1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,560 So we're just going to pray and go into the Word of God. 2 00:00:02,560 --> 00:00:04,520 Is that OK? Amen. 3 00:00:04,520 --> 00:00:07,520 Father, we do thank you for this day that you've given us. 4 00:00:08,640 --> 00:00:11,960 It is such a blessing, Lord, to be here with the body of Jesus 5 00:00:11,960 --> 00:00:17,760 Christ, our brothers and our sisters, all of those, Lord, who 6 00:00:17,760 --> 00:00:21,840 are of faith and those who are coming for the first time, who 7 00:00:21,840 --> 00:00:26,880 are coming into worship with us and to sit under the Word with 8 00:00:26,880 --> 00:00:29,400 us. Lord, we thank you for each and 9 00:00:29,400 --> 00:00:33,240 every person whose heart you have touched this morning, Lord, 10 00:00:33,240 --> 00:00:35,600 to come and to be with us this morning. 11 00:00:36,200 --> 00:00:39,720 I pray, Father, that your very presence will be felt in there 12 00:00:39,720 --> 00:00:41,480 this morning. Lord, I pray that You would 13 00:00:42,200 --> 00:00:46,040 allow Your Holy Spirit to fill not only my heart, but everyone 14 00:00:46,040 --> 00:00:49,560 else's hearts that are here. Lord, I pray that You will give 15 00:00:49,560 --> 00:00:52,000 us understanding of the scriptures that we're going to 16 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:54,400 be studying today that we're going to be going over. 17 00:00:54,800 --> 00:00:56,720 Give us an understanding of it, Lord. 18 00:00:57,160 --> 00:01:02,080 Allow us to be able to see your truth with clarity and to be 19 00:01:02,080 --> 00:01:04,319 able to rejoice in your truth, Lord. 20 00:01:08,040 --> 00:01:10,520 It's your truth, Lord, that makes us free. 21 00:01:13,320 --> 00:01:20,480 And we're so thankful for that. So, Lord, I need you this 22 00:01:20,480 --> 00:01:25,840 morning. Please speak through me just as 23 00:01:25,840 --> 00:01:28,920 you speak to me and to everyone else that's here. 24 00:01:29,040 --> 00:01:33,000 Lord, manifest your very presence this morning in this 25 00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:36,760 room. In Jesus name we pray. 26 00:01:37,320 --> 00:01:41,440 Amen. So we're about to go into the 27 00:01:43,120 --> 00:01:46,080 the, the chapters of two and three and chapters of two and 28 00:01:46,080 --> 00:01:49,520 three really deal as you, if you remember a couple weeks ago, we 29 00:01:49,520 --> 00:01:53,440 talked about how the Book of Revelation is broken down and 30 00:01:53,440 --> 00:01:56,600 it's broken down in three parts. It's the things that John has 31 00:01:56,600 --> 00:01:59,760 seen. It's the things which are, which 32 00:01:59,760 --> 00:02:01,960 is what we're going to be going in tonight. 33 00:02:02,040 --> 00:02:03,720 The things which are or, or this morning. 34 00:02:03,720 --> 00:02:06,040 I'm sorry, I keep saying tonight, this morning, the 35 00:02:06,040 --> 00:02:10,280 things which are and, and, and as we go into chapter 4 through 36 00:02:10,280 --> 00:02:12,840 the rest of the book, we will be talking about the things that 37 00:02:12,840 --> 00:02:15,800 will take place. Now, I know that it's very 38 00:02:15,800 --> 00:02:20,520 interesting to go into the the prophecy of this book and to 39 00:02:20,520 --> 00:02:23,800 talk about all those things that are futuristic, those things 40 00:02:23,800 --> 00:02:25,480 that will come. All that sounds exciting. 41 00:02:25,480 --> 00:02:29,680 It's interesting. But for me, chapters 2 and three 42 00:02:29,680 --> 00:02:34,440 are really important because it talks about the churches. 43 00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:38,880 Jesus gives a message to the churches and these are the seven 44 00:02:38,880 --> 00:02:42,680 churches of Asia and he gives a message to them and each one of 45 00:02:42,680 --> 00:02:46,320 those churches and each one of those messages somewhere we can 46 00:02:46,320 --> 00:02:49,520 find ourselves and what it is that Jesus is saying. 47 00:02:50,120 --> 00:02:54,200 So that's for me, it's exciting as we talk about the church, 48 00:02:54,400 --> 00:02:58,720 which is our things that are now prior to going into chapter 2, 49 00:02:58,720 --> 00:03:02,920 we were just in verse 20 yesterday, last week and in 50 00:03:02,920 --> 00:03:06,120 verse 20, it talked about the mystery of the seven stars. 51 00:03:06,120 --> 00:03:10,880 And, and, and as we said before, that there are different things 52 00:03:10,880 --> 00:03:13,760 in the Book of Revelation that are symbolic. 53 00:03:13,760 --> 00:03:15,520 And, and there's a lot of things that are literal. 54 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:18,120 And some of the things that are symbolic, there's some Gray 55 00:03:18,120 --> 00:03:19,560 areas. I mean, there's a school about 56 00:03:19,560 --> 00:03:22,080 that says this way. There's a school that says that 57 00:03:22,080 --> 00:03:24,000 way. But then there's some things in 58 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:28,000 the Book of Revelation that may be symbolic, which Jesus 59 00:03:28,040 --> 00:03:31,760 actually makes clear. He gives an explanation for 60 00:03:31,760 --> 00:03:34,080 those things. And we should pay attention to 61 00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:37,240 that when he does that. So here in in verse 20 of 62 00:03:37,240 --> 00:03:41,600 chapter 1, he said the mystery of the seven stars which you saw 63 00:03:41,600 --> 00:03:45,560 in my right hand and the seven golden lampstands. 64 00:03:46,080 --> 00:03:48,680 And he gives the the understanding of that. 65 00:03:48,760 --> 00:03:51,800 He said the seven stars are the seven angels of the Church of 66 00:03:51,800 --> 00:03:55,280 the seven churches, the angels of the churches, the messengers 67 00:03:55,600 --> 00:03:59,360 of the churches, the pastors or the elders that that that teach 68 00:03:59,360 --> 00:04:01,240 the word of God in these churches. 69 00:04:01,600 --> 00:04:04,360 Those are the seven angels and the seven lampstands. 70 00:04:04,560 --> 00:04:07,920 Those are the seven churches. And that's what Jesus is going 71 00:04:07,920 --> 00:04:11,120 to be talking about going forward are the seven 72 00:04:11,360 --> 00:04:15,600 lampstands, the seven churches. And these are 7 churches that 73 00:04:15,600 --> 00:04:21,880 are located in the, the area of, of Asia Minor. 74 00:04:22,520 --> 00:04:26,000 Now when he says the seven lamp stands, he's talking about the 75 00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:29,960 light, the lamp, the, the menorah was the lamp stand and 76 00:04:29,960 --> 00:04:33,120 it, and it lit the, the Tabernacle was the only light 77 00:04:33,120 --> 00:04:36,120 that was in the Tabernacle during the times when they were 78 00:04:36,160 --> 00:04:38,520 in the wilderness and they were traveling the Tabernacle. 79 00:04:38,520 --> 00:04:41,200 It was the light that represented Jesus and it was and 80 00:04:41,200 --> 00:04:44,240 it burned consistently. Jesus is the light of the world. 81 00:04:44,240 --> 00:04:47,480 Amen. So, so then later after the 82 00:04:47,480 --> 00:04:50,680 Tabernacle, when they built the temple, the menorah was in the 83 00:04:50,680 --> 00:04:54,600 temple representing the light of Jesus Christ continually. 84 00:04:54,840 --> 00:04:58,160 Once again, Jesus is the light of the world. 85 00:04:58,160 --> 00:05:02,520 But now Jesus tells us over in the over in the discernment on 86 00:05:02,520 --> 00:05:06,480 the mount, he says you are now the light of the world. 87 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:11,480 So let your light shine so that men see your good works and 88 00:05:11,480 --> 00:05:14,120 glorify his Father who is in heaven. 89 00:05:14,320 --> 00:05:18,880 So he is the light of the world. So now he is speaking to these 90 00:05:18,880 --> 00:05:22,920 seven churches. Now the, the, the responsibility 91 00:05:22,920 --> 00:05:26,920 of the church is to enlighten its members of God's will, is to 92 00:05:26,920 --> 00:05:30,960 shine the light on God's will and to shed light on the gospel 93 00:05:30,960 --> 00:05:34,400 upon the spiritual, the spiritual, immoral and Dark 94 00:05:34,400 --> 00:05:37,400 World. So here is a church as a cat, as 95 00:05:37,400 --> 00:05:40,600 a, as a lampstand. We are to be the light in our 96 00:05:40,600 --> 00:05:43,800 community. We are to be the ones to share 97 00:05:43,920 --> 00:05:46,400 the light of Christ in our community. 98 00:05:47,480 --> 00:05:53,960 And, and it also tells us that, you know, how do we respond to 99 00:05:53,960 --> 00:05:56,880 darkness, the darkness of the world? 