Latest / Teachings On This Day On FerventWord / On Aug 08, 2010: Revelation 3:7-13 Philadelphia I Have Set Before You An Open Door
Transcript
- You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2010. As we're looking at the book of Revelation, we're studying or we're getting ready to study the things which must shortly take place. It's what John referred to in chapter 1 verse 1 where Jesus said that he was given these things by the Father and that he gave them to John to reveal to us, the disciples, to us, the church, the things that are going to happen. The book of Revelation is about the future. It's about the things that are going to take place, the things that are going to happen in the last days. We're not quite there yet. We're getting there as we head into chapter 4 in a couple weeks. We'll be dealing with those things and it begins really with the rapture of the church. And as we head into chapter 4, we'll be looking at the rapture of the church and talking about its place and its significance and what it is and where it fits in In the whole end times picture. But the rapture of the church is where the church, the followers of Christ, are caught up to be with the Lord. We are caught up to be with Him in the air. And then the scripture says that we will be forever with the Lord from that time on. And so it's what we are looking forward to as Christians. After the rapture takes place, though, here on the earth is going to begin seven years of tribulation. And this seven years of tribulation is going to be the worst thing that this world has ever endured. More war than ever, more death and devastation and destruction than really we can imagine as we look at chapters 6 through 19 and study that tribulation period. It's really going to go beyond what we're expecting. able to really imagine and to understand. It's going to be so devastating. It will be beyond belief in some cases. But the seven years of tribulation will come to an end with the return of Jesus Christ. It tells us in Revelation chapter 19 that he will come back at the battle of Armageddon. As the armies are gathered together to fight one another, then Jesus returns and they turn against Christ to fight against him. And he puts an end, he wipes out the armies that are gathered there for the battle of Armageddon. And at that time, he will usher in a thousand-year reign of peace, a thousand-year reign of Christ. We call it the millennial kingdom of Christ. He will literally and physically rule and reign on the earth for 1,000 years. The saints, those who are caught up within the rapture, they will come back with him and rule and reign with him for those thousand years. Also during that thousand years, Satan will be bound in the bottomless pit. And so he will not be able to harass and tempt and lead people astray as he is able to do now. During that time as well, the earth will be renewed and restored to what it once was. And so long life will be again common and prevalent. It's going to be just an incredible and glorious time for that thousand year reign of Christ. At the end of the thousand years though, Satan will be released for one final rebellion. He will lead whoever wants to follow him and he'll come against God at Jerusalem. But of course he will not be successful. That rebellion will not succeed. It will be put to an end. And so at that time, the final judgment will take place. It's called the Great White Throne Judgment. There Satan and his angels or the demons will be cast into the lake of fire. And Revelation chapter 20 verse 15 tells us that whoever is not written in the book of life will also be cast into the lake of fire at that time. It's a judgment for those who have rejected Jesus Christ, for those who have not received the offer of forgiveness that God offers to us. And so it's not a judgment for believers, but for unbelievers. And it's the final judgment that will take place. After that, he goes on to tell us in chapter 21 and 22 about the new Jerusalem that will be created. There will be a new heavens and a new earth. There will be the rest of eternity. We get some hints about that eternity and what God has in store for us. But much of it is going to be beyond what we can ever, ever begin to think about or imagine. And so we look forward to those things. And so these are the things that we will be looking at as we go through the book of Revelation. The things which must shortly take place. And those are exciting things and we like to study those things. And that's good. But before we get there, before we get into those future events, God has us here in chapter 3. There's a work that He wants to do in our hearts in preparation. that we would be able to understand, that we would be prepared to look at and study the things that are going to take place. Also, as we look at chapters 2 and 3, we're looking at the things that would prepare us for the events to actually happen, because these things really will take place. And so we need to not rush through or just kind of gloss over these things, but this is important preparation for our hearts and for what God wants to do. John gives us, or rather Jesus gives us an outline of the book of Revelation in chapter 1 verse 19, where he tells John to write down the things which he had seen. And at that time, the only thing he had seen was the vision of Christ there in chapter 1 that is recorded. And so that is chapter 1, the first division of the book of Revelation, the vision of Jesus Christ. The second part or component of the book of Revelation, Jesus told John to write down the things which are. And we understand that to be chapters 2 and 3 where Jesus is writing to the seven churches. Those are the things that are, and even to this present day, we're living in the church age and these are the things which are for us right now. These are the things that Jesus is addressing in our generation, in our day, and in our hearts this morning. Well, after the church age, after the time of the church is completed, then the rest of eternity lays ahead. The rest of the end times events will unfold. And those are the things which will take place after this. And that's the third division or the third part of the book of Revelation, which we'll be