February 13, 2022

Revelation 2:1-7

2 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:

These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. ² I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. ³ You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.

⁴ Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. ⁵ Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. ⁶ But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

⁷ Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

Some people believe the letters to the churches in Revelation 2 and 3 are words spoken only to the churches of John’s day. Others see them as a Prophetic timeline with each church representing a different church age.

I see them as both a prophetic word to the churches of John’s days; but also, as a picture of the types of churches that will exist throughout the church age and into the last days. These prophetic messages not only serve as warnings, but give both encouragement and correction. The descriptions of these churches, the words of encouragement, and the words of corrections speak not only to churches as a whole, but also to the individual believers that make up the church.

Today we will look at The Spirit’s message to the church in Ephesus and what it means to have a “First Love” relationship with Jesus

1. First Love is full of EXCITEMENT and ANTICIPATION
2. First Love PURSUES
3. First Love REFUSES TO BE SEPERATED
4. First Love PRIORITIZES AND PROTECTS
5. First Love COMMUNICATES
6. First Love longs to be UNITED AS ONE
7. First Love continues to CHERISH THE GIFT
8. First Love EXPRESSES ITSELF