Revelation 2:1-7 "Heart Check from Jesus"

You are listening to a message from Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama.

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It's great to hear.

That afternoon I heard from another visitor who said,

I wanted to let you know what I experienced this morning.

During that greeting time that y'all do, I turned and shook my wife's hand next to me,

and then we stood there, and no one else talked to us, so we sat down.

Hmm.

Hmm.

It's good to get both kinds of feedback.

There are always things to be grateful for because Jesus is at work in His church,

and there are opportunities for growth because we're not perfected yet, right?

But just imagine this morning that I got a message about Southwood,

not from a one-time guest, but from Jesus Himself.

Remember, He's always here, right?

He sees everything.

He even knows what's going on in our hearts, not just the stuff everyone else sees.

Wouldn't you be interested to hear what He would have to say?

Man, that'd be interesting.

Here in the next section of Revelation,

Jesus, who is giving John this entire revelation of Himself, this whole book,

has personal messages for each of seven churches, messages that deal with them directly and specifically

because He knows each of them individually,

but also messages that benefit all of His churches.

He tells all of us to read all seven of them.

So we're going to do that in the weeks ahead.

As we do that these next few weeks,

it may feel a little bit like reading someone else's mail, right?

I get that.

We don't live in first-century Turkey like these churches.

We're in 21st-century America.

But if that's difficult for you,

I'd encourage us all to listen closely to these words

because they're the words of Jesus.

And He is still the King of this church.

And His universal priorities and His heart for us remain exactly the same.

So listen for both kinds of feedback,

for commendations and for critiques,

that would apply to you and to us.

As I read from Revelation 2, the first seven verses.

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 you found 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.

Let's pray.

Father, we do ask for ears to hear.

We want to hear the words of our Savior,

our King,

that He would speak to our hearts.

So help us to hear,

and help us to respond as He would have us.

So work by Your Spirit,

we ask in Jesus' name.

Amen.

These seven letters from Jesus to the churches

follow many similar patterns,

you'll notice as we read through them.

First, there's a greeting to the angel,

either the human or the heavenly messenger of this church.

This time in Ephesus.

Ephesus, like Huntsville today,

was a happening city at this time.

It was not the formal capital of its region,

but kind of the unofficial capital,

a prosperous city on the sea and trade highways.

And the worship of the emperor was big.

There had a big economic impact on the local town.

And Ephesus had these really neat arenas.

You can still see many of them if you go,

but neat places to gather,

highlights of the city,

especially one of the wonders of the ancient world,

the temple of Artemis.

Artemis you could worship right alongside

whoever was the current emperor.

And there was also in Ephesus,

a church of Jesus,

started by the apostle Paul

with the help of Priscilla and Aquila,

taught by Paul himself for multiple years.

So they've heard some decent preaching there.

They've gotten, in fact,

a very biblical letter written to them already.

We call it Ephesians.

But now this message is sent by,

who's the sender?

It's the one who holds the seven stars

in his right hand

and walks among the lampstands.

Remember King Jesus that we saw last week?

That he's great beyond imagination.

And he's good beyond measure.

He's with his churches, right,

among the lampstands.

And he's holding them, each of them.

That's the reminder for the church in Ephesus.

Specifically, Jesus is saying,

I'm with you and I'm holding you.

And I know.

Every single one of these seven letters

starts with the words, I know.

It's not a threat.

It can kind of sound like that to us.

Although there are warnings

in most of these letters.

It's a word of hope, right?

I know.

The God that you trust in,

the one who conquered death

and holds the keys,

he sees you.

And he knows you.

Whatever you're facing

that you think no one else sees,

no one else understands,

he does.

He does.

In this case,

Jesus, knowing everything,

begins with commendations,

positive things that he knows

about the church.

And I hope that's encouraging to you.

Isn't it great to know

that Jesus actually delights

in the work,

the good work being done

in his church

by the power of his spirit?

He's pleased.

He first mentions the works,

the toil,

that the church is working hard,

not being lazy.

These words are general words,

but they speak to effort

being exerted

for the sake of the kingdom.

Let's be clear,

busyness does not equal godliness.

That's not how it works.

