At the coalface

(Revelation 20:6) “Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power…”

Somewhere and at some time a survey was taken and this was the question asked, “If you are given the chance to see when you would die would you want to know?” Ninety eight percent chose not to know. Why? It is obvious that we fear death, when in fact we needn’t but in order for that reality to inhabit our lives we must disclose all the facts.  

Did you know that some will face a second death? Sadly this will be a large chunk of the earth’s population. But not many people have been told this truth throughout their lives. Has it ever been explain to you with careful consideration? It is imperative that we have the facts prior to the decisions we make concerning all facets to our lives, how serious will it be for us to get the most important decision of them all incorrect? The one decision that carries with it eternal consequences and with no re-runs available. We only get one life to find repentance for our sin and our rebellion against God; it is crucial that we find forgiveness form the only true Saviour which God has so mercifully supplied; the darling of heaven, His beloved Son the Lord Jesus Christ. Reject this offer at your own peril and you will taste the wrath of God and the sting of the second death.

Why do we so often shy away from the truth, especially when the subject that needs examining is such a serious topic? The Lord Jesus is the beginning and the end when it comes to the rescue of a person salvation; whereas our natural birth and the corruption of Eve’s sin guarantee us death; we are born to die and if we die in that state we will have to face the judgement of God where our second death will have eternal consequences. A sting so server that there will be no escape, condemn to a place of torment for eternity; these are the facts according to the teachings of scripture. The Word of God has so declared it; “Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:14-15)   

Why do we then lie to ourselves and to others when we face the deaths of our loved ones? We make comments like, “they are at least now at peace”, when all their lives they have rejected the Lord Jesus Christ rescue. It is obvious that they are in fact in torment awaiting the judgement of God. In a cell awaiting their trial and so shall it be for all who reject the mercy of God. Reject His offer of salvation in and through the Lord Jesus Christ at you own peril; “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God."” (Luke 9:24-27) 

When we lie to others we give them a false hope, allowing them a slight glimmer of dishonest optimism which allows them to believe that they will escape God’s judgement regardless of the way they live their lives. This type of reasoning is from the pit of hell. IT IS A LIE! And I will not be apart of those lies anymore. Reject the Lord Jesus’ sacrifice for your sin and your end will be hell.     

The reality of the doom and gloom of bringing children into this world is eternal damnation, if they remain steadfast in the path they were born into with sin dominating their lives with the “fruit” of it rebelling against God; they will end up in hell! This is a heavy thought but most certainly worth at least a small portion of our considerations. The only hope I have for my son Moe is that he will be sold out for the Lord Jesus, the rest of his life and the way he fills it has very little bearing on the way I will guide him through it. Work or you shall not eat but be content with what God gives you; do not covet another mans goods nor the position he holds in society. Make every decision with and overarching spin on eternity and your position in it. Be a surgeon by all means but make sure you are not driving your children to that end without total disclosure; if we have failed in this area, that is on us as parents, but thankfully we still have time to set that which is crooked straight in and through the finished work of the cross.

The Lord may just be calling you out to take your head out of the sand. We are not race horses with blinkers attached but human beings with eternal spirits. This life is but a fleeting moment in comparison to eternity; let us get our balance right. We have been hoodwinked into believing so many lies and our drives which govern our determined outcomes will never change outside of the Lord Jesus Christ and His salvation. We must all be part of the first resurrection if we are to escape the second death. “Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power.”

Understand this, miss out on the first resurrection and you will tasted the sting of the second death and there will be no escape. Some may despise the way in which I have unpacked these truths but it’s often hard callous accuracy which we need to set us free; “…and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."” (John 8:32) 

Signing off

Tyrone

Sardis

There are times in our ministry where it is good to sit back and to be taught by others who have been gifted by God. It is true that God gives spoken gifts unto men within the body of Christ, whereas women ort not to be as vocal taking a leadership role, they are gifted in other areas where men are not. This is God’s design, Paul makes his intent very clear we dealing with this topic, we must never buckle to pier pressure but always look to emphasis the will of God if we are to enlarge the value of God’s sovereign plan. He is the potter and we are the clay. Our selfish opinions have very little influence when it comes to the will of God. However when we align our wills with His even when we don’t quite understand the intricacies of His brilliance it will be well with our souls and peace like a river will flood them with overwhelming joy.

This must become the mind-sets we live our lives by if we are to become benefactors of the deeper riches of God’s goodness: “For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.” (Galatians 1:10)

It is the instructions from the Word of God that gives us direction and when we shirk them we take an incorrect turn and the potential of lurking dangers are inevitable. The book Pilgrims Progress highlights this point well. We must be watchful to its instruction at all times; especially when the world drives with intent in the opposite direction.    

