Are we Alive but Dead?
Pm service March 30th 2008
Revelation 3:1-6
Introduction
Have you ever seen or been apart of a church that is dead and dying? A church that was satisfied with itself, with keeping things the way they had always been? A church resting on it laurels and past history, that only spoke of what it used to be.
An artist was once asked to put on canvas what he considered to be the picture best symbolizing a decaying and dying church. After several months, he returned and reported that he had finished the task. The hour finally arrived when the painting was to be unveiled and Several people standing around the easel had already given their description of what they thought the church would look like. Some had said it would be a rundown building in great need of repair and paint. Weeds would be growing in the church yard, and there would be some broken window panes. Everyone in the group seemed to have a similar picture in mind. However, when the cloth was removed, a hush fell over the group. Everyone was stunned. Before their eyes was an absolutely beautiful church building. The grounds were well kept and the exterior of the building was in excellent condition. After a few minutes, one person stepped forward and said to the artist, "I thought we asked you to paint a dying church?"
The artist smiled and invited everyone to step closer to the painting. He pointed through the windows to the empty pews and to the collection plate on the table. There was nothing in the plate but "cobwebs."
The church that has cobwebs in its collection plate is a church that is decaying and dying. Without the giver, there is no giving. Without the giving, ministries cannot be conducted by the church. Without ministries being conducted, the mission of the church cannot be carried out. If the mission of the church is not carried out, the church is purposeless and dead. (Sermon Central Illustration David Elvery)
This was the church a Sardis. Sardis pictures the church that has an excellent reputation and is highly respected by the community, but its dead and lifeless.
In our passage of scripture tonight the Holy spirit through John will give the church at Sardis a warning about there spiritual lifelessness, and tonight we will learn four steps to take to ensure that we remain alive both in deed and in Spirit.
Read Scriptures: Revelation 3:1-6
I. To Remain alive we must understand that, God sees through our busyness.
Vs. 1 “To the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.”
God told the church at Sardis, “I know your deeds”, it tells us that they did have some works going on at the church. They had programs, and different things going on, they even had a reputation in the community for the things they had done in the past and are still doing.
The key phrase in that passage is “I Know”, God says I can see through your busyness and even through your reputation, your not hiding behind your programs.
All of the churches man made programs can never bring life, that is the Holy Spirit’s Job.
To remain alive as a church, we need to understand that God sees through our busyness and our programs, we can not hide behind them as if programs alone can reach our community, it is still the way it has always been, God wants us to be obedient children allowing the Holy Spirit to move through us and work through us.
II. To Remain alive we must be awake and alert to movement of the Holy Spirit.
Vs. 2 “Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God.”
God’s counsel to a dying church is “Wake Up”, there are some things that I want to work through, wake up and be alert to where I am moving.
God says “Strengthen what remains” there is hope, it is not all lost, its not dead yet, you are dying but you are not dead, there is still hope for you, if you “strengthen what remains”. The things that you are doing are not the things that I want you to do, they are “not complete in my sight”, because your not following the Holy Spirit’s guidance.
If this church is going to remain alive, then we need to heed the warning God that he gave to church at Sardis, and that is to wake up and be alert to the moving of the Holy Spirit.
III. To Remain alive, we must not compromise our faith.
Vs. 3-4 “Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you. Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy.”
There were those in this church at Sardis who had not soiled themselves. This means there were a few faithful believers in the church. They had not defiled, dirtied, or spotted their lives with worldliness of the day. They had kept themselves free from being polluted by the world. There were not activity centered nor program centered, but Christ centered. They did not use the church as:
-A religious salve for their conscience
-As a social activity
-As a place for fellowship alone
-As a place for social or business contacts
-As a place to build their public image
-As a place to provide activities for the family
The faithful believers kept themselves pure. They focused on Jesus Christ and His purpose: they were still growing spiritually and reaching out to share Christ with a needful world. (Preachers outline and sermon bible)
If we are going to remain alive, we should never compromise our faith just make things easier to avoid persecution, we must stay Christ centered in our deeds and words.
IV. To Remain alive we must remember why we do what we do.
Vs. 5-6 “He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
Why do we work, why to we labor, why do we stay up late at night praying for this ministry, we do we do all it is that we do. Is it because the pay is so good, most of you who labor and work here in this church you are volunteering your time, is because of personal recognition, most people in this church and in this community have no idea what some of you do in this church for the work of this ministry. For the most part nobody knows what you give. So why do we do what we do?
The answer is simple, to obedient Children of our Father who is in heaven watching, because one day we will be with him and have to give an account for the time spent living our lives here on earth.
To remain alive as a church we must always remember why we do what we do, it is not for the applause of men but for the glory of Jesus.
Conclusion
The warning here is that we not grow comfortable in our churches, lest we find ourselves slowly dying. The encouragement is that no church is beyond hope as long as there is a remnant in it, will to strengthen the things that remain.
To remain alive we must remember these four steps, understand that God sees our activities, We must remain alert and awake to the moving of the Holy Spirit and be willing to move with Him, We must never compromise our faith, and we must always remember why we do what we do.
