Ephesus: The Loveless Church, Part 2

Remember 1st Thessalonians 5:2? Avoid the appearance of evil. The church of Ephesus, man, they not only didn't want to have any evil in the church, they didn't want to have any evil men in their church. They were sensitive to sin. They knew, as Paul would say in 1 Corinthians 5, verse number 6: one little leaven leavens the whole lump. They knew, as Solomon would say in Ecclesiastes 9:18, one sinner, just one sinner, destroys much good. They knew that. And so they were on guard. They were on their watch.

They were sensitive to sin and evil and to evil men. They hated immorality. They would eliminate that immorality. They were sensitive to sin. They were steadfast in their ministry, in their service. Wow, it was full of sweat because they did it for God. But fourth, I want you to notice their scrutiny.

It says, not only that, you cannot endure evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles. And they are not, and you found them to be false. Wow, they had spiritual discernment. They would put people. To the test. Anyone who claimed to be an apostle, they would scrutinize. Remember what Paul would say back in Acts chapter 20, verse number 28, when he said these words to the Ephesian elders. He said, Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock among you, which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God, which he purchased with his own blood.

I know that after my departure, savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock, and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples. After them. Therefore, be on the alert. They were. They listened. They were on the alert. Men would come in and claim to be apostles, and they would test them. They would scrutinize their lives. They would put them under the microscope of the Word of God and they would prove them to be false. And if need be, they would have to discipline those people because they hated evil men.

That's the church of Ephesus. They love what God loves, they hate what God hates. That's important. Who were these apostles? It was a group called the Nicolait. The text tells us that down in verse number six, that you. This you do have that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. They would put them to the test. Now, who are the Nicolait? Very interesting discussion. You can read about them in several commentaries. Some of them believe that they began by an man by the name of Nicholas, who was a deacon in Acts chapter 6.

And he apostasized the faith and he began to lead people away from the true God. That might be the case. But it's interesting to note. The Nic come from two words. One, Nik, where we get our English word, or I know if it an English word or not, we get the word Nike. I know some of go Nike close, Nikos, and La. Nikos meaning to conquer. That's what Nike means, to conquer. And Laos meaning people. So the Nicolaitans were the ones set to conquer the people, the people of God. They set out to conquer them.

And the church of Ephesus would stand against them. They would scrutinize them. They would know which ones were true and which ones were false. But if you go over to verse number 14 of chapter 2, you'll see that the church of Pergamum wasn't so good at doing this. It says in verse number 15, thus you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolait. There were those in the church of Pergamum who tolerated evil. They let them come in and they would hold to the teaching of the Nicolait.

But those in Ephesus, uh-uh. No way, man. You come in here, we're gonna scrutinize you. We're gonna test you, we're gonna put you under the microscope. And if you don't measure up to the Word of God, we're gonna deal with it. You're out of here because we have no compromise in this church. We stand for no evil. We won't let any evil come into this church. We're a pure church. We're going to keep it that way. It says in Ephesians:. Neither give place to the devil. Folllows up the verse: Be angry and sin not.

You know, is it not true that we've got to be careful about giving place to the devil in our own lives? That would be a good exhortation for us, would it not? Don't let the devil have a foothold in your life. Don't do anything that the devil could use to get you to compromise your life. Don't be involved in anything that lets the devil have a foothold in your life that will cause your downfall down the road. Neither give any place to the devil. Scrutinize that which is evil. Put it to the test, as those in Ephesus did.

It was one author who said of the Nicolaitans that they were a heretical sect who retained pagan practices like idolatry and immorality, contrary to the thought and the conduct required in Christian churches. It was Clement of Alexander who said this about the Nicolait. They abandoned themselves to pleasure like goats, leading a life of self-indulgence. And Irena wrote these words, they lived lives of unrestrained indulgence. In the Ephesians, those who were believers in the church, put them to the test.

