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Rev 3v14 states: '...the church of the Laodiceans write...', The Lord Jesus is speaking to His Church at Laodicea, the Church (which is the Body of Christ) consists of persons who are born again and washed in His blood, ie., BELIEVERS! And also, another thing that proves He is speaking to believers is that an unbeliever is certainly not going to read this letter of Christ to the Laodicean Church, so I suggest you lift your head out of the sand and go and seek the Lord Jesus for light on the Book of Revelation!
A
In Matthew the 13th chapter the parable explains different conditions of hearts the acceptability of them starting with hard hearted not receptive to the Lord Jesus then to stony hearts some what receptive but hard places that caused no depth the heat caused withering all the way to the roots and they die, no full growth no fruit. Then those who: received, grew tall and mature but did not remove their hearts from the love and care of the things of the natural world. One can receive in their hearts the Lord but the soul and all of it as soil soul ground must be allowed to be take into the Perfect Care Takers hands to remove hardness, stones, shallowness and weeds for these prevent bring forth fruit which is pleasure to the Lord (editable) and to the Father, fruits being of: The Holy Spirit, fruits of righteousness, fruits of the vine, believers, what ever His gifting and calling are in a believer, Jesus was very displeased with the fruit of: Israel, the fig tree and the different churches in Rev.. One can have accepted Jesus in their hearts but it is the soil of the soul and the growth and fruit bearing of the Lord that is acceptable and pleasing to Him.
GBYIAF
GBYIAF
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G
Nothing compares to You. I wonder if Sinead O' Connor was singing about God 
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Nothing, no, nothing, compares to God and his personal experience work in our lives
A story, from what's been said by damomthatsGods
One time, I was in church Sunday and the offering plate was being passed. I opened up my wallet to give, I had around $15 in it and pulled out $6, as the plate came around, I felt a prompting to just give all my money, which wasn't much at this 27 year old time of my life admittedly, but I just put in my 'six' and let the plate go on by...
Monday was the next day, I'd been taking care of my sister's cat for 4 months, a cat striking in resemblance to a cat I loved growing up, that was with me all through my childhood years before dying right before I got back from college my freshman year
The previous week, before this Sunday 'giving experience,' as I will call it, I'd finally figured out why Blacky was getting more and more lethargic when he was such a lively little guy all the time. He got fleas! It was so bad I'd discovered that when I put my feet from the couch cushions to the carpet my legs were, literally, black colored more than flesh colored. Infestation ! Like nothing I'd ever seen before. But, I figured out then that was probably why Blacky was becoming so lazy looking. Fleas were sucking the life blood out of him !
So, I'd got Program medicine ointment and began administering that to him and wham!, wish I'd discovered it sooner, it fairly quickly solved that problem, but Blacky was still lethargic, Friday, Saturday, and, then, Sunday when I went to church and didn't give my 'all' that day.
Now, as I remember, that same night, Blacky went outside early evening/dusk to romp around and always came back in a few minutes. But, not this time. I called and called, 'Blacky, BLA-A-A-CKY.' Nope, never came. I'd fallen in love with this little critter, he had so much personality, including head-butting me, which, I thought only my cat growing up did, that was an amazing thing in itself. I could stare at my cat, my sister's cat and he would knock me in the foreheard with his forehead, with a noticeable 'knock' sound heard.
An hour later, I called again for Blacky and, lo and behold, Blacky came slowly from the wooded area behind my house into the open, slowly walking, I didn't think anything of it although Blacky was always running ! So, he got to the back door and just lied down. And, was close to lifeless then, eyes open, purring, but something was not right. I knew I had to do something and picked him up in my arms and took him inside. Still lifeless on the couch, fleas gone (we flea-bombed house too) but still lifeless. I took him to the vet.....
On the way there, I noticed his breathing was very labored, I thought, maybe the fleas were still getting to him, or, he had not had time to completely recover and some blood poisoning was happening or something. We got to the vet and I took the lifeless, long-furred black mass inside, a clump in my arms. After a short time that included x-rays, the doctor came out of the office.
