A Daily Walk

Announcer (Male): Has your love begun to grow cold? You serve the Lord, you're busy for Him. Have you neglected just loving Him? Have you forgotten why it is that you're doing what you're doing? Do you know if that's what He wants you to be doing? Are you taking time to sit at His feet and enjoy His presence?

Here's a question that we ask ourselves: Am I closer to Jesus than I was a year ago? Or when I first got saved? Was I more committed to Jesus then than I am now? If I am, something's wrong.

Hello again, welcome to A Daily Walk, the teaching ministry of Pastor John Randall. Today, we'll be looking at the Lord's postcard to the church in Ephesus in Revelation chapter two. While they were commended for some things, they had walked away from their first love. Their love had grown cold. It happened to the Ephesians, and it's still happening to Christians today. If things aren't where they used to be in your relationship with Jesus, today's message will show you how to get back on track. Here is Pastor John in Revelation chapter two.

John Randall: One of the examples of the false doctrines to which the Ephesians were quick to point out and resist, it says here, the doctrine or the deeds of the Nicolaitans. Look at verse six and seven. "But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate," Jesus said.

The doctrine of the Nicolaitans, what is that? The deeds of the Nicolaitans. It's condemned in Revelation chapter two, verse 15 as well. And in that passage, it relates to immorality and idolatry. A late second-century writer by the name of Irenaeus describes what he knew of the Nicolaitans.

And this is what he said: "They lead lives of unrestrained indulgence, and the character of these men is plainly pointed out in their teaching that it is a matter of indifference to practice adultery and to eat things sacrificed to idols." They were carnal. They were immoral. And yet they were coming into the church like, "Hey, we're part of you." No, you're not. That is something completely different.

That is contrary to scripture. The deeds of the Nicolaitans wrapped up in sexual immorality, caught up in idolatry, and the church in Ephesus said, "Hey, no way. We want no part of that. That's not a part of our fellowship." A student of Irenaeus also commented, a historical writer writing in the early third century.

He associated the Nicolaitans with the Gnostics, meaning they departed from correct doctrine. The Nicolaitans, like all deceivers who make their way into the church like a cancer in the body of Christ, claimed not that they were destroying Christianity, but that they were presenting an improved and modernized version of it.

I think we've got some doctrine of the Nicolaitans floating around right now trying to present some improved, modernized, and may I add, progressive version of Christianity. Listen, God's not going to compromise His word. He says what He says, and He means it. There's no progressive revelation. This is the revelation that we've been given in His word. We don't want to depart from that.

And what's crazy to me from this standpoint as a shepherd, as a pastor, that even seminaries now, who are supposed to train individuals to go out and pastor, they've embraced this progressive, modernized, improved version. Listen, you don't need to improve on Christianity. You don't need to improve on it.

If you try to improve on it, you're taking away from it. I want nothing to do with it. And that was this church in Ephesus. They stood strong. They stood fast for the truth. Regardless of all the ins and outs of the Nicolaitans, we know that it was a false religious system. And we know how Jesus felt about it. Jesus said, "I hate it."

If Jesus hates it, I hate it too. He hated it. Jesus said He hated it. Those are strong words. Think of all the false religious systems that are leading people astray. Jesus said, "I hate that. I hate that." It's leading people away from the truth.

This church was also a faithful church. Look at what it says. They labored for His name's sake. They had not become weary. In the circumstances they were in, they were suffering for the cause of Christ. They were being maligned, mistreated. It would have been very easy for this church to grow weak.

And it would have been very convenient to just quit, to just move, to just give up. And yet they didn't. They remained faithful under the pressure, under the spiritual attack. They kept working when everything was against them because God was for them.

The Bible tells us in Galatians chapter six, verse nine, "And let us not grow weary in well doing, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart." Don't lose heart today, friend. Don't grow weary. Persevere. Keep going. Jesus said, "Come unto me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I'll give you rest." There's rest for the believer.

