two that demand special notice. The first is the word "abandon." And the second is the word "first." I almost feel like I'm doing an Abbott and Costello routine. Two words, abandon and first. They are very strong.

The word "abandon" is an expressive word that means to send away. It was used of a husband divorcing a wife. It means to expire, to let alone, to omit, to forsake, to leave one place and go to another, to disregard. Jesus is talking to a people that have walked away from their love for him. They have abandoned his love. They have forsaken his love. They have disregarded his love. Like a man divorcing an unwanted wife. They have symbolically sent the Lord away while they continue to do the activity of the church.

The word "first" literally means first in rank or importance. They still love their church. They still love their doctrines. They still love their activities. They still love their busy schedules. They still love all they do. They just don't love Jesus more than these other things. Jesus is a means to an end. Not the great love of the one who saved me.

Now, we might think our love with Jesus going cold is a minor thing. We might think it's something that happens to a lot of people. It's not a big deal. Happens to everybody. Ah, something we can get fixed at the next Bible study or the next service we attend or even watching online. Let me show you why I think our love for Jesus cooling off is a serious issue.

The Dangers of Not Loving Jesus

When we do not love Jesus as we should, we are in violation of the greatest commandment. Did you know that? I showed this to you two weeks ago. Here it is again. Matthew 22:37-38. Jesus telling it straight up:

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment."

Now, this opens us up to great sin. Why? Because when we do not love him as we should, we are more likely to break the next three commandments, the first three commandments from Moses:

1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
2. Thou shalt not make any graven images.
3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.

When we are not in love with Jesus, we will not love others like he wants us to. Do you ever stop and think about the fruit of the spirit in Galatians chapter 5? Love is the actual fuel that makes everything go. This is my opinion. In Galatians 5:22-23, it says this:

"But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things, there is no law."

Another way to put it is you can put brand new tires on the race car. You can have the camber set just perfect so it rolls through, comes off the corner really tight. You can have the best safety equipment. You can have the car looking good. You can have it wrapped by a professional with your sponsors on it. And you can have the best motor on the track, but if you have no fuel, you ain't going nowhere.

Love is the fuel for the fruits of the spirit. And I know many of you, I've talked to many of you in this room, you want to have that fruit of the spirit. You want to see your love for Jesus matter. And it all starts with love for him. That's where the fruit of the spirit comes from. Love for others then becomes the work of God in our hearts.

I've shared with you many times. It's hard to be a pastor when I don't have the love. I mean, I just come from a rougher background where whatever, dude. And the reason I love is because Jesus loved me. When my heart breaks with those folks around you, I shared this with you a couple weeks ago when some of you are going through hard times. My heart breaks with you. The hardest part about being a pastor isn't getting up on Sunday well-prepared to feed the sheep good food. It's to just go through emotionally and spiritually with people that you now love more than you should. Why? Because Jesus puts that love in there for you. And he says, "My great love for you is so strong, you are now going to have love for others." And when you're walking with Christ, you can't help it. You can turn, you can stumble, you can get ornery, but that love will come back when your love for him is strong.

See, I'm going to show you a passage where it doesn't get much clearer than this. I mean, even in English, it is so clear. It's in 1 John 4:7-12. Says this:

"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this, the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God. And if we love one another, God abides in us, and his love is perfected in us."

Bada bing, bada boom.

So the hard truth is this. When we do not love Jesus as we should, we will not have a desire to be with him. Think about it now. Always wanting to be with the object of your affection. That's how it is for a new believer. Over time, the love fades and the desire to be around Jesus and his people then fades too. What's the problem? It could be traced back to a loss of first love.

When we do not love Jesus as we should, we will not serve him as strongly as he wants us to. We may attend church, but our heart's not faithful. We might teach a class. We might preach a sermon. We might lead a prayer meeting. Might lead a Bible study, but there will always be something lacking. Strong emotional extravagant love for Jesus will always manifest itself into active public service for him one way or the other.

Now there's much more that could be said about the dangers of not loving Jesus as we should. Many of us have been in that place and then we think back. We think back to that time when we are consumed with love for him. Our great substitute, the perfect lamb of God, the one who sacrificed for me. Dirty face Chris Danielson from the neighborhood. Me, my lord and my king. Oh, how I love him. And then real life happens. Real life happens. And many of us get into that place or have been in that place where the flame of passion becomes a dying ember. We know the difference and we know which honors him the most.

