Welcome to the In Touch Podcast with Charles Stanley for Thursday, September 1st. Is your life a little chaotic right now, juggling work, family, and social activities? That kind of demanding schedule can lead you to neglect time alone with God.
Today, we learn more about the priority of relationship. You hear a lot of pastors talk about being doers of the Word and not hearers only. And usually when we hear that we say, Amen.
That's exactly right. People shouldn't just sit around listening to the Word of God. They ought to be doing something. And so most of our emphasis is on doing these things. And of course, you remember Paul said in Ephesians chapter 2 that we were created unto good works, that is for the glory of God.
He's created us for the purpose of good works, which we glorify and honor Him. And so usually our emphasis is on serving the Lord and doing the things He wants us to do. 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 2. 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 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. And in these first seven verses, there is a very specific message that is just as applicable to you and me today as it was 2,000 years ago. It fits perfectly this whole issue of this subtle trap that so many of us fall into and oftentimes stay there a long time before we realize what's happening. And then we ask ourselves the question, I wonder what's happening. I wonder why I feel what I feel.
Why am I acting the way I'm acting? Well, John in the Revelation, having received this message through the Lord Jesus Christ and His angel gives us the key to what's happening. Now, I want us to read this chapter, but before we do, I want you to go back to Acts chapter 19 for a moment.
Let me give you a little background. You'll recall in the 19th chapter of Acts, Paul is in Ephesus and he's been, he stays there three years to preach and to teach. And this is the church that we're talking about in Revelation. And Rome, the center of the world it appeared in those days centered around Rome. Ephesus is on the road to Rome.
It is also on the road to the east. And so this is a very key church. It is in this church, for example, that Paul was preaching so effectively.
It is said in verse ten, and this took place for two years so that all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks, and God was performing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul. And so a tremendous ministry goes on here. 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 right, 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'm 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. So now God has given to this church in Ephesus a very strong message that I'm here to tell you is just as applicable for us today individually and as a church as it was in those days.
Because here's what he says. In this passage he says four things that I want us to remember. Very important that we remember. First of all, it's very evident from this passage that Jesus commends good works. God is not opposed to good works. He says, for example, by grace you save through faith, that not of yourselves.
It is the gift of God and not of works lest any man should boast. For we are created in Christ Jesus for the purpose of good works that we should walk in them. So good deeds, good works is a part of the Christian life. In fact, he says when you and I get to heaven, we're going to be rewarded for every deed that we have done in his name. God is going to reward those of us who believe us. The sins, things that have been done with the wrong motive and wrong purpose and so forth, we're going to lose reward for all of that. But we will be rewarded for those good deeds.
So good deeds is a part of the Christian life. He rewards them here, he says, he commends them for five things. First of all, he commends them for their service. He says, I know your deeds. Well, these people were active for the Lord.
They were hard workers. And so in that church probably, of course, meeting the needs of many people and proclaiming the gospel, he says, I have seen your works and he said, you get an A for good deeds. The second thing he said is, I have seen your sacrifice. When he uses the word toil here, it is the Greek word which means to work until you sweat. I mean, you give it all that you've got.
I mean, you just pour it out. And he says, these people were willing to work and labor diligently and hard for the Lord. When they saw a work that needed to be done, they didn't back off. But he says, I know your deeds.
And he says, I know your toil. That is, they were willing to labor for the Lord till they were exhausted. A lot of people have the idea that if you serve the Lord, you know, he's just going to give you everything you need every time you need it. And therefore, you'll never get tired and never get weary.
Yes, you do. The apostle book Paul was, he became weary oftentimes. In fact, he says in Second Corinthians, enlisting all the things that were going on in his life, he said, above all, he bore the burden of the churches.
He was a weary man oftentimes, overwhelmed sometimes with the awesome burden of going place after place and traveling all the time and establishing these churches and knowing that he went back to be those people there who were trying to destroy it. But God commends this Ephesian church for their willingness to work and to labor and willingness to sacrifice. They worked hard at it.
