When you want to make your choice of a church, Jeremiah 3:15 must be your guide rail.
True to his words, the church of Christ is now back to the days of the early Apostles where there was so much implacable hatred and disdain for truth and those who stand for it. It is these enemies of the truth that have now ganged up, covertly or publicly, to attack the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Many of these agents of the devil are audaciously pastoring dead churches, that however have so many religious activities, but which, according to the Biblical standard of church operations, are actually dead.
At no other time since the resurrection and ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ has the world been confronted by the rising spate of "reputable" but "dead churches," like today. It is a major pandemic of global proportion. This message is so important to your life and to my life because of the strategic impact of the local church or ministry we belong to on every aspect of our lives. Your choice of church will impact your marriage. Your choice of church will impact your finances. Your choice of church will impact your mindset and worldview. It will impact your understanding and application of scriptures. Above all, it could determine where you will spend your eternity. Jesus once said, "when the blind lead the blind, both of them will fall into a ditch" (Matthew 15:14). In other words, you will likely end in the same place the leader you are following will end. There is no simpler way of saying this.
"And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, 'These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: "I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead." (Revelations 3:1)
First and foremost, we have a biblical injunction to fellowship with one another; Church attendance is not out of fashion. Church attendance is not a religious dogma. It is an instruction from the heart of God. You cannot grow in an environment of isolation. Isolation will kill you in these last and evil days. I do not need a church is the road to apostasy. See the strategic instructions to you and me about the value in a community of fellowship.
"And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers." (Acts 2:42).
See the words, "they continued steadfastly." Your ability to develop the capacity for steadfastness is greatly enhanced in the community of other believers. Satan understands this principle so much, which explains why he uses the weapon of isolation to weaken the church. Not even in the world of the occult do they patronise the concept of isolation. Their togetherness is called a "brotherhood," which they nurture and guide so jealously.
"Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common" (Acts 2:44). See the word again, "together."
An American preacher who came to a conclusion that his church was dead decided to announce this to his congregants. To make it more memorable, he decided to announce the death of his church in the most dramatic way. He stood up on the podium, grabbed the microphone, and said to the church after the end of the service, "someone has just died. We are having the funeral service this evening. Please invite everyone to the evening service."
"Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching." (Hebrews 10:25).
Friends, please understand that we are contending with a post-Christian culture - one whose values are antithetical to Biblical teachings. God's servant, John J. Murray, former pastor of the free church of Scotland, once said and I quote:
"We are now back to the days of the early Apostles. The Roman empire under which many Christians were martyred was pluralistic and supremely tolerant of religion. The only people they could not tolerate were the Christians."
True to his words, the church of Christ is now back to the days of the early Apostles where there was so much implacable hatred and disdain for truth and those who stand for it. It is these enemies of the truth that have now ganged up, covertly or publicly, to attack the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Many of these agents of the devil are audaciously pastoring dead churches, that however have so many religious activities, but which, according to the Biblical standard of church operations, are actually dead.
An American preacher who came to a conclusion that his church was dead decided to announce this to his congregants. To make it more memorable, he decided to announce the death of his church in the most dramatic way. He stood up on the podium, grabbed the microphone, and said to the church after the end of the service, "someone has just died. We are having the funeral service this evening. Please invite everyone to the evening service." The members were stunned. Who died, many of them asked? Surprisingly, the evening service was packed to the brim.
We are in the last days. In the days of the Apostles, they also contended with various shades of churches. Revelations chapters 2 and 3 describe many of these churches in their true forms. One of these churches was called "dead" by the Lord Jesus Himself. Jesus said that although this particular church had a good reputation, but in reality it was dead. This was the church in Sardis.
This preacher, who was called, "eccentric" by Dr David Jeremiah, actually engaged pall bearers to move a coffin to the church during the evening service. They placed the coffin at the front of the alter, after which the pastor told each member to file out to see the person who had just died. As each member filed out to look into the coffin, they were looking at their faces, as the pastor had actually placed a large mirror at the bottom of the coffin. The message was clear, the dead person was the church -- all its members.
We are in the last days. In the days of the Apostles, they also contended with various shades of churches. Revelations chapters 2 and 3 describe many of these churches in their true forms. One of these churches was called "dead" by the Lord Jesus Himself. Jesus said that although this particular church had a good reputation, but in reality it was dead. This was the church in Sardis.
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When God says that something is dead, it means that it is dead, its physical state notwithstanding. We are not just talking about physical death here, but also about spiritual death or other kinds of death. People die physically, spiritually, relationally, financially, and even intellectually. But the worst of them is the spiritual type. God told Adam in Genesis 2:17, "the day you eat of the tree I told you not to eat from, you will die." For Adam, it was a spiritual death, total and complete annihilation from God. For Abimelech, God told him, "You are a dead man" (Genesis 20:3), which for him would have meant physical death. So, God's definition of death transcends physical death alone, it also involves spiritual death, which is the worst form of death.
Something that quickly jumps out of what Jesus said to John in Revelations 3:1 is the fact that this church, according to the Lord Jesus, had a "good reputation." In other words, the church in Sardis was a reputable church from the outside and in the eyes of the world. It is instructive to critically review what makes a church reputable from a human standpoint. From a Biblical standpoint, the choice of a church is not made arbitrarily, but by the leading of the Holy Spirit. God is the giver of shepherds or pastors. When you want to make your choice of a church, Jeremiah 3:15 must be your guide rail.
Ayo Akerele is the senior pastor of Rhema Assembly and the founder of the Voice of the Watchmen Ministries in Ontario, Canada. He can be reached through ayoakerele2012@gmail.com
