When The Head Is Full & The Heart Is Empty
When The Head Is Full & The Heart Is Empty
- Greg Waybright
- Revelation 2:1
- Listen & Hear
- 43 mins 35 secs
- Views: 1630
Pastor's Letter
When the Head is Full & the Heart is Empty - Week 3
The high school I attended, Bluefield High School in West Virginia, was a "football school." That had not always been the case. However, legendary coach Merrill Gainer took over a football program there that had previously won only one game over several seasons. By the time my family moved to Bluefield, the team had been transformed into a powerhouse that won four state championships, boasting three perfect seasons.
The high school I attended, Bluefield High School in West Virginia, was a "football school." That had not always been the case. However, legendary coach Merrill Gainer took over a football program there that had previously won only one game over several seasons. By the time my family moved to Bluefield, the team had been transformed into a powerhouse that won four state championships, boasting three perfect seasons.
Then, shockingly, Coach Gainer resigned. His teams were still winning. He was not yet at retirement age. Without giving warning to a school and to a town that revered him, he retired from coaching. Several years later, when he reflected on why he had resigned, he simply said, "I lost my joy in it. I still knew how to coach kids. My players learned the game and did all the right things. But, I just didn't love it anymore. And, I could tell, my teams had lost their heart for the game, too."
I thought about Coach Gainer when I read Jesus' letter to the church in Ephesus in Revelation 2:1–7. I think that most people would have considered that church to be one of the great success stories of the early days of Christianity. It was, from the first, a place where people were very open and responsive to the message about Jesus. We read about its founding in Acts 19:
• Many there were converted dramatically from paganism.
• The new believers publicly renounced their cultish practices by burning their books of witchcraft.
• Scores of people turned from idolatry—so many, in fact, that the livelihood of the local craftsmen who made silver images to the goddess Diana was threatened.
And, under renowned pastors and Bible teachers like the Apostle Paul, Timothy, and even the Apostle John (the author of Revelation), the church people had learned the faith, become hard workers in the church, defended the gospel against heresy, and stood strong against anti-Christian forces.
But, 40 years had passed since the church's founding. At the time of Jesus' letter to them, something was missing. The church members' heads were filled with the right knowledge. Their actions were appropriate. But, their hearts were cold. They didn't love Jesus anymore.
The end of my first story: Coach Gainer regained his love for coaching. He came out of retirement and took over a high school team in Roanoke, VA, that had won only one game in three seasons. Within a year, Merrill Gainer coached them to a state championship.
First loves can be restored. That's what we will think about this weekend.
To His Glory,
Dr. Greg Waybright
Senior Pastor
Study Notes
When the Head is Full & the Heart is Empty - Week 3 - Study Notes
Study Notes available in English and Chinese translations.
The high school I attended, Bluefield High School in West Virginia, was a "football school", i.e., the football team was a state powerhouse. That had not always been the case. However, legendary coach, Merrill Gainer, took over a football program there that had previously only won one game over several seasons. But, within two years of Gainer's taking over the team, it had been transformed into a dynamo that won four state championships including three perfect seasons.
English
When the head is full & the heart is empty
Revelation 2:1-7
The high school I attended, Bluefield High School in West Virginia, was a "football school", i.e., the football team was a state powerhouse. That had not always been the case. However, legendary coach, Merrill Gainer, took over a football program there that had previously only won one game over several seasons. But, within two years of Gainer's taking over the team, it had been transformed into a dynamo that won four state championships including three perfect seasons.
Then, shockingly, Coach Gainer resigned. His teams were still winning. He was not yet at retirement age. Without giving warning to a school and to a town that revered him, he retired from coaching. Several years later, when Coach Gainer reflected on why he had resigned, he said, "I lost my joy in it. I still knew how to coach. My players learned the game and did all the right things. But, I just didn't love it anymore."
I thought about Coach Gainer when I read Jesus' letter to the church in Ephesus in Revelation 2:1-7. I think that most people would have considered that church to be one of the great success stories of the early days of Christianity. Ephesus was, from the first, a place where people were very open and responsive to the message about Jesus. You can read about the church's founding in Acts 19.
Over the years, under renowned pastors and Bible teachers like the Apostle Paul, Timothy and even the Apostle John (the author of Revelation), the church people had learned the faith, defended the gospel against heresy, and stood strong against anti-Christian forces.
