Doing Well In Appearance Only

Transcript

GRM 871
7/27/2003
Doing Well in Appearance Only
Revelation 3:1-7,14-22
Gil Rugh

We’ve been talking about the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3, and I want to continue that with you in our study together this evening, so if you want to turn to Revelation chapter 3. I have a couple of things I want to draw to your attention that relate to what we’re studying about the churches. There is always material around regarding what the church is to be, how we can have more effective churches. I am always impressed with how little of that material really focuses on what the Bible says about the church. I don’t ever remember getting the pamphlet, and I received a couple more this week. They’re always really well done, multi-colored kind of very professional kind of pamphlets and everything first class telling you how you can have a more successful church, an Acts chapter 2 church as is mentioned here. Always interested that somehow for many of these their study of the book of Acts ends in chapter 2. Nobody wants to have an Acts chapter 17 kind of church, or an Acts chapter 16 kind of church. We want to have an Acts chapter 2 kind of church. The church did begin in Acts chapter 2, I’m not minimizing that, but I think we fail to appreciate what the church is to be and so we’re always looking for something.

I have an example from a liberal church, some of you probably saw this in Saturday’s paper. I know some of you did because you mentioned it to me also, A Joke Sermon Is a Rousing Success. There’s a man in a local liberal church who it was the first part of what he billed as his first annual joke sermon. It was so successful he planned to do it again. Attendance was up 150 for that Sunday because he was going to be having a joke sermon. It was so popular it may become semi-annual, the preacher said. An article appeared a few years ago, but it showed the pressure the church is under. Many boomers, you know the boomer generation, baby boomers, still find the church irrelevant, researchers say. The baby boomer generation has found the church to be irrelevant. “It’s just that the church doesn’t do anything for them.” It’s very much reflected on the kind of relativism, this is what I believe, you can believe what you want to believe, and I’ll believe what I want to believe. The daunting task—to develop a theology that is compelling enough to persuade people to belong, but open enough to meet the non-dogmatic demands of modern culture. Now how do you develop a Biblical church that is non-dogmatic enough to meet the demands of modern culture. You remember part of what is often known as post modernism is you make your own truth. I noticed a week or so ago in the newspaper in the magazine section there was a picture of a Hollywood actor, and it had a quote from him under his picture, I had to find my own truth, I had to find my own truth.

You see there is no objective truth out there that must be found. I had to find my own truth. Truth is what it is for you personally. May not have anything to do with anyone else’s truth. So, you have to be careful about being dogmatic or you would be saying your truth is more truth than someone else’s truth, and you end up with the ridiculous.

Well, every time I come to the churches in Revelation chapters 2 and 3, I’m reminded of what Christ had to say about the churches and what He does not have to say. We haven’t done all seven of the churches, but I think if you read all of them and remember what we have talked about the ones that we did look into, there are certain things Christ does not address. None of the churches are rebuked for not being big enough. None of the churches are rebuked for not being “successful” in the world. Christ does not give any instructions, repent and have some conferences. You need to have a more popular ministry. The kind of things we think are important to the church being successful today are totally absent in Jesus’ evaluation of the churches. I fear that the church goes on today wanting to be viewed as successful by the world, and quite frankly we don’t care a whole lot whether Jesus Christ is happy or not. Because we spend precious little time looking at His evaluation. He gives His critique here’s what I don’t like, here’s what is commendable, here’s what you must do to make the adjustments. But basically, they are left out. We want success, we want to be relevant.

One of the brochures I brought was on that. Communicating in Today’s Reality, Communicating in Today’s Reality. They came here to a preaching and teaching conference and I’m going to learn to communicate in today’s reality. I mull that over and I say, communicating in today’s reality, which means today’s reality is different than yesterday’s reality. The danger I face as a preacher is I’m communicating in yesterday’s reality, not today’s reality. But if Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever, and “heaven and earth will pass away but my word will not pass away,” Jesus said, how can my communication go out of date? It is truth, it is reality, yesterday, today and it will be tomorrow. So, I think by the very title of the conference, here’s one of the sessions, “Don’t Write a Talk, Craft an Experience.” Well, my goal is not to try to craft an experience for you. You go to a play or a movie that may be part of their intention. “Don’t Write a Talk, Craft an Experience.” and that kind of material.

