Church of Thyatira (Part 4)

                             Don't be stubborn as a mule! (*)

And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.                                                        (Rev 2:23)

In our last study, we talked about Balaam and how he wrestled with a weakness--the love of money! We saw how King Balak heard of the fame of Balaam and wanted him to misuse his gift. He offered him great amounts of money, a high position, and power. At first, he resisted and stood his ground but as King Balak kept pressing on him to curse Israel, he was getting weak. God, eventually, allowed Balaam to meet with King Balak but warned him to say what thus saith the Lord.  

Now, you may ask, what has this to do with Rev 2:23? Notice the words searcheth the reins and hearts. God knows what's in your heart. Balaam's heart was not right and God gave him a wake-up call along the way. The angel of the Lord was about to kill him, but the donkey saved his life. God opened the mouth of the ass and Balaam (Believe it or not) argued with the animal. It wasn't until the Lord opened his eyes that he saw the angel of the Lord give him a stern warning.(Numbers 22:21-35)

As we read the end of the story, Balaam meets with King Balak. The King does his best to persuade Balaam. Balaam in turn tries to persuade God to give him permission to curse Israel but a peculiar and strange thing happened. Balaam prophesied blessings for Israel. (Numbers 23-24) At this, King Balak gave up and said that God was the cause of him not having honor nor great riches. (Numbers 24:10-11) The end? Not quite but to be continued. 

                                    Let's make a deal!

but I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.(Rev 2:14)

It was not enough for Balaam to walk away from great fame and fortune. He was so tempted that that thought was nagging at his head. Soon, the devil gave him a satanic idea. He met with King Balak to share his plan. (2 Peter 2:15) This plan pleased King Balak so much that he paid Balaam his wages. What was their plan?

Mixture! That was their stumbling block! Numbers 25 gives us the whole picture of their plan. They would take the best-looking women from Moab and seduce the men of Israel. These women worshipped Baal and got their lovers to partake of these unclean and demon-inspired practices at Baalpeor. For details about this type of worship, click on the link below. (1) Their practices were so unsanitary and were an abomination before the Lord. Those acts caused the death of  24,000 people due to the plague. 

                 Love righteousness and hate iniquity. 

  

Moses killed the leaders responsible for the plague and it freed them from the plague. Brethren, now more than ever, we need to walk in our identity with Christ. The word says...Love righteousness and hate iniquity. Idolatry is a stench in the nostrils of our Lord. 

Would you put your head in the toilet or drink vomit? (Isa 28:7-9, 2 Kings 10:27) Brethren, when you analyze the background of Idolatrous practices, they were unsanitary and putrid. Satan likes to dress sin and make it attractive. When God gives us revelation of what sin truly is, we will hate it as much as God. 

God hated the sin of Idolatry so much that he converted the altar of Baal into a restroom (2 Kings 10:27) It is similar to the altar of Baalpeor which has a depiction of a demon sitting on a toilet. (1) Let's ask God to show what's inside our hearts. Doing so will help us walk in the way of righteousness and be more than a conqueror. For more teachings, check on the link below (2)

(1) Baalpeor

(*) Picture courtesy of Lena Bauermeister, whose work can be found at www.unsplash.com

(2) Bind and loose

Questions to ask--

1- Have you've been pressured to do something in your job that you know is wrong? Have you been offered a promotion if you comply? How did you deal with it? 

2- Have you been pressured to sign for a business deal without praying? 

Prayer---Thank you, Lord, for speaking to me about compromise. Help me to stand strong with my convictions. Holy Spirit, show me what's inside my heart. Examine me in this day and help me to uproot anything that is not like you. I confess that I love righteousness and hate iniquity. Thank you that you are teaching me what to love and what to hate...In Jesus' name. Amen. 

The Church of Thyatira (Part 3)

And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works         (Rev 2:23)                        

                                                    

                                                    Secret sins

I want to call your attention to the following words above in Rev 2:23. It says...I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts. This speaks of the mind, thoughts, and intents. Nothing is secret before our Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible talks of secret sins.(Ps 90:8)  What are secret sins? They are sins that are done in secret, especially in the area of the mind. 

