First love church

From time to time, Pastor Fumi will talk about his old girlfriends in his messages. I know the name Mari seems to pop up a lot.

Now I would love to talk about my former girlfriends, but there’s one problem. I have none. Seriously. Satoko was my first and only love. Now there were other girls that I was interested in over the years, but while I made some really good friendships with some of them, Satoko is the only one I ever got serious about or even dated.

Amazingly, we just celebrated our 20th anniversary last June. Time really flies. We got married shortly after Crossroad became a church. I believe we were the second couple to get married at Crossroad. Toshi and Yuko beat us by about six months or so.

One thing I am grateful for is that Satoko and I have somehow managed to keep our love for each other over the years. It’s really encouraging when I come home from work or jogging and my wife sees me and her face lights up.

Now this isn’t all the time, mind you. Sometimes she’s tired, or distracted, or having a bad day. But more times than not, I can actually see the love in her face.

Contrast that with the other girl in my life, my daughter Yumi. When she was small, there was a real spark in her eye for me. She would hear me come home from work, run to the door and shout, “Daddy!” But now she’s 16 years old. She’s a young lady. And young ladies just don’t run to the door and shout, “Daddy!” Now, I’m pretty sure she still loves me, but…the spark is gone.

Why am I talking about all this?

Well, how are we when it comes to our relationship with Jesus? Is our relationship marked by our first love for him? Or has it faded a bit?

And I’m not just talking about us as individual Christians. I’m talking about Crossroad as a church. Is our church marked by our first love for Christ.

We always talk about how we want to be known as a welcoming church. Recently, we’ve also been talking about becoming a discipling church. But I think there’s something that’s even more fundamental that we need to be striving for. We need to be striving to be a first-love church. Are we? And what does that mean, anyway? Let’s look at Revelation chapter 2.

We’ve looked at the book of Revelation before, and it’s kind of a wild book. It has all kinds of dragons and strange creatures in it. And it’s filled with all kinds of symbolic language which can be hard to understand. Fortunately, we’re looking at a part today that is a lot more like one of the letters of the New Testament.

The apostle John, one of Jesus’ original disciples was exiled on an island called Patmos. And while there, he received a vision of the risen Jesus. And as we enter chapter 2, Jesus is giving seven of his churches both words of encouragement and rebuke. We see both in today’s passage. Let’s take a look starting at verse 1.

 “Write to the angel of the church in Ephesus: Thus says the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand and who walks among the seven golden lampstands:

I know your works, your labor, and your endurance, and that you cannot tolerate evil people. You have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and you have found them to be liars.

I know that you have persevered and endured hardships for the sake of my name, and you have not grown weary. (Revelation 2:1-3)

Now Ephesus was located in modern day Turkey. And it was a city that both the apostles John and Paul spent a lot of time in. It was one of the leading cities of the Roman Empire. But it was also a place where the church sometimes faced persecution. Ephesus worshiped the goddess Artemis and her temple there was one of the 7 wonders of the world. So in the book of Acts, you find Paul getting into trouble because many Ephesians were becoming Christians, and people who made shrines for Artemis were losing business. (Acts 19:23-41)

Around the time John wrote Revelation, another big temple honoring the Roman emperor Domitian was built as well. And Christian tradition holds it was Domitian himself that exiled John to Patmos. It was during this time period, then, that Jesus is trying to encourage his church.

He starts by calling himself the one who holds the 7 stars and walks among the 7 lampstands. At the end of chapter 1, we see that the 7 stars refer to the angels of the 7 churches Jesus is sending letters to (Revelation 1:20). Some people think that these are literal angels that have charge over each church. Others think that Jesus is merely talking about the pastors of these churches.

But either way, Jesus is holding the stars in his hand. And the picture is that he is holding them tightly, probably showing that he is the one ruling, protecting, and possibly disciplining his church. For us at Crossroad, one thing we always need to remember is that we are not Pastor Fumi’s church. We are Christ’s church. We belong to and answer to him.

Anyway, the lampstands represent the 7 churches themselves. And it seems that Jesus is always with his churches, inspecting them. Is that a scary thought to you? Jesus is inspecting us. Well, it shouldn’t be a scary thought. He loves us. He bought us with his own blood shed on the cross. And so when he inspects us, he does so with eyes of love. Even when he has to discipline us, as he will the Ephesian church.

But he starts out with words of praise for them. He tells them, “Hey, I’ve been watching you. And I see some good things in you. I see all you’re doing for me. You guys are working hard for the kingdom. And when people have come into the church trying to get you to follow their evil teachings, you don’t tolerate them. You kick them out.

Now some of you might think that’s harsh. It doesn’t sound very welcoming. But there is a big difference between welcoming broken people into the church, and welcoming people who are actively trying to lead God’s people away from him. We always want to welcome people into this church, no matter how broken by sin their lives might be. But if anyone is actively trying to lead others to follow their example of sin, we can’t accept that.

