by Pastor Stanley Farrar II

Revelations chapter 2 starting with the first verse we are going be looking at one of the letters to the seven churches in Asia and we will be focusing on the letter to the church at Ephesus. As many of you know that Paul started the church Ephesus. The city of Ephesus was the primary worship center for the goddess Diana. The church had gotten a mighty hold there, they had started turning the city upside down for Christ. (Revelation 2:1-5) "¹ Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; ² I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: ³ And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. ⁴ Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. ⁵ Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent."

We see the church of Ephesus had lost its first love. Outwardly they appeared to be a good upstanding church. they didn't put up with evil, they tried them who said they were apostles and were not, they knew they were false teachers. Yet they've lost their love. They lost that love that hast to be kindled from within, that love for God. They let carnality come in and reign in their lives. They may not have been doing open outward sin where everyone can see and be able to point a finger and say lo the sinner, but yet there was something wrong in their lives. They've lost what they had. They have let personal things come in and become there gods. At this point in time they were already having problems with man rule rising up in the churches. There were having problems with false teachings trying to infiltrate. They didn't allow the false teachings in, but they did allow carnality and man rule to come in. Because of it God condemned them.

God told them there was something they must do. They had to repent and do the first works over again. They had to get saved again. Getting saved is the first work anyone can do. Turn from your wicked ways, and walk in a Christian manner. They had to start over from scratch. They had to begin all over because they lost sight of God. They had started doing things their way and walking in their own passions. They did not have a love for God, and God wants us to have a passionate love for him. God wants us to love him so passionately that He is supreme in our lives that He truly is placed on a pedestal above everything else, to where He reigns and is the dominate king in our lives. The church at Ephesus had lost sight of this. They had become worldly. They had accepted carnality. God will not accept a carnal church. So they had to do the first works over and then eliminate the carnality. They would have to take the next step and become sanctified again, and the church at Ephesus knew what sanctification really was.

Ephesians 5:25-28 "²⁵Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; ²⁶That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, ²⁷That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. ²⁸So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies." When we're saved God washes our sins away. When we become saved the Holy Spirit takes the blood of Christ and washes away the sins we've committed. But there's still a carnal nature within us, the innate desire to sin that inhibits us from being an effective workman for God. Now the Ephesians knew that sanctification cleansed this away for it specifically states "by the washing the water and word." They need the second cleansing of sanctification to wash the carnality away. It's the second cleansing many have lost sight of in the church today, and they had loss sight of it at the church at Ephesus. They had known the truth but they walked away from it. As long as carnality reigns we are going to have struggles of one man against another. You cannot have perfect unity while this is the case. Because people are not sold-out entirely for God. They are not dedicated themselves to God. They are not walking in the will of God. They are walking in their own will and that will cause conflict. There will always be conflict in the church as long as there's carnality in the church. The only way to remove this carnality is through entire sanctification. Now we know the people at Ephesus had experienced entire sanctification due to: (Ephesians 4:30) "³⁰And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption." We see that they have already been sealed by the Holy Ghost. This means that they had already received the Holy Ghost and had already been sanctified. Thus they knew what it meant to be sanctified and what it entailed. It entails being holy. To take and be and remain sanctified you must be holy. Thus they knew that to be sanctified they had to be walking in the entire will of God. So many times today people say they're going to lay their lives on the altar for Jesus, I'm going to put it all on the line. Then they pick it backup and walk off with it. Basically speaking, oh but I don't want to give this up. I don't want to lose my prestige. I don't want to have to lose my power. I don't want to have to be humbled among the people around me. I want to be elevated and exalted. You can't seek to be elevated and be in the will God. For God wants us to be humble people, not arrogant people. God wants us to seek servitude which is to take a lower position, not a higher position than someone else. Then and only then will God elevate us. We do not have to look for power for the only one in the church who should have power is God. Christians are placed on an even plane, one Christian is not placed above another for we are all one through Christ Jesus.

