God is Faithful

Exodus 2:2 “The woman conceived and bore a son, and when she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months.”

Moses was beautiful when he was born and that beauty is referenced in Exodus 2:2, Acts 7:20 and Hebrews 11:23. This beauty of the baby has an important role in the salvation of the whole kingdom. This is because we learn that God blesses us for one important reason, we use them for Him. It is because the king’s order was so powerful that if they saved Moses, the whole family will be in danger. This beauty is the reason the mother was forced to protect the kid. As per Hebrews 11:23, this beauty gave the parents faith against the king’s orders.

This is the reason behind all our blessings and resources. If God has given us anything good, then He has a purpose with that. We can see many such examples like David’s experiences when he was a shepherd, Samson’s strength, Solomon’s wisdom etc. We do not see anybody sacrificing to or worshipping God. We read in Acts that Moses was divinely beautiful or beautiful before God. This tremendous beauty is God’s answer to a nation’s slavery. We expect the Lord to be powerful to show great miracles in our lives so that we will be proved to be successful in front of others. But God answers us with simple things like when the romans were ruling and Israel was so lost, a simple child was the answer and was encouraged to celebrate by us. It is not impossible for God to directly redeem and send us away from Egypt, but His plan is that we would become worthy to inherit Canaan.

God could have prevented the king from killing innocent children. We should know that God has pre-destined us and he knows who will actually get to live in Canaan. It was the children of those who were living there. The murders continued for many years and only Joshua and Caleb where spared. God knew who would enter glory and kept their parents alive. God would turn evil into good as in Gen 50:20 because He is faithful and has only one plan with our life that is we become worthy of the kingdom of heaven. In 1 Corinthians 1:9 we read that we are called towards the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ.

Moses was delivered to the world for protection. The same Nile which had killed many children had saved Moses from death because God had a plan with him. Miriam wanted to see what would happen to Moses came forward and with a great courage and told her that she would bring somebody to nurse the baby. All this happens because the baby was crying. The baby was beautiful to be saved by Moses’s parents and he was crying to be saved by the Pharaoh’s daughter. We see God’s faithfulness here.

When Moses had grown up, he thought he was strong to kill an Egyptian. But the Lord never allowed him to fight the whole of his lifetime. Even in Midian we read that he just stood up and did not fight. In the only occurrence of his fight, we read he became fearful. In Galatians 5:20, we read how anger and enmity even to the worst enemy comes from the flesh. We read these sins as the works of the flesh. In flesh if we try to receive blessings or authority, people will say “who made you judge and a prince”. Moses was actually a prince but his own people denied that. In Acts 7:35, we read that. But if people had accepted Moses as a warrior, the actual salvation would not have happened. This is the faith we should have on God.

Even in Midian, Moses thought that all his beauty, his knowledge and strength was all used to shepherd a priest’s flock in wilderness. But it is the faithfulness of God to bring him to Horeb, the mountain of God. This is his destiny where he is transformed to be a great leader. To come to Horeb, he had to come through the taste of death, education by the world in its sinfulness (Hebrews 7:25), rejection by his own people and become a very simple shepherd with no great authority.

But life after Horeb is different.

Amen.

Taskmasters of the world

Exodus 1:11 Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with heavy burdens. They built for Pharaoh store cities, Pithom and Ramses.

The Jews in Egypt had grown well and the Pharaoh was very frightened because of their might and to control them, they had used taskmasters to ensure they perform heavy work. Satan uses a similar stand against us where he is really worried if we would escape his dominion or enslavement and become God’s free people. Our meditation today is on how Satan plans well to make us become his slaves.

The first thing we should learn is in verse 8 where there arose a Pharaoh who did not know Joseph. This person was the only reason of survival and so, the savior to the whole nation. But a king in the third or fourth generation had completely forgotten and this shows how grateful the kingdom is. This is how the world will receive any goodness from us. We would think that our work will produce well and keep us safe. We may think how our kindness to others will give back one hundred times. But the world which is an enemy is so selfish that it will consume all the goodness in us and throw us away in hell. John 15:19 explains how our efforts to please the world by making peace with it will throw us in hell.

