Revelation chapter two. Seven letters, we begin tonight, we've been through these many times together. Rightfully so. These are letters from our Lord. to his elect, it's to his church. This is not to the world. He read it in every single letter. He says, look at verse seven, let he that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit sayeth unto the churches. These are to the churches, this church.

Vital words. Vital means pertaining to life. For your vitality. To check your vital signs. Vital word. Letters full of comfort. These are letters from our father. These are letters from our brother, our elder brother, Christ. These are letters from our husband. Letters full of comfort. Letters full of encouragement. Letters full of hope. Letters full of reproof. Letters full of rebuke. Letters full of correction. All God's people need all of those things.

Mindy asked me, I knew she would ask me this, she always does, are we looking forward to the message tonight? I'm glad she asked me that. And I said, yes and no. I love to comfort. I love to console. I love to give you hope. I love to strengthen you. I don't like reproof and rebuke, but we sure do need it. We. I say we. That means me and you. So it's full of both, but But you know, there's more commendation in this letter than there is conviction. You know that?

Four verses, the first three verses are commendation, commending the church. Verse six is commending the church. There's one verse of rebuke and reproof, verse four. Verse five is a verse of a commandment and a warning. And verse seven is a commandment and a promise. So it's mostly, we shouldn't think of this letter as only leaving our first love. That's there, but there's a whole lot more there. There's more commendation and comfort than there is reproof and rebuke, but we need both, don't we? We need both.

Verse one, under the angel of the church at Ephesus, Do you remember first reading Ephesians 1? Ephesus. This is to the church at Ephesus. This is to the church that believes the gospel in Ephesians. Oh, blessed be the God and father. of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ, according as he hath chosen us. The church is chosen. The name means called out, called, chosen us in Christ before the foundation of the world. that we should be holy and blame before him in love, having predestinated.

What do you think about that? Predestinated us under the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted and abloved, in whom we have redemption. You want me to go on? Wonderful book, isn't it? Wonderful words of life. Do you believe all that? You're the church at Ephesus. You're the church at Ephesus. These words were to the Ephesians, those who believe the gospel there in Ephesus.

Notice though, who these letters are written to first, the angel. You see that? Every single letter begins, look at verse eight, under the angel. the angel of the church in Smyrna, verse 12, the angel of the church in Pergamum. Angel means messenger. That's all it means, okay? Messenger. It means messenger, and it's speaking here of those who have the message of the gospel. He's speaking of pastor, pastor, preacher.

So this is to me first, isn't it? Yes, it is. It's to me. Paul said, I have delivered unto you that which I also receive. That's what Paul said. He said, I heard the gospel, and I'm just going to tell you what I heard. My dad used to say this in his Alabama way. He said, you can't tell what you don't know any more than you come back from where you ain't been. Do you understand that? Sure, he did. You can't tell what you don't know. You will not preach him whom you don't know.

And that's what Paul did, and that's what my dad did before the Lord revealed himself to him. But if you hear Christ, if you meet him, you know who you're gonna preach? Like Saul of Tarsus. After he met Christ, he preached the law before that. and his own righteousness in it. And when he met Christ, he said, I don't have a righteousness. Christ is my righteousness. And he said, now I'm determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, name crucified.

Is that you? Well, that's me. That's me, to the angel. Paul said, I've delivered unto you that which I also receive. You can't preach to sinners unless you're a sinner yourself. You know that? You can't preach to the heart something that doesn't touch your own heart. So this is to me.

You know how I know you need these words here? Because I need them. I need them. Oftentimes, I may look like I'm mad, but I'm more mad at myself all the time than I am you a whole lot more. I need this first of all. I really do. I need all he says, the comfort, I need the conviction. Verse one, because we're all guilty of what he rebukes us for here. But thank God, I believe we're all, we have this same testimony that he commends.

These things, verse one, saith he, Christ, that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, and walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlestick. Look at the verse right before that, chapter one, verse 20. The mystery of the seven stars, which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlestick, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches. Thank God, I'm in his hand. Moses said, Lord, if you don't go with us, I don't want to go. Don't let me go up there if you're not with me. Right? And the seven candlesticks, he walks in the middle of the seven golden candlesticks.

