Wake Up Call: Spiritual Apathy – Rev 3:1-6

SPEAKER 04 : 0:00

Have you gotten a little lost in the shuffle? I had a guy come to me this week. He’s a pastor in kind of that academic mode. You know, he’s heavy duty in his questions and his thinking. And I like that kind of stuff for a while. But he’s lost his joy. And he’s troubled about a number of things that are just, you know, they’re not essentials and they’re not biggies. They’re just little things. And I kind of identify with that. Sometimes when I have a little struggle with some little minor problem, I’ve got to go after it. I’ve got to figure it out. And he’s kind of in that area. But he’s lost something. He’s lost the basics. He’s lost the joy of what we have built our faith on. Folks, you can get away from it. You can get so deep in the well you forgot where you were.

SPEAKER 1 : 0:59

If you had one chance to hear directly from Jesus, would you expect a rebuke?

SPEAKER 02 : 1:18

This is Hope for Today with Bible teacher David Hawking. And today we continue our study in Revelation chapter 3, where the risen Lord addresses a church that looked spiritually alive, but was actually flatlined. He sees through the image, He exposes the apathy, and He gives a final wake-up call to those who still have ears to hear. We’re in Revelation chapter 3, verses 1 through 6. As David continues this message, spiritual apathy in just a moment. First, I want to tell you about a powerful book by David called Whatever Happened to Morality. This is a no-nonsense look at the moral collapse all around us and what God’s Word has to say about it, including the hope for believers. This month, Whatever Happened to Morality is our gift to you for your most generous donation of $20 or more. And we’ll tell you more about it at the end of today’s broadcast. To make a donation right now, you can go online to davidhawking.org, davidhawking.org, or call us at 1-800-75-BIBLE in the U.S. or 1-888-75-BIBLE in Canada. And Bible is 24253. And I’ll have our mailing address later in the program. Right now, though, here’s David.

