Jump Start # 1783

Revelation 3:1 “To the angel of the church in Sardis write: He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars, says this, ‘I know your deeds that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.’”

Of the seven churches listed in Revelation two and three, Sardis and Laodicea probably get the most attention and are most surprised to hear what the Lord says about them. Sardis had a name that they were alive. Laodicea claimed that they needed nothing. Both were terribly wrong. They were just the opposite of what they thought. How could a congregation be so wrong? How could a congregation miss it by that much? They weren’t close. They were nothing like the Lord said that they were. That amazes me. That concerns me.

Is it possible for you and I to be way off in how we see ourselves? Is it possible that our assessment of our congregation or worse, even our own spiritual walk is completely wrong? Sardis and Laodicea were not bowing down to idols. Nothing is stated about false teaching. The doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which was hated in Ephesus but taught in Pergamum is not mentioned at either Sardis or Laodicea.

Simply put, “How are we doing?” We have nice, safe answers to that question. We often say, “Pretty good.” “I’m not where I could be, but all in all, I’m doing fine.” Alive. Need of nothing. We don’t hear folks say, “My prayer life stinks,” or, “I don’t read the Bible like I ought to.” That’s bold, open and honest.

First, we understand that there is a huge slice of the religious community that believes that they are saved. They have missed a few doctrinal points to be accurate Biblically, but in their hearts they are saved. What is written in Revelation, is not addressing this type of thinking. A doctor can say you are well, when you are not. It’s easy to believe him. He’s the doc. Tests will show otherwise. How you feel says otherwise. Spiritually, the tests are the word of God. Spiritually, how you feel, is your behavior. Salvation is not a feeling but a relationship with the Lord. There are steps to get into that relationship. There are steps to maintain that relationship. It is based upon faith that is built upon the word of God and a walk that follows what is laid out in the Bible. Saying I’m saved, doesn’t make it so. Many who say that, certainly don’t act that way. Read what they post or like on Facebook. Shocking. Follow them through a week. They’ll head to church on Sunday, but are partying hard on Friday night. Nope. Just saying you’re saved, doesn’t mean you are.

Second, for Sardis and Laodicea, they were those who understood the word of God and had obeyed Christ. Paul’s letter to the Colossians was to be shared and read in Laodicea. He was aware of the great struggle that was going on in Laodicea (Col 2:1) and shared a great concern over them (Col 4:13). So, with Sardis and Laodicea, we are not talking about some that are confused religiously, or have been the drinking poisonous water of error. What happened is that these were Christians who took their eyes off of Jesus. They lost their focus. They were unwilling to admit the truth about themselves and denied that things were as the Lord saw them.

Denial is a wonderful place that many like to go to. A couple denies that they are having marriage troubles. They keep pretending things are fine when they are not. A person denies that he has a serious health issue. He refuses to go to the doctor, claiming that it’s just sore muscles. A person denies that he has a drinking problem. He knows that he shouldn’t drink and proudly confesses that he could quit anytime, but he won’t. Parents deny that their child is on drugs. They don’t want to admit it.

There is a common thread that runs through all of those above situations. A person refuses to look at the facts. They refuse to see things as they are. They see things as they once were. They see things as they ought to be, but to see things as they are, is to admit there is a problem. We don’t want to do that. So we deny. “Sure things could be better and sure there are things we could work on, but it’s not that bad.” That’s the theme song for deniers. For Sardis, “we’re not dead. Look what people are saying about us.” For Laodicea, “we don’t need a thing.” Denial. Wrong.

The problem of denial is that help is held at bay. There are no alarms going off. 9-1-1 hasn’t been called. The deniers are convinced that they can change things and fix things if it ever gets to that point, but they are convinced things are not that bad at the moment. Denial. So, Sardis died and Laodicea grew lukewarm. Instead of turning things around, the denying led to their death. And so it happens with the above situations. The denying of marriage troubles will lead to a divorce. The denial of health problems will lead to a heart attack. The denial of a drinking problem will destroy him. The denial of a drug problem will lead to the child become addicted, arrested or dead.

What pulls the plug on denial? Honesty. Being honest with yourself. Don’t compare self with others. Look to the word of God and look at those lives of those first Christians. Is that you? Is that your faith? Is that how you feel? Do you go very long without thinking about Christ? Do you get through an entire day and never once think about your spiritual journey? If that happens, then the choices you made, were not shaped spiritually. Your words, your attitudes, your behavior may have all missed what Christ wanted you to be.

Honest. Do you enjoy worship? Do you love to read God’s word? Do you long to pray to God? Do you want to be in the presence of other Christians? Honest. Pull the covers back. No hiding. No excuses. No denial.

Sardis and Laodicea, two congregations that within a generation or two lost their focus and their purpose. There is but one solution, keep your eyes upon the Lord. Do what is right, not what is easy. Do what God wants, not what others want.

How are you doing? Great question to ask yourself this morning.

Roger