The body principle found in scripture (see 1Corinthians 12) teaches the church participants to take up their intended role the way God has designed it. The hand learning to work as a hand and not desiring the office of a foot; how often have you seen people walking around on their hands? Frustrate that model and errors will begin to reveal themselves as we see highlighted by the Lord Jesus and penned by John throughout their instructions to the churches in the book of Revelation.  Every error started with a resistance to the Word of God in some form or another. It has be so from the beginning with Satan deceiving Eve and it continues in a similar vain throughout history.  

“"And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: 'The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. "'I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'” (Revelation 3:1-6)

“Our Lord proceeds to give this degenerate church the best advice: Be watchful, and strengthen the things, etc. He advises them to be upon their watch. The cause of their sinful deadness and declension was that they had let down their watch. Whenever we are off our watch, we lose ground, and therefore must return to our watchfulness against sin, and Satan, and whatever is destructive to the life and power of godliness. It is a difficult thing to keep up to the life and power of godliness ourselves, when we see a universal deadness and declension prevailing round about us. Or it may be understood of practices, as it follows: I have not found thy works perfect before God, not filled up; there is something wanting in them; there is the shell, but not the kernel. Christ enforces his counsel with a dreadful threatening in case it should be despised: I will come unto thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know the hour, (Rev 3:3). Observe, (1.) When Christ leaves a people as to his gracious presence, he comes to them in judgment; and his judicial presence will be very dreadful to those who have sinned away his gracious presence. (2.) His judicial approach to a dead declining people will be surprising; their deadness will keep them in security, and, as it procures an angry visit from Christ to them, it will prevent their discerning it and preparing for it. (3.) Such a visit from Christ will be to their loss; he will come as a thief, to strip them of their remaining enjoyments and mercies, not by fraud, but in justice and righteousness, taking the forfeiture they have made of all to him.

4. Our blessed Lord does not leave this sinful people without some comfort and encouragement: In the midst of judgment he remembers mercy (Rev 3:4), and here (1.) He makes honourable mention of the faithful remnant in Sardis, though but small: Thou hast a few names in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; they had not given into the prevailing corruptions and pollution of the day and place in which they lived. God takes notice of the smallest number of those who abide with him; and the fewer they are the more precious in his sight. (2.) He makes a very gracious promise to them: They shall walk with me in white, for they are worthy - in the stola, the white robes of justification, and adoption, and comfort, or in the white robes of honour and glory in the other world. They shall walk with Christ in the pleasant walks of the heavenly paradise; and what delightful converse will there be between Christ and them when they thus walk together!

We now come to the conclusion of this epistle, in which, as before, we have,

1. A great reward promised to the conquering Christian (Rev 3:5), and it is very much the same with what has been already mentioned: He that overcometh shall be clothed in white raiment. The purity of grace shall be rewarded with the perfect purity of glory. Now to this is added another promise very suitable to the case: I will not blot his name out of the book of life, but will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. Observe, (1.) Christ has his book of life, a register and roll of all who shall inherit eternal life. [1.] The book of eternal election. [2.] The book of remembrance of all those who have lived to God, and have kept up the life and power of godliness in evil times. Christ will produce this book of life, and confess the names of the faithful who stand there, before God, and all the angels; he will do this as their Judge, when the books shall be opened; he will do this as their captain and head, leading them with him triumphantly to heaven, presenting them to the Father: Behold me, and the children that thou hast given me. How great will this honour and reward be!

2. The demand of universal attention finishes the message. Every word from God deserves attention from men; that which may seem more particularly directed to one body of men has something in it instructive to all.” (Matthew Henry)

Signing off

Tyrone

Finding true balance

How often are we arranged the way we should be? Life has its pressures which no one can deny. So when we to find the sweat spot its pure bliss. Golf teaches you a similar principle; a player swings a club and hits the ball perfectly in the sweat spot and the ball goes where intended and this is extremely rewarding. The opposite applies when you shank or miscue the ball and this brings with it immediate thoughts of frustration which is hard to conceal leaving that individual unbalance. If you have played golf long enough you soon see the true colours of those around you, as it is a game that reveals character like no other.

Some guru’s propagate that in order to be balanced you must have all the clutter removed plugging the gaps around ones aura. Sadly they are misguided in their application, their intent to find peace is noble, but without the finished work of the cross as their axis, true peace will always remain just out of reach. Heaven will and can only ever be seen through spiritual conception, without that event in ones life one will continually clutch at straws looking for the answer to life and just when you think you have worked it out you realise that you have been deceived. And so we start again down some other road hoping to find peace. We all have an inherent God given drive to search out truth.   

