Beyond Duty: Rediscovering the Heart of Worship

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Theological Status: COMPROMISED (Worldly/Sloppy) Biblical Parallel(Archetype): Pergamum

❓ What do these grades mean?

🔍 Biblical Discernment: The 7 Church Parallels

The Faithful Parallels Smyrna • Philadelphia

Teaching that parallels the churches that endure suffering with true spiritual riches (Rev 2:9) and keep the Word of Christ without denial despite having "little strength" (Rev 3:8).

The Cold Orthodox Parallel Ephesus

Teaching that upholds doctrinal precision yet parallels the loss of the "first love"—the vital, motivating power of the Gospel (Rev 2:4).

The Compromised Parallel Pergamum

Teaching that parallels churches tolerating the "doctrine of Balaam" through cultural accommodation (Rev 2:14), characterized by weak boundaries, sloppy theology, and worldly compromise.

The Corrupted & Dead Parallels Thyatira • Sardis • Laodicea

Teaching that parallels churches with active heresy, synergism, therapeutic deism, or dead orthodoxy (Rev 2:20, Rev 3:1, Rev 3:17). These represent systemic, fundamental errors that corrupt the Gospel.

Why strictly "Mark & Avoid"?
We do not issue this rating to attack the speaker, but to protect the listener. This ministry's overall teaching trend consistently deviates from sound doctrine. As per Romans 16:17, we identify these patterns so believers can guard their hearts.

Date: 2026-06-28 | Church: Waters Church | Speaker: Tim Hatch

Theological Topics: Grace vs. Works Lack of Reverence Martha and Mary Moralism Pastoral Coaching Revelation 2

🧐 Overview

Theological Verdict & Summary

Sermon Summary: A passionate call to move beyond the exhaustion of religious duty and into the rest of a genuine, loving relationship with Jesus.

Pastoral Analysis: The sermon effectively highlights the danger of 'Martha syndrome'—where service replaces intimacy with God. However, the delivery relies heavily on moral exhortation and human effort to 'fix' this syndrome, rather than pointing to the Gospel as the power to transform the heart. The high scripture reading ratio and occasional coarse language further distract from the redemptive message.

Biblical Parallel (Archetype): Pergamum — The sermon exhibits a significant homiletical imbalance, tolerating a moralistic framework that prioritizes human duty and religious performance over the core Gospel of grace. While the theological assertions regarding salvation are not heretical, the preaching style accommodates a 'Martha syndrome' of works-righteousness, failing to anchor the call to action in the finished work of Christ.

Big Idea: Jesus loves his church too much to let duty replace devotion. [00:47:24 ▶️ 📄]

📖 How they Handle Scripture & Jesus

Primary Text: Revelation 2
Usage Classification: Thematic
Text-to-Talk Ratio: High
Pulpit Decorum: ⚠️ CAUTION - The use of coarse language ('stinky, dirty feet') detracts from the dignity of the pulpit and the reverence due to the subject matter.

✝️ Christological Focus: Moralistic/Imitative

"Christ is presented primarily as a model to imitate (loving presence) or a standard to meet, rather than the Savior whose work enables the believer to fulfill the command."

