Remember Therefore from Whence Thou art Fallen,,the Wayfarer 3//27/13

 3//27/13
“Remember
from Whence Thou art Fallen”

“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.”

(Revelation 2:5)

Today we touch the untouchable book of Revelation, given to us by John of Patmos, through our Savior Jesus Christ himself.

This particular message is one I have given before, in places where I knew none of the congregation, and had no idea why God wouldn’t let me preach from any other scripture.

 It is probably one of the most important messages for the people of today’s church to hear. It is also probably the hardest for today’s “Christians” here in our country to comprehend, and even harder to accept.

Take note of the use of the phrase “the first works” used by Jesus, we will delve deeply into the meaning of this phrase as we progress through today’s message.

First, however let us backtrack to put the verse I opened with into context:

“And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me,

Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;

The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches; and the seven candlesticks thou sawest are the seven churches.

(Revelation 1:17-20)

Jesus prefaces the remainder of the revelation by 
telling John just who he is. He had already done so over in the 11^th verse of first chapter, but reinforces again to John, that he is speaking to Jesus himself!

Naturally John fell at his feet as though dead, as would any mortal man confronted by our savior while still in this imperfect body which we inhabit. Imagine the awe John felt. His description of what he saw is concise and beautiful, respectful, but never fearful!

I urge the reader to go even further back to the first verse of the first chapter and read for yourself What John had to say about WHY he wrote this book!

After reinforcing who he was to John, Jesus then went on to explain the vision that John had, and the meanings of the seven stars and seven candlesticks.

 There are many good messages about the ages of the church that is described by the scripture to follow, but I feel that that scripture is not intended to be paid attention to by only the people of those ages, but those of all ages past and to come!

“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 cans’t 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 labored, and hast not fainted.”

(Revelation 2: 1-3)

Christ gave John a specific message to be relayed to the people comprising the church of Ephesus. That message was not to a meeting place, or a building, but to the PEOPLE of the church.

 He went on to compliment this particular church for the things it was doing correctly!

He complimented their past works, and labor and PATIENCE! He also took note that they had overcome many of the false apostles who represented themselves as being Christian, but proved by their lives that they were not.

This should be a template for today’s churches as well! If everyone who said they were Christians, actually lived their lives in the service of our Lord, we would have a much more perfect world!  This is the standard we must seek to achieve.

The message to this particular church didn’t end with the compliment, however.

Instead Christ went on to issue a warning to them:

Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore for whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto you quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which also I 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 paradise of God.

(Revelation 2:4-7)

Christ’s warning given through John applies today even more stridently than at the time centuries ago from which it echoes!

MOST churches today have left that first love. That love is the love given us by the Father and by Jesus himself. MANY of the churches today have no idea what the first works actually are!

The first works spoken of, is that we honor God’s commandments, and more specifically our Savior’s commandment to love one another, as he himself loved us.

That love is shown, not by calling others sinners and demeaning them, while never realizing that all are sinners and therefore subject to God's judgment alone, but by showing them the fruits of the love of Jesus by living a life that reflects the values and teachings of our Lord. Note that Jesus called attention to the deeds of the Nicolaitans,  and expressed hatred only toward those deeds, not the people themselves! 

That Love is not shown by calling anyone names, and calling them to the attention of those who attend church with you, but by fervent prayer, and truly attempting to reach the reachable and teach the teachable through the love given us by Jesus Himself before they become lost to Him forever, due to a  lack of having ever seen that love being put into practice. 

 My bible tells me that Jesus said he had lost none that were given him except the son of perdition. Our prayers should always be that we touch hearts in a way that allows them to complete the process demanded by our Lord to attain salvation, and that none be lost along the way because of our own blindness and imperfection. Note that that process is called repentance, not self-righteousness or deprecation of others!

We need to pray that we are able to overcome the things that take our lives from the path of the first works, and that we be one of those allowed to partake of the feast that awaits us in God’s paradise.

Pray that we continue only in the love which Jesus demanded of us! Pray that our lives always show the first works and that we always remember that first love!

 I especially want to call attention to Jesus having said that he would remove the candlestick, “EXCEPT THOU REPENT”

Mean what you pray, pray what you mean. Jesus doesn’t just hear words, but sees whether those words match what is truly in your heart!

BE who you say you are!!!

If you call yourself a Christian, follow His teachings, and lay aside the teachings of men instead of God’s laws!

Understand the need for daily repentance because “ALL HAVE SINNED AND COME SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD” (Romans 3:23)

Look carefully into your own heart, make the decision to repent your own sin and to follow the precepts Jesus gave us. Quit looking only for the sinfulness of others and look instead to see if the love of Christ is there, or if there is a need there for you to fill through the love of Christ.

I close here with the promise that we will examine the writings to the other churches at a later date. I will not, however initiate a series but will preach what God gives me each time I come before you.

I claim no special gift of prophecy, only the ability to comprehend the teachings of my Savior, and hopefully, to help others to comprehend them.

 I close with the same love, of this sinner, saved by God’s grace through the blood sacrifice of Jesus, and through the repentance I had, and have, not only on the day of my salvation, but each day of my life, still proclaiming only the message of redemption through that repentance that I was called to preach, many years ago,and doing so in the only way I can, never through my own words, but His alone!

I look forward to the day that we will know and be known. I look forward to the fellowship with my savior and fellow Christians. I Know in whom I have believed and have no shame of loving Him, and pray to be able to show others His love.

I sorrow for those pretenders who MUST awaken at the resurrection to the eternal damnation and separation from our Father simply because they would not repent, and who still have no concept of that love. 

Heaven is real, so is Hell!

Repent for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand!

I close in adoration of the most precious name ever spoken, that of Jesus, my Lord.

 2 Timothy 1:12 12 For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

the Wayfarer