1 Corinthians 15:19; Daniel 4:17; John 14:29; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Revelation 1:1
We are walking in today: The End Is A New Beginning/Revelation, Thyatira, Hold Fast--Sardis, The Dead Church
1 Corinthians 15:19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. If there is no future, as Paul writes, then it would be foolish to have faith in Christ. Prophecy is an essential and very encouraging part of the Christian faith. Bible prophecy announces tremendously good news for us. We will find it most encouraging if we focus on the core message--not debatable details. As we walk through the book of Revelation the purpose of prophecy is not an end in itself, it declares a more important truth. God is reconciling humanity to Himself. Forgiving our sins and restoring us to friendship with Him. Prophecy proclaims this reality. Prophecy exists not just to predict events but to point us toward God. It tell us who God is, what He is like, what He is doing and what He wants us to do. Prophecy urges people to receive reconciliation to God, through faith in Jesus Christ. This makes me so excited about the book of Revelation. The end is a new beginning! Many specific prophecies were fulfilled in the old testament times, and we still wait for the fulfillment of others. But the sharp focus on all prophecy is redemption. The forgiveness of sins and eternal life that comes through Jesus Christ. Prophecy assures us that God is in control of history. Which you can read in Daniel 4:17 This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men. We must seek to strengthen our faith in Christ, by reading the word. John 14:29 And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe. This word of God that we have been given, gives us hope for the future--1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. So as we walk through the book of Revelation, we want a new mindset as far as prophecy is concerned. Because that is our reconciliation back to God, through Jesus Christ. That is the reason why Revelation is the book of Jesus Christ--Revelation 1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John. This is all about God's plan to reconcile us back to Him. God is still giving us a chance to repent and to turn from our ways and acknowledge who He is--that Christ is coming back for His church and we need to get it together. We should be standing and speaking the word of God! Knowing what the word says, knowing how to walk it out. So this morning we get up right now to set the atmosphere. We are excited about the prophecy in the book of Revelation. We come standing right now, looking for a word from You, that we can hold on to. The present, past and future--because You are the God of today, yesterday and forever more! We give You thanks, that the end is a new beginning. We are about to cross over into a new year, 2012. We continue to hold on to the promises. God, we come to thank You, like never before!! We come to ask You, to let the enemy know that no weapon that is formed against us shall prosper! We are asking for a mighty move of God this morning! It is already done, already finished! Hallelujah! Glory to His name! Now, are you ready for the word of God?!
We are walking in today: The End Is A New Beginning/Revelation, Thyatira, Hold Fast--Sardis, The Dead Church
1 Corinthians 15:19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. If there is no future, as Paul writes, then it would be foolish to have faith in Christ. Prophecy is an essential and very encouraging part of the Christian faith. Bible prophecy announces tremendously good news for us. We will find it most encouraging if we focus on the core message--not debatable details. As we walk through the book of Revelation the purpose of prophecy is not an end in itself, it declares a more important truth. God is reconciling humanity to Himself. Forgiving our sins and restoring us to friendship with Him. Prophecy proclaims this reality. Prophecy exists not just to predict events but to point us toward God. It tell us who God is, what He is like, what He is doing and what He wants us to do. Prophecy urges people to receive reconciliation to God, through faith in Jesus Christ. This makes me so excited about the book of Revelation. The end is a new beginning! Many specific prophecies were fulfilled in the old testament times, and we still wait for the fulfillment of others. But the sharp focus on all prophecy is redemption. The forgiveness of sins and eternal life that comes through Jesus Christ. Prophecy assures us that God is in control of history. Which you can read in Daniel 4:17 This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men. We must seek to strengthen our faith in Christ, by reading the word. John 14:29 And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe. This word of God that we have been given, gives us hope for the future--1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. So as we walk through the book of Revelation, we want a new mindset as far as prophecy is concerned. Because that is our reconciliation back to God, through Jesus Christ. That is the reason why Revelation is the book of Jesus Christ--Revelation 1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John. This is all about God's plan to reconcile us back to Him. God is still giving us a chance to repent and to turn from our ways and acknowledge who He is--that Christ is coming back for His church and we need to get it together. We should be standing and speaking the word of God! Knowing what the word says, knowing how to walk it out. So this morning we get up right now to set the atmosphere. We are excited about the prophecy in the book of Revelation. We come standing right now, looking for a word from You, that we can hold on to. The present, past and future--because You are the God of today, yesterday and forever more! We give You thanks, that the end is a new beginning. We are about to cross over into a new year, 2012. We continue to hold on to the promises. God, we come to thank You, like never before!! We come to ask You, to let the enemy know that no weapon that is formed against us shall prosper! We are asking for a mighty move of God this morning! It is already done, already finished! Hallelujah! Glory to His name! Now, are you ready for the word of God?!
