Jesus' Expectations for His Church

Series: The Church Restored

Sermon:  Jesus’ Expectations for His Church

Scripture: Revelation 2 - 3

One of the traditions that surround the changing of the calendar is when people take time for some self-evaluation, to see where there is a need for life-improvement changes. Most of us are not so proud, nor so naïve to believe that we don’t need to make some improvements in our lives. We know we’re not perfect, and we know that God is still working on us. We are, indeed, a work in progress.

As Christians we need to bring God into our evaluation process. In Psalm 139 David prayed to the Lord: “O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.  Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD.” Then David makes a dangerous request of God. He asks, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” (Psa. 139:24).

How many of us would be willing to make that same request of the Lord? What if the Lord didn’t give us a choice? What if He did the evaluation for us whether we wanted it or not? Occasionally our supervisors will call us into their office for a job evaluation. Most of us find those meetings to be difficult at best. Thankfully, the Lord is not anything like our bosses. He is not motivated by pride, or swayed by politics, or blinded by prejudice. The Lord’s evaluations are always totally and completely accurate and honest.

Over the past several months our shepherds have been doing an evaluation of our church. They’ve been taking a long, hard look at where we are and considering where we need to be. During this month you will have an opportunity to hear from each one of them. They will share with you a part of the vision for CCC, and also share with you from their heart.

As our shepherds were going through this evaluation process it got me to thinking (which isn’t always a good thing), What if God were to evaluate our church? What would we look like from His perspective? One thought led to another and it occurred to me that Jesus did an evaluation of 7 churches in the book of Revelation. He honestly and accurately shared with them their weaknesses and strengths, and what they needed to do to become churches of great power.

This morning we’re just going to get an overview of these 7 letters and make some discoveries that will help us gain some perspective on what Jesus is looking for in those churches who wear His name.

1.     Jesus expects the church to walk in power. John penned these letters around 95 AD. That means around 60 years after Jesus had left the earth the churches had already begun to fall into unspiritual practices. They had lost their spiritual power. To one church he says, “You have lost your first love.” To another he says, “You have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up!” To yet another he says, “you are neither cold nor hot. So, because you are lukewarm I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” He warns them about the false teachers they’re tolerating, He warns them about the sexual immorality that is present in their churches. He warns them about the indifference and apathy that has become the prevailing attitude. He warns them about pride and favoritism.
It’s easy to see that in such a short amount of time the church had fallen into disrepair and had lost its spiritual power. But Jesus gave them hope.

2.     Jesus expects the church to repent. Jesus offered a remedy for the problems that he saw within the churches. The remedy can be summarized in one word: repent. What does repent mean? To change your direction. To 5 of the 7 churches Jesus appealed to them to repent. And along with His appeal there was a warning: if you don’t repent there will be serious consequences. To one church he said their candlestick would be removed if they didn’t repent, signifying the death of that church. To another he said he would come and fight against them. To yet another he said if they didn’t repent he would come like a thief in the night.
Jesus reveals his heart to the church at Laodicea when he tells them, “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent.” The church cannot reclaim lost ground unless it is first willing to admit its failures and repent.

3.     Jesus expects the church to rely on His power and not their own. One of the messages that comes through loud and clear is that those churches who are the weakest are those who rely on their own power and not on Jesus’ power. This is most clearly expressed in his letter to the church at Laodicea, where he says to them, “You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.”
The Apostle Paul put it best when he wrote, “I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.” (2 Cor. 12:9).

4.     Jesus expects the church to measure the power of her ministry with His measuring rod. Jesus measured the seven churches differently than the measured themselves. To the church that was poor Jesus said “You are rich.” To the church who thought they were rich, Jesus said you are poor. To the church that had a reputation for being alive Jesus said they were dead. To the church that was living in dangerous times Jesus said that he would keep them from the hour of trial.
It is too easy for us to use the standard of measurements that the world has established. If we measure our ministry by outward appearances we are of all men most to be pitied. If we measure ministry by the things that can be seen then we are not serving for the right purpose.
Willow Creek church in Chicago, one of America’s megachurches, did a self-evaluation survey of the effectiveness of their church among their members. Willow Creek’s philosophy of ministry is strategically program-centered. One of their ministers described their philosophy of ministry like this: “We believe the more people participating in … activities, with higher levels of frequency, will produce disciples of Christ.” They were shocked when their survey revealed that, “increasing levels of participation in … activities does NOT predict whether someone’s becoming more of a disciple of Christ. It does NOT predict whether they love God more or they love people more.”
The true measurement of a church’s effectiveness and spiritual power does not come from anything that can be measured with the naked eye. The true measurement of a church’s effectiveness and power is seen in a transformed life. (Please stand)

5.     Jesus expects the church to be overcomers. At the end of each of the 7 letters Jesus gives a promise. “To him who overcomes I will give…” and then he speaks personally to each church. Jesus expects His church to walk through this life with the power of an overcomer. He expects us to walk in victory, not defeat. Here are some truths we need to accept: a) Those who are never challenged can never be overcomers. b) Those who rely on their own power will never be overcomers. c) Those who walk in the flesh and not in the Spirit will never be overcomers.