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Sunday 7/19/26
Title: With all of your heart
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With all of your heart
Well this is our second week looking back at the church of Ephesus at the end of the first century.
This church had been through a lot in the 40 years that passed from their birth to the time Jesus addressed them through John in the book of Revelation.
Over the years they had solidified themselves in THE FAITH, meaning in their doctrine, but somewhere along the way they had replaced a personal knowing and fellowship with Christ as first priority in their lives.
What they replaced this intimacy with is not clear, but since Jesus affirms their hatred of evil and of false doctrine, it stands to reason that this replacement was with their pursuit of purity in doctrine.
As we’ve said before, this seems odd and almost impossible, that greater fidelity to the truth could eventuate in distance in intimacy with Christ but, that is simply because their goals are different. One is to know about, the other is to know in person.
Most people know that real life has a structured set of rules it goes by but that relationships have their own special set of rules which do not always make sense on the surface.
Example from Physics
It reminds me of the difference between Newtonian physics and Quantum physics.
In fact the comparison may be a very precise one. Newtonian physics deals with the world as we see and experience it. With large objects which possess a fair amount of mass.
Newtonian physics is deterministic. Meaning you can always predict the behavior of objects by calculating its position, speed and opposing forces.
Quantum physics on the other hand deals with the subatomic world of atoms, electrons, photons, and quarks.
It is probabilistic. Meaning it deals with probabilities. Particles can exist in multiple states at once (superposition) and be connected across vast distances (entanglement).
Energy and matter are not continuous; they come in discrete packets, or “quanta.”
In Quantum Mechanics there is the Heisenberg rule which means you cannot know the position and momentum of an atom is going simultaneously. You can know one, but not the other.
A Relational Example
But to illustrate this in relational terms, we can go back to the example of reading an autobiography over a weekend, and spending a weekend with the author.
In both you learn about, but only one causes you to know the person themself.
One is personal, the other more intellectual and mechanical.
As we refamiliarized ourselves with this past Wednesday night, this all goes back to Genesis and in particular the first eleven chapters. Paradise was lost, our own right standing with God and relation to Him was lost all because we allowed chose to assume control rather than trust. We questioned Who He was and what His intentions were which would have been okay, if we had addressed these concerns to Him when we walked with Him in the cool of the day. But rather, we acted on our concerns and betrayed His trust.
In other words, our failure to trust was the result of not coming to Him and learning of Him in relationship. They could quote His command, but they did not understand the heart behind the command which can only be gained through fellowship with Him.
In like manner, the Ephesians could very likely tell you nuances of the Law and how to keep it but their understanding of the character of God behind the command would have been lacking.
So what am I getting at and how does this connect with our Ephesian church example of living from faith to faith or from trust to trust?
The point is that trust or faith comes from knowing someone intimately and through experience over time. IF that person is good, wonderful and the relationship lifegiving, then love becomes the core and guiding principle of that relationship. Whether it be a family member, a friendship or a romantic interest – LOVE is at its core.
This is one of the reasons why Paul told the Galatians that faith or trust works by love. Meaning the reason behind the trust and the thing which spurs it on and empowers it is a relationship of intimate knowledge and mutual devotion. And it was THIS that the Ephesian church had left behind and that by choice!
So last week we examined what Jesus said about such heart conditions by looking at a few verses so let’s review these and then move further in our teaching.
Turn with me to Matthew 10:34-39.
This offers a less pointed and complete account than the one offered in Luke, but it is serious nonetheless.
It says,
“(34) Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.
(35) For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. (36) And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household.
(37) Whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. (38) And whoever does not take his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me.
(39) Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”
Luke said it this way, “you cannot be My disciple” if you possess other loves which are higher than Me.
Now let’s re-read the letter to the church of Ephesus in Revelation 2:1-7,
“(1) To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:
‘The words of Him Who holds the seven stars in His right hand, Who walks among the seven golden lampstands.”
We know from Revelation chapter 1 that this meant that the angelic messengers to these churches in Asia were faithful to Christ and under His authority. It also means that Jesus was very present, and was personally walking among His churches.
(2) “‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false.”
All of this spoke to and confirms their devotion to sound teaching.
“(3) I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for My name’s sake, and you have not grown weary.”
This “could” imply devotion to Christ or just to His cause but the rest of the letter clarifies this was less than personal devotion.
Now we get to the problem. For all of this, they had one glaring problem. Jesus was no longer top priority to these saints. That is to say, their love for Him was still alive, but only in the way that glowing coals are still hot but are no longer a raging fire.
