The Church at Ephesus
Letters to the Churches • Sermon • Submitted
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Destination—Ephesus
Destination—Ephesus
“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:
These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.
Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.
I think it is interesting that we are given what is for me the most convicting letter first
“You have left your first love”
In order to understand better what Jesus is saying to the Church at Ephesus, we need to understand a little bit about the Church at Ephesus.
Who are they? What was going on during that time?
Ephesus—The City
Little is known about the long past of Ephesus.
However, the city is believed to have been built around the 10th century B.C. That’s 1000 years before Christ!
During it’s history, the control of that land changed various times: notably, the Persians and the Greeks, and finally the Romans.
It was under the Roman Empire that Ephesus began to flourish around 129 B.C.
The reason it flourished was because of it’s proximity to the sea—it became a major Roman port city.
Today, you wouldn’t know it because sedimentation has moved the shore line quite a distance from where the actual city stood.
If you have ever been to a large city with a major airport, you have probably noticed the melting pot of culture which defines that city. People and races from all over the world either pass through there on their way to somewhere else, or just come there to stay.
At first I thought that this was something you just found in America, but the more we have traveled internationally, we found out that this is true of all cities.
The easier the access, the more cultures you find there.
And so this was true of Ephesus
Home to the temple of Artemis, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world
Artemis garnered a huge and dedicated following
Worship of Artemis had its own economy—silversmiths and sellers of artifacts and idols
also prostitution
Riot when Paul visited there and silversmiths began turning to the Lord.
Was concern about making a living
They drug Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s traveling companions into the theater shouting, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
Ephesus had a large square, the AGORA. Filled with the smells of spices from far-off lands, the beautiful sights of textiles and artifacts from distant craftsmen.
But there was something about the AGORA that was difficult for the early Believers.
Right by the entrance to the market was an incense burner
In order to enter the AGORA, you had to take a pinch of incense and burn a little bit as a tribute to Caesar, acknowledging him as God.
This was a difficult thing for the Christians
And so doing business was difficult for them because this is where all the bartering was done.
Not only was Ephesus a cultural center and economic center, it was a religious center.
Home to the temple of Artemis, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world
Artemis garnered a huge and dedicated following
Worship of Artemis had its own economy—silversmiths and sellers of artifacts and idols
also prostitution
Riot when Paul visited there and silversmiths began turning to the Lord.
Was concern about making a living
They drug Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s traveling companions into the theater shouting, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
But there was also blatant demon worship
Oracles: priests and priesttesses to the gods and goddesses who claimed to speak for them.
would casts spells and incantations and whip worshippers into convulsive frenzies.
When Paul wrote to the Ephesians and told them to put on the full armor of God because our battle is against rulers, authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms, they knew what he was talking about and they took him seriously.
So all of these things presented challenges to the Ephesian Church
But one of the primary concerns in that day (and today) was false teaching.
Just as fast as Christianity took hold, false versions of the religion also took hold
Pretty much everyone was religious in those days
Either the one-God religion of the Jews or the pantheism of the Greeks and Romans
In , Paul gives them a dark warning that one of their main battles would be false teaching:
English Standard Version Chapter 20
29 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31 Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears.
It seems that because of this warning and because of their desire to be a pure church, they had become extra vigilant and had devoted a lot of time an energy into fighting against false teaching.
They had rooted out the gnostics and they hated Nicolaitans (no one knows who they were, but were obviously detestable to God)
Because of their beliefs, because of the suspicion with which other religions looked at them, particularly in their refusal to sacrifice to the Emperor, the Christians suffered great persecution, yet did not turn away from their beliefs.
Despite the persecution they had suffered (or maybe because of), they had grown from a small, fledgling band of believers into one of the most important and one of the strongest churches.
They had sacrificed, persevered, “hung in there”, and had overcome much
Jesus commends them for that.
They must have been feeling pretty good about themselves by now.
But then comes the words that no one wants to hear, especially from Jesus: “Yet I hold this against you”
Have you ever been in a revival service
And you know things aren’t right between you and the LORD,
But for most of the service, things are going pretty good and you feel like maybe things aren’t so bad after all
But then the preacher addresses that one thing that you know isn’t right, and your heart sinks because you know that you need to make it right.
This must be how the church at Ephesus is feeling. “You are doing pretty good and have done a lot of good things. But I’ve got one thing against you”
And this isn’t a trivial thing. This is a major issue.
