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Scripture Reading: Rev. 3:1-6, 8, 15-16
The seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3 can be divided into two groups: The first group consists of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, and Thyatira. Thyatira represents the Roman Catholic Church. The second group consists of Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. The course of the second group began at the time of the Reformation with Martin Luther, which brought in a revival to the church. It continued into the nineteenth century when the church in Philadelphia, a revived church, was raised up. The word philadelphia means “brotherly love.” The church, however, fell from her revived condition to become the church in Laodicea. It is difficult for us to escape the negative conditions of the last three churches. These churches represent the Protestant denominations, the Brethren assemblies, and us.
The prominent characteristic of the church in Sardis is that it has a name that it is living but is dead and that none of its works are completed before God (3:1-2). The church in Sardis is dead, and her works before God are not completed. It has a good beginning but no completion. This is the condition of the Protestant churches after the Reformation brought in by Martin Luther. Their beginning seemed to be living, but they were about to die. Verse 2 says, “Establish the things which remain, which were about to die.” In this short epistle to Sardis the Lord used the words dead and die to indicate that the actual situation of the Protestant churches is one of death.
The church in Philadelphia continues the revival of the Protestant churches and progresses to reach a peak. The characteristic of the church in Philadelphia is that it has a little power and has kept the Lord’s word and has not denied His name (v. 8). In other words, the church in Philadelphia highly regards the Lord’s word. The Lord knows that none of us have the power to keep His word; nevertheless, He commended Philadelphia for keeping His word and not denying His name, saying, “You have a little power and have kept My word and have not denied My name.” According to church history, there has never been a church like the Brethren of the nineteenth century with regard to their seriousness, pursuit, and openness toward the Lord’s Word. The Brethren opened and interpreted the Bible. Martin Luther released the Bible that the Catholic Church had sealed. However, even though people had the Bible in their hands, they did not understand what they read. Many Bible expositors were raised up among the Brethren to interpret the Bible so that it could be understood. The messages and light they released poured forth like a torrent. In the early days we read their books and received much help from them. However, after a period of time they degraded and became the church in Laodicea.
The characteristic of the church in Laodicea is that it is neither cold nor hot (v. 15). Whereas Sardis is half dead and half living, Laodicea is neither cold nor hot, but the Lord desires that she be zealous (v. 19). The Lord desires us to be like boiling water and burning fire. The Lord’s word is very meaningful; on one hand, He wants us to be boiling, and on the other hand, He wants us to be burning.
In our present condition we are either Sardis, Philadelphia, or Laodicea. We cannot be the Catholic Church. For a period of time our condition may be that of Philadelphia, but after a short period we can unconsciously fall into the condition of Sardis or become Laodicea. The condition of Sardis is that she is dead. The fact that she has a name that she is living proves that she has activity and work, but there is no momentum of life in her activity. During the past sixty years the condition in the Lord’s recovery has matched the peak condition of Philadelphia as well as the condition of Sardis and Laodicea. We have experienced and expressed all three conditions. At times we are Philadelphia, which is living and keeps the Lord’s word. At other times we are half dead and half living. And at still other times we are neither cold nor hot. This is visible in how the brothers and sisters regularly attend the meetings even though they are lukewarm.
In 1949 the Lord sent me to Taiwan, and I began the work on August 1. At that time we built a small meeting hall in Taipei that could seat four to five hundred people. I lived in Taipei for many years and held conferences and trainings there; hence, I have a deep relationship with the church in Taipei. We are not in the situation of the first group of churches in Revelation 2 and 3. We cannot be in the church in Ephesus, which is the church at the close of the initial stage, nor in the church in Smyrna, which is the church under persecution, nor in the church in Pergamos, which is the church married to the world, nor in the church in Thyatira, which is the church in apostasy, the Roman Catholic Church. Rather, our condition seems to change from that of one church to another in the second group of churches; our condition is either that of Sardis or Philadelphia or Laodicea. Almost all the brothers and sisters have experienced being half dead and half living, being burning and keeping the Lord’s word with a little power, and being lukewarm.