Then he says here, I know your deeds and your toil and your perseverance. That is, they were steadfast in it. When they saw challenges come, they didn't just bow down, roll over and say, we'll just give up. But they stood before them. And the scripture says they were steadfast. They persevered. That is, no matter what, they were willing to hang in there. Somebody has said that suffering in life and troubles and trials color life.
Well, they don't color life gray or black unless we allow them to. But suffering and pain and hardship should color life gloriously. That is, we should be learning and growing amidst these things. Well, that's what they did.
They turned these difficulties and hardships in a time of growth. And so they were steadfast. They stuck to it.
You could tell the kind of stuff they were made of. Then he says, if you'll notice, they also were commended for the fact that they could not endure evil men. They put them to the test, those who call themselves apostles and found that they were not and found them to be false. One of the things he commends them for was not only for their diligent labor, their service and their sacrifice and their steadfastness in it, but he also commended them for their willingness to be pure in doctrine.
That is, he says, he commended them for their separateness. That is, they were willing to test those. There were many people who came through in those days, for example, because they were at the crossroads of the world there. There were people who came through, for example, those who were the Jews who were trying to come into the Ephesian church and say, now listen, to be saved, you've got not only to keep what the apostle Paul said, but you've got to keep the law. They were Judaizers. Then there were those who came through who had the idea that now that you are free in Christ, you can sort of do what you please and don't worry about it. And then he says, for example, there were those who were the beggars who came through, who were just the hangers on, who wanted something for nothing. And those kind of people they were having to deal with.
Then if you'll notice down, if you will, in verse six, he says, yet this you do have that you hate the deeds of the Nicolations, which I also hate. Now the Nicolations, there's different opinion about exactly what they taught. But one of the things they probably taught was this. And that is they would come into the church and they say, now look, we don't want to destroy the church, but we want to modernize the church.
We want to get it up to date. And therefore, because the freedom we have in Christ, there are no rules and regulations anymore. And because there are no rules and regulations, we are free to live the kind of life we want to live.
That is, you can do what you please because you've been saved by the grace of God. And so they taught all kinds of immorality and loose living. And so there were all kinds of preachers coming through in those days, teaching all kinds of false doctrine. So one of the things that Paul had to deal with back over in Acts chapter 20, look there for a moment, Acts chapter 20, he is warning them even then and establishing these churches in the 28th and 29th verses.
Here's what he said to them. He said in verse 27, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God. But listen, be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to shepherd the church of God, which he purchased with his own blood. I know Paul says that after my departure, savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. And from among your own selves men will arise speaking perverse things to draw away the disciples after them.
Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one of you with tears. Now, so one of the things that God is commending this church for is that doctrinally they are pure. They didn't put up with any false teaching.
They didn't put up with any false doctrine. That is, if you went to the church at Ephesus, I mean to tell you, you'd hear the straight truth. So he says, I'm commending you for your service. I'm commending you for your sacrifice, commending you for your steadfastness, commending you for your separateness. And he says, I commend you for your suffering. Look, if you will, back in chapter two again, he says, verse three, and you have perseverance and have endured for my namesake and have not drawn weary.
That is, when they face the burdens and heartaches of life, they didn't just give in. But he says, you've persevered. You've been steadfast. You've endured.
You've been patient for these things. And he says, you've not grown weary. Well, it'd be wonderful if we could stop right there. That's not where that passage stops. Now, the reason I give all that emphasis to that is this. You'd think that if the Lord Jesus Christ thought you were doing that well, he'd just pat you on the back and said, run along, just keep up the good work.
But he doesn't say that. 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. So first of all, he commends us for good works. Look at the second thing that happens here. He says in verse four, but I have this against you that you have left your first love. Now, I don't know about you, but the Lord could have said that in lots of ways. But if God says, I've got something against you, he's got my attention.
Amen. He's got your attention. He says, I've got something against you. I love you unconditionally. Your name is written in the Lamb's book of life.
You go into heaven. I'm willing to answer prayer. I'm willing to provide your needs, but I've got something against you. Now, here's what I want you to notice. It's real difficult for us to spot what he had against them in our own selves.