We live in an area of rapidly growing technology. Our privacy is, slowly, being eroded. In England, for example, they have surveillance cameras in almost every street to combat crime. (1) While this may serve a noble purpose, this tool put in the wrong hands can be used to oppress the citizens of that country. In the United States, we have cameras that are used at traffic lights. 

Let's analyze traffic lights cameras. On the good side, traffic light cameras are designed to save lives. Upon taking the picture of the guilty party running a red light, It is, almost, impossible to say not guilty. A picture is worth a thousand words. It, also, causes people to think twice before running a red light.

On the downside, corrupt city officials have used it as a tool to raise revenue. There was a case in Florida, where the light was shortened considerably to cause the light to change from yellow to red. (2) All this has people concerned about the age of technology.  As if this wasn't enough, the University of Wisconsin was experimenting with using a microchip in your hand. With a wave of your hand, you can get a soda from a machine or lock the door in your house. You can use it to pay bills and many other features. (3)

Another feature that is being considered is putting a chip in your head. This device is supposed to make you intelligent. The downside to this is that your thoughts will be exposed to the hackers and government. In the hands of a tyrannical government, you can find yourself in jail for just thinking subversive thoughts against them. 

                                           Nothing is secret before the Lord

I hope that I did not scare you with my insights, but it is true. Technology has its good side but it has its bad side as well. If this scares us, we should much more be concerned about how God sees us. He knows our every thought. Sin starts with a thought and before you know it, it escalates and brings forth destruction. 

Such was the case with Balaam.  Balaam was double-minded and God called it to his attention. Numbers 22-24 show us that Balaam could not curse Israel in spite of King Balak's rewards. I like to think that it has a happy ending but it does not. Balaam, eventually, yielded and got rewarded. (2 Peter 2:15) What business proposal did he approach King Balak with? Listen to the podcast link below for the answer. (4) God bless. 

(1) Surveillance in England.

(2) Traffic lights

(3) Electronic chips.

(4) Wages of Balaam

Sunday online service

                                           Your problems have ears 

A special invitation...

If you are in the South Hampton roads area in Virginia, please consider visiting our church. Our Pastor and overseer Steve Johnson and me would love for you to drop in. Our address is Love Fellowship Community church, 1128 London Blvd, Suite B, Portsmouth, Va 23704 at 10:00 am on Sunday, Nov 14! I will try to record it on our Facebook page ...https://www.facebook.com/PastorSantos56                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

Judas--Wasted potential.

For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his bishoprick let another take. (Acts 1:20)

Greetings. The word for today is–Don’t waste the potential that’s inside of you. God has given you gifts, skills, and talents. You may ask—What are my gifts? The answer is in God’s word.

The word of God tells us that we have a treasure inside of us. (2 Cor. 4:7) This is good news. When we were born into this world, we carried gifts, skills, and abilities to the table.  Those gifts were enhanced and more were added to us at the new birth. Some who may be reading this may not even realize the precious gift that God has given inside of us.

As we study the life of Judas, he had a couple of gifts in three areas. First, He was talented in administrative duties. Second, he was good in the area of numbers, causing him to be the treasurer of the disciples. Third, he had a talent for business and knew how to close business deals.  

The question to ask is what happened to this talented apostle? He was part of the 12 disciples and was entrusted with the power of God. (Matt 10:1) Somewhere along the line, he got sidetracked. His love for money was his weakness. God had given him many opportunities to repent, but he kept hardening his heart. As we read on, we are going to see how his hardness caused him to lose everything and abort his God-given destiny.   

                                                Your gifts and destiny

Judas forsook his future with God. He was called to be a Bishop and his purpose was to help transform the whole world for the Lord. (Acts 1:20) God could have used his gifts to draw important people to him. ( Prov 18:16) Sadly, this was not to be. Judas fell and his love of money caused him to betray his messiah.

