To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again … Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death. (Rev. 2:8-11)

Smyrna was the afflicted and impoverished church that was about to undergo even more persecution. Some, Jesus confided, would even be put in prison for their faith. In the midst of that Jesus gave a promise for those who remained aligned with the Father and whose faith endured. The promise was the crown of life. The crown here is the victor’s crown. Paul often compared the Christian life to a race and called on the followers of Jesus to not only finish the race but to run to win. For those who won by being faithful, a great reward awaited them at the end of the race.

For those who remain faithful, the King of Kings will grant a victor’s crown. A reward comes with the crown and that reward is eternal life. For those who receive such a crown, the second death or eternal punishment offers no threat. For those who know the Lord, judgment day will be a day when honors are bestowed and rewards given. There will be no threat of hell. The crown signifies favor, status, honor, and a hero’s welcome.

The promises of God for those who stay in step with the Father’s heart are amazing and eternal. What confounds me is how quickly and easily we dismiss those promises and rewards for earthly rewards and pleasures that can’t compare. How many of us are willing to trade an incomparable birthright for a bowl of stew like Esau? How many believers trade the promises of heaven for an affair than can never lead anywhere, for an addiction that only takes us deeper into darkness, or for material gain and fame that, like cotton candy, only satisfies for a moment and then disappears. Salvation comes by grace but reward is based on our fruit and our faithfulness and much of heaven’s reward is available now.

Even in this life we can experience honor, friendship with the Kings, power and authority in the Spirit, revelation, fellowship with the Father, joy, peace, significance, purpose, angelic encounters, spiritual family, provision, miracles, supernatural gifts, the Father’s approval, influence, love, forgiveness, and life to the full. All these things are available now to those who desire them, seek them and stay aligned with the purposes of God. Even now we can receive those form the hand of our Father in Heaven.

What can the world offer that surpasses these heavenly treasures? And yet, believers so easily lay these promises aside to chase after the things of the world and the deceptions of Satan. The devil promises to provide all the things our hearts desire and promises that we can have them without cost and without consequence. Just as he told Eve that she wouldn’t actually die he tells us that our decisions to leave the path of God will truly take us where we want to go. But scripture is clear. “God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life” (Gal.6:7-8).

As we please the flesh, destruction is planted. Eventually we must reap a harvest regardless of what Satan tells us. However, the promise of life that Jesus offers is much greater. A crown of victory and the honor that goes with it is assured because God cannot be mocked. I fully believe that we may experience that crown even in this life as we experience victory after victory over the enemy. But I also believe that Jesus will personally place one on your head as you enter into his presence if you stay faithful to the end. No athlete becomes great without suffering. I’m pretty sure that is true for those who follow Jesus as well. But when we suffer and endure, the crown waiting just on the other side of the finish line will make it all worthwhile. Do not give up or give in. Jesus who ran the race before us is waiting to welcome you

Over the past week or so we have been looking at the letters to the seven churches of Asia to get insights into some of the things that take us out of the will of God or that misalign us with his heart. For those who want to walk in the fullness of God’s Spirit for a lifetime, staying aligned with the Father is crucial because being out of step with the Lord restricts the flow of the Spirit.

One thing we need to notice is that each of the churches who received a rebuke were still serving God in some ways and were still lifting up the name of Jesus. But they were also participating in or tolerating certain things that generated a warning from heaven that discipline was in the pipeline – even to the extent of Jesus removing their lampstand which might be a reference to the Holy Spirit.

However, for those who responded to the warning and realigned themselves with the Father, there were numerous promises. Some of the promises were primarily for the life to come but many can be understood as promises for the here and now. I want to look at those promises over the next few days because they are part of our motivation for staying in step with the Spirit in every facet of our lives.

To the church in Ephesus, Jesus said, “To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. (Rev.2:7). The word overcomes is significant because later in Revelation we are told that the saints overcame the devil “by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony” (Rev.12:11. The word translated “overcomes” is the word “nikao” in Greek. It does not mean to simply endure but it means to triumph over, to win, to defeat, or to overwhelm the enemy. The word communicates aggressive action on our part rather than a passive endurance. It calls to mind the words of Jesus that the gates of hell will not prevail against his church. Victory for the believer comes from being on the offensive rather than the defensive. It reminds us that many great promises stand on our ability and willingness to wield the power and authority of heaven (divine weapons – 2 Cor. 10:3-6). Even though the promise of the tree of life in the paradise of God seems to be related to our heavenly state, we must remember that we are already citizens of heaven and are now seated with Christ in spiritual realms.

