Audio Access Available Above
“I Have
This Against You” • 6.21.20 • Calvary Christian Fellowship,
Sunday Morning Service (Covid-19 #18)
Intro.
- When we began our study, I mentioned that
there were two types of prophecy in the scripture. There is a "forth"
telling proclamation and a "fore" telling prediction.
- We will be looking at a prime example of the
first type of prophecy here. In fact, it is direct proclamation from Jesus
Himself!
- If you have ever wanted to know what God
thinks about church and what it should be focused upon, you will get your
answers in spades over the next several weeks as we examine these letters!
- We'll begin today with one of the more famous
of the letters, the letter to the church of Ephesus. Verse 1.
Text
• Revelation
2:1a : "To the
angel
of the church of Ephesus write," : As we
noted in our previous study, an "angel" or "messenger" is
often interpreted to be the Pastor or teacher.
- Jesus writes to this single messenger with
the intent that he will turn and give this to the church that he serves. In
this case, it is the church located in Ephesus.
- Ephesus is arguably the most famous church
within this grouping of churches and this letter is likely the most familiar
letter of the bunch.
- Ephesus, as a city, held a privileged place
in that ancient society. The Romans called it the "first and greatest
metropolis of Asia." Historians called it the "Jewel of Asia."
- Nearly 400 years earlier, Alexander the Great
conquered the area and one of his generals took over the city, building the
largest harbor in the ancient world.
- Commerce and entertainment brought people to
Ephesus in droves. As a testament to their popularity, their outdoor
amphitheater could seat over 50,000!
- The roads that had been constructed by the
Roman empire brought import and export from the interior of Asia. Ephesus was
second only to Rome in financial prosperity.
- Spiritually, it's hard to consider a place
that had been more highly favored! The church in Ephesus was blessed with
Pastoral luminaries, the latest of which was John the Apostle!
- Biblical characters like Apollos, Priscilla
and Aquila, as well as Paul and Timothy, sowed the seed of the gospel into this
community and it had not only survived, but had thrived in Ephesus.
- While we cannot take the time to look
exhaustively at the gospel's entry into Ephesus, you can do so by taking the
time to read through Acts 18:24
through 20 this afternoon.
- Some of the highlights will be the Apostle
Paul's teaching ministry, which spanned a two year residency at the
"school of Tyrannus."
- Paul's presence in Ephesus meant that
spiritual opposition and hostility was inevitable.
- In fact, because of the great spiritual
darkness that resided over Ephesus, God's power through Paul shone brightly.
- Miracles attended his ministry. Demonic
exorcism was noted in that region and a great revival occurred when many
magicians started a bonfire with their own magic books!
- Luke informs us that the value of these
former books, now kindling, was valued at 50,000 pieces of silver, a modern
equivalent of $4 to $5 million dollars! (Acts
19:19)
- How did the enemy respond? He raised up a
group of idol making ironworkers to riot and cause a boatload of trouble for
the Apostle!
- The Temple of Diana was considered one of the
seven wonders of the ancient world! In fact, most historians end their
"Top Seven" countdowns with the Temple of Diana at number 1.
- The large collonaded temple sat in the center
of Ephesus and local artisans thrived in her shadow! They profited from the
wickedness that surrounded Diana's worship.
- God's word had taken such effect that the
economy of this massive city was feeling the pinch!
- These events were all part of the FOUNDING of
the church of Ephesus! They took place nearly 40 years prior to John's time.
Much had happened since then.
- The most recent matter would be the reign of
Emperor Domitian, who was by all accounts, a madman! Most Emperors were
conferred "godlike" status posthumously.
- Domitian did not want to wait and forced
people to address him as "Master and God!" He had a Temple built to
him in Ephesus and accepted worship there.
- That's what got John deported in 95 A.D from
Ephesus to Patmos which is 25 miles off of the coast! When Domitian was
assassinated a year later, John was brought back early.
- This is the world that the church of Ephesus
dwelt in and these are the words that Jesus knew that they needed to hear.
Verse 1.
• Revelation
2:1b-3 : "These things says He who
holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks
in the midst of the seven golden lampstands:" : As we approach these letters, you'll note a unique specified
message, but a common framework.
- After the initial address of each letter
comes the description of the Lord Jesus. These are His credentials, the
characteristics that are necessary for each church to focus upon.
- You'll note that each description borrows
from a part of what John has recorded in the first chapter. The part that He
reveals is necessary for the individual church to understand in it's season.
- To the church of Ephesus, Jesus is the One
who holds or is holding the seven stars in His right hand. Literally, Jesus has
"seized" these servants.
