Two hundred thirty cities dotted the coastline of Asia Minor, and many of them were great cities, but Ephesus was the queen of them all.
Paul went to Ephesus on his third missionary journey. He stayed there two years.
He had two things to say about those two years.
Look at I Cor. 16:9, saying, "For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries."
Now that was good news and bad news:
1. "For a great door and effectual is opened unto me…”
Notice, he said GREAT DOOR was opened to him. Who opened this door? God did!
That was the GOOD NEWS, but anytime God began to bless, you can expect Satan to move.
The devil is not going to bless a church without him trying to stop the move of God.
Notice, he says also…
2. “…And there are many adversaries."
The church of Ephesus is the first church we read about in the book of Revelation.
The book of Revelations talks about seven churches. They are: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.
There were other churches in Asia.
They were:
• Troas (Acts 20:5; II Cor. 2:12),
• Miletus (Acts 20:17),
• Colosse (Col. 1:2),
• Hierapolis (Col. 4:12).
The Bible does not tell us why John did not write to them, but we can assume two things:
(1)THE CHOICE.
God chose these seven churches that were symbolic of the seven kinds of churches that were to exist in the ages to come.
For example, our age is last church on that list called the Laodicean church age in where Christians NEITHER COLD OR HOT SPIRITULLLY.
There is another reason God did not choose the other six…
(2) THEIR CHARACTERISTICS.
Even though each of the seven churches had similarities, each one was different. This is, and always has been true among churches.
Illus: As you travel across America today you will find that all churches have similarities, yet, still, there are major differences also.
Let us look at the seven verses of scripture that deal with the church at Ephesus to see how we, as a church, compare to that church.
The first thing the Word of God reveals to us about the people in the church at Ephesus deals with...
I.THEIR LEADER.
Of course we can see why this would be the first thing because leadership is important to any church.
It must sadden the heart of God that many churches do not place much value on leadership.
They do not care if they have a history of failures; the important thing to them is filling out the slots when it comes nomination time.
And they wonder why next year will be like last year and last year and last year!
You see, all leaders lead in two ways:
(1) In a Good way
(2) In a Bad way
Look at verse 1 we read, “Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write…”
Angel here is messenger!
God is talking the Pastor as the messenger.
Each week GOD GIVES ME THE MESSAGE TO GIVE TO YOU!
But I cannot be an ANGEL OF THE LORD IF I PREACH THE WORD AND DO NOT LIVE IT.
And listen, if any preacher does not PREACH THE MESSAGE AND LIVE IT, IT IS THE CONGREGATION TO GET RID OF HIM AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
Illus: As the pastor of this church I feel like a fish in a fish bowl. People watch:
• What I say
• What I do
• How I drive
• What I wear
• How I pay my bills
• How I treat my wife
• How treat my dog
• How I conduct myself publicly
Illus: I stopped by Hardee’s the other Sunday after the morning service to get me a quick bite of food.
I was the only customer in the place and lady around 5O OR 60 asked me what I wanted. She never made eye contact with her as I smiled and told her what I wanted.
I had some bills in my front pocket that I had not taken time to straighten them out. I had only one dollar, some fives, some tens and one 20.
I placed them on the stainless steel counter before me and I was trying to straighten them out to pay her.
She said my order came to $11.14. So I stared to straighten the bills out but I only had a one dollar bill to make it twelve.
So, I gave her a 10 and a five, which would have made it 12.
But I was still trying to look among the bills so I could give her a tip. And I decided I would give her a five.
As I was doing this, she said in a very ANGRY VOICE, WHERE IS THE MONEY?
Since her hand was on about ten inches from the fifteen dollars, I said, “There it is”.
And she said very ANGRILY, pick it up and put it in my hand saying I WAS RUDE! Because I would not put the money in her hand.
When she said I was RUDE I am so thankful that God gave the GRACE not to say what I wanted to say!!!
I took my order and walked away.
But you might be wondering, DID I LEAVE THAT FIVE DOLLAR TIP? I can only say as I walked away I had dollars more money than I would have had.
Preachers are like everyone else, but as ministers of God we cannot always say what we would want to say.
Illus: Yea, I feel like a fish in a fish bowl being watched by the public and church members.
And I pray constantly for God to help me not to lead anyone astray. By word or deed!
That is why; I spend a lot of time in my sermon preparation because I do not want to preach anything to lead anyone astray.
Leadership is so important in life no what profession we may be involved in.
So, it is no wonder when God talks about leadership in the church he starts off with leadership.
Look at verse 1 we read, "Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;..."
This letter is addressed to the leader of the church. We read, “Unto the ANGEL of the church of Ephesus..."
Notice, the word "angel" is singular, not plural.
He is not addressing ALL seven church leaders; He is addressing the one leader of the church of Ephesus.
This letter is written to "...the ANGEL OF THE CHURCH OF EPHESUS..." who is the PASTOR. He is the messenger of God to the church.
