Dead or Alive – How to tell the difference

05 Jan 2025 – Dead or Alive, how can you tell?

Review – Bill taught on Rom 10:11-15 last week: Aligning ourselves with what God is doing.

Rom 10:14-15 how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? ¹⁵ And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent?

This is the call to action for the church… for you and I… 2 Peter 3:9 That everyone will call out to God. This is the work of the church… to make God attractive,

• to preach so they are able to hear
• to hear so that they are able to believe…
• to believe, so they can call upon the name of God

Today I want to continue this topic by asking the question, “What kind of environment will make God attractive and draw people to call out to God?” This applies both to those Inside the church… and outside?

The reason this is on my mind is because of what is going on in my home church. As we prepare to return we know we are going back to a messy, broken church. There has been so much conflict and so many have left. People have been hurt on both sides. As we anticipate our return, I have been asking the question, “God how do you want me to respond? Do you want us to go back and try and be a part of helping them to rebuild? Or do you want us to find another church?

As I prayed about what we should do, the Lord led me to listen to a sermon series by Charles Price titled, “The Dynamics of an Effective Church.” There was a number of things he shared that have really made me think. So, since Bill asked me to share on something this morning, and I have been asking the Lord for a message for my home church, I thought I would just share what the Lord has been putting on my heart.

As I speak, keep in mind that the church is its people. The church is not a building. A church is a group a believers in a geographical area who meet together, but each of us, individually, are also part of the body of Christ, which is the church. What I am sharing this morning, is for both the body of Christ, each of us individually, and for a local church who meets in a geographical place. I am not trying to define what we do here as a church. But, we are a group of believers, members of the body of Christ, who meet together, so this does apply to us.

Let me pray for us this morning.

Pray….

I have two basic points this morning. I will spend most of the time on the first, and it’s sub-points. But I will end with a story about a church who became alive by practically living out God’s command to love one another.

Dead or Alive

1. Dead or Alive, how to tell. (Rev 3:1-3)
   1. inward focus instead of outward
   2. Becoming an Organization vs Organism
   3. Doing things without God instead of with God
2. Alive with Love. the most important characteristic (1 Cor 13)

I am going to start by reading Revelation 3:1-3

“Write this letter to the angel of the church in Sardis. This is the message from the one who has the sevenfold Spirit of God and the seven stars: “I know all the things you do, and that you have a reputation for being alive—but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what little remains, for even what is left is almost dead. I find that your actions do not meet the requirements of my God. Go back to what you heard and believed at first; hold to it firmly. Repent and turn to me again. If you don’t wake up, I will come to you suddenly, as unexpected as a thief.

1. Dead or Alive, how to tell. (Rev 3:1-3)

God’s description of the church at Sardis was that they had a reputation of being alive, but in God’s eyes, they were actually dead. What makes a church (and it’s people) alive? What are characteristics of a church (and of members of Christ’s body) that are spiritually dead?

Jesus calls them to “wake up” and realign with their original purpose. Last week Bill talked about aligning with what God is doing. What makes a church “alive,” but dead spiritually? One thing that makes a church alive, but dead spiritually is being filled with all kinds of activity, but not doing what truly counts…. not aligning with what God is doing.

None of us start off being spiritually dead. When we first get saved, we all are excited about our new life in Christ, and many are excited to share Jesus with others. So, what happens? Why do we not stay that way? How does a church get out of alignment? How do we as individuals get out of alignment?

I would like to share 3 things that I believe will either keep us in alignment with what God is doing, or cause us to only have a reputation of being alive, but in God’s eyes we are really dead spiritually.

a. inward focus instead of outward

When a church, and we as individuals, are no longer focused outwardly on sending and preaching, so that people can hear and believe and be invited to call out to God , we are no longer in alignment with what God is doing. When that happens, the church, and we as individuals are no longer truly living!

When we loose our focus on what God is doing, we replace it with becoming focused inward, on ourselves and our own needs. This is certainly true when it comes to church programs, but it’s bigger than that. We are talking about a lifestyle. A life that is alive is looking for ways to invite people to call on the name of God in their workplace, in their home, when they are on the road, or on the bus… They are constantly asking “Lord, what is it you want to do in me and through me? How do you want to use me in this situation, and in every situation, to make you attractive?”