looking at in chapters 4 through 22. And so in this outline, we've looked at the things which are past, we're looking at the things which are present, and we're preparing ourselves for the things which are to come, both to understand them, but also for those events to unfold. The things that are, as we're looking at these letters to the seven churches, we're not just looking at some historical church that existed. That's definitely a part of what we're looking at. But there's four ways that we look at and apply these letters that Jesus wrote to the churches. The first application of these letters is, of course, the literal historical church that existed in the time that Jesus was giving this vision and revelation to the Apostle John. There really was a church that was located in Sardis. It really had the conditions that Jesus is describing and needed the exhortation and the commands that Jesus gave. And so we look at it and we understand it applies, of course, to that church that existed then. The second way that we apply these letters or we look at the application of these letters is that throughout church history, the global and kind of general state of the church fits and goes along with the letters that Jesus writes to these churches. We're not going to be dealing with this explicitly this morning, but we're going to be dealing just like we haven't in the past couple of weeks. But as we go forward, as we're heading into chapter 4, we'll come back and revisit this idea and see how the different times in church history correspond with these letters that Jesus is writing to the church. The third application of these letters is we can apply them to individual churches today. And so this church, Calvary Chapel Living Water, we can look at these letters to the seven churches and seek to determine and seek to understand where we fit and which one we best identify with so that we can respond appropriately and follow the commands that Jesus would give to us as he's writing to individual churches. And every church that exists can do the same thing that God is speaking to us and dealing with us as a church in certain ways. Well, the fourth application of these letters is personal application, our own selves, that God wants to work in our hearts. And that's really where I'm focusing as we go through these things. That's what I'm sharing with you is that personal application, the things that apply to us personally and individually. There's something for you and I to learn and to apply in our lives from each of the churches. And that's why Jesus says in each letter to the church, He says, He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He says, individually, personally, you need to hear, you need to listen to what the Spirit is saying to all of the churches. And so he lays a responsibility upon us, for us as individuals, to hear what Jesus is saying, to hear what the Spirit is saying, and to be able to respond as he is writing these things to the churches. And so as we look at the church of Sardis, You know, there's some tough things. It's really a very serious letter that Jesus is writing here to the church of Sardis. And so I would encourage you, you know, put your seat in the upright position, put your tray table away and prepare yourself. Fasten your seatbelt. You might get a little bit bumpy. There's some things that God wants to challenge our hearts with. And as I've been preparing for this message this week, there's been somewhat of a heaviness upon it, upon my heart, an urgency and a need. You know, these things are very serious. And so we do need to listen up and to pay attention to what God wants to speak to our hearts, because these are things of eternity that we're dealing with. Well, as we jump into verse 1, it says, 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. Here as we begin the letter, Jesus introduces himself and he also addresses the church that he's writing to and he comes up with an assessment of them. He says, look, I'm writing this to the church in Sardis or the angel or the messenger of the church in Sardis. I have the seven spirits of God and the seven stars and I know what you're like and I know that even though people say that you are alive, the reality is you are dead. The city of Sardis that the church is located in, much like the other cities that we've looked at in the past few weeks, was an important, it was a wealthy city. It was located in the area of Asia Minor or modern day Turkey, the western part of Turkey. And it was close by the other churches that we've been studying. It also was a city that was full of idolatry. There was the Temple of Artemis that was there. It was well known for that. Also, it was a city that was full of secret religious societies. There was cult worship and all of those types of things. It was also interesting geographically because the city was set upon a hill so that three sides of the city was cliffs. And so there was only one way to approach the city and that resulted in a city that they pretty much thought was invincible. It could not be conquered by invading armies. And as a result, we'll see a little bit later, they became complacent and comfortable and really did not defend themselves well. And so this city that's located there, that's, you know, surrounded, it's got a good location, it's got a lot of wealth, it's got a lot of popularity and prosperity. There's a church that's located in there, and as Jesus is writing to the church, he He introduces himself with a piece of the vision that John saw in chapter 1, just like he does with the other letters. And so he introduces himself to the church as he who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. Now the seven spirits of God, I'm not going to get into the details. We talked more about that in chapter 1 as we looked at the vision. But it's a reference to the Holy Spirit. And you can look up on your own Isaiah chapter 11 verses 1 and 2 to look at that as well as Revelation chapter 4 verse 5 as well as Zechariah chapter 4 verses 2 through 6. But he references here, he's the one who has the Holy Spirit, and he's also the one who has the seven stars. The seven stars we learn from chapter 1 verse 20 are the seven angels, or the seven