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.