The Battle Cry Of Love Series

Revelation 2:1-7. [2:1]"To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: 'The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands. [2]"'I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. [3]I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary. [4] But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. [5] Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. [6] this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. [7] He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.' (ESV)

In a shocking invasion, not normally seen in North America, last week an organized mob interrupted a worship service in Minnesota. Shouting loud grievances, the mob hurled accusations at the congregation, and sought to intimidate them in order to get a reaction. Ironically, claiming freedom of speech and assembly, the mob denied the same to the congregation that was gathered for worship. Besides US law that protects assembly, in Canada, as we publically post on our board at the back, under Section 176 of the Canadian Criminal Code, it is a criminal offense to obstruct or prevent worship, threaten violence in participation or otherwise disturb or interrupt an assembly of persons met for religious worship or for a moral, social, or benevolent purposes. The accusation from this mob was that if the assembled worshippers truly were loving they would be doing other things to show that love.

Indeed, many things are to characterize Christians, but the supreme characteristic of a genuine Christian is love for God. We show that love in genuine worship. When challenged to name the single greatest commandment of the law, Jesus replied, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment” (Matt. 22:37–38). He challenged His disciples to make love for Him the highest priority of their lives: “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me” (Matt. 10:37–38). In John 14:21, 23 He added, “He who has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him. … If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.” True children of God, Jesus declared, will love Him (John 8:42; cf. 1 Pet. 1:8) and be known by Him (1 Cor. 8:3). To discern Peter’s spiritual condition, Jesus asked him three times, “Do you love Me?” (John 21:15–17). Paul defined Christians as those controlled by “the love of Christ” (2 Cor. 5:14). Those who love Jesus Christ are blessed (Eph. 6:24); those who do not are cursed (1 Cor. 16:22). While love for the Lord Jesus Christ will always be present in true Christians, it can fluctuate in its intensity. Christians will not always love Jesus Christ with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to fail to do so is sin. There is no better illustration in Scripture of the seriousness of allowing love for Christ to wane than this letter to the church at Ephesus.

(7 CHURCH SLIDE)

As we saw last week, the seven churches addressed in Revelation chapters 2 and 3 were actual existing churches when John wrote. But while not precisely duplicated, they also represent the types of churches that are generally present throughout the entire church age. Five of the seven churches (Smyrna and Philadelphia being the exceptions) were rebuked for tolerating sin in their midst, not an uncommon occurrence in churches since. The problems in those five churches ranged in severity from waning love at Ephesus to total apostasy at Laodicea. Further, any church in any age could have a mixture of the sins that plagued these five churches.

Believers are called to minister in the midst of a war. Not only do they face opposition from Satan and his demonic impact, but within themselves, our own human flesh is subject to fatigue, distraction and at times coldness of heart. To combat these forces both internally and externally that lure us to self-indulgence and coldness of heart, we must hear the “Battle Cry of Love” from Christ in Revelation 2.