Good morning my fellow believers in Christ Jesus. Today we are going to examine a passage in the book of Revelation that speaks of a church that was admonished by Jesus, letting them know that they have become lazy in their love for the Lord. They have gotten to the point where they feel that they have been there and done that, and there is nothing more that I need to do to show my belief in Jesus.
Keep in mind as you listen to this message, that the letters written for the churches some 2000 years ago, is being read by us today…so that means the message still applies us today.
“To the angel of the church of Ephesus write, ‘These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands: “I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil.
And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary. Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.
Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent. But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.” ’.
Revelation 2:1-7
We come to our second church in our series of messages on the seven churches mentioned in revelation. Today we will look at the Loveless Church. The book of revelation primarily deals with the time after the rapture culminating with the second coming of Christ and the establishment of the eternal kingdom. The first three chapters are still part of the vision god gave to john, but they speak to churches and are set apart from the post-rapture part of revelation, making them a bit easier to understand and to apply.
So, what does that mean? Well, it means that we still have time to get things right with Jesus. But once the rapture occurs, you will then have to deal with really suffering for your belief in Christ, because the bible tells us that those out of the tribulation and great tribulation will be those killed for their belief in Jesus.
To understand the context for our passage we must look at chapter one. Verse four contains the commission for john to write these letters to the seven churches mentioned. Some believe them to be circular letters, which means that although they dealt with matters at one church, they were to be passed on to the others to prepare them for dealing with the various issues presented.
Two key features mentioned in chapter one is, golden lampstands and stars.
Revelation 1:12: Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands,
Revelation 1:16: He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength.
Obviously, Revelation is a book that deals with symbolism, but John goes on to give us the meaning of the golden lampstands and stars in verse 20.
The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches.
Revelation 1:20
The angels of the churches are the pastors and leaders of the churches.
While there have been several ideas as to why these churches were chosen, and to whom the messages to the churches are for, I am convinced that there is a message for our church from each of these letters, a message that if we take it to heart can help our church to continue to be relevant to our community today.
The last thing to note about the lampstands is in verse 13.
Revelation 1:13: and amid the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band.
The one who was moving to and fro among the candlesticks is Jesus. We must understand that Jesus is moving in His churches today. He is there for us to call upon when we want and need direction. We must remember that this church is His church. He will never leave us or forsake us, but we must be careful. If we walk away from Him, then He will not abide with us.
The first of the seven churches to receive a letter was the church at Ephesus. Ephesus was a city of commerce and culture. It was on the main trade route and so people from all over the world would stop at Ephesus.
Ephesus was also the home of great corruption. The temple of Artemis, or another name for it, Diana, was there. It was one of the seven wonders of the world, so we know it was very beautiful. It was also, however, the home to hundreds of temple prostitutes. If you look around our cities, we find that things are no different than back in Paul’s days. Instead of temples worshipping other gods we have churches who are worshipping their founders and leaders.
Paul created the church in Ephesus, and it would eventually be in Ephesus that groups would revolt against Paul and follow him wherever he went, to tear down the Gospel that he was preaching.
Our passage follows a pattern that john uses for most of the letters. He begins with commendation, then comes constructive criticism, and finally a step-in confidence if they act on what they hear.
and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary. Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.
Revelation 2:3-4
The thing to note in these verses is that the church is very active. Ephesus was a church that was trying to make a difference to its community, and to be a church of good standing. This church was doctrinally sound. They didn’t hesitate to expose error, even when that exposure was painful personally.
We want our church to have an active presence in our community as well. The things mentioned about the church in Ephesus are things that we want people to recognize in us. We want to be known as a church that toils and labors for the lord, and one that is doctrinally sound. We must always be people of the book and stand on the word of God in all areas of our life. To that end:
• I will stand up and speak out against sin.
• I will stand up and administer corrective words, which are not meant to hurt you but to build you up.
• I will not compromise the word of God to satisfy inching ears.
• I will not prostitute this church or myself for money, but I will in all times speak of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
You may have noticed that I singled myself out with those “I will” statements…but the truth is that all of you should say the same thing for yourself. Because we are in this together and the church cannot function if the sum of all its parts is not doing their part.
