WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.380 Well, do you remember what it was like when you first developed romantic love for another person? 00:00:09.019 --> 00:00:11.060 Some of you are still awaiting those moments. 00:00:11.700 --> 00:00:17.000 I have those conversations with Ashlyn and Harper routinely as to when they turn 40, 00:00:17.100 --> 00:00:20.920 they're allowed to actually start to have romantic love for someone else. 00:00:21.160 --> 00:00:23.760 But it will be that long before they're allowed. 00:00:24.420 --> 00:00:25.920 You remember what that was like, right? 00:00:25.920 --> 00:00:33.000 And Julie and I's friendship started through group meetings of mutual friends. 00:00:33.120 --> 00:00:37.060 We would go up to the gymnasium of the college that we attended in the evenings, 00:00:37.060 --> 00:00:38.660 and we would play volleyball together. 00:00:38.939 --> 00:00:45.680 And one of my close friends, Phillip, was dating Julie's close friend and roommate, Nicole. 00:00:45.680 --> 00:00:49.160 And through that relationship, we were introduced and we became friends. 00:00:49.159 --> 00:00:57.919 But the romantic stirrings of our relationship really began and were sparked when we went on a group trip 00:00:57.919 --> 00:01:02.119 with a few friends to the North Carolina State Fair. 00:01:02.579 --> 00:01:07.140 This would have been October of 2006 in Raleigh. 00:01:07.799 --> 00:01:14.239 And I will have to tell you that I was not the only one who was chasing the sweet, soft-spoken redhead that night. 00:01:14.539 --> 00:01:16.539 There were a few others in the group. 00:01:16.540 --> 00:01:18.900 And she was best available. 00:01:19.040 --> 00:01:20.160 There's no doubt about that. 00:01:20.600 --> 00:01:23.680 And there were a number of fellas who had attended. 00:01:23.940 --> 00:01:29.219 But to make a long story short, I was the one who won the prize for the night. 00:01:30.020 --> 00:01:34.340 We left the fairgrounds with her on my arm, not on the other guy's arms. 00:01:34.880 --> 00:01:38.620 And it wasn't very long before that love really began to develop. 00:01:38.880 --> 00:01:42.120 We were both in love, and those days were amazing. 00:01:42.120 --> 00:01:46.420 You remember this in the times that you've experienced it as well, what that's like. 00:01:47.000 --> 00:01:50.700 We arranged our class schedules so that we could maximize the time that we had together, 00:01:50.820 --> 00:01:57.840 whether it was actually signing up for the same classes or making sure that the classes that we were taking were happening at the same time, 00:01:57.840 --> 00:02:02.100 so that our break times were at the same time and we could meet back up in between courses, 00:02:02.100 --> 00:02:06.080 longing as she did to find me and to be with me again. 00:02:06.079 --> 00:02:09.780 And we did really weird things. 00:02:10.740 --> 00:02:18.819 Like we would spend our evenings now, instead of playing volleyball, we would walk laps around the parking lot of the school campus 00:02:18.819 --> 00:02:22.960 because we weren't actually allowed to be in certain places on campus together. 00:02:23.099 --> 00:02:24.900 That was against the rules if you were dating somebody. 00:02:25.099 --> 00:02:26.819 So we had to stay in the parking lot most of the time. 00:02:26.879 --> 00:02:28.800 We'd just walk around the parking lot and we'd spend time together. 00:02:28.800 --> 00:02:36.080 We'd do really strange things like we'd get up early in the morning because I knew that Julie at the time would like to drink white mochas from Starbucks 00:02:36.080 --> 00:02:39.200 and she would like chicken minis from Chick-fil-A. 00:02:39.340 --> 00:02:43.219 So I would get up knowing that she wasn't going to get up early enough to have breakfast, 00:02:43.340 --> 00:02:47.120 and I would get up early enough and I would go and get her a coffee and chicken minis 00:02:47.120 --> 00:02:50.660 just so I could meet her before she went to our first class in the morning. 00:02:50.659 --> 00:03:01.079 Anything that I could do to be with Julie, to find those moments, to display and express our love for one another, 00:03:01.659 --> 00:03:05.240 nothing brought me more joy in those moments than to be with her. 00:03:06.159 --> 00:03:07.919 And I've never stopped loving her. 00:03:08.199 --> 00:03:13.500 In 14 years, we celebrated 14 years of marriage last month, I guess 16 years or so, 00:03:13.620 --> 00:03:18.240 or however long that is of being together in a romantic relationship. 00:03:18.639 --> 00:03:20.019 I've never stopped loving Julie. 00:03:20.020 --> 00:03:25.060 But I can't say that I've always loved her in the way that I loved her then. 00:03:25.960 --> 00:03:26.540 Do you know what I mean? 00:03:28.120 --> 00:03:32.379 There's not very many days that I get up and go to Chick-fil-A and to Starbucks 00:03:32.379 --> 00:03:35.920 just because she's not going to get up early enough to do it herself. 00:03:36.340 --> 00:03:38.000 It doesn't happen very often anymore. 00:03:38.820 --> 00:03:40.340 There's things that come up. 00:03:41.540 --> 00:03:45.360 We leave off those early days of first love so often. 00:03:45.360 --> 00:03:54.400 And what Julie and I have learned through the years is that it is entirely possible to have a faithful marriage 00:03:54.400 --> 00:03:58.160 without necessarily having a healthy one. 00:03:59.220 --> 00:04:04.960 Those two things aren't always coexisting together. 00:04:04.960 --> 00:04:13.180 Healthy marriages are those whose faithfulness is marked by joyful love rather than heartless duty. 00:04:13.180 --> 00:04:18.759 And it is so very easy for us in those relationships over time to leave the joy of first love, 00:04:19.060 --> 00:04:24.060 to leave the feelings and works of first love, 00:04:24.220 --> 00:04:31.240 and do things really out of just mere faithfulness for faithfulness sake, for duty's sake. 00:04:31.240 --> 00:04:34.540 And healthy churches are the same way. 00:04:35.319 --> 00:04:37.160 Healthy churches, like healthy marriages, 00:04:37.560 --> 00:04:42.740 are the ones who will continually return to this idea of first love. 00:04:43.160 --> 00:04:48.740 First love as it relates to our understanding of the gospel and of our walk with Jesus Christ. 00:04:50.060 --> 00:04:54.460 You see, it's just like it's possible to be a faithful husband 00:04:54.460 --> 00:04:58.980 without actually maintaining a joyful love for your wife. 00:04:58.980 --> 00:05:03.220 It's entirely possible for a church to be faithful in doctrine, 00:05:03.520 --> 00:05:05.340 to be faithful in morality, 00:05:05.900 --> 00:05:13.720 and yet still fall out of that first love that marks the early moments of knowing Christ 00:05:13.720 --> 00:05:15.960 and passionately serving Him. 00:05:17.860 --> 00:05:23.860 Our faithfulness to Jesus can easily devolve into a lifeless mechanism 00:05:23.860 --> 00:05:30.620 rather than persevering in a vibrant, wholehearted commitment to God. 00:05:31.500 --> 00:05:34.500 And such was the case for this church in Ephesus. 00:05:35.400 --> 00:05:38.319 They were utterly orthodox in their doctrine. 00:05:39.040 --> 00:05:41.480 They were pure in their conduct. 00:05:42.319 --> 00:05:47.920 But they had a glaring sin that incurred the threat of Christ's judgment, 00:05:48.240 --> 00:05:51.600 a severe judgment, mind you, as we read it. 00:05:51.600 --> 00:05:55.960 This is not merely a slap on the wrist that Jesus is threatening here. 00:05:56.720 --> 00:06:01.980 He's threatening to actually remove the church from its existence here because of this. 00:06:02.040 --> 00:06:04.020 It's severe, significant. 