Love Letters to the Loveless Church

Okay, well good morning everyone. Great to see you again. I think we're a little smaller this morning with the car park being out and a bunch of other things.

We're a little smaller this morning. Last Sunday, Chris kicked off the Revelation series and did so really fantastically.

We looked at, he kind of introduced the series and we looked at Revelation chapter 1.

Revelation 1 · chapter mention

One, if you are new to Watermark or you weren't here last Sunday, I want to encourage you to download that because Chris really explained so much of this book of the Bible.

And really going to help you get your head around it. And we're going to work through it between now and Christmas.

And so if you weren't here last Sunday, I want to encourage you to download it and listen to that.

The other thing is, if you didn't grab one of these on the way in, make sure you grab one on the way out.

There's a whole lot of reading and information here that's going to help us work through this book of Revelation together.

So if you didn't get one on the way in, make sure you grab one on the way out.

And this morning we're going to continue by looking at Revelation chapter 2.

Revelation 2 · chapter mention

And before we do that, let me pray and then we're going to listen to the scripture being read to us.

So will you join me as we pray together?

Heavenly Father, we have come to worship and adore you this morning.

Father, many of us come with such a heavy heart this morning.

We've come with confused emotions.

We've come to have our eyes lifted off of ourselves and the circumstances of our world and to draw near to you.

You are the rock of ages upon which we can build our lives and hinge our hopes.

You are God of the ancient of days.

You have seen kingdoms rise and kingdoms fall.

You have existed in glory since before the world began.

And your dominion and your authority and your sovereignty has never ever been threatened or toppled.

You are God of the great I am.

Everything we need is found in you.

And so we come to you this morning to find our rest and our peace and our hope.

God, where we are hurting and anxious, come and bring your healing power.

Where we are fearful and worried, come and bring your reassurance.

Where we are hurt and upset, come and minister your peace, we pray.

God, teach us what you mean when you say in the Psalms, be angry but do not sin.

Help us not to sin in our anger, in our pain, in our confusion, God.

Lord, you call us to love you supremely and for you to be first in our hearts and our lives.

God, we confess that so seldom is this our reality.

Other things capture our heart's attention.

Other fears, other loves, other things promise us the world and yet we fall for their lives.

Other gods and idols lure our hearts away.

Father, we confess this, we do not deny it.

And yet though we sin continually, you continually repeat your kindness to us.

Oh, that we would give ourselves to you forever and never attempt to live on our own or live for ourselves.

Father, we need you to come and reorientate our hearts back towards you.

Shine the light of the gospel into our hearts that we can turn back to you today, we pray, God.

Father, this morning we want to pray for the churches across Asia, this wonderful continent in which we live.

And this morning we especially want to pray for the church in India.

God, that country with millions of gods and millions of idols.

We pray that you, God, will be supreme.

We pray for pastors and church leaders there, for churches across India.

We pray for an incredible outpouring of the Holy Spirit today.

God, revive and encourage and strengthen them.

This morning, God, we want to pray in particular for our friends, Mark Davidson and Anand in Mumbai,

for Aksha and Ranjit in New Delhi.

God, we pray for Jonathan and Rajiv in Bangalore.

God, may they know your presence.

May you draw closer to them.

Father, we pray where they're facing challenges and difficulties, strengthen them and encourage them, we pray.

Oh, God, hear our prayers.

We pray for the innumerable churches and leaders across Asia.

Those we know and those we don't know.

But you know everyone.

Be their hope.

Be their guide.

Be their encouragement.

We pray these things in your precious and glorious name, Jesus.

Amen.

Amen.

Theo and Echo, will you come and read Revelation chapter 2 for us?

Revelation 2 · chapter mention

Thanks.

The scripture reading comes from Revelation chapter 2.

Revelation 2 · chapter mention

Please follow along.

Your bulletins are on the screen.

To the angel of the church in Ephesus write,

the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand,

who walks among the seven golden lampstands.

I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance,

and how you cannot bear with those who are evil,

but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not,

and felt them to be false.

I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake,

and you have not grown weary.

But I have this against you,

that you have abandoned the love you had at first.

Remember, therefore, from where you have fallen,

repent and do the works you did at first.

If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place,

unless you repent.

Yet this you have, you hate the works of the Nicolaitans,

which I also hate.

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

To the one who conquers, I will grant to eat of the tree of life,

which is in the paradise of God.

And to the angel of the church in Theotira write,

the words of the Son of God,

who has eyes like a flame of fire,

and whose feet are like burnished bronze.

I know your works,

your love and faith and service and patient endurance,

and that your latter works exceed the first.

But I have this against you,

that you tolerate that woman Jezebel,

who calls herself a prophetess,

and is teaching and seducing my servants

to practice sexual immorality,

and to eat food sacrificed to idols.

I gave her time to repent,

but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality.

Behold, I will throw her onto a sick bag.

And those who commit adultery with her,

I will throw into great tribulation,

unless they repent of their works.

And I will strike her children dead.

And all the churches will know that I am He who searches mind and heart,

and I will give to each of you according to your works.

But to the rest of you in Theotira,

who do not hold this teaching,

who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan,

to you I say,

I do not lay on you any other burden.

