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Dr. Tony Evans is the founder and senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, founder and president of The Urban Alternative and author of over 100 books, booklets and Bible studies. The first African American to earn a doctorate of theology from Dallas Theological Seminary, he has been named one of the 12 Most Effective Preachers in the English-Speaking World by Baylor University. Dr. Evans holds the honor of writing and publishing the first full-Bible commentary and study Bible by an African American. His radio broadcast, The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans, can be heard on over 1,400 radio outlets daily and in more than 130 countries. Dr. Evans’ sermons are also streamed and downloaded over 20,000,000 times annually.
First Love is where there is a fire for
him who else died for you who else paid
for your sins who else has given you
Eternal Destiny who else do you call on
when life shuts down on you I’m going to
give you the first day of the week the
first week of the year I’m going to
begin to shift things so that you know I
know you’re
[Music]
first
the first church we come to is the
church at
Ephesus it was well known throughout
Asia as the place to
go it was an economic boom
Town it was like a Wall Street it it it
dealt in significant financial matters
because of its strategic
location it was also known for
idolatry the Temple of Diana was located
in Ephesus a major idolatrous tourist
attraction
Diana would draw people from all over
that part of the world and so people
from all different backgrounds cultures
would come through Ephesus because of
all that it had to offer the church
Ephesus where you get the book of
Ephesians out of that’s the book written
to the church at
Ephesus the story of the church’s
beginning feel free to read it sometime
is Acts chapter 19 of how in the midst
of sorcery and Witchcraft and economics
people got saved and the church was
established and it is expressed to us in
Acts
19 about the energy excitement and
challenges that face this brand new
church but here in the Book of
Revelation he is not writing because all
is
well he is writing because of a
situation that needed to be
addressed for people who wanted to be
Overcomers as I hope that we
do he makes it clear in the first verse
that this was written for the angel of
that
house that is God’s messenger the word
angel from the Greek word Angelas means
messenger that the messenger the pastor
if you will was to Proclaim this message
to the
congregation at Ephesus Bible
Fellowship and if you and I will hear
what he has to say he that hath an ear
let him hear verse 7
says then you are on your way to being
an
overcomer and over
ruler of that which is ruling over
you now he first wants you to know
according to verse one that the one who
holds the Seven Stars in his right hand
the one who walks among the seven
lampstand says this so before he says
anything he wants to let you know where
he’s
walking he says he’s walking among the
seven lampstands that’s the seven
churches
so right now as We Gather in our
congregational meeting today there is an
unseen
visitor Jesus Christ is walking up and
down the aisles of this worship service
you cannot see him because he’s here in
spirit not in body but he’s very much
there and he says he that walks among
the seven
lampstands says this and the first
phrase he says is I
know so he wants you to know as he
passes by your Pew I know you and I know
you I know who you are I know where you
came from I know where you’re going I
know where you’ve been I know what
you’re thinking right now I
know so right now we might as well get
off the facade cuz he
knows he starts off with a
compliment a commendation if if you will
he wants to congratulate the church
first he says I know your
Deeds I know what you
do I know that you are a serving
church I know about your
programs you are a serving
Church you’re not only a serving church
but I also know verse two says your
toil the Greek word for toil means to
labor to the point of
exhaustion I see you
sweating you’re not only a serving
Church you are then a sacrificing Church
you go
overboard in addition to that I know he
says verse two your
perseverance I know that you don’t quit
when the going gets tough because you
are a steadfast
church when when times are hard you keep
going you don’t throw in the to just
because you may not be feeling it today
I’m well
aware of your longevity I’m conscious of
your 40
years not only
that I am also well aware that you do
not tolerate evil men and you test them
who call themselves Apostles and are not
you are a separated church that is you
are Orthodox in Theology and
Doctrine he says I know something else
about you that is that you have
perseverance and have endured for my
name’s
sake you are a suffering Church you have
not grown
weary you’re serving you’re sacrificing
you’re steadfast you’re separated you’re
suffering you
you you are are a model congregation and
I know
it
but
but the
Commendation now turns to a
criticism or a
condemnation but I have this against
you you have left your first
love wait a
minute Jesus you just told me five
things that you like about
me about Ephesus Bible Fellowship you
you done just told me five things you
know how irritating it is for somebody
tell you five good things and then come
with one thing that they can’t deal
with Jesus says I’ve seen I’ve seen your
commendable
attributes but I have this one thing
against
you
you have left your first
love so
evidently you can be a serving church
and a serving Christian and have left
your first
love evidently you can be a sacrificing
church and a sacrificing Christian and
have left your first love you can be a
steadfast church and a steadfast
Christian and have left your first love
you can be a separated church and a
separated Christian and have left your
first love you can be a suffering church
and a suffering Christian and still have
left your first love so evidently you
can be doing right stuff and be in wrong
relationship you can be
functionally
precise and spiritually out of
sync what is this
problem that Jesus speaks of that’s so
big that it wipes out five
compliments that it overrules
five
affirmations he says I just got one