00:06:05.100 --> 00:06:06.860 Despite everything that they were doing right, 00:06:07.460 --> 00:06:13.320 their lack of love set them on the path of devastating uselessness. 00:06:13.319 --> 00:06:20.000 So we would say Ephesus is the church of heartless orthodoxy. 00:06:20.060 --> 00:06:23.339 It's the church of heartless orthodoxy. 00:06:23.800 --> 00:06:25.300 And our goal for this morning, 00:06:25.379 --> 00:06:28.480 and it will be for every morning as we go from church to church, 00:06:28.540 --> 00:06:34.219 is to hear Jesus' sermon to Ephesus as a sermon to Lakeside, 00:06:34.420 --> 00:06:35.860 to the church of Lake Norman. 00:06:35.860 --> 00:06:39.500 And we want to be asking important questions. 00:06:40.080 --> 00:06:44.500 Are we a church of heartless orthodoxy? 00:06:44.660 --> 00:06:46.939 I know we're a church of orthodoxy. 00:06:47.340 --> 00:06:49.980 Are we a church of heartless orthodoxy? 00:06:51.379 --> 00:06:53.699 And if so, what do we do? 00:06:55.280 --> 00:06:59.360 Has Jesus taken up this same complaint with us? 00:06:59.360 --> 00:07:07.360 And if so, are we as a corporate body willing to repent and return to this first love? 00:07:07.980 --> 00:07:09.379 That's what we want to consider this morning. 00:07:09.879 --> 00:07:13.800 I told you last week that the internal structure of each of these sermons is very similar. 00:07:13.960 --> 00:07:17.720 There's certain attributes to the messages that Jesus sends. 00:07:18.040 --> 00:07:21.060 I think that's probably going to be the most helpful way for us to 00:07:21.060 --> 00:07:23.920 even structure our study together Sunday by Sunday. 00:07:24.180 --> 00:07:28.420 So let's look first at the church identity and the Christ title. 00:07:28.420 --> 00:07:30.500 The church identity and the Christ title. 00:07:30.879 --> 00:07:33.460 We find that first, the church identity in verse 1. 00:07:33.840 --> 00:07:38.580 To the angel of the church in Ephesus write, Jesus says. 00:07:39.640 --> 00:07:45.620 Ephesus was situated on the west coast of Asia, this ancient city of Ephesus at least. 00:07:46.460 --> 00:07:51.700 And it was steeped in cultic worship of Roman Caesars. 00:07:51.800 --> 00:07:56.340 In fact, all of the churches that we're going to deal with, except for one, as I can remember, 00:07:56.339 --> 00:08:02.379 had these temples that were set up in order that the people of those cities in the Roman situation 00:08:02.379 --> 00:08:05.679 that they were in could worship the Caesars. 00:08:05.779 --> 00:08:07.479 They believed their Caesars to be gods. 00:08:08.019 --> 00:08:10.819 And that was a part of their life and a part of their worship. 00:08:11.039 --> 00:08:12.419 And Ephesus was no different. 00:08:12.679 --> 00:08:18.519 But the crowning jewel of the ancient city of Ephesus was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. 00:08:18.899 --> 00:08:20.519 It was the temple of Artemis. 00:08:20.519 --> 00:08:25.399 Artemis was believed by the Greeks to be the goddess of fertility. 00:08:26.180 --> 00:08:29.419 And what they believed that she offered, in addition to fertility, 00:08:29.799 --> 00:08:37.960 was the promise of long life, of protection during pregnancies, of sexual pleasure, and so forth. 00:08:38.639 --> 00:08:47.600 And Ephesus was the center of world worship when it came to those who worshiped this goddess called Artemis. 00:08:47.600 --> 00:08:54.019 And if you were to study it, you would find that the rituals of this particular kind of worship was as pagan as you can imagine. 00:08:54.340 --> 00:08:55.620 And that was the center of it. 00:08:55.680 --> 00:08:59.019 The center of it all was right there in this city of Ephesus, 00:08:59.019 --> 00:09:05.060 where this young church is that Jesus is preaching this message to. 00:09:05.059 --> 00:09:12.419 The fight against false religion in this city would have been unbelievably difficult. 00:09:13.199 --> 00:09:20.619 And it would have been unbelievably dangerous for Christians who were committed to preaching the truth of the gospel. 00:09:20.620 --> 00:09:30.539 It would be akin to going to some metropolitan cities around the world that are less friendly to freedom of religion than the United States are, 00:09:30.740 --> 00:09:35.639 and beginning to preach the gospel and putting yourself in grave danger as a result of doing that. 00:09:35.700 --> 00:09:39.779 There are places in the world today where that is very much the reality for Christians. 00:09:40.139 --> 00:09:41.740 Ephesus was one of those cities. 00:09:41.740 --> 00:09:47.480 Well, the church in Ephesus also has a rich history in the biblical New Testament. 00:09:48.379 --> 00:09:52.060 They experienced incredible revivals that we read about in the Bible. 00:09:52.960 --> 00:09:57.100 They are tied to several letters in the New Testament. 00:09:57.539 --> 00:09:59.740 And they enjoyed a wealth of faithful leadership. 00:10:00.399 --> 00:10:04.639 Just think about some of the pastors and elders that we know from the scriptures 00:10:04.639 --> 00:10:08.200 that this church had at one point or another in its early existence. 00:10:08.200 --> 00:10:14.600 The apostle Paul is its founder and spent years serving and pastoring this church. 00:10:15.200 --> 00:10:18.480 Apollos, who we read about in the book of Acts and in some other places, 00:10:18.820 --> 00:10:21.180 was a pastor at this church at one point in time. 00:10:21.640 --> 00:10:26.420 Timothy is in Ephesus when Paul is writing the letters of 1 and 2 Timothy 00:10:26.420 --> 00:10:29.780 and encouraging him as he leads this particular church. 00:10:30.259 --> 00:10:33.660 John, who is writing this vision of the revelation, 00:10:34.200 --> 00:10:37.480 was at that time and towards the end of his life, according to church tradition, 00:10:37.480 --> 00:10:41.440 the elder of or an elder at the church in Ephesus. 00:10:41.600 --> 00:10:45.440 It had rich, rich spiritual leadership, 00:10:45.440 --> 00:10:51.200 which is not surprising when we read about the commendations that Jesus gives to it. 00:10:52.139 --> 00:10:55.460 Ephesus also had a substantial Jewish community. 00:10:56.120 --> 00:11:01.460 So that, paired with the fact that the church lived in the shadow of the temple of Artemis, 00:11:01.460 --> 00:11:03.300 makes it unsurprising, 00:11:03.300 --> 00:11:11.440 that standing for truth and against false religion is the dominant character trait of the Ephesian church. 00:11:12.060 --> 00:11:17.420 Acts 19 records that there was a riot in the Colosseum in Ephesus 00:11:17.420 --> 00:11:20.519 as it related to those who were preaching the gospel. 00:11:21.400 --> 00:11:24.259 And in chapter 20, Paul even warned the Ephesian elders 00:11:24.259 --> 00:11:29.360 that one day there would even come people from within the church, 00:11:29.980 --> 00:11:31.899 elders in the church themselves, 00:11:31.899 --> 00:11:35.960 who would attempt to lead people away from the gospel. 00:11:36.419 --> 00:11:40.700 And all of this helps us to understand this message that Jesus sends 00:11:40.700 --> 00:11:44.759 to this very real historical church in the city of Ephesus. 00:11:45.299 --> 00:11:47.360 Well, let's consider the Christ title for a minute. 00:11:47.500 --> 00:11:48.419 That's also in verse 1. 00:11:48.419 --> 00:11:49.079 Look at it with me. 00:11:49.399 --> 00:11:53.419 The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, 00:11:53.719 --> 00:11:57.379 who walks among the seven golden lampstands. 00:11:58.059 --> 00:12:04.379 Now, remember the titles of Christ in these seven sermons are given by Jesus himself. 00:12:05.079 --> 00:12:10.240 They are his self-revelation that John copied down for the churches. 00:12:10.919 --> 00:12:16.419 And they are very much matched by John's vision in Revelation chapter 1. 