In Acts 20, Paul specifically warned the Ephesian church to watch out for people like that (20:28-31). And it looks like they took his warning to heart. Later in the chapter, Jesus talks about a group called the Nicolatians. We don’t know much about them, but apparently, they were trying to lead people into idolatry and sexual sin. But the Ephesian church wouldn’t tolerate them. And Jesus praised them for that.

On top of that, the Ephesian Christians seemed to face many hardships for following Christ. We’re not sure what those hardships were, but pressure from society was possibly one. It could have been people struggling with family issues or job issues because they were following Christ. Whatever it was, despite their hardships and struggles, they weren’t turning their backs on their faith. They were holding on. So Jesus praised them for that too. But then he says this:

But I have this against you: You have abandoned the love you had at first.” (4)

Ouch. Those are cutting words. But what do they mean? I think it comes down to one thing: losing the joy of being loved by God and loving him back.

Over the past several years, Pastor Fumi and I have been pounding in several concepts into our messages. We’ve said them so many times you might be sick of them by now. What concepts? God is good. He deeply loves you as his child. And he knows and desires your best.

And you might be thinking, “Why do you constantly repeat these things? These are beginner lessons! We know them!” But do you? Not just in your head? But in your heart? Is your heart filled with gratitude each day toward God? Is your first thought every morning, “Thank you, Father, for another day to walk with you.”

When you face trials in your life, can you still say with all your heart, “God is good. He loves me.” Or does doubt start to creep in? “God are you really good? Do you really love me?”

When Sunday morning rolls around, are you saying, “Yes! I get to go to church. I get to worship God. I get to spend time with his people and serve them.” Or are you saying, “Well, it’s Sunday. I guess I should go to church.”

Is your life marked by the joy of being loved by God, and the joy of responding to that love?

That’s a first-love church. A church filled with people who do everything springing from the joy that comes from knowing God loves them. And that’s why we repeat these things as often as we do. There’s no such thing as “graduating” from these truths.

Yes, we want to build on these truths and that’s what we’ve started to do and will continue to do. But we will never ever graduate from those truths. We will keep coming back to them, because if we don’t, it’s so easy to become like the Ephesian church.

The Ephesian church was doing all the right things. But they had lost their joy. And joy was the thing that marked the early church. Look at a couple of passages from Acts, first in chapter 2 verses 45-47.

They sold their possessions and property and distributed the proceeds to all, as any had need. Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple, and broke bread from house to house. They ate their food with joyful and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. (Acts 2:45-47)

Then when hard times came, and the apostles faced persecution from the religious leaders, look at their response:

Then they went out from the presence of the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to be treated shamefully on behalf of the Name. (Acts 5:41)

That’s a first love church. Is that you? In 1 Corinthians 13, the apostle Paul said, “I can speak in the tongues of angels, prophesy, give to the poor, give my life for Jesus. But if I have not love, I am nothing.”

Put Jesus’ words from Revelation into that. You can do all kinds of good things, serve God until you’re exhausted, face all kinds of hardship for being a Christian, but if it’s not sparked by the joy that comes from knowing God loves you deeply, and the joy of loving him back, it’s meaningless. And so Jesus told the Ephesian church this in verse 5.

Remember then how far you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. Otherwise, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. (Revelation 2:5)

What is Jesus saying? Let me tell you what he’s not saying. He’s not simply saying, “Read your Bible more.” “Pray more.” “Serve more.” What is he saying? He’s saying, “Don’t you remember the first time you fell in love with me? The first time you realized I actually love you? Do you remember how you responded with such joy and loved me back? Get back to that first love.”

Now please hear what I’m not saying. I’m not saying we’re supposed to always be on this emotional high like young lovers are. Some Christians seek to go from emotional high to emotional high to emotional high. And that’s just not sustainable.

But there is a joy and a love that we are to be constantly rooted in. I’d like to think I have that kind of relationship with my wife. A relationship where she looks at me and her face lights up. Where I never fail to be grateful to her for everything she does. Where we make a habit of praising and encouraging each other. Where we like to talk to each other. We like being with each other.

A relationship where when we do things for each other, we do it because we delight in their joy. I don’t particularly like housework. I don’t like doing things like cleaning, ironing, or cooking. What I do like is the happiness on my wife’s face when I do these things. Those attitudes, that joy should mark our relationship with God.

But how do we maintain that kind of love relationship with God? First: remember. Those were Jesus’ words. Intentionally keep reminding ourselves of his love and goodness toward us. How do we do that? Probably the best way is to take time in his Word daily. Fumi’s and my messages on Sunday are great (I hope). But we speak to you only once a week. Let God remind you of his love every day.

