It's About to Get Personal!

A church isn't comprised of a building, but of the people in that building. Let us never forget that. Some people get all emotional and attached to a particular location, but the church consists of a body of believers and in most cases non believers. Did you know that the book of Revelation is the most avoided and least taught book of the Bible, even in Protestant churches? Wonder why that is? How sad that is really because more than ever, the book of Revelation is more relevant to us now than ever before.

Remember when we started this study into the book of Revelation, we learned that there is a blessing for those that read it and for those that hear it read. So why do most churches simply skip the book of Revelation? It become an indictment against the ministry, leadership or pastor of that particular church when that happens. If the book of Revelation seems strange to us, perhaps we fail to have a clear understanding of the Old Testament. The book of Revelation cross references more Old Testament books than any New Testament book of the Bible. Now that we open our Bibles up to chapters 2 and 3 in the book of Revelation, we come to the most avoided sections of the Bible of all, because it is the most convicting.

The section of the book of Revelation will bring to light what kind of church you belong to and are and perhaps that is why it is the most avoided. What kind of a church we are is reflected upon what kind of a Christian we are. It has been said, so goes the family, so goes the nation. We have yet to see what kind of a nation America will be 10 to 20 years from now, but as so goes the family, so goes the nation. So it makes sense that so goes the Christian, so goes the church, and you can't divorce yourself from that truth as we shall soon see as we study these letters to the seven churches. How you are, is how your church will be!

How the demeanor and the attitude of the church isn't based on the pastor, it's not based on the staff, it is based on those who attend a church. We will see if we walk with God or not will set the atmosphere of a church. We see that each of these letters to the seven churches are written by Jesus, Himself.

Revelation 2:1-7 ~ "To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands: I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles, but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you. You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. But you have this in your favor. You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God." (NIV). 

A study was conducted quite awhile back from the Institute of American Church growth to measure what they call the "love" character of their churches and what they discovered might just surprise you. They discovered that growing churches are more loving, than churches that are not growing. Growing churches are more loving than those that are stagnant. There is an obvious love in those churches for their members and for those visiting. Growing churches scored 35% higher than static or shrinking congregations regardless of the churches theological position, it's denomination or its location. These churches were attended by more people because of the love factor experienced in these churches.

What scored less than the "love factor" category was the churches leadership, its liberal or conservative theology, its facilities or even its evangelical passion. People in growing churches report that they, experience a sense of welcome-ness and acceptance and encouragement, an overall love challenge to know God more, and to reach out to one another with acts of love.

We know that the apostle John, known as the apostle of love, the same one that penned the gospel of John and the three epistles of 1-3 John, and woven through these books is one central theme,

1 John 4:7-8 ~ "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love."

Even when John was more than 100 years old and had to be carried quite literally in and out of church daily, would hold up his finger to heaven and command those who heard him, to "love one another." Everything he wrote about was about love. He even claimed that he was the disciple that "Jesus loved."

So where did John get this line of thinking? From Jesus of course.

John 13:35 ~ "By this all will know that you are my disciples, ...if you have love for one another."

All the world will know if you are a true Christian, is that you will have love for one another. We ended chapter one with a very special key. Just as every lock comes with a key, so does the book of Revelation come with a special key which we will refer to often found in Revelation 1:19, "Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this."

We learned last week that when Jesus gave this verse, He was outlining the entire book of Revelation.

"the things which you have seen," we discovered sums up all of Chapter 1. Where John has been sharing with us both his experience and his introduction to the Revelation.

 "the things which are," outlines Chapters 2 and 3. Here John has been given seven letters from Jesus Christ. Each letter is a report on the state of the local churches in Asia Minor, but each of them represents the universal church of the earth and our very own spiritual pulse. This is from the birth of the church, known as the church age to the culmination of the church. Meaning the world today, on this date.

