To The Church in Sardis

Mission and Vision

Intro

Thank you to everyone who stepped up while I was gone

Thank you to Kathy and Larisa for Bible Study… I dropped the ball and forgot to put someone in charge

Thank you to David for stepping in and sharing and for the worship team running like a well oiled machine without us

So blessed to be a part of this church and have you guys supporting us on our vacation

We actually got back last night and we are heading out to Hutch tonight for District Assembly

Today we are going to jump back into our sermon series entitled dear church

We are walking through the 7 messages to the churches in the book of revelation

We are diving into the church in Sardis today

To the Church in Sardis

Context

Sardis was a very wealthy city in a kingdom called Lydia

This city had a rich and deep history

One of the old kings of Sardis was well known for the wealth he had acquired

The city of Sardis… like the other cities… had temples to pegan gods.. they had a temple to artimus there

The city was said to be impenetrable… even though it wasn’t it had been conquered by multiple people before

but the people of the city saw the cities position on this cliff as a place where no one could reach them

THis history was so much a part of the city’s identity… there is a story that at one point the city was bidding for the right to have a huge temple built in their city and to win the bid they campaigned with what they used to be… how important they used to be… how relevant they used to be

They lost the bid because Smyrna campaigned with how relevant they were in that moment.... something we will see that has crept into the church

Let’s dive into the scripture

Again Jesus is telling these folks what they need to know for what he’s about to tell them

Him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars

Jesus is identifying himself as the one who holds in his hands the sustaining power of the church

he is the one who provides the messenger and the holy spirit that breathes life into the church

Jesus is letting the people of Sardis know that he is the one who, by his very power and presence holds the churches in his hands

This is a reminder of his authority, his right to judge righteously, as well as his ability to ordain or pull the commission on any church he pleases

I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive...

If we’re following the pattern of the others… we’re expecting Jesus to start off this compliment sandwich with something positive

And it sounds that way

Until he comes with that 3 letter word… But

But you are dead

Jesus is telling the Sardinian church that they have a reputation for being alive…

They look good on the surface

The stuff that they do around town makes it look like things are going well

They have a vbs, a food pantry, they used to be really involved in the community

They are known in the community for all the stuff the church used to do

The numbers look good. Lots of young families … youknow… the kind of church you would invite your friends to because it was the church that your parents got saved in and you have heard nothing but Good things about their heritage

by all intents and purposes… you would think that they are a living church full of activity

But

he tells them that in spite of the looks and the reputation… there truly is no life inside you

It doesn’t matter what people have heard or even what the church shows them… they are not connected to THE life which is Jesus Christ and therefore nothing that they do is bringing life

Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God

He tells the to wake up

Take stock of what is really going on in their church

This church has been living on their legacy and on their history and on their programs for so long that they don’t even notice the cold, dead, religion that has crept in

They don’t see where they have lost sight of the life that is found in Jesus

They are asleep at the wheel and headed to complete death

THey are headed toward the church doors closing

If they don’t wake up and realize that religion is dead and that the works and reputation of the past don’t equal life in the present… the parts that are still working will fall off as well

How many of you know what sepsis is?

It’s a sickness that is normally caused by an infection that is either left untreated or its not noticed and the infection gets in the blood and spreads throughout the body

This is a life-threatening issue that can and will take you out if left untreated

This church in Sardis is septic

There has been a die off that has been circulating for so long that it is in danger of killing off the whole church

And left unchecked there is nothing but death in store for them

Jesus tells them that the works that they have been doing have been left incomplete

The works the reputation, the programs, the stuff isn’t enough

The church can’t work thier way into life

They have to be connected to the life in christ

Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent.

What’s crazy about a lot of these letters is that Jesus is calling the people deeper by calling them back to orthodoxy and orthopraxis

He’s saying you don’t have to try harder… you need to go back to the good that you know and follow that

You need to reconnect to what brought you into salvation, the passion that drove you when you first learned Christ… You need to get back to that

We need to be reminded more than we need to be taught

it really is that simple sometimes

Remember remain

Remember, remain, repent

Go back to what you know… hold tight to it… and repent of anything that leads you any different direction

See the church here, like many churches, had gotten too much of their identification with the city inside of them

Remember the city of Sardis lived in the past so much and lived in thier reputation of being impeneatrable… that they ended up being taken captive because they weren’t living in the reality of what is… they were blinded by the history of what was

This is what the church was suffering from as well

They were seeing so much of who they had been that they lost track of what they had become

Jesus tells them that if they don’t wake up and face reality that he will come like a thief and the church will not know when he will come agaisnt the church

Since they are asleep any way… they won’t notice when Jesus has actually changed from being for them to being agaisnt them

This is such a scary thought if you think about it

If a church is so caught up in what they are doing for God and what programs and busy work they are doing… they can actually go from woking with Jesus on his mission to being an enemy of Christ and having the spirit removed from thier church

And if a church or a person is in that place… they won’t even notice

It’s not all bad though

JEsus says that there are some in Sardis a few who have not soiled thier garments...

Who havent gotten dirty with the stain of the world… who haven’t identified so much with the world that they have lost their identity with Christ

He says that those from that church will walk in white garments for they are worthy

They are pure and their purity will show by walking with Jesus and by shinning as examples of purity even in the midst of stubborn and sleeping people

To the one who conquers

JEsus is going to give the one who conquers… that is who overcomes… who remembers, remains, and repents… garments of white and their name will be forever in the book of life

Lost salvation

This passage gives people some reserve… there are some who read this and say see it says right there that if you do good God will keep your name in the book but if not he’s going to blot it out

You could read it that way

Here’s how I like to look at this passage

If you are holding fast to the life in Christ and your onlyt goal is to stay connected to him… there is no way your name will be blotted out

I read this as a blessed assurance not as a condemnation

Jesus is telling his people that as they continue in him… there is life and that life is eternal and everlasting… stay awake… stay grounded in the truth and there is no way that you can be taken from his hands

Time for response