Sermon - 7 Churches of Revelation - Sardis

Revelation 3:1-6

“Jesus' Letter to Sardis”

“And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.

“‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. 3 Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. 4 Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. 5 The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. 6 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

The Church in Sardis was not what it seemed to be. Everyone thought they were alive and vibrant and active and living – but they were sick, about to die, and slipping into a slumber. Perhaps it was apathy. Or maybe you could call it forgetfulness. Or spiritual frailness. Or all of the above.  It kind of reminds you of when Jesus criticized the Pharisees as being “white-washed tombs” – beautiful on the outside, but inside only rotting bones.

Now, there is no perfect Christian, and there is no perfect congregation of Christians. Remember the church in Ephesus, and her lack of love. The church in Smyrna, and her fear of persecution. The church in Pergamum, and her struggles with false doctrine. And the church in Thyatira, which tolerated open sin and heresy. Jesus calls them all to repent, so does he also call to the church in Sardis.

Sardis, the sleepy church, is called to “wake up”. Just what was going on here? He says, “I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God”. And we recall the relationship between faith and works. Faith drives good works. Good works are an expression of faith. So something is wrong with their faith, too, it seems. The lacking works are a symptom of the real problem.

Perhaps Sardis was one of those churches that just went “through the motions”. Every Sunday gathering, saying the same old things, singing the same old songs (though probably with little gusto). Mouthing the words with no meaning or thought. One commentator put it this way, the “rituals of godly pretense”. Oh sure, their pomp and ritual made them look alive and well, but inside there was a sickness – a critical illness – of which Jesus was fully aware.

There are, today, all sorts of gurus and experts, self-appointed and otherwise, who want to diagnose congregations and do growth assessments and community engagement studies.  These well-meaning programs often seek to clarify just what your church is doing wrong, or not doing enough of, in order to grow and thrive.  You should see the junk email your pastor gets about all this.  And, oh, if it were that easy.  To simply diagnose a congregation’s ills.

Some have said to me that Messiah has a problem with getting enough volunteers.  And while that’s fairly subjective, it might be true.  Many people, even the pastor sometimes, find it easier to write a check than to spend some precious time.  Others would probably criticize us for being inwardly focused – not a “mission outpost” but a “maintenance station”.  It’s budget time and the church council is struggling again to crunch the numbers, and weigh how much to spend, and how much giving will be there to cover expenses.  Or even the experience of a visitor who comes here – some say, “oh they were so friendly” and some say, “oh, they were so cold.  No one talked to me.”  I suppose the mileage really does vary.

I don’t know, and they don’t teach at seminary how to do it, and I wouldn’t believe them if they claimed to – figure out how to diagnose a congregation as a whole.  Maybe only Jesus can do that, as he does to these seven churches.  But notice this.  He’s not concerned about outward, but inward realities.  He doesn’t chide the churches for being unfriendly or not volunteering on committees.  He doesn’t exhort them to more pot-lucks.  He doesn’t even say they need to serve the needs of their communities.  He calls them to repentance.

Repent of your lack of love.  Repent of false doctrine.  Repent of your fear of persecution.  Simply, repent of your sins.

And while Jesus speaks to Sardis, he is really speaking to all of the churches, and to all Christians. Just as we too are called to repent of lovelessness, fear, toleration of false teaching and sin... so are we called to true faith which expresses itself in good works. A living faith which is not mere show. A rich and true trust in Jesus Christ – which naturally brings about the evidence in our lives.

So how are we doing? How are we doing as a congregation, and as individuals?

If Jesus looked at us as a congregation, would he see an active and living faith expressed in good works of love? Would he see us helping the blind, the hungry, the poor – the widow and orphan? Well some people volunteer with Braille or swaddling clothes. Some donate to the local food pantry or work at various volunteer organizations. And as a congregation, we send money to support mission and mercy work in our district and abroad. Some might look at us and say, “my how alive! How vibrant and active Messiah Lutheran Church is! What wonderful works they are doing for the Lord!”

But is that just an appearance of life, where death is always close at hand? In our congregational life, do our works really measure up? Could more people be involved? Could we do more to serve more people? Are there works that go undone because we have better things to do? Is there a sense that “someone else will do that”? Do we think that we give “enough”, serve “enough” and volunteer “enough” of our time?