 "and the things which will take place after this." outlines from Chapter 4 to Chapter 22. John after the introduction is made clear, and after the age of the church is complete on earth, record the judgments and tribulations that shall come upon the earth, which will herald Jesus' Second Coming to the earth.

This outline is very simple, but very powerful. It's the truth of the book of Revelation if we study it carefully.  Sandwiched between chapters 1 and 4, are chapters 2 and 3, which is where you and I are living today, right now in this very hour, in our personal lives and in the life of our church! Each time Jesus addresses the church, seven times, He says, "He that has an ear, let him hear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches."

If Jesus were to shout from heaven to us or if he were to cry aloud, I believe that if Jesus was to audibly speak to us today, He would say this to our church today.

 "He that has an ear, let him hear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches."

These letters that Jesus has written to the seven churches, must be taken seriously. These letters will challenge us, encourage us and correct us. If there was ever a spiritual tune up to be given, this is it for the Christian church! These letters apply to the churches today.

1. Each of these letters were written to the first century churches and they are as applicable to us as they were to the congregation of that time.

2. In each letter, Jesus says, "I know your works,"

3. In each letter to the church, Jesus says, "To him who overcomes," The challenge is given to each of us, to hold on, to persevere, to keep on going.  It breaks my heart today to see so many Christians giving up on their faith, on God, on commitments, on their marriages, and families, in light of what is happening in their lives today. The Bible warns that in the last days there will be a time of great apostasy and I believe we are seeing that happen today. When people would fall away from their faith.

4. In each letter to the church Jesus says, "He that has an ear, let him hear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches." In an encouragement and understanding way.

5. In each letter to each church, Jesus gives a description of himself that pertains in a particular way to what that church is in need of.

These are the corporate letters to the churches today. Throughout every age and in every church, these seven natures of a church exist. These are seven real churches of that day, but it also an applicable to the churches we are in today.

These are personal letters to each of us today. Telling us that in every church these seven natures of a church exist, and that in the life of every Christian, we may experience any of these natures during our own lives. It is an exhortation to us today!

Remember this! Jesus Christ is the First and the Last, the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, that He is the Lord, The Almighty, the One Who Was, Who Is, and Who is to Come, the One enthroned in Heaven above. He is awesome in His appearance, wearing a brilliant robe of righteousness, with a face as bright as the sun, having eyes as a flame of fire!

It is good for you to know that all premillennial, conservative, Bible students hold to the understanding that these seven churches also represent the chronological order of the church throughout the ages. Those scholars believe that we are living in the last days of the Laodicean church period, which I believe as well.

We begin today with our study into the first church of Ephesus. The word Ephesus means "desirable."
It was a wealthy and powerful city of the Roman Empire. Ephesus had nearly a bank on every corner. It boasted of its diversity and its open religions.  Many temples existed there, but none as grand as the temple to Diana, the Seventh Wonder of the Ancient World. It was 425 feet long, 260 feet wide and 100 feet high and had a combined seating capacity of 24,000 people. Because of its location, beauty and affluence, Ephesus was also a great place of commerce. It was located on the coast, a seaport at one time. It has since eroded quite a bit. The New York of its time. It was known as the Central Bank of Asia. It is located in what is today, Turkey.

The letter to the church of Ephesus, was a letter of a church without love. The first point we come to in dealing with what kind of church are we, are we a church sincerely desiring of Jesus' presence? We need to ask this of ourselves and of our own churches. We see that Jesus holds the church in his right hand.

Revelation 2:1 ~ "To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands:"

Revelation 1:20 ~ "The seven stars are the angels (real pastors/teachers) of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven (real actual) churches."

These things says He who holds "them" - the seven messengers! Jesus is in the presence of the church. Do we pray for Jesus' presence in our churches or are we far too critical of what is broken in our own churches? Talk to God about what needs to be done in your own church, do you desire the presence of Jesus Christ in our church? This church was missing its love factor. Yet Jesus still has control over the church. He has a strong grip on it. He is not leaving the church. 