The devil’s first plan against us is to use taskmasters. These people’s job is to ensure that we are in slavery. They do not allow us to think. Taskmasters slowly consume all our energy and will. Video games, cinema, TV serials are such task masters. We are not building anything of our own here. Their purpose is not to build a city or anything good, but to afflict us with heavy burdens. In Ex 5:10 we read how they work by just making our sufferings worsen. There are some taskmasters who seem to be good in our eyes like education, business ambitions, art etc. But these consume us more that the evil taskmasters. It is OK to work, but to spend all our energy is not good.

The truth is that we are already strong and mighty but ignorance had blinded the whole country of Israel. That’s why the Lord wants us to know the truth. The truth is that the Lord has made everything that is necessary for our redemption and has given us strength. The truth is so important that everything else is a lie. The truth can be only one thing but lies can be many. The truth is that we are mighty and too many for the enemy. The truth is that we can easily beat the enemy because God has made us strong. But we had not known this and allowed the enemy to plot against us. This is the reason why Jesus said that if we know the truth, it will set us free. This knowledge alone is sufficient but since we had allowed the enemy to enslave us and consume our strength, now we need a savior to come and save us out of the world. This is what we read in Isaiah 52:3.

The enemy has is cunning and planning to make us fall into their graves. We read that in 1 Peter 5:8. It is important that we do not take the enemy easily. Our resistance to him in primarily by being watchful and a sober mind. A lack of such an alertness will make us a prey for his deception. In John 8:44, when a person calls himself not enslaved after sinning as the son of the devil and he is a mighty tool of the devil and allows himself willingly for the devil’s purpose.

The devil knows that if we join his enemies, we will easily overcome him. And so, he makes sure that we become weaker and weaker day by day. This attitude in us not to look for external help is again useful to the devil. He wants us not to join others through prayer and fellowship. Also, he is sure that we will not initiate the revolution from inside because we look at him as our father.

The devil builds cities using our efforts to store his wealth. The pornography we watch in our teenage will be stored inside us to deceive adults. One sin like a small lie can bring forth bigger storehouses for Satan. So, let us be careful in our lives.

Amen.

Growth of Israel in Egypt

Exodus 1:7 But the people of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them.

Israel was blessed well because of Joseph’s holiness and victory of sin. He was an important tool in the Lord’s blessing to Abraham. Even though Joseph was not the father of the family and to most of them, he was only an uncle, but God made sure that the whole nation grew well with this person’s opportunities. But this happiness did not last and they became slaves. Our meditation today is on how we grow when we are in the Lord’s protection and plan.

The Lord makes us fruitful. The fruit is attributed to the Holy Spirit who helps us produce well so that others could reap from us. We read the fruit of the spirit in Galatians 5:22-23. But in Proverbs 11:30, we read the fruit of righteous as the fruit of life. This means that this fruit which we produce will give eternal life to others who see our lives. This is important in Christendom. Our righteousness should have a purpose of burden towards souls. Every time we sin and stray, it makes our fellow people eat junk or poisonous food. We also should see that being fruitful primarily does not produce outside but inside our families. The ones who reap from our righteousness are the people we love and care about. It is important for every person to bear fruit in the Lord.

We read the word increase and multiply which both are the same in this verse. The increase is a result of the fruitfulness of ourselves. But multiplication is different where our products will be fruitful. God will not give us friends who support us, but friends and family who will have better ambitions and plans for themselves but will bring honor to us. Proverbs 29:2 shows how this multiplication brings joy to people’s lives. In every country or region, if the righteous, smart and educated increase, the whole region flourishes and the growth of righteous people alone brings hope to all. The problem with India is that all the money now is being stacked up with evil politicians who are not educated and so are their generations. These people are going to rule the future. But if there is a responsible generation who would stand up against corruption and is willing to make sacrifices without hoping for selfish plans, the whole country will flourish.

Being fruitful and multiplication is not sufficient until we are ready to face the enemy. That’s why the Lord made the people stronger. They became exceedingly mighty that the Egyptians were so worried of their growth. It is important that we understand Ephesians 6:12 where we struggle against powers and rulers of the kingdom. Adam’s sin gave this world up to Satan making it his kingdom. The righteousness of Jesus produces victory over the world and until He comes again to bind the deceiver, the Church is His product and the path towards His kingdom. For this, we should not just multiply but be strong enough to overcome. 1 Cor 1:26 explains that weakness in the world will be shamed because it is not actual might and power.