Scrutinize your life. Think about it. Those are high comm. What an approval rating. They were energetic. They were enduring. They exposed evil. They were faithful to the work. They were faithful to the word. And they were faithful in their walk to God and with God. And they did it all for God. You do it for my name's sake, verse number three says.

It's for me you do it. And I commend you for that. I want to affirm this in you. You think, man, what a church. Man, these guys are on fire for God. They're turning the city whole upside down and they're exposing evil. They're dealing with it. The whole city's in an uproar because these people are living for God. What on earth could God ever have? Against them, what could they have ever done wrong? This is the great church. Well, it's just the point number three: the accusation.

That's in verse number four. Christ says, but I have this against you. Wow. You got something against them? How can that be? They hate what you hate, they love what you love. How can you have something against them that I had this against you? You know, it's one thing for somebody to say, you know what, Sparks, you, I got something against your church. That doesn't bother me. I could care less if somebody says that to me. But if God said to me, I got something to get you to church. I got a problem.

I got a big problem. And God speaks and says, I got a problem with what's going on here. I have one thing, one thing that you need to know about. Here's a church who could spot sin in a flash. How could they overlook their sin? Think about it. And God calls him on it. He says, You have left your first love.

He says there's a coldness about you. Your hearts have cooled down. 40 years after Paul began this church, the first generation of believers had degenerated.

Maybe there was a new generation of leaders on the scene that had arisen in the church and were now leading. But God says, things are a little mechanical now.

I'm afraid you're going through the motions. You ever felt that way? Have you ever experienced a mechanical Christianity? God says, I had this against you.

I know you know how to defend the faith. I know you know the doctrines of the word, but you have forgotten who the doctrine of the word points to. It points to me. You have forgotten me, your first love.

Two things I want you to notice about this accusation. Number one, the demand of love, and number two, the disappearance of love.

First of all, the demand of love. Remember Christ said in Matthew 22: You love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, right? With all you got. Do you love God that way? Do you have that kind of intensity in your love for God? Over in Matthew chapter 10, Christ said this in verse number 37. Matthew 10, 37. He said this, He who loves father or mother more than me, Is not worthy of me. And he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after me.

Is not worthy of me. He who has found his life shall lose it, and he who has lost his life for my sake shall find it. Do you love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength? The thing that separates or marks the Christian is his love for God. That's what moves him. Paul would say in 2 Corinthians 5:1, the love of Christ what? Compels me. It moves me. Why do I do what I do? Not because I want approval from you. I'm not seeking to gain some kind of approval rating. I do what I do because God loves me.

He gave his life for me. I can't help but serve him. It moves me. It's my motivation. The love of Christ compels me. Our love tends to fluctuate, doesn't it? Our level of intensity kind of moves up and down, dependent upon the day, the circumstances. And God says, I have this against you.

John 8:4 says that Jesus said that the children of God are those who love him. That 's what marks us. We love God. Peter would say in 1 Peter:. In whom, having not seen, you love. That's what marks the Christian. That's the demand of love. But what about the disappearance of love? That's point number two.

How can that happen? Paul had prayed over in Ephesians 3, verses 17 and 19, that somehow they would know the length, and the breadth, and the height, and the depth of the love of God. That somehow they would comprehend it when he wrote them some 40 years earlier. And maybe they had. He'd prayed for them that the love of God would permeate their lives. But some they lost it. Christ comes to them and says, Do you really love me? And they would say, Man, of course we do. We've rooted out all those who teach heresy.

Christ says, Yeah, I know that, but do you love me? Oh man, we fearlessly proclaim your word in spite of persecution. We've suffered greatly because of our standing for you, Lord. I know that. But do you love me? Oh, we work so h. We are at the church every day doing God's work for God's people. I know that, he says. But do you love me? Do you love me? Remember the conversation Christ had with Peter? Peter, do you love me? Oh, Lord, you know, you know I'm a friend of yours. Christ said, Peter, do you love me?

