Church of Sardis
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1 “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.
“ ‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 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. 3 Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. 4 Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. 5 The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. 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.’
Church of Sardis
Church of Sardis
Sardis was a city with two sections. The first development sat on a ridge that jutted out from the side of a mountain. It was fifteen hundred feet straight up and it was impregnable, perfectly safe from any enemy. However, when the city outgrew this ridge, a second development was begun at the base of the mountain in the valley. Legend has it that gold was discovered just lying around in the river that flowed through the city. The city’s history was one of wealth and security from all enemies. However, by the time John wrote Revelation, the city’s flourishing wealth had passed and much of its glory had faded. The population had become flabby and soft, lethargic and complacent, living on the city’s past reputation. The church knew what the Lord meant by having a name that they lived, but they were dead (v.1). They knew what it was to have received the best of everything, but now they needed to repent (v.3).
Sardis had been conquered only twice. Both times had been due to a false sense of security behind their impregnable fortress. They failed to post adequate watches to overlook the walls of the steep fortress. While under attack by Cyrus of Persia, a guard of Sardis was seen to drop his helmet over the steep wall and climb down the crevices to recover it. The city was taken that very night by a small band of soldiers climbing up the same crevices. Under one of the subsequent rulers to Alexander the Great, the incident was remembered, and again the city was taken in the same manner. The church knew from history what the Lord meant by “watch and strengthen … hold fast … I will come on thee as a thief.…” (vv.2–3).
Leadership Ministries Worldwide. (1996). Revelation (p. 52). Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide.
John speaks to the church at Sardis like this, you have been putting on a good show, you have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Sardis is in need of a revival! For too long they had lived on what used to be. They remembered what God had ONCE done in the city, the wealth, the might, and even God’s protection. But they were living on past fame and had forgotten that they were to live by faith. Instead they were relying on life support. They had become lifeless and was dying.
Too many churches today are stuck in the same rut! How many times have we heard, or may have even said “I remember back when...”. Church, God does not work in the past, He works in the present and prepares us for the future. If you know of or are part of a church that has had a stellar history in reaching the lost for the Lord, but is struggling now, we must ask ourselves - are we living off the glory of the past and have forgotten where God wants us to be now? A lifeless and dying church needs to look to Jesus Christ. Just as He provides eternal salvation for the lost, He provides an opportunity for the church to go and do His ministry - IF they will turn back to Him and repent. In this first verse, it speaks of Jesus having the seven spirits of God, referencing the Holy Spirit.
Jesus showed us the sevenfold ministry of the Holy Spirit in the upper room:
He is the Great Comforter
He is the Spirit of Truth
17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
He is the personal presence of Christ
18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.
He is the manifestation of Christ in a believer
21 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” 22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?”
He is the abiding presence of the Trinity
23 Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me.
He is the teacher
25 “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
He is the peace of Christ
27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
A lifeless and dying church needs a Holy Spirit drenching to the point of a revival like none other! They need to look not to themselves for activities or special events to bring people in and grow the church, because as we have heard before if one church can lure people with a hotdog another can take them away with a hamburger. No, church, we need people committed to the cause of Jesus Christ, we need people willing to sacrifice of their time and energy to see the gospel message spread, and we need people willing to step up and be leaders in their churches, in their communities, and in their convictions. When we first came to Mt. Carmel, we had more classes than we had teachers. We had people uncommitted to their church because “their” pastor had left. We had people who were making excuses for why they could not stay committed to the church. Folks, until we get over the thoughts that we have to be entertained when we come to church, we will NEVER see a great Holy Ghost revival fall on us and we will NEVER get past what we used to be.
That’s not the future God has in store for us. We still have hope! But we have to get our priorities straight - we must seek Jesus for the Spirit of God, we need to seek the quickening of the Spirit, we need to seek the convicting power of the Holy Spirit, we need to seek the fruit of the Spirit, we need to see guidance from the Spirit, we need to seek the POWER of the Spirit, but most importantly we need to seek REVIVAL so we can again feel the FIRE of the Spirit. We can not afford to remain complacent.
Notice, in the past churches, John had a little moment that he bragged on what each church was still doing right. Not the church of Sardis. There is no good deeds they were doing. They had forgotten their first true love. They were only following through the motions. They were leaving God out of their worship.
5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.
Sin was the main and most serious problem for this church. The church had works - programs, ministries, and activities, and on the outside looked to be progressive, alive, well attended, and full of good fellowship. But it was dying and lifeless. It had forgotten its true calling.
Folks, we are in a cross road ourselves. Look at our church, we have a host of young children who are in need of teaching and training. Who will be willing to step up for these children? They are not the future of our church, they are our church and if we do not reach them now - we will lose them.
How do we do that? Well, verse 2 tells us we are to watch - we are to watch and strengthen the works that are still alive!
2 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.
We should be awakened now, coming alive to what God wants us to do in our church, instead of sitting in services half asleep and wandering of everything else instead of the Word of God. We need a breath of life back into our children’s ministry. But to do that, we are going to have to have workers. But where are our workers? And, are they willing to step up and do what God has called them to do?
What we find John saying to the church of Sardis is this - Christ has not found a single service or activity that were complete, fulfilled, or finished in His eyes. And so, we have work to do church. We must seek God’s will and direction for our future health.
26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
3 Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you.
John warns the believers of this lifeless church to do 4 things
They had to remember how they received and heard the gospel.
They must wake up and grab the original fire the Spirit placed in their lives.
They must repent, they had to turn away from their complacency and turn back to God.
They must know God’s judgment will come on them if they refuse to follow Him.
4 Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. 5 The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. 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.’
There were still the remnant - those who were trying to overcome - and as a result they are given a promise. These members did not use the church for their “fire insurance”, they did not attend activities or programs for entertainment, but they were there to fully seek God’s will for their lives. They focused on Jesus, and were growing spiritually. With everything else around them falling apart, why did they continue to follow Christ? Because they realized He was worth it. They knew and felt the love Jesus showed them, and they were willing to follow Him and not the world. John writes that God promises them they will walk with him in white, because they are worthy of that. White - pure, undefiled, clean.
Never blot his name out of the book of life - have we ever thought what the book of life looks like? We understand our names are written in the book of life - but when? Some will say their name is written on their day of salvation. I feel differently. Because God loves us all and died for each and every one of us, I believe all of our names are written in the book of life when we are born. It is only when we fully reject God and turn away from Him and die in our sins that the names are blotted out of the book of life. When our name remains on the book of life, then Jesus will acknowledge us to God and the angels.
32 So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, 33 but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.
9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
11 for it is written,
“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
and every tongue shall confess to God.”
12 So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.
We give account of ourselves before God - not your preacher, not your teacher, not your mother, not your father, not your siblings. No one can be held accountable for our actions but us. Have we grown complacent? Are we cold in our Spirit? Do we need a revival to fire us back up and put us on the road God wants us to be?
