Greg Laurie - Jesus' Words to the Dead Church (01/15/2018)
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Pastor Greg Laurie warns that a church can start strong like Thyatira but slide into tolerating sin until it becomes spiritually dead like Sardis. Using Revelation 2 and 3, he shows Jesus' diagnosis of compromise and deadness, then gives the urgent prescription: wake up, strengthen what's left, and repent to be ready for Christ's return.
Jesus Speaks to the Churches in Revelation
Well we are back in the book of Revelation together so grab your Bible and hang a hard right. And hello to all of you in Harvest Orange County. Welcome to our worship service this morning. The title of my message is Jesus' Words to the Dead Church. Don't take that personally. That just happens to be the title. Revelation chapter 2. Let's start with a word of prayer.
Father as we open your word now, the revelation given to John on the island of Patmos. The unveiling of you. The unveiling of things to come. The unveiling of our own hearts. We pray that you will speak to us. For there is a promise contained in this book where you tell us that if we will read and hear and keep the words of this book there will be a blessing. So Lord that is what we want to do. We are reading it. Help us to hear it. And help us to keep it. We that have ears to hear, let us listen now. We would pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
A Church That Looks Alive but Is Dead
All right. Let me begin with a quick question. How many of you like to be sick? Raise up your hand. Oh nobody in this service. All right. Well listen. That is not the strangest question. There are people that I think actually look forward to being sick or at least are obsessed with being sick. They always think they are down with something. You know I think we call them hypochondriacs. It was Ruth Graham who said the definition of a bore is someone who when asked how they are feeling will actually tell you. And you know some people love to talk about their latest aches and pains and what is wrong with them. So that is one extreme. And I am certainly not one of those people. I am the kind of guy who doesn't want to go to the doctor. I don't want to admit I am sick. But sometimes when the symptoms become too strong you have to go. And you have to find out what is wrong.
I heard a true story about a woman that was feeling very ill. She was extremely nauseous and she was vomiting. So she went down to the Seattle emergency room at a hospital in Seattle. After doing a series of tests on her the doctors discovered the woman had eaten a tube sock. You know what a tube sock is? That is one of the really thick ones. And when asked about this she acknowledged it was true. She said, "I had a nervous habit of eating half a sock each evening." That is weird. But it did answer a question for me. Now I know where those other socks go. Right? Because I don't know about you, but I lose a sock and I never throw the other one away. I save the sock. I have a drawer full of single socks that don't match in hopes that their mate will return one day. And I am never going to see them because this crazy woman in Seattle is eating them.
But maybe you have been to a doctor trying to figure out what is wrong with you. I heard about a brunette girl who went to see a doctor. You thought I was going to say blonde. She was a brunette. And she went and she said, "Doc, everything I touch hurts. I touch my arm it hurts. I touch my head it hurts. I touch my foot and it hurts. Everything hurts. What is wrong with me?" She said, "Excuse me, but did you ever used to be a blonde?" She said, "Well, yes I did. I just recently colored my hair." He goes, "Yeah, you broke your finger." Get it? Everything she touches hurts. The finger is broken. Everything. Come on. That was funny.
Well, here in Revelation chapter 2, we are going to look at a very sick church called Thyatira. And then we are going to look at a church that is effectively dead, identified as Sardis. So we are going to see how sickness, untreated, can lead ultimately to spiritual death. So these are the words of Jesus to a sick and dying church. But since the church is made up of individuals, these are also the words of Jesus to sick and dying believers.
How Spiritual Death Happens Gradually
Well, how did the church die? Well, the same way a person would die. Maybe it starts with an ache or pain that is unusual. You run a series of tests. One thing leads to another. You get worse with each passing day. And you might even find yourself on your deathbed. It is a process of getting sicker and sicker spiritually. And remember, we are looking at the words of Jesus to the seven churches. You know, as we come to this great book of Revelation, we have the Lord's focus on the church before we get into what some might think of as the juicy stuff. You know, when you think Revelation, you think, oh right, Antichrist, Armageddon, the second coming, the millennium, all that. Yeah, that is all in the book of Revelation. But before the Lord gets to it, He wants to talk to His people. He wants to talk to His church. Listen. He wants to talk to you.
And so we have looked at what Jesus had to say to the church. And we see a regression. Starting with the church of Ephesus, that was in danger of leaving its first love. And ending with the church of Laodicea that was so corrupted, Jesus was on the outside trying to get in. But it starts with a breakdown. And that breakdown was leaving their first love. Then we find the church of Pergamos where there is compromise. Now we come to the church of Thyatira where there is not only compromise but full toleration of evil. And we see the church of Sardis where the church is effectively on its deathbed.
