Weekly Sermons

The First Love of the Redeemed!

Read Revelation 2:1-7      The First Love of the Redeemed!          Let’s Pray!

 

Now as we come to these seven letters, we should expect to see that some things these churches dealt with were because of where they were located.

Things we know about Ephesus:

The inhabitants of the city were “fit only to be drowned and that the reason he could never laugh or smile was because he lived among such terrible uncleanness.”      -What Heraclitus said of his city

Things we know about the church in Ephesus:

In this and the rest of the seven letters the Lord addresses Himself in a way appropriate to what that church was going through, but also with information that is useful for all the churches then and now.

The formula of these seven letters:

A word about Jesus Christ – something to fill in the portrait of Jesus!

A word of commendation – something they were doing right!

A word of condemnation – something that they needed to change!

A word of warning – what will happen if they don’t change!

A word of promise – what overcomers will receive after Jesus comes! 

 

Jesus is with His church!                                                                                      V. 1

Jesus commends the Ephesian church for 4 things!                                   V. 2-3, 6

First, Jesus commends them for the deeds they had done for Him!

 

“We recall, in the presence of our God and Father, your work of faith, labor of love, and endurance of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.”            -I Thessalonians 1:3

Second, Jesus commends them for staying away from evil influences.

Third, Jesus commends them for recognizing and shunning false teachers.

Fourth, Jesus commends them for enduring despite all they had faced

Jesus rebukes the church for losing her first love                                       V. 4

I come to church! I read my Bible! I serve in four church ministries! I tithe! I vote the way a conservative would! I don’t smoke or chew, or run with girls who do!

 

Do you see the problem with that? They were defining themselves based on what they did, rather than who they were in Christ! 

The 3 R’s of getting your first love back!                                                       V. 5a

 

1.        Remember

2.        Repent

 

Now what does repentance look like when it comes to your first love?           

It means putting your Identity in Christ BEFORE your Roles for Christ! 

Children demand a woman’s role be that of “mother,” but women are much more than one role. “Roles are necessary because they give structure to our lives…roles tell us what we may expect people to do, but they do not tell us who those people are…Women receive a cultural message that being a mother is the center of their identity. Motherhood is a role, it is not an identity.” Motherhood is “not the entirety of a woman’s life, nor is it the mark of her identity as a woman.” A woman’s true identity is in Christ.”                  -Denise George

3.        Repeat!

“I am the vine, you are the branches. The one who abides in Me and I in Him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without Me.”            -John 15:5

What happens if we don’t get first love back?                                            V. 5b

The overcomer will get to eat from the tree of life in Paradise!                        V. 7

How do you become an overcomer?

 

“For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.”             -I John 5:4-5