Vulnerability and Victory: the Seven Churches in Review
Revelation 1:9 – 3:22
Sermon Objective: Churches have many of the same common vulnerabilities … and a common solution … Jesus Christ.
INTRO:
Those who study the seven churches of The Revelation closely see some broad overarching common traits between them. Sometimes they are missed because we isolate the churches and look at them individually; but there are overlapping vulnerabilities and weaknesses. My assumption is that we will find the potential for these in every church.
With that in mind, we are, again, going to read a substantive portion of the first three chapters this morning. Afterwards, I will offer three vulnerabilities (and victories) that not only reside within the seven churches but also within our local church. This will help us become the church our Lord envisions. Because it is very possible that Jesus is saying to our church what he said to Sardis (Rev. 3:2), “for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God.”
SERMON TEXT
Revelation 1:9-11
2:1 – 3:22
SERMON
As I said, I believe there are common vulnerabilities that not only reside within the seven churches but also within our local church. Jesus says, “for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God” (Rev. 3:2). And I think that applies to us.
Let’s see what we can discover and see if we can find transference to us.
The Seven Churches:
1. DOMESTICATED GOD
Eugene Petersen says in his book, “Living the Resurrection” that “The church is the community that God has set at the center of the world to keep the world centered.” That explains why Jesus is so concerned that His church remain a pure reflection of Him and that He remain its head.
The problem is that way too many times we try to make the church into our image rather than allowing God to shape it. Well, more accurately we try to make God into our image rather than being restored into His. If the church is not careful it will write its own Bible and shape its own God. More often than not, the God the church creates will be more like a best friend who has endless time for their needs, no matter how trivial. Scholars call this "domesticating God," turning him into a social planner, a therapist, a guardian angel, etc.
(Adapted from Lynn Garrett’s “Cafeteria Religion”).
The churches in Asia-Minor were guilty of “domesticating God.” They viewed God in a manner that was … safe. Their understanding of God was one which could be controlled and even manipulated. That is why they were able to justify heresies and tolerated (even encouraged) fellow church members to engage in practices that were unspeakable.
That is also why the church today (ours included) prefers a vision of God that emphasizes the more palatable expressions of deity.
In “Delighting God” Victoria Brooks says “We search for the more predictable Jesus that we trust – the Jesus who warms but never burns, whose light comforts but never blinds. We search for the Jesus of our past experience, the ‘perfect gentleman’, who patiently encouraged our troubled heart, unscrambled our tangled thoughts, and beckoned rather than pushed us past the points of our resistance.” (P. 41-42).
Sadly, this describes the vulnerability within many (if not all) churches. We want to domesticate God so that we can fully understand, control, and predict Him. But there is something significant about Jesus portraying Himself as Lord and God in these chapters which refuses to be domesticated and demands to be obeyed. Brooks goes on to say, “We search, but He is gone. In His place is something not entirely gentlemanly or mindful of our boundaries. … The intensity of God’s devotion is more than we bargained for. The ultimate tone of His intentions is unnerving. We feel pushed from behind to embrace things we don’t understand. … We knew Jesus would be our friend, our companion, our eternal habitation, but we didn’t expect to be His.” (p. 42 and 50).
If we want our deeds to be found complete in the sight of God it behooves us to make certain … very certain … that we are continually surrendering ourselves to the Lordship of Christ and not just living off of yesterday’s epiphany. Our deeds can only be complete when we are obedient and surrendered to the person of Jesus.
The Seven Churches:
1. DOMESTICATED God
2. DRIFTED FROM JESUS AND HIS TEACHING
These churches were not without proper teaching or proper mentors of the faith. Living and serving among these churches were such leaders as Timothy, Priscilla, Aquilla, the Apostle Paul, and the Apostle John. There were other noteworthy names too.
There is a vulnerability within the heart of every saint and every church … I call it drift.
Drift is gradual but no less fatal.
Many of you know that Vickie and I canoe a lot in the summer months. We paddle upstream and fish the river back to the dock or sometimes past it. You may be surprised at how far and how quickly a canoe can drift in a “still” river! It can happen gradually and before long you find yourself at a dam with warning signs telling you to go no further. The truth is, when you get to this point you have already gone further than you should have.
These churches failed to see the distance from which they had fallen (Rev. 2:5). It is easy for spiritual drift to happen in any congregation … even the diligent ones. And THE FURTHER YOU DRIFT FROM GOD AND HIS WORD THE MORE TREACHEROUS ARE THE CONSEQUENCES. SOME OF THESE CHURCHES RECEIVED MILD WARNINGS OF CORRECTION; SOME RECEIVED STRONG REBUKES. BUT ALL OF THEM HAD THE VULNERABILITY.
The Seven Churches:
1. DOMESTICATED God
2. DRIFTED from Jesus and His teaching
3. REMAINED DEFILED BY THE WORLD.
It is noteworthy that these seven local churches received indictments that were akin to the problems and personalities found within their local communities. The sermons you heard on each church showed you the relationship and you can review those online if you wish. It is germane to the point today.
I want to stress that my observation is that they REMAINED defiled by the world. My point is that they never appear to have had their minds renewed and to have broken some deeply ingrained patterns of behavior that offend God. They never allowed “the world” (their culture and community) to be cleansed from within them.
Many times we associate so closely with our culture that we assume the morés are not only the norm but right. We are products of where we live and the world views held there become very deeply entrenched within us. So entrenched, in fact, that we can not see how we have been conditioned. Not all of any culture is bad; but some is an offense to God and a hindrance to the one’s faith.
