OBEYING GOD, THE LOVE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AND MY PERSONAL LIFE!

Obeying God, the love of the Holy Spirit and my personal life

 

The basic idea of these verses is to obey God so the Apostle John is switching his tone from the subject of sin to obeying the commandments of God as a lifestyle. This means obeying the precepts of the Bible and our call before God as we serve people in one capacity or another.

 

According to this set of verses the more we obey God by faith with courage the greater degree of love we will receive from the Holy Spirit in our hearts. Verse five says if the love of God is in our hearts this is evidence that we are true believers in Jesus Christ. There are only four verses that will be analyzed but I also felt God desired me to really open up about my personal life. This is often hard for me because I am a very private person.

 

I will share with you about the calls I received from God but a behind the scenes look and the background will be given to you. At the end of a movie sometimes the actors will be interviewed and we often times see a more up front look about the biography and the content. Let me just quote 1 John 2:3-6 so you can see the original script in the Bible because these four verses are very detailed but not without comfort.  

 

(3) "And hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. (4) He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. (5) But whoso keepeth His word, in him verly is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in Him. (6) He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked." 1John 2:3-6.

 

The Holy spirit revealed something very specific about 1 John at this point. In the first part of the book John talks about not sinning or what to do if we do sin which is a form of obedience. Then the Apostle talks about "Knowing" Jesus Christ which means the Holy Spirit is shedding His divine "Light" and knowledge in our minds. This is supposed to prop us to stronger obedience to God.

 

If the Holy Spirit sheds divine "Light" and knowledge in my mind and my choice is to go in the opposite direction of obedience then I am not being responsible or accountable with the wisdom of God. This passage says if we hear and know from God, to not obey His commandments is to be a liar. I would not have used that word (God knows way more than me) but what good is it if we receive divine light and knowledge from the Holy Spirit through the Bible or prayer and not apply this particular biblical precept in our lives? God desires us to progressively move forward in obedience to Him, not stay stagnant and do our own thing in life which is nothing more than ignoring Jesus Christ. 

 

At the very least our hearts should desire to obey God. If there are no openings in your life to serve Jesus Christ remember this happens all the time with Christians. God is looking at our hearts. Every time I got released from serving God on a project for His work Jesus Himself opened up a new opportunity for me to do my part for the Kingdom of God.

 

I'm not necessary going to open up with my life in chronological order but it is kind of interesting the way God operates in our lives because if I were given the choice my response would be, "No way" but God sees the entire situation, our life and our eternal future. We are not equipped to make these decisions about our call because quite frankly we see virtually nothing. 

 

God will show us what to do but in His timing. I was doing something for the Lord and it was going really well and then God decided to cut it off so I was entirely perplexed. I really wanted to serve and obey God. I wrote for this blog on occasion but it became more apparent that I was to do this on a more regular basis. Prior to that point I told the human the owner of the blog (God owns this blog) that I would be leaving but Jesus Christ intervened in the middle of 2016 and told me that I would be doing this on more of a fulltime basis. I did not want this job.

 

I remember a Bible teacher about 30 years ago said, "Unless God throws you in a closet and locks the door please do not become a teacher of the Bible." I had no idea what he was talking about but when it happened to me then I realized what this man was talking about regarding this subject.

 

Many people will relate to this but I have a full time secular career over here in the United States. Ron Graham had a secular career over here and he was a writer. Unfortunately this very Godly man passed on to be with the Lord but I have to tell you it is difficult to have a job and still produce articles. As of now I am able to release one article per week and it just gives me so much joy that people are getting saved through Jesus Christ and Christians are being encouraged to keep abiding in Jesus Christ.

 

Not once did anybody charge even one penny to get these messages out to you because freely we have received from God so freely we are going to give. Some ministries charge for sermons but I don't feel this is the proper way to present the gospel. Who determines the price God or people? People so what figure is correct? One thing I learned is God will provide for us so we need to just put our faith in Him. 

 

I see so many cult like ministries out there that are controlling, manipulation, money orientated, intimidation and fear. Many of these churches don't even realize they are engaged in these practices and people do get hurt. I even have a hard time dealing with an individual that always has a hook and never really wants to talk to me as a person. I have been in these types of churches that had all of these qualities when I was young but the worst is when they throw false doctrine to a group of believers that usually take it in and allow non biblical precepts to alter their life in the wrong way. It looks great at the outset but that is the hook and then before you know it your body and spirit can be in all five of these bad sins and damage your soul.

 

Churches are good if they are obeying God in love. In 1 John 2:3-6 never once does the Holy Spirit talk about a building or structure. The Apostle just talks about the pure sustenance of obeying God, the love of the Holy Spirit in our hearts and walking in all manner of conversation (how we live) so we need to focus on this as our way of life before God.   

 

In hindsight I can see the wisdom of God but if you are in-between calls the Holy Spirit will make your direction in Jesus Christ clear if your heart is right with God. I have been through this at least five different times in my life and it was not because I was bad or disobedient to Jesus Christ. God sees the entire blueprint, the Holy Spirit will give us direction but our heart must be warm toward God.

 

I would not worry about the cosmetics of what and when because it is God who opens up the door for us to walk through in service for Him. I would be far more concerned with your motive then everything else will fall into place through faith in Jesus Christ. Many Christians equate "Not knowing" with being disobedient to God but as of this very moment I have three to five issues pending and I really don't know what to do but I am fully confident that the Holy Spirit will show me the direction.

 

If we read the Bible for direction the Holy Spirit will prepare our heart for obedience to God. The technical will come but we need to be patient. If it makes you feel any better in the different forks of my calls I never knew what I was doing but God is faithful and He showed me the way.

 

When I was young God called me to be a street evangelist so I went to the big city filled with joy and anticipation but there was just one small problem and that was I did not know how to do what God called me to do. To make matters worse I went up to this seemingly nice women to ask her a question and she got her bag and started beating the ever living daylights out of me. Somehow I managed to get away and was very shaken up by the experience so I just walked the city and then settled on a spot. I realize some of you readers out there in internet land are probably laughing but how would you like to be called to do a task and your very first experience is to get beaten up by a tough street smart lady?

 

After a couple of hours staying still God showed me exactly how to do the job. I just said, "Oh." I did this for approximately ten years and I never got beat up even once after that so what does that tell you? Hang in there and keep going. Call the devil's bluff and keep moving forward because God has a plan for your life.