So how can we tell when a church is dying? I am going to answer that question. How can we tell if we are spiritually dying? I will answer that as well. And if we are on our deathbed, so to speak, is there any way to be revived? Can we indeed come back to life? I am happy to say the answer to that is a resounding yes. We will see the diagnosis of the Lord. And then we will see also His prescription for renewal.
The Sick Church: Thyatira's Warning
But let's start with the church of Thyatira, Revelation chapter 2, starting in verse 18. "And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write, These things saith the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet are like fine brass. I know your works, love, service, faith, and your patience. And as for your works, the last are more than the first. Nevertheless, I have a few things against you, because you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce my servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent. Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed. And those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds. I will kill her children with death. And all the churches shall know that I am He that searches the minds and hearts, and I will give to each one of you according to your works."
"Now, to you I say, and to the rest in Thyatira, as many as do not have this doctrine, who have not known the depths of Satan, as they say, I will put on you no other burden, but hold fast what you have until I come. He that overcomes and keeps my works until the end. To him I will give power over the nations. He will rule them with a rod of iron, and they will be dashed to pieces like the Potter's vessels as I have received from my Father. And I will give to him the morning star. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the church."
What is amazing about this church, Thyatira, is they started well. But then they went into decline. So before correcting them the Lord commends them. He says in verse 19, I know your works, your love, your service, your faith. And as for your works, the last are more than the first. You know one thing that is impressive is that this was a church that was growing and there was more growth in the end than there was in the beginning.
Better to Finish Strong Than Start Strong
You know it is a good thing to have a good ending. And sometimes we may not have a great beginning. Maybe we are late bloomers. Maybe we started following Christ later in life. Or maybe quite honestly we have thrown away some precious years chasing after silly things. But recently we have come to our senses. And here is the good news. Get in the race. And finish it well. Better to not have a great beginning but a great ending than to have a great beginning only to crash and burn. Better yet to have a great beginning and a great ending. But your best days should not be behind you. They should be in front of you.
But the problem is some people live in the past. You know I will have people come up to me and say, "Hey Greg, remember the old days, the Jesus movement?" Yeah those are great days. Aren't they? Yeah they were man. I tell you the Lord was working. I don't know why I am giving them this voice. But the Lord was working man. It was heavy. Yeah it was great days. Wonderful. Praise God for those days. Then I tell you what, I remember when you had hair. Yeah I had hair. Yeah yeah. Those are great days. Get over it. It is forty years ago. Thank God for what he did in the past. But I am excited about what the Lord did yesterday. And I am looking forward to what the Lord is going to do tomorrow.
You know but some people are living in the past still. And Jesus is saying to this church, Thyatira, you guys your latter works are better than your earlier ones. That is really a good thing. And that should be true of every believer. There should be constant growth in our life.
The Danger of Drifting and Neglecting Growth
Well that was good for then. But now there is a lapse that is taking place. And compromise has set in. They are beginning to drift off course. The Bible warns us in Hebrews 2:1. "For this reason we should pay closer attention to what we have heard so we do not drift away from it." Listen to this. The moment you begin to neglect your growth you will contribute to your decline. Then we repeat that. The moment you begin to neglect your growth spiritually you will contribute to your decline.
Last Thursday I shared this at our midweek Bible study in Harvest Orange County. I will share it with you as well. I read an article in the paper about a personal trainer who had a lot of clients who were overweight. He had never struggled with weight before. This guy had always been in great shape. And never had a problem with overeating. And yet he had clients that struggled. And he found it hard to sympathize with them. So he decided to gain 70 pounds so he could know what it was like to have to struggle with weight. And he chronicles all of this on his website.
And they show a before picture with this guy just in perfect shape. Just cut and muscular and trim and everything is right. And then he started eating everything in sight. His eating regimen is as follows. For breakfast he had Captain Crunch cereal. And all the fattening things for lunch. He ate corn dogs and everything you can think of that would cause you to gain weight. Fettuccine Alfredo for dinner you know. And he said at first it was kind of exhilarating. Because for the first week he is eating like crazy. But he is not seeing any effects on his body. He is still looking really good. But then after a couple of weeks he said the first thing to go were the abs. They just sort of disappeared. And then rolls of fat start appearing. And soon he says I am feeling lethargic. And I am feeling dull. And I am feeling depressed. And now he is making his way back. But he said it is a lot harder than I thought it would be.