100 00:05:57,000 --> 00:05:59,920 How do we respond to that? I mean, we, we hear it all the 101 00:05:59,920 --> 00:06:01,120 time. You got to be the light and 102 00:06:01,120 --> 00:06:02,320 darkness. We hear that all the time. 103 00:06:02,320 --> 00:06:04,760 But how do we do it? How do we do it? 104 00:06:05,520 --> 00:06:08,400 And, and, and I was thinking like I asked my wife this 105 00:06:08,400 --> 00:06:11,120 morning, just so I can have a, a remembrance of it. 106 00:06:12,120 --> 00:06:17,280 My wife, my grandkids, my kids, they took a trip to the Laurel 107 00:06:17,280 --> 00:06:22,080 Caverns and then Laurel Caverns. They have caves in there and 108 00:06:22,080 --> 00:06:25,880 they took them deep into the caves, and some of you probably 109 00:06:25,880 --> 00:06:28,960 did that tour before. I probably couldn't do it 110 00:06:28,960 --> 00:06:31,080 because I don't know. I don't know if I'll be 111 00:06:31,080 --> 00:06:36,720 comfortable in spaces like that. But they go back into this cave 112 00:06:36,720 --> 00:06:38,600 and then they get to a point where they tell them to cut the 113 00:06:38,600 --> 00:06:42,000 lights off. And from what I understand, it 114 00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:46,400 is so dark in those caves that you can't even see your hand in 115 00:06:46,400 --> 00:06:48,440 front of you. That's how dark it is. 116 00:06:49,760 --> 00:06:53,480 I don't have a reference for that for the caves, but I do 117 00:06:53,480 --> 00:06:56,720 know what it was like when my grandmother used to take us down 118 00:06:56,720 --> 00:07:00,960 to the southern part of Georgia and we will go in some of those 119 00:07:00,960 --> 00:07:02,600 back roads. How many of you have been, I 120 00:07:02,600 --> 00:07:05,000 don't know how many of you are going to the, the southern part 121 00:07:05,000 --> 00:07:09,040 of Georgia, but in some of those back roads, you have no lights, 122 00:07:09,800 --> 00:07:12,200 no lights. And if it's a night where 123 00:07:12,200 --> 00:07:15,240 there's not a lot of stars or anything like that in the sky, I 124 00:07:15,240 --> 00:07:18,760 mean, you, you cut your, you cut your car lights off. 125 00:07:19,000 --> 00:07:24,240 It is airy dark, really dark, scary dark. 126 00:07:24,240 --> 00:07:25,720 You can't see your hand in front of you. 127 00:07:26,600 --> 00:07:27,840 I don't have a reference with that. 128 00:07:27,840 --> 00:07:30,240 That's the only reference that I have for that kind of darkness, 129 00:07:30,240 --> 00:07:35,760 that thick, eerie darkness. So the question is, how do you 130 00:07:35,760 --> 00:07:37,360 respond to that kind of darkness? 131 00:07:37,680 --> 00:07:40,760 Well, Jesus tells us, he says you're the light, you're the 132 00:07:40,760 --> 00:07:43,120 light. So the way that we respond to 133 00:07:43,120 --> 00:07:46,080 darkness, whether it's the darkness in our families, the 134 00:07:46,080 --> 00:07:48,800 darkness in our communities, the darkness on, the darkness on our 135 00:07:48,800 --> 00:07:50,600 jobs, we just simply cut the lights on. 136 00:07:51,920 --> 00:07:55,880 We'd be a light. You can't shame darkness. 137 00:07:55,880 --> 00:08:00,640 You can't, you can't, you know, condemn darkness. 138 00:08:00,640 --> 00:08:03,200 You can't shout at darkness and think there's going to be a 139 00:08:03,200 --> 00:08:04,840 change. No, you cut the light on. 140 00:08:06,120 --> 00:08:10,840 That's how we dispel darkness. So that's why Jesus says you are 141 00:08:10,840 --> 00:08:15,880 now the light of the world. So we go here to these letters, 142 00:08:15,880 --> 00:08:19,400 chapters 2 and 3, and these are letters of these seven churches. 143 00:08:19,480 --> 00:08:20,960 We need to remember a couple things. 144 00:08:20,960 --> 00:08:23,240 First of all, these are literal churches. 145 00:08:23,240 --> 00:08:25,160 These aren't, you know, fictitious churches. 146 00:08:25,160 --> 00:08:29,640 These are real churches that actually existed in this 1st 147 00:08:29,640 --> 00:08:32,000 century. The other thing we need to 148 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:34,760 understand is that these churches were all located on the 149 00:08:34,760 --> 00:08:40,080 western end of Turkey and it was along the Aegean Sea and, and 150 00:08:40,080 --> 00:08:42,960 these letters contain spiritual relevance. 151 00:08:42,960 --> 00:08:46,280 And This is why I like chapters 2 and three, because these 152 00:08:46,280 --> 00:08:49,960 letters contain spiritual relevance to the church today. 153 00:08:50,480 --> 00:08:53,840 So as we, you know, as we listen to these letters, as we read 154 00:08:53,840 --> 00:08:57,560 these letters, we should pay close attention to not only the 155 00:08:57,560 --> 00:09:01,480 commendations, but also the rebukes that are in these 156 00:09:01,480 --> 00:09:03,400 letters. Now, not all of these churches 157 00:09:03,400 --> 00:09:06,320 get rebukes and unfortunately not all of them get 158 00:09:06,520 --> 00:09:08,480 commendations. And we'll get, you know, we'll, 159 00:09:08,480 --> 00:09:10,400 we'll point those things out when we get to them. 160 00:09:10,920 --> 00:09:14,200 But we as a church should pay attention to those because we 161 00:09:14,200 --> 00:09:18,120 can probably find our church in one of these, in one of these 162 00:09:18,120 --> 00:09:22,600 examples, if not all of them. Some scholars believe that Jesus 163 00:09:22,600 --> 00:09:26,320 was addressing different church ages or in in history. 164 00:09:26,880 --> 00:09:30,920 However, he says that he who has an ear, let him hear what the 165 00:09:30,920 --> 00:09:34,280 Spirit says to the churches, not to the church. 166 00:09:34,720 --> 00:09:37,280 He says let the Spirit, you know, what does the Spirit say 167 00:09:37,280 --> 00:09:41,880 to the churches? So I believe it as well as as a 168 00:09:41,880 --> 00:09:44,880 lot of the other scholars, not that I'm a scholar, I'm not put 169 00:09:44,880 --> 00:09:46,760 myself in that category. I'm just saying that I kind of 170 00:09:46,760 --> 00:09:50,880 fall on this side of it, that these letters are a message to 171 00:09:50,880 --> 00:09:54,280 the churches of all ages. There's a message to us, message 172 00:09:54,280 --> 00:09:57,880 to them, message to churches that will be coming after us as 173 00:09:57,880 --> 00:10:01,040 well. There's a structure that Jesus 174 00:10:01,040 --> 00:10:03,840 puts together with these these these letters. 175 00:10:04,200 --> 00:10:06,800 The first thing he does is that he names the recipient. 176 00:10:07,640 --> 00:10:10,040 He gets a description of Jesus Christ. 177 00:10:10,040 --> 00:10:12,520 There's a description of Jesus Christ and it's usually taken 178 00:10:12,920 --> 00:10:15,760 from somewhere in the in chapter 1. 179 00:10:16,960 --> 00:10:21,000 And then he gives a commendation or compliment of that, of that 180 00:10:21,000 --> 00:10:24,560 congregations virtues and the things that they're doing well, 181 00:10:24,560 --> 00:10:28,440 the things that please him. And in most of these, he also 182 00:10:28,440 --> 00:10:31,320 gives a rebuke of what the church is lacking. 183 00:10:32,440 --> 00:10:35,480 And then he gives a command for correction of what is lacking. 184 00:10:35,600 --> 00:10:40,000 And he ends usually with a promise to those who are the 185 00:10:40,000 --> 00:10:44,600 overcomers in that church. So we are going to be looking at 186 00:10:44,600 --> 00:10:47,160 the first church here, which is going to be the Church of 187 00:10:47,160 --> 00:10:49,520 Ephesus that he writes this letter to. 188 00:10:49,960 --> 00:10:52,640 Now, the title in my Bible says the Loveless church. 189 00:10:52,640 --> 00:10:54,680 That may be the title in your Bible as well. 190 00:10:55,360 --> 00:10:57,360 And he so he's talking about the loveless church here now. 191 00:10:57,560 --> 00:11:00,240 Now the Church of Ephesus. It just to give you a little 192 00:11:00,240 --> 00:11:04,600 background about it before we get into the to the Scripture it 193 00:11:04,600 --> 00:11:10,680 it it it existed between about 53 AD to about 9500 AD somewhere 194 00:11:10,680 --> 00:11:13,440 in that neighborhood. The city of Ephesus was an 195 00:11:13,440 --> 00:11:17,640 important seaport on the AGN coast. 196 00:11:18,320 --> 00:11:21,760 The Ephesian church was founded by the apostle Paul who 197 00:11:21,960 --> 00:11:25,640 ministered and established the church for about 3 years. 