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Essay 5: Overcomer or Overcome?

Copyright © 2005-2025 by Terry E. Manning

“And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, ‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked — I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Revelation 3:14-22 NKJV, [emphasis added]

However brethren, I could not talk to you as to spiritual [men], but as to nonspiritual [men of the flesh, in whom the carnal nature predominates], as to mere infants [in the new life] in Christ [unable to talk yet!] I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not yet strong enough [to be ready for it]; but even yet you are not strong enough [to be ready for it], For you are still [unspiritual, having the nature] of the flesh [under the control of ordinary impulses]. For as long as [there are] envying and jealousy and wrangling and factions among you, are you not unspiritual and of the flesh, behaving yourselves after a human standard and like mere (unchanged) men? For when one says, I belong to Paul, and another, I belong to Apollos, are you not [proving yourselves] ordinary (unchanged) men? 1 Corinthians 3:1-4 AMP, [emphasis added]

Father God continues to rescue and redeem individuals from darkness, death and destruction. A remnant of the men, women and children, who are called to become a part of the Bride of the Lamb, are making themselves ready in righteous and holiness through their choices, personal interactions with and obedience to His Son Jesus. The majority of Father God's children are failing His expectations for their lives.

The letters to the Laodicean and Corinthian believers (Rev. 3:14-22 and 1 Cor. 1:1-3:23) clearly reveal that even Spirit-filled believers from the first century could shamefully deceive themselves because they were careless with the privilege of knowing and serving Jesus. They were neither zealous about Jesus nor were they submitted to the will of God, Lord Jesus' sovereignty in their lives, His commandments and the deep, personal guidance and inner work of the Holy Spirit.

The Lord's messages to the Laodicean and Corinthian believers are a warning that has gone almost totally unheeded in recent generations. These Scriptures (Rev. 3:14-22, 1 Cor. 1:1-3:23) contain divine words of insight, wisdom, instruction and correction for the benefit of every diligent follower of Jesus – the elect of God who is struggling or will grapple with the challenges that God has ordained for their life.

Since the New Testament was first inspired and revealed by God; the Lord's warnings, commands and example have resonated in the hearts of the elect. At this present time, the "head count" of those who claim to be believers in Jesus has grown to over a billion souls, but contemporary Christianity is frequently described as "a great river – more than a mile wide and less than an inch deep."

From the first century AD until today, Satan’s influence has increased because of his numerous and effective deceptions and lies. When persecuting the early Church didn't work, Satan led carnal men and women to create carnal religious counterfeits and wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked Christianity has flourished. As was true in other times and generations, we find that the majority of people, who consider themselves to be part of the true Church, are deluded – they are either "lukewarm" or have already been thoroughly "overcome."

The problem isn't because of limited access to the word of God. The Bible is more readily available than at any other time in history. Today, relatively few believers actually follow and obey Jesus as their Lord. All carnal human minds are at war with the Mind of Christ, yet "sub-normal" Christians assail the Scriptures with their assumptions, reasoning and corrupted comprehension as if the Father and Son had not provided them with a better Way through the Holy Spirit.

Daily, self-willed believers make choices that solidify their strong trust and reliance in themselves, their erroneous beliefs and worldly Christian entanglements. The contemptible spiritual condition of the majority of contemporary Christians is the result of persistent self-direction, unbelief and a failure to follow through with a commitment of their lives to Lord Jesus. Followers of Jesus are compelled to hear and obey His call to deny themselves, pick up their crosses daily and follow Him, but few actually do so today.

The New Testament reveals the difficult way of the Lord that few find and the broad way that leads to destruction. Among worldly Christians, the ones who haven't embraced the "New Age" lie that "all paths lead to God," the Scriptures present two ways of existence that they interpret as the way of the Lord for believers and the broad way for unbelievers who are perishing.

The truth is that the difficult way of the Lord that few find is "untrodden" by both unbelievers and the majority of individuals who have been "born again." Not all believers are called to become Lord Jesus' disciples, but when personally called by the Lord to daily follow Him; weak, fearful and self-serving believers respond by choosing to disobey and reject His call. Instead, many choose to willfully live according to worldly church traditions, carnal doctrines, religious myths, their own "good ideas" (and faulty counsel) and their nurmerous ungodly desires.

Of the remnant who hear the Lord's call to become His disciples and embark on the difficult way of the Lord, many later choose to end their discipleship and become compromised or unfruitful. Reliance on self-directed behavior, human reasoning and carnal motives is in full opposition to the Mind of Christ, the will of the Father and the guidance and counsel of the Holy Spirit.

Following Lord Jesus progressively changes each disciple into the image of Christ as they live according to the Spirit in close relationship with the Lord. Lliving according to their flesh is the preferred choice of self-serving, compromised believers. They may have even began to walk as a disciple of the Lord and later chose to dishonor their commitment to Jesus and walk primarily according to their flesh.

Father God's plan of salvation is not a "free ticket" to a heavenly paradise, although that "plays well" with nominal Christians. Human-led religion has propagated "false gospels" and gross misinterpretations of the Word of God for centuries. Living beneath Father God's requirements and expectations has taken a toll on those called to become the elect of God, but who are not chosen because of their poor choices and stubbornness of heart.

Walking the difficult and narrow way of the Lord successfully is the result of a follower's personal obedience to Lord Jesus, a firm grasp of the will of the Father, submissive daily interactions with the Holy Spirit and the correct understanding and application of the Word of God in their life (see Deut. 11:26-28, Isaiah 30:1 and 1 John 2:3-6).

The Scriptures are clear, believers can choose to avoid the difficult way of the Lord and join unbelievers on the broad way leading to destruction. This is exactly what happens when a self-willed believer persistently chooses to sow to their flesh instead of sowing to the Spirit (Isaiah 30:1, Romans 8:1-8, Galatians 5:16-26).

For followers of Jesus, who are being sanctified and conformed to His image and likeness, working out their salvation involves critical choices on their part as they diligently interact with Jesus through the Holy Spirit. Their faith in God has grown substantially. The ransom on their lives was paid through the sacrifice and blood of Jesus. Something they do not take lightly. The forgiveness of their sins is from God and repenting from their dead works has become as important to them as breathing. Through their encounters with the Holy Spirit, they have come to recognize that the substantial overcoming of their sinful Adamic natures is only through Christ. This is accomplished as a direct result of their faith in Jesus and obedience to His instruction, correction and commands during the time the Father gives them. They have learned to embrace the correction, pruning and chastising of God as necessary for them to become mature sons (Rev. 2:1-3:22).

Jesus' disciples don't live legalistically (which is just another way to live according to your flesh). They learn to daily live according to the leading of the Holy Spirit as they follow Lord Jesus in an essential, submitted personal relationship. The Holy Spirit is also referred to in Scripture as the Spirit of the Lord (John 16:12-15). Through discernment of and submission to the Spirit's guidance and correction in their life's situations, true disciples learn to place their trust in Jesus, abide in Him and make the Lord their holy habitation, refuge and Source of life.

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven." Matthew 7:21 NKJV

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. Romans 8:1-8 NKJV [emphasis added]

The Father has seen to it that trials and tests, similar to those described in Lord Jesus' seven letters to the churches in Asia Minor, continue to cleanse, refine and strengthen men, women and children unto His Son Jesus. This divine "baptism with fire" also serves to spiritually separate the true followers of Jesus from the majority of nominal, compromised and "lukewarm" believers that are so numerous today (Isaiah 4:4, Malachi 3:3-4, Dan. 12:10, Matt. 3:11-12, 1 John 1:7, Rev. 7:14, 22:14). Those who overcome the challenges do so in Christ, not in their flesh.

