John Bevere - A Good Reputation Isn't Enough
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I’m going to talk for a few more minutes about one area where we have substituted good for God, which has become far too prominent in this book. I hope you read the book. I was in Puerto Rico earlier this year with Lisa; we were having a meeting on missions with other pastors. In my morning time, I was reading Psalms and Hebrews. One particular morning, I opened my Bible, and the Holy Spirit spoke very clearly to me: «Read Revelation.» I thought, «Okay.»
So, I went to Revelation 1 and started reading. I got to chapter 2 when I had to run out and do something, so I got pulled away. The next morning, I returned to Hebrews and Psalms. Two weeks later, I was back in Colorado, opening my Bible again. As I approached the end of Psalms and prepared to go into the New Testament, the Holy Spirit spoke to me again, this time a bit sterner: «Read the book of Revelation.» I thought, «Oh my gosh, He told me to do that two weeks ago, and I didn’t. I only read two chapters.» I went to Revelation, and now I was in chapter 3, verse 1. I want to show you the words that I read. Jesus said, «Write this letter to the angel.»
Now, the term angel is the Greek word «aggelos,» which simply means messenger or pastor. So, let’s say, «Pastor, write this letter to the pastor of the church in Sardis.» Do you see the word «church» highlighted? Why? First of all, this is Jesus speaking, not one of the apostles. Jesus is speaking to the church, not to the city of Sardis. Now, listen carefully: if the message He is about to give only applied to that historic church, we would never have had it in our Bibles. That’s right—the very fact that it’s in our Bible means it has prophetic application. What does that mean? Come on, talk to me; you’re smart—it applies to us today. I want you to see that this letter is Jesus speaking to us today, especially when the Holy Spirit says it twice. So, look at what He says: «I know all the things you do.» Notice He doesn’t say, «I know what you believe.»
Can I get an affirmation on that one? «I know all the things you do and that you have a reputation"—everybody shout, «reputation"—"for being alive, but you’re dead.» Okay, now hold on a minute. Let’s discuss reputation. Reputation is how people perceive you, right? So, the way people perceived this church was that it was alive. What gives people the perception that a church is alive? It’s exciting, has a great atmosphere, is growing in numbers, expanding in ministry outreach, and has resources in the community. Okay, can we think out loud? Do we say to a church with 20 people in it that they’re playing 1981 songs, «Oh, that’s a live church, baby»? The reputation of that church is not that it’s alive.
Now, I’m not advocating for that church; I’m just saying a church that has a reputation for being alive embodies all the things I just named. Yet Jesus said, «You’re dead.» Okay, wait a minute—what does «dead» mean? The term «dead» is referred to a couple of times in the New Testament when discussing living people. The prodigal son’s father said, «My son was dead, now he’s alive.» Paul said about a widow that lives in pleasure, «She’s dead while she lives.» That’s right, amen. He’s talking about widows in the church—if they’re living for pleasure, they’re dead while they live.
So, a person who is dead is someone who cannot reproduce. Remember, the Bible talks about the deadness of Sarah’s womb. In other words, these churches are not reproducing true converts or not reproducing Christlikeness, even though they have a great atmosphere, exciting environment, and wonderful community. Now, there’s nothing wrong with all that. In fact, all churches should embody that, but that’s not the indication of whether a church is alive or not; it’s what we are reproducing. That’s right.