The result of this blessings to the country help them to fill our lands. If righteousness is strong and we allow that to multiply in our lives, that will fill our life completely. The church should be full of strong and fruitful members so that it can cause the enemy to be afraid. They might throw us into tribulation but we will overcome with the power of the Lord. Psalms 80:9 explains how God has worked strongly to clear everything that’s against His will out of Canaan and helped Israel fill the land. But Israel had failed and let corruption fill from inside. This caused the Lord to abandon them.

Let us be increase, be fruitful, multiply, become exceedingly mighty and fill the land.

Amen.

The Image of God

Acts 17:29 “Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man.”

This verse is Paul’s explanation to those in Athens about how to seek and understand God. When we seek God, we do that with an expectation or imagination. This imagination is often the best of our own skills. For example, an engineer will seek a God who is very much more skillful and intelligent and a farmer will look for a God who provides good harvest. This is all our imagination and they are based on our own needs. Paul explains that we can do this if we do not have any relationship with God. We are His children and so, it is important that we see Him as God and not with man’s imagination. We should not align ourselves with men’s knowledge and craftsmanship.

The start of knowing God can be done from Psalms 100:3 that He owns us completely and had given us life for a reason. The verse emphasizes that we did not make us, which means we have to acknowledge His authority in our lives. In the verse we read that we are sheep of His pasture which means that God has created us so that he would feed us. He wants to decide on what we would consume and grow into. The Lord always has enjoyed calling Himself as the shepherd instead of owner or feeder because this job has both the responsibilities but with lots of love.

The primary quality of the Father should be seen as in Lev 11:44, Isaiah 6:3, 57:15 and 1 Peter 1:15, 16. The Father is Holy, Holy and Holy. Peter further explains that this is the only expectation of the Father from us. This is what He expects us to know of Him.

The Son came to us as a savior. He always addressed Himself as the redeemer, shepherd who gives his life. Peter explains how the redemption is complete through the Father and the Son together in 1 Peter 1:19-21. Because Jesus carried all the sins on mankind and died, God was powerful enough to raise Him up and glorify Him. So, if we believe that the redemption is complete, by the blood of Jesus and the power of God who raised Him up, we are saved. This was greatest gift to mankind by the son (Himself) and God (His only Son) and the mightiest act of God by raising Him up.

The Holy Spirit is our teacher and companion.  Any other purpose seen will misuse Him. If we do not seek the Holy Spirit for God’s purpose that is Holiness, His presence will be ineffective in our lives. In John 14:15 and 16 we read how the Holy Spirit is a helper for us to keep His commandments. The Lord Jesus always had mentioned that the Holy Spirit will bring to remembrance all that Jesus has taught. We also read in John 16:9-11 more effectively how the works of the Holy Spirit is done.

If we seek the Lord for this divine purpose, we would be pursuing His likeness with all our strength so that we can fulfill His purpose. But if we seek Him for anything else, we will be lost.

In Galatians 4:8, we read that we were slaves to those who are not gods by nature. This means there is no trace of any God’s character in these entities which enslaved us. A true picture of God only will liberate us from them. The following verse equates both knowing God and God knowing us as equals. But this knowledge should make us turn away from weak and worthless elements which take us to slavery again. If our worship and ministry does not liberate us and help us progress towards what God wants us to do, it takes us into slavery.

John 16:2-3 explains how extreme serving God without knowing Him will take us. This will push us towards breaking homes and churches to prove our service to God.

So, that is why Jesus mentions that knowing Him is eternal life and does not lead there, this knowledge itself is life to us.

Amen.

The Seven Churches - Laodecia

Rev 3:14 14 “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation.”

The Lord introduces Himself as the beginning of God’s creation and not as the first creation but the start of creation. It means that He was present and was the primary reason why the creation initiated. The word amen means assurance and acknowledgment. The Lord calls Himself Amen which means He is the assurance of everything the Lord says. He is the faithful and the true witness means that He would communicate what is true to us and to the Father God. When He saves us, He does not cover our sins but cleans and removes them before presenting us to the Father. Amen also means that He is the final judge.

Laodicea was flourishing well in business. But had trouble in water. Colossae nearby had cool water from the mountains and Hierapolis nearby had hot water springs but the water in Laodicea was brought from Colossae through mud pipes built in their times. But due to the heat, when the water arrives, it becomes lukewarm and with the taste of the minerals it would taste awful. That’s why the Lord uses a very local example to teach the church.