A church that stops looking outward, becomes very comfortable, and can even become nothing more than a religious club that we become part of where we enjoy being with people like us and where our own needs are met.

I have heard people leave a church and go to find another church because the church doesn’t meet their need. I understand there are needs that we have personally, but our vision has to be something bigger than that.

What happened in the book of Acts? Were there physical needs when the early church began? Absolutely there was. Did those needs get met? Yes, but that was not their focus.

READ Acts 2:42-47

All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity—all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.

Their physical needs were met, but their focus was not on the needs, that just happened naturally. Where was their focus?

• they were devoted to the apostles’ teaching
• to fellowship
• to prayer

What was the result?

The Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. Instead of their gathering being just a religious club where they had fellowship and friendship and had meals together, their meeting together enriched their mission, it fueled what God was doing. The fellowship, friendship and food did not become a substitute for evangelism.

b. Becoming an Organization vs Organism

When I use the word organism, what comes to mind? An organism is something that is living. It grows and matures naturally. Like a plant with the right nutrients, sun and water, it just grows. That’s what a church that is alive is like. It should grow organically, like we saw in Acts 2. As we are aligned with what God is doing, and are simply his hands and feet, ears and month, He will add to our fellowship as we are willing to be sent and preach, and invite people to hear and believe.

But, when a church, becomes comfortable with its programs, and its routines, the order of its services, etc. Because everything is laid out, and runs the same every week, it can lose its dependence on the Holy Spirit. It’s almost as if things would run the same whether Jesus returned or not. Where is God in that? When that defines the church, it is no longer a living growing organism, it has become an organization that no longer needs to depend on God.

c. Doing things without God instead of with God

What is the life of a church? What is the source of life for us as members of God’s body? The life, of course, is the life of God flowing in us and through us. You know, a church is not alive because it’s big or because it’s beautiful or because it’s busy or because lots of people love to go there. A church is alive because the life of God flows in and through it. The same is true with each of our lives. We are not alive because of all the activities that we do, and how busy we are working for God. That just makes you tired. What makes us alive is the life of God in us!

When people experience God, they experience things they can’t explain apart from the fact that God is doing it. There should be things happening that we can’t explain in terms of personalities, or in terms of gifts, or in terms of programs.

To have a church that is alive, our reputation should revolve around the work that God is doing, not how great our programs are or how busy we are working for God.

We started with talking about God’s opinion of the church at Sardis. “Here in the church in Sardis, God says, “hey, you have a great reputation. Man, people come into Sardis and say, “That’s the church to go to because they’ve got a great reputation. A reputation of being alive, none the less. But the reality is they’re dead.”

Why? Because in all your busyness, your work, your programs, you have forgotten what your source is. It has become a human operation. It’s become an organization, well-managed, well-planned, well-functioning, rather than a living organism where the life of Christ is operating.

What made the church in the book of Acts alive? It wasn’t big programs and big buildings! It was God through them. Over and over again, the apostles confirmed that God was at work through them. The life of the church was God Himself at work! It was God through them, God through them.

• Acts 14:27 Upon arriving in Antioch, they called the church together and reported everything God had done through them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles, too.
• Acts 15:4 When they arrived in Jerusalem, Barnabas and Paul were welcomed by the whole church, including the apostles and elders. They reported everything God had done through them.
• Acts 15:12 Everyone listened quietly as Barnabas and Paul told about the miraculous signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles.
• Acts 21:19 After greeting them, Paul gave a detailed account of the things God had accomplished among the Gentiles through his ministry.

At the end of Romans, Paul also makes that claim that “I have nothing to talk to you about, except what Christ has done through me. (Rom 15:18)

That should take the pressure off! If it’s all about what we do for God, the pressure is on. If it’s about what God does through us, we can rest in Him with an attitude of obedience and dependence.

When we focus on ourselves (inward focus) and we live in a system that does not cause us to depend on God (organization) we will become human centered instead of God-centered. And work that is done without God is by definition, “God-less” work, and therefore dead spiritually. But, when God Himself is at work through us, and we are his instruments to do the work of God, that’s real living, and that’s exciting living!

2. Alive with Love. The most important characteristic (1 Cor 13)

When you think of 1 Cor 13 what comes to mind? “The Love chapter” right? And while it is that, the context of 1 Cor 13 is after chapter 12 and before chapter 14. I know, that’s profound. But in that context, this passage is not a treaty on love, this passage is a treaty on spiritual gifts in the church.

