The Unfolding of the Vision PT-4-5

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/13/2015 1:59 PM

My Worship Time                                                     Focus:  The Unfolding of the Vision PT-4-5

Bible Reading & Meditation                                    Reference:  Revelation 1:15b, 16a, 20a

            Message of the verses:  We will first look at Revelation 1:15a in our study for today.

            Christs Speaks Authoritatively To His Church: (Revelation 1:15a):  “and his voice was like the sound of many waters.”

            Notice we have that word “like” in this section as perhaps John had a difficult time truly explaining what he heard.  When we heard Christ speak in verse ten it was like the sound of a trumpet.  The sound of many waters could mean like the waves crashing into the seashore, or perhaps even a waterfalls.  When one goes to visit Nigeria Falls they will never forget the sound that the falls make especially if you go on one of the boat rides that goes close to the bottom of the falls.  The voice that John heard was a voice of sovereign power showing once again that Christ is God.  This same voice will one fulfill the following words:  “28  "Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, 29  and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment (John 5:28-29).”

            When Christ speaks to His church we must listen.  Remember what the Father said when Christ was on the Mt. of Transfiguration:  “This is My beloved Son,…listen to Him!” (Matt. 17:5).  One more verse to look at and that is Hebrews 1:1-2 “1 God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, 2  in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.”

            Christ Controls His Church (Revelation 1:16a, 20a):  “In His right hand He held seven stars…the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches.”

            In the book of Ephesians we learn that Christ is the head of the church:  “but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ (Eph. 4:15.”  “For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body (5:23).”  Next is Col. 1:18 “He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.”  We notice as John speaks of the vision of Christ he tells us that the seven stars, which represent the 7 churches is in the right hand of the Lord Jesus Christ, and being in His right hand it represents control.

            I want to, at this time quote from my commentary that I wrote on this section on Feb. 8 2005 to help us to see what the word ‘angels” means.  “Jesus says that the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the word means messengers, which is the word that is used for angels many times in the Bible.  Some think it refers to the Pastors or Ministers, but it certainly could mean that God has appointed an angel over each of His Churches.”  I hope this helps.

            My opinion of this is that they are not angels, but they are the leaders of the churches.  Let me explain one of the reasons why I believe that this word is speaking of the physical leaders of these seven churches.  When Christ died on the cross and was resurrected from the grace He gave authority to His disciples, and in the second chapter of Acts, on the Day of Pentecost we see the church begin.  As we work our way through the book of Acts we see the Holy Spirit moving in the lives of the apostles, especially Peter and then Paul to establish the churches.  Once these men died there were never any more apostles, but what we see in the book of Acts and also in Paul’s letters that he appoints different men, Elders, Pastors, deacons to lead the new local churches and the seven churches in Revelation are a part of those local churches.  God’s way of having His Word taught in His churches is through the leaders of those churches and I do not believe that there are angels who are the heads of any local church today or when the church began.  I am not saying that in the spiritual realm that there are not angels to help protect different churches, for this is most probably the case, but not teaching the churches.

            Spiritual meaning form my life today:  One of the things that I want to make sure of when I join a church or even visit a church is that the Pastor of that church has been called by God and can tell me when it was that he was called by God.  In this way I can believe that the messages that he is giving are from the Lord, for if he were not called then that would not be the case.  I am thankful that all of our Pastors in our church have been called by the Lord.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  To love the Lord with all of my heart, soul, and strength, and to live like I know that He loves me.

Memory verses for the week:  2 Peter 1:5-8.

5 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, 6 and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, 7 and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.  8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Acts.”

Today’s Bible question:  “How many times did Joash smite the arrows to the ground?”

Answer in our next SD.

