SPEAKER_00: If you have your Bibles this morning, I'd invite you to open them up to Acts chapter 19.
SPEAKER_00: Or we'll find our text this morning.
SPEAKER_00: I'll link to that in just a moment.
SPEAKER_00: It's so good to be back with you all this morning.
SPEAKER_00: It's almost four years ago exactly that Ali and I moved from Lubbock.
SPEAKER_00: And we're thankful to be back for being together today.
SPEAKER_00: Just about eight months ago, I started uh preaching full-time at the What Saint Church of Christ in Louisville, part of their preacher's trading program.
SPEAKER_00: And I had reached out to Nate and I told him a little bit about the program and the expectations of what I was to be doing in the program.
SPEAKER_00: And one of those was every month, uh, as you have opportunity, go somewhere else in free.
SPEAKER_00: So, for better or worse, this morning, y'all are just somewhere else in May.
SPEAKER_00: So thank you.
SPEAKER_00: I do appreciate you.
SPEAKER_00: The songs that we sang this morning are a wonderful reminder of the gods that we serve.
SPEAKER_00: They're motivating to want to follow.
SPEAKER_00: The comment was made in the Bible thoughts this morning about moving from a fear-based system of serving God more to a love-based thought towards serving God.
SPEAKER_00: And that's a comment that should resonate with all of us.
SPEAKER_00: A blessing it is to be known by God, that He's revealed Himself to us in such a way that we can know Him.
SPEAKER_00: We can also spend eternity with God.
SPEAKER_00: That's why we gather together with other people who are also known by God.
SPEAKER_00: To on this side of eternity be reminded of the love that God has for us and to express our love for us.
SPEAKER_00: But at the same time, there's a reality of life that we all have to acknowledge.
SPEAKER_00: And that's that there are these cycles and seasons of life.
SPEAKER_00: There are times of new birth, new life, growth, expansion.
SPEAKER_00: There's times of living on the high that those things.
SPEAKER_00: There's other times of loss and sorrow of pain and hardship and suffering.
SPEAKER_00: All things that we will go through in this life that we'll experience in this body individually.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe even this body is a church.
SPEAKER_00: And that's something that's true of all kinds.
SPEAKER_00: If you think through your New Testament to the churches they are written to, there's not a single one of those left standing that we can go to and visit today.
SPEAKER_00: And if the Lord wills, this congregation will be here for many, many more years.
SPEAKER_00: But it is a reality that it too could follow the cycle of life.
SPEAKER_00: But while we have life, while we have opportunity, we also have responsibility to serve and be effective in the work that we do together.
SPEAKER_00: When you think about aligning yourself with a church, with a group of Christians trying to serve God, if we were to pull the room this morning and ask, what are you looking for in that congregation?
SPEAKER_00: We'll have a variety of answers.
SPEAKER_00: But if we all think deeply enough about that, we'll all think of things along the lines of we want a church that stands for the truth.
SPEAKER_00: A church that loves God, that doesn't compromise on morality.
SPEAKER_00: That wants to see the light and love of Jesus spread to the community around them.
SPEAKER_00: I would suggest to you that scripture calls that a sound church.
SPEAKER_00: That is a healthy church.
SPEAKER_00: And it's something that we all want to be.
SPEAKER_00: Some of that's because of the natural cycle.
SPEAKER_00: Others are not here anymore because they've simply fallen from the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: As you turn through your New Testament, you see hints of this in the various epistles.
SPEAKER_00: In Galatians chapter 1, there are your churches of Galatia, but Paul says, I am astounded that you are turning away so slow.
SPEAKER_00: But you have other churches that leave the Lord much more slowly.
SPEAKER_00: Churches that fundamentally looking in appear to be healthy because they stand for truth, because they worship God the way He's prescribed.
SPEAKER_00: But there's something missing underneath the facade of righteousness that we see.
SPEAKER_00: This morning I want us to think about the rise and fall of this church.
SPEAKER_00: In Revelation chapter 2, Jesus tells this church, remember from where you have fallen.
SPEAKER_00: They had left the roof.
SPEAKER_00: And I want us to consider this morning how that happened.
SPEAKER_00: Because like Ephesus, this congregation could be doctrinally right.
SPEAKER_00: We could take the right stance on issues, we could be morally strong, have lots of activity, which is obvious happens here, but we could still be separated from the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: How is that possible?
