Revelation Ch2v1-7 - Our First Love

Thank you.

Revelation, chapter 2.

Revelation 2 · chapter mention

We've begun a series here in Revelation just a few weeks ago.

If you've missed any of the talks, please do find them on our church website.

You can follow along there.

And we're going to read from chapter 2, verses 1 to 7.

Revelation, chapter 2, verses 1 to 7.

Revelation 2:1–7

To the angel of the church in Ephesus write,

These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand

and walks among the seven golden lampstands.

I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance.

I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people,

that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not

and have found them false.

You've persevered and have endured hardships for my name

and have not grown weary.

Yet I hold this against you.

You have forsaken the love you had at first.

Consider how far you have fallen.

Repent and do the things you did at first.

If you do not repent,

I will come to you

and remove your lampstand from its place.

But you have this in your favour.

You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans,

which I also hate.

Whoever has ears,

let them hear

what the Spirit says to the churches.

To the one who is victorious,

I will give the right to eat from the tree of life,

which is in the paradise of God.

Let's pray together.

Let's pray together.

Words from our reading.

Whoever has ears,

let them hear

what the Spirit says to the churches.

Father, we pray and ask

that you would help us

not just to hear

physical, audible words,

but that these words

would penetrate

into our hearts

so that you change us

and form us

and mould us

into the kind of people

and the church

that brings you glory

and honour

and will be good

for us today

and for all eternity.

So help us now, we ask

in Jesus' name.

Amen.

I wonder if you remember

your first love.

Can you remember?

I remember mine.

Her name was Mandy.

I found a piece of chalk

and I wrote on big letters

in the back of the toy cupboard door,

I love Mandy,

and then drew a great big heart.

I was about seven years old, I think.

My love remained strong

until one day

my brother saw it.

Well then the slagging started,

the laughing and the mocking.

Johnny loves Mandy.

Well in desperation

I rubbed it out

and denied that I ever wrote it,

nothing to do with me.

I had forsaken

my first love.

Now I know it's a bit of fun

but it makes the point, doesn't it?

Under pressure from others,

from the outside,

we too can forsake

our first love.

That's what was happening

it appears to the church

that John wrote to.

Verse 4

I hold this against you.

You have forsaken

the love you had

at first.

Their love for the Lord Jesus

had become cold

and distant.

Remember, Revelation

is a series of visions

visions which has been

given by God

to John

for the church

and the purpose

of these visions

is to strengthen

the church

in a time of opposition

and persecution.

You see,

if the church

is going to be strong,

then we must know

where it is weak

and where we identify

where the weaknesses are,

then we can fortify

the church

and fortify our lives.

in chapters 2 and 3,

we have seven messages

to seven churches.

You can just skim

the headings

through chapter 2 and 3.

Seven,

as we've seen already

in our studies,

represents fullness

and completeness.

So rather than see these

as individual messages

to individual churches,

we should read it

as one message

which is relevant

to all churches

in all times

and all places.

I mean,

we're even given

a hint of that

in verse 7.

Whoever has ears,

let them hear

what the Spirit says

to the churches.

Plural.

And we are a church today

in our time,

in our age,

so let's see

what we can learn

about our church today.

First,

Jesus loves

his church.

You say,

I know that,

but this is foundational.

Jesus loves

Karageline Baptist Church.

In fact,

it's all because of Jesus

that we are actually

a church.

Just have a look back

at chapter 1,

verse 5,

the middle of verse 5.

It says,

to him,

to Jesus,

who loves us

and has freed us

from our sins

by his blood

and has made us

to be a kingdom

and priests

to serve his God

and Father.

To him,

to Jesus,

be glory and power

forever and ever.

Amen.

in love.

Jesus died

for you and for me

so that we would

become a kingdom,

his special people,

his church,

that we would

serve his purpose.

Now,

this love

is not just

a past love

in the distant,

far off past

or a fleeting

moment of emotion.

No,

this is a

continuing,

never failing,

always faithful love.

love.

Let's go to chapter 2,

verse 1.

To the angel

or to the messenger

of the church

in Ephesus write,

these are the words

of him,

of Jesus,

who loves us,

who holds the seven stars

in his right hand

and walks among

the seven golden

lampstands.

We're being taken

back,

aren't we,

to the vision

of Jesus

in chapter 1

and we're reminded

of two things.

First,

that Jesus

walks

among us.