1/13/2015 2:43 PM

    

Introduction to the church at Philadelphia (Revelation 3:7-13)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/16/2015 9:06 AM

My Worship Time                                             Focus:  Introduction to the church at Philadelphia

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                          Reference:  Revelation 3:7-13

            Message of the verses:  “7 "And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: He who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens, says this: 8  ’I know your deeds. Behold, I have put before you an open door which no one can shut, because you have a little power, and have kept My word, and have not denied My name. 9  ’Behold, I will cause those of the synagogue of Satan, who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie-I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and make them know that I have loved you. 10 ’Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. 11 ’I am coming quickly; hold fast what you have, so that no one will take your crown. 12 ’He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; 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 out of heaven from My God, and My new name. 13 ’He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”

            The first time that I read about this church I had thoughts that because there is a city by the same name in our country that this was about our country.  I read this somewhere around the 28^th of January 1974 a few days after I became a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.  Things have changed in my understanding of this section of Scripture as I now look at this church I know that it is one of the two churches that Christ has no rebuke for and I also know that this is not referring to the city in the United States.  We can also see that when we look at the description of Christ that He does not get if from the vision found in chapter one.  Now as far as an introduction to this church I want to quote from John MacArthur’s commentary as it is very short and will help us better understand not only this church but others as well.

            “Occasionally I am ask by young men seeking a church to pastor if I know of a church without any problems.  My response to them is ‘If I did, I wouldn’t tell you; you’d go there and spoil it.’  The point is that there are no perfect churches.  Churches struggle because all are made up of imperfect, sinning people.  The church is not a place for people with no weaknesses; it is a fellowship of those who are aware of their weakness and long for the strength and grace of God to fill their lives.  It is a kind of hospital for those who know they are sick and needy.

            “Like all churches, the one in Philadelphia had its imperfections.  Yet the Lord commended its members for their faithfulness and loyalty.  They and the congregation at Smyrna were the only two of the seven that received no rebuke from the Lord of the church.  In spite of their fleshly struggles, the Christians at Philadelphia were faithful and obedient, serving and worshiping the Lord.  They provide a good model of a loyal church. 

            “To aid in understanding the letter to the Philadelphia church, it may be divided into six headings:  the correspondent, the church, the city, the commendation, the command, and the counsel.”

            Now as we look at this church over the next week we need to understand why it was that Christ had no words of rebuke for it.  I believe that when Christ tells them that they had little power is a key as to why this church was not rebuked.  People who are weak can be strengthened by the Lord, but those who think they are strong, many times feel they can do it all by themselves.  Not so with this church.  Paul wrote to the Corinthians “And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me (2 Cor. 12:9).”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Pride is a very big problem as pride hinders our help from the Lord.  I have often quoted a song written and sung by the late Roger Miller and in that song he sings “I believe that pride is the chief cause in the decline in the number of husbands and wives.”  Lord help me not to be proud, but be weak so You can work through me.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  To better learn to love the Lord my God with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to better understand the love that He has for me.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “The temple” (Acts 21:28).

Today’s Bible question:  “For whom did Jacob say he would serve seven years?”

Answer in our next SD.

2/16/2015 9:34 AM

Christ Gives Counsel to the church of Sardis (Rev. 3:5-6)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/15/2015 7:28 PM

My Worship Time                                        Focus:  Christ Gives Counsel to the church of Sardis

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                Reference:  Revelation 3:5-6

            Message of the verses:  “5 ’He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. 6 ’He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”

            Let’s begin with what I wrote on this verse on March 14, 2005:  “As mentioned before overcomers are the true believers in Jesus Christ, those who are born-again.  True believers are the ones who have been purchased by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ when He died on the cross, and because He died for them, and because His Father chose them before the foundation of the earth, and because the Holy Spirit of God called them, they will never be lost, and once their names have been written in the Lambs Book of Life it will never be removed.  All of those who have been written in this book will be clothed in white raiment one day.”  Now I will try and add some more to what I wrote then.

            The reward of believers as seen here is that they will wear white garments and we read in Revelation 19:7-9 where they will be worn:  “7 "Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready." 8 It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. 9 Then he said to me, "Write, ’Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’" And he said to me, "These are true words of God."”  This is an event that all believers throughout the church age should be looking forward to for it is here that believers will receive their rewards from our Lord for the things that we have done in the body while here on planet earth, thing done in the body that were empowered by the Holy Spirit who lives in all true believers.

            White robes were worn in ancient days at weddings and also when battles were won and we see that believers will wear them at the Lambs supper and we can note also that we are victorious through Christ, so both fit in.