But perhaps here,

work discipling one another

in the way of Jesus, right?

I picture this being the way

Jesus feels at the end

of day three of VBS

here at Southwood.

You've worked hard.

You're tired,

but it's a good tired.

Tired toward the right things,

toward worthwhile ends.

Way to go.

He also applauds

their defending of the truth,

their doctrinal fidelity.

You can't get false teaching

past the Ephesians.

They are on their guard, right?

People pretending to speak for God

who teach anything

against the Scriptures

are exposed.

They guard,

as we do,

against legalism

and against license,

against a prosperity theology

that says suffering

indicates a lack of faith,

against specifically

mentioned here

the works

of the Nicolaitans.

That's verse six.

Hating the same false teaching

that Jesus hates.

We're not certain

about all the teaching

of the Nicolaitans.

There's more in another letter

here coming up.

But likely,

there was both idolatry

and immorality involved

under the guise

of Christianity

coming into the churches.

Some taught

that in this culture

where to get by

economically

and professionally,

you might be well served

to bow down to Caesar

when asked.

It could be a good idea

for you.

Some taught

Christians could do that,

could go along with that.

You know,

go to church

and worship Jesus

but on your way home

when you pass by

Caesar's temple,

bow down outwardly,

you know,

as long as you don't really

mean it in your heart.

It makes people happy.

It'll make life easy.

It's okay to do that,

they said.

Perhaps they would say

even the same things

with Artemis' temple

and its prostitutes.

As long as you don't

really mean it

in your heart

and leave your wife

or something like that,

sexual ethics

can be flexible.

It's part of the

booming Ephesian economy

where you live.

You gotta be a part

of this

to get along

in the world.

The Ephesians

have heard these ideas

and they have rejected them

as Jesus does,

hating them.

Even when other Christians

around are compromising,

defending the truth

is important.

Just ask some

Reformed Presbyterians

if you're not sure.

We'll let you know.

One more commendation.

They're enduring patiently,

bearing up under suffering

for the name of Jesus,

not getting weary.

Y'all, that's not easy.

That's not an easy thing

to do in a culture

that scoffs

at your narrow-minded

one true Savior beliefs.

It's not an easy thing

to do when it costs you

personally

or it limits your church's

role in the community.

That's not an easy thing

to keep doing

when you feel

you're plowing

through concrete

with your friends

and neighbors

and it's easy

to get tired

of working uphill, right?

But Jesus says

keep it up.

Southwood,

he genuinely delights

in our work,

in our faith,

in our endurance.

I mean,

who wouldn't want

this report card

from Jesus?

Good work ethic,

solid doctrinal fidelity,

faithful suffering endurance.

What more could Jesus

possibly want

from any church?

As it turns out,

that's a good question.

An important one here

for the church in Ephesus

and I'd suggest

an important one

for us to consider

this morning.

Have you stopped lately

to think about

the kind of relationship

that Jesus has

with his church,

with his people?

It's really important

because we get in a lot

of kinds of relationships.

It's important to understand

that relationship

is not a business arrangement

where we are needed

to help him reach

his bottom line

and get some stuff done.

The relationship

between Jesus

and his church

is not a political alliance

where you don't have

to like him

as long as you get him

the votes

and you support his agenda.

That's what he needs you for.

No.

No, we miss it

when we forget that, y'all.

That's not it.

The Bible pictures,

our relationship with Jesus

is a marriage covenant.

Right?

It's very different.

A marriage covenant

where we live for one another

out of love,

where Jesus lays down

his life

because of his great love

for us,

where we love him

because he first loved us.

A marriage.

Now, how many of you

would be thrilled

with a marriage

where your spouse says,

look, I do lots of stuff

to help our family.

I'm faithful.

No cheating.

I don't even complain

when things are really tough.

But I don't really feel

anything at all

toward you.

I don't look forward

to spending time with you.

I don't love you.

Now, don't get me wrong.

There are things

to be thankful for

in that marriage.

But you are longing

for something more, right?

There's just something

really missing

at the heart

of that kind of relationship.

Listen to Jesus' words

after sincerely

and substantially

commending the church.

Verse 4,

But I have this against you,

that you have abandoned

the love you had

at first.

