WEBVTT 00:00:04.679 --> 00:00:07.259 Hello and welcome to this week's episode of Trinity 00:00:07.259 --> 00:00:09.759 Sermons. This week we're launching a brand new 00:00:09.759 --> 00:00:12.160 teaching series looking at the book of Revelation. 00:00:12.699 --> 00:00:14.820 Now I'm sure you have lots of questions, lots 00:00:14.820 --> 00:00:17.460 of ideas about this book, but it's really just 00:00:17.460 --> 00:00:19.800 a letter. And so we're going to be looking at 00:00:19.800 --> 00:00:22.660 the opening chapters where Jesus is writing letters 00:00:22.660 --> 00:00:25.539 to the early church. And we're going to figure 00:00:25.539 --> 00:00:28.140 out what does Jesus have to say to the churches 00:00:28.140 --> 00:00:30.500 of the first century, but also what does Jesus 00:00:30.500 --> 00:00:33.799 have to say to the church today? As we start 00:00:33.799 --> 00:00:35.659 this series, we're going to be looking at the 00:00:35.659 --> 00:00:38.659 letter to the church of Ephesus and how they 00:00:38.659 --> 00:00:41.759 have lost their first love, but Christ calls 00:00:41.759 --> 00:00:44.759 them to recover it. So now, let's listen in. 00:00:49.799 --> 00:00:52.560 Our reading today is from the book of Revelation, 00:00:53.020 --> 00:00:56.719 beginning with chapter 1, verses 4 to 5, and 00:00:56.719 --> 00:01:02.729 chapter 2, verses 1 to 7. Letter from John. to 00:01:02.729 --> 00:01:06.709 the seven churches in the province of Asia, grace 00:01:06.709 --> 00:01:12.310 and peace to you from him who is and who was 00:01:12.310 --> 00:01:16.569 and who is to come and from the seven spirits 00:01:16.569 --> 00:01:21.090 before his throne and from Jesus Christ, who 00:01:21.090 --> 00:01:24.989 is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the 00:01:24.989 --> 00:01:28.909 dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth. 00:01:31.310 --> 00:01:36.569 to the angel of the church in Ephesus. These 00:01:36.569 --> 00:01:41.049 are the words of him who holds the seven stars 00:01:41.049 --> 00:01:45.989 in his right hand and walks among the seven golden 00:01:45.989 --> 00:01:50.969 lampstands. I know your deeds, your hard work, 00:01:50.969 --> 00:01:55.450 and your perseverance. I know that you cannot 00:01:55.450 --> 00:02:00.709 tolerate wicked people. that you have tested 00:02:00.709 --> 00:02:05.810 those who claim to be apostles but have not, 00:02:06.049 --> 00:02:12.050 and have found them false. You have persevered 00:02:12.050 --> 00:02:17.849 and have endured hardships for my name and have 00:02:17.849 --> 00:02:24.050 not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you. 00:02:24.110 --> 00:02:28.349 You have forsaken the love you had at first, 00:02:29.580 --> 00:02:34.120 Consider how far you have fallen. Repent and 00:02:34.120 --> 00:02:38.199 do the things you did at first. If you do not 00:02:38.199 --> 00:02:42.780 repent, I'll come to you and remove your lampstand 00:02:42.780 --> 00:02:47.500 from its place. But you have this in your favor. 00:02:47.979 --> 00:02:54.379 You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which 00:02:54.379 --> 00:03:00.659 I also hate. Whoever has ears. Let them hear 00:03:00.659 --> 00:03:05.460 what the Spirit says to the churches. To the 00:03:05.460 --> 00:03:09.500 one who is victorious, I'll give the light, the 00:03:09.500 --> 00:03:14.060 right to eat from the tree of life, which is 00:03:14.060 --> 00:03:18.340 in the paradise of God. The word of the Lord. 00:03:19.400 --> 00:03:21.099 Well, good morning, everybody. My name's Rob, 00:03:21.280 --> 00:03:24.379 and it's my great pleasure and privilege to be 00:03:24.379 --> 00:03:26.219 the pastor here at Trinity Streetsville. So I 00:03:26.219 --> 00:03:27.639 want to say a very warm welcome to all of you, 00:03:27.659 --> 00:03:29.639 especially to those who might be visiting with 00:03:29.639 --> 00:03:31.699 us this morning. I haven't been here for the 00:03:31.699 --> 00:03:33.860 last couple of weeks. We've been on some vacation, 00:03:33.960 --> 00:03:36.199 and one of the places we went on vacation, we 00:03:36.199 --> 00:03:38.780 were so blessed to be able to go to the island 00:03:38.780 --> 00:03:42.159 of Bermuda. And we went there for a week and 00:03:42.159 --> 00:03:45.139 stayed in an Airbnb, and it was lovely. It was 00:03:45.139 --> 00:03:48.319 eye -opening in so many ways. It was snorkeling, 00:03:48.340 --> 00:03:50.979 and we did all this. really cool stuff. But Bermuda 00:03:50.979 --> 00:03:54.500 is interesting. Tiny little island, rocky island 00:03:54.500 --> 00:03:56.659 in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of the 00:03:56.659 --> 00:04:00.599 Sargasso Sea. And it's so small. I think the 00:04:00.599 --> 00:04:02.900 population of Bermuda is something like 60 ,000. 00:04:02.939 --> 00:04:07.460 It's only 50 square kilometers big. And so far, 00:04:07.500 --> 00:04:10.259 as much beauty and fun you have there, you also 00:04:10.259 --> 00:04:12.840 get the sense that you're trapped, that you're 00:04:12.840 --> 00:04:15.740 stuck. Like you can get in a car. Actually, tourists 00:04:15.740 --> 00:04:17.740 can't get in a car, but you can get in a car 00:04:17.740 --> 00:04:20.600 and you can drive. It's only so far you can go. 00:04:21.079 --> 00:04:24.000 And again, if Air Canada is on strike, you might 00:04:24.000 --> 00:04:26.100 not be going anywhere. So you really get the 00:04:26.100 --> 00:04:29.120 sense that you're like stuck on this island. 00:04:29.180 --> 00:04:31.079 But I mean, gosh, is there a better place to 00:04:31.079 --> 00:04:34.360 get stuck than Bermuda? Now, I want to take you 00:04:34.360 --> 00:04:38.000 back 2 ,000 years earlier to another island. 00:04:38.439 --> 00:04:40.980 This is the island of Patmos. It's very much 00:04:40.980 --> 00:04:43.800 like Bermuda, actually. It's in the middle of 00:04:43.800 --> 00:04:45.839 the sea, the middle of the Aegean Sea. It's also 00:04:45.839 --> 00:04:49.180 very small, only about 50 square kilometers big. 00:04:49.319 --> 00:04:54.040 It's rocky. And 2 ,000 years ago, the apostle 00:04:54.040 --> 00:04:57.730 John... One of Jesus' very first followers, the 00:04:57.730 --> 00:05:01.769 Apostle John, found himself exiled on this island. 