Sardis, the Dead church.
Sardis, Awaken.
Revelation 3
1 "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."
Sardis, the dead church.
Sardis was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Lydia, one of the important cities of the Persian Empire, and the main city of the province Lydia in later Roman and Byzantine times.
As one of the seven churches of Asia, it was addressed by John, the author of the Book of Revelation in the New Testament,
John was passing on the words of God in terms which seem to imply that its church members did not finish what they started, that they were all about image and not substance.
Though filled with external works and activity, this church is known also as the sleeping church.
As Paul put it in 2 Timothy 3:5, they had a form of godliness, but, denied the power thereof.
Because of their failure to walk with the Lord, they were denying the real power of God through their hypocrisy.
God, through the Apostle John makes a statement showing that He sees all, He sees through all falseness and hypocrisy.
V1 "I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.
You have a name that you are alive.
What this tells us is that this church was considered a good church, prosperous, active, appearing to be alive but in actual fact was dead. (you have a name)
There are many churches both in the UK and the US that maybe like this church.
There are many large churches filled with thousands of people, churches that are called Mega churches.
You can go online and hear preachers from them and watch some of their services.
Anybody watching would think that these churches are fantastic, with their active worship, musical talent and charismatic preachers and pastors. They draw the crowds, and attract viewers on social media from all over the world, they collect millions of pounds and dollars, yet when you take a closer look at what they teach and the lifestyles of leaders, one has to ask the question, are they really churches that are truly spiritually alive?
Of course, we can’t be the judge of that but God can, for He knows what is real and what is false.
The life of any church representing Jesus Christ, must be genuine and not just having the appearance of being a good church.
I think this next verse is a very uplifting verse for it tells me that God is patient and longsuffering.
He doesn’t jump on us the moment we fail or do something wrong but He brings our wrongdoings to our attention and gives us the opportunity to put things right.
2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain,
Superficially, the church at Sardis seemed alive and active, and had a reputation for being so. However it was dead according to the Lord. This is disturbing. Because this tells us that its possible that churches can be dead without knowing it.
What people say is "a great church" may not be so at all.
What is it then, that makes a great church, what is it about a church that it would be looked on as a great church?
A church may be a well attended, a well decorated building. The church may have a good income, enough funds to maintain it. Enough funds so that the church can support charities and organisations.
The church may have a full quota of leaders, youth workers, Sunday school teachers and appear to be a very busy church.
From the point of view of anyone observing the church, it is a very successful church, not in need of anything, and very self sufficient.
However, are these things, the marks of a living true church, are the characteristics of the church, the things that Jesus is looking for, the characteristics that mark the church as true followers of Him?
Is the church so comfortable and so liberal, that it is inclusive of anyone, No matter what your lifestyle?
Is this the right attitude of a church of Jesus Christ?
What are the things that remain, that should be strengthened?
3 Remember therefore how you have received and heard;
So, what were some of the things they had received and heard?
What was it that was being referred to here?
Well! Of course, what these things were that they had heard and received, was the Apostle teachings and doctrine and we can find out what this teaching was by looking at the letters of the writers of scripture.
They had received:
Knowledge of the truth,
Titus 1:1 Paul, a bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect and the acknowledgment of the truth which accords with godliness,
They would have been taught by the Apostles what to desire.
Psalm 63:1-8 O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, In a dry and weary land where there is no water. Thus I have seen You in the sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory. Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips will praise You
They are told in verse 3.
V3 hold fast and repent.
The writer to the Hebrews taught.
Hebrews 10:23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful;
1 Thessalonians 5:21 But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good;
Hebrews 4:14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
Jesus addressing the church at Philidelphia. (A good church)
Revelation 3:11 Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.
They would have learned how to recognise Convictions of sin
Psalm 51:3 For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me.
To recognise, Depravity and weakness,
Romans 7:21 So this is the principle I have discovered: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me.
To be aware of Duty and interest.
Philippians 2:21 "All seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ."
These are the things that we all should examine ourselves for.
Do we seek our own interests?
Or, do we seek the interests of Christ and the Gospel?
Colossians 3:1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.
We need to examine ourselves for pride, self-confidence, lukewarmness, indolence, levity, or the love of the world.
When we are guilty of these things, then the fruit of the Spirit is lessened in our lives.
V1."I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.
It is not what you appear to be but what you actually are, that counts.
What is Jesus saying here? V2 says Be watchful, it could be better translated, Wake up.
History tells us that Sardis was built on top of a very high cliff, it was supposed to be impenetrable.
However, it had been penetrated on two occasions by the enemy.
The city was considered nearly impregnable but on two occasions, the Persians in 546 BC and by Antiochus III in 214 BC, it was overthrown when the enemy scaled the unwatched, “unscaleable” cliffs near the acropolis. “As in history, so in life, to consider oneself secure and fail to remain alert is to court disaster”
On one occasion the enemy followed a soldier up the cliff and on another occasion the enemy attacked whilst the soldiers slept.
Here was two example of not being watchful and falling asleep.
3 Remember therefore how you have received and heard;
3b. 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.
However, God always has a remnant. Not everyone in the church had soiled their garments.
Not everyone was dead or asleep.
4 You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments.
There maybe a few in any of these dying churches that have the correct attitude but generally the church is not being and doing the things that please the Lord.
V3 hold fast
Hold fast to what?
Hold fast the truths which you didst then receive; hold fast what remains of true religion among you.
V3 and repent.
Turn around and recover your first love, your first enthusiasm, to the Gospel you first received. To the Commission first given.
