His Perfect Love

Larry: Pastor Matt says, both truth and love are needed in our lives, so we don't repeat the mistakes of the church at Ephesus.

Matt VanderVen: In the last days, the hearts of many is going to grow cold. How do you think it's going to permeate the church? Because men and women with cold hearts will come into the church, and it'll be the falling away that he talks about. And it'll begin one heart at a time. And the insulation or protection from that is truth and love. Not one or the other. And that's what happened in Ephesus. They were scholarly, they were biblical. And you guys love that. I love that. But if we have not love, we're just clanging brass, clanging cymbals.

Larry: We'll see if this sounds familiar. You're born again, walking with the Lord for quite a while, but then over time, your service to God has become routine. You're still going to church and serving, but your heart isn't in it. The passion for the Lord is no longer there. If that would describe you, keep listening. Today on His Perfect Love, we'll meet a church that had left their first love, and we'll see what to do if that should happen to us. We join Pastor Matt VanderVen in Revelation chapter 2.

Matt VanderVen: Jesus adds another commendation concerning doctrinal purity. But you have this in your favor. You hate the practice of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. That's Revelation chapter 2:6. We don't know much about the Nicolaitans and their doctrine, except that it was obviously heretical. The Nicolaitans are mentioned in Revelation 2:6 and verses 14 and 15 in chapter 2. The exact origin of Nicolaitans is unclear. I will tell you just because it's important that there's a couple of scholars that have different ideas on this. I think the best commentary is always scripture. Just look over to chapter 2 verse 14.

I think we get an idea of what it's not entirely by that, because some scholars have tried to say it was sexual immorality and eating food sacrificed to idols. I'm not so sure that's what the Nicolaitans were, but cuz look at verse 14. This is Pergamum. We'll get there in a few But I have a few things against you because you have there you have there those who hold on the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit sexual immorality.

You remember what he did? He says, oh, if you bring the women in, the guys will just have relations and you'll have this in in, you know, and it'll cause basically God will have to then judge his people because of the wickedness of what they're doing. That was Balak's plan, and Balaam did that as a as a prophet. Thus, you also have those who hold on to the doctrine of Nicolaitans, which I which thing I hate. So some have said, well, see, that's defining the doctrine of the Nicolaitans. I'm not so sure on that. We'll study that in a in a coming weeks, but I'm not so sure of that because when you just take the simple aspect, we know it it had something to do with heretical teaching.

We know that. And there were those that were in Ephesus or those that were in the area, excuse me, not in Ephesus, that were doing or spreading that heretical teaching. And Jesus hated it. They hated it, and they had unity in this. But it's interesting because the the the word Nicholas means one who conquers the people. So many times people have come to the understanding as one that lords over the people. If you heard that, that's what a Nicolaitan is, one who lords over people. It comes from that idea of the man's name. And it was possibly one of the deacons of the early church because if you look at Acts chapter 6:5, his name is mentioned there.

So they believe maybe this was a leader, a deacon eventually, started as a deacon, became a leader, but he became an apostate, maybe denying the true faith and became part of this group, maybe holding on to the doctrine of Balaam if we read verses 14 and 15 if that's what it is, or simply just by his name alone began to teach and lord over people and force them to do things. Do you realize nothing that God has instilled for the body of Christ is to be forced? I mean, we just talked about offerings and givings just a few weeks ago, right?

You remember you think about that. In the Old Testament, look at the difference in the New Covenant and the better Covenant we're in. In the Old Testament, people think it was just a tithe, right? Which means a 10th. But a careful reading of the Old Testament, it wasn't just a 10th. It was anywhere between 10 and 48% because there was temple tax. So most Jewish people gave at the temple somewhere between 30 to 48% of their annual wages. That if you want to talk about a forced giving, that was the required that was what was expected, right?

You and I are part of a better covenant, a covenant that says God will move on the hearts of his people. And that first of all, he doesn't limit it to 40%, but he doesn't require it because last I checked, that woman that dropped those two mites, two pennies, Jesus looked upon that and said, look, wow, what a sacrifice of heart. It meant something. It was her worship. It was her worship. It's it's just like us when we give, it's our worship. But it's not forced. I mean, at the end of the day, you know, we already talked about teaching the word of God, you would hope would mature Christians, right?

