"Christ Speaks to His Churches Ephesus

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Moses Sparks
5 years ago
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1 1 2 "Christ Speaks to His Churches Ephesus Revelation 2:1-7 1 Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; 2 I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: 3 And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. 4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. 5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. 6 But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. INTRO: Here the Lord gives these churches a spiritual evaluation report. though he is directing these letters to these churches The counsel & critique apply to us today. These 7 letters tell us what Christ thinks of His church; they contain encouragement & warnings we should not ignore these letters The 7 letters reveal Christ & His word "revelation" means "unveiling". Scholars estimate this book was written around 64 AD. It was written while John was in exile. John the Apostle was banished to the island of Patmos, He was cut off from the rest of the world -but he was not cut off from Christ. Paul writes to Timothy about being in prison, 2 Timothy 2:9 Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound.

2 3 4 John s letter did not travel far; the island of Patmos is near the province of Asia Minor, or modern-day Turkey. The 7 churches form an irregular circle Today you can see the ruins of these cities & the remains of the churches. These letters were not private correspondence. It is likely that all 7 received all 7 letters. (& the rest of the book of Rev). Notice that each one contains the command: "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." The plural word churches is significant-these are letters for all believers. These Letter precede the rest of the Book of Rev. I feel that God is telling His churches to get ready for the coming apocalyptic events It s like Get your affairs in order in light of what is soon to come. The coming Christ critiques His churches! st So here you have it: The Lords 1 message, is to the church in Ephesus. This city, whose name means "desirable", was the gateway to Southwest Asia, & the most prominent city in the Roman province of Asia Minor Ephesus was by far the most important & prosperous city Ephesus was "the landing place". It was a port town, which made it a strategic place for the spread of the Gospel. However, later Christians were brought through Ephesus to face death in the Roman arena, Then the city was called the "road to martyrdom." Ephesus was granted by Rome the right of self-government & even its own currency. It was a prosperous metropolis w/a thriving market, theater, a stadium that seated 25,000. The main attraction of the city was one of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World, the Temple of Diana. It was 4 times the size of the (Athens), & was surrounded by 127 pillars of marble Diana was a fertility/ nature goddess & the center of a religious cult.

3 5 6 Ephesus was a meeting place for many religions. You might wonder why Rome tolerated the worship of Dianabecause it did not interfere w/the worship of Caesar. The early Christian church was persecuted for their exclusive devotion to the Lord. There was no other Lord. Believers were singled out for refusing to worship Caesar The church in Ephesus was established by Paul during his 2nd missionary journey (Acts 18). On his 3rd missionary journey Paul remained in Ephesus for about 3 years, & the Gospel spread throughout the region. John s letter to this same church is written yrs later The preaching of Christianity hurt the trade in Ephesus. The city s silversmiths was upset, cause the demand for their silver souvenir replicas of Diana s image & her temple was diminishing. These idol makers were stirred a riot against Paul Acts 19: Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands: 27 So that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nought; but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshippeth. 28 And when they heard these sayings, they were full of wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians. 29 And the whole city was filled with confusion: and having caught Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul's companions in travel, they rushed with one accord into the theatre. 30 And when Paul would have entered in unto the people, the disciples suffered him not. Acts 19: About that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way. 24 A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in no little business for the craftsmen. 25 He called them together, along with the workmen in related trades, and said: "Men, you know we receive a good income from this business. 26 And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia. He says that man-made gods are no gods at all. 27 There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited, and the goddess herself, who is worshiped throughout the province of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty." NIV

4 7 8 - NOW to the First Letter The letter is addressed to the "angel" of the church of Ephesus. The Greek word angelos often refers to human messengers In this context, the messengers of the 7 churches are likely their pastors. Verse 1 describes Christ as the One who controls the messengers & is present in & among the churches. The word for "hold" means "to hold authoritatively". Christ is sovereign over His churches. He is thoroughly aware of their problems & progress. In Leviticus 26:12 the Lord promises, "I will walk among you, and will be your God and you will be My people." Since He is in their midst, Jesus can say in vs 2, "I know your deeds." We see in vss 2-3 that the Ephesian church had toiled to the point of exhaustion, patiently living w/the hostility of a society that opposed their beliefs, goals, and efforts. The Ephesian church appraised all teachings & opposed false doctrine. They refused to tolerate any compromise w/unbiblical & pagan world-views. Despite their spiritual vitality: The scripture says "You have forsaken your first love", Jesus states in vs 4. Take note -they did not lose, they "left" their first love. And so the Lord challenges the church to restore their spiritual passion. The toil, the endurance, & holiness, but the love was gone. Outward success is no substitute for spiritual devotion. Our ultimate goal must be to exalt Christ, The correction Jesus gives is threefold: our first love. Remember, Repent, & Resume -v5 Christ commends the church for opposing heresy. Jesus warned that after He departed false teachers would infiltrate the church, spreading deceit.

5 9 10 "Remember the height from which you have fallen" see your situation for what it is, & how it used to be. Recall the zeal you once had for God when you were a newborn believer. The church had regressed, & Jesus is calling for self-examination. Next is a call to repent. Repentance means a change of mind, heart, & direction. Repentance is sorrow converted into action. Third, Jesus says resume "do the things you did at first." Return to the start, & this time do it right! In Monopoly, you sometimes draw a card that says: "Return to GO." Do the things you did when you first trusted Christ. Maintain a vital prayer life, read the Scriptures, share your faith, be excited about fellowship & worship. Restore your spiritual passion! Then comes a warning -the Lord may have to remove their lampstand When a Church is w/out devotion to Christ & compassion toward others, ceases to be a church. Christ cautions the Ephesian believers that He may have to remove their church as a testimony to Him. The church is often referred to in Scripture as God s "bride". Our Lord s observation is that His bride has "fallen out of love". The honeymoon is over! Without love, churches become lifeless & useless. Christ is the Light of the world, & the church reflects His light. A church without light is no longer a beacon & its lampstand is removed. The reward for overcoming is found in vs 7- -access to the tree of life. An overcomer is one who has remained faithful genuine faith will produce a life of faithfulness.

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How to Get Back on Track

How to Get Back on Track Text: Revelation 2:1-7 Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven