Opportunity

Galatians 6:10 – "So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of faith."

While we're talking about good works I just want to talk a little bit about opportunity. The dictionary defines opportunity as "A situation or condition favorable for attainment of a goal. A good position, chance, or prospect, as for advancement or success." When you have the opportunity to do something, the idea is that doing whatever it is is going to be beneficial to you. So in Galatians 6:10 where we read - "So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of faith." This means that doing good to other people isn't only going to benefit them but it actually benefits us as well. It's our opportunity to do good to others. We don't often view it that way, but that's what the Word of God says. We actually profit by doing good to others.

In 1 John 5:3 we read - "And this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments, and that His commandments are not burdensome." When our works flow out of a relationship with God, serving Him is not going to be burdensome, like it was for the Ephesian church, or for Martha, or for the older brother in the parable of the prodigal son. The test of whether we truly have the love of God isn't whether or not we keep His commandments, but that we keep His commandments and that His commandments are not burdensome. This is the difference between obligation and opportunity. 

In our bulletin at church we always have listed the coming events and opportunities. Well, several months back one of the coming events was "rescue mission." This is a place in downtown Roanoke that houses and feeds homeless people. It's a Christian organization and every night of the week they have a group come in and lead a service, and a group from our church goes and does this on a regular basis. As this Saturday was approaching and announcements were being made about the rescue mission and we were praying about the rescue mission, we kept referring to it as an "opportunity to share the gospel." The day before we went I got a text message asking if I was planning on being there and I responded that I was. The next morning I got another text message asking how I would feel about preaching that night. We were having a hard time getting a group together and the guys that usually preach were not going to be able to make it that night, so I responded by saying "I'll do it if we can't find anyone else." The way I was referring to it, I was talking about the rescue mission as an opportunity but from the way felt and acted about it show that I didn't really consider it an opportunity. I was treating it like a burden. That's not the attitude that God wants us to have. Well, as I was preparing a message to preach that night the Lord brought me to a passage in 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and He used this passage in that situation to teach me a lesson that I needed. I was studying and praying about the message that night and the Lord brought me to 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 which says - "For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, that they who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf." What hit me in this passage is that I was busy serving the Lord, I was studying and preparing to preach but it wasn't the love of Christ that was controlling me, it was a sense of duty, a sense of obligation. At the same time, by the way, I was preparing a series of messages to teach a group of kids about loving God. And the Lord had to show me in my own life that I was serving Him, not out of love, but out of duty. I may have used the right words, but the way I was acting shows that I didn't really consider the rescue mission an opportunity. I didn't really treat it like something that I was going to be benefited by. And that put me in the same category as the Ephesian church and the older brother in the parable of the prodigal son. We can serve out of duty, but according to the word of God it's the love of Christ that should control us and compel us to serve Him. Service that flows out of love is not a burden. "This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments, and that His commandments are not burdensome." It's possible to do the Lords work and not be motivated by the love of Christ. But if it's not the love of Christ that is our motivation, if it's a sense of duty that is motivating our service for the Lord then it profits nothing.

So, if serving the Lord is an opportunity for us, how exactly are we going to be benefited by it? There are several ways that serving the Lord and doing good to others can benefit us, development of spiritual gifts, having a good standing in the sight of men, we could go on. But I just want to focus on and develop one way that we are benefited by serving Him. 

In John chapter 6 a large crowd gathered to listen to Jesus. At about noon we are told that Jesus saw the multitude and the disciples began to entreat the Lord to send the multitude away into the villages to buy food for themselves. We read in verses 8-13 - "One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?” Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. Jesus therefore took the loaves, and having given thanks, He distributed to those who were seated; likewise also of the fish as much as they wanted. When they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments so that nothing will be lost.” So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten." In this account there is a young boy who had a lunch. What would have happened if this boy had kept his lunch to himself? He would have been fed. He would have eaten his lunch and been satisfied. But he chose to give it to the Lord, and what happened? He still got to eat it and be satisfied, but on top of that he also got to see the Lord perform a miracle and feed more than five thousand with his lunch. He also got more back than he gave. He gave five loaves and two fish and he got back twelve baskets of leftovers. When we do the Lords work we are not only feeding other people, but we are being fed as well. Doing the Lords work, like I mentioned last time, sustains us. It is our food. This young boy, because he gave his lunch to the Lord, he also got his story in the Bible. This passage of Scripture has been around for around 2000 years, and it is going to be around for eternity. He served the Lord with what little he had and the Lord remembered him for it for eternity. And likewise, we read in Hebrews 6:10 - "For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints." The service that that young boy performed for the Lord in giving away what he had is recorded in Scripture and will be forever. The Word of God, the Bible says, is forever settled in heaven. It will remain forever, and what that young boy did will be recorded in the word of God forever. Likewise, according to this verse, the Lord has given us work to do and He is not going to forget our work and labor of love which we have shown toward His name. He will remember it forever. As often as we have opportunity therefore, let us do good to all men, especially those who are of the household of faith. 

Revelation 2:5 - "Remember therefore from where you have fallen, and repent and do the first works."

Do The First Works (Part 2)

Revelation 2:1-5 - "To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands, says this: ‘I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot endure evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent.'"

Last time we began to consider the third and final step of restoration that the Lord gives to the church at Ephesus, namely "Do the first deeds." We saw that this had to do with a work that flows from a love relationship with the Lord. And we looked at the example of the Lord Jesus in the work that the Father gave Him to do and His attitude toward it. Now I want to look at another example in Scripture. In 1 Timothy 1:12 the apostle Paul writes - "I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful putting me into service."  Service, that’s we’ve been talking about. Paul says here that he was given a job to do. Naturally we don't tend to like work, and if given the choice we usually choose not to work. But this verse says that Paul was thankful for the work that the Lord gave Him to do. The Lord said that His work was His food. The Lord could have saved us and not given us anything to do, but He didn’t do that and Paul was thankful for the work he was given to do. In Acts chapter 20 the Apostle Paul is addressing the elders of the Ephesian churches and he says in verses 19-24 - "serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials which came upon me through the plots of the Jews; how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and from house to house, solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. And now, behold, bound by the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me. But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God." This is the same service that he is talking about in First Timothy chapter 1. the ministry of verse 24 is the same ministry of 1 Timothy 1. He says that he doesn’t care the troubles that await him, he wants to finish the work that God has given him to do. And not only that, but he was thankful for that work. The Lord Jesus said that the Father gave Him work to do and in John 17 He said that He finished it. Paul now says that the Lord gave him works to do. Did he finish them? In 2 Timothy 4:6-8 Paul says - "For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing." Paul knew that he was at the end of his life. He knew that he was going to die, and he says in verse 7 that he finished the work that God gave him to do, he finished the course, and he is able to look back on his life and say that he is satisfied with the way he lived it. He had no major regrets in the way that he lived his life in Christ. Can we say that? We may not be at the end of our lives, but the point is, are we living our lives in such a way that at any moment we can look back over our Christian lives and say "I have no major regrets in the way I lived my life." Not many people can say that.

So the Lords work, first of all, is nourishment to our souls. We saw that in John 4. Secondly, it gives genuine job satisfaction. We see this in First Timothy 1. When we do the works of the Lord we can look back over our lives with satisfaction. Paul was satisfied. Was the Lord Jesus satisfied in the work that He did? I'm not sure that we have a verse in the New Testament that says that, but back in Isaiah 53:11 we read - "He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities." In this prophecy concerning the Lord Jesus we read that the work that the Father gave Him to do brought Him satisfaction.

We've seen the example of the Lord Jesus and the example of the apostle Paul, and in Ephesians chapter 2 we read of someone else that the Lord has given work to do. Ephesians 2:10 says - "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." The Father gave the Lord Jesus works to do and He did them. The Lord gave Paul works to do and he did them. In this verse we read that God has given us work to do. Notice that it says God gave us these works that we should "walk in them." You'll remember that in Acts 24 and 2 Timothy chapter 4, the apostle Paul referred to his work as a "course." It's the same idea here. Gods has lined up good works on a course, or a path, that we should walk in them. We might not now see all the works hat God has for us to do for the rest of our lives. But as we go through our lives God has these works lined up for us that we should walk in them. Every believer has works that God wants us to do here on earth. What should be our reaction? Thankfulness (1 Timothy 1:12) . And doing those good works will nourish us (John 4) and it will satisfy our souls (2 Timothy 4).

In Psalm 139 David is thinking about his life before birth. I don't know if you think about this time of your life very often, but David did. And in verses 13-16 he says - "For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them." David is thinking about his life before birth and he recognized that God was actively involved in knitting him together. In verse 16 he says - "In Thy book they all were written, the days that were ordained for me when as yet there were none of them." As God was knitting David together in his mothers womb He was doing it with the foreknowledge of all the work that He had for David to do, and He gave him the body that he would need to accomplish those works. God gave David the physical body at birth that would match the things that God wanted him to do. God has prepared works for us to do, and God knowing all the works that He prepared for us beforehand, has equipped us with the body at birth that we need in order to carry out those works. Now, we can abuse our bodies, but at birth the Lord gives us the body to carry out the work that He has called us to do. We sometimes complain about our physical bodies or abilities, but just remember that as God was forming you He knew what He was doing, and He has given you just the right physical attributes to carry out the work that He has prepared for you to do. You may aspire to do something and you might not have what it takes in relation to secular work. But with the Lords work, God has equipped us physically with the right body to do what He has prepared for us to do, and He has equipped us spiritually with spiritual gifts, which we can cultivate, in order to do the work that He has given us to do. Everyones course, everyones race that God has prepared for them is different. In other words, my works may be different from your works. But whatever works they are God not only calls you to do them, He also equips you for them.

In the back of some Bibles we have maps of the territory of Israel. On the east side of modern day Israel the Jordan river flows from north to south. It flows into the Sea of Galilee in the North and back out heading south. from there It flows down south into the Dead Sea and it can’t flow out because the dead sea is the lowest place on earth. In the Word of God we read of people fishing in the sea of Galilee, and even today there is pretty good fishing in that Sea because it is teeming with life. The Dead Sea, on the other hand, is appropriately named the Dead Sea. Nothing can live in it. So what is the difference? Both seas are getting the same input. The Jordan River flows into both seas, so it's not that the Dead Sea isn't getting the right input. The difference between these two bodies of water is the outflow. The Jordan flows into the Sea of Galilee and it flows out. The Jordan flows into the Dead Sea and doesn't flow back out. The Sea of Galilee has abundant life. The Dead Sea is dead. The difference then, between abundant life and stagnant death is not input but outflow. The Lord Jesus Christ tells us In John chapter 10 that He came to give us “abundant life.” And these works that the Lord has given us, that we should walk in them, these are a part of that abundant life that Jesus was talking about. We may be getting all the right input, but if we are not working it out, if we're not exercising it then it profits us nothing. James says that "Faith without works is dead." We need to be asking the Lord “What are the works that I’m to be involved in?” He may not show you the works that He has lined up for you for the rest of your life, He may just show you what you are to be doing right now. But that’s okay, that’s all we need.

Our works must be the outflow of a deep, intimate love relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. If they don't they will become a frustrating duty to perform, like they were for the Ephesian church. The Lord Jesus called on the Ephesian church to come back to a work that flowed from an intimate love relationship with Him.

Revelation 2:4-5 - "But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first."

Do The First Works (Part1)

Revelation 2:1-5 - "To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands, says this: ‘I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot endure evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent.'"

The third and final step of restoration for the church at Ephesus is to "do the deeds you did at first." We saw that this church was a working church, and we saw eight specific things that the Lord said about this church that they were doing. But we've also seen that the one thing the Lord Jesus had against them, namely that they had left their first love, canceled out all of the commendable things that they were doing. So if this church was already a working church why does the Lord Jesus tell them to do the first works? What exactly does that mean? This church was working, but their works were being produced out of a sense of duty rather than flowing from a loving relationship with Him. They were consumed with serving the Lord rather than being consumed with the Lord Himself. They were consumed with what they were doing rather than being consumed in a relationship with Him. And so even though they had works, their works were worthless, they were dead works. So in this third step the Lord is instructing them to do the works that flow from an intimate relationship with Him. When we have a close, intimate, loving relationship with our God, that will manifest itself through our lives in the form of good works. The inward, loving relationship doesn't come as a result of the works, but the works are a result of the relationship. The Ephesian church had it backwards. The Ephesian church was hard working, the problem was that their work wasn’t flowing out of a love relationship with Him. It was a duty. All their works were canceled out because of their lack of love. But that doesn’t mean that works aren’t a part of the Christian life. Doing the Lords work will naturally flow through an intimate relationship with Him.

We see this in the life of our Lord Jesus Christ, our Supreme example. In His High Priestly prayer in John 17:4 the Lord Jesus prayed to the Father - “I glorified Thee on the earth, having accomplished the work which Thou hast given Me to do.” Very simply, the Lord Jesus says here that the Father gave Him work to do and He did it. In John chapter 5 and verse 36 the Lord Jesus says - “But the witness which I have is greater than that of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish, the very works that I do, bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me.” In this verse the Lord Jesus says that the Father gave Him work to do and He is doing it. In John chapter 4 the Lord Jesus is having a conversation with the woman at the well, and during their conversation the disciples came up to Him and offered Him something to eat. In verse 34 we read - "Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to accomplish His work.”" This verse tells us something about the work of the Lord Jesus that the first two verses didn’t tell us. He was given work to do, He was doing it, but according to this verse the work that the Father gave Him to do was food for Him. It sustained Him. According to this verse, when we do the work of the Lord we benefit from it. It is spiritual nourishment to my soul to do the work of the Father. You don’t get this a lot of the time in secular work. In our jobs we do work to benefit our employers or to benefit our customers, but the work that we're doing doesn't really benefit us in any way. When we do the Lords work, however, we benefit from it. How does doing the Lords work benefit us? There are things in my Christian life that I need to be spiritually strong, and some of these things I receive directly from the Lord. Some things I receive at salvation, such as eternal life and spiritual gifts, and other things the Lord gives to me day to day as I spend time in His Word, He will speak to me and share with me something that I need. There are also things that the Lord gives to us through others. Any time we are sitting under the teaching of Gods Word or reading the fruit of someone elses Bible study we are receiving from the Lord through others. Now, no matter who I’m around I can always receive things from the Lord. If the entirety of a Christians life consists of receiving the best possible input from the Lord and the best possible input from other Christians, we might tend to think that this is the recipe for a strong Christian, but if this is the entirety of a Christians life, this is actually an unhealthy picture. Let’s think about it in regard to physical health. Just because I get the best possible input into my physical body doesn't mean I'm going to be in great shape. You might be getting all the right input, but unless you exercise it, unless you work it out, your just going to get fat. You’re getting the input, but you’re not using it. You have to work it out. And the same principle that applies to our physical lives applies to our spiritual lives. If there is input into my spiritual life there needs to be outflow. The Bible says in Philippians 2:12 that we are to - "Work out your salvation with fear and trembling." If we're not performing the good works that the Lord has give us to do then we will become spiritually fat. The picture is not complete if there is no output. Just because we may be getting good input, that’s fine, but it’s incomplete if there is no output.

So, it wasn't that the Lord Jesus wanted the church at Ephesus to stop working, but He wanted their works to flow from a relationship with Him. He didn't say that He had against them that they were too busy and they needed to stop working and just focus on loving Him, but their works needed to flow from a relationship with Him, not the other way around. If we're not involved in active service for the Lord that flows from a relationship with Him, we will become spiritually stagnant.

Revelation 2:4-5 - "I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place - unless you repent."

Repent

Revelation 2:1-5 – “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: The One who hold the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands says this: ‘I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot endure evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you have found them to be false; and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary. ‘but I have this against you, that you have left your first love. ‘Remember therefore from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you, and will remove your lampstand out of its place - unless you repent.’”

