Rise Up & Make a Stand for Jesus

Pastor’s Pen

Christ empowers churches persecuted because of His Name

If you are a visitor here today, welcome  Please stay after the service and share some lunch with us.

Today we are up to chapter 2 of the Book of Revelation.

John is exiled on the island of Patmos because of his testimony about Jesus Christ; so he is suffering persecution by the Roman Empire. He receives a vision from the Lord, and part of that vision was a command to write down words from Christ to be sent to the 7 churches in modern day Turkey. We are looking at the second letter today addressed to the church in Smyrna. Out of the 7 churches it is only the Smyrna church and the church in Philadelphia that Christ has only encouragement for. These 2 churches He does not convict of sin. Why? Well it’s because they chose not to compromise their faith when persecution came. We live in a world where there is more and more persecution against the Christian church and NZ is not exempt. Crusades like we did in Fiji this year where people just come because they are wanting to find out about Christianity are not tolerated in NZ. Bibles in schools-out! Godly prayers in parliament -out! The church in NZ, although not obviously persecuted like the churches in Pakistan, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan and Afghanistan, are nevertheless under attack. Secularism, commercialism, individualism and self-pleasure are Satan’s deception in the West. So let’s be a church that refuses to compromise our faith. Let us make a habit of meeting together EVERY Sunday.

Hebrews 10:25 says “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another, and all the more as we see the Day approaching. “

It’s time to rise up church and make a stand for Jesus. No compromise!

When we decide to do that, watch the power of the Spirit move among us