Ephesus (cont.)

Good evening. Welcome to Voice in the Wilderness. I'm Don Noble of Pure

Heart Ministries, and I welcome you today with exceedingly abundantly and overflowing joy.

Last week we started talking about the church at Ephesis out of Revelation chapter two,

and as most of you know who have been listening, we will be

doing all seven cities of the Book of Revelation. Just as a quick review.

Ephesus was the largest metropolitan city in Asia Minor in the first century,

and it was the main center of occult and pagan rituals because of the Goddess

of fertility that was worshiped there, the great Artemis or Diana as the Romans

Calder of Ephesus. So it was against this pagan backdrop that the apostle Paul

arrived in Ephesus around the year fifty two a d. And began to preach

the Gospel. He was there for three years, and let me tell you,

he stirred up a lot of devils while he was there, but it

was a great place to establish his missionary base. And therefore Paul, once

he arrived in Rome, wrote the Book of Ephesians, which is a letter

to the church at Ephesus. As I was thinking about Ephesus, I saw

a lot of similarity to our modern day city in the United States. New

York City. New York City is a port city, just like Ephesus was.

The Statue of Liberty is in the harbor of Manhattan Island, and it

welcomes people of every nation to come to our shores. It is what I

would call the ephesis of our day. New York City is a flurry of

activity. It's the city that never sleeps. And of course one can't not

recognize that the wealthy riches seen on Fifth Avenue, Fendi, Gucci, Salvador

Ferragamo, Tiffany's, et cetera. I call it eye candy, lust of

the eyes, lust of the eyes. It's a wealthy city, home of

the Wall Street stock stock exchange, and of course with a large city comes

every kind of perversion and drugs equally available. Like Ephesus, New York City's

cult worship is fame and fortune, no different than worshiping the fertility goddess Diana

or Artemis. New York City is also home to the mafia crime bosses.

I mean, why grew up during a time when it seemed like the FBI

was really good at knocking down these mafia gangs. And today in New York

City, Christianity still flourishes and churches like the Brooklyn Tabernacle Time Square Church,

which the Time Square Church was started by the late David Wilkerson. These are

thriving churches today because they preach the unadulterated Word of God and they stand for

biblical principles of marriage being between one man and one woman. There was one

difference between ephesis then in New York City. Now, all the people in

Ephesis had to pay a portion to the Pagan Goddess and Emperor. Did you

know that cancel culture is not new, Well, it isn't. If you

didn't pay your little certain amount that they came up with, then you didn't

If you didn't pay this to these, to the Emperor, to the pagan

Goddess, then you didn't have access to certain things and people might not use

your services. So just to let you know, there is coming a day,

and it's coming very soon, right after the rapture of the Church,

that those who are left here will have to take the mark of the beast

to be able to buy anything or sell anything. So as Solomon once said,

there's nothing new under the sun. But back to ephesis. Let me

review what Jesus said to this church. At ephesis. I'm reading out of

the New King James Version Revelation, chapter two, starting with verse one.

To the Angel of the ch Church of Ephesus. Right these things, says

he Christ, who hold seven stars in his right hand, who walks in

the midst of the seven golden lamp stands. I know your works, your

labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil.

And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and

have found them liars. And you have persevered and have patience, and have

labored for my name's sake, and have not become weary. Nevertheless, I

have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore,

from where you have fallen, repent and do the first works for or

else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place unless

you repent. But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the

Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him

hear with the spirit, says to the churches, to him who overcomes,

I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the

midst of the paradise of God. So those are Jesus words to this particular

church. As I mentioned before, these are also words to you and I.

So they're serious words. When Jesus gives a command, when Jesus speaks

very clearly about what he likes and dislikes, we should pay attention. Now.

These Ephesian converts had known such a love in their early years, but

their struggle with false teachers and their hatred of heretical teaching had apparently gendered hard

feelings and harsh attitudes toward one another to such an extent that it amounted to

a forsaking of the supreme Christian virtue of love. So I mentioned last week

that doctrinal purity and loyalty can never be a substitute for love. So you

see this church, this church at emphasis, they were giving the Lord their

service, but not giving him themselves. They were outstanding in their work for

the Lord, but they no longer had the intimate fellowship with Christ that they

once had. And that really is the problem. That's what Jesus is addressing

with them. This church had a lot of good things going for it.

I mean almost say it was the perfect church. They put emphasis on sound

teaching, but in the process they lost their first love. Now they wanted

right doctrine, and so they satisfied. They were satisfied to have that,

to have the correct doctrine, fulfill what they considered their duty to the Lord,

but their work for him no longer showed Christ like compassion. So we

have to remember those little keys. Yes, it's important to have doctrinal purity,

to follow the Bible according to what the Bible says, to be loyal,

to have sound teaching, to dislike what Christ dislikes, and love what

Christ loves. But they no longer showed Christ like passion. And Jesus tells

them that they have to return back to their first love. Well, what

is first love? It's that devotion to Christ that so often characterizes the new

believer. Remember when you first got saved, goodness, you were fervent,

you were personal, you were uninhibited, you were excited, I mean,

you wanted to tell the whole world about Jesus. And it is the honeymoon

love of a husband and wife. Before husband and wife get married, they

have this kind of I don't know what you call it, but they're so

madly in love and they're talking on the phone for hours and hours and probably

not saying much. I remember those days myself being on the phone with my

husband prior to getting married, and you know, we could talk for hours

and hours just because we wanted to be together, we wanted to talk.

