It is time again this week for another Weekend Sermon. As always, I'm very glad to be able to post this message, and I hope that those who read it will gain encouragement in the Lord from it.
I asked folks to pray last week that the Lord would allow me to get the things sold that I need to get sold in order to get to the next stage in what I believe the Lord is calling me to do. Please continue to pray on my behalf. These last few months have been a real struggle, and I need the Lord's help now more than ever.
In our message last week, we finished Revelation chapter 1. We looked at the description of the vision of the Son of Man that was revealed to John. Jesus is the holy, pure and righteous judge who is filled with power and great glory.
Jesus told John that the keys of death and Hades were in His hand. Jesus died for our sins paying our sin debt and bearing our sins in His body on the cross as the spotless Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Through His resurrection, Jesus defeated the result of sin which is death. Those who are in Christ have eternal life because Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life.
We now move into chapter 2 where Jesus gave John a message for each of the seven churches of Asia. Jesus begins in chapter 2 with a message to the church at Ephesus.
The city of Ephesus was one of the richest and most important cities in the Roman Empire. It was an important place of commerce, and it was the center of the worship of the false goddess, Diana.
The Apostle Paul was instrumental in establishing the church at Ephesus, and he would pen one of his epistles to the Ephesians. Church history tells us that the Apostle John also worked in the church at Ephesus for many years including the years after his exile on Patmos ended.
Jesus said in chapter 2 verse 2 that He knew their works, their labor and their patience. Jesus said that He knew that this church could not bear evil , and that they had tested some who were claiming to be apostles falsely and found them to be liars.
When we serve the Lord and do His will, the Lord knows about it. The Bible says that the Lord is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Jesus said the He knew that they had labored for Him, and they had not grown weary. It is our duty as believers to work diligently to spread the message of the gospel. We have the most important job in the world. It is to bring souls into the Kingdom. Nothing on earth should receive more of our hard work and effort than working to spread the love of Jesus and His message of salvation.
In verse four, Jesus states that He does have something against the church at Ephesus. He says, "Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love."
What does it mean that they had left their first love? I believe that there are at least two possibilities here. First of all, Jesus told us that the great commandment was to love the Lord with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength. This church may have been doing what they were supposed to do, but they weren't doing it out of love. They had grown distant from the Lord. This can happen more readily than many think. Believers are out doing the work, but they aren't abiding in Christ through prayer, study and meditation.
Also, I believe that another meaning here is that their fervency for the things of the Lord was diminishing. I've seen many people who when they first come to salvation they on fire for the Lord. They are trying to witness to everyone. They are in church every time that the doors are open. Over time, they stop witnessing, and their enthusiasm for the things of God wanes.
We need to keep our relationship with the Lord fresh and vibrant. As Jesus said, we need to present ourselves as new wine skins willing to be filled with the new wine of the Spirit each day.
Jesus urges people in the church at Ephesus to repent which means to turn around and change one's mind. Jesus wanted them, and He wants us, to rededicated our lives to Him. He wants us to spend time with Him and grow in our love for Him which means that we are willing to obey all that He has commanded us to do.
In verse 6, Jesus commends the church at Ephesus once again, because they hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans. No one is for absolute sure who these people were or what they believed. I've heard that they were a group founded by Nicholas who was one of the the deacons appointed in the book of Acts. This is not for certain. Some say that their doctrine resembled the beliefs of the Gnostics. Others, and I find that this makes the most sense to me, believe that they were an antinomian group. That is, they believed that Christians were not obligated to follow the law. They believed that when they sinned, God's grace abounded to them, so they sinned all the more.
I'm not saying that they are Nicolaitans by any means, but we have some whose teaching gets dangerously close to this today. People will say "We aren't under the law, we are under grace." They say that believers don't have to follow any Old Testament laws. This is simply not true. Jesus did not abolish the law; He fulfilled the law. Because of His fulfillment of the law, the ceremonial law of the sacrificial system is no longer in place. However, the moral law is still in place.
Finally, Jesus says that the one who overcomes will be allowed to eat from the tree of life in the midst of Paradise.
In Revelation 23, John sees the tree of life by the river of life in the Heavenly City of the New Jerusalem. Those who are obedient in following the Lord and overcome sin will be allowed to eat from this tree which symbolizes deep fellowship with the Lord.
Next week, we will continue in our series in Revelation. On Wednesday, I will publish a book review. May God bless you, may you grow in your love for Jesus. Amen.
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