SEVEN CHURCHES #7/9

#1 · February 19, 2007, 3:56 pm

Quote from Forum Archives on February 19, 2007, 3:56 pm
Posted by: bhfbc <bhfbc@...>
SEVEN CHURCHES #7/9

UNGUARDED

February 18, 2007

TEXT: Revelation 3:1-6

As we continue along our path of learning the messages of Christ to the Seven Churches named in the Revelation and the meaning of those messages to us today, it should be apparent that one of the vital instructions and warnings to churches today is to keep watch. Not only are we supposed to keep watch for the signs of Christs return, we are also to keep watch to live faithfully for Christ until the time for his return is fulfilled. We live faithfully, as we have already learned, by both believing and doing Gods Word. It is certainly appropriate for born-again believers to minister with acts of compassion to those around us. It is also appropriate, and necessary, for born-again believers to learn and proclaim the correct doctrinal teachings of Gods Word. We have learned that we must keep watch for attacks on belief and doctrine not only from outside the Church, but also from inside the Church.

Nowhere is the need to keep watch made more plain than to the Church in Sardis. If you are like me, it is unlikely that I would have run across Sardis if it had not been mentioned in the Bible. This is not one of those cities that has retained historical significance today. In truth, however, Sardis has been a significant city, and it is this citys history that makes Christs message to his Church there to Wake up! so significant. Sir W. M. Ramsay once said of Sardis that nowhere was there a greater example of the melancholy contrast between past splendor and present decay. (Dr. William Barclay, Revelation, The Barclay Daily Study Bible Series, Westminster John Knox Press, Ligouri Faithware version) Sardis was a city of degeneration.

Roughly seven hundred years before Johns Revelation, Sardis had been one of the greatest cities in the world. The king of Lydia ruled over his empire in oriental splendor. At that time, Sardis was a city of the east and was hostile to the Greek world of the West. Sardis stood in the midst of the plain of the valley of the River Hermus. To the north of that plain rose the long ridge of Mount Tmolus; from that ridge a series of hills went out like spurs, each forming a narrow plateau. On one of these spurs, fifteen hundred feet up, stood the original Sardis. Clearly such a position made it almost impregnable to the military technology of the time. The sides of the ridge were smoothly precipitous; and only where the spur met the ridge of Mount Tmolus was there any possible approach into Sardis. Even then, it was hard and steep. It has been said that Sardis stood like a gigantic watch-tower, guarding the Hermus valley.

The greatest of the Sardian kings was Croesus. It was with him that Sardis reached its zenith, and it was with him that it plunged to disaster. During a visit, Solon, the wisest of the Greeks, came on a visit and was shown the magnificence and the luxury. He saw the blind confidence of Croesus and his people that nothing could end this splendor; but he also saw that the seeds of softness and of degeneration were being sown. Unfortunately, Croesus embarked upon a war with Cyrus of Persia which was the end of the greatness of Sardis. He was routed by the Persian army. Still, Croesus was not in the least worried, for he thought that all he had to do was to retire to his impregnable citadel, recuperate, and fight again. Cyrus initiated the siege of Sardis, waited for fourteen days, then offered a special reward to anyone who would find an entry into the city.

Hearing of this offer, a certain Mardian soldier called Hyeroeades had seen a Sardian soldier accidentally drop his helmet over the battlements, and then make his way down the precipice to retrieve it. Hyeroeades knew that there must be a crack in the rock thereby means of which an agile man could climb up. That night he led a party of Persian troops up by the fault in the rock. When they reached the top, they found the battlements completely unguarded. The Sardians had thought themselves too safe to need a guard; and so Sardis fell. A city with a history like that knew what the Risen Christ was talking about when he said: "Keep watch!"

Sardis vanished from history under Persian rule for two centuries. In due time it surrendered to Alexander the Great, and through him it became a city of Greek culture. Then history repeated itself. After the death of Alexander there were many claimants for the power. Antiochus, who became the ruler of the area in which Sardis stood, was at war with a rival called Achaeus who sought refuge in Sardis. For a year Antiochus besieged him; then a soldier called Lagoras repeated the exploit of Hyeroeades. At night with a band of brave men he climbed the steep cliffs. The Sardians had forgotten their lesson. There was no guard, and once again Sardis fell because it had no watchmen. (Dr. William Barclay, Revelation, The Barclay Daily Study Bible Series, Westminster John Knox Press, Ligouri Faithware version)

By the time of Johns Revelation, Sardis was once again wealthy. It was also degenerate. Twice they had lost their city because they were too lazy to watch. In that weakening atmosphere, the Christian Church too had lost its vitality and was a corpse instead of a living Church. What are the first descriptive words that Christ wrote to them? I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Is that the kind of message that any church today would want to receive from the Lord? Is that the message that we would want to receive from the Lord? If not, then, Wake up!

Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. We are not given the detail of this Churchs deficiency. In what way were their deeds lacking? It doesnt matter. That was the letter to them. But when we look at it as Christs letter to us, then it does matter. It matters a lot. When I consider this church or any church I serve as pastor, I know that we are doctrinally on track. If we werent, I would not be here. I am not going to remain as pastor of any church that wants to deny the deity and Lordship of Jesus or that wants to deny his physical resurrection or wants to deny the primacy of Gods Word. So I know that we are on sound doctrinal footing.

