[The following is the full manuscript of my sermon delivered on the 28th of February, 2016. Look for the video on our Vimeo channel, http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]
When we observe the Lenten period as it is intended, we look inward at our own response to the great and beautiful sacrifice Jesus made on our behalf. We continue that self-examination as a congregational family by studying what Jesus had to say to the fifth of the seven churches of Revelation. Through this series we hope to understand the church that God wants us to be, and what steps we might need to take to reach that goal.
So far we’ve looked at the churches in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, and Thyatira. While Jesus had nothing but good things to say about the church in Smyrna, He was especially concerned about how the church family in Thyatira had allowed their tolerances to go to the extreme. They had to bear His harshest words so far.
Today we’ll look at the church in Sardis, which we’ll see is kind of middle of the road – not terribly bad, but not terribly good either. Listen and follow along to what Jesus had to say to them as recorded by the Apostle John in the Book of Revelation chapter 3 verses 1 through 6, reading from the New King James Version of our Bible…
So far we’ve looked at the churches in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, and Thyatira. While Jesus had nothing but good things to say about the church in Smyrna, He was especially concerned about how the church family in Thyatira had allowed their tolerances to go to the extreme. They had to bear His harshest words so far.
Today we’ll look at the church in Sardis, which we’ll see is kind of middle of the road – not terribly bad, but not terribly good either. Listen and follow along to what Jesus had to say to them as recorded by the Apostle John in the Book of Revelation chapter 3 verses 1 through 6, reading from the New King James Version of our Bible…
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.”’”
--Revelation 3:1-6 (NKJV)
Let us pray… Father God, please put a hedge around this family this morning, shielding us from Satan’s distractions, so that we might hear and understand the message You have for us this day. Show us where we stand as a family in Your eyes, Lord, and where You want us to be, both as individuals and as a church. In the blessed name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
A young girl gave herself to Jesus and became a Christian while attending an exciting revival service at her church one evening. She was baptized the following Sunday morning and that afternoon she ran through the house joyfully singing and dancing about. Her sour grandfather rebuked her by saying, "You ought to be ashamed of yourself! You just joined the church and here you are singing and dancing on the Lord’s Day!"
Crushed by her grandfather's attitude, the little girl went out to the barn, climbed up on the corral fence, and observed an old mule standing there with a sad, droopy face and bleary eyes. As she reached over and patted the mule sympathetically, she said, "Don't cry, ol’ mule. I guess you've got the same kind of religion that Grandpa has!"
Do we still feel and celebrate the joy of our salvation like that little girl? Or has our faith gone cold, afraid to show itself, like the grandfather’s? Do we go around bleary-eyed, with a sad, droopy face? Or do we sing and dance, rejoicing in the Lord Jesus for all He has done for us? Would a casual observer be able to see any sign of life in us, and by that I mean Christian life?
Jesus opens this fifth letter by identifying Himself as “He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars”. To understand that reference, we need to look back in the first chapter of this Book of Revelation. We saw earlier in this series where Jesus tells us that the seven stars are the angels of these seven churches, which could simply be those who will carry these letters to the churches or may be actual divine angels assigned to watch over the churches. As for the “seven Spirits of God”, we see this term first used by the Apostle John in his greeting to the seven churches, in verses 4 and 5 of chapter 1, where he says…
A young girl gave herself to Jesus and became a Christian while attending an exciting revival service at her church one evening. She was baptized the following Sunday morning and that afternoon she ran through the house joyfully singing and dancing about. Her sour grandfather rebuked her by saying, "You ought to be ashamed of yourself! You just joined the church and here you are singing and dancing on the Lord’s Day!"
Crushed by her grandfather's attitude, the little girl went out to the barn, climbed up on the corral fence, and observed an old mule standing there with a sad, droopy face and bleary eyes. As she reached over and patted the mule sympathetically, she said, "Don't cry, ol’ mule. I guess you've got the same kind of religion that Grandpa has!"
Do we still feel and celebrate the joy of our salvation like that little girl? Or has our faith gone cold, afraid to show itself, like the grandfather’s? Do we go around bleary-eyed, with a sad, droopy face? Or do we sing and dance, rejoicing in the Lord Jesus for all He has done for us? Would a casual observer be able to see any sign of life in us, and by that I mean Christian life?
Jesus opens this fifth letter by identifying Himself as “He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars”. To understand that reference, we need to look back in the first chapter of this Book of Revelation. We saw earlier in this series where Jesus tells us that the seven stars are the angels of these seven churches, which could simply be those who will carry these letters to the churches or may be actual divine angels assigned to watch over the churches. As for the “seven Spirits of God”, we see this term first used by the Apostle John in his greeting to the seven churches, in verses 4 and 5 of chapter 1, where he says…
4 John, to the seven churches which are in Asia:
Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth.