See he was able to say oh why do you have this problem with weight. And why do you struggle with it. It is so easy to overcome it. But now he is there. He is saying it is a little harder than I thought it would be. But he is chronicling his progress on his website and so forth. But I thought what a perfect picture of what it is like to fall into sin. You know at first as you go back to some of the old ways it might be a little bit exhilarating. Wow I did that and nothing happened. I got away with this and the world didn't end. It is kind of fun you know. But then you know the problems come. And then the depression enters in. And then the repercussions are there. And you wonder how do I get back again.
That is what we see happening to this church. They were spiritually sick. The earlier church, Pergamos, was compromising. But now they were accepting, listen, and tolerating open sin.
Tolerance of Sin: Thyatira's Fatal Flaw
Jesus focuses in specifically on the word tolerance with this church. Verse 20, "I have a few things against you because you tolerate that woman Jezebel who calls herself a prophetess to teach and seduce my servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols." Tolerance. Isn't that the watchword of the day? You can be anything but intolerant.
You know I actually believe, and I am sure most of you would agree with this, but I think this would be a surprising statement to a non-believer. But I believe that all the strong Christians that I know are very tolerant. Let me define tolerance. We have a world view that comes from our study of Scripture. And from our faith in Jesus Christ. We believe these things are true. And so when we talk to someone who is not a believer, we try to convince them. We try to persuade them. We engage in evangelism. We want them to believe in Jesus like we do. But we all know people that hear what we have to say and say, well I don't agree with you. I disagree. So what do we do? Do we have them killed? Of course not. Do we assault them physically if they don't embrace Christ? No, of course we don't. Do we scream in their face? No, we don't do that either. We lovingly say, well I disagree with the lifestyle choices you are making. I am going to pray for you. And I hope you will come to your senses one day. But we tolerate that thing. In other words, we accept that though we don't agree with it, that is the choice that they are making. That is tolerance. It is just, I will tolerate that. I don't agree with it. I don't believe in it. But I will tolerate it.
But the tolerance of today is different. They sort of redefined it. Because really, when people tell you to be tolerant today, in effect they are telling you not only to accept something, but to approve it, and even validate it. They are saying, you have no right to say that your version of truth is any better than anybody else's version of truth. Therefore you should accept and embrace what they believe, just as you embrace what you believe. And if you don't, you are intolerant. And I have found that the most intolerant people are the ones that talk the most about tolerance. Because they don't want me to just accept it as far as saying, well I don't agree with it. No, they want me to endorse it.
And that is what the church of Thyatira was doing. They were tolerating sin. And God said, "I am intolerant of your tolerance." See tolerance isn't always a good thing in that sense. Nowadays if you don't agree with something, well you have a phobia. To take a stand is defined as hate. Conviction is called fanaticism. Truths the churches believed for centuries is regarded now as discrimination. But Jesus is saying, I am intolerant of this sin. You are allowing sexual immorality into your ranks.
He mentions Jezebel. Now I don't know if this was a literal Jezebel that was being referred to. Or he was just using the name as sort of a metaphor of wickedness. We do know of a queen Jezebel in the Old Testament. And she was married to King Ahab. She was an extremely wicked woman that we know actually underwrote 850 false prophets. She was culpable in putting the prophets of the Lord to death. She was teaching that immorality was not a serious issue. And she herself died an untimely death being thrown from a window and eaten by dogs. Queen Jezebel was in the words of the great theologian Frank Sinatra. The lady was a tramp. That is what I am trying to say to you.
So here we find the Lord is saying you are tolerating that Jezebel-like sin. And by the way you know just because the name is in the Bible that doesn't mean you should name your child that. I am all for using Biblical names. But not all Biblical names. Please don't name your son Judas. Or Nimrod. Or the Pharaoh. And don't name your daughter Delilah. Or Jezebel. Okay. Not a good name.
Jesus Sees Everything with Eyes of Fire
Jesus says, I am aware of this tolerance of sin. Verse 18. "To the angel of the church in Thyatira write, These things saith the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and his feet like fine brass." Now it is very important to look at how Jesus is describing Himself because this is revealing how He sees things. Having His feet like fine brass speaks of refinement, of judgment. Having eyes like a flame of fire means that this is making Him angry.
It must have been an amazing thing during our Lord's earthly ministry to look into His eyes. He was a man. But He was also God. And when you looked into those eyes you were looking at God in human form. And we know that Jesus would look at people with a penetrating glance. He could see right through them. In fact when He called Matthew the tax collector we read Jesus looked at him. But a better rendering of that verse would be Jesus looked right through him and said, "Follow me."