That's why we gather, equipping saints for the work of the ministry, Ephesians chapter 4. But also we talked about earlier that it's our part to receive the word and to apply it to our lives. If we don't do that, then we're hearers only and not doers. And likewise, if somebody was to go down that road and not be faithful in the things that Christ is calling them to do, guess what? It's no coincidence that eventually the lights go out in the church of Ephesus because eventually they do walk away from their first love, which means now they're not worshiping like they're supposed to anyway, giving and everything else that goes with that.

And everything that comes from that, guess what happens? It all falls apart. Instead of it being built up by the body of Christ, through the Holy Spirit, through the community that this is this is your church. This is not my church. This is Jesus's church. But it belongs to you. And the only reason it's a church is because you gather here and we read the word of God and Jesus is in our midst, which is by definition what a church is. Otherwise, it's just a building and a social club. And everybody can pay their dues at the YMCA.

No offense to the YMCA. But I think we're looking for something a little different here. I think we want to be in the word of God and we want to do it God's way. But it's God that does the moving on the heart. And it 's got to be motivated by our love for God. Right? Clement of Alexandria says, the abandoned speaking of the church of Ephesus. They abandoned themselves to pleasures like goats and leading of a life of self-indulgence. Now I don't know how goats made it in there. Not sure exactly what that meant in those days.

I know what the biblical aspect of goats means, but you know, he's saying the point is a life of self-indulgence. They're teaching perverted grace. The teaching perverted grace. And it replaced liberty with license. That's what we read here. The teaching perverted grace, and they replaced their liberty or they replaced liberty with a license. Other commentators believe that the Nicolaitans were not so called because of a man, but as I mentioned, it was because of a a Greek word, Nikola or LAH, ending in LAH. It means let us eat. So that's how they read the sexual morality part to it, encouraging others to do that.

Irenaeus or Irenaeus, an early church father, Irenaeus, that's modern-day France, wrote of the Nicolaitans that they promoted fornication and compromising a position of eating food sacrificed to idols, leading many into unrestrained carnal lifestyle. Now there's young people in here, so I want to be careful and how I say this. But what he was saying here from France when this early church father Irenaeus was writing this is he was saying they were gathering they were gathering in ways that they were eating food and having sexual morality at the same time. Do you know the word that connotes that like an orgy?

I don't want to speak anymore to these young people, but that's exactly what we're talking about here. And so forgive me if you have a young person here. I I but I can't be handcuffed. I I have to speak the word the way it is. That's what was going on at that time. And he's he's drawing attention to that, that the that lasciviousness, that lifestyle of self-indulgence. That was what was breaking out. Now whichever theory is true, it's certain that the deeds of the Nicolaitans were an abomination of Christ. And those in Ephesus stood up and said, absolutely not here.

It's not going to happen. They like the Gnostics and and other false teachers abuse the doctrine of grace, and they tried to introduce again the salaciousness or lasciviousness in its place. 2 Peter 2:15, Jude verse 4. Jesus was communicating to the Ephesian leadership and church, warning the pastors and leaders to protect Jesus's flock. Right? From who? From those with destructive heresies and to keep his people from doing the same evil deeds. That's why we're still in the present age cuz he's still doing that same thing right now in your hearts here this morning. All sin is hateful to Christ.

Right? There's We need to understand this. We all walked in here. No nobody can walk in here and say, you know what? My sin is is better than your sin or my First of all, doesn't our sin look so much worse on everybody else? I notice that all the time. Your sin's terrible. I look at you guys and I'm like, man, you guys are you're heathens, like right? And you look at me and go, you're the heathen. And you're right. I'm a wretched rag, right? Apart from Christ. And we forget that. We forget that we all fall short of the glory of God.

Like why are we even arguing about sin and like whose sin is worse? And people are on sin hunts and and people are turning around, oh, you're like we have to be somebody else's Holy Spirit. Like Jesus needs us to micromanage the situation. I mean, the ego, the the the arrogance, forgive me. That's that's not what this is about. It's never been about that. The reality is we all fall short of the glory of God. Everyone of us came in here this morning, recognized that we are sinners. And apart from Jesus's grace and his righteousness, there would be no hope.

