okay today we're reading from revelation chapter 2 verses 1 to 7
to the angel of the church in ephesus write the words of him who holds the seven stars in his
right hand who walks among the seven golden lampstands i know your works your toil and
your patient endurance and how you cannot bear with those who are evil but have tested those
who call themselves apostles and are not and found them to be false i know you are enduring patiently
and bearing up for my name's sake and you have not grown weary but i have this against you
that you have abandoned the love you had at first remember therefore from where you have fallen
repent and do the works you did at first if not i will come to you and remove your lampstand from
its place unless you repent yet this you have you hate the works of the nicolaitans which i also hate
he who has an ear let him hear what the spirit says to the churches
to the one who conquers i will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the paradise of god
okay uh well good morning everyone my name's david it's uh great to be gathering together as
christ people uh would you pray with me as as we begin let's pray
father in heaven you know our hearts and you know that we are quick to listen to the world around us
and we're slow to listen to you we're often quite deaf towards you
so lord we need you to give us a spiritual ear to hear your voice to hear your truth
we can't create this ourselves we ask that you give it to us please speak to us so that we might
find life in you i pray this in jesus powerful name amen
well uh when em and i moved to sydney for a few years we had to go church hunting
uh it was a good experience to help us work out what makes for a good church what's essential and
what's just our personal preferences and after this one particular church service
uh i decided to do a little experiment to see if it was a good church on them
in a crowd of around 200 people all around there's guys hugging each other welcoming each other
laughing together i assure you this is before covid came i walked into the middle of the crowd and stood
there by myself to see how long it would take for someone to come up and welcome me
i didn't time it it was probably only five minutes standing there by myself but it felt like an hour
it was such an awful feeling needless to say i didn't feel very loved or welcomed
except for one young guy who came up and spoke to me
i think being authentically welcoming is a good mark of a healthy church isn't it is that your experience
if the lord has welcomed us to himself as we are surely we will extend that welcome to others
what other marks would you look for for a healthy church would it be the quality of coffee at morning tea
obviously we're all missing john's coffee while we're online maybe you look for engaging teaching
the quality of music a children's and youth program an invitation to lunch after the service
what what do you look for what's your criteria imagine you're moving to newcastle again
and you walk into grace evangelical church at clandale
what criteria would you consider essential and what's just your personal preference
have we been a healthy church while online will we be a healthy church when we regather at glendale
i've got a book about this very thing it's called nine marks of a healthy church i'm just going to
list off what's in the contents page i think there's some good stuff in here number one
first mark expositional preaching what we're doing right now going through a book of the bible bit by bit
letting god set the agenda for the topic not the preacher listening to god's word bit by bit
as our daily diet number two biblical theology seeing the whole bible as a unified message pointing to
christ number three being clear on what the gospel is and what it isn't number four a biblical
understanding of conversion number five of evangelism number six of church membership number seven
of church discipline taking immorality seriously as a community number eight a concern for discipleship and growth
mature spiritual maturity and number nine biblical church leadership
now i'm not here to plug this book even though there's a lot of good stuff in it
i've got a different point to make according to these nine marks i'd say we're a healthy church
and i would gladly recommend any newcomers to many more healthy churches in the hunter region
the church we're about to hear about in revelation 2 the church in ephesus from what we know of it
and according to our criteria they were a healthy church
