READ:
REVELATION 2:1-5
“Examine yourselves as
to whether you are in the faith. Prove yourselves. Do you not know yourselves,
that Jesus Christ is in you? – unless indeed you are disqualified.” (2 Corinthians 13:5). From time to
time, you should examine yourself. Are you still saved? Some Christians leave
home for work burning with zeal for Christ. But before they reach office, they
have backslidden in heart and lost the fire. Supposing Christ returned on their
way to work, they would be left behind.
To examine yourself, you need to reflect on your love for Jesus. When you gave your life to Christ, you loved him so much that you were ready to obey him even to the point of death. It was evident to people that you loved Jesus! You were the first to arrive in church and keep the place tidy and begin to pray before the service started. You proclaimed him to everyone that crossed your path. You were ready to let go of everything else just to retain Jesus. But today, how is that love?
“Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come quickly and remove your lampstand from its place – unless you repent.” (Revelation 2:4-5). When you joined the church, your desire was how to grow in Christ and conform to his image and his plan for your life. Church politics was never in your register. Today, you have shifted focus to politics: you scheme yourself into strategic pastoral or leadership positions. Yours is now how to occupy the most prominent, most advantageous position. You are ready to fight, bribe your way and pull others down so as to consummate that desire.
In times past, you kept a safe distance from the opposite sex. You watched who you called your friends and what you did, always asking yourself, ‘Would Jesus do what I am doing or go where I am going if he were in my shoes?’ Today, you mix so freely with the opposite sex that you are continually living in lust and having wet dreams. Examine your ways. If you have changed focus, heaven’s standards and focus remain the same. Change and return to your first love.
To examine yourself, you need to reflect on your love for Jesus. When you gave your life to Christ, you loved him so much that you were ready to obey him even to the point of death. It was evident to people that you loved Jesus! You were the first to arrive in church and keep the place tidy and begin to pray before the service started. You proclaimed him to everyone that crossed your path. You were ready to let go of everything else just to retain Jesus. But today, how is that love?
“Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come quickly and remove your lampstand from its place – unless you repent.” (Revelation 2:4-5). When you joined the church, your desire was how to grow in Christ and conform to his image and his plan for your life. Church politics was never in your register. Today, you have shifted focus to politics: you scheme yourself into strategic pastoral or leadership positions. Yours is now how to occupy the most prominent, most advantageous position. You are ready to fight, bribe your way and pull others down so as to consummate that desire.
In times past, you kept a safe distance from the opposite sex. You watched who you called your friends and what you did, always asking yourself, ‘Would Jesus do what I am doing or go where I am going if he were in my shoes?’ Today, you mix so freely with the opposite sex that you are continually living in lust and having wet dreams. Examine your ways. If you have changed focus, heaven’s standards and focus remain the same. Change and return to your first love.
MEMORIZE:
2 CORINTHIANS 13:5 –Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith.
Prove yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? –
unless indeed you are disqualified.