 

About seven years into the ministry God spoke to me on the streets and said, "Get all you can get out now because there is coming a time when you won't be able to do this anymore." He did cut His ministry off in my earthy possession and gave it to someone else because it was time for a new direction. Once again at the risk in repeating myself in hindsight I see the wisdom of God in what He did to execute a new program for so many souls to be saved through Jesus Christ. The real question is are we going to step out in faith and let God be God (the boss) in His timing so He can get His will out through us as His vessels. 

 

If you do not know Jesus Christ as your very own personal Savior and Lord now may be a good time to repent of all your sins and invite the Son of God in your life. As you can see much work goes into getting the great commission of getting the gospel out around the world. If you saw some bad examples of Christians I do realize this does happen and I have been just as guilty. It is part of being a human being but as this Scripture text says the pure reality of obeying God with the love of the Holy Spirit flowing out of our hearts and walking in all manner of conversation (the way we live) is a privilege and honor before God. I hope you just made that decision for your life and your eternity.

 

God Bless you,

Bob D.  

 

WHAT TO DO WITH OUR PRESENT SINS

What to do with our present sins 

The Apostle John is strongly focusing on one particular issue called sin but he is not interested in the person that walked down a Billy Graham crusade twenty five years ago in this particular context. He is concerned with the Christian that is battling sin in his or her life. Let me just list the verses that I will be explaining but understand that this problem is not only misunderstood but believers in Jesus Christ do not take this as serious as they should because their lifestyle is evident with a practice of transgressions.

(8) "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. (9) If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (10) If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us." 1 John 1: 8-10.

(1) "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. (2) And He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world." 1 John 2:1-2. 

I think verse eight is obvious because we all struggle with sin. The person that says he or she is perfect or sinless is just deceiving themselves; however, there are different degrees or levels of transgressions (the lesser sin or the greater sin) but the worst is to live our life in sin as a lifestyle with our consciences seared and no real genuine repentance. This is how our spirit becomes contaminated because a transgression is overtaking our heart and then this stronghold is controlling us instead of Jesus Christ Himself. If this ever happens to me you can be sure I will be dropping to my knees, not eating and praying for everything I'm worth to the Son of God to set me free. 

Notice in verse nine the Bible says, "If" so the responsibility to repent of our sins to God through His Son Jesus Christ is our accountability. If we don't we are allowing our consciences to be seared which is usually a very settle process. The frog is being boiled one degree higher every day and this creature before God does not even realize it is happening. 

If we walk around denying our sins then what we are doing is deceiving ourselves. If I noticed one thing about human beings we are easily deceived. It is in our nature to be susceptible to deception. One way we can go in the opposite direction is to sincerely and earnestly repent of our sins and let God through His Son make us clean with a clear conscience. Very few people do this and the more we get a trained eye easy observation will be given to us by God. In laymen's terms we will be able to look at somebody and figure out if said individual is practicing this in their life before God.

We don't want to deny our sins we want to deal with our transgressions. When we do not repent of our sins we challenge God as opposed to agreeing with God. Remember the Father sent His Son Jesus Christ to die for our sins but He did not just die for unbelievers He died for His children to be able to repent before the divine throne room of God. This is what this passage of Scripture is all about so please take it serious. If we do sin we have an advocate and His name is Jesus Christ. 

Verse eight and ten are clear we have all sinned and if we say at present that are lives are perfect without transgressions we are deceiving ourselves. We will sin and we are to be in the practice of confessing our sins everyday. Even on my best day of being holy before God it would still fall short of allowing me to enter into heaven because in the sight of God it would be categorized as dirty rags. Jesus Christ is our perfect sacrificial atonement; however, according to verse nine we do need continual pardon of our sins. We are not supposed to be lax concerning our transgressions because one sin is a foothold to more transgressions. My question to you is, "Why not go in the other direction?"

By repenting our sins to Jesus Christ through repentance we are being delivered from our guilt. God is faithful to His Word and He has promised to forgive His children through genuine confession. The repentance should always come with at least trying to forsake our sins. If this does not work then we have to acknowledge this before God every day. Don't even attempt to try and hid anything from God because I have done this and it is impossible. God is gracious to contrite believers in His Son Jesus Christ to cleanse from "All" sins from the guilt of their unrighteousness. If a child of Jesus Christ does not repent he or she will have to carry the sin but God desires to throw all our sins in the sea of forgetfulness never to be remembered again.  

John starts out in verse one of chapter two urging his brothers and sisters in the Lord not to sin so he is repeating himself but clearly he uses the word "If" you sin not "When" you sin. It is not mandatory that we commit a transgression. "If" we do sin we have an advocate and His name is Jesus Christ but our confession must be honest, genuine and authentic. Repeating the same words through red Erick does not mean anything to God.

In verse two John uses the word "Propitiation" which is another word for substitution. Someone may ask substitution for what? Our sins. We can not atone for our own transgressions before God. I want to make a general observation. In 1 John chapter one up to this point the Apostle is talking about sin much to Christians so you can draw your own conclusions as to why but I believe the reason is because it is a critically important issue that God wants us to deal with on a daily basis. 

So far in this letter John is doing everything he can to discourage Christians from committing sins. John was for the most part always by nature affectionate but not without admonition. We as Christians should be the same way because we are to have love but not without conviction for good and against evil.

Some believers see sin as a refuge but the real truth of the matter is Christians need a refuge from sin. Jesus Christ is our "Advocate" in heaven for our sins to His Father. He is not only our advocate but Jesus Christ is our judge. Since we violated the law of God and still do (some Christians way more than others) we must repent by going to the heavenly court of mercy and grace. It is amazing because we are so serious with human laws which can be corrupt but sometimes not very forthright with divine laws which have their origin from God. 

Jesus Christ always gives "Free" legal work because He is our advocate but most lawyers that I know of always charge a fee for their services. Remember we can still be forgiven of our sins but that does not mean we will not have to face the consequences of our transgressions because there is always a cost attached to them.

Verse two describes our Lord as Jesus Christ the righteous. He is perfect, He is our advocate (Lawyer) and every one of His clients are guilty. Our innocence or righteousness can not be pleaded before His Father but His righteousness pleads to His Father for our offences/sins or transgressions --- whatever word you prefer but perhaps all three would be appropeate.

