When John the Baptist is preaching, He is tying repentance and God's wrath to baptism. That is, or should be, a primary motivator. In that, he illustrates how Repentance opens the door to humility, as opposed to no repentance being an act of pride and in turn rebellion against God. Pride should be put low and humility should be raised up, as John illustrates, "smoothing the road". Jesus needs humility to use you as a powerful person, and John talks about how repentance is possible, as Pastor Troy Billow will explain in this message.
When John the Baptist came on the scene, he looked like a wild-eyed crazy man who ate bugs. The background of John the Baptist is more profound. God wanted to draw John the Baptist away from the world to spend time with Him, and get John the Baptist ready to engage people from God's standard. When John the Baptist engaged people, he warned them of the need to get their "paths straight" and "prepare the way" for the coming of the Lord, which leads to a profound question? What is in the middle of your road? What needs to take place to make your road smooth? John the Baptist's message was so profound that it attracted Jesus to him, leaving John with the trust to baptize Him. Christ, is King, and wants to come in to the "highway" of your life, and John's message is one that still rings loud and true today; in our hearts and in our lives, we NEED to prepare the way for the Kingdom of God.
When Jesus gave John a glimpse of Heaven, and instructed him to write down the details and share them with the seven churches in Asia Minor, He did so to emphasize the side of His Authority and to proclaim the side of the Glory of God. In that, Christ wanted us today to see the side of His Kingship. By emphasizing Christ's Kingship and sovereignty, it opens the door to allow for the Kingship aspect to enter our hearts. Now why is that important? In Heaven's eyes, we as believers in Christ are regarded as royalty; as Kings, Queens, Princes, and Princesses. Jesus Christ is due time will share His inheritance and give power, authority, and sovereignty to His people when He returns, to rule and reign on earth. The question is; does that fact influence how you act today? in a world that may discard and disregard you, Christ has other plans for you and they are big and serious. In this second half to last week's message, Pastor Troy billow will elaborate on how valuable you are in the sight of God, and the show you the royal purpose you are destined for, when you belong to Christ, as he shares His Kingdom and the enormity of its Majestic impact, power, authority, and influence. on this earth.
Most of the time mainstream Christians focus on the Lamb aspect of Jesus Christ, His ministry on earth, His death, burial and resurrection. While all of that is essential to being a follower of Christ, another side of Jesus lacks the consideration that it should especially in the lives of believers. That side is the Lion aspect of Jesus Christ. This side focuses primarily on Christ's sovereign authority, power, control over world affairs, as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. In this message, Pastor Troy Billow explains how important it was for Jesus to share this aspect of Him to John, so that He could share that with The Seven Churches in Asia Minor and in turn share that glory with us today, so that we may meditate on that aspect that doesn't get its due diligence in Christendom today.
Islam's influence in America is growing exponentially, as Muslims are expected to be a majority by 2050. Since Muslims are starting families and their fertility rates are much higher than that of Americans this is a truth we will have to face. One of the things that is interesting about Muslims is that, Jesus is appearing to many, and they are documenting these encounters and coming to Christ in numbers. In this message, Guest Speaker Olin Giles speaks on how important it is for the church to rise up and engage these individuals as Christ cares very much about them too. Olin makes the point that the answer to radical Islam is a radical church and stresses that if we do our part, God will go His part. This is a message to heed, especially if you engage people and want to grow your understanding of other groups in your quest to evangelize.
In this portion of the Book of Revelation, God gives John a glimpse of Heaven. This is designed to help YOU and I live, have the right perspective of Him, change our character, attitude and behavior towards Him, and prioritize these things. When Christ deals with us, He always sees the whole picture (where we only see what's in front of us) and handles us with our full potential and purpose in perspective. The question is; do we see how REAL God is? In this message, Pastor Troy Billow will open a window as to why God opens the doors of His Kingdom in scripture, and explain some of the various purposes as to why this is important to our faith, our walk with Christ, and our peace of mind and perspective.
Laodicea was a wealthy city with wealthy people. As such, they became lazy and "overly comfortable". They depended on their wealth, comfort, big ideas, and have a need for nothing. This adversely affects a number of things, all of which gets the Lord's attention, and appoints John to take a message to them. Jesus wants the church to remain faithful, loyal, and strong. But He has this against them; they didn't fulfill this obligation. Why? Because their perspectives and priorities were way off from where Christ needed them. They were so disgusting to Him, because they were so lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, that He said that He would vomit them out of His mouth. What happened is that they fell out of relationship with the Lord, neglected to win the lost, and began to wane in meaningful service. It became more of a social club than anything, and these vices still have sway in some churches today. This then raises a powerful, universal question today; do you resemble the characteristics of this church? Are you in relationship with the Lord? Are you laboring to win the lost? Do you serve others? Do you care?
The Church of Philadelphia is doing something right. In other words, it receives no criticism from the Lord Jesus Christ. However, that does not mean that things can change, so Jesus instructs them to hold fast until the day He returns. Jesus encourages them by infusing within them a very important truth; He holds the keys to the Kingdom, the Keys of David referenced in the days of the Old Testament. What He opens, no one can close, and what He closes, no one can open again. The world will try and knock your faith out of your hands and pull you away from God. Jesus warns them against the wiles of the Synagogue of Satan, which are comprised of the Pharisees, trying to undo the faith of Jews who have come to Christ, sowing doubts in their head and trying to re-incorporate works that Christ freed them from at the cross. Jesus is the ONLY provision from God, and He will dwell on earth with men for eternity.
Jesus exerts His authority as King and Lord, and gets tough with the Church of Sardis. Sardis is spiritually dead. It is unregenerate, void of the Holy Spirit, not prayerful, fails to accept nourishment from the Word of God, and a host of other big issues that God is seeking. In other words, they are way too tangled up with the world. Jesus brings these things to their attention, and mentions to them that if they do not repent, and they continue in this fashion, He will come again and they will not know what hit them. The word of warning that this sends to us today is that Jesus is NOT ONLY a loving savior and friend, He is the Lord of the earth, favored by God the Father and should have authority and dominion in your life and in the life of the church.
Our Special Guest Speaker this week, Bryan Revor, delivers a distinctly unique message regarding the Messianic nature of Jesus Christ's roots embedded in the Old Testament. Some things that have obscure meanings in the Old Testament are revealed in the New Testament. Chaplain Revor explains how the articles within the Ark of the Covenant were symbols of sin, why they were placed in the Ark to begin with and what that means. In this message, we also learn how, drawing from Hebrews chapter 9, Jesus Christ fulfills all of the dynamics of the old order of worship (going back to the order of Melchizedek recorded in Genesis chapter 14), and how He is the mediator of a new and different covenant, a covenant that continues to reach out to us this very day.