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.
Do you mean to tell me that the Church of Ephesus was in the marriage business?
Where do you read that in this passage and for that matter where to you read it in the book of Ephesians or anywhere else in the Bible?
Well – think about what we read in Ephesians 5:25-27
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.
Or Revelation 19:7-9
7 Let us be joyful and glad! Let us give him glory! It is time for the Lamb’s wedding. His bride has made herself ready.8 Fine linen, bright and clean, was given to her to wear. “Fine linen stands for the right things that God’s people do.9 Here is what the angel told me to write. “Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” Then he added, “These are the true words of God.”
As you read the Bible, did you know that there are over 20 different places that speak of the LORD and His people as being married to one another. The Lord is referred as the groom while the People of God are referred over and over again as the Bride.
We may not think of ourselves as match makers this morning, but in essence when we help someone come to Christ that is exactly what we are doing. We are matching them to the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY. The LORD is the Groom, and the Church is the Bride.
Hmm. I never thought about evangelism that way and yet, when we look at it from one angle that is exactly what it is – we are asking people to love the LORD with all their heart, mind and soul and what could be more serious and intimate than this expression of love. In fact, when you really look at loving God in that fashion it is even deeper and richer than loving another human being.
The best advertisement for a marriage is when we see two people who are truly married to another, loving one another, encouraging one another, and supporting one another.
There is no better advertisement for the Church, for Christianity than a person who truly loves the LORD. A person who loves to spend time with God in worship, praise, prayer and reading His Word. A person who has a radiant and ever growing relationship with the LORD.
The house churches that were in Ephesus were excellent at being Christ match makers. They worked hard at helping people come to faith. They worked hard at living out a life of what it meant to love God with all their heart, mind and soul.
Jesus’ praises them for that. He tells them what a great job they have done in sharing His Message. He tells them that He is so happy with them for all that they were doing to help people come to faith and stay faithful.
II. He then calls on them to sharpen their Spiritual Marriage Enrichment Skills
Anyone who has been married to another human being understands the need to make sure that the relationship continues to be refreshed and renewed.
It’s easy to just be married – to just be that couple that is sharing life but not really enjoying life. Raising a family, building a home, and providing the necessary funds to support life.
It’s easy to begin to live separate lives, to just exist.
You see it all the time when you go out to eat or just talk to people.
+Oh, I don’t know. We don’t talk anymore. He does his thing and I do mine.
+People looking at their phone and communicating more with their phone than they do with one another.
+People just living together – they watch their programs and I watch mine – every now and then we grunt at one another.
+We don’t buy anything for each other anymore. If they want something they know that they can get it. I don’t want to buy anything for them because they will either take it back or they will not like it.
It is easy to get into what has been called a marriage rut. A place where it seems like everything has grown stale, boring and tired. A place where it just seems like it oh-well – what more can you expect.
What happens to a great many marriages happens to a great many churches and individual’s relationship with the LORD.
And that is what Jesus was reproving the Ephesians about and challenging them to get reengaged. Jesus wanted them to look around and see if they still had the same passion, the same drive, the same love for Him and for others.
The Ephesian Church had been going strong for a little over 45 years. It had held up very well under a host of struggles, internal issues, and persecution.
But something was slowly slipping away.
And that something was their joy, their passion, and their inner drive to be all they could be for Jesus and for one another.
They were very thankful that they had given their lives over to the LORD.
They were very thankful for all of Paul’s letters and the teachings that had been given to them through the years through Paul, Timothy and the Apostle John.
But things had just become a little dusty, moldy, and rusty.
Things in Church started becoming lackadaisical, careless, and casual.
Relationships with the LORD and even with one another were growing a little tiresome and tedious.
Sister so and so was just getting too cranky, too bossy, and just had to have her own way.
Brother so and so just sat around like a big old toad and could not be satisfied. It was either too cold or too hot, there were too many children running around or none at all. He just couldn’t be satisfied.
They still shared meals together, but everyone now had their assigned seats and in the last few months nothing exciting seemed to be happening.
Spiritual rot had begun to set it.
Church was nice enough but nice enough was no longer inviting.
At one time Ephesus had given the Church in Jerusalem a run for their money – they too could have written these words:
“All the believers devoted themselves to the apostle’s teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. They worshipped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity – all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.” – Acts 4:42-47
But now they were divided. Fellowship time was no longer at the top of their agenda. Neither was prayer time nor asking God to do some miracle in their midst. They still felt the Holy Spirit, but it no longer burned within them.
