Amen, go ahead, grab a seat. I invite you to open the Bible and turn with me to the book of Revelation. And we're going to be looking at Jesus in this book all summer long. And if I say the phrase summer love, what comes to your mind? Probably something that happens so fast and won't last. That's the idea the young people falling and in and out of love all in the summer. What actually though is true is that it's not just young people who fall out of love. I don't know if you know this, but many marriages are also falling out of love these days, even among Christians. This is something that I found out That you may not know this piece of information, but if I were to ask you, what was the bestselling Christian book last year in 2023 in the Christian category of books, what book sold more copies than any other book, and this has been true for multiple years in a row? And this is according to the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association, the ECPA. The number one book from last year among Christians is The Five Love Languages. Have you ever heard about this book before? The whole premise of this book is a secret to a love that lasts because, in chapter one, if you start reading, it's clear that many people got married and they felt like they were in love, but now they've lost that loving feeling, and it's gone and gone and gone. And how do we get it back? There are so many people who identify as Christians that feel like they've lost the love in their marriage that they make that book the number one bestselling book almost every year among Christian books. And it's not just young people falling out of love. It's not just married people falling out of love. There are many Christian people who are falling out of love with Jesus. In fact, if you were to ask people if some people, even here in this room, were to be honest this morning, hey, do you love Jesus more today? Or did you used to love Jesus more than you love him today? There are many Christians who are losing their first love for Jesus, and so Jesus has something to say about that to us in Revelation chapter 2, verses 1 to 7, and that's where I want us to begin. So, I want to invite you to open your Bible and go to Revelation 2:1-7. And out of respect for God's Word, let's all stand up for the public reading of Scripture, as we look at this first letter to the church in Ephesus. And I want to encourage you to give this your full and undivided attention, because this is the Word of Jesus through the apostle John to his church. Please follow along as I read, starting in Revelation, chapter 2, verse 1.
“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands. I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. 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. Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 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 of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’”
That's the reading of God's Word. Please go ahead and have your seat. And maybe some of you are thinking, well, that's a little weird to begin Revelation in chapter two. Right? What about chapter one? That seems like the obvious place to begin. Well, what our goal is, we have seven weeks in the summer before people start going back to school, and our goal in these seven weeks is to go through these seven letters to the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3. And that's really what Revelation is. It's a book that was sent out to seven different churches.
Go back to Revelation chapter 1, and you'll see that it says this in verse 11, where Jesus has made an appearance to the apostle John on the island of Patmos, where he's been exiled on this little island in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. And Jesus shows up and he says, Write what you see. This is verse 11 of chapter 1. “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamum, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.” And we've got a map right here where you can see those seven churches, where they were at this time, Ephesus kind of being the most famous of these places. Maybe those are just seven names of ancient cities to you, but those are going to be seven churches that we're going to get to know together over the next seven weeks. And as we go through these seven letters to the seven churches, and really it's all one book that addresses these seven churches within it, we're going to get to see who Jesus is. We're going to get to hear what he has to say to his church. And so, we're going to go all over the book of Revelation as we go through what Jesus says to these seven churches.
In fact, let's go to Revelation 2:1, and let's learn about the church in Ephesus. And every single one of these letters is going to begin with “the words of” and then it's going to say something about Jesus. So, in the introduction to the church, Jesus introduces something about himself. So, all seven weeks, we're going to learn something specific to focus in on about who Jesus is. So, you've got a handout there in your bulletin, if you could pull that handout out, even if you don't usually take notes. I just want you to see that we're going to have the seven different handouts for the seven churches, and everyone will begin with “the words of” because Jesus will introduce himself in a specific way to each church, introducing something about himself that goes along with what he's about to say to that specific church. And if you're still bothered by this and you're like, this is weird, man, we should have just started in chapter 1, well flip your hand out over, and you'll see that's what we're doing on Tuesday night. We've got midweek services for the first time ever in our church, we've got regular midweek services on Tuesday nights, at 630. There's kids’ ministry, there's dessert afterwards. A great time for fellowship after the service. It starts 6:30 on Tuesday night, and if you want to start in Revelation 1, that's what will happen on Tuesday night. But we're going to go through here on the weekend services, on Sunday mornings, we're going to go through the seven letters. And so, let's look at verse one. How does Jesus introduce himself to this church? He says, “the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and who walks among the seven golden lampstands.” So all of these introductions, they take us back to how John saw Jesus revealed to him in chapter 1. And so go back to Revelation 1:10, where John describes what happens. Here, he says, “I was in the spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, saying, write what you see in a book.” And then, and when he turns and looks, verse 12, “I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me. And on turning, I saw seven golden lampstands. And in the midst of the lampstands is one like a Son of Man.” So, there's somebody who looks like a Son of Man, but there's something different about him. But that's the first thing that you see, is the seven golden lampstands, and that Jesus is there among the seven golden lampstands. And then in verse 16, it describes these seven stars. It says, “In his right hand he held seven stars.” And then verse 20 kind of explains what these golden lampstands and these stars are. Verse 20, “As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and the seven golden lampstands, well, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches. And the seven lampstands are the seven churches.” So when you see Jesus revealed here in this book, where is he? He's among the churches, and he's got in his hand these seven angels. Now, who exactly are these angels is a major discussion. Usually, when you hear the word angel, which in Greek, means messenger, usually we think of a heavenly being coming and bringing a message from God. So, a lot of people, and there's a lot of angels in the book of Revelation, so a lot of people would see these as beings, but it's possible that we could be referring to human messengers who represent these seven churches. So there's either an angel watching over each one of these churches, or it represents somebody who is there from the church. And that kind of makes sense with how the letters go, because he says, “to the angel in the church in Ephesus.” But then he talks about the people in the church, perhaps, like the messenger of Ephesus is one of the people there in the church. So, some people think it's a heavenly being. Some people think that the messengers are the human beings representing the churches. But Jesus is in the church, Jesus is in the middle of his people.
