DEEPER LIFE BIBLE CHURCH WORLDWIDE.
TUESDAY'S LEADERS' DEVELOPMENT. (MAKING ORDINARY MAN EXTRAORDINARY FOR GOD'S USE).
DATE: 7TH JULY 2020
MESSAGE ANCHORED BY THE GENERAL
SUPERINTENDENT
TOPIC: CHRIST'S CALL TO COURAGEOUS LEADERSHIP IN THE CHURCH.
REVELATION 2:13-17.
I welcome you to our leadership development session tonight, and I pray the Lord will enrich everyone with His word and make us stronger in the great Ministry He has given to us IN Jesus Name Amen.
We are studying tonight from the letter, from the Epistle, from the message of the Lord Jesus Christ to the Leader of the church in Pergamos. The Lord wants us to look at what He has said, and as we regard Him, so we regard His message, as we respect Him, so we regard His message, as we hold Him in high esteem, as we exalt Him so we take note of what He has sent unto us, and we ought to listen attentively to what He is saying, and if He has any instructions in what He has said unto you, your love, your exaltation and your respect for Him, and your regard for Him will make you to want to go and carry out the instructions He's given, but if you don't have regards for for somebody that is talking to you, you might hear what he says, but you don't pay attention, you're listless, and because Jesus Christ is the One talking to us, and in fact in the conclusion of the message He sent to the church in Pergamos, He says He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit of God is telling the church and telling us. What He has said is what the Spirit is saying today, what He said to the church in Pergamos is what the Spirit is saying to all the churches in all generations, in your own generation, in your locality where you are. He that has an ear to hear should hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
From the reading of the text today, you will find out that Christ is calling us to courageous leadership in the church.
POINT ONE: THE CONFIRMATION OF OUR CONCERNED CONQUERING LORD.
REVELATION 2:12-13,16.
Christ has conquerd already, He has overcame already, and He is sitting on the throne already, He's by the right hand of the Heavenly Father, there's nothing He ought to do which He has not done for the church, He has done everything for the church to be saved, to be sanctified, to be purified, to be empowered by the Holy Ghost to enable us, to energize us to the great commission, He has done everything and now He's the conquering Lord, but He's concerned for the church. Here is the Lord sending a message to the church in Pergamos through John the Beloved, and in the letter, He said, I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth. Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. Jesus Christ has the sharp sword in His hand, but here He's talking about the sword that come out of His mouth.
I. The Sharp sword of our Conquering Lord.
Revelation 2:12; 1:14-16; 2:16; 19:15-16,21; 2 Thessalonians 2:8, Revelation 1:14.
Jesus Christ is the overcoming Lord. And John the beloved saw Him in Revelation, and John said, His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire, and his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. Actually you understand that the sword He's talking about is not ordinary sword that soldiers carry, and it's not ordinary sword that those who are waging war in the earthly way carry, is a sword of His mouth, is the word of His mouth, is the word that comes out and comes out like a sharp sword against the people who are not living the way they ought to live, we don't carry sword like the people of the world carry sword, Christ Himself said His Kingdom is not of this world, He will smite the rebellious nation with the sword of His mouth, He will smite the sinful nations and the people who are not following after the Gospel, He will smite them with the sword that comes out of His mouth, His sword will consume sinners and those who are not walking according to His way and those who are not walking according to His calling. When He comes to reign as King, as Lord, He will put all rebellious down, He will put all sin down, He will put all satanic activities down and He will do it with the word of His mouth. He has the final word, He has the word of the Judge and that word of the Judge it showed as the sword coming out of His mouth and that word will consume the Antichrist, Antichrist will be consumed with the sword of His mouth and with the sword of the Spirit.
II. The Spirit's sword in courageous leaders.
Ephesians 6:16-17; Hebrews 4:12; Acts 5:33; 7:54; 24:24-25; 2:37-42.
