Thank you.
One, two, testing.
Okay.
Sorry about that.
So as I was saying, I get these messages from Verizon Wireless telling me that it's time
to upgrade to a new plan.
And it's a message that I ignore, delete it right away.
But if I get a message from my wife reminding me, don't forget your son's piano recital
tonight.
Now that will stick and I won't forget.
So this message is coming from our Lord Jesus Christ.
So this letter is coming from Jesus.
Secondly, some messages are time-specific.
When I tell my kids to study for the SAT, as much as they don't want to hear it, it is a
very time-specific message.
It applies to them for maybe about two years in high school and then they'll never hear
it from me again.
And you can count on it.
But this message, Jesus' letters to the seven churches, it's not a time-specific message.
It's a message that transcends time and culture.
These messages were written approximately A.D. 90 and the churches they were addressed to,
they don't exist now in present day.
But His messages, it applies to us and also the generations to come.
This evening's scripture comes from Revelation chapter 2, verses 1 through 7.
It's on page 1028 on your Pew Bible.
Page 1028 in your Pew Bible.
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.
Let us pray.
Lord Jesus, how vast is your love, as vast as the ocean.
And Lord Jesus, thank you for bringing us here tonight to worship you, to praise you.
And as we get ready to hear your message, Lord, I pray that you will open our ears and humble our hearts.
And Lord, I pray that you will open our hearts.
Do not leave any room for resistance in our hearts.
Help us to listen to your message and act upon it.
In your holy name, I pray.
Amen.
So starting this evening and for next six weeks, we will open the letters to seven churches written by Jesus one week at a time.
And tonight, this is a letter to church of Ephesus.
And for the next seven letters, you will see Jesus describing himself differently seven times.
And he also describes his promise or the reward seven times differently.
And then there is a one unchanging theme that he asks us to do, which is to conquer or overcome.
So tonight, we will focus on the three sections of the letter.
First, Jesus commends Ephesians.
Second, Jesus rebukes Ephesians.
Third, Jesus tells us to conquer or overcome.
I'm going to be reading from different parts of the Bible.
So, you know, you can write it down.
You don't have to necessarily go to it.
You're welcome to write it down and maybe, you know, look them up later on in your spare time.
So starting at verse two, it says, I know your works, your toil, and your patient endurance.
So Paul talks about his own example in Ephesus, how hard he worked.
Paul was a tent maker.
So he worked all day making tents.
But every chance he got, he was...
Testing.
Testing
Okay, can you hear me now?
Testing, okay
So Paul
Tells the Ephesians
Through his own example
That how hard he worked
And every chance he got
He was sharing
Word of the Lord Jesus
With the people
Either at the synagogue
Or at the marketplace
Wherever he had a chance to share
The gospel he did
And this is his own
Testimony that comes from