Oh, Lord, you know I'm a friend of yours. Peter, are you really a friend of mine? And Peter was angry. Because God questioned, are you ready for this? The love that Peter thought he could get away with. Just a f-o, friendship kind of love. God questioned it. Do you love me, Peter? Follow me to the death. Follow me all the way to the death. Prove your love for me, Peter. Am I the priority? Am I the central focus of your life? We can do a lot of things, but 1 Corinthians 13:1 and 3 says, If you had not love, It's nothing.

You can be eloquent, but if you have not love, it means nothing. You can do many marvelous things. You can speak in all kinds of tongues, but if you have not love, Paul says it means absolutely nothing because love is the foundation of who we are. As belie in Christ, how did this happen? How did it get this way? It happens gradually, sl, but sure. Our love shifts happens many times in people's lives. You been there? They're the kind of people who say, well, I've heard that sermon before. I've heard that.

I've heard all that before. That's a cold, cold kind of love. They're the kind of people who kind of go through the motions when they go to church. They kind of do church. You know what I'm saying? They don't go to church, they do church. Because that's the thing to do. After all, they've been saved for years. They've lost the ability to love other people. Very critical, very condescending. They rip other people apart. They destroy them. They criticize everything in the church. They're happy about nothing in the church.

That's because they're focused on their agenda. They're focused on their needs. They're not focused on God. They've lost the priority. They've lost Him as the central focus of their lives. This doesn't happen from one day to the next. It happens gradually over a process of time. Oh, there's people in the pews. The lights are on in the church. There's ushers at the door. There's money in the offering basket. But there are churches who have lost their first love.

But God doesn't leave you there. He says, I want you to get it back. And here is the admonition. He says, this. He says, Remember, therefore, from where you have fallen and rep, and do the deeds you did at first.

Three things. Number one, remember. Present tense. Keep on remembering. You don't sit and say, okay, I remember today, and then you're done remembering. It's a keep on remembering kind of thing. Remember what you had. You ever recall the sunny height of enthusiasm of your devotion to Christ that marked your honeymoon with Him, the intimacy and warmth you used to have? Think of it like a marriage. You didn't make a difference whether you drove a real nice car or an old jalop. Whether you lived in a beautiful home in Maui or lived in a shack in West Covina.

Didn make a difference. Because you were with what? The person you loved. Just being with them was enough. Didn't have to be anywhere, just being with them was all you needed. Remember that when you got married? I like weddings. They're times of remembrance, aren't they? Takes you back to your altar days when you stood before the people. You've been there, your husband reaches over, grabs your hand, puts his arm around you. You begin to sense and remember what took place way back when, however long that might be for you.

What happened when you tied the knots? The intimacy, the excitement, the enthusiasm that was all there, the thrill of being there. Christ says, you need to go back and remember those days.

Go back and remember them because you have forgotten them. That's why baptisms are important. Because baptisms help us what? Remember from whence we have come. There's nothing that in remembrance in the church than new converts. And their testimonies to help us see from whence we have come, that we might remember the things of old. Then Christ says, not only do you need to remember, you need to repent.

Change your heart, change your mind, change your ambition, change your way of life. A radical love demands a radical life. If you want to have a radical kind of marriage, you've got to have a radical kind of life in that marriage. You've got to do things in a radical kind of way. If you want to have a radical relationship with the living God, then you must live the radical life. That means you turn your back on that in which you once did or are doing, that you might go back to where you were. Christ says, you need to rep.

Don 't argue with me. Don 't debate with me. Just turn around from the path you are on and come back. Confess that you've left your first love.

Take responsibility for your actions. And then repeat. Repeat your first deeds. The things you did at first.

Remember those things? Like your marriage? Remember the things you used to do with your wife? Used to hold her hand, used to send her cards, give her gifts, show up home early from work, stay home one day from work, the things you used to do. That would ignite her fire. Say, well, I don't feel like doing that. God never asked you if you felt like doing anything, He never asked you, Tell me what you feel. Those are the most ridiculous words in the world. Tell me what you feel. Who cares what you feel?

