#revelation #sevenchurches #vfc #victoriafellowshipchurch #biblestudy
December 14th, 2021
blog post link : https://www.otakada.org/vfc-men-fellowship-bible-study-analysis-and-synthesis-of-the-letter-to-the-seven-7-churches-in-the-book-of-revelation/
Title: VFC Men Fellowship Bible Study : Analysis and Synthesis of the letter to the seven (7) Churches in the book of Revelation
Hello Friends, hereunder are analysis and synthesis of the book of revelation, in the letters to the seven churches bible study carried out by the men of the Victoria Fellowship Church, Lekki, Lagos NIGERIA during the last quarter 2021 bible study for your meditation.
VFC website is at https://www.victoriafellowshipchurch.org for further uplifting sound biblical teaching – Enjoy
*MEN’S FELLOWSHIP LEARNING*
*THEME: LETTERS TO THE CHURCHES*
*TOPIC: THE LETTER TO THE CHURCH IN EPHESUS* (Rev 2:1-7)
*FACILITATOR:* Emmanuel Ocholi
*1) INTRODUCTION:* REVELATION 1:1-2:7
1.1) John was on forced exile to Patmos Island when he saw the vision (Rev 1:9)
1.2) He was instructed to write to 7 churches in Asia (Rev 1:11)
1.3) Each letter was addressed to the angel (or messenger) of the particular church, to be delivered to the membership
1.4) Sadly, none of those seven churches exists today
1.5) Structure of each letter was:
1.5.1) A statement on the church’s current state
1.5.2) An Exhortation
1.5.3) A Promise.
*2) EPHESUS: CURRENT CONDITION*
2.1) Brave and hardworking (Rev 2:2a)
2.2) Devoted to the truth over (Rev 2:2b)
2.3) Resolute in commitment to the truth despite hardships (Rev 2:3)
2.4) Resists false doctrine (Rev 2:6)
*3) EXORTATION*
3.1) Have forsaken first love
3.2) Repent and do what you did at first (“First Love”)
3.3) Consequence of no repentance: The church would cease to be (Rev 2:5)
*4) THE PROMISE* (Rev 2:7)
4.1) Restoration if repentant
4.2) Access to the Tree of Life (Rev 22:2)
*5) WHAT IS “FIRST LOVE?”*
5.1) Isaiah 1:12-20: Describes one who has lost “first love”. Indications of lost first love:
5.1.1) Bringing sacrifices, but which are meaningless to God (Isaiah 1:13)
5.1.2) Maintaining the festivals: “Your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts my soul hates” (Isaiah 1:14)
5.1.3) Not seeking justice and righteousness
5.1.4) Not protecting the helpless: the fatherless and the widow. (Isaiah 1:17)
5.2) God is not impressed by mechanical love; He looks at the heart: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men. (Isaiah 29:13)
5.3) First Love is the one that comes from the heart, and it could sometimes make God overlook specific failings – as in the case of David.
*6) HOW IS FIRST LOVE LOST?*
6.1) Sensitivity to the evils around us making us build walls around ourselves and become insensitive
6.2) Over-emphasis on activities and programmes and little on relationships
6.3) Less dependence on the Holy Spirit and more on our self-preservation initiatives
6.4) Discordant messages from Christian leaderships
6.5) Politics within the Church
*7) CALL TO ACTION*
7.1) Devote a quarter’s teachings and sermons to inter-personal relationships
7.2) Make Fellowships more relationship-driven and less on mechanical routine
7.3) Individuals to take initiative to build informal interaction with others
*MEN’S FELLOWSHIP LEARNING*
*THEME: LETTERS TO THE CHURCHES*
*TOPIC: THE LETTER TO THE CHURCH IN SMYRNA* (Rev 2:8-11)
*FACILITATOR:* Basil Okeke
*1) ASSESSMENT OF SMYRNA CHURCH*
1.1) Self-introduction of Christ as The First and The Last (See also Rev 22:13)
1.2) Acknowledgement of the Church’s afflictions and poverty
1.3) Church seen as materially poor but spiritually as rich (v 9a)
1.4) Infilteration by Satan’s agents posing as God’s people (v9b)
*2) EXHORTATION*
2.1) Warned of impending persecution (v10b)
2.2) Encouraged to be faithful through the persecution (See also Matt 5:11-12)
*3) THE PROMISE*
3.1) Crown of life to those who persevere
3.2) The overcomer will not be hurt by the 2nd death (v11)
*4) DISCUSSION*
4.1) “I am the First and The Last” is to remind every Church undergoing persecution that Jesus by whom and through whom all things were created will also have the last word.
4.2) Jesus introduces Himself with a name that speaks to the situation the Church is in.
4.3) Warning against the Synagogue of Satan is to underscore the sufficiency of Jesus Christ for salvation. Although these false teachers identified with the Church, they pushed the idea that something else was needed for salvation.
*5) KEY LEARNING*
5.1) The Church needs to teach and focus on Jesus having the first and last say, notwithstanding current persecution, whether as an individual or as a Church. Compromise must never be an option.
5.2) Accept the reality of persecution now and in future as consistent with Christ’s warning. Never resort to compromise to avoid persecution
5.3) Beware that those placed in Church leadership positions are fully committed to Christ’s authority and sufficiency.
5.4) Beware of cultic associations that claim to be non-religious but propose that Jesus is not sufficient for our fullness. Test all philosophies against God’s word.
5.5) Beware of career ambitions in organisations that prefer those with cultic associations in its leadership.