Only hold fast what you have until I come.

The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end,

to him I will give authority over the nations,

and he will rule them with a rod of iron,

as when earthen pots are broken in pieces,

even as I myself have received authority from my Father.

And I will give him the morning star.

He who has an ear,

let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

This is the Word of God.

Great. Thanks, Echo and Theo.

Okay, so we are in the book of Revelation,

as you would have heard many times by now.

And it is a book that's written by the last apostle, John.

And he is on the island of Patmos.

He's there because of his witness of Jesus.

He's there in exile.

And while he's there,

God gives him this revelation,

and he writes it down for these various churches.

And this revelation,

the Greek word is apocalypse.

And sometimes when we think of apocalypse,

as Chris said last week,

we can think of fire and doomsday

and comets hitting the earth

and that kind of stuff.

Actually, the word apocalypse

just simply means a revelation.

And the reason God gives John this revelation

is because he wants to show him

what's happening in the spiritual realm.

It's like peeling back the curtain

and revealing what's behind there

or what's obscure.

And the reason for this is that

God is showing John and us

that so much of our lives is lived

merely in response to what we can see.

We think just purely in a physical world,

and God wants to reveal to us

that there's so much more than what meets the eye.

There's a whole spiritual realm going on around us.

And it's kind of like if you're watching a movie

or a series or something,

and let's say there's a villain, okay?

And his name happens to be Dan.

And this villain you see here

has a conversation with his partner in crime

called Justin.

And these two are plotting some case.

And then this good-looking villain called Dan

goes up to somebody innocent

and starts sweet-talking them

and having a conversation,

getting them to try and give them access

to government archives

or some million-dollar deal

or whatever it is.

What's happened is

when you see that scene,

the innocent person,

innocent person Simon,

all they know what's going on

is this nice-looking person called Dan

has come and spoken to them

and is trying to sweet-talk them.

But because you've seen the preceding scene,

you've seen what's happened,

you're thinking,

no, don't give them the access codes.

Don't take that drink.

Don't tell them that piece of information.

Why?

Because what's been revealed to you

is the real plot

that's going on behind the scenes.

On the surface,

it just looks like

these two people having a conversation.

But there's a whole other plot

that's going on behind.

That's what God is doing.

He's saying,

John, churches, Christians, watermark,

I want to reveal to you

to show you what's going on

in the spiritual realm.

And so the book of Revelation is

that's what much of it's about.

As Chris said,

it's also a prophecy.

We see this in chapter 1, verse 3,

where he says,

Blessed is the one

who reads this prophecy.

Now, in the Bible,

prophecy is very seldom

about foretelling the future.

Sometimes we think

prophets are those

that can see into the future

and then tell us

what's going to happen.

Actually, in the Bible,

prophecy is always

a word from God

that demands a response.

Thus saith the Lord.

What are you going to do with this?

And sometimes

when God brings,

or when a prophet speaks,

he'll say,

This is what God says.

And if you don't respond,

then this will happen.

But actually,

when God brings a word

via a prophecy

or his prophet,

it should arrest us.

It should make us sit up

and think,

Wow, okay,

what am I going to do with that?

How am I going to respond?

And that's really important

because as we go through

the book of Revelation,

it's easy to be caught up

with all this imagery.

There's the beast

and the dragon

and this Babylon

and this prostitute.

And we can get caught up

with all the imagery

and try and understand it.

But actually,

this book is meant

to arrest us.

It's meant to make us

sit up and say,

Okay, God, you're speaking.

How am I going to respond

to your word?

And then thirdly,

the book is not only

a revelation.

It's not only a prophecy.

It's also a letter.

And that brings us

to our passage of Scripture today.

Because what we see

in chapter 2

and chapter 3

is that John

writes the book

of Revelation

to seven

very specific

individual

real-life churches

that are facing

real-life challenges

in modern-day Turkey,

the ancient world

of Asia Minor.

And these churches

weren't just,

or the letter

isn't just theoretical.

It isn't just

an analogy

or a parable

that Jesus tells.

These are real letters

written to real churches

facing real challenges.

I think we've got a map

up on the screen.

But what's interesting

is that sometimes

we can think

that these are

seven letters

written to seven churches.

Like the postman

comes with his

stack of letters

and says,

There you go, Ephesus.

There you go, Thyatira.

There you go, Pergamum.

And later,

see at the back

there's even a letter

for you.

But actually,

what's happening

is it's one letter,

it's one book

that is written

and it first gets

delivered to the church

in Ephesus

and they read

the section to them

and then they read

the section to the next church

and then they read

the section to the church

in Pergamum

and Thyatira,

et cetera, et cetera.

And then they go

and they read

the rest of the book

of Revelation

and when they finish

with the whole thing

and they understand it,

they then send it

on to the next church

and then Smyrna gets it

and they read

from the beginning

and they read

the letter to Ephesus

and the letter to Smyrna

and et cetera, et cetera,

the whole thing

and then they take

the entire Revelation

and they pass it on

to the next church.

So they didn't just

each get their own

individual envelopes

with kind of like

a postscript at the end.

The entire book

of Revelation

is delivered

to each one

of the seven churches.

