As I have joined your services online over the last few weeks, it has become apparent that Lakeside is making significant impact locally and around the world. I commend you for your partnership with Inner City Mission in addressing homelessness here and your partnership with the Wilhoits and Pioneer Bible Translators in bringing the Word of God to people groups around the world, and sending Jon and a team of people to work with Jared Nassiff and the Direction Church, a new church plant in Des Moines, Iowa. Jared was a student of mine in our seminary, and I am delighted to see him serving in this way and I am grateful for Lakeside’s willingness to encourage them and support them.
In his absence, Jon asked me to launch this new series of messages today. Have you ever considered that 21 of the 27 books of our New Testament are letters written by apostles and other Christian leaders to local congregations facing real-life challenges. Through these Spirit-directed authors, Christ is speaking to His church today in the letters that have been preserved for us. Have you ever wondered what Christ would say if He were writing a letter to His church today? We don’t have to wonder since we have not only these letters but also a series of seven letters written to seven 1st century churches in Asia Minor recorded in Revelation chapters 2 and 3. These seven letters are teeming with application for 21st century churches around the world.
John R. W. Stott introduced his exposition of Revelation 1-3 with these words, “What Christ thinks of the church is a question of great concern to all Christians. What we ourselves think of it from the inside and what others think of it from the outside are also important. But far more significant is the view of Jesus Christ himself, since he is the church’s founder, head, and judge.” (John R. W. Stott, What Christ Thinks of the Church)
For the next seven weeks, you will have an opportunity to hear Christ’s words to the church as these letters are read and applied to the church today. You will discover what Christ says to the loveless church at Ephesus, the persecuted church at Smyrna, the worldly church at Pergamum, the wrong doctrine church at Thyatira, the spiritually dead church at Sardis, the spiritually alive church at Philadelphia, and the lukewarm church at Laodicea.
These seven churches are located on a circuit in what is modern day Turkey about 60 miles from where John is in exile at Patmos. If one were to walk this circuit of churches, it would take about 12 days to get from Ephesus and finally to Laodicea with about 30 to 70 miles between each of the 7 cities.
The letters follow a common pattern: Each is addressed to the angel or representative messenger of the church. Christ begins with a statement about Himself then He provides a description of the church, commending the church when appropriate and presenting the complaints (if any) against them. He corrects their error with specific actions for the church to take and offers a promise to anyone who overcomes.
The first letter is to the church at Ephesus. Ephesus was not only the first city on this seven-city circuit. It was the place of Paul’s three-year ministry (Acts 19:1–10; 20:17–38), where Aquila and Priscilla and Apollos labored (Acts 18:24–28), where Timothy preached (1 and 2 Timothy), and where the Apostle John preached in his old age. This church was a place of great privilege and great preaching. It had a rich heritage and a lot going for it. Looking at it from the inside and the outside it appeared that all is well with this church, but what does Jesus see? What does He have to say?
Let’s read this letter the way a letter is intended to be read, at one sitting with our antenna up as we read between the lines for what is unspoken but understood by both parties. One of my pet peeves is that we tend to read the letters in the New Testament like we would never read any other personal letter. I can remember getting handwritten letters from my Mom when I was in college (obviously long before emails and text messaging) and I never once read the first few lines, laid it aside and said, I’ll read a few more lines tomorrow and each day until I finish. No, when I got a letter from home, I devoured it all at once. That is the way we should read the letters in Scripture.
So let’s read the first letter to the church at Ephesus:
1 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands: 2 I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. 3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. 4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. 5 Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. 6 But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.” (Revelation 2:1–7, NIV)
Christ identifies Himself as the One who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands.
Earlier Jesus revealed to John that “The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches. (Revelation 1:20)
The One “who is holding (present tense) the seven stars (angels/angelic messengers representing the churches) in his right hand and is walking (present tense) among the seven golden lampstands (churches) is the same One who said in Matthew 28:18: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” and in Matthew 28:20: “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Christ begins by reminding the church at Ephesus that He is not only the authority that holds them and their destiny in His hand, but He is also present with them. What a word of reassurance for a small, struggling church standing up against the seemingly inexhaustible resources of the Roman Empire!
He is aware of what is going on with this church. He is not aloof or asleep or away on vacation. He is alive and reigning as Lord. He knows His church intimately and begins this letter like each of the seven letters by stating, “I know.” Look at verses 2-3 and 6 to see what Christ knows and how He commends this church:
2 I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. 3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. . . . 6 But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. (Revelation 2:2-3, 6)
Here is a church that has a lot going for them—
• their deeds that reflect a lot of hard work (They were a busy, active, serving, sharing congregation).
• their endurance in the face of hardship (In a city comprised of many religions and one of the centers of emperor worship they had been exposed to strong opposition, but they never wavered in their allegiance to Christ).
• their orthodoxy (They were confronted by so-called apostles and a group of false teachers who were called Nicolaitans by themselves, by others, or by John but never compromised their faith).
