Seven Words for Seven Churches
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Openning Question
Openning Question
What are some ways you have experienced persecution for your faith or how have you seen others persecuted?
It is tempting to give in and let our culture have its way to avoid persecution. There are times when it is easier to stay seated instead of taking an unpopular stand against a sin rampant in our culture. There are times when it is easier to avoid conversations about our faith rather than defend it to our peers around the lockers or to a teacher in the classroom. It’s not like we can make a difference anyway, right? How will it help if we are persecuted for taking an unpopular stand for Christ? So we back down. We remain silent. Or worse, we compromise our faith. In His letters to the seven churches in the Book of Revelation, Jesus told the saints in Asia Minor (and us by extension) that regardless of their circumstances, they should take a stand for Him, knowing He is on the throne. Nothing could stand between Him and them, but they had to trust Him. Their obedience mattered—for them and for others. So does ours.
stay seated instead of taking an unpopular stand against a sin rampant in our culture. There are times when it is
Recap From last week
easier to avoid conversations about our faith rather than defend it to our peers around the lockers or to a teacher in
the classroom. It’s not like we can make a difference anyway, right? How will it help if we are persecuted for taking
Mr. Markovich kicked off the book of revelation.
Mr. Markovich kicked off the book of revelation.
an unpopular stand for Christ? So we back down. We remain silent. Or worse, we compromise our faith.
We saw that God gave John a vision of al kinds of amazing things.
In His letters to the seven churches in the Book of Revelation, Jesus told the saints in Asia Minor (and us by
Where we pick up today
extension) that regardless of their circumstances, they should take a stand for Him, knowing He is on the throne.
We get to pick up in
Nothing could stand between Him and them, but they had to trust Him. Their obedience mattered—for them and for
Our main focus:
others. So does ours.
God calls us to repent of sin, refocus our attention on Jesus, and reengage in His mission.
Read 2:1-3
We are going to go ahead and put these 3 verses up on the screen and I want you all to focus on them and see if you can find the things the Chruch in Ephesus is doing right.
English Standard Version Chapter 2
“ ‘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. 3 I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. 4
Works
Toil
Patient endurance
cannot bear with those who do evil
tested those who call themselves apostles and found them to be false
enduring patiently
bearing up for my name’s sake
not growing weary
Verse 4 is where the tone of this passage changes in a kind of dramatic way.
Let me give you some examples of times when you don’t want to hear this word used.
Imagine you are getting ready to ask your parents for permission to go to your friends house for a sleep over. then you remember that your grounded. well, in a desperate atempt to make things right, you clean the house. the whole house. you vacuum, you clean the windows, you even go wash the cars outside. your parents walk in and you say “mom, dad, can I go to this sleepover. they look around and say well, you did this, this, this, and this,… BUT
YOU DO NOT WANT TO HEAR SOMEONE SAY THAT THERE! THAT IS A BAD PLACE FOR A BUT!
English Standard Version Chapter 2
4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.
God is sending this message to the church at Ephesus to show them that they have become Distracted. God showed them that they were doing some stuff okay, but they had gotten away from the reason the church existed in the first place.
Look at vers 5
English Standard Version Chapter 2
5 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.
Here is where Jesus shows his amazing grace again. He says, even though you messed up AGAIN, I still have a plane for you. First, you have to repent.
Read 3:1-4
Response time.
Here is something that amazes me just about every time I read the Bible. The first part is that God reached into human history to save us and show HIs plan to us by grace through our faith. The second part that amazes me is that God’s word still applies to our lives today. I think this passage applies to us very clearly.
Just like these churches in the ancient world, we can tend to act like we have everything figured out. We may even be able to put on a show like we have everything figured out. But, just like these churches, God sees everything we do. Some of those things are okay, and some of those things we do when nobody is watching, some of those things we think even, are not okay. But God still sees them. We can hide no thougths from God.
THATS TERRORFYING!
BUT ALSO AMAING.
its amazing because God still has a plan to forgive us that starts with our repentance just like we see in 2:5
English Standard Version Chapter 2
5 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.