But, 40 years had passed since the church's founding. At the time of Jesus' letter to them in Revelation 2, something was missing. The church members' heads were filled with the right knowledge. Their actions were appropriate. But, their hearts were cold. They didn't love Jesus anymore. And it was serious. So, let's see what Jesus had to say to them in Revelation 2:1-7. I think his words have a lot to say to us too.
A Few Explanations:
About the Letter Sender and the Messenger Who Delivered It V.1.
Jesus pictures every church as having a "messenger" – or, it may be an angel. The word for messenger and angel was the same in Greek. I imagine this may have been their pastor. But the important point is not who the messenger is. The important thing is the one dictating the letter. The letter sender was the powerful and glorified Lord Jesus we read about in Rev. 1:12 16. The most striking part of v.1 is that Jesus "holds the stars in his hand" (probably referring to the church people who were to be his lights to the world) and walks among the lampstands, i.e., the churches.
What we must never miss is the fact that Jesus cares about all that happens in a local church like ours. It's similar to what some CEOs do occasionally in the TV show Undercover Boss, i.e., they show up and get involved in every aspect of their various stores. In Revelation 2-3, we see that Jesus is ceaselessly involved in the everyday life of each local church. Like a security camera at the Super Market, the eyes of Jesus scan what happens in a church like ours, and in a life like yours.
"I know," Jesus says. "I walk among the churches and I know." There is nothing hidden from Jesus that happens in a church. And, I would broaden this to say that there is nothing that happens in your home or your life that is hidden from Him. Some Christians have a wall plaque in their home that says, "Christ is the head of this house, the unseen listener to every conversation." What a difference it would make if we truly believed that!
So now, let's go to Ephesus and the specific church that received this first letter.
About Ephesus –
Ephesus was a great city, the 4th largest in the Roman world. You can visit its ruins now in Turkey and see what an impressive place it was. It had a huge temple built for the goddess Diana – devoted to unbridled sexual expression -- that drew people from all over the world. The church there was the mother church of all the churches in Asia. It was almost certainly bigger, better trained, better resourced and better organized than all the churches we will be studying in Revelation. Approximately 40 years had passed since the church had been founded. But, clearly, the church was still operating in Revelation 2 and doing many things well.
Jesus' words give us a clear impression of them. There were some great things happening in the church that dared not change. But, there was an unseen cancer within the church too.
Let's look now at this clear letter from Jesus. I want us to begin by looking at what he said should not change. A church with a great heritage must always be careful not to throw the baby out with the bathwater if it make changes. And, then we'll see what had to be changed immediately so that death would not come.
I. What Jesus said should not change (2:2,3,6)
There were some wonderful things about this church. This is often missed when people study this letter. Some things simply had to be held on to. What did Jesus say?
#1: "I know your deeds and hard work" Jesus praised their church activity. I imagine people were serving. People were not passive pew sitters. Much of their work was probably done without everyone else knowing it. It happens here at LAC. Wonderful Christ-directed volunteer service happens at LAC each week. Greeting newcomers. Stuffing worship folders. Sending notes of encouragement. Taking care of the infants. Serving food. Giving offerings. People may not see these good things but Jesus does. "Keep it up!", He says. "I see it and, even though you may get tired, I appreciated your service in my name."
#2: "I know your endurance" These people were not quitters. If they said they would do the job, it was done. This is a rare and wonderful quality, one constantly commended in Scripture. And look at V.3. It shows just how deep this faithful commitment went.
This is a word of encouragement for all of you who find your faithful attendance and service difficult. "I know about it," Jesus says. "I see it when you have to force yourself to get up and go, to serve where you serve, but you do it out of service to me. Keep on with it. It's good."
#3: "I know you hate false teaching" In v.2, Jesus commends them for testing diligently what people were teaching in the light of Scripture. This church had the discernment to see what was false.
You see, there were people in Ephesus claiming to be apostles -- but they weren't apostles. They claimed to be receiving special revelation from God. But the Ephesian Christians were grounded in the Scriptures and the teaching of Jesus. They tested the self-professed-teachers in the light of Scripture and found them false.
Notice v.6. When Jesus speaks of the Nicolaitans, he spoke of people who seemed to be close to the truth in their teaching – but that closeness to the truth made them even more dangerous than outright heretics. The Nicolaitans apparently claimed to follow Jesus but blended Christian teaching with the religious or political views of the culture around them. Their teaching sounded like Christianity but it wasn't. The major thing was that they seem to have taught was that you can be a Christian and still participate in the sexual practices that took place in the Temple of Diana. I can imagine that their attitude was, "God doesn't really care about individual sexual practices as long as no one is hurt. You can be a Christian and live the way everyone else is living too." But no, Jesus hated what these Nicolaitans believed and did. And the Ephesian church stood strong about God's morality in spite of the world's influence.
