ONE SUNDAY IN SARDIS
Revelation 3:1-6
(Antioch Baptist Church: Sunday, October 12th, 2025)
People have always rejected Gospel preaching; the crowds didn’t want to hear John the Baptist, people ignored the preaching of Peter, Paul, & John; multitudes refused to hear Jesus.
Throughout history men have faced great difficulties as a result of preaching the truth. Some of have lost their churches, some have lost their jobs, (and homes and possessions as a result), and some have lost close friends. Furthermore, countless servants of God have lost their lives for refusing to compromise the truth of God's Word.
Today, (as throughout history) there are many who will not endure Biblical preaching. Paul warned about this in 2 Timothy 4:3-4. He said, “the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths”. This is a clear description of the day in which we live. People do not want to hear the truth!
These days people choose style over substance and entertainment over exhortation. However, there are still some ministers who refuse to compromise and who are willing to “preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching” (2 Timothy 4:2).
There was one Sunday in the Church at Sardis where the man of God delivered a message from God and it shook the people to the core. I would like to take some time and examine that message and consider what happened “One Sunday In Sardis”.
From the outside looking in it appeared that this church was active and alive. But upon closer examination it was apparent that it had become a spiritual graveyard. One day they received a message concerning their spiritual condition. Notice if you will:
THE SOURCE OF THE MESSAGE
The source of this message is none other than Jesus Christ. Revelation 1:13-18 says, “in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.”
In these verses, John is describing Jesus. The Lord instructed John to write seven letters to seven specific churches. Jesus had intimate knowledge of everything that took place in those churches. The same is true today. The Lord knows all there is to know about the church universal and He knows all there is to know about each local church. There were some things going on in Sardis that grieved the Lord Jesus. I am confident that the same is true concerning the church today.
- I would also like to consider:
HOW THIS MESSAGE WAS DELIVERED
v1a unto the angel of the church in Sardis write...
The word "Angel" literally means "messenger". This letter was addressed to the person that God had chosen to lead the church. It refers to the one who would read, pray, and teach God's people. This letter describes in great detail the condition of the church under his care.
Today there are God called men who have been assigned the responsibility of being "under-shepherds". When a man of God stands and proclaims the Word of God, it is not his message, it is a message given by the Lord Himself.Those that hear the message and obey, obey the Lord. Those that reject the message reject the Lord.
Upon receiving this letter, the Angel (or messenger) would have addressed the assembly of believers and read it to them word for word. Let's take a moment and consider:
THE SUBJECT OF THIS MESSAGE
v1c ‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God.
Jesus saw their "works". These works made it seem that this church was alive. There was much activity in their assembly and they had a great reputation in that region. From all outward appearances, this church was everything a church ought to be. But Jesus said, "I know your heart, I can see what is on the inside and you are dead!"
The subject of Jesus' message was the fact that things were not what they seemed in the Church at Sardis. We are not given specific details as to all the issues in Sardis. But we can learn a lot from what is not covered in this letter. Jesus did not confront sexual immorality in that church. He did not rebuke them for practicing idolatry. He did not mention that there was a problem with false doctrine. No, Jesus simply said "you look good on the outside, but you are dead on the inside."
As I read this letter, I can't help but wonder how the people responded to the message. Let's take a moment and consider:
HOW THIS MESSAGE WAS RECEIVED
Jesus revealed that the church was dead, but He also made it clear that a resurrection was possible. He goes on to tell them that if they would remember, repent, and return they could be revived. We don't have a record of the response of the people that Sunday in Sardis. But it is likely that some missed the message, some rejected it, and some believed it.
I want to speculate on certain events that may have taken place earlier that week. Picture the scene if you will: It is early Monday morning, the Pastor at Sardis sits down to prepare for the next Sunday's message. He takes a moment to reflect on the previous day of worship. He is excited about the recent growth in the church. He is also encouraged by the number of first-time visitors that were in attendance.