Acts chapter 20
Verses
33 to 35
I coveted no one
No one's silver
Or gold
Or apparel
You yourselves know
That these hands
Minister to my necessities
And to those
Who were with me
In all things
I have shown you
That by working hard
In this way
We must help
The weak
And remember the words
Of the Lord Jesus
How he himself said
It is more blessed
To give
Than to receive
I have seen
Many of you
I'm going to just
Mention a couple of
Examples
That inspired me
Over the years
This one particular
Small group leader
I know
He has a full time job
He sees patients
All day
And he sees patients
Even in the evening hours
And then
To lead
The small group
He will rush in
Always
A snack in his hands
And smiling
Ready to teach
The word of the Lord
God sees that
Jesus
Knows that
How hard you work
And
Our youth group leaders
Some of them drive
More than an hour
Each way
And yet they come
They spend time
With our teenage
High school
Junior high school students
They are role model
To them
Some of the college
Students
Even
With their busy schedule
They come
And they teach
Our youth group
Students
So all these things
Full time moms
Have little children
And yet
Once a week
They are leading
Bible study
For the women
In a small group
With a happy heart
So all these things
Jesus sees
And Jesus knows
Just like how he
Commends
Ephesians
For their hard work
And then he also
Commends
Their
Patient
Endurance
Bearing up
For my namesake
And not
Grown
Weary
In the morning
We've been studying
Book of Acts
And last month
We
We saw
How
When the people
Of Ephesians
Received the gospel
And then they start
Rejecting these idols
Burned them
Got rid of them
And then the
Idol makers
Silversmith
Basically
They got all upset
Because they were
Losing money
They were not
They can't sell idols
Anymore
So they rounded up
People
And they start
Having a protest
Against the
Believers
We don't
Have
Group of
Angry
Mobs
Outside
Protesting
Against our
Church
But
In many
Different ways
We also
Face
Persecution
I know
Students
Who come
From
Different
Background
Telling us
That
Their parents
Are not
Christians
Matter of
Fact
Their parents
Practice
Different
Religion
And they
Are not
Happy
About
Them
Practicing
Christianity
Or when
You share
The gospel
In workplace
Sometimes
They
Look at
You
Like you
Have three
Heads
Sometimes
They
Isolate
You
Calling
You know
You
By
Names
Narrow
Minded
Intolerant
How can
You believe
Something like
That
In this
Age
Of
Science
So
In
In our
Own ways
We also
Face
Persecution
But
Apostle
Paul
I mean
Apostle
John
Tells
Us
That we
Need to
Not
Grow
Weary
And
Keep
On
Doing
What
We're
Doing
I
Meet
With
A
Young
Man
In
This
Congregation
Regularly
And
We
Share
What
We
Are
Reading
We
Share
Our
Prayer
Topics
And
Then
One
Day
He
Shared
With
Me
How
Hard
It
Was
To
Share
The
Gospel
Amongst
These
Workers
And
I
Said
Me
Too
You're
Not
The
Only
One
I
Face
That
Too
My
Agnostic
Atheist
Friends
You know
They
Don't
They
Really
Don't
Like
When
I
Start
Talk
About
Jesus
So
We
Were
Able
To
Share
What
We
Go
Through
As
Christians
Encourage
One
Another
And
Pray
For
One
Another
And
This
Brother
Told
Me
That
I
Encourage
Him
I
Said
To
Myself
No
You
Encourage
Me
Because
