Digging Through Roofs - A Philosophy of Ministry

  I want us to do something a little different this week. I want to read the Scripture and then tell you a story and how this section of God’s Word impacts us here today. Our passage comes from Mark chapter 2, verses 1-5. Now this passage has a parallel in Luke 5:17-26, but there’s an element that Mark picks up on that is crucial to how the passage impacts us. So let’s read together Mark 2 starting in verse 1.

“1 A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. 2 They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. 3 Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. 4 Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.’”

The story I’m going to share with you today was a story relayed to me when I first came to Quartzsite by one of the founders of this church. It was the late 1970s. The US was going through a cycle of crisis, with issues that would eventually lead to a confrontation with the Iatola of Iran. The 80s are just on the horizon and the country is hoping for some change. Quartzsite, an old mining town, had become a spot for people to get some gas off the newly linked Interstate 10. The town boasted that they were the destination for rock hounds and the biggest yard sale in the nation. With the advent of retirees, Quartzsite became a cheap place to come, buy some property and spend the winter away from the harsh storms of the north.

At that time there was only one church in town, so if you were a believer that’s where you went. But as it is today, when you have older people wanting to enjoy their retirement years, you’ll need people that are still working to help them experience that. Young families began to migrate to where their grandparents were, and a new dynamic was brought into our desert town. 

But for some, the young families were not as welcomed as the retirees, and one such person was the pastor of the only church in town. As it would be later told, the pastor was almost manic at the thought of having children as a part of the church.

So the families began meeting together in houses, just studying the Bible. Families such as Herb of Herb’s Hardware, and Maude of KBUX Radio. Eventually more and more people gathered with the small group of families, which led the group to deciding it needed more room. Ever the generous man, the newly formed church renovated, and moved into Herb’s house out on the edge of town, on 720 W. Desert Vista St., where we meet this morning. That little building that we now call the Fellowship Hall began seeing weekly worship services, and the church continued to grow. 

When the group of believers decided to move in the direction of an establishing a local church, they began to look at different denominations to connect with. Most of the people were from a baptist background, but there was already an established baptist church in town, so they looked at other options. After looking at several, they decided on a small denomination that had at its core the sharing of the Gospel through missionary work. They chose the Christian and Missionary Alliance, and in 1984 became an official church of the denomination. There wasn’t many Alliance churches around them back then, but they did have a sister church up in Lake Havasu, and the young Pastor of the church, Jeff Jones, was invited to come and preach. 

Eventually, the church called their own pastor, a different young man with a family. And under his guidance the church continued to grow. Years later, another pastor was called, and another, and throughout the these roughly fifteen years, the church saw steady growth. But although the church saw growth with the snowbirds and older local residence, at the core of the church was a focus on the young families of the town. And towards the end of the 1990s and the beginning of the 2000s, a recently retired couple by the name of Ellis made sure that the church stayed true to that core purpose. 

After some issues that led to the termination of the current pastor, the search for a replacement began. As fillers, people like John Maltby of Maltby Chiropractic lended their gifts to help the church through this transition. But the church wasn’t the only ones looking for a pastor, the district was looking as well, and a now more seasoned pastor became available. Jeff Jones, who spoke in Quartzsite at the church in its formative years, was invited back to take the reins of the pastorate. 

Within the first years of Jeff’s tenure as Senior Pastor, he navigated the church through several tough issues. First, the Ellis’ greatly encouraged the church to hire a youth pastor, as they were getting older and were concerned that they wouldn’t be able to continue the work for too much longer. A couple of promising candidates were tried out, but never lasted more than a summer. This eventually led to the first full-time Youth Pastor being hired, and for four years the youth group grew. Jeff also navigated the church through a transition from a board model based on a baptist governing style, to an Elder Board model, which was standard in the Alliance. Finally, Jeff and the church called another youth pastor in 2007, which eventually led to another issue that Jeff had to navigate.

Around 2012, a group in the church decided that Jeff’s leadership was lacking, and that the youth ministry was out of hand. They believed that the church began to focus and spend too much on the youth and needed to reign it in. The goal was to terminate the Youth Pastor position altogether, get rid of the van ministry, and if possible, replace the Senior Pastor. But the core of the church had always been reaching out to the young families in town, and the church was able to move forward in continuing this work that God had called them to back in the 70s. 

In 2015, Pastor Jeff was led by God to step down as the Senior Pastor of our church. The Elders asked the Youth Pastor to step into the position. After a three year transition period, Pastor Jeff officially step down from the position he held for roughly 17 years, and became the church’s Community Pastor. It was then I stepped into the position I am in today, and then in 2021, Pastor Jeff passed away, a loss to this ministry and to his family, but a gain for a servant who walked well the path God laid out for him. 

We are now in a new season of ministry here at the Alliance Church of Quartzsite. We see new faces all the time, those that founded the church have either gone on to be with the Lord, such as Maude Burdett, and others are on the cusp, such as Herb and Rylis Kell. Yet the ministry God has called this body of believers to accomplish and what so many of you stand with, is the work to reach out to the young families of our town. In two years we come to the 40 year anniversary of the official Alliance Church being founded in Quartzsite, but we are living in the 40 years of work that started in the 70s. A work that started because there was no room for these young families, so they had to make room for themselves. 

God has spoken and said that this is the work that he established this church to do, and if ever we stop, our lampstand would be taken. 

