Greg Laurie - What Jesus Thinks of the Church (03/29/2018)
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Pastor Greg Laurie shares Jesus' message to the church in Ephesus from Revelation 2, commending their hard work, endurance, and discernment while warning them they've left their first love. He urges believers to remember their early passion for Christ, repent, and return to those "first works" before it's too late, or risk losing their light as a church or individual.
Introduction to Revelation and Bible Prophecy
All right. Well let's grab our Bibles, hang a hard right, and go all the way to the end. The last book of the Bible, the book of Revelation. The title of my message is, "What Jesus Thinks of the Church."
Do you ever think about the future and wonder what's going to happen? Not so much the future of the world, though we'll talk about that in a moment, but your own personal future. You know, if you are single you wonder, "Am I ever going to get married?" If you are married you wonder, "Am I ever going to be happy while married?" "Am I going to get that job I want?" "Am I going to get that ministry opportunity I have been hoping for?"
I don't know about you, but if I could know the future of my own life, I would take a pass on it. I really wouldn't want to know all of those things. God knows the future, and I know Him. And that's enough.
But in the book of Revelation, God indeed does give us glimpses into the future of the world of mankind. A couple of things bubble up as we begin to read through this book together. Number one, we discover that God has a plan for the future, and everything is right on schedule. The second thing we will discover is the best is yet to come, and we win in the end. So that's good news, isn't it?
Some will say, well you know, I really don't think you should waste your time studying Bible prophecy. You know, there is so much disagreement on the subject and so forth. But I think it is very important for us to study Bible prophecy. I already pointed out that there is a blessing promised to the one who reads and hears and keeps the words of this book, in particular, Revelation.
But another reason we should study Bible prophecy is to get perspective. I am able to look at my life in the light of the fact that God is in control, and also in light of the fact that Christ is coming back again. How many of you believe Jesus could come back at any moment? Listen. If you really believe that, it will change the way that you live. You will find yourself a lot more heavenly minded. And by that I mean you will be thinking about the bigger picture. What really matters.
In fact, I think if you really have a decent working understanding of Bible prophecy, you will have a desire to live a godly life. It will affect you morally. It will affect you and the decisions you make. The Bible says in 1 John, as we pointed out, He that has this hope, that is the hope of the coming of the Lord, purifies himself even as He is pure.
Revelation points to the day of the Lord. And the day of the Lord is that time when Christ comes back again. It was Martin Luther who said, and I quote, "There are two days on my calendar. This day and that day." So there is a day before me, but then there is that big day, the day of the Lord.
The Structure and Key to Revelation
Now remember that the word revelation means the unveiling. So here in this book God unveils for us the next dimension. That is a supernatural dimension. That supernatural world where God and Satan dwell. Angels and demons. And heaven and hell. And also we are taken into the eternal dimension where there is not time as we know it now. Where the future is like the past.
In fact in Ecclesiastes 3:15 it says, "Whatever exists today and whatever will exist in the future has already existed in the past. For God calls each event back in its turn." You know, you read a verse like that and you say, What? Here is what it is effectively saying. God living in the eternal realm sees everything as a continuum. So when He speaks of what we call the future, to Him it is like the past. It is already a reality.
So He is not going out on a limb or taking a risk to say it. He is just saying, Here is what is. And yet it hasn't yet transpired. So that is that next dimension that we are exploring together in Revelation. And here in this book God's objective is not to conceal but to reveal.
Now here is the thing. God has given us the key to understanding this book. I don't know about you but I carry a lot of keys around with me. And I have this one chain where I put all the keys I need on it. And whenever I am coming to a lock it seems like whatever key I pull it is the wrong key. And it is always the last key, right? And so you go through all your keys and you... Well God has given us a key to understanding the book of Revelation.
It is one of the few books of the Bible that comes complete with its own outline. And really the golden key to this book is hanging right on the front door of the first chapter. It tells us this. Revelation 1:19. Look at it if you would. "Write the things that you have seen. The things which are. And the things that will take place after this."
So these are the three sections of Revelation. The things you have seen. The things which are. And the things that will take place after this. We have already covered section number one. That would be the category of the things that you have seen. That is all in chapter one. And this is where the apostle John saw the resurrected and glorified Christ with all power in heaven and earth. The revealed Jesus who is in complete control of all that is about to happen. Those are the things that he has seen.
Now we are in the section that we will call the things which are. This is from chapters two to three. We are going to read the seven messages of Jesus to seven churches. Giving us a chronological look at church history from the beginning of the church to the present.
Section number three in the largest section of the book would be called the things that happen after these things. After what things? After the things of the church in chapters two to three. When we come to chapter four we see John is caught up into heaven. Suddenly we are taken to that side and we are looking down in effect on what is going to unfold on the earth. John is alluding to the rapture of the church when all true believers are caught up to meet the Lord in the air.