- His right hand, as we noted last week,
represents the center of strength and power! In a time of great physical
insecurity, there was no better place to be!
- Jesus holds His servants in His hand and
you'd better believe that none, not even an oppressive Roman government, could
snatch them out from His hand!
- Jesus doesn't just hold His
"angels" or "messengers" in His right hand. He holds all
believers in His right hand! (John
10:28,29) None can snatch you or I out from His hand!
- Jesus describes His power by referring to His
right hand and His presence by referring to where He chooses to walk! Jesus,
present tense, is always walking among the churches!
- Much like the Levitical High priests, the
Lord walks among the churches as our High Priest, adding the oil of the Holy
Spirit to the lampstands and resourcing His local body with His gifts.
- These golden lampstands, these symbolic
lights among their community, reflect the light of their High Priest, whose
presence shines brighter as the world grows darker!
- He preserves His people in His right hand and
He is present with them as they gather to worship Him! If you have a low view
of church, may this thought rebuke, correct or encourage you!
- The church, according to the Apostle Paul, is
the pillar and ground of the truth! (I
Timothy 3:15) God CAN speak to anyone anwhere. That is the nature of His
being God.
- BUT, He chooses to dwell among His people and
to speak most clearly while they are assembled! Don't buy into the spirit of
the age! Jesus still holds this opinion and that makes it truth!
- Jesus holds the Pastors in His right hand and
He is not remote, but is intimately aware of what is taking place within the
churches, which we are about to discover in verse 2.
• Revelation
2:2,3 : "I
know your works, your labor, your patience,
and that you cannot bear
those who are evil. And you have
tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have
found them liars; and you have persevered and have patience, and
have labored for My name’s sake and have not
become weary." : After the Lord's address
and description, comes a commendation for the church. Before Jesus corrects
them, He seeks to affirm them.
- This church has a glowing commendation on the
surface and Jesus has a complete knowledge and inventory of their works, labor,
etc.
- Before we examine each word, let us quickly
remember that nothing escapes the Lord's eyes!
- While we usually cringe at what He knows
about us negatively, He is always aware and faithful to remember what we have
done in faith for His Name! Nothing will be forgotten!
- Jesus knows of every work, private or public
and He promises reward for every single act.
- Jesus knew what they occupied themselves in.
Every church will have a point of emphasis in their history. It might be
evangelism or social relief.
- The Ephesians were busy and they worked with
an intensity and fervor that impressed!
- When one "labored," the person was
beating their own breast, pushing themselves along! Their work left them weary
and exhausted. Jesus knows also of their patience or endurance.
˚ "The
characteristic of a man who is not swerved from his deliberate purpose and his
loyalty to faith and piety by even the greatest trials and sufferings." BLB
- There are some Christians who have never been
persecuted, mocked or even noted for their faith. To endure in that shameful
secrecy is hardly comparable to these Christians.
- Remember that these Christians lived under
the shadow and then the actual hand of state sanctioned persecution,
demonstrated first by Nero in Rome and made Empire wide by Domitian!
- Jesus knows that this church has faced that
trial and has kept their faith! They have not walked away, but continued to
walk steadfastly through the trial, regardless of their fate.
- This church had experienced God's grace to stand
against evil without and within!
- The Ephesian church would not bear, or
support those who were evil! They practiced church discipline. Can you imagine
the energy that is being displayed here?
- They have to fight hard to stay true to their
faith against those that stood against them from outside of the church.
- One might think that it was not worth the
energy to fight those that held to different ideas inside the church. That
wasn't the Ephesian heart!
- They had been burned, even after Paul warned
their elders on the beach of Miletus of the "savage wolves that would come
in among them and rise up among them." (Acts 20:29,30)
- The Apostle John confirmed that many false
prophets had gone out from their own assembly some 30 years after the fact! (I John 2:19) Apparently, they had learned their lesson!
- They had learned to put these false prophets
to the test. They diligently scrutinized those that called themselves prophets
and were not!
- They were vigilant in the protection of their
church from wolves! Jesus looks at them and speaks with admiration. They have
perservered. They had "carried the burden!"
- They had born up under the weight of what it
meant to be a Christian! This is something that is so desperately lacking in
this hour.
- Too many Christians have sought to re-write
the Bible or at least, redefine the plain definitions of words and concepts to
fit in with the mores of this godless and vain society.
- All of a sudden, after thousands of years of
church history, God has no thoughts on sexuality, gender or marriage? If He had
thoughts, the church has somehow misinterpreted them?