So that's what a first love is like. And there's no labor that can

substitute for love. No no work, no working for the church that can

substitute for love. They were neglecting their adoration of the Lord. So neither

is purity of substitute for passion. Isn't that great that you're walking in holiness?

Yes, it is great, but you can't substitute holiness for passion.

The church has to have both if it's to please him. Now, Paul,

when he writes to the church at Ephesis called the Book of Ephesians,

what does he emphasize over and over and over throughout the Book of Ephesis?

He emphasizes love? And we can go through these scriptures and we're going to

Paul writes in Ephesians one, verse fifteen, he says, I heard of

your faith in the Lord Jesus, and I heard of your love for all

the saints. Ephesians three seventeen. Paul says, be rooted and established in

love. So during Paul's time in Ephesis, obviously he has new converts and

he has, you know, the beginnings of a new church there. So

he has to lay a good and strong foundation for these new believers. So

when he writes, be rooted and established in love, that's a real key

to walking like Christ. Because Christ is love. God is love. John

writes about that in his letters over and over and over. God is love.

So we have to be rooted. That means firmly, firmly established in

the love of God. Ephesians three nineteen. Paul writes this, to know

the love of Christ, which passes knowledge, to know the love of Christ,

that we actually get that down in our spirit and we understand what does

the love of Christ really mean while it passes knowledge. Ephesians four two.

Paul writes, bearing with one another in love. There are times in the

body of Christ where things get difficult. There can be some situations. You

know, everything isn't hunky dory, everything doesn't go smooth this peanut butter.

Sometimes things are difficult situations come up. You know, people are people,

and so Paul is saying that we must bear with one another in love,

and we have to. You know, I think about I think about when

James writes about wisdom, the wisdom of God. What is the wisdom of

God? The wisdom of God comes from heaven, and he writes that the

wisdom of God is first pure, it's peaceable, it's willing to yield,

it's full of good fruits and mercy. It's without partiality, it's without hypocrisy.

So when Paul says bear with one another in love, that means that

sometimes we've got to just be willing to yield, willing to be patient,

willing to not show partiality. So we follow what the Bible says. We

do what the Bible says, and that helps us to walk in a place

where we're bearing with one another in love. A lot of times you're bearing

with one another in love when you are a mature saint and you are working

with someone that's a brand new believer that doesn't know the Word, doesn't know

all the ins and outs of Christianity. So speak, So there's some bearing

that we have to do, and we want to do. We want to

bear with others who aren't in a place where we are, who who haven't

matured to a place where we are, et cetera, et cetera. I

think you get the point. Ephesians four fifteen says speaking the truth in love.

I can say that that is not an easy thing to do. I've

tried it. It doesn't always work. People don't always want to hear the

truth, no matter how you say it, no matter how sweet you make

it. A lot of times it just ruffles their feathers and they don't like

what you have to say. But we still try to speak the truth in

love because ultimately we don't want to hurt the person. We're trying to actually

help the person. A lot of times people don't see that, They don't

recognize that we're actually trying to help them, and they see it as they

can see it as us attacking them. And so gosh, I can even

rem number way long time ago someone coming to me and saying, you know,

I'm coming to speak to you with love, and you know, there

was nothing love about it, so it was hard for me to swallow it.

But nevertheless, that is a command, speak the truth in love.

Ephesians the fifth chapter, verse two says, live a life of love,

just as Christ loved us. Let's look at that particular scripture, Ephesians five

two, just to see the context of what that scripture says. And Paul

starts out in Ephesians five one. He says this. He says, therefore,

be imitators of God as dear children, and walk in love as Christ

also has loved us and given himself for us, and offering and a sacrifice

to God for a sweet smelling aroma. So we are to imitate God.

I just mentioned that John has written many many times that God is loved.

For imitating God, then we are walking in a place of God's love.

And so Paul says, walk in love as Christ also loved us, he

gave himself for us, an offering and sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling

aroma. So that's the ultimate goal, is that would we would be a

sweet smelling a roma to those Ephesians five twenty five. Husbands, love your

wives just as Christ loved the church. We know without a shadow of a

doubt that Christ loves not just loved past tense. Christ loves his church.

He died for his church. He gave his life for the church, and

so husbands are to love their wives just as Christ. That is a sacrificial

love. So, husbands, if you're listening, you are to have a

sacrificial love for your wife. We're not talking about passion in the bedroom.