The Alliance Church of Quartzsite does not have the best facilities. The carpet is getting ragged, things break all the time. The chairs wobble, the paint is chipped, the tile on the roof falls down. We make improvements as we can, but it takes time, because our ministry isn’t to build a nice building, it’s to minister to the people of Quartzsite. We try to be good stewards of what God has given to us, but ministry takes precedence over ascetics. 

“1 A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. 2 They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. 3 Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. 4 Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.’” 

In the passage, the house where Jesus was, was full of people. So much so that a person in need wasn’t able to get in. His friends, undeterred by the crowds, dug through the roof and lowered the paralyzed man down to be healed by Jesus. And it says, “When Jesus saw their faith…” Jesus forgave sin and eventually healed the man, because of the faith the friends showed in their action. 

I’m sure that when the digging began the home owners were not very pleased, but the work of God was more important. This is the philosophy of the ministry of this church. Everything that God gives us, is to be used for his work. The ragged carpet, though an eyesore, has a story of ministry being it. The whole in the wall, the not so nice paint, has stories of God’s work in them. The loud ruckus on a Sunday morning, the booming noise on a Friday, those are sounds of God’s work. The money that is given, to keep the vans gassed up and going, are vehicles of the Gospel at work. 

By all means, with in the purview of what God has given us, we use to accomplish the work that he started in the 70s and continues today. We are just another called group of people, who have joined this work of God, though we didn’t set out to do so. And we are both inheritors of this work and relayers to the next group.

I have wanted to share this for the last year, and God did not allow it until today. Now I see why. We needed to walk through the work of the seven churches to realize that the work God calls us to can be taken away by him if we do not continue in his will. And I thank God for you that you have join in this work. 

We can so easily think that it is us who accomplish what God sets before us, but we are simple workers in God’s vineyard, servants of the King, who mere do as the Master says, and it is he that completes his work. Praise God for that!

And that’s my challenge for you this week. Each of us comes from a different place, yet God has brought us into this work of Quartzsite. Let us praise him that he has done this good work here. That together we are to work in the fields he started cultivating 40 years ago. And may we each take a moment to ask, “Lord, how can I be used in the work of Quartzsite?” I pray that God leads us to do all that he has for today, and prepare the way for all that he has in store for the future. Amen.

Outlook Series - Week 6 - Creations Song

  I’m one of those people that enjoys music, but doesn’t really get past listening to songs. I know basic genres, and even basic history of when those genres came about. What I don’t know, is in-depth information about any of it. If a song sounds good to me, I’ll listen; if it doesn’t sound good, I won’t, simple as that. And I like all types of genres from classical, to big band, to 50s pop, to 80s rock, to 90s punk, to country. What really draws me to a song, is not only the lyrics, but also the uniqueness of a voice or element of the song. There’s a couple of newer country songs that have caught my attention. One is called Buy Dirt, by Jordan Davis, and the other is called Up, by Luke Bryan. And I only know the names because I looked them up. These songs have good stories and some unique parts. And that’s what I like about music, with only a few chords you can make all sorts of styles.

And it’s music that brings us to our final week in our Out-Look series, where we’ll be looking at chapters 4 and 5 in the book of Revelation. So if you have your Bibles, we’ll be opening to Revelation chapter 4, starting in verse 1; and as we open up to Revelation 4:1, let’s recap the last five weeks in our series.

We started this series with a focus on the second aspect of our relationship with God, which is loving people as ourselves. Our relationship within God is two-fold, with loving him with everything on the one hand, and loving others as ourselves on the other (Mark 12:29-31). One cannot be done without the other, and when we are truly doing one, it’s because we are doing the other as well. It was here that we then talked about how the greatest way to love people is to share the Gospel with them. Taking care of physical needs is needed, but those are temporary fixes to a deeper need of knowing Jesus as Savior. And this is what God calls us to; every Christian is a minster of the Gospel, so that the world would have an opportunity to know the God who created them.

This led into the motivation as to why we share the Gospel. When we understand the holiness of God and the state humanity is in because of sin, we who have trusted Jesus as our Savior must then look to the work of God as being essential for every believer to participate in. We should not push aside the Gospel work, thinking it is for someone else to do, when it is our neighbors, friends, and family who are on the wide path to the lake of fire. God’s holiness and humanity’s sin, should motivate each of us to share the Gospel as God leads.

Then Doug Haskins spoke to us about experiencing God’s grace when we endure situations. When we step into the Gospel work, we will have plenty of opportunities to experience the eternal grace of God in new and powerful ways, because Gospel work is repleted with things that must be endured. Ridicule, gossip, discouragement, emotional and physical pain, are just a few things we might experience when it comes to Gospel work. Yet, in those experiences, we will see God’s grace abound in its potentness. 

After this we began looking at the seven churches, walking away with three understandings as to what we must be aware of when engaging in God’s work. First we must be aware that tribulations and trials are a part of the package. Hard times are guaranteed to come when we walk the path that Jesus has laid out, and in that path God’s grace awaits to be experienced. Second, we must not fall into the trap of winking at sin. The flesh desires to be accepted by the world, and so it is really easy to fall into the trap where we allow sin to fester in our own lives, and the life of the church, in order that we may be praised by the world. Yet Jesus calls us away from that, to stand firm against sin, being gracious to each other as we walk through this world. Finally, last week we talked about engaging in God’s work, not in our own strength, where we can become prideful, but rather in our weakness, where God’s power may be seen clearer. The world wants us to work in our own power, because it’s easy for us. We thrive on people seeing what we have done, and receiving the glory for it. Yet glory needs to be given to God, and the best way to make sure that this happens is to fall before God recognizing our weakness and allowing the Holy Spirit to work from there.

