The Church of the Living Dead
“I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.”
The Word of God is alive…
a. The Word is not Dead
b. Jesus Christ resurrected from the dead so that we may operate in newness of life
c. When we study and read the Word then ignore it it becomes a dead Word in our lives-Amen
Scriptures
Word of God Is Pure
Pr 30:5: Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in Him.
Word of God shall stand forever
Is 40:8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.
Making Word of God of none effect
Mk 7:13: Making the Word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.
There is a seed of the Word of God
Luke 8:11 Now the parable is this : The seed is the word of God
The Word of God is quick and powerful
He 4:12 For the Word of God is quick , and powerful, and sharper that any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
We were Born again by the incorruptible Word of God
1 Peter 1:23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
By the Word of God the heavens were made
2 Pe 3:5 For tis they willingly are ignorant of , that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:
So that is why we must begin to take the Word of God seriously
a. God’s judgement is imminet
b. There are judgements for hearing the Word and not responding to it.
Introduction.
(Read Revelation 3:1-6)
Revelation 3
1 And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.
2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things, which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.
3 Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.
4 Thou hast a few names even in Sardis, which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.
5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.
6 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
VS.1 Thou hast a name that thou livest] Ye have the reputation of Christians, and consequently of being alive to God, through the quickening influence of the Divine Spirit; but ye are dead – ye have not the life of God in your souls, ye have not walked consistently and steadily before God, and his Spirit has been grieved with you, and he has withdrawn much of his light and power.
VS.2 Verse 2. Be watchful] Ye have lost ground by carelessness and inattention. Awake, and keep awake! Strengthen the things which remain] The convictions and good desires, with any measure of the fear of God and of a tender conscience, which, although still subsisting, are about to perish, because the Holy Spirit, who is the author of them, being repeatedly grieved, is about finally to depart.
According to Jesus, if we have ears, it is important for us to hear what the Spirit of God is saying in these verses.
In them He tells John to write some things to the church at Sardis –
The sin of Sardis was apathy.
Apathy is unconcern.
It is disinterest, and carelessness, all wrapped up together.
It can include negligence, indifference, and lethargy.
It is spiritual numbness that can eventually become paralysis.
It is the temperature lukewarm.
Apathy is a compound word: “a” meaning “without” and “pathy” meaning “feeling.” It means literally, “without feeling.” It has no passion and no opinion. Its bywords are:
“I don’t care”
“I don’t want to be bothered.”
“I don’t know and I don’t want to know.”
The members of the church of Sardis had a name and they were alive, Jesus said, but they were dead.
“The Church of the Living Dead” we might call them.
They were dead because they didn’t care.
They had no passion anymore for the things of God.
They were apathetic.
1.Once you were on fire for the Lord – right up on the front lines where the real bullets were whizzing.
2. Your faith was new and vibrant.
3. You were diligent about even the details.
4. You confessed your sins.
5. You walked with God.
6. You humbly depended upon Him day after day.
7 You were no stranger to prayer.
But now things are different.
1. You cannot seem to get excited about God anymore.
2. Worship is a dull experience.
3. It is a chore to show up so sometimes you just don’t.
4. Fellowship with other Christians seems distant to you.
5. Sin has gained control of the high ground.
Jesus told the Sardians to do five things to overcome their apathy. He told them to:
1. Wake Up!
“Wake up!” Jesus says in verse 2.
The KJV says, “be watchful.” That puts it pretty well but the original word carried an element of urgency.
A person can be watchful and be half-asleep.
That may well describe the condition of the person who is apathetic – watching, but in a stupor so strong that the ability to act is severely diminished.
If you’ve ever had one of those dreams where you are trying to run but your legs just wouldn’t move or perhaps would only move at a fraction of their true ability, you have a good picture of apathy.
So often the apathetic person knows what to do but just can’t get himself or herself going.
Jesus says, “Wake up! Be alert!
Open your eyes wide!
Slap yourself awake!”
In a sense apathy is like quicksand.
Secondly, Jesus says to the apathetic,
2. Strengthen the Things that Remain!
Verse 2 says, “…and strengthen the things which remain which were about to die.”
Apathy has caused you to lose some things you once had.
Your spiritual gas tank is dangerously depleted.
Apathy causes a downgrade in your prayer life.
You don’t want to pray. Praying becomes a real chore. Perhaps next to go is your desire for association with other Christians. After all, hanging around in the light tends to expose the gathering darkness in your life. You are annoyed when well meaning brethren ask you how you’re doing. You think, “Is it really necessary for me to attend all the services of the church?” Pretty soon you only come once a week, then begin to miss a week here and there. The price, of course, is guilt, as you are convicted of all this by your conscience and the Holy Spirit. Your response is to rationalize your behavior. The roosters of conscience crows loudly but you just throw him a handful of corn and yell “shut up”
Satan often will at this time come with an offer of something better – something that you would have rejected out of hand in your more attentive days. Now though, it doesn’t seem that wrong.
Stop just a moment. Take stock. Am I describing you? Has apathy crept into your life or is it creeping as I speak? If so, you’d better make some moves quickly to conserve and strengthen what remains.
3. Remember What You Have Received and Heard!
That is what Jesus says in verse 3: “Remember therefore what you have received and heard…”
Time away from anything brings forgetfulness and unfamiliarity. Perhaps you took some higher math in school. You haven’t used it since graduation. Could you do it now? Probably not. If you don’t use it, you generally lose it.
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