I'm
Seeing
How
God
Is
Working
In
Your
Life
And
As
We
See
That
As
I
See
That
I
Get
So
Much
Encouragement
So
Again
Apostle
Paul
In
His
Own
Testament
In
Acts
Chapter
20
Verses
18
To
21
He
Says
You
Know
How
I
Lived
Among
You
The
Whole
Time
From
The
First
Day
That
I
Set
Foot
In
Asia
Serving
The
Lord
With
All
Humility
And
With
Tears
And
With
Trials
That
Happened
To
Me
Through
The
Plots
Of
The
Jews
How
I
Did
Not
Shrink
From
Declaring
To
You
Anything
That
Was
Profitable
And
Teaching
You
In
Public
And
From
House
To
House
Testifying
Both
To
Jews
And
To
Greeks
Of
Repentance
Toward
God
And
Of
Faith
In
Our
Lord
Jesus
Christ
So
We
Know
People
Who
Face
Persecutions
Maybe
Not
In
New
Haven
But
When
You
Receive
Letters
From
Our
Mission
Missionaries
That
We
Support
How
Often
Do
We
See
Someone
So
And
So
Got
Killed
We
Recently
Got
A
Letter
From
Stanley
Colzar
And
This
Missionary
Who
Is
In
India
Not
Stanley
But
His
Former
Coworker
He
Was
Just
Murdered
By
His
Own
Family
The
Judicial
System
Found
Him
Not
Guilty
But
His
Own
Family
Took
His
Life
Just
Because
He
Accepted
Jesus
And
He
Was
Teaching
The
Gospel
Jesus
Also
Commends
Ephesians
That
You
Cannot
Bear
With
Those
Who
Are
Evil
False
Teachers
And I'm
Hate
The
Now
How
Does
The
Bible
Describe
False
Teachers
Second
Corinthians
Chapter
Eleven
Verses
Thirteen
To
Fifteen
Apostle
Paul
Says
For
For such
Men
Are
False
Apostles
Deceitful
Workmen
Disguising
Themselves
As
Apostles
Of
Christ
And
No
Wonder
For
Even
Satan
Disguises
Himself
As
An
Angel
Of
Light
So
It
Is
No
Surprise
If
His
Servants
Also
Disguise
Themselves
As
Servants
Of
Righteousness
Their
End
Will
Correspond
To
Their
Deeds
So
Apostle
Paul
Tells
Us
False
Teachers
They
Deceive
Us
They
Disguise
Themselves
As
If
They
Are
Teaching
The
True
Gospel
But
At
The
End
We
Will
Know
They
Are
False
Teachers
Because
Of
The
Fruit
They
Bear
The
Deeds
At
The
End
We
Will
See
That
These
Are
False
Teachers
Another
Example
From
The
Bible
Comes
From
Second
Peter
Second
Peter
Chapter
Two
Verses
One
To
Three
But
False
Prophets
Also
Arose
Among
The
People
Just
As
There
Will
Be
False
Teachers
Among
You
Who
Will
Secretly
Bring
In
Destructive
Heresies
Even
Denying
The
Master
Who
Brought
Them
Who
Bought
Them
Bringing
Upon
Themselves
Swift
Destruction
And
Many
Will
Follow
Their
Sensuality
And
Because
Of
Them
The
Way
Of
Truth
Will
Be
Blasphemed
And
In
Their
Greed
They
Will
Exploit
You
With
False
Words
So
Here
Apostle
Peter
Tells
Us
These
False
Teachers
They
Deny
Jesus
They
Promote
Sensuality
Which
Later
On
We'll
See
How
The
Nicolaitans
They
Were
Practicing
Sexually
Immoral
Acts
And
Then
They
Exploit
Believers
With
Greed
And
Now
Let
Us
Look
At
Some
Specific
Examples
Of
These
False
Teachers
In
The
Bible
In
First
Timothy
Chapter
One
Verse
Twenty
Mentions
Hymenius
Alexander
And
Then
Later
On
It
Also
Mentions
Person
Named
Philetus
According
To
Early
Church
History
I
Guess
They
Were
Claiming
That
They
Were
Living
In
A
Post
Resurrection
Time
And
They
Saw
Themselves
As
They
Already
Have
The
Resurrected
Body
Clearly
A
False
Teaching
And
How
Often
Do
We
Come
Across
These
Groups
They
Claim
That
Oh
Jesus
Is
Coming
Back
At
Such
A
Such
A
Day
Such
A
Day
Such
A
Year
A
Specific
Time
When
