Untitled Sermon (6)

WEEK 6 FOMO: The Identity Coma (Sardis)

I. INTRODUCTION & THE RECAP

Welcome to Cross Youth! Who knows the series title we've been in for the past few weeks?

The Series Shift: That's right, it's the FOMO series: Fear Of Missing Out. But we are changing that from Fear Of Missing Out to Faith Over My Opinions.

The Dangerous Opinion: Tonight, we are dealing with a dangerous opinion. It’s not an opinion that attacks you from the outside. It’s an opinion that slowly kills you from the inside.

Culture's Lie: Culture has sold your generation a massive lie. Culture says: "You get to choose your identity. You can identify however you want."

The Gray Area: Culture tells you that identity is a buffet. It’s a massive spectrum. It’s a gray area where you get to mix and match your feelings, your desires, and your reputation to build whoever you want to be.

The Church's Lie: But here is where it gets dangerous. In the church, we've bought into that same gray area. I call it the “Cultural Christian Lie!” * The False Security: It sounds like this: "I said the magic words when I was eight, so I'm good. I show up on Wednesdays, I post the Bible verse in my bio, so my identity is eternally secure."

The Reputation Trap: When you buy into the Cultural Christian lie, you stop living on real, daily faith, and you start living on your Reputation. You coast on the reputation of what you did yesterday.

The "I Have Time" Illusion: And the most dangerous part of relying on your reputation? You start thinking, "I have time to get it right later."

II. THE JESUS FACT-CHECK: LIFE VS. DEATH (Rev 3:1)

The Sardis Connection: The majority of the church today has the exact same mindset that the people in Sardis had in Revelation chapter 3. They got so comfortable in their reputation that they went numb.

The Contrast: Look at all the other letters Jesus wrote to the churches! Almost all of them start with Jesus calling out the authority of the city or the false gods they worshiped.

Last Week's Reminder: Last week in Thyatira, Jesus came in with "eyes of fire" to outshine their sun god, and "burnished bronze feet" to speak to their bronze workers.

The Bypass: But to Sardis? Jesus completely bypasses all of that. He foregoes calling out anything else happening in the city, and He goes straight for the jugular. He goes straight to the reality of life and death.

Revelation 3:1 CSB “Write to the angel of the church in Sardis: Thus says the one who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars: I know your works; you have a reputation for being alive, but you are dead."

Not a Spectrum: Jesus is saying, "I know your culture is trying to create all of these different identities and make identity a spectrum. But it's NOT a spectrum. You are either alive, or you are dead."

The Priority of Life: "We will get to the other issues later. But right now, you need to be alive. I want you to be alive and not dead. Choose life."

The Seven Spirits: Look at how Jesus introduces Himself. He says He is holding the seven spirits of God. What is that? That is the complete Holy Spirit. The Spirit that brings life.

The Bones of Elisha: Remember in the Old Testament when a dead man was thrown into a grave, and his body hit the bones of the prophet Elisha? That dead man instantly sprang back to life! Why? Because the Spirit of God was still there, and that Spirit brings life!

The Resurrection Power: The exact same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is the Spirit that lives within all people who have accepted Jesus as Lord. It is the Spirit of Life. And Jesus is standing there holding the complete Spirit.

The Whitewashed Tomb: He says, "I know your deeds. You look clean on the outside. You have a great reputation. But you are a whitewashed tomb. You are dead."

III. THE UNTOUCHABLE IDENTITY (The Historical Embarrassment)

The History: Why were they living off their reputation? How did they look so good on the outside but fall so dead on the inside? To understand that, you have to look at the history of their city.

The Identity Lie: Sardis chose to identify as "Invincible." They identified as "Untouchable."

[Show the map of where Sardis was located]

The Fortress: The city was built on and into a mountain. The walls were so high and so thick that they could not be conquered by conventional means.

Sleeping on the Job: They got so comfortable thinking they were secure that they stopped putting out guards at night. They fell asleep on the job.

The Embarrassment: But twice in their city’s existence, they were conquered. How? At night time, spies climbed those invincible walls, got inside, and opened up the gates to allow the enemy troops in.

The Shame: Quite honestly, those were the two most embarrassing moments in the history of Sardis. They fell not because they were overpowered, but because they were asleep.

IV. THE FACADE OF EMBARRASSMENT

The Modern Trap: 

The Root of the Facade: It's because of Embarrassment.

The Fear of Shame: 

V. THE TYPE 1 REALITY: THE DEAD PANCREAS

The Personal Story: Let me bring this right down to reality for a second. When my daughter was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, it was one of the hardest pills to swallow as a parent.

The Dead Organ: To know that there is a part of your kid—an organ inside her body—that is just completely dead. It’s not working. It has nothing to do with her choices. It’s just broken.

The Rabbit Trail: As a parent, you are desperate to find a way to fix it without the needle. You start reading every naturalist blog and holistic study.

