This morning's message is entitled Be Loved, be loving. Be loved and be loving. In preparation for this message, I, I thought back to the very first time that Samantha and I, my wife now of 19 years, got together and I think about the early days. Any married people in the room, think back to the early times when they were dating. And we go through and the and the feelings you had and the emotions and the and the length you went to try to impress the other person and and just the lovey doveyness of it all um and so I went back, we actually have a box in our garage of just like uh fun old memories and so uh I hope it's OK, babe, she's home sick right now, but I pulled out some cards you wrote me and I'm gonna share them with everybody. So here we go. Um, if you you guys should get some pictures here. There's, uh, Samantha and I, early dating days, uh, some college basketball timeline, and, uh, I'm going through and a few pounds ago for me, um, not her, for, for me. And, uh, so I wanna share one little card too so we should write each other notes, uh, during college, and we would pass them to each other, kind of like in between classes kind of thing. And this, uh, first one I wanna share with you was, it was finals week and she brought me like a plate of cookies and a card. I was like, I think that's when I knew she was the one. And uh and then she wrote these words, she says, hey, honey. Here's a little treat to cheer you up, uh, cheer up your day. I love you. I'm proud of you. I know we've both been really busy lately and I tend to get stressed so easily. I just want you to know that I'm grateful for you and appreciate you. I can't wait for Christmas break. I love you with all my heart, praying for you. Love your girl. Oh, that's good, that's good. Uh, one more, one more card here is, uh, we were engaged to be married and that summer before our wedding, she actually did a six week mission trip to Uganda, so she was gone for over a month working in orphanages in Uganda, yep, she's awesome. And uh and so she wrote me a card on my birthday uh from Uganda and so there's a card there and so she wrote these words and there's one part that kind of cracked me up and you'll know what that part is in just a few moments, but she wrote these words, she says happy birthday, handsome. I I love it. That's not the funny part. Who laughed at that part? That was not the funny part. The funny part is coming. OK. Happy birthday, handsome, and she meant it. I love you. I can't believe we will be married in 5 short months. I can't wait to spend forever with you. While I was in Africa for a month, I missed you more than life itself. It only made me love my love for you stronger. There's not a doubt in my mind that we are meant for each other. I hope you have a great birthday. You're 22. That's old. That's the funny part, OK. Before you know it, we'll be old and gray, wondering where all the time went. Kind of hits different now all these years later. She says, I'm silly. Why do you date me? Well, it's because you love me and you want to hug me and you wanna marry me, and now you're going to kiss me. Hey, what are you waiting for? Love Sam. The early days of relationships are the best, right? Now we are, here we are, uh, married, 3 kids. This December is gonna be 19 years and I can genuinely say I'm more in love today, uh, than it was when we first got together. But today we're gonna be talking all about your first love. Your first love. If you're taking notes, I want you to write this down, is that a church that leaves their love will lose their light. A church that leaves their love will lose their light. See, that is the theme of a message written in Revelation chapter 2 to the church in Ephesus. Now before we jump into this passage, we are studying as an ovary, we're studying the seven churches found in Revelation. And so who exactly are the seven churches? Well, the book of Revelation was written by the apostle John, the disciple whom Jesus loved. 27 actual churches, and so you can actually see here a map of those churches there in Asia Minor. And the letter of revelation was written to specific churches, but then circulated around that area. And so more than just to satisfy the curiosity of the future, it was written to give encouragements. To churches and the persecution they were facing in that present day. And so it was a letter written to them, but it was also written for us. And so these letters that we're studying this summer, set up the rest of the prophecy that's found in Revelation that describes the events and the activities that are to come. And there are over 500 images in or described in the book of Revelation, and it's the revelation of Jesus Christ, and many of them are connected to the prophecies found in Old Testament books like uh descriptions found in Psalms, descriptions found in Ezekiel, and in Daniel, and then it ultimately tells about the victory found in Jesus Christ. Now it's Much debated about when and where and how and exactly what those things mean and so what we want to do is rather than argue those different things, which we can have those discussions online offline if you want, happy to have those but for right now we want to study these seven churches that are the literal churches, the physical locations, and the people that were written for them and to them that then we can actually apply it for us today. Because as we study the context and the issues they went through, you're gonna see that a lot of their issues are still our issues today, and we find ourselves still in the same place waiting for the return of Jesus Christ. And so what does it look like to, what does it look like here to persevere, to live with courage while we await the return of Jesus? Now, There, there are some facts about these letters. They were addressed to specific churches but then sent around or circulated around the area and so we can still find the application for us. 5 of the seven letters share praise, so Sardis and Leo Dela didn't receive praise. 