(Breath of Life Theme Music)
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Sermon #B667 -
Ephesus: The Working Church
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Dr. Byrd: Right now, we
want to get into the word today
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and we're beginning now a series
on the 7 churches of Revelation.
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And so I invite you now to take
your Bibles and go with me to
the Book of Revelation
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and we're going to chapter 2.
And we're going to go to verse
number 1 as your turning.
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I want to wish Essence,
Richard and Passion a very happy
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birthday. They know who they
are. I hope you're watching
Essence, Richard and Passion.
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Happy birthday to you as well.
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Revelation chapter 2 verse
number 1 the word of God says in
Revelation 2 verse 1
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“unto the angel of the
church of Ephesus write.”
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These things said he that holds
the seven stars in his right
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hand, who walks in the midst of
the seven golden candlesticks; I
know thy works and thy labor,
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and thy patience, and how thou
canst not hear them with your
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evil. Thou I stride which say
they are apostles and are not
and has found them liars
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and has born and has patience
and for my name's sake as labor
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and has not fainted
nevertheless. I have somewhat
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against thee because thou has
left thy first love. Remember
therefore from whence thou art
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fallen and repent and do the
first works or else I will come
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unto thee quickly and will
remove thy candlestick out of
this place except thou repent,
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verse 6. But this thou has that
thou hatest the deeds of the
Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
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And he that has an ear let him
hear what the spirit said unto
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the churches. To him that
overcome it, will I give to eat
of the Tree of Life,
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which is in the midst
of the paradise of God.
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Today, we begin our series with
the first church at Ephesus the
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working church. Father right
now, I pray your power in this
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place. I pray your power over
the airwaves and the television
and the internet waves.
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God have your way. Speak to me
today, speak to your people
today by speaking through me.
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Bring comfort to someone,
bring healing for someone else,
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bring hope for everybody
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and when this message would have
concluded may we be able to say
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“It was good that
we tuned in today”.
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Forgive me for my sins hide
me behind your cross and Lord.
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May your Holy Spirit run
rampant today, run free today
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and that the appeal time as
we always say “God move by your
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power and
sprinkle out your grace”.
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In the name of Jesus, I pray
forgive us our sin, in his name.
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Amen. Ephesus
the working church.
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The Book of Revelation opens up
with seven letters to seven
churches each of the seven
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letters. It's a prophetic word
from Jesus who's telling John
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what to write. Now, let me
remind you that there is
something special about the
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number 7. The number
7 signifies completion
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and it's considered to be the
number of spiritual perfection.
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In fact, the number seven was
the most sacred number to the
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Hebrews, for there
are seven days in a week.
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It was on the 7th day during
creation week that God rested
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from his work. He sanctified the
seventh day and he blessed the
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seventh day. Then it was after
the flood that God promised not
to destroy the Earth again with
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water and memorialize this
covenant with the rainbow, which
is comprised of seven colors.
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You will remember that Joshua
and the children of Israel
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walked around Jericho seven
times on the seventh day and the
walls came tumbling down.
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Naaman had to go dip in the
Jordan River seven times in
order to become clean.
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In the New Testament, Jesus told
us to forgive 490 times, which
is seventy times seven.
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The Bible records, Jesus
says healing seven people on the
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seventh day. Number one
the man with the deformed hand,
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number two the man possessed
with the unclean spirit,
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number three Peters
mother-in-law with the fever,
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number four the
woman crippled by a spirit,
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number five the man with the
abnormal swelling of his body,
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number six the lame
man at the pool of Bethesda
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and number seven the man
born blind in John chapter 9.
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Just before his death.
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Jesus uttered seven last words
on Calvary and in the Book of
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Revelation. Jesus speaks of
Seven Seals, seven spirits seven
plagues, seven horses,
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seven trumpets sounded by seven
angels and he speaks of seven
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churches. Now, Revelation is a
unique book. It is not like any
other book in the New Testament.
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Revelation is what we call a
prophetic book. There are two
prophetic books in the Bible.
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In the Old Testament,
we have the Book of Daniel.
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In the New Testament, we have
The Revelation. God gave
Revelation to Jesus.
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Jesus gave it to an
angel ,an angel gave it John.
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John wrote it down and gave it
to the seven churches which in
these seven churches
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and this message
there is a message for us.
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Now, you need to understand
that in Revelation chapter 1.
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We find the Apostle Paul,
Apostle John Rather in Exile on
the tiny island of Patmos.
