Revelation
3:1-6
One
morning as I was hunting for turkey I noticed something. I went to the alfalfa
field behind my house before daylight and set up my decoys. As the sun began to
rise the cars that drove by the field started to slow down to look at what they
believed were turkeys in the field. One truck stopped and rolled down his
window to get a better view. A young child crawled over into the driver’s seat
to see the animals in the field. After a minute or two the truck drove on, but
came back a few minutes later. This time the passenger window came down as it
stopped and they watched for a little longer. They drove off but came back one
more time about fifteen minutes later. They kept coming back to watch the
animals in the field, but what they did not notice was that the two turkeys in
the field never moved. Each time they came back they were in the same place and
even standing in the same position. In fact, what they were watching were not
turkeys at all, they were my decoys! The people in that truck believed they
were watching wild animals, but what they were actually watching weren’t even
real animals. If they had looked a little closer they would have found that
things were not what they seemed to be. But this truth is not limited to
animals (or what we think are animals) in a field. It happens in our spiritual
lives, and happens more often than we should admit in the church.
The
church of Sardis teaches us that everything is not always what it seems to be.
Sometimes our perspective is limited and we do not see everything that is
happening in the church. From our vantage point it may seem like everything is
exactly what it needs to be. It may look like everything is going well and we
have every reason to be comfortable, but that is all too often not the case.
Nearly everything about Sardis illustrates this for us.
Sardis
was the place where gold and silver coins were first struck. Much of the gold
in the Roman Empire was mined there giving the city great wealth. There was a
large temple dedicated to Artemis, and a large Jewish synagogue also dominated
the social landscape of the city.[1]
The people of the city were wealthy, and the church even seemed to thrive in
that place.
Sardis
seemed to be a busy church. They were doing all the things that a church is
“supposed” to do. If it were a church of our day they would have had a thriving
youth program, a dynamic pastor who spent all his time with the people while
still maintaining a great devotional life, a top-notch worship leader and the
greatest outreach program available at the time. Their reputation in the
community was unmatched, and they were respected by all. Everything seemed to
be falling together perfectly.
This
is the case for many congregations today. They have everything that the church
growth experts recommend, but God is not necessarily blessing their work. From
our perspective it may look that way, but in spite of their busyness they are
not walking any closer to God than they were last month, or even last year.
Things are happening, but not God’s things. The community sees what they
perceive as a place of spiritual vitality and life, but what they actually view
is an imitation – a fake! They see a church that once served God faithfully,
but has fallen asleep to His truth and His ways in favor of the ideas and
gimmicks of the world. Lillie McCutcheon commented on such a church when she
said, “When Satan puts a church to sleep, the victory is in his hands.”[2]
When
we consider the state of the church today we must remember what Scripture
teaches us about the purpose and call of God’s people. We also must remember to
whom the church is accountable. God’s people are not measured by the standards
of the world, or by their application of the ideas of today’s church growth
experts. The church is measured against God’s word, and God’s word alone.
Nothing that we invent or produce makes a difference in God’s assessment of the
church. It is only God who gives life to the Body of Christ. It is only His
Spirit who will bring vitality and revival to this body.
Our
Works Do Not Give Us Life
The
works Christians do are not bad things. In fact, Scripture tells us that our
faith must result in good works. “For as the body apart from the spirit is
dead, so also faith apart from works is dead” (James 2:26). Our works are
necessary, but they do not bring life to the Body of Christ. Works are a result
of our faith; the outworking of God’s work in our hearts. Action should be
taken on what we claim God has led us to believe, but our action must be taken
in light of this revelation. For a couple of generation it would seem that we
have neglected this truth. We do not lack for works in the church, but we do
lack Spirit-led, God-inspired, Scripture-fulfilling works that grow out of our
faith in God and His Word. We have forgotten that it is not enough for us to do
good things, but we must do the very things that we claim to believe.
The
church has no problem sponsoring food pantries or sending money to missions,
and these are good things. But the church does have a problem living out the
commands of Scripture. The Bible tells us that we are to live a life of
holiness, dedicated to God, but the consecrated life is harder to find among
Christians. Without the fulfillment of the commands of Scripture in our lives
none of our good works mean anything. They are the same as the works of the
church of Sardis: incomplete!
God
has not simply called His people to good works, but complete works – the type
of works that accomplish His purposes. The people of Sardis were no doubt busy,
but God’s work remained undone. This is the problem the church faces today. We
feel the need to dictate to God what works His people will do. We decide what
needs to happen, or what the church is supposed to do and then demand that God
bless our ideas. We cannot claim “perfection” or “completeness” of works if we
are attempting to manipulate the power of God through our own devices. Isaiah
asked, “Shall the axe boast over him who hews with it, or the saw magnify
itself against him who wields it” (Isa. 10:15)?