The promise seems to be that for those who align themselves with heaven and who aggressively take on the enemy, two things will be theirs in both this life and the life to come. One is the energy and power that flows from heaven that fuels an eternal life and the other is rest and the presence of God which paradise has always symbolized. In the book of Genesis the tree of life stood in the midst of the garden and those who ate of it could live forever. In John’s writings (which include his gospel. his letters and the book of Revelation) eternal life is not about duration as much as it is quality. Eternal life is the kind of life experienced by those who live in close fellowship with the Father. Jesus showed us that life in its fullness and that life is also available to those who live for Jesus no. The power and provision of heaven was a constant in the life of Jesus.

But in the paradise of God there was also rest and the presence of the Father. In the midst of threats and an almost chaotic schedule Jesus often stole away and found rest and comfort in the presence of the Father. How often did he go away to a private place exhausted, spend the night in prayer, and come back energized – even walking on water?

As Jesus closed his memorandum to the church at Ephesus he called them to repentance or “realignment” and promised that those who stayed faithful and maintained their alignment with the heart of the Father could live on this earth with access to the power and provision of heaven along with the rest and renewal that comes from being in the very presence of God. Ultimately, I believe that Jesus is the tree of life. Those who eat of the tree can live forever and those who eat of the bread of life will also live forever (Jn.6:51). It is through a close walk with Jesus that all these promises are ours. As we partake of Jesus we partake of life, rest, and presence. We partake of Jesus by submitting all that we are and all that we have to him with nothing reserved for ourselves. Be blessed today.

“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this: ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. ‘So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. ‘Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. ‘Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent. ‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. (Rev.3:14-20)

The church at Laodicea is famous for the rebuke they received from Jesus rather than any praise. The church is mentioned several times in Paul’s letter to the church in Colosse. He mentioned how hard he had been working to establish the church in Laodicea and how much prayer he and others had been pouring into that church. Apparently he had great hopes for it. By the time John penned the Revelation he received from Jesus, Paul has been martyred for the faith and the church at Laodicea has slipped to a dangerous place.

Laodicea was a town famous for wealth and commerce in a region that produced medicines, including eye salves, along with wool for clothing. They were also famous for hot springs and fresh cold springs in the region that people travelled to for therapeutic reasons. Apparently the church there had prospered rather than being persecuted. Jesus does not mention any false teachers or persecution from the Jews or Romans. The church there had simply settled in to the good life and had stopped doing the works of God.

They considered themselves rich and in need of nothing which, biblically, is a very dangerous place to be. Apparently, their contentment and prosperity had taken the spiritual edge off their lives. Undoubtedly their prayer life was withering, their evangelism was probably aimed at the other prosperous citizens of Laodicea with whom they did business, and it’s possible that the poor had completely dropped off their radar because they didn’t live in “that part of town” anymore. Sometimes wealthy Christians and churches cocoon themselves off from poverty and suffering and take pride in great music, facilities and programs that rarely if ever touch the poor, the outcasts or the lost.

Jesus warned them that their worldly contentment made them of no use in the kingdom of God. Cold water and hot water both had therapeutic uses but lukewarm water had no healing properties so Jesus said he would spit it out on the ground. As believers we are to be salt and light for this world. We are to provide healing for the hurting and reconciliation for the alienated. Laodicea got not honorable mention for being any of that.

The church in Laodicea undoubted took their prosperity as a sign of God’s approval when, in fact, it was just the opposite. Jesus declared that, from the walls of heaven, those at Laodicea appeared poor, naked, miserable and blind. Jesus counseled them to reconsider their hearts and their position and to do business with him once again rather than the world. He counseled them to seek treasures in heaven where true and eternal riches could be stored up rather than pursuing what the world valued.

The most sobering part of this letter is the revelation that their self-sufficiency and prosperity had pushed Jesus out of their church. He was on the outside, knocking at the door, and seeking fellowship with them again. Their hearts had become misaligned with his and they were no longer walking together. This letter is not an indictment of prosperity because prosperity can fund the works of the kingdom but it is a warning that prosperity can give us a false sense of security and a false sense of God’s approval.