You surely know how tempted churchgoers still are to think like the Nicolaitans did. Ever since John Locke wrote his famous work about Toleration in the 17th Century, people have felt that it's wrong to take a strong position on any religious issue. It's supposedly virtuous to say, "We can all believe whatever we want." "Only arrogant fanatics take strong stands on religious issues." We've added an 11th command to the 10 Commandments, i.e., "Thou shalt not disagree if someone doesn't like the preceding 10 commands."
The Ephesian believers knew the Scriptures and wouldn't tolerate error from false teachers. So, we might say, "What a church! No laziness in their service. No compromise in their beliefs. And, do not miss this point today: These were good things in that church. We need to learn from them and do what they did.
But, simply working hard and defending the truth can become ends in themselves. So, we need to be taught by the good things there. But, now we also must learn from something that was dreadfully wrong.
II. What Jesus said had to change. (2:4 5)
V.4 is language usually used of a marriage – and it's powerful language still today. Let me ask: "Why do marriages break down?" Sometimes it's because of unfaithfulness. One or the other of the partners meets someone else and finds the attraction irresistible. When a marriage dies, I've discovered it's often connected with the moving of one's affections, attentions, and passions from one individual to another.
But not every marriage that ends in divorce is broken by an illicit affair. No, the fact is that many marriages do not shatter under the pressure of external sexual temptation at all. They die slowly and almost unconsciously from within. People drift apart almost by imperceptible degrees as the years go by. Affection cools. Intimate communication dries up until suddenly one day they find they are strangers living in the same house. They had turned their affections not to a third party but to work, to the children, to sports...
If that can be true of a love relationship between human beings, it can also be true of our relationship to Jesus. The church is called "the bride of Christ." The relationship between Christ and His people is never described in the Bible as one of cold duty and obligation, but one of a warm and growing love. What happens in churches and in individual Christians' lives is that sometimes the faithful attendance in church remains, the same serving in church is done but the warmth for Jesus and for people slowly dies. In that way churches and Christians lose the spark of spiritual life. It's not for lack of doctrine, but for lack of love.
You get a picture from Jesus' letter here of a people working hard and being very faithful to being at church, to studying the Bible, and to teaching the truth – but there's no dance in their heart and no joy in their faith. They had made their vows to Jesus when they were younger and they knew they had to keep them – for better or for worse. And it was good that they remained constant in their beliefs and practices. But, their hearts were not in it. Like the person who is an INTJ (in the Myers-Briggs Inventory) who suddenly realizes she's married an ESFP and thinks, "What have I done? I keep things neat and he throws his stuff on the floor." Keeping the vows become difficult. Things change over the years.
That's what happened at Ephesus. They believed and preached the right things but it was a dead orthodoxy. This deadness was at least as bad as those heresies the church people in Ephesus were fiercely opposed to. I can picture it so easily. "We teach the Bible here. We've had great teachers here. We're not liberal. We haven't moved." But dead things don't move nor do dead things have hearts that can respond to the love of God.
The church had become religious. The evidence of religiosity is lovelessness. You can be an outwardly religious person and get all the teaching right in your head. You might be able to argue against all who teach error. But you still may have no love either for Jesus or for the people you disagree with. There is a subtle temptation for churchgoers to have our first love being not for Jesus but for being right about religion. For the Ephesians, they loved to be right but no longer loved the one they were right about.
Of course, other things can be our first loves too – a political cause, a certain pleasure, a career... If your first love is your career, then you will do whatever you need to do to stay ahead. If it's a romantic interest, you may compromise your purity or vows. What is your first love?
Christianity is not about loving certain teachings or even about loving the Bible (as important as the teachings may be and as precious as the Bible is). It's about loving Jesus. The truth we hold to all points to Jesus who said, "I am the truth." Truth can't be separated from the person of Jesus. What happens is our teaching – as necessary as it is -- can become merely academic. Our deeds can become duty. How serious was this? V.5b.
Can't you imagine them saying, "Remove our lampstand? Us? How can this be, Jesus? We have the truth here. Others have the problems. We're the genuine ones." But Jesus says, "You are nearly dead."