When you look at Revelation 2:1, where is Jesus? He is walking among the seven golden lampstands. See, we're trying to make sure we understand what the church is. What does it mean to be the church? Church is not a building. Church is not a nine o'clock service. Church is not some corporation of Compass Bible Church. Church is us. Everyone saved by Jesus. We are the church, and Jesus is right here with us. This morning, Jesus is walking among us. Jesus is here. Be careful when you say something bad about a church, be careful when you say something bad about somebody who's professing to be a Christian or a pastor or some kind of church movement. Be careful, because you might be talking about Jesus, because those are his people, and so he is among the churches. And look what Jesus says at the beginning of verse 2 in chapter 2, he says words that he repeats over and over. “I know,” “I know.” Okay, so if we put the Bible up here on the screen, what you're going to be able to see is that all seven of these letters begin this same way. They begin with “The words of” and then they say something about Jesus. And then the first thing that Jesus says after the introduction of the words of him who walks among the seven golden lampstands, or whatever detail it wants to highlight about the revelation of Jesus. He then says, I know you. I know what you're up to. I know how hard it is for you. I know what you're doing. Jesus is among the church, and Jesus already knows what's going on. Jesus already sees straight to our hearts. He already sees past our skin and bones. Jesus, with his eyes like fire, he sees right through your external appearance. Jesus already knows what is in your heart.
So, let's get that down for our first blank here, “The words of” who's talking to us: “Jesus already knows your heart.” Okay, so what we're hoping is going to happen here this morning is that you're going to be able, by the time you leave here today, you're going to be able to see yourself in the same way that Jesus sees you, because Jesus already knows you, already knows everything about you, and Jesus, he's now going to speak to make sure that you can see who you are in the same way that he sees who you are. So, the intimacy of the knowledge of Jesus might be very comforting to you if you desire to be close to Jesus. It might be very concerning to you if you're trying to hide things from Jesus. But Jesus already knows the truth about you, and he's walking among the lampstands. He's right there in the middle of his people. And “I know what you're doing.”
Go over to Revelation, chapter two, verse 23, where he makes this even more clear. We'll see this later on in the fourth church here in Thyatira, where he says this is halfway through Revelation 2:23, “and all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works.” I want every church to know that I've searched your mind, and I know what you're thinking. I've searched your heart, and I know what you're all about on the inside, and I know what kind of works you're really doing. That's what Jesus wants all the churches to know that he searches our minds and hearts.
So, you're going to be presented with two options. One is to try to hide from Jesus what's going on in your mind and heart, to try to get away from Jesus, which is futile. Where could you go? Where could you run? Where could you hide? See, when Jesus says, “I'm searching the minds and hearts,” it's like a reference to Psalm 139, that psalm of David, where he says, “Oh Lord, you have searched me and known me.” Hey, where could I go to get away from your presence? If I went to the highest of heavens or to the deepest of deaths, how could I ever escape your omniscience? How could I ever get away from your omnipresence? No, God, you already know me. And so what does David pray at the end of that Psalm? He says, “Search me, O God and know my heart. Try me, O God and know my anxious thoughts. See if there's any grievous way in me.” Is there any sinful way in me? Hey, if you already know me, let me see what you see “and lead me in the way everlasting.” See, there are people who are trying to act like everything's a secret, and nobody really knows what's going on with them. And then there are people who realize Jesus already knows what's going on with me. And so, Jesus, could you open my eyes? Could you help me see what you see? Could you help me know what you know? I want to see myself as you see me. That's Psalm 139:23-24. That would be a great prayer for all of us to pray this summer as we go through the letters to the churches. Jesus, if you're already here and you already know me, I want to know what you know about me. I want to have an accurate view of myself that matches the way that you see me. And look what he says to this church here in Ephesus. He says, “I know.” This is Revelation 2:2, “I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and have found them to be false. I know you are enduring, patiently, bearing up, for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary.”
Now, I would imagine if you got a letter from Jesus, if we did here in Huntington Beach, and he says, hey, I know you guys, and you guys are doing work. I see the hard work you're doing. I see how you're sticking with it. In fact, I see how you guys are holding to the truth, and you're rejecting what is false. You guys are practicing discernment. You're looking for good teaching. You're rejecting the false teaching that's out there. So, you're doing good things, you're against what is evil and false that is being taught. And not only are you doing good things, and not only are you against evil, but you're sticking with it. He says there in Revelation 2:3, “You are enduring, you are persevering, you are bearing up for my name's sake, you have not grown weary.” You're doing good. You're against the false teaching, and you've continued to do good for some period of time. Does that sound like good news when you hear that from Jesus? That sounds like an encouraging report. And then you get to Revelation 2:4, and he says, “But…” Have you ever got this email before? I've gotten this email many times. “Oh, I love you so much. You're doing such a great job. But…” Have you ever got that email before? That, man, you do not want to get this kind of letter from Jesus. Hey, you're doing good things. You're against what's false. You're sticking with it over time. Like those are three commendations. In fact, go down to Revelation 2:6. Look, he even gives him more encouragement in verse 6. “Yet this you have, you hate the work of the Nicolaitans,” a specific kind of false teaching that was going on. You hate that kind of false teaching, “which I also hate.” By the way, get ready for intense Jesus this summer, everybody. When he's got something to say, he's going to say, yeah, you guys, you hate those guys. I hate those guys too. That's what Jesus says to them. Right? So, Jesus has some commendation for the church in Ephesus, “But I have this against you that you have abandoned,” You have left behind “the love you had at first. Remember, therefore from where you have fallen, repent and do the works you did at first.” And then look what Jesus says, “Pay careful attention, if you don't repent, if not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.” And we already found out what is the lampstand, the image of the church. So, what is Jesus saying? If you guys don't get back to your first love, I'm going to shut your church down.
