Sunday – October 18, 2015 Revelation 2 & 3 “He Who Has an Ear, Let Him Hear”

Sunday – October 18, 2015 – Read the Word on Worship

Sunday – October 18, 2015 Revelation 2 & 3 “He Who Has an Ear, Let Him Hear” from Sunrise Community Church on Vimeo.

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Revelation 1:19-20
Therefore write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after these things. As for the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.”

Perhaps you’ve seen the television commercial in which a doctor instructs his patient how to perform surgery on himself – all over the phone. The “patient” asks the doctor, “Shouldn’t you be doing this?” One would expect something as serious as surgery to be performed by a surgeon – not by the patient. The same is true for the church. If the church is important, and its mission critical, then one would think that God would have significant involvement. He would not leave it for us to do ourselves, as best we can figure it out. Yet, many Christians seem to think that God has pretty much left the church on its own to figure out for itself just how it should function best.

It is generally accepted that the Gospel of Matthew has a Jewish focus. Noteworthy here is that Matthew is the only Gospel where the term “church” is found. In Matthew 16, we find Peter’s “great confession” and our Lord’s first reference to the church: “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.”  The coming of Israel’s Messiah was so that He could build His church. I am not saying this was His only reason for coming. What I am saying is that Matthew, a Jew writing to a Jewish audience, is saying this immediately after our Lord’s identity as Messiah is proclaimed by Peter. And this new confederation, His church, is so endowed with power that the gates of Hades cannot successfully resist or oppose it. The church is the means by which our Lord will overcome Satan’s domain.

I’m not quite sure how to say it any better than this. The church is very special to God. The imagery of our Lord’s relationship to the church depicts the love and intimacy between Christ and His church. He is the Shepherd; we are His flock. He is the groom; we are the bride. Christ loved the church and gave His life for it. That is exactly what Paul told the Ephesian elders: “Watch out for yourselves and for all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God that he obtained with the blood of his own Son (Acts 20:28).”

Christ nourishes and cherishes the church (Ephesians 5:29), and He keeps a watchful eye on the church, both in its victories and in its defeats. Our study in the first three books of Revelation demonstrates that our Lord knows exactly what is going on in each of the seven churches of Asia. He identifies their strengths and their failures far better than they knew- or we know about our body. Even today, the Lord Jesus gives us words of exhortation and words of warning. Our Lord cares about His church, and it shows.

Sunday – September 13, 2015 Revelation 3:1-6 “Sardis: A Mostly Dead Church”

Sunday – September 13, 2015 – Read the Word on Worship

Sunday – September 13, 2015 Revelation 3:1-6 “Sardis: A Mostly Dead Church” from Sunrise Community Church on Vimeo.

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Word On Worship – Sunday – September 13, 2015 Download / Print

 Revelation 3:1
He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars, says this: ‘I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.”

From time to time I hear of the bands of my childhood come to town to play a concert. Some of the bands that are still touring today that were touring in the 1980s and I am shocked to see it. I will think to myself, “Wow, those guys are still touring?” The reason it is strange to me is because these bands are not putting out any new songs or any new music. They are simply playing the hits that were so great 20-30 years ago. They are living on the reputation that they made for themselves decades ago. But they are not creating any new, fresh music.

In Christ’s letter to the church in Sardis, He gets immediately to the heart of the problem. Christ describes Himself as the one who is in charge, holding the seven stars and has the seven spirits of God. Christ knows the works of the church at Sardis and they are dead. This is a dead church. In the other letters to the seven churches so far, Christ knows their works have been good for the church. Christ sees what the Christians are doing in their love, faith, and service. Christ also knows the works of the church in Sardis and those works are not good.

Even more interesting is the fact that they did not know they were a dead church. The church in Sardis had a reputation of being alive, but it was not living up to its reputation. The problem that Christ exposes is superficial Christianity. Members claim to be of Christ but they do not live like they are of Christ. They seem to be Christians, but the Spirit has left the body. They are not putting what they have received from the Scriptures into practice. Christ calls them and us to remember not just what they received and heard but HOW they received.

A dead church is a church that is living on its past. It has a great resume, but the work of Christ has run out of gas and the church will not finish well. How can we avoid such a fate, to start well but finish so poorly? Ask yourself, how has this week been different because of what you have heard from last week’s message? What act of ministry have you participated in? Or is that the pastor’s job because you pay him to do it for you? Are you mentally and physically participating in worship? Our Lord’s words to these churches are not to make us feel comfortable with where we are, but to cause ourselves to examine ourselves to see if our faith is changing us to be more like Jesus or are we becoming that touring band living on past glory?