Time to Wake Up

Monday, September 4, 2023

“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. Revelation 3:1 

In Great Britain, each year since 1974, an average of 85 churches closes their doors for the last time; they go out of business.  As a result, there is an abundance of church furnishings being sold to commercial enterprises.  Christening fonts are sold as bird baths.  Pews and screens are used as restaurant decorations, and stained-glass windows are now household ornaments. 

We shake our heads at 85 British churches closing; and then stare in amazement when we are told that more than double that number are closing each year in America.  We should not be surprised.  Nearly 90% of America's churches are either plateaued or declining in membership.  You cannot decline without somehow decaying, and, eventually deceasing!  Some would suggest that the Christian Church is dying for the lack of Christian living. 

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.  Let's look at a church that had that very problem.

A reputation for being alive suggests vitality and authority.  Sardis was built on the top of a  90^o cliff that was totally inaccessible from three sides.  There was only one gateway into the city; the residents felt safe.  They were prosperous, and lived in an impregnable fortress.  However, the city was conquered and destroyed twice in its history.  In BC 549 the Medes under Cyrus came right through the front gate while the guards slept.  The same thing happened in BC 218.  Antiochus the Great caught the guards napping, and waltzed right in the front door.  This ancient city had a reputation for being impregnable to military conquest, but it went to sleep, and the fall was great.  In the same way, Jesus speaks to the fellowship of Christians at Sardis – a group without financial hardship, or persecution – a church of successful people, and he says:  "Your reputation is that of being strong, impregnable -- you are badly mistaken!"

Jesus then cautions them to wake up:

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. 3 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.  Revelation 3:2-3

If you have ever pulled guard duty in the Army, you know it requires considerable effort to keep the eyelids in function-mode for four long hours.  There's just something about someone saying, "Stay awake!" that just makes you want to immediately go to sleep.

The sense of these verses is that ministry which was ongoing and vital at Sardis had waned; it was fading fast, and would soon die altogether.  Jesus warns them to shake-out of the lethargy and turn around. 

For You Today 

The message of Jesus to Sardis rings as strongly today as it ever has in history. 

If you had a heart on-fire for God, it’s time to rekindle it; blow on those embers before it’s too late!  If you were an evangelistic soul-winner, get busy in the neighborhood knocking on doors.  Don't let the ministry die! 

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

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There are about 2,600 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road library. 

Title Images:  Pixabay.com        Images without citation are in public domain.  

Unless noted, Scripture quoted from NLT^©   

When It Was Dark

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Jeremiah wrote a letter from Jerusalem to the elders, priests, prophets, and all the people who had been exiled to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar.

This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says to all the captives he has exiled to Babylon from Jerusalem:  “Build homes, and plan to stay.  Plant gardens, and eat the food they produce.  Marry and have children. Then find spouses for them so that you may have many grandchildren.  Multiply!  Do not dwindle away!  And work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile.  Pray to the Lord for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare.”  Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7

During last week’s prayer time in worship one of our members[1] asked that we pray for the strength to build the church back up.  I have not been able to get that thought out of my head since.  Then Jeremiah’s message showed up in today’s lectionary, and I took that as more than a coincidence; I feel certain it was a prompting from God’s Holy Spirit to lift up His plan for what we are to do to build the church back up. 

Today Jeremiah tells us exactly how to do what we must.  I believe strongly that the Old Testament gives us understanding of what Jesus came to do in us and through us.  That is, to build the Kingdom.  And, frankly, the building process doesn’t end when you’ve got a building in Bennett or Seagrove.  That building process will be complete when Jesus comes back for His bride.  Until that time, in good times of plenty, or in lean times when it is dark, our mission is unchanged; we must be working on building the Kingdom of God until He comes.

It’s no secret that we live in a dark time.  It is culturally-dark, with ungodliness proliferating, violence and anger ruling in every dark corner.  Sexual perversion is at a height most of never dreamed possible.  Dishonesty, lying, and a complete absence of integrity in government, business, and even churches.  And, on a close-to-home note, our United Methodist tribe is in a time of divisive, vitriolic upheaval that is almost certain to end in another General Conference that will make the shootout at the OK Corral look like a minor disagreement between kindergarten children.

Now, I am not about to give you a six-step surefire plan that will fix the United Methodist church, or grow this one.  I’m not going to announce a 30 day fast, or 40 days of planning and preparation for new programs.  I just want to point to what Jeremiah said to people who were going through darker times than we are. 

He told them to live! 

Jeremiah told God’s nation, Israel, demolished and demoralized by King Nebuchadnezzar’s storm troopers, to live.

He told them to live, despite the fact that their city, Jerusalem lay in ruins; the walls of the city had been torn down, temple desecrated, looted, and burned!

