Opener:
We are excited to be here as we are continuing our sermon series this morning on the seven churches found in the book of Revelations.
We are on our fifth church along the postal route in Asia Minor. To date, we have already looked at the church located in Ephesus, who had forsaken their first love. The second church, Smyrna, experienced persecution and were encouraged to live by faith and not by fear. The third church Pergamum where some appeared to be seduced and were displaying a morally compromised lifestyle. Last week, we talked about Thyatira who had some positive things going on but they fell into the trap of listening to Jezebel and in the process allowed compromise to creep into their lives.
This morning we are talking about the church located in Sardis. This church really makes all the others churches look like saints. This church was dominated by sin, false doctrine and unbelief. It was the church of living dead!
This church was located about 30 miles from Thyatira. We learned that many of these other towns that we have looked at were trading towns and they had some wealth. When looking at this church, it was one of the richest cities in the entire world. It was a major trade center. There was a river that ran through the city where people would pan for gold. Like Thyatira it was a thriving wool industry and makers of costly dyes. This city received its name from the sardis stones which were sold and used as amulets to drive away evil spirits. The climate was perfect and the city was known for its elegance. One of their most famous citizens was Aesop who was remembered for his fables. These people in Sardis were living a life of luxury and were used to getting everything that they wanted. The church was not threatened by any perils, there was no pressure from inside the church or outside the church. Let’s hop into our text this morning, found in Revelation 3:1-6 NKJV - 3 “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, ‘These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. 2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God. 3 Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you. 4 You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. 5 He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but 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.” ’
I. Dead church
A. Pay attention
a. As we are looking at these different messages to the churches, it has not escaped my attention that the Lord is not speaking to the church only but, to the leaders of the church.
b. There is very little possibilities of a dead church coming alive until the pastor gets on fire for the Lord.
c. The leaders of a church matter. If the leaders of the church are not passionate about the Lord, then the people will not be either.
B. The Work of the Spirit
a. The Old Testament makes several references the seven spirits of God which really is an expression of the Work of the Holy Spirit.
b. The prophet Zechariah spoke prophetically about the work of the Spirit in Zechariah 4:6 NKJV 6 So he answered and said to me: “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the LORD of hosts.
c. There are more passages that talk about the work of the Holy Spirit found in:
i. John 14:26 NKJV 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.
ii. John 14:17 NKJV 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.
iii. John 3:8 NKJV 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
d. The work of the Holy Spirit is important in our lives and we need to allow Him to do that work.
C. The concern
a. Let’s look again at verse two 2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God
b. This church was called to shine like the light of the stars in the sky on a dark winter night.
c. When you see stars, what is amazing about these stars are they are a trillion years away from us, yet we still see their light. Looking from a distance, we do not see any problems at all, because the outside of the star is shining bright.
d. However, spiritual darkness and false teaching and sinful living had extinguished the light that was once inside.
e. Sardis on the outside had a good name and a wonderful reputation. They were prestigious; they probably had a rock star for a pastor.
i. Tom Spilman in his hayday played in front of thousands of fans, Ron Purifoy too!
f. It was a popular church that was well attended and had all the modern day trends. All the mover and shakers of the town no doubt attended this church.
D. Dead inside
a. With all the good things on the outside going, there was something beneath the surface.
b. There was a prophet in the Old Testament that was called to anoint a new king. This king was young, he was scrawny and nothing to look at, yet the Lord spoke to the prophet.
c. In 1 Samuel 16:7 NKJV 7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
d. The Lord, He sees the heart, He sees what is truly going on in the inside.
E. Further assessment
a. The Lord goes on further with His assessment of this church.
b. Their works were not perfect or complete.
c. Have you noticed that there were no compliments yet given to this church. All the other churches, something positive was said. Not this church though.
d. The most alarming thing about this church, was that it was active in their community, yet they were dead spiritually.
F. A dying church
a. There are some real warning signs found in this text for a church that is dying.
b. Dangerous signs include:
i. The loss of a conviction of the Word of God.
ii. The denial that Jesus is the One and only source for life.
iii. More concerned with ritual or tradition then with spiritual reality.
iv. Content with past accomplishments and not doing any current work.
v. More focused on being popular and accepted by society than being mindful of the Lord.
vi. More concerned with material things than with spiritual things.
c. This list is to just name a few, but really gives us a picture of a church that is dying.
II. Be Watchful
A. Wakeup
a. The Lord has a correction for this church and it comes in two versus starting in verse 2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God. 3 Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent.
b. That term there “Be Watchful” literally means to Wake up! It is like an alarm clock going off!