SPEAKER 04 : 2:44

Let’s come to verse 2 and 3. The second thing I draw to your attention is the challenge of Jesus Christ to this church. And I want you to see six things here. Six things comprise the challenge. And if our Lord was here, would he challenge you and me the same way? Number one, recognize the dangers facing you. Recognize the dangers facing you. Verse 2 starts out, be watchful. Be watchful. Gregorouo, kind of a funny word in Greek, but it’s used frequently in the New Testament, and I’d like you to see some of its usages, about 23 times, but we’re not going to look at all 23. Just some examples. Turn to Matthew 26. What did he mean when he commanded this church, challenged this church, and said, be watchful? Are there some Christians that are Just kind of apathetic right now. Just a little complacent. Just a little indifferent. What would the Lord Jesus say to us? First, be watchful. Matthew 26, 41. Jesus said this to his disciples that night he was in the garden. Watch. Same word. Be watchful and pray. that you enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak or helpless. According to the Bible, there are dangers. There are temptations. There are traps. There are snares, strategies of the enemy trying to wipe us out. He says, watch. Be on the alert. The enemy is after you. He’s like a roaring lion. Be on guard. Turn to Colossians chapter 4, verse 2. Colossians chapter 4. It’s a very familiar word in the New Testament, used in a lot of favorite passages of Christians. In Colossians 4 too, it’s in the context of prayer again, like Matthew 26, verse 41. Here it says, “…continue in prayer and watch in the same with thanksgiving.” praying also for us that God would open unto us a door of utterance to speak the mystery of Christ, for which also I am in bonds. Hey, there’s some opposition here. I’m in jail. I want to speak boldly. I need you to pray for me. Watch. And do it with thanksgiving, thanking the Lord. He knows what he’s doing. But watch. Do we really recognize the dangers that are facing us? Turn to 1 Thessalonians. Just one book over. Look at chapter 5. And verse 6, after telling us about the coming day of the Lord and the judgment of God, after speaking of the rapture at the end of chapter 4, now we read in verse 6, Therefore let us, we who are believers, not sleep as do others, but let us watch, there’s our word again, and be sober-minded. One more, 1 Peter 5.8. There probably is no verse in the New Testament that so clearly brings out the importance of watching as 1 Peter 5.8. And that’s why we say his first challenge is to recognize the dangers facing you. Be alert to them. Don’t go to sleep. 1 Peter 5, verse 8. Be sober, be vigilant. That’s our word watch again. Same one in Revelation 3. Because your adversary the devil, like a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour, whom resist, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. Be sober. Be sober-minded means to be serious-minded. Be serious, serious of mind. When you talk about what’s happening, hey, people’s lives are getting blown away, folks. What’s the answer to people that are going to sleep spiritually? Spiritual apathy. They have a reputation, but they’re not on fire for God anymore. They don’t have the touch of the Master in their midst. What should they do? God says, be watchful, watch out. The enemy is seeking whom he may devour. Be very careful. Number two, back to Revelation chapter 3, verse 2. The second thing that he says is to strengthen the things which remain. I call it rebuild on the things that are important. What’s the challenge of Christ to the church or the individual? Recognize the dangers facing you, and secondly, rebuild on the things that are important. Strengthen the things which remain that are ready to die. The Greek word used 14 times in the New Testament is a word that you use in English. Sterizo. Sound familiar? Steroids. Strengthen the things which remain that are ready to die. Turn to Luke 22, please. Luke chapter 22. And look at verse 32. Luke 22, 32. Start at verse 31. You talk about a classic illustration of this. Here it is. Our Lord with Peter. Strengthen. Put some steroids into your spiritual life and walk with the Lord. And make sure they come from God. Verse 31, the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not. And when thou art converted, strengthen, put steroids into thy brethren. Yes, sometimes we are so weak, we think we can’t take another step spiritually. And we need to rebuild on the things that are really important. Strengthen the things that remain, that are ready to die. You’re losing the essentials. Go to 1 Thessalonians chapter 3. 1 Thessalonians chapter 3. This word is often translated established. We need to be established in the faith, established in the love of God. Go back to the basics. Go back to what’s really important and rebuild those things. Strengthen the things that remain. What are the basics? What are the essentials? Our Lord says the basics are ready to die. Strengthen it. Put steroids into your spiritual life. Go back to the basic issues. Simple issues of prayer and dependency on the Holy Spirit and needing the Word of God every day in your life. Go back to the basics. Some of us have gotten away. In 1 Thessalonians, in chapter 3, verse 2, the Apostle Paul uses the word establish. He said, he sent Timothy, our brother and minister of God and our fellow worker in the gospel of Christ, to establish you and to comfort you concerning your faith. Look at verse 13 in the same chapter. To the end he may establish, same word, your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints. Are you walking with the Lord? Are you established in the faith? Or have you got in Never Never Land theological explanations and thinking and you’re a long ways away from what really counts? It’s important to come back to the things that are really important. 