Fish for People | A Sermon on Matthew 4:19

Matthew 4:19
In Matthew 4:19, Jesus called his first disciples.  Matthew 4:19 – Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!”

Fish for People
This wasn’t just a call for the first disciples.  It’s a call Jesus gives to all of us.  To fish for people means to join Jesus in His mission of drawing others into God’s Kingdom through our witness, love, service, and proclamation of the gospel.

Jesus taught His disciples to fish by doing it.  Let’s look at a few examples of Jesus fishing for people. 

Jesus calling the disciples (Matthew 4:18-22) – Jesus meets fishermen where they are and uses their own experience to invite them into a new kind of fishing.  You have to understand people's lives and the needs and struggles and meet them where they are.  As Jesus called the disciples to be “fishers of people,” He didn’t just walk up randomly and make the invitation. He had watched these fishermen—He knew their daily lives, their routines, and their struggles. He understood what their work meant to them. Then He took something familiar—their skill in fishing—and gave it a greater, kingdom-minded purpose. Jesus said, in effect, “This thing you’ve been doing, I’m inviting you to do it in a whole new way. Not to catch fish, but to reach people. And I will show you how to do it.”  

The Woman at the Well (John 4) – Jesus engaged in personal conversation and drew the Samaritan woman to faith.  Here we see that Jesus isn’t just reaching out to people like Him—Galileans who grew up in the same region, or fellow Jews of the same background. Instead, He crosses cultural and social boundaries to speak with someone considered an outsider, someone others would have avoided. Jesus walks through Samaria, sits by a well, and notices a woman coming to draw water in the heat of the day. Why is she here now, when no one else is? Why not in the cool of the morning? He sees her situation, understands her deeper story, and begins a one-on-one conversation. Through truly seeing her and knowing her, He leads her to faith.

Feeding the Five Thousand (Mark 6:30-44) – Jesus includes the disciples in the act of caring for the crowd, showing them that “fishing” can also mean meeting practical needs that open hearts.  Jesus says, “I want you to take care of these people’s practical needs. They’ve been with us all day, and they’re hungry.” The disciples want to send them away, but Jesus responds, “You give them something to eat.” They’re confused—“How can we possibly feed them?”—and then He shows them how, performing His miraculous work. In doing this, Jesus teaches His disciples, and us, that fishing for people often begins with meeting practical needs. If someone is hungry, homeless, or without clothing, how can they truly hear about eternal life until their immediate needs are met? Care for their physical needs first, and hearts will be open to receive the hope of Christ.

Sending out the Twelve & the 72
Jesus didn’t just show the disciples how to fish for people by doing it all Himself.  He challenged the disciples to get out in the world and do some fishing themselves.  In Matthew 10:1-15, Jesus sends the 12 disciples out to practice preaching, healing, and proclaiming the Kingdom.  In Luke 10:1-20, He sent a broader group of 72 disciples out to share the message, showing that “fishing” is a task for all followers, not just the original twelve.

And the disciples learned well.  By the time we get to Acts 2, we see Peter preaching in Jerusalem and leading 3,000 people to believe in Jesus and be baptized.  But it wasn’t just about big numbers.  Every single person was important to the disciples because every person belongs in God’s Kingdom.  That’s why I love the story of Philip.  The story is found in Act 8:26-40, but let me summarize it.

It’s the story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch. The eunuch was a high official, the treasurer to the queen of Ethiopia, riding in his chariot on the road home from Jerusalem. He had gone there to worship, but because he was a eunuch, the Law of Moses said he could not fully participate in the temple. So here he is, hungry to know God, yet feeling excluded. As he rides, he’s reading aloud from the prophet Isaiah about the Suffering Servant—someone who was despised and disfigured—and he’s wondering what it all means.

Meanwhile, the Holy Spirit tells Philip, “Go to that chariot.” Philip runs alongside and hears the eunuch reading Isaiah. He asks, “Do you understand what you’re reading?” The eunuch replies, “How can I, unless someone explains it?” He invites Philip into the chariot, and Philip begins to share the good news: this prophecy is about Jesus, the Messiah, who gave His life so that all may be welcomed into God’s family. No barrier from your past, no wound, no exclusion can keep you out—because through Jesus, you are made whole.

The eunuch hears this, sees some water by the road, and says, “Look, here’s water. What’s to stop me from being baptized?” And in that moment, he is baptized into the family of Christ—fully included, fully loved, fully His.

Whether it was the 3,000 who responded to Peter’s preaching, or the one man Philip led to Christ, the disciples were faithfully doing it. They had learned well what it meant to fish for people.

Other Aspects of Fishing
It occurs to me that there’s a lot more to fishing than just the moment you cast out your nets.  My brother-in-law Joey is one of the best fishermen I know. Anytime we go to the beach on vacation, I get excited because I know Joey will be there—and that means we’re going to catch fish. Now, Joey isn’t necessarily better at casting a line or reeling in a fish than I am. I know how to rig the hooks, cast accurately, and set the hook just right. I’m as good at the mechanics of fishing as he is.