00:05:01.850 --> 00:05:05.170 He was not there on vacation. He was stuck. And 00:05:05.170 --> 00:05:08.550 the reason he was on this island was because 00:05:08.550 --> 00:05:13.089 he was a pastor. And during that time in kind 00:05:13.089 --> 00:05:16.529 of what is present -day Turkey or in Asia Minor 00:05:16.529 --> 00:05:18.329 at the time, there was a bunch of churches, and 00:05:18.329 --> 00:05:20.529 he was a pastor in one of the churches. And the 00:05:20.529 --> 00:05:23.209 emperor said, shut up, John. Stop talking about 00:05:23.209 --> 00:05:27.250 Jesus. sent John to this little island of Patmos 00:05:27.250 --> 00:05:29.089 to kind of get him out of the way and hope that 00:05:29.089 --> 00:05:32.370 he would die there. But something amazing, something 00:05:32.370 --> 00:05:35.350 truly eye -opening for John happened while he 00:05:35.350 --> 00:05:38.449 was exiled on the island of Patmos. He was given 00:05:38.449 --> 00:05:43.290 this incredible, life -changing, world -changing 00:05:43.290 --> 00:05:47.750 vision of the risen Jesus that changes everything. 00:05:48.209 --> 00:05:50.610 And I want to read to you just a little bit about 00:05:50.610 --> 00:05:54.970 how that began, okay? He writes, I, John, I was 00:05:54.970 --> 00:05:58.089 on the island of Patmos because of the word of 00:05:58.089 --> 00:06:01.009 God and the testimony of Jesus. In other words, 00:06:01.069 --> 00:06:03.329 I was preaching and teaching about Jesus. I got 00:06:03.329 --> 00:06:05.189 in trouble, and that's how I ended up on the 00:06:05.189 --> 00:06:08.430 island of Patmos. And on the Lord's day, that's 00:06:08.430 --> 00:06:11.129 like Sunday, on Sunday, I was in the spirit, 00:06:11.230 --> 00:06:13.410 which means I was praying, I was worshiping, 00:06:13.410 --> 00:06:16.709 and I heard behind me a loud voice. Who's that? 00:06:17.160 --> 00:06:19.720 And it was like a trumpet. And the voice said, 00:06:19.920 --> 00:06:23.459 write on a scroll what you see and send it to 00:06:23.459 --> 00:06:27.740 the seven churches, to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, 00:06:27.740 --> 00:06:32.579 Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. 00:06:33.060 --> 00:06:36.579 That was the beginning of... an amazing experience, 00:06:36.720 --> 00:06:39.519 a vision of Jesus. That might've lasted for hours, 00:06:39.620 --> 00:06:42.259 might've lasted for days, might've lasted for 00:06:42.259 --> 00:06:44.439 weeks. We don't really know. But what we do know 00:06:44.439 --> 00:06:46.660 is that when he was done, he did exactly what 00:06:46.660 --> 00:06:49.639 Jesus said to do. He wrote it all down. He wrote 00:06:49.639 --> 00:06:51.660 down everything he had saw and everything he 00:06:51.660 --> 00:06:54.639 heard, and he put it into one book. And today, 00:06:54.699 --> 00:06:57.720 all of that stuff is what we would call the very 00:06:57.720 --> 00:07:01.259 last book of our Bible, the book of Revelation. 00:07:01.759 --> 00:07:07.240 That is John's of the vision that Jesus gave 00:07:07.240 --> 00:07:11.709 him. the whole book of Revelation. Many people 00:07:11.709 --> 00:07:15.490 get very scared or curious or upset about the 00:07:15.490 --> 00:07:18.370 book of Revelation. I remember the very first 00:07:18.370 --> 00:07:20.709 Christian book I ever bought at a Christian bookstore 00:07:20.709 --> 00:07:24.110 like 30 years ago was a book about the book of 00:07:24.110 --> 00:07:25.769 Revelation. Because like you, many of us are 00:07:25.769 --> 00:07:27.589 very, very curious about it. And I bought this 00:07:27.589 --> 00:07:31.209 book called Escape the Coming Night by Dr. David 00:07:31.209 --> 00:07:33.170 Jeremiah. And I read that thing cover to cover. 00:07:33.250 --> 00:07:35.910 I even dug it out this past week. And although 00:07:35.910 --> 00:07:38.560 it's kind of wild, it's actually a really, really 00:07:38.560 --> 00:07:40.459 interesting read. It's a really interesting book, 00:07:40.540 --> 00:07:43.459 the book of Revelation. But forget that for a 00:07:43.459 --> 00:07:46.399 moment and just realize this, that first and 00:07:46.399 --> 00:07:49.540 foremost, what is the book of Revelation? It's 00:07:49.540 --> 00:07:53.819 a letter. Write this down on a scroll and send 00:07:53.819 --> 00:07:58.019 it to the seven churches. The book of Revelation 00:07:58.019 --> 00:08:02.819 is a letter sent to seven different churches. 00:08:03.660 --> 00:08:06.740 to address very specific historical things that 00:08:06.740 --> 00:08:10.620 were happening in their midst. So here's what 00:08:10.620 --> 00:08:12.980 we're going to do. Over the next couple of weeks, 00:08:13.120 --> 00:08:17.000 we're going to look not just at the book of Revelation. 00:08:17.060 --> 00:08:18.959 We're not even really going to get very far in 00:08:18.959 --> 00:08:21.420 it at all. But at the very beginning of the book 00:08:21.420 --> 00:08:24.779 of Revelation, there are seven different letters. 00:08:25.689 --> 00:08:29.029 For seven different churches, even though it's 00:08:29.029 --> 00:08:31.029 all part of one big letter, there are seven mini 00:08:31.029 --> 00:08:33.070 letters within it. And we're going to look at 00:08:33.070 --> 00:08:34.870 these seven different letters. That's why we're 00:08:34.870 --> 00:08:37.570 calling this series Dear Church, Seven Letters. 00:08:37.850 --> 00:08:43.620 And we're going to look at what is being... not 00:08:43.620 --> 00:08:45.559 just about the historical church, but what it 00:08:45.559 --> 00:08:48.419 can say to our church. And that's why we have 00:08:48.419 --> 00:08:50.759 to acknowledge a couple things before we get 00:08:50.759 --> 00:08:52.639 going in any study of a book like this. And that 00:08:52.639 --> 00:08:55.720 is, in order to read this properly, we've always 00:08:55.720 --> 00:09:00.000 got to start by reading Revelation in its original 00:09:00.000 --> 00:09:03.759 context. Whenever people come to the book of 00:09:03.759 --> 00:09:05.559 Revelation, they seem to get all caught up and 00:09:05.559 --> 00:09:07.779 say, what does this say about the future? What 00:09:07.779 --> 00:09:09.399 does this say about the millennium? What does 00:09:09.399 --> 00:09:11.360 this say about the great tribulation? I've heard 00:09:11.360 --> 00:09:13.620 about the great tribulation that is coming. All 00:09:13.620 --> 00:09:15.679 these ideas of prophecy. What does this mean 00:09:15.679 --> 00:09:19.200 for the end times? But just stop for a second 00:09:19.200 --> 00:09:22.779 and don't forget, this was a letter that was 00:09:22.779 --> 00:09:26.519 written to real people, in real churches, in 00:09:26.519 --> 00:09:31.419 real cities, in real countries. 