Waking Up Is Hard to Do
Revelation 3:1-6 "To the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.
I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.
2 Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God.
3 Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent.
But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.
4 Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. 5 He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels. 6 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Intro: Have you ever been so tired that you really had a hard time waking up when you needed to? I can remember working in the woods as a teenager. We were getting up around 3AM to get out in the woods at first light so we could beat the heat and get out of the woods by 1. I was only getting 4 or 5 hours of sleep so I’d take a nap when I got home. Well, during one of those naps my Uncle Bob from WV showed up and wanted to say hi to me. I vaguely remember him saying hi and laughing at me. I was so drugged from sleep that I couldn’t hardly talk. Sometimes waking up is hard to do.
-Well, the church in Sardis seemed to have the same kind of problem. Life was pretty good in Sardis. For the most part, Christians got along with the Jews. And both Jews and Christians seemed to get along with the rest of society – perhaps a little too well. The lack of opposition from the world around them may have given them a sense of security and lulled them to sleep. Since the world was relatively nice to them, they may have grown quite comfortable in their relationship with the pagan world around them. Herodotus, the historian, records that over the course of many years the church in Sardis had acquired a reputation for lax moral standards. Whatever the case, when we read their mail, we find that their way of living was unsatisfactory to the Lord. Some changes would have to be made!
1. The Reality
-This church was characterized by spiritual lifelessness. They were spiritually dead or dying as a church. Jesus said, “I know your deeds, and they are lacking, incomplete.” As a church of people who claimed to be followers of Christ, they were not doing what a living church would do. Something was missing! Obedience, faith, holy living, etc. Jesus said, “People think you’re alive, but you are not acting like it!”
-Now, before we get too far, let me say that Jesus wasn’t saying, “Hey! You’re acting dead. Start acting like you’re alive!” No, the reality is that they really were missing the power of the life of God. Somehow, they had become disconnected or distant from the life of God. How does such a thing happen? How can people who have called on God in repentance and who have received His forgiveness and newness of life drift away from Him?
-In his book, Harvest of Humanity, John Seamands told this story: "A German soldier was wounded. He was told to go to the military hospital for treatment. When he arrived at a large and imposing building, he saw two doors, one marked, "For the slightly wounded" and the other, "For the seriously wounded."
He entered through the first door and found himself going down a long hall. At the end of it were two more doors, one marked "For officers" and the other "For non-officers." He entered through the latter and found himself going down another long hall. At the end of it were two more doors, one marked, "For party members" the other, "For non-party members." He took the second door, and when he opened it, he found himself out on the street.
When the soldier returned home, his mother asked him, "How did things go at the hospital?"
"Well, Mother" he replied, "to tell the truth, the people there didn’t do anything for me, but you ought to see the tremendous organization they have!"
-Many churches have great organization. Their people are busy. But unless the Spirit of God is free to work through them, the church’s ministry is earthy, not heavenly. The church at Sardis was well organized, but dead.
-Well, there probably isn’t a simple answer for why or how a church or individual gets to this state. Sometimes, it could relate to discouragement, busyness, lazyness, sin that we refuse to deal with, unforgiveness, or caring more about fitting in with their culture than with God. Whatever the contributing factors, it is likely that their prayers and worship became weak, their faith became small, their friendships ceased to focus much on the Lord, their study of God’s word became mostly cerebral, rather than spiritual, they stopped sharing their faith with others, and their service to others began to dwindle.
-What I’ve just listed is actually a rundown of the 5 purposes of the church that we print in our bulletin each week: worship, fellowship, discipleship, evangelism, and ministry or service to others. And while we encourage behaviors that bolster these purposes, it is important that we recognize the problem, rather than trying to treat the symptoms. The reality of spiritual death or weakness is that the flow of the life of God has been blocked or restricted. Therefore, we have nothing to energize us to engage in true spiritual worship, fellowship, discipleship, evangelism, or service to others. Jesus knows our works. He knows whether they are incomplete and dying or healthy and life-giving.
-What is your life reality? Is the life of God flowing through you, giving life and hope to others? What is the reality of CLC as a whole? Are we a life-giving family? Are people finding hope and help from us? Are we connecting people with Jesus? Are we serving others, giving to the poor, and extending God’s grace to those around us? Whose life is different this week because Christians from our church family reached out to them? I was reminded this week that if a Christian isn’t serving, then they probably aren’t growing. And if a person stops growing spiritually, they start dying spiritually.