So what did the church at Ephesus do? Did they heed the warning? Did they come back? There is no historical proof that they ever came back. They ceased to exist. There is a punishment for those who will not heed God. If we insist on trying to run the church ourselves God will take away our lamp stand. There is great significance of the taking away of a lamp stand by God. For this not only symbolizes the church being the church of God, it also symbolizes the light of God radiating out from that church. If God takes the lamp stand out of your church, there ceases to have the light of God radiating out of that church, and it ceases to be the church of God. Because it's not being God's church. The church at Ephesus, who was is doing all these things, was not God's church any longer, unless they were to repent which they chose not to do so. Not only does such a church lose out on getting the light of God but it also loses in that it does not get the blessings of God. It loses out because it is not being touched by the divine hand of God.

Often times when we focus on sanctification we focus on it on a personal level and this is where we must start. For it must start in the heart of the individual. If the person is not sanctified himself it is impossible for him to sanctify a congregation. Because he is a hold out. When that person becomes sanctified then another person can become sanctified then another and then the congregation can become sanctified. God says He'll sift His people as wheat. That means you'll not only be sifted as an individual but He will sift us as a congregation. He will sift us as wheat to divide that which is good from that which is bad. He wants to keep the good and to be rid of all the bad. Anything that is not connected to Him is evil. If it is not from God it is carnal. (1 Peter 1:7) "⁷That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:" Christ says he's going to try our faith with fire. He is not going to try us individually only but also as an entire church. Because you looks at the individual and at the congregation. He says as you're living for me here why are you trying to run things of there. Why don't you take and lay open the word and do according. The person does not fit the categories listed in Titus and Timothy they have no business holding an office in the church. It is better to do away with various offices in the congregation then to put people into offices that did not qualify. If you do not have people qualified as Deacons in your church then it is better do away with the offices entirely then to disobey God. Why have a board or any other position if it will condemn the congregation. (James 4:15) "¹⁵For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that." If we know better and we don't do better, we are sinning. A lot of people are promoting more and more structure in the church. They lose track of the fact that the church is supposed to be ruled by Jesus Christ. It is supposed to be governed and administrated by the Holy Ghost, not by man. Losing track of this, they set up offices and put men in positions that should never be in any position in the church. They were in danger of having their lamp stand removed from out of the presence of God. They were in danger of ceasing to be a church. This had multi-fold effects. In Ephesus after the church ceased to exist the town ceased to exist. It was destroyed and currently lays in ruins. No one lives there any longer except for a few wandering Arabs and the archeological teams who are digging the place up. No one lives there on a permanent basis, Ephesus is basically a dead city. At the height of its name it was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Now it is a dead city. Why is that? Because the church quit being the church. They turned away from what God would have them be and walked after their own path. They didn't hold to the standards of the Word because they let carnality come in and set up their own man rule. This led to the destruction of their congregation and eventually their entire city. When God looks at a person He looks at the heart. He can tell whether they are promoting themselves or are following His will. So often we forget that in the Bible when they gave a person a position in the church they didn't form a nominating committee, they prayed about it, sought the Lord's will and worked accordingly. When the New Testament church had an office to be filled they spent time in prayer to discover who God wanted in that position, to find out who was worthy. To truly be a sanctified church the men in positions of authority must be sanctified as well. To sanctify a church one must sanctify the people of the church. Thus a church must be totally dedicated to advancing the will of God and not man.

How's your love, do you love God as you should or are you trying to promote some man's agenda? To progress, following the will of God will bring the blessings of God, to advance the ways of man, will bring a curse. Many men including ministers are advancing their own agenda in the name of God. Trying to displace God and elevate themselves. Whether in the name of equipping men for service or out and out striving for power. God said that He gave gifts to equip the saints, not training in the theories of men. We are all to be one in Christ, this doesn't allow man to seek power even in the smallest of area. Seek the Lord for He wants to set you free from the curse of self and bring you back to your first love. Seek the Lord while He may be found.

