Is The Church Dead?

“…’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…”
Revelation 3:1-2

Could you imagine reading your obituary in the newspaper? You open up the paper, flip to the back where the obituary’s are and all of a sudden, you see your name! There it is in black and white. The crazy part is that it’s not someone else with the same name, but it’s you. As you read, it describes your family, your loved ones, the job you had and even your hobbies. 

Most of us would pass out from seeing something like this! The Apostle John relays a message from Jesus to the church in Sardis in Revelation 3. Jesus says to the church that they are dead. They may think they are still alive, but really, they are dead. It’s a false reputation. You are still going through the motions, but you are dead. 

I’m afraid the American church is in the same place. Someone should probably go ahead an run the obituary now. Churches across the country are going through the motions, but they don’t realize they are already dead. How do I know they are dead? One word - apathy. 

If you look apathy up in the dictionary, you are going to get this - “lack of interest, enthusiasm or concern.” The church has suffered many things over it’s history and apathy is probably the most potent weapon that Satan deploys against believers. The sad part is, this isn’t even a new tactic. If you can imagine this, the church being addressed in Revelation was a church planted by the apostles. The Apostle John himself is writing this letter to them! 

Paul, similarly, had to encourage the church in Rome about their own fervor for the Lord.

“Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.”
Romans 12:11

So this isn’t a new problem. We have people who say they can’t read their bible, but they can tell you everything about the newest series on Netflix. We have people who don’t have time to serve the Lord in any capacity, yet they have plenty of time scroll social media. Time isn’t the problem, apathy is. We are simply uninterested in the Lord. We don’t care about what Jesus cares about anymore. 

“For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.”
Philippians 2:21

So what’s the answer to this problem? Jesus tells the church in Sardis to wake up and strengthen what remains and is about to die! In other words, sound the alarm! Church, wake up! Look around you. The world is lost and it needs the message of Jesus more than ever! Do you care that your friends and family members are going to hell? Do you care that your neighbor is lost? Where is your urgency church? Where is your passion for the lost? 

Evangelism is now looked at as something only others should do, never ourselves. I don’t have those giftings, you might say. I am more of a back row type of Christian. I want to be seen and not heard. Wake up! Every Christian is called and gifted to share the gospel. Period. You don’t need a special invitation or a license to do it, go out there and share! The women at the tomb were not qualified, they didn’t have the right pedigree, yet Jesus sends them to tell the greatest story ever told. 

God isn’t looking for perfect people to share his message, he’s looking for someone who will say, ‘yes’. If the church in America has any hope of avoiding the obituary page in the paper, it’s going to come from people who love Jesus and have surrendered their lives to him. Here I am, send me!

Even now, there is a remnant of Christians who desire this. They are in the church and they need to be strengthened and sent out. Is that you? Do you want to follow Him? Are you ready? I’d love to hear from you. I will help you any way I can to see you putting your gifts to use. 

"And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”
Galatians 6:9