"It's not good," she said. "Blacky has been shot, there is a pellet lodged inbetween his heart and his sternum, there is a 50 percent chance he will die even if we take it out."
The cost to do the surgery was $2000. I had very little money now, so, please, don't be mad at what I say next. I said, 'no, I can't afford that, especially with Blacky maybe not living, anyway.' The doctor said she understood that decision and Blacky was euthanized.
Now, I had to call my sister and tell her that her cat died while in my care. This was not easy, I bawled my eyes out on the phone, for I loved that cat and I loved my sister. Let me tell you why this story can make sense though; God showed up.
My sister was into substance abuse and carousing, BF , not married, living a crazy life, that is main reason she could not take care of Blacky. Her and I too were not terrible in relationship, or , I would never have been asked to take care of her cat for her, but we were on semi-rocky ground because of parents seperation and divorce and things that caused us to become quite worldly, not forsaking God but not wholly serving Him either. I think the term is 'lukewarm.'
So, my sister told me it was OK, she told me I did my best. I think she saw my heart, too, she saw more than I just cared for Blacky, spending $700 to try and figure out what was so wrong with him via x-rays, she saw that I cared for her.
MY sister would tell me soonafter this experience with Blacky that she was pregnant, that she was leaving her boyfriend, that she was getting an apartment, that she was changing her life. God showed up
Through my not giving my best, like Cain, right, he didn't give his best, but God KEPT 'KNOCKING,' He kept giving Cain options, like to be a wanderer who would be killed or SPEAK UP and get a mark and LIVE ! He was given a wife then, and, kids, and, most guys like to do things with their hands, like build, whether it's a virtual video environment, or, a family, which Cain did do, as just said, but Cain built something else, too, that one must believe God blessed Cain with being able to do :
"Cain built a city," Scripture tells us.
God always knocks, Christ peeps, He is always there, knocking, He keeps on 'knocking,' wanting us to let Him in.
Christ is a gentleman, He will not barge in. He will only knock, until you let Him in . Let Him in
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Nothing, no, nothing, compares to God and his personal experience work in our lives
A story, from what's been said by damomthatsGods
One time, I was in church Sunday and the offering plate was being passed. I opened up my wallet to give, I had around $15 in it and pulled out $6, as the plate came around, I felt a prompting to just give all my money, which wasn't much at this 27 year old time of my life admittedly, but I just put in my 'six' and let the plate go on by...
Monday was the next day, I'd been taking care of my sister's cat for 4 months, a cat striking in resemblance to a cat I loved growing up, that was with me all through my childhood years before dying right before I got back from college my freshman year
The previous week, before this Sunday 'giving experience,' as I will call it, I'd finally figured out why Blacky was getting more and more lethargic when he was such a lively little guy all the time. He got fleas! It was so bad I'd discovered that when I put my feet from the couch cushions to the carpet my legs were, literally, black colored more than flesh colored. Infestation ! Like nothing I'd ever seen before. But, I figured out then that was probably why Blacky was becoming so lazy looking. Fleas were sucking the life blood out of him !
So, I'd got Program medicine ointment and began administering that to him and wham!, wish I'd discovered it sooner, it fairly quickly solved that problem, but Blacky was still lethargic, Friday, Saturday, and, then, Sunday when I went to church and didn't give my 'all' that day.
Now, as I remember, that same night, Blacky went outside early evening/dusk to romp around and always came back in a few minutes. But, not this time. I called and called, 'Blacky, BLA-A-A-CKY.' Nope, never came. I'd fallen in love with this little critter, he had so much personality, including head-butting me, which, I thought only my cat growing up did, that was an amazing thing in itself. I could stare at my cat, my sister's cat and he would knock me in the foreheard with his forehead, with a noticeable 'knock' sound heard.
An hour later, I called again for Blacky and, lo and behold, Blacky came slowly from the wooded area behind my house into the open, slowly walking, I didn't think anything of it although Blacky was always running !
