Supplemental Sermon Notes: Revelation 3:1-6 (page 1029) Churches On Life Support

Introduction: Churches can appear strong when they are really on “life-support.” I. Sardis  30-40 miles southeast of Thyatira  An ancient city, est. 1,200 B.C. (Time of the Judges)  Legend of King Midas was said to take place in Sardis. o Pactolus River runs through the city. . Was said to be river where Midas was “cured” of “golden touch” . They did find gold dust in the Pactolus River!  Sardis was known for its wealth o First city in the world to ever mint coins . “electrum” – Gold and silver alloy. o King Croesus – about 500 years before Jesus. . Became the definition of “wealthy” . “As rich as Croesus” meant as rich as anyone could become.  Sardis was also known worldwide as a military power. o City was built on two levels: . Lower level – most of the city, & where most activity took place. . Upper level – an acropolis on a hill  Surrounded on 3 sides by a sheer 1,500 foot drop.  Only “easy” approach: o The steep hill on the forth side. o Heavily fortified & defended. o Made the acropolis virtually invincible.  “Capturing Sardis” - euphemism for doing the impossible. o When attacked, people would withdraw to the acropolis.  Turning Point: the Persian (superpower of the day) invasion of 546 B.C. o King Cyrus of Persia attacked Sardis. o King Croesus & men retreated to the acropolis. o 14 days into the siege, a single Persian soldier climbed one of the “unclimbable” cliffs, snuck into the acropolis, and opened the gate. o The world turned upside-down! . King Cyrus & Persia’s status became almost superhuman. . Sardis became a second-rate power.  The decline of Sardis o Next 300 years – a collection of military disasters. . Surrendered to Alexander the Great without a fight. . 214 B.C. Antiochus III took the city like Cyrus did. o 17 A.D. – a terrible earthquake destroyed the acropolis.  By 90 A.D. Sardis was a “has-been” city living for the glory of the past.  Religious life – centered on worship of the “gods” of nature. o Obsessed with death o known for huge cemetery (“Necropolis”) on lower level. o Large Jewish community dating back to 45h or 5th century B.C. o Syncretism was alive & well – Jewish beliefs blended with pagan beliefs. 2

II. Introduction of the letter (v. 1a) A. Usual address B. Prophetic messenger & character of Christ.  “Seven Spirit of God” o The Holy Spirit o “Seven” is the number of perfection. o Stresses the perfect work of the Holy Spirit. o Point: the power of the Holy Spirit is going to make the difference in the seven churches, not the power of man!  Jesus holds the “Seven spirits” as well as the “seven stars” o Seven stars = angels in charge of the churches. o Point: Jesus is in charge and not us! o Before the Holy Spirit will act, churches (& Christians) must submit themselves to Jesus. o The degree to which we’ll do so determines if situation will change. o Zechariah 4:6, “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.”  Application: We need to submit ourselves to Jesus.

III. “Strength,” (really a weakness) (v. 1c) A. “I know your works” – typical intro to list of strengths. B. “You have the reputation of being alive” – Form & sounds like a strength. C. “But you are dead.” – tells us it’s really a weakness.  There’s no “weakness” formula in this letter!  …Because all Sardis HAS are weaknesses.  In their pride, they think their false reputation is a strength! D. Literal translation: I know your deeds; that you have a name that is living, but it is death!  A name is merely a label to us.  In the Ancient Near East it was an expression of character or nature. o Abram – Abraham (Genesis 17:5) o Joseph – Barnabas (Acts 4:36)  The church at Sardis gives itself the name “Alive!”  Here Jesus says the church’s name is really “Death!” o Reflects the death that Sardis is obsessed with. o The church is really one big “Necropolis!” o It looks alive, but its real nature is death.

IV. The solution to their “deadness” (vv 2-3a) A. “Wake up and strengthen what remains and is about to die.”  Some part of the church is alive, but it isn’t enough.  2 Elements of a healthy church (from previous weeks) o Teach the Gospel & Word of God. o Live out the love & word of God through service. 3

 The church at Sardis has a good reputation, but like the city, their greatness is in the past.  They have become people “…having the appearance of godliness but denying its power (2 Timothy 3:5)  Though they might look good, by God’s standards they fall short. o Likely syncretism again – blending into the culture. o The church no longer distinctly reflects Christ. o Church has become just another thing they do.  That describes a lot of churches today. o Good reputation based on the past. o But no real substance. o They fail to teach God’s Word and/or fail to live for Christ.  Since a church is made up of people who attend and not those hired to run it… o Whatever problems a church may have, the staff can’t fix it. o They’re only part of the solution. o Ultimately, a church is a team effort.

B. “Wake Up”  Literally, “Prove yourself to be watchful” o Speaks of not just going through the motions of being watchful… o …But of actually watching!  Not everything in a church glorifies or pleases God, because often we mistake activity for productivity. o Activity – Doing a lot of stuff just to do a lot of stuff (looking alive). o Productivity – Doing stuff to actually accomplish your purpose (being alive). o In a church or with individual Christians, activity instead of productivity might look good, but the church or the person will never be what Jesus has in mind!  Here Jesus is saying, “Pursue productivity over activity.” o One way to do that: Ask “Why am I doing this?” o If we don’t know the answer, or the answer is lame, we’re probably active but not productive and need to make some changes. C. “Strengthen what remains and is about to die”  “Strengthen what remains” = “make a weak thing stronger than it was before.” 1. “Remember, then, what you received and heard.” . Speaks of the Gospel – the basics of Christianity.  God loves us and desires a relationship with us.  Because of our sin, that relationship isn’t possible.  Jesus – God incarnate – died on the cross as our substitute.  He paid our price so that we could be forgiven.  If we put our faith in Jesus, we are forgiven and have the relationship with God that He desires.  We receive the ultimate joy only found in knowing God! . The joy we receive from the Gospel changes everything! . Dull and lifeless Christians and churches have forgotten that joy. 4

. If we remember the joy of the Gospel, everything changes! . In light of the Gospel, we, and our church, need never be dull and lifeless again! D. “Keep it.”  This isn’t just a mental exercise.  We’re not just to remember the Gospel, but live it out! E. “Repent” = “change direction”  by remembering and acting on the truth of the Gospel.

V. The Consequences of Ignoring Jesus’ Commands (v. 3b)  Powerful language: “There’s no way you’ll know when I’ll come!”  Jesus will come in and “overturn” the church.  If they insist on acting like a dead church, He’ll make them a dead church!

VI. The Promise and Challenge to the Overcomers (3:4-6) A. V. 4 - There is a remnant in Sardis who have “not soiled their garments.”  They have not blended into the world.  They will “walk” with Jesus o They’ll continue to live as Jesus would have them live. B. V. 5 – The reward of all who overcome.  They’ll be “clothed in white” o Remain righteous o Participate in Christ’s victory procession at His return.  They’re names will never be blotted out of the book of life o “Book of life” – A book where the names of those who are righteous in the sight of God (they follow Jesus) are recroded. o Revelation 20:15: “And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” o Revelation 21:27: “But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life.” o In Sardis, names of convicted felons were blotted out of the official list of citizens. o In Jewish synagogues, the names of those who were removed from the synagogue were blotted out. o Jesus is promising that will never happen to those who know Christ! o They might be excluded from THIS world, but NEVER from the next! o Matthew 10:32: “I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.”  In light of that, how can we ever let our lives and our church become dull and lifeless?

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”