but as we lift the veil between earth and heaven christ reveals what's really going on in his church
how does he see it because how he sees it is what is actually true
he says ephesus had a fatal flaw
so whatever our assumptions are about what makes a healthy church
we need to listen to christ's assessment of his people
and that's what we're doing in this series listening
to the letters to the seven churches
so before we zoom in or i didn't mean to use that phrase as before we focus in on ephesus
let's just briefly survey what christ thinks of his seven churches
historically there was at least 10 local churches in the asia region at the time of john's vision
so why only seven letters as john spoke about earlier seven is a pattern in revelation
there's a rhythm to this book there's seven scenes it's in this picture book
and the first scene is focused on christ's church
and each letter has a seven point structure to it
and where where a letter doesn't follow that seven point structure
we should pay attention and ask why
so seven seems to be important in revelation
it seems to be a way of saying
this is the complete story
this is what the church is really like
from a heavenly perspective
it seems most natural
to take these letters as speaking into real churches
with real situations
but
every church
needs to read every letter
because
it deals with topics
that are relevant
to all god's people
at all times
so we need to listen up
and we also need to hear
all seven letters
not just align ourselves with one of them
if we just pick one of them
then we're taking charge of our own assessment of what we're like
we need to listen to christ's complete word to his church
to see what the church looks like from his perspective
and notice something else
that the local church are pictured as golden lampstands
this reminds us of the lampstands
in the lord's
tabernacle
and temple
in his holy presence
this is a priestly picture
as christ
was the faithful witness
of god to us
so now the local church
is to be the light of the world
witnessing to god's truth and love
put simply
lampstands
are meant
to give off light
amidst the darkness
so what
does the risen
and glorious christ
think of his local church
well the main thing
to say
is out of all heaven and earth
local gatherings
of his people
are his primary
attention
he who loves us
and has freed us
from our sins
by his blood
and made us a kingdom
priests
to his god
and father
he died for his church
and he is present
walking among
his people
relating
speaking
through his word
we might
look at our church
we might look at
other churches
and
we might think
they're pretty ordinary
during lockdown
society might
conclude
that churches
aren't
essential
but as the veil
is lifted
between heaven
and earth
we see that
christ
consuming
passion
is his
people
and so
our
consuming
passion
should be
to reflect
christ's
passion
okay
so now
that we've
spent some time
looking at the
big picture
of the letters
let's
let's focus in
on what christ
says to ephesus
and says to us
in as much
as we share
in common
with ephesus
so have a look
at verse one
to the angel
of the church
in ephesus
as david
mentioned last
week it's
difficult to be
precise
whether the
seven stars
which are the
angels
represent human
preachers
or are they
literal heavenly
messengers
whom the lord
assigns
to look after
his local
churches
it's hard
to tell
but everywhere
else in
revelation
angel
literally means
heavenly angel
whatever the
case
it's clear
by the content
that the whole
church
is meant to
hear and
respond
to the
letters
and who's
speaking
is it just
john
it's not
just john
the words
of him
who holds
the seven
stars
in his
right hand
who walks
among the
seven
lampstands
the lord
who has
the armies
of heaven
at his
disposal
as his
church
in his
firm grip
they are
protected
in his
hand
and no
matter how
ordinary
our worship
of christ
seems on
any given
sunday
whether the
sermon is
dull
or our
singing is
a bit
off key
or our
prayers are
a bit
muddled
here we
see what's
really going
on
we are
relating
with the
risen christ
he is
with us
as in the
garden of
eden the
lord is
walking
among
his people
he is
near
to us
and so
he sees
the
ephesians
zeal
and he
praises
them for
it
i know
your works
your toil
and your
patient
endurance
ephesus
didn't put
up with
false
teaching
that leads
people
away from
god
and to
death
they hate
the
practices
of the
nicolations
which
christ
also
hates
now we
know little
of the
nicolations
except
by the
teaching
by their
teaching
they led
people