The members of the church were rich because of the city’s business and had enough. But Lord confirms clearly and finally that it is wretched, pitiable, poor, blind and naked. The Lord’s decision is final and He expects us to buy gold from Him and not anywhere else to become rich. He also wants the church to buy white garments from Him. He was telling businessmen that your gold is not gold and garments are wretched. This is because how the world can blind us. We may be experts in anything but the Lord wants us to understand that everything that we are is nothing but if we buy from Him, we can actually become rich.

We cannot buy when we are poor and naked. But the Lord considers that as a purchase if we come to him and receive. (Isaiah 55:1) Being poor, naked and blind are serious problems the church should attend to. And we should depend on the Lord for these problems sincerely. We should keep asking the Lord for solutions to these problems. Poverty shows how we will become pitiable we are and gold shows the knowledge and understanding they lack (Col 2:3). The white garment is holiness the Lord provides. The Lord gives us ointment but it is us who have to apply in our eyes. Otherwise the blindness which is our own understanding will continue to reign in our hearts.

The Lord assures that it is His method that he reproves and disciplines who He loves. Having worldly richness or self proclaiming richness does not mean the person is loved by God. So, we have to repent from our love of the world to Him. I stand at the door and knock is a very important verse. But we have to open the door with understanding that he loves and disciplines. Jesus would eat with us and we will eat with Him means that He will understand us and we will know Him. But we have to open our ears to hear his voice and open. We should not open because the door is knocked. But have to hear that it is Jesus who is calling and then open to Him.

If we conquer, He will honor us by placing us in His throne.

The Seven Churches - Philadelphia

Rev 3:7 “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.”

Philadelphia was a city founded by the Pergamon kingdom in 189 BC where the king loved his brother most because of his loyalty and named the city as “city of the one who loves his brother”. In AD 17 the city suffered a very big earthquake and the then roman king exempted them from paying taxes. Also the vineyards in the city were great and could be compared with those in Rome. So, the roman emperor Domitian wanted Rome to be the best and removed those vineyards here causing them to suffer economically. This made them feel lost. Also the church speaks about the problems in the Synagogue where the false Jews prevented Christians from entering. They felt totally lost.

In this context Jesus introduces Himself as the Holy one who does not belong to any human attitudes and the true and faithful one who keeps His word. This introduction is very important to such a church to be built up. Holy means separated here. The words assure the church that you can trust me and I will be beside you. I am true and do not work like the world does.

The key of David shows the government (Isaiah 22:22 and Isaiah 9:6), where all the political decisions and resources are in a person’s shoulders meaning he will have to carry. Here the Lord says that, I have the authority and so, you shall not worry and I will honor you. The Lord wants us to know that He is the one who opens doors and closes them. If we are denied opportunities anywhere, He will open doors for you. Also, the key of David shows the understanding or relationship of God where people loved and sought Him. This understanding only opens and closes opportunities for us.

Philadelphia is a model where many churches in the world tend to copy and many name themselves so. This is because the Lord actually appreciated the church. He had nothing against Smyrna but there was no appreciation either. It looked like that church was destined to suffer in the world. But this church was appreciated really well and the Lord is so happy that he honors the church in front of those who bring disgrace to you. The Lord also continues to mention that you can escape trials which will be hard for most to endure. This means you have already won this. Also, the Lord mentions that you already are crowned and do not lose it. To all the other churches, the Lord would say I know you works or situation and you are like this. But the Lord starts here with I know your works, I bless you with an open door through which you can progress forward.

The Lord mentions here that your power is little here. The Greek word for power here can be compared with miracles and ability. The church did not have that great power with signs and wonders. The church was not popular because there were lies of the false Jews. These signs can never make a church great in the Lord’s eyes. There were very less miracles in the church. There was only one obedience in the church. They kept the Lord’s word about perseverance (Verses 8, 10). This one quality honored the church. The Lord says that if you had not suffered well, you would have denied my name. But you did not. I am very happy for you. This suffering not because we look at a great future but because we obey the Lord. If I disobey Him and not patiently endure, I would deny His Name. His name depends on my obedience and not my strength and power.

The Lord says that those who dwell in the earth will be tried but those who patiently endure will not. This means that perseverance makes us not dwell in the world.

The Lord makes such people pillars in His temple so that they would be the strength of it. They cannot be removed at all. He will have the name of the Lord written on Him.

