Fighting Against Becoming Complacent

Today I want to talk about complacency. Complacency is defined as a feeling of pleasure or security many times while being unaware of any danger. I'm going to use Jesus' letter to the church at Sardis today to help us to become vigilant against becoming complacent. Our focal passage of Scripture comes from Rev. 3:1-6.

For so many of us, childhood was a time of having to be reminded of things. It was so easy to be distracted by the playground or the TV and we would have to be reminded to do our homework, feed the cat, or take out the trash. Unfortunately, as adults, we can be just as easily distracted. We get distracted from what we should be doing, and then another distraction comes along and distracts us from the first distraction. Wouldn't it be good to have someone whispering in our ear constantly to remind us to stay focused?

There are a lot of things that deserve our focus: our family, jobs, health, and church activities. But even when we're focusing on these good things, we may still need someone whispering in our ear telling us to focus on God. Even in the good things we do, we can lose focus of the main thing. We can become complacent in our walk with God—that is, we can feel secure without being aware of any danger. The church in Sardis had become complacent. I think we can all benefit from the words of Jesus that were spoken to them to stay focused on what matters. Prayer.

First, a little bit about the city of Sardis. Sardis was located about 30 miles Southeast of Thyatira and 50 miles east of Ephesus. Being on a major trade route, the city prospered. Sardis had vertical rock walls on three sides and was considered to be very safe against any enemy attack.

With this, they became overconfident. At least twice in its history, Sardis was attacked and conquered. The city also was famous for having a large cemetery, about 7 miles from the city. By the late first century AD, while it was still prosperous, Sardis' greatest days were now passed. All they were doing was living on their reputation from earlier days. Revelation 3: 1-2 – ““Write to the angel of the church in Sardis: Thus says the one who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars: I know your works; you have a reputation for being alive, but you are dead. 2 Be alert and strengthen what remains, which is about to die, for I have not found your works complete before my God.”

In this letter to the church at Sardis, Jesus didn't give any indication that there was false doctrine that was being taught in the church or any indication of troublemakers in the church. They may have looked problem-free, but they weren't. So, Jesus cuts straight to the core and He tells them that although they give the appearance of being alive, they were dead. It looked like the church had adopted the same attitude as the rest of the city and was relying on its past successes.

The church at Sardis was known for being active so people far and wide would have talked about them and their good works. So why would Christ tell them they were dead? Because he was able to look below the surface and he knew their works were ineffective. They were lifeless.

How many times have you heard of a description of a church in our city that resembles those same remarks? “That church is dead. There is nothing going on there. They don’t seem to WANT to grow in the Lord.”

In these verses, Jesus identifies Himself as the one who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. Earlier in the Book of Revelation, John identifies the seven Stars as the angels of the seven churches. Again, that word Angel most likely referred to the pastor of the church. The seven spirits may refer to the Holy Spirit.

In his prophecy about the Messiah, Isaiah mentioned the Holy Spirit seven ways. In addition to being the spirit of the lord, he is a spirit of wisdom and understanding, a spirit of counsel and strength, a spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. Isaiah 11:2. This image captures the Holy Spirit and his fullness, and the church at Sardis was in great need of the Spirit of God.

That is why we pray before every service and invite the Lord to be with us. Without God's Spirit with us, what can we accomplish? Nothing! It is of utter importance that God be with us in and through every service as we meet to praise and worship Him. Maybe that is why some Churches seem to be dead. They forgot to ask the Lord to join them.