The Message to Sardis
Book of Revelation
Chapter 3 Verses 1-6
Last week we saw the
Church at Thyatira. The Church at Thyatira was the Church as it
existed during what history calls the "Dark Ages".
It was the period in
history when the Papal Church in Rome gained power and it was the
time of the Crusades. The time of the Inquisitions.
No matter what
history teaches, God was not in any of those things. It was not the
will of God for those things to take place, so that period was the
"Dark Ages". A period when the light of Jesus was not
shining very brightly.
In near history it
was now time that the Church of England was established, in what we
know as the established church or government sponsored church.
It is the 1600
hundreds in America.
It is at the end of
that dark period in history when we see that the Age of the Church as
the Church of Sardis is seen.
Sardis was the
Capitol city of Lydia. In the time of the Emperor Tiberius, Sardis
was desolated by an earthquake which affected twelve other important
cities. It is said the whole face of this area was changed.
Sardis was a city
proud of its riches and the things money can buy, but when the riches
failed the city failed and began to die.
This is what God has
to do sometimes to get the attention of the Church.
After these times,
Sardis became a place of commerce and Sardis began its decline by
giving into the enjoyments of luxury and pleasure and indulging in
excess of sensual sanctification.
We should ask
ourselves if we have ever seen a church that was dead or that was
dying?
A church that was
completely lifeless?
A church that was
satisfied with itself, and had no intention of changing anything that
it did or the way it went about the business of the Lord.
A church that was
established by good people in the past, but who most of them had now
gone on to be with the Lord and now rested upon those things that
were fast being forgotten.
Have you ever heard
from that Christian who says, "yes I'm saved, my mother and
father were saved and I am their child" or "yes, I'm saved,
I attend such and such a church", Or yes I'm saved I am a church
member, I attend that great church at Sardis.
It is in this
climate that we see the Church of Sardis as spoken by the Lord.
Sardis had a form of
Godliness, but was without the power of God!
Sardis had a name to
live, but in actuality was dead!
Again the Lord
speaks to the Pastor of the church at Sardis.
*****Rev 3:1 And
unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he
that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy
works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.
In all these seven
messages there is none so depressing as this message to the Church at
Sardis.
The truth is, as
Jesus Christ lives, then the church is to live and be alive.
Sardis did not have
a bad reputation as seen by the public.
In fact to the
public, this church seemed to be spiritually sound.
The truth is the
world is not our judge! It is the Lord Jesus Christ who is our
"Judge"!
As we go through
this time of a killing virus, it is still not this wicked world that
should decide what information to give to the Christian.
I for one do not
trust the world to do right. The Lord says to "come out from the
world and be ye separate".
I can understand
reasons to avoid contact but I will not understand as we move forward
toward martial law which is illegal in the USA.
We see here again
that it is the Lord Jesus Christ who has the "seven spirits of
God".
Seven being the
number of completeness, then it is the Lord Jesus Christ who has the
complete Spirit of God.
Joh 1:32 And John
bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a
dove, and it abode upon him.
Joh 1:33 And I knew
him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said
unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and
remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.
Joh 1:34 And I saw,
and bare record that this is the Son of God.
It is God's Son who
God's Spirit descended upon and remained upon Him.
Joh 3:34 For he
whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the
Spirit by measure unto him.
Joh 3:35 The Father
loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.
Joh 3:36 He that
believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not
the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
It is the Lord Jesus
Christ who received so much of the Spirit of God that it cannot be
measured because He has all the Spirit of God!
Joh 3:5 Jesus
answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of
water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Joh 3:6 That which
is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit
is spirit.
Joh 3:7 Marvel not
that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
It is the Lord Jesus
Christ who shares His Spirit with each of us that love Him!
Tit 3:3 For we
ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving
divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and
hating one another.
Tit 3:4 But after
that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,
Tit 3:5 Not by
works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy
he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy
Ghost;
Tit 3:6 Which he
shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
Tit 3:7 That being
justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope
of eternal life.
You see it is not
the Church that has the Spirit. It is the Spirit of Jesus that lives
within each child of God within the Church, that make it a Church
that is alive and not dead.
Rom 12:1 I beseech
you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your
bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your
reasonable service.
Rom 12:2 And be not
conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of
your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and
perfect, will of God.
Rom 12:3 For I say,
through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not
to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think
soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of
faith.
The Church is alive
only if those inside the Church have given themselves as living
sacrifices to the Lord Jesus Christ.
This Pastor at
Sardis would have to get on fire for the Lord, if he was to save this
church!
The flock of this
shepherd had died!
Without the Holy
Spirit in all His fullness we are not much of a church and are dying!
Water baptism is a
command of the Lord, but it does not save.
Repenting is a must,
but when we are not serious about following Jesus Christ, it loses
its strength.
We must be baptized
with the Holy Spirit of God, the Spirit that is given to Jesus
Christ.
Remember the message
of John the Baptist.
Mat 3:11 I indeed
baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me
is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall
baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:
Mat 3:12 Whose fan
is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his
wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with
unquenchable fire.
This message is
still true today!
The Lord Jesus does
not commend this church in anything they are doing to spread the
Gospel and make disciples, which is the work of every Church!