“(4) But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. (5) Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first.”
“If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.”
“(6) Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.”
“(7) He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’”
Now as we said last week the specific word for “love” here is agape, which signifies a self-sacrificial, willful devotion and care. More specifically it is the kind of love which is called out of your heart due to someone’s preciousness to you. It is a love that compels you to spend yourself sacrificially on them.
As we said last week this was the love Jesus pressed Peter about and it is very instructional for our lessons. For Peter, it was the absence of this love that enabled Peter to deny Christ at His trial.
Turn to John 21
“(15) When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter,
“Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?”
The grammar and common sense of the question likely has Jesus asking if Peter loved Him more than the other disciples did, as opposed to whether he loved Jesus more than he loved his fellow disciples or more than the fishing trade he was, no doubt, considering taking back up as a career.
If you remember, it was Peter who boldly declared at the communion/seder meal, before Christ’s betrayal in the Garden, that though all the other disciples may forsake Him, he would die with Him.
So when Peter did the complete opposite, it evoked this question. Not because Jesus did not know the answer, but to call Peter to his mark, and address the elephant in the room to begin the process of Peter’s restoration.
This was the Peter equivalent to God confronting Adam in the garden with “where are you?”
In a way it was also Peter’s equivalent to God asking Adam “who told you that you were naked”? Peter had likely come to a conclusion that he was no longer fit for kingdom work and was also likely contemplating going back to the fishing trade.
You remember, upon Jesus’ resurrection He told Mary to go tell the disciples AND Peter that He had risen. Why did He do this? Because Peter had publicly denied Him revealing a love for self above Christ and we just read that such heart actions make you unfit to be a disciple.
Also Jesus’ question here was do you love me with agape love? Meaning would you sacrifice yourself for Me? Can you see how close to home this was striking?!
He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love You.”
Peter’s reply was affirming but not a true answer. Jesus‘ question was one of fidelity to the point of sacrifice. What Peter replied, told Jesus that he had a friendship type fondness for Him, which is a lesser love than agape.
Can you also see the connection between this and what Jesus was confronting the Ephesian believers with?
But like the Ephesian church, such failure in devotion requires a change of focus. Jesus calls upon Peter to feed His lambs.
He said to him,
“Feed My lambs.”
This was Jesus telling Peter to feed and care for the youngest and most tender of His devoted followers. This word for lamb in many other places in the New Testament was also used for young sacrificial lambs as well, possibly deepening the intended meaning of this charge.
(16) He said to him a second time,
“Simon, son of John, do you love Me?”
Notice the progression of the question regarding Peter’s love moves from one of comparison with that of the other disciples to one that is personal and held of Christ alone. In doing this Jesus is teaching a lesson within a lesson. Your love for Me is not one of degrees and comparisons with others, but is between you and I alone. The only comparison is My love for you which is purely Agape!
He said to him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.”
Peter again says that his love for Jesus is that of friendship.
He said to him,
“Tend My sheep.”
This was a different but related set of words. Jesus was telling Peter to shepherd His little sheep which was a term of endearment rather than size and age.
“(17) He said to him the third time,
“Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
Now Jesus really leaves Peter no wiggle room. He bares down on the issue by asking this time if he really even loved Him with the love of a friend which is why the question wounded Peter.
Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?”
Up until now Peter was able to softly deflect the fine edge of Jesus’ inquiries, but now there was no escape and this time it hit home and unhinged Peter’s protection of himself. His final answer here remains the same as before, but it includes an earnestness towards Christ – a type of inner pleading that Jesus accepts and acknowledged that even though his love was not what it should be, it is at least there and it is real.
Jesus does this with all people, but especially His Own. He loves us far too much to remain silent. He will not willingly abandon you to your self destructive tendencies. He will come to you and confront you – not to wound and leave you terminally bleeding, but to wound you so as to finally heal you.
“Come, let us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds.” – Hosea 6:1
The modern church has so feminized Christ as to emasculate Him. Reducing His lion’s roar to little more than a meow and His confrontation to that of a kitten bushing up in affection against the leg, but in truth He is meek. Which is strength and power under control.
Make no mistake this is part of the lesson the Ephesians had to learn.
and he said to Him, “Lord, you know everything; You know that I love you.”
Jesus said to him,
“Feed My sheep.”
This is a combining of all Jesus had said before – essentially lead, feed and care for My precious lambs.
You might recognize a difference between the way Jesus dealt with Peter here and how He addressed the saints in Ephesus. Jesus offered specific instructions regarding their failure to the Ephesians, but to Peter, His instruction was focused upon caring for those in Christ’s kingdom or flock.
