THE FOUR "R"s IN EPHESUS
REV. 2:1-7
(You say there are not four "r"s in Ephesus. In fact there are not any "R" in Ephesus. Well it’s kind of like when I was a boy we said, "Railroad Crossing - look out for the Cars - can you spell THAT without any "r"s T-H-A-T
A. This is actually a Sunday Evening Message: I am preaching a Sunday evening message this morning for two reasons. (1) We don’t have a Sunday evening service tonight and I wanted to preach this today. (2) This is a beginning of a series of messages for Sunday evening and I want you to know what you will be missing next Sunday evening if you are not here. So it kind of like a commercial. If it is a boring message - I might be the only one here next Sunday evening.
A. Actually, what we have here is Matrimonial counseling secession given to a bride to be as she is awaiting her love to come for her. She has a problem. The problem is that she has left her first love. The advice given is the 4 "R"s.
1. Remember - 2. Repent - 3. Repeat - 4. Remove.
B. I love the study of the seven churches of the Revelation. I believe there is a threefold message that God give to us.
1. It is a message to those individual churches.
2. It give us a prophetic picture of the entire church age.
3. There is a lesson in each and every on of these church
for us here at Central Baptist Church.
C. There is a wonderful way to outline the message to each of these seven church.
1. To Whom it is addressed.
2. From whom it comes.
3. The commendation.
4. The condemnation or judgment.
5. A Commission (Something to do)
6. The promise of a special reward for being faithful.
D. * IT WAS ADDRESSED TO Ephesus (desire).
* IT CAME FROM the one who holds the seven stars in his
right hand and walks in the midst of the seven golden
lampstands. Rev. 1:20 is the key.
The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.
* THE COMMENDATION. V-2-3
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.
a. They possessed the 3 great spiritual gifts. - Faith - Hope - Love.
1 Cor. 13:13
And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these
1 Thess. 1:3
Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;
b. They could not bear them that were evil.
They had no tolerance for those who lived wrong. They say you can tell more about people by what they are against that by what they stand for.
c. They put their teachers to the test. This is probably the great wrong of the church in the 20 century. They have permitted doctrine that is not Apostolic. The faith that was once and for all give to the saints.
d. Verse 3 gives their motive: They borne, had patience, and labored . .for His name sake.
* THE CONDEMNATION (what He Had against them)
They had left their first love.
* THE WARNING. (They were in danger of a power failure.)
Explain the Lampstand. Church has no light of her own. It is true that the church is the light of the world but only as it reflects the gospel of Jesus Christ.
If the light goes out in a church it become only a social organization.
T/S VERSE 5 GIVE US THE 4 "R"s FOR THE REMEDY OF THE PROBLEM.
(It is the same 4 "R"s that you and I need to apply the Central Baptist Church.
I. REMEMBER
Rev 2:5 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.
A. The ability to remember is a wonderful attribute of the human race. It brings us both pain and joy. When we recall pleasant thing and experiences of joy in our life it brings us happiness but when we recall sad experiences it bring us pain.
B. I have often tried to think what it would be like to wake up some morning with total amnesia. That would be horrible.
C. The admonition here is to the church and for her to remember from where she has fallen.
*Tell of def. of Backsliding. I heard this definition last week. Ask yourself, - -Have I ever been more advanced or farther ahead with the Lord than I am at this time of my life. If the answer is yes - - however far back you have come is the degree you have backslidden.
D. To Remember What?
Where were you before the Lord found you? Where has He brought you from? Where have you been with the Lord? Where would you be today if it was not for the Lord?
God has always challenged his people to remember these things:
Exodus 13:3 And Moses said unto the people, [Remember] this day, in which ye came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the Lord brought you out from this
Deut. 5:15, And [remember] that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and
Deut. 8:2, And thou shalt [remember] all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee,
Eccl. 12:1, [Remember] now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;
Rev. 3:3, [Remember] therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come
upon thee.
II. THE SECOND "R" IS "REPENT".
A. There are two different teaching about the word "Repent".
(1) To turn around and come back. That is good.
(2) To change you way of thinking. That is good.
Genesis 6:6 And it [repented] the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
B. Obviously the way it is used in the O.T. it means "to change the way you are thinking".
C. Salvation (repentance and faith) will make a difference in the way you live and act and think.
Matt. 9:13, But go ye and learn what
D. We see real repentance in the parable of the 2 sons:
Matt. 21:29, He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he [repented], and went.
E. Repentance and Faith explain in one verse.
Acts 20:21, Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, [repentance] toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
F. We can rest assured that you are out of the will of God if you haven’t repented:
2 Pet. 3:9, The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to [repentance].
G. If you and I have the right kind of love relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ we must be in a constant state of repentance.
III. THE THIRD "R" IS "REPEAT" (and do the first works).
A. Do you remember what you did when you first fell in love the the Lord Jesus?
My personal experience:
1. I could not wait until the next church service.
2. I was thrilled to be able to pray.
3. I was excited about telling other about Jesus.
4. I could not hardly sleep because I found the Word of God so exciting and thrilling - I just wanted to read it night and day.
5. I was so excited about giving.
B. What is the admonition here? Just repeat what we did at first. We don’t need some new program - we need to rekindle an old love flame. We need to go back and repeat what we did at the first.
IV. THE FOURTH "R" IS REMOVE. (I will remove thy lampstand).
A. Do you know the difference between a social club and a church? It is the living light. The church is the light of the world but she has no light of her own she only reflects the light.
If that light goes out - how great is that darkness.
There are some people who need to remove themselves from their present life style.
There are some people who need to remove themselves from the religion they are in.