“You have left your first love” or “You have forsaken the love you had at first”.
Even more literally: “Your first love you have left.”
To me, this is one of the most convicting statements in the whole book of Revelation, if not the whole Bible. “You have forsaken the love you had at first”.
This is a far cry from Paul commends them for their love for all the saints. Just 35 years earlier.
You may think, well that doesn’t sound like such a bad thing. I mean, it’s not like I’ve killed anyone.
I do go to church regularly and I do have my devotions
Well, maybe not. Not unless you consider what Jesus said to the “expert in the law” who asked him which is the greatest commandment.
The Pharasees had spent all this time trying to trick him or pull him into trivial argument.
One of them got the bright idea--”hah! I’ve got him now! There is no way that he can answer this question without giving us some reason to accuse him of blaspheme”
He asks him “Jesus, which is the greatest commandment.”
Jesus simply tells him “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the law and the prophets hang on this.”
Jesus says that love for God trumps everything else: Your zeal, your obedience, your works, your traditions, your culture.
In fact, your love for your neighbor must be higher than your zeal, your obedience, your works, your traditions.
The word used here to the Ephesians is agapēn, speaking of the deep kind of love that God has for his people
Your love for God must be the highest thing. All other thigns that you do must come out of this, including your love for your brother.
As soon as you stop loving Him above all else and stop loving your neighbor (btw, you can’t stop loving your neighbor without forsaking your love for God), you have left the love you had a first.
What does forsaking your first love look like?
The list could be long, but here are a few things
When doing for him is more important than relationship with him.
Have any of you sung that kids song, “Is there anything I can do for you? Is there anything I can do? For all the things you’ve done for me, is there anything I can do?”
This might have been the Ephesians’ theme song
They had works, they toiled, they had patience
They worked hard and suffered.
They thought, the harder I work, the more pleased God will be with me. “if I’m not exhausted, I’m not Godly”
Does this sound familiar? Do you identify with this?
What happens? You remove God from his rightful place in your life.
Henri Nouwen once said, “The main obstacle to loving God is service for God”
You remember Mary and Martha in
2. When enforcing the truth is more important than acting in mercy
Such a short story but so powerful in that it reveals what is important to Jesus
Martha slaving away, preparing the meal and a place to stay for Jesus and his disciples; market, washing
All good and needed things
But Mary chose something else: She chose to sit at the Lord’s feet and listen to him
When Martha complained about it, Jesus told her, “Martha! Slow down and take a deep breath! you are so worried about so many things. There is only one thing that is needed. and Mary has chosen that one thing.”
She simply sat and listened to Him.
Service and “doing things” took a back seat and Jesus was in her focus.
Email entitled “Making an idol of ministry”.
When order and method takes precedence over adoration of God.
When we look with suspicion and annoyance at people who don’t do church like we grew up doing it.
When we stay away from people who live their lives in complete abandon to the praise of their Creator because it makes us feel uncomfortable.
4. We become content with what we are rather than being driven to be more like Christ.
2. We become insensitive to the Holy Spirit, and thus become dulled to the small besetting sins that distract us.
And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:
Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
...
John 16:7-
Do you remember when you first came to know the LORD? When you were first convicted of sin and knew your need for forgiveness?
Your heart was tender. You were sensitive to the Holy Spirit. You wanted nothing more than to please Him.
3. We become infatuated with knowledge about God instead of holiness toward God.
I find this to be such a danger for myself, especially in all my study
I get infatuated with how much I can know instead of living a holy life.
I get pleased with the depth of my knowledge instead of the depth of my love for him.
4. We become comfortable with the Holy Spirit instead of being in awe of Him.
I spend time studying his word but little time examining my own heart for obedience
“If you love me, keep my commandments”.
I am quick to squash what I perceive as “heresy” but not so quick to show people how much I love them.
5. We lose our evangelistic zeal and see the world as our enemy instead of our mission field.
If we love God, we will care about the things that he cares about.
As our children get older they should notice that there are things as believers that we do differently. They will ask questions. It should never be “This is what our church says to do. Or this is what our ministers say to do. The primary reason should be, “This is what we choose to do out of love for our Master”
“Return to doing the works that you did at first”
“Or else I will come and remove your lampstand”. This church will eventually die if you do not adjust your priorities.