Worldly and compromised Christians choose to not fear God nor do they obey and follow the Lord (Mal. 4:2, Luke 9:35). The "lukewarm," who are being overcome, are lulled into complacency and fail God due to their chronic self-serving choices, self-sufficiency, unbelief and impenitent hearts (Zephaniah 1:12).

Only a resolute remnant out of every generation have learned to put everything aside to follow Jesus as He and the Father desire (Rev. 3:17-19). To "hear what the Spirit says to the churches," is best defined as becoming filled with, taught and led by the Holy Spirit to cultivate a willingness to obey the Lord and His commands, embrace His correction and chastising and repent as necessary to gain Christ (Rom. 8:1-39, Rev. 3:22). The exceptional promises of God only go to the relatively few followers who are triumphant in and through Christ (Rev. 21:7). In the Scriptures, these men and women are referred to as overcomers.

If you have been called of God to go as far and as deep in knowing Jesus as can be attained in this life, you need to strive to live according to God's high standards. This entails seriously loving the truth and learning to consistently live according to the Spirit in submission to Lord Jesus and the will of the Father.

In contrast, human-led, carnal religion presents a "false path" of organizational loyalty, ordinations, titles, rituals, traditions, myths, and laws that are not the truth. (Col. 2:8, 1 Tim. 6:20, 2 Tim 3:1-4:4, 6:1-21). Don't confuse compromised "churchianity" and false leaders with a committed and obedient relationship with the risen Lord (through the guidance and working of the Holy Spirit).

And the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near Me with their mouth and honor Me with their lips but remove their hearts and minds far from Me, and their fear and reverence for Me are a commandment of men that is learned by repetition [without any thought as to the meaning], Isaiah 29:13 AMP

WOE TO the rebellious children, says the Lord, who take counsel and carry out a plan, but not Mine, and who make a league and pour out a drink offering, but not of My Spirit, thus adding sin to sin; Who set out to go down into Egypt, and have not asked Me—to flee to the stronghold of Pharaoh and to strengthen themselves in his strength and to trust in the shadow of Egypt! Therefore shall the strength and protection of Pharaoh turn to your shame, and the refuge in the shadow of Egypt be to your humiliation and confusion. Isaiah 30:1-3 AMP

In the scores of "lukewarm" factions that make up "churchianity," widely-held beliefs (that were drawn from distortions of truth, "bald-faced" lies and false doctrines) have caused hundreds of millions of people to live far beneath their privilege in Christ (Matt. 16:1-12). To love the truth, you are required to avoid or repent from any compromising influences, loyalties, "covenants" or goals that are prevalent in the world and within worldly Christian denominations, organizations, groups and cults (the components of "churchianity") and learn to live according to the Holy Spirit and the Word of God.

There are numerous ways that religious delusions, deceptions and practices counter and undermine an obedient and deeply personal relationship with Lord Jesus. Because "churchianity" relies on carnal reasoning and human authority – denying the Father, Son and Holy Spirit; it is inspired, controlled and inhabited by the anti-Christ spirit and is unyielded to the sovereignty of God (John. 5:23, 1 John. 4:1-6, 2 John. 7-11).

Individuals who are immersed in human-led religion are strongly influenced to live according to pretense and the desires of their flesh which is in opposition to the Word, will and Spirit of God. Collectively and individually, carnal Christians avoid or grieve the Holy Spirit to their shame.

[See Matt. 15:1-20, Rom. 6:12-23, Rom. 7:23, Rom. 8:1-8, Rom. 13:11-14, 1 Cor. 3:1-4, 1 Cor. 6:9-10, 1 Cor. 11:17-19, Gal. 5:16-26, Gal. 6:8, Eph. 2-3, Eph. 5:3, Phil. 3:19, Col. 3:5, 1 Tim. 4:1, 2 Tim. 6:1-21, 2 Peter 2:1, 2:17-22, James 3:14-15, James 4:1-12, 1 John 3:24, 1 John 4:1-6, 1 John 5:1-5, 5:18-20 and 2 John 1-13.]

Judaism and Holy Spirit-led Christianity have their origins in a God-initiated covenant with Abraham, the father of faith (Heb. 11:11). Through their faith in God, the righteous who lived according to the Old Covenant and were obedient in all that He required of them, met Father God’s expectations. But from the time of Abraham to the birth, life and ministry of Jesus, only a minority of Gentile and Jewish people were righteous because of their faith in God and obedience to His holy Word.

Concerning the majority of God's people, there are many references in the Old Testament of Israel behaving like a "whore" and a "prostitute" as the people embraced the false gods and the carnal values of the world around them (examples of God referring to His people in this manner can be found in the books of Ezekiel, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Hosea). Only a remnant from each generation were faithful to God. Hebrews, chapter 11 is an anointed description of those who received God's approval before the age of the Holy Spirit through their faith in God.

From the birth of Christianity to the present time, only a minority of believers have been righteous because of their faith in God and obedience to the Lord's Holy Spirit and commandments. In the book of Revelation, human-led Christianity is referred to as "Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots." Today, participants in the world’s religions and the many worldly Christian factions do not obey the will of Father God nor His New Covenant requirements and are major contributors to the present overall problem.

Religious systems are human-led, "carnal to the core" and demonically-influenced to stand as a diversion and an obstacle between the individual believer and their vital relationship with God. "Lukewarm" Christians are all too willing to substitute human-led religion, carnal leaders, their personal complacency and self-sufficiency for an essential and obedient relationship with Jesus, the Lord.

Nominal believers fail to discern the fact that worldly Christian involvement is a "test" for many of those who are called to seek and apprehend full maturity in Christ (1 Cor. 9:24, Rev. 2:10, 3:11). Lord Jesus has often used the problems and deceptions that are inherent in compromised religious systems as productive refining fires in the lives of His elect – even if carnal religious leaders persecute, torture and kill some of them.

In the gospel accounts, we see that Jesus was preparing His disciples for challenges and persecutions. The first attacks on the early Church were from the Jewish religious leaders who had been envious of Jesus and had Him put to death on a Roman cross (Mark 3:6, 12:13-27, Matthew 22:15-32, Luke 20:20-38, Acts 7:51-8:3).

Since the true Church began on Pentecost in Jerusalem, millions of sincere followers of Jesus have been persecuted and killed by secular and carnal religious people under Satan's influence. Being filled with and led by the Holy Spirit makes followers of Lord Jesus "targets" of the wicked. This should be a factor in choosing to seek and draw close to Lord Jesus, not a reason for remaining uncommited to the Lord, spiritually immature and unfruitful (2 Peter 1:3-11).

Over the centuries, spiritual Babylon has been notorious for shedding the innocent blood of the Lord's bondservants and saints; His elect. Historically, the religious "counterfeits" have tyrannized, attacked and slaughtered groups, families and individuals who are God's people. Man-led religious institutions and factions have used every carnal means imaginable to either undermine, disrupt or annihilate the influence and endeavors of the Holy Spirit and the building up and purifying of the Bride of the Lamb. The Holy Spirit continues to testify to and reveal the Son as He works to bring the Body of Christ to completion (John 14:17).

