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| From: | Jesus | ||||||
| To: | Ephesus | ||||||
| Commendation | |||||||
| Problem | |||||||
| Commandment | |||||||
| Consequence | |||||||
| Promise | |||||||
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| From: | Jesus | ||||||
| To: | Ephesus | ||||||
| Commendation | |||||||
| Problem | |||||||
| Commandment | |||||||
| Consequence | |||||||
| Promise | |||||||
| From: Jesus |
| The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand and who walks among
the golden lampstands. Jesus is the ultimate Authority over the Church and He walks
in our midst, vitally involved in all that occurs in the Body. He sets the Church in
motion. All that is done is at His Command. All that is done is accomplished
in His Power. Jesus is the Head of the Church! Without this vital
connection, the Church flops around frantically, accomplishes nothing in an eternal
dimension, and ultimately dies! |
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| To: Ephesus |
A large and important city on the west coast of Asia Minor where the
apostle Paul founded a church. A number of factors contributed to the prominence which
Ephesus enjoyed.
The first factor was economics. Situated at the mouth of the river Cayster, Ephesus was
the most favorable seaport in the province of Asia and the most important trade center
west of Tarsus. Today, because of silting from the river, the ruins of the city lie in a
swamp 8 to 11 kilometers (5 to 7 miles) inland.
Another factor was size. Although Pergamum was the capital of the province of Asia in
Roman times, Ephesus was the largest city in the province, having a population of perhaps
300,000 people.
A third factor was culture. Ephesus contained a theater that seated an estimated 25,000
people. A main thoroughfare, some 35 meters (105 feet) wide, ran from the theater to the
harbor, at each end of which stood an impressive gate. The thoroughfare was flanked on
each side by rows of columns 15 meters (50 feet) deep. Behind these columns were baths,
gymnasiums, and impressive buildings.
The fourth, and perhaps most significant, reason for the prominence of Ephesus was
religion. The Temple of Artemis (or Diana, according to her Roman name) at Ephesus ranked
as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. As the twin sister of Apollo and the
daughter of Zeus, Artemis was known variously as the moon goddess, the goddess of hunting,
and the patroness of young girls. The temple at Ephesus housed the multi-breasted image of
Artemis which was reputed to have come directly from Zeus The first seeds of Christian truth were possibly sown at Ephesus immediately after
the great Pentecost (Acts 2). Whatever previous plans Paul may have entertained
(Acts 16:6), his first visit was on his return from the second missionary circuit
(Acts 18:19-21), and his stay on that occasion was very short; nor is there any
proof that he found any Christians at Ephesus, but he left there Aquila and
Priscilla (verse 19), who both then and at a later period (2 Tim 4:19) were of
signal service. In Paul's own stay of more than two years (Acts 19:8,10; 20:31),
which formed the most important passage of his third circuit. On leaving the
city, the apostle left Timothy in charge of
the Church there (1 Tim 1:3), a position which he seems to have retained for a
considerable period, as we learn from the second epistle addressed to him.
Ephesus is also closely connected with the apostle John, not only as being the
scene (Rev 1:11; 2:1) of the most prominent of the churches of the Apocalypse, but
also in the story of his later life as given by Eusebius (Hist. Eccl. 3:23, etc.).
According to a tradition which prevailed extensively in ancient times, John spent
many years in Ephesus, where he employed himself most diligently for the spread of
the Gospel, and where he died at a very old age, and was buried. |
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| Commendation: |
| These people are commended for their hard work, persistence, and
consistent stand against evil. They use spiritual discernment to root out heresy and
heretics. This type of Christian, today, is characterized by a high level of
activity. They are typically teachers and leaders. They can be counted upon to
say yes when the Nominating Committee comes looking for help. They are the
dependable, pillars of the Church. They are the "Christian soldiers"
against social evil in our communities. Pastors long to have a church full of this
kind of Christian... or do they???
