REVELATION 2:8-11 SMYRNA BE FAITHFUL UNTIL DEATH2010 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Revelation 2:8-11 Smyrna Be Faithful Until Death

As we continue our study here in the book of Revelation, we're entering into chapter 2, chapter 3, which go together. And we'll be spending some time in these two chapters for the next couple of weeks. And we're preparing ourselves for the next couple of weeks.

for what God wants to do in the rest of the book of Revelation. When we think of Revelation, of course, we think about the future events, the end times, those things that are going to take place. And we are going to get into those things. That's...

predominantly what this book is about. But before God takes us there, He has some foundations to lay in our hearts, some things that He wants to take care of in our hearts and in our lives, and things that are going on right now in our midst. And so He wants to deal with those things in order to prepare us for the future events that are going to take place, those things that we're going to be studying in the coming weeks.

This book is a revelation of Jesus Christ and it's a revelation of Him returning. It's really the climax in Revelation chapter 19 when Jesus returns, His second coming, when He sets foot on the Mount of Olives and it divides in two. But leading up to that are all kinds of events that we'll be reading about through the book of Revelation.

In chapter 1, verse 1, it tells us that these are the things that must shortly take place. This is a revelation of what is going to happen very quickly and very soon. These things which must shortly take place are there on the screen for you. They are the rapture of the church. We'll be hitting that in chapter 4, talking about that, looking forward to what God is going to do as we're caught up together to be with the Lord in the air.

Then after the church is out of the way, the world is going to go through a time of tribulation, seven years of tribulation like the world has never seen before. It's going to be trouble and there's going to be all kinds of difficulties and death and disease everywhere.

and pestilence and war like the world has never seen before. And that's going to be a good portion of what we'll be looking at. The destruction that takes place here on the earth as the wrath of God is being poured out for those seven years. Then...

Going forward we'll see the return of Jesus Christ as He puts an end to it all. He comes at the battle of Armageddon. He puts an end to that battle. He wipes out the enemies and establishes His kingdom for a thousand years. And He rules and reigns on the earth for one thousand years with His saints ruling alongside of Him. And that'll be the church as we come back with Him to rule and to reign with Him for a thousand years.

During that time, those who survived the tribulation, who have not taken the mark of the beast, will enter in and begin to repopulate the earth. The earth will be renewed and restored. It will be a forced righteousness for that thousand years. Satan will be bound for that thousand years. It's just going to be an incredible time, a blessed time upon the earth.

But after that thousand years is up, then Satan is going to be released for a short time. And he's going to lead one final rebellion against God. He's going to lead the people against Jerusalem. But of course, God is going to squash that rebellion. And that will usher in Judgment Day. It will be the Great White Throne Judgment.

where all those who have not received the forgiveness that is offered to us through Jesus Christ will stand before God. And Revelation chapter 20 verse 15 tells us that whoever is not written in the book of life will be cast into the lake of fire. And so that's the final judgment as the devil and his angels are cast into the lake of fire and all the unbelievers, those who have rejected Jesus Christ, will be cast into the lake of fire.

Then from there in chapter 21 and 22 we'll be talking about eternity. God is going to create a new heaven and a new earth, a new Jerusalem and a new work that He's going to do. And eternity, we don't have very...

specific instructions or I'm sorry specific details about eternity we have some insights here and there but for the most part our language cannot describe for us what God has in store for eternity and so we know some things but but

Most of all, we know that it's going to blow our minds. It's going to be beyond our imagination what God has in store for us. And so these are the things that must shortly take place. They're the things that are going to happen very quickly and they're also going to happen very soon. We're going to get to them, but before we do, God has some things in store for us right now.

We looked briefly last week at verse 19 of chapter 1, which gives us an outline of the book of Revelation. It divides it into three parts.

He tells John to write down the things which he has seen. And at that time, as he's given that instruction, the thing which he had seen was the vision of Jesus that we studied last Sunday, there in chapter 1. And so that is the first section of the book of Revelation, the things which he had seen, the vision of Jesus Christ as he was taken by the Spirit to the Lord's day.

Then the second part of the book of Revelation is what we're entering into this morning and we'll spend a couple weeks here looking at the things which are. The things which are here in chapters 2 and 3. These are the things which are presently happening. These are the things that are going on right now. And these are things that God wants to work in before we get to the third section of the book of Revelation. The third section of the book of Revelation.

The third section, he says, to write down the things which will take place. And these are the future events that we think about, mostly when we think about the book of Revelation. The things that are going to happen, the end times events. And we'll see those in chapters 4 through 22.

