Floating isn't Faithful

 I've shared this story before, it's kind of hard to believe - but it happened back in 2017. Two women set sail from Honolulu, but ended up adrift at sea for more than four months after storms damaged their sailboat. They'd used their radio to send distress signals, but its antenna had been damaged and wasn't working properly. They also had an Emergency Radio Beacon, but never turned it on. One of the women said, "Our hull was solid, we were floating, we had food, we had water... All those things did not say we were going to die. Emergency beacon calls are for people who are in an immediate life threatening scenario."

The beacon transmits its location to rescuers within minutes. But because they didn't consider their situation an emergency, they drifted and were eventually rescued 900 miles southeast of Japan, thousands of miles in the wrong direction from where they were originally headed.

Now these women weren't necessarily doing anything wrong – but they weren't actively working to be rescued either. They even told stories of sharks ramming into their fiberglass hull and being worried they might break through - but they still didn't activate their rescue beacon. So they drifted. And drifting isn't really an action, but more something that happens to you when you aren't doing anything else.

And Churches, like people, can drift too. This morning, I want us to look at the account in the Bible of one Church that drifted. It was the Church in the city of Ephesus as recorded in the book of Revelation. Now, we need to understand – this wasn't just some uninspired, lazy congregation that drifted. When we read the account, it starts with…

I. Recognizing past faithfulness

I want to start with a bit of background before we read the passage. The city of Ephesus was a major commercial, political, and religious power in its time. The Apostle Paul actually served with the Christian Church in Ephesus for two full years, and he even wrote the book of I Corinthians while he was there with them. Paul then left Timothy there to lead and to teach them. And the Apostle John ministered the last years of his life there and tradition says that he wrote the Gospel of John there and that both he, and Mary, the mother of Jesus, were buried there as well.

This was a significant, influential Church with a great deal of history. At the time of this passage we're going to read – decades had passed since they started as a Church. And it was before the Apostle John's death that the Lord inspired John to write these words. Let's start with Revelation 2:1-3 (NIV)...

To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: 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 men, 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.

This letter starts out by recognizing their past faithfulness. This was a strong Church that had served well. And there are two things I want to point out from this passage - first, this Church persevered. They weathered the hard times and worked hard at doing good things. Jesus recognized that fact and praised them for it.

And we also see them commended for not tolerating 'wicked men'. They were commended for their intolerance. Now today, intolerance isn't really seen as a compliment by many. But I want to make sure we understand this praise of 'intolerance'. This Church did not tolerate men who taught anything contrary to God's Word. They didn't compromise or negotiate with them, they called them what they were – liars. And that takes guts to take a bold stand like that.

And we're not really talking about those who have been lead astray; those who didn't know any better. There's a big difference between 'wicked' and 'ignorant'. In this context, 'ignorant' means lacking knowledge about what is Biblically right or wrong. 'Wicked' is - seeing the truth in scripture, knowing that truth and then rejecting that truth and teaching falsehoods - that's wicked and can't be tolerated.

We have many in our society that are so unaware of the truth, so spiritually blind, that they can't even acknowledge the differences that God created between a man and a woman. We have people around us who believe that standing firm on Biblical values and beliefs is actually immoral and should be punished as intolerant.

And again - those who actively reject the truth should be confronted, but those who simply don't know the truth, those who don't know Jesus - those people need our compassion, not our judgment. The Church at Ephesus did not tolerate anyone inside the Church who tried to teach anything that went against God's Word. And they were right, and they were praised for that faithfulness.

But despite that praise we see in these first few verses, we also find in the next few verses…

II. Acknowledging problems

This same Church that had persevered and had kept themselves Biblically strong in their teachings and had done a lot of good things - they had a major flaw. We find this as we continue in Revelation 2:4-5 (NIV)...

Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. (5) Remember the height from which 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.

Jesus Himself tells them through John that they had 'left their first love'. They had forgotten why Jesus started His Church in the first place. They were very busy doing good things – but their passion for Him had waned. They were content with what they were doing, they stopped paying attention to their calling - they didn't see any urgent crisis - and just like the women we read about on the boat - they let themselves drift away.

They were 'doing Church' but lost sight of whom they were serving. They drifted away from Jesus. Now it wasn't an intentional drift – they just got busy, maybe their priority on worship faded, their desire to share Jesus dulled and they lost the love for Jesus that they once had. And because of this drifting, they were now being called to repent.

Jesus wanted them to bring their focus back to Him. They needed to change direction or Jesus threatened to 'remove their lamp stand' – meaning He would remove His blessing from them. If they weren't interested in coming back to Him – Jesus wasn't interested in sustaining them as a congregation.

But Jesus didn't end His message with this warning. Jesus was pointing out their very serious flaw, but also encouraged them by reminding them of the promise of the future for those who kept their focus on Him. Let's finish out this passage from Revelation 2:6-7 (NIV)...

But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. (7) He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

Jesus pointed out where they were off course, but encouraged them to get back on track. His intention was to get them back to His purpose! He wanted them to realize that they had drifted and to turn around. The Church had been established for His purposes, and if they were just going to continue to do 'nice things' without their focus on Him, Jesus wasn't interested in holding them up any longer.

Now, if you went today to the modern country of Turkey where the ancient city of Ephesus was – you won't find the Christian Church of Ephesus. That church is long gone. At some point, as a body, they ceased being viable, being useful, for God's Kingdom and His greater plan – and they closed. As we look at this passage, we have to ask…

III. What can we learn?

If we don't apply scripture to our lives, I've just given a history lesson that doesn't make much of a difference.