But here’s what makes Joey a great fisherman: he starts fishing long before we ever get to the beach. Months in advance, he’s studying the tides, the kinds of fish in season, the best times of day, and the best spots to fish. He asks around, gathers information, and prepares. By the time we show up, Joey knows exactly what bait to use, where to cast, and what to expect. I just get to do the fun part—cast the line and reel them in—because Joey has already done the hard work.

On top of that, Joey knows what kind of fish we’re catching, whether they’re keepers, how to clean them, and how to cook them. That’s what makes him an excellent fisherman—it’s not just the moment of casting a line, but the preparation, knowledge, and care that go into it.

Now let’s take that idea into our spiritual call to be fishers of people. Too often, when we think about fishing for men and women, we only think about the moment itself: What am I going to say? Will I know what to do? But real fishing begins long before the moment of encounter.

We prepare by spending time with Jesus, reading His Word, and letting Him shape us. That way, when we come alongside someone—like Philip with the Ethiopian eunuch—we’re ready. He just “happened” to be reading Isaiah, and Philip was able to say, “I know what that’s about.” That didn’t happen by accident; it was God at work in both of them. And God can do the same in you.

You may think, I don’t know the Bible well enough. But here’s the truth: you don’t have to know it all. God knows what’s coming. He may nudge you today to read Isaiah 40, and you might not know why. But four weeks later, you’ll find yourself in a dentist’s waiting room, and someone will bring it up—and suddenly you’ll realize God had you preparing for that moment all along.

It’s like maintaining your fishing gear. I’ve been there: I show up at the beach, throw my line out, and the reel locks up because I never cleaned it from last year. Is your spiritual life like that? When someone opens their heart and says, “My wife just told me she wants a divorce, and I don’t know what to do,” do you freeze up? Or are you ready because you’ve been walking with the Lord, keeping your nets clean and your heart prepared?

And fishing doesn’t end with the first catch. When someone says, “I’m coming to church with you Sunday,” don’t just say, “Great, see you there.” Meet them on the front porch. Walk in with them. Sit beside them. Help them find a small group, a class, or a place to serve. If they love to sing, introduce them to the choir. That’s what it means to cast the net and to follow through.

Fishing for people is so much more than one moment. It’s preparing beforehand, being ready in the moment, and walking with people afterward. That’s the full picture of what Jesus calls us to.

Essential: Casting Our Nets
Preparation is important—but at some point, you have to cast the net. You can do everything right beforehand, but if you never cast, you’ll never catch.

Jesus called His disciples to be “fishers of people,” and that same call comes to us today. So, let me ask you—who are you fishing for? Who in your life needs to experience God’s love, hear the good news, or see faith lived out through your example? Every one of us has family, friends, neighbors, or coworkers who need the hope of Christ. Following Jesus means not just being caught by His grace, but also casting our nets wide so that others might be drawn into His Kingdom.

World Communion Sunday
The disciples’ faithfulness in becoming fishers of people led to the rapid expansion of the Christian Church. As more and more people became followers of Christ, they too became fishers of people. Being fishers of people is not optional—it is essential. Any generation that fails in this calling faces decline and eventual death. But faithful disciples across the centuries have carried the gospel, and now followers of Christ are found in every corner of the globe. Today, on World Communion Sunday, we celebrate this witness to the spread of the faith. Though we speak different languages, eat different foods, and live in different nations, we are united as part of Jesus’ fishing crew—bound together by His sacrifice and the power of His resurrection. World Communion reminds us that all Christians are interconnected, breaking down denominational and cultural barriers. It is also a call for us to remember our mission to be fishers of people. What our world, our country, and our community need now more than ever is to live out the principles of forgiveness, grace, love, sacrifice, and service that Christ taught us. This is the only hope for our world.  Will you answer Christ’s invitation:  “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!”

I Will Show You How To... | A Sermon on Matthew 4:19

Introduction
It’s an incredible time to be alive if you like to learn and do things yourself.  There are so many resources available to us.  With YouTube, you can look up almost anything and there’s probably someone with a YouTube video to show you how to do it step by step. 

If you want to know how to fix a leaky faucet in your shower, there’s a video for that. Need to change the starter on your 2016 Toyota Camry? There’s a video that shows you how to do that too.

Find yourself in a stressful situation at work? There’s even a Navy SEAL who has a video on how to deal with stress—and I’m sure they know a thing or two about that.

Have you ever dropped your phone in the bathtub or the pool? You need to know what to do because you can’t afford to buy another $1,000 phone. There’s a video that will tell you how to dry it out and clean it up.

Need to know how to study Matthew 4:19? There’s a video for that as well. In fact, I’ve already posted two—this one will be up tomorrow, and there’ll be another one next week. And of course, there are probably a thousand other preachers out there doing the same thing.

So yes, there are all kinds of resources available—videos to show you how to do just about anything. But here’s the problem with YouTube: you have to be careful who you trust. Anybody can post a video, even if they don’t actually know what they’re talking about. Someone might tell you how to change the starter on your Camry, but if they don’t really know, you could end up doing it wrong—or even blowing up your car!  So you have to be wise, check your sources, and find the right ones that are truly helpful.

