In the best of us there are deep flaws; but in the worst of us there is something worth redeeming.
In the best of us there are deep, profound flaws. Every fine and saintly person I have known has been hard to get along with, had blinders on about some issue, or just hung on to some irritating habit. Every time I build up an admiration for someone, the object of my admiration turns and does something disappointing. You do not have to argue with me the Scripture that says that "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." I’ve seen that. In the best of us there are deep flaws, and sometimes very disappointing ones.
But in the worst of us there is still something worth redeeming. In the most hopeless of cases, the amazing grace of God can find something worth saving. If Jesus could build His church around the impetuous fisherman Peter, the political revolutionary Simon, the doubting cynic Thomas, the fair weather friend Mark, and the religious fanatic Paul, then it’s clear: He can redeem the worst of us.
In the best of us there are deep flaws, but in the worst of us there is something worth redeeming. Just the other day I was startled to open the newspaper and to read the obituary of one of my former pastors. It brought back many memories. This man was, for a time, my ideal. He served my home church in Louisville while I was a college student, and made an indelible impression on me. It was under his leadership that I heard God’s call to the ministry; it was he who began to teach me how to preach. I thought he had it all: intelligence, eloquence, leadership, stature, everything.
And then people began to tell me some very negative things. They began to speak of this pastor’s arrogance. They talked of his selfishness; they complained of his misuse of money. On and on it went, until one night I found myself sitting in misery in a church business meeting while my friends and neighbors voted to dismiss my pastor. That really hurt. He was the best!
Well, eventually I learned more about him, more than I really wanted to know. I learned that when he came here to Washington to serve a church, that church lost 800 members during his tenure, and they too dismissed him. I learned that even when, later on, he created a new church out of folks who thought as he thought, it went sour, and even that church fired him. In fact, eventually, fired from five churches. That must be some kind of a record.
But now, I ask you, did all of my pastor’s flaws negate the good that he did for me and for others? Did all of the mistakes he made make worthless the sermons he preached? Of course not. Not by any means.
And so, you see, in the best of us there are deep flaws. Terrible wrongs. But in the worst of us there is still something which can be redeemed, something which can be used of God.
The church at Sardis is the only one of the churches in the Book of Revelation to receive no praise. Of the church at Sardis, the Lord has nothing positive to say. With all the other churches, He said, "I know ... I know your works, how you have endured." But to the church at Sardis, when He says, "I know", it is, "I know your works, that you have the name of being alive, but you are dead." Very tough language.
But I want you to see this morning that there is good news even in this tough language; I want you to hear hope even where there is judgment. I have an idea that you need to hear this, because I beat up on you quite a bit last week, didn’t I? It’s time for a word of good news. It’s time to bathe in this: that though there are in the best of us deep flaws, still there is in the worst of us something that can be redeemed.
Let me start with an image from the art world. The statue, Venus de Milo. Does the name Venus de Milo conjure up a picture in your head?
The Venus de Milo is an ancient Greek sculpture, dating from two or three hundred years before Christ. It is a representation of the Greek goddess of love. Clad only in a cloth draped around her hips, the statue was singled out for years as the standard for feminine beauty. It was said that her proportions, her features, the flow of her hair … all of these things were perfect. I’m not sure who figures out what is perfect, but that’s what was said.
However, do you remember something else about the Venus de Milo? What about her arms? The statue has no arms. When she was discovered in 1820, no one could find the arms, which had been broken off. And so there she stands, in the museum, this paragon of perfection, this standard of beauty, but she has no arms. She is beautiful but not perfect. No, let me say that again and make it say what I want to communicate: she is beautiful even though she is not perfect. Not perfect, not complete, but beautiful in the eyes of many.
In the best of us there are deep flaws. But in the worst of us, there are things worth redeeming and finding beautiful.
I
The Lord of the church at Sardis says, "Wake up". "You have the name of being alive, but you are dead." "Wake up ... for I have not found your works perfect in the sight of my God ... if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you."
When Christ calls on us to "wake up", He calls us to discern what is happening in our world. He calls us to discover and interpret our relationship to the issues of our day. "Wake up" means "figure out what’s really happening in this world, and face it. Confront it." "Wake up ... for I will come like a thief’; judgment is all around us.
You see, there is a style of doing Christianity that focuses only on churchly things, nice, sweet, pretty things. There is a way of doing church that ignores all the issues, all the violence, all the stuff that tears up people’s lives, and pays attention only to the little niceties.
There is a story told about the early stages of the Russian revolution. The people of St. Petersburg were taking to the streets to protest their hunger. At the same the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church was meeting. What was on the church’s agenda? A heated debate on the priestly robes worn at the altars! While men and women in the streets were weeping for two or three loaves of bread to fill their stomachs, the church was debating whether there should be two knots or three knots in the strands girding the priests’ waists!
Sometimes, trying to look perfect makes us totally out of touch with real human life!