Our Lord holdeth me, us, in his sovereign hands. Aren't you thankful? Thank God that he's in the midst of his church. One of our sisters in here loves Psalm 46 off the way up. This is what it says. It says that God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Why is he very present? Because he said, I'll never leave you.

God is in the midst of his church. She shall not be moved. If you move him, you move her. God shall help her. And that right early because he's a present help. The Lord, listen, says this three times. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. And each time that has a seal behind it. Now you stop and think about that. God's with us right now.

Oh yeah. Isn't it? It's not figurative. Not figurative. We can't see him, but he's with us. He said so, didn't he? They mean that? Thank God. Thank God. Boy, that'll order what we do here, and give us comfort. If he's with us, no one can be against us. These things saith he, these wonderful words of life, God's word. Words of life. These things saith he that holds his preachers in his hand, holds his churches in his hand, seven golden candlesticks.

I started to go back to Exodus 25. Sister Vicki said, could you preach on the tabernacle? I'd love to. And I've had several requests and I love it. But I started to have you go back to Exodus 25, and I thought, I'll get stuck there. That's the candlestick. That's the first thing he created was the ark. Mercy. And then the candlestick, golden candlestick, seven. Perfect. Candles in Exodus 25, Helen, is candlestick one. Seven, one. Christ, the light, we're in him. And it all comes from that oil, that central and flows out. Let's go on. The candlesticks, that's church, church.

What's the purpose of the church? One thing. It's not a YMCA. It's not a bluegrass venue. It's a pillar and ground of the truth. I mean, it holds up the truth. It's a light in a dark world where the light of the knowledge of the glory of God and the person and work of Jesus Christ shines forth. That's what the church, the church does.

That's all it does. If not, you'll take accounts together. There's no purpose for this church to exist except for one purpose, to hold forth the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. You understand that? Sure you do. You're nodding your head and you're saying amen, because that's the way it is. That's what these churches were. They want them. And when they left off preaching the gospel, they removed them. They removed them.

He said in verse two, I know thy works and thy labor and thy patience. I know thy works. I know, the Lord knows us. Now this should create in us two things, fear and comfort. He knows us, he knows them. For whom he did for, no, he did for this stuff. Oh Lord, thou has searched me, Psalm 139, he loved that. Oh Lord, thou has searched me and known me. There's nothing about me you don't know. That'll create fear, and yet he knows you and still loves you. That'll create comfort, won't it? That's perfect love that casts out fear.

I know, I know that works. You know, it says this to every church, every church. I know that works. I know that works to each of his churches. Verse nine. Look at it. I know that works. Verse 13. I know that works. Verse 19. I know that works and on and on it goes. Is this important? Wow. Oh, yes. Okay.

You know Ephesians 2.8, don't you? You know 9 and 10?

Oh, it's by grace you're saved. Through faith, that's not of yourself. That's the work of God, isn't it? That's the grace of God. It's not of works, lest any man should boast. But we're his workmanship, aren't we? Created in Christ Jesus unto good works. That's what it's all about. The principle work, now, here's what he says. I know thy works and thy labor and thy patience. I know thy works and labor in the gospel. This is the principle work, as I said, of the church, to bear light in a dark world, to bear up, to declare, and set forth the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Listen to 1 Corinthians 15. Let me read this to you. 1 Corinthians 15. This is our purpose. This is the labor that we're all about. Okay? And don't be weary. This is good. Well, this is a good work that we're doing right here. Not for salvation, but because of it.

But yet, this is what God uses for Sabbath, preaching the gospel. My beloved, he says, brethren, be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, which is what we're doing right now. For as much as you know, your labor is not in vain in the Lord. So our Lord commends the church for holding forth Ephesus, holding forth the gospel. The Lord and Father, now this is wonderful.

As I said, we shouldn't simply think of this letter as a rebuke for leaving our first love. We'll get to that in a moment. But like a good father, the wonderful Lord and father and husband that he is, he first commends his children. Doesn't he? He's commending them. That's wise parenting, you know that? Before you rebuke them or correct them, is there anything to commend, to encourage? Isn't that right? That's good. He commends, he encourages before he reproves and rebukes his children. And now, he's not thanking us. No, no, no, no, no. He's commending us. He's commending us.