Some have said that they took their love for God which at first resembled a RIVER and had turned that love into a love that mirrored a POND.
In other words, they had put parameters around their love for the LORD and for one another. A river can overspill its boundaries and flows with energy, vitality, and life.
A pond for the most part is constant, never going too high or too low. It rarely goes beyond its boundaries. And a pond can become stagnant, sluggish and stale.
Ephesus needed some spiritual marriage counseling. They needed someone to help them renew and refresh their relationship with the LORD.
Jesus comes to their aid and gives them some good advice:
+Change your mind – change your attitude – change your direction.
That is what it means to repent. It means to see where you are going and go in the opposite direction.
In other words, when you realize that your love for the LORD is going the wrong direction then STOP – take some inventory – and then instead of continuing to walk away from the LORD begin to walk towards the Lord.
We can renew our passion for the LORD:
+By remembering Who We Are and Who the LORD Is.
We can take a moment to rest, to reflect and if need be, to repent. We can remember how much God loves us; that we are His Masterpiece. He is the Lord God Almighty. He is the Great I AM. We are His Chosen People. We are Redeemed and are being restored into the image of Jesus. We are Heaven Bound.
+By remembering that following the LORD is a life journey not a solitary event.
All the greats – Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Elijah, Ruth, Deborah, Hannah and the rest came to realize that walking with God is not a single day event. It’s a lifelong adventure. It’s daily walking and talking to God. It’s listening and obeying. It’s sharing with God our joys, our struggles, and our victories. It’s living life with God at the center of everything.
Enoch and Noah were famous for just spending time with God. Not having a prescribed agenda, not having a thought-out mission but just spending some time with God. Sitting some where enjoying God’s Good Creation. Singing with God songs of praise. Enjoying His Presence.
+Remembering to Refresh Ourselves in His Holy Spirit
This past week I came across a song by the country music singer Chase Rice. I heard it while Rebekah and I were eating at O’Charley’s Restaurant. The name of the song was “Drinkin’ Beer. Talkin’ God. Amen.”
Now, I know that it is not the kind of song that you would hear in church, but I took the time to listen to the song several times after that and read the lyrics. It’s all about spending time with some friends, having a beverage (in this case of course a beer – but you could use a glass of tea, a coke etc…) and sharing life including talking about God.
Again, it’s not the thing you might want to have as a Church Special – but the idea is sound. Being refreshed and just hanging out with some friends and God.
We all need times of refreshing. We need those times when we allow the Holy Spirit to come into our services and move us from the inside out.
Those times when we just enjoy God’s Holy Spirit as we sing, as we share and as we worship together. When we don’t focus on doing all the proper rituals and say all the proper words but just enjoy a time of fellowship and enjoyment on a Sunday Morning.
There is an old song that was written by Dottie Rambo and David Huntsinger entitled Holy Spirit, Thou Art Welcome
Holy Spirit, Thou art welcome in this place
Holy Spirit, thou art welcome in this place
Omnipotent Father of mercy and grace,
Thou art welcome in this place.
It’s a great little song to sing not only in church but as you sit in your car, or as you think about God coming into your heart and life. It’s a song that welcomes the Holy Spirit to come in and renew and refresh you. It’s a song about sharing and enjoying life in God’s Holy Spirit.
So, what happened to the Church in Ephesus?
History tells us that it lasted for at least another 400 years. In fact, Ephesus was the site of one of the great church councils in 431 AD.
These house churches did what Jesus wanted them to do. They remembered who they were and to whom they belonged. They rekindled their love for the LORD and for one another.
They took the time to spend time with God and with one another. They took the time to remember to be committed, to be thankful, to share the message of Jesus and to encourage and support one another.
They remembered to share Jesus with all those around.
This morning – like the Ephesian Church – We too are called to be Match Makers – to help people fall in love with Jesus. To help people accept Him as Savior and LORD.
We are also called to help one another as Spiritual Marriage Counselors. We are called to encourage one another, help one another during the down times, pray for and with one another and then do our best to love the LORD with all that we have and love one another with all that we have.
Will we last for over 400 years?
We will if we continue to help people find Christ and then help one another have a vibrant personal and corporate relationship with Christ. We will if we continue to remember that we are to be Christ people, loving God and loving others.
Let’s close this morning by reaffirming our love for Christ by singing that song – Oh How I Love Jesus or Loving Jesus (Cast and Crowns)
Invitation to Holy Communion – Prayer - Blessing
