Revelation: Ephesus
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
Good morning my name is Spencer I'm one of the pastors here we are in the Book of Revelation we are in chapter two verses 1 through 7 we introduced the book last week and what we saw was that while there are quite a bit uh there are a lot of parts of the Book of Revelation uh that may seem confusing and some of them actually don't just seem confusing they are confusing uh that there are some that uh are debated there's lots of things that may be unclear that there's really one thing that's crystal clear and that's the big picture of Revelation and we said last week that this is an apocalyptic book which means.
It's in the apocalyptic genre of of literature in the Scriptures and it's a letter written to A persecuted uh group of churches telling them to endure because Jesus is going to return he is coming back so as we walk through this book we're going to walk through in three different parts we're going to see that big picture over and over again now we're in a section of Revelation uh part one of this series is the letters and over the next seven weeks we'll be walking through seven letters that.
Jesus has written to these churches and we're going to be able to look at these letters and learn from uh what we see in them uh I've got uh uh a couple of Brothers my older brother is 18 months older than me so we grew up sign by side together and uh one of the things that uh I learned very early on is that he uh was going to make a lot of mistakes that I was not going to make he just aggressively made lots of mistakes like did not care at all about the repercussions he just went.
For it I would watch him get in trouble over and over again and make all these mistakes and I was like I I I'm not going to do that well partially I wasn't a Christian for a long time and I was like I'm just going to do it better and not get caught but I became a Christian later on and I was like I'm not going to follow in these same mistakes I'm going to learn from his mistakes and that's what we get to do with these letters we get to.
See the these churches as older brothers and the faith saints that we're walking with Christ and we're going to see some of the things that Jesus is going to uh encourage but also call out in these churches and we get to learn from all of it and that's just what the next seven weeks get to be so we're going to look at one the first letter today pray for us then we're going to walk through this uh together heavenly father I pray that you would open our hearts to receive your word.
God I pray that you might impress upon the reality of the good news of the Gospel and what that calls us to whether we are in Christ and we belong to him and all the words that we just sang and celebrated whether that's true for us right now I pray that you would uh impress the word upon us that we might respond uh and not just be hearers of the word but be doers of the word but there may be folks here that have not really tasted and seen that you are good they have not placed their full faith in following you and I pray that you might help them.
See uh the the truth of the Gospel so clearly this morning we ask this in Jesus name amen all right so uh before we jump into the first verse of chapter 2 uh these are the seven letters written to these Seven Cities Ephesus smea pergamum thyy Sardis Philadelphia and leoda and I just want to point out something that I think is really cool so this map is modern day Turkey it's coming there so in the order that these letters show up and that.
Jesus is addressing them you kind of see Ephesus SME pergamum all the way down to leoda it's a big loop I just think that is is is is helpful to see that these are letters that would have gone from City to city in modern day Turkey but as the Scriptures will refer to it as uh Asia so uh what we're going to see in the order of each of these letters there a general template for how these letters are laid out the very beginning you're going to.
See the Church so you go ahead and go to the next slide yep nope not that one there we go so you're going to see a pattern for each letter you're going to see the Church being addressed then you're going to see Christ describing himself then for the majority of the letters we're going to see a commendation Jesus encouraging these churches for what he sees in them there's a couple that don't really get get that because they're struggling but usually we're also going to.
See a rebuke that follows that Commendation and this is a correction calling them to uh return to following Christ there's a consequence for not repenting for not turning back to Christ and how he addresses it and then it ends with a promise for those who conquer so every letter is going to end with a promise for those who conquer the one who conquers and we're going to see a shade of Eternity in each of those endings so that's the general layout.
For these letters and actually all applies to this letter today so let's kick it off in verse one to the angel of the Church in Ephesus right all right let me pause there so it says to the angel of the Church and it's like wait what what Angel so some will look at this and they won't interpret that as Angel meaning a Heavenly being the Greek word for Angel is ang and when it's used in the New Testament it can either mean an angel Heavenly being or messenger.
So some will say well actually what's happening here this is a this is a messenger this must be maybe the pastor of the Church this is someone who is who's going to read the letter to the Church then actually this is Messenger but I would say that's probably not the case because the whole rest of the Book of Revelation Angelas in the Greek means angel means heaven Heavenly being so I think it's actually right to interpret this as this is an angel someone who's watching over a Heavenly being who's watching over this Church and some of you'all might think that's kind of weird some of you might have like flashbacks to touch bying Angel episodes.
