Book of life
Revelation 3:1-6
Introduction-
Good morning- Please turn to Book of Revelation Chapter 3 and as you turn there, let us bow for prayer as we open His word this morning.
Prayer-
Father today, as we come together to hear your word, would you speak to us and reveal yourself to us as we desire to be in your presence. We know Father that the Book of Revelation is the only book in the Bible that records that there is a blessing for just reading it and that a blessing is also for those who embrace the words of this prophecy. Help us today to receive those blessing and embrace your word.
John the apostle is on the isle of Patmos because of his faith in Christ.
Chapter one tells us that he was “in the spirit” on the Lord’s day when he heard a voice behind him sounding like a trumpet saying write in a book what you see and send it to the seven churches.
When I turned around I saw seven lampstands and walking amongst the lampstands was a man wearing a golden robe and his hair was white as snow- his eyes were like flames of fire.
He was gleaming! In his hands were seven stars and out of his mouth was a sharp, double edged sword.
His face was shining like the sun and when he saw him he fell down as dead!
I want you to know something this morning, when you encounter that kind of Jesus, you will never be the same and you will never turn your back on Jesus.
That reassuring voice said to him “Don’t yield to fear.
I am the beginning and I am the end- the living one! I was dead but now I am alive forever more”!
The seven lampstands are symbolic of the seven churches he writes too and the seven stars are the messengers that pastor those churches.
Don’t ever think that Jesus has lost control of his churches and his pastors that love Him.
This same Jesus wants to speak to us this morning-
This world is messed up but don’t you lose heart because Jesus specializes in fixing things that are broken.
This world is looking for heroes.
Cinderella fitting the glass slipper.
King Arthur who could remove the sword from the Rock.
Prince Charming who wakes up the Sleeping beauty.
When our hope expires in our life, we look for a hero to save us-
Long before any created hero, there was Jesus-who provided us salvation and is now seated on the right hand of God intervening for us daily.
John’s revelation was given him while he was in prison on the isle of Patmos. He was there for his belief and his following of Jesus Christ.
He was being punished for his faith by a world that did not know or want to know Jesus Christ as Lord and savior.
Revelation means “uncovering of something” so John is given a revelation or uncovering of something about what is about to happen and what is in the future.
He also is given the privilege of experiencing Jesus.(repeat)
So many times we read the Book of revelation and we want answers to prophecy and we forget that Revelation also is a book for us to experience Jesus.
John experience-
Each of the seven churches has gotten a word from the angel of the Lord-
Each one of these churches has a problem with their walk and obedience.
Each one comes with a warning for not obeying- we love to tell the story of the lukewarm church at Laodicea - but what about the others?
Seven churches with seven pastors and seven congregations serving God and each one has an encounter with Jesus.
Revelation 3:1-6 Read from Bible
Message to the church in Sardis- all seven of these churches were within 30-40 miles of each other.
John Write a letter to the pastor and tell him that I know the things you do- you have a reputation of being alive- but you are dead.
WOW! That is not the letter any pastor would like to get.
How can a church have a reputation of being alive but be dead?
I had to think about that for a minute-
Reputation is what people think about you. Character is what you are.
What people see may appear good and what they say is good but what does God see?
What would His words be?
What is actually being done and what does the Lord see??
Matthew 6-
What Jesus says about prayer- "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. ... But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
What is done for the kingdom of God in private with the right motives will be rewarded by God.
God rewards the things that are done in private.
He rewards faithful giving.
He rewards acts of kindness that nobody knows you are doing.
He rewards the encouragement that is given to someone struggling in life and you get along side of them.
So I’m thinking that it is possible to do the right things with the wrong motive which will not be rewarded.
We also could appear to be doing much but in truth we are not doing enough or we are not doing what the Lord has called us too.
(2) “Wake up! Strengthen what little remains, for even what is left is almost dead. I find your actions do not meet the requirements of my God.”
Wake up exclamation point! You are dying!
I use to have flowers in my office at the church but they died!
Truth is I let them die because everyday I was in the office but didn’t realize that they needed water until even water was not enough to bring them back-
Illustration/ SermonCentral
President Harry Truman enjoyed telling the story about a man who was hit on the head at work. The blow was so severe that he was knocked unconscious for an extended period. His family was convinced that he was dead. The funeral home was called, and the undertaker picked him up at the hospital. Early the next morning, the man awoke and sat straight up in the coffin. Confused, he blinked several times and looked around trying to put the whole thing together. He thought: “If I’m alive, what in the world am I doing in this coffin? If I’m dead, why do I have to go to the bathroom?”
One commentary said this about these churches using the analogy of a physician;
Ephesus- Heart problem-they lost their first love and needed to return
Smyra- Healthy-handle themselves well under persecution and was told to not be afraid.
