Let us restore our first love.

Revelation 2:1-7

Hallelujah! I bless you all with grace and peace in the name of the Lord. For the next seven weeks, I would like to share with you messages from Revelation chapters 2 and 3 about the seven churches, so that our church can reflect the kind of church that pleases the Lord. As we look at the spiritual condition of the believers in these seven churches, it will be an opportunity for each of us to examine our own faith. The seven churches are Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. Within these churches, we can see the spiritual state of all believers.

Today, we will focus on the church of Ephesus. Although they worked hard and endured much, they abandoned their first love. The Lord rebukes them for forsaking their first love. So today, I would like to explore three things: why the church of Ephesus abandoned their first love, what the first love is, and what lessons we can draw from this for our lives today.

1. The Ephesian believers abandoned their first love. They worked hard and patiently discerned evil, identifying and exposing false apostles. Even in difficult circumstances, they persevered and did not grow weary. On the surface, they seem to have many praiseworthy qualities. However, despite all these strengths, the Lord does not desire a church that has abandoned its first love. This teaches us that zeal or devotion without the first love amounts to nothing. As 1 Corinthians 13:2-3 says, “If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.” Therefore, no matter how passionately we pursue our faith or use the talents God has given us, if we do not have love, it amounts to nothing. It brings no benefit to us.

A mother naturally devotes herself to her children. When they are young, her love for them helps her endure any hardship. Just being with them brings her joy. She does everything she can for her children. But how does this love fade? It happens when she starts expecting something in return as her children grow. She begins to have expectations. This desire for something in return is what causes her to abandon the pure love she had at first. The same thing happens in the church. When we first experience the love of the Lord, we live our faith joyfully and unconditionally. However, as we take on responsibilities and begin serving, we start to expect results or rewards for our efforts. When the church doesn’t move according to our expectations, we begin to complain.

This is why focusing on what we do for God can be a problem. How can we, as humans, do anything for God? Jesus said in John 6:29, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” He also said in John 13:20, “Very truly I tell you, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.” Therefore, serving without abandoning our first love means believing in Jesus. It also means trusting the people He has sent. In other words, as the body of Christ, the church must trust and love one another, believing that those around us have been sent by the Lord. The same applies to families. Family members are people God has brought together. Therefore, a church and a family that trust and love one another are the kinds of communities that the Lord establishes.

God is love (1 John 4:8). Love is the essence of faith. The life of a Christian only has value when it is rooted in love. The church’s ministry must begin with God’s love, and that love must guide every action and plan within the church. The first love must be at the center of all our activities. Yet, when we start focusing on systems instead of love (Revelation 2:4), it becomes easy to abandon our first love. Abandoning the first love means forgetting that we are the ones in need of the Lord’s redemptive grace. The Lord calls us to repent and return to the deeds we did at first. Otherwise, He will remove the lampstand from its place. A church that has abandoned its first love has no reason to continue existing.

2. What is our first love? It is the redemptive love of the Lord for us. John 3:16 says, “For 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.” And Romans 5:8 states, “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” In light of this redemptive love, the Lord asks us a question. John 21:15: “Do you love Me more than these?” And we will answer, “Yes, Lord, You know that I love You.” Then the Lord responds, “Feed My lambs.”

What does this mean? In order to continue living with the first love we have for the Lord, He calls us to feed and care for His lambs. How can we understand this? A mother finds joy in seeing her child nurse and grow. She forgets her fatigue. That is love. No matter how hard things are, looking at her child brings her happiness. However, after raising the child, human nature tends to turn into legalism. What is legalism? It is the mindset of “I did this, so you must do this as well.” It follows the principle of “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.” But the law condemns and kills. It judges that one’s own way is right. This causes a person to speak their own “correct” words to those they should love, based on their own judgment. This is evidence of having abandoned the first love.

To maintain our first love, we must have an intimate relationship with Jesus. In John 15, the Lord tells us, “Remain in the vine.” Jesus is the vine, and we are the branches. The branches can only bear fruit by remaining in the vine, receiving the love and life of the Lord. The church of Ephesus lost sight of this essential relationship and became focused on religious duties. This is what caused them to abandon their first love. Even today, many believers are enthusiastic in serving and working within the church, but they often miss out on the personal intimacy with the Lord.

Nearer, my God, to Thee, Nearer to Thee! E’en though it be a cross That raiseth me Still all my song shall be, Nearer, my God, to Thee, Nearer, my God, to Thee, Nearer to Thee.