Now what's interesting

is that in each one

of those sections

of the individual churches,

Jesus has some

challenging things

and He often rebukes

the churches,

which is interesting

because as you're

reading the letter,

you know that all

the other churches

are going to read

your mail, right?

Jesus is not very good

at saving face.

He kind of just

puts it all out there,

tells everyone

what He has to say

to everyone.

But here's why

this is important

because our little church

here in Hong Kong,

right,

on the west side

of the island,

hopefully there's

some things

we're doing well,

hopefully Jesus

would commend us,

but there's probably

also some things

that He would

challenge us on.

And so what is Jesus

going to do to us?

Does Jesus write

an individual letter

to every church

in the world,

to you at Watermark,

here's your letter.

To that church

meeting under the tree

in the Sahara Desert,

here's your letter.

To that church

meeting on the corner

of 5th and 17th Avenue

somewhere in Pennsylvania,

what does Jesus do?

He gives us

what He gave

His original churches,

which is the entire revelation.

And here's why

He does that.

Because what we

don't just need

is a performance review.

We don't just need

Jesus come and say,

Hey, Watermark,

I've gone through

the checklist

and you're doing

three things right

and four things badly.

Here I want you to prove.

What we need

is what the church

has needed,

which is a revelation

of Christ in His glory

on His throne.

We need a revelation

of how magnificent

Jesus is.

We also need a revelation

of how Satan

is going to try

and attack the churches

and all the ways

that He does that

through false teaching

and this and that.

But we also need

a revelation

of how Jesus wins

in the end

and how ultimately

Satan is crushed

and Jesus is victorious.

Does that make sense?

And so what we need

is not just

a performance review.

We need the book

of Revelation.

And so Jesus gives us

what He gave

the original churches,

which is,

He has a revelation

of my glory.

Learn.

Read this

and be blessed

by it.

Okay?

Something else

we're going to learn

about these letters

is almost everything

that's written

in the section

to the seven

individual churches

is also written

later on

found in the book

of Revelation.

And everything

we see later on

in the book

of Revelation

is found

in the seven churches

earlier on.

And so,

in a sense,

these seven churches

are almost live

flesh and blood

case studies

for what John

is going to say

later on.

So later on,

you're going to see

these images

of beasts

and warfare

and horses

and all this stuff

and you can kind of think

what on earth

is going on?

But actually,

He's given us

some case studies

to show us

how it plays out

in real life

early on in the book

in these seven churches.

And so,

for example,

in the letter

to the church

of Philadelphia,

Jesus says this,

because you've kept

my word

about patience

and endurance,

I will keep you

from the hour

of trial

that is coming

on the whole world.

But then,

later on,

that's exactly

what we're going to see

in chapters 6 and 7.

There's this tribulation

that's coming

on the whole world

and who's going

to keep God's people?

Well,

at the end of chapter 6

we see God's going

to be the one

who keeps His people.

God seals His people

and He keeps them

even in the midst

of trials and persecution.

All we see

in chapter 2,

the letter

to the church

in Smyrna,

Jesus says,

Be faithful unto death

and I will give you

the crown of life.

In other words,

He writes to this church

and He says,

You're going through

difficulty

even if you have to die,

even if it costs

you your life,

be faithful

because I will vindicate you

and you will come

back to life.

Well,

that's exactly

what we see

in chapter 11.

In chapter 11,

there are these two witnesses

and they are taken

to the town square

and they're talking

about Jesus

and they are killed,

they're chopped down

and they're left for dead

in the town square

so that everyone

can walk past

and mock at them

and scoff at them

and laugh at them

but what happens?

They are vindicated.

They're brought back to life.

And so that's exactly

what we see in chapter 2

with the letter to Smyrna.

In other words,

everything God writes

to His people

in the seven letters,

He then shows

how that plays out

later on in the book

and everything we see

later on in the book

is given to us

an example

earlier on

in the letters

of Revelation.

Okay,

last thing

by way of introduction

and then we're going

to get into one today.

When we read

these seven sections

to the seven churches,

one of the things

we'll quickly notice

is that it follows

a very similar flow

or pattern.

It starts off telling us

these are the words

of Jesus

and then describes

some aspect

of Jesus

in His glory.

And so it says

these are the words

of Jesus

who has eyes

like fire

or these are the words

of Jesus

who holds

the keys of life

or these are the words

of Jesus

who holds

the lampstands

in His hands.

So it says

these are the words

of Jesus

and then it describes

some aspect

of Jesus

and His glory.

Now,

that's really important

because what it means

is firstly

these aren't just

letters of advice.

It's not like

Joe Bloggs

from New York City

or Tim Keller.

Tim Keller

writing to Watermark

saying,

Watermark,

I've done an assessment

and this is what

I think of you.

These are the words

of Jesus,

the sovereign God

and therefore

we better sit up

and listen.

But in addition,

each aspect

of Jesus' glory

that's revealed

in the opening lines

speaks to some aspect

of what the church

is going through

later on.

Either the encouragement

or the challenge

that He brings.

So,

for instance,

look at the letter

to the church

in Philadelphia.

It says this,

These are the words

of Jesus,

the Holy One

who has the key

of David,

who opens doors

that no one can shut

and who shuts doors

that no one can open.