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But how did John get two
Patmos? John got to Patmos
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because it was after Jesus'
death that Rome in the
surrounding territories
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became increasingly
hostile towards Jesus followers.
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And every disciple after Jesus
death except John was murdered
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for his faith. But
John's Faith wasn't much better.
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John didn't fare any
better than the other disciples
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because John was exiled to a
rocky tiny island called Patmos.
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John was banished from society
by the Romans to reduce his
religious influence.
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This shouldn't surprise us
or seems strange to any of us
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because whenever people want to
get rid of you they banish you.
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They send you away.
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but I'm a witness that
healing comes out of brokenness.
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You have to crush a rose petal
before it gives off the sweet
fragrance of perfume.
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You have to irritate and
oyster before it becomes a pearl
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and it was during John's Exile.
It was during the time that the
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Romans banished him to Patmos
that the Lord spoke to John in
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vision and John received the
most detailed vision of things
to come given to any Apostle,
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which is a blessing for us
in these final days in Earth's
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history. Because we now
know how the end is going to be.
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Praise God for John, praise God
for John's ministry on Patmos.
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And so it was on the island of
Patmos. It was in John's exiled.
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It was in John's banishment that
the Lord revealed future events
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and gave John messages
for the seven churches.
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Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum,
Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia
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and Laodicea when
Christ appeared to John.
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John saw seven candlesticks
representing seven churches
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and in the midst of
the seven candlesticks,
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in the midst of these seven
churches was Jesus the Christ
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himself, which Revelation
chapter 1 verse 13 says one was
like the son of man.
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Which is a reminder my friends,
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of Jesus was in the
midst of candlesticks.
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It's a reminder that Jesus is
the light of the world and every
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church both now and then has
been commissioned by Christ to
be a light in a dark world.
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Churches do not create light.
They just reflect light. Jesus
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is the light but reflecting his
light. It's the church's primary
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purpose. Now the seven churches
of Revelation with
geographically located in Asia
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Minor. They were located in
Asia Minor along an established
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circular trade route in
what is now modern day Turkey.
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This route brought together the
most populous and influential
parts of the province.
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So then, once the gospel was
given to the seven churches in
these Seven Cities the
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message would then spread to the
Christian communities and the
rest of the province.
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The strategy was simple.
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Get the message to these seven
churches and the gospel message
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will spread everywhere else.
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Now, the first of these
seven churches was Ephesus.
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Ephesus was the city that had a
population over 250,000 people.
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It was all a Seaport
City on the Aegean Sea.
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House of one of the Seven
Wonders of the Ancient World,
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which was a temple to
the Greek Goddess Artemis.
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It was home to an amphitheater,
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which can hold up to 25,000
people which was the venue of
the angry riot against
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Christians in Acts 19. Ephesus
boasted great diversity in
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commerce, religion and culture
founded by the Apostle Paul.
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Ephesus was the most popular and
prominent church in Asia Minor.
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But Emperor worship was
also prevalent in Ephesus.
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Ephesus was also the sinner,
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paganism in the first century
world and the Christian
believers of the first century
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felt the constant social
pressure to compromise their
faith by worshiping the emperor
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and cult's worship
tolerating false teachers
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and living life styles that
mirrored the pagan world around
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them. I must say that sadly
there's nothing new under the
sun just like Christians
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felt pressure to compromise
their beliefs 2,000 years ago.
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Christians still sense
and feel that pressure today.
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Being a follower of
Christ is not an easy thing.
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Being a follower of Christ
does not make you popular.
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Being a follower of Christ cost
you something. It might cost
you, your marriage.
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It might cost you, your
relationship. It might cost you,
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some friendships. It might cost
you, your job. But as the old
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spiritual says, serving the
lord will pay off after a while.
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Do I have a witness
somewhere in this place?
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The people in Ephesus were
hard-working people who labored,
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worked and endured for the Lord.
They worked for the cause of
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Christ. They work toiling
to the point of exhaustion.
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Their work was fervent for the
Lord hence they were called The
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Working Church. They served at
every opportunity. They shared
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their faith. They ministered to
the poor. They prepared food for
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others. They serve their
Community. They told people
about Jesus. They gave Bible
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studies. They built up the
church. They went to church.
They weren't CME Christians.
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People who went to church
on Christmas, Mother's Day and
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Easter, but they went to church
all the time. They were not
shaken by opposition.