I'm talking about a sacrificial love for your wife that goes way beyond the bedroom,

just as Christ loved the church. That means you don't you're not first,

you're not the most important thing. She is, and you give yourself

for her, and you do things to help her, and you do things

to help her be the best mother she can be, the best wife she

can be. That's what it means. Husbands love your wives just as Christ

loved the church. Then, Paul says in Ephesians five twenty eight, he

who loves his wife loves himself. Isn't that an interesting statement? But I'm

gonna go I'm going to read the two scriptures in between twenty five and twenty

eight. So twenty six says, let's go back to twenty five. Husbands

love your wives justice. Christ also loved the church and gave himself for her

that he might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,

that he might present her to himself a glorious church, not having spot

or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without

blemish. So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies.

He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own

flesh, but nurshes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does. For

we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.

This is really strong statements here when he says that when Paul says that

husband, love your wife, your wife's justice, Christ love the Church,

that he might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of the water by the

word, that he might present her to himself a glorious church. I that

this is my how I see that scripture, those set of scriptures. Husbands

are to love their wives, in other words, to help them get to

a place where they they are so gosh. I'm trying to think of the

word here, where they're so in, you know, in love with the

Lord, making the Lord the priority, that then the Lord can sanctify and

cleanse her with the washing of the water of the word. That's what the

word of Christ does, the word the words in this Bible, that's what

they do. They set us apart, they sanctifice, They set us apart,

and they cleanse us. And the Lord is saying that's important to do

so that he can present her to himself a glorious church, not having spot

or wrinkle. You see, husbands have a very important role here. They

have a very important role in loving their wives with this sacrificial love as Christ

loved the church. To see, this goes so beyond husbands. You really

have to get this. I would if you're a husband listening to me,

I would meditate on these set of scriptures to see how you need to help

your wife. And in helping your wife, you're helping yourself because it says

husbands want to love their own wives as they love their own bodies. He

who loves his wife loves himself. So you can't love your wife if you

don't like yourself, if you don't like who you are, if you don't

like who God created you to be, you aren't going to have great difficulty

loving your wife. So this is these are a set of scriptures that takes

them and this is not what I wanted. Not. What I plan to

do this evening is to bring clarification to all of this, just to just

to help you see that Paul's making a big deal about husband's loving their wives,

and he's making a big deal about getting the church where she needs to

be not having spot or wrinkle, and husbands are playing a huge part in

that. Okay, So that's all I'm going to say about that right now.

Then. Ephesians six twenty four, Paul writes grace to all who love

our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love. Huh, with an undying love?

And in this version and the new King James version, it says verse

twenty four, chapter six, Grace b with all those who love our Lord

Jesus Christ in sincerity. So I like both the words with sincerity and with

an undying love. So this was really no trivial matter. This discussion about

love is no trivial matter. It's it was everything. If we lose a

gope love, a gope love again is an unconditional love means I'm going to

love you regardless of what that you love me or you don't love me.

I'm going to love you regardless of whether you hate me. I'm going to

love you regardless of whether you do the most egregious things to me, because

love a gope love is a love that transcends all of those things, because

it's saying, by an act of my will, I will love you no

matter what, no matter what you say to me, or no matter what

you do to me. So if we lose with that a goope love,

we lose everything and will become extinct, and there will no longer be a

church. So as Jesus is speaking to this body of believers, he said,

if they did not repent, they could expect a special, sudden active

judgment. And he said their lampstand, which is the church, would be

removed, and Jesus would no longer be in their midst period. That's a

pretty scary thought. And so repentance is not only required of sinners, it

is likewise necessary for believers. Whenever there's a falling away, there is a

need for repentance. Amen. And the Nikolaitans, you know, they were,

Jesus hated what they stood for they taught that Christians were free to indulge

in any of the luss of the flesh that they might desire. So the

Church of Ephesus hated what Jesus hated. Jesus commended him for that, and

he said that he hated the things that the Nicklaitans did. They sinned in

their flesh, perversion and sexual sin without repentance. So Jesus was commanding a

restoration of this agape love, but he did not want them to abandon their

hate for evil behavior. I have run out of time and I really hate

to stop there, but I do want to say this before I close this

message. I want to say that if you have any anything in your heart,

anything ugly in your heart, anything black in your heart, please take

a moment to repent. Please go before the Lord and repent and asking to

cleanse your heart from all unrighteousness. Because we're living in a time we don't

know. Jesus can come back any moment, and I want you to be

ready. Amen. Well, this is down, noble. We will continue

this next week. We'll finish Ephesians next week. You can go to www

dot pureheart dot today and listen to this podcast again. You can download the

iHeart radio app, go to Pureheart Ministry's podcast and listen anytime. You can

email me at Dawn Dawn at Pureheart dot today all lowercase letters, and of

course, please pray for this ministry. I believe in prayer. I believe

in prayer strongly, and I hope that you are praying for this ministry.

And if you are learning something, you are getting something out of this.

Please consider sending a check to Pureheart Ministry's PO Box eighty five helping to support

this ministry. Valley Grove, West Virginia, two six zero six zero.

That's Pure Heart Ministries PO Box eighty five, Valley Grove Towards, West,

Virginia, two six o six oz. This is Don Noble saying I'm looking

forward to being with you again next week. Shalom shalom, Peace be unto you