I think very simply, let’s look at Revelation chapter 2 and 3. What does Jesus Christ want in His churches? What does He approve of? What does He disapprove of? Let’s get ourselves in line. There may be a lot of people who come, there may be a few people who come. But if Jesus Christ puts His stamp of approval on it, declares that He is pleased, isn’t that what the church is to be? It is His church, He is the Lord of the church, the head of the body.

I want to look into chapter 3 of Revelation. We came to a church that had great concern about appearance. We live in a society that is consumed with appearance, you know, and they have everything for your appearance now. They can take the wrinkles out of your forehead and around your eyes and between your ears and everything else. They can tuck and nip and whatever and that’s great. I mean I don’t have any problem with people looking good. But you know we’re all absorbed in our appearance. I sometimes coming to church on Sunday morning, you know, pass people jogging. I can’t help but think, do they have any concern about their spiritual life? Do they have any concern about where they will spend eternity? But we are concerned that we have a healthy body, that my body looks good. We are concerned that we do not look too old for our years. You know we feel good when people say, my you look young for your age. I don’t know whether that’s a compliment or not. You know someone says to me, you look young for a 75-year-old man. Well thanks. I will go home and shave. I appreciate that. But the church gets into this mold. We are concerned with how we look. Preachers get concerned. Do people think I’m a successful pastor? What do people think about our church?

Well, we come to the church at Sardis in Revelation chapter 3, and it’s a church that looks good. It’s a church that’s attempting to live in an acceptable way in the world and to that extent it was being successful. This was a constant battle in the New Testament. Before we look at Sardis back up to I Corinthians. I’m focusing on the churches in Revelation, but you understand this is true in the other letters to the churches in the New Testament. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians is no less the word of God to the church at Corinth and to us than the letters in Revelation 2 and 3. So we find the same emphasis in the messages. The church at Corinth was uncomfortable with the Apostle Paul’s ministry. You know why? It was out of step with what was admired and appreciated, acceptable in that day also. In I Corinthians chapter 4 verse 8, Paul says “you are already filled. You have already become rich; you have become kings without us.” There is sarcasm there. “I wish you had become kings; we’d reign with you. For I think God has exhibited us apostles last of all as men condemned to death.” Here is a church at Corinth, pride, trying to look good, trying to live like they’re in the kingdom. Paul said, “Well, that’s a striking contrast with us apostles. We’re the last, we’re men condemned to death, we’ve become a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men. We’re fools for Christ’s sake, but you are prudent in Christ. We are weak but you are strong. You are distinguished, but we are without honor. To this present hour we are both hungry and thirsty, poorly clothed, roughly treated, homeless. We toil, working with our own hands. When reviled we bless, when we’re persecuted, we endure, slandered we console or conciliate. We’ve become the scum of the world, the dregs of all things, even until now. I don’t write these things to shame you but to admonish you, beloved children.” You ought to stop and think. You’re my spiritual children. You know it’s like sometimes children reach a certain stage and they’re embarrassed about their parents or certain things. Dad, I hope you won’t talk about that when my friends are over. Dad, do you have a different shirt you could wear? That’s sort of dirty. You know you go through a stage when you’re embarrassed by your parents, they just have sort of gotten stuck in yesterday. I don’t want my friends to think of us, me like that.

The Corinthians were like that regarding the Apostle Paul and the other apostles. They were an embarrassment. We have reached a stage where our church is okay. Now Paul wants to come in. Paul says, “We’re an embarrassment to you, we’re everything you’re not and you’re everything we’re not.” But that’s not good. You ought to stop and be embarrassed by your shame. You’re ashamed of the apostles and it should be an embarrassment to you.

Come back to the church at Sardis. The church at Sardis has a great, spiritual reputation, but no spiritual life. It is a church basically made up of professors, not possessors. Great reputation even among other churches, but there is no true spiritual life. Serious matter. At the church at Sardis there are no doctrinal controversies that Christ addresses. There are no issues of morality or immorality that are addressed, rebuked, corrected. Interesting. What are they rebuked for in doctrinal heresy? There are no rebukes for doctrinal heresy. What are they rebuked for in moral problems? There are no rebukes for moral problems. But as someone noted, it’s the peace not of spiritual victory, but of death. There are no issues here because there is no life here. This is a church that has a reputation but no life.

