Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”

Philippians 3:10, “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;”

Hello OTP Family! We have heard the old saying “knowledge is power” and this is so very true. But life has a way of piling on so much that we are weighed down. So much so that the enemy has almost convinced us that we did don’t know anything about God. The enemy is so subtle, so tricky, so sneaky, that if we are not on our watch, we will know see, recognize, or discern when he has come in. But God! God is all powerful, and has promised us that he will never leave or forsake us. But he has called us to responsibility.

We have to meet God part way. We have to walk in obedience to his word, his will, and his way. It is our responsibility to feed on the word so we can grow. We grow in him and we learn God. We learn who he is, what he promised, what is his will for our lives, and what he requires of us. Yes, there are things we know through our experiences with him. This level of Growth requires us to watch and pray. To walk in the things we now know of God.

By definition, to know is to be aware of through observation, inquiry, or information. To have developed a relationship with (someone) through meeting and spending time with them; be familiar or friendly with.

We are still continuing in our study of the 7 churches mentioned in chapters 2 and 3 of Revelations.

Church 5 – Sardis, Revelations 3:1-6

The Matthew Henry commentary describes the church at Sardis this way; “Hypocrisy, and lamentable decay in religion, are sins charged upon Sardis, by Jesus – the one who knew that church well, and all her works. Outward things appeared well to men, but there was only the form of godliness, not the power; a name to live, not a principle of life. There was great deadness in their souls, and in their services;”

Hypocrisy is nothing new to church life. It is still prevalent to most churches today. Lamentable decay in religion – such a very sad state that is most notably seen by the world. Although there is much good done by the church, that is not what is shown to the world in the media today. But the blame for this can be laid at the churches feet. We have fallen down on job and been very lax in our responsibility.

Matthew Henry goes on further to state, “Our Lord called upon them to be watchful against their enemies, and to be active and earnest in their duties; and to endeavor, in dependence on the grace of the Holy Spirit, to revive and strengthen the faith and spiritual affections of those yet alive to God, though in a declining state.”

Isaiah 62:6, “I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; They shall never hold their peace day or night.” In Ezekiel 3:17-21, God appoints Ezekiel as a watchman over the house of Israel’s charging him with the responsibility to warn the people of their sinful ways and the impending consequences if they do not repent.”

Somewhere along the way, the watchmen that were appointed stop doing their job. Somewhere along the line the people of God forgot they serve a jealous God. A God who does not like it when other things are given place in our lives before him. Somewhen along the way we forgot that a little leaven will leaven the whole loaf. Spiritual compromise will always lead to spiritual death – if we don’t repent.

So we need to ask the question: What Do You Know?

Looking at the definition of to know is given above. After having walked with God for any length of time we should know:

–How God thinks of us (Jeremiah 29:11) – He gives us his peace, not evil. Only the enemy wants to give us evil. God desires to give us an expected end. He desires to give you the desires of your heart, those things that bring glory to his name.

–That all things will work together for your good (Romans 8:28). This goes hand in hand with Jeremiah. The enemy wants you to believe that the horrible life experiences happened to you because you were not worthy of good. But God says, even in those experiences, I can turn it around so the thing the enemy devised to destroy you will only work together for your ultimate good. We just have to trust God through the process.

–That we may know him (Philippians 3:10). As we walk with him and go through life’s experiences we get a better understanding of God. We intimately know him as we apply his word to our lives and walk therein.

We have to we that watchman that God had called us to be. We cannot to lose any more ground. We must strengthen that which remains. As we strengthen, we can add back the things we allowed the enemy to slowly erode away.

There is still space to repent. Hear what the spirit is saying to the church. Repent so that our name stays in the lams book of life. “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.” Revelations 3:5.

Glory be to God! The worst thing we can do is know that we are in perilous waters, at risk of drowning in sin, and refuse to swim to safety. Let us repent and get back to being the watchmen on the wall. Like Ezekiel- appointed to warn the people of the impending consequences of their actions if they don’t repent.

Right now, take a few minutes to talk to God. Tell him what you know…

Have a blessed night OTP family.

Proverbs 31:10 (Amplified Bible), “An excellent woman [one who is spiritual, capable, intelligent, and virtuous], who is he who can find her? Her value is more precious than jewels and her worth is fat above rubies or pearls.

Psalms 139:14, “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.”

