Post by Admin on Oct 25, 2018 5:51:59 GMT
Tonight’s discussion opened with the question: what words would you use to describe someone who is “dead inside?” We mentioned numbness, lack of joy or hope, not caring about anything, just putting one foot in front of the other – then we applied those descriptive words to a congregation and considered whether as a group we can become joyless, going through motions, apathetic, which is how Jesus seemed to find the congregation at Sardis.
Jesus saw the deeds of Sardis, and though they may have been attractive and in line with Christian standards, we might say, Jesus saw right through the surface loveliness to deadness inside. Ouch. We talked about the promise of victory to those who “wear white” and that only the salvation of Christ can clean us – leading to the truth that the “wearing white” is an internal condition, not an external perfection which would only be faked since it is impossible to achieve. An interesting concept was suggested about how we help one another within the congregation when one of us might feel less enthusiastic, following a routine, and another “wearing white” (that is, sharing energy and joy) ignites the spark of excitement in the first one.
As with His instructions to other congregations, Jesus here challenges the congregation at Sardis to wake up, evaluate, and repent. He wants us to stop, look, and listen in modern parlance, to test what we are doing and why we are doing it against the teaching of Christ that we know. Where we see a lack of passion or joy, we need to examine our condition and honestly consider what course corrections we should make. Jesus writes to us not to put us down for weaknesses, instead to raise up our strengths.
Jesus saw the deeds of Sardis, and though they may have been attractive and in line with Christian standards, we might say, Jesus saw right through the surface loveliness to deadness inside. Ouch. We talked about the promise of victory to those who “wear white” and that only the salvation of Christ can clean us – leading to the truth that the “wearing white” is an internal condition, not an external perfection which would only be faked since it is impossible to achieve. An interesting concept was suggested about how we help one another within the congregation when one of us might feel less enthusiastic, following a routine, and another “wearing white” (that is, sharing energy and joy) ignites the spark of excitement in the first one.
As with His instructions to other congregations, Jesus here challenges the congregation at Sardis to wake up, evaluate, and repent. He wants us to stop, look, and listen in modern parlance, to test what we are doing and why we are doing it against the teaching of Christ that we know. Where we see a lack of passion or joy, we need to examine our condition and honestly consider what course corrections we should make. Jesus writes to us not to put us down for weaknesses, instead to raise up our strengths.