In the oil rich Permian Basin right now, many people are making more money than they ever imagined but in many churches giving has gone down, non-profits are not seeing their donations soar, and many believers are rarely seen on Sunday mornings because of work or travel. The prosperity God has provided seems to be flowing away from the kingdom rather than toward it. That is certainly not true for all but is apparently true for many.

One of the dangers of prosperity is that it forces believers to do business with the world and in doing so often promotes compromise and unequal yoking for the sake of business. Eventually, Jesus can be crowded out of our hearts by the priorities of the world and worldly thinking. Wise believers who are being blessed financially have to guard against those things. All of us need to listen carefully to make sure there is not a knock on our door because Jesus has found himself on the outside of our lives. If you hear it, open it quickly and let him back in. Ultimately, he is the only business partner you will ever need.

To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth. I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. (Rev. 3:7-11)

The church at Philadelphia receives no rebuke from the Lord but only a commendation and a promise. When we are aligned with the Father’s heart we can expect the same. Let’s look to see what they did have. First of all, this church was faithful. Apparently it was not a large church full of resources and influence but it was a church that had continued to serve Jesus with good deeds, they have kept his word and been obedient to his commands, and had not denied his name even in the face of Jewish opposition or criticism. They had endured patiently and that fact caught the Lord’s attention in a big way.

Endurance and patience are spiritual qualities of the mature. It is easy to stay passionate and faithful when everything is going your way. When churches are growing and God is prospering his people the kingdom looks bright. When persecution is a short-lived event then people shake it off like a bad storm and move on feeling triumphant because they survived. The hard thing in the kingdom of God is grinding out a life of faith when the persecution keeps coming and you are not seeing massive breakthroughs. It is easy for discouragement to set in when God hasn’t answered the prayer or brought the solution as quickly as you thought he would. It’s even tougher if you see other churches or other believers prospering and having quick victories in their lives while you continue to slog it out.

The praise and the promise for Philadelphia came because they had continued to do what they could with little strength or power even in the face of constant discouragement. They were faithful and had endured. Because of that Jesus, determined to open a door for them that no man could close. Because they had endured long he was giving them success that would last long time…an open door for evangelism, ministry, or blessing. Not only that but he was going to protect them from trials that others would soon face because they had already faced their trials. In addition, he would cause those who had persecuted them to come and acknowledge that these believers were true children of God.

The principle in this is that those who must wait another season before prayers are answered are given a greater blessing if they endure the season with faith. The question of Job is whether God is worthy of our worship and service regardless of our circumstances or only if we always get what we want. Job answered that he was always worthy and because of that he was blessed more in the end than in the beginning.

Some believers wait for healing, others wait for pregnancy, others wait to be release from re-education camps in China, others wait for a child to come home. If they wait in faith and continue to serve and obey God will surely honor that faith when some kind of open door that no man will be able to shut. God declares, “Those who honor me, I will honor” (1 Sam.2:30). Patient endurance and faithfulness honors God. Be sure, he will honor you as he honored those in Philadelphia. Be blessed.

To the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you. Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his names from the book of life. (Rev.3:1-5)

In his letter to the seven churches in Asia, Jesus delivers a stern rebuke to the church at Sardis. Although this city was the home of pagan temples, a huge Jewish synagogue, and a city under Roman rule, no enemies are mentioned as they have been with the previous churches. The problem with Sardis was that it was living on reputation but in actuality it’s passion and vision for the kingdom of God had diminished to the point of being lifeless.

Sardis was, apparently, an outstanding church at one time. But the church had grown weary. It had stopped serving and evangelizing as it had done in the past. It was a group of believers who had slipped into early retirement. Perhaps they felt that they had done their part for the kingdom and now it was time for others to bear the burden of service and sacrifice. But Jesus declares that there is not retirement in the kingdom. Retirement comes when we are transferred to the home office – not before. The King determines when we retire. We don’t. To Jesus this church had simply decided to stop running the race and had stepped off the track.