SPEAKER_00: Ephesus helps us see that.
SPEAKER_00: When we think about the church in Ephesus, we're thinking about uh a church that began in Acts chapter 19.
SPEAKER_00: Paul makes his first visit to Ephesus in Acts chapter 18, and we see no conversion explicitly mentioned.
SPEAKER_00: He reads it with the Jews and he moves on.
SPEAKER_00: But he comes back in Acts chapter 19.
SPEAKER_00: I want you to imagine for a moment that you were an individual living in Ephesus.
SPEAKER_00: The center of Ephesus stands this marvelous temple, the temple of Artemis.
SPEAKER_00: This great vast temple, this this prominent display of religiosity.
SPEAKER_00: But it's a community filled with moral compromise.
SPEAKER_00: Idolatry uh fueled the economy.
SPEAKER_00: That's how they made their money, building idols to serve this this idolatrous God.
SPEAKER_00: To become a Christian in a place like this meant that you were denying the very identity of the culture, of the economy, of the people around you.
SPEAKER_00: When we think about the beginning of this church, we see a church that grows not simply because of excitement, not simply because there were vast numbers that made this church strong.
SPEAKER_00: This is a church that grew and became strong because there were people there who valued the church.
SPEAKER_00: Consider the beginning of Acts chapter 19.
SPEAKER_00: And it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inland country and came to Epic.
SPEAKER_00: There he found some disciples.
SPEAKER_00: And he said to them, Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?
SPEAKER_00: And they said, No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_00: And he said, Into what then were you baptized?
SPEAKER_00: They said, Into John's baptism.
SPEAKER_00: And Paul said, John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after them.
SPEAKER_00: That is Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: If we pause and we hold our finger right here and we flip back to Acts chapter 18, you notice something.
SPEAKER_00: This this is the same pattern of Apollos, who was mentioned in 19 and verse 1.
SPEAKER_00: If you go back to Acts chapter 18, he had the same issue.
SPEAKER_00: But notice a few things about Apollos as we scroll scan through verse 24 through 28.
SPEAKER_00: This is a man in verse 24 who was described as eloquent, who was described as being competent in the scriptures, he was instructed in the way of the Lord, he was fervent in spirit, he spoke and he taught accurately.
SPEAKER_00: But there was an issue.
SPEAKER_00: A baptism that was insufficient to bring about salvation.
SPEAKER_00: And so Aquila and Priscilla go to him, and if the text says that they explained to him more accurately the way of God.
SPEAKER_00: That's the pattern we see of the brethren in Ephesus.
SPEAKER_00: They believed in God, they may have even had had an inclination of who Jesus is.
SPEAKER_00: That seems obvious.
SPEAKER_00: But they still needed salvation.
SPEAKER_00: When they were taught more fully, they desired to respond and they respond.
SPEAKER_00: There wasn't friction, there was immediate response.
SPEAKER_00: We're gonna go on in verse 8 of Acts chapter 19.
SPEAKER_00: We see that Paul entered the synagogue and for three months he spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God.
SPEAKER_00: But when some became stubborn and continued in unbelief, speaking evil of the way before the congregation, he withdrew from them and took the disciples with them, reasoning daily in the hall of Tyrannus.
SPEAKER_00: This continued for two years, so that all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.
SPEAKER_00: Their response to the gospel motivated action.
SPEAKER_00: They continued with Paul reasoning through these things.
SPEAKER_00: They wanted to know the truth and they wanted others to know about it as well.
SPEAKER_00: All the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.
SPEAKER_00: This is important because strong churches are built of people who respond to the truth and who share that truth.
SPEAKER_00: As we think about what happens as we continue through the story, this is a strong church because this is a church filled of people who repented deeply.
SPEAKER_00: As you think about the culture and the things that were uh these people were engrossed in, one of the most common things was a magic art, superstition.
SPEAKER_00: Notice with me in verse 18 of Acts chapter 19.
SPEAKER_00: Many of those who were now believers came confessing and divulging their practices, and a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all.
SPEAKER_00: And they counted the value of them and found it came to 50,000 pieces of silver.
SPEAKER_00: So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily.
SPEAKER_00: We talk about repentance today, and repentance is important, it's something that we're all called to do to turn from a pathway of life, to turn to God.