If we sin/sins they go straight up to heaven and it is an offence. This is why we need mercy and forgiveness. Do you really think I am going to be at the judgment of Jesus Christ and plead for law to be applied to my verdict? We will be pleading for mercy at the Bema Seat which is an evaluation for Christians and this will be required for every child of God.

At present Jesus Christ our advocate pleads for His clients (children) so their sins will not be imputed against them. I don't mean to speak in such legal terms about the grace of God but we can not separate the two. This forgiveness is offered to everybody unless that individual committed the unpardonable sin which means that their consistent sins before God were so bad through defiant rebellion against God without conscience over a long period of time that they actually crossed the line against holiness and righteousness which only God can determine because He sees everything. If you are reading this article with interest this does not even remotely apply to you, your life or your eternity.

In the first paragraph I used the example that John was not talking about the person accepting the Lord into his or her heart at a Billy Graham crusade because it would be out of context with what John was talking about; however, if you have not even made that first step remember Jesus said, "Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God." John 3:3.

Anyone would have to take that first step into a relationship with Jesus Christ. At this moment you may want to accept Jesus Christ into your heart as your very own personal Savior and Lord by repenting of all your sins and inviting Him into your life. If you just made that decision the Son of God has just come into your heart but remember according to this passage that I just went over we all should be continually repenting of our sins and doing our best to be living a clean life before God.

When we do this remember we serve a big God and He will expand our horizons into other realms such as peace, love, joy, the profitable servant, loving God and other people. We serve an exciting God and the Christian life is not boring but in this context with these verses God wants our sins dealt with on a daily basis. That is why Jesus Christ died on a cross because He shed His blood for our sins. This is why Christians often times sing verses such as saved by the precious blood of Jesus. We all need to repent of our sins and ask God for the courage to forsake them so we will be living clean before Jesus Christ.

God Bless you,

Bob D.     

GOD IS LIGHT AND IN HIM IS NO DARKNESS

God is light and in Him is no darkness

This is a very interesting article because this Apostle explains what his role should be but the essence of this writing is a description of who God is and how we are to live as Christians. A very interesting detail of how we are not to live is also provided and the contrast is so clear that you will understand what category describes your life. You won't have to travel to far to figure this out; however, we all need to think or ponder this very deeply because our life determines our eternity.

(5) "This then is the message which we have heard of Him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. (6) If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth. (7) But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin. (8) If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." John 1:5-8.  

It was the honor and privilege of the Apostle John to bring the gospel to the world. Jesus Christ knew exactly what he went through because He was in the flesh giving sermons to crowds so the Savior of the world Himself was able to relate to the Apostles. This goes for us also when we deliver the message that the Son of God desires to come into their hearts.

Verse five is not only one of the most revealing passages in the Bible but it is the most popular reason people come to know Jesus Christ. He is "Light" and His perfection can be comprehended to a point but only if the Holy Spirit chooses to reveal this to an individual. We will never know everything God understands because we would be equal with our Savior Jesus Christ. This will never happen because we are His children and the Holy Spirit usually reveals a little at a time to us on a need to know basis.

The average Christian that I observe does not walk around 100% of the time understanding the "Light." We are busy with the cares of this world and are surrounded by temptations. If Jesus Christ were to literally and physically come to us in all His "Light" at the very least our optic nerves would be blinded and we would never be able to see again so obviously that is not good.

Here is how our relationship with Jesus Christ works because this is the plan of God. We accept Jesus Christ into our hearts and we draw close to Him and then He will draw close to us. (8) "Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded (9) Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. (10) Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up." James 4: 8-10. 

The Bible gets even more specific as to what our role is to God and people. Before I continue we need to understand there is not one imperfection or defect in God. We are so used to dealing with people that have nothing but sins and mistakes in them and sometimes hope deep down we can make some kind of connection. There is an old saying, "You can count your friends on one hand."

We look at someone high up in the world and then find a heart breaking imperfection. We get frustrated not only with that but the average person does not seem to radiate the countenance of Jesus Christ. The moral is unless we take the time to get to know the Lamb of God there is no hope in sinful man; therefore, if a person dies without Jesus Christ they will never see and experience this wonderful "Light" but only darkness and the dying process over and over again for all eternity. I hope people reading this article understand that Jesus Christ is the only way.

It is very simple --- darkness sees the pure "Light" of Jesus Christ. We are supposed to be witnesses to people that don't know Jesus Christ and we tell and show them the "Light" who is the Son of God.

We as Christians have the ability to become dark so it is important that we have devotional time with Him as much as possible. I'm busy in this dark world but we need the "Light" and His name is Jesus Christ.

I mentioned at the beginning of this article that drawing close to God is not the only truth we are to be pursuing because the Bible talks much about our lifestyle. Quiet time with God is good but it must be incorporated with the way we live. "If we say we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth." 1 John 1:6. There are two ways to lie (1) Through word (2) Through our lifestyle.

Jesus Christ is the "Light" but if we walk in darkness/sin as a lifestyle living in ignorance will be our way of life. The first thought that comes to my mind with this word is an insult to God and people. Jesus Christ is the "Light" and if no darkness is in Him He is perfect with no defects.

God has to look and feel our erroneous lifestyle if it is not holy. If we habitually live this way we have no fellowship with Jesus Christ even if we say we do which according to the Bible is a lie. If that is the case we are lying in word and deed. Now we are adding insult to injury.

If we have fellowship with God purity would be an example but it is interesting that John says ... "They lie and do not the truth." If our conscience becomes seared and we live a sinful lifestyle the pretense and the sin becomes the lie.

John also talks about the person that lives the opposite way of the verse I just quoted which would be Christians that walk in righteousness which demonstrates that they truly know God. Christians that do not live this way are walking away from God. It is interesting that John adds ... "The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin." Why because this precious blood promise only applies to true Christians. This promise does not apply to the group in verse six. They just do what they want when they desire to do it, their consciences are seared and they almost never repent to God.

It is a good idea not to just live for Jesus Christ but to repent to God our known and unknown sins every night but in the most sincere and earnest way. Transgressions are to be subdued until practically abolished but we will never walk around sinless as long as we are in this flesh walking on earth. In fact John addresses this issue in verse eight. I have never meant the perfect Christian that never sins. Even those that have heavenly fellowship with Jesus Christ sometimes fall but we must be on guard of deceiving ourselves, denying or excusing our sins. We are sinners saved by grace but it is a life of faith and love to our Redeemer with repentance. 

