Letters to the Churches

#01

Remember Your First LoveRevelation 2.1-7

Compiled and Presented by:

Dave Stewart 15 June, 2008

Las Cruces, NMwww.churchofchristmiranda.com

Synopsis: Jesus’ letter to the church in Ephesus reminds us that we must remember love in all that we do. No matter how much work we do or how much we endure, if we do not love it means nothing.

“Let all that you do be done with love.”

“Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.”

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(Tevye) Golde... Do you love me?(Golde) Do I what?(Tevye) Do you love me?(Golde) Do I love you? With our daughters getting married And this trouble in the town You're upset, you're worn out Go inside, go lie down! Maybe it's indigestion(Tevye) "Golde I'm asking you a question..." Do you love me?(Golde) You're a fool(Tevye) "I know..." But do you love me?(Golde) Do I love you? For twenty-five years I've washed your clothes Cooked your meals, cleaned your house Given you children, milked the cow After twenty-five years, why talk about love right now?(Tevye) Golde, The first time I met you Was on our wedding day I was scared(Golde) I was shy(Tevye) I was nervous(Golde) So was I(Tevye) But my father and my mother Said we'd learn to love each other And now I'm asking, Golde Do you love me?(Golde) I'm your wife(Tevye) "I know..." But do you love me?(Golde) Do I love him? For twenty-five years I've lived with him Fought him, starved with him Twenty-five years my bed is his If that's not love, what is?(Tevye) Then you love me?(Golde) I suppose I do(Tevye) And I suppose I love you too(Both) It change a thing But even so After twenty-five years It's nice to know

Remember YourFirst Love

Revelation 2.1-7

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Last week: What do we want to hear? “Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Master”

“Let Him Hear”

PergamumThyatira

Ephesus

Smyrna

Patmos

Crete

Rhodes

A S I A

L Y C I A

G A L A T I A

P A M P H Y L I A

C I L I C I A

C A P P A D O C I A

B I T H Y N I A

AegeanSea

Black Sea

Great Sea(Mediterranean)

Hellespontus

T H R A C E

Seven Churchesof Asia

SardisPhiladelphia

Laodicea

P O N T U S

N

S

EW

c 1999 MANNA

Scale of Miles0 200

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“Let Him Hear”PergamumThyatira

Ephesus

Smyrna

Patmos

Crete

Rhodes

A S I A

L Y C I A

G A L A T I A

P A M P H Y L I A

C I L I C I A

C A P P A D O C I A

B I T H Y N I A

AegeanSea

Black Sea

Great Sea(Mediterranean)

Hellespontus

T H R A C E

Seven Churchesof Asia

SardisPhiladelphia

Laodicea

P O N T U S

N

S

EW

c 1999 MANNA

Scale of Miles0 200

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Revelation 2:1-7 << Revelation 1 | Revelation 2 | Revelation 3 >>

To the Church in Ephesus2:1 “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.

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 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. 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. 6 Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 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.’

Let HimHear

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This message is as much for us as it was for the church in Ephesus.

It is a very relevant message, and each of us needs to listen.

The consequences of not listening, as we will see, are death.

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Jesus knows...

These are His words!

The stars represent the angels of the churches; probably messengers; but could be more.

Jesus holds them in His hand: authority, power, security

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Walking among the seven lampstands

These represent the churches...

Jesus walks among them

He knows what was happening in Ephesus.

Just as He knows well what is happening here in this congregation.

What they did well

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They were workers.10

These Christians were working hard for Jesus.

Work: that with which one is occupied (Thayer)

an active, busy congregation

Toil: a beating, labor; intense labor united with trouble and toil (Thayer)

Vincent: exhausting labor

Requires much energy

3 Areas of work: spreading the gospel; doing good; opposing evil

They maintained purity.

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These Christians were concerned about purity.

Cannot bear those who are evil Lenski: base people; good for nothing (cowardly soldier; lazy student; a disgraceful church member)

Tested false apostles: obviously claiming authority they did not have. Congregations must be very careful of any who claim authority they do not have from God. Today: only elders are those who rule over the church; with Biblical authority

Hate works of the the Nicolaitans Immorality of some kind... Isn’t hate kind of strong? Yes! Those who oppose Jesus, we must oppose.

They enduredpatiently.

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They endured patiently.

Thayer: 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.

Barclay: Triumphant fortitude

Speaks to us of one who knows that they have a long way to go, and so they with joy they continue on that path. This is not merely about enduring suffering, but an attitude that looks beyond the suffering.

Despite the difficulty of the work, they did not grow weary of their work.

Workers Purity Endurance

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Let’s be more like the church in Ephesus in these regards.

1 Thessalonians 1:3: remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

How do we limit ourselves...

Are we really occupying ourselves with the work of our Lord?

Are we concerned about purity, or have we capitulated to tolerance of those who are false or good for nothing?

Will we endure?

W A N T E D

FORAbandoning

theirfirst love

I have this against you

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Abandoning = to send away; to leave, to away from one (Thayer)

RWP: a definite and sad departure. Seer: They had completed the act of leaving.

Love = agape: Defining love for those in Christ

How they were...

Acts 19:10:  This continued for two years, so that all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.

Acts 19:17-20: And this became known to all the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. And fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled. 18 Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices. 19 And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver. 20 So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily.

Ephesians 1:15: For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love [1] toward all the saints,

Ephesians 3:17: so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love,

Ephesians 3:19: and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Ephesians 4:15-16: Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and

W A N T E D

FORAbandoning

theirfirst love

I have this against you

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The love of a bride:

Jeremiah 2:2: “Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem, Thus says the Lord, “I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride, how you followed me in the wilderness, in a land not sown.

What’s wrong with a Church without love?

2 Corinthians 5:14: For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died;

1 Corinthians 13:1-3:  If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, [1] but have not love, I gain nothing.

McGuiggan: “They were straight as a gun barrel theologically, and spiritually just as empty” p. 48.

Had they fallen into the trap of pragmatism? So long as work gets done, we don’t care how or why?

John 14:15: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

Do you love Jesus? Then keep His commandments. Do you adore Him? Then submit to Him.

We must be very careful of doing all the right things for all the wrong reasons...

How to make things right.

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The church in Ephesus was not beyond hope, they could get right.

Remember17

First, they need to remember.

They had been so dedicated and enthusiastic, they had fallen and they need to get back to what was right.

Remember the love that God demonstrated in sending His only Son to die on the cross to pay the price for my sins.

Remember their love for Jesus and salvation in Him.

Remember their love for their brothers in Christ.

Remember why they were working so hard for Him.

Repent

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Repent (X2!)

Abandoned love is SIN!

We must determine to turn back to our Lord and King and Love

If they did not repent, God would remove their lampstand. They might be a group of people meeting together and working together;

But they would not be Jesus’ people!

Do

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Do.

The works you first did.

How would this differ from the works they were currently doing?

Done from love.

Love for Jesus, Love for His people.

John 14:23: Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.

Remember

Repent

Do

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If not...

I will come to you.... (in Judgment)

Remove lampstand.

Jesus is very serious about this.

Without love we are not His people.

1 John 4.8: God is love.

217 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.’

Let HimHear

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7 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.’

Will we hear? Will we examine ourselves?