Revelation was written to the Lord's bondservants, a small number of spiritually mature believers who have thrived throughout the perilous Church age. In the book of Revelation, the Church age (or age of the Holy Spirit) followed by the day of the Lord Jesus (the millennial reign of Jesus on the Earth) are richly and figuratively portrayed for those who have an ear to hear what the Spirit is saying.

Both the books of Daniel and Revelation describe a beast who comes to power, intent on destroying the saints of God. For a period of time it appears this beast succeeds. These two books reveal the Day of the Lord fully dawning and King Jesus and those who are with Him prevailing over evil (Revelation 20:4-6).

The Father's goal has never been to establish a ruling kingdom on the Earth through human effort. Instead, it is clear that He has been preparing and equipping a remnant from each generation to enter, establish and inherit their place in the spiritual kingdom of God. For some, their commitment to Lord Jesus has been sealed with torture and death. The saints of God, who span the centuries, are described in the Scriptures as a great cloud of witnesses (Heb. 12:1).

Kingdoms are defined by rule, authority and submission. The kingdom of God is not religious, but holy and righteous. Kingdom of Heaven rule is only found in and among obedient followers of Jesus who have learned to submit to the sovereignty of Jesus and yield to the will of Father God as the Holy Spirit leads, teaches and refines them. Those who become Lord Jesus' bondservants have abandoned their will to God and live according to the Spirit and not by the letter of the law. They have learned to abide in Christ; no longer governed by their carnal reasoning and motivations.

The spiritual kingdom of God does not require a human-led, religious organization, carnal religious hierarchy, corrupt doctrines, "hot shot" religious leaders, unanointed hirelings, "church" attendance, humble or extravagant "church" facilities and centuries of dead works. In most cases, Jesus' followers are transformed and prepared by the Holy Spirit in spite of worldly Christianity.

This life serves as a refining crucible for those who respond to the Lord's call to follow and obey Him. At the Lord's appearing, Satan will be bound and Jesus will establish His Father's kingdom on the Earth. As King of kings, Jesus and those saints who are raised up in the first resurrection, will rule the nations with a rod of iron.

Satan will be loosed towards the end of the thousand years to deceive and separate the wicked from the righteous. The wicked, who will rally to conquer the Lord and His elect, will be consumed by Father God in a dramatic display of His wrath. Then, one angel will apprehend and cast Satan into the Lake of Fire (see Daniel, chapter two, Malachi 4 and Revelation 19:11-20:10).

After the second resurrection and White Throne Judgment, the Godhead will reign from in and among the Bride, the Lamb's Wife (which is Jerusalem from above) on the new Earth. Only those who have faithfully followed Lord Jesus and have allowed the indwelling Holy Spirit to cleanse and purify them are part of the Bride of Christ (see Rev. 19:1-22:21).

Human-led religious organizations, groups, cults and their self-serving leaders may call themselves Christian, but they are not submitted to the Lord's sovereignty and draw their strength and inspiration from destructive spirits that oppose the will of the Father. Carnal religious leaders are not raising up men and women of God through sanctification by the truth through the work of the Holy Spirit. They are of the world that is ruled by Satan, the deceiver and demonstrate unrestrained human iniquity while claiming to be of God. By their self-serving choices, denial and rejection of the sovereignty of Lord Jesus they are reserving for themselves God's judgment and wrath (Ez. 34:2,8, 10, 1 Peter 5:3, Jude 12).

It is fashionable, in worldly Christianity, to describe the thousands of denominations and sects as "many streams flowing together into one river of God." It sounds spiritual, but it is just more "lipstick for the pig." The apostle Paul (who, as Saul, was an enemy of the Cross before encountering the risen Lord Jesus and repenting) addressed the problem of sectarian divisions that are prevalent in "lukewarm" Christianity (see 1 Cor. 1:1-3:23).

In those same chapters in first Corinthians, the truth about believers relying on their carnal minds is sharply contrasted with desiring and seeking the Mind of Christ, having the deep things of God revealed by the Holy Spirit and placing their faith in God. The former approach is when a believer is disregarding or defying the sovereignty and will of God. The latter way to live before God requires a follower of Lord Jesus to humbly yield their will to God daily and trust Jesus to reveal the mysteries and deep things of God by His Spirit (along with seeking His insight, personal direction and wisdom in the ordinary matters of life).

As the Amplified Bible makes plain, believing in Jesus means to cling to, trust in and rely on Jesus in all things – effectively making Him your refuge and strength. To continue to challenge God by relying on your carnal nature eventually leads to the Father sending you a strong delusion so that you believe a lie because you haven't loved the truth (see 2 Thess. 2:9-12).

Countless "lukewarm" believers have chosen church buildings, religious loyalties, denominational membership, unanointed leaders, services, rituals, classes, programs and social activities over the necessity of becoming the true Church. They may be "born again," but live according to innumerable compromises to the New Covenant, the sovereignty of Lord Jesus and the will of the Father. Like the first century Laodicean congregation, they are neither "cold" nor "hot", they are "lukewarm" and in danger of being forcefully ejected by the Lord (as "puke").

Some of the compromises come from worldly believers' presumptions about faith, the Godhead, the grace of God, the holy Scriptures, the importance and role of the Holy Spirit and the requirements of the will of God for them personally. "Lukewarm" believers may believe that Jesus is real, but reject His call to follow Him as His disciples – never actually submitting to Jesus as their Lord. It is not just what they say, but how they live in response to the grace of God in their lives.

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. 2 Timothy 3:1-7 ESV, [emphasis added]

Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:12-17 ESV, [emphasis added]

Over the centuries, since Jesus ministered publicly, the stage has been set for the "lawless one" to rise up and deceive many. Because of complacency, compromises, carelessness, unbelief, fear, rebellion, indifference and negligence; the majority of contemporary believers have not "held the line" against Satan and sin. In all that matters, they have believed their own carnal counsel and religious and secular liars (and lies) instead of diligently seeking and obeying the Lord. By their poor choices and disregard for the Truth, they have set themselves up for the global evil influence of the "lawless one" of Scripture (Dan. 12:10).

In every generation, a small minority of diligent believers have actually followed and obeyed the Lord Jesus. These saints learned to humble themselves and repent (as often as needed) for the sake of attaining the Prize (Philippians 3:7-17). A remnant of contemporary believers are also striving to honor the Father and Son based on their calling in Christ and choices. In the centuries since the pouring out of the Holy Spirit in Jerusalem (and especially today), the majority of those who have thought of themselves as believers in Jesus have been stumbled by their presumptions and many carnal choices to walk according to their flesh.

The inner life and faith in God of a diligent follower of Jesus is remarkably different from a compromised believer: following Jesus begins with the Lord's personal call to deny yourself, pick up your cross daily and consciously and perseveringly follow Him. To eventually come into unbroken fellowship with Jesus, you need to commit your life to the Lord and cultivate a "dialog with Him" that is humble, obedient, sincere and frequent.

Following Jesus successfully requires your submission to Him personally, the baptism with the Holy Spirit, obedience to the Lord's commands and words, to the will of the Father, a firm allegiance to God and a well-developed prayer life clothed in thankfulness, humility and praise. You must willingly grow up in Christ as Lord Jesus leads, teaches and refines you by the work of the Holy Spirit.

Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus will reveal, examine and judge your thoughts, values, operating principles, will, ambitions, aims, desires, motives and the intentions of your heart as you choose to submit to Him as Lord of your life. Divine judgment means the Spirit bringing the hidden things into the light of God so that you can choose to let go of all that is not founded in Christ and desire from Jesus what is holy, righteous and true through your relationship with Him.

The life of Christ within you and your first-hand knowledge of Jesus grow incrementally as you choose to yield your will to the will of God and as the anointed word of God is received as seed, nurtured and grown successfully in the "good ground" of your life. Spiritual cycles of preparing the ground, sowing, watering, growing, cultivating and reaping are repeated in the life of all who diligently follow the Lord Jesus and place their faith in Him.

Vessels of Honor and Dishonor

Jesus purifies the inner life of the vessels that love Him to make them fit for God as a living and holy dwelling place.The Lord's rebukes and chastening are a necessary part of this process. As in the refining of precious metals, the ore must be discovered, mined, processed, crushed, subjected to high temperatures and purified to extract what is desired. The pure and precious metal is then artistically crafted by the Master for His intended purposes. Hammering, burnishing, engraving and polishing of the vessel may certainly be involved. Spiritual cleansing and purifying is a necessary work of the Holy Spirit in the inner nature and life of a diligent follower of Lord Jesus.

In contrast, religious hypocrites and imposters side-step the spiritual cleansing and refining of God while willfully perfecting their "act." They may clean up the "outside of the cup" by modifying their behavior, but resist what the Father desires and remain "dead" in their inner man. Carnal choices to sow to their flesh reap spiritual death and its consequences. Hirelings, false ministry and false brothers and sisters in Christ abound in this time of great darkness and deception (Matt. 7:21-27). True spiritual discernment in matters of Christian fellowship correspond with your commitment and resolve to follow and obey Lord Jesus.

Worldly believers and unbelievers alike are quick to assume that the religious realm that they can perceive is of God and either embrace what they see or reject it because of the hypocracy. They most often place the credit (or blame) for human-led religion and ungodly religious imposters on the Godhead and most often do not recover from their error. The challenge for them is to get past blaming and hating God for what others have falsely done in His Name.

God actively seeks to restore believers who have been "burned" by carnal religious people, corrupt doctrines and erroneous beliefs, but their "healing" requires of them sincere repentance and then making and keeping a strong personal commitment to Lord Jesus. Each must learn to live according to their faith in God and the anointed Word of God while submitting to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Becoming dependent on Lord Jesus' counsel, instruction and sovereignty in the many aspects of their life may require much suffering, even if some of the "wounds" were self-inflicted.

If you have placed anyone or anything between yourself and the will of God for you, being thoroughly "scorched" as a consequence may be a valuable "life lesson." Your initial poor choice may have been because of your ignorance, presumption, rebellion, wishful thinking, willfulness or immaturity. Seek the Lord and let Him turn this destructive experience into something that refines, purifies, matures and "fire-hardens" you for God's purposes. Don't waste your trial(s) and suffering because you blame God for having been deceived.

To become "hot" instead of "lukewarm" towards the Lord, you will have to stop being led around by your darkened mind, self-will, fears, ungodly lusts and desire for the companionship and approval of others. Sincerely seek Jesus and follow Him. Yield your will to the will of God as it presents itself. If the Lord leads you back to choices and decisions that you made that went against the will of the Father for your life – repent and resolve to cling to Jesus as His indwelling Spirit guides, teaches, corrects and transforms you into Jesus' image and likeness! It may not be a "quick work," but is that a good reason to attempt to take self-serving and self-led "shortcuts?" Do you want to finish this life before God on the "broad and easy way to destruction?" (Matt. 22:8, 2 Thess. 1:5, 11, 1 Cor. 15:50-58, 2 Peter 3:14, Gal. 6:9)

A common problem in "compromised" Christianity is the exploitation and abuse of men, women and children called to love God by obeying Jesus. "Churchianity" is big business and like every worldly enterprise, the system and culture are tailored to benefit the financial "bottom line" of the organization and its executives' compensation. Believers support local churches and religious groups with their time, money, labor and loyalty because they are repeatedly told or mistakenly assume that they are in accordance with the will of God. Loyalty to a worldly denomination, religious cult, carnal religious leader(s), a family member or friend should never be valued above Lord Jesus and His sovereignty in your life.

False religious leaders "talk a good talk" as they go to great lengths to manipulate, deceive, fleece and intimidate those whom they seek to control. Following Jesus, without layers of carnal "religious leaders" and compromises to the Word of God, conflicts and interferes with the subversive goals and lucrative income of the "bottom feeders" of spiritual Babylon.

Strong Christians have a "track record" of trusting Jesus and obediently following Him. They often have the opposition and persecution of the "religious compromisers" to contend with as they move from being part of the problem to becoming part of God's Son and Solution. Some face enormous pressure from family and friends. Serious opposition from family members isn't just some words in the Scriptures, it's a promise from the Lord (Matthew 10:16-39).

Father God’s expectation for believers never includes the ungodly emphasis on denominational and group allegiances, presumptuous "fellowship" (assembling together with people who don't actually follow and obey Lord Jesus), making "converts" (instead of disciples of the Lord), religious "dead works," willful self-seeking, truth-denying seminaries, unanointed "professional" clergy, organizational hirelings, worldly compromises, deep political involvement, abuse, the worship of Mammon, blatant omissions and misinterpretations of what is written in the Scriptures, shameless slander and lies.

The Holy Spirit may operate at times, within compromised religious environments, but He is certainly not directing, enabling or condoning any carnal religious system, organization, group, cult or leader and the mythology, fallacies, lies and deceptions they profess and market. Contrary to what self-directed religious authorities say, you can fulfill Father God's will for your life and become part of the true Church outside of worldly religious institutions, sects, church groups, fellowships or cults, but you have to learn to diligently follow and obey Jesus as if it were more important than anything else. All Scripture is of God, but carnal interpretations of the ways, Word and will of God continue to deceive and stumble careless and self-serving believers who don't love the truth (John 3:16-21, 2 Timothy 3:12-17, 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12).

As you prayerfully read the book of Revelation, you can see in the spiritual types of the two women (the Mother of Prostitutes and Earth's abominations and the Bride of the Lamb) which are also described spiritually as two cities (spiritual Babylon and the New Jerusalem) – the eventual outcome of all of those who are counted with the overcomers (New Jerusalem, the wife of the Lamb) and the unbelievers and carnal believers who fail the Lord and are overcome (spiritual Babylon, outer darkness and the Lake of Fire).

Since John was anointed to "see" and record the Revelation of Jesus Christ and the Lord's letters to the churches (at the end of the first century), the problems and challenges of each generation have helped shape men and women of God into the true Church while separating the numerous "goats" and the "tares" into its influential "counterfeit" (spiritual Babylon). (See Revelation 2:1 to 3:22, 17:7-18 and 21:1-27).

Through the Holy Spirit, Father God continues to call to His people to come out of Babylon the Great so that they don’t share in her sins and punishment (Rev. 18:2-5). God's people, who come out of the Harlot, must then submit to the Lord to purify themselves of their spiritually adulterous natures. The Spirit of God continues to conduct "rescue missions" within compromised Christian populations in an effort to reach individual believers who have become "lukewarm." If that includes you, will you choose to "hear" what the Spirit has to say and then obey God and repent?