Why am I telling you this? Because today we see the “how-to” statement in Jesus’ invitation. We’ve been looking at Matthew 4:19.

Matthew 4:19
¹⁹ Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!”

One of the things that set Jesus apart from other spiritual leaders of His day was Jesus showed His followers how to do stuff.  While other rabbis would sit down with students in a classroom and teach from a book, Jesus took His disciples out into the real world and showed them how to live for God.

If Jesus Had A YouTube Channel
Some of the things Jesus showed His disciples how to do were:

How to Love and Forgive:
Jesus showed them how to love their neighbors and even their enemies. He taught them about forgiveness and demonstrated it on the cross by forgiving those who crucified Him (Luke 23:34).

How to Pray:
Jesus didn’t just tell them to pray; He showed them how. He gave them the Lord’s Prayer as a model (Matthew 6:9-13) and demonstrated a life of prayer in all circumstances.

How to Serve with Humility:
Jesus washed His disciples’ feet (John 13:1-17), showing them that true greatness is found in humble service. He lived out a servant-hearted life and invited them to do the same.

How to Trust God in Difficult Times:
Whether calming a storm (Mark 4:35-41) or facing His own crucifixion, Jesus showed them what it means to trust the Father fully.

Jesus’ Invitation to You
But Jesus’ invitation in Matthew 4:19 wasn’t just for the 12 Disciples 2,000 years ago.  It’s the same invitation He gives you today.  Come, follow me, and I will show you how to…

Unfortunately, Jesus doesn’t have a YouTube Channel, but He does have a Holy Bible, and it is full of His wisdom and practical lessons that show us how to live for Him.  We should definitely read it and study it and puzzle over it.
Don’t get sidetracked by puzzling questions like how did Noah fit all the animals on the Ark or how did God split apart the Red Sea.  I would encourage you to focus on the real life practical lessons of Jesus like:  How to forgive, how to pray, how to serve, and how to trust God in hard times.  These are the lessons that will truly draw you closer to God and help change the world.

So we have the Bible where Jesus teaches us How To, but we can’t forget the other part of the formula.  We have to get out there and do it.

Jesus’ lessons to His Disciples and to us must be practiced in the real world.  This is not head knowledge.  This is heart knowledge.  It’s meant to change your heart.  And it has to be practices with your hands and feet.  Let’s take one example.

“The greatest among you will be your servant.”
When Jesus taught His Disciples about serving, He got down on His knees and washing their feet.  He taught them while showing them.  And then He told them to do the same thing.  He said, “The greatest among you will be your servant.”

In order to truly follow Jesus and learn from Him, you must do the things He showed us how to do in the Bible.  Following Jesus isn’t an accumulation of head knowledge.  Following Jesus means letting Him transform your heart and your life.  As you practice what He preached, your attitudes and behaviors begin to change.  You become more like Him.  It doesn’t happen overnight.  But the more you live like Him over the course of your life, the more you begin to reflect His character to the world around you.

Think of the disciples: they didn’t become “fishers of people” on day one. They stumbled, they doubted, they failed—but little by little, as they walked with Jesus, He transformed their hearts. The same is true for us.

This is the process of discipleship: Jesus says, “Come, follow Me, and I will show you how…” If you keep walking with Him, He will show you how to forgive when it’s hard, how to serve when it costs you something, how to trust when the storm rages, how to love when it feels impossible.

And here’s the best part: you don’t do it alone. His Spirit lives within you, shaping you, guiding you, strengthening you every step of the way.

Conclusion & Invitation
So today, the question is simple: Will you let Jesus show you how?

• How to forgive that person you’ve been holding a grudge against.
• How to serve quietly when no one else notices.
• How to pray with trust instead of fear.
• How to love someone you think doesn’t deserve it.
• Or something else (there are a lot of lessons He showed us in His Bible)

This is what it means to be His disciple—not just to know about Him, but to let Him transform your heart and your life.  So here’s Jesus’ invitation, still echoing after 2,000 years: “Come, follow Me, and I will show you how…”  Will you take Him up on it today?

Philadelphia - Hold on to What You Have | A Sermon on Revelation 3:7-13

Introduction
In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."

This is both an exclusive statement and an open invitation. It’s exclusive because anyone who refuses Jesus cannot come to God or Heaven. But it’s open to everyone, because anyone who chooses to come through Jesus is welcome.

This same Jesus spoke to seven churches in ancient Turkey. Today, we look at what He said to the church in Philadelphia—a small, weak church.

Revelation 3:7-13
⁷ “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Philadelphia.

This is the message from the one who is holy and true,
    the one who has the key of David.
What he opens, no one can close;
    and what he closes, no one can open:^[c]

⁸ “I know all the things you do, and I have opened a door for you that no one can close. You have little strength, yet you obeyed my word and did not deny me. ⁹ Look, I will force those who belong to Satan’s synagogue—those liars who say they are Jews but are not—to come and bow down at your feet. They will acknowledge that you are the ones I love.