Hold Fast, Thyatira and Sardis, The Dead Church
Revelation 2:25 Hold fast what you have till I come:
There were many faithful, uncompromising Christians in Thyatira. To
them, Jesus simply says hold fast! They must not stop doing what is
good. They must not become distracted or discouraged from what Jesus
wants them to be and to do.
Jesus also tells them how long to hold fast: till I come. We are to “hang in there” and stand strong for Jesus until He comes. It’s only then that the battle will be over.
Revelation 2: 26-28 The promise of a reward. And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations; “He shall rule them with a rod of iron; they shall be dashed to pieces like the potter’s vessels”; as I also have received from My Father; and I will give him the morning star.
He who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end: Even when there is the immoral and idolatrous influence of a Jezebel, Christians can overcome and keep Jesus’ works until the end. We must not become overly discouraged at immorality and idolatry around us, even among Christians. God’s work will still go on through His over comers.
To him I will give power over the nations: Jesus promised that His people would reign with Him. Here, there is a special promise to those who overcome the threat of immorality and idolatry. To them, Jesus offers a share in His own kingdom.
He shall rule them with a rod of iron: This quotation from Psalm 2 speaks of the authority of the Messiah when He rules over the earth. In that day, righteousness will be enforced, and those who rebel against Jesus will be dashed to pieces like a clay pot hit with an iron bar. Jesus includes this here to give hope to the faithful Christians of Thyatira, who felt overwhelmed by the immorality and idolatry all around them. Jesus reminds them “You’re on My winning team.”
“The word for ‘rule’ (Gr. poimanei) means literally ‘to shepherd.’ Their rule will not be simply that of executing judgment, but also that of administering mercy and direction.” (Walvoord)
I will give him the morning star: Jesus offers them a reward greater than the kingdom. He offers them the reward of Himself, because He is the Morning Star (Revelation 22:16).
Revelation 2:29 A general exhortation to all whom will hear. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
He who has an ear: This is a letter that applies to all: those who are like Jezebel, who lead others into sin.
those who follow the teaching of a Jezebel, and follow others into sin, those who permit a Jezebel to work her wickedness, and it applies to the faithful who must hold fast.
The Message to the Church of Sardis--A Dead Church
Revelation 3
1And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.
These things say He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: Jesus describes Himself, by using terms that emphasize His character as the Master of every spiritual power and authority. The repetition of the number seven indicates this, because seven is the number of completeness in the Bible. Therefore, Jesus holds the fullness of the Spirit of God, and the fullness of the church.
The character of the city of Sardis.
And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, At the time Jesus spoke these words to John, the ancient city of Sardis had seen its best days and had started to decline. Yet it was a wealthy city, being situated at the junction of several important roads and trade routes. The connection between Sardis and money--easy money--was well known in the ancient world. I found it interesting to note that the first coinage ever to be minted in Asia Minor was minted in Sardis. These coins were the beginning of money in the modern sense of the term, so it can be said that Sardis was the place where modern money was born.
Sardis great city of defense. This softness, and lack of discipline and dedication, was the doom of Sardis on a few different occasions. The Greek historian tells the story of the fall of Sardis in days of Cyrus. King Cyrus had come to Sardis, and found the position of the city ideally suited for defense. There seemed to be no way to scale the steep cliff walls that surrounded the city. He offered a rich reward to any soldier in his army who could figure out a way to get up to the city. One solider studied the problem carefully, and as he looked he saw a soldier defending Sardis drop his helmet down the cliff walls. He watched as the soldier climbed down a hidden trail to recover his helmet. He marked the location of the trail and led a detachment of troops up it that night. When they easily scaled the cliffs, and came to the actual city walls, they found them unguarded. The soldiers of Sardis were so confident in the natural defenses of their city they felt no need to keep a diligent watch. So the city was easily conquered. Curiously, the same thing happened almost 200 years later when Antiochus attacked and conquered the overconfident city that didn’t set a watch.
I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive.
