Ephesus: The Loveless Church, Part 1

Revelation chapter 2. And as you're turning there, I want to direct your attention to two passages of Scripture. One is in Ephesians chapter 5. And these two passages of Scripture will set the tone not only for tonight's lesson, but the ones ahead. Very familiar, Ephesians 5, verse number 25. It says, Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave him up for her. He loved the church so much that he gave himself up for her. Now, if you recall back in John chapter 15. It says in verse number 12, this is my commandment that you love one another just as I have loved you.

How is that? Verse number 13: great love hath no one than this. That one laid down his life for his friends. Christ says, You know that I love you because I laid down my life for you.

And that's the greatest aspect of my love. And Paul says in Ephesians chapter 5 that Jesus Christ loved us so much that he gave him up for us. And then it goes on to say. That he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water, with the word that he might present to him. The church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that he should be holy and blameless. God has a purpose. And that is, he wants the church to be a certain kind of way, without spot, without wrinkle, holy and blameless.

And so he gave him for the church. God loves us that much. The letter that we're going to talk about this evening, the letter to the Ephesians in Revelation chapter 2, is a letter that helps us understand a little bit about the love of God. We need to know that God loves the church. I think that if I was to ask you that question, you'd say, Yeah, I love the church. And if I was to follow that up with, well, how much would you give for the church? Would you give your life for the church? For the bride of Christ.

Do you love it that much? Jesus Christ does. As we study these seven churches, we're going to cover five areas. We're going to look first of all at the analyzation of the church.

We're going to analyze each church: the correspondent, the church, and the city. We'll move from there to look at the affirmation that's given to that church.

From there, the accusation of that church or to that church. Then, fourthly, the admonition. And fifth, the applic. You'll find that this or these series of messages in Revelation 2 and 3 are very practical for you and me as we look at our life and ask ourselves some very serious questions about our relationship.

With the living God. Let's begin. Revelation chapter 2, verse number 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 lampstand says this: I know your deeds, and your toil, and perseverance, and 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. And you have perseverance, and have endured for my name's sake, and have not grown weary.

But I have this against you: that you have left your first love. Remember, therefore, 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.

Yet this you do have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 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. Let's look first of all at the analyzation.

Let's analyze, first of all, the correspondent. Who is the writer? To the seven churches. It's not John. John's a scribe. He's the one who writes down the words that are given to him. The writer tells us, is given to us by way of description. The Bible says, to the angel of the church in Ephesus.

Now we'll stop right there. To the angel. Who's the angel? A lot of people believe that these are angels, literal angels, and their argument for that is because the phrase or the word angel angel used in Revelation always refers to angels. And that's a good argument. And a lot of commentaries hold that view. But that word ange can also be translated messenger or leader. And I believe that the context helps us understand that the angel of each of the churches is a messenger. Maybe a leader among leaders that receives this letter that he in turn then might give it to that church.

The reason we say that is because there was nowhere in Scripture where angels are necessarily associated with the church, nor is an angel given a word to give to the church. When you get to Revelation chapter 4, everything is futuristic. Revelation 2 and 3 is present day. But Revelation chapter 4 and following is futuristic. What's going to happen in the future with the coming of Christ? And there, there would be angels who were instrumental in carrying out the work of God. In the tribulational period.

So, when I read through this, I believe that the angel is a messenger, a leader in the church who receives this letter, takes it back to his church, and then reads it to them. They hear it. And then, of course, begin to heat it according to Revelation chapter 1, verse number 3, and then begin to be blessed because of it. So, 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 lampstand, says this. This is his correspondent.

Who is that? Go back to chapter 1, verse number 12. What's it say? And I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me, and having turned, I saw seven golden lampstand, and in the middle of the lampstand, one like a son of man. Clothed in a robe reaching to the feet and girded across his breast with a golden girdle. The description given in Revelation chapter 2. Is the same description given in Revelation chapter 1 of the Son of Man. It's Jesus Christ Himself. Now, this is very important. Because as we go through these letters, how the writer is described is fantastic.

In fact, in the first five letters, it refers back to a description that was given in Revelation chapter 1 of the glorified Son of God.

That's how Jesus Christ introduces him. And it's very significant because how he introduces himself plays a major part on how he ministers to that church and what he wants to do with that church. And you will note. That as he introduces himself to the church of Ephesus, the very first church, he describes himself as the one who holds the seven stars.

That is the leaders, the angels of the church. He controls the leadership of the church in his right hand. The one who walks among the seven golden lampstand says this. He begins by saying, I am the central figure of the church. I walk in the middle of the seven golden lampstand. I am present among you. Because I am present among you, I am there to pray for you and with you. I am there to purge you. I am there to protect you. I am there to I am there to do for you what no one else can do. I am the central focus of the church.

That helps us understand the significant order of the churches. Because it would be this church who would lose its first love.

And you will note that for those who lose their first love, it's lost because Jesus Christ is not the central focus of their life.

And so, as he describes him as one who walks among the seven golden lampstand, being a central figure. That everything focuses around Him. He is the priority. He is the preeminent one. He is the leader. Everything needs to be focused on Him. If it's not, You'll begin to understand why you lose your love for God. Tonight, as we look at the Church of Ephesus, you've got to ask yourself a question.