We know after Peter's denial he made eye contact with the Lord briefly in the courtyard of Caiaphas as Jesus looked at him. The thing is Jesus didn't just look at people. He knew what they were thinking. And often He would expose their thoughts. And it would completely freak them out. Why are you thinking this right now? He would say. They are like, How did He know that? Because He is God. I am so glad I can't read people's minds. I think I would find that very depressing. You know you are talking with someone. They are saying, I love you so much. You are so great. You could read their mind. I think you are ugly. I dislike you. Wow. You are really thinking that about me right now? Jesus knew everything that everyone was thinking. He could see right through people.
And Jesus is saying, I am intolerant of this sin. Here is what the Bible is saying. You cannot be a Christian and try to live in two worlds. And immorality is taking place in the lives of those that profess to be believers. But here are some warnings from Scripture. Galatians 5:19 says, "When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, your lives will produce these evil results. Sexual immorality. Impure thoughts. Eagerness for lustful pleasures. Let me tell you again, as I have told you before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the kingdom of God." Did you hear that? If you live in a moral lifestyle without repenting, you will not go to heaven.
In Revelation 22:14 it says, "Outside of this city are the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idol worshippers, and all who love to live a lie." There are no exceptions to this. Don't tell me that God spoke to you and said it was okay. Trust me I have heard this. I have heard, you know, people who are not married come up and say, "We are having sex outside of marriage. But God told us it was okay." Really. How? He just spoke to our hearts. Well I don't know who spoke to your hearts, but it wasn't God. Because God would never contradict His word. And 1 Thessalonians 4:3 says, "God wants you to be holy so you should keep clear of all sexual sin."
So God says, You are letting this in your ranks. This is a bad thing.
The Dead Church: Sardis and Its Warning
Now Jesus gives a stern warning to those who would live immorally. Verse 22, "Indeed I will cast her into a sick bed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation unless they repent of their deeds." This verse seems to be saying that if you continue to live this way you will be left at the rapture. And this would fit in with other scriptures that warn us that as we await the Lord's return we should be watching and be ready.
In Luke 12 Jesus speaks of the wicked servant who thinks that his master is delaying his return and begins to beat the other servants, partying and getting drunk. And Jesus says that the master will return and cut that person off. Jesus says in Matthew 24:40 that two will be in a field and one will be taken and the other will be left. There are going to be people that will be left when the Lord comes.
Now we will get into this more later as we explore Revelation. But my belief is the next event on the prophetic calendar is the rapture of the church when all true believers are caught up to meet the Lord in the air. And then comes the tribulation period. And for the latter half folks it is going to be hell on earth. And it is my belief that Christians will be caught up to meet the Lord before it. Now people will come to Christ in the tribulation. But if you are a believer before that time opens up or takes place you will be in heaven I believe. And I will explain why I believe that as we get further on into this book.
But how tragic it would be to be left. Remember the book of Revelation means the unveiling. I pointed out to you the word revelation means to unveil. So what does it unveil? Well it unveils Jesus Christ to us. It is a revelation of Jesus. It reveals the future to us. And guess what? It reveals us to us. It shows us how God sees us. So He is giving us this warning to be ready for His return.
Now we shift gears and find out what happens to the sick church that doesn't listen. They end up as a dead church. Revelation 3 verse 1. "And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, These things saith he that has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your works. You have a name that you are alive but you are dead. Be watchful and strengthen the things that remain that are ready to die for I have not found your works perfect before God. 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 come upon you. You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments. They will walk with me in white for they are worthy. He that overcomes shall be clothed in white garments. And I will not blot his name out from the book of life. But I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."
So we have the sick church of Thyatira. Now we have the nearly dead church of Sardis. They look good on the outside though. You ever see a movie set or a television set? It is never the way it appears on screen. It is never as impressive. Everything seems smaller and more fake. I mean that beautiful three story building may just be a painted facade propped up by pieces of wood. And so that is what this church was. They looked good on the outside. But the fire was gone, you see.
What a Dead Church Really Looks Like
The story is told of a local church that was on fire downtown. So the pastor was standing there as the fire department was trying to put the fire out. And a man came up, was standing and watching. And the pastor looked at this man and says, "I have been inviting you to come to this church for as long back as I can remember. And you have never come once. And yet here you are on this night. Why?" The man said, "Pastor, I hate to admit this, but this is the first time in all the years that this church has ever been on fire."
So this church looked good, but something was missing. They had a name that was known far and wide. It was humming with activity. There was no shortage of money, talent, or manpower. Outwardly it had every indication of a church on the move. But Jesus reveals things that no one else sees. See the way we evaluate successful churches is different than the way God does. Our measure of success is probably how many people attend. How big and beautiful the facilities are. How great the music is. Or how great this is. Or great that is. And those are not bad things to look at. But Jesus sees things differently. And the problem with these guys is they were not measuring up to His standard. Because in verse 2 he says, "I have not found your works perfect before God." Or a better translation would be, fulfilled. In other words, you have not fulfilled your purpose.
