The Priority of Relationship - Part 2

Welcome to the In Touch Podcast with Charles Stanley for Friday, September 2nd. Serving God is important, but doing things for Him follows your relationship with Him.

Today's podcast challenges us to focus our attention on the priority of relationship. You hear a lot of pastors talk about being doers of the Word and not hearers only. But there is another side to this whole issue of the Christian life that oftentimes we forget. In fact, it is the most important part.

It is the part most neglected. It is a subtle trap that we fall into and do not even realize it. And in fact, except on unusual occasions probably unless somebody else points it out to us, unless in reading the Scriptures God convicts us of it, we do not even realize what happens to us. And so I want you to turn, if you will, to Revelation chapter two. And I want us to read the first seven verses of this chapter.

And the title of this message is, The Priority of Relationship. And in this second chapter of the Revelation, here is a perfect example. There's no more perfect example to be found in the Scripture of what we're talking about.

We talk about the priority of relationship. And you'll recall that this is the revelation that God gave to the Lord Jesus who gave it to His angel, who gave it to John. And that in the first chapter of the book, we see a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ in all of His glory. And following that, God gives to His beloved John a message to seven churches of Asia Minor.

One of these churches is the church at Ephesus. This is a tremendous church and yet in this second chapter of the Revelation, in these first seven verses, here is a message that is so applicable today we could not afford to miss it. So I want you to begin with me in verse one of chapter two. To the angel of the church in Ephesus write, The one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, the one who walks among the seven golden candlesticks, says this, I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance and that you cannot endure evil men. And you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false. And you have perseverance and have endured for My name's sake and have not grown weary.

But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen and repent and do the deeds you did at first, or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place unless you repent. Yet this you do have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicoloshans, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

To him who overcomes I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. Listen to me, those people fell into the same trap we fall into today. And I'm here to tell you, they were guilty of the very same thing so many people are today. Churches filled with people had the very same problem the Ephesian Christians had. I mean, listen, they'd had the apostle Paul, they'd had Timothy, they had other great preachers coming through, same problem. And that's why I say to you often things really haven't changed much.

Spiritually they haven't changed at all. He says in verse four, But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. When He says they left their first love, they began to cool off. And so what he says here for us, for I want us to notice is this, that Jesus condemns, listen, He condemns the cooling off of our relationship to Him. Now listen carefully. We said, the title of this message is The Priority of Relationship. Everything we've talked about up to this point is what they did.

What they did in service and their steadfastness and their separateness, defending their faith, you know, culling out and testing all these false prophets and being willing to sacrifice in the work and doing the work of God. All of that is work, work, work, deed, deed, deed. Now He says, in spite of all your good works, I've got this against you. You've left. You've fallen away. You've drifted. You've walked away. Something has happened.

Something is wrong. Every single person has enough to keep them busy that there's no time for God. I didn't say He didn't make any time. I said it's enough to keep us busy there's no time for God. But I want to remind you that God never gave anybody on the face of this earth a schedule or a work that was so all encompassing that they have no time for God. God has never given that kind of schedule, that kind of work. When somebody says, I'll tell you I work seven days a week, God didn't give you that. If God gave you a job for seven days a week, He gave you time to pray and to read the Word of God and to keep your relationship and fellowship with Him intimately warm and fervent. If it is not, you're doing something God never intends you to do. But if priority in our life is not our warm, intimate, personal relationship with Jesus Christ, the person I'm telling you, God isn't interested in anything else that's going on.

And the same is true in your life, in your house. He's not interested. In other words, these things, commendable, yes, but they're not a substitute. And what He's saying is, listen, I see all the good things you've done, but what I'm looking at is your heart. He says, what I want from your vision is I want you. He says, I've seen all your good works, but your good work's not what my priority is. My priority is a relationship, intimacy, oneness. I love you and I want you to love me, not just what I give you, not just doing something for me.

I just want you. And whether we like to face it or not, many people have Jesus, many people have God as their errand boy. They get up in the morning and they call on Him when they need Him. When they don't need Him, they don't call on Him. If I should ask you, listen, what motivates you to pray above everything else in life?

Isn't it when you get in hot water? When things get tough? But you see, the truth is, listen, if my relationship to Him is right, I am just, listen, I am just as desirous to be with Him and to fellowship with Him and to love Him and adore Him and be in His Word when everything is right as well as when everything is wrong. If my relationship to Him is right, I don't have to get in trouble to use God to make me feel better. He said, I have something against you.

