Leaving our First Love
Notes
Transcript
Intro - We live in a watershed moment of history that will be remembered for a long time..Quaranteen agers
Last week, I talked about the coronavirus in End times prophecy.. I talked of how this coronavirus will be followed by a greater time of sorrow or hardship, Jesus called it the Great Tribulation.. and as I was preparing for today’s message I was led to do a second part this time we will go to the Book of Revelation.
We talk about end times prophecy and fear the events of the end times but let us not forget that the Lord Jesus will remain to be the dominant figure of the end times.
The Book of Revelation or the Book of the Apocalypse is the main book of the Bible that is dedicated to End Times prophecy.
The Big Idea of my message today is that:
“Prophecy is not only events to be known but a voice to be obeyed.”
That voice is the voice of Jesus.
Introduction - IN the book of Revelation, the Lord Jesus appeared to the Apostle John while he was in exile in the island of Patmos.
When he appeared to John He appeared in His power and glory!
Image of Jesus here from Revelation - this still is a poor representation of Jesus appearing in power and great glory!
Most Christians do not see this picture of Jesus, fearsome and awesome in power.
End times Picture of Jesus - He will return as Judge
All authority has been given to Jesus in heaven and on earth.
“He has the keys to Hades and of Death”.
His head and hair like wool, as white as snow.
His eyes were a flame of fire.
His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in furnace.
His voice was like the sound of many waters.
He had in His right hand seven stars.
Out of His mouth went sharp two-edged sword.
When His face was like the sun shining in its strength.
This picture should evoke from the Christian
Dissolution of all fear -
If we see Jesus with the right perspective, the fearsome and awesome God with all power and might, possessing authority over heaven and earth.
He has the final authority, He is over all powers, that means His Name is mightier over the coronavirus, and even if it was an Angel of death that had caused this plague to come to the world, Jesus has the final word - and if you belong to Him and if you are on His side there is absolutely nothing to fear.
2. Reverent fear - Christ is an awesome God.
When we see Who Jesus really is at this hour, we should be in awe and in reverent fear that we will just fall down at His feet like we are dead.
In studying the Book of Revelation today, instead of gathering information about events that will take place, let us hear what Jesus the majestic conquering King has to say to us.
Jesus primarily has a message for His church, His Holy Spirit is communicating a warning to His church. His every message to the church is predicated with “He who has an ear, let Him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
I have said time and again the church of Jesus should sound the alarm to this world. In praying for the message this morning the Lord showed to me that before the church can sound God’s warning to the world, we must first heed the Lord’s call to us, the church.
This pandemic is God’s call to the church as it is His resounding warning to the world.
Let us not forget that in the Book of Revelation, Jesus also gave His clear warning and admonition to the church and not just to the world at large.
When the Lord Jesus appeared to John, He immediately gave His message to seven churches which were in Asia.
The Seven Churches of Asia Minor (Modern Day Turkey):
Ephesus
Smyrna
Pergamos
Thyatira
Sardis
Philadelphia
Laodicea
Note that it was not the Asia of modern times, but rather ancient Asia Minor which is now the part of modern-day Turkey which is in Asia.
Jesus spoke to seven churches which were in modern-day Turkey. You wonder why these seven churches, there was a time when these churches represented all the other churches of the known world at that time. It is sad that now, Christians in all of Turkey are just .2 % of the population.
So this message to the seven churches is no longer applicable to churches that exist in modern-day Turkey but rather the global church of today.
Some Bible scholars believe that each of these ancient churches also represented periods of church History.
I believe however, that Jesus’ words to these churches are as relevant to us today as it was when the Book of Revelation was written or at any time in church history.
In the midst of the uncertainty, let us heed the voice of Jesus when He says:
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
What was Jesus’ message to the seven churches?
In His message to the seven churches, Jesus had a word of praise and a word of rebuke.
Breakdown of Jesus’ message to the Seven Churches:
1. Four churches (Ephesus, Pergamos, Thyatira and Sardis) - Received both Praise and Rebuke.
2. Two Churches (Smyrna, Philadelphia) - Received only Praise.
3. One Church (Laodicea) - Received only Rebuke.
So in Jesus’ message to the seven churches these churches were either.
- Worthy of Praise.
- Deserving of Rebuke.
Which category will Crosswind Church or the present day church of Jesus fall? Or what things about us are worthy of His praise or deserving of His rebuke?
