A great reminder
From Pastor Jerry Sweat's daily devo
SCRIPTURE
Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food, sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality. Likewise, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Revelation 2:14-15
OBSERVATION
The proximity of the community of faith at Pergamum was one of its greatest attributes but also led to its greatest challenge! The risen Christ speaks words of challenge to those who started with good intentions to reach their unchurched friends - in the process of building relationships with your friends who are far from God…be extremely conscientious of your potential to be led astray. The tidal drift of our culture is away from God not toward Him. The people of Christ at Pergamum were seeking to live out their faith in a very pagan culture; and in the process of reaching out, some had allowed themselves to be swayed by the pagan culture itself. Maybe it started as innocently as attending one of the pagan festivals in order to fit in and to be with their friends who were far from God. Slowly but surely they would begin to join in on the festivities. Knowing that God’s grace was all surpassing, they might have even thought that God would be supportive of their efforts and everything would be alright in the end. But over time, instead of influencing their friends toward Christ, they were being influenced toward these pagan practices and the pagan gods. Some in the church even began to rationalize that it was okay to compromise. What they could not see was the slow but debilitating drift from God toward the values and behaviors of this world. Before they knew it, they had drifted far from God’s best in their lives, had become slaves to their sin, and had rendered their witness ineffective.
APPLICATION
The minute you seek to witness for Jesus Christ, the enemy will come against you with compromise! You will set out to influence your unchurched friends in a positive way for Jesus; and if you are not careful, you will begin to simply reflect the ordinary ways of the world and not Christ. There is a very subtle dance between “in the world but not of it” that each Christian must discern. Any of us can fall prey to a compromised life and eventually fall away. We don’t even notice how far we have drifted from God’s best. All of us can become the “influenced” instead of the “influencer”! Every good‑intentioned follower of Christ sets out to be a missionary; but if not careful, we become the “mission field” instead of the missionary! Only God can help us swim against the current of influence in this world. Only God can empower us to remain true to who we are while surrounded by the idols and allurements of this world. How? First, it means consistent time in God’s Word that keeps our hearts connected to God’s heart. Secondly, we can set up guardrails for ourselvesby developing relationships of accountability with two or three Christ-honoring friends who will encourage us and challenge us in our walk of faith. So what about you? God applauds your desire to reach others for Him, but He knows your potential for drift. So here are two very important questions that each of us must resolve if we are going to remain genuine and strong in our walk of faith and witness while living in a pagan world: Are you spending time with the Lord and His Word daily? Do you have a friend or two in Christ with whom you give permission to hold you accountable in your walk of faith?
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, my whole purpose in life is to point people to Jesus…to glorify You! Let my life and my walk with You be authentic, bold, and contagious! Amen.