messengers of the church. And so he's saying, look, I've got the Holy Spirit, and I'm the one who has the pastors or the messengers of the church in my possession, in my hand. I am the one who has them. Now it's interesting that he introduces himself in this way because he's writing to a church that he has declared is dead. And you know what a dead church needs? A dead church needs the Holy Spirit and godly leadership. Dead churches need the Holy Spirit first and foremost, but also godly leadership, those who are in Jesus' hand. And so this dead church needs to be revived. It needs to be resurrected. It needs to be regenerated, which is the work of the Holy Spirit. As Jesus writes to this church that is dead, that is in need of the Holy Spirit, He says, I know your works. This is something we've seen again in all of the letters. That Jesus makes a statement. He says, look, I know what's happening in your life. I know what's going on in your heart. I know what you're up to. I know what you're about. He sees through all of the fake things that we put up. He sees through all of the deception. He sees through all of the lies. He knows what is really taking place in our lives and in our hearts. Things that nobody else sees. Jesus would look to us and say, I know your works. I know what you're involved in. I know what you're doing. I know what your life is like. And as he knows everything about the church of Sardis and the Christians of Sardis, he comes to the conclusion, he says, you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. You have a name that you are alive. It's commonly thought. It's well known. People think, wow, that church is vibrant. That church is living. That church is doing awesome. That was the understanding of man. That was what people would think. That's what people would consider as they thought about the church in Sardis. Jesus says, you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. And so Jesus saw through to see the heart, to see the reality. And he comes to the conclusion, you are dead. Do you think that today, 2010, there are churches with this same condition that have a name that they are alive, but But in reality, Jesus would say, you are dead. Do you think that those churches exist? Do you think that that's still the case today? I would even ask, are we this kind of church? That perhaps we have a name that we are alive. Perhaps we would be considered as vibrant or living. But is the reality that we are dead? Are we this kind of church? Or more personally, are you this kind of Christian? That people around you would look and say, oh yeah, he's a great brother, she's a great sister, they're a believer, they walk with God, they have life in Him. But when God looks at your life, He says, you have a name that you're alive, but in reality, you are dead. You see, man's assessment was one thing. Man looked on and thought, wow, this is great, this is awesome. But God looked on and said, you are dead. You have no life. Now, whose assessment do you think really matters? Is it man's assessment of this church that matters or God's assessment of this church that matters? You know, it's interesting. We spend so much time working on and investing in what other people think about us. We're consumed with, we're concerned about what we think about, we worry about, we grow to great lengths for other people to think about us the way that we want them to think about us. But how much time do we spend being concerned about or considering what God thinks about us? You have a name that you're alive, Jesus says, but the reality is you are dead. It's God's assessment that really matters. He sees the truth. And so even if everybody else thinks we're great, if God says we're dead, we're dead. And there's nothing we can do about that. I was reading an interesting article. It was the results of a study that was done just this last month by the Barna Group. And the study was on the priorities of Americans. And so it kind of gave us a foundation for the study, the facts. 90% of Americans identify themselves with some type of religion. So if you would ask, you know, 9 out of 10 Americans, they would say, I'm this kind of religious person or that kind of religious person. It went down to break it down a little bit further and said 75% of Americans would identify themselves as Christian. So if you get three out of four random Americans, chances are, statistically speaking, three out of the four would identify themselves as Christian. Now that includes Catholics as well as Protestants. It's kind of a wide array, that term Christian that is used today. But 75%, that's... That sounds pretty good. That sounds pretty amazing. In fact, if you were to look on the outside, you'd say, hey, you know, there's life there. That's wonderful. That's really good. It's a Christian nation. You know, three quarters of the nation is Christian. But then as it went on to talk about it, to get into the details of the priorities and how you break down the priorities, the numbers were staggering and amazing to me because it went on to describe that 12% of Americans say that faith is the highest priority in their life. I want you to consider that for a few moments here. 12% of Americans say that faith is the highest priority in their life. And so on the one hand, we have a lot of people who say, yes, I'm a Christian. But on the other hand, we have very few who say, my relationship with God is the most important priority of my life. We have a bunch of people that say I'm a Christian. We have very few who say, that's the most important thing to me. Now that 12% isn't just Christians. It's all religions. And so again, just in general, there's very few who are really focused on their faith. Very few, 12%, who would say that that's my highest priority. That's my top priority. Now amongst Christians... Or amongst evangelicals, which just to kind of summarize that term in a quick way, evangelical you could say is a Bible-believing Christian. So someone who says, I believe in the Bible, I believe it's the Word of God. 39%, according to the survey that they conducted, 39% of evangelicals, 39% of those who say, I believe the Bible, say that faith is the highest priority in their life. So even when