I think any reasonable person can see the difference between verse six and seven. The people in verse six really don't have any regard for God because their conscience is seared to the point where the snares and cares of this world are far more important than being right with God. In verse seven these people are walking in the "Light" who is Jesus Christ Himself. They are at least trying to talk the talk and walk the walk with God.

If you do not know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord in "Light" of what the Apostle John says you may want to make a decision to repent of all your sins and invite Jesus Christ into your life. If you just made that decision live like the people in verse seven, not verse six for obvious reasons. You may want to read the verses in the second paragraph of this article to clearly understand how to live in the "Light" who is Jesus Christ Himself.

God Bless you,

Bob D. 

THEY SAW JESUS CHRIST AND HEARD THE SON OF GOD

They saw Jesus Christ and heard the Son of God

The book of 1 John is one of the most detailed books in the entire Bible but it is also one of the most applicable to our lives. I just did a verse by verse analysis on the book of Philippians but John had a different writing style. Internet readers absorbed much truth in the book of Philippians but I needed to know the background as to why Paul said what he was trying to convey. 1 John is a little more simple but the content is filled with so much biblical application that I am still pondering what this great author said because he writes so much in such a short space so ask God for wisdom in this wonderful book.

 

(1) "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life. (2) For the life was manifested, and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us. (3) That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. (4) And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full." 1 John 1:1-4.

 

I think it is very interesting that the Apostle John establishes that Jesus Christ was from eternity past in the very first sentence but I will delve into that far deeper as this articles progress. In the most general terms John was saying I am a witness because I heard, saw and touched Jesus Christ Himself.

 

If you are a skeptic and do not believe the testimony of John, perhaps an agnostic or an atheist I want to make a point that you may want to consider before you render a verdict that Jesus Christ is not the Son of God. John wrote the book of Revelation at the end of the first century and in this account chapters 13,14 and 20 all talk about a chip that will be required by all people to take if they want to buy or sell things. At this point in the latter part of the year 2017 it has not happened yet but is indeed a prophecy for the future.

 

I have done much research on this subject and know that all the major computers around the world are programmed for what Christians sometimes refer to as the mark of the beast. This will happen after the rapture of the church but it has already been introduced at present.

 

How did John know this when he wrote the last book of the Bible? His world and reality was not even close to having this technology to implement this on any human being. Here we are approximately twenty centuries later ready for these chips to be implanted in human beings. Here are two verses which prove that John not only knew but that he is a credible witness. Why, because no person in this time frame could have even remotely understood this concept because they were not at all advanced in technology. This is a little off this subject but nobody can receive that mark and go to heaven because it is given and received in allegiance to the antichrist.

 

(16) "And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads. (17) And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name." Revelation 13:16-17.

 

In a courtroom if a witness answers questions regarding a case generally lawyers, judges and the jury want to know if that person is credible with the truth. I hope this helps you in making your decision about John because I personally believe he has credentials of being nothing but a truthful man.

 

This passage refers to Jesus Christ as the Word of Life. The Son of God did not just utter words to be heard but every truth He spoke was of eternal value for us to apply in this world while we are still in our fleshly bodies. Jesus Christ is the everlasting Word of His Father.

 

This passage says that the life was manifested but a little ways down the Bible says and was manifested unto us. Jesus Christ came from eternity past in the flesh because of His incomprehensible love for mankind. Eternal life came to visit mortals so they could have salvation through Him. The life, the Word of life and eternal life could not be seen or felt but since the Son of the Living God came in the flesh He could be seen, heard and felt. God needed eye witnesses and ear witnesses of His Son but the phrase in verse one is quite interesting because when the text says which we have looked upon, this does not just mean seeing Jesus but a rational interpretation was comprehended for them to make a conclusion that He was indeed the Son of God. We don't really know someone until we spend time with him or her in our life.

 

I believe I made a pretty good case for John being a credible witness in a round about way but think about some of the events he observed in approximately three and a half years. He heard and saw the miracles, healings, sermons, the torture before Jesus went to the cross, the crucifixion, resurrection and heard and saw Him ascend back up to heaven with the promise that He would return at some future date.

 

At the risk of repeating myself the phrase ... "Which we have looked upon" meant all these major events to allow their senses to formulate accurate information because hearing and seeing are registers to the mind. They knew beyond a shadow of a doubt and now John in particular was and still is an authentic witness to the world that Jesus Christ is indeed the Son of God.

 

In this case their senses traveled to reason and judgment as opposed to the Pharisees whose hearts were hardened and consciences were seared. We need to ask ourselves which category we are in because it is one thing to be receptive to Jesus Christ but it is an entirely different reality to be hardened in our hearts against the Son of God. Believe it or not most people are in the middle and according to Revelation chapter three that is the one place we do not want to be because we will be lukewarm. If you desire read my article that was posted at the beginning of 2017 called, "A message to Laodicea." The reference of being lukewarm is in verse 15. John will extensively get into loving God and other people in 1 John but at this juncture he is testifying of Jesus Christ being the Son of God.

 

In light of this sound conclusion that the Apostle John came to would you like to accept Jesus Christ into your heart as your very own personal Savior and Lord by repenting of all your sins and inviting the Son of God into your life by living for Him. This is not just a decision for your life but for all eternity. I hope you just made that choice if you have not already done so because the Apostle John has much to say for your welfare in Jesus Christ throughout the rest of this book. 

 

Not only did John want to get his facts straight but he desired to go deeper and have fellowship with his brothers and sisters in Christ because he was truly saved in Jesus Christ. Not only was he redeemed from his sins but the reason he desired fellowship with his brothers and sisters in Christ was because his fellowship was with the Father and His Son Jesus Christ.

 

He was saved and filled with the Holy Spirit but I hear Christians say they get together with other Christians because they want a social event. When this happens I never see Jesus Christ at the center of the conversation because the foundation is not present within their spirit. The point John is trying to make here is we should see evidence of our faith when we get together as believers in Jesus Christ. Some Christians have it backwards. The highest Apostle and the lowest believer can have fellowship with one another through the Person of Jesus Christ. Why because our fellowship is with the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. This fellowship brings us above both sin and the world into communion with God.

