HERE IN THE REAL WORLD

(Part 2 of 7)

I left and traveled about thirty to thirty five miles until I came to another city. I searched high and low for a church to worship in and then I saw one. I wasn’t sure I wanted to enter though. Outside there were people with signs protesting the church being in their neighborhood; many of these people held signs boasting the names of their own church. The building itself left something to be desired, as it looked poor and run downed. It must have been many a year since it saw a coat of paint. Mildew stained the boards that at one time must have shined majestically wearing a fresh coat of paint. Rust covered the metal fixtures on the door and boards needed to be replaced all around the structure. I even noticed that a pane of glass was broken or missing from one of the upper rooms. “What a poor building to call a ‘the House of God’,” I thought as I walked from my car to the dilapidated building. Could God live in such a place?
To the church in Smyrna God sent this message: “I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews , and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan” (Revelation 2:9). God knew the situation at Smyrna, just as He knows the situation in every church today. The church in Smyrna was poor. They were in poverty. Maybe like the church in the story they couldn’t afford paint, or a piece of glass. And, to make matters worse, they were battling tribulation, not just from worldly people, but from those who claimed to be Jews but were not. Yet, the people in Smyrna held their heads high. God sent them this message: “Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer” (Revelation 2:10).
In his epistle to the Philippians, the apostle Paul wrote, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13). Many people take this verse out of context, but Paul spoke of getting through, surviving, in any conditions; be it rich or poor, or healthy or sick; times of jubilation or times of tribulation. The church in Smyrna was doing just that. Christ was giving them the strength to persevere in the worst of conditions.
The church in Smyrna, despite its poverty, was continuing in the work of the Lord. Though they were poor, they gave what they could. Paul told the Corinthians, “Each one, as he purposes in his heart, let him give; not of grief, or of necessity, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7). Though they were poor, and their gifts were most likely small compared to many, the “purposes” in their hearts were LARGE!
God warned the church at Smyrna that even more tribulation was on the way: “Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life” (Revelation 2:10). Instead of getting better, for the church at Smyrna things were going to get worse. Yet, God told them to be faithful unto death. Maybe there were those there who had been tempted to leave the poverty and tribulation they were facing, yet, God would give them strength to get through these worst of times. First Corinthians 10:13 assures us that all are tempted to follow the wrong things at time: “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man.” In our poverty many times we are tempted to follow whatever we think at the time will relieve our situation, be our poverty material or spiritual. Paul told the church at Corinth that this is common to man. But, he also tells us we don’t have to follow those temptations; we can get passed them: “but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able.” The temptations we face are not more than we can bear. The temptations at Smyrna were not more than they could bear or would be able to bear in the future. For, in every temptation we face, God has a way for us to escape it! Paul finished 1 Corinthian 10:13 by saying, “but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” The church at Smyrna was relying on God to see them through their darkest days; through their worst poverty, through the tribulation that they were, along with John and all Christians, being caught in. God was there. In the midst of poverty, God was. Matthew 18:20 says, “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”
God was in Smyrna, the only church that did not receive any condemnation in the Revelation. Through their poorness they relied on God’s riches. In all their poverty they were rich; “but thou art rich” (Revelation 2:9). Through their tribulation they relied on His comfort. The church in Smyrna was prepared to overcome: “He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death” (Revelation 2:11).
Lord, if I was faced with the tribulation that those in Smyrna faced, would I too rely on the strength that you give me or would I fall away? If faced with destitution, would I rely on you in my time of need or walk away from you forgetting that “man does not live by bread alone” (Luke 4:4)? Lord, in poverty or wealth, sickness and health, jubilation or tribulation, can I be like the church in Smyrna? Tell me, what kind of church would my church be if all its members were just like me.

Bobby Cohoon
29 June 2005

“Well, my preacher said this is the way it is!” “That can’t be right, my friend has read the whole bible and he says it’s this way.” “Both of you are wrong; I heard a preacher on TV says it is this way, and he leads a big fancy church with a TV ministry and lots of money coming in; he has to be right.”

