The Coasting Church (Revelation 3:1-6)

• in November 1995, days after the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin in Israel, our own prime minister, Jean Chretien, faced danger of his own
• a knife-wielding man made his way past the sleeping R.C.M.P. guards and into 24 Sussex Drive, the official residence of the prime minister
• and this man made it all the way to the Chretien’s bedroom when Mrs. Chretien, armed with an Inuit carving, slammed the door on him, and waited with the prime minister until the man was apprehended over half an hour later
• it’s the Canadian version of the Keystone Cops
• you can be sure that security is a lot tighter at 24 Sussex Drive these days
• it is safe to say that communist Russia had developed and positioned the finest anti-aircraft system in the world
• powerful radar probed the air above major Soviet cities, and missiles were poised to bring down enemy aircraft at any altitude
• and no city in communist Russia was more heavily defended than Moscow and its famous Red Square, just outside the Kremlin
• which explains why the world was shocked when a young man rented a small, single-engine airplane from Denmark and buzzed the Kremlin before landing in Red Square
• before being taken away, he greeted some surprised Muscovites and even managed to sign a few autographs
• and when the incident was over, a couple of top generals were promptly fired
• we call these lapses in security, and they’re all over
• from the man who successfully broke into Queen Elizabeth’s bedroom in Buckingham Palace, to the lapses in security at the White House, 24 Sussex Drive, and so on – people who provide security sometimes make mistakes
• they are caught unprepared or even asleep, and danger is the outcome
• the city of Sardis, in Revelation 3:1-6, was an impregnable city
• the ancient site of the city was situated on a nearly inaccessible hill that rose fifteen hundred feet above the roads
• it had rock walls which were nearly vertical on all sides, except the south side
• the city was attacked frequently, but without success
• and as a result the people of Sardis became arrogant and self-confident that no one could ever scale their hill and conquer them
• until one day a Sardian soldier dropped his helmet
• and he took the one path – the one weak point in the defense – out to retrieve his helmet
• a Persian soldier watched, and later the entire Persian army followed his path back up to the summit and captured the entire city, quite by surprise
• a similar attack happened two hundred years later
• one unobserved and unguarded weak point; one chance in a thousand, was all that was necessary to deliver a crushing blow to the arrogant citizens of Sardis
• by the time that Jesus wrote to the church in Sardis, the city was a shadow of its former splendor
• it was a city in decline
• a century before the Sardian church received this letter from Jesus, Sardis was partially destroyed by an earthquake
• the once brilliant city now showed decay
• ironically, one of the most prominent features of the city was its cemetery
• the attacks on this city were history, and it became a city of peace – not the type of peace won through battle, but “the peace of the man whose dreams are dead and whose mind is asleep, the peace of lethargy and evasion” (William Barclay)
• it enjoyed peace, but it was the peace of the cemetery
• as we read about the church of Sardis in Revelation 3:1-6, a number of things stand out
• this church should have it better than some of the others we’ve looked at
• there are no doctrinal problems that need correction
• there is no mention of opposition or persecution
• neither Jews nor the Gentiles seem to have troubled the people of Sardis
• in fact, it was well known as an active, vigorous Christian congregation, characterized by good works and charitable activities
• Jesus says in Revelation 3:1
• (Revelation 3:1) I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive…
• but despite the lack of doctrinal problems, and despite the lack of opposition, there is something striking about Christ’s letter to the church at Sardis
• there are no words of commendation
• I don’t know if you’ve noticed in studying these letters in Revelation 2 and 3, but Jesus always began by introducing himself
• and then, in five of the seven letters, he gave some words of commendation or encouragement to the churches about what they were doing right
• and then, in every case but two, some words of warning or correction
• but look how Christ begins addressing the church in Sardis:
• (Revelation 3:1) “To the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.
