Lukewarm ( Revelation 3 v14 - 22 )

 In the book of Revelation,there are seven churches mentioned,  chapters 2 - 3,  the Lord speaks to each of them. I like us to consider one of them, Laodicea, this church stands as a challenge to the prosperity movement,because on one level they had everything,on another they had nothing. Our Lord does not commend them in anyway, all He sees is a church that had lost its way.The cry of the church was,'I am rich',our Lord answers ,''But you do not realise that you are wretched,pitiful; blind and naked'.Their prosperity had blinded them of true spiritual values, that's always a danger with prosperity.It is instructive how the Lord  in highlighting the things that Laodicea were known for,and how He applies spiritual truths to them .The eye ointment,the manufacturing of cloth,a spring of water,that if one drank it ,it would cause one to vomit.This is how our Lord sums up the church.,'you are lukewarm,neither hot nor cold'. Lukewarm is a very interesting word, here is some of its meaning,'showing little enthusiasm, halfhearted, uninterested, couldn't care less. No wonder the Lord says,'' I will vomit you out of my mouth'',the seriousness of  their situation is found in 3 v 20,where it appears that the Lord is shut out of the church, He is depicted as one standing at a door,knocking ,asking to be let in.He declares to them that He will deal with them v 19,  v22  this is a plea for them to listen to what He is saying to them, or else.

                                                    The dearest idol I have known,

                                                    Whate'er that idol be,

                                                    Help me to tear it from Thy throne

                                                    And worship only Thee.

                                                        Words William Cowper.

God's ultimate purpose. ( Philippians 2 v 12 -13)

 What is the ultimate purpose for God's children? ,as we look back we could say a number of things,to save us  from judgement,that we may not go to Hell ,and that we may go to heaven.We could mention a number of other things,but the ultimate  purpose is that we who are His children may be conformed to the image of His Son.Romans 8 v 29. It is not an instant thing,it is a process, it comes under the term of sanctification. Sanctification means we are  called to be holy separating  ourselves from all that is evil, all that is sinful,it cannot be done in our own in our strength, the Holy Spirit plays a vital role in this process.That aspect of holiness is not something we receive it is something we do. again let me stress as Vine puts it ,the Holy Spirit is the Agent in our sanctification. Lets add that sanctification does not make us a Christian, we become a Christian by faith in Christ and His finished work,when we do that ,we are Justified,Romans 5 v1,that means we are no longer guilty,on the cross Christ bore our guilt, and punishment. That means we are totally accepted by God,in the words of a hymn,'Near,near I cannot be,for in the person of His Son I'm just as near as He'. Spurgeon put it like this,'Those for whom Christ has died,were perfected by His death. It  does not mean that He made them perfect in character, so that they are no longer sinners, but that He made those for whom He died, perfectly free from the guilt of sin. Jeremiah 31 v34/ Hebrews 10 v 1 - 10.

He knows. ( 2 Corinthians 4 v 7 - 18 )

 I was looking for something, and couldn't find it,and I found myself saying,''God you can see it,I can't'', so it set me of thinking.Consider how often we look at life, and we cannot see the why into certain events ,be they personal,or to do with events outside ourselves.Why? ,is something that hunts all of us at some time or other, faced with a sudden bereavement,a break up of a marriage,the present battle against the virus that we all are trying to avoid. I can't see the why in it all, but God can,yes He most surly can, so does that leaves us in the dark ?.When we declare that God is sovereign,it is a statement of faith,and of course all men have not faith. As Christians we are not fatalist ,we are called to act in a responsible manner , God can aid and help us,through difficult situations.When things happen that we can do nothing about,then we are called to exercised trust in a our sovereign God . This is a very positive thing to do,it is not thing of despair, the apostle Paul wrote, inspired by the Holy Spirit,'that all things are working together for  the good of God's children. ,Romans 8 v28. That rules out fatalism that statement of despair,and  points us to the path of faith, Remember we are on a journey ,not a road that leads to nowhere , as Proverbs  4 v18 reads,'The path of the just is as a shining light, that shineth more and more unto that perfect day'.