Pergamum and Thyatira- Internal specialist-dealt false teachers and unholy practices. They struggled with immoral behaviors.
Sardis the doctor would just pull the sheet over the head of the church.
It was the worst rebuke with no compliment of all.
Jesus had nothing good to say to that church.
Sardis was thought to be unstoppable
They had wealth
They were located with five major trade routes with an economy booming.
They had everything they thought to be perfect from attack and were prosperous.
Yet, twice they were overtaken while the city slept.
Remember a few weeks ago with the scriptures from Book of Daniel. Assyrians and the Babylonians.
They understood the harsh words from the Lord- they knew their past and they knew the Lord saw where they were headed.
(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.”
Just like in the past, if you are caught sleeping at the wheel, I will come- you will not know when. HERE IS YOUR WARNING-NOW IS THE TIME TO REPENT.
(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. 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. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
There is always a remnant of God’s people even in tough and challenging times who will not bow to the idols and ways of the world.
There are some worthy who will not be ashamed of me and serve me.
The bottom line for a dead church is they do not allowing the Holy Spirit to move freely in their presence.
The number seven is the number of God for perfection. The Lord does not have Seven spirits that are at work in these churches. He has one perfect Holy Spirit that is desiring to work in all seven churches differently.
One professor has put it this way-
“If the Holy Spirit were to somehow die, if that were possible, some churches would meet next week and never know the difference. This was the church at Sardis. The Holy Spirit has not died but the church has died to the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit.”
We are learning now more than ever that the church is more than just the four walls around us and a sermon each week. With this pandemic we have been given a task to reach out to the people around us and show them the love of God.
The Holy Spirit working in our lives to reach them.
Adam did not come alive from the dirt until God breathed life into him.
Any church that does not want to be dead church must allow the work of the Holy Spirit to empower them to touch lives.
The greatest gift a believer can get is the infilling of the Holy Spirit that empowers them to live a life for Christ.
Being saved keeps us out of Hell but the Holy Spirit puts us in a right relationship with the Lord and empowers us to live for Christ. We no longer do it on our own!
What can keep any church from being a dead church? Scripture says-
Stay alert- know who you are fighting against (Satan) and do works in the power of God.
Strengthen what remains- take the remnant of God’s people and reach out to those who need to hear the message of Christ. EVERYONE OF US
Repent- always bring our weaknesses to the Lord and exposes them so that there is nothing hiding in the skeletons of our lives. No doors closed to the Lord-
Repentance and a heart right with God is what will motivate us to do what God has called each of us too.
Repentant heart is listening for the Lord to speak and us wanting to listen!
Repentance keeps our garments from being stained with compromise.
Last point, grab this with both hands-
If anything is going to keep a church from being dead, a person from spiritually being dead, it is to be watchful of the things that cause us to die inside- Christians must be watchful!
Paul says wake from your sleep- Romans 13:11
Keep alert, stand firm in your faith-1 Corinthians 16:13
Watch against the cunningness of the devil- 1 Peter 5:8
Stay awake and pray- Matthew 26:41
Watch against false teachings- Acts 20:29
Christ desires something from each of us- our love, our loyalty, and our service.
There is only one way that a name can be plotted out of the book of life-
It is to no longer want Jesus Christ as Lord.
Nothing can pluck you from the hand of the Lord except that you change your mind how you feel about Him.
The only way you change your mind is to not draw close to the Lord.
The only way you don’t draw close to the Lord is to let other things become priority and you spend less time with Him than you use too.
I think that there are a lot of people on their way to heaven because they have asked Jesus into their heart as savior but there are a lot of people who have not made Him Lord of their Lives.
I think many will loss the blessings of rewards from the Lord- we will be rewarded for those things we have done for the Lord- we are not saved by the things we have done –it is by grace alone that we are saved, but many will stand before the Lord and have nothing on their crown to lay down before him.
Song we fall down
We fall down
We lay our crowns
At the feet of Jesus
The greatness of
Mercy and love
At the feet of Jesus
And we cry holy, holy, holy
We cry holy, holy, holy
We cry holy, holy, holy
Is the lamb
For a believer- that is what we lay down- as an offering and thankful for what Jesus has done for us, we lay our lives of service down at the altar
Could we as believers gather for a time of prayer wherever you are right now and ask the Lord to forgive us of our sins and to use each of us for the kingdom of God?
To be believers filled with His Spirit making an impact wherever God has placed us.
We repent Father that we sometimes don’t have the mindset of Christ and the world pushes Jesus to the side.
We ask Jesus that we at the end of our lives would lay down crowns not for our honor and glory but for your honor and glory. Help us Jesus!
Prayer-