What is the purpose of the church? Is the objective of a church just to get big? Is the objective of a church just to have people everywhere? I don't think so. To me, as far as I can see in my study of Scripture, the church has a three-fold objective. It is upward, inward, and outward. Number one, the church is here for the exaltation of God. Number two, the church is here for the edification of saints. And thirdly, the church is here for the evangelization of the world.
Number one, we are here to exalt God. To glorify God. That is why we give a place to worship in this church. But we are here for the edification of the saints. And that is why we study the Word of God in pretty much every service that we have. But then we are also here for the evangelization of the world. But there are churches that are not fulfilling their purpose.
Now did these guys pray? Oh I am sure they prayed quite dutifully. But their prayers went no higher than the ornate ceiling of their beautiful building. Because they were more interested in the form of the prayer than the one it was addressed to. Did they listen to sermons? Oh I am sure they did quite regularly. But they were more focused on the skill of the orator than the message itself. Did they worship? Oh I am sure they had a full-blown orchestra and massive choir. But they were more concerned with how it sounded than who it was directed to.
I hope you don't come here and listen to our worship band and say, Great worship or even great worship band. I hope you leave here saying, Great God that we worship. Then they have done their job. And I know they would be the first to agree with that. Nor do I hope you leave here saying, Great Sermon. I would rather you walked out saying, Great Savior. It got me focused on Jesus. That is what was happening. That is what we are here for.
Five Signs of a Dying or Dead Church
But sometimes churches are dying. Sardis was the dead church. How can you tell if a church is dying? Chuck Swindoll in his excellent commentary in Revelation points out five marks of a dead church. Number one he said, A dead church worships its past. A dead church worships its past. Maybe there were amazing stories of conversion and life change. But it is in the distant past. And that is why I was saying earlier we can rejoice in what God did twenty, thirty, forty years ago. But what about now? I don't want to live in the past. A live church is always living in the present and is planning for the future.
Number two a dead church is inflexible and resistant to change. Again a dead church is inflexible and resistant to change. Sometimes in the church we are flexible where we should be inflexible and we are inflexible where we should be flexible. Does that make sense? Here is where we should be inflexible. In the essentials. We are here to worship God. We are here to study the Word. I am inflexible there. I am sorry. If you come here and you want to see something else then go somewhere else. Because that is what we are going to do in every service. You see. I mean I could just come out and say, you know what, I really didn't have time to prepare a message this week, so want to watch a movie? I have a copy of The Avengers. Who wants to see it? I want to see Men in Black 3. Okay, we'll watch that instead. Listen, I don't want to waste your time. We are here to hear the Word of God. We are here to worship the living God. So I'm inflexible there.
But then there are areas where we ought to be flexible. And that would be musical style. People get really sensitive about this. Well I like this style. And this was the style of worship I was raised on. And I don't like anything different than this. And your style is not valid. And so we'll become rigid in an area where we should be flexible. I mean look at the style of music that we've had from the first Harvest Crusade in 1990 to the present day. Has it changed? Yes. Should it have changed? Absolutely. Why? Because we adapt to changing culture. And we also embrace new technology. Some people are resistant of it. I don't want technology. I'm against technology.
I remember in the mid-90s when we, maybe it was the mid-90s, maybe earlier. I can't remember. We put up our first video screens. I had some people get upset. I'm leaving the church over this. I don't come to church to watch TV. Well we're not exactly watching TV. No. I want to look at the preacher. I don't want to look at a video screen. Yeah. That's what I think too. And yet you're probably sitting right in front of me looking at the screen right now. And I do that too. When I just knew a guest speaker I'm looking up at the screen. And we're just taking technology and we're using it for God's glory.
Well I don't want to go to a service that's a video feed of preaching. That's not valid. You need to be there. Well why is that? Well God can't bless His Word if it goes through video. This is what Harvest America is. We're taking what has worked already here and is being watched live in Orange County. The next service. What happens in Orange County is shot back here live. It's all present. It's in the moment. It's the Word of God. And we can reach more people. Isn't that a good thing? Not to some people. We've always done it this way and we should always do it that way.
Number three. A dead church has lazy leadership. Complacency and lethargy set in as the church is in spiritual cruise control. Not wanting to do anything new or even rethink the way things are done. Now I'm not going to tell you what I'm talking about. But there are times when we look at things that we've done here over the years and we say, you know what? It's time to blow that up. That's not working anymore. But we've always done it this way. We don't need it anymore. No we need it. No you know what? We don't need a cassette ministry anymore. Well we've had a cassette ministry for fifteen years. Yeah but nobody has cassette players. Doesn't matter. We've had this cassette. You know. But we'll get stuck in a rut about a certain style or a certain approach. And I think we need to constantly be evaluating. Looking at our big mission of what we are called to do. Are there more effective ways to do this? Is this not as effective as it used to be? Can it be changed? That's a good thing.