That's not important. The bottom line is: will you do? What you ought to do. If you do, you will feel properly. That's the bottom line. God says, if you just do what you're told, the feelings will come.

They'll come. Just do what you need to do. Do the right thing. Spend time with me in the word. Spend time fellowshipping with those who are of like precious faith. The things you used to do. Remember when you used to be excited about going to church? You were a new convert, man. You couldn get enough at church, man. But after a while, we stopped going to church. Something else takes precedence. And we wonder why our relationship with God is so mechanical. We stop reading our Bible. We stop praying.

We stop sharing our faith. All those things we used to do when we first got saved, because this was all we had, man.

It was so exciting. The Lord says, You go back and you repeat those first things. If you don't, He says, I'm coming to you. That's not the second coming.

Okay? That is not the second coming. He says, I'm coming to you. Now, remember what Peter said to 1 Peter:? If judgment is going to begin, let it begin where? In the house of God. Christ says, I want to let you know something.

If you don't change, I'm going to show up at your church. And if I show up, guess what's going to happen? I will remove your lampstand out of its place unless you what? Unless you repent. I'm going to turn your light off. Oh man, you turned Ephesus upside down. And they were in turmoil because of you. I mean, you were so significant in transforming that community of people. But I would let you know. That no matter how steadfast you are in your work, no matter how sincere you sweat in your work, no matter how much you are sensitive to evil.

And you expose evil. And no matter how much you scrutinize those who think themselves to be apostles, I want to let you know something: that if you don't give back that first love, I'm going to turn out your lights, and your impact will be nothing in that city.

Wow. You say, but God, I mean, you can still use them, can't you? God says, if you don't get back to first love, I'm going to turn off your light.

You're going to be dark. Now the sad thing is, there's no church in Ephesus today because they didn't repent. And they didn't get right with God. Can you imagine that? God says, I had this against you.

This is what you got to do. And they said, we're good enough. We're okay. We're doing the right things. And God says, You might do the right things, but you have forgot about me, the priority in your relationship.

With me. What's the application? Two things. Number one, respond to the request. I've changed that. It's a request. It says, He who has ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. Not the church, but the church is. This is for us, this is for everybody. So instead of responding to the request, you need to capitulate to the command. That's what you need to do. God gives a command. You got ears? Listen up. Listen to what the Spirit says to the seven churches. Don't sit back and make a detached analysis of Christ's approval and Christ's accusations without taking a deep look inside of your own life.

The word of God has been read. Revelation 1:3. You have heard it. The response is to heed it. That's where the blessing comes. That's where the blessing comes. Are you listening? Are you open? Capitulate yourself to that command. Submit to the truth. Say, I'll repent. I'll repeat. And I'll remember.

I'll never forget. Second, rejoice in the reward. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the paradise of God. To him who overcomes, who's that? Is that the guy who overcomes the fact that he doesn't love God anymore? No. No, what's an overcomer? Well, the Bible tells us 1 John chapter 5, verses 4 and 5. What's it say? 1 John 5, 4 and 5. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world, our faith. And who is the one who overcomes the world?

But he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. That's the over. The over is a believer. He's a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. When you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and you receive Him into your life, you become an overcomer. You triumph over the world. You triumph over sin, darkness, and deadness. You become an overcomer. And the results of that, I will grant to eat of the tree of life. Remember our study in Genesis chapter 2? The tree of life. What's that? The tree that gives life.

Where is that? That's in the paradise of God. Where is that? Revelation 22:2. It's heaven. He says, I'm going to grant you something so significant, and that is eternal life with me. Paradise mentioned three times in the New Testament. Christ said to the thief, Today you shall be with me where? In paradise. Paul was taken up into the third paradise.

And in Revelation 2:7, it's the presence of God. Folks, that's the key. For us to understand the presence of God in our lives because we have eternal life with Him. And the joy he wants to give us to rekindle that first love, to move us.

Into a deeper relationship with Him. May we not be like the church of Ephesus. May we heed the comm to remember, rep. And repeat.