Turn with me for our Scripture reading to Revelation chapter 1. Revelation chapter 1, we want to read together beginning at verse 9 through chapter 2, verse 7. Our text this morning is chapter 2, verses 1 through 7. This morning we begin together a study of the well-known seven churches of Asia Minor, the churches of Revelation. You know, once a year we hear the President of the United States give what is called the State of the Union Address, in which he relates for the people of the country what's going on, the economic situation, and just really the overall temperature of the Union, of our country. In many respects, in Revelation 2 and 3, our Lord Jesus Christ gives a state of the church address, taking the spiritual temperature of the church. Of course, there are seven churches, and we know that the number seven in Scripture is a number that represents completeness, fullness, and therefore these seven churches represent the visible church of Jesus Christ both in that day and in our day today. And these churches, along with their difficulties and problems and situations that our Lord addresses represent the visible church of all ages. She is a church that's holy, to be sure, by virtue of her union with the Lord Jesus Christ, set apart in Christ, but also a church that is still imperfect and earthly, characterized by many infirmities and sins as our Lord addresses to these seven churches. This time we read together beginning at verse 9 as we give our attention to the Word of God. I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus was on the island of Patmos because of the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus. On the Lord's Day, I was in the Spirit and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet which said, Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned, I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe, reaching down to his feet, and with a golden sash around his chest. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. When I saw Him, I fell down at His feet as though dead. Then He placed His right hand on me and said, Do not be afraid. I am the first and the last. I am the living One. I was dead, and behold, I am alive forever and ever. And I hold the keys of death and Hades. Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. 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. Now before we go on to read our text, let's notice this for a moment again. The description of our Lord Jesus Christ in this passage from head to toe. A description of His majesty, His power and His greatness. He is indeed the King of His church. He rules His church. And He is intimately involved with the life of the church. These seven churches, he says, are called lampstands. That's what the lampstands are. And that means that the visible church of Christ is to hold up and shine forth the light and truth of Jesus Christ in a dark world. To be a witness for Christ in the world. That's the church's task. As well, we are told that He holds these seven stars in His hand, His right hand, which he goes on to say are the seven churches. Now, there's a difference of opinion, even among Reformed scholars, as to what is meant by these seven stars. Who do they represent? What are they supposed to be? And I believe the best way to understand this is that these angels are the churches as represented by the ministers or leaders of the churches. Because ministers themselves are called of God, called by God, to be lights within the churches they serve. And they not only proclaim the will of God, but their own lives are to be a demonstration of the will of God. And these ministers are servants of Christ for the good of the congregation. Even as Jesus says in Luke 10, verse 16, He who listens to you, listens to Me. He who rejects you, rejects Me. With that in mind, let's read the words of our text, beginning at verse 1 of chapter 2. 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. 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. You have persevered and have endured hardships for My name and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you. You have forsaken your first love. 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. But you have this in your favor. You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 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. Dear people of God, we profess to be a congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ. We profess to be a congregation of those who have been washed in and redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. We profess to be those who firmly believe that there is no way to the Father except through the Lord Jesus Christ. We profess to be those who have been blessed with salvation full and free from our God. Salvation from the agony of eternal hell and damnation. Those instead who are given the eternal life with Jesus Christ. That's our profession. And therefore, I ask, do we as a church walk our talk? Do you as a Christian walk your talk? That's kind of a familiar saying. In a sense, meaning that we live what we profess. And that is indeed true. But what I mean is more than just living a good life, more than just trying to be faithful to God's commandments by the things we do, but those who are so filled with the joy of salvation that that salvation radiates from us because it's such an awesome thing to us. Are we driven by a strong devotion for the Lord Jesus Christ? And do we desire that others see the light of the Lord Jesus Christ in everything that we do? Is our love for the Lord so strong that we desire, beloved, to be a portrait of Him? That when others look at us, that they receive a glimpse, be it ever so small, of the Lord Jesus Christ. His saving Gospel in us. To be used of God then, if it is His will, to draw others to that only way to the Father. Now we need to take