00:12:16.419 --> 00:12:20.139 So we need to understand that when we go back to chapter 1, 00:12:20.539 --> 00:12:23.639 what John is describing in that vision of Jesus 00:12:23.639 --> 00:12:27.819 is because he's reflecting on Jesus' own self-revelation. 00:12:28.479 --> 00:12:30.219 When he sees this magnificent vision, 00:12:30.539 --> 00:12:34.559 we don't expect that he actually saw Jesus with a sword coming out of his mouth. 00:12:34.919 --> 00:12:39.019 But that because John had already heard the messages to the churches 00:12:39.019 --> 00:12:44.299 where Jesus refers to himself as the one with the sharp two-edged sword coming out of his mouth, 00:12:44.299 --> 00:12:47.079 John then goes back in writing this, 00:12:47.219 --> 00:12:51.120 and he writes his vision of Jesus in the terms that Jesus actually gives. 00:12:51.259 --> 00:12:54.519 So when we come to this point, it's not that John is saying, 00:12:54.979 --> 00:12:59.539 he who holds the seven stars and walks among the seven golden lampstands. 00:12:59.699 --> 00:13:01.139 No, Jesus is saying that. 00:13:01.319 --> 00:13:02.539 This is self-revelation. 00:13:02.719 --> 00:13:03.979 This is who Jesus is. 00:13:04.139 --> 00:13:09.479 And each title is significant to the individual message that Jesus sent to the church. 00:13:09.480 --> 00:13:16.240 And in the sermon of Ephesus, Jesus emphasized his presence and his authority. 00:13:16.740 --> 00:13:19.420 His presence and his authority. 00:13:20.519 --> 00:13:25.139 Since he walks among the seven golden lampstands, which are the churches, 00:13:25.500 --> 00:13:28.539 and holds the seven stars in his right hand, 00:13:28.700 --> 00:13:31.159 which I believe to be the pastors of those churches, 00:13:31.159 --> 00:13:36.519 the churches were to understand that Jesus knows everything about them 00:13:36.519 --> 00:13:44.399 and that he has all authority over them, their circumstances, and their future. 00:13:45.179 --> 00:13:52.819 And this brings a considerable weight to the potential consequences that Jesus announces in verse five. 00:13:53.139 --> 00:13:57.459 When Jesus says that if they don't repent, he's going to remove their lampstand. 00:13:57.460 --> 00:14:04.000 Well, that carries the weight of the fact that Jesus is the one who has the authority and control and presence 00:14:04.000 --> 00:14:07.500 in and among the lampstands themselves. 00:14:08.160 --> 00:14:12.060 He can and will remove them if they refuse to obey. 00:14:13.060 --> 00:14:18.120 And we should know before we move on that Jesus still walks among the churches 00:14:18.120 --> 00:14:23.480 and holds them in his right hand, including Lakeside Bible Church. 00:14:24.200 --> 00:14:27.160 He knows everything that there is to know about us. 00:14:27.460 --> 00:14:30.800 He knows the deepest recesses of our hearts. 00:14:31.160 --> 00:14:37.620 And he alone has authority over us in our circumstances as a church, 00:14:37.759 --> 00:14:40.960 in our future as a church. 00:14:41.960 --> 00:14:49.000 The presence and the power of Jesus then should motivate our obedience to his will 00:14:49.000 --> 00:14:53.500 and induce our submission to his diagnosis. 00:14:53.500 --> 00:14:59.759 That is, as Jesus comes to us and he preaches this sermon to us through the working of his Holy Spirit today, 00:15:00.299 --> 00:15:04.080 and we hear this complaint about first love, 00:15:04.419 --> 00:15:07.100 if it's true and yet we reject it, 00:15:07.500 --> 00:15:10.600 we must recognize Jesus is the one who walks among us. 00:15:10.899 --> 00:15:11.700 He knows. 00:15:12.240 --> 00:15:13.039 He knows. 00:15:13.419 --> 00:15:16.059 And we must submit to his diagnosis. 00:15:16.059 --> 00:15:18.859 Well, that's the church identity in the Christ title. 00:15:18.959 --> 00:15:20.539 Let's move on now to the commendation. 00:15:21.119 --> 00:15:24.019 We find this in verses 2 and 3 and in verse 6. 00:15:24.119 --> 00:15:25.319 They're split here. 00:15:25.320 --> 00:15:47.120 Look at verse 6 now. 00:15:47.120 --> 00:16:03.799 So the commendations announced by Jesus here have everything to do with doctrinal and moral fidelity, purity. 00:16:03.799 --> 00:16:11.719 While many of the other churches that Jesus speaks to in these chapters were guilty of following false doctrines 00:16:11.719 --> 00:16:13.579 and indulging in sinful practices, 00:16:14.019 --> 00:16:17.339 the church in Ephesus stood firm on the truth. 00:16:17.740 --> 00:16:22.519 They lived faithfully in righteous obedience to God's word. 00:16:23.259 --> 00:16:26.599 This was a wonderful church in that sense. 00:16:27.359 --> 00:16:31.519 Works here in verse number 2 is defined by that next phrase, 00:16:31.519 --> 00:16:34.120 their toil and patient endurance. 00:16:34.259 --> 00:16:37.879 In fact, in the language, we could literally render this, 00:16:38.319 --> 00:16:43.980 I know your works, namely your toil and patient endurance. 00:16:44.480 --> 00:16:51.000 Toil and patient endurance are then expressed and displayed in these other statements that Jesus makes. 00:16:51.299 --> 00:16:54.699 And the terms that Jesus used here to commend the Ephesians, 00:16:54.899 --> 00:16:58.600 toil, endurance, bearing up, growing weary, 00:16:58.600 --> 00:17:02.000 they all revealed the severity of their opposition. 00:17:02.600 --> 00:17:03.320 Think about this. 00:17:03.879 --> 00:17:04.620 Here they are. 00:17:04.960 --> 00:17:08.019 They've got the pagan worshipers of the Roman Caesars. 00:17:08.140 --> 00:17:10.460 They've got the pagan worshipers of the goddess Artemis. 00:17:10.539 --> 00:17:16.319 They've got the Jews who are just as hateful to the Christians as the pagans are at this particular point. 00:17:16.539 --> 00:17:17.680 They're surrounded. 00:17:17.940 --> 00:17:22.779 They are culturally surrounded by wickedness and false religion. 00:17:22.779 --> 00:17:29.839 And the severity of that opposition is seen when Jesus describes everything that they're doing as struggle. 00:17:30.259 --> 00:17:31.259 It's toil. 00:17:31.539 --> 00:17:32.500 It's endurance. 00:17:33.019 --> 00:17:36.559 He's commending them on not growing weary in the midst of it. 00:17:37.119 --> 00:17:42.420 The church was continually assaulted by false doctrines and behaviors, 00:17:42.420 --> 00:17:43.940 but they did not grow weary. 00:17:44.559 --> 00:17:46.980 They did not tolerate evil. 00:17:46.980 --> 00:17:54.259 They were determined to test false teachers that tried to creep into the congregation. 00:17:54.880 --> 00:18:01.079 And though we don't know much about these supposed false apostles or the Nicolaitans, 00:18:01.279 --> 00:18:07.779 we know that they were preaching a false gospel and they were living in sinfulness. 00:18:08.400 --> 00:18:12.779 But the Ephesians hated the doctrines and philosophies that were around them. 00:18:13.039 --> 00:18:16.579 They tested those people just like John had told them to in 1 John, 00:18:16.579 --> 00:18:19.939 to test the spirits to see whether or not they be of God. 00:18:20.319 --> 00:18:20.899 They listened. 00:18:21.359 --> 00:18:22.879 They listened to what Paul had to say. 00:18:23.139 --> 00:18:23.819 They were faithful. 00:18:24.119 --> 00:18:24.980 They were orthodox. 00:18:25.139 --> 00:18:26.099 They were living right. 00:18:26.199 --> 00:18:27.159 They were doing right. 00:18:27.319 --> 00:18:29.000 They were believing right. 00:18:30.000 --> 00:18:33.539 And on top of all of that, their motivations were pure. 00:18:34.220 --> 00:18:35.659 Look at what it says in verse 3. 00:18:35.659 --> 00:18:39.759 They were bearing up for the name of Jesus. 