The Seven Churches - Sardis

Rev 3:1 “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.”

The Lord introduces Himself as the person who owns every church and the provider of every goodness or support to the churches. This introduction is relevant here because this church had nothing to be encouraged initially except for a few members who kept themselves pure.

The problem with this church is that it thought or is believed to be alive by the world. Everybody thinks that this church is so active with their eyes. That’s why the Bible is keen on saying sight is not always true (2 Cor 5:7). Many churches have a lot of convincing proofs to the world that there is action there. They pray for hours or show off many spiritual gifts. This is a very important factor that the world’s judgment of a church is not always right. If the world credits a church to be great and majestic, it will give a false assessment to the church and it will fall.

The solution given to the church is to first wake up from the false reputation and dream that it is living in. This is very important as unless we realize that we are sleeping, we will never attempt to wake. In Ephesians 5:10-14, we read how it is important to stop taking part in the works of the darkness but expose them to the light and this coming to the light where all our works are transparent is waking up. Verse 10 wants us to try and discern what is pleasing to the Lord. This is important as this is instructed to Sardis in verse 2. It is God who evaluates a church and not the world. The reputation from the world means nothing.

The verse wants us not to bring our dead parts to life but look for what portions in our church has life and we have to strengthen them. This strength will then pass into the other dead areas to bring life to the whole church. Also, this instruction is given because the works are not complete. So, to have complete works we should not work in every single area we can but perform complete, perfect and acceptable works in whatever we are working on.

The next verse wants us to remember what we already know, which means stop learning new things. New knowledge to a dead church is nothing. We have to ensure what we preach is practiced in the church or otherwise, there is no hope of waking up. The truth will set free, but a free person can still be sleeping. To be awake, it is important to ensure our deeds to be acceptable to God. The knowledge alone cannot keep a person or church alive. The Lord will come like a thief in an unknown hour upon the church and look for what life it has.

There are people in Sardis who have not stained their clothing. They will be honored but the church is still dead. Just because there is one or few holy people, a whole repentance only will be able to bring the church to life. The one who conquers is the same one who has ensured to not soil his clothing.

The Seven Churches - Thyathira

Rev 2:18 “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze.”

Thyathira is a city near Smyrna and a church both appalled and criticized by the Lord. The city was popular for garments and dyeing. Or maybe famous for fashion. The other mention of the city is in Acts 16 about Lydia who urged Paul and Silas to stay with her. She was selling purple goods and wanted Paul to acknowledge her faithfulness to the Lord.

Jesus is very happy about the church’s love, faith, service and patient endurance. The verse gives importance to each of these qualities by quoting “love and faith and service etc.” This is God acknowledging every single thing in detail. We should understand that patient endurance is appreciated which is an important quality of a church which helps it grow. The most important quality is that the church displayed growth in terms of works. If we set some standards in a church, we should ensure we stay there or exceed that standard but never recede from that state. If our commitments with the Lord decrease it becomes disgraceful in a church.

The important problem to the church is that it tolerated a person named or behaved like Jezebel. She taught the members to be sexually immoral and seducing them towards that sin. Sexual immorality was a serious problem at that time but when we come to our times, this comes in another form for the church. The bride of Christ should be pure in who is worshipped. If the church gives the husband’s place to anybody or anything else, it becomes immoral. The second problem is about eating things sacrificed to idols which is about looking for gain by serving men. This is condemned of every member in the church who would make an earning out of sin. This is not OK in the church. The Lord does not criticize the action but if the church tolerates these actions, it becomes fatal for the church.

Jezebel called herself a prophetess which is the easiest way to gain attention in the church. She is actually misleading the church for her gain. She wants pleasure and so takes the whole church down by making sin a teaching. She actually uses the Lord’s name to make men fall for her.

For such people, God gives time and opportunities to repent but if they delay that change and think about changing later, God sees that as refusal to repent. This means that she knows what she does is sin but her love towards that path of immorality makes her justify herself so much that even others can fall into this. Verse 22 says how God will make her partners fall into a great tribulation unless they repent of her works. Christ uses the word “her works” meaning that she is responsible completely but still that does not give an excuse to her followers.

