Be With Jesus: Don't Lose Your First Love

The call to be with Jesus stands at the heart of a transformed life. Matthew 4 shows Jesus walking by the Sea of Galilee, seeing Simon Peter and Andrew, meeting them face to face, and calling them to leave their nets and follow him. Jesus does not send a message from a distance. Jesus comes near, looks at them, and his presence is enough for them to drop what had shaped their whole life.

Revelation 2 brings that same call into the life of the church at Ephesus. The letter praises hard work, perseverance, sound doctrine, endurance, and refusal to tolerate wickedness. The church at Ephesus had done good things, completed tasks, and made inroads in a proudly pagan city. Yet Christ holds this against them: they had forsaken the love they had at first.

First love is not a small extra added onto Christian activity. Love is the root of surrender, service, perseverance, and lifetime faithfulness. Work without love becomes “effective without affection.” A church can be busy doing things for God while forgetting who it is in God.

Identity is found as Jesus is known and experienced, not just as a truth filed away in the head. Scripture declares the deep, wide, high love of God, but that truth becomes real as a person dwells in his presence. The image of a child saying, “watch me,” shows the heart’s need to be seen by love. The soul is formed as it looks at God looking back.

Stuff gets in the way when the gaze shifts from Jesus to the nets. The more the stuff is watched, the bigger it becomes, and the smaller Jesus seems. Stuff can become the rabbi, the teacher, and identity can slowly attach itself to what is being done rather than to Christ himself. When stuff takes over, stuckness follows, and seasons meant to be journeyed through can become places where people camp.

Abiding with Jesus means staying, dwelling, and remaining. Routine, retreat, and remember give simple ways forward. Routine builds a daily habit of checking in with Jesus, even when prayer feels distracted or dry. Retreat finds the secret place, shuts the door on the noise, and enjoys the fruit tree rather than only trying to produce fruit. Remember notices Jesus through the day, using small triggers and ordinary spaces to become aware again that he is present.

Jesus remains the most beautiful one to gaze at. The secret place holds the quiet truth: “I look at him, he looks at me, and we are happy.”

---

Key Takeaways

• 1. First love needs real presence The church at Ephesus had works, endurance, and good discernment, but Christ still called out the loss of first love. Christian faith can keep moving outwardly while affection quietly dries up inwardly. Love is not decoration on obedience, but the root that keeps obedience alive over the long haul. [08:50]
• 2. Identity forms under Jesus’ gaze Identity in Christ is not only something to know in the head, but something to experience in the heart. The child saying, “watch me,” gives a simple picture of the soul receiving value from the one who loves it. A person becomes loving by gazing at God and knowing that God is looking back with love. [15:14]
• 3. Stuff can become the teacher When the gaze moves from Jesus to the stuff of life, the stuff grows larger and Jesus seems smaller. Tasks, pressures, and even good service can begin to shape identity more than Christ does. Whatever receives the deepest attention starts to form the heart like a rabbi. [18:50]
• 4. Keep showing up in prayer Prayer is not proved false because the mind wanders or the heart feels dry. Friendship with Jesus is cultivated by returning again and again, without shame, and learning the practice over time. The faithful act of showing up keeps the heart open to direct experience of his presence. [25:09]
• 5. Remember Jesus in ordinary spaces The presence of Jesus is not limited to a closed room or a quiet morning. A stone in a pocket, a coffee machine, a walk to the car, or a staircase can become a holy reminder. Small habits can retrain the mind until awareness of Christ becomes a more natural default setting. [35:27]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [05:47] - Being With Jesus Is Timely
• [06:35] - Dropping the Nets to Follow
• [08:00] - Ephesus and First Love
• [10:20] - Effective Without Affection
• [12:16] - Self and Identity in Jesus
• [14:13] - “Watch Me” and Being Seen
• [18:50] - Stuff, Nets, and Distraction
• [20:21] - Getting Stuck in Seasons
• [22:30] - Abiding as a Practice
• [24:31] - Routine: Daily Check-In With Jesus
• [28:51] - Retreat: Finding the Secret Place
• [35:07] - Remember: Noticing Jesus All Day
• [42:20] - Gazing at the Beauty of Jesus
• [43:56] - Prayer for Intentional Presence

Bible Reading

Revelation 2:1-5
“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. 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. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. 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.” [08:50]

Matthew 4:18-20
“While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.’ Immediately they left their nets and followed him.” [06:35]

John 15:4
“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.” [22:30]

Matthew 6:6
“But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” [29:04]

Observation questions

1. In Revelation 2:1-5, what does Jesus praise in the church at Ephesus, and what serious concern does he raise alongside that praise? [08:50]
2. In Matthew 4:18-20, what were Simon Peter and Andrew doing when Jesus called them, and what was their response?
3. What pictures or words are used to describe what it means to “abide” in Jesus, and how do those words help make the idea more concrete? [22:16]
4. What are some of the ordinary things that can become “nets” or distractions that pull attention away from Jesus? [18:50]

Interpretation questions

1. The church at Ephesus had endurance, discernment, and hard work, yet had left its first love. What does that suggest about the difference between faithful activity and real love for Jesus? [10:47]
2. Jesus called fishermen to leave their nets and follow him immediately. Why might seeing Jesus himself have mattered so much in that moment, and what does that show about the power of his presence? [17:38]
3. Identity in Christ is not only something to agree with mentally, but something to experience personally. Why is being seen and loved by Jesus so important for a person’s sense of identity? [15:37]
4. If “stuff” becomes the rabbi or teacher, how does that begin to shape a person’s heart and sense of self over time? [20:17]

Application questions

1. Jesus may not be distant, but the gaze can still drift back to the nets. What has been taking up the most attention lately—work, pressure, ministry, family concerns, screens, tiredness, or something else—and how has that affected love for Jesus? [19:05]
2. Love is the root that keeps surrender and obedience alive. Has faith recently felt more like duty than delight? If so, where is that showing up most clearly? [10:12]
3. A daily routine of checking in with Jesus does not need to be dramatic to be real. What is one small, sustainable change that could help create more space with him this week? [26:12]
4. Prayer can feel distracted, dry, or hard, and still be real. What usually makes it hardest to keep showing up in prayer, and what might it look like to return without shame? [25:37]
5. Jesus spoke of going into a room and shutting the door. What could a “secret place” look like in this season of life—in a room, on a walk, in the car, early in the morning, late at night, or somewhere else? [31:14]
6. Ordinary spaces can become reminders of Jesus’ presence. What simple trigger could help remember him through the day—a coffee machine, a commute, a staircase, a phone lock screen, a pocketed object, or something else? [37:00]
7. Some seasons are meant to be walked through, not camped in. Is there an area of life where there has been a feeling of being stuck, and what might abiding with Jesus look like in that exact place right now? [20:51]