Have a look back

there at that vision,

chapter 1,

verse 12.

Here,

John,

he heard a voice

and he turned

round to see

the voice

that was speaking

and when I turned

I saw

seven golden

lampstands

and among

the lampstands

was one like

a son of man,

that is,

the God-man,

the Lord Jesus Christ,

the one with

absolute power

and authority.

What are these

lampstands?

Well,

if you have a look

down at the end

of verse 20,

the lampstands

are

the seven

churches.

And now

in chapter 2,

verse 1,

we're told

explicitly

that Jesus

is walking

among

the lampstands.

He's walking

amongst

the church.

Right here,

right now,

Jesus is present

by a spirit.

We cannot see

him physically.

You don't feel

him bump up

against you.

But Jesus,

the one with

absolute power

and supreme

authority,

is right here,

right now.

The one who

died for

our sins

and made us

a kingdom

is walking

by his spirit

among his

people.

He's with us.

His love

for the church

is so great

that he longs

to be present

with us,

dwelling

with us.

He loves

his church.

And second,

Jesus holds

his church

in his hands.

Again,

look at

verse 1.

These are

the words

of him

who holds

the seven

stars in

his right

hand.

Again,

it's taking

us back

to the vision

in chapter 1.

Have a look

there again,

chapter 1,

verse 16.

Speaking of

Jesus,

in his

right hand

he held

seven stars.

And we're

reminded of

what those

seven stars

are.

Down in

verse 20,

you saw

in my

right hand

the seven

golden lamp

stands.

The seven

stars are

the angels

of the

seven churches.

Jesus.

Now,

the focus

here is

not who

is the

angel or

what the

angel does,

but that

the angel

represents

the church.

In other

words,

Jesus has

the church

in the

grip of

his hand.

He doesn't

let go.

It's not

us who

are holding

on to

him,

but Jesus

who holds

on to

us.

His love

for the

church is

so great

that he

cares

deeply

for us.

We should

never lose

sight of

the fact

that Jesus

loves his

church.

He is

with us

and for

us.

His

presence

and his

power

are at

work

among

us

by his

spirit.

Now,

isn't that

comforting

and encouraging

for us

today?

As the

church is

continually

under

threat,

when we

feel weak

and we're

struggling

to keep

going as

a

Christian,

what is

it that's

going to

keep us

going?

Well,

listen to

his words.

I walk

among you.

I hold

you.

I identify

with you.

I understand.

I'm with

you and for

you.

The glorious

risen Christ

loves

Carigoline

Baptist

Church.

He loves

us.

sinners.

And that

means

he loves

sinners.

You see,

you might be

thinking,

well,

Jesus might

love other

churches,

but I'm

not sure

if he

loves us.

And I'm

not sure

actually if

he even

loves me.

You see,

if you

knew what

I knew

about so

and so,

or if

you knew

what I

was like,

if you

could peer

into my

heart,

there is

no way

that Jesus

would love

us.

Well,

Jesus knows

exactly what

we're like.

He sees

the beauty

and the

ugly.

He knows

our strengths

and our

weaknesses.

Look at

verse 2.

I know,

I know

everything about

you.

I know

your deeds

and your

hard work.

Yet,

verse 4,

I hold

this against

you.

You've

forsaken

the love

you had

at first.

It's the

same for

everybody else

who he

writes to.

Look at

verse 13.

Chapter 2,

verse 13.

I know

where you

live,

where Satan

has his

throne.

I understand

that Satan

is against

you and

the pressure

is on.

yet you

remain true

to my

name.

I know

this.

Verse 14.

Nevertheless,

I have a few

things against

you because

I know

this too.

There are

some among

you who

hold to

the teaching

of Balaam.

Well,

he was the

one who

led people

away into

idolatry.

Or

verse 19.

Jesus

again says,

I know

your deeds.

Your love

and your

faith.

I see

what's

going on

in your

church,

your service.

Verse 20.

But I

know this

as well.

I have

this against

you.

You

tolerate

that woman

Jezebel.

Again,

here,

symbolic of

the world

that seduces

and pulls

us away

from Christ.

You see,

he knows

us inside

out.

He sees

our heart.

He sees

what we

do in

public and

in private.

He sees

my failings

and he

sees your

failings.

Yet in

it all,

he doesn't

abandon us.

He's with

us and

he's for

us and

he faithfully

walks among

sinners and

he faithfully

holds sinners

in his

hands.

