Beware of Losing Your First Love?

      I want to ask you a question: Do you still have a passionate love of Christ, and a burning desire to serve Him? I hope and I pray that you do, but if you don’t, you are not the first to experience this paralyzing lack of happiness in God.

      In the First Century we learn of a congregation of Christians like this. The church in Ephesus seemed to be doing well. It would be hard to find anyone who would deny that by all outward appearances it was a great church, a model church even. It was a church which seemed to be on the move for God. But as always, Jesus could read their thoughts. He knew what was going on underneath the surface. After commending the church at Ephesus concerning their patient endurance, intolerance of evil, suffering for Christ’s name, and exposing false apostles, Jesus confronted them. Because what He saw saddened Him because He knew they had a problem. They had a MAJOR problem. And what Jesus identified was that the people in the congregation at Ephesus had lost their passionate love for Him. Yes, they were doing lots of good things, but they were missing the most important thing of all: they no longer had a growing love for Jesus.

      Jesus told the church at Ephesus, “Remember therefore from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first” (Revelation 2:5). Remember that it’s all about loving Him. Remember how much He loves you. Remember how He died for you – while He was hanging on the Cross, you were on His mind. When He was being scourged you were on His mind. When He gave up Heaven and came to the Earth you were on His mind. Remember how it used to be with you and Jesus, and how excited you felt when your sins were forgiven. And repent now for letting other things take first place in your heart, instead of letting God occupy that position. Turn from your selfishness and self-centeredness and start seeking the Lord like you used to … with newness, freshness, and tremendous gratitude for His love and grace and mercy.   

      What was taking place at Ephesus was no idle matter with the Lord. It was of such importance that Jesus threatened to remove their lampstand if they continued to slide down the hill that He warned about during His Earthly ministry: “Because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved” (Matthew 24:12-13).

      Remember, “we love, because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). Fill your heart everyday with His great love for you, and you will grow in your love for Him.

 

- David R. Ferguson

The Bible is all we Need. Abide in it and Grow because of it.

 

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority …

Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, 19 and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.

20 If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— 21 “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” 22 (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? 23 These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh. Colossians 2:6-10,18-23

 

Some people are fond of appealing to their personal experiences as they attempt to impress us about how religious they are. Yet written all over the above text is the truth that the revelation of Christ in Scripture is all Christians need as all-sufficient proof of their relationship with Christ.

 

In 1 John we find the same kind of advice:

 

I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake.

13 I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning.

I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one.

I write to you, children, because you know the Father.

14 I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning.

I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you,

    and you have overcome the evil one.

15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away along with

its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

18 Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many

antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they

were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us. 20 But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. 21 I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. 22 Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. 23 No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. 24 Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is the promise that he made to us—eternal life. 26 I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. 27 But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.

28 And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. 1 John 2:12-28

 

Verse 24 sums up what John is getting at: “Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father.”

 

What they had heard from the beginning was the original gospel message. That’s all they needed then, it is all they need now, and it is all they will ever need.

 

When Paul wrote to the Corinthians he expressed the same truth in another way:

 

I have applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up in favour of one against another. 7 For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it? 1 Corinthians 4:6-7

 

What is written in Scripture is all we need. It is the same for all of us today. Gnosticism – a specialised knowledge of salvation, is false. Nobody has insider information that gives him or her special privilege.

 

Whatever authoritative knowledge of God and Christ we have must come from the Bible, which is always available to everyone, and easily accessible by everyone.

 

Granted, some people know more than others because they have dug deeper, but their digging was only in the same source – the Bible – that everyone else has. They’ve just worked harder to learn more. In regard to this, read the Mark 4:14-25 text that follows:

 

The sower sows the word. 15 And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. 16 And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. 17 And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. 18 And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, 19 but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 20 But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” 21 And he said to them, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand? 22 For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light. 23 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” 24 And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. 25 For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”

 

A final warning as we repeat a verse quoted earlier:

 

See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. Colossians 2:8

 

Read 2 Timothy 3:14-17 and 2 Peter 1:2-4, and note the relevance of the apostle Paul’s point, here:

 

Or do you think God’s word originated with you? Are you the only ones to whom it was given? 37If you claim to be a prophet or think you are spiritual, you should recognize that what I am saying is a command from the Lord himself. 38But if you do not recognize this, you yourself will not be recognized.1 Corinthians 14:36-38

 

David Carr

 

Cloverleaf Mall in Hattiesburg

The Family Motto

Consider the Simmons family motto and their daughter who demonstrated it.

Dave Simmons writes: I took Helen (eight years old) and Brandon (five years
old) to the Cloverleaf Mall in Hattiesburg to do a little shopping. As we
drove up, we spotted a Peterbilt eighteen-wheeler parked with a big sign on
it that said, "Petting Zoo." The kids jumped up in a rush and asked,
"Daddy, Daddy. Can we go? Please. Please. Can we go?"