198 00:11:25,640 --> 00:11:30,520 He spent three years in the city of Ephesus, and that's amazing, 199 00:11:30,520 --> 00:11:35,560 especially when we hear about just how deep this city was. 200 00:11:35,800 --> 00:11:41,080 He spent three years dealing with that darkness afterwards. 201 00:11:41,080 --> 00:11:45,160 No, he appointed Timothy to be a pastor and then later the 202 00:11:45,160 --> 00:11:49,800 apostle John himself, which was a pastor there at the Church of 203 00:11:49,960 --> 00:11:52,040 of Ephesus. And it was from the Church of 204 00:11:52,040 --> 00:11:55,760 Ephesus that John actually wrote the Gospel of John, first, 205 00:11:55,760 --> 00:12:00,920 second and third John. And it was when he was exiled to 206 00:12:00,920 --> 00:12:04,320 the island of Patmos that he wrote this book, the Book of 207 00:12:04,320 --> 00:12:06,520 Revelation. This is the last book of the 208 00:12:06,520 --> 00:12:09,920 Bible. And it was when he was exiled to 209 00:12:09,920 --> 00:12:13,760 the island of Patmos. It's important to remember that 210 00:12:13,800 --> 00:12:17,000 Jesus is head of the church. And he tells us he, he, he says 211 00:12:17,000 --> 00:12:18,800 that almost. And what he definitely tells us 212 00:12:18,800 --> 00:12:21,640 that in Colossians 1 and 18, he is head of the church. 213 00:12:21,640 --> 00:12:24,240 He's the one that protects us. He's the one that watches over 214 00:12:24,240 --> 00:12:26,400 us. He's the one that knows what we 215 00:12:26,600 --> 00:12:28,920 do. He says when two or three are 216 00:12:28,920 --> 00:12:31,440 gathered, I am there in the midst of you. 217 00:12:31,760 --> 00:12:35,080 And here in verse 1, he says to the Angel of the Church of 218 00:12:35,080 --> 00:12:41,320 Ephesus, right these things says He who holds the seven stars in 219 00:12:41,320 --> 00:12:45,920 his right hand, who walks in the midst of the 7 golden 220 00:12:46,080 --> 00:12:48,680 lampstands. So he walks in our midst. 221 00:12:48,800 --> 00:12:53,400 Jesus is in our midst right now. He's in our midst. 222 00:12:53,880 --> 00:12:59,680 He hears what we, what we, what we say, he sees what we do. 223 00:12:59,680 --> 00:13:02,560 He's, he's here in this sanctuary. 224 00:13:02,560 --> 00:13:05,640 He's over there where the the children are. 225 00:13:05,800 --> 00:13:07,800 He's over there where the infants are. 226 00:13:07,880 --> 00:13:12,800 Jesus is in our midst and he knows all, he knows all and he 227 00:13:12,960 --> 00:13:17,080 sees all. So his, you know, he, he, he 228 00:13:17,080 --> 00:13:21,880 says to us that, you know, he is walking in the midst of his 229 00:13:22,120 --> 00:13:26,000 golden lampstands. And then in verse 2, he and, and 230 00:13:26,000 --> 00:13:27,720 three, we're going to put these two together. 231 00:13:28,080 --> 00:13:31,600 Verses 2 and three, he says, I know your works, your labor, 232 00:13:31,720 --> 00:13:36,560 your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. 233 00:13:37,520 --> 00:13:41,320 And you have tested those who say that they are apostles and 234 00:13:41,320 --> 00:13:44,640 are not, and have found them liars. 235 00:13:44,920 --> 00:13:49,880 And you have persevered and have patience and have labor for my 236 00:13:49,880 --> 00:13:54,040 name's sake and have not become weary. 237 00:13:54,720 --> 00:13:57,920 So we stopped there. And now he, now Jesus is talking 238 00:13:57,920 --> 00:14:01,560 to this church and he's giving them his commendation. 239 00:14:01,560 --> 00:14:05,560 He's he, He's talking about the things that he admires about the 240 00:14:05,560 --> 00:14:08,920 church that he sees. He says, I know your works. 241 00:14:09,240 --> 00:14:12,240 I know your good works. I know your works of 242 00:14:12,240 --> 00:14:15,200 righteousness. And just like he knows the works 243 00:14:15,200 --> 00:14:18,800 that we do, he, you know they're, they're, he knows their 244 00:14:18,800 --> 00:14:21,000 patience. He knows the fact that they 245 00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:24,280 labor, they keep their hands to the plow. 246 00:14:24,280 --> 00:14:27,440 They're, they're always about the things of the Lord. 247 00:14:28,160 --> 00:14:30,880 This is a work in church. This is a church that's active, 248 00:14:31,720 --> 00:14:33,440 very active for the things of the Lord. 249 00:14:33,440 --> 00:14:36,800 They may have different ministries of evangelism and 250 00:14:36,800 --> 00:14:40,080 ministries of, of food, you know, food pantries. 251 00:14:40,080 --> 00:14:45,720 They may have ministries to different areas in the 252 00:14:45,720 --> 00:14:47,760 community. They get out to see the people 253 00:14:47,760 --> 00:14:51,640 who are sick or or they have, you know, teaching Bible studies 254 00:14:51,640 --> 00:14:54,600 is I mean, there's a lot of things that this church was 255 00:14:54,600 --> 00:14:57,640 involved and he knows their works. 256 00:14:58,000 --> 00:15:01,600 He knows their patience, that they persevere and even in 257 00:15:01,600 --> 00:15:03,200 endurance. And you know, even through the 258 00:15:03,200 --> 00:15:06,720 suffering that this, this church was going through at the time 259 00:15:06,720 --> 00:15:10,440 when you know, the mission and all those other emperors were 260 00:15:10,440 --> 00:15:14,240 hating the Christians and they were being persecuted, The 261 00:15:14,240 --> 00:15:17,720 people were persecuting them who were not Christian. 262 00:15:18,360 --> 00:15:22,040 Some of the, the non believing Jews or the, the non believing 263 00:15:22,040 --> 00:15:23,880 Gentiles, They were being, I mean, they were getting 264 00:15:23,880 --> 00:15:27,000 persecution from all sides, but they persevered. 265 00:15:27,000 --> 00:15:29,880 He says they, they persevered, they went through that, they, 266 00:15:30,040 --> 00:15:36,520 they dealt with that. But Jesus says of the city, he 267 00:15:36,520 --> 00:15:38,920 says, you know, he knows how dark that city is. 268 00:15:38,920 --> 00:15:43,800 So it's a wonder that they were able to stay so committed to 269 00:15:43,800 --> 00:15:45,800 him. This was a city that was so 270 00:15:45,800 --> 00:15:47,520 dark. It was deeply rooted in 271 00:15:47,520 --> 00:15:50,640 idolatry. It had a lot of false religions. 272 00:15:50,640 --> 00:15:54,280 They worship the goddess of, of Diana, who was also named 273 00:15:54,280 --> 00:15:56,440 Artemis. They worship her. 274 00:15:56,440 --> 00:16:00,080 And, and because she was the, because she was the goddess of 275 00:16:00,080 --> 00:16:05,880 fertility, their worship included lewd acts of sexual 276 00:16:06,040 --> 00:16:09,720 immorality. The people would come to the 277 00:16:09,720 --> 00:16:14,000 temple and they would, you know, participate in, in instant 278 00:16:14,000 --> 00:16:18,880 burnings and chants and all kind of other things to this goddess. 279 00:16:19,920 --> 00:16:25,080 And then as a way of worshipping her, they would participate in 280 00:16:25,080 --> 00:16:31,640 sexual activity with the temple prostitutes, which I understand 281 00:16:31,640 --> 00:16:35,600 they had hundreds of them that would come into this and to this 282 00:16:35,600 --> 00:16:39,120 temple. So it was a beautiful tip on the 283 00:16:39,120 --> 00:16:41,560 outside. In fact, there are people who 284 00:16:41,560 --> 00:16:44,200 says that this temple was actually one of the seven 285 00:16:44,200 --> 00:16:47,640 wonders of the world. So it's a beautiful temple on 286 00:16:47,640 --> 00:16:50,920 the outside, but what was going on on the inside was nothing but 287 00:16:51,160 --> 00:16:56,920 debauchery, sin, and all types of immorality. 288 00:16:58,080 --> 00:17:01,480 They also had a lot of magic and sorcery and it flourished in the 289 00:17:01,480 --> 00:17:04,240 city, which is one of the reasons why they were upset with 290 00:17:04,240 --> 00:17:07,440 Paul, because when Paul came preaching the gospel, he put a 291 00:17:07,440 --> 00:17:10,560 dent in that market and people weren't happy. 292 00:17:10,560 --> 00:17:13,160 You know, when Paul came preaching the gospel, when 293 00:17:13,160 --> 00:17:15,960 people started changing and receiving Jesus Christ as their 294 00:17:15,960 --> 00:17:19,560 Lord and Savior and not worshipping this goddess, but 295 00:17:19,560 --> 00:17:21,960 they started worshipping the true God. 296 00:17:22,760 --> 00:17:25,200 They started throwing their books away and burning their 297 00:17:25,200 --> 00:17:28,040 books And they, they, they, you know, they didn't buy these 298 00:17:28,040 --> 00:17:31,320 statues anymore that they were making of, of Diana. 299 00:17:31,320 --> 00:17:33,880 So that put a dent in their, in their industry. 