Preparing For Our Future



The Seven Churches of Revelation, also known as The Seven Churches of the Apocalypse and The Seven Churches of Asia (referring to the Roman province of Asia, not the entire continent), are seven major churches of Early Christianity, as mentioned in the New Testament Book of Revelation and written to by Ignatius of Antioch. All seven sites are in modern-day Turkey and no longer have significant Christian populations since they were emptied of Christians under the Treaty of Lausanne. In Revelation, on the Greek island of Patmos, Jesus Christ instructs his servant John to: "Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, and to Smyrna, and to Pergamos, and to Thyatira, and to Sardis, and to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea."


Ephesus: A city in the province of Asia Minor on the shore of the Aegean Sea. The famous temple of the god Artemis was located here. Paul established a strong Christian church in Ephesus.


Revelation 2:1-7 NKJV


1 "To the angel of the church of Ephesus write, 'These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands:

2 "I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars;

3 "and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name's sake and have not become weary.

4 "Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.

5 "Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place; unless you repent.

6 "But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

7 "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God."'


We all desire to hear the voice of the Lord. In the majority of our prayers we ask the Lord to speak to us. I wonder if we really want to hear what He has to say to us? Or, do we only want to hear the good things He has to say to us.


There was a young man at the prison who would come to see me every day. He would always ask about his case and how soon it would be until he heard how long he would have to remain locked up. Every day he would ask the same thing. Finally, one day this past week I received word from the Parole Board concerning the date of his release. It would not be for another year. When I delivered that message, you can imagine how distraught he became. He asked me to check and recheck and then to recheck again. He didn’t want to hear what had to be said. He wanted to hear what he wanted to hear.


I believe this is the posture we take when we question God. It is almost as if we say, “Dear tell me only good things. Don’t tell me the reality of my life.”


In the preceding passage, God, through Jesus Christ speaks to His church. I believe God is speaking to us — this literal church. I have been unable to shake these words for weeks now. I believe the Lord is giving us our opportunity to wake up and make necessary changes.


The Lord spoke to the Church at Ephesus four things which needed to be changed. I believe the Lord is speaking to us about changing those same four things.


YOU HAVE LEFT YOUR FIRST LOVE


Mark 12:30 NKJV - 'And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' This is the first commandment.


Joshua 22:5 NKJV - "But take careful heed to do the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, to keep His commandments, to hold fast to Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul."


Deuteronomy 11:13-15 NKJV


13 'And it shall be that if you earnestly obey My commandments which I command you today, to love the LORD your God and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul,

14 'then I will give you the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the latter rain, that you may gather in your grain, your new wine, and your oil.

15 'And I will send grass in your fields for your livestock, that you may eat and be filled.'


REMEMBER FROM WHERE YOU HAVE FALLEN


Each one of us knows from where we have come. We know the place where we have fallen from. We can remember being closer to the Lord (GENERALLY) than we are now.


REPENT


repent >verb 1 feel or express sincere regret or remorse. 2 feel regret or remorse about.


Jeremiah 23:5-6 NKJV


5 "They said, 'Repent now everyone of his evil way and his evil doings, and dwell in the land that the LORD has given to you and your fathers forever and ever.

6 'Do not go after other gods to serve them and worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands; and I will not harm you.'


Luke 17:4 NKJV - "And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, 'I repent,' you shall forgive him."


DO THE FIRST WORKS


By doing the “First Works” we qualify for the blessings and the presence of the Lord. We can believe the Lord for many things.


1. BELIEVE FOR A RESOURCE SHIFT. A poverty mentality is the doorkeeper to failure, discouragement, hopelessness and many other negative influences. Do NOT nurture a spirit of poverty and expect to live a life of Kingdom abundance! We must make the shift necessary to swing us into the “blessing” mode rather than the “being blessed” mode! When you become a blessing in others lives, you can truly say the blessing of Abraham is yours!


2. WALK IN HUMILITY. James 4:6 says the Lord resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. In fact, God expects us to conquer the powers of darkness through humility in Christ Jesus. We’re promoted by humility - not by mere performance!


3. EMBRACE THE CENTRALITY OF CHRIST. The next move of God will not be centered on a particular doctrinal theme or the demonstration of a spiritual gift - but on the Person of Jesus Christ! If you don’t make the shift from self-centeredness to Christ-centeredness, you will miss your opportunity to properly represent Him to a lost world. We must change our emphasis from Our MINISTRY to His MINISTRY ---- FROM TALKING “ABOUT” Him, to “knowing” Him!


Philippians 3:10 NKJV - that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,


Philippians 3:10 NCV - I want to know Christ and the power that raised him from the dead. I want to share in his sufferings and become like him in his death.


4. PREPARE, PREPARE, PREPARE. Tomorrow’s success is shaped by our willingness to prepare today! This means the depth of your anointing will be in direct proportion to your depth of preparation. The question is NOT whether there will be a great outpouring. But whether our spiritual well is deep enough to accommodate the coming rain! Like Noah, we must give ourselves to the issue of preparation LONG BEFORE THE FLOOD BEGINS!


5. GET READY FOR GLOBAL HARVEST. This coming revival will include every nationality that will “Hear”, every religious persuasion and every gender. God is no respecter of persons. All of humanity will be given a chance to experience the great outpouring of the Holy Spirit .


Acts 2:17-21 NCV


17 'God says: In the last days I will pour out my Spirit on all kinds of people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams.

18 At that time I will pour out my Spirit also on my male slaves and female slaves, and they will prophesy.

19 I will show miracles in the sky and on the earth: blood, fire, and thick smoke.

20 The sun will become dark, the moon red as blood, before the overwhelming and glorious day of the Lord will come.

21 Then anyone who calls on the Lord will be saved.’