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The Bible Breakdown: Daily Bible Reading
Welcome to "The Bible Breakdown," where we break down God’s Word so we can know God better. I'm your host, Brandon Cannon, and I'm here to guide you through the pages of the Bible, one day at a time.
Each day, we'll read through a section of the Bible and explore key themes, motifs, and teachings. Whether you're new to the Bible or a seasoned veteran, I guarantee you'll find something insightful or inspiring. My hope is to encourage you to dive deeper and deeper.
So grab your Bible, your journal, your coffee, and join me on this journey of faith and discovery. And don't forget to hit that subscribe button to stay up-to-date with our daily readings and breakdowns.
Remember, as we journey through the pages of the Bible together, we're not just reading a book, we're unlocking the secrets to eternal life. The more we dig, the more we find! Let's get started!
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The Bible Breakdown: Daily Bible Reading
Revelation 03: Jesus Calls to Us
The spiritual battle against complacency takes center stage as we continue exploring Revelation's letters to the seven churches. Jesus delivers three distinct messages that speak powerfully to anyone feeling overwhelmed by life's pressures or the temptation to compromise their convictions.
Throughout Revelation 3, Jesus addresses churches living under Roman persecution with remarkable candor. To Sardis, the church with a reputation for life but secretly spiritually dead, He issues an urgent wake-up call. Their complacency mirrors their once-great city that fell through overconfidence—a sobering warning for believers who rely on past faithfulness rather than present devotion.
Philadelphia receives a dramatically different message. Though small and seemingly insignificant, this faithful congregation receives no rebuke—only promises of divine opportunity through "an open door no one can shut." Jesus honors their perseverance despite having "little strength," reminding us that God measures success differently than the world does.
Most memorably, Jesus confronts Laodicea's lukewarm faith with imagery drawn from their notoriously tepid water supply. Their wealth created an illusion of self-sufficiency while masking spiritual bankruptcy. Yet even here, Jesus extends hope through one of scripture's most tender invitations: "I stand at the door and knock." This image of divine patience reveals that even His harshest criticisms stem from love.
These ancient messages deliver a timeless challenge: spiritual complacency is deadly, faithfulness matters more than strength, and we must choose sides rather than attempt comfortable neutrality. When chaos surrounds us and opposition threatens, Jesus calls us to turn our ears on and listen closely. The presence of enemies doesn't indicate God's absence—it's our opportunity to demonstrate whose side we're truly on.
Subscribe to Bible Breakdown, leave a five-star review, and join our Facebook discussion group to continue unpacking how Jesus's words to these ancient churches offer hope and direction for today's challenges.
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The More We Dig. The More We Find.
Well, hello everybody. Welcome back to the Bible Breakdown podcast with your host, pastor Brandon. Today, revelation chapter 3, and today's title is Jesus Calls to Us. Jesus Calls to Us. We're going to continue to look at these seven churches and how Jesus is encouraging them, even in the middle of a great season of persecution. We're going to get into all that in just a moment.
Speaker 1:So, if you have your Bibles, I want to open up with me to Revelation chapter three. While you're doing that, make sure you take a moment and like, share and subscribe to the YouTube channel and the podcast. Make sure you leave us a five-star review on the podcast. It really does help us get the word out. It helps us in all the algorithms and all that kind of good stuff. You're going to the Bible Breakdown discussion on Facebook.
Speaker 1:The book of Revelation is one of those books. There's just a mountain of information that there's no way we can cover in this podcast, and so going there is another way you can get more information about the book of Revelation. I know that for a lot of us this is kind of unsatisfying, because you have heard this growing up and heard that growing up and all this kind of stuff and we had to make a decision when we first started recording the book of Revelation, and that is where we're going to make each recording two hours long, or we're going to find one major thing to stick with and just trust that there's so many others right? Well, obviously we chose the latter, and that is that there are a lot of podcasts who get into a lot of the prophecies, and there's a wonderful place for that, but the main theme of Revelation is Jesus wins, and that's what we want to focus on in our podcast, and that is to think about how the original readers would have read the book of Revelation. Now, the original readers would have been people that were from seven churches in Asia Minor, and we already saw yesterday how Jesus was giving these prophecies to some of these churches, four of them in particular, and then he's going to give them to the last three. But these churches were in a place where man they were dealing with all kinds of persecution from Rome and from Jerusalem and just random other things that were going on. All this stuff is just happening and they're dealing with a lot of persecution. John, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, writes to these churches and Jesus is saying to them. Don't give up, fix this, correct that. Don't give up over here. But, man, you're doing better than you realize because you're still here. Can I tell you that? Don't give up over here. But, man, you're doing better than you realize because you're still here. And can I tell you that message doesn't get old. If you live in a world where you feel like that, maybe there's chaos coming from every side, I think the book of Revelation can still be an amazing message of hope, and that's the overall message is that Jesus wins.