I do not believe if you put your faith in Jesus that when the rapture comes you will be left to face the tribulation period. And I will tell you why I believe that in our messages ahead. So that is the third section.
Jesus' Message to the Church in Ephesus (Revelation 2:1-5)
Where did this revelation come to John? And as I pointed out it is the book of Revelation, not Revelations. There is only one. It happened on the rocky little island of Patmos. John was exiled there according to church tradition. He is the only apostle who did not die the death of a martyr. They never thought they would hear from this ninety year old man again. And you want to talk about having the last word.
And there on this isolated little island out in the Mediterranean Sea. The Lord took him in almost what we could describe as a spiritual time machine. Probably not a DeLorean. And an obscure reference to Back to the Future there. And then catapulted him into the twenty first century or even beyond and showed him things about the future. And he writes these things down.
Now what we are about to read in the message of Jesus to the seven churches speak to us on three levels. Number one they speak to us practically. These were actual churches. It really was a church of Ephesus, Smyrna, Thyatira, Pergamos, Sardis, Laodicea, and Philadelphia. In fact they followed the postal route of the day. So Jesus was speaking specifically to these churches that existed when this was written.
Number two they speak to us prophetically. We effectively see the history of the church unfold before our very eyes. Sadly rather than seeing a progression we see more of a regression. Starting with an apostolic church and ending up with an apostate one. We start with the church of Ephesus where the church is beginning to relax its grip and is in danger of leaving its first love. And ending with the church of Laodicea where Jesus is on the outside trying to get back in again. Which shows us the seriousness of leaving one's first love. And I will talk about that more in a moment.
And thirdly, this speaks to us personally. These words of Jesus to the churches are to us as individuals because we as Christians are a part of the church. Right? Alright so let's read now the words of Jesus to the first of seven churches in Revelation 2 starting in verse 1.
"To the angel of the church of Ephesus write, These things saith he that holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands. I know your works, your patience, and you cannot bear those who are evil."
Let me stop for a moment and point out that Jesus is speaking to the representatives of the church. In Revelation 1 the seven stars are identified as the seven messengers of the church. Some translations put it as angels. So either he was addressing an angel representing the church, or if you take the word messenger at face value, he was perhaps speaking to the pastor of that church. I lean toward the latter rather than the former. I believe he was speaking to the pastor most likely.
And then the churches are represented by these lampstands. So he is speaking to the leaders and the churches. He says to them, commending them, "I know your works, your labor, your patience. You can't bear those who are evil. You have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and you have found them liars. You have persevered, and you have had patience, and you have labored for my name's sake, and you have not become weary." All good things.
But now a word of correction. Nevertheless, says Jesus, "I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen, repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place unless you repent." We will stop there.
What Does It Mean to Leave Your First Love?
Okay, so leaving one's first love. What is that all about? Well you that are married. How many of you are married? Raise your hand up. Okay. How many of you are single? Raise your hand up. How many of you who are single want to get married soon? Raise your hand up. You keep your hand up. Keep it up. No. You are not doing it. Okay.
Okay so think about when you first met your husband or wife to be. Maybe then they weren't even your girlfriend yet. They were just your date. So what did you do? Well you wanted to impress them, right? You guys, you actually took a shower. You ironed your clothes. Maybe you put on some high end, very expensive cologne. Not perfume. That is what girls wear, right? You put on Jade East or High Karate or Old Spice. That is what I used to wear when I was a kid. Because it was cheap. And it stunk by the way. Interesting thing. I didn't really have that many girlfriends either come to think of it. Maybe the cologne had something to do with it.
But you know you are on your best behavior. You take her to a nice restaurant. You open the door for her. You say nice things to her. You affirm him. You tell him what you like about him. You actually laugh at his lame jokes. You know how it is. And then you know maybe a courtship develops and you are boyfriend and girlfriend. And then ultimately you are engaged. And then you are married. And then as they say the honeymoon is over. Everything starts to change in your life.
Well guess what? This can happen in your relationship with God too. Remember when you first gave your life to Jesus Christ how exciting it was that sin that was in your life was forgiven. Those walls of bitterness came crashing down. That void in your life was filled with God Himself. And you were flooded with a joy and a peace that passed all human understanding.
How did you respond? Well someone told you you could pray and talk to God wherever you were. And how exciting that was. Now I never prayed through my life. Oh I did occasionally I guess. Whenever I was in trouble Jesus was my God of choice. God I would say if you get me out of this one I will serve you all of my life. I didn't even know what I was saying. I think I saw it in a movie or something. But that is what I said.