This is a church that's doing good work. This is a church that's against false teaching. This is a church that's sticking with doing good over some time. These kind of churches are hard to find these days, and Jesus says, Just because you're doing good, just because you're against evil, and just because you keep doing good over time that that's not going to cut it. That's not what I'm looking for. And if you guys don't repent, I'm going to shut your church down. Wow, what we're realizing is that just doing good things is not what Jesus is looking for in his church.
Let's get this down for point number one: You’ve got to “Beware of going through the motions.” Beware of going through the motions. Some of you know, I've been on vacation for a little bit, got back this week, met with a friend of mine here at the church, and he asked me this thought-provoking question, “Hey, what is our church to do to improve? What do we need to work on?” And this was the first thing that came to my mind, like, we've got to be careful that we just don't do good things and be against the evil things and just keep doing the good things. Because just going through the motions of going to church and doing good things is not what Jesus is looking for in the church, and this is a danger for every single person who's been a Christian now for some time, and you've learned how to do some good things. You've learned kind of the acceptable Christian practices and behaviors. Hey, are you just going through the motions of those good things, or are you doing those good things because you love Jesus with your first love. Jesus will have your love, or Jesus will have nothing. That's what he's saying.
And so, where are you at? I would imagine, in a room this size, with this many people here at church on a Sunday morning. Who's here at church this morning because you love Jesus and who's here at church this morning because that's what we do. And if we're just doing this, because this is what we do, I have this against you, says Jesus. It's got to be about love. You can do great things, but if you don't have love, then you have done nothing in the eyes of our Lord Jesus.
So, what does Jesus tell this church to do? He tells them to repent. There are people at church, believers in Jesus, who need to repent of leaving behind their first love. It wouldn't work in marriage. Can you imagine a couple celebrating their anniversary? “Hey, it's our anniversary. Hey, it's been this many years. Hey, remember the first years of our marriage? Weren't those years so much better than this last year was? Man, I used to love you so much more than I do right now. At least we have those good old days to remember in our decreasing love here, in our aging marriage.” Right? That would not work, that would not fly. It doesn't fly in the closest human relationship, and it doesn't fly in the closest possible relationship. Jesus is not okay with your good works without your love. Can I get an amen from anybody on that? He's telling us clearly how he feels about it, and so repent, people at church need to change their mind about how they're thinking the assumption today, oh, you're at church. It's like you're already on the home team. You're already one of the good guys. Like, oh, you came to church this morning in a world of poor decisions, congratulations. You came to church like our standard these days is so low. Let me tell you this, Jesus has never adjusted the standard. It is love or it's nothing. And are you still living by Jesus’ standard? Or have you started accepting our cultural standard these days? In our culture, you're one of the good people. If you go to church, Jesus is like, yeah, but what are you really doing at that church? Because if you're not loving me, I'll shut it down. Okay, so we're going to go through seven letters to seven churches. To five of them, Jesus says repent.
So, Jesus knows what's going on at church. And Jesus thinks that churches need a shakeup. Churches need a change, the people of God, just because they're going and gathering together, are not necessarily doing what Jesus wants them to do. And so, Jesus says, “Repent.” And so there are people here, you have two possible options as we go through this sermon. Your one option is that you could say, I do love Jesus like I loved him at first. And hopefully you will leave here today encouraged to continue loving Jesus. Or the other option is, you have to admit I don't love Jesus like I did it first. And therefore, you need to, if you find yourself in that situation, you’ve got to change your mind about that. You’ve got to turn from going through the motions, and you’ve got to return to your first love for Jesus.
Now he's saying this to the church in Ephesus, out of all seven of these churches, this is a storied biblical church. Like, this church has an amazing history. The fact that he is saying this to Ephesus should really get all our attention. If you're taking notes. Write down Acts 19 is where the church began in Ephesus. And if you know what it said there in Acts 19:17, it said, “This became known to all the residents of Ephesus,” like, everybody who lived in Ephesus, both Jew and Greek, everybody, “fear fell upon them all. And the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled.” It was made mega, it was lifted high and exalted, like everybody in Ephesus knew Jesus was building his church there; Jesus was on the move. That's how it began in Acts, chapter 20. Paul calls for a special meeting with the Elders of the church in Ephesus, and he warns them in Acts 20:28 “Watch over the flock, because wolves are going to try to come in, and even men are going to arise among you, and they're going to speak twisted things.” So, watch out for the false teachers. Guard God's people.
Now the church in Ephesus, not only do they have this great start with Paul, they have a whole book of Scripture. Who's ever read the book of Ephesians before? Has anybody ever read that book? Do you know how that book ends in Ephesians 6:24, it says, “Grace to all of those.” It's the last line of the entire Book of Ephesians. “Grace to all of those who love Jesus with a love incorruptible.” Or you could translate it, “Grace to everyone who loves Jesus with an undying love.” The people who got a letter of Scripture written to them, where the last line was Grace to everybody who keeps loving Jesus, are now being told that they don't love Jesus like they used to.
