INTRO: Clayton Carpenter, one of the first casualties of Dessert Storm, was a helicopter pilot shot down was listed as KIA (killed in action). After the war, prisoners were released and Clayton Carpenter was one of them. As soon as he was freed, he called his mom back home in Kansas. Called, "Hello, Morn, this is Clayton." "But you’re dead!" Clayton talked with mom and when he got back home, he read his own obituary. Responded to news media asking him questions, "It’s not every day you get to read your own obituary."
Today we’re going to read about an obituary of a church. We’re going to perform an autopsy on this church. They thought they were alive, but Jesus says they were dead.
TEXT: Rev. 3:1-6
TITLE: A Dead Church
I. Church at Sardis - they had a reputation of being alive, but in fact they were dead. There was no commendation from the Lord like the other churches.
A. First words - You have reputation of being alive, but you’re dead.
-Not going to be a good day - first words out of Lord’s mouth.
1. No problems like rest of church.
-No doctrinal problems -No immorality problems -No persecution to speak of
2. In fact they were respectable, decent people.
3. But the problem is that they had a dying witness, a decaying ministry. The church is so lethargic, it failed to produce any false teachings (mentally dead). No opposition arose because it was dead.
Luke 6:26 - Jesus says "Woe to you when all men speak well of you."
-There’s a problem when everything’s going great all the time/same in the church because the enemy is not bothering with you.
B. Church Sardis - had a dying, decaying ministry
ex Leadership magazine ran an article on how churches are doing. It said 80% of churches in America are dead or dying (plateau).
-Another survey done by the Southern Baptist, largest protestant denomination in America, 15 million members - 30,000 churches, concluded 70% of their churches are declining or have plateaued.
1. Church Sardis is typical of churches today - comfortable, just running a maintenance program, carry on with the routine. Not making anything difficult.
2. Satan Strategy - we’ve looked at his diversionary tactics:
-Ephesus Christians so busy they have no impact.
-Smyrna Christians were persecuted, a frontal assault.
-Pergamum Christians were seduced into compromising.
-Thyatira Christians were infiltrated by the enemy.
-Sardis was hit with biological warfare, infects us with sleeping sickness (asleep at the post).
John Bunyan "Pilgrim’s Progress"
Christian is traveling with hopeful, going through the low country where the air seemed to induce sleep. Hopeful wanted to lay down and sleep, but Christian told him if they went to sleep, they would never wake up.
-Church Sardis - people were asleep and some were about ready to go to sleep.
II. Some of their symptoms
A. Worshipped the past - the good old days, live in the past, love tradition over the love of Christ.
Definition of tradition - is the living faith of the dead. Traditionalism - is the dead faith of the living.
70-80% churches America are committed to traditionalism.
B. Church more concerned about program over people.
-This is where we care more about our comfort than ministering to the people. 1. Inflexibility to change, rigormortis in the church.
-Christians should be the most wide open people to change because a living God lives within us molding and shaping us.
-Sadly Christians sometimes are the most resistant to change (not speaking doctrine , but methods).
C. Church loses its evangelistic, missionary zeal.
-When this happens church has one foot in the grave.
1. Church only organization in world exist primarily for the purpose of those who are not a part of us Yet.
-When we forget about the lost, we just become another social club and God’s spirit leaves.
2. Many mainline denominations have gone down the liberal path saying we need to stop sending missionaries, interfering in their cultures. They have plateaued or are declining.
ex Northern star, closest star to the earth besides the sun, 33 light years away, meaning it takes light traveling 186,000 miles per second, takes 33 years to reach.
-Sadly there are many churches that have died out and you’re seeing the last remaining remnants of light within them.
M. Cure - formula for revival in personal life (v. 2 Read)
A. Wake up - bucket cold water thrown on you.
ex live in old house going college lived in big walk in closet sleeping one night, no shirt felt these claws walking across chest, jumped up, immediately wide awake (mouse).
-That’s what Lord’s saying to those who have fallen asleep. Enemy this close to taking your life (this close to your throat).
1. When we wake - we need to be watchful - no commandment appears more frequently in the New Testament than that - to watch.
a. Watchfulness should be constant attitude of Christian life.