Just a note that, no matter how direct and harsh Jesus’ rebuke may be, He still said this:
To the worst among these churches, the church of Laodicea, the only church which Jesus did not mention any reason for praise - He still said:
19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.
Jesus’ rebukes out of love. A lot of people consider rebuke as a lack of love. But rebuke is an expression of strong love. If there is Someone who has the greatest right to rebuke you it will be Jesus. Because 1) He is sinless and 2) He loves us with a perfect love.
Let us examine one area of rebuke and examine ourselves and be open to receive the message from Jesus today. We will focus on this one rebuke because of how subtle or unnoticeable it can be for us:
We are going to focus on His rebuke to the church of Ephesus.
To the church of Ephesus: “You have abandoned your first love” (repeat)
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.
First, Jesus acknowledged that they were working hard, they were testing and catching false believers. They were enduring patiently for Jesus and His Name and they were not weary, and yet Jesus said I had this thing against you.
You have abandoned your first love.
What does it mean Lord?
We have a zeal for sound doctrine. We attend church regularly, we show up for Bible studies and defend the faith against those who oppose it, we stood against evil in our midst what do you mean by we have lost our first love?
What are the signs of leaving our first love?
The Psalmist said “delight yourself in the Lord”, but if we delight in someone or something more than we delight in the Lord, it is a sign that we lost our first love.
First sign:
We delight in someone or something more than we delight in the Lord.
The Bible commands us to love God with all our heart, and all our soul and all our mind and all our strength.
This means that we will love the Lord with everything in us.. with our entire being.
How much of the following do we give to the Lord:
Our thoughts - How much time do we spend thinking about God? A person in love with someone will be heartsick not to see the person for some time. In the days before email, Guia and I were separated for just 8 months when I was assigned in Singapore and I would read letters I received from her several times and I am sure she did the same. Because we were madly in love. Are we so in love with God that we don’t miss reading His love letter to us - the Bible - over and over again?
Our time - How much time do we spend communing with God. Do you set a time of intimate fellowship with the Lord, that it is a sweet time with Him that you even feel sadness when you leave that prayer closet and have to go about your day.
Our energy - How much of our strength and energy do we expend for God and the Kingdom?
We are not saved by good works but we were saved unto good works.
You don’t understand Ramon, I am a very busy man. But we make time for the people we love not only because we feel guilty - example a father missing his son’s game - we also make time for our kids our spouses because we just want to - we are driven to make time for people because of our love for them.
Our money - how much of our resources do we give back to God? This is a much avoided topic in churches and I see that. If you are motivated to give to the work of God in the local church because you were forced to do so, then it is better not to give. The greatest motivation to give back of the Lord’s tithes and offering is not fear but love for Him.
The Bible says we can love because God loved us first.
The Greatest motivation to give to God is His love for us.
And if that is true in our lives we will match the extravagant love and generosity of God and give Him the first fruits of our increase not the left overs.
What is the second sign that we lost our first love?
Last week I shared from Matthew 24, where Jesus said because lawlessness will increase, the love of many will grow cold.
12 And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.
It means that in the middle of increasing evil and lawlessness around us, the church will stop to be the salt and light in the dark world that Jesus envisioned it to be.
How is that possible? We are doing all these good works, teaching sound doctrine, yes but church you have switched and settled to maintenance mode just caring for your own. You should be reaching out to the world around you through the work of Evangelism and taking the gospel to the unreached places of the world through missions. You may be even doing all these good works, donating essential supplies, - not toilet paper - but groceries but if we do not have the heart to win the lost for Jesus we are just going through the motions and just concerned about our reputation as a church and our good works mean nothing.
We are no different from the city food bank or homeless shelter. We should give them food that will satisfy through eternity - Jesus the bread of life.
Ramon, that is heavy, we live in a time of grace, are we returning to performance based Christianity? No, the problem is that we have abused, misused the grace of God, we have been content that we are saved by the grace of Jesus, Yes we are a church of the grace of God through Jesus but on the other hand we cannot be a church that ceases to obey the Great Commission - Go and make disciples of all nations.
If Jesus rebuked these New Testament churches in the Book of Revelation what makes us think that we are so special that the same rebuke and warning no longer applies to us. Lord have mercy.
Second sign: We leave our first love when we stopped loving whom Jesus loves.
Now, how do we go back to our first love:
This is what Jesus said:
5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.
Remember
Remember
The first step God calls us to may be surprising: remember. It is not something that only a spiritual giant can do.
As an adult sometimes we reminisce of the joys of childhood and we miss those simple and innocent days.
Do you remember your Spiritual childhood when God first awakened you? Do you remember the exceeding gratitude that you felt when he first rescued you from darkness? Do you remember when you sat at Jesus’ feet just wanting to learn from His word that there is a huge desire to read the Bible? Remember the unspeakable joy that you had in the presence of the Lord?
Remember the time you invested in eternity when with excitement you met with other believers to fellowship and worship him. God is asking, do you remember?
Going back to your first love starts with remembering.
Repent
Repent
In response to the conviction that comes from the Holy Spirit and realizing how far you are now from where you once stood with God, repent. Don’t just try to do better next time. Don’t just feel guilty and hide your sins under your good intentions. Don’t stay with wordly sorrow and let the Spirit stir that Godly sorrow in you that leads to repentance.
Metanoia image here
Repentance is simply a change of mind. I would say a mindset that led you to live a certain way. Once that mindset is changed it leads you to change your ways. It leads to a spiritual transformation. Although it is God that brings that godly sorrow, Repentance is an act of the will.
Go to your Savior and cry out for mercy, confessing your coldness to him and that you have entertained other loves, come to him unafraid, just the way you are:
16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
3. Return
3. Return
Amazingly, Jesus gives us the chance to pick up where we left off and do the first works. He calls us to return to where we once fell. He does not call us to make up for lost time and be a mile ahead of where we used to be. He calls us back to that fresh fire of love towards him and neighbor. It is like a reset that God allows you to start over again! The Bible says this:
from Joel: “I will restore to you the years that the locust has eaten.
This should make our our hearts sing for Jesus Christ. Our priorities in life will be dramatically changed because of this mindset and that you will see by the grace of almighty God that a relationship is not burdensome but just as He had promised in His word is love, joy and peace in the Holy Spirit.
Return to your first love.
This is what Jesus promised:
7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’
God called us to be overcomers. Jesus had overcome and therefore we should overcome.
The Bible says we are more than conquerors to Him Who loved us. What propels us to return to our first love is still the unfailing love of Jesus.
If you believe that you have left your first love then this message is for you. You remembered the days when you were on fire for God, and you want to repent and have a change of mind and ask the Lord for forgiveness and you want to return to the things you did at first. I am going to invite you to pray and repeat this prayer after me.
Dear Jesus,
FOrgive me for leaving my first love. I have delighted in others instead of you. I remember the days when you first saved me. Forgive me for forgetting you and putting others first. I repent of my sins. Once again I surrender everything to You. Take control of my life, give me the power to return to you and do things that you want me to do. Put in me a reverent fear of you. In Your Name I pray Amen.
There may be some of you listening and you did not pray that prayer. And the reason is because there was no first love of God to go back to. All your life, you have not considered God, you have ruled your life and never acknowledged Jesus as Lord much less your Savior. Now You see the real picture of Jesus, returning as a fearsome judge, and fear has gripped your heart. You don’t want to be judged among those who will continue to reject Jesus until He returns. I invite you today, this is the day that you start a relationship with Jesus. Jesus said when He was still on the earth, Those who come to me, I will in no way cast out. If you are that person, don’t think twice, this is the day to give your life to God. Pray this prayer and repeat after me:
Dear Jesus,
Thank You for Your offer of salvation. I believe the words that I heard today. That You continue to call me to yourself. Thank You that You came, You died and You rose again, so that my sins will be forgiven. I confess that I have been a sinner and in need of Your salvation. COme into my life right now and be my Lord and Savior. I give my life to You. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit. From this day forward, I will love You and make You first in my life. In Your Name I pray.
If you prayed that prayer, the Bible said that you have become a child of God. We want to know about it and be with you in your new life with Jesus. Either drop a note on the comments section or send a private message on our Facebook page.
Thank You for joining us today, I will see you again next week. Stay connected through our Facebook page, my text messages and emails to get the latest updates especially regarding this current lockdown.
Let us lift our hands and receive the blessing from the Lord.
Father, thank you for our time of worship, thank You for the word, cause it to bear fruit in our lives. We pray Your blessing on each one of us. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit rest and abide with us until we meet again in Jesus’ wonderful Name. Amen.
Have a blessed week!