October 12, 2003
Title: Sardis
Text: Rev. 3:1-6
Introduction
1. Jesus is walking amongst the lampstands...
sometimes He sees churches (people) who are faced with persecution...
and faced with spiritual battles...
and in spite of all the struggle...
they have remained faithful..
and they need great encouragement.
2. Other times, He sees churches (people) who
perhaps they haven’t faced great persecution...
or if they have...they didn’t remain faithful...
perhaps things have been just going along fine...
but for whatever reason...
the church begins to die...
and before long the church is on its last legs.
3. The Church in Sardis has been called a spiritually dead church...
there are no glowing compliments...
no commendations from He Who walks among the lampstands...
just dire warnings that the church is in cardiac arrest...
and requires emergency life support.
4. Let’s read about it in our text: Rev. 3:1-6
Body
1. First of all, let’s look at The City (pics from www.holylandphotos.com)
Pic 1: View looking east from the west end of the synagogue. This reconstructed synagogue was the fourth structure to stand on this site. This large hall (197 ft. [60 m.] by 59 ft. [18 m.]) faces east, towards Jerusalem. At the far (east) end note the three doors and the two gabled "arks." In the foreground is a marble table flanked on each side by lions. Note the mosaic "carpet" which covered the floor of this large hall. It has been estimated that it could house 1,000 people – a very large building indeed. Over 80 Jewish inscriptions have been found in the excavations – mainly in Greek! Recent analysis of the finds suggest that the synagogue may date to the 6th Century AD.
Pic 2: This is the front court area of the synagogue. This court was surrounded on all four sides by covered porticos. In the center is a sculpted vase and a shallow pool. Directly in the center of the picture is the main entrance to the synagogue. The triangular shapes to the left and right of it are the covering of the "arks"
Pic 3: Another view of the synagogue. The function of the table is unknown although some have suggested the Torah scroll was placed here for reading. Also note the pair of lions that flank the table and the fine mosaic floor. It has been suggested that they date to the sixth century B.C.(!) and were originally included in a temple of the goddess Cybele. (sib’ uh lee) Here they are reused and may have been thought of as the "lion of Judah." In the upper right portion of the image three levels of seating of the beginning of a marble apse are visible as is an additional entrance to the synagogue.
Pic 4: Here is a statue of the goddess Cybele She was the goddess of fertility and was attended by lions — note the lions on both the right and left sides of her throne. Adopted by the Romans, her cult spread throughout the Roman Empire. Note the Greek inscription at the base of the image. The worship of Cybele was thought to include wild and frenzied movements.
Pic 5: View looking east at one of the two arks that are located at the east end of the main room of the synagogue. It has been suggested that Torah scrolls and other biblical manuscripts were stored here on the "Jerusalem Wall" of the synagogue.
Pic 6: View looking west. In the foreground are the remains of columns, which lined the northern portico of the Palaestra. The Palaestra was used for wrestling and athletic training. The large building at the back of the phote is the façade of the entrance to the Gymnasium complex – sometimes called the "Marble Hall."
Pic 7: Gymnasium
Pic #8: Gymnasium Pool
Pic #9: Public Latrine: Notice the stone seats, which are affixed to the far wall. Under them water ran in a trough to carry away waste. In front of them, on the floor, notice the groove. It has been suggested that water ran in the groove and was used to wash the "sponge on a stick," which was used in place of toilet paper.
PIc #10: Temple of Artemis: View looking west at the remains of the temple of Artemis. This temple was the fourth largest temple in the ancient world. In the lower left portion of the picture, note the rounded red brick building. These are the remains of a small, Byzantine church (400 AD?). The goddess Artemis was known as the "Mistress of Animals" and the protector of children, but she was also a hunter and could bring death with her arrows. Artemis was the daughter of Leto and Zeus (the ruler of the Greek gods).And Together with her twin brother Apollo she enjoyed the status and privileges of an Olympian. And as an Olympian goddess, Artemis was free to pursue her interests, and was often found frolicking in the forests, accompanied by a band of nymphs. (spirits of the trees and other things in nature)
Pic #11 View of one of the large Ionic capitals from the Temple of Artemis. Note the egg design across the top
Pic #12 The Pactolus River runs through ancient Sardis. Its sands were a source of gold for the rulers of Sardis and Croesus (560–546 BC), the most famous of the rulers of Sardis was well known for his wealth. Sardis became a center for the minting of gold and silver coinage.
Sardis used to be a large, thriving, wealthy, and active city.
Today, the city is called Sart, and it is just a small town.
2. The Church
A. As we have with the other Churches, let’s look at how Christ reveals Himself to this Church.
Jesus reveals Himself as "Him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars" Rev 3:1 (NIV)
From Revelation 1:20, we know that the 7 stars represent the 7 angels to the 7 churches.
Most commentators indicate that the reference to the 7 spirits of God is a reference to the Holy Spirit...
and 7 being the perfect number...the number of completeness...
Jesus is indicating that He holds the power of the Holy Spirit...
and that He sends the Holy Spirit forth into the world to minister.