By E. W. Leonard

I had a unique experience one Saturday night. Upon returning home from town, my wife and children were unloading the car. I was sitting in the car, so as to be able to park the car after the family went inside. My daughter let out one of those screams that only a girl does. She had noticed the neighbor's dog in the shadows. The dog had broken its chain and had made its way one block to our home where it was walking around in our front yard. This would not be disturbing if it were not for the fact that the dog is about a year old and mostly wolf, as the owner later told me. We had noticed the dog many times before due to its howling and pacing while on its chain, which is clearly visible from our front yard. I proceeded to get out of the car, grab the dog by its collar, and send my son inside to get a short chain so I could walk the dog home.

Several times during the walk home the dog jumped up on me putting his paws on my shoulders. It was so tall that when it did, I was looking in the neck with his head well above mine. As you may not know I am not a small man, what with standing at nearly 6 foot. That would have made the dog over 7 foot while standing on its hind legs. As I tried to get the dog down it would walk around on its hind legs as if we were dancing. After the long block back to his home, as I stood at the door, the dog in a playful way placed his mouth over my arm just above the wrist. His mouth was so large that more than two inches of teeth went past the coat that covered my arm. I was amazed at the size of the dog's mouth. I was also somewhat surprised at this sign of acceptance that this dog displayed toward me, this being the only contact that I have had with the dog. The owner, a small young man, came out and opened his garage for me to place the dog in it for the night. He then thanked me for returning his dog and we briefly discussed the pedigree of this very large dog.

After I got home my son asked why I was dancing with the "wolf," as he had been watching me walk it home. I then realized how amusing it must have looked. After I returned home I also began to think of the potential for danger in that situation. There is a large "beware of dog" sign posted near where it is usually chained up. I also thought of why I returned the dog to its home. Upon contemplation I came to the conclusion that I did it out of love. Love for my neighbor, the dog owner, so he would not be concerned when he found his dog missing. Love for my other neighbors so that they would not be frightened by this creature roaming the area.

It is not hard to find the theme of love in the bible. God is love has been a catch phrase that I have heard from early childhood through the present. When we look a little deeper at the subject of love we find an interesting thing. 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become [as] sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have [the gift of] prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed [the poor], and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. Charity suffereth long, [and] is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth: but whether [there be] prophecies, they shall fail; whether [there be] tongues, they shall cease; whether [there be] knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which his perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these [is] charity." To add clarity to these scriptures let us also look at John 13:35 "By this shall all [men] know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." In Greek love in this scripture is the same word as charity of 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 agape. In that passage every time we read the word charity, in Greek it is agape. Agape means affection or benevolence, it is derivative of the Greek agapao which is a moral or social love. (As per Strong Concordance.) Agapao is also used to a great extent in the new testament. Agapao is the Greek for to love in Matthew 22:37-39 "Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second [is] like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." Agapao is used again for love in Romans 13:10 "Love worketh no ill to his neighbour therefore love [is] the fulfilling of the law." Yet again we are told by God to love our neighbors in Galatians 5:14 "For all the law is fulfilled in one word, [even] in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." Think about it for a moment, have you been showing the moral and social love for the people around you? Even if it may be a little dangerous? God's law for us to love our neighbors is not an easy one to follow. Think about what you do for yourself. The food you eat, the home you live in, the auto you drive, the clothes that you wear. Do we show the same affection and benevolence for others that you do yourself? From Leviticus to James the command to "Love your neighbour" occurs no less than 10 times in the scriptures. The concept occurs countless other times. God's love for us is foundational in His plan for our salvation from the punishment for sin. John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." What more love can there be than that? I am reminded of that old camp song that ends "they will know we are Christians by our love". Will they know you are a Christian? John 13:35 "By this shall all [men] know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." Have you been showing that love for those around you? Are you letting your relationship with Christ show by your love? Would you have been willing to dance with a wolf for the love for your neighbors? If not, just who are you?