So, he got to the back door and just lied down. And, was close to lifeless then, eyes open, purring, but something was not right. I knew I had to do something and picked him up in my arms and took him inside. Still lifeless on the couch, fleas gone (we flea-bombed house too) but still lifeless. I took him to the vet.....On the way there, I noticed his breathing was very labored, I thought, maybe the fleas were still getting to him, or, he had not had time to completely recover and some blood poisoning was happening or something. We got to the vet and I took the lifeless, long-furred black mass inside, a clump in my arms. After a short time that included x-rays, the doctor came out of the office.
"It's not good," she said. "Blacky has been shot, there is a pellet lodged inbetween his heart and his sternum, there is a 50 percent chance he will die even if we take it out."
The cost to do the surgery was $2000. I had very little money now, so, please, don't be mad at what I say next. I said, 'no, I can't afford that, especially with Blacky maybe not living, anyway.' The doctor said she understood that decision and Blacky was euthanized.
Now, I had to call my sister and tell her that her cat died while in my care. This was not easy, I bawled my eyes out on the phone, for I loved that cat and I loved my sister. Let me tell you why this story can make sense though; God showed up.
My sister was into substance abuse and carousing, BF , not married, living a crazy life, that is main reason she could not take care of Blacky. Her and I too were not terrible in relationship, or , I would never have been asked to take care of her cat for her, but we were on semi-rocky ground because of parents seperation and divorce and things that caused us to become quite worldly, not forsaking God but not wholly serving Him either. I think the term is 'lukewarm.'
So, my sister told me it was OK, she told me I did my best. I think she saw my heart, too, she saw more than I just cared for Blacky, spending $700 to try and figure out what was so wrong with him via x-rays, she saw that I cared for her.
MY sister would tell me soonafter this experience with Blacky that she was pregnant, that she was leaving her boyfriend, that she was getting an apartment, that she was changing her life. God showed up
Through my not giving my best, like Cain, right, he didn't give his best, but God KEPT 'KNOCKING,' He kept giving Cain options, like to be a wanderer who would be killed or SPEAK UP and get a mark and LIVE ! He was given a wife then, and, kids, and, most guys like to do things with their hands, like build, whether it's a virtual video environment, or, a family, which Cain did do, as just said, but Cain built something else, too, that one must believe God blessed Cain with being able to do :
"Cain built a city," Scripture tells us.
God always knocks, Christ peeps, He is always there, knocking, He keeps on 'knocking,' wanting us to let Him in.
Christ is a gentleman, He will not barge in. He will only knock, until you let Him in . Let Him in
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That is the normal Christian life. We start off as babes in the Lord and are given the milk and as we become more mature we go onto the strong meat, but all the time we belong to the Lord. I hope you are not going to say the new Christian is not a real Christian?
Even the backslider belongs to the Lord. It is only when someone commits apostasy that they need to fear for their salvation, but even those who wander off the path still belong to the Good Shepherd.
Even the backslider belongs to the Lord. It is only when someone commits apostasy that they need to fear for their salvation, but even those who wander off the path still belong to the Good Shepherd.
I see the Lord being active (knocking of the hearts door) in the lives of both the unbeliever and the backslider who need to repent as the preceding verse says.
Rev 3:19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.
I cannot begin to think that Jesus is knocking at the hearts of those believers who are walking daily with the Lord and living a life that is pleasing to him.
The letter is written to the leader (angel) of the church.
Perhaps it is a question of semantics?
Rev 3:19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.
I cannot begin to think that Jesus is knocking at the hearts of those believers who are walking daily with the Lord and living a life that is pleasing to him.
The letter is written to the leader (angel) of the church.
Perhaps it is a question of semantics?