2 Thessalonians, please, chapter 2, verse 16 and 17. Paul says, Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God, even our Father who hath loved us and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish establish you in every good word and work. And it’s the same word again. Over in 2 Thessalonians 3, what an important application. Verse 1, Finally, brethren, pray for us that the word of the Lord may have free course and be glorified, even as it is with you, and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men. For not all men have faith. But the Lord is faithful who shall establish you and keep you from evil or from the evil one. So now I understand the challenge of Jesus Christ. One, recognize the dangers you’re facing. Be watching your adversary, the devil. Secondly, rebuild on the things that are important. Strengthen them because they’re ready to die. Established, kept from the evil one. Let’s go back to Revelation again. The third thing that our Lord challenges the church is to remember what they have received and heard. Why do we need that admonition? Because, frankly, we forget. Remember. Renew your mind. Continue to remember what you have received and you’ve heard. And that’s so important, it’s easy to get away. Turn back to chapter 2, verse 5. To the church at Ephesus it said, “‘Remember, therefore, from where thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works.'” One of the first things that happened to the prodigal son that started his way back home was the Bible saying, “‘When he came to himself, and he remembered that the hired servants in his father’s house had bread enough to spare.'” I say to all of you, maybe your spiritual life is just sagging a little bit right now. Remember what you have received and heard. Remember that Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins. Amen? Remember that we have the most blessed book in all of history, the truth that will set us free. Remember what you have received and heard. It’s like a challenge to get back to the basics. Number four, the fourth thing in this challenge are the words hold fast. And I like to call it, recommit yourself to be loyal and faithful to God and His Word. Recommit yourself to be loyal and faithful to God and His Word. He says, hold fast. Look back at chapter 2, verse 13. to the church at Pergamos, he said, thou holdest fast my name. We talked about loyalty to the name of Jesus Christ, to the deity of Christ. Look at verse 25, the church at Thyatira. But that which ye have already, hold fast till I come. It’s a statement dealing with loyalty and commitment to the Lord. Are you holding fast? Have you recommitted yourself to be loyal and faithful to God and his word? Be not ashamed of the gospel. Turn back to 1 Timothy and look at chapter 6. 1 Timothy chapter 6, verse 20 and 21. Hold fast. Be faithful, be loyal to God and his word. 1 Timothy 6.20, O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings and oppositions of knowledge falsely so called, which some professing have erred concerning the faith. Grace be with you. Amen. Timothy, keep it. Hold it fast, that which was committed to your trust. God wants all of us to be stewards. He’s laid into our hands the treasure of the glory of Christ. In earthen vessels, hold fast, be loyal, be faithful to what God has given to you. Look at 2 Timothy chapter 1. 2 Timothy chapter 1, verse 13 and 14. Same words Paul says to Timothy in his last letter. “‘Hold fast the form of sound words which thou hast heard of me in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. That good thing which was committed unto thee, keep by the Holy Spirit who dwelleth in us.'” Hold fast, he says. Look at Titus chapter 3, just to the right of 2 Timothy. Titus chapter 3, verse 8 and 9. This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they who have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men, but avoid foolish questions and genealogies and contentions or arguments and strivings about the law, for they are unprofitable, and vain or empty. Verse 14, let ours also learn to maintain good works for necessary uses that they be not unfruitful. The message is the same, said different ways. Hold fast, be faithful, be loyal to God and his word. What do you say to somebody who’s just dragging spiritually? What do you say to somebody who’s lost his joy and lost his fire and lost the touch of God? What do you say to them? Jesus says, first, recognize the dangers facing you. Be watchful. Secondly, rebuild the things that are important. Strengthen the things that remain that are ready to die. And third, remember what you’ve received and heard. And fourth, recommit yourself to be loyal and faithful to God and his word. Number five, repent of your spiritual apathy and indifference. Repent. And he said it so many times in these messages to the church. You see, the word repentance is used so often in the Bible of people becoming Christians. If you’re out there right now listening to me and you’re not really sure of your own relationship to Christianity and to Jesus Christ and to God, you’re not really sure. My message to you is to repent. That was preached by Christ, by John the Baptist, by all the apostles. And repent means to change your mind about this gospel message and to change your conduct. This word is not simply, however, for an unbeliever who becomes a believer, but the word repentance is also used for the believers who are not walking with God. God says, repent. Repent. It means to change your mind. If you are thinking that sin can be tolerated, change your mind. Change your conduct. It assumes that we can do so as Christians. And some of us say, I can’t help myself. But God says you can. We can repent. Repentance is a decision of my mind and my will. I decide to change. Change your mind. How do I change my mind? By agreeing with what God says. rather than trusting what anyone else says, or trusting your own feelings. Repent. It’s the only message that Christ has for his church that’s walking away from him. Are you wandering away from the Lord? The message is repent. Change your mind. Decide. It’s a matter of the will. You’re going to think what God says, and you’re going to believe it, and you’re going to do it. Trusting the Lord himself to empower you to live for him. Simple and yet so hard. The sixth challenge is to realize the consequences you face if you don’t repent. Look at verse 3. I will come on thee as a thief. Boy, all the people in Sardis knew what that meant. That’s what happened to good King Croesus hundreds of years before, when Cyrus came as a thief in the night. That’s what happened under Antiochus the Great. That’s what happened under the Romans. And it became a watchword. Everybody who came to Sardis, it was like, put the sign on the highway. This is the place where they got caught. Someone came as a thief in the night. So the Lord says to the church, I will come on thee as a thief. Is he talking about the second coming here? No. No. No, he’s talking about coming and removing the influence of that believer. I will come on thee as a thief and thou shall not know what hour I’ll come upon thee. This is not a message of joy and excitement of seeing the Lord at the second coming. It’s a message of judgment and warning. Turn back to chapter 2. It’s the same thing as chapter 2, verse 5. He says, repent or else I will come unto thee quickly and will remove thy candlestick or lampstand out of its place except thou repent. You’re going to lose your testimony, lose your witness. I’m going to cut it off. I’m going to stop it. Repent. If you repent, there’s hope. If you don’t repent, there’s no hope. The Lord is going to come in judgment. Christians, if we judge ourselves, says 1 Corinthians 11, we would not be judged. But if you think it can keep going on and don’t repent, there’s going to be no hope. The hope comes when we decide, change your mind, change your conduct. Let’s do what God told us to do. Repent.

