First Love
The First Love
Revelation 2:1-5
Even in today’s modern times there is still the practice of the dowry in weddings around the world. The story is told of a king who would be married. Now the kingdom was full of eligible ladies from noble descent. And since he was king, there were scores of young women of astounding beauty and from well-placed families who would like nothing more to be the bride of the king. This was no ordinary king though, because he didn’t necessarily want to marry for political convenience or for selfish reasons. Instead he came upon a plan to bestow the honor upon someone who did not expect such an honor and possibly did not deserve it.
In another part of the kingdom lived a young woman who never knew her parents. She was not a pretty child, and had been abandoned at a very young age. Many abandoned children either died on the street or resorted to a life of begging, borrowing and stealing for survival; this girl was no exception. She was adopted almost immediately, or should I say, she was enslaved immediately. She just didn’t know she was enslaved, for there were many other children in the place of her enslavement. Her education was in the baser things of life. Her master prostituted her, had her steal, and cheat customers. She didn’t really consider herself enslaved, because so many other young boys and girls were doing the same as her. Truthfully, the adrenaline rush of stealing and deceiving made life fun. As she got older, she noticed people who were different from her, in that they didn’t steal and cheat, and seemed to pity her because they said that she didn’t have “freedom.”
The king knew that these slaves running around his kingdom were not only obeying their evil master, but were becoming exceedingly wicked in their own evil ways. Something had to be done, so he ordered the slave owner along with all of his slaves to be condemned to death. Having heard the decree, the slave owner trained his slaves in all forms of wickedness, and encouraged every kind of base behavior. The slaves didn’t mind though, because their appetites craved these things more and more. Some had heard of the decree, but didn’t really believe it, while others had heard nothing, including the young woman.
One day the king caught the young woman stealing from his own storehouse. He knew that she, more than likely, had been abandoned, and had only known the wicked pursuits of life, having only been educated by the slave-owner. As he looked at this young woman, he saw someone with absolutely no attractive qualities. She was unkempt, uneducated, and dirty, and because she was a child of the slave-owner, she deserved death. Compassion welled-up inside the king. This was the young woman whom he would bestow the honor of marriage.
The king proposed marriage to her and she gladly accepted. They were quickly married. Her filthy rags were immediately discarded; she was cleaned up, and given a spotless robe. The king had riches beyond her imagination! At her disposal were servants, teachers, and of course the awesome power and availability of the king himself. The most humbling realization came when she saw the king’s court and learned of the death sentence that she had been under. She watched as her former friends and the wicked slave-owner were condemned to death. This humbled her, and made her very thankful, and most joyful. After seeing the court and the dishonorable behavior of her friends, she came to realize that there was nothing in her that was attractive to the king. Because of this, she became the best bride her groom could possibly want.
The king was pleased that the young woman accepted his marriage proposal and looked forward to displaying his majesty in the transformation of this young woman. In all honesty, even after being cleaned up and donning the royal robes, his bride was not the most attractive person. Some of the habits of her old life still persisted. She would occasionally steal from someone, forgetting the riches that she had. And her behavior was not always becoming of a queen, but the longer she studied matters of the kingdom, the more pleasing her behavior became. He was pleased that she listened to his every word. He was pleased at the thoughtfulness of her gifts, and how she used the gifts he gave her to bless others less fortunate. She did everything from a heart of love, and in everything she worked HARD. Many people, who were skeptical of the king’s plan at first, began to note the magnitude of the transformation wrought by the patient king. Over time, she became beautiful. She became the glory of the king.
One day she bumped into a young man who had not been tried in the court yet and continued in the way of life she used to have. She immediately had her guard up but was courteous. There was something about this man that was not as repulsive as all the others she had known. He spoke smooth words. And while he grew up in the same squalor that she had known, he seemed to have some knowledge of the king and his court, and he was very kind. As she walked back to the palace, she thought about the odd encounter, but once she was home, she forgot.
The young man; however, didn’t forget, and coveted the bride of the king. He made opportunity to meet the young bride again.