And that's just like so like in your mind when you when you when you hear the word Angel like you just that that's where your mind goes so let me be very clear this is not weird at all and we have to remove any bit of like medieval art or Hallmark card or niit cage in the City of Angels like anything that comes to mind that might confuse our picture of what a a Biblical picture of what an angel actually is.
Because when you actually read it about angels in the Scriptures it is normal they're all over the Scriptures they're Heavenly beings and they're also very powerful and terrifying Heavenly Creatures and then when they show up in the Bible people are afraid because they're so powerful but they're sent here for our good like God sends them for our good they serve on behalf of God and they serve his people and since we are indeed in a spiritual war against evil against unseen uh as we saw in the flesh world and devil series The Three enemy series that we have an enemy who seeks to destroy us.
Because that's true it is actually comforting for us as Christians to know that God sends heavenly beings these angels to take care of us so the whole book is addressed to the seven churches but in each of these individual intros you're going to see an angel included in all of them so to the angel of the Church in Ephesus in Ephesus okay so let's pause there for a moment in the rest of these letters we don't have a lot to go on.
When it comes to the Church he's writing to but we do in this one we actually know a lot about Ephesus if you go to Acts 19 and 20 you see the story of how this Church began that Paul shows up and he meets some of the Disciples of John the Baptist and he shares the Gospel with them and this Church begins and it like explodes I mean it's a you should if you have time to read it this week it's a beautiful story of.
God working in a very Pagan City a very lost and broken and dark city Ephesus is one of the largest cities in the Roman EMP Empire and it is also a very dark city because it is where the Temple of Artemis is which is one of the ancient wonders of the world but it's also a place where there's a lot of cultic worship a lot of uh dark uh uh uh arts and magic and Witchcraft and this is this is the the the culture of Ephesus and the Gospel starts to spread through it.
So much so that he flips the city upside down and people start repenting of all these dark and wicked practices we read in Acts 19 it says also many of those who were now Believers came confessing and divulging their practices and a number of those who had practiced magic Arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all and they counted the value of them and found it came to 50,000 pieces of silver that people just start repenting of these Pagan practices and they start trusting in Christ and it starts to really upend the local economy.
So much so that these silver smiths in Ephesus they start to to realize their business is being threatened because part of their business is making silver shrines that they can sell to people to go devote it to the false God Artemis and they start a riot to persecute the Christians in response so you go and read this this week it's you see uh God mightily at work and you you can read in Acts 20 Paul's speech to the Ephesian Elders it is wonderful.
And then you keep flipping in the New Testament and you get the book of Ephesians one of the uh richest New Testament letters both for its theology but also its call for Christians to in unity love one another well and you see some of the Dynamics at play and some of the encouragement that that that Paul is giving to this Church who's who's following Christ in this wonderful way and then later you get to First Timothy and you see that Timothy was a pastor in this Church.
So we got some history to go on here and some context to go on here and about 30ish years later we have this letter being written to this Church so it's no longer just a Church plant that just started it's an established Church so that's the background in Ephesus and then Christ gets the description in the next part of himself he says the words of him who holds the Seven Stars in his right hand who walks among the seven golden lampstands.
So Christ gives a description of himself self where he holds the Seven Stars we learned last week do the seven angels that he's Sovereign in in his oversight and his care of the Church but also he walks among the lampstands we learned last week the lampstands are these churches lampstand is another word for Church here and I just find it so deeply encouraging that our savior both provides oversight and Care over these churches and he walks among them and he's present with them and he and he sees their good works I also love the imagery here of the lampstand itself and the the Old Testament.
When you read about the Tabernacle this is the the uh the structure where God ruled and reigned from amongst the Israelites we saw this in the book of Exodus a while back that there's a lampstand in the Tabernacle and it symbolizes the light and of God and then Jesus building upon that in the New Testament in The Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5 he says you talking about his followers you are the light of the world a city set on a hill cannot be hidden nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket.
But on a stand and it gives light to all in the house in the same way let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your father who is in heaven and it's just this picture that the Church Bears the Light of Christ that's what James 1 talks about he's the father of lights and this lampstand is God's power his glory his goodness his all of his character his light is shining through the Church.
So he walks among the seven lampstands all right that's a description of Christ then he shifts into the next part which is his Commendation his encouragement of the Ephesians no yes the Ephesians verse two 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 I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake and you have not grown weary.
