Sermon Tone Analysis

Steven Lawson addresses well phrases like the following:

"I grew up in a dead church.”

"I grew up in a dead church.”

or “Our church used to be dynamic; now it’s dead.”

or “Don’t go to that church.

It’s dead.”

•“Our church used to be dynamic; now it’s dead.”

•“Don’t go to that church.

It’s dead.”

What exactly does that mean?.... Maybe it means their sanctuary is a morgue with a steeple.

It’s a congregation of corpses with undertakers for ushers, embalmers for elders, and morticians for ministers.

Their pastor graduated from a theological cemetery.

The choir director is the local coroner.

They sing “Embalmed in Gilead” and “Amazing Grave, How Sweet the Ground.”

You might describe their worship as stiff.

At the Rapture, they’ll be the first churches taken up because the Bible says, “The dead in Christ shall rise first.”

They drive to church in one long line with their headlights on.

Whenever someone joins their membership, the church office immediately notifies the next of kin.

Each week they put an ad in the obituaries.

The church van is a black hearse and the church sign is a tombstone.

Their motto is, “Many are cold and a few are frozen.”

What exactly does that mean?

Our passage today is speaking of a dead church in need of the Great Physician to do an autopsy on it.

However our dead church did not appear as the churches I just stated…

Maybe it means their sanctuary is a morgue with a steeple.

It’s a congregation of corpses with undertakers for ushers, embalmers for elders, and morticians for ministers.

Their pastor graduated from a theological cemetery.

The choir director is the local coroner.

They sing “Embalmed in Gilead” and “Amazing Grave, How Sweet the Ground.”

You might describe their worship as stiff.

At the Rapture, they’ll be the first churches taken up because the Bible says, “The dead in Christ shall rise first.”

They drive to church in one long line with their headlights on.

Whenever someone joins their membership, the church office immediately notifies the next of kin.

Each week they put an ad in the obituaries.

The church van is a black hearse and the church sign is a tombstone.

Their motto is, “Many are cold and a few are frozen.”

We Have No Excuse!

We Have No Excuse!

The way Christ presents Himself here gives the church NO EXCUSE!

The seven Spirits is referring to the Holy Spirit and His completeness and fullness

The Holy Spirit is the One who brings life to the believer

The seven Churches in the hand of Christ!

We see relationship and closeness here… Christ has given the church (called out ones) His Spirit that they may be fully alive in Him and complete.

As the church we are capable of what He ask of us because of the Spirit and because He is the One who holds us, there is closeness and intimacy in this relationship, there fore He knows… what others cannot see.

WARNING!

Looks Can Kill!

We have a real church, that looks real alive!

I wish dead or dying churches were easier to spot

This church was busy, they even had a reputation of being alive!

They most likely had even convinced themselves that they were alive!

Concerned with what people thought, what other churches thought (b)

They had the latest presentation stuff, they had an amazing worship team, dynamic pastor, oh and the ministries that they could boast of, everyone was in a small group of some sort, they had a food ministry that was helping even those other churches like Smyrna, they had prayer meetings that were full with people lifting up eloquent prayers, the church was growing in numbers, they even had to take on more staff!

“I know all the things you do, and that you have a reputation for being alive—but you are dead” NLT

“I see right through your work.

You have a reputation for vigor and zest, but you’re dead, stone-dead.

I think of Jesus when He confronted the Pharisees… He called them white washed tombs!

Tyndale House Publishers.

(2013).

Holy Bible: New Living Translation ().

Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

“I see right through your work.

You have a reputation for vigor and zest, but you’re dead, stone-dead.

Complacent in what they were doing how they looked to others and themselves, failing to grow Spiritually in fact they were dying!

Christ had

WAKE UP!!!

Stay Alert, Be Watchful, Stand Guard

Christ had come to analyze the condition of this churches heart… shock advised!

(get AED out)

Cyrus the Persian who conquered the city in 549 BC by scaling its rear wall

A city on a hill with what appeared to be impregnable cliffs and high walls became relaxed in the appearance of safety

Watchmen grew complacent, failing to see the enemy

Around 547 BC Cyrus attacked and sacked the city

Almost 300 years later in 214 BC Antiochus III did the same

Twice they had failed to be vigilant… now about another 300 years later Christ is giving the call to WAKE UP!

“Maybe there’s life in you yet.

But I wouldn’t know it by looking at your busywork; nothing of God’s work has been completed.

Your condition is desperate.”

The command to “wake up” is a reminder that twice in its history Sardis had been sacked (in 547/546 B.C. by Cyrus II, and in 214 B.C. by Antiochus III) when the watchmen on the walls failed to detect an enemy army sneaking up its supposedly impregnable cliffs and walls.

Eugene Peterson

Peterson, E. H. (2005).

The Message: the Bible in contemporary language ().

Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress.The consequence of inaction

Their actions did not meet the requirements of God,

Dead spiritually, poor quality, low moral quality

This church needed to stop having an affair with the church and start falling back in love with Christ!

Their personal relationship with Christ, their spiritual walk was on life support

Strengthen what little remains… REMEMBER!!! (KEEP on bringing to mind)

Your instruction in the Words of God (God’s moral code)

Then KEEP it, do it (sanctification of our hearts before God)

Repent (change direction, about face)

Christ wants to breath new life back into this church!

BUT… if you don’t Christ will come to discipline, reveal their hearts as a thief in the night.

What condition is your heart in?

When is a good time to wake up… NOW

When should I think about living again for Christ… NOW

Wake Up Church!

God’s Kine Life For Real!

5“Everybody dat fight an win ova da bad kine stuff, Dey goin wear clean white kine clotheses lidat.

Dey goin wear clean white kine clotheses lidat.

Dey goin wear clean white kine clotheses lidat.

I no goin wipe out dea name eva From da Book Dat Tell Who Get Godʼs Kine Life fo real!