Removing yourself from man-led religion or avoiding it entirely doesn't ensure that you will choose to faithfully follow Lord Jesus and live according to the Holy Spirit. The Lord said that narrow was the gate and difficult was the way that leads to life, and that few would find it (Matt. 7:13-14). That is certainly not the message of worldly Christian organizations, groups and leaders. Carnal Christians function according to the same anti-Christ spirit that guided the Laodicean church and the other examples of rebellion against God that the New Covenant Scriptures depict.

The Holy Spirit’s message is for each believer to place their faith in God, choose to walk according to the Spirit and learn to interact with and obey Jesus as their Shepherd and Lord (a good definition for Jesus' command to "be zealous and repent"). Only by relying on God in this way will the faithful, who are becoming part of the Bride of the Lamb, make themselves ready for their Beloved.

Successful spiritual transformation is the result of allowing the Spirit to sow the anointed word of God in your life through faith and reaping the divine, resurrected life of Jesus as each aspect of your Adamic nature is dealt with on God-ordained, personal crosses. Your submission to and interactions with Jesus and the Holy Spirit require attentiveness, commitment and perseverance.

You cooperate with Lord Jesus and His Spirit as you daily follow Him on the difficult way of the Lord. The Holy Spirit will comfort, teach, guide and counsel faithful followers of Jesus according to the Word and will of God. The Spirit of Truth provides divine interpretations of the Scriptures and genuine spiritual discernment as individuals are led to apply the Word to their lives (according to the will of the Father and genuine godly wisdom). Humble yourself and ask the Lord for the godly wisdom that you desperately need to overcome the challenges of this life (James 1:2-8).

Christian Fellowship and Ministry

Diligently walking the difficult and narrow way of the Lord while interacting with the unbelieving inhabitants of this fallen world is dangerous. You are in the world, but not of it. Relying on your own reasoning concerning all human interactions and Christian fellowship is reckless. When you do so, you are walking according to your flesh. (See 2 Tim. 3:1-9).

As was true throughout the Old and New Testament Scriptures, the hazards inherent in corrupt, man-led religion are formidable. In worldly Christianity, Satan is constantly placing unbelievers and compromised believers in positions of administration, leadership and influence. A religious denomination, sect, cult, group, leader, relative or individual may be gathering in their own name (carnal nature and character) which is an affront to God and gives the enemy plenty of territory in which to maneuver.

Today, it is common for religious imposters in local assemblies to attempt to "wound or murder" the reputations of true men and women of God through slander, intimidation, false witness and "spiritual sorcery" (spiritual curses and willful, unanointed prayer). The Lord repeatedly tells his elect (in every generation), who are attacked and martyred for His name's sake, to be patient. God's wrath will be poured out and the persecutors will be dealt with by the Lord who proclaims that vengeance is His. Did the Lord lead you into toxic relationships and fellowship or have your carnal choices led to your present troubles?

Becoming as prayerful and careful as the early saints were during their time of persecution may be the way to live before God today. Lord Jesus' sovereignty and approval has to become far more important than any earthly relationship that you may value. Choose Jesus as Lord over all of your relationships and interactions with others. Make being led by the Holy Spirit, instead of what comes naturally (walking according to your flesh), your prayerful way of life. If you are a true disciple of Lord Jesus, the following pertain to you:

  • If you assemble with others, whom you assume are true disciples of the Lord (based on their claims or your carnal reasoning), you are asking for trouble. There are many hypocrites and imposters who are committed to their self-will, carnal ambitions and erroneous beliefs. Your "fellowship" with them may be toxic or hazardous to you and any for whom you are responsible. Be prayerful about anybody with whom you interact and diligently obey the Spirit's governance and guidance.
  • Some believers that you encounter may be uncompromising as they grow from an infant in Christ (new born from above) to the level of spiritual maturity where the Lord calls them to follow Him as His disciples. Of those who are called, a few choose to follow Him further as the Holy Spirit makes Jesus their Lord. Later, as following Lord Jesus becomes costly to their Adamic nature and self-rule, a majority of followers "draw the line" and stop going forward and upward in Christ.

Unless they repent, from the moment that a disciple chooses to stop following Lord Jesus, they are a compromised believer and closely resemble the individuals in the Laodicean assembly (‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’). Once a believer becomes spiritually compromised, their meaningful fellowship with diligent disciples of the Lord usually ends.

Each misguided believer may eventually repent, but you may not be around to see them change. Before assuming otherwise, inquire of the Lord concerning your role in helping another person "see the light and repent." Lord Jesus may not want you to open your mouth or act on your presumptions. Obey Him.

  • Interacting with compromised Christians (those who at one time committed themselves to following the Lord and turned back) is challenging to you and to them because of their self-serving choices. They are usually busy justifying their willfulness and don’t appreciate anyone living in submission to Lord Jesus and to His commands. Their guilt may lead to them waging "slander campaigns" against your honorable witness.

  • Interacting with false Christians, who are on the broad way that leads to destruction, is very treacherous because of the deceptions and lies that they "hold dear" and the demonic activity of the enemy that influences and controls them. Associating with these individuals is like walking in Abel’s sandals and having Cain for a brother. You may see them as siblings in God's family while they seek to kill you (or your reputation) because of your faith, obedience and allegiance to Lord Jesus.

  • Some congregations and worldly Christian groups are "playgrounds" and "assignments" for occult practitioners and satanists. Believers, who primarily walk according to their flesh, don't have the same spiritual protections as those who habitually walk according to the Holy Spirit. Because they lack true spiritual discernment and godly wisdom, nominal Christians are easy targets for the wicked.
  • Beware of "hirelings" and false ministers who emphasize unity of the Spirit and subversive Scriptural arguments to attempt to get you to submit to their "spiritual leadership." It is a common tactic that many use to forward their agendas, reinforce their unanointed authority and "fatten their pocketbooks." The Word of God, separate from an anointing of the Holy Spirit, can be twisted and misinterpreted to justify anything by carnal man and women.

     

Then we will no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching, by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit. But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into Him who is the head —Christ. From Him the whole body, fitted and knit together by every supporting ligament, promotes the growth of the body for building up itself in love by the proper working of each individual part. Ephesians 4:14-15 HCSV

Remember, we are at war. The true Christian life should be lived as though you are "on a mission" and are trying to survive behind "enemy lines." If you follow Lord Jesus faithfully, you are equipped and strengthened in Christ so that you can stand – not as a defenseless child, but as a well prepared warrior in the Lord (Eph. 5:15-17, 6:10-20). True spiritual discernment and disiplined obedience to the guidance of the Holy Spirit are essential in every aspect of life.

Study and show yourself approved. Pray to have Lord Jesus raise your standards and goals to the ones that the Father has set for you. As you choose to yield your self-rule and make Jesus your Lord, you may have to let go of the things that you value that have their source in the carnality of compromised Christianity and the insanity and iniquity of a world in darkness. Grow up in Christ!

The New Covenant Scriptures contain many warnings about false ministers and false brothers and sisters. You should take these and the Biblical warnings about complacency very seriously. It may help you to read Psalm ninety-one and pay particular attention to the "fine print" – those things stated in the psalm that are the Lord's requirements for the individual desiring His protection.