we narrow it down to what we would consider more accurately the Christian group or the Christian population, those who believe in the Word of God, only 39% of those say that faith is the highest priority in their life. Now those are just statistics and those of course are based upon how people respond to the survey. But the numbers are telling and it is evident in the things that we see in the society that we live. Now if you consider 39%, that's less than half, right? Now we're an evangelical church, we're a Bible-believing church. That would mean statistically this half of the church, faith isn't their highest priority and I don't know what's wrong with you guys. I make light, but it is serious. There's a majority, there's a vast majority, there's a great number of people who identify themselves as religious or as Christian. But faith is not their highest priority. What is their highest priority? Well, the survey broke it down. The four top priorities are 45% say family is their highest priority. That's the most important thing to me, Americans said in that survey. 20% say health, leisure, a balanced lifestyle. Those are the most important things to me. That's what's really important. That's what I live for. That's what I focus on. 17% say finances. success, my career. Those are the things that are important to me. That's what I focus on. Those are my priorities. And again, 12% say that faith is their highest priority. Now I bring this up to ask the question, what do you call it when a child of God has other priorities that are higher than God? What do you call it? What is it called whenever someone who says that they're a follower of God, someone who says they're a child of God, but there's other things in their life that are more important to them than their relationship with God? Well, we see all throughout the scriptures that is called idolatry. It's worshiping a false god, whatever the god that might be. Those other priorities, those other things that are more important than the faith, than the relationship with God, become idols. It's idolatry. It's what Israel was rebuked for and judged for all throughout the Old Testament. And as we look on the nation, the United States of America, you could look and you could say, wow, 75% say they're Christian. They believe in Jesus. But the reality is, as you look a little bit closer... Jesus would look on the church of America and say, you have a name that you're alive, but you are dead. You're involved in idolatry. Would you turn with me please to Luke chapter 14? We'll take a little bit of a detour. We'll get right back to chapter 3 of Revelation. But Luke chapter 14 says, To look at some things that Jesus said, there was a great multitude that was following him. A great multitude that came around him that said, we want to follow you, Jesus. We want to be with you. We want to follow you. And as this great multitude came around him, it's interesting, you know, a lot of times we're focused on, you know, getting a big crowd. But Jesus here is thinning the crowd. He's saying, hey, you guys need to count the cost and realize what you're signing up for. He says in Luke chapter 14 verse 26, If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. Verse 2. Or what king going to make war against another king does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with 10,000 to meet him who comes against him with 20,000? Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be my disciple. Jesus says to the multitude that wants to follow him, he says, count the cost. Consider what you are saying. He says, the reality is, you cannot be my disciple if these things exist in your life, if this is the condition of your heart. He says three times, you cannot be my disciple. There in verse 26, he says, you cannot be my disciple if... If you don't love me first and foremost. If I'm not your first love, if I'm not your first passion, if you don't love me more than your wife, more than your children, more than your parents, more than your family, even more than your own self, if you don't love me first and foremost, Jesus says, you cannot be my disciple. Then in verse 27, he says, hey, if you don't bear your own cross and come after me, you cannot be my disciple. Then in verse 33, he says, if you do not forsake all that you have, you cannot be my disciple. Jesus says some very serious things. And he says, look, you need to count the cost. How many would go to build a tower and they get halfway through the process and then they realize, oh, I don't have enough money to finish the project. I don't have enough money to finish the building. No, you, ahead of time, you plan out, you budget, you say, okay, I have this much. It's going to cost this much. Let's build the tower. In the same way, He says, you need to count the cost. You say you want to be my disciple. You want to follow me. Consider what it's going to cost. You're going to have to love me first and foremost. Jesus says, you must love me first. More than everyone else. Not only that, but you must bear your cross and come after me. Now, bearing your cross is not just enduring a little bit of a hardship or something. Bearing your cross is death to self. It's denying yourself. Crucifying the flesh. Putting your flesh to death. If you are not willing to deny yourself and put your flesh to death, he says, you cannot be my disciple. Your sinful nature needs to be crucified, needs to be put down. And thirdly, he says, if you want to be my disciple, you want to follow me, that's great, but understand that it's going to require that you forsake all to follow me. You're going to have to let everything go. I'm going to have to be first and foremost in every aspect, in every area of your life. I must be first. That is the only way that we can be His disciples. Any other condition, He says, nope, you cannot be My disciple if that's the case. And so we look at the statistics, 75% say I'm a Christian, but 12% say that their faith is the highest priority in their life. We understand that's 88% that cannot be His disciple according to those statistics. There's few that are willing to count the cost to pay the price. And we can put on a great facade and a great show and people can think, wow, that