Can you remember when you first came into a saving relationship with Jesus? Weren’t you filled with excitement?
Can you remember when you first understood the grand mission of God to make disciples? Didn’t that fire you up?
Have you ever felt so filled with the Holy Spirit of God that you were ready to take on the entire world for the glory of God?
There are times when we feel so close to God and His mission that we are willing to do whatever it takes to be faithful.
However, there are other times that we are so easily distracted by the things of this world that it seems like we just don’t care about God’s mission any longer.
I spoke to a man this week who is trying to come up with some resources to help churches. When he asked me what some challenges were for churches being on mission, I said that (among other things) sometimes churches just don’t care.
We’ve forgotten the love and passion we once had.
Listen, church: God is not through with you. He is calling us to remain faithful.
Today’s sermon is entitled “The Call to Faithfulness: A Message for Ephesus and Smyrna.” Here’s the reality: It’s a message for us as well.
Let’s go to God in prayer as we prepare to dive into Revelation 2:1-11.
(prayer)
Ok, today we’re going to look at a message God had for two of the seven churches who are mentioned in Chapter 1.
We’re going to look at the churches in Ephesus and Smyrna.
Let’s look at the passage together first, then we’ll walk through it.
Look at Revelation 2:1-11:
1 Write to the angel of the church in Ephesus: Thus says the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand and who walks among the seven golden lampstands: 2 I know your works, your labor, and your endurance, and that you cannot tolerate evil people. You have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and you have found them to be liars. 3 I know that you have persevered and endured hardships for the sake of my name, and you have not grown weary. 4 But I have this against you: You have abandoned the love you had at first. 5 Remember then how far you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. Otherwise, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. 6 Yet you do have this: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
7 “Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.
8 “Write to the angel of the church in Smyrna: Thus says the First and the Last, the one who was dead and came to life: 9 I know your affliction and poverty, but you are rich. I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10 Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer. Look, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison to test you, and you will experience affliction for ten days. Be faithful to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.
11 “Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will never be harmed by the second death.
Ok, let’s just gather a few facts about these people and places first.
Ephesus was a major city in the Roman Empire. In fact, it was the largest city in Asia Minor.
I’ve been to Ephesus before, and some of you have as well. The city itself is a historical site now, and any major remnants of the church in Ephesus are basically not to be found.
Smyrna is still a seaport city in Turkey with a population of around 200,000. You can see ancient ruins along with modern architecture.
We also hear about the Nicolaitans. We’re not exactly sure who they were, but they were likely some sort of heretical group who were deceiving some early Christians through their teaching. In other words, they were early false teachers.
Ok, that’s a little bit about the people and places in this passage.
Let’s dive into three callings for the church in this passage.
First, see that . . .
I. The church is called to endurance.
We see this right away in verse 2, don’t we?
Jesus says to the Church in Ephesus, “I know your works, your labor, and your endurance . . .”
He says again in verse 3:
“I know that you have persevered and endured hardships for the sake of my name, and you have not grown weary.”
As Christians, in order to live a life of faithfulness, we have to endure, don’t we?
Many of you can tell first-hand stories about the difficulties of living a life of faithfulness to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Many of you can testify that when you give your life to God, although everything becomes glorious and joyful, it doesn’t all become easy.
However, we are called to endure.
Francis Chan says in his book Crazy Love, “If life is a river, then pursuing Christ requires swimming upstream.”
James 1:2–4 says:
“Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.”
Romans 5:3–4 says:
“ . . . we also boast in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope.”
Friends, we are called to keep going. We are called to not give up. We are called to endurance.
Jesus was pleased with the Church in Ephesus because they endured.
Jesus also said something about endurance to the Church in Smyrna.
In verse 8, Jesus says:
“I know your affliction and poverty . . . ”
He says in verse 10:
“Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer.”
The Church in Smyrna was suffering from affliction, and they were enduring. We’ll have more to say about them in point #3.
For now, let us remember that the church is called to endurance. You and I are called to endure.
Second, . . .
II. The church is called to discernment.
Discernment means that we are able to think about something and judge correctly.
Christians are called to discernment. We, of all people, should be able to determine what is right and what is wrong; what is of God and what is not of God; what is good and what is bad; what is truth and what is lie.
Jesus addressed this with the churches in Ephesus and Smyrna.