But Jeremiah did more than just say live;

He told them to live…and have hope!

Notice in the text the prophet told them to build, plant, marry, have plenty of children and grandchildren, and work for peace and prosperity where they were, exiles in Babylon, nearly a thousand miles from their Jerusalem homes! 

Jeremiah demonstrated his preaching by buying a piece of property in a dead city.  He bought a plot of land in Jerusalem while he was in jail (and “jail” would’ve been a fancy name…it was actually a hole in the ground with bars overhead).  Land was worthless in the conquered city, as was the currency of Israel.  But God had said Israel still had a future.  And when you believe God, you act that way.

For this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Someday people will again own property here in this land and will buy and sell houses and vineyards and fields.’”  Jeremiah 32:15

Jeremiah’s preaching became Jeremiah’s practicing!  And that’s what we should begin to do…live with hope!  That means we must live like we say we believe…trusting God with our time, talent, and tithe. 

We live, not moping…but hoping…giving our best, serving like servants, even when it’s dark; we work like there really is a Kingdom in the building process!

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit…Amen!

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[1] Linda Sorrell at Mt Zion UMC

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[i] Title Image:  Courtesy of Pixabay.com.    All Scripture quoted is from The New Living Translation (unless otherwise stated) 

Learning to Be Out of Your Mind

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One time Jesus entered a house, and the crowds began to gather again.  Soon he and his disciples couldn’t even find time to eat.  When his family heard what was happening, they tried to take him away.  “He’s out of his mind,” they said.  But the teachers of religious law who had arrived from Jerusalem said, “He’s possessed by Satan, the prince of demons.  That’s where he gets the power to cast out demons.”   Mark 3:20-22^(NLT)

It’s not hard to imagine the aloneness Jesus experienced.  The Pharisees thought he had a demon, and his family thought he was daft…out of his mind.  The family wanted to take him home for rest…the Pharisees wanted a more permanent solution.

And what was Jesus’ crime?  Doing the work of the Father with all his heart!

There are several motives here that are all related and tied together that caused both the religious leaders and Jesus’ family to want to get him to chill-out.  There is fear, apathy, complacency…all of which are crippling to ministry. 

While fear may not be the kind of evil we normally associate with the Pharisees, it is still the opposite of faith in God, and therefore just as damaging to our spirit.  It all says Jesus was wrong…and that is blasphemy.

As we learned last week, there is a pathway connected with sin (the opposite of faith).  It starts with a decision against God’s will – like Jesus’ family figuring Jesus was out of His mind – or the Pharisees diagnosing Him with a demon.  The decision is disobedience to God’s will and results in deeds which you shouldn’t do…but also the lack of deeds that you should do.  Whether it is complacency, apathy or fear, the pathway ends in the same place…death.  It is spiritual death…the disconnect between you and God.

Your spiritual life can stand a lot of assault; God has promised much strength through His Word, Prayer and the support of fellow believers.  One thing the Christian’s individual spiritual health cannot live with is our own apathy, fear, or complacency.  Here’s how the medical community describes a person steeped in apathy, they have the:  lack of will to go on and the inability to care about the consequences[2]

Apathy’s spiritual death looks like giving up, and not caring about it at all!

Now for the hard part – churches can grow apathetic as well.  The excuses are so many it just wouldn’t do to list them all…I’ve used them, and so have you.  The point is, if you can’t imagine why anyone would give up on Jesus when he was deep into His Father’s work, just look around and tell me about the people who have given up on Jesus’ church.  And then tell me how that apathy, fear, and complacency has crippled the church you love.

There were two apathetic churches in the final chapters of Holy Scripture to which Jesus spoke a particularly harsh word of condemnation; the first was the church at Sardis:

“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. 

Revelation 3:1b-3^(NLT)

That was a dead church…they had lived on their reputation for so long they couldn’t even tell they were as lifeless as an empty sea shell.  Then there was Laodicea:

“I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold.  I wish that you were one or the other!  But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!  Revelation 3:15-16^(NLT)

This group of believers had grown so cold and indifferent, their complacent apathy was sickening to Jesus.

I have found in my own life that discouragement, tiredness and having plenty of excuses at my fingertips will lead to apathy and giving up. 

But that is not the way of Christ.  Rather than being complacent, living on yesterday’s memories, chewing on today’s excuses, we ought to be out of our minds in the same way Jesus was; we should be about the Father’s business, stop complaining and give everything we’ve got for the work of the Kingdom, no matter what anyone else is doing.

Out of our minds?  Yes, exactly…out of ours, and into the mind of the One who died for us.  Paul put it this way:

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.  Philippians 2:5^(NLT)

Let the church say “Amen”!