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They endured criticism and tough
times their focus was on serving
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the lord no matter what. They
stood for the truth no matter
what. They resisted false
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teachers. They hated evil. They
hated the Bible says the
teachings of Nicolaitans.
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Who were early gnostics, who
wanted to blend Christianity
with pagan practices.
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The Nicolaitans taught that
man's actions didn't affect his
spiritual conditions,
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which was a do as
you please doctrine.
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But the church of Ephesus wasn't
deceived by their false doctrine
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and they remain true to God.
Jesus commended the Ephesians
for their good works.
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They're hard labors for their
church discipline that guarded
against false teaching.
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So from the outside, looking in,
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the Church of Ephesus looked
like it had it all together.
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The Church of Ephesus
looked like it had it going on,
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but remember looks can be
deceiving what's on the outside
may not be what's on the
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inside because while Ephesus
looked like they had it all
together their hearts were
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wrong. Jesus said, “They
had lost their first love”
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They have forgotten their first
love and I don't care how hard
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you work. Works
without love is a problem.
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The old saying says people
don't care how much you know,
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until they know
how much you care.
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They will know we are
Christians by our love.
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You do what you do because
you fell in love with Jesus.
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I dare somebody to go back and
remember your first encounter
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with Jesus Christ. Retrace the
initial steps in your spiritual
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journey. Go back and recall the
joy that you had when your soul
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first found Jesus and you wanted
to tell everybody about him.
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Rehearse in your mind your
initial actions, your initial
prayers your testimonies
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and longings for Jesus.
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That's why you shouldn't look at
folks strange when they want to
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praise the Lord, when they clap
their hands, when they stomp
their feet, when they say Amen,
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because you don't know like they
know what they've been through.
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You don't know how
they trusted in God.
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You don't know how God
has made a way out of no way.
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Go back to your first love go
back to when you were in church
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all the time that you were
just happy to be in the number.
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The story is told of a
wife who looked over at her
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husband while he was driving
their car and she said “When we
first got married you
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talk to me and tell me
about your dreams, you'd shop
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and then you stop and
you pick flowers for me.
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You'd open the door for
me when we got into the car.
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You have your arm around me
pulling me close as we drove now
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look at us. I'm all the way over
here and you're all the way over
there. What has happened?”
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The old man was quiet for a few
minutes. He was silent, but then
he finally spoke up.
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He said “Funny, I'm still
sitting in the same spot.”
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Jesus is still where he was
when you gave your life to him.
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Jesus is still where he
was when you joined the church.
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Jesus is still where he
was when you got baptized.
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Jesus is still where he was when
you were serving his people
don't forget your first
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love. Jesus applauded the
Ephesians witness, but then he
addressed their weakness.
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They had lost their first love
there was a time when their love
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for Jesus was vibrant and
energetic and overwhelming
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but they had lost
their zeal for that love.
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They still love Jesus but the
deep patch that love for him was
gone on the outside.
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They were busy and working but
on the inside they were cold and
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indifferent. There was a
lot of motion but no movement.
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And so Jesus reminds us
today. Reminds them that day,
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that his joy rested in their
hearts. And that's Jesus message
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for us today. Yes, work for him.
Yes, labor for him. Yes, endure
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for him. But he's telling us
just like he told the Ephesians.
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Don't forget why you do what you
do. Don't forget what he's done
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for us. Don't forget the love we
once had for him, his people his
church and his ministry.
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Don't forget the two great
Commandments or to love God and
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love one another. Jesus says
in Revelation chapter 2 verse 5
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remember therefore from whence
thou art fallen and repent and
do the first works because if
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you don't. I'm going to
remove your candlestick.
00:18:46.35\00:18:49.16
I will remove this church unless
you return to your first love.
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I will remove this
church unless you repent.
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Let me tell you, do you know
why many churches have grown
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stagnant and are not
growing in these last days?
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The reason is they are no
longer doing their first works.
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Those things that are pleasing
to God. Commitment is no longer
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a priority. People go for days
without prayer, days without
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Bible study, days without
even mentioning the Lord,
00:19:15.68\00:19:18.02
but the first works are key to
revival and renewal among God's
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people, and when Jesus is the
priority. He will come in the
midst, when Jesus is our
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priority, he will stand in the
midst of the candlesticks the
church at Ephesus failed to
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heed the warning and Jesus
remove their light and in the
same way many churches have
00:19:34.17\00:19:41.64
lost their light for Jesus.