Scripture Saturation: Verses Read: 5 | Referenced: 16 | Alluded: 5

📖 View 1 Passages Read Aloud

Revelation 2:1-5 [00:03:26 ▶️ 📄]
"to the angel of the church and I like this because I kind of love the idea that there's an angel for every church in the Bible the angels are very powerful in In second Kings, one angel kills 185,000 trained military men of the Assyrians and delivers Israel in one night. One night, 185,000 military men wiped out one angel. Don't mess with God's angels. Amen, somebody. How does Waters Church survive? How does Waters Church stay strong? We've got an angel. Amen. We've got angels watching over us. And he says, I want you to write to the angel the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and who walks among the seven golden lampstands. So this might be confusing to some of you new to the Bible. It does not have to be confusing at all. And let me explain. These seven stars are explained. The lampstands are explained one chapter earlier, actually one verse earlier in the last verse of chapter one, Revelation, it says in verse 20 as for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand the seven golden lampstands he says listen the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches and the seven lampstands are what they are the seven church so the lampstand jesus said you are the light of the world he said that to his church so the church you got to understand this is a light for its community that's why we love to plant churches in other cities even in other states because we want to bring light. People say, how can we change America? I'll tell you how we can change America, by bringing more light to America through the church of Jesus. Jesus is the change agent. And if you've been changed by Jesus, let me hear a good amen. If he changed you, he can change anybody. But notice that Jesus says in verse 1, write to the angel. Now, the word angel comes from Greek angelos. It literally just means messenger. So there's some debate about what the word angel here means. Now, don't get me wrong. I don't want to miss the point that I believe that the church is covered by angels. And we do have angels walking among us. It says, interchange strangers because you never know if that stranger is an angel. In fact, I've had a story. One of my favorite stories of people come to our church. And this I didn't say in the first there was a lady who came first time ever to this church kind of this kind of church she was a little bit overwhelmed and she sat way in the back and this was years ago in our old building and she was alone in the back row and there was this big she said big black man in the back row with her and we said greet each other and have a seat and this guy walked over to her and said hey what he says listen to and she sat down and she listened to him and she got saved and then she prayed for years, her husband came to Christ, got saved. They're saved to this day. She said, I never saw that man ever again in my life. I believe it was an angel. Praise God for big black angels. Amen, somebody. Why they got to be white, right? But some people believe the word messenger is more simply put, the guy who shares God's message. So some theologians believe that it's actually the angel of the church is the pastor of the church. You're welcome. The angel. I only share that with you because the angel is held in his right hand. You want to be thankful that God holds his messengers in his right hand. You want to be thankful that God holds me. If God did not hold me, I'd be a wreck. I'd be a mess. How do I hold it together? I don't. Jesus does. He holds me in his hand and he holds you. But also look at this. He walks among the seven lamps. Now, what are the lampstands? The lampstands are you are the lampstand. And check this out. Jesus walks among us. Every time we gather, Jesus is here. He's walking up and down the aisles, across the rows. He's walking. And the idea here of him walking amongst us is that he examines us. he knows us and that's exactly what verse two says verse two i know somebody underlined the word no in your bible i know you jesus knows you and what you're going to see in every letter there's seven letters in the to the churches from jesus is that he knows the condition of every church and every church is different and every church needs a different word from jesus but we always can learn from each other each church in these seven letters were supposed to learn from each other. They were supposed to read the letters to other churches so they can learn themselves. So when we read this letter to the church in Ephesus, remember it's in the ancient city of Ephesus, he's writing to them, but he's also writing to us because we can learn to not make the same mistakes that they learned, that they made. And so he says, I know your works. I know that you do diligent things for my good. I know you serve. And we are Protestants and we're big on you're not saved by works. And I believe that. And the scripture says you're not saved by works of the law. By works of the law shall no man be justified before God. In other words, listen to me, everybody, and especially those who are here for the first time or you're tuning in for the first time. Being a good person does not make you right with God. Being a good person does not get you to heaven. It is by grace through faith that you are saved. [Ephesians 2](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians+2&version=KJV), verse 8, 9. You are only saved by God's grace. Why? Because you can't be good enough. Why can't I be good enough? Because God's standard for getting to heaven is perfection. Raise your hand if you're perfect. That would have annihilated your perfection if you would raise your hand right there. None of us are perfect. We need God's grace. If you've ever made a mistake, if you've ever sinned, say amen. You need grace. You're saved by grace. God took your sins and put them on Jesus on the cross. And he took your sins and died and buried your sins in the ground. And your sins have been washed away through the blood of Jesus. Now you are righteous before God. Now, as much as we are all about salvation by grace through faith, guess what? We're saved to work. We're saved to do good things. We're saved to be better people. We're not saved by works. We are saved for works. And this church was nailing it because he says, I don't just know your works. I know your toil. Now, Everybody knows this is very simple. These are not synonymous. No, toil is hard work. Toil is exhausting work. Toil is when you're at the end of your rope and you're still working. And he says, I know you do that too. When you're tired, you still work. You still show up. You still serve. You still help. You still do the works that are necessary for a church to be a light in its community. And you also have patient endurance, hypomone in the Greek. It means to bear up under. guys listen to me there's a lot of time in your christian walk that requires endurance some of you want the problem to be over tomorrow some of you want the the prayer to be answered next week no no no endurance is a requirement if you're going to follow jesus you've got to get a hold of this. Don't quit. Don't give up. It's hard. Yes, it's supposed to be hard. We're not of this world. We do not belong here. And not only do we not belong here, but we agonize with our own struggles, the struggles of real life, finances, relationships, social structures, disappointments, on top of which there's natural disasters, there's international disasters, there's wars there's tribulation there's persecution and sometimes the only thing we can do is endure just turn your neighbor say bear up sometimes that's all you got and this church was enduring not only were they enduring working and toiling they could not bear with those who are evil in other words and this is something that has to happen in churches they got the they got the evil people out they got them out they didn't put up with them they didn't let them just you know hang out and disrupt disrupt the harmony and the fellowship of the church he says you've tested those who call themselves apostles and are not how many know just calling yourself a pastor just calling yourself some religious professional doesn't make you one he says you've tested them you found them to be false this is from first [john 4](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john+4&version=KJV) verse 1 beloved do not believe every spirit but test the spirits some of you got to test the tiktoks some of you got to test the instagram reels you got to test because everybody is the self-proclaimed armchair theologian anybody with a camera on their phone and an internet connection can post utter nonsense to the entire world you've got to test it that's what they did they tested they found he says i know you're enduring patiently again another emphasis for my name's sake and you have not grown weary you're still showing up you're still being active you're still participating and in verse six, he says another positive thing. You have this, you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which Jesus says, I also hate. He doesn't hate the Nicolaitans. He hates the works. Now this word Nicolaitans, this group is going to come up in another letter to another church in Revelation two and three. Nobody knows who they are. People have speculated that the Nicolaitans were a a heretical cult that was started by Nicholas of Antioch who was one of the seven deacons nominated by the apostles in Acts chapter 6 to feed the widows and so while he started good he veered off started his own kind of sub you know Christian cult movement took people out of the faith and he named it after himself Nicolaitans some people believe that's the case. That's speculation. Some people believe that the word Nicolaitans is a hint as to what these people were, that the word Nicolaitans comes from the Greek Nikeo, which, by the way, if you're wearing a Nike shoe today, it's because that word means victory. It also means to overcome or conquer. And so some people believe that the Nicolaitans were this group of Christians who were so proud of who they were and how important they were that they kind of lored over other people. They were all about their prestige, their doctrine, their view of church, their view of God, and everybody else was wrong. And have you ever been to a church like that, where everybody's wrong except their denomination? Watch out for that. Let me break the news. Every denomination is wrong about something. We all disagree about so many, many, many, many things. And I am talking about Catholics and Protestants, Baptists and Presbyterians, Charismatics, and Pentecostals, and even Waters Church, the non-denoms, non-denominational churches. We're all wrong about something. We got to be right about the main thing, and that is Jesus Christ is the Son of the Most High God. He took on flesh. He died on a cross. He bore our sins. He rose again on the third day, and he's coming back again. But there are churches like that that just, you know, they get so arrogant. They get so arrogant. They're right, and everybody else is wrong. And these people usually live on Twitter. So watch out. And they blog, and they all do all that stuff. Okay, so Nicolaus, you hate those works. And Jesus says, I hate those works as well. And so he's going to diagnose the problem. This is a church. I just want you to see. This is a church that works, that toils, that bears up under trouble, that tests false apostles, that doesn't grow weary, and that doesn't pride themselves in being the right and only right church. But the diagnosis, verse four, but I have this against you, that you have abandoned, what is it? The love you had at first. How many of you, this is where you live. You live in Ephesus. You live in a comfortable, albeit very active, Christian experience. And you haven't realized, because this happens subconsciously, without noticing, you've lost love for the Lord. Write this down in your notes. Point number one. It is possible to be dutiful, but not loving. It is possible to have all of your actions proper, but your heart's not engaged. You're not showing love, demonstrating love, experiencing love with God. You're just working and doing and building and accomplishing things for God or for your family or for your life. it's possible to get to that very scary very dangerous place jesus says i have this against you this is not right and he's going to tell them later i want you to um repent i want you to repent of the fact that your love has been lost if there is an archetype example of somebody who was busy for god busy for jesus but did not embrace this you know emotional loving connection with him It is Martha. Back in Luke chapter 10, Martha, Mary, Lazarus, two sisters, one brother, they have Jesus over for dinner. And Martha's in the kitchen. Mary's sitting by the feet of Jesus. Martha's in the kitchen and she's, you know, getting the meal ready. She's getting prepared for dinner. After all, it's a dinner for Jesus. Kind of an important guest. We've got to get everything right. The napkins have to be just so. The silverware just so. The plates have to be spotless. This is Jesus we're talking about. And we've got to make sure the wine glasses are available, even if we've only got water, because we know how that goes. And she's busy. And the scripture says in verse 40 of [Luke 10](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+10&version=KJV), Martha was distracted with much. Now let me ask you, pop quiz, who was she serving? Jesus. It is possible to be dutiful, not loving, and you get distracted by all you're doing for God instead of loving him. And she went to him with a complaint. By the way, you know you're dutiful but not loving if most of your prayers are complaints? And she said, Lord, don't you care? Oh, boy. The language of the dutiful servant. Lord, don't you care? Have you prayed those prayers? Lord, don't you see what I'm doing? I thought by now I would be here, but I'm not. I thought by now you would pay attention to all that I've done. Where are you at? And then notice the comparison and trap here. Lord, don't you care that my sister, oh, dutiful but loving people, always love to put the others down and extol themselves. Lord, my sister, she's a lazy slouch. Tell her to help me. Fix them, Lord. Oh, the dutiful but not loving. Fix them. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. How does it go from Martha? Not good. Not good. Jesus says in verse 41, the Lord answered her, Martha, Martha, and whenever Jesus uses your name twice, watch out. Martha, Martha, you are anxious. I think some of our anxiety comes from comparison. Some of our anxiety comes from expecting Jesus to do things that we expect him to do based on what we've done for him. Some of our anxiety comes from the fact that we are overscheduled, that we don't stop. We don't Sabbath. We don't cease. the word Sabbath means stop. And it was written into the law. Every seventh day, stop. Don't pick up your email. Don't pick up your to-do list. Don't get your work done. Stop and spend time with the Lord. Cease. Seven days. Every seven days, you get a 24-hour reminder that the world can still rotate without you pushing. You got to just learn to chill and relax. And that's where our anxiety comes from. We want to get ahead. We want to be ahead of the Joneses. We want to make sure that our kids go to the best colleges. We want to make sure that the business is at the pinnacle of its industry. Anxious and worried and troubled. And we're doing good things. These are not bad things. These are not sinful things. These are good things. But good things can become bad things when they overwhelm the ultimate thing. The ultimate thing. What Jesus says in verse 42, Mary has chosen the good portion. Time with me, loving me, worshiping me. And Jesus says it will not be what? It will not be what? Taken. Listen to that language. It will not. She will not lose that time with me. What does Jesus say to the church in Ephesus? If you don't get back to me, If you don't come and spend time with me, I will remove your lampstand. It will be taken from you. Do you know why you want to make sure that you are cultivating a love relationship with the Lord? Because it's the only thing you can take with you into the next life. A social media post lasts seconds or years if you're applying for a job and they look it up later on. But nonetheless, a car lasts five, six, maybe 10 years, a house, 30, a family, 40, 50, a marriage, maybe 60 years. If you're lucky, these are drops in the bucket of eternity. The only thing that lasts forever is your relationship with the one who made you come back to him. There are Martha churches. Martha churches are churches that are doctrinally strong, put together, active in their community, serving the less fortunate, doing all the things. We do these things. We do these things. And they're Martha church, but they've lost love for the Lord. And it becomes, and this is true, it becomes a very cold place without even realizing it. People don't feel welcome. They don't feel loved. There's no, no one's reaching out. They just become, they turn inward. Churches do that. They turn inward. It's us. We know what we're about. This is us. This is what we're church. Our church is here for us. And we forget that our church is here for them. People not like us. There are Martha families, families that are doing all the right things. Your kids are in the honor roll. They're in several different activities. You're a good parent. You're involved. You might be on the PTA. You're getting them to the practices, picking them up. You're staying after. You're a classroom assistant. But where's your love? Love for the Lord. Love for people. Love for those who are important to you. There are Martha marriages. Martha marriages are when you're both doing all the right things, but you're not genuinely sharing love each for the other. And you're doing what Martha did. Most of the time you're, when you're talking about your spouse, you're complaining about them and you're telling God change them. You need to get to re-engage our class for marriage, where we will tell you God wants to change you. And the scripture says that we must love our spouse, lay down our life. Men, lay down our life for our spouse. Wives, obey, submit to your husbands. And this happens later on. Later on. You know, when you were first in love, and you would write notes to each other, and you would... My wife used to draw me pictures, and she would put these little notes and everything. Together. Oh, how about date night? How quickly it could become something that is skipped. After a while, you never go out. You never do something fun together. Just spending time. No, we got bills to pay. We got things to get done. We got kids to get through college. We got to go. We got to go. You got to watch out that the love doesn't leave the house. There are Martha parents. Martha fathers. Martha fathers. You're a good worker. You