00:18:40.639 --> 00:18:43.859 So this wasn't orthodoxy for orthodoxy's sake. 00:18:44.559 --> 00:18:45.879 They loved Jesus. 00:18:46.579 --> 00:18:48.159 They wanted to be faithful to him. 00:18:48.879 --> 00:18:53.879 Their struggle against these false religions had everything to do with the name of Christ. 00:18:54.000 --> 00:18:56.899 They were being faithful to Christ in these ways. 00:18:57.980 --> 00:18:59.139 Jeffrey Weima said this, 00:18:59.140 --> 00:19:08.800 The final clause, and you have not grown weary, suggests that the problem of false teachers faced by the Ephesian Christians was no temporary crisis, 00:19:09.440 --> 00:19:16.120 but one that exerted a severe test of their steadfast adherence to the gospel. 00:19:16.119 --> 00:19:22.739 And here was a church outstanding for her doctrinal purity. 00:19:22.740 --> 00:19:30.420 And here's what I want you to notice about all of this, is that this is not a passing superficial commendation. 00:19:30.420 --> 00:19:45.779 Jesus isn't, he's not doing the superficial sandwich technique, where when you really have something negative that you want to say to somebody, to try to soften the blow, you start with the bread, which is something nice, and will you look very nice today, or whatever it is. 00:19:45.820 --> 00:19:51.820 And then you finish it off well, and you're doing really good in this other area, but in between is just this complete insult that you want to deliver. 00:19:51.819 --> 00:19:56.939 And, but you don't want them to be too offended, so you put these superficial commendations on the front and the back. 00:19:57.579 --> 00:19:59.200 This is not superficial from Jesus. 00:19:59.720 --> 00:20:01.139 He speaks truth and only truth. 00:20:01.460 --> 00:20:02.460 He speaks transparently. 00:20:03.000 --> 00:20:05.159 And what was true of this church is that it was faithful. 00:20:06.200 --> 00:20:11.639 The Lord, who knows and sees all, examined the church and determined that it was amazingly faithful. 00:20:12.619 --> 00:20:18.859 And regarding the things that were right, this Ephesian church is one that we should really strive to emulate. 00:20:18.859 --> 00:20:24.619 To be determined to test teachers that come in and out of our church. 00:20:25.219 --> 00:20:28.839 To hate the works of evil and of false gospels. 00:20:29.459 --> 00:20:30.579 That's the commendation. 00:20:30.839 --> 00:20:32.179 Now let's consider the complaint. 00:20:32.979 --> 00:20:34.419 The complaint, look at verse four. 00:20:35.559 --> 00:20:41.479 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. 00:20:42.679 --> 00:20:44.699 You've abandoned the love you had at first. 00:20:44.700 --> 00:20:52.700 So despite everything that Jesus commended about their church, the Ephesians were guilty of a deadly sin. 00:20:53.440 --> 00:20:54.539 A deadly sin. 00:20:55.360 --> 00:20:56.960 It threatened their very existence. 00:20:58.600 --> 00:21:00.759 They had abandoned first love. 00:21:03.059 --> 00:21:05.120 Abandoned is a strong word here, isn't it? 00:21:05.119 --> 00:21:13.299 Abandonment cannot be understood as simply having lost or forgotten something. 00:21:13.299 --> 00:21:19.519 As if the church had just kind of gradually and imperceptibly grown cold. 00:21:19.879 --> 00:21:21.519 That's not what abandoned means. 00:21:22.459 --> 00:21:29.099 To abandon something means to knowingly, willfully leave it behind. 00:21:29.099 --> 00:21:37.279 And what Jesus says of the Ephesians is, here's nine things that you're doing wonderfully. 00:21:38.619 --> 00:21:43.000 But you willfully and knowingly walked away from first love. 00:21:43.000 --> 00:21:52.539 Is there really such a thing as, quote, falling into sin or falling out of faithfulness? 00:21:53.579 --> 00:21:56.140 That's the language that we tend to use very often, right? 00:21:56.259 --> 00:22:02.220 And I think we use it because it softens the feeling of guilt that we experience. 00:22:02.220 --> 00:22:08.819 To fall into something indicates that your current condition is not really your fault. 00:22:09.559 --> 00:22:15.440 That it might just happen to be the circumstance you're in and forces outside of your control 00:22:15.440 --> 00:22:18.240 had left you in the position that you were in. 00:22:18.500 --> 00:22:20.240 And we often speak of our sin that way. 00:22:20.339 --> 00:22:21.740 But is that even really possible? 00:22:22.920 --> 00:22:25.160 That's not the language Jesus used here. 00:22:26.480 --> 00:22:30.160 He didn't just happen to have this happen. 00:22:30.160 --> 00:22:39.400 Is not all of our sin, even these sins of complacency, always an act of abandonment? 00:22:40.400 --> 00:22:41.600 I think they are. 00:22:42.560 --> 00:22:43.840 We need to remember that. 00:22:45.140 --> 00:22:51.600 Now the key interpretive issue of this text is what does Jesus actually mean when he says 00:22:51.600 --> 00:22:54.120 that they've left first love? 00:22:54.460 --> 00:22:55.700 What is first love? 00:22:56.240 --> 00:22:57.940 And how had the church left it? 00:22:57.940 --> 00:23:02.840 Well, there's several things that people have supposed that this means. 00:23:03.160 --> 00:23:06.779 It can't possibly mean that they had left love for God. 00:23:07.240 --> 00:23:08.320 It's not that. 00:23:08.319 --> 00:23:15.779 Why would anybody who loves God or doesn't love God persevere in the way that this church 00:23:15.779 --> 00:23:16.460 persevered? 00:23:16.980 --> 00:23:21.419 When we point to the other churches who have actually fallen to false gospels and into sinful 00:23:21.419 --> 00:23:25.460 practices, we would point to them and we say, now those are churches that seem to have left 00:23:25.460 --> 00:23:28.399 loving God with all their heart and soul and mind and strength. 00:23:28.480 --> 00:23:29.899 But not the Ephesian church. 00:23:29.900 --> 00:23:34.580 Why would they endure patiently like this if they had no love for God? 00:23:35.060 --> 00:23:38.980 And if they had no love for God, wouldn't Jesus' correction be different? 00:23:39.780 --> 00:23:44.200 Instead of telling them to return to certain works, wouldn't Jesus be saying to return to 00:23:44.200 --> 00:23:44.700 him? 00:23:45.080 --> 00:23:46.920 To return to loving him? 00:23:46.920 --> 00:23:51.000 It can't just be that they no longer love God. 00:23:51.640 --> 00:23:57.600 Neither can this be referring solely to the kind of love that we exhibit to others so that 00:23:57.600 --> 00:24:00.640 they loved God but they were really mean to other people. 00:24:00.779 --> 00:24:03.600 That might be part of it, but that can't be all of it. 00:24:03.599 --> 00:24:10.439 What I picture in this first love scenario here is that the Ephesians might be like that group 00:24:10.439 --> 00:24:18.719 of embattled and beleaguered soldiers who after years of fighting in the trenches had kind of lost 00:24:18.719 --> 00:24:19.859 the meaning of the war. 00:24:21.000 --> 00:24:21.659 You know what I mean? 00:24:23.559 --> 00:24:25.319 It's not that they didn't love God. 00:24:26.299 --> 00:24:30.359 Yeah, they stood boldly on proper theology and holiness. 00:24:30.359 --> 00:24:34.240 Jesus commended them greatly for that. 00:24:35.099 --> 00:24:42.740 But they had abandoned that sense of joyful, wholehearted devotion that they so embodied 00:24:42.740 --> 00:24:45.259 at an earlier time in their existence. 00:24:46.479 --> 00:24:52.339 They had left the joy of serving the Lord that was motivated purely and solely on the fact 00:24:52.339 --> 00:24:58.279 of the gospel and the fact that they knew Christ and the love that they had experienced 00:24:58.279 --> 00:25:00.199 in Christ. 