Revelation 2:5 "Remember therefore from whence thou are 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."
As part of a church that has seen it's share of splits, and questionable doctrine, those of us who try to remain true to the original tenants of the gospel have formed an "organization" of sorts, known as the Restoration Branches. Webster defines restoration as "an act of restoring or the condition of being restored; a bringing back to a former position or condition". But what are we restoring? Are we talking about individuals, or the Church? I believe that both are applicable here, mainly because a church is made of people, and if the people are not restored, then how can the Church be restored?
In the opening text, John the Revelator has been given a message to the church in Ephesus. The angel referred to at the start of this message is seen as the Pastor-the leadership of the church. Jesus, the author of the message, begins by stating that he "knows your works". This statement is referring both to the individuals, and the body as a whole. The Lord is omnipotent, which means he knows all and sees all. This can be both a comforting thought and an unnerving thought. He SEES us; everything we say, do, and think. Such a moment occurred to Mary in the first chapter of Luke, when the angel greets her with the words "Hail, thou virgin". Nothing escapes His eye; nothing catches Him unaware. This qualifies Jesus to speak and to judge each of us; to be honest, we are not even qualified to judge ourselves.
Jesus' message begins with all the struggles that the saints are dealing with, and his understanding of their trials. But, in verse four, the Lord starts off with a sobering word: "nevertheless", or in other words, "despite all of that". Jesus took in full account of all the good in the church at Ephesus, yet he had something against them. His complaint? "you have left your first love". They have LEFT, not lost, their first love. The love that they once had for Jesus and His work is not there anymore. Does this mean that they completely turned their backs on him? Not at all. But it certainly means that they were not giving of their best; simply going through the motions, turning worship into ritualistic drudgery. At this point, we can actually be prohibiting the work.
In verse five, the Lord gives the church the remedy; he lays out the plan for restoration. "Remember therefore from whence thou are fallen, and repent, and do the first works". Three steps to accomplish this return: Remember, repent, and do. Seems pretty simple, doesn't it? Then why do we struggle with it? I would contend that this world has too much a hold upon our hearts, so as to make our relationship with Christ alive. Let's look at these three points individually.
The first step we are given is to remember. In the day in which we live, remembering Him is quite a task. For our remembrance to become effective, we must make it a discipline. So, what does it mean to remember? To remember anything, one must have had experience with that which is to be remembered. It's not just head knowledge, but a deep, spiritual and emotional connection. I remember being at Arlington cemetery once. I was deeply moved at all of the graves, and the monuments that were there. As I stood in reverence, my attention was taken to a man who had his hand on a grave stone. He openly wept, and spoke to his friend, who was lying at rest. I became aware that his remembrance was real, while mine was more superficial. We must seek the living Christ and allow Him to not only change our lives, but our perspectives as well. Remembrance must be a constant evaluation of His holiness, and our unworthiness. This is how a vision is restored. Proverbs 29:18 reads "where there is no vision, the people perish". This world robs us of vision. The revelation of Christ restores it.
The second step we are given is to repent. We've all heard sermons on this subject. Without adding in another sermon, I want to point out one aspect of repentance that we struggle with: committing the same sin again. Suffice it say that we know it's wrong. But how do we truly repent; giving up our sin, and not returning to it? It's a simple process really. I call it the principle of replacement. It's not enough to just something. We must stop, and replace it with something holy. Gordon MacDonald, in his book "Ordering Your Own Private World" makes this statement: ANY unused time will always flow to your weakness. So, when we remove something in our lives, we can't just leave our hearts open, we must refill it with something else. I had the joy of enduring a root canal once. My tooth was infected and needed help. The dentist removed all of the infected part of my tooth, and scheduled me back to fill it. That empty tooth kept me up most of the night. It wasn't until it was filled did it become whole again. Such truth must be applied to our lives.
The last step is to "do". James 1:22 tells us "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves." This "doing" is vital in our lives; it is the expression of grace in our hearts. We all remember when we were first in love with our spouse. What did you do that brought you such love? Talking, walking, praying, worshipping, etc. How do you restore your marriage? By DOING the things that first brought you together. What did you do when you first gave yourself to Christ? Pray, study, worship, fellowship, testifying, etc. Being alive in His work causes the windows of Heaven to open. restoring hope and desire, and changing you from within. This is the calling of those who claim to be His. Seek Him with all of your heart, might, mind and strength, and you will be filled anew. Just DO it. God bless.
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