Monday Sept 28th 2009

GOD’S GLORIOUS CHURCH Part 2.

Rev. 2;1-7 (Ephesian Church letter)

To the angel^[a] of the church in Ephesus write:
These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands: ²I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. ³You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. ⁴Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. ⁵Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. ⁶But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. ⁷He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

These letters usually used in judgemental way.

Jesus wants a perfect Church. Comes and says: here’s what’s wrong – put it right, be perfect.

v2; Holds stars in right hand; Rev 1;20. He reveals Himself to each Church in a different way: To this church he is the one who holds the leaders of the Church in His Right hand: Right Hand = power/authority.

All Power/auth His…

He ‘walks in the midst’ – He is in the middle of His Church; Never forget it; It is HIS CHURCH! (We have in the past!)

‘Angel’ held directly responsible for spiritual welfare of church. Ministry not a lordship, but a service. Business of the minister to hear for the church, which has been committed to his care. He is to receive the word from the mouth of the Lord and to deliver it faithfully to His church and to see that it is accepted and observed.

It is ; Golden: Very precious. Gold often speaks of Deity, Divinity. So we are His.

It is : Lamp stands: NOT Candlestick. We are The light of the world. We hold forth His light, not our own. A candle burns by self consumption. A lamp stand burns from the oil, a type of the Holy spirit. We only burn as we are filled with the Spirit. John 8;12 “I am the light of the world”. But Matt 5;14-16 Ye are the light of the world.

Ephesians 5:8
For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: Eph 5;13-14 . But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, ¹⁴for it is light that makes everything visible.

Christ and His church are inseparable; we are called to let the light of God shien forth trough us to the darkness of the world around us. 2 Cor 4;5-6 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. ⁵For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. ⁶For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”^[a]made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

Danger: If the light is darkness; Matt 6:23 ” If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness! (NKJ)

v2 It was a good Church -Rev 2;2 Worked hard. Rev 2:2 I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. (NIV) – cp nkj

Your hard work. Lord is very conscious of our works or lack of them.

Matthew 5:16
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Nb; GOOD Works. Plenty who do works which don’t glorify the Lord – even healings etc. see;

Matthew 7:22
Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

There is a reward for those who have served faithfully

Matthew 16:27
For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.

Titus 2:14
Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

Nb; Not saved thru works;

Ephesians 2:9
Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Persevered – it’s easy to give up. Greek: hupomeno

1) steadfastness, constancy, endurance

a) In the NT the characteristic of a man who is not swerved from his deliberate purpose and his loyalty to faith and piety by even the greatest trials and sufferings

b) patiently, and steadfastly

2) a patient, steadfast waiting for

3) a patient enduring, sustaining, perseverance

So whats so special about hupomeno? Without perseverance we will only follow the Lord when it’s comfortable. We’ll only follow the Lord when it’s convenient. Endurance keeps us following the Lord when it’s not comfortable and when it’s not convenient.

John writing in Revelation 13 says this “He who has an ear to hear let him hear. If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity he will go. If anyone is to be killed with a sword, with a sword he will be killed. This calls for endurance – hupomeno – and faithfulness on the part of the saints.”

We don’t like to hear this. Today there’s too much triumphalism. Sure, we’re going to win eventually, but John is saying, some of you are going into captivity. Some of you are going to be killed. There’s going to be no dramatic rescue. Superman isn’t going to dive out of the sky! It’s not going to be comfortable; you’re going to go through it. What you’re going to need is endurance. Without endurance you can’t live the Christian life in that context.

The writer of Hebrews writes to Christians many of whom who had served God initially with great diligence. Now the times are tough and they’re thinking about quitting. That’s why he wrote Hebrews. Heb 10; 31-34 “Remember those earlier days after you had received the light when you endured (hupomeno)? Remember in the earlier days when you persevered? In a great contest in the face of suffering sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution. At other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions”NIV. [that’s hupomeno] but now it seems as if they’re in danger of giving up. So the writer tells them in verse 36, Now you have need to persevere hupomeno so that when you have done the will of God you will receive what he has promised. (NIV)

It wasn’t enough to simply have endured in the past. It’s up to them to endure now that they might receive the prize that has been promised. He goes on to quote from Habbakuk, Heb 10;38 Now the just shall live by faith but if any man draw back my soul shall have no pleasure in him.

You cannot get endurance in your life without things going wrong! Without endurance we’ll falsely expect overnight solutions for complex problems. We’re great on this. Paul writing to the Romans 12:12 admonishes them, “Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation (Thlipsis – affliction – when things go wrong.); continuing instant in prayer; Like us, the Roman Christians experienced some situations that did not have simple solutions.

When we long for life without trials and work without difficulties we need to remember that oaks grow strong in stormy winds and diamonds are made under pressure. Without endurance we falsely expect overnight solutions for complex problems. The caterpillar’s metamorphosis into a butterfly demands that he spin himself into a chrysalis. What a strange way! Once the chrysalis is finished nothing must touch it. When the newly formed butterfly starts to emerge he must struggle and fight to push himself free. If there’s any help from the outside he will never fly. Only through the agony and struggle of cracking the chrysalis can the butterfly’s wings spread. Thank God the Lord helps us!

Without endurance we could never handle injustice. 1 Peter 2:20 writes to persecuted Christians “But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it. But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it this is commendable from God.” Peter’s saying, if you’ve broken the law and you get punished that’s understandable. You don’t get any credit for that. But if you have not broken the law and yet are punished because you are a Christian and endure it, that is commendable from God.” You know as well as I that there is great injustice in the world today even in our own lives. You can find it in your own house many times.