What does this tell us? We have a God-given destiny to fulfill. Don’t abort your future destiny with God. God has put inside of us gifts to help you and others in life. For example, we can see the gift of creating businesses. A gift in that area can help you and your family. It can, also, provide jobs for others. 

Another example is the gift in the area of science and technology. This gift can bring answers to life’s toughest problems. Your gift can be creative and, even, help save lives. All of you reading this post on my blog have a gift. Do you know what it is? God wants to show us our hidden treasures and use us for his glory. 

Prayer–Thank you, Lord, for speaking to me. Lord, show me my gifts, skills, and talents. Help me to use it for your glory. Help me to use it to provide for our needs, family and even bless all the people surrounding me. Help me to pour out all that you have invested in me. Use me as a willing vessel to bring honor and glory to you. In Jesus’ name, amen.

The church of Thyatira (Part 2)

                                              

                                                           

                                         What's in your heart?

And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.                                       

                                                     (Rev 2:23)

The word for today is to guard our hearts. Your heart can be your spirit and your mind. Guarding your heart is important because not doing so can hinder the blessings of God in your life. (Prov 4:23) The heart is where your inner being dwells in union with Christ. (If you are born again) 

The mind is the place to start. That is why God has raised our ministry up with its logo---You have the mind of Christ. In this present day and time, there is an urgency to have your minds renewed to the word of God. Your mind is a filter and thoughts that you entertained will sooner or later be acted upon. 

Such was the case with the prophet Balaam.  He was a prophet of God who was well-known even unto the land of the Moabites. King Balak was king at the time of the Moabites. He was troubled by the expansion of the Jews and wanted to do something about it. 

So, he sent out messengers with money to persuade Balaam to curse the people of God. Balaam told them to stay and he was going to seek God's face concerning this situation. God spoke to him in a dream not to curse his people. Balaam, then gave the messengers the news and they departed (Numbers 22:1-13) 

Balak heard about this and did not give up. He sent more messengers more honorable than the last ones and offered him a promotion as well as money. Notice how double-minded Balaam was. He stood firm and rejected their rewards but added---Let me see what else the Lord tells me. (Numbers 22:13-20) As we read further, God gave him leave to go with the men but warned him not to curse Israel.  

                                           A contradiction?

As we read Numbers 23, we find that God got angry with Balaam and an angel was about to kill him. His donkey, actually, saved his life. The donkey stalled a few times (3X) and Balaam got angry. Then, an amazing thing happened--The donkey spoke and Balaam had a conversation with that animal. It was later on, that Balaam's eyes were opened and he saw the angel of the Lord. He told him that he owed his life to his donkey. The angel was ready to kill him! (Numbers 23:21-31)

My question is if the Lord sent him to King Balak, why was his angel ready to kill him? The answer is in verse 32--thy way is perverse before me. The Lord saw what was in Balaam's heart. He was going to sell out the anointing of God for the sake of money. 

Beloved, that is why the Lord has chosen our ministry to focus on our Identity in Christ. Our minds need some renewing. You may stand firm against something that is against God, but if your mind is not renewed--sooner or later you will fall. 

Let's face it, we, all, have our weaknesses. Would you believe that Judas was sincere in his walk, yet he failed because of his weakness for money? Think about it--Jesus gave power to all his disciples, including Judas (Matt 10:1) He, also, gave him opportunities to repent but, he chose the path to perdition.

We need to pay attention to our thoughts and how we entertain them. Not doing so will lead us to sin and add sorrow to our lives. When a thought that is not of God comes, take authority over it and put it under your feet. Discipline your mind to think Godly thoughts and you will start seeing a difference in your actions, also. More to come. 

Prayer---Thank you, Lord for speaking to me. I confess that I have the mind of Christ. His thoughts, desires, and emotions are in line with my mind. I am his sheep and I hear his voice. I love righteousness and hate iniquity. Thank you for giving me the victory to live for you. In Jesus' name---Amen. 

The church of Thyatira..

                                         

                                                            Test the spirits.

Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. 

In this world that we live in, we need to learn how to test the spirits. I, personally, believe that these are the last days and the spirit of delusion is strong. Such a spirit can deceive anyone. We see this example in the church of Thyatira. This church was commended by God for their service among other things, (Rev 2:19) but they fell short. Notice the mercy and firmness of the Holy Spirit. He is a gentleman. He starts off acknowledging the good and ends with a word of correction. 

What was the issue? A prophetess by the name of Jezebel. Now, I believe Jezebel was not her real name because what Christian family would name their child Jezebel? The Apostle John was addressing her spirit as well as her false doctrine. In Rev 2:20, it talks about fornication, which is in its nature spiritual. They were worshipping idols and food offered to idols involved false teachings. For more information about the nature of her teachings, look at the link below (1) 

The word for today is to be careful of who you listen to. Check out their doctrine and be vigilant. Submit yourself under a true Shepherd of the Lord and catch his/her spirit. Doing this will help you in your walk with God. Moses showed this principle in the verses below....

And Moses went out, and told the people the words of the Lord, and gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people, and set them round about the tabernacle.

And the Lord came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and gave it unto the seventy elders: and it came to pass, that, when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease.(Numbers 11:24-25) 

 

 Notice that the Spirit that was upon Moses (Which was the Holy Spirit) fell upon the 70 elders. It made such an impact in their lives that they were prophesying for hours. Having the right spirit is important and has it's benefit. Did you know that when you partner with a ministry, their anoiting can fall upon you? Anything can happen under an open heaven. 

The word of God says that we should be of one mind (Rom 12:16) Teaching the right doctrine (Christ) is important. The only thing that is going to unite us is our identity in Christ. Identity is important and we cannot let it go to the wayside. The word of God says to put on Christ (Rom 13:14) That indicates to there are times in which we are going to stumble. It, also, means that circumstances will get us to forget God's promises. When that happens, put on Christ. Do not let his identity slip from you. Be vigilant and remain faithful.Jesus is coming soon. God bless.

(1) https://bit.ly/3bTryTd

Sunday online church

 Are you his sheep? 

The Seat of Satan (The church of Pergamos..Part 2)

 

I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth. (Rev 2:13)                                                  

What comes to mind when you hear the words--The seat of Satan? The word has a few thoughts about this. A seat mentioned in scripture meant a place of royalty, authority, and power. The church of Pergamos was located in the heart of the seat of Satan. In that area, a faithful soldier of the church named Antipas was murdered. According to some historical records of that time, he was put inside of a big hollow bull and heated until it became red-hot. It is believed that he was praying and giving thanks during his execution.

Whether the story was true or not, the fact of the matter is that he was martyred openly as an example to intimidate the church into silence. It did the opposite--the church stood firm and did not deny the faith. It is interesting that God calls the place where Antipas was murdered, the dwelling of Satan. History shows us that it was around the altar of the Greek God Zeus.

A seat in this verse denotes a stronghold. The city was, personally, inhabited by Satan thru the worship of Zeus. Spiritual strongholds exist in people, communities, cities, or countries. Leaders can have a demon power behind their operations and decisions. It is not the first time that Satan has, personally, been involved in a high political position. The King of Tyrus had the personal backing of Satan himself. (Ezekiel 28:12-15)

Another high-ranking demon spirit that we see is the Prince of Persia. Daniel was so set on seeking the Lord's face for guidance and insights into future events that it called the attention of that evil spirit. (Daniel 10:12-13) Names of demon spirits are important when dealing with the deliverance of a person or places of authority.

It is interesting how demon spirits can travel through time and do more damage to people. This altar of Zeus was taken into Nazi Germany and used as a podium for Adolph Hitler to address his people. (1) History teaches us that Hitler was used by Satan to kill millions of Jews. As we look at the church of Pergamos, God praised their steadfast faith and loyalty. On the other hand, God pointed out their shortcomings. They had mixture in their midst. 

