Are you close to God? Do you find yourself missing the joy you once had in Christ? This sermon examines this falling away of the Ephesians and asks some difficult questions about our own relationship with God.

The Ephesian church got so busy doing that they forgot about loving God and loving others.

Over the course of years, the church drifted away. They may have stayed on track in some areas but in other areas they fell short. The same can be said of every individual.

We must listen to the spirit, examine our hearts, and find our joy in Christ.

How’s your relationship with Christ (truthfully)?

Ephesus: Where’s the Love?

Because of a vision from God, John addresses seven specific churches to warn them and make them aware of their sin and calls them to turn back to God. Somehow, over 40+ years, five of them drifted from their first love.

Jesus wanted to specifically address each church and warn them about falling away from the truth of the Gospel.

The Lord cared, and still cares, for the churches and especially for the individuals within the churches. Each of the seven churches reflect how a church or an individual can find themselves over time, if they do not focus on the Lord or do not listen to what the spirit of God is saying to them in the scriptures.

Ephesus is the first church on the list to be warned about their sin.

Ephesus was once a church on fire. They were once spiritually sold out for Christ; but something happened. They had forsaken their first love.

“To 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: 2 I 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. 3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. 4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. 5 Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. 6 But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God” (Revelation 2:1-7, NIV).

What Jesus was confronting in the churches during John’s day, are exactly the same issues in churches and individual’s living today. Jesus is very aware of what was happening in the hearts of churches and individual’s both then and now.

We need to listen to what the spirit says.

Jesus loved each one of the churches, but He also had a warning for them and He desired each of them to:

• repent as needed, and

• follow the Lord with all their heart.

Jesus displays his love for each of them by commending the good and then calling out their weakness and sin. Jesus, by the Holy Spirit, is revealing sin in a person’s heart and he is still calling for who so ever will believe, and to repent.

No church was, or is, perfect just as no person is perfect. Yet each one has the potential to repent, remain on fire, or fall away.

The fact is, people will be people and churches will be churches. We will all make mistakes and sin at times.

The question is what we will do when we hear a warning in our hearts?

We all have a sinful nature and are prone to sin and yet Jesus loves us so much he provided a way of escape, repentance and forgiveness. If a church or an individual thinks they are OK and they do not examine or consider the direction they are headed, they may very well over time find themselves living far from the truth.

Are you sin-free today?

Sometimes we forget that we’ve sinned. Or we don’t even know we have. Consider these questions:

• Have you allowed: pride, selfishness, a thoughtless act, a glimmer of envy, or anger into your heart?

• What about forgetting to praise or thank the Lord?

• Have you not done something you said you would do?

• Ever broken the law or violated your own sense of ethics: rolled thru a stop sign, broken the speed limit, left work early but clocked out at the regular time?

• What about being disrespectful towards a parent, your spouse, some authority or a million other things that you may not consider to be sin in your eyes?

Understand in the course of a day you have sinned without even knowing it at times. Simply refusing to do well or tell another person about Jesus may be a sin if the spirit of God impressed it on your heart and you did nothing.

How to get back on track with God

The Holy Spirit searches your heart and shines a light into your heart to reveal sin, then you have a choice as to how you’ll respond. The darkness that once hid sin is now known and requires a response one way or the other; however, you must have ears to hear to what the spirit is saying.

Are you listening to the Spirit or has your affection for God grown cold or forgotten? How would you answer these questions:

• When was the last time you prayed and did not ask God anything for yourself?

• When was the last time you repented and asked God to forgive you of sin?

• When was the last time you felt God tugging at your heart?

• When was the last time you gave sacrificially?

• When was the last time you cried out to the Lord for someone to be saved?

• Do you remember the joy of knowing you are forgiven of your sins? Or are you wondering what happened to that joy; that desire to see people blessed of the Lord?

Sometimes we get so busy doing that they forget about loving God and loving others. If you ever feel dry spiritually, ask the Holy Spirit to rekindle the love of God in your heart once again.

Tell him that you love him. Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and to forgive you of any sin that comes to mind Ask the Lord to rekindle the Love for the Lord that you once had.

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