¹⁰ “Because you have obeyed my command to persevere, I will protect you from the great time of testing that will come upon the whole world to test those who belong to this world. ¹¹ I am coming soon.^[d] Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take away your crown. ¹² All who are victorious will become pillars in the Temple of my God, and they will never have to leave it. And I will write on them the name of my God, and they will be citizens in the city of my God—the new Jerusalem that comes down from heaven from my God. And I will also write on them my new name.

¹³ “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches.

The Key of David
In the opening lines, Jesus—holy and true—says He holds the “key of David.” This means He has full authority to give people access to God and His Kingdom. He welcomes all who truly belong to God.
If you follow Jesus as Lord and Saviot, if you've truly repented of your sins and follow Him, He welcomes you into the Kingdom of God.  And He has the key to let you in!
But the thing about keys is, the both unlock and lock the door.  And whether it is a good thing that a door is locked or unlocked depends on what side of the door you are on.  You don't want to be locked out of the Kingdom.  But once you are inside the Kingdom, it is a really good thing for the door to be locked behind you so you are protected from the evil locked outside.

The Synagogue of Satan
In the first century, Jewish people proudly claimed to be God’s chosen people. But many rejected Jesus, God’s Son and the promised Messiah. Even worse, they opposed Christians who followed and served Him. They believed the claim that Jesus was the Messiah was false and even blasphemous. They thought Christianity was a dangerous break from Judaism, especially because Christians welcomed Gentiles into God’s family without making them follow Jewish traditions.

Early Christians were sometimes accused before local authorities of being troublemakers or heretics, which hurt their reputations and could lead to being excluded from their communities, losing income, or even facing legal punishment.

Jesus said they were “liars who claim to be Jews but are not.” He called them a “synagogue of Satan,” meaning they were a group of people working against God and His Kingdom.

Jesus promised that one day He would humble the “synagogue of Satan,” making them bow at the feet of the Christians in Philadelphia and admit that God loves them as His chosen people.

The Great Tribulation
In verse 10, Jesus talks about something that many end-times teachers and so-called prophets love to discuss—the Tribulation. He says, “Because you have obeyed my command to persevere, I will protect you from the great time of testing that will come upon the whole world to test those who belong to this world.”

The “Great Tribulation,” which Jesus warned about in Matthew 24:21 and Mark 13:19, will be unlike anything the world has ever seen—worse than anything before, and never to be repeated. Over time, so much has been said about it that the phrase has even made its way into popular culture.

For about the last 200 years, many Christians have believed that believers will be taken from the earth before the Tribulation begins (a view called the pre-tribulation rapture). But for most of church history, Christians were taught they would go through the Tribulation before Jesus returns. So a big question remains: Will Christians escape it, or will we have to endure it?

Sometimes, as comfortable American Christians, we might think we’ll be spared from any real trouble—especially if we believe we’ll be raptured before things get bad. But many of our brothers and sisters around the world already face intense persecution for their faith. They’ve been beaten, imprisoned, and even killed for following Jesus.

Whether or not we escape the Great Tribulation, the Bible calls us to be ready, to trust Jesus no matter what, and to stay faithful even when life is hard. Our hope isn’t in avoiding trouble—it’s in Jesus, who promises to be with us through it all. 

Thyatira - The Danger of Tolerance | A Sermon on Revelation 3:18-29

Introduction
Have you ever been part of something that started out so well—full of love, faith, and good intentions—but over time started drifting in the wrong direction? That’s the story of the church in Thyatira. They were growing, serving, and enduring—but they were also tolerating serious compromise.

Today, we’re going to look at what Jesus says to this church, how He calls them back to truth, and the incredible promise He gives to those who remain faithful—even in the dark.

Let’s listen closely to Jesus, whose eyes are like flames of fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze.

Revelation 2:18-29
¹⁸ “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Thyatira. This is the message from the Son of God, whose eyes are like flames of fire, whose feet are like polished bronze:

¹⁹ “I know all the things you do. I have seen your love, your faith, your service, and your patient endurance. And I can see your constant improvement in all these things.

²⁰ “But I have this complaint against you. You are permitting that woman—that Jezebel who calls herself a prophet—to lead my servants astray. She teaches them to commit sexual sin and to eat food offered to idols. ²¹ I gave her time to repent, but she does not want to turn away from her immorality.

²² “Therefore, I will throw her on a bed of suffering,^[c] and those who commit adultery with her will suffer greatly unless they repent and turn away from her evil deeds. ²³ I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches out the thoughts and intentions of every person. And I will give to each of you whatever you deserve.

²⁴ “But I also have a message for the rest of you in Thyatira who have not followed this false teaching (‘deeper truths,’ as they call them—depths of Satan, actually). I will ask nothing more of you ²⁵ except that you hold tightly to what you have until I come. ²⁶ To all who are victorious, who obey me to the very end,

To them I will give authority over all the nations.
²⁷ They will rule the nations with an iron rod
    and smash them like clay pots.^[d]

²⁸ They will have the same authority I received from my Father, and I will also give them the morning star!

²⁹ “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches.

