Sermon Synopsis
This sermon calls believers to examine whether their worship reflects not only right doctrine and faithful service, but also genuine love for Christ. Drawing from Revelation 2:1–7, it highlights how the church at Ephesus was commendable in diligence and doctrinal purity, yet had forsaken its first love. The message urges believers to remember their salvation, repent of coldness of heart, and return to loving devotion expressed through intimate fellowship with Christ. The intended impact is to move the church from mechanical duty back to heartfelt relationship with Jesus, rekindling passion for Him and love for others.
Please note: This transcript is provided as close to verbatim record of the sermon.
Rekindling Our First Love
Revelation 2:1–7
Good morning, beloved. What a sweet hour of remembrance as we meditated on the steadfast love of our Lord and how He has brought us near—we who once were far off. I am grateful for this privilege to share God’s Word with you, and thank you so much for your prayers in the preparation and delivery of this message.
The Lord is certainly in our midst, as He has guided our thoughts during the breaking of bread and in the past few messages that have touched on our assembly theme of exaltation in various ways. We have been considering how we can worship in spirit and in truth—specifically:
Head, Hands, and Heart
Pertaining to the head, Leonard brought us through Malachi and what the Lord considers acceptable and unacceptable worship. Johnson reminded us that we are called to God according to God’s purposes.
Pertaining to our hands, Ben touched on closing the gap between our head knowledge and our hands of service. Inji emphasized that faith without works is dead and challenged us to get up and claim the Lord’s promises to the seven churches in Revelation. Uncle Felix encouraged us to preach the gospel of peace.
Pertaining to the heart, Yongjin reminded us to worship out of gratefulness to God as our Giver, beyond the gifts He has given us. Kelvin unpacked how, in order to walk humbly, we must do justice out of merciful love.
There are dangers if we neglect any of these areas in our worship:
This morning, I would like to focus on the portion concerning our heart and learn from the church of Ephesus how we should rekindle our first love.
A Worthy Life: A Question of the Heart
To follow on from what Uncle Felix touched on last week about preaching the gospel, let us consider this question:
Are we living our lives in a way that is worthy of the gospel of Christ?
Living a life worthy of the gospel is much more than what a person knows in their head or does with their hands. It is also about the heart—it involves motives and desires.
Let us ask ourselves honestly:
Over time, a change of heart is rarely noticed. Just like a frog in a kettle, our love can unknowingly change or lessen. A church that is on fire for Christ does not suddenly quench in one day. It happens slowly. It may take a generation. Israel turned away from following the Lord within just one generation.
The church in Ephesus was doing all the right things—yet they needed to repent because they had forsaken their first love. They focused on fighting spiritual battles and sin rather than loving the Savior. They confronted erroneous doctrine rather than fixing their eyes on Jesus. Slowly, duty replaced desire. Religious actions and hard work replaced the true motivation—loving Jesus.
Beloved, we must never forget the love of God. We must never take our spiritual eyes off the One who first loved us and continues to love us. May we never replace love for Jesus and others with religious do’s and don’ts.
The Context: The Church at Ephesus
Revelation 2:1–7
About 30 years had passed since the church of Ephesus was planted by the Apostle Paul in Acts 19–20. Paul spent about two and a half years there. After he left, he instructed Timothy to go to Ephesus, and later John, the last apostle, replaced Timothy in his old age.
Ephesus was considered the greatest city of the Roman province of Asia. It was a gateway to Asia and a heart of commerce—much like Singapore in Southeast Asia. It was also famous as a center of worship of the goddess Artemis. Within Ephesus stood the temple to Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
In the midst of pagan idolatry, there existed a faithful group of believers.
Jesus describes Himself as the One who holds the seven stars and walks among the seven golden lampstands. He had not walked away—He was still present among them. It was the Ephesian church that had drifted.
He had a specific message for each of the seven churches. Each was responsible to respond rightly.
The Commendation (Revelation 2:2–3)
The Lord says, “I know your works.”