 

One of the purposes John wrote to this body of believers which was not one particular church but to diverse churches was that their joy may be filled according to verse four. Joy is actually an advanced stage in the Christian life. It is a little bit of a mystery that sinful human beings can even have joy in their spirit. John wants them to rise to the top in their revelation through Jesus Christ.

 

If you are not at that point in your Christian journey do not be to hard on yourself but understand that God does desire you to be in that place of your life. Pray about this issue with a sincere heart and see what the Holy Spirit will do in your life. You may be so upset right now that all you will be able to handle is the peace of God flowing through your heart. God knows exactly where we are in life but we must do our part and seek Him for direction. 

 

God Bless you,

Bob D.                

dONE

I BELIEVE THAT WE HAVE COMPLETELY RESTORED THE ROSE OF SHARON. THE DATES MAY BE DIFFERENT BUT AL OF 2017 HAVE BEEN REPLACED. GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

jANUARY 2017 POSTS

A MESSAGE TO THYATIRA

A message to Thyatira

Jesus Christ has much good to say about the church of Thyatira but He saw some very troubling things and had to address this church with a test. He also gives much hope to the true Christians as the letter progresses in a very special promise. 

(18) "And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath His eyes like unto a flame of fire, and His feet are like fine brass; (19) I know thy works and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first.  (20)  Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce My servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. (21) And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. (22) Behold, I will cast her out into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. (23) And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am He which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works. (24) But unto you I say,  and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden. (25) But that which ye have already hold fast till I come. (26) And he that overcometh, and keepeth My works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:  (27)  And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of My Father. (28) And I will give him the morning star. (29) He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” Revelation 2: 18-29.

Thyatira did not have a bad economy but this city was the least important of the seven destinations mentioned in the letters to the seven churches. They had one main industry which was dying cloth to a red or purple color. This city had trade guilds and it was virtually impossible to succeed in business unless you joined this club.

In our modern day most people have to go to college to start a career. These guilds were pagan and there was much immorality. This became a stumbling block to true believers in Jesus Christ. In our time universities can take on the same role as the guilds.

When Jesus describes Himself as having eyes like a flame of fire this depicts His ability to understand their hearts. He found that their worship to Him was not pure because their motive was wrong. We need to do things for the right reasons or God will find us out so self evaluation is good if we are honest.

Jesus also described Himself as having feet of bronze. Judgment was going to fall on this church if they did not listen to God. It is pretty obvious that it is easier to take heed than to keep falling into a downward spiral of destruction. If we are Christians being exposed to paganism, immorality and fortune - tellers does not sit well with God. It is hard to separate ourselves from the evil that surrounds us but necessary because we are called to have a devotion to Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ is always fair with His children. He commends them for five different things. Love, faith, service, patience and works. Our Lord even recognized that they got progressively more dedicated to Him in service with love and faith.

There were some problems in the Thyatiran church. A women whose real name was Sambathe received a nickname Jezebel lured some of the new Christians into occult practices. The whole idea was to mix idolatry and sexual sin with their Christianity.

Occult practices, idolatry and sexual sin is so common in the church today. I would have to say sexual sin is the most popular but the other two sins are not to far behind. Only evil can come from these practices so if you are involved in any of these sins then you would want to repent before God because they will end up destroying your life. This is why Jesus stepped in because He does not want to see this happen.

Jesus does not remove the women but casts her ... "Into a bed." This was a test to see who had authentic love for God or who would consort with this occultic women. Prophetically those who do the second go into great tribulation which is so true to who will not go up in the rapture of the church. Those who go up in the catching away have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. If occult practices, idolatry or sexual sins are in the life of a person they have to repent and forsake those transgressions or they will be left behind. 

Jesus again goes back to the earnest believers in Him and assures these genuine Christians that no more burdens will be placed on them. They already had heavy responsibilities but He did remind them that they were to keep strong faith in Him. Our Lord promises them that if they listen to what He is saying they will help Him rule in His one thousand year reign on earth which will last 1000 years after the 7 year tribulation period is finished. 

Prophetically the church of Thyatira corresponded with the Middle Ages from 590 A.D to 1517 A.D. In this time frame there was a lot of image worship and superstitions that did not make any sense especially in light of what the Bible says regarding these subjects. There was still a believing remnant in this time frame but it was hard to stay strong in their faith for Jesus Christ.

I would like to encourage Christians around the world to stay strong in their faith to Jesus Christ even in the midst of occult practices, idolatry and sexual sins that are all around us in a very enticing period of time.

I would like to encourage unbelievers to come to know Jesus Christ as their very own personal Savior and Lord by repenting of all your sins and inviting the Son of the Living God into your heart. The alternative lifestyle based on the context of this text in the Bible is several pervasive sins that are in society and have nothing to do with the holiness of Jesus Christ. The choice is up to you but to have a true pure relationship with Jesus Christ is the way we should be living our lives on earth because there is eternal value in that lifestyle. 

God Bless, 

Bob D.          

Monday, January 23, 2017

THE CHURCH OF PERGAMOUS

The church of Pergamos had a heart for the most part that was in the right place with Jesus Christ but outwardly they compromised with the world system and it caused many problems.

(12) "And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith He which hath the sharp sword with two edges; (13) I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is: and thou holdest fast My name, and hast not denied My faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth. (14) But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. (15) So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate. (16) Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth. (17) He that hast an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saying he that receiveth it." Revelation 2:12-17.

There were three worldly problems with the city of Pergamos. They had to much political power, pagan worship covered the city and their academic empathies was so strong that at one of their universities they had 200,000 books.

Once again Caesar worship was very popular and it was the law that everybody had to offer incense to the emperor and actually make a verbal conformation that he was lord. I will quote verses in the next paragraph to show you how the devil was copying Jesus Christ with incense and worship. In this case the human just happened to be Caesar. When we know the original we will never be deceived by the counterfeit.

The book of Revelation tells us that when we pray to God our prayers go to the throne room of God and a sweet smelling incense is made because of our sincerity and earnestly to God. (3) "And another angel came and stood at the alter, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden alter which was before the throne. (4) And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand." Revelation 8:3-4.

A saint is a born again Christian. "Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours." 1 Corinthians 1:2. The Corinthian church did almost everything wrong yet Paul referred to them as saints. 