The young bride began to bump into the young man more often, and was intrigued by her conversations with him. At first, she knew that she should not be talking to the young man and felt guilty. But over time the guilt subsided and she found herself desiring to be with the young man more and more. In fact, he was more interesting to her than the king. So interesting was he, that she began to forget all that the king had done for her. She saw how that the king was a bit older and sometime talked about ancient things and things in the future. This became less interesting, because this young man knew what was going on now, and lived day for the moment.
The king noticed a subtle change in his bride. Sure, she still worked very hard, and she came to all the royal functions and appeared very interested. But she was somewhat disinterested in her education, the gifts were not as creative and she didn’t seem to share her heart with him like she used to. His attempts to converse with her on a deeper level were only ignored. He knew that she really wasn’t interested in him anymore, so when she would look at him and say, “I love you.” It made him want to vomit; other times it made him angry, because he knew she was not being truthful. He needed to find out why she no longer loved him with her first love.
The young man had become more handsome to her over time. She met with him often, and thought of him even more. She gave little thought to the king, but knew she needed to be at all the royal functions, and she still did all the work as before. Conversations with the king seemed so dry, she could think of little say, and even when she was in the presence of the king, she thought about the young man. So great had her emotional bond to the young man that she constantly texted him in the midst of royal functions. As her emotions grew stronger, so did the attractiveness of the filthy life that she been rescued from. In a careless moment or two she actually stained her royal robes and tried to cover the stains.
The stains did not escape the king’s notice. One day, while she was attending a royal function, the king saw that she had forgotten her phone. When he heard the new message alert, he picked up the phone and noticed a text message from someone, who had the death sentence on his head. As he looked at her phone, he discovered hundreds of text messages to and from this vile young man. The king was sorrowful. He now knew that her affection was no longer with the king, but with the young man. She was going through the motions, but her heart was somewhere else. Her devotion was with a man who had done nothing for her, could not save her, and when caught would be sentenced to death. His wife was committing adultery in her heart.
He would have to confront his wife…he hoped she would repent.
And so it is with some in this auditorium today. You have entered a covenant with your God, who saved you, but your heart is far from him. Turn to Revelation 2. God is speaking to the church at Ephesus through the pen of John and commends them for a number of things. They are a serving church; they are toiling, literally working to the point of exhaustion. They were steadfast, meaning they were patient under trial. They were separated in that they tested the word of those who called themselves apostles. They were a suffering church in that they bore up under trials. You may be busy within the church. You may sing in the choir, work in junior church or AWANA, serve as a trustee and your heart be so far from God that he is displeased.
Look at verse four. The reason your life may be unpleasing is that you have lost your first love. Another translation has “abandoned” your first love. What is “first love”? It is the devotion to Christ that so often characterizes the new believer: fervent, personal, uninhibited, excited, and openly displayed. It is the “honeymoon love” of the husband and wife. A person who abandons their first love to their spouse is committing emotional adultery, because they are deriving more pleasure from another than from their own spouse. A person who abandons their first love in Jesus Christ, has abandoned a covenant relationship with Jesus Christ and is committing emotional adultery against God. Anything that gives you more pleasure than Jesus Christ is an idol, and you are a spiritual adulterer. You have lost the wonder and amazement of your new life in Christ.
Have you ever tried to comfort someone whose spouse is more interested in another? It is a terrible, gut-wrenching scene to watch.
ILL: I counseled a woman one time whose husband became emotionally involved with another woman. She admitted that she had really taken him for granted. Every week she would come to the church alter and weep and sob and ask God to heal her marriage. Her husband, meanwhile, was sitting in the pew unconcerned. She would tell me, I promised him to be a better wife, I will do anything. He would just look at me and say, “It’s too late. I’m here because of the kids.” He was still mowing the yard, providing for the family, going to kids activities, attending social events with his wife, but his heart was with another woman. This was a horrible thing to watch.
ILL: Right at this moment I am speaking with a man, whose wife has become emotionally involved with another man. He said, “There is nothing I can do to break the coldness. And I would do anything. I have promised her everything, but she is ice cold.” They go to church together. Cheer for their children together, eat dinner together and they might as well be on separate coasts.