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milady, starryfields, you speak such sparkling wisdom again here, that sounds like a perfect interpretation to me, the Lord leads, I believe that when 'repent,' is in the Scripture, and ,it is in Rev. 3:20, then, there is that first time Christianity meaning, however, when someone is 'lukewarm' and neither hot nor cold, does this imply that the person of this church is a Christian who is both dipping in the good and dipping in the bad and not letting Christ alone lead their life ? In other words, being 'lukewarm' means you are serving two masters and we all know Scripture says we cannot serve two masters , either we will love the one and hate the other or hate the one and love the other, I think is how that Scripture goes . \
God is asking them to repent of this sin, which is spit-worthy by Him, and, then He will take them in like nothing ever happened, they will wine and dine with Jesus
God is asking them to repent of this sin, which is spit-worthy by Him, and, then He will take them in like nothing ever happened, they will wine and dine with Jesus
The bible classifies such individual as double-minded. They are plagued with hypocrisy in that they attempt to find a common ground between worldliness and godliness which is essentially trying to serve two masters, however such is a dichotomy. The lack of spiritual discernment and firm conviction leads to them serving God half-heartedly when in fact He wants our whole heart centered on Him. Nonetheless, God loves them so they ought to repent like the prodigal son and ask God to rekindle their zeal for godliness, and He will receive them with arms wide open and grant their request.
The following came to my mind:
Col 3:1-4
1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.
Heb 12:1-2
1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
G
Great application, Greenie!
The bible classifies such individual as double-minded. They are plagued with hypocrisy in that they attempt to find a common ground between worldliness and godliness which is essentially trying to serve two masters, however such is a dichotomy. The lack of spiritual discernment and firm conviction leads to them serving God half-heartedly when in fact He wants our whole heart centered on Him. Nonetheless, God loves them so they ought to repent like the prodigal son and ask God to rekindle their zeal for godliness, and He will receive them with arms wide open and grant their request.
The following came to my mind:
Col 3:1-4
1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
2 Set your affection on things above(hot), not on things on the earth(cold).
3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.
Heb 12:1-2
1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
The bible classifies such individual as double-minded. They are plagued with hypocrisy in that they attempt to find a common ground between worldliness and godliness which is essentially trying to serve two masters, however such is a dichotomy. The lack of spiritual discernment and firm conviction leads to them serving God half-heartedly when in fact He wants our whole heart centered on Him. Nonetheless, God loves them so they ought to repent like the prodigal son and ask God to rekindle their zeal for godliness, and He will receive them with arms wide open and grant their request.
The following came to my mind:
Col 3:1-4
1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
2 Set your affection on things above(hot), not on things on the earth(cold).
3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.
Heb 12:1-2
1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
) When you sing a song like The Katinas, it is saying, 'You're All I Need,' and, one, even though it's a Christian song,too, be so swayed into thinking of the 'you're' as an individual we are secretly in love with, or, we are boyfriend-girlfriend in love with, or, even, we are married in love with. We are to PUT GOD THE CENTER of everything in our life, as starryfields, milady, the bright one of His, said.
(She's very bright boys but YOU better be REALLY chasing after God or there is no way in the world you will EVER catch a hold of this girl ! And, that's just catching up with her, staying WITH HER, hmm, that will be a whole another level even. She runs at God's speed for her, so... Take all said for what it's 'race' worthy to ya. Godspeed to ya ! ) Yes, msstarry, exactlyamundo, we WILL be half-hearted toward God if we are allowing things of the world to get in the way and take us over, true, we ALL fail , we all sin, to say so different of ourselves will call us a 'liar,' Scripture says (1 John 1:8). But, yes, we are to be whole-hearted after God, the 'heart' examples are excellent comparison. This means we must become FREE of thinking of riches being IT in our life. We MUST follow Him, and, you can bet your bottom dollar that He will ASK you to give things that are a WEAKNESS to you, like, ahem, money, or, for some, it's time, it's WHATEVER is IT, or, 'IT'S' keeping you 'lukewarm,' so you are neither hot nor cold. God will keep knocking, keep wanting to have you open the door, and, SEE that you are ON FIRE for Him now
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Well said too, psILoveHim, truth could not be more finely said, He is our Good Shepherd even when we have strayed from Him, He is still out there looking for us, 'knocking,' and, WILL be there when we decide to come back to Him. He is RIGHT there, never far away, as close as opening your 'door' to let Him back in
G