Repentance in the Lord Jesus Christ is the world’s solution and there are many voices that point in other directions, but they are all lures designed to deceive. Did you know that the world will strive to find peace and will eventually believe that they have arrived and cry “peace and security”? It is at that time in world history that another one of God’s judgements will be manifest and all because they rejected Him and shunned the Lord Jesus Christ and his followers; “While people are saying, "There is peace and security," then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.” (1Thessalonians 5:3) – Lets face it; I only understand that because God has revealed it to me in and through His written Word. My eyes have been opened to this true because I have been give eyes to see. Every born again believer has been made alive in the spirit and we have received the mind of Christ. Therefore we are now able to see spiritual truths, those who remain dead in their trespasses and their sin cannot see what the Christian sees. It is impossible for the unbeliever to have enough faith to believe what has been penned; the Lord Jesus had this to say to someone seeking the answer to life; Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." (John 3:3)

     

To the Christian peace will only ever bare its intended fruit once we learn to right our wrongs, in other words until we learn to put our Lord and Saviour first in every area of our lives. If not, we will continually miscue in the zones we refuse to relinquish. It is really as simple as that; trust and obey the voice of God. Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and then the other compartments to our lives will begin to find alignment. Hold off in some slots and the peace of God will elude us. Our God demands that we walk by faith in order for us to find “our centre”, to be complete in every area of our lives.

With that in mind let us now consider the instruction to the church at Sardis “"And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: 'The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. "'I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'” (Revelation 3:1-6)

Lord willing we will unpack some of the detail in the next post…

Signing off

Tyrone   

     

Naked before the Lord

The Apostle Paul was an extraordinary man as far as men go. I may even go as far as to say that he was a freak of nature; “One in ten thousand”, a man full of zeal, with a determined drive to achieve his objective, regardless of the opposition he faced. Prior to salvation he believed that killing Christians was to do God’s bidding and so he was motivated to back the high priest and the Jewish rulers of the day and it would have surprized me to ever seen him idle; his mind must have been hard pressed with thoughts of action twenty-four seven. A man originally miss guided in his zeal but God graciously helped him turn that corner; he had a radical conversion, God called out to him it was not the other way around; it is God who graciously woes men and women unto himself. Scripture is clear with many of its instructions, like; “seek the Lord whilst he may be found”. The mystery of salvation is like the wind; “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." (John 3:8) 

Saul became Paul, a change of name as well as a change in character with a determined grit to realign the error of his ways. His transformation was not a simple “I’ll put my hand up” to an altar call. Something most of us did somewhere along our Christian journey. God struck him with blindness; hard to ignore such an experience. But for us it was never so radical, maybe that is why so many of us lack his measure of faith, God knows! This is why we need to be tested in so many areas of our lives to eventually arrive at a place of total dependency upon God’s provision. Unless this has become your experience it would be hard for me to convince you that it is needful for the Christian to suffer in order to increase in the measure of your faith. It is a blessing when we endure hardships for the sake of the gospel; God is glorified in and through them when the world witnesses our obedience and our commitment to the Lord in spite of the onslaught. Remember Job!   

Paul heard God speak to Him from the heavens, immediately understanding that it was the Lord who now addressed him and the One he was in fact persecuting; “Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. And falling to the ground he heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" And he said, "Who are you, Lord?" And he said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” (Acts 9:3-5)

God breathed life into Saul’s spirit in the same manner in which it happened to us, the Christian! Eyes opened to the truth of Jesus Christ as the one and only true Messiah, Praise God!

When I stand naked before the Lord many thoughts travel through my mind convincing me of my crimes before God, breaching His Commandments, unwanted thought and the like, but it was not so for Paul and this is a phenomenal declaration that he pens; “This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy. But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me.” (1Corinthians 4:1-4) – Can you claim this type of testimony, I know I cannot but I most certainly want to arrive there. God help all those who cry Abba Father. He learnt that all fall short of the glory of God even if they are unaware of any rupture of God’s law in there own lives; “as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one."” (Roman 3:10-11)

Ezekiel pens this, by which he illustrated the mind of God concerning three other remarkable men; “even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness, declares the Lord GOD.” (Ezekiel 14:14) – Men of faith who stood out in a time debauchery being notice and commended by God, phenomenal individuals and yet they could only ever spare their own lives if God brought judgement; “And the word of the LORD came to me: "Son of man, when a land sins against me by acting faithlessly, and I stretch out my hand against it and break its supply of bread and send famine upon it, and cut off from it man and beast, even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness, declares the Lord GOD.” (Ezekiel 14:12-14)

It is God who makes an appeal to all too repent of the error of their ways in and through His mercy on display in and through the Lord Jesus Christ; “For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."” (Romans 10:13) – Paul’s response to his conversion was manifest by the way he lived the rest of his life, so let us learn from his example as we seek out God’s forgiveness in the areas of our lives that lack obedience. We have the mind of Christ and so we have no more excuses to continue in sin so that grace may abound. Do not be fooled into believing that salvation has now bought us a ticket to live like we once did.

This was one of the reasons the Lord got John to pen his instructions to the differing churches in the book of Revelation. We must examine our lives and repent where and when needed. Lord willing will continue with the instruction to the church at Laodicea in the next post.

Signing off

Tyrone

Slaying Giants!