What I have against you is you've left your first love. Now how did you do that? Now watch this one. Anything in your life in my life that drags my attention from Christ and begins to so penetrate my thinking and my feelings till I'm giving more thought, more feeling, more of my attention, more of my time to this than to Him, I have already started the cooling process and I cannot blame anybody on the face of this earth but myself.

You cannot. And the truth is that many churches are like refrigerators. You walk in, I mean it's cold as a cucumber.

Why? Because the heart of the people who sit and in some kind of formality worship God, they're thinking about shopping, they're thinking about what they're going to eat for lunch, they're thinking about yesterday, they're thinking about tomorrow, the sermon comes in and out, it just sort of goes in and out, they're hearing and they're not hearing, their minds are on other things even if they give the past a little bit of attention. The truth is their heart is not pleading for God. They're not listening for God.

They want to be entertained. They want to hear some man say something that it makes them feel good. I'm here to tell you God speaks the truth. Not to make me feel good but to penetrate me in order that I may deepen my loving relationship with Him. If my love for Him is right, I want to hear from Him.

I want to know what He has to say. But if my heart is cool because something else has gotten between God and me, listen to me carefully, that thing may not even be wrong. It is where it is in my life. It is the size of it in my life. You say well nothing as big as is God.

Yes there is. There is something bigger than God in the lives of some people. What is it? It's that awesome something that has crowded Him out. So that He can't be seen because the only thing that can be seen in their life is the thing that has become first priority and primary. The pinnacle and zenith of their thinking is all wrapped up in whatever it is. It can be a job. It can be money. It can be relationships.

You name it no matter what it is. He says I've got something against you. What I have against you is that you have cooled off in your relationship to me.

Listen, there's only one reason that happens. We begin to follow something else other than Christ. Is anybody or anything ever done for you what Jesus has done? Never.

It is idolatry. He says I've got something against you. What I've got against you is you've left your first love.

You may have drifted or you made a decision similarly, but what was first is no longer first. Your fervor and allegiance and loyalty and devotion and excitement and enthusiasm and hunger and thirst and yearning for God, nothing has dampened it. And somehow you've cooled off.

I'm here to tell you cooled, dampened Christians are a horrible testimony to the glory of God. He said I'm against it. He said I have something against you. And he says you've left your first love.

That's what leaving your first love is all about. Then he says here's the way you correct it. Jesus says you correct this in the following fashion. There are three things you do. Listen. Verse 5, remember therefore from where you have fallen. Repent and do the deeds.

You did it first. So he says there are three things. First of all, he says remember. Remember what? Remember what you were like when you got saved.

You say well I don't think I've ever been like what you're talking about. Well then you've missed something. If you didn't get excited about Jesus Christ and who He is, friend, listen, if you're not excited about Him, you're missing something now. But if you've never been excited about Him, then you really have missed something. Listen. The longer you live, the more excited you ought to be about what you know the most about. And the person you know the most about.

And the one who's done the most for you. Listen. If you're 80 years old, you ought to have more enthusiasm for God than anybody who's 60 or 70.

You may not be able to shout one up and down in the streets about it. But listen, you're excited. You know what? Excitement, enthusiasm and fervor doesn't have to come through with a loud voice and swinging arms. It can be a quiet devotion that is penetrating. That when you walk into that person's presence, you know you walk in the presence of somebody who loves God. He said look back. He said first of all remember what happened to you when you got saved.

Remember what God has been doing for you all these years. You see that's the first thing you do. You remember the second thing you do He says is repent. Now He says I've got something against you. And He says you need to repent of this cold heart. Oh I know you're active in serving Me but your heart's cold toward Me.

You're so busy doing things. You know I didn't love with Me. Repent is what He said to them. He said remember where you used to be. Repent that is He says you are to have a change of mind. You admit your fault.

The most difficult thing in the world for us to do is to assume responsibility. We want to say well you know if circumstances had been different and if He'd have done this and she'd have done that and they'd have done the other and if I'd have been over here instead of over yonder, God didn't hear any of that. He wants to hear me say Father I got too busy.

Lord I got caught up in. Lord and just assume responsibility and say Father forgive me. I thank You for Your forgiveness.

I thank You for loving me. I am wrong in this and I thank You dear God for restoring my love for You. Anytime I've got my finger pointed to anybody else when it comes to confession, repentance, friend I need to turn all five of those fingers back here not just four of them. Repentance. And then He said do all this keep them all in ours and that is He said remember repent and then He said do or repeat.