But because of the work on the cross, we have been forgiven in our overcomers. And last I checked, when you get up to heaven, it's not like, oh, you're going to have a seat here in the section that's for those that were perfect and never sinned. I assure you other than Jesus Christ going, where is everybody? There's nobody going to be sitting in that section. When you get to heaven, you know what you're going to see? Men and women forgiven sinners. That's what occupies heaven, forgiven sinners, not perfect men and women, lest we become legalistic, lest we actually think we can somehow attain that through our legalism, which is just as bad to God, just as hateful to God, just as sinful to God as somebody that is on the other side where grace is abounding for grace's sake.

God doesn't look at it and go, oh, you're trying to be more disciplined, right? You know, I know when we were, maybe you guys, we were going in our relationship with Christ and saying the Bible in our home, we thought maybe we maybe we won't have Christmas trees anymore, right? Maybe maybe we'll maybe we'll get rid of the Christmas trees because we don't want to You know, and I started studying the scriptures and I'm like, why? I mean, I understand the pagan traditions of it, but like like I'm not worshiping the tree. I'm not look just like, you know, Paul said, it's the meat it's not the meat.

He's like, eat dig up, you know, or dig in, excuse me. Eat go ahead. He said if the meat was sacrificed to a pagan idol, who cares? That the meat's not it's an inanimate object. It's dead. Eat it, enjoy, right? Medium rare, right? However you like it, medium well, eat and enjoy. Like that was the whole point. There's nothing sinful within the meat itself. The Christmas tree, there's nothing sinful in itself unless you begin to worship Now Mrs. Morgan was at first service, right? She's one of our teachers in the kindergarten first grade. I love her.

She loves the kids, man. Nobody All the teachers love the the children that way that work in the academy here. They just they love the children more than they love themselves. She she loves the pumpkins cuz she takes them. Sorry, pumpkins. I do it every I in Rochester apparently we don't use M's, so pumpkins we call it instead of pumpkins. Thank you for correcting me on that first service team. So the pumpkins they go out and they as part of their their one of their things they go out and they learn. It's part of what we do in the school is we want a very a hands-on approach to learning.

So we take them out at least four plus times a year. They'll go on all kinds of field trips, learn different things educational. Well, one of the things she brings them out, she goes and they get the pumpkins, and they go to this you know, and they'll bring them back. And And she's like, oh, and she'll do the You know, I I laugh. I I wish she was here. She was here first service to see this. I just looked at her face. She smiled, kind of tilted her head cuz she'll look and she but it's for the children.

If you know Miss Morgan, you know Eleanor, you know how she's got that sweetheart. It's for the children. And it's like the head tilt. It's almost like the little baby. She's like for the No, I'm that's the Italian accent. But she'll do that. She 'll turn around and she'll just And then you feel like horrible when you're like But I'm like But I Miss Morgan, I said, you're right. It's it's for the children. I Let me ask you a question. Is there any other time of year where people collect those pumpkins and they put them on the the door or or the front stoop or is it only at the time cuz I went through the whole jack-o'-lantern thing, right?

And And so she's that's not what we 're doing. She's smart, man. She's like she's got me. I I got to know my scripture around her. I got to She knows her Bible. I got to know my scripture. So I But that's not what we're doing. She she says to me, she goes, no, but And I said, well, what other time of year do we actually put them on the stoop of our houses and then we we turn around and And And what? We we we trick or treat. We start to do things that we shouldn't be doing around Halloween.

People are doing things that aren't good, right? All these other things. Why aren't You know, And I said, so we don't as a church celebrate Halloween. We we have a harvest We do something where we come out, shall we cook off, have the kids have fun, we go out in the back out. We do We want to have fun. We want to have fun, right? And enjoy them. But we we kind of go back and forth and and and she says, no, you're right. You actually never thought about that way. She said, but what about all the Christmas tree?