Illus: Sometimes people will ask, “How does a preacher know what to preach?" Simple. God tells him what to preach. God speaks TO HIM and THROUGH HIM. He is God's messenger.
God does not tell the deacons, and have them tell the pastor what He wants. God holds the pastor personally responsible.
God is a God of organization, not a God of confusion. The pastor must never forget that God has placed him over the flock, and with that special responsibility comes special accountability for the task assigned.
Look at I Peter 5:2, where we read, “Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind."
The pastor is to do two things:
• "...FEED THE FLOCK..."
• "...TAKE THE OVERSIGHT THEREOF."
Notice two things about the word “Take” why God uses that word.
(1)He uses that word because the OVERSIGHT is given to him by God. He has to be responsible enough to TAKEN from God.
(2)He also used the word Take because no one is going to GIVE HIM THE OVERSIGHT, HE HAS TO TAKE IT!!!
Notice something else that verse one tells us about the minister of God. He is referred to as an ANGEL.
Then notice, John switches from the SINGULAR to the plural - "STARS."
That is, God holds ALL of His ministers in His hands.
The minister of God is...
• Held in the hands of Christ. "...These things saith he that holdeth the seven STARS in his right hand..."
• Hand-picked by Christ and placed in His hand.
• Nourished and nurtured by the hand of Christ.
• Protected by the hand of Christ.
• Positioned for a close relationship, being in the hand of Christ.
Why?
Because of his position in the church.
This letter was written to THE LEADER of the church of Ephesus.
• A family has to have a LEADER.
• A nation has to have a LEADER.
• A business has to have a LEADER.
• A team has to have a LEADER, a
• And A CHURCH HAS TO HAVE A LEADER.
When God was ready to address the church at Ephesus, He recognized the pastor as the leader of His church - it was to the pastor this letter was written.
We have looked at THE LEADER
II. THE LAMPSTAND.
Look at verse 1, where we read, “...who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks ..."
Sometimes we hear people say, “I do not like to go to church."
Generally they are not trying to be ugly when they say that; they sincerely mean it.
There are some "churches" Christians are not comfortable in.
Why?
If God is not there, they do not want to be there either.
What is a church?
Simply defined, it is: "A place where Christ has promised to meet those who have come together because they love Him."
Look at verse 1 again, “...who walketh in the MIDST of the seven golden candlesticks."
Look at that word "midst."
It is the same word we see in the promise in Matt. 18:20, “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the MIDST of them."
The pride and joy of a Bible-believing church is that the PRESENCE OF THE LORD is among them
• The streets of gold are not what will make heaven a great place.
What is going to make heaven so great is the Lord Jesus. He is going to be the center attraction!
• The thing that makes a church a great place is not the building the people worship in, but that the Lord is there!
If a church has lost the presence of the Lord, it has lost everything.
The people may as well shut the door and write ICHABOD (ref. I Sam. 4:21) across the door lintel.
We had better never take the presence of the Lord for granted!
Illus: Did you know that the thing that makes Hell so terrible is not…
• The eternal flames,
• Nor the evil people who will inhabit that place?
The thing that makes hell so terrible is the fact that GOD IS NOT THERE for eternity!
John tells us about THE LEADER, and THE LAMPSTAND of the church of Ephesus. He also tells us about...
III. THEIR LABOR.
In verses 2-3 we read, "I KNOW thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted."
Look at the word "know" in verse 2; it means absolutely He has clear vision of knowing what is going on in every church today.
He not only sees:
• WHO PHYSICALLY ATTENDS HIS CHURCH,
• He also is able to look into the hearts of those who attend and KNOWS WHY THEY ATTEND HIS CHURCH.
The church of Ephesus was a busy church. The church calendar was filled with many things.
Look as we read what the Lord said about them...
A. Verse 2,"I know thy works and thy labour..."
We need to understand that the Lord is commending believers for their works.
He does not ask LOST PEOPLE to work for Him.
Why?
Because, if He did, they would think they were earning their salvation by those good works.
However, we who are saved by His marvelous grace are expected to work. If we are not willing to work, then God's work will not be done.
The church of Ephesus was not like many churches today. Often it is hard to find Christians willing to work for the Lord, but the Word of God tells us the Christians of Ephesus were willing and they laboured for the Lord.
B. Verse 2, “I know...thy patience..."
In that pagan land, where the goddess Diana was supreme, the Christians encountered many problems, but God commended them because they were patient and did not throw up their hands and quit.
It takes a lot of patience in the work of God.
C. Verse 2, "I know...how thou canst not bear them which are evil..."
Look at the phrase, "...canst not bear." The Ephesian Christians would not tolerate for a moment, a church leader who did not live a holy life.
How different it is today in many cases.
We have churches across America that allow ungodly men and women to continue in their fellowship, even though they know they are living ungodly, unholy lives and no one says a word against it.
The church of Ephesus would not tolerate evil among them.