Kindness. ( John 3 v16 )

 Titus 3 v  4, reads ,' But when the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward men appeared'.v3 Expresses mankind's sinfulness,it is not complementary ,it describes us as being foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.It is a sad commentary on humanities state,and God does not lie,why did God  come into into such a world in the person of His son Jesus?.The answer is very simple,because He is kind and loving.,and we could add to that,He is merciful, and forgiving..Many people see God as an Ogre,not at all friendly,yet if we read the Gospels, we see Jesus showing tremendous kindness,by healing multitudes of people,feeding the hungry,and raising the dead.We read that He went about doing good Acts 10 v 38,yes He was very kind, reflecting in all He did the kindness of God.And yet that same Lord Jesus spoke often of judgement ,of a place called hell Matthew 10 v 2/23 v 15/ 24 v 51.25 v 41/46 Luke 13 v 28..Judgement is coming, Jesus made that very clear. and there will be no exceptions Hebrews 9 v27. It didn't  give any  joy for Christ to have tell people about judgement, likewise it has never given me any joy,to mention hell. But the greatest kindness I can do,is to warn people of that reality,one  way one can look at it,its like sounding  the alarm  to resident in their home, that it was on fire,I may even get a medal for doing it. People need to be told as regards judgement ,that is coming,and point to the only one ,who can save them, Jesus.

We are different ( 5 v 9 )

 I was talking to my 6yr old grandson,I was explaining to him that we are all different,I am not the same as his uncle,or his dad,I am  77 , I will not do what they do with him.I have not the energy that they have but I still love him.When God made us he made us all different,we are  not clones, even twins are different,like snowflakes everyone of us is different. Here is a very important thing, Christ church is made up of people who are different. and the important think is we are not  meant to make that difference a problem.Jesus said that those who are truly His ,must love and except one another.It seems to me that conformity is not the order of the day, though some people would like to change that,it can't be done.In the temple court yard of the temple in Jerusalem  there where partitions,there was a court for women, a court for the Gentiles, a court for Israel( for men)and a court for the Priests .With the coming in of the new covenant,all that changed, the temple became obsolete, a new temple came into place the people of God ,Ephesians 2 v 21- 22/  1Perter 2 v 4-5. All things pertaining to the temple likewise became obsolete, that  includes the different partitions. There is no more barriers that separate us,the moment we trust Christ ,we are no longer Gentiles,Jews,all those distinctions are gone forever.We are now the new Israel,if we belong to Christ we are Abraham's seed, Galatians 3 v 28- 29. as Gentiles we are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God's people. Ephesians 2 v 19. Let us rejoice in our differences ,and our oneness in Christ,and to strive always for the unity of  His church.

Ignorance is bliss. ( Acts 1 v 8 )

Is ignorance bliss?, I am sure its true sometimes. but it cant be absolute,there are so many things we need to  know .If a tornado is coming ,its good to listen to the warnings,and try and get to a place of safety. I'm sure many have said when they have got into difficulties , why didn't someone warn me, unfortunately  there are those who don't want  to listen,so they pay the price of their folly. When I go to buy another car, I try to find out as much as I can  about the car I may be purchasing. Sometimes I try to talk to people about God,about after death,and they don't want to know, could be fear,or they are not just interested. One could say well let them die in their ignorance, but I realise the result of  that ignorance has dire consequences. To die without Christ leaves one facing a dreadful destiny as opposed, to knowing Christ,which leads to a wonderful destiny.The great missionary movement in the 18th century was a movement raised up by God, many thousand of people ,men and women felt the call of God to go into all the world and preach the gospel.Things have not changed,it will never change,people need to hear the gospel  of our Lord Jesus Christ, if they die in their ignorance they will go to a lost eternity,they will never be forgiven,or set free ,they really need to hear about Jesus,will you go and tell them ?. Lucy A. Bennett wrote the following words,'Teach me the value of a soul'.

                                            

                                        

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Are you burdened?. ( Colossians 1 v 13 - 14 )

 The expression,'' To carry the weight of the world on one's shoulder'', comes from  Greek mythology,and one of their gods called Atlas,who it is said, carried the world on his shoulders.It is an expression we use for someone loaded down with care. Life can bring many troubles to us,and they weigh us down. I have an illustrated version of ,'Pilgrims Progress',written John Bunyan who lived in the  17th century, he was a Christian . The book is about a fictitious mans spiritual experience ,it starts with the man reading a book, and on his back was a massive burden,and as he read the book,he wept and trembled ; and he broke out in lamentable crying,saying what must I do be saved?.He realised that destruction was coming,and both he and his wife,and their four sons would perish.unless some way of escape could be found.That massive burden on His back was his sin,the book he reading ,was the ,'Word of God',which as he read, the Holy Spirit brought conviction , and concern of God's coming judgement upon him and his family. This may be the 21st century ,but nothing has changed, sin is still sin, God is still going to Judge mankind for their sin,and the greatest need we have is to be saved, What must one do to be saved?,and the answer is very simple, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,and you shall be saved.William Hendriksen writes the following,'To be saved means,to be emancipated from the greatest evil;  the guilt , pollution,power, and punishment of sin; and to be placed in possession of the greatest good'.