Jesus Sees Who We Really Are

Here we have Jesus, the son of God, the one who has flaming eyes, which means that he can see into our very soul down into the depths beyond the persona that we put on and the masks that we wear. He sees down into our hearts who we really are and why we do what we do. And it says that he has feet of bronze, meaning that he stands firm on eternal

truth that does not change with the whims of society around us that says one thing is fine is is abhorrent, you know, in one decade and then in  another decade they say that it's fine. It's okay. But Jesus' teachings and his character and his  expectations do not change. They do not change with the whims of society, but they are eternal.

Jesus Commends Thyatira

Jesus commends the people of Thyatira. He commends them for their love and their faith and their service and their patient endurance. Despite the troubles that they face and the persecution and the darkness that is around them, they continue to be loving, faithful people who serve. And that's a

wonderful thing to commend them for. And not only are they doing those things, but he also commends them for their constant improvement in these things. So, they don't settle for just doing them.  They are getting better and better and better at them. And I like that because I'm a Methodist and Methodist, we want to uh emphasize this is I think the gift that Methodism brings to the Christian world. We emphasize sanctification, growing in perfection and holiness or as some people would put it becoming more and more like Christ. And the people of Thyatira were doing that. They were growing in sanctification, becoming holier and holier, more and more like Christ, which we should always seek to do. Not just settling for salvation.  "I have received Christ and I know I'm going to heaven."  Well, that's wonderful. But we should also become more and more like Christ and grow in holiness.

Tolerating Sin in the Church
Jesus commends them. But He also corrects them. He tells them you are tolerating sin in your church and that is not a good thing. He's not happy about that. Now we talk a lot about tolerance. Tolerance can be a good thing or it can be a bad thing. Tolerance is a buzzword that we hear a lot in our world today. And it's important because we live in America which is a melting pot of all kinds of different people. And when different people all live together, we have to learn tolerance so that we can tolerate different ways of thinking and speaking.  And we have to do that. And it's a good thing when we're thinking about it in those terms. But when it comes to being a church, we have to hold to the firm teachings of Jesus Christ.  In the world around us, we can't expect everyone to believe and act the way we do as Christians. I mean, recognize that according to surveys that only about 62% of Americans claim to be Christians. And that's not asking them like, "Do they believe a certain set of beliefs?"  That's just them saying of themselves, "Yes, I'm a Christian." Only 62%. That means around 40% don't claim to follow Christ, don't go to church, don't claim to believe the way we do. We can't expect them to  follow Christian rules if they don't even identify themselves as Christian. We have to learn to tolerate and let you know people live the way they're going to live. But if someone says that they're a Christian, then we have to hold them to a higher standard. We have to hold ourselves to a higher standard. And what is the standard according to our faith?  Everything that we believe and how we act is based on  God's holy word in the Scripture. And so we have to study this. We have to know it and we have to hold firm to it. We cannot tolerate beliefs that are contrary to Scripture. Now, there might be different ways of interpreting it. Our Baptist friends across the street may look at baptism differently than we do as Methodists. That's okay. We can allow for that different interpretations based on the same scripture. But as Christians altogether, there must be some things that we cannot compromise.  And the church in  Thyatira, Jesus says, was tolerating false teaching in their midst and false teachers.  It almost reminds me of some of the things that we hear in our world today. These false teachers in Thyatira would say they were teaching "deeper truths". They were looking at those who were holding to the the biblical way of thinking and Jesus' teaching. And the false teachers said, "Well, we have a 'deeper truth'. Those views in the Scripture, they're kind of old and outdated. We've discovered a higher path, a deeper truth." 

Jesus says their deeper truth is actually depths of Satan. Depths of Satan! He says it because it's not truth.  It it's trying to rewrite what God has said and twist it and say that any of the ones who were holding firm to the Scripture is just old and outdated and obsolete.  

We have already talked about sexual immorality. Other churches that Jesus wrote letters to were struggling with sexual immorality. And this was common because the pagans around them practiced all kinds of different sexual immorality. And so the Christians within the church were constantly being tempted to do what everyone else was doing. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? In the world we live in, I don't have to tell you the ideas of our society about human sexuality have changed a lot through the decades and Pleasant Grove Methodist has already made our decision as a church to stand firm on traditional, biblical orthodox Christina teaching.  And so what we know believe and where we are going and I don't  want to a horse that's already dead.

But those in Thyatira were also struggling with teachers who were telling them to compromise about idol worship. And that's what I want to focus a little bit more on today. What is idol worship?

Modern Idol Worship
The common way that we look idolatry is someone bowing down to worship an idol or a statue or a false god. And that was certainly the case sometimes in the ancient world.  But the problem for Christians in the first century was sometimes more nuanced.  

The majority of people that lived in Thyatira were not Christians. They were pagans. And they worshiped gods and had religious festivals. And they sacrificed animals to their pagan idols. And then they would have a festival and eat the meat of the sacrificed animals. And who doesn't love a good steak or a good hamburger?  And so these Christians were smelling this wonderful meat roasting. And maybe their pagan neighbor was bringing home some leftovers from the feast and offering it to their Christian neighbors. And the Christians were faced with a dilemma. Should I eat this meat that has been sacrificed to a false god, to an idol? And what does that say if I do?  By partaking of that food, they were not only eating food that had been sacrificed to an idol, but it was sort of making a statement to their neighbor who was a pagan that they also were participating in this religious ritual of eating meat that had been sacrificed to an idol. 

