“Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because
thou hast left thy first love. 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 … I know thy
works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So
then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out
of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have
need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and
poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire,
that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and
that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with
eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be
zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any
man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with
him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my
throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne”
(Revelation 2:4-5, 3:15-21).
Introduction
Though we might not like to
hear sermons on this kind of subject, a question needs to be answered by each
one of us personally. Is there anything in our lives that is hindering the work
of God? The sad fact is that many believers have lost their first love and have
become lukewarm. The zeal and passion has been replaced mediocre and nominal
Christianity. The fire that once burned in our souls for the Lord can be
reignited if we would but trust Him. Maybe we are still blazing for Christ, but
a message like this can help to keep us from having our flame extinguished. “Wherefore
let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians
10:12).
Passion lost
By passion we mean Scriptural
devotion to Christ. “Thou shalt love
the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy
strength, and with all thy mind” (Luke 10:27). This passion can be lost
for several reasons.
[1] Maybe we have allowed
familiarity to breed contempt, meaning that we have made a religion out of holy things.
Instead of worshipping the Lord in “spirit
and in truth” we have become dutiful servants just doing enough to ease
our conscience (John 4:24). Religion has the habit of sucking the life out of
our commitment to God.
[2] Maybe we have become
conformed to the world’s standards. The world’s moral code is ever changing
and can never be ours. We have a higher standard of morality than the world will
ever know or understand, therefore we cannot live like the lost. “Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing
of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect,
will of God” (Romans 12:2). Living by the world’s standards will
eventually make us apathetic towards the things of God, and we will soon get
bored with serving Him.
[3] Maybe our trials have
caused us to throw in the towel. This is usually because we think that we
deserve the best in life rather than suffering for the cause of Christ. When
that is our thinking then the joy of serving the Lord decreases. “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations”
(James 1:2).
[4] Maybe there is unconfessed
sin in our lives. Holding onto sinful ways can never be good, for it will eat
like a cancer through our spiritual lives. Sin is our way of keeping God out of
our lives. “Your iniquities have
separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you,
that he will not hear” (Isaiah 59:2). Our opening text tells us that
repentance can resolve this and set us back on fire for the Lord.
Passion regained
To regain the passion we must
be willing to change the way we live. Our sole purpose in life must be to please
God through true faith. “Without faith
it is impossible to please him” (Hebrews 11:6). This must include the
determination to be the type of people God wants us to be. As the world wants to
succeed in its endeavors, we must desire to have a successful Christian life.
This faith must be built upon the solid foundation of God’s word. Any other
foundation, or if the desire is weak, our efforts will crumble. “The
cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other
things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful” (Mark
4:19). We will only grow in accordance with our desire.
Our great example for living a
committed life is Christ Himself. He only wanted to please His Father. “My
meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work” (John
4:34). He was zealous for the things of God. “The
zeal of thine house hath eaten me up” (John 2:17). The apostle Paul is
another example of someone on fire for God. He wrote, “I
press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ
Jesus” (Philippians 3:14) and “Whereunto
I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me
mightily” (Colossians 1:29).
We must truly want to be ablaze
for God otherwise it is pointless even contemplating it. This requires us to
live by the leading of the Holy Spirit. “Walk
in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh” (Galatians
5:16) … “For as many as are led by
the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God” (Romans 8:14) … “Not
slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord” (Romans 12:11).
This renewed passion will not only change our lives but will impact those around
us too. It other words, the fire can be contagious. “For
I know the forwardness of your mind, for which I boast of you to them of
Macedonia, that Achaia was ready a year ago; and your zeal hath provoked very
many” (2 Corinthians 9:2).
Maybe we have not even thought
that such passion for the Lord is possible except for a few dedicated souls, but
it is available to all who are willing to be touched and cleansed by the holy
flame. “Then flew one of the seraphims
unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from
off the altar: And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy
lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged” (Isaiah
6:6-7). If we have not got it yet, then all we need to do is pray for it. “Ask,
and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be
opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh
findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8).
Conclusion
We do not have to be lukewarm
or halfhearted concerning the things of God, instead we can be enthusiastic and
passionate. We can be restored, renewed, and reignited by the Holy Spirit. The
Lord has made provision also for those who find themselves in the not so
merry-go-round of religion, and He can immediately set us free if we would but
repent and re-establish our first love for Him. The fire need not go out but can
burst into flame again.
© 24/5/2010