So; How do you handle injustice? Endurance says you stay there. You wait. Not passively but trusting the Lord. You believe that even if you don’t see the resolution to the injustice, that God does and God ultimately will take care of it and God will ultimately work it out. You hold on. (My own experience – lost thousands of pounds – some to so called Xtns!) You persevere while waiting for the answer which may not even come in your own lifetime.

And that’s real faith! Not the nonsense which has been preached by some so called ‘Faith preachers’. Habakkuk faced this problem. He complains to God at the beginning of his book, He says, God! Why aren’t you doing anything about sin? When are you going to judge the sin of my fellow countrymen! And God says, “Habakkuk stop worrying. Of course I’m going to judge sin. I’m going to send the Babylonians and they’re going to punish my people”. Habakkuk said, “Good grief! The Babylonians! They’re worse than us! And you’re going to send them? What kind of justice is that?” God answers back to Habakkuk, “You can’t understand everything. I’m going to ultimately judge the Babylonians too but you’ll never live long enough to see that. But in the interim, while you’re living, you must know this truth: the just shall live by faith.” The righteous live by faith in believing that God will ultimately set all things straight. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is a guarantee that ultimately that day will come.

Without endurance we can’t handle injustice. Without endurance we will never finish our course as Christians. Because of the increase of wickedness Jesus said Matt 24;11-13; And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. ¹²And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. ¹³But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

Kept themselves pure: hated evil.

Tested preachers; still needed today. Especially with Xtn TV. (Miracle water, so called faith preachers)

Important! Those who have gone over to Islam, JW, etc. Because the church has failed to teach the truth properly.

BUT; all these are not enough. Left first love: (Agape)… Rev 2;4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. (cp last week Loving Church)

Left not lost. (Guess who moved)

Possible to still have the works of love, but lost the love that prompted the works in the beginning. Machinery still in action but love that set it in motion declined.

THE CHURCH OF EPHESUS WAS AS MARTHA, BUSY SERVING THE LORD.

A. Jesus was looking for the Marys that would just sit with Him and fellowship.

1. I know you are working and labouring for Me.

2. The motions are good, but I desire the emotions.

Mark 12:30 `And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. (NKJ)

1Jn 4:19 We love Him because He first loved us. (NKJ)

God always has to come first; See Hag 1;6 “You have sown much, and bring in little; you eat, but do not have enough; you drink, but you are not filled with drink; you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; and he who earns wages, Earns wages to put into a bag with holes.” (NKJ)

cp Matt 6;33 “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. (NKJ)

Can be said of many churches/Xtns; left 1st love;

Programmes, social concern, pure doctrine, pure living, hard work all commendable; Jesus says, “I know all about that…” But “I” have to come first!

Remember Peter? John 21;15-17. “Do you AGAPE me?” “You know I PHILEO you”

(Greek had 3 words: Agape, Phileo, Erotic.

Phileo; Ordinary love or affection; Agapeo; Christian Love – for God/man.

“Christian love, whether exercised toward the brethren or toward men generally, is not an impulse from the feelings, it does not always run with the natural inclinations, nor does it spend itself only upon those for whom some affinity is discovered. Love seeks the welfare of all, <Rom. 15:2>, and works no ill to any, <13:8-10>; love seeks opportunity to do good to `all men, and especially toward them that are of the household of the faith,’ <Gal. 6:10>. See further <1 Cor. 13> and <Col. 3:12-14>.” (from Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words)

cp John 12:25 “He who loves (phileo) his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. (NKJ)

1 Pet 3:10 For “He who would love (agapeo) life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking deceit. 11 Let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. (NKJ)

1 Cor 13; Love = AGAPE…

Now turn to 1 John 4;7-11

If Jesus tells Ephesians that the one thing he has against them is that they have lost their first AGAPE. Then we had better make sure we don’t!

It is vital that we are a LOVING (AGAPEING) Church!

So He says, “Get back to how you were”… v 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.

Go back to; Jesus said Matt 24;11-13; And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. ¹²And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. ¹³But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

This is scary! “I will remove your candlestick…..” Eternal Security??? No, you have to keep going! In spite of all their good things, they are in serious trouble. They would have no light. Cp above – we show forth His light. He doesn’t want to be associated with a church like that.

No impact, no influence for God. There are 1000s of churches like that. Going thru the motions, doing good works, but no impact, no changing people’s lives.

Because they left their first love… Our love for Jesus we first knew. Cp couple first in love.. Remember what it was like when you first found Xt.

Repent.

1. It is more than being sorry.

2. Sorry enough to change.

3. True repentance manifested in the change.

Repeat.

1. Do thy first works.

a. The natural spontaneity.

b. Back into the Word.

c. Back into increased fellowship.

Finally; v 6; Hate Nicolaitans;

Much debate over this: Only here and v 15. (Pergamos) Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. Some say followers of Nicolaus – one of first deacons, a proselyte (ie Gentile Jew) who went off the rails; and cp v14.

But: Others think it more likely to be derived from literal rendering of Nicos (conquer = NIKE (shoes)) and Laos (people) which led to the Clergy/laity division which came in dark ages; Minister does it all… Which stopped church growth dead.

Cp I Pet 5;2-3 Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; ³not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.

Clergy told people they couldn’t do anything, eg even in CofE, lay people can’t ‘do’ Eucharist unless ‘licensed’…

If we are going to see the church grow, we too need to kill off the Nicolaitan doctrine once and for all.

eg. If someone is ill in hospital, and 6 people go and one of elders from church, but Pastor doesn’t – does that mean they aren’t being cared for? Of course not. “You’re the pastor. You HAVE to go”. No!

We’re living in exciting times: WE MUST get it right;

v7 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches”. Listen up!