In Greek the word "hold" is  "krateo" meaning to have in a grip. To have seized with dominance. To control by direct use. Direct use, means to have authority over another.

Meaning that the execution and implementation of God's will for His church is to flow through His leader who is under His direct ownership. To put it another way, the pastor or teacher is Jesus' slave. Jesus is saying, "No matter what your pastor, your church, the people, you are under my absolute authority as Your Lord and Savior! Scripture says He will never leave us or forsake us. This means the church shouldn't be focused on honoring itself, its pastor or its location. It isn't about the church, it's to be all about Jesus and gaining His presence in it. It shouldn't be about a pope or the chapel, or how great the worship is there.

The question we need to ask ourselves is have we left our first love? These letters are about our personal walk of faith with Jesus right now. Are you ready for an honest look at yourself while reading these letters? Tune back into tomorrow for another look at the church of Ephesus again!

 

Don't Forget Your First Love! - Part 14

Yesterday's post was all about our spiritual check up, kinda like a medical exam our doctor's give us. Jesus in this case is asking us to take a hard look at our spiritual life and He's fine tuning us to be more efficient in what we do whether at our jobs, our homes or anywhere we interact with people whether verbally or non-verbally. We are all bearing a witness to the world showing what a Christian life looks like to those around us. So without further adieu, let's dive right back into our study about the church of Ephesus and taking our spiritual temperatures again. After doing this study, I have a hard time reflecting on how much I fall short in being a Christian. But the great thing is that its not too late. We can always jump right back in with God's help, nothing is impossible. 

Are we very much in love with Jesus Christ? (verse 4).

Revelation 2:4-7 ~ "Yet I hold this against you. You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. But you have this in your favor. You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God." (NIV). 

It would depend on where our hearts are at.The church was effective 99% but Jesus called them out and told them where they were lacking. Where are you in the midst of this study? I hope you hear Jesus asking you, "Are you with Me or not? Are you really in love with Me? The love you have for Me should come before anything else in our lives." Can you say you love Him like that?

Revelation 2:4, ~ Yet I hold this against you. You have forsaken your first love."

In the original language it reads better.  "Nevertheless, "It's I against you," because you have not included me and you've went without me."

In the Greek the word "left" is "aphiemi" meaning to go forth in various applications (as follow) to cry, forgive, forsake, lay aside, leave, let (alone, be. go. have) omit, put, (send) away, remit, suffer, yield up, to onward without having packed it, like leaving something behind that you didn't mean to, but you did anyway. When's the last time you asked yourself if you really LOVE Jesus? Have you left Him behind while you're out busy in your lives. Martha, remember her, always busy, cooking and cleaning. Her sister Mary sat around and did nothing. Jesus was even rubbing it in, telling her she wasn't doing the right thing. Mary loves Jesus, but did Martha? Depends on where our hearts are.

No human being on the planet then or now, could have ever known what Jesus knows... that is He sees the inside of things, with His perfect x-ray knowledge.

1 Samuel 16:7 ~ "a human being looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on his heart."

God knows the inside our hearts, so honestly, how do you look on the inside? We really don't know what is going on in the inside our body, but God knows. He knows exactly what your intentions of our hearts despite what we look on the outside. The church at Ephesus had lost their first love. Let's look at Revelation 2:4 again but this time in the amplified version of the Bible for further clarity.

Revelation 2:4 ~ "What qualities you do have do not matter any longer all because of this; what I have against you is: you do not love me now as you once did at the first."

So they had left their first love, what does that really mean? Let me tell you what it doesn't mean. "First love" doesn't mean loving one another; "First love" doesn't mean loving His Word; "First love" doesn't mean loving His return. Because according to Jesus Christ, you can't be excited about loving His Word or loving His people or even loving His coming back to earth, unless you are "in love" with the person of Jesus Christ.