2 ,000 years 00:09:31.419 --> 00:09:35.240 ago. That's the original context. In fact, John... 00:09:35.840 --> 00:09:37.379 probably had a really good idea of what was going 00:09:37.379 --> 00:09:41.460 on in these churches because he himself was a 00:09:41.460 --> 00:09:43.759 pastor in Asia Minor. We'll find out he was actually 00:09:43.759 --> 00:09:45.620 the pastor, one of the pastors of the church 00:09:45.620 --> 00:09:49.620 in Ephesus. And so all these letters are tailored 00:09:49.620 --> 00:09:52.759 to speak directly to certain things that were 00:09:52.759 --> 00:09:56.559 going on in these historical congregations. Now, 00:09:56.580 --> 00:09:58.220 the thing is, those letters were all bundled 00:09:58.220 --> 00:10:00.879 together and put in the book of Revelation, and 00:10:00.879 --> 00:10:03.779 that was sent to these different churches. So 00:10:03.779 --> 00:10:06.519 they all got to read each other. mail, as it 00:10:06.519 --> 00:10:10.519 were, but it starts with specific letters to 00:10:10.519 --> 00:10:12.799 historic congregations. We've got to understand 00:10:12.799 --> 00:10:15.480 that. And then only after we understand that 00:10:15.480 --> 00:10:18.360 can we move on to say, okay, if that's what it 00:10:18.360 --> 00:10:23.259 said back then, what is it saying to us now? 00:10:23.379 --> 00:10:26.419 How is God using these letters to speak to us 00:10:26.419 --> 00:10:30.460 today? And the more you read these letters, the 00:10:30.460 --> 00:10:33.039 more you will come to see, you know what? That 00:10:33.039 --> 00:10:35.539 sounds like a church I know. Or that sounds like 00:10:35.539 --> 00:10:39.879 a person I know. Or that describes me. My point 00:10:39.879 --> 00:10:43.679 is simply this. These letters still speak to 00:10:43.679 --> 00:10:48.539 us today, right? We often want to know, what 00:10:48.539 --> 00:10:51.529 do people think about the church? And to find 00:10:51.529 --> 00:10:53.570 out the answer to that question, we might contact 00:10:53.570 --> 00:10:57.169 the pollsters or do a survey or interview people 00:10:57.169 --> 00:10:59.070 on the street or do some research or whatever 00:10:59.070 --> 00:11:02.230 the case may be. But here we have something far 00:11:02.230 --> 00:11:06.049 more significant. We have a record of what Jesus 00:11:06.049 --> 00:11:10.789 thinks about the church. And that matters most. 00:11:11.289 --> 00:11:13.909 Because Jesus, of course, is the founder of the 00:11:13.909 --> 00:11:17.779 church. He is the head of the church. In fact, 00:11:17.779 --> 00:11:21.200 in Revelation 1, when John gets a glimpse of 00:11:21.200 --> 00:11:24.580 this Jesus who is speaking to him, he sees that 00:11:24.580 --> 00:11:28.779 Jesus has what he calls eyes of blazing fire, 00:11:29.100 --> 00:11:34.019 meaning this, that Jesus can see. Jesus can see 00:11:34.019 --> 00:11:38.659 what is going on in any church. And here at Trinity, 00:11:39.399 --> 00:11:42.120 We've got board meetings, staff meetings, prayer 00:11:42.120 --> 00:11:45.399 meetings, annual vestry meetings. We're always 00:11:45.399 --> 00:11:47.480 struggling. God, where are you leading us? We're 00:11:47.480 --> 00:11:50.200 always trying to solve problems. How do we figure 00:11:50.200 --> 00:11:52.100 this out? And as a pastor, I have to tell you, 00:11:52.120 --> 00:11:53.659 sometimes it's very tricky to know the right 00:11:53.659 --> 00:11:58.100 thing to do in every situation. But in some ways, 00:11:58.120 --> 00:12:01.730 we don't have to wonder. What Jesus thinks of 00:12:01.730 --> 00:12:05.370 the church. Jesus tells us what his perspective 00:12:05.370 --> 00:12:09.110 on the church is in these letters. So today, 00:12:09.230 --> 00:12:12.539 we're going to crack open just the first... This 00:12:12.539 --> 00:12:15.120 is the first letter, right, that Annie read to 00:12:15.120 --> 00:12:18.480 us. And like all the letters, we're just going 00:12:18.480 --> 00:12:20.080 to break it down to three parts, right? There's 00:12:20.080 --> 00:12:22.279 a beginning, there's a middle, and there's an 00:12:22.279 --> 00:12:24.480 end to the letter. And I've given you guys all 00:12:24.480 --> 00:12:27.039 these sermon notes. This is just so you can take 00:12:27.039 --> 00:12:28.820 notes to follow along so you can remember what 00:12:28.820 --> 00:12:30.200 we're learning this morning. And if you're joining 00:12:30.200 --> 00:12:33.159 us online, you can access our fillable sermon 00:12:33.159 --> 00:12:36.700 notes by going to our church app, Church Center. 00:12:37.360 --> 00:12:40.220 Okay, let's start at the beginning of this first 00:12:40.220 --> 00:12:44.950 letter. Jesus wrote to the church in Asia Minor, 00:12:45.049 --> 00:12:49.570 to the first church, what was he saying in this 00:12:49.570 --> 00:12:51.350 letter? Well, let's ask first this question. 00:12:51.490 --> 00:12:55.210 Who was the letter addressed to? Who was the 00:12:55.210 --> 00:13:00.070 letter for? Well, we're told right away that 00:13:00.070 --> 00:13:04.169 this letter is for the angel of the church. Let's 00:13:04.169 --> 00:13:07.210 look at what it says. It says, to the angel of 00:13:07.210 --> 00:13:10.759 the church in Ephesus. And right away. I know 00:13:10.759 --> 00:13:11.659 what you guys are going to say. You're going 00:13:11.659 --> 00:13:15.539 to say, oh, here we go. The crazy visions and 00:13:15.539 --> 00:13:19.700 symbols of a revelation, angels and demons. What 00:13:19.700 --> 00:13:23.159 are we to make of all this stuff? But don't get 00:13:23.159 --> 00:13:26.840 too far ahead of yourself. The Greek word for 00:13:26.840 --> 00:13:31.159 angel is angelos, which literally means messenger, 00:13:31.320 --> 00:13:33.779 right? So to the messenger of the church of Ephesus. 