III. How To Change?
It's hard for people to change – but Jesus came to make change possible. Jesus personally gives us three words of counsel about rekindling our love in a relationship so listen carefully to his words.
Word 1. Remember –
"Remember" is such an important word throughout Scripture. Take time to think about what Jesus did for you. Take time to reflect upon what you once felt when you heard that Christ died in your place. Take time to remember the many ways He has blessed you. Take time ... Take time with Jesus. Relationships will not grow when you take no time to relate, to appreciate, to rekindle affection.
Remember. Almost every married couple has an album of wedding photos. Even the oldest couple will have the yellowing picture of the handsome young man in an old fashioned suit and beautiful young woman clothed in white so obviously in love on their wedding day. It's important to remember that day. Memory can be a sweet thing. And, Jesus says here that memory can be life changing. It can rekindle fires in your heart. Jesus remembers the day we began with Him. He remembers our vow to love Him and live for Him. He remembers when He asked, "Will you have me to be your Savior?" and we replied, "I will." Do you remember that day? Do you remember how you felt on that day? Do you still feel the same today?
Take time to remember, Jesus says. Take time to renew your vows to Him.
Word 2. Repent –
The word here is the word for making a change. Something has to change. I'm guessing -- but I don't think I'm far wrong when I guess -- that most at Ephesus thought they were fine as they were. "Those other groups are the ones who have problems," they might have said. "But we're fine. We don't have to change." And Jesus says, "No, you too must repent. You must turn around or be snuffed out."
What kind of change? Jesus calls for the hardest kind. Jesus calls for a change in heart and attitude. He says to get rid of the pride that can grow out of success and having the truth. Go back to remember that we know Jesus only because of his grace and mercy. Do you remember when you said, "I can't believe she's willing to marry me!" In a much bigger way, consider again the fact that the holy Lord Jesus died to make you his own. Return to the humble grateful sprits that started your walk with God in the first place. Do a check of attitude and heart and repent. Is there anything like that you need to repent of today?
Word 3. Do –
"But Jesus," they might have said, "we are doing. You've just commended us for that." "But", He says, "do the things you did at first." I'm not sure what that was but I can guess. I imagine they loved to learn everything they could about Jesus when they first received him. I imagine they loved their first times praying. I'm sure they would never give up a chance to worship him with their church for a sporting event or morning of sleep. They would give up anything rather than give up time with Jesus. They did it simply because they loved Jesus.
I think that the best thing I can say is that you must look at what motivates you. Are you grateful to Jesus? Do you stand in awe of the fact that Jesus made his vow to give his life for you? Jesus says, "Think about what you did when you loved me. Then, start doing it again."
III. What Jesus Vowed (2:7)
At the close, Jesus reminds us of the vow he makes to us. And, what he uses is party language. V.7. Jesus is promising in this verse that he will someday undo all the awful affects of sin that starting in Genesis 3. Since then, people have not been able to partake of the tree of life. Jesus is referring to God's life – abundant life that God wants for us. People can now live physically – but not live as God intends us to live. People have not been able to live fully and abundantly since sin entered the world. But Jesus is making a vow here. He promises that our love for him will result in great joy. In v. 7, Jesus is saying that he gave his life to give us life.
This is beautiful language in which Jesus says, "You are my bride and soon, we'll have a feast. There will be a marriage supper with me." Jeff Mattesich says that our wedding feast with Jesus "will taste great and have no calories!" Jesus vows, "I promise to love you and bless you until ..." Until when? It's not "until death do us part". Death won't part us from Jesus. Jesus' promise is that he will give us life as God created it to be before sin. Before Genesis 3. Without evil and pain and tears. Without death.
But if you don't love Him, heaven won't be heavenly. Heaven is filled with praise to Him! If you don't love Jesus, you probably won't love heaven either. The good news is that this church in Ephesus did have their love for Jesus renewed. A century later, they were still serving, and teaching the truth, and defending the faith. And... their first love was Jesus. May it be true of us too.
With that in mind, let's all pull out our kneelers for a time of meditation and prayer...