Those few sentences could go on and on and on, much like the energizer bunny. Instead of going to the Word and seeing what God said on the matter, most people rely on someone else’s interpretation of God’s Holy Word. Almost every doctrine in the Bible can be taken and misconstrued when used out of context. And, so many times we are willing to accept these views. Paul wrote to Timothy, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears” (2 Timothy 4:3-4). In Acts 17, Luke commended the people of Berea for in that they “received the word with all readiness of mind” (Acts 17:11). Luke went on to say that they “searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so” (Acts 1:11).
The people in Berea listen to what was taught; they learned the word. But, they searched the Word to make sure what was being taught was in fact what the Word said. Although they learned from men, they searched on their own to make sure they were taught soundly.
Today many people have stopped being like those in Berea and relied on whatever someone else said was fact. Maybe they don’t have the time to sit and search the scriptures; maybe they assumed that because some one has PhD. by their name that they can’t be wrong. For whatever reason, most people are content to accept whatever any man has to say instead of spending a few minutes a day searching the Word and seeking God’s way.
Second Peter 3:18 says we are to “grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” If we can set aside time to watch “American Idol,” why can’t we set aside time to seek God? We can allot time for almost earthly thing, yet most can only set aside one hour a week for the Savior. Speaking through the prophet Hosea, God said, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6).
Just because something is taught by one person doesn’t make it sound Bible doctrine. The Pharisees held to the traditions of the law instead of the teachings of Jesus. They held to the traditions that had been added to the Law by man, instead of following the teachings of the one who gave the Law. “They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out” “John 9:34).
We have the inspired Word of God. We are to use it to “grow in grace” and “in knowledge of our Savior.” We have to stop following preachers (1 Corinthians 1:12-15) and start following God. It is time that we stop being lazy and start being Berean.

Bobby Cohoon

The old dog lay asleep almost acting oblivious to the slamming of the door outside; he must have become accustomed to the weekly visits. His master had also become accustomed the visits. First, comes the battle cry: “ITTTTTTTTT’S WEDNESDAY!” Then, everyone mans their positions. Turn off the TV; kill the lights; no one make a sound, not even a heavy breath; and, most importantly someone man the look out! “What?” “I don’t understand, what do you mean he don’t have a leather bag full of WATCHTOWERS?” “He’s not in a suit?” “Well, what does he look like?” “Like what?” “You think it’s who?” “You can see the marks where the nails have been?” “QUICK, PLAN B!”
What would you do if that familiar knock of the Jehovah’s Witness wasn’t there this week? What if it was replaced by someone who was not the witness, but, was Jehovah/God/Jesus; what would you do this Wednesday?
When you looked out the window and saw the Savior coming your way would you immediately open the door, or would you lock it to stall so preparations could be made for His visit? Would you change the TV channel from HBO to INSP and hope Brother Mac Lyon would be speaking? Would you have to hide the DVDs you had rented the night before as He got closer to your door? Would you hide the ashtrays or just clean real fast and say how they were there for friends?
Would you stow away the beer cans or just let Him see them, and explain how you had collected them from the roadside just to cash them in? Would you leave the backdoor unlocked so your neighbor’s spouse could leave, or just tell Him how the neighbor came a running when the Savior was seen coming to the door.
Would you leave the Bible on the coffee table or have to run all over the house to try and find one to put there? (Of course removing the magazines that were already there)
It’s amazing to think of all the things you would have to do just so you could open the door; it’s so much simpler just to act like no one is home. But, that only works on Wednesdays with the Jehovah’s Witnesses.
There is no need to make such a fuss over a visit by the Lord; He is with you everyday. He has seen the TV shows you watch and the magazines you have read; He has smelled the smoke and counted the cans. He knows you are home even when the dog don’t bark. So when you decided what to do if He comes to visit, start doing it because he is there!