300 00:17:34,480 --> 00:17:36,760 So, you know, they, they not, you know, Paul got to go. 301 00:17:37,720 --> 00:17:39,200 You know how that goes. Paul got to go. 302 00:17:39,200 --> 00:17:41,720 He can't, he can't be messing with the money. 303 00:17:41,720 --> 00:17:44,720 It's almost like there are times when I I've heard about 304 00:17:44,720 --> 00:17:48,360 different preachers are pastors and different communities. 305 00:17:48,960 --> 00:17:52,440 I remember us learning about pastors who would go into places 306 00:17:52,440 --> 00:17:56,600 like the Hill District or places like other communities where 307 00:17:56,600 --> 00:17:58,840 there's a lot of heavy drug flow. 308 00:17:58,880 --> 00:18:01,280 And, and as they're preaching the gospel and they're, and 309 00:18:01,280 --> 00:18:05,120 they're talking to people and they're getting people change 310 00:18:05,120 --> 00:18:08,800 their lives. Christ is, is, is, is exposing 311 00:18:08,800 --> 00:18:11,440 himself to people. He's showing himself to people 312 00:18:11,440 --> 00:18:14,040 when and he's touching their hearts and people are changing 313 00:18:14,200 --> 00:18:16,800 their lives that are changing their, their, their activities. 314 00:18:16,800 --> 00:18:18,480 And they're no longer buying the crack. 315 00:18:18,480 --> 00:18:21,000 They're not buying the marijuana anymore or the heroin. 316 00:18:21,600 --> 00:18:25,880 The drug dealers get concerned and they begin to threaten the 317 00:18:25,880 --> 00:18:29,840 pastors. So when people start to touch 318 00:18:29,840 --> 00:18:35,040 money, things get crazy. One of the other things about 319 00:18:35,040 --> 00:18:37,840 this particular church is that it did not put up with sin. 320 00:18:37,840 --> 00:18:41,360 It did not tolerate sin. They didn't just turn their, you 321 00:18:41,480 --> 00:18:43,880 know, they didn't just turn a blind eye when they saw sin 322 00:18:43,880 --> 00:18:45,520 happening in the church. They confronted it. 323 00:18:45,680 --> 00:18:48,320 They dealt with it. They didn't push it under the 324 00:18:48,320 --> 00:18:49,960 rug. They dealt with it. 325 00:18:50,560 --> 00:18:55,880 They did not bear evil. They didn't bear evil. 326 00:18:55,960 --> 00:18:58,920 It wasn't like the church at Corinth who had the, you know, 327 00:18:58,920 --> 00:19:01,840 who had the brother or the, or the man who was sleeping with 328 00:19:01,840 --> 00:19:05,360 his mother-in-law and no one was doing anything about it. 329 00:19:05,360 --> 00:19:08,520 All they were focused on was all the gifts that the church had 330 00:19:08,520 --> 00:19:11,360 and all the ministry that they had and all the things that they 331 00:19:11,360 --> 00:19:13,600 were doing that that was an outward show. 332 00:19:14,720 --> 00:19:17,960 But Paul said no. Paul said no, I mean, this this 333 00:19:17,960 --> 00:19:20,720 guy's is sleeping. He's committing sexual 334 00:19:20,720 --> 00:19:24,840 immorality in the church and nobody is doing anything about 335 00:19:24,840 --> 00:19:27,080 it. Paul said, I've judged him 336 00:19:27,080 --> 00:19:31,120 already and he needs to go. He needs to go until he can 337 00:19:31,240 --> 00:19:34,360 repent. And Paul's not, you know, he 338 00:19:34,360 --> 00:19:37,200 wasn't saying I just want to get rid of this guy all together. 339 00:19:37,600 --> 00:19:40,680 Paul was saying we need to put him in a situation where he can 340 00:19:40,680 --> 00:19:44,600 see that what he is doing is contrary to the will and word of 341 00:19:44,600 --> 00:19:49,000 God and cause him bring him to a point of repentance, which is 342 00:19:49,000 --> 00:19:54,440 what church when church discipline when it has to 343 00:19:54,440 --> 00:19:57,480 happen. That's why it's not to get rid 344 00:19:57,480 --> 00:20:00,280 of the person. It's not to destroy the person's 345 00:20:00,280 --> 00:20:02,760 reputation. It's not to condemn. 346 00:20:02,840 --> 00:20:08,480 The person it's to give them an opportunity to repent and to get 347 00:20:08,480 --> 00:20:12,120 back in fellowship with the Lord is to restore that person. 348 00:20:13,320 --> 00:20:15,360 But this church is saying, I'm not, we're not going to deal 349 00:20:15,360 --> 00:20:17,200 with evil. We're going to confront it. 350 00:20:17,600 --> 00:20:21,080 And because of their knowledge of and commitment and then love 351 00:20:21,080 --> 00:20:25,240 that they have for the truth, they tested those who claim to 352 00:20:25,240 --> 00:20:28,960 be apostles and, and, and, and they just didn't just receive 353 00:20:28,960 --> 00:20:31,960 everything that they said, but they would test it to see if it 354 00:20:31,960 --> 00:20:34,640 was true, if it was really of the word of God. 355 00:20:34,840 --> 00:20:38,800 They tested every spirit to see if it was of God and some of 356 00:20:38,800 --> 00:20:41,680 these people, they found that they were just self-proclaimed 357 00:20:41,680 --> 00:20:48,000 apostles and they were liars. They were false teachers and 358 00:20:48,000 --> 00:20:49,800 these and this church didn't bear with that. 359 00:20:50,040 --> 00:20:53,800 They confronted it and the Bible tells us that that's what should 360 00:20:53,800 --> 00:20:56,480 happen. Over in first John four and one 361 00:20:56,720 --> 00:21:01,480 he says do not believe every spirit but test the spirits 362 00:21:01,480 --> 00:21:06,600 rather they are of God. And we remember the Bereans over 363 00:21:06,600 --> 00:21:10,320 in the book of Acts chapter 17, the book of Acts, the Bereans, 364 00:21:10,320 --> 00:21:13,280 they did the same thing. Even when Paul came to preach to 365 00:21:13,280 --> 00:21:16,360 the Bereans, they didn't just take everything that Paul said 366 00:21:16,360 --> 00:21:19,280 and and take a tooth and down and say, oh, it must be true. 367 00:21:19,480 --> 00:21:22,800 Paul was up here speaking it. No, that's not what the Bereans 368 00:21:22,800 --> 00:21:24,600 did. The Bereans searched the 369 00:21:24,600 --> 00:21:27,120 Scriptures to see if those things were true. 370 00:21:27,280 --> 00:21:31,640 Over in Acts chapter 1711, it says these meaning the Bereans 371 00:21:31,640 --> 00:21:35,640 were more fair minded, were more noble than those who were in 372 00:21:36,680 --> 00:21:41,280 Thessalonica in that they received the word with all 373 00:21:41,280 --> 00:21:46,000 readiness and search the scriptures daily to find out 374 00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:51,000 whether these things were so. And we should be doing that even 375 00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:52,800 as we're teaching. I'm teaching right now. 376 00:21:52,800 --> 00:21:56,080 These things should be should be checked to make sure that what 377 00:21:56,080 --> 00:21:58,080 I'm saying is not things I'm making up. 378 00:22:00,000 --> 00:22:03,720 Make sure that it's true, grounded and true, not just 379 00:22:03,720 --> 00:22:06,600 ideas or things that sound logical. 380 00:22:07,440 --> 00:22:10,240 Every time a teacher comes up and teaches, regardless of who 381 00:22:10,240 --> 00:22:12,640 it is, that should be our attitude. 382 00:22:12,640 --> 00:22:15,880 Well, yeah, I like what he's saying, but I want to make sure 383 00:22:15,880 --> 00:22:18,800 that it's of the Word that is the word of God, and not just 384 00:22:18,800 --> 00:22:21,800 some philosophy that he put together or some things that 385 00:22:21,800 --> 00:22:24,440 he's reading of somebody else that has nothing to do with the 386 00:22:24,440 --> 00:22:27,080 Word of God. We should check those things and 387 00:22:27,080 --> 00:22:29,840 make sure that they're true. In First Thessalonica and 1st 388 00:22:29,840 --> 00:22:34,600 Thessalonians chapter 5 and 21, he says test all things and hold 389 00:22:34,600 --> 00:22:39,600 fast to what is good. So these false apostles were a 390 00:22:39,600 --> 00:22:43,200 threat to all churches, and that's why it's important to 391 00:22:43,200 --> 00:22:45,600 call that out if we see it because they could be a threat 392 00:22:45,600 --> 00:22:47,960 to somebody else. They leave your church, but then 393 00:22:47,960 --> 00:22:51,360 they go somewhere else and spill that medicine and spread that 394 00:22:51,360 --> 00:22:55,480 and spread that that that heresy, heresy and false 395 00:22:55,480 --> 00:22:58,040 teachers are a major threat to churches today. 396 00:22:58,560 --> 00:23:04,160 So we too should be testing these things by the word of God. 397 00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:08,360 And then just at the bottom of verse verse three, he mentions 398 00:23:08,360 --> 00:23:12,640 the the the commendations again. He summarizes them again. 