MESSAGES TO SEVEN CHURCHES
Revelation 2:1- 3:22
Part 5
SARDIS – “The Dead & Lifeless Church”
Revelation 3:1-6
Good News Christian Fellowship
November 5, 2006
BUCAS, Daraga albay
Introduction
A. About the past events.
1. Typhoon “Melinyo”
2. Church Anniversary
B. Today we will continue our series of messages about the seven Churches in Asia Minor as revealed in the book of Revelation.
1. Have you ever seen a church that was full of splendor, and has a good reputation? Yet later that church was dying and lifeless? A Church resting on its laurel and past history, that just reveled in what used to be? Once the Church was alive and powerful, and then began to harbor sin. As a result, it became weak, blind, and dead.
2. Dead churches exist today just as they have in every era of the church age. Finally, they represent types of individual Christians.
The Recipient (3:1)
A. The Minister – There are the recipients of the letter. Jesus Christ addresses the letter to the minister of the church, but he wants it proclaimed to the church as a whole. There is little hope for the church unless the minister and the members are set afire. We must get into the Word and our faces before god, evaluating our hearts to make sure we are spiritually alive and revived.
B. The Church – “to the church at Sardis.”
1. Its Beginning.
We don’t know exactly who started the church or who was involved in it because the Bible is silent about that. But according to some commentators, the gospel probably reached Sardis at the time of Paul’s third missionary journey, when Ephesus was the base of his missionary activities (Acts 19:10).
2. The name
Sardis, (also Sardes, Greek: Σάρδεις), modern Sart in the Manisa province of Turkey, was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Lydia, the seat of a proconsul under the Roman Empire, and the metropolis of the province Lydia in later Roman and Byzantine times.
C. The City. - Sardis (Sfard, Sart) - an hour and a halfs’ ride from Izmir - has for 3000 years been the name of this settlement. The oldest finds of settlement date from the Late Bronze Age but artifacts have been found from as early as the 7th millennium BC. As a city it had great importance for 1500 years, since its fortified citadel occupied a key position on the route from the inland to the Aegean Sea. Also a fertile soil and gold deposits contributed to its importance. King Croessus, whose fame as a rich man is proverbial, was a Lydian king here. Later the Persians took over, housing a satrap or special governor at the city. After Alexander the Greats conquers in the second half of the 4th century BC it became increasingly Hellenized. The last days of great importance were in the Late Roman period, 4th till 7th century. (www.padfield.com)
The period of greatest Lydian artistic and technical achievement was 650-550 B.C. Economic prosperity derived from the supply of gold and the ability to purify it, and from the invention of coinage and the establishment of a bimetallic monetary standard. In the time of Croesus (560/1-547) the population is estimated at 50,000.
Outstanding among the Lydian remains are the huge burial mounds in the cemetery of Bin Tepe (Turkish “Thousand Mounds”) 6.4 km N of the city area across the Hermus, S of the Gygean Lake (Marmara Gölü). A small burial chamber is built of highly polished marble blocks fitted together with precision and held with iron clamps. (http://perseus.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/cgibin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0006%3Aid%3Dsardis)
By the nineteenth century, Sardis was in ruins, showing construction chiefly of the Roman period. The first large scale archaeological expedition in Sardis was directed by Howard Crosby Butler of Princeton University between years 1910 - 1914, unearthing the Temple of Artemis, and more than a thousand Lydian tombs. The excavation campaign was halted by World War I, followed by the Turkish War of Independence. Some surviving artifacts from the Butler excavation were added to the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. (www.wikipedia.org)
The part of remains including the bath-gymnasium complex, synagogue and Byzantine shops is open to visitors year-round.
I share these historical backgrounds so that you will have at least a picture of what the City of Sardis looks like. When I read their history all throughout, I was so fascinated by it. I was thinking what it takes to be a Christian in the city like Sardis.
The Author (3:1b) – “This is the word of Him…”
There is the speaker, Jesus Christ Himself holding the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.
1. has the seven spirits of God - This is a reference to the Holy Spirit who proceeds from the Father and the Son to the believer (John 7:37-39; 15:16, 26). The Holy Spirit will quicken the lifeless dying church. Some commentators point out that this is a reference to the sevenfold ministry of the Holy Spirit found in Isaiah 11:2. Seven is God’s number of fullness. Therefore, the seven spirits means Holy Spirit in all His fullness.
2. He has the seven stars – That means He hold the ministers of the church in His hands. Christ designates Himself as the One who operates the churches through the ministers of the churches by the seven-fold ministry of the Holy Spirit. It says here that the minister is the one responsible for bringing about the awakening. In other words, the minister should feed the flocks with the rich word of God.
J. Hampton Keathley, III commented:
“Here, it appears, was another key area of weakness; the failure to communicate and receive the Word in a consistent and an in-depth way with personal application and response of the mind, heart and will.”
In Acts 20:28 we read, “Keep watch over yourself and all the flocks of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.”
The Condemnation (3:1c)
As with all the churches, the Lord declares, “I know your deeds.” The Lord knows what the church is doing. Its means here, the church is very active in every ministry or programs. They had a lot of activities. Notice:
• The church had deeds – all sorts of program, ministries, and activities far and wide.
• The church had a great reputation – the other churches looked upon them as being progressive, alive, well attended, well liked, prosperous, and full of good fellowship...
The point here, the church at Sardis is a church with great reputation. They were known far and wide, and they were active, filled with activity, action, and programs, just like the church today, they are huge, some called it mega-church because of its large fellowship. They are proud because of the success of their programs and activities. Maybe by the world standard they were successful, but the noticed what the Lord says: “you are dead.”
Now, how could a church be so active and well attended and have so many ministries and yet “dead”? What does it mean? It means they are dead spiritually; it means:
• To focus upon ceremony, programs instead of program
• To hold services for social fellowship instead of for spiritual growth and edification.