The devil can not think of anything original on his own. We give adoration to Jesus Christ. We don't worship any sinful human being. What added insult to injury was Caesar was nothing but flawed in his character. 

In all of the seven churches Jesus gives a description of Himself based on who the church was at the very core of their heart as a body of believers. With the fellowship of Pergamos our Lord describes Himself as having a sharp sword with two edges. There are other verses in the Bible that explain this is a discernment of the thoughts and motives of people. Let me quote one verse that is the most descriptive. "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." Hebrews 4:12.

Pergamos was in the very heart of where the throne of Satan was and the Son of God who knows everything understood their sufferings and temptations because they were surrounded by a Satanic religion.

Our Lord likes to praise His children if there is commendation. The Pergamos church did boldly proclaim Jesus Christ and I am sure they received opposition even in the midst of danger. There were Christians in this church that were martyred but unfortunately that is what happens when you stand up for truth in an overwhelmingly pagan society that hates God.

There was one martyr that Jesus Himself commends and this man also was written in a couple of history books probably because he came back with such a one liner that nobody could forget what he said to the people that challenged him.

His name was Antipas and I can only assume that a couple of unbelievers did not like something he said/did but in all honesty in studying the culture he probably did not show up for his quota to declare that Caesar was lord. The Roman officers brought him to a statue of this evil man. They had the nerve to tell him that he had to proclaim he was God. Satan always has his servants to do his biding for him.

First Antipas boldly proclaimed that Jesus Christ alone is Lord. Let me just say that Jesus Christ is the Son of the Living God and when I see these so called messiah figures come along it personally makes me physically sick to my stomach. In our modern day people scream at rock stars in adoration, false politicians that are against Jesus Christ often times get extremely high ratings and even worship. Society for the most part sees this as normal and they just go about their daily routine but I take this very personal because this anti God pagan worship is the antitheist of keeping a devotion to Jesus Christ.

Antipas said Jesus Christ is God. Good for him because he stood up for the truth. One of the Romans that was in charge of this particular duty asked Antipas a question which was, "Antipas, don't you know that the whole world is against you?" He responded, "Then Antipas is against the whole world."

He was placed in a brass bull which heated up really hot as time progressed and Antipas of course died a martyrs death for Jesus Christ. He was an unknown man in history but will be heavily rewarded in heaven. It is not my intention to forget the other martyrs in the church of Pergamos but Jesus Christ did single him out.

Although the church of Pergamos was very convicted for Jesus Christ their downfall was compromise with the world. Their heart was in the right place but their behavior was bad. Usually it is the other way around.

They tolerated two teachings that were of the devil. The teachings of Balaam enticed Christians to fall into sexual sin with women. The teachings of the Nicolaitans overlapped Greek philosophy which is somewhat similar to the new age movement in our day. The premise is that people are inherently good which does not match the Bible. "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23. We are not inherently good because our sins need to be dealt with through the blood of Jesus Christ when we repent to God. The teaching also said that the material part is inherently evil. Money is only a medium of exchange. This in and of itself is not evil. "For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." 1 Timothy 6:10.

This teaching also taught that sexual sin did not effect the spirit and the Christians in the Pergamos church were to go to pagan temples. As we can see there was good and bad in this church and Jesus addressed them both. The good was they had a heart for Jesus Christ but the bad was compromise with the world.

Our Lord did have some things to say about this compromise because no sin can be committed in thought or deed without it effecting our fellowship with Jesus Christ. He told them to repent or He would fight the Pergamos church with the sword of His Word. Our Christian life often boils down to repentance before God through Jesus Christ. If there is no confession Jesus Christ Himself will step in and deal with His children through circumstances.

I believe the people in the Pergamos church were sincere and willing to change the bad to good through Jesus Christ. I like when our Lord said ... "To him that overcometh I will give him a white stone" ... which closely resembles the culture of that day. If a person went to court and was found innocent they were often given a white stone. As we can see God wanted this church to have acceptance and victory in Jesus Christ without being guilty in compromising with the world which lead many of the Christians into sin.

This is the third church out of seven and it is prophetically applicable to the time frame 312 A.D to 590 A.D. During this era the church merged with the state. Persecution did stop for the most part because Constantine made Christianity the official religion of this empire. Although his intentions may have been good believers in Jesus Christ committed spiritual adultery with the Roman Empire. As a result a great many Christians committed sin and became impure before God.

For those of you that do not know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord repent of your sins today/tonight and invite the Son of God into your heart. As we look around our world we see a lot of pagan statues and rituals that is straight from the devil. Determine that you are going to have a heart for Jesus Christ but don't compromise with the world because it is only going to lead into sin which will cause you to be impure. If we fall into sin we need to confess because, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9.

God Bless,

Bob D.

Sunday, January 15, 2017

A MESSAGE TO SMYRNA

A message to Smyrna

 

The church of Smyrna is a very interesting study and is certainly applicable to our lives today. What was happening to this body of believers is taking place all over the world today and the Bible says it will get even worse. It would be wise if we understand what the Smyrnan Christians went through because history is destined to repeat itself.

 

( 8) "And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the First and the Last, which are dead, and is alive; (9) I know thy works, and tribulations, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. (10) Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. ( 11 ) He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death." Revelation 2:8-11.

 

Smyrna was about 40 miles north of Ephesus and of course they had their own church. Alexander the great was the designer of this city with a thriving economy but society was overwhelmingly pagan. They had a temple of Zeus, the temple of Cybele and a temple to Tiberius Caesar. This was a city filled with pagan worship. 

 

The world we live in is following the same footsteps because New York (Time Square to be exact) has a monument to Baal 48 feet high and 28 feet wide to the best of my knowledge. London has the same idol worship but plans are being made to put these archways in approximately one thousand cities across the globe. 

 

Very little legal resistance was given to the erecting of the statue of Baal yet if somebody tries to put something up that is Christian he or she gets taken right to court in America. What most people don't understand is the historical and theological significance to excessive pagan worship in a society. This leads to persecution and martyrdom of Christians.

 

Before I started writing about the church in Smyrna I turned to the Lord for help and He had His head bowed in sadness. I realized He remembered all the suffering and death in this time frame. I felt in my heart the implication was this type of society is very close to coming back to the entire planet. It became apparent that I was to do a good job in breaking this passage of Scripture down so the internet readers understand the history, theology and future.

