Well, while they are passing those out, if we could turn to Revelation 2, beginning in verse 1.
To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:
These things saith He that holdeth the seven stars in His right hand, He that walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks:
I know thy works, and thy toil and patience, and that thou canst not bear evil men, and didst try them that call themselves apostles, and they are not, and didst find them false;
and thou hast patience and didst bear for My name’s sake, and hast not grown weary.
But I have this against thee, that thou didst leave thy first love.
Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I come to thee, and will move thy candlestick out of its place, except thou repent.
But this thou hast, that thou hatest the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches. To him that overcometh, to him will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.—Revelation 2:1-7
Two other scriptures. The first is 2 Corinthians 11, beginning with verse 2.
For I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy: for I espoused you to one husband, that I might present you as a pure virgin to Christ.
But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve in his craftiness, your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity and the purity that is toward Christ.—2 Corinthians 11:2-3
And one other scripture: the last two verses in the book of Ephesians, Ephesians 6:23-24.
Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ with a love incorruptible.—Ephesians 6:23-24
A love which is incorruptible, unfading, and undying—a love which knows no decay, but which is pure. Can we pray?
Lord, as we do return unto You this day, we thank You that we can hold this matter before You as we continue to approach the subject of church history. Lord, we call upon Your Holy Spirit to breathe upon this time in a very living way, that we can really be those who learn the lessons of those who have gone before us.
Lord, we thank You for so rich a heritage. We confess that we are dull of hearing, and we ask You to quicken the ears of our heart this day, that we may have an ear to hear what You are saying to us during this time.
Thank You, Lord, that You are a God who speaks. We can come this day and call upon You. We can call upon the name of the Lord, who is so worthy to be praised. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Last month, I shared an introduction and overview on this matter of church history, and we are not going to go back and repeat that. We want to continue today with this letter to the church in Ephesus, as presented in Revelation 2.
As we shared last time, these seven letters in Revelation were written to seven actual churches that existed in Asia Minor during the end of the first century. John was on the Isle of Patmos, and he received this vision from the Lord. The Lord had specific messages for specific churches at that time.
But we can also look upon these seven letters as representing seven periods of church history, and learn from that history. The history of the church is really His story. It is what He has done through those whom He has called unto Himself—those whom He has called and redeemed out of every tribe, tongue, and nation.
For two thousand years, He has been working to achieve that one purpose. We have the assurance and deep hope within our hearts that He will accomplish that purpose, because He has said:
I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
—Matthew 16:18
As we come to this letter to the church in Ephesus, we will be looking at the condition of the church toward the end of the first century.
Ephesus was a real church. What had transpired during the first century? As we look at the early church, we see how the Lord, in His sovereignty, moved in a mighty way.
Last time, we looked at the birth of the church in Acts—how the church was born on the day of Pentecost. It was a good birth. It was a healthy birth. There were no birth defects, we could say, in the church that day.
As Luke writes the book of Acts, he refers to what Jesus began to do in his Gospel. The Gospel of Luke shows us what Jesus began to do; the book of Acts shows us what Jesus continued to do.
Now that He is seated on high, the Head is in heaven, while His church is upon the earth. Through His disciples, through His saints, through His called-out ones, He continues to work. We see that manifested in the book of Acts.
The book of Acts covers about thirty-three years. At the end of it, Paul has been released in Rome and is in hired quarters there. But at the beginning of Acts, we see one hundred and twenty brothers and sisters. A few days earlier, they had been arguing over who was greatest. They could not get along at all.
Yet on the day of Pentecost, those one hundred and twenty were baptized into one body. Peter went forth and shared his sermon, and all of them stood with him. There was no longer a spirit of independence and, “Who is the greatest?” They had been brought into the oneness of the body of Christ.
Through the enabling power of the Holy Spirit, they became conscious of the body of Christ. They became conscious that, through His Spirit, they were related one to another. They had the same life within them, and the Lord had a purpose.
Through persecution, many were scattered from Jerusalem throughout that area and into Asia Minor. The brethren were scattered, and the gospel went forth.
During the first century, we can still use the term Christianity, because there was really Christ there. After that, Christianity increasingly lost Christ, and we will see more of that later.
