TIMOTHY CONTINUES... THE CHURCH THAT LOST ITS FIRST LOVE. How many of us can still remember the first time we fell in love? We were the happiest person on earth, we daydreamed about that special person, we looked forward to spending each waking moment together, no task was too great and time was of no consequence .... Can you remember those times.? So too was our experience when we are first converted, we are at church every time the church door is open, we are the first to arrive and the last to leave. We cant wait to read our Bibles. to ask the Pastor or Spiritual leaders questions. We are singing in the Choir, participating in all the different ministries of the church... Yes thats the first love. BUT... as the weeks becomes month and month becomes years we dont read out bibles as we used to... we dont pray as we used to, we no longer want position in the church, we get to church late if we ever go at all.. we lose our first love. The church at Ephesus was the same. Beginning in Revelations 2 Verse 2-4. 2:1-3 Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my names sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. This is Jesus speaking, also we are reminded again here that Jesus holds these stars in His right hand. Jesus walks in the midst of this church; so we know quickly, it falls into the category of Christianity. Notice Jesus always starts off by telling something good. Here He commends them for their hard work, and patience. To be patient is certainly a virtue, and one that most of us do not possess. This leader of this church and the people, seem to be working for the Lord. Labour= the toil which exhaust. Patience= triumphant fortitude. The church at Ephesus preserved Christian correctness, This church does not just accept everyone who says he is an apostle. They judge the message before they accept the apostle. It seems that this church is well grounded in the Word. This Church had two great qualities...1 it had Christian Energy...2. it preserved Christian Orthodoxy with care. ...BUT... It lack one thing... Jesus said :4 Nevertheless I have [somewhat] against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Our first love, if we are believers, is putting Jesus ahead of everything else. This churchs problems spiritually, can be seen in most of our churches today. God will not allow compromise, but on every hand we see just that. In II Timothy 3:5: It says, Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. Probably this church has gotten too sophisticated for healing and deliverance. Perhaps some of the worlds music has crept in unaware. Perhaps this church has begun to entertain more than teach. This church is more appealing to the world than to God. Let me interject this passage found in the book of Jeremiah. Jeremiah 2: 1 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2 Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the LORD; I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown. 3 Israel was holiness unto the LORD, and the firstfruits of his increase: all that devour him shall offend; evil shall come upon them, saith the LORD. 4 Hear ye the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel: 5 Thus saith the LORD, What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain. When the first love is gone, we just go through the ritual but its not effective... As we look at all of these churches, we must examine ourselves and our church and see just what category we fall into.
Posted on: Mon, 07 Jul 2014 23:10:05 +0000
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