Intro: (Start w/Blank)
PREACHER found a shoe box in a closet. Opened it and found strange contents. Inside was an egg carton with 5 eggs inside. Next to the eggs was a stack of bills that totaled over 10,000 dollars.
As soon as his wife walked thru the door he stopped her to ask if she knew anything about this odd combination. ¡¥Yes, dear, after we got married I decided that after every sermon you preached if it was a bad one I would put an egg in this shoebox¡¦. The preacher thought with pride about all the years they had been married and that only 5 eggs were in the box. ¡¥But honey, what about the 10,000 dollars?¡¦ ¡¥Oh, well every time I got a dozen eggs I sold them¡¦.
I wonder what Jesus would think if he were standing here right now. We give the pulpit to him and let him tell us, good, bad, indifferent he speaks and we listen. We hear every word he says. I wonder what he would tell us about our attitudes, our vision for this church, our relationships inside and outside the church. Would he point to the future and tell us amazing things are going to continue to happen? Would he tell us to caution us about the future? Would he tell us about the past? Could he name everyone in the picture out in the hallway, and would he smile when he gave the names? Would he scold us for the direction we¡¦ve come, or how we got here? Would he say something like ¡V if you don¡¦t remember the past you will relive it, and if he did, would it make a difference? Would his ideas be so radical that we¡¦d march him to the town square for a hanging? Would we embrace his message with love and affection?
Discussion:
Here¡¦s my belief ¡V we have a letter from Jesus. Yeah, sure, you don¡¦t have him in front of you, but you have his words. He cared enough about the church he told John, the disciple, to write these things down. He did that seven times to seven different churches. Each is a letter to a specific church, for a specific reason and with a specific outcome in mind. I believe we could take parts from each letter and apply those parts to this church in Piggott. This morning we are going to start with the first letter to the church in Ephesus. (Advance) ¡V Scripture is on two slides break at vs. 5
Turn with me to Revelation 2:1-7 (Read)
So what is Jesus telling us this morning? I believe he¡¦s telling us to look back. We are to remember 3 things this morning (Advance)
I. Remember your Passion (1-3)
As we go through these 3 things see if they apply to your life or not. Are you doing what is being honored here, if so ¡V good, if not ¡V why not? (Advance)
a. He gives honors the church (Advance)
i. I know your deeds
Gives the idea that Jesus is watching this church especially. He knows what they are doing, what they spend their money on, how their leaders act. He¡¦s speaking for the church in general ¡V He says: (Advance)
1. Your hard work
This hard work is a blisters on the hands kind of word. When we were kids we had two gardens. And we were expected to keep the weeds out of the garden. This meant hours and hours of hoeing the rows and getting the weeds out. I remember pulling my gloves off one time and I had blisters on the sides of my thumbs ¡V that¡¦s this word.
This is the word Simon uses when Jesus was calling them to be disciples. They had been fishing for along time. They had caught nothing Jesus tells them in (Advance)
Luke 5:4-6¡K"Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch."
5Simon answered, "Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets."
6When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. (Advance)
a. Jesus honors their hard work
If Jesus were here right now physically would he thank you for your hard work? Are there roles in this church you could do, but you aren¡¦t for whatever reason?
Jesus says: Thank you for: (Advance)
2. Your perseverance
When I was a young boy we lived in Fort Worth, Texas. I know that destroys your view of me, I was born in Texas. We¡¦d go to the Mesquite Rodeo. I think you can still see this rodeo on TV, on Saturday nights. Anyway, they¡¦d do something really stupid, they¡¦d allow all the young kids to get in the arena with a calf and the kid who could chase after this calf and get this ribbon off the calf would win a prize. There was a kid one time bigger than the rest of us, and he got to the calf first. The ribbon was attached a little better than it should have been and the poor kid probably would have won if he had just let go of the ribbon ¡V but he wouldn¡¦t let go. He was bound and determined that he was not going to get the ribbon. This word perseverance means that you grab the ribbon and hang on for dear life. It means to stand fast, to stand one¡¦s ground and to wait patiently.
If you think about it ¡V that¡¦s what the church was doing. They were working hard and had perseverance. (Advance)
3. You don¡¦t tolerate Wicked men
This word tolerance has reared its ugly head again. When someone stands up for what they believe they are being intolerant of someone else and according to our media and news that¡¦s a bad thing. Jesus says ¡V when you tell the wicked men to leave and don¡¦t join them ¡V that¡¦s the right thing to do. When you separate yourselves physically from what they do ¡V that¡¦s the right thing to do¡K.and you church are doing the right thing.
There is a place for the love of Christ and we should always speak the truth in love. Jesus isn¡¦t suggesting that we cast out people or even pass undue judgment on others, but he does commend them for not accepting the wickedness.