Here is a patient God, striving with His people, wanting them to waken up and put things right.
This is the same thing that the Lord said to Ephesus in Ch 2:4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
Remember, the lamp stand can be removed.
“Icabod” is written over many a church door. “The Lord has departed”
Many churches today are continuing on, they are still drawing people into the church, still functioning as a church, still doing the things churches do. However, it is in their own strength, their own efforts, it is in the flesh and not in the Spirit.
Many churches like these have not realised that the Spirit has departed; the lamp stand has been removed out of its place.
The church looks alive, it appears to be alive, however it is really dead.
V5 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.
There is always a remnant of true believers and these are the ones that will overcome and not be lost.
What God is saying here is, take stock, examine yourselves, not only whether you are in the faith but are you a spiritual people are you carnal.
The church may be occupied by born again believers but are they spiritual, or are we carnal Christians. Are we Christians, living as though we are not.
Is our lifestyles more like the unbeliever rather than a believer?
1 Cor 3:3 for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?
What did Jesus say?
You are my disciples, if you have love for each other.
This letter to Sardis is relevant to us, the church today.
We must be on our guard against becoming lacksadaisical and self sufficient that we neglect to fulfil our great commission, that we neglect to teach the truths of scripture, that we neglect to preach and live the Gospel in our communities.
We must listen to what the word tells us and examine ourselves whether or not we are functioning as the Body of Christ in our area.
V6 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."
How should we react to this message to the church at Sardis.
First of all, we should not ignore it. We should examine ourselves to see if our church looks anything like Sardis.
The leadership of any church, with the help of the body, should be alert and asking questions.
Is the church declining in number? Are we reaching the area where the church is? Are there new people being saved? Is there a love for the things of God? Is there a love for the Word of God? Is there love for the brethren?
If these things are not obvious but the church is just carrying on as normal, then the church needs to take stock.
If these things are not happening, what do we do?
Do we up the anti and start doing more of what we have been doing, even though that did not produce results, or do we change, even though we don’t really want to change?
Maybe, we don’t do anything, `maybe we just allot blame to individuals or groups within the fellowship.
Maybe it is the older ones, who don’t want change. Maybe its the young ones that have no respect for the way things have always been done.
Maybe some of our people are looking at other churches and judging the fellowship on them.
Maybe it is just the fact that society has changed so much that people no longer are interested in Christianity.
The next thing the church may experience is people leaving the church for other fellowships, or the attendance just diminishes as people fall away. The result being demoralisation within those that remain.
Maybe, amongst those that remain, there are some like those in Sardis.
V4 You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments.
The reaction maybe one of desperation.
Find new idea’s, look at what seems to be working in the other churches where it appears there is growth. However at this point, it maybe out of the desperation rather than conviction.
At this point, the church maybe in the throes of death.
Do we recognise any of this in our church?
If we do, then it is time to wake up.
V2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain.
The message of the Gospel has never changed. God is the same yesterday, today and forever.
The Word of God is still as powerful as it has always been.
The elect of God are still out there awaiting the call. The commission is still the same commission.
Go into the world and preach the Gospel, making disciples.
How will they hear without a preacher?
Jesus said:
John 12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.
The Gospel is not about the church building, it is about Christ.
We are not recruiting church members but lifting up Jesus. That’s our commission, It is God that predestines, it is God that calls, it is God that justifies and it is God that glorifies.
Romans 8:30 And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified.
The church building exists for worship, for fellowship, for building up the body of Christ, for exhortation.
It is out there where the Gospel is needed, it is in your street, it is in your town, it is in your home, that the Gospel must be preached.
We must dedicate ourselves to the work of the Gospel.
What were the signs of a good church?
Act 2:42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
Act 2:46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,
Act 2:47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people.
And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.
God hates lukewarm, He may be able to stand cold but He would rather His church be hot.
Rev 3:15 I know your deeds; you are neither cold nor hot. How I wish you were one or the other!
16 So because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to vomit you out of My mouth!…
Or, you make Me sick.
On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came upon men and women, like tongues of fire, not on the building.
It was the Holy Spirit that filled the house but came upon the people.
Act 2:2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
Act 2:3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
Act 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
We are the church, the “eklesia” (the called out ones).
If we are to be a hot church, not a cold or lukewarm, we need the power of the Holy Spirit.
The reason for the coming of the Holy Spirit was not that we may speak in tongues, prophecy or do healings and miracles.
The reason was, so that we could be witnesses to the power of God in salvation. He came to make us hot, on fire for the Gospel.
Acts 1:8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
If we are to be a witness, we must testify in word and deed in the world.
We must leave the building and give an account of the hope that is in us.
What is that witness? Christ in me the hope of glory.
In recent years, we have been told the church will only grow if we adopt new methods.
We may have heard that we need a new way of worship, new music, an attractive building, or the feeling of a community.
We may think that we need something different to keep the church growing. That we need something besides bible teaching. We may think that the best way is to liberalise our doctrine, make our churches more seeker sensitive, things that will appeal to the unbeliever.
REALLY,
Is this what we see happened in the early church?
Was it worship services? Was it comfortable buildings? Was it liberal thinking?
I don’t think so.
It was an aggressive, outgoing, doctrinal church, reaching out to the surrounding area with the preaching of the Gospel that turned the world the right way up.
Churches that water down the Gospel, soften the message of sin and depravity, de-emphasise evangelism, leave out of the message, the need for confession and repentance, it is these churches that are in the throes of death.
The truth is, that sound doctrine and faithful evangelism builds the Body of Christ.