But before we get there, like I said, there's something that God wants to do in the present. And He tells them to write the things which are. The things which are going on and specifically dealing with the church and the church age. There is a time right now that God is working within us, the church. But His...

And so he's dealing with the church. He's dealing with some issues within these seven churches that he's writing to. But it's not just those seven churches that he's speaking to.

In fact, as we look at these churches over the next couple of weeks, there's four types of application that we can use for these letters or four ways that these letters to the churches are applied.

The first application of these letters, of course, is to the literal church that existed there in 95 AD. At the time that John was writing this, at the time he's receiving the revelation, there literally was a church in Ephesus that Jesus was delivering this message to. And the same goes for all of the other churches. And so the first application, of course, is that, that this is a letter to that church that existed at that time.

But as we go on in the coming weeks, we'll also see the second application of these letters is that each one describes the condition of the global church at a particular time in church history.

We're not going to get into this really today, but in a couple of weeks we will get into it. And looking at how all of the churches in the order that they're in actually have a description or a general description of the global condition of the church for a period of church history. And we'll be looking at that in the coming weeks.

The third way that we understand these letters are applied is that they're applied to individual churches today.

So for example, this church, Calvary Chapel Living Water, there's some things that God wants to speak to this church as a whole through this letter. There's also some things that God wants to speak through this letter to the church across the street and down the street and then over on the other end of town and churches all over the place. There's things that are going on in churches that God wants to speak to and address through these letters.

And then finally, the fourth way that these letters are applied is that they're applied to our own selves. That our hearts need to be challenged. That there's something that God wants to speak to us. And some of the conditions of the churches that he's writing to are parallel with the conditions of

of our own hearts. And as we look at these things, of course, we, you know, we, if you're familiar with the seven churches, you look at the seven churches and there's a couple churches, you know, God doesn't have any rebukes for, but just good things to say about. And in our minds, I think, you know, we kind of,

consider ourselves, you know, we're the good one, you know, that God didn't have to rebuke us about anything. He only has good things to say about us. But I believe that God is wanting to speak to us even through those churches that He rebukes and He has some correction for.

I think a good indication of this is something that Jesus says in every letter to these seven churches. He says in each letter, He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He's speaking to the church in general, but He makes it personal as well. He says, You, individuals...

You who have ears, hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches. Not just to the particular church that you're involved in. The condition of that church might be different than the condition of your own heart. And so you as an individual need to pay attention to what God is saying to the churches because God wants to speak to your heart about certain things.

in preparation for what is to come, He needs to work in our hearts. He needs to deal with some issues that are going on. And so we're looking at the things which are, the things that are happening right now. We'll get there. I know we're excited about the future events and what's coming. But before that, we need to understand that God wants to do a work in our hearts to prepare us for those things that are to come.

And so I want to encourage you to have an ear and to listen up, to pay attention to what God is saying to the church of Ephesus as we study it together this morning. In verse 1, it tells us, Jesus addresses this letter to the angel of the church of Ephesus.

Who is this angel of the church of Ephesus? It's something that's up for much discussion. There's been a lot of discussion about who this angel is and who Jesus is referring to.

Some suggest that the angel is a literal angel. We think of when we think of angel and angelic being a supernatural creature that was created by God. And angels, of course, do exist. And there is spiritual warfare that goes on and they are part of God's plan and part of God's work.

And so according to this, you know, some would suggest then that there are angels that are assigned pretty much to each church. And that is a possibility. There's room in scripture for that to be the case. But I actually hold to a different position because the word angel simply means messenger.

And although it can mean, you know, God's messenger, a supernatural created being, like we think of when we think of angels, it can also be applied to human messengers. It's really those who are just delivering the message of God. And he's writing to the messenger of the church of Ephesus. I believe that he's writing here to the

the pastor of the church of Ephesus. He's entrusting the pastor or the messenger of the church to deliver this letter, to deliver this message to the church. And so I believe Jesus is speaking to the pastor here also because he's including the angel of the church of Ephesus in the things that he's saying. He's writing letters

to this messenger as if he's part of the church and he includes him in the commendation also in the correction and so I think there's some important things that God is speaking through that as well

The church of Ephesus was there and we know a little bit about it because we find it in the scriptures. Ephesus was a big city of that day. It was a prominent city of that day. Today it's located in modern day Turkey and it's pretty much just ruins today.