A preacher named Elton Trueblood wrote, "It used to be that Christianity was a revolutionary faith that turned the world upside down. But today Christians sit in Sunday morning church services looking at their watches, wondering what time dinner will be served, or thinking about the kickoff. And we hope that church won't interfere with the things we would really rather be doing." - And that quote is about his observation of the Church in America almost 80 years ago. And in your observation, has the Church drifted closer to God or further away since then?

Referring to the truth of scripture, the writer of Hebrews insisted, in Hebrews 2:1 (NIV)...

We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.

It's the idea that we can't get distracted and just let truth drip away! God has established His church to focus on the purpose of winning the lost to Jesus Christ! His Church is called to teach and to train people to obey everything He taught!

Many Churches do a lot of good things in their communities. But they've gotten distracted, they've compromised - they've neglected Biblical teaching and replaced it with self centered, man-made beliefs that reject Biblical authority. Many Churches have lost their first love. They lost their passion for Jesus and teaching others about Him. Those Churches either become nothing more than civic community centers that try hard to not offend people's morally progressive sensibilities and they don't really change lives for eternity, or they dwindle in numbers and eventually close their doors.

But what happens corporately, as a Church body, it starts with each individual personally. A Church can only drift away if its members and leaders drift. A Church where its members are reading and studying their Bibles regularly, where they are praying and serving - they will not drift and will continue to share Jesus with others. A Church that's more concerned with 'not offending anyone' and neglects Bible study and personal prayer - they will drift away and become useless for God's Kingdom.

- Many Christians seem to live as if Jesus is never coming back. We organize our lives, our work, our free time as if Jesus was 'just a good teacher, just a nice guy – but He's not really coming back, at least not any time soon'. We prepare our families for this world; we make sure they get the right education and training. We teach them life skills and sports and other extracurricular activities and we teach them how to live in this world but may almost completely ignore the fact that this life is not all there is.

That's not what Jesus called His followers to do, or His Church to be. We cannot forget the promise that Jesus gives…

A. "To him who overcomes"

He promises "the right to eat from the tree of life". That's not some 'pie in the sky', feel good metaphor. Jesus is promising eternal life in Heaven to those who overcome! That's what I want! That's what I want for my kids! That's the message I will preach to the lost. I'm not interested in offering people hope just for this life – I want to preach the Gospel Message that gives them real hope for eternity! Let's look at 1 John 5:5 (NIV)...

Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

And it's more than just an intellectual acknowledgement 'belief' - but a firm commitment of faith! Something to which you stake your life, to which you cling!

I will preach Jesus Christ and His crucifixion and His resurrection! I will preach that Jesus is The only way to Heaven! ...But I guarantee, that was the original message of the Christian Church in Ephesus, too, when they started. But they got distracted, and they compromised, and ultimately became useless for their original purpose. How many people think that their 'good deeds', their 'religiousness' and 'self righteousness', that those things are taking them towards God, when in fact they're actually moving away from Him?

No one ever drifts toward God; they'll always drift away from Him. You get busy and forget to pray, you neglect reading your Bible, you miss a Sunday or two, or three... Drifting isn't something you do. Drifting is what happens to you when you neglect your relationship with Jesus. Drifting requires no effort.

Staying the course, remaining faithful, overcoming the world - that, on the other hand, that requires enormous energy, which fortunately God's Holy Spirit supplies in our lives when we submit ourselves to His leading. What can we learn…?

B. Choose wisely

There are a lot of good things we can choose to do as we live out life in this world. But if we are not constantly, deliberately, ruthlessly intentional in our steadfast choice of living for Jesus – we'll slowly drift and become useless to God's Kingdom.

Preacher and author Oswald Chambers once said, "The only way to keep true to God is by a steady, persistent refusal to be interested in Christian work and to be interested alone in Jesus Christ."

There are a lot of wonderful social organizations out there with which to volunteer your time. And 'volunteering' has become the new moral hallmark of being a decent human being; we're called to 'give back' to the community. And I have nothing against any of those very good things – but that alone is not the calling of a follower of Jesus.

I'm not against social groups or other various commitments you can make in the community - unless it interferes with your devotion to Jesus. If you are too busy doing 'good things' that you neglect prayer, and Bible reading and worship - you're too busy. I do not want to be guilty of neglecting Jesus or things to which He specifically calls me. We are to serve Jesus first and foremost.

Matthew 6:33 (NIV)

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

When Churches seek first to love and to serve Jesus – they will thrive! But, when Churches get busy doing 'good things' out of a sense of duty or tradition, rather than out of love for Jesus - they'll fade away.

The church which Jesus Christ established is His body. We are here to do more than just good things. We are the messengers of a living, vibrant, eternal hope found only in Jesus! Which brings us to the big question…

So What?

I want to make this real for us. I'd like to see a show of hands - how many of you previously attended a Church that no longer exists? Now I'm not suggesting that every Church that has closed did so because they lost their first love. There are many various and complicated reasons why Churches close. But the fact remains that individual Churches do not appear to last forever. However, individual believers do - 'To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life.'

Look at your life - is it time to set off that emergency beacon? Or are you thinking, "I'm not that far off course, I have time to get back, once things settle down a bit - then I'll get back to Jesus." You cannot be a passive disciple. You cannot just 'drift' into 'overcoming'.

There's a lot of love for each other here at Deep River. There are great relationships that have developed over years of fellowship. There have been many effective ministries and outreaches over the years, but none of that will mean much if we forget our first love. If Jesus is not central to our worship, our plans and programs, our actions, and most importantly our daily lives – nothing we do matters in eternity. Let's keep our complete focus on Jesus!