I know your works: As Jesus says to each church, He also says to Sardis. What a church is and what a church does is never hidden from Jesus. That you have a name that you are alive: Jesus knew the church at Sardis had a name - that is, a reputation - of life and vitality. If you looked at the church of Sardis, you would see signs of life and vitality. In the church of Sardis, like the city of Sardis, everything seemed alive and good. “We are not to get the impression that Sardis was a defunct affair with the building a wreck, the members scattered, the pastor ready to resign. It was a busy church with meetings every night, committees galore, wheels within wheels, promotion and publicity, something going on all the time. It had a reputation of being a live, wide-awake, going concern.” (Havner)
What Jesus has against the church? But you are dead. Dead: Despite their reputation of life, Jesus saw them for what they really were. But you are dead shows that a good reputation is no guarantee of true spiritual character. Despite their good appearance, Jesus saw them for what they really were. Dead indicates no struggle, no fight, no persecution. It wasn’t that the church at Sardis was losing the battle. A dead body has lost the battle, and the fight seems over. In this letter, Jesus doesn’t encourage the Christians in Sardis to stand strong against persecution or false doctrine, probably because there simply wasn’t a significant danger of these things in Sardis. Being dead, the church in Sardis presented no significant threat to Satan’s domain, so it wasn’t worth attacking. The church in Sardis was “A perfect model of inoffensive Christianity” (Caird). Another commentator says, “It was not scandalous wickedness, but decent death; the form retained, the heart gone.” “The church of Sardis was at peace - but it was the peace of the dead."
Thank You God for this revelation, for letting us know who You are--the Revelation of Jesus Christ. We are gonna continue to make new years revelations, not resolutions. As we walked in this morning, the end is our new beginning. Get excited about what God is about to do in 2012. Get excited about what God is already showing us before it comes to pass. Before we even cross over into the new year, He is reveling more about His promises. Thank You Lord! Because God is the same, yesterday, today and forever more! God is still showing us who He is. He is still showing us His glory and faith. The end is our new beginning!!! Get ready to start all over again. Get ready to see the new thing. Get ready to be stronger, better and wiser. Get ready to walk into a new year, that God has never left nor forsaken you. You know that God said He is doing a new thing and shall we not know it? It is springing forth all around us!! Thank You God. Fiveamprayer we have to see what God is doing. He is telling us before it happens. Get excited about the victory that we are gonna win! The battle has always been God's not ours! If God be for us, who or what can stand against us!? Get ready, the fight is not over! We can't be dead in our spirit. We have to get up, letting the enemy know that we are still here, still standing on His word. Still speaking His word. Still trusting in His word! Pick up your sword and start swinging, because you have a revelation of who your Father is! Praise His name! He holds all grace in His hand. We have got a revelation, it is His favor that is over our lives. He just continues to bless and keep us day after day. He said we are blessed and highly favored. Blessed in the city and in the field, blessed coming in and going out. I don't know about you, but I am excited about 2012. We walked in the year of abundance in 2011 and in 2012 we are walking in the overflow! Get ready to see the new thing! The God that we serve is more than able and He is also willing to give freely unto His children! Thank You Abba! Having done all that we can, we continued to stand on His word. Knowing that He makes a way out of no way. He has already created a way of escape for us!! We can walk into 2012 knowing that He already has gone before us--making the crooked places straight. Fiveamprayer, continue to hold on to the word that God has give you! Get ready for overflow blessing as we walk into our new territories. As we begin to suit up for battle for 2012, praying without ceasing--knowing we can find You, Lord on our knees in prayer. You have instructed us to always pray and not faint. Fiveamprayer, you are at the end which is the new beginning. We come to lift up fiveamprayer, have them to know that the end is the beginning. As the prepare to enter into the new year. We lift up prayer requests, those known and unknown--cover them with Your grace and mercy, like never before. If they need healing, let them know that by Your stripes they were healed. If they need peace that You have a peace that surpasses all understanding. That they can be kept in perfect peace with their minds stayed on You. We come to repent and ask for forgiveness, knowing that there is no condemnation to those in Christ Jesus. Thank You Lord for casting our sins away, as far as the east is from the west. God is letting us know that there is still time to repent and be reconciled unto the Father.
We seal this prayer in His precious blood: 1 Chronicles 4:10 And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.
Welcome to the overflow...
