How About Us?

Rich Sawicki

 

“And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. ‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead.’’” Revelation 3:1

 

The Holy Spirit was not lashing out because He was having a bad day. The Lord is not quick to anger and only speaks the truth.

 

The Spirit was warning that the church was dead. This is a pretty strong thing to say and we need to understand that this warning is not only for the church of Sardis. It can be a warning to us as well.

 

How can we spot death in the church? I think if we are going to take a look at a problem in the church, we first need to realize who or what the church is. The church is all of us that believe in:

 

  • The life – God came to earth in the form of a man (Jesus).
  • The death – He that knew no sin, died for our sins.
  • The resurrection – Jesus rose from the dead after three days.
  • The ascension – Jesus went to Heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father.

 

When we realize that we are the church, we understand that if there is a problem with the church, then we must examine ourselves.

 

The church of Sardis did not start off dead. In fact, they were the shiniest church around, having a reputation for doing so many great things in the past. It is very easy to become complacent in our Christian lives, even while doing all of the things we are supposed to do as Christians.

 

  • Show up at church each week – Check
  • Sing a song during worship – Check
  • Pay our tithes – Check
  • Listen to the pastor’s message – Check
  • Attend Growth Communities – Check

 

All of this is what it looks like when you are “going to church.” These are all good things, but none of this is really being the church. Jesus calls us all to the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20 (NIV), when He says, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”

 

The church should come together and worship, tithe, and listen to messages. All of these things encourage and strengthen your knowledge of God, and we should absolutely get involved in a Growth Community to build relationships and learn from each other. However, if everything we do is inside the church building and in the comfort of our Growth Community, we are not really being stretched. If we are not being stretched, we are not growing.

 

I know that there have been times that I have been just like the church of Sardis and maybe you have too. However, the great thing is that once you can see it, you can change it. A reason God warns the church of Sardis is to make an example for us, because He wants us to change before we fall asleep, or worse become dead on the inside. Some things that we can look for to tell if we are on our way to becoming the church of Sardis include:

 

  • Living on past accomplishments and not in the present.
  • Not reading the Word and allowing the Bible to change your heart, soul, and mind.
  • Being proud or lying about stupid stuff.

 

There are some ways to avoid falling asleep. Matthew 22:37-39 (NIV) says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” 

 

Praying is very important to maintaining and growing with God. The only way to truly do that is through an honest and open relationship with God.

 

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5 NIV).

 

If we are honest with God and with ourselves and let God change us on the inside, it will change us on the outside, too.

 

Pray: “Lord God, thank you for helping us change from the inside out. I hope people on the outside see us as you see us, so we can get them to come inside. In Jesus Name, Amen.”