Recap: The Warnings to the 7 Churches 1) Ephesus: You have lost your PASSION______and abandoned your first love.

2) Smyrna: I know your affliction and pressure but don’t be AFRAID______for I am with you.

3) Pergamum: You have some in your church who are encouraging God’s people to DISOBEY______God’s instructions and be sexually immoral.

4) Thyatira: You are TOLERATING______sin rather than dealing with the sin. The Church that was Dead “Write to the angel of the church in Sardis:

Revelation 3:1-6 (HCSB) “Write to the angel of the church in Sardis: ‘The One who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars says: I know your works; you have a reputation for being alive, but you are dead.

Revelation 3:1-6 (HCSB) The Confrontation:

 You have a reputation for being alive but you are ______.DEAD (v.1)

• Dead = (nekros) which means “a corpse”. One who is spiritually dead, destitute of a life that recognizes and is devoted to God because it is given to trespasses and sins. Ezekiel 36:26 (HCSB), “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”

Ephesians 2:1, 4 (HCSB), “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you previously walked according to the ways of this world”… (v.4) “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love that He had for us, made us alive with the Messiah even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace!”  A Dead Church/Person focuses on rules over relationships

Matthew 23:23-24 (HCSB), “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You pay a tenth of mint, dill, and cumin, yet you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. These things should have been done without neglecting the others. Blind guides! You strain out a gnat, yet gulp down a camel!  A Dead Church/Person cares more about looking good outside rather than being clean inside.

Matthew 23:25-27 (HCSB), “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence! Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, so the outside of it may also become clean. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and every impurity. In the same way, on the outside you seem righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.” Emotionally I’m done. Mentally I’m drained. Spiritually I’m dead. Physically I smile.  A Dead Church/Person has lost its joy and ability to love

Nehemiah 8:10 (HCSB), “Do not grieve, because the joy of the LORD is your stronghold.”

Proverbs 17:22 (HCSB), “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” “Write to the angel of the church in Sardis: ‘The One who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars says: I know your works; you have a reputation for being alive, but you are dead. Be alert and strengthen what remains, which is about to die, for I have not found your works complete before My God. Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; keep it, and repent. But if you are not alert, I will come like a thief, and you have no idea at what hour I will come against you.

Revelation 3:1-6 (HCSB) The Command:

 REMEMBER______: to be mindful of, call to mind, to hold in memory

 KEEP______: IT to hold fast, reserve and guard

 REPENT______: to change one’s mind and direction, to abhor one’s past sins But you have a few people in Sardis who have not defiled their clothes, and they will walk with Me in white, because they are worthy. In the same way, the victor will be dressed in white clothes, and I will never erase his name from the book of life but will acknowledge his name before My Father and before His angels. Anyone who has an ear should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.’”

Revelation 3:1-6 (HCSB) The Commitment (The Promise):

 The one who is victorious will be dressed in white clothes and their name will never be ______from the book of life. “Now Joshua was dressed with filthy clothes as he stood before the Angel. So the Angel of the LORD spoke to those standing before Him, ‘Take off his filthy clothes!’ Then He said to him, ‘See, I have removed your guilt from you, and I will clothe you with splendid robes.’”

Zechariah 3:3-4 (HCSB) The Commitment (The Promise):

 The one who is victorious will be dressed in white clothes and their name will never be ERASED______from the book of life.