            Now we come to a part where perhaps some believer are a bit confused about and that is the part where Jesus says that He will not erase their names from the book of life.  I did go over this a bit when quoting from my earlier notes on verse five but will add some more here.  Jesus never says that He will erase names from the book of life here, just the opposite is said, so this will never happen to a true believer and a non-believer will never have his name there in the first place.  Jesus goes on to say that He will confess his name before the Father and before His angels.  This surely is a wonderful statement to realize that when you become a believer Jesus Christ will confess your name before the God who created all that is seen, the God who not only created all we see, but is in control of all we see too.  What a wonderful privilege we have as believers in Jesus Christ.

            John MacArthur writes “In John’s day, rulers kept a register of the citizens of a city.  If someone died, or committed a serious crime, their name was erased from that register.  Christ, the King of heaven, promises never to erase a true Christian’s name from the roll of those whose names were ‘written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain’ (13:8).

            On the contrary, Christ will confess every believer’s name before God the Father and before His angels.  He will affirm that they belong to Him.  Here Christ reaffirmed the promise He made during His earthly ministry:  ‘Everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven’ (Matt. 10:32).  The comforting truth that true Christians’ salvation is eternally secure is the unmistakable teaching of Scripture.  Nowhere is that truth more strongly stated than in Romans 8:28-39:  28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.  29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; 30  and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.  31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 32  He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? 33 Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; 34 who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. 35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 Just as it is written, "FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG; WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED." 37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. 38  For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39  nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

            Now I will now go into the last verse which is the same as in all the letters, but to say that the word “overcomes” refers to all true believers and we are to make sure that we listen closely to what the Holy Spirit is saying to the churches.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I am thankful for the promises that I have seen in this section, promises that are so much better than what we have here on earth, things that sometimes I think are important, but are not.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  To continue to learn more about loving the Lord with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to better understand the love Christ has for me so that I can live a better life for the cause of Christ.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “The angel of the Lord” (Luke 2:10).”

Today’s Bible question:  “The Jew in Jerusalem accused Paul of taking Gentiles into what place?

Answer in our next SD.

2/15/2015 8:03 PM

           

 

The Command Christ Gives to Sardis (Rev. 3:2a, 3)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/14/2015 10:03 AM

My Worship Time                                                   Focus:  The Command Christ Gives to Sardis

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                Reference:  Revelation 3:2a, 3

            Message of the verses:  “’Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die… ’So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. Therefore if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you.”

            Now we have already mentioned that in many of these churches that Christ writes to have many unbelievers in them which we know was not good then and is not good today, or for that matter not good during any part of the church age, but we see that in this section that Christ is addressing this command to the faithful remnant or to those who were truly believers in this church.  He was not talking to those who were dead for there was no reason to do that.  We will not look at the five steps that are seen in this section that if followed the church would live on.

            The first words He gives to them are “wake up,” and there must have been a good reason for Christ to tell these believers to wake up.  MacArthur writes “The believing remnant needed to look at what was happening in their church, evaluate the situation, get involved in changing things, confront sin and error, and make a difference.” 

            The next thing Christ tells them to do is to “strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die.”  In writing of this word “things” MacArthur says “Things is a neuter noun in the Greek and does not refer to people, but to spiritual realities.  Christ exhorted the true Christians at Sardis to fan into flame the dying embers of the remaining spiritual graces in the church.”  This reminds me of something that Paul wrote to Timothy “For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands (2 Timothy 1:6).”  In this verse Paul is telling Timothy a very similar thing that Christ is telling the believers at Sardis, to get the fire going again is seen in both verses, to remember when the fire was hot for the Lord and fan the flames in order to get it going again. 

            We continue with this theme of remembering in the third point Christ makes to these believers as he tells them “remember what” they had “received and heard.”  We humans can forget things, even things that are very important, very easily, and all it takes if for us to stop a good habit like reading and studying the Word of God for a day and then it will happen for two and three and finally we will be out of that habit all together.  The solution is to remember how good it was when we were in that good habit of studying the Word of God and to pray and to be ready to tell others of the hope that lies within us.  Why do we do these things?  We do them first of all because we love the Lord, the Lord who came down from heaven to be born as a baby in a cave where lambs were born, lambs that were used in a sacrifice on the day of Passover.  In a dirty cave was the Son of God born because He loved us that much.  He loved us that much by becoming our Passover Lamb and dying on the cross at the exact time that the Passover lambs were slain, but our Passover Lamb had just taken our punishment in His own body on the cross so that we can receive His righteousness and be accepted by God to live with Him forever.  We as believers need to remember these truths in order to live our lives in a way that is pleasing to the Lord.   As we have looked these churches so far we saw in the first church, Ephesus that the only thing Christ condemned them for was leaving their first love, and when that happened we see these other condemnations that flow from forgetting their first love and it is a downward spiral until we get to the church of Laodicea where Christ is actually on the outside knocking on the door to get into the church.  Yes there are two churches, Smyrna and Philadelphia that were given no condemnations and those are the ones we are to be like, but with the others it kept getting worse.  We are to remember for we are a forgetful people.