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[1] Title Image courtesy of Pixabay.com

[2] What is the Example of Apathy ^©Answers.com

Lenten Walk - Part 25

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Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Then on October 17 of that same year, the Lord sent another message through the prophet Haggai.  “Say this to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Jeshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of God’s people there in the land:  ‘Does anyone remember this house—this Temple—in its former splendor?  How, in comparison, does it look to you now?  It must seem like nothing at all!  But now the Lord says:  Be strong, Zerubbabel.  Be strong, Jeshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest.  Be strong, all you people still left in the land.  And now get to work, for I am with you, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.  My Spirit remains among you, just as I promised when you came out of Egypt.  So do not be afraid.’  “For this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says:  In just a little while I will again shake the heavens and the earth, the oceans and the dry land.  I will shake all the nations, and the treasures of all the nations will be brought to this Temple.  I will fill this place with glory, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.  The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.  The future glory of this Temple will be greater than its past glory, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.  And in this place I will bring peace.  I, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!”  

Haggai 2:1-9^(NLT)

The house of God was a shadow of its’ former splendor by the time the prophet Haggai arrived on the scene.  God told the people three things through this prophecy:

#1.  Do not be afraid!

#2.  Get to work!

#3.  Everything you see belongs to God, and I’m going to shake this place; the glory you remember will be nothing compared to what you will see in the future!

This prophecy is a strong reminder that (as Lent is so good at reminding us) finding ourselves in a very dark place is not the end of light.  And that means the message of Haggai is as strong to God’s people today as it was when God originally gave it.

The time of Haggai was after the 70 year captivity of Babylon.  The prophet was probably born in captivity and had never seen Jerusalem.  When the exiles began returning they found the Temple in shambles.  Work had begun to restore the House of God, but it had stopped abruptly and people were steeped in their own building projects, restoring their personal properties while the Temple lay in ruins.  Reading what God said through the prophet ought to stir our hearts to consider the state of God’s house in our local communities.

Today we live in a dark culture, obsessed with materialism, sex, and whatever new amusement comes on the scene.  On Sundays most houses of worship struggle just to keep the doors open. 

I am not a prophet in the sense of foretelling the future.  However, it is a pastor’s calling to be a prophet in the sense of forth-telling what God has already said, or reminding God’s people of His Word:

God said through Haggai – do not be afraid.  Apply that to the way we live today, in fear of bombers, shooters, stock markets, and elected self-serving glory-grabbers.

God said through Haggai – get to work.  No matter how much it sometimes feels like you may be using a teaspoon to shovel the tide back into the ocean, whatever you do in God’s name can be multiplied beyond your wildest imagination; remember that God can feed a multitude of thousands with a boy’s lunch of a few loaves and fishes.

God said through Haggai – you watch me shake this place.  When God’s people act in faith, get to work, and leave the rest to God, the world will wonder what just happened!

For You Today

Have you looked around at the landscape of things and decided, like an exile returning to the crumbled ruins, that we are beyond hope?  Look up!  Our redemption isn’t that far off!  God specializes in shaking dark places!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day.

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[1] Title Image:  Courtesy of Pixabay.com

The Voice of God

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Monday, February 12, 2018

So Moses returned from the mountain and called together the elders of the people and told them everything the Lord had commanded him.  And all the people responded together, “We will do everything the Lord has commanded.”  So Moses brought the people’s answer back to the Lord.  Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will come to you in a thick cloud, Moses, so the people themselves can hear me when I speak with you.  Then they will always trust you.”  Exodus 19:7-9^(NLT)

So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it.  For the message God delivered through angels has always stood firm, and every violation of the law and every act of disobedience was punished.  So what makes us think we can escape if we ignore this great salvation that was first announced by the Lord Jesus himself and then delivered to us by those who heard him speak?  And God confirmed the message by giving signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit whenever he chose.  Hebrews 2:1-4^(NLT)

Every weekday morning Elizabeth and I listen to the raspy-voiced guy who delivers our devotion via the internet.  Over that first cup of coffee we discuss the Scripture we heard and how it impacts us, and what we should do about what we’ve heard.  That guy can be annoying!  The discussion last Thursday (after Mr. Gravel-in-the-throat spoke about the prophet hearing from God) was all about whether we can actually hear the voice of God.  We decided it’s entirely possible; it’s just improbable in the noise of our culture these days.  A church sign I saw recently says:  In order to hear God’s voice you have to turn this world’s volume down.

