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."