Losing your first love

Welcome to this week's message from the Church at Chelsea Westover.

Our core values are vibrant worship, intimate fellowship, fulfilling service, and clear biblical truth.

We pray that this message changes your life.

Let's tune in to today's message and see what God has in store for you.

I want you to turn with me in your Bibles to the second chapter of the book of Revelation.

And if you missed last week as we started the book of Revelation, chapter one, and I was able to complete chapter one last week.

And so please, if you did not hear it or watch it, go online this week and watch it.

I know several people told me that they've watched it two and three times.

Because it was.

I laid the complete foundation of how Satan in Genesis will be defeated in the book of Revelation and the beginning and the end, the first and the last.

So I want you to be sure.

Now, if you're here this morning, you do not have an outline.

Would you raise your hand?

I want everyone right here.

Harry, anyone else needs the outline?

I need one.

I need one.

Darren, thank you.

I know it's exciting.

The book of Revelation is so exciting because it tells us of the future, but it really tells us of all that Jesus is, will be, and what we look forward to being with him.

It's gonna be exciting.

But today we want to look at the first seven verses of chapter two.

Someone gave me this cartoon.

I thought I'd read it.

What's the secret to a good sermon, parson?

That's easy, doc.

Have a good start and a good finish.

And whatever you do, keep them both close together.

Well, that's not gonna happen with me.

I'm a seminary professor.

I'm sorry.

I can't help myself.

Uh we want you to have the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

Amen.

So, with that said, the title of the message today, Losing Your First Love, chapter 2, verses 1 through 7.

And to the angel of the church at Ephesus, write these things, saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks.

I know thy works and thy labor and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil.

And thou hast tried them which say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars, and hast borne and hast patience, and for my namesake has labored and hast not fainted.

Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.

Remember, therefore, for whence thou art fallen, and repent and do the first works, or else I will come into thee quickly, and will remove the candlestick out of its place, except thou repent.

But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nickelodeons, which I also hate.

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

To him that overcometh, will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

Wow.

Notice this section begins with things which are the messages to the churches are of threefold meaning to us as Christians and as churchgoers.

One, they have a primary association.

And what I mean by that, they have a direct bearing upon every church.

They have a word for every church.

They have a direction for every church, but they also have a warning for every church.

But also, each of the letters also have a personal application.

In other words, that God's warnings and God's directions to these churches are a personal warning to us as well.

This is not just something in the future, this is applicable for today.

And it also has, thirdly, a prophetic anticipation.

In fact, we look forward to the rapture of the church, the bride, and the problems that took place in these churches.

Now, listen, the problems that took place in these churches are still taking place today in our churches.

So you've got to realize this.

This is, even though this is a futuristic book, that these principles, this direction, and these warnings that we'll be looking at are for today.

Can I get an amen?

Not for tomorrow, but for today.

The first church addressed in the seven churches is the church at Ephesus.

It was the first one on the pastoral route, I called it.

But also it was the prominent church.

In fact, Acts 19, you want to go home and read that because it deals with the birth and the start of the church at Ephesus.

Paul started this church on his third missionary journey.

And this church literally became the mother church of the other churches.

And we see that in Acts 19.10.

In fact, we notice that it was the great church, it was the fantastic church.

And not only that, we see that it was the prominent church because it stood in Acts 19.20, literally says that it proclaimed the Word of God profoundly.

And I love that about the church at Ephesus.

And that is who we are here at CCW.

Clear biblical truth is one of our key foundational principles.

It's one of our pillars of what we are, who we are, and what we believe.

Sanctify them through thy word.

Thy word is truth.

And yeah, John 17, 17, and ye shall know the truth, and what?

The truth shall set you free.

John 8, 31.

So that's who we are, and that's what the church at Ephesus was known for.

Now, when we come to this setting, this has, hey, the church had been started 40 years ago.

Paul's gone.

Other people, Timothy's gone.

It's four days decades later when John writes this letter to the, hey, to us on the island of Patamas.

I mean, it's been four decades when this is pinned.

So now let's look at the first thing.

Let's look at the audience.

Let's look just a little bit about this city.

