His Reply Was Ephesus, It Is Now Muslim with Very Little Witness to the Gospel, This Is

FIRST LOVE

Ephesians 2:1-7

A while back I asked Julian Richards a question, are there any examples in the Bible where there has been a revival and move of God and it has fallen away.I was of course thinking of the Welsh revival.

His reply was Ephesus, it is now Muslim with very little witness to the Gospel, this is modern day Turkey.

But today I want to concentrate on the church in Biblical times, John comments firstly on all the good things that they do.

This was a church that did not tolerate immoral sexual acts, yet Ephesus was a place known for this, it was open minded, tolerant and much was going on.But this was a church that took a Biblical stand.

They worked hard and persevered, they did much to benefit themselves and the community, but their motivation was not love of God but other things.

Paul had warned them that false apostles and teachers would come and attempt to get them to compromise on what they had been taught yet they had remained steadfast in their belief.

They had exposed the false teachers for who and what they were, and there are plenty of those around today.

But I guess the question we really need to be asking is does God really know and care what we believe and get up to as churches or can we just do our own thing.

The answer to the question is yes. He does know and He does care because each letter here goes in to minute detail.

Having praised this church, He then challenges them.

Paul had commended this church for its love of God and of others but many of the church founders had died.

This second generation of believers did not have the same zeal for God and they are told you have lost your first love.

Everything we do must come out of the love that we have for God or it is worthless and does not stand.

This is a bit of a memory test for most of us, but can you remember what it was like when you first realised you loved your husband or wife.

For single people think of the love you have for the most important person in your life, can you remember the excitement when they knocked the door, phoned or walked into the room.

Is that how it was when you first realised how much you loved God and how important He was in your life.

The question is do you still feel that same sort of love or has it gone a bit? If so it’s not God who has moved but us.

We need to move closer to God and to recapture that first love to recapture something of that zeal for Him.

A lot of this revolves around forgiveness, when you realise your sins have been forgiven your heart overflows with thankfulness.

I remember TonyCampolo, an American preacher, talking about the work his church does with prostitutes and one woman had her birthday.They made her a birthday cake and when she saw it she cried because she realised Jesus and these people loved her.

Her life has apparently changed, her love for Jesus is immense and she is sharing that love with others.

The line I remember is to those who have been forgiven much they love much.

Chris Lambrainouis a guy I know, the right hand man of the Krays, he is now a Christian living in a Catholic community, the hatred replaced by a love for Christ and other people.

My favourite church these days, after this one, is Victory church in Cwmbran from the minister down all ex-offenders, substance misusers, but their zeal for God is out of this world.

The things they are doing is amazing and as the Bible said people are being added to their number every day.

But when we lose sight of sin we begin to lose the thrill of forgiveness and if we think there is no price for sin does it matter.

I can only teach from the Bible and there is a very clear price for sin.

In the early days we perhaps had enthusiasm without knowledge, the danger is that we now have knowledge without enthusiasm.

To keep that first love we actually need to have both.

In Verse 5 Jesus says if you do not regain this first love I will remove your lamp stand. That is a terrible warning, it means the Holy Spirit leaves the building and you will cease to be an effective church.

So, to sum up we need to be on fire for Jesus and to have Him as our first love.

Only you know if you need to adjust or not but don't delay because none of us know the hour when He will return.