Apathy is perhaps the most dangerous force in our day. Many do not have hope, do not have purpose, and simply do not care. This was the dangerous condition of the church at Laodicea. They had everything they needed from a worldly standpoint yet they were still empty. Jesus challenged them to make a decision. Either live for Christ or live for the world.
Sometimes when we’ve gotten off course, we need to be brought back. Other times we’re on the right track, we just need to be encouraged. This is what we will learn this week. When our strength is low, we are encouraged by Jesus to keep going in His strength.
This past Sunday, Pastor Josh preached from Revelation 3:7-13, a Letter to the Church in Philadelphia. This letter has no rebuke, but rather is an encouragement to persevere.
Have you every driven home from work or school only to realize you don’t remember any of the drive? At times, we can get into “auto-pilot” mode. The same is true spiritually speaking. At times, we can find ourselves just going through the motions and coasting.
Yesterday, Elder Nathan Tunison preached a compelling and tough message on Revelation 2:18-29 (a letter to the church in Thyatira). In this letter, Jesus gives a warning to the church about sexually immorality, adultery and idolatry.
Today we studied Revelation 2:12-17 (a letter to the church in Pergamum) and discussed the pitfalls of compromise when it comes to God's word and truth. Jesus calls us to trust Him and trust Him alone. The question is, who are we being discipled by, the world or Jesus?
Difficulty is not fun, but God produces amazing things in us out of difficulty - Clarity, focus, determination, settledness, dependence. James 1:2-4 reminds us to consider it pure joy when we face trials because the testing of our faith produces perseverance. If you are going through difficulty, hold steady and lean into Jesus.
Yesterday we kicked off our Revelation series by examining the first letter to the Church in Ephesus in Revelation 2:1-7.