-It has been said eternal vigilance is the price of liberty and eternal watchfulness is the price of salvation.
1. Watchful against temptation - Jesus tells his disciples to watch and pray that you may not fall into temptation.
2. Watch against false teachers. Apostle Paul in his last address to the elders of Ephesus. He warns them that grievous wolves will invade the flock from outside and from inside men will
arise to speak perverse things.
3. Watch against the wiles of the devil.
-I Peter 5:8 "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."
4. Watch for the coming of the Lord - watch for the Lord. Let us not be taken by surprise. We should live every day as if it were our last.
B. Not only wake up but to strengthen what remains - The remnant, forget what is dead work with the living.
ex many pastors leave ministry because their spending all their time trying to resurrect the dead.
1. Need to focus on the living
-Jesus before his ascention to heaven told of some parables. One was the parable of the weed (Matthew 13).
a. Man sowed good seed in his field.
b. Enemy came in and sowed weeds while everyone was sleeping.
-sprouted and grew together (looked alike, smelled alike). Ask if they should be pulled. Answer No, you may uproot some of the wheat. Let both grow together until harvest. Weeds gathered and burned, wheat brought into barn.
-God will deal with the weeds. We need to focus on the wheat. We need to forget about rituals of religion and focus on the remnant.
C. Third wake up, strengthen what remains, remember what you have received. v. 3 (Read) 1. Remember your purpose - the gifts God has given each and everyone of us. -Forgiveness sins, eternal life, spiritual gifts.
Slogan: A great commitment to the great commandment and to the great commission will make a great Christian/church.
Greatest commandment - Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. Love your neighbor as yourself.
D. Fourth - Obey - Be doers of the word not just listeners.
-If you don’t have a ministry, you’re out of God’s will because God has given each and everyone of us spiritual gifts. A piece of the puzzle, so to speak, to do our part.
E. Fifth - Repent - Ask forgiveness -Are we broken over the sins or are we taking the attitude of "No Big Deal".
ex When Michigan played Wisconsin in basketball early in the season in 1989, Michigan’s Rumeal Robinson stepped to the foul line for two shots late in the fourth quarter. His team trailed by one point, so Rumeal could regain the lead for Michigan. He missed both shots, allowing Wisconsin to upset favored Michigan.
Rumeal felt awful about costing his team the game, but his sorrow didn’t stop at the emotional level. After each practice for the rest of the season, Rumeal shot 100 extra foul shots.
Thus, Rumeal was ready when he stepped to the foul line to shoot two shots with three seconds left in overtime in the national championship game. Swish went the first shot, and swish went the second. Those shots won Michigan the national championship.
Rumeal’s repentance had been genuine, and sorrow motivated him to work so that he would never make that mistake again. As Paul wrote, "Godly sorrow leads to repentance" (2 Cor. 7:10).
IV. Another type of Christian (4-6 Read)
A. Determined Christian - Saints who are determined not to give up. -Their signed = names written in Lambs Book of Life.
-Their sealed = covered blood Jesus, Christ imputes His righteousness to us. They will be dressed in white (Christ’s righteousness).
-Their delivered = One day Jesus will acknowledge your name to His Father in heaven.
1. Good saying: You don’t get eternal life because you’ve persevered. You persevere because you possess eternal life.
CONCLUSION: Church at Sardis deals with Christians that are dying or that have already died spiritually speaking.
1. Name and history of city deals with this very same problem.
History: 700 years before this letter was written Sardis had been one of the greatest cities in the world. The city was built on a plateau 1,500 foot drops around it, meaning you could not approach it from the back. It was impregnable because of its defenses. 500 BC Cyrus, King of Persia attacked and laid Beige for months. Could not take it. Walls too steep (people could live in city for years if they bad to).
One night some of Cyrus’ men were around back side of city and watching guards and noticed this guard doze off to sleep and his helmet fell all the way to bottom. So they watched, and to their surprise they watched this man go down a secret passage all the way to the bottom. They had their key to the city. They made their way up the secret path and found no guards because they thought they were safe (impregnable). The city was captured.
-They were once great, but now they are nothing.