--Revelation 1:4-5 (NKJV)
Just who are these “seven Spirits of God”? Some believe this refers to the seven angels who stand before the throne of God to serve Him. But in the versions of our Bible that I searched, the “S” in “Spirits” is capitalized, and that means it refers to the divine, to God in one of His persons. We know of God’s Holy Spirit, but seven Spirits of God?
In the New King James Version of our Bible, which I have been working out of for this series, the number seven appears around 30 times in the Book of Revelation alone. There are seven churches, seven stars, and seven lampstands, seven seals, seven trumpets, seven thunders, and seven angels, seven horns and eyes on the Lamb, seven heads on the dragon, seven golden bowls, and I may have missed a few others.
You see, the number seven in our Bible represents completeness. The number of God is three, as in the Holy Trinity. And the number of man is four. God’s great master plan is completed by the events described in the Book of Revelation, which finally brings man back to God the way He intended it from the start.
So I think the “seven Spirits of God” that Jesus uses to describe Himself, that He says He has, is really God’s Holy Spirit, the Third Person of God, in the completeness of God’s plan. I believe the “seven Spirits of God” refers to the Holy Spirit in His perfect and complete fullness. I don’t mean to belabor this point too much, but we need to realize that what we are looking at in Revelation is God’s great plan finally coming to fruition. And that time is rapidly approaching, so we must be prepared!
Much like Smyrna, the city of Sardis is also a seat of emperor worship, where Caesar is treated as a god. But unlike Smyrna, the church in Sardis may have accepted this form of idolatry a little too readily.
Jesus says He knows the works of the church, and He understands that they are considered as alive and active, maybe even thriving. But in His eyes, they are dead. They are dead spiritually.
As a church, they have maintained all the necessary vital signs. They live, they breathe, they walk, they talk. They get together for worship and sign songs of praise. They share resources with those in need. But there is no spirit in them or their activities. There’s nothing left on the inside – no fire, no hopes, no dreams, no passion for life. They’re just going through the motions, doing what they’ve been told a church of Jesus Christ should do.
We need to take a good long and hard look at ourselves - each and every one of us – look within ourselves to see what’s inside. We need to check for a pulse, for vital signs, to make sure we’re alive. Let me use our chicken pie sale this past week as an example.
As a church family, we held a successful sale which raised funds that will be used for and by the church and will be shared for those in need within our community. Like Sardis, I’m sure Jesus sees this as part of our good works. But I wonder if, like Sardis, Jesus will find that not all of our works, even this one, are perfect before God.
Now I know that if you are gainfully employed you can’t necessarily take time off during the workday to come help make and distribute chicken pies. And there are other valid reasons, such as medical conditions, that prevent folks from coming out to help. But if none of that kept you away and you did not come help with the load, ask yourself why.
Maybe you thought there was nothing you could do, that you have no knowledge or skills in this area? Maybe you thought you’d just get in the way? Or maybe you looked at the weather reports and thought it would be much better to just stay home where it’s dry and warm?
And for all those who did come out to help, why did you come? Did you come out of a sense of duty and responsibility to the church? You know the need and you always help so you came? If so, that is admirable, but where is the passion, the joy of working in service to Jesus and your fellow man, the fun of the fellowship we share as we work together?
This is what Jesus found missing at Sardis! They did the work, they went through the motions, but for too many, it was just because they thought that was what they were supposed to do. There was no longer any joy in doing the work, no enjoyment of the fellowship, no fire, no passion.
Now this doesn’t apply to everyone at Pilgrim, no more than it applied to everyone at the church in Sardis. Jesus noted, in verse 4, that “You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments”. He means that there were those in the Sardis church who were still doing things for the right reasons, who still served the Lord with passion, who still had that fire and zest for life and for God. Just as there are many here who do our works not just out of a sense of duty, although that plays a huge and strong and good role, but also because of their love for each other and for the greater community. We have hopes of being able to do even more locally and beyond. We serve our Lord with a passion that is based on our love for Him and our acknowledgment of all that He has done for us.
Like those few that Jesus praised in Sardis, many here are worthy to be clothed in white, the color of purity. Your name will be maintained on the good side of the ledger in the Book of Life. And Jesus will stand before God His Father and proclaim you as one of His own.