Tech Team: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GBa5KTqYog
c. The Lord was working to get their attention so that they can see the spiritual condition that they found themselves in.
d. Dr. Rod Mattoon relates a story in his commentary in Treasures from Revelation: Several years ago a woman, with her little baby, was riding in a stage coach in western Montana. The weather was bitter cold, and in spite of all the driver could do to protect them from the cold, he saw the mother was becoming unconscious from the cold. He stopped the coach, took the baby, and wrapping it warmly, put it under his seat. He then seized the mother by the arm, and dragging her out on the ground, drove away, leaving her in the road. As she saw him drive away, she ran after him, crying for her baby. When the driver felt sure she was warm, he allowed her to overtake the coach and resume her place with her baby. Sometimes God will bring life shattering circumstances into our life to wake us up too.
B. The things that remain
a. The bible further encourages this church to strengthen the things that remain
b. To find the spiritual graces in the church and support them. Get them active!
c. Pursue the fruit of the Spirit in your life and go after revival and spiritual awakening.
d. Remember how you received and heard the gospel—It is crucial for Sardis to think back to the spirit of devotion, the alertness and energy they once had. That hunger and thirst that was present early on in their walk with the Lord.
e. Think of the time witnessing that used to do, think of the passion in your prayers, and remember the desire you had for spiritual service. Re-establish the love you had for the truth found in the Word of God!
C. Hold fast
a. The encouragement was two- fold. First to hold fast. This really was a call for obedience. Be obedient to the principles that were once taught to you being a Christ follower.
b. Secondly Repent. The Lord wanted them to have great remorse and sorrow over their sin but he also wanted them to confess that sin and turn away from it.
c. If Sardis did not do these things, the Lord was going to come to them like a thief in the night. Those people in Sardis knew exactly what this meant.
d. Sardis had only been conquered twice in its history. As a city, it had sat 1500 feet straight up the side of a mountainous cliff, and it was perfectly safe from any enemy. But the two times it had been defeated was due to a false sense of security.
e. They failed to put adequate watchmen overlooking the hills of the steep fortress-like city.
f. Under the attack of Cyrus of Persia, a guard was seen to drop his helmet over a steep wall and climb over the crevice to recover it. The soldier was then overwhelmed by a small band of Cyrus’ men and they climbed the same crevices and got into the city. The city was taken again in the very same way by one of Alexander the Great’s leaders who had remembered how the Persians had gained access.
g. The Lord was very clear to this church, “Watch!!!” Wake up!!
Tech Team: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GBa5KTqYog
III. The Commitment
A. Few Names
a. Let’s turn to Revelation 3:4 KJV 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.
b. We might wonder who would have even managed to live for the Lord in a place like this.
c. There was at least one man named Melito of Sardis.
d. He was a second century pastor who wrote one of the first commentaries on Revelation. He was a lonely pastor at his post that was doing his best to turn people toward the Lord.
e. Can you imagine living for the Lord surrounded by spiritual deadness? The struggles this pastor was facing. The pressure from all the other pastors in the area. Yet, he remained faithful to the Lord!
B. Defiled Garments
a. There were only a few in Sardis had not defiled their garments with sin. We can be sure of the fact that the Lord had not forgotten about them:
b. The bible gives us encouragement in Malachi 3:16-17 NKJV 16 Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another, And the LORD listened and heard them; So a book of remembrance was written before Him For those who fear the LORD And who [a]meditate on His name. 17 “They shall be Mine,” says the LORD of hosts, “On the day that I make them My jewels. And I will spare them As a man spares his own son who serves him.”
c. Hebrews 6:10 NKJV10 For God is not unjust to forget your work and [a]labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister.
d. The term garments being used here in Revelation really is a symbol.
e. To be soiled is coming from the Greek word, MOLUNO, which means, “to stain,” or “to pollute.”
f. It was a word that would have been familiar to Sardis who knew what dye would do to wool.
C. Promises
a. The Lord promises these faithful few that they will walk with Him in garments of white because they are worthy.
b. Even in the middle of the dead church, the Lord commended those who were committed to personal holiness.
c. In the conclusion of every one of the letters to the churches, the Lord always concludes with the concept of those who overcome.
d. He determines here that those believers who continued to walk in holiness despite the spiritual decline around them were going to be clothed in white raiment.
Closing:
As we close here this morning, this church in Sardis had everything. From the outside looking in, they were the perfect church! They appeared to be spiritual, they had a rock star pastor, they were well connected in the city, yet God could see through the façade. Truly, God sees the heart. God was calling this church to Wake up and to repent. To lay down all the distractions and to come back to Him. In today’s world, we have the tendency to always look at others. To blame others for our mistakes and to fall into that trap is not a good place to be. God is calling us to an intimate relationship with Him. This relationship calls for us to take ownership of our spiritual condition and to make any necessary adjustments and improvements if necessary.