This is the greatest
sin that a church can have!
Not preaching the
Gospel. Jesus Christ should be in every sermon!
Not providing the
truth of salvation. Salvation comes only by Jesus Christ!
Not making disciples
who also proclaim the "Gospel" of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Anything else done
in any church is secondary to these things!
It was a lifeless
church. In fact Jesus Himself, said it was a dead church!
2Ti 3:5 Having a
form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn
away.
This church focused
on everything but Jesus Christ! Remember they were the pride of a
city that was also dying!
This church has no
Nicolaitans.
This church has no
Balaam.
This church has no
Jezebel.
This church had no
enemies.
This church had no
life when it had the greatest opportunity to witness without
repercussion.
Satan has no
intertest in a dying church!
So what was the
advice of our Savior?
*****Rev 3:2 Be
watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to
die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.
The old city of
Sardis was located in a perfect place to defend. It was truly an
impregnable fortress.
Enemies studied year
after year to find any weaknesses in the defense of this city. It
just so happened that a lazy watchman was fooling with his helmet one
day and it fell to the ground outside the wall of the city.
He climbed down the
face of the walls using the crevices in the walls and got his helmet
and returned to his position.
That next night his
city was overrun by men who climbed those same crevices and the
watchmen never saw them, for they were not expecting anyone to do
such a thing.
We must understand
the enemy is always watching for any weakness!
When Alexander came,
he knew the story of the watchman and he too used the same strategy
to capture Sardis.
What does Jesus say?
Be watchful!
If Jesus says we
need to be watchful, then we are not being watchful enough!
To be watchful is to
be vigilant.
To be watchful is to
be attentive.
To be watchful is to
be careful to observe the things going on around us.
To be watchful is to
be cautious.
We must not be lazy
Christians we must be alert Christians!
There are some very
important things we need to be doing for the Lord every day and we
need to be careful to do them!
Above all we must
stay focused upon the Lord Jesus Christ!
We must stay focused
on the "Gospel" the Good News" of Jesus Christ.
We stay diligent in
observing all the Word of God, rightly divided!
Our Lord is alive,
and we must become alive to serve the Lord!
We should consider
all the things that have been happening in our world just in the last
couple of years, especially in the past few months.
What did Jesus teach
us?
Mar 13:28 Now learn
a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth
forth leaves, ye know that summer is near:
Mar 13:29 So ye in
like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that
it is nigh, even at the doors.
Mar 13:30 Verily I
say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these
things be done.
Mar 13:31 Heaven
and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.
Mar 13:32 But of
that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are
in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.
Mar 13:33 Take ye
heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.
Mar 13:34 For the
Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and
gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and
commanded the porter to watch.
Mar 13:35 Watch ye
therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at
even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:
Mar 13:36 Lest
coming suddenly he find you sleeping.
Mar 13:37 And what
I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.
What remains for us
to do is get back to the basics of the Church?
Spread the Gospel
and make disciples!
There is no greater
work for us to do today except we must add "to watch"!
There were none of
the works of the Church at Sardis that were perfect. None!
When we perfect the
basic duties of the Church, then we can do some other things in the
communities.
Another thing that
we must do perfectly, is when we gather together, then "to
worship" is the number one thing we are to do.
We worship our
Heavenly Father, by the work of His Son, in the power of the Holy
Spirit!
And Jesus adds
"Remember" the truth of the Scriptures as delivered in the
"Apostles Doctrine" and especially the "Gospel of the
Lord Jesus Christ"!
*****Rev 3:3
Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast,
and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as
a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.
Remember means we
must learn from that "or else" preaching.
Rom 6:23 For the
wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through
Jesus Christ our Lord.
We need to remember
the "Gospel"!
1Co 15:1 Moreover,
brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you,
which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
1Co 15:2 By which
also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you,
unless ye have believed in vain.
1Co 15:3 For I
delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that
Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
1Co 15:4 And that
he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the
scriptures:
We must remember
that by the actions of the Lord Jesus Christ, we can be forgiven of
our sins and be restored in our relationship with our Heavenly
Father, Our Creator.
We must remember
this free gift of God brings with it eternal life, but only by the
Lord Jesus Christ!
We must accept the
truth of the "Gospel"
Joh 14:6 Jesus
saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh
unto the Father, but by me.
Joh 14:7 If ye had
known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye
know him, and have seen him.
We cannot listen to
the lies of this world!
Rom_3:4 God forbid:
yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That
thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when
thou art judged.
Once we know these
things as the truth, then we must repent from our old life.
This church had done
wrong! They had forgotten Jesus Christ the foundation of the Church!
They had forgotten the truth of the Gospel!
They had done so
wrong, that they were not being a living church, they were in a
dyeing church, in fact almost a dead church.
They had a must do!
They must repent!
You see this pastor
had to preach this message to this church and they had to listen and
act upon the Word of God!
Every church needs
to be reminded of these things constantly so they can remain alive!
They had lost their
fervor in their relationship with the Lord and what this church
needed to know is, that the Lord will leave a dyeing church alone so
that it can die unless they repent!
Every preacher must
preach with sound doctrine.