person's a great believer. Look, they know the word, they pray, they go to church regularly. That's wonderful. But God looks through all of that outward thing and he sees the heart. And he asks the question, can that person be my disciple? Do they love me first? Are they willing to forsake all? Are they willing to die to themselves? Am I first and foremost in their lives? You need to count the cost. This is what it takes to be a follower of Jesus. And so if these numbers are accurate, that would mean that 12% are disciples, but the rest are not. Now as we look at these things personally, I would share that some who are listening to this, some who are here this morning, some of you are dead, but you seem to have life. And we would look on and we'd say, hey, great job, way to go, brother, sister, brother. But God would look and He says, there's no life there. They're not a disciple. They're not a follower. As we look at these things corporately as a church, understand we are a remnant within our own nation. We're some of the few who are remaining that follow Jesus, that really believe the Word of God and live our lives by it. And so there's some important things. There's some things that we need to do as a result of this. Whichever case you find yourself in, if you look and you say, hey, I'm right with God. I'm walking with God. Wonderful. As a remnant, there's some things that we need to do. Or if you look at your own heart and you allow God to speak to you and he shows you, yeah, people think you have life, but really you're dead. Well, there's some ways that you need to respond as well. And so there's five things I want to highlight today. From this letter that Jesus writes to Sardis as we go back to Revelation chapter 3. Five points for us to consider personally. What we need to do in response of this condition. Jesus gives him the condition and he says, now here's what you need to do. And so these are the things that we must do as a remnant within our nation or as individuals who have the appearance of life, but in reality we are dead. Point number one, watch and strengthen what remains. Watch and strengthen what remains. Look at verse two. He says, be watchful and strengthen the things which remain that are ready to die. For I have not found your works perfect before God. He tells them to be watchful, to pay attention, to be alert or to be on guard. The idea is not falling asleep, but paying attention to what is going on. Like Paul said, it's high time for us to awake. As we look at the book of Revelation, there's a great need for us to wake up and stop playing around, stop messing around, and to be serious about our relationship with God. We need to be watchful because the enemy is out to destroy us. Now, the city of Sardis could really relate to this idea of being watchful because the city, as I shared earlier, was on a hill. It was cliffs on three sides. There was only one approach. And they really considered themselves to be invincible, that no army could penetrate their walls or conquer them. And yet, twice in the history of Sardis, within a few hundred years of each other actually, twice the city of Sardis was conquered. Cyrus the Persian conquered Sardis. The city of Sardis. And he did so as the historical account goes. It varies slightly depending on which historical account you read. But there was a soldier on top of the wall and he fell asleep and his helmet fell off his head and it bounced down the wall and went down in the cliff that was there. The army that was laying siege against the city noticed and saw what happened and they saw the guy go down and get his and then go back up and they discovered, hey, there's a way up that way. And so that night led the army up. They went up the cliff. They went up the wall and they got up there and they found that the guards were sleeping. They were unprepared. They weren't watching. And the city was conquered. And then a couple hundred years later, almost identical scenario. Same thing. They go up the side. They go up the cliff. They go up the wall. And they find the guards sleeping. Because they were so comfortable. They thought, hey, we're fine. There's no need to be watching. There's no need to be alert. We don't need to be on guard. They can't come in. They can't conquer. Jesus says to them, be watchful. Wake up. Pay attention. Listen, you and I, we must not be comfortable watching. in our condition. We must not be complacent in our Christianity. We need to be alert. The enemy roams around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. The end of all things is at hand. So be serious and watchful in your prayers, Peter said. We're getting closer and closer. To the return of Jesus Christ, we need to be alert. We need to be paying attention. When Jesus was preparing his disciples for his return, he was about to be crucified, but he gives some parables about his return. And all of them, he includes with them the command to watch. And the point of the parable is to be prepared, to be ready, to be alert, and to be looking for his return. And so he tells them, watch or be watchful. And then he also tells them, and strengthen the things which remain. And this is encouraging. Even in Sardis, the church where Jesus says, people think you're alive, but you are dead. Even in this dead church, there is hope. There is a little something that remains. There's an opportunity for them to get right with God. There's an opportunity for them to be renewed in their relationship with God. It's not a church without hope. It's not too late to As Jesus is writing this letter, it's an invitation for them to get right. And the same is true for you today. Whatever condition you find yourself in, it's not too late. God is giving you an opportunity to make things right, to strengthen the things which remain, to be strong in the Lord and the power of His might. There's an urgency that goes along with this command to be watchful and strengthen the things. He says, "...for I have not found your works perfect before God." The reason why you need to be watchful, you need to wake up, you need to pay attention and strengthen those things that are left because, well, it's because I've not found your works perfect before God. Literally, it