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Revelation 2:1-7

The Loveless Church

¹ “To the angel of the church of Ephesus write,
‘These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands: ² “I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; ³ and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary. ⁴ Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. ⁵ Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent. ⁶ But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
⁷ “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.”’

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who is listening -Hear- what God is saying! Jesus is warning us, don't just listen to me, -Hear- me, do the things I say to you. In John 14:15 Jesus said, "If you love me than keep my commandments". We see here that Jesus is reiterating that statement to the seven churches. He starts by commending the church in Ephesus for their hard work, their labor for the church, their patience and perseverance for the cause of Christ, their hatred towards evil… how good they were at spotting false teachers and fake Christians, how good they were at discerning all the problems in the world. They seemed to have it all together, they seemed to be doing all the right things, but though they did so many good things for the church (for Jesus), they failed to do the most important thing of all, to Love God with all their heart, mind and soul. They left their "First Love". Note that he says (You) left your first love, an action on the part of the people, Jesus isn’t the one who left. For those who are married, do you remember when you first met your wife, how your heart sped up and how you got butterflies every time you were in her presence... or wives, do you remember how you felt towards your husband when you first met? That's what Jesus meant when he said, first love. He said you're doing all these great things for me but in the process of all the busyness you've forgotten about me. Have you ever been in that situation with your spouse... you get so caught up in the routine and busyness of life that you've forgotten how you felt toward that person when you first met? Here's the solution to the problem, Repent, remember where you have fallen (remember how many wicked things in your life that have been forgiven, remember how you felt when you first understood the amazing Grace of Christ, remember when you first understood the price Jesus paid for your life, remember how you could be in His Word all day and wished there was more time in the day to keep reading). Perseverence for Christ, without Love for Christ will eventually lead to dead works. He says Repent and come back to me, love me again... Let’s never lose sight of the enormous price Jesus paid to save us from our sin... let us fall in love with His Word every day! The greatest of all the commandments is to Love God with all our heart, mind and soul!

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Revelation 2:1-7

The Loveless Church