With these weeks fresh in our minds, we now turn to what it’s all about. We started this series by getting a glimpse of Jesus in his holiness in chapter 1, and now we return to that imagery as we start in Revelation chapter 4, verse 1. But unlike in previous weeks where we read the whole text we were going to cover, I want us to just be in the moment of each of these chapters. And by no means will we be exploring every aspect of what these chapters mean, but just enough to understand them in the context of Gospel work. Let’s read.

“4:1 After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, ‘Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.’ 2 At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. 3 And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne. 4 Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. 5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God. 6 Also in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal.

“In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. 7 The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. 8 Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,’ who was, and is, and is to come.’

“9 Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say: 11 ‘You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.’”

Through John, we are brought into the throne room of God. This is the place that Isaiah was brought into, where he recognized his sin in front of the holy God (Isaiah 6). This is what Ezekiel spoke of in his vision in the opening of his book (Ezekiel 1). And this is what Paul references in 2 Corinthians 12:2-4, when he speaks of a man being caught up to the third heaven. This is the place where God sits enthroned in glory, waited upon and worshiped, though he needs neither. And we get this imagery to make our imaginations come alive, and that speaks of the greatness of God. 

Jesus spoke to the church of Philadelphia and Laodicea about a door. To the Philadelphian Church, the door was wide open for them; to the Laodiceans the door had been shut. But here the door is open wide for John to enter into. Then Jesus speaks. This is the second time Jesus’ voice sounds like a trumpet. This trumpeted voice has a parallel in Jewish worship, where each blow of the trumpet meant a different part of the service. John was first trumpeted to write to the churches about their work in the Gospel. Now, he is being trumpeted to see the worship of God in heaven. 

God’s splendor is on display. God is seated on a throne, a position of power and judgment. John then describes God as having the appearance of the precious stones jasper and ruby. This speaks to God’s majesty. A rainbow encircles the throne, which speaks to God’s complete fulfillment of his promises and Word. We are also told in verse 5, that flashes of lightning and sounds of thunder come from the throne, harkening back to Israel’s meeting with God at Mt. Sinai. Next, we are told that the seven spirits of God, a term to speak of the perfect work of the Holy Spirit, blaze as seven lamps before the throne. Finally, we are told about a sea of glass that is in front of the throne. Some have interpret this as the pavement of heaven; with others interpreting in Old Testament thoughts of conquered chaos, where the sea is chaotic, yet is still as glass before God.

We’re also told of what John sees surrounding God on his throne. There are twenty-four elders, who sit on their own thrones, dressed in white, with crowns upon their heads. These elders have been interpreted many different ways, with some believing they parallel the twenty-four elders at Sinai, or the twenty-four divisions of the Levitical priesthood, or that they are a representation of the redeemed through Christ. Whatever they represent, it’s their actions that concern us, and which will get to a moment.

Next, we’re told of the angels. Similar, but different from Ezekiel’s vision, we’re told that there are four, one like a lion, one like an ox, one with the face of a man, and one like an eagle. Again these have been interpreted different ways. Maybe they represent the whole of God’s creation, or maybe they represent attributes of God, or services performed to God. Again, whatever they represent, it’s their actions that are important for us today.

With the stage set, we turn our attention to the actions of those that surround the throne. The angels sing a never ending song, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.” This song speaks of the eternalness of God, who has all power, and who is unlike anything there is. 

And on cue with this song, the elders come off their thrones, falling prostrate before God, laying down their crowns in recognition of God’s majesty. They then speak, “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.” The elders recognize their position, as not comparing to God. Their crowns, their thrones, their garments all come from and all return back to God. 

This is the holiness of God, that we have been speaking of through this series. This God who is enthroned in judgment, who is almighty in his works, who is eternal; he is the Creator, to whom all that is given to us, and that we earn, is truly his, and we must fall down in worship before him. This is the God to whom Isaiah confessed his sinfulness; this is the God whom John fell down as if dead before, and this is the God who we worship. Not some feeble daddy figure on a  cloud, but a grand imposing being to whom our only response is to fall down worship.

But that’s not all, there’s more going on in this heavenly worship scene. Let’s move on to chapter 5 of Revelation. 

“5:1 Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. 2 And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, ‘Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?’ 3 But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. 4 I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. 5 Then one of the elders said to me, ‘Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.’

“6 Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 7 He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. 8 And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. 9 And they sang a new song, saying: ‘You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. 10 You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.’

“11 Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. 12 In a loud voice they were saying: ‘Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!”

“13 Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying: ‘To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!’

14 The four living creatures said, ‘Amen,' and the elders fell down and worshiped.

Here the focus changes. With the overwhelming majesty of God, it seems that John didn’t at first see that he held a scroll in his hand. Yet, there it was, and the imagery of Jewish and Roman scrolls is on full view. The Jewish scrolls that contained the Scriptures had seals on them that would be broken before they were read. In Roman society, legal scrolls would contain several sets of seals that could only be broken for the intended person. 

But alas, the mighty angel speaks, calling for a worthy one to break the seals and open the scroll. Yet, we’re told there is no one in all creation that can. John begins to weep; he knows that this scroll is important, but with no one worthy, how can it be read? This is reminiscent of our realization of our own sin. If we cannot pay the cost for our own sin, how then can anyone be saved? 

Yet in both cases there is hope. An elder points John to the answer to both distresses. “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.” The elder points to the mighty warrior of Judah and the heir to the Davidic Kingdom. And it would seem that the next scene is going to be of this Lion, this King, but instead, John turns to see the Lamb. But not just any lamb, this Lamb has seven horns representing complete power, and he has seven eyes, representing complete  omniscience and the complete work of God through the Holy Spirit throughout the world. 