Because

Jesus loves

his church.

Jesus loves

Carigoline

Baptist

Church.

Isn't

that good

news today?

Well,

Jesus loves

us for

sure.

But the

question for

us today is

do we

love Jesus?

On the

surface it

seems here

that the

church does

love Jesus.

Jesus loves

deeds and

doctrine.

Look at

verse 2.

I know

your deeds.

Here comes

the commendation.

I love

your deeds,

your hard

work and

your

perseverance.

I know

that you

cannot tolerate

wicked

people and

that you've

tested those

who claim

to be

apostles,

those of

the truth

but are

not and

have found

them false.

wickedness.

This is a

church that

is most

definitely

tough on

sin.

They can't

tolerate

wickedness.

And they're

solid on

teaching.

They're able

to identify

false teachers.

And those

are great

marks of a

healthy church.

They score

high on

deeds and

doctrine.

But it

wasn't easy

to do

this.

Remember

Ephesus was

a city

that celebrated

liberty and

behaviour and

loyalty to

the various

gods.

In fact,

within that

city was a

huge temple

that was

right at the

heart of

day-to-day

life.

It was

there to

honour the

fertility

goddess

Artemis

and the

Roman

emperors

who were

put into

statue form

and to

be treated

as gods.

And so

the pressure

day-to-day

as you

went about

your business

and hanging

out your

friends was

to join

in and

to compromise

and not

to take

part in

those

activities

meant you

were socially

ostracised,

you were a

threat politically.

It put you

in the firing

line.

But no,

they did

not give

in, did

they?

Verse 3.

You have

persevered,

you've endured

hardships for

my name,

and have

not grown

weary.

A strong

church.

They were

faithful in

right behaviour

and in

right belief.

In fact,

verse 6,

we're told that

they have this

in their favour

as well.

You hate the

practices of

the Nicolaitans

which I also

hate.

Now we don't

know a lot

about them but

one reasonable

view is that

they taught

compromise.

compromise.

They were

teaching amongst

the churches.

You know what?

It's hard to be

a Christian,

I get it.

But it's

okay if you

kind of just

slip up and

visit the

temple prostitutes

every now and

again and

bow to the

emperor in

the temple

and keep

your job.

I mean,

that's alright.

A foot in

both camps,

that's the

best way.

But no,

the church was

firm in their

stance.

They did not

buckle.

They hated

such practices.

Now as we

look in at

Karageline

Baptist Church,

what do you

see?

Well how we

behave and

what we

believe is

important,

isn't it?

Deeds and

doctrine matter

and so we

give them our

utmost attention.

We don't

compromise.

We're to be

strong and

steady.

Yes?

Yes, I

got one

nod, thank

you.

But underneath,

is there

something amiss?

Look at

verse 4.

Yet I

hold this

against you.

You have

forsaken the

love you

had at

first.

They're

morally

strong and

theologically

sound,

scoring high

on deeds

and doctrine

but yet in

it all

they've

abandoned

their love

for Jesus.

In their

pursuit of

being tough

on sin and

strong in

their teaching,

they've left

Jesus behind.

You see,

the danger is

this can

happen to

us too.

perhaps it

already has.

You see,

we can be so

proud that the

world view of

marriage and

gender doesn't

take effect on

the church and

you know,

we're strong

but yet we can

forsake Jesus.

We can be

confident that

false teaching

doesn't get a

foothold in

the church

but we can

forsake Jesus.

You and I

can be so

clear about

what is morally

right and

biblically

sound.

We can have

the right

behaviour and

the right

beliefs but,

verse 4,

you have

forsaken the

love you had

at first.

You see,

we need to

be so

careful that

we don't

divorce our

deeds and

our doctrine

from our

devotion to

Jesus.

We can

point out

the danger

of sin and

hold to

moral standards

but if it

doesn't grow

our love for

Jesus,

it's all

nothing.

It's all

nothing.

We can

fit our

heads with

sermons and

go to our

podcasts and

go to

NBC and

learn theology

but unless

it leads to

a love for

Jesus,

it's all a

waste of

time.

All a

waste of

time.

In other

words,

the reason

why we

want to

be serious

about sin

is because

we want

to be more

like Jesus.

And the

reason why

we want to

be so

clear in

our

teaching is

because we

want to

know Jesus

better.

Our goal

and our

purpose is

that our

love for

Jesus would

increase.