They're still meeting even on
zoom still having Church.
00:19:41.68\00:19:48.65
But there's no power, no
conviction, no joy, no praise,
they have a form of godliness,
00:19:48.68\00:19:56.79
but that's all.
00:19:56.83\00:19:58.53
But we now have a wonderful
opportunity to share his light
in this dark world.
00:19:58.56\00:20:04.57
But we must heed the message and
the voice of God. If our light
00:20:04.60\00:20:14.11
is to remain. But
with all the work we do.
00:20:14.14\00:20:17.08
It must be combed in love. We
can never forget why we do what
00:20:17.11\00:20:25.39
we do. It's because of
love and all how I love Jesus.
00:20:25.42\00:20:33.03
Because he first loved me, Jesus
went to Calvary to save a wretch
00:20:33.06\00:20:44.17
like you and me, that's love.
They hung him high. They
stretched him wide.
00:20:44.21\00:20:49.78
He hung his head for me, he
died. That's love but that's not
00:20:49.81\00:20:55.02
how. the story ends in
three days he rose again.
00:20:55.05\00:20:59.89
So Jesus closes its
passage in verse 7 by saying,
00:20:59.92\00:21:03.12
“He that has an ear let him hear
what the spirit say unto these
00:21:03.16\00:21:08.70
churches to him that overcome
it, will I give to eat of the
tree of life which is in the
00:21:08.73\00:21:13.47
midst of the paradise of God.”
00:21:13.50\00:21:15.54
I'm almost done but
let me say one final thing.
00:21:15.57\00:21:18.34
If we're honest with ourselves,
if we're true to ourselves,
00:21:18.37\00:21:22.98
ministry and service can be
discouraging when they don't
00:21:23.01\00:21:27.72
seem to be noticed or we can't
see the results. We serve, we
labor, we preach, we teach, we
00:21:27.75\00:21:36.46
work, we sing, we usher,
we visit, we return tithes and
00:21:36.49\00:21:42.33
offering but sometimes it's
still discouraging because
things don't work out like they
00:21:42.36\00:21:47.90
should. But you got an endure
in order to be an overcomer.
00:21:47.94\00:21:52.11
You got to endure in order to
eat from the Tree of Life and
reside in the midst of the
00:21:52.14\00:21:56.98
paradise of God. You may
feel like giving up sometimes.
00:21:57.01\00:22:02.08
But don't you ever forget the
race is not given to the swift,
00:22:02.12\00:22:05.75
to the strong but to the one
that endures to the end and let
00:22:05.79\00:22:10.03
us not be weary in well-doing
for in due season. We shall reap
if we faint not don't being
00:22:10.06\00:22:18.37
discouraged. Hang on in there.
Jesus words were not and will
not be received by all.
00:22:18.40\00:22:25.54
Only those who have an ear
for Spiritual things of God will
00:22:25.57\00:22:29.98
discern his will. Let me tell
you something. I learned or
could I just say why can't
00:22:30.01\00:22:33.72
people hear the word? Why can't
they be change and converted by
the Holy Spirit through the
00:22:33.75\00:22:36.99
word. But I've learned just
00:22:37.02\00:22:38.52
because somebody has an ear
doesn't mean they have an ear
00:22:38.55\00:22:41.86
for the Lord, because
spiritual things are spiritually
00:22:41.89\00:22:45.93
discerned. But we must overcome
and must press on to partake of
the Tree of Life in the midst
00:22:45.96\00:22:50.57
of the paradise of God.
00:22:50.60\00:22:54.54
The church at Ephesus had good
intentions. They were diligent
00:22:54.57\00:23:00.91
in their labor. They were hard
workers. They were a working
Church. But their love had grown
00:23:00.94\00:23:10.72
cold. A busy life doesn't always
mean a right relationship.
00:23:10.75\00:23:16.29
If you serve, if you work,
if you work right, if you serve
00:23:16.32\00:23:21.50
right, you going to love right?
00:23:21.53\00:23:23.67
Let me tell you something.
I'm working now more than I ever
00:23:23.70\00:23:32.37
have before. I want to think
that I was working hard before
00:23:32.41\00:23:37.01
the coronavirus, but now we've
got all this zoom, zoom this,
zoom that, zoom meeting, zoom
00:23:37.05\00:23:42.85
conferences, zoom preaching,
zoom everything and though
limited I still have a physical
00:23:42.88\00:23:51.33
ministry. There are still
funerals and graveside services
00:23:51.36\00:23:56.70
is I have to do. Only ten people
are there but I'm one of the
00:23:56.73\00:24:01.70
ten. But this letter to the
church in Ephesus reminds me
that I must do what I do from a
00:24:01.74\00:24:10.75
premise of love. Not
for any other reason.