So the Lord of the church says, you may be beautiful, but you are not complete. "Wake up". Wake up, Christian, and see what is really happening around you. Wake up and see the children born into hopelessness. Wake up and see the young people who think of violence as the way to solve their problems. Wake up and see that for all you have done, all you have accomplished, you are not complete. If, like the Venus de Milo, you have no arms of compassion to wrap around your world, you may be beautiful, but you are not perfect. "Wake up … for judgment will come like a thief in the night."
In other words, in the best of us, you see, there are deep flaws.
II
But the Lord not only says, "Wake up". He also commands, "Strengthen." "Strengthen what remains and is on the point of death." There are some things you are doing which are almost dead. Don’t lose them. Don’t lose something important through neglect. Strengthen what remains. In the worst of things there is still something worth redeeming.
After I left my home church in Louisville ... the one where I thought I had had a perfect pastor ... we moved to my first campus ministry position in a small town in eastern Kentucky. There was really only one choice for a Baptist church to attend. Oh, there were some little outlying churches, but the big church in town was the one that supported the campus ministry; obviously we had to join that church. But neither Margaret nor I could stomach this pastor. First of all, we had heard that he had run off every campus minister before me! That was bad enough, but when we heard him preach … forget it! In fact, that first Sunday we were in town we did not only did not join the church, but also Margaret nearly gave the poor old boy a heart attack by suggesting that we might want to look around elsewhere!
Well, we did what we had to do; we joined. And we suffered; oh, how we suffered through negative sermons, condemning the college where I was working, condemning the seminary from which I had just graduated, condemning nearly everything under the sun. The negative spirit was very depressing!
And the worst part was, this pastor had only one stock answer for everything. No matter what the problem was; no matter what issue was being discussed; no matter how the sermon started or on what Scripture it was based … there was always the same three-point outline. Do you want to know what the answer to everything is? I can hear him now: One, read your Bible; two, pray; and three, witness to others. We got so sick and tired of hearing that the answer to everything is Bible study, prayer, and witnessing! At least he didn’t mention tithing every week!
Well, folks, we’ve been through a few things by now. We’re a lot older and a little wiser. And guess what I have concluded?! That the answer to much, if not absolutely everything is: read your Bible, pray, and witness to others! In that worst of pastors, there was something worth redeeming, something worth cherishing!
The Lord’s command is "Strengthen what remains and is on the point of death". And I must insist this morning that if we are going to accomplish anything at all, we must go again to the very basics of what we are all about and revive it. "Strengthen what remains .. ." Why is it that only half the number who come to worship show up for serious Bible study on Sunday morning? That needs to be strengthened. Why is it that only a dozen or so of us turn up for prayer meeting? Strengthen it! Why is it that for daily noonday prayer, most days there is only one person? Strengthen what remains and is on the point of death. Why is that the very notion of sharing our faith with our neighbors scares the shoes off most of us? You know, the church is always only one generation away from extinction. Strengthen what is always on the point of death!
We may be beautiful, but we are not perfect, not complete. It is time for Takoma Park to take seriously the fundamental disciplines around which Christian life is built. We may do lots of beautiful things, we may have new ministries, we may have a warm fellowship, we may have a renovated building; but we are not complete, not until we strengthen those basic things that are on the point of death.
In the worst of things, there is still something worth redeeming.
III
"Wake up" "Strengthen". And finally, the Lord of the church at Sardis says, "Remember". "Remember what you have received and heard; obey it and repent. You have still a few persons in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. And if you conquer, you will be clothed like them in white robes, and I will not blot your name out of the book of life; I will confess your name before my Father." The key command is, "Remember"
"Remember what you have received and heard." In the final analysis, the key to spiritual renewal is remembering the fullness and power of the grace of God. It is accepting afresh each day what God in Jesus Christ has done in us.
I don’t know about you, but my memory is very selective. There is a spiritual sickness down in me that remembers the painful moments more than it remembers the happy times. I can recall so vividly those times when I embarrassed myself or sinned against someone. It feels sometimes as if I can remember every word of criticism and every unpleasant experience; frankly, it feels as though I have never forgiven myself for some of the things I’ve done. When I went to a preaching seminar in New York last June, and was asked to critique my own sermon, most of the other members of the group asked me, "Why are you so hard on yourself? Why can’t you just accept what you have to give?
So what must I do to be renewed ... and maybe it’s true of you too? What must I to do to be renewed? I must remember.
I must remember that God is love, and that He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. I must remember.
I must remember that while I was yet a sinner, Christ died for me. As for you. I must remember.
I must remember that one day, on a green hill far away, without a city wall, there the dear Lord was crucified, who died to save us all. We must remember.
Remember what you have received and heard. " .. that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me" In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me"
For though we may be beautiful, we are not perfect; though we are not perfect, we are being made beautiful through His dear son.
In the best of us there are deep flaws; but in the worst of us, in all of us, there is so much that He will redeem.