I don't want to take a whole lot of time because I want to get to the application.

But if I was gonna kind of give you an example of a city in America today, you know what I would call it?

Las Vegas.

Yes.

It was that corrupt, it was that immoral.

And you got to understand the context in which Paul started this church.

It wasn't in a good little cozy out in the suburbs where we're getting away from all the troubles downtown and all this.

Actually, he went right into the middle of a cesspool and started the church in Ephesus.

A lot of churches are leaving the cesspools to get away from the sin and all this, all the uh immoral things that are going on.

They're trying to get to a little safe place.

Ladies and gentlemen, if you, hey, if a church is doing the work of God, it's not a safe place.

Hey, it is a what?

A place where an army is being built to take back its city, its community with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

It is a light that's set on a hill that, hey, wards away the evil.

Ephesus was a strategic city.

It was a commerce city.

It was located at the mouth of the Cesta River in the country of Turkey.

The ruins of Ephesus are now located three miles inland from the sea.

When people disembark at the harbor, they travel to the center of the city along a beautiful wide road lined with columns.

And listen, this road was called the Akkadian Way.

Three trade routes came into Ephesus.

One, the Euphrates River, the east, one from Galatia, Asia Minor, one from the Mandarin Valley, south.

This city had an active, unbelievable business climate.

The population is estimated between 300 to a half a million people at this time when it was written.

It was politically considered the supreme metropolis of Asia.

It was a free, self-governed city.

In other words, there was no Roman garrison in the city of Ephesus.

But now Rome was very popular for Ephesus.

It was a judicial city for the Romans.

They would try a lot of cases in Ephesus.

They loved going to Ephesus because, again, it was the Las Vegas of today.

They love that.

And Ephesus loved Rome.

They understood the pomp and the prestige and the power and the glory and the grandeur of Rome.

So it was a very popular place for the Romans.

Ephesus was also the center for the Panamonian Games, which would be equal with our Olympic Games.

And they took place every May.

And during that month, they called it, and it was a tremendous time, the Greeks called this month a sacred month to the goddess Diana.

So politically, it was a free place.

Commercially, it was the thriving commercial place of the whole uh Asia.

It was just, it was unbelievable.

Everything was taking place at Ephesus.

It was really called, are you ready?

Sin City.

Sound familiar?

Sin City.

Now you say, why?

Well, to the third reason.

Politically, commercially, now religiously.

It was located, hey, it was where the temple of Diana was located.

You know, the temple of Diana was considered one of the seven wonders of the world.

Listen to this.

Women gladly offered all their jewels for the construction of the temple, and men gave gold.

It was 425 feet long, 220 feet wide, and 60 feet high.

Wow.

Only the center was roofed in with cedar wood, while its great folding doors were made of cypress.

The temple was adorned with 127 marble pillars, each pillar being a gift from a king.

Thirty-six of the pillars were overlaid with gold, jewels, and intricate carvings.

It was such a magnificent museum that Alexander the Great himself told the leaders of Ephesus that he would give them all his eastern campaigns, money, and stuff that he got.

He'd give to the city of Ephesus and to the temple of Diana if they would put his name on the temple.

They refused.

But that's how grandeur it was and how glorious it was.

The worship of Diana was a very vile and perverse worship.

Her idol or image was a many-breasted woman, which believed to have fallen from heaven.

Acts chapter 19, verse 35.

Acts 19:35

You gotta read Acts 19 this week.

Her temple was attended by, listen, priests, slaves, thousands of women who served as religious ritual prostitutes.

Unbelievable.

Sex was a part of the worship of Diana.

The temple site was a hodgepodge.

Are you ready?

Prostitutes, priests, dancers, musicians, and wailing, shouting, and hysterically frenzied worshipers.

Worshipers.

The Ephesians gained a reputation of being fickle, superstitious, and very immoral.

Again, sin city.

The temple served also as an important bank in the Mediterranean region.

All the money was there.

Why?

Because no one dared desecrate the temple or go into the temple.

But now, are you ready for this?

Let me tell you something else about the temple.

Any criminal that was in 200 yards of the temple was free from, hey, prosecution.

In other words, here's how they measured it with a bow.

