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July 30/31, 2016
Paul Pryzybylowski (Downtown Campus) | Revelation 3:1-6
“And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.
“‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’"—Revelation 3:1–6
Introduction
In 2010, I finished my service in the Army and my wife, Lauryn, and I moved up to the Twin Cities. We wanted to join a church that we had heard about from a distance: Bethlehem Baptist Church. After taking the member class, we soon had an opportunity to go on a Bethlehem short-term mission trip to India. This turned out to be a very important turning point in our life, a hinge which led us to what we are doing today. During the short-term trip, I experienced an unshakeable desire to study the Bible and theology and to spread the gospel. We are weak and unimpressive, but if God would use us in any way, we wanted to be a part of that. We returned from India on a mission. We went to seminary and then came back to the Twin Cities and served in two church plants. But God began to place a new desire in our hearts: church revitalization.
What is church revitalization? Well, it’s somewhat like remodeling a 100-year-old house. There’s a good foundation, but the house has seen some better days. As you fix it up, you might need to update the electricity and plumbing, put new roofing on, paint the siding, and landscape the yard. Church revitalization is spiritual remodeling.
I’ll define it like this: Church revitalization is when Jesus gives new life and power to his local church through his Spirit and Word. Churches typically follow a life-cycle: birth, growth, plateau, decline, and either revitalization or death. Why do churches plateau and decline? Well, ultimately, Jesus is sovereign over his churches. He closes and starts local churches every day according to his will. And, humanly speaking, local churches plateau and decline for many different reasons. The letters in Revelation 2–3 give us some reasons that churches need revitalization: Love for the world more than for Jesus (2:4), false teaching (2:14–15), immorality among church members and leaders (2:22), religious traditions and reputation without Jesus (3:2), indifference about Jesus and his mission (3:15), reliance upon our own strengths and resources (3:17).
However, God’s desire is always that churches would turn to him and his Word and experience the joy of new life.
Bethlehem has a rich history of revitalization. In 1871, Bethlehem started as First Swedish Baptist Church of Minneapolis with 22 members. Ten years later, the church grew to 127 members. By 1891, there were 445 members. English services were added in 1893. This was a big decision. This, in itself, is a sign of revitalization—our church made a decision to contextualize our ministry in order to share Jesus with English speakers. By 1918, our church grew to over 800 members. During the 1930s, membership rose to over 1,200. In 1936, our church transitioned to all English services and in 1945 the church was renamed Bethlehem Baptist Church. Then, our church began to decline. By 1980, there were around 300 members, the average age being 75 years old (BBC Wikipedia page). An article on the Bethlehem website tells the story of what happened next:
“Bethlehem called a new, young, inexperienced man in 1980 who had never pastored a church before and did not have any extensive plans or programs with which to revitalize the fading congregation; he had only one vision for the church: ‘To magnify Jesus Christ by His Word so clearly that He draws people from [the demographically diverse surrounding area] to Himself and builds a church out of those kinds of people.’ John Piper proceeded to carry out this vision, by God’s grace, as he labored to transform the small, elderly, and theologically uninformed congregation into a vibrant, growing church that is passionate about theology and making much of God” ("Spreading a Passion... Through Church Planting," PDF).
Today, we are reaping a harvest here that was planted decades ago through God’s Word. Jesus revitalized Bethlehem through the ordinary work of his Word and Spirit. Our church caught a passion for theology, missions, evangelism, and leadership development. Not only that, but God has also given Bethlehem opportunities to revitalize other declining churches in the Twin Cities.
In 1989, Bethlehem partnered with Immanuel Baptist in the Seward neighborhood of south Minneapolis. We recommended a young pastor and about a dozen Bethlehem members joined him to help revitalize Immanuel. Shortly afterward, in a sermon, Pastor John called for more people of Bethlehem to help with the revitalization work at Immanuel. He said:
“We think the ‘critical mass’ of new, pioneering people from Bethlehem is not yet reached. Therefore we are praying that God would put it in the hearts of more Bethlehem families and single people to join this church revitalization effort” ("Is God Calling You to Join the Team at Immanuel?").
That’s our prayer for Word of Grace. Then, in 2000, Bethlehem partnered with another church in Richfield called Grace Church. The church was in decline and desired help. Bethlehem recommended a pastor and sent two other elders with about seventy people from Bethlehem to help revitalize the congregation. The church is now called Sovereign Grace Church and meets in Bloomington. I love visiting that church and hearing the preaching of the Word.
