Just before we come to read God's precious word and preach forth His truth, let's take a moment to seek Him in prayer. Let's pray. Our gracious God and Father in heaven, we bow before Thee and we draw nigh unto Thee in the precious name of our Saviour. We thank Thee for the way of access to the throne of grace. We rejoice it is by the new and living way, the way of the precious atoning blood. And we cry to thee that as we turn now to read the scriptures of truth, and then proclaim thy word, that we will know help from heaven, that thou wilt grant to us that enduement with power from on high, so that the word preached will be a blessing to all who hear. O come and enlighten our minds and open up our hearts, cause us to have much to rejoice in, as again with the eye of faith we behold the one who is our beloved, the one who died to save us from our sins. We ask these things in his name and for his sake. Amen. Our scripture reading is found in the last book of the Bible, the book of the Revelation. And we're reading just a few verses from Revelation chapter two, the second chapter of the Revelation and reading from verse one. Let us hear the word of the Lord. Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write, These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks. I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil. and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles and are not, and hast found them liars, and hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. Nevertheless, I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works. or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitines, which I also hate. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life. which is in the midst of the paradise of God. Ending our reading there at verse seven of the chapter and knowing that the Lord will add his own blessing to the reading of his precious word for Christ's sake. Amen. Here in chapter two and also in chapter three of the book of the Revelation, we find that there is the record of seven letters that were written to seven churches. These were real churches in real locations and it would be true to say that they are representative of the Church of Jesus Christ in all ages. There are conditions prevailing in the various churches and if we had time to read all of the seven letters we would find that so many of those conditions even prevail today in many churches and amongst many congregations. The first of these letters was written to a church that had been planted in a capital city. The city was a very important one in its day. It was known for its great wealth. but sadly it was also known for its great wickedness. There was much by way of superstition in this place and also much by way of idolatry. This letter was addressed to the church at Ephesus. And like the other letters addressed to the churches here, we find that it was directed to the angel or the messenger, or we might say the minister of the church. And while it was directed to him, it didn't just have an application to him alone. because it's clear from what we read that there was an application to others also. For example, here in Revelation chapter 2 and verse 7 we find these words, He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. And we find that the Apostle John is hearing the Spirit on the Lord's day, and he has received a vision of the exalted Lord Jesus Christ. He has received a vision of the glorified Saviour. And as he then pens what he has been writing under the inspiration of the Spirit to the church at Ephesus and to the other churches. Notice how he commences in verse 1 of Revelation chapter 2, unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write, these things saith he, saith he. And we'd just been reading, if we'd had time, in Revelation chapter 1 of that vision that I mentioned just a moment ago. And John is wanting to make it clear that the word that is now coming forth to the church at Ephesus and also to the other churches is a word directly from the Lord himself. So it's clear that John was wanting to establish a very clear link between the word that was being given to the church at Ephesus and the one who had given that word, so that this word would have great authority. and would have tremendous power. Because if we think about it, the response to a person's words that we give, very often it will be in direct proportion to our estimation of the person speaking. And here the one who is speaking these words and this message is none other than the Lord of Glory. none other than the glorified Christ of God. And this message that comes to the church at Ephesus contains many things. We're going to look at some of them in a moment or two. But amongst all of the things that were written, we discover that there is a very solemn and a very serious warning that is expressed. And it's a warning that they would have done well to pay heed to. It was concerning their love for Jesus Christ. And what a timely message that is for your heart and for mine. as we ask ourselves the question, how is my love for my Saviour? Do I really love the Lord Jesus as I ought to love Him, as I should love Him? Do I love Him now the way I once loved Him, even when I first came to know Him, first came to trust in Him? How is my love now for Him? in comparison to what it was then. How is your love for your Lord and your Saviour now in comparison to that love that you had when first you came to trust in Him, when first you came to know Him as your Lord and your Saviour? We're going to find