Later that morning there is a meeting of the church leaders. They gather together and begin to discuss the vision for the future of the church. They attempt to develop a plan that will reach the masses. The Pastor then rolls out a new "program" that has brought great success in one of the other churches in another region. After a brief review of the budget and hearing a report from each committee, there is a discussion about the need for more seating in the sanctuary. If the growth continues at it's current rate it won't be long until there is not enough room to hold the crowd.
When the meeting is over, the pastor has to hurry to a lunch appointment. A pastor from a neighboring church wants to talk with him about what God is doing at Sardis. He hopes to learn the "secret to success" so he can take it back to his own congregation. Things are looking real good in Sardis.
Later that day a courier arrives with a letter addressed to "the Angel of The Church At Sardis". The man of God takes that letter into his study and breaks the seal on the envelope. He is excited to see that it is a letter from The Apostle John; but upon further examination he is shocked to find that it is actually a message directly from the Lord Jesus Christ. His excitement quickly turns to sorrow when he reads the contents of that letter. He was devastated to learn that things were not what they seemed to be in Sardis. Perhaps he spent some time alone with the Lord before addressing the congregation.
He spends the rest of the week anxiously anticipating the next gathering of the Saints. Then, finally the time arrives, it is Sunday in Sardis. People begin to make their way into the church. Everyone is dressed in their best. There are smiles on every face. People are greeting one another. The fellowship is sweet and anticipation is building for what is to come.
Out front some people are talking about how word is spreading through the region concerning the great things that were happening in the Church at Sardis. Everyone is excited about the wonderful reputation of their church. The ushers struggle to find enough seats for the crowd.
At last, it is time for the service to begin. The man of God ascends the pulpit. It is obvious by the look on his face that something isn't quite right. He begins to share with the congregation that God has placed an immense burden on his heart. He informs them that he has received a message directly from Jesus. Curiosity fills the room and the people sit on the edge of their seats as he unfolds the letter and says "hear the Word of the Lord":
v1“And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. “ ‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. 3 Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. 4 Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. 5 The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. 6 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’
Silence fills the room as they people ponder the Words of Jesus. The message has been delivered. The Angel of the Church at Sardis has fulfilled his responsibility. It is now up to the congregation to heed the words of Jesus and respond accordingly. How then did they respond? I would submit to you that:
ONE SUNDAY IN SARDIS, SOME PEOPLE MISSED THE MESSAGE
There were many different reasons that people missed the message from the Lord. Many missed it because they did not attend the service. You see, this message was delivered on the same day that the city of Sardis hosted the regional travel ball tournament.
Another problem was that this message was delivered on one of the most beautiful days of the year; so a good many were absent because they couldn't pass up the opportunity for a day of recreation with their family. Several others missed the message because they volunteered to work overtime that day. Others were dealing with headaches, sore joints, arthritis, the sniffles and such. (Of course each one was miraculously healed by Monday morning when it came time to go to work.) Some missed the message because they were just too tired to go to worship that day.
Some missed the message because they were mad at the Pastor of the Church at Sardis. Others missed it because one of the members of the church hurt their feelings. Then there were some who missed the message because they had just become disillusioned with the way things were going and were out looking for a church that "had more to offer" their family.
Absence caused many people to miss the message that day. However, there were some in attendance who still missed the message of the Lord. A good number of those who heard the words of Jesus didn’t think the letter applied to them. In fact someone was heard saying "It is a shame John and his family were down at the Hermus river, he sure needed to hear that message!" One lady whispered to her husband that she "sure hoped Sister Martha was listening to what the preacher said!"
I think it is a safe assumption that some people in Sardis missed the message from the Lord. It is also highly likely that:
ONE SUNDAY IN SARDIS, SOME PEOPLE REJECTED THE MESSAGE
Quite often people hear the truth of the message sent by God and they choose to reject it. This may have been the case in Sardis. I can hear a couple of deacons talking to each other after the service and one says "I think that preacher has lost his mind. He was just talking in the staff meeting about how good things were going. Now he has the nerve to tell us that we are dead! Even worse, he claims that Jesus told Him to it!" The other speaks up and says "I don't understand the problem. Things seem to be going so well. The facilities are good. We have great music; he is a dynamic preacher; we have wonderful ministries for the youth, children, seniors, and everyone in between. We have unity and fellowship. We have great leaders and servants. The congregation is growing. There are new faces every single week. Maybe that ol' preacher is just having a bad day. Maybe we need to give him some time off, or it could be that it is time for him to go!”
