BIG IDEA:  Jesus must be a church's first love or He will remove them as a church.

INTRODUCTION:

        We as people are creatures of habit, especially as we grow older.  If you doubt that, then let me ask you a question: “Where do you sit in church every week?”  In the same place, don't you?  Yup!  Just like me.  But the problem with this behavior is, though it is comfortable, it can bring us to the point where we begin to do things out of habit, forgetting the reason why we do what we do.

ILLUSTRATION:  For example.  One family’s Christmas tradition was to bake a big ham in the oven for their Christmas dinner.  One Christmas when the mother was preparing the ham, before putting it in the oven, she cut off both ends of the ham.  Her young daughter then asked her, “Mama, why did you cut off the ends of the ham before you baked it?”  She answered, “Well, because that is what my mother always did.”  “Why?” the little girl asked.  Her mother replied, “Well, I don't know.”  So the little girl ran into the living room where her grandmother was sitting and asked her, “Grandma, why did you always cut off the ends of the ham before cooking it in the oven?”  Her grandmother replied, “Well, because that is what my mother always did.”  The little girl then ran up to her great grandmother and asked her the same question.  Her great grandma replied, “Because the pan that I used to cook the ham in was too small so I had to cut the ends off so it would fit.”

        Why do we do what we do?  Why does this church do what it does?  Why do we believe what we believe?  Do we do the things that we do or believe the things that we believe because that is our tradition, or because that is what we are convinced the Bible teaches?  We need to realize that being comfortable is easy, but one day we will have to give an account for the decisions we made, what we believed, and the reasons for them.  This is why it is important to be:

1.   Reading the Word of God daily, as well as studying and memorizing it to keep a healthy Christian life.

2.   People of prayer, communing with God and asking Him to change us and keep us growing.

3.   Ministering in the church, serving God and others so that we do not become self-focused.

4.   Reaching out to unbelievers, remembering both their need for Christ and God's grace in their lives while being thankful for our salvation and what God saved us from.

If we forget these things, we become satisfied just to come to church, sit in our favorite spot, sing, listen to the message, and then go home being no different than when we walked in the door.  When people come to this point in their life, they are happy to go through life being religious, but not making a difference.

        Once again, “Why do we do what we do?  Why do we believe what we believe?  What is our motivation, the reason for these things?”

        In our time together today we will look at an issue which is the most important aspect of the Christian life.  Because of its importance in our faith, this issue will positively or negatively impact every Christian and their church.  This is an issue that church leaders and members need to think about, though I believe that it is one issue which is many times overlooked.  Yet it is an issue which we need to take seriously, ponder and wrestle with. 

            There is however a difficulty associated with this issue, and this is that its true condition can be masked -- hidden from us -- and therefore hard to correctly judge.  Why?  Because this is an issue which is directly associated with our hearts, and the Bible clearly tells us that we cannot accurately know our heart; that is, without the help of God.  In Jeremiah 17:9-10 God said:

9   “The heart is more deceitful than all else

      And is desperately sick;

      Who can understand it?

10  “I, the Lord, search the heart,

      I test the mind,

      Even to give to each man according to his ways,

      According to the results of his deeds."

You see, one aspect of this issue which is so important to the Christian life is the condition of our heart.  And, if we cannot know our heart without the help of God, we can ultimately misjudge ourselves if we are not asking for God's help in this.  That is what makes this issue so elusive.  Even King David understood this, and as a result he prayed in Psalm 139:23-24:

"Search me, O God, and know my heart;

Try me and know my anxious thoughts;

And see if there be any hurtful way in me,

And lead me in the everlasting way."

Therefore as David, we to need to be prayerfully and truthfully introspective if we expect to find this hidden truth -- knowing accurately what is in our heart. 

        Today we will look at this most very important aspect of a Christian's faith which needs to be central in our hearts.  Two questions which I would like us to think about which will help direct us to the core of this issue are:

w     What is the reason that we do or do not do what we do (our motives/intentions)?

w     How important are our motives/intentions in our life and service for Christ? 

        My hope today is that we will see the importance of this issue in our time together.  I also hope that as a result of this message that your church and each of us here will live differently.

Please turn in your Bibles to Revelation 2:1 where we will begin.

BACKGROUND:

        This is the first of seven letters that Jesus sent through this book to seven different churches.  We will look at the letter to the Ephesians.

OUTLINE

  I.  Jesus' Introduction -- vs. 1

A.  Written to:

The Greek word translated as angel in this verse (Gk., angelos) is also translated as "messenger" seven places in the New Testament (cf. Matt. 11:10; Mark 1:2; Luke 7:24, 27; 9:52; 2 Cor. 12:7; Jam. 2:25).  In the context of Revelation chapters 2 and 3, many interpret the angel or messenger who is "of the church" as the pastor; the pastor being a messenger of God.