SPEAKER 02 : 20:04

That’s Bible teacher and author David Hawking, and this is Hope for Today. David will be back to close out our time in the Word in just a few moments. Right now, though, Matt’s here, and we’re going to tell you more about that book I mentioned at the start of today’s program. Matt?

SPEAKER 01 : 20:20

Western culture is working furiously to abandon democratic principles and moral values. We no longer seem capable of controlling ourselves in our pursuits of pleasure and material gain. The good life, Matt, the good life has brought corruption, greed, and self-destructive narcissism. You know, Jim, we talk of human rights, but care little for the innocent and plenty of talk, but little true compassion and care. The sanctity of life. Yeah.

SPEAKER 02 : 20:45

is sacrificed on the altar of convenience, career, and license. The rights and privacy of the individual seem more important than our responsibilities to one another and, Matt, our desire to work for the common good.

SPEAKER 01 : 20:58

Yeah, I mean, whatever happened to words like duty, altruism, responsibility, accountability, and concern for others? I mean, why do crime and violent acts flourish in our cities and our police departments seem helpless in their efforts to control the rampage? All right. Our news sources, Matt, today…

SPEAKER 02 : 21:14

Our news sources so often lack integrity, to say the least. Entertainment outlets glorify evil as good and good as evil.

SPEAKER 01 : 21:22

The most tragic of all, Jim, is that we’ve left God out of our public life. We’ve decided that the so-called political doctrine of separation of church and state means people of faith stay out of government. But government can intrude on our beliefs and practices.

SPEAKER 02 : 21:35

Yeah, we need a moral and spiritual revival. Do indeed. Wow. Yeah. Well, this month, folks, we have a powerful and encouraging way to say thanks for your most generous contribution of $20 or more. Yeah, it’s my dad’s book, Whatever Happened to Morality. Great book it is, isn’t it? Inside, your dad takes us into the word and history for answers, encouragement. This book is so hard to put down. And your donation today is a ministry investment in the future work of Hope for Today.

SPEAKER 01 : 22:01

And as always, please do pray for Hope for Today.

SPEAKER 02 : 22:04

Well, let me quickly add two more resources that you might want to take advantage of. First is David’s Revelation study notes. This is a complete set of outlines and study notes for all 48 messages in our current Revelation radio series. And we have the whole pack available for just $10. They’re a perfect way to follow along as David teaches. And they’re packed with scripture references, context, and clarity. Second, the entire Revelation series on MP3 is available right now for just $30. So you can listen anytime, anywhere, and save the series for years to come and share it with somebody else. To request any of these resources, call us at 800-75-BIBLE in the U.S. or 888-75-BIBLE in Canada. Bible is 24253. Or, of course, you can go online to davidhawking.org. DavidHawking.org. And if you sense that God is stirring your heart to stand with this ministry financially, to become a collaborator with us, thank you. Hope for Today exists because people like you care about the truth of God’s Word and want to see it proclaimed without compromise. Your gift right now helps us stay on the air. It funds our outreach and strengthens believers around the world. To give by mail, write to Hope for Today, Box 3927, Tustin, California, 92781. In Canada, write to Hope for Today, Box 15011. RPO, Seven Oaks, Abbotsford, B.C., V2S, 8P1. And thank you. Thank you for standing with us. And here’s David.

SPEAKER 03 : 23:51

Thanks for listening, friends. We’re teaching the book of Revelation about the church at Sardis in Revelation 3. But we’re really excited about God’s Word, and I hope you are too. And we need to be careful that we are listening to the church’s that are mentioned in chapter 2 and 3 of Revelation. And this one is called spiritual apathy. So much like many churches where we go. There’s something wrong. They’re deader than a doornail. Just listening in order to please the pastor that they were there. There’s no life there. They’re just getting along with stuff. Boy, a lot of churches are guilty of this. You’re just not doing anything for the Lord. Wow. This is a serious matter. And God said to be watchful and strengthen the things which remain that are ready to die. They had a few things still going for them, but God says, I’ve not found your works perfect before God. You need to repent. Hey, and I hope you understand that’s one of the important issues of these studies. Plan to be with us for our next one.

SPEAKER 02 : 25:20

Thank you, David. Now, friend, if you missed anything on today’s program or just want to hear it again, head over to our recently revamped website, davidhawking.org. You’ll find this and several other recent broadcasts waiting for you for a limited time. And by the way, when you’re on the website, check out all the wonderful Bible study resources by David that we have for you there. books, booklets, as well as audio and video studies, along with free downloads that you can share with your friends and loved ones. Again, that’s davidhawking.org. Well, next time, David returns to Revelation chapter 3 to complete our message in verses 1 through 6, and he’s going to cut through the spiritual fog. You know, it’s not what people think about your faith. It’s about what Jesus sees. And for the church at Sardis, what he saw was terrifying. Don’t miss this final warning and the hope that still remains for those who wake up. Invite a friend to listen along with you right here on Hope for Today.