Dear Grace Family,
We have been studying through the 7 churches in Revelation 2-3, learning from God’s commendations and corrections for each church. Last night, Mark challenged us to examine ourselves as a church, and discuss how we stand before God, and what Jesus might say about us. We do well to examine ourselves carefully, so that we look into Scripture as a mirror, and seek to be doers of the Word and not hearers only (James 1:22-24). We merely began that discussion last night! I want to reiterate Mark’s encouragement for us to further examine ourselves, and urge you to pray this prayer with me:
Prayer
You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created. To You be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. May that be ever true of our church, Lord, that we would live and function to your glory and praise, as Your Spirit powerfully transforms our lives by Your Word and uses us to reach those around us with Your beautiful gospel. Would you incline our ears to all that Your Spirit says, and enable us to conquer, rejoicing in Your Son, Jesus.
Preserve your truth among us, O Lord! May its power be rooted in our hearts and draw us to You. May we weed out every slightest deviation from truth in our lives, and seek to stay the course You have laid before us. May we test everything by Your Word, that we would reject false teaching and any temptation to idolatry, and abide fully in Jesus Christ. May we never be satisfied with appearance, but openly lay all our struggles at Your feet: casting our cares on You, for you care for us; confessing our sins to You, for You are faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness; resting in You, for You are our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. May we know what it is to endure patiently, because we know Your worth exceeds anything we could give up and run to. Help us to be conquerors!
Get Back Up
When we do lose stride and fall short, may we be quick to remember and repent, to turn to You and continue in faithfulness unto death. May we be overcome with holy discontentment when we are off course, knowing that You search mind and heart, and that You are holy and true, a faithful and true witness, and a just judge who reigns over all. Search us, O God, and know our hearts! Try us, and know our thoughts! See if there is any wicked way in us, and lead us in the way everlasting! You have the words of eternal life! Thank you that the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered!
Examine
Lord, have we abandoned our first love, loving instead the things of this world, and ourselves more? Help us to love You with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind!
Have we let false teaching creep into our lives? Lord, we love Your Word, but we are vulnerable, and know that even Adam and Eve, when in perfect fellowship with You, believed the half-lie of Satan and strayed from Your Word. Preserve us, O God, and show us the path of life, with fullness of joy in Your presence, and pleasures forevermore in Your right hand!
Have we rooted ourselves in idolatry and immorality? O, wretched people that we are! Who will rescue us from these bodies of death? Thank you that there is no condemnation to us who are in Christ Jesus! Help us to reckon ourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to You in Christ Jesus our Lord, no longer letting sin reign in our mortal bodies, that we should obey its lusts!
Have we tolerated sin in our midst? Break our hearts for what breaks Yours, and move us to speak the truth in love, and restore others in a spirit of gentleness, guarding us from temptation!
Do we look alive, while we are actually dead? Are we merely keeping ourselves busy, without having Your life in us? Help us to awaken, to repent, and to strengthen what remains! We need Your life in us!
Have we grown lukewarm and indifferent without realizing that we are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked? Open our eyes, Lord, and clothe us in Your love and grace! Come back in and fellowship with us, and restore us to passion and zeal that has Your gospel as our very heartbeat. Let us not recklessly appraise ourselves as “doing fine” if our lamps are burning dimly. Guard us from surrender to impossibilities, and give us drive for Your gospel, which is Your power to salvation to everyone who believes, knowing that You are able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us!
More Than Conquerors
Thank you that in all these things we are more than conquerors because You love us! We entrust ourselves to You, and ask that You would work mightily in and through us at Grace Baptist Church. And so we press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. May we lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of us.
In Jesus’ glorious and powerful name we pray, Amen!
Self-Examine
As you self-examine as an individual and as a church, what does the Holy Spirit show you in light of Revelation 2-3? Rather than point fingers at others, see yourself in the mirror of God, with an ownership in our church, and prayerfully seek how we can grow together, and what part God would have you to do in the process!