You should never place anyone or anything between yourself and Lord Jesus. As you learn to walk according to the will of Father God, the Holy Spirit and Lord Jesus will teach you and assemble you together with true disciples and anointed equipping ministers as needed. This means that you may be lonely at times for fellowship with diligent followers of the Lord. Use those times of barren fellowship as an opportunity to learn to humbly become more intimately acquainted with Jesus and draw closer to Him. Lord Jesus is never any distance from you, but you may not always realize that fact until you have grown past your "spiritual adolescence."

Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk—not as unwise people but as wise— making the most of the time, t because the days are evil. So don’t be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. And don’t get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless actions, but be filled by the Spirit: Ephesians 5:15-18 HCSV

"Half-baked," compromised or false ministers and carnal Christians will consciously and unconsciously seek to damage your personal relationship with Lord Jesus as Satan’s forces influence and effectively work through them. You cannot trust something as important as Christian fellowship to your carnal reasoning. Your presumptions and lack of true spiritual discernment can cost you your calling in Christ and your "crown." Those in your sphere of influence may also pay dearly for your carelessnes or willfulness in these matters.

Where just two or three followers are gathered in Jesus’ holy Name and character – He is in their midst. This may be the type of assembling with the saints that God has in mind for you. Resolve to only gather with those whom Lord Jesus draws together by His Spirit. The early Church was birthed, led, enabled and empowered by the Holy Spirit. This continues to be the case with individual believers (and those whom the Holy Spirit assembles together) who are learning to become victorious in Christ.

Consistently anointed equipping ministers and faithful bothers and sisters in Christ will strengthen your relationship with Lord Jesus as the Holy Spirit works through them (2 Cor. 4:1-18, 5:11-21, 6:1-18, 7:1-16, 10:8, 13:1-10). You can only have true unity of the Spirit if you are submitted and obedient to the guidance and sovereignty of the Holy Spirit and if the same is true with whomever the Holy Spirit unites you.

Godliness through Christ is a spiritual standard that is far above human good. There may be times that Lord Jesus will use godly followers of His like "medical emergency room personnel, physicians or surgeons" in your life. If you have a high call in Christ on your life, the Lord may choose to use His mature followers to give you encouragement, instruction, correction, rebuke and "inside information" concerning the ways, words and will of God (2 Cor. 13:10, Titus 1:13, 2:15, 1 Tim. 5:20).

Don't take faithful and anointed men and women of God for granted or judge them unfavorably because they don't fit your carnal image of how the elect of God should appear or act. Lord Jesus may have clothed them in humility or have "hidden them in plain sight." As with everything pertaining to life, seek the Lord in these matters and obey Him.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV

If any of you is deficient in wisdom, let him ask of the giving God [Who gives] to everyone liberally and ungrudgingly, without reproaching or faultfinding, and it will be given him. James 1:5 AMP

Try the spirits and inquire of the Lord concerning God's will for you and diligently follow Him. Resolve that you will be prayerful and obedient to Lord Jesus and He will safeguard and guide you. Humbly ask Lord Jesus to counsel you concerning every aspect of Christian fellowship and ministry, then, diligently obey what He reveals to you. As you may have realized, your personal relationship, fellowship and interactions with Lord Jesus may require more attention and focus as you grow in Christ. To grow in your personal knowledge of Him, may require you to walk with Him through many difficulties and challenges.

Inquire of the Lord concerning your interactions and relationship with all other human beings and seek Him for "updates" in case anything has changed since your last "inquiry." Lord Jesus is your Source of godly wisdom, understanding, knowledge and much more. If you faithfully seek the Lord for His insight concerning your walk before Him and about those with whom you interact, you will succeed where many others have failed. Remember that receiving divine insight on a matter or about a person(s) is not the same as permission to counsel or rebuke others, but it may be a cue to earnestly pray about the problem(s) or person(s).

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. Ephesians. 4:11-16 ESV

A "half-baked" man or woman serving in Christian ministry is often genuinely called to equip the saints of God for ministry, but is spiritually immature when compared to the standard that Lord Jesus requires (Father God's holy standard, not "mother church's" carnal standards). Because of double-mindedness through compromises, immature equipping ministers' words and witness are unreliable. This instability often confuses those in their sphere of influence.

Later in their life, if a spiritually "half-baked" person (with a call to serve Jesus as an equipping minister) obediently walks according to the Holy Spirit and learns to consistently produce godly fruit from their connection to the Vine (Lord Jesus), they may actually become a strong, anointed equipping minister who helps the saints of God grow up into Christ. Unfortunately, the majority of those who begin as disciples of the Lord ultimately fail because of their self-serving choices. Individuals called by God to become equipping ministers are especially vulnerable because to whom more is given, more is required.

The same things can be said about immature believers and "unrefined" followers of the Lord. They have great potential in Christ, but have much to overcome before their double-mindedness and carnality are sufficiently dealt with and crucified by the Holy Spirit. Very few persist to where they have effectively put off the old man and put on the new.

Becoming transformed into the image and likeness of Jesus is a thorough inner work of God involving an incremental death and burial of a disciple's Adamic nature and the progressive resurrection of the life of Christ in its place. Following Jesus is a serious commitment. It is neither the superficial religious facade demonstrated by hypocrites nor something that should be avoided in favor of false doctrines and carnal presumptions.

"Half-baked, 'lukewarm" and compromised equipping ministers are like "older children" or spiritual "teenagers" taking care of younger "children" (immature believers). They see themselves as more than they really are in Christ. Spiritual "juveniles" and "adolescents" are susceptible to underestimating the level to which Father God desires His elect to grow and mature.

Spiritual immaturity isn't a "crime," but if your "arrested" spiritual development is because of your self-will, you are fully responsible for the consequences of your choices. Far too many, who have reached spiritual adolescence and young adulthood in Christ, will reject the Lord's further instruction, correction and chastening as it begins in earnest (and the Father's "pruning") and will stop following Jesus and therefore stop growing in Christ. Some rebel and go as far as ceasing from believing in Jesus altogether (Heb. 6:4-7).

A man or woman who has stopped growing into the image and likeness of Jesus may continue to minister, at times with an anointing, but personally they are living beneath their privilege in Christ. At best, the sum of their testimony is compromised because they chose to retain their self-rule at the expense of becoming a faithful overcomer according to the will of God. If they don't repent and seek Lord Jesus' forgiveness, the compromised remain overcome by their poor choices and carnal Adamic nature.

There is a considerable interval from the moment that you are born from above to when you realize that your Adamic nature is opposed at every level to the sovereignty of God in your life, but it is not a reason to panic or frustrate yourself with futile attempts to modify your behavior. The grace of God, as it pertains to your redemption, has provided the Blood of Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins and the Cross of Christ as an instrument of death that can be embraced as the Holy Spirit deals with your sin-producing human nature. Conviction, repentance, forgiveness and resurrection are repeated regularly in the life of a faithful follower of Lord Jesus.

There is an even larger gap between the time that you commit your life to Jesus as His disciple and the point where the Holy Spirit has dealt thoroughly with your inner man and made Jesus your Lord (to the Father's satisfaction). Being conformed to the inward image and likeness of Jesus is a divine work with which you cooperate daily. The milestones of spiritual maturity are often best recognized in the "rear-view mirror" as you prayerfully reflect on your life before God.