But now I could have a prayer life. I could speak to the Lord and be heard by God. I remember as a brand new Christian praying my first prayer. What had happened was I had gone down to a Bible bookstore. And I had been given this cheap little paperback Bible called Good News for Modern Man. And I was wearing that thing out. So I went down to look at some legit Bibles. And they had some gorgeous black leather Bibles you know with gold pages and the ribbons. And you know I am looking at them and. Wow. I mean I think of the things I used to want so bad in life. And now I am coveting a Bible you know. Look at the drape on that Bible. Look at those ribbons. Those are real.
You know and so I found one in a Scofield Cross Reference Bible. It was quite expensive. I could not afford it. And after I left. Actually what I did was I... I stole it. Now let me explain. I prayed about it first. So it was a... No. I did not steal it.
But here is an interesting little piece of information. You know we have our bookstore here. Our Harvest bookstore. By the way an amazing bookstore. You ought to check it out. But do you know that people steal things out of our bookstore? Oh yeah. And you know what the number one item that is stolen out of our bookstore is? No. My books. And I am glad because at least someone is reading them now. No. The truth is it is the Bible. What goes through a person's mind before they steal a Bible? Okay. I am going to steal the book that says, "Thou shalt not steal." Yeah. That makes sense to me. Unbelievable.
Well I did not steal that Bible. But I offered my first prayer that I remember as a brand new Christian. I said, God. Here is my first prayer. Would you provide me with a Bible? I did not tell anyone I prayed that prayer. I got a phone call that day. It was my grandmother that I lived with for some time. Mama Stella we called her. She heard I became a Christian. And she said, I heard you became a Christian. I said, yes I did. She said, well I want to buy you a brand new Bible. Go find the nicest Bible you can and I will buy it for you. I said, yes. Answered prayer. And then there was the Bible.
Do you remember the first time you read this book? How it was the user's manual of life you had been looking for? And it made so much sense and spoke to so many areas of your life. And you know what? You carried it around with you. And you didn't care who saw you. You didn't care if someone laughed. Man this is your Bible. And you were reading it. And you were marking it up. And you were enjoying it. And you were taking it in.
And going to church? Man forget about it. You loved it. I remember I used to go to church almost every night of the week. And when there wasn't a church service I would go to some home Bible study. And if I couldn't find a home Bible study I would listen to this cutting edge technology of the day called cassette tapes. And they had teaching on them. And we would listen to teaching. I couldn't get enough of the Word of God. I just loved it.
And sharing my faith that just came naturally. I looked for opportunities to do it. I looked for people to talk to. It just sort of bubbled out of conversations. Is that how it is for you? Or have things changed? Is the honeymoon over? Have you left your first love?
Signs You've Left Your First Love
You know you still pray when you think of it. Oh you will say grace over a meal. Sometimes you forget. But God understands after all. You are so busy. So many responsibilities. And Bible study. Yeah you still read the Bible. Sporadically at best though. Now you don't carry the Bible with you anymore. You used to do that. But you don't want to be perceived as a fanatic. Or freak someone out. If you have a Bible in your classroom. Or at your workplace. In fact when you have taken your Bible. You may even have someone say, "Would you please put that away?" And not have it on public display. We have actually gotten a few complaints. So you are kind of low key about that.
As far as sharing your faith goes. Well you used to do that. But you were a lot more zealous in those days. Now you are more laid back. You believe in lifestyle evangelism. You feel, you know if I just live a good life. And if I am a good husband or a good wife. Or a hard worker. And I tell the truth. That will be an example. And people may come to me and occasionally ask me about my beliefs. And so forth. And so things have changed a little bit.
What has happened to you? I think the same thing that happened to the church of Ephesus. You are beginning to leave your first love.
Now look at how aware Jesus was and is. What is happening in the church. Verse 1. "These things saith he that holds the seven stars in his right hand. And walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands." So here is Jesus walking through his church. Here is Jesus folks in this church right now. With us. And he is a part of it.
You know the church has a lot of critics. But no equals. If you want to encounter Jesus you need to be a part of the church. And I want you to notice how the Lord says, "I know." I know what is happening. Jesus is always aware of what is going on in the lives of his people. And in the church.
Commendations for the Church of Ephesus
Now of course the church of Ephesus was an actual church there. And this was pastored originally by the apostle Paul. Remember Paul went to Ephesus and preached the gospel. A riot broke out. A common occurrence whenever Paul preached. And they worshiped this goddess called Diana. And so because the people made a lot of money selling images of Diana they just freaked out. And it was a big deal.
But Paul established a congregation in this city known for its pagan idolatry. And so this was an actual church pastored initially by Paul. Later pastored by the apostle John. Can you imagine having the apostle Paul as your pastor? Or John for that matter?
And so these believers were in this church. And Jesus starts off with words of commendation. And then he has some words of correction. By the way that is a great way to talk to someone if you have something to confront them over. Try to find something nice to say before you start in with a critique. You know you might say, hey you know what? There is a lot of things I really appreciate about you. And I know you work very hard. And I know that you take this job very seriously and want to do the best. But you know there are a couple of issues I want to bring to your attention.