They were like servants who had not completed the tasks their master had assigned but decided they had done enough. It’s one thing to miss an assignment God has given us. It is another thing to choose to no longer accept any assignments. Jesus declared that they were dead and called them to renewal and repentance. All was not lost but if they were to receive any reward they had to step back on the track and begin running the race one more.

Years ago I was a campus minister in a small town with a small college. Many churches in tiny rural towns in the area sent their kids to the college where I served and they attended the church that directed and supported the campus ministry there. On occasion I was asked to preach at some of the small churches that supported the ministry. I was invited to preach a Sunday evening service in a particular town where one of the students in our ministry had grown up. The service was to begin at 6:00. I arrived at 5:30. No one showed up to unlock the building until 6:05 and then others straggled in for the next fifteen minutes or so. The girl in our ministry, who was 19 or 20 years old, was the last one who had been baptized in that church when she was twelve. The night I preached I discovered that the baptistery was where the church stored their lawn mower, rakes, and garden hose along with a plethora of dead leaves and spiders. That was a dead church with no passion, no vision, and no fruit. They were an older group who had retired from the kingdom. I’m not saying that no one there loved Jesus; they had just quit bearing fruit in the kingdom. However, the church at Sardis once again suggests that fruit bearing is a genuine indicator of alignment with the heart of the Father.

One consideration for each of us who want to walk in the grace and the power of God is whether we are still passionately engaged in the work of the kingdom or if we have stepped onto the sidelines just waiting for the power to flow again before we get in the game?   Are we bearing fruit worthy of our calling and are we still running the race with diligence? Or have we become consumers in the kingdom allowing others to serve us rather than serving them? Are we partaking of other people’s fruit but not bearing any of our own? Do we glory in what we used to do for Jesus or are we asking Jesus to do more through us now than ever before? Jesus said, “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples” (Jn.15:8).

Sometimes our greatest enemies lurk in the culture around us and populate the kingdom of darkness. But sometimes we are the enemy who has let our own passion grow cold and have stepped off the track while others run. Sometimes we have stopped taking assignments from God that were scheduled before the earth was created. If so we can repent, get back in the game, and begin once again to experience the power of God. Be blessed!!! Alignment includes fruitfulness.

To the angel of the church in Thyatira write: These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first. Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.      Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets (I will not impose any other burden on you). (Rev. 2:18-24)

As we continue to consider our own personal alignment with the heart and the will of the Father we want to look at the words of Jesus to the church in Thyatira. Thyatira was a small city but because of it’s location was still a center of trade and commerce. In the city, trade unions controlled all skilled jobs. In order to work in that city you had to be a member of the union. That in itself was not a problem, but each of those unions was dedicated to a pagan god and when they met all the members were expected to participate in worship, eat food that had been dedicated to that god, and participate in any religious activities of the pagan temple. Nearly all those activities involved drunkenness and sexual immorality. As a result, it was difficult to work in Thyatira, provide for your family, and be faithful to Jesus.

The letter begins with a sobering description of Jesus as one having blazing eyes and feet of bronze. This is a picture of a righteous judge who can see through any pretense and who will deal out judgment and even harsh discipline if needed. Within the church was a woman who had all the qualities of Queen Jezebel from the Old Testament. She must have been domineering, manipulative, ruthless, and seductive. She presented herself as a prophetess and so she gave Satanic counsel in the name of the Lord.

Apparently, she encouraged the believers to practice situation ethics and to “go along to get along.” Her argument was that a man had to provide for his family. To provide he must work. To work he must be part of a guild. To be part of a guild he must participate in their idolatry and immorality.   To participate was acceptable, even for a believer, because it was the only way he could provide for his family.

This kind of reasoning was another form of compromise and a lack of faith in the God who will provide for those who serve him faithfully. Even today, some believers compromise their faith in order to maintain or move ahead in their career but somehow excuse it as “needful” because they “must provide for their family.” Sometimes it takes the form of entertaining clients with liquor and women or going to clubs. Sometimes it is participating in unethical business practices. At other times it is working so many hours a week that there is no time for God or spiritual family. And at other times it is just trying to fit in by participating in the gossip, the sexual humor, and the “one too many drinks” at happy hour every Friday so that their witness is compromised. Some of us are very different when we are with non-Christians on the golf course, the basketball court, or in the deer blind than we are at church in an effort to “fit in” and be one of the guys. The problem is that we were not called into the kingdom to fit in with the world. We are to be different – not self-righteous or judgmental – but distinctive. If non-believers don’t experience a distinct difference with us, then there is no witness.