A few years ago, Bethlehem began a specific strategy for church revitalization called the Jumpstart Program. The ministry exists “to assist plateaued or declining churches in 3 ways:
In 2012, we partnered together with an 89-year-old church in St. Paul called Hayden Heights Baptist Church. Bethlehem called Weyland Leach as a pastoral resident to lead the church towards implementation of a new vision in harmony with our doctrine and mission. One year later, in July 2013, Hayden Heights called Weyland as their pastor and approved his vision proposal. Now called The Heights Church, the church is healthy and growing in the Word of God.
Well, in December 2015, another opportunity came up. Word of Grace Baptist Church, a declining 85-year-old church in south Minneapolis, partnered with Bethlehem in the Jumpstart Program. Some of you live in the same neighborhood as this church. Word of Grace’s building is in the Standish neighborhood, right on the corner of 38th Street and 22nd Avenue.
Last September, I came on staff at Bethlehem as the Jumpstart Program resident and the resident pastor of Word of Grace. We are now about eleven months into this revitalization and are very excited about the future of the church. Two words summarize our experience so far: joyful sacrifice. This is what I want to call you to through this sermon: joyful sacrifice.
Jesus has revitalized Bethlehem by his Word and Spirit. He continues to revive us for our joy. Bethlehem, this is our history. And, as an overflow of our joy, this is exactly what we want to do as we partner with Word of Grace in south Minneapolis. This is for the greater joy of our city and world as the gospel spreads deeper and wider.
Our sermon text is some of the most direct teaching in God’s Word about church revitalization. I want you to see that church revitalization is normal. Every church needs revitalization by Jesus’s Word and Spirit.
As we look at this text, remember that Revelation is a vision that the apostle John received from Jesus while in exile. The message of Revelation can be boiled down to this: God and his Lamb, Jesus Christ, win. Revelation was first written for seven churches in Asia Minor. Today we are looking at just one church that Jesus wrote to. The message of Revelation was for these churches, but is also for us today.
The Text
Main Point: Our all-knowing Jesus invites us to repent and promises us life.
Outline:
“And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.”’—Revelation 3:1a
Jesus tells John to write to the angel of the church in Sardis. Jesus has a message directly for this local church.
Then Jesus identifies himself. He is the one who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. The “seven spirits of God” is Revelation’s language for the one perfect Holy Spirit (Trinity in Revelation 1:4). Jesus has the fullness of the Holy Spirit. Jesus also has the seven stars. Revelation 1:20 says that the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, one of which is at Sardis. So, Jesus is saying to the church, “By my Spirit, I see and know everything that happens. I can pour out my Spirit or remove him. I can appoint my angel or take him away. Nothing is hidden from me.”
Do you feel the weight of this truth today? Jesus’s Spirit and angels go throughout the earth, doing his will. Jesus knows all things. Jesus knows your heart and your mind. Nothing is hidden from the gaze of the Lord Jesus as he reigns from his throne in heaven. What does the Lord Jesus see in your heart and life that no one else sees or knows? What does Jesus know about our church, not just our worship services, but our life and community throughout the week?
Listen to what Jesus says to the church in Sardis. I want you to feel the weight of these words. Imagine that you were sitting in the church service in Sardis when your pastor brought this letter out to read it aloud. I wonder how these words would hit you. Jesus has a message for you. What is he going to say?
“‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead.’”—Revelation 3:1b
Our all-seeing, all-knowing Lord Jesus knows the church in Sardis. He sees past exteriors. The church in Sardis looks fine on the outside—it has the reputation of being alive. People assume the church is thriving. But Jesus sees the heart of the matter. He has a divine perspective: “You are dead.” What is the solution to this devastating indictment?
“‘Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God.’”—Revelation 3:2
The church’s good works done by faith in Jesus are lacking. Is the church dead or is it sleepy (“wake up”) and about to die? It’s a paradox. Jesus is saying that the church is in a sleepy coma, on the hospital bed, and on the verge of death. Now, historically, we know that there were large Jewish and pagan communities in Sardis at this time. The church in Sardis may have become too at-home in their culture, and compromised their faith in Jesus. As one scholar notes, the church had become “a perfect model of inoffensive Christianity” (Caird).
There is hope though! There is some life that remains in the church. There’s a heartbeat. There’s some movement in the hands and feet.
“‘Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you.’”—Revelation 3:3
The church must remember what they received and heard—the Word of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ which brought them into existence. The church must keep believing the gospel. It must repent of having a good external reputation with no internal heart change.
Jesus warns the church what will happen if they don’t obey his words. This is especially pointed when you know the history of Sardis—two times the city was overrun by armies at places that were left unguarded. Jesus is saying that he will surprise the church like a thief when they don’t expect him. He will come against the church, meaning that he will judge the church by shutting it down. These are the divine words that plateaued and declining churches, and spiritually complacent people, need to hear.