Think of it in this way: Your husband comes home to you and says, “I don’t love you anymore; but don’t worry—nothing will change. I’ll still earn a living and eat with you, and sleep with you, and drive with you, and father your children. It will all be the same. I’ll still be your husband; it’s just that I won’t love you anymore.” This is devastating! How would you feel if your spouse said that to you? Would that kind of relationship be enough for you? Now try to imagine how the Lord would feel if you said, “Lord, I don’t love You like I once did—that’s gone. But I want You to know I’ll still come to church, I’ll still sing, give, and even believe the truth. I just don’t love You, that’s all.” Probably not one of us would come right out and say that, but the Lord knows whether it’s true.
What about you? Is your enthusiasm for Christ still there? Do you have the same love for Him that you used to have? I hope you find yourself loving Him more and more each day! But if you find yourself loving anything in this world—yourself, your family, leisure, money, or success—more than you love Christ, you have lost your first love. If you’re serving Christ but not loving Him, you’ve missed the purpose of the Christian life.
You want to know what God thinks about your worship, if this is your life? He said in Isaiah, “this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me.” God appealed to these people in Amos this way, “I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the peace offerings of your fattened animals, I will not look upon them. Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps I will not listen.” You might say, “Well God wouldn’t hate my worship.” Think again. What did God say He would do to this church if they don’t repent? In verse five God threatens to remove the church.
So what is the cure?
1. Remember
Remember how lost you were. Remember how desperate and destitute you were. And remember what happened when the gospel exploded and the power of God was seen everywhere in the midst of miracles preaching of the gospel into your heart, and you were given faith to believe and repentance, and your heart was turned around, and literally replaced, and you were transformed. Remember the joy, the exhilaration, the satisfaction, the overwhelming peace. Remember. Spiritual defection can come from forgetting. That's what makes it hard. That's why we talk about these things to second and third generation, they have nothing to remember. Go ask your grandparents how it was before they came to Christ. Go ask your grandparents to tell you the story of that transformation. Find somebody that's been transformed. Hang around new Christians. Remember. Bible constantly calls for us to remember all the feasts and festivals throughout the Old Testament were designed to teach Israel to remember what God had done for them so they would never forget.
2. Repent
Secondly he says, "not only remember from where you have fallen," and by the way, where you have fallen indicates this is sin. Leaving your first love is sin. That's why you have fallen. It is a fall. And when you have fallen into sin, you need then to repent. He says repent there in verse 5, and he repeats it again at the end of the verse, "unless you repent, the judgment will come." The second thing is to repent. See, it is sin. Confess the sin of losing your first love, or leaving your first love. Confess the sin of your coldness. Confess the sin of the sort of routine approach to worship and everything else in your Christian life. Confess the sin of serving the Lord without exuberance, without joy. Confess the sin of only doing your duty. Confess the sin of doing what you do because you think somebody wants to see you do it, and therefore somehow will think well of you. John Piper always talks about desiring God. I'd like to talk about desiring Christ. Paul says that, "I may know him." He loved him so much he could never get enough of him.
3. Repeat
And thirdly, he says, "repeat". Do the deed you did at first. Go back. When you were swept up in prayer and Bible study and fellowship and witnessing and worship, and it was all so exhilarating, pretty simple little path, remember how it was, how it is, for people transformed. And if you have fallen, repent, because it's a sin not to love him with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. I don't know if you often ask for forgiveness for that sin, but you should, and so should I. And then begin to repeat the things you did at first when you were swept up in the joy of salvation.
It is a disaster, but it's a silent killer when a church leaves its first love. And the church doesn't necessarily see it. Stop loving Christ and making him the focus of everything, and you will descend in the compromise with the world, and the whole idea of loving Christ will disappear from your vocabulary. And then you'll go from compromise to corruption. We look at a new year. My prayer, my desire for all of us is that the Lord would grant us an increasing love for Christ.