“Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love” (Revelation 2:4).
Danny BurnleyAfter our Lord gave words of commendation to the church at Ephesus, he then had one word of condemnation: you are leaving your best love!
Pastor, do you remember when you were converted? Do you remember what a thrill it was when you surrendered to the call of being a pastor? Do you remember when you were first invited to travel to a distant church to share your personal testimony and when they tried to give you a $25.00 love gift and you wanted to turn it down? You were so thankful just to have the wonderful opportunity to share your love for Jesus! Do you remember what a thrill it was and what the Lord meant to you? Have you now become cold, dry and indifferent to him? Pastor, let me challenge you to remember where you once were and get back to that same place!
Today we have so many attractions that are drawing many pastors away from their first love for Jesus Christ. The world has intruded into the church in such a way that we no longer see an intense, enthusiastic devotion to our Lord Jesus Christ.
Many of our churches have been practically closed. There were once large crowds in most of our churches, but they don’t come anymore because the word of God is of little value. Christ sees our lamps and He trims the wicks. The snuffer has even been used at times because they refuse to give light!
With over 2,000 South Carolina Baptist Churches in our state, may we as pastors return to our first love. May we repent and break the shell of self-sufficiency and the shield of sophistication. Let us repent! Repentance means turning back to him!
Evil has come out of its closet. Our society is being attacked by every force of evil one can imagine. Think about how many pastors there are throughout our state! We can experience the outpouring of God’s power in our churches, if repentance would begin with us! Let us return to the intense and enthusiastic devotion in the person of Christ. Let us once again experience that intimate personal relationship to Jesus Christ.
“He that hath an ear, let him hear-” (Revelation 2:7a).