Revelation 2:4, 5 - The Priority of Relationship.
Revelation 2:4, 5 (NIV) Yet I hold this
against you: You have forsaken your first love. 5
Remember the height from which 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.
Revelation 2:4, 5 (NLT) But I have this
complaint against you. You dont love me or each
other as you did at first! 5 Look how far you have
fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at
first. If you dont repent, I will come and
remove your lampstand from its place among the
churches.
INTRODUCTION
They had lost their zeal for God. They were
a busy church - the members did much to
benefit themselves and the community - but they were
acting out of the wrong motives. Work for God must
be motivated by love for God or it will not
last. [Life Application SB]
COMMENTARY PEARL
The warmth of their first love is frozen
up, and unless they are watered over by the
baptism of the Holy Spirit, their candlestick will
be removed out of its place, except they repent
and do their first works. The first works of the
church were seen when the believers sought out
friends, relatives, and acquaintances, and with
hearts overflowing with love told the story of what
Jesus was to them and what they were to
Jesus......
Selfishness mars all that unconsecrated
workers do. They have need to pray always, but they
do not. They need to watch unto prayer. They
have need to feel the sacredness of the work, but
they do not feel this. They handle sacred things
as they do common things. Spiritual things are
spiritually discerned, and until they can drink of the
water of life, and Christ be in them as a well of
water springing up unto everlasting life, they
will refresh no one, bless no one; and except
they repent, their candlestick will be removed
out of its place. There is need of enduring
patience, of invincible charity, of omnipotent faith
in the work of saving souls. Self must not be
prominent. Wisdom from Christ must be exercised in
dealing with human minds. Every worker who deals
with souls successfully must come to the work
divested of self......
Those who do not learn every day in the
school of Christ, who do not spend much time in
earnest prayer, are not fit to handle the work of
God in any of its branches; for if they do,
human depravity will surely overcome them and they
will lift up their souls unto vanity. TM167-73
COMMENTARY
Yes, Its a Big Deal
Some Christians are sticklers for correct
doctrine, yet many of them are miserable, mean,
arrogant, and condemning. Then there are Christians
who are very active and busy for God, but their
love for the Lord seems to be lacking.
The love that we have for Christ can be
walked away from. Sometimes we dont love Him as
we once did. We can look back on our lives as
Christians and say there was a time in our walk with
the Lord when our love for Him was much
stronger.
This often happens in marriage. We might
see a young couple holding hands, gazing into
each others eyes, and showing affection, and
we assume that they must be newly married. Why?
Because people who have been married for a while
typically dont do those things anymore.
The same can happen in our faith. The
affection is gone. The passion is gone. And the
communication has broken down. In effect, the honeymoon is
over.
This was the situation with the church in
Ephesus that Jesus addressed in the Book of
Revelation. The Ephesians were active, busy, and engaged
as a church, but they were lacking in love. So
Jesus said, I know all the things you do. I
have seen your hard work and your patient
endurance But I have this complaint against you.
You dont love me or each other as you did at
first! (Revelation 2:2, 4 NLT).
Its important for us to understand
that these were the words of Jesus to a literal
church in the ancient city of Ephesus. Its
possible that both the apostle Paul and the apostle
John had pastored it. And when John wrote down
the words of Revelation while he was on the
island of Patmos, this church was in its second
generation.
That means by this time, many of these
people in the Ephesian church had been raised in a
Christian home. They had been born to believing
parents and had been taught the Word of God from
their youth.
We also know they were a very active
church that served the Lord with great effort.
Notice Jesus said, I have seen your hard work
and your patient endurance (verse 2 NLT). In
the original Greek, the term hard work
indicates an effort that produced work even at the
cost of pain.
These people were hardworking. They were
discerning. They were faithful. But they were guilty of
a sin the average person could not detect:
they had left their first love.
These believers in Ephesus were so busy
maintaining their separation, they were neglecting their
adoration. They were substituting perspiration for
inspiration. But was it really that big of a deal?
Yes, it was. Because as you read the
words of Jesus to the seven churches in
Revelation, you will see things getting progressively
worse, culminating in the outright rejection of
Christ in the church of Laodicea, where He is on
the outside trying to get in.
