Standing Alone for Christ
Revelation 3:1-6
Purpose: To warn against a type of Christianity that is impure.
Aim: I want the listener to love Christ so much that they will stand alone, if necessary, for Christ.
INTRODUCTION: In the 1930’s the rage was imitating Charlie Chaplin’s “Little Tramp” character. Stanley Laurel (of Laurel and Hardy fame) got his start as an actor by winning one of those contests. At a Chaplin look-alike contest in a theater in San Francisco, Charlie Chaplin—the real Charlie Chaplin—failed to even make the final round, though there’s no record of where exactly he placed. During the event, he told a reporter that he was tempted to teach people how to do the Chaplin-walk.
Apparently Bob Hope does a better Chaplin! According to Snopes.com, Hope won a Chaplin contest in Cleveland when he was just a young comedian on the rise!
It is possible to be so used to seeing imitations that we fail to recognize the real thing. I fear that is happening in American churches. It has been so long since American Christianity has boldly lifted up a holy God before the culture that lukewarm Christianity seems genuine.
As the church in America has declined, it has tried to solve the problem by including more and more of the world’s music and customs in order to attract the world into the church. The church has lost its saltiness. The differences between the world and the church continues to shrink.
It has been said that many churches begin with a man, reach out with a mission, become a movement, and eventually end up as a monument. The church in Sardis had become nothing more than a monument to Christianity.
It is possible to be alive organizationally, but be dead spiritually.
REVIEW:
1:1-20 I. John’s Vision of the Past “the things which you have seen”
2:1-5:14 II. Christ’s Vision of the Present “the things which are”
2:1-3:22 A. The testimony of the church on earth
2:1-7 1. Ephesus: the loveless church
2:8-11 2. Smyrna: the hurting church
2:12-17 3. Pergamum: the worldly church
2:18-29 4. Thyatira: the compromising church
LESSON:
➽3:1-6 5. Sardis: the dead church
Sardis is thirty miles to the east of Thyatira. This city, which occupies a proud acropolis commanding the intersection of five highways, is an ancient city with a famous past, but by the midpoint of the first century, a declining future. It was once the capital of the Lydian kingdom, which had boasted the fabulously rich King Croesus. …The earthquake of A.D. 17 destroyed the city, but through the kindness of Tiberius Caesar, the city had been rebuilt. Now, in the second half of the first century, Sardis was once again prosperous, primarily because of its trade and its wool-dyeing industry. Modern archeologists have found very significant ruins at Sardis, including the remains of a second/third-century Jewish synagogue, as well as evidences of early Christian and also Gnostic symbols. These include a picture of the evangelist John. [Palmer, E. F., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1982). Vol. 35: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Volume 35 : 1, 2 & 3 John / Revelation. Formerly The Communicator’s Commentary. The Preacher’s Commentary series (139). Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Inc.]
➽Vs.1a a. Christ’s control is:
➽(1) Through the Holy Spirit “seven Spirits of God”
Or the “seven fold Spirit of God” referring to the perfection of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus told us that he Holy Spirit has a two fold responsibility here on earth:
#1 The Holy Spirit COMFORTS believers. John 16:7 “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. (NAU)
#2 The Holy Spirit CONVICTS unbelievers. John 16:8-11 8 “And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; 11 and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. (NAU)
➽(2) Over all churches “seven stars”
Jesus is the ruler and the head of the church. Ephesians 1:22-23 22 And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. (NAU)
➽Vs.1b b. Christ’s condemnation “I know…you are dead”
“As in several cities of Asia province (western Turkey), healing powers were associated with pagan gods. The interesting point about Sardis is that such healing power was expanded to include restoring the dead.” [“The Coming World Leader” by David Hocking, p. 77-78]
➽Their REPUTATION was not REALITY.
Matthew Henry explains, “The inward thing is [defective], thy works are hollow and empty; prayers are not filled up with holy desires, [giving is] not filled up with true [love], [Sunday worship] not filled up with suitable devotion of soul to God; there are not inward affections suitable to outward acts and expressions.” [Henry, M. (1996, c1991). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible : Complete and unabridged in one volume (Re 3:1). Peabody: Hendrickson.]