You may recall that when Paul met with the elders of this church at Miletus, he warned them in Acts 20:28-31 of what they would face:
28 Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. 29 I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. 30 Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. 31 So be on your guard! (Acts 20:28-31)
Now years later the Ephesian church had passed the test of orthodoxy. They tested the teachers who came to them and did not follow their false teaching.
But that is not all that Christ knows about the church at Ephesus. He turns from commendation to complaint in verse 4: Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. (Revelation 2:4)
Do you remember what Jesus prophesied during His ministry: 12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. (Matthew 24:12-13) Surely not this historic church in Ephesus!
These were Paul’s last word to this church in his letter: Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love. (Ephesians 6:24)
Now they hear this indictment—You have forsaken your first love! How could this church that loved Christ with an undying love, let its love grow cold and now forsake their first love? There is a warning here that it could happen to any church!
There is some debate about what Jesus meant by “your first love.” Was it their love for God or for others? The apostle John would argue that loving God and loving people are inseparable—
In 1 John 4:19-21 he wrote: 19 We love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother. (1 John 4:19-21)
I believe that their first love that has been forsaken, is their love for Jesus Christ which gives life to the church, inspires its deeds, stirs it steadfastness, and fuels its faithfulness to doctrine. Without this love relationship with Jesus Christ there will be no love for one another or love for outsiders to reach out to them with the message of Jesus’ love.
A second question to be answered is was this love first in priority (chief love) or first in time (had at beginning of your Christian life)? The answer lies in one of the commands that Christ gives this church in verse 5: Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. (Revelation 2:5)
The reference to “things you did at first” suggests that these are the things inspired by the love you had at first. Do the things you did at first to recapture the love you had at first.
What Christ calls upon this church to do could not be clearer. He uses three terse to the point imperatives. Stott labels them with three Rs—
• Remember the height from which you have fallen
• Repent with a change of heart and a change of mind, make a U-turn, go back
• Resume the works you did at first
Perhaps you have been a Christian for some time or perhaps it has been a short time. Do you remember what it was like when you first decided to follow Jesus? How clean and alive you felt? How vibrant your faith was? How passionate for God and the Gospel you were? If you want to rekindle your love for Christ, remember what it was like to believe in Jesus, belong to Jesus, and become a follower of Jesus. I vividly remember the moment of my re-awakening to faith as a freshman in college. Before ever sensing a call to ministry I remember having an insatiable appetite for studying Scripture (wanting to know what God was revealing about Himself through Scripture and through His Son); I remember an inexplicable zeal for serving others rather than myself (wanting to invest myself in something that was meaningful and purposeful); I remember the inextinguishable passion for wanting everyone I knew and everyone I met to have this same relationship with Jesus Christ (wanting to respond to God’s grace by extending that grace to others). The first step in this process of repentance is not living in the past but remembering the spiritual heights which we once enjoyed and then repenting of the sin and self-sufficiency that caused the loss of our wholehearted devotion to Christ.
True repentance (evidence of making a U-turn) is demonstrated in “doing the things you did at first.” Resume those spiritual practices that were evident in your former state.
To the complacent or backsliding Christian John Courson applies Jesus’ words in this imaginary conversation—
What were you doing when you were on fire for the Lord?
“I was going to church.”
Go again!
“I was getting up early for morning devotions.”
Do it again!
“I sang praises to the Lord as I drove down the street.”
Sing again!
There are numerous other things we could add to that conversation—I was involved in serving others at a homeless shelter; then serve again. I was praying regularly; then pray again. I was filling my mind with messages of God’s love rather than social media memes; then spend more time reflecting on God’s love for you and others so you never take it for granted again!
To the church as a whole it is about resuming the heartfelt worship, the sacrificial giving, the joy of Christian fellowship, the local and global outreach, the community service, the prayer gatherings and Bible studies that drew you close to God and to one another as a congregation. Whether you are a new church plant like Direction Church in Des Moines or a 60-year-old church like Lakeside or like my home church celebrating its 200th anniversary this year there is always a risk of forsaking your first love, so leaders must pay attention to Christ’s words and warnings to this church.
To this call to action Christ adds a word of warning and a promise—
The warning is found at the end of verse 5-- If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. (Revelation 2:5) “Or I will remove!’ is a serious word of warning to a church, that it would cease to be a church. But the promise found in verse 7 is even greater--He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. (Revelation 2:7)
What a glorious promise to anyone who hears this message, repents, and overcomes the evils of this world—the right to eat from the tree of life in the paradise of God. That means we will spend eternity in the presence of God who is love.
My prayer for each of you is that you will be counted among the overcomers, that you will put first things first and realize that more important than anything our God is a person to be loved.
My prayer for you as a church as you embark upon this seven-week series is adapted from John Stott’s prayer: May these messages help you to grasp where Christ’s priorities lie. There is much to call us to repentance and renewal, much to humble and shame us, much to warn us of the malice of our enemy and much to incite us to fortitude and perseverance. May Christ speak again to our churches the truths he spoke to the churches of Asia centuries ago, and may our ears be opened to listen to “what the Spirit is saying to the churches!” (John Stott What Christ Thinks of the Church)