Now, when you look at this commendation from Jesus, you'd think that church is awesome. I'm going there. Calvary Ephesus. I am going there. That is the church for me. These people are— they're in it. They're standing. True doctrine, out with the false. This is the church you want to be a part of. It's so great. They're active. Look what they're doing. It's an amazing church.

But then— then you have some correction for this fellowship, for this congregation. Jesus confronts an area that was overlooked and He addresses it graciously, mercifully, with correction. Notice what it says in verse four and five. "Nevertheless, I have this against you, that you've left your first love."

There are so many great things going on in your midst. There's so many great things going on in your lives. It's so wonderful to see, and I applaud it. I'm thankful for it. I commend you for it. But there's something— there's one thing I have against you. Thankfully, He didn't say, "There's about 20 things I have against you."

He said there's one, and it's really important. And this is what it is: you've left your first love. Now, notice it doesn't say they lost it. It says they left it. And there is a big difference. The distinction between leaving and losing is important. Something can be lost by accident, but leaving something is a deliberate act, though it may not happen suddenly.

When you lose something, you don't necessarily know where to find it. But when you leave something, you know where it is. You know where it's located. What we see here is a process of subtle spiritual erosion that had taken place within the church.

It wasn't their love for the ministry that was called into question; it was their love for the Master. It wasn't their dedication to service, but their heartfelt devotion to the Savior. Love is the greatest motivation for serving the Lord. It's not out of obligation; it's out of adoration. It's out of appreciation.

You can give your body to be burned, Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13, but if you don't have love, it doesn't profit you anything. Love is the greatest gift of all. Love is a byproduct of the work of the Holy Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is love, the Bible says.

When Paul had written his letter to the Ephesians 30 years earlier, he actually commended this church for their love for all the saints. Folks, I don't know if you're aware of this or not, Charles Spurgeon said it best. He said, "A church has no reason for being a church when she has no love within her heart or when that love grows cold. Lose love, lose all."

How does that happen? How do I avoid leaving my first love? And what is first love? On the surface, you would think this can't look good at all. They left their first love. How did this happen? You know how it happens? You take something for granted. You begin to take it for granted.

Let me give you an example. Think about marriage, if you would. Think of a newly married couple. You get married. You go on your honeymoon. It's exciting. It's brand new. It's like you're floating on a cloud. But you can easily begin to take that person for granted. And you forget how precious, how valuable, what a blessing they are in your life.

And you forget about that first love. What brought you to them to begin with? What was it about their character? What was it that attracted you to that person to begin with? And you begin to forget about it. You take it for granted and have a bunch of kids, and then you just get wrapped up in the whole thing, and you forget, "Oh yeah, you're my wife, and I don't even know you." And then you forget about it. You take it for granted.

And that's what was happening within the church. They began to love service more than the Savior. So busy ministering for the Lord, they weren't taking time to minister to the Lord. It's possible to labor for Him and have no time for Him. That's what was happening.

Somewhere along the way, they forgot that what the Lord wants more than what we can do for Him— listen, it might surprise you— He just wants us. More than anything you can do for Him, He just wants you. That's how much you're loved. And if you don't take time to sit devotionally before the Lord in intimacy with Jesus, you're not going to be able to serve Him effectively.

Serving the Lord is a byproduct of being with the Lord. Romance became replaced with routine. The spiritual romance with the bridegroom just became routine to them, and their love began to grow cold. I wonder this morning if that describes your walk with the Lord.

Has your love begun to grow cold? You may not be serving Him at all. That's an entirely different matter. But for those of you who have an active faith, you serve the Lord, you're busy for Him, have you neglected just loving Him? Have you forgotten why it is that you're doing what you're doing?

Do you know if that's what He wants you to be doing? Are you taking time to sit at His feet and enjoy His presence? Here's a question that we ask ourselves: Am I closer to Jesus than I was a year ago? Or when I first got saved? Was I more committed to Jesus then than I am now? If I am, something's wrong.

If I'm farther away than I was— I mean, it should be growing in this relationship with the Lord. So Lord, change my heart. Lord, warm this heart if it's gone cold. Lord, warm it up again. Stoke the fire within my heart of love for Jesus. Bring me back to that place of first love when I first met You, when I first fell in love with You, when all that it was about was what You said and what You meant to me, and how I discovered my sins are forgiven and I was loved by God. Never forget that. Never get away from first love.

