The gratitude of mercy

(Mark 5:17) “And they began to beg Jesus to depart from their region.”

Do we have hearts filled with gratitude or are we amongst the number that begs Jesus to depart? On the surface of it this may seem like a rather odd question, when in fact it is always relevant in a believer’s life. Sin cries leave me alone whilst the mercy of God is filled with gratitude which comes from a repentant heart. We have to understand mercy before we will ever be singing songs like this; “Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.” With the produce of that understanding filling our mouths with praise; not all are called to be Apostles, but all have been summoned to share the Gospel with friends and family; however until it dawns upon us what we have been saved from, the power of sin and escaping our initial verdict, hell with all its torment, we should at least be eager to share the good news with our relatives.

The Bible is filled with quotes which guides our intentions. It is informative and sensible with its instruction. The Lord Jesus made statements like these to help us understand the call of God upon our lives; “So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 10:32-33) – Although this is easy to understand, even a child could interpret what is being said; confess Christ to other as the true Messiah or remain silent with consequences attached. However we will only be moved to action when we understand mercy. Unless of course we have another agenda altogether, looking for the goodies of this life instead of the forgiveness of our sins. Some men preach the gospel for personal gain and Paul refers to them as men looking to fill the lust of their own bellies; false prophets exploiting the poor and simple to get rich.   

The ten leapers had a need, they needed healing and Christ obliged and yet only one returned to give Him thanks. He understood mercy; the others had what they had come for, the healing of their bodies. Unless we understand the mercy of God in our lives we will always be driven by our wants over our needs.    

The man possessed with the unclean spirit “Legion” understood the mercy of God having been freed from his entrapment. A man demon possessed but now set free and with a sound mind; although his conversion was undeniable to the witnesses and with God’s mercy on display; the onlookers perceive the power of his conversion. However in spite of the undeniable evidence this was their cry; “And they began to beg Jesus to depart from their region.” When we strip their reaction down to its core I am left with this conclusion; the state of their hearts left these individuals loving darkness and the fleeting pleasures of sin over the light of the world, the Lord Jesus Christ. They were more worried about their pigs than the privileged presence of God.

Until we understand the mercy of God in some measure we will continue to remain silent before men. The more we understand forgiveness the greater our intent we be to share the gospel. This man wanted to join the Lord Jesus and follow him, but that was not the call God had placed upon his life, however he was given this instruction; "…Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you." (Mark 5:19)

Complacency, comforts and the like soften a soldier’s heart. Understanding the mercy of God in our lives will compel us to spread the news abroad or at least motivate us to share the good news with our kin. This will cause conflict within your families circle, so what! Some of those closest to you may even begin to detest your presence whilst others may be turned by the goodness of God. We have been warned about the rift of the true gospel message and what it could do to our relationships. The Lord explains; “"Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”” (Matthew 10:34-39)

With that in mind who would ever lay down their lives if they haven’t understood the mercy of God? Test your level of understanding in light of your commitment in proclaiming the name of the Lord to others and it will soon become apparent if we have understood the mercy of God or not. I do understand that at times we are called to hold our peace but that is rather an exception than a rule.

Signing off

Tyrone

Philadelphia

(Revelation 3:7-13)  “"And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: 'The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens. "'I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie--behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet and they will learn that I have loved you. Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth. I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'”

This encouragement starts with a qualification of who God is and what He is capable of. Universally He is the head of all the churches and not the pastors or elders of a church; they hold an office and have been appointed by Him. They may stand in the gap for now but ultimately we will all stand before our King and give an account for what we have done with what He has given us.

When God sets His mind to something it cannot be thwarted. The beauty of who our God is rings true in my soul and we must take comfort in the fact that He is not like us but steadfast in all His deliberations. He is a God of His word. Praise His name! Men often promise the world but contracts are easily broken, however it is not so with God, it is impossible for Him to lie. I take so much security from this truth that it inspires me into action. For the Christian to really apprehend that if God is for us who can be against us must captivate our souls and it must energize us into action. The sooner this dawns upon the believer, life becomes far more triable, and we will identify that the Judge of the universe has forgiven us. “Jesus the one who died in my place is on my side, hallelujah! What do I have to fear? No wonder Paul was so bold with his lettering; “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:35-39) 

I suppose the believers at Philadelphia (a city in Asia Minor) must have been fired with similar thoughts, they must have been gripped by their hope in Him and this would have over-shadowed the enemy’s onslaught from within other so called Christian circles; the pretend believers living outside of the Word of God; those who chose and amongst us still choose to twist the Word of God in a similar fashion to the way Satan twisted the words of God to Eve. But praise God they never shifted, they held on tight to the Lord Jesus and we must do the same. “Let God be true and every man a liar” if and when their opinions supersede what is written.