He's talking about the minister here, He's talking about the child of God here, He's talking about a witness to the Lord Jesus Christ that the Lord empower, because the same peace, the same purity He had, He has given us, the same Power He had, He has given us, the same Authority He had, He has given us, and because He overcame, He also wants us to overcome and we need His faith as spiritual warriors, as a man of God, we must overcome. We must take the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God, His word is sharper than any two edges sword and and He says, that's what we take, that's the word we take to battle against error, as we battle against sin that holds people captive, we go with that same sharp sword of the word of God, as we go with the word of God and as we preach the word of God, it penetrate the heart of the people we are preaching to, and it piercing the hearts of the people, as we reveal the word of God unto them, it will bring conviction and it will bring them to their knees, the word of God coming out of the mouth of Peter was sharper than two
edges sword bringing conviction to the hearts of the people and bringing them to their knees, and they were pricked in their hearts, that's the sword, that's the word of God, that's the spirit of God in the mouth of a courageous leader. Peter the Apostle pointed at them and when they heard this, they were pricked in their hearts. When we preach the word of God, when we preach the word of salvation to sinners, it should be like the sword coming out and piercing them and is bringing convictions to them. When we are filled with the Holy Ghost and the Holy Ghost takes the word from out mouth and that word is coming to sinners, to unbelievers and is coming to scorners and is coming to backsliders and is coming to the people of the world, and is coming to the scornful people, it will pierce them, it will prick their hearts, and they will say what shall we do to be saved? When you preach the word of God, does that word has effect? When you declare the Gospel, does that has effect? When you go out on personal evangelism, or on mass evangelism, does it has that effect? When you speak the word to the people who ought to hear the word and tremble and be convicted, does it has that effect? If it doesn't, if our messages has not been having that captivating effect, that conquering effect, that convicting effect, that piercing effect, that pungent effect, we need to go back on our knees that God will fill us again, and saturate us again with the power of the Holy Ghost, and the Holy Spirit will take the word and hold that word as His sword, the Spirit will be the sword that becomes sharper than any two edges sword, piercing their hearts and consuming them and bringing them to their knees, and bringing them to conviction and to conversion and to Sanctification
II. The Saint's Steadfastness amidst Corrupting Lawlessness.
Revelation 2:13; Hebrews 3:6,14; 4:14-16; 2 Peter 3:17-18; Revelation 3:3,11.
Remember Jesus Christ said, I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth. Actually He's talking to the minister in Pergamos, and He's talking to us, if we have been faithful, that makes us happy, if we are diligent in preaching the word of God and doing the work of God faithfully and earnestly, that should make us happy, and if we know the good works we are doing, then He's going to reward us, on the other hand, if we have been idle, if we have been lazy, unfortunately if we have been partial in the preaching of the Gospel, if we have not been courageous, earnest and if we have not seen saying the word of God the way He wants us to say it, if we are looking at the faces of people and because of that we are not telling sinners what they ought to hear and we are not telling backsliders what they ought to hear, and we are not telling the believers what they ought to hear, and we are not telling people in our congregation the word of God as we ought to, and when He says know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth. He will be saying I know your compromising, I know your corruption and your unfaithfulness, and He will also be saying, I know your fearfulness, and if He's saying that, that should make us afraid. Now, He's saying to this church in Pergamos and He's saying to us, He knows our works, and this minister in the Pergamos, he was dwelling, he was living, he was ministering in the place where Satan seat is, the throne of Satan was right there, and Satan was operating and Satan will not let anything move, and yet this minister stood courageously, Christ knows your name, He knows what you're going through, He knows what you endure, like these church in Pergamos, they didn't ran away from that city, they remained and they held fast. This is teaching you that wherever you're, you will hold fast until the end IN Jesus Name Amen. It's when we hold fast that we can claim we are of Christ, and we are His temple, we are His ministers, and He lives in us on the condition that we hold fast the confidence and rejoicing as we hold fast until the end, if we are holding on fast to the faith, if we are holding fast to His Name and to His doctrines and we are holding fast to everything He has given unto us from the very beginning, He says then we are partakers of Christ.