This is what I mean by hearing, and, Know1, said it well, in so many words:
"So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. "
Very simple for us to hear and come to Him then, we hear His knocking by listening to His knock. He knows we hear it, being lukewarm means you are already His but you've gone off path and need a little help getting back to the path that leads you Home. Jesus standing at the door and knocking is all about a little turning into a lot, like a 'mustard seed' amount of faith that will move YOUR mountain ! I love that song that says, 'MOUNTAIN, get outta my way ! "
By faith, we HEAR God, and, we can ONLY hear Him by understanding the power of His message we've heard from the Word and listened to and obeyed
"So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. "
Very simple for us to hear and come to Him then, we hear His knocking by listening to His knock. He knows we hear it, being lukewarm means you are already His but you've gone off path and need a little help getting back to the path that leads you Home. Jesus standing at the door and knocking is all about a little turning into a lot, like a 'mustard seed' amount of faith that will move YOUR mountain ! I love that song that says, 'MOUNTAIN, get outta my way ! "
By faith, we HEAR God, and, we can ONLY hear Him by understanding the power of His message we've heard from the Word and listened to and obeyed
Okay, this really is not my forte', but even though I see this verse and the rest of it being addressed to the church at the time and, I believe, a chronilogical order of events for today's church, I still see this particular verse addressed to individual people who have yet to receive Christ in their heart. Again, I'm not sure and I understand that this could be sybolic of today's church as a whole, but when I see words like, 'any man', in to and with him', and 'he', I see one person. I believe these are called personal pronouns, as in singular. And, 'to him that overcometh', sounds like another type of individual person in a different situation. Like an overcoming born again Christian.
At any rate, I believe the door to be that of the soul of the person, and written below is basically why I believe this.
Rev 3:20
Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
Rev 3:21
To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne,
God compares us to the temple and to Himself. I see the temple having more than three parts, yet we are made like God who is triune.
Basically, I see us as living in a physical body with a functional brain, the temple walls representing the natural body and the outer court representing the brain/mind to the natural body. The door between the inner and outer court, the door between the spirit and natural man, I believe to be the soul of man, and that being the doorway to the heart of man and from the heart to the spirit of man. I believe the soul to be the concious part of our makeup and the part that came from God the Father and is the head of the system. The inner court of the temple is likened to that of the Heart of man which, I believe, came from Jesus, whom again, I believe to be the Heart of the Father. I also believe the heart to be the subconscious part of us, which I won't go into to prove. The Holy Place and the Holy of Holies or the Holiest of All, which is a building within a building that is divided into two parts, I see as the spirit of man and the Spirit of God or the Holy Ghost within the spirit of man. And that the spirit of man came from the Holy Ghost.
Note, if I say, 'I believe', it is because I don't have solid proof scripturally.
So, I see us not having just a natural body, a soul, and a spirit, but a natural body, a soul ( the gateway to the heart of man, and the door inwhich Jesus knocks on to gain entry into the heart of man), a heart (spiritual body and person that is a carbon copy of the natural body and the subconcious part of the person), and a spirit man (where the spirit of God abides, which is within the heart).
As for the soul, biblically speaking, it can die in the natural body yet it is alive in the spirit world when the physical body is dead. How is that?
Answer another question for me, if you would please, and consider this concerning the heart being the spirit body of the person.
If the heart is in the head, and the Spirit of God is in the heart of man, then how is it that if the Spirit of God is dwelling in the heart of man, that the rivers of living water will flow from the belly area? It stands to reason that the river must flow from the source. If the source of life is in the head then why is it coming from the belly? If something is true or is the truth of God then scripture will back up scripture if it is not perverted or twisted.
Eze_36:26
A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
Here again, the heart is taken from the flesh/body and not from the head.
And by-the-way, this is the flesh which Jesus said we must eat in order for us to have life. It was not of his natural body like most thought in His days on earth.
Okay, that's my scoop on this subject. Sorry, I don't know much about Revelation sir, but I did warn you that it might not be something you would agree to.
At any rate, I believe the door to be that of the soul of the person, and written below is basically why I believe this.
Rev 3:20
Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
Rev 3:21
To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne,
God compares us to the temple and to Himself. I see the temple having more than three parts, yet we are made like God who is triune.