The church parallels the city. The city of Sardis was at this time a city that had passed its peak. It had declined so that it was just the city with a past, but not much of a present, and the church is in a similar state. This letter to the church at Sardis is one of the most severe letters. I think it’s sad that in the letters to the churches, the church at Laodicea that we’re so familiar with, that’s probably the most familiar church, the church at Ephesus maybe second. Many of the other churches just get lost. We’re heard people talking about the church at Sardis and is that church like the church at Sardis. We become much less familiar, but they’re every bit as important. They are one of the seven selected by Christ as representative of His churches.

No commendation in this church at all, one of two churches. This church and the church at Laodicea have no word of commendation addressed to them. What a sad thing. Christ comes to give His evaluation of the church and He has nothing good to say about it. What a terrible state! That Christ should come and evaluate the church and have nothing good to say about it. Revelation chapter 3 verse 1, “To the angel of the church in Sardis write, he who has the seven spirits of God, and the seven stars says this.” The seven spirits are representative of the Holy Spirit. That goes back to the book of Zechariah. We’re not going to develop that because I want to overview this and bring in some other material also. The seven stars represent the messengers of the seven churches, perhaps the leaders or the pastors. He is the one from whom the Holy Spirit comes, He’s the one who has sovereign authority over the church and its leadership.

“I know your deeds.” This is consistent with what He says to each of the churches. “I know your deeds; I know what you do. That you have a name that you are alive.” If you had gone to the other churches in the area you know what they would have said? Yes, that’s a good church, yes that’s an evangelical church, that’s a Bible-believing church. “You have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.” How would you like to be sitting in the church at Sardis on Sunday morning and hear this letter. “I know your deeds and you have a name that you are alive.” You have a reputation and you’re dead. The only one whose evaluation matters says there is no life in your church. You have the reputation and churches continue to live on their reputation, but it’s comprised basically of spiritually dead people. You are a spiritually dead church. “You have a name, but you are dead.” This doesn’t mean that every individual in this church is spiritually dead. There may be some believers in this church. But the fact is the majority of the church is comprised of unbelievers. The rollover has already occurred. We’re not even to the end of the first century, and you see the mix that has occurred in the churches already? The church at Sardis has rolled over and now is basically a church of unbelievers who still have a reputation among the churches that they are evangelical, as we would use the term today. Yes, that’s a church of believers, but they are just living on their reputation. Most of the church are unbelievers. A number of commentators refer to this as the church of nominal Christians, those who are Christian in name only.

Five commands are given in verses 2 and 3, “Wake up, strengthen” in verse 2. In verse 3 three commands are given. “Remember, keep, repent.” These five commands are Christ’s instruction to the church. Wake up, open your eyes, listen with your ears. Look at what’s happened. Twice in the history of the city of Sardis it had been conquered by invaders because it failed to keep watch. So here first call is pay attention, open your eyes, look. Strengthen the things that remain. As serious as the situation is, it is not hopeless. There are things which are about to die. “Strengthen the things that remain which were about to die.” You know this is a church like we could call examples to in our day that at one time believed the Word of God, preached the Word of God and now they’re just a hollow shell. There is enough of the truth that remains that if someone opened their eyes and grabbed onto it, decided that they were going to make them the focus of the ministry again, the Spirit of God might again do a work.

“I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of God. I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of God.” It’s not that they didn’t do works, but their works, their actions were not acceptable in the sight of God. They were not based on true faith in the Word of God, they were not a result of the work of the Spirit of God in their lives. You know as churches roll over and the emphasis moves away from a focus on Christ and the revelation of God in the Scripture, then the Spirit’s work is no longer the focus. But people continue to be busy. But their busyness, their works are no longer being produced by the Spirit through the work of the Word in their lives. It’s just their own efforts. But because much of what they do can look similar to what believers do, the terrible condition can be covered up.

