A Call to Return to Your First Love - Lessons From Revelation's 7 Churches
Today we revisit a message from 2020 that continues to offer instruction and spiritual growth.
Are you spiritually distracted? Has duty, religious obligation, or hard work replaced your love for Jesus? We are responsible to act in a way that Glorifies God. Don’t replace your love for Jesus and others with religious do’s and don’ts.
Focus on Jesus rather than the battle. Sometimes fighting the spiritual battle before us can become so consuming that we take our spiritual eyes off God. Do not allow anything to come between you and your love for Jesus. Return to your first love.
Listen to the Spirit of God and press in: The Lord is speaking to you at this moment. Choose today to be an overcomer, listen to the Spirit of God and press in spiritually. Choose to grow deeper in the love of God. Passionately seek the love of God and share it with those around you.
Ephesus: a church that lost sight of its first love. A call to return to your first love.
Do My Actions Display My Love for God?
Several weeks ago, I shared a message titled A Call to Perseverance and we looked at Matthew 7:24-29.
Last week we looked at Philippians 1:27-30 where we find that the Apostle Paul challenges the Philippians to live in such a manner that whatever might come their way in life, they would be ready and conduct themselves in a manner that is worthy of the gospel of Christ and so, to contend for faith in Christ.
I asked the question: Are we living our lives in a way that is worthy of the gospel of Christ?
I thought more about that question this week and came to consider the idea that living a life worthy of the Gospel is much more than how a person lives, it is also about the heart. Meaning, living a life worthy of the Gospel also involves the motive and manner by which you live and conducts your life.
I found myself turning to Revelation 2 and reading about the church in Ephesus. I then asked myself:
Is my heart and love for God worthy of the Gospel?
Is my love for both God and others displayed in how I live?
Do I love the Lord with all my heart and are my actions in line with the heart of God as it was when I first believed?
Do my actions display my love for God in such a way that others see my love for Jesus and a love for people who are lost, so that they will experience the love of Jesus that I experienced for themselves?
With everything going on in the world; with the pressures of life and the virus pandemic in its 6th-plus month; with having to wear masks and having to be socially distant from one another: Am I loving others and loving God in the same manner that I once did when I first believed? Or has my love faded over time?
I feel these are legitimate questions we need to ask ourselves in light of all that is happening around us.
With all the political noise swirling around; with all the violence, anger, pain and loss; in seeing or hearing in the news of personal attacks against someone because of what they believe: Has that affected how I view or love a person?
Over time, change is rarely noticed. Just ask the frog in the pot.
Has my love for God unknowingly lessened?
The enemy of your soul won’t try to change your heart overnight. A church on fire for Christ doesn’t suddenly change one day. It happens slowly. It may take a generation. Israel turned away from following the Lord in a matter of one generation. The church in Ephesus was doing all the right things, and yet they needed to repent. They had forsaken their first love.
I believe the church in Ephesus began to focus on the battle rather than Jesus. They focused on battling sin, rather than on loving the savior. I feel they focused on what they thought they should confront rather than focusing on Jesus. Slowly, duty replaced love. Slowly, religious actions and hard work replaced their love for Jesus.
The believers had forgotten what drew them to Jesus in the first place: the love of God.
May we never forget the love of God, and may we never take our spiritual eyes off of the one who first loved us, and continue to love Him first. May we never replace the motive of love for Jesus and others with religious do’s and don’ts.
“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. 2 I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. 3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. 4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. 5 Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. 6 But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God” (Revelation 2:1-7, NIV).
You may have heard the tale where a wife asks her husband, “don’t you love me anymore?” The husband responds, “what do you mean? Of course I still love you. I take out the garbage; I cut the grass and wash your car. I make sure you have gas in your car; I pay the bills. Yes I love you, I told you that I loved you when I married you and when that changes, I will let you know.”
Taking out the garbage or washing the car does not replace the affection and acts of love that the two expressed when they first dated and later married. Sure, taking out the garbage can come from a motivation of love, but it is not to be a replacement for an expression of love towards another.
To think that “I told you that I loved you” some time ago and then not to continue to say it or express it in ways that you once did is not showing your love.
Never allow duty or hard work to replace or quench the motive and love you have in your heart for Jesus.
In the 1992 movie The Cutting Edge, Kate Moseley is an Olympic figure skater obsessed with finding a perfect partner for the next Olympic game. She is a rich, spoiled brat and makes it impossible for others to work with her. Her coach finds an ex-Olympic hockey player to skate with her.
