FINDING THE EXTRA IN THE ORDINARY: YOU*
REV. 3:1-6
CHRISTMAS SUNDAY
INTRO
Advent is as much about the second coming of Christ as it is the first. It is as much about Him coming to you with a second birth as it is Jesus’ birth. They are connected and emphasized during Advent. Ana Advent, of course, moved into the arrival – Christmas.
To stay focused on a baby Jesus is to miss the implications and the impact of Advent. A few weeks back David Coons quoted one of my favorite Advent quotes from Dietrich Bonhoeffer. It says: “A prison cell, in which one waits, hopes - and is completely dependent on the fact that the door of freedom has to be opened from the outside, is not a bad picture of Advent.”
ADVENT IS THE ANTICIPATION OF THE ARRIVAL …. THE NOW … NOT THE PAST.
And, with this we return to the book of The Revelation … because it is in these letters to the churches that we see, more than anywhere else, that the future and the present are merged and linked.
REVELATION 3:1-6
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. 2Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. 3Remember, 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. 4Yet 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. 5He 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. 6He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Sardis was a prosperous city that by the end of the first century had seen better days. Of the seven cities mentioned, Sardis was also the most protected. It was built on a high bluff with only one way in and out and was never taken captive by direct assault. But twice in its history, once in 549 BCE and again in 195 BCE, it had been conquered and its leader deposed by enemies who found a “chink in the armor.” The cliffs were scaled and a way into the city was found through a small access hole in the wall. In both cases, while the city slept in the knowledge that its gates were secure, the citizens of Sardis awoke to find that they were under surprise attack.
In the poetry and wisdom literature of the day, Sardis became synonymous with the dangers of overconfidence, pride, and arrogance. The history of Sardis demonstrated the need to be aware of enemies who come “like a thief in the night” (Rev.3:3). It warns us against self-confidence and self-deception.
It is one thing to be deceived by someone else. Self-deception is quite another. God has called every Christian and every church body to a ministry and mission that includes obedience and service. With Jesus as Lord, each Christian can find joy and fulfillment in a Spirit-led life that is filled with opportunities to minister to others, to pray, and through fellowship with God to be a positive and useful instrument in His kingdom.
We know these things to be true, and as a church we often develop programs to assist one another in these areas. Sadly, sometimes the programs take over for the Spirit, the cares of the world eclipse the cares for the Kingdom, and the desires of the flesh eclipse the desires of the Spirit.
AT SUCH TIMES WE MIGHT LOOK VERY BUSY AND HAVE A REPUTATION FOR DOING GOOD WORK WHEN IN REALITY, WE ARE RESTING ON YESTERDAY’S LAURELS. BY KEEPING OURSELVES BUSY IN FRUITLESS ACTIVITY, WE PLAY RIGHT INTO THE HANDS OF SATAN. WE FAIL TO BE USEFUL TO GOD’S KINGDOM, WE FAIL TO GROW SPIRITUALLY, AND GOD’S TRUE PURPOSE FOR OUR LIVES GOES UNFULFILLED. WE ARE SELF-DECEIVED INTO THINKING THAT WE ARE ALIVE WHEN, IN FACT, OUR ACTIONS DESCRIBE US AS DEAD OR DYING.
This would describe the church in Sardis. By Jesus’ knowledge of their deeds, they were, at least, doing something. By their reputation, it appears they were quite busy. This is a church with a calendar of events that is jam-packed with activity.
• But is a church’s crowded calendar of activities a measure of its spiritual vitality?
• Is an overflowing parking lot an indicator of the moving of the Spirit within the walls of its facility?
• Is a church that mobilizes its entire membership to go door-to-door in an evangelistic effort necessarily one that espouses the Truth and is in fellowship with God?
• Is a church that is growing by 10%, 20%, or more per year necessarily one that is alive in the Spirit?
Those things make us uneasy to think about. All of these measures are typical for some of our modern cults as much as any church and they are all measurements of the flesh … measurement of modern day culture … not God’s mode of evaluation.
Something lulled this church in Sardis to sleep. They truly thought that what they were doing was holy, but in reality they were spiritually unconscious. We see this happening all around us today. For example, over half of Southern Baptist churches in America, one of the most evangelistic of the denominations, did not baptize a single convert in a recent year. This is unconsciousness. And I am not picking on my Southern Baptist friends … every tradition struggles with this.
Jesus says the church’s deeds are “not … complete.” In other words, they are acting as if they’re doing just fine but God says otherwise.
The church needs to be stirred. Our text today highlights four areas that must be addressed for this to happen.
[1] WE MUST REMEMBER WHAT WE HAD AND RETURN TO IT (REV. 3:2-3A)
2Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. 3Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent.
It was the power of the Holy Spirit, alive in our hearts, that drew us to Him. Initially we sought truth and love, finding both in Christ. We must return to that same point, follow God in obedience as we did at first, and by doing so, turn from our worldly and selfish ways and reestablish Jesus as Lord.
I gave you my favorite Bonhoeffer Advent quote when I began. May I offer another about Christmas?