Do you have a vibrant love for God or have you lost it? Is Christianity kind of humdrum for you? You find yourself going through the motions? Is it mechanical? This let explains what needs to happen in your life in order for you to have a vibrant love relationship. With the living God of the universe. He alone has the power and the authority to speak. Therefore, we listen.

From the correspondent, I want you to see the church, the church at Ephesus. What about this church? What do we know about the church of Ephesus? Well, turn back with me if you would, to Acts chapter 19. Acts chapter 19. It was founded by the Apostle Paul. But before Paul ever got there, there was a man by the name of Paulus who the Bible says in Acts 18 was a man mighty in the scriptures.

This man could really reason with the scriptures. He knew the word of God. And yet, when Aquila and Priscilla heard him speaking one day, they knew that he did not understand all there was about the Son of Man coming to earth and dying. For man. He was a convert of John the Baptist, and so Aquila and Priscilla would take Apollos aside and begin to instruct him, and he became more powerful. Once he understood more of the work of Christ in his life and what Christ wanted to do through his life, he would go on to Corinth.

Paul would show up on the scene in Acts chapter 19, and he would do a mighty work as he runs into 12 disciples of John the Baptist. And speaks to them. They receive the Spirit of God and great things begin to happen. We'll pick up the narrative in verse number 8. And he entered the synagogue and continued speaking out boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God. But when some were becoming hardened and disobedient, speaking evil of the way before the multitude, he withdrew from them and took away the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyran.

And this took place for two years, so that all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks. So here's Paul. He ministers specifically to these twelve men and others who might come into this school of Tyrannus. So much so that for two years throughout his ministry, it says all in Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard The message of the gospel. Read on. And God was performing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul. so that handkerchiefs or aprons were even carried from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out.

But also some of the Jewish exorcists who went from place to place attempted to name Over those who had the evil spirits, the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, I adjure you by Jesus, whom Paul preaches. And seven sons of one Skiva, Jewish chief priest, were doing this. And the evil spirit answered and said to them, I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you? And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them so that they fled out of the house naked and wounded.

And this became known to all, both Jews and Greeks, who lived in Ephesus. And fear fell upon them all. And the name of the Lord Jesus was being magnified. Many also of those who had believed kept coming, confessing, and disclosing their practices. And many of those who practiced magic brought their books together and began burning them in the sight of all. And they counted up the price of them and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. So the word of the Lord was growing mightily and prevailing.

This is Paul's third missionary journey. He comes into Ephesus. He begins to preach the word. And God does many things through him. And this church was born in the midst of a revival. Great things took place in Ephesus. People were following God, honoring God, growing in their walk with God. This was a vibrant community on fire. For the Lord. We'll come back to it here in a moment. Move on with me to the city. What about the city of Ephesus? It was an important Gulf city. located where the Cast River met the Aege Sea, and commerce would flow in and out of Ephesus, making it a crucial export center of Asia.

In addition to the sea trade, the business of Ephesus profited from three main trade routes that converged there in the city. It was called the Metropolis of Asia. It was a place that boasted over 500,000 people. It was the largest city in Asia. It was not the capital. Pergamon was the capital. But Asia was a city that held great political prominence. And every year there would be great athletic contests that took place in this amphitheater that would seat 25,000 People. They would rival the Olympic Games.

It was a major, major city. And in the center of the city was the worship. Of the Roman gods, specifically the temple of Artemis or Diana. This was one of the seven wonders of the world. And people were devoted to this goddess of love, this goddess of fertility. And it was a very popular religion in Ephesus. And this religion entailed three major things: prostitution. Singing, dancing, which culminated in or. And that 's how they worship this goddess of Dian. And it would run rampant through the city.

And in the midst of this city was a little church that began to grow bigger and bigger and bigger. The city was so bad that one philosopher, Heraclitus, was called the weeping philosopher, because no one, he declared, could live in Ephesus and not weep over its immorality. That's how bad the city was. And yet, God would put a light in that city. He would put a fire in that city. By Paul coming and preaching the gospel in a church growing over that two-year time sp, up to three years, Paul was there with the ministry there in Ephesus.

And these people found themselves in Satan's backyard. They found themselves having to defend the faith. They found themselves having to live a radical kind of lifestyle. Because everything that Ephes stood for, they stood against. In fact, if you're still in Acts chapter 19, it says in verse number 23, and about that time there arose no small disturbance concerning the way. Who's the way? That's the Christians. That's the church. This was no small disturbance. This was a big disturbance. Something had taken place in the city.

There was a problem in the city. For a certain man named Demetrius, a silvers, who made silver shrines of Artemis, was bringing no little business to the craftsmen. These he gathered together with the workmen of similar trades, and said Men, you know that our prosperity depends upon this business. And you see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but in almost all of Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away A considerable number of people saying that gods made with hands are no gods at all. And not only is there danger that this trait of ours falls into disrepute.

but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis be regarded as worthless, and that she whom all of Asia and the world worship should even be dethroned from her magnificence. And when they heard this and were filled with rage, they began crying out, saying, Great is Artemis of the Ephesians. And the city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed with one accord into the theater, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul's traveling companions from Macedonia. And when Paul wanted to go into the assembly, the disciples would not let him.