This reminds us of Jesus’ omniscience. Nothing escapes Him.
The church was commended for:
They did these things for Jesus’ name’s sake. It was a worthy effort for a worthy cause.
And yet, in spite of this glowing report card, there was a chastisement.
The Chastisement (Revelation 2:4)
“I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.”
Their religious service had replaced their relationship with Jesus.
They were fighting the good fight—protecting and promoting the gospel. But they had substituted loving Jesus with laboring for Jesus. Their spirituality was defined by service rather than intimacy.
They may have become more concerned about the speck in their brother’s eye than the log in their own. Whether it was love for Christ, love for one another, or love for the lost, it had faded—most likely all three.
Right theology and practice had made them unloving.
Why Loving God Matters
1 John 4 tells us that anyone born of God loves one another, because God is love. The mark of a Christian is not merely right doctrine or right practice, but fundamentally love for Jesus and for one another.
Recently, I asked my wife Michelle, “How do you know that I love you?”
She did not list what I did for her—household chores or snacks from my office pantry. She said:
Then I asked myself, What if I ask my Lord: How do You know that I love You?
Do I tell Him directly?
Do I spend time with Him?
Do I share my personal joys and fears in prayer?
Or can I only list deeds done in His name?
If our relationship with the Lord is non-existent and we can only point to our works, we are in danger of being among those in Matthew 7 to whom the Lord says, “I never knew you.”
Thank God that in His great love and mercy, He wants us to draw near and know Him personally. He walks among the churches. It is we who are prone to walk away.
The Counsel (Revelation 2:5)
The Lord gives three instructions:
Remember
Perhaps we have forgotten how deep in darkness we were.
I recall attending a Good Friday service in the U.S., singing about the Father’s love. I was convicted of self-righteousness because I could not wholeheartedly sing, “It was my sin that held Him there.” In my heart, I felt it was more the sin of others than mine.
When I realized how prideful I was and how filthy my works were, I began to taste His mercy more deeply.
Maybe you have stopped genuinely appreciating the gospel light into which you were drawn. Consider praying David’s prayer in Psalm 51:12:
“Restore to me the joy of Your salvation.”
Repent
Repentance goes beyond remorse. It involves a complete change of orientation—a judgment upon the past and a redirection for the future.
True repentance includes:
I was once confronted by a stranger singing Christian songs outside my university dorm in New York. When I told him I was a Bible study leader, he looked at me and said, “Don’t be a Pharisee.”
I was shocked. But later I realized he was right. I had been leading out of a desire to impress, not out of love. That was a turning point for me.
Do the Works You Did at First
When you first believed, could you keep it to yourself?
When we rekindle our first love, our response flows naturally:
The Consequence
If they did not repent, the Lord would remove their lampstand. They would lose their light-bearing capacity.
Today, that historical church in Ephesus does not stand. Its light has been completely snuffed out.
This is a serious warning for us as individuals and as a church.
What Are We Known For?
The church of Ephesus was known for hating the works of the Nicolaitans. They were not wrong to hate false doctrine.
But isn’t it striking that they were characterized by what they hated, not by whom they loved?
Are we known more for what we oppose than for our love for Jesus and one another?
Do we embrace the phrase:
“In fundamentals, unity; in non-essential matters, liberty; and in all things, love”?
The Promise
To the one who conquers, Jesus promises access to the tree of life in paradise.
From Genesis to Revelation, God documents His commitment to redeem us and dwell with us in fellowship.
Beloved, Jesus desires intimacy with us. He laid down His life for us. Even when we forsake Him, He continues to walk among us.
What a Friend. What a Savior.
Will we hear His voice and rekindle our first love?
Let us draw close to Him.
Closing Prayer
Our Heavenly Father,
We thank You for Your great love for us and how the Lord Jesus Christ is constantly in our midst. Help us to rekindle our first love and draw near to You. As we draw near, draw near to us. We love You.
In Jesus’ name, amen.