You could write down 1 Timothy, chapter 1, verse 3, when Paul is writing to his “true son in the faith,” and he's teaching him how to be a pastor, and how we should conduct ourselves in the church, because the church is the pillar and buttress of the truth the church. Man, this is how you should be in the church. Timothy, that's why I encourage you to remain in Ephesus. Timothy is the young pastor leading this church. You got started by Paul. You got a book of the Bible telling you, keep loving Jesus with a love incorruptible, with an undying love. Timothy is one of your pastors. And then, outside of what it says in the Bible, church history says that the apostle John himself may have been the pastor at the church in Ephesus for some time, like, if this church can lose their love for Jesus, can we lose our love for Jesus here in Huntington Beach? One hundred percent. I mean, that's kind of the point here. If it could happen in Ephesus, well, it could happen anywhere where people could stop loving Jesus. If there was ever a church that you thought, oh, they're solid, oh, they've got it, oh, they're the real church, learn from them. It would have been Ephesus. And Jesus is ready to shut the church down. In fact, according to church history, we don't have a continued record of a church in Ephesus, leading many to the conclusion that Jesus did remove the lampstand of the church because they did not repent and get back to their first love. So, this is meant to be like, whoa, wake up call for everybody here Sunday morning, nine o'clock. Can you say you're at your first love for Jesus? Because if you can't say that, you need to repent. And the real question is, can you hear what Jesus is saying to the churches? Can you really take what Jesus is saying into your heart so that it actually changes your life? That's what it says here.
Look down at Revelation 2:7. It's going to say this in all seven letters, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” So, like the whole question of the Book of Revelation is when Jesus speaks, can you really listen to him? When Jesus says something, can you hear it? Or does it just kind of go over your head and not change your life and not really get to your heart. It's kind of in one ear out the other. Or do you really hear what Jesus is saying?
Go back to Revelation chapter 1. Look at verse 3. Look at how this book begins here with an invitation for everyone to read this book and to really hear it. And hear it, not just like, Oh, I know what it says. It's taking it to heart, so it produces a change in your life. Revelation 1:3. “Blessed” happy “is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy. And blessed” happy “are those who hear and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.” Hey, you want to have a blessed, happy life? Hear what God is saying in the book of Revelation. Hear what Jesus is saying through John. Hear what the Spirit says to the churches, to God's people. Will hear God's word, and it will change their life. That's the difference between God's people and those who aren't God's people. Some people, they'll hear Jesus speak, it will have no impact on them, and they will just keep going on their way. Some people, when they hear Jesus the words of eternal life, it'll change their entire life. Which one of those people are you? See, we're going to read through Revelation. We're going to talk as much as we can in the next seven weeks about this Book of Revelation. I'm going to invite everybody here. Let's read the whole book. Let's try to get it on our heart. Let's get the blessing. Let's hear what it says. And here's what's going to happen, because we've gone through Revelation a couple of times before, reading it together as a church, and this happens every time. I mean, judgment starts falling from the sky, literally, bulls start getting poured out the bowls of wrath. Trumpets start getting blown. I mean, there is just devastation, destruction, death, plagues, sickness, geographical disasters happening. I mean, this book gets very intense in the judgment of God coming down in a time known as the Tribulation. And it'll describe for a whole chapter, the judgment of God coming upon those who dwell on the earth. And at the end of the chapter, it'll say this, “And after all of this, those people who dwell on the earth, they did not…” what does it say, everybody? Do you know they did not repent. We've read this multiple times here at the church, and people will come up to me and they'll say, I can't believe they didn't repent. I mean, look what was happening to them. Like the water of the world is turning to blood. All these people are dying. A whole third of the population died. How could they not repent? And when people come and they ask that question, it shows that we don't understand how repentance really works.
People don't repent because life gets bad. People don't repent because they hit rock bottom. People don't repent just because everything's falling apart. People repent because they hear what Jesus says. That's where repentance comes from. It's a gift from God, and the change in your life happens in response to hearing the Word of Jesus. Jesus is telling you, through the church in Ephesus today, that if you don't love him like you used to, he's not okay with it, and you need to repent. Can you hear Jesus? Or are you not going to change anything? Because Jesus wants your heart. He demands your love. And look at the intimate way that Jesus talks about it. If you're with me in Revelation chapter 2, go back to verses 4 and 5. Hey, “I've got this against you. You don't love me like you used to.” You've started just going through the motions. You're just doing the good things. You're against the false things. You keep doing the good things, but you're not loving me like you did at first. And so, look what he says. He gives them two practical things to do here in Revelation 2:5. He says, “Remember, therefore from where you have fallen.” Hey, I want you to recall to your mind what it was like when you did love Jesus. Remember the heights of your relationship with Jesus. Remember the times that your heart was full of love. That's the idea. So, first thing Jesus wants you to do, if you're like, well, let me think, how do I really love him like I used to? Well, let's go back and let's remember almost like if you pulled out on your anniversary, if you pulled out your wedding photo album, whether it's an old book, like some of us have, or whether it's all digital these days, but if you went and you looked back at some of the photos, some of the images, some of the pictures, and they would remind you, oh, that was a great day. Oh, I can remember how excited we were. I can remember how much we loved one another. I can remember how it felt. That's what Jesus wants you to do between you and him. Hey, remember when you really loved me?