3. I pray that this would be a time for us to restore our first love if we have abandoned it. Jesus gave the Ephesian church a way to recover their first love. He said, “Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the works you did at first.” The way to restore our first love is to recognize where we have fallen, repent, and return to our first love. The reason we abandon our first love is that our hearts shift from a relationship of grace to one of law.

Let’s think about a mother again. As her children grow, she begins to have certain expectations of them. When they don’t meet those expectations, she begins to feel disappointed, and this leads to her abandoning her first love. This shows the transition from a relationship of grace to one of law. We must return to our first love. Children are a gift from God, and simply being with them brought joy. This is what needs to be restored. It’s the same for parents. When I was growing up, it was enough just to have my parents with me. I felt anxious without them. That is love. But at some point, the relationship changes into one of law—where we think, “I did this, so my parents should do that.” This is when the relationship shifts to law, and the first love is abandoned. The same applies to the relationship between a husband and wife.

I lost my parents at an early age, and even though I am older now, there are still times when I miss them. Just having my sick mother near me was enough. I miss those days. When I was in elementary school, my mother was very weak. She always had an infection on her side that caused pus to come out, and it was my job to clean it with alcohol and gauze and apply Mercurochrome. But simply having my mother with me made me so happy. I wanted to do more for her and my father. My parents trusted in Jesus completely, and they are now in the Kingdom of God. One day, I too will leave this world, and when that time comes, I will meet my parents again in God’s Kingdom. If I do not abandon my first love, I will meet them again. In this world, I no longer have the opportunity to love my parents, but the way I can hold onto my first love is by loving my children and my congregation. This is the same question Jesus asks when He says, “Do you love Me?”

Our Methodist Church inherited the “burning heart” of John Wesley, a heart on fire for saving souls through the love of the Lord. The Methodist Church carries the legacy of a passionate desire for soul-saving and the tradition of small group meetings called class meetings, which were held every week. There was also the band meeting, where the class leaders gathered weekly. The focus of these meetings was always soul-saving. They were meetings of love, and being together brought joy. That’s what love is. It’s not about what we do; it’s about the joy of being together. But when we no longer want to be together, it’s evidence that we have abandoned our first love. Why do we want to come to church? We come because we want to see the people we love. It doesn’t matter how many people are there—if we want to see those we love, that is the first love. Hatred is when you don’t want to see someone. When we no longer want to be together, it’s proof that we’ve abandoned our first love. The love of the Lord is so great that it extends even to our enemies. Why don’t our class meetings gather anymore? It’s evidence that we’ve abandoned our first love. You can’t force these meetings. That’s why our first love must be restored.

The Lord says, “Repent and do the things you did at first.” Repentance begins with a heart that desires to restore the first love. When it becomes a joy to be with our Lord Jesus, our first love is restored. Who is Jesus? Jesus is the one who established the church, His body. So, if we desire to come to church, it means our first love is alive. If we no longer want to go to church, it’s a sign that our first love is growing cold. If we desire to gather for family worship, it’s a sign that our first love is being restored. But if we don’t want to gather, it means we’ve abandoned our first love for the Lord. Some may ask, “Didn’t the Ephesian church gather faithfully and work hard? So, does that mean they didn’t abandon their first love?” But that’s not the case. They gathered at church not to be with the people they loved and share love with one another, but to fight for their own righteousness, to endure, and to expose falsehood. They weren’t doing the work of God; they were doing the work of man, trying to leave behind their own accomplishments. This is why they abandoned their first love.

Let me summarize today’s message. The church in Ephesus worked hard and patiently endured, discerning and exposing false people, but in doing so, they abandoned the most important essence of saving souls— their first love. To restore the first love, we must believe in the great love the Lord has for us and how He made us members of His body, the church. To love the church means to long to see the members of the church. It means wanting to be with them. Even though we spend a busy and tiring week, if we believe in the redeeming love of the Lord and don’t want to abandon our first love, there should be a desire to meet at least once a week because we love each other, even if we can’t meet every day. That is how we restore our first love. The Lord’s first love was so great that He loved even His enemies. We have received this grace. However, over time, we begin to treat others through the lens of the law, which is why we abandon our first love. I bless you in the name of the Lord that we may restore the grace of our first love.

Let us pray together. Lord, who loves us unconditionally, we pray that just as You love us, our love for You would remain unchanged. When we love someone, we want to be with them, and if we are apart, we long to see them. We pray that our hearts would be restored with this kind of love. Even if our church lacks other things, we hope to be a church that loves one another. Lord, please make our church overflow with the first love of Your redeeming grace. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.