Satan might be on seat and Satan might dwell in that village where you are, and he might have his throne in that local village and occultism might be hiding in that local government, don't look at wrong direction and don't look at where Satan is dwelling and sitting, but look at Christ the Highpriest who has gone and passed into heaven and who is making intercession for us, and who is praying for you. And you will abide there in that place where the Lord has called you, He wants us to abide in that steadfastness, He wants us to remain in that steadfastness, and He says we should recall and recollect and remember those old good days when you just knew the Lord, when you're bold, courageous and when you're holding fast when there was persecution. But you have compromised,.He says recall that if you're shaking now, repent and become steady and become solid and become steadfast, if you're looking at where Satan seat is and if you're looking at where the corruption is, and if you're looking at what happens to the Antipas, He says come back and bring your mind back and hold firm, if you're looking at the enemy rather than looking at Emmanuel God with us, if you're looking at Satan and where Satan seat is rather than looking at the conquering Lord and the conquering Saviour, He says remember and recall and repent. He says come back to the position you ought to be, the Lord is coming, that's why you must hold fast to His doctrines, the rapture may happen anytime from now, if you don't want the rapture to meet you as a coward, as a person that doesn't have any strength, as a person not prepare for the coming of the Lord, then you have to hold fast unto the doctrine of Jesus Christ you have.
POINT TWO: THE CONTROVERSY AGAINST COWARDLY COMPROMISING LEADERS.
REVELATION 2:14-16.
JESUS Christ told the Church in the Pergamos, and He told the leaders of this church and He's telling us that, if we are cowardly, if we are negligent and if we are not concentrating on what we ought to do because we are cowardly, He has a controversy against us. If we are compromising, He has a controversy against us, and He wants us to turn around and He says repent or else I will come unto thee quickly, then I will fight against those people that are compromising, and those people that are cowardly, and He says He will fight against such people with the sword of His mouth.
We are leaders, that's why we are here studying the word of God together, He wants to build us up, He wants us to stand firm, He wants us to be courageous, and He wants us to stand for Him. You might be the only one in that locality, you might be the only one standing for the truth in that environment, and all the other pastors of other churches and ministers of the other churches, they might be compromising and be very careful, they know who not to offend, they know what not to say, and because of that you might be the one that is standing up when everybody is bowing down, but the Lord has controversy against such cowardly, compromising Leaders.
I. The Cowardice of compromising Leaders.
Revelation 2:14; Exodus 32:21-24,33; 1 Samuel 15:24-26; Jeremiah 9:3; Galatians 1:10; Revelation 21:8.
You're still a leader, you're still a preacher, you're still a pastor and you're still a captain of the people standing before them, but as the captain is standing before soldiers, and if the captain is shivering, trembling, and closing his eyes to where the battle is, and he's not rarely focusing on to do the work, the people who are duplicating and reproducing the lives and compromise of Balaam, you have them there that hold the doctrine of Balaam, they had another conviction, they come to church and say they are leaders under you, and whatever they are preaching, they hold the doctrine of Balaam, they cast a stumbling block before the children of God, the church in the early part of the dispensation of grace, there were people in that local church teaching their members and teaching the workers and teaching the servants of God to commit fornication, they were misinterpreting the scripture, and they say idol is nothing, and they say sacrifice to idols is nothing, they say if you're hungry and you don't have anything to eat, and you see meat that have been consecrated unto Satan, unto idols they say you can eat that thing sacrificed to the idols, they say that is nothing and they say it depends on the mind in which you are eating, can you imagine? In the early church when the Spirit of God came upon the church and the Apostles were fervent, and they were powerful and they were mighty in the Lord, can you imagine in that same generation, John one of the twelve was even still alive and Jesus was sending John one of Very first Apostles, he was sending to this church which is the first century and is the first generation and there were people at that time teaching them to commit fornication, they were saying is all of Grace and it doesn't matter, they said once you believe in the Lord, is your faith that matter and they were saying He doesn't look at what you do outside with the flesh, and they said He always look at JESUS in you, and upon you. They said if you received JESUS Christ, He's your Lord and Saviour, and they were saying God doesn't see the fornication you're committing, they said God doesn't see that abortion, open sexuality, fighting and violence, they said God doesn't see that and they told the people and those people were convicted and they were committing fornication because some people taught them it doesn't matter, they were nomore valiant for Holiness, they were no more valiant for righteousness and they were telling lies concerning Grace and concerning the redemption work of Christ at Calvary, and they were sending people to hell from the church pew and yet the pastor there is just preaching his normal message, and his smooth message and his comforting message and the sharp word of God is not coming out of his mouth to pierce them, and to convince them and to bend them and to make them bow to the word of God, they bend their tongues like their bones for lies, they were not valiant for the truth upon the earth, that's why the Lord said He had controversy against them.