Look at verse 2. Jesus says:
“ . . . you cannot tolerate evil people. You have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and you have found them to be liars.”
Jesus says in verse 6:
“You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.”
We’ll hear the Nicolaitans mentioned again later in the Book of Revelation.
For now, notice that their teaching was apparently so bad that Jesus said He hated their practices.
Back in verse 2, Jesus also addressed those whom He called “evil people.”
Pay attention to what Jesus said about how the Ephesians were discerning. He says that they “tested those who call themselves apostles.”
We see multiple warnings in the Bible of false prophets, false teachers, and false apostles. These people are evil and dangerous. Jesus hates their works.
There are false teachers who lead us to ignore the teachings of God and they lead us into a life of sinful practices.
There are false teachers who ignore the place of grace and Christian freedom, and they lead us into a life of manmade rules and legalism.
There are false teachers who elevate things such as health, wealth, and success, leading to a life of idolatry and false worship.
False teachers are everywhere. They are dangerous, and they are evil.
We ought to be discerning. We ought to be able to tell the difference between what is true and false; what is holy and what is unholy; what is biblical and what is unbiblical.
The church is called to discernment.
Finally, . . .
III. The church is called to faithfulness.
Even though Jesus complimented the works of the Ephesian church, there was something that He had against them.
Look at verses 4 and 5:
“4 But I have this against you: You have abandoned the love you had at first. 5 Remember then how far you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. Otherwise, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.”
The Ephesians had forgotten their first love. They had lost their joy, passion, and commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ and His mission.
Church, we must pay attention to this reality.
Being the church of Jesus Christ is not primarily about buildings, budgets, and numbers. It’s not about our preferences. It’s not about our notoriety. It’s not about about our history. It’s not about the good old days. It’s not about pastors or missionaries. It’s not about traditionalism or modernism.
Some of these things matter, but they are not primary. They should not distract us from what matters most. We are not, first and foremost, called to be faithful to those things. We are called to be faithful to King Jesus and His mission!
Our first love is Jesus! We are to be disciples of Jesus, and we ought to develop disciples of Jesus.
The Ephesian church had forgotten their first love.
Church, we must ask ourselves: Have we forgotten our first love?
Notice what Jesus told them to do: repent. They were to turn away from the direction they were going and turn back to Jesus.
The Ephesians were not too far gone. However, Jesus warned them before they were too far gone; He warned them before He removed their lampstand to turn back to faithfulness.
Now, let’s turn back to the Church in Smyrna. Notice what Jesus said regarding their faithfulness.
In verse 9, He acknowledged their poverty and that they were being slandered by others.
In verse 10, He warned them that more persecution, suffering, and affliction were coming from the devil. Then, look at what Jesus says at the end of verse 10:
“Be faithful to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.”
Church: Let us be faithful. We’re only on this earth for a short time, then we have eternity with Jesus. Let us be faithful.
Jesus said in verse 7:
“Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.”
Jesus said in verses 10 and 11:
“Be faithful to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will never be harmed by the second death.”
There is terrible death and destruction that awaits those who are without Jesus, but not for those who are in Jesus; they will not be harmed. Instead, they will eat from the tree of life, and they will wear the crown of life.
Brothers and sisters, listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches. Listen to what the Holy Spirit of God is saying to you.
Let this bottom line beautifully summarize this reality for us:
Bottom Line: Jesus has been faithful to us, so we must be faithful to Him.
Jesus was faithful to the point of death so that we might know Him and the power of His resurrection.
Here, Jesus is encouraging the Church in Smyrna to be faithful to the point of death.
He said that something difficult is waiting for them soon, but He also says that something wonderful is waiting for them: life!
Friends, that which Jesus has earned for us and that which awaits us in eternity is better than anything this world or the devil can throw at us.
As 2 Corinthians 4:17–18 says:
“For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
Jesus has been faithful to us, so we must be faithful to Him.
Challenge yourself this week in this one way:
Weekly Challenge: Pray for and commit to faithfulness.
Pray that you will be faithful. Pray that our church will be faithful.
I don’t want to lose my first love. I don’t want our church to lose our first love.
Let us pray for and let us commit to faithfulness.
If you are without Jesus, He was faithful so that you could be made new and discover the blessings that await you as God’s chosen child.
(Gospel presentation)
(closing prayer)
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