00:24:10.78\00:24:14.88
You can't work hard for the Lord
and want something out of it.
00:24:14.92\00:24:21.89
You can't work hard for the Lord
because you working to get the
00:24:21.92\00:24:29.83
next position. You do what you
do and you work like you work
because you love the Lord.
00:24:29.86\00:24:36.81
God wants us to do the right
things for the right reasons.
00:24:36.84\00:24:42.24
So the Jesus the first century
is the same Jesus of today.
00:24:42.28\00:24:49.48
He walks among the candlesticks.
He walks among the churches.
00:24:49.52\00:24:58.79
He's Alpha and Omega. The first
and the last. The beginning and
00:24:58.83\00:25:10.44
he's the end. He is the one who
was dead, but he came back to
00:25:10.47\00:25:15.44
life. He loves you and he loves
me and all he wants us to do is
00:25:15.48\00:25:23.45
love him back. He says "if you
love me, keep my Commandments."
Today you want to work for the
00:25:23.49\00:25:32.43
church. You want to work for the
Lord. You want to serve the
Lord. You want to obey the Lord.
00:25:32.46\00:25:37.47
Well, let me tell you. You got
to love the Lord. And I love the
00:25:37.50\00:25:44.71
Lord. And I won't take that
back. Because he's been so good
00:25:44.74\00:25:52.55
to me. Praise God for
the church at Ephesus.
00:25:52.58\00:25:55.95
Praise them for their work,
praise them for their labors.
00:25:55.98\00:26:00.36
But if you don't have love, all
of that is sounding brass and
00:26:00.39\00:26:11.47
tinkling cymbal. I want to be
a working church. I want to be a
00:26:11.50\00:26:13.90
willing church. I want to
be a working man a willing man,
00:26:13.94\00:26:17.21
but also want to be a loving
Church, want be a loving pastor,
00:26:17.24\00:26:22.51
loving husband a loving father,
today if you love the Lord.
00:26:22.54\00:26:33.29
I want work for the Lord.
You want to serve the Lord.
00:26:33.32\00:26:40.26
You want to live for the Lord
then you got to love the Lord.
00:26:40.30\00:26:47.17
My degrees can't save
me. My suits can't save me.
00:26:47.20\00:26:52.67
The plaques in my
office can't save me.
00:26:52.71\00:26:57.55
to hear people pat me on
the back is good, but that's not
00:26:57.58\00:27:03.82
going to save me. I got to do
the right things for the right
reasons. And I must do them
00:27:03.85\00:27:08.89
because I love the Lord.
00:27:08.92\00:27:14.23
Thank you very much for tuning
in to this week's Breath of Life
00:27:14.30\00:27:18.30
broadcast. We hope and pray that
you've been blessed by Dr.
Byrd's inspirational message.
00:27:18.33\00:27:23.07
If you would like to hear
this sermon in its entirety,
00:27:23.10\00:27:25.37
please feel free to visit
us at www.breathoflife.tv.
00:27:25.41\00:27:31.41
Or, call us at (256) 929-6460.
00:27:31.45\00:27:37.32
[END]
00:27:37.35\00:27:42.66
GONE BOOK PROMO
00:27:42.69\00:27:43.36
Dr. Byrd: Pain, loss, trama,
00:27:43.39\00:27:52.40
in life we
experience these things.
00:27:52.43\00:27:55.60
My wife and I have a story,
00:27:55.64\00:27:58.51
we have a
testimony of how we lost
00:27:58.54\00:28:02.71
our first born daughter
in a horrific car accident.
00:28:02.74\00:28:09.55
We have this new sharing
book, its en-titled “Gone.”
00:28:09.58\00:28:14.86
And, in it I
want to share with you
00:28:14.89\00:28:18.39
how God has helped me,
00:28:18.43\00:28:21.03
how God has helped my
wife, how God has helped us,
00:28:21.06\00:28:25.73
as we had to endure the fact
that our first born daughter is
00:28:25.77\00:28:37.45
gone. www.breathoflife.tv
00:28:37.48\00:28:52.49