We all live with the temptation to compartmentalize our lives by being Christian when we are with Christians and being worldly when we are with the world. But Jesus makes it very clear that he must be Lord over every part of our life all the time and not just when it is convenient. The Righteous Judge who did not compromise his mission finds no valid reasons to compromise the faith. The sad thing is that although there was evidence of love, faith, service, and perseverance in the church the people still allowed this “prophetess” to lead them into idolatry and immorality because it seemed pragmatic and kept them from having to face the potential for suffering and sacrifice.

In the letters to the churches of Asia we have read so far, each church had been doing praiseworthy things for the kingdom of God but had certain practices in their lives that were unacceptable to the righteous judge. Sometimes we think that doing good on the one hand buys us a wink from God about the unrepented sin in our life on the other hand. But that intentional, unrepented misalignment will cost us eventually. For the power of God to flow through us we must reserve nothing for ourselves and trust God in every part of our lives – even with our livelihood. The promise of great reward stands for those who entrust everything to him. That is alignment.

To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword. I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives. Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality. Likewise you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. (Rev. 2:12-16).

We are continuing to look at the letters to the seven churches of Asia in the beginning chapters of the book of Revelation as an opportunity to check our alignment with the Father so that nothing hinders the flow of the Spirit in our lives. Frequent course corrections are usually needed for all of us if we are to stay aligned with our “true north.” These letters remind us that we can be on track spiritually in parts of our lives while being seriously out-of-step in other parts.

In his admonition to the church in Pergamum, Jesus acknowledged the things they had done that prompted praise from heaven. They had not renounced the name of Jesus or rejected the faith even in the face of brutal persecution. Within the city was a huge altar that was built for sacrifices to Zeus or Athena or both. Some believe this is the throne of Satan referenced in the letter. The city was a center for pagan worship. The bible is clear that demons rather than gods are the power behind any idol so that Satan had a stronghold within this city that warred against the church. The church had held its own when hell had broken out against them and even when Antipas was martyred for the faith. Jesus affirmed them for their faith that had been sustained in a demonic stronghold.

However, their faith wasn’t all that it could be. The real issue among the “faithful” of Pergamum was tolerance. Apparently they tolerated men and women in the church who still participated in idolatry and immorality and who were enticing other believers to join them. In a city with so much demonic influence and immorality it may have seemed that what these individuals promoted was “not so bad” compared to the culture around them and yet Jesus taught that a little leaven will eventually affect the entire loaf. In essence, the culture was impacting the church rather than the church impacting the culture. A little tolerance and a little political correctness may seem to buy the church a little acceptance by the culture but it is offensive to the Spirit. True alignment always seeks the praise of the Father over the praise of men.

Compromise with the culture misaligns us with the Father and his heart. That is true for churches but just as true in our personal lives as well. When we are surrounded by a demonic and debase culture it is easy to compromise with the flesh and the culture by engaging in things that seem “more moral” than what the culture at large is practicing.  After a while, the “more moral than the culture” may become a standard in our lives rather than biblical standards of righteousness. My guess is that this compromise shows up most in movies, television, books, magazines, and web sites that believers frequent.

For instance, many believers feel no hesitation to go to a PG-13 movie because our culture considers the content to be fairly tame. However, what is seen in PG-13 movies now would have been R-rated or even X-rated 50 years ago. The standard for each of us should not be not what the culture considers harmless but what the Spirit finds unoffensive.

Many of us watch television shows that promote homosexuality, adultery, premarital sex, or greed as an acceptable lifestyle with no thought of those things being sin and being highly offensive to the Spirit of God. Compromise with the culture, even in what we watch or read, dulls our spiritual sensitivity to the things that are unholy. They also dull our sensitivity to the things that are holy.

Undoubtedly, when we are committed to live by biblical standards of righteousness we will seem fanatical or prudish to most of the people around us – even to other believers. And yet tolerance and compromise are the very things about which Jesus warned the church at Pergamum. The more aligned we are with the Father’s heart, the more of his Spirit we will experience. Alignment is about saying yes to the things of God and no to the things of the world. May we choose well today so that the power of heaven can flow easily in our lives and may we ask for a spiritual sensitivity to the things that please the Spirit or that grieve him.