God
Clearly
Told
Us
That
The
Time
Is
Only
He
Knows
And
Yet
These
False
Teachers
They
Predict
These
Things
All
The
Time
And
The
Other
Example
I
Would
Like
Us
To
Look
At
Is
From
1st
Timothy
Chapter
4
Verses
1
To
3
Now
The
Spirit
Expressly
Says
That
In
Later
Times
Some
Will
Depart
From
The
Faith
By
Devoting
Themselves
To
Deceitful
Spirits
And
Teachings
Of
Demons
Through
The
Insincerity
Of
Liars
Whose
Consciences
Are
Seared
Who
Forbid
Marriage
And
Require
Abstinence
From
Foods
That
God
Created
To
Be
Received
With
Thanksgiving
By
Those
Who
Believe
And
Know
The
Truth
And
Today
We
Have
Some
Preachers
You
Know
When
You
Listen
To
Their
Message
Sometimes
It
Sounds
Like
They
Are
Nutritionist
They
Talk
About
Food
Some
You
Know
So
In
The
Days
Of
Early
Christians
And
Even
Today
There
Were
All
Kinds
Of
This
False
Teaching
You
Know
Focusing
On
Money
Focusing
On
Success
And
Wealth
And
We
Hear
Them
Today
Also
Now
How
Can
We
Discern
The
False
Teachings
At
Our
Present
Time
In
First
John
Chapter
Four
Verses
One
To
Three
It
Says
Beloved
Do
Not
Believe
Every
Spirit
But
Test
The
Spirits
To
See
Whether
They
Are
From
God
For
Many
False
Prophets
Have
Gone
Out
Into
The
World
By
This
You
Know
The
Spirit
Of
God
Every
Spirit
That
Confesses
That
Jesus
Christ
Has
Come
In
The
Flesh
Is
From
God
And
Every
Spirit
That
Does
Not
Confess
Jesus
Is
Not
From
God
This
Is
The
Spirit
Of
The
Antichrist
Which
You
Heard
Was
Coming
And
Now
Is
In
The
World
Already
Apostle
Paul
Also
Commended
The
Barians
In
Acts
Chapter
17
Verse
11
So
The
Barians
They
Study
Scripture
Daily
Even
After
They
Hear
The
Message
From
Apostle
Paul
They
Went
Home
And
They
Examine
The
Scripture
To
See
Whether
It's
According
To
The
Scripture
So
We
Need
To
Test
The
Spirit
And
Also
Study
Read
The
Scripture
And
Meditate
On
It
And
Then
Lastly
Because
We're
Living
In
A
Society
With
So
Much
Information
We
Are
Just
Getting
Bombarded
With
Information
Books
Sometimes
Your
Coworker
May
Just
Give
You
A
Book
If
One
In
Doubt
If
You're
Not
Sure
Ask
The
Pastors
Ask
The
Pastors
For
Guidance
Ask
The
Pastors
And
Elders
You
Know
So
And
So
Gave
Me
This
Book
And
I'm
Not
Sure
Whether
This
Is
A
True
Teaching
Consult
With
The
Pastors
And
Elders
That's
One
Way
To
Also
Discern
Whether
This
Is
False
Teaching
Or
Not
And
Then
The
Second
Part
Of
The
Letter
Jesus
Now
Rebukes
The
Ephesians
We're
Looking
At
Verses
4
To
5
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
Lamb
Stand
From
Its
Place
Unless
You
Repent
Why
Is
Jesus
Rebuking
Them
Because
Just
Before
He
Commended
Them
For
All
Their
Good
Work
Enduring
Patiently
You
Know
Not
Tolerating
The
False
Teachers
And
False
Prophets
And
Now
He's
Rebuking
Them
And
Sometimes
It
Feels
Really
Harsh
Like
Why
Is
He
Being
So
Harsh
Well
When I
Was
When I
Was
Practicing
A sermon
With
My
Kids
I
Know
I
Tell
Them
To
Study
SAT
And
Then
On
Top
Of
That
I
Practice
Sermons
On
Them
I
Said
To
Them
Look
If
You
Drive
And
Text
At
The
Same
Time
You
Will
I
Will
Be
Very
Angry
And
If
I
Catch
You
Second
Time
There
Will
Be
A
Fury
And
If
You
Don't
Listen
And
If
You
Keep
Drive
And
Text
At
The
Same
Time
Guess
What
I'm
Going
To
Take
The
Car
Key
Away
From
You
Why
It's
Not
Because
I
Want
To
Be
A
Mean
Dad
Or
Try