00:13:33.899 --> 00:13:36.820 And did you know that actually all churches have 00:13:36.820 --> 00:13:40.500 a primary messenger? And do you know who? The 00:13:40.500 --> 00:13:44.500 primary messenger is of a church. It's the pastor. 00:13:45.639 --> 00:13:50.360 And that means, technically, I am the angel of 00:13:50.360 --> 00:13:53.779 Trinity Streetsville. Although you guys can be 00:13:53.779 --> 00:13:57.279 the judge as to whether the halo fits or not. 00:13:57.720 --> 00:14:01.080 But the point is this. These letters are addressed. 00:14:01.820 --> 00:14:04.419 first to the pastor of these churches. And the 00:14:04.419 --> 00:14:06.659 pastor, of course, would take those letters and 00:14:06.659 --> 00:14:09.559 then would read them to the congregation, to 00:14:09.559 --> 00:14:11.980 the rest of the church. That brings us to the 00:14:11.980 --> 00:14:13.840 second thing that we are looking at at the very 00:14:13.840 --> 00:14:15.980 beginning. Okay, so where's the postal code? 00:14:16.120 --> 00:14:18.580 Where is this letter going? Well, it turns out 00:14:18.580 --> 00:14:22.240 it's going to the city of Ephesus, to the church 00:14:22.240 --> 00:14:26.960 in Ephesus. Now, Ephesus was this big and bustling 00:14:26.960 --> 00:14:29.820 city. And located in Ephesus was one of the great 00:14:29.820 --> 00:14:32.679 ancient wonders of the world. It was the Temple 00:14:32.679 --> 00:14:35.000 of Diana. There's all that's left of the Temple 00:14:35.000 --> 00:14:38.779 of Diana today. And the Temple of Diana was filled 00:14:38.779 --> 00:14:41.090 with prostitutes. Prostitution was a big part 00:14:41.090 --> 00:14:44.850 of how worship worked for Diana. They sold little 00:14:44.850 --> 00:14:48.649 idols of Diana on all the street corners. Why? 00:14:48.870 --> 00:14:52.309 Because that was a big, big moneymaker. I want 00:14:52.309 --> 00:14:55.210 to tell you this, by the way. Kyla had a podcast 00:14:55.210 --> 00:14:58.710 recorded with Megan, our children's ministry 00:14:58.710 --> 00:15:01.309 director, because a few months ago, Megan was 00:15:01.309 --> 00:15:04.289 in Ephesus, and she got to see some of this stuff 00:15:04.289 --> 00:15:05.929 firsthand. So you really should check out this 00:15:05.929 --> 00:15:09.679 week's podcast sometime this week. But anyways, 00:15:09.820 --> 00:15:13.919 Paul, he planted a church in Ephesus during his 00:15:13.919 --> 00:15:17.419 second missionary journey, which is why when 00:15:17.419 --> 00:15:19.440 you open your Bibles, you'll find in there a 00:15:19.440 --> 00:15:22.220 letter called Paul's letter to the Ephesians 00:15:22.220 --> 00:15:24.639 because he was writing back to the church that 00:15:24.639 --> 00:15:28.440 he planted in Ephesus. After Paul left that church, 00:15:28.519 --> 00:15:31.440 he handed over the reins to his protege, Timothy, 00:15:31.799 --> 00:15:35.559 and he pastored the church in Ephesus. And that's 00:15:35.559 --> 00:15:37.320 why when you open your Bible, you'll find two 00:15:37.320 --> 00:15:39.299 letters from Paul to Timothy called 1 Timothy 00:15:39.299 --> 00:15:44.279 and 2 Timothy. And finally, there's really good 00:15:44.279 --> 00:15:46.460 reason to believe that toward the end of his 00:15:46.460 --> 00:15:50.299 life, John himself... who is now exiled on Patmos, 00:15:50.480 --> 00:15:55.080 was a pastor or a bishop in Ephesus and maybe 00:15:55.080 --> 00:15:57.519 oversaw a number of the churches in Asia Minor. 00:15:57.759 --> 00:16:00.700 So that's the address. It's going to Ephesus. 00:16:00.840 --> 00:16:02.700 And then the third thing we learn right at the 00:16:02.700 --> 00:16:04.399 very beginning of the letter is who is this letter 00:16:04.399 --> 00:16:07.840 from? Who is the author? The letter tells us 00:16:07.840 --> 00:16:11.100 the author is the Lord of the church, none other 00:16:11.100 --> 00:16:15.350 than Jesus himself. In each of the... seven letters 00:16:15.350 --> 00:16:17.610 we're going to read over the weeks ahead, Jesus 00:16:17.610 --> 00:16:20.149 always describes himself at the beginning. And 00:16:20.149 --> 00:16:22.169 this is Jesus' self -description at the beginning 00:16:22.169 --> 00:16:24.029 of the letter to the church in Ephesus. He says, 00:16:24.129 --> 00:16:27.769 these are the words of him who holds the seven 00:16:27.769 --> 00:16:32.309 stars in his right hand and walks among the seven 00:16:32.309 --> 00:16:36.500 golden lampstands. And again, you're like, oh, 00:16:36.559 --> 00:16:38.240 this is the stuff I hate about Revelation. What 00:16:38.240 --> 00:16:41.519 are the seven stars? And what are the seven golden 00:16:41.519 --> 00:16:43.799 lampstands? But here's the good news. I'm not 00:16:43.799 --> 00:16:46.240 a scholar on biblical symbolism or anything like 00:16:46.240 --> 00:16:48.200 this, but this one is easy. This one's easy to 00:16:48.200 --> 00:16:49.919 figure out. Because all you gotta do is turn 00:16:49.919 --> 00:16:52.320 back one page in the book of Revelation to Revelation 00:16:52.320 --> 00:16:56.399 1, and you will hear... Exactly what these are. 00:16:56.500 --> 00:16:59.519 And it turns out the seven stars represent the 00:16:59.519 --> 00:17:03.200 seven pastors, the seven angelos, the seven messengers 00:17:03.200 --> 00:17:05.940 of those seven churches. And they are in Jesus' 00:17:06.059 --> 00:17:09.160 right hand, his hand of authority, which is another 00:17:09.160 --> 00:17:12.859 way of saying that Jesus has authority over the 00:17:12.859 --> 00:17:15.200 leaders of these churches. He's the one who's 00:17:15.200 --> 00:17:17.000 really in charge of the church. It's not me. 00:17:17.099 --> 00:17:19.700 It's not you. It's Jesus. Those are the seven 00:17:19.700 --> 00:17:22.920 stars. And the seven golden lampstands, again, 00:17:22.980 --> 00:17:24.700 just flip back a page, it tells you right there, 00:17:24.839 --> 00:17:28.400 that's just code for the seven churches. These 00:17:28.400 --> 00:17:31.359 seven churches are referred to seven golden lampstands. 