The two skaters have issues with one another yet they advance to compete in the Olympics. At one point, the sports casters recognize that the couple are able to complete all the required moves properly but something was lacking. The joy and love for the sport and for one another was missing. When their motive of love returned, everything changed and it became obvious to everyone.
Do not allow anything to come between you and your love for Jesus.
Lessons from Ephesus
The believers in Ephesus were doing all the right things but their love for God was missing. They lost their first love.
The foundation of the church was based on faith in Christ. However over time and because some individuals drifted spiritually, the church drifted spiritually, and they all needed to be reminded to focus on Jesus and repent when necessary. Jesus spoke to John to call on the Ephesians to consider their actions and repent.
The church in Ephesus and the other six churches were given instructions regarding their spiritual condition and needs and yet all seven churches were given a promise; but the promise was dependent on how each church responded to the message given them.
Each church and each individual is responsible to act in a way that Glorifies God and to repent as needed.
Each needed to respond as instructed and to overcome the negative/ evil opposition that may come from both outside and inside influences.
Each church needed to determine to live by faith and in obedience to Christ.
No matter the church; no matter the individual, over time each can drift away from God. It’s not my purpose to judge anyone but myself, by the word of God.
With that in mind let’s consider what the church in Ephesus was doing correctly.
John writes “I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary” (Revelation 2:2-3, emphasis added). In other words, the believers in Ephesus appeared to be working at doing all the right things.
They were hard at work fighting the good fight of faith. The believers were hard at work protecting the Gospel. The believers were zealous for righteousness. They considered how people were living and confronted the sin. They scrutinized what others were teaching and called them out when teaching was in error. The church endured both spiritual and physical attacks from outside the church. The believers were not about to weaken or compromise what they believed and yet their love for God and others changed.
I suspect the church may have become spiritually ridge regarding the Gospel.
Once, the church was motivated by the love of God and to share the message of Gods love with others; but the hardship and attacks of everyday life soon took its toll and the love for Jesus and others soon began to fade.
We all had baggage in life as unbelievers:
We did not look like believers because we weren’t believers.
We did not sound like believers.
We did not act like believers.
Yet we all were shown the love of God. We heard the Gospel message and responded to the love of God and in faith.
I believe if we will love Jesus with all our heart and love others as ourselves; if we focus on and love the word of God:
We will avoid sin.
We will not run after false teaching.
We will not forsake our first love.
The believers in Ephesus knew all about loving God and loving others and yet in less than 30 years they had forsaken their first love. Was it intentional that the Ephesians forsook their first love? No, but they got spiritually distracted in confronting error rather than loving Jesus. Was it more important to confront sin rather than loving God and loving others? NO!
John wanted the believers to realize that the promise of God could still be theirs; that God loved them and they could once again return to their first love.
First, they needed to know and remember just how far they had fallen.
Second, they needed to repent.
Third, they were to return to their first love. To do that, the believers needed to have ears to hear and a heart that responds and repents.
Friends, at times fighting the spiritual battle before us can become so consuming that all we can do is focus on the battle and we forget about loving the one who died for us.
We forget about loving those who are hurting.
We forget about loving one another.
We forget about the fact that we were once that person, living in rebellion to God.
It’s at times like this that we need to stop and listen for the voice of God and repent.
A Call to Return to Your First Love
Do not let the love of God and the love for others to grow faint because you have gotten so busy fighting the battles of life.
Maybe you are feeling overwhelmed today.
Maybe you are feeling alone and spiritually tired.
Maybe you have focused on the battle and have not noticed that the love of God and the love for others is missing in your life.
Maybe you have begun to realize that your love for God is not what it used to be. It’s not that you don’t love God, but you know your love for Jesus is not want it once was.
Listen to the Spirit of God and press in:
Take time to absorb the love and presence of God each day.
Take time to pray and receive from God.
Take time to be refreshed by reading the word of God each day.
The Lord is speaking to you at this moment. Choose today to be an overcomer, listen to the Spirit of God and press in spiritually. Choose to grow deeper in the love of God. Passionately seek the love of God and share it with those around you. He is right here right now.
Suggested Praise and Worship
This and other sermons brought to you by Faith Chapel, an Assemblies of God church in Pleasanton, CA.