To His glory,
Dr. Greg Waybright
Senior Pastor
title="Chinese
當腦袋滿滿、心卻空空的時候
9/22/2013
《啟示錄》2:1-7
我讀高中時的學校,西佛吉尼亞的Bluefield High School,是個“橄欖球學校”。橄欖球通常都是一個州的強項,當然,並非都是如此。但是,傳奇教練Merrill Gainer接管了那裡的一個橄欖球隊,這個球隊在幾個賽季裡只贏過一場比賽。但是,在Gainer接管這個球隊兩年中,球隊變成一個充滿生氣的球隊,贏得了四個州冠軍,並且在三個賽季裡保持全勝。 然而,Gainer教練卻出人意料地辭職了。他的球隊還在贏球。他也還沒有到退休年齡。他沒有提前通知學校和市里有關部門,雖然他們都很尊敬他。他就這樣結束了教練生涯。幾年後,當Gainer教練解釋他辭職的原因時,他說,“我在成功中失去了快樂。我知道如何做教練。我的隊員掌握了這項運動,他們做了正確的事情。但是,我不再喜歡它了。” 當我在《啟示錄》2:1-7中讀到耶穌寫給以弗所教會的信時,我想到了Gainer教練。我想,大多數人都會認為,以弗所教會是基督教早期歷史中的成功典範之一。以弗所人從一開始就對耶穌的信息保持開放、積極的態度。你可以在《使徒行傳》19章讀到關於教會的創建。 那些年裡,在像保羅、提摩太和使徒約翰(《啟示錄》的作者)這樣知名牧者和聖經教師的帶領下,教會的人們學到了信心、護衛福音反對異教,堅持對抗反基督徒的力量。 但是,教會建立40年以後,耶穌在《啟示錄》2章中給他們傳達信息的時候,一些事情已經見不到了。教會會員的頭腦中充滿了正確的知識。他們的行為也是恰當的。但是,他們的心卻冷淡了。他們不再愛耶穌。那是很嚴重的事情。因此,讓我們看看耶穌在《啟示錄》2:1-7中對他們說了什麼。我想他的許多話也是講給我們的。 一些說明:
關於寄信人和信使——V.1. 耶穌描述每個教會都有一個“信使”——也許,他就是一個天使。在希臘文中,信使和天使是同一個詞。我把他想像成他們的牧師。但是,關鍵點不是信使是誰,而是寫信的那一位。我們在《啟示錄》1:12-16看到,寄信人是全能而榮耀的主耶穌。第一章中最引人注目的是耶穌“手中拿著星星”(可能是指那些耶穌要通過他們光照世界的人)在燈檯(指教會)中行走。 我們不該錯過的是,耶穌關心所有發生在像我們這樣的本地教會的事情。就像在某些電視節目中,一些首席執行官會做“臥底老闆”,他們會出現並參與到自己的各種門店裡。在《啟示錄》2-3中我們看到,耶穌不停參與到每個本地教會的各項事務中,像超市中的監視攝像頭,耶穌的眼睛審視我們教會中發生的事情,也審視我們的生命。 耶穌說,“我知道,因為我在教會中行走所以我知道。”教會中所發生的事情沒有一樣會逃過耶穌的眼睛。更寬泛地講,在你家中、你的生活中所發生的事情,也無法逃過耶穌的眼睛。一些基督徒在家中擺著一個裝飾,上面寫著:“耶穌是一家之主,是所有談話的看不見的傾聽者。”如果我們真認為是那樣,我們的生活將會有很大的不同! 現在,讓我們到以弗所,來看看這個接到第一封信的教會。 關於以弗所—— 以弗所是一個大城,是羅馬時代的第四大城市。你可以在土耳其參觀它的遺址,你會令你印象深刻。那裡曾有一個很大的戴安娜女神廟——是縱欲的象徵——吸引著來自世界各地的人。那裡的教會是所有亞細亞教會的母會。相對於《啟示錄》2章中的其他教會,以弗所教會的規模必然會更大一些,有更好的訓練,更好的資源,更好的組織。在教會建立大約40年以後,顯然,從《啟示錄》2章中我們知道,這個教會仍然在運行——也做了很多事情。 耶穌的話讓我們對以弗所教會有了一個印象。以弗所教會裡發生了一些大事情,這些事情是不該改變的,而以弗所教會裡也有一個未被發現的癌症。 現在就讓我們看看耶穌的這封信。我希望我們先來看看祂所講的不該改變的事情。一個有偉大傳統的教會,應該謹慎,有些需要改變的地方,要防止一概的否定,然後才明白哪些是要改變的,以不致讓死亡臨到。