Speaker 1:We just got to make sure we got our ears turned on right, like it reminds me of when I had this very, very short stint as a elementary music school, a school teacher. I know some of y'all can barely um, I can barely, you know. I believe I even did that for a little while. Uh, it was a wonderful season. It's over, we survived. But one of the things that I loved is when I would go into some of the kindergarten classes. You know they would be trying to get the kids together and get their attention or whatever, and one of the things they would say all the time is everybody get your ears on, which meant y'all kids ain't listening right now, but you need to. So get your ears on. And when they would say that that that was a creative way of the teacher saying everybody listen up. That was a creative way of the teacher saying everybody listen up.
Speaker 1:Well, that's exactly what Jesus is saying today. He is going to be saying I'm calling out to you, make sure you're listening in these troubled times. And so let's look at this. I'm going to give you a little bit of background about these churches before I read what he says to them. So he's going to write to the Church of Sardis, church of Philadelphia, which sounds like the one in the United States, but it's not and then the church of Laodicea and church of the church of Sardis, which he's about to talk to. First, the church of Sardis was a wealthy but complacent city. They were once known for their strength but were conquered due to overconfidence, and so the church is actually mirroring the city. They're spiritually asleep and relying just on their reputation. And so the church is actually mirroring the city. They're spiritually asleep and relying just on their reputation. And so this once great city that now is not so much. Jesus is going to challenge that complacency. And so here he goes in chapter 3, verse 1. He says this Write this letter to the angel of the church of Sardis.
Speaker 1:This is the message from the one who has the sevenfold spirit of God and the seven stars. Remember we talked about that in chapter one. I know all the things you do and do. You have a reputation for being alive, but you are dead. In other words, that means asleep. So what does he say? Wake up, strengthen what little remains, for even what is left is almost dead. I find that your actions do not meet the requirements of my God, but go back to what you heard and believed at first and hold to it firmly. Repent and turn to me again. If you don't wake up, I will come to you as unexpectedly as a thief. If you don't wake up, I will come to you as unexpectedly as a thief. Yet there are some in the church in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes with evil. They will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. All who are victorious will be clothed in white, and I will never erase their names from the book of life, but I will announce before my Father and his angels that they are mine. Anyone who has ears to hear must listen to the spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. So the overall message to the church of Sardis was spiritual complacency is deadly. So what Jesus is saying is, in this time of great difficulty and in this time of troubles and trials, you've got to stay spiritually hot, you've got to stay spiritually on fire, because complacency kills.
Speaker 1:The next church he's going to talk to is the Church of Philadelphia. The reason why this is important is Philadelphia was a smaller, weaker city, prone to earthquakes and political instability. The church had very little power, yet it remained faithful, and so Jesus is encouraging this church. That is just very small, very kind of picked on in the community, but yet God is encouraging them. So look what it says Church of Philadelphia.
Speaker 1:Write this letter to the angel of the church in Philadelphia. This is the message from the one who is holy and true, the one who has the key of David what he opens, no one can close, and what he closes, no one can open. He says I know all the things that you do and I have opened a door for you that no one can close. You have little strength, yet you obey my word and did not deny me. Look, I will force those who belong to Satan's synagogues, those liars who say they are Jews but they are not. I will force them to come and bow down at your feet. They will acknowledge that you are the ones I love Because you have obeyed my commands to persevere. I will protect you from the great time of testing that will come upon the whole world to test those who belong to this world. I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so no one will take away your crown. All who are victorious will become pillars in the temple of my God and they will never have to leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and they will be citizens in the city of God, the new Jerusalem that has come down from heaven, from my God. I will also write on them my new name.