It is because of this mixture that they were limited in making an impact on that city. Notice in Rev 2:7, God was going to give them the hidden manna and a white stone with a new name written. He was going to reveal mysteries to the church and, most likely, it would have been used to win the city of Pergamos. Alas, the church dwindled and lost its influence in the city. Let's look into our hearts and deal with any mixture in our lives. Allow the Lord to point out those areas of shortcomings and weaknesses in our lives. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you the grace and mercy to overcome it. Then, we will be able to win our family, community, and even our nation to the Lord. God bless. 

  (1)  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9r83ZRissyw                                               

   Photo courtesy by Marco Montero Pisani on Unsplash

                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

The church of Pergamos

                                          Picture of modern-day Pergamos

Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God  (Heb 6:1)

Is Doctrine important?

The meaning of the word doctrine comes there the Greek word “Logos” which means sayings of Decree, mandate, or order. In the ’80s, there was a push to unify the church. We saw a strong showing of unity in the Washington for Jesus movement.  Believers fasted and prayed unto the Lord. Things started to turn around for this country for a season.

After that season, we saw a couple of things happen. A few prominent ministers fell and false doctrines started to make their way into the movement. Ministers started saying that doctrine was not important and as a consequence of those incidents, the unity of the body took a back seat. My friend, doctrine is very important for the body of Christ if we are to stand and make an impact on society.

Doctrine of Balaam

As we study the church of Pergamos, we find two major doctrines that are the mentioned-the doctrine of Balaam and of the Nicolaitanes. We had discussed the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes some time ago, and now we will take a look at the doctrine of Balaam. What is the doctrine of Balaam? It is based on the love of money and compromise (2 Peter 2:15)

Have you heard the saying–Money talks? It does, especially within the church. Many Pastors who were once anointed, have compromised the word for the sake of money. There are others who talk about money, prosperity and feeling good without repentance or holiness. I don’t mean to fault-find because by the grace of God stand I, but the doctrine of Christ has to be followed in order to have unity within the body.

The word commands us to be of one mind. ( Phil 1:27, Phil 2:2) One obstacle to this is that we are opinionated, so in the natural, this would be hard to follow. The good news is that God has given us the mind of Christ. If we put on Christ and his identity, being of one mind will not be hard. Revelation knowledge will come and it will cause us to walk in one mind and be unified.

So, in this day, make it a practice to put on Christ. Ask God to help you discern proper doctrine. Declare that you have the mind of Christ. Spend some time seeking his face, praying for the body and what is your part in this end-time movement. God bless.

Reprint courtesy of the Christian corner community church. 

 

 

The church of Smyrna

“To the angel of the church in Smyrna write:
This is the message from the one who is the first and the last, who died and lived again. I know your troubles; I know that you are poor—but really you are rich! I know the evil things said against you by those who claim to be Jews but are not; they are a group that belongs to Satan! Don’t be afraid of anything you are about to suffer. Listen! The Devil will put you to the test by having some of you thrown into prison, and your troubles will last ten days. Be faithful to me, even if it means death, and I will give you life as your prize of victory. If you have ears, then, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches! Those who win the victory will not be hurt by the second death.”

The church of Smyrna was facing intense persecution. One of the ways in which they got persecuted was by losing their material wealth. During that time, the Roman government demanded allegiance to Caesar as Lord. Christians stood firm and proclaimed Jesus as Lord. Some were put to death, while others suffered the loss of their wealth. They were dismissed from their jobs. Those who were looking for a job could not be hired. Others faced the loss of their business.

They were destitute and poor, yet Christ saw them as being rich. Two things to glean from this—

• True riches come from serving God. There is no price for his presence and being guided by him.
• God saw that they had the ability to get what they needed in the spirit. The word of God says to call those things that are not as though they were ( Rom 4:17) Our trust and provision come from God and not from man.

Another point to consider is that they were persecuted by the Jews. God called the Jews as belonging to the synagogue of Satan. (King James version) This type of persecution was religious in nature. The Lord saw their pain and gave them a word to comfort them. Notice, he says to listen (Rev 2:10) and gives them the details of their suffering. It was going to get worse.