Rather than just saying, hey man here is what is wrong. You say, well what if they are not doing anything right? Then just kind of make up something. You know you are a human being. And the sky is blue. Okay so. But Jesus starts off commending them for many things they were doing right.
For starters the church of Ephesus was a very active church. Verse 2, "I know your works, your labor, and your patience." This word for work here could be translated, you work to the point of exhaustion. I mean these guys weren't just workers, they were hard workers. They gave their best to the Lord. I so appreciate that.
And you know there is a lot of people in this church that work very hard. And I want to commend you for that. Just as Christ commends this church for it. Yeah you have some things to say later. But here he is saying, man I appreciate your hard work.
And we have so many people here that work tirelessly behind the scenes. And I have not been able to thank many of you. You know right now as we are here worshiping we have people that are serving voluntarily. They are not being paid for this. They are helping us find a place to park our car. They are ministering to our children right now. They are serving as ushers helping you find a seat. When people commit their lives to Christ they are there to do follow up counseling.
Then we have our people that travel around the country and we go and rebuild homes in Haiti and New Orleans and other places. And we go to Skid Row in Los Angeles and distribute food and clothing in our own community. And then we have the teams that join us and go with us when we do crusades around the country and around the world.
And I can't tell you how many times I have had pastors come to me and say, "We love the people from your church. They are such a great example for the people in our church. They came all this way and have been out on the streets sharing the gospel in our city when we are not even doing it. What a great example you are." So I want to thank you. And commend you for that. Well done. And even if I never thank you, Jesus thanks you. And Jesus appreciates it. And Jesus is aware of it. Everything that you do.
So Jesus was saying to the church of Ephesus, Listen. I have noticed. I know. I am aware of what you are doing. If you have ever felt like what you were doing for God was not acknowledged or recognized. And others got the attention and the acclaim. And the awards. And the affirmation. Jesus is saying, I am aware. I know.
Matthew 6 he says, "When you give to the needy, Don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. So your giving may be in secret. Then your Father who sees you in secret will reward you openly." So these guys worked hard.
Number two. They were an enduring church. He says, "I know your works, your labor, and your patience." The word patience means to bear up under a load. Now what does this mean? Well it means that they were a church in Ephesus. I already told you that Ephesus was a pagan city. Known for idolatry. It was actually a tourist destination if you will. For people that wanted to worship at the Temple of Diana. One of the wonders of the ancient world.
They would come and worship all these magical, mystical gods and goddesses. Because everybody wanted to go to Ephesus and take the magical mystery tour. Right? So the fact that there was a strong church here was amazing in and of itself. It is like having a church in a city maybe renowned for its wickedness. That was Ephesus. So the fact that they were there serving the Lord. That was impressive. They were an enduring church.
Number three. They were a discerning church. He says in verse two. "You can't bear those that are evil." You know with the false doctrine around them. The New Age mysticism that we call it today. They knew what was right and they warned the people and equipped the people.
When Paul was leaving the church of Ephesus that he established. And he was speaking to the elders. He warned them and he said, "Watch out now guys. Grievous wolves are going to come in among you. Drawing disciples after themselves." And so he warned them about this. So they did a good job in keeping the wolves at bay and equipping the sheep.
And that is one of the reasons we spend so much time studying the Bible here at Harvest. So you will know what is right and wrong. So you will become a discerning believer. Far too often Christians are unbelievably naive and gullible. And that won't happen if you study the Scripture.
1 John 4 says, "Dear friends, don't believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. Test them to see if what they are saying is really from God."
The Serious Problem: Leaving Your First Love
So despite these great qualities there was a problem. A problem so subtle most people wouldn't even see it. But Jesus who walks in the midst of the church saw it and he tells them the truth. They no longer loved Him as they once did. They had left their first love.
Now please notice. He does not say you lost your first love. Sometimes I hear people say, Hey I lost my first love. You don't lose it. You leave it. If you lose something you don't know where it is. Hence it is lost. Right? I lose stuff all the time. I don't know about you. I lose stuff in my car. And I can't find it. You know. And then when I clean it thoroughly. Oh there is that burrito from two months ago. Wow. It is alive. Maybe I will name it. No.
But you know you will find little things that you have misplaced. You have lost them now with a lot of the smart phones out there. You can track their whereabouts with the iPhone and the iPad. They have a little thing you can activate when you buy it where if it is stolen or you leave it somewhere you can actually pinpoint it pretty accurately to where it is. So that is losing something. Leaving is different. If I leave something I know where it is. Hence I can come back to it. If I lose something I don't know where it is.
