What the Inarnation Means to a Missionary

http://www.charityministries.org/audio/4085.mp3

The Church in Philadelphia

The church in Philadelphia is a great inspiration to me. Jesus kindly commends them for a number of things, and He has no criticism at all for them. He does say that they have only a little strength. This may mean that they had many new Christians who had not yet grown strong in the faith. It could mean that they were few in number. Yet, He tells them that even though they have a little strength, they have remained faithful. We may feel that way today. Most of the people in the world are not serving God. The true church may seem weak and outnumbered. Yet with the strength of God, we can keep the faith and spread the gospel to the world around us. Lord, give us strength to remain faithful until You come back to take us to heaven.

The Church in Sardis

Jesus addressed the church in Sardis, and it was evident that it was in sorry shape. They had a name that they were living, but they were dead. The spiritual life had gone out of them. Jesus told them to strengthen the things that remained. He warned them to repent and be saved. He also encouraged the few true believers who were still in the church. What a sad commentary on a church.

 
 

Is this the story of my church, of your church? Is my church vibrant and alive. Is it reaching out to the world? Is it a place where the Holy Spirit lives in the hearts of each believer? Or, is it a dead church. Has the life gone out of it? Does it have a name that it lives, but is really dead? Am I the kind of member I should be? Am I contributing to church life? Am I among the church members who have not defiled their garment? What would Jesus say to me if he gave me a report card?. Lord, help me to be the kind of church member I should be. Help me to contribute the church I belong to. Help me to put my whole life into it so that it can be a church that is alive and growing for you.

The Last Be More than the First

The next church that Jesus spoke to was Thyatira. He told them, "I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first." This is what Jesus desires for all of us. He wants us to grow in the faith. He wants us to increase in good works. He wants faithful service that gets better through the years, not something that fades and eventually dies. He doesn't want us to lose our first love as the Ephesians did. The Christian life is a growing experience by its very nature. We cannot be standing still. We are either moving forward or losing ground, because any time that we are not fighting for God, the devil is winning. He doesn't give us any reprieve. We need to constantly be on our guard. There is no time to waste.

 
 

Lord, help me to be like the people at the church of Thyatira. Help me to increase in faith and in the knowledge of You. Help me to draw closer to You throughout my entire life. Help me to constantly choose to move on, leaving behind the things of this life and pressing toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God.

The Church at Pergamos

The second church that Jesus addresses is the church at Pergamos. This was a very wicked city. In describing it, Jesus said that Satan's seat was there. Yet, in the middle of all this evil, there was a church faithfully living for God. It was very difficult to live right in such a city, and Jesus commended them for it. Yet, in this church Jesus saw some of the affects of the evil culture creeping into the church. There was immorality and false doctrine in the church. They evidently had not kept themselves pure from the filth that was all around them. In addition, they failed to remove the erring members of the church and Christ had some harsh words for them.

 
 

It's very similar in our day. We live in a world where evil and crime are commonplace and even glorified. If we're not careful, it can rub off on us. We can begin to think that sin is not so bad. We can even begin to tolerate it in our church, but if we do that, it will spread through the church like a cancer. Before long, our church will no longer be a bastion of holiness. Instead it will be a stronghold of the devil where people feel good because they think they are Christians. But instead, they are deceived and lulled into a sleep of death. Let's work hard to maintain the holiness of the church through the power of Jesus Christ. With Him on our side, we will always win!

I Know Thy Works

As Jesus was giving a message to the church at Smyrna, He said, "I know thy works." Of course, He knows everyone's works. He sees everyone everywhere all the time. To the church in Smyrna, this was a comfort. He saw what they were doing. He saw the difficulties they were facing and He would reward them for what they had done. To anyone who is not obeying Jesus, this is not good news at all. Jesus also knows the wrong things that people do. He is watching all the time and will also reward those people for what they've done. So, which camp are you in. Does that fact that Jesus is watching all the time strike fear in your heart, or does it give you confidence in what you're doing?

 
 

Lord, help me always to remember that Your are watching all the time: that You know our works, and nothing goes unnoticed. Help me to live in such a way that I'll have nothing to regret. Help me to live my life in such a way that You can say, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant."

Lost Their First Love

In the next few days, we'll be reading through the book of Revelation. Some of the chapters are very hard to understand and can be controversial. So, please feel free to comment with your ideas and opinions. I will be taking a very literal approach to the interpretation of the book. I believe that most of what is spoken here will literally come to pass. However, it is obvious that there are many figures of speech given as well.

 
 

In chapter 2, Jesus starts with a message to the church at Ephesus. He commends them for a number of things, but they had lost their first love. They no longer had a vibrant fellowship with Jesus. Maybe their commitment was waning. Maybe they were too busy with other things and left their spiritual life fall behind. Maybe they forgot what they had been saved from. At any rate, they weren't loving God and each other as they should have.

 
 

We, too, can fall into this trap. When we first become a Christian, we are so happy to be saved. Our love for Jesus is warm and vibrant. We tell other people about Him. But, sometimes we get to busy and distracted with the less important things in life. We allow them to take priority over the more important things, and we lose our first love. Lord, help me to remain in close fellowship with You all my life. Restore, me when I begin to lose that first love. Help me always to remember that my relationship with You is more important than anything else in this world.