The key to walking in the power of the Spirit is to be consistently led by the Spirit. At the same time, Paul counsels us to avoid grieving (Eph.4:30) or quenching (1 Thess.5:19, ESV) the Spirit. How do we avoid quenching or grieving God’s Spirit? We avoid those two positions by keeping in step (Gal.5:25) with the Spirit, which is all about alignment and agreement. The famous “Amos Principal” is that two individuals can walk together only if they are in agreement with one another. If we want to walk with the Spirit we must stay in agreement with him. Staying in agreement is the key and that takes numerous course corrections as our priorities and perspectives tend to drift to one side of the road or the other. Because of that, a little self- examination from time to time is a good thing and the letters to the seven churches of Asia in the beginning chapters of Revelation is a good template to begin with. I’m going to examine these letters in each of my next seven blogs to find keys for course corrections for our alignment with the Spirit.

To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands: I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. (Rev.2:1-7)

Ephesus was a great church. Paul spent a great deal of time there as well as Timothy and the apostle John. In this letter, Jesus praises the church there for a number of things. They had worked hard, persevered in the face of unpopularity and persecution, defended the truth of the gospel and lived moral lives in a city of debauchery, false gods, and materialism.

We would probably rank any contemporary church as a great church if they met those standards. Yet Jesus calls them to repentance over one issue that might eventually cost them the presence and power of the Holy Spirit – they had fallen from their first love. Most commentators believe that “first love” was Jesus. I see no reason to disagree with that assessment. The truth is that many believers (myself included) have found ourselves doing the right things for the wrong reasons or at least for “less than the best” reasons.

As we live for Jesus year after year it is easy for our faith to become a lifestyle that we live out of conviction and habit rather than out of a love relationship with Jesus. Our Christianity can become like a long marriage in which the spouses stay together out of habit and the lack of better options rather than because of a love relationship that has deepened through the years. We can also find ourselves doing the right things to stay in the good graces of the Christian community we are a part of rather than because of a commitment to Jesus. We can even do outstanding things for the church simply to increase our standing with those we know rather than for the applause of heaven. The 13^th chapter of 1 Corinthians warns against doing great things without love being the primary motivation. He warns that great things done for reasons other than love count for nothing in the kingdom of heaven.

Paul counsels us to “fix our eyes on Jesus.” One of the reasons is that we can do very good things in the name of Jesus while our personal relationship with him withers. Those of us who find it easier to work for Jesus than to sit at his feet can make the work the thing more than the relationship. At the end of the letter to Ephesus Jesus simply calls on them to make him the center of all things again and to renew their love for him even above the church, service, and a godly lifestyle. If that descriptor fits any of us, then a course correction is in order if we are to stay in step with the Spirit.

They rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their fathers and the warnings he had given them. They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless (2 Kings 17:15).

This passage from 2 Kings is taken from a chapter explaining the deportation of Israel. Although God had pleaded with his people to abandon their idols and had sent his prophets to warn them of the impending consequences, they persisted. Because they refused to hear
God, he lifted his hand of protection. They were conquered by brutal Assyria and the majority of the Israelites were taken back to Assyria to serve as slaves.

The instructive verse is that they “followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless”. We become like the one we worship. We recognize that truth in the natural when we watch our children choose role models – maybe athletes, musicians, actors or other powerful and wealthy individuals. After a while those who “worship” the celebrity begin to dress like their idol, take on his/her mannerisms, speak like the one they long to be, and act like them in every way they can. In essence they want to become the person on whom they have set their affections. That can be a plus if the role model has great character, a humble spirit, and is a person of faith. On the other hand, if the role model is arrogant, boastful, overtly sexual, pro-drugs and alcohol, or violent then parents have cause to worry.

What about religious people? They too become like the God they worship or at least like God as they perceive him. If their God is gracious, long-suffering, forgiving, faithful, and just they will take on those characteristics over time. If he is a harsh, vindictive, score-keeping deity then they will begin to take on those qualities. If he is bent on the destruction of unbelievers then the faithful will develop that same bent. How we view and understand God is important. What we teach our children about God is of the utmost importance and how we model our God for others has profound implications. Since they assume that we are like our God then they will assume our God is like us.