The Lord's Call to This Church

Point number two is the Lord's call to this church. The Lord's called to this church. And the "this" in that sentence is Ephesus. It's the church of Ephesus. Having addressed their problem, Jesus gives them a plan of action. He tells them how they can go about rekindling the flames of passion for him that once burned so brightly. And he breaks it down into three things:

1. Remember

First up, let's talk about remember. They are commanded to "Remember therefore from where you have fallen." The Lord's command is for them to look back. They needed to remember a time when their love for him was so powerful, all-consuming, and the most important thing in their lives. They were to remember those early days of salvation when the love of God for them was so obvious and so overwhelming. They were to remember how it felt to be saved and to know that all their sins have been forgiven.

And for those of you here and watching online, if you have been forgiven, isn't that the most awesome thing to have your sins forgiven and to just start living joyfully free?

And what's the first thing that happens? You love Jesus for what he did for you because you know you didn't deserve it. While you were still a sinful person, Jesus loved you and plucked you and saved you. And he'll present you before a holy God as if you're perfect and you've never sinned because his blood is over the doorpost of your soul.

They were to remember what it felt like to know that they were no longer dead to sin, that they had been made alive in Jesus. They were to remember the excitement and that every new revelation from the word of God brought to their hearts. And I say to you that we always need to remember - that's what communion is every Sunday. That's what the worship songs are. That's what your devotions are every day during the week. That's what Wednesday nights are about. We need to remember those early days of excitement and joy. We need to recapture that excitement of the early love we felt for Jesus when he saved us from our sins. Do we remember?

2. Repent

And then he calls us to repent. Once they remembered what he had done for them, they could see how far they had fallen. And when they remembered, you know what else they would see? They would recognize their sins.

When you and I see our sin plainly, it is sobering and should drive us to repentance. The word "repent" refers to, listen now, a change of mind that leads to a change of action. It's not guilt. It's not turning over a new leaf. It's not. The word repent means a change of mind that leads to a change of action. It's a complete turning.

When they saw the depth of their sins, they were to turn from it and then truly fall in love with Jesus again. The greatest need for the modern church is for us to fall in love with Jesus once again. And many of us in this room have that love for Jesus. That's why we're here. That's why we serve. That's why we give. But if we have a lack, if we have a recognization that our love isn't what it should be, that's a sin. That's what the scripture teaches us. And we're going to have to understand that all the things we have allowed to come between him and us are idols.

The modern church doesn't need a revival. The modern church doesn't need more money, more recognition in society, or more presence in the community. The modern church simply needs to walk out their love with Jesus once again. I hope you've seen it cuz I see it around here. There are so many times in just unique little mundane things we do together, we're walking out the love of Jesus. And there's nothing better on the planet.

When we repent of our sins and turn from the lack of love, he will fill us with his presence, his wonder, and his power.

3. Do the Works You Did at First

And if you listen real close, he calls Ephesus to "do the works you did at first." And the word "first" is the same word first in verse four. It speaks of that which is first in rank and importance. In other words, Jesus calls him to return to the things that are most important. What is most important when it comes to our relationship with Jesus?

The Lord's call here is for the Ephesian believers to return to the simple fundamentals of faith:

• It's a call to return to intentional prayer.
• It's a call to come back to the word of God.
• It's a call to return to the place of worship.
• It's a call to be obedient to his will. Not my will, but your will, Lord.
• It's a call for the church to walk in holiness before the Lord.

Oh, those are fighting words in the modern church.

Jesus is still calling every church on this planet to return to these basic fundamental foundational activities. Now, if we don't seek him in prayer, if we do not feed on his word, if we are not active in his worship, if we do not walk in holiness and obedience, then what love do we really have for him? Oh, I say I love him. So what? People can say a lot of stuff. If we love, we will do these things if we love him.

And you want to know something? Over and over. I've seen it. He will respond to our love by making himself real in our lives as individuals and as lives in this church.

• Do you want to see souls saved? Stay in love with Jesus and let that love be seen.
• Do you want to see the power of God in your life and in this church? Stay in love with Jesus and let him live through you every day.

If we can recapture fervent, emotional, extravagant, first love for Jesus straight up, that's all we need. Everything else falls into place. It will transform the child of God and it will transform whatever church that child of God is in. And that'll be a church that serves the Lord.

Our problem in the modern church, our problem across this great land is so many do not love Jesus like we could and like we should. And since that is true, then point number three is in play.

The Lord's Warning to This Church

Point number three is the Lord's warning to this church. And this church again means Ephesus. Because the Lord loves his church, he let them know that their lack of love for him holds serious consequences on down the road. If they stayed the course and refused to repent, they face certain judgment. We shouldn't be shocked. Jesus tells us straight up what's going down.

The Lord describes this judgment in three ways:

1. Sudden Judgment

First, the sudden judgment. We're challenged about this. Jesus is challenging us. The Lord says that he will come quickly. The word means without delay. The Lord is telling his church when judgment comes, it'll be swift and it'll be sure. We can be sure that the Lord will not tolerate deadness and a lack of love amongst his people for an extended period of time. Sin will be judged in one way, shape, or form. Of that we can be sure.

