This
Weeks Message- (scripture taken from King James Version)
-PART 5 OF 7-
THE DEAD CHURCH
And
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. Be watchful, and
strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works
perfect before God. Remember therefore how
thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent.
If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou
shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. Thou
hast a few names even in Sardis
which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are
worthy. He that overcometh, the same shall be
clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I
will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit
saith unto the churches. (Rev 3:1-6)
Outwardly,
having the appearance of being alive while inwardly, they are dead
..
The
church at Sardis (Capital of Lydia, an area known for its worship of the idol
Artemis the so-called goddess of fertility) was located about 30
miles Southeast of Thyratira, and is the subject of the fifth letter written to those
described as being The Dead Church.
The
life of the body is the spirit. When the
spirit departs, the body is then considered dead. Such
as it were in the body of believers at Sardis. Through the observation of man, everything about
this church outwardly appeared perfect, but the Lord observed the inward and
found much imperfections thereof. They had
become spiritually dead, despite their known reputation of being
spiritually vital. The name they
had made of themselves as being a church that was alive and godly,
was in essence an illusion, for the only Godliness they possessed was that of having a
form of it. They lacked the true
power of God because they had not the Spirit, and what little there was left among them
was quickly perishing as well. The Lord warns
them to strengthen the little that did remain, and to be watchful, as it is
clear the cause of their spiritual death was due to the fact that theyd let their
spiritual guard down. They no longer were
careful in their watch against sin, but became slothful with the exception of a few there
whom the Lord acknowledged as not having
defiled their garments (not have given
themselves over to sin and had remained faithful to The Lord), and for such he
declared would walk with him in white, for they were worthy.
There
are many today as there were in the church at Sardis
who fit perfectly into what would be labeled as The
Dead
Church. They have become spiritually dead. They appear to be full yet they are truly empty. They appear to be on fire outwardly,
while inwardly theyve long since doused the flame.
They work their works without perfection, for theyve lost their
purpose for the works, as they are no longer done through genuine love, but to be seen and
praised by man. They are so caught up in the
outward that theyve neglected the inward, and have removed
the Spirit from leadership by welcoming the things of the flesh. Services have become ritualistic and robotic, where
man dictates and the Holy Spirit waits his turn. The
Spirit is not given opportunity to have his way and fill the sheep of the Lord
with His presence, but is welcome at set times, and removed abruptly when man believes he
has been filled. However, the truth of the
matter is in such cases, theyve never truly experienced the presence of Almighty
God, despite the illusion they cast off as having been in the presence of his Glory. For only a TRUE
hunger and desire for Him will usher in his presence.
Not by words alone, but from the depth of ones soul, for he CANNOT be
manipulated, nor will he appear and disappear upon command.
The Spirit of the Lord comes where He is indeed welcomed. He comes not to put on a show as hes not
about theatrics, but about POWER and comes to draw us into that perfect place of
fellowship with our Father. Many within
the dead church attempt to operate in the things of the spirit WITHOUT the
Spirit, and this is virtually IMPOSSIBLE to do. Walking
in trespass and sin, spiritual ignorance, being carnal minded, hypocrisy, unbelief,
alienation from God and the like, all will result to spiritual death. WITHOUT the Spirit, the body is
dead
.WITHOUT the Leadership of THE SPIRIT, there is NO leadership
.
Those
of the dead church problems begin when they take their focus off the spirit
and by letting down their spiritual guard, they are open to sin and deception. This may even come in the form of
godliness, but may not be the God Commanded thing to do. Because it may look good, doesnt
mean it is indeed good or needful. For
example, to build great buildings for the spoken purpose of congregating the
sheep may appear to be the godly thing to do, but the God
Commanded thing to do would be to first FEED the sheep. For while much focus is being placed on glorifying
and expanding the beauty of the building, The TRUE temple where The Holy Spirit is housed,
The body of Christ, his beloved sheep go hungry both physically and spiritually. While the building of stone is strengthen, the body
is weakened and glory is given to the building while the Spirit is no more. Having the body WITHOUT the Spirit will produce NO
good fruit. We must be spiritually minded in
ALL things.
Just
as the church at Sardis
was commanded of the Lord to Remember therefore how thou hast received and
heard, and hold fast, and repent so
it is to all whove become spiritually dead in the things of The Lord. Remember the blessedness of the Lord, his grace,
his mercy, his unfailing love, and how it was you received Him and cling to this! RETURN BACK to your first Love in sincere
repentance, giving the Holy Spirit His rightful place in you! If youve CONFESSED Jesus as LORD of your
life, LET HIM INDEED BE SUCH! Remember that
without the Spirit, the body is as dead! It is
the spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth NOTHING!
I
Love you all so very much. Have a blessed week
in the Lord and remember: Whatever we do, do ALL
for the GLORY of GOD, who ALONE is worthy of the GLORY and the PRAISE!
The Lord be
with you this day and always! Shalom Uvracha
(Peace and Blessings)
..
Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh,
Adonai
Elohim Tzeva-ot
Asher Hayah Va-ho-veh VaYvo
Holy, Holy, Holy
Lord God Almighty
Who was and is and is to come!
May the peace of the Lord be with you
today and always
Khandielese
Daughter & Servant
of the Lord God
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