here in this message that came in this letter to the church at Ephesus that the warning was that there was sadly a fading love in the hearts of so many in the church at Ephesus. And as this word comes to your heart and to my heart, is there a similar message, a warning note that's being sounded by the Lord to us? Is our love a love that is growing or is it a love that is lessening? Is it a love that is increasing for the Savior, or is it on the decrease? Is there a fading love in our hearts for the Savior? And so we want to spend just a little time this evening considering the fading love that there might be in our hearts for the Lord Jesus himself. But in order to come to that, we must first of all note the words of the Saviour to this church at Ephesus that did have a fading love, because there is much in the church that he can commend them for. And so our first head is just to note the commendation that the Savior gives, and it is a good commendation. There's much that he can commend, and that's an encouragement to know that there is much in the church at Ephesus that does bring such a commendation from the Lord himself. Is there much in our lives and in our hearts that the Lord can commend? especially our love for him. Maybe we're busy like the church here at Ephesus doing many things, but yet there could still be a fading love in our hearts. What was the church at Ephesus here busy doing? Well, we read in verse two that the Lord said, I know, I know thy works. And that verb to know, is pointing us to just think for a moment of what that really means. When the Lord says, I know, when the Lord says to you, I know your works, or if he says that to me, I know your works, what kind of a knowledge is he speaking of? This is the Lord's knowledge. Therefore, it has to be a knowledge that is perfect. It's got to be and it is a knowledge that is comprehensive. It's a knowledge that is complete. That means there's nothing that the Lord does not know. It's not as if there are things covered up that he can't see, that he's unaware of, because he knows everything. Yes, he says here by way of commendation, I know thy works and thy labour and thy patience. He could see their works, yes, but he could see much more than that. He could see into their very hearts and he knew the motive that was there as they did those works, as they engaged in those works. He knew the thoughts and the intents of their heart, that which could easily be covered up to others but was laid bare before the Lord. So when the Lord comes to us and says unto us, I know thy works, I know thy labor, I know thy patience, we must realize that that is a full, a perfect, and a complete knowledge. Well, what's he commending them for? He's commending them for their works, their labor, and their patience. The reference here to their works by way of labour and patience indicates that they had really been toiling. They had been engaging in real, earnest labour and toil for the extension of the kingdom of God. They were striving for that. I recall that verse over in Paul's letter to the church at Colossae in Colossians chapter 1 and verse 29 where he said this, Quaerontu, I also labour. It's actually the same word and it means really labouring hard and toiling. Quaerontu, I also labour, striving according to his working, speaking of the Lord's working, which worketh in me mightily. What was Paul saying there? He was saying, well yes, I'm labouring, I'm striving, I'm working. And God's working doesn't mean that I really hold back and don't engage with earnestness of heart. No, far from it. God's working doesn't supplant my working. His mighty working comes through and is evident in the light of my diligent labour. and my diligent working for him. And such labour and such toil doesn't go unnoticed by the Lord, as it didn't here. No, there's a commendation of their diligence. Yes, there was earnestness of heart. It seems also that there was great zeal. We go on to read in verse 2, I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, how thou canst not bear them which are evil. can't bear them. The word bear there has the sense of of carrying. We find it's a word that's used for example in Galatians 6 and verse 2 where the exhortation is bear ye one another burdens carry one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. Indicating to us that there were a people here who had a great zeal. And not only that, but they did have standards. They did have standards because he's saying to them that I see, I know that you can't bear them which are evil. You're not going to carry them, you're not going to tolerate them, you're not going to help and assist them, because you have got a standard. It's not a standard really of your own making, of your own imagining, or of your own setting, not at all. They are not going to tolerate that which is evil. They're intolerant of evil, in other words, and the Savior commends them for that. But he also speaks about how they had tried those that said they were apostles at the end of verse 2, and are not, and hast found them liars. Now, an apostle was one who had been sent to proclaim the truth. And an apostle was one who wanted to see the truth preserved and to preach forth that word. And isn't it so today, if we are faithful messengers of the Lord, we want to proclaim the truth. We want to preach forth the word of God. But there are some who come and they take the name of those who are proclaiming the truth, but they don't proclaim the truth. You remember what we read in 1 John 4 about many false prophets