1. Hard work and perseverance (1-3)

Jesus' first message was to the Church in Ephesus. It is a message to all believers who work hard to serve the Lord and struggle to be faithful. Jesus saw their hard work and faithfulness. They were loyal to Jesus, and did not tolerate those whose teachings were not Biblical. They endured hardships for Jesus' sake and did not give up. But they should repent of one thing.

2. Don't forsake your first love (4-7)

It is good to hate what Jesus hates; but our hearts must be full of love, not full of self-righteous criticism of others. We must work hard for the sake of Jesus. But, first of all, we must love Jesus and we must love Jesus' people. We must repent of our calloused hearts and serve Jesus and his people with joyful hearts, as we did at first.

Application: Lord, help me to work hard and endure hardship for Jesus' sake. Forgive my hardness of heart and give me the loving heart of Jesus.
One Word: Repent, overcome, endure and love