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| Problem: |
| The problem that Jesus points out is that these people have "lost
their first love". Remember how you felt when you first were introduced to the
Lord and accepted His Gracious Salvation? You felt completely clean. You were
absolutely "head over heels" in love with the Lord. He was all you could
think about. He was the center of your life. You couldn't stop talking about
your Wonderful Counselor! You couldn't do enough acts of service to demonstrate your
gratefulness and love to Him. Some where along the line the Christians referred to
in this letter moved away from this all consuming Love. They continued the activity,
but their motives changed. The activity was no longer done out of gratitude and
obedience to the Lord. Perhaps you have seen Mr. or Ms. Ephesian Christian in your church. Perhaps this is a description of you. The motives other than love for Christ for performing Christian service are myriad. There are people who are motivated to "Christian Service" to achieve personal glory. Some get involved because they get a sense of personal satisfaction from the ministry. Others clearly see the need and rather than seeking the Lord's Will regarding their involvement, simply jump in and attempt to fill the void. That is, people accept positions of leadership in the church because no one else is stepping in to fill the role. The root of these motives is self-centeredness and pride, and like all sin, pride is destructive. These inappropriate motives present a two-fold problem. Stepping into assignments that God has not given us puts us in the position of attempting to accomplish the task without the Lord's power to pull it off. This leads to burn out and extreme ineffectiveness. It also prevents the person God has selected for the assignment from performing the task. This robs them and the people to whom they are to minister of the blessing God wants to provide. When people jump in like this, they are really demonstrating a lack of trust in the Lord. Perhaps they don't think He is capable of convincing the right people to get involved. A related problem of performing work without specific direction from the Lord is that many programs continue to function long past the time that God intended for them to cease. This kind of program tends to detract from the ministry. It consumes resources that should be spent on God directed activity, and the effort it requires serves to drive us further from our first love. After all there is never enough time to do everything and the first thing to go is usually our quiet time with the Lord. When this happens our relationship with Him grows cold and our understanding of His Will grows dim. Like any friendship, it requires time together to flourish. If you fail to communicate with a close friend for any length of time, the friendship eventually becomes merely an acquaintance. Are you so busy supposedly working for the Lord that your love relationship with Him has become just an acquaintance? In I Corinthians 3:12-15 we are told that all of our works will be tested as if by fire. Some will be consumed because they consist of wood, hay, and stubble. Some of our works will remain because they are made of gold, silver, and precious stones. The teachings of Christ and his apostles throughout the New Testament seem to be saying that works borne out of anything but a deep love for the Lord and performed in any other way than in complete reliance upon His strength and direction are simply temporary structures destined to be consumed by the flames. If we want our lives to count for anything, it is imperative that we serve the Lord on His Terms! |
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| Commandment: |
| Jesus told the Ephesians and anyone today who has lost their first love to
REMEMBER and REPENT! Can you remember when you first met and received Jesus Christ?
Remember the intensity of your love for Him? Think of the joy you experienced
basking in His Love and returning it with every fibre of your being. He was your
first consideration in everything. Walking with Him daily you were plumbing the
depths, stretching to the highest reaches, crossing the immeasurable expanse, and
searching the never ending lengths of His unconditional, undying LOVE for you! Out
of this spiritual knowledge His Love grew in you and was returned back to Him with every
word, thought, and deed. REMEMBER??? -- Remember and REPENT! I used to think that the meaning of repent was to feel sorry for what you had done. I suppose there is and needs to be an aspect of sorrow for past rebellion and pride, but being sorry is not enough. Repent means to change from the direction you have been heading to the direction God specifies. Repent in this letter to Ephesus means these people, and us too if it applies, need to change from Religion to Relationship by returning to their first love for Christ Jesus. We get a glimpse into the depth and intimacy of this relationship from the promise Christ offers to those who obey His instruction. They shall be allowed to eat from the Tree of Life. This is the tree in the center of the Garden of Eden. This is the tree that was available when Adam and Eve walked and talked with God. The relationship they had with the Lord at this time was more intimate than any of us can imagine. Remember the love you once had for the Lord and return to it by walking and talking with Him in innocence and utter dependence as did Adam and Eve prior to their sin. It is possible that your encounters with Christ have never been from a basis of love or even infatuation, but rather from fear, obligation, or ritual. In this case you cannot return to your first love when it has yet to exist. Some of the letters we will discuss later will apply more specifically to you, but suffice to say; you need to enter into His Love. Your next steps need to be to truly receive the LIVING LORD JESUS into your LIFE! That means more than just the Sunday corner of your life. He longs to be at the center of your life. He died and rose again to live in you and be entwined in every aspect of your life. He is King of Kings; make Him your King! Trust Him to fulfill all of His promises in and through you. Let your life be characterized by the old Hymn - "Trust and Obey" - for indeed, there is no other way. |
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| Consequence: |
| If you refuse to repent and enter into a love relationship with Christ, He
will take away your "lampstand". Recall in chapter 1 that Jesus told us
that the lampstand represented the church. The removal of the church in this context
is not loss of their salvation, but rather loss of an effective, viable ministry. If
we persist in acting independently of the Lord driven by motives other than a sincere and
open love for the Lord, we will simply spin our wheels and do nothing with an eternal
dimension. Now that's hardly what I call making your life count! |
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| Promise |
Each of the letters finish with a promise for those
who overcome. In 1 John 5:4-5 we see more specifically who these people are:
These overcomers are given the right to eat the fruit from the Tree of Life. This reference takes us all the way back to the beginning when Adam and Eve walked in Paradise with God. The Ephesians had lost their first love. Here we see the promise for those who have faith in Jesus Christ will return to that state of perfect harmony with God. Those who overcome will walk with God and enjoy a deep, overwhelming, intimate, love relationship with Him for eternity. |
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