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Church of the Nazarene – Harrisonburg
The Seven Churches of Revelation Part 2
Revelation 2:1-7 Ephesus
Today we continue our teaching series called “The Seven Churches of Revelation”
Over the next several weeks we will seek to understand the importance and relevance of this text in our lives today.
Just like the rest of our Bible, we believe that Revelation is valuable and integral to our faith- It’s there for a reason.
Through this study we want to hear and understand the warnings and instructions to these churches. As we do that, we also want to discern how we can learn from these warnings in our lives and through our local church.
Our desire is to renew and refine our vision of life and what the church should be.
Our series is specifically focused on Jesus’ words to the 7 Churches in Asia minor
Today we begin with the Church in Ephesus, found in Revelation 2:1-7.
Revelation 2:1-7
“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.
Ephesus was one of the most influential cities in the Roman world. It was a melting pot of cultural and religious influences.
The Apostle Paul had founded the church some 40 years earlier, spending a significant amount of time there. And late in the first century, the resurrected Jesus commends them on how they have held firm.
Jesus is saying, “in spite of all your hard work and perseverance, you have forsaken what’s most important.”
But the implication here is not that they lost their first love, as if it disappeared somehow by accident. The word ‘forsaken’ here communicates intentional action.
Are these words true about our church today?
I shudder thinking about ever being a part of the church where the gospel is seen as an obligation and duty rather than a calling compelled by love.
One of the most significant question in this text is, “how?”
How is it possible that a church that could appear so effective and faithful could miss what matters most?
Hebrews 2:1
We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.
How does the church in Ephesus forsake their first love? How does the church in 2023 make the same fatal error?
It didn’t happen all at once, instead it was a series of moments, a process of drifting.
“Five Signs of a Drifting Church”
1. There is a loss of focus on the pure love of God expressed through faithfulness to the Gospel.
2. A sense of urgency is replaced by a sense of the routine or going through the motions.
3. People are distracted by entertainment or busy-ness, or both.
4. The Word is watered down.
5. 20% of the people do 80% of the ministry.
The bottom line:
The question isn’t ‘what do you do?’
The question is ‘who do you love?’
Verses for further study/reflection:
Acts 19:8-41
1 Corinthians 13
Matthew 7:23
Revelation 2:1-7, The Message
2 Write this to Ephesus, to the Angel of the church. The One with Seven Stars in his right-fist grip, striding through the golden seven-lights’ circle, speaks:
2-3 “I see what you’ve done, your hard, hard work, your refusal to quit. I know you can’t stomach evil, that you weed out apostolic pretenders. I know your persistence, your courage in my cause, that you never wear out.
4-5 “But you walked away from your first love—why? What’s going on with you, anyway? Do you have any idea how far you’ve fallen? A Lucifer fall!
“Turn back! Recover your dear early love. No time to waste, for I’m well on my way to removing your light from the golden circle.
6 “You do have this to your credit: You hate the Nicolaitan business. I hate it, too.
7 “Are your ears awake? Listen. Listen to the Wind Words, the Spirit blowing through the churches. I’m about to call each conqueror to dinner. I’m spreading a banquet of Tree-of-Life fruit, a supper plucked from God’s orchard.”
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