Ephesians 1:4, “According as he had chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:”

We are precious according to Proverbs, unique according to Psalms, and according to Ephesians we are chosen by God even before the world was formed. Our worth is so great, that it was only the Blood of the Lamb – Jesus Christ, that could redeem us. We are worth far more than we give ourselves credit. God sees this. Now, we just have to continually remind ourselves of this.

We are continuing our series on the 7 Churches as noted in Revelations chapters 2 and 3.

Church 4 – Thyatira – Revelations 2:18-29

Background: “Residents of Thyatira worshiped Apollo, the sun god under the surname Tyrimnas. Apollo was a son of the chief Greek god, Zeus. As such, it is significant that Jesus identified himself to the church at Thyatira as the Son of God. Likewise, this probably explains why Jesus is here depicted with flaming eyes and feet like burnished—white hot—brass. His deity outshines the sun by far, so the church at Thyatira could view Him as far more glorious than Tyrimnas. 

Jesus’ power and spiritual sight is on full display here. Nothing can escape His scrutiny. He can see what is right and wrong with the church. His feet appear to be like blazing white brass. He stands ready to judge whatever sin He finds in Thyatira.” (Bible Ref.com).

God sees and knows us. He instructed John to write to Thyatira that he knows their work, charity, service, faith, patience, and their desire for their last work to be more than their first. This speaks to their growth and maturity in the work of the Lord. Because God sees and knows them – he also pointed out their deficiencies. As much as they loved God, they still refused to route out the evil influences that plagued their church.

In verse 20, “Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.” The scripture reminded us that she called herself a prophet, she was not called by God. Yet the church allowed her (this spirit) to teach and seduce the people of God. The Bible tells us to know those who labor among us (1 Thessalonians 5:12). We cannot allow ignorance or the fear of what people will say or do to keep us from doing what we know God requires. God called us to walk in discernment. To know what is of God and what is not.

God shows his goodness and mercy in verse 21, “And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.” This confirms Jezebel knew exactly what she was doing and that her actions were not ordained by God. She was aware that she could repent and change her ways, but refused to. This is still true today. Those who operate in this spirit know they are opposing God. They are fully aware they are not trying to share the good news (Gospel )of Jesus. They are trying to share a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof (2 Timothy 3:5).

Although Jezebel was long dead, that spirit behind her was (is) still alive and well.

Jezebel – the daughter of Ethbaal king of Zidonians (1 Kings 16:31).

– Seduced Ahab, King of Israel, to tolerate Baal.

– Replaced the worship of God with the worship of Baal.

– Commanded the death of the Prophets of God (1 Kings 18:4).

– Lead followers to practice fornication and to eat foods offered to idols.

– Responsible for killing Naboth and confiscating his vineyard for Arab (1 King 21: 1-6).

– Came close to killing Elijah (1 Kings 19:1-3).

The spirit of Jezebel is still at work in many churches today. That seducing spirit still seeks to encourage the people of God to tolerate sin. The Bible warns us not to give place (space) to the devil (Ephesians 4:27-30). If you give him an inch, he is going to want the whole ruler. The enemy is ever trying to replace holy worship with an unholy mess. It is still trying to kill the prophets of God by physical violence, by killing reputations, and by placing worldly standards on the things of God – just to name a few ways.

But we still need to know our worth…we still need to discern to plan of the enemy. We need to stand in the gap for the people of God, in the name of Jesus.

Even Elijah came under the attack of this spirit. Elijah had just finished a great work to the glory of God. But as soon as he heard the threat of Jezebel, he ran away. God had to send his angel to feed and minister to him. God had to ask him, why are you here, Elijah?

Yes, there are times when the attack seems so great that we want to run, forget the call of God, and hide ourselves away. Be we cannot give into this. We must fight this feeling with faith, and take our rest in worship. This allows us to come back to ourselves. To remember who we are and whose we are. We have to know our worth. This gives us strength to get back up and fight the good fight of faith.

For the Church of Thyatira, God warned if they do not repent he would cast Jezebel and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation. He will kill her children with death. God is saying if you don’t route out that spirit, he will – along with everything that spirit gave birth to. God says he knows our hearts and will give to us according to our works. We cannot hide from him. God also comforts us – He promised that if we are not guilty of this we will not have to bear no other burden. “But that which ye have already hold fast till I come. And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:”

God encourages us to know our worth and to hold fast till he comes. Do not allow the enemy to trick us this close to the finish line.

Hold on and have and be blessed!