Tag Archives: Churches

Called out, not counted out

Posted on by
1

The enemy wants us divided, on the sidelines, fearful, apathetic, defeated, our joy elusive if not eliminated.  The word for church in the Greek, which is a very specific language, means “called out from to”.  We as the church are called out from the world and called to relationship with the Lord.  The enemies of God are clever, crafty and talented at deception and subterfuge.  In the third century AD, the devil wisened up and made Christianity the state sponsored, inclusive religion, tolerant and accepting of all rituals, even those associated with Pagan worship.  This effectively neutered the church for well over a thousand years, until revival again called revisionists “out of the church to repentance and re-dedication to the Lord.  Unfortunately, God’s enemies outlive the short term lives of humans, so over time, this vigilance necessary to remaining a “called out body from the world to” allegiance and service to God has weakened.  The church has become infiltrated, tolerant, impure and poisoned by worldly beliefs, rituals, attitudes and unbelievers masquerading as the saved.  The question now becomes what shall be done about it?

For the short term, those who see this quenching of the Holy Spirit, this departure from the path to purity and accepted worldliness as a call to condemn church leaders.  This condemnation has done even more damage to unstable church foundations and ostracized, banished or rendered impotent those voices and energetic believers who would help heal and reinstate the church to its pure calling.  Again, the enemy is clever and plays to the natural weakness and blustery tempers of men, casting us in to the exact unresolvable conflicts that solidify our worldliness and infection.  What is truly needed now, and I hear this calling of the Holy Spirit within my own heart, is that those called out must become ambassadors themselves, imploring, praying and calling the remnant of the church to re-dedication to the Lord.  This is a difficult process, but logical and consistent with the Word of God, as we are called to loose those worldly characteristics of brawling, argument, discontent, condemnation, anger and critical spirits.  We must individually decrease if the Holy Spirit’s characteristic fruits are the increase.  The day will never be won with my own skills, attitudes, abilities and treasure.  The victory will be the Lord’s and I must dedicate myself to getting out the way, allowing God to rule and reign through the vessel of my worldly body.  I believe that those called out or admonished to a return to true Biblical Christianity, must now become the Diplomats required to awake the church for harvest work.

Many claims and few points for evidence require that I must make a better case for my supposition.  First, I see very few members of my church, or any church in our region, serving the poor, orphaned, sick, elderly and widowed.  Very few members of our church will venture outside to disciple to the lost, whether reaching them at home, public gatherings in neighborhood hot spots.  Complacence, solidarity and fellowship have become the mantra of the church, thinking itself comfortable, contented and Holy, residing within the segregated body of loving believers.  Daycare, basketball, camps and single day missions have replaced the true work of hospice care, healing, public heraldry for Christ and care for those who have not.  We have collectively become a worldly business that displays the name of Christ without the Holy Spirit in residence.  But this issues cannot and must not allow us to become divided, for the assets, the bodies, the workers remain within the body of Christ.  Leaders, must not become rebel and effectively eliminate their efficacy by simply becoming angry and unforgiving of the “church”, replacing the true enemy with our contempt and condemnation of the church.  Judgment is the Lord’s prerogative, we should remain aligned with the duty of love and leadership through encouragement.

Lord, give me the capacity to convince.  Allow me to exalt Your Holy Name, knowing that if it is your will the increase, the magnet, the people, the provision will be provided through Your Graces and, riches and Glory in Jesus.  Let me not be waylaid, led astray or deceived into prattling about the circumstances or details.  Give me an eye pent on eternity.  This is not our home, this is my workplace.  Let me do great work so that when I come home it is for rest alone.  Give me a heart for the lost, sick and dying, giving them a glimpse of Your Glory so that they may turn away from impending precipice.  Silence the enemy in my head, unless it is for Your good pleasure and my correction that You have allowed him access to my life.  Praise You Father, Bless You Father, protect Israel Lord, turn our hearts to You, allow us to see and crave humility in service to Your Glory.  In Jesus’ Name I pray.

Emerging into light

Posted on by
Reply

What do you do in the dark that you would not do in the light of day?  Am I a different person in the silky camouflage of night?  What scatters in my own life each time the light is shown in to crevice, cupboard, closet or action?  Have I given over control to God the secret spaces of my life or am I effectively compartmentalizing aspects for which I have no excuse, no remorse or no desire to relinquish?  What am I unwilling to expose for shame, or blame or potential damage to my cherished reputation?  Can I truly know humility having never lain bare these protected facets of my life?  What then does it mean to be a follower of Christ?  Is there a specific or implied trust between He and I which demands release of this obfuscation, diversion or out right concealment?

How forceful is my own resistance to the changing Hand of God’s Almighty Spirit in my own life?  Am I truly willing to subject my entire set of actions/history to the defining edge of God’s Two Edged Sword?  Would my sinews, spirits and truth continue following such review?  I cannot safely say that on that day I look into the eyes of fire that there will be little left to be burned up.  For I have seen my own frailty, my disobedient heart and rebellion and found that left alone it will fester, propagate, linger and continually poison my innocence.  Can I develop an intentionality consistent to bringing down the footholds of powers and principalities for injustice within my own heart?  What manner of terrorism exists within my own disobedience to God?  How might I find peace until these shameful dis-congruent aspects of my own personality have been subjected to the cleansing blood of Christ through the light of His Word.