This is his singular

but substantial critique.

Leaving your first love.

That's really the best

translation here.

First is an adjective.

It means then

at least first

in terms of priority.

But quite possibly

first in terms

of chronology as well.

Like it sounds

when you read

the love you had

at first,

back then.

And people debate

whether this means

their love for Jesus

or their love

for other people.

There's really no reason

that we have to choose,

right?

All through the Bible,

love for God

is the foundation

of love for neighbor.

If you've left

your first love of God,

you're probably not

loving others

deeply,

sacrificially

from the heart

all the time.

And if you've left

your first love

of others,

you're probably

not loving Jesus

deeply from the heart

either.

It's all about you,

not Him.

So both concerns

are vital to any church.

Whether we're sure

of the struggle

in Ephesus or not,

both of them

are issues.

Remember what Paul said

to the church in Corinth?

If I speak in the tongues

of men and of angels

but have not love,

I am a noisy gong

or a clanging cymbal.

And if I have

prophetic powers

and understand all mysteries

and all knowledge

and if I have all faith

so as to move mountains

but have not love,

I am nothing.

If I give away

all I have,

if I deliver up

my body to be burned

but have not love,

I gain nothing.

You can do a lot

with a faithful work ethic

but lack love

and you've done nothing.

This is a danger

for activist churches

eager to serve,

for doctrinal churches

eager to defend

the truth.

we can forget the heart

that made those

very things priorities

in the first place.

It is a particular danger

when you are right

about a lot of things

to overlook the need

to love those who are wrong

or hurting.

When your church

looks pretty good

on the surface

in a lot of ways

to overlook

heart problems

because you really

don't believe

there could be anything

deeply wrong

with yourself.

There's too much good

going on.

So I want to ask you

to do something

that could be

a little tough.

I want you to reflect

just on last week

if you were here.

If you weren't here,

the last time

that you read

or listened

to teaching

about Jesus,

is it possible

that we see Jesus

and our attention

is not attracted

powerfully to Him?

Just be honest

about the past few days.

When you saw

last week

the vision

of the resurrected Jesus

in all of His glory

holding the keys

of death and hell

because He went

to the cross

in your place

and then you saw

and heard Him

putting His hand

on you

and saying

don't be afraid,

fear not,

I'm with you.

Did your heart

skip a beat?

That may be hard

to say.

Did your attention

go back to Him

over and over

this week

as the most

worthy thing

that you could

possibly be spending

your time

thinking on?

did you reconsider

a single thing

about the way

you spend your life

or the way

you spend your time

or how you think

about your death?

See,

if you can read

for example

Revelation chapter 1

Revelation 1 · chapter mention

and stay mostly

unchanged

or unmoved

then you ought

to wonder

if maybe you've

lost your first love.

I'm not joking.

Jesus wants

our attention,

our affection,

our adoration,

our heartfelt

obedience,

our cheerful

giving,

our joyful

service.

He is gloriously

worthy of it

all.

All.

Think back

like Derek

asked us to do

earlier.

do you

thank Jesus

the way you

did

when you

first

realized

that he

died

for you?

Do you

share of him

the way

that you

did

when you

first

cared

more

about

what

everybody

thought

of Jesus

than what

they thought

of you?

Do you

spend time

listening to him

in his

word

the way

you did

when you

first

learned

of Jesus

but you

really

didn't

know

much

at all

and you

just

eagerly

ate

everything

that you

could?

We need

to ask

one another

those honest

questions

in our

grace groups

in our

families

an honest

heart check

right?

