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Devotionals
| A SPIRITUALLY-IMPOVERISHED CHURCH HAS NO VALUE! | Other/Past Devotionals | Revelation 3:14-22,
“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this: ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot: I wish that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed: and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline: therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’ ”
God cannot use a church that is filled with lukewarm Christians! God gave prosperity to the church at Laodicea, and they became boastful! They allowed wealth and prosperity to go to their heads .They assumed that they needed nothing, but in reality they were spiritually impoverished! Because they wore expensive clothes, they believed that they were well-clothed: but they were actually spiritually naked! They thought that their physical sight enabled them to see spiritually: instead, they were completely blind to spiritual realities! The church at Laodicea was filled with wealthy, self-satisfied, self-righteous, so-called Christians who had gone inside the church and had locked the doors from within! They were in no position (locked inside the church) to be a blessing to anyone! They needed to repent from their wrong outlook and zealously move away from their dangerous, lukewarm spiritual state! Jesus Himself had to stand outside and knock on the door to seek entrance into His own church for the purpose of renewed fellowship! Because of his love for them, Jesus was willing to reprove and to discipline those who would zealously repent! He told them that if anyone heard His voice and opened the door, then He would come in, eat with them, and talk with them. To any who would overcome their lukewarm spiritual state, He offered to grant them seats with Him on His throne!
God is speaking today to the Twenty-first Century church! He does not want us to be spiritually impoverished like the Laodicean church! God wants to use us to build His kingdom on earth! The Laodicean church was of no useful value because its members were lukewarm! They were a spiritually-sick people because they had forgotten that God was their Provider! God wants today’s Christians to have a humble spirit so that He can use us to be a blessing to others! A church that depends solely on its wealth and possessions is less valued in the sight of God because they have forgotten that God is their Provider! The favor of God comes when our feet are planted securely in the providence of God! Only then can we go forward by faith and be a life-giving church that proclaims the Gospel of Jesus Christ!
If you have never truly received and welcomed Jesus Christ into your heart and experienced the new spiritual birth, you can do so right now by sincerely praying the following prayer.
“Jesus, I know that You are the Son of God, the Savior of the world, and the Open Door to heaven and to life hereafter. I know that You lived a perfect life here on earth and then willingly gave up that perfect life on the cross at Calvary, so that I might have eternal life in heaven. I believe that, after three days in the tomb, You arose from the dead. I believe that You are now in heaven, seated at the right hand of God the Father, waiting for me to join You there after my physical death. I confess that I am a sinner and that I am in need of Your forgiveness. I want to turn away from sin. I now ask You to forgive me of my sins. I believe in my heart and I now confess with my mouth these things, and I ask You to come into my heart and into my life and be my Lord and my Savior. I will trust You, live for You, and follow You for the rest of my life. In Jesus’ Name, I pray.” Amen.
If you prayed this prayer and believed it in your heart, find a Bible-teaching church where you can grow spiritually. Your most fulfilling days are ahead including life hereafter with Jesus and all of the saints in heaven. May God bless you in all of your endeavors. We would like for you to call the following toll-free number and tell us about your life-changing experience so that we can rejoice with you.
1-866-505-1264
(All Scriptures from New American Standard Bible)
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Author:
Reverend Howard Johnson (21 Nov 2008 - 3:00 AM) |
***Disclaimer: Please note that the devotions contained in this website have been written by
a variety of authors and do not necessarily reflect, in their entirety, the beliefs of the Sonrise Mission.***
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