B. And after the revelation of these characteristics of Christ,
we have typically looked at the positive attributes of each church...
however, with Sardis, there isn’t much positive...
Jesus just jumps right in with some harsh criticism.
He says, "I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead Rev 3:1 (NIV)
Jesus indicates that perhaps this church has a good reputation in the community...
perhaps it was even a growing church...
perhaps it had a strong membership...
perhaps they were active in the community...
From the outside, things looked great...
but inside, the Church was dead.
This Church wasn’t winning the lost to Jesus...
people weren’t getting saved....
people weren’t serious about their relationship to the Lord...
When I saw that picture of that incredible ancient gymnasium...
I began to wonder if Perhaps they were more interested in going to the gym...
and working on their physical health...
instead of their spiritual health.
Or maybe they were more interested in worshiping Cybele...
the goddess of fertility...
perhaps like this synagogue (pictured earlier), they had brought the worship of Cybele into the Temple...
and thus introduced idolatry into the house of God.
We don’t really know...
but the Church was on its last legs.
One pastor called it "The Church of the Living Dead"
There are many churches that have been holding services today
They look like there is something going on...
But they are lifeless...
they are just going through the motions...
there is no real spirit...
there is no real life...
A DISCOURAGED PREACHER told his congregation one Sunday morning that the church was dead and that next week he was going to preach their funeral service. When people arrived the next week, the curtains were drawn, solemn music was playing, and a casket had been placed at the front of the church. The pastor preached his message and then said, ’Some of you may not agree with me that this church is dead. To convince you I am going to ask you to view its remains’. Each one came to the casket to see the dead body but when they looked in the found that a mirror had been placed there instead.
Maybe you’ve HEARD ABOUT THE CHURCH SO DEAD that when a member actually died in a service that the paramedics carried out 5 people before they got the right one.
Some of the saddest words in the Bible are spoken about a man with a great reputation, he killed thousands of the enemy, he was an impressive leader, he was very famous in his time, his name is SAMSON. And those saddest words? But he did not know that the LORD had left him Judges 16:20 (NIV)
(copied from Guy McGraw’s sermon of the same text on www.sermoncentral.com)
3. The Remedy
A. Jesus tells them the remedy for their dieing church: Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die Rev 3:2 (NIV)
Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent Rev 3:3 (NIV)
B. This Church is not without remedy...but it had better act fast.
C. I read a story about Sardis from an event that happened in ancient times...
during one of those times that it was defeated.
The city of Sardis stood atop huge rock walls
it was like a watchtower overlooking the valley,
and yet, despite its strong natural defenses the city fell to invading armies 3 times in its history.
Each time, the defeat didn’t come from the most obvious route into the city...
It came one of the 3 sides of the mountain side that seemed impregnable.
The most notable defeat came by the Persian conqueror Cyrus.
He offered a reward to the first soldier who was able to climb the city wall.
An observant soldier observed a city guard accidentally drop his helmet over the wall.
Thinking that no one was watching, the guard climbed down the mountain to get his helmet and carried it back.
Erosion had decayed the integrity of the cliff
and that allowed the guard to climb down the cracks in the rock and return to the city.
The watchful Persian soldier that night climbed the rocky cliff with ease
He was followed by a large number of his fellow troops.
When they reached the top they discovered that that side of the city was completely unguarded.
They moved in with the element of surprise on their side...
and they quickly defeated the city.
All because of the erosion of the wall and the un-watchfulness of the city’s guards.
D. Perhaps Jesus was reminding them of what had happened...
When they grew careless, their city was defeated...
And now they are growing careless spiritually...
and the same advice for a sleeping city...
is the same advice for a sleeping Christian...
WATCH OUT!!
WAKE UP!!!
4. And then Jesus tells them what will happen if they don’t act fast.
A. 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. Rev 3:3 (NIV)
just like I have mentioned so many times before...
Jesus gives us plenty of opportunities to come to Him...
but there will come a FINAL opportunity...
And Jesus will come to you in JUDGMENT
and it will happen so quick...
there will be no last second heroics...
Jesus won’t just stand idly by and say,..."go ahead and repent...I’ll just wait 5 more minutes and then come"
5. Jesus does tells us that there were some who were faithful...
A. Not everyone in that town were dead...
and those that are alive...will enjoy eternity with the Lord...
Conclusion
1. And that question that we’ve been asking each week...becomes very difficult to think about in relation to our church...but we must ask it none the less...
What about our Church?
Is our church dead?
Has the Spirit left us?
Are we just going through the motions?
I am sure that there are some people just like that in our church.
2. But I also know that we have those Christians that are alive
The message to those that are spiritually dead...
spiritually unconcerned...
the message to you is WAKE UP!!!
REPENT!!!
The message to those who are alive
REMAIN FAITHFUL...
STRENGTHEN WHAT REMAINS...
PRAY...
LET’S BRING NEW LIFE BACK INTO THE CHURCH!
Let’s pray for a Spirit of revival to flood this church!!!