You guys only bring those in the house in in in December. I said, do we really? Because last I checked, a lot of your houses have trees hanging out in the house. You come by and water them and plant and she I said, but it's for the That's for the You know, we don't we want to be careful, right? We won't We want to make sure we're not following the letter of the law, but losing the spirit of the law. What was the sin of the Sanhedrin? And I just speak to your hearts here this this morning in a way that I hope if you remember one thing through this about leaving your first love.

When you think about what Jesus was trying to communicate to this church, to that church of Ephesus, and I believe to us today, it really comes down to the matter of the heart. When we turn around and we busy ourselves with all these exterior things, but we sacrifice our personal relationship and time with Jesus, we err, no matter how we do it, no matter what the outcome, the end does not justify the means, nor does the mean justify the ends. And so it's really really important when we look at these things that we don't find ourselves just because we're in a Bible-believing church where we study the word of God.

After matter of fact, was that not what Ephesus was known for? For their handling of doctrine and their hating of apostasy and heretical teaching. Yes, it was. Just because the word of God is being taught doesn't mean we all respond to it with love because the error that the Sanhedrin, the Pharisees and Sadducees made, and Jesus was quick to correct them and rebuke them every time. When he would say to them, what the law says that on the Shabbat, Sabbath, you're not to turn around and bring an not to bring and help a human, but you can go and bring your animal out.

And Jesus just looked at him and thought, did you misunderstand everything or misinterpret everything I wrote? When you turn around, you drag this woman out in adultery, but you don't bring the man cuz you know you want to make a public spectacle of her and you don't give any thought to what this woman feels like and what you just did in front of her and from all these people just to prove your point. You've lost it. You've missed it. Because you applied the law, but you did it with a lack of love. And therefore you erred because you didn't apply it correctly.

It's exactly what he says. And which is why in the last days, the hearts of many is going to grow cold. How do you think it's going to permeate the church? Because men and women with cold hearts will come into the church and it'll be the falling away that he talks about. And it'll begin one heart at a time. And the insulation or protection from that is truth and love. Not one or the other. And that's what happened in Ephesus. They were scholarly, they were biblical. I mean, you guys love that. I love that. But if we have not love, we're just clanging brass, clanging cymbals.

All sin is hateful to Christ and his followers. We hate humanity's evil deeds, but we don't hate humanity. We need to pray for the backslidden and the prodigals. It's important. He tells us very clearly in verse 16. Jesus warns unless they repent, unless churches repent that are guilty of this very thing of leaving their first love. They're in danger of the judgment that is sure to fall on those who teach false doctrine. Attack his a church and destroy his people. And look at verse 16. The sword of judgment is poised over their heads. It's the sword of the spirit.

We It's the sword, excuse me, the double-edged sword that we saw coming out of his mouth. His patience is not limitless. The lessons for us is that the church of the Lord Jesus throughout the ages has been plagued by those of a Nicolaitan spirit. The only way to recognize false teaching is to be intimately familiar with truth through the diligent study of the word of God, but not allow our intellect to overpower our hearts either. In verse 7 as we we're getting ready to close this passage and go into our time of communion, Jesus then promises a blessing to those who heed his word because after all, all Jesus ever wants is reconciliation.

He who has an ear, we've heard him say that before in the Gospels. Let him hear what the spirit has to say to the churches. So us today. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life which is in the paradise of God. So what's he saying here? The tree of life in the paradise of God that certainly refers to the new heavens and the new earth that we'll read more about in Revelation chapter 21 and 22. But it's important before we walk out of here going with I don't get it.

What do we do? I mean, Jesus is certainly calling us to be part of the church to do the things and there's yes, volunteers and all the things we need to do. And wait a minute. I'm I'm trying to have that time in my personal life to to to to you know, spend time in the word of God. What does that mean? I need to walk out of here afraid that I'm maybe not saved today or do I need to walk out of here afraid that I'm I'm eternally destined to hell? I want to make sure nobody misunderstands God's word here this morning in regards to this.

Please look at 1 John chapter 5 in your Bibles, verses 4 and 5. When Jesus says in verse 7, I'm just reading Revelation again. He who has an ear, let him hear what the spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give to eat from the tree of life which is in the midst of the paradise of God. He promises. He promises. He who has an ear, let him hear with the spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes. What is an overcomer? I'm really glad you asked that this morning. Those who conquer overcome are simply believers.

