Get off the side road
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Introduction: October 6, 1993 would be one of the worst days of my life, at least I thought so at the time. I poured my bowl of Cheerios and turned on Sports Center. Then my little heart was broken, as my favorite player, Michael Jordan, announced his retirement. It was such a shock to my system. He had just one his third consecutive NBA title. He was the Finals MVP and should have won the regular season MVP after averaging 32.6 points per game. He was on top of the basketball world. From the outside looking in it seemed as if everything was going right for Michael Jordan.
But everything wasn’t okay with Jordan. Inwardly he was miserable. As he announced in his retirement he had lost a love for the game. Though he still looked the part he wasn’t able to play with passion and love anymore. And so he walked away from it to pursue his childhood dream of playing baseball.
The Church at Ephesus had a similar problem. From the outside looking in it certainly seemed like they were a solid church. They were fighting heresy. They were working hard. They were patiently enduring trials. But they had one problem. But it was a big one. They had grown cold in their love for Jesus.
Transition: So what do we do when we find ourselves like the church at Ephesus?
I. When our love is growing cold we must remember
Forsaking your first love usually happens by a subtle drift.
Awake: The Call to a Renewed Life
To be used with:
Session
Two:
Return to Your First Love
Seldom is it one moment. It’s like the frog on a kettle.
Sermon Title Possibilities:
When Love Grows Cold; Or, Is Dutiful Obedience Enough
Scripture:
If you turn up the heat in increments it will never know it is being fried.
In the same way the Ephesians likely became distracted putting out fires.
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Things like combating the Nicolatian heresy and enduring persecution would certainly be draining.
They likely didn’t even fully realize they had a problem.
But Jesus cuts straight to the heart and calls them to remember the height from which they had fallen.
Newlyweds are a lot like new believers. Their naivety is something we smile at. But there may
Newlyweds are a lot like new believers.
Their naivety is something we smile at. But there may also be an ache when we see the way they look at one another.
also be an ache when we see the way they look at one another. It brings us back to our newlywed
It brings us back to our newlywed experience.
experience. In many moments like this our passion for our spouse grows. The same thing
In many moments like this our passion for our spouse grows.
The same thing happens when we are around new believers.
happens when we are around new believers. It is easy to forget what it is like to be so excited
It is easy to forget what it is like to be so excited about reading parts of the Bible we’ve never read before.
about reading parts of the Bible we’ve never read before. Being around new believers is a great
Being around new believers is a great way to remember.
way to remember.
Application: What about you? Do you remember when you first came to Christ? Has your
Application: What about you?
Application: What about you? Do you remember when you first came to Christ? Has your
Do you remember when you first came to Christ?
Has your affection for Christ grown cold?
affection for Christ grown cold? How can you intentionally spend time with new believers?
How can you intentionally spend time with new believers?
II. When our love is growing cold we must return
When we think of a need for repentance we seldom think of repenting for our lack of affections towards the Lord.
towards the Lord. But repent we must. Twice in verse 5 Jesus calls the church at Ephesus to
repent of having forsaken their first love. I love what John Stott says on this point:
How sane and matter-of-fact is this word of Christ! So many of us admit our present state,
but wait for some emotional upheaval to set us right. We are like children who fall in a
puddle and sit in the mud waiting for someone to pick them up. But they should get up at
But repent we must.
once. So should we, just as soon as we are conscious of having fallen1.
Application: How do you repent of cold affections? The same way you would repent of adultery
Twice in verse 5 Jesus calls the church at Ephesus to repent of having forsaken their first love.
and murder. is a great guide. Own up to the seriousness of the situation, get out of the
I love what John Stott says on this point:
mud puddle, and run to Christ.
How sane and matter-of-fact is this world of Christ! So many of us admit our present state, but wait for some emotional upheaval to set us right. We are like children who fall in a puddle and sit in the mud waiting for someone to pick them up. But they should get up at once. So should we, just as soon as we are conscious of having fallen.
Application: How do you repent of cold affections?
The same way you would repent of adultery and murder.
is a great guide.
Own up to the seriousness of the situation, get out of the mud puddle, and run to Christ.
III. When our love is growing cold we must resume
Many marriages have ended because one or both parties have “fallen out of love”.
We’ve bought a terrible lie in our culture that once you “fall out of love” there is no turning back—you simply must move on. Though, I doubt he’d use the language of falling in love, Jesus prescribes for the church of Ephesus the way back. He tells them to do the things they used to do.
a terrible lie in our culture that once you “fall out of love” there is no turning back—you simply
must move on. Though, I doubt he’d use the language of falling in love, Jesus prescribes for the
church of Ephesus the way back. He tells them to do the things they used to do.
Our natural instinct is to wait until feelings return before doing the things we did in our earlier
walk. But that is backwards. C.S. Lewis likens this to children playing:
When you are not feeling particularly friendly but know you ought to be, the best thing
you can do, very often, is to put on a friendly manner and behave as if you were a nicer
person than you actually are. And in a few minutes, as we have all noticed, you will be
really feeling friendlier than you were. Very often the only way to get a quality in reality
is to start behaving as if you had it already. That is why children’s games are so
important. They are always pretending to be grownups—playing soldiers, playing shop.
But all the time, they are hardening their muscles and sharpening their wits so that the
pretense of being grown-up helps them to grow up in earnest2.
The worst thing you can do when your love is growing cold is forsake spiritual disciplines.
These are the means that God will use to stoke the fires of affection in your heart. What a terrible
response it would have been for the Ephesians to have forsaken the things they were doing right because Christ rebuked their affections. No, they were to keep doing what they had been doing
but to do it with proper affection.
Conclusion:
It is a grace for God to reveal to the church of Ephesus their lack of affection. Christ is not
content with mere service. He desires service with love because he died for a bride and not for a
servant. The Lord does not desire that we simply trudge along miserably serving him. He desires
that we serve him out of a deep love. When you find your affections growing cold the answer
isn’t complex; remember, return, and resume.