“You are not a hut in a melon field BUT you are a city on a hill!” 2008 “You are not a hut in a melon field BUT you are a city on a hill!”

Kingdom People Kingdom Mission

2015

First, Love

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 favour. You hate the practices of 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)

2 I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. Commendation 2 I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. 10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2) 58 Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain. (1 Corinthians 15)

Commendation 2 … 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. 6 You hate the practices of Nicolaitans, which I also hate. They were commended for their persistence and purity, their diligence and their doctrine. On the surface, they appear to be a phenomenal church – the epitome of what every church should be. (Keith Krell, “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling”)

Correction 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. (Revelation 2) “Yet I hold this against you.” You can almost hear the sigh! You have certainly been busy doing good works in these difficult days in which you are living. You have been faithful to confront wicked men and false apostles without growing weary. But in the midst of all those good activities, those good projects, and those good examinations, you let the main thing slip away. (Ron Ritchie, “Guard Your Love”)

Correction Love For People 15 For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. (Ephesians 1)

Correction 20 … For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. (1 John 4)

Good Works Without Love 29 ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’ (Luke 11)

Good Works Without Love

Being Missional 14 ... A city on a hill cannot be hidden… 16 … let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5)

First, Love The first and foremost commandment is not that we love our fellow man, but that we love God, with all our heart, soul, and mind (Matthew 22:37-38), and the second is that we love our neighbour as yourself (Matthew 22:39).

Solemn Warning 5 … 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) 34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another.” (John 13)

Solemn Warning There is no church at Ephesus today, nor much of one in the modern city of Kushadesi nearby. The country of Turkey, where all seven of these churches were located, is more than 98% Muslim today, a Mecca of false religion and a vast spiritual desert. What is true in Turkey is also true elsewhere. Thousands of churches disappear every year throughout the world. Christ has removed many, many lampstands over the centuries. This is serious – no love, no light! The church that loses its love will soon lose its light, no matter how doctrinally sound it may be. (Keith Krell, “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling”)