(Rev. 3:1-6)
I. Re 3:1 ΒΆ "To the angel of the church in Sardis write: He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars,
A. In the context of these letters
1. The word “angel” means “messenger”
a) Minister
b) Evangelist
2. He who has
a) Is speaking of Jesus, Himself
b) Since he has the
(1) Seven Spirits of
(a) Completeness of God
(2) And the
(a) Seven stars
(i) The seven churches who He’s speaking to
II. says this: 'I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.
A. “I know your deeds”
1. There is nothing that a person can do or say
a) That God doesn’t know about
(1) We can try to deceive ourselves into thinking that we can hide things from Him
(a) It is impossible
(i) Ps 94:11f The LORD knows the thoughts of man…
2. Some think that they can hide from Him
a) Jonah 1:1-15
(1) It can’t be done
B. “You have a name that you are alive”
1. This church, like many today
a) Had a reputation of being healthy and full of vitality
2. How many churches today have
a) Programs to draw people in
b) Programs to bring children into their church
c) Programs to give the elderly something to do and somewhere to go
(1) Yet, preach and teach
(a) A watered down gospel
(b) How to avoid life’s hard times
(c) That tolerance of sin is a virtue
(d) That God’s love will let everyone into heaven
(e) That faithfulness to God has nothing to do with salvation
(f) And that the Bible is a good resource, but not necessarily the final authority
(i) And it seems like people flock to those churches.
(2) Joel Osteen
(a) “God wants us to prosper financially, to have plenty of money, to fulfill the destiny He has laid out for us.”
(b) “I believe that God's dream is that we be successful in our careers, and that we be able to send our kids to college.”
(c) “Do all you can to make your dreams come true.”
(3) Rick Warren
(a) “Well actually I don't think it's a bunch of bad things that send us to hell.”
(b) “I can't imagine God not allowing my dog into heaven.”
(c) “I happen to agree with many of the liberal emphasis on compassion, justice and equality.”
(4) Billy Graham
(a) “I'm going to Heaven just like the thief on the cross who said in that last moment: 'Lord, remember me.'”
(b) When anyone has the power to destroy the whole human race in a matter of hours, it becomes a moral issue. The church must speak out.”
(c) “I'm not focused on the gay and lesbian movement.”
(i) I guess that moral issue isn’t important enough!
3. Do you suppose reasons similar to these are why Jesus said:
a) but you are dead.?
C. We have to make sure that we don’t fall into the same mindset
1. That God is more interested in our physical lives
a) Than in our spiritual lives
(1) Both now and when we leave this world
III. Re 3:2 'Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die;
A. We, as the Church, need to pay attention to our lives
1. We need to strengthen our commitment that we made
a) When we were baptized
2. We need to strengthen our faith
a) That we have been set apart
(1) For good works
(a) Which God established before we were born
(i) Remember? God told Jeremiah
• “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you” (Jer. 1:5f)
3. We need to revitalize the purpose of His Church
a) To edify the saints
b) To evangelize the lost
B. And, we are warned that
1. If we don’t start working with what we have
a) What we do have will shrivel away and die
(1) Mr 4:25 "For whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him."
IV. for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God.
A. The work of the Church today is going uncompleted
1. We do a poor job of bringing the lost to Christ
2. We do a poor job of being encouragers to each other
B. And, the “watered down” gospel I spoke of earlier
1. How far does THAT go in completing our deeds?
a) How many times have we accepted the fact that just because someone SAYS they’re a Christian
b) We don’t ask them how they became one
(1) Because we might insult them
(a) If we tell them what God’s word says?
V. Re 3:3 'So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent.
A. Keep it
1. Hold onto it, tightly
2. Guard it
B. And Repent
1. Go back to what you were to be
a) To what you may have been before
(1) But let go of
VI. Therefore if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief,
A. So, if we don’t start tending what we’ve been given
1. If we don’t start using the talents and gifts we each have
2. If we don’t start taking the Lord’s work seriously
a) One day, this congregation may not exist
VII. and you will not know at what hour I will come to you.
A. Now, if that happens
1. We won’t know until it’s too late
2. We’ll already be making plans to lock the doors
VIII. Re 3:4 'But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments;
A. And still yet, there will be the faithful few
1. Who will stay faithful to the Lord’s commands
a) And to His mission
2. Who won’t be afraid of persecution or the mockery of men
3. Who will not be ashamed to proclaim the full gospel
a) Even to the end of life
IX. and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy.
A. These, and only these will be seen by God as righteous
1. These will be the ones worthy of eternal life
X. Re 3:5 'He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life,
A. Because they have overcome the temptations of
1. False doctrine
2. An “easier” salvation
3. A doctrine of laziness and apathy
4. A life with no true faith in God
a) In His promise of salvation
b) In His promise of damnation
(1) Because they have a “Once saved, Always saved” religion
B. And these who overcome these things
1. Their names will be read from the Lamb’s Book of Life
C. But, those who practice these things
1. Their names, even though they were once there
a) Will be erased
(1) Grace does not forgive knowingly unrepented sin
(a) Ro 6:1-2 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?
XI. and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.
A. Jesus spoke of this to His apostles before
1. In Mt. 10:32-33
a) "Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.”
2. And in Luke 12:8-9
a) "And I say to you, everyone who confesses Me before men, the Son of Man will confess him also before the angels of God; but he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.”
3. Could it be that the confessing that Jesus is referring to in His letter to the church at Sardis
a) Is not the same confession that Paul wrote about in Romans, chapter ten
(1) But, that we confess Him by acting out our faith
(2) Deny Him by not acting on our faith?
4. We know that James wrote
a) Jas 2:26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.
(1) Is Jesus talking about the exact same thing?
Are we in danger of becoming the Sardis Church of Christ? Are there those of us who have soiled our garments and in danger of having our name taken out of the Book of Life? Are there those of us who have fallen asleep and need to wake up before it’s too late?
I can only answer those types of questions for myself. No matter how painful I might find it to do, I must ask those questions of myself.
Are you willing to do the same?