It is the Lamb who takes the scroll and when he does, the four creatures and twenty-four elders fall down in worship. This time with harps in hand, and bowls representing the prayers of God’s people. And a new song erupts from their worship, “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. 10 You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.”

Why is this Lamb worthy to take the scroll and to open it? Why is he worthy of this praise? It’s because he is the one who laid down his life. He was the perfect Passover Lamb, slaughtered for the sin of humanity. And he is the one, by his sacrifice, that paved the way for every person on this earth to have the opportunity to accept him as Savior and enter into his eternal life. 

But this worship doesn’t end there. John hears the whole of heaven erupt in worship. Angels numbering in the hundreds of millions begin to join the song, singing, “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” But not just them, all of creation joins with their own verse, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!” From the height of heaven, to the lowest point of the physical world, all sing the song of the praise to God on the throne and Lamb who was slain. To which the four creatures call in agreement, “Amen.” And the elders fall down in worship. And we here today must call out, “Amen,” falling down in worship. 

This worship of the Father on his throne in majesty, and the Son who was slain for humanity, encompasses the Gospel work that we are saved to be a part of. The holiness of God results in the sending of the Son to take the punishment of the sinner, so that they may join in the created orders’ worship. 

Every time we sing words of worship, we join in this chorus. Every time God uses us to share this wonderful message, we join in the heavenly choir. Every time we obey God, choosing to follow him rather than our sin’s call, we participate in the worship that creation is giving back to its Creator. 

My brothers and sisters in the Lord, this is our destiny, to be in this chorus of worship back to God, and this is only a glimpse of what that eternal destiny entails. So then, let us resolve ourselves today, to be singers in God’s choir, carry the Gospel message with us as we go about this life. That the holy God created us to be with him; yet our sin, our rebellion against his created order, has caused us to be separated from him and there’s nothing we can do to fix it. But he can, and the Father sent the Son to do just that. Jesus died in our place, taking our punishment for our sin upon himself. God was broken for his creation, yet the story doesn’t end on the cross, it goes to the empty tomb in which Jesus proved his payment was acceptable, because of his resurrection. And the story isn’t done yet; every person who trusts in Jesus as their Savior will be saved and brought into the heavenly chorus of worship back to God. This song happens everyday from the new birth of the believe and lasts into eternity.

Let’s be apart of the song, ministering the Gospel as God leads, so that all the voices that accept Jesus’ invitation to be there, will sing loud and proud. 

My challenge for you this week, is to literally sing these songs of heaven. From the four creatures song, to the elders’ song, to the millions of angels, all the way to the “Amen.” Let us be a chorus of Gospel workers, who are motivated by God’s holiness, to proclaim the slain Lamb, that all who trust in him, shall not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16). Amen.

Outlook Series - Week 5 - My Weakness, His Strength

  I’ve share before that I grew up playing baseball. One of the greatest lessons I learned while playing was during my final year of little league, or what was called majors. To be honest I was the best pitcher on the team, if not the league as a whole. My team on the other hand had two other good players, but they weren’t even in the top ten best players in our town. The lesson I learned was during one game at our home field. The game started off as most did when I pitched, the first two batters struck out and I was feeling pretty good. The third batter step up to the plate and hit a routine fly ball to right field. But for our team, nothing was routine, and the right fielder missed the ball and the runner advanced to second base. I was furious and in my mind I started to think that I could trust this team, so I had to do it myself. I had one of my best outings that day. Except for the fly ball, every other batter for the next five innings struck out. 

Then came the seventh inning, we were up by one, but I was visibly exhausted, with a pitch count closing in on 100. I struck out one batter, then walked the next, then struck out the third. The fourth came and I walked him as well. It was then that my coach called a timeout and came to the mound. I didn’t have many of these visits, so I knew what he wanted to talk about. But he wasn’t the only one, the third baseman, one of my friends, also came over. Both of them told me the same thing. There’s a whole team behind you, let the guy hit the ball and let your team get this final out. 

So I did. I threw a nice low fast ball for the batter, hoping he’d hit a ground ball. Instead he pulled it somehow and got a fly ball. Guess where? Right field and again the the right fielder missed it. The two runs I had walked came in and the batter made it to second. The other team was up by one. It was there that I learned the lesson that stuck with me for the next five years. I had to do it myself. The next batter came up and I struck him out. We went on to lose that game, and it made an impression on me to where I would not trust another team to stand behind me, until my college days. In those years, I grew as a pitcher, but not as a player. I became isolated on the mound. And though I led my high school team with the most strikeouts, it became increasingly difficult to do so, and my arm paid the price.

It was finally playing in college that I no longer had to worry about carrying the team. And instead, was able to grow as an all around player by realizing that when I did try to do it on my own, it made me bitter and unable to play as a team player. In the end I realized that I had missed out on the joy of playing with my teammates, because deep down, I resented them. Because I relied solely in my own strength, I was lesser for it. 

And it’s this idea of not relying on our own strength that brings us back into our Out-Look Series, where we are returning to the book of Revelation chapter 3. This week we will be looking at the last two of the seven churches that were addressed by Jesus. And as we open up to Revelation 3:7, let’s look back at where we’ve been so far in this series. 