Or in our own personal lives – how would the one who has the seven spirits and the seven stars grade us? Would we get a gold star? Or would we get a mark of, “needs improvement”?

No, Jesus doesn't grade on a curve, nor does he judge us in comparison to others. His standard is the perfect law. And we must admit, this is a test we would all fail, if left to ourselves.

But rather than fail us for our failings, he calls instead for repentance. “Wake up!” he says - “Remember!” he reminds. “Don’t soil your garments” Turn away from your sin and come again in faith to the cross. He calls, because he wants you to believe and live. He calls, because he wants to grant faith in abundance. He calls because he wants that faith to be expressed in good works.

And when we repent, he forgives. He grants gifts we don't deserve, he forgives our sin, enlivens faith, and by his Spirit he brings about those good works in us.

In these letters, he couches his grace in the promises of gifts – and to Sardis he promises 2 – a white robe, and a name written in the book of life. Both of these images appear later in the vision of Revelation, and both remind us of God's grace in Christ.

The white robe is a symbol of his own righteousness – evoking our baptism. There in the waters of grace he washed our robes soiled with sin, washed them in his own blood – taking away each spot and stain. And as we return to our baptism in daily repentance, so does he wash our robes again and again. The Old Adam is drowned, and the New Adam arises to live in faith.

And that book – a book of life – in whose names God has carefully recorded all those who belong to him. It reminds us that God knows us, that he has claimed us, and that he has an intention for us. His plan is in writing – it's just waiting to be fulfilled. The blueprint for our salvation is sure, it's all there in black and white.

So again, like Sardis, we have some repenting to do. Maybe as a church, and also as individuals.  May we repent of our lack of good works, which comes from our lack of faith. Though we may look alive and well, we are sick and dying – apart from Christ. But let us never be apart from Christ! For in the one who died and lives, we die to sin and live for eternity. He calls us to keep his words, remember them, and wake up. Repent and believe – and conquer – by his grace. In his name, Amen.

Sermon - 7 Churches of Revelation - The Letter to Thyatira

 

Some may wonder what our sermon series on the letters to the 7 churches had to do with Lent. Some may think, “how is all of this business from the Book of Revelation connected to the Passion – the arrest and trial, the suffering and death of Christ?” In truth, it's not directly connected to all that. 

But it is a very timely series for the season of Lent. Throughout these letters, Jesus calls the churches to repent. Repentance is a major theme of this season. Lent is the most penitential time of the church year. It is a time for all of us to reflect on our own sins, and listen to God's word which calls us to turn away from sin, and turn to him in faith.

When God calls, and when Jesus calls sinners to repent, he is very serious. And you'd certainly know that if you lived in Thyatira. There, they had a false prophetess among them who was sinning gravely, and also leading others into sin.

Hear the words of Jesus’ letter to the church at Thyatira:

To the Church in Thyatira

18 “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: ‘The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze.

19 “ ‘I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first. 20 But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. 21 I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. 22 Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, 23 and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works. 24 But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden. 25 Only hold fast what you have until I come. 26 The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, 27 and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. 28 And I will give him the morning star. 29 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

Jesus words are harsh here, jarring, even. He calls this troublemaking woman “Jezebel”, which even today is a name synonymous with wickedness. Jezebel, a daughter of a pagan priest-king from Phonecia, was married to Ahab, an Israelite king whose name is also notorious to this day.

Jezebel was the enemy of God's people in the Old Testament, an evil queen who promoted pagan worship. She persuaded her husband to introduce worship of the nature god from Tyre and Sidon, Baal-Melkart.  And she meant business.  She was responsible for the slaughter of many of the prophets of Yahweh.  In 1 Kings 17 we read about how Yahweh sends Elijah, who prophesies a severe drought as punishment for these crimes.  And it comes to pass, of course. 

Later, when Elijah had his great contest on Mt. Carmel with the prophets of Baal, he didn’t seem all that afraid of them or of wicked king Ahab.  But when Jezebel put a price on his head – he high-tailed it to the desert in terror for his life. 