Okay?

But then later on

in the letter,

this is what He says

to them,

I have set before you

an open door

which no one

is able to shut.

I know that you

have little power

and yet you have

kept my words

and not denied

my name.

So,

what's going on here?

The church in Philadelphia

is a small church.

Okay?

This isn't Philadelphia

and USA.

This is Philadelphia

and Turkey.

Okay?

It's a small church.

They're not very powerful.

They're not very rich.

They don't have

a lot of influence,

either economic influence

or cultural influence

or political influence

and they're feeling

the pressure

because the Roman world

is closing in on them

and they feel like

our church doors

are about to be

closed and shut off.

Any minute now,

the emperor is going

to come and close us down

and Jesus writes them

and says,

these are the words

of the one

who opens doors

that no one can shut

and who shuts doors

that no one can close.

I know what's going on

and even though

you feel threatened,

know that there's nothing

that anybody

in the world can do.

If I want your church

to stand,

it will stand.

You see what he's saying?

The words of the one

who has the resources

to accomplish

what you and your church

needs.

And friends,

that's really encouraging

because as Watermark,

there are going to be

a whole lot of things

that we go through

and every resource

that we need as a church

is found,

not in your pastors,

not out there

through some pastor,

it's found in Jesus.

These are the words

of Jesus

who has every resource

we need

to encounter

or to go through

the challenges

that we're going to face.

If we're struggling

with unity,

these are the words

of Jesus

who holds his church together.

If we're struggling

with unforgiveness,

these are the words

of Jesus,

the one who pours grace

into our hearts

and shows us

what forgiveness looks like

so that we can forgive others.

If we're struggling

with feeling unloved

or unloving

to those around us,

these are the words

of the one

who loved us

with an everlasting love,

who pours his love

into our hearts

that we can make

know and make known

his love

to those around us.

Does that make sense?

Should I explain

that all again?

Okay, great.

Thank you, Simon.

Okay, so first thing

is these are the words

of Jesus who...

Second thing is then

Jesus says,

I know what's going on

in your church

and this is so encouraging.

I know every challenge

you're facing,

I know what's going on.

I know how you've endured.

I know how you've put up

with difficulty.

I know how you're

facing persecution.

I know what's going on.

But it's also a warning

because he knows

everything that's going on

and he also knows

where we compromise.

Jesus says,

I know what's going on

in your church.

And often there's

a commendation there,

an encouragement.

And then he says,

thirdly,

but this is what

I have against you.

There's an admonition

or a correction,

a rebuke.

Watermark,

I'm so encouraged

by this is what's going on

in your church,

says Jesus.

But there's this thing

that I want you to be aware of.

Don't forget about this.

And then fourth thing

Jesus says,

is he says,

he who has ears,

I want you to hear.

In other words,

don't just think,

that's interesting,

I'm sure the elders

will think about this.

Listen up.

What is Jesus saying

to us as a church?

And then the fifth thing

is he always promises

some gift of grace.

He says,

to those who endure,

I promise you this.

I will give you this.

I will stand with you

in this way.

And so,

that's how the letters

unfold.

Okay,

now with that introduction,

today we're going to dive

into primarily

the letter to the church

in Ephesus

and we'll reference

a little bit

the second one

that Theo and Echo

read to us,

the church of Thyatira.

And so,

look at Revelation chapter 2

Revelation 2:1

verse 1 with me.

Let's work through

this passage together.

If you've got your Bible,

open up

and let's work through it.

Jesus says this,

to the angel

of the church

in Ephesus,

write these words.

These are the words

of him

who holds

the seven stars

in his right hand

and who walks

amongst the seven

golden lampstands.

Now,

remember from last week,

what does that mean?

Okay,

Jesus says,

I hold the stars

in my hand.

The stars are the angels,

those that are

kind of looking

after the church

and the church

is the lampstand.

Now,

in other words,

Jesus says,

I'm holding you.

Church in Ephesus,

you're going through

challenges,

you're facing persecution,

the Roman Empire

is squeezing in on you.

Your future

is not in the hands

of your pastor,

it's not in the hands

of the Roman Emperor,

Domitian,

it's not in the hands

of any political leader

or the economy.

Your church

is in my hands.

I've got you.

Friends,

we as a church

are going to face

some challenges.

There are going to be

things that are

awkward or difficult

that come our way,

no doubt.

Jesus says,

this church

is in his hands.

The words of him

who holds the church

in his hands.

That's encouragement,

but as we said

just now,

it's also a warning

because when Jesus

talks about a lampstand,

he's not talking

about an Ikea

lampstand, okay?

You pull the little

chain and then

it goes off

and you pull it again

and it goes on.

What's he talking about?

He's talking about

one of those

Jewish lampstands

that's got the

stand in the middle

and then the seven

branches that

come out of it.

Eric,

I don't know

what we call it.

What do we call it?

Menorah?

Is that right?

Okay,

thank you.

It's called a menorah.

Okay,

so it's got

the lampstands

got the seven

branches that

come out of it

and on top

of each branch

is a candle.

And so when Jesus

says,

I'm holding the

lampstand,

I'm walking

amongst you,

it also means

he has the

authority to

blow out the

candle.