could be said, I've not found any of your works perfect before God. Nothing's acceptable. Nothing is pleasing to me. And that's no surprise. Really no surprise, because our works are not perfect. None of our works are perfect. Not in Sardis, not even today. Isaiah 64, 6 tells us that all of our righteousness, the best that we can do, is like filthy rags. But our works are acceptable when we are walking in relationship with God. That we're not coming to God on the basis of our works, but we're coming to God on the basis of what Jesus Christ did for us upon the cross. And because we're coming to Him by faith, He attributes to us the righteousness of Jesus. He treats us just as if we'd never sinned. And then He accepts what we offer to Him. Because it's not our works that we're relying upon, that we're saying, here God, look how good I am, now you can receive me. We're saying, no, I receive Jesus. And so really the point here is that they were not living by faith. Although they had outward works, although they had religious activities and rituals, they were not approaching God by faith. Hebrews chapter 11 tells us that without faith it's impossible to please God. And so they were not able to come to God with their works because they were not acceptable. They were not perfect before God. The only way that you can approach God with your works is if you're perfect. And that's none of us. And so all of us must come to God through a relationship with Jesus Christ. So he tells them to be watchful and to strengthen what remains. Secondly, As we look at verse 3, he tells them to remember and repent. He says, He says, He tells them first. Jesus calls the church to remember how it all began. Hey, remember how it started in your relationship with me. Remember how you received Jesus Christ. Remember how you heard God and heard from God. Go back to the beginning. Remember. Remember that season. Remember that time when God was speaking to you. Remember when He was doing that new work and your spiritual life was exciting and He was speaking to your heart and giving you direction and giving you instruction. He says, remember that. Don't lose sight of that. Don't forget about that. Remember how that took place. How did it happen? It didn't happen by your good works. It didn't happen because you were so wonderful. It happened because you came to me by faith. And it happened because you were walking in relationship with me. And as you walked with relationship with me, you received from me. And you heard from me. And I was working in your life. Are you at a point in your life this morning Whereas you consider receiving from God and hearing from God that it's something you have to remember, that it's not something that's active, that's happening to you currently in your life, that you can look back and say, oh yeah, I remember that time in my life where God was really working and He was speaking to me and giving me instruction and I received so much from Him at that time. Listen, if that's the case, if it's not happening currently in your life, but in order to consider those things, you have to remember what happened back at some other time. Listen, you're in a dangerous place. You're in a place that you should not be. Now, it's good to remember and to reflect on those things, but remember how you've received it and then go back and put yourself in that same position. of approaching God by faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ and walk in relationship with Him. He says, hold fast and repent. Go back to spending time with God so that you can hear from Him and receive from Him. The idea here of holding fast means to guard something from loss or injury. So remember the way it was and then hold fast to that. Don't let go of that. Put a death grip on that and don't lose it because that's what you need. He tells the church, pay attention, you're losing it. You're about to miss out. You need to hold on. Go back. Remember how you received. And then stay there. Don't be moved from that position. And he says, and repent. Now repent, it's a change of life. It's not just being a little bit sorry or having regrets over the consequences of your actions. But it's about having a regret and a sorrow that goes along with a changed life. He tells them, change your life. Stop going in the direction that you're going. Remember how I began it in your life and go back and live that way. Walk in relationship with me. Now he gives a warning along with this. He says, therefore, if you will not watch, I will come to you as a thief and you will not know what hour I will come upon you. So he gives us a serious warning here to the dead church, to those who will not watch. He says, look, if you don't watch, if you don't pay attention, if you don't wake up and hold on to these things, if you don't repent, he says, I'm going to come to you as a thief. I'm going to come to you and you will not know at what hour I will come. Now, the point of the idea of him coming as a thief is that it's going to be a surprise. Surprise, surprise. Thieves are here. You know, it's not something that you expect. It's not something that you anticipate. There was a news article this last week. I don't know if you heard about it or read about it. But there was 11-year-old twins that were at home alone and someone broke into the house and they were able to hide upstairs in the closet and call 911 and the police were able to get there in time. And the kids were saved and the crooks got caught. But you know, they weren't there home alone thinking, oh man, it's almost five minutes, the robbers are going to be here, the thieves are going to come, you know, we need to go upstairs and hide in the closet. They were caught off guard. They weren't expecting, they weren't prepared, and so they had to hide in the closet really quick. They didn't have time, you know, in advance. They didn't have notification ahead of time. The That's the whole point of thievery, right? It's a surprise. You're not expecting it. Now, that's the case of not very successful thieves. Now, if you're a successful thief, then the surprise is, where'd my TV go? It's gone. It's missing. That's the surprise. That something is gone. Something's missing. Jesus