Now I think we can tackle this matter
of Ephesus.
We've been marching round Ephesus so far.
Now we try to get inside.
I'll just read a part of the message.
The second chapter, the book of the Revelation.
These things saith he that holdeth the seven
stars in his right hand.
He that walketh in the midst of the
seven golden lampstands.
I know thy works, thy toil and patience.
But thou canst not bear evil men.
Didst try them which call themselves apostles, and
they are not.
And didst find them false.
Thou hast patience, and didst bear for my
namesake, and hast not grown weary.
But I have this against thee, that thou
didst leave thy first love.
Remember from whence thou art fallen, and repent,
do the first works.
Or else I will come to thee, and
move thy lampstand out of its place, except
thou repent.
So what we have to do, seek
the Lord's help to do, is to get
right to the heart of that message.
And find out what that thing was and
is, upon which everything talked.
For as we have seen, the continuance of
this vessel, as serving the Lord's
purpose, did not rest upon a number of
quite good and commendable things.
But it hung upon one thing, and that
is called the first love.
Thy first love.
And we are going to ask the question,
and seek in some degree to answer it.
What is first love?
May I say here, before I go on
with that, that it is not my thought
or expectation to make anything like an exhaustive
study of these messages.
Indeed I do not know whether I shall
deal with all of them.
But whatever we do, we shall seek to
get right to the heart of the message.
And find out exactly what it is, that
is that expression of Christ which is so
vital, and so full of consequence, as to
make this whole matter of continued ministry into
a crisis.
For there is no doubt about it, that
we are in the presence of crisis when
we are here with these messages.
There is a real upshot of a very
ultimate and utter character bound up with these
messages.
We want to find out what it is
that carries so much with it, and means
so much to the Church and to the
Lord.
I have said that expression of Christ.
Here I ought to spend time in again
approaching this.
But I'll do no more.
I've had a hint that I'm putting too
much in, or trying to.
But it is perfectly clear to the simplest
reader that it is that portrait of the
Lord Jesus in chapter one that is spread
over these seven messages.
You probably have noticed that something out of
that description of the Lord Jesus is used
in the introduction to every message.
There is only one slight change.
And that is to Philadelphia where instead of
who hath the keys of death and of
Hades, the change is who hath the keys
of David.
With that exception, or change, every message contains
something taken out of the description of the
Lord Jesus.
He that, and then you have something from
the full portrait and presentation of Christ.
Clearly implying that it is that which is
of Christ that is governing in every case.
All around, everywhere, every time, it's something vital
of Christ that's at issue.
That is the important thing to note.
Now come to Ephesus.
Of course Ephesus was the mother church of
Asia.
We know that to be so because it
is said by Paul's three years there in
Ephesus, all Asia heard the word, both Jew
and Greek.
And it was the mother church and the
introduction, the message to Ephesus, the Lord describes
himself as he that holdeth the seven stars
and walketh in the midst of the seven
golden lampstands.
Ephesus is inclusive of all.
Ephesus is comprehensive.
And so what is said to Ephesus is
not just said to Ephesus alone.
It's to Asia.
It is quite comprehensive, this message.
And as we are able to put our
finger upon this vital matter right at the
heart of things, I'm sure without my pointing
it out, we shall see that it is
a matter that is in no sense exclusively
local or of a particular period.
It is something that is ever the period
of the people of God.
So we return to say, what is this
thing called thy first love?
For the answer, of course, we have to
or should go back to the great letter
of Paul, which now bears the name, the
letter to the Ephesians.
We know it was a letter to more
churches than Ephesus.
That was one of the churches, perhaps the
first one, which had a name put on
it in its circulation.
We can, for our purpose, speak of it
as the letter to the Ephesians.
And if you call to mind the content
of that letter, you will remember that it
has a very great deal in it about
love.
Chapter 2, verse 4, for his great love,
wherewith he loved us.
Chapter 5, verse 2, walk in love as
Christ also loved us.
Chapter 5, verse 25, as Christ loved the
church and gave himself for it.
Chapter 3, verse 17, rooted and grounded in
love.
Chapter 3, verse 19, the breadth and the
length and the height and the depth.
The knowledge surpassing love.
It is not a long letter so far
as compass of words is concerned.
But what immense statements those are.
What a tremendous love is represented there.
Yes, Ephesus was the church which had been
given a ministry and revelation of love.
The knowledge surpassing love.
And Ephesus had responded to it.
Ephesus had responded to it, there is no
doubt about it.
Read chapters 19 and 20 of the book
of the Acts and see the response that
they made to that love.