00:25:00.359 --> 00:25:07.319 They had become like that dutiful husband who would never dream of cheating on his wife 00:25:07.319 --> 00:25:14.419 but had stopped being intoxicated by her love and beauty. 00:25:15.179 --> 00:25:17.379 That's the dynamic of what's happening here. 00:25:18.379 --> 00:25:24.459 They would never dare to dream of cheating on Jesus, their Lord and Savior, with Artemis, 00:25:24.559 --> 00:25:25.500 this fake God. 00:25:26.059 --> 00:25:27.879 They would never dream of worshiping a Caesar. 00:25:27.880 --> 00:25:29.220 They would never do that. 00:25:29.260 --> 00:25:35.100 But they've stopped being infatuated with the beauty of Christ and with the glory of the 00:25:35.100 --> 00:25:35.440 gospel. 00:25:35.580 --> 00:25:37.000 They're proclaiming it. 00:25:37.080 --> 00:25:39.280 They're fighting against the false doctrines. 00:25:39.279 --> 00:25:45.839 But they've left off those works that indicate that they're just so in love with Jesus. 00:25:47.920 --> 00:25:54.839 They were orthodox in belief, but theirs had become a heartless orthodoxy. 00:25:55.079 --> 00:25:57.299 It was cold, tired. 00:25:57.299 --> 00:26:02.859 Which we have to ask some questions of application with that, don't we? 00:26:05.259 --> 00:26:07.819 Have you abandoned first love for Jesus? 00:26:09.519 --> 00:26:17.039 Have you abandoned that spirit of doing the things that you do simply out of love for him 00:26:17.039 --> 00:26:18.619 because he loves you? 00:26:18.619 --> 00:26:25.159 Are you cognizant day by day of the wonderful reality of the gospel and Christ's love has 00:26:25.159 --> 00:26:26.479 demonstrated on the cross? 00:26:29.599 --> 00:26:31.919 Maybe here's a way for us to ask the question. 00:26:33.879 --> 00:26:35.239 Why are you here today? 00:26:36.599 --> 00:26:37.339 Why are you here? 00:26:39.759 --> 00:26:43.059 Now, if you're here because you know it's just the right thing to do and maybe you really 00:26:43.059 --> 00:26:47.500 didn't want to be here and it was hard to get here, but you know it was right and you're 00:26:47.500 --> 00:26:49.240 here because it's right. 00:26:50.200 --> 00:26:51.440 Well, it's good that you're here. 00:26:54.240 --> 00:26:55.839 But what's actually in your heart? 00:26:56.639 --> 00:27:01.460 As you sing those songs, as you sing those songs, on Christ the solid rock I stand, are 00:27:01.460 --> 00:27:07.359 you cognizantly thinking in that moment, yes, the only solid rock I have is Christ and 00:27:07.359 --> 00:27:09.599 I'm so grateful that he's my rock. 00:27:09.599 --> 00:27:14.219 I'm so grateful that I have salvation in him and that I found mercy in him. 00:27:15.099 --> 00:27:20.980 Or are you just kind of going through, to use the word that nobody knew, a perfunctory 00:27:20.980 --> 00:27:23.179 way of worship? 00:27:24.500 --> 00:27:25.959 It's kind of empty and vain. 00:27:26.059 --> 00:27:27.459 You're just here because you're here. 00:27:28.339 --> 00:27:29.919 Have you left the first love? 00:27:30.879 --> 00:27:31.839 What about in the prayers? 00:27:32.899 --> 00:27:37.099 When we pray together, do you pray or do you just kind of listen? 00:27:37.099 --> 00:27:42.139 I hope that at some point you get some credit for listening. 00:27:42.939 --> 00:27:44.159 Have you left first love? 00:27:44.539 --> 00:27:45.939 Has our church left first love? 00:27:47.279 --> 00:27:49.359 Let's look at the correction in verse five. 00:27:51.819 --> 00:27:58.699 Remember, therefore, from where you've fallen, repent and do the works you did at first. 00:27:59.899 --> 00:28:01.719 Jesus is so kind, isn't he? 00:28:01.720 --> 00:28:08.079 He's so kind that he does not immediately bring the church in Ephesus to judgment, but instead 00:28:08.079 --> 00:28:12.259 he mercifully shows us a path back to faithfulness. 00:28:12.940 --> 00:28:16.839 And here he provides a threefold correction for the Ephesians. 00:28:17.380 --> 00:28:20.200 He says, here's your problem right now and here's how to make it right. 00:28:20.440 --> 00:28:24.279 First he says, remember from where you've fallen. 00:28:24.279 --> 00:28:32.619 Remember so that the path back to heartless, back from heartless or orthodoxy begins with 00:28:32.619 --> 00:28:35.299 remembering what that first love was like. 00:28:36.279 --> 00:28:38.660 Do you remember when Jesus saved you? 00:28:39.059 --> 00:28:41.960 Do you remember the joy that you had? 00:28:42.119 --> 00:28:44.440 You didn't know everything there was to know about the Bible. 00:28:44.680 --> 00:28:46.319 You didn't understand everything. 00:28:46.480 --> 00:28:49.299 You couldn't quite connect all the dots, but you understood the gospel. 00:28:49.299 --> 00:28:54.440 And in that moment of conviction of your sin and the Holy Spirit opened your heart to faith, 00:28:54.559 --> 00:28:57.579 you believed Christ and you were overwhelmed with that sense of joy. 00:28:57.859 --> 00:29:01.159 Perhaps you were one of the people that as soon as you became a Christian, you couldn't 00:29:01.159 --> 00:29:03.500 wait to tell others because you were just so thrilled. 00:29:03.680 --> 00:29:08.599 You couldn't believe the love that you had just experienced in the person, in the work of 00:29:08.599 --> 00:29:09.000 Christ. 00:29:10.019 --> 00:29:12.279 Church was no longer a drudgery for you. 00:29:12.359 --> 00:29:16.079 It was exciting because it meant that you were going to go and you're going to be with other 00:29:16.079 --> 00:29:20.500 people that understood that love in the way that you now understand that love. 00:29:20.659 --> 00:29:24.099 And you're going to be able to learn more about him and you're going to hear more. 00:29:24.319 --> 00:29:26.699 And you could sing songs in a way that's not weird. 00:29:27.139 --> 00:29:31.480 You could just sing songs with people that also want to sing songs and talk about how wonderful. 00:29:31.720 --> 00:29:32.379 Do you remember? 00:29:33.299 --> 00:29:37.899 Jesus says the first step back, if that's where you are, if your orthodoxy has grown cold and 00:29:37.899 --> 00:29:40.839 tired, the first step back is just remember. 00:29:41.319 --> 00:29:42.579 Remember where you've fallen. 00:29:42.759 --> 00:29:44.000 Remember what it was like. 00:29:44.339 --> 00:29:45.720 Remember the things that you did. 00:29:45.720 --> 00:29:47.660 Remember the feelings that you had. 00:29:48.140 --> 00:29:50.920 Cultivate that once again, he says. 00:29:54.100 --> 00:30:00.539 But remembering how it used to be is worthless without actually turning away from that current 00:30:00.539 --> 00:30:06.839 sin, which is why the second step that Jesus gives is he says that they must repent. 00:30:07.579 --> 00:30:08.319 They must repent. 00:30:09.920 --> 00:30:15.160 You know what this means to repent is to recognize your sin and then turn away from it. 00:30:15.720 --> 00:30:22.299 It's not enough simply to see how you've fallen, but to intentionally move back to faithfulness. 00:30:22.299 --> 00:30:27.319 And see, here's the problem, I think, with many Christians in church is that get into this 00:30:27.319 --> 00:30:29.399 dynamic of abandoning first love. 00:30:29.559 --> 00:30:31.859 They may even recognize that they've done it. 00:30:32.899 --> 00:30:34.139 They may recognize it. 00:30:34.140 --> 00:30:37.100 I don't have the love for Christ that I had before. 00:30:37.100 --> 00:30:38.520 It doesn't feel like it felt before. 00:30:38.520 --> 00:30:39.680 I'm not doing the things. 00:30:39.720 --> 00:30:41.320 I don't have the joy that I had before. 00:30:41.480 --> 00:30:44.700 And then they just kind of pass it off as if I guess this is just what it's like. 00:30:44.820 --> 00:30:49.700 And they're content to remain in that position and in that condition. 