So Christ who's present among amongst the churches walks amongst this lampstand he just says I know your works I see your good works and I think that's a that's that's an encouragement to us that he sees it I think we know that I think I think theologically like we know we know God sees it he sees it he sees it but no he really does he sees he's present when you are faithful to him I got my my oldest uh my oldest I she doesn't often.
See this sometimes but I know I can hear her upstairs I can see sometimes how she loves and cares for her siblings she's a really good big sister and every now and then I just get to tell her that hey I love how you took care of your little sister here I love how you treated your little brother here that's what God's doing he's like I see this I I see your good work I see the way that you are being faithful and that's an encouragement uh to them.
But it's also an encouragement to us but uh we get this this General description we don't get all the good Works they've been doing but we get this General description of these works and he starts up with by saying your toil your toil so I want to focus on that for a moment uh toil here is not just general work this is the idea of very burdensome work the same Greek word in the original language for toil here shows up and also in 1 Corinthians 15.
When Paul tells the Church to be steadfast immovable always abounding in the work of the Lord knowing that in the Lord your labor your toil is not in vain so this is grinding it out work burdensome work now we don't get all the specifics for what that is but given the context of Ephesus and what Church is's writing to this certainly would have been in the face of a pagan culture repenting of these dark Works repenting of worshiping Idols this would have been and loving one another.
Well in unity as we see in the book of Ephesians this would be uh seeing the lost and having a broken heart for them and declaring the good news of Jesus Christ to them and that is burdensome work and that toil has continued for decades since this Church was established and Christ says I see it I see your toil and I also see your patient endurance he says your patient endurance anytime this uh phrase patient endurance this endurance shows up in the New Testament most of the time it's talking about endurance in the face of Trials suffering and persecution that's the type of endurance that he's talking about and it's just like you you.
See this that the Church for thousands of years has endured I mean you can read about the modern missions movement that started in the 18th century from William Cary onward all these missionaries who went went out and started to plant churches in other countries and they had spouses and and and children die in the mission field they were arrested they were they were sick they were persecuted and they endured and that's what the Church has done for 2,000 years that is endured and Christ says I.
See your endurance in the face of persecution in the face of riots in the face of all the things you are facing I see your endurance and he sees how they fought back against the ties of false teaching that's another thing that he says here he says and how you cannot bear with those who were evil but have tested those who call themselves Apostles and are not and found them to be false and they've pushed back against false teaching which is something that Paul warned them about.
If you go to Acts 20 you read about his you read his whole speech that he gives to the Ephesian Elders at one point he tells them that I know that after my departure Fierce wolves will come in among you not sparing the flock and from among your own s will arise men speaking Twisted things to draw away the disciples after them he's like this this was going to happen that false teachers were going to come in like wolves to destroy the flock.
Now in verse 6 of chapter 2 when you skip down a little bit we actually get the name of the false teaching that is swept through this Church and it's clear that it's in other churches as well in verse 6 it says yet this you have you hate the work of the nicians which I also hate so this false teaching that is swept in is a group of people called the nicians now we don't have a lot to go on on what this false teaching is later we'll Le we'll read the the letter to pergamum and we'll.
See a reference made to balum but we we really don't have a lot to go on both in the Scriptures but also in Church history we don't know much about this I would like to think that's because at some point it got stomped out but there's not a lot to go on as far as what exactly is being taught here but this is not a shock both Paul has told them this is going to happen and this is just what happens in the New Testament Church and it's what happens in Church history that as the Gospel spreads the enemy is at work and he spreads all types of false teaching and along with false teachings.
Comes uh the all types of Disobedience uh uh desire the flesh this is all kind of linked together in a way that opposes the Gospel of Christ moving forward like I the Church I used to be a part of we had a uh so we were connected to a a mission movement in Ethiopia and one of our elders he went with a team to Ethiopia and they went to which is the remnant of the old Ethiopian Church uh the Ethiopian Church started in the book of Acts.
But later on it kind of got lost and what was left of the Ethiopian Church in a lot of the tribal areas is just kind of leaders thought of themselves as the Ethiopian Church but they didn't actually even have the Gospel they didn't have the Scriptures they didn't know Christ so this elder and this team they went to meet with a bunch of Ethiopian Elders leaders in this area and they just played a tape that shared the Gospel in their language and they all placed their faith in.
