To each of the 7 churches of Asia, John writes a message from Jesus, revealed to him on the Isle of Patmos. John had been banished to this island because of his Christian witness, by Domitian, the Emperor of Rome. This was only after they had thrown him into a vat of flaming oil, where he was no the least bit hurt. So they just decided to get him out of town. But God had big plans for him – a dynamic revelation of ‘things to come’, and a word for each of the churches John was currently working with.

To each church there is a message of commendation and of correction. From these, we can learn what pleases and what displeases God about the church, and thus, we can determine what we must do to line ourselves up with God’s will.

I know your works and your labor –

Diligence in duty is commended. A godly people is a working people – working for God – actively involved in the gospel and the life of the church. There is no place for individualism in the church. We are a body – one body. We need to be connected with one another and we must be involved in the work of the Lord.

We are here for a reason. I believe every person is put on this earth for a reason. There are no accidental people. God has a place and a purpose for everyone. Not necessarily a ‘special’ place, as we define special. It may be a very regular place – a lowly position, but nevertheless an important one.

I believe God puts us in certain locations, among certain people, in certain churches, because he has a purpose for us there. Our job is to find out what it is. You don’t need a great anointing to sit in a pew. You need anointing to function properly for God. You need anointing to bless others – to witness for Christ – to share the great life and grace and mercy He has shown. You need anointing to encourage and undergird others. Nobody can really stand alone. We need each other. Is there somebody who needs you? You bet!

I know your work and your labor – That you have not slacked off or faltered. You have stood strong and kept going.

Listen – God is keeping up with your time sheet. HE is keeping score if no one else is. And it is He who counts. It doesn’t matter if no one else notices how you labor. Remember, God will reward.

I know your patience -

Not only is faithfulness important in the Lord’s work, but patience is a must. Often there is opposition. There is frustration – the work is slow. Sometimes it falls apart – that project fails, that convert backslides, the church splits, somebody fails and embarrasses the whole church. You must be patient. There is no place for losing tempers and attacking each other.

The closer you get to the center of the church life, the more you see the ‘real’ people involved. When church people get ‘real’, you’d better learn to love them or you’ll up leaving with bitterness in your heart. It takes a lot of love to build a church or a ministry. The closer you get to other people, the more you learn about their faults. The first impressions fade. The best foot goes backward instead of forward. The real person comes out and then you have to learn to love and accept the real person – like Jesus did.

That doesn’t mean you love their sins – you love them in spite of their sins, and you love them through their sin – you try to love them out of it. Yes, we must hate sin, expose sin, call it what it is, and work against it. But we must continue to love the sinner – even when the sinner is one of the saints.

Just remember the log in your own eye…

God rewards faithfulness – steadfastness. He wants us on a sure foundation and wants us to not be moved.

I know your faithfulness. God is watching. He knows what you endure. He knows when you are standing strong and when you are struggling to do so.

… and how thou canst not bear them which are evil

They did not permit false teaching or false teachers in the church. They kept their doctrine pure and true. Pure doctrine is vital. A little bit of falsehood can go a long way in leading many astray. 99% true is not truth.

We must strive for truth. We must seek it with all our hearts.

We must build on God’s truth and on God’s truth alone. Anything else will fail us. He commends the church for striving for and protecting truth.

He says further down –

The "Nicolaitans" were a sect who committed fornication, adultery, and all uncleanness, and had their wives in common, and also ate things offered to idols. They were loose living believers who has perverted and compromised the faith and were bad witnesses to the truth of the gospel. They probably justified themselves with arguments about being ‘saved not grace’, while they flagrantly lived in sin.

The church at Ephesus took a stand against these men and their teachings and were commended for doing so. Sometimes you just have to stand up and take a position. We cannot allow falsity to be preached and promoted in the name of Christ.

Though you have so many things right, there is one vital thing you have fallen in. You have left your first love. Their first love was Jesus. Now they had a love affair with their religion. They were religiously alive, but godly dead. They had a ‘form of religion’ but they had lost the real thing. They were no different than their predecessors, the Pharisees.

They had lost the passion. Their was duty without love – work without worship – service without heartfelt prayer.

The thing is, they were not backslidden in the sense that we think of backslidden. But they had lost ground. They had become ‘Christianized’ but not ‘Christ-like’.

Before we read this next phrase, let’s remember who is being addressed here. It is not hardened sinners – people out in the world doing all kinds of evil things. We’re not talking to Sodom and Gomorrah here. He’s talking to the church – to Pastors and Sunday School teachers and Board members and pew warming saints. He’s talking to tithers and workers – to choir members and children’s workers – to WM’s and Men’s Ministries. He’s talking to us!

Now listen:

From where have we fallen? From love! You’ve lost the first love – the red-hot passion for Christ. The fire has gone out. We’ve gotten busy for God, but not intimate with Him. Do you realize that He doesn’t care how much you do for Him if you’re not spending time with Him.

Repent! Turn around and run back to His arms. Run back to that first love. Fall madly in love with Christ again. Redo the first works.

What are the first works? Well, what did you do when you first came to Christ?

You felt strong conviction over sin and you pulled away from it. So, pull away from sin again. Let your conscience be re-sharpened.

You pulled away from the world and started being careful about what you did. So, get serious with sin again – get ruthless with worldliness.

You went after God with fervor. So, get desperate for God again. Let your desire for Him grow. Hunger and thirst for Him. Seek first the Kingdom.

You excitedly told people what had happened to you – not because you had to witness, but because it poured out of you. It just bubbled over.

Repent – go back. Go back to the cross. Remember where you came from. Remember the first days with Christ and return to them.

If you want to spend eternity with Jesus, you’d better listen to what is being said here!