Whenever I read God’s word, his love, grace and mercy toward me catch my eye almost every single time. For those of you who read what I write in my reflections for the Crossroad Bible Plan, I hope you catch that. I hope you catch the wonder I still have that God loves me.

I don’t even have to consciously look for those kinds of words when I read the Bible. I see them all over the page. And that’s what grounds me in my love for God. Daily reading his love letters to me. Do you have that wonder as you read God’s word.

I think one reason people struggle to read God’s word, is that they often don’t really see these things. They may read the words, but they don’t really reflect on them. When you see pictures of God’s love, mercy, and grace in his Word, don’t just skim over them saying, “I know, I know, I know.” Stop. Think. Reflect. Rejoice.

And that leads to my next point: Rejoice! Jesus told the Ephesians to do the works they did at first. But what was the first “work” we did after God saved us. We rejoiced in his goodness and love toward us. We need to get back to that. One way to do that is to read a psalm in the morning after you get up. Choose one that focuses on God’s love and goodness toward you. And pray that psalm to him.

Another way is to listen to and sing worship songs to God. I believe we still have a worship playlist at Crossroad. Use that if you can’t play instruments on your own. If you can play the guitar or the piano or whatever, that’s all the better.

And then when you pray, don’t just make it a wish list. Start by thinking of the good things God did for you that day and thank him for that. Thank him for the blessings he’s given you in your life. And most of all, always remember to thank him for the cross.

Those two things: remembering and rejoicing over his love and grace toward you are crucial for maintaining your first love.

If we don’t, what happens? We lose our joy. And slowly, following God becomes a burden. Going to church becomes a burden. Reading our Bibles and praying becomes a burden. Serving others becomes a burden. When hard times come, doubts start rising up. “Does God really love me? Why is he allowing all these bad things in my life?”

And our light as Christians starts to dim. What’s worse is when a whole church loses its first love, and their joy is no longer there. What happens then? It becomes useless to Jesus as a vessel to share his love with a dying world. And that’s why Jesus finishes verse 5 with this warning:

I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. (5b)

Let me be clear: Jesus isn’t talking about individual Christians losing their salvation. What he’s saying is that a church that loses their first love eventually becomes useless to him. There are a lot of dead churches, not just in Japan, but in this world. Why? Because they forgot one key thing: How much Jesus deeply loves them. And because they forget, they lose their joy. And when that happens, bickering and complaining starts. Selfish attitudes spring up like weeds. Bitter attitudes start creeping in. And the church's light begins to dim.

Back in July we were reading Mark 10 in the Bible reading plan. And this idea of first love really struck me. There was a blind man named Bartimaeus. And when he found out Jesus was coming near, he shouted, “Jesus, have mercy on me!” Jesus had mercy on him and healed him. What was the result? Bartimaeus joyfully followed him. He had experienced Jesus’ love and mercy and that first love was sparked.

Jesus’ disciples had once felt that way too. They were probably so shocked and joyful that Jesus would choose ordinary people like them. One of them, a guy named Matthew, was probably especially joyful because he had tasted Jesus’ mercy in a deep way. He had once been a hated man in society for being a collaborator with the Roman government and for ripping people off of their money. But Jesus called him, Matthew left his old life, and he joyfully followed Jesus.

But fast-forward to Mark 10, and you see the disciples’ first love starting to fade. Peter starts asking questions like “Jesus, we gave up everything for you. What do we get?” James and John, meanwhile, are saying, “Hey Jesus, can we have the top positions of power next to you when you enter your kingdom?” And when the other disciples hear about this, they all start fighting for their position in God’s kingdom. Why? They were losing their first love. They had forgotten the joy of being loved by Jesus and loving him back.

What about you? Are you like Bartimaeus? Do you still have that deep-seeded joy of knowing Jesus loves you? Do you have a heart that is daily grateful to God for all he’s done for you?

Or are you becoming like the disciples? Are you becoming like the Ephesian church? Are you losing your first love? Have you lost your wonder at God’s love for you? Have you lost your heart of gratitude? Is your Christian life becoming a burden? Are you starting to question God’s goodness and love in your life?

There is hope. The disciples regained their first love, particularly after Jesus rose from the dead. Like I said, their lives came to be very much marked by the joy of first love, even under persecution. And it seems that the Ephesian church regained their first love too. They continued to be a blessing to the Roman empire centuries after Jesus warned them in this letter.

But recovery starts with repentance. And repentance starts with remembering: My Lord loves me. My Lord is good. My Lord knows and desires my best.

There’s a song I really like and I’ll close with this:

It says,

First love, my soul longs after you.

First love, I want my heart to stay so true.

Because you first loved me, Jesus,

You will always be,

You will always be, my first love. — Bob Hartman