notice of this this morning as this text begins that not only does our Lord Jesus Christ rule His church as He holds the seven stars in His hand, but He also walks with His feet of bronze among the seven golden lampstands. In other words, congregation, He is active within His church. He knows what's going on. He knows our deeds. He knows our motives. He knows why we do what we do. He knows our heart. And that is demonstrated in this address to the church in Ephesus, which, as the text makes clear, was considered to be a faithful church, yet at the same time, a loveless church. And therefore, we consider together this Word of God, Christ summons the faithful church to love again. But of course, there seems to be a contradiction here, doesn't there? After all, how can one be faithful and be without love at the same time? Let's consider these four points together. First of all, the commendation of faithfulness. Secondly, the condemnation of abandonment. Third, the command to repent. And finally, the conclusion of reward. First, Jesus commends this church for her faithfulness. Or we might say that He congratulates or maybe better yet, He praises this church for her faithfulness. Verses 2 and 3 again, 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. You have persevered and have endured hardships for My name and have not grown weary. Now, the situation of this church and the community in which this church is located helps us to understand our Lord's words to her and the praise that He gives to her. Ephesus was a very important city. It was a gateway to the province of Asia and in many respects a gateway to the other six churches. And at one time, Ephesus was a major seaport for commerce and trade, a very important trade route for business purposes. And that, of course, added to her value. It added to her importance. But by the New Testament times, it seems that her great days, these particular great days, were gone in many respects. But now, Ephesus was the home of the temple of the Greek goddess Diana. And Diana was considered to be the goddess of nature and of reproduction. And the worship of Diana included all kinds of religious prostitution and unbridled lust. And therefore, Ephesus was the center of pagan cultic activity. But not only all of this, the financial success of the city and the motivation of the city was driven by that pagan activity. The citizens made their livings with the things associated with Diana. For example, we might be able to say that if we think about hotel and restaurant owners, they made their living by the visitors and the worshippers who came from a great distance away in order to worship Diana. There were those who made and sold materials for offerings to and souvenirs of Diana. I think we can look at a city of Las Vegas and get somewhat the same idea. Life revolves around the pagan activity of the casinos and the related activities that we find there. And so many, especially in the area called the Strip, depend upon that activity for their livelihood, to support themselves. The Temple of Diana also apparently served as a sort of a bank where you could keep your money on deposit for safety. The point here is that if you lived in Ephesus, even if you didn't worship Diana, and even if you didn't participate in the activities of the cult, that cult still might have been important for your very existence, for your survival, for your livelihood. But the city of Ephesus was a totally pagan, sinful, and wicked city. Yet, in the midst of this, the Lord Jesus Christ had a congregation of His very own. In this least likely of places, there were believers to be found. And this church was established by God's grace through the preaching of men like Paul and Timothy and the Apostle John. And God blessed the work of those who ministered there. In that the church grew and the members of the church became strong in the knowledge and faith of the Lord Jesus Christ. and they became known as a faithful church. Paul writes in Ephesians 1, verse 15, For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. Again, the reputation of this church in Ephesus included the fact that she was a faithful church. Here, some 40 years after her beginning, The Ephesian church is commended for her faithfulness. What is it that she's specifically commended for? In verses 2 and 3, if I can summarize, she is commended for purity and for patience. And in verse 6, she is commended for hating what God hates. First of all, purity. The church was loyal to true and pure doctrine. Doctrinal purity. to the truth of Scripture. They hated evil and wickedness and anything that contradicted the clear teaching of Scripture. Jesus says, 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. In other words, this church was not a compromising church or not a lukewarm church like a couple of the others will be described. She didn't just give in on a whim saying, well, it's okay to mix things here. We might say that the elders of this church didn't put up with anything that contradicted the truth of Scripture. They were not afraid to use the keys of the kingdom of heaven, which included church discipline when necessary. In 1 John 4, verse 1, we read, Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. You see, beloved, this church remained faithful to Paul's instructions which he had given to the elders of the Ephesian church many, many years earlier. We find that recorded in Acts 20, beginning of verse 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. I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number, men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard. Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears. Now I commit you to God and to the Word of His grace which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. This church in Ephesus followed the instructions to test the Spirit. Why? Out of a love and conviction for the truth. They knew, that is, they were well grounded in the truth and they were able to test those who claimed to be apostles but turned out to be false. Because only those who themselves are sound in truth and in doctrine, only they can expose truth and falsehood. And Paul says that when the body of Christ is built up in unity and the knowledge and faith of Christ, they will no longer be infants tossed back and forth by the waves and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Christ commends the Ephesian church for being strong in doctrinal purity. Now, boys and girls and young people, that means the members of that church knew their catechism. Now, they didn't have the Heidelberg Catechism like we have today. We've only had that since 1563. But our catechism, the Heidelberg Catechism, is an organized summary. of the doctrinal teaching of Scripture, putting in a systematic arrangement a helpful teaching tool to help us understand the truth of God's Word with regard to who God is, who we are, who Christ is, what is salvation, how to live our lives, the end times, and so forth. But they were well grounded in their doctrine. In other words, they knew the difference between what they believed as taught in Scripture and the false theology that was being promoted in their day. They could defend the faith. Now all of us, but especially boys and girls and young people, you need to be instructed in. And you need to know the truth of Scripture, the truth of salvation. And my prayer, and I trust the prayer of your parents and the prayer of all of your church teachers, is that God will use this instruction to strengthen you in the true faith and bring you to the point where you desire to stand up before God and His people and publicly profess your faith to say, Me too. God's salvation, the salvation through Jesus Christ, is for Me too. Not just everybody else, but it's Mine. And I want to live for the Lord Jesus Christ before God and His people. Now, it's no secret that in our generation there's been such a decline in doctrinal purity and even in the desire for doctrinal purity. For example, modern evangelicalism is content with nothing more than a social gospel that says, live right, be politically correct, be tolerant in order to keep the peace. After all, we're all going to the same place anyway. It doesn't matter. So let's just get along while we are on the way. And even in many Reformed churches, the doctrine of Scripture, as summarized in the catechism, is no longer taught, it's no longer preached. Because it's not important, they say. In fact, the word doctrine is close to being a dirty word because it divides the church. Well, you bet it does. Because the truth divides. The writer of Hebrews says the Word of God is a double-edged sword which cuts deep and dissects. So many are easily seduced and tossed about today and therefore, beloved, we must ask ourselves as a church, And as individuals, are we still strong enough in doctrine and truth? Are we still strong enough to expose error and to expose falsehood? Or are we easily tossed about? Especially when it comes to what we consider to be minor attitudes. Do we have that attitude of, so what? What's wrong with that? Now, the Ephesian church was also commended for patience. The text says that they worked hard and persevered and have endured hardships for My name and have not grown weary. The Christians in Ephesus were persecuted for righteousness' sake. Their faithful confession caused them inconvenience and it required them to take up their cross and suffer for Jesus. And we don't know for sure, but maybe this included being ridiculed and laughed at because they worked hard to live the distinctively Christian life in direct opposition to the life around them, the life of the cult. It may have included economic hardship because again, the economy depended upon the cult of Diana. It may have included physical hardship as well. We're not sure, but we do know they stood firm. We must also take notice that they are commended. The Lord commends them for hating what He hated. Verse 6 says, They hated the practices of the Nicolaitans. Now the Nicolaitans were a heretical sect that promoted compromise with pagan cults. Syncretism. Let's put them together. What the world believes and the truth of Scripture. In Acts 15, the Jerusalem Council made the decree that in order to be admitted into the fellowship of Christians, two things must be given up. First of all, stay away from things offered to idols, such as eating foods that had been already offered to idols. And secondly, stay away from sexual immorality. But the Nicolaitans taught that it was okay to do these things because the soul was for God, but the body was for Diana. They forgot that God created man, body and soul. You cannot separate the two. They compromised and conformed to the world instead of being different and trying to instead be a Christian influence on the world. Today, many believe that all there is to Christianity is saying, I believe in Jesus, I'm saved, hallelujah, that's all there is. I don't have to worry about anything else. And it doesn't matter how I live. You see, the law of God, well, that's Old Testament. And all that's changed. And therefore, there's no standard for grateful living today. As well, I'm free to choose, for example, what I want to do on Sunday because it's my day. God gave it to me. It's not the Lord's Day. Or my Christianity is important on Sunday to be sure, but my Christianity has no business in my business practices. No place there. No place in my relationships during the week because we all know that Christianity and business practices do not mix. Beloved, this comes down to part-time Christianity. And the truth is God hates part-time allegiance. He will not accept part-time allegiance. To paraphrase our Lord Jesus