Basically, I see us as living in a physical body with a functional brain, the temple walls representing the natural body and the outer court representing the brain/mind to the natural body. The door between the inner and outer court, the door between the spirit and natural man, I believe to be the soul of man, and that being the doorway to the heart of man and from the heart to the spirit of man. I believe the soul to be the concious part of our makeup and the part that came from God the Father and is the head of the system. The inner court of the temple is likened to that of the Heart of man which, I believe, came from Jesus, whom again, I believe to be the Heart of the Father. I also believe the heart to be the subconscious part of us, which I won't go into to prove. The Holy Place and the Holy of Holies or the Holiest of All, which is a building within a building that is divided into two parts, I see as the spirit of man and the Spirit of God or the Holy Ghost within the spirit of man. And that the spirit of man came from the Holy Ghost.
Note, if I say, 'I believe', it is because I don't have solid proof scripturally.
So, I see us not having just a natural body, a soul, and a spirit, but a natural body, a soul ( the gateway to the heart of man, and the door inwhich Jesus knocks on to gain entry into the heart of man), a heart (spiritual body and person that is a carbon copy of the natural body and the subconcious part of the person), and a spirit man (where the spirit of God abides, which is within the heart).
As for the soul, biblically speaking, it can die in the natural body yet it is alive in the spirit world when the physical body is dead. How is that?
Answer another question for me, if you would please, and consider this concerning the heart being the spirit body of the person.
If the heart is in the head, and the Spirit of God is in the heart of man, then how is it that if the Spirit of God is dwelling in the heart of man, that the rivers of living water will flow from the belly area? It stands to reason that the river must flow from the source. If the source of life is in the head then why is it coming from the belly? If something is true or is the truth of God then scripture will back up scripture if it is not perverted or twisted.
Eze_36:26
A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
Here again, the heart is taken from the flesh/body and not from the head.
And by-the-way, this is the flesh which Jesus said we must eat in order for us to have life. It was not of his natural body like most thought in His days on earth.
Okay, that's my scoop on this subject. Sorry, I don't know much about Revelation sir, but I did warn you that it might not be something you would agree to.
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G
Know1, your exegesis was long but well thought out, do I agree? hmmmm, the Lord leads Thanks for answering.
These 7 churches are the body of Christ, as PS or JG? alluded, so, the church in itself, is of topic here, and, yes, the individuals in the church are questioned and asked to come to Him. Reading the verses prior to Rev. 3:20, we learn that this Laodicea church is 'lukewarm,' it's got one foot in the church, following Him and one foot outside the church, following the world. God hates this kind of worship, loathes it, He explains His position very well, too: He will spit you out, if you are lukewarm.
So, what was I looking for, it was regarding what I already put now, talking about faith in Him comes by hearing Him, and, we hear Him through our UNDERSTANDING of His Word. In other words, the power of God unto salvation can NOT be working through us without our attention to the details of His Word
Does this position of mine make sense, contrary to yours regarding the Laodicea church being non-believer Jesus is speaking to, He is speaking to believers who are not listening, and, He who overcomes, which was nice of you to add that, further explains that this 'any man' is one who is a believer. Any man=he who Christ asks to 'overcome.'
This is as HEAVY as doctrine gets in Scripture this whole passage, including a fine example of faith with works is dead, IF one looks at the first few verses of Revelation 3, directed at the church at Sardis:
These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits[SUP]b[/SUP] of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. 3Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.
This is word from Him here above and He is saying that this Sardis church is thinking they are ALIVE but their FAITH IS DEAD because there works are DEAD ! So, they are exhorted: "Wake up ! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have your deeds unfinished (your works) in the sight of my God..."
This goes on to say that it's important they wake up or the Lord will come for them, like a thief in the night (The Rapture) and they will be left behind.
So, yes, heavy, heavy doctrine in this chapter of Revelation, the heaviest.
God bless you for following Him, understanding His interpretation to you and rightly dividing Scripture so that you know exactly how important having faith in His word delivered you, KnowOne, is
Thanks for answering. These 7 churches are the body of Christ, as PS or JG? alluded, so, the church in itself, is of topic here, and, yes, the individuals in the church are questioned and asked to come to Him. Reading the verses prior to Rev. 3:20, we learn that this Laodicea church is 'lukewarm,' it's got one foot in the church, following Him and one foot outside the church, following the world. God hates this kind of worship, loathes it, He explains His position very well, too: He will spit you out, if you are lukewarm.
