Reviews and Views

…in my opinion.

The Revelation (2:1-7) – Ephesus believers

Revelation: chapter 2 – all messages are applicable to individuals in the church.
Each of the messages start with a characteristic of Jesus Christ.  There is an angel in every church service.  Christ knows the works of each and every church.  
Ephesus (the Loveless Church) – Christ knows what you are doing; you have left your first love.  There was a time when Christ was your first waking thought; you sought ways to please Him, to serve Him, to spend as much time as possible with Him.  You learned to pray.  The very thought of Christ changed your life, your relationships with others, brought a smile to your face, and great encouragement to your soul.  Now, other things occupy His place in your mind and in your heart; and possibly in your soul.  Return to your first love.  bw
Nicolaitans:  the deeds or doctrine of the Nicolaitans was there was nothing wrong with having one foot in both the world and in Christianity.  One didn’t need to be so strict about separation from the world to be a Christian.  But this always leads to a weak version of Christianity that is without power and without conviction – a defeated, worldly type of Christianity.  It was a doctrine of encouraging compromise.  Are we not in danger of compromising with the world? bw
While love for The Lord Jesus Christ will always be present in true Christians, it can fluctuate in its intensity.  Christians will not always love Christ with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength. JMcA
The city of Ephesus was involved in the magic arts.  It was the center of the worship of the goddess Artemis (also called Diana), whose ornate temple was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.  

Ephesus had an estimated population of between 250,000 to 500,000 people.  It was a self-governing city with no Roman troops stationed there.  It was the primary harbor in the providence of Asia.  Ephesus was most famous as the center of worship of the goddess Artemis (Diana).  This temple was the most prominent landmark, and served as onle of the most important banks in the Mediterranean world.  Also, the temple provided sanctuary for criminals.  Every spring, a month-long festival was held in honor of the goddess.  The grounds surrounding the temple had groups of priests, prostitutes, bankers, criminals, musicians, dancers, and frenzied, hysterical worshipers.  Immorality was everywhere.  In this environment, existed the church of Ephesus that John wrote to about leaving their first love.

The church was aggressively evangelizing the lost, edifying the saints, and caring for those in need.  Despite their difficult circumstances, the believers remained faithful to their Lord.  They held to a high, holy standard of behavior and were sensitive to sin with spiritual discernment.  The Ephesian believers had not grown weary, but remained faithful to The Lord, loyal to His Word, and to the work to which He had called them.  

But in all this, their service had turned mechanical.  Their affection had cooled for their Lord and for others.  This loss of a vital love relationship with The Lord Jesus Christ opened the doors to spiritual apathy and indifference to others.  They lacked the emotional bond or love for Jesus personally.  Consideration of Christ and what would honor Him did not enter into their decisions on how they evangelized, or edified the believers, or cared for those in need.  They did what they did without emotion.
THE CURE:
  1. Keep on remembering from where they had fallen.  We need to remember what we were before Christ and what He has done for us. bw  Forgetfulness is frequently the initial cause of spiritual decline. JMcA 
  2. Repent in an intentional turning from their sins.  We need to repent (turn away from our sins). bw  Failure to love God fully is sin (Mark 12:30 NASB)  [30] ‘AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.’
  3. Demonstrate the genuineness of their repentance and return to their original deeds. They needed to recapture the richness of Bible study, devotion to prayer, and passion for worship that had once characterized them. JMcA  It was a time where the study of the Word was alive and spoke to the hunger of their hearts and souls.  It was a return to when their prayers were answered; when they persevered in prayer until God moved on their requests.  When they gathered for worship, that The Lord was the focus and not how they felt or how good the band was that day or how good the preacher delivered the message. bw
SUMMARY:
  • Right beliefs and outward service cannot make up for a cold heart.
  • “Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life.”  Proverbs 4:23
  • Love God!
 
TODAY: (http://www.israeljerusalem.com/ephesus-church.htm)
The church at Ephesus failed to heed Jesus, who made good on His words.  The weed-covered desolation above of Odeum, the smaller theater of Ephesus, symbolizes the state of Christianity today in Turkey, where Ephesus is located.  Turkey, once the heartland of Paul’s ministry to Asia Minor, is 99% Muslim and devoid of Bible-based Christianity today.  
Please take another look at the photo above.  That is what happened to a church that didn’t return to its first love, but did manage to keep out false apostles.  What do you think will happen to churches that can’t do either?  
Europe is already a spiritual wasteland where Bible-believing Christians are a miniscule percentage of the population.  North America has mixed materialism and self-help psychology with the Bible to concoct a deviant form of Christianity that sees God not as God to worship and serve but a genie who produces health and wealth on demand.  Savage wolves indeed have ransacked the flock and spoken perverse things to draw away the disciples.

September 2, 2014 Posted by | Religion | Leave a comment

Question: What is the answer to Jerusalem and Israel?

This is an excerpt from Joel Rosenberg’s Flash Traffic at http://flashtrafficblog.wordpress.com

The Hebrew Prophets such as Ezekiel, Daniel, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Joel tell us again and again that Israel will be all alone in the last days of history.  All the nations will eventually turn against her.  All the nations will work to divide the Land of Israel.  Jerusalem, too, will be divided.  The New Testament reconfirms this.  Indeed, the Scriptures indicate that the only hope for Israel is for her to turn fully and completely to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  As the “time of Jacob’s troubles” approaches — as the Day of the Lord approaches — the Bible tells us that the nations will betray the Jewish people.  Only the Lord will be faithful.  The question is, when the dark times come will Israelis turn their hearts to the Lord?

The Hebrew Prophet Joel warned us that the Lord is going to judge “all the nations” because “they have divided up My Land.” (Joel 3:2)  Yet Joel doesn’t call Israel to political activism, to international diplomacy, to military adventurism, or any other human endeavor.  The Lord says through the Prophet Joel, “‘Yet even now, return to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, weeping and mourning; and rend your heart and not your garments’…Now, return to the Lord your God for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in loving kindness and relenting of evil.” (Joel 2:12-13)  And if Israel does this, Joel tells us:  “Then the Lord will be zealous for His land and will have pity on His people.” (Joel 2:18, 27)

The Prime Minister’s speech to Congress was excellent in many ways.  He rightly described the “epic battle” underway in the epicenter.  He described a great shaking going on in the Middle East.  He rightly warned that Iran and her nuclear program is the greatest threat, that Hamas is the new al Qaeda, and that in all of the Arab world, only Israeli Arabs have true safety, security, and fully protected human and civil rights.  However, it should be noted that Netanyahu never cited the Bible, never called on the name of the Lord, and never called the Jewish people to trust fully and completely in the God of Israel, but rather promised to divide the land of Israel as a concession to the Palestinians, even while promising never to divide Jerusalem.  These were mistakes.  He wasn’t the first Israeli Prime Minister to make them.  But he is making them nonetheless.  He was right to thank the U.S. for all our help and support of Israel over the years, and he was right to seek continued help and support from the American people and government.  But neither he nor Israel should become dependent upon American help because the Bible tells us it won’t be there for long.

The Bible is clear:  only the Lord will save Israel.  It is time for Israelis to consider this very carefully.  For time is short.  “The Day of the Lord is coming; surely it is near.” (Joel 2:1).

Bill Wyler:  This same could be said for America; calling on the name of the Lord God for our own redemption and help in times of trouble.

May 26, 2011 Posted by | Religion, Security & Safety | Leave a comment

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