399 00:23:12,640 --> 00:23:14,480 He says the church had persevered. 400 00:23:14,880 --> 00:23:18,920 They have labored patiently and they had not become weary and 401 00:23:18,920 --> 00:23:23,760 well doing, but they had longevity, they had endurance. 402 00:23:24,600 --> 00:23:27,480 They didn't tire of doing the right thing. 403 00:23:28,480 --> 00:23:31,560 So they did all this service and they did this for about 4043 404 00:23:31,560 --> 00:23:36,040 years of service. But eventually there became an 405 00:23:36,080 --> 00:23:40,480 issue in that church and verse 4 tells us that issue. 406 00:23:41,920 --> 00:23:45,040 So we'll read verse 4 down to verse 6. 407 00:23:46,840 --> 00:23:52,440 Verse 4 says, nevertheless I have this against you, that you 408 00:23:52,440 --> 00:23:58,400 have left your first love. Remember therefore, where you 409 00:23:58,400 --> 00:24:04,240 have fallen, from where you have fallen, repent and do the first 410 00:24:04,240 --> 00:24:09,680 works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your 411 00:24:09,680 --> 00:24:13,320 lampstand from its place unless you repent. 412 00:24:14,640 --> 00:24:21,000 But this you have that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, 413 00:24:21,200 --> 00:24:25,280 which I also hate. So he goes back and he says 414 00:24:25,280 --> 00:24:27,480 here, you've done all these great things. 415 00:24:27,480 --> 00:24:31,600 I love the fact that you are zealous for the things of the 416 00:24:31,600 --> 00:24:32,640 Lord. I love that. 417 00:24:33,200 --> 00:24:37,960 I love that you labor intensely. I love that. 418 00:24:38,920 --> 00:24:43,520 I love the fact that you persevere, that nothing seems to 419 00:24:43,760 --> 00:24:46,680 get you down. You don't tire just because 420 00:24:46,680 --> 00:24:50,800 things are going against you. You don't become weary and quit 421 00:24:51,200 --> 00:24:54,560 and you're well doing. I love that about you. 422 00:24:55,200 --> 00:24:59,200 I love the fact that you do all these good works. 423 00:24:59,200 --> 00:25:06,360 However, however, you have left, not lost. 424 00:25:07,200 --> 00:25:09,000 He doesn't say lost your first love. 425 00:25:09,360 --> 00:25:13,080 He says you have left your first love. 426 00:25:16,320 --> 00:25:23,200 Now as pastors, I would think that if we were to receive a 427 00:25:23,200 --> 00:25:27,320 message from Jesus and only had one thing on there that he 428 00:25:27,320 --> 00:25:30,560 didn't like that we were doing, but we probably be good. 429 00:25:30,560 --> 00:25:34,040 We probably be worshiping and praising him and thanking him. 430 00:25:34,040 --> 00:25:37,840 I mean just one thing, but for Jesus this was a big thing 431 00:25:39,360 --> 00:25:44,320 because in this thing it gives the motivation for everything 432 00:25:44,960 --> 00:25:50,800 that they do. He says you have left your first 433 00:25:51,680 --> 00:25:58,440 love. They were known for their love 434 00:25:59,280 --> 00:26:01,800 even when Paul was there. Paul has said of them. 435 00:26:02,400 --> 00:26:05,760 He says, you know what, I never ceased to pray for you from the 436 00:26:05,760 --> 00:26:09,680 time that I heard about your faith in your love over in 437 00:26:09,680 --> 00:26:12,560 Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 15. 438 00:26:14,560 --> 00:26:19,240 This is such a warning for the church that it's good to be 439 00:26:19,240 --> 00:26:20,920 about doing the things of the Lord. 440 00:26:20,920 --> 00:26:24,080 It's good to be about service. It's good to be in praise and 441 00:26:24,080 --> 00:26:26,040 worship. It's good to be in AV and all 442 00:26:26,040 --> 00:26:28,640 these different things that we do to teaching ministries and 443 00:26:28,640 --> 00:26:33,200 the, the children, all these things that we do, but we should 444 00:26:33,200 --> 00:26:36,360 always be aware of the motivation for why we're doing 445 00:26:36,360 --> 00:26:39,120 it. We should always be aware of 446 00:26:39,120 --> 00:26:42,920 that because if we're doing it for any other reason other than 447 00:26:42,920 --> 00:26:47,120 for the love of God, eventually that is going to wane. 448 00:26:47,120 --> 00:26:48,480 That excitement is going to wane. 449 00:26:48,480 --> 00:26:52,920 It's going to fade and it's going to turn into, to something 450 00:26:52,920 --> 00:26:57,560 that becomes territorial or becomes into something that 451 00:26:57,560 --> 00:27:03,200 becomes adversarial. You begin to get tired of of 452 00:27:03,200 --> 00:27:05,960 working with people because the love is gone. 453 00:27:07,600 --> 00:27:11,560 So you start to have issues with people who don't do it your way. 454 00:27:11,560 --> 00:27:14,760 Because now all of a sudden the motive for doing this is not 455 00:27:14,760 --> 00:27:17,160 just to please the Lord. The motive for doing this is to 456 00:27:17,160 --> 00:27:22,880 please you, to please me. I want to do it this way because 457 00:27:22,880 --> 00:27:26,200 this is how I want it done. I think we should provide this 458 00:27:26,200 --> 00:27:28,880 because this is what I want, what will help me. 459 00:27:29,120 --> 00:27:33,000 I think we should go here because all these things, not 460 00:27:33,000 --> 00:27:37,480 because we love Jesus, but because we love us. 461 00:27:39,560 --> 00:27:44,120 And we begin to and we begin to promote the, the speakers or the 462 00:27:44,120 --> 00:27:48,960 pastors and to, to put them on the pedestals as opposed to 463 00:27:49,120 --> 00:27:53,840 Jesus. So he said that first love, How 464 00:27:54,040 --> 00:27:56,720 do we act in our first love? How do we act our first love in 465 00:27:56,720 --> 00:27:59,200 our marriages? Oh, we were giddy. 466 00:27:59,960 --> 00:28:02,280 We were giddy. We couldn't get enough of each 467 00:28:02,280 --> 00:28:04,680 other. We call each other and just hold 468 00:28:04,680 --> 00:28:08,480 the phone. You hang up. 469 00:28:08,480 --> 00:28:16,130 No, you hang up. Couldn't get enough of seeing 470 00:28:16,130 --> 00:28:18,090 each other, couldn't get enough of talking to each other. 471 00:28:18,210 --> 00:28:20,170 And we weren't there to talk with each other. 472 00:28:20,170 --> 00:28:24,640 We talk about each other to somebody else, that first love 473 00:28:27,040 --> 00:28:30,560 and marriages are tough. It's tough to maintain a 474 00:28:30,560 --> 00:28:34,440 marriage when that first love is gone, because what happens is 475 00:28:34,440 --> 00:28:38,880 that all that's left is duty, responsibility. 476 00:28:39,440 --> 00:28:43,200 Yeah, we still do our husbandly things where the wife still does 477 00:28:43,200 --> 00:28:46,360 the wifely things, but there's no love. 478 00:28:47,840 --> 00:28:50,800 There's no love it it has waned. Serving the Lord also becomes 479 00:28:50,800 --> 00:28:52,800 tough whenever the the first love is gone. 480 00:28:52,800 --> 00:28:56,720 And and what used to be relationship has become nothing 481 00:28:56,720 --> 00:29:02,880 but religion, legalism and duty. When our love for Jesus and 482 00:29:02,880 --> 00:29:08,280 others grow cold, all that's left basically it feels like a a 483 00:29:08,280 --> 00:29:14,360 constraint or a a burden, a slavish obedience. 484 00:29:14,840 --> 00:29:18,600 Sure, we still obey, but not with the same attitude, not with 485 00:29:18,600 --> 00:29:23,000 the same heart when we lose our first love. 486 00:29:24,160 --> 00:29:27,120 You know Jesus never loses His first love for us. 487 00:29:28,400 --> 00:29:31,160 He is everlasting. His love is everlasting. 488 00:29:32,720 --> 00:29:36,160 He loves us just as much today as He did from the foundation of 489 00:29:36,160 --> 00:29:39,280 the world. He loves us just as much today 490 00:29:39,280 --> 00:29:42,200 as the day we first got saved. He loves us just some He. 491 00:29:42,200 --> 00:29:49,360 He, His love doesn't wane, His love doesn't fade, but our love 492 00:29:49,880 --> 00:29:55,480 can fade from Him. It's good to have knowledge of 493 00:29:55,480 --> 00:29:59,280 doctrine and obey that doctrine. It's good to have that, but it 494 00:29:59,280 --> 00:30:04,960 should be grounded in a deep love for Jesus Christ and for 495 00:30:04,960 --> 00:30:07,320 His church. That's where it should be 496 00:30:07,320 --> 00:30:09,640 grounded in. Jesus will always prefer the 497 00:30:09,640 --> 00:30:14,720 love of Mary, the love that Mary had when she, you know, when she 498 00:30:14,720 --> 00:30:17,320 was sitting his feet just to listen to his word. 499 00:30:17,720 --> 00:30:22,080 He would prefer that love over the works and the busyness of 500 00:30:22,080 --> 00:30:28,920 Martha. So let's get back to the 501 00:30:28,920 --> 00:30:31,520 beginning, that excitement. We can do that. 502 00:30:31,520 --> 00:30:34,680 Jesus is saying in this, in this message here, you can do that. 503 00:30:34,680 --> 00:30:38,040 I'm not writing you off. I'm not getting rid of you. 504 00:30:38,040 --> 00:30:41,160 I'm not turning my back on you. That's not what I'm doing. 