However far you could shoot a arrow and it land wherever that line was, if a if a criminal could get to that place that close to the temple, he could not be arrested, he could not be prosecuted.

Hmm.

Now are you seeing the picture?

We're talking about Sin City.

This was the best worship, the most exciting worship in all the place of Asia.

I mean, this was the city, Sin City.

This is where, right in the middle of that, Paul goes and starts the church at Ephesus.

Can you believe that?

I don't know if that.

Hey, what, hey, where are you going?

We're going to Sin City.

What are you gonna do?

We're gonna preach against Diana.

Hello?

You got your will done?

That takes courage, doesn't it?

That takes guts, doesn't it?

So, the city remained an important commercial, religious, and political center until it was destroyed by the Goth invasion of 252 A.D.

Paul stayed in Ephesus for three years, Acts 20, 31 and Acts 19.

It became a very strong church spiritually in the midst of all this sin.

So, secondly, let's look at the author of the letter.

And we know we learned this from last week in Revelations 1, 18 through 22, the different descriptions of Jesus Christ, who really is the author.

He used John to write the book, but Jesus is the author, and he is described differently in each of the seven churches.

And in this church, he is described, and we'll be looking at that.

But look right here.

Here he is the one, look, with seven stars in his right hand and walks in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks.

The word Ephesus here means desirable.

In other words, it was a desirable church.

That's what we want our church to be.

We want, hey, our church to be a desirable church.

It is a place where you can come and you know that Jesus Christ will be exalted, where Jesus Christ will be taught, where the word of God will be taught, where the word of God will be lived, where people will be Christ-like.

Can I get an amen?

And that's it.

And Jesus said in John 12, 32, if I be exalted, I'll draw all men unto myself.

Now notice the stars are the angels or the pastors.

And we we just, hey, remember we talked about that last week.

Either one are acceptable.

Some believe they were angels, some believe the word angel, and it means messengers were pastors.

I kind of can believe that they're both.

They were both acceptable.

I mean, you have angels that were assigned to the churches just like they were assigned to nations.

Remember, and we talked about that in Daniel 10, how Michael came down and helped the uh angel uh helped Daniel to fulfill and interpret the dreams and to take care of the armies there in Daniel 10, 13.

And then also we know that pastors are the messengers to the church.

And we also know what was it?

Remember, we looked at in Revelations 19:10, we find John addressing an angel as a man in Revelation 19:10.

Revelation 19:10 Revelation 19:10

So both are acceptable.

Writing to the angels, yes, but also writing to the pastors, yes.

And by the way, it is God who holds the pastor in his hand and the church in his hand.

Can I get an amen?

So it's beautiful.

It's beautifully expressed here.

The pastor is God's messenger to the church, and he's in the hands of the Lord.

So both views are acceptable.

Number three, not only the author of the letters, the Son of Man, Jesus Christ, and his description here is he's the seven stars in his right hand and walks in the midst of the seven churches.

In other words, he's holding those pastors and those angels in his hands, and he's walking in the midst of the church.

Isn't it exciting to know, ladies and gentlemen, if God, hey, if a church is being all that it's supposed to be, Jesus Christ, right now, through the power of the person, the Holy Spirit of the living God, is in this place, walking up and down these aisles.

Amen?

He's here.

He's here.

You didn't come here to just do a ritual, you came here to worship.

You came here to meet Jesus, you came here to worship Jesus, you came here to adore Jesus, you came here to give him all that you are because of all that he's done for you.

And we see it right here.

The approval, verses two and three.

In each letter, Christ says, now watch.

Boy, this is powerful.

This is convicting.

Look at verse 2.

I know the works.

The word used here is the word Odi.

And what it really means here, a complete full knowledge.

Whoa, let me repeat that.

Odi or OD, either way you pronounce it.

It means a complete full knowledge.

Here's the the sobering thought about that.

God has complete knowledge of what's going on in this church.

You may think you can fool the pastor.

You may, but you can't fool Jesus.

Now, here's another sobering thought.

Jesus knows everything there is to know about the church and you and me.

And when the Lord looked at this church, he was pleased with several things.

