Look at that picture carefully. What do you see? What was once a hustling, bustling mall is now an abandoned, lonely, dead complex. The escalator no longer functions. The foliage is dead. The stores are all gone. And, most importantly, no shoppers will ever frequent this mall again. Its only function now is to be a place to explore and think about what was.
Abandoned, forsaken, deserted, discarded, left, or shelved. All of these words describe the act of leaving behind something that we once held dear. A place that once teemed with people is replaced with newer places and the old is discarded. Why? Why did this mall close? Why did people stop coming. Why did it happen that on a day years ago the doors were closed for the last time?
The same questions can be asked of so many places like amusement parks, malls, office buildings, entire cities and homes. We have terms for them; ghost towns, haunted houses, relics of the past, and urban decay. No easy answer exists that could cover all of these situations. But, in the end, they are all the same. They are left to deteriorate until they final collapse under the weight of neglect.
Can this happen to a church? Can churches become a “relic of the past”? Can a church that once was full of life and worship be closed and left to rot? They sure can. Without properly guarding the body, a church can be filled with cancer and die out.
I’m sure you know the word “zombie.” It is a mythical figure that though it is dead it seems to be alive. Obviously no zombies actually exist, right? Well, Jesus said some interesting things to the Church in Sardis. Revelation 3:1-6 describes for us this church that Jesus said looks alive but is actually dead. We could call it the “Zombie Baptist Church.” They are signs of life like activities and gatherings. But, though an appearance of life is seen. it is actually DEAD. What a sad account.
Sunday we will conclude our look at the Church of Ephesus. We will center our thoughts on the conclusion of the matter. I would love for you to be here to study this final lesson with us. We will learn some lessons that we may never be described by the words spoken to the Church in Sardis.
One thing we can be assured of is that if we are not on guard to the threats to our existence, we as First Baptist Church will simply suffer the fate of the Church of Ephesus, and Sardis. Oh may it never be said of us that we the “walking dead.”
Leaving an impact, everyone does it. Everyone we meet laves an impact on us, and everyone we meet we leave an impact on. Sometimes it is a good thing, while other times it’s a negative thing. But, good or bad we leave an impact.
Notice how a small drop into water leaves its impact. Ripples spread out from where it hits so anyone can tell the water’s surface was disturbed. Yet, it only a few moments that affect is gone. The fact that the drop impacted the water will soon be forgotten.
I remember hearing a speaker share a good illustration of making an impact. He said, if you want to see how much impact we often make, put your hand in a bucket of water and begin swirling it around. After you have created quite a disturbance, remove your hand. For awhile the affects of your swirling will remain. Yet, after not so long a time, the water returns to same placid state in which you found it! So much for lasting impact.
Yet, on the other hand, let’s think of a different type of impact. Have you ever been visiting a tourist spot and seen a machine that will stamp a penny with an image of the place? I have. For fifty cents and one penny I can make an object, impacted or imprinted, with the image and keep it for all time. The old image is overlaid by the new one. Though it’s still just a copper coin, the face of Lincoln is gone for the picture of the attraction. No longer is it “spendable.” Rather, it now bears the impact and image of a new stamp. This permanent impact and change is the kind of impact we should seek to leave on people around us.
Whose life are you leaving a lasting impact for the Lord? Are you intentionally attempting to leave this kind of impact on others? Each of us are to be engaged in impact ministries.
“Trouble was my middle name,” so sangTennesseeErnie Ford in the song “16 Tons.” “We’ve got trouble, right here in River City,” so sang Robert Preston in “The Music Man.” And, Eliphaz says in the Book of Job, “Yet man is born to trouble, as sparks fly upward.” It seems trouble is everywhere, affects everyone, and touches everything! I guess we just can not escape trouble in this world. Trouble, stress, difficulties, problems and heartaches are all normal for each one of us. During our life time we will all pass through problems.
As we l I’ve our life since we cannot escape trouble, the question then becomes, “How am I going to respond to trouble?” Recently the Giants were playing a baseball game in Chicago when the heavens opened up and dumped a deluge of rain for about 15 minutes. When it began to rain the grounds crew attempted to cover the field with a tarp. But, due to improperly storing it the last time it had been used, the field didn’t get covered properly. In those short 15 minutes the field became unplayable. Simply because no shield was found to protect the field, the game was eventually suspended. Without the proper protection the game couldn’t go on. Was it the rain’s fault? Or, rather, was it the fault of the lack of a tarp covering the field? I would opt for the second suggestion!
