Wait a minute, let me get this straight….You’re going to critique my efforts and I am going to be happy about it? Tell me, why would THAT happen?
Here are the critiques laid out against the church in Revelation 3:
You are dead. You are lukewarm. That doesn’t sound very encouraging to me. How can we say that Revelation is a book to encourage the church when this is what we hear?
Easy. If a football player on the defensive line avoids hitting anyone you can expect a rebuke when the whistle blows. That’s not how we play the game. When a child playing “duck duck goose” doesn’t run after they tap someone….we stop the game and tell them how to play correctly. Church isn’t a game, but there are rules, and it’s supposed to be fulfilling and meaningful, not just boring ritual. Worship was designed to satisfy an inner longing, that’s why we see so many different religions and religious practices. But that doesn’t mean that all of them work. You have to do it right, or it won’t be effective.
Sardis wasn’t doing it right. It sounds like they used to, but they either quit or forgot how. And, not all of them, but quite a few. So the Creator simply says “hey guys, that’s not how we behave. You aren’t going to win if you play like that”. It’s simple, and it isn’t mean spirited. If Jesus has ever said to you “you said something you shouldn’t have said, go and apologize” then you’ve heard this message. It’s one thing to act like a Christian, and it’s another thing entirely to be one. Jesus is more interested in who we are than in our outward appearance.
We are reminded through the letter to Philadelphia that God is able to open doors that we cannot, and He can force those who are evil to submit, even when they refuse to do so. Our God is so powerful! We serve an awesome God! There isn’t anything that He cannot do, and there isn’t anyone who can stop Him when He chooses to act. Praise the Lord! We’re on the right side!
Verse 19 sums up what Jesus is saying to all of us “I correct and discipline everyone I love” Who hasn’t needed to hear Jesus remind us that He loves everyone. If we aren’t moved to tears by the plight of others less fortunate then we need a “wake up call”. If we can sit through a worship service without being drawn into God’s presence, then we need a wake up call.
Thank God for wake up calls. It’s just one more sign that God loves us.
Listening for His voice,
PR