show up on time. You are going after the promotion. You're going to make a lot of money. You're going to make sure that your kids have their choice of college. But do you love them in physical, visible ways? Spending time with them, taking them out for ice cream, spoiling them a little bit, giving them yourself, your presence, asking them what's going on in their hearts and their minds, taking time to share God's word with them, sitting around the dinner table, this lost art form of America, which I absolutely believe is what's causing so many children to despair, to give up, to disconnect, sit around the table, talk to each other, fellowship, put your phones away, for heaven's sakes, and love. where are you Mary chose what's the better portion and Jesus says I want that for you he says remember where you were or else I'm going to remove go back to what you did at first we'll talk about that in just a moment we need to get back in love with the Lord number two write this down it's possible it's impossible to faithfully represent Jesus without love it's impossible to faithfully represent Jesus without love. We don't represent Jesus, believe it or not, we don't represent Jesus because we have the right doctrines. We don't represent Jesus because we have a big building, or multiple locations, or we're talented, or we're put together. No, we represent Jesus with love. Now, what kind of love is Jesus talking about here? Because some of you are under the impression that I'm talking about just vertical love. No. Actually, let's take a look at verse four. In the New Living Translation, he says, I have this complaint against you. You don't love me or what? Each other as you did at first. The two greatest commandments in the Bible, both are about love. Commandment number one, love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Commandment number two, love who? Your neighbor as you love yourself. Jesus actually says in [Matthew 22](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+22&version=KJV), the entire Old Testament hangs on those two commandments. What's the Old Testament asking us to do? Love God and love one another. Jesus says at the last supper to the disciples, right before he goes to the cross, he says in John chapter 13, verse 34, a new commandment I give you, that you must love one another as I have loved you. Notice that phrase, as I have loved you. Jesus laid down his life for them. Jesus just washed their feet, their stinky, dirty feet. And he took the form of a servant in the house. And he said, I want you to do this for each other. I want you to serve each other. I want you to bless each other. I want you to show that you love don't just say you love show it and then he says this line in verse 34 verse 35 by this by your love for each other all people will know you're my disciples if you want people to know that waters church is bearing witness to god love each other now circle or underline the word one another in verse 35 because i have a question for you waters church do you have a few one-anothers? Do you have people that you can love genuinely in this church? And I am not talking of the people that are sitting in the seats with you right now at all of our locations. I am talking about people that you know by name. You know their kids' names. You connected with them. There's deep, intimate relationship with them. This is where we call you to life group. This is why we ask you to go through growth track to get to know our church so that you can go through the front door. This is the front. Water church Sunday morning is the front door. There's a lot more to explore. There's the kitchen. We call that life group where you face each other and you get a hold of your one another's. These are my one another's. The Bible talks about all the one another's. 50 commands in the New Testament that we have to do for one another. Here it says, love one another. In another passage it says, bear with one another. Hey, sometimes Christians can be frustrating. Anybody ever met a frustrating Christian? If you haven't met one, you are one. And everybody has to deal with you. Scripture says, bear with one another. Sometimes we don't get along. We got to bear. How about this one? Forgiving one another. As the Lord forgave you. Some Christians love to play the silent treatment game. I'm not going to talk to them anymore. And I'm going to wait until they realize that I'm not talking to them anymore. And you'll go months disconnected from somebody that you need to be connected to. I've tried that. I'm going to be honest with you. I'm also a sinner who needs Jesus. I've tried the cutting them off game. It's miserable. I was so miserable. I couldn't take it. You have to eventually just get over yourself and text them and say, let's connect. Let's work this out. You mean a lot to me because you got two choices in life. Here's your choices. Are you ready? You can die alone or you can die with friends. I'd rather you die with friends. And listen to me. this is for someone here today. You think they're wrong, but it might be you. Hardly any amens for that. Because we all assume we're the ones that are right. They're wrong. Maybe you're wrong. You know, even if you are wrong, even if you are right. Do you know what Paul says to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians chapter 6? He says, why not just rather be wronged? Hold on to the fellowship. Okay, yeah, they sinned against you. They hurt you. I'm not talking about abusive people who take advantage of you repeatedly. I'm not talking about that. So let's show that. I'm talking about people that you can reconnect with, that you can build a bridge with. Life is hard enough. If you've got no friends, it's almost impossible. You understand that that's what they do with prisoners when they're really bad. They put them alone. Some of you are the warden to your own prison, and you keep putting yourself in isolation, cutting people off, not talking to them anymore. I'm done with them. Oh my word. Watch out. You're going to drive yourself nuts. Love, forgive, serve one another, encourage one another. How about text them encouraging words? This is so important that we love one another. I understand. You got to understand that the scriptures, holy scripture ties these two commandments together. You cannot separate them. Let me show you. First John chapter four, verse 20. John says, if anyone says I love God but hates his brother, he is a liar. He cannot love his brother whom he has seen. He cannot not love his brother whom he has seen and then claim to love God whom he has not seen. Think about that. Where is Jesus? Where is the body of Christ right now? Where is the body of Christ? Here. you are the body of christ forgiven justified free of sin yes still sinful tendencies yes simultaneously justified and sinful and that is us and yet we are the body the representation of christ we must love the church i i i gotta ask some probing questions that might hit some people between the eyes, but how about this? How about your attitude about even just coming to church? Do you get there last minute? Do you, you know, say, do you wake up on Sunday morning and say, well, it's just church. We can be late. What? The church is the only movement that Jesus Christ, the son of God instituted. This is the most important movement on the planet. I dare say that this is the most important hour of your week. This is going to set your week up right now so that you get a hold of Jesus Christ for the battle. You don't know the battles that are happening on Monday. You don't know the battles that are happening on Wednesday. You don't know what tragedy is going to strike on Thursday. But if you know the one who holds the world in the palm of his hands, come on, somebody, you can do all things through Christ, through Christ who strengthens you. how about this when we start to close our service do you run for the door i'm gonna get in line to get my kid out first that's enough church thank you okay i gotta i gotta go on to more busy things i've got martha things to do oh you'll be mary for a moment but you'll be martha all week long and maybe your problem is you need a lot more mary in your week than just sunday morning life groups connections sharing life together the scripture says in [romans 12](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=romans+12&version=KJV) love must be genuine must be visible verse 10 it says love one another with brotherly what affection write this down love is the soil where our connection to god and others grows love is the soil where our connection to god and others grows. You want to grow closer to God? Practice loving him, not feeling love for him. Adults know this. Children don't. But love has nothing to do with feelings. Nothing. Because feelings come and feelings go. Feelings come and feelings go. And as I saw my daughter and her husband standing here yesterday, the greatest worry right there in that moment was, oh, when these feelings are over, because they always end, I am going to pray that they choose to love. Choose to love. It's a verb, not an emotion. And if you want to grow closer to God, you must choose things that activate the love quotient in your life for him. How about when you were first saved? Do you remember how much you've looked forward to getting to church? Some of you are newly saved and that's you. And I'm so thankful. Thank God for the brand new born again babies at Waters Church. We've got so many of them. Yeah, they, I call them grandbabies. Some of you are spiritual grandparents because you've been saved 10, 15, 20 years. The love waned and they remind you. They're here to remind you how wonderful it is to finally know your Savior. They're the ones that, let me just be frank, okay? Let me just be frank, okay? They're the ones who don't have to be asked to write things down in the notes. They want to. I might miss something. I'm excited about connecting with the Lord. What is dutiful but not loving? Okay, check. They're the ones who bring their Bibles to church. Do you know who I can't get to bring their Bible to church? Two groups of people, the unbelievers and the longtime believers, because the unbelievers don't honor it, and the longtime believers think they've memorized it, and they also know, well, it's going to be on the screen anyway, so I'll just watch it there. Bring your Bible, underline, mark things up, enjoy it. Hey, wear your Bible out so that life doesn't wear you out. Come on, somebody. Do you remember when you first started to worship and you would lift your hands without somebody telling you to lift your hands? and sing without somebody to tell you to sing. That's the love that Lord wants for us. Number three, it is possible to grow deeper in love with God and each other. It is possible. You're not supposed to lose your love. You're supposed to increase your love for God. I said last week about John the Apostle. This is the most phenomenal thing about [Revelation 65](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation+65&version=KJV) years later from the shores of Galilee to the Isle of Patmos, 65 years, six decades of following Jesus. And he's more in love with him than ever before. God, give me that love. And you can do it. He tells him. He says, I need you. I need you to do something. Remember. Somebody say remember. Remember what you did before. Repent. Now everybody gets a little bit nervous about that word repent. Repent. Sackcloth. Ashes. Mourning. Wailing. It just means, you know what it means? It means turn around. You are unconscious, subconsciously, you are walking away from loving the Lord. And repentance means walk back. And this is good news for anybody who needs to repent. And we all do. We all make mistakes. We all sin. We all fail, even as Christians. And some of you let this lie from the devil come to you and say, God doesn't want anything to do with you. You did too much wrong this week for God to even look at you. And the answer to that question is, I rebuke you, Satan. He wants you to turn around and face him and come back to him, and he will wash you clean, and he will wipe away your sins. The Bible says if we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us of all of our unrighteousness. Just turn around. Now, we don't have to guess about this. He says, do the works. Now, remember, this is the church where? Ephesus. So he says, do the works that you did at first. And we don't have to wonder what those works were because Acts chapter 19 and 20 tell us what this church did. And I want to show you. Acts chapter 19 tells us that when Paul, the apostle, cast some demons out of somebody, there was great fear that came upon the city. Acts chapter 19, 18 says, it says, many of those who were believers came confessing and divulging their practices because this is a very pagan very mystical magical oriented city it says this and a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all and they counted the value of them and found it to be 50 000 pieces of silver in other words what they did was they destroyed the stuff that got between them and god so letter a in your notes you want to do something to ignite the fire of love in your life for god here we go write this down destroy the things that separate you from god because i've noticed that for new Christians, usually the things that separate you from God are sinful practices. But listen to me, old time Christians, the things that separate you from God can be good things. They can be your job, your career, your ambition, which are good things. I want you to succeed. The Lord wants you to succeed. Wealth is not sinful. Money is not sinful. Success is not sinful. The Lord wants these for you, but they can become idols of your heart where you start abandoning time with the Lord to serve those things. A spouse is not sinful. Of course not. It's a blessing, but a spouse can become an idol, even if you don't have one. For the young ladies or young men who are born again, and you're thinking about this thought, you're thinking, I'm going to date somebody who's not a believer because you know what? I can't find a believer. Oh, please don't do that. I've said this for many years in this church, and I do mean this. Please pick another sin. That sounds wrong, but I'm begging you. I don't know how more I could emphasize this. Please pick another sin. I got some phone numbers of some friends and family that you could call who tried that, and they weep every single night over the spiritual condition of their children. It's not worth it. Destroy the things that separate you from God. We also find out that the Ephesian church did this. In Acts chapter 20, verse 18, when Paul was talking about what he did, he said, I never stopped talking to you from the time I first set foot in Asia. I served the Lord with humility, tears, trials, what happened to me, the plots of the Jews, how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you where? In public and where? Okay, so let me break it down for you. This is the public gathering. Anybody can come in here. This is the public gathering. And Paul says, I did that, and I also did house to house. That's the life group gathering. Both are required. So here's letter B. Ready? Ignite the love of God in your life again. Participate in big and small community. Participate in both. Come to Waters Church on Sunday. Get to your life group during the week. Face each other. Love each other. Serve each other. Bear with each other. Encourage each other. And then number three, or letter C, sorry, visibly express your bond with each other. This is what the Ephesian church did as well, at first. Acts chapter 20, verse 36. And when he had said this, Paul was leaving. And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all, and there was much weeping on the part of all. And they embraced Paul, and they kissed him, being sorrowful most of all that the word he had spoken, that he would not see their face again. In other words, they visibly demonstrated love for him. So here's what my admonition to you, Water Churches, ready? visibly show love to you, to each other, to God, of course, and to each other. For the marriage that has fallen into the Martha syndrome, I'll tell you something. I was very convicted about this myself this week, and I was studying the word, and I was writing these thoughts down for you, and the Lord said, physician, heal thyself, and I picked up my phone, and I texted my wife, I love you. Thank God I have to preach. It keeps me straight. Amen, somebody. And she wrote back, I love you too. When was the last time you just did that for your spouse, for your children, for your friends? How about just calling somebody up and saying, I was thinking about you. You matter to me. I love you. But is it that we don't say it when we should? Because sometimes we know this, which starts as a fire, dwindles into smoldering coals and if we're not careful you'll fizzle out paul says to the romans [romans 12](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=romans+12&version=KJV) 9 don't just pretend to love others really love them don't go through the motions do it at the end of this letter to ephesus he says he who has an ear let him hear and to the one who conquers we got to fight for love this word conquer war language you got to fight for your love for god then then the first commandment is love the lord your god so guess what the first target is of the devil for you to stop you from loving the Lord. That's target number one. You got to fight for it. He says, I'll grant you the tree of life. Where was the tree of life? Anybody remember? It was in Eden. That's why he said the paradise of God. That's what we were made for. A place of perfect peace, no sin, no shame, no guilt, no hurts, no murders, no racism, no wars, Perfect peace with God and with each other. How do we get back to that? We get back to that by keeping our love for God and for each other stronger as the days go by. Sermon in a sentence. Jesus loves his church too much to let duty replace devotion. He loves you too much to let you go through the motions of dead religion to just show up on Sunday and check the box and say, okay, I did it. now let me see if god will pay me back for showing up that's martha martha lord don't you care so i did cross a finish line yesterday with my oldest and i've told this church many times and some of you heard this so many times it's you can repeat it back to me that from the day she was born i would sneak into her crib and sneak into her bedroom and place my hand into her crib i'd place my hand on her little head in her crib, and I would pray, and I would say, Dear Jesus, make sure, please, Lord Jesus, give her a husband who loves you more than anything. I prayed that over her as many times as I could until it got weird, and I didn't want to sneak into her room anymore. I got up onto this stage, and the Lord said, I answered that prayer. Then he said, I got another one for you. And I said, okay, here's my new prayer. Lord Jesus, that's my prayer for"