I. 耶穌說什麼不該改變(2:2,3,6) 當人們學習這封信的時候,經常漏掉一些關於這個教會的美事。而有些事情我們需要瞭解。耶穌說了些什麼? #1:“我知道你們的事和艱苦的工作”—耶穌稱讚以弗所教會的行為。我認為大家正在參與服事。人們並非是在教會長凳上的冷漠坐客。他們大多數的工作都不為人知。這種情況也發生在我們教會。以基督為導向的志願者的精彩工作每週都有——歡迎新來賓、裝填敬拜用的紙夾、發送鼓勵性短消息、照顧嬰兒、飯食服務、奉獻。人們可能看不到這些好事——但是耶穌看得到。“堅持做下去!”耶穌說,我看得到這些,儘管你可能有些疲倦了,但我很重視你奉我名的服事。 #2: “我知道你的忍耐”—這些人並不是半途而廢的人。假如他們說我們要做這項工作,他們就能做到。這是很寶貴、很好的品質,在聖經中這種品質經常得到稱讚。請看第3節。這一節表明這種忠心的付出是多麼深。 對於那些忠心參與和艱苦服事的人而言,這是一句鼓勵的話。耶穌說,“當你強制自己起來去服事的時候,我知道這些,你是為我而做,請堅持下去。這是好事。” #3: “我知道你不喜歡錯誤的教導” – 在第二節,耶穌稱讚他們勤奮試驗那些教導聖經的人。這個教會有辨明謬誤的洞察力。 你看,有人在以弗所自稱是使徒——但是他們不是使徒。他們自稱從神那裡領受了一些特別的啟示。但是以弗所的基督徒在聖經和耶穌的教導上訓練有素。他們試驗那些自稱為聖經教師的人,發現他們的謬誤。 請注意第6節。當耶穌講到尼哥拉一党的人時,耶穌說這些人的教導看起來接近聖經——但是這種類似聖經的教導比完全的異端更危險。尼哥拉一党的人表面上宣稱跟隨耶穌,但他們的教導中混合了基督教的教導以及各種文化性的宗教觀點和政治觀點。他們的教導聽起來像基督教,但其實不是。主要的問題是,他們似乎在教導,雖然你是基督徒,但仍然可以參加在戴安娜神廟舉行的性活動。我能想像他們的態度是,“只要沒有人受傷害,神不會真的關心個人的性活動。你做基督徒以後,依然可以像其他人一樣生活。”但並非如此,耶穌恨惡尼哥拉一党所信的和所做的。以弗所教會堅持神的道德標準,不受世俗的影響。 你當然知道,來教會的人中,有些人受到誘惑,一直有和尼哥拉一党人相似的想法。John Locke在17世紀寫了名著《寬容》,他們一直覺得在任何宗教問題上固持己見是錯誤的。品德高尚的人會說:“我們可以相信一些我們想要相信的。”“只有驕傲自大的狂熱者才會在宗教問題上固持己見。”我們已經給十誡加上了第十一誡,比如,“如果有人不喜歡前面的十誡,也要存不同意見。” 以弗所的信徒明白聖經,他們不想容忍來自假教師的謬論。因此,我們可以說,這個教會很棒!他們在服事上不懶惰。在信仰上不妥協。因此,不要錯過今天的要點:這些都是那個教會的優點。我們需要向他們學習。 但是,他們僅僅把努力做工和保守真理當成了目的。因此,我們需要來學習這些好的事情。但是,我們還需要瞭解他們可怕的錯誤。
II 哪些是耶穌說必須要改變的地方 (2:45) 第四節通常是用於婚姻的語言-這種語言今天仍然很有力量。我問你: “為什麼婚姻會破裂?”有時是因為不忠。伴侶的一方或者另一方有了別人並且發現他們的吸引力無法抗拒。當一段婚姻終結,我發現它往往與一個人把情感,關注和激情從一個人轉移到另一個人身上有關。 但不是每一段以離婚告終的婚姻都發生了不忠。不,事實上許多婚姻是在沒有外部性誘惑的壓力下破滅的。這些婚姻幾乎是無意識地從內部慢慢死去。隨著歲月的流逝,人們漸行漸遠,卻難以察覺。情感冷卻。親密的交流乾涸,直到突然有一天發現,他們已然成了生活在同一屋簷下的陌生人。他們只好把情感寄託在第三方上,工作,孩子或是運動... ... 如果人與人之間愛的關係如此,我們與耶穌的關係也是如此。教會被稱作“基督的新婦。”聖經中,基督和祂的子民的關係從來沒有被描述成冷漠的責任和義務,而是溫暖和成長的愛。在教會和基督徒的生活中會發生的情況是,有時,盡管我們仍然忠實地去教會敬拜,仍舊在教會做事工,但對耶穌和他人的溫暖卻在慢慢熄滅。這樣一來,教會和基督徒就失去了屬靈生命的火花。這不是因為缺乏教義,而是缺乏愛。 你從耶穌的的信中可見一斑,你看見人努力工作,對教會,對讀經,對教導真理都很忠心-但他們的心中沒有雀躍,他們的信念裏也沒有歡喜。年輕時向耶穌許下的誓言,他們知道必須信守-不論好壞。他們在教義上和儀式上始終如一,這是好的。然而,他們的心卻沒有在那裡。就像一個INTJ獨立性格型的人 (邁爾斯 - 布里格斯MBTI性格分類測驗)突然意識到,她嫁給了一個ESFP表演性格型的人,於是她想, “我究竟做了什麼?我喜歡保持整潔,他卻總在地板上亂扔他的東西。”信守誓言變得困難。一些事情隨著歲月發生改變。 這就是以弗所所發生的。他們相信並宣講正確的教義,但它是一個死亡的正統教會。這種死氣至少和以弗所教會強烈反對的異端邪說一樣糟糕。我很容易想像出那是怎樣的場景。 “我們在這教授聖經,我們這有了不起的老師,我們不是自由派,我們也沒有動搖過。”