In Revelation 2 and 3 Jesus dictates letters to 7 churches which were in Asia. Each has a vital message for us today – the church that is facing the end of the age. To the first church, the church of Ephesus, He begins by reminding them that He alone is the Head of the Church and that He alone holds them in His hands.

“Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.” – James 1:18

“For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:” – James 1:23

In other words, if a church doesn’t keep His word, they are aborting their own life!

With that in mind let us look at the first message of Jesus to the 7 churches of Asia.

The entire world is about to go through shaking and testing that will uncover the very foundations our lives are built on and remember Jesus taught that judgment will begin at the ‘house of God‘. Much of the American church is being built on sand for a foundation and will not stand! The only foundation that will be sure is Jesus and the word of God.

Jesus taught – “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:” – Matthew 7:24

Of course this also applies to the words of the Apostles because they were speaking and writing by the Holy Spirit which was bringing the words of Jesus to them. So how does this compare with women pastors in the church when Paul wrote “And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence.” (1 Tim. 2:12)? It was women were deceived by Satan in the beginning. Or how does this explain  LGTB Affirming Churches Add Glitter To Ash Wednesday or Divinity Schools that Stop Praying To The Father; because they must use Use Gender-Neutral Language. Is your church more interested in taking up the offering than giving communion? In most churches not a Sunday goes by without taking the offering but, communion is offered maybe once a month. I guess money is more important to them than making sure their members are repenting for their sins? You see personal repentance is supposed to be made before taking the communion otherwise, as Paul wrote you may be drinking judgment on yourself. Is divorce taught against in your church? If not it should be, you see Jesus taught against it and God even stated He hated divorce. All these things are sins and sins can be forgiven if they are repented of. But, if your church never preaches about them how will the people know – until the shaking comes and it is too late?

The church of Ephesus was a model church in many ways but, they left their first love. They forgot that they owed everything to God through Jesus –

“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” –  Ephesians 2:4-6

They forgot that only by hearing the word of God and doing it can they be built on the foundation that can withstand the storms that are coming.