"Sure," I said, flipping them both a quarter before walking into Sears.
They bolted away, and I felt free to take my time looking for a scroll saw.
A petting zoo consists of a portable fence erected in the mall with about
six inches of sawdust and a hundred little furry baby animals of all kinds.
Kids pay their money and stay in the enclosure enraptured with the squirmy
little critters while their moms and dads shop.

A few minutes later, I turned around and saw Helen walking along behind me.
I was shocked to see she preferred the hardware department to the petting
zoo. I bent down and asked her what was wrong.

She looked up at me with those giant limpid brown eyes and said sadly,
"Well, Daddy, it cost fifty cents. So, I gave Brandon my quarter." Then
she said the most beautiful thing I ever heard. She repeated the family
motto. The family motto is "Love is Action!"

She had given Brandon her quarter, and no one loves cuddly furry creatures
more than Helen. She had watched Sandy take my steak and say, "Love is
Action!" She had watched both of us do and say "Love is Action!" for years
around the house and Kings Arrow Ranch. She had heard and seen "Love is
Action," and now she had incorporated it into her little lifestyle. It had
become part of her.

What do you think I did? Well, not what you might think. As soon as I
finished my errands, I took Helen to the petting zoo. We stood by the fence
and watched Brandon go crazy petting and feeding the animals. Helen stood
with her hands and chin resting on the fence and just watched Brandon. I
had fifty cents burning a hole in my pocket; I never offered it to Helen,
and she never asked for it.

Because she knew the whole family motto. It's not "Love is Action." It's
"Love is SACRIFICIAL Action!" Love always pays a price. Love always costs
something. Love is expensive. When you love, benefits accrue to another's
account. Love is for you, not for me. Love gives; it doesn't grab. Helen
gave her quarter to Brandon and wanted to follow through with her lesson.
She knew she had to taste the sacrifice. She wanted to experience that
total family motto. Love is sacrificial action. *

Love is sacrificial action, and here is the greatest demonstration: "This is
how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the
world that we might live through Him. This is love: not that we loved God,
but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins"
(1 John 4:9-10 NIV).

We were lost in sin, but God loves us so much that He gave His Son to die on
the cross for our sins. God will save those who place their faith and trust
in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), turn from their sins in repentance (Acts
17:30-31), confess Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and are baptized
(immersed) into Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38). He will
continue to cleanse from sin those who continue to walk in the light of His
Word (1 John 1:7-9).

Love is sacrificial action. It's a great family motto and for every
individual person, too. It reflects the love of the Heavenly Father who
wants YOU to accept His love, reciprocate it, and share it.

-- David A. Sargent

* Dave Simmons, Dad, The Family Coach, Victor Books, 1991, pp. 123-124, as
quoted in www.sermonillustrations.com.

"Let me Die the Death of the Righteous."

 

Those words in the heading, recorded in Numbers 23:10, were spoken by Balaam, at God’s command, after the Moabite king, Balak, had asked Balaam to curse Israel.

 

The Old Testament frequently speaks of the dead going to Sheol (called Hades in New Testament):

 

Truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life,

8 for the ransom of their life is costly and can never suffice,

9 that he should live on forever and never see the pit.10 For he sees that even the wise die; the fool and the stupid alike must perish and leave their wealth to others.

11 Their graves are their homes forever, their dwelling places to all generations,

    though they called lands by their own names.

12 Man in his pomp will not remain; he is like the beasts that perish.

13 This is the path of those who have foolish confidence; yet after them people approve of their boasts. Selah 14 Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol; death shall be their shepherd, and the upright shall rule over them in the morning. Their form shall be consumed in Sheol, with no place to dwell.

15 But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me. Psalm 49:7-15

 

Man can never ransom his life from death. We all die, but “God will ransom my soul from the power of Hades, for he will receive me.”

 

The Bible frequently describes death by the word ‘sleep.’ Dead people look like sleeping people.  They lie still. Many assume that death, therefore must take us into unconsciousness where we are totally unaware of anything. But is that true? We dream while asleep. We stir while asleep. Even sleep-walk. Someone who looks as though they are dead, may not be dead at all. Appearances can mislead. Because the body in death appears to be asleep, doesn’t mean that the inner soul we cannot see is asleep, does it?

 

But after the death and resurrection of Jesus, whatever had been previously said about death in the Bible, would be replaced with the truth that the souls of the righteous dead go to dwell with Christ in paradise as soon as they die. It is inconceivable, following that assurance from the Saviour, that there could be any break in the continuity of the glorious life with the Son of God.

 

Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last

day. John 6:54

 

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall

he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” John

11:25-26

It is inconceivable to me, now that Jesus has conquered death, that His eternal life, shared with saved people, could be interrupted by death - meaning the soul goes to sleep in the after-world. And I think the following inspired Bible writers agree with me:

 

So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 2 Corinthians 5:6-8

 

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labour for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. Philippians 1:21-23

 

If “to live is Christ” while I’m alive, how can death be “gain” if I slip into total unconsciousness until the resurrection? Where’s the gain in that? If Christ lives in me while I am living, Galatians 2:20, is He sleeping with me when I am dead??  Because God doesn’t exactly tell us what we do as we wait with Christ in death, doesn’t mean we are asleep. And if we did nothing but bask in the glory of our Saviour, that would be more than enough to satisfy! Certainly better than just sleeping.