In Hebrews 6, it says, God is not unrighteous to forget your labor. Let me, I don't want to misquote that. Listen to that. In Hebrews 10, or 6.10, it says this, is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love which you've showed toward his name in that you've ministered to the saints and do minister. Minister what? The gospel. God is not unrighteous. And he does that here. I know that word.

Not labor. in the gospel, thy patience, look at this. Thy patience, turn to James chapter one with him. Patience means meekness, it means submission to whatever the Lord sends. Trials, tribulations, persecution, especially persecution for the gospel. It's proof that you belong to him. But James chapter one, in patience is spoken of throughout the scriptures, isn't it? But James chapter one, verse two. My brethren, count it joy when you fall, all joy when you fall into divert temptations or trials. Well, how could you count it joy to go through heavy, heaviness, that's what he called it, heaviness. Fiery trial, because that's whom the Lord loved him. Did the Lord love Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego?

Where'd he put them? In a fiery furnace den. Did he love Babylon? No, no, no, no. He gonna burn them up. But he put his ones he loved in a furnace. And did they come out? Did they make it? Were they burned up? No, no, no, no. Why? Somebody wanna tell me? He went in there with them. And he stayed there, John. They came out, he stayed in there. That's Christ on the cross. You know that, don't you?

So trials are for His glory and our good and to wean us from His world and make us totally dependent on Him, to have compassion for one another. Verse 4, let patience have her perfect work. that you may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. Now the last chapter of James, look over here. The last chapter, he ends with patience. Chapter five, verse 11, verse eight, verse seven. Chapter five, verse seven, be patient under the coming of the Lord, waiting for the precious fruit of the earth. That's long patience, early and later. Be patient, verse eight, establish your heart, And trials do this, the word does this. In verse 10, brethren, take the prophets that have spoken in the name of the Lord for an example of suffering, affliction, and patience. We count them happy which endure, don't we?

You've heard of the patience of Job? You've seen the end of the Lord? Are you looking at it? You've seen the end, what the Lord did to Job in the end? Because the Lord's very pitiful. He says, I know your patience. I know what you're going through. Why? He put you through it. Why? For your patience. To wait on the Lord. Nobody else turned to wait on the Lord. Has he ever let you down? Nor will he ever. Verse two, I know your patience. I know how thou canst not bear them which are evil, have tried them which are apostles and are not, and hast found them liars. He can't bear them that are evil, evil brothers and sisters.

The fear of the Lord is to hate evil, all evil. Evil's evil, isn't it? Whether it be immorality or out and out wickedness or religious evil. Evil's evil, isn't it? You that love the Lord, Scripture says, hate evil. Doesn't it say that? The fear of the Lord is to hate all evil in the world, especially in yourself. Right? To eschew it, Job, we just talked about, what did Job do? He eschewed evil, he avoided it, he passed from it, he didn't, like Lot was vexed with it all around him and certainly in him, wasn't he?

I know you can't bear them, they're evil and evil all around and have tried them, perhaps this is the worst evil of all, is evil religion. In five of these seven letters, the Lord mentioned Satan's seat, Jezebel, the devils, Balaam. Five out of seven letters, he said, I know where you are. I know what you're in the midst of, an evil religious world. It's the religion of the God of this world. He's behind it all. It's Babylon. He said, I know where you are. He was here. Our Lord was here, right in the middle of it.

He said, it's going to be worse than the end. These are letters in the last days. And it's worse now than it was in the beginning of the church. Our Lord said in the last day, many false prophets are going to have to go out. And that's the way it is. Now he's commending the church. Listen now, stay with me. He's commending them for trying those that say they're apostles and are not. And you found them liars. How do we try them? By the word of God. 1 John 4, try the spirits, whether they be of God or not. Try them, put them to the test by the word of God.

And we find out that those that are preaching this other gospel, Those that are preaching another Jesus, you know the one, you can't do anything unless you let Him. That's another Jesus. That is not the gospel. And those men that stand up and say that, they're liars. Those men that stand up and preach a God that wants to and can't and tries and fails and just loves everybody without exception, they're liars. They're lying on God. I'm hearing you, I'm watching you nod your heads, and God commends us for that. But we can't help it, because He's put the love of God in our heart.