He mentions 10 days. I believe it is not, literally, 10 days but it is symbolic for the 10 emperors that will put this church thru intense persecution. The Bishop of the church during that period was Polycarp. It was believed that he got captured and brought before the coliseum. He was told to renounce his faith, which he refused. His punishment was to be burned at the stake. As he was burning, it was noted that a nice fragrance was in the air and he was preserved. A soldier stabbed him, finally killing him. (1)

This should cause us to analyze our walk with him. Around the world, many Christians are dying for their faith and suffering great torture. May we be mindful to keep our brethren in our prayers. God, help us to count the cost and be faithful unto death.

Some final thoughts-the word Smyrna means Myrrh. It is symbolic of suffering and its fragrance is sweet. God sees the church of Smyrna’s suffering as a sweet smell to him. Brethren, here in America, we may not see this type of suffering, but believe me, you are going to go thru many testings and trials. It’s part of our package of Salvation. Personally, I see that when persecution comes to me thru a family member or incident, I rejoice. Doing this has brought great comfort and blessings in my life.

Always, remember that we will, always, have trials and tribulations. The good news is with the Lord on our side, he is able to give you the victory. You are destined to win because we are more than conquerors thru him that loved us. (Rom 8:37) God bless and be encouraged.

Reprint courtesy of the Christian corner community church.

The doctrine of the Nicolaitanes.

 

So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate. (Rev 2:15)

                                Defining the word doctrine 

Greetings. In this Bible study, we will look into the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes. As you study Rev 2, you will find that God mentions the Nicolaitanes two times. When you see a word repeated in the Bible, pay attention. Doing so will help you find out what God is trying to tell you.

First, let’s define the word doctrine. Webster’s dictionary defines it as something that is taught. Teachings or instruction. The word of God places great importance on the doctrine of Christ. (Heb 6:1) What is God trying to tell us concerning doctrine? Correct doctrine is important and failure to adhere to it can have grave consequences

Let dig in further. The word Nicolaitanes comes from two Greek words. Nikos and Laos. Combining these words together means the conqueror of the people or laity. The Lord has placed Pastors as the authority of the local church. The Holy Spirit speaks to the Pastors first, and then to the church. Pastors are supposed to be hearing and guiding the church thru the Holy Spirit.

                                The root of false doctrine 

When the people override the Pastor’s authority, there is division. Respecting God’s spiritual authority in the church will bring you into a safe place. Everyone needs to know their place in the church so it can operate in peace and harmony. Miriam and Aaron got into trouble because they tried to override Moses's authority. (Numbers 12:1-9)

Most theologians believe that the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes came from Nicolas, one of the first deacons of the church. (Acts 6:1-5). The Apostle Paul had warned that out of the congregation would come division and strange doctrines. (Acts 20:30-31) This message would not be received in today’s modern user-friendly church. The church needs to receive correction and warnings so that they could be watchful and not allow the enemy place.

Let’s look at the life of Nicolas and how this false doctrine came into being–

• First, Nicolas might have been a charismatic person, finding fault with everything and everyone. Maybe, he wanted to go on his own (without being ordained) and have his own church.
• Another possibility is mixture. The mixture in the church could have played a role because some people in the church of Ephesus had books of curious arts (Witchcraft and sorcery–Acts 19:19).
• Finally,  it stands to reason since they were in a sexually liberal city, they had lowered their standards                  

                                                 Watch and pray 

It is not clear what happened, but false doctrine rose up to try to destroy the Ephesian church. God complimented them for their stand against those false teachings. What is the central message for us in this day and age? Watch! Brethren, now more than ever, we need to watch for false doctrine.

Some churches are lowering their standards. Holiness is a foreign word in some churches and grace is being perverted. It’s time to pray, stand firm in the Lord, and be vigilant. Let’s learn from this example and reject any false teachings in our lives. Pray and support your Pastor. Allow God to use him to bring about correction and order. Doing so will keep you on the right path and in a place of safety. God bless.