thing but it’s a
doozy you have left your first
love his complaint is they don’t love
him first
you have left your first love you may
still love
me but you no longer love me
first God cannot stop
existing because he’s Eternal so he
can’t do that there some things he
cannot
do let me tell you something else God
can’t do he can’t be
second when it comes to giv God says
give to the Lord the first fruits of
what he’s given you all through the
Bible this thing of first first first
first first because God assumes if he’s
not first he must not be
worthy God demands to be first Amen in
our affection in our attention in our
priority he demands to be first because
that’s what he
is
and when he is no longer
first and has been repositioned with
something or someone in place of him
you’ve just created an
idol because you’ve made something else
first and whatever is first becomes your
God so now God has competition in your
life he not saying you don’t love me
he’s saying you don’t love me
first that I am not your priority and I
don’t know how to be
second we individually and corporately
have often committed the
sin of making Ministry for him more
important in relationship with him and
the cost has been great in in our
spiritual experience of
him he says you’ve left your first love
you’ve compromis religion for
relationship and you’ve left me he says
you’ve
left your first
love what does it look like when you
leave your first
love it
means that you have to find time for him
when you have time for other
things it has to do with
priority he he wants to know he’s
first that he has been relationally
prioritized not just
programmatically included he’s not
against the
program
but he wants make
sure that you do not allow religion to
pacify
you the first message to the first
church about being an overcomer is about
being relationally driven over
programmatically
driven he doesn’t want a program per se
he wants a relationship that leads to a
program so what do we do about this and
why will it
matter verse five tells you what to do
three things he says remember from where
you have
fallen the three Rs the first one he
says I want you to
remember when you first got saved you
didn’t know anything but John
3:16 and you just knew one little hymn
you couldn’t you couldn’t wave your hand
in the air like you just don’t care you
didn’t have all of that all you you knew
was your sins were forgiven you were on
your way to heaven because you had come
to Jesus Christ you didn’t have much you
you all you had was me you better
remember remember when I’m the one that
mattered
most second ARA he says
repent okay there’s only one thing you
repent of in the Bible and that’s sin
the only thing you’re ever called to
repent of and that’s sin so guess what
leaving your first love is sin it’s not
just a bad habit it’s not just a
mistake when the relationship becomes
secondary to the program you’re living
in sin I’m living in sin we collectively
are living in sin when the relationship
is secondary to the program he’s not
just calling it oh my I got to get my
priorities together no you got to get
your sin
fixed because he says repent you only
repent repent of sin so he doesn’t
review this just as a scheduling issue
he views it as a sin
issue that I am no longer the priority
in your life you have programmed me to
be
second and all the programs are
wonderful he says You must repent you
must turn you must
turn he says and then you must repent
repeat do your first works over again
verse 5
says do what you did when all you had
was
me cuz when all you had was me you had
time for prayer when all you had was me
you had time for spending time in my
word when all you had was
me you found out that I was kind of all
you needed cuz I kept coming through for
you and yeah you found out how real I
could be but now you’re a little
spiritually
sedid you can do it without me you can
do it on your own you can be your
independent self while carrying on the
program repent and go back and do your
first works over
again First Love is where there is a
fire for
him
and everything else surrounds that he’s
not just fitted in when we have an extra
moment or
two John 14:21 is a powerful verse he
says if you if
you love me you will keep my
Commandments and to the one who loves me
watch this I will disclose myself to him
him
whoa I will talk to him I will show him
or her I will reveal myself the reason
why we’re not hearing from God the
reason why we’re not getting guidance
from God the reason why we’re not
experiencing Victory from God is cuz he
doesn’t feel free to disclose himself to
somebody who going to treat him
second why should I unveil my plan for
you when you going to kick me to the
curb after you get it
and replace me with something
else but I will disclose myself to the
one who loves
me he drives it home now he says now I
do have to compliment you because verse
six you hate the Deeds of the
nickads now they’re going to come up
again and so I’m not going to spend time
on them now the nians were Christians
who were abusing professing Christians
who were abusing Grace they thought
Grace was an excuse to
sin because I have Grace I can just go
do anything he says I know you hate that
so I want to commend you I want to
commend you but this first love thing
watch this he that hath an ear let him
hear pay attention now he that hath an
ear let him
hear what the spirit is saying to the
churches so I’m talking to the churches
but are you listening as an individual
he that hath an ear she that hath an ear
so forget your neighbor right now the
question is what are your ears picking
up he that hath an ear so now it’s an
individual question but being delivered
to the whole congregation do you have an
ear to ear well everybody in here has
ears but you can have ears and not hear
he wants to know are you paying
attention to what is being said here
about the Primacy and
prioritization of God in your life and
if you have an ear that is willing to
hear and to rep prioritize relationship
over religion devotion over Duty he says
if you have an ear this is what
happens to him who over comes is our
word Nike
swish Victory that’s the word means
Victory to the one who
overcomes overcomes what overcomes the
pressure to not put me
first cuz there
