Talking to me Jesus? (Ephesus)

“Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.”-Revelation 2: 1-5
Jesus Christ himself spoke these words and asks the Apostle John to record his message to the church of Ephesus. Jesus expressed to the angel or messenger of this church that he knows their works. It is very important to understand that Jesus knows are works and not just from a surface level. Proverbs 21:2 says “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the LORD pondereth the hearts.” God has the ability to look inside the heart of man. God knows the secrets in our minds and he judges accordingly. We should all examine our motive behind our works. Examine the who, what, where and why behind our works. Also it is important to know that we must work, if Jesus said to you I know your works would he have much to say? I know the topic of works is very sensitive in the body of Christ because we seem to go extreme at times. Is works necessary for salvation the answer is no. We would dare not take away from the crucifixion of our Lord by adding our works to it. Are works necessary? Yes according to several scriptures. James 2:17 “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone." Hebrews 13:21 Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. Matthew 25: 34-40 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. The problem with the body of Christ and works is that we exalt ourselves in our works. We trust too much in our works as if they bring the favor of God to us our bring us higher towards God. Works are really something we do out of love for God and his people. We love God enough not to see people go hungry.
The second point of Christ message to Ephesus is that he knows their labor and their patience. Are we a church that labors to the point of exhaustion for Christ? Jesus praised them for their labor they would work for him regardless of the situation, obstacles, and the time it took because they had patience. If things went wrong they had patience in waiting for God to fix the problem. Galatians 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. You must have a great attitude in doing the Lord’s work or you will become bitter and quit. This church didn’t grow tired in well doing can the same be said about us? Jesus said in his letter to this church that for my name’s sake you have labored and had patience and not fainted. We are looking at a committed church. A church with faith must be faithful.
The third point is that this church did not tolerate sin. Today the church is lacking the most in this area. We have taken the grace of God, the forgiveness of God, and his mercy and abused it. God has made it quite clear that sin is not permitted by him. The grace of God was given to us to set us free from sin. Romans 6:14-16 "For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace." What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?The grace of God is the gift that gives us what we don’t deserve now shall we take advantage of it by sinning as much as possible because God forgives certainly not. The early church was very much into discipline and restoration they never left out one important word REPENT. It is true we all sin, but shall we continue in the same sins daily. What happened to the fear of the Lord? We should not only take the sin in our life serious but the sin in our brothers and sisters life serious because it leads to death. So many times we sweep things under the rug and attribute it to growing rather than taking steps to allowing the Lord to make corrections. Today there are many thieves, adulterers, false prophets and wolves in the church what will we do about it? The same was true in the book of Acts you had false prophets and wolves like Simon Magus in Acts 8. You had thieves and liars like Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5. Understand that discipline was given and the church moved on and began to prosper even more. Discipline is done in love and intended to restore, but never intended to pacify sin. Jesus himself praised this church for their discipline and we should seek to understand how to do this properly from the Lord himself.
The verdict given unto the church of Ephesus is with all its duties, labor, patience, love, and discipline they unintentionally forgot their first love. It is so easy to begin to walk in the Lord and to begin working hard and forget why you are doing all these things. You can forget who gave you the ability to accomplish these awesome tasks. They forgot Jesus just like Martha did in Luke 10: 39-42 “And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word. But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” So much work but so little thought about the one you are working for. Remember how it was when we first got saved. The hours in prayer, the dedication to studying, the faithful attendance, the save the world mentality. Remember the things that you wouldn’t even dare to say, watch, or participate in. Never forget how it was when you first got saved. Jesus gave us a new life and we are commanded to be as children full of love, joy, and awaiting instruction from the Father. God what is it you want me to do today. Let us not make our time in the Lord repetive but new every morning.

In conclusion, how much of you can you see in the church of Ephesus? Where is your work, patience, labor, and discipline? How about your first love are you walking better with the Lord today then you were last year? Is there ever a time you can look back and say I was a better Christian then? If so it is time to do just what Jesus said do repent and go back to the way things were. Love is so awesome in a relationship. When you first fall in love you are extra nice, always looking to surprise and impress, and then as time goes by you begin to take things for granted. Please don’t take Jesus for granted.

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.-Revelation 2:7