An Examination of a Dying Church
Notes
Transcript
Introduction:
Scripture Introduction: In Revelation 3:1-6 we have a report of a church on the verge of death. The Great Physician, the Lord Jesus Christ writes the report and gives us some sobering things that went wrong. However, He doesn’t just tell us what went wrong with the Church at Sardis, but He also warns those of us that are reading the report, the warning signs to look for in order to get back on track so that what happened to the Church at Sardis doesn’t happen to us.
In 2014 Thom Rainer wrote a book entitled: Autopsy of a Deceased Church: 12 Ways to Keep Yours Alive. In his research he noticed several signs that led to churches dying. His list is as follows:
• treating the past as the hero;
• refusing to adapt to the needs of the present community;
• moving the focus of the budget inward;
• allowing the Great Commission to become the Great Omission;
• letting the church become preference-driven out of selfishness and personal agendas;
• seeing the tenure of the pastors decreasing;
• failing to have regular, corporate prayer;
• having no clear purpose or vision; and
• obsessing over the facilities.
Sadly it seems many churches that were once brimming with life and vitality have lost their focus on BEING the church and have made it more about a BUILDING and a LIFELESS MONUMENT.
Main Idea: Spiritual APATHY and compromise can lead to the decline and death of a church, but Christ calls all churches to faithfulness and new life
Before we get into the heart of the message, lets take a brief look at the city of Sardis itself:
It was located about 30 miles southeast of Thyatira. It was located where five main roads intersected and was an active commercial and trade center of the day.
Sardis was founded around 1200 BC
It was a wealthy city, known for its textile industry and wool
The city was situated on a plateau and was nearly impossible to attack...yet the city had been CAPTURED ON TWO DIFFERENT OCCASIONS!
It had also been destroyed by an earthquake in AD 17, but was rebuilt with help from the Emperor Tiberius.
The city was in decay by the time the letter was being written, much like the church, it seemed to be living in its past glory!
Like many of the other cities idolatry and immorality was rampant.
As we move from the history of the city, lets turn our attention to the church at hand. Notice again Revelation 3:1
“And to the angel of the church in Sardis write,
‘These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.
What You See is Not Always What You Get (v. 1)
What You See is Not Always What You Get (v. 1)
You see the church had a reputation for being “ALIVE” but the Great Physician said they were “DEAD.” I found several quotes regarding the Church at Sardis that I wanted to share with you today:
outward activity does not necessarily equate to inward vitality.
Maybe on the outside looking in they appeared to be very much alive. Maybe they had a full church calendar, maybe they had beautiful music, maybe they had a nice facility...regardless of what others thought...JESUS KNEW THE TRUTH!
Someone else said:
There was a disconnect between outward appearances and inner spiritual vitality...
Charles Swindoll called the church at Sardis:
a "morgue with a steeple" (Swindoll)
Vance Havner said this about the Sardis church:
They had "it all in the show window but nothing in stock" (Havner).
Another called the Church at Sardis:
Zombie Church: A church with “live bodies” but “dead souls”
The church at Sardis was SPIRITUALLY LIFELESS and lacking in GENUINE FAITH. They were relying on the past and were unconcerned about their spiritual health!
The church needed:
Urgent Vigilance & Restoration (vv . 2-3)
Urgent Vigilance & Restoration (vv . 2-3)
Notice Revelation 3:2
Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God.
Be Watchful
Be Watchful
Verse 2 begins with the command to “BE WATCHFUL.” This command literally means to BE AWARE, STAY AWAKE.
It’s the same word used in Colossians 4:2
Devote yourselves to prayer; stay alert in it with thanksgiving.
Stay alert
It’s also the same word used in 1 Thessalonians 5:6
Be watchful--basically the idea is to BEWARE and STAY AWAKE
There are other places in Scripture where believers are told to do the same thing...
Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.
Devote yourselves to prayer; stay alert in it with thanksgiving.
Be sober-minded, be alert. Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour.
What are we doing to GUARD OUR HEARTS?!
This brings us to an important HISTORY LESSON about Sardis:
A Lesson from History about Sardis being Overthrown
A Lesson from History about Sardis being Overthrown
The city of Sardis was captured twice because the guards were sleeping. Cyrus the Persian and Antiochus scaled the walls of Sardis in nighttime attacks because the city was not watchful.
It had a history of being conquered due to its overconfidence. Because of it’s location it was considered IMPREGNABLE, but due to their COMPLACENCY and FAILURE to stay alert it was CONQUERED!
Sadly, the same thing was about to happen, and in some ways had already happened to the CHURCH at Sardis.