To
Make
Your
Life
Miserable
It's
Because
I
Love
You
It's
Because
I
Don't
Want
You
To
Get
Into
An
Accident
I
Don't
Want
You
To
Get
Killed
I
Don't
Want
You
To
Hurt
Other
People
So
When
I
Tell
You
Not
To
Text
And
Drive
It's
Because
I
Love
You
Now
You
See
Jesus
Is
Rebuking
Ephesians
Not
Because
He's
Just
Trying
To
Be
Hard
Because
He
Loves
Them
He
Died
For
The
Church
He
Died
For
Us
So
Sometimes
Jesus
Uses
A
Stern
Warning
To
Get
Our
Attention
And
What
Is
He
Rebuking
About
He's
Saying
You
Guys
Abandoned
Not
Just
You
Know
Accidentally
Lost
You
Guys
Abandoned
The
First
Love
Abandoned
Is
A
Willful
Action
That
You
Do
Intentionally
Early
On
Paul
Commended
Ephesians
For
Their
Faith
In
Jesus
And
Also
Their
Love
Toward
All
Saints
But
Along
The
Way
They
Started
To
Abandon
This
Love
Towards
Christ
And
Also
Love
Towards
One
Another
So
Jesus
Is
Saying
You
Need
To
Regain
The
First
Love
Now
If
You
Think
About
It
Love
For
Christ
And
Love
For
One
Another
Where
Do
We
Hear
This
Theme
Isn't
This
From
The
Greatest
Commandment
Love
Your
Lord
God
With
All
Your
Heart
With
All
Your
Mind
With
All
Your
Strength
And
Love
Your
Neighbor
So
Ephesians
They
Stop
Keeping
This
Most
Important
Commandment
So
Maybe
They
Were
Just
Doing
The
Work
For
Doing
The
Work
Sake
While
There
Was
Really
No
Love
Towards
Christ
Or
Love
Towards
One
Another
In
The
Church
Apostle
Paul
Tells
Us
To
Examine
Our
Selves
In
2nd
Corinthian
Chapter
13
Verse
5
He
Says
You
Need
To
Examine
Where
You
Have
Fallen
Just
Like
Here
Examine
Yourself
Is
There
Love
For
Christ
In
You
Is
There
First
Love
And
The
Importance
Of
First
Love
I
Would
I
Like
All
Of
Us
To
Find
This
Passage
It
Comes
From
In
Your
Pew
Bible
It's
1023
Page
1023
1st
John
Chapter
4
Verses
7
To
12
And
You
Can
See
Why
Jesus
Is
Putting
So
Much
Emphasis
On
Love
Towards
God
And
Love
Towards
One
Another
If
Love
One
Another
God
Abides
In
Us
And
His
Love
Is
Perfected
In
Us
And
You
Could
Keep
Put
Your
Finger
There
Because
We're
Going to
Go to
The
Next
Chapter
Shortly
So
God
So
Jesus
Rebuked
Ephesians
For
Abandoning
The
First
Love
And
Then
He
Tells
The
Ephesians
You
Need
To
Overcome
It's
In
Revelation
Chapter
2
Verse
7
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
So
Jesus
Is
Telling
Us
You
Need
To
Overcome
Or
Conquer
In
Order
To
Enjoy
And
Be
With
God
In
His
Kingdom
So
How
Do
We
How
Do
We
Overcome
How
Do
We
Conquer
What
Is
Jesus
Talking
About
Just
Flip
Over
To
The
Next
Chapter
In
First
John
First
John
Chapter
5
It's
In
Page
1023
First
John
Chapter
5
Verses
1
Through
6
Everyone
Who
Believes
Jesus
Is
The
Christ
Has
Been
Born
Of
That
Has
Overcome
The
World
Our
Faith
Who
Is
It
That
Overcomes
The
World
Except
The
One
Who
Believes
That
Jesus
Is
The
Son
Of
God
So
Here
Apostle
John
Tells
Us
When
We
Love
God
And
Obey
His
Commandments
One
Who
Believes
That
Jesus
Is
Jesus
Is
The
Son
Of
The
World
Because
In
Jesus
Defeated
The
Power
Of
Sin
And
Jesus
Conquered
Death
So
In
Him
We
Will
Also
Defeat
The
Power
Of
Sin
And
Conquered
Death
So
How
Does
This
Apply
To
Us
Today
Well
Like I
Said
To
You
Before
Those
Of
You
Who
Are
Doing
Wonderful
Work
Don't
Be
Discouraged
Even
If
Somebody
Does
Not
Notice
What
You
Doing
Or
If
Somebody
You
Don't
Feel
You
Are