Slaying giants was not an easy task for the commoner; it took a highly skilled man of faith to accomplish victory. Most men shy away from such challenges but not kinsmen like David. Why? He believed God for the victory, he was obviously well trained with his slingshot and his experience in the wilderness had taught him the value of trusting God; he had obviously learnt that it was by one stone at a time and for us one obstacle at a time. Goliath wasn’t his fist victory, from an early age he understood what it was to walk by faith, trusting God. He killed lions and bears tending his father’s sheep prior to his encounter with Goliath.  

How is it that we will slay the giants in our lives? In exactly the same way, faith towards God and repentance when we fall short, confessing our sin; we must acknowledge our need for God in our lives and then honour Him once aid arrives. A lifetime of learning to depend upon His provision and not our own independence; it is only the trial of our faith that will teach us these very valuable lessons and it will soon become evident who the giant slayers are and those who are not; who are men of faith and those who walk in unbelief.

Faith overcomes the hurdles of life believing God for rescue; however we must never confuse our wants with our needs. God provided manna for the children of Israel in the wilderness but they soon demanded meat and we see the end of that type of mind-set. It leads to an ungrateful type of mentality which if left to run riot will end in ruin. How many of the original expatriates from the land of slavery and Egypt entered the Promised Land? Two! Only Joshua and Caleb received their inheritance, the rest fell in the Wilderness; “And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.” (Hebrews 3:17-19) – What drove them to unbelief? Was it not their murmurings? They begun to hanker after the leeks and the garlic that they left behind whilst under their bondage; they wanted their old lifestyles back; God forbid we enter into that type of mind-set. That is a land filled with giants and bondage to sin.

To be skilled in spiritual warfare we must be trained up in righteousness and the only way we can be educated appropriately is through suffering; “More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. (Romans 5:3-5) - Life itself teaches us this principle; an athlete cannot win a medal in the Olympics unless they have trained their bodies with vigorous commitment through sweat and tears. The trial of our faith prepares us for combat. There are no short cuts; or rather those who choose the easy out expose their hearts; revealing their actual claim to Christianity, a separation of the wheat from the tares and the goats from the sheep. This is what differentiates the true Christian from the false. We must all realise that God is shaping us up into vessels of honour and it is how we handle the trials of life and our sufferings where this becomes apparent in a believers life.

Signing off

Tyrone     

       

The church at Thyatira part 2

There are some truths that need to be objectified in order for us to be contenders in the glorious call to freedom, the walk Christianity resembles is this; we need to own our own sin and understand that God hates sin as He is a lover of righteousness and in Him is no darkness; “This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1John 1:5-7)   

To abstain from places of darkness is the call for the Christian with repentance as our common denominator, which we must learn to appropriate on a daily basis. We will slip and fall along the conduit towards heaven and let’s face it no one likes to continually admit that they are wrong. But if we err we must own it, confess our sin to God and seek out His forgiveness. “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” (1John 1:8-10)

Our ultimate goal is to be pardoned of our sinful behaviour, which has already happen in and through the finished work of the cross. Praise the name of Jesus; but sin still knocks at times looking to rob us of our victory in Him. Let’s face it the worlds blatant twist of who God actually is deserves annihilation. He is the potter and we are the clay. And yet, God has given those who find repentance in the Lord Jesus Christ the opportunity to be covered by His mercy; which no one actually deserves. GOD IS GOOD! “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) 

Hence the messages to the Churches to help us understand the difference between the light and darkness in our lives, the good must be pursued and the darkness needs to be eliminated in and through repentance.

“And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: 'The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze. "'I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first. But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works. But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden. Only hold fast what you have until I come. The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father.” (Revelation 2:18-27)

“It should be the ambition and earnest desire of all Christians that their last works may be their best works, that they may be better and better every day, and best at last.

2. A faithful reproof for what was amiss. This is not so directly charged upon the church itself as upon some wicked seducers who were among them; the church's fault was that she connived too much at them.

(1.) These wicked seducers were compared to Jezebel, and called by her name. Jezebel was a persecutor of the prophets of the Lord, and a great patroness of idolaters and false prophets. The sin of these seducers was that they attempted to draw the servants of God into fornication, and to offer sacrifices to idols; they called themselves prophets, and so would claim a superior authority and regard to the ministers of the church. Two things aggravated the sin of these seducers, who, being one in their spirit and design, are spoken of as one person: - [1.] They made use of the name of God to oppose the truth of his doctrine and worship; this very much aggravated their sin. [2.] They abused the patience of God to harden themselves in their wickedness. God gave them space for repentance, but they repented not. Observe, First, Repentance is necessary to prevent a sinner's ruin. Secondly, Repentance requires time, a course of time, and time convenient; it is a great work, and a work of time. Thirdly, Where God gives space for repentance, he expects fruits meet for repentance. Fourthly, Where the space for repentance is lost, the sinner perishes with a double destruction.

