Checking Your Spiritual Vital Signs

We are not a time when we knew the Lord when we were closer to him when we were more intimate with him that we are right now should not be that you have to look backwards to see your best time in Christ. That's Pastor Paul Sheppard and this is destined for victory hello and thanks for stopping by for the past several days we've been looking at what God said to the seven churches in the book of Revelation.

Today we come to number five on the list.

The church in Sardis what it once been a vibrant, growing body was now a stagnant and complacent group of believers. God's word to them should be a warning to all of us a much needed reminder that comfort is often the greatest enemy of faith stay right here to visit Pastor Paul.net to listen anytime on your schedule. That's Pastor Paul.net you can also subscribe to the podcast podcasts modify or whatever you get yours now here's Pastor Paul did a suggestion for victory message checking your spiritual vital signs. Revelation chapter 3 verses one through six, to the angel of the church in Sardis write. These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars I know your deeds, you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead wake up strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. Remember therefore what you have received and heard obey it and repent. If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes, they will walk with me dressed in life for they are worthy.

You overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white.

I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my father and his angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. As we arrive.

Now I had a look at this fifth letter of Revelation. Notice that it is written to believers in Sardis now Sardis was a city in Asia minor that had once been among the most powerful cities in the ancient world.

It was known for its well and it was prominent it was in fact a place where gold and silver coins were first minted. It was also known to be a place where people first began the practice of dying wool and so it was known for innovation and it was known for its well it was sort of a Silicon Valley of the first century and their best days were behind them.

They lived on this wonderful reputation as a city but they were past their prime.

It was a city that because of its well and the abundance that they enjoyed.

They fell into moral decay and it's unfortunate that sometimes what should be a blessing in some people's lives, ends up cursing them and that's what happened. As these people began to use their wealth in ungodly ways and they just spell as a city in tomorrow decay and they went down and so they live on their reputation, they would speak often of the great things that once happened in that city. But when you look at Sardis. By the time of this writing in the first century A.D. it was a has been city and interestingly enough, as we look at what the Lord had to say to the church at Sardis, you discover that the charge had become much like the city. It was in the church of Sardis was. I have been church. They were a church that once experienced the power of God and the moving of God but they had become spiritually lazy and complacent. They had stopped reminding what God's will was they were no longer focused on pleasing God and as a result, the church fell into immorality and began to live in ways that definitely did not please God. And just like the city they were in the church in Sardis had become. I has been church and so God writes this letter and if you'll notice there is no churchwide commendation.

In this letter. Now, as we seen the first four letters you have seen that God commended those churches were certain aspects of their life in Christ.

Here you'll see a churchwide commendation. The only thing you see here is out of the fuel y'all who haven't soiled your close to people in the church who are living life who are living a holy who are doing God's will, but the charts they were in disobedience.

They were spiritually complacent. They were living in ways that God had not ordained, and as a result they already has been church back to the matter is both.

We should never look at a time in our lives when we knew the Lord better when we were closer to him when we were more intimate with him that we are right now that should not be that you have to look backwards to see your best time in Christ that should not be that you would say that you be a time when I love the Lord used to be a time when I couldn't wait to get to my prayer closet used to be a time when I couldn't wait to worship God in spirit and in truth all the time when the spirit of God was so rich in my life that was a time when I really walked closely with the Lord. None of us should be able to look back word to identify our closest time with God and that is the case, it simply means that you need the word that God gave to that church and all of us because by God's design. All of us ought to be going from faith to faith and from glory to glory. I will walk with God should be getting richer.

It should be fuller, we should be like him years ago. The longer I serve him, the sweeter you grow the more you walk within it ought to get richer.

Your relationship with him ought to be more fulfilling, that it used to be. And so if you look back to see your best days in Christ.

I want you to pay close attention to this word because it's not just a word for the church of Sardis. It's a word for all of us.

Now notice what God said to them, he said I know your deeds, he said I know you have a reputation of being alive, but you are. And he calls them that he says you have a wrap for being alive. There was a time when everybody knew that this was not happening on fire church. He said, but now you are dead now. We didn't mean that in the ultimate sense because he clarifies in the very next verse when he tells them to wake up and strengthen what remains.

He says and he is about to die, so we not saying they are literally spiritually dead in the ultimate sense. He said, but the vital signs are sure getting weak nor not all the way dad you have it all the way from line but you are on a respirator, or you are in a spiritual coma. It doesn't look good for you and some of us if the truth be told, that's where we are right now but truth be told, you might have a reputation people in your life know you to be a believer know that that was it that you accepted Christ as your Savior know that there was a time when you were walking with the Lord in the fellowship growing in your faith enjoying the fruit of the Spirit in your life, and so on. But the truth be told, despite what people think you know.

