If Jesus Passed a Note in Church, What Would It Say? Series
(Series of sermon content original to W. Herschel Ford)
To the Church Who Left Their First Love
Rev. 2:1-7
Oct. 8, 2006 FBC, Chester Mike Fogerson, Pastor
Introduction:
A Story
B Ephesus (the capital of the province of Asia) was, from a New Testament standpoint, the most important of the cities to which Paul wrote.
1 Paul, in Acts (19:1-7) found a group of believers there who already believed in Jesus, but knew only of John the Baptist’s baptism (nothing about Holy Spirit).
2 He made his home is Ephesus for 3 years (20:31)
3 Timothy’s ministry was also in Ephesus (1 Tim. 1:3, 2 Tim. 1:18)
4 According to later Christian tradition (Iranaeus & Eusebius), John had ministry "in" Ephesus as well.
5 Ephesus had enjoyed some "stellar" leadership (Paul, Timothy, John), but the Lord reminded them that He was in control of the ministry, placing the "stars" where He pleased.
C "To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands, says this: 2 ’I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; 3 and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary. 4 ’But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 5 ’Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent. 6 ’Yet this you do have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 ’He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.’ Rev 2:1-7 (NASB)
D These are Jesus’ prophetic words (2:1) through the Spirit (2:7) who is inspiring John (1:10).
1 We get to read other people’s mail today (v.7)
a Churches (plural)-If the shoe fits, wear it
b Overcomes-endurance in the coming trials
2 Dispensationalism view has this church is Apostolic church age.
E Jesus told the church at Ephesus that all their work done without love for Him was worthless (essence of the text in a sentence).
1 The church/believer that stays in love with Jesus stays lit (essence of the sermon in a sentence).
a I pray you’ll rediscover the love you knew when you first met the Lord (objective).
b What do you need to do to rediscover the love you knew when you first met the Lord? (Probing question)
2 Let’s look at two things from Jesus’ note to the church of Ephesus that can help rediscover our love for Him (transitional sentence).
3 Pray
I What the church had going for them.
A Jesus saw all the wonderful service that First Church of Ephesus were engaged in. ’I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; 3 and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary. 6 ’Yet this you do have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
1 I know your deeds and your toil... (hard work)
a This was a church that had a weekly schedule that was chock-full of activities (busy, not lazy).
b It was on the job for Jesus.
2 I know your perseverance... (patience)
a They had suffered great persecution, but they hadn’t given up on Jesus.
b When the going got tough at that church, the tough stuck around.
3 I know you cannot endure evil men & false doctrine...
a Members living a sinful life at Ephesus church were called out
b They didn’t want members unless they were holy people.
aa Open sin-GONE, inactive-GONE, no hard work-GONE
c Didn’t tolerate evil doctrine!
aa "Put to the test", "hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans"
bb The church of Ephesus could smell unsound doctrine a mile away (warned by Paul in Acts 20:28-30) "Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. 29 "I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. Acts 20:28-30 (NASB)
cc Baptism of John-rebaptized. It happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the upper country and came to Ephesus, and found some disciples. 2 He said to them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" And they said to him, "No, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit." 3 And he said, "Into what then were you baptized?" And they said, "Into John’s baptism." 4 Paul said, "John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus." 5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying. Acts 19:1-6 (NASB)
(IL) If a unit of soldiers marched by us in a parade & they were all dressed in uniform but one, in a blue business suit who refused to wear the U.S. uniform, that would be incongruous.
dd To the church at Ephesus, it was just as incongruous that those who claimed to be followers of Christ refused to wear the uniform of baptism.
B We’ll say that this was a healthy church.
1 They were busy, resilient, doctrinally conservative, high-expectation church.
2 All the visible things we’d look for if we were looking for a church to join.
From where we stand, Ephesus was a perfect church...but the One in the lampstands shows their hearts and gives a different diagnosis (transitional sentence).