And to the man who had brought the
knowledge of that love to them, he bade
them farewell.
They knelt down together.
He prayed and they wept much at his
departure.
It all is seen.
Divine love reciprocated.
Ephesus in a very real sense embodied love
from God and returning to God.
From Christ to Christ.
Yes, that is all very true.
But you have got to add another word
alongside of that to be able to arrive
at the meaning of this there first love.
And it is the other word which has
the largest place in that letter to the
Ephesians.
And it is the word grace.
Grace.
I will not take the time to give
you all the nine references or mentions of
grace in that letter.
But grace, grace is everywhere.
Grace is running through it all.
It is all grace.
Why was there such a response to the
love of God?
Because they recognized and were fully alive to
the fact how great grace there must be
for such people to be loved in such
a way.
This first love is no sentimental thing.
Talk about first love, a good deal of
sentiment bound up with that phrase as often
used.
No, this is not something sentimental, this is
a quality of love.
The Lord helped me to show you that
quality of this love.
The Lord loved Israel of old.
Oh, how the prophets declared that love.
How the Lord made known his love for
that people.
There is no doubt about it.
The Lord loved Israel.
But Israel all too soon lost the sense
of the infinite condescension of God to love
them.
The infinite condescension of God in choosing them
from amongst all peoples of the earth.
And all too soon Israel allowed themselves to
feel that they were something and worthy of
that love.
And they became proud and they took the
love for granted.
The sin of Israel was just that.
In the end, well, it was just that.
That.
They were the people.
Yes, they merited this.
They were worthy of this.
They were something to take account of.
They were the people.
God only loved them.
That's how it came to be.
That's how it came to be with Israel.
And for that very reason, the covenant was
broken and the Gentiles were brought in their
place.
And do you notice about the Gentiles?
When the apostle turned to the Gentiles, when
the message went to the Gentiles, you always,
you invariably have this, the most wonderful thing
that you can think of, that we should
be allowed into this.
Never was anything heard of like this.
The Gentiles, the heathen, the people whom Israel
called the dogs, brought right in, right into
the family and given all the privilege of
sons.
Most marvelous thing.
It was the tremendous appreciation of divine love.
You hear our brother's prayer tonight.
He might have known what I was going
to say.
First love?
First love.
Well, in this case, you see, it was
like this.
It was like this.
Here is a wife.
Here is a bride.
The church as the bride of Christ.
Not saying, he's lucky to have me for
a wife.
I'm quite worthy of him.
He ought to be very thankful to have
such a wife as I am.
But no.
It's the most amazing thing that he ever
looked at me at all.
That ever he should have given me a
first thought, let alone a second.
I can never explain it.
Never understand that.
I'll never be able for all eternity to
know why he thought of me, let alone
love me, and gave himself for me.
You see, that's the spirit of the church.
And that was the spirit of the Gentiles
when the Jews just took everything for granted.
It all became so commonplace with them.
All that God had given to them and
shown to them, well, there is nothing now
very wonderful about that.
It lost its lustre, its glory, its wonder,
its amazement.
It's so commonplace now.
They can do as they like with it.
Take it or leave it.
Not so with the Gentiles.
See them in the house of Cornelius.
My word, what openness of heart.
See them in Philippi.
What openness of heart.
How they just drink it in there.
See them in Thessalonica.
Paul said, you receive the word not as
the word of man, but as the word
of God.
Whenever you move outside of Israel, you've got
an intense appreciation, a tremendous wonder.
And coming back to Ephesus, come back to
Ephesus, what have you got here in Ephesus?
You have this.
Not a few of them that practiced curious
arts brought their books together and bound them
in the sight of all, and they counted
the price of them and found it fifty
thousand pieces of silver.
That's appreciation.
There's nothing commonplace there.
That's first love, dear friends.
That's first love.
The peril is even in your labor and
in your patience and in your conscientiousness and
your sincerity.
And all these works and things, the glory,
the wonder, the amazement of being saved at
all, has been lost.
And all this marvelous revelation that God has
given as to the church's election, calling, vocation,
destiny, what is called the eternal purpose.
You can hear it without a thrill.
You can have it all and it does
not stir you to the profoundest gratitude and
worship.
It's all so familiar with it.
It's lost its wonder.
That's the horror.
I say that's the peril of the church
at all times.
God has given so much.
Begin to make it or allow it to
be commonplace.
Oh, we've heard that before.
We know all about that.
You can't tell us anything that we don't
know in that matter.
We've got it all.
And we are not on our faces before
God in the presence of it, saying amazing
wonder, amazing wonder, that ever I should have
a place in that.