Their works were sufficient to give them a reputation, a reputation among other believers. Now note, you have a reputation that you are alive. I take it that would mean if you had been visiting the church at Ephesus they would probably have spoken well of the church in Sardis. I’m thinking of moving to Sardis, is there a church there? Oh yes there’s a church there that you should attend. It’s a believing church. It had that kind of reputation. But as God judged the motives of the heart and as He examined the heart, there was no life there. “I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of my God.” Reminder, His evaluation is the only one that matters. We can “feel good” about ourselves, our ministry, our church, but if in the sight of God, it’s not what He requires we have just fooled ourselves.

The three imperatives in verse 3 tie closely together. “Remember what you have received and heard.” What they had received and heard was the truth of the gospel. They’re like the church at Ephesus. Remember from where you have fallen. Do again the first verse. Here “remember the truth that originally was brought to you.” You know some of our denominational churches today like Methodist and Lutheran and Presbyterian. They can come and be reminded of the truth that was brought to them by the great men in their history, men like Wesley and Luther and Calvin and so on. They need to hear again the message of the gospel, the truth that God has revealed. “Remember what you have received, what you have heard.” It hasn’t been so long that it can’t be called to mind, they can’t go back to that. I mean here is a church, this is not a church that has a 200-year history. We don’t know exactly when the church at Sardis was started, perhaps in the context of Paul’s Ephesian ministry. Here is a church that is only 30 years old, 35 years old. Somewhere in that neighborhood. Already it’s basically composed of unbelievers. That’s about as long as I’ve been the pastor of this church. In that amount of time that church which was founded through the preaching of the gospel because he says remember what you have received and heard, has become basically a church of unbelievers. Doesn’t take a long time, once you begin to move away from that foundational message of the gospel.

“Remember what you have received and heard and keep it,” keep it. Another command. Pay attention to it. That’s what you hold on to. You know what happens, and we’re battling it today, is not the Word of God that is popular in the world. But the Word of God has never been popular in the world. Except that God was doing a supernatural work of His grace in a specific time, in a specific place. But the Word of God is not popular, and we have to be reminded to remember what you’ve heard and received, and keep it. “Repent.” Repent. Turn from your sinful condition. I mean if you really call to mind to give the truth that’s been given to you, you evaluate yourself in light of that truth, you must repent, turn from your sin and believe the Word that has been given to you.

If you will not…. “Therefore, if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come to you.” The only alternative to obedience is judgment. That’s it. Repent or else. Series of five commands—wake up, strengthen, remember, keep it, repent. If you don’t wake up to where he started, everything else connected to this, I will come like a thief. You won’t know what hour I will come to you. Obviously, the thread is judgment. He’ll come and mete out judgment on this church. They live on the brink of the coming of the Lord, the threat of His imminent coming, the judge stands at the door. Doesn’t mean He won’t come before that ultimate coming to them in judgment. So, the church at Sardis is warned.

“But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments.” Note this. Here he writes to the church. Most of the church are unbelievers, but there are a few who have not soiled their garments. “They will walk with me in white, for they are worthy.” The soiled garments speak of the pollution or defilement of sin. It’s talking about the condition of the unbeliever who is unacceptable before God. That’s brought out in what follows. “Those who have not defiled their garments, they will walk with me in white for they are worthy.” The garments of white picture the righteousness’s of the saints. They belong to Him, they are worthy. Not because of their own efforts, but because of the work that has been accomplished in them because Christ is worthy. That’s what will be declared in chapter 4 verse 11, chapter 5 verse 9. “Worthy is the Lamb,” and we are worthy in Him.

“He who overcomes will be clothed in white garments. I will not erase his name from the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before His angels.” You see those few people have a glorious destiny. You would think there would be many believers and a few unbelievers that have gotten mixed into the church. But at the church at Sardis, it ended up with many unbelievers and a few believers. There is genuine promise to these believers. They have a glorious destiny; they’ll be clothed in white. Zechariah chapter 3 is the Old Testament background for this, we won’t go back there. In Zechariah 3 new garments are given to clothe Joshua the high priest. The defiled, polluted garments are removed, and he is clothed in new garments, clean garments. Revelation 19, the return of Christ in verses 7 and 9, we have the saints returning with Him in glory, clothed in white.