To me one of the greatest theological statements in scripture is Christ’s declaration to Philip. “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (Jn.14:9). No matter how I understand scripture the actions and attitudes of Jesus are unmistakable. When we watch his compassion for the poor, the destitute, the lame, the blind, the leper, the adulterous woman and the demon-possessed man we see the Father. When we see Jesus lay down his life for every sinner we see the Father. When we hear him intercede on the cross for those who have just abused and murdered him, we see the Father. When we see Jesus frustrated and angry in the face of hypocrisy and injustice, we see the Father. There is no other God like him.

Many of us have strange or uncertain perceptions of God. We may have picked up those perceptions from angry or absent Fathers, permissive parents, and abusive religious leaders or from the hack theology of those who have never encountered God. If we struggle with our view of the Father then we would do well to take Jesus at his word and look long and hard at him to know the Father’s heart.    It is important because we will become like the one we worship. If you realize that your life is a mess or that you have become a hurtful personthen you may want to consider two possibilities: either you have given God no thought at all or you have seen him through distorted lenses. Either way, Jesus is the answer. As the saying goes, “Wise men still seek him.”

He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me, scatters. “When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order.              Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. (Luke 11:23-26)

Neutrality is a dangerous place in the spiritual realm.  I’m reminded of a scene in the movie, “O Brother Where Art Thou?”  In that scene Tommy (a young black guitarist) has just been picked up and given a ride by the three principle players in the movie – Ulysses, Delmar and Pete who had escaped from a prison chain gang a few days earlier.  The three asked Tommy what he was doing alone in the middle of nowhere and he told them that he had met the devil at a crossroads the night before and sold his soul for the ability to play guitar.  Delmar and Pete had just come upon a camp revival and had been baptized so that all their past sins and crimes could be forgiven.  As they rumbled down the road Tommy explained, “I had to be up at that there crossroads last midnight, to sell my soul to the devil.”  Ulysses then commented, “Well, ain’t it a small world, spiritually speaking. Pete and Delmar just been baptized and saved. I guess I’m the only one that remains unaffiliated.”

Many people have the idea that they can take a neutral or unaffiliated position in the spiritual realm and somehow stay out of the conflict and even enter heaven because they weren’t bad people.  Jesus spoke to that idea when he said, “He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me, scatters.”  Some actively and intentionally serve Satan while others make no commitments and remain uninvolved.  Jesus places both of those positions in the kingdom of darkness.  The truth is that everyone starts out on Satan’s team. Only those who choose to play for Jesus get to change uniforms.

The idea that I can pursue nothing spiritually and be okay because I’m not  pursuing evil things ignores the reality of the spiritual realm.  The enemy searches the world looking for vacancies and when he finds one he moves in.  Wherever he finds a heart or a life not filled with Jesus he camps there.  When a man encounters Jesus and spiritual freedom for a season but does not fill his life with the things of God….the enemy will return and bring others with him. He has the right to bring more because this man has tasted the things of God but not pursued them.  To fail to pursue the things of God is the same as rejecting them.

The warning and the encouragement is to never stop pursuing and filling your life with the things of God and his Spirit. The Spirit, like water in an old barrel, tends to leak out and must be replenished.  When enough of the Spirit that we once hungered for and pursued has leaked out, then a vacancy is formed in our soul and we become vulnerable to the enemy.  Paul instructs us to be filled with the Spirit (see Eph.5:18) because when we are filled we are fruitful but we also leave no room for the devil.

Back in my youth when I was faster and fifty pounds lighter, our football coaches always told us that the guys who were always moving and hitting hard didn’t get hurt.  The guys who were coasting or standing around on the field were the ones who got injured.  That was true most of the time and I believe it is true spiritually.  Keep moving, keep growing, keep serving, keep seeking, and keep filling up on God and there will be no vacancies or vacuums in your life that attract the enemy.  And remember, there is no one in the car who is unaffiliated because if you are not actively for Jesus  then you are against him.  No retirement in the kingdom, no coasting, no neutrality. We can all rest when we get home!  Be blessed today and fill up!