 

There are only two churches out of seven that Jesus Christ did not have one bad thing to say and they would be Smyrna (the church I am writing about now) and Philadelphia (The sixth church out of seven).

 

Sometimes I will hear somebody say, "The only acceptable church in the eyes of Jesus Christ out of the seven is the church of Philadelphia." I understand they are speaking in a dispensational context. They are urging their audience to be truly born again and be the missionary church as opposed to the Laodicean church which is a false ecumenical group of people that seek to have a superficial unity in Jesus Christ. The Laodiceans could only bear the bad fruit of being lukewarm to Jesus Christ and as a result this church was rejected by God.

 

This is only a partial truth because the church of Smyrna suffered unbelievable tortures and remained faithful to death. This is something that God never forgets and the Bible seems to suggest these types of Christians will have the highest honor in heaven because of their faithfulness to Jesus Christ. This is happening across the world today and the word of God says it will get much worse.

 

What we do not know is how much time God will give the world before He has His Son Jesus Christ remove His bride in an event called the rapture of the church. When this happens the world will enter into the seven year tribulation period and believers in Jesus Christ will be treated much like the Christians in Smyrna but only worse on a worldwide scale. This persecution is being set up now as you are reading this very article but nothing can happen unless it is the timing of God. The Bible says this will transpire in the future but when is a whole different issue.

 

The world is not to far from Revelation chapters 4 to Revelation 19 being fulfilled (Judgment) but in the meantime we have to do everything possible to win souls for Jesus Christ and urge those already saved to be living for Jesus Christ. 

 

Jesus Christ introduces Himself as ... "The First and the Last, who was dead and is alive." Why didn't our Lord introduce Himself as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords? The Son of God wanted to identify with Smyrna the persecuted church because He suffered and died on a cross but rose again on the third day. Jesus Christ conquered death because in this context He referred to Himself as ... "The first and the last." He wanted to give confidence to each believer that the sting of death has no power over them.

 

The Smyrnan believers were very faithful to Jesus Christ even in the midst of suffering and death. They were financially poor for a specific reason but I will give you more details as this article progresses. This church was rich in the sight of God even though they at the very least lost most of their money if not everything.  

 

These believers in this time frame of history were the recipients of an evil game I call persecute the Christians. Greed does something to people but this whole scenario went far deeper than the love for money is the root of all evil.

 

These believers were the victims of a group called the ten per centers. All they had to do was turn these Christians in to the Roman government and their reward was ten percent of what they owned financially. So much for working for your money. Why do that when you can receive a handout by turning in heretics (This is what they called the Christians)? This was welfare through betrayal and it was not only legal but encouraged. There is no doubt that the Roman government received a large portion of their money. As a result they were poor, put in prison or martyred.

 

Caesar thought he was God so all the Christians had to do was bow down to him as lord. The Smyrna church did not do this and as a result Jesus Christ saw them as being very faithful to Him because He alone is Lord.

 

I find it interesting that not once does Jesus Christ ever acknowledge Caesar in His letter to Smyrna. He was narcissist with overwhelming pride and God was not even going to waste His time addressing something so obvious. As far as the people were concerned our Lord was far more interested in a particular set of Jewish people that He referred to as ... " And I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan."

 

The Jews that Jesus was referring to also denied Caesar was lord because their devotion was to Jehovah. At this point in history there was enough evidence that Jesus Christ was the Son of God but they did not listen.

 

They did suffer because of their stance not to bow down to Caesar as lord. In the midst of this persecution the Roman government put them through unfortunately the Jews in Smyrna decided to betray the Christians and turn them in thus alleviating some of their suffering. In the letter to Smyrna the dissertation said they were not true Jews because they were supposed to believe in God the Father and Jesus Christ as their true Messiah.

 

On the one hand they did the right thing by not bowing down to Caesar but they did it for the wrong reason. To make matters worse they turned in Christians to the government thus confessing they were not truly of God through His Son Jesus Christ. No authentic servant of God would turn in the true children of God (the Smyrnan Christians) over to Satan for suffering and death. Jesus Christ was very offended by this and said they ... " Are the synagogue of Satan." This is strong language but to betray a group of people that are living in obedience to God through persecution breaks the very heart of Jesus Christ Himself.

 

I have some questions. Are persecuted believers usually more faithful to Jesus Christ than untested believers in Jesus Christ? The answer is yes. If Christians are going through suffering do they tend to rely on God in a deeper and more devoted way? The answer is yes. Why are secular people that work for the government so willing to listen to a person like Caesar? Because they are fearful and they have no devotion or obedience to Jesus Christ. Does the Bible say there is a man coming on the world scene that will be worse than Caesar and will demand worldwide worship from everybody on this planet? The answer is yes. 

 

Jesus was very honest with the church of Smyrna and told them the devil was going to throw them in prison for ten days. He did not want them to fear and it was for the purpose of them being tried in their faith. Jesus says ... "Be faithful unto death and I will give you a Crown of Life." Crowns are seen in Revelation chapter four but everybody is laying their rewards at the feet of Jesus Christ because in the presence of the Son of God we don't need anything. 

 

Prophetically the ten days of persecution probably corresponded to the ten eras of suffering under ten horrible leaders. The only reason I am mentioning this is to show the readers how perfect and exact God is not only in a practical way but prophetically. They were Nero, Domitian, Tragan, Aurelius, Sevarus, Maximus, Decius, Valerian, Aurelian and Diocletian. They all ruled in progressively different time periods one right after the other but with some space breaks in between each ruler.

 

The church of Smyrna is prophetically applicable to the time frame 100 A.D to 312 A.D. Millions of Christians suffered and died under leaders who hated Jesus Christ.

 

People say the great coliseum residing in Rome today still has blood stains on the foundations which were obviously from the Christian martyrs of the past but more specifically in this time frame. They were not harmed in the second death ( Revelation 20:14-15 ) but were granted eternal life through Jesus Christ. They are in heaven now with the Son of God.

 

This took years but the evil Roman empire was brought down by the strong faith and obedience of these Christians. I hope their testimony has not been forgotten but I fear in this Laodicean time frame that we are living in now people will continue to be lukewarm for Jesus Christ. 