And Christians around the ancient world had already had a big council in Jerusalem decades before and discussed this and agreed Christians should not eat meat sacrificed to idols, consume blood, or participate in sexual immorality.  

But there were some in the church of Thyatira that were saying "No, it's okay to do it."
Jesus was not okay with their false teaching.

Well, that was what they struggled with in the first century. We don't really have that problem today.  I don't know of anybody who is sacrificing meat to idols. Is that something that you deal with on a regular basis? I don't think so.

So, does that mean we don't struggle with idolatry today?  Absolutely not.  We we struggle with idolatry even more in other ways.

We studied a great book called, Counterfeit Gods on a Wednesday night here at the church about 10 years ago. It's by the late, great Timothy Keller--a wonderful preacher, teacher, Presbyterian

actually. He had some a really good points about idolatry and what that means in the modern context.  Timothy Keller defines idolatry as anything that is more important to you than God,
anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God,
or anything you seek to give you what only God can give.

And I think this is something people today right here in Dalton, Georgia, struggle with a lot all the time.  We are constantly being tempted to put something else before God or to expect other things besides God to fulfill us in ways that only God can. And so the questions I would put before you three question today as you consider whether or not you personally are struggling with idolatry.

First, what if anything is more important to you than God?  And that could be anything.
Second, what if anything absorbs your heart and imagination more than God?
Third, who or what, if anything, are you seeking to give you what only God can give?

And when we're thinking of idols and idolatry, it's not necessarily a bad thing that becomes an idol in our lives.  A lot of times it is a very good thing, but it becomes bad for us because we treat it as the ultimate thing.

So I'll just give you one example.  Our children.
We love our children and we're supposed to love our children. For many of us, they're the most  important thing in our life. But listen to what I just said. Are your children or your grandchildren the most important thing in your life?  

That sounds good. And the world would say they should be the most important thing in your life.  But they cannot be more important than God because your children cannot fulfill you in ways that only God can. 

And as a matter of fact, if you try to use your children to fulfill you as if they were God, that's not fair to them. That's putting a burden on them that they cannot fulfill. 

How awful if you're doing that to your spouse or your job or your church or your pastor or your friend or anything.  They cannot be God for you.  It's not fair to expect created things to be God for you. That is idolatry and it is a sin. And sin not only hurts you, but it hurts the one whom you are treating as an idol.

Now, most of us would not say or think consciously, "I put this thing above God."
We don't think about things that way.  But you have to ask yourself the honest question, Where are you really keeping your treasure?"  

You know what Jesus said? When He was teaching about money, which is a common idol for people, He said, "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

You can look at your bank account. What do you spend most of your money on?  That's an indication of what you highly value. What do you spend most of your time on? That is an indication of what you highly value. What do you spend most of your energy on? That is a top priority in your life.

And of course we know intellectually, logically, that God is supposed to be the most important thing for us or else we have broken one of the first commandments:  "Thou shalt have no other gods before me."

So we have to ask ourselves and we have to think honestly as we evaluate our life and our spirit.  Is God really first or are we guilty like the people of Thyatira of worshiping an idol?

Now sometimes we can't answer those questions for ourselves. We have a way of rationalizing things in our own mind and that's why it is important that we are part of a Christian community with other people who we give permission to hold us accountable. Do you have a friend, a partner in Christ in whom you can confide and whom you can trust with the wisdom and the permission to share with you how you're struggling?

You know, I was thinking about it.  It's kind of tricky, isn't it? I mean, if somebody comes to you, even if it's somebody in the church you like, and they come to you and they say, "Amy, you know, I just want to tell you I love you and I see you struggling this, this, and this."

If someone says that, immediately we're like, "Well, who asked you!  Mind your own business!"
Well, I thought about that and I said, "You know, perhaps we should give someone permission to say those things by asking them."

Perhaps this week you should go to someone that you truly trust and and look up to as a Christian with wisdom and ask them ask them, "Hey, I want to grow in holiness. I want to become more like Christ, but I can't always see my own faults. So, I'm asking you, what do you see in me? What's one thing that you see in me that I need to work on?"

Boy, that's getting real, isn't it?  See, this holiness thing, this growing and becoming more like Christ,  it's serious.  The Christian life. It's not all about just coming to church and hearing an awesome song by the choir and getting goosebumps. That's the fun part.

But the challenging part, the real part, is where we grow.  Jesus commended the people of Thyatira for growing and he challenged them about idolatry.

What would He say to us today?   

Jesus’ Message to the Faithful

Jesus said, "The faithful will rule the nations with the authority of Christ." This is a quote from Psalm 2:9 where it's talking about how David is going to rule as king. But he's also mysteriously talking about the Messiah who will rule for all time. And it's also talking about the kingdom of Israel and the people of Christ, us, the faithful, who will rule the nations with all authority.