Are we Philadelphia, Sardis, or Laodicea? The characteristic of Sardis is being dead, the characteristic of Laodicea is being lukewarm, and the characteristic of Philadelphia is being living and vital, by keeping the Lord’s word with a little power. Are we like this? The brothers and sisters may not have the same feeling concerning our situation, just as everyone has a different reaction to the same weather, with some feeling cold and others feeling hot. Nevertheless, we must ask ourselves, “Am I living? Do I speak in the meetings?” There are two kinds of people who do not speak: those who are dead and those who are dumb. Do we speak in the big meetings or in the small group meetings? Do we speak as soon as we enter the meeting? Because a living person cannot remain silent, it is difficult for him not to speak in different situations.
The characteristic of the church in Philadelphia is that she keeps the Lord’s word to the utmost. Fifty years ago I met such a brother in Shanghai. He was a British sailor. He spoke the Lord’s word whenever he opened his mouth; he spoke the Lord’s word continuously. It was admirable. He was obviously a brother in the church in Philadelphia, because he knew and kept the Lord’s word. The characteristic of Sardis is death, and the characteristic of Laodicea is lukewarmness. A local church may be in the condition of Philadelphia this year, in the condition of Sardis the next year, and in the condition of Laodicea the following year. When a church declines, there is no speaking, and then there is no activity, no work.
A living person must speak and work. Sardis is characterized by death. This means that she neither speaks nor acts. There appears to be no vitality in her speaking and no momentum in her actions. Hence, she has a name that she is living, and yet she is dead. When the sisters are strong and living in prayer, they have the condition of Philadelphia. When the brothers meet the Lord in the morning and touch the throne of grace, they are in the condition of Philadelphia. In the afternoon, however, they may be provoked by their wives and become deflated. Thus, they are Philadelphia in the morning and Sardis in the afternoon. Our condition is not constant. This also applies to the church.
The church can be degraded and become Laodicea because the believers may not have much fellowship with the Lord, even though they love Him. They have received grace from the Lord, and they do not want to be defiled by sin or to love the world, but they are not inwardly burning or near to the Lord. For example, even though we read the Bible in the morning, we may not have intimate fellowship with the Lord. If we do not have intimate fellowship with the Lord, it does not make a difference whether we read the Bible. Hence, our condition is dry, and we are about to die. When we come to the meeting, we are not living, and we do not open our mouth. Many brothers and sisters have been in the church for a long time and have become old. They feel that everything is about the same. When a person becomes old, he is lukewarm.
Due to its condition of death and dryness, Protestantism has always needed revivals. But the effect of the revivals is always temporary. The greatest revival was the Welsh revival in Wales, Great Britain. However, in less than thirty years their condition declined. It now seems as if the gospel was never preached there; some people in Wales do not believe in or even know the name of the Lord Jesus. Hence, revivals are unreliable. When the effects of a revival weaken, there is the need for another revival. When the effect of a second revival weakens, there is the need for yet another one. Protestantism relies on revivals.
A new believer is inwardly burning and wants to testify for the Lord. However, after two or three weeks he may calm down. We can say that he has calmed down, but actually he has become dead. Later, when he attends the Sunday service, he acknowledges his inability to understand the Bible or to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Hence, he cannot speak or do anything; he must allow the pastor to speak. Because the pastor has obtained a Ph.D. in theology, he is knowledgeable and eloquent and can give speeches. It seems reasonable for the pastor to speak in the meeting. Therefore, the pastor gives a sermon every Lord’s Day morning, and the believers simply attend the Sunday service. They do not know that every believer has the Lord’s life and the Holy Spirit. We should let this life grow within us and let the Holy Spirit lead us to speak.
If a child is unable to call for his mother by the age of five, she will surely begin to worry. There are many in Christianity who cannot speak after they have been saved for five years, and some cannot speak even after thirty years. There are such ones among us. They say, “It is not my business to speak in the meetings; it is the responsibility of Brother So-and-so and the elders. I come only to listen.” This is to kill, to annul, and to not inspire the function of speaking. A mother always tries to inspire her children to speak. In Protestantism, however, the way and habit are to suppress the believers and to not inspire them. This has also been true among us. The less a person speaks, the less he will know how to speak; eventually, he will give up speaking and only come for a Sunday service. It seems as if the majority of Christians are accustomed to bringing only their ears to the chapels or the meeting halls and not their mouths.