are gone out into the world. The Word of God should always be our guide. We shouldn't be setting ourselves above the Word. We should be holding fast to the Word. We should not be judging the Word of God. The Word of God is that which will judge us. So therefore, we should be standing firm for the Word, and if we're standing firm for the Word of God, we're standing firm for the truth. because God's Word is truth. But there were those here, and it's clear that they claimed that they were true apostles, but they weren't proclaiming the truth, because we read there at the very end of verse 2 that they had been found to be liars. And when you go a little further down, you find that there's mention made of the Nicolaitans. For example, in verse 6, But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. Now who were the Nicolaitans? They were those who claimed to have superior light. And because they claimed to have superior light, then they felt that that gave them liberty to practice idolatry and to engage in immorality and all kinds of sin. So the church here at Ephesus was taking a stand on this front and we could say from that point of view they were sound. Yes, they had been very, very active in the work that they were engaging in, and they were not going to compromise with the Nicolaitans, they could rightly say. We are not making any compromises at all. Yes, they had been laboring for the Lord's sake. Look at verse three. And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast labored, and hast not fainted. What a commendation is being given to the church at Ephesus. They're showing great perseverance. They're showing and demonstrating immense determination. They're seeking to stand for truth. They're seeking to stand for righteousness. And they're not wanting to compromise with evil. Yes, that's the commendation. But then we must come and look secondly at the Declaration. because there is a declaration that the Lord makes here to them, and it's a very solemn one, a very serious one, a most searching one, and we find it in verse 4. The verse begins with the word nevertheless. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee. Now remember the one who's speaking here. It is the glorified Lord Jesus Christ. He is the one who says these words, I have somewhat against thee. That's solemn, to hear words like that coming from the Savior himself. And what was it that he had against them? Well, it's stated explicitly, very, very clearly, and yet very simply, thou hast left thy first love. This is what I have against you. Notice that he had given first a word of commendation. Perhaps if we had been coming with the message, we might have felt inclined to begin with this very solemn warning. You have left your first love. But it's the order here that we just should note in passing. The order is reversed. The words of commendation come first. But then the Saviour, in His great faithfulness, brings this solemn warning and says, I have this against thee, and the reason thou hast left thy first love. So despite all that could be commended, there was a very, very serious problem. And the Lord identifies it and declares it so that they might be aware of it. It's very plainly put, isn't it? It's unmistakably clear. Thou hast left thy first love. Yes, there's much that they have done, but nevertheless, there is something serious here. There is sin, and we have to call it that. Leaving our first love is sin. How do we know? Because you remember what we read in verse five? It begins, actually, with the word remember. Remember, therefore, from whence thou art fallen, and repent. Now, if there were no sin involved, there would be no need for repentance. But obviously, this must be a sinful thing to leave our first love. Otherwise, the Savior would not have been exhorting them here to come and repent. And he does. They're to remember, how they have fallen, how they have left their first love, and think why they left their first love, and realizing that that is their case and their sin, he's saying, repent and do the first works or else I will come on to thee quickly and will remove thy candlestick out of his place. And then he repeats it, accept thou, repent. Yes. This seems to be the dominant sin here in the church at Ephesus. They had left their first love. There was a fading love. There was a declension in their love and in their affection for Jesus Christ. They had, in so many ways, sadly abandoned that first love, that wonderful affection that they had. And the problem is in their hearts. and it should greatly concern them, and the Saviour is revealing it and making this declaration unto them, others might not have noticed it, because they had been very active. They had been labouring, they had been working, they had been toiling, they had been doing so many things. But yet the Saviour seeing into the heart had to tell them, there is a serious, serious matter that you need to give attention to. You have left your first love. What did that really mean, having left their first love? Let's think just for a moment about the church at Ephesus. If we had time to read through Paul's letter to the church at Ephesus, to the Ephesian believers, We would find that they did have an attachment to the person of Jesus Christ. He was the object of their faith, their saving faith. They had come to trust in him. And remember, they had been saved out of the paganism of the Roman Empire. It was at Ephesus where the goddess Diana was worshipped. But obviously, they had turned away from that idolatry. and they had