"First Love" in those early days when you and Jesus made a majority. When your awareness of Him was in every conversation and you felt Him in every situation. Your relationship with Him was the most important thing in your life. You were wreckless for Jesus, but ever so slowly you got busy. You got important. You began to manage your life on your own. You were still a Christian, still going to church, still serving in fact, but you left that honeymoon part of that spiritual life behind.

That is why some of you older Christians, not based on age, you have become so refined and mature, that you have fossilized in your pews. I'm talking about your experience as a Christian. You do nothing, with no one, but for you! You once gave of your time because your time belonged to Jesus. You once shared Jesus with others because you couldn't keep your mouth shut. You once gave of your money because you believed it would reach others for Jesus. And so your new name could be Lazarus! You've been resurrected from the dead, but now your wrapped in old stinking grave clothes. We should do something but we don't.

Give me a new Christian any day! This is the reason that the Bible says to be like children. It is the reason we love hanging out with new believers. They will build the church by light speed, by their love for Jesus Christ. We need to never forget to love Jesus Christ first. Keep saying that over and over again. Get back to your first love, the way you first felt when you came to know Jesus, when you were on fire for Him. Willing to risk it all without any thought for yourself or what people thought, you simply want to share it all with as many people as possible. Never forget to love Jesus Christ.

The church of Ephesus had left that love behind. They had grow cold in their hearts on the inside. Invisible to all but God.

So again, I ask you are you very much in love with Jesus? Then it matters "what" we do about it now!  (verse 5a).

Revelation 2:5a ~ "Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first."

Now we get the diagnosis that will bring about a cure for what spiritually ails us. We know that every good doctor has a treatment and here is what Jesus' prescription was to the church:

1. Remember! - Have you ever been in love? Your friends even called you stupid then, because we did stupid things and we loved it. Remember means to rehearse, to mention to yourself and others, to put back into the mind, therefore from where you have fallen. Take time to go back and ask yourself, "What was my early Christian life like back then?" "What did I hold dear to then?" I couldn't wait to get to church then. I couldn't wait to sing in the choir and I don't even sing! Jesus is saying, "Come be silly with Me again!" In marriage counseling it is the same thing, remember what drew you together, how you treated each other in the beginning. Go back to those simple things. Jesus just wants our life.

2. Repent ! - Calling this apathy, this negligence a sin in our lives and deciding now to change it. Change the course your on, change your mind.

3. Repent and Do the First Works! ~ The "Loving Jesus" kind of things. Do it cause you can, the feeling will follow. If you're married, you know what I mean, "do it cause you can, the feelings will follow." Love works that way often as a sacrifice. The first works are "Loving Jesus." Love Him like you did in the beginning. It doesn't matter how we feel, we do it because it's right. Do those love things. Pray, set your alarm a little earlier, walk and talk with Jesus, read your Bible. Just go through the motions and trust me your heart will follow. Trust getting on your knees or your face, sing songs to Jesus. Your heart will follow. Go through the motions of love. Lift your hands, close your eyes, focus on Him and then something happens, love kicks in!

Jeremiah 33:11 ~ " the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, and the voices of those who bring thank offerings to the house of the LORD saying, "Give thanks to the LORD Almighty, for the LORD Is good and his love endures forever." For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were before, says the LORD."

Feelings will follow action every single time. This week I heard him say to me, (1) sit with me early while it's still dark. Beat the day! (2) renew your Bible time with me, (3) tell others about My love for You and for Them. You know what? I found my heart beating again with childlike joy.  Kids just love to hang out and just be with their dads, and if something happens or they do something - it just makes it all the better.

Are you in love with Jesus Christ? Now is the moment of truth. Always NOW! (verse 5b).

Revelation 2:5b ~ "If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place."

You will lose your witness. You won't be shining anymore. Get your love life in order now, or else I will take away whatever ability you have of being a witness. You Ephesians, you are on the brink of spiritual uselessness.