pressure sometimes to put God first you
got to go against your inclinations you
got to go against other people you have
to go against your schedule you have to
go against your there’s pressure not to
put him first
so you got to overcome that
pressure you got people all over the
place waiting for that blessing why they
make God last he demands to be
first because he says if I am not going
to be first verse 5 says I will remove
your lampstand out of its place I will
shut that Mama
down you’ll go to church but I won’t be
there No Love No
Light you’ll run your life but I won’t
be hanging with you cuz I’m not going to
hang with a
Believer who doesn’t value me enough who
else died for you who else paid for your
sins who else has given you Eternal
Destiny who else who else do you call on
when life shuts down on you well if you
think that they your savior go to
them go to
them but if you really want me to be all
out in a bag of chips I need to be
first and to him who
overcomes the pressure not to put me
first to that one to he cuz he says he
who
overcomes I’m going to reward
her he who overc
comes I will grant to eat of the tree of
life which is
in the paradise of
God oh this is this is
powerful I will grant him not
everybody only the
Overcomers I will grant the overcome not
every Christian because he’s only
talking to Christians
here so every
Christian doesn’t
overcome even though they are an
overcomer to he who overcomes that which
Christ has already overcome for
them I will grant
him to eat of the Tree of Life in The
Paradise of God he’s speaking about a
future reward that will
come but that future reward receives a
down payment in this life it’s not all
experienced here now because we live in
a sinful
world what is this eating of the Tree of
Life in The Paradise of God that I can
begin to experience some of it now and
much of it
later whenever I go to speak for a
pregnancy center I speak for a number of
pregnancy centers around the country who
are promoting
life they always ask me would I come an
hour earlier and the reason they ask as
me to come at 6 is because they have a
special donor
reception this is a reception for major
donors to the Pregnancy Center to thank
them for their support of their Center
so they asked me because I’m the guest
speaker to come and to meet the special
guest at the
reception the reception is held in a
separate room from the general banquet
the banquet may have a th people but
there may be just a hundred people who
are the specially invited guests to the
reception they have their own special
food we stand up and we take pictures
with the various guests they give
special gifts and special recognition
because they are special people although
they are among the bigger
crowd God says I have a private
reception in a private hospitality room
called The Paradise of God with a
special tree called the tree of life but
only the invited guests get in there now
yeah you going to go to heaven if you’ve
accepted Jesus Christ but you don’t get
to the reception where you get this
private audience and this private
participation and this private
interaction when you’ve lived your life
making me second third fourth and fifth
and I’ve given you eternity no the
reception are for those who Buck the
pressure
to make me anything less than the Risen
Lord that I am who Buck the temptation
to yield to the world’s exclusion of me
in order to be safe secure and popular
he says for that
believer oh no they get a private
audience they get special
consideration so the question is do you
want special
consideration ultimately there but he
will disclose himself beginning now
John 14:21 says to you and
me now if you’ve left your first love
the keys are still in the spot you left
it that
moved so he’s waiting on you to meet
with him every day every day he’s
waiting for me and and I I know what it
is to to lose
that one year many years ago we went on
a family vacation to Niagara
Falls drove up from Dallas to Niagara
Falls we got there at night and Iago
Falls has a American side and a Canadian
side we went to the Canadian side we
went into the hotel at night I pulled
back the curtain and I could see the
falls in the distance and I went wow the
next morning we got up and had breakfast
and we went to the Canadian side of the
falls and on the Canadian side of the
falls there’s a park so we stood in the
park o this was different than the hotel
room hotel room I couldn’t hear a thing
I could just see it but now I’m standing
on the Canadian side and that water is
going over the precipice and going into
the Basin of the falls and I could hear
the thunder of the Roar as the water
splashed down in the falls and as the
wind blew up the water it actually
crossed the street and I got dots of
water on my face from the fall you see
when I was in the hotel room I could
just see it and be impressed by it but
once I got a little closer to the park I
got affected by it cuz I could hear the
sound and I got little drops of water on
me so I felt a little something
something because I had relocated
myself oh but there’s another way you
can see the Falls it’s called the Maid
of the Mist these are little little
boats down in the Basin of the Fall if
you decide to get on the ma of the Mist
they going to give you a raincoat and
they going to give you an umbrella cuz
you about to be drenched by the falls
cuz you are so close see some Christians
are satisfied to see Jesus from their
hotel room they look out they never hear
from him they never get to see him up
close they just impressed from a
distance and every now and then they
look his way but then there are a few
Christians who will come to the park and
they like the sound and they will be a
little closer and every now and then
they’ll feel a little something
something but then there are those few
Christians who are not satisfied to look
at him from the hotel room they’re not
satisfied to look at him from the park
they want a raincoat on they want an
umbrella over them because they want to
be drenched by his glory may God raise
up Saints who leave the hotel room not
satisfied with the park but want to be
drenched with his glory and overwhelmed
by the king of kings and the Lord of
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
lords
ah