B.  One who holds the seven stars and walks among the seven lamp stands:

Chapter 1 defines the context of this verse, specifically verse 20.  There we see that it is Jesus (cf. 1:9-19) who is holding the seven stars which are defined as the seven messengers of the seven churches.  We see too that the seven lamp stands are the seven churches.

II.  Jesus' observations -- vss. 2-3

NOTE: The Russian Bible uses the word, "òû" as if Jesus was talking to the messenger

("angel") of the church, where the English Bible uses the "âû" form as if Jesus was speaking to the church.  I believe that both are true, in that Jesus sent this message to the church's pastor for the church, but that this message is directed, not only to the pastor, but to the church members as well.  I say that because Jesus says at the end of each of these seven letters: "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."

SEVEN OBSERVATIONS ("perseverance" is listed twice)

In verses 2 and 3 Jesus lists things which the church was doing.  Though the 7 things listed are positive actions, as we will see, they were not done from a proper motive.  As we will see, things not done from a proper motive have no value.

A.  Their deeds (KJV - "works") -- vs. 2a

Jesus knew their deeds -- the things which they did, whether good or bad.  Nothing escapes His notice because He is concerned about His church and watches over it attentively.

Another observation Jesus makes is...

B.  Their toil (KJV - "Labor;" NIV - "hard work") -- vs. 2b

They worked hard in what they did.  This word in the Greek has the idea of:

DEF: "toil" -- laboring to weariness

They did what needed to be done in their service for Christ (cf. vs. 3).  They got their hands dirty and were not lazy.

C.  Their perseverance -- vs. 2c-f

Jesus also knew about their perseverance which I believe is a defining characteristic of this church.  I say this because Jesus mentions their perseverance twice, once in verse 2 and again in verse 3.  It is their perseverance that enables them to continue on, even in the face of opposition, to do all of the other things mentioned in these verses.

D.  Their desire for righteousness -- vs. 2d

Jesus stated that they did not tolerate those who practiced evil.  They would not allow those in their midst who desired to indulge in evil habitually.  Therefore they dealt swiftly with sin and did not let it linger in their church.

E.  Their desire for truth -- vs. 2e-f

Another observation Jesus listed was that the church of Ephesus scrutinized people to see if they were who they claimed to be.  It says in this verse that they put those people who claimed to be apostles to the test.  As the Apostle John told his readers in 1 John 4:1:

"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world."

They did not want to follow false teachers, but they only wanted the truth -- like the Bereans (cf. Acts 17:10-11).  Through their efforts they were able to distinguish between true and false apostles.  They were not easily deceived.

In verse 3 we see two more ways in which the believers in Ephesus persevered.

F.  Their perseverance (mentioned a second time)  -- vs. 3

Here again Jesus mentions the perseverance of the Ephesian believers.  Two aspects of their perseverance are stated in the next two observations of Jesus.

G.  Their endurance for Jesus (their works) -- vs. 3a

First He said that they endured.  In other words, they stood strong in the faith during difficult times for the sake of Christ.  They were consistent and stood firm in whatever came their way, not running from the challenges which they faced.  They did not waver, being like a large oak tree and not a sapling that sways in the wind.  They, as other churches, faced the onslaught of false teachers.  They probably faced persecution because located in Ephesus was the temple to the goddess Artemis -- the goddess of fertility, the virgin huntress (CFS. Acts 19) -- yet they were firm.

H.  They were not growing weary for Jesus (their attitudes) -- vs. 3b

The last thing which Jesus observed about them is that through all that they faced, they did not grow weary.  In other words they did not grow tired of having to endure, but continued to face difficulties as they came with a good attitude. They did this for Christ ("for My name's sake").

APP:  What do you think about a church like this?  This church sounds like a great church.  I would think that when Christians from other churches saw the church at Ephesus, they thought to themselves, "Wow!  What a wonderful church which has a great faith in Jesus."  It sure sounds like it, doesn't it?  And the believers in this church probably thought that all was well with them too.

But, in spite of all these things that Jesus observed, He had something against them.  Let's look at that in verse 4.

III.  Jesus' condemnation -- vs. 4

ONE NEGATIVE ATTRIBUTE

They left their first love.  The question is, “Who was their first love?”  Though the text does not state, I believe that the first love of a true believer is Jesus.  And when Jesus is no longer the main reason that we do the things which we do, then we have left our first love.

I don't know about you, but this statement that they had “left their first love” is a bit shocking.  How could a church have been doing all of these things listed above -- and doing them for Jesus' name nonetheless -- yet they are told by Jesus that they had lost their first love?

The main issue here is motive, their intent for why they did what they did.  You see, though they were doing many of the right things, they were not doing them with the correct motive, that being a deep devotion and love for Christ.

