The Church At Large
- Deeper Fellowship
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“How the faithful city has become a harlot,
She who was full of justice!
Righteousness once lodged in her,
But now murderers.
Your silver has become dross,
Your drink diluted with water.
Your rulers are rebels
And companions of thieves;
Everyone loves a bribe
And chases after rewards.
They do not defend the orphan,
Nor does the widow’s plea come before them.
“Therefore the Lord God of hosts,
The Mighty One of Israel, declares,
‘Ah, I will be relieved of My adversaries
And avenge Myself on My foes.
I will also turn My hand against you,
And will smelt away your dross as with lye
And will remove all your alloy.’” (Isaiah 1:21-25 NASB1995)
Let’s compare that with Revelation, chapters 2-3. There the Lord sent letters to the seven churches, which were not just for them, but they are for the church gatherings in today’s world, too. In four out of the seven he had good and bad to say about them. In only one did he have nothing good to say, and that was the Church in Laodicea, which many believe represents the church of the last days. And only in two out of the seven did he have nothing against them. So the majority of the church then, and I believe yet today, needed correction. They needed to repent, or judgment would be coming.
So, what was the wrong that was being done in these churches (gatherings of the body of believers in Jesus Christ)? Some had forsaken the love they had at first for Christ, or they had deserted Christ who was their first love. It appears that they had fallen back into some of their sinful ways and so they were being called upon to repent and to do the deeds they did at first. And some were holding to and were tolerating the teachings of false prophets who were encouraging idolatry and immoral behaviors. And others were spiritually void and asleep. And they needed to repent or face judgment.
And I do believe that the church in the USA (the majority) is under the judgment of God already, for they have partnered with the ungodly, and they have turned their gatherings into places of business to be marketed to the world, and thus they have altered the character of Christ’s church (his body) to attract the world, and they have altered the message of the gospel to make it less offensive and more agreeable to the flesh and to the world. And all of this God forbids. And he teaches us that we are to come out from among such gatherings as these so we don’t share in their punishment.
[Matthew 21:12-13; John 2:13-17; Acts 5:27-32; 1 Corinthians 1:10-13; 1 Corinthians 3:1-9; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Philippians 3:18-19; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22; Revelation 13:5-8; Revelation 18:1-5]
So, just know that the church is not a building. It is not a place you go to once or twice a week and then you leave until you go there again. And the building is not the house of God, for God does not dwell in buildings built by human hands. The church is the body of Christ, of all who believe in Jesus with genuine biblical faith. We, the people of God, are the church, and we can gather anywhere on any day of the week at any time of day or night where we can minister God’s love and grace to one another, and where we can help one another to grow in our walks of faith in obedience to God.
And Jesus Christ taught that to come to him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin), and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to living in sin and for self, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, by the Spirit, and we walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in his power, then we have eternal life with God. For not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING (obeying) the will of God (see Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).
For by God-gifted faith in Jesus Christ, which is not of our own doing, we are crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as slaves to righteousness in walks of obedience to God’s commands. We are no longer to permit sin to reign in our mortal bodies to make us obey its desires. For if sin is what we obey, it results in death. But if obedience to God is what we obey, it results in sanctification, and its end is eternal life with God (see Romans 6:1-23).
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]
For Our Nation
An Original Work / September 11, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
Recording Via Gerry Peters, music producer and arranger
Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.
Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Men deceiving: We’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.
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The Church At Large
An Original Work / November 9, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