SPEAKER_00: But I want you to think about the value that this actually costs these people an emphasis.
SPEAKER_00: 50,000 pieces of silver.
SPEAKER_00: If you think about 50,000 pieces of silver, each piece represents about one day's wage.
SPEAKER_00: That is 137 years worth of wages that were piled up at burn.
SPEAKER_02: Burn.
SPEAKER_00: We don't need that anymore.
SPEAKER_00: That is insufficient.
SPEAKER_00: That is wrong.
SPEAKER_00: That's not bringing us closer to the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: We give it up completely.
SPEAKER_00: They confessed and divulged their practices.
SPEAKER_00: We see a pattern of confession throughout the scripture because confession brings healing, confession brings forgiveness.
SPEAKER_00: These people are confessing their practices, they're not trying to hide who they were because they knew they weren't those things anymore.
SPEAKER_00: That's not who I am.
SPEAKER_00: I confess that, I turn from that and I turn to the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: I've given that up completely.
SPEAKER_00: Strong churches are built of people who don't just believe differently about the Lord, they live differently because of the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: When you think about a strong church, you see a church here that is faithful and that had visible fruits.
SPEAKER_00: We've seen that in the text already.
SPEAKER_00: The word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily.
SPEAKER_00: This was not a silent or quiet endeavor in Ephesus.
SPEAKER_00: In fact, starting in verse 23, we see the start of a riot, opposition arising to what's described as the way.
SPEAKER_00: There's opposition arising because their faith was visible, it was impactful, it was changing lives.
SPEAKER_00: And those who were resistant to that change did not like it.
SPEAKER_00: Strong churches are built of people who will get busy doing the work anyway, regardless of the cultural pressures, of the familial pressures that they might face.
SPEAKER_00: They want to do what's right and they'll be fruitful for it.
SPEAKER_00: I want to turn our attention to chapter 20 for just a moment as well, because this is a church who carefully heard the apostolic guidance of Paul.
SPEAKER_00: Paul's there with these brethren for three years, arguably more than any time he spent in any other place that we know about, except maybe Rome.
SPEAKER_00: He spends a lot of time with these brethren, and when he moves on at the beginning of Acts chapter 20, it's just a few verses later that he comes back through and he says, Gather the elder the Baptist to me.
SPEAKER_00: I'm going to talk to these guys.
SPEAKER_00: He cared about them, he had a relationship with them, and he's going to remind them of the time that he spent with them in verse 18 of Acts chapter 20.
SPEAKER_00: You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia.
SPEAKER_00: He's going to remind them of the work that they accomplished together, of the outcome of the gospel, of the fact that the Lord prevailed in Ephesus.
SPEAKER_00: He's also going to let them know that I'm probably not coming back.
SPEAKER_00: I'm going to be arrested.
SPEAKER_00: I'm not coming back.
SPEAKER_00: So he's going to tell them in verse 28: pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseer to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.
SPEAKER_00: I know that after my departure, fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.
SPEAKER_00: And from among your own selves will the right men seeking twisted things to draw away the disciples after them.
SPEAKER_00: Paul's warning them, I'm not coming back.
SPEAKER_00: I'm not going to be here much longer to help with the issues, and you need to know what's going to happen.
SPEAKER_00: You have been entrusted as an overseer of this church, but there's going to be influences coming into this church that you need to be aware of.
SPEAKER_00: More than that, brethren, there's going to be influences arising from among you.
SPEAKER_00: That's not necessarily exclusive to those who are not within the elders.
SPEAKER_00: Paul could be telling these elders, those who are hearing him speak, from among you will arise those who will influence the church for all.
SPEAKER_00: But in verse 36, I want you to notice their response to this message.
SPEAKER_00: When Paul had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all.
SPEAKER_00: And there was much weeping on the part of all.
SPEAKER_00: They embraced Paul and kissed him, being sorrowful, most of all, because of the word he had spoken.
SPEAKER_00: They would not see his face.
SPEAKER_00: Ultimately, there was the relational impact of this message that he was presenting to them.
SPEAKER_00: They were going to miss Paul.
SPEAKER_00: But there was much love on display here towards Paul.
SPEAKER_00: They cared about him, they cared about his message.
SPEAKER_00: This seems to be a church that wanted to do what was right.
SPEAKER_00: I want to suggest to you that strong churches are built of people who submit to the leadership that God has placed over them.