APP:  I don't know about you, but if a church could have done all of these noteworthy

things for “Jesus’ sake” and have missed the mark in why they did them, then doesn't that make you wonder about your own motives?  Doesn't it cause you to wonder why you do what you do?  It makes me wonder why I do the things that I do.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO LOVE JESUS?

So this brings us to a very important question, which is: “What does it mean to love Jesus?”  This is important because if I am truly loving Jesus, then I will be doing the things I do with the correct motive which is of utmost importance.  So what does it mean to love Jesus?  Jesus answered that Himself in John 14:21-24 when He said:

21  “He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves                           Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him                         and will disclose Myself to him.”

      23 “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him,                                   and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.

      24  “He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which                               you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.

APP:  So to love Jesus is to keep His commandments; in other words, to obey

Him.  I don't know about you, but that sounds pretty generic and sterile, doesn't it?  Love should be associated with "warm fuzzies," flowers, candy, and a day at the beach swimming and having a picnic.  Obedience on the other hand is a tedious word which is not usually fun.

Yet, according to the words of Jesus, if Jesus is our first love, then this will be evident by our obedience to His Word, for as we live in obedience to His Word, we will be living in accordance with His character and reflecting His image.  This is love, and if you are a parent, you know what I mean.  This is what every parent wants from their children, not forced obedience, but willful obedience which reflects love.  This is what Jesus desires of us.

EXPLANATION: 

      Though Jesus listed a number of positive things this church was doing in Jesus’ name in verses 2-3, I don’t believe that what they did brought much approval by Jesus.  I say that because in 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 Paul stated:

"¹If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. ²If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing."

You see, though the Ephesians did all of these good things, they did not do them out of love for Christ, therefore these things which they did meant nothing, being done with wrong motives.  What were their motives?  The passage does not say, but there are various reasons why we do things other than for the love of Christ.  We may do things because of:

1.  Duty/legalism (doing what is expected)

2.  Compulsion (feeling pressured to do it)

3.  Pride (so others will look up to them)

4.  Habit/tradition (continuation of a familiar practice)

If we do things for any of these reasons, then we are doing them for the wrong reasons.  The love of Christ should be the reason that we do what we do.

What will happen if a church continues to do things for the wrong reasons?  Let's look at what Jesus goes on to tell the Ephesians will happen if they do not get their first love back.  Verses 5-6 says...

IV.  Jesus' exhortation -- vss. 5-6

A.  Repent -- vs. 5a

Jesus had something against them.  They had lost their first love.  Therefore, He tells them to remember back to the way it used to be -- then repent, turning a 180 degrees -- and to live as they first did.

Acts 19:18-20 might give us a glimpse of how it used to be.  It says about their conversion:          

18 "Many also of those who had believed kept coming, confessing and                            disclosing their practices.

      19  And many of those who practiced magic brought their books together                              and began burning them in the sight of everyone; and they counted                              up the price of them and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver.

      20  So the word of the Lord was growing mightily and prevailing."

In other words they turned their backs on their old way of life -- their sin and their immorality -- no matter what it cost them (i.e., 50,000 pieces of silver).  This is the kind of devotion I believe that Jesus was calling them back to in this verse -- an all or nothing devotion.  He wanted them sold out to His cause and not the other things that can distract Christians from their walk and faith.  Maybe Jesus was calling them back to a renewed, clean heart, the same kind of heart which King David prayed for in Psalm 51:10,12-13:

"10      Create in me a clean heart, O God,

           And renew a steadfast spirit within me.

                    12  Restore to me the joy of Your salvation

           And sustain me with a willing spirit.

                    13  Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,

            And sinners will be converted to You."

David realized that his sin with Bathsheba caused sin issues in his heart which needed to be cleaned out.  David wanted back that joy that he once had which accompanies the salvation which God gives.  He wanted to return to where he once was when he first believed.  And what would the result be?  That he could bring others to faith in God.

But if they did not repent Jesus said:

B.  If you do not repent -- vs. 5b

What does this phrase mean?  I believe that Jesus is stating that He would no longer use them as He once did; their light would eventually go out and they would cease being a church, at least a church that made an impact.  He would simply let them continue down their path.

BACKGROUND:

Now please understand, the church in Ephesus was no insignificant church.  It was located in one of the largest and most impressive cities in the ancient world - a political, religious, and commercial center in Asia Minor.

      From a Christian standpoint Ephesus received a lot of attention.  Paul stopped at Ephesus at the end of his second missionary journey, left Priscilla and Aquila there, and returned to Antioch (Acts 18:18-21). Apollos preached in Ephesus soon after and met Priscilla and Aquila who "explained to him the way of God more accurately" (Acts 18:26). Paul, on his third journey, spent more than two years in Ephesus teaching and preaching in the synagogue and in the hall of Tyrannus.  It was the church which Timothy pastored being directed by Paul in two epistles.  This is also the city where church history says that the apostle John lived out the remaining days of his life.  My point is that this church was not neglected, but in actuality it received much attention by apostles and great servants of God.