Some people say that in the scientific era of the twentieth century everything is focused on professionalism and that different kinds of work should be done by professionals. Many think that only those who have studied theology should give sermons, rather than “ordinary” people. They say, “We do business, we teach at schools, or we are lawyers. We already spend five or six days at our work. We are happy to simply go to a chapel on the Lord’s Day to offer monetary gifts and listen to the pastor’s sermon. Why should we speak?” This word seems logical, but it is unscriptural.
The Bible says that as believers we need to speak whenever we come to the meetings (1 Cor. 14:26, 31). Some people use all kinds of reasons to attack us, saying, “Do not go to them; they will not give you any rest. They shout in their meetings and force people to speak. Go to a place that is quiet and calm. Go to a place where the pastor speaks well and you do not need to worry about anything.” Protestantism seemingly works for the Lord, but actually it “kills” people. Even though they preach the gospel and people are truly brought to salvation, new believers are led to simply listen to sermons on Sunday. After two or three years these believers do not know how to speak for the Lord. The more they listen to sermons, the more they dare not speak and the more they think that they should not speak. This is to bring people into error.
The Bible reveals that a proper Christian should love the Lord, take Him as the center, and give Him the preeminence, the first place. Such a person should have a proper condition in his daily life. His schedule should have a proper time to rise and to go to bed. He should do everything in a regulated way. We must be such people, living a normal life; everything we do should be through prayer and consideration, whether it is going to bed, rising in the morning, eating our meals, or taking care of our business. If, according to our situation, it is right for us to rise at 6:30 in the morning, we should practice this daily. The first thing we should do after waking up is to draw near to the Lord. Before getting out of bed, we should call on the Lord without disturbing others. Following this, we should read a short portion of the Lord’s Word. We should read at least two verses from the Bible, pray-reading the verses, reading by praying. Then while we are preparing for the day, we should muse over these verses. This is the proper condition of those who love the Lord as normal Christians.
We should not conduct ourselves according to our mood. We should not do something when we are happy but not do it when we are unhappy. Strictly speaking, a Christian should not have an unhappy moment. This is the reason that the Bible tells us to rejoice in the Lord always (1 Thes. 5:16; Phil. 3:1; 4:4). To rejoice is to be happy. A Christian should not be unhappy. Ephesians 4:26 says, “Do not let the sun go down on your indignation.” In other words, our anger should not last longer than twenty-four hours. The sun goes down once every twenty-four hours. Hence, our anger should vanish when the sun sets; otherwise, it is a sin. This is a command of the Lord. Christians should always rejoice and always give thanks to the Lord. If we begin our day in this way, we will live Christ throughout the whole day, and we will be filled with thanksgiving to the Lord.
If a person lives Christ in his dealings with others and at home, work, and school, he will definitely preach the gospel. If he does not preach the gospel, he will feel empty within. We should preach the gospel not only when we knock on doors at an appointed time; we should preach the gospel everywhere. We should begin with areas that are close to us and then continue with areas that are farther away. This principle was set by the Lord Jesus. He said, “You shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8). We should preach to our relatives, then to our friends and colleagues. If we are in the condition of Philadelphia, we will preach the gospel from morning until evening. This does not mean that we will drop our occupations and serve full time. Every Christian with a normal living should have a proper job where he works faithfully and competently. However, he should not sell himself as a slave to his occupation for the sake of a promotion or an increase in salary. Revelation 18:13 says that the souls of men are sold as cargo in Babylon the Great. This refers to men who sell themselves for employment. There is no need for us to sell ourselves for employment. We can have a job and preach the gospel at the same time. Apparently, our job is our main occupation; however, before the Lord our main occupation is to preach the gospel. Our job is a secondary occupation that enables us to cover our living expenses; our main occupation is to live for the Lord. Thus, our employment is actually our secondary occupation.