SPEAKER_00: They follow the guidance of the apostles, and that leadership carefully defends the flock against spiritual things.
SPEAKER_00: Following the guidance of the apostles.
SPEAKER_00: As we think about just this snapshot image of the church in Ephesus, this is a strong church.
SPEAKER_00: This is a healthy church, a church that loved the Lord and was zealous for his work.
SPEAKER_00: As we move on in history just a few years later, Paul's gonna go back and write to these brethren.
SPEAKER_00: If you turn in your Bibles over to the book of Ephesians, Paul writes this letter just a few years after he left.
SPEAKER_00: And it's important to consider what Paul says here in this letter, because this is a church that began with love.
SPEAKER_00: And I believe the book of Ephesians is a book reminding them why they ought to keep loving God.
SPEAKER_00: If you go through this, you're gonna see several reminders that Paul gives them.
SPEAKER_00: He reminds them first of what God has done for them.
SPEAKER_00: Now we don't have time to comment on everything, so let's just pick up a few verses.
SPEAKER_00: In Ephesians chapter 1, beginning of verse 3.
SPEAKER_00: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ Jesus with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.
SPEAKER_00: In love, he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has blessed us in the beloved.
SPEAKER_00: In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us in all wisdom and insight, making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time to unite all things in him, things in heaven, things on earth.
SPEAKER_00: Notice the repetition in him, in him, in Christ.
SPEAKER_00: This is what Jesus has accomplished for them.
SPEAKER_00: This is about who God has made them.
SPEAKER_00: Paul, that's exactly what Paul said.
SPEAKER_00: Look what God has done for you.
SPEAKER_00: This language should produce gratitude, it should produce love.
SPEAKER_00: And Paul's lifting their eyes, reminding them ultimately you belong to God.
SPEAKER_00: He's gonna go on in his prayer, beginning in verse 15, and he's gonna be thankful to God for them, and he's gonna petition God on their behalf in verse 18, asking that they have the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe according to the working of his great mind.
SPEAKER_00: It's his work, it's his work being accomplished within his people.
SPEAKER_00: This is what God is doing through the people that belong to him.
SPEAKER_00: Paul reminds them of what they were before they were saved, what they were apart from God.
SPEAKER_00: In chapter 2 and verse 1, you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience, among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
SPEAKER_00: But God.
SPEAKER_00: But God being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ.
SPEAKER_00: By grace, you have been saved.
SPEAKER_00: Without God, without his grace, we're separated from him, we're dead, dead in our trespasses.
SPEAKER_00: We're without God and without hope.
SPEAKER_00: He's gonna go on in verse 11 and turn his attention directly to the Gentiles now, those who were called the uncircumcision.
SPEAKER_00: He says in verse 12, remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
SPEAKER_00: But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
SPEAKER_00: Without Jesus, these people are still far off.
SPEAKER_00: Without Jesus, we are without Jesus is what brings us to God.
SPEAKER_00: Without Him, we are nothing, we have no sin.
SPEAKER_00: This ought to stir humility, gratitude, and devotion.
SPEAKER_00: This is love language that Paul's reminding them of.
SPEAKER_00: Ultimately, we've seen this through the text we've already read, but Paul's going to continue reminding them of what they have become in Christ.
SPEAKER_00: Look at chapter 2 and verse 18.
SPEAKER_00: For through him we both have access in one spirit to the Father.
SPEAKER_00: So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets.
SPEAKER_00: Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure being joined together grows into a holy temple in the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
SPEAKER_00: We are made into the household of God, into his holy temple, the place where his presence dwells.
SPEAKER_00: It's according to this eternal purpose.
SPEAKER_00: As we see in verse 11, that he is realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in him.
SPEAKER_00: So I ask you not to lose heart over what I'm suffering for you, which is your glory.
SPEAKER_00: For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory, he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his spirit in your inner being, to the Christ and dwell in your hearts through faith, that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth.
SPEAKER_00: Know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with the fullness of God.
SPEAKER_00: I think Ephesians chapter 3 and verse 17 is the emotional center of this book.
SPEAKER_00: It's the whole purpose.
SPEAKER_00: It's so that you may be rooted and grounded in love.
SPEAKER_00: Think about who you were without Christ.
SPEAKER_00: Think about who you've become because of Christ.
