A Refreshed And Renewed Bride Series

Scripture: Revelation 2:1-7; Matthew 22:36-40

Theme: Seven Churches of Revelation

Title: A Refreshed and Renewed Bride – Ephesus

INTRO:

Grace and peace from God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit!

Good morning!

I want to invite you to go with me on a wonderful adventure over the next seven weeks as we look at the Seven Churches that are mentioned in Revelation chapters 2-3.

These were actual churches that were holding services during the time of John’s writing.

Seven churches that did some things well and other things not so well.

In chapter one, John describes who is asking him to write this letter. It is none other than the Risen Lord sitting at the right hand of the Father in Heaven. He is the first and the last, the one who died but now is alive forevermore. He has something that He wants these seven churches to hear, understand and to apply to their unique situation.

Jesus loves each of these churches. He wants what is best for them.

Jesus wants John to encourage them, to reprove them and to challenge them to be their best. That is what Jesus wants for all His churches.

Let’s look at what Jesus has to say to this first church; the house churches that met in the city of Ephesus. A city that over the years had some of the greatest leaders you could ever imagine. St. Paul spent some time there, for some years Timothy had been their leader and even John had taken his turn in leading the different house churches in Ephesus.

What exactly did Jesus want for this church and in some way for all churches?

For as we look at these churches, we must understand that what they did right and even what they did wrong was not just contained to them. Since the Church began there have been many churches like Ephesus and the other six, we will look at. There have been individuals in the church that you could say – they are living like those Ephesians, those Thyatrians or even those Philadelphians.

So, as we look at each church, we are to allow what Jesus says to them to apply to us as a congregation and as individuals. That is why John wanted to share this letter with not only these seven churches but all of Asia Minor and why the Holy Spirit directed those in the Early Church to place John’s writings in the Bible.

As Paul writes to Timothy –

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the person of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” – 2 Timothy 3:16-17

With that in mind let’s take a peek this morning at the Church in Ephesus:

I. They have been called to be a Church of Match Makers

Match Makers may be an unusual way for us to look at this church but as you read the passage and allow it to speak to your soul that is exactly what all churches are called to do – be match makers.

So, what is a match maker?

In the olden days, it was a person who helped a young lady and a young man find each other. It was their job to help young couples connect, start dating with the intention of getting married, having children, and living a wonderful life together.

Believe it or not, match making is still a serious business.

And when I mean serious, I mean it’s more than just clicking on to E-harmony, Bumble, Christian Mingle or Match.com. All those sites do their best to match people up, but they are nothing compared to the services offered by the likes of:

+Amy Laurent – who takes on approx. 30 clients at a time and charges around 25,000 dollars per year to help someone find the right partner. She has an 88 – 90% success rate. Her motto is "My clients have time to date. They just don’t have time to date the wrong people".

+Janis Spindel – who has been in the match making business for over 30 years and who charges approx. 50,000 dollars to help you find a partner and depending on exactly what class of individual you are looking for that $50,000 can turn into $80,000 and up to over $500,000 dollars or more. She has helped over 5,000 people find the person of their dreams.

It’s not easy for a person to find the right partner these days. And when you really think about it, spending a great amount of money shouldn’t be out of the question before you find yourself waking up to someone who is going to be a pain in the neck, a drag, and a problem for the next 30/40 years or more.