            The forth point ties in with this third point, and that is to keep the things that were found in the Scriptures, things that I spoke about in our last point.

            Finally we get to the last point and Christ tells them to repent.  MacArthur writes “With remorse and sorrow, the believers at Sardis were to confess and turn away from their sins.  These five stops, if diligently practiced, would bring about revival.”

            The consequences if revival did not come are seen in the last part of verse three:  “Therefore if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you.”

            Just for the record what I have written about the birth of Christ, as far as where He was born is something I have learned from my studies and also from a historical novel that I read many years ago.  They all make perfect sense to me, that is having our Passover Lamb born in the cave where the Passover lambs were born during that time in Bethlehem. 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  We have an enemy who would like nothing better than to trip us up in our studying of the Word of God.  He is crafty and if had the chance would destroy all believers in an instant, but thankfully God is in control, but we, as believers need our Spiritual armor on so we can stand.  I have made a commitment to learn more about loving my Lord better this year so I do not fall into the downhill slide that I am learning about in these churches.  I desire to not only love the Lord in a more biblical way, but to better understand how much He loves me so that I can live a life that is more pleasing to me.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Nicodemus” (John 3:4).

Today’s Bible question:  “Who said ‘Fear not: for, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people?’”

Answer in our next SD.

2/14/2015 10:50 AM    

The Commendation of Sardis (Rev. 3:4)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/13/2015 8:59 AM

My Worship Time                                                                Focus:  The Commendation of Sardis

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                Reference:  Revelation 3:4

            Message of the verse:  “4 ’But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy.”

            I kind of got ahead of myself mentioning in our last SD that there was no commendation for this church, but as we look at verse four we can see that there is indeed a short commendation for this church which we will talk about in this SD.

            First thing I want to do is to quote a paragraph from my first go around in the book of Revelation dated March 13, 2005:  “The Bible teaches that once a person is saved he is always saved, yet even a saved person can do things that are sinful and at times will be disciplined for such behavior.  The Bible speaks of people who are believers who will receive a white garment, but there will be a smell of smoke in it because they did not live a life that was at all pleasing to the Lord.  A believer who practices holiness in his walk with the Lord will receive a white garment that will not smell of smoke, for he will be worthy as this verse speaks of.”  The section that I was writing about as far as the robes that smell of smoke is found in the book of 1 Corinthians “If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire (1 Cor. 3:15).”  I find it difficult as I study these churches, which I realize that there were these seven churches in John’s day that Christ sent these letters to, I find it difficult to distinguish between what is a real church in our day and what is not a real church in our day.  For instance we have cults who state that they are a church and what I find difficult is were these letters for them or not.  My best guess is that they are not.

            We have stated, which came from the text that this was a dead church and yet there were a few believers scattered about in this church and for those we see this verse written for them.  When I was listening to John MacArthur’s sermon on this section he stated that he gets many letters from people who are in dead churches today, so that means that there are many dead churches in our world today.  In the case of the church at Sardis there were not enough true believers to change the fact that Christ calls this a dead church.  True to the Lord He had not forgotten those who were true believers in this church for they were faithful to Him.  Another thing that has crossed my mind and that is times were different in those days in that this was probably the only church in Sardis so these true believers had little choice in going there, unlike believers today who can leave a dead church and attend one that is following the Lord.  Let us look at some verses to show that Christ does not forget His own.  “Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another, and the LORD gave attention and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the LORD and who esteem His name.  "They will be Mine," says the LORD of hosts, "on the day that I prepare My own possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him’ (Mal. 3:16-17).”  “For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints (Heb. 6:10).”