Jesus says to them, "You have left your first love." Or as another translation puts it, "You no longer love me as you did at first." What does this mean? Their devotion had turned to duty. They had motion but they lost the emotion. They had substituted labor for love. And work for worship. And perspiration for inspiration. These Ephesian believers had been so busy maintaining their separation and they were neglecting their adoration.
Now you might say, But Greg really? I mean is it that big of a deal to leave your first love? I mean it is not like they did something really bad like murder someone or steal or commit adultery. I know. But listen. It is a big deal because it is the breakdown here that leads to those other things later. You see? So maybe if you have this breakdown in one area of your life you might find your way going in the wrong direction.
For instance, you can be in the best shape outwardly. But if you have heart disease, Houston we have a problem. I knew a guy years ago that was really strong. And he loved to boast about his strength. He is one of those guys that would flex his arm and go, "Feel this. Feel this. Yeah!" Okay. Wow. He would say, "Feel my muscle." And I would feel his head. And he would go, "Not that here." You know. "Look at these abs man." You know. Okay. Okay. You are fit. He would get down and do push ups. You know. A very fit guy.
He would always get on my case. You need to go to the clinic. You get the big check up. Every year like I do. And get in the shape that I am in. And then suddenly one day I got the news that this guy died. Of a heart attack. So though he was in peak shape outwardly, His heart was diseased. And in the same way we can do all the right things outwardly And yet have a heart issue. And if there is a breakdown in your heart, It is going to affect every area of your life.
Notice Jesus says that you have fallen. He says, "I have this against you. You have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen." Fallen. When you start to drift from this, You are in a process of backsliding. Maybe it is a slow motion backslide. You know. But it is a backslide. No question about it.
Biblical Example: David's Drift from God
Here is a perfect example. David. The king of Israel. When we are first introduced to him, Composing beautiful worship songs to God. And many of them are recorded in the Psalms. It was David who wrote, "The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures. And leads me beside the still waters." So we read these beautiful psalms. He had a heart toward God. That is why the Bible describes him As the sweet psalmist of Israel. And the man after God's own heart.
Scene two. David facing off with a nine foot six inch Philistine named Goliath. He brings him down with a stone and a sling. And becomes the hero of Israel.
Scene three. David is a rightful king. But the paranoid king Saul doesn't want to give up his throne. And he hunts down David as though he were a wild animal. David never responds in kind. David never retaliates. David never kills Saul though he was given the opportunity. On more than one occasion. Because he believed he was the Lord's anointed.
Scene four. David finally ascends to the throne. Saul is gone. And all is right. And rules over the land. And is beloved by his people. The greatest king ever. Righteous. Worshipping the Lord. A poet. A musician. A warrior. A king. He was the whole package.
Scene five. David is on his rooftop kicking back. When his troops were in battle and he should have been leading them. He is taking a little time off. Not only from the battle but apparently from God too. And he sees a beautiful woman bathing herself. Ironically named Bathsheba. David has her brought up into his chambers. After he looks at her lustfully. Has sex with her. She gets pregnant. Instead of confessing his sin before God. David tries to cover it up. And brings her husband in from the battle. Uriah. Tells him to go sleep with his wife. Uriah doesn't do that. And so to make a long story short. David ultimately has Uriah put to death. And he marries Bathsheba thinking he had effectively covered up his sin.
How do you go from worshiping God in the wilderness to murdering a man and taking his wife? He left his first love. That is how. You see when David was in the palace. And things were going well. And the conflict had ceased. And Saul stopped chasing him. He started to kind of put it into spiritual neutral. And he was kicking back. And we don't read of him worshipping the Lord. We don't read of him singing to the Lord as he did for King Saul. And when there is that breakdown it is only a matter of time until there is going to be other problems that follow.
What Does It Mean to Truly Love God?
Have you left your first love? You say well what do you mean when you say your first love? What does it even mean to love God? Let me give you some quick take away points on what loving God is all about.
Number one. A person who loves God will want to be with God. A person who loves the Lord will long for personal communion with him. It is just like being married. When you are in love with someone you like to be with them. Listen I have been married for 38 years and I still like to hang out with my wife. That is because I love her. And I don't know if she likes to be with me so much. But I think she does. We like to be together.
And you know when you hear of a married couple spending less time together. And you hear of them taking separate vacations and so forth. You know problems are beginning to develop. So when you are walking with God you want to be with God. And the psalmist writes in Psalm 63, "My soul thirsts for you. My body longs for you. I lay awake in bed thinking of you. Meditating on you through the night."
Number two. If you love the Lord you will love the things that God loves. And we know what God loves by what He has declared in His Word. The psalmist says, "Oh how I love your Word. It is my meditation all day long." If you love God you will love the Bible. I don't just mean the Bible, the object that we hold in our hand. I mean you will love the Word of God. You will want to hear the Word of God. You will want to read the Word of God.