Jezebel was also behind the murder of Naboth, the man who had the vineyard in the Jezreel valley that Ahab wanted to buy, but Naboth refused.  Jezebel took care of that – having Naboth framed for blasphemy and killed so her husband could just take the vineyard for himself.  But Elijah prophesied that Jezebel’s body would be devoured by dogs in that very valley.

About 10 years after king Ahab died, when Jehu became king, he meted out justice on the whole house of Ahab, and had some eunuchs throw Jezebel out the window of the palace to her death.  And though he then ordered her to then receive a proper burial (for she was the daughter of a king, after all), it wasn’t possible.  In fulfillment of Elijah’s prophecy, her body was ravaged by the dogs, and nothing was left to bury.  Divine judgment for this wicked enemy of God’s people.  So went the story of Old Testament Jezebel.

Here in his letter, Jesus compares the false prophetess of Thyatira with that Old Testament icon of evil. But he is not simply here to make a comparison, or do some name-calling. He has given this woman time to repent, but she has refused, and so he will punish her with suffering, and those who follow her as well. He even threatens her children.

So often we think of sin as no big deal. Little white lies. Peccadillos. Foibles. Almost lovable, laughable character flaws. But Jesus does not. He takes sin very seriously and wants us to as well. He does not turn a blind eye to sin, and to unrepentance. Some of the harshest words of fire and brimstone in Scripture, and most of what we know of Hell, comes from the lips of Jesus Christ himself. He is very serious about sin.

And it's not just our own sins, but the sins of others he wants us to be concerned with. He accuses the Christians at Thyatira of tolerating this great sinner. Tolerance! A watchword of our age. Tolerance has become a sort of god itself, an ultimate value. I saw a bumper sticker once that said, “I tolerate everything, except certainty”. This kind of tolerance for sin is not Christian or Christ-like. He takes sin seriously, and so should we. Ours, and our neighbor's.

Then what of Jesus' teachings like, “let he who is without sin cast the first stone?” or, “take the log out of your own eye before you bother with the speck in your brother's”. Doesn't Jesus want us to leave other people alone, and let God be the judge? Well, yes, and no.

Jesus said to his disciples in John 20, “If you forgive the sins of any they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” What? There are times when we are to forgive, and times when we are to NOT forgive?

Ultimately, God is the judge of all. No one can see the faith of the heart. But God does call his church and her pastors to deal with sin and sinners. Not in haste or without care. Not with the goal of bringing down God's wrath, but instead with the goal of repentance.... and forgiveness. Just as God wants all to be saved, so do we. Just as God wants all to be forgiven, so do we. Just as Jesus died for the sins of the world, so do we want the world to believe and live.

If we are quick to pick up stones and go digging for eye-specks, we are not giving the time to repent that God would give. If we judge according to man-made standards, we fall under judgment ourselves. But if we carefully apply the word of God to sinners, and to ourselves, we will see the need for repentance. And we will see that all sin is not the same. Some is repentant. Some is not. Some is private, and truly known only by the sinner himself and God.  But some sins are public, and may scandalize the entire congregation, and so must be treated differently.

Some sins are those we lay at the foot of the cross, and beating our chests, beg for God to forgive us. And he does! This is the very point of our faith. That Jesus takes our sins away – and gives us his own righteousness. So seriously does he take sin, that he dies for us, to take it away. Sin is a big deal. But Jesus dying for our sins is a bigger deal.

But not all will receive it. Not all will repent. Like the prophetess of Thyatira, some sinners harden their hearts, dig in their heels, and hold on to their sins. Jesus doesn't ultimately tolerate this, nor does his faithful church. To the extent that we look the other way with such sin, we too must repent, turn around, and ask his forgiveness.

The beauty and the blessing of our faith, is that God is slow to anger, but quick to forgive. And so should we be. Take the parable from last Sunday’s Gospel reading, in which the gardener comes to the defense of the fruitless fig tree… “don’t cut it down just yet – let me apply some manure and give it another season to bear fruit…”  Jesus truly wants to find faith, and truly wants to forgive even the most wicked and unrepentant sinner. He is patient with sin, but not forever. He gives time to repent, but not without limit. He calls us to turn away from sin and turn to him and believe and live. And we do, by his grace, and in the power of His Spirit. Thanks be to God for such a gift.