• To conduct activities in order to keep the organizations going instead of learning about Christ and sharing about Christ.
• To sit in worship and Bible classes as a matter of form instead of hungering and thirsting after righteousness.
• To preach and teach as a matter of form.
• To use the ministry as a means of livelihood instead of preaching and teaching to win and grow people in Christ.
• To focus on quantity than on quality of life in its people.
• To focus on management than with ministry or with the physical over the spiritual.
J. Hampton Keathley, III commented:
“This illustrates the problem of institutionalism in the church, but today, we also have a new scenario that can be a part of this picture, the mega church which has become a part of American jargon with megabucks, mega trends, and the mega mall. Our mega malls have been styled as “cathedrals of consumption” because they are designed to feed the consumer appetites of our lifestyle today. But if we are not careful, churches can become “cathedrals of consumption” as well.”
This kind of scenario I think will find its way in the Philippines. I think they started already. Isn’t it? How many of you here heard about the “sensitive-seekers” or “users-friendly” approach to evangelism? They are here.
So brethren, no matters how it seems convincing or seems successful, it is “dead.” It is void of spiritual life and energy, void of the spirit of God.
The Counsel (3:2)
1. “Wake up.” There is the counsel. It is strong. “Get awake.” this was a command for believers to arouse themselves, to stir their minds and thoughts, to become alert and alive to the Lord Jesus Christ and to the word of God. The believers are commanded to get back into fellowship, i.e., to repent or confess their sin and start walking in the Spirit and in the light of the Word (Eph. 5:14-18).
Note: the words “wake up” are imperative. It is a command of Christ to the “sleeping” or dying church. Note also, the word is in the present tense. The believer is to awaken, become alert. The believer is to always wake up and make sure he is alive spiritually.
“Be on you guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong; Devote yourself in prayer, being watchful and thankful.” (1Cor. 16:13; Col.4:2)
“Watch and pray that you will not fall into temptation…” (Matt.26:41)
2. “Strengthen what remains.” It means here to give attention to what remains. Wake up, arose yourself, before it is too late. This is basically a command to get with God’s plan for spiritual stabilization and strength. And what is that? A life in the Word. If you have any doubt about that, spend some time reading and meditating on Psalm 119.
Christ says that He has not found any of their deeds complete, fulfilled, or finished. Their works were incomplete in that they lacked the proper source and motive. They had not measured up to God’s standards.
The Warning (3:3)
The believers of the church are warned to do three things:
1.” Remember what you received and heard” - This represents faith and the truth they had received. Remember to keep your mind occupied with the person of Christ and the things of your salvation.
2. “Keep that” or “hold fast” - Christ was telling the worthy saints to hang on and not let the world distract them. We are told to “hold on” to the faith that once was deliver to us.
3. “Repent” – They are told to confess their sins and repent. They are told to turn away from their error and turn back to Christ.
The Commendation (3:4)
There were a few people in Sardis who were unspotted from the world. The spiritual were among the unspiritual, the sincere among the hypocrites, the humble among the proud, and the separated among the worldly. They are not defiled, dirtied, or spotted their lives with the worldliness of the day.
The faithful believers focus upon Christ and His purpose. They walk day by day in the presence of Christ. They walk day by day and moment by moment in open confession to Christ.
Look now the promises of the Lord.
The Promises (3:4b-5)
1. “Walking with Christ in white.” – The faithful believer walks in victory and purity with Christ forever and ever. The reason why they will be “walking with Christ in white” is that that because they are “worthy.” The worthiness here is linked to the fact that these were believers “who have not defiled their garments.” This shows us that walking with Him in white is a reward for personal righteousness or deeds of righteousness.
J. Hampton Keathley, III commented:
“While some writers assume that all Christians will wear these white garments in the kingdom, this verse teaches us that only overcoming believers, those who haven’t defiled their garments (verse 4), will wear these particular garments representative of the righteous acts of the saints in the kingdom.”
2. His Name Never to be Erased (5b) – The names of the believers are never touched. They receive eternal life. However, could this be suggest that the believer will lost his/her salvation? No! For such concept is contrary to the teaching of the Bible (cf John 10:28-29; Rom. 8:38-39)
This text is not dealing with the issue of losing or proving salvation at all. Rather, it stresses the certainty of the promise - promising something special to the overcomer in the kingdom and eternal future.
So here, as a source of motivation and encouragement, the Lord personally reminds the overcomer not only of the safety of his heavenly citizenship, but of the special acknowledgment the Lord Himself will give before the Father and before His angels.
3. His Name Confessed before the Father and His Angels (5c) – Christ will acknowledge that He knows the believer who overcame by keeping his spirits alive and focused upon the Lord.
“I tell you, whosoever acknowledges me before men, the son of Man will also acknowledge him before angels of God.” (Luke 12:8)
“Whosoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whosoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven (Matt. 10:32-33)
APPLICATION
The message of the Lord to the Church at Sardis is very clear. But what about the message of the Lord to the Good News Christian Fellowship?
The message for us is very clear:
• They should church demonstrate the Savior in their personal lives, in their families, in their values, priorities, ministry, etc.? It is never just activity or works or size or reputation. Activities and reputations by themselves are never a proof of true spirituality.
• The church should not focus on numbers of converts but of christlikeness.
• The church should be more hungering and thirsting after righteousness.
• The church should focus for spiritual growth and edification.
Finally, to those who never accept Christ as their savior and Lord, repent of your sin and turn to Him before it’s too late. To the believers yet uncommitted Christ wants you to repent of your sin. He wants you to remember the salvation that is yours in Christ. If you are a committed believer, Christ wants you to strengthen uncommitted Christians and to remain faithful to Him.
Let us pray.