It's good

listen

you can do it

because Jesus

is not

pressing you

on this

to beat

you up

but to

build you

back up

you can

tell by

what he

writes

he's

offering

you a

lifeline

revelation

is a love

letter

remember

he's

offering

you

a way

back

to your

first

love

don't

ignore

it

listen

to what

he says

in verse

five

remember

therefore

from where

you have

fallen

wherever

you've

seen

that you've

lost

your first

love

remember

what it

was like

previously

at first

repent

turn

back

to Jesus

from

whatever

has

distracted

you

from

whatever

it

has

turned

back

to

Jesus

see

I'll

just

give

you

some

possibilities

maybe

you've

been

telling

yourself

for now

that

first

love

is the

kids

for a

season

it makes

sense

my calling

is to

love

them

but maybe

in so

doing

you have

put

them

at the

center

and you've

subtly

unintentionally

taught

them

that

they're

central

and that

they're

more

important

than

Jesus

repent

maybe

you've

been

telling

yourself

that

for now

first

love

is

career

just

for a

few

years

you'll

get

things

established

and then

you'll

get back

to living

with

Jesus

friends

you'll

find

that

that's

a

pattern

of life

that is

hard

for your

heart

to break

from

after

just

a few

years

repent

now

repent

back

to

Jesus

maybe

maybe

the way

you think

about it

is

I've

been

going

to

church

pretty

regularly

and I'm

still doing

lots of

good stuff

for Jesus

I tithe

pastor

back

off

right

but on

the way

home

from

church

you're

bowing

down

to

these

other

gods

kids

or

career

control

busyness

pleasure

success

power

comfort

self

if you

see that

in your

heart

bowing

down

anywhere

else

even

while

you're

doing

lots

of

good

things

the

call

is

to

repent

it's

not

to

go

be

ashamed

go

sit

in

a

corner

no

it's

turn

back

to

your

first

love

repent

and do

the works

you did

at first

a change

in your

life

not just

your

heart

if not

I will

come

to you

and remove

your

lampstand

from

its

place

unless

you

repent

do

you

see him

putting

the

repentance

out there

for you

he speeds

back to

it

again

unless

you

repent

do

this

take

this

option

the

lampstand

is the

one

that

marks

us

as a

church

of

Jesus

Jesus

is

not

playing

around

this

is

a

challenge

for

us

together

not

just

us

individually

move

into

that

mindset

family

mindset

do

we

ever

let

busy

programs

become

more

important

than

hurting

people

do

we

ever

care

more

about

being

right

and

people

being

happy

than

we

do

loving

people

and

people

being

discipled

toward

Jesus

do

we

ever

get

more

focused

on

meeting

budget

than

on

meeting

the

loss

do

we

ever

love

preaching

the

gospel

of

grace

more

than

we

love

the

God

of

grace

do

we

ever

love

defending

the

truth

of

the

gospel

more

than

we

love

the

God

of

truth

do

we

ever

care

more

about

keeping

the

world

out

of

the

church

than

we

do

about

getting

the

church

into

the

world

oh

Jesus

when

we

do

and

when

we

ever

do

any

of

those

!