The punishment is level starts low with the lady herself, then higher to her partners and death to her children. The reason is because the Lord wants be a just here. She should live in a deathbed so that people know the Lord knows everything. Her partners who believed her teaching and did not look out to the Lord take higher tribulations and the products of her sin are those who cannot be changed at all. These should be killed. The children point to every gift or goodness the church has received because of this sin.

For this church the Lord introduces Himself as having fiery eyes and bronze feet. This shows that God looks at every progress of the church with eyes that are not merciful but with fire. The feet like bronze indicates that He will move within the church and make His presence felt with heaviness and brightness. This is not of the past because in starting of chapter 4 only the future starts. The Lord coming as a strong judge is not only of the future but He is the same inside the church which is His body.

The other lesson here is that the ones who have not corrupted themselves did not learn from the depths of Satan. Jesus acknowledges this term because if anyone tries to learn what comes from Jezebel, they will fall. But if we keep away from even understanding what that is, there are very high chances for us to stand up with righteousness. The Lord says that staying without understanding this itself is a burden or a cross enough for a person and the Lord does not want to place any other hardship in addition to this.

The one who conquers this woman’s teaching is strong enough to rule the ends of the world. The morning star, or the star that appears before the sun.

Being Born Again

John 1:12,13 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

Becoming children of God is a very great honor that nobody in the world can earn. The world is falsely teaching that every human is a son of God. But that’s not true. Only those who receive Jesus, and believe in Him have the right to become the children of God. We should see that believing in Jesus gives us the right and not fully make us children of God. This right makes us children of God who are actually born, not of the will of the flesh or the will on man, but of God. This is a wonderful experience that God will give us where we are treated not like adults but like children giving a new perspective of the whole world around us. That is life that God provides, with authority that we are children of God.

1 Peter 1:3 explains that God’s mercy helps us be born again to a living hope to an imperishable, undefiled and unfading inheritance. We should see that this hope and right is brought to us only through the mercy of God and not because we earned it. The bible calls this as living hope because every other hope takes us to a dead end. We should see this as a hope of life. Being born to a living hope shows that we were totally blind or dead to what life actually is. But when God was merciful, we became new beings with new ambitions or new intentions in our lives. This is called being born again.

In the same chapter verses 23,24 explain how all flesh could wither like grass unless it is born of the living word. Every food that we take in or nutrient that we consume are all perishable. Everything that we earn will be lost but our seed is the word. But if we use the word of God as the seed from which we start living with the qualities of the same plant, this plant becomes completely imperishable.

God promises a new beginning to every one of us where all our commitments and sins of our old self is completely forgiven and we get a chance to live as new children without any guilt. We read that in 2 Corinthians 5:17. From verse 18 we can see that we are no longer away from God but reconciled kids in front of God. This opportunity is wonderful and great for any person to ignore. But we continue ignoring Jesus. This reconciliation was given to us with a cost of the cross. Verse 19 shows the seriousness of God’s grace towards us. If God is not counting our trespasses and asking us to come towards Him.

With this context, if we read John 1:13, we are not born of blood, of will of man or will of flesh. God explains how children are born either by fleshy desires or somebody needed children desperately. This birth is completely disregarded and God does not see this person as a living being. But if we receive Jesus Christ, we are born of God.

In John 3:7, 8 our Lord explains Nicodemus not to worry about how to be born again. We do not know how the wind goes, so is the Holy Spirit’s product would start from nowhere and end in places where nobody can expect. He will if we submit ourselves to the Spirit.

Seeking versus Serving

Acts 17:25-27 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us.

When Paul explains the philosophers in Athens about the unknown God who they had created with their own hands, he continues to explain that God does not need anything and we cannot serve Him with our hands. But God wants us to seek Him and find Him. We read a similar incident in Luke 10:38-42 about Martha and Mary. Martha was trying to serve Him whereas Mary was seeking the Lord. Martha had an idea in her mind just like the men in Athens that God is expecting us to pray in this fashion, worship in this fashion etc. They had their own conclusions about the great Lord and wanted to make statues in expensive metals. But God has a completely different plan and need.

That’s why Jesus ridiculed Martha saying you are anxious and worried about many things. We lose our concentration about God and attempt many things to impress people in church or elders in the church trying with our talents and emotions. At most times our prayers are like that. We get anxious when the government does something against the church and we try to fight our way back through the law that is controlled by the same government. But if our ambition is to seek God only, things are actually much easier. Mary’s actions were actually much easier than Martha’s. All we have to do is not to worry on how we would fare in Christendom.