Thankfully, Jesus did not leave this church without a remedy, a cure for the problem. Notice what it says. "Remember therefore from where you've 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." What do you do if you find yourself drifting from first love?

Jesus says first of all, remember. Remember from where you've fallen. So often we are exhorted in the scriptures to remember. The Lord said to the nation of Israel, "Remember who brought you out of Egypt. Remember who brought you into the land. Remember who blessed you. Don't forget." And they forgot.

Jesus said, as often as you do this, partake of communion, remember me because we easily forget. Listen, friend, if you find yourself drifting from first love, the first thing you've got to do is remember. Remember what Jesus did for you. Remember where you were when He found you. Do you remember?

Do you remember where God rescued you from? Do you remember the pit that you were in? Do you remember the heart that you had that was broken and hardened? And somehow God came in. Do you remember where you were when you first got saved? What happened that day? Remember it. Recall it to mind. Bring it back to your memory.

When you used to read your Bible consistently and the joy you had when you were in fellowship regularly. Recall the honeymoon days with the Lord. Muse over it. We live in a world of amusement. It means not to think. All kinds of things get us to stop, to hinder us rather from thinking about what God has done.

We're just distracted with so many things. We never sit down and actually think about what He's done. Go back and remember what Jesus did when you first got saved. Where were you? What were you doing? Get back to that. Remember it. It's what Jesus said here.

When the prodigal son— remember what happened to him? He was in the pigpen. And the first step toward restoration of his relationship with his father, do you remember what it was? He remembered. He recalled to mind as he was sitting in the pigpen that the servants in his father's house ate more than he did. He remembered, and he went back.

Jesus said, remember. Second thing He said, not just remember, but repent. Now that you remember where you were and you're not there anymore, now repent. The word *metanoia* means to change your mind, which means a change of direction. It's genuine repentance.

And by the way, genuine repentance is different than worldly sorrow. Worldly sorrow says, "Man, you caught me. I got busted. I'm sorry." Where godly repentance is, "I've blown it. I've offended a holy God. I repent in humility." Worldly sorrow is arrogant pride. "So you caught me, whatever. I'm sorry." That's not genuine.

Genuine repentance recognizes I've sinned, I've failed, I repent. This is the key step in the process because you realize that you're in error, you admit it in humility. You're not where you're supposed to be, but you want to get back there. And so you repent. You're honest before God and with yourself.

The Bible says in Acts chapter three, verse 19, "Repent therefore and be converted from your sins, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of God." Do you need times of refreshing to come from the presence of God? Then repent today if you need to. Change your direction. Get back on course. It's not too late.

The Bible says if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. We can be cleansed. We can be forgiven, and times of refreshing can come. Remember, repent, and then thirdly, repeat. Repeat. That is, go back, Jesus said, and do the first works.

Do what you were doing at the very beginning. Whatever it was, when you were walking closely with the Lord, go back and start doing those things again. You said, "Man, I used to get up so early and read my Bible and pray before I went to school, before I went to work, before I did anything else. This was the first thing on my priority list." Get back to it.

It's not too late. Get back to it. Go back to those things. "Man, I used to serve the Lord. I used to just— I was a laborer in the harvest field." Get back to it. Get back to it. "Man, I used to go to church every time the doors were open." But now with the online access— listen, get back to church. Get back in fellowship. It's not too late.

And then Jesus says this. If they didn't do these things, He said, "Or else I will come quickly and I will remove your lampstand from its place unless you repent." The Lord was warning these believers in the church if they did not repent, the lampstand would be removed from its place.

In other words, the church would burn out. You can't go on in this way without a love for Jesus because that's really what fans the flame of service. Without love, we're nothing. So Jesus said, "Listen, if you don't get back to this, if you don't remember, repent, and repeat, what's going to happen is you're going to burn out.