And so does he charge his church, and her pastors, to deal with sinners. Patiently calling to repentance, applying law and Gospel faithfully. Always with the goal of forgiveness. Could Jesus, would Jesus have even forgiven that wicked Jezebel? Yes. Of course. After all, he forgives us.

So once again, Christian, repent. Turn in faith to Christ, and be forgiven, and live. And pray that all would do the same, and share in the salvation that is ours in Christ. Amen.

Sermon - 7 Churches of Revelation - The Letter to Smyrna

 

Revelation 2:8-11

“Jesus' Letter to Smyrna”

We’ve begun a series, this Lent, looking at Jesus’ letters to the 7 churches in the early chapters of the book of Revelation.  These 7 churches in Asia Minor, which is today known as Turkey, represent a broad spectrum of the challenges and blessings that all Christian churches face.  Last week we heard about the church of Ephesus, and how while they stood firm against false teaching, their love had grown cold.  We saw that Jesus’ love shines forth to us in the truth of his Word, and that word warms our hearts to love our neighbors.

Tonight, the second letter that Jesus wrote to the churches of Revelation goes to the church in Smyrna. And I have to tell you that this letter holds some personal importance for me. Please bear with me, as I don’t usually include personal things in a sermon. 

Some years ago, I sat down with my grandparents and learned some family history. They told me that my great-great grandparents, whose last name was “Chrystodoulos”, were Greeks living on the coast of Turkey in a town called Smyrna. This is the same town mentioned in our reading.

We're not sure exactly why or when, but sometime in the late 1800s, many of the Greeks living there, including my great-great-grandparents, were massacred there by the Turkish army, and my great-grandfather Sammy was orphaned. Later, he made it to America, where his last name was shortened to “Chryst”.

Many Christians still visit Smyrna today, as part of their “Footsteps of St. Paul” and “Lands of the Bible” tours.  But of course, it’s now known by its Ottoman Turk name, “Izmir”.  Perhaps we will even make such a tour one day with a group from Messiah.

It's interesting, too, that throughout its history, Smyrna has been a place of conflict. I don't know if my great-great-grandparents were Christians or not, but most Greeks were. And the Turks, being Muslim... well I'm sure that the religious differences had something to do with that conflict.

But in the first century, it was Roman emperor worship and traditional Judaism that competed with early Christianity. And when Jesus writes his letter to the church in Smyrna, they were suffering persecution, and were about to suffer more.  He writes:

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. 10 Do 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. 11 He 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.’

It can only be Jesus writing.  He is the First and the Last – the one who died and came to life.  His eternal divinity and his glorious resurrection are calling cards no other can provide.  Singular credentials.  We do well to take note.

First, he speaks well of the church at Smyrna.  He commends them for being rich, even though they are poor. Certainly he means that their spiritual riches far surpass the earthly wealth they lack. This is the same Jesus who warned about wealth, and of gaining the whole world but losing one's soul. The same Jesus who contrasted the Rich man and Lazarus – one wealthy on earth, but spiritually bankrupt. The other a poor beggar, but who inherits life eternal. So often in Scripture it is the poor who are truly rich in spiritual blessings.

And this should make us reflect. Whenever there is much talk of a poor economy, and tough times with many people losing jobs and losing money in the markets, and gas prices give us a healthy dose of sticker-shock. Still, most of us are blessed with more than what we need to get by. We could be much worse off. But no matter what the economy does, and whether we struggle to pay our bills or not – we can truly say we are rich. We can rejoice, like the Christians of Smyrna, in the riches of God's grace shown to us in Christ. We have the blessings that money could never buy, and that we could never earn – all the benefits won for us by the perfect life and sacrificial death of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are rich. Our treasures on earth pale compared to our treasures in heaven.

Jesus also comforts the church of Smyrna, as they face trial and tribulation. Perhaps their poverty was partly because of persecution. Certain Jews were speaking falsely about them. And wow – Jesus calls those Jews the “synagogue of Satan”. In other words, they think they are the true believers, the true inheritors of Abraham – but they are caught up in Satan's lies. And the devil, perhaps through these blasphemers, will soon persecute and imprison some of the Christians.