Christ, if anything is put first place before Him, even father or mother or brother and sister, that one is not worthy of Him. The church in Ephesus was commended for her faithfulness, for being strong in doctrine, faithful in the exercise of discipline, zealous in living the pure life, and willing to bear the cross and suffer for Christ patiently. But then, the Lord Jesus Christ gives out a loud and clear, However, listen up. Ephesian church, don't be too quick to congratulate yourselves. Don't be too quick to be too at ease. Christ condemns the church for abandonment. They left. They turned their back on. They walked away from something. Verse 4 says, Yet I hold this against you. You have forsaken your first love. Now, what does it mean that they have forsaken their first love? Now, some commentators believe this means the church was no longer demonstrating and expressing the zealous love for the Lord which they once had, especially by witnessing of Christ in the world. Remember, they are a lampstand. As well, in other words, they had abandoned that passionate, driving devotion to the Lord that they had when they first believed, And which motivated all that they did, including witnessing for the Lord Jesus Christ. Now this is hard, but as I did in the first service, I have to confess something again. I must confess that I am convicted by believers who did not grow up in the faith as I was privileged to do. Because it seems to me in relation to myself or in contrast to myself so often, they have much more excitement and much more passion for the faith. And their joy seems to be greater having been brought into the Christian community by God's grace from being completely without and compared to those like me who have always tasted Christianity through Christian parents in a Christian home and raised in the church, those who have never tasted for some reason seem to find the water of salvation much more refreshing and much more worthwhile to share. That's not always the case, we know, but it seems like it's that way so often. At first, the love of Christ in the Ephesian Christians was the driving force that motivated the faith and life and activity of this church. The joy of salvation in Jesus Christ motivated their witness to the world that salvation is indeed only in Him. It motivated their good works. It motivated their desire for doctrinal purity. And it motivated their patience to endure hardships for Jesus' name. But it seems that they cooled off. The fire was no longer burning, at least as concerned everything outside their church walls. Their devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ died down. Not their devotion to pure doctrine, mind you, but to Christ, their first love, as expressed to others through their life and witness. Maybe we can say that the church's outward life looked healthy because she stood her ground in opposition to error. She held up the truth. But her inner life was defective. Outwardly, her spiritual life looked healthy, but inwardly, her spiritual life was nothing more than an orthodox routine. The church was so wrapped up in what she was doing in maintaining pure doctrine, but she forgot why and for whom she was doing it. She was no longer maintaining pure doctrine and suffering persecution for Christ's sake, but for her own sake. Beloved, orthodoxy alone is not enough. Our orthodoxy and our practice of orthodoxy must be motivated by a devotion to and a zealous love for the Lord Jesus Christ. The church in Ephesus was great at defending the faith over against error, but poor in promoting the faith. Their head was in the right place, but it seems that in reality their heart was far from the Lord. Now congregation, why do we do what we do? Why do you strive to live in obedience to God's law? Why do we worship the way we do? Why do we give of our offerings? Why do we keep the Lord's day holy? At least try to. Why do we help the needy? I had the privilege of going with the young people the other night to the homeless shelter to feed. What an eye-opener for me. Why do we do that? Do we do all these things because of tradition? Do we do them out of custom or superstition? Beloved, may our reason never be because that's the way we have always done it. is it because we feel better about what we do? You see, whatever the reason, congregation, if all of these things, including the whole of our Christian life, isn't motivated by a deep devotion for and zealous love for Christ, and if all of our life, the things of our life, do not show forth Jesus Christ and His salvation, then whatever we do is for nothing. It is meaningless. May our motivation for Christian living truly be the joy of salvation that fills our souls and the instruction from the Word of God. And may our love for our salvation be so deep and so precious that it is a well springing up and overflowing. Jesus said, For whoever gives you a cup of cold water to drink, in My name, he will by no means lose his reward. In My name. A cup of cold water not given in the name of Jesus really does no good. Feeding the homeless without sharing our faith with them does no good. Our works must be done in the name of and for the sake of Jesus Christ. Otherwise, they are for nothing. And when devotion for Christ is missing and when the excitement of conversion and salvation has worn off, then so will the desire for the conversion of others. The Ephesian church again along with the other six churches representing the whole church of Christ was a lampstand to spread the light of Jesus Christ. Verse 1 says that Christ walks among the seven golden lampstands which was to be a reminder to all of the churches, to the church of all ages, and to Christians of the responsibility that we have to be a light of witness for Christ to the world. That must be our desire. That must be our zealous love flowing from Christ's love. Congregation, do