I can't bear it. He said you can't bear it. Could you bear it if your father or your mother's name was being dragged in the dirt? Making fun of and ridiculing and mocking your father, your earthly father and mother. Could you bear it? How much more? How much less can a church bear what men and women are saying about our God and about His Christ? They're liars. Lying on God, lying to the souls of men. And it's all we can do to bear it, isn't it? I can't bear it. How about you? Apostles. There are no apostles. All these miracles and things that these fellows do, they're liars, they're fakes, they're phonies.

The Lord commends His church for that. Taking a stand. Taking a stand. This is what distinguishes the true church from the false. God's people fear His name. That's what verse 3 says. You've born, that is born up, you bear up, you hold up, you exalt, have patience, patiently enduring persecution for my namesake. This is good. That's what this church We make mention that his name is exalted.

We bear up his name. We don't use that name ever in any way except in worship and praise and honor and glory. They that take his name in vain, God will not hold them guiltless. Oh, don't let us be guilty of that. We make mention, unite our hearts to fear his name.

His name, his namesake, verse three. You've borne up my name. You've had patience. That is, you've endured the persecution. They call you haters. They call you unloving. No, it's just that you love God's glory. You love his name too much to have him drag it in the dirt. David said that in Psalm 139. Do I? Turn there. Don't take my word for it. Psalm 139.

Preacher, what are you mad at? I'm mad at this religious generation. They're not saving people, they're dragging them to hell. Psalm 139, look at it. Verse 20, you have it? Verse 19, surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God. Depart from me, ye bloody men.

They speak against thee wickedly. Thine enemies take thy name in vain. Do not I hate them, O Lord, that hate thee? Ammon, I grieve with those that rise up against thee. I hate them with a perfect, mature, godly, holy hatred. I count them mine enemies.

Now I tell you, the Lord, a zeal of his house, God's house, ate him up and he went in where they were selling all that stuff in God's name and he planted a whip, didn't he, Ron? Does that sound like the love of Jesus? Planted a whip. Do you think he was smiling when he did that?

I'm not sorry. I can't bear what they're saying about my Lord. I can't tolerate it, Steve. We can't tolerate it, can we? We won't tolerate it. God's about through with it. Religion's a problem with this world. It's not the answer. That's what happened to Israel of old. They departed from the living God and went to idols and all this and made up things about God.

Everybody liked that. Smooth things. They hired prophets. Prophesy a smooth thing. Tell us how much God loves us and Jesus died for us. Tell us those things. That ain't in the Bible. Tell us lies. That's what we want. That's what, isn't that what he says? Brother Kelly, you've read this book. You've read this book, shalln't you? It's a marvel, a wonder that the prophets prophesy lies and the people love to have it said. Isn't that what the scripture says? You've read it.

You see, God is commending. You know, we had nothing to do with this, believing like we believe, and knowing who we know. We had nothing to do with it. It's God that worketh in us, both the will and do of His pleasure. Faith is not of yourselves, it's a gift of God. This knowledge of the true and holy God, this fear of God, this reverence for His name, this desire to exalt His name is of God. We had nothing to do with it. But now that God's done it, That's what we're all about. And that's how you know the difference. I don't care what they say, what they look like.

If they bring Jesus down to where he's not much more than a man, that's another Jesus. If they make God subject to the will of man, that's another gospel. That's not the gospel. They're liars. And I hate them. I wish the Lord would either save them or kill them. Is that too hard? I said I wish he'd save them. He did save Saul of Tarsus.

But not many. Not many. So he says, you've borne up my name and you haven't fainted. Not going to quit. Not going to quit. Hmm, thank God. Oh, let us keep sounding the truth with boldness, love, but yet boldness for the glory of God. Verse four, nevertheless. See, he's been commending the church, nevertheless. And that word is 97 times in the scripture. Nevertheless, often it's for our comfort. Let me just read this. I preached the whole message on that word. Do you remember? From Psalm 106. And this is wonderful.

But it says, they provoked him, they provoked him, they provoked him. Nevertheless, he saved them for his name's sake. He said his wrath was kindled. He gave them into the hand of the enemies. They provoked him. They provoked him, they were brought low. Nevertheless, he regarded their affliction when he heard their cry and he remembered for them his covenant.