Remember back to when you first heard the gospel of Jesus Christ and put your trust in him. How is your relationship with Jesus today? Is your heart alive with the love of Jesus? Are you bearing fruit as you walk with Jesus by faith? Or, do you look alive on the outside, but there’s no true faith or love for Jesus on the inside?
Jesus wants us to remember his gospel today. His good news is that he became a man to live a perfect life on our behalf. While we may look completely alive, by nature, all of us enter this world spiritually dead as we inherit Adam’s sinful nature and bring our own sin to the table. But, unlike us, Jesus was always truly spiritually alive in his heart before God. God was pleased with everything he did. Jesus took this perfect record to the cross. He died for our sins, rose from the dead, ascended into heaven, and is returning to judge and establish the new heavens and the new earth. Jesus’s works were complete in the sight of God. Our works lead to eternal death, but Jesus’s works secure our salvation.
If we are people who are in Christ, then how can we let ourselves drift from this good news and this new life? And if you are not a Christian right now, we are so glad that you are here with us today. Jesus created you, sees you, and knows everything about your life—even the secrets of your heart. Jesus knows if you have rejected his Word and his free offer of eternal salvation. He invites you today to repent of your sins and trust in him. You do not know when his gracious patience will end. You do not know when he will take your life, nor when he is returning to judge all people. Today is the day that he is calling you to stake your entire future upon him alone. Trust in this Jesus, the Jesus of the Bible.
“‘Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”—Revelation 3:4–6
Here is “what remains” in Sardis: there are still some people in the church who are faithfully following Jesus Christ and living in accord with his Word. They haven’t soiled their garments. This is an image for participating in the sinful culture and being stained with it. These people haven’t neglected their Lord, even as they swim against the current of their own city and church.
Jesus gives glorious promises here to those who conquer through faith in him. We all understand the imagery of white garments. Think of a white wedding dress that symbolizes a bride’s pure devotion to her bridegroom. White garments are symbolic in Revelation for the purity we have before God because of Christ’s blood (7:13–14), as well as our “righteous deeds” done by faith in Jesus (19:8). These Christians at Sardis who conquer through Jesus will forever be clothed in his righteousness. Jesus will not blot these people’s names out of the book of life. The pagan and Jewish communities in Sardis may blot these people’s names out, excluding them and marginalizing them. But, Jesus never will. They will inherit eternal life with God in the new heavens and new earth. Furthermore, Jesus will confess their names to God the Father and his angels.
These are the promises Jesus gives to those who follow him. My dear friends, Jesus doesn’t just want you to have a good reputation. He wants your whole life. Have you slipped into a spiritual coma? Are you loving the world, your reputation, and comfort more than Jesus? Our all-knowing Jesus invites you to repent and promises you life.
Jesus concludes his letter to Sardis. Whoever has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. This was a message for the churches in John’s day. This message has pierced hearts for 2,000 years. This is also a message for us today. Do you hear what the Spirit is personally saying to you?
So, Jesus called Sardis to return to him and his Word. Jesus’s Spirit was given so that the church could obey him. We see that the ministry of church revitalization is biblical. Not only is it biblical, it has been our personal experience and history at Bethlehem. Our partnership with Word of Grace Baptist Church is a ministry that pleases God. Jesus desires Word of Grace to experience new life and fruitfulness.
Our new mission for Word of Grace is to “glorify God by making disciples of Jesus who love God, one another, and the world.” Our vision for the future is to “multiply gospel-centered churches near and far.” We want to live out this mission and vision in our neighborhood church through Sunday worship gatherings and Missional Community groups. We want to be a neighborhood church with a high impact for God’s glory.
Our Jumpstart team has written a Jumpstart Plan for the revitalization of Word of Grace. Lord willing, we will be presenting this plan to the Bethlehem elders this September for approval and then bringing it to Word of Grace for the church’s final vote this fall. A small group of people from Bethlehem has already joined our team in this church revitalization. And in the last several months, God has begun a great new work by his Word and Spirit.
Here are three opportunities for you to partner with us in this ministry:
Joyful sacrifice. Whether you serve here, another church, or at Word of Grace, this is what Jesus is calling you to. Friends, if you are tempted to walk away from Jesus for anything, it’s not worth it. Jesus promises that we will walk with him in white garments, that our names are written in his book of life, and that he will confess our names before his Father and angels. In the final day, Jesus will show that he was worth it all. Let’s be awake and ready for Jesus to come back.