Its a big deal to leave your first
love, because it ultimately can lead to worse
things. [Greg Laurie from Harvest Ministries;
https://www.harvestdaily.com]
The Gradual Fall
Remember when you first came to faith in
Jesus Christ? What a joy it was to pray. You never
knew that you could talk to God, and you realized
that you could call on Him wherever you were, no
matter what you were facing. Prayer was a
privilege, and you utilized it.
Then there was the Bible, the users
manual of life. You finally had the Book that told
you how to live your life, what your priorities
ought to be, and how to be a good husband, a good
wife, and a good parent. And most importantly, it
told you how to get to Heaven.
And church? You couldnt wait to get to
church. You would go to a weekend service, a midweek
service, and listen to Bible teaching on the radio.
You read Christian books. You couldnt get
enough in your life.
Sharing your faith was easy for you. It
was the overflow of your Christ-filled life, and
you were always looking for opportunities to
talk to someone about Jesus.
But things have changed. You still study
the Bible, but not as much as you used to. You
still pray, but its a quick prayer here and
there. Sure, you go to church. In fact, you sit in
the same place every week, and no one had better
try to take your seat. However, if the preacher
goes over his allotted time, youre not happy.
And you sometimes have to leave early to beat
the traffic.
You share your faith - once in a while.
But instead of having a conversation with
someone about Christ, you feel that others should
simply look at your example as a follower of
Jesus.
Heres the question: Have you left your
first love?
Jesus said to the church of Ephesus,
Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and
do the works you did at first (Revelation
2:5 NLT).
Does this mean that leaving your first
love is falling spiritually? Yes, it does,
because it can lead to worse things.
A classic example of this is King David.
The Bible describes him as a man after
[Gods] own heart (1 Samuel 13:14 NLT) and the
sweet psalmist of Israel (2 Samuel 23:1 NLT).
But he also was an adulterer and, in effect, a
murderer.
David didnt start that way. When the
Bible first introduces us to him, he is a young
boy watching his flock of sheep and writing love
songs to the Lord. But fast-forward a number of
years, and David is kicking back at a time when
kings would lead their troops into battle. We
dont read of him writing beautiful psalms or
singing to the Lord. We dont see his tender
heart.
He left his first love, and as a result,
his life was a mess. It all fell apart for him.
Have you left your first love? It can
happen so easily. Get back to your first love for
Jesus Christ. Love Him with all your heart, soul,
and mind. [Greg Laurie from Harvest Ministries;
https://www.harvestdaily.com]
CLOSING THOUGHT
Love Is an Action
Love is an action, not just an emotion.
Love is something you do.
Its easy to love somebody who loves
you, isnt it? It takes nothing at all.
But real love acts and does the loving
thing when people dont deserve it, when they
dont respond to it, or when you dont feel it.
In fact, acting in love when you dont feel
it is the highest form of love. Its a more
mature love when you act loving toward a person who
does not respond the same way.
Have you noticed that its easier to
act your way into a feeling than it is to feel
your way into an action?
Some of you have been married for a long
time, and the truth is, the flame has gone out.
The thrill is gone. Youre living separate
lives in the same house. How do you rekindle that
romance? How do you rekindle the feeling of love?
You act your way into a feeling. You may
say, I dont feel like acting loving toward
my spouse. So what? If you start acting in
love, I guarantee you the feelings will follow -
because feelings follow behavior.
In Revelation 2:4-5, Jesus says to the
church, You have abandoned the love you had at
first. Remember therefore from where you have
fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first
(ESV).
What Jesus told the church is the same
principle for renewing the love in a marriage or any
other relationship. You remember, you repent, and
you do the things you did at first. The reason
the love went away is you stopped doing the
things that created the love in the early days.
God doesnt want you living by your
feelings. He wants you living by faith. So you know
what he does? Sometimes he lets the feelings go
away. Then you have to live by faith and love by
faith.
When you love somebody and do the loving
thing, even when theyre not responding and even
maybe when theyre retaliating, you are loving
by faith. That is an action. [Daily Devotional
by Rick Warren:
https://pastorrick.com/devotional/]
LINKS FOR FURTHER STUDY
Revelation 2:4, 5 - The Priority of
Relationship.
https://www.abible.com/devotions/2023/20230208-0932.html
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2022/20220323-1113.html
Colossians 2:6, 7 - Living In Christ.
https://www.abible.com/devotions/2023/20230416-0941.html
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2022/20220226-1002.html
LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT
https://abible.com/links/
