First Love, First Things: Never Leaving Your First Love!
Revelations 2:1-7

Ephesus, one of seven churches in Asia Minor. Ephesus was a prominent city in the Roman Empire, known for its trade, culture, and the Temple of Artemis—one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Spiritually, it was once a thriving church planted by Paul (Acts 19), pastored by Timothy, and later influenced by the Apostle John.
By the time of John’s vision (around A.D. 95), the Ephesian church had sound doctrine and a history of enduring persecution. But Jesus had a grave concern: they had abandoned their first love. The fire of affection and devotion for Christ had grown cold, even while their ministry continued.

1st The Commendation: You Have Great Things Going On!

Did You know that You can have great things going on in your life in your ministry and still miss God? We as a church can be doing a whole lot of things right, we can be seeing fruit in ministry. But we never measure our Christian life by our ministry effectiveness.

You Might not Even know Him: Matthew 7:21-23
You May No Longer Love Him, Like You Once did:

– You have great Ministry going on in Your midst! 2
– You have a Zeal For Purity! 2b
– You do not tolerate evil men, You put to the test those who call themselves
leaders 2c
– You Have Persevered and Endured! (Suffering and Persecution)
– You’ve Not Grown Weary

Looks like a lot of fruit to me?

2nd The Indictment: “I have this Against You”

You Have Left Your First Love:

Paul Spoke of this in1 Corinthians 13:1-3

Gifts of the Spirit, Prohetic Utterances, knowing all mysteries of the kingdom, Mountain moving faith, giving, martydom

Matthew 15:8 “This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.”

Jeremiah 2:2 I remember the Devotion of Your Youth.

Luke 10:27-28 – Loving the Lord and Loving Our Neighbor.

First Love: Infatuation, Think affection, think can’t stand to be away,
Think, can’t stop thinking about the one you love. God, Jesus the things of the kingdom and the church.

The Lost their zeal for Love: Loving God, Neighbor, One Another and substituted love for works:

Let’s look at the rest of 1 Corinthians 13:

3rd The Remedy: Remember, Repent, Return 5:

Remember – Recall how it used to be with Jesus.
Repent – Turn from the drift and grieve the distance.
Return – Do again the works born of love, not just duty.

Remember From Where you have fallen!

– Prioritizing Doctrine over Devotion:
– Replacing relationship with Christian or religious activity.
– By allowing Sinor Idols to displace Love
– Neglecting First Things: Think Marriage Illustrations

This church Ephesus: Founded by Paul, Taught by Priscilla and Aquila, Apollos and Pastored by Timothy and later by John

A church can be doctrinally sound, have great ministries and still be displeasing to Christ if Love is lacking.

What was it that brought you to the point of losing your first love? For the church at Ephesus it could have been pride, or just thinking about all the things we are doing for the kingdom and suddenly we become Self-Directed and lose the awe and wonder of the greatness of our great God and living God-Directed!

I find it so very easy for my work as a pastor to become so much more important to me than my relationship with God. I get my strokes from folks! I love the pastoral side of my ministry. But too often I will sacrifice my time with God for my time with the body. I set my affection on the ministry and what do I do? I miss God!
One of the temptations for ministers is to be known! It validates His existence! His ministry. I must tell you, I have struggled with this! Knowing that I would preach when I was ten years old makes way for a lot of nice things to be said about you! Dying to that 42 years ago, my desire was to make Him known. In the past few years people are calling and again comes the temptation to exchange the glory of God for the Glory of self, or Cottonwood or our mission.

Romans 1 speaks of exchanging the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man.

The Sin of Pride!

The Enemy in Isaiah 14:12-16 – Notice the five I wills!

Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:1-10 – You will be like God! You will know for yourselves how to choose between good and evil.