And God knows that things are going way they used to be in your heart and your on a spiritual respirator. You can build a spiritual (walk around which a big Bible, you can be a spiritual coma while you say and praise the Lord and God bless you those things could just be habits you have developed.

But you know and God knows where you walk in him really is.

And so it seems this word to challenge and to convict and to admonish you. Please understand, whatever the word of God comes strong like this is the method where program will be shouting and can't wait to run to the CD live to get the message will get the CD but you will be in a real big hurry I anything because that challenge us to our core and I need you to know before I did you hear that when God gives us a word like that it is because he loves us. Please understand that he disciplines, understand, and the economy of God.

Discipline is not a function of anger. It is a function called you better than this. I've given you a higher calling living what my plan for your life and it's time for you to shape up. And let's be about your father's business. He disciplines don't take God's discipline as he went to read think God was with you he would never bother to so you need to know when you get a hard word like this that you gotta say, Lord, thank you for loving me like that you're not mad at me.

You are just concerned that I understand how important it is to get back into your will listing to Destin for victory with pastor Paul Shepherd, senior pastor of destiny Christian Fellowship in Fremont, California. You'll be right back with the second half of today's message. But first, an important reminder Destin for victory is available right now in the palm of your hand by downloading our free mobile app. The app allows you to take notes on the dates message order books and CDs.

You can even make a safe and secure donation to the ministry search Destin for victory in the app store and downloaded today absolutely free coming your way next the first spiritual vital signs every believer in Christ should check this pastor Paul Shepherd with the rest of today's message checking your spiritual vital signs should have nothing to do with each other you parents were still actively and years of training and if children do not try to blend them while you are angry.

Anger has nothing to do with me to grow angry, go somewhere to get together praying that your heart and your mind and your attitude right so that when you come to them. Even if you have to apply visibly and however you apply it, but every now and then God just goes on in space that I know your pastor spanking season in your life you don't believe in that anymore know God still believe in spanking his children. But when he doesn't he doesn't not an angry doesn't have a blow however you discipline your children. You want to do it out of love so that they get the real point.

My father said back in his day. When his when his mama was spanking them see me singing and taking care of business see that my mom know I traumatized some of you just by bringing that up. I'm sorry, so sorry be healed in Jesus name healed of your trauma, but I need to know when God Is like He Does in This Letter, It Is Because He Loves Us and Look at What He Says to This Church. What He Does Is Gives Them What I Consider for Spiritual Vital Signs That Need to Be Checked on and Perhaps Need to Be Improved in Terms of Your Own Spiritual Health and so Here Is What He Says to Them As the Ball He Says, Wake up, Wake up. The First Spiritual Vital Sign That You Need to Check in Your Own Life Is How Responsive You Are.

How Responsive You Are Here Is Wake up God Says Tell That John Said There Spiritually Asleep. They Are Laying out They Are Non-Responsive When They Need to Be about Doing My Will.

So the Word Is Wake up. That's God's Word to You How Responsive to God. Are You Are You Spiritually Speaking, What Are You Doing about What God Has Told You to Do Something the Lord Has Been Speaking to You about for Some Time and You Spill. Haven't Responded Are You in the Bed of Spiritual Complacency and Activity and Fitness Button Every Time God Speaks to You Will Not Get a Look in Your Own Life within the Time for You to Think about the Pope Is the Time to Zoom in and Examine Your Old Heart and the Question Got through This Letter to the Church.

How Are You, When I Speak to You While You Do about What I Say. Some of Us Were Raised by Those Old-Fashioned Parents When They Called up the Stairs You up in Your Room Playing or Whatever, Talking on the Phone When You Little Raggedy Girlfriends, Boyfriends, Arm and Doing Your Thing and They Call Yes I Need You down Here Right Now and Some of Us Who If You Were Too Caught up in What You Were Doing and You Didn't Respond. The Next Thing You They Call Back up the Stairs and They Said Not Talking Here Myself and We Knew What That Meant We Had Met the First Time I Called You I Expected to Hear You and down the Steps and That I Called You Anything Is a Problem and They Were Given You Mercy When They Say I'm Not Talking Myself That Was Your Two Minute Warning That Mitt I Don't Plan to Say Anything Else.