1 Corinthians 12 , Paul talks there about spiritual gifts, “I don’t want you to be ignorant about spiritual gifts, he says in 1 Cor 12:1. He then goes on to describe what spiritual gifts are.

And then in 1 Cor 13:1-3 he talks about spiritual gifts exercised without love. It all becomes empty and a noisy gong or a clanging symbol.

Then in chapter 14, he talks about the exercise of spiritual gifts with love. In chapter 14 you find that it’s all about encouraging people, building people up, and benefiting other people… which are all outward focused. 

And so when he wrote 1 Cor 12-14 the whole context is on spiritual gifts. This profound passage  on love, is not written to explain love, but to explain how the church of Jesus Christ is designed to function and to work.

Pastor Charles Price finishes his message on love in the church with a very powerful story about a church who didn’t just listen to the Word, but became doers of the Word. I just about bawled as I listened to this story and thought about what God could do in my home church, if people chose to live out these words. It was so powerful, I would like to finish this message with retelling that story, then ending with some application.

Pastor Juan Carlos Ortiz had gone to Buenos Aires to pastor a church of 300 people. After he arrived, the church began to grow very quickly and it soon became a thousand people.  Pastor Carlos became known as the pastor of the fastest-growing church in Buenos Aires, and he was delighted with the reputation that gave him.

One Sunday morning He had planned to preach a message on love. During the week he prepared his message and he came to the church that morning very confident of what he wanted to say. He sat up front during the time of worship and music and during that time he felt a very strong impulse that he should not preach his message. But he had nothing else to say.

When the time came for his sermon the worship leader said and “Now brother Juan Carlos will bring us this message,” Pastor Carlos went up to the front, opened his Bible and said “Brothers and sisters my text this morning is love one another.” Then he stopped Closed his Bible and he went back to his seat.

There was silence, and with the silence there was confusion. The worship leader leaned across and said are we supposed to sing another song? But he sat there quietly and after about two minutes, which is a long time when you don’t know what is happening He got up came back to the pulpit and he said “Brothers and sisters my text this morning is love one another.” Then, he went back to his seat. After a couple of minutes of silence again He got up a third time came to the pulpit said, “Brothers and sisters my text this morning is love one another.”

After the third time, during the silence, somebody sitting somewhere in the congregation turn to a person next to them and said excuse me, I don’t know you. Is there any way I can love you.

Somebody else turned to somebody else somewhere else in congregation and said, “Excuse me, Is there something I could do for you? In a few minutes the whole church was alive with people talking to each other.

• There were 28 people in the church that morning who were unemployed every single one went home with a job.
• There were single mothers with children in the congregation that morning who were struggling alone and every one of them went home with a family committed To help them and share with him. To help take some of the burden with him.
• He listed other things as well.

That Sunday morning changed their church. As Pastor Carlos shared the story, he said, “If I would have preached my message on love people would have come to me shook my hand, and said brother Pastor Ortiz that was that was a good message. I really enjoyed that. I especially liked the differences you explained between the different kinds of love. They would have said all that, but 28 people would have gone home unemployed, and to be utterly honest, he said most of the church couldn’t have cared less. But something happened that day.

The next Sunday when he got up for the message, he said, “Brothers and sisters my text this morning is The same as last week love one another.” And again, he went and sat down. People said well, who can I help this week? He didn’t have any liberty to preach for three months. He just said here’s my text, love one another, go to it.

He said 300 people left the church They said we don’t employ you to stand up and say love one another. We want you to teach us the word. But for those who stayed, those who really didn’t want just to know the word they wanted to obey the word and they were discovering that it was obeyable if There is such a word as that, their lives their relationships began to change.

After three months he got up and said, “Brothers and sisters the Lord has given me a new text this morning.” And they broke out in applause. He said, ”My text this morning is love your neighbor as yourself .” And he stopped and there was a silence. He went back to his seat again. Somebody got up and headed to the door. Somebody else got up and began to go to the door. Before long in ten minutes, the whole church was empty. The parking lot was empty. There was a line of people at the bus stop and They went home. They went next door knocked on the door and said excuse me, I’m a Christian Is there anything I can do for you?