we remember that there is a whole world of lost souls outside of these walls? Do we remember that? You see, if we treat our salvation as some kind of a membership card that's tucked in our wallet and we sit on it without ever getting it out to share with others, then shame on us. The saving love of God through Jesus Christ must motivate all that we do, And our desire must be, as Kelvin, I believe, quoting Augustine said, that our desire must be the salvation of all we come in contact with. We don't know those whom God has elected. We don't know. And therefore, this indeed must be our desire, the salvation of all those we come in contact with. And it's for that reason that the Alpha and the Omega issues the command to repent. As he says 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. And this command, beloved, is literally to change their thinking, to think differently, to break away from the way things are and to return to the way things were when they first understood their salvation. You see, there's no greater height than when one is delivered from the darkness of sin and death and hell and brought to the marvelous light of Jesus Christ. There's no greater height. And those who truly understand that liberation, especially that it's not something we can secure on our own, but it's only of the grace of God, they cannot keep silent. It is not business as usual as it was before. Their works, their play, their relationships are all transformed by the joy of that salvation. Jesus said that if His disciples remained quiet, the very rocks would cry out. And that's because of such a great Savior and such a great salvation. But if that devotion dies out completely, if there's no repentance, Jesus promises to remove this church's lampstand from its place. And that means she would no longer be a light for Him. She would no longer be useful. He would have no need for her. This church, although she might exist physically, then would not and could not be an effective witness for Christ. She might take up space, but be totally worthless. How many churches today are motivated by growth at any cost, which then they claim as their boasting right. Yet there is no true desire for the souls of the people. The sad truth is, beloved, that a church can exist visibly here on this earth without truly being a beacon of light for Jesus Christ. But that church is not a true church. That's our calling, beloved, as a church and as Christians, to desire that the world would see and know Jesus. And finally, very briefly, what a wonderful reward our Lord concludes with for those who overcome. Verse 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. Those who respond to the voice of the Savior in repentance and faith by the grace of God receive nothing less than true eternal life. Now, it's interesting that apparently on Ephesian coins, there was an image or an impression of the sacred date palm tree of Diana representing fertility and reproduction and so forth. And the point being that Diana, being considered the nature and reproduction goddess, that she is the one who promises life. She promises that. But our Lord makes it clear here that only God can fulfill that promise. Diana promised it, but only God can fulfill that promise. Only He can give life. And of course, this tree of life points back to the Garden of Eden where we were first introduced with the tree of life. And we know Adam and Eve were banished from the garden after they had sinned so that they couldn't eat of that tree. But here now, our risen and ascended and ruling Lord teaches us that we find that paradise lost in Christ, this paradise regained. Beloved, it's possible to look faithful on the outside but to have no love and therefore be nothing more than a sounding gong or a clanging cymbal. But true faith springs from the love of God in Jesus Christ and from complete devotion to Christ. A devotion and passion that drives every aspect of the Christian life. A devotion and passion that desires for others to know the same saving love of Christ which has been poured out upon you and me. To truly walk your talk means to faithfully witness to others of the love of Christ which you claim is your own. Those who have truly tasted and seen that the Lord is good can't help but to express the love of Christ to others. It just radiates from their whole being. Does it describe you? Does it describe you? I have to ask that question too. Does it describe me? John says we love because He first loved us. Apart from God's love, one has no love for others. And without repentance and faith in Christ, he will not find the paradise of God. He will not eat from the tree of life. He will find eternal separation from God and he will starve with the hunger pangs of death. Beloved, what is it that motivates and drives your life? Is it the saving love of God in Christ? Do you truly love your salvation? Have your ears heard the Word of God? Amen. Shall we pray? Father, we praise You once again for Your Holy Word. And even though it might be hard to thank You for that which convicts us, we must do so this morning. as we are reminded again of such a great salvation from such a great Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ. And we must be reminded to examine our own hearts and lives and ask ourselves the question, what do I do with the joy of that salvation? O Lord, we pray that You would make us as a church and as believers faithful witnesses to and for the Lord Jesus Christ be pleased to use us Father take away our infirmities take away from us that which would hinder our witness from going forth and instead make each one of us as lamp stands shining forth the light of Jesus Christ in a dark world Father we thank you for giving us ears to hear and opening our ears and we thank You for hearing our prayer. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.