死的東西的確不會動,但是死的東西也沒有心去回應神的愛。 這個教會變得很宗教化。宗教化的表現是缺乏愛。你可以成為一個外在看來很敬虔的人,腦子裏裝滿了教義。你也許能夠反駁所有錯誤教導的人。但你仍然可能對耶穌或者你不認同的人有沒有愛心。對於經常去教會的基督徒有一個微妙的試探,就是,我們起初的愛心,不是為了耶穌,而是為了遵守教義。對以弗所人來說,他們愛的是遵循正確的教義,卻不再愛那位他們應該去愛的主。 當然,其它的東西也可以成為我們首先的愛-政治上的原因,某種喜悅感,事業心......如果你首先的愛是你的事業心,那麼你會不擇手段以保持領先地位。如果是一個浪漫的愛好,你可能就在你的純潔或誓言上妥協。什麼是你最初的愛呢? 基督教不是愛某些教義,甚至也不是愛聖經(教義是重要的,聖經也是寶貴的)。這是關於愛耶穌。我們堅持的所有真理都指向耶穌,他說,“我就是真理。 ”真理不能於耶穌本人分離。我們的教義-有必要-僅僅可以成為一種學術。我們的行為卻可以成為責任。這個有多麼重要? V.5b 。 你可以想像他們說, “挪去我們的燈台?是我們嗎?耶穌,這怎麼可能?我們這裡有真理呀。其他地方都有問題,我們可是真誠的。”但耶穌說:“你們幾乎已經死了。 ”
III. 如何改變? 人很難改變-但是耶穌來使得改變成為可能。耶穌親自給我們三個字,教導我們如何在關係中重新點燃我們的愛,所以留心聽祂的話。 第一個字:記念 "記念";在聖經中是如此重要的一個字。花時間來思想耶穌為你所做的事。花時間來回想當你聽見耶穌替你而死的時候你的感受。花時間來記念耶穌在許多事上祝福了你。花時間......花時間和耶穌相處。你如果不花時間彼此連接,彼此感激對方,重新點燃情感的火,關係不可能成長。 記住,幾乎每一對婚姻夫妻都有一本結婚相簿。就是年老的夫妻也有一張已經發黃的相片,一位英俊青年身著老式西服和披著白色婚紗的美麗年輕的女子,那是他們在愛中結婚的日子。這是一個值得記念的日子。記憶是件甜蜜的事。 耶穌記得我們和祂開始的日子。祂記得我們愛祂,為祂而活的誓言。祂記得問我們的時候:" 你要我成為你的救主嗎? " 我們回答說:" 我願意"。你記得那一天嗎?你記得那一個你的感受嗎?你今天還是一樣的感受嗎? 花時間來記念,耶穌說。花時間來更新你對祂的誓言。 第二個字:悔改 這個字是用來指改變。有些事需要改變。我猜想,大概也猜個八九不離十-大部分的以弗所人想他們與先前沒有兩樣,沒有什麼需要改變的。"其他人才有問題," 他們可能說:我們都好,他們需要改變。"然而耶穌說,"不,你要悔改。你必須要回轉,好叫我不至將你挪去。" 什麼樣的改變? 耶穌呼召我們的是最難的。 耶穌呼召的是從心裡和態度上的改變。 祂說除去成功和掌握真理帶來的驕傲,請記住我們認識耶穌是因為祂的恩典和憐憫。你還記得當你說,"我不敢相信她願意嫁給我!"的時候嗎?請更進一步去思想這樣的一個事實,聖潔的主耶穌為我們而死。回到最初與主同行時的謙卑和感激的心中。省察我們的態度和內心去悔改。今天有沒有諸如此類的需要悔改的? 第三個字:行動 "但是,耶穌,"他們可能會說,"我們都在做呀,你為此還稱讚了我們。"但是",他說,"做你們最初所做的。"我不清楚那是什麼但是我猜得到。我猜他們熱愛認識所有關於耶穌的一切。我猜他們熱愛最初的和神的禱告。我敢肯定他們不會為了一場比賽或是睡懶覺而放棄任何一次機會來教會敬拜祂。他們寧可放棄一切也不肯放棄於耶穌相處的時間。他們那樣做僅僅是因為愛耶穌。 我認為我能說的最好的事就是你一定要看一看你的動機是什麼。你感激耶穌嗎?你敬畏耶穌發誓為你捨命的事實嗎?耶穌說,"回想你當初愛我時所作的,然後再重新開始去做。"
III.耶穌的誓言 (2:7) 最後,耶穌提醒我們祂對我們的誓言。祂用的是盛會的語言。第七節經文中耶穌應許我們將來有一天祂要復原創世紀3章以來所有罪帶來的可怕影響。從那時起,人類就無法飲於生命之樹。耶穌指的是神的生活-神要給我們的豐盛的生命。現在人類以肉體的形式活著-不是以神想要的方式活著。自從罪來到世上,人類就沒能夠完全而豐盛地活著。但耶穌在這裡起誓。祂應許我們對祂的愛定會帶來喜樂。在第七節中,耶穌說祂捨去自己的生命是為了我們得著生命。 這是美麗的語言,耶穌說,"你是我的新婦,不久我們將要赴席盛宴。那是你於我的婚宴盛餐。" Jeff Mattesich說我們與耶穌的婚宴"將會美味而沒有卡路里!"耶穌起誓,"我發誓會愛你祝福你直到......"直到什麼時候?不是"到死才分開"。死不能將我們於耶穌分開。耶穌應許將要給我們生命,那是神創造的,在罪到來以前,在創世紀3章之前的生命。沒有邪惡,痛苦和眼淚。沒有死亡。 但如果你不愛耶穌,天堂就不會是天堂。天堂里充滿了對祂的讚美!如果你不愛他,恐怕你也不會愛天堂。好消息是,以弗所的教會更新了他們對耶穌起初的愛。一個世紀以後,他們仍然事奉,教導真理,捍衛真理......仍然對耶穌有那起初的愛。但願對我們也是如此。