- The "Christians" that have walked
in these paths have something to answer to the Lord for their arrogance in
seeking to establish foreign beliefs into Christianity!
- The reality is that one of these is true:
Either people today lack the knowledge of what a true Christian is or they lack
the courage to act like one! Not the Ephesians!
- They knew what Christianity required of them
and they lived responsibly to their calling!
- They had endured and worked tirelessly for
the Lord's Name, reputation, and had not fainted!
- The Ephesians came close, but they didn't
falter or fail. What a great testimony! What a phenomenol reputation! Wouldn't
you like the Lord to say these things of us?
- The Ephesians were diligent, dutiful,
disciplined, discerning and determined! One could barely imagine adding
anything better to this list!
- All of this seems wonderful until you come to
the next verse. Verse 4.
• Revelation
2:4 : "Nevertheless
I have this against you, that you have left your first love." : "Nevertheless!" That word just drops in like a
hammer! The Ephesians were great workers, they were tireless in their efforts
and sound in their theology. "Nevertheless."
- "In spite of" what has been said,
Jesus has this against them. One might translate this, given the present tense,
that this is something that Jesus is "having against them."
- This is a present issue, one that has not
been resolved even to this moment. The issue is that they had left their first
love.
- "Left" is the same word that is
used for the abandonment of a spouse, the divorce of a wife. The grammar
indicates that this was what they had been doing for some time.
- They have walked away like a careless spouse
from this priority in their fellowship!
- Don't make the mistake of thinking that this
relates solely to their vertical relationship to God. It involved their
horizontal plane as well! Doesn't this make sense of John's repeated warnings?
- For those of us who paid close attention
during our recently completed study of John's Epistles, you'll remember John's
repeated declaration that love in a fellowship was central!
- Recall I
John 2:9-11, 3:10-23, 4:7-21 and II John 5,6. Of the 132 verses in John's Epistles, 33 of them refer
to this single topic!
- Duty was present, but love was absent! "They were all motion and no devotion!"
Sandy Adams
- How does this happen in a church, especially
one as spiritually rich as the church of Ephesus? Let's consider what has
immediately preceeded this. They worked hard as a church.
- They held campaigns, helped people and held
false prophets accountable. It's easy with such people, to identify the work as
the point.
- It's possible that they didn't do these
things from love, but because they had learned to love doing these things. It
fulfilled them. It gave them a sense of identity.
- Working for Jesus versus working from a love
for Jesus is a finer line than one thinks! Loving Him and loving each other
cannot be replaced by working for Him or each other.
- At the same time, one might go a little
deeper and consider the great teaching that belonged to Ephesus and the great
teachers that filled her proverbial pulpit!
- There are times when the acquisition of
knowledge and wisdom takes the place of the One that those disciplines point
to. Knowledge can puff up. Privilege can fill up.
- Doctrine, as necessary as it is, can be
perverted and made the basis of relationship. If a person doesn't hold to
particulars or to ancillary doctrines, they could be shunned. That isn't love!
- Perhaps it is something that we can't account
for from the context, but something more basic. It may be that the Ephesians
simply allowed their hearts to focus somewhere else.
- We're fools if we believe that loving Christ
is an automatic function of being a Christian. It is even more of a temptation
to spurn our fellow believers!
- If we turn our attention from Him, if we fail
to invest our hearts in Him, and if we refuse to fellowship with our faith
family, we'll soon belong to another suitor!
- Interestingly, while it may be of interest to
us, Jesus doesn't mention why it is that they had left their first love. He
doesn't explain His diagnosis, but He knows and they know that this was true.
- Ephesus was a loveless church, going through
the motions without their hearts attached to their actions. Would that describe
you? Is that a danger for you?
- If it is, let the Lord prescribe His solution
to you as He lovingly did to them. Verse 5.
• Revelation
2:5,6 : "Remember
therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand
from its place—unless you repent. But this
you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate." : In order for a person to recover from a loveless condition
toward God, they must first bring to mind their previous condition.
- While this sounds to us like a request,
understand that this is command language. We'll talk in a moment about the possible ramifications, but love is
not simply a nice supplement.
- Love for the Lord and for His church is THE
priority of a local church. If that is not in our midst, there will be
consequences. They must remember from where they had fallen.
- The idea is to consider the place that they
had once occupied. Think about, and KEEP thinking about where you once were
spiritually.
- It doesn't matter how much you feel you have
accomplished since that time. You may even believe yourself to have improved.
- If you are distant from a place of warm
affectionate love for the Lord and for those that call upon His Name, you have
not risen to greater spiritual plateaus! You have fallen precipitously!