The
busyness we have accepted in place of God’s works keeps us from experiencing
His power. If we are to witness the triumphant church it will be when we
replace the works that fill our lives and overwhelm our time with the
Scriptural commands of God’s Word. It will be when our works become God’s
works, and they become the result of our walk with God rather than a substitute
for that relationship. “The problem today is that churches are striving to win
their world to Christ without first having been revived themselves. The result
is spiritually comatose church members going door-to-door asking unbelievers if
they would live to have what they have – spiritual anemia!”[3] If
others are to be impacted by our spiritual lives our existence must be just
that: spiritual. When our focus is primarily spiritual, the works of the church
become spiritual rather than simply good, civic works.
Our
Reputation Does Not Give Us Life
When our works our spiritual we will need to
understand that people will not respond the way they did to our social
activities. Sometimes other Christians will look down on what we do. They may
tell us that we have become “so heavenly minded we’re no earthly good.” We will
not be accepted by those who teach a social gospel, or the movements who have
devalued the spiritual aspects of our life. As difficult as these circumstances
are for us to accept, it is imperative that we realize that what the world
thinks of the church has no bearing on what God thinks of His people.
We
spend lifetimes trying to build a reputation with the world. We do the things
the world does, act like the world, and look like the world. We seldom do
anything that distinguishes the church in the name of “acceptance.” We have
been led to believe that unless the world accepts us we cannot do ministry, but
Scripture teaches no such thing. When we look to the world we begin to measure
ourselves against their standards making the Word of God something of secondary
importance. We live in fear that we may not offer what someone wants, or may
not meet each felt need. We become nothing more than a civic organization that
helps people feel a little better about their lot in life. The church is no
longer a transforming agent in the world when reputation becomes our
motivation. Fear takes hold of the hearts of God’s people and they wilt in the
face of pressure. The truth is, we have never been instructed to measure up to
the standards of the world. And it is actually sinful to fear the world. “And
do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him
who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matt. 10:28).
The
time has come for Christians to face the reality that the sinful world should
not look highly upon God’s church. Jesus said, “Woe to you when all men speak
well of you, for so did their fathers of the false prophets” (Luke 6:26). The
church must not have a reputation that aligns her with the world, but one that
distinguishes her. A reputation that causes God’s people to stand out as those
who have been called out of the world, and into His holiness.
Life
Comes Through God’s Spirit
Jesus
told the church of Sardis that He held the presence of God’s Spirit. He held in
His hand the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. The messengers that came
to each church were sent by Jesus Christ, and the Spirit who would empower the
church came directly from His hand. “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh
is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life”
(John 6:63).
We
look to the world today to organize the church. Men and women write countless
books on methods and gimmicks to bring growth to the church. We will do almost
anything to add numbers to the church, except rely on the provisions made by
Jesus Christ. It is through Him that we find direction and power. It is through
the Spirit that we find vitality in our Christian lives and the church. The
triumphant church looks not within, or around, but to the supernatural power of
the Holy Spirit who was sent by Jesus Christ to guide her to victory over the
sin-cursed world. Neil Wiseman wrote, “The supernatural is as necessary to the
Church as oxygen is necessary for human life. We die without either!”[4]
The
presence of the Spirit is reserved for those who are submissive to God’s will;
for those who will spend their time in prayer, seeking and submitting to the
will of God. There were some in Sardis who had not defiled their garments.
These are the people who will lead the church back to her supernatural roots.
It is those who walk undefiled, relying on the power of prayer, the presence of
the Spirit, and the working of the Word who will experience God’s reviving
power in this day. But the church must be willing to follow them. They should
not be the object of ridicule and scorn, but those from whom we seek direction,
knowing that they are in contact with the God of Heaven. They stand before His
throne each day, and understand what it means to commune with Him.
It
is the realization that God has something supernatural for our lives and our
church that brings repentance. “A repenting church is God’s condition for
revival, and it is always corporate repentance!”[5] It
is repentance that turns us from the world, and its sinful, fallen ways back to
the supernatural power of God. Repentance revives and awakens the church
because it turns her attention to the one place that it belongs – to God’s
throne! “When the supernatural is restored, the church becomes a meeting place
with the holy god, who jars us into self-judgment and beckons us to a radical
reordering of individual, institutional, and spiritual priorities.”[6]
Repentance requires us to turn to the spiritual. It requires a rejection of the
worldly, temporal things that consume so much of our focus and a turn to God
and His power. This is what we would truly consider a living church. This is
what the church of Sardis lacked.
“A
living church is a learning church, a church submissive to the teaching authority of the
apostles. Its pastors expound Scripture
from the pulpit. Its parents teach their children out of the Scriptures at home, and its members read and reflect on the Scriptures every day in order to grow in
Christian discipleship. The
Spirit of god leads the people of God to honor
the word of God.”[7]
Where
does the church of our day look for life? In Sardis they looked to their works
and reputation. Today some look to programs and others to gimmicks. Some look
to their pastors and many to national spiritual leaders. Life does not come
from our works or our reputations, our leaders or their ideas. It comes from
Jesus Christ, and His Spirit living among us. It comes from submission to the
Spirit’s guidance and discernment of His will. We can do all the works we want
to do, but it is the one who holds the seven spirits of God who will revive and
awaken the church. A reputation of good works does not make us the church, it
is having an ear to hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
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