In the first century, those called by the name of Christ were still considered, in many ways, a sect of Judaism. Paul often went into synagogues to preach the gospel. There was an association between Judaism and Christianity, and the Roman Empire viewed Christianity as intertwined within the synagogue system.
The Lord did not desire that arrangement to continue. In the sovereignty of God, if we do not go the path He sets before us, certain situations may occur that force us to go that way.
Persecutions came upon the church. Believers were persecuted and scattered from Jerusalem. Later, they were persecuted even more severely.
In AD 64, on July 19, Nero started a fire in Rome. He wanted to burn down a portion of the city and build a greater, more beautiful city. But it created public-relations problems for him, so his counselors advised him to blame the Christians.
Nero was a good politician. He could always blame somebody else. He did not accept responsibility himself. The blame for the fire was transferred to the Christians, and from then on it became a crime to be a Christian.
Immediately afterward, around AD 65 to 67, both Peter and Paul were martyred in Rome. Tradition tells us that Peter was crucified upside down because he did not consider himself worthy to suffer in the same manner as the Lord.
Paul, being a Roman citizen, could not be scourged or publicly treated in the same manner. According to tradition, he was taken outside the city and beheaded during the reign of Nero.
All of this began to create a greater separation between Christianity and Judaism. The burden of the writer of Hebrews was that many Christians were falling back into Judaism. Why would they want to go back? One primary reason was safety.
Judaism was still a legal religion. If you wanted to be safe, you could say that you were a Jew. You would not be persecuted or martyred. There was a measure of safety there.
But the Lord continued to move. He would not allow that retreat, and it was motivated by His love. In AD 70, the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed. More Jews and Christians were scattered, and a greater separation came during the latter part of the first century.
By AD 90, Christians could no longer go to the synagogue. There was a separation not only by the government but also by the Jews themselves. They had to make a choice. The Lord was accomplishing His heart and His purpose.
We have used the term synagogue. It was a means the Lord could use for the gospel to go forth, but it was not His highest. Synagogue simply means a gathering together.
When the Jews were in dispersion and captivity in Babylon, the synagogue system could be established when ten men agreed to gather together. The basis for the gathering was agreement—common interest and common beliefs.
But the word church, ecclesia, means “called out”—called out and called unto our precious Lord and Savior. The basis for gathering in the ecclesia was our Lord Jesus Christ.
The basis for gathering in the synagogue was common interest, common beliefs, and common things other than the Lord. There is a clear distinction there.
If we pause and look upon the face of the earth today, why do so many gather together? Are they called out unto the Lord, or do they gather because they like each other, have common practices, or hold common beliefs?
What is the Lord saying to us today? Why do we gather? Is it for ourselves, or is it for His self? Throughout history, the question of self-interest and self-love, versus His interest and His love, has always been a dividing factor in the gathering of saints.
It is amazing to consider how these one hundred and twenty believers, gathered in the little city of Jerusalem, caused so much trouble for the Roman Empire.
We cannot fully grasp how large the Roman Empire was because of the way we think today. When Paul went to Rome, he had to travel by ship, going through Crete and other places. It took a long time. Today, we simply get on a plane and arrive in Rome in a matter of hours.
Yet the Lord raised up this testimony in Jerusalem and scattered them throughout the empire. Eventually, in centuries ahead, this would contribute to the fall of that empire. It is a tremendous thing to see how the Lord did that.
Why did the gospel spread? There were other religions upon the earth. What were some of the factors that caused Christianity to go forth?
Above all, it was a divine move of the Lord in His sovereign hand. But as we look at history, there were also practical factors upon the earth.
The Roman Empire had a tremendous road system. You could travel throughout the empire. There was safety and security, and travel by land and sea was facilitated in a remarkable way.
The Greek language was also widely known. It was the common language, and so there was one language through which the gospel could spread. The Old Testament had already been translated into Greek, and the New Testament letters were written in Greek as well.
Greek philosophy had also shattered many of the old religions. The Greeks analyzed those religions and exposed their invalidity. They tore down many of the old myths, even though they established new ideas of their own.
Within the Roman Empire there were many gods. But people saw that these gods were failing them. There was continual failure after failure, and more attention was given to the one unknown God.