00:17:31.359 --> 00:17:32.980 But what's interesting is we're told that Jesus 00:17:32.980 --> 00:17:37.319 walks among the seven golden lampstands. He walks 00:17:37.319 --> 00:17:41.279 among his church. So just think about that for 00:17:41.279 --> 00:17:44.680 a moment. Jesus walks among us this morning. 00:17:44.799 --> 00:17:47.339 He walks here at Trinity. He walks among all 00:17:47.339 --> 00:17:51.220 the churches, in fact. I got an email a couple 00:17:51.220 --> 00:17:52.720 of days ago from someone who visited Trinity 00:17:52.720 --> 00:17:55.000 recently. And it was really encouraging because 00:17:55.000 --> 00:17:57.220 what she said is one thing she was certain of. 00:17:57.279 --> 00:18:00.680 She said, I had a sense that Jesus was there, 00:18:00.859 --> 00:18:06.039 right? Jesus said, wherever two or three are 00:18:06.039 --> 00:18:10.000 gathered together in my name, there I am in the 00:18:10.000 --> 00:18:13.839 midst of them. Jesus. is the author of this letter, 00:18:13.960 --> 00:18:17.500 Jesus Walks Among His Church. That's the beginning 00:18:17.500 --> 00:18:20.480 of the letter. But now, let's move on to the 00:18:20.480 --> 00:18:22.279 middle of the letter. This is the body. This 00:18:22.279 --> 00:18:25.380 is the main thrust of what Jesus wants to write 00:18:25.380 --> 00:18:27.880 to this first church in Ephesus. We find this 00:18:27.880 --> 00:18:30.700 in verses 2 through 4 of Revelation chapter 2, 00:18:30.779 --> 00:18:32.440 in case you're following along in your own Bible. 00:18:32.680 --> 00:18:36.329 Let's read it here. Jesus says, I know your deeds, 00:18:36.569 --> 00:18:39.250 Ephesus. I know your hard work and your perseverance. 00:18:39.769 --> 00:18:42.390 I know that in your church you cannot tolerate 00:18:42.390 --> 00:18:44.529 wicked people and that you've tested those who 00:18:44.529 --> 00:18:47.589 claim to be apostles but are not and have found 00:18:47.589 --> 00:18:50.769 them to be false. You've persevered. You've endured 00:18:50.769 --> 00:18:54.029 hardships for my name. You've not grown weary. 00:18:54.609 --> 00:18:57.369 Guys, isn't that an amazing sounding church? 00:18:57.630 --> 00:19:00.230 Wouldn't you want to go to that church? There's 00:19:00.230 --> 00:19:04.500 a lot to be commended in this church. Right away, 00:19:04.599 --> 00:19:07.319 Jesus basically tells us this, that Ephesus is 00:19:07.319 --> 00:19:11.339 a hard -working church. He says, I know your 00:19:11.339 --> 00:19:15.279 works. I know your works. Sometimes we get uneasy 00:19:15.279 --> 00:19:18.680 when people talk about works in church because 00:19:18.680 --> 00:19:21.740 we say, well, we're not saved by works. We're 00:19:21.740 --> 00:19:24.740 saved by our faith. And of course, that's true. 00:19:25.000 --> 00:19:28.039 And yet here Jesus is commending this church 00:19:28.039 --> 00:19:31.259 for all the amazing works that it is doing, works 00:19:31.259 --> 00:19:34.839 and faith coming side by side. He says this, 00:19:34.880 --> 00:19:38.720 he says, I know your deeds and I know your hard 00:19:38.720 --> 00:19:42.039 work. work. Ephesus was this hardworking church. 00:19:42.119 --> 00:19:45.559 It was filled with very hardworking people, and 00:19:45.559 --> 00:19:47.660 they were doing such good works. And actually, 00:19:47.680 --> 00:19:50.740 because of all their good works, all the neighboring 00:19:50.740 --> 00:19:53.339 countryside, and even the whole province, we 00:19:53.339 --> 00:19:56.940 are told, was being impacted with the good news 00:19:56.940 --> 00:20:01.220 of Jesus. If you were to... Put your finger in 00:20:01.220 --> 00:20:03.019 the book of Revelation and flip back to the book 00:20:03.019 --> 00:20:06.460 of Acts. You would read this description of when 00:20:06.460 --> 00:20:09.259 Paul was in Ephesus and kind of how the church 00:20:09.259 --> 00:20:12.400 got going and the impact it had. I've summarized 00:20:12.400 --> 00:20:15.220 it here, but Paul arrived at Ephesus. He entered 00:20:15.220 --> 00:20:17.779 the synagogue and he spoke very boldly there 00:20:17.779 --> 00:20:20.559 for about three months, arguing persuasively 00:20:20.559 --> 00:20:22.819 about the kingdom of God. And this went on for 00:20:22.819 --> 00:20:26.279 two years and then get this. So that all the 00:20:26.279 --> 00:20:29.940 Jews and all the Greeks who lived in the province 00:20:29.940 --> 00:20:34.119 of Asia heard the word of the Lord. The whole 00:20:34.119 --> 00:20:37.400 province was hearing about Jesus because of this 00:20:37.400 --> 00:20:41.400 hardworking church. It was saturated with the 00:20:41.400 --> 00:20:45.700 gospel. I think that it's true that sometimes 00:20:45.700 --> 00:20:50.259 in bigger churches that have paid staff, it's 00:20:50.259 --> 00:20:52.420 easy for people to think that, oh, somehow all 00:20:52.420 --> 00:20:56.740 the work gets done. But that is not how it worked 00:20:56.740 --> 00:21:00.259 here in Ephesus. This church. Nobody in this 00:21:00.259 --> 00:21:02.740 church sat back and assumed that somebody else 00:21:02.740 --> 00:21:04.059 was going to do the work. They rolled up their 00:21:04.059 --> 00:21:06.720 sleeves and they served God with everything they 00:21:06.720 --> 00:21:09.539 had. It was a model church, a model church. So 00:21:09.539 --> 00:21:11.519 it was a hardworking church. But the second thing 00:21:11.519 --> 00:21:13.140 we learn from the body of the letter is that 00:21:13.140 --> 00:21:16.220 they were also a persevering church. We read, 00:21:16.240 --> 00:21:19.440 Jesus says, you guys have persevered and you 00:21:19.440 --> 00:21:21.920 have endured hardships for my name and you've 00:21:21.920 --> 00:21:26.480 not grown weary. You see, in those days, if you 00:21:26.480 --> 00:21:29.079 were living in Ephesus, you would not only be 00:21:29.079 --> 00:21:32.980 expected to worship Diana, this goddess, but 00:21:32.980 --> 00:21:34.740 you would also be expected from time to time 00:21:34.740 --> 00:21:38.200 to go to the temple and offer sacrifice and incense 00:21:38.200 --> 00:21:42.480 and offerings to the emperor himself. And you 00:21:42.480 --> 00:21:47.079 would have to say, Caesar is Lord. But of course, 00:21:47.119 --> 00:21:49.990 Christians... These faithful, persevering Christians 00:21:49.990 --> 00:21:51.769 weren't going to do that because they believed 00:21:51.769 --> 00:21:54.750 that Jesus was Lord. And so what happened? They 00:21:54.750 --> 00:21:58.470 got harassed. They got alienated. They got fined. 