Losing Your Excitement.

Revelation 2:1–5 KJV 1900

1 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; 2 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: 3 And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. 4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. 5 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.

Revelation

Notice the text verse!

Revelation 2:4 KJV 1900

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

Revelation

Jesus Said “Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee,”

Why is that you ask?

Simple, “Because thou hast left thy first love.”

Pray

Jesus didn’t say they lost it, He said they left there first love.

There are a lot of Christian’s out there.

That are not as happy, and they don’t have the joy or excitement that they once had.

Because they left there First Love.

Pray

I. Why Do People Leave Their First Love?

When a Christian first gets saved.

Do you remember when you first got saved?

There was excitement,

You could walk on air,

Your heart felt like it could beat out of your chest,

You where faithful to the Lord, to the church and it’s ministries

You didn’t miss a s

You participated in the singing of hymns, even though you couldn’t carry a note in a bucket.

You didn’t miss a single service,

You couldn’t wait till the next service,

You had Joy, Excitement, and Zeal.

People that have been saved a year or less are harder worker most of the time, than people who have been saved for years.

Why does this happen?

Many have said, “I have reached the mountain top in my life!”

My Spiritual Peak in my life.

And once I reached it, it’s all down hill from there.

Some of you are here right now.

There was a time, you couldn’t get enough of Jesus Christ.

There was a time you couldn’t get enough of church.

There was a time you couldn’t get enough of your prayer life.

But, Something has has happen.

The Bible calls it Leaving Your First Love.

How does this happen?

Because it affects many, many, people here this morning.

Remember when you took a trip somewhere you never been before?

You where excited, it was a new adventure. It was a place you never been too.

Then you returned the next year, then the next. It wasn’t as exciting as it was the first time.

Why? Because you been there before.

II. A Time When You Were Thrilled To Be A Christian.

Do you remember that time?

When you were thrilled to learn the things of God.

The Doctrines

You learn about the Grace of God.

How sweet the Grace of God is,

How God could take a no good sinner and forgive them, and save them.

You learned about security,

You realized you where saved, but saved forever,

You say, I didn’t know that I was not saved until I sin, but I was saved forever.

That sweet doctrine of Eternal Security.

Then you learned about the Rapture.

Jesus Christ will one day come back for His Church,

Then you learned about the Millennial Reign of Jesus Christ.

You learn that we will be in Heaven for 7 years after the Rapture, Then we will come back with Jesus to reign for a 1,000 years.

Then you learned a little bit about Heaven, Didn’t you?

You heard about the place your going to go to after you die.

Heaven you learned had streets of gold.

You learn that heaven was 1500 square miles.

You learned that we will be in Heaven with physical bodies.

You learn that there is Mansions in Heaven.

Not Rooms

Not Bunglalows

Not Duplexes

Mansions

You learned about the Holy Spirit

How He indwells in us.

Then you joined Friendship Baptist Church

You learned about the church,

You loved the church,

Some of you might even thought that this is a perfect church.

Remember what you thought of Bro. Mike?

That perfect man that stands behind the pulpit.

You didn’t realize that your pastor was so, hansom did you?

A well chiseled muscular pastor.

What I’m trying to say, Church met so much to you.

Your first trip

You couldn’t get enough of Friendship Baptist Church.

You had a new life in Jesus Christ.

Some of you even gave up bad habbitts.

Your life had been changed,

You were excited

You were thrilled

Because God had changed your life.

You know what happen?

III. You Have Reached Your Spiritual Peek.

Something has changed in you.

Your not as Excited as you once where.

Now when I preach on the Grace of God.

It doesn’t sparkle like it once did.

You say, “Preacher I heard that one before.”

I know, because it’s the second or third trip.

When I preach on the Rapture.

When the trumpet of God sounds and we are raptured to meet the Lord in the sky.

It doesn’t thrill you like it use to.

The problem is you have been save awhile,

You have heard these messages before.

You heard about Heaven,

You heard about the streets of Gold,

You heard about the River of Life,

You heard about the Tree of Life.

Yet it doesn’t Trill or Excite you anymore as much as it did on the first trip.

Then you found out that Bro. Mike is Human.

You did realize that on the first trip.

IV. You Can’t Keep Living For The First Trip.

You Can’t Keep Living For The First Trip.

IV. It’s Time To Get Back That First Love.

We are in a since, Infected.

You say, “I’m not infected with anything.”

Yes you are. We all are.

We are all infected with the disease called the “World”.

It pulls us away from our First Love, it pulls us from God.

I call it the End Times

2 Timothy 3:1–4 KJV 1900

1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;

2 Timothy #

It’s starts with missing church

Making up excuse.

Missing Church,

Sin.

I can tell you now.

Friendship Baptist Church is not perfect.

This Pastor is not perfect

But we preach for this perfect Book

We love the Lord

Some might say I think we can get more people in our church if we will add lights, tv monitors, and praise band like some of the big churches.

I refuses to turn the House of God into a Disco.

Some might say, It would be more inviting if we add a different type of ministry.

We have several ministries now.

all you have to do is come and be a part of them.

Some might say, I think we need to drop the ministries we have now and go back to the way it used to be one service a week.

I’m now quitting anything, Thats lack of faith, and we are not going backwards.

The problem is you have left your first love

Your Love of God

Your Love of His Son

Your Love of the Bible

Your Love of the Church.

Your prayer

You say, “some of the events at the church, interferes with something I really want to do.”

We’ll look at it like this, “What would you do if Jesus was standing in front of you.”

Which decision would you make?