5 of the letters share problems. Uh, he does John doesn't write about problems in Smyrna or Philadelphia. But all the letters call for a return to God. All of them called to this idea of whoever has ears, let them hear. And every letter begins with a picture of Jesus and then ends with a promise for those who overcome. So it starts with a picture of who Jesus is and it ends with a promise of what's to come. With the challenge or call to remain faithful in the present today and right now. Now who exactly was the church in Ephesus? It's seen as a capital province there and now modern day, uh, Turkey on the western coast. It's really on the convergence of where there were some travel routes on the north, the east and the south. It's home to the Greek goddess temple for Artemis. The Roman name for that was Diana, who was seen as the goddess of fertility. So this was a heavily populated city. In fact, at that time they think there's about 250,000 people in and around Ephesus, making it the third largest city in the ancient world behind Rome and Alexandria. And so this diverse trade city group where a lot of times, um. Roman dignitaries and armies who are traveling through Asia Minor would harbor or start or finish their journey there in Ephesus, and one of the Roman roads that's most well known, uh, from Ephesus to the harbor was actually named the Arcadian Way. So it was 70 ft wide. There's columns all along it. It's majestic. You can still visit many of these archaeological sites that were made during the time of this this letter being written, but you can still walk this, this street and walk these paths today. And so here is this church. That is established. It was actually started by Paul. It's a pretty good lineage, right? To be started by Paul. You also have Aquila and Priscilla. Then then you have Timothy in there who's leading the church at Ephesus as a young pastor, and then studies say that John most likely spent time in Ephesus as well. And so if your pastor lineage is Paul and Timothy and John, that's a pretty strong heritage. But now roughly it's about 9596 AD we're about 60 years removed from the resurrection of Jesus. We're 25 years removed from the temple being destroyed in Jerusalem, and they're being heavily persecuted by the Roman government and the surrounding people in a diverse pagan culture and they're trying to hang on. So that's the context that we are in. And John, again, who had pastored there, most likely writing to leaders that either he put in place or he knew back when he was leading in Ephesus, and he writes these words here beginning in Revelation chapter 2, verse 1. To the angel of the church in Ephesus, right? The words of him who holds the 7 stars in his right hand, who walks among the 7 golden lampstands. So there's that picture of Jesus. Every letter has a has a part of the description found in Revelation chapter 1, which we started last week. So here is this picture of the golden lampstands, which represents the seven churches that he's writing to. So Jesus is actively leading, walking amongst and working through these churches. Verse 2. I know your works, your toil, your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but I tested those who call themselves apostles and are not and found them to be false. I know you are enduring patiently in bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary. See, if you just read those two verses, they're doing a lot of things well, right? But then in verse 4, it says, but I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. So you look at the heritage, the history of this church, it's an influential church, it's a large city. They were doing a lot of things well. They're described as committed, they're, they're careful, they're courageous, they're consistent. They're confronting false teachers and doctrine. So they worked hard. They were enduring. They were patient. They were faithful. It's pretty good, right? Except they were missing something. What were they missing? Well, it says there in verse 4 that they abandoned the love you had at first. Abandon the love you had at first. What does that mean? This might be hard to believe, but you know, you can actually attend church and still be a jerk. You can say prayers and still be prideful. You can help somebody in need. And still have lust in your heart. Right? You can give of your money. And and go lie on your taxes. Yeah See, religion isn't just simply a list of do's and don'ts, that there's something deeper there with the relationship with God. So what does it mean to abandon your first love? Typically, there's two thoughts. That come into play, and then I actually want to offer a third one that connects the two. The first interpretation of this is that uh people think that the Ephesians abandoned their love for Jesus, which makes sense, right? They abandoned the love for Jesus, like, you gotta