00:21:58.470 --> 00:22:02.029 They got excluded. And like John on Patmos, some 00:22:02.029 --> 00:22:05.630 of them got exiled and imprisoned because of 00:22:05.630 --> 00:22:09.529 their refusal to participate in false worship. 00:22:09.690 --> 00:22:12.809 So they didn't give up. This is a group of people 00:22:12.809 --> 00:22:17.349 who did not give up. They were tough as nails. 00:22:18.230 --> 00:22:21.069 The third thing we learn from the body of this 00:22:21.069 --> 00:22:24.490 letter is that they were also a discerning church. 00:22:24.829 --> 00:22:28.450 What do I mean by that? They carefully and prayerfully 00:22:28.450 --> 00:22:32.369 made their decisions, discerning what was from 00:22:32.369 --> 00:22:35.410 God and what wasn't from God. And the letter 00:22:35.410 --> 00:22:38.210 puts it this way. I know you cannot tolerate 00:22:38.210 --> 00:22:40.690 wicked people, Jesus says, but you've tested 00:22:40.690 --> 00:22:43.930 those who claim to be apostles but are not and 00:22:43.930 --> 00:22:46.650 have found them to be false. So here's what was 00:22:46.650 --> 00:22:50.210 happening. In the early days of the church, There 00:22:50.210 --> 00:22:52.630 were these smooth talkers that would go around 00:22:52.630 --> 00:22:55.009 from church to church, and they would say, hey, 00:22:55.109 --> 00:22:57.750 listen, I've got orders. I know one of the apostles 00:22:57.750 --> 00:23:00.670 personally. I know Peter, yeah, or I know Matthew 00:23:00.670 --> 00:23:02.950 personally. Trust me, I'm good. I want to come 00:23:02.950 --> 00:23:04.349 in, and I want to do some teaching. I want to 00:23:04.349 --> 00:23:06.369 do some preaching. And these people would name 00:23:06.369 --> 00:23:08.829 drop, like they were on this first century teaching 00:23:08.829 --> 00:23:11.569 circuit or something like that, to get into the 00:23:11.569 --> 00:23:13.230 church. But then when they got into the church, 00:23:13.390 --> 00:23:15.029 what they would do is they would bring all these 00:23:15.029 --> 00:23:17.029 crazy ideas and teachings, and they would often 00:23:17.029 --> 00:23:21.670 erupt into division. divide the church. Paul 00:23:21.670 --> 00:23:24.650 actually, if you flip back to his letter to the 00:23:24.650 --> 00:23:27.549 Ephesians, Paul actually says, listen, when I 00:23:27.549 --> 00:23:29.950 leave, when I go away, you've got to watch out 00:23:29.950 --> 00:23:33.630 because these wolves are going to come after 00:23:33.630 --> 00:23:37.029 me and they are going to try to deceive you. 00:23:37.130 --> 00:23:40.549 And that's exactly what happened. But these believers 00:23:40.549 --> 00:23:44.190 in Ephesus, when these wolves showed up, they 00:23:44.190 --> 00:23:46.730 would have none of it. They said, no, sorry, 00:23:47.009 --> 00:23:50.150 we're not buying what you are selling today. 00:23:50.490 --> 00:23:54.730 And instead, they prayerfully discerned and made 00:23:54.730 --> 00:23:57.750 decisions about what God was really saying and 00:23:57.750 --> 00:24:00.430 calling them to do in their midst. This is something 00:24:00.430 --> 00:24:02.369 we need to do today. We need to always do this, 00:24:02.430 --> 00:24:05.990 is to be really careful and prayerful. What is 00:24:05.990 --> 00:24:09.809 God's word to Trinity Streets, Phil? Where is 00:24:09.809 --> 00:24:12.369 he guiding us? How is he leading us? Because 00:24:12.369 --> 00:24:14.690 if we get that wrong, we too could find ourselves 00:24:14.690 --> 00:24:19.269 disheveled and divided as a church. So all in 00:24:19.269 --> 00:24:21.210 all, I think you'd agree with me. This sounds 00:24:21.210 --> 00:24:23.329 like a great, great church. It's a hardworking 00:24:23.329 --> 00:24:27.289 church. It's a persevering church. It's a discerning 00:24:27.289 --> 00:24:31.289 church. Amazing church. Amazing church. But Ephesus 00:24:31.289 --> 00:24:34.970 has a problem. It has a problem with what David 00:24:34.970 --> 00:24:39.869 Jeremiah calls, is it was also a declining church. 00:24:40.329 --> 00:24:43.549 Now, you might say, how on earth could Ephesus 00:24:43.549 --> 00:24:46.329 be a declining church? We just saw how hardworking 00:24:46.329 --> 00:24:49.349 and persevering and how faithful they were in 00:24:49.349 --> 00:24:52.529 discerning. Well, here is what Jesus says. He 00:24:52.529 --> 00:24:55.789 tells us in verse 4. He says, yet I hold something 00:24:55.789 --> 00:25:00.569 against you. You have forsaken the love you had 00:25:00.569 --> 00:25:04.799 at first. Or as some translations said, I hold 00:25:04.799 --> 00:25:08.420 this against you, you have lost your first love. 00:25:09.200 --> 00:25:12.839 Or as the righteous brothers put it, you've lost 00:25:12.839 --> 00:25:20.180 that loving feeling. Now what this means, outwardly, 00:25:20.180 --> 00:25:22.200 this church looked great. I mean, look at it. 00:25:22.220 --> 00:25:25.400 It's active, it's busy, it's dynamic, it's persevering. 00:25:26.220 --> 00:25:30.430 But Jesus' eyes see past all that activity. And 00:25:30.430 --> 00:25:33.829 he sees the real problem. The fire had gone out. 00:25:33.930 --> 00:25:35.930 The red -hot passion for Jesus that they once 00:25:35.930 --> 00:25:39.390 had had cooled off, and now it was stale and 00:25:39.390 --> 00:25:43.170 cold. And here's the scary, scary part. This 00:25:43.170 --> 00:25:47.460 happens all the time. You can crank out all the 00:25:47.460 --> 00:25:49.460 programs in a church. You can tick all the boxes 00:25:49.460 --> 00:25:51.700 of ministry. You can keep really, really busy 00:25:51.700 --> 00:25:56.180 without actually loving Jesus. Churches end up 00:25:56.180 --> 00:25:59.059 looking like really well -run and fast -moving 00:25:59.059 --> 00:26:02.660 organizations, but they forget the whole point. 