00:30:50.380 --> 00:30:50.700 No. 00:30:50.700 --> 00:30:50.740 No. 00:30:51.480 --> 00:30:54.700 Jesus says, yeah, remember what it was like, but then turn away. 00:30:55.080 --> 00:30:55.680 Turn away. 00:30:56.220 --> 00:30:58.620 This is what James says in James chapter one. 00:30:58.940 --> 00:31:03.340 He says, do not be hearers only of the word, but be doers of the word. 00:31:03.680 --> 00:31:04.960 And then he gives that illustration. 00:31:05.480 --> 00:31:09.680 The men, we studied about it just this past week in our breakfast study. 00:31:10.460 --> 00:31:14.360 When we come to the word, it's like a man coming to himself in a mirror. 00:31:14.359 --> 00:31:20.519 And if a man comes to himself in a mirror and he sees how dreadful he looks in that moment 00:31:20.519 --> 00:31:24.559 and then just immediately walks away and forgets it all and does nothing about it 00:31:24.559 --> 00:31:26.099 and lives as if everything is okay. 00:31:26.799 --> 00:31:29.279 That's what it's like for somebody to come to the word, 00:31:29.539 --> 00:31:33.839 to come to the sermon to the church at Ephesus and to say, yeah, that might be me. 00:31:33.919 --> 00:31:37.959 I'm faithful in all of these ways, but I just don't have the joy that I had at one time. 00:31:38.079 --> 00:31:39.819 I don't have the love that I had at one time. 00:31:40.419 --> 00:31:41.599 And then you don't do anything. 00:31:41.599 --> 00:31:46.019 Jesus says, no, turn away from that. 00:31:46.459 --> 00:31:47.939 And then he gives him the third step. 00:31:48.439 --> 00:31:51.779 Repentance is made complete when you return. 00:31:52.519 --> 00:31:54.719 And what is it that he says to return to? 00:31:55.619 --> 00:31:57.539 He doesn't say to return to feelings. 00:31:57.679 --> 00:31:58.939 That's what's significant here. 00:31:59.799 --> 00:32:04.459 He says, return to the works you did at first. 00:32:04.959 --> 00:32:06.419 Return to the works. 00:32:06.420 --> 00:32:12.180 Now, the link between love and works is important 00:32:12.180 --> 00:32:17.000 because Jesus isn't interested in heartless religion. 00:32:17.740 --> 00:32:21.400 That is doing all the religious things without truly loving him. 00:32:22.680 --> 00:32:25.700 Neither is he happy with fruitless emotion. 00:32:25.700 --> 00:32:36.660 That is to develop this kind of spiritualism that never is backed up by behavior that matches or effort that matches. 00:32:36.740 --> 00:32:39.200 You know, the people that talk the talk, but they don't walk the walk. 00:32:39.680 --> 00:32:41.319 Jesus isn't happy about that either. 00:32:43.100 --> 00:32:46.299 Works without love is just law. 00:32:46.299 --> 00:32:51.700 And love without works is a lie. 00:32:53.519 --> 00:32:56.159 Jesus is not happy with either one of those scenarios. 00:32:56.659 --> 00:32:57.819 The two work together. 00:32:58.720 --> 00:33:06.379 So to return to first love requires that we get back to doing the works that express that love. 00:33:07.399 --> 00:33:08.879 And what are the simple things we do? 00:33:09.579 --> 00:33:10.480 We pray. 00:33:11.480 --> 00:33:13.700 We truly pray. 00:33:13.700 --> 00:33:19.519 We talked about it in that Christian disciplines class a couple of weeks ago on prayer. 00:33:20.019 --> 00:33:21.559 Like, what really is the purpose of prayer? 00:33:21.680 --> 00:33:23.620 And we read the one quote. 00:33:23.779 --> 00:33:29.779 What if God's primary intention is prayer is just for us to remember our deep need for him? 00:33:30.160 --> 00:33:36.680 That in the act of praying, God does something in his people, something supernatural, 00:33:37.140 --> 00:33:39.519 that draws them back into this joy. 00:33:39.519 --> 00:33:45.019 That draws them back into these not only feelings, but works of first love. 00:33:45.980 --> 00:33:47.019 Communion with God. 00:33:47.480 --> 00:33:49.379 Genuine communion with God. 00:33:50.059 --> 00:33:50.839 Real prayer. 00:33:51.639 --> 00:33:52.400 Bible intake. 00:33:53.240 --> 00:33:54.460 Faithful evangelism. 00:33:54.940 --> 00:33:55.799 Corporate worship. 00:33:55.980 --> 00:33:56.960 So on and so forth. 00:33:57.019 --> 00:33:58.379 We could go down the line. 00:33:58.700 --> 00:34:00.980 Returning to those works. 00:34:00.980 --> 00:34:05.200 The things that I had told you that I did for Julie early on. 00:34:07.099 --> 00:34:08.980 I did them because I loved her. 00:34:10.920 --> 00:34:14.179 And I loved her because she loved me. 00:34:15.539 --> 00:34:16.539 Because she loved me. 00:34:16.980 --> 00:34:19.719 I wouldn't have done them if she had just kind of given me the cold shoulder. 00:34:19.719 --> 00:34:27.459 Isn't this how the Bible describes Christ's love for us and our love for him? 00:34:29.379 --> 00:34:32.239 Isn't that what John says in 1 John chapter 4? 00:34:32.839 --> 00:34:33.859 In this is love. 00:34:34.699 --> 00:34:36.079 Not that we have loved God. 00:34:36.959 --> 00:34:41.799 But that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins. 00:34:42.539 --> 00:34:47.699 Just a few verses later, John writes, we love because he first loved us. 00:34:47.699 --> 00:34:54.079 You see, returning to first love is just another way of returning to the gospel. 00:34:55.719 --> 00:34:57.759 When you say, I think that might be me. 00:34:58.699 --> 00:35:00.439 I know that I believe what's right. 00:35:00.599 --> 00:35:03.579 I'm not living in real blatant sin. 00:35:05.019 --> 00:35:07.319 But there's just something that's just not right. 00:35:07.439 --> 00:35:08.559 There's something in my heart. 00:35:08.639 --> 00:35:09.739 It just doesn't feel right. 00:35:09.799 --> 00:35:11.259 And I've kind of lost the joy of it. 00:35:12.460 --> 00:35:13.980 Just kind of going through the motions. 00:35:14.399 --> 00:35:15.480 You know what you need to do? 00:35:15.480 --> 00:35:19.099 You just need to refresh yourself on the gospel. 00:35:21.019 --> 00:35:22.260 See anew. 00:35:22.960 --> 00:35:26.920 The wonderful love that Jesus has for you. 00:35:28.860 --> 00:35:34.059 And then I think you'll begin to see and reignite this love for him. 00:35:35.119 --> 00:35:37.119 Not that you ever stopped loving him. 00:35:37.539 --> 00:35:40.440 But you return to something that might be missing. 00:35:41.099 --> 00:35:42.500 That might be lacking. 00:35:42.500 --> 00:35:45.059 Remember his love. 00:35:46.179 --> 00:35:46.619 Repent. 00:35:47.320 --> 00:35:51.780 And then return to the works that are rooted in that love. 00:35:53.280 --> 00:35:54.880 Let's quickly look at the consequence. 00:35:56.340 --> 00:36:02.960 The consequence itself shows us that neither the commendation nor the complaint are to be taken lightly. 00:36:02.960 --> 00:36:05.840 Clearly, this is a serious matter to God. 00:36:06.480 --> 00:36:08.720 And this is what Jesus says in verse 5. 00:36:08.720 --> 00:36:19.440 If not, if you will not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place unless you repent. 00:36:19.440 --> 00:36:26.099 We learned last week in verse 20 of chapter 1 that the lampstands symbolize each church. 00:36:26.579 --> 00:36:31.700 But it didn't say much about why Jesus uses this image of a lampstand. 00:36:31.820 --> 00:36:35.159 So maybe it would help us at this point to understand that a little clearer. 00:36:35.800 --> 00:36:37.320 The meaning is simple, really. 00:36:38.179 --> 00:36:39.679 What does a lampstand do? 00:36:39.679 --> 00:36:43.419 It is not itself the light. 00:36:44.419 --> 00:36:45.819 It holds the light. 00:36:46.379 --> 00:36:47.199 That's its purpose. 00:36:49.239 --> 00:36:56.099 And like a lampstand, the church's purpose and usefulness is to hold the light of the gospel of Jesus. 00:36:56.319 --> 00:37:03.679 It is to display as God's representatives on earth the glory of God and the glory of the gospel. 