D. Verse 2, "I know...thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars."
Look at the words "tried them." They did not swallow everything that was spewed out.
They literally checked people out with the Word of God, and if they did not line up with God's Word, they dismissed them with their teachings.
You might wonder if that was scriptural. Yes, it was - and is!
I John 4:1 say, “Beloved, believes not every spirit, BUT TRY THE SPIRITS whether they are of God..."
God has warned us that "wolves" would come to us in "sheep's" clothing, yet many today will swallow anything that is passed down to them as the gospel.
D. Verse 3, "I know...how thou...hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted."
The church of Ephesus suffered many difficulties, but they stood for the name of Christ.
Notice, under that stressful load that they did not faint.
The Word of God II Thess. 3:13, tells us, “...be not weary in well doing."
Illus: D. L. Moody came home from holding a gospel campaign completely exhausted. His family begged him to stay home and rest before he went on to his next meeting.
He told them, “I grow weary in the work but not of the work."
You see, everyone who has ever faithfully served the Lord knows what he means. Sometimes our bodies are exhausted because of the load we are carrying, but we never think of giving up because of the load. That is, we may grow weary in the work of God, but God helps us to never grow weary of His work.
We have looked at:
I. THEIR LEADER
II. THEIR LABOR
But let us look at-
IV. THEIR LEAVING.
The church at Ephesus never grew weary of the work of the Lord!
So far, everything we read about this church seems to describe what seems to be a good church.
In fact, I do not know many pastors who would not be honored to pastor such a church.
But remember, God, Who said that He knew their WORKS, LABOUR, PATIENCE, ETC., is the God Who can look into the hearts of men and see what others cannot see.
We have already talked about some wonderful things of this church, but there was "a fly in their soup."
He looked into their hearts, after saying all those nice things about them, and exposed a major fault.
Look at verse 4, “Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy FIRST LOVE."
Look at 2:5-7, we read, Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate. He that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; to him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
Look at the word “Remember”.
Memory is a wonderful thing. It is a good thing for some to remember:
• How they once love to attend the House of God every time the doors were open. NOW THEY NO LONGER ATTEND AS THEY ONCE DID.
• How they once spent time with the Lord daily. BUT NO LONGER!
• How they once spent time daily in the Word of God. BUT THEY NO LONGER!
• How they once counted it a joy to support the work of God. BUT THEY NO LONGER!
• How they once love to TELL THE STORY OF JESUS! But no longer!
Memory is a wonderful thing because as they do they can see that have backslidden.
God is telling the church at Ephesus to:
• Remember where they once were
• And where they are now spiritually
Before God drops the SPIRITUAL BOMB on them He tells them…
Look at verse 6, but this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate.
What did the Nicolaitanes teach?
He describes them as holding to “the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality. So also, you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitanes” (Rev. 2:14-15).
The Nicolaitanes had dared to insinuate that freedom in Christ granted them a blank check to sin.
We hear this same stuff today we are saved by Grace it does not matter what we do with our bodies.
Paul dealt with this Romans 6:1-2 what shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
What is the precise nature of their sin?
They put a stumbling block in the way of God’s people “so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality” (v. 14).
And how did they behave such that it garnered God's correction and the threat of punishment to those who followed their evil ways?
Look at verse 7, to him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
Our love for the Lord is what makes His church an exciting place to be.
However, it is possible to serve God every day of the week because it is routine, instead of serving Him out of love for Him.
Illus: Did you know that a woman can work at a plant, and quit working there to get married, and if you ask her if she still works, she will say, "No, I do not work anymore. I got married." Does she mean she no longer does any work? Of course not. She gets up early and cooks a breakfast for that man she adores. She scrubs and cleans house, washes clothes, irons, and puts the clothes away, takes care of the other chores, and when it is almost time for him to come home, she cooks a nutritious meal and anxiously waits for him to drive up. Yet she says that she doesn't work! What she means is, that because she loves him, all those things she does do not seem like work.
We have looked at:
I. THEIR LEADER.
II. THE LAMPSTAND.
III. THEIR LABOR.
III. THEIR LEAVING.
But let us look at-
V. THE LESSON.
The lesson to be learned from the church of Ephesus, is that we can go through all the ritualism of worship and service, and still NOT LOVE THE LORD JESUS.
Instead of church being a place where Christians meet because they love the Lord, it can become just a routine thing to do.
Illus: It is possible to:
• To place God's tithes and our offerings in an offering plate and never have God on our minds.
• We can sing beautiful hymns and never think about the words we are singing.
• We can hear wonderful sermons from the Word of God and never allow them to penetrate our hearts.
Jesus said to the church of Ephesus, and other churches that are like them, Verse 5, "Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and I will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent."
Conclusion:
I. THEIR LEADER.
II. THE LAMPSTAND.
III. THEIR LABOR.
IV. THEIR LEAVING.
V. THE LESSON.
