The Spiritual Decline of Sardis
The church in Sardis was carried away by pleasures and the wealth of the city and they sold their birthright. They became spiritually dead and broke the heart of Christ.
‘And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead’ (Revelation 3:1).
‘And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others’ (Ephesians 2:1-3).
The Carnality of Sardis’ Leaders
The prince of Sardis, the worldly spirit that ruled the land worked through the leaders and promoted disobedience. They indulged in all manner of lusts to fulfill their fleshly desires among themselves without a check. Their name was removed from the book of life. God withdrew from them, they became an outcast, traitor, captive, God rejected them and they became spiritually dead. Many churches around us are spiritually dead. They base their progress only on their numerical strength and the size of their church building, which is partially right. Unfortunately, God look first at the spiritual life of the ministers and the members, not the size of the congregation only. You can do everything possible to gather cloud but if you cannot feed them spiritually, you are overseeing a dead church and a sinful congregation.
There are pastors who can break any standing law of God, bribe people that matters to pastor big branch in the city. Some general overseers, church founders and leaders enter into cult, witchcraft group and covenant with the devil to get big crowd. But they do not have the grace to preach or teach God’s word with power that can produce right result. Such pastors cannot produce mature ministry, good leaders and holy ministers. They have the grammar and can quote many bible passages but they will never produce God-fearing leaders. All the pastors under them will be fake, the children of the devil. Some overseer’s mission and purpose of ministry may be just to make name, gather crowd, and compete with other great ministers in the land. Because of this mind, they may make one simple mistake and enter into the pathway of death. Because of that wrong motive, they will not have the patient to wait for God or train ministers. They do not have the fruit of the spirit, though they have the anointing. Anointing without the fruit of the spirit may help you to gather cloud but you will not be patient to train ministers. You will be forced to use any available minister who has no foundation like you.
Others are not called to oversee a church but because of pride, inexperience, anointing and praise of men, they will open up a church. People like them will gather around them and make them their leader. He will start a church without experience, training and trained ministers. Such minister will manage a dead church, sinful congregation and carnal ministers. If you have a prayer ministry, praise ministry or deliverance ministry without ministers who can preach and teach, you will produce a dead church.
Beating drums, singing, clapping, jumping under fire prayers, shaking and dancing are not a sign of fire in the church. It is only true teaching that new babies can be born into God’s family, not prayer or deliverance. After preaching also, those who are born again will grow and mature through the teaching ministry. New people, born again babies can mature from milk to strong meat. The next is disciplining, which is more than teaching. The great strength of any church is its Christian community life, where all learn from one another. The new convert draw strength from the life of the matured ones and grow to maturity, together under ministers who bears the fruit of the Spirit. It is through this growth to maturity that prayer can work and deliverance produced true deliverance. The problem with many ministries who gather cloud today is lack of preaching ministers, teaching ministers and the absence of the fruits of the Holy Spirit.
The Consequences of Spiritual Deadness
Jumping into prayer and deliverance without preaching, teaching and discipleship will produce sinning and unrighteous congregation. That was the problem of the church in Sardis.
‘And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses’ (Colossians 2:13).
‘But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth’ (1 Timothy 5:6).
An unbroken minister, uncircumcised in the heart will not help a newborn baby in Christ to mature. He cannot give what he does not have. The ministers in Sardis were uncircumcised, carnal, living unforgiving spirits life. The members copied the same lifestyle and the church became a dead congregation. Their pastors were living in pleasure, so the members copied the same way of life and they became a sinful dead church.
‘Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light’ (Ephesians 5:14).
‘It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found’ (Luke 15:32).
They lack preaching ministers, teaching leaders to awake them from sleep in sin or show them light. All the members were at the same level with their pastors. They were in darkness and none have light to lead others out of darkness. They were all dead and lost, so none had the ministry of seeking the lost to found the lost. That is why they were called dead church, they were dead in sin.
‘The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding shall remain in the congregation of the dead’ (Proverbs 21:16).
A church that lack godly preachers, teachers, and discipleship ministers will oppress their members. An oppressing minister will produce members who are wicked, selfish and poor spiritually, though they may be rich physically. And because they were deceived to believe that they were making progress. The average church members in Sardis were very rich financially and materially and as a result, they have self-confidence.