One writer described our culture this way: "This is the age of pomp over pithiness, charisma over content, style over substance. This is a time when who we are has become less important than who people think we are; when euphemistic phrases can seemingly turn wrongs into rights; when politicians are often judged more on their charisma than their convictions. Bluntly, what you see in the 80’s ain’t always what you get. From the triviality of TV dinners to the seriousness of cheating on a spouse, the world is selling beautifully packaged lies -¬and many of us are reaching for our wallets . . . Though the media has added fuel to the style ¬over-substance syndrome the past few decades, the phenomenon is really nothing new. In biblical times, for example, the Pharisees were champions of exuding the image that they were pure and holy. In fact, they were merely robe-clad forerunners of the dress for success movement -- people whose outer appearance didn’t necessarily reflect their inner selves . . . .
We’ve become so anesthetized by image that it’s becoming more difficult to choose the real from the fake, the right from the wrong, the good from the bad. For example: THE LANGUAGE WE USE. … What used to be ’living in sin’ is now a ’meaningful relationship.’ What used to be ’chastity’ is now ’neurotic inhibitions.’ What used to be ’self-indulgence’ is now ’self-fulfillment.’ What used to be ’killing an unborn baby’ is now ’choice.’ Such pre-sweetened phrases represent the foundation of the image-over-substance philosophy: Don’t change your ways. Don’t change your heart. And, above all, don’t feel guilty. Instead, simply change the image of your action." [Excerpts from "Image and the 80’s: A Subtle Force That’s Seducing the Family," Focus On the Family, Jan, 1983, by Robert S. Welch. Submitted by Joseph Townsend, Redeemer Lutheran Church, West Lafayette, IN.]
Even though this church in Sardis lived in a very pagan society there is no mention of any persecution. This shows that they were not penetrating the town with the gospel.
2 Tim 3:12 And indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. (NAS)
➽There is no friction where there is no motion.
The church in Sardis was proud of their reputation, which can be OK as long as you don’t rely on your reputation. One person put it this way, "Guard your heritage, but don’t embalm it."
➽Vs.2-3b c. Christ’s call
➽Vs.2 (1) Restore meaning to ritual “things that remain”
Listen to Amplified translation on this verse : “Rouse yourselves and keep awake, and strengthen and invigorate what remains and is on the point of dying; for I have not found a thing that you have done [any work of yours] meeting the requirements of My God or perfect in His sight.”
The solution isn’t to stop worshipping, but to start meaning it. There may be some of us that need to wake up and make sure we mean what we are singing and saying. Ephesians 5:13-14 13 But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light. 14 For this reason it says, “Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you.” (NAU)
God is not interested in sleepy worship. Romans 13:11 Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. (NAU)
➽Vs.3a (2) Remember the gospel “remember what you have received”
This church was built on the message of the Gospel. Just as the church in Galatia was: Galatians 1:6-9 6 I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; 7 which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! 9 As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed! (NAU)
We should be careful that we never move away from the foundation of forgiveness by grace through faith. We need to constantly come back to grace. We are saved by grace, we live by grace, we overcome sin by grace, and we die with grace.
When we lose our passion for the grace of God, we are on our way to becoming a dead church. When was the last time that God’s grace moved you to sing and praise God?
➽Vs.3b (3) Repent “repent”
Losing our focus on the grace of God is sin.
When we give ourselves to worry we are doubting that the grace of God can protect us. When we fear the future we are doubting that the grace of God is good. When we ignore the grace of God that saves us or keeps us we need to repent.
➽Vs.3c d. Christ’s consequences “I will come like a thief”
Jesus’ reference to coming “like a thief” would have reminded the church members of their city’s history. “Twice [Sardis] was totally surprised and humiliated by military defeat. The city that seemed militarily impregnable had been defeated by Cyrus (549 B.C.) and Antiochus (218 B.C.), and on both occasions the city was taken by surprise in a nighttime attack by soldiers who quietly scaled her steep fortress walls.” [Palmer, E. F., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1982). Vol. 35: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Volume 35 : 1, 2 & 3 John / Revelation. Formerly The Communicator’s Commentary. The Preacher’s Commentary series (139). Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Inc.]