Speaker 1:Anyone who has ears to hear, listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches, and so what he's saying to the church of Philadelphia Jesus honors faithful endurance, and so he's telling them, in the middle of all this craziness be faithful, don't give up, be faithful. I'm doing more than you can realize. Wow, how, how amazing. That is All right. One more. He's writing to the church of Laodicea. And here's the thing about the church of Laodicea. Laodicea was a rich banking and textile center, but here's the thing, they were known for their lukewarm water supply. They had waters that would come in from one direction, that were cold, and they also had hot springs, and so when they would come together, it would create this lukewarm water. And Jesus is going to use this as an example in here because he's going to talk about that. The church kind of reflected this environment, this self-sufficient yet spiritually bankrupt city, and Jesus is going to say I need you to decide who you are, and you decide if you're for me or not for me, but you can't stay in the middle. All right, here we go.
Speaker 1:Verse 14 says this write this letter to the church in Laodicea. This is the message from the one who is the, a man, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's new creation. I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were hot or cold, one or the other, but since you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. Well, jesus, I wish you just tell us how you feel, right? Yeah, I'm going to spit you out of my mouth.
Speaker 1:Verse 17,. You say I am rich, I have everything I want, I don't need anything. Verse 17,. You say I am rich, I have everything I want, I don't need anything. Do you not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked? Oh my goodness. Verse 18, so I advise you to buy gold from me, gold that has been purified by fire. Then you will be rich. Also, buy white garments from me so that you will not be shamed by your nakedness and anointment and ointment, rather, for your eyes, so you will be able to see. I correct and discipline everyone I love. So be diligent and turn from your indifference. Look, I stand at the door and knock. If you will hear my voice and open the door, I will come in and we will share a meal together as friends. Those who are victorious will sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat with my father on his throne.
Speaker 1:Anyone who has ears to hear must listen to the spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. Wow, and so Jesus has spent these two chapters and he has been talking to these people who are in the middle of all this chaos and he's saying to them I got a plan, I have already won, I see you right where you are. And so his message to them was in today's text. His message to them was number one spiritual complacency is deadly. He also says faithfulness is what's important. And then he says you just got to make a choice. I'm calling to you and I need you to choose. I want you to choose me, but I need you to choose.
Speaker 1:And I wonder if that's what the Lord is saying to us. Maybe you're listening to this today and you're going through one of the greatest seasons of your life. Everything is going great, you're excited, god is good and you're in a great place. If that's, you, praise the Lord. This is for you in another season, but today I'm talking to people who you would say Pastor.
Speaker 1:I understand what those seven churches are going through. I understand what it is to feel like I'm being attacked on every side. I understand what it is to be threatened to compromise my faith and my values because of culture all around me. I get that. You know what? Maybe God would say to you. Maybe he would say be very careful, spiritual complacency is deadly. Maybe he would say to you. The thing that's most important to me is faithfulness, and then I think maybe he would say to us it's time to decide. Lukewarm faith is rejected. It's time to decide Are you on his side or are you not?
Speaker 1:And for some of us, we need to turn our ears on. We need to get our ears on and we need to listen, because here's the thing God's got a plan for your life. God wants to do good things for you, but that doesn't mean bad things won't come. Sometimes we can't see the greatness of God until we see the opposite things that are going on, and so the presence of an enemy is not the absence of God, but rather it's what are you going to do in the moment? So one more time, maybe God is saying to us spiritual complacency is deadly. Faithfulness is what matters, and you better decide. You got to decide, and can I encourage you? Choose to follow the Lord and when you do, watch what he'll do. Let's pray together right now.
Speaker 1:God, thank you so much for today. Thank you, god, that you're with us and you're for us. Lord, I pray for maybe somebody who's listening or watching this today and they would admit they're going through a season where it just feels like chaos. It just feels like there's so much going on. I pray maybe you'll speak to some of us, just like you did the church of Laodicea, and you say, look, I stand at the door and knock. If you will hear my voice and open the door. I'm coming, I'm coming in and I want to share a meal with you as friends. I want to fellowship with you. I pray that you will do that for us today. In Jesus name, we pray Amen, and you know what God's word says. In Revelation 1, verse 7,. It says look, he comes in the clouds of heaven and everyone will see him. My hope is that you see that Jesus has already won and because he's already won, he is with us today. I love you. I'll see you tomorrow for Revelation, chapter four.