2Ti 4:1 I charge
thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge
the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;
2Ti 4:2 Preach the
word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort
with all longsuffering and doctrine.
2Ti 4:3 For the
time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after
their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having
itching ears;
2Ti 4:4 And they
shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto
fables.
Every congregation
must hold fast to the truth.
1Ti 6:11 But thou,
O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness,
godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.
1Ti 6:12 Fight the
good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art
also called, and hast professed a good profession before many
witnesses.
1Ti 6:13 I give
thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and
before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good
confession;
1Ti 6:14 That thou
keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing
of our Lord Jesus Christ:
1Ti 6:15 Which in
his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the
King of kings, and Lord of lords;
1Ti 6:16 Who only
hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach
unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power
everlasting. Amen.
Or then will come
the "or else".
Notice Jesus says He
will come as a thief. Not as a robber, not as a bandit, which means
the secrecy of the thief, not in violence. In fact if this church did
not watch, it would never know that Jesus had removed His
candlestick.
It is a very sad
thing that if Jesus Christ came during a church service, many a
church like this one at Sardis, would not even realize that the
"Rapture" had taken place.
1Th 5:2 For
yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a
thief in the night.
This Pastor needed
to realize that there were still a few true believers in His church,
and if he could not cause his flock to repent, he still had to feed
those who remained true, with the truth.
*****Rev 3:4 Thou
hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their
garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.
Why are names
important? Because there is a book in Heaven called the Lamb's Book
of Life.
Rev_21:27 And there
shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither
whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are
written in the Lamb's book of life.
If your name is not
written down in the Lamb's Book of Life, you will not enter into
God's New Heaven!
The Lord Jesus
wanted this pastor to know that it was because of him that there were
only a few names written down in this Book of Life.
The Lord will hold
each pastor responsible for his message in every church! No pastor
can save but it is his job to lead other men, women and children to
the Lord!
These who know the
Lord will also have some responsibility!
Jas 1:25 But whoso
looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he
being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall
be blessed in his deed.
Jas 1:26 If any man
among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but
deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain.
Jas 1:27 Pure
religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit
the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself
unspotted from the world.
Again we must be
"over comers"!
*****Rev 3:5 He
that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I
will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will
confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.
There were some in
this church at Sardis who had remained faithful to the Lord during
all the things that were happening in this wicked city.
They had remained
faithful even though their pastor was not faithful to the Word of God
and his message had become worldly.
They remained Christ
centered and were not centered on the things of this church.
This is our answer
today, we must remain Christ centered!
There are many
churches like this one in Sardis that remain today, where the Pastor
has given in to the world.
As individual
Christians, we must understand that no matter what our church is
doing, we must remain faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ!
They had to separate
themselves from most all the other church members!
Three promises are
made to these who took their stand upon the Lord, the Solid Rock.
It pleases the Lord
for us to remain focused on Him even if those around us do not!
We must remain
faithful to the Lord's plan for His Church. It is His Church! The
true Church belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ because we as believers
were bought by the precious blood of Christ Jesus.
1) The true
Christian will be clothed in white!
White is the color
of righteousness.
White is the color
of purity.
White is the color
of perfection.
2Co 5:19 To wit,
that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not
imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the
word of reconciliation.
2Co 5:20 Now then
we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us:
we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.
2Co 5:21 For he
hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be
made the righteousness of God in him.
It is important for
us to remember all the things that Jesus Christ has done for us,
because the world cannot do any of these things!
2) Every over comer
will have their name written down in the "Lamb's Book of Life"
This is a book that
God keeps.
This is the Book
that will be opened on "judgment" day!
The names written in
the Book of Life and remain there, are those who will never die!
Exo 32:33 And the
LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I
blot out of my book.
Rev_20:15 And
whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the
lake of fire.
3) Every believer
will be presented to our Heavenly Father. Jesus Christ will confess
that he knows every believer and He will personally confess that each
and every believer are the real thing and worthy to be allowed into
God's New Heaven!
Mat 10:28 And fear
not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but
rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Mat 10:29 Are not
two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on
the ground without your Father.
Mat 10:30 But the
very hairs of your head are all numbered.
Mat 10:31 Fear ye
not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.
Mat 10:32 Whosoever
therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before
my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 10:33 But
whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my
Father which is in heaven.
And what does the
Holy Ghost say?
*****Rev 3:6 He
that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the
churches.
It is the Holy
Spirit that has given us the Bible, the complete Word of God. God's
Word will never change!
2Ti_3:16 All
scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness:
2Pe 1:20 Knowing
this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private
interpretation.
2Pe 1:21 For the
prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God
spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
We can be sure that
we have the truth of God!
We can also be sure
we know the truth of this world!
There are not any
lost books of the Bible!
There will never be
another new book added to the Bible!
We cannot hear the
Word of God unless we are present in a Bible believing church!
We should also be
present in Sunday School.
We should also be
present at all other times when the church gathers to teach the Word
of God.
We must then apply
the Word of God to our daily lives!
Without making a
personal application of the Word of God, we will soon wear that look
of death!
Amen
Let's Pray!