Go to Hebrews chapter 10, verse 32, another verse, and it's always to the left from Revelation, everybody. Hebrews 10:32, go there with me, because here's another idea, another way to give that same idea here, as the writer of Hebrews wants people to persevere and endure to the end and keep looking to Jesus all the way in their faith. And he says a very helpful thought here in Hebrews, chapter 10, verse 32 where this is the encouragement here, “Recall the former days,” hey, bring back the memories of what it was like when you first got saved, when you first started knowing about Jesus. Recall the former days, when…, and then here's the key, “after you were enlightened and you endured a hard struggle with sufferings,” like you were ready to run into a wall for Jesus when you first fell in love with him. Do you remember that? Hey, can you remember the former days when you were first enlightened? Can you go back and remember when Jesus saved your soul? I love this word “enlightened” here, the Greek word photizo. It's like, hey, when the light went off, when there was a photo taken? Do you have the memory of the first moment when you saw Jesus bloodied, dying on that cross, nailed by his hands and feet, and when you realized for the first time in your life that Jesus wasn't just up there dying because it was a good thing to do, and he wasn't up just there dying for the sins of the whole world. Jesus was up there dying for you, and he was paying for your sin, and you realize the debt of your sin before a holy God. And oh, no, what could someone like you do on the day of judgment before God? And then there's Jesus taking that judgment for you on the cross. Do you remember when you were enlightened to see Jesus, to see what he was doing for you up there? Then I can remember when I got saved. I can remember when I was so convicted about my sin, and God opened my eyes right, when I was always when I was feeling damned, when I was feeling like I deserve to die and go to hell, there was Jesus dying for me. There was Jesus taking God's wrath in my place. I can remember when I was enlightened to see Jesus. Can you remember? Can you call it do mind? What was it like? What were you feeling? What were you praying? Were there tears coming out of your eyes? Was there a smile you couldn't get off your face? What was it like?
Let's get this down for point number two: We want to “Recollect the memories of your love.” We want to recollect the memories of your love. We want to bring them all together. Maybe we want to journal them and write them down. Maybe we want to find some pictures that remind us of a place in time where my heart burned with love for Jesus, and I was so thankful. Maybe it was the moment that you realize that the fact that the tomb was empty meant that Jesus is out there, and Jesus is real, and he's not like some story where we read about characters that don't really exist, but know the story of Jesus continues, and Jesus is alive. And maybe you can remember when you saw him high and lifted up at the right hand of the Father, at the Majesty in heaven. And you're like, wow, look at Jesu,s ready to return and reign as the King of kings and the Lord of lords. He's my king. I want to live for him. Can you remember when you felt like that, when you loved Jesus? That's what he's asking you to do. Bring back the memories.
Some of us are new Christians. This might not be very long ago that you fell in love with Jesus. Some of us, we've been Christians for a long time. And not only can I remember when I first had love for Jesus, I can now remember several other times in my life where I was back to that first love with Jesus. I can remember the first time I read the book of Revelation. And I can remember as a boy reading Revelation, walking around, looking up at the clouds, wondering, is Jesus coming back to get me right now? I remember the first time I read through the Psalms, and I saw the depth of human emotion, the depth of relationship that you could have between you and God. I remember when we planted this church here in Huntington Beach, and how I was so ready to see what Jesus was going to do in all of our lives. I have many memories that I collect, that I keep near. Man, I can remember what it was like to love Jesus. Can you remember what it was like? I mean, the truth of the matter is that some of us might have to realize there's never been a time we really loved Jesus. We've just been going through the motions the whole time. But if you're my brother or sister in Christ. I'm asking you to take some time and recollect them, bring them back and be like, yeah, I can remember what it felt like. I can remember how I was so passionate. I can remember waking up and getting and taking a look in the book because I wanted to see Jesus. I can remember singing that worship song so loud because I was like, I wanted Jesus to hear me. I can remember when I was praying with that other person, and we were pouring out our hearts to the Lord. Do you have memories of loving Jesus? Because, guess what, if you have memories of loving Jesus, Jesus has those memories too. This isn't a one way street between you and Jesus. This isn't just you doing things for Jesus. No, everything you do for Jesus is a response to what Jesus did for you. And when Jesus died on that cross, he really was thinking about you. When Jesus rose from the dead, he really did do that to empower you to have a new, abundant, eternal life. And when you loved Jesus, Jesus knew it. He saw it. He felt it. It existed for real between you and Jesus, and Jesus is not okay with what you're doing now, if you're just going through the motions. He's like, why don't you love me like you used to, just like any spouse would say to their spouse if they could tell they weren't being loved. Jesus is saying to us as the people who love him here today, hey, you don't love me like you did at first, and I remember what it was like at first. And if we're not going to keep doing that, we're not going to keep doing it at the church. And so bring that back to mind, intimate moments that you shared with Jesus, moments of a full heart, where you knew I loved Jesus. Jesus wants you to recall that to mind, and then look what he says.
Go back to Revelation 2:5, because he gives a second, very practical thing. First thing he wants you to do is get those memories going again. When did you love Jesus? But then, in Revelation, chapter 2, verse 5, he says, “Remember, therefore from where you have fallen, so repent,” get back to where you were. And then he says, “Do the works you did at first.” Do the works you did at first. Jesus has a very interesting way of dealing with our feelings. See, they're not really motivated by love at this point. And so Jesus is saying, remember what that was like, but then he's saying, remember the things, the first steps of obedience you took, the first things you did out of your love for Jesus, start doing those things again.
Now, see, we almost act like feelings are so authentic. If I'm not feeling it, I can't do it, because who am I to go against my feelings. Jesus, he thinks differently than that. Jesus doesn't think your feelings are the most important thing. He thinks your faith is the most important thing. And he thinks that if you really are authentic, your faith, your trust in him, will motivate you to do something, even if you don't feel like doing it. And so, he's like, you’ve got to get back and you’ve got to do some of the works you did at first.
