October 11, 2002 (31)
A CHURCH MUCH TESTED. Able to endure and conquer every situation and problem they faced, with the patience of the Lord. A people who had labored extensively to exalt and magnify His name. Their efforts were centered on the Lord Jesus Christ and the glorification of His name. They did not grow weary in well doing. Rev. 2:3
NEVERTHELESS. A forbidding statement of alert and warning pertaining to their love for the Lord. Love is the very essential of life and worship to the Lord. Their relationship is flawed, causing the Lord to desire to deal with the problem. They had < left their first love >. As we are to see, this was a serious and damaging situation that had developed in their midst. They deserted that great love which they had in the beginning of their walk with the Lord. It was not a case of, just growing cold, but rather one of neglect and was very serious in the eyes of the Lord. It bordered on a serious act nigh to desertion for other things that occupied their love. Does that at all sound familiar? This is one of the signs that Jesus gave as a warning pertaining to the end of the age. The cause of lost love, abounding iniquity. Here is the cause and effect of the compromise that is evidenced in the church world today. We are living in the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Bible. Mt. 24:12
REMEMBER, THOU ART FALLEN. Awake to righteousness and sin not. Direct, and to the point, words that show the standard of the Lord and not those of a worldly church. Look back to the beginning of your experience with the Lord. Revive, refresh that same love and fervor for the Lord. You have fallen ,< to be driven off ones course, fall, fall away, be come inefficient > (Strong). Without a shadow of a doubt the issue is extremely serious and must be rectified. Rev. 2:5 REPENT, a command, yet words of mercy. The only way to restore the high standard from which they had fallen. Repeat your first works. Return to the Lord with a Godly sorrow. With a broken heart and tears of repentance. The condition of the church is seriously flawed. They are warned of an impending judgment. A lax and weak fellowship is about to be completely severed by a removal of the light or the lampstand. If that light is removed the darkness will prevail. If darkness enters in, how great is that darkness. Mt. 6:23 The only avenue for them to maintain the light of life is to come to the Lord in deep and heartfelt repentance. Twice in this sentence the word repent is used in relationship to the church at Ephesus. It is a call that is made often in the letters to the seven churches. This is a call for repentance for those within the church, not outside. They were complacent and self satisfied. They had worked out for themselves a way and manner of Christianity that was comforting to them. Now, suddenly they are confronted with a letter that would once again completely change their smug and complacent ways. Repent, was the message that the Lord sent to them. What does He say to us, today?