Do we do the same? Is the leadership in this church strong enough to go against wickedness when they see it? Someone tries to tell lies about another, spreading gossip ¡V is it the leadership that stops the gossip? Did you follow me ¡V I went from wickedness to gossip „³ according to the bible they are the same thing. It could mean false teachers, or people who simply have the wrong motives. Regardless we need leadership that will stand up and be commended for doing the right thing in hard situations. I have to tell you ¡V our leadership has handled at least one situation that was to put it lightly out of the comfort zone. And they were honored by God for doing the right thing. You will always be honored by God for doing the right thing! Regardless of what men think or say or do, it matters what God says and what he thinks. (Advance)
4. You have tested false apostles
This means that they studied the life of those claiming to be apostles. They found out they weren¡¦t apostles and then proved it because of truth. The only way you can know something is false is to have the true thing to compare it to. They knew what it meant to be a real apostle, and knew what those claiming to be were doing ¡V they found them to be false and stood their ground. Jesus says, congratulations, you have done a good thing. (Advance)
5. You have persevered hardships & and have not grown weary.
Are you growing weary in your Christian life? You try to do the right things, you try to say the right things, but somehow it¡¦s easier not to. Somehow it¡¦s easier to throw a punch than walk away. It¡¦s easier to tell a small white little lie, than to tell the truth. It¡¦s easier to be stuck in the rut of sin, than to chart another course. Are you weary this
morning? Maybe you¡¦ve seen the bumper sticker ¡V ¡§When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping.¡¨ The natural human response to hardship is to avoid it. It¡¦s so easy to give up and grow weary. Not just in the Christian walk but in life as well. It¡¦s so easy to say ¡V I¡¦d be better off dead ¡V Just let me die! (Advance)
Jeremiah 31:5 ¡V ¡§I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint."
The church in Ephesus stood their ground. They knew their doctrine. They knew God¡¦s word inside and out front wards and backwards. They could quote John 3:16, 17, 18 & 19. Biblically sound, YES! Doctrinally Correct, YES! Standing for Truth, YES! Holding their ground, YES!
If Jesus could tell the church anything right now he would say -- (Advance)
II. Remember Who You Are (4-5)
You are doing all those things just mentioned but I hold this one thing against you.
a. You have forsaken your first love
What does it mean to forsake your first love? What does it look like? Let me say it this way:
(Repeat, ¡§I have left my first love¡¨ after each):
1. When my delight in the Lord is no longer as great as my delight in someone else¡K
2. When my soul doesn¡¦t long for times of rich fellowship in the Word or in prayer¡K
3. When I rationalize my sin away by claiming to be ¡§only human¡¨ and easily give in to those things I know displease the Lord¡K
4. When I do not cheerfully give to God¡¦s work or to the needs of others¡K
5. When I cease to treat every Christian brother and sister as I would the Lord¡K
6. When I view the commands of Christ as restrictions to my happiness rather than expressions of His love¡K
7. When I seek for the acclaim of this world rather than the approval of God¡K
8. When I fail to make Christ or His words known to others b/c I fear rejection¡K
9. When I refuse to give up an activity that I know is offending a weaker brother¡K
10. When I become complacent to sinful conditions around me¡K
11. When I am unable to forgive another person for offending me¡K
12. When I cling to forms and methodologies that no longer work, but hold onto them simply for tradition¡¦s sake¡K
13. When I spend more energy on serving the machinery of churchianity than on serving Jesus Christ¡K
14. When I just ¡§go through the motions¡¨ at church, and end up turning my relationship with Christ into a religion about Christ¡K
15. When my devotion is more to the church itself than to the Savior of the church.
¡KI have left my first love.
Have you on your own personal level forgotten who you are? Do you remember that you are Christian when others offend you? Do you remember you are Christian when you have the chance to tear someone down with the words you say? Do you remember you are Christian when you don¡¦t read your bible daily? Do you remember you are Christian when you don¡¦t pray to your savior daily? I have said this several times over the last few weeks. Christianity is holding on to the hand of our savior.
This church in Ephesus they were Bible Bowl winners. They could answer every trivia question about the bible like ¡V Where did Cain¡¦s wife come from? If God can do anything can he make a rock so big even he can¡¦t lift it. They knew all the answers. But ¡V and I think this is where some of us fit in ¡V they didn¡¦t have it here at the heart. They were all mind and no heart. They were full of words about love for God and so empty on action. They had lost their direction about the important things.
They changed the things they were doing from the first. See this was a loving church. Paul planted this church, he gave it to Timothy. It was a loving church, it was a growing church and it was a healthy church but something happened. Jesus tells gives them a help, he tells them what to do.
I don¡¦t know if you have ever done anything stupid to your wife or your husband. We can think of this as romantic love. I have done so many stupid things in my marriage I couldn¡¦t buy her enough roses to make up for them all.
