To The Church in Ephesus
Revelation: Church! Hear This... • Sermon • Submitted • 45:27
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· 1,191 viewsA look at the message from Christ to the church in Ephesus
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Seven Messages to Seven Churches
Seven Messages to Seven Churches
SHOW MAP SLIDE
Why these seven churches???
These were most likely churches John knew well, or churches that knew John
Christ had a message for these churches!!!! Some things in these assemblies needed attention.
The areas and issues we see dealt with in these bodies of believers are things we see needing dealt with throughout the church worldwide, in every age!
What we do not see is a prophecy of progression and condition of the church throughout the ages as we get closer to the coming of Christ!
Every church age can see church bodies that struggle with these things at different times.
As we look at these messages there is a similar outline for each message...
1) GREETING- Christ identifies Himself in a particular way
2) COMMENDATION- one church really has no good things to be said of them
3) CORRECTION- two churches have no corrections
4) INSTRUCTION- what Christ wants them to do or work on
5) PROMISE / ENCOURAGEMENT- if they heed the instruction (Read/Hear/Heed) Blessing
Revelation 2:1-7
1 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands, says this: 2 ‘I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; 3 and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary. 4 ‘But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 5 ‘Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent. 6 ‘Yet this you do have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.’
leave scripture on last slide for the next few points
As we look at this passage please note one more time… the first part of Verse 7
Each message was not only for every church listed in this letter… BUT for every church!
Christ is the One stating these messages, YET… the Spirit is saying this too!
Every believer has the Spirit of God in them… Every believer needs to heed the message given to each of these churches…Church! Hear this...
The Church in Ephesus
The Church in Ephesus
The church with everything, but the greatest thing! “Swindoll”
Location / Opportunity with travelers and spiritual things
Solid doctrine
Foundation with Paul and Timothy (Ephesians written only 30-40 years earlier)
A book FULL of solid church doctrine and practical living
Chapter 1
His love for us in our adoption as children of God!
verse 6 God is referred to as our “BELOVED”
verse 15 states Paul had heard of their love for the saints
Chapter 2
We see the doctrine of Grace
we see the love of God for ALL people Jew and Gentile alike
Chapter 3
Ephesians 3:14-20 Paul’s prayer for them...
14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. 20 Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us,
Chapter 4
Discusses Love and Unity in the body
Verse 14 Doctrinal Purity
Verse 15 follows with “in LOVE”
Verse 32… Be kind!
Chapter 5
Verses 1-2 Imitate God… It is His identity!!!
Instruction on how to do it
Make sure it is part of the greatest relationship… Marriage
WHY? Because it is a picture of Christ and His bride the church!
Chapter 6
Teaching on the Family
Challenges them to take a stand
Verse 23 closes almost with a prophetic challenge...
Everything going for them … BUT not the greatest thing… woe to the church today who the same thing could be said of them.
WARNING: This can happen to any church too!
The Greatest Thing is… LOVE!
The Greatest Thing is… LOVE!
God Himself is defined by this and has required it throughout scripture...
Deuteronomy 6:5 when God gives His law to His people...
5 “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
Matthew 22:36-40 Jesus Himself teaches this again to us… AND goes on to show how this impacts our interaction with others...
36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And He said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 “This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 “The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 “On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”
John 13:35 we are to have LOVE as a part of our being...
35 “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Galatians 5:22-23 states why this has to be part of us as followers of Christ… The Spirit is in us...
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
AND… the greatest is LOVE! This is not knew church!!!
There is an Intimate Greeting...
There is an Intimate Greeting...
The message to this church is intimate… Look at how Christ reminds them and describes Himself
The One who holds them
Walks among them… sees from all angles
“I KNOW” there is an intimate knowledge of this church body
Their Commendation
Their Commendation
Their deeds
Their toil
Their perseverance
Ephesus is not an easy place to be a Christian
Church remember this… LOVE DOES WIN! But NEVER at the expense of solid doctrine/teaching!!!
We cannot separate the two!
We can hold on so tight to teaching… we forget to love the ones we teach, the ones we teach with, the ONE we teach of!
Living in a place were Love had been polluted and distorted into LUST they had fought for truth and accuracy!
God gives a sad and stern correction...
Their Correction
Their Correction
You have abandoned Me says Christ
It’s only mechanical now, you put up a wall to pure teaching and pushed Me out!
Their Instruction
Their Instruction
Remember!
Go back to the beginning where you loved Christ, you loved one another
Deeds… there are things we DO that show God love, that show one another love...
It goes beyond words
Show Christ you love Him, spend time with Him, Talk to Him, listen to Him, love Him
With ALL your heart, ALL your soul and ALL your mind
STOP!!! having an affair with and lusting after the world!
OR ELSE...
There is a consequence with this instruction...
Lampstand = Church body/assembly
Removed… He would no longer use and work through that group of believers… they are still believers
What a sad thing to see a church body God can no longer use and sets aside… a marriage in name but no love.
A Promise / Encouragement
A Promise / Encouragement
(Read/Hear/Heed)
First a thumbs up on their hate of the DEEDS not people Nicolaitans.
Over-comers will receive the tree of life...
A place with Christ, forever fellowship and relationship
Eternal perspective
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches”
Can you hear Him? Do you know and love Him?
He loved you, enough to die, be buried, and rise again… For your SIN.
have you trusted in Him? Ephesians 2:8-9 states it clearly...
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
He offers this to you… If you have trusted Christ REMEMBER the following verse… Ephesians 2:10
10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
May what we SAY & DO show Christ, our brothers in sisters in Christ, and the lost world around us the LOVE of God through us!