But the Ephesians were not yet at a point of woundedness, because when we as humans are wounded we are aware of and therefore more vulnerable and sensitive to our weakness.
So with Peter Jesus could simply redirect his attention away from comparison with the other disciples and away from his failure and start loving Christ through serving Him in faithfulness. Though the results are the same, the immediate instructions are different.
Jesus leaves Peter with an assurance of belonging in the kingdom and of a heart that becomes fully faithful to the point of sacrifice.
“(18) Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.
(19) (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this He said to him, “Follow Me.”
The final advice was not to focus on ministry alone, but predominately upon Jesus and it would be out of this passionate allegiance all other acts of devotion, obedience and fidelity would spring.
So the Ephesians had a disconnect with Jesus in terms of face to face, intimate fellowship which speaks to their trust and lower levels of passion.
Jesus states that they had not lost this love, like one loses a set of keys, for that would imply it was simple neglect. But what we have here is proof that they had consciously abandoned it.
They possessed orthodoxy without affection. It doesn’t take too much of an imagination to see how that fits many, many churches. Perhaps even us in some ways.
Jesus affirms and even commends “works,” “toil,” and “patient endurance” while in the same breath hitting them with a critique so cutting that even the most callous heart might have felt the sting.
Their core actions remained technically, mechanically, methodologically correct.
Their heart condition, however, had shifted.
They were no longer in love, but were instead acting out of habit, doctrinal strictness and perhaps even duty – but they had, at some point along their journey, lowered the gas on their ardor for Christ.
Theirs was an obedience to a Lord rather than a passionate, living relationship with a Shepherd.
This in many ways shares much in common with married couples, who over the course of years go through the phases of children being born and growing up – becoming increasingly busy with the work of the family, the work of the household, the duties associated with provision and fathering and mothering and food preparation and schooling and home repairs and college prep – that when the children finally leave the home – the empty nest feels truly empty.
The din of the noise and the dust have settled and they are left looking into the eyes of someone they have forgotten how to live with in intimacy. They have to face the uncomfortable reality that they’re not sure they even really know this person beside them or whether the feelings of love they once possessed can even be rekindled.
So long as there was noise, lots of noise and busy activity and other bodies walking around the house demanding attention – this distance was able to advance largely unnoticed except for times when things quieted down.
Now they’re left face to face with the one they swore an oath to love in passion forever, but which love seems so far in the distant past that they wonder if it was truly ever love to begin with.
In fact, it was from that love that all of these children and events over the decades of busy activity came.
But now in the quiet and somber face to face reality that life is really just each other – they are left with more questions than answers.
What should have deepened and matured their understanding, knowledge and shared love between each other actually worked to distract them from the relationship – stir feelings of aggravation and resentment – most of which were never settled – they just simmered under the surface and now there’s no avoiding it.
Why do I use such a graphic example from marriage?
Because God Himself has gone out of the way to liken our relationship with Him to that which exists between a husband and a wife.
He specifically created parameters in the dynamics of that relationship in order to serve as an immersive teaching environment for us to learn about relationship with Him.
The point being, that if it’s true in a relationship between husband and wife it only requires a minimum of imagination to see how thoroughly it is true in our relationship with God.
Jesus is standing in the kitchen of the Ephesian Church after the kids have left, the bills have all been paid and with retirement on the horizon and He’s staring into His beloved’s eyes only to see that His gaze is not fully met with hers. That while His ardor is as strong as ever, hers has waned into a settled familiarity devoid of passion.
Remember Jesus’ accusation to these Ephesians – “you have willfully forsaken Me as first priority and you have abandoned the passion of our love that you possessed at the beginning”.
They had allowed duty and obligation and work and study ABOUT Jesus and FOR His cause to replace maintenance of that relationship, so that passion and priority for Him were no longer the most important thing in their lives.
Remember our opening passage about what disqualifies one from being a worthy disciple?
At this point it’s healthy to remember that Who we’re dealing with is our Creator. Almighty God.
His claim to preeminence in our life it’s not a superficial one but is a simple fact of creation.
There can be no higher authority, there can be greater relationship and there can be no one to Whom we have a basis for being more grateful and to Whom we owe everything than our Creator.
So to place Him in any position below the first and most important is to place Him beneath the works of His own hands. This is ultimately a distortion of reality and proof positive that we have lost sight of Who He is.
It decides against us in terms of proof that we still hold Him in the fear and respect He is due.