Think back

with me to

the first

time you

became a

Christian.

Christian.

I'd

guess, and

I know

this is

generalising

a little

bit, I'd

say that

for most

of us we

knew little

of what

Christian

behaviour

looked like.

We knew

little about

Christian

belief and

doctrine.

But there

was a

passion for

Jesus.

We talked

about him,

didn't we?

sang about

him with

gusto.

We served

him.

And we

read Christian

books and

we told

others about

what we were

reading and

how we were

encouraged.

We just

joined in the

outreach events

with excitement

and anticipation.

We delighted

in Jesus

because we

loved him.

Now fast

forward to

where we

are today.

I'd say,

I'd guess,

we know

tons more

about

Christian

morality.

We know

heaps

of theology.

We've got

all the

arguments.

We can be

clear on

justification

and

sanctification.

We're

sensitive to

ethical

standards.

But sadly,

our love

for Jesus

has not

increased,

but it's

decreased.

When it

comes to

responding in

praise and

prayer,

oh, we

just cross

our arms

and we

just mumble

along.

Our heads

are somewhere

else.

We find

that when it

comes to

praying,

we've got

nothing to

say.

We've

lost our

joy.

We've

maybe grown

cold and

the fire's

gone out.

Reflecting

on this is

frightening to

think that

I,

that you,

that we,

that we

could forsake

our first

love.

We need to

be so

careful that

we do not

divorce our

deeds and

our doctrine

from our

devotion to

Jesus.

So what are we

going to do?

Well, we

want to renew

our love for

Jesus.

We want to

pursue him.

We want to

desire him.

We want to

long for him

together.

But how do

we do that?

How do we

set alight that

flame?

How do we

return to

our first

love?

Well, let me

suggest two

things that we

can do.

first we

can repent

of our

sin.

Have a look

at verse

five.

Consider

how far

you have

fallen.

Think about

it.

Meditate.

Think how

far you have

fallen.

Repent and

do the

things you

did at

first.

Repentance,

what does

that mean

in practice?

Well, let

me give you

three practical

steps for

us all.

I think it

starts with

confession.

That's

repentance,

isn't it?

Turning from

and turning

to.

Confessing

how we

have forsaken

our love.

Consider how

far you've

fallen.

What is it

for each one

of us that

has taken

our eyes

off Jesus?

What is it

that's got

your attention?

What is it

that's

captivating

your heart

so that

when you

wake up

your very

first thought

goes to

there or

when you're

daydreaming

your thoughts

go to

there?

What is it

that's capturing

your heart

away from

Jesus?

Acknowledge

your sin.

Ask him

to forgive

you and

he will.

second,

meditate

on his

love for

you.

Remember

how we

saw at

the very

beginning

that Jesus

loves his

church.

Just think

about that

deeply,

how he's

with us

and for

us.

Take time

to read

scripture

and see

the beauty

and the

greatness

of Jesus.

Revelation

is full

of visions

about Jesus

and as we

go through

we'll see

that as

people,

the angels

and all

creation

as they're

captured by

Jesus,

what do

they all

do?

They fall

down and

burst into

spontaneous

praise

because they've

seen him.

We can

confess,

we can

meditate

and we

can pray.

Ask God

to give you

a hunger

and a

thirst for

him.

pray that

the Holy

Spirit

would give

us a

longing

for more

of Jesus,

that you

would experience

his love

in your

life each

and every

day.

The best

way of course

to do

this is in

community.

Remember

this is

written to

churches,

not an

individual.

As we

join together

we do

these things

in community,

we confess

with one

another,

we meditate

on God's

word together

and we

pray in

response.

We

relight the

fire,

we fan

the flame,

we encourage

each other

on until

the hearts

are set on

fire for

Jesus.

That's why

we meet in

our home

groups,

because we

want to

encourage

each other

in our

love for

Jesus.

That's what

it means to

repent.

It's

reorientating

our life

around him.

Now,

if we

ignore this,

please hear

the warning.

Look at the

rest of

verse 5.

If you

do not

repent,

I will

come to

you and

remove your

lampstand

from its

place.

You see,

a true

church,

a healthy

church,

is one

that takes

Jesus

seriously.

As we're

shown our

sin,

we confess

it,

we meditate

upon him,

we pray

for a

change of

heart,

but not

to do

so,

to not

respond

like this

means the

Lord Jesus

will,

verse 5,

remove your

lampstand.