We started out this walk through the first three chapters of Revelation by looking at the two aspects of the believer’s relationship with God. These two aspects are to love God with everything and to love others as ourselves. These two aspects are what God calls us to. We cannot have one with the out the other, and when we focus on one at the detriment of the other, both suffer in the end.  Since the majority of the time in the Church we focus on the first aspect of our relationship, the loving God with everything, we turned our attention to the second aspect of loving others as ourselves. There are many ways to do this, such as taking care of physical needs: a glass of water, a sleeping bag, a coat. Yet the greatest way that we are called to love our neighbors is to share the Gospel.

It was here that we began focusing on the why and how we are to go about this Gospel work. First we looked at the why, which is to be motivated by God’s holiness. When we understand the awesomeness of God and how far away from him we are without Jesus, that should then motivate us to share the Gospel with those who are on the path to forever being away from God in the lake of fire. 

Second, we need to realize that one of the most powerful places that we will experience God’s grace as a believer, is by enduring the work that God calls us to. Grace abounds to those that are not only saved, but are experiencing God through the work he has laid our for his people.

Thirdly, as believers, trials and tribulations are guaranteed by Jesus. When we follow him in salvation, we have been and are being separated by God from this world. This means we are already being put in and adverse situation to what the world wants. And when we engage in Gospel work, we are putting ourselves that much more in direct opposition to the world’s desires. 

Finally, as we engage in Gospel work, it is easy to fall into the trap of winking at certain sins so that we may garner the praise of man. It’s easy to not want to stand on certain biblical issues, so that we can be seen as more tolerant or loving, when in actually what we are doing is being less loving, and watering down the Gospel’s power in a person’s life.

All this brings us to our finally two churches in Revelation 3, where we will look at what happens when we’ve been active in God’s work.

“7 To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. 8 I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. 9 I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. 10 Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.

11 I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. 12 The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name. 13 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

14 “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. 15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.

19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. 20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

21 To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

Here we continue looking at how Jesus sees these two churches. There are a lot of similarities with previous churches. And if we take a step back and look at the seven churches together, we can see that these last two churches kind of mirror the first two. With both Sardis and Philadelphia being churches of praise, and Ephesus and Laodicea being churches of correction. Let’s get more into this, starting with Philadelphia. 

The city of Philadelphia was another one of these hub cities where a lot of commerced flowed. It was junction for the northern road to Ephesus and the eastern road to Pergamum. Because of its location and its hub status, it was known as the “gate” or “door” in which everyone needed to venture through if they were going to get to one of these more important cities.

The city was situated, not only on a trade route, but also in an active volcanic area. In fact, in AD 17 the region experienced a violent earthquake which leveled three cities: Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. Philadelphia, along with Sardis was rebuilt by the Romans, who renamed the city Neocaesarea, to honor the imperial family. The city grew in prominence because of the rich volcanic soil that was all around, which led the city to becoming an important agricultural center as well.

Jesus uses this historical reality to speak to the church that is located in the city. It is one of the few cities that Jesus doesn’t have a condemnation, but gets his full encouragement. Jesus uses imagery of keys and doors that no one can shut. This imagery connected to the opening and shutting of gates and doors fits with Philadelphia being the gate and door of Asia Minor. You had to go through the city to get to other more prominent places. Likewise, only through Jesus can a person attain salvation. This is based on Jesus’ words in John 10:9, “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture.” Jesus’ words here assures the church that they have passed through the gate of Jesus into his salvation, and because he holds the key to open and shut such a gate, no one else can close it. 

After this assurance of Jesus’ authority and the church’s access to salvation through him, he turns his attention to encouraging the church. Like Sardis before it, the church at Philadelphia had little. In this case the wealth of the church isn’t in view, as it was in Sardis, but rather their power. The word that the NIV translates as "strength” carries with it two possible connotations. It can either be miraculous power, as in miracles, or in physical power, hence the translation of strength. I don't think they are lacking in miraculous power, because the rest of Jesus’ exhortation wouldn’t make sense. In fact it wouldn’t be encouragement but another correction for their lack of faith. Instead it would make more sense that they have little strength. Jesus compliments them that though they have little strength, they have kept the faith. 

This could be a reference to the church having gone through a taxing persecution by a community of Jews who are denouncing the church as not being of God. And so Jesus not only commends the church for continuing in the faith, though they have little strength remaining to do so, Jesus gives an encouraging word that he himself will show to this Jewish community how much he loves this church. This will be done through Jesus forcefully making these people fall down before the believers in honor.

And like before, Jesus puts eternity into perceptive. In this case, Jesus draws on the historical events of Philadelphia to do so. Both the pillar imagery and the new city of Jerusalem coming down both speak to what has happened to the city. An earthquake came and destroyed the city, yet Jesus will make the church unmovable. The Roman government rebuilt the city, giving themselves the glory, yet Jesus will build his own city giving all glory to God.

Let’s turn our attention to Laodicea, the church that gets the most attention from preachers. It is the one church that doesn’t get even a hint of commendation. Everything’s bad with this church, and Jesus is about to impart judgment on it. This is why Jesus calls himself the “Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation.” He says this because his judgment is true and the church at Laodicea better listen, prepare, and repent at Jesus’ judgment.

Again, it’s the works of the church that are in view and Jesus uses the imagery of hot and cold water, with that of lukewarm water. The reason for this imagery is because of the situation in Laodicea. The city, though it was extremely wealthy, which is something we’ll come back to in a bit, was known for bad water. The neighboring city of Heirapolis was well known for hot water springs that were said to have medicinal properties. Another neighboring city, Colossae, was known for pure, cold water that was some of the most refreshing. Laodicea on the other hand, needed to bring their water in via an aqueduct. The water arrived lukewarm and was awful to drink. Jesus uses this imagery to let the church know that they too were not useful either as hot or cold, but were lukewarm. Because of this Jesus would spit them out, because they were disgustingly useless. 