Apparently, the main occupation of the young people is to study. However, because of their love for the Lord and His word, preaching the gospel becomes their main occupation, and their studies are secondary. Our primary occupation should be the preaching of the gospel. Every brother and sister in Philadelphia should preach the gospel and take the gospel as their primary occupation; their profession should be their secondary occupation. Even becoming the director of a manufacturing factory is but a secondary occupation. Our primary occupation is to earnestly preach the gospel to all our fellow employees and then to their families. We may feel that it is difficult and embarrassing to knock on doors, but if all the brothers and sisters preached the gospel in their daily living, there would be no need to knock on doors. If we would speak to our families, colleagues, and employees, they in turn would speak to the people around them.
It is normal for a teacher to preach the gospel to his students, to his colleagues and other staff members, and to their families. Even a junior employee can preach the gospel. Fifty years ago in Tsinan, in the Shantung Province, there was an important official who had studied in the United States. A believer, who considered gospel preaching to be his main occupation, worked as a janitor in the same department as this official. Every day after cleaning, the believer placed a gospel tract on the official’s desk. When the official saw the gospel tract, he would angrily throw it away. Even though the brother would see the discarded gospel tract when he emptied the trash, he was not discouraged. Instead, he would place another gospel tract on the official’s desk.
The brother, who worked as a janitor, not only placed gospel tracts on the official’s desk; he also prayed desperately for the official. One day the official decided to visit the brother at home in order to know the reason he was receiving the gospel tracts. The brother and his wife were both saved and loved the Lord; hence, there was a pleasant situation in their family. The official and his wife admired what they saw and believed in the Lord. After believing in the Lord, preaching the gospel also became the primary occupation of the official. If all the brothers and sisters in Taipei were like this, we would not need to go door-knocking. A normal Christian works during the day and goes to meetings in the evening. He meets with his family at home, visits new believers in their homes, and meets together with several homes in a larger meeting.
A Christian should be living and active every day. When he rises in the morning, he should call on the Lord, read the Bible, and fellowship with the Lord. When he goes to work, he should preach the gospel. Throughout the day he should call on the Lord, sing, give thanks, praise, and pray. When he goes home in the evening, he should have a good meeting with his family. Meeting is our relaxation, our entertainment. In the meetings we sing, pray, read, and speak. As a result, everyone understands the truth, knows the Bible, and is able to speak for the Lord. Everyone speaks because there are no pastors or preachers. This kind of meeting inspires people to speak and function, and all kinds of gifts are manifested in the church life. Others should not be prevented from speaking if they have the gift of teaching. Although not all are teachers, all can speak for the Lord.
Regardless of what our condition is, we must see the picture in the Bible and be normal Christians. We should not rely on the messages given by gifted brothers on the Lord’s Day. Every day we must all study the truth systematically. The error of the Protestant denominations is that they have only a few famous speakers who give messages. A student who always listens to famous lecturers but never does any homework will not learn much. This has been our mistake. First Corinthians 14:26 says that when the church comes together, “each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation.” The Bible does not indicate that in a regular gathering of the church only one person should speak while others listen. Rather, all the saints should open their mouths and manifest their function.
In order to manifest our function, we need to call on the name of the Lord, pray-read His Word, and fellowship with Him once we wake up in the morning. We need to know that our jobs are secondary occupations. Preaching the gospel is our primary occupation. In the evening we should attend home meetings or small group meetings, and we should all speak for the Lord. We should not have only one person speaking in our meetings; we all should speak. The more we exercise to speak, the more we will be able to speak. This should be our living.
I was saved and began to love the Lord before I was twenty years old. From that time I have pursued the Lord and diligently read the Bible and spiritual publications. When the pastor in the denomination where I was saw that I was pursuing the Lord, he invited me to speak in the big auditorium of the chapel. Because I was nervous after receiving this invitation, I began to practice speaking. I went to the seashore and spoke loudly to the ocean. A new believer who practices speaking after his salvation will not be afraid to speak even to a large number of people. If all the brothers and sisters practice this, we will surely be the church in Philadelphia, not Sardis or Laodicea.