Nevertheless, it's a wonderful word and we need this nevertheless. It means in spite of all that, it means however. However, I have something somewhat against it. Now God is for his people, isn't he? He is for us, if God be for us. And I hate when people use that verse of scripture on the back of a big semi-truck and apply it to everybody. That's not for everybody. That's Romans 8, 31. Now who's that for? Whom he did foreknow, he predestinated, called and justified. That's the lack there. Huh? If God be for us, Who can be against us? But now if God has something against us, he must be serious, isn't he? God's for us, but he's saying this to, you know what is against us more than anything? You know who our greatest enemy is? Ourselves. They brought this on themselves. I have something against you, he said.

Verse four, because thou hast left thy first love. Now, chapter three, verse 19, turn over there quickly. That's the last part of the last letter, which is a my, my, what a letter to live to see him. Verse 19, he says, as many as I love, I rebuke. Be zealous therefore and repent.

If you receive this, if you're guilty of this and convicted by this, the Lord loves you. Know it. All the Lord loves, He rebukes. And all the Lord loves, they love Him for rebuking. Let the righteous, we quote that all the time, let the righteous might. We thank him, patiently endure the rebuke, thankfully, because we're all guilty of this.

Start with me. To the angel, you've left your first love. I was gonna have you turn to Song of Solomon, but I've spent too much time already. We sing the song prone to wander, Lord, I feel it. Prone to leave, the God I love. It's the nature of a sheep to need and want a shepherd, right? And want to follow. Goats don't follow. Do they, Steve? They don't follow. What do they do to eat? Sheep, they need a shepherd. They love a shepherd. They want to be led by the shepherd. They want to follow. Don't they? That's what sheep do. Sheep flock together. But it's also their nature to wander. Greener grass.

And that's all of it. Now the Lord saw this and felt this before they did. It's always the case. Can you grieve the Lord? Yes, you can. His people. and grieve the spirit. You've left your first love. The preacher and the watchman in Song of Solomon, he saw this in the bride. He saw it because he's felt it in himself. Left your first love. Now, he didn't say you've lost your first love, did he? He didn't.

If God loves you, you will love him. And that love is forever. God loves you forever, doesn't it? Will you quit loving him? Can't do it. Can't do it. Can you leave? Yes, you can. Temporarily. For a time. Do you understand? But if it's forever, you never did love him. He never did love you. Right? That's just right.

Love never fails. Love never fails. We can leave, leave our first love, not lose, but leave. When you leave something, why do you leave? Because you're going after something else. It's always the case. To leave here is because you're going there. To leave that, you're going after that. That's always the case. The world, whatever it may be. And he said, you've left your first love. Let me just say this real quickly.

When you first love Christ, when you first fall in love with Christ, he makes, shows you, reveals himself to you. You love his gospel, you love him, you love his people. You leave self, you deny yourself, and you go after him. You deny everybody and everything and you go after him. When you begin to leave him, you go after these other things again. And that's what the child in Ezekiel did. That's what Hosea Gomer did and on and on it goes. Jeremiah, let me read to you in Jeremiah. This is Jeremiah 1.

Listen to it. I hope you listen. The word of the Lord came unto me, and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the Lord, I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals. First love. He went after me in the wilderness. Israel was holding us unto the Lord. First fruits. Hear the word of the Lord, he said. What iniquity have you found in me that you've gone far from me and walked after vanity?

And it goes on and on throughout this time. Backsliding. And it's always going after people or things. People or things. Here's first love. First love. married couples in here, and you remember, can you remember that far back, Ed and Jeanette? John and Nancy, can you remember back 100 years ago when you Joe met? But that first love, and it's so with every truly married couple. You meet one another, you fall in love with each other, you talk to one another, You love that person's voice, don't you? You want to walk with them, you want to talk to them, you want to be with them. You love to be with them.

You leave everybody and everything, nobody. I was going to read Song of Solomon, where she said, draw me and I'll run after you. Come on, let's go. And the Lord said, come into my banquet. I said, oh, good. And she said, don't anybody bother us. And then in chapter five, he came and knocked on the door. She said, I'm asleep, don't bother me.