If Lord Jesus has been using you to help equip His saints for ministry, instead of seeing yourself as "having arrived" at a spiritual summit, you may need to inquire of the Lord for His perspective ("and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked"). You may have often experienced the anointing of the Holy Spirit as a necessary part of your "schooling" in Christ, but you may still be far from yielding and then abandoning your will to the will of God in all that matters.

The "upper-level" courses in the school of the Spirit will deal with your vanity and spiritual pride. At this greater stage of spiritual transformation, there are many more "dropouts" than there are "graduates" – followers of Jesus who embrace the Cross as it is applied to their inflated image of themselves ("As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore, be zealous and repent.").

In contrast, "churchianity" requires men and women to submit to unanointed training and preparation for "lukewarm" service and that makes them almost totally unfit for true, anointed equipping ministry. Succeeding and moving up the "corporate ladder" in a religious organization or group is not the result of a strong connection to the Vine nor is it evidence of God's approval. It is merely more of the "ways of the world" expressed in a carnal religious environment. Compromised clergy and laity have been immersed in the "counterfeit" instead of deeply experiencing the "real thing" that comes from faithfully following Jesus with conviction and conforming to His "game plan" for their lives.

God's requirements for preparing, commissioning and anointing equipping ministers is vigorous, thorough and unique for each individual. Consistently anointed equipping ministers have submitted to Father God's repeated "pruning" and have been zealous concerning Jesus to make Him Lord in the many areas of their lives. This is not to infere that any mature equipping minister has walked with the Lord without error, mistakes and failings. What is true of each is that they have become "quick to repent" and deeply humbled over time.

Lord Jesus reserves His deeper callings and greater anointings for those who are faithful to Him through many trials, tests, successes and failures. Lord Jesus highly values a well-tested personal loyalty to Himself and will use "extreme measures" to cultivate that quality in the life of His elect. A mature saint's faith in God and testimony in Christ is "fire-hardened." The Lord may invest decades in preparing one of His best before using them publicly. Lord Jesus reserves some of His saints for Himself alone. They abide in Him as "living spiritual treasures" and are hidden from the surrounding world and worldly believers.

Those whom I [dearly and tenderly] love, I tell their faults and convict and convince and reprove and chasten [I discipline and instruct them]. So be enthusiastic and in earnest and burning with zeal and repent [changing your mind and attitude]. Revelation 3:19 AMP

We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28 HCSB

The above Scriptures reveal that even a diligent disciple's failings can serve to strengthen them in their relationship with the Lord Jesus – it comes down to the intent of their heart towards God and the degree to which they yield and abandon their will to the will of the Father. The value that a disciple places on Lord Jesus' instruction, correction and chastising and their ability and willingness to repent quickly are integral to their fulfilling their purpose in Christ. Loving God and obedience to God are inseparable and are usually learned through the things that a saint suffers.

Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked — I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Revelation 3:17-19 NKJV

A trait of a spiritually immature and "lukewarm" believer is the casual manner in which they approach the Christian life. They have either been "poisoned" by worldly religion's lies and deceptions or have given their carnal minds "free rein" concerning their salvation and personal relationship with Jesus. By failing to live according to the New Covenant, they demonstrate that they have been overcome by their spiritual ignorance, presumptions, arrogance and gross negligence.

A "lukewarm" believer, as defined in the Lord's letter to the Laodiceans, is "thickly insulated" from the reality of their wretched spiritual condition, the truth of God and intimate fellowship with Jesus. The Laodicean overcomers had to become zealous about Jesus, choose to "receive" the Lord's rebukes, embrace His chastising and repent – while "fasting" from being led by their carnal nature. Because of today's prevailing spiritual climate, it would be wise for a follower of the Lord to assume that becoming "lukewarm" towards Lord Jesus comes all too easily and that they need to inquire of the Lord regularly concerning their spiritual condition.

Conquering the world and its values, your rebellious human nature and the devil and his deceptions is a strong, reoccurring theme of the gospel of the kingdom of God. This can only be accomplished in and through Christ. In the self-serving realm of "churchianity," overcoming in Christ is not emphasized or it is carnally defined so "lukewarm" believers remain "comfortably overcome."

In your commitment to and relationship with Lord Jesus, are you "lukewarm" or "cold" instead of "hot?" The choice before you is to repent and overcome in Christ or reject what the Lord has been trying to communicate to you and remain conquered. You may have a strong reliance on compromised religious leaders, other "lukewarm" Christians and your carnal flesh that dulls your ability to "hear" and obey Jesus. In this "life or death" matter, the conviction of the Holy Spirit should not be "quenched" nor should the Lord's timely counsel in His letters to the seven churches be ignored (and all of His commands and exhortations in the rest of the Scriptures).

If the Holy Spirit has been revealing your spiritual "wretchedness, poverty, nakedness and blindness," embrace the truth of what He reveals and humbly repent and seek the Lord's forgiveness. Resolve to cooperate and obey Lord Jesus as if your spiritual life depended on it. As you seek God's forgiveness, pray for an appropriate fear of the Lord for the time you have remaining in this life.

The things that Jesus commands you to buy from Him will not be obtained through man-led religion or by any self-directed efforts. This includes all carnal assumptions or clever reasoning on your part. You acquire godly things from Lord Jesus personally by committing yourself to follow Him and by learning to "hear" and obey the true Shepherd's voice over your self-will (self-direction, self-sufficiency, selfishness, vanity, fears, personal ambitions, pride, presumptions, agendas, etc.).

Weigh the "costs," determine to "pay the price" and then strive to make your personal connection with Jesus progressively stronger through your faith in God and daily obedience to the Spirit's guidance. Strive every day to "fast" from walking according to your flesh.

Seek the Lord diligently concerning how to proceed. You will always be able to find reassurance and justification for a "cold" or "lukewarm" approach to the Christian life from compromised believers, carnal religious leaders and your own Adamic nature. These sources of carnal reasoning may, at times, sound "spiritual," but are of the flesh and not of the Spirit. Seek the Lord while He may be found and obey Him!

Godly spiritual discernment and divine wisdom are your "life-line" in this fallen world. Lord Jesus is your Source of help, protection and strength, but only as you seek Him out, obey Him and daily "follow hard" after Him. Yes, you may stumble and fall many times while learning to have unbroken fellowship with the Lord. Jesus is the Way, Truth and Life. Seek Lord Jesus early and consistently. During you waking hours, learn to practice His Presence. Finish your day in close fellowship with Lord Jesus. Then, begin again with a prayerful resolve to be found in Him as He and the Father desire.

To conquer or overcome, you will need to rely on Lord Jesus' character and nature – His godly integrity and Presence. You must stop relying on your faith in your own abilities or, conversely, your crippling unbelief because of your weaknesses and fears. The value you place on the involvement and sovereignty of Jesus in your life determines the outcome of your deliverance, healing and eventual victory.

The end of the age of the Holy Spirit (the Church age), the time in which we live, demands a heightened spiritual vigilance by all believers, especially those who are committed to follow Jesus and to be counted with the Lord’s overcomers. Whether Father God determined that you were to produce hundred, sixty or thirty fold of the life of Christ, the divine test is how you personally respond to the love, mercy and grace of God in the time that you are given.

The "zealousness" that is exhibited by some carnal Christians is presumptuous and independent of the leading and power of the Holy Spirit. These individuals are not following Lord Jesus and habitually act in rebellion to His counsel, will and sovereignty. Their passion for human-led religion, self-direction and willfulness may place them in opposition to Lord Jesus and His true disciples.