2 Corinthians 13:5 ~ "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you - unless of course, you fail the test?"

This was a church that used to be. What do we learn from Ephesus? That you can be so biblically correct, so orthodox, you can have a bulletin so full of events, you can have a wonderful heritage, you can be so right, that you become dead right.

Think about this, what am I describing to you right now, based solely on description? What I am thinking about, has silver and gold and beautiful wood. Soft luxurious fabric, adequate space, in America, everybody is familiar with it? Guess what I am describing to you?

Give up? It's a coffin, a casket. And inside is a dead silent body, no longer speaking, no longer caring, no longer crying. A respected body, all dressed up with no place to go.

Are you determined to make a change? (verse 6-7)

Revelation 2:6-7 ~ " But you have this in your favor. You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God." (NIV). 

What kind of church are we? What kind of Christian am I? Our feelings will lead us astray. It goes opposite of what the world wants you to do. Step out and simply do the right things, dive in and trust me, your feelings and heart will follow. Just be obedient.

The Wellness List of a Church! Part 13

Whatever church we attend is a reflection of who we are. If we are a praying church, so are we. If we are a giving church, so are we. We need to measure ourselves by the lives we live, and often times, the churches we attend. In this study of the Book of Revelation, we see that each of the letters to the seven churches were designed for real churches that existed at that time in the region of Asia Minor, but we also learned that each of these letters pertains to a specific nature that can be found in the hearts of Christians. What we will learn in this process is which church are you in your own spiritual life?

We pick back up in Revelation 2:1-7 ~ " Revelation 2:1-7 ~ "To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands: I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles, but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you. You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. But you have this in your favor. You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God." (NIV). 

We learn that Jesus walks among His church in verse 1. "walks among the seven golden lampstands." When we look at the church we are attending, what is the atmosphere of the church, is it warm and inviting? Is it caring and reaching out? What does your church feel like?

Isn't it comforting to know that Jesus walks in the midst of our church? It would be wonderful to take a peek into the spiritual realm, to see what is happening in the middle of a church service. You might be more than surprised at what you would find. We'd see both angelic and demonic presences in the church, at war. Daniel's answer to prayer was delayed by 21 days because the angel was delayed in battle in the spiritual realm. I find it comforting to know that Jesus walks in the midst of the church. Think about that next time you attend church!

He gives the church at Ephesus a report. Do you really want Jesus' presence in church? If so, you might not like what He has to say. Jesus is like a doctor who is here to give the results of a medical exam and like all good exams, there is always good news and bad news.

Are we truly willing to obey Jesus in all things? Verses 2 and 3.

Revelation 2:2-3 ~ " I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles, but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary."

The question you must sincerely ask yourself, is are you really willing to obey Him in all things?  Jesus is giving the church of Ephesus the results of His examination and the diagnosis is this, on the outside, the church of Ephesus would be a pastors dream church. It was a large happening church, active, busy, and influential with a vision! They were a church that was doing it, and doing it right. It was a tremendous church. When we look at ourselves, we think we can't possibly be like this church, but honestly, can you honestly say that? Are we at least doing some of what this church was doing? Jesus says "I know" that you are right in 10 of 11 points.


1. "I know your works" This is the works spoken of by the apostle James, works that flow out of a true faith in God. It is the kind of "works" that proves your faith is real. We have a tendency in the Christian church to put down works because people have a tendency to trust in their works. We are not to trust in our works. We are to trust in God because we love Him, we do our works because we are obedient to Him. We do not do works to earn salvation or to earn God's favor. That is the gospel.

Ephesians 2:8-9, ~"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast." 

If we are truly Christians, then there will be works flowing out of our lives. Jesus said, we would know them by their fruits or deeds. The people on their way to heaven is based on what they are doing with their lives. It's our way we can tell, if we are truly being a Christian. We should be able to look at our lives, and see the work we are doing. Does your Christian life, have works? The only person who can answer this is YOU. These are the works that provides proof of our faith that it is real. 