As we do this inward examination, as we check our own pulses and motivations, I want us to remember what it feels like to be dead. And again, I don’t mean dead physically, but dead spiritually, dead in sin. The Apostle Paul describes this death quite well, I think, in his letter to the church in Ephesus, the first of the seven that Jesus addressed in His Revelation to the Apostle John. Hear the words of Paul in his book of Ephesians, chapter 2, verses 1 through 6…
In the New King James Version of our Bible, which I have been working out of for this series, the number seven appears around 30 times in the Book of Revelation alone. There are seven churches, seven stars, and seven lampstands, seven seals, seven trumpets, seven thunders, and seven angels, seven horns and eyes on the Lamb, seven heads on the dragon, seven golden bowls, and I may have missed a few others.
You see, the number seven in our Bible represents completeness. The number of God is three, as in the Holy Trinity. And the number of man is four. God’s great master plan is completed by the events described in the Book of Revelation, which finally brings man back to God the way He intended it from the start.
So I think the “seven Spirits of God” that Jesus uses to describe Himself, that He says He has, is really God’s Holy Spirit, the Third Person of God, in the completeness of God’s plan. I believe the “seven Spirits of God” refers to the Holy Spirit in His perfect and complete fullness. I don’t mean to belabor this point too much, but we need to realize that what we are looking at in Revelation is God’s great plan finally coming to fruition. And that time is rapidly approaching, so we must be prepared!
Much like Smyrna, the city of Sardis is also a seat of emperor worship, where Caesar is treated as a god. But unlike Smyrna, the church in Sardis may have accepted this form of idolatry a little too readily.
Jesus says He knows the works of the church, and He understands that they are considered as alive and active, maybe even thriving. But in His eyes, they are dead. They are dead spiritually.
As a church, they have maintained all the necessary vital signs. They live, they breathe, they walk, they talk. They get together for worship and sign songs of praise. They share resources with those in need. But there is no spirit in them or their activities. There’s nothing left on the inside – no fire, no hopes, no dreams, no passion for life. They’re just going through the motions, doing what they’ve been told a church of Jesus Christ should do.
We need to take a good long and hard look at ourselves - each and every one of us – look within ourselves to see what’s inside. We need to check for a pulse, for vital signs, to make sure we’re alive. Let me use our chicken pie sale this past week as an example.
As a church family, we held a successful sale which raised funds that will be used for and by the church and will be shared for those in need within our community. Like Sardis, I’m sure Jesus sees this as part of our good works. But I wonder if, like Sardis, Jesus will find that not all of our works, even this one, are perfect before God.
Now I know that if you are gainfully employed you can’t necessarily take time off during the workday to come help make and distribute chicken pies. And there are other valid reasons, such as medical conditions, that prevent folks from coming out to help. But if none of that kept you away and you did not come help with the load, ask yourself why.
Maybe you thought there was nothing you could do, that you have no knowledge or skills in this area? Maybe you thought you’d just get in the way? Or maybe you looked at the weather reports and thought it would be much better to just stay home where it’s dry and warm?
And for all those who did come out to help, why did you come? Did you come out of a sense of duty and responsibility to the church? You know the need and you always help so you came? If so, that is admirable, but where is the passion, the joy of working in service to Jesus and your fellow man, the fun of the fellowship we share as we work together?
This is what Jesus found missing at Sardis! They did the work, they went through the motions, but for too many, it was just because they thought that was what they were supposed to do. There was no longer any joy in doing the work, no enjoyment of the fellowship, no fire, no passion.
Now this doesn’t apply to everyone at Pilgrim, no more than it applied to everyone at the church in Sardis. Jesus noted, in verse 4, that “You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments”. He means that there were those in the Sardis church who were still doing things for the right reasons, who still served the Lord with passion, who still had that fire and zest for life and for God. Just as there are many here who do our works not just out of a sense of duty, although that plays a huge and strong and good role, but also because of their love for each other and for the greater community. We have hopes of being able to do even more locally and beyond. We serve our Lord with a passion that is based on our love for Him and our acknowledgment of all that He has done for us.
Like those few that Jesus praised in Sardis, many here are worthy to be clothed in white, the color of purity. Your name will be maintained on the good side of the ledger in the Book of Life. And Jesus will stand before God His Father and proclaim you as one of His own.
As we do this inward examination, as we check our own pulses and motivations, I want us to remember what it feels like to be dead. And again, I don’t mean dead physically, but dead spiritually, dead in sin. The Apostle Paul describes this death quite well, I think, in his letter to the church in Ephesus, the first of the seven that Jesus addressed in His Revelation to the Apostle John. Hear the words of Paul in his book of Ephesians, chapter 2, verses 1 through 6…
2 In the past you were dead because you sinned and fought against God. 2 You followed the ways of this world and obeyed the devil. He rules the world, and his spirit has power over everyone who doesn’t obey God. 3 Once we were also ruled by the selfish desires of our bodies and minds. We had made God angry, and we were going to be punished like everyone else.