That is most likely the most theologically and sociologically-accurate statement I’ve ever heard, with the possible exceptions of these two:

·       Every person is a sinner

·       God never knew a someone who was too big a sinner to save

If you noticed in the account of Moses coming down from the mountain to tell the people what he’d heard from the LORD, the people agreed to terms…they would do everything God required.  If you back up a chapter or two and read the lead-up to this point you find there’s a lot of preparation required if you’re going to meet with God on His terms (and hear His voice). 

Now, that’s a whole lot different than what we generally do to prepare for our meetings, isn’t it?  Usually our preparation is limited to putting-on clothes and showing up at the church-house, expecting the preacher to deliver the Word in a 15 minute package, so we can get out a little early to meet Mary and Jim down at Golden Corral.   Instead of reading our Bible lesson for Sunday School, we expect the teacher to give us all of it in 30 minutes and leave plenty of time to talk about last night’s ball game before we have to get quiet in the sanctuary.  Frankly, I’ve always wondered what that conversation was all about under that shade tree in the parking lot in-between Sunday School and worship…were those guys discussing when they were going to meet to bring a meal to those homeless folks, or was it something more spiritual?

Paul said we have to be really careful to pay attention – both to listen and do what we have heard in God’s Word to us.  We have a tendency to drift…to wander from the truth and what it demands of our attention, stewardship, and witness. 

God’s Word – His voice – whether spoken audibly, or printed and shared, is much too important for our souls to be treated casually, haphazardly, or with lifeless lack of enthusiasm.  When you undertake to serve God, you should do it with every bit of excellence you possess, employing every gift the Holy Spirit of God placed in your life.

Those are the terms of this great salvation Paul was preaching.

For You Today

Was your service to God last week enthusiastic – your best?  What will it be like this week?  Will you hear the voice from the mountain?

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day.

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[1] Title Image:  Courtesy of Pixabay.com

Seven Deadly Sins - Part 5: Sloth

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                                                                                                 Monday, September 5, 2016

Laziness leads to a sagging roof; idleness leads to a leaky house. 

Ecclesiastes 10:18 (NLT)

Yet we hear that some of you are living idle lives, refusing to work and meddling in other people’s business.    2 Thessalonians 3:11 (NLT)

There is a single thread running through the Seven Deadly Sins:  any of them lead you into more!  Sloth, or lazybones is the life of idleness, which always brings trouble.  We’ve all heard the old saying that idle hands are the Devil’s workshop.

John Wesley wanted to make sure his preachers weren’t lazy.  He would ask 19 questions of “would-be” preachers before being ordained.  Those same questions are asked today by a bishop before laying-on of hands.  Here is part of question #19:

Will you observe the following directions?  Be diligent.  Never be unemployed.  Never be triflingly employed.  Never trifle away time; neither spend any more time at any one place than is strictly necessary.^[1]

If you couldn’t answer “yes” to those questions, you were not going to be a Methodist preacher! 

There is good Scriptural underpinning for these questions:

Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.   Romans 12:11 (NLT)

Part of the reason we are to avoid laziness like the plague (beside the fact that it is a New Testament command) is that sloth is a breeding ground for falling prey to temptation of all sorts.  If you recall the story of King David getting into trouble with Bathsheba, you might remember it was sloth that started it all.

In the spring of the year, when kings normally go out to war, David sent Joab and the Israelite army to fight the Ammonites.  2 Samuel 11:1^(NLT)

David was a king, and he should have been with his armies, leading; that’s what kings do.  Instead, he sent Joab; he got lazy, and in his case it led to lust.  The lust caused a pregnancy, which he tried to cover up, and when that didn’t work he became a murderer, having Bathsheba’s husband killed to protect his own reputation.

In the final analysis it wasn’t just David’s reputation that died; his family was in shambles and some of his children tried to kill their father, and did destroy what was left of a peaceful kingdom in Israel.  Sloth breeds sin!

I wrote a sermon last year about sloth. ^{(Read it HERE)}  In that sermon are four pictures of what being a lazybones will do for you, or more appropriately, IN you and TO you!

You end up in destructive pride, independent arrogance, despair and headed in the wrong direction, away from God’s loving hands.

This is why sloth – and the other 6 sins are called DEADLY!  They lead to a life outside the will of God…and eventually away from the presence of God.

For You Today

So, fight this laziness that tries to creep in; fight it with

·       humility, accepting the counsel of God’s Word

·       accountability, accept help if you need it, but be genuine

·       stewardship – commit to taking care of everything God has placed in your hands as holy unto the LORD

·       diligence – never let your hands be idle for any time beyond the rest that is needed to regain strength

Be Godly, not slothful!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road…have a blessed day!

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NOTES

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[1] Wesley’s Historic Questions – Randy Willis

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[i] Title Image:  Hieronymus Bosch (circa 1450–1516) or follower [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons