Remembering
Your First Love
Steve W. Reeves
INTRODUCTION:
A. What
is in a letter?
1. In our day of text messages, email and
social media we correspond less by letter
than people of previous generations.
2. Chances are you remember a letter you
received at some point in life.
a. Perhaps a letter from “Uncle Sam”
calling you into military service.
b. A letter from a sweetheart.
c. A letter from a college or university
stating you had been accepted.
d. A letter of love and concern from a
family member.
e. For centuries letters have been a
primary means of communication.
B. The
book of Revelation was originally a letter addressed to seven churches in Asia
near the end of the first century.
1. To whom were these letters addressed?
a. We sometimes call these the seven
churches of Asia..
b. They were located along an ancient
trade route (perhaps an ancient postal route)
the began in Ephesus and formed an
crescent that ended in Laodicea. It is
believed that John spent his final
years (other than his exile on Patmos) in
Ephesus. These letters are written
to churches of which John had first
hand knowledge.
c. They were: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum,
Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and
Laodicea.
2. Why were these churches chosen?
a. I do not believe it was merely
because of their geographic location.
b. There was in these churches a
timelessness of character. They are
representative of churches throughout the
ages. The visions John records
throughout Revelation are directly
related to the experience of these seven
churches. Thus, they are related to
us.
3. What structure do the letters follow?
a.
Each letter contains a description of Jesus taken from 1:12-19.
b. Each letter contains Jesus knowledge of the church. Jesus addressed the
culture of these local churches. It
is important to remember that every church,
ancient or modern, exists within a
broader context of culture.
c. In each letter Jesus spoke of His
coming and admonished people to spiritual
hearing and understanding coupled with
a call to faithfulness.
C. In
our study of the first letter (Revelation 2:1-7) we notice the theme,
“Remembering
Your First Love.”
I. BACKGROUND OF EPHESUS
A. Of the seven cities in these two
chapters Ephesus was one of the most prominent.
1. It was the largest city of the Roman
Provide of Asia, although it was not the
capitol.
2. It was a large commercial center with
a thriving economy.
3. It was a “free city,” meaning that
there were no Roman soldiers stationed there.
4. It was an educational center with a
library (remains are still visible).
5. It was the site of the Asian games,
similar to the Olympics in Athens or Isthmian
games in Corinth.
6. It was the site of the temple of
Artemis.
a. Artemis was a fertility goddess. Many
states of Artemis have been discovered.
Most of them depict her with
multiple breasts by which to give succor to a
multitude of offspring.
b. The temple of Artemis was huge. It
is often referred to as one of the seven
wonders of the ancient world.
c. Worship to Artemis (also known as
Diana) involved cultic prostitution. This was
a common practice among fertility
cults.
7. Paul lived in Ephesus three years
(Acts 20:31).
8. The tradition of John and Ephesus. “When
the holy Evangelist John had lived to
extreme old age in Ephesus, he could
be carried only with difficulty by the hands
of the disciples, and as he was not
able to pronounce more words, he was
accustomed to say at every assembly,
"Little children, love one another.” At
length the disciples and brethren
who were present became tired of hearing
always the same thing and said:
"Master, why do you always say this?"
Thereupon John gave an answer worthy
of himself: "Because this is the
commandment of the Lord, and if it
is observed then is it enough." (Cited in
Jerome's Commentary on Galatians,
cited in Period I, § 3(b) of A Source Book
for Ancient Church History, by Joseph
Cullen Ayer, Jr.).
9. At the end of the first century
Ephesus was a center of worship to Caesar.
Domitian was the emperor who brought
persecution of Christians to a new
level.
B. Paul’s arrival in Ephesus is described
in Acts 19. As he continued to preach in the
city a silversmith named Demetrius
incited a riot against him. After three years Paul
left Ephesus. His departure from the
Ephesian elders described in Acts20 is one of
the most touching scenes in the Bible.
II. GOOD QUALITIES OF THE EPHESIAN
CHURCH.