II. The Corruption by covetous leaders.
Revelation 2:14; 2 Peter 2:14-17; Jude 1:11-13.
Those people in the church of Pergamos were not reading Bible, if they were reading their bible, they will not followed the erroneous teaching, there are people that doesn't read their bible and they just come to the church, and they listen to the preaching and unfortunately there are people in the church that when the senior pastor was preaching to the church of Pergamos, they will not pay attention but when their local leaders who are supposed to be under the senior pastor and because they don't even hear what their senior pastor is saying, what the local fellow is now saying is what they are listening to. They were not looking at what happened when Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication, and then to commit adultery with those moabites, and then many of them died, it was 24000 people that died of the plague because of that, they were not looking at that, all they were looking at is what their local people were telling them, and they had that corruption because of the covetousness of Balaam, it was because of the corruption in the heart of balaam, there are people that do not look at the background of the doctrine they are holding, and they are not looking at the background of the person who is trying to convince them and to confuse them, and to bring them into false doctrine, because of their covetousness, those who have led other people astray and led people to commit fornication or to eat things sacrificed for idol, they have forsaken the right way and have gone astray following the way of balaam who loved the wages of unrighteousness, that's the root cause of what balaam did, and the people that were following after that, that's the reason they were doing that, they don't look at the end of their action, they don't look at the end of their false doctrine and they don't look at the end of balaam and the people that hold the doctrine of balaam.
III. The Condemnation of Contradicting Leaders.
Revelation 2:15-16; Acts 13:38-41,45; Romans 16:17-18; 1 Timothy 6:3,5; II John 1:9-11; 2 Timothy 3:5.
There were other people, another session, another group of that church of pergamos we are talking about, it was a little church and yet they have some that are under the influence of those who held the doctrine and the deeds of Balaam and then in that moderate church, they also had another sects holding the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which God hate. They contradicted the message of Christ, they opposed the message of Christ, they brought down the message of Christ and they will not flow along, they will not go along, they will not accept and believe the message of Christ and Christ said, He hated the doctrine they are holding. They contradicted the Cross, they contradicted Calvary, they contradicted the redemption work, they contradicted everything Christ has suffered for, and those contradicting leaders, Christ is against them, whatever people do now, they could support sound doctrine, the Lord will reward them, if we lift up sound doctrine the Lord will reward us, if we support the crucifixion of Christ, if we support the Salvation Christ has brought, the Lord will reward us, if on the other hand we contradict sound doctrine, the doctrine that reveals salvation and freedom from sin and the power of the gospel that works in the Greek and in the gentiles and in the Jew, the power of the gospel that makes us overcomes, if we oppose that, Christ says if we don't repent and He will fight against them with the sword of His mouth. The Lord is telling us not to go along with the people that contradicts the scriptures, we shouldn't follow anything they did to contradict the sound doctrine of Christ, there's consequences on the people that contradicts the people and cause division. We have learnt the doctrine of Christ, the doctrines of Christ are: salvation through Christ, sanctification through Christ, the doctrine of Holiness without which no man shall see the Lord, the doctrine of Power, the power of the Holy Ghost coming upon us, and energizing us to stand for the truth and to hold the truth unto the end, anyone causing division, anyone causing offenses, anyone contradicting the doctrine which we have learnt, He says we should avoid such people, anyone that is perpetrating anything contrary, He says from such we should turn away, and we should withdraw ourselves. Turn your eyes away from such people, turn your mind away, turn your attention away and turn your focus away and turn your ears away from such, you know after you have heard a pure word of God, after you have heard everything line upon line, everything precepts upon precepts, you will not follow those who are not preaching truth. After you have taken something that nourishes your body, nourishes your soul and nourishes your spirit then you leave that aside and you're looking for a false doctrine and the first thing you are listening to is error and the last message you are listening to in the last of the day is error, there's no how you're going to escape the judgment that will come upon the people that contradict the serious word of God, I pray the Lord will give us the serious heart and the dedication life to follow after the Lord and not allow the Lord to had and to maintain controversy with us as cowardly compromising leaders IN Jesus Name Amen.