Think of Saul's (the apostle Paul) self-righteousness as a Pharisee and zealousness in persecuting the early Church (Acts 9:1-30, Phil. 3:1-11). Before his encounter with Jesus, Saul was true to his religious beliefs and opposed to the Lord and His people. Later, after his dramatic encounter with the Lord, Paul counted his past, his standing as a Jew and considerable training as a Pharisee as dung. He spent the time from his conversion to the end of his life striving to know Jesus in the deepest way possible, sharing in His suffering and fulfilling the will of God for his life through a submitted relationship with Lord Jesus.

The "lukewarm" spiritual disorder discussed in this essay is a global and pervasive problem. It is the weak spiritual condition of sub-normal Christians everywhere. If you are also afflicted, inquire of the Lord to see if the privilege to repent is open to you. If so, buy from Lord Jesus the gold of God's nature, the white garments of His righteousness and a love of the truth that will heal your spiritual blindness.

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. Revelation 3:20 NKJV

It is interesting that the above Scripture and solution is addressed to the individual ("if anyone hears My voice") and not to the group (the entire assembly in Laodicea). If you are presently walking as a god-fearing overcomer, you are vigorously urged to continue in the Lord's strength. Your daily encounters, interactions and "conversation" with Lord Jesus are vital to your spiritual health. A personal zealousness for Jesus, faith in and reliance on Him and your frequent fellowship with the Lord (as you respond to His knock, invite Him in and "sit at table" with Him daily) are indispensable to successfully becoming victorious in Christ. (See Luke 6:46-49 and Matt. 7:21-27).

If you continue to ignore the Lord's knocking and refuse to open the door in response to His voice, eventually, you will find that your opportunity to repent and have close fellowship with Jesus has ended. Lord Jesus is merciful and longsuffering, but if you refuse to recognize and take responsibility for your "lukewarm" spiritual condition, you will be "vomited out of His mouth."

If you are called to follow the Lord, commit your life to Jesus anew and allow the Holy Spirit to raise you up to normal Christianity. This will require the baptism with the Holy Spirit, an obedient disciple's lifestyle of humility, diligence, prayer, repentance and a strong connection to Jesus Himself through a well developed faith in God and a persevering loyalty to your true King.

You may presently be weak in your reliance on the Lord so fervently pray and ask Jesus to make you a man or woman in whom He will later be very pleased. Persist in your commitment of seeking Jesus with your whole heart, become quick to repent and you will be victorious in Him. Jesus is Father God's only Solution. Confront you complacency and excuses and obediently overcome in Christ to apprehend Lord Jesus and your inheritance in the eternal realm of God's kingdom.

Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years. Revelation 20:6 ESV

The Church

The true Church isn't a man-controlled organization with buildings, a corporate hierarchy with "fleeced" members who are fed "the company line" instead of the purity of the truth of God (anointed by the Spirit of Truth). The Lord's Church is made up of a man here, a woman there and a child somewhere else who are submitted to Jesus by their faith in God and who are becoming a spiritually living part of Lord Jesus Himself (His true Body in the Earth). They are spiritually separated from the rest of humanity and humanistic "churchianity" by their obedient personal relationship with Jesus. It can be said of them that they are in the world but not of it and are spiritual pilgrims in this life who will inherit the kingdom of God in the next.

You don’t attend the true Church – you walk according to the Spirit of God and become vitally connected to the Head (Jesus). Your obedience to Lord Jesus and His commands (and the things that He speaks to your heart) have to be embraced daily through personal interactions and a growing faith in Him. As you walk the difficult way of the Lord that few find, you grow in your personal knowledge of Jesus and become part of His true Church.

The important things of God are not perceived with your biological senses, they are spiritually discerned through the Holy Spirit. Consider Peter's exchange with Jesus where he was praised because Father God had revealed to him who Jesus actually was and then the rebuke "Get behind Me Satan!" when Peter drew from his carnal motives and reasoning to speak against the will of the Father for Jesus' life (Matt. 16:13-23 and Mark 8:27-33). This is a good example of how you can be spiritually-minded one moment and carnally-minded the next. At this point, Peter was "a work in progress." Later, he was broken and made whole in Christ.

From some of His children, Father God requires much more than from the others. Ignorance in this area lead some to sell their spiritual inheritance cheaply as did Esau. Other careless believers foolishly allow corrupt people to steal their crown. Collectively, because of their long-term disregard for sound doctrine, true shepherds and faithful watchman (both men and women), the corrupt values of this world, the "wolves," false ministry and great numbers of false brothers and sisters have dominated the "Outer Court" of God's spiritual temple on Earth. This raises questions about the condition of the "Holy Place" and "Holy of Holies" realms of the Body of Christ (Rev. 11:1-2).

Were the souls who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God taking Lord Jesus' offer to lose their life because of Him to its conclusion? Did these overcomers go further than just yielding their will to the will of the Father? Have some walked in Jesus' "footsteps" as they abandon themselves to God as Jesus had done to become the First-born from the dead? In this manner, did they lose their heads (their self-sufficiency, self-determination, self-will and self-rule) to gain the Head of the Body, Jesus? Presently, are you losing your head for the testimony of Jesus and for the Word of God? (See Rev. 6:9, 11:7, 12:11, 12:17, Dan. 7:21, Rev. 13:10, 14:1-20, 15:1-4, 16:5-7, 16:15, 17:14, 18:20, 18:24, 19:1-21 and 20:1-6).

Even in this time of great spiritual darkness and deception, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are raising up mature sons (men and women) who will share in the Lord’s suffering and inherit all things with Jesus (Rom. 8:12-17). The Lord’s great promises and positions of shared leadership are only for the faithful victors from each generation. Individually, the elect of God undergo many challenges, tests and trials that serve as a fire baptism that refines them until they fulfill all that Father God requires of them. Their lifetimes in the spiritual "war zone," that we call Earth, are preparation and qualifying for the first resurrection. These faithful overcomers have continued to be, throughout the true Church’s history, a very small minority of those who call themselves by Jesus' holy name (Rev. 2:10-11, 6:9-11, 7:1-17, 12:11, 20:6).

The Scriptures reveal a diversity of rewards and punishments for all believers based on their works; their personal obedience and disobedience to Lord Jesus and to His commands. Everyone not raised in the first resurrection, who live and die prior to the Lord’s appearing, will be raised from death in the second resurrection and come before the Great White Throne of God for judgment. Each individual, believer or unbeliever, will be rewarded or punished based on what they have done in this life. Those who have overcome what Father God had determined for them personally will be given a crown of life and will not be hurt by the second death, the lake of fire (Rev. 2:8-11 and 20:7-15, 21:8).

Having your name written in the book of Life is of the greatest importance (see Revelation 20:11-15). Some of humanity never had their names entered in God's important book. Others, who have tasted of the life that is only found in Christ and rebelled, have had their names removed from the book of Life (Heb. 6:4-12). Because of the consequences for having your name removed from the book of Life, this matter should be at the core of your fear of the Lord. Being void of the fear of God seems to be at the heart of the reprehensible spiritual condition described in the Lord's letter to the Laodiceans.

Is this a matter that you should earnestly take before the Lord?

— Terry E. Manning

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Revelatiion 3:22 NKJV
 

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