love God. You can do things without love. Right? How many marriages are filled with people who are going through the motions and activities but without love as a motive? How many friendships are seem more transactional than they are transformational, right? You need love. So there's a valid interpretation there. But there's another group of people who actually say, well, when you read those verse 2 and verse 3, it says that they were doing a lot of things actually for God. So maybe they weren't missing their love for God, maybe they weren't loving each other, right? They were doing all of these things, fighting for truth, but then also fighting each other. It's also a valid interpretation. You see, I think there's a 3rd thought. That actually connects the two. That makes them both valid. And here's, here's the thought. I think The church in Ephesus stopped recognizing first that they were loved by God. So it wasn't just them loving God, it wasn't just them loving others. They forgot that Jesus loved them. See the word there in the original language is is prota agape. Think protest or we get prototype. And Agape, as we learned from our previous series, is really defined as this unconditional self-giving sacrificial action to transform relationships for the better. Well, who is the ultimate picture of agape love? It's Jesus. And we learned in 1 Corinthians 13, the personification of love is the description and the character and the heart of Jesus Christ Himself. And so when you put those words together, the protos agape, whether you think it means first, like it came first, or you think first, like in rank, like it's in the highest authority, or you think first as in the most. No matter how you translate first and the meaning of first love. The understanding of that is Jesus. Does that make sense? That the first love is Jesus, that the highest love is Jesus, and the foremost preeminent love of God comes from Jesus Christ Himself when he gave up his life on the cross as penalty and payment for your sins and for mine. And I think the Christians in Ephesus forgot that. See, when you understand just how much Jesus loves you, it changes everything. For those who are believers in the room, can you remember the first time you got a glimpse of grace? The first time. That you understood that God loves you for who you are, you don't have to earn it? The first time you felt and experienced true forgiveness? Or maybe you were going through the hardest time in your life and you were at rock bottom. Broken, betrayed. Isolated and alone, and you realize that while Christ is all you had. Christ is all you need. One of the most famous verses in the Bible about grace, Ephesians 2:8. For you were saved by grace through faith. Right. Where is that? It was Ephesians. It was written to the church in Ephesus. That's why Paul can write things like in Ephesians 4:1. Therefore, I urge you as a prisoner of the Lord, walk in the calling to which you've been called. Two different words for calling, Clysis and Caleo, this idea of of being sent out or like a divine invitation and the other one to bear the name of God. In other words, are you living? Are you walking in a manner that receives the divine invitation to bear the name of God? Like you've ever just been in a dark hole. And you step into the light of Christ's love for the first time and that weight lifted off your shoulders, it's incredible. When you talk to people who read the Bible. And the words jump off the page. And and it's and it's raw and it's real. And it doesn't come out right, but it's awesome, right? I remember talking with somebody named Jeremy back in the day. And he was telling me, and he, and he wasn't a believer at the time and he goes, yeah, I opened the Bible one time and I started reading it and I was like, what the hell? I was like, exactly. Let me tell you about this like, oh, they go through and like you start through like, wait, I, I can be forgiven. John 1:12 says those that believe in his name can bear the right to become children of God. That my past doesn't define me. That my mistakes and failures and shame don't determine my eternal destiny. That my salvation is not based on what I do, but based on what Jesus did. Then in my struggles and issues and worries and tears, and failures, Christ came down and rescued me. Like when you think through that, and you even just get the tiniest glimpse of the fact that Jesus loved you, it changes everything, and you spend the rest of your life trying to love him with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and then to love people the way that he loved you. You see how that thought can influence the other two? Jesus always connected the two, by the way. For example, Mark chapter 12, starting in verse 28, it says, and one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another. And seeing that he answered them well, he asked them, he's referring to Jesus, which commandment is the most important of all? It's like, Jesus, there's all these commandments in the Old Testament. What's the most important one? And he was trying to trap him and Jesus answered, the most important is, here, O Israel, the Lord our God is one. So he's referencing something called the shama found in Deuteronomy chapter 6, but then he's, he's gonna throw people because he had what's the most important and he's gonna share two things. Says here, and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, with all your