You will also love God's people. And you will also love lost people. Because if you love God you will love what God loves. And if you love God you will in turn hate what God hates. Psalm 97:10 says, "You that love the Lord hate evil." God hates sin. And we should do the same. Romans 12:9 says, "Abhor or despise that which is evil and cling to that which is good."
The problem is sometimes we are fascinated by evil. We are drawn to it perhaps first as an observer but later as a participator. Don't flirt with evil. Run from evil. Don't have tea with the devil. Don't even communicate with him.
Number four. If you love the Lord you will love other Christians. 1 John 3:14 says, "If you love other Christians it proves you have passed from death to life. But if a person does not love them he is still dead." If you hate another Christian you are really a murderer at heart. And you know murderers do not have eternal life within them.
So we might be in church singing a song of how much we love God. And somebody walks in that we don't like. In fact we hate them. We have a big problem. Don't tell me you love God and you hate your brother. So this is something that is very clear to us in Scripture.
Number five. If you really love Jesus you will long for His return. Paul rejoiced that in his future there was laid up for him a crown of righteousness which the Lord the righteous judge would give to him in that day and not him only but to all who love His appearing.
Quick poll. How many of you would love it if Jesus came back tonight? Raise your hand. You would be ok. How many of you are freaked out by that thing I just said? Raise your hand. Nobody. Oh no raising my hand man. See that would indicate to me you love God. That you would long for His return. That you would look forward to it. That is what it means when it says that we love Him.
And then sixth and lastly if you love the Lord you will keep His commandments. Jesus says in John 14, "He that has my commandments and keeps them, he it is that loves me. And he that loves me will be loved by my Father and I will love him and disclose myself to him."
Don't tell me you love God and then go out and just break His commandments left and right. I mean how would you feel if I walked up to you and said you know I love you. You said wow Greg thank you. I love you too. And then I slapped you across the face. Whoa. You are a little shocked I would do that as your pastor. That hurts. I don't know what came over me I say. I am so sorry for that. Can you find it in your heart to forgive me. Yeah my ears still ringing but I think so. I forgive you. Yeah man thanks. I love you. Boom. I punch you in the stomach. Oh. You can't even catch your breath. Oh man what am I doing. I am so sorry. Why did I do that. Can you forgive me. Let me get my breath first. I forgive you. Oh thanks so much. Boom. I hit you in the face and knock you off your feet.
Okay next time I say I love you you are going to duck. Because I am a psycho. Right. Nobody says they love you and treat you that way. How about when we say oh Lord I love you. Then I go out and look at pornography on the Internet. Oh Lord I love you and I hate that person over there. Oh Lord I love you and I am going to go break your commandments. Oh Lord I love you I am going to go divorce my wife for no biblical reason or my husband. Oh Lord I love you I am going to go sue my Christian friends. Oh Lord I love you and I am going to go... you know on it goes. Go steal a Bible from the bookstore.
Don't tell me you love God. You don't love God. Shut up. You don't love Him. I will tell you why. Because if you love Him you will keep His commandments. And if you don't keep His commandments, don't say you love Him. You see? So these are practical ways to see what love really is and how it works.
How to Return to Your First Love: The Three R's
So, okay, let's say we will be honest enough to say, Yeah, you know what? I have left my first love. Or I am leaving my first love. Is there any hope for me? Absolutely. Here is the good news now. Jesus gives the three R's of returning to your first love. Remember from where you have fallen. Repent. And do the first works quickly, He says. Or sum it up this way. R1, remember. R2, repent. R3, repeat. Do the first works quickly.
So let's start with the first one. Remember. Remember from where you have fallen. So think back for a moment. Was there a time when you were closer to God than you are today? Yes? Well remember that. It is something to mark. Was it a year ago? Was it six months ago? Then remember that.
Then repent. Get back to where you were before. As St. Paul says, get back to where you once belonged. That is St. Paul McCartney. Obscure Beatle reference there. Yeah, so listen. Get back to those things you were doing before. Repent and sin no more.
Heard a story about a guy who was hired to paint a church. And he looked at it and thought, well that is a pretty big church. And you know if I thin the paint I think I could make more profit. So he took his paint and filled it with a bunch of turpentine and thinned it way down. And he was almost done. He was just completing it. He was up on this steeple putting the final brush marks on there. Almost done. On his scaffolding. And suddenly it got really cloudy. And a bolt of lightning struck him. And his scaffolding came half undone. He is hanging on. Oh! And he heard a voice from heaven saying, "Repent and sin no more." I know. It is a bad joke. So repent and sin no more.
One last principle to returning to your first love. Repeat. Remember. Repent. Which means to change your direction. And repeat. Let's go back to that marriage analogy for a moment. Let's just say you are having problems in your marriage. Okay. So what did you used to do? Well you know we used to do a lot of things together. We spent time together. Okay. Why don't you do that again?