This is God's ultimate vision for His people, that we would rule over the nations.  What is it that God told Adam and Eve? He said, "You will rule over the birds of the air and the fish of the sea and the animals of the land." It's the wonderful privilege God invited humanity into.  He invites us, even though we were made from the dirt, to be co-rulers with Him over all creation.  

Ultimately, this is God's plan for us to return to this. We're not just going to be in heaven playing harps. We're going to rule over the all creation with God.  We will have the same authority as Christ. 

And Jesus also says, "I will also give those who remain faithful a morning star." And I love that. Always wondered it meant. So I looked into it and it makes a lot of sense. 

The first star you see in the morning after it's been dark all night is the morning star.  What a beautiful image for these people of Thyatira struggling by being a tiny minority of faithful godly people in a pagan society. Darkness is all around.  Persecution  is heavy. People being arrested, tortured, and murdered because they believe in Jesus Christ. It was very, very dark. And Jesus says, "Just hang on. If you'll just hang on through the darkness, I will give you the morning star." 

It's kind of like that saying "The light at the end of the tunnel." The morning star is that first star that you see right before the darkness is over. Right before the darkness fades away, I will give you that morning star. 

But it goes even deeper than that. Jesus actually said in Revelation 22:16, "I am the bright morning star." So he's saying, "If you'll just hang on, then you will have me." When you cling to Christ in the darkness, He will be there when the darkness ends.  And He will continue to be your light and your hope and your forever king. 

So if you're facing darkness, if you're facing some kind of suffering, hang on!  Because guess what? Jesus has already won the victory and you will win the victory, too. 

Now, some people say, "Well, I'm sick. What if I die? Does that mean that I didn't win the victory?"

And that's the beautiful thing of our Christian faith. Even if you die, you still have the victory because it's not over.  This life will come and go for all of us. Even if you never struggle with cancer or kidney disease or lymphoma or anything, everyone faces death.

But the Morning Star, comes when the darkness is over and the darkness will end.
The darkness of this world will end. And then there will be the Morning Star and light eternal as we walk with Christ and rule with Christ over all creation for all eternity. 

Conclusion & Closing Challenge
We live in a world not so different from Thyatira’s. There is pressure to compromise—on truth, on holiness, on what it means to be faithful to Jesus. Sometimes it doesn’t come with loud rebellion but with a quiet tolerance of sin, false teaching, or the idea that deeper spiritual “truths” can somehow bend God’s Word.

 But Jesus sees. His eyes are like flames of fire, burning through every appearance and straight to the heart. He sees your love, your service, your faith, your perseverance—and He also calls you to holiness. 

So I ask you today:

• Is there anything you've begun to tolerate that Jesus would call you to turn away from?
• Are you holding fast to Christ in both your heart and your actions?
• Are you walking in the light, even when the world feels dark?

Because here’s the promise: if you stay faithful—even when it’s hard, even when others fall away—you will reign with Christ. You’ll share in His authority. And best of all, you’ll receive the Morning Star. You’ll receive Jesus Himself.

So hold on. The night is almost over. The Morning Star is rising. Stay faithful—and you will shine with Him.

Ephesus - Remember Your First Love | A Sermon on Revelation 2:1-7

Introduction
Well, it's good to be back with you, but I want to especially thank Sherry Dixon for speaking last Sunday. I got to listen to the message online, and it was a wonderful message—really good information—and she spoke with such clarity. I hope that it was helpful to you.

Thank you, Sherry, for taking the time to prepare and present that. If you missed her message, you should really go and check it out. She talks about the different kinds of judgment found in Scripture. Even people who have been studying the Bible for a long time don't always have clarity about what the Bible means when it talks about judgment.

There are different kinds of judgment, and they affect us in different ways depending on the context and our relationship with Christ. We need to know that. I encourage you to go on Facebook and find the message—it’s on the church page. You can read it, listen to it, or watch the video.

It goes along well with the series we started a couple of weeks ago on the Seven Churches of Revelation. (Remember, “Revelation” has no “s” at the end—it’s one Revelation.)

The book of Revelation was written by the Apostle John—the beloved apostle—while he was in exile on the island of Patmos. The Lord gave him a vision and told him to write it down and share it. Part of what he shared were seven letters to seven churches—churches full of persecuted Christians living in the first century. These were words meant to encourage them and to correct them when they were going astray.

Today we’ll read the first letter, written to the church in Ephesus. But before we read it, let’s review a few important symbols from Revelation so we understand what we’re reading.

Review Symbolism
First: The Seven Lampstands. In the vision, Jesus showed John seven golden lampstands. These represent the seven churches He was addressing—churches meant to shine God’s light in a dark world. Despite the persecution and evil happening all around them, they were called to burn brightly for Christ.

Second: The Son of Man walking among the lampstands. This figure represents Jesus Himself. He is not far off—He is walking among His people, among His churches.

And remember, “church” here doesn’t mean a building. These first-century churches often didn’t even have a building. The church is the people—the body of believers. If something happened and this building we’re in were washed away, God forbid, we would still be the church.

Third: The Seven Stars. These are held in Jesus' right hand and represent the “angels” of the churches—likely meaning the pastors or spiritual leaders. Jesus holds these leaders in His hand, meaning He protects, shelters, and guides them.