strength, right it's your identity with all that you are. And the second is this, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these. Love God, love people, they're connected. It's, it's both. It's both. It's like someone asking you, which is more important, breathing in or breathing out? I'm really good at breathing in. Other people are like, I'm really good at breathing out. But you need both. When you receive the love of Christ in your life, it allows you to love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and your identity with who you are and then to turn around and love people the way that Jesus loved you. And we forget that, don't we? For those in long term relationships, think about the early days, the early struggles. But where you had love and like enough to split a Taco Bell value taco. Like, do you know what I mean? Like when you go through and it's, it's like, you're like, it was awesome. Right. But it's so easy because life starts lifeing, right? And you pretty soon you got a to do list and bills to pay, and cars to fix and grocery stores to go to and laundry to wash and then throw on the chair next to your bed and leave there until your wife says, are you gonna ever fold that? I said, yes, I did. I'm going to. And then that night come back and be like, are you gonna fold? They're like, no, I said I would do it, take care of it. And then 5 days later, hypothetically speaking. Right. Right? And we start going through and then it's the kids' schedules. We're like, oh, They're going to survive. They're not toddlers. And their kids, life's gonna get easier. And all the experienced parents start giggling. OK, they're out of the house now, and now all the parents with young adults are like, hm. And you start doing this report and this email and this business meeting and this promotion, and these clothes and this thing, and you start just going through the day and you feel like the goal is just make it to the next day. And you missed the point of it all. What does it look like to come back to the first love? John, same author writes these words in 1 John 4:16. It says, so we have come to know and to believe that the love of God has for us, right? Notice how he starts with God's love for us, that God is love and know that God is agape. And whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. A few verses later, won't be on the screen. It says in verse 20 it's that if you claim to love God but then hate your brother, you're a liar. You're not breathing correctly. If you think about the heart scenario, it's almost like they had spiritual Afib. Right, atrial fibrillation, like where where the heart starts to beat out of rhythm. You can actually still function with Afib and your heart beating off rhythm. You can go through your day and work and do that, but pretty soon you start to feel the effects, you start to feel fatigue and woozy and lightheaded. I think the Christians there at the church in Ephesus, were experiencing spiritual Afib. And their heart for God was beating slightly out of rhythm. And they were doing all these things to get to the end of the day, but they were missing the love that it was all for. And by missing the fact that God loves you, it, it, it's, it really stagnates or puts a wall up between your love for him, which then translates to your lack of love for other people. And people can feel like projects, and people can just feel like one more thing, you gotta manage. But it's deeper than that. So what do you do? We pick it up in verse 5. Remember, therefore, from where you have fallen, repent and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place unless you repent. And yet this you have, you hate the works of the Nicholas. We're gonna talk about those guys in a few weeks, but. Basically someone who's living contrary to the gospel, he says, but I also hate these. So he says in verse 7, he who has an ear let him hear what the spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers, I will grant. To eat the tree of life, which is the paradise of God. So it's a nod back to the garden in Genesis, but also a preview of new heaven and new earth in Revelation 21 and 22. I don't think this is simply a rebuke. I think it's actually an invitation to rediscover. Why? Because he loves you. Just come back to your first love. I remember being in a supermarket with one with one of my young kiddos. And they just took off. And they got lost. And I'm like as a parent, um, like, oh my gosh, we gotta find a child, I'm just I'm just expecting to hear over the intercom. You know, like, well, the bad parent, please come to the front like I'm like, and I come around the corner and I find them. And, and a little toddler looks up at me. He's like, Dad, where'd you go? Like, where did I go? You just took off. I think sometimes we do that with God, don't we? We take off with God. We're like, I'm gonna go this way, I'm gonna do what I want, I'm gonna do this here. And like, God, where are you? Now, it's scary to think about the fact that he says in there, like, if you're not gonna love me and love others, I'm gonna take the light the light from that lampstand. And I don't think he's talking about salvation here because he's right to a church and the imagery of a church being the light to the world. But I think he's saying, why, why am I gonna have you represent me? I'm gonna take your light, I'm gonna put it over here with someone who's gonna love me and love