says, look, if you don't watch, I'm going to come to you as a thief. And you're going to be surprised either that I'm there and you weren't prepared or that the church is gone. Because really the thief here is a reference to the rapture of the church as he talks about coming as a thief. Paul talks about Jesus coming as a thief as well. In 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, he talks about the rapture of the church and how the church will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. I encourage you to spend some time. Look at 1 Thessalonians 4. Verses 13 through 18 later on. And read about it and believe the rapture of the church that Jesus is going to come for his bride and will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. But he goes on in chapter 5 of 1 Thessalonians and he goes on to say, "...concerning times and seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you, for you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night." The Lord is coming back and it's going to happen as a thief in the night. It's going to be a surprise. He goes on to say, when people are saying peace and safety, then sudden destruction is going to come. And he says, and they shall not escape. But he makes the point in 1 Thessalonians 5, verse 4. He says, but you, brethren, are not in darkness so that this day should overtake you as a thief. And so there are those on whom this day comes as a thief. And there are those who are of the day, not in darkness. And this day comes upon them, but they're expecting it. They're ready for it. They're prepared for it. Which one are you? Are you watching? Are you ready? Are you prepared? Are you walking in the day? Or are you walking in darkness? Those who walk in darkness and not in the day will be caught off guard. And Paul says, they will not escape the judgment that is coming. They will not escape the destruction that comes. But those who are of the day will be ready. They'll be watching. They'll be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. Jesus told us as well in Matthew chapter 24 verses 42 through 44 that he is coming as a thief in the night and that we're to be watching because we don't know the hour. We don't know the time. He tells us we need to be ready. We need to be paying attention. We need to be watching. Those who are caught off guard are in darkness. Those who aren't watching, Jesus says... Hey, you better watch. If you won't watch, I'm going to come to you as a thief and you're not going to know what time I come. And what Jesus is saying is you're going to be surprised when the church is gone and you're still here. And so he tells them, you better get right or you're going to get left. Get right. Come back. Hold fast and repent. Point three, he says, do not defile yourself. He says in verse 4, Here we have some encouraging information from the Lord. He says, And that's good news. It's not too late for them. And even within the church, there are those who are faithful to God. God always has a remnant. And you know, that's one of the reasons why it's hard to answer the question that we often get asked. People come up and they say, you know, my cousin attends this kind of church, or my cousin was in this type of congregation, or my cousin is involved in this type of ministry. Are they saved? Those types of questions get asked a lot. And it's difficult to ask those questions because even in churches where false doctrine is taught, there are often those like in Sardis. There's a few who, well, they hold fast to God. They haven't defiled their garments, but they're walking with God. And they have a real relationship with God. And so it's good. It's encouraging. Even those who are in the midst of the worst churches, the dead churches, there are still there those who are faithful to God. He says they've not defiled their garments. And so here's where we get the point that we are not to defile our garments. Now he's not talking about perfection, that they never sin, but he's talking about they haven't given themselves to a lifestyle of sin. So he says we are not to give ourselves over to a lifestyle of sin, to defile our garments, to immerse ourselves in the things that are not of God. He says, those who haven't done that, who haven't given themselves over to the things of the flesh or the things of the world or the things of the enemy, he says, they will walk with me in white for they are worthy. The idea here of walking with him in white is of being clothed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. It's a purity that comes not from our works, but from his work, his accomplished work upon the cross. We walk with him in purity. We've been forgiven. He says, for they are worthy. And that's something important. That's something interesting. Because Jesus told us in Luke chapter 21 verse 36 to pray that we may be counted worthy to escape all the things that will come to pass and that we would be counted worthy to stand before the Son of Man. In reference to the end times, in reference to the tribulation period, He says, pray that you would be counted worthy to escape those things. Pray that you would be counted worthy to be included in the rapture of the church. That is something that's to be on our heart. That is something we're to be looking forward to. That is something we're to pray for. There are a few here in the church of Sardis that will be caught up, that will be raptured, but the rest will not escape. Where does that put you? Have you defiled your garments? Are you walking in impurity? Are you walking in a lifestyle of sin? It's time now to hold fast, to repent, to turn back, to get right with God. as we look forward to His return. Fourth point, He tells us to overcome there in verse 5. He says, And so He tells us here to overcome and there's some rewards for overcoming. The one who overcomes, He says... First of all, we'll be clothed in white garments. Again, being clothed in white is a picture for us of the righteousness of Jesus Christ. In Revelation chapter 19, we see that the saints come back with Jesus and they're clothed with white. It's a purity. We'll be done with our sinful nature. It'll be ended. We will no longer be tempted to sin. We won't have that