The Dead Church

Good morning!

Revelation 1:4-8

Prayer

<front of house>

Blackberries - gone

Stuff on the porch - oops

Three trees

This one looked fine but it has a sickness

Now? Dead

That’s the description Jesus gives to the church we are learning about today (Sardis)

You look alive, but you are dead

We’re rounding out our study through the 7 churches in the book of revelation

I do hope you have been enjoying this as much as I have

The question I’ve asked each week is what kind of church will we be?

Revelation was written to 7 churches in what is called Asia (modern day Turkey)

7 in the Bible is often symbolic of completeness

7 days of creation, 7 I AM statements of Jesus 

So these 7 real churches represent more than just themselves, they are symbols of the church throughout history

The problems they deal with are the same problems we deal with b/c the enemy is the same

The faces change but our enemy does not

Throughout history, since Jesus established His church at the end of the Gospels and in the book of Acts

The church has dealt with false teachers, they faced persecution from their neighbors, persecution from the government, many have been tortured or even killed

And yet, despite all that, over the last 2000 years the good news about Jesus Christ has been carried over continents, across oceans, to people of every tribe, tongue, and nation

We are in a church in the united states of America b/c people carried the gospel with them

And now there are more christians alive in the world today than at any other point in time

The kingdom of God continues to grow and God continues to use us, His church, to share in the work

So will we be a church who remains strong, who holds fast to the commands of God?

Will we be a church who overcomes?

v.1

These things says He….seven spirits

7: perfect, complete

There’s no gap in the Holy Spirit

The triune God exists eternally as father, son, and spirit

That does not mean father, son, and everything else like the Spirit is a catch-all

Every body has a junk drawer in their kitchen, right?

Holy Spirit isn’t there to catch whatever the father and son miss

All 3, together; Perfect, complete, all-seeing, all-knowing

Seven stars: angels, messengers, pastors

Jesus walks with His church

As we go about our mission fulfilling the great commission Jesus is always near <elaborate>

I know your works…..

Name: reputation 

This begs the question: What does a dead church look like?

First thing we need to know is “is this even a church?”

just b/c the building says “church”, or there’s a cross on the outside, or they claim to be a church of Jesus Christ,

Does not make them a Christian church

You can say you’re a vegetarian all you want but if we’re out to eat and you order a 16oz ribeye and a grilled porkchop I’m not gonna believe you are who you say you are

Likewise when you say you’re a Christian, you claim Christ as your savior, and nothing in your life looks like Christ…….

What does a dead church look like?

Small church? / Big church? 

Not about the size of the building or the number of people in the pews

You don’t enter into eternal life with God based on church membership

You need a personal relationship with Him, you need to know Jesus as your Lord and Savior

A living church is a group of people, large or small, with Jesus permeating every facet of their lives, living for the kingdom

Jesus says in John 14:6 He is the way, the truth, and the life

Jesus is life, and if Jesus isn’t there then you aren’t living

Same with churches: if a church is dead then the life, Jesus, has left

If a church ever abandons the Gospel for any reason it’s over (and it should be)

Just close up shop

The church exists (our duty is) to share the love of Jesus with the world

Gospel means “good news”,

The good news of the Gospel is this,

that God so loved the world He gave His only Son, to live and bleed and die for you and I and three days later raise Himself to life b/c He is the only one with power over death

Death is not our natural state, its a product of sin

Worry, hurt, sickness, death: these things are not part of God’s original design for His Creation

And they won’t be a part of things when the world is made new

But just b/c it wasn’t His design does not mean He’s not in control of it

God is in control of it all 

Our job as the church is to GO and tell

Responsibility of each Christian

We cannot lose sight of our objective

1. Know and teach and preach the TRUE Gospel

Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone

Where do we get off track?

Legalism (rules, works)

Jesus+

Licentiousness

Your supposed faith in Jesus gives you a license to continue living in sin

Willful disobedience of God (missed the mark)

Salvation is not freedom to sin, it is freedom from sin

Jesus on the cross paid it all, you should get up and walk away from that life b/c it’s killing you

Jesus didn’t come to make sick people less sick, He came to make dead people live

2. A church that compromises (abandon honesty in place of comfort)

(Jesus says) John 13:34-35 – A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Jesus is full of grace and truth

To love like Jesus does not mean to lie to somebody, to make them comfortable and happy

Truth matters, Jesus is the truthv.2-3

Be watchful

Wake up!

I will come upon you as a thief

The people of Sardis knew what this meant from their history

Sardis was at one time capital of the kingdom of Lydia 

Cyrus of Persia attacked by night and overtook the city

For us:

Pearl Harbor

9/11

A defining moment in our history that everyone remembers and everyone has told their kids and grandkids about

Unlike these instances in the US, when the armies of Persia came over the wall the city was conquered and their kingdom was overthrown

For 6 centuries they have been under foreign rule (Persians, Greeks, Romans)

Wake up, be watchful, don’t abandon the truth, don’t seek safety from persecution by trying to blend in to the world

Seek Jesus, He has power over the grave

Seek Him and awaken

Hold fast and repent

Repentance (I think) is misunderstood in our society

Not saying “sorry”, it’s turning away from your past behavior

If you’ve ever known someone who has lived with domestic violence “sorry” doesn’t mean much; you want repentance

We don’t want to repent b/c we don’t trust that what God has in store for us

Not constricting, invitation to more

John 10:10 – The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

God’s plans for me are greater than mine

When we don’t believe that we’re falling for a lie of the devil

God is not a cosmic killjoy

What God has planned for us is so much more than what the world has to offer

Repentance is an invitation to let go of those lies and turn back to God

Invitation to an abundant life

v.4

Encouragement to the faithful in Sardis

Encouragement SBC: This is not a dead church (money, time, faithfulness)

Hold fast, stay strong, stay in the fight

Keep reading your bible, keep praying, keep sharing Jesus with your family, friends, & neighbors

..and they shall walk with me in white…..worthy

Are any of us worthy?

What can we do to be worthy in the eyes of a perfect and holy God?

V.5-6

To be clothed in white is a symbol of victory

The outcome is decided, we don’t fight for victory we fight from it

We have an enemy, our enemy wants to kill us, wants to rob us of the abundant life that God has for us,

but Jesus on the cross has won

His blood has washed our sins away and makes us righteous

2 Cor. 5:21 – For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Book of Life…..Confess…..

From before the foundation of the world God knew who would be saved 

their names are written in the book of life

Today is the day to repent, seek forgiveness, and walk with the Lord Jesus

Whatever it is that you’re hanging on to

Bring that to Jesus

Eternal life with God Almighty awaits

Not b/c I earned it, it’s b/c of Jesus

Jesus who saves us

One day God’s gonna make all things new and he wants you to be there

VIII.He who has an ear…..

What is the Spirit saying to you?

Repentance? / Salvation?

There is abundant life in Jesus and today is the day to turn your life to Him

Invitation is a chance to put our bodies in the posture we want our hearts to be in

Submission before the God of the universe, the God who loved us enough to live and die for us

So listen….pray….praise <invite>

Prayer

Invitation