Losing Our Way At The Point of Love | Revelation 2:1-7

Scripture

• Revelation 2:1–7

About this sermon

Introduction: We have in the letters to the seven churches a unique look at our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We see Him as the exalted Lord of the church, walking in the midst of His churches and examining them. He speaks with authority as He tells them what He sees that is commendable. He speaks with authority as He tells them what He sees that is unacceptable. Through it all we are reminded what the Lord loves and hates in His churches. The church is not ours to do with whatever we wish. The church belongs to God, is purchased with the blood of Christ, is built on Him as the chief cornerstone, and exists by the power of the Holy Spirit. The only thing acceptable in the life of the church and of eternal value is that which He approves of. If we are pleased but the Lord is not pleased, we have failed. If the world is displeased by us but the Lord is pleased, we have succeeded. And what is true of the churches, examined as congregations, has individual application. What we are as churches, we are one soul at a time. And the first church the Lord examines is a church that challenges all of us at the heart level. It was a church, that from all we see commended in them, would have been a church that we would have gladly recommended. A church that represented much of what we desire OUR church to be. And yet, we will see they had gone astray, and they were in a very dangerous condition. *There are three things we will see together as we examine this letter. 1. The Lord's Commendation 2. The Lord's Correction 3. Final Conclusions 1. THE LORD'S COMMENDATION OF THIS CHURCH (vs.1-3, 6) Before we look at what the Lord specifically commends in this church, there are a couple of things we need to know about this congregation. A. THIS WAS A WELL TAUGHT CHURCH We can see this even in the things that the Lord commends them for here. The discernment that was evident in this church, the labor, the endurance, was due to the kind of instruction that they had received. Just from the biblical record we see they had personally benefited from some very gifted preachers and teachers. Paul spent considerable time in Ephesus, three years (Acts 20:31). Aquila and Priscilla remained in Ephesus after Paul’s initial ministry (Acts 18) Apollos was in Ephesus when Aquila and Priscilla made their contribution to his life and ministry, so that the Ephesians benefited from the ministry of Apollos. Timothy pastored in Ephesus, in fact, that is where he was when 1 Timothy was written. Church history also testifies that the apostle John had pastored there for years prior to his arrest and banishment to Patmos. Irenaeus — “Then, again, the Church in Ephesus, founded by Paul, and having John remaining among them permanently until the times of Trajan, is a true witness of the tradition of the apostles.” This was a church that had been given a great heritage in the form of instructors. B. THIS WAS AN INFLUENTIAL CHURCH By the time that this letter arrived at Ephesus there had been around a 40-year history with this church. It was in one of the most influential cities in the world. This church, no doubt, had a reputation for the very things that the Lord Jesus is about to recognize. Acts 19:8 And after he entered athe synagogue, he continued speaking out boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading them babout the kingdom of God. 9 But when asome were becoming hardened and were not believing, speaking evil of bthe Way before the multitude, he left them and took away cthe disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus. 10 This took place for atwo years, so that all who lived in 1bAsia heard cthe word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.

Topics

• Love & Compassion
• Suffering & Trials
• Bible Study
• Prophecy & End Times