REMAINING FAITHFUL

01-12-25

Remaining Faithful

Revelation 2:1–11 (ESV)
¹“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands. ²“ ‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. ³I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. ⁴But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. ⁵Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. ⁶Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. ⁷He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’

• Ephesus
  • Established AD 52 Spring
  • Revisited ~AD 52-53 for around 3 years
  • Letter to the Ephesians ~AD 60-62
    • of the Body
    • The New Life
    • Walk in
    • Husbands, Wives, Children, Parents, Bondservants, Masters
    • Whole armor of God
  • Now it is ~AD 95
• Commendation
  • Toil (Eph 4:1-16 Unity of the Body)
  • Patient endurance (Eph 6:10-20 Whole armor of God)
  • Cannot bear with those who are evil (Eph 4:17-32 New Life)
  • Have not grown weary (Eph 5:15-17 Walk in Love)
• • You have abandoned the love you had at first

Ephesians 1:15–21

Ephesians 3:14–19

• • Remember from where you have fallen
    • Faith in the Lord and your love toward all the saints
    • Rooted and grounded in love
    • Luke 10: 25 – 28
    • It is entirely possible to do the right things for the wrong reasons…
  • Do the works you did at
    • Them…
    • Us…
• Further Commendation
  • You hate the works of the Nicolaitans
    • A form of Gnosticism
• He who has an ear… the one who …
  • An ear to hear

Matthew 13:13–17 (ESV) / Cross Reference Isaiah 6: 8 – 10
¹³This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. ¹⁴Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: “ ‘ “You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.” ¹⁵For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’ ¹⁶But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. ¹⁷For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

• • Conquering biblically…

1 John 5:1–5 (ESV)
¹Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. ²By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. ³For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. ⁴For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. ⁵Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

Hebrews 11:33–12

⁸“And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life. ⁹“ ‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. ¹⁰Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. ¹¹He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.’

• Smyrna
• Tribulation and poverty
• Jews… but not Jews…

Romans 9:6–8

1 John 3:8–10

Thrown into prison… Ten days… be faithful unto death…

Matthew 10:28–33

He who has an ear… The one who conquers… The second death…

• • The second death

Revelation 21:7–8 (ESV)/ Cross Ref Isaiah 66:24/ Matt 18:9
⁷The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. ⁸But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

What do we take away?

• Motivations Matter

Matthew 23:27–28

• Conquering means being faithful

John 16:33 (ESV)
³³I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

2 Corinthians 4:16–18 (ESV)
¹⁶So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. ¹⁷For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, ¹⁸as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

1 Peter 4:12–13 (ESV)
¹²Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. ¹³But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.