6th May 2012 - Neal Garratt - No One Likes Lukewarm Water

Neal spoke from Revelation 2:1-7 about the letter sent to the church in Ephesus about the need for us to remember our first love.

Before we “GO” we need to know where we have come from and what a great salvation we have – we need to be passionate about our product and belive in it wholeheartedly!

Today we looked at Revelation 2 vs 1-7 and asked the question have we lost our first love? The Church is challenged as they are doing many things right, working hard,pesrevering, resisting sin,examining false doctrine and enduring hardship and yet they this is not enough as they have left their first love.

We looked at Matthew 22 vs 37 where the pharisees were tring to catch Jesus out by asking him what the greatest commandment was to which he replied ” To love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your mind and all your soul” – Probablt=y not the answer they were expecting – we looked at what they might have expected him to say and realised that serving with all our might, or praying with all our might (which the Pharisses could do) is not what he wants – He wants us to love him – Based on relationship and not the law, or service or rote.

The challenge for us all is have we lost our first love? If we have there are three clear reminders of what to do:

. Remember where you have come from and what it was like initially
. Repent
. Return to our first love

If we don`t Jesus tell us that our light will be dimmed and in the worse case will go out altogether.

We also looked at Luke 7 vs 36-48 the story of the prostitute who wiped Jesus feel with the expensive perfume – This is love and Jesus says to her at the ewnd – He who has been forgiven much – loves much, How much have we been forgiven?

Questions:

1. What makes us lose our first love? Is this inevitable do you think?

2. The quote I used today was ” When we first get saved we have enthusiam without knowledge, do we now have knowledge without enthusiasm? Both are needed if we are to keep our love for God intense and untarnished. Do you love God with the same fervour as when you were a new Christian?”
Do you agree – and does that help us in getting the balace right?

3. Remember, repent and return – Helpful advice? How difficult is it to be wholehearted for God and what stops us?

Listen now! (35:00min / 10MB)