• there are no “ad-a-boy’s” to this church
• because this church as two similarities to the city of Sardis
• FIRST, IT’S A CHURCH IN DECAY
• verse 1 says, “You have a reputation of being alive, but you are all dead”
• you’re open for business, but none of the right type of business is going on
• even though they look and smell like a healthy Christian church, in reality they’re dead
• it’s a church, as one person says, that’s outwardly prosperous, busy with the externals of religious activity, but devoid of spiritual life and power
• how does a church die?
• why does Christ use this expression for Sardis, even though the churches in Thyatira and Laodicea also had serious problems?
• we’re told in verse 3 that their deeds are lacking
• and we can figure out in verse 4 that some in the church had soiled their clothes
• this probably refers to the fact that some in the church had begun to compromise with the pagan environment around them
• what accounts for the fact that without any doctrinal problems or persecution, this was a dying church?
• why, out of all the churches listed, is this one considered the dying church?
• and what, if anything, does this church have to do with Richview Baptist Church?
• this morning is Richview’s fortieth anniversary – did you know that?
• the recognition service for Richview took place on February 9^th, 1959 – forty years ago this coming Tuesday
• the church grew out of a vision conceived in prayer and out of a vision to reach the local community for Jesus Christ
• at that recognition service, 25 members received a charge based on the Great Commission – to go into all the world to preach the Gospel
• those 25 charter members grew to 185 members within five years
• there were an average of seven baptisms a year
• there was a vision – a God-given belief that God had placed Richview in that community, and that he had a specific purpose for the church that would propel them into the future
• the vision was demonstrated in very practical ways – even the size of the property purchased, and the construction of a gymnatorium that would allow for future growth
• there were many highlights in the growth of the church
• 28 baptisms in 1971 – twenty alone on one Sunday
• lives touched for Jesus Christ
• the birth of a vision for a seniors’ ministry on the church’s property
• the building of a new sanctuary
• the time of great blessing as the church sacrificed to furnish the new building in a program called “Join Our Blessing” – raising $300,000 in three years
• this was a church on the move – not to build an edifice for itself; but to use its resources to reach the neighborhood for Jesus Christ
• the first song taught to the young Richview congregation was Teach Us to Pray, Lord; Teach Us to Pray
• the record s of the church show that Richview was begun by “a small group of people whose hearts were burdened for the ministry in central Etobicoke. They were…a people of prayer. They were smitten with the concept that nothing should be undertaken without a strong and ongoing prayer base.“
• if you were present during this time – and many of you were – you would know that there was a sense of dependence on God, and a belief that God would use the church for his glory
• Richview was a church with a future
• but friends, the vision of the past is not sufficient for the church of today
• somebody has wisely observed that churches go through four stages:
• the birth stage, in which a newly planted church is bursting with energy and enthusiasm
• the developmental stage, in which a church begins to get set in its ways and begins to develop programs and policies
• the mature stage, in which the people, practices, policies, perspectives, and places are firmly established
• very often this stage could be called the plateau stage
• and finally the decaying stage – the stage in which the zealous people who initially carried the church lose their aggressiveness
• in which structures in place inhibit rather than encourage ministry intensity
• in which fewer visitors come and even fewer stay
• in which the church begins a long, slow slide to death
• in other words, all churches eventually reach the point of the church in Sardis: a church that is a shadow of its former splendor; a church that is living on its past glory; a church that begins to coast
• churches that are open for business, but with all the wrong type of business going on
• one person writes,

Thousands of churches…have deteriorated to the point where they are a ministry in theory only, a shell of what they had been. In these churches, little, if any, outreach takes place. The name and buildings may insinuate a church is present, but lives are not touched in a significant, spiritual way by such artifacts. As long as these churches have a handful of faithful attenders and can afford some meeting space and a speaker, they remain in existence. They have, however, essentially completed their life as a church (George Barna)

• I want to ask you this morning, what stage is Richview in?
• is there any danger at all that we’re drifting toward the state of the church in Sardis – a church living on past glory; a church that lost its vision
• are we in the mature stage, in which the vision has been lost, and structures inhibit ministry
• or is it even possible we’ve slipped to the decaying stage?