He will

remove the

church.

Why?

Well,

because it's

not a

church.

A church

is a

church that

repents and

turns back

to him and

seeks him

and desires

him.

And we

can say

with confidence

that he

walks among

us and

he holds

us in

his hands.

Maybe you

find this

uncomfortable

and challenging.

I'm

finding it

very

uncomfortable.

But Jesus

isn't out to

berate us.

He isn't

showing us

our sin just

to kind of

heap the

guilt and

the shame.

but because

he loves

us.

He longs

that we

would respond

in love

to him.

He wants

our best

because he

knows that

when Jesus

has our

heart's

attention,

it's going

to be good

for us.

It's going

to be best.

So we

renew our

love for

Jesus.

We repent

of his

our sin.

And then

the second

step is

to remember

his promise.

Look at

verse 7.

Whoever

has ears,

let them

hear what

the Spirit

says to

the churches.

Verse 1

said something

similar,

didn't it?

These are

the words

of him.

Now in

verse 7,

hear what

the Spirit

says.

It's not

that the

Word of

God and

the Spirit

of God

are separate.

No,

they always

operate

together.

the Spirit

of God

takes the

Word of

God to

do the

work of

God in

the church

of God.

So what

is the

Spirit

saying to

us?

The rest

of verse

7.

To the

one who

is victorious,

to the

one who

overcomes,

that is,

the one

who responds

in repentance,

the one who

turns back

to the

Lord and

seeks his

help for a

change of

heart.

I will

give the

right to

eat from

the tree

of life,

which is

in the

paradise of

God.

This is

God's

promise to

his church,

to us

today.

It's a

picture of

the new

creation to

come.

Have a

look with

me in

Revelation

Revelation 22 · chapter mention

chapter 22.

We get

an expanded

version of

this tree

of life in

the paradise

of God.

Chapter 22

verse 1.

Again, it's

another vision

John sees.

And as

John looks,

we have

this wonderful

garden scene,

a beautiful

garden.

chapter 22

verse 1.

Then the

angel showed

me the

river of

the water

of life,

as clear

as crystal,

flowing from

the throne of

God and of

the Lamb,

down the

middle of

the great

street of

the city.

On each

side of the

river stood

the tree

of life,

bearing

twelve crops

of fruit,

yielding its

fruit for

every month,

abundance and

plenty,

and the

leaves of

the tree

are for

the healing

of the

nations.

This is

what the

church can

look forward

to.

The church

that loves

Jesus

will be in

the presence

of God's

love in

all its

fullness and

completeness

forever and

forever.

Just as

God walked

in the

cool of the

garden with

Adam and

Eve way

back in

that first

garden,

so we

have a

picture of

God and

his people

walking

together in

the new

eternal

garden.

At last

our love

for him

will be

unfailing

and

undistracted.

Sin will

be gone,

opposition

will end

and we

will delight

in his

love forever

and together

we will

join in

with all

God's

people and

we will

sing with

the angels

worthy is

the lamb

who was

slain to

receive power

and wealth

and wisdom

and strength

and honour

and glory

and praise

to him

who sits

on the

throne

and to

the lamb

be praise

and honour

and glory

and power

forever

and ever.

Amen.

So we

renew our

love for

Jesus.

We turn

in repentance.

We

remember

his great

promise.

Jesus

loves

Cargilline

Baptist

Church.

Let's

renew our

love for

him.

Let's

pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Lord God,

our

Father,

gentle and

caring and

good,

thank you

for your

great love

for us.

Thank you

for your

faithful love.

your

steadfast

love.

We do

love you.

We do.

And yet

so often

our love

for you

is distracted.

We fail.

We love

ourselves

more.

We love

the gifts

that you

give us

more.

we love

other things

and other

people

more than

we love

you.

Would you

please give

us a hunger

and thirst

for you?

Would you

increase

our love

for you?

Would you

show us

the wonder

of Jesus

afresh?

That we

would delight

in him

and love

him?

Father,

send your

spirit upon

us

and stir

us afresh,

thanking you

that you

walk among

us

and you

hold us

and you

work in

us what

is good

and best.

we trust

you to

do this

for us

and thank

you that

you will.

Amen.

Well,

we're going

to sing

a song

that's

going to

help us

to respond

to what

we've been

thinking about

together this

morning.

The chorus

knowing you,

Jesus

knowing you,

you're my

all,

you're the

best,

you're my

joy.