THIS IS OUR TIME TO CHANGE
Have you asked yourself lately,"What is happening? Why God is this happening?
Psalm 32:7 You are my hiding place, You preserve
me from trouble, You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah
Right now Jesus has hidden His bride away, away from the world. We may not understand why, and we may not even like what is happening. But God has a purpose for His church.
I have been once more reading in Revelation, I know don't say it. Jesus had John write letters to 7 churches, only 2 received a good report, the church at Smyrna (known as the persecuted church) and the church of Philadelphia (known as the faithful church)
The other 5 had some serious issues; one, though they hated what God hated and they labored for the Lord, Jesus said "they needed to come back to their first love". (Known as the loveless church)
To another He said they had compromised themselves by mixing their relationship with the world. (Known as the compromising church)
To another because they allowed false teaching and sexual immorality spread through the church they had corrupted themselves.(Known as the corrupt church)
To another they were doing all the right things and looked alive and yet they were dead, because they had religion but no relationship. (Known as the dead church)
The last one they were satisfied with what they had, never seeking to go deeper with God, complacent, just saying I am a Christian yet never bearing fruit. (Known as the lukewarm church).
We are the church; yes, you could say Jesus is speaking to the corporate church, but He is speaking also to us individually.
1. How do we respond when persecuted
2. Have we left our first love, by just doing what we do but having no deep love for Jesus
3. Have we mixed the world so much into our lives and there is more of the world seen in us than Jesus
4. Have we allowed ourselves to become corrupt because we have listened to false teachers, heard the voice of Satan and the world, that says sexual immorality is ok. Have we become a child of the world instead of a child of God.
5. Do we think we are alive and yet we are actually dead. Have we just gone through the motions, yet never had a real relationship, will we hear "Well done good an faithful servant" or "Depart from me I never knew you?"
6. Are we faithful in our love for Jesus, are we faithful to our local church, do we remain steadfast in our faith no matter what is happening around us. Are we in a committed relationship with Christ Jesus our Lord and His church?
7. Have we lost our fire, become satisfied with little, when God calls us to go deeper? Did it even bother us not to meet with our church family, not to see one another, fellowship together, worship together, hear an anionted word? Have we become so complacent, so lukewarm that Jesus would spew us out of His mouth.
God has given us this time for reflection, He has hidden us away, not only to protect us, but to say, "You/I cannot continue as we once did". It is time to make a decision; are we going to be the church, He has called us to be in these last days or is He going to write the name Ichabod across our homes and churches, which means "God has left the house"?
Something we all must understand, we can not be actively and willfully sinning and still be walking in God's fellowship and in His blessings. God never stops loving us, He is continually pursuing us, His desire is to see us come to repentance. And He wants us to come to our senses and come back to Him. Yet, He does not tolerate or accept sin in any form. Whether it is in our lifestyle or in our attitudes God desires for us to repent. When we sin, we come under conviction and we repent turn from our sin, confess our sin and turn to God, when we do that with a genuine heart we have an advocate, Jesus who goes before God the Father on our behalf.
So here we are confined to our homes, what are we going to do with this time? Seek God, examine our hearts, spend time in prayer in His word. What are we His church going to do with Jesus as He has hidden us away?
I believe this is going to be a time of repentance and change, we cannot come out of this without our hearts and lives being affected, will it bring a personal revival? Will some see they were never really saved, just thinking they were saved yet have no relationship? When this is over, will we look and act the same? Or will we bring our personal revival with us?
There is coming a Great Awakening from this, it is time to lay aside that sin that has entangled us and press forward in Christ, toward the upward call of Christ, forgetting the things of the past, renewing our minds and sharing the gospel of Christ, we are His Ambassadors for Christ, are we reflecting Christ or do the lost see the world when they look at us and hear us speak. We are not perfect and many times I have had to apologise for words that I say, because they were of my flesh and not of God.
Be ready! God is going to pour out His glory! Watch for it! Be a part of it! Because right after Jesus writes His letters to His church. This happens:
Revelation 4:1 After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, "Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this".
A picture of the catching away, also known as the rapture, of the church. The church age has come to an end, and God is about to pour out His wrath on the nations.
We do not know the day or the hour but we know He is coming and we have been instructed to be ready, to watch and to pray.
Spend this time wisely! Not in fear but in faith!
May God be with you, protect you and guide you.