Jesus and then they went back to their Villages and they LED all their people to Christ and that's happening all over Ethiopia that's happening all over the continent of Africa and has been for decades and it's wonderful and it's beautiful but right alongside the Gospel moving forward in Africa is a false teaching one of America's worst exports the health wealth and Prosperity Gospel and it is ravaged parts of Africa false teachers going around getting people to worship creation and things and money over Creator this is what happens and it is our responsibility as Christians to stand in the face of that and to declare what is true to call out what is false and to.
Hate those teachings I do think that's a helpful clarification here to hate those teachings that Jesus doesn't say hate the nicians he says hate their works so we should hate those teachings we should never celebrate or condone any evil like that against the Lord whether it's the greed of materialism that comes out of the Prosperity Gospel well it's a celebration of of sexual sin we should never celebrate that at all we should hate those works and we should declare what is true and that's what this Church has been doing they have withstood against false teaching they have declared what is true.
Jesus sees that and he commends that but then verse four he shifts into his correction and his correction starts in verse four but I have this against you that you have abandoned the love you had at first so this Ephesian Church that you can read about that was planted That Grew that was vibrant it seems from the text it's very clear they have abandoned the love they had at first now there's a lot of debate over what he means by the love you had at.
First and some will say this this must be uh love for God and then I'll read other commentators and say well actually this is probably love of one another but I look at both of those arguments and I say first first John John the same John who's recording this this what Christ is telling him here in 1 John chapter 4 says we love because he God first loved us if anyone says I love God and hates his brother he is a liar.
For he who does not love his his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen and when you read that you read other passages that you see that the love of God and the love of one another are linked together you cannot have one without the other so I'd argue I think this is this is both they've abandoned the love they have at first a deep love and affection for Christ and how that changes our hearts in a way that we might.
Look at others too and love them and they've abandoned that that one of the primary marks of what it means to be a Christian is love they've they've left them and this is what Christ warned about in in a teaching that he gives in Matthew 24 he says and then talking about in the age to come and then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another and many false prophets will arise and Lead many astray and because Lawless will be increased the love of many will grow cold and that's what's happening in the Ephesian Church that the love of Christ in them has grown cold I think that's got to be.
One of the one of the most brutal things to receive from Christ to hear you've abandoned the love you had at first and yet I would argue that if he could address the American Church I think he you'd probably have the same message I think you'd look at all the churches and collect this I think you've abandoned the love you have at first I think we do this y'all I think we do this in a lot of different ways I think one of the ways we do this is we have a love of our own interests over the interests of our Brothers and Sisters in Christ I've been in this class right.
Now on biblical peacemaking so I've had to read all these books on peacemaking and all these stories of Church after Church after Church after Church where Christians just cared more about their own preferences and their own interests and then it caused a division in the Church that grew into factions where brothers and sisters who loved each other for decades began to take sides and ripped them apart and I had sent these lectures where I listened to story after story from the person who's lecturing and my other classmates across the country who are seeing this happen over and over again and I think that there's a part of us that just wants our own way.
Our own interest and our own preferences and we forget the love we had at first we exchange the love we had at first that unifies us for our own ways I think this happens with an exchange with the love of the material as opposed to loving Christ and loving others that we love material things we love uh uh Financial uh means of buying things a buddy of mine and I are are flipping a house right now and we've been so we've been put in any extra time we got we just kind of over there working on this house getting contractors in and one of the reasons this house sold.
For what it did was not just because the house itself was in disrepair it's because the neighbor's house next door was a disaster the yard was completely overgrown it's a mess one day a few weeks ago I was over there and I and I saw the neighbor she was out mowing the grass I was like yeah sweet I walked over there introduced myself got to know her and I listened to what the really story of this house the story of of the last 10 years.
For her and I heard all the painful things that led to this house being in disrepair and I just told her at the end I was Hey listen like if you if you want some help like we can like we can come over here we can we can you know we can mow some grass we can pull some vines off this house we can do all kinds of things she said absolutely I'd love that and I left and I called my buddy and I was like dude we're going to fix this house and we're going to be able to flip our house.
For a lot of money and the next morning I just felt the overwhelming conviction of the Holy Spirit where it was just like you were only excited because you could make more money and you didn't once pray over this woman woman you didn't once share Christ with her the only thing you cared about was was the material right in front of you and I was like w was me I was like I and I I started I've reconnected with this woman and been able to pray with her ever since.