But let me remind you, listen to Psalms 1.6.

Lord, hey, the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

He knows everything about us.

Let me remind you, Psalms 44, 21.

God knows the secrets of our heart.

Does that not bother you a little bit?

That bothers me.

Can I give you another verse?

God knows the thoughts before you think them.

Psalms 94, just read that whole chapter.

Hello.

Now that really bothers me.

Because every once in a while I have a thought that ought not to be there.

Now I know you don't.

You think you don't have any impure thoughts.

God bless you.

Can you imagine?

That thought.

Well, Lord, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

Get that thing out of here.

Casting down imaginations.

And every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of Christ, bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.

Like a Christian tip for, amen.

Why do you memorize scripture all the time?

Because it helps my thought process.

Thought process.

Garbage in, garbage out.

Ritches in, righteousness out.

That here.

No's.

I love Jeremiah 1710.

I the Lord searched the heart.

Hey, I know the thoughts.

I search the heart.

I try the waves to see if there be any wicked way in you.

Oh God, know my heart.

Try me, know my thoughts.

If there'd be any wicked way in me, leave me in the way of everlasting.

Psalms 139, 23, and 24.

Just what are you approved?

Are you ready?

Was your work in the church?

We're here, labor.

It's copas, and it means an intense labor.

United with trouble.

It's labor, united with trouble.

Can you imagine what they were facing in Ephesus when they were out street preaching and witnessing and caring, just being alive in a dark, unbelievable sin city?

Can you imagine the persecution?

Let me help you.

They were seeing persecution every day.

They labored in the world.

Word there means to the point of weariness and exhaustion.

It was a hey, hey, they didn't just attend church, but they labored for Christ.

What's happening today?

We have a lot of churchgoers that are going, not to serve, but they're going to be entertained.

Hey, sitting there and having a great, a great worship time and hearing a great message, and then you leave it, not doing anything.

The next week, oh I go, oh, but I'm faithful.

I go to church all the time.

In other words, they get caught up in the mechanics instead of the master.

Okay.

A little tighter.

Timothy 6.18 says, be rich in good work.

Declare and to move.

And be rich in good works.

Willing to communicate, willing to share.

Help.

Bob.

Another verse.

I found this this morning.

Wrote it in my outline.

Hebrews 6.10.

I've never seen this in this context.

I'd read it, but oh, it's beautiful.

God is not unjust.

Listen to what Hebrews 6.10 says.

God is not unjust as to overlook your work.

Uh-oh.

In other words, he's not going to overlook your work, folks.

Got my teaching this morning.

He's not going to overlook your work in the church at all.

And the love, shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do.

In other words, when you love God, you want to serve.

You want to be involved.

You want to help people.

Oh, if you're not involved and you're not serving, how can you how can you say you love God?

Jesus said, if you love me, what?

You keep my commandments, John 14, 15.

Love me.

And here we see this.

Let me tell you, there's three types of people in church.

You ready?

The sharkers.

I think they let they let others do all the giving and all the work.

The jerkers.

Fine.

Give a jerk or two and then they run out.

I'm indifferent and unreliable.

They work.

Ephesian was a working church.

Many Christians cannot be, hey, uh, really, many Christians can't understand the serving aspect because they're so caught up in themselves instead of the Lord.

Morning.

God asked me a question.

He said, You're getting ready to preach this morning, Pastor.

Are you preaching for the people or are you preaching for me?

Can it be both?

You're preaching to me.

And when you get through, it's not what the people think, it's what I think.

I say, oh my goodness.

When you walk in here, in here to love him, to serve him, to worship him.

And it you're not here to show off.

You're not here to show off your car, your clothes, or any of that.

You're not here to see who you are and what you are.

You're here to see who he is and what he has for you.

You're just in your own little world worshiping him.

And that's the way it's supposed to be bumping you.

Oh, I'm sorry.

You're not here.

You know, that could be a thousand people that wouldn't bother you.

You just, hey, you in tune with Jesus.

What are you talking about?

Secondly, he approved them for their steadfastness in verse two.

In studying and proclaiming the gospel and ministering to the needs of the needy.

The word patient there is.

Sobre todo.