The First Letter

"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 tolerate 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. Therefore remember 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. Yet this you do have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.” Revelation 2:1-7

In Revelation 2 we see the first of the letters to the seven churches. They are actual churches, and the Lord gives to John, the apostle, on the island of Patmos where he was when he received the Revelation, a letter for each of these churches. And these letters are contained in chapters 2 and 3 of Revelation. Seven churches each unique with its unique characteristics and unique problems. They stand as models or examples for churches today and therefore as warnings as well.

The church in Ephesus was strong in doctrine, committed to godliness, they couldn't endure evil. They were committed to doing deeds and working hard and persevering, many good things. They endured, "For My namesake," it says in verse 3, "and didn't even grow weary." But, even with all the commendation, verse 4 strikes the tragic note, "You left your first love." And the clear penetrating eyes of Jesus see through to the heart of this church. Their hearts had grown cold. Their passion and love for Christ, their zeal for God, their deep sense of thankfulness was becoming perfunctory service. First love was gone. Enthusiasm was gone. And the Christian routine took over.

Spiritual defection comes from forgetting. "Trace your memory back to the early joys," He says. It was there at the start. "Remember," and then He says, "Repent and recognize your present state as sinful, even though you're orthodox. Confess your lack of love, your lack of communion with Christ, your lack of worship, your lack of joy." And then he says, "Repeat. Repeat the works. He did it first. Go back and do it the way you did it then."

Well, they didn't. The church failed. The light went out, never to be lit again. Today Ephesus is just ruins. And the City of Kuzidaci, which is just a short bus ride away in Turkey, is a city dominated by Islam.

A.W. Tozer once said, “If you will not worship God seven days a week you do not worship Him on one day a week.” Every single moment of life is an opportunity to worship, because every aspect of creation is under God’s authority, including the minuscule details of your existence. So then worship is not about being in tune through a song but being in touch with God. Worship is not praying so that you can be heard but praying to hear. Worship is not about living to get ahead but rather to give away self for God’s glory.

A heart of worship will unite every moment of your life into a symphony of praise to God. This heart is established by recognizing God as the Psalmist wrote in chapter 95: He is the LORD, the Rock of our Salvation, the great God, the great King above all gods, the LORD our Maker. When you see God as this, you will bow down, you will surrender, and you will put him in his rightful place OR else you don’t really see Him. ~ Aaron McRae

Have you seen Him as the Rock of your Salvation? Have you worshipped today?

“One of the scribes came and heard them arguing, and recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, "What commandment is the foremost of all?" Jesus answered, "The foremost is, 'HEAR, O ISRAEL! THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD; AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.' The second is this, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' There is no other commandment greater than these."

Mark 12:28-31