We have all heard John 3:16, but have we truly stopped and meditated on it for awhile? Have we stopped to read it slowly instead of just rambling it off the top of our heads? To think exactly what Jesus was saying, after all He was talking about himself.
John 3:16-18
“16For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.” – NIV
John 3:16-18
“This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it.” – MSG
You see God loved us with an agape’ love. A love so strong, a love so deep, a love that is far above any kind of love that we can think or imagine, a love which allowed His Son, Jesus Christ, to come to this sin sick world and live here for 33 years and die for you and for me so we may live. He died for our sins. He died for our transgressions. He died so we didn’t have to. Now that is love. That is crazy love.
I am reading a book called “Crazy Love” and in the first few chapters the author is giving a description of who God is. Sometimes we forget who God is. Sometimes we as Christians forget what He has done for us. We kind of get so wrapped up in life, so wrapped up in our own stuff that we forget about God.
We forget that the reason we are here is to share this same type of love that He has showed us.
Matthew 5:13a-14a;
“13You are the salt of the earth. 14You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.” - NIV
We are to shine for Jesus everyday of our lives. Until the day we leave this planet we are to keep on shining. When we forget this purpose, we forget the whole reason why we are here. We are not here so that we just get saved. We are not here to say, “It is us four and no more”. We are here to show this world that God is real. That Jesus is real. That God does still love this world and He is still trying to save it from destruction to this day.
Do You Really Love God?
Do you really love God? That seems like a crazy question to ask, but it is a question we must ask ourselves. Do we really love God? Some may be quick to say, “Well duh…I do love God. What Christian doesn’t right?” Some may just give a simple, “Of course I do”.In the book Revelation we find 7 letters to 7 different churches each with a certain purpose. Some people do not like or want to read Revelations for they are afraid of the end of the world and do not want to read about it. The fact is it is a part of God’s Word and must be studied as well as the Old Testament.
Revelation 1:3
“3Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.” – NIV
I believe the time is near. Soon Christ is going to return for His church and we as a church of today can learn a lot from the church of yesterday, so we do not fall into the same mistakes, if we haven’t already. If we have fallen into them then we can learn how to recognize it and learn from it and move on.
Revelation 2 we find a letter to the church in Ephesus. In this letter, Jesus is basically asking them “Do you really love God.”
Revelation 2:1-4
“ 1To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands: 2I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. 3You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. 4Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love.” – NIV
Here in Revelations we see Jesus speaking to this church. At first glance within the first couple verses this looks like a healthy church. A church that is vibrant and growing and doing the work of the Lord. Jesus says, “I know your deeds, hard work, and perseverance”. Jesus sees all they are doing for the Kingdom. They are calling those out who are in sin. They have been studying the Word of God therefore not allowing false doctrine into the church. They knew the Word. In verse 3 He commends the church for their endurance, for their patience, and for their labor of love. There is much to be said for a church like this. As we get closer to the end of the age, I am noticing a trend- people are giving up! Just last night I was talking to someone who has seemed to give up on God. God isn’t moving in their situation so they are questioning God and questioning His Word. This race is not to the swift-but to the one who endures. This Christian race that we are running is not a sprint-it is a marathon. They have endured hardships for Christ name and not given up when the going gets tough. They applied Hebrews 12:
Hebrews 12:1
“ 1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” – NIV
Sounds like a great, growing, moving Church. Something to be a part of. But there was an issue in the church that we can learn from today. Jesus commended them for all the great things they were doing, but there was a problem.
Revelation 2:4
“4Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love.” – NIV
He says even though you have been growing and preaching the truth, even though you have been doing the work of the ministry, this I have against you, you have forsaken your first love. Jesus is telling the church of Ephesus they had deserted Him. They had left Him. They got so caught up in the ministry that they forgot about Jesus. They had forgotten the main purpose of why it was what they were doing.
So many churches and Christians today forget about the cross. They have left their first love. This word “first” used here in verse 4 means: first in time or place, first in rank. Some Christians today have stopped putting Jesus first in their lives. Their priorities are all mixed up. Jesus Christ should be the first and foremost in our hearts and if He is in our hearts then He will be in our lives. He lovingly deserves our total and complete obedience. He is to be above our families, our friends, everything that we hold dear in our lives, He is to be the dearest.
Galatians 2:20
“20I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” – NIV
It is living our lives solely for God. Some say they live their lives for their children or spouse or some other close family, but this is not the correct order in which we are to live. If you put any other before God you have lost sight of your first love.
Matthew 6:24
“24No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.” – NIV
Romans 6:16
“16Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?” - NIV
Whoever is first in your life that is who you are going to please the most. They are the ones you will prioritize your time to and your life to. You will revolve around whatever it may be. Christ is to be our first love. He is to get our loyalty first. Why, because He first loved us, because He died, because God so loved the world, that is why.
When Christ is in our first priority the rest of our lives will line up. The “stuff” we do does not matter unless Christ is first. God cares more about our relationship with Him than the ministry that He has called us to. If we are not careful we can get so caught up in doing things for the church, like Ephesus, that we develop the “Martha Spirit” and lose sight of what really is important…Jesus.
Luke 6:43-49
“43No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. 44Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. 45The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.
46"Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say? 47I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. 48He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. 49But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.” – NIV
The main point of this passage is those who come to Jesus. Those who come to Christ day after day, meaning those who have a personal relationship with Christ outside of the church, are the ones who truly love Him, who put Him first in everything. Those are the ones who build on a solid foundation. Those who put Him first will never lose sight of Him. We cannot follow Jesus with our cross if He is not in front of us.
How Do We Regain Sight?
Revelation 2:5a“5Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.” – NIV
How can we fix this problem of losing our first love, how can we find Him again? Simple. Remember where He found you. Go back to where you were the first time you met Him. Everyone met Jesus at the same place. The cross. I love the song Sweetly Broken. It helps us to remember where we came from and what Jesus did for us.
Sweetly Broken – Jeremy Riddle
To the cross I look, to the cross I cling
Of it's suffering I do drink
Of it's work I do sing
For on it my Savior both bruised and crushed
Showed that God is love
And God is just
Chorus:
At the cross You beckon me
You draw me gently to my knees, and I am
Lost for words, so lost in love,
I’m sweetly broken, wholly surrendered
What a priceless gift, undeserved life
Have I been given
Through Christ crucified
You’ve called me out of death
You’ve called me into life
And I was under Your wrath
Now through the cross I’m reconciled
Chorus:
In awe of the cross I must confess
How wondrous Your redeeming love and
How great is Your faithfulness
It is at the cross where we found Christ, it was in an offering of repentance where we found our first love and it is back to the cross where we will find Him once again! He has not left. He is still there, waiting for us to come back home, back to life, back to joy, back to peace, back to revival!
John 14:23
“23If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” – NIV
Luke 9:23-27
“23Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. 25What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? 26If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. 27I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.” – NIV
Do you really love God today?
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