I am finding this hard to explain so let me see if I can illustrate this for you by looking at various cultural traits from within parts of our own nation. I know I am generalizing but you will get the point.
• Church members is the Washington D.C. area tend to “lobby” pastors and church leaders – to “smooze” them in order to get the leaders to support their “cause.” This seems natural for those who live there (that is how government runs) and the practices can easily take priority over the Great Commission, the Holy Spirit, or even prayer. That is not how Jesus does things.
• Churches in the Southwest have been known to have a merciless sense of justice. In a real sense the people still have a “cowboy code” mentality. Compassion and understanding are often excused and a swift rush to judgment is exercised. I know of more than one report where a man beat his wife and deacons from the local church paid him a visit and gave him a taste of his own medicine. That is not how Jesus does things.
• Many churches in the south tend to be separated ethnically. They believe that people worship better when they are all of “one feather.” I was actually told while doing youth ministry in the south to never bring a black child to church on the bus because it would cause division. I was instructed to encourage them to go to a church down the road. That is not how Jesus does things.
• Church members in the west (and east) can err on being too tolerant of all things just as their local culture has championed tolerance to an extreme. That is not how Jesus does things.
My point is that we cannot always see our own cultural flaws. We cannot see how we are indeed a product of our environment. These churches in Asia-Minor were vulnerable to this. Jesus indicts them because they were just like the world around them. They thought their behavior or demeanor was not only normal but appropriate and Jesus comes along and tells them that that is NOT HOW HE DOES THINGS.
Listen friends, the North Country is not immune! The North Country has cultural traits which the churches think are normal and proper to practice. They are deeply ingrained into the psyche and are very difficult to discern. They are, however, not normal or holy … they are, in fact, offensive to God and a hindrance to one’s faith.
For example … the rugged individualism that you pride yourself on and the idea that you have outgrown community is offensive to God. Can you show me one time in the Scriptures where God condones such an attitude? This attitude impacts everything from ministry involvement to church membership.
It is referred to by scholars as “A CULTURE OF AUTONOMY” and it sets a high value on independence and self-sufficiency. It’s supposed to be a good thing not to have to ask anyone for help. It’s held up as an achievement to get where we want to on our own. … But it isolates from others … it implies we don’t need others.
But what if there are things, experiences, values, and pleasures that we can have only in the company of others? A studied and cultivated independence diminishes our capacity … and dulls our awareness. (Eugene Petersen, “Living the Resurrection”, p. 113)
We are a product of our culture too and it must be cleansed from the heart by the power of the Spirit.
I remember hearing one of our board members a few years back say that they longed to see the day when our church rose above the cultural standards that drive its operation. They longed to see us operate different than the culture around us. This board member was not talking about something as superficial as structure … he or she was talking about our value system. That board member is on to something. But it requires a people with an open heart and open mind and a willingness to really allow the Spirit to critique the very core values and behaviors.
The sin of independence not only makes us less needy of people but, what we fail to see, is that that in itself means we have failed to become dependent on God. He gives us friends and community (think “church”) for a reason. We have now begun to control the relationship (and the criteria for that relationship) with God. Hence we come full circle ... to domestication.
Beloved … That is not how Jesus does things!
The closer we draw to Jesus the closer we will draw to each other.
WRAP-UP
The Seven Churches:
1. DOMESTICATED God
2. DRIFTED from Jesus and His teaching
3. Remained DEFILED by the world.
But rest assured because the vulnerabilities that threaten the church should not threaten your confidence. THAT IS WHAT THE ENEMY WANTS YOU TO THINK … THAT IT IS HOPELESS AND THE CHURCH WILL FAIL.
NOT TRUE!
Jesus had more confidence in His church than that. Do you remember what he said when he first introduced the idea of “church” to the disciples?
He said, “I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” (Matthew 16:18).
I am convinced that most of these churches responded to God’s correction. We know for a fact (Ignatius’ writings) that some did.
Do you remember what I told you last week about our Savior? Do you remember what I showed you about how he interacts with His church … with these very churches that were yielding to their vulnerabilities?
1. Jesus comes as one who STANDS with us.
2. Jesus comes as one who is STRONGER than the threats.
3. Jesus comes as one who is SUPERIOR to our sin.
4. Jesus comes as one who is more SECURE that life itself.
It is essential that we look at the Savior and not at our humanness, flaws, and even sin. Because Jesus and Jesus alone gives us right standing before God. It is only Jesus who is able to “keep you from falling and present you faultless before the throne” (Jude 24). Apart from Him we can do nothing.
That is another core understanding of Wesleyan-Holiness theology … it is based on grace, not law; it serves from love not “should and ought”. It believes that the Spirit of Jesus that indwells the church has the ability to correct our course and empower us to live loving lives that please Him.
I don’t want to be a broken record but let me remind you again … THE SIMPLE FACT THAT JESUS IS PRESENT AND SPEAKING TO THEM SHOWS HIS LOVE, PATIENCE, GRACE, AND CONFIDENCE IN THEM.
The solution to our vulnerabilities is not to be more sincere or “try harder” (that’s rugged individualism at work). It’s to return to Jesus; just as he called these first seven to do.
Let’s sing about the “Strong Name of Jesus” this morning.
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
This sermon is provided by Dr. Kenneth Pell
Potsdam Church of the Nazarene
Potsdam, New York
www.potsdam-naz.org