Key References: 2 Kings 19:35, Revelation 1:20, Matthew 5:14, Romans 3:20, Ephesians 2:8-9, Luke 10:38-42, Matthew 22:37-39, John 13:34-35, 1 Corinthians 6:7, 1 John 4:20, and 6 more...

💧 Liturgy & Sacraments

Altar Call / Invitation Observed: Yes

Theological Conditions: Need Jesus, Forgiveness of sins, Cleansing from unrighteousness, Belief that Jesus died for the individual, Belief in the resurrection of Jesus, Declaration that Jesus is Lord
Sinner's Prayer: "Heavenly Father, I need Jesus. Forgive me of my sins. Cleanse me of my unrighteousness. Bring me home to be with God. Today I believe Jesus died for me and rose again. And today I declare Jesus is Lord." 00:49:49 ▶️ 📄
Pastoral Appeal: "I like to end with a prayer to say just that to the Lord, to say yes to him. Heads bowed, eyes closed. If that's you, you can say this prayer. Say it quietly, but please, please, please say it with your mouth. Say it with your words. Repeat after me." [00:49:37 ▶️ 📄]

🎙️ Sermon Content & Delivery

Word Count: 7,629 words

📌 View 18 Key Topics Addressed

Religion vs. Relationship [00:00:12 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor establishes the core thesis that authentic faith is defined by a personal relationship with God rather than mere religious observance.
Salvation by Grace [00:08:44 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor clarifies that while good works are not the basis for salvation, believers are saved for the purpose of doing good works, distinguishing between being saved by works versus saved to work.
Spiritual Endurance [00:10:39 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor emphasizes 'hypomone' (patient endurance) as a necessary component of the Christian walk, urging the congregation to bear up under trials rather than quitting.
Discernment of False Teachers [00:11:52 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor discusses the church's responsibility to test spirits and reject false apostles or 'armchair theologians' who disrupt church harmony.
The Nicolaitans and Church Arrogance [00:13:08 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor discusses the Nicolaitans, speculating on their origins and defining them as a group characterized by pride and the belief that their denomination is the only correct one, contrasting this with the need for humility.
Dutifulness vs. Love [00:16:40 ▶️ 📄]
> The core theological argument that one can perform all religious duties and actions correctly while lacking a genuine, loving relationship with God, leading to a loss of first love.
The Martha Archetype [00:17:47 ▶️ 📄]
> Using the biblical story of Martha and Mary to illustrate the danger of being 'busy for God' to the point of anxiety, complaint, and losing the 'good portion' of intimate time with Jesus.
Application to Church, Family, and Marriage [00:22:55 ▶️ 📄]
> Extending the Martha/Mary analogy to modern contexts, warning that churches, families, and marriages can become 'cold' and inward-focused if they prioritize activity and duty over genuine love and presence.
Love as the Definitive Witness [00:27:28 ▶️ 📄]
> Asserting that faithful representation of Jesus is not achieved through doctrine, talent, or organization, but exclusively through love for God and neighbor, as evidenced by John 13:35.
The Two Greatest Commandments [00:28:11 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor links loving God and loving neighbor as the foundation of the Old and New Testaments, citing Matthew 22 and John 13.
Community and Life Groups [00:30:10 ▶️ 📄]
> He contrasts the 'front door' of Sunday service with the 'kitchen' of life groups, urging members to move from superficial acquaintance to deep, intimate relationships.
Reconciliation and Forgiveness [00:31:06 ▶️ 📄]
> He addresses the 'silent treatment' and isolation, using personal testimony to argue that reconnecting with frustrating Christians is essential for spiritual health.
Love as Action vs. Emotion [00:36:35 ▶️ 📄]
> He defines love as a verb and a choice rather than a fleeting feeling, citing 1 John 4 and Romans 12 to show that love must be genuine and visible.
Repentance and Idolatry [00:40:02 ▶️ 📄]
> He redefines repentance as 'turning around' to return to God, warning that even good things like career or marriage can become idols that separate believers from God.
Idolatry and Distractions [00:41:50 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor argues that while sinful practices separate believers from God, 'good' things like career, ambition, and even marriage can become idols that replace devotion.
Community Engagement [00:44:10 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor emphasizes the necessity of participating in both public gatherings and small group 'life groups' to ignite love for God.
Visible Expression of Love [00:44:31 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor instructs the congregation to visibly demonstrate love to one another, citing Paul's farewell in Acts 20 and sharing a personal anecdote about texting his wife.
Spiritual Warfare for Love [00:46:20 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor describes love as a battle, urging the congregation to 'fight' for their love for God to avoid the 'Martha syndrome' of dead religion.

🖼️ View 13 Illustrations & Stories

Sermon Illustration [00:00:41 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor shares a personal anecdote about his daughter's recent wedding, joking about his emotional reaction to seeing her married and his joy at receiving a credit card receipt for wedding expenses from his daughter.
Sermon Illustration [00:05:55 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor recounts a story of a woman who was saved after a large black man sat next to her in church years ago; he believes this man was an angel sent by God.
Sermon Illustration [00:17:47 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor uses the biblical story of Martha and Mary (Luke 10) to illustrate the difference between dutiful service and loving presence. He details Martha's anxiety, her complaint to Jesus about her sister, and Jesus' correction that Mary chose the 'good portion' of sitting at his feet, warning against the anxiety that comes from being overscheduled and comparison-driven.
Sermon Illustration [00:22:01 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor contrasts the temporary nature of worldly achievements (social media posts, cars, houses, careers) with the eternal nature of a relationship with God, illustrating that only the relationship with the Creator lasts forever.
Sermon Illustration [00:24:27 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor describes 'Martha marriages' where couples do all the right things but complain about each other, and 'Martha parents' who provide materially but fail to show physical, visible love through presence, such as sitting around the dinner table without phones.
Sermon Illustration [00:31:15 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor shares a personal anecdote about his own experience with the 'silent treatment' and cutting people off, admitting it was miserable and led to isolation, which convinced him to reach out and reconnect.
Sermon Illustration [00:32:31 ▶️ 📄]
> He uses the analogy of prisoners being put in solitary confinement to describe Christians who isolate themselves from the church, calling them 'wardens to their own prison.'
Sermon Illustration [00:37:03 ▶️ 📄]
> He references his daughter and her husband's wedding, noting that while feelings fade, the choice to love remains, illustrating that love is a decision rather than an emotion.
Sermon Illustration [00:37:33 ▶️ 📄]
> He contrasts 'newborn babies' (new Christians) who are eager to engage with God's word with 'spiritual grandparents' (longtime believers) who may have become complacent or dutiful rather than loving.
Sermon Illustration [00:41:27 ▶️ 📄]
> He cites the historical account from Acts 19 where believers in Ephesus burned their magic books worth 50,000 pieces of silver, using this as an example of destroying things that separate them from God.
Sermon Illustration [00:41:27 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor recounts the biblical account of the Ephesian believers burning their magic books worth 50,000 pieces of silver to remove obstacles between them and God.
Sermon Illustration [00:45:21 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor shares a personal story of texting his wife 'I love you' after being convicted by the Holy Spirit, and receiving a reply, illustrating the need for visible affection in marriage.
Sermon Illustration [00:48:03 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor tells a story about sneaking into his daughter's crib to pray for her to marry a man who loves Jesus, and later seeing her on stage as evidence that God answered that prayer.

🚀 View 12 Calls to Action

Pastoral Charge [00:09:27 ▶️ 📄]
> Physical affirmation of human imperfection to acknowledge the need for grace.
Pastoral Charge [00:09:32 ▶️ 📄]
> Verbal affirmation of sinfulness to confirm the need for God's grace.
Pastoral Charge [00:11:52 ▶️ 📄]
> Encourage a neighbor with the message of endurance.
Pastoral Charge [00:16:40 ▶️ 📄]
> Write down the principle that duty does not equal love.
Pastoral Charge [00:27:06 ▶️ 📄]
> Write down the principle that representing Jesus requires love.
Pastoral Charge [00:21:45 ▶️ 📄]
> Return to the first love and spend time with Jesus to avoid spiritual loss.
Pastoral Charge [00:26:48 ▶️ 📄]
> Put away phones and engage in face-to-face fellowship and love at the dinner table.
Pastoral Charge [00:30:10 ▶️ 📄]
> Join a life group and complete the growth track to build deep relationships.
Pastoral Charge [00:41:40 ▶️ 📄]
> Identify and remove idols or distractions that separate them from God.
Pastoral Charge [00:42:55 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor urgently commands young believers not to date non-believers, begging them to choose a different sin rather than compromising their faith through interfaith relationships.
Pastoral Charge [00:44:18 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor commands the congregation to attend Sunday services and participate in weekly life groups.
Pastoral Charge [00:45:54 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor encourages the congregation to proactively call friends, family, or spouses to express love and care.