But he does’t stop there. Unlike the other cities of Sardis and Philadelphia who needed Roman help to rebuild their urban centers after the earthquake of AD 17, Laodicea was so wealthy that they refused the governments help to rebuild. This became a point of pride for the city. It seems that the church had their own pride with their wealth. Yet Jesus tells them that they are “wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.” True wealth is Jesus himself; true riches are only found in him. Therefore Jesus calls the church to buy from him, to be clothed by him, to receive ointment for their blindness from him.

And though Jesus is harshest with Laodicea, it is never to the point of final rejection. The purpose of his direct rebuke of the church is for repentance. Jesus states, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.” A lot of the time we as Christians use this verse to give hope to the non-believer, and though I don’t disagree with the thought being used in that way, the reality is, the context has it with the church. Jesus is calling the church to open the door to him. He is calling the church to invite him inside for a meal.

Why does Jesus do this? Because he loves the church and wants them in a right relationship with him. Paul states it this way in Ephesians 5:25-27, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.” This is what Jesus is doing here. Calling the church to repentance, Jesus is washing and renewing her to be without blemish. This is why Jesus says, “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline.”

And after he calls the church to repentance, to a reestablished relationship with him, he puts everything into eternal perspective once again. Victory and a throne of authority is placed before the church to receive as a reward. 

And it is here that we see ourselves. As we move forward in Gospel work, we must realize it is done in the strength of Jesus. God’s Gospel work is for his glory and for his kingdom. It is so easy to give up the work when we fill physically, emotionally, spiritually spent. Yet, in the little strength we have, Jesus is strong. Paul states in 1 Corinthians 1:27, “But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.” Paul even rejoiced in his weakness, when he wrote a second time to the Corinthian church this, “That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong (12:10).”

It’s okay to recognize our weakness, because by trusting Jesus in recognition of our own weakness we can then rely on his strength to work in us. This is the grace that is seen in our endurance of the tasks God has set out for us. 

This recognition of weakness in our lives, keeps us from becoming prideful in what we have. The building, the money, the reputation; the glitz, the glamor, the names on side of buildings means nothing if Jesus is left outside knocking. Ministering from a place of recognized weakness, keeps pride in check and the Gospel centered on who it’s supposed to be on. In the modern church, like in the modern business world, everyone wants to know our strengths, yet in the Church of Jesus, he wants us to realize our weakness. 

The church of Philadelphia was commended because they didn’t rely on their strength, whereas the church of Laodicea was chastised because they did. We need to seek God in our weakness, rather than our strengths, because he is glorified even more when we do so. Our strengths are gifts from God, but when we rely on them we no longer rely on God. This leads to our glory and not his. Yet, when we trust God to work in our weaknesses, there we see the glory of God more fully, and so do the people we are mistering to.

It’s hard and can take more time for fruit to be produced, but it is lasting fruit.

My challenge for you this week to is be weak. Go before God and acknowledge where you fall short in serving him. If you struggle with speaking to people, if you struggle with talking about the Gospel, if you struggle with anger, pride, hate, gossip, lust, drunkenness, the occult, bring those things before God. Don’t whitewash them, don’t push them to the side and cover them with what you do good. Take them before the throne of Jesus and lay them down. Confess weakness before the strength of the Almighty and seek his strength in defeating all that is not of him. And have no fear in his presence, the payment, the wrath that hovered over sin was paid for. So now in your weakness, God’s strength can be seen. 

Let us be a people who recognize our weaknesses, working the the strength of our God, so that we may live in his Almighty power. Amen.

Outlook Series - Week 4 - Soiled to White

  We have a lot to cover today, so we’re going to jump right back into our sermon series where we’re again returning to the book of Revelation, this week picking it back up in chapter 2, starting in verse 12. And as we open up to Revelation 2:12, let’s remind ourselves where we are in the series so far. 

In our first week we talked about both the two aspects of our relationship with God, the loving him and loving people aspects, and the holiness of God, which should motivate us to share the Gospel with others. We talked about how God has called us to an interconnected walk where our loving him is inseparable from loving people. If I don’t love God, I can’t love people properly, and if I don’t love people, I can’t love God property. Love for God is done through obedience to his will and word. As Jesus says in John 14:15, “If you love me, keep my commands.” 

Loving people is done through service and meeting needs. But the greatest form of love to people is sharing the Gospel with them. We cannot only meet a physical need, without also presenting the answer to the spiritual need. And so, we must love God with obedience and love people with proclamation and service.

And what motivates us to do just that is the holiness of God. When we understand the overpowering awesomeness of God, to which we cannot hope to stand in his presence, we understand the need of repentance and trust in Jesus as our Savior. And if we understand this as children of God, then we should understand the despair of those who are not found in Jesus but are separated from him right now, and possibly into eternity. This should then motivate us to get out there and be ready to be used by God for his Gospel work. 

Then in the second week we had Pastor Doug Haskins from the Navajo nation speak to us. In the way only God could do it, Doug brought us a message that to really experience God’s grace, we must go through times that cause us to endure. Grace that doesn’t wash over adversity, is grace that knows no reason for being. The very definition of grace includes God’s work on humanities behalf to overcome the bondage of sin. God’s grace was shown through the adversity of Jesus on the cross. And when we ourselves go through adverse times, our association with the experience of Jesus becomes tactile and we see just how potent and real the grace of God is. This can be seen in Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 1:5, “For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.”