There is a similar incident with Cain and Abel in Genesis 4:6,7. Cain’s rejection devastated him and became very angry. God clearly said that sin is crouching at the door because he was trying to please God with things that he decided himself. Again, Abel’s choices were easy as God was everything to him, he gave the best and the first because he knew how great the Lord was. God gave Cain a clear way out of sin that all he has to do is do good. But anxiousness brought fate on Cain.

In Hebrews 11:6, where faith is defined and explained, Paul explains that we should confidently believe that God rewards those who seek Him. The verse says that any person who comes to God should believe that we will get answers only if we seek Him. We read that between Enoch and Noah. That’s why Jesus says in Mathew 6:33 to seek God and His kingdom first. That is explained clearly in Mathew 13:44 -46 in the two parables. If a person seeks and finds God, he will immediately be willing to lose everything that he owns and the Lord says that that is the kingdom. It means that the kingdom is all about Him where we look at God and not consider anything or anything else greater.

1 Chronicles 28:9 is an important verse David explains Solomon before anointing him as king that if he wants to serve the Lord, ensure to do that whole heartedly and with a willing mind. Never ever do because you are forced to do so. God looks at every person’s heart and if he has to serve God, he has to seek God and his kingdom to be present first. David was honored a lot by the Lord in spite of his many sins. The reason is that he was the first to persuade people to seek God and until him, the law wanted us to obey. David did not just ask others, the ways he sought God are in many psalms like 27:4, 34:8,10. In Proverbs 28:5, Solomon places those who do not seek God against evil men. Any person who does not serve God without seeking Him becomes evil and does things without understanding Him. We see another warning in Hosea 10:12-13 on how to sow and reap expecting righteousness and seek the Lord to come and rain righteousness upon us. This portion in our life should never be lost.

In Mathew 6:24, we read how Jesus explains how we cannot serve two masters. That is not because we will run out of energy but because we will love one and hate the other. Serving a master needs a person to love him first. We cannot serve God because we are comfortable and without sin, but because we have a loving relationship with Him. Isaiah 55:6 wants us to seek God when he is near and available. This is because we are living when grace is flowing. This is a single and only opportunity for us to seek Him.

Amen.

The Seven Churches - Pergamum

Revelation 2:12 And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword.

Pergamum is addressed as the throne or Satan or the place where Satan dwells. If Jesus refers so, it is like the city was so full of sin. It means that Satan felt like home in that city. History says that there was three big temples, a hospital and spa where even emperors where treated with snakes, a great library and a great theatre. Antipas mentioned here was the bishop of Pergamum and was a big threat to the locals because he drove demons out of people which was their investment. The death was inside a hollow bronze bull heated so that he would die being roasted alive. There is an altar of Zeus where human sacrifices were made which could have been called the throne of Satan. This altar was moved to Berlin in 1930 which was around the time Hitler started his infamous work killing the Jews.

In this tough time, seeing the death of Antipas, the church stood upright and still which is the appreciation Jesus gives to the church. This is a very good sign of a church where at whatsoever persecution, it holds fast to the name of the Lord. The name is dependable and when we remember at these times, we will not deny our faith. The church was not a secret church in the city of Satan.  It stood up in the time of tribulation even after Antipas was killed with the same faith as before. This is a very great sign of a church. But this strength was lost in another area.

Balaam’s teaching was accepted where a strong Israel became weaker with women and their idols. It became OK for them to eat with the sexually immoral people. Jesus is angry because the church did not accept the practice but accepted the teaching. The Nicolatian teaching was also accepted here. Speaking about this group in Ephesus, that church hated this group’s work which was positive, but the church in Pergamum accepted the teaching which is far worse that accepting works. If somebody comes here and teaching a doctrine, the church’s responsibility is to ridicule that teaching completely and clarify its members out of it. Sin establishes its throne inside a church not through members who fall, but through teaching. It is important for those who teach to ensure what comes out of their mouth to be aligned perfectly with the Bible as in Ephesians we read how Jesus is the corner stone, and the apostles and prophets become the foundation in line with Christ.

