Awakened to the Cross – Part 2

And Graham Lutz will Leavy saying to the pastors and leaders of the church. Watch out to you. The shepherds guard the sheep from the wolves were trying to tear them apart. So I would take a moment just ask you what your view of God's word in your listening to Engram was on the weekly teaching ministry living in the today and takes us to the book of Revelation chapter 2.

One of the most religious cities of the day was the seat of Emperor worship service, which was also one of the seven wonders of the ancient world and intellectual center of its day, but unfortunately the Christians accommodated themselves to it, peers, and with today's message awakened to the cross. Pergamum was a very international city. They had a great medical University. They had library that had over 200,000 uniform tablets, they were intellectual, religious, when the church was planted in Pergamum church community was thrilled because they thought now were going to plant a church there and it's going to impact the culture and instead the culture impacted the church so Jesus says these are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword. He identifies himself with the word of God, the living word identified with the written word. He says I know where you live where Satan has his throne. I think that's the big altar of Zeus that was on the mountain centered in the city and that they had been faithful, even to the point of death. Nevertheless, in verse 14 have a few things against you, you have people there hold of the teachings of Baylon and talks about the teachings of the neck lightens and I don't exactly know who they were and what they were teaching but I'll tell you this, they were taking people away from faith in God's words they were sowing doubt in God's word.

They were disregarding God's word, belittling God's word finding myths and errors and you know all the kind of stuff that they say about God's word and. And the thing he was correcting the church for was that in their midst. They had people like this. The leaders of the church went that way. But the leaders that allowed people to come into the church and they will begin their whisper campaign. You don't really believe that you don't think a snake would talk and all exams condone the Bowden unit was ever heard of man rising from the dead and you know there more than one way to God is just such a narrowminded view. We all have our own religion and God will you know and allow them to creep into the church and I believe he's saying to the pastors and leaders of the church. Watch out here. The shepherds guard the sheep from the wolves were trying to tear them apart. So I would take a moment just ask you what your view of God's word is and that may need to be settled. My daddy had a wonderful testimony that actually he shared with my daughter Mara. We climbed on his bed and I asked him to share with her the story when he was a young man ends. He had been in a group of young men and they were belittling the word of God and he said he didn't join the conversation.

It was something that hurt him just heard his heart and so he went out into the woods and he took his Bible and wrestled with his view of God's word and finally he said he just decided to put his Bible on the stump and he just decided you know I don't understand it all.

I can answer all the questions but I believe because it's God's word, that is true and I'm going to take it as truth from Genesis to Revelation.

I'm going to preach it and believe it. So the difference it makes to put your faith in the word of God's it may be that you need to rest a little bit and you just decide a map from me. I've decided not as a gentleman he doesn't lie, I can take him at his word and what he says this so and I believe this book every part of it was written for people like you and me, and I believe the nouns are nouns and verbs are verbs and I can take it literally. That means I take it as a piece of literature and I know in the Psalms. There is poetry and I know prophecy as symbolism and you not when I get to have you want to get to heaven and find out that I throughout the story of Adam and Eve, because I couldn't believe in a talking snake rest. Throughout the story of Jonah because I couldn't believe a fish could swallow man throughout the story of the resurrection, because honorably people rise from the dead and find out that I was discarding the truth so decide yes amen leave you in a unique you and I need to take a stand on God's words. It's God's word, and there is a supernatural power to God's word is there. So we just preach the word preach the word preach the word like somebody told him is like planning landmines now know that's not politically correct but when you preach the word is like planning landmines, then the Holy Spirit can come and walk along him and exploded into real faith whenever he chooses, or just going to preach the word right, in response to the word is up to the Holy Spirit not so were just going to be faithful to the word, and so Jesus is telling the church at Pergamum you need to repair of having these people in your Mets who are weakening those under you in their faith. In my word, he wasn't here, let him hear what the Spirit says to the church of this is the principle I believe that you and I don't stand in judgment over the words. The word stands in judgment over us.

Revelation 19 I think is the most terrifying chapter in all of Scripture and its when the sky unfolds the white horse is there. The writer's name is faithful and true, and the armies of the world would gather together at Armageddon to make war with each other and they see the land and they know who he is and they unite in their rebellion and they aim their missiles and their guns and their battleships may go to make our land.

Is he afraid this even better he just speaks a word and they all drop dead.

You and I don't stand in judgment over the words. The word stands in judgment over us. The promise to those who overcome what I would say would be a political correctness or however you want to view this that would diminish the word of God in your midst. Those who overcome he says I will give you some of the hidden manna. Manna was the bread in the wilderness he came down from heaven and they hid some in a jar and put it in the ark and and I think the hidden manna is what we discovered during our workshop. When you read a passage of Scripture, and you can read it and it's a blessing and you just go right onto the next passage, but if you stop and you list the facts and you look for the lessons from the facts and you put the lessons in the form of a question. The hidden manna comes out and he will give you insight into God's word and he will give you precious things to feed you and speak to your hearts that not and if you never share with anybody else is just for you but it may be that he will speak to you so that you in turn can share that with somebody else.