There is a promise here, “I will not erase his name from the book of life.” That does not imply that some names are erased. That’s not possible. It is an assurance of our security. Even in the midst of such a church, those who belong to Christ are secure. Their names are settled in the book. Remember,” he who denies me before men I will deny before my Father. He who confesses me before men I will confess before my Father who is in heaven,” Luke chapter 12 verses 8 and 9. So here Christ promises, “I will confess his name before my Father and before the angels.” I will declare that he belongs to me. In this church there are a few believers.

You know as Christ addresses a church like this, situations similar to Israel, and don’t get confused. I’m not saying the church is Israel. But there is a similarity. The nation Israel belonged to God as a nation. But within that nation there were many who were unbelievers, many who did not have a personal relationship with God and so did not belong to God as saved people. So, as we have the churches represented, there are many who belong to the church, but they do not have a living relationship with Jesus Christ, they are not partakers of His salvation. The book of Hebrews speaks of those who were part of the nation Israel in the Old Testament. But the Word of God did not profit them because it was not mixed with faith in those who heard. They were part of the chosen nation, the nation that belonged as a nation to God, but as individuals they did not belong to God, were not partakers of His salvation. They did not believe the truth that He had revealed. It is in the church of Jesus Christ. We have many people who belong to the church, but only those individuals who have personally placed their faith in Him are a part of His work of salvation, part of what we would call the true church. Now in the New Testament there is a reference to the Israel of God, which is believing Jews. They are the ones in whom all the promises to Israel will be fulfilled. The rest of the Jews will spend eternity in hell as all unbelievers will. It’s only those who are part of the church who have truly believed in Jesus Christ. I share with you often my burden is that there will be people who attend Indian Hills regularly but will spend eternity in hell because they never personally placed their faith in Jesus Christ. Never heeded the exhortation to wake up, strengthen things that remain, remember what you have received and heard, keep it and repent. They never believed savingly in Jesus Christ.

So, the promises are given here. “He who has an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Terrible thing to have a reputation to be alive and be dead. That’s true for a church, that’s true for individuals. There are churches today that have a reputation, but they are basically dead spiritually. There are people today who have a reputation for being alive spiritually, but they are dead spiritually. That’s where they call the church back to the Word of God. Keep emphasizing the Word of God and the proclamation of the gospel, that the work of the Spirit might occur in lives.

I want you to drop down to the church at Laodicea. I just want to mention a few things to connect this church to the church at Sardis. There are two churches out of the seven that receive no condemnation from Christ, the church at Smyrna, the church at Philadelphia. We’ve studied them on other occasions. They are commended by Christ but there is no rebuke. Both seem to be weak, struggling churches. There are two churches that receive rebukes but no commendation, the church at Sardis and the church at Laodicea. They are both similar churches. Remember the church at Sardis? There are no doctrinal errors rebuked, no moral issues addressed or corrected. So, the church at Laodicea, there are no doctrinal issues rebuked, there are no moral issues corrected or rebuked. But both are churches of dead people. The church at Sardis had a reputation that it was alive, but it was dead. The church at Laodicea was thrilled with its condition. It would have been the church holding church growth conferences. It seemed to have everything and be everything; and it is the most revolting church of all.

Christ appeared to that church as the faithful and true witness, the one who began the creation of God. When it says in verse 14 “the beginning of the creation of God,” He’s the one who began creation. He Himself is not the beginning of creation in the sense He was created. He’s the one who began creation. All things were created by Him and for Him. All things came into existence by Him. He’s the faithful and true witness. So as strong as this rebuke is to the church at Laodicea, you better understand it is an accurate testimony.

“I know your deeds; you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were cold or hot. Because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.” We are well familiar with this church. It’s become infamous. It’s even worse than the church at Sardis because there are no believers even addressed in the church at Laodicea. At Sardis there were a few who had not defiled their garments, they belonged to Christ. The church at Laodicea, there is no such address. This is a church that has completely rolled over. But you note, this is not a church that is denying the Word of God, this is a church that is lukewarm, it’s a church you could be comfortable in, it’s a church that has adapted. It’s not cold, spiritually cold would mean they deny the Word of God, they are opposed to Christ. Or hot would mean they are openly proclaiming the gospel and standing for truth and are proclaiming the message entrusted to the church. No, they are lukewarm.