come into a saving union by faith with Jesus Christ. Ephesians 2 verse 13, but now in Christ Jesus. That's how Paul spoke of them. They were in Christ. They were saved, but now in Christ Jesus. Ye who sometimes were far off are made now by the blood of Christ. Not only had they an attachment to the person of Christ, but they had a very good affection, a very great affection. for the person of Jesus Christ because he was their one and only truly beloved and yet sadly they had left their first love of him and that had to grieve the Lord and it should have grieved them. but they somehow had got caught up with other things. And while they were saved, and they were in Christ, and they were enjoying so many privileges, and they had had so many blessings, yet they're not loving the Lord in their hearts the way that they once did. They even had this wonderful way of being able to approach the throne of grace in the person of their Saviour. And there was a time when they felt really close to the Lord, very, very near to the Lord. They were so conscious as they came to pray of possessing the ear and the heart of God Himself. But, ah, here is the warning. You have left your first love Should not your love grow in proportion to your knowledge? And you would answer, I hope, yes it should. Your love should increase as your knowledge increases. Now when you were first saved, when I was first saved, I didn't have very much knowledge. I have a little more knowledge now, but I have so, so much more still to learn. There is so much that I still don't know. But if I know more of Christ than what I did then, should it not be that my love should have increased as my knowledge has increased? I should not have the fading love, I should have a growing love, I should have an increasing love for my Lord and my Saviour. Would you count someone a real friend the more that you get to know them, the less love that you have for them? Would you have someone as a friend that you might even feel is such a great friend that you would describe them as a confident? And yet you can only admire them just from a distance? Surely not. We grow in the knowledge of Christ as we grow in the word that he reveals to us. And as he is revealed in the word of God, then our knowledge increases concerning him. And should it not be that the more that we get to know him and the more we get to know of him and about him, then our love should not be fading. It should be the very opposite. Our love should be increasing and growing more and more. We should still have the love of our espousals. That's so, so important. And I ask you, is your love for your Saviour fading? And if so, why? Surely, as your knowledge has increased of Him, you should be saying, I love Him more now than ever I did. But yet the church here at Ephesus, this was their serious problem. and the declaration is made by the Lord himself, you have left your first love. So there is the commendation and there is the declaration. But then thirdly and finally, there is the implication. The implication of this fading love. Oh, it's not totally gone. It's not completely removed. but those here at Ephesus, they had left their first love. That love had sadly lessened considerably. Christ, if he's less precious to you now than he once was, then you have left your first love. I was reading a book by Octavius Winslow and I recommend anything written by Octavius Winslow, just centring upon this very thing. And bear with me as I read just a very short paragraph from the book. And he poses this question, in fact several questions. They're very pertinent questions and they're most searching questions. Does his blood daily moisten the root of thy profession? Is his righteousness that which exalts thee out of and above thyself, and daily gives thee free and near access to God? Is the sweetness of his love much in thy heart, and the fragrance of his name much on thy lips? Are thy corruptions daily carried to his grace, thy guilt to his blood, thy trials to his heart? In a word, Is Jesus the substance of thy life, the source of thy sanctification, the springhead of thy joys, the theme of thy song, the one glorious object on which thine eye is ever resting, the mark towards which thou art ever pressing? Do you not find those questions posed there in that short paragraph most challenging concerning the Lord and Saviour, your Lord and your Saviour, Jesus Christ? Another implication of fading love is that there is not the same love for the people of God as there once was. Yes, there may have been a time when you delighted to enter into a spiritual conversation with others of like precious faith. But perhaps you don't have the same desire to do that. I know in these days with the virus and all of the restrictions, it's really impossible to be meeting up with fellow believers. I fully understand that. But that aside, would there be still that desire in your heart to commune with others who are the Lord's people and to have those conversations about the Lord, about the work of the Lord, about the things of God? Another implication of a fading love is that there is sadly a partial friendship, at least, with the world. And yet the hymn writer asked the question, is this vile world a friend to grace, to help us unto God? When love to Christ has declined, when love to Christ has been fading, then alas, worldly things and standards appear less wicked and they become more tolerable. Therefore, if you feel and if the Lord is pointing out to you that you have lost your first love, then I exhort you to give heed