You know when I saw my wife I would tell her she was beautiful. Have you done that lately? No. Why don't you start telling her that again? You know I would affirm my husband. I would tell him how much I appreciate him. We would, you know, put the needs of each other above our own. I would sit around, the guy might say, and think of ways to make her happy. And she might say, I would think of ways to please him. Why don't you go back and do those things again?
Yeah, but we don't feel it, okay? Who cares if you feel it? Just do it. Do romantic things and the romance will return. But don't wait for the emotion, because emotions come and go.
So let's bring this back to our relationship with God. Do the first works quickly. What did you used to do again? Well you know every morning I would get up and I would read the Bible first thing. Yeah, do that again. What else did you do? Well I would fill my day with the Word of God. And I would play praise and worship music everywhere I went. Okay, do that too.
What else did you do? Well I went to lots of services. I went to Sunday. But then I went to Wednesday and Thursday. And men study and women study. And I even went to home Bible study. Yeah, why don't you do that kind of stuff again too? What else did you do? Well I would actually look for opportunities to share my faith. I would actually initiate conversations with people that weren't Christians. Do that again.
You watch what will happen. You do that for one week. Go back and do the things you used to do. And you watch how that flame will be rekindled. And how it will grow. And it will burn like it once did. Repent and do the first works quickly.
The Warning: Don't Lose Your Light
Listen. It comes down to this. If you love God with all of your heart and with all of your soul and with all of your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself, everything else will fall into place. It was Augustine that said, "Love God and do as you will." Now that is not a license to sin. That is just a guy that gets it. Love God and do as you will. In other words, if I really love God, and we have already defined what that means, keeping His commandments, loving His people, loving what is right, hating what is evil, etc. If I really love God, in the biblical sense of that, I can do whatever I want. Anything I want. And guess what? I want to do the right thing.
Now you might say, Well this is an interesting message. But you know what? I don't really care about what you are saying. And I am not going to make any changes in my life. Okay. Well here is a warning from Jesus to you. Pay attention. "I will come to you quickly, and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent."
Now in Revelation the lampstand, as I said, is a symbol of the church. This is a reminder that no single church has a guarantee that it will continue on indefinitely. Listen. The church will always march on. Jesus said the gates of hell will not prevail against it. No one is ever going to stop the church, try as they may. But individual congregations may have a lifespan.
I have seen churches that were once filled with people hungry for the Word of God that now sit empty. Cavernous buildings. I remember I was in New York City a while back and I was driving along and I saw a church building that had been turned into a nightclub. That is a place where God used to be worshipped and now it is a place where other things are worshipped. How sad.
So yeah, you know what, if a church neglects God's Word, if a church stops loving Him as they loved Him at first and they begin to compromise, yeah, that church can come to a point where it is no longer a light in the community. It is no longer impacting lives of people. It is no longer what it once was. In some cases the church split and they disappear all together and the building is sold to someone else. But God always raises up another church and another church and He always will.
But here is the thing. We don't want to lose our place. We don't want to lose that light we have. But if you lose your love it is only a matter of time until you lose your light. And that is personal too. You know, you can be a Christian and be an ineffective one because of your compromise, because of your sin, which is a result of leaving your first love. You are no longer the radiant light you once were.
Here is what Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount. "You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it useful again? No. You throw it out and you walk all over it as worthless. You are the light of the world glowing on a mountain for all to see. Don't hide your light under a basket. Instead put it on a stand and let it shine for all."
What good is unsalty salt? No good at all. What good is an uncarbonated Coke? Not good. Or a decaf coffee. Why? I went to Starbucks a while back with my friend Marty Getz. Your friend too. And Marty ordered a low fat decaf latte. I turned to him and said, Why? Why don't you just order an empty cup? And pretend to be drinking a latte. Low fat? All the fun is gone. Decaf? All the buzz is gone. I think there are some uncarbonated Christians out there. Or some decaf disciples.
Have you lost your light? Have you blown your testimony because you have lost your first love? And you have turned to sin. Maybe not radical sin at first. But slowly and surely the erosion took place. You might pride yourself on the fact, Hey Greg, I am still in the church aren't I? Yeah. You are. But as we progress in the churches of Revelation and get to Laodicea, Jesus is on the outside getting in.
Invitation to Come to Christ or Return to Him
You know one of the oft quoted verses to non-believers is Jesus saying, "Behold I stand at the door and knock. And if you will hear my voice and open the door, I will come in." That was written contextually to the church of Laodicea. Effectively a church of non-believers. But they were in the church so to speak. So we can be in the church and pride ourselves in that fact. But yet we can be a prodigal.