away
from
christ
this
wasn't a
threat
from
outside
the
church
it
was
people
inside
the
church
claiming
to be
the
true
and
better
version
of
christianity
but the
ephesians
tested the
teachers
according to
god's
word
and they
found them
to be
false
they love
truth
they love
goodness
they didn't
put up with
evil
behavior
they didn't
put up with
immorality
they're even
willing to
endure
hardship
simply for
being christians
defending
gospel
truth
hating
immorality
persevering
for christ's
sake
even when
other people
despise them
for it
christ is
here
he sees
he knows
and he
praises
what is
genuinely
praiseworthy
i think we
should remember
that the
next time
you don't
feel
appreciated
christ
sees and
he knows
let's do
it for
his sake
ephesus
was a
solid
church
it
looked
really
good
but one
thing's
wrong
despite so
much good
the one
issue
is so
serious
that christ
warns i will
remove your
lampstand from
its place
i will come
and shut
the church
down
one thing
what is this
critical issue
verse 4
i have this
against you
that you have
abandoned
the love
you had
at first
is this
love for
christ
or love
for one
another
in the
church
that they
have
abandoned
perhaps
that's not
even the
right question
love for
god
and love
for one
another
are
inseparable
but
one
is first
one is
primary
and leads
to the
other
a heart
consumed
and devoted
to the
lord
overflows
in love
for his
children
the church
at ephesus
they had
the form
of being
passionate
followers of
christ
but in
their heart
they weren't
loving him
they weren't
worshipping
him
they had
the form
of a
solid
gold
lamp
stand
but their
light
was barely
flickering
how does
a person
and a
church
get to
this
point
how can
we
abandon
our
original
love
we're not
told
exactly
and perhaps
it's left
open
on purpose
so that
you and
I reflect
on our
own
hearts
it's
probably
gradual
bit by
bit
over
time
a man
doesn't
wake up
one morning
and decide
to commit
adultery
that day
it is a
gradual
redirection
of his
attention
and his
heart's
desire
the very
deeds
of serving
his wife
that once
were the
overflow
of his
devotion
and passion
for her
can become
the very
excuse
for letting
his heart
wander off
somewhere else
Christ
is
jealous
to have
your heart
he is
jealous
for the
heart
of his
bride
the church
I think
we've got
a choice
now
will you
hear the
Lord's
criticism
as unfair
and harsh
because all
the things
you do
aren't
enough
or you
hear his
call to
redirect your
passion back
to him
as the
words of the
one who
will not
settle for
anything
less than
wholehearted
joyful
intimacy
with him
now I
don't think
true passion
always burns
with high
emotions
so if
you're not
feeling high
on emotions
feeling close
to God
I don't
want you to
feel guilty
about that
but
we all
know the
difference
between
doing
what feels
like a
joyless
duty
compared to
when your
heart is
consumed
with something
so much
so that
your passion
for it
just propels
you into
action
we all
know the
difference
Christ
wants all
of our
heart
our soul
and mind
and strength
so how
does he
call us
to respond
he gives
us three
steps
for us
to do
look at
verse 5
remember
therefore
from where
you have
fallen
repent
and do
the works
you did
at first
so number
one we
need to
keep
remembering
our
original
passion
when we
think back
to when
you first
grasped
how much
God loves
you
in the
death of
his son
for you
how
satisfied
was your
heart
it felt
like you
need
nothing
else
that was
enough
that
commitment
to change
your entire
life for
his sake
that desire
for everyone
around you
to experience
God's love
as you
have
keep on
remembering
that state
of total
worship
from the
heart
and see
where you've
fallen from
don't settle
for going
through the
motions
now my
personal
experience
is that
this is a
daily battle
my heart
does not
wake up
in the
morning
in love
with Jesus
it wakes
up in love
with the
world
I think
this is a
constant call
to remember
and not
to settle
secondly
we've got
to repent
this is a
conscious
decision
to take
action
don't wait
until you
feel something
before you
do anything
about it
it's
impossible
to conjure
up passion
from within
yourself
you need
to go
to the
object
outside
of yourself
to stir
up your
heart's
desire
we need
to go
to him
listen
to him
see him
afresh
then
when you
find him
or he
finds you
the third
thing is
do the
works you
did at
first
here's the
fruit of
the first
and second
step
like a
fountain
a heart
that is
satisfied
in the
love of
Christ
will
overflow
when you're
contenting
him
you will
overflow
in love
for other
people
the
Ephesians
were