將這些存在心中,讓我們一起跪下默想並且禱告......
榮耀歸給神,
格雷格博士
主任牧師
Greg Waybright • Copyright 2013, Lake Avenue Church
Greg Waybright • Copyright 2013, Lake Avenue Church
Study Guide
When the Head is Full & the Heart is Empty - Week 3 - Study Guide
When the head is full & the Heart is empty
Revelation 2:1-7
- Read 2:1. The word translated "angel" also means "messenger." This is the person who is to carry Jesus' message to the church members. Who might that have been? Who should bring God's messages to the local church now, and how should you listen?
- How is Jesus described in v.1? (Remember 1:20 and consider that the "stars" are probably the people in each church, i.e., in each lampstand.) Discuss the relationship of Jesus to the local church in the light of this description.
- In vv. 2–3 and 6, Jesus commended some good things about the church in Ephesus. What did he praise? Would he be happy about similar things in your life and in the life of your church?
- Put into your own words the sobering charge Jesus brings against the church in v. 4. (Jesus' language is a phrase usually used of a marriage relationship.) According to v. 5b, how serious is Jesus' charge?
- In v. 5, Jesus gave three directives so that their first love can be rekindled. Discuss each of the three words and how people today might put them into practice:
• Remember
• Repent
• Do - In your own words, what was the promise Jesus' gives to those who listen and obey in v. 7? (Gen. 3:22–24 and Rev. 2:1–2 provide context.)
- What are you hearing from God's Word in this study? How do you plan to respond to what you are hearing?
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