It's almost like somebody else has to point it out to us. He said, I have somewhat against you. And he says, I have something specific against you. I have this against you.
What is this? What I have against you, he says, is that you have left, you have departed from your first love. You say, well, now what in the world does that mean? Well, that word left there means can mean one or two things. First of all, they deliberately, willfully walked away. It was the determination on their part or they began to drift or in ignorance, they began to fall away.
And notice what he says. He says in verse five, remember, therefore, from where you have fallen. So the implication here is probably not so much that they deliberately decided this is what we're going to do. I don't believe it was a deliberate thing on their part. I think it was something that happened over a period of time. It was a gradual thing that took place because they had certainly had the truth. And even though they had a lot of false preachers and teachers coming through, if you read the book of Ephesians, the first three chapters of the book of Ephesians tells us who we are in Christ. The next three chapters of the book of Ephesians tells us how we can live as a result of being who we are. Those six chapters will revolutionize anybody's life and set you free if you will take them to heart and be willing to live by them. Well, the Apostle Paul instructed these people, but here's what happened.
Listen carefully now. Because this, when this is being written, is about 30 years later. So here's a whole new generation of Christians that have come into the church. And now many of these people didn't hear the Apostle Paul and many of these people did not hear Timothy. And so what's happened is over a period of time, gradually something has happened. The Bible says they left their first love.
Now they either left it by deliberate willfulness some of them probably, but most of them gradually, something happened. When he says they left their first love, they began to cool off. And so what he says here for us, 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, DDD. 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. He says you've left your first love. What was he referring to? He was referring to what had happened to them when they were saved. What had happened to them first? So let me think about something with you for a moment. You remember when you trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and you understood that Jesus Christ had forgiven you of your sin?
What happened? You were excited. Your sins were forgiven depending upon your age and what had gone on in your life.
Maybe it would determine how excited you really were. But you were excited that your sins were forgiven, that God loved you enough to reach them and forgive you of your sins. You were excited about the fact that you've been saved by the grace of God, that your name was written in the Lamb's Book of Life, that you would go into heaven.
And what happened? You were so excited about the Word of God, you just wanted to read it, but you wanted somebody to give you some instruction. And then you just couldn't pray enough. You just wanted to talk to God. You wanted to learn how to pray. And you didn't know exactly how to pray, so you get in the Bible and find some passage that was a prayer and maybe you try to read that or you'd read the Lord's Prayer. And so you wanted to learn how to pray and you began to pray and you began to pray for other people and God began to answer prayer and you were excited about what was going on. Then, of course, you couldn't keep it to yourself. You just had to tell it to somebody. And so you were excited about telling people what Jesus Christ was doing in your life and how He was answering prayer.
And then you want to talk to them about how to get saved. And you were bold and courageous. And I mean, you didn't care what anybody thought. I mean, you know, you'd sit down in a restaurant, you'd bow your head and pray. You'd never done that before.
It didn't bother you a bit. Because you were fervently in love with the Lord Jesus Christ. You wanted to be baptized.
Nobody could have kept you out of the water. You couldn't shut up about Jesus. You had to talk about Him. You wanted to read His Word. You wanted a book.
You wanted to go to a seminar. You wanted to go to church. You wanted to go to worship. Nobody keep you away from church. Giving to God a tithe. Is that all I'm supposed to give? I mean, you were excited about God.
Let me ask you a question. What happened? Why have you allowed your fervor and devotion and commitment and obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ to cool off after all these years? If God hasn't changed and nothing He's done has changed, why are you and I so quiet? Why have we cooled down? Why have we sort of settled down for a settled down faith? What's happened to our fervency? How in the world has the body of Christ so cooled off? What in the world has dampened our fervor and our desire and our yearning and our hunger and our thirst for the Word of God? Whatever happened to that spirit? That's what He's talking about when He says, you've left your first love. You know what Jesus is saying in this passage? Watch this. This is awesome. He says, what I'm interested in is your personal relationship with me, not what you do for me. Thank you for listening to The Priority of Relationship. If you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley or In Touch Ministries, stop by In Touch.org. This podcast is a presentation of In Touch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.
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