“I’m grieving”

“we actually had one of our director of the entire um Southern Baptist kind of mission um board up there in the state of Maine who was officing only miles away from where all that took place and so I've been in contact back and forth just praying for these guys as they Min to minister to families who are suffering unbelievable loss and sorrow and grief in this period and in this time but as we walked these streets we came to a couple different places one is Portland Maine we went to Augusta Main and then we ended up in the mountains for a Men's Conference in bethan with over 200 men that I'll tell you about in a minute but when we were in Portland what I realized very quickly is you had”

“Crystal river that runs through it but the turbulence and the storminess and the destruction of the sea is going to be no more chaos and Calamity will be eradicated No More Tears because hurtful memories will be replaced No More Death because mortality will be swallowed up in life no more mourning because sorrow will be completely comforted no more crying because sounds of weeping will be soothed no more pain because all human”

“I'm sorry, in the Greek, grief. And one commentator comments on this particular word used here in Matthew chapter 5. They say the word used here in the Greek text and culture represents the strongest word in the Greek language. It's akin to the mourning that you experience for the loss of a loved one. To mourn is to care and to feel deeply. To know godly sorrow for sin.”

“they will be comforted because theirs is the kingdom. Billy Graham says, The mourning of repentance is not the weeping of self-pity. It's not regret over material loss, nor remorse that your sins have been found out. It is a change of direction, an alteration of attitudes, and a yielding of the will. The act of repentance does not merit or earn your worthiness to be saved. it is only a condition of your heart”

“could be revived but unless such a Revival occurs this small remainder will also fall subject to spiritual death did you notice that Jesus did say here um in another part of this uh passage that he said you are about to die the end of verse two he says strengthen what remains and is about to die it wasn't that they couldn't wake up but they they needed to wake”

“dependency upon God what did this final part of this message say he who has ears to hear Let Him hear what the spirit says to the what churches we are one of the churches that need to hear what the spirit is saying this church did not die because it was attacked outwardly this church died because of the death of its members there was no vibrancy there was no faith”

“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”

“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”

“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”

“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”

“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”

“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”

“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”

“The creator God, the God of the universe, the God who's in absolute control is for you and with you and actively engaging your life to bring you comfort. He gives us comfort in the face of loss and death. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. For you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. And so, Jesus says, blessed, happy, secure”

“You know, sometimes there's a level of loss and grief in which you cry out all your tears. And there's no more tears left. And yet, all you're left with is that heavy heartache and heartbreak, that sense of mourning, of loss. In the Greek, there are nine different verbs that express grief.”

“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”

“step of obedience and then all of a sudden you look behind you and those things that were there that used to be a struggle aren't there anymore because you got a bigger vision for your life and in the same way God's calling us to take a step of obedience like what is that for you as you sit here today that he would aesh speak something in your heart and in your mind to step out and experience his power as you get out of the boat of your comfort zone and take a step of obedience towards him when you hear the word stewardship this is completely kind of we sto there”

“preferences and comfort unhealthy churches give half-hearted attention to the conversion of the Lost in contrast living churches devote time and resources and energy to both local evangelism and worldwide missions in the message to Sardis we saw Christ revealed as the lifegiver he alone grants spiritual Vitality to those with a comos”

“Sardis there were a Remnant there whose garments were not soiled one of the interesting things about Sardis is that they were known for the garments they created they made white Woolen garments and so it was interesting that Jesus use that analogy from the history of the church to talk about the fact that there were a remnant of people there who who were not a part of the dying Church they were the Living Church today I thank God in”