to what the Saviour says. Remember and repent, repent and come back into that close fellowship and communion again with the Lord. Another implication of fading love is that the truth that once thrilled your heart and yes, it's still acknowledged as the truth, but there isn't the joy in the truth that there once was in your heart. Yes, you will still say there is the truth, there is the light of truth, but is there the heart of truth? Is there the heart of truth? There are some who say, well, I can still maybe have a desire for the truth and believe in the truth, but I don't really feel much of the warmth of that truth within my heart. If that is so, then is that not indicative of a failing love for Christ? Is he not truth personified? Yes he is. He is truth personified, and if you have that real first love for Him, then there will be that love of the truth that will warm your heart and will bless your soul. Oh, let's come before the Lord and have Him search our hearts. Let us see if our love for the Saviour has been sadly a failing love and if that is so may the Lord give us grace to repent of that sin and return to the Lord and know once again what it is to love him with all our heart and with all our soul. May the Lord bless his word to all our hearts for Christ's sake. Let's come in a closing word of prayer. Our gracious God and Father in heaven, we come before Thee once again in our Saviour's name, and we thank Thee that Thou hast again opened up Thy Word to our hearts. We thank Thee for this portion of Thy Word that we have been reading and meditating upon, considering the message that came to those in the church at Ephesus, and Thou didst bring that solemn warning note that they had left their first love, And O God, we cry to thee that thou wouldst search each of our hearts, lest we would have been so busy and so active in other ways, but yet in our hearts there's a fading love for our Saviour. O, enable us to come in true evangelical repentance of that sin, and grant, O God, that we will again return to our first love, and that there will be found in these hearts of ours a burning love for our Saviour, just as those disciples on that road to Emmaus found, that when the risen Saviour came and talked with them by the way, The testimony they bore was that their heart did burn within them, and we pray that that would be our experience as we think again of our Savior, the one who loved us so much that he gave himself for us. When we think of that sacrifice, that blood that he shed, all because of our sin. He loved us and loved us with an everlasting love. Grant that there will be found that love for him in our hearts. May we love him with the whole heart. Oh, we pray that our love will increase more and more for the one who has loved us. And we pray, O God, that we will find as we go forth to do thy work and to serve thee, that we will not be doing it with a cold heart, or an indifferent heart, or a divided heart, but grant that we will be doing it with a heart that truly, deeply, sincerely loves the Lord, and increasingly so, help us to know more of thee, and grant that in knowing more of thee, our love will grow and grow yet more, the more we get to know thee, Lord, we do thank Thee for all of Thy grace and goodness unto us. We thank Thee that Thou hast been watching over us, Thou hast been preserving our lives, and we return Thee thanks. We thank Thee, Lord, that Thy hand has been upon us. We acknowledge all of Thy goodness and Thy mercy and Thy blessings, and we cry to Thee that Thou wilt help us to continue serving Thee in these days of difficulty, O God, we pray that we will know what it is to look on to thee, and lift our hearts to thee, and be willing to follow in the way that thou dost lead. We pray again for thy blessing to be upon the work and the congregation in Londonderry, and we pray for thy word as it will go forth this coming Lord's Day, Prepare the hearts of all who will hear, and grant, O God, it be a word in season for thy people, and a word in season for the unsaved, that the saints of God will be helped and encouraged and edified, and that poor lost souls will be brought to saving faith in Jesus Christ. We pray for every aspect of the work. We ask for every family in connection with the congregation. We pray for the young and for the boys and girls. And O God, we ask that in coming days, thou will give clear direction as to who should come to be minister and to pastor the flock of God. We look to thee for this. We pray that thou will guide and O grant that the man of thy choosing will come in thy will and in thy time. We leave it all before thee. We remember before Thee right across our province. We ask, O God, that Thou wilt bless us as a denomination. We cry to Thee that Thou wilt bless our missionaries. We thank Thee for all of them who have gone forth and for those who are serving Thee on the foreign field right now. We commit them to Thee and we ask that Thy hand of protection will continue upon them and that thou wilt bless all of their work and all of their labours for thee. We think of the students too in the Whitfield College. We pray that thou wilt bless them in all of their studies and we ask, O God, that they will prove day by day the sufficiency of thy grace. So we spread our need before thee. We ask, O God, that thou wilt continue with thy blessing upon us and that thou wilt enable us each one, we who profess to know thee and love thy name, To witness a good confession of the faith, we ask these things in Jesus' name, and for our Savior's sake. Amen.