But just that's in US y'all that's in us this this love of things this love of money this love of riches where we just that's that's what we care about that's what we prioritize in a way where we don't love others well at all it's so much in drained the very fabric of our culture and and we just we eat it up in a way where it just makes us forget the love we had at first and if we're not careful you'll keep doing that you'll keep doing that until your love grows cold and your heart is Stone and all you care about is riches that will one day go into the ground I think.
We do this with comfort that we have a love of comfort that we that we exchange for the love we had at first and I think that shows up in a lot of ways I think we just like being comfortable I think that we're uh comfortable and and we know that we're called to be everyday missionaries we talk about that a lot we're called to share the Gospel with those who don't believe but in order to do that we have to be uncomfortable.
Because most of us are just that's not a comfortable thing for us to do and it ain't comfortable for them either they ever done it and it's like ah I think I'm just going to love him well and I think I'm just going to be friends with him them and be Salt and Light it's like yeah but you can't friend someone into the kingdom and make the Gospel look sweet and good by the way you love you should do that but the Gospel is a message and its words and you have the words of Christ.
So richly in your heart that you could look for those moments to declare who Christ is to them but I think we love Comfort I think we love comfort in a way that makes us not generous I think that we love the structure of spending the budgets that we have I think we the idea of giving more towards the local Church towards missionaries towards orphan care towards all these things that we should do in order to both kill materialism but also to be obedient to the.
Lord it's like no but I love the Comforts I love being able to level up I love to be able to have the vehicle I want to be able to have the house that I want to be able to have all the things that I want I love being comfortable and we do this we do this with uh not just uh uh our spending but we do it with our schedules so many of us are locked in it's like I don't have time I don't have time I've got all these things and a way that.
If God was to begin to press on these things would you be willing to give this time up for this person in the Church who needs your help would you be able to give this thing under your schedule up for this person who's broken at work who needs you to sit with them and pray over them and share Christ with them oh I don't know I think we're too comfortable and if you do that over and over again your heart will grow cold and you will exchange the love you had it.
First I think we do this with political ideology which matters right now and the craziest political season of my life you don't even have to follow politics and you know it is absolutely wild right now I mean the last month has been Bonkers but what happens is one side is selling you on a messian figure who if you elect him is going to save I mean how many times I've heard this is the last election how many terms I've heard that you.
If you want to save your country how much I've watched these rallies where a Messianic figure is worshiped it it's worship and then on the other side you've got a set of ideals and philosophies and ideologies that many of them are so antithetical to the message of the Gospel if you just vote for these ideals and these things you're going to be saved and so many people are so angsty and worried right now so many Christians are angsty and worried right.
Now because someone is going to save them and it's like if you have that heart posture and if you lost the thread of what it means to be a Christian and a broken world that we don't belong to that we have a kingdom that's not of this world if you lose the thread on that your heart will grow cold and you will lose the love you had at first and your life will be oriented around a temporary country and not the Eternal kingdom of.
God I'll give you a few more we do this with individuals we abandon the love we had at first for individuals and this can be any different kind of thing how many times we've seen someone that all of a sudden they just disappeared from our Church it's not a unique story to us and then you get to know what's you investigate and you find out they've been dating someone and they been dating someone that doesn't love Christ and they've sacrificed and they've given up following.
Jesus for a person I mean you do this with children big problem in the American Church right now is a lot of people who's who are who involved in the Church and then the last child leaves the house and then they just fade away and the whole time being involved in the Church was not about following Christ and being changed by him and being in love with him and loving others it was just about the morals and the values you could instill in your child.
And when they're gone they're gone I mean we do this I I could do this all day but we a't got the time I'll do one more there's um I think I think that I think we do this with uh theological correctness we love theology we celebrate theology we teach theology all theology is is knowing and loving God that's it and it's beautiful it's wonderful but I think what happens is is that there are some people that that's not the goal what's actually the goal is being correct and it's being right and Theological correctness is just a John stot talks about this as U he talked about this as like as a as a battle.
That they're they they they sniff the battle and all of a sudden they they come alive and it's just about winning it's just about being right and some of these folks that go really hard after this that they they're so cold and they're so uncharitable in how they speak and they're so unloving and in the pursuit of being right you're exchanging the love you had at first over something is so rich and beautiful you should ask yourself the question what are the things that are getting your best energy what are the things that are getting your affections you should ask the.
Lord right now what am I exchanging for the love I had at first what am I fing what am I chasing after in a way that is growing my heart so cold that I'm abandoning the love at first and you should listen to what Christ says when he says you you've abandoned the love you had at first and that question should haunt us in a wonderful way that calls us to take account of what we love over God and others.