He said do the deeds you did at first. What were you like when you first got saved when you were excited about Christ? What were you doing? You were in the Word of God trying to find out who is this God? Who is this Christ?

What's He like? You were on your knees praying and you were saying Lord I want you to conform me to Your likeness. Do the deeds you once did.

Talk about Jesus. Give to the work of the Lord. Give yourself in service.

Be willing to take other people's criticism. Get in the Word of God. Be in the worship. Serving Him, worshiping Him, praising Him, adoring Him, make Him the priority.

Give Him first place. He says that's simple because you see if I remember what it used to be like and I repent of my sins I will repeat. I will go back and make things right. If my heart's warm listen I don't know about you and I believe this is just an absolute universal principle.

Once you're saved by the grace of God you absolutely cannot be happy and peaceful and contented until things are right in your heart. The Spirit of God's not going to let you do it. Something's missing. It's like sandpaper.

Nothing works. I mean there's just something going on all the time. Something churning. Something sanding. Something sifting.

Something's going on until things are right. What did He say? He said I see what you've done. I commend you for that but I've got something against you. I want you. I want you as a person. I want you to love me for who I am as God. Not for what I give you. And all this is not a substitute.

I just want you. You have fallen not from grace but you've fallen from our intimate relationship. Your excitement, enthusiasm, fervency, devotion, commitment. You've left it when I think about how perfectly holy God must feel when I tell Him that I've got something else in mind and I walk out of His will to do my own thing. How the heart of God has to pain. Because you see, He loves you and me more than we have the capacity to love anybody on the face of this earth. When I allow anything in my life to detract my love and devotion and fervor from Him, it has to pain the heart of God. He said I've got something against you. I'm hurting because you don't love me the way you used to love me.

I feel the pain because I don't sense the love. Then He said something else rather awesome. Verse five, remember therefore from where you have fallen and repent and do the deeds you did at first. And listen, I don't know about you, but when God says, when He uses these two words, you've got my attention.

I have something against you. And then He says, you do what I tell you or else He's got my attention. You do what I tell you or else.

Listen to this. And what He was saying to them is this, if you don't repent of this dampened spirit of yours and you're satisfied with what you're doing without a relationship with Me, if you don't repent of that, your light's going out in Ephesus. You're going to lose your impact and your testimony in Ephesus. And what is He saying to you and Me? If we don't keep our heart fervently excited about Him, what does He do? He just lets us lose our impact, lose our witness, lose our influence.

Listen carefully, I say this out of love to you. You know why a lot of you won't witness? Because you don't have any testimony. You say, well, no, you don't have a testimony. You're not excited about Jesus. You're not reading the Word for your own sake. You take your Bible to church maybe, many of you probably, most of you don't take your Bible to church and open it with a pencil and paper and take notes from the pastor's sermon.

You're not excited about Him. In fact, you probably doubt some of the things that He said because it didn't work in your life. You don't have much of a testimony. You know what happens? Your light's gone out. I didn't say you were lost. I said your light went out.

Oh, let's put it this way. An old kerosene lantern. If you trim it just right, there's a bright glow.

But if you turn it up too high, it doesn't take but a minute. And what is it that smokes up the whole glass? You can't see the flame for the darkness of the smoke. You know what's happened? You've allowed something in your life to dampen your personal relationship to Jesus Christ. And you know what? When people look at your light, they look at a dark, smoky, ugly globe.

No light. So I want to ask you a real personal question. Are you really excited about Jesus?

Would you have to say this morning, you know, I have lost my enthusiasm. I don't witness anymore. I don't just read the Bible trying to find out something that'll, about Him that'll just make me more like Him. I don't serve in church. I could sing. I could usher. I could be hospitality. I could wash dishes in the kitchen.

I could do it. I could do lots of things. I don't do any of that.

Then let me ask you this. What are you excited about? What turns you on in your spirit?

I mean, what brightens you up? All I ask you, my friend, is this. Here is the bottom line of the Christian life. I don't care how else you want to put it.

Here's the bottom line. Almighty God is more interested in your and my personal intimate relationship with Him than a thousand lifetimes of work for Him. What He wants from us is loving, devotion, being satisfied with Him.

I don't care how much money you got, what's your position, how many folks know you, doesn't make none of that of any concern. What matters is, are you excited about Him? Do you have a hunger and thirst for Him? Do you want Him? Or have you made the awful, horrible mistake of settling down to settle for a Christian life until one of these days you just die and go to heaven? Tragedy of tragedies to spend all of your life and miss the most important thing that is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.