00:37:04.139 --> 00:37:05.339 That's what a church is. 00:37:05.440 --> 00:37:06.739 That's the mission of the church. 00:37:06.819 --> 00:37:07.699 That's what we do. 00:37:07.980 --> 00:37:09.359 That's why we exist. 00:37:09.360 --> 00:37:20.960 And we do that not only by holding the sound doctrine, but by demonstrating genuine love for Christ and for others because of Christ. 00:37:21.539 --> 00:37:22.780 That's what a church does. 00:37:22.860 --> 00:37:24.740 That's what the significance of the lampstand is. 00:37:25.000 --> 00:37:29.620 Now, Jesus said that if the Ephesian church didn't repent of this abandonment of love, 00:37:29.860 --> 00:37:34.360 he would come and he would remove their lampstand from its place. 00:37:34.360 --> 00:37:40.780 And since the lampstand is the church itself, this can only mean one thing. 00:37:42.079 --> 00:37:48.440 If they continued in heartless orthodoxy, Jesus would remove the church altogether. 00:37:48.440 --> 00:37:50.760 He'd remove them. 00:37:50.760 --> 00:37:54.900 This is not a threat to remove their salvation. 00:37:55.659 --> 00:38:04.539 It's a threat to remove their usefulness, their privileged position of usefulness in displaying the light of his gospel. 00:38:04.539 --> 00:38:10.599 Which reminds us that though this may seem trivial to us, this is not a trivial thing to God. 00:38:10.800 --> 00:38:12.519 It's not a trivial thing to Christ. 00:38:12.800 --> 00:38:14.440 Look at how much this matters. 00:38:14.920 --> 00:38:19.980 To where he says, if you don't return to this first love, I'm just going to remove you altogether. 00:38:20.539 --> 00:38:21.159 I'm going to remove you. 00:38:21.279 --> 00:38:22.519 I'm going to find another church. 00:38:22.659 --> 00:38:25.840 I'm going to build up someone else to use in your place. 00:38:25.880 --> 00:38:27.059 I'm not going to use you anymore. 00:38:27.539 --> 00:38:28.539 I'm going to remove you. 00:38:28.539 --> 00:38:36.039 And notice also that Jesus' threat is not to snuff out the light. 00:38:37.360 --> 00:38:38.800 It's not to snuff out the light. 00:38:38.940 --> 00:38:39.920 It's to remove it. 00:38:40.000 --> 00:38:40.480 Stand. 00:38:41.539 --> 00:38:44.940 So the gospel will continue to shine until the Lord Jesus comes. 00:38:44.980 --> 00:38:48.420 And it is the Lord's will who shines it and who holds it out. 00:38:48.420 --> 00:38:54.259 But Jesus will not continue to use churches that abandon this first love. 00:38:54.260 --> 00:39:03.460 And if we become a church of a heartless orthodoxy, we will eventually face this same judgment that Jesus declared against the Ephesians. 00:39:03.780 --> 00:39:14.040 And what a dreadful thing it is for a believer or for a group of believers to have lost usefulness in the purpose of its Lord and Savior. 00:39:15.360 --> 00:39:18.980 Isn't this what Jesus was getting at when he said that we are the salt of the earth? 00:39:18.980 --> 00:39:23.179 But if the salt has lost its savor, wherewith shall it be salted? 00:39:23.599 --> 00:39:30.039 It is good for nothing then but to be cast and trodden under the feet of men. 00:39:31.260 --> 00:39:34.380 Is that not what the threat against Ephesus is? 00:39:34.800 --> 00:39:38.000 If you don't get this right, you're no good to me. 00:39:39.260 --> 00:39:41.519 Your orthodoxy, that's fine. 00:39:41.760 --> 00:39:42.360 It's good. 00:39:42.980 --> 00:39:45.500 But it won't mean anything without genuine love. 00:39:46.500 --> 00:39:47.800 Without this first love. 00:39:47.800 --> 00:39:54.019 Well, finally, we see the call and conquer formulas that are present in every one of these sermons. 00:39:54.200 --> 00:39:58.200 Verse 7, he who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. 00:39:58.560 --> 00:40:08.440 And then there's this promise, to the one who conquers, I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. 00:40:09.860 --> 00:40:11.860 Now, I wish I had more time. 00:40:13.340 --> 00:40:14.560 Let me just say it this way. 00:40:14.559 --> 00:40:21.699 The tree of life in the paradise of God are both allusions back to the Garden of Eden. 00:40:21.699 --> 00:40:26.559 And we were talking about this with some of the kids with the scouts group on Thursday night. 00:40:26.699 --> 00:40:31.279 If you were to step back and look at the big picture of the Bible, the whole story that the Bible is telling, 00:40:31.779 --> 00:40:37.919 the story of salvation in the Bible is Jesus bringing his people back to the garden. 00:40:38.480 --> 00:40:39.379 Back to the garden. 00:40:39.460 --> 00:40:43.379 Before Adam and Eve sinned, this paradise of God, whatever that was, 00:40:43.380 --> 00:40:50.740 what Jesus is restoring in the new heavens and the new earth is he is bringing us back to the Garden of Eden. 00:40:50.880 --> 00:40:54.980 And the promise that Jesus says here, because he's the only one that can do that, 00:40:55.380 --> 00:41:00.059 the promise is that to the one who conquers, they will eat of the tree of life, 00:41:00.119 --> 00:41:02.740 which was in the garden and will be in the new garden. 00:41:03.440 --> 00:41:07.340 They will eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. 00:41:07.380 --> 00:41:10.720 A word for heaven, but was also a word used for the Garden of Eden. 00:41:10.840 --> 00:41:12.099 A paradise of God. 00:41:12.099 --> 00:41:14.420 Do you see what Jesus is promising here? 00:41:15.059 --> 00:41:18.420 Jesus is promising that to whoever conquers in faith, 00:41:18.639 --> 00:41:23.699 he will give them eternal life in heaven with God. 00:41:24.360 --> 00:41:26.339 And notice the contrast here. 00:41:26.679 --> 00:41:29.659 There's a contrast between what is the paradise of God 00:41:29.659 --> 00:41:33.039 and what is our condition and circumstance now. 00:41:33.880 --> 00:41:37.119 Now think about how meaningful this must have been for the Ephesians. 00:41:38.059 --> 00:41:41.000 Who are faithful, who love the Lord, 00:41:41.000 --> 00:41:42.739 who want to serve the Lord. 00:41:42.739 --> 00:41:45.760 They're struggling, but they want to serve the Lord. 00:41:46.239 --> 00:41:48.320 They're in a very hard place. 00:41:49.619 --> 00:41:52.199 Nothing around them is supportive of them. 00:41:53.159 --> 00:41:57.780 Their experience in this life was hard and difficult. 00:41:58.460 --> 00:42:02.340 And there was no sign of that difficulty coming to a conclusion for them. 00:42:02.340 --> 00:42:09.200 But what they had promised from their Lord and Savior is that you will come back to the garden. 00:42:09.660 --> 00:42:14.220 And the difference in the garden is all the wicked will have been judged and condemned. 00:42:14.600 --> 00:42:16.360 You will have eternal life. 00:42:16.660 --> 00:42:18.340 You will be in the presence of God. 00:42:18.480 --> 00:42:21.140 And you will have everything that I'm bringing to pass. 00:42:21.300 --> 00:42:24.180 It will all be yours if you will conquer. 00:42:24.400 --> 00:42:26.559 This is an amazing promise. 00:42:26.559 --> 00:42:29.259 But I want you to notice who the promise is given to. 00:42:29.739 --> 00:42:32.739 It's not given to the church as a whole. 00:42:33.639 --> 00:42:35.940 Notice what he says, and he says it in every sermon. 00:42:36.920 --> 00:42:38.599 To the, what's the next word? 00:42:39.519 --> 00:42:39.940 One. 00:42:40.779 --> 00:42:42.539 To the one who conquers. 00:42:43.820 --> 00:42:46.480 Salvation comes to the individual. 00:42:47.679 --> 00:42:48.699 And here's the point of that. 00:42:48.699 --> 00:42:55.279 You do not receive the gift of eternal life in the paradise of God. 00:42:55.659 --> 00:42:59.699 Simply because you belong to a church that is faithful. 