It was the worst time to do this because it was just before Christmas. He said my wife and I and our two daughters Had presents that we bought for each other to give them at Christmas and we discovered need in our street that we had no idea about and we took our unopened Christmas presents and we gave them away to other people.

He said, “If that first Sunday and the three months after that changed our church, this changed our community.” This is what began to happen. We had tried to reach our community in all kinds of ways. We had all kinds of methods We adopted all kinds of programs and some of them worked Okay, many of them didn’t work at all. But what began to happen was the telephone began to ring at the church and people began to say “Is that the church that helps people?

• My son is on drugs
• my daughter is pregnant and Unmarried
• my wife has been diagnosed with cancer this week Could you come and help?

Instead of trying to figure out a program to reach the community, which they had tried and failed so many times, the community was coming to them and asking “Would you help us?”

I’m not sure what you would think if Bill stood up for 3 months straight and only said, “Love one another.” I’m not saying we should try it. That was a divine moment in that church at that particular time. But I do want to ask you the question, “What did you come here this morning expecting?

• Were you coming to get your own needs met? Focused inward? Or did you come here this morning to minister to somebody? (outward)
• Did you come because this is the thing to do on Sunday, and your friends would be here, and you knew you would enjoy being with them? That’s why we join a club. or, Did you come to bless somebody?

And when this service is over in a few minutes, what are you going to do? The ones you visit with, will you be bold enough that if they tell you something’s wrong, will you say to them, “Can I help you?” Because they might just say yes.

When a church begins to live not just in 1st Corinthians 12 (one body with many parts caring for and ministering to each other) But in 1st Corinthians 13 where the life and character of God begins to flow from us into the community because God is love, that’s a church that is alive! That’s believers truly living… living in alignment with what God is doing, living by the power of God through them to others.

I want to ask you this morning Is this the kind of reputation we want? You want? or do we want to be a safe? easy? Be as comfortable as we can? Do you take God’s Word seriously?

His spirit and His life, the life of Jesus indwelling us by the Holy Spirit is totally committed to loving through you and through me.

• If this isn’t the kind of Christian we want to be,
• if this isn’t the kind of church we want to be
• If we don’t recognize this is the kind of Christian we need to be
• and recognize we are instructed to be
• and recognize we have the resources to be,

Then, we’re better off just shutting up shop and closing the doors.

Because if you have the tongues of men and of angels if you engage in all kinds of activities other people applaud from a distance but you do not have love and You’re not kind and patient Long suffering and trusting and all the other qualities that are there then you’re just a noise. And all the neighbors ever think of us is they are a nice religious club that has a nice property and a nice school.

I know my church needs this message. But what about us, here on this center? e2? RVA students? Community members? What is God saying to you this morning?

What do we want to be known for? Do we want people to say of us, “Here are people Who actually care” and I’m preaching to myself. This is how the church made up of individuals is going to function if we’re going to please God

Are you dead or alive this morning?

• Are you focused on your own needs, and come to church seeking to have those met? or are you asking God how you can minister and bless people when you come to church?
• Is your Christian life organic? Do you look for ways to invite people to call on the name of God in your workplace, in your home, at school, when you are on the road, or on the bus. Is your constant prayer, “Lord, what is it you want to do in me and through me?
• Is the fruit from your life a result of God Himself working through you, using your hands and feet to do HIS work, or simply the work you do for God?

How is the love of God flowing through you today?

Title: Dead or Alive

1. Dead or Alive, how to tell. (Rev 3:1-3)
   1. inward focus instead of outward
   2. Becoming an Organization vs Organism
   3. Doing things without God instead of with God
2. Alive with Love. the most important characteristic (1 Cor 13)

Application: How is the love of God flowing through you today?

Well, let’s pray together

• my home church
• Outward focused… here in our fellowship… but in our homes, at work, at school
• that our lives would be an organism, a living instrument for God to use.
• That we would put aside anything we are doing that is without God, and that we would be available for God Himself to do His work through us.

Lord would you work in such a way that fullness of the Holy Spirit in our lives, will express itself in love and kindness and Goodness and gentleness Lord write this into our hearts as only the Holy Spirit can. This is the purpose for every Christian. We don’t resolve to do this for you. We can never do that. We simply humbly submit ourselves, that you in us might express this love which is your character through us as we trust you as we love you and as we obey you We ask it in Jesus name.