But it was there on the coast of the Aegean Sea. It was really the most important area or city of the whole area at this time. It was wealthy. There was banks. There was all kinds of commerce that was going through it. Of course, there was all kinds of idolatry and sexual immorality as well, as we see in the scriptures. And so there was a lot of things going on, but it was a

A major hub. It was a big, important city in the area. We know from Acts chapter 19 that Paul was going through there and he found some disciples and they didn't know about the Holy Spirit and so he taught them about the Holy Spirit. They were filled with the Holy Spirit and God began to do a powerful work there in Ephesus. In fact, Paul stayed there for about three years

ministering to the church, building the church and establishing it there in the city of Ephesus. It ended with a riot as the people rose up because they were worried about their business. They were selling all these idols and false gods. The sales were going down because people were getting saved. So there was a big riot. They basically run Paul out of town. But he sends Timothy, you know,

1st and 2nd Timothy here in the New Testament. Paul is writing to Timothy who has been stationed there as a pastor to lead the church and to establish the things that need to be established within the church. So it was a city where God was doing a great work. There was a lot of things happening, but some time has passed. In fact, about 30 years has passed from

The time that Paul was there and Timothy began to pastor there and the writing of this is probably about 30 years. And so you can imagine in 30 years a lot happens. And the church has gone into some things that God needs to correct.

And we'll get to that in a minute. But he also introduces himself to the church of Ephesus. He says, these things, says he who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands.

And so Jesus introduces himself here and in each letter with a different piece of the vision that John saw in chapter 1. Last week we looked at this vision, verse 12 through the end of the chapter, his vision of Jesus and his description of him. And each letter that Jesus writes to these churches says,

He begins by introducing himself and describing himself based upon part of this vision that John saw. And so here he chooses to reveal himself as the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands.

Now, of course, this is symbolic. We learned that in verse 20 of chapter 1, where he interprets for us these symbols. He says, the seven stars are the seven messengers, or the seven angels to the seven churches. And the seven golden lampstands are the seven churches. And so Jesus introduces himself to Ephesus, saying, I'm the one who has the messengers in my right hand, and I'm the one who's in the midst of them.

of the churches. I'm in the midst of the church. I think this is very chosen specifically by Jesus based upon what he's going to say to the church. The issue that he has with the church is that they have left their first love. They're still going to church. They're still busy about the work, but they've forgotten about him. They've forgotten to connect and to...

Have that relationship with Him. And so as He begins, He reveals Himself. He reminds them, Hey guys, I'm here. I've got the messenger in my hand. I'm right here in the midst of the church. You've forgotten about me. You're busy doing all kinds of stuff. But you've forgotten to connect with me.

He's saying, look guys, I'm here in your midst. And this morning we need to know that Jesus is here. He's right here. He is in our midst. And do you know why He is here in our midst? It's because He loves you. And He desires to have a relationship with you. He is interested in you. He's excited about you.

And He's excited when we gather together in His name. He promises us, in fact, as we gather together, He says, when two or three gather together in My name, I'm there in the midst of them. He gets excited about Sunday morning. I think He's more excited about Sunday morning than we are.

Especially most of the time. A lot of times we come in and we're just kind of barely making it. We're dragging our feet. Someone else is dragging us through the doors. We're trying to get some coffee into our system quick so we can kind of wake up and try not to fall asleep in the message because that would be embarrassing. We're getting here, but it's just not that exciting.

I think Jesus is really excited about being here. He's excited when we gather together in His name. He wants to be a part of our lives. He wants us to involve Him in our lives. He's excited about us. So He's here in our midst because He's interested in us and He's involved in our lives. He enjoys intensely and immensely relationship with us. So He introduces Himself to us as the one who's right here in our midst. He's right here with us.

Desiring to meet with us.

Well, as we go forward in this letter to the Church of Ephesus, there's five things that I want to highlight or point out as far as personal application are concerned. We learn from the good things and we also learn from the correction that God gives to the church about how we are to be as believers and the condition that God wants us to be in. And so the first point of application is that we are to work hard, hold fast and persevere.

Work hard, hold fast, and persevere. And that's found in verses 2 and 3. Verse 2 says, As he begins addressing the church now, he starts out by saying, I know your works.

Because He's right there in their midst, He knows what is going on. Do you ever feel like God does not notice what's happening in your life?

Do you ever feel like God's just kind of disconnected? He's not really paying attention and He doesn't see what you're going through? He doesn't see the difficulties that you have? Or perhaps you feel like He doesn't see all that you're doing for Him and how you're working so hard for Him and you think you should be blessed as a result? Like, how come my life isn't blessed? I'm doing all of this for you. Do you ever feel like God just, He's not really aware and not paying attention to what's going on in your life?