Then last week we talked about the promise of tribulation. How, just being a follower of Jesus entitles us to trials. As we come closer to Jesus, we move further away from the world. In doing so, God sheds from us the world’s standards, placing on us his own, and this naturally causes rifts and disdain. But even greater trials await those that engage in Gospel work. There will always be push back of Jesus’ narrow way. The world wants the widest possible course of action, so that no one is wrong, and all may be saved. Yet Jesus’ unique only path to salvation means that anyone who proclaims it, will see the same sort of push back that Jesus faced, and could eventually find themselves as a martyr of the Church.

This is why Jesus gives us this information at the start, because it is a promise that as we follow God’s will, we will meet theses trials. Yet, when we keep eternity in view, the trials become joyful experiences, because they bring us closer to the God whom we obey, and our love grows deeper for the people who are lost. As Peter in his first letter writes, “But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed (v.13).”

With the last three weeks now in mind, we now return to Revelation 2, starting in verse 12, let’s read about three church together.

“12 To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword. 13 I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, not even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives.

14 Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality. 15 Likewise, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans (Nick-o-lay-tens). 16 Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

17 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.

18 “To the angel of the church in Thyatira write: These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. 19 I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.

20 Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. 21 I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. 22 So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. 23 I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.

24 Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets, ‘I will not impose any other burden on you, 25 except to hold on to what you have until I come.’

26 To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations— 27 that one ‘will rule them with an iron scepter and will dash them to pieces like pottery’—just as I have received authority from my Father. 28 I will also give that one the morning star. 29 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

“3:1To 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. 2 Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. 3 Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, 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.

4 Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. 5 The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels. 6 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Whereas the key word for the first two churches, that we talked about last week, was tribulation, for the next five, the key word is deeds. Ephesus and Smyrna was dealing with both past and future tribulation from outside sources. What we see in the three churches we read today, is the trial that comes from within. Let’s begin with Pergamum.

Pergamum was one of the three greatest Roman cities in Asia Minor. The reason for this is because Pergamum boasted some of the finest libraries, which housed many parchments. The city also had a grand theater, and many shrines to the many Roman deities. 

Pergamum was also a city where the worship of the Emperor was emphatically executed. In fact, to not participate in the worship of the Emperor, meant that a person would be ostracized from society. This is why Jesus states that Pergamum is the throne of Satan.

It is here that those Nicolaitans (Nick-o-lay-tens) from Ephesus appear again. In this case, the expression of this particular heresy was in the form that paralleled the sin of Balak. A person who is said to have sent Moabite women into the Israelites’ camp to seduce them to sin (Numbers 22-24). 

Jesus’ encouragement to the Church at Pergamum is that the church has been diligent in facing persecution from outside sources. Yet Jesus’ problem with the church is that they were not standing against heresy that had crept in. They stood against the imperial worship ceremonies, but they hadn’t stood against the enticement to sexual immorality. 

Jesus calls the church to repent for letting heresy grow, and to return to him. Jesus then gives what will happen if the church doesn’t repent. He tells them, “Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.” There’s two parts to this metaphor of “sword of my mouth.” First, because of the favored relationship with the Roman Emperor due to the imperial cult worship, Pergamum had “the right to the sword,” which meant they could execute criminals at their discretion. This is also seen in Jesus’  address to the church in verse 12. The sword represents judgment from a social point of view and so Jesus is saying that he is the One who truly can judge. In addition to this, there is the biblical motif of the sword being the word of God from places like Ephesians 6:17 where Paul makes a direct connection, “Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” But also later in Revelation chapter 19 verse 15 where John describes Jesus, by stating, "Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. 'He will rule them with an iron scepter.' He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty.” This has a parallel to Isaiah 11:4, “but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.”

So we see that Jesus revels his judgment, and his judgment is based on the Word of God which is contained in the Scriptures. It is also by this description that it is shown to us how we are to stand against heresy. In order to combat heresy, we must use the Word of God. Biblical understanding is how one stands against the heretical teachings that desire to infiltrate the Church.

Finally Jesus, like we saw last week, puts eternity into perceptive. This is done through an Old Testament parallel in the hidden manna, which was given to the Israelites by God to sustain them. And through a white stone with a new name. This carries a social connotation, because a white stone was given at the acquittal of an individual, i.e. salvation (Romans 3:24-26), and it was also used to gain access to special feast, i.e. the wedding banquet of Jesu and the Church (Matthew 1-14). 

Now, let’s move onto Thyatira. The letter to this church invokes Old Testament holiness passages when describing Jesus himself, another connection to Jesus’ deity as the Ancient One and Holy One of Israel. Like our previous letter to Pergamum, we see a church that is commended by Jesus. This church seems to be doing “all the things right.” They have love and faith. They have service and perseverance. These both speak of a church who is building both aspects of their relationship with God, by loving him and loving people. And not only do they have both, but it’s increasing. 

Yet, Jesus states that they are tolerating a false prophetess whom John connects with the Jezebel in the book of 2nd Kings in the Old Testament, and her teaching of “Satan’s so-called deep secrets.” The word tolerant is the Greek word apheis (af-ee’-is) and has at it’s root the word aphiémi (af-ee’-ay-mee) which carries with it the idea of not just tolerating, but of forgiveness. John uses two other variations of this word in John 20:23, when Jesus states, “If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” So the connotation here, isn’t that the church is merely tolerating the teachings, as if they are taking a stand against her, yet she was still active outside the church, no, they were actively forgiving her, acting like her sin was okay, about allowing it to continue in the church itself.

