Spiritual Life, Spiritual Death

Revelation 3:1-6 (NIV)

“To the angel of the church in Sardis write:

These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.

Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Devotional:

There are those who claim to be a Christian.  They look good on the outside.  They appear to act proper and do all the right things.  However, inside they really do not believe.  They just go through the motions.  They go to church because it is what is expected.  There are some people who believe.  At one time they really did hold close to Christ and the teachings of the Bible.  For some reason they have fallen away.  Maybe they couldn’t get past something someone did, or what a church did.  Their thoughts, like so many others, see the sin and wrong doings but not Grace and Mercy.  

True there are people who claim to be Christian but do not live it.  Some people do really bad things all in the name of Christ.  Some people cannot see beyond that and think if this is what it means to be a believer who needs it.  They are no better than anyone else.  News flash for everyone.  Christians are no better than anyone else.  We are all sinners.  We all make mistakes.  BUT that doesn’t mean that we do not strive to be as Christ-like as possible.  Another thought, churches are filled with the same people who genuinely follow Christ.  Because each one of us are fallen sinners churches are not going to be perfect either. 

Like so many so called Christians that have spiritually died inside churches are dying out as well.  Too many churches today are spiritually dying or dead.  The problem is that they do not even know it.  What is needed?  How can a few people make a difference?  A simple answer is multiplying.  As my pastor puts it.  Adding just will not be enough.  We have to multiply.  We have to make and build disciples so that they can go and make disciples.  Isn’t that what Jesus told us to do?  Matthew 28:19 (NASB) “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,”  

Food for thought…  How can you make a disciple if inside you are spiritually dead or dying?  Wake up before it is too late.  Don’t let your church be like the church in Sardis.  Finish the good race and fight the fight till the end.  Other people’s lives depend upon it.  Your eternal life depends upon your spiritual life.  Don’t let your relationship with Christ fade away and die.  Renew your spirit with Him before it is too late.

False Teachings...

Revelations 2:20-23 (NIV)

Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.

Devotional:

Knowing who to listen to can be hard sometimes.  There are prophets and teachers, and there are false prophets and false teachers.  Knowing who is legit and who isn’t can become mind-boggling.  Do you struggle with whom to listen to?  Maybe you are a teacher and are concerned.  It is no light task to be a teacher.  Those who are teachers and prophets are held to very high and strict standards.  James 3:1 (NIV) “Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.”  Also Matthew 7:15 (NASB) states:

“Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits.”

As daunting as it seems you can rest assured in whom to listen to.  Compare what is taught to what the Bible says.  Sounds too easy huh.  Know that there have been false prophets and false teachers since the first churches began, OK and even before that.  They will come but we can know the wolves from the sheep.  Look at their lives and look at what they teach.  If it stacks up with the Bible then you are good to go.  If not then don’t listen.  It is time to move on.

If you teach others compare what you would say to what the Bible says.  If you take directly from the scriptures and do not deviate you will be safe and will teach good sound doctrine.  I would also advise not to take bits and pieces of scripture but take the entire content of what is said.  Too many times people like to take a part of what is said and use it to justify what they want. 

What ever you do don’t mislead others from the Bible and its teachings.  Also don’t become mislead yourself.  Compare everything to the Bible.  Seek council from someone you trust and know to be Godly…

The Trap of False Teachings

Scripture:
Revelations 2:14-17 (NIV)

Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality. Likewise, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.

Devotional:

False teachings are all over the place.  Sometimes they are very subtle and you may not even realize that what is being taught is false.  A friend of mine once shared about a pastor’s children’s moment in a church service.  The pastor sat down among the kids to teach about Jonah and the whale.  The pastor commented on Jonah’s tale as just being a fable or a fictional story.  That Jonah was never swallowed by a giant fish.  Another deception that is growing more in popularity in our society is the teaching about truth.  Perceptual truth is gaining popularity.  One of the biggest problems with this is it ignores absolute truth.  

What are some false teachings that you have heard that have a ring of truth to them?  What teachings have you come across that will lead you from God?  Satan’s goal is to lead God’s people away from Him.  Satan will do anything in his power to do so.  In our scripture for today God warns us not to go astray with false teachings.  He urges us to repent and follow Him.  If what is being taught does not hold true to the scriptures turn away.  Ensure what you teach also holds true to the Bible.  A good rule of thumb to follow is if in doubt check it out.  Compare what is being taught to what the Bible teaches.  In fact this is a good practice for anything being taught.  

Look at your life and what you believe.  Look at what you are being taught.  How does it hold against the test of scripture?  If it fails you need to abandon the teachings and turn back to the Bible.  If it is right in line with the Bible then you are OK.  Revelations 2:21 (NIV), “To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne.”

Suffering Is A Fact Of Life

Scripture:
Revelations 2:8-12 (NASB)

“And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write:

The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life, says this:

‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich), and the blasphemy by those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.’

Devotional:

Tribulations are a part of life.  Everyone has good times and bad times.  Think about some of the hardships you have gone through.  If we rely on God we can overcome our troubles.  God, who is in us is greater than anything else, especially Satan.  1 John 4:1-4 (NASB):

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world. You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.

Satan wants to thwart God’s plans.  He wants to divide us from Him.  Satan will deceive us and place hardships in our lives to keep us from God.  

Just remember that you have it within you to persevere and to overcome.  When you cannot stand on your own fall back on Him who has already defeated the enemy.  Jesus has defeated death and beaten Satan.  So what do we have to fear?  No one likes tribulations.  None of us want to suffer.  But suffering is a fact of life.  There is no way around it.  Do you want to suffer alone?  Do you want to go through trials and tribulations by yourself?  I personally would rather have someone by my side.  Who better than He who is already victorious?  Through faith we can overcome all things.  In the end if we are faithful God will have a wonderful place set aside for us in heaven.