I remember one time, I was at a marriage conference. And marriage conferences, I don't know if you've ever been to one of these kind of secret get togethers. They're very clickish. You have to be married to go to them, right? And they say things at these married events that they don't say other places, like, look at the other person next to you, deep in the eyes right now. Look at your spouse. Tell them that you love them. And then I remember one time I was at this marriage conference, and they were like, give your spouse a kiss right now. And I was like, what’s going on here, right? And the pastor doing this marriage conference, he was like, serious. He's like, no, I mean, give him a real one. I mean, like, put it to him right now. I was like, what has happened, right man? And then after everybody kissed, he said, “How are you feeling now?” And you know what? People were feeling different than how they were feeling a few minutes ago? See, that's what Jesus is saying, hey, maybe you’ve got to go back and remember some of the first things that you did. Maybe you need to start doing those things again.
And so, okay, we know that if we love Jesus, we will keep his what, everybody? His commandments. We know that. Well, real love leads to action. And so, when I'm having these memories of what it was like when I loved Jesus, okay, well, what were the things I did out of that love? Now, I'm very blessed that I get to interact with a lot of new Christians, and I got to be a part of this church since it was brand new. So, I see new Christians. I've been a part of a brand new church. Let me tebrand-newat people do when they are first in love with Jesus is I want to tell the world, and I don't care who knows it. That's what people do. I'm in love, and I want everybody to know what this amazing thing is that I found in Jesus. Just like people are posting their engagement photos all over the place, just like people are wearing the ring, just like people are like, hey, I love so and so, that's how people are when they first love Jesus. They'll tell anybody about it. They'll share that good news with anybody. They share the Good News of Jesus like they've never been rejected before. You know why? Because they haven't.
And maybe some of you can remember when your eyes were opened, when you were enlightened, when you had the photo of Jesus in your mind, and you put your faith in Jesus, and you love Jesus, and you saw that you were saved from your sins. Wow. You ran and you told your mom, you went and you got your family together, and you went, some of you, you can remember, you went in a little too hot, you know what I'm saying? You went in and you were like, I'm going to tell this person, I'm going to tell this person, I'm going to tell my best friend from kindergarten, I'm going to tell my uncle, I'm going to tell everybody. And then what happened? It's like you ran into a wall, is what happened? And they were like, oh, it's just a phase you're going through. Oh, you're one of those Jesus freaks now, oh, oh, you're holier than us. Now, you're going to come telling us all of this, and you, out of your love, you were ready to share with the world, and then the world rejected what you shared. And what has happened with some of us is we've started pulling back. We've started retreating, and Jesus is saying, no, no, no, you used to love me so much that you didn't care about what other people thought. Let's get back. Let's do the things we did at first, something that new Christians do. Do they read the Scripture like they don't already know it, but they want to know Jesus? Have you encountered one of these people? I'll be like, hey, bro, how are you doing? Oh, I'm doing so good. Why are you doing so good? Well, I read Matthew last night. Oh, really. What did you read Matthew five, Matthew six? No, I just read Matthew. I read the whole thing, and it was so good. I was like, let's get to mark. What does this guy know about Jesus? Like they're not reading the Bible. Like, oh, I've been there. I've done that. I've heard this. I already know what this chapter says. They're reading this book, like Jesus is on every page, and they want to find him. They want to know him because they love him. Man, have you ever been in a long-distance relationship, and you get some kind of letter, some kind of email, some kind of message from somebody you love that you can't see, that's far away, and they gave you a message? Do you pour over every single word of what they say? That's what people who love Jesus do.
Oh, you're telling me that the book of Revelation is not a bunch of crazy future stuff, but it's actually a book that makes Jesus more clear, maybe than any other book in the Scripture? I want to read that. I want to know Jesus. See, these are two of the things, the first things, the works that people do when they first get saved. What was it like for you? What were some of the first steps that you took as a Christian?
Let's get this down for point number three: “Retread the first steps of your obedience.” Retread the first steps of your obedience. Let's try to go back and put our feet in some of those same places. What were some of the first things you did? I know one that some of you did, one of the first things that some of you did when you got saved is you forgave somebody who had sinned against you, because you realized that if God was going to forgive you through his son Jesus, then who were you to hold that sin against somebody else? And so, just as God forgave you. And you know what? Some of you did when you got saved, you called up that relative, you called up that friend, and you said, I forgive you. You tried to make it right. You reached out to reconcile, because now that you were reconciled with God, you wanted to love other people. This is how it works. When you love Jesus, you start loving other people. That's how it goes.
So, what was it for you? What were some of the works that you did at first? We need you to go back and do those things again. And so, you’ve got to remember them, and then you’ve got to go walk in those steps again. This is what Jesus is saying. Hey, if you realize you don't love him like you used to? Number one, take some time to recollect those memories of what it was like when you did love him. Number two, let's start walking in some of the first works again. Let's start doing this. Okay, so when was the last time you shared about Jesus with somebody because your love for Jesus compelled you to speak up about it? When was the last time you were reading the Bible because you just really wanted, you were not doing a chore, not because you were checking it off a list, but you wanted to see Jesus. When was last time you could tell you were doing something out of love for somebody else, motivated by the fact? Look what Jesus did. If Jesus served me, if Jesus died for me, if Jesus sacrificed to the bloody end for me, then the least I could do is do it for the least of these, his brothers. Are you doing your first works?