Number four. A dead church neglects youth. Maybe it's because they are tending to an aging congregation so they failed and reached the next generation. We have always put a high priority on reaching young people at this church. Now when we started I was a young person. I was twenty years old. In fact I don't know if you know this but the reason we started Sunday morning was we wanted to have an outreach for those who were old. Because a lot of young people were coming out Sunday night and we thought let's have an outreach to older people. We'll start it on Sunday morning for anyone over thirty. But you know sometimes we'll introduce maybe some music and oh well you know you can't have that. The older people won't like it. Yeah but the younger people. Yeah but the older people won't like it. Well you know what I think the older people can just flex a little bit. And you know what I'm one of the older people too. I know that. Because you're thinking do you know you're older too Greg? You act like you're twenty still. I know I am. But I'm feeling hey if I'm sitting next to a young person in church that should make me glad as an older person. You see. Because I can help them as an older person. And they can help me as a younger person.
Which brings me to my last point. Number five. Sign of a dead church. It lacks evangelistic zeal. If new converts are not coming into the church it's only a matter of time until that church stagnates and is spiritually dead. Listen. New believers are the life blood of the church. We should want them. We should pray for them. We should embrace them. We should encourage them. Yeah that's what was happening to the church of Sardis. They were dead.
The Prescription for Revival and Renewal
So what should a dead church do? And for that matter what should a believer who has entered into a deadened state do? Well the great physician gives advice. Gives his advice for a complete spiritual recovery. You know it doesn't do you any good if you go to see the doctor and don't do what the doctor tells you to do. Follow the directions.
Heard about a patient that went to see their doctor. He said, "Doc it's been one month since our last visit and I still feel miserable." The doctor asked the question, "Well did you follow the instructions on the medicine I gave you?" The patient said, "I sure did. The bottle said, Keep tightly closed." That's true. Keep reading. And it will tell you what to do next. And sometimes you know we won't listen. We will keep this tightly closed. Open it up. Hear what it says.
Jesus tells us what we need to do. Here is a hint. It is found in the way the Lord presents himself to this church. In verse 1 he says, He is the one who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. Now these symbols were identified for us in the first chapter of Revelation. The seven spirits are a symbol of the Holy Spirit in his fullness. So here is what Jesus is saying. What you need is the power of the Holy Spirit in your life.
Let's say that you went out and bought a new car. You were driving it around happily. It was great. For the first week and a half. And then suddenly, inexplicably, it sputtered a little and it just stopped. So you called a tow truck and had it taken back to the dealer where you purchased it and said, "I bought this car. You sold me a lemon. It doesn't run anymore." So the salesman asked to see your keys. And he turned your car on and noticed that your fuel light was on. He said, "Did you ever put gas in this car?" "No, I thought it was electric." "No, it is not electric. You need to refuel your car."
So in the same way in the Christian life we are charging along. Things are going well. And we start to sputter. And maybe our life comes to a complete standstill. And we wonder what is wrong. Here is the question. Have you refueled lately? You need to be filled with the Spirit. That is not just a one time event. Ephesians 5 says, "Be filled with the Spirit." Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. But in the Greek that can be translated, Be constantly filled with the Holy Spirit. Be filled over and over again. Get refills from God.
And you know it is interesting because that statement of Ephesians 5 contextually goes on to address the family. It talks about men and women and husbands and wives and fathers and mothers. Parents. So effectively God is saying you want to be a good husband? You need to be filled with the Spirit. You want to be a good wife? Be filled with the Spirit. How about parenting? You need to be filled with the Spirit. We need God's help to do everything He has called us to do.
Now Jesus gives His prescription for spiritual renewal. Three things. Number one. Wake up. Wake up. Verse two. Be watchful. A better translation of that would be wake up. I just got back from an international trip and I had severe jet lag. I am not a good jet lag person. Some people I know they go into another time zone. They just adapt. Not me. I will have jet lag for up to a week before I actually adapt. A lot of my trips are like a week. So just when I am adjusting I have to get on a plane to fly back and now I will have jet lag for another week. And jet lag is unlike normal tiredness. You know you get up really early and then you start hitting the wall around two o'clock. So I will have like a triple Espresso cake. And I will be good for a little while. And then around five o'clock I am beyond tired. I can't even put sentences together. I am over in the corner with my head against the wall drooling. You know. Maybe not that bad. But you get the idea. I can't function.