(2.) Now why should the wickedness of this Jezebel be charged upon the church of Thyatira? Because that church suffered her to seduce the people of that city. But how could the church help it? They had not, as a church, civil power to banish or imprison her; but they had ministerial power to censure and to excommunicate her: and it is probable that neglecting to use the power they had made them sharers in her sin.” (Matthew Henry)

Christianity is often frowned upon by outsiders as they are blind to heaven and all its glory. And it is obvious that they love darkness more than the light; “And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.” (John 3:19)

They cry “do not judge” or “grace” of course we have been saved by grace but grace does not equal licence to allow sin to reign in our mortal bodies; a free for all without any responsibilities attached to our heavenly call. We all struggle in some areas of our lives but we must never rest in the areas which fail us, as we have been called to war against the darkness and it is only through that struggle that we will mortify the lust of our flesh; “Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.” (1Peter 4:1-2)   

Signing off

Tyrone

The church at Thyatira part 1

(Jeremiah 32:40)  “I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me.”

“I will put my fear in their hearts, that is, work in them gracious principles and dispositions, that shall influence and govern their whole conversation. Teachers may put good things into our heads, but it is God only that can put them into our hearts, that can work in us both to will and to do.” (Matthew Henry)

God is the one who initiated His plan before the foundation of the world; He careful plotted it out prior to our existence. This is an undisputed fact for we are taught this in scripture; “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:29-31) – We see God involved from start to finish, from predestination to glorification. (AND) “even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.” (Ephesians 1:4-6) – God’s initiated His plan prior to the foundation of the world. The brilliance of our God on display, praise His name, Amen! We see men with brilliant minds from time to time, but God’s brilliance is absolute and one day we will see Him for who He is, in all His glory and what a day that shall be, even so come quickly Lord Jesus.   

     

The church at Thyatira was in a real trouble, not that any sinful action overlooked is a small thing. As I examine the state of that church there are a few things that jumped out at me; there were most definitely some save amongst the unsaved; there is commendation given and if this was false there would not have been a call of repentance. God recognised Thyatira as one of His or else it would not have been addressed. The ongoing debate between the Calvinist and the Armenian is fiercely contested amongst believers throughout the globe and you know where I now stand on the matter. Once I believed that we could loose our salvation, but now I am persuaded that if God has done the work in a persons heart, the only true God who disciplines the child in rebellion or even if they have simply been deceived by the wiles of the devil, or when their own sinful desires raises their heads once again this will not be their end; if God has begun the work in that individuals life I am convinced He will get them home and safely to heaven. Where the differences between the son and the bastard becomes muddled at times is the perceptions of men’s cunning tongues. Because some claim Christianity does not mean they are in fact Christians; (see Matthew 7:21) - Although we break covenants; divorce a case in point. God will never break a covenant, this would be impossible, God is so pure and righteous it is impossible for Him to lie; “so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.” (Hebrews 6:18)

This is where discipline is vital in a believer’s life and God is pro-active when it comes to the discipline of His children. I am forever grateful for the discipline He has put me through to teach me the way of the Christian. Lessons learnt and trainings still pending, praise God for that, without it I would be living amongst the pigs in their pen of slop in a dying world without any eternal hope. Discipline brings with it a Godly fear that will move us toward God and not from Him. We may even struggle in some areas for the rest of our lives, but we will never relax, we will be driven to find grace to overcome. This is the mind-set of a child of God, the bastard will continue without any godly fear through the throes of their sin and we see it clearly here amongst some of those in the church of Thyatira.

If you ever visit a farm which stocks sheep and goats and you speak to the farmer he will be quick to tell you that sheep are far more manageable. Goats are unruly by nature and often run riot, however you will at times see the goats mingling with the sheep. Most churches will be stocked with sons of God as well as illegitimate children; true believers and those who claim that they are Christian when in fact they are not. True believers will make mistakes but God will bring them around and He often uses discipline to do this in their lives, we need it. But the bastard will fall by the wayside. They will not find true repentance; we must not confuse worldly sorrow with repentance or even blatant rebellion as we see it in the church of Thyatira. “But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality.” I therefore conclude that she was never truly saved!             

Lord willing in the next post we will unpack the instructions to the church at Thyatira.

Signing off

Tyrone

"Concealment"

From an early age we are prone to live a life of concealment, always scheming for an aid that will help cover up our imperfections. As youngsters we lie when caught with our hand in the cookie jar as we look to curtail the act of theft, “this is the first time I’ve done this mom, the others times it was my sister”. This is not a planned response but one of instinct, proving that we are naturally sinful. Then we have our secret sins that we dare not tell others about and we naturally conceal them without to much effort, this worsen with age like a disease left to its own devises, untreated cancer eventually takes over, exploding out of control leaving the effected individual eventually on a death bed, without any hope and with no optimism of rescue as death knocks with its final thud.