others well. I'm gonna take away your influence. So more than just a rebuke, how do we rediscover? The first love. Pastor Fernando from Social Church who was with us two weeks ago, gave us a little preview of that so we're gonna build off what he already told us. They're in 1st 5 if you have 3 actions. Number one is you gotta remember, remember. After fear not remember is the most common command found in scripture to believers. Remember, It was fun pulling out the box of memories, talking with my wife, just like, oh, remember this date. Remember this meal, remember this trip. Like, and you go back to the early days, right? But it's so easy to forget. We think that church is now an activity. But it's an identity. Of a beloved child of God. Think about the author. Notice he's not described as the disciple who loved Jesus. Do you ever catch that? He doesn't define his life by saying the disciple who loves Jesus the most. He describes himself as in the letter as the disciple whom Jesus loved. That his life is defined by Christ's love for him. His life is not defined by what he does, but what Jesus did. And all these years later, at the end of his life, isolated and alone in exile on Patmos, and some final words, and some of these ending words, to believers, he's saying, remember the goodness of God. Remember your first love. The second thing he says is to repent. To be honest and humble, to repent is to change your mind, to change your direction. And you have to do that. And that's why it's so often connected with salvation, because there's no way of acknowledging God as savior without also acknowledging that you're not. You're not living your life and then asking God to come along for the ride. You are submitting and humbling yourself at the foot of the cross, saying, I am a sinner. I cannot make it on my own, that it's only by your grace I am saved, that I want to turn from my sin and turn away from it and turn towards you and pursue you with my life. You know, we're talking about a relationship with God, but there are some. Who might be thinking about their relationship, and maybe it's strained, maybe it's struggling. Is there something you need to repent from? To ask forgiveness for or to offer forgiveness for. They're a root of bitterness or pride. That needs to be weeded out. Final step Is that we have to redo the things we did at first. What did you first do when you encountered the love of Jesus? To sing, to pray, to read, to share, to serve. I can tell you this, that it's a much shorter path. To act your way into a feeling, rather than waiting for a feeling to act. And when you do that, you'll overcome. And we overcome because Jesus overcame. Those aren't my words, those are his. John 16:33 says, I've said these things to you that in me you may have peace, and in the world, you have tribulation, but take heart, I have overcome the world. And then the same writer John writes these words in 1 John chapter 5. He says, Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. By this, we know that we love the children of God. When we love God and feel really good in our hearts. Is that what it says? No. When we love God and obey his commitments. Verse 3, For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments and his commandments are not burdensome. When we are serving and helping and doing things out of the motive of God's love for us, it's not burdensome. It's not easy. But the motive and the mindset changes everything. Verse 4, for everyone who's been born of God, overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world, our faith. And who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God? What he's saying there in Ephesus, what he's saying in these passages and over and over and over again in the New Testament. Jesus overcame and because Jesus overcame when we receive his love and we respond with love, we too will overcome the world. And we do that to be light to the world. Jesus is described as the light of the world in John 8:12. But in the Gospel of Matthew chapter 5, he says these words to the disciples as you are the light of the world. A city on a hill that cannot be hidden, nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand. And gives its light to all in the house. When you love people like Jesus loved us. You are a light to a dark world. And I don't want us to leave here. Discouraged by the fact that it feels like our world is getting darker by the day. Because the darker the night gets, the brighter the light of the gospel shines, and we are called to bring and share the light of Christ with everyone around us, but we can't abandon the first love. You see, a church that leaves their love will lose their light. And we're called to be the light of the world. I wanna end this morning. With an illustration I saw recently. And it was impactful for me and so I want to share it with you and it goes like this. John chapter 4, there's a Samaritan woman at the well. The Samaritans were the most hated people group at the time. And this woman was gathering water in the middle of the day and you only do that to avoid everybody else. So you have the most rejected person of the most rejected people group getting water in the heat of the day when Jesus encounters her about her past. And he says May you give me give me a drink. And then he goes on to share with her that actually I have living water, that if you drink of this water, you will never thirst again. She