I cannot love the actions of men which do not stand up to the Gospel.  There is no will, no desire, no inclination to become apologist for these inconsistent unsaintly thoughts or actions.  I pray that I surrender to God, absolutely, voluntarily, all compartments of my life, especially those for which I have shame, reluctance and denial.  There can be little if any progress forward in the battle for truth if I am unwilling to come to the knowledge of the truth regarding my own earthly performance.  Father, let me see every truth, even the putrid and cancerous that lay hidden in my own psyche.  Once I have seen, repented of and accepted these truths, please cleanse me and remove them from my soul.  Let me judge myself by your word instead of projected such judgment upon men of the world.  Let me be found righteous by Your Word, blameless, spotless, resembling Christ.  Let me wear His righteousness in faith for the world to see in the light of day and the dark of night.  Let me walk by faith not by sight to the Glory of Your Holy Name.  Jesus Christ is King.

Warning?

Posted on by
Reply

Characteristic Names for Jesus in Revelation 2 & 3 when He is speaking to all the Christian Churches  –

The Words of Him who holds the seven stars in His right hand and walks among the seven lamp stands, The First and The Last, He died and came to life, The words of Him who has the sharp double-edge sword, The Son of God, Whose eyes are like blazing fire and feet are like burnished bronze, The words of Him who holds the seven stars, The words of Him who is Holy and True, who holds the key of David, What He opens no one can shut what He shuts no one can open, These are the words of The Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Ruler of God’s Creation.

What He sees and knows of the Churches –

  1. He knows the Church in Ephesus deeds, their hard work and perseverance, their inability to tolerate wicked men, that they have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not and have found them false, they have persevered and have endured hardships for His name and have not grown weary.
  2. He knows the Church in Smyrna’s affliction and poverty–yet they remain rich, He knows the slander of those who say they are Jews but are not and are of the synagogue of Satan.
  3. He knows where the Church in Pergamum lives, where Satan has his throne, He knows that they remain true to His Name, that they did not renounce their faith in Him even in the days of Antipas His faithful witness, who was put to death in their city.
  4. He knows the deeds of the Church in Thyatira, their love and faith, their service and perseverance and that they are now doing more than they did at first.
  5. He knows the deeds of the Church in Sardis, their reputation of being alive but they are dead.
  6. He knows the deeds of the Church in Philadephia that they are of little strength, yet they have kept His Word and have not denied His name
  7. He knows the deeds of the Church in Laodicea, that they are neither hot nor cold.  He wishes that they were either one or the other.

His critical commands and promises for the Churches –

  1.  Ephesus – He holds this against them: They have forsaken their first love.  They are to remember the height from which they have fallen!  They are to repent and do the things that they did at first.  If they do not repent, He will come and remove their lamp stand from its place.  They have this going for them that they hate the practice of the Nicolaitans, which He also hates.
  2. Smyrna – Do not be afraid of what they must suffer, that the Devil will put some of them in prison to test them, and that they will suffer persectution for ten days.  He tells them to be faithful, even to the point of death and He will give them the crown of life.
  3. Pergamum – He has a few things against them, they have people there who hold to the teachings of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israeltistes to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality.  They also have people who hold to the teachings of the Nicolaitans.  They are Repent therefore! Otherwise, He will come to them and will fight against them with the sword of the mouth.
  4. Thyatira – He has this against them: that they tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess.  By her teaching she misleads His servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols.  He has given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling.  So He will cast her on a bed of suffering, and He will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways.  He will strike her children dead.  Then all the churches will know that He is the one who searches hearts and minds and He will repay each of them according to the their deeds.  Now He says to the rest in Thyatira, to those who do not hold to her teaching, and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets (He will not impose any burden on them): He says only to hold on to what they have until He comes.
  5. Sardis – Wake up!  They are to strengthen what remains and is about to die, for He has not found their deeds complete in the sight of His God.  They are to remember therefore, what they have received and heard; obey it and repent.  If they do not wake up, he will come like a thief, and they will not know at what time He will come to them.  Yet, they have a few people who have not soiled their clothes.  They will walk with Him dressed in white, for they are worthy.  Those who overcome will, like them, be dressed in white.  He will never blot out their names from the Book of Life, and He will acknowledge them before the Father and His angels.
  6. Philadelphia – He will make those who claim that they are Jews but are really from the synagogue of Satan come and fall down at their feet and acknowledge that He has loved them.  Since they have kept His command to endure patiently, He will also keep them from the hour of trial what is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth.  He is coming soon.  He wants them to hold on to what they have so that no one will take their crown.  To him that overcomes He will make a pillar in the temple of His God.  Never again will He leave it.  He will write on them the name of His God and the name of the city of His God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from His God.
  7. Laodicea – Because they are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, He will spit them out of His mouth.  They say that they are rich and have acquired wealth and do not need anything.  But they do not realize that they are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.  He counsels them to buy from Him gold refined in the fire, so that they can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so they can cover their shameful nakedness; and salve to put in their eyes, so they can see.  Those whom He loves He rebukes and disciplines.  So He says they should be earnest and repent.  Here I am!, He says.  He stands at the door and knocks.  If anyone hears His voice and opens the door, He will come in and eat with them and them with Him.

Each of these churches was promised a reward for those that overcome.  Many were also promised that they would suffer specific judgment for not heeding His direction.  Every Christian should feel the urge to study Revelation 1-3, fully understanding what the “Spirit says to the churches”.  Praise You Lord.  I thank you so much for showing us what must certainly swiftly soon come to pass.

There are so many things we can personally and collectively understand and reflect upon in our review of Your Church evaluation.  How do Your words of encouragement or warning apply directly to my walk of faith or to those actions and inactions of the Churches in our city?  Was this meant to prepare us for the days to come?  Do all of these historic Churches resemble the behavior of Churches in modern day?  Do we all have a bit of characteristics of each of these Churches to which You have spoken?  Lord, I pray that if these warnings are meant to sound the alarm to all Churches, that we in fact pay close attention and follow Your direction, repenting and renewing our walk as Your Church body and bride.  Oh that all of us who call ourselves by Your name would demonstrate our love for You by doing just as You have commanded.  Thank You for the warning Lord Jesus.