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“And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. “‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead.” —Revelation 3:1 This church at Sardis looked alive: action and activity and motion and machinery. But when Jesus took their pulse, dead! This can happen to a church, not only then, but it can happen now! As a matter of fact in America alone, 3500 churches per year close their doors because they are dead. Once thriving and dynamic ministries, now dead! Shut the doors. Seventy to eighty percent of churches in this country are dead or are dying. Again, there may be activity, there maybe programming, there may be tradition and structure, but no life! What’s happening to this church in Sardis that is so dead is there’s no spiritual life, there’s no breath! He’s going to be talking to this church about renewing and reviving and resuscitating their lives and their church, and so this is a church in need of revival. This is a church in need of the Holy Spirit. And every church is in need of the Holy Spirit. Our traditions must be laid aside in favor of the truth. The church is all about Jesus! And when it’s no longer about Him, it’s over! You may keep meeting, you may still have a religious club, but if you don’t have Jesus, you don’t have a church! There’s no life without the Spirit of Jesus!

Friday, November 30, 2018

Don’t Miss Your Opportunities

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.) Giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed:”

2 Corinthians 6:1–3

The story goes that long before England was united into a single nation, one of the ancient Saxon kings faced a rebellion on the part of his nobles. He assembled his forces and marched into the field, where he defeated the armies arrayed against him. In an effort to heal the divisions, he extended an offer of amnesty to anyone who would come before him and renew their oath of allegiance. However, the offer was not extended indefinitely. The king set up a large candle by the entrance to the castle and sent the word out, “You must come before the king before the candle burns out.”

We often talk about the deadline for receiving God’s gift of salvation, because that offer expires when life here on earth ends. While that is true, that is not the only opportunity that can be missed. When Paul wrote to the church at Corinth to instruct them in how to work effectively for God, he quoted the words of Isaiah, a prophet not to the heathen, but to God’s people. These words of warning about missed opportunities are meant for us.

Life is not meant to be lived in a careless and casual manner. Each day brings us opportunities for service to God and others that will never come again. We are not promised tomorrow. Knowing that life is uncertain and brief, we must be busy while we are alive, doing all that we can to do God’s work in this world.

Today’s Growth Principle: 

Since none of us knows how long our “candle” is, we must make the most of every opportunity while we can.​  ​

25Let us not neglect meeting together, as some have made a habit, but let us encourage one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:25)  =)