What Kind of Church Are We?
“The Carnal (Comatose) Church”
Revelation 3:1-6
* Today I read a sermon online which told this story; there was a church so dead that a member died during one of the worship services and the paramedics carried out 5 people before they found the right one. Have you ever seen a church which was this dead? In your own mind, what does a dead church look like?
* Vance Havner tells us that churches generally go through 4 stages. Remember, this is Vance Havner who is the master of the one liner and alliterations, and by the way, a very wise preacher.
* He suggests that the four stages of church life are; a man, a movement, a machine, and a monument. To explain this just a little; most churches begin as a vision of one man. Quite likely this is the church planter and most times the Pastor. As the Spirit directs this man to influence the lives of others into committing their lives to this church, a movement is begun. After a period of time (and it’s different for each and every body) this new Spirit-filled church become so well-oiled that it operate like a machine. Knowing that the Holy Spirit is the “lubricant” which keeps the church performing well, efficiently, and on task, when the machine begin to run so well on its own that it slowly quits depending on the work of the Spirit for power, the machine begins to wear and tear. The outcome is that once was once an alive, on fire, incredible force for the Kingdom now become more than a monument to days past.
* Watch this; they appear to everyone that things are great. There is plenty of money, buildings, fellowship, friendships, and people, but the spiritual energy is no longer evident. We know that the church in Corinth was one of these churches. When Paul wrote to them, it was in chapter 3 he said, “I wanted to speak to you as spiritual, but I could not. I had to speak to you as “carnal” or “fleshly” or “worldly” people.” Truth is, Corinth had a form of godliness but denied the power which was available to them. What a sad state of affairs.
* We are in Chapter 3 of Revelation and find a similar church in the first 6 verses. Tonight we continue with the thought, “What Kind of Church Are We?” and will look at what I’m calling ‘The Carnal Church’, but one preacher called “The Comatose Church.” Let’s read.
* I begin with a call for each of us to always be sensitive to “hearing what the spirit says to the churches.” The Spirit is our “breath of life”. In Genesis, man became a living soul by God breathing the spirit into Him. In Ezekiel, those dead bones had been put together but it was not until the spirit filled them that they were alive. The church of Acts 1 was praying and longing for the life. It was only after the infilling of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2 that life came. The Holy Spirit is important for us to hear if we are to be the church God’s wants us to be.
* For this past month we have been looking at each church through 3 points of view; the Approval, the Accusation, and the Admonition.
1) THE APPROVAL – Candidly, there is no direct statement of approval for the church at Sardis. (Remember, that there was no direct statement of accusation for the church in Smyrna.) This lack of approval is sobering for the modern day church. The reputation of the FBC of Sardis was that they were a great and active church. Their schedules were full, quite likely worship was good, and all the trappings of success were a part of the fellowship.
* Jesus says, “I know your works.” It would serve us well to take an honest look at this statement. We need to hear our Lord’s inflexion as He might speak these words to us. “I know”. I know what people are saying. No doubt, the body needs people to be talking positively about the church, work, and ministry. At the same time, the most important issue is “what does our Lord say?”
* The closest statement to an approval for this church is found down in verse 4. Even though Jesus charges them with not being what their reputation says, He does say that you have a small group who have authentic, committed, consistent, spiritual, and warriors. Basically, He says, there is a remnant of folks who are willing to adjust their lives to my way and adhere to my will.
2) THE ACCUSATION – The accusations abound. Personally, I can lift out 4 accusations; deceiver, dead, deficient, distracted.
* As a deceiver, they claim to be true believers, born again, spirit-filled Christians and are not.
* As dead, they are like the “white washed” tombs. This is a reference to grave markers which have been cleaned and painted.
* As deficient, it seems the people in Sardis have decided they them-selves can determine what the ministry is and should do & be.
* As distracted, two times they are told to remain alert. We only remain alert when we believe there is a reason. When we get comfortable, we become complacent, and let down our guard.
* When I hear these accusations, it makes me rethink my life, my motivation, my actions, my activities, and every part of ministry. A deceiver cannot possess the spirit of Christ, because God is truth and light. Untruth and darkness does not reside in Him. Jesus’ harshest words were reserved for the unfruitful and the Pharisees—who were the leaders of the “bait and switch” reputation. I can visit these other three and know that each of them breaks the heart of God.
3) THE ADMONITION – Jesus always offers us a corrective action, a cure, and/or a med to bring us back to health & he does for this body.
* First He says, “Be alert.” Why does He say this? Because we tend to forget that if we are following Him and are one of His, we are in enemy territory. Can you imagine a US soldier forgetting he is in Iraq? When you realize this truth, it changes the way you live.
* Next He says, “Strengthen What Remains.” To put this in military terms “reinforce the front lines.” I might add, “Know where the front lines are.” The front lines are not found in this building. The front lines of the war which we find ourselves is taking place at work, at school, on the internet, the TV, our music, basically in our culture. We must prepare ourselves to authentically stand against the enemy.
* Finally He concludes with “Remember and Repent.” These words are so often used by our Lord. He wants us to “Remember” what we have received, what we have heard, the fellowship we enjoyed, the joy of our salvation, the time of a great outpouring of the Spirit, and the wonder of His love. Remember all those things. And then be ready to repent or turn away from all the things which make us accusable.
Each week in America, paramedics arrive on the scene of an accident where the victim has crossed the barrier between life and death. There is no heartbeat. Breathing has stopped. All the vital signs of life are absent. But the paramedics do not accept this death as final. They begin CPR, perhaps inject a drug that stimulates the heart. For a few frantic moments, nothing happens. Then, the victim begins to cough, taking a few ragged breaths, and the heart begins to beat, pulsing life through the body. In a few moments, the victim is stabilized. And instead of sending a corpse to the morgue, the ambulance takes a patient to the hospital. Was the victim dead? Without getting too theological or technical, we would have to answer, yes. If not for the expert care of the paramedics, the accident would have been followed by a funeral. But we know that in many instances, this kind of death doesn’t have to be final. With the proper stimulus, the person can be revived.