There were others in Sardis who heard the message but refused to respond to God's warning. Some were just glad that the message was a short one so that they could get out of church early. Others were so focused on what they were going to do that afternoon that they really didn't even hear what the message was about. Some were so hard hearted and backslidden that they just didn't care what Jesus had to say about the church.
There were many people in church that day, but those numbers did not equal success. There was much activity the church, but activity is not the same as spirituality. The people were pleased with their church, but the Savior was grieved.
Sardis had a dynamic reputation but they were not experiencing the favor of God. To most it seemed that they were in a good place, but Jesus warned that they were in a very dangerous place. Most everyone would have said that Sardis was a church that was alive, but Jesus said "Sardis, YOU ARE DEAD!"
As the Angel delivered the message that day, some missed it and others rejected it. But I think it is also safe to say that:
ONE SUNDAY IN SARDIS, SOME PEOPLE BELIEVED THE MESSAGE
v4 Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy.
Jesus revealed that even in this dead church, there was a faithful few. Many in Sardis may have thought that they mistakenly received a letter that was intended for another church. But the faithful few had no doubt that the message that was intended for their specific assembly. The faithful followers of the Lord are a discerning bunch and that Sunday in Sardis, this group was not one bit surprised by what they heard coming from the pulpit.
They had not been fooled by all of the hype or distracted by all of the activity. They walked close to the Lord and they knew that something was wrong. Sardis was an active assembly; but their activity was nothing more than going through the motions. They were an assembly that was practicing dead works.
Today, the Church At Sardis is long gone. The city itself lies in ruins. But the spirit of Sardis remains. There are many local assemblies with the reputation of being alive, but they are dead. One reason is because these churches are filled with people who claim to be saved but they are lost. They appear to be alive but they are dead!
The people in Sardis used the wrong metrics to measure their success. We have this same problem in our day. We tend to measure a church's success by how many cars are in the parking lot, how many people are in the pews, and how much money is taken up on Sunday. A church can have state of the art facilities, with thousands of members who give millions of dollars, and that church can be a success in our eyes, and be a complete failure in God's eyes. On the other hand a church may meet in a strip mall with a handful of members who are obedient, faithful, and focused on the Lord and God sees them as a great success.
What does Jesus see when He looks at us? Does He see activity or spirituality. Does He see entertainment or edification? Does He see emotionalism or evangelism? Does He see people concerned with advancing their agenda or advancing His Kingdom? Do we offer our community anything that they cannot find at the local civic center or recreation hall? Are we a lighthouse that points people to the Lord and Savior, or are we just busy keeping people busy? Would Jesus address us as He did Sardis and say, "I know your works, I know that you have a reputation that you are alive, but you are dead!!!"
We cannot be deceived by superficial measures of success. Nor can we allow ourselves to be distracted by activity or hype. Our assessment of our church and our ministry is irrelevant. What really matters is what Jesus says about us.
I believe that the reason that many churches in America today resemble the Sardis is because they are comprised of people who have never been born again. Congregations of people are going through the motions, they are playing the game, but like those in Sardis they are practicing dead works.
Jesus has an answer for this problem, in fact, He is the answer. If the multitudes of people who profess to be Christians without possessing salvation would repent and surrender to Jesus, we could see some amazing things transpire in this church and all over the world.
The Savior sent a message that was delivered one Sunday in Sardis. The people in that church had to choose how they would respond to His message. Some missed it, some rejected it, but thankfully some received it.
In the same way, God has sent us a message. We must choose how we will respond to His message. Will we miss it? Will we reject it? Will we believe it? To respond accordingly, some must remember, repent, and return.
I pray that we will live in such a way that Jesus would be able to say "there are a few people in Oxford, Alabama who have not defiled their clothes, and they will walk with Me in white, because they are worthy. In the same way, the victor will be dressed in white clothes, and I will never erase his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before My Father and before His angels.” Anyone who has an ear should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.
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