4-5 But God was merciful! We were dead because of our sins, but God loved us so much that he made us alive with Christ, and God’s wonderful kindness is what saves you. 6 God raised us from death to life with Christ Jesus, and he has given us a place beside Christ in heaven.
--Ephesians 2:1-6 (CEV)
We made God angry but God was merciful! We were dead just as Jesus was dead. But God raised us to life just as He raised Jesus back to life.
Isn’t that a wonderful image? The same power and authority that God used to raise Jesus from the dead and restore life to Him, He gave to us, to bring us from the death of sin back into life with Jesus. That power and authority is none other than His Holy Spirit, the same Holy Spirit that lives within us. The same Holy Spirit that will give us the life and fire and passion as we serve Jesus, that will keep our hopes and dreams alive. The same Holy Spirit that will restore us to life eternal if we believe in Jesus as Lord.
Jesus told the church in Sardis and He tells the church known as Pilgrim to be watchful. He will come like a thief in the night, that no one may know when. So we must be watchful and ever vigilant to do His works and for the right reasons. And not only that, but we are to strengthen the things that remain. We are to stoke the fires that are about to go out, stir up those dying embers and restore the passion of life, not only within ourselves but in all those around us!
We need to do all we can so that when we stand before our Lord, we will not hear Him say, “I know your works, but I have not found them to be perfect before God”. Hold fast, and repent. Jesus gives that word of instruction often, so we know it’s important: Repent. Turn from what we are doing that is wrong in God’s eyes, especially if we are doing it intentionally. Turn back to God and to serving Him.
Rekindle the fire within; restore the passion, the hopes, the dreams. Awaken the sleepwalker. Stop just going through the motions. Come alive!
Amen.
Let us pray… Father God, Your Son Jesus is the key to Your great master plan for mankind. Through Him, You pardon our sins. Through Him, You grant us eternal life. And through Him, You show us a glimpse of how Your plan will play out at the end of days. Jesus addressed the seven churches of Asia of His time on earth, and the message He had for them still holds true for us today. Thank You, Father, for loving us so much that You give us every chance possible for us to repent and live a life of service to You and to Jesus.
Hear us now, Father, as we bow before You in the silence, repenting of our sin against You, asking Your forgiveness…
Lord Jesus, Your messages to the seven churches hold so very true for us still, for every church family across the globe. From what You said in those letters, we can see our own faults as well as what we should do to get right in God’s eyes. Please help us come alive in our service, so that we will not be found lacking when we stand before our Father God. In Your blessed name, dear Jesus, we pray. Amen.
Isn’t that a wonderful image? The same power and authority that God used to raise Jesus from the dead and restore life to Him, He gave to us, to bring us from the death of sin back into life with Jesus. That power and authority is none other than His Holy Spirit, the same Holy Spirit that lives within us. The same Holy Spirit that will give us the life and fire and passion as we serve Jesus, that will keep our hopes and dreams alive. The same Holy Spirit that will restore us to life eternal if we believe in Jesus as Lord.
Jesus told the church in Sardis and He tells the church known as Pilgrim to be watchful. He will come like a thief in the night, that no one may know when. So we must be watchful and ever vigilant to do His works and for the right reasons. And not only that, but we are to strengthen the things that remain. We are to stoke the fires that are about to go out, stir up those dying embers and restore the passion of life, not only within ourselves but in all those around us!
We need to do all we can so that when we stand before our Lord, we will not hear Him say, “I know your works, but I have not found them to be perfect before God”. Hold fast, and repent. Jesus gives that word of instruction often, so we know it’s important: Repent. Turn from what we are doing that is wrong in God’s eyes, especially if we are doing it intentionally. Turn back to God and to serving Him.
Rekindle the fire within; restore the passion, the hopes, the dreams. Awaken the sleepwalker. Stop just going through the motions. Come alive!
Amen.
Let us pray… Father God, Your Son Jesus is the key to Your great master plan for mankind. Through Him, You pardon our sins. Through Him, You grant us eternal life. And through Him, You show us a glimpse of how Your plan will play out at the end of days. Jesus addressed the seven churches of Asia of His time on earth, and the message He had for them still holds true for us today. Thank You, Father, for loving us so much that You give us every chance possible for us to repent and live a life of service to You and to Jesus.
Hear us now, Father, as we bow before You in the silence, repenting of our sin against You, asking Your forgiveness…
Lord Jesus, Your messages to the seven churches hold so very true for us still, for every church family across the globe. From what You said in those letters, we can see our own faults as well as what we should do to get right in God’s eyes. Please help us come alive in our service, so that we will not be found lacking when we stand before our Father God. In Your blessed name, dear Jesus, we pray. Amen.
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