He's the one

that's holding it

but he also

has the authority

to snuff it out.

Jesus says

to the church

in Ephesus,

the one who's

holding the

stars and the

lampstands.

Look at verse 2.

I know your works,

your toil,

your patience

endurance,

and how you cannot

bear with those

that are evil,

but have tested

those who call

themselves apostles

and are not,

and you found

them to be false.

I know you are

enduring patiently

and bearing up

for my namesake,

and you have not

grown weary.

So what's Jesus

commending here?

What's his

encouragement to

them?

He says,

I know your

righteous deeds,

I know you are

swimming upstream

against the tide

of your culture,

and I know that

you love my word

and you've taken

my word seriously.

You see,

what's happening

in Ephesus is

there are two

great cultural

pressures,

or two other

things that were

distracting the

Christians.

The first is

Ephesus housed

the temple of

Artemis.

And the temple

of Artemis was

one of the

seven wonders

of the ancient

world,

and Artemis

was worshipped

everywhere in

Ephesus.

It was the

icon of Ephesus.

People would

come from far

and wide to

worship the

goddess of

Artemis.

And Artemis

was the goddess

of life and

fertility.

So if you are

struggling to

have kids,

your family

would say,

go and pay

homage to the

goddess of

Artemis.

Go to the

temple and

burn some

incense.

She will

look after

you.

And so

Artemis is

everywhere in

Ephesus.

And remember

in Acts chapter

Acts 20 · chapter mention

20, I think

it is,

21, the city

of Ephesus is

unhappy with

the Christians

because they

say, now

Artemis is not

going to be

worshipped.

And they

drive them

out of the

city.

And so the

Christians,

those facing

persecution,

are persecuted

because their

family members

would tell

them, it's

okay to

follow Jesus.

just don't

forget to

every now

and then

pay homage

to Artemis.

But the

other great

thing in

Ephesus, or

the other

terrible thing,

challenge, is

that Ephesus

was the

primary city

of imperial

cult worship.

And so the

first, the

emperor Domitian

came to

Ephesus and

they set up

the first

temple and

the first

shrine to

the emperor.

And so at

the Agora,

which is the

marketplace where

you do business

and networking

and you meet

people and you

do your weekly

grocery shopping,

as you walk

into the

Agora, you

have to take

a pinch of

incense, throw

it at the

feet of the

shrine to the

emperor Domitian

and pay homage

to him.

And so for

the Christians

who go to

the Agora to

also do business

and meet

people and

network and

do their

shopping, what

are they going

to do?

And maybe

they're in

their company,

they all go

after work for

drinks down at

the Agora and

there's only one

person that

follows Jesus.

What's he

going to do?

Sorry, am I

making a noise

here?

What's he

going to do?

And so the

Christians are

constantly faced

with this

pressure.

And so Jesus

here commends

them, he says

you've stayed

faithful, you

focused on

Jesus, it's

required serious

work, serious

endurance.

Jesus says I've

seen it, I

know your

works, I know

your toil, I

know your

patient endurance.

But now look

at what he

says.

He says I

know you

cannot bear

with those

who are evil.

Now who's he

talking about

when he says

you cannot bear

with those

who are evil?

He's talking

about the

emperor?

He's talking

about villain

Dan and

his sidekick

Justin?

Who are the

evil people

that Jesus

is talking

about?

Look at what

he says.

He says but

you have

tested those

who call

themselves

apostles and

are not and

you found

them to be

false.

You see

what's happening

here in

Ephesus is that

some people are

coming in and

they're saying

we know that

Paul came and

taught you the

Bible and he

said some good

things but if

you really want

to know God

we'll show you

some other

things.

We'll teach you

some other

things.

And they're

coming in with

all sorts of

false teaching

or they're

coming in saying

do you think

the Bible says

that?

Yeah Jesus is

good but he's

not God.

You know.

Or worship

Jesus but don't

forget to also

pay homage to

Domitian or

Artemis or

Deceitism whatever

it is.

They were coming

in with false

teaching and what

did the church

in Ephesus do?

They would open

up their Bible and

say really?

Just show us in

the scriptures where

does it say that?

In other words they

would test what they

heard from the

stage on Sunday

according to God's

word and sometimes

they found what

people were saying

was false and so

they would reject

it.

Here was a church

which was strong

theologically and

dogmatic about we're

only going to listen

to what God says in

his word.

We're not here to be

impressed by false

teachers or eloquent

teachers or great

orators.

We're here to see

what does God say

and that's what

we're going to

follow.

And all this makes

sense because when

we read the rest of

the New Testament

remember the books

of 1 and 2

Timothy?

They're written by

the apostle Paul to

this young man

Timothy and

Timothy is leading

a church and where

is he leading the

church?

Do you remember?

In the city of

Ephesus.

And as you read

the books of 1

Timothy and 2

Timothy Paul says

again and again

and again,

Timothy I want you

to guard the good

deposit of the

doctrine that's

been entrusted to

you.

Timothy I want you

to preach the

word.

Timothy dedicate

yourself to the

public reading of

scripture and to

the teaching of

God's word.