Remember? And then she thought she'd lost her first love. She went looking for him, couldn't find him. You know what I'm talking about? Sure you do, I know. I can preach this from conviction. We let things and people Take us away from our sweetheart love of the gospel, and his kingdom, and his people. In the beginning, nothing and no one could keep you away. There was nothing worth missing Christ, worth missing the gospel over. Nothing. No one. Right? You wanted nothing more when you were first in love. You wanted nothing more than to be with that person you couldn't get enough.

Here's a man or a woman, they hear the gospel. The Lord who loves them, gives them a love for the truth, a love for the gospel. They can't get enough of it. Can't get enough of it, can't get to the service quick enough. Wish they wouldn't close the doors after it's over. Don't want to go home. No message too long. No message too, no preacher too loud. My dad, I remember him being hoarse after every message. Buddy the Lord used that, I'm telling you. He raised up churches everywhere from a man shouting, lifting up his voice. Wake the dead, and it did. No message too long, no preacher too loud.

Love the word, love the fellowship. And that man, that woman, even that couple, they begin to make money. Family comes along. A job. All these responsibilities. Possessions. Possessions. Call it stuff. Call it what it is. Just a bunch of stuff that you'll end up putting in a garage sale. Cares of this life. and begin to miss services. You don't miss services. You leave. Isn't that right? The services are going on. You don't just miss them. You go after something else instead of them. And what happens? You've left your first love.

And it's only the grace of God and the love of God that will bring you back and hear it again as if it was the first time. He said in verse five, remember therefore from whence thou art fallen. Do you know where the Lord found it? Remember where he found you, in the slime pit to set you among princes. Oh, brothers and sisters, This is a heavenly place. It really is. This is a haven. This is an oasis in the desert, isn't it? It really is. The refuge where Christ is, our refuge.

Remember from where you came, where the Lord found you, the slime pit, and where he brought you to, sit among princes. From the dung heap to sit among princes. Why would you go back? If you leave this, where are you going back to? The slime pits. Back to Egypt.

The world. That's the only reason that people leave off worshiping the Lord. People and things. And our Lord said, I have something against you now. Repent. Turn from this. Repent. It means to change your mind, change your heart, change your way. That's what repent means. Your heart's not right. Your heart sets your affection on things. Your heart's not right. Your mind's not, you're not thinking clearly. Let this mind be in you. Who was rich, yet for our sake became poor. Blessed are the poor. He'll give you leanness of soul. If he, all these things, take place him.

I was going to have you turn to Psalm 51. That's the Psalm of repentance. And if you want to know repentance, if you don't know what to pray, just pray Psalm 51 to the Lord. Just go back there and pray there. He says, against thee and thee only have I sinned and done this evil. And I said, what's that? Leave my first letter. Go after other things. Oh, he said, purge me with hyssop. That's the gospel of Christ. Wash me. I'll be whiter than snow.

You desire truth in the inner part. Make me to hear joy and gladness again. Make me to hear the gospel again as if it was the first time. Don't let me ever take this blessed gospel for granted. If a man stands up and hollers mercy, let me shout for the top of my lung. Amen. Thank you. Don't let me ever. You grow too accustomed to hearing that. You don't hear it everywhere. Very few places.

Create in me a clean heart. Renew the right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence. Take not thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation. Then I'll teach sinners the way. I got out of the way. What you going after? and bring it back into the way. Hear his blessed voice again, repent. Or verse five, he said, I'll remove your candlestick. And verse five says, do the first works. Do the first work. First works, what's that?

What you first come to do and you came and heard the gospel, didn't you? You'd hear it. You keep coming to hear it. Is that a work? Is that, uh, it, it's a, it's a, it exhorts your brethren. It come, it serves your brethren. It serves the kingdom of God. Yes, it does. It is exhorting one another and gathering one another instead of scattering, isn't it? Virgie, I bring this up all the time, Virgie was up in her 80s when she died, but she was in that pew every service. And you old folks know, we old folks know how fragile and frail and, ill you get and how long it takes to get over this thing.

