Joining Jesus – 8th May 2019

2. A Great Church!?
“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:
These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.
Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.
Revelation 2:1-7
These opening verses of Revelation 2 seem, in many ways, to be the opening of a letter to a church that many of us may want to join. The people who make up the church at Ephesus are not afraid of hard work, they are not, it seems, like many churches where most of the people are happy to leave most of the work to a few of the people!
As well as being hard working, the people are not the kind who give up easily, they are known for their perseverance, for carrying on and being faithful even when it is tough. This perseverance has not been easy, they have had to deal with ‘wicked people’ and some who falsely claimed to be apostles. Through these, and many other challenges and hardships, the church at Ephesus has not given up – it has persevered – what a church!
As I think about the church at Ephesus that received this letter, I find myself reflecting upon numerous churches that I have worked with all around the world. So many of these churches are similar, in so many ways, to this church. They consist of hardworking people who, often against many challenges, never give up but ‘keep things going’.
I am not sure how this compares to the church that you are part of or how it may compare to the church that you wish you were part of.
There is though a deep question that needs to be asked about this church and the question is something like:
“In spite of all the hard work and commitment to the church, is this church joining Jesus in His Mission?”
Clearly, they were doing many things ‘right’ but is it possible that they were missing out on the most fundamental purpose of their existence as a church?
It certainly seems that this was the case because in spite of all of these admirable qualities, the message of this letter is not to affirm the church but to challenge them to the very core.
We will look at this challenge next time but I encourage you, this week, to reflect upon the church that you are part of and consider ways in which the things that you are doing may be a help or a hindrance to joining Jesus in His Mission.