commended
for their
hard work
but there's
a difference
between
slogging
it out
and the
loving
service
that is
motivated
by a
content
heart
in him
and we
don't need
to wonder
where to
find him
we don't
need to
have a
mystical
experience
or go
to a
lofty
mountain
we're told
right here
how we
meet with
him
the Holy
Spirit is
speaking his
words to
us
the
Spirit is
continually
speaking
the words
of Christ
written down
for us
that's
where we
meet him
primarily
the question
is do we
have an
ear to
hear him
do we
want to
hear him
and here's
what's
promised
to you
if you
do
to the
one
who
conquers
Adam
in the
garden
was
expelled
from
God's
presence
cut off
from
eternal
life
found
only in
relationship
with the
Lord
and we've
all followed
in his
footsteps
our
natural
inclination
is to
follow the
rest of
the world
to live
apart
from
God
but it
doesn't
work
what faith
looks like
is to
actively
fight
against
that
natural
inclination
and the
ways of
this
world
it is
to believe
that life
can only
be found
walking
with God
in peace
and fellowship
faith
is a
struggle
for a
heart
satisfied
in
Christ
if
you're
struggling
excellent
that's
great
that's
what you're
called
to
that's
why we
gather
as his
people
to help
each other
in that
struggle
do you
hear
Christ
promise
to you
the
struggle
will
one day
be over
and we
will be
satisfied
fully
in the
presence
of God
Christ
alone
has the
right
to give
it to
you
this
struggle
isn't
an
earning
he's
already
got the
victory
over
your
sin
by his
death
on the
cross
but we
need to
struggle
to keep
fighting
the fight
of joy
in him
he promises
this is
your reward
you will
have your
heart's
desire
so
are we
at grace
a healthy
church
if we
think
solid
ministry
programs
and
reestablishing
all the
good
external
marks
of a
healthy
church
is what
will keep
our
light
burning
in the
community
then just
as we're
presuming
that we're
about to
open the
doors at
Glendale
Christ
might be
on his
way to
shut
it
down
external
form
is not
enough
let's
not settle
for it
let's
let our
light shine
before the
world
what will
determine
our health
as a
church
is down
to each
one of
us
to
continually
check
our
hearts
returning
again
and again
every day
to our
original love
of Christ
and we're
not alone
in that
the spirit
is here
helping us
and we
are a
church
called to
serve one
another
in helping
one another
keep that
passion
going
if you're
like me
you might
be fearing
you don't
have it
in you
to produce
this passion
and that's
true
you don't
I don't
have the
power to
change my
heart
but there's
one who
does
the one
who holds
the seven
stars
having all
authority in
heaven and
earth
whose words
are like a
sword that
breaks through
our hardness
of heart
he alone
has the
power to
give us
a spiritual
ear to
hear him
I think we
need to keep
asking him
for an ear
to hear him
he has
the power
and even
if he
feels a
million miles
away
the curtain
has been
lifted
remember
he is
with us
he is
walking
among his
people
his spirit
is speaking
as we sing
together
and learn
together
and pray
together
and encourage
and cry
together
as a church
family
let's do
it in a
way that's
in tune
with reality
what's
actually
going on
that Christ
is present
with us
our passion
will revive
in as much
as we
anticipate
the future
he promises
us
one day
very soon
you're a
day
you're a
week
you're a
year
closer
we will
be walking
with the
Lord
in his
paradise
we have
a taste
of it
now
in the
church
but gee
it's going
to be so
much better
we're going
to be eating
from the
tree of
life
as a
free gift
going for
an afternoon
stroll
in the
cool of the
day with
the Lord
trusting in
his power
trusting he
is present
trusting his
promise is
going to keep
our light as
a church
shining
will you
pray with
me
let's pray
to finish
Lord God
in heaven
we thank
you that
you do
have all
power
that you
have conquered
death
that you
have conquered
our sin
that you
have conquered
satan and
the world
that you
hold us
in your
right hand
that you
are with
us by
your spirit
through your
word
Lord we
thank you
that by
your grace
alone you
promise to
give us
life in
abundance
with yourself
Father I
pray for
each one
of us
that you
would take
hold of
our hearts
give us
hearts that
are consumed
with you
you know
how prone
we are to
wander away
bring us
back again
and again
Lord bring
glory to
your name
through grace
evangelical
church
make us
a people
who
love you
from the
heart
and show
it in
love for
one another
keep us
from
just mere
external
works
we pray
in Jesus
name
Amen
thanks for
listening
Amen
or
you
are
going
chs