We should see that Balaam’s teaching was intended to Balak and to deceive Israel, but somehow this teaching is practiced inside Israel. That is the power of false teaching. Once an evil doctrine is taught like evolution it will strongly live. Likewise, accepting LGBT and other practices are popping up in churches and it is now necessary for churches to become so. These got a stronghold only in the last few years. Any doctrine that quickly spreads is a sign of the devil’s work.

God wants the church to repent. Repentance is turning away from sin and so, it should explain that churches should check what teachings allow men to sin and what do not. If there is such a teaching or even a tradition, the church should repent accepting that it is sin. Repentance brings salvation through the blood of Jesus and so there is a clear way out. But blasphemy as in the church of Smyrna directly serves Satan. Those men are clearly left out when eternal life comes. If the church repents everybody would repent including those who practices these things.

When Jesus introduces Himself, it is the sword that should be seen by the church. The double edged sword as in Hebrews 4:12, 13 there is nothing the sword cannot enter into. It makes way through bones and marrow and even the division of the soul and the spirit. A work of the sword will be painful to the tissues around it. A normal sword will not penetrate but cut, but a double edged sword will penetrate.

The hidden manna promised is Jesus Himself as in John 6:48-51. Without that repentance, seeing Jesus is not possible for the church. The experience of salvation is what referred here. This salvation will be so personal that nobody else can address Jesus with that wonderful name. The white stone refers to something like an ID card or a ticket that has the personal name of Jesus written.

The Seven Churches - Smyrna

Revelation 2:8 And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life.

Smyrna, the city has very much relevance about resurrection as the city itself was a great place of trade because of myrrh which was exported to Egypt and other important kingdoms. When the Lydian kingdom exploited the city around 550 BC, the city became a pile of ruins. Around 300 BC, Alexander wanted to build the city with some leaders and it grew back again. Around 130 BC, the city was taken over by the Romans with Pergamum as the capital.  From the name we can understand that the plant myrrh was crushed to produce fragrance which is expected of this church.

When Jesus introduces Himself, He is the first and the last and who died and came to life. Here, life is not followed by death but death is first. The primary message to this church is that you should be faithful until death (v 10). Jesus wants those who are chosen for tribulation to know that He knows what suffering and death is. In every event of our troublesome life, if we start deciding on things by knowing that Jesus has already done this, we will be a lot encouraged. Jesus had experienced every kind of humiliation in the world. He was called an associate of the devil or Beelzebub, a person who He personally trained had complete love for money more than the Lord Himself. The worst thing is that when Jesus personally was teaching, Peter had not grown up even a little bit. The Lord had to enter Peter’s heart as the Holy Spirit for him to actually work. Jesus was clearly rejected in his own town. But in spite of all these problems, He could be 100% successful as so we are expected likewise.

Even though Jesus had been through this, there is an assurance that He knows what we are going through. Even if the volume of pain Jesus had was very much higher than what we would experience, He still claims to know our pain. This is a father’s heart. A father will have so much pain, but a son’s little trouble will break Him apart. This love is the second confidence we get from Jesus.

Jesus knows the church’s tribulation, poverty which is the lack of good resources which stops the church from growing well. This means that churches do not get to have everything they need. A church being poor is something to understand. The truth is that the church is rich but remains poor. It means that you chose to be poor because you did not compromise. A church showing off its richness is not appreciated at all.

Blasphemies in the church are treated as tribulation. Not just when the government or police hinder us, even when people who call themselves as Jews come forward and proclaim that we are not called to serve God. They will label our perspectives as wrong and call us to be without anointing or the power of the Holy Spirit. God clearly says that these people belong to the synagogue of Satan.

Going forward, the Lord says that there is suffering but do not fear about it. God wants the church to receive suffering with happiness and pride and not out of choice and fear. We cannot see this as a human expression of false hope, but it really means that there is nothing to fear in suffering for a church.

The devil will create excuses to throw the church into prison and there will be testing for 10 days and will lead to death. The church is already in trouble internally and had chosen poverty, but Jesus speaks about prison which is lack of freedom completely. 10 in the bible speaks about authority like the Ten Commandments and Daniel and his friends accepting tests for 10 days etc. But you shall hold your faithfulness until death. The death should happen and only then there will be reward of crown of life. The crown is the largest of all jewels and the best of life will be received to those who give themselves to suffering.

Concluding the message, the Lord says that the person who conquers like Smyrna would not be hurt by second death. When the second death occurs during the final judgment, there will be nothing to even hurt the church.