To the Church… Part 6: Asleep

To the Church • Sermon • Submitted 3 months ago • Presented 3 months ago

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Nominal Christianity is a cancer in our culture. Many will claim the name of Jesus, yet few will actually let their lives be shaped by Him. One of the dangers of nominal Christianity is that Jesus will come against those who practice it. This message challenges us to wake up and be the people who He has saved us and made us to be!

Notes

Transcript

INTRO

Revelation 3:1–6 ESV

1 “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. “ ‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. 3 Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. 4 Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. 5 The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. 6 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

1) Reality Check! (v. 1-2)

Alive…but not really.

Dead for real.

Test for Genuine Faith:

Who is Jesus to you?

If your answer emphasizes the “to you” part of the question and not the “Jesus” part of the question…you may need a reality check.

How do you spend time with Jesus?

If your answer is more event based and not whole life based…you may need a reality check.

What difference does Jesus make in your life?

If your answer is all about how you feel and has little to no impact on the choices you make…you may need a reality check.

In our world, it is easy to claim to be alive in Christ, but in reality, being alive in Jesus looks a lot like:

Galatians 2:20 “20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

John 6:66–69 “66 After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. 67 So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, 69 and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.””

Luke 9:62 “62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.””

Matthew 19:30 “30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

Matthew 16:24–25 “24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

Heaven and the eternal rewards we will receive as a blessing from Jesus are not mere participation trophies. We will not inherit eternal life because we were fans of Jesus.

The fans who cheer for their team and cry out “we won, we won, we won” ultimately don’t receive World Series Rings or get to hoist the Stanley Cup.

We will only inherit eternal life from Jesus because we have embraced and committed our lives to Jesus. Just being a fan and admirer of Jesus and wearing the team colors sometimes, doesn’t make you apart of team Jesus. We must be surrendered to Him!

2) Remember Your Calling (v. 3a)

NOT called to…

…Compare with culture.

…Compare with other Christians.

…Compare with past.

We ARE called to…

…Follow Christ.

…Be found worthy in Him (not of Him).

Ephesians 4:1–3 “1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

Ephesians 4:17–24 “17 Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. 19 They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. 20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!— 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”

3) Repent and Conquer (v. 3b-6)

Repent by…

…Returning to being alive in Christ and dead to sin.

…Returning to following Jesus and not routines.

…Returning to a relationship and not rituals.

Conquer…

…the temptation to have a sleepy faith.

…the temptation for apathy.

…the temptation for looking anywhere else but Christ for examples or for validation.

CLOSING

WAKE UP!

Examine your heart and your life…

Do you have a reputation for being alive, but in reality are dead on the inside?