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. But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 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 2:1-7)
Today's Morsel: Do you really know what your church teaches, believes and stands for? Or do you just take what is being said as the gospel truth? On all accounts the church at Ephesus seems to be a church that was holding true to what had been taught them. Listen to what Jesus said to them, "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." Sounds like what a true church of Jesus is suppose to be doing. But then listen to what He tells them, "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. But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate." Notice, they had left their first love. They hadn't lost their love for Jesus, they were working. They were labouring in the vineyard by all accounts. But they had lost their love for the truth. And because they had lost their love for the truth, they were accepting the doctrine of the Nicolaitans. The doctrine of the Nicolaitans was that it is okay to eat things sacrificed and offered to idols. And also that it was okay to commit fornication. You see, you can do the work of the Lord all day long, but if your church's doctrine isn't causing you to come out from the world and be separated unto God and live a holy and separate lifestyle, you may be following the doctrine of the Nicolaitans. Paul told the church at Corinth, "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). A lady asked me a few days ago if I thought a person could lose their salvation. I told her that if the church of Ephesus was going to lose theirs' except they repented, you better believe you can lose it. "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," Jesus said. The Apostle John admonishes us, "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world" (1 John 4:1). You need to understand that church and serving Jesus is more than just music and good preaching. It's 100% truth. Living the truth. Teaching the truth. And obeying the truth. It is about the truth and nothing but the truth.
Sing: When in service for my Lord, dark may be the night, but I'll cling more close to Him, He will give me light; Satan's snares may vex my soul, turn my thoughts aside; but my Lord goes ahead, leads wherever betides.
O I want to see Him, look upon His face, there to sing forever of His saving grace; on the streets of Glory, let me lift my voice; cares all past, home at last, ever to rejoice.
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