The Ephesian Warning
Revelation 2:5a
Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works
The Ephesian church received a warning about leaving their first love. The advice He gave them is advice all of us need to follow at some point in our Christian walk. The advice is valid for individuals as well as congregations. I call it the Three Rs of renewal.
The first R is Remember. To find something lost, you must look for it because you don’t actually know where you lost it. But if you leave something, you can find it by remembering where you left it. The first step in restoration is to remember. Remember when you were at peace with God. Remember when you were in love with Christ. When the Prodigal Son was in the pigpen eating the pig’s food, the first step in his restoration was remembering what life was like back in his father’s home. This is always the first step in getting back to where we should be with the Lord. If you find yourself longing for a better relationship with the Lord, remember when you first came to Him and how you felt.
The second R is Repent. Repent is not a command to feel sorry. It’s not a command to feel anything. It means to stop going in the direction you’re going in and change your direction to go a different way. It is an appeal for a change of attitude and conduct.
The third R is Return. Return to do the first works. This means to go back to the basics, to the very first things that you did when you first fell in love with Jesus.
What are the first works? The wonder of spending time in His Word. The closeness you felt when you spent time in prayer. The joy of getting together with other Christians. The excitement in telling others about Jesus. The innocence of simple worship.
The enemy does a masterful job in causing us to feel dissatisfied with these simple things in our lives. We find ourselves running after new and different methods and programs. We count numbers and look around at other churches in jealousy. We plan on how to make Christ more “accessible” to the unsaved. We get so busy we don’t stop and enjoy being in His Presence. What we see in the church today is a loveless, busy, program-laden club. We become the Church of Ichabod, where the glory has departed (1 Samuel 4:21).
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
He who has an ear: This qualifies everyone, at least everyone who will stop and listen to God calling to us. This warning was written to the church at Ephesus, but is also there as a warning to us today. Let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches:
The Lord ended His message to the Ephesians with a promise.
To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.
This promise to the one who overcomes, but what does this overcomer overcome? We usually think of overcoming in dramatic terms of overcoming sin and a matter of spiritual warfare, but here Jesus seems to be speaking of the overcoming of the coldness of their hearts and lack of love marked by the leaving of their first love. Is it possible to rekindle a fire in a burned-out heart? Yes, it is. Is it possible to fall in love with One Who you have left and wandered away from? Yes, it is. Is it possible to find that joy you used to feel in His Presence? Yes, it is. I can speak not only from personal experience, but also from hearing testimony from many others who have grown cold then had a spiritual renewal.
If, while reading this, you remembered a time when you were truly happy in God’s Presence and you miss it, you have already taken the first step. You are remembering a time when you were in love with Christ and nothing else mattered. The rest is not impossible to achieve, but it is hard on the pride.
Stephen Cram August 19, 2012 Colossians 2:8
Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. Colossians 2:8
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