The Church at Sardis!The Lifeless Church!

Rev. 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.”

Is it time to pull the plug?▪There are times in life that we have to make

some very hard decisions!

▪Sometimes these bodies can become so diseased and damaged that there is no hope for recovery and we may be asked to make some very difficult decisions!

▪I for one am thankful that we as Christians have life beyond the grave and that this life is not the only life we will live!

▪Some have faced this question not with loved ones, but with congregations!

The city of Sardis:▪Sardis was a dual (two-tier) city with the

higher class high in the top of the mountain and the lower class in the valley.

▪It is claimed that minting of coins was invented here!

▪Sardis was once considered “the greatest city in the world!”

▸King Cyrus was able to conquer this city only after finding a hidden path up the side of the mountain!

The church at Sardis:▪It is very interesting that Jesus has nothing

good to say about this congregation as a whole! This is the case with only 2 out of the 7 churches!

▸With the first 4 churches Jesus begins by praising them for what they are doing right, but there seems to be nothing in Sardis worthy of praise!

▪As the saying goes “if you are not growing, then you are dying!”

▸Others considered them to be alive, but Jesus found them to be dead!

I. The Great Physician’s Pronouncement!

▪Rev 3:1-2 "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. "Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God."

A closer look at verse one!“The words of Him who has the seven Spirits of God

and the seven stars!” (Rev. 1:4, 16)▪Jesus is the source of what they “need!”

▸“Seven Spirits!” The power/means!

▸“Seven starts!” The preaching/message!

▪It seem that their biggest problem was that they were relying on themselves, rather than on God! (Rom. 8:1)

▸When we walk in the “power” of the flesh we fail! (Gal. 5:16-26)

When we walk in the “power” of the Spirit we succeed! (Eph. 3:16-17)

The body cannot survive without the Head!

It must be reattached immediately!▪Jesus neither “commends” or “condemns” their

work! He simply state that He “knows” them and that they are dead!

▪They were busy working, but in their own might and in their own power!

▸From the “outside” they were everything one would expect them to be, but dead inwardly!

▸We cannot accomplish what God has planned without the power of God in our lives! (Phil. 4:13) “who strengthen me!”

II. The Great Physician’s Prescription!Rev. 3:2a, 3 “Wake up... 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.”

▪When we go to the doctor and he/she writes us a prescription what is it for? ▸If we are not willing to “do” what the

doctor tells us, them we are just wasting our time!

▪The church in Sardis is in bad shape, but not all is lost, yet! They still have time!

They had fallen asleep at the post!Esv. “Wake up!” Nkjv. “Be watchful”

▪The Greek verb gray-gor-yoo’-o = to keep awake, be vigilant, to watch

▸In Rev. 3:2 it is preceded by a primary verb = to cause to be, bring into being.

▸In Rev. 3:3 it is preceded by a conjunctive particle = if not, unless, except

▪There is a need for them to at once “chase away sleep!”

▪The victories of yesterday are not sufficient for today!

III. The Great Physician’s Promise!Rev. 3:4-6

▪Each one of these letters ends with words of help and hope!

▸Jesus desires that we are alive, that we are awake that we enjoy the blessings of life!

▪Verse 4 “Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments”

▸This reminds me of the “many vs few” Jesus speaks of in (Mt. 7:13-14)

Even though others are sleeping on the job, we don't have to!

▪If we are asleep it is time to wake up and once again lay hold of the promise of God!

▸Rev. 3:5-6 "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. "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."

▪This is a matter of life & death/ heaven & hell!

Conclusion:▪Truly it is good to be a Christian, to have a

home in heaven, but am I really alive with Christ? Or have I only gotten the appearance of life?

▪The truth remains that if we are not “growing” then we are “dying!”

▪We cannot live off our past success, we must live off the present!

▪When the Great Physician places His finger on the pulse of this congregation what will He find?