SPEAKER_00: Say, rooted and grounded in that love.
SPEAKER_00: Love for Him, knowing the love that He has for you.
SPEAKER_00: Paul's going to remind them in chapter 4 and chapter 5 of how they ought to continue living in love, is going to be a theme.
SPEAKER_00: He talks about uh bearing with one another in love in chapter 4 and verse 2, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace.
SPEAKER_00: In chapter 5 and verse 1, be imitators of God as beloved children, and walk in love as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
SPEAKER_00: Love and give of yourself the way Jesus loved and gave of himself.
SPEAKER_00: He's going to ultimately conclude the book reminding them of what they can accomplish because of this love.
SPEAKER_00: Because of what Christ has done for them, because of who Christ is calling them to be, even though there's spiritual warfare happening all around them, they can be equipped to stand firm.
SPEAKER_00: Stand firm, be rooted and grounded in love.
SPEAKER_00: Paul's reminding them to keep their love alive, reminding them everything that God has done for them.
SPEAKER_00: Everything that they had become in Christ.
SPEAKER_00: Turning your Bibles over to 1 Timothy.
SPEAKER_00: Paul's not done with this church.
SPEAKER_00: And now he's encouraging Timothy, who's been left behind, because something's changed.
SPEAKER_00: In 1 Timothy chapter 1 and verse 3, you see that Timothy is left behind in Ephesus to address problems.
SPEAKER_00: As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith.
SPEAKER_00: Certain persons by swerving from these have wandered away in the main discussion, desiring to be teachers of the law without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.
SPEAKER_00: See, this was a church that began in Zill, but Paul's gonna have to remind Timothy, you gotta remember your charge because that's the charge that was given to the brethren.
SPEAKER_00: Our charge is love, and there are people departing from that.
SPEAKER_00: They are departing from love, they're leaving behind that pure heart, that good, clean conscience, and they're finding themselves desiring to be teachers of the law but lacking understanding.
SPEAKER_00: They're making confident assertions, but they really have no idea what they're talking about.
SPEAKER_00: This is a church where knowledge is replacing devotion.
SPEAKER_00: They're called to love, but they're no longer motivated by love.
SPEAKER_00: They want to sound intelligent, they want they want to be smart, they want to have the answers.
SPEAKER_00: And that's something that I think we all ought to desire, but not at the cost of the motivation behind it.
SPEAKER_00: We should want to know God more.
SPEAKER_00: We want to be able to better explain them to those who are around us.
SPEAKER_00: But if we're improperly motivated, we're no better than somebody who's telling them about God's law.
SPEAKER_00: Timothy has work to do here in Ephesus.
SPEAKER_00: Knowledge is certainly important, that's why throughout this letter, Paul's gonna write about many things: prayers for the people, order within the church, qualifications of overseers and deacons, godliness, instructions for the church regarding the treasury, particularly as it pertains to widows.
SPEAKER_00: He's gonna talk about false teachers.
SPEAKER_00: All of these things are important, but without love.
SPEAKER_00: In chapter 4, in verse 1, he says, Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the things by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the those who they've departed, they've devoted themselves to these unsound, unfaithful, unfruitful teachings.
SPEAKER_00: There are people who are going to depart, and they're gonna try to drag you along with them.
SPEAKER_00: Paul's warning Timothy to be on guard.
SPEAKER_00: This is a church that has not yet fallen.
SPEAKER_00: But Paul says the pieces are there too far.
SPEAKER_00: This isn't a church that began with false doctrine.
SPEAKER_00: It's not unsound poor teaching happening yet.
SPEAKER_00: But Paul's reminding Timothy they bless love.
SPEAKER_01: That's not far behind.
SPEAKER_00: He does speak of those who are in Asia, though, where Ephesus is.
SPEAKER_00: And that strain, that strain against love is becoming more and more visible.
SPEAKER_00: Consider a few things here.
SPEAKER_00: In 2 Timothy chapter 1, beginning in verse 5.
SPEAKER_00: I'm reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and now I am sure dwells in you as well.
SPEAKER_00: For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hand.
SPEAKER_00: For God gave us a spirit not of fear, but of power and love, self-control.
SPEAKER_00: I had the opportunity to go to a conference with a bunch of other preachers a couple of months ago.
SPEAKER_00: Preachers that were new and preachers that were seasoned.