Paul writes to

Timothy about a

hundred times and

says whatever you

do make sure you

stick closely to

God's word and to

the theology and to

doctrine that you've

heard.

Don't take in these

other teachings.

Make sure that

whatever you're

teaching is found in

the scriptures.

And so here the

church in Ephesus is

rock solid.

They are theologically

strong.

They've been taught

well by Paul.

They've been taught

well by Timothy and

they're a church that

know their theology and

they know God's word

and they love God's

word.

And Watermark, can I

say, can the elders

say, we would love for

this to be true of us

as a church.

When I think about

Watermark, one of my

dreams for Watermark is

that in 50,

60, and in 100

years time, we are a

church which is rock

solid theologically and

doctrinally because we

know God's word.

We've been built on

God's word.

I pray that when my

kids are grandparents,

that anyone who comes

to Hong Kong will know

if you want to be taught

God's word, there is a

church called Watermark

Church.

You can go there and

they will teach you

God's word because that

is a church that loves

God's word.

God's word.

And so Jesus writes to

this church and he

says, well done.

You've tested what you've

heard against God's

word and you've tested

what's false and you

love and you love my

word.

Look at what he says in

verse 6.

He says, you hate the

teachings of the

Nicolaitans, which I also

hate.

The Nicolaitans were a

group of people that were

teaching, worship Jesus,

but you know, it doesn't

matter if you also take on

some other stuff and

they were teaching,

teaching that was

promoting sin and

unholiness and lack of

purity in the church and

Jesus says, I want you to

follow my word.

Now, unfortunately, that's

not all that Jesus says to

the church in Ephesus because

look at what he says in

verse 4.

He says, but I have this

against you, that you have

abandoned the love that you

had at first.

Here is a church which is

absolutely rock solid in

theology and doctrine.

They love God's word, but

unfortunately, rock solid

theology can sometimes lead

to ice cold hearts and

cold hearted worship.

Listen to what Tim Chester

writes.

He says, we can pride

ourselves on not letting our

theology, sorry, I just lost

my place.

We can pride ourselves on not

letting our theology be

infected by worldly ideas, but

all the time our lives and

hearts can be infected by

worldly priorities, living for

the treasure of earth, seeking

our security in that.

We may be strong on doctrine

and moral orthodoxy, but are

our churches characterized by a

passionate love for Jesus and

his people?

That's an amazing, amazing

thought.

We can be dead straight,

absolutely spotless in terms of

what we believe in our heads,

but our hearts characterized by a

passion for Christ and for his

people.

Jesus says, Ephesian church, I

know your works.

I know your toil.

I know your patient endurance.

I know that you've tested those

who call themselves apostles and

teachers.

You found them to be false.

I know how you are enduring

patiently and you're bearing up for

my namesake, and you have not

grown weary, but I have this

against you.

You have abandoned the love that

you had at first.

Now the church in Thyatira that

Echo and Thea read to us, their

problem is the opposite problem.

They are a church which is

characterized by great love.

He says here, I know your love

and your works exceed what they

were at first.

In other words, you love the

people around you and you love me

more now than you did previously.

But this is what I have against

you.

You welcome teachers into your

church that promote sin, and you

welcome teachers that don't tell

you about the holiness of God and

the purity of the church.

And Jesus rebukes them.

He says, I've given them time to

repent, but they refuse.

I will strike them, and all the

churches will know that I am he

who searches the heart and mind, and

I will deal with them according to

their works.

So we mustn't swing to the

opposite side where we think

theology is bad.

Theology is just academic.

What really counts is just if we

love people and love God.

Because that's where Thyatira was,

and God says, no, that's not good

either.

Friends, if the history of the church

tells us anything, it's that when

churches abandon God's word and

doctrine, it's only a matter of time

before that church and that city no

longer knows God.

And so if we want our future

generations in Hong Kong to know God

and to love Him, we dare not abandon

the Scriptures.

We mustn't do what Thyatira did, the way

we abandon the Scriptures.

No, no, let's not swing to the

opposite side.

And yet, we cannot be a church that

just knows God's word, but it hasn't

dropped from our heads to our hearts.

Friends, FG, who Jesus is, and the

message of the gospel, that you and I,

because of our sin, because of God's

righteous holiness, because of His

justice, you and I deserve to be

condemned to hell for all eternity.

And God would be absolutely just to do

such a thing.

But instead of that, Jesus took our

condemnation in our place.

Where our destiny was death, it's now

life.

Where our future was condemnation, it's

now reconciliation.

Where once our fate was wrath and

judgment, it's now that we are called

sons and daughters of God.

Friends, if that magnificent truth of

the gospel is inside our heads, but it

doesn't penetrate our hearts, what's the

point?

What's the point?

Because being a Christian is not only

somebody who has a knowledge about

Jesus, it's someone who loves God and

walks with Him by faith.

See, friends, a Christian isn't just

someone who believes that Jesus is God.

That's important, but that's not enough.

Even the devil believes that Jesus is

God.

A Christian is not just someone who

believes that the Bible is true.

You do need to do that, but that's not

enough.

Even the devil knows that the Bible is

true.

Friends, a Christian is someone who's come

to see that Jesus is God.

That Jesus is our only hope in life and

death.

That outside of Christ, there is not one

single drop of salvation.