You see, it isn’t the trouble that causes us to suffer as much as our lack of properly handling the trouble. Getting in out of the rain, or finding a safe place to hide from an enemy or getting into the shade to protect us from the sun are all necessary steps to keep us from further trouble. Have you ever done something so dumb you lived with the consequences? When your car broke down on the side of the road, did you just want to get out and kick it? Would that have helped? Certainly not. But, more often than not that is our first reaction. But, if we kicked the car, we might just be in bigger trouble with a broken foot!
The Psalmist says that man has trouble. (Psalm 46:1) He says that we will all experience tight places and feel like the walls are caving in around us. We will feel like there is no escape. At that point we will be in danger of giving up hope and giving in to the trouble. But, the Psalmist points us to the One Who can help. He says “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” We can escape to the loving arms of our Heavenly Father. In our weakness He will lift us up. He will give us strength for the day. Notice the word, “very.” Not only is our Lord with us, He is “very present” with us. His grace, mercy, peace and strength are given in abundance. We never need to wonder where we can find the way of escape.
Are you living in trouble today? Does it feel like the walls are caving in? Do you feel like you can not see any way out? Is the storm raging and you feel like you have no where to go? Run to Jesus! He will be your shelter, shade and protection.
Who sits through the movie credits at the end of the movie? I mean, when it says, "The End," isn't it THE END! Who cares to watch a bunch of names scrolling down the screen, or up, that you don't know. The only motivation to watch is if you happen to know someone whose name will appear. But, otherwise we switch off the movie when the names appear.
It's kinda like that with Paul's Epistles. At the end of most of his letters he begins either a short or long list of people he wants to mention. Because these names are, 1) hard to pronounce, 2) unknown to us, and 3) after the end, we have a tendency to just skip over these names. Why? Because they're like movie credits just rolling on the screen.
In approximately 1758 a young 23 year old pastor penned the words to a hymn that is a favorite of many. He grew up from age eight without a dad because he passed away. His mother couldn’t control his rebellion and so sent him off to live in England. During this time he came to attend an evangelistic meeting being led by the famous evangelist George Whitfield. He went, by his own testimony, to disrupt the service and mock the preacher. But, the Lord had other plans. It would be another two yeas later, but he came to trust Christ as his Saviour and was called into the ministry.
As he prepared for his weekly message he composed the lyrics to the hymn, “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing.” One word in that hymn always perplexed me. We would all sing, “Here I raise mine ebenezer…” Each time I sang it I wondered, “What am I raising?” So, I looked it up and found it is a word that means a “sign of victory.” And, as I studied I found that it comes directly from 1 Samuel 7:12. After a great victory over their arch rivals, the Philistines, Samuel led the people in a celebration. During this celebration Samuel set up a stone as that sign of victory and called it Ebenezer.
Now, for generations to come, each and every time someone passed that stone it was to be a mute reminder of the victory God had given. It was to be a place parents and grandparents could repeat a wonderful account of God’s protection. This stone was one of many “piles of rocks” scattered throughout the land of Israel for the same purpose. If used properly no generation could live that wouldn’t be reminded of the the Lord’s great power.
But, like so many of us, not 20 years later, the people had apparently forgotten that it was God who granted victories. They had failed to remember that it was their confidence in El Shaddai that brought defeat to their enemies. For, in due time, the people rejected Samuel’s leadership, and God’s kingship, by asking for a human king. In their words, they just wanted to be like everyone else. Though they likely passed by this pile of rocks often, the significance had faded away.
What about you? What about me? What about us? Where are our ebenezers? Are they forgotten? Have they been relegated to a back seat, never to be remembered? Or, do we look upon them as we should, as a reminder to us of God’s great power and our dependence upon him.
The next time you sing, “Here I raise my ebenezer,” remember what it means. And, look to your own signs of victories and rejoice in what God has done.
I think I know a group of over 40 workers who are probably saying, “TGIF!” It is a group of people who were up early each day and worked hard each day. It was a HOT week, and all of the classes didn’t have air conditioning. The craft people only had some fans blowing. But, they came each day to have a ministry to all those who came. Of course, the workers I’m referring to are our VBS workers. YEAH!
Now that the work is over, Friday has come, I’m sure each one will get a good night of rest. They can reflect on the week and see how much the Lord blessed their efforts. Without them we could have never had such a great week.
Our totals are amazing; high of 122 students on Monday, low of 118 on Tuesday. We had students who prayed to trust the Lord as their Saviour. We averaged 11 adults in a class designed for them. Our music was great and the drama was tremendous. And, we were raising funds for believers to receive their first Bible and we exceeded our goal.
Yet, even though Friday is here, as the popular statement goes, “It’s Friday, but Sunday’s coming.” My question to you is, are you getting ready for Sunday? Since it is the first Sunday of the month we will have our communion service. Be preparing your heart for this special time of directed worship.
Remember, Friday is NOT the most important day on the week, rather, it’s Sunday.