            Now we will look at Romans 11:1-5 “1 I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? May it never be! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel? 3 “Lord, THEY HAVE KILLED YOUR PROPHETS, THEY HAVE TORN DOWN YOUR ALTARS, AND I ALONE AM LEFT, AND THEY ARE SEEKING MY LIFE." 4 But what is the divine response to him? "I HAVE KEPT for Myself SEVEN THOUSAND MEN WHO HAVE NOT BOWED THE KNEE TO BAAL." 5 In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to God’s gracious choice.”  John MacArthur writes the following about these verses:  “That God preserves His faithful remnant is a frequent theme of Scripture,” this is seen in these verses.

            We see that the description of those who were believers in this church was “who have not soiled their garments.”  John MacArthur writes “Soiled is from moluno, which means ‘to stain,’ ‘ to defile,’ ‘to smear,’ or ‘to pollute.’  It was a word that would have been familiar to readers in Sardis because of the city’s wool dyeing industry.  ‘Garments’ symbolize character in Scripture (e. g., Isa. 64:6; Jude 23).  The faithful remnant could come into God’s presence because they had not defiled or polluted themselves, but manifested their godly character.”

            We next see the reward that Christ will give those faithful to Him and that is that they would walk in white with the Lord for they are worthy.   This is a symbol of purity as we see in different places from Scripture, but I want to speak of one here:  “Mt 17:2 And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light.”  This came from the section where Jesus goes up to the Mt. of Transfiguration shortly before His would be crucified.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I can see in this section a real personal application that Christ has for His own, every last one of His own.  In the 17^th chapter of John, the chapter that contains the “High Priestly Prayer,” we see that God had given the eleven disciples to Him in order that they might tell others of Him, and then He goes on to mention those who His disciples would bring to Him through their preaching and they would all be His.  This is still going on and Christ knows all of us who have come to trust Him as Savior and Lord and this makes it very personal to me.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  To better love the Lord with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to better understand and live in the love He has for me.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “An orator, or a lawyer” (Acts 24:1).

Today’s Bible question:  “Who could not understand how a man could be born again when he was old?”   

Answer in our next SD.

2/13/2015 9:57 AM

The Concern for the church at Sardis (Rev. 3:1d-2b)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/12/2015 9:53 AM

My Worship Time                                                    Focus:  The Concern for the church at Sardis

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                Reference:  Revelation 3:1d-2b

            Message of the verses:  “I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead…For I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God.” 

            Now the way that Christ wrote this letter was different than the others for usually He gave the commendation before He gave the concern, but not the case in this letter.  Remember the way that John MacArthur began his introductory comments on this church which we quoted on our first SD for this church, that even when a star dies it takes many years for those of us on earth not to see that it is dead.  Many people must have thought that this church was alive and well when in fact Christ tells them that they are dead.  I would suppose that the people in this church did not know that they were dead, but they were.  MacArthur writes “Like so many churches today it was defiled by the world, characterized by inward decay, and populated by unredeemed people playing church.” 

            What is it that causes spiritual death in a church or for that matter in the people who are the church?  Let us look at a few verses that will explain this:  Ephesians 2:1 “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins.”  Paul, here is telling those believers what they were before they came to know Christ as their Lord and Savior, and that is that they were spiritually dead in their trespasses and their sins, so it is sin that causes a person to be dead.  Now I can take that a step further and that is that all people who are born on this earth are born spiritually dead, they are born with a sin-nature.  The story goes that I heard to help us understand this better, that a funeral director friend of mine was asked one day by our pastor what would happen if he asked one of his dead clients what kind of tie he would like to wear.  Of course he would get no answer because he was dead, at least his body was dead and he was not there to answer that question.  Where he was depended on whether or not he had accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as His Savior and Lord.  Point being that we are all born spiritually dead because we are all related to Adam who sinned with his eyes wide open while in the garden, not because of Eve who sinned because she was tempted.  Now let us look at a couple more verses to show that being spiritual dead is a product of sin.  “But He said to him, "Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God’ (Luke 9:60).”  Here Jesus was speaking of the spiritually dead.  “for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate (Luke 15:24).”  This is from the parable of the Prodigal son. “’But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found’"” (Luke 15:32 another verse from the Prodigal son parable.)  “When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions (Col. 2:13).”  “But she who gives herself to wanton pleasure is dead even while she lives (1 Tim. 5:6).”  “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death (1 John 3:14).”  I suppose that we could compare this church and others like it to a museum where there are many stuffed animals in a setting that looks like they are alive, but in fact they are just stuffed.