"He will come in the sense that He mentioned in the letter to Ephesus (2:5) and remove its lampstand or influence -- the church will die. History has verified that this is precisely what happened to Sardis. The church eventually ceased to exist and exercise any influence for the Lord. The area surrounding Sardis became a center of Moslem influence in later history and continues to this day." ["The Coming World Leader" by David Hocking p.83]
We must be careful that we don’t lose God’s blessing like the strong man Samson in the Old Testament: Judges 16:19-20 19 Having put him to sleep on her lap, she called a man to shave off the seven braids of his hair, and so began to subdue him. And his strength left him. 20 Then she called, "Samson, the Philistines are upon you!" He awoke from his sleep and thought, "I’ll go out as before and shake myself free." But he did not know that the LORD had left him. (NIV)
Could this happen to us? "To the same degree that we are not a PRAYING church, we are PLAYING church."
➽Vs.4-5a e. Christ’s challenge
➽Vs.4a (1) Keep the Gospel pure “not soiled their garments”
Jesus talked about garments because: [Sardis’] primary industry was harvesting wool, dying it, and making garments from it. [MacArthur, J. J. (1997, c1997). The MacArthur Study Bible (electronic ed.) (Re 3:1). Nashville: Word Pub.]
Never forget that the righteousness of Christ is only way to make us holy enough for God. Ephesians 5:27 that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. (NAU)
The blood of Christ is the only thing that can wash away our sin. Revelation 7:14 “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. (NAU)
The Gospel displays Christ’s righteousness, not ours! Ezekiel 16:14 “Then your fame went forth among the nations on account of your beauty, for it was perfect because of My splendor which I bestowed on you,” declares the Lord God. (NAU)
Romans 1:16-17 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith… (NAU)
➽Vs.4b-5a (2) Keep following Christ “walk with Me in white”
Who are the overcomers? 1 John 5:4-5 4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 5 Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? (NAU) Real faith in Christ overcomes the world.
Jesus wants us to be with Him! John 17:24 “Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. (NAU)
White is the color for purity, but also it is the color a slave would wear who could not afford the luxurious and colorful dyed woolens of Sardis. To a city famous for its colors, how common and peasant-like is this promise that the mark of the disciples of Christ is the clothing and color of the poorest, not the gorgeous shades of the rich. [Palmer, E. F., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1982). Vol. 35: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Volume 35 : 1, 2 & 3 John / Revelation. Formerly The Communicator’s Commentary. The Preacher’s Commentary series (140). Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Inc.]
➽Vs.5b-6 f. Christ’s comfort
➽Vs.5b (1) He secures His followers “I will not erase his name”
Ancient cities like Sardis kept a list of the names of the individuals who lived in the city. When someone died or moved away their names were removed. This does not mean that anyone could lose God’s forgiveness. This was a promise to those who DO have their names in the Bok of Life that they will never be removed from it.
Revelation 20:15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (NAU)
Revelation 21:27 and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. (NAU)
➽Vs.5c-6 (2) He pleads for His followers “I will confess his name”
Jesus warned us that if we don’t love Him enough to proclaim our devotion to Christ to others, there will come a day that Jesus will not proclaim us before His Father.
Matthew 10:33-39 33 “But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven. 34 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 “For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; 36 and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household. 37 “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38 “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 “He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it. (NAU)
CONCLUSION: One preacher said this about Sardis: “They were the kind of church that sang from the throat but not the heart; that said prayers but didn’t pray; that heard sermons but didn’t heed them… If someone got born again there they would have to backslide to get in fellowship with the rest of the church.” [“From Suffering to Singing” by Bob Marcaurelle p.10]
Isaiah 29:13-14 13 Then the Lord said, “Because this people draw near with their words And honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote, 14 ‘… the wisdom of their wise men will perish, And the discernment of their discerning men will be concealed.” (NAU)
➽If every member of this church prayed and worshipped like you do, what kind of church would be have?