Appreciated
Don't
Be
Discouraged
Because
Jesus
Sees
Everything
That
You
Are
Doing
Even
The
Things
That
You
Do
In
Secret
He
Knows
And
He
Will
Reward
You
And
Secondly
Encourage
One
Another
When
You
See
Somebody
Doing
Something
Hey
Tell
Them
That
You
Appreciate
It
Encourage
Your
Pastors
Love
Your
Pastors
You
Know
Pastor
Nick
Thank
You
For
Having
Lunch
With
Me
You
Know
I
Really
Needed
To
Talk
To
You
Today
Because
I
Been
Having
Trouble
Dealing
With
This
Thank
You
For
Listening
To
Me
And
Thank
You
For
Giving
Me
An
Advice
Thank
You
Pastor
Greg
Your
Sermon
Helped
Me
To
Deepen
My
Faith
Thank
You
Pastor
Matt
I
Been
Really
Struggling
With
This
Issue
Thank
You
For
Your
Brotherly
Advice
Encourage
Them
When
You
See
Somebody
Picking
Up
People
From
Columbus
House
Appreciate
That
Because
They
Are
Going
Out
Of
Their
Way
You
Know
And
When
You
See
People
Doing
All
Kinds
Of
Children's
Ministry
Music
Team
Encourage
One
Another
Get
To
Know
One
Another
And
Get
To
Know
What
Their
Prayer
Needs
Are
We
All
Have
Needs
That
You
Can
Pray
For
Pray
For
One
Another
Tell
Them
To
Stay
The
Course
Hold
On
To
It
So
By
Encouraging
One
Another
We
Can
Continue
To
Do
These
Good
Works
That
Jesus
Was
Commending
Now
For
Those
Of
You
Who
Are
New
To
Christ
Or
Who
Has
Not
Experienced
Or
Tasted
The
First
Love
I
Would
Like
To
Borrow
Dr.
D.A.
Carson's
Illustration
That
I
Heard
At
This
Conference
Imagine
Yourself
In
A
Court
Room
You
Are
The
Defendant
God
Is
The
Judge
And
Satan
Also
Known
As
Accuser
Is
A
Prosecutor
So
In
This
Court
Room
Satan
Opens
This
Book
And
In
This
Book
It
List
Every
Single
Sin
That
You
Have
Committed
So
The
Prosecutor
Is
Reading
One
By
One
The
Court
And
Then
Telling
The
Judge
This
Person
Is
Guilty
As
Charged
Look
At
All
This
The
Sin
That
He
Committed
So
He
Should
Be
Punished
Eternally
In
Hell
And
He's
Grinning
Because
He's
Got
The
List
And
Then
All
Of
A
Sudden
The
Back
Door
Fling
Opens
And
This
Man
Walks
In
This
Man
Walks
Down
And
Then
He
Tells
The
Judge
Your
Honor
I
Have
Served
His
Sentence
I
Already
Took
His
Punishment
And
Then
The
Judge
Now
Announces
In
The
Light
Of
New
Evidence
I
Declare
The
Defendant
Not
Guilty
They
Leave
Let
Him
Go
And
Now
The
Prosecutor
Is
Fuming
He
Says
What
Do
You
Mean
He's
Free
To
Go
Don't
You
See
Don't
You
See
The
Book
Don't
You
See
All
These
Sins
That
He
Committed
And
Then
The
Judge
Leans
Over
And
He
Says
Yeah
I
See
Something
My
Son's
Blood
That
Is
The
Essence
Of
First
Love
He
Is
Redeeming
Love
That
God
Sent
His
Son
To
Die
In
Our
Place
So
We
Don't
Have
To
Serve
That
Sentence
In
A
Moment
We're
Going
To
Sing
This
Hymn
And
This
Song
Is
All
About
God's
Redeeming
Love
For
Us
Redeeming
Love
Has
Been
My
Theme
And
Shelby
Till
I
Die
So
Those
Who
Have
Not
Experienced
This
Love
Here's
Your
Invitation
Come
And
Experience
This
Love
And
For
Those
Of
Us
Who's
Been
Following
Jesus
For
Years
This
Is
Time
For
Us
To
Rekindle
That
Fire
Love
For
Christ
And
Love
For
One
Another
Let
Us
Pray
Lord
Our
Father
We
Thank
You
For
Your
Love
How
You
Sent
Your
Son
To
Die
In
Our
Place
And
Lord
God
Your
Redeeming
Love
Is
So
Great
That
It
Has
Been
Our
Theme
And
It
Shall
Be
Till
We
Die
Lord
We
Praise
You
And
Give
You
All
The
Honor
And
Glory
In
Jesus
Name
Amen