It’s interesting that Christ says, “I wish you were cold or hot,” at the end of verse 15. The very things that we sort of have come to like, and it’s not new. Two thousand years later what we like is a church that is lukewarm, the temperature is up enough, there’s enough of the truth mixed in that you can be comfortable, but not so hot that it offends people; we want a balance. The church at Laodicea is a balanced church in the world sense. It is lukewarm. Christ said, “I would rather you are hot or cold.” That’s true in the Old Testament with Israel. What did God say to Isaiah? Don’t bring the sacrifices any longer, it’s a trampling of my temple courts. Bringing your sacrifices is worse than not bringing anything because they are basically unbelievers going through the motion. Better not to have any identification with the truth. It’s what Jesus said, isn’t it, to the cities of His day? He says they are worse than Sodom and Gomorrah because they have more truth. So here you have the lukewarm church. They are repulsive to Christ; you couldn’t put it any stronger.

Says in verse 16, “I will spit you out of my mouth.” Part of that word spit, in my Bible I have a little number 1 and you go to the margin, and it says literally vomit. But we thought we ought to use something a little more, you know, a little softer, a euphemism. That’s it. I’m going to vomit you out. It’s just that strong, it’s repulsive. That’s how terrible you are to me. I want to be rid of you. It’s like when you’ve eaten bad food and you’re just going to bring it up. I can’t stomach you. Basically, what He’s saying, I can’t stomach you. I’ll vomit you out and I can’t have anything to do with you. What’s the church’s self-evaluation? “Because you say I am rich, I have become wealthy, I have need of nothing.” Here is a church that thought it was everything it ought to be. That’s why I say they’d be holding the church conferences. Everybody ought to learn from us, we’ve learned how to do church, we’ve learned how to have church in our day, to communicate to today’s reality, to draw people in and not drive them away. We’ve learned. Their self-evaluation—we are rich, we are wealthy, we have need of nothing. We’re not just talking about physical riches. They are talking about how they evaluate themselves spiritually. How could they be so wrong?

Look at Christ’s evaluation. “You do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, naked.” How can a church get to the point that they are so totally abjectly blind and insensitive to their true spiritual condition that they can be poles apart from the evaluation of the one who is the Lord of the church. I think I’m everything God wants me to be, and He says I am nothing that He wants me to be. That’s the church at Laodicea. Like the church at Sardis, only worse.

“I advise you buy from gold refined by fire so you may become rich, white garments so you may clothe yourselves, the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed, eye salve that you may anoint your eyes that you may see.” The exhortation is to come to Christ to get what you need. Again, the contrast in the words. We’re doing an overview. We talked about them; you are wretched—that’s extreme misery. You are miserable, an object of extreme pity, your condition is so bad. Poor—that’s a word that means absolute destitute. These aren’t people who just have to spark it up, these are people who have nothing, nothing spiritually. Blind, naked. How could a church like that say we have need of nothing. You know they are like the Jews of Jesus’ day when He was on the earth. Couldn’t reach them. Why? They were absolutely sure that they were all right. What did Jesus say? “I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” Can’t do anything for them. It’s not those who are well that need a physician, but those who are sick. They don’t see anything wrong with their spiritual condition. So, they are fine. Here you have a church that is just unbelievers. There are a number of these churches today, as you are well aware.

When He says, “come buy from me,” the background for that would be Isaiah chapter 55 verse 1, “you come buy with no money.” There’s no charge, it’s free. You come buy from me but buy without money. God called to Israel in Isaiah 55 verse 1. So here Christ calls to the church. “Here’s the counsel I give you, buy from me.” Seek salvation from me. Gold and white garments. Gold used in an analogy of our faith by Peter in I Peter chapter 1. White garments—the righteousness which we receive from Christ. “We are clothed in His righteousness, and thus our righteousness comes out of what He has bestowed upon us.” Remember Jesus told the account at the wedding feast of the man who was without a garment in Matthew chapter 22. Wasn’t clothed right. That’s the same picture. Here they don’t have the garments of salvation. The same in their nakedness will be revealed. In that account in Matthew 22, and you can read it today when you go home. How did you come in here without a wedding garment? The man was speechless. It reveals, you know, when we stand before Him, we will be revealed. We can fool one another, we can fool other people, but the Lord who has created all things will not be fooled. We’ll be revealed to be naked and without the garments of salvation. Eye salve. Laodicea was famous for its medicinal eye salve for eye problems. Here their spiritual blindness can be remedied by Christ.