Then we should heed what Jesus says next in verse 5 when he says remember therefore from where you have fallen repent and do the works you did at first if not I will come come to you and remove your lampstand from its place unless you repent and he calls us with an opportunity to turn that's what repent means to turn from the from the things that are capturing our affections and our worship and turn back to Christ to the love we had at.
First but don't miss the warning that he gives there he says if you don't do this I will remove your lampstand and what that means is is that the power of God will be removed from that Church the power of God the light of God the love of God the movement of God the work of the Holy Spirit within the local Church will be removed and you will just be a social club or you won't exist and while we don't get the full history of what happened in the Church of Ephesus and the wonderful things that flowed out of that Church most certainly it is very clear at least geographically that he removed his lampstand.
Because that part of modern day Turkey does not have a Gospel centered thriving movement of Christ which is a warning to us that if we abandon the love we had at first he will remove the lmst his power will not be present here he does not need this Church Not For a Moment and if we're not careful to take account of the things that we are chasing after our love will grow cold and God will leave this Church and there are countless stories of churches in this city and churches all across the country and whole denominations that have abandoned the love they had at.
First and God's power is no longer with those people so we should receive that Stark warning let me finish out the rest of this letter he says yet this you have you hate the work of the nicians which I also hate which is a tag back to the Commendation he said earlier says you hate those works and then verse 7even hear this he who has an ear let them 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 and each of these commendations and each these uh uh endings you're going to see a picture of Eternity and he says if you do this if you return to me if you recapture the love you had at first one day you will eat of the tree of life now that is a picture First Genesis 1:2 of Eden the Tree of Life gave eternal life to Adam and Eve until they rejected God for lesser things but there's a picture at the end of this book in the final chapter of the Bible in Revelation 22 that says.
Then the angel showed me the river of the Water of Life and this is the new heavens and the new Earth this is where all history is going flowing from the Throne of God and of the Lamb to the middle of the street of the city also on either side of the river the Tree of Life with its 12 kinds of fruit yielding its fruit each month the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the Nations and that's a picture that.
If we stay rooted in the love we had at first through toil and patient endurance if we chase after Christ over anything else what awaits us is that picture that one day we will be in the new heavens and the new Earth eternally eating of the Tree of Life eternally soaking in the presence of Christ beholding him for who he is for eternity that's that's what awaits us and that should motivate us to see the Lesser things that we chase after and say I don't want that I want Christ.
Because he's better and because that's where it's going and that should be the motivation and the heartbeat behind every bit of repentance that we're about to do when we take the Lord's Supper Matt's going to come up and he's going to lead us and we're going to take the Lord's supper and it's a moment y'all to remember that the reason we have have the love that we had at first is because Christ 2,000 years ago broke bread and he said this is my body that was broken.
For you and then he took the cup of the New Covenant and he said this is my blood that was shed for you that as often as you eat and drink this you do this in remembrance of what of me on the cross who died for you so that you could experience the love of Christ in you from now into eternity until he returns and makes all things new and we as Christians get to come to this meal and we get to think about the things that we have chased after the Lesser things that are capturing our affections and our worship and we get to repent.
Because Christ paid for that and his blood is sufficient to cover all of our sin all of our idolatry and we joyously come to the table remembering thank you Jesus that that sin is covered and Lord help me repent so that I can enjoy the love I had at first both now and to Eternity but there are some of you where this meal isn't for you some of you have not fully trusted in Christ as your only hope You' not tasted and seen that he is good and I.
So want you to see that love for this life is empty and hopeless and I think you might know this I think that that for some of you you realize there's a part of you that's chased after this life and you realize it isn't satisfying it doesn't bring hope it doesn't bring joy and doesn't been fulfillment and God in his sovereignty has led you to hear and I hope that you hear so clearly this morning that God has something better for you it's him and my hope is that you'd.
For the first time experience the love that he offers and that it would change your life so that you might one day eat of the Tree of Life with his Saints with his Church let me pray heavenly father I pray that you might stir in our hearts towards faith and trusting in you but also repentance God may you change our hearts may we not have our lampstand removed because we in faith and in Repentance turn from the things that capture our worship may we not walk away from your word without taking an account of the things that steal our love from you may return to the love we had at.
First and may that help us be the people that you want us to be in Christ's name amen.