Ephesus: Revelation 2:1-7
Revelation 2:1-7
English Standard Version (ESV)
To the Church in Ephesus
1 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands.
2 “‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. 3 I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary. 4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. 6 Yet this you have: you hate the works ofthe Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’
We will be diving into each of the 7 churches listed throughout Chapters 2 and 3 of Revelation. The first church we discussed was Ephesus.
Let's take a look at our chart:
If we look at our chart we see some great key points about Ephesus:
Armendia told us a lot about what Ephesus was like. It's described as a huge cultural center. Here are a few pictures of what it looks like today:
I found this video that Day of Discovery did... it's a good watch and actually shows footage from there today:
It always helps me to have a visual so I can see what I'm reading about. Now that we have a bit of history, lets really look into the heart of the matter.
Ephesus lost their first love? As Armendia so though provokingly put it, "What does it look like to lose your first love?" I am reminded of Jeff Clark's powerful message this past Sunday at Venture on how even our families can become "gods" or "idols" to us. Watch his sermon here:
http://subsplash.com/VentureChurch/v/3f65028
The church in Ephesus had lost sight of their priority. They had lost their passion and true sight for the Lord. But the great thing is that Jesus offers a second chance. He says if they'll repent, He will let them eat of the Tree of Life which is in the "paradise of God." (Revelation 2:7).
Dear sisters, I encourage you to stop and examine your life this week and ask yourself, "Have I lost sight of my relationship with God? Is He not my treasure? Have I lost my first love?" If you find yourself in a moment of realization that He is not your #1 priority, stop and repent...and then fix it. Spend that precious time with the Lord. I've realized I have to set aside time for He and I to draw close to each other. Now that my sweet husband is getting up for work at 4:45AM every day, this "I don't do mornings" kid is getting up at 5:00AM and spending time with God.
However it plays out for you, I encourage you to take that half hour and dedicate it to your relationship with the Lord. If you're in need of a great devotional to get you through your mornings, shereadstruth.com is a great one!
I'll leave you with this word from Beth Moore. It brought Ephesus home for Amanda....it's long (17 minutes) but worth it....as you watch this video, ask yourself, "What is my treasure?"
