The Seven Churches and the Kingdom Today
Topic: Ephesus: The Works of Ephesus and the Kingdom Today
Scripture: Revelation 2:1-7; Matthew 28:19
Greetings Kingdom Citizens and Sons of God:
Jesus lets the Ephesians know that He knows their works and their labour and their patience. Now I want to deal with just this section of the scripture because Jesus was pleased with Ephesus about the things they were doing. Well we know that to please the Lord, obedience is mandatory, not optional. So for one we know they were fulfilling the Great Commission from Jesus. Matthew 28:19,20:
Go ye therefore, teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.”
So the people at Ephesus were making disciples out of the people that were there. Now you must understand what was going on in Ephesus. We had false god worship, criminal and immoral actions all over the place, but yet the people at Ephesus continued to labour and work to advance the Kingdom of God there. I have no doubt, especially since Paul wrote to them, they had the message of the Kingdom of God going throughout the city.
Now what does that mean for us today? We have become very lazy as it relates to the Great Commission and on some levels we have no clue what the message of the Kingdom of God is. Now how have we become lazy? Well in religious people’s mentality they see the job of the pastor to go out and evangelize and hope that he can bring people into the church. In turn we have turned to t.v. and called ourselves supporting someone else’s ministry and put our beliefs in them to spread the gospel. Now do not get me wrong, few people on t.v. are really teaching the Kingdom and House of God and really living the truth of Christ but the majority of them are false teachers and prophets just taking people for their money. Is there anything wrong with supporting a ministry that is advancing the Kingdom? No. However, that does not delegate your responsibility because as a child of God and citizen of the Kingdom, the King, Jesus Christ, has commissioned all of His brothers and sisters to go and teach all nations. As a young man in ministry I can tell you and many others who are truly doing ministry know it is an extremely trying calling but one that is so fulfilling when you see others growing in Christ and coming to Christ. But it requires us to go out into the vineyard and work.
What is sad is that for many people, they expect others to do the work while they sit back come to church, do nothing, call themselves saved and wait to see if they go to heaven. Well, what makes them think that they are going to get anything if they do not do anything? Let’s think through this. A sensible father does not reward a child that does absolutely nothing for him, so what makes us think that God, the Everlasting Father will give us anything if we do not be obedient and do not do anything? Jesus was pleased with Ephesus because of the works they did and their patience in the work.
In the next message we will look at being patient in the work of the Lord.
At the Father’s Service,
Elder Calvin Calhoun Jr.