II What the church had going against them
A First Church Ephesus had left (forsaken) their first love. ’But I have this against you, that you have left your first love.
1 The love was a "honeymoon weekend" type of love that a newly wedded bride would have for her husband.
a They still loved Jesus, but just with a quality & intensity that was less than that of their initial love.
b Yes, they had deeds/activities...but their labor was no substitute for love.
aa Yes, they had conservative theology, doctrine was as straight as a gun barrel, & they were also just as empty as that gun barrel...their purity was no substitute for passion.
bb They had lost their love for Jesus in the midst of active service.
2 He commands 3 R’s: 5 ’Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent. Remember (take inventory), repent (change mind/confess sin), & repeat (the deeds you did at first).
3 He gives the consequence if they didn’t do the 3 R’s...I’m coming.
a Not the second coming, but coming in judgment...cease to exist.
aa Ephesus today is a pile of rocks, overran by the Muslims, & the lampstand was removed.
bb Jesus DID come to the church who didn’t return to their first love, & a church that loses its love will soon lose its light.
B What does it look like when the first love dies?
1 In a marriage relationship we see phone calls, hand holding, buying presents, spend time, can’t think of anything but each other, can’t do enough for each other.
a The marriage gets some age on it...calls more infrequent, instead of longing for her/his touch he’d/she’d rather be working/shopping/fishing/hunting, T.V. over her/his voice.
b It’s a sad story, but what does it look like in the Christian life?
aa When you first met Jesus there was a glow which filled your heart (Word was sweet, prayer was precious, couldn’t wait for Sunday/Wednesday).
bb But as time went by you’ve lost your first love (dust on Bible, your life once flowed out of your prayers-now you just say prayers, can’t wait for the preacher to finish & pray we don’t sing all 5 verses).
cc Reasons? Desire to shine in the social world, secret sin crept in, began to have ill feelings for someone.
2 There is a way to resurrect a dead first love (3 R’s)
a Remember how we loved Him when we first met Him & compare our current condition.
aa I used to...go to church/sing in the choir/go to/teach Sunday School/involved in ministry/tithe...but not now.
bb As you remember, you must also wish for the joy/power you knew then.
b Repent & repeat our first love.
aa The most miserable person in the world is not a reprobate sinner but a Christian who once served God & is now out of touch/fellowship with Him.
bb Outward appearance, but your heart is not in it. GO BACK!
c Remove (consequence)
aa We can be icily pure in our conduct, orthodox in our beliefs...dead as a hammer.
bb Leave our first love-light goes out, don’t enjoy our faith, don’t shine at work/home, testimony no longer counts for God.
Conclusion
A Jesus told the church at Ephesus that all their work done without love for Him was worthless (essence of the text in a sentence). The church/believer that stays in love with Jesus stays lit (essence of the sermon in a sentence).
1 We’ve looked at two things from Jesus’ note to the church of Ephesus that can help us rediscover our love for Him.
a The things they had going for them (work, patient, conservative)
b The things they had going against them (left first love)
2 I pray you’ll rediscover the love you knew when you first met the Lord (objective).
a Search your soul & remember vs. content to go through motions
b Repent vs. removal
B What do you need to do to rediscover the love you knew when you first met the Lord? (Probing question)
1 Illustration
2 When we become Christians, we fall in love with Jesus. (If you haven’t fallen in love with Jesus-you’re lost).
a If you love Jesus...no sacrifice is too great to make for Him
b If you love Jesus...you’ll serve/follow Him, gladly tithe, read Bible, pray, witness
c Whether we do these things depends on how much you love the One who loved you & gave Himself for you.
d If you’ve left your first love, you need to go back to Calvary this morning & look into the face of the One who died there for you.
aa Remember, repent, & weep your way back to the love that you knew when you first met your Lord.
bb What do you need to do to rediscover the love you knew when you first met the Lord? (Probing question)
3 Pray
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