Sunday Songs:
Days of Elijah: https://youtu.be/ca9LnzJnpjQ
Only King Forever (Elevation Worship): https://youtu.be/znffn7ZYNoI
Hear Us From Heaven: https://youtu.be/WWmg48weMsM

“WORLD” in the Greek is kosmos.
kosmos in it’s purest form means: “an ordered existence apart from God”
It is a corporate consciousness of the people in this world who are in rebellion against God’s authority. The global mentality that molds vastly different people groups into one entity which live out their existence on earth under the domain of Satan, unified against God.

Revelation 2-3 gives us somewhat of a history of the Christian Church.
The Church in Laodicea was is very much like the American Church today.
The Laodicean church was large, popular and affluent. (“had need of nothing”)

The church was probably pastored by Archippus, the son of the rich merchant, Philemon. The members of the congregation were content. Everything was at peace. The future looked promising for these Christians who were able to keep the faith while maintaining a comfortable lifestyle.

Laodicea - situated between the small village of Colossae and the resort town of Hieropolis. The Commercial center of a rich, fertile valley. It had a Greek amphitheater, an enormous Roman coliseum , and many other magnificent structures that boasted it’s prosperity. The church in Laodicea was not under any persecution, and it seemed everything was going well.

To the saints in Laodicea, the congregations in Philadelphia and Smyrna were dwindling and dying, unable to relate and be relevant. - Yet when the Faithful and True witness spoke, He had only praise for them.

How does the message to the church of the Laodiceans apply to US TODAY:

The discrepancy between Jesus’ assessment of their condition and their own view of it.
They took their affluence as proof that “God was Blessing” them!
They mistook their positive mental attitude as FAITH.
Didn’t feel as if REPENTANCE was necessary for them.
Worldly churches view their successes differently than Jesus views it.

Prosperity tends to blind a person to his spiritual depravity and creates a false sense of well-being and eternal security.

Jesus prescribed eye salve (truth) to cure their blindness. Only truth could reveal how spiritually nearsighted they were. Through eyes of truth they would see the needs of others and the passion of Christ to help people.

NOT HOT OR COLD.
In love with Jesus, then in love with the world - Back and Forth!
They didn’t oppose the gospel, but they did not fully embrace it.
Not committing outright sin, but not really striving for holiness.
They were not mockers, but they moderated their enthusiasm and passion for the things of God so they wouldn’t be considered fanatics.
They had successful programing, but a lack of power.

Are we tailoring the gospel to fit our current culture, altering it just enough to agree with our busy schedules and desires for entertainment? Do we emphasize certain Bible teachings and neglect others? Our current rendition of “American Christianity” makes no demands, expects no sacrifice, and yields no eternal rewards.

We sing praise songs, but hardly get beyond emotion to the significance of the words. We are clinging to a form of godliness, but there isn’t any power? We honor Him with our mouths, but our hearts are far from Him.

We like to hear preaching that tickles our ears with nuggets of biblical truth satisfying us as “information-crazed saintlings”, but don’t you dare step on our toes or confront the sin in our lives.

Leonard Ravenhill said - “The church has been subnormal for so long that when it finally becomes normal, everybody will think it’s abnormal.”

Watchman Nee said - “By the time the average Christian gets his temperature up to normal, everybody thinks he’s got a fever.”

“Where’s the Beef?!” - We eat just enough junk food spiritually so that we will keep from getting hungry! We are starving ourselves of the nutrients needed and yet we don’t realize it. We feel “satisfied” and having need of nothing. Who markets the junk food?

Most people instead of asking, “How can I rid myself from the poisons of the world?” are now asking, “ How much of this world can I have and still go to heaven?”

It’s EITHER Jesus or kosmos - you can’t have it both ways!

Story of the Rich Young Ruler. (Matthew 19:16-30)

GOOD FRUIT is a GOOD INDICATOR - Matthew 7:19, John 15:2-6

CLOSING

We can’t be a half-hearted church any longer! The world at it’s worst needs a church at it’s best! - On Fire, In love with God, Passionate about souls!

Jesus told the Laodicean Church either they would answer His knock and open the door, or He would vomit them out.

Salvation
God created humanity to have fellowship with Him, but humans defied God by sinfully living life their own way. To rectify this, we need God's saving grace to end our separation from Him.

As the Bible teaches, we believe that salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, not by works. Faith in Jesus is the means by which a person is justified. At the same time, a sinner must:
- Believe the gospel;
- Repent of his sinful life;
- Be baptized in water in the name of Jesus Christ;
- And receive the gift of the Holy Spirit with the initial sign of speaking with other tongues. (Acts 2:38; 4:12; 8:12-17; 10:43-48; 19:1-6)

The various aspects of faith and obedience work together in God's grace to reconcile us to God.

*IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS - OR ANY OTHER BIBLICAL PRINCIPLES - PLEASE CONTACT US DIRECTLY!

COMING UP:

June 6 - DREAM TEAM NIGHT (All Members Encouraged to Attend)

June 18th - Father's Day #MANUP Challenge - (Can we "one-up" the ladies attendance record from Mother's Day?) - Men invite your friends and wear some CRAZY SOCKS!

SUMMER CAMPS:
Family Camp is June 20-23 (See Ted & Crystal Abbott if you are interested)
Junior Camp (Ages 7-11) June 26-30 (See Tiff Hansbro)
Hyphen/Teen Camps - July 7-9 / 10-14 (See Lisa Anderson/Joe Ontiveros)