            Some of the ways that we can spot a dead church is when a church rests on what has happened in the past and is doing nothing in the present to tell others about Christ.  They are more concerned with liturgical forms than spiritual reality, or when the church focuses on social ills rather than changing people’s hearts with the gospel of Jesus Christ which is the only way thing that can change a person’s heart, for in order to change a person’s heart they have to be born from above with the power of the Holy Spirit giving them a call that they cannot say no to a call that will change their life forever.  More evidence is that church is more concerned with material than spiritual things or when it is concerned with what men think about what they are doing as opposed to what Christ is about what they are doing.  When it cares more about traditions instead of what the Bible has to say, similar to the Pharisees when our Lord was on earth.  MacArthur concludes with writing “Now matter what its attendance, no matter how impressive its buildings, no matter what its status in the community, such a church, having denied the only source of spiritual life, is dead.”

            The deeds that this church was doing, as Christ stated were not “completed in the sight of God,” however they had a good reputation in the city they were in as perhaps the Pharisees did in their day had. 

            John MacArthur compares this church with the life of the Old Testament hero Samson whose story is told in Judges, and I will not take the time to explain why Samson is a good comparison to this church but take the time to read about his life in Judges 13-16.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  There are a couple of things that I am doing that have something to do with this section of Revelation.  First of all I desire to live for Christ every day, and I desire to have a clear conscience so that I can do this, but sometimes my conscience is not clear and I have to determine if it is Satan who is accusing me or if it is the Holy Spirit who is prompting me to confess a sin in my life.  Early this morning when I could not fall back asleep I was reading a book by Warren Wiersbe that is about the activities of Satan and he covered this subject and I now better understand it.   Now what this has to do with this section is that I do not want to be like those in Sardis for I desire to serve the Lord, yet sometime things seem to get in my way from doing it, like being accused by Satan and believing it is from the Holy Spirit.  The book Wiersbe writes is entitled “The Strategy of Satan,” and in the fourth chapter, which is entitled “The Accuser,” he has a sub-title entitled “Satan’s purpose To Bring an Indictment by God’s Will.”  He begins with these words “Satan wants you to feel guilty.  He wants you to experience regret and remorse, but not repentance.”  Another thing that goes along with this subject is from a prayer list that I have and use for our pastors two days a week, and part of it came from my study in First and Second Thessalonians where I learned how better to pray for our Pastors.  The last point in an outline that came from John MacArthur’s commentary comes from a quote in the book of Hebrews “Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a good conscience, desiring to conduct ourselves honorably in all things (Heb. 13:18).”  The writer of Hebrews is saying that we deserve you prayers because we have a clear conscience, meaning “What does having a clear conscience mean?  There’s nothing accusing us is how MacArthur answers this question.”  I would suppose that many of the people in the church at Sardis did have a clear conscience because they were still dead in their trespasses and sin, not knowing Christ as Savior and Lord.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  My desire is to love the Lord with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to better understand and live in the love He has for me.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “He remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” (Exodus 2:24).

Today’s Bible question:  “What was Tertullus’s occupation?”  (This is a tough question see Acts 24:1).

Answer in our next SD.

2/12/2015 11:07 AM

Sardis the City (Rev. 3:1b)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/11/2015 3:40 PM

My Worship Time                                                                                       Focus:  Sardis the City

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                Reference:  Revelation 3:1b

            Message of the verses:  “"To the angel of the church in Sardis write: He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars, says this: ’I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.”

            I must say that this is one of my favorite parts of this study that is look into the ancient cities that these seven churches came from.  I have always been a fan of history and I suppose that is why I like this part of our study.

             Sardis was an important ancient city and capital of the kingdom of Lydia, located in western Anatolia, present-day Sartmustafa, Manisa province in western Turkey. Its strategic location made it a central point connecting the interior of Anatolia to the Aegean coast. During its history, control of Sardis changed many times, but it always kept a high status among cities.