doesn't quite get it at first. And then comes to understand that the living water is the salvation that comes through Christ and the and the giving of the Holy Spirit into her life and this woman gets saved and turns around and shares her light with an entire village an entire village of people gets saved because the reject of rejects gets redeemed. And start sharing living water with people around her. But see, here's the problem, our focus is not on the water but on the bucket. Here's what this looks like. So we go through our day. And we have our bucket. And it's worn, it's used, there's some dents, but we work hard. Right, we work hard. We like I got the job, I got the house. I got the 2.5 kids to the national averages, whatever it is there. Like I'm going hard, but like, you know what, I, I'm not, I'm not feeling fulfilled. So you know what, maybe, maybe, maybe I have the wrong bucket. I need a new relationship. I need a new house, I need a new job. Like this isn't working for me. This, this bucket's not working. It's the bucket's fault. I, I, I need a different bucket. So I, I need a bigger bucket. I need a bigger house. I need a better job, a higher promotion, more money, and I, and I need a, a just a, a bigger, better bucket. Pretty soon you realize I'm still feeling empty. That's not working. OK, what do we what do we do? What do we do here? Um. So we go for this bucket. And I'm gonna eat what I want, I'm gonna drink what I want. But God wants you to be happy, right? And so we start going for this bucket and then we're like, ah, but I don't feel great the next day. It's not well, you know what? This bucket's not working. This, this bucket's not working. It's not working. So now I go to this bucket. I need to play more. I need to play more, like, I need to have fun, I need to have pleasure, right? I need to buy more toys and go on more trips and post on social. So all my friends and neighbors who I don't even talk to can be jealous of my life because I play more than they play. But after I make the post and it's just me and I put my head down on the pillow is. Doesn't seem so playful. OK, OK, OK. That bucket didn't work. OK, that, that didn't work, that didn't work. Went to a smaller bucket. I'm gonna be a minimalist. And you realize, I don't need stuff, I'm gonna look great. I'm gonna get small, I'm gonna get thin, I'm gonna get shiny. I'm gonna have work done. I'm gonna move to Scottsdale. I look good. But I don't feel good. I'm having all the things the world has, but you know what, it's the wrong bucket, wrong bucket again, wrong bucket. OK. Here it is. I made it clean I'll be a good person. I'm getting up my vices. I'm gonna, I'm gonna behave. I'm gonna do good things. I'm gonna be on a charity board. I'm gonna do all these things, and I'm gonna do it and like there, I'll be fulfilled. But you walk through life in all of these buckets. And you move from bucket to bucket. And you find yourself wondering. Where did the time go? But I feel What Jesus was offering to that woman at the well is still offering to you and I today. Is this truth. It's not about the bucket you carry, but the well you drink from. You don't need a better bucket. You need a deeper well. See Jesus offering. Living water. The Holy Spirit that comes into your life through Christ and there's not magic in these specific waters. But it's a representation of who Christ is in your life to understand that it's not about the bucket. But it's about the well. We had some baptisms first hour. And uh it's really, it was really special. There was a lady named Hannah. And her fiance Luke were there was up beside her, and their wedding is this Saturday, so we can pray for Luke and Hannah. And then, and Hannah when talking with Holly, uh, our children's director who was talking to her through baptism what it means, Hannah shared these words and said, you know, before I make my commitment to my husband, I wanna make my commitment to Christ. It's time to return to your first love. It's time to return. To the fact that Jesus loves you. That he died on a cross as payment for your sins, rose again, overcame death itself so that you too can overcome. That's not about the bucket you carry, but about the well you drink from and we've got to return to the well of the power of the living God, the Holy Spirit who loves you so that we can respond by loving him. With our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and then loving people as he first loved us, will you pray with me? Dearly Father, we Will we remember what you did for us. May we remember Grace and forgiveness. It answered prayer. And miracles in our lives. That there's somebody in this room who hasn't received you 1st May they pray to receive you as Lord and Savior today. We admit that our sin separates us from you, but that by dying on the cross and rising again, God you are both Lord and Savior. We commit our lives to you and receive you into our life today. And for those that are already believers in this room, God, I pray. That we can remember your goodness. Remember what it's like, repent from the things that we've turned from and turn back to you. That all who has ears let them hear. May they respond to your love today so that we can be to become overcomers in this world and experience victory, not from the buckets we carry, but from the well we drink from. Help us to become more like you every single day. We love you Goddess in your son's name we pray. Amen.