It's a very thing they need the hidden manna. Jeff here is the hear what the Spirit is saying the heart catheterization revealing a political correctness in our midst therefore not careful will pull our people away from the word of God which of her pants do something about it. If you're the leader you can do something about it.

Have ears to hear what the Spirit is saying I church at Pergamum did not is no church there today.

Next churches Thyatira these the words of the son of God's eyes like blazing fire.

His feet are like burnished bronze flat tire was such a small town.

People don't understand why that's on this list and sometimes you can be so small.

Your church so small, so insignificant some isolated place you think God doesn't notice you, and you can get by with whatever in this church thought they could get by with whatever and Jesus is looking at them with eyes of blazing. He's angry. I hope I never see him looking at me like that is coming in judgment against this church.

The stunning saying in verse 19. I know your deeds, your love, your faith, your service, your perseverance are doing more now than you did at first. Wow, they're doing a lot. They sound wonderful like you want to belong to that church and then you find out what's going on what is provoked the anger of the son of God, and I'm ashamed to say they were led into about a woman, but it could just as easily been a man provoking the wrath of the sun is not a message to the church today in America. I will tell you that he warned Jezebel and he said if she didn't wear pants. He would take it out on her and her children and it would go from generation to generation. You gotta stop it, break the cycle so much and you know I've got three granddaughters and I can hardly bear the fact that their growing up in this culture were everywhere you turn there is temptation to sin either to go through the mall and be greedy and covet everything that you see your turn on the TV and sleep the just and the bad things that I would never wanted my children to see and you hear his sayings and language in the way speak and not just with living in such a wicked but don't hide it into the church. The church at five tire was told to repentance. Jezebel else, she was unwilling to consider the suffering began, and went down to the next generation. The principle I believe is that's God demands holiness of his people, especially the leaders of his people. God's standards haven't changed. Have a and we compare ourselves with each other. So I think I'm better than that person. Not as bad as that person I'm okay enter safety in numbers and God still is holy and were to be holy as he is holy to be holy means to be absolutely pure in our dear Lord Jesus wanted a definition for holiness just be like Jesus and in him there was no meanness, no unkindness, no pridefulness, no selfishness, no unforgiveness, no bitterness, no hypocrisy, no no no sinfulness that all software to be holy as he is holy and us. There should be no meanness or unkindness or bitterness or unforgiveness or selfish hypocrisy or whatever else you can name all the sins of the catheterization revealed be holy be holy be holy, so the principle is that we are to be holy and he demands it from us the promise.

This is interesting.

Verse 26 he says, I will give him authority over the nations and I believe that means power in your service that spiritual power to impact this generation spiritual power to change labs spiritual power to get answers to prayer is directly related to your purity. No wonder the church is so powerless to so as he shines a light of truth into your hearts as a catheterization revealed there is some sort of sinfulness in your life. The life of your church that you need to deal with. We need to bring some discipline back to the church, don't we, in a loving way. And like Paul said we discipline these people not to just crush them, but to bring them to repentance. God's standards are high and churches that did not have ears to hear what the Spirit say you know there's not only not a church in five tire. There's not even any stones to look at our time.

People don't even go there because there's nothing there. You have ears to hear what the Spirit is saying think it's time to wake up to the come back and bring our sin of immorality and sinfulness wickedness. Whatever it is to Jesus. Next churches out of Sardis and I relate to this one.

Relate all of them actually break this one, especially these the words of him was the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. It's a picture of Jesus holding the balance scales and the seven spirits of God the Holy Spirit on one side the seven stars. That's the leaders of the church would include me in that answer is holding up the balance scales and saying that he's the one who weighs us in the balance in your people stated they were God's going away my good works against my bad works and if I am more good works and bad works in God's going to accept men in Jesus raises, but not our good works against our fabrics and he weighs us against the perfection of his Holy Spirit, and so he said to me, and I have weighed you and the balances and I found you lacking. I'm in this. I'm just telling you he spoke to me from this past several years ago and so I said woo hoo you know what is it he says I know your deeds, he knows you have a reputation of being alive, but your dad and he said wake up and I knew exactly what he was talking, sleepyhead. So instead of waking up to spend time with him in prayer which is rolling over to catch as much sleep as I could and I was bouncing in the my day and I had other people praying for me and I was riding on their prayers and wasn't in that set aside. And had a reputation worldwide reputation of being alive, but he looked at me and he said and you're dying on the inside that's a wake-up call. So I went to Brookstone I got an alarm that when it goes off so loud you know your heart goes like this withdraws like this, my husband screaming what you doing in is no chance I go back to sleep, get out of bed and do my stretches and bands I had to learn that I couldn't just get out of bed and going to my prayer time had to wake myself up and do my stretches walk for two and half miles get my triple espresso then come back and I was away and has become the most precious time of my day wouldn't take anything from meeting the Lord like bad waking up.