But what are we doing with the Lords doctrine? That is the important question. Are we too much like the Sardians who kept forgetting to man the ramparts? Are we going to be found unguarded? The same Bible that proclaims Jesus rising victoriously from the tomb also tells us that the first shall be last and the last shall be first. It tells us that we are to feed the hungry and clothe the naked. It tells us that we are to have compassion for the very least of Gods children. We are to be changing the world and not having the world - meaning worldliness - change us.

A great case in point is the life of William Wilberforce. After a powerful conversion experience, William Wilberforce dedicated himself to what he called his two great objectives: the abolition of the slave trade and the reformation of society. By going after the slave trade, he was challenging a mindset that had existed for centuries. Wilberforce recognized that if he wanted to change the law, he needed to change peoples hearts and minds. And he also knew that none of this was possible until his own heart experienced a radical transformation.

Wilberforces childhood preacher, John Newton, experienced an even more dramatic conversion than Wilberforce. In a graceless world, absent of Gods mercy, Newton should have rotted in the bowels of a slave ship or been tossed in the sea. Yet God, in his providence, saved this wretch and gave him something he didnt deserve, a prominent role in the story of freedom. And Newton went on to pen one of the most redemptive songs in human history; that being, of course, Amazing Grace.

Wilberforce and Newton both understood the source of their motivation and strength. Their dedication to the life-saving, life-changing message of the Lord led them to do what had not been done before. They, and many others, united in their commitment to end the slave trade and improve British society. Despite decades of defeat, ridicule, and treachery, they were companions for the common good. Next month marks the two hundred year anniversary of their greatest victory the abolition of the British slave trade.

Neither John Newton nor William Wilberforce left the ramparts unguarded after they allowed the Holy Spirit to enter their lives. They remained awake to the needs of their world which needed to be reached for Christ. Because of them, the world is a better place. Not perfect, but better. I do not believe that the Master would say to them that their deeds were dead.

We may not lead a worldwide crusade of the magnitude of Newton or Wilberforce, but we can still be faithful to Christ. What should we learn from Christs letter to the Church in Sardis? For a church to have a valid relationship with God, it must back up its doctrines and words with devotion and works. When a church receives a great revelation from God, it needs to put that revelation into practice. If it doesnt it will die out. We must never leave the battlements unguarded.

Wake up! He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Rev. Charles A. Layne
First Baptist Church
Bunker Hill, Indiana
-- To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: abesermons-unsubscribe@welovegod.org   

Posted by: bhfbc <bhfbc@...>

SEVEN CHURCHES #7/9

UNGUARDED

February 18, 2007

TEXT: Revelation 3:1-6

As we continue along our path of learning the messages of Christ to the Seven Churches named in the Revelation and the meaning of those messages to us today, it should be apparent that one of the vital instructions and warnings to churches today is to keep watch. Not only are we supposed to keep watch for the signs of Christs return, we are also to keep watch to live faithfully for Christ until the time for his return is fulfilled. We live faithfully, as we have already learned, by both believing and doing Gods Word. It is certainly appropriate for born-again believers to minister with acts of compassion to those around us. It is also appropriate, and necessary, for born-again believers to learn and proclaim the correct doctrinal teachings of Gods Word. We have learned that we must keep watch for attacks on belief and doctrine not only from outside the Church, but also from inside the Church.

Nowhere is the need to keep watch made more plain than to the Church in Sardis. If you are like me, it is unlikely that I would have run across Sardis if it had not been mentioned in the Bible. This is not one of those cities that has retained historical significance today. In truth, however, Sardis has been a significant city, and it is this citys history that makes Christs message to his Church there to Wake up! so significant. Sir W. M. Ramsay once said of Sardis that nowhere was there a greater example of the melancholy contrast between past splendor and present decay. (Dr. William Barclay, Revelation, The Barclay Daily Study Bible Series, Westminster John Knox Press, Ligouri Faithware version) Sardis was a city of degeneration.

Roughly seven hundred years before Johns Revelation, Sardis had been one of the greatest cities in the world. The king of Lydia ruled over his empire in oriental splendor. At that time, Sardis was a city of the east and was hostile to the Greek world of the West. Sardis stood in the midst of the plain of the valley of the River Hermus. To the north of that plain rose the long ridge of Mount Tmolus; from that ridge a series of hills went out like spurs, each forming a narrow plateau. On one of these spurs, fifteen hundred feet up, stood the original Sardis. Clearly such a position made it almost impregnable to the military technology of the time. The sides of the ridge were smoothly precipitous; and only where the spur met the ridge of Mount Tmolus was there any possible approach into Sardis. Even then, it was hard and steep. It has been said that Sardis stood like a gigantic watch-tower, guarding the Hermus valley.