Revelation 2:1-7
¹ “To the angel^[a] of the church in Ephesus write:  [I think the angel in this case, is the leader(s)]

These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. ² 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. ³ You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.

⁴ Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. ⁵ 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. ⁶ But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

⁷ 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.

The City of Ephesus
Ephesus was a major port city in what is today modern-day Turkey—one of the largest and most influential cities in the Roman Empire. It was a commercial hub, wealthy, and bustling with trade. It was also home to the Temple of Artemis, which was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

But Ephesus was also a city full of idol worship, immorality, and spiritual darkness. Yet in that same city, there was a strong Christian presence.

Paul the Apostle planted the church in Ephesus and stayed there for two years, shepherding and teaching the new believers. Later, Timothy—Paul’s young protégé—served as pastor of that church. Paul wrote two New Testament letters to Timothy while he was there.

According to tradition, the Apostle John—the same John who received and recorded the Revelation—also lived in Ephesus. Remember, John was the disciple to whom Jesus entrusted the care of His mother, Mary. Many believe John cared for Mary in Ephesus until he was exiled to Patmos. Some traditions even say Mary died there.

So this letter is written to a spiritually rich and well-established church, but also a church surrounded by intense pressure and cultural compromise.

Jesus Commends Ephesus
Jesus praises the believers in Ephesus for several things:

1. Hard work and perseverance – They stayed faithful even under persecution.

2. Rejecting wickedness and false teachers – They held tightly to truth and doctrine.

3. Enduring hardship for Christ – They didn’t give up when things got difficult.

4. Hating the practices of the Nicolaitans – A group who claimed to be Christian but lived immorally.

The Nicolaitans were known for:

• Sexual immorality

• Eating food sacrificed to idols

• Blending Christianity with the surrounding pagan culture

• Using God’s grace as an excuse to sin

They wanted to enjoy the prosperity of the city while still calling themselves followers of Christ. Jesus says, “You hate their practices—which I also hate.”

And let’s be clear: Jesus doesn’t say He hates the people. He hates their practices. There’s a big difference. As followers of Christ, we don’t hate people. We may hate sin, but we love the sinner—because that’s how Jesus treated us.

Jesus Corrects Ephesus
Jesus then offers a strong correction:  “Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first.”

What was that first love?

• Joyful, wholehearted devotion to Christ

• A personal relationship—not just head knowledge or doctrine

• Love that overflowed in worship, witness, and daily life

Jesus is saying, “You’re doing all the right things, but your heart’s not in it anymore.”

And that happens sometimes, doesn’t it?

Maybe you remember a time in your walk with Christ when your heart burned for Him—when worship was your favorite part of the week. When prayer felt natural, like talking to your best friend. When telling others about Jesus wasn’t a duty—it just came out of your life because He was changing you.

But now… maybe it’s different. Maybe it’s become routine. Maybe your faith has gotten cold. Maybe your love for Jesus has faded.

If that’s you, Jesus says: “Remember. Repent. Return.”

The Seriousness of Their Sin
Jesus says in verse 5:

“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.”

What does it mean to “remove your lampstand”?

It doesn’t mean they would lose their salvation. It means their church would lose its place as a light-bearing witness for Christ. It would:

• Cease to exist in its God-given role

• Lose its influence and spiritual power

• Continue in form, but without the presence and blessing of Christ

This still happens today. Some churches keep going long after the Holy Spirit has left the building. They may hold services, sing songs, and do ministry—but there’s no fire, no light, no love. They’re still a church in name, but not in Spirit.

Jesus is saying, “If you don’t return to love, I will no longer recognize you as My church.”

Our American Context
As we celebrate freedom this Fourth of July weekend, we’re reminded of how richly blessed we are to live in a prosperous and free nation. But prosperity comes with its own challenges.

The Ephesian Christians faced hostility and persecution. We, in America, face the temptation of comfort and compromise. Just like the Nicolaitans, there’s a danger that we’ll try to blend in—watering down our convictions for the sake of being accepted or enjoying worldly benefits.

But Jesus calls us to something higher.

The Takeaway
Jesus won’t let a church shine for Him if it doesn’t love like Him.

It’s not enough to be doctrinally right, or to have a full calendar of ministry activities. Jesus wants your heart. He wants you to love Him like you did at first—or even more.

If your faith has grown cold…

If you’ve gotten too good at guarding the gates and forgotten how to open your heart…

If you’re just going through the motions…

Then hear His voice today:

“Remember the love you had at first.
Repent, and return.”

Invitation to Communion
As we come to the Lord’s Table, we remember the greatest act of love the world has ever known:

Jesus giving Himself for us.

And maybe—just maybe—this table is your invitation to come back to your first love.

Come not out of routine, but out of repentance.
Come not because you’ve got it all figured out, but because you are deeply loved.
Come because the One who walks among the lampstands is here now—walking among us.

As you kneel at this altar, it may be that the risen Christ is kneeling beside you, placing His hand on your shoulder, and whispering,

“Welcome back. I’ve missed you. Let’s walk together again.”