Jezebel in the book 2nd Kings, lead the Israelites into idol worship and killed the prophets of God. In John’s day, this modern day Jezebel, is leading the church into sexual immorality, idol worship, and a proto-gnostic belief where secret knowledge is to be found outside of the person of God.

Jesus’ judgment for those that follow this prophetess is to join here on a bed of suffering” which in the Greek is kline (klee’-nay), which is best translated as a bed of sickness. Which means Jesus will bring a great sickness upon those who follow the false prophetess that will effect their children as well. In Jesus’ judgment, he states that, “Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.” In other words, because Jesus searches the hearts and minds of people, he knows true repentance and he gives out forgives to those who turn away from sin. The church is irresponsible in forgiving those that Jesus is pointing out have not repented, thereby, speaking for God where he has not spoken.

Finally, in Jesus’ reward, the person who is victorious and doing the will of Jesus will receive a place of authority to judge others and the morning star. The authority of judgment is a response to recognizing and standing against false teaching, such as this Jezebel’s preaching. If we can see and stand against such false teachers, we show true discernment of godly and ungodly things. In addition, Jesus gives the morning star to those who do this. In Revelation 22:16, we find out what the morning star is, “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.” The morning star is an eternal relationship with the victor’s Savior.

Finally, we turn our attention to the Church at Sardis. Here we get the first of two churches who get no real commendation from Jesus. We read that this church has deeds and even has a good reputation among either the rest of the churches in Asia Minor, or perhaps among their own city. Yet, Jesus calls them dead. These deeds and reputation mirrors that of the city of Sardis. 

The legend of Sardis is connected to that of King Midas. The story goes that Midas treated a particular satyr, and companion to a Roman god, very well. This Roman god then granted Midas one wish. Midas asked that everything he touched would turn to gold, which led Midas to almost starving to death. In the end, this Roman god told Midas to wash in the Pactolus River to cleanse him of his wish. This river was then said to flow with the gold from Midas’ hands. This river flowed through Sardis.

Like the church who’s reputation did not reflect their true relationship with God, the river did not flow with the gold that people said it did. Instead Sardis’ wealth was in its clothing industry. An industry that produced fine linens and dyes. 

Here Jesus calls the church to hold onto, not their reputation of doing good, but the Gospel itself. Jesus words of, “2 Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. 3 Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent.” Brings to mind his Parable of the Sower’s seed from Mark 4. Jesus tells the parable like this, “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.”

It is revealed later that the seed represents the Gospel, and the soil, four different responses to it. The first is a complete rejection of the Gospel, the second is a person who seems receptive at first, yet does not seek God to grow the relationship. The third is a person who allows the world’s desires and problems to choke the Gospel out of their lives. Finally, the fourth is a person that seeks to deepen their relationship with God and grows because of it.

Jesus is calling the church at Sardis away from the second and third soils to be the fourth. To not let the Gospel die in their midsts, but to return to it through repentance and holding fast to its hope and teaching.

Jesus then speaks of solid clothes and white linen. To the person in Sardis they would understand this. They live in a textile world of linen manufacturing. Jesus is revealing that though they live in a society that produces fine linen, their garments are soiled, they are stained with sin. This carries with it the words in the first part of Isaiah 64:6 that we looked at in our first week, “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags…” Only in Jesus can a person have fine white linen. Only in Jesus are sins forgiven and a right relationship with both God and people can be found.

All three of these churches speak to a common point. As believers, we can easily fall into the spiritual lifestyle of only doing what we think is most important for God. This has it’s expression either in legalism or in experientialism. Legalism lifts up certain rules, while giving a wink to others. Experientialism lifts up certain experiences, while giving a wink to the stated Word of God. Rules are good, if they are given evenly, and experiences are good as long as they are not in conflict with God’s Word. Yet here, we see both rules unevenly applied and experience that’s moving away from God’s Word.

We see in these churches, the legalistic wink to the Nicolaitans (Nick-o-lay-tens) and Jezebel in both Pergamum and Thyatira, and we see the experiential wink to the taking seriously God’s Word in Sardis. We cannot follow these churches in how they carry out their Gospel work. We must instead joyfully carry out the work of God while at the same time taking serious the Word of God, not tolerating heretical and detrimental teachings. We must stand upon the Word of God, pointing others to Jesus, who the Scriptures point towards, and going about the work of God of sharing the Gospel and meeting needs. 

God is calling us away from worldly things and into his holiness. Away from the soiled garments, to be robed in white. We must stand against heretical teachings, not allowing some to fester, but against all false teachings. If we don’t then our ministry will become corrupt and have even more problems. Also, we must not think that our experiences of doing good and gaining a good reputation, whether with other churches or with our community, is a stand-in for true Gospel work. If we do then have lost sight of the power of the Gospel and the eternity in which Jesus calls us.

My challenge for you this week is take time in prayer asking the question, do I engage in legalism. Do I make certain rules more important than others, and in doing so give room for heresy and sin to fester? Or do I engage in experientialism, where I get the experience high of the praises of people for my good work, but at the cost of my time in going deep into God’s Word? We can do both at the same time, and it’s easy to fall into this trap. Yet God callus to stand from in all areas of the Gospel, and to proclaim in biblically to the world.

So let us then seek God to bring us to his Gospel, to hold onto what the Gospel and what God calls us to, and by doing so to be a people who stand separate from the world, yet loving it as God loves it. Amen.