I read an article the other day that said people that are sleep deprived are just as dangerous on the road as drunk drivers. The effects are the same. So this word of the Lord is to a person who is completely lethargic. Jet lagged to the Max if you will. A person who is out of touch. He is saying wake up. Your life depends upon this. Snap out of it.
Number two. Strengthen the things that remain. Verse two. The word strengthen means to stabilize that which is frail. There is something good there. Strengthen that. Sort of like a person who is very ill or maybe is close to death. We have seen the scene in so many movies where someone is shaking them and saying stay with me. Don't leave me. Jesus is leaning over this church. He is saying stay with me. Don't leave me now. There is still hope.
And then the third thing is be ready for the Lord's return. Number three. Verse three. "Therefore if you will not watch I will come upon you as a thief." Thief doesn't announce when they are coming. Otherwise they wouldn't be a very good thief. I wish they would though. Wouldn't that be nice? Hey you know we are going to Rob you. I think around 2.15. Kind of busy tonight. Oh thanks for the information. You are going to have the police department there. You are going to have the national guard there. You are going to have the Navy seals there. You are going to be ready for them right? So they don't announce it. They just come as a thief. Unexpectedly. And the Lord says I will come like a thief.
See when we think of the Lord returning at any moment that doesn't frighten us as Christians because we are ready for His return. But if we are not right with God He is coming like a thief. There is an element of danger in that. It is something we might even dread. What is your attitude toward His return? It says a lot about you spiritually.
John gives two potential reactions to Christ's return. In 1 John 2:28 he says, "Dear children, continue to live in fellowship with Christ. So when He returns you will be full of courage and not shrink back from Him in shame." See if you are right with God you will be full of courage as you await His return. If you are not right with God you will be shrinking back in shame.
The Promise to Overcomers and the Book of Life
Finally a very important but often misunderstood verse. Look at verse 5. "He that overcomes will 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." The Bible clearly teaches that God has a book. It goes by a number of names. It is called the book of remembrance containing the names of those who fear the Lord and think in His name. Sometimes it is just called the book. Other times it is called the book of life or the Lamb's book of life.
And according to Revelation 20, one day at the great white throne judgment, the books will be opened, plural. And the dead will be judged by the things written in the books. And a book will be opened, singular, which is the book of life. And whoever is not found written in the book of life is cast into the lake of fire. Listen. No Christian will be present at the great white throne judgment. This is for non-believers only. You say, why? Perhaps to demonstrate to them why they are going to face judgment. Because they will be judged out of the books. But the big issue is, is your name in the book? In the book of life?
Listen. You might have your name in a church register, but not have it on the divine register. Is your name in the Lamb's book of life right now? If it is, then don't sweat the small stuff. Because that is the big thing. On one occasion the disciples were excited because they were able to cast out demons by the power of God. And Jesus said, you know what guys? Don't get all excited because spirits are subject to you. Rejoice in this instead that your names are written in heaven.
I know my name is written in the Lamb's book of life. Now when that happens I have no idea. Was it always written there because God always knew I would believe? Or was it written there the day I accepted Christ? Of this I am not sure. But I know it is there. And God promises a victorious Christian here that He will not blot their name out. In fact this statement, I will not blot your name in the Greek is a double negative as if Jesus was saying, I will never by any means blot out His name.
Listen to this. The believer who walks with God need not ever fear for their salvation. Indeed far from removing our name from this book, Jesus promises to confess it before His Father and the angels. In verse 5 of Revelation 3, "He that overcomes will be clothed in white garments. I will not blot His name from the book of life, but I will confess His name before my Father and before His angels."
Jesus says, I will stand up for you in heaven. Can you imagine that? There you stand, little old you. Unworthy you. And Jesus says, that boy is mine. That girl, she belongs to me. Father, I am speaking up for them right now. I am standing up for them. Angels, are you listening? That is my child right there. I stand up for them. That is His promise to you. Why? Because your name is written in the book. Is it?
In a related statement Jesus said in Luke 12, "I say to you, Whoever confesses me before men, him will the Son of Man also confess before the angels of God. Whoever denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God." Often not confessing Him can be a way of denying Him.
Let me illustrate. Let's say you are in a conversation with a group of non-believing friends. And it turns toward big issues. Life and death issues. And someone says, Well, I don't even know if I believe there is a God. And another says, Well, I certainly don't think there is a final judgment, or a heaven, or a hell, and everybody is weighing in and opining away. And they turn to you. They say, What do you think? And your response is, Well, I don't know. It is all so controversial. And I don't really like to get into politics or religion. So I am just not going to say.