Well, it's really not the case. Jesus says, I know your works. And he doesn't just say it to the church of Ephesus. In fact, he says it to each of the churches that he writes to here in chapters 2 and 3. He says, I know your works. Listen, Jesus knows what's going on in your life. He knows what you're involved in. He knows what you do.

Whether good or bad. Does that kind of frighten you a little bit? Does that kind of make you a little uncomfortable? Jesus knows everything about your activities. And He knows all about the things that you watch and the things that you listen to. He knows all about the conversations you have. He knows your works. He knows what you're doing. He knows what you're involved in. Because He's here in our midst.

He knows what's going on. Now as he's writing to the church of Ephesus, he's specifically talking about, he knows what they're involved in and the things that they're doing for him. He says, I know your labor. This word labor, it's similar to works, but it's the idea of working to the point of exhaustion. It emphasizes the weariness or the exhausting effort that is given in a particular work.

And so God is saying, look, I know your works and I know that you're working hard, that you're pushing yourself, that you're exhausted as a result of all the work that you're doing for me. He says, I also know about your patience. This word patience is the idea of long-suffering specifically towards circumstances.

There's another word that's long-suffering towards people. You know, you have to put up with a lot of people. But that's not what he says here. He says, concerning circumstances. I know you're going through difficult times. You're enduring hardship. You're enduring difficulty. You have patience. Patience.

So he's got some good things to say right here at the beginning. I know your works. I know how hard you're working and that you're exhausted from working so hard for me. And you're enduring. You're going through great difficulty. Not only that, he says, I know that you cannot bear those who are evil.

He says, I know, I recognize. You don't put up with those who are involved in sin. You don't put up with those who are practicing a sinful lifestyle. You don't put up with the ungodly. You don't put up and you don't compromise. You don't play around with sin. You don't bear with those who are evil. Not only that, but he goes on to say, you've tested those who say that they're apostles and are not, and you found them out to be liars.

And so we learn here about the church of Ephesus as Jesus is writing to them. It sounds pretty good so far. I mean, they're right on. They're working hard for God. They're enduring. They have, you know, patience and they're not putting up with sin. They're not involving themselves in compromise. Not only that, but they're testing. Testing.

Those who claim to be apostles but really are not. They've got sound doctrine. They've got a firm grasp on the truth, on the Word of God. They're holding fast to the Word of God. Holding fast to the truth. Not only that, verse 3 goes on to say, And you have persevered and have patience and have labored for my name's sake and have not become weary. And so he says, look, you've been faithful. You've persevered through all of this.

And again, you have patience. You're enduring difficult circumstances. He says, you've labored for my name's sake. You're doing things in my name, Jesus says. And you've not become weary. Or in other words, you've not given up. You know, sometimes things get tough, things get difficult, and we just kind of go, well, that was too hard. I'm not going to continue in that. I'm going to take a different route. I'm going to do something else.

But Ephesus didn't do that. They were persistent. They persevered. And yet things were tough and things were difficult. They were exhausted, but they continued on. They pressed forward. And so Jesus says, look, you've been faithful to work hard and to hold fast and to persevere. So far, so good. And these are incredible qualities of the church of Ephesus. These are good things. These are important things.

It's important for us to be involved in works and to labor even to the point of exhaustion. Sometimes we need to give ourselves 110% to the work of God. It's good for us to have patience, to endure difficulty. It's important that we don't compromise and that we don't bear those who are evil, that we don't put up with them and allow them to continue.

It's also important that we have sound doctrine and that we don't allow others to teach us false doctrine, but that we hold firmly and fast to the truth of the Word of God. It's important that we persevere through all of these things that we're going through and to continue on to not give up or to quit in our Christian walk. Those are all important things. They're all good things. But here's the deal. If that is all that our Christian life consists of,

then we are not where God wants us to be. We could easily look at verses 2 and 3 here and say, wow, that's the kind of church that I want us to be, or that's the kind of person that I want to be. That's admirable, great qualities. And it is true, and those are important, and Jesus commends them for it. These should be a part of our lives. But if this is the whole of our Christian life, if that's all there is to it,

then the reality is that we are not where God wants us to be. That we're missing out on something that's vital, on something that is important and crucial. If these are the only things that we have in our spiritual life, then we are just religious. You see, any religion can practice these things.

Any religion can do good works and work hard to the point of exhaustion and be patient and not bear those who practice those things that the religion forbids and not put up with those who teach things contrary to what the religion teaches. Any religion can do those things and practice those things and any religious person can fit the commendation here that's given in verses 2 and 3.

