Hi everyone! So good to hear from all of you! I will start doing segments of this study I did a little while ago. I will type just pieces at a time. I'd love your feedback. What I'll write are references and some key points, but I encourage all of you to find it in your Bibles for yourselves. Also, I want to make sure that if I am wrong about anything and you can prove it to me otherwise with scripture, then please correct me!
This one today is about the Revelation of Jesus Christ.
Many of us getting into this have experienced something that Paul describes as the Revelation of Jesus Christ. When Paul was on the road to Damascus, he was blinded by the light. God sent a man to remove the scales from his eyes and now he could see. Paul was blinded physically, as well spiritually. He was blind but now he could see.
The Revelation of Jesus Christ
Read Galatians 1:11-24.
Key points:
-The Gospel was given by God, not man.
-Was taught and revealed to us by Jesus Christ, not by teachings of man.
-Paul was loyal to the Jewish Church and their traditions, now says it was wasted.
-God separates us and reveals his Son in us.
-Paul became an apostle through Jesus Christ alone without any outside influences.
-They will glorify God as they see him in us.
*Also note 1 John 2:27 and John 14:26 for further scriptures showing God's anointing of knowledge and direction that cannot be taught by men but by the Spirit of God.
Have you ever had an experience like that where suddenly God was allowing you to see things clearly? Are you going through a process where you're struggling to understand and God is showing you things and opening new doors? The Bible is consisted of layers after layers and the Bible says to rub it on as eyesalve. The more we rub the Word in our eyes, the more we see clearly.
"I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve that thou mayest see." Revelation 3:18
I had a Bible study this afternoon and found great teachings about the world in 1st John. I have lived in the world before. I have thought like the world, I have talked like the world, I have been accepted by the world and thrived in the world.
Right now, I live in God. The old things are gone, and all things are new. Everything that is old and of the world will be destroyed, and the those who follow God will last. If a person is of the world, then they shall perish with the world.
"Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever." 1 John 2:15-17
I no longer miss the world or care for anything in the world. After we live in God, and plunge ourselves in him, the world seems dull in comparison. It becomes empty, meaningless and so dark. Our feelings and perspectives of the world change when we live in God. We receive so much love and grace with the Lord, and find real purpose living in his will. Then, we are not of the world anymore, but sons and daughters of God.
"Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knowest us not, because it knew him not." 1 John 3:1
My question for you is, are you separated from the world? Is it obvious to everyone around you that you belong to the Lord? When we are of God, the world will reject us, mock us and cast us out like it did to Jesus. That comes with the territory as Christians, but we rejoice because we are His.
"Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you." 1 John 3:13
The world has it's own style for their own kind. Worldly people talk after worldly things, in a worldly manner, and they will not receive the Word that we speak of because they are in the world. We will seem like we are speaking utter nonsense to them. They cannot perceive the truth unless God reveals it to them. They are lost.
But sometimes, even with random chance of meeting, we will find a brother or sister in Christ and they will hear us. We will recognize each other as brethren in Christ. I love it when that happens! We share the spirit of truth and are able to recognize who has the spirit of truth, and who has the spirit of error.
"They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. We are of God; he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error." 1 John 4:5-6
And great joy is knowing this, that Jesus Christ has overcome the world. He hath the victory! Those who abide in him shall also overcome the world!
"Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God." 1 John 5:5
I wrote this because in this life we live, we all must choose whether we are of the world, or of God. We must be in one or the other. We cannot have both feet on both sides, the Father will not dwell in us if we do that. Let us turn our backs to the world, and follow the precious footprints of Jesus Christ. Let us all become his own.
Many of us face many battles everyday; whether it be sickness, financial troubles, a broken marriage, or anything else. We may be like soldiers on a field, facing a battle. We may see Satan's army before us and feel hopeless at the sight of what we are facing. Yet God has spoken, and he has said this battle is not yours, but his.
"Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you." 2 Chronicles 20:15-17
Do not fight this battle, for this battle belongs to the Lord. God tells us to be firm, stand still and to trust in the victory we have in the Lord. Do not fear or waver, God is with us. If he be for us, who can be against us? Remember, God never loses a battle.
You may feel defeated because of the ruins that lay around you. Is everything such a mess that it seems hopeless? Yet, God has spoken. Whatever he sets to do, he shall do it. He restores what was lost, he fixes what is broken, heals what is damaged and not only that, but he can make it higher, stronger and better than it ever was before.
"Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the LORD build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate: I the LORD have spoken it, and I will do it." Ezekiel 36:36
And everyone around you will see what God has done. They will believe in him and glorify him for what he has done in you.
"Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us" Ephesians 3:20
And anything is possible because of God's power that is given unto us to be used. God can do all that we ask, and do it exceedingly more than we ever dreamed of. Stop trying to do it yourself, because there's nothing we can really do. Let God be God, and he can create miracles.
"Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." Hebrews 4:16
Are you facing a battle? Remember that the battle is not yours, but the Lord's.
I was battling discouragement for the past two days. I notice that happens when I allow myself to think about and dwell on things that seem hopeless to me. I realized that it was not of God, but a hindrance from the enemy. Discouragement is a tool that Satan uses to make us lose faith in God and waver. If you start to feel discouraged, remind yourself of the victory we have in Jesus Christ.
One example from the Bible is when God brought Moses and the Jews to the Promised Land, just as he said he would do. But, when they saw the giants in the land and the mighty city, they were discouraged. They had doubted in the Lord, and because of that, they couldn't enter the promised land. We all will face our own giants, but the only thing that can defeat us is our own discouragement.
"Whither shall we go up? our brethren have discouraged our heart, saying, The people is greater and taller than we; the cities are great and walled up to heaven; and moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakims there." Deuteronomy 1:28
Here are some verses of reassurance from God to help us get through these tough times. I recommend choosing at least one scripture and mediating on it. Store these words of comfort from the Lord in your heart, and remain steadfast.
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"Behold, the LORD thy God hath set the land before thee: go up and possess it, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath said unto thee; fear not, neither be discouraged." Deuteronomy 1:21
(God has given you victory and wants you to go and claim it. Do not fear or be discouraged, go and receive these things the Lord has prepared for you.)
"Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest." Joshua 1:9
(Do not fear, God is with you in every battle you will face. With him, there is no such thing as impossible. In fact, God thrives on impossibilities. There is nothing too hard for him!)
"Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness." Isaiah 41:10
(Whatever you're going through, you are never alone. God gives us strength to get through it. He also never loses a battle. Trust in him and turn to him.)
As for me, I will not allow my discouragement to sink in. That is what the enemy wants and he will not have it from me. I believe in God and I believe in miracles. I will be steadfast and unwavering. Discouragement will not defeat me.
I felt inspired when I read a few scriptures in my Sunday School class this morning. It stayed with me all day and I knew I had to write about it. I want to go in depth with these scriptures and write about how we can easily be deceived. This is something we all need to evaluate within ourselves.
Deception has been a tool used by Satan since the beginning of creation. He was the serpent that deceived Eve with the fruit from the forbidden tree. Satan has been using deception ever since, and that is why he is called the father of lies.
Deception is when something is so close to the truth, but yet it's not the truth. Those are the hardest to distinguish, but by the spirit of God, we can have discernment. By the Word of God, we will know what's right and what's not. God equips us to escape Satan's traps.
1. Are you being deceived by religion?
Many people are involved in religion but they don't know God. They are not saved. We can do the entire enchilada: Be a faithful member of church, tithe our money, be involved in the ministry, or bringing the best fried chicken at the potluck, yadda, you name it, it won't save you. None of these things will get you to heaven.
Church will not save you. People will not save you. Religion will not save you. Only the blood of Jesus Christ can save you. There's a terrible false belief of universalism that says there are many ways to heaven, but that is bunk. Without Jesus Christ, nobody can enter heaven. If any other thing could get us to heaven, then why would Jesus die on the cross? That's because he knew it would be the only way.
"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." John 14:6
2. Are you being deceived by your zeal?
"Wow, look at all those people.. they're doing community services, feeding the hungry, visiting the widows, donating to charities, saving the spotted owls and all of the good deeds there are out there! They're so good.. they're definitely going to heaven!" Does that sound like you?
Do good people go to heaven? No. Does giving back to the world and doing community service redeem you? No. That's not your redemption. It doesn't matter how good you are or what you do, because it's not your works that save you. That won't even get you inside the lobby room of Heaven.
It's grace. God left his kingdom and his throne to come on Earth as a man to bear the sins of the world. Jesus never sinned once, but took our place of punishment and death so that we may take his place as heirs to God's kingdom. He traded with us! Why? Because he loved us that much.
Now it's all wrapped nicely as a gift for everyone, including you. It's up to you to receive it or to reject it. That's all there is to it and it's your choice. Nobody can make that choice for you but YOU alone.
3. Are you being deceived by yourself?
Do you say: "I am a good person."
God's answer: "but we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our inquities, like the wind, have taken us away." Isaiah 64:6
Do you have your own opinions on what is right and wrong and think you're just as good as the next guy?
God's answer: "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." Proverbs 14:12.
Did you know our own ways lead to death? The only way we can go to Heaven is if we do it God's way. He's there already, wants you to go there too, and made a road map for you in the Bible. It's impossible for us, a sinful being, to enter the perfection of Heaven that knows no sin. So God made a plan to get us there with him, and it is so easy. Isn't that nice?
"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God." Romans 3:23-25.