Through the throes of puberty everything changes and our biggest challenge is how to conceal our pimples? The older we get the more conditioned we become in our “concealment’s”, women on their death beads with anti-aging eye cream packed away in the bedside draw as one of their ten most valued possessions; with a hope that someone may just pay them one more compliment of how young they look for their age and yet death lurks just around the corner for all. Who knows what tomorrow will bring? We have been so accustomed by the demands of life that outside of Christ we believe we are bullet-proof and somehow we will escape God’s judgment, we will not! All will stand before the judgment seat of God, from least to the greatest; we will all have to give an account of our lives to the King of kings. Our lives stripped naked with all our deeds exposes, concealment a thing of the past and judged in accordance with our actions throughout our lives. Every breech opposing God’s righteousness and His demands for mankind will receive its just reward; nothing will escape God’s eyes and His rulings.

However as much as this truth is set in stone in accordance’s with the scriptures, The Lord Jesus Christ has paid the penalty for all of mankind’s sin God our Father has offered a way for us to escape His Judgement, mercy of the supreme diktat. And yet so many reject the message of the Gospel believing that they have a better way; stupidity of the highest order. Unless we find repentance in Christ, we will have to give an account to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob for every one of our sins from the smallest to the greatest of them all and then God’s mercies would be a thing of the passed with all those who rejected His deal now understanding that they were in fact lovers of darkness and not His light. THE WRATH OF GOD ON DISPLAY! That day is coming of this I am certain.

As Christian we also have our responsibilities when our own sin knocks, although forgiven we cannot nor must we overlook those sins that once kept us from communion with God, our lives must be filled with an attitude of repentance. This is the life of the Christian with the holiness of Christ as our goal. We must be motivated to walk in His footsteps; hence the reason for the instruction to the churches in the book of Revelations; self–reflection the order of the day. We will never accomplish Christ’s glory and His obedience in this life but this does not mean we shouldn’t be striving in the good graces of our God to attain to His perfection. Our end game is holiness. It will never be achieved by the works of the flesh, which is impossible. We must learn to walk in the Spirit, God’s Spirit and when we do this we will not fulfil the lust of our carnality; those desire will diminish, this is a given.

Here is the penned matter on this truth; “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” (Galatians 5:16) - This is a statement by the Apostle Paul which brings with it a promise. He does not construct his sentence and say it “might not” but assertively he says it “will not”. If I find that certain areas of my live are still dominated by my sinful actions, it is obvious that I am walking in the flesh and not in the Spirit. A simple deduction that cannot nor should it be overlooked. God has said it, so I will believe it.

Paul also made this proclamation; “so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.” (2Corinthians 2:11) – I wonder how many can claim this truth as their own. But as we grow older in Christ this too should begin to dawn on our genuineness as we begin to see the wood from the trees when it comes to our dealings with the sin that so easily besets. We are new creatures in Christ, we have His mind, and it is a gift that God has given all His followers.

It is time for us to be counted as men, so let us get on with the task at hand.

The day of God’s reckoning is at the door so let us make every effort to find His grace to overcome just like our great Saviour overcame every obstacle He faced. In order for this to be achieved let us remember to put on the whole amour of God (see Ephesians 6).

Signing off

Tyrone

The church at Pergamum

I’ve notice of late that if I fall asleep on my back with my arms up in the air when I wake up the second conscious thought is that something is amiss. I then realise that my hands have pins and needles because of the lack of blood flow; I instinctively shake them vigorously to get life back into my fingertips. They were never dead but dull to the touch and if left long enough without any action taken, in extreme cases, if and when neglected they would suffer damage. We’ve all seen movies of mountaineers somewhere along lives journey and how when left to the elements for long enough, particularly seen in Everest, climbers losing fingers and the like; frostbite has taken its toll.

Christianity and our call to holiness is a call from God, it is a requirement needed to enter His presence; “For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.” (1Thessalonians 4:7-8) And “Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” (Hebrews 12:14) – So again I stress the point we cannot nor should we make allowances for blatant sin to rule our lives; What is recognizable sin, some sins are obvious, whilst others not so apparent. But I like the way the Holy Spirit through the Apostle James instructs us on the subject of the regions of our lives that are so easily given a pass; “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.” (James 4:17)

With that in mind lets us move on to the instruction to the churches as we examine ourselves in light of our Masters voice and if the shoe fits lets us be moved by the good graces of our God and Father to seek out His repentance before it is to late and His wrath arrives, for it is coming.