Now, if you flip your hand out over here, I want you to see we've got two ways to determine there could be a lot of different first works. I'm just highlighting two of them: of sharing the gospel and reading the Bible. And so, we've got great ways for you to do this this summer. We have upcoming on the Fourth of July, through the parade, through our fireworks stand that we're going to have, July first through fourth. Our goal is to tell more people about Jesus here, around here, than we've ever done before. And if you want to get like a pep talk, whether you need to learn how to do the work of evangelism, telling people about Jesus, or whether you just need some encouragement to do it, we are having a special class. It's kind of like just a bonus service next Sunday, a week from today, June 30, one o'clock, there's In-N-Out burger. There are free T shirts. Maybe that could help you get fired up to do the first work of evangelism. We are also, as a church, everyone here, you are invited to read the book of Revelation with us. In fact, in your bulletin, you have a little schedule there that you can see. We're going to just read a chapter a day try to really get into it over the next four weeks or so, and here's the thing, we've already made a video to go along. If you go to compasshb.com/Revelation, there's a video to go along with every chapter. So, if you're like, I'm not doing this lame schedule of one chapter a day, you can't contain me to one chapter a day. If that's you, great. Go ahead. Read the whole book of Revelation. What is probably the best way to do it would be to read the whole book real quick, and then go back and dive through all of the details. We've got a video on our website to go along with every chapter as you read it. Here's some encouragement if you're having a hard time understanding it, we want to encourage you to read Revelation, not so you can know how the world's going to end, so you can know Jesus, who's going to end the world as we know it. Because that's what new Christians do. They read this book, not like it's some textbook, but like it's the Jesus book, and they want to see him. They want to know him.
And so, I want to encourage you to do the works you did at first. Now go back to Revelation 2, and look at verse 7 with me, because all seven letters end the same way. And maybe you think this is intense to that Jesus is calling them out for not loving him and threatening to shut their church down, and that he, it seems like from history, did shut their church down. If you think that's intense, we’ve got way more intense letters coming up. Alright, with Jesus, when he tells you what he sees, what he honestly thinks, you need to prepare yourself for what Jesus is going to say in the weeks to come. And there are two churches he doesn't say to repent. He gives them super encouraging words, but there's going to be four more churches where he has even more intense things to say than what he says here to Ephesus. But whether he says encouraging things or confrontative things, he always says, “to the one who conquers.” This is always how he ends all seven letters. That's what he was encouraging his people to do. The people at these churches, they're suffering, they're going through persecution, they're going through the trials of life. And he says, “I want you to conquer. I want you to overcome.”
So, “To the one who conquers,” you'll see it there at the bottom of your handout. It's the Greek word nikeo, which means to overcome, is another way it's translated. And the noun form of this Greek word is nike. We might say it Nike these days, and it means victory, alright. So, the idea is Jesus wants you to live in his victory. He wants you to keep going, and he wants you to go all the way to the end. He wants you to overcome your old life of sin, this world around you, Satan and all of the demons. He wants you to live in the victory that he has already won for you and that he is going to win in the end.
Go back to John, chapter 16, verse 33. John 16:33. Now, I love reading John's books more than the other books of the Bible. I don't know if you're even allowed to say that, or I don't know if you're supposed to have favorite books of the Bible, but I'm a geek for Johannine literature, which is just the books written by John. And I love how he starts us out with the epic Gospel of John, then he gives us the sequel of 1 John, and then he gives us the epic conclusion of the trilogy in Revelation. And so, this guy, he has themes that he develops through all of his writing, empowered by the Spirit. And one of John's themes that he wants you to see is that you were saved by Jesus to win. You were saved by Jesus to be a conqueror. You were saved by Jesus to have victory, not to just get through and survive and be defeated by this life, but you are meant to be one of the ones who conquer. Look what Jesus says. This is the last thing he says in the last supper to his disciples. John 16:33, “I have said these things to you that in me you may have peace in the world,. You will have tribulation. But take heart, be encouraged. I have overcome the world.” I have won the victory, is what Jesus is saying. And he's saying this before he's even crushed the head of the serpent when he dies on the cross to defeat death by death pays for all of our sin. I mean, he defeats sin, Satan, death through his death on the cross and the resurrection. Jesus has won. But not only that, as we keep going through the book of Revelation, what's the conclusion of that book? Jesus is coming back, and what's spoiler alert, everybody? How does the story end? Jesus wins. You can't believe that Jesus has already won the victory. You can't believe that Jesus is going to win the victory. And then say, well, right here, right now, I'm just living in a pity-party of defeat. That's not how the story works. Jesus is speaking to you, and he's saying to the one who conquers. Look what it says in 1 John, chapter 5, verses 4 and 5. 1 John 5:4-5, look at how he helps us. See how we can be a part of the victory of Jesus. We should be encouraged that Jesus has overcome the world. We should be encouraged that “greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world.” We should be encouraged that we're no longer living defeated by our old sins, but we're learning how to overcome temptation. But then he says this in 1 John 5, Verse 4 and 5, “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world.” How many of the people who have been born again, born from above? How many of God's saved people are going to overcome the world? What does it say there, everybody? Every one of us, every single one of us, we will overcome. And this is the victory that has overcome the world. Our faith. “Who is it that overcomes the world, except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.” You want to know who's going to win in the end, you want to know what team is going to be on the right side of history. Team Jesus is going to win. And if you're on Team Jesus, then you in your faith, your trust in Jesus, will lead to you overcoming the world. You will be one of the ones who conquer.