00:26:03.700 --> 00:26:06.740 There's a lot of motion, but there's not much 00:26:06.740 --> 00:26:10.619 devotion. to Jesus. See, first love. What does 00:26:10.619 --> 00:26:12.859 he mean, the love you had at first? Well, maybe 00:26:12.859 --> 00:26:15.680 you can think back to someone you once met who 00:26:15.680 --> 00:26:17.819 had just become a Christian or just met Jesus. 00:26:17.920 --> 00:26:19.740 And you were like, oh my gosh, they are just 00:26:19.740 --> 00:26:22.759 so, they can't shut up about Jesus. They just 00:26:22.759 --> 00:26:24.920 keep going on and on. It's like their love of 00:26:24.920 --> 00:26:26.700 Jesus is just bubbling out of them. They keep 00:26:26.700 --> 00:26:29.279 talking to people about Jesus. They don't care 00:26:29.279 --> 00:26:31.920 what other people think. It's this honeymoon 00:26:31.920 --> 00:26:35.579 love. It's this uninhibited, fervent passion 00:26:35.579 --> 00:26:39.579 that just oozes. out of them. You've probably 00:26:39.579 --> 00:26:43.940 seen that in some Christians. And maybe you stop 00:26:43.940 --> 00:26:46.779 and you think, you know what? I remember being 00:26:46.779 --> 00:26:50.200 like that. I remember when I first encountered 00:26:50.200 --> 00:26:52.880 Jesus, when he first broke into my life. I was 00:26:52.880 --> 00:26:55.500 just like that. I couldn't wait to tell everybody. 00:26:55.640 --> 00:26:58.460 I was so in love. I would never be late for church. 00:26:58.559 --> 00:27:01.200 I was always at Bible study. I was always serving. 00:27:01.240 --> 00:27:05.019 I was always giving. But But I've lost that somehow. 00:27:05.140 --> 00:27:07.380 And Jesus is telling the Ephesians, listen, you've 00:27:07.380 --> 00:27:12.279 walked away from that first love. In fact, these 00:27:12.279 --> 00:27:14.420 words to me, they don't just sound like disappointment. 00:27:14.759 --> 00:27:17.700 It almost sounds like heartbreak. Jesus says, 00:27:17.759 --> 00:27:22.890 I have something against you. If your mother 00:27:22.890 --> 00:27:25.089 has something against you, it's bad. If your 00:27:25.089 --> 00:27:27.390 spouse has something against you, it's really 00:27:27.390 --> 00:27:30.410 bad. But if Jesus has something against you, 00:27:30.430 --> 00:27:34.549 that is really, really bad. And that is not something 00:27:34.549 --> 00:27:38.890 that you want to shrug off. I think that any 00:27:38.890 --> 00:27:42.269 couple who's here today, who's been married for 00:27:42.269 --> 00:27:45.170 more than a few years, you know what Jesus means 00:27:45.170 --> 00:27:47.500 when he talks about losing your first love. Because 00:27:47.500 --> 00:27:49.759 in the early days when you were just dating or 00:27:49.759 --> 00:27:51.240 you were just courting or you were just going 00:27:51.240 --> 00:27:53.279 out or maybe even when you just got married, 00:27:53.400 --> 00:27:55.180 oh my gosh, you couldn't stop talking about each 00:27:55.180 --> 00:27:57.819 other. You were on the phone late into the night. 00:27:57.880 --> 00:27:59.680 You didn't care what other people thought. If 00:27:59.680 --> 00:28:01.400 you were like giggling or laughing or hugging 00:28:01.400 --> 00:28:03.480 or holding hands in public, you were writing 00:28:03.480 --> 00:28:05.359 these sappy letters to each other. And you look 00:28:05.359 --> 00:28:07.259 at those letters today, you're like, oh my gosh, 00:28:07.539 --> 00:28:11.160 what was going on, right? Because what happens 00:28:11.160 --> 00:28:16.200 is over time, kids come along. Work comes along. 00:28:16.879 --> 00:28:19.339 Schedules come along. Bills creep in. And pretty 00:28:19.339 --> 00:28:22.420 soon that marriage becomes just this whole process 00:28:22.420 --> 00:28:24.700 in figuring out logistics, right? Who's driving 00:28:24.700 --> 00:28:26.619 where? What's for dinner? Who's paying what bill? 00:28:26.720 --> 00:28:29.460 Who's picking up the kids? The point is, you 00:28:29.460 --> 00:28:32.720 can still be doing a marriage, but not really 00:28:32.720 --> 00:28:36.720 loving in your marriage. And that's exactly what 00:28:36.720 --> 00:28:39.220 seems to be happening in Ephesus. Oh, they're 00:28:39.220 --> 00:28:41.259 doing. They're doing all sorts of great things. 00:28:41.299 --> 00:28:45.380 They're doing the right things. But the fire 00:28:45.380 --> 00:28:49.470 is gone. And the romance has cooled. And this 00:28:49.470 --> 00:28:52.410 relationship they had with Jesus has now become 00:28:52.410 --> 00:28:57.589 more about doing than loving. It's interesting. 00:28:57.670 --> 00:29:02.250 30 years earlier, when Paul signed off on his 00:29:02.250 --> 00:29:04.690 letter to the Ephesians, these are literally 00:29:04.690 --> 00:29:09.190 his closing words. Grace to all who love our 00:29:09.190 --> 00:29:16.190 Lord Jesus with an undying love. Right? And yet, 00:29:16.289 --> 00:29:21.869 30 years later, the love had died. Slow drift 00:29:21.869 --> 00:29:26.789 in the wrong direction, and here they are. And 00:29:26.789 --> 00:29:31.789 here we are. Because what about you? And what 00:29:31.789 --> 00:29:35.990 about me? And what about Trinity Streetsville? 00:29:36.490 --> 00:29:42.309 Have we lost our first love? Thankfully, the 00:29:42.309 --> 00:29:46.039 letter doesn't end here. Jesus completes the 00:29:46.039 --> 00:29:49.299 letter by offering us a prescription of how to 00:29:49.299 --> 00:29:53.500 get that love back. He says, listen, consider 00:29:53.500 --> 00:29:57.440 how far you have fallen, repent, and do the things 00:29:57.440 --> 00:30:00.740 you did at first. Many preachers, many authors 00:30:00.740 --> 00:30:04.799 pick up clearly a three -point plan to get the 00:30:04.799 --> 00:30:09.519 love back from this closing message of Jesus. 