 “"And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: 'The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword. "'I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality. So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.'” (Revelations 2:12-17)

“There were some who taught that it was lawful to eat things sacrificed to idols, and that simple fornication was no sin; they, by an impure worship, drew men into impure practices, as Balaam did the Israelites. Observe, (1.) The filthiness of the spirit and the filthiness of the flesh often go together. Corrupt doctrines and a corrupt worship often lead to a corrupt conversation. (2.) It is very lawful to fix the name of the leaders of any heresy upon those who follow them. It is the shortest way of telling whom we mean. (3.) To continue in communion with persons of corrupt principles and practices is displeasing to God, draws a guilt and blemish upon the whole society: they become partakers of other men's sins. Though the church, as such, has no power to punish the persons of men, either for heresy or immorality, with corporal penalties, yet it has power to exclude them from its communion; and, if it do not so, Christ, the head and lawgiver of the church, will be displeased with it.” (Matthew Henry)

The Word of God exposes error in our lives; it brings us to a place of decision with the instruction of repentance as our answer, but if we ignore it, a warning follows; when we are actioned into service according to the instruction of God’s holiness we are promise a reward, praise God. This is the true test of faith! We cannot merely claim Christianity and ignore our Fathers instruction and expect a rosy future and if we hold to that sort of theology it is obvious we are either living in rebellion or we have been deceived.

However the beauty of God’s good graces is filled with second chances, mistake will be made but they cannot be ignored.

Signing off

Tyrone

The church at Smyrna

As we move through the messages to the churches let us continue to have this mind-set; “what is said to one church concerns all the churches, in every place and age”. (Matthew Henry)

When it comes to salvation in a believer’s life, very few can claim similar experiences to Moses and Saul (Paul) as God’s voice called to them from the heavens. I imagine their emotions would have been torn between marvel and fear but to have assurance that God had singled them out and personally addressed them amongst the millions of inhabitants of their time carried with it great responsibility. This is my persuasion; the higher the calling the greater the suffering. However with that said the reward for the faithful child of God will in due course overshadow the trial of the day. The Lord Jesus has already proved this to us as He is seated at the right of His Father; “looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2)   

  

Sin and its slavery subjugates an individual to tolerate so many things that God hates and Christ died for, this is why we need to pay vigilant attention to the voice of God. Although we may not have been summoned at salvation by the audible voice of God, we most certainly were bidden through the eyes of faith; our experience was a real as theirs was, of this I am convinced. That is if you have truly been born again and washed in the blood of the Lamb. I recall the day God place His affirmation in my heart understanding that I belonged to Him, what a day! And it was not the day I put my hand up in a meeting. The penny dropped whilst on my knees with all the clutter of life pushed aside, with my undivided attention locked upon my God; this was the day that God graciously open my eyes to His call upon my life; a marvellous personal encounter, what a recollection knowing that my sins had been forgiven and the joy that brought with it, praise God! It would be good for us to seek those types of encounters with our heavenly Father on a recurring basis.

If you belong to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as a soldier in His army, in fact whether you stand upon the His truth or not you belong to God and you will kneel before Him on Judgement Day, confessing Jesus Christ as Lord, that is a given!

Christians must be fanatics with the Word of God if we are to remain protected by it; the closer we live to Christ the sweeter our hope. Sadly there was a day in my Christian experience where I was clinging onto my optimism, living a life of Luke warmness hoping that I would still be saved by fire and by the skin of my teeth; a time in my life where I had lost my way but not completely, God had kept the fire of faith smouldering deep within the crevasse of my soul. If you find yourselves living in a similar place, flee to the Rock, call out to Jesus Christ the Lord and then find obedience and put your faith in Him even if change seems like it would be hopeless and bring with it an abundance of hurt. If it is the right thing to do, it must be done, this is the call God has placed on His children and there will come a day where He will hand out our inheritance; “If our works have been built upon the foundation survives, we will receive our reward. If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple.” (1Corinthians 3:14-17)

Great honour has been placed upon the Christian; “For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple.” We must always be listening out for the voice of God just like Moses as he turned aside to see the burning bush; it was only then that God spoke to Him. When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am." (Exodus 3:4) 

We must have intent to serve Him. We must hear His voice through the pages of scripture which will be ushered in by the Holy Spirit. Our selfish agendas will never free us from the bondage of sin but when we let go and let God, this is where we find peace, even if this is our fate or rather our privilege; "And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: 'The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life. "'I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that 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 throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto 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. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.'” (Revelation 2:8-11)

How do you view the lifestyles of those in the church of Smyrna? They were poor people and yet rich in faith, their lives were filled with tribulation and God chose them for a purpose to suffer for His name sake, even to be put to death for their faith. Do you see this as privilege or something that you would avoid at all costs? God was please with the believers as Smyrna, a church who listened well and who had no need of repentance, phenomenal! This then was their instruction; “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.” And “The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.'” A call with its recompense; we have been called to a lifestyle of faithfulness this then is the cost of our inheritance. The price is faithfulness! Not all will have to taste death for their faith, but some have and there will be those in the future who will suffer the same fate. Are we prepared to be amongst that number, or is that too much of a stretch?