The Next Devotee Will Be Not You Coming down the Steps, but Me Coming up the Hall, Also We All Know What I'm Talking about through Dog in the House Will Be Action from Here on out in All Know When We Are Not Talking Myself to Call You Back and You Got down Those Steps Would Grant to What God Is Saying to the Church Might Have Been Telling You to Do My Will Given You My Word You like You Can Get to It. Whatever You Get Good and Ready. I Will Have Somebody What Is God Been Saying to You That You Have Been Ignoring the Word to You Is Wake up, It's Time for You to Become Responsive Because God Is Lord, and He Has a Plan for Your Life and It Cannot Be Put off If You Are Hoping to Wait out God If You're Hoping That by Ignoring What Is Telling You to Do. He Will Forget I Need You to Know That You Serve a God Who Has a Perfect Plan and Who Is Going to Withdrawal What He Has Called You to Do God to Change His Mind and so It Is Ours to Be As Responsive As Possible in His Word for Somebody Notices for, but This Is for You. I Need You to Hear Me Clearly God Wants You to Know That Whatever He Has Told You to Do. Not Only Is He Going to Change His Mind Right Now Is the Direct Result of Your Being Nonresponsive Now and Then We Make Our Own Mrs. to Support Some of the Trouble in Our Lives Because We Live in a Fallen World We Live among Fallen People Sin Abounds Here. This Is Not Old and We're Waiting for God to Bring the Consummation of Redemption and What Have You.

But in the Meantime You Need Also Know You Can't Blame All the Mess in Your Life on Your Environment.

Sometimes It Is All Making Sediment Whenever You Can. Sometimes It's Your Making. Don't Believe Me Ask Jonah and I Need Somebody to Know If God Has Been Speaking to You and You Been Ignoring What He's Been Direct You to Do What with the Change in Your Lifestyle, Your Actions Were Added to. You Haven't Obeyed a Calling to Prepare for Something He Wants You to Do in Your Life You Know What God Has Spoken to You about That.

You Have Ignored and I'm Here to Tell You Some of You Are in Jonah Bill Right Now and You Need to Read That Old Testament Book of Jonah and You Will Find Your Self Bear Jonah Was a Man of God, in His Day, God Wanted to Use Him to Save a City That Was in Sin, and so God Speaks to Him and Says Jonah I Want You to Go to Nineveh Simple Direction. All Well. Jonah Didn't Want to Go. Nineveh. Jonah Had Another so You Read in the First Chapter of Jonah That He Decides I'm Not Going to Nineveh on the Tortious, Which Is in the Opposite Direction That He Ought to Be Going in and so He Said in Order to Get the Tortious I Got to Catch up so He Goes down to Jump up and He Sees His Bible Says in Jonah 1 His Ownership Goes down to the Belly of the Ship Something That's Where Some of You Are Right Now You Are Paying a Price for Your Disobedience and Nonresponsiveness to God, You Are Paying Always Cost You When You Are Out Of Sync with the Will of God, and It Never Pay Was Hoping to Pay off Jonah Chapter 1 That He Wanted to Go to Tarsus to Get Away from the Presence of the Lord J Something Where Some of Us We Are Trying to Run Away from the Presence of God How English Is That What I Failed Attempt Is That What a Funeral Action Is That You Can't Get Away from the Presence of God and so He Doesn't like That.

He Goes down a Job. He Pays His Failure Gets Ownership Goes down into the Belly of the Ship, Hoping God Isn't Following Him to Tarsus and As You Read on, You Find out Exactly What Happens, God Stores up a Strong Wind Began to Batter That Ship God Clearly Has No Plan of This Man Making It, and Some of You Are Trying to Head to Your Will, and You're Wondering, Chang Way I Want. My Life Isn't Working out the Way I Wanted Because God Loves You Too Much to Let You Go and so We'll Start up A Lot Of Things in Your Life. In Jonah's Case That Wayne Is by Putting Them and so Much so That All of These Pagans on the Ship, nor Told, I Began to Cry out to Their Own Gods and They Told Everybody They Could Find.Find out Which God Can Help Us. Meanwhile, Jonah Is in the Belly of the Ship and Then When the Captain Is Running around the Boat.

Things Are Pretty Bad. The Captain Himself Comes down There… I Don't Know Who You Are What You Need to Call on Your God You Can't Be Comfortable… To Be Comfortable the Way You Don't Know Where You Are Today in Your Walk with Christ. But If You've Grown Complacent in Your Faith. If, like Jonah, You've Wondered Away from God and Found Yourself Uncomfortable, Even Miserable.

Be Encouraged Today.

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