🧭 Biblical Alignment Dashboard

Overall Verdict: Compromised / Weak

Category	Status	Reasoning
Gospel Presentation	❌ FAIL	The Gospel Engine is compromised. The sermon utilizes Revelation 2 as a thematic springboard for moralistic exhortations regarding human duty, failing to anchor the call to action in the finished work of Christ. The 'Safe Harbor' for Gospel clarity failed.
Soteriology	✅ PASS	The sermon correctly distinguishes between salvation by grace and sanctification by works, though the application leans heavily on the latter.
Bibliology	✅ PASS	Scripture is treated with authority, though the high reading ratio suggests a reliance on text over exposition.
Hermeneutic	⚠️ WEAK	The sermon uses the text merely as a thematic springboard for moralistic exhortations, lacking deep redemptive-historical connection.
Theology Proper	✅ PASS	No errors detected in the doctrine of God.
Sacramentology	✅ PASS	No errors detected in sacramental theology.
Confessional Depth	❌ SHALLOW	The sermon focuses on practical application and moral behavior rather than deep theological exposition of the Gospel.

⚙️ The Core Gospel Framework

What is this? This section checks if the sermon contains the essential building blocks of the Gospel. We look for explicit, substantive mentions of God's holy standard, human inability, and Christ's finished work on the cross.

Why it matters for the final verdict: A complete Gospel framework protects a sermon from becoming man-centered. If a preacher gives commands for good behavior but leaves out the grace and atonement of the Gospel, it often results in a 🔴 Critical or 🟠 Major error for Moralism (teaching human self-improvement rather than reliance on Christ). However, if these Gospel elements are missing simply because the pastor is preaching a highly focused, practical message to mature believers (e.g., instructions on biblical marriage), our system applies a "Safe Harbor" pardon, graciously reducing the omission to a 🟡 Minor error.

❌ The Law And Wrath: Not observed in the sermon.

✅ Total Depravity And Inability:

"None of us are perfect. We need God's grace. If you've ever made a mistake, if you've ever sinned, say amen. You need grace." [00:09:32 ▶️ 📄]

✅ Active Obedience Of Christ:

"God took your sins and put them on Jesus on the cross. And he took your sins and died and buried your sins in the ground. And your sins have been washed away through the blood of Jesus. Now you are righteous before God." [00:09:44 ▶️ 📄]

✅ The Cross And Atonement:

"God took your sins and put them on Jesus on the cross. And he took your sins and died and buried your sins in the ground. And your sins have been washed away through the blood of Jesus." [00:09:44 ▶️ 📄]

🛡️ Verified Orthodox Mechanics

✅ Salvation by Grace through Faith

✅ The Necessity of Love for God and Neighbor

✅ The Danger of Idolatry (Even of Good Things)

⚠️ Theological Concerns

🟠 Major Assumed Gospel (Thematic/Moralistic)

Root Cause: Moralism

The Belief/Behavior: The call to action is framed as a moral imperative for human effort to restore intimacy with God, without anchoring this ability in the finished work of Christ.

Why It's Dangerous: This leads the congregation to rely on their own willpower to 'fix' their spiritual dryness, resulting in exhaustion and further religious duty rather than true repentance and rest.

Biblical Correction: For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

🟡 Minor Coarse Language

Root Cause: Lack of Reverence

"their stinky, dirty feet" [00:29:03 ▶️ 📄]

The Belief/Behavior: The use of such visceral, unrefined language in a pastoral setting.

Why It's Dangerous: This language can distract the congregation from the spiritual truth being taught and may cause offense or discomfort, undermining the reverence due to the Word of God.

Biblical Correction: Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man. (Colossians 4:6)

✅ Commendations

Pastoral Sensitivity | Relatable Illustrations

The use of personal anecdotes, such as the daughter's wedding and marriage struggles, creates strong emotional resonance and relatability with the congregation.

Theological Clarity | Grace vs. Works Distinction

The sermon correctly identifies that moral behavior is insufficient for salvation and directs the audience to rely on grace, avoiding Pelagianism in its doctrinal assertions.

Practical Application | Concrete Steps for Reconciliation

The command to initiate reconciliation via text and join life groups provides actionable steps for the congregation to apply the message.

📜 Full Sermon Transcript (Audit)

Use the 📄 icons next to quotes above to automatically jump to their location in this raw transcript.