And so they're very religious. And that's not bad. But the problem is, is that's all they are, is religious. They're doing all of these things, but they've missed out on the one who is the most important. They're missing out on relationship with God.

So the first point of application is that we are to work hard, to hold fast and to persevere. These are good things. These are things that God wants us to do. But the second point that we find in verses 4 and 5 is that we are to do the first works. Look at verse 4. He says, Nevertheless, I have this against you, that you have left your first love. So he says, Oh, these are good things. Good job in these areas, guys. Nevertheless, however,

I do have one thing against you guys. There is one problem that I have with you guys. Jesus says, it's not enough to be religious. It's not enough to practice rituals. It's not enough to work hard, to be exhausted from working hard for my name's sake. It's not enough to be patient and to endure and to not give up. Here's the thing I have against you, he says. You have left your first love.

You see, the problem with the church of Ephesus was that they were doing all of these things and they were very faithful and persistent to do those things, but they'd left their relationship with God behind. So they were just religious. They were just practicing these things. Now those things are good, but the proper way that those things are to be done is they're to flow out of our relationship with God. See, God wants to have a relationship with us.

He loves us. He calls us to love Him and to walk with Him. To not just do good things in His name, but to know Him, to talk to Him, to let Him talk to us, to hear from Him, to walk in relationship with Him. And as we walk with God, as we're hearing from Him, spending time with Him, then as a result of that, well, it flows out of us that we begin to, well, to do good works, right?

And to labor even to the point of exhaustion because we love God so much and He's calling us to do things and we're working together and He's accomplishing things in our lives and in our hearts and using us for His glory, for His work. It's awesome. And that's the proper way that it's supposed to be. But somewhere along the way, Ephesus had left Jesus out of the picture. They continued on doing all the stuff, but they were missing out on

on the relationship that God desired to have with them. What was missing there in the church was that original love and passion that they had for God. Now they had it at one time, but not anymore. It was gone. They'd left their first love. All of the things that God commended them for are things that they began to do because of their passion for Him. But now the passion is gone and they're just continuing the routine.

Their religious duties or their obligations. And this is a pattern that we must pay attention to because it's very easy for us to fall into this same position. In fact, I would ask you this morning and I would challenge you to consider. Have you left your first love? Have you left him? I understand this can be a haunting question. But it's an important one that we need to ask.

This letter to the Church of Ephesus is always the most challenging to me personally. Every time I go through this, the Lord asks me that question. Hey Jerry, have you left your first love? It's very easy for me, and I think it's easy for most of us, to get caught up in doing all kinds of things for God, but to leave behind our first love.

It's very easy to get caught up in the routine and in the practice and we're doing all of these things and so we feel pretty good. But at the same time, miss out on a daily relationship with God. Miss out on the love and passionate relationship that He desires to have with us.

You know, we do need to be doing all of the things. We do need to be involved in the works that God has called us to be involved in. We do need to endure and persevere and stand for the truth and sound doctrine. But it must flow out of our love for God and our passion for Him. You know, there's a difference.

There's a difference between doing all of those things and doing all of those things as a result of our relationship with God. There is a difference and we know it. We know it. Even though we don't like to acknowledge it all the time, we know it. There is a difference. So this morning I challenge you to take a good look at your spiritual life. How is it? How are you? Have you left your first love?

Now don't just look at what you do for God. So you look at your spiritual life and you say, well I do this and I do that and I do this and I do that. Okay, I guess I'm good. I'm pretty good. Don't just look at what you do, but consider how's your devotional life? How's your time when it's just you and the Lord? How much time do you spend just the two of you? Just you and Him. How much time do you spend with God personally? Individually?

Not in church, not, you know, at Bible studies, not hanging out with other Christians, just you and the Lord. How much time do you spend with Him personally? What's that time like? How fresh and exciting is that personal time that you have with Him? Have you left your first love? Have you gone away from that time with Him that's exciting, that's vibrant, that's fresh? Where God's speaking to your heart and you're sharing yours with Him and

You're experiencing that relationship with God. Do you have a real relationship with God? This is what God wants. This is the whole point of Jesus going to the cross. Not just so that we don't go to hell. Of course God wants that. He wants to save us from hell. But more importantly, He wants relationship with us. He sent His only begotten Son so that we can have access to Him.