APP:  Jesus has no place for churches or believers who seem to be doing all of the right things, but do not love Him; do not put Him first!  Jesus, as the Father, is a jealous God who wants nothing between Him and us.  He wants our full devotion.  He wants us to love Him first and foremost, and everything and everyone else is to come after that.  Jesus can do without believers like this, because He does not need any of us.  It is we who need Him, and it is only because of His mercy and grace that He uses any of us, blesses us, and rewards us.  He does these things for Himself and His name’s sake, not for us.

After saying this, Jesus concludes by stating a positive thing that the Ephesian church did, and that was...

C.  Another commendation -- vs. 6

The Bible or other literature from that time period does not identify who the Nicolaitans were.  But whoever they were, they were some sort of false religious group that led people away from the truth.  After Jesus gave them a hard message, He seems to soften it with this commendation.

Now let's look at how Jesus concludes this letter to the Ephesians?

V.  Jesus' conclusion -- vs. 7

A.  Let the church(es) hear -- vs. 7a

Each of the seven letters to the churches in Revelation 2 and 3 end this way.  Jesus is delivering this message, not only to the church of Ephesus, but to all the churches, yours and mine included.  Do we have an ear?  Then let us hear what Jesus says to these seven churches, for all seven of these messages were for the churches during that time and beyond.  Therefore we need to listen and take heed.

Jesus then says...

B.  The overcomers will be with Him in eternity on the new earth -- vs. 7b

Jesus also ends each of the seven letters with a message to the overcomers, those true believers in the churches that prove they are His by their perseverance for Him and the faith until their death.  In other words, they are true believers.

To the Ephesian church he says that He will grant them to eat of the tree of life in Paradise -- this being on the new earth where we will dwell in eternity (cf. Rev.  22:2, 14, 19).  In other words, this is a promise that they will be in eternity with Him.

CONCLUSION:

        How do we know if we have lost our First Love or not?  How do we know if our church has lost its First Love or not?  As I said earlier, this aspect of our faith can be elusive at times.  But I believe the answer to this question can be understood as we look at why we do what we do.  As we ponder this question, we need to do it prayerfully, asking God, "Am I and is my church doing what we do because we love Jesus, or do we do it for another reason?”  If for another reason, then both we and our church need to make some changes with the help of God.  Maybe we need to begin by praying as David did in Psalm 51, asking for a clean heart. 

        But what is the key issue in keeping Jesus our first love?  As I stated earlier, the answer lies in the words of Jesus when He said in John 14:21-24:

21  “He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me;..

      23 “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; ...

      24  “He who does not love Me does not keep My words; ...

One question which we can ask ourselves on a regular basis is: Does Jesus want me to do this?  We can ask ourselves that question in every situation, in what we:

1.   Watch

2.   Listen to

3.   Say

4.   Think about

5.   Do

        Also, some practical ways of keeping focused on making sure that Jesus is our first love is:

1.      Through worshipping Him (privately and corporately)

2.      Spending time with Him daily in His Word

3.      Spending time with Him daily in prayer

4.      Serving Him by using our gifts and talents

5.      Through telling others about Him (evangelism)

6.      Through fellowship with each other

This list of six disciplines are important, but as any of us know, even these things can be done as the result of wrong motives -- such as habit.  This is why we need to consider our intent in why we do what we do.  We need to make sure that our intent for practicing these six disciplines of our faith is done for the glorification of our God the Father and His Son the Lord Jesus Christ -- not for self.  If we do what we do for any other reason, we have missed the mark.

CHALLENGE:

        My challenge to you as a church is to pray about and consider if Jesus is your first love.  As you know, for Jesus to be the first love of your church, He must be the first love of the individual church members.  Therefore church leaders must come together and prayerfully look at your church and ask the questions:

1.  "Why do we do what we do?"

2.  "Do we do what we do as a result of tradition, as the result of legalism, or                          because we love Jesus?"

This will be a hard thing to determine as you endeavor to decide why you do what you do.  It will also be difficult because if you decide to make changes or stop doing things which the church has been doing for a long time because you believe that you are doing them for the wrong reasons, some people in the church may strongly oppose you.  Actually, your worst opposition to change will more than likely come from the members of your own church.  Why?  Because people do not like change, especially if they are Christians who are not growing in their faith.  They generally do not want things to change to move them out of their comfort zones.  They like everything the way it was 50 years ago.

            This is why you as church leaders need to prayerfully consider why your church does what it does, so that when the opposition comes you know in your hearts before God that you are doing the right thing.  A church that is not willing to move forward and change is a church that will eventually be a dead branch on the vine that will need to be cut off and thrown away because it is no longer producing fruit.  This is nothing that any church should experience.

            May Jesus be the first love of this church and its members!