        The Origin of Sardis

Around 612 BCE, the greatest city in the world at that time, Nineveh, was besieged and sacked by an allied army of Persians, Medes, rebelling Chaldeans, and Babylonians, putting an end to the Assyrian Empire. This event shaped a new political map: Babylon became the imperial centre of Mesopotamia and the kingdom of Lydia became the dominant power in western Anatolia with Sardis as its capital.

The life of Sardis began as a hilltop citadel where the king of Lydia lived. The city developed into a two part town: the lower town, located along the banks of the Pactolus river, where the ordinary citizens lived, and the upper town for the wealthy citizens, royal members, and the palace. Herodotus wrote that the lower town was a modest place with many of its houses made of reeds from the river and with no surrounding wall.

        Sardis Today

Since 1958 CE, the universities of Harvard and Cornell have been performing annual excavations at Sardis. As part of these works, Sardis’ gymnasium has been restored and the synagogue was discovered in 1962 CE, a building measuring over 91.4 meters (300 feet) in length. Some of the important finds from the archaeological site of Sardis are kept in the Archaeological Museum of Manisa in Turkey, including many Roman mosaics and sculptures and pottery from different periods in the history of the city.  I got this info from a website called “Ancient History.”

            John MacArthur writes “God and silver coins were apparently first minted at Sardis.  The city also benefited from its location at the western end of the royal road that led east to the Persian capital city of Susa, and from its proximity to other important trade routes.  It was also a center for wool production and the garment industry; in fact, Sardis claimed to have discovered how to dye wool.”

            The location of the city was on a very high hill overlooking the Hermus River and because of this site many believed that the city was impregnable, but not so.  Because of this site the people became over confident and careless.  And because of this the city was conquered. John MacArthur quotes Dr. Robert L. Thomas as he relates to the account of Sardis’s fall:  “Despite an alleged warning against self-satisfaction by the Greek god whom he consulted, Croesus the king of Lydia initiated an attack against Cyrus king of Persia, but was soundly defeated. Returning to Sardis to recoup and rebuild his army for another attack, he was perused quickly by Cyrus who laid siege against Sardis.  Croesus felt utterly secure in his impregnable situation atop the acropolis and foresaw an easy victory over the Persians who were cornered among the perpendicular rocks in the lower city, and easy prey for the assembling Lydian army to crush.  After  retiring on evening while the drama was unfolding, he awakened to discover that the Persians had gained control of the acropolis by scaling one-by-one the steep walls (549 BC).  So secure did the Sardians feel that they left this means of access completely unguarded, permitting the climbers to ascend unobserved.  It is said that even a child could have defended the city from this kind of attack, but not so much as one observer had been appointed to watch the side that was believed to be inaccessible.  History repeated itself more than three and a half centuries later when Atiochus the Great conquered Sardis by utilizing the services of a sure-footed mountain climber from Crete (195 BC).  His army entered the city by another route while the defenders in careless confidence were content to guard the one known approach, the isthmus of land connected to Mount Tmolus on the south.”

            Eventually the Romans conquered them in 133 BC as they never again regained their independence.  In 17 AD there was a catastrophic earthquake which destroyed the city.  MacArthur writes “but it was rebuilt with the generous financial id of Emperor Tiberius.  In gratitude, the inhabitants of Sardis built a temple in his honor.”

            Message of the verses:   One of the reasons that I like looking at the history of the cities of where the churches were is because it seems to me that the Lord blesses a country where the churches are strong and when they get weak then the Lord will withhold His blessings on that nation.  Just look around today and you may see this in action. 

            When the Soviet Nation was about to break up I heard a sermon from the then president of the Moody Bible Institute, Joe Stowell speaking about how the government of the Soviet Union was changing their minds about those who were believers.  In the message Stowell was saying that the government leaders were saying that the believers were the best citizens in the country.  I suppose that this is, as it should be, the way it is in all countries, but as we go through these seven churches one may not believe that this would be the case, and that is a sad situation.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  To learn to better love the Lord with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to learn to better understand the love that the Lord has for me.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Daniel.”

Today’s Bible question:  “When the children of Israel cried out to their God, what did He do?”

Answer in our next SD.