Jesus paid the ultimate price so that we can enjoy relationship with Him because He desires to know us and for us to know Him. That's why we exist. That's why He created Adam and Eve in the very beginning. To be able to have that relationship with us. To allow us to get to know Him. That's the point. That's His point. That's His purpose. But do you have that real relationship with Him? Have you left your first love? The word left means

literally means to send away, to dismiss, or to forsake. He doesn't say you've lost your first love, as if, you know, oops, you know, kind of by accident, you just misplaced that love that you had for God. And he says you've left it. When Jesus was there on the cross and he cries out, it is finished, and then he dismisses his spirit and he dies at that point, that's the same word here for left. When Jesus dismissed, he sent it away.

He said, it's finished, the work is done. He dismissed his spirit. In the same way, the church of Ephesus had dismissed, had sent away their first love. Almost as if it was, you know, they first encountered the Lord, they got excited about Him, He did an awesome work, He transformed their lives, they got involved, they're doing the work of God, and as they're doing the work of God, they say, alright, Jesus, thanks, you got us this far, perfect, we'll take it from here.

We'll call you when the next bill is due, when the next hard time hits, but for now, we got it, man. This is awesome. We're going forward. It's so easy for us to fall into that same trap, isn't it? We get kind of, you know, okay, God corrects the situation. He changes our lives. Oh, we're blessed. And so we continue on doing the good stuff, but we leave Him behind. We leave Him out of the picture. I don't really have time, God, but we try to offer substitutions, right?

Sorry, Lord, I know you want to spend time with me, but I'm really busy. I'm just going to give a little bit extra when the offering comes around. Hopefully, that will make up for I haven't been able to spend much time with you. Or, yeah, I know, Lord, but maybe I'll just do this over here. I'll give this way or I'll serve that way and that will kind of compensate for, make up for, substitute for the personal time that you want with me.

that passionate relationship that you desire. I really can't give that right now, God. I'm sorry, but maybe you'll take this in its place. They left their first love. I think God wants to challenge our hearts this morning. Have you left your first love? Have you sent him away and dismissed him, saying, thanks for your help, I'll take it from here. Now, if that's our condition, the good news is God tells us how to correct it.

As we go on in verse 5, he says, So he tells them how to correct it. How do you fix this situation? If you've left your first love,

Well, it's similar to really how you began your walk with God. When you began your relationship with God. He tells them three things. Remember, repent, and repeat. Remember, repent, and repeat. He says, first of all, remember therefore from where you have fallen. First of all, He wants us to acknowledge our condition. He wants us to acknowledge where we're at and where we've fallen to. He says, think back. Think back.

to how it used to be. Think back to what it was like when you first encountered Jesus. Maybe your spouse kind of gives you a similar exhortation. Hey, remember how it used to be when you were wanting me to marry you? And you were sending me cards and flowers and writing me poems and singing me songs and spending time with me? What happened to those days? How come it's not like that anymore?

And in a similar way, Jesus says, hey, remember what it used to be like. Back when I first came into your life and you were excited about me and you were passionate about me and there's a fire in you. You were burning on fire.

with excitement, with zeal. Oh, you loved me so much and you were excited to open up my word in the morning and to hear from me and you opened and you wanted me to speak to you and you were calling out for me to speak to you and to give you direction. What happened to those days? Oh yeah, maybe you still read your Bible, maybe you still spend time in the word, but

There's no expectation. There's no fire. There's no zeal. There's no waiting for God to direct you because you already know the way that you need to go. God says, remember the way it used to be. Man, you used to spend time worshipping Me. And you weren't just singing the songs, but you were giving yourself. They were heartfelt. You were surrendering to Him. It was you singing to Me with not just your voice, but your very soul. Remember the times when

You know, there was opportunity and, oh man, you were so excited to tell people about how I was working in your life and the things I'd spoken to you and the things I was doing, the things I've said. What happened to those days? God says, remember from where you've fallen. Remember what it was like. Remember where you were and acknowledge where you are now. Acknowledge how that has died, how you've left your first love. Remember when you were passionate about God. God wants you to remember that.

Because those days aren't over. Those days aren't done. It's not that, you know, you begin passionate and exciting and God's working and then, you know, the rest of your Christian life is just ho-hum. No. Do you understand that what we have in relationship with God is we have a relationship with an infinite, almighty creator? How could that get boring? How could that get dull? How could that get humdrum? He has...

New things for us continually. There's new depths for us to explore of who He is. There's much reason for us to be passionate and zealous about Him and about our relationship with Him. Have we left our first love? We need to remember from where we've fallen. Remember that passion and that zeal that we once had. And then He tells them to repent. First of all, acknowledge where you're at. Remember where you came from. Look at where you're at now and repent. Repent.