So, what was I looking for, it was regarding what I already put now, talking about faith in Him comes by hearing Him, and, we hear Him through our UNDERSTANDING of His Word. In other words, the power of God unto salvation can NOT be working through us without our attention to the details of His Word
Does this position of mine make sense, contrary to yours regarding the Laodicea church being non-believer Jesus is speaking to, He is speaking to believers who are not listening, and, He who overcomes, which was nice of you to add that, further explains that this 'any man' is one who is a believer. Any man=he who Christ asks to 'overcome.'
This is as HEAVY as doctrine gets in Scripture this whole passage, including a fine example of faith with works is dead, IF one looks at the first few verses of Revelation 3, directed at the church at Sardis:
These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits[SUP]b[/SUP] of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. 3Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.
This is word from Him here above and He is saying that this Sardis church is thinking they are ALIVE but their FAITH IS DEAD because there works are DEAD ! So, they are exhorted: "Wake up ! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have your deeds unfinished (your works) in the sight of my God..."
This goes on to say that it's important they wake up or the Lord will come for them, like a thief in the night (The Rapture) and they will be left behind.
So, yes, heavy, heavy doctrine in this chapter of Revelation, the heaviest.
God bless you for following Him, understanding His interpretation to you and rightly dividing Scripture so that you know exactly how important having faith in His word delivered you, KnowOne, is
G
I 'like' your post because you are sincere, but, the Lord leads, and, reading over everything, the 'great,' brilliant, analysis, I come to the conclusion it is one thing to me : blinding. But, think again, if you don't think I think your genuine analysis is not brilliant.
It's brightest of light in the sense that you are following Him, these seem sincere thoughts, not doctrine so much, but interpretation. I myself can analyze things quite deeply, too, KnowOne
head and heart !
Ahh, yes, those two . Hmm, to me, the 'head' is where our knowledge is but our head knowledge MUST be sprinkled with the interrogation of it's content gained unto Christ, through prayer, through His Word read, through His Spirit leading us, through and through, placating our heart. The head is evil, the heart MUST be good, we MUST have our heart right with God (Man looks at the outward appearance but God looks at the heart , 1 Sam. 16:7
) IF we don't let God work on our heart, which is flesh for those who are believers speaking here, then, it will, slowly, become hardened, for knowledge of the world without being filtered (interrogated) by God's Love will not end up with anything good. Adam and Eve learned long ago that the knowledge of the tree of good and evil was to be eaten from, for there WAS Satan residing. God knew it, but He needed man to trust Him. God has given man the choice to follow Him from the beginning of time, and, man's chosen, again and again, to do things his way and it's got man in trouble, big twoubles
Joseph bragged about his dream, it ended him in a pit.
David let his head to the talking when he saw Bathsheba, it ended him with a child dying, an excruciating feeling for any parent to have happen.
That list goes on and on, Jonah, not going where God wanted him to go. Jonah knew EXACTLY where God wanted him to go, it ended him in a fish. But, I digress...
The whole point of the thread is this: God knows and we MUST have faith in Him to hear Him, just like Romans 10:17 says. Faith comes by hearing and hearing comes from the word of God. We MUST mIx the two: faith and hearing. IF we do not we will not experience God, our heart will not be right with God either, we will not be right with God.
What did God call Abraham's obedience to Him? FAITH ! What did God say how the righteous shall live? By FAITH.
Righteous= being right with God. That is the righteonsness that God wants from us.
The things we do in life won't always elicit great response from the crowd, from the masses, EVEN from the Christian masses, but, by FAITH , we are to do it, anyway. The Lord leads. we are to follow His leading.
It's not 'when He knocks, make it a point to be ready, to not be doing both good and bad things in your life knowingly that hurt you, not to mention, Him,' is it ?
It's 'He IS knocking, (present tense), we need to have FAITH to open the door, we DO hear His knocking.'
