Grieving a loss

“compromised and sick and ultimately dying and this church was in the curve of death it's very interesting that the word that is used here when Jesus said you appear to be alive but you are dead the word that is used is the Greek word necross necross is the Greek word for death there's another word in the Greek thas which means the death of the physical body but necros means something that is in the process of of corrupting”

“We're going to continue a series called Steadfast, where we've been walking through the book of James intentionally, kind of verse by verse. We're going to be in chapter two today. So if you have a Bible, hope that you do. I want to invite you to James chapter two, verse one through 13 is the 13 verses. We're going to be kind of expositing, walking through. I think James has a lot there for us today. I've often heard Dr. McKinley say our job as pastors is to afflict the comfortable and to comfort the afflicted. This is one of those afflict the comfortable”

“And he lets God do a work through his sorrow and his grief and his despair. And then he moves from lament. Did you know this in the Psalms? There's 150 Psalms. And they say that 30 to 40% of the Psalms are lament. You know what a lament is? It's somebody who's pouring out from deep-seated grief, brokenness, or sorrow. I love that because what that tells us is these are normal, everyday Joes who walk through life, and life is tough,”

“of they have to actually sign over a deed to a developing company to make it into a restaurant called Grace restaurant how does that happen well we're going to talk about how that happens and I think one of the things that I want to begin with if you're taking notes with me today I want us to observe the autopsy of a Dying church I want us to observe deserve the autopsy of a Dying church because this was the case in Sardis they were dying and they”

“breathe in the power of the spirit of God because we are a born again people born again to life that which is of the flesh is flesh fleshly things die and the reason that this church was dying is because it had become a fleshly church so what did Jesus say to the church how did he address address this issue in the church go back to Revelation 3 we talked about observing the autopsy of a Dying church”

“and something that is in the process of dying it can mean that which is departed it can mean that which is ultimately in the process of moving away and so here he's talking about the ebbing out of the life that that this church is in a a dying State and it's necrotic I love the way way that John MacArthur said it in such a straightforward manner he said the”

“this is a crucial issue for us to consider and for us to understand because we are a church living today and we believe that God has given us a mission that we must be passionate and attentive to and prioritized for in our lives but we cannot Overlook the fact that the loss of churches means the loss of light and witness across Ross the landscape of America and of course we've”

“answer be and would that answer center around the fact that Jesus rose died Rose and conquered death for you and that you have made him Lord and Savior and that his blood has cleansed you from all sin if you if you can't say that today then you don't know Jesus and you don't have saving Faith are you having any particular seasons of deep Delight in the Lord is he teaching you and instructing you are you seeing his faithfulness and”

“confessing their sin, giving their lives to Jesus. And though there's dying churches around the state of Maine, God is always in the business of taking a remnant and small few and moving in power in dark places. And so I'm just grateful that we get to be a part of what he's doing in the world. So how does a church go from life and vibrancy to death and selling? Well, that's a great question, and I'm glad you asked it, because this is what we need to see. The church at Sardis, let's get a little context before we kind of walk through some of these symptoms.”

“Decay what was true of the city of Sardis had become true of the church at Sardis let's begin to work our way through this passage today and let's start by first observing what I would call the autopsy of a Dying Church let's observe the autopsy of a Dying Church Jesus the great physician Jesus the”

“through us and outward to the community around us so in light of that let's learn something now from the church at Sardis so we don't ever become the church at Sardis and I think he's not only writing to the church he's also relating to two kind of groups within the church a faithful group and a dying group and for the dying group he's meaning to write this in such a way that it would convict them and it would draw them and it would renew them by his spirit and so the question we got to ask”

“to own brokenness of our brothers and sisters in Christ. But all of this mourning and grief is a means to an end called comfort. So with a few minutes that I have left with a very long sermon today, lean in with me because this is the good news of the promise. Mourn shall be comforted. Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted.”

“then died like every other person ever. Jesus said all that, planned his death, told people about his death, died and then rose again. And even though this world is full of brokenness, the brokenness of sin, things like death and grief and suffering, it is palpable and it changes people. And sin has”

“You have his disciples. Peter just denied him three times. I can't imagine how he feels sitting there watching his Lord and Savior be crucified. You have the women that were a part of his ministry and journey, his disciples, of course. People who loved him dearly and had spent years of their life with him are watching him be brutally beaten, crushed, and crucified, about to lose his life. on their behalf. Not understanding all of it yet, but just ultimately in grief, watching a friend go through this awful thing. But who else is there? Think about this.”

“the imago Dei, broken with the disease of sin and every single one of us in need of redemption and grace that is found only through knowing and believing in the name of Jesus. I really like this is the way that C.S. Lewis puts this. He says, there are no ordinary people, every single one made and fashioned in their mother's womb for purpose. This is what, this viewpoint of people is what pushes us as a church out of the comfort zones”

“not Marvel that I say to you you must be born again the way that a person becomes a Christian is through a supernatural birth a birth of life through the spirit of God in the human spirit and where we begin to gain eternal life not when we die and go to heaven but it's a gift that we receive when we receive Jesus Christ and the”

“surrendered spirit filled Spirit engaged Spirit fruit bearing church and the day that we fail to recognize the essential movement and work of the spirit is the day that we begin to die as a church we must we must understand that this autopsy of a dead church is a a powerful reminder that the church is not just a body of people it's not a social order it's not”

“sides of the mountain and to come in and to Siege the city and churches began to die when they assumed that their Traditions will be sufficient to ultimately sustain them George lad in his commentary said this the admonition this admonition suggests that the church was not yet entirely Beyond hope it was not too late to awaken from spiritual lethargy there still remained a ridium of Life which”

“that are kind of relative and alike for most churches that started strong but did not end strong. And this is what he said. He said, these churches that are dying, they treat their past as a hero. They refuse to adapt to the needs of the present community around them. They move their focus of the budget, the monies of the church, inwardly toward preservation instead of outwardly towards mission to the world.”

“churches were planted but the fact of the matter is that churches that are dying and closing are outpacing every effort to reestablish to replant and to ultimately Revitalize churches around us today of course Co brought a massive escalation to this trend to this move because many churches found themselves at a place of not being able to survive beyond the pandemic and the crisis but”

“reproducing and there should never be a day that if we gather and we walk away and no one walk down this aisle to receive Christ that we're content to let us remain like that we need to go and S and pray and weep and ask that God would bring life to the church by bringing New Birth into the hearts and the lives of people sendall said this and I”

“pattern number two how clear and Vivid is your assurance and your certainty of God's forgiveness and fatherly love for the sins and the things that you struggle with if you died and went to heaven today and Jesus asked you why should I let you into my heaven what would your”

“ministry of that church and what had happened to this church was that it continued to live out its tradition it continued to practice it religion it continued to walk through its patterns and Pathways but somewhere along the way this church was not living in the spirit it had been broken in the flesh flesh and as a result this church was dying you see ladies and gentlemen it is”

“Hearts they've already considered All Things a loss just to know you Jesus because you change everything and so God we are very grateful to be in the church today worshiping you spirit and Truth we're so grateful to have activities on our campus today and tonight the rest of the afternoon grateful that you are moving in the life of our church we've SE people get baptized so many people this past year you're doing amazing things”

“strong and then had to sell properties because they could no longer afford the bills. One of those is Chestnut Street Church. This was a thriving United Methodist church in downtown Portland, Maine. Looks amazing on the outside with the stained glass windows and it's kind of edifice. But now today, if you walk in the inside of this church, in 2009, they came to a place that it had died down so much that they turned it into a restaurant called Grace Restaurant in 2009.”