One of the seven churches identified in the book of Revelation is the church at Smyrna. Being a godly church, they raised the standard of godliness and faced persecution.
The church at Smyrna was the local church in that city. Smyrna was a city established by the Roman Emperors as their summer resort city. During summer, the Roman Emperor leaves the capital and goes to Smyrna for a vacation, just to relax and enjoy. The elites of the Roman Empire also flocked to that city for vacation. Smyrna was a city full of sin and iniquity because the elites came there with all their sins. Also, in those days, there was something called “Emperor Worship.”
One of the reasons the early Church was persecuted was because they refused to worship Caesar and call him “god.” To the Roman Empire, Caesar was lord, but the Church said, “Jesus is our Lord.” As a result of the persecution, the Christians were fed to lions. Smyrna was at the centre of “Emperor Worship,” so, anything done in that city was noticeable.
One of the major keys to mastering spiritual warfare is identifying the ruling spirits in the land you find yourself in, just like intelligence gathering for an army against their enemies. The ruling spirits in the land always face the churches in that environment. If a church is going to change a community, the Church must first find the ruling spirit and the ruling attitude in that community and operate in the opposite spirit.
In essence, there must be a line of demarcation between the Church and the city.
PRAYER: Lord, help me to identify the ruling spirits in the land I find myself in per time in Jesus’ name. Amen.
BIBLE IN A YEAR: Leviticus 25:47-27:13; Mark 10:32-52; Psalm 45:1-17; Proverbs 10:22
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