The lampstand's going to go out. You're going to lose that platform that you've been given. You're going to lose that opportunity that's been presented. And you don't want that to happen." And Jesus didn't want that to happen. That's why He exhorted the church.

And then finally, Jesus mentions a reward. I love this. "He who has an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. And to him who overcomes, I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God." Here is a promise of reward for every believer. A reward we will receive.

Interesting. We will be able to partake of the tree of life. Do you remember that tree? The first time it's mentioned in the Bible is in the Garden of Eden. This tree was mentioned in Genesis chapter three, verse 22. And the Bible will mention it again in Revelation 22, the last chapter of the Bible, where it says that this tree will be found in the midst of the New Jerusalem. And the Bible says that it bears fruits that provide health for the nations.

After the fall, sinful human beings were not allowed to eat from this tree, which would have continued to provide eternal life. Genesis 3:24 tells us that. But here Christ promises that those who believe in Him will have the right to eat again from the tree of life when they have unhindered fellowship with God. Revelation 22, verse two.

What Adam and Eve forfeited through sin, we regain in Christ. Heaven is paradise regained and more. This was the reward that Jesus promised to those who would remember, to those who would repent, and those who would repeat the first works. Here's the reward. I'm going to bless you with the tree of life. You're going to partake of it one day.

Man failed. Man sinned in the garden, and the Bible says when man sinned, death passed to all men. Folks, there is not a person born except Jesus who is without sin. Every single one of us has sinned. That puts us all in the same category. We're all sinners. We've all fallen short of the glory of God.

There's none righteous, no not one. That is our problem. And to die in sin without salvation, the Bible says, is to be separated from God for eternity in a real place called hell. Jesus preached more on hell than He did on heaven. But that's why Jesus came.

He came to die on the cross, to shed His blood, to pay for your sin, to pay for my sin, so that you and I could be forgiven. We could have the hope of heaven. We could have eternal life. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever would believe in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Do you want to partake of that tree of life? Then I want to challenge you today to come to Christ for salvation, to repent of sin, to turn to Him and be saved. There's not a sin so dark, so deep that God can't forgive you. There's no addiction so strong that God can't deliver you.

There's nothing impossible for God. And all He asks is that you would respond to Him by faith and you would agree with what He says in His word. "Yes, I am a sinner. Yes, I believe Jesus died for me on the cross and I believe He rose again from the dead." And if you can believe that, friend, you can have salvation.

But it's up to you. The Lord will never force His way into your life. He says, "I stand at the door and I knock. And if anyone will open the door, I will come in." And if you are not a Christian, if you have not received Christ and you don't have the hope of heaven, friend, I want to tell you, this is your opportunity. Don't let today go by without receiving Jesus as your Savior.

But I also feel in light of the text, in light of the passage today, that there may be some. You've drifted from your first love. You've got it up here. You've got the knowledge up here, but something down here has changed. And the Lord is speaking to you today to return to your first love.

And I feel that it would be appropriate, in light of this text, to also give you the opportunity to get up out of your seat and to come and return to your first love. To say, "Lord, I'm coming back. I don't know what I've been doing for this last year, this last season. I'm showing up. I'm checking the box, but I find that my love has grown cold. Lord, I want that to change today. Today."

Announcer (Male): Maybe that describes you. You've left your first love, or you need to get saved. Today would be a good day to make things right, and we'd love to help you here at A Daily Walk. Just call us at 877-242-0828. Today Pastor John Randall has been covering Revelation chapter two, and we heard both a commendation and confrontation from Jesus to a church that had left their first love.

If this is a message you'd like to hear again, drop by our website at adailywalk.org or oneplace.com. It's also available on most podcast platforms. We'd sure love to connect with you, and we appreciate your prayers. Here's our email address where you can send your comments and your prayer requests: adailywalk@gmail.com. That's adailywalk@gmail.com.

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These short videos are released each day at adailywalk.org and are both edifying and encouraging. Next time on A Daily Walk, we'll consider the suffering church as Pastor John Randall returns to Revelation two. This program is brought to you by Calvary South OC and made possible through your generosity.