We should not go along with the people that contradict the sound doctrine, we shouldn't go along with the people that contradict the saving truth, the sanctifying truth that we have heard, and we should stand unwaveringly, whatever the Name, whatever the title, whatever the popularity and whatever their methods of approach, whosoever transgressing and abides not in the doctrine of Christ, has not God, after says if there come any, either they come directly or through technology and they come through their program and they bring not the doctrine of Christ, receive such person not to your house.
POINT THREE: HIS CALL TO CONSISTENT COMMEBDABLE LOYALTY.
REVELATION 2:16-17.
Christ is calling us to overcome, He's calling us to do the work the way He would have done it if He were here. He's calling us to do His work the way first Apostles of the early church did it, and He wants us to be consistent about that, so that we can render commendable loyalty unto Him. He wants us to be consistent, not only for today, we are not up today and tomorrow we're down, we are not fast today and slows down tomorrow, and not that we are in the sanctuary of God today and we are in the synagogue of Satan tomorrow, we are consistent as we are loyal to the word of God. It should be a kind of loyalty that God Himself will commend, and He's calling us to that, everything we are hearing on the church services from our pastors, the true word of God, the saving truth of the word of God that we are hearing, He days he that hath an ear to hear should hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. The same thing He says unto all churches, the blessings did not come to everyone that has heard, but the people that will be obedient to what they have heard, the people who are overcome because of what they have heard, the people who are consistently loyal, and consistently faithful, those who are the people that will have the Blessing of hearing, the Lord will look at us one by one, the Lord will pick us up one by one, the Lord will identify us one by one, and the person who has heard and obey and follow the Lord and repented, and he has turned around, he has become loyal, he has become faithful, He says such person will have the heathen manna.
I. Restrain and correct the false Prophets.
Revelation 2:16; Galatians 2:4-5; Jeremiah 28:15-16; 1 Timothy 1:3; 2 Timothy 1:13-14; 2:25-26.
✔️the Lord says, repent and contend against the false prophets.
✔️ repent and restrain the false prophets.
✔️ repent and correct the false prophets
✔️ repent and contend against their falsehood.
✔️We are to be earnestly contend for the Faith once delivered unto the Saints.
✔️ we are to earnestly contend for the faithfulness demonstrated by the same in the early church.
✔️ we are to be earnestly contend for the fullness of the revelation of Christ as delivered to the Saints.
✔️ we are to earnestly contend against falsehood of the people who are preaching error.
✔️ we are not to keep quiet, we are not to be a nice preachers that will abandon the sound doctrine.
✔️ we are to fight the good fight of faith.
✔️ repent and contend against falsehood of the people who are preaching error
✔️ repent and contend against filthiness. If somebody is bringing fornication into the church, contend against filthiness.
✔️ contend against Fraudulence.
✔️ Contend against those who are perpetrating error.