when

as we

confess

they

are

prone

to

do

call

us

back

to

repentance

to

our

first

love

of

you

to

our

first

works

of

loving

others

Jesus

is giving

us

the

gift

of a

heart

check

he's

inviting

us

back

I

always

find

convicting

the

parable

of

the

life

saving

station

the

story

goes

that

on

a

dangerous

sea

coast

where

shipwrecks

often

occur

there

was

once

a

little

life

saving

station

the

building

was

primitive

there

was

just

one

boat

but

the

members

of

the

life

saving

station

were

committed

when

a

ship

went

down

they

unselfishly

went

out

day

or

night

to

save

the

lost

because

so

many

lives

were

saved

by

that

station

many

people

wanted

to

be

associated

with

it

to

give

their

time

talent

and

money

to

support

its

important

work

as

the

membership

grew

some

of

the

members

became

unhappy

that

the

building

was

so

primitive

and

the

equipment

so

outdated

they

wanted

a

better

place

to

welcome

the

survivors

pulled

from

the

sea

so

they

replaced

the

emergency

cots

with

beds

and

put

better

furniture

in

the

enlarged

and

newly

decorated

building

now

the

life

saving

station

became

a

popular

gathering

place

for

its

members

but

fewer

members

were

interested

in

going

to

sea

on

life

saving

missions

so

they

hired

lifeboat

crews

to do

this

for

them

about

this

time

a

large

ship

was

wrecked

off

the

coast

and

the

hired

staff

brought

into

the

life

saving

station

cold

wet

dirty

sick

and

half

drowned

people

the

plush

carpets

got

dirty

some

of

the

exquisite

furniture

got

scratched

so

the

property

committee

immediately

had a

shower

built

outside

the

house

where

the

victims

of

shipwreck

could

be

cleaned

up

before

coming

inside

at

the

next

meeting

there

was

a

rift

in

the

membership

most

of

the

members

wanted

to

stop

the

club's

life

saving

activities

they

were

unpleasant

and

a

hindrance

to

the

normal

fellowship

of

the

members

insisted

that

life

saving

was

their

primary

purpose

and

pointed

out

they

were

still

called

a

life

saving

station

but

they

were

finally

voted

down

and

told

that

if

they

wanted

to

save

the

lives

of

all

those

people

who

would

be

shipwrecked

they

could

begin

their

own

life

saving

station

down

the

coast

they

did

but

the

pattern

continued

there

and

if

you

visit

that

seacoast

today

you

will

find

a

number

of

adequate

meeting

places

with

ample

parking

and

plush

carpeting

shipwrecks

are

frequent

in those

waters

but

most

of the

people

drown

what

great

love

they

had

at

first

they

got

drowned

in

an

ocean

of

selfish

priorities

how

sad

when

we

lose

sight

of

the

Savior

who

came

not

to

be

served

but

to

serve

and

the

mission

to

seek

and

to

save

the

lost

that

he

calls

us

to

join

him

in

as

we

walk

with

him

it's

a

heart

check

Southwood

how's

our

heart

for

Jesus

for

Huntsville

for

the

world

he

who

has

an

ear

let

him

hear

what

the

spirit

says

to

the

churches

not

just

to

Ephesus

but

if

we

have

ears

to

us

that

will

be

at

the

end

of

every

one

of

these

letters

with

a

promise

as

well

to

those

who

overcome

who

conquer

it's

the word

nikao

the Greek

word

for

victory

you thought

you didn't

know

Greek

yes

you do

Nike

victory

just

do

it

right

except

that

just

do

it

is

not

what's

being

said

about

victory

in

Revelation

the

biblical

motto

for

Nike

is

just

trust

him

in

Revelation

Jesus

is the

ultimate

conqueror

the victor

over all

evil

and conquering

overcoming

we'll see

throughout the

book

means for

us

sticking

with him

no matter

what

comes

repent

of the

other loves

just

trust

him

come

trust

Jesus

again

and the

promise

here is

that as

we do

Jesus

will grant

us to

eat of

the tree

of life

in the

paradise

of God

we don't

even know

how wonderful

that is

what it

means is

that we

will be

fed

and

blessed

and

provided

for

forever

by the

king

who even

now

leads us

in

green

pastures

who even

now

prepares a

table

before us

in the

presence

of our

enemies

who

delights

to eat

with us

now

and

forever

from the

greatest

tree

in the

greatest

garden

highlighted

by the

greatest

savior

that

that meal

with him

forever

is what

we're

rehearsing

for today

as we

come to

this table

to be

fed

and

nourished

by that

same

savior

who promises

to eat

this meal

with us

in his

father's

kingdom

that's

the

paradise

of

god

hear

his

words

to his

followers

on that

night

that he

was

betrayed

Matthew

records

it for

us

in his

gospel

that as

they

were

eating

Jesus

took

bread

and

after

blessing

it

he

broke

it

and

gave

it

to

his

disciples

as

I

ministering

in

his

name

give

this

bread

to

you

he

said

take

eat

this

is

my

body

in the

same

way

after

supper

he

took

the

cup

and

having

given

thanks

he

gave

it

to

them

saying

drink

of it

all

of you

for

this

is

my

blood

of the

covenant

poured

out

for

many

for

the

forgiveness

of

sins

and

then

Jesus

said

I

tell

you

I

will

not

drink

again

of

this

fruit

of

the

vine

until

that

day

when

I

drink

it

new

with

you

in

my

father's

kingdom

Jesus

looked

at

the

cross

and

then

he

looked

beyond

the

cross

to

the

eternal

meal

that

he

would

share

with

you

so

certainly

as

we

sit

at

this

table

today

we

look

at

the

cross

and

then

we

look

beyond

the

cross

to

that

eternal

meal

that

we

will

share

with