In the fullness of time, Christ came. Likewise, when Christianity went forth, the Lord had prepared a stage. The Reformation did not simply plop down out of heaven; a stage had been set. The Lord orders things upon the earth to facilitate His word going forward.
But above all things, what was the primary reason Christianity spread? Basically, it worked.
The lives of believers were a tremendous testimony that the message going forth worked. People saw heathen, immoral pagans being saved, and their lives transformed. They saw families transformed.
They saw people comforted in times of turmoil. They saw the peace of God that surpassed understanding. They could see it: the message worked. It brought hope not only for this life, but also for the life to come.
Because of the lives of believers, because of the testimony of individual lives, this message went forth in a great way. There were tremendous testimonies of how believers cared for one another.
Even pagan philosophers testified, “Don’t those Christians love one another? Don’t they take care of one another?” They cared for the poor and the sick. There was a practical application of love. It was a message that could not be denied.
It was a message that applied to everybody. It was without prejudice. All were sinners, and all were saved by His grace and brought into one common life together.
Whether free or slave, man or woman, Jew or Gentile, whatever one’s background, it was one message for all. It worked for all. It set people free.
There was a unique blend of diversity and unity in the church, and people saw it. The reality of the Lord’s life in believers was the greatest gospel message that went forth during that time.
When Peter preached and three thousand came in, people saw the effect of the message upon those lives. As it continued to go forth, the reality of Christ caused the message to spread into new territories.
Next time, we will speak more about the second and third centuries—the suffering church and the testimonies of the martyrs. In spite of martyrdom, there was joy within their hearts. There was reality there.
The world cannot deny the reality of Christ. When any of us touch reality, we know it. We may try to deny it, but it will not let us go.
The reality of Christ in the believers of the first century, as they laid down their lives for one another, caused this message to spread throughout the region. We thank the Lord for those who have gone before us.
They did not merely talk the talk; they walked the walk. Their walk was in alignment with their talk. It was not a contradictory message. It was one message for all, and it worked for all. The beauty and glory of His life within them transformed the world.
As testimonies were established in these areas, what were some characteristics of the local assemblies? We see some of them in the book of Acts, but what was the testimony of these assemblies throughout the first century?
I mentioned earlier the unity and diversity of the church. The church in Jerusalem was made up mainly of Jews, and it had the big names—Peter, James, and the others. You could call it the big-name church.
Then we hear of the church in Antioch, made up mainly of Gentiles. It arose through persecution. Barnabas was there, but in many ways it was the no-name church.
Yet both were under one Name. His Name was going forth. Then there was the church in Philippi. Lydia, a woman, was among the first converts there. She did not start the church, but the Lord used her salvation to raise up a testimony.
People look for a common thread. What is the link? It is the life of Christ. That is the simplicity of it. They were drawn by the purity and simplicity of their devotion to Christ.
Whether the churches were mainly Jewish or mainly Gentile, whether they were begun through Lydia or through apostles, the testimony was the same. There they were, and there was a testimony. It was the life of Christ doing a tremendous work throughout the first century.
As people observed these different testimonies, Rome assumed that Christians had established a great confederation of churches throughout the empire, with a mother church in Jerusalem.
But when they looked more closely, they saw that these churches were independent. There was no chain of command, no head church, and no mother church. They were all separate under the lordship of Christ.
We are used to organizational charts that run horizontally, with lines connecting everyone back to a mother church. But it would be wonderful to see it in three dimensions: every line going upward to Christ.
They were connected to one another in the life of Christ and in the fellowship of the Spirit, but all were under one Head. One Head was doing all this work upon the earth.
It is beautiful today. We have brethren in Memphis and in many other places. When we travel, people ask, “How are all your fellowships related to one another? There has to be something that connects you.”
The answer is Christ. They may say, “No, that’s too spiritual. What really connects you?” But it is true. There is no solid line on an organizational chart connecting Richmond, Memphis, Washington, and the other places. It is simply His life.
In His life, He raises up a beautiful testimony to the glory of what He has done.
There were problems in the church during the first century. Sometimes we say we would like to have lived back then, but there were problems. If there had been no problems, we would not have half the New Testament.
Why were those letters written? They were not written because everything was going right. They were written because the churches had problems. But what was always the answer? The answer was Christ.
