Zion

Today my thoughts are on Zion. It is God's will for all Christians to dwell in Zion even as God has given us birth in Zion. Zion is a picture of God's people dwelling and fellowshipping in Him. It is called the city of the living God. It is where God can govern through His people who know Him, hear Him and obey Him.

But sadly for most who are called Christians, there may not even be born again (in Zion). And those who are born in Zion are not taught the importance of dwelling in Zion. So we have the church which in God's mind should be Zion missing the mark.

We find in Revelation Chapters 2 and 3, the Lord's mind and the Lord's call to those who have an ear to hear. It is a call for those who have an ear to return to Zion, which is to overcome. So we find that Christians everywhere, whether they belong to a church such as Ephesus or to a church such as Laodicea, have the choice if they are willing to belong to Zion. For the call to overcome is given not only to Philadelphia and Smyrna but to all the seven churches.

The fact is all true Christians are already born in Zion. We only need to continue dwell in Zion. The practical side of dwelling in Zion is to have an ear to hear the voice of our Lord through the Holy Spirit. The call to the overcomer is,"he who has an ear let him hear". We must cultivate the habit to listening to His voice, responding and obeying. This is the fundamental characteristic for those who are dwelling in Zion. Jesus says, "My sheep hears My voice."

Being in Zion is not some exclusive Christian club or denomination. It is what every Christian should be by the grace of God. When we are not in Zion, we have fallen out of God's will for us.

We see many churches who have the name of Zion. Can any particular local church be Zion? I think the answer is no. Even the Philadelphia church in Revelation is not Zion. For there are those who held on to the word who are Zion, and those who did not hold on to the word and lost their crowns.

So what is the responsibility of any local church? It is to brings many sons to glory. That is the evangelizing, the teaching and the discipling of believers to the Lord. It that way the church bring as many who are willing to Zion. Can the church ensure that all its earthly members are of Zion? Clearly no. It is still a choice of the individuals.