Turn with me if you would, to the book of Revelation chapter 3 and let's
look at verse 2 today, which says:
"Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to
die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God."
At the time God gave me this verse, we were personally faced with strengthening
the things which remained within the structure of our home after being
hit by a tornado. There was definitely some repairing and rebuilding
that needed to be done... Spiritually speaking, there are also many things
that need to be strengthened within the lives of Christians today, myself
included! Perhaps several areas come to mind when you think of your own
life, or the life of your individual family members. True, I had acquired quite
a large hole in my roof after the storm hit us, but maybe the Lord saw
a hole in my heart that needed to be fixed, or
perhaps part of my heart was missing altogether...
Isaiah 30:13, "Therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready
to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly at
an instant."
Ladies, there is a great deal of half-heartedness among God's people today,
and that leaves many areas in our lives wide open targets for the devil
to have his way with us - areas where we are actually starting to fall
apart now! Just as the large hole in our roof left an opening for weather
damage and further deterioration to occur, so too, we could end up decaying
spiritually... From the front of our house, you could barely notice there
was anything really wrong with it, but that was certainly not the whole
picture! There are also many ways in which a church and church members
can appear to be alive and thriving and yet, within actually be dead...
Isaiah 59:10, "We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if
we had no eyes: we stumble at noonday as in the night; we are in desolate
places as dead men."
Matthew 23:27, "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye
are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward,
but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness."
The morning after the storm hit our home, we walked around the place diligently
looking for weak spots. We certainly did not want to miss anything that
needed repair and go blindly on with life only to be sorry at a later
date that we did not notice the problem area. This is precisely the reason
we are told by the Lord in our opening verse to "Be watchful.." Have
you taken a little walk around yourself lately to check for any weak areas
that might need some strengthening? Wouldn't
it be easier to avoid future problems by confronting the situation today
and dealing with the imparity now? Ladies, sin of any size brings destruction
to our souls just as the strong winds did to our home... We are all in
need of some repair, amen?
"When you're criticizing others and are finding here and there,
A fault or two to speak of, or a weakness or a tear;
When you're eyeing someone's problems, while excusing your own self
It's time that you went out to take a little walk around yourself!
There are lots of human failures in the average of us all,
And lots of grave shortcomings in the short ones and the tall;
But when we think of evils men should lay upon the shelf,
It's time we all went out and took a walk around ourself!"
I'm sure that many people in tornado struck areas and even here in our
area drove around to view the damage done and what messes people were
faced with after such storms. In our yard alone there was broken glass
and dishes, insulation mixed with mud and water, assorted wood debris
etc. It was over-whelming to say the least! How do you feel when you witness
all the clean up that is necessary? Do you groan and say, "Oh my, look
at all the work they have to do, I'm glad that's not me!" When are you
most prone to being lazy and when are you most prone to getting busy? Spiritually
speaking, it's easy to "drive" by another person's problems and then go
home feeling as if your own weren't as bad, but sometimes that kind of
thinking will prevent you from taking care of your own mess, amen? Take
heed that you don't become so comfortable with your current condition
lest you find yourself slowly decaying... You'll begin to look at your
life with lazy eyes and won't work as hard anymore at strengthening, repairing
or rebuilding your own problem areas! It's then you'll start to lose sight
of diligence and as a result, become half-hearted about what needs to
be taken care of. Ladies, be careful that you have not been looking around
at others messes so long that you have forgotten what you yourself need
to be doing! You may be a decent person, but be a dying witness with
a decaying ministry at the same time... The Lord would say to you, "Wake
up! Be watchful!"
Deut. 4:9, "Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest
thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen..."
1 Cor. 10:12, "Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest
he fall."
When the Spirit is grieved, believers and churches begin to lose life
and power, just as we lost our electrical power when storm damage occurred
to our home. However, when sin is confessed and we get right with God
and each other, the Spirit brings life back into us - revival - and restores
our power! Ladies, do we miss that spiritual power as much as we miss
our electrical power?? Probably not! Which is more important to you??
Be aware, as the Lord is, of the things that are wrong with you - get
busy fixing them and get your power turned on again! His Word says He
has not yet found our works perfect before Him, there are still things
you and I need to do! Such thinking puts us on the pathway of restoration....
Lam. 3:40, "Let us search and try our ways, and turn again unto the Lord."
In the face of such work, I could've sat back and looked at my house as
a hopeless situation because there was weakness suffered and great need
of repair necessary. But certainly this is no reason to quit, is it?
Would any of you have advised me to give up and leave? I doubt it! Neither
would I advise you to quit spiritually simply because you have areas of
weakness that need strengthening. Don't give up, don't lose hope and
don't allow the death of your testimony! As long as there is a remnant
that can be worked with, get busy and strengthen the things which remain!
No person and no church is beyond hope as long as there is a remnant within
it, amen? Even within a dying church there exists a remnant of dedicated
people that are willing to work, much like that faithful group of men that
came to help us the night of the storm and worked so diligently to provide
protection to the damaged area of our home. It's their devotion, their
dedication and diligence that brought blessings into the picture and prevented
further damage from occurring. Are you part of such a remnant in your
church, dear lady? When you see an area of damage and destruction in
the life of another, do you quickly aid in the mending of it? Or do you perceive
the job as too difficult and drive on by to go sit comfortably in your
own home? These brethren left the comfort of their homes that night and
set out in the face of a storm containing dangerous lightning, wind and
rain to be a blessing to us! Praise the Lord! They could have chosen
to just roll over and gone to sleep... Ladies, dead churches are starving
for Christians who are spiritually awake, filled with life and power and
dedication! Why not do your church a favor and become such a member?
Don't give up just because your church is weak, strengthen the things
which remain, don't ignore the decay! Where there is life, there is always
hope, amen?
James 2:26, "For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without
works is dead also."
May I also say to you that if your church is already dead there is no
hope.
Therefore, you better hurry up and find yourself one that is alive or
you will end up in the same shape! Are you spiritually dying, Christian
woman? Do you know you are?? Take a little walk around yourself today....
Do you think you're in any shape to overcome the storms of life when they
hit? If not, what do you plan on doing about it then? Before it's too
late, I hope that you will strengthen those areas in your life which remain,
that are ready to die, with the wisdom found in a good Bible believing,
Bible preaching church! What a mess your life will be if you don't...
As a matter of fact, it will end up looking like a tornado hit it!
Proverbs 10:25, "As the whirlwind passeth, so is the wicked no more: but
the righteous is an everlasting foundation."
God Bless,
Pam
Isaiah 60:1&2
Copyright 2000
Pamela A. Iannello