Can I be really blunt with you? In effect, you just denied the Lord. Now I am not saying that you have to put the name of Jesus in every conversation and be obnoxious about it. But I am saying when one of those divine set ups happens, you know what I am talking about, where a door is open and it is so obvious, and all you have to do is just walk in and say, I believe thus and so. Say, Yeah, but Greg, what if I say that? And they say, I am intolerant. So what? You are saying the truth. Say what is right. Confess Him before men, Jesus says, and He will confess you before the Father and the angels.
Final Call: Is Your Name in the Book?
So let me ask you this in closing. Is your name written in this book? And do you know it? Maybe you don't. Maybe as I talk about this, it kind of freaks you out a little bit. I don't know if my name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life. Well, I know mine is, not because I deserve it, but because I have put my faith in Jesus, who died on the cross for my sin, and Rose again from the dead. And I know it is there, and I know Christ will stand up for me in that day. Do you know that? And if you don't, would you like to?
Or maybe there are some of you that, as we have talked about the Lord coming like a thief, that is how you kind of view it. Like a thief, it is something you dread, it is something you recoil from. No, instead you should have great courage as you think about His imminent return. If you are afraid when you hear about the return of Jesus, that would be an indication to me that something is wrong with you spiritually.
Or quite frankly, there might be some of you who are doing this very thing we have read about. You are committing immorality. You are tolerating evil in your life. It has gone from a little compromise to full toleration of it. And you are rationalizing and saying, well, it is okay, I think. No, no, it is not okay. God has shown you clearly. Listen, folks, this is your wake up call. Pay attention.
Remember what we read? Jesus said, He that has ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the church. Let me personalize that. You have ears to hear. Hear what God is saying to you as an individual today.
In a moment we are going to pray. And I am going to give you an opportunity, if you need to, to put your faith in Christ for the first time. And if you need to come back to the Lord, because you have been compromising or tolerating sin, I will give you an opportunity as well.
Let us all bow our heads for prayer, if you would, please. Father, we have heard your word now. You have told us what to do. You have told us to wake up. You have told us to repent. You have told us to take action. Help us to do that now. We would pray.
Now while our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed and we are praying together, how many of you would say today, Greg, I don't know if my name is written in the book of life. I don't have this confidence that I will go to heaven when I die. But I want this confidence. I want to believe in Jesus. I want to be ready for His return. Pray for me. If that is your desire, if you want to be sure your name will be written in the book of life, if you want to go to heaven when I die, if you want Jesus to stand up for you, if you want to be ready for His return, would you lift your hand up right now wherever you are sitting and I will pray for you.
If you want your name written in this book of life, you want to go to heaven, lift your hand up wherever you are and I will pray for you. God bless you. Lift your hand up where I can see it. God bless you and God bless you and you. And you in the back and up there in the balcony. God bless you. I can't see you outside, but the Lord sees you. Take that little step of faith and raise your hand.
Also over at Harvest Orange County, raise your hand up right now You need to make this commitment to Jesus. Anybody else? Raise your hand up. God bless each one of you. Anybody else? Raise it now. God bless. One final moment. You want your name written in the book of life. You want to go to heaven. Raise your hand up. God bless you. God bless you.
While our heads are still bowed, maybe there are some of you that have been tolerating sin. You have been doing things you know are wrong and God has spoken to you. You have received your wake up call. And you are ready to repent of that sin. If that is you, would you raise your hand up and let me pray for you today. God bless you. God bless you. This is the place to do it. Among friends and family here in the church. Anybody else? Raise your hand up. I will pray for you. God bless you.
Father, thank you now for each one of these and I pray you give them the strength to stand up and follow you. Now I am going to ask that everyone that has raised their hand if you would please stand to your feet. And I am going to lead you in a prayer. Just stand up right where you are. Wherever you are, stand up. Stand up outside in the amphitheater, in the court building at Harvest Orange County. Stand to your feet. I am going to lead you in a prayer of commitment or recommitment to Christ. Anybody else? Stand now. Up in the balcony stand. Wherever you are seeing me stand now. Now. Even if you did not lift your hand but you want to make this commitment or recommitment to Jesus, do it now. One final moment. Stand now. Anybody else? Stand now. God bless all of you standing. Anybody else? Stand. God bless you and you. God bless all of you.
Now you that are standing I want you to pray this prayer out loud after me. And this is a prayer of committing your life to follow Jesus Christ. Again, as I pray, pray this out loud after me. Pray this now.
Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner. But you died on the cross and shed your blood for my sin. I turn from that sin now. I choose to follow you as Savior and Lord. Lord, as God and friend, from this moment forward. Thank you for calling me and accepting me. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.