Such trials and tribulations are really tests of faith. Like Abraham who is tested when God tells him to sacrifice his beloved son, Isaac.  Like Job, whose faith was tested in great suffering. Like the Apostles and St. John himself who saw this vision while he was exiled to a prison island. God's people are often put to the test of faith. And it is God who gives us the strength, and gives us the faith to face and pass those tests.

For those in Smyrna, it would be a short and finite test. Ten days – likely a symbolic number for a short but complete time set by God. And for us, while some suffering seems shorter and some seems longer, there is always an end. Even if the persecution ends in death itself, there is a promise beyond the grave.

One important point to learn from these letters, and from Scripture in more general terms, but particularly from the mouth of Jesus – is this:  That persecution and suffering do not indicate God’s disfavor.  He knows we will face it, he warns us about it, and promises to be with us through it.  And so for the Christian persecution can become something very meaningful, as it deepens the faith, draws you to rely more fully on God’s grace, and as you see God’s faithfulness through to the other side.  Suffering isn’t a sign that God is angry with us, rather, he helps us through the suffering, and brings good from it.  Therefore we do not fear it.

Suffering, especially from persecution, can also draw us nearer to Christ.  For he suffered for us and was glorified.  1 Peter 4:13 reminds us, “But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.”

He includes this beautiful promise, many even have it as their confirmation verse, - “be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life”. Only he can give it, because he has won it for us. He who wore the crown of thorns and shed his holy precious blood give also rose victorious over death to give us a share in that victory.

It is perhaps worth noting that of all the various ranks of angels there may be, in all their power and glory, no angel is ever given a crown or depicted wearing a crown.  No angel is given a share in the reign of Christ.  But the church is.  Christians are.  His promise of the crown of life indicates a share in his victorious reign, beginning even now, and seen in its fullness in the glory of the world to come.  But it is a crown of life – not just to exercise authority and dominion but also in the service of life, and with the promise of eternal life in him.  A crown of life is better than a crown of diamonds and gold.  The crown of life is our heavenly reward which we never earned, but is given to us by faith in the First and the Last, the one who died and rose again. 

Thank God for the riches – physical and spiritual that we do enjoy, especially those blessings that come to us in Christ. Thank God that we are free from persecution and trials, and pray that he sustains us if they ever do come. And Thank God for the promised crown of life waiting for all of us who trust in Jesus Christ.

Sermon - 7 Churches of Revelation - The Letter to Ephesus

Sermon - Ash Wednesday - Revelation 2:1-7

Revelation 2:1-7

“Jesus' Letter to Ephesus”

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. 7 He 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.'

We begin another Lenten season in the church, as we always do, with Ash Wednesday. A day of repentance and sorrow over sin, which sets the tone for this penitential time in our church calendar. Ashes are a sign of repentance going back to ancient times, and even today many Christians wear ashes on their foreheads to signify this repentance.

We're also starting a series of mid-week sermons which focus on an important section in the book of Revelation. Each week in Lent we will focus on one of the letters to these 7 churches, in order to hear God's word to us, and prepare us for the observance of Good Friday and Easter.

But first some background. Near the end of the First Century, St. John, as now old man, was imprisoned for his faith on the island of Patmos. One Sunday John had a marvelous vision, a “revelation”, which was given to him by Jesus Christ himself. In fact, the real name of this book of the bible is, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ to St. John”.

And in that vision, Jesus appeared to John surrounded by many symbolic images. These things John really saw – but many of them stood for other things, for concepts and ideas. When Jesus appeared, he held in his hand 7 stars and walked among 7 lamp-stands. Jesus himself said these 7 lamp-stands were the 7 churches he would address, and the 7 stars were the “angels” of those 7 churches.

And while some believe those 7 angels to be something like guardian angels watching over the churches, a much older interpretation makes more sense. The Church Father known as “The Venerable Bede” makes the case that these “angels” are really the pastors of those churches. After all, the word “angel” means “messenger”. And God blesses us with supernatural, spiritual as well as everyday human messengers. Also, it makes more sense for them to be pastors since he both commends and criticizes not only the churches but the messengers. And we pastors are certainly in the same boat as the people of the church. We are sinners and saints just the same, and not above criticism.