corrupt nature and that corrupt heart that we have currently. We'll be clothed in white garments. Not only that, but we have the guarantee of a place of eternity. He says, your name will not be blotted out. It's a guarantee, it's a promise, a definite hope of eternity with God to those who overcome. And to those who overcome, he says, I will confess your name before my Father and before his angels. Jesus will identify himself with you. He'll call you one of his own. He will not deny you. As you stand before the Father, Jesus will say, that's my child. He's with me. Let him in. Jesus said, those who confess his name on earth, he will confess before the Father. But those who deny Jesus on earth will be denied by Jesus before the Father. So he tells us to overcome. Those who overcome, those who confess Jesus Christ now, those who are his disciples as we looked at in Luke chapter 16, those who identify with him and commit themselves to him that are making him the first and foremost in their life. They have these promises of being clothed in white, of not having their name blotted out and of Jesus confessing their name before the Father. And so he says, fifth point, hear what the Spirit says there in verse 6. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. Do you have an ear? Are you listening? Are you paying attention? Is God speaking to your heart? Because He wants to. He wants to work in us. He's desiring to bring us to right relationship with Him. And in order to do that, we need to make Him first and foremost. We need to have life. And not just the appearance of life, but real life. That only comes from being close to God. From walking with Him. From having that real relationship with Him. And we can fake it all we want and we can fool everybody else, but in the end it's God who sees the truth and it's God's opinion which really matters. His assessment of our hearts and lives is really what counts. And so this morning we have the opportunity to partake of communion together. And it's a great opportunity because as we consider the dead church and the life that's found in Jesus Christ, we know that that life is found at the cross. Where Christ died, where Christ was crucified, we find life. And Jesus gave to us communion as a reminder that of that death that he died and of the life that we have in him. And so the worship team is going to make ready, the ushers are going to prepare, and we're going to partake of communion together. As they do, I want to encourage you, I want to challenge you. Are you Jesus' disciple? Have you forsaken all to follow him? Have you put him in the position of first and foremost in your heart and in your life? Jesus gave communion to His disciples as a time of remembrance of what He did for us so that we could remember what He did and who He is meant to be to us and in our hearts. He gave us the bread which represents His body that was broken. It speaks to us of the curse that was broken, the curse of sin, the sinful condition of our hearts, the power of sin and death was broken at the cross. So he gave her the bread and he broke it and he said, look, take and eat this. This is my body which is broken for you. As a reminder, as a testimony that the power of sin, the power of the flesh, the curse has been broken. We've been set free. And then he gave the cup. He says, look, this represents my blood which is shed for the remission of sins or the forgiveness of sins. The cup is a reminder to us of the forgiveness that we have in Jesus Christ and that we come to God, we're able to come to God because we've been forgiven, because we've been set free, because we've been washed and cleansed. As we consider that the dead church of Sardis and as we partake of communion together today, let's do so with a heart, with a mindset, with a mentality that we are going to partake together as a testimony to God that we receive the life that is offered to us in Jesus Christ. Let's do so with a serious heart, with a commitment. As we receive communion, as we receive what Jesus did for us, that we also commit ourselves to Him. That we will make Him first and foremost. That we will be His disciples. That we will forsake all and follow Him. That He will be the most important part of our lives. Now if that's not your heart, if you don't want to be a disciple, you don't have to be a disciple. And I would encourage you, if that's not your desire, you don't want to follow Jesus Christ, do not partake. As they pass out the bread and the cup, don't partake of it. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians that to partake of it is to say, yes, I understand what Jesus did, I know what this represents, I know what this represents, but I don't want to follow him. That's just, I can't make him first and foremost. I want him part of my life. I want to be saved, but I don't want to be really committed to him at that level. I want to be radical in my faith. Don't partake. You're not really a disciple. You're not really a follower. And Paul says, you condemn yourself because you acknowledge the truth, but you say, I just don't want to have part of that. But listen, if you are a disciple, partake with us. If you want to be a disciple, maybe you find yourself like the church of Sardis. At one time, you had life, but now, spiritually, it's just dead. But you want to make things right? It's a great opportunity for you to come to the cross and receive what Christ has for you, to be forgiven of your sin, to have the guarantee of eternity with God. If you want the salvation that Jesus offers, partake together with us. Whether it's for the first time or for a hundredth time. Whether you've just come into God, you want to get right with God, you want to commit yourself to Him for the first time ever. Or if you've walked with God but have been away and want to recommit yourself. I encourage you to partake with us. So they're going to lead us in worship and the ushers are going to pass out the bread and the cup. Hold both portions. And we'll partake together as a family at the end. And so let's worship the Lord together and commit ourselves back to the Lord. Allow Him to have His work in us as we surrender to Him. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.