And also some of the Asiarchs, who were friends of his, sent to him and repeatedly urged him not to venture into. The theater. We'll stop right there. These people were losing their business because the church of Jesus Christ had made such an impact in that city. That they were losing money. Now, I want you to notice something about this church.

This church did not march on Capitol Hill. This church did not have picket signs about down with the goddess Artemaeus or Diana. They did not boycott anything in Ephesus. They did not go on TV and have interviews in Ephesus. They did not have interviews with Ephesian Journal so that there would be articles in the paper about what was happening in the city. These people lived a godly life. They preached the word of God. Therefore, there was such an effect in the lives of people that the city was in turmoil.

They were losing their infrastructure. Everything that was centered around their income, everything they looked for in their businesses was faltering because Christians were standing on what they believed. Telling people about Jesus Christ. Folks, that's so important to understand. That's how you live your life. If you just live the Christian life, if you just preach the Word of God. You don't have to do anything else. Just live for God and talk about God, and the city will change. And that's what happened in Ephesus.

A great revival took place. These people were upset, and the whole city was crowding into this amphitheater. And they drugged Gaius in there and Aristarchus, and they wanted to kill him. And finally, someone in their assembly would have reasoned with them about what had taken place.

But they were so enraptured in what they did. And it was going to come to an end if they didn't do something about these Christians. Who had changed everything. Amazing. God put a light there because people need to hear. The truth. Let's move to point number two, and that is the affirmation.

Let's look at it together. Revelation chapter 2. Verses 2 and 3. Christ says, I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and 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. And you have perseverance, and have endured for my names, and have not grown weary. Christ says, I know your works.

How does he know your works? Because he walks amidst the seven golden lampstand, which are representative of the seven churches. Hebrews 4:13 says that his eye sees everything, everything to him is naked and open. Because we're accountable to God. God says, I know.

I know your works. Now, this is very important. Listen very carefully. Because God knows everything. And no matter how good you think your church is, God know everything about it. And this was a great church. Look what it says. First thing I want you to notice is their service.

He says, I know your labor, I know your toil. I know the energy you expend to make things happen. I want to commend you for the sweat. In your service, I want to commend you that you're hard workers. I want to commend you that you are energetic and that you distribute every ounce of energy to make sure that the work of the Lord is accomplished. I want to commend you for that. I want to affirm that in you, says the Lord. The city in which they lived demanded that they withdraw. From what was happening in that city.

But they needed to minister with energy, even to the point of exhaustion. And they did. There were no couch potatoes in the church. Nobody sat down and just didn't do anything. They were all activists, they were all involved. Expending their energy. I want to commend you for your energetic service, your toil, your exhaustion. Number two, their steadfastness.

He says, I want to commend you for your patience, your perseverance. That old word hupom, which means to have steadfast endurance. I like what William Bark says in his commentary when he says these words. This is not the grim patience which resignedly accepts things and which bows its head when troubles flow over it. Hu is the courageous gallantry which accepts suffering and hardship and loss and turns this into grace and gl. Christ says, I want to commend you.

You're marathon. You 're disciplined. You 're determined. You don't quit. I want to commend you for that. We need more people who don't want to quit. They want to keep on going. They want to keep on giving. They want to expend every ounce of energy. And amidst the city of Ephesus, amidst the riots that would take place, you think they would draw back for fear of their lives. But no, that would make them more on fire for the Lord. So amidst the criticism, amidst the disappointment, amidst the ingratitude of their service, they persevered.

They kept on keeping on. They were faithful. They were trustworthy. So many times, we as Christians get tired in our service, don't we? We get tired of our work. Well, there's a little hint here as to why that happens. It says down in verse number three: He had perseverance and him endured for what?

My name's sake. The key to persevering is that you are consumed with doing it for God. The reason people don't persevere is because God's name Is not that important to them. The reason they don't endure through hardship and difficulty is because they are not consumed with the glory of God. They are more consumed with them and their welfare, their needs, their comfort. But these people did it for Christ's name's sake. That's why they were steadfast. That's why their service was affirmed. And then, thirdly, I want you to notice their sensitivity to sin.

Look what it says: and that you cannot endure evil men. That's good. They were sensitive to sin. It was not only that they could not endure evil, but they would not endure evil what? Men. Have you ever heard a statement? Love the sinner, hate the sin. You ever heard that? You got to be careful with that statement. And line it up with Psalm 5:5, where it says that God hates all who do iniquity. The Bible doesn't say God hates the sin and loves the sinner. It doesn't say that. The Bible says God hates all who do iniquity.

It goes on to say in Psalm 11, verse number 5: God hates those who do violence. The Bible says, Jacob I have loved, and Esau I have what?

I've hated. Wow. How can God hate us? The amazing thing is, is that while in that state of sin, He loved you enough to die for you. That he might redeem you out of that. That's the miracle in the magnificence of our Savior.