But OVERCOMING our own pleasure-seeking ways is difficult to do, it's hard to hear through the Nazareth and Ronny James Dio and Snoop Dog music the sweet, Loving voice of the Saviour.'
Our Saviour ! The One whom we chose to accept into our heart, past just thinking about Him with our head, note, KnowOne
We have made a choice to put Jesus into our heart, so, yes, there will be GREAT conviction from Him who is in our temple, that is, the Holy Spirit, when we choose to follow our head and not our heart.Although the letter (prophecy) is addressed to the 'angel' of the Church at Laodicea, it was certainly NOT for him alone, BUT for ALL the Christians (ie believers) in that Church, as the context of Rev 3v14-22 and Rev 1v4,11, ('to the seven churches which are in Asia...write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.") clearly shows. There is absolutely NOTHING in Rev 3v14-22 addressed to the unbeliever!
L
Note the progression in the 7 churches
Revelation 2:25 KJV
(25) But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.
Revelation 3:11 KJV
(11) Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.
Revelation 3:20 KJV
(20) Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
Revelation 2:25 KJV
(25) But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.
Revelation 3:11 KJV
(11) Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.
Revelation 3:20 KJV
(20) Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
Attachments
I know that! You said an unbeliever wouldn't read it, to which I replied it was written to the LEADER of the church in Laodicea and although I didn't say it, to everyone who wanted to, and could read it.
RED. Are you saying Jesus does not seek entry into the unbelievers heart? If so you need to sort yourself out. Salvation is for ALL. Any man who will.
RED. Are you saying Jesus does not seek entry into the unbelievers heart? If so you need to sort yourself out. Salvation is for ALL. Any man who will.
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G
Good advice, I love yogi
Hisredtent, milady, the infection is nearly gone, was on antibiotics a week last week and it still is there though, not completely gone. Prayer requested for that , the Lord leads, His will be done
Agreed, Jesus is standing at the door and knocking, and, if any man, non-believer, or, BELIEVER, overcomes they will.sup..with Him.
A lot THINK that just because they're saved by grace that they no longer need to overcome things. But we do run this ”race” all our lives, until Christ says it is finished. Through faith, we overcome. By faith, what God's given us all, we open the door; we ALREADY know of who Jesus is, IF He is knocking, and, He is knocking. It is not past tense He speaks in Rev. 3:20, it is present, ” I STAND at the door and knock...”
God's knocking, for those who He wants to come to Him and for those who came, saw, kept Him but also reverted back to things they did before Christ came to them and they believed, which describes the Laodicea lukewarm church.
___________
Jb, if another brother, or, sister asks you a question, you don't have to yell at them, just state your position,in His Love spoken through you
Otherwise, others won't engage in learning with you , as easily. We all need help in this area, the Lord leads, God knows I do, for sure. .
Do others agree that Jesus was knocking for both unbelievers and believers in Laodicea church, and, that core of worshippers there were lukewarm believers ?
Hisredtent, milady, the infection is nearly gone, was on antibiotics a week last week and it still is there though, not completely gone. Prayer requested for that , the Lord leads, His will be done
Agreed, Jesus is standing at the door and knocking, and, if any man, non-believer, or, BELIEVER, overcomes they will.sup..with Him.
A lot THINK that just because they're saved by grace that they no longer need to overcome things. But we do run this ”race” all our lives, until Christ says it is finished. Through faith, we overcome. By faith, what God's given us all, we open the door; we ALREADY know of who Jesus is, IF He is knocking, and, He is knocking. It is not past tense He speaks in Rev. 3:20, it is present, ” I STAND at the door and knock...”
God's knocking, for those who He wants to come to Him and for those who came, saw, kept Him but also reverted back to things they did before Christ came to them and they believed, which describes the Laodicea lukewarm church.
___________
Jb, if another brother, or, sister asks you a question, you don't have to yell at them, just state your position,in His Love spoken through you
Otherwise, others won't engage in learning with you , as easily.
We all need help in this area, the Lord leads, God knows I do, for sure. .Do others agree that Jesus was knocking for both unbelievers and believers in Laodicea church, and, that core of worshippers there were lukewarm believers ?
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