If overconfidence, complacency, and failure to stay alert could lead to the death of this church, we should not assume that the same could not happen to us! The only way for a CONGREGATION to stay HUMBLE, VIGILANT, and ALERT is if we as INDIVIDUAL believers do. It will take a COLLECTIVE EFFORT!
“Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.”
The second thing they are told to do is
Strengthen the Things that Remain
Strengthen the Things that Remain
Not everything in the Sardis church had been destroyed. There were some “things” that remained and the Lord Jesus instructed them to “strengthen those things.” The idea seems to be “to make fixed, stable, or stationary.” They needed to SHORE UP the positive and godly things that were still left, because the church was on the verge of COLLAPSE.
Someone put it this way:
Christ calls the church to awaken from its complacency, remember its initial fervor, and repent of its current state. Neglecting these commands will result in judgment.
Now noticed Revelation 3:3
Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you.
They had begun on the right foundation...they had “received” and “heard” but somewhere along the way they had gotten complacent and began to deteriorate, so Jesus tells them they need to
Repent!
Repent!
One Bible dictionary defines repentance this way:
to have a change of heart and mind that abandons former dispositions and results in new self, new behavior, regret over former behavior and dispositions.
Just as the prodigal son REMEMBERED how it used to be in his father’s house, he then REPENTED and turned to go home. That’s what this church needed to do as well. They needed to REMEMBER and REPENT.
If they do not repent they are facing Christ coming as a “thief” without warning.
Notice what He goes on to say in Revelation 3:4-5
You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.
Faith is the Victory (vv. 4-5)
Faith is the Victory (vv. 4-5)
While the church at Sardis has a life-threatening condition, the Lord Jesus reveals that there are still a few that are clinging to life. They have not “defiled” (dirtied) the garments and have demonstrated by their lives that they are GENUINE, PERSEVERING believers in Christ. They have been made WORTHY by the blood of the Lamb, and have CONTINUAL FELLOWSHIP with the Lamb of God.
They are made a promise...they will be CLOTHED in these “white garments” and their names will not be removed from the Lamb’s Book of Life.
Some relate the Book of Life as being similar to a town’s registry. In those days all of the citizens would be listed in the town’s registry, and then as people passed away or were convicted of a crime, their names would be removed.
Moses spoke of being blotted out of God’s book in Exodus 32.
The New Testament also speaks of the “book of life”:
Luke 10:20 speaks of rejoicing that your names are written in Heaven!
Philippians 4:3 speaks of names being written in the Book of Life.
The Book of Revelation mentions the Book of Life on several occasions.
It is made clear that having one’s name removed from the Book of Life is a REAL POSSIBILITY.
Therefore we are told to “HOLD FAST”...to persevere in faith, by the grace of God, resisting the temptation to ABANDON Christ and His sufficient sacrifice!
FAITH IS THE VICTORY THAT OVERCOMES THE WORLD!
At the beginning we referenced Thom Rainer’s book: “Autopsy of a Deceased Church” and he listed several REASONS why churches die. At the end of his book he offers 8 suggestions we should implement to KEEP OUR CHURCH FROM DYING. Just like the church at Sardis was warned by the Lord Jesus to STAY ALERT and BE WATCHFUL, we too must never let down our guard...we must stay vigilant against these things that Scripture warns us of.
Here’s Rainers list of things we can do to keep our church from “dying”...the question is WILL YOU HELP?!
Pray that God will open the eyes of the leadership and members to REACH the community WHERE THE CHURCH IS LOCATED.
Be honest about the ministries that the church members are involved in. Too often we are involved in ministries that BENEFIT us rather than OTHERS. He says, “The church loses outward momentum when members start forming holy huddles.”
Take an audit of how the church spends its money. Again are we focused INWARD or OUTWARD?
Make specific plans to MINISTER TO and EVANGELIZE our community? What are YOU doing to help us do that?
Admit and confess our needs. We must ACKNOWLEDGE our condition.
Pray for WISDOM and STRENGTH to do what is necessary to make the needed changes.
Be willing to make RADICAL changes.
Understand that the necessary change will lead to ACTION and becoming OUTWARD FOCUSED.
MEADOWBROOK CHURCH WILL NEVER BE MORE OUTWARD FOCUSED THAN OUR MEMBERS AND LEADERSHIP.
IF I AM INWARD FOCUSED, IF OUR LEADERS ARE INWARD FOCUSED, AND IF YOU ARE INWARD FOCUSED THEN OUR CHURCH WILL BE INWARD FOCUSED AND WE WILL DIE A SLOW, HORRIFIC DEATH.
UPWARD FOCUSED + BIBLICALLY FOCUSED = OUTWARDLY FOCUSED
What are YOU going to do to help be part of the SOLUTION to church health, instead of part of the PROBLEM?
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