Revelation 2:1-5(NKJV)
1“To the angel of the church of Ephesus write, ‘These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands:
2“I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars;
3and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary.
4Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.
5Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.
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Nevertheless! I'm thinking that if I'm standing there talking to God and He says "Nevertheless", I'm probably not going to like what is coming next! That is probably how the Ephesians felt as they read the message in Revelation that God directed to them.
It started out good, God is giving them props for doing a lot of good stuff. Then all of a sudden God says "Nevertheless" and the air went out of their balloon. Even though they were sincerely trying to do all the right things, God tells them they have fallen short. They have lost focus. They were busy being busy for God, but maybe not terribly productive for God.
As I read this it occurred to me that there are many in church, myself included, who need to guard against falling into this same situation. Out of a sincere desire to serve God in any way we can, we volunteer to help in lots of areas. We serve in a certain area but when a special project comes up its like "Oh sure we can help with that". And then there is another special need and we jump right in again.
I think that the danger God is warning us about here is getting over extended and losing focus as we serve God. We are all given different strengths and talents. God has a plan for each and every one of our lives and I believe that He takes into account our strengths and talents as He developes that plan for us. Let's make sure we are making the best use of those strengths and talents.
In the case of the Ephesians, God seems to be telling them "Hey all this other stuff is good and I commend you but this over here is your MAIN MISSION, and it is not getting done as effectively as it used to."
As you know I believe that anytime God calls we should answer the call. The thing we have to make sure of is that it is God calling and not just our sincere desire to help in any way we can. I know that personally I am going to be asking God to help show me where He wants me to focus my efforts so that I can "do the first works" that God has appointed me to.
This reminds me of how in BSF the past week or 2, we were learning a lot how the Jewish Christians and the Gentile Christians had a disagreement over salvation. Those stuck in the Old Testament law agreed that it was by faith but also that they needed to be circumsised and abide by the old laws of Moses in order to be saved. This sort of goes along with warning that you don't earn your way into heaven by spreading yourself thin trying to do good works. It is important to do good works, but God will call you to those things that he wants you to focus on. It is more important to focus on God's will rather than trying to add as many good deeds to your resume as possible.
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