We must never forget that God opens and shuts doors in accordance with His will, His purposes will stand and for us to be the benefactors of His resolve we must align ourselves with His commands and the believers of this church were applauded for doing exactly that; “and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.”

The table will eventually be turned and their reward will be this; “Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie--behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet and they will learn that I have loved you.” The encouragement I see here is that we must hold onto the Word of God, regardless on any outsider’s ambush, as it will pay dividends in its due season.

It is all about keeping God’s Word in tact with patient endurance; these believers were to be kept for the hour of trial that is coming upon the whole world; “Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth.” They obviously had already past the test and therefore didn’t need to be re-tested. That is a beautiful thought as it penetrates my soul.

Their encouragement nears its end with this beautiful reminder attached; “I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.” My thoughts have been taken to the parable of the ten virgins, five were wise and five were foolish, they are obviously amongst the wise and will be ready when their Master returns, will we be amongst that number? I trust so! If we learn from their example and follow suite it will most certainly end well for us. But we must pay careful instruction to God’s counsel and make it our own.

Endurance is called for and we must overcome; “The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name.

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'” (Revelation 3:12-13)

To all the Christians abroad let the grace and peace of our great God abound in your hearts from here on in.

Signing off

Tyrone

Habits

Throughout our lives habits come and go, and depending upon how committed we are to them the longer they stick around or if those patterns are seen as a threat to our existence they live a short life or at least we will it even when we cannot find it. New Year’s resolutions prove this point rather well. It is the way we have been wired, put on to much weight and diets are on the cards but until that regime becomes a habit the initial intent will soon be lost to self-indulgence, but break the shackles of over eating or ingesting incorrectly and the results will soon become evident. Most of those types of intentions come from a place of self-centeredness; we do certain things to feel better about ourselves and that varies from person to person. We have a resolve to achieve some remarkable things when something deep within us gets triggered. A soldier is pushed to the brink of his endurance and he cries out, “I can’t go anymore corporal” but the instructor insists he has to continue or he will not qualify and from somewhere he finds another gear and continues with new vigour. Where did that come from? God Knows! Now if we have that sort of drive prior to salvation, how much more should we be motivated to walk in the Spirit? We now have the mind of Christ; it shouldn’t be a tap that we switch on and off as we once did. We are new creatures in Christ and the reality of our lives is that we must now learn to apply a different set of rules to our understanding, the overarching laws of grace, a freedom to now walk habitually in victory with sin no longer having the power it once held over us; the Lord Jesus Christ has freed us from that bondage.

This should now become the way we understand our position in Him; “So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.” (Romans 6:11-14)

Walking in the Spirit should be habit forming, something we no longer have to think about but live out by default because of what Christ did for us on Calvary. But unless we are deliberate with our intent, we could end up in unwanted territory.

Take a normal morning and unpack the events that take place in our lives and it will become obvious that we do what we do because it needs to be done, not much thought gets in the way of our intent. We wake up, have a quite time, shower, brush our teeth, get dressed, and pack school lunches, we drink coffee, eat breakfast, make sure kids are ready for school and so on; the list varies depending upon the demands of life and where we fit into it. But as Christians we all have the same Spirit that guides us, therefore we must all learn to put Him first in our lives. When He is shelved we see that our lives take a turn for the worse. Not that our comforts are always stripped from us, on the contrary it’s often our comforts that keep us from Him. There is a measurement which accurately weighs us in the balance, the scale of peace of God in our lives; “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7) – Regardless of the trial of life when we have peace with God it outweighs everything else, praise God for His comfort.

The churches except for two, Smyrna and Philadelphia lost their way and somehow a snare captured their understanding leading them down the wrong road and so repentance was called for. Have we learnt to walk in the Spirit with a clear conscious or is our life still filled with entrapment with the bad habits of the past keeping us from our freedom in Christ?

I trust we will observe the good example of the Church at Philadelphia, learn from their example and follow suite. Good habits are available to all of us you confess Jesus Christ as Lord and to those you believe that God raised Him from the dead. We have the mind of Christ and we must learn to use it proficiently. Grace is available to all of God’s children but it is imperative that we find endurance in applying it into our lives. Only then will the peace of God surpass all understanding.

“"And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: 'The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens. "'I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie--behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet and they will learn that I have loved you. Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth. I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'” (Revelation 3:7-13)

Lord willing we will unpack this in more depth in the next post.

Signing off

Tyrone

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