What were the prevailing sins in the Church of Ephesus, for example?

The believers had forsaken their first love. When they started with the Lord they loved to pray, to read their Bible, to gather with fervent believers. Their whole life was taken up with the joy of His Presence. They loved to talk about the Lord and tell about the things He had done for them.

Fifteen years later they found every excuse not to pray, not to read their Bible. They were too busy to gather with the believers (they had found that the church members were all hypocrites and the Pastor was not perfect). They seldom talked about the Lord. When testimony time came in church they sat like an idol on the bank of a river in India.

They had left their first love, their love for Jesus.

The Lord commended them for their hard work, their perseverance, their refusal to tolerate wicked men, their testing of those who claimed to be apostles, and their endurance of hardships for the name of Jesus without becoming weary.

The believers in Ephesus hated the practices of the Nicolaitans. Scholars vary on what these practices were, some saying the reference is to the elevation of the clergy over the laity; others holding that attempts to reconcile the Christian assemblies to the local community are indicated; yet others see the philosophy of antinomianism, the concept (very much in favor today) that we are saved by what we believe independently of our behavior.

Not a bad track record, but the Lord insists on perfection. In this case they were to overcome their lack of fervent love for Him.

What do we do when we discover from the Word that our face is dirty?

First, and most importantly, we repent. Repentance is not an act of emotion but of will. We read the Word, see the spots and blemishes, and resolve then and there to change. We do not waver between two opinions, we resolve to change!

Then we go to the Lord. "Help me to pray, to read the Word, to gather regularly with the saints, to be renewed and refreshed in the romance that is the Christian discipleship. Rekindle my love for You. Set me on fire.

"Drive these false gods out of my life. Turn me around. Get me back on the firing line. Give me a fresh, burning testimony. Help me, Jesus!"

Keep at it. Keep at it. Keep at it until you get your first love back. Don't quit. You are in a struggle for your spiritual life. If you are an American, remember you are in an apostate nation. The demon oppression is heavy. You are going to have to fight with all your might to regain lost ground.

There is no other way to overcome the corruption and death that is warring against the Lord.

You must pray. You must read your Bible if possible. You must gather with the saints if possible. In America you may be too busy to do these things. You are going to have to pray to the Lord to make time for you. You are going to have to mean business with God!

To be continued.