Sardis is the 5th Church that Jesus addressed in the Book of Revelation.
Many people consider themselves the Church of Philadelphia.
We might recognize ourselves in some of the characteristics of the churches and we might not.
This morning, Revelation 3:2 came to mind.
Well, just the one line, not the whole verse: Strengthen that which remains.
Those words were strong in my mind, so I looked it up and found this whole section of interest.
I think Jesus has some things to open up about the church of Sardis.
For the sake of learning, let’s not put ourselves in any church
and just examine ourselves according to this particular Church and the exhortations Jesus spoke.
God’s word is alive. His word reverberates through history, through our lives, through our world.
It is powerful and it goes forth performing what He wants to accomplish with it.
The Book of Revelation, Chapter 3
And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write;
These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars;
I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. v 1
Jesus has noticed these churches and decided to expose their characteristics.
We can learn from them all.
This one has some exhortations that could help us examine ourselves.
If we look at this honestly, we might see some things in our own lives that need to be remedied by His Spirit.
He says some positive things to them in this verse. He that hath the seven Spirits of God,
He is reminding them who He is and sharing how He has the authority to reprimand them.
He said I know thy works. Meaning He knows what they have done and that they have a name,
that He knows who they are, that they have followed Him, to an extent, and they live, but are dead.
It’s like they’ve plowed their field, planted their seeds, watered them and they quit in the middle.
The beautiful thing about God’s word is that it’s alive and effervescent.
It has many uses. It’s the same word that people have used for centuries and it is Jesus in written form.
We know He will use it for us and has already used it many times for others.
His Holy Spirit continues to teach and lead and guide us into all truth.
Let it happen. Let it be.
Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain,
that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God. v 2
Jesus is saying here that there are dead works. Things that mean nothing.
They could even be considered spiritual works or works for God,
but they still are not alive, not works by the Holy Spirit.
We know some will say they have done many works for God and Jesus will say,
Depart from Me, I never knew you.
Notice also that Jesus said, Strengthen the things which remain.
He is giving the hearer a hint that there are things in them He finds worthy,
but that they have not valued as much as they should, the most important things to Him:
the Kingdom of God and His commandments,
to love the Lord thy God with all of thy heart, mind, soul and strength and to love thy neighbor as thyself.
Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent.
If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief,
and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. v3
Jesus is trying to wake them up, to make them see. He wants them to repent of their dead works.
He also said, hold fast, meaning concentrate on
and remember those things that they did hear with hearing ears and did see with seeing eyes.
Look at and focus on those.
Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments;
and they shall walk with Me in white: for they are worthy. v 4
There is a remnant that Jesus notices.
There are those whose hearts are perfect before God and He sees them.
They have been washed in Jesus’ blood and received the forgiveness of sins.
They continue to remain close to Jesus.
Without Jesus, we can do nothing. (see John 15:5)
He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment;
and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life,
but I will confess his name before My Father, and before His angels. v 5
We would all like to be considered overcomers by Jesus.
Those who overcome the enemy by choosing what is good and righteous
and have served the Lord Jesus in the midst of turmoil and opposition
or fleshly desire to do their own thing.
None of us want our name blotted out of the Book of Life.
We also want to be confessed before His Father and His angels.
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. v 6
Jesus says this many times.
He is accentuating the importance of hearing the Spirit of God with spiritual ears
rather than looking at things through the lense of the flesh and with the mind of the natural.
Not all can hear and see. That means we are blessed when we are able.