Consider from whence thou art fallen.
The mighty price of
their earthly things became as nothing, nothing, when
they saw the Lord Jesus.
He brought all those things of value to
men and in this world by which they
had laid so great a store.
Yes, a great price as things of this
world go.
And they burnt them in the sight of
all that rubbish.
We've seen Jesus.
And not until you've seen Jesus has everything
else become tawdry and worthless and no greater
value than to go up in smoke and
see him.
Oh, the revelation of Jesus Christ ought not
to be a teaching, a truth, an interpretation,
a book.
It ought to be a worship.
And when I saw him, I fell at
his feet as one did.
You ever seen Jesus bring you down like
that?
Have you ever seen what he has given
to you to the point of making you
say it's the most wonderful thing man could
ever think of, that I, I should be
given that, that I should have a place
in that.
Do you see how we need to be
recovered?
Don't let us blame Ephesus.
This is our constant enemy.
It's my constant enemy.
My continuous handling of these things through the
years.
Always, always dealing with these matters.
And ministering them.
My, my abiding enemy is familiarity and association
with it all as with truth.
As with truth.
To lose the wonder when it is wonderful.
And dear friends, that's your peril.
When you continuously and repeatedly hear it.
It should be as a song that has
lost its enchantment.
As a tale that is true, a familiar
story.
Yes, a wonderful story about never bowing before
God.
That is our peril.
That is first.
And now you can see that you may
have a lot of things.
Not that.
A lot of good things.
Oh, it isn't that you're all bad or
we're all bad and there's nothing good to
be said about us at all.
There is a lot of devotion.
And there's a lot of labor.
A lot, yes.
But what he is looking for is that
true heart appreciation of himself.
What he has done and what he has
given.
You move into this book and you find
that you move into a realm of worship.
Unto him that loveth us.
Loosed us from our sins in his love.
Made us.
Kingdom.
Priests unto his God.
What can you say other than to him
be the glory.
To him be the glory.
You move into chapters four and five and
that's where you are.
Church in heaven.
A worshiping church.
In true and full appreciation of the Lord.
Now that's not overloading you in matter.
But it is putting upon us a very
great responsibility.
I believe, dear friends, that this is just
the word the Lord would say to us
all at this time.
And I am quite content to leave it
there tonight.
Having conference after conference.
Conference after conference.
If you saw my office, you would see
a stack halfway up my own stature of
reports of conferences over the years.
You may have to ask with all that
has been given.
The volumes, the volumes being given through the
years.
How much worship has it produced?
How much of all that are we alive
to as to what the Lord has given?
Now please don't think that I am making
this personal.
I am only illustrating what I mean.
What we who are so privileged, not here
only.
We the church in our time who have
all this.
So privileged to have the revelation of Jesus
Christ.
All the cost to those first servants of
the Lord to give us this.
All the cost to the Lord himself that
we should have it.
Oh yes, what a price lies behind it
all.
How much do we value it?
How much do we worship in the presence
of it?
How much does it really mean to us?
How much is teaching and truth and the
Bible?
How much does it really touch our hearts?
That's the question.
And that is the meaning of first love.
First love.
Oh, the appreciation.
Whatever the Lord should have looked our way
to say nothing of just lavished upon us.
All that he's got to give.
Well, there's the message.
See?
We can understand now why it was that
Lord could not be satisfied with a number
of quite good things.
If that one thing, the essence of all
that was lost, was left behind, no wonder
he says do the first works.
Go back again.
First works, there they are.
Oh yes, there's no doubt about it that
they made a marvelous and costly, as this
world would think, response to the Lord.
I love to read that story in Acts
19 and 20 of Paul in Ephesus.
Tremendous riot where they would fain tear that
apostle's limb from limb.
And some of these Ephesians said, are not
only said but acted just for his preservation.
Don't you go out there.
You stay in here.
We come between you and them.
Would not allow him to go out to
them in their wild rage.
They wanted this man kept because for them
he was God's channel of so much.
It's all such a wonderful picture of how
they appreciated what had come to them.
Now the Lord says you've fallen from that.
You've fallen from that.
You've left that.
You haven't given up Christian work.
You haven't given up all Christian virtues.
Lots of good things about you but that's
the thing that matters.
I need not add more words to this.
You see, it's all the appreciation of the
grace of God.
The grace of God.
Where should we be but for the grace
of God?
Oh, grace had no meaning for Israel.
They didn't feel the need of it.
If they were selves of the people who
really put supreme value upon grace.
For the people who got it all.
The Lord make us people like that.
And stir our hearts and challenge us.
Recover in us this first love.