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:00:00] Let's get into this message, part two of seven letters, looking at the seven letters of Jesus to his churches in Asia Minor, ancient Asia Minor, now modern-day Turkey.
[00:00:09] But what do these letters have to say to us? Here's part two. Ready?
[00:00:12] Don't let religion replace relationship. Don't let religion replace relationship.
[00:00:20] i'm in the mood for love simply because you're near me hey love is a glorious thing and i am in the mood to talk about love not simply because it is the subject of this letter from jesus to
[00:00:41] the church in ephesus but because my family and i had a very significant weekend of love we we saw our oldest daughter walk down the aisle with me in her arm last night not 18 hours
[00:01:01] removed from this moment stood here in front of a congregation said their vows exchanged their rings kissed and walked on into their future of love yeah i've reached an exclusive club of finally, we got one of them out of the house. Praise God. Vipa said, Pastor, why didn't you
[00:01:30] tear up and cry? This is not a time for crying. This is a time for rejoicing. I look forward to having more money in my pocket. I would tell you, I did tear up though today because she works in
[00:01:45] the church, as some of you know, and her husband, Anthony. Now, he also works in the church, but I had given her a credit card for wedding expenses that we shared and I got to the church this
[00:01:56] morning and wouldn't you know she's so thoughtful she left the credit card on my desk now I started to cry tears of joy that those bills are coming down praise Jesus okay all right I'm over
[00:02:14] compensating. But nonetheless, love is a powerful thing. The Beatles sang, love is all you need.
[00:02:21] The Eagles sang, love will keep us alive. Foreigner wanted to know what love is. And Whitney Houston said, I will always love you. Of course, it was Dolly Parton first.
[00:02:33] But love is a powerful thing. And it is the central, it's the essential essence and verb an activity that God invites us into when it comes to knowing him. And when we talk about matters of faith, we must always be on our guard to remember, very important, that we do not lose
[00:03:00] love in the church. It happens without us even realizing it. It happens just through the course of human existence and not just in the church but in our lives with those who matter most to us
[00:03:15] and the Lord has something to say to that end and we go to the letter from Jesus to the church in Ephesus in Revelation chapter 2 so keep your Bibles open your notes open and I want to start
[00:03:26] right from verse 1 it says to the angel of the church and I like this because I kind of love the idea that there's an angel for every church in the Bible the angels are very powerful in
[00:03:39] In second Kings, one angel kills 185,000 trained military men of the Assyrians and delivers Israel in one night. One night, 185,000 military men wiped out one angel. Don't mess with God's angels.
[00:04:00] Amen, somebody. How does Waters Church survive? How does Waters Church stay strong? We've got an angel. Amen. We've got angels watching over us. And he says, I want you to write to the angel the
[00:04:13] words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and who walks among the seven golden lampstands. So this might be confusing to some of you new to the Bible. It does not have to be
[00:04:23] confusing at all. And let me explain. These seven stars are explained. The lampstands are explained one chapter earlier, actually one verse earlier in the last verse of chapter one, Revelation, it says in verse 20 as for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand the
[00:04:39] seven golden lampstands he says listen the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches and the seven lampstands are what they are the seven church so the lampstand jesus said you are the light of the world he said that to his church so the church you got to understand this is a light
[00:04:59] for its community that's why we love to plant churches in other cities even in other states because we want to bring light. People say, how can we change America? I'll tell you how we can
[00:05:09] change America, by bringing more light to America through the church of Jesus. Jesus is the change agent. And if you've been changed by Jesus, let me hear a good amen. If he changed you, he can
[00:05:21] change anybody. But notice that Jesus says in verse 1, write to the angel. Now, the word angel comes from Greek angelos. It literally just means messenger. So there's some debate about what the word angel here means. Now, don't get me wrong. I don't want to miss the point that I believe that
[00:05:41] the church is covered by angels. And we do have angels walking among us. It says, interchange strangers because you never know if that stranger is an angel. In fact, I've had a story. One of my favorite stories of people come to our church. And this I didn't say in the first
[00:05:55] there was a lady who came first time ever to this church kind of this kind of church she was a little bit overwhelmed and she sat way in the back and this was years ago in our old building and she
[00:06:04] was alone in the back row and there was this big she said big black man in the back row with her and we said greet each other and have a seat and this guy walked over to her and said hey what he
[00:06:16] says listen to and she sat down and she listened to him and she got saved and then she prayed for years, her husband came to Christ, got saved. They're saved to this day. She said, I never saw
[00:06:30] that man ever again in my life. I believe it was an angel. Praise God for big black angels. Amen, somebody. Why they got to be white, right? But some people believe the word messenger is more
[00:06:48] simply put, the guy who shares God's message. So some theologians believe that it's actually the angel of the church is the pastor of the church. You're welcome. The angel. I only share that with you because the angel is held in his right hand. You want to be thankful that God
[00:07:12] holds his messengers in his right hand. You want to be thankful that God holds me. If God did not hold me, I'd be a wreck. I'd be a mess. How do I hold it together? I don't. Jesus does. He holds me
[00:07:26] in his hand and he holds you. But also look at this. He walks among the seven lamps. Now, what are the lampstands? The lampstands are you are the lampstand. And check this out. Jesus walks
[00:07:37] among us. Every time we gather, Jesus is here. He's walking up and down the aisles, across the rows. He's walking. And the idea here of him walking amongst us is that he examines us.
[00:07:51] he knows us and that's exactly what verse two says verse two i know somebody underlined the word no in your bible i know you jesus knows you and what you're going to see in every letter
[00:08:06] there's seven letters in the to the churches from jesus is that he knows the condition of every church and every church is different and every church needs a different word from jesus but we always can learn from each other each church in these seven letters were supposed to learn from
[00:08:20] each other. They were supposed to read the letters to other churches so they can learn themselves.
[00:08:23] So when we read this letter to the church in Ephesus, remember it's in the ancient city of Ephesus, he's writing to them, but he's also writing to us because we can learn to not make
[00:08:32] the same mistakes that they learned, that they made. And so he says, I know your works. I know that you do diligent things for my good. I know you serve. And we are Protestants and we're big
[00:08:44] on you're not saved by works. And I believe that. And the scripture says you're not saved by works of the law. By works of the law shall no man be justified before God. In other words, listen to
[00:08:53] me, everybody, and especially those who are here for the first time or you're tuning in for the first time. Being a good person does not make you right with God. Being a good person does not get
[00:09:05] you to heaven. It is by grace through faith that you are saved. Ephesians 2, verse 8, 9. You are only saved by God's grace. Why? Because you can't be good enough. Why can't I be good enough? Because
[00:09:20] God's standard for getting to heaven is perfection. Raise your hand if you're perfect.
[00:09:27] That would have annihilated your perfection if you would raise your hand right there.
[00:09:32] None of us are perfect. We need God's grace. If you've ever made a mistake, if you've ever sinned, say amen. You need grace. You're saved by grace. God took your sins and put them on Jesus on the
[00:09:44] cross. And he took your sins and died and buried your sins in the ground. And your sins have been washed away through the blood of Jesus. Now you are righteous before God. Now, as much as we are
[00:09:55] all about salvation by grace through faith, guess what? We're saved to work. We're saved to do good things. We're saved to be better people. We're not saved by works. We are saved for works. And this
[00:10:12] church was nailing it because he says, I don't just know your works. I know your toil. Now, Everybody knows this is very simple. These are not synonymous. No, toil is hard work. Toil is exhausting work. Toil is when you're at the end of your rope and you're still working. And he says,
[00:10:25] I know you do that too. When you're tired, you still work. You still show up. You still serve.
[00:10:29] You still help. You still do the works that are necessary for a church to be a light in its community. And you also have patient endurance, hypomone in the Greek. It means to bear up under.
[00:10:39] guys listen to me there's a lot of time in your christian walk that requires endurance some of you want the problem to be over tomorrow some of you want the the prayer to be answered
[00:10:55] next week no no no endurance is a requirement if you're going to follow jesus you've got to get a hold of this. Don't quit. Don't give up. It's hard. Yes, it's supposed to be hard. We're not
[00:11:11] of this world. We do not belong here. And not only do we not belong here, but we agonize with our own struggles, the struggles of real life, finances, relationships, social structures, disappointments, on top of which there's natural disasters, there's international disasters,
[00:11:33] there's wars there's tribulation there's persecution and sometimes the only thing we can do is endure just turn your neighbor say bear up sometimes that's all you got and this church was enduring not only were they enduring working and toiling they could not bear with those who
[00:11:52] are evil in other words and this is something that has to happen in churches they got the they got the evil people out they got them out they didn't put up with them they didn't let them
[00:12:01] just you know hang out and disrupt disrupt the harmony and the fellowship of the church he says you've tested those who call themselves apostles and are not how many know just calling yourself a pastor just calling yourself some religious professional doesn't make you one he says you've
[00:12:17] tested them you found them to be false this is from first john 4 verse 1 beloved do not believe every spirit but test the spirits some of you got to test the tiktoks some of you got to test the
[00:12:31] instagram reels you got to test because everybody is the self-proclaimed armchair theologian anybody with a camera on their phone and an internet connection can post utter nonsense to the entire world you've got to test it that's what they did they tested they found he says i
[00:12:48] know you're enduring patiently again another emphasis for my name's sake and you have not grown weary you're still showing up you're still being active you're still participating and in verse six, he says another positive thing. You have this, you hate the works of the Nicolaitans,
[00:13:08] which Jesus says, I also hate. He doesn't hate the Nicolaitans. He hates the works.
[00:13:17] Now this word Nicolaitans, this group is going to come up in another letter to another church in Revelation two and three. Nobody knows who they are. People have speculated that the Nicolaitans were a a heretical cult that was started by Nicholas of Antioch who was one of
[00:13:35] the seven deacons nominated by the apostles in Acts chapter 6 to feed the widows and so while he started good he veered off started his own kind of sub you know Christian cult movement took people out of the faith and he named it after himself Nicolaitans some people believe
[00:13:55] that's the case. That's speculation. Some people believe that the word Nicolaitans is a hint as to what these people were, that the word Nicolaitans comes from the Greek Nikeo, which, by the way, if you're wearing a Nike shoe today, it's because that word means victory. It also means to overcome
[00:14:11] or conquer. And so some people believe that the Nicolaitans were this group of Christians who were so proud of who they were and how important they were that they kind of lorded over other people. They were all about their prestige, their doctrine, their view of church,
[00:14:27] their view of God, and everybody else was wrong. And have you ever been to a church like that, where everybody's wrong except their denomination? Watch out for that.
[00:14:38] Let me break the news. Every denomination is wrong about something. We all disagree about so many, many, many, many things. And I am talking about Catholics and Protestants, Baptists and Presbyterians, Charismatics, and Pentecostals, and even Waters Church, the non-denoms,
[00:15:00] non-denominational churches. We're all wrong about something. We got to be right about the main thing, and that is Jesus Christ is the Son of the Most High God. He took on flesh. He died on a cross.
[00:15:11] He bore our sins. He rose again on the third day, and he's coming back again. But there are churches like that that just, you know, they get so arrogant. They get so arrogant. They're right,
[00:15:24] and everybody else is wrong. And these people usually live on Twitter. So watch out. And they blog, and they all do all that stuff. Okay, so Nicolaus, you hate those works. And Jesus says, I hate those works as well. And so he's going to diagnose the problem. This is a church. I just
[00:15:45] want you to see. This is a church that works, that toils, that bears up under trouble, that tests false apostles, that doesn't grow weary, and that doesn't pride themselves in being the right and only right church. But the diagnosis, verse four, but I have this against you, that you have
[00:16:06] abandoned, what is it? The love you had at first. How many of you, this is where you live. You live in Ephesus. You live in a comfortable, albeit very active, Christian experience. And you haven't
[00:16:28] realized, because this happens subconsciously, without noticing, you've lost love for the Lord.
[00:16:40] Write this down in your notes. Point number one. It is possible to be dutiful, but not loving.
[00:16:46] It is possible to have all of your actions proper, but your heart's not engaged.
[00:16:56] You're not showing love, demonstrating love, experiencing love with God. You're just working and doing and building and accomplishing things for God or for your family or for your life.
[00:17:16] it's possible to get to that very scary very dangerous place jesus says i have this against you this is not right and he's going to tell them later i want you to um repent i want you to repent
[00:17:32] of the fact that your love has been lost if there is an archetype example of somebody who was busy for god busy for jesus but did not embrace this you know emotional loving connection with him
[00:17:47] It is Martha. Back in Luke chapter 10, Martha, Mary, Lazarus, two sisters, one brother, they have Jesus over for dinner. And Martha's in the kitchen. Mary's sitting by the feet of Jesus. Martha's in the kitchen and she's, you know, getting the meal ready. She's getting prepared for dinner. After
[00:18:05] all, it's a dinner for Jesus. Kind of an important guest. We've got to get everything right. The napkins have to be just so. The silverware just so. The plates have to be spotless. This is Jesus
[00:18:16] we're talking about. And we've got to make sure the wine glasses are available, even if we've only got water, because we know how that goes. And she's busy. And the scripture says in verse 40 of Luke 10, Martha was distracted with much. Now let me ask you, pop quiz, who was she serving?
[00:18:37] Jesus. It's possible to be dutiful, not loving, and you get distracted by all you're doing for God instead of loving him. And she went to him with a complaint. By the way, you know you're
[00:18:50] dutiful but not loving if most of your prayers are complaints? And she said, Lord, don't you care?
[00:18:57] Oh, boy. The language of the dutiful servant. Lord, don't you care? Have you prayed those prayers?
[00:19:05] Lord, don't you see what I'm doing? I thought by now I would be here, but I'm not. I thought by now you would pay attention to all that I've done. Where are you at? And then notice the comparison
[00:19:16] and trap here. Lord, don't you care that my sister, oh, dutiful but loving people, always love to put the others down and extol themselves. Lord, my sister, she's a lazy slouch. Tell her to help me.
[00:19:33] Fix them, Lord. Oh, the dutiful but not loving. Fix them. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. How does it go from Martha? Not good. Not good. Jesus says in verse 41, the Lord answered her, Martha, Martha,
[00:19:46] and whenever Jesus uses your name twice, watch out. Martha, Martha, you are anxious. I think some of our anxiety comes from comparison. Some of our anxiety comes from expecting Jesus to do things that we expect him to do based on what we've done for him. Some of our anxiety comes
[00:20:06] from the fact that we are overscheduled, that we don't stop. We don't Sabbath. We don't cease.
[00:20:17] the word Sabbath means stop. And it was written into the law. Every seventh day, stop. Don't pick up your email. Don't pick up your to-do list. Don't get your work done. Stop and spend time
[00:20:33] with the Lord. Cease. Seven days. Every seven days, you get a 24-hour reminder that the world can still rotate without you pushing.
[00:20:50] You got to just learn to chill and relax.
[00:20:53] And that's where our anxiety comes from.
[00:20:56] We want to get ahead.
[00:20:57] We want to be ahead of the Joneses.
[00:20:58] We want to make sure that our kids go to the best colleges.
[00:21:01] We want to make sure that the business is at the pinnacle of its industry.
[00:21:05] Anxious and worried and troubled.
[00:21:06] And we're doing good things.
[00:21:08] These are not bad things.
[00:21:09] These are not sinful things.
[00:21:10] These are good things.
[00:21:10] But good things can become bad things when they overwhelm the ultimate thing. The ultimate thing. What Jesus says in verse 42, Mary has chosen the good portion. Time with me, loving me, worshiping me. And Jesus says it will
[00:21:32] not be what? It will not be what? Taken. Listen to that language. It will not. She will not lose that time with me. What does Jesus say to the church in Ephesus? If you don't get back to me,
[00:21:45] If you don't come and spend time with me, I will remove your lampstand. It will be taken from you. Do you know why you want to make sure that you are cultivating a love relationship with
[00:22:01] the Lord? Because it's the only thing you can take with you into the next life. A social media post lasts seconds or years if you're applying for a job and they look it up later on. But nonetheless,
[00:22:20] a car lasts five, six, maybe 10 years, a house, 30, a family, 40, 50, a marriage, maybe 60 years.
[00:22:32] If you're lucky, these are drops in the bucket of eternity. The only thing that lasts forever is your relationship with the one who made you come back to him. There are Martha churches.
[00:22:55] Martha churches are churches that are doctrinally strong, put together, active in their community, serving the less fortunate, doing all the things. We do these things. We do these things. And they're Martha church, but they've lost love for the Lord. And it becomes, and this is true,
[00:23:16] it becomes a very cold place without even realizing it. People don't feel welcome. They don't feel loved. There's no, no one's reaching out. They just become, they turn inward. Churches do that. They turn inward. It's us. We know what we're about. This is us. This is what we're