505 00:30:41,560 --> 00:30:44,960 I'm just letting you know that because I walk in the midst of 506 00:30:44,960 --> 00:30:47,480 you and because I see what you're doing and because I know 507 00:30:47,480 --> 00:30:49,840 your heart. Remember when we described his 508 00:30:49,840 --> 00:30:54,320 eyes, He says his eyes were like balls of fire because he can see 509 00:30:54,320 --> 00:30:58,000 through to the heart, not just the outside of things. 510 00:30:59,160 --> 00:31:01,600 He can see through into our our hearts. 511 00:31:02,760 --> 00:31:06,800 And he says, what I see is that there's a fading of the love, 512 00:31:07,200 --> 00:31:11,240 your first love, you've you've not lost it, but you've left 513 00:31:11,680 --> 00:31:14,440 your first love, but you can get back to it. 514 00:31:14,560 --> 00:31:16,920 And look at what he says here in verse, in verse 5. 515 00:31:16,920 --> 00:31:20,440 He says, remember therefore from where you have fallen. 516 00:31:21,800 --> 00:31:23,480 It was really nice. It's really nice to think about 517 00:31:23,480 --> 00:31:27,120 that where you have fallen. Remember because where you've 518 00:31:27,120 --> 00:31:29,880 fallen from, that means remember the way it was when you first 519 00:31:29,880 --> 00:31:32,320 met me, when you first knew something about. 520 00:31:32,320 --> 00:31:35,560 Then you think back to the first time that the word of God 521 00:31:35,560 --> 00:31:37,360 actually took root in your heart. 522 00:31:38,520 --> 00:31:43,200 Can you think back to that time and how you loved Him and how 523 00:31:43,200 --> 00:31:45,440 you and how you conducted yourself? 524 00:31:45,440 --> 00:31:48,080 Then you couldn't wait to come to church. 525 00:31:49,000 --> 00:31:51,760 You would come to church every time the doors open. 526 00:31:52,160 --> 00:31:55,080 And when you weren't sitting in church, you were listening to 527 00:31:55,080 --> 00:31:58,040 tapes of His Word and you weren't listening to tapes of 528 00:31:58,040 --> 00:31:59,800 His Word. You listen to other pastors. 529 00:31:59,800 --> 00:32:02,520 You were you were listening to, you know, you were listening to 530 00:32:02,520 --> 00:32:06,400 Christian songs. I remember a guy came up to 531 00:32:06,400 --> 00:32:09,680 visit me from my hometown. And this was after I got saved 532 00:32:09,680 --> 00:32:12,480 and he's riding in the car with me and I'm playing all this 533 00:32:12,480 --> 00:32:15,040 Christian music. He said, boy, you've really 534 00:32:15,040 --> 00:32:20,400 gotten into this adventure. He didn't hear any world songs 535 00:32:20,400 --> 00:32:22,240 that he we used to play with each other. 536 00:32:22,360 --> 00:32:24,880 He said, man, you, you over the top on us, ain't you? 537 00:32:25,920 --> 00:32:28,160 But that's the way it is when we first fall in love with Jesus. 538 00:32:28,160 --> 00:32:30,000 It feels like we're like fanatics. 539 00:32:32,040 --> 00:32:35,360 And I'm not ashamed of that. I'm not ashamed of that. 540 00:32:36,120 --> 00:32:40,280 All you talked about was Jesus. All you wanted to talk about was 541 00:32:40,360 --> 00:32:44,800 Jesus. Everybody you met at some point, 542 00:32:44,800 --> 00:32:47,160 that conversation would get back to Jesus. 543 00:32:47,880 --> 00:32:50,520 You will find a way. You would hear a door that was a 544 00:32:50,520 --> 00:32:54,840 window or something that they said that would bring back a way 545 00:32:54,840 --> 00:33:00,160 for you to talk about Jesus. Remember the times when when you 546 00:33:00,160 --> 00:33:04,920 would come to serve and and everything was so joyful and so 547 00:33:04,920 --> 00:33:08,200 exciting because you weren't serving for you weren't just 548 00:33:08,200 --> 00:33:10,040 serving to be serving. You were serving because you 549 00:33:10,040 --> 00:33:13,720 loved him. Somebody tell you here, take the 550 00:33:13,920 --> 00:33:16,040 take those chairs and and move them over there. 551 00:33:16,360 --> 00:33:21,720 Yes, absolutely. Yes, because you just wanted to 552 00:33:21,720 --> 00:33:24,280 be doing work in the House of God. 553 00:33:25,600 --> 00:33:29,000 It was serving him and anything you asked me to do to serve him, 554 00:33:29,240 --> 00:33:31,920 I'm with it. And that's what we did at that 555 00:33:31,920 --> 00:33:34,920 particular time. It was those things that meant 556 00:33:34,920 --> 00:33:40,000 so much to us. Bible studies, we were there. 557 00:33:41,160 --> 00:33:46,040 Church picnics, we were there. Every time the doors open, we 558 00:33:46,040 --> 00:33:48,840 were there and wondering what can we do? 559 00:33:48,840 --> 00:33:50,400 Now? This particular church, our 560 00:33:50,400 --> 00:33:54,760 church is one of the most loving churches that I've ever been in. 561 00:33:56,080 --> 00:33:59,440 If somebody has a need, somebody's there to help with 562 00:33:59,440 --> 00:34:02,320 it. This church has never that I've 563 00:34:02,320 --> 00:34:05,680 seen since I've been here and I've been here now since 2011, 564 00:34:06,280 --> 00:34:12,719 ten, sorry, since 2010, I've been here and I've never seen 565 00:34:12,719 --> 00:34:14,840 this church lack in the area of love. 566 00:34:15,960 --> 00:34:24,199 Thank Jesus, thank God for that because I have learned about 567 00:34:24,199 --> 00:34:28,080 church body being here in a way that I have never experienced it 568 00:34:28,080 --> 00:34:31,800 before. This love that you guys have for 569 00:34:31,800 --> 00:34:34,600 the sacrificial love, you'll drop what you're doing to go 570 00:34:34,600 --> 00:34:39,080 help somebody. When it was snowing and we had 571 00:34:39,080 --> 00:34:42,040 this really bad snow, there are people who needed assistance. 572 00:34:42,159 --> 00:34:44,560 There were men who dropped what they did and went to go take 573 00:34:44,560 --> 00:34:48,040 care of it. When someone has a baby or if 574 00:34:48,040 --> 00:34:52,520 someone has a need for meals, people go and pitch in. 575 00:34:54,760 --> 00:34:57,800 I'm just seeing so much love in this house. 576 00:34:59,200 --> 00:35:02,040 But we also have to look at our own personal minister, own 577 00:35:02,040 --> 00:35:05,120 personal lives. Is there anywhere in my life 578 00:35:05,120 --> 00:35:09,200 where I'm lacking love? Is there anywhere in my life 579 00:35:09,760 --> 00:35:12,160 where my love for Jesus has waned or faded? 580 00:35:13,440 --> 00:35:16,760 Am I still serving him with the first love? 581 00:35:18,160 --> 00:35:20,640 And we have to be honest about that for ourselves. 582 00:35:21,880 --> 00:35:24,240 But he says, remember, therefore, from where you've 583 00:35:24,240 --> 00:35:27,480 fallen and repent, turn from it. Repent. 584 00:35:27,480 --> 00:35:30,440 Confess that sin. Confess that. 585 00:35:30,440 --> 00:35:32,040 Yeah, this is the way that I'm feeling. 586 00:35:32,040 --> 00:35:35,680 I have lost or left that first love. 587 00:35:37,160 --> 00:35:39,920 Serving now has become somewhat of a chore. 588 00:35:41,080 --> 00:35:43,720 And that excitement that I used to have with serving is not 589 00:35:43,720 --> 00:35:46,400 there anymore. It's a press for me now to come 590 00:35:46,400 --> 00:35:53,640 to church sometimes. It's a press sometimes to do the 591 00:35:53,640 --> 00:35:57,320 ministry that I first volunteered to do. 592 00:35:58,920 --> 00:36:02,680 We have to admit that to ourselves if that's who we are. 593 00:36:03,880 --> 00:36:06,320 So he says, repent and then turn from that. 594 00:36:06,920 --> 00:36:09,720 Turn from that and turn back to the Lord. 595 00:36:09,920 --> 00:36:13,640 Let that light in our continent shine again. 596 00:36:13,840 --> 00:36:18,640 That used to shine so bright. Better start talking again about 597 00:36:19,120 --> 00:36:22,320 Jesus Christ and the things that He's done for us. 598 00:36:23,200 --> 00:36:27,960 How about just giving back, getting back to Thanksgiving, to 599 00:36:27,960 --> 00:36:32,600 the heart of Thanksgiving to just sometimes when we pray, 600 00:36:32,800 --> 00:36:35,200 instead of praying with our laundry list of things that we 601 00:36:35,200 --> 00:36:37,960 need or things that we want changed in our lives or or 602 00:36:37,960 --> 00:36:40,240 things that we want to see different, even just the way 603 00:36:40,240 --> 00:36:43,280 that we pray for other people. How about someone sometimes just 604 00:36:44,240 --> 00:36:47,240 thanking him? Lord, thank you. 605 00:36:48,520 --> 00:36:50,240 Thank you for the things you've done. 606 00:36:51,280 --> 00:36:54,960 Thank You that I still have a desire to serve you. 607 00:36:56,000 --> 00:37:00,880 Thank You that I have not turned back from my salvation. 