Back to what the Revelation of Jesus has to say about the church, because John does not stop there. He has more to say to this laboring church. Things that they may not want to hear.
Revelation 2:4: Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.
John is speaking of the motivation for doing the actions he has just commended them for. Here he is telling them, that though they are doing many things right, they are not doing them with a loving heart. That is us at times when we do things for the sake of being seen, or when we do things to overshadow others in the church. Done in this way, they are not done with love.
When the right things are done without a heart of compassion then the reason they are done is out of pride. The church in Ephesus wanted people to see how good they were. They wanted people to admire their ministry, and what they did for the lord. It became all about them and not the Lord they were following.
I wonder how it is with you today. What is your motivation for ministry, for coming to church, for doing the things you do for Christ? Are you giving God the glory for ministry breakthroughs, or are you trying to puff yourself up in the eyes of others?
Our first love is the love we had for Christ when we first became Christians. We wanted to learn more about God, we wanted others to learn about God. We love the things of God, the people of God, and anything to do with the church we couldn’t get enough of it.
Then something happens. We overhear a sharp comment from a congregant. Someone says or does something that is blatantly unbiblical. We see people stroking their own egos, and not giving praise to God. In our hearts we’re screaming “this is not the way church should be.” Anger flares, divisions are made, and soon the church we love is just a messy social club, with certain people trying to be leaders. We don’t want any part of it, and we wind up feeling empty inside.
There are times when I feel that I have lost my first love. It is an empty desperate feeling, and the only way I can snap out of it, is to recommit myself to God’s ministry and consciously remind myself that anything that I do is for His glory, and to build His kingdom.
I am grateful that John doesn’t leave us in this state of hopelessness. He does offer us a way to regain that first love.
Revelation 2:5: Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.
John tells us to repent and do the things you did at first. He wants us to consider the ways we have fallen, and if we do, we will see the pride that is in our life. It is our pride that made us lose our first love, because it took our eyes off God and put them on ourselves. We are in effect saying, look at the things we’ve done. Look at the church we’ve built.
It exposes the real danger of losing our first love which is what we would never want to admit that we have. The right thing to say is that we do all things for the glory of God, but is that what our heart is saying?
God wants us to start with a reawakening of our first love for Him. He wants to rekindle that fire to be with him, and to do things that would always please Him. He wants us to be truly sorrowful for falling away, to remember the blessings of a close walk with Him and to continue with that walk. He wants to re-ignite our first love.
Then John shares with us at the end of verse five a statement that I find rather unsettling. This is the Lord speaking and He says that He will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.
This is not talking about losing your salvation, but it is talking about losing your church and losing your blessings through the church. God does not need specific churches to continue if they refuse to build His kingdom His way. When He removes that lampstand, we are placed in darkness, because the light that shined is now gone. Without that light we are left to wander aimlessly. In this, we have lost our blessing.
God will build His church. It will be a church that expresses His love to all people, a church that invites people to have an eternal relationship with Christ through salvation. God’s church is a church with standards that are established by the bible and have and will stand the test of time.
Remember chapter one tells us that Jesus walks among the lampstands, and He walks among His churches today, to help them be the church that He wants us to be.
The conclusion of this passage is one that is like all the letters to the churches.
REVELATION 2:7: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.”
Here the invitation is open to individual believers to hear the message from the Holy Spirit today. Not everyone will hear this, and they will keep acting with pride and get nowhere.
There will be some who will hear the Holy Spirit talking to them, and desire to have a deeper relationship with Christ. Perhaps this is you today. If so, think on the words of Paul to the Philippians:
Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.
Philippians 4:8-9
We live in a world where people who practice this are in short supply. We live in a world that needs the church of God, to share our first love again with all, and to concentrate our thoughts and actions on pleasing Christ Jesus first and always.
Remember where you came from…a life of sin and certain death in the lake of fire. Remember that and us it as the fuel that pushes you forward in your salvation journey with Christ Jesus.
