Return to Love
Notes
Transcript
1 “To the angel of the church of Ephesus write, ‘These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands: 2 “I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; 3 and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary. 4 Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent. 6 But this you 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 give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.” ’
The church in Ephesus was not a lazy church,and not a compromised church, not a heretical church, .
If anything, it was the kind of church many pastors would love to lead.
They have a great history of “stellar” pastors, the founder, Pastor Timothy who was directly mentored by the Apostle Paul,, then the Apostle John late in his life.
Yet Jesus—who walks among the lampstands—had one devastating word against them:
“Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.” (Rev. 2:4)
4 Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.
Note….
The Ephesian church did not lose love, they left it.
In the New King James Translation of the Bible, the title header the translators put over this section of this chapter is “Loveless Church”
It is not that their love for Jesus had eroded somehow. They did not lose their love but they VOLUNTARILY left it.
Loving is not an emotion, love is a choice.
2 “I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars;
They were still doing good works, they are acknowledged by Jesus as a working church.. (they are not a lazy church)
They cannot stand evil. (they are not a compromising church)
They were testing false apostles and most likely teachers. (They were not a heretical church)
This is not an apostate church. Apostate from the Greek word apostasia.
From the Greek word Apostasia
Apostasia - An Abandonment of the Christian Faith.
3 and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary.
they persevered and labored for the Name of the Lord. More proofs they have not lost their love for Jesus.
How then did they leave their first love?
There are people who turned their backs on Jesus in John 6. It says there that many of His disciples turned back and no longer followed Him.
The apostle Paul mentioned a Man named Demas in 2 Timothy 4, who turned his back because “he loved this present world”.
So this gives us a clue on the real heart condition of the church of Ephesus. They did not completely turn their back on Jesus, but perhaps they love Jesus but they love something else more.
Laborers - Perhaps now they love their labor more than they love the Lord.
The Ephesian Church did not leave their love for Jesus, they just don’t love Him first.
Are there other things or people that we love more than Jesus? What competes with Him in our hearts?
Is Jesus Number One in Our lives?
The world throws other affections to us.
Iphone has a screen time feature. You will see how much time you spent on social media, on games, on YouTube, your messages. If there is a Life Screen Time, what percentage of your day is spent with Jesus? In prayer and worship.
The Ephesian Church no longer loved Jesus like at First.
Remember when you first came to Jesus. You were so excited to learn more about Him. Went to church, Bible studies, you listened to Christian Music.
Those who are married, you remember when you were so in love with your future spouse? (talk) After marriage, honeymoon stage.. the wonder and excitement are lost.. husband and wife begin to take each other for granted, and the marriage is endangered.
The Ephesian church most likely:
Was biblically sound, they are strong in doctrine
They were still very committed and steadfast
They were full of Zeal and worked hard to the point of exhaustion
They did the work of ministry
They probably evangelized and discipled
But They have backslidden.
The Lord gave them a warning:
5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.
The Lord gave them three commands:
Remember
Repent
Return
Remember - where you have fallen or backslidden. Pick yourself up where you left of.
Remember how God found and saved you. When scripture was so alive and prayer was so natural.
Repent - A change of mind
Greek word for Repent here.
Return - do the first works, what is it about the first works, how are they different from the works they do now? Maybe they did them out of pure love for Jesus, and now they do the works out of obligation.
Do the first works - The Lord is not commanding them to do something new, or to reinvent themselves, make up for lost time, do the first works, not new works - but with renewed love.
22 “Return, you backsliding children, And I will heal your backslidings.” “Indeed we do come to You, For You are the Lord our God.
Orthodoxy without love eventually becomes religion.
Mechanical obedience.
LABOR IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR LOVE!
Lampstand - they are still a church, Jesus gave a sobering warning.. He warned He will remove their lampstand, they will cease being a church, they will no longer be led by the Spirit and will be reduced to just a social gathering. There will be no light shining.
What happened to the church of Ephesus, today it is just a heap of stones and there is no light shining there.
6 But this you 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 give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.” ’
To recap, this lesson is like a play on the word “FIRST”
FIRST
The Ephesian Church did not leave their love for Jesus, they just don’t love Him first.
The Ephesian Church no longer loved Jesus like at First.
The Ephesian Church did not strive to be the FIRST among those who love Jesus.
The last one sounds crazy, is loving Jesus a competition? It is not a matter of comparing yourself with others, but rather that when others see how much you love Jesus, (consumed) they are so inspired to do the same.
A.W. Tozer said this:
“My Ambition is to love God more than anyone of my generation” (A.W. Tozer)
Based on this, as a church, will we pass the test of love of Jesus?
7 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.” ’
