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In\nRevelation chapters 2 and 3 God has messages for seven Churches in Asia\nMinor. There were many more churches, but God picked out these seven as\nexamples of what the New Testament Church was like. But God\u2019s message\nis actually to us: \u201cWhere do we stand? To which of these seven churches\ncan we compare ourselves? Not surprisingly, God selected the first one\nof the seven to be the Church at Ephesus. This was the Church for which\nthe Apostle Paul laboured more than for any other Church. Paul worked\nwith them for about 3 years. If any of the first century churches\nshould know right from wrong, it was the Church at Ephesus.

Some forty years after the commencement of the Ephesian congregation, Jesus issued a letter to these very same people (Revelation 2:1-7).\nHe commended them for many remarkable qualities. They were obedient,\nenergetic, enduring, sound in doctrine, and untiring. However, they had\none serious problem - these believers had left their \u201cfirst love\u201d\n(verse 4). \u201cNevertheless, I have this against you, that you have left your first love.\u201d The word \u201cleft\u201d can mean; \u2018to let go\u2019, \u2018to neglect\u2019, \u2018forsake\u2019, or \u2018leave alone\u2019 (abandon).