It’s an act of His love to reprove them, discipline them, encourage them to be zealous and repent. Come to the letters to the churches and I say what do we want to be like? Do we want to be a successful church? Well first we have to decide what success is for us. Success is pleasing our Lord and Master, is it not? If God is pleased with us, we are successful. The world may look at us as failures, as repulsive. Paul says we are the dregs of society, we are the scum of the world. Was Paul a success or a failure? Well, I think all of us as believers say he was a great success because he was pleasing to God. He could say at the end of his life, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. Now there is a crown of righteousness awaiting me. That’s success. We need to keep our focus. Does that mean we would not love to see people coming in, overflowing with people here? Sure, we desire that they come. We want to carry the gospel. It is a tragedy if we do not carry the gospel to the people of this city and beyond. What a tragedy that people would die on our doorstep and have never heard the gospel. What a tragedy that people in this city would not know Jesus Christ and we would be here comfortable, satisfied. No, we’re not saying we ought not to with zeal carry the truth to them. This ought to be a truth center for this city. Anybody who walks through the door should be sure of one thing, they will hear the truth. If they go to our Sunday School classes, they will hear the truth. If they go to classes for the kids, they will hear the truth. If they go to the classes for the oldest adults, they’ll hear the truth. If they go to a Bible study in a home, they’ll hear the truth. They walk with us and work with us and they will hear the truth. That God might work.

The church continues this pattern. One hundred to one hundred fifty years ago great churches were in Europe, countries like England, great churches, great places where the Word of God was preached and believed. Some of them having great numbers, some even had less numbers. Now you have a mega church in England if you have 200-300 people in attendance on a Sunday. In England that’s considered a mega church. Big churches. What has happened? We lose our way, things decline. But praise God there are still places preaching the truth. I’ve shared with you. Harold Berry worked at Back to the Bible, some of you remember Harold. How many remember Harold Berry? Oh quite a few of you remember Harold. He went up to preach at Grace College as it was known then, Grace Bible College or Grace Bible Institute, one of those names. I believe he may be retired now, I’m not sure. Saw him a few years ago. But he said to me one time when we were in the midst of our explosive growth, he says, you’re preaching the Word and they’re breaking down the doors to get in. The test will be, will you be preaching the Word when they’re not breaking the doors down to get in. I never forgot that. That is a test. Do I still want them to break down the doors to get in? For the right reasons, yes. We’ve had some doors broken down, but not for the right reasons. Praise God for those works of grace, but one thing we must always do is be faithful to the truth. Wouldn’t it be sad for the generation that’s being raised in this church not to know the truth? That we would raise a generation that doesn’t know the Lord. We can’t make them be saved, but we can do all we can to build the truth into their lives so the Spirit of God can work. I do not understand parents in our church who are not more interested in their children, young people, young adults, teenagers, whoever being under the sound of the truth. May God give us the grace to be faithful to Him.

Let’s pray together. Thank you, Lord, for your goodness and grace. Thank you for the church at Sardis, the letter to the church at Laodicea. Lord, messages we must take to heart. Lord keep us from thinking we could never be like them. How important it is we walk with you one day at a time, one step at a time. May we be careful to be faithful to you, not lose our interest, not lose our focus. Lord, you know that it’s easy for us to drift, other things become important to us. Our lives get caught up in the busyness of things that somehow have become such a part of our lives, the focus on truth and the ministry of your church as a center of truth becomes less and less important. The church becomes more shaped by things other than the truth that has been entrusted to our care. Lord, may we not become complacent, may we have a consuming passion and burden and love for the lost that they might come to know the Savior. May we desire to faithfully make Jesus Christ known and proclaim His message until He comes. Lord, use this church as a testimony for yourself. Keep us faithful. We pray in Christ’s name. Amen.