As they saw Christ, they came through the problems. Cultural problems, historical problems, Judaizers, Gnosticism—whatever the problem was, there was always one answer.
People may say that it is almost a cop-out to always say, “Christ.” They may say there must be another answer. I am afraid there is not.
It is simply coming back to the simplicity and purity of devotion to Him. If we can live in that, we can remain in the freshness and beauty of His life.
It is interesting, as you study church history, to look at the Christian history timeline. Under the years 50 to 100, there is an entry for AD 96 concerning 1 Clement, a letter written from the church in Rome to the church in Corinth.
That historical description says, “A letter from the church of Rome to the church of Corinth.” But let us go back to the original document and see how Clement began it:
The Church of God which sojourneth in Rome, to the Church of God which sojourneth in Corinth, to them that are called and sanctified by the will of God through our Lord Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied unto you.
He did not simply refer to “the church of Rome.” He said, “The church of God which sojourns in Rome.” Likewise, there was “the church of God which sojourns in Corinth.”
They realized they were sojourners, merely passing through. They were not setting up something permanent upon this earth. As Peter said, we are strangers and pilgrims.
As we come to the church in Ephesus, we see some of its conditions. We said last time that the name Ephesus means “desirable” and “loosening.”
At first there was great desire and intensity in holding on to the Lord in purity. As Paul closed his letter to the Ephesians, he referred to the love that had captured their hearts—an incorruptible love, an uncompromising love, one that would not decay.
It was the love of God that would hold them through to the end. It is interesting that, outside of John’s writings, the word love, or agape, is used more in Ephesians than in any other letter of Paul.
That surprised me at first. I would have assumed it was Corinthians because of that wonderful chapter on love, or Romans because of the love of God shed abroad in our hearts. But in Ephesians, the love of God is intertwined with His eternal purpose.
The love of God and His eternal purpose are not separable. That is why, when we come to the church in Ephesus, the Lord brings them back to this whole matter of love.
When John wrote the letter in Revelation, the church in Ephesus had been around about fifty years. We know from Acts 18, 19, and 20 that the church had been established, and now tradition had begun to set in. The first generation had passed, and the second generation was coming in.
There had been periods of persecution and periods of prosperity. In persecution, they tightened up, held fast to the Head, and allowed the Lord’s life to meet them. But when persecution lightened and prosperity came, there was a loosening and a gradual slipping away from simplicity and purity.
The Lord had commendations for the church in Ephesus. He spoke of their works, toil, perseverance, and endurance. He also said that they hated the deeds of the Nicolaitans.
But then He said those famous words: “Thou didst leave thy first love.”
Outwardly, everything in Ephesus appeared right. They had all these works going on. Yet there was an inward falling away from first love. That inward fall always precedes the outward decline.
We can continue in good works for many reasons. One reason is pride. We can become proud of our works, and that pride is fueled by self-love.
As we serve the Lord and do things, there can be self-satisfaction in what we do. That can lead to pride. The pride may not show outwardly because we are good Christians and know how to act humble, but inwardly it is a matter of the heart.
We go out and do something, and someone says, “Boy, that was really nice of you to do. That was really good.” Self-love begins to feed upon that praise, and it draws us away from our first love—our love for Him.
Another reason works can continue without inward reality is that we fall into routine and merely go through outward motions. We gradually leave the original heart and purpose of His love.
I read a story this week about two women who had worked together in a store. One left, and a few years later they met on the street.
The woman who had left asked, “Are you still working?” The other woman replied, “Oh no, I’m not working anymore. I’m married.” She described how she had washed and ironed clothes that morning, was grocery shopping, would clean the house that afternoon, and then prepare dinner. She said, “I just love being married and not having to work.”
A couple of years later, they met again. This time she said, “Oh, I’m so tired. I’m working so much.” She described the very same schedule: washing and ironing, grocery shopping, cleaning the house, and preparing dinner.
What had happened? She was doing the same things. The same deeds were being done. But first love—the quality of love—had left her heart.
The quality that had motivated all those services at first had faded away. First love is the quality of love.
People ask, “How do you maintain first love?” To me, maintaining first love is being conscious of His love.
The more we know the love of God, as we behold His sacrifice, as we behold the table, as we declare Him as our Lord, and as we see the glorious nature of Christ, that first love continues to burn within our hearts.
If we see Him in a fresh way day in and day out, the love of God shed abroad in our hearts through the working of the Holy Spirit will keep first love fresh.
We cannot keep it fresh except by offering ourselves to Him and looking unto Him. The more we know Him, the more we know the love of God. Our affections toward Him grow in a greater and fuller measure.
The Lord says, “Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen.” That is why I love to come together on Sunday mornings to remember.
Sometimes we walk in not as fresh as at other times. But the remembering of what the Lord has done stirs first love within our hearts. It draws us back into the remembrance of Who He is and all that He has done.
He says, “Remember. Repent.” Repent of allowing self-love to prevail over His love. It is generally the love of ourselves—doing what we want to do rather than what He beckons us to do.
Then He says, “Repent, and do the first works.” The word first here is the same Greek word used for first love. These are works motivated by a heart of love for Him.
His love comes in, captures our heart, and draws us on into the fullness of Himself.
What had happened in Ephesus was that they were drifting away. They still had the outward things going on, but they were drifting.
There is a document written around the end of the first century, perhaps AD 100 or earlier, called the Didache. It is essentially an early book of church order—a book about how to do things.
When Jesus and the apostles were on earth, they did not spend so much time on how as on why. Why do we gather? Why do we pray? Jesus focused upon the why, upon the principle.
But this document begins to focus on the how. Once you move away from the spontaneity of His life leading you, from the headship of Christ, and fall into routine and tradition, you begin asking, “How do you do this?”
The Didache provides instructions for baptism. It says to baptize in living, running water. If there is no living water, baptize in other water. If there is no cold water, use warm water. If there is not enough water, sprinkle it on the head in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
It covers every possibility. But Scripture gives a clear and living testimony of baptism. Baptism is not merely a form. It is a testimony of someone who has given his life, been separated from the world, and desires to follow the Lord.
The document also tells believers when to fast. It says not to fast as hypocrites do, on Monday and Thursday, but to fast on Wednesday and Friday—Wednesday because it was the day of betrayal and Friday because it was the day of crucifixion.
It even tells believers how many times a day to pray: three times a day. We can see how easily we move away from the headship of Christ and the indwelling Holy Spirit leading us.
The document also gives instructions concerning apostles, prophets, and teachers who travel among believers. It says they should be welcomed, but only allowed to remain one day—or, if necessary, two days. If an apostle stays three days, he is a false prophet.
Paul would have been in trouble, particularly in Ephesus. It shows how silly we can become when we try to reduce spiritual discernment to a list of measurements.
The question is a good one: How do we distinguish true prophets from false prophets? But we can get away from the Word of God, from simplicity and purity, and begin to rely upon man-made standards.
These writings were written with good intentions. They were written by good men who wanted to help brothers and sisters in times of trouble, especially when false prophets were going around.
There are good guidelines in such writings, and I have used some of the more obvious examples to make the point. But we can so easily move away from reliance upon the Holy Spirit, the witness of Christ, and fellowship with one another. In doing so, we move away from first love.
There is another matter for which the church in Ephesus was commended. The Lord said, “Thou hatest the works of the Nicolaitans.”
The word Nicolaitans comes from two words: nikao, meaning “to conquer,” and laos, meaning “the people.” It basically means to conquer the people, to lord it over the people.
Almost prophetically, when Paul called the leaders of the church in Ephesus to meet with him in Acts 20, he warned them about wolves coming in, false teachers coming in, and people being led astray.
The believers in Ephesus had learned this lesson. They hated the deeds of the Nicolaitans.
Nicolaitanism ultimately creates a clergy-laity system. The word laos is where we get the word laity. It refers to the common people.
As we look through the book of Acts, do we see a great distinction between clergy and laity? There is church order and government. There are people gifted to help the church: apostles, prophets, teachers, and pastors.
But the Lord does not establish a clergy-laity system. Most of us may know that outwardly, but do we practice it inwardly in our hearts?
Just because there is not a pastor in a gathering does not mean there is no clergy-laity system. Such a system emerges through two things.
First, there are ambitious people who love the first place, like Diotrephes in 3 John. Ambitious people want to come in and take over.
But there must also be ground available for that to happen. It is just as much created by passive, non-functioning believers.
In prayer, worship, fellowship, and service, we can say, “Let somebody else do that. I’m not spiritual enough. I can’t do that.” When we fall into that mode, we are living in something like a clergy-laity system.
When we look to certain people to do something because we think we cannot do it, we are laying the groundwork for a clergy-laity system.
When we come to prayer meetings, what is our attitude? Do we sit there and let others pray? Perhaps there is a plurality praying, but what does the Lord want? He wants everybody praying.
He does not want us merely to come and sit while others pray. Once we create a divide between those who pray and those who listen, it does not matter whether there is one person in front praying for everybody or a few people praying for everybody. It is not His simple and pure way of functioning together in the house of God.
The same is true of worship. Do we sit and let some worship because they know how to worship and we do not? Or do we all enter in, in a spirit of remembering Him and declaring Who He is?
Most of us understand how many services are conducted on Sunday mornings. They did not simply become that way all at once. There was an evolutionary process: more and more people sat back, stopped functioning, and let others function.
A great divide then became evident within the functioning of the house of God. But that is not what our Lord desires. He wants His house to be called a house of prayer.
He wants His people to be a people of worship, lifting up one heart and one voice unto Him. We do not have to have someone lead us in worship. We are all worshipers. We are all priests unto Him.
The same is true in service. We serve and care for one another. Do we leave it to someone else? When we say, “I’m not qualified,” or “I can’t do it,” what is the word we hear most? It is I. Where are our eyes? On ourselves and not on Him.
The church in Ephesus recognized the deeds of the Nicolaitans and said, “We are not going to have any part of this.” They wanted all to function together.
They recognized that the Lord has an order and gives gifts to the church. But He has also called us all into the universal priesthood of believers, to care for one another.
Brothers and sisters, in this day and time there is so much pressure upon every one of our lives. If we went around this room today, every one of us could testify of being overworked and of all the pressures we face. It is real.
Men and women are working. Jobs demand more bricks with less straw. The school system places increasing pressures upon children. Everything is becoming more intense in these days.
We can have a tendency to draw back and stop functioning. We may say, “I’m going to step back and not function for a little while until I get my life in order, and then I’ll come back and function again.”
It never works. If you step back and do not function until your life is in order, your life is never going to be in order.
The way you get your life in order is to function in the house of God. The Lord shows forth His wisdom and glory in the house of God. The more we see of His glory in the house, the greater will be the functioning of the saints.
That is what we need today. We do not want to fall away from first love. We want to hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans. We want to see the glory of God manifested in the house of God and in local assemblies upon this earth.
That is what we are standing for. We want to learn the lessons of history from the church in Ephesus. May the Lord burn these two points upon our hearts: that we do not draw back from first love, and that we do not permit a clergy-laity system to take root among us.
I am not saying that the things you are going through are not tough, real, or pressing you beyond your measure. But there is a way out.
The way out is by stepping forward, going forward, and following Him—not by drawing back, protecting ourselves, and trying to work things out in our own strength. It will not work.
May the grace of God be upon us. Each of these letters ends with the words:
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches.
—Revelation 2:7
May we have an ear to hear what the Spirit is saying. The letter is written to everybody, but the response is individual.
It does not matter if eighty percent of us hear it if you are in the twenty percent who do not respond. There is benefit and blessing in being together, and there is an overflow of grace.
But as far as maintaining first love, seeing the joy of the Lord manifested in your life, and coming through the situations in which we find ourselves so that He may accomplish His purpose, He is calling each one of us individually.
He is calling us to remember from where we have fallen, to repent, and to do those first deeds that are motivated by the love of God. May we have an ear to hear. Let us pray.
Lord, as we come to Your word, we really have to humble ourselves before You. We thank You so much that You are a God who speaks to us.
Lord, we thank You that You never leave us nor forsake us. You continually remind us to draw our hearts back unto You.
Lord, we want to be those who stay in a very fresh way and give our hearts to You. Through the precious blood of the Lamb, may we be cleansed afresh and made anew.
Lord, may we be in a place to hear what the Spirit says to the church. In Jesus’ name, amen.