00:30:09.640 --> 00:30:12.799 Here's the first point. Remember how things used 00:30:12.799 --> 00:30:17.740 to be. Consider how far you have fallen. Restoring 00:30:17.740 --> 00:30:21.059 our love begins with remembering our love. Remember 00:30:21.059 --> 00:30:24.240 when you first gave your heart to him. Remember 00:30:24.240 --> 00:30:27.660 how you couldn't stop. Talking about Jesus. Remember 00:30:27.660 --> 00:30:29.880 how you worshipped and you didn't really care 00:30:29.880 --> 00:30:31.740 what people thought of you. Remember how you 00:30:31.740 --> 00:30:33.920 showed up for church or you showed up for life 00:30:33.920 --> 00:30:36.960 group. Every week you showed up to serve all 00:30:36.960 --> 00:30:39.759 the time. Remember the risks you took, the decisions 00:30:39.759 --> 00:30:43.680 you make because you trusted God that much. It 00:30:43.680 --> 00:30:47.559 is easy to drift when the love goes away without 00:30:47.559 --> 00:30:51.400 noticing, the fire cools. But remember, when 00:30:51.400 --> 00:30:53.839 you remember, let your heart go back. Think back. 00:30:54.269 --> 00:30:58.970 to how it felt at first. And then secondly, repent 00:30:58.970 --> 00:31:02.759 for what has happened. Right? Repentance means, 00:31:02.900 --> 00:31:05.339 you know, turning around and heading back. If 00:31:05.339 --> 00:31:07.960 you left your first love, the only way back is 00:31:07.960 --> 00:31:10.859 to turn around and head back toward Jesus again. 00:31:11.319 --> 00:31:14.339 Often, turning back means you've got to turn 00:31:14.339 --> 00:31:16.660 your back on the things that stole that love 00:31:16.660 --> 00:31:18.640 in the first place. Maybe it was some bad habits 00:31:18.640 --> 00:31:21.359 or some bad patterns of life or desire or sins 00:31:21.359 --> 00:31:23.720 in your life or whatever. And that caused your 00:31:23.720 --> 00:31:26.519 love to cool. Repentance is naming those things. 00:31:26.579 --> 00:31:29.319 It's dropping those things and it's walking away 00:31:29.319 --> 00:31:31.990 from them. It's turning from what pulled you 00:31:31.990 --> 00:31:34.829 off course and running back to Christ. It's a 00:31:34.829 --> 00:31:36.910 choice you have to make. It's not just a feeling. 00:31:36.990 --> 00:31:38.710 It's a choice. It's a decision where you say, 00:31:38.769 --> 00:31:41.710 I'm done chasing those things. I'm going back 00:31:41.710 --> 00:31:45.309 to my first love. And then thirdly, he says, 00:31:45.410 --> 00:31:50.089 repeat what you used to do. Jesus says, do the 00:31:50.089 --> 00:31:54.329 things you did at first. Think back. When you 00:31:54.329 --> 00:31:57.630 first met Jesus Christ, what did you do? Did 00:31:57.630 --> 00:32:00.130 you read your Bible a lot? Well, do it again. 00:32:00.890 --> 00:32:05.250 Did you pray a lot? Start doing that again. Did 00:32:05.250 --> 00:32:09.009 you show up to church every Sunday hungry to 00:32:09.009 --> 00:32:11.789 worship him? Well, do that again. You talked 00:32:11.789 --> 00:32:14.430 about Jesus with anyone who would listen? Do 00:32:14.430 --> 00:32:18.230 it again. Do it again. Love isn't just this feeling. 00:32:18.349 --> 00:32:20.890 It is a verb. And when you act in love, then 00:32:20.890 --> 00:32:24.269 the feelings follow. And that passion that slipped 00:32:24.269 --> 00:32:27.559 away. can come rushing back. And in fact, I should 00:32:27.559 --> 00:32:29.480 say as well, I think a lot of marriage counselors 00:32:29.480 --> 00:32:31.740 would say this is true in marriage as well. If 00:32:31.740 --> 00:32:33.980 things have grown cold, remember how it used 00:32:33.980 --> 00:32:36.900 to be. Repent of the mistakes you've made and 00:32:36.900 --> 00:32:39.700 repeat it. Go back and do the things you did 00:32:39.700 --> 00:32:44.119 at first. Christ ends the letter with a pretty 00:32:44.119 --> 00:32:47.920 sobering warning. He says, if you do not repent, 00:32:48.019 --> 00:32:51.119 I will come to you, and I will remove your lampstand 00:32:51.119 --> 00:32:53.579 from its place. In other words, if a church doesn't 00:32:53.579 --> 00:32:56.900 return to its first love, not just working for 00:32:56.900 --> 00:32:59.220 Jesus, but loving Jesus, the light's going to 00:32:59.220 --> 00:33:02.319 go out. The flame will be snuffed, and maybe 00:33:02.319 --> 00:33:04.859 the church will keep meeting, but its influence 00:33:04.859 --> 00:33:08.240 will be gone, and eventually it will be gone 00:33:08.240 --> 00:33:13.180 as well. Here at Trinity, we're always talking 00:33:13.180 --> 00:33:16.420 about this vision we have. It's pretty simple. 00:33:16.839 --> 00:33:21.059 Love Jesus. Learn from Jesus. Live like Jesus. 00:33:21.660 --> 00:33:25.900 Lead others to Jesus. And the order really, really 00:33:25.900 --> 00:33:30.319 matters. It all begins with love. If we ever 00:33:30.319 --> 00:33:32.599 get caught up in the numbers, in the programs, 00:33:32.720 --> 00:33:35.000 in the activity, and we lose that first love, 00:33:35.079 --> 00:33:38.660 then we have lost the point. Because a church 00:33:38.660 --> 00:33:41.140 can be full of activity. It can even be full 00:33:41.140 --> 00:33:44.869 of people. And it can still be empty on the inside. 00:33:44.910 --> 00:33:49.690 If we stop loving Jesus fervently, then one day 00:33:49.690 --> 00:33:51.529 people will come looking for Trinity Straitsville. 00:33:52.109 --> 00:33:55.609 And they'll either find it empty or they'll find 00:33:55.609 --> 00:34:01.150 a condo here instead. The letter to Ephesus. 00:34:01.769 --> 00:34:05.250 is not just ancient history. It's a mirror for 00:34:05.250 --> 00:34:09.550 us today. Jesus is still walking among his churches. 00:34:09.610 --> 00:34:12.710 His eyes are like fire. He is seeing what is 00:34:12.710 --> 00:34:15.389 going on. And he's not looking for busyness. 00:34:15.389 --> 00:34:19.610 He's looking for love. So this fall, I want to 00:34:19.610 --> 00:34:21.550 say to you, if any of you have the sense that 00:34:21.550 --> 00:34:26.090 your love has cooled toward Jesus, remember how 00:34:26.090 --> 00:34:28.530 it used to be. Repent of how things went wrong. 00:34:28.889 --> 00:34:32.010 and repeat the things you did at first. Go back 00:34:32.010 --> 00:34:35.289 to the beginning and let that flame burn bright 00:34:35.289 --> 00:34:41.150 again. And here at Trinity, may our love for 00:34:41.150 --> 00:34:44.610 Jesus fuel everything that we do. Thanks be to 00:34:44.610 --> 00:34:49.880 God. Amen. Thanks for tuning into this week's 00:34:49.880 --> 00:34:52.639 episode of Trinity Sermons. This sermon was recorded 00:34:52.639 --> 00:34:55.119 at Trinity Church Streetsville in Mississauga, 00:34:55.179 --> 00:34:58.000 Ontario on September 7th, 2025.