-We can always do better, but that should never let us off the hook from doing what God asks us to do. Again, this is a spiritual problem, not an education problem or an awareness problem. Let’s see what Jesus says is needed to correct the lifelessness in the church at Sardis.
2. The Remedy
2 Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God.
3 Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent.
-We need a wake up call. We need to seek the Lord and ask Him to revive us. We need to remember what the Good News is all about: new life, new trust, a new love, new priorities, forsaking the old way of life, total surrender to Jesus! Obey the call to follow Jesus wholeheartedly! Repent of our sins and failures.
-Faith produces good works. They go hand in hand. Therefore, as we learn to trust Christ more, the good works should begin to flow out of our lives. We will want to help others, both tangibly and spiritually.
3. The Red Flag
-Red Flag Warning- conditions are ideal for wildland fire ignition, and rapid propagation. After drought conditions, and when humidity is very low, and especially when high or erratic winds which may include lightning are a factor, the Red Flag Warning becomes a critical statement for firefighting agencies.
-“But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.
5 He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels.
-I see 2 warnings here. Spiritually dead and sleepy saints will not be ready for Christ’s return. And v.5 implies that those who do not wake up and overcome may be in danger of having their name blotted out from the book of life.
-I’m aware that Christians view this differently. Those who hold strictly to Calvinism would say that these so-called Christians were never really saved to begin with. Arminians believe that if a person falls away from Christ, they can be lost forever, if they do not repent and turn back to Christ. What is interesting here is that both views lead to the same conclusion: a spiritually dead person is lost and will miss heaven.
-So the red flag warning is this: Don’t take this message lightly and assume that you are awake. You might be dreaming! Follow the commands of Jesus and strengthen what remains, remember the truth you’ve heard from God’s word, obey it, and repent! Don’t trade the grace of God for an easier life! Don’t ignore the signs of dryness in your soul! Come, all who are thirsty and Christ will give you the water of life!
4. The Reassurance
4 Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. 5 He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels. 6 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
-There is comfort and reassurance given to those who overcome this spiritual sleepiness and lethargy. The implication in v.4 is that some in the church have soiled their clothes through compromise and infatuation with the things of this world. Those who have remained true will walk with Jesus, dressed in white, showing righteousness. And those who overcome (even if they had previously failed) will also be dressed in white. And those who overcome are given eternal assurance that their names will never be removed from the book of life. Instead, Jesus will tell the Father that we are keepers! He will acknowledge our name before the Father and His angels.
Close: So where are you today? Are you spiritually alive or did you hit snooze again? What is the reality of your spiritual condition? When Jesus says, “I know your works,” would He say “Well done,” or “Incomplete?” Works of obedience and service seem to be some kind of measure of our spiritual vitality.
-How is your spiritual life? Are you staying connected with the Lord through trust, prayer, and His word? Is God’s Spirit living in you?
-How many of you would say that you’re right where you want to be spiritually? How many would say you need to make some changes? The next question might be a bit more difficult. Here it is: What is stopping you? What is stopping you from forgiving? What is stopping you from praying? What is stopping you from reading God’s word? What is stopping you from serving, giving, helping? Are you too comfortable? Too sleepy? Can’t seem to keep your spiritual eyes open?
-Today could be the wakeup call you need to make things right with God. He has brought you to this moment because He loves you and doesn’t want you to miss doing life with Him! Will you surrender your self to Him today? If so, you may have already told Him so. Please do that in your own way right now. “Lord, I give myself to you! Please wake me up and give me life. Forgive me for failing you. Take away my sins. I want to wake up and follow You all the days of my life.”
Life Group Questions
1. How did people perceive the life of the church in Sardis?
2. What was the reality of the state of the church in Sardis, and what was the measuring stick Jesus used to evaluate them?
3. What generates spiritual life in us? What steps can we take to stay spiritually alive?
4. Have you ever had a spiritual wakeup call? Talk about it.
5. Faith without works is dead (James 2:17); Works without faith are futile (Ephesians 2:8-9). Give your definition of good works and discuss how they fit in with our faith.
6. What two warnings are given for those who refuse to wake up? (1 is implied)
7. Jesus gives promises to those who overcome. What are they, and what does it mean to overcome?
8. Read John 10:10 and discuss the kind of life Jesus wants us to have.
9. What might be stopping you from experiencing the life of God? Pray together and ask the Lord to help you receive more of His life.