So Jesus has a message for each of these pastors and the churches under their care. They were certainly not the only 7 churches of their day, and so these letters have wider application. They even apply, we will see, to us. We heed the warnings to the churches, even as we take comfort in the promises at the end of each section. So too, as the criticisms and compliments of Christ for these churches are universal to Christians of all times and places.

Take this first letter, to the church at Ephesus. The Ephesian Christians get a mixed review from our Lord. He commends them for their vigilance against false doctrine. Heretics known as the Nicolatians were active in the area, and the Ephesian church was right to “hate” their works. Jesus, too, says he hates their works. We don't know exactly what the false teachers taught, but it's been suggested they practiced promiscuity and ignored the law of God. So far the Ephesian Christians get good marks from our Lord for avoiding this heresy and enduring in the true faith.

But then Jesus takes them to task. He holds something against them. They have “abandoned the love” they first had. Their first love. What was it? Apparently a love for one another, rooted in their love for God, who had first loved them in Christ. He calls them to repentance and even threatens that if they don't repent, the lamp-stand will be removed from its place. In other words, they will lose their place as one of his churches. In yet other words, they will no longer be his people.

As I said, these words of Jesus have a wider application. For many pastors, and many churches, and many church members do much the same as the Ephesians. We may say the right things, we may even remain outwardly faithful. But inside of us is a rot of lovelessness that threatens our very faith.

Jesus tells us to love your neighbor as yourself. Paul tells the Corinthian church, that even if he speaks in the language of the angels, but has no love, he's a noisy gong or clanging symbol. Love is one of the most important words in all of scripture, one of the highest values.

For Jesus' own summary of the law is to love – to love God, and to love our neighbor. And which of us couldn't stand to show more love, be more loving, put others before yourself more, and basically be a better Christian neighbor? We have all failed. We all need to be more loving. We are all like the Ephesians.

What does it mean when there is no love, or very little? It means that we have sinned, and must repent. What does it mean when faith does not express itself in the works and deeds of love? It means we are sinners whose faith is flagging and failing, and we need to turn again to Christ and the cross for forgiveness, strength and renewal.

Just as it would be wrong for us to focus only on right doctrine and true teaching, and fail to love our neighbor, so also would it be a disaster for us to only care about love but never the truth of God’s word.  The two go together.  We speak the truth in love, and love without truth is really not that loving, anyway.

And Christ loves us. Greater love has no one than that he gives up his life for his friends. Jesus of course, gave up his life for us, even when we were enemies of God. He did it out of love. God sent him out of love for the world. A love which is patient and kind, which keeps no record of wrongs. A love which always endures and never fails. A love so great that not even death could overcome it. God is love, and Jesus is the embodiment of God's love for us.

It's that love that empowers us to love. It's the Gospel that gives us the strength and the will to love God and love one another. Nothing of our own, nothing within us can do it. Only the love from without can inspire the love within. And by his Word and Spirit, he shows that love and speaks that love and sparks that love in us.

You know, the Nicolations, the false teachers in Ephesus, their very name meant “the conquerors”. Again, we don't know much about them or why they would call themselves that. But we do know this, from Romans 8, that “we are more than conquerors through him who loved us”. Yes, Jesus’ love makes us more than conquerors!

In Jesus, not only do we defeat sin, death and the Devil – enemies we could never face on our own but who don't stand a chance against him. But also in Jesus we are more than conquerors. We not only defeat our enemies but we live victoriously. “To him who conquers, I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God”. Yes that life which God originally intended for Adam and Eve – that life which is restored only by the love of a savior who died.

Each week, as we read the letters to the churches, we will discover spiritual insights and applications to our modern churches, and even to us as individual Christians. We will be called again and again to repentance and faith, as our Lenten journey continues.

Today, we see ourselves in the Ephesians – commended for watching our doctrine. Praised for the endurance of faith we have. But warned not to let our love grow cold. And reminded, that in the love of Christ, we are more than conquerors, who will eat from the tree of life.