We've seen Christ's estimation of this church at Ephesus. We saw these eight commendable qualities that Christ lists that are true of this church, but He goes on to say that He has one thing against them and that is that they have left their first love. Consequently this one thing cancels out everything else. Based on 1 Corinthians 13, everything minus love equals zero. But thankfully the Lord Jesus doesn't leave off at that point. He goes on in verse 5 to give them the solution to their problem. The solution that He gives is in three steps. We saw last time the first step of "Remembering from where you have fallen." This has to do with a intimate relationship with Christ. Remember that love that you used to have for Him, that first love. It has to do with the inward reality of a relationship with Christ as opposed to an outward show of religion void of any relationship.

The second step Christ gives to this church is to “Repent.” The word repentance carries with it the idea of turning completely around, doing a 180. You agree with God about the wretchedness of your sin and you turn from it. In Acts chapter 20 the apostle Paul is addressing the elders of the Ephesian church and speaking of the work that he had been doing among them over the past three years, and he says in Acts 20:21 that he was - "solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ." So repentance is not simply turning away from something, but it's also turning to God. You turn from your sin and you turn to God. Paul was proclaiming repentance toward God. We see repentance described again in 1 Thessalonians 1:9 where we read - "For they themselves report about us what kind of a reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God." Here again we see a turning to and a turning from. A turning to God and a turning from sin. This is what repentance looks like.
Now, if we're to repent of our sin, then what is sin? Sin is certainly wrong things that we do that keep us from God, but there is another kind of sin. The bad things that we do are called sins of commission, but the Bible also talks about sin of omission, that is, not just doing what we ought not, but not doing what we ought. The Bible says in James 4:17 - “Therefore, to the one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.”According to this verse if there is something good we can do and we don't do it we are sinning. So when the Lord Jesus tells the church at Ephesus that they have left their first love, He is identifying their sin. We need to recognize that not loving God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength is sin. He has commanded us to love Him and if we don't love Him completely we are sinning against Him. And this sin of a lack of love is something that we need to repent of. Ask God to search your heart and reveal to you the true state of your love relationship with Him.

In the Old Testament when Gods people were repenting of their sin they used to tear their garments as an outward show of their repentance. The idea was that they were broken about their sin and as an outward sign of their brokenness they would tear their garments. Well, in Joel chapter two the Lord God sends His prophet to His people, calling on them to repent. But God makes it clear that He is looking for the inward repentance, not just the outward show. He says in Joel 2:13 - "And rend your heart and not your garments. Now return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness and relenting of evil." The people got so taken up with the outward show of repentance that they missed the whole point that God is concerned with the inward reality. True repentance is an inward thing. Remember we saw before that the Lord is primarily concerned with the inward. Back in the time and culture in which the Bible was being written, people used to tear their clothes as a sign of repentance. They were so grieved about their sin that they would tear their clothes as an outward sign of their inward brokenness. But after a while that outward sign just became ritual, and the people would do it, but it would not come out of what was inside. Even in this area of repentance they became focused on the outward over the inward. But God doesn’t just want the outward show of repentance, He wants true, inner repentance. Rend your hearts and not your garments.

The First letter of Paul to the Corinthians was, by and large, a letter of correction. There was much that the church was involved in that merited a loving rebuke. And evidently that letter caused the church at Corinth to grieve. Paul mentions that first letter that He wrote in 2 Corinthians 7:8-10 and he says concerning it - "For though I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it – for I see that that letter caused you sorrow, though only for a while – I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, in order that you might not suffer loss in anything through us. For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation; but the sorrow of the world produces death." The Corinthians were caused to be broken through sorrow from the rebuke in Paul's letter. And Paul actually says that he is glad that they were made sorrowful, because it was their sorrow that led them to repentance, and repentance is a key step to Restoration in our relationship with Christ. Godly sorrow leads to repentance, and repentance leads to a closer more intimate walk with the Lord. We're told in Romans chapter 2 that it's the kindness of God that leads us to repentance. God doesn't want us to be grieved simply because He likes it when we're sad, but He, in His kindness, wants to brings us to a place of godly sorrow, because godly sorrow leads to repentance and repentance leads to a close intimate relationship with Him. Repentance is essential in returning to our first love.

Revelation 2:4-5 - "I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen, and repent."