Have you left your first love?

Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.(Rev 2:4)

In our past studies, we took a hard look at the church of Ephesus. This was a church that was founded by the Apostle Paul. It was a church that had tremendous growth. They won so many souls that they, practically, emptied the temple of Diana. The idol Diana brought great gain to the silversmiths, and this massive conversion to Christ affected their business. They, in return, stirred the mob against Paul and the church.

In spite of all this opposition, God protected Paul. The church overcame this obstacle and increased in size. God gave them uncommon favor with those in high places and they influenced that city for the Lord. We could conclude a happy ending to this story, right? Not quite, the Lord had a final say—They left their first love! How did they get so distracted and how does this apply to us?

Defining first love

First, let us address the topic of first love. There have been many interpretations about defining first love, but let’s look at Matt 22:37-38 —
Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.

So, based on this verse above, we find that loving God is the first thing we should do. We could conclude by this that the Lord Jesus is our first love. He is before your wife/husband, family, job, etc. When you love someone, you do the things that please them. They have top priority,

Perhaps, the church was doing things in a routine way. When you get to see many miracles, signs, and wonders, it can get to be a routine. Another thought to this is their work in the ministry. Working for the Lord in ministry is good, but it can have its drawbacks.

Church Pastors can get caught up in helping the poor and other community ministry outreaches that it robs their time with God. After a while, they spend less time in prayer and Bible study. The results? Their sermons are improvised and not anointed. Finally, maybe many rich and influential members were pressuring its leaders to adopt worldly ways of doing things that were not right with God. A spirit of compromise could have been a major factor causing them to lose their first love.

It is an unknown issue what happened in that church. The main issue is that there was a falling away from God. They had grown cold towards God and lost their first love, but not all is lost. God had some answers to this problem.

Consequences and benefits

To further enhance this study, we will use the Amplified version. The Amplified version of the Bible gives us clarity on God’s ultimatum (Consequences and benefits). Let’s look at the following verses below–

So remember the heights from which you have fallen, and repent [change your inner self—your old way of thinking, your sinful behavior—seek God’s will] and do the works you did at first [when you first knew Me]; otherwise, I will visit you and remove your lampstand (the church, its impact) from its place—unless you repent. Yet you have this [to your credit], that you hate the works and corrupt teachings of the [a]Nicolaitans [that mislead and delude the people], which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear and heed what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who [b]overcomes [the world through believing that Jesus is the Son of God], I will grant [the privilege] to eat [the fruit] from the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.’(Rev 2:5-7)

God is threatening to remove their candle. What does this mean? This means that they will lose their influence with those in high places. They will not longer be making an impact on society. On the bright side, God has an answer to their problem. The answer is that if they get this matter corrected, they will eat the fruit of the tree of life. God is opening up heaven on earth again if they repent.
Proverbs 15:4 says that a wholesome tongue is a tree of life. This talks of dominion and authority. Your tongue can bring life and death. God has given us authority to tread on serpents, scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy. (Luke 10:19)

As we study this subject further, God is addressing their authority. Their authority was at stake in this matter. They were at risk of forfeiting their authority because of their sin. The good news was that God was willing to take them to even deeper dimensions and blessings. The only thing that was required was repentance and correcting the problem of falling away.

They had a choice to make. The first one was to continue in their sin and forfeit their authority. The other alternative was to repent and correct the problem. God, always, gives us a choice. There is a saying that with great power comes great responsibility.

Personal application

As we ponder on this example, we need to ask ourselves–Have I lost my first love with Jesus? Here are some points to consider..

• Have I had so many answers to prayers that I become complacent and robotic in my service to the Lord?
• Have I allowed distractions to take away my time from the Lord?
• Have I been so involved in ministries and good works that I placed the Lord in second place?

Let us not cut the flow of blessings from God in our lives. God is a jealous God and he demands our time with him. Doing so will allow us to continue to eat from the tree of life and be an overcomer.

Reprint courtesy of the Christian corner community church.