The Spirit Of The Nicolaitans In The Church - Especially The Black Church

The Spirit of the Nicolaitans in the Church

“Especially the Black Church”

By

Bishop Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr.

OPENING:- There is in the Body of Christ a clarion cry today from a remnant of the people of God that I truly believe is coming from the mouths of burden ridden souls and going directly to the heart and ears of God. I hear and have the same cry that is coming forth from the sheep shouting in this the last days “Where are the real shepherds”. Shepherds who are willing to lead and are not be worried about their personal crowns of glory, popularity, and authority. For far too long there has been the demand to have praises sung, honor bestowed, authority given, and positions popularized to certain ones of them. However, now is the time that the watchman should be warning the people of impeding danger, equipping them to be double fisted, working in one hand and ready to fight in the other like Nehemiah did. Nehemiah 4:17 says “They which builded on the wall, and they that bare burdens, with those that laded, every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon”. It is time for the true watchman on the wall and not the blind dogs to stand tall and cry loud and say like Zechariah in the book named after him Zechariah 13:5 KJV says, “But he shall say, I am no prophet, I am an husbandman; for man taught me to keep cattle from my youth”. The New American Standard Bible says it like this “but he will say, ‘I am not a prophet; I am a tiller of the ground, for a man sold me as a slave in my youth”. It’s time for the watchmen, the leaders, the Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor, Teacher, Bishop, Minister, and any other title to truly answer the call and work the work of the ministry, which is not operating or having a position or title in the church, but it is being effective in the world. Understand the Church, which is the body of Christ is designed to be the instrument of God to reach the world, the catalyst to ignite a change in the world, an ever-present presence in the world. Contrary to tradition and popular religious practices it was never intended that the world, the sinner should come to the church to find Christ, but rather the church was intended to move out into the world, Matthew 28:19 “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost”. When the world begins to see the church, the body of Christ among them, ministering to them, challenging them, loving them, reaching them where they are, then will they begin to understand that Jesus Christ is not dead and gone but he lives and is here among them operating through everyday believers, like the song we used to sing said just Ordinary People.

PRAYER:-

SCRIPTURES: 1 Timothy 4:16 says “Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee”. This scripture is one of the reasons I am doing this lesson today.

Revelation 2:6 & 15 says “But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate. So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate”.

Matthew 4:3 says, “And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread”. So often times we hear this scripture and we focus on the turning stones to bread because Jesus had just fasted 40 days and 40 nights and the temper, Satan, was tempting Him with something to satisfy His hunger and that is true, but let me suggest to you that the 1st thing he did was to question His identity. If he could cause Jesus to doubt His identity, then he could win the other temptations.

Identity: is the distinguishing character or personality of an individual. Your identity is the most important part of who you are. Your identity is the doorway to your destiny. No doubt you have heard the phrase your circumstances or your situation doesn’t determine your destiny, or your past doesn’t determine your future and that’s true; however, your identity differently does determine your destiny. Who you are will determine where you will go and what you can do? If you don’t believe that just try to walk right up to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave in Washington D.C., you will see just what your identity will or will not let you do.