Now, when I think of the word repent, I usually associate it with unbelievers. You know, it's something that goes along with the gospel message. You need to believe in Jesus Christ. You need to repent of your sins. Turn and follow Him.

But it's interesting as we look at these seven letters to the churches here in chapters 2 and 3. Five out of the seven churches, Jesus gives this command to repent. This is not just a word and a message for unbelievers. This is God's message to the church. Listen, we need to repent. The word repent means to have a regret that's accompanied by a true change of heart towards God.

It is to be sorrowful. It is to have regret. But there's also another word that means to have regret because of the consequences of one's actions. And sometimes, you know, we get the speeding ticket as the consequence of the speed that we were driving. And we have a regret because of this...

that we have to make, this fine that we have to pay. That's a different kind of regret. This is a regret that is accompanied by a real change of heart towards God. This means it's a regret that is accompanied with a change of life, a change of action, a change of our lifestyle. It changes what we do and how we live. We're talking about real change.

He tells the church of Ephesus, repent. What you guys need to do is change. Remember how it used to be. Look at where you're at now. You need to change. You need to stop being the way that you are now. And you need to turn around and have a real transformation take place in your life. Repent. It's a message for us. And then he calls us to repeat. He says, repent and do the first works.

Repeat the first works. Go back and do what you were doing in the beginning. Go back and do those things that you were doing at the beginning of your relationship with God. Back when you were in love with Jesus. Go back to that time and go do those things. Now there's four things that we share with those who go on the field at the Harvest Crusade. Those who have just accepted the Lord, we encourage them in four specific things that they can do to begin their walk with God.

Read your Bible, pray, fellowship, and share what God's done in your life. Those four things are, it's a good starting place. It's a good start for our Christian walk. We need to go back and do those things. But not just do them routinely or as a ritual or as an obligation. But to go back to the heart. It's really the heart that God's interested in. It's the heart that needs to change.

So that spending our time reading the Bible is not just checking off a thing on our to-do list for the day, but spending the time in the Word is a real time of waiting on the Lord, of giving Him time and opportunity to speak to us, asking Him for direction, relying upon Him, acknowledging our need and really our desperation for Him to work in our lives, recognizing, hey, we're not self-sufficient. We don't have what it takes.

We can't live this life on our own. We need God involved in our lives. That's how it was at the beginning. But now we've just become very self-reliant. We're okay with how we are and who we are and how we do the things that we do.

He says, go back and do the things that you did at first. Remember when you used to rely upon me and you used to be praying to me throughout the day as different situations happened? Remember when you would spend time with me in the Word and not just read through it to cross it off your list? Remember the time when I would give you opportunity to share and you'd be excited and you'd be sharing with others the things that I was doing in your life? Those things can just be routine and ritual, but they also can be full of life.

as you give God that time and that opportunity to meet with you. Spend time with God personally. Worship Him on a regular basis, passionately, involving yourself, engaging. Serve God with great joy. Center your day and your life around who He is and what He wants to do. He says, you've left your first love, go back and do the first works. You see, love is a choice.

It's a decision. It's a commitment. There are feelings and emotions that are associated with love. But those feelings and those emotions are not what love is. Love is a choice. It's a decision. And God is calling Ephesus and He's calling you and I today to love Him, to choose, to give our lives to Him, to commit ourselves to Him, to surrender fully to Him. So He says, remember from where you've fallen. Repent.

And repeat, go back and walk with me like you used to. And God's serious about this. He goes on to say, or else. He says, or else. This is not just an idle threat. God's not just messing around. He says, look, if you don't repent, if you don't go back and...

Rediscover that passion, that fire that you once had for me. He says, I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place unless you repent. You must repent. Otherwise, I'm coming and I'm going to take away the lampstand. This church will be no more, God says, unless you rediscover a relationship with me. And he speaks to us individually and personally. He says, look, you will have nothing. It's not enough to be religious, to have rituals. You need to go back.

And discover what it means to walk with me. To have a real relationship with me. To hear from me. To share your life with me. God wants a loving relationship with every one of us. And He will not accept anything else. Religious ritual is not enough. Good doctrine is not enough. We must have right relationship with Him. So the first point is to work hard, to hold fast, to persevere. The second point is to do the first works.