✔️ Contend against the flesh, the young people will want to allow the flesh to operate,and to allow the lust of the flesh, if you're going to be consistent as you're going to be a commendable loyalist to the Lord, you will contend against all that. We will not lend down our guard, we kept on watching and we kept on looking at everything squaring very well, seriously, scrioturally and anything that is going to bring the children of God into falsehood, we will fight against that, we do not give those servants and those perpetrators of the corruption of the ruler and contradiction of Nicolaitanes,we don't give them chance, not even one hour, the gospel and the truth will continue with everyone of us IN Jesus Name Amen. The ministry is for the people who are strong in the Lord, and those who have the spirit of God to be affirm, courageous that they will charge some to teach no other doctrine, they will hold fast to that doctrine of Jesus Christ, don't hold the doctrine of Christ with a loose hand lest the devil knock it out of your hand, hold fast the sound doctrine of Christ.
II. Renew your commitment to Faithful Pastoring.
Revelation 2:16-17; Jeremiah 3:15; 33:4; Acts 20:28; 1 Timothy 4:15-16; Ephesians 4:23-24.
If you have been kind of drifting, you turn, and if you have been kind of weak without spices, repent and renew conviction, and renew your consecration, and renew your commitment to faithful pastoring, this part of pastoring that you will make sure that no error is spit or perpetrated in the ministry that is under your word, renew your commitment, renew your consecration, renew your conviction, you must repent quickly otherwise repentance will become too late ,and after Christ said repent, renew your consecration, then He said, He that has an ear to hear should hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. If you have been careless with yourself, if you have been negligent over your ministry, if you have not been watching over the souls committed to your hands, this is the time you need to take heed unto yourself and to all the flock, when you hear the word of God, meditate on it and continue in all the things the Lord reveals to us, but if you don't continue in them, you will miss the final salvation, you will not save yourself, your ministry will make you to lose what you've got when you first gave your life to Christ, plan to be an overcomer, read to be an overvomer, preach to be an overcomer, exercise to be an overcomer, be in the ministry and be dutiful, be responsible to be an overcomer, you have to overcome traditions, you have to overcome empty religion, you have to overcome the flesh, you have to overcome the habits that has been going the wrong direction, and the Lord is calling you back, and you have to overcome the fear of man that will not allow you to challenge the people that hold the doctrine of Balaam, the one that overcome all the wrong attitudes, the one that overcome all the wrong approach in ministry, to him that overcome the very seat of Satan, the one that overcome the synagogue of Satan, the one that overcome the servants of Satan and the fear of the suffering will have the heathen manna.
III. Reflect on the condition for the final Prize.
Revelation 2:17; Romans 12:21; Daniel 12:3; 1 John 2:13-14; 5:4; Luke 11:21-22; Revelation 21:7-8.
Reflect on that condition that the Lord has given, the condition that He has given that if you overcome and if you do the work of God the way it ought to be done, and you turn many unto righteousness and you make many to abide in righteousness and you stop the mouth of those perpetrators of the doctrines of balaam, and you stop the mouth of people that have made the children of God to go astray, if you overcome and you stand firm and you stand straight and you're consistent with commendable loyalty, you will be rewarded on the final day, always reflect on that condition of the prize. Evil things are all around, be not overcome of evil, evil Balaam all around, even Nicolaitanes all round, evil perpetrators all round, but overcome evil with good and stand like a soldier of Jesus Christ, and then you do the work of God without compromising and without fearing the people who contradict sound doctrine. Face them and fight the good fight of faith and on the final day you will be rewarded. Those who heard the word of God and obey the word of God, those who hear the charge to be an overcomer and they turn around and they renew their consecration, and they renew their commitment, and they renew their courage in the Lord, they are wise people. They turn back the compromisers, they turned back the people who are contradicting the way of the Lord, they turn back the people who are loosing their souls, and those who are loosing themselves, and they turn many to righteousness, they will shine as stars forever and ever. That's what the Lord is calling you to, He wants you to examine your ministry, He wants you to examine your approach, He wants you to examine everything you're doing and He says repent and He says consecrate and He says renew your commitment, renew your consecration and renew everything that you have got and be consistent to be loyal and faithful and wise, so that as you reflect on the condition for final prize, you can now come in the way of righteousness and live in the way of righteousness and minister in the way of righteousness. Turn many to righteousness so that you will shine forever and ever when the Lord will come back again.
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