You know Jesus told the story of the prodigal sons. Plural. You say, Well no there is only one prodigal. I think there is two. There is a younger brother and the older brother. The younger brother went to a far country. Dragged the family name through the mud. Lived in overt sin. And he was welcomed home. But the older brother was ticked off when Dad welcomed the young one home. And threw a party for him. And the older brother said, "Father, Haven't I served you all these years? And done all these things for you?" And the father is saying, "Son relax. I love you. All that I have is yours. But come on. Get a grip here." This loose paraphrase. "Your brother who was dead is alive again. He was lost. He is found. Rejoice with me. What is wrong with you?" See he was a prodigal too. He just never left the home. He was distant from his father. And out of harmony with his father. Just as the younger brother was. Just in a different way.
So some people leave and they go out and turn to open sin. And sometimes we stay in the church. And we work hard. And we do this. And we do that. And we pride ourselves on the fact. But have we left our first love? Do we need to come back to it?
And maybe there are some of you that need to come to Jesus for the first time. You have not believed in him yet. You have not asked him to forgive you of your sin. We have been talking about love. There is no greater example of love in all of the world than the love that God showed for us in sending his son to die on the cross in our place. And there is no greater demonstration of love than the love of Jesus where he laid his life down for us. He said greater love has no man than this, than he lay his life down for his friends.
And he did that. He laid his body down on a cross. And they pounded spikes into his hands and his feet. And pressed a crown of thorns on his forehead. And ripped open his back with a whip. And there he died out of love for us. So we could come into this relationship with God.
So there might be some of you that have never asked Jesus to come into your life. You don't know with certainty that your sin is forgiven. And that you are ready for the Lord's return. Maybe when I said a few moments ago, how many of you want Jesus to come back? You didn't raise your hand because you are thinking, man I don't know if I would even be ready. It kind of freaks me out. Well then get ready.
You have a choice before you. Get right or get left. Get right with God. Or you will be left behind. And I am going to give you an opportunity to get right with God. Or an opportunity if you have left your first love to come back to it. And more importantly to Him again.
So if you need to do that, here is an opportunity as we close in prayer. Let's all bow our heads. Father, thank you for your word to us today. Lord Jesus, thank you for your message to the church. And now I pray that you will speak to everybody listening and watching. Help them to see their need for you. And help them to get right with you now, we would ask.
Now when our heads are bowed, and our eyes are closed, and we are praying together. How many of you would say today, Greg, I am not sure if I am a Christian. I am not certain that Christ is living in me. I don't have the confidence that I would go to heaven when I die. And I don't know if I am ready for the Lord's return, but I want to be. I want Jesus to come into my life. I want Him to forgive me of my sin. I want my guilt taken away. I want to be ready for His return. I want to go to heaven.
If that is your desire, if you want Jesus Christ to come into your life right now, and forgive you of your sin, would you lift your hand up wherever you are sitting? And I will pray for you. God bless you. Just lift your hand up if you would. Wherever you are sitting. God bless you. You want God's forgiveness. You want Christ to come into your life. Lift your hand up. God bless you. Anybody else? God bless you. And you. God bless you.
While our heads are still bowed, maybe some of you would say, you know what, Greg, I have left my first love. And really, what you are really saying is you are in a process of backsliding. You have fallen, as Jesus said. But you would say, I want to come back to Him again. I want to return to the Lord, as Scripture says. Pray for me. If you want to come back to Jesus today, lift your hand up. Let me pray for you right now. God bless you. God bless all of you.
Father, I thank you that you have reached one of these. And I ask you to bless every one of them now, as they follow you. For we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.
Listen, those whom Jesus calls, He calls openly and publicly. And we are going to do the same right now. In a moment our worship group is going to lead us in a song of invitation. And I am going to ask if you would raise your hand with me during that last moment of prayer, saying that you want Jesus Christ to come into your life, or saying you want to come back to the Lord because you have fallen away, I am going to ask that when the song begins you would get up out of your seat, walk down these aisles, stand up here in the front. And when you all get here I will lead you in a prayer.
If you are outside in the amphitheater here at Harvest Riverside, I want you to come around to the back of the sanctuary and join us here. Or in the side doors that will open up. Are you watching on video? You go to the front where the screen is. Just go to the front where the screen is.
Now why do I ask you to come publicly like this? Because Jesus said, if you will acknowledge me before people I will acknowledge you before my Father and the angels in heaven. But if you deny me before people I will deny you before the Father and the angels. So this is a way for you to acknowledge Him before people.
So, if you want your sin forgiven, you want Christ to come into your life, you want to go to heaven when you die, you want to be ready for the Lord's return, or you've fallen away from Him and you want to come back to Him, right now, get up out of your seat, come on down to the front, and I'll lead you in prayer when you get here. Get up and start coming right now. Up in the balcony, come on down the stairs. Outside, come inside. There at Harvest Orange, Crest Orange County, go to the front where the video screen is. Come on up to the front, right now. Make your public stand for Jesus Christ.