2. "I know your labor" This word "labor"  means that they served so faithfully, and so long that when they stopped, they would have hit the bed exhausted. It speaks of the fact that it cost them something to serve Jesus, and they loved it so. There are so few even here in any church. They were serving Jesus that way in their lives. Can you answer this question honestly, "Are you serving Jesus in such a way be it in our day, in our job, or in church, are we exhausted for God?" You feel victorious! From whatever you are doing, do you feel great afterwards based on the efforts you gave serving God? You can't wait to get back out there again. Very few people know what it's like to live Christianity like that! To serve Him to the point of exhaustion! We need to run our own self diagnosis on our own Christian life. It's not too late to get busy doing stuff for Jesus!

3. "I know your patience" This means having a happy face and a glad heart to continue onward in the face of difficulty. They had a great attitude. There were no whiners. They actually got better when things got hotter. Instead of getting bitter, they got better. There was no complainers. When you begin to do a self evaluation on your own Christian life, how are you doing so far?

4. "I know that you cannot bear those who are evil" They were committed to confronting evil and correcting it in the lives of the congregants. Church discipline was being applied. There are very few churches today, who obey Christ in this area, and it is one of the reasons today that churches are weak and polluted, sick from within.  We have lost this in this day in age. When it's done biblically, it strengthens the church. It needs to be done in love, but it needs to happen, and it will be stronger for it, and those will come back restored.

So again I must ask, are you really willing to obey Jesus in all things?

5. "you have tested those who say they are apostles and aren't." They were a church who took church seriously. They protected people against false teachers, false prophets and self proclaimed leaders.  They knew Bible doctrine, and protected the church, exposing them to the false doctrines that were being preached in the city. "You give money to this ministry and you'll be blessed." why don't they give their own money, why don't you give money to the people if you're a ministry and then you'll be blessed. There are those that are hurting and the church looks the other way. Think about it. They didn't tolerated those shenanigans or charlatans.

6. "I know you have found them to be liars." These false Christians, pretended to be apostles, were openly and publicly exposed before the body of the church.  There is a false teaching that is native to the cults but is also found in the Catholic church, the heresy of apostolic succession. Mormonism claims it, Jehovah's Witnesses claim it. There is no such thing.

7.  "I know you have persevered." They never gave up. They persisted. They fought on against an evil world, and the attackers of the church. They weren't quitters.

8. "I know you have patience, or better endurance." The desire to stay with it, to stick it out. To make it work. To be part of the solution and not the problem. That what they started to do, they stayed with it regardless of the attack against them. Out of the 100% of the church only 10% do the work, the other 90% sit back. Out of the 10% that do the work in the ministry, people are going to criticize you, and someone will question your motives. Keep doing it for Jesus and stop worrying about what the 90% have to say. Do it unto the Lord. It doesn't matter what they say. If your heart is in the right place, keep doing it for God. Don't let people pull you down. Don't take it personally. If you're in love with Jesus, do it for Him. Don't get your feelings hurt over it. Have a heart like a dove and skin like a rhino. Endure. Keep going!!!

9. "I know you have labored for my name's sake." To plod, to put one foot in front of another until you reach your destination. "You've continued on for Me." says Jesus. To keep moving forward even if only by an inch. You are still moving forward for Jesus. You know why you are doing what you are going.

One last time, are you really willing to obey Jesus in all things?

10. " I know you have not become weary." They never lost sight of the fact of why they were doing what they were doing. They knew what they were doing had a purpose. It was for Jesus Christ and for His glory only. What a tremendous church.

These are 10 wonderful and commendable characteristics that any church would love to hear in a report about how they were doing! In a sense it was like saying, "My, but this church has listened well to its spiritual leaders over the years! So when you look at your Christian life in all honesty, how do you measure up? How does your own church measure up? The results might just surprise you!