SPEAKER_00: One of the most prevalent topics that kept coming up was a conversation around burnout.
SPEAKER_00: What does a preacher do when he becomes a burnout?
SPEAKER_00: There's like some real transparent talk happening in this conversation.
SPEAKER_00: What's that look like?
SPEAKER_00: What's it feel like?
SPEAKER_00: How do you navigate that?
SPEAKER_01: I'm sure he's talking to Nate, John, George.
SPEAKER_00: We're gonna have some different insights on all.
SPEAKER_00: But if you think what Paul's writing to Timothy here, it'd be like Nate being aware of what's happening with Brayden in the church where he's at.
SPEAKER_00: Calls me, sends me a text, writes me a letter.
SPEAKER_00: I know what's going on.
SPEAKER_00: I know it's working.
SPEAKER_00: You don't be carried away with them.
SPEAKER_00: Timothy's fire needs to be rekindled.
SPEAKER_00: He's among people who are leaving.
SPEAKER_00: I want to suggest that it's probably hard to be a preacher experiencing burnout, or maybe you can speak for this, when you have a church who loves God and is zealous for him.
SPEAKER_00: I think that'd be fair.
SPEAKER_00: Probably fair.
SPEAKER_00: It's easy when the church starts leaving love, starts to party, feel like you're laboring, trying to motivate people to do what's right.
SPEAKER_00: And I just won't just won't listen.
SPEAKER_00: Watch yourself, protect yourself, be on guard over yourself, or you're gonna be carried away with them.
SPEAKER_00: But he's gonna give them particular work to do.
SPEAKER_00: Timothy, you still have work to do in this church.
SPEAKER_00: Look at verse 13.
SPEAKER_00: He tells them, follow the pattern of sound words that you have heard from me in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit and trusted.
SPEAKER_00: Sound words have been proclaimed, follow them, guard the deposit.
SPEAKER_00: You've been trying.
SPEAKER_00: You have worked to be protect the truth.
SPEAKER_00: We see that in the very next verse.
SPEAKER_00: You were aware that all who were in Asia turned away from people.
SPEAKER_00: You see, we saw knowledge was replacing their devotion, and now their devotion is gonna be thoroughly eroded through self-focus.
SPEAKER_00: As you continue through 2 Timothy, there's several things that we could know, but I want to turn our attention to chapter 3.
SPEAKER_00: This is a church who was told stay rooted and grounded in love.
SPEAKER_00: But in chapter 3, in verse 2, Paul tells Timothy, people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.
SPEAKER_00: Having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.
SPEAKER_00: Avoid such people.
SPEAKER_00: The reality is that there could be people sitting in this room this morning who were described by these verses.
SPEAKER_00: And maybe we don't see it because you have that appearance of godliness.
SPEAKER_00: But God sees through that facade.
SPEAKER_00: It's no different than Timothy and Ephraim.
SPEAKER_00: These people are going to be described as people who take advantage of the vulnerable, who capture them and take advantage of them.
SPEAKER_00: To promote the sinship, this unity.
SPEAKER_00: Ultimately, people here in 2 Timothy are walking away.
SPEAKER_00: In 2 Timothy chapter 4, Paul tells Timothy, I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and dead, and by his appearing in his kingdom, preach the word.
SPEAKER_00: Be ready in season and out of season, reprove, rebuke, and exhort with complete patience and teaching.
SPEAKER_00: For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to shoot their own passions and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into midst.
SPEAKER_00: Notice verse 10.
SPEAKER_00: He's going to write to Timothy that come to me.
SPEAKER_00: And he says, Do your best at the end of this come before winter.
SPEAKER_00: But in verse 10, he says, For demons, in love with this present world, has deserted me.
SPEAKER_00: These warnings, these people who are gonna leave, who are gonna become lovers of self, lovers of the world, it's happening.
SPEAKER_00: This isn't some far-off reality, it's here.
SPEAKER_00: It's among God's people in Ephesus.
SPEAKER_00: It could be among God's people here.
SPEAKER_00: But Jesus isn't done with this church.
SPEAKER_00: Turn over to Revelation chapter two as we conclude our thoughts.
SPEAKER_00: Revelation chapter 2, we quoted from this at the beginning of our time together.
SPEAKER_00: He's gonna remind them of what they were doing well at first.
SPEAKER_00: In Revelation chapter 2 and verse 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.