00:43:00.319 --> 00:43:06.879 At the end of the day, your salvation is a matter of personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:43:07.119 --> 00:43:11.899 You cannot simply be in the right place at the right time and it all work out for you. 00:43:12.279 --> 00:43:14.659 He does not say to the church who conquers. 00:43:14.659 --> 00:43:18.079 He says to the one who conquers. 00:43:18.699 --> 00:43:21.119 An important distinction here. 00:43:21.699 --> 00:43:28.359 Because the promise only belongs to those individuals who truly will repent of their sin. 00:43:28.679 --> 00:43:32.460 And trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. 00:43:33.679 --> 00:43:39.259 And this is where we remind ourselves of this title that Jesus reveals of himself. 00:43:40.519 --> 00:43:43.139 Jesus knows everything there is to know about you. 00:43:43.799 --> 00:43:45.339 He knows what's true of your heart. 00:43:45.340 --> 00:43:49.519 He knows whether or not you're truly in the faith or if you're playing games. 00:43:50.280 --> 00:43:51.180 He knows. 00:43:52.600 --> 00:43:57.920 You cannot slip by simply by linking up with a good church. 00:43:58.660 --> 00:44:00.039 Or being a part of a good family. 00:44:00.440 --> 00:44:04.980 Or having just the right friends who can kind of bring you along on their coattails. 00:44:05.180 --> 00:44:06.220 It will not work. 00:44:06.579 --> 00:44:07.640 Jesus knows. 00:44:07.639 --> 00:44:08.219 He knows. 00:44:08.219 --> 00:44:09.219 He knows. 00:44:11.400 --> 00:44:16.039 You must personally repent and trust. 00:44:16.940 --> 00:44:18.639 You see in the significance of that. 00:44:18.719 --> 00:44:20.900 The wonder of that is that not only he knows. 00:44:21.219 --> 00:44:23.000 But even the fact that he knows. 00:44:23.199 --> 00:44:25.460 He still extends his invitation. 00:44:26.179 --> 00:44:28.179 He still says in Matthew 11. 00:44:28.579 --> 00:44:29.500 Come to me. 00:44:30.019 --> 00:44:30.719 Come to me. 00:44:30.859 --> 00:44:32.839 He still says in the gospel of John. 00:44:32.840 --> 00:44:34.400 Whoever does come to me. 00:44:34.500 --> 00:44:36.280 I will never cast them out. 00:44:37.519 --> 00:44:39.340 He knows your true condition. 00:44:40.280 --> 00:44:43.640 And yet he still invites you into his love and mercy. 00:44:43.940 --> 00:44:47.579 And when you really begin to comprehend that reality. 00:44:48.200 --> 00:44:50.260 That's when you'll understand first love. 00:44:51.220 --> 00:44:53.660 That he knows everything there is to know about me. 00:44:54.100 --> 00:44:55.400 And he loves me. 00:44:56.220 --> 00:44:57.380 And he loves me. 00:44:57.380 --> 00:45:00.099 And he still wants me. 00:45:01.680 --> 00:45:05.119 And he's still willing to show mercy to me. 00:45:06.440 --> 00:45:08.820 Then you'll understand what it means to love him. 00:45:10.559 --> 00:45:12.660 Well let's finish with a quick application. 00:45:14.480 --> 00:45:17.800 Do you remember the chiastic structure that I talked about last week? 00:45:17.940 --> 00:45:22.760 The chiasm being the overall structure of how these seven sermons are laid out. 00:45:23.880 --> 00:45:24.700 The mirror. 00:45:25.160 --> 00:45:26.420 Oh do we have that as a picture? 00:45:26.599 --> 00:45:27.240 Did I put that in there? 00:45:27.380 --> 00:45:28.480 I might not have. 00:45:28.539 --> 00:45:29.440 It's okay if I didn't. 00:45:29.660 --> 00:45:34.039 The mirror of the church at Ephesus is the church of Laodicea. 00:45:34.720 --> 00:45:35.760 Which are similar. 00:45:35.920 --> 00:45:36.680 They're linked together. 00:45:36.820 --> 00:45:44.099 They're similar because the lukewarmness of Laodicea is similar to the abandonment of first love in Ephesus. 00:45:44.380 --> 00:45:48.140 But the distinction is Laodicea seems to be in a worse condition. 00:45:48.840 --> 00:45:50.340 And we might understand it this way. 00:45:50.940 --> 00:45:54.960 That if Ephesus didn't get this first love thing right. 00:45:54.960 --> 00:45:56.079 If they didn't return. 00:45:56.079 --> 00:46:02.739 The next step for them was the next step on that road of abandonment is to become Laodicea. 00:46:03.960 --> 00:46:06.219 Where Jesus is on the outside looking in. 00:46:06.779 --> 00:46:07.380 Do you see that? 00:46:08.340 --> 00:46:10.400 Now why in this chiastic structure. 00:46:10.519 --> 00:46:14.019 Why would Jesus use these particular churches as the first and the last? 00:46:14.019 --> 00:46:16.920 Why not use the two healthy churches as the first and the last? 00:46:17.079 --> 00:46:19.039 To start on a good note and end on a good note. 00:46:19.579 --> 00:46:21.619 And I think maybe part of the reason is. 00:46:21.840 --> 00:46:25.159 Is that the dominant condition among churches. 00:46:26.000 --> 00:46:32.340 Is probably not Pergamum and Sardis the dead church and Thyatira. 00:46:32.340 --> 00:46:36.680 The dominant condition of churches is not the healthy ones. 00:46:36.680 --> 00:46:41.680 The dominant condition I think of probably most evangelical churches. 00:46:41.900 --> 00:46:43.039 Is Ephesus. 00:46:43.700 --> 00:46:44.720 And Laodicea. 00:46:45.860 --> 00:46:49.280 Which means that there's a real good chance. 00:46:49.640 --> 00:46:51.700 If we're looking at the odds here. 00:46:52.680 --> 00:46:54.840 That Lakeside Bible Church could be. 00:46:54.840 --> 00:46:57.280 An Ephesus kind of church. 00:46:59.640 --> 00:47:02.420 And this brings us to a crucial moment of application. 00:47:03.579 --> 00:47:05.280 How much like Ephesus are we? 00:47:06.420 --> 00:47:07.940 In the good and in the bad. 00:47:09.700 --> 00:47:13.200 We're going to have to continually return to these works of first love. 00:47:14.480 --> 00:47:15.920 Genuine communion with God. 00:47:16.420 --> 00:47:18.240 Sacrificial service to one another. 00:47:18.800 --> 00:47:20.200 Compassionate evangelism. 00:47:20.660 --> 00:47:22.420 Authentic corporate worship. 00:47:22.420 --> 00:47:23.500 All of these things. 00:47:24.079 --> 00:47:25.440 To maintain the joy. 00:47:26.019 --> 00:47:26.980 And the way we do that. 00:47:27.280 --> 00:47:29.480 Is never leaving the focus of the gospel. 00:47:30.800 --> 00:47:33.500 That's what we say is the number one value of what we do. 00:47:34.039 --> 00:47:36.539 We are a gospel focused church. 00:47:37.039 --> 00:47:38.720 Meaning that everything we do. 00:47:38.840 --> 00:47:41.400 Comes through the lens of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 00:47:41.559 --> 00:47:44.420 Which includes a clear view of is a great love. 00:47:44.500 --> 00:47:46.720 Which motivates our own love. 00:47:48.440 --> 00:47:49.659 And we can't forget. 00:47:49.659 --> 00:47:53.500 That a church is only as healthy. 00:47:53.500 --> 00:47:55.339 As the individual members. 00:47:55.339 --> 00:47:56.460 That make it up. 00:47:58.359 --> 00:48:00.940 We will not be something as a whole. 00:48:01.940 --> 00:48:04.500 That we are not as an individual. 00:48:06.299 --> 00:48:08.480 I heard someone say when I was growing up. 00:48:08.639 --> 00:48:10.339 Perhaps you've heard something similar to this. 00:48:11.019 --> 00:48:13.639 If everybody in my church was just like me. 00:48:14.079 --> 00:48:16.519 What kind of church would my church be? 00:48:16.519 --> 00:48:19.860 That's a bit of a scary question to ask. 00:48:20.840 --> 00:48:22.920 I don't know that I want to give an answer to that. 00:48:23.860 --> 00:48:24.820 But it's a good one. 00:48:26.300 --> 00:48:27.579 He who has an ear. 00:48:28.599 --> 00:48:29.380 Let him hear. 00:48:30.380 --> 00:48:32.059 What the spirit says to the churches. 00:48:32.059 --> 00:48:32.179 Let him hear. 00:48:32.179 --> 00:48:32.280 Let him hear.