And therefore, someone who has thrown

themselves at the mercy of Jesus.

But in addition to that, a Christian is

someone who is living their life loving

Christ, trusting Christ, and obeying

Christ because of the gospel.

Friends, the history of the church tells us

that there are hundreds of churches, and

unfortunately, it's the church leaders'

fault, that we get 100% on a theological

exam.

Every dot, every tittle, be able to answer

every question perfectly.

But our hearts are not filled with love for

either Christ or one another.

And so what's the point?

What's the point?

Now let me ask you this question.

What do churches like that generally look

like?

What's the feeling?

What does it feel like on the ground?

What does it look like when you come in to

a church on Sunday?

Tell you what it feels like.

It feels like arrogance on one hand.

We know our stuff better than the church

down the road.

But it also feels like judgmentalism, doesn't

it?

It feels like that church down the road, if

only they knew things as well as we did.

If only they knew the Greek and the Hebrew

and if only they could really know what was

going on.

Or, sometimes churches like that, there's

fighting inside and there's judgmentalism

and the pastor can look down at his people

and think, I wish these people knew their

Bibles better.

If only they could get their act together.

Friends, how many times have we heard of

one church attacking another church because

they're not theologically perfect?

And this is particularly relevant for us

because at Watermark, our elders are

passionate about not neglecting the truth of

God's Word.

We never want to be a church which is

careless about the way we handle God's

Word.

We want to be a church which knows God's

Word and is changed by it and is radically

committed to it, even in the face of

opposition.

We want to be a church which encounters God

and His Word and has God speaking to us from

His Word and are submitting to it and

surrendering to it.

But friends, if we are absolutely doctrinally

precise and theologically as straight as an

arrow, but our hearts are not moved by love for

Christ, it's all in vain.

And so remember how Jesus comes to the

religious leaders one day and He says,

You search the Scriptures because you think

that in them you will find eternal life.

And don't you realize that they bear witness

about Me?

The Scriptures are there to bring you to Me,

says Jesus, to show you the wonder of

Christ and who He is.

I've got a hero called Ray Ortlund and he's

becoming a hero of mine.

He's just handed over his church actually in

America and he wrote a book many years ago.

The book is called The Three Priorities for

a Strong Church.

Now when I see a book like that, I want to

read it, right?

Because I want Watermark to be a strong

church.

The Three Priorities for a Strong Church.

What do you think those priorities are?

He says, number one, you love Christ.

Number two, you love one another.

Number three, you love the world out there that is

dying because they do not know Christ.

Friends, more important than getting every perfect

thing right and understanding every verse

perfectly, are we a church that loves Christ,

that loves one another and loves the city in which

we live and is dying because it does not know

Jesus?

Tim Keller says, God doesn't just want us to know and

obey him as a citizen obeys a king or merely follow him as

sheep follow a shepherd.

He wants us to know him and love him as a wife loves her

husband.

You see, friends, to be a Christian is not just to have

knowledge about Jesus.

It's to love him and to walk with him by faith.

And that's what Jesus is calling this Ephesian church to.

In the midst of all the imperial cults, in the midst of the

persecution, in the midst of the challenges that they're facing,

he says, will you love me?

Will you trust me?

Will you obey me?

Domitian, the emperor, would say, Caesar is Lord.

The Christians weren't just to know academically that Jesus

were Lord, but to love him as Lord.

And still, friends, today in our world, the devil will come to

us and say, Watermark, you can love Jesus, just also love

money as well.

You can love Jesus, just love this as well.

You can love Jesus, just love this as well.

The devil would come to us and say that we are mature Christians if

our theology is all straight, even if we're seduced by other

loves.

Do we love Christ?

Do we love one another?

Do we love the city in which we lived?

Now, as we come towards the end, look at what Jesus says in verse

5.

Jesus says this.

He says, remember therefore from where you have fallen.

Repent and do the works that you did at first.

If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its

place, unless you repent.

Now, remember what we said earlier.

Jesus, when he's talking about a lampstand, is not talking about an

Ikea lampstand, he's talking about this Jewish menorah, right?

And there's candles on top.

But in the ancient world, the candles didn't rely on wax.

They were full of oil.

And so the oil would burn and keep the candle going.

And if you wanted the candles to keep them going, you had to top up

the oil.

Remember, Jesus tells a parable about some people that didn't bring

enough oil and so their lamps go out because they weren't prepared.

They weren't ready.

Well, in the Bible, oil is almost always a symbol of the Holy Spirit.

So what's Jesus saying here?

Jesus is saying that when he says, I'll remove your lampstand, he's

talking about closing down the church.

But how is he going to do it?

He's not going to do it by just magically closing down the meetings.

Jesus is not going to close down the church by sending a meteor to, you

know, smash our building or something.

How does Jesus close down churches?

How does he snuff out the lampstand?

He removes the oil.

He takes the Holy Spirit from the church.

And so if we just go through the motions until eventually we die out.

Friends, the scary thing is that you don't even realize it's happened until

years down the road, there's no more life left in the church.

Friends, all around the world, there are hundreds of churches, thousands of

churches which gather each week in church buildings.

And they sing some songs and they listen to a message.