608 00:37:00,880 --> 00:37:05,240 Thank You that You continue to speak to me through Your word. 609 00:37:06,000 --> 00:37:09,640 Thank you that I still have food on my table. 610 00:37:10,440 --> 00:37:12,400 Thank you for the clothes on my back. 611 00:37:12,600 --> 00:37:15,320 Thank you for the roof over my head. 612 00:37:15,520 --> 00:37:17,720 Thank you for the old piece of car that I drive. 613 00:37:20,240 --> 00:37:23,920 Thank you. Thank you that my children are 614 00:37:24,040 --> 00:37:27,200 healthy. Thank you that I still that I 615 00:37:27,200 --> 00:37:30,160 still have some loved ones in my in my life. 616 00:37:30,800 --> 00:37:33,840 Thank you for the things you've done for my brothers and sisters 617 00:37:34,000 --> 00:37:37,160 when they were struggling. Thank you for the healings that 618 00:37:37,160 --> 00:37:40,320 you've given to our brothers and sisters that were we were 619 00:37:40,320 --> 00:37:41,840 praying for. Thank you. 620 00:37:43,440 --> 00:37:48,560 Sometimes we just need to go back to having a thankful heart 621 00:37:49,000 --> 00:37:53,640 with the Lord that helps us to get back to that first love and 622 00:37:53,640 --> 00:37:57,600 the gratitude, the gratitude that we have just from being 623 00:37:57,600 --> 00:38:00,280 saved. Thank you. 624 00:38:00,880 --> 00:38:04,200 I'm so grateful to you, Lord, that I am saved, that I've 625 00:38:04,200 --> 00:38:07,680 escaped the wrath to come. Thank you. 626 00:38:10,000 --> 00:38:14,560 What a blessing it is to not take those things for granted. 627 00:38:14,560 --> 00:38:17,080 And sometimes we can, just like we can take each other for 628 00:38:17,080 --> 00:38:19,560 granted. So things like thank you and 629 00:38:19,560 --> 00:38:24,240 please, they kind of leave our vocabulary in the home because 630 00:38:24,240 --> 00:38:26,960 we begin to take those things for granted when our loved ones 631 00:38:26,960 --> 00:38:28,560 do things for us. And we can do the same thing 632 00:38:28,560 --> 00:38:31,360 with the Lord. We can take those things for 633 00:38:31,360 --> 00:38:36,520 granted, take it for granted that while they know I love them 634 00:38:36,520 --> 00:38:37,760 so I don't have to show them no more. 635 00:38:38,840 --> 00:38:40,320 I mean, I've been here how many years? 636 00:38:42,040 --> 00:38:46,200 Still necessary to do those things, those first things, 637 00:38:46,200 --> 00:38:49,240 those first acts, Still necessary to do those things, 638 00:38:49,360 --> 00:38:52,120 just like it is for the Lord. But you know, the real blessing 639 00:38:52,440 --> 00:38:58,320 is the fact, like we said earlier, He never, never stop 640 00:38:58,520 --> 00:39:02,120 loving us. His love never faded from us, 641 00:39:02,320 --> 00:39:05,440 which is why he's even writing this because he's letting us 642 00:39:05,440 --> 00:39:09,880 know just how important relationship is with him. 643 00:39:11,520 --> 00:39:14,280 Relationship. He could have just let this 644 00:39:14,280 --> 00:39:16,360 thing go and say you don't all those other things. 645 00:39:16,600 --> 00:39:18,360 Ah, you don't love me as much as did I ask. 646 00:39:18,360 --> 00:39:23,720 OK, no, it's important for him to have relationship with us. 647 00:39:24,000 --> 00:39:30,080 Why I'm a Sinner, I'm not even worth having a relationship with 648 00:39:30,080 --> 00:39:34,440 him, but yet it's important to him that we have relationship 649 00:39:34,560 --> 00:39:40,480 with him and he wants it. He wants it. 650 00:39:40,680 --> 00:39:43,200 So we then do the first works like we talked about. 651 00:39:43,760 --> 00:39:47,440 Or else I will come quickly. I will come to you quickly and 652 00:39:47,440 --> 00:39:50,240 remove your lamp stand from its place. 653 00:39:50,600 --> 00:39:56,880 He's basically saying, I will come and I will remove your 654 00:39:56,880 --> 00:39:59,680 church. How Remove your church. 655 00:39:59,960 --> 00:40:03,000 The light in that church will go out and will go dim and 656 00:40:03,000 --> 00:40:07,200 eventually it will go out. The Church of Ephesus is not 657 00:40:07,200 --> 00:40:09,560 there anymore. Just the rumbles of it, just 658 00:40:09,600 --> 00:40:12,760 the, just the, the, the, the, you know, the, the leftover 659 00:40:12,760 --> 00:40:14,440 pieces of it, the remnants of it. 660 00:40:14,800 --> 00:40:16,480 That church is not there anymore. 661 00:40:18,560 --> 00:40:20,520 And there's a lot of churches today. 662 00:40:21,080 --> 00:40:24,880 Whose doors are closing? I bet someone in here knows of a 663 00:40:25,040 --> 00:40:28,640 church that over the past 10 years that is no longer here. 664 00:40:30,400 --> 00:40:38,000 Because when we leave the love of Jesus, eventually, eventually 665 00:40:38,000 --> 00:40:40,960 the right of our ministry goes out. 666 00:40:41,920 --> 00:40:44,680 Because when his presence go, so does he. 667 00:40:45,960 --> 00:40:52,000 So does the light. It goes so he says, I will come 668 00:40:52,000 --> 00:40:56,120 to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place unless 669 00:40:56,360 --> 00:40:59,800 you repent. That's twice He used the word 670 00:40:59,800 --> 00:41:02,600 repent. He is telling us that we still, 671 00:41:03,160 --> 00:41:07,120 regardless of where we are in our hearts, with Him we can 672 00:41:07,120 --> 00:41:10,680 repent and be restored. And that's the thing I love most 673 00:41:10,680 --> 00:41:15,560 about the Lord with each other. Sometimes we can do things that 674 00:41:15,560 --> 00:41:19,520 we will write each other off for the rest of our lives, not speak 675 00:41:19,520 --> 00:41:24,200 to each other ever again. So sad when that happens, 676 00:41:24,200 --> 00:41:27,800 particularly in families, but with Jesus that never happens. 677 00:41:28,280 --> 00:41:31,760 He says if you repent, all he's saying is just acknowledge. 678 00:41:32,640 --> 00:41:36,080 Agree with me that this is going on in your heart. 679 00:41:36,080 --> 00:41:41,800 Agree with me on that. Acknowledge it, confess it, and 680 00:41:41,800 --> 00:41:43,800 then turn from it. Change your mind about it. 681 00:41:44,200 --> 00:41:47,320 Turn from it and we get restored. 682 00:41:47,640 --> 00:41:50,640 So twice he uses the way he said, unless you repent, this is 683 00:41:50,640 --> 00:41:53,280 what will happen. Verse 6 says, but this you have 684 00:41:53,880 --> 00:41:57,600 that you hate the deeds of the Nicolatians, which I also hate. 685 00:41:57,600 --> 00:42:01,280 Now notice he didn't say I hate the nicolation, the Nicolatans, 686 00:42:01,680 --> 00:42:03,480 and I want to pronounce that right, just like we got to 687 00:42:03,480 --> 00:42:07,400 pronounce the Book of Revelation right without an S. 688 00:42:08,640 --> 00:42:12,680 Well, nicolate 10s is how it's pronounced. 689 00:42:12,680 --> 00:42:14,760 It's not pronounced nicolate shuns. 690 00:42:15,080 --> 00:42:17,360 And I'm just saying that to you because I made both of those 691 00:42:17,360 --> 00:42:21,760 mistakes. I made both of those mistakes 692 00:42:21,760 --> 00:42:23,800 and I got it clear. So I don't want you guys to make 693 00:42:23,800 --> 00:42:26,360 that mistake. It's the Nicolay tenants. 694 00:42:26,960 --> 00:42:30,800 And he's saying that, listen, you know, the the the deeds of 695 00:42:30,800 --> 00:42:33,920 the Nicolatians looking at lake tenants is what he hates the 696 00:42:33,920 --> 00:42:37,640 deeds, not the Nicolatans. He doesn't hate the people, but 697 00:42:37,640 --> 00:42:40,000 he hates the deeds. Why? 698 00:42:40,320 --> 00:42:42,240 Because your deeds are very similar. 699 00:42:42,240 --> 00:42:45,120 Their, their doctrine is very similar to Balaam's. 700 00:42:47,440 --> 00:42:51,320 It, it, it, it would it, it definitely encouraged sexual 701 00:42:51,320 --> 00:42:54,160 immorality. Basically saying that whatever 702 00:42:54,160 --> 00:42:56,800 you do with your body is fine, don't worry about it. 703 00:42:58,880 --> 00:43:02,000 So they're OK with all these things that they did in the 704 00:43:02,000 --> 00:43:03,640 temple because hey, that's just the body. 705 00:43:03,640 --> 00:43:06,320 Don't worry about it. It's the spirit that you got to 706 00:43:06,320 --> 00:43:09,920 be concerned about. Now, this is what makes it even 707 00:43:09,920 --> 00:43:13,320 more interesting. The one who founded the Nicolay 708 00:43:13,320 --> 00:43:18,120 10s was actually his name was his name was Nicholas. 