And you say, "Well, I know a lot of dead churches that are full every Sunday." There's a judgment of God somewhere on that church. Trust me.

2. Shocking Judgment

And then they are challenged concerning shocking judgment. He tells them, listen now, listen to how shocking this is. You might have read it a million times and not let it sink in, but listen to this: "He will remove your lampstand from its place." And if he removes it, it's gone. This means that they will cease to exist as a congregation, cease to exist as a Christian body. Jesus is telling the church at Ephesus that their lack of love is so serious that it threatens the very existence of their church.

This prophecy was literally fulfilled in Ephesus. I don't know if you knew this, but from what I can read, there's nothing where this great city once stood but a pile of rocks. There's not a Christian witness in sight. There's no light of the gospel. The land is intimidated but now by Muslim nomads. All of that is a result of a church that failed to stay in love with Jesus.

Look around today. Everywhere you look, there are little struggling churches with maybe a handful of aged believers. It's not the case everywhere, but many of those churches are in their present condition because somewhere along the way, they stopped loving Jesus with a passionate consuming love. When they did, their worship became lifeless and dead. Ever been in a dead church? Ever walked in and could tell it was dead? Their preaching has lost its power and effectiveness. The young people moved away and the church began to die.

Now, regardless of what you might think, it can happen anywhere. Most churches are less than a generation away from the very thing taking place. I pray that it won't, but I can see some of the signs already. Not necessarily on Fresh Encounter Church, but we're not immune. And if you've been paying attention, you can see it, too. If you just look, it makes us together constantly rekindling that fire of great importance.

3. Avoidable Judgment

And lastly, they are also warned concerning an avoidable judgment. It could be avoided. I don't want Jesus to take away any church's lampstand. But he will if that church ceases to shine. The Ephesians are told that they can avoid their fate if they will repent of their sins.

The modern church is dying. And she is dying because she doesn't love Jesus like she used to and being replaced by false teaching going 100 miles an hour, deceiving people through manipulation and selfishness. And the only remedy is repentance and restoration.

It's a serious thing when a church ceases to love the Lord. That church might wander off into apostasy. And we know that a few do. More likely, that church will simply fade away and cease to exist. Over a thousand churches close every year in America. Church planting can't keep up with it.

And what's happening is a lot of the church planting that's actually going on in America is people planting what I consider to be false churches. They're community centers where they're fans of Jesus, but they're not sold out to him. Why is that happening? It's happening because many in the generic church love their church, love their doctrine, and many love their rituals, but they don't love Jesus.

What about you? If you're honest today, would we want to sing, "Oh, how I love Jesus"? Or would you have to sing along with the church of Ephesus, "Oh, how I loved Jesus"?

If he has spoken to you, you need to listen to what he is saying. It is time for you to remember, repent, and then have a do-over. If we don't, there's no remedy but removal according to the scriptures.

Our Mission

This is why we stay focused and because our love for Jesus grows, we stay on mission. But it's our mission. We have a lot of missions and I'm not going to define it that it's narrowed down to just these two, but these are mine:

1. We are to share the gospel any way we can.
2. We need to stay prepared for the great deception that's coming over the world. Jesus says God has to shorten the time or even the elect would be deceived.

What's one of the biggest things that I taught you today that we can have that can push back that deception? Keep us under an umbrella of unity and faith where we are going to be strong in the face of deception?

It's the love of Jesus. It's loving the fact that he loved you so much that he died for you. He was spiked to a tree for you as the spotless lamb of God to take away the sins of the world. And while we were sinners, he saved us and became our substitute and that great love we have in our salvation. We can't help but want to share the gospel with any way we can and with any one we can.

In the 1800s, there was a thief that was arrested and one of the evangelists at the time went and met with him. This is in London, England, 1850-something. And he learned the gospel and he was so overjoyed that he could be saved and be put into the kingdom of God. And Jesus overwhelmed him, washed over him. And he said:

"Because this is true, how can anyone who knows this not be willing to crawl across broken glass across all of London to tell their worst enemy this good news?"

Well, my religion doesn't have to be your religion. And you know, everybody makes their own decisions. Yeah, I know what society we live in. But I stand on the truth and I want to make my life count for the kingdom and I will share the gospel any way I can. And many of you want to do that alongside of me. And that's why I love being here. And if you are on the fringe, come on with us. We want you. We want you to rekindle that love for Jesus and have your salvation be so alive, you can't help but want to do stuff. That's what my hope is.

And so I end again with - because our love for Jesus grows, let's stay on mission.