Putting God in First Place

Scripture

Revelation 2:1–7 KJV 1900

Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

You’ve seen the swoosh. It’s everywhere. And it often attached to the words Just Do It. The Nike swoosh represents strength, power, conquering, and victory. But did you know the word nike comes from the Greek word for overcomer? It’s the word we examined in our passage scripture this morning: nikeo. Nike is the English cognate of this Greek term. It borrows from the Greek goddess of victory in Greek mythology.

God wants you to win. He wants you to live with strength, power, and an ability to conquer whatever life throws at you. The word nikeo assumes life will do that, that there’s something or someone seeking to defeat you, oppress you, or keep you living as a victim, And there usually is.

But we also need to ensure we have our priorities straight, and that’s the theme of Jesus’ message to the first church we come to—Ephesus.

To appreciate and understand Ephesus, picture New York City.

Ephesus was the premiere city in Asia Minor, now known as Turkey. It was the region’s center of commerce, culture, fashion, and civic focus. (Sounds like New York of today!). And it was an economic boomtown. In some ways it was also like New York’s Wall Street. Because of its strategic location, Ephesus was where significant financial matters were addressed.

To sum it up, Ephesus had it going on!

It also served as a host for an enormous amount of idolatry. The temple of Diana, also known as the Temple of Artemis or the Artemisim, served as a major idolatrous attraction, drawing people from all over that part of the world with different backgrounds, cultures, and even ideologies.

Although many gods and idols were sought out in Ephesus in order to offer sacrifices and worship, Diana drew the highest bidding and most attention. She was the goddess of fertility, the twin sibling of Apollo, and represented health, wealth, and hunting. Her temple was enormous in size, roughly double the dimensions of most other temples. It was so huge, in fact, that it was named one of the seven ancient wonders of the world.

Ephesus had a lot to offer its citizens. And what’s more, in the midst of this bustling, wealthy, and idolatrous metropolis, the apostle Paul had planted a church—the church to whom he wrote a letter that became the book of Ephesians in the Bible.

The story of the church’s start-up is told in Acts 19. In a city full of sorcery, witchcraft, and all manner of idolatry, people were saved because of the teaching being done in and through this church. When you read Acts 19, you’ll no doubt pick up on this brand-new church’s energy and excitement as well as the challenges they faced.

They made a lot of positive impact with that excitement and dedication, but they somehow got off track along they way. That’s where they are when they show up in the book of Revelation.

Jesus’ message to the church in Ephesus starts out strong. It begins with an introduction and then a commendation before it gets into their problem.

John records what Jesus wants the angel of the church of Ephesus to say:

Revelation 2:1–3 KJV 1900

Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.

Jesus starts with wanting the church to know He knows what He’s talking about. He knows who they are. He knows where they come from. He knows where they’ve been and even what they’re thinking. He doesn’t want any hesitation concerning their hearing from Him in this way, so He sets the stage with who He truly is and what He knows. A hesitant hearer can lead to a lack of response to what is said, so He first establishes His command. Not only can He hold seven stars in His hand and walk among seven lampstands, but He also sees everything.

Then He shifts to a compliment. He congratulates the church by telling them He’s aware of their good deeds. He’s aware of their commitment. He’s aware they are a serving church. He knows their programs, ministries, outreaches, and preaching. He even knows about their Scripture study classes and their “breaking free” support groups. He knows they seek to do all they do with excellence and proficiency. The church in Ephesus truly exists as a model serving church, full of active members.

In fact, they serve so much that He reveals they do it even to the point of personal exhaustion. That’s what the word toil means. He commends them for both toiling and persevering in all they do. They labor. They sweat. They put in the overtime necessary to do the job of serving others well. This church contains individuals who don’t know the word quit. If they lived today, they would certainly be a megachurch simply due to their reputation. Their social media videos would have millions of views because the message they proclaim is inspiring and motivational. They live what they teach. And when the going get tough, they don’t toss in any towels. This is a steadfast church where serving is the norm.

Then He acknowledges that He’s well aware of this church and its representatives’ longevity. He’s well aware that they have endured for His name’s sake. They don’t tolerate evil men. They are orthodox in both theology and doctrine. They are Scripture-teaching, Scripture-believing, Scripture-quoting, and Scripture-doting church. they measure all things by the standard of the truth of God’s Word. This is a church to get excited about!

Yet despite all of this—the serving, sacrificing, steadfastness, separation from the world, and even suffering for their faith—this commendation is quickly followed by a criticism. Apparently, they got it all right except for one key thing, and that one key thing is massive.

WHAT ABOUT YOUR FIRST LOVE?

Revelation 2:4 KJV 1900

Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.

Let that sink in. Talk about a wake-up twist to the plotline. This Scripture-based church with litany of great things attached to their name and reputation is called out publicly for missing one thing. You would think they were about to be applauded and highlighted as a model for the other six churches. You would think that all they were doing right was about to become a standard for the others to aim toward. You would think they would at least get a pass based on all of the praise Jesus just gave them. But no, His message didn’t go that way at all. Because though Jesus had been their first love, their first priority, He no longer was. And He knew it.

This teaches us that, evidently, today you can be a serving church, or even a serving Christian, and still wildly miss the mark. You can be a sacrificing church, or a sacrificing Christian, and get off track. You can be a steadfast church, or a steadfast Christian, while falling far short of God’s goal. You can be a church separated from the world, or a Christian separated from the world, and be far from Christ in your heart. You can be a suffering church or a suffering Christian, and have left your first love.

In short, you can do everything right while still functioning in a very wrong relational style.

If you and I are to daily live as overcomers, we must pay attention to the message given to this nearly model church in Ephesus. This miss of theirs is subtle, and that’s why it can easily be missed in our own lives. God must not only be loved by us; He must be loved first. The issue with Ephesus wasn’t that they no longer loved God; it was that they no longer loved Him first. He was no longer their relational and hear’t priority.

Proverbs 3:9 KJV 1900

Honour the Lord with thy substance, And with the firstfruits of all thine increase:

Deuteronomy 26:10–13 KJV 1900

And now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land, which thou, O Lord, hast given me. And thou shalt set it before the Lord thy God, and worship before the Lord thy God: And thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the Lord thy God hath given unto thee, and unto thine house, thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is among you. When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, and hast given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled; Then thou shalt say before the Lord thy God, I have brought away the hallowed things out of mine house, and also have given them unto the Levite, and unto the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all thy commandments which thou hast commanded me: I have not transgressed thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them:

Deuteronomy 14:26 KJV 1900

And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the Lord thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household,

Deuteronomy 6:5 KJV 1900

And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

Matthew 6:33 KJV 1900

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE FIRE

1. REMEMBER WHAT IT WAS LIKE BEFORE

2. REPENT OF YOUR SIN

3. REPEAT WHAT YOU DID AT THE START

4. EMBRACE THE REWARD OF TRULY KNOWING GOD