Monday, September
4, 2017
“Write this letter to the angel of the
church in Sardis. This is the message
from the one who has the sevenfold Spirit of God and the seven stars:
“I know all the
things you do, and that you have a reputation for being alive—but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what little remains, for even what
is left is almost dead. I find that your
actions do not meet the requirements of my God.
Go back to what you heard and believed at first; hold to it firmly. Repent and turn to me again. If you don’t wake up, I will come to you
suddenly, as unexpected as a thief. “Yet
there are some in the church in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes with
evil. They will walk with me in white,
for they are worthy. All who are
victorious will be clothed in white. I
will never erase their names from the Book of Life, but I will announce before
my Father and his angels that they are mine.
“Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what
he is saying to the churches. Revelation
3:1-6(NLT)
If there is
one passage in Scripture that is scary beyond belief, for me it is this one. I’m not referring to the glorious white
clothing of the struggling saints. I’m
not thinking of a name written indelibly in the Book of Life. I’m staring at a false reputation.
The church
at Sardis had a reputation that they were alive, serving God with every bit of
their strength, but their reputation was for the past; they had long since
ceased to deserve the title servant;
theirs was a false reputation.
The church
in the 21st century might take a hard look at this. Nearly 90% of America's churches are either
plateaued or declining in membership.
You cannot decline
without somehow decaying,
and, eventually deceasing!
Our text
tells us that Christianity in the church and the individual Christian can
die. The programs and services can be
staffed and performed, but without life.
The blower in the furnace is on, but the fire has long since been
extinguished! Someone has said that if
the Holy Spirit left most churches today, she wouldn't be missed.
As a pastor
and student of Scripture, one who is charged with leading others to know
Christ, I have had the privilege to spend much time immersed in the things of
God. On the other side of that coin lies
the responsibility I face to not only discharge that duty, but to be faithfully
persistent in that work, always, as Paul said[2],
pressing forward towards the target of Christ as my character.
This is why
I’m bothered whenever I hear this part of John’s Revelation message to Sardis,
about a false reputation. Pastors are
really subject to this enigma of trying to remain humble while people in churches,
with best intentions, lift you to a place that sets your ego up for a
fall. In the churches I’ve served people
have always been very kind to shower me with loving comments about doing a great job, or wonderful sermon, pastor, or
some other nugget of praise I store up in my basket of warm memories.
Now, I know
Russell, and that man can live for weeks on a simple compliment. The problem is addiction; one can become so
joined to praise, deserved or not, that it becomes your reason for
breathing. And when that happens, you do
things to bring praise…more praise…instant praise…higher praise. And then you begin to believe your press
reports, and that’s when the self-opinion poll in which you imagine you’re the
greatest asset God ever had becomes
your reputation…and it’s firmly-entrenched in your thinking. You have become a legend in your own mind!
That’s what
scares me about this passage, and, frankly, I’m glad it does. I’m glad I worry about living a life of
basking in a reputation of well-done,
when deep down I know you’re only done
(well or poorly), when He calls you home.
This is what keeps me pushing – pressing every day to that mark of the
high calling in Jesus Christ.
For You Today
John said
anyone can hear with ears
; the real test is
whether we will understand and obey with our hearts…and feet!
You chew on
that as you hit the Rocky Road…have a blessed day!
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