SPEAKER_00: I know you are enduring patiently and bearing them for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary.
SPEAKER_00: You hate the works of the Nicolatians, which I also hate.
SPEAKER_00: This is a church who hated and refused the things that were opposed to God.
SPEAKER_00: They were uncompromising, they wanted to seek out the truth, they were doctrinally right, they did a lot of things well.
SPEAKER_00: You want to know a Bible answer?
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is saying, these people know, they've got it figured out, but there's still a problem.
SPEAKER_00: He says in verse 4, but I have this against you.
SPEAKER_00: You have abandoned the love you had at first.
SPEAKER_00: You've abandoned the love, it's gone.
SPEAKER_00: You haven't just swerved from this, you've left it all together.
SPEAKER_00: The love that motivated them to pile up 137 years worth of wages and property and burn to spread the word mightily to all those around them.
SPEAKER_00: That type of motivating love is gone.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus says, You need to remember from where you've fallen and repent.
SPEAKER_00: Turn back.
SPEAKER_00: That's the warning.
SPEAKER_00: Remember, therefore, in verse 5, from where you have fallen, repent and do the works you did at first.
SPEAKER_00: If not, I will come to you and remove your lamp sand from its place, unless you repent.
SPEAKER_00: I want you to think about that warning for a moment.
SPEAKER_00: I will remove your lampstand.
SPEAKER_00: There's some grace-filled implication even in this warning.
SPEAKER_00: The lampstand represented their standing among God's people.
SPEAKER_00: God looks at this church and no, they are abandoning him.
SPEAKER_00: So they are actively walking away from him.
SPEAKER_00: He still has their lampstand.
SPEAKER_00: You are still my people, and I still want you to be my people.
SPEAKER_00: That's what Jesus is telling them.
SPEAKER_00: But if you keep going down this path, I'm gonna have to let you go.
SPEAKER_00: And I will let you go.
SPEAKER_00: I don't want to.
SPEAKER_00: God's grace is still extending me, still giving them opportunity.
SPEAKER_00: He tells them, repent, turn from this path you've gone down, come back to me.
SPEAKER_00: Do the works that you did at first.
SPEAKER_00: It wasn't so hard to do it again.
SPEAKER_00: He says in verse 7, He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the church.
SPEAKER_00: To the one who conquers, I will grant the either of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.
SPEAKER_00: Heaven's on the line.
SPEAKER_00: Eternity's waiting.
SPEAKER_00: Ephesus is not a church that fell because they abandoned truth.
SPEAKER_00: They fell because they abandoned love.
SPEAKER_00: Unless their love stands, would also be removed.
SPEAKER_00: You already alluded to this at the beginning of where's the church in Ephesus today?
SPEAKER_00: What happened?
SPEAKER_00: Did they return and end up following the cycle of life?
SPEAKER_00: They rebel.
SPEAKER_00: What did they do?
SPEAKER_00: Reality is we don't know.
SPEAKER_00: And I think that's intentional.
SPEAKER_00: There's several stories in the Bible uh like this where the ending is left unfinished.
SPEAKER_00: Because if we knew the ending, we might miss the point.
SPEAKER_00: The point is not about the church in Ephesus.
SPEAKER_00: The point is about the church here.
SPEAKER_00: What about Milwaukee Avenue?
SPEAKER_00: This is the rise of Milwaukee Avenue?
SPEAKER_00: Turn to the south like it.
SPEAKER_01: God forbid see the floor Milwaukee Avenue.
SPEAKER_01: But the same grace that God extended to his people in Ephesus.
SPEAKER_00: When you think about the church, it's not the building.
SPEAKER_00: It's the people.
SPEAKER_00: It's you and I.
SPEAKER_00: Take this from this macro church level and bring it down to you and die.
SPEAKER_00: Your heart and my heart.
SPEAKER_00: Do I care about truth?
SPEAKER_00: Do I care about what's right and what's wrong?
SPEAKER_00: God certainly expects that.
SPEAKER_00: But am I motivated by the love that God has shown me?
SPEAKER_00: Am I motivated out of a desire to love him?
SPEAKER_00: If that answer is no for you or for me, God's grace is for each one.
SPEAKER_00: He wants us back, he wants us among his people.
SPEAKER_00: And if we can help you make that right this time, let us know while together be safe.