Revelation 2: 26-28 The promise of a reward. And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations; “He shall rule them with a rod of iron; they shall be dashed to pieces like the potter’s vessels”; as I also have received from My Father; and I will give him the morning star.
He who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end: Even when there is the immoral and idolatrous influence of a Jezebel, Christians can overcome and keep Jesus’ works until the end. We must not become overly discouraged at immorality and idolatry around us, even among Christians. God’s work will still go on through His over comers.
To him I will give power over the nations: Jesus promised that His people would reign with Him. Here, there is a special promise to those who overcome the threat of immorality and idolatry. To them, Jesus offers a share in His own kingdom.
He shall rule them with a rod of iron: This quotation from Psalm 2 speaks of the authority of the Messiah when He rules over the earth. In that day, righteousness will be enforced, and those who rebel against Jesus will be dashed to pieces like a clay pot hit with an iron bar. Jesus includes this here to give hope to the faithful Christians of Thyatira, who felt overwhelmed by the immorality and idolatry all around them. Jesus reminds them “You’re on My winning team.”
“The word for ‘rule’ (Gr. poimanei) means literally ‘to shepherd.’ Their rule will not be simply that of executing judgment, but also that of administering mercy and direction.” (Walvoord)
I will give him the morning star: Jesus offers them a reward greater than the kingdom. He offers them the reward of Himself, because He is the Morning Star (Revelation 22:16).
Revelation 2:29 A general exhortation to all whom will hear. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
He who has an ear: This is a letter that applies to all: those who are like Jezebel, who lead others into sin.
those who follow the teaching of a Jezebel, and follow others into sin, those who permit a Jezebel to work her wickedness, and it applies to the faithful who must hold fast.
The Message to the Church of Sardis--A Dead Church
Revelation 3
1And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.
These things say He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: Jesus describes Himself, by using terms that emphasize His character as the Master of every spiritual power and authority. The repetition of the number seven indicates this, because seven is the number of completeness in the Bible. Therefore, Jesus holds the fullness of the Spirit of God, and the fullness of the church.
The character of the city of Sardis.
And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, At the time Jesus spoke these words to John, the ancient city of Sardis had seen its best days and had started to decline. Yet it was a wealthy city, being situated at the junction of several important roads and trade routes. The connection between Sardis and money--easy money--was well known in the ancient world. I found it interesting to note that the first coinage ever to be minted in Asia Minor was minted in Sardis. These coins were the beginning of money in the modern sense of the term, so it can be said that Sardis was the place where modern money was born.
Sardis great city of defense. This softness, and lack of discipline and dedication, was the doom of Sardis on a few different occasions. The Greek historian tells the story of the fall of Sardis in days of Cyrus. King Cyrus had come to Sardis, and found the position of the city ideally suited for defense. There seemed to be no way to scale the steep cliff walls that surrounded the city. He offered a rich reward to any soldier in his army who could figure out a way to get up to the city. One solider studied the problem carefully, and as he looked he saw a soldier defending Sardis drop his helmet down the cliff walls. He watched as the soldier climbed down a hidden trail to recover his helmet. He marked the location of the trail and led a detachment of troops up it that night. When they easily scaled the cliffs, and came to the actual city walls, they found them unguarded. The soldiers of Sardis were so confident in the natural defenses of their city they felt no need to keep a diligent watch. So the city was easily conquered. Curiously, the same thing happened almost 200 years later when Antiochus attacked and conquered the overconfident city that didn’t set a watch.
I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive.
I know your works: As Jesus says to each church, He also says to Sardis. What a church is and what a church does is never hidden from Jesus. That you have a name that you are alive: Jesus knew the church at Sardis had a name - that is, a reputation - of life and vitality. If you looked at the church of Sardis, you would see signs of life and vitality. In the church of Sardis, like the city of Sardis, everything seemed alive and good. “We are not to get the impression that Sardis was a defunct affair with the building a wreck, the members scattered, the pastor ready to resign. It was a busy church with meetings every night, committees galore, wheels within wheels, promotion and publicity, something going on all the time. It had a reputation of being a live, wide-awake, going concern.” (Havner)
What Jesus has against the church? But you are dead. Dead: Despite their reputation of life, Jesus saw them for what they really were. But you are dead shows that a good reputation is no guarantee of true spiritual character. Despite their good appearance, Jesus saw them for what they really were. Dead indicates no struggle, no fight, no persecution. It wasn’t that the church at Sardis was losing the battle. A dead body has lost the battle, and the fight seems over. In this letter, Jesus doesn’t encourage the Christians in Sardis to stand strong against persecution or false doctrine, probably because there simply wasn’t a significant danger of these things in Sardis. Being dead, the church in Sardis presented no significant threat to Satan’s domain, so it wasn’t worth attacking. The church in Sardis was “A perfect model of inoffensive Christianity” (Caird). Another commentator says, “It was not scandalous wickedness, but decent death; the form retained, the heart gone.” “The church of Sardis was at peace - but it was the peace of the dead."