- So there are two pieces of information here:
There was a time when love was an automatic response. Toward, the Lord,
certainly. Toward His people, definitely.
- Wherever they were now was in no way
comparable or satisfactory to the Lord that they served! I pray that this isn't
the case with you!
- I pray that you have not been satisfied with
something far inferior to the love that you once experienced! Personally, I
hope that this horrifies and motivates you to consider His next words!
- Remember. Then Jesus says,
"repent!" Not having love for the Lord or the people of God is not
simply misguided. It is a sin that requires your immediate repentance!
- To "repent" means simply to
"think differently" or "afterward, to reconsider." The word
is a compound word, the first half of which is quite popular today.
- When someone is comprehending things about
themselves from outside of themselves, they are living this concept of
"meta." Some have called this a "self-awareness."
- In this case, the idea is that you are
recognizing about yourself, that the Word of God is speaking about your actions
or lack of actions in a particular area.
- As you consider that, you decide to change
the way that you think and act. There are two quotes that often center the
concept of repentance in my mind, the first from the Middle Ages.
• "What is
repentance? Repentance is that the sinner forsakes his sin, puts it out of his
thoughts, and fully resolves in his mind that he will never do it again."
Maimonides
• "In the
understanding it means knowledge of sin; in the feelings it means pain and
grief; and in the will it means a change of mind." Eric Sauer
- Once they have repented, the Lord prescribes
that they repeat their first actions. Go back and do what you once did! They didn't
need new actions, they needed new experience in the old actions!
- The Ephesians were to come back to that which
was first in priority. They had adopted a range of activities that had replaced
the exercise of their love.
- What the Lord wants from them and from us is
to focus on activities that will grow our love for Him and each other and THEN
to work from that basis!
- If Jesus were to have one thing over the
other, it would be to see His children living in the kind of love that He died
to give them!
- That kind of environment doesn't just bring
satisfaction to the Lord. It is the most inviting aspect of a church because
only in a church can the world discover God's kind of unconditional love!
- The warning for those that will not remember,
repent and repeat is stern: The Lord will remove your lampstand from it's
place! He won't wait. He'll do this quickly, rapidly.
- This doesn't mean that He will revoke your
salvation. It does mean that He will not allow your influence to remain. Why
would He draw people to a place where His love isn't central?
- Jesus won't fill a fellowship or touch a
world with a church that fails to export His love!
- If they didn't repent, He promises to
accelerate the process whereby your church will exist, but will always be a
foreign place to God! Yet, the Lord doesn't want them to repent from good
things.
- This church hated the "deeds of the
Nicolaitans." The word refers to a conquering of the people. There were
some who sought to Lord themselves over the people of God.
- The church of Ephesus refused to stand for it.
Men like Demetrius from III John
were being expelled from leadership. That ethic was worth holding onto as they
repented. Verse 7.
•
Revelation 2:7 : "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit
says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree
of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.’" : This information was vital to the church of Ephesus. Their
survival depended upon their submitting to it, but is not limited to them!
-
"He who has an ear." Jesus is referring to any person, in any time,
who is willing to listen, to receive what the Spirit is saying!
-
The church in Ephesus were the primary receptors to this material, but they are
not the only ones that need to hear it! Are you listening to Him? The Lord
leaves them with this promise.
-
The person that overcomes, to the person that conquers the challenges of balancing
what we do for God and what we are to God, will have their fill of the tree of
life!
-
That tree, which represents the eternal life of God, located in the Paradise of
God, was put off limits to humanity after Adam's sin. Jesus tells them that
this was where they were headed!
-
The word "paradise" was an ancient concept of a reception area, much
like a large wildlife preserve, where Kings would welcome and fellowship with
their guests.
-
Jesus is promising to restore the church to a proper place that was once lost
by our common Father Adam when He plunged humanity into sin!
-
Ultimately, Jesus just wants to walk with His people again and love is the key
to that dream!
Conclusion
- As we close, don't miss this moment. Jesus died to demonstrate His love for you in order that you might love Him and those that He loves.
- As we close, don't miss this moment. Jesus died to demonstrate His love for you in order that you might love Him and those that He loves.
-
Would you characterize your life as one that is lived out in love for Him?
Would anyone accuse you of loving His people? Is their any proof that a person
could point to?
-
As a church, we will always do what we can to facilitate a growing love for
Christ and His body, but we can never force you to make that decision.
-
If it is you, I pray you will repent and repeat before He removes your
lampstand from it's place. May you have ears to hear, hearts to receive and
lives that affirm the truth!
No comments:
Post a Comment