709 00:43:18,640 --> 00:43:25,200 And he was actually one of the seven deacons who Peter and the 710 00:43:25,200 --> 00:43:29,360 apostles chose to be the first deacons of the church. 711 00:43:29,400 --> 00:43:31,240 He was one of them, but he fell away. 712 00:43:32,080 --> 00:43:36,080 He fell into some heresy and he never came out of and he let a 713 00:43:36,080 --> 00:43:40,160 people, a set called the Nicolaitans. 714 00:43:42,040 --> 00:43:45,400 In this group of people. There's about sexual immorality, 715 00:43:46,000 --> 00:43:49,560 it's about immoral conduct, all those things. 716 00:43:49,560 --> 00:43:51,400 It's OK. They're saying it's OK. 717 00:43:52,280 --> 00:43:54,880 But the other thing about the Nicolaitans is the fact that 718 00:43:54,880 --> 00:43:59,960 they also have this doctrine of what they, what they call 719 00:44:00,360 --> 00:44:04,160 basically we look at it and we see it's like clergy against 720 00:44:04,160 --> 00:44:06,400 laity. In other words, it brought 721 00:44:06,400 --> 00:44:10,280 hierarchy into the church hierarchy. 722 00:44:10,640 --> 00:44:14,520 So now the, you know, those who were in ministry or or those who 723 00:44:14,520 --> 00:44:19,600 were the elders or whatever more important than the people and 724 00:44:19,600 --> 00:44:22,840 they were to go betweens between the people and the Lord. 725 00:44:26,240 --> 00:44:34,200 The word Nicolaitans actually means conquer the people and 726 00:44:34,200 --> 00:44:36,480 then over here in verse 7, praise worship team can come 727 00:44:36,480 --> 00:44:41,400 forth. In verse 7, he says he who has 728 00:44:41,400 --> 00:44:45,680 an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the church, to 729 00:44:45,680 --> 00:44:49,480 him who overcomes, I will give to eat from the tree of life, 730 00:44:49,880 --> 00:44:53,760 which is in the midst of the paradise of God. 731 00:44:54,400 --> 00:44:58,600 He who overcomes, he who has an ear, let him hear. 732 00:44:58,840 --> 00:45:01,120 So it's not just for this church, it's everyone who's 733 00:45:01,120 --> 00:45:04,120 listening, everyone who hears it from my voice. 734 00:45:05,480 --> 00:45:11,280 Let him come, don't go. If you can hear it, then listen 735 00:45:11,280 --> 00:45:13,440 to it. Understand what it is that he, 736 00:45:13,440 --> 00:45:15,040 they, he's saying. Let me understand what it is 737 00:45:15,040 --> 00:45:17,600 that I'm saying. Hear what the Spirit says to the 738 00:45:17,600 --> 00:45:19,680 churches and to he who overcomes. 739 00:45:20,320 --> 00:45:23,200 I will give him to eat of the tree of life. 740 00:45:23,200 --> 00:45:27,480 That's the the tree of eternity. The tree of life was mentioned 741 00:45:27,720 --> 00:45:31,360 back in Genesis at the very beginning, the tree of life was 742 00:45:31,360 --> 00:45:34,600 mentioned and it was shielded from everybody every you know, 743 00:45:34,600 --> 00:45:36,880 when he when he kicked Adam, when the Lord kicked Adam out of 744 00:45:36,880 --> 00:45:41,000 the garden, That tree had to be protected because didn't want 745 00:45:41,240 --> 00:45:44,080 him to eat from that tree of life and have eternity and the 746 00:45:44,080 --> 00:45:47,560 sense and and in the position that he was in, he was sinful. 747 00:45:47,560 --> 00:45:50,440 He become sinful, he become disobedient. 748 00:45:51,360 --> 00:45:54,800 But to those of us who overcome, those of us who trust in Jesus 749 00:45:54,800 --> 00:45:58,880 Christ, the true believers, those who believe that Jesus is 750 00:45:58,880 --> 00:46:05,120 the Christ, and those who obey the word of God, if you love me, 751 00:46:05,120 --> 00:46:07,360 you'll keep my commandments is what Jesus says. 752 00:46:08,920 --> 00:46:10,440 We get a chance to eat at that tree. 753 00:46:10,440 --> 00:46:15,000 We get that eternal life is what Jesus is offering, but he gives 754 00:46:15,000 --> 00:46:19,120 us an opportunity to repent. So my question to myself, I had 755 00:46:19,120 --> 00:46:22,360 to ask myself 2 questions. First of all, if the Lord was to 756 00:46:22,360 --> 00:46:26,800 write a letter to Calvary Chapel, Westmoreland, what would 757 00:46:26,800 --> 00:46:32,520 be what would be the commendations and what would be 758 00:46:32,520 --> 00:46:36,080 the rebukes? If He was to write that letter 759 00:46:36,080 --> 00:46:39,520 directly to me, what would be the commendations and what would 760 00:46:39,520 --> 00:46:42,400 be the rebukes? Even more important, where am I 761 00:46:42,400 --> 00:46:46,680 at in this message? Where is my heart? 762 00:46:48,360 --> 00:46:52,920 Is my heart fading? Do I need to go before Him and 763 00:46:52,920 --> 00:46:56,040 ask for a fresh feeling of His Holy Spirit so that I can have 764 00:46:56,040 --> 00:47:00,080 that first love? Where am I at? 765 00:47:01,200 --> 00:47:03,680 And only I have to be honest with myself, just like all of 766 00:47:03,680 --> 00:47:05,440 you have to be honest with yourself. 767 00:47:05,440 --> 00:47:09,240 But the thing that I want us to remember is that He loves each 768 00:47:09,240 --> 00:47:14,520 and every one of us so much that a relationship with Him is 769 00:47:14,520 --> 00:47:17,960 important. That's how much He loves us. 770 00:47:20,120 --> 00:47:28,280 So let's pray, Father, we thank You for the message of love that 771 00:47:28,280 --> 00:47:31,480 You give us. The theme of love, Lord, runs 772 00:47:31,480 --> 00:47:36,440 through so many of the messages that you give us, Lord, to 773 00:47:36,440 --> 00:47:38,320 listen to, that you give us to read. 774 00:47:39,800 --> 00:47:42,400 That theme of love, Lord, because it was love that took 775 00:47:42,400 --> 00:47:45,160 you to the cross. It was love that caused you to 776 00:47:45,160 --> 00:47:48,600 give yourself up for us. I'm so grateful. 777 00:47:49,520 --> 00:47:55,160 I thank you, Father, that your example of that love and that 778 00:47:55,160 --> 00:47:59,280 first love, Lord, is what you tell us that we can get back to. 779 00:48:00,120 --> 00:48:03,480 We can get back to the way that we used to be with you. 780 00:48:04,680 --> 00:48:08,880 You are God of restoration. Lord, You will restore us 781 00:48:09,080 --> 00:48:11,160 wherever we think that we've dropped off. 782 00:48:11,160 --> 00:48:15,680 Lord, you can restore us. You desire to restore us. 783 00:48:15,720 --> 00:48:21,880 Lord, I thank you that you see us as the apple of your eye. 784 00:48:21,880 --> 00:48:26,480 We're so important to You that even above works, above our 785 00:48:26,480 --> 00:48:30,040 labor, above are the obedience to the doctrine. 786 00:48:30,040 --> 00:48:33,680 Lord, the thing that you desire most is relationship. 787 00:48:34,920 --> 00:48:38,440 And I thank you that you're always there to be in 788 00:48:38,440 --> 00:48:44,440 relationship with us, Lord. So on a night in which Jesus was 789 00:48:44,440 --> 00:48:59,840 betrayed, he took the bread and he said, this bread is my body, 790 00:49:00,640 --> 00:49:06,680 my broken body. This is the represents the body 791 00:49:06,920 --> 00:49:12,480 that I that he allowed to be broken because he loved us. 792 00:49:15,960 --> 00:49:19,280 And he says, eat this and as often as you eat it, eating the 793 00:49:19,280 --> 00:49:28,760 remembrance of me. And then he took the cup, and he 794 00:49:28,760 --> 00:49:32,000 said, this cup is the new covenant in my blood, which I 795 00:49:32,000 --> 00:49:35,080 shed for the forgiveness of sins of many. 796 00:49:37,480 --> 00:49:42,120 And once again He gave up us of his shed blood. 797 00:49:42,640 --> 00:49:48,040 He shed his blood because he loved us and He didn't wait 798 00:49:48,360 --> 00:49:51,400 until we got our lives together. But it was why we were yet 799 00:49:51,400 --> 00:49:54,200 sinners. He demonstrated his love for us 800 00:49:55,720 --> 00:50:01,120 about what He did on the cross. So drink this and as often as 801 00:50:01,120 --> 00:50:04,280 you drink it, drink it in remembrance of me. 802 00:50:08,360 --> 00:50:12,480 As often as you eat this bread and and drink this cup, you do 803 00:50:12,480 --> 00:50:15,040 show the Lord's death until he comes. 804 00:50:16,600 --> 00:50:19,800 The altar is open for anyone who wants to just come up and lay 805 00:50:19,800 --> 00:50:21,160 before the Lord and to.