1. Revelation 2:1-4 (NKJV)
1 “To the angel of the church of Ephesus write, ‘These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands: 2 “I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; …

2. Revelation 2:1-4 (NKJV)
3 and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary. 4 Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.

3. Letter To The Church
Revelation 2:1-4

4. Letter To The Church
Letters are not the most popular form of communication anymore
During NT times they certainly were widely used
In Revelation 2-3, Jesus had personal letters sent out to the 7 churches of Asia

5. Letter To The Church
These letters contained things that these churches needed to know
There were some things that they were doing that deserved praise
There were also some things that were going on that needed reproach

6. Letter To The Church
Imagine if the Lord were to send us a letter today at Lake Forest
What might that letter say?
Thinking about this, there are certainly some things that we can learn from the letters sent forth in Revelation 2 & 3

7. Church at Ephesus
The first thing we learn is that Christ knows our works and our labor
Everything they did that was worthy of praise, Christ recognized
However, there was one thing that was a negative for Ephesus

8. Church at Ephesus They had left their first love
They were doing all the right things, but the love they were to have seemed to be missing
Sometimes we can do the right thing, but not have the proper motivation for doing it

9. Church at Ephesus
Could the same be said of us here if we are not careful?
We can get so tied up in making sure we are doing all the right things that we fail to see that our motivation could be lost
We need to be diligent in our love for the Lord and the lost

10. Church at Smyrna
The letter to the church at Smyrna reveals something to us about persecution
They were told not to fear the tribulation they were about to endure
Persecution was part of the life of a Christian in the first century

11. Church at Smyrna What about today?
Certainly we do not find ourselves in the same situation as the first century, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t persecuted
We see what the world is like for those who claim to know and love God

12. Church at Smyrna Do we fear the tribulation that could come upon us?
Matthew 13:20-21
Could tribulation cause us to shy away from following God as we should?
It could cause some to leave the faith

13. Church at Pergamos
One of the things we note about this church is that they had a martyr that came from among them
What an amazing thing that they held to their faith through that
However, there were some false doctrines that were being held to

14. Church at Pergamos
This wasn’t everyone, but seemingly a certain segment of the congregation
This tells us that it matters what we believe
Do we believe God’s word, or the teachings of man on any given subject?

15. Church at Pergamos
This is why we need to study the word of God diligently
We will be held responsible for what we believe
We cannot allow ourselves to be fooled by the teachings of a man, therefore we we need to be like the Bereans (Acts 17)