[00:23:32] church. Our church is here for us. And we forget that our church is here for them. People not like us. There are Martha families, families that are doing all the right things. Your kids are in the
[00:23:46] honor roll. They're in several different activities. You're a good parent. You're involved.
[00:23:51] You might be on the PTA. You're getting them to the practices, picking them up. You're staying after. You're a classroom assistant. But where's your love? Love for the Lord. Love for people.
[00:24:08] Love for those who are important to you. There are Martha marriages. Martha marriages are when you're both doing all the right things, but you're not genuinely sharing love each for the other.
[00:24:27] And you're doing what Martha did. Most of the time you're, when you're talking about your spouse, you're complaining about them and you're telling God change them. You need to get to re-engage our class for marriage, where we will tell you God wants to change you. And the scripture says
[00:24:47] that we must love our spouse, lay down our life. Men, lay down our life for our spouse.
[00:24:56] Wives, obey, submit to your husbands. And this happens later on. Later on. You know, when you were first in love, and you would write notes to each other, and you would...
[00:25:14] My wife used to draw me pictures, and she would put these little notes and everything.
[00:25:19] Together. Oh, how about date night? How quickly it could become something that is skipped.
[00:25:26] After a while, you never go out. You never do something fun together. Just spending time.
[00:25:30] No, we got bills to pay. We got things to get done. We got kids to get through college. We got to go. We got to go. You got to watch out that the love doesn't leave the house. There are Martha
[00:25:42] parents. Martha fathers. Martha fathers. You're a good worker. You show up on time. You are going after the promotion. You're going to make a lot of money. You're going to make sure that your kids
[00:25:55] have their choice of college. But do you love them in physical, visible ways? Spending time with them, taking them out for ice cream, spoiling them a little bit, giving them yourself, your presence, asking them what's going on in their hearts and their minds, taking time to share God's word with
[00:26:22] them, sitting around the dinner table, this lost art form of America, which I absolutely believe is what's causing so many children to despair, to give up, to disconnect, sit around the table, talk to each other, fellowship, put your phones away, for heaven's sakes, and love.
[00:26:48] where are you Mary chose what's the better portion and Jesus says I want that for you he says remember where you were or else I'm going to remove go back to what you did at first we'll
[00:27:06] talk about that in just a moment we need to get back in love with the Lord number two write this down it's possible it's impossible to faithfully represent Jesus without love it's impossible to faithfully represent Jesus without love. We don't represent Jesus, believe it or not, we don't
[00:27:28] represent Jesus because we have the right doctrines. We don't represent Jesus because we have a big building, or multiple locations, or we're talented, or we're put together. No, we represent Jesus with love. Now, what kind of love is Jesus talking about here? Because some of you are under the
[00:27:48] impression that I'm talking about just vertical love. No. Actually, let's take a look at verse four. In the New Living Translation, he says, I have this complaint against you. You don't love me or what? Each other as you did at first. The two greatest commandments in the Bible,
[00:28:11] both are about love. Commandment number one, love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Commandment number two, love who? Your neighbor as you love yourself.
[00:28:27] Jesus actually says in Matthew 22, the entire Old Testament hangs on those two commandments.
[00:28:35] What's the Old Testament asking us to do? Love God and love one another. Jesus says at the last supper to the disciples, right before he goes to the cross, he says in John chapter 13, verse 34,
[00:28:48] a new commandment I give you, that you must love one another as I have loved you. Notice that phrase, as I have loved you. Jesus laid down his life for them. Jesus just washed their feet,
[00:29:03] their stinky, dirty feet. And he took the form of a servant in the house. And he said, I want you to do this for each other. I want you to serve each other. I want you to bless each other. I want you
[00:29:17] to show that you love don't just say you love show it and then he says this line in verse 34 verse 35 by this by your love for each other all people will know you're my disciples if you want
[00:29:30] people to know that waters church is bearing witness to god love each other now circle or underline the word one another in verse 35 because i have a question for you waters church do you have
[00:29:44] a few one-anothers? Do you have people that you can love genuinely in this church? And I am not talking of the people that are sitting in the seats with you right now at all of our locations.
[00:29:56] I am talking about people that you know by name. You know their kids' names. You connected with them. There's deep, intimate relationship with them. This is where we call you to life group.
[00:30:10] This is why we ask you to go through growth track to get to know our church so that you can go through the front door. This is the front. Water church Sunday morning is the front door.
[00:30:21] There's a lot more to explore. There's the kitchen. We call that life group where you face each other and you get a hold of your one another's. These are my one another's. The Bible talks about all
[00:30:32] the one another's. 50 commands in the New Testament that we have to do for one another.
[00:30:36] Here it says, love one another. In another passage it says, bear with one another. Hey, sometimes Christians can be frustrating. Anybody ever met a frustrating Christian? If you haven't met one, you are one. And everybody has to deal with you. Scripture says, bear with one another. Sometimes
[00:30:54] we don't get along. We got to bear. How about this one? Forgiving one another. As the Lord forgave you. Some Christians love to play the silent treatment game. I'm not going to talk to them
[00:31:06] anymore. And I'm going to wait until they realize that I'm not talking to them anymore.
[00:31:11] And you'll go months disconnected from somebody that you need to be connected to.
[00:31:15] I've tried that.
[00:31:16] I'm going to be honest with you.
[00:31:17] I'm also a sinner who needs Jesus.
[00:31:19] I've tried the cutting them off game.
[00:31:22] It's miserable.
[00:31:24] I was so miserable.
[00:31:26] I couldn't take it.
[00:31:27] You have to eventually just get over yourself and text them and say, let's connect.
[00:31:32] Let's work this out.
[00:31:33] You mean a lot to me because you got two choices in life.
[00:31:36] Here's your choices.
[00:31:37] Are you ready?
[00:31:38] You can die alone or you can die with friends.
[00:31:41] I'd rather you die with friends.
[00:31:44] And listen to me.
[00:31:45] this is for someone here today. You think they're wrong, but it might be you. Hardly any amens for that. Because we all assume we're the ones that are right. They're wrong. Maybe you're wrong.
[00:32:03] You know, even if you are wrong, even if you are right. Do you know what Paul says to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians chapter 6? He says, why not just rather be wronged? Hold on to the
[00:32:15] fellowship. Okay, yeah, they sinned against you. They hurt you. I'm not talking about abusive people who take advantage of you repeatedly. I'm not talking about that. So let's show that. I'm talking about people that you can reconnect with, that you can build a bridge with.
[00:32:31] Life is hard enough. If you've got no friends, it's almost impossible. You understand that that's what they do with prisoners when they're really bad. They put them alone. Some of you are the warden to your own prison, and you keep putting yourself in isolation, cutting people off,
[00:32:51] not talking to them anymore. I'm done with them. Oh my word. Watch out. You're going to drive yourself nuts. Love, forgive, serve one another, encourage one another. How about text them encouraging words? This is so important that we love one another. I understand. You got to
[00:33:14] understand that the scriptures, holy scripture ties these two commandments together. You cannot separate them. Let me show you. First John chapter four, verse 20. John says, if anyone says I love God but hates his brother, he is a liar. He cannot love his brother whom he has seen. He cannot not
[00:33:37] love his brother whom he has seen and then claim to love God whom he has not seen. Think about that.
[00:33:41] Where is Jesus? Where is the body of Christ right now? Where is the body of Christ? Here.
[00:33:49] you are the body of christ forgiven justified free of sin yes still sinful tendencies yes simultaneously justified and sinful and that is us and yet we are the body the representation of christ we must love the church i i i gotta ask some probing questions that might
[00:34:17] hit some people between the eyes, but how about this? How about your attitude about even just coming to church? Do you get there last minute? Do you, you know, say, do you wake up on Sunday
[00:34:33] morning and say, well, it's just church. We can be late. What? The church is the only movement that Jesus Christ, the son of God instituted. This is the most important movement on the planet.
[00:34:46] I dare say that this is the most important hour of your week.
[00:34:52] This is going to set your week up right now so that you get a hold of Jesus Christ for the battle.
[00:34:59] You don't know the battles that are happening on Monday.
[00:35:01] You don't know the battles that are happening on Wednesday.
[00:35:02] You don't know what tragedy is going to strike on Thursday.
[00:35:05] But if you know the one who holds the world in the palm of his hands, come on, somebody, you can do all things through Christ, through Christ who strengthens you.
[00:35:18] how about this when we start to close our service do you run for the door i'm gonna get in line to get my kid out first that's enough church thank you okay i gotta i gotta go on to more busy things
[00:35:37] i've got martha things to do oh you'll be mary for a moment but you'll be martha all week long and maybe your problem is you need a lot more mary in your week than just sunday morning
[00:35:57] life groups connections sharing life together the scripture says in romans 12 love must be genuine must be visible verse 10 it says love one another with brotherly what affection write this down love is the soil where our connection to god and others grows love is the soil where our connection to god
[00:36:24] and others grows. You want to grow closer to God? Practice loving him, not feeling love for him.
[00:36:35] Adults know this. Children don't. But love has nothing to do with feelings. Nothing.
[00:36:47] Because feelings come and feelings go. Feelings come and feelings go. And as I saw my daughter and her husband standing here yesterday, the greatest worry right there in that moment was, oh, when these feelings are over,
[00:37:03] because they always end, I am going to pray that they choose to love.
[00:37:08] Choose to love.
[00:37:13] It's a verb, not an emotion.
[00:37:16] And if you want to grow closer to God, you must choose things that activate the love quotient in your life for him.
[00:37:27] How about when you were first saved?
[00:37:28] Do you remember how much you've looked forward to getting to church?
[00:37:31] Some of you are newly saved and that's you.
[00:37:33] And I'm so thankful.
[00:37:34] Thank God for the brand new born again babies at Waters Church.
[00:37:37] We've got so many of them.
[00:37:38] Yeah, they, I call them grandbabies.
[00:37:44] Some of you are spiritual grandparents because you've been saved 10, 15, 20 years.
[00:37:49] The love waned and they remind you.
[00:37:54] They're here to remind you how wonderful it is to finally know your Savior. They're the ones that, let me just be frank, okay? Let me just be frank, okay? They're the ones who don't have to be asked to write things down in the notes.
[00:38:13] They want to. I might miss something. I'm excited about connecting with the Lord. What is dutiful but not loving? Okay, check. They're the ones who bring their Bibles to church. Do you know who I
[00:38:27] can't get to bring their Bible to church? Two groups of people, the unbelievers and the longtime believers, because the unbelievers don't honor it, and the longtime believers think they've memorized it, and they also know, well, it's going to be on the screen anyway,
[00:38:42] so I'll just watch it there. Bring your Bible, underline, mark things up, enjoy it. Hey, wear your Bible out so that life doesn't wear you out. Come on, somebody. Do you remember when you first
[00:38:57] started to worship and you would lift your hands without somebody telling you to lift your hands?
[00:39:01] and sing without somebody to tell you to sing. That's the love that Lord wants for us. Number three, it is possible to grow deeper in love with God and each other. It is possible. You're not
[00:39:13] supposed to lose your love. You're supposed to increase your love for God. I said last week about John the Apostle. This is the most phenomenal thing about Revelation. 65 years later from the shores of Galilee to the Isle of Patmos, 65 years, six decades of following Jesus. And he's more
[00:39:36] in love with him than ever before. God, give me that love. And you can do it. He tells him.
[00:39:50] He says, I need you. I need you to do something. Remember. Somebody say remember. Remember what you did before. Repent. Now everybody gets a little bit nervous about that word repent. Repent.
[00:40:02] Sackcloth. Ashes. Mourning. Wailing. It just means, you know what it means? It means turn around.
[00:40:12] You are unconscious, subconsciously, you are walking away from loving the Lord. And repentance means walk back. And this is good news for anybody who needs to repent. And we all do. We all make mistakes. We all sin. We all fail, even as Christians. And some of you let this lie from
[00:40:31] the devil come to you and say, God doesn't want anything to do with you. You did too much wrong this week for God to even look at you. And the answer to that question is, I rebuke you, Satan.
[00:40:42] He wants you to turn around and face him and come back to him, and he will wash you clean, and he will wipe away your sins. The Bible says if we confess our sins, he's faithful and just
[00:40:53] to forgive us and cleanse us of all of our unrighteousness. Just turn around. Now, we don't have to guess about this. He says, do the works. Now, remember, this is the church where? Ephesus.
[00:41:04] So he says, do the works that you did at first. And we don't have to wonder what those works were because Acts chapter 19 and 20 tell us what this church did. And I want to show you. Acts chapter
[00:41:16] 19 tells us that when Paul, the apostle, cast some demons out of somebody, there was great fear that came upon the city. Acts chapter 19, 18 says, it says, many of those who were believers came
[00:41:27] confessing and divulging their practices because this is a very pagan very mystical magical oriented city it says this and a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all and they counted the value of them and found it to be
[00:41:40] 50 000 pieces of silver in other words what they did was they destroyed the stuff that got between them and god so letter a in your notes you want to do something to ignite the fire of love in your
[00:41:50] life for god here we go write this down destroy the things that separate you from god because i've noticed that for new Christians, usually the things that separate you from God are sinful practices. But listen to me, old time Christians, the things that separate you from God can be good
[00:42:06] things. They can be your job, your career, your ambition, which are good things. I want you to succeed. The Lord wants you to succeed. Wealth is not sinful. Money is not sinful. Success is not
[00:42:24] sinful. The Lord wants these for you, but they can become idols of your heart where you start abandoning time with the Lord to serve those things. A spouse is not sinful. Of course not.
[00:42:39] It's a blessing, but a spouse can become an idol, even if you don't have one. For the young ladies or young men who are born again, and you're thinking about this thought, you're thinking, I'm going to date somebody who's not a believer because you know what? I can't find a believer.
[00:42:55] Oh, please don't do that. I've said this for many years in this church, and I do mean this. Please pick another sin. That sounds wrong, but I'm begging you. I don't know how more I could
[00:43:10] emphasize this. Please pick another sin. I got some phone numbers of some friends and family that you could call who tried that, and they weep every single night over the spiritual condition of their children. It's not worth it. Destroy the things that separate you from God. We also find
[00:43:29] out that the Ephesian church did this. In Acts chapter 20, verse 18, when Paul was talking about what he did, he said, I never stopped talking to you from the time I first set foot
[00:43:38] in Asia. I served the Lord with humility, tears, trials, what happened to me, the plots of the Jews, how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you where? In public and where? Okay, so let me break it down for you. This is the public gathering.
[00:43:53] Anybody can come in here. This is the public gathering. And Paul says, I did that, and I also did house to house. That's the life group gathering. Both are required. So here's letter B. Ready? Ignite the love of God in your life again. Participate in big and small community.
[00:44:10] Participate in both. Come to Waters Church on Sunday. Get to your life group during the week.
[00:44:18] Face each other. Love each other. Serve each other. Bear with each other. Encourage each other.
[00:44:25] And then number three, or letter C, sorry, visibly express your bond with each other.
[00:44:31] This is what the Ephesian church did as well, at first.
[00:44:34] Acts chapter 20, verse 36.
[00:44:36] And when he had said this, Paul was leaving.
[00:44:38] And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all, and there was much weeping on the part of all.
[00:44:43] And they embraced Paul, and they kissed him, being sorrowful most of all that the word he had spoken, that he would not see their face again.
[00:44:49] In other words, they visibly demonstrated love for him.
[00:44:56] So here's what my admonition to you, Water Churches, ready?
[00:44:59] visibly show love to you, to each other, to God, of course, and to each other. For the marriage that has fallen into the Martha syndrome, I'll tell you something. I was very convicted about this myself this week, and I was studying the word, and I was writing these thoughts down for
[00:45:21] you, and the Lord said, physician, heal thyself, and I picked up my phone, and I texted my wife, I love you. Thank God I have to preach. It keeps me straight. Amen, somebody.
[00:45:34] And she wrote back, I love you too. When was the last time you just did that for your spouse, for your children, for your friends? How about just calling somebody up and saying, I was thinking about you. You matter to me. I love you. But is it that we don't say it
[00:45:54] when we should? Because sometimes we know this, which starts as a fire, dwindles into smoldering coals and if we're not careful you'll fizzle out paul says to the romans romans 12 9 don't just pretend to love others really love them don't go through the motions do it at the end of
[00:46:20] this letter to ephesus he says he who has an ear let him hear and to the one who conquers we got to fight for love this word conquer war language you got to fight for your love for god then then
[00:46:34] the first commandment is love the lord your god so guess what the first target is of the devil for you to stop you from loving the Lord. That's target number one. You got to fight for it.
[00:46:45] He says, I'll grant you the tree of life. Where was the tree of life? Anybody remember?
[00:46:49] It was in Eden. That's why he said the paradise of God. That's what we were made for. A place of perfect peace, no sin, no shame, no guilt, no hurts, no murders, no racism, no wars,
[00:47:07] Perfect peace with God and with each other.
[00:47:10] How do we get back to that?