The Naturalist Lie: And culture comes back and says, "We found a replacement for insulin! Just take this specific regimen of vitamins. Take Berberine. Take Cinnamon extract. It acts just like insulin!"

Type 2 vs. Type 1: But here is the lie those studies leave out: Those vitamins only help with Type 2 Diabetes. Type 2 is when your pancreas is sick, but it is still working a little bit. But in Type 1 Diabetes, the pancreas does not work at all. It is dead.

The Medical Reality: You cannot treat a dead organ with a vitamin. You cannot replace life-saving medicine with a natural supplement.

The Gray Area Questions: Does working out help a Type 1 diabetic? Yes. Does eating balanced meals help? Yes. Does taking cinnamon vitamins help? Maybe. But it is not an absolute yes. It is not truth.

VI. THE COMA & THE SPIRITUAL VITAMIN

The Spiritual Type 2: A Type 2 diabetic is more like a new Christian coming to the faith. Everything is working, but you still have a sickness you need to get out.

The Callback: Remember last week? We talked about drinking the poison, and how it takes time for that poison to get pushed out of your system. Everything still works, but your diet needs to change.

The Spiritual Type 1: That was last week. That is not these people in Sardis. Jesus is talking about people who are spiritual Type 1 diabetics.

The Healthy Facade: And they are the kind of Type 1 diabetics that are working out, so their body looks good. They identify as "healed" because they are embarrassed to admit they are sick.

The Coma: But they refuse to take the medicine of scripture. If they refuse the life-saving medicine of insulin... Their insides are literally dying. And eventually, they will slip into a diabetic coma. Unconscious. Unresponsive. Dying.

The Spiritual Vitamins: You are showing up to youth group. That’s working out. You listen to positive Christian music. That’s eating a balanced meal. You are trying to be a "good moral person." That is taking a spiritual vitamin.

The Reality: You look amazing on the outside. But your spiritual pancreas is dead. You cannot take a "good person" pill and expect it to bring you back to life.

VII. THE THIEF IN THE NIGHT & THE SPIRITUAL DNR (Rev 3:2-3)

The Setup: You bought into the lie that you are secure, so you stopped taking the medicine. You hated the discomfort of conviction. You hated the needle of discipline.

The Spiritual DNR: So you popped a Sunday morning vitamin and thought you were fine. And now, you are in a spiritual coma. The problem is that most people who have bought into this lie have signed a spiritual DNR. DO NOT RESUSCITATE.

Revelation 3:2–3 CSB "Be alert and strengthen what remains, which is about to die, for I have not found your works complete before my God. Remember, then, what you have received and heard; keep it, and repent. If you are not alert, I will come like a thief, and you have no idea at what hour I will come upon you."

The Double Meaning: When Jesus says, "I will come like a thief," He is doing two things.

Number One: He is warning you that time is up. We are not promised tomorrow. We do not know when our card is going to get punched.

Number Two: He is directly calling out their most embarrassing moment! He is reminding them of the spies climbing their walls in the middle of the night!

Embarrassing the Sin: Why does Jesus do that? Because this is how Jesus deals with sin. Jesus embarrasses sin. If we do not embarrass sin, sin will embarrass us and cost us everything.

The True Medicine: Jesus is standing over you as you are in the process of passing out and going into the coma… He is holding the life-saving insulin of the Holy Spirit.

The Choice: If someone comes along with life-saving medicine, it can KEEP them AWAKE or wake that person up. But that person has to make the choice to accept the needle. They have to rip up the spiritual DNR!

The Wake-Up Call: Jesus is shaking you tonight. He is saying, "You think admitting your sin is embarrassing? Don't let your embarrassment embarrass you eternally! Wake up before it’s too late! Accept my Spirit!"

VIII. THE RICH FOOL & THE ALTAR CALL

The Time Illusion: The biggest lie of the Cultural Christian is the thought: "I have time. I can fix this later. I'll drop the facade eventually."

The Storage Unit: Jesus warned us about this exact mindset in Luke 12. This rich man had so much grain that he built a bigger barn. He thought, "I’m good! I can eat, drink, and be happy. I have the resources and the time to do so."

Luke 12:19–21 CSB "Then I’ll say to myself, “You have many goods stored up for many years. Take it easy; eat, drink, and enjoy yourself.”’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is demanded of you. And the things you have prepared—whose will they be?’"

Tomorrow is Not Promised: This “Rich Fool” lived in the grey area and thought he was secure. He relied on his reputation. But Christians who believe the lie of “I have time to get it right” rarely realize that tomorrow is not promised.

The Final Flex: Tonight, we are trading the opinion of Reputation for the reality of Resurrection. Stop playing the game. Stop letting the fear of embarrassment keep you dead inside.

The Reflection: If you know your public image does not match your private reality... If you know you have fallen asleep on the wall... If you know your faith has become weak and is in a coma...

The Challenge: Tonight is the night to wake up. Rip up the DNR. Come to the altar tonight. Take the medicine of the Holy Spirit, and let the God of Resurrection bring you back to life.