 

Jesus told the thief that he would join him in Paradise the day he died. Luke 23:43. In 2 Corinthians 12:1-7 Paul tells of going up to the third heaven – to Paradise - where he “heard inexpressible words.” He wasn’t unconscious, whether it was an in-the-body or out-of-body experience, but he was forbidden to tell us what he saw and heard. Paul experienced something in Paradise. There was something going on that could be experienced. Similarly, God has told us very little that is completely clear regarding what we experience after death in Paradise, but it would seem to be something to be experienced rather than slept through!!

 

When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the

word of God and for the witness they had borne. 10 They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Revelation 6:9-10

 

Yes, it’s a vision, but dead souls are talking; they’re not asleep!

 

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from

all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb … Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” 14 I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

15 “Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple;

    and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.

16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. 17 For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” Revelation 7:9-10,13-17

 

In Luke 16, when Jesus talks about the rich man and Lazarus in death, there’s a lot more than sleeping going on. Lazarus is being comforted, while the rich man is protesting in agony.

 

Yes they’re visions and parables, but souls coming out of the savage Roman persecution are serving God day and night in His temple, and the righteous and unrighteous dead are communicating (unless the rich man is talking to Lazarus who is being comforted in sleep!). They’re not unconscious!

 

At death, the Christian soul goes to live with Christ – awaiting the resurrected body and judgment.

 

And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. Hebrews 9:27-28

 

Faithful Christians will be eagerly waiting for Christ’s return, and His judgment, which will of course

be favourable for those truly in Christ trusting in Christ. Sleeping souls are not eagerly waiting souls!! The dead in Christ will wait with Christ in paradise, before being given a new body for the judgment which they will pass through on their journey into eternity with the Lord.

For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel,

and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who

are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

Judgment is to be feared only by the unrighteous and unforgiven, which is why Paul didn’t mention it to the Thessalonians in the previous passage.

 

Search me, O God, and know my heart!

    Try me and know my thoughts!

24 And see if there be any grievous way in me,

    and lead me in the way everlasting! Psalm 139:23-24

 

Oh “Let me Die the Death of the Righteous.”

 

David Carr

Who was Thomas Edison?

From the Ruins

The name of Thomas Edison is often associated with his inventions. He
invented the microphone, the phonograph, a commercially viable incandescent
light bulb, the storage battery, talking movies, and more than 1,000 other
things. But Thomas Edison wasn't always successful in his inventions.

In December of 1914 he had worked for 10 years on a storage battery. This
had greatly strained his finances. One particular evening spontaneous
combustion broke out in the film room. Within minutes all the packing
compounds, celluloid for records and film, and other flammable goods were in
flames. Fire companies from eight surrounding towns arrived, but the heat
was so intense and the water pressure so low that the attempt to douse the
flames was futile. Everything was destroyed. Edison was 67-years-old at
the time.

With all his assets going up in a whoosh (although the damage exceeded two
million dollars, the buildings were only insured for $238,000 because they
were made of concrete and thought to be fireproof), would his spirit be
broken?

The inventor's 24-year old son, Charles, searched frantically for his
father. He finally found him, calmly watching the fire, his face glowing in
the reflection, his white hair blowing in the wind. "My heart ached for
him," said Charles. "He was 67; no longer a young man; and everything was
going up in flames. When he saw me, he shouted, 'Charles, where's your
mother?' When I told him I didn't know, he said, 'Find her. Bring her
here. She will never see anything like this as long as she lives.'"

The next morning, Edison looked at the ruins and said, "There is great value
in disaster. All our mistakes are burned up. Thank God we can start anew."
Three weeks after the fire, Edison managed to deliver the first phonograph.

Because of our sins, our lives are ruined and doomed to destruction (Romans
3:23; 6:23). But God loves us so much that He gave His Son Jesus to die on
the cross for our sins to bring life to our sin-ruined lives. "In Him we
have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the
riches of His grace" (Ephesians 1:7).

God will save and give eternal life to those who place their faith and trust
in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), turn from their sins in repentance (Acts
17:30-31), confess Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and are baptized into
Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38). Then as we walk in the
light as He is in the light, the blood of Jesus continues to cleanse us from
sin (1 John 1:7-9).

Thank God we can start anew.

Won't YOU accept His offer of salvation and life?

-- David A. Sargent

* Information gleaned from Charles Swindoll, Hand Me Another Brick, Thomas
Nelson, 1978, pp. 82-83, and Bits and Pieces, November, 1989, p. 12, as
quoted in sermon illustrations from www.sermonsearch.com.