Go to Revelation 21:7 just to complete John weaving this theme of your victory in Jesus throughout his writings. This is a verse towards the end of Revelation that people don't always quote or refer to, but this was an important verse to John when he wrote it, because the book is written to encourage you to conquer, to overcome, and look what's going to happen when you do overcome. Revelation 21:7, “The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God, and he will be my son. When we get there, when we're there in the glory of God, when we see Jesus face to face, God will say that he is our God and that you are his son or you are his daughter. He will be our God, and we will get to be the people of God in the presence of God, experiencing the glory of God. That's the victory, and you will win in Jesus. You will know your God, and you will be one of his kids. So, Jesus is going to make promises in every one of these seven letters to encourage you to look forward to the victory that you're going to win in him.
So, go back to Revelation 2:7, and look at the two things he says to you that he wants you thinking about. Yeah, he wants your first love, and he won't settle for anything less than your first love. So, get those memories back. Go back and do the first things that you used to do. This is between you and Jesus. He already knows. Are you loving Jesus? If you are love him with all your heart, and if you're not loving Jesus, repent and get back. Because here's what's waiting for those who conquer. “To the one who conquers…” Look at this, “I will grant to eat of the tree of life.” The tree of life. When was the last time we heard about the tree of life? Does anybody remember when we were introduced to the tree of life? Where was that? In the Garden of Eden, in Genesis, all the way back to the beginning? Remember the fall into sin with Adam and Eve? Remember when God said, now that they've eaten from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they can't eat from the tree of life, or they will live what, everybody? Forever. You eat from the tree of life, then you will never die and you will live forever. Hey, why? Here's a reason to love Jesus. He's offering you forever-life. And then look what he says, “I will grant you to eat of the tree of life.” And then he says this, “which is in the paradise of God.” I think a lot of us today think paradise is a mirage in the desert; doesn't really exist. We’ve become so jaded. We’ve become so numb. The love of so many has grown so cold that the idea that there could be a perfect place seems so far from our present day reality, we may have stopped even believing in paradise. Jesus, he wants you to know that if you conquer through your faith in him, you will live forever and you will live in a perfect place with him. Remember, on the cross, even as Jesus was dying, there were two criminals, one on either side, and they were mocking Jesus. And then at some point, one of the criminals, he changes his mind. He repents right there on the cross, and he says, “Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom?” And Jesus says to this guy dying right next to him, “Truly, truly. I say to you today, you will be with me.” Where do you believe there's a paradise? Do you believe there's a paradise of God?
Let's get this down for “To the one who conquers,” to the one who conquers. Well, “Look forward to forever in a perfect place.” Look forward to forever in a perfect place. That's what Jesus is promising here to the one who conquers, you're going to live forever in a place that is paradise. There's nothing wrong, there's nothing unrighteous, there's no crying, no death, no mourning, no sin. Sometimes people, the skeptics, the haters, they want to come at God. Well, why did God even allow there to be evil? Why didn't God just make everything perfect? You ever hear somebody say that to you? Why didn't God, why is there even evil in the world? God should have made everything perfect. Why did God not make it perfect? You should just say to them, “Oh, you mean, not yet,” because perfect is coming, and perfect is available forever for anyone who has ears to hear what Jesus is saying to the churches, for anyone who's been given to repent and they hear what Jesus says, and they turn to Jesus, and they trust in him with all of their heart.
Perfect is coming. See, this is why I love Jesus. This is why I make love in Jesus the most important thing in my life. This is like, if there's one thing I'm going to do for the rest of my life, it's love Jesus, because Jesus is offering me something no other love can promise me, between me and Jesus. When I get to eat of the tree of life, when I get to go to Paradise, Jesus, he and I, we're going to have an endless summer. And the love that I have with Jesus, the love that he has for me, and the love that I have for him, in response, it is a love that will never die. You should love Jesus with all you've got, because loving Jesus is actually all you've got. It is the promise of your eternal life. Let's pray.
Father, we just thank you so much that we get to go through this book of Revelation together as a church in the summer of 2024, and I pray for everybody here that they would have the ear to hear what Jesus is saying to us, that we must respond to him in love, that we must be compelled by the fact that he loved us, that He died for us, that he rose from the dead. And because of what he did for us, we now respond to him with all of our heart, with all of our mind, offering our love to him. And so, I pray for everybody here today. I pray for those faithful brothers and sisters here at this church who are loving Jesus with all they've got. I pray that they would leave out of here ready to keep loving Jesus. And I pray for those brothers and sisters here today, Father, who realize right now that I haven't been loving Jesus like I used to, and Jesus already knows that I pray that today would be a day of repentance, that today would be a day we don't have to wait for devastation to come. We're not going to repent someday when things get really bad, but we can change our minds right here, right now, because we hear what Jesus is saying. The Spirit is speaking to us. And I pray for those who've fallen out of love for Jesus. I pray for those who loved Jesus more in the past than they do in the present. Father, please grant them repentance today, and let the best days of their love for Jesus be yet to come. Father, please fill our mind with these thoughts of the endless summer that we're going to experience when we walk in the Paradise, when we eat of the tree of life, when we see Jesus with our eyes, and we behold his glory. Father, let us on that day that we see Jesus, let us be able to say on that day what you're calling us to say today, I love you, Lord, and I lift my voice to worship you. O my soul, rejoice. Take joy, my king, in what you hear, and I want it to be a sweet sound in your ear. Jesus I want when I say, I love you, Lord, I want you to hear it, Jesus, and I want you to know it's true, because you already know the truth about me. And so, Father, I pray that we could pray right now, all of us here together, that we love Jesus, and we love him with that first love, and that Jesus would be pleased with this church loving him. We pray this in Jesus’ name. Why don't we all stand and let's sing to Jesus right now. Amen.