The greatest of the Sardian kings was Croesus. It was with him that Sardis reached its zenith, and it was with him that it plunged to disaster. During a visit, Solon, the wisest of the Greeks, came on a visit and was shown the magnificence and the luxury. He saw the blind confidence of Croesus and his people that nothing could end this splendor; but he also saw that the seeds of softness and of degeneration were being sown. Unfortunately, Croesus embarked upon a war with Cyrus of Persia which was the end of the greatness of Sardis. He was routed by the Persian army. Still, Croesus was not in the least worried, for he thought that all he had to do was to retire to his impregnable citadel, recuperate, and fight again. Cyrus initiated the siege of Sardis, waited for fourteen days, then offered a special reward to anyone who would find an entry into the city.

Hearing of this offer, a certain Mardian soldier called Hyeroeades had seen a Sardian soldier accidentally drop his helmet over the battlements, and then make his way down the precipice to retrieve it. Hyeroeades knew that there must be a crack in the rock thereby means of which an agile man could climb up. That night he led a party of Persian troops up by the fault in the rock. When they reached the top, they found the battlements completely unguarded. The Sardians had thought themselves too safe to need a guard; and so Sardis fell. A city with a history like that knew what the Risen Christ was talking about when he said: "Keep watch!"

Sardis vanished from history under Persian rule for two centuries. In due time it surrendered to Alexander the Great, and through him it became a city of Greek culture. Then history repeated itself. After the death of Alexander there were many claimants for the power. Antiochus, who became the ruler of the area in which Sardis stood, was at war with a rival called Achaeus who sought refuge in Sardis. For a year Antiochus besieged him; then a soldier called Lagoras repeated the exploit of Hyeroeades. At night with a band of brave men he climbed the steep cliffs. The Sardians had forgotten their lesson. There was no guard, and once again Sardis fell because it had no watchmen. (Dr. William Barclay, Revelation, The Barclay Daily Study Bible Series, Westminster John Knox Press, Ligouri Faithware version)

By the time of Johns Revelation, Sardis was once again wealthy. It was also degenerate. Twice they had lost their city because they were too lazy to watch. In that weakening atmosphere, the Christian Church too had lost its vitality and was a corpse instead of a living Church. What are the first descriptive words that Christ wrote to them? I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Is that the kind of message that any church today would want to receive from the Lord? Is that the message that we would want to receive from the Lord? If not, then, Wake up!

Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. We are not given the detail of this Churchs deficiency. In what way were their deeds lacking? It doesnt matter. That was the letter to them. But when we look at it as Christs letter to us, then it does matter. It matters a lot. When I consider this church or any church I serve as pastor, I know that we are doctrinally on track. If we werent, I would not be here. I am not going to remain as pastor of any church that wants to deny the deity and Lordship of Jesus or that wants to deny his physical resurrection or wants to deny the primacy of Gods Word. So I know that we are on sound doctrinal footing.

But what are we doing with the Lords doctrine? That is the important question. Are we too much like the Sardians who kept forgetting to man the ramparts? Are we going to be found unguarded? The same Bible that proclaims Jesus rising victoriously from the tomb also tells us that the first shall be last and the last shall be first. It tells us that we are to feed the hungry and clothe the naked. It tells us that we are to have compassion for the very least of Gods children. We are to be changing the world and not having the world - meaning worldliness - change us.

A great case in point is the life of William Wilberforce. After a powerful conversion experience, William Wilberforce dedicated himself to what he called his two great objectives: the abolition of the slave trade and the reformation of society. By going after the slave trade, he was challenging a mindset that had existed for centuries. Wilberforce recognized that if he wanted to change the law, he needed to change peoples hearts and minds. And he also knew that none of this was possible until his own heart experienced a radical transformation.

Wilberforces childhood preacher, John Newton, experienced an even more dramatic conversion than Wilberforce. In a graceless world, absent of Gods mercy, Newton should have rotted in the bowels of a slave ship or been tossed in the sea. Yet God, in his providence, saved this wretch and gave him something he didnt deserve, a prominent role in the story of freedom. And Newton went on to pen one of the most redemptive songs in human history; that being, of course, Amazing Grace.

Wilberforce and Newton both understood the source of their motivation and strength. Their dedication to the life-saving, life-changing message of the Lord led them to do what had not been done before. They, and many others, united in their commitment to end the slave trade and improve British society. Despite decades of defeat, ridicule, and treachery, they were companions for the common good. Next month marks the two hundred year anniversary of their greatest victory the abolition of the British slave trade.

Neither John Newton nor William Wilberforce left the ramparts unguarded after they allowed the Holy Spirit to enter their lives. They remained awake to the needs of their world which needed to be reached for Christ. Because of them, the world is a better place. Not perfect, but better. I do not believe that the Master would say to them that their deeds were dead.

We may not lead a worldwide crusade of the magnitude of Newton or Wilberforce, but we can still be faithful to Christ. What should we learn from Christs letter to the Church in Sardis? For a church to have a valid relationship with God, it must back up its doctrines and words with devotion and works. When a church receives a great revelation from God, it needs to put that revelation into practice. If it doesnt it will die out. We must never leave the battlements unguarded.

Wake up! He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Rev. Charles A. Layne
First Baptist Church
Bunker Hill, Indiana

-- To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: abesermons-unsubscribe@welovegod.org