[00:47:13] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:47:13] We get back to that by keeping our love for God and for each other

[00:47:17] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:47:17] stronger as the days go by.
[00:47:21] Sermon in a sentence.
[00:47:24] Jesus loves his church too much to let duty replace devotion.
[00:47:32] He loves you too much to let you go through the motions of dead religion to just show up on Sunday and check the box and say, okay, I did it.
[00:47:42] now let me see if god will pay me back for showing up that's martha martha lord don't you care so i did cross a finish line yesterday with my oldest and i've told this church many times and
[00:48:03] some of you heard this so many times it's you can repeat it back to me that from the day she was born i would sneak into her crib and sneak into her bedroom and place my hand into her crib i'd
[00:48:13] place my hand on her little head in her crib, and I would pray, and I would say, Dear Jesus, make sure, please, Lord Jesus, give her a husband who loves you more than anything. I prayed that
[00:48:29] over her as many times as I could until it got weird, and I didn't want to sneak into her room

[00:48:34] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:48:34] anymore. I got up onto this stage, and the Lord said, I answered that prayer. Then he said, I got another one for you. And I said, okay, here's my new prayer. Lord Jesus, that's my prayer for
[00:49:07] you. I want you to bow your heads and close your eyes. Some of you have never entered into a love

[00:49:17] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:49:17] relationship with the Lord. You've done religion, but not love. You've done religion, but not relationship. And the Lord wants a relationship with you. And he wants to welcome you in his family right now, right now. He loves the sinner. He loves the lost. He loves the prodigal. And if
[00:49:37] that's you, would you welcome him into your home, into your life? I like to end with a prayer to say just that to the Lord, to say yes to him. Heads bowed, eyes closed. If that's you, you can say
[00:49:49] this prayer. Say it quietly, but please, please, please say it with your mouth. Say it with your words. Repeat after me. Say, Heavenly Father, I need Jesus. Forgive me of my sins. Cleanse me of
[00:50:04] my unrighteousness. Bring me home to be with God. Today I believe Jesus died for me and rose again.

[00:50:19] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:50:19] And today I declare Jesus is Lord.