Alan Redpath said what American Christians need the most is blanket victory just victory over those blankets in the morning wake up, I came across a book.

I think it was on the New York Times bestseller list action. I believe the author's name is Mark Batterson. Is that right the circle maker and remember the introduction. He talks about Connie and I think I'm pronouncing his name right. They lived before the first century was a time in Jerusalem with an enormous droughts and the elders of the city knew if the drought continued then they would lose a whole generation in the fields were where there was a dustbowl had rained and I don't have any or seven years thing like that so they called on Tony. He was the rainmaker and they said, honey, you need to pray for rain and they brought them out and so honey just drew a circle in the dust and he put himself in the middle of the circle and he got down on his knees and he said God send the rain I'm not going to leave the circle until you send the rain and so as he prayed the rain began to come.

It was just pouring down his own no God I didn't mean that kind of rain because it was a gully washer and he said no he's I mean a soft gentle rain that would fill up the creeks and fill up the rivers and fill up the lakes and as he prayed. The rain came in a soft gentle rain that lasted for days and the drought was in an so I share this with the group in my state, the leadership group and I said you know something I would like to draw circle all the way around the United States but I'm just going to center on North Carolina and I'm going to first of all, my city of Raleigh.

But then my state draw circle and just say, I'm not going to get out of the circle just figuratively speaking into you send until you plot your pricing on this day and I just feel that their forces trying to pull us away from our foundation FA and God is given our state a little reprieve and I'm praying destroying the circle praying for his blessing. So maybe you could just draw circle around your city. Draw a circle around the state is God's were not going to get out of the circle until you send the rain it may not change the political landscape can change the church and can change God's people in the state and all prayer is the weakest part of my Christian life. Can I just tell you prayers work, isn't it the front line of the battle you get on your knees and you have entered into the battle for an enemy will come against you do know that that's why you can't keep your concentration. That's why you get so sleepy that's why you get so scattered and you know that's why you start daydream is the enemy is after you to keep you from that prayer because it's so powerful. Prayer is a fight and I had given up the fight. So he shined his light of truth in the hearts and showed me that I was prayer and had other people praying. Remember prayer team in my office a printing for myself is before the office printing was established that I was substituting their prayers from a in Jesus that you can't do that. It's good to have people pray for you land.

But there's no substitute for you, spending time in prayer with me.

The principal is that God is not impressed with our reputation as a we can have a reputation other people can be impressed, but he's not and the promise is in verse five he who overcomes will be dressed in white. In other words, will have a relationship with his father that he will acknowledge other people will see and I think when you spend time in prayer and you spend time in his word.

You're developing that love relationship that even other people can sense about and they know you know God in an intimate way so as light of two shines in your hearts as it will feel prayer. How is your prayer life.

When you spend time in prayer unique. Every day you spend time in prayer but can you carve out a retreat time.

Maybe it's just once a week. Maybe it's three days a week, whatever it is, but just be creative and make sure spending time in prayer you have ears to hear what the Spirit is saying the church at Sardis did not charge there today. Now here's and with this final word would you sincerely search your heart for any political correctness that is intimidated you in the denying, doubting or disobeying the truth of God's word just remaining silent about the truth then repents, read, study, apply to God's word that you might be blessed when you search your heart for the specific sin of immorality impure thoughts fascination with the sexual or the sensual that's reflected in the movies or television programs you watch the books you read magazines you leave through website you visit places you go close that you where then repents cut out anything and everything that temp should immorality even if it's just in your thoughts when you search your heart for prayer looseness whether the reason is awareness or busyness or just spiritual weakness. It hasn't made prayer a priority repents reactivated daily time of prayer. You and I were created to walk and talk with God to love and obey God, to listen to him and to learn from them to glorify and enjoy God forever.

Everything in your life seems okay. Yet you say to yourself, so why am I so restless what's wrong, it may be that your restlessness is because something is wrong because something is right, God may be awakening in you a desire for something more.

Perhaps God in his grace is drawing you closer to Jesus to go deeper in your faith in Philippians 1, nine and 10, Paul prays that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight so that you may be able to discern what is best and be pure and blameless.

King David prayed in Psalm one 3923 and 24 search me oh God, and know my heart see if there is any offensive way in me, would you ask God to do that for you to search your heart to revealed you in the light of his word, the sin that he sees first Corinthians 118 says the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved is the power of God is at the cross that God demonstrated his love for you is at the cross, that even the vilest offender receives by faith. A full pardon for his sin. It's at the cross that God's grace is poured out as a fountain filled with his own blood, and is at the cross of Jesus Christ were millions of people and lay down all they are all they have is a debt of love to the one who died for them. Return to the cross and humbly repent. He will give you a hidden manna, fresh power in your service in a personal relationship with himself that will draw others living in the light is a weekly study in God's word with teacher and author and Graham wants learn to listen to his voice, then start making the choice to keep on going and believing and trusting who God is go to and Graham wants outboard think advantage of the many helpful free resources to get you started doing this again for living in the light