They're simply born-again believers. Well, Pastor, you're making that overly simplified, everything we just read. How could that be? I'm glad you asked cuz 1 John chapter 5 gives us the very definition in 4 and 5. For whatever is what? Born of God. What are we talk about born on being a born-again believer, spirit-filled believer? What does he say? Overcomes the world. Is that not Jesus's definition? Did he not give that to John who actually also authored, written through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the book of Revelation? For whoever's born of God overcomes the world.

And this is the victory that has overcome the world. Do you want to know what the victory is? And he says it really clear here. He doesn't say and it's all the great things you do in in service and all the workspace things and all the religion and all the punching of the Sunday ticket and the Wednesday night ticket and everything else. He makes it so simple here. It's not because you keep pumpkins or you don't keep pumpkins. It's not cuz you have Christmas trees or you don't have Christmas trees. It's not because you're on a vegan diet or you're on a, you know, something a Mediterranean diet, right?

He says it's very clear. Our what? Faith. How much simpler can Jesus make it for us? So what is the root of the problem in Ephesus? If we know that the scriptures don't contradict themselves, and 1 John chapter 5 verse 4 and 5 is clearly telling us that whoever's born of God born of God, spirit-filled believer overcomes the world. And this is the victory that who that has overcome the world. Our faith. If he's telling us our faith is the overcomer, right? And it's by faith, our belief in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, then what happened in Ephesus?

Because they were not applying the word of God to their lives correctly. They had it. They had the letter of the law, but they were missing the spirit of because of the lack of love. They were not applying it correctly in their lives, and they forgot their first who? Love. And that's exactly what can happen to you and I. You can be a Christian of 50 years and sitting here and you may know your Bible, and it's yet it's possible that you don't know Jesus. And that should be a wake-up call for every one of us.

Jesus said it's not hard to figure out. You can know them by their fruit. We can't judge the heart, but we can be fruit inspectors. And when we look at the lives, we look at our lives, specifically examining our hearts, is it filled with all this outward action and profession? But yet there's a deadness inside because there's no living water constantly fueling through intimacy of relationship. Because that's not the definition of a born of God who overcomes the world and has faith. It's because of what we believe and who we believe in.

Larry: Thanks for joining us today for His Perfect Love and the message on the church of Ephesus that had left their first love. Pastor Matt VanderVen is leading us through Revelation. And I'll remind you that you can access these messages at His Perfect Love.org, One Place.com, or listen to us wherever you get your podcasts. So Pastor Matt, today you mentioned Calvary Chapel Christian Academy. If there's a parent listening right now that's interested in a little more information about it, where can they turn? And if you had to describe the academy and what goes on there in a few words, what would they be?

Matt VanderVen: Thanks, Larry. The first thing I would do is please ask them to go to CC Harrisburg.org/academy so they can learn more about God's school here in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. We started this academy to provide families with a line-by-line, verse-by-verse Christian education where families could partner with teachers in the pursuit of spiritual and academic excellence. Students are taught from a biblical worldview in all curriculum areas. They're equipped to defend the faith with love and truth. We offer small class sizes with less than 10 children per grade so we can facilitate an immersive academic environment where students can thrive as thought leaders.

And finally, our programs are rigorous. We have loving and encouraging teachers to partner with parents, again coming alongside students to encourage their faith. We offer tuition assistance in the form of scholarships, and we invite parents interested in learning more about Calvary Chapel Christian Academy in Mechanicsburg here. To visit our academy website at CC Harrisburg.org. That's CC Harrisburg.org/academy.

Larry: Again, for more information, just log on to CC Harrisburg.org/academy. And then join us next time when Pastor Matt will pick up where we left off in Revelation here on His Perfect Love.

Guest (Male): This is His Perfect Love.

Larry: His Perfect Love is brought to you by Calvary Chapel Harrisburg West Shore.

Guest (Male): Let the word go out. The perfect love of Christ to shine. Our lives will shout. I am my beloved's and he is mine. Every heart is in His hands. We'll never stop reaching out. This is His Perfect Love. The word goes out. This is what real love looks like. In truth and grace. This is His Perfect Love.