God sent His only begotten Son the Lord Jesus Christ to die for the sinners of the world, you and I; our eyes have been miraculously opened to this truth but it is our obedience that is crucial to God’s call, without it no one will enter the Promise Land. Here is our encouragement; “Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? -- ...” (Hebrews 2:1-3)

We must find grace to live a life of obedience and we shall turn the corner when needed if we belong to our God. He will open our eyes to the necessary repentance in our lives, but repent we must! Praise His name now and forever more. Amen and Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone     

       

The Church at Ephesus

It is possible for the Christian to get bent out of shape when it comes to the fundamental doctrines of Christ; it is obvious that in Christ there is no confusion, but in the heads of believers that is not always the case. Everyone has a voice that they trust will be heard and it is a difficult occurrence to find the brother that has had his mind renewed to the point where his tongue only produces sweet waters; eternal live-giving waters that is sanctioned by God. We must be careful not to oppose the unity of the faith with our own “hobby horses” that could outshine our limits to the true doctrines of Christ…

Our minds must never shift to a place where we over emphasis our parts in the salvation of God in our lives. What I mean by this is when we stand on a doctrine that we know to be true in accordance with scripture but our lives depict another story altogether or we rest upon our laurels and place our faith on the way we live our lives; “believing right doctrine will no more save you, than doing good works will save you” (Charles Spurgeon) – We have been save by the finished work of the cross, Jesus Christ our Lord accomplished this on our behalf from start to finish and this must always remain foundational in our lives. Without His mercy and grace we would all remain faithless but now we have a resolve to receive direction for Him that is if we have truly been born again.  

With that said let us make every effort in the good graces of our Lord to lend an ear to His instructions.

“"To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: 'The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands. "'I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.'” (Revelation 2:1-7)

Ephesus was a church planted by the Apostle Paul and then watered by the likes of Timothy and John, they had good solid doctrine which settled their understanding of what was true in accordance with scripture and they were commended for it by the Lord Jesus; “but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false”. We must not allow the wolves to silence our voices against their thievery as they unskilfully twist scripture to try and silence the truth and confuse the babes of Christ.

The Lord Jesus commended them for their opposition to such inaccuracies. He was please with that part of their walks. However He had something against them; But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. Could some of us have fallen is to the same trap, a place of such vindication against what is false that we have forgotten to love? Love never equals error nor does truth loose love along the way.

Observe- “The rebuke given to this church: Nevertheless, I have somewhat against thee, Rev_2:4. Those that have much good in them may have something much amiss in them, and our Lord Jesus, as an impartial Master and Judge, takes notice of both; though he first observes what is good, and is most ready to mention this, yet he also observes what is amiss, and will faithfully reprove them for it. The sin that Christ charged this church with was their decay and declension in holy love and zeal: Thou hast left thy first love; not left and forsaken the object of it, but lost the fervent degree of it that at first appeared. Observe, (1.) The first affections of men towards Christ, and holiness, and heaven, are usually lively and warm. God remembered the love of Israel's espousals, when she would follow him withersoever he went. (2.) These lively affections will abate and cool if great care be not taken, and diligence used, to preserve them in constant exercise. (3.) Christ is grieved and displeased with his people when he sees them grow remiss and cold towards him, and he will one way or other make them sensible that he does not take it well from them.

The advice and counsel given them from Christ: Remember therefore whence thou hast fallen, and repent, etc. (1.) Those that have lost their first love must remember whence they have fallen; they must compare their present with their former state, and consider how much better it was with them then than now, how much peace, strength, purity, and pleasure they have lost, by leaving their first love, - how much more comfortably they could lie down and sleep at night, - how much more cheerfully they could awake in the morning, - how much better they could bear afflictions, and how much more becomingly they could enjoy the favours of Providence, - how much easier the thoughts of death were to them, and how much stronger their desires and hopes of heaven. (2.) They must repent. They must be inwardly grieved and ashamed for their sinful declension; they must blame themselves, and shame themselves, for it, and humbly confess it in the sight of God, and judge and condemn themselves for it. (3.) They must return and do their first works. They must as it were begin again, go back step by step, till they come to the place where they took the first false step; they must endeavour to revive and recover their first zeal, tenderness, and seriousness, and must pray as earnestly, and watch as diligently, as they did when they first set out in the ways of God.

“Though thou hast declined in thy love to what is good, yet thou retainest thy hatred to what is evil, especially to what is grossly so.” The Nicolaitans were a loose sect who sheltered themselves under the name of Christianity. They held hateful doctrines, and they were guilty of hateful deeds, hateful to Christ and to all true Christians; and it is mentioned to the praise of the church of Ephesus that they had a just zeal and abhorrence of those wicked doctrines and practices. An indifference of spirit between truth and error, good and evil, may be called charity and meekness, but it is not pleasing to Christ. Our Saviour subjoins this kind commendation to his severe threatening, to make the advice more effectual.” (Matthew Henry)

Although the Spirit of God addresses the church at Ephesus we must not exclude its council to us; “what is said to one church concerns all the churches, in every place and age”.

May the God of all peace and understanding impart what is needed in each of our lives to makes us more equipped to be good soldiers of the faith.

Signing off

Tyrone