4. Are you being deceived by the world?
Sin has it's pleasures, but they are only for a short time. None of these things will last and the end will bring forth death. It's like the story of how a trapper will catch a wolf. They put a knife inside an ice block and cover it in blood. The wolf continues to lick the blood until the ice melts and the knife gets them at the end. That's sin.
"Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season." Hebrews 11:25
Are you fighting away an emptiness inside and looking to fulfill it in the world? Maybe you are searching for fulfillment in alcohol, drugs, narcotics, anything to get you feeling something. Maybe you're searching for it in promiscuous relationships, one night stands, looking for love in the wrong places. Maybe you're finding yourself on shopping sprees, buying things that only seem to satisfy you for a short time, and then you must have something bigger, better and more expensive.
You need the Saviour. That hole was meant to be filled by him and him alone. You'll never find it anywhere in the World. The World sure promises us with happiness but they are only temporary. Happiness comes and goes depending on the circumstances. With Jesus Christ, you can have joy and it will be abiding no matter what the circumstances are.
Conclusion
If you died in some freak accident today, where would you go? Would you go to Heaven, or would you go to hell? Now hell is a very real place. We don't die into some kind of eternal sleep or blackness. Unfortunately, I have to tell you the truth about hell but the good news is that you don't have to go there.
The Bible says that anyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. If you believe that Jesus Christ is God's son who was sent to die on the cross for our sins, and that he rose three days later, you shall be saved. If you confess with your mouth that he is Lord and want him to be your Saviour, then kneel down and ask God to forgive your sins and ask him to be your Saviour today. I urge you not to put this off. Tomorrow is not guaranteed.
"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Romans 10:13
And if you have already done so, welcome to the family! Life just changes when we know what happens at the end. Suddenly all our problems just seem so minor and petty in light of eternity. This is all just temporary. What a day of rejoicing that will be when we finally see our Saviour face to face at last!
There is a disturbing fact out there right now. Our churches have changed. There is no argument that our churches in America now days have become the prophetic Church of the Laodiceans. It is the last church spoken of by Revelation.
Are you in that church? Do you walk out of church the same way as you entered in without any change within? Was God's Word and his law from the Bible preached, or was it changed to entertaining subjects? Is there a band with contemporary music, maybe with light shows, dry ice, or flashy things, that seems to take up the majority of the church time? Is the music time twice longer than the sermon? Is your church afraid to offend anybody to preach about the convictions of the Bible? Does your church take a stand and speak out against the wrongs? Do you walk in and out, then say "I went to church and I did my part, happy now God?"
Maybe it's time to start noticing what's really going on.
The Church of the Laodiceans are the lukewarm churches we see everywhere right now.
"I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot." Revelation 3:15
And being lukewarm is an abomination to the Lord. He vomits it out of his mouth. How can we be lukewarm about God, his salvation, gift of eternity shed through his blood, and all of these battles in the spiritual war against the flesh.
"So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth." Revelation 3:16
The churches have everything they want. They're well off, living the good life, and they have it all. They don't really need God anymore, since they have everything. They tell God, "hey, we've got it covered here, we're doing pretty good and don't really need you anymore." But if only they realize it.. they're actually the ones who need God the most. They are poor in the worst way spiritually, a stark contrast of the church of Smyrna who were materially poor, but the Bible calls them rich.
"Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked" Revelation 3:17
But where is God? Revelations tell us that he's outside of the church, knocking and knocking, saying "who will let me enter so that I may sup and dine with him?" Everybody's too busy and getting along without him. Who can stop, pause and hear the knocking? Who could that be? The Savior? What is he doing outside?
"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." Revelations 3:20
Jesus should be inside the church. Jesus should be the center of everything. Jesus should have the highest seat in the room, leading the pulpit, and holding everything together. But the churches are just carrying on without him.
Also notice this key word:
"And unto the angel OF the church of the Laodiceans write..." Revelation 3:14
The other churches all refer to the Angel IN the church, but the Laodiceans' Angel is only OF the church, but not inside the church. Is God of the church, a theme in the church, maybe a name on the sign outside, but not inside the church? Even churches everywhere are changing their names into a generic name: "Community Church," "the Vineyard church," etc.
And people are calling themselves Christians as a status. They say they are a "member of this or that church," were raised in a Christian home, were baptized as a child, and so forth. Christianity is not a status, or a membership of a church, or because your parents were Christians.. those won't do anything for anybody.
"He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." Revelation 3:22
We need to take notice and pay attention. What is God trying to tell us? What does God want for us?
"As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent." Revelation 3:19
We need repentance. We need to be held accountable. We need to be convicted. We need to change and get better. We need God in the center of our lives. We need to go to the right church, the kind that isn't afraid to speak out God's Word and his laws, to rebuke and exhort one another, and to help us grow. We must. The time is at hand. Don't be caught in the wrong church going nowhere.