“We have become so accustomed to the idea of divine love and of God’s coming at Christmas that we no longer feel the shiver of fear that God’s coming should arouse in us. We are indifferent to the message, taking only the pleasant and agreeable out of it and forgetting the serious aspect, that the God of the world draws near to the people of our little earth and lays claim to us. The coming of God is truly not only glad tidings, but first of all frightening news for everyone who has a conscience.” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)
The tendency within the church (and within the saint) is to “domesticate” God. We eventually come to a “working knowledge” of Him – one that fits us – and we fail to allow the Spirit to expand our relationship.
Four keys to a spiritual stirring:
[1] REMEMBER AND RETURN (REV. 3:2-3A)
[2] AWAKE! (REV. 3:3B)
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.
Throughout the years I have noticed tendency within me to begin to tolerate “clutter.” My office is a good example. After a while I do not see the boxes beside my desk and the books that are awry on the shelves. The same happens in the cab of my truck. It isn’t until Vickie gets in it and points out the “stuff” and the smells that I see it again.
This can happen spiritually too. We become accustomed to the spiritual debris that we have allowed to build up and it creates a distances between us and God. It is then that the Holy Spirit must be allowed to come and point out the “stuff” and the smells.
It is common to become lethargic. But it is not inevitable. We can wake up and remain awake.
It is common to let our faith become mundane. But it is not inevitable.
Let me remind you again that repentance in these letters is NOT a repetitive act. God’s word teaches that repentance can be good for all time … that we need not return again and again in repentance. Genuine repentance leads to a transformed life that bears fruit.
Four keys to a spiritual stirring:
[1] REMEMBER AND RETURN (REV. 3:2-3A)
[2] AWAKE! (REV. 3:3B)
[3] MAINTAIN (MAINTENANCE) THE FAITH (3:4-5)
4Yet 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. 5He 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.
God always finds those who, despite the compromise of the church around them, maintain their faith in God.
What is it that has soiled the clothes of the others? Sin.
Sin has a way of lulling us into contentment when we should be anything but.
In Victoria Brooks’ book “Delighting God” there is a poem, from God’s perspective, on what has brought us to the place of distance rather than delight. A portion of it reads:
I withdrew My felt presence so your hunger for Me would grow strong again, but
I never let you fall from My arms.
It was My love that was drawing you,
Bending you back toward truth—toward Me.
Do you have any understanding of how far away you wandered?
Do you know how often you let the pain of this planet take your eyes from Me—your heart from Me?
The letter to Sardis, like the message of this poem, is that God longs to have fellowship with us but that we have grown unaware and distanced ourselves from Him. And yet, even today – he calls us back.
The simple fact that Jesus calls to His church is a sign of grace. It is a sign that God wants and believes we can awake and serve Him as we used to.
Four keys to a spiritual stirring:
[1] REMEMBER AND RETURN (REV. 3:2-3A)
[2] AWAKE! (REV. 3:3B)
[3] MAINTAIN (MAINTENANCE) THE FAITH (3:4-5)
[4] WE MUST RESPOND TO THE SPIRIT (3:6)
6He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
What lesson do we gain from the letter to Sardis?
As Christians, we must be vigilant to maintain our focus on Jesus as Lord, and respond to the Holy Spirit.
We can become so busy doing things that we think are pleasing God, we can lose sight of what God’s will truly is for us. HENRY BLACKABY’S BOOK, “EXPERIENCING GOD”, CALLS UPON CHRISTIANS TO FIRST DETERMINE WHAT GOD IS DOING THEN JOIN HIM IN IT, RATHER THAN DOING WHAT WE THINK IS GODLY AND THEN ASKING GOD TO JOIN US IN IT.
The conclusion of Brooks’ poem reads thus:
Is my beloved world more precious to you than my beloved Son was to me?
No.
I am the one who emptied heaven’s treasury-remember that, Child!
Remember who I Am and the price I paid, and take care lest your mind reprove what it cannot comprehend.
I AM goodness. I AM compassion. I Am love. I AM eternal.
The needs around you are not eternal—the pain of this world will not live forever, for I have overcome the world.
Fierce as death is My Love, relentless as the netherworld is My devotion; its flashes are the flashes of fire, its flames are a blazing fire.
I AM Love
And I have been here all the time, loving you, warring over you, showing you how thin is earth-air.
I made human lungs for the richer, heavier winds of Eden.
But it’s weightier air than Eden’s that I give you now, if you’ll come with courage and draw near.
Come, breath deeply of Me. Draw Kingdom fire from My lungs,
Choose the singing air, rich and heavy with the sound of My Triune Happiness-
Come first to enjoy then minister to Me. And together we’ll rejoice as I set my people free.
WRAP-UP
Again, Advent is as much about the second coming of Christ as it is the first. It is as much about Jesus coming to you with a second birth as it is His birth. They are all connected and emphasized during Advent. To stay focused on a baby Jesus is to miss the implications and the impact of Advent.
For us, the season of Christmas is passing fast but the impact is to be experienced for eternity.
God offers you something. He offers you life with Him.
I believe the church in Sardis heeded Jesus’ warning and did awake. I believe it found again the intimacy and joy it once had through fellowship with God. And I believe we … you … me … us … can also.
He who has an ear,
let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches
+++++++
* Special thanks to J.W. Carter and The American Journal of Biblical Theology for the sermon idea.
This sermon is provided by Dr. Kenneth Pell
Potsdam Church of the Nazarene
Potsdam, New York
www.potsdam-naz.org
