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"WHAT CAN KILL A CHURCH"
 
INTRODUCTION
 
1. In Re 3:1
the church at Sardis was described as a "dead" church...
 
2. This reveals that churches can die - and they often do...
 a. Where are the congregations we read of in the New Testament?
 b. At some point in their history
they died
 
3. There are at least two ways a church may die...
 a. It may cease to exist
 b. It may die inwardly
even while it still lives outwardly
 
4. What can kill a church?
 a. Are we aware of the different weapons Satan can use to destroy
 us?
 b. Are there things that threaten our very existence even now?
 
[In this lesson
"What Can Kill A Church"
we will examine four things
that can jeopardize any congregation of God's people. The first is 
perhaps a rather obvious one...]
 
I. PERSECUTION
 
 A. SATAN HAS OFTEN RESORTED TO PHYSICAL PERSECUTION...
 1. E.g.
against the church at Smyrna - Re 2:9
10
 2. Indeed
he did so against many churches in the first century
 - 1 Pe 5:8-9
 -- We should not be surprised if he does so today - 1 Pe 4:12
 
 B. PEOPLE RESPOND TO PERSECUTION DIFFERENTLY...
 1. Some are silenced by it - cf. Jn 12:42-43
 2. Others rejoice in it - Ac 5:41-42; Ro 5:1-5; Ja 1:2-3
 
 C. HOW WE REACT WILL DETERMINE OUR FUTURE AS A CHURCH...
 1. A church that is silenced by persecution will soon die
 2. A church that rejoices in persecution will not go unnoticed by
 the Lord - Mt 5:11-12
 a. As the Lord took note of the church in Pergamos - Re 2:13
  b. As the Lord took note of those in Philadelphia - Re 3:8
 
[But persecution is not the only weapon in Satan's arsenal; when a
congregation resists persecution
he will often seek to kill it through
another means...]
 
II. FALSE TEACHING
 
 A. SATAN HAS USED THIS TACTIC TO THREATEN MANY CHURCHES...
 1. It threatened the church at Ephesus
but they had overcome 
 - Re 2:2
6
 2. It threatened the church at Pergamos
who while handling 
 persecution faithfully
they were floundering with error in
 their midst - Re 2:13-15
 -- Both Paul and Peter warned of the danger of error - Ac 20:
 29-30; 2 Pe 2:1-2
 
 B. TWO THINGS ARE NECESSARY IN GUARDING AGAINST ERROR...
 1. We must not turn away from sound doctrine - 2 Ti 4:3-4
 a. Sound doctrine involves preaching the word
which includes
 both negative ("rebuke") and positive ("exhort") elements
 - 2 Ti 4:1-2
 b. We must beware of "pop" preaching which simply entertains
  rather than instructs
 2. We must not support those who teach contrary to the doctrine
 of Christ - 2 Jn 9-11
 
[When a church stands strong against persecution and false doctrine

that is certainly a good sign; but that does not mean Satan cannot yet
kill it. Many "sound" churches have been destroyed by one of two more
tools used by Satan. The first of these is...]
 
III. WORLDLINESS
 
 A. WORLDLINESS INCLUDES IMMORALITY AND MATERIALISM...
 1. Immorality is the lust of the flesh
 2. Materialism involves the lust of the eyes
 -- Both are included in "the love of the world"- 1 Jn 2:15-17
 
 B. SATAN USES WORLDLINESS TO DESTROY CHURCHES...
 1. E.g.
the church at Thyatira was threatened by the influence
 of Jezebel - Re 2:20-23
 2. Immorality has made havoc of many churches today
 3. Materialism has drawn many Christians away from their service
 to the Lord
 -- Churches are hindered when their members are rendered 
 fruitless by worldliness - cf. Lk 8:14
 
 C. TO WARD OFF WORLDLINESS...
 1. We must have "the love of the Father" - 1 Jn 2:15-17; cf.
 Ja 4:4
 2. We must not be conformed to this world
but transformed by the
 renewing of our minds - Ro 12:1-2
 3. We must "watch and pray" - cf. Lk 21:34-36
 
[A church that is "sound" on certain issues can still be a dead or
dying church if worldliness is allowed to infect its members. A 
similar spiritual malady that Satan can use to destroy churches is...]
 
IV. INDIFFERENCE
 
 A. A SUBTLE
YET EFFECTIVE WEAPON USED BY SATAN...
 1. It jeopardized the standing of the church at Ephesus
who had
 left their "first love" - Re 2:4
 2. It characterized the church at Laodicea
making it almost
 repulsive to Christ - Re 3:15-17
 -- We do not have to oppose the church to kill it
just be 
 slothful and indifferent! - cf. Pro 18:9; Mt 12:30
 
 B. SYMPTOMS OF INDIFFERENCE...
 1. Irregular attendance of services
 2. Lack of participation in the services (worship
Bible classes)
 3. Consistently arriving late to services
 4. Waning efforts to win souls to Christ
 5. No personal and private devotions (Bible study and prayers)
 
 C. FERVENT SERVICE IS THE ONLY ANTIDOTE TO INDIFFERENCE...
 1. We must not grow weary in doing good - Ga 6:9
 2. We must be diligent
and not become sluggish - He 6:11-12
 3. We must hold fast the hope we confess by encouraging one 
 another - He 10:24-25
 
CONCLUSION
 
1. While there might be more ways to kill a church
these four are
 certainly effective:
 a. Persecution
 b. False teaching
 c. Worldliness
 d. Indifference
 
2. What about this congregation? Is Satan making any progress in 
 killing us?
 a. We might be free from physical persecution
and be known as a
 "sound" church
 b. But is worldliness and indifference taking its toll?
 
3. To be forewarned is to be forearmed...
 a. We need to be honest with ourselves - are we vulnerable in some
 areas?
 b. Don't let the Great Deceiver succeed in deceiving us!
 
May we each do our part in bolstering our defenses against the one who
seeks to destroy us! As Paul wrote:
 
 "lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant
 of his devices." (2 Co 2:11)
 
Note: The main idea and several thoughts from this lesson were taken
from a lesson by Gary Henry. The URL for his web site containing many
excellent articles and sermon outlines is: http://www.brasstacks.org

－－《Executable Outlines》