A. Revelation 2:1-3 - “To the angel of the church in
Ephesus write: The One who
holds the seven stars in His right hand,
the One who walks among the seven
golden lampstands, says this: 2 ‘I
know your deeds and your toil and perseverance,
and that you cannot tolerate evil men,
and you put to the test those who call
themselves apostles, and they are not,
and you found them to be false 3 and
you
have perseverance and have endured for
My name’s sake, and have not
grown weary.”
B. Notice these descriptions of the church
in Ephesus.
1. They were diligent. Jesus recognized
their deeds, their toil and perseverance.
a. If there is any quality a church
must possess it is diligence. The elders at
Ephesus had apparently followed
Paul’s admonition in Acts 20:28 to “give
heed to yourselves and to the
church of God over whom the Holy Spirit has
made you overseers.”
b. The same need exists today. On
every hand the doctrine of New Testament
Christianity is being
confronted. Someone recently said that our largest threat
is the “Church of ‘Me’.”
2. They were deliberate. They would not
tolerate evil men.
a. There were some traveling about
claiming to be “apostles.” The word means,
“messenger.” Apparently these were individuals who claimed
special
knowledge. Apparently those
claiming to be “apostles” were claiming some
type of special authority (like
the apostles in Acts). They may have been
“gnostics.” The elders at Ephesus
did not accept anyone. They asked
questions and did their “homework.”
They determined these people were
not who they claimed to be.
b. Verse 6 says that the Ephesians hated
the work of the Nicolaitans. There is
debate over who these people
were but they may have been an immoral
influence by accepting some of the
cultic rituals of the culture. They were also
mentioned with regard to the
church in Pergamum (2:15).
c. Sometimes people say, “The church
should be willing to accept anyone into its
fellowship.” On the surface this
may sound kind and welcoming. We must
remember, however, that there
are people who are “wolves dressed in sheep’s
clothing” (Matthew 7:15-16) .
Jesus said, “You will know them by their fruit.”
One who does not “walk in the
light” (1 John 1;7) and who seeks to inflict harm
on
the flock must be avoided.
3.
They were dedicated. Notice verse 3. “And you have perseverance and
have endured for My name’s sake, and
have not grown weary.”
a. What notable and commendable
traits these Christians possessed in the midst
of a pagan culture. .
b. It’s no wonder Jesus was pleased
with the character of this church.
III. WHAT WAS NEEDED
A. All was not well with the Ephesian
church. According to Revelation 2:4-5 – “But I
have this against you, that you
have left your first love. 5 Therefore remember from
where you have fallen, and repent and do
the deeds you did at first; or else I am
coming to you and will remove your
lampstand out of its place—unless you repent.”
B. It is this failure of the Ephesian
church that remains a threat for the church today.
1.
They were involved in many good works.
2. They were diligent.
3. They did things “decently and in
order” (1 Corinthians 14:40).
4. They had lost their “first love.”
They had lost their passion, zeal, enthusiasm and
motivation. Religion had lost its
meaning.
C. A sad scene, indeed, is to see someone
who has lost their passion, zest and spark
in life.
1.
It is easy to become “stuck” in a rut.
2. It is easy to go “through the
motions,” while losing the zeal and inspiration that
should drive those motions.
C. Cline Paden preached a message entitled,
“From Caves to Cathedrals.” In his
lesson he chronicled how the enthusiasm
of the “caves” (founders and first
generation) often dies in the stale
formality of the “cathedral.”
D. This is why Jesus called the Ephesian
church to repent. They needed to continue
doing the right things but recapture the
right motivation.
1. We must not do things, “because we
have always done them.”
2. We must not do things, “to keep up
the church across town.”
3. There must always be a foundation of
passion and meaning.
CONCLUSION:
A.
Sometimes a letter can change your life. I have a letter I received from my Dad
when I was a young preacher. He had not
supported my decision to preach initially.
As years passed he changed and prior to his
death he wrote me a letter encouraging
me to pursue my dream.
B.
What if the Lord were to send a letter to West Side this week? For what would
He
commend us? What would He tell us to do?
What if the Lord sent you a letter this
week?
C. May
each of us heed the words of Jesus, “Let him who has ears hear what the Spirit
says!”