Thank You God for this revelation, for letting us know who You are--the Revelation of Jesus Christ. We are gonna continue to make new years revelations, not resolutions. As we walked in this morning, the end is our new beginning. Get excited about what God is about to do in 2012. Get excited about what God is already showing us before it comes to pass. Before we even cross over into the new year, He is reveling more about His promises. Thank You Lord! Because God is the same, yesterday, today and forever more! God is still showing us who He is. He is still showing us His glory and faith. The end is our new beginning!!! Get ready to start all over again. Get ready to see the new thing. Get ready to be stronger, better and wiser. Get ready to walk into a new year, that God has never left nor forsaken you. You know that God said He is doing a new thing and shall we not know it? It is springing forth all around us!! Thank You God. Fiveamprayer we have to see what God is doing. He is telling us before it happens. Get excited about the victory that we are gonna win! The battle has always been God's not ours! If God be for us, who or what can stand against us!? Get ready, the fight is not over! We can't be dead in our spirit. We have to get up, letting the enemy know that we are still here, still standing on His word. Still speaking His word. Still trusting in His word! Pick up your sword and start swinging, because you have a revelation of who your Father is! Praise His name! He holds all grace in His hand. We have got a revelation, it is His favor that is over our lives. He just continues to bless and keep us day after day. He said we are blessed and highly favored. Blessed in the city and in the field, blessed coming in and going out. I don't know about you, but I am excited about 2012. We walked in the year of abundance in 2011 and in 2012 we are walking in the overflow! Get ready to see the new thing! The God that we serve is more than able and He is also willing to give freely unto His children! Thank You Abba! Having done all that we can, we continued to stand on His word. Knowing that He makes a way out of no way. He has already created a way of escape for us!! We can walk into 2012 knowing that He already has gone before us--making the crooked places straight. Fiveamprayer, continue to hold on to the word that God has give you! Get ready for overflow blessing as we walk into our new territories. As we begin to suit up for battle for 2012, praying without ceasing--knowing we can find You, Lord on our knees in prayer. You have instructed us to always pray and not faint. Fiveamprayer, you are at the end which is the new beginning. We come to lift up fiveamprayer, have them to know that the end is the beginning. As the prepare to enter into the new year. We lift up prayer requests, those known and unknown--cover them with Your grace and mercy, like never before. If they need healing, let them know that by Your stripes they were healed. If they need peace that You have a peace that surpasses all understanding. That they can be kept in perfect peace with their minds stayed on You. We come to repent and ask for forgiveness, knowing that there is no condemnation to those in Christ Jesus. Thank You Lord for casting our sins away, as far as the east is from the west. God is letting us know that there is still time to repent and be reconciled unto the Father.
We seal this prayer in His precious blood: 1 Chronicles 4:10 And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.
Welcome to the overflow...
Because
our end is a new beginning, make ready for the overflow. God is gonna
open up a window of heaven and pour out a blessing that there will not
be room enough to receive it! Get ready 2012 because 2011 is coming to
an end. Get ready to walk into that new thing! A new you in the new
year, full of revelations from His word! We bless Your name Lord.
Thank You for having us walk through this book of Revelation, letting us
know what the prophecy is all about--being reconciled to God. You are
still forgiving, merciful, all knowing, full of favor and grace, the
same in every age--eternal, without end. We know that You are still in
control and still on the throne. No matter how it appears to the
natural eye, You have this all under Your control. All that we went
through in 2011 will soon be over. Done, finished, no more. God is
doing a new thing. He is giving us a 1000 fold return, we will get
double for our trouble. Now is not the time to give up!! You have
gotta keep holding on! He has spoken it and His word does not return
void. Make a new years revelation not resolution. We can count it all
joy. The joy of the Lord is our strength. The end is our new
beginning! Hallelujah! Praise His name!!
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