But the Holy Spirit is not there.

There is no life there.

There is no light there.

And there is no church there.

And Christ is not there because they have long since forgotten their first love.

Their first love.

And so the question is, what do we do about this?

Well, Jesus says something very interesting.

Look at verse 5.

He actually says it twice.

He calls this church, which is a pillar of theological and doctrinal strength, he calls

them to repent.

Look at how he says it.

Remember therefore from where you have fallen, repent and do the works that you did at first.

If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place unless you repent.

And Jesus calls us to repent of our lovelessness.

Now that's interesting because we typically think that if you don't, we think of love as

an emotion that you feel.

You either love something or you don't.

Love is like a ditch.

You fall into it and you fall out of it, right?

Not really.

But that's how we typically think of love.

If I love something, great.

If I don't, there's not much I can do about it.

It's just a feeling.

It's an emotion.

But actually Jesus says, I want you to repent of your lovelessness.

How do you repent of losing and abandoning our first love?

Well, sorry, I'm making a noise of this thing.

I don't know what I'm doing wrong.

Anyway, we're almost done.

Let me tell you a story.

Sorry.

About a year, a year and a half ago, Claire and I were going for a walk up the peak.

And we're going for a walk on the ring road.

And Claire says to me, how's our marriage doing?

Now, I think you know what's happening, right?

When Claire asks that question, she's not asking because she doesn't know.

She does know what's going on.

It's a kind of way of saying, our marriage sucks at the moment, doesn't it?

Right?

And so I know that Claire was saying that for two reasons.

One, because after being married for 10 years, I know what she means when she says, how's our marriage doing?

But secondly, because I knew how our marriage was doing.

And it wasn't at its best.

It wasn't sweet.

It wasn't full of life and joy.

It felt like hard work.

And so we'd both noticed this.

And so we go for this walk.

And Claire brings it up.

Which, can I be honest, wasn't easy.

We talked through it.

It wasn't an easy conversation.

But it was a good conversation.

And so one of the things Claire says to me in that conversation is she says, Kevin, I see the way that you're serving around the house.

I see the way that you wash the dishes.

I see the way that you try and come home and have dinner with the kids.

I see the way that you're helping and you're serving.

And I'm grateful for all those things.

But if I'm honest, I don't sense that there's much tenderness.

I don't sense there's much gentleness.

You're doing all the right things.

But it feels like there's lacking this tenderness, this sweetness, this love in your actions.

You're going through the motions because that's what a good husband does.

But it doesn't feel like your heart is really in it.

Now, to be honest, she was absolutely right.

And I think I knew exactly what she meant because we had recently moved to Hong Kong about four or five months before that.

And my heart and my mind was so focused on the job and the work and what am I trying to not mess everything up that actually something else, in other words, the job, had captured my attention and my heart.

And so even while I'm at home and I'm trying to do the right things, my mind is elsewhere and my heart is elsewhere.

In other words, over a matter of time, Claire was no longer first in my heart.

Something else had captured my heart's affection and my heart's attention.

Something else had become first in my life.

And so even though I'm trying to go through the motions, actually, while I'm trying to serve at home and I wash the dishes and the kids and Claire's saying, hey, can you make sure you're home for dinner?

Part of my heart is getting frustrated because I'm thinking, you're taking me away from what's actually first in my heart.

And so what did my wife need in that moment?

Well, what is going to bring back the sweetness?

What is going to bring back the joy and the tenderness?

What is going to revive our marriage again?

What Claire needed was firstly for me not to be defensive.

Okay, that's a good start.

She needed for me to admit where she was right and where I was wrong.

But what she actually needed was for me to go away and repent.

She needed me to go away and do business with God and say, God, you're right.

She's right.

God, I'm sorry.

Something else has become first in my heart.

And I want to put that right.

She needed me to not just go through the motions and stir up my love.

She needed me to repent.

Friends, can I say repentance always feels like death because it requires us that we humble ourselves and admit that we're wrong.

But repentance always, always leads to life.

And Jesus calls the Ephesian church and he calls us today to put right our lovelessness.

Not by just stirring up our emotions.

Not by doubling down and working twice as hard.

Not by being twice as dedicated.

But by repenting.

By coming to him and saying, Christ, something else has captured my heart's attention.

Something else is first and foremost in my heart.

Something else has come before you.

By coming to him and returning to him and making him first in our lives again.

And so how do we do that?

How do we turn to Christ in faith and repentance?

In one of his final letters in the New Testament, the Apostle John writes and he says this.

This is how we know what love is.

Not that we love God, but that he loved us.

And he sent his son to be an atoning sacrifice.

Indeed, we love because he first loved us.

Friends, when we had done nothing right.

When all we had done to God is scorned him and mocked at him and laughed at him and rejected him.

Jesus came to us in profound love.

For God so loved the world, you and I, that he gave his only begotten son.

That we can be welcomed in back to his family, his children again.

That he might pour his love into our hearts and bring us back to him together.

Jesus comes to us and says,

Friends, turn away from the things that have captured your heart's attention.

I have this and this is what I'm calling you to.

Return to your first love.

Return to your first love.

Come and love me again.

Repent.

Come to me again.

Come and love me again.