If one carries the title of “leader” in any way, there is a great expectation that comes with that. For God, that expectation is even higher. That is why the leaders of Israel - both politically and spiritually - were under such assault by the prophet Micah. If we want the heartbeat of God, then we must care about justice and doing the right thing for the people we say we lead.

Perhaps the most infamous quote of all of these letters to the churches of Revelation is found in the letter to Ephesus: “You’ve lost your first love.” The indictment is clear, but the reason is not. But when we study the history of this city and read Acts 19, the shroud of mystery lifts, and we begin to get a peek into what may have caused this critical loss of love. Be careful when the business of the Kingdom becomes a business.

Let’s play a game. Start naming things that we as Christians are supposed to be known for. How many did you have? Do you know when it’s not a game? When we as Christians are not representing the character of Christ well. And that happens when we “invite” Jesus OUT of our fellowship. Open the door; let Him back in. Let’s learn the lessons from the church of Laodicea!

Philadelphia teaches us the importance of perseverance and enduring suffering for the glory of God, a concept that seems to be lost to the Church of today. We are promised suffering in this world (John 16:33, 2 Timothy 3:12). Both Paul and Peter speak to how “good” our suffering is for our Christian character (Romans 5:3-5, 1 Peter 5:10). And James even tells us to count our sufferings as joy (James 1:2-4)!

An ancient city that was huge in reputation and prestige… and yet God’s people were called to repent. A church that thought it was fully awake and alive… and yet was so very dead. A people of God that had great influence... and yet rubbed shoulders with the world. What might the church in Sardis have in common with an Old Testament valley of dry bones? Let’s find out.

From a rubble pile of clay pots in Thyatira, to Satan’s throne in Pergamum, to a martyr’s faithful last words in Smyrna, may we be ever so diligent to learn from the Seven Letters to the Seven Churches of Revelation. And may we be found without criticism by our Lord Jesus!

We’ve heard the term “hard-hearted” before. Even Jesus called the religious leaders of His day people with “stiff necks and hard hearts.” According to Ezekiel, the only way to truly have a “soft heart” is to receive a “new Spirit.” Praise God that that’s exactly what He wants to do in each one of us!

Yes, we as fallible people have misused and misrepresented God throughout history. Yes, we as broken and fleshly Christians have abused both the Person and the Power of the Holy Spirit. But we are still called to trust the goodness and purity of His Spirit, despite any and all damage that we have done. The exhortation is clear:  God is a supernatural God, and we are to trust His supernatural Spirit.

Did you know we have permission from God to be hard-headed?! Indeed we do, as we are called by God to do the work of His Kingdom. We are also called, like Ezekiel, to be “watchmen” for God’s people. And while it can be “sweet as honey,” the task of the watchman is serious and daunting. Only by the Spirit of God can we answer that call!

Israel was confronted by the prophet Jeremiah with two sins: They had forsaken the source of their spiritual strength, the fountain of living water, and they had dug for themselves cracked and broken cisterns that caused their water to turn stagnant. Unfortunately, we as Christians need to learn the lesson from Jeremiah: we need to stop digging and start flowing. How? By trusting the Holy Spirit of God more!

One of the more consistent themes of the Old Testament prophets is that of deliverance. In this incredible passage of Isaiah, the Holy Spirit inspired the prophet to speak of every level of deliverance: from the immediate enemy, the Edomites; from our sinful and oppressed state, by way of the Messiah; and from our earthly exile from the very presence of God, by way of the return of the One wearing a white robe dipped in blood. Praise the Spirit of Deliverance!

The question looms so large for us. If Jesus — who was fully and perfectly human and divine as both Son of Man and Son of God — needed the anointing of the Spirit in order to proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom, how much MORE do we need the Spirit’s anointing!? The “good news” is that His anointing is so ready and available to us as we surrender and submit.

Jesus coming home to preach—what a celebration! What an honor! Red-carpet treatment all the way in Nazareth. Hometown boy made good. The synagogue was packed. But if it was such Good News that Jesus taught, why did it land Him on the edge of a cliff facing certain death? Only those full of the Spirit can truly embrace the One teaching in the Spirit.

There is a current praise song out today called, “I Trust In God.”  the bridge of that song goes like this: “I sought the Lord, and He heard, and He answered.” Isaiah paints a picture here in chapter 59 when our sin can “stop up” the ears of God, keeping Him from hearing our prayers. Let us always rely on the Holy Spirit to convict us of any and all sin so that our prayers are always heard and answered.

Despite our incredible stubbornness, God is still so utterly faithful and merciful. Like Israel who was in exile to Babylon at the time, we are invited to stay loyal to a God who has continued to be loyal to us. How do we stay loyal to God? How do we avoid hard hearts and stiff necks? By trusting in and being obedient to His Spirit!

The people of Israel continued to flirt with disaster as they went back and forth from trusting God to making idols. Because of that, their “thirst” for the real deal was tainted and poisoned. Today, the Lord is asking us if we are truly thirsty for a “pouring” of His Holy Spirit. If we are willing to be His “mold,” then the Holy Ghost is ready to be “cast” in us.

Jesus goes by many names: Redeemer and Savior, Messiah and Master, Alpha and Omega, Beginning and End, Lord of lords and King of kings. But we might miss this one if we’re not careful: Servant. Isaiah declares this title in his Messianic prophesies found in chapter 42. It is fulfilled through Jesus in Matthew 12, and if we have the Spirit of Jesus ruling and reigning in us, shouldn’t the title “servant” apply to us as well? May we strive to be servants of the Lord as empowered by the Holy Spirit!

Isaiah is a book full of judgment and doomsday prophecies for sure. But we also find plenty of prophecies relating to the end times and the Messiah’s return as Lord and King. And guess who is listed as having a huge part in that moment? None other than the Holy Spirit!

Isaiah is like a spiritual roller coaster: chapters of conviction and judgment are intertwined with chapters of praise and salvation. With not even a moment’s notice, the head is snapped from one emotion to the next. A large reason for such a wide ride is that Israel continued to make unholy treaty after unholy treaty, thus bringing upon themselves the consequences of their actions. May we learn the lesson that we make no other treaty or alliance other than one with the Holy Spirit!

We know God seems to like the number “seven.” In ancient Biblical thought, it’s the perfect number. So it’s no wonder then that the future Messiah will have these seven attributes… all connected, of course, to the Spirit of the Lord.