 

If you are not a Christian understand the Bible says this world is headed into a future seven year time period where almost sixty percent of the population on this earth will die. This will fulfill Revelation chapters four through nineteen. We would like to see you accept Jesus Christ into your heart today/tonight. Repent of all your sins and come to the Son of God so you can be part of the rapture. This takes place before the horrible judgments of God are poured on this earth.

 

This is a special promise to true believers in Jesus Christ because of the grace of God for His bride. Christians in the age of grace are not appointed to the wrath of God but may suffer persecution and death even in this dispensation of grace if that is the will of God for our life. 

 

If for some reason you do not accept this invitation then if somebody or a group of people present to you the mark of the beast (A chip in your right hand or forehead) do not accept this for buying and selling purposes. According to Revelation chapters 13,14 and 20 you will not go to heaven if you allow this chip in your body.

 

It will be better for you to follow the example of the Smyrna church and not engage in false worship. This mark will be given in allegiance to worshipping the antichrist. Listen to what the Bible says even in the face of death and you will be given eternal life through Jesus Christ.

 

I would rather you come to know Jesus Christ now but some people will not listen. You may be reading this writing on the other side of the rapture of the church. Follow the guidelines of the word of God and be obedient to Jesus Christ because the alternative response is giving allegiance to the antichrist who could care less about you. God loves you and desires your faith and obedience to be in His Son Jesus Christ so you can spend eternity with Him.

 

God Bless,

Bob D.

 

    

 

 

Friday, January 06, 2017

A MESSAGE TO EPHESUS

                                       A MESSAGE TO EPHESUS

The church of Ephesus is a great study because we often loose sight of what has to be the most important truth in our lives. If we just work with no Godly passion then Jesus Christ is no longer at the center of our heart.  

  

  

  

(1) "Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith He that holdeth the seven stars in His right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; (2) I know thy works, and thy labor, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: (3) And hast borne, and hast patience, and for My name’s sake hast labored, and hast not fainted. (4) Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. (5) Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of its place, except thou repent. (6) But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate. (7) He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God." Revelation 2:1-7.

 

The church of Ephesus worked extremely hard but did not have the spirit of love. Anytime we do something for God we have to be balanced which is extremely difficult because we are not born with wisdom and a well rounded outlook on life.

 

I have noticed that most people have this idea that it is either this or that. God stepped in and said it is O.K. if you do this (work) but you need to have that (love). If we do not labor for the Lord we are the unprofitable servants not using our talents and as a result God is not getting the glory that He desires nor is He getting any interest on our work. If we do something for God without the spirit of love we are forgetting the very essence of who Jesus Christ is because the heart and soul of the Son of God is grace.

 

The temple of Diana was in this city and she was even placed on many of the coins for monetary exchange. Ephesus had a very stable economy and many people kept their money in a vault in the temple of Diana and felt safe that their hard earned money would be handled correctly.

 

It is obvious that this city was taught a very strong work ethic because society expected much in the form of business but the environment was pagan. Secular people sometimes engaged in black magic or at the very lest were surrounded by this tool of the devil.

 

Christians were extremely well taught but got very confused as to what was really important in life for their eternity. Yes even with the greatest teachers such as Paul, Timothy, Apollos and John they still got baffled that Jesus Christ is the very embodiment of love. This is the main reason people come to know the Son of God because "For God so loved the world"... John 3:16.

 

The Christians in the church of Ephesus were taught a very strong work ethic as children, realized they needed a Savior (Jesus Christ) and went to work for Him but grew cold in their spirit. Would you want to come to know Jesus Christ if you walked into a church that did not understand who they were serving?

 

On the outside this church was great. They were praised two times for their labor for Jesus Christ, they trusted the Lord under trial, they had sound doctrine and they did not tolerate sin. For example the Nicolaitans were trying to say sexual sin would not affect the spirit. The Ephesus church kicked them out and they never came back so as you can see they were trying to do everything God wanted them to follow through with but there were problems.

 

It is hard to try your best and have God step in and say ... "Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee." I have been in that position and it is very difficult. God sees everything and I see very little. God observed a flaw in their character regarding why they were doing what they were laboring for and in this case it was a lack of love. Their affections were in the wrong places although they were obedient to Jesus Christ.

 

Let me give you a hint. If the world has their affections here run in the opposite direction. If a church is stuck on something and they are in quicksand pray to God that He will give you the truth. Their affections are in the wrong place and if this is the case Jesus Christ is not in the center of their heart.

 

Be careful because on the outside the whole thing could actually look warm but on the inside there could be a lack of love. I'm not talking about the person that comes up to us and says, "I hate you." That is more than obvious and I see this a lot in the world. God is talking about something far more insidious that creeps into the spirit of a person or Church and registers coldness rather than love. The Ephesus church probably had no clue that this gradually but slowly absorbed in their spirit.

 

If a wife does really good work but does not love her husband then the man may step in and explain that something very significant is missing in their relationship. When a main element is missing in any relationship there is a lack and it can feel very lonely.

 

We know that the Ephesus church was taught the Bible very well but it did not produce the one end result that it was originally intended to accomplish which is a greater love for Jesus Christ. In the best way they wanted to be the profitable servants for Jesus Christ but what could be more unprofitable than not truly loving Jesus Christ and showing that affection through our labor in our daily routines for our Lord in whatever we are called to do for Him.

 

If this ever happens to us as Christians then we should just repent and remember the love of Jesus Christ that used to be in our life by experience in the past and labor with our affections in the proper place. His name is Jesus Christ. If you don't know Him remember He loves you very much. Even Christians can get very confused as you can see in this article. You may want to consider accepting Jesus Christ into your heart today/tonight by repenting of all your sins. When you invite the Son of God into your life He desires you to focus on His love as your primary call. There may be secondary calls but remember that your affections have to be in the right place.

 

It is interesting that the church of Ephesus is the first church out of seven because love for Jesus Christ is the most important truth we can carry out in our life.

 

I know from a prophetic implication that the Ephesus church represents the Apostolic church which existed from 33 A.D to 100 A.D. This time frame was almost identical to how the Ephesus church operated because they thought their acceptance from God depended on their works. Legalism rather than love for Jesus Christ is never acceptable in the eyes of God.

 

We all need to examine our life to see if we are right with God through His Son Jesus Christ. This is hard but most things good will be difficult. If we have an earnest, honest spirit with God He will honor this and reveal His love in our hearts.

 

God Bless,

Bob D.