• a stage in which everything looks fine on the outside, and in which we have a reputation of being alive, but in which we’re really dead, and our deeds are found lacking before God
• to such a church, Jesus says:
• (Revelation 3:2) Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God.
• (Revelation 3:3) Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.
• there are three steps a church can take to recapture its vision again:
• first, wake up
• Christ’s command in verse two could literally be translated, “Be alert – right now!”
• this command had special significance in a city that was supposed to be impregnable, but had twice been seized because of lack of vigilance
• this command from Christ lets us know that the church in Sardis – almost dead – was not beyond hope
• it was not too late to awaken from their spiritual stupor
• revival could take place
• but first, wake up and recognize the seriousness of your situation
• the first step toward renewal in a decaying church is that people become aware that something is wrong
• second, strengthen what remains
• there were some people, according to verses 4 and 5, who had not compromised their zeal
• there were some in the church who were still working, and still praying
• and the Lord refers to those few remaining faithful believers at Sardis who were awake and alert and leading devoted lives
• but Jesus says, all of you ought to be awake!
• all of you ought to be leading lives filled with the Holy Spirit so a lot of action can happen
• rock some boats, rattle some cages, wake up some sleepy brothers and sisters and remind them that the church is engaged in a high-stakes war
• the battle is over the souls and lives of people who matter to God
• remind them that there is no other endeavor on earth as important or exciting as playing a vital role in what God is doing in transforming human lives through the ministry of the church
• remind them that the only thing to be feared more than death is a tragically wasted life, a life wasted by inactivity, wasted by a lack of focus, a lack of direction or purpose, a life that muddles along in spiritual mediocrity
• take some action!
• and the third step, mentioned in verse 3, is to recapture your church’s earlier devotion to Christ
• (Revelation 3:3) Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent.
• recapture your church’s earliest passion for Christ
• remember the early days when you received the Gospel; when you had a vision
• repent of the indifference into which you have fallen
• I mentioned earlier that the church in Sardis was like the city for two reasons
• first, because it’s in decay
• BUT THE SECOND SIMILARITY, FOUND IN VERSE 3, IS THAT IT’S A CHURCH IN DANGER OF A SURPRISE ATTACK
• (Revelation 3:3) But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.
• just as the city had been attacked and conquered by surprise – twice – so Jesus promises to come against the church in judgment, by surprise, if the church doesn’t take immediate corrective action
• on this Sunday, forty years into the history of Richview Baptist Church, we stand at a crossroads
• we have the buildings, the people, and a reputation for being alive
• but we also have the very real danger of coasting on past greatness and great vision
• or, we also have the option of doing what they did forty years ago, when “they were…a people of prayer. They were smitten with the concept that nothing should be undertaken without a strong and ongoing prayer base.“
• we have the option of coasting, or we have the option of recapturing a vision for the future
• of being a church where the next forty years are not ones of maturity and decay, but ones of new birth and development
• I’m going to ask us to pray that Richview will be a church of spiritual passion, a church with vision, a church of prayer
• I’m going to pray that you would be a key player in Richview Baptist Church as we move to the future
• Jesus Christ, we pray to you this morning – the one who holds the seven spirits of God, and the seven stars
• you are the one with the divine power to sustain, give life, and mobilize us to do your will
• we thank you this morning for the vision of those who have built this church over the past forty years
• and now, as we stand on the threshold of the future, we acknowledge that we need a rekindled vision
• I pray that you would prevent us from being comfortable or complacent, lest we find ourselves slowly dying
• I pray that you would re-ignite within us a desire to reach our local community with the good news of Jesus Christ
• I pray that our desires would be met with growth – growth in spirituality; in new people coming to know you; in baptisms
• I pray that we would be people of prayer – smitten with the concept that nothing should be undertaken without a strong and ongoing prayer base
• I pray that the first song taught to the young congregation of Richview forty years ago would be a song that captures the spirit of the current congregation – that provides the foundation necessary to move ahead – Teach Us to Pray, Lord, Teach Us to Pray
• Amen.