The next couple we'll go through pretty quickly. Point number three is to hate the deeds that God hates. Verse six says, but this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

The deeds of the Nicolaitans is something, again, that is up for discussion. It's not exactly definite what God is referring to and what deeds are being practiced here. There's two primary thoughts about what the deeds of the Nicolaitans are. The first is based upon the name Nicolaitans.

is two words put together which literally means to rule over the people. And so many believe that this was a spiritual kind of a hierarchy that was being set up, a religious system where you had to come to someone else who would then go to God on your behalf. And that is definitely something that God hates. There's one mediator between God and man, the scripture tells us, and that man is Jesus Christ.

There's one mediator between us and God, and that's Jesus Christ. There's no one else that we have to go through in order to get to God. No, Jesus Christ paid the price so that we have full access to God. And so setting up that type of religious hierarchy where you have to come to God through these other people, that is something that God hates, and that is definite. That is for sure. Another opinion of what might be referred to here, though, with the deeds of the Nicolaitans,

was the teaching of a false teacher at that time or around that time which taught that you can be a Christian and you can be saved but you can involve yourself in sexual immorality and practice these things that God had forbidden. And so of course those deeds as well God hates and he forbids and so he says this is something that you have for you. Although you've left your first love he says at least I can say that you hate the things that I hate.

Do you hate the practices, the deeds that I hate? That's a good point for us to consider. Do you hate the deeds that God hates? I'm not talking about hating people, but hating practices, hating sin. The idea here is that we have the same perspective on sin. Do you agree with God about sin? Or do you practice the things that He hates? Or do you pay to watch the things that He hates? Do you hate the things or the deeds that God hates?

Romans chapter 1 talks about this. The Apostle Paul talks about those who know the righteous judgment of God. They know what's right. They know who God is. But they still involve themselves in sin. And not only that, he says, but those who approve those who practice those sinful things. There's a danger here. There's a warning here. We need to be careful. Not only that we don't practice those deeds that God hates, but that we don't approve of those who practice those things.

We need to have the same perspective, the same view of sin that God has. Point number four, hear what the Spirit says. Verse seven says, to him, he who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. Every parent knows that just because you have ears doesn't mean that you're listening. I think every spouse knows that too. Just because a person has an ear doesn't mean that they're listening. That's what's being said here. You have an ear,

So here, don't tune them out. Don't let it go in one out and out the other. Are you listening? Are you paying attention? Are you seriously considering how this letter applies to you? That's what God wants you to do. He wants you to take it seriously and ask the questions and consider, have I left my first love? Hear what the Spirit says to the churches. Don't just consider yourself as fine. Don't just, you know, count yourself as the awesome Christian.

Consider, pay attention, listen up, because God wants to speak to your heart. Number five, he calls us to overcome. He says, to him who overcomes, I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. The tree of life here is something that is referenced to eternity. We'll see it in Revelation chapter 22. There the tree of life planted before the throne of God. So he says, to the one who overcomes, he calls us to overcome.

He says to the church of Ephesus, you've fallen, you need to repent, you need to go back and do those things that you did at the beginning. You need to overcome. What are the things that are keeping you from returning to a loving relationship with God? What are those things that are holding you back? God says, overcome them. Be victorious.

Don't just sit there as the victim. Oh, I can't really love God. I can't really serve Jesus. I can't really spend time with God. I'm too busy. I've got this going on in my life and these situations and that makes it tough. Listen, don't be the victim. Overcome. Overcome. God will help you. He'll work in your life. Overcome. He wants you to have relationship with Him. It's His command to you. He will enable you. He will equip you. He will make the way. If you're willing, He'll help you do it.

Overcome. Be victorious. What's holding you back? Is it pride that's holding you back? You don't know what people are going to think. You don't know what's going to happen. Oh, it's scary. What are they going to say? Listen, don't fear man. The best man can do is put you to death. But you need to fear God who after he's put you to death, he can cast your soul into hell. That's what Jesus said. Let's throw down our pride. Let's overcome.

Is it sin that you're holding on to that you just don't want to let go? Overcome. That will destroy your life. God wants to give you abundant life. Overcome. Be victorious. Listen up. God wants to speak to you. And He wants to speak to you through this letter. He wants to call us back to a right relationship with Him. The worship team is going to come up and lead us in a couple songs. And as they do, I want to ask you this morning...

to take these things seriously, to spend some time with God, to ask Him to search your heart and to reveal to you these issues. Maybe you're unaware of them, like Ephesus was. Maybe this is a shock to you. Maybe there's some things in your life that God still needs to speak to your heart that He hasn't revealed yet. Let's take some time to allow God to minister to us.

Let's just take some time to worship Him together. Let's go back and do the first works. Let's worship Him like we used to. Let's sing, not just with our voices, but with our whole being. Let's give ourselves to God. Let's worship the Lord together. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.