If we could do something this morning. I want to pass out roses to everyone here. We think of roses as a symbol of love. When you give someone a rose you are saying ¡V you are most important in my life. That¡¦s what this word means. Most important. When you get the rose I want you to accept it as a token from Jesus telling you to come back to your first love. I want you to smell the rose and ask yourself ¡V Just personally ¡§Have I forgotten my first love?¡¨ Jesus gives them help, he tells them what to do. (Advance)
b. Remember the height from which you have fallen
Euegene Peterson¡¦s the Message says this:
What¡¦s going on with you anyway? Do you have any idea how far you have fallen? A Lucifer fall! They were guilty of bragging about what they had done in the past. The past ministries, the past attendance, they were so caught up in the past the future was getting away from them. Jesus says, yeah you might have been great in the past ¡V but you have fallen from that height. (Advance)
c. Repent and do the things you did at first
You know when you cared about your calling. When you sent roses to your first love regardless of the occasion. When you sat and studied God¡¦s word for hours and then prayed over it. When you not only did the right thing but you were proud to do the right thing. This repent always in scripture has one meaning ¡V when an army troop is walking one way and the drill sergeant wants them to turn the opposite direction he says ¡V ABOUT FACE! This is when you examine your life and your heart and you see if there is anything within you that is unholy.
Let¡¦s bring this home ¡V are the books you read holy? What about the music you listen to? What about the words you say? Are you thoughts holy? Chris DeWelt said this, ¡§It¡¦s easy to have integrity when I am holding the communion plate, but not I have the remote in my hands.¡¨ What I am saying is this ¡V in order for you, in order for the church, this church to move forward we have to repent and get rid of those things that drag us down. It¡¦s easier to hold on to that guilt and shame, it¡¦s easy to hold on to the lust we have in our hearts. It¡¦s easy to hold the un forgiveness on our shoulders so we can pull it out every time we are offended again. This starts with you and it starts with me. It¡¦s so easy for a preacher to stand up here and say you need to do this and you need to do that¡K.it¡¦s tempting. But I know that I fall short in this area too.
Jesus gives them a warning. (Advance)
d. If You don¡¦t repent
If you know what you should do and don¡¦t do it. If your hearts are so hardened by life. If you choose this world over my calling for you -- (Advance)
e. I will come (this is in the negative) (Advance)
f. And will remove your lampstand
In other words if you disobey and go against this warning, You will no longer be a beacon of hope, a light in the dark work, an instrument of righteousness ¡V you will become a museum. You will be nothing more than a memory. In other words God is saying ¡V church, it¡¦s my way or the highway!
He tells them to remember one more thing and this is probably the most important: (Advance)
III. Remember the promise (6-7)
Jesus commends them again. The flow the text is ¡V You are doing something right, You are doing something very wrong ¡V you are doing something right again. Something I found strange in this text is he condemns them for forgetting their first love, but praises them for hating something. He says this in verse 6 --
a. BUT ¡V you have this in your favor
You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans. I have studied and studied and studied and still don¡¦t know who the Nicolaitans are. They are probably not a race but a people group who have or have had some authority in the church and have taken the church in the wrong direction. This is probably, in my best guess connected to them testing the apostles and finding them false. Notice he doesn¡¦t say that he hate the people, he hates their actions. God¡¦s reaction over and over, time after time towards sin is hatred towards it. Think about this. It was God¡¦s love that motivated him to send Jesus to the cross, but it was also God¡¦s hatred for sin. He hates sin so much he wanted to do away with it because it causes a barrier between himself and his creation. (Advance)
b. Jesus gives a promise: (Advance)
To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life which is in the paradise of God.
c. Heaven is the promise.
d. You endure hardships because of heaven
e. You overcome because of heave
f. You get past your failure because of heaven (Advance) „³ Blank
Conclusion:
I am convinced that we will be with God. He will bring us home. I want to go home. We¡¦ve traveled so far, we¡¦ve endured, we¡¦ve persevered, we¡¦ve tested and carried on. I hope this morning we¡¦ve renewed our love. I want to be with Jesus. I want to sing praises to him and be found faithful. I want to be in the place where there are no small caskets, no weeping mothers, no divorce papers, no scandals, no heartaches and no more pain, every tear wiped away, every sorrow just a memory. I want to shed this robe of flesh and have my body restored (can I get an AMEN). I want so badly to be with Jesus. Do you want that this morning? Do you wonder why you should endure ¡V the promise of heaven. The promise of not having to just hold his hand but you can be in the arms of Jesus and do what the bible says ¡V reign with him on high.
If you have never accepted Jesus as Lord and savior. If you have never taken the walk down the aisle and proclaimed him as LORD. Do that this morning. Maybe your desire is to place fellowship with this body of Christ, we¡¦d love to have you. Come this morning as we stand and sing.