But if you really love the gospel, you can't wait to get back, can you? You're not looking for a reason to miss. You're hoping that you can come back. So he says, the first works, you come here and exhort one another so much more as you see the day approaching. You love being with The Lord, his loved ones, he let nothing and no one put you asunder like marriage. This would be good for your marriage too. You hear, you hear, you hear, you listen. You walk with, you talk with, call on the Lord, pray. First works, calling on the Lord, calling on the Lord, reading, reading his word.

When you're early in love, you write letters to one another. Any of you still have love letters from your early? Do you have any of his letters from the army? Man, oh man, they're probably yellow like the Declaration of Independence. But you still keep, why, you love him. You ever get them out and read them? Sure you do. If you love one another, you love the letters. This is God's, this is his people. It's not to the world, it's his people, they love him. Write your loved one a little note every now and then, okay? Talk to, time alone with the Lord. This is a generation that can't stand to be alone. We need to be alone with the Lord. Listen to the message on alone with the Lord, Jacob.

You labor for, labor for those you love. When you, early on, Jacob served 14 years for Rachel. 14 years. You remember he worked seven years and then he got Leah and he was duped. It served him right. But he loved Rachel so much, he worked seven more years. 14 years, Marilyn. He said it seemed like a day. Do you remember when you first, the Lord first brought you into his church and you thought, what can I do?

What can I do? There's no, it's not labor. Is it? It's love. What can I do to support this work? I don't, I'm not worthy to be here. What can I do? A work day, it's not a work day. It's a labor of love. You ladies have witnessed a good profession and going to sit with our dear sister. Is that labor? Who's been blessed? Huh? Oh, no. It's not labor if it's for one you love, is it?

I've got to close. Verse 6, and he says, if you don't, I'll remove your candlestick. I'll shut the doors. He doesn't say I'm going to throw you into hell. He says, I'm going to shut the doors of that church if it's not preaching the gospel and everybody's not laboring together for the gospel. If we're striving to vision, we'll shut the doors. But if we're striving together for the face of the gospel, it's going to go on.

You understand? This kingdom is not about me. The church is a church without me. It's without you. And we come here, it ain't about me, my feelings, how you treat me or how I treat you. It's all for the glory of the kingdom of God. That's what this is all about. We all get our feelings hurt. Well, so be it. We're in this for the glory of God and the kingdom of God. We'll deny ourself. You say, it doesn't matter how I'm treated. I need to hear this gospel. And that's right. My dad said that all the time. That's right. This ain't about me. It's about our Lord. How do we treat Him? How do we treat him? He ought to have left us long ago. Now.

Thou hast the deeds, thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, he said, verse six. And I think I'll deal with that a little more fully in the third letter to Pergamos, because he mentions it again, okay? I've run out of time. Deeds of the Nicolaitans, we'll deal with that later. But verse seven, let me close.

He that hath an ear, Let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the church, an ear, not ears, ear, one ear. An ear like that single eye, John. We need to have an ear to listen to one voice, don't we? His voice. Turn away our ears. They turn away their ears from the truth of the word. Let us turn away our ears from lies and turn our ear, our heart, our soul, our mind, our eye toward Christ alone. And let nothing and no one cause us to venture away from this, what we're doing.

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the church of the hymn that overcometh. What is it that overcomes? Faith. That's just how this whole thing started, went to Ephesians, didn't it? This is who we believe in. This is the gospel we believe. There is no other gospel. And I don't know of another place around here that's preaching that. We need this, don't we? Overcometh, overcome the flesh, and overcome the devil, and overcome the world.

If you believe that this is the gospel, And I'll give to eat of the tree of life which is in the midst of paradise of God. What's that? You don't really think we're going to eat a tree, do you? Or fruit of a tree? This tree of life was all the way back in the garden, wasn't it? In the beginning. was a tree of life. In the end, in Revelation, a tree of life, wasn't it?

What's that? Who's that? Jesus Christ. Now he that overcometh, he that really believes, you're gonna eat this tree till the day you die. It's gonna keep you hungry and thirsty for the gospel. Do you understand that? And he's going to give you this tree of life. You're going to eat his flesh and drink his blood till the day you die or till the day you sleep. And then you go to be with him forever. And then you'll be in the tree, with the tree and all the branches of the tree that abide in him. That's Christ. OK, stand with me.