*MEN’S FELLOWSHIP LEARNING*
*THEME: LETTERS TO THE CHURCHES*
*TOPIC: THE LETTER TO THE CHURCH IN THYATIRA* (Rev 2:18-29)
*FACILITATOR:* Okey Ogwo
*1) ASSESSMENT OF THYATIRAN CHURCH*
1.1) Jesus introduces Himself as one who has “eyes like a flame of fire” and “feet like fine brass “- One that is able to judge and discern
1.2) Acknowledged for good works, love, service, faith, and your patience – The things one would look for in a good Church (v19a)
1.3) A growing Church (“The last more than the first” – v19b)
*2) EXHORTATION*
2.1) God has one issue with the Church: Tolerating a prophetess (“Jezebel”) who taught unholiness, thereby encouraging people to live sinful lives. This prophetess had an appearance of a Christian but was really not.
2.2) “Fornication and Adultery” refer to not only sexual sin but anything that smacks of lack of commitment to Him
2.3) God seeks perfection in His Church – it is not enough for a Church to have love and the fruit of the Holy Spirit
2.4) God expects every Church to deal with anything that is against sound doctrine – such is the “yeast” that pollutes the Church (Mark 8:15; 1 Cor 5:6)
2.5) God will punish all who lead astray, those who by action or inaction allow falsehood and hypocrisy, and those that are led astray (vv22-23)
*3) THE PROMISE*
3.1) “Those who overcome” in this context are those that are untainted by the the falsehood and hypocrisy
3.2) Such will rule in Christ’s kingdom
*4) KEY LEARNING*
4.1) A Church must stand up against all teaching or conduct that is against sound doctrine
4.2) The Church should avoid self-congratulation on account of some good things about it; God seeks perfection
4.3) Those who lead others astray and those that are led astray both face punishment
*MEN’S FELLOWSHIP LEARNING*
*THEME: LETTERS TO THE CHURCHES*
*TOPIC: THE LETTER TO THE CHURCH IN SARDIS* (Rev 3:1-6)
*FACILITATOR:* Furo Wakama
*1) ASSESSMENT OF CHURCH*
1.1) The true status of a Church is known to Christ, regardless of its image
1.2) Christ sees the Sardis Church as dead, even though it had the semblance of being alive
1.3) This Church was no longer in tune with God
*2) ADMONITION*
2.1) Be watchful (v2)
2.2) Strengthen the things that remain
2.3) Remember the foundational teachings and hold fast to them (See 2 Tim 1:13)
2.4) Repent
*3) PROMISES TO OVERCOMERS*
3.1) They will walk with Christ in white
3.2) Their names will remain in the Book of Life
3.3) Christ will confess their names before His Father and the angels (See Matt 10-32-33; Luke 12:8-9)
*4) KEY LEARNING*
4.1) Christ’s view of a Church is what counts, not the way it is viewed by the public
4.2) Hold fast the fundamental truths of the Gospel despite pervasive error
4.3) VFC needs to examine itself against the Scriptures to know where it stands before God
4.4) God is able to single out, from a dead church, the righteous for recognition and reward
*MEN’S FELLOWSHIP LEARNING*
*THEME: LETTERS TO THE CHURCHES*
*TOPIC: THE LETTER TO THE CHURCH IN PHILADELPHIA* (Rev 3:7-13)
*FACILITATOR:* Raphael Awoseyin
*1) JESUS’ SELF-INTRODUCTION (v7)*
*1.1) HIS ATTRIBUTES:*
1.1.1) Holiness
1.1.2) Truth
*1.2) JESUS’ POSITION: (v7)*
1.2.1) He holds the key of David (The key of the spiritual city of David, the New Jerusalem)
1.2.2) Sovereign over all creation (The supreme right, power, and authority over all authorities)
*2) ASSESSMENT: (v8)*
2.1) The Church has “little strength” – not deemed “powerful” in human assessment, not one of those you would call a “mega-church” by today’s standards.
2.2) The Church had remained steadfast, despite pressure from the society and from cultists
2.3) Philadelphia shares with Smyrna the distinction of receiving nothing but praise from Christ.
*3) PROPHECY (v8-10):*
3.1) The door of the Gospel would remain open to the Church (v8)
3.2) Hypocrites and peddlers of falsehood would repent and acknowledge the true Christ. Someday, every soul will bow before Christ!: (v9)
3.3) The Church would find favour and be known to be an apple of God’s eye (v10)
3.4) The Church would be saved from impending tribulation coming on the whole world (v10)
*4) ENCOURAGEMENT (v11):*
4.1) Christ’s coming would not be long.
4.2) Remain steadfast regardless of what is going on around you. Getting distracted can be very costly!
4.3) Keep your eyes on the prize and be continuously energized:
*5) KEY LEARNING:*
5.1) Recognition by the society that a Church is “great” is inconsequential to God. He does not judge by human assessment.
5.2) God seeks holiness and truth in every Church. These should the bases for a Church’s assessment of itself. (Beware of Church politics obscuring the truth.)
5.3) The strength of a Church is not measured by its fame, size or the social standing of its members, but the degree to which it stands for holiness and truth
5.4) Regardless of how weak a Church is seen by the society, Christ sees a Church committed to holiness and truth as the Apple of His eye, and opens doors for that Church which no human authority can shut.
5.5) Stay encouraged by keeping your eyes on the prize of your calling, notwithstanding the persecution and the crises around you.
shalom!
Ambassador Oreojo Monday Ogbe
Gods Eagle Ministries
Originally posted on December 14, 2021 @ 9:51 am
