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The Daily Word of Righteousness
Seven Areas of Reconciliation, #8
For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. (II Peter 2:20)
After receiving the gift of righteousness the believer must come out from the ways of the world and serve the Lord. The blood gives him access to the Throne of God in Heaven so he may receive the wisdom and strength necessary for overcoming the filthiness of the flesh.
If he receives Jesus and then does not turn away from his sins, continuing to live in the world, he will not be blessed of the Lord. His latter end will be worse than the beginning.
When a church loves the Lord Jesus, is ready to endure tribulation for the name of the Lord, and sounds forth a clear witness against Satan and his works, it will be blessed by the Lord and will grow.
As soon as a church begins to grow in numbers and in the splendor of its physical facilities it will attract people who are not as intense in their love for Jesus as was true of the founders of the assembly.
As more people attend and the physical facilities improve and expand, the spirit of worldliness will enter. It is one matter to preach holiness and discipleship to twenty-five people in a small building. It is another matter to preach holiness and discipleship to two thousand people in a luxurious sanctuary. It is possible, but more difficult.
When the spirit of worldliness and material wealth enter, sin is not far behind. The love of money leads people into fornication with the spirits that abound in the world. Soon "Jezebel" is advising the disciples to practice immorality and to worship the demon gods of the present age: lust, money, violence, occult practices, and the drunken pursuit of pleasure. Soon there are many parties and revelings in the flesh.
The saint who would be reconciled to God must flee as did Elijah from the Jezebel spirit of worldliness and sin. Jezebel is a killer of prophets.
God's sanctuary cannot be constructed of wood, steel, and glass. God will dwell only in the sanctified human heart.
Appropriate social activities are necessary for wholesome church life, especially for children and young people. But they easily can be overdone. The saint who is seeking the rest of God love to spend time alone with the Lord.
Sardis was the large people-centered church, the social group. It had a name that it was alive—perhaps because it was growing so rapidly.
What a stress on numbers there is today! It is assumed that the church of three thousand members is blessed of God